establishment.’
Having sat back and listened thus far it was time for Mariner to step in. ‘I’m inclined to agree with DCI Sharp,’ he said. ‘That this isn’t a conventional baby-snatch. It was neither random nor impulsive. There was too much that could have gone wrong.’
The murmurs of agreement signalled that they were all coming round to that way of thinking. ‘It’s no simple thing to walk in off the street and take a baby,’ Mariner went on. ‘So this operation was carefully planned and executed, meaning that the abductor must have had pretty in-depth knowledge of how the crèche operates and the shift patterns of the staff. It’s interesting too that the snatch took place while Mrs Barratt was out of the building, when she was the one person who could identify Jessica’s real mother. The abuductor even double-checked that Mrs Barratt wasn’t there.’
‘But that was a risk. How would she know that Mrs Barratt had gone?’
‘That car is distinctive enough.’
‘And if she knows how the crèche operates then she’ll know that the staff in the crèche wouldn’t recognise the person who’d brought the child in, and that the crèche is staffed by agency workers who may also be less familiar with security procedures. And if we’re in agreement that this was a planned operation then that leads me into thinking that either this child or this nursery were targeted for a reason.’
‘We should start looking at former nursery employees and anyone linked to the crèche up at the hospital. How long has the crèche been open?’ asked Sharp.
‘About seven years, Glover told her.’
‘Look at former members of staff,’ said Mariner, ‘especially those who haven’t yet had children, or possibly even married. The nursery has a high staff turnover and I’ve asked Mrs Barratt to compile details of the staff who have left in the last six months. Tony, I want you to go through that and find out if there’s anyone who has reason to hold a grudge against Mrs Barratt.’
‘It could even be an inside job,’ Sharp surmised. ‘Two of the girls are temporary agency staff.’
‘I don’t think any of the girls here are up to it. Samantha, the deputy, seems the most experienced of them and she was clearly panicked. The others just look too young to front it out. But we’re doing the usual background checks, using CRB records as a starting point.’
‘Somebody could have got to them.’
Mariner turned to Knox. ‘You’ve spent some time with Christie. She’s given us the best description of the woman.’
Knox was doubtful. ‘She seemed genuinely eager to help. But did you notice that bruising?’
‘The mark on her face?’
‘She’s in an abusive relationship. I mean, she didn’t come out and say it, but she didn’t deny it either, so I did a check on her boyfriend, Jimmy Bond.’
‘And?’
‘He’s on our books. Three years ago he was convicted of tax fraud. He runs some kind of garage and vehicle distribution business.’
‘Okay, well it’s hardly an obvious link but there’s a financial element there so it’s something else to keep an eye on. It’s another possible motive.’
‘That someone’s in this for financial gain?’
‘Could be, in which case we can expect a phone call at any time.’
‘But why this nursery, this child? Is it likely to be that lucrative?’
‘I agree,’ said Sharp. ‘The nursery is an independent business. If someone wanted to make serious money out of this surely it would be better to hit one of the larger chains of nurseries.’
‘So there may be a personal element too,’ said Mariner. ‘Tell us more about Marcella Turner; is there any way she could have orchestrated the snatch, as a way of demonstrating that children aren’t safe in day care provision?’
Sharp turned down her mouth. ‘It’s way beyond the scale of her normal protests, but that’s not to say she wouldn’t. It would be an interesting stunt and perhaps born of
Having sat back and listened thus far it was time for Mariner to step in. ‘I’m inclined to agree with DCI Sharp,’ he said. ‘That this isn’t a conventional baby-snatch. It was neither random nor impulsive. There was too much that could have gone wrong.’
The murmurs of agreement signalled that they were all coming round to that way of thinking. ‘It’s no simple thing to walk in off the street and take a baby,’ Mariner went on. ‘So this operation was carefully planned and executed, meaning that the abductor must have had pretty in-depth knowledge of how the crèche operates and the shift patterns of the staff. It’s interesting too that the snatch took place while Mrs Barratt was out of the building, when she was the one person who could identify Jessica’s real mother. The abuductor even double-checked that Mrs Barratt wasn’t there.’
‘But that was a risk. How would she know that Mrs Barratt had gone?’
‘That car is distinctive enough.’
‘And if she knows how the crèche operates then she’ll know that the staff in the crèche wouldn’t recognise the person who’d brought the child in, and that the crèche is staffed by agency workers who may also be less familiar with security procedures. And if we’re in agreement that this was a planned operation then that leads me into thinking that either this child or this nursery were targeted for a reason.’
‘We should start looking at former nursery employees and anyone linked to the crèche up at the hospital. How long has the crèche been open?’ asked Sharp.
‘About seven years, Glover told her.’
‘Look at former members of staff,’ said Mariner, ‘especially those who haven’t yet had children, or possibly even married. The nursery has a high staff turnover and I’ve asked Mrs Barratt to compile details of the staff who have left in the last six months. Tony, I want you to go through that and find out if there’s anyone who has reason to hold a grudge against Mrs Barratt.’
‘It could even be an inside job,’ Sharp surmised. ‘Two of the girls are temporary agency staff.’
‘I don’t think any of the girls here are up to it. Samantha, the deputy, seems the most experienced of them and she was clearly panicked. The others just look too young to front it out. But we’re doing the usual background checks, using CRB records as a starting point.’
‘Somebody could have got to them.’
Mariner turned to Knox. ‘You’ve spent some time with Christie. She’s given us the best description of the woman.’
Knox was doubtful. ‘She seemed genuinely eager to help. But did you notice that bruising?’
‘The mark on her face?’
‘She’s in an abusive relationship. I mean, she didn’t come out and say it, but she didn’t deny it either, so I did a check on her boyfriend, Jimmy Bond.’
‘And?’
‘He’s on our books. Three years ago he was convicted of tax fraud. He runs some kind of garage and vehicle distribution business.’
‘Okay, well it’s hardly an obvious link but there’s a financial element there so it’s something else to keep an eye on. It’s another possible motive.’
‘That someone’s in this for financial gain?’
‘Could be, in which case we can expect a phone call at any time.’
‘But why this nursery, this child? Is it likely to be that lucrative?’
‘I agree,’ said Sharp. ‘The nursery is an independent business. If someone wanted to make serious money out of this surely it would be better to hit one of the larger chains of nurseries.’
‘So there may be a personal element too,’ said Mariner. ‘Tell us more about Marcella Turner; is there any way she could have orchestrated the snatch, as a way of demonstrating that children aren’t safe in day care provision?’
Sharp turned down her mouth. ‘It’s way beyond the scale of her normal protests, but that’s not to say she wouldn’t. It would be an interesting stunt and perhaps born of
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