caffeine. She was missing Patrick so much it hurt.
She had been the same after Dan had gone. Dan the womaniser. Dan who thought he could get through life with a set of white teeth and a big cock. She knew how to pick them all right.
She could hear phones ringing, people talking, lives being lived. It all seemed separate from her. She had had everything she’d wanted stripped from her by a few choice words from Ratchette and she knew she could never take Pat on again.
No matter how much she might want to.
Chapter Five
‘Forensically, we can put both mothers at the scene.’
Kate nodded, then commented, ‘You could put them with the children at any time, surely, because they are in such close contact.’
‘That’s true, but I can only report what I’ve found and that’s evidence to suggest that both mothers were at the scenes too.’
Kate wiped a hand across her face.
‘Any good brief will shoot you down in flames,’ she said. ‘Was there anything at all from the sites that was found on the mothers’ clothes or shoes?’
‘Nothing too positive,’ Leila told her. ‘We have taken dirt samples from where they live to get comparisons. I bet they’ll be near enough to rule them out.’
She stared at her friend. Kate looked terrible. ‘You should think about getting help on this one, Kate.’
Kate took a long drag on her cigarette. ‘Ratchette thinks so too. What he wants, though, is me out of the way. It’d make his life a lot easier.’
Leila sat down and said gently, ‘You can choose someone yourself, Kate. Someone who has dealt with this type of crime before. Face it, they would be working with you, not against you. Choose the person yourself and you guarantee that. If Ratchette chooses, they’ll row you out.’
Kate’s eyes scanned the small office. ‘It’s a dump, Leila, but it’s my dump. Ratchette is worried about my relationship with Patrick. He thinks shit will stick . . .’
Leila smiled, showing crooked white teeth. ‘Which it will, love. But you’ll weather it. You are one of the most able officers I know. Even Ratchette can’t dispute that. You’ve put away a lot of bodies over the years, mate. That can’t be forgotten by anyone. It’s all there in black and white. Plus your relationship with Patrick has given you quite a bit of kudos. Old Bill love real villains, even you must have realised that. Pull in a good colleague, Kate. Get some help. Specialist help.’
‘Perhaps you’re right.’
Leila pinched Kate’s cigarette and inhaled.
‘I thought you’d given up?’
‘Only in public. In private, I puff away like the Magic Dragon.’
Kate laughed. ‘Fancy a drink later?’
Leila nodded. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
‘I can’t stop thinking about that little boy, Ivor. Where the hell could he be?’
Leila shrugged. ‘He must be dead. It’s been nearly four days now. Any more from the mother?’
‘Not a dicky bird. Still insisting that she left them all night and they were gone when she got home. The father was in Liverpool - he has a watertight alibi. No one else has a key to the place, the kids were locked in the room. In reality, what she’s saying is unbelievable. But she has never deviated from it.’
Leila closed her eyes. ‘Look, Kate, once her brief gets in the heavy mob, you won’t get near her. They will have psychiatric reports - the works. You need someone now . Let me look through my files and see who I can find, eh? If she was placed at the scene, you’ll have something to work with. Hopefully, the boy will turn up alive. Until then, I would give her the sympathy vote, and hope against hope that she can be brought to court with a bit more than you have now.’
Kate was tired, she was also worried and her face looked older than usual. She had to find the child and fast.
‘I am going to interview Anderson again at five,’ she said. ‘All she seems to do is eat. And I mean eat. Christ knows what’s going through her mind. But I
She had been the same after Dan had gone. Dan the womaniser. Dan who thought he could get through life with a set of white teeth and a big cock. She knew how to pick them all right.
She could hear phones ringing, people talking, lives being lived. It all seemed separate from her. She had had everything she’d wanted stripped from her by a few choice words from Ratchette and she knew she could never take Pat on again.
No matter how much she might want to.
Chapter Five
‘Forensically, we can put both mothers at the scene.’
Kate nodded, then commented, ‘You could put them with the children at any time, surely, because they are in such close contact.’
‘That’s true, but I can only report what I’ve found and that’s evidence to suggest that both mothers were at the scenes too.’
Kate wiped a hand across her face.
‘Any good brief will shoot you down in flames,’ she said. ‘Was there anything at all from the sites that was found on the mothers’ clothes or shoes?’
‘Nothing too positive,’ Leila told her. ‘We have taken dirt samples from where they live to get comparisons. I bet they’ll be near enough to rule them out.’
She stared at her friend. Kate looked terrible. ‘You should think about getting help on this one, Kate.’
Kate took a long drag on her cigarette. ‘Ratchette thinks so too. What he wants, though, is me out of the way. It’d make his life a lot easier.’
Leila sat down and said gently, ‘You can choose someone yourself, Kate. Someone who has dealt with this type of crime before. Face it, they would be working with you, not against you. Choose the person yourself and you guarantee that. If Ratchette chooses, they’ll row you out.’
Kate’s eyes scanned the small office. ‘It’s a dump, Leila, but it’s my dump. Ratchette is worried about my relationship with Patrick. He thinks shit will stick . . .’
Leila smiled, showing crooked white teeth. ‘Which it will, love. But you’ll weather it. You are one of the most able officers I know. Even Ratchette can’t dispute that. You’ve put away a lot of bodies over the years, mate. That can’t be forgotten by anyone. It’s all there in black and white. Plus your relationship with Patrick has given you quite a bit of kudos. Old Bill love real villains, even you must have realised that. Pull in a good colleague, Kate. Get some help. Specialist help.’
‘Perhaps you’re right.’
Leila pinched Kate’s cigarette and inhaled.
‘I thought you’d given up?’
‘Only in public. In private, I puff away like the Magic Dragon.’
Kate laughed. ‘Fancy a drink later?’
Leila nodded. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
‘I can’t stop thinking about that little boy, Ivor. Where the hell could he be?’
Leila shrugged. ‘He must be dead. It’s been nearly four days now. Any more from the mother?’
‘Not a dicky bird. Still insisting that she left them all night and they were gone when she got home. The father was in Liverpool - he has a watertight alibi. No one else has a key to the place, the kids were locked in the room. In reality, what she’s saying is unbelievable. But she has never deviated from it.’
Leila closed her eyes. ‘Look, Kate, once her brief gets in the heavy mob, you won’t get near her. They will have psychiatric reports - the works. You need someone now . Let me look through my files and see who I can find, eh? If she was placed at the scene, you’ll have something to work with. Hopefully, the boy will turn up alive. Until then, I would give her the sympathy vote, and hope against hope that she can be brought to court with a bit more than you have now.’
Kate was tired, she was also worried and her face looked older than usual. She had to find the child and fast.
‘I am going to interview Anderson again at five,’ she said. ‘All she seems to do is eat. And I mean eat. Christ knows what’s going through her mind. But I
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