Page 104 of Little Children

Mister was no longer shouting instructions. Lewis was breathless with exertion, but his fists continued to drive into the animal’s flesh because mostly he pictured his own face on the head of the pig.

Why hadn’t he listened to his brother? Kevin had tried to protect him. He’d told him what to do, and his own pride and hurt had stopped him from doing what his brother had begged of him.

Despite everything, he loved his mother and Kevin and the little ones. He missed them and would give anything to be back home with them all. And yet, he had the feeling he was never going to see any of them again.

He was pleased he had his back to Mister so the man couldn’t see the tears that began to roll down his face.

Sixty-Five

Kim parted ways with Bryant at the bottom of the stairs. He headed back to the squad room while she headed up to see the chief. In hindsight, she should have checked in and updated the DCI on their current progress, but the reporting lines between herself and Red up the chain were a little blurred.

Even though her head was swimming with suspicions and theories, she still didn’t have enough to make anything substantial stick against any of the officers, and she was no closer to identifying the member or members of the team who had made a complaint. This was probably going to be a short conversation.

‘Come in,’ DCI Walker called out when Kim knocked the door.

‘Good to have you back,’ the chief said as Kim closed the door behind her.

‘Yeah, sorry I didn’t brief you on my return,’ Kim said.

Walker pointed to the seat, indicating Kim should sit. ‘It’s okay. I assumed that if you had anything of consequence to share with me, you’d have made the time.’

‘We’re making progress, marm.’

‘Care to offer me an update now?’

‘We’ve confirmed that both boys were abducted and very likely by the same group. We also believe?—’

‘You can skip that part,’ Walker said, holding up her hand. ‘DI Butler has been keeping me up to date on Noah and Lewis, and it sounds like great work from both teams.’

Kim wasn’t sure of the accuracy of that statement, but she wasn’t here to offer a performance evaluation on the working practices of the Blackpool team. If so, she could have written a novel.

‘And the other area of your secondment?’ Walker asked, tipping her head.

‘There are issues within the team, marm,’ Kim said. They knew that Carly Walsh had used unacceptable force on a suspect. They knew that DI Butler had been inappropriate with a woman who was now dead, and they knew Roy Moss was breaking just about every rule in the book.

She also knew they had no proof to offer that the chief could do anything with.

‘Would you like to share your findings with me?’

‘Not right now, marm, because I can’t give you anything you can use. But I hope to have something soon.’

It looked as though the chief wanted to push further, but she knew that Kim spoke the truth. Accusation and allegations without evidence were like poison darts.

‘And the informant?’ Walker asked, raising the third reason they’d been asked to assist.

Regretfully, Kim shook her head. ‘We haven’t identified any obvious source.’

Walker nodded her understanding.

‘As a believer of gut reactions, I’m interested in your instinct, Inspector. Do you feel that the complaints came from within the team? Do you feel that any of my officers are in danger?’

Kim thought long and hard before shaking her head. ‘I’ve seen nothing to suggest it.’

‘Okay. Thank you for your observations. On that note, I think it’s time for your team to take your leave and return to your own case.’

Kim didn’t hide her surprise. ‘But we’re making progress on both the investigation and the internal concerns.’

Walker offered her a smile. ‘Unfortunately, I think your presence here is causing a distraction. I still have two missing boys and now a rape–murder case. I need my whole team completely focussed on these active investigations.’