Detective Chief Superintendent Phillip Bright was on his knees searching his waste-paper basket when the phone rang. He hauled himself off the floor and fumbled with the receiver, cursing his new civilian clerk. Ellen was a spirited woman who took no shit from anyone – especially not him. They hadn’t quite gelled as a team and he was wondering if they ever would.
‘Didn’t I tell you to hold all calls?’ he barked.
‘So you did, but this is urgent apparently. One of your golfing pals?’
‘Which one?’ Bright took a deep breath. No reply was forthcoming. ‘Ellen? Who is it, please?’
‘A gentleman called Adam Finch.’ Ellen had made her point. ‘He sounds rather anxious. Said he’s sorry to interrupt you, but it really can’t wait.’
The line clicked and she put him through.
Bright listened for a long time, his stomach in knots as he heard the news. After a short conversation he ended the call. He was about to contact DCI Kate Daniels when he saw her through his office window, fifty metres away and charging towards him. He hung up the receiver and waited.
‘We have a problem,’ he said, as she entered the room.
‘So you said, guv. That’s why I’m here.’
‘No, I mean another one.’
‘Guv, I’m up to my neck in it.’ Daniels was parched. Her eyes scanned his new office and found the water cooler. As she walked towards it she heard yelling from the office next door. It reminded her of the last time she’d been in that room, before Assistant Chief Constable Billings took over. His predecessor, ACC Martin, had completely lost his temper and shown her the door. She smiled at the memory, feeling Bright’s eyes upon her. ‘I’m sorry, guv . . .’ She still had her back to him. ‘But our only witness wants to leave the area. I’ve told the poor sod his holiday’s on hold and I’m about to take his statement so he can get on his way. He’s ex-job? Can it wait?’
‘No, it can’t. The daughter of one of my closest friends is missing and I’d like you to handle it personally.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ The water was taking its time to dribble into the white plastic cup. ‘Can’t you send a uniform?’
‘She’s a Durham University student, Kate.’
Daniels turned towards him, all ears.
‘Five ten. Blonde hair. Green eyes. Ring any bells?’
‘Shit!’
‘Her name is Jessica Finch. Her father, Adam, owns half of North Yorkshire. You may have heard of him.’
‘Can’t say I have.’
‘I’ve known him for many years. He’s not a guy to panic easily. Before he called me, he called the university and found out that Jess has missed lectures. She hasn’t slept at her halls for the past two nights. Nobody he spoke to has seen or heard from her. He was told she may have moved out, but he doesn’t know where. University staff don’t know either. He’s frantic, Kate. Look at this—’
Bright turned his laptop round to face her. On the screen was an email message from Adam Finch with a scanned document attached. Daniels leaned forward, opened the attachment and found a hastily scrawled note mounted on a shaded background to make it stand out. The paper was unlined and had been torn from a much larger sheet. She read the message twice. It was brief and to the point: STAY BY THE PHONE – CONTACT THE LAW AND I’LL SEND YOUR DAUGHTER HOME IN BITS.
‘When did he receive this?’ Daniels asked.
‘It came in this morning’s post. It was waiting for him when he got home shortly after ten. He’s been away on business and only got back today.’
Daniels studied the note.
For the second time that day, the circumstances of a crime didn’t seem to fit. ‘That doesn’t make sense,’ she said.
Bright just looked at her.
‘Assuming our dead girl and Jessica Finch are one and the same, why would her kidnapper risk the pay-off by killing her?’
‘Maybe they panicked—’
‘Before making a demand?’
Bright hesitated. ‘Maybe she tried to escape? Or they roughed her up and—’
‘No.’ Daniels shook her head. ‘Stanton told me her injuries are all consistent with the fall. There are no restraint marks and nothing to indicate a struggle.’
‘Perhaps they gave her too many drugs and she died. They lost control and dumped her, hoping to score financially before her body was discovered. That’s probably why they chose such a remote spot. It could just be Sod’s Law that she landed where she did. Otherwise it might’ve been months, years even, until someone stumbled across her remains. If they ever did.’ He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, meeting her eyes across his desk. ‘You know how these things pan out, Kate. Abductions often go horribly wrong. The snatch was planned, I agree, but her death could’ve been accidental.’
Bollocks! Bright was clutching at straws. ‘She was alive when she hit the ground, guv. There was no mistake, believe me.’
Her words hung in the air between them.
‘Is Finch aware we found a body?’ Daniels asked finally.
Bright’s expression was grim. ‘He soon will be.’