Page 20 of Little Children

Maybe the Stevenses had thought that the first day, but they still seemed stuck on that belief ten days down the line.

Kim thanked the couple before heading back to the car.

Why was everyone so happy to believe the kid had just run away?

Her thoughts were stuck on a twelve-year-old boy who was clearly unhappy with something, and who seemed to find no joy either at home or school.

That was a situation she’d encountered many times during her career when dealing with missing children, but in Lewis’s case, she was experiencing one new element. This twelve-year-old boy had vanished into thin air and not one person appeared to be bothered to look for him.

Twelve

Penn glanced into the squad room next door and lowered his voice before he spoke.

‘You know when you get a certain feeling starting to build inside, but you’re really trying to fight it?’

‘Penn, we’ve had this conversation. I’m married.’

‘Yeah, tough for me. And stop picking at that plaster.’

‘What’s the feeling?’ Stacey asked, finally leaving the Band-Aid alone.

‘That so far this team seem to be doing a shit job.’

Stacey also glanced towards Adil before nodding.

To Penn, it was like speaking ill of the dead. You never wanted to think other officers were not up to doing the work.

‘I mean, is it us?’ he went on.

‘Dunno,’ Stacey answered. ‘I’ve been wondering the same thing. All I know is that every day we’re pushed by the boss to question everything. We’re told once you think you can’t go any further, dig deeper, go wider, think differently. I’m not seeing that here, at the minute.’

He appreciated the qualifier she put at the end of the sentence. It gave him hope that he might see flashes of brilliance, a measure of creativity, some passion to bring this boy home.

‘How are the statements?’ Stacey asked.

‘As thin as my mum’s pancakes,’ he said honestly.

‘But there are loads.’

‘Oh yeah, but few that are useful. Wanna guess how many of his classmates were spoken to?’

‘All of them?’ Stacey asked.

‘Three,’ he answered.

Stacey’s frown deepened, and he knew what she was thinking. You had to speak to them all. Some kids got scared and wouldn’t volunteer information.

‘And how many teachers, do you reckon?’ he asked.

‘Everyone who taught him, and the headteacher, and maybe even the dinner ladies, if they have them, cos they always know everything.’

‘Two,’ Penn answered. ‘His form tutor and his English teacher. Definitely no dinner ladies.’

‘Jeez,’ Stacey said.

‘Oh, it gets better. Seven of the statements mention a man called Roderick Skidmore, but guess who there isn’t a statement from?’

‘Roderick Skidmore,’ Stacey answered.