Page 82 of Little Children

Red glared back. ‘And once you’re done with the handover to Crawford, get off home. I don’t want to see you again today.’

Both his face and his demeanour brooked no argument.

Roy almost knocked over Dickinson and Adil as they walked in the door. They looked to Red for some kind of explanation, while Bryant glanced at Stacey, who was working hard to keep the amusement out of her face.

Finally realising he wasn’t alone, Red looked their way as Carly re-entered the room with a full tray of drinks. She set one down on Roy’s desk even though he was no longer there.

‘Sorry you had to witness that,’ Red said.

‘No problem,’ Bryant said, waving his hand. ‘Understandable. Roy said it was someone you both knew. Kinda hinted you especially,’ he added to gauge Red’s reaction.

Stacey kept a good poker face, even though she didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. He hadn’t yet had a chance to update her on the identity of the victim.

‘Jasmine was a target of a burglary some time back,’ Red said as a flush began to creep up his neck. ‘I knew her no better than Roy, but you’re right that it hits harder if it’s someone you’ve met.’

‘Of course. Any clue who…?’

‘As I told Roy, it’s not our case. We’re not going down that rabbit hole.’

‘Roy seemed to think the ex-boyfriend looked good for it,’ Bryant said, not willing to let him off the hook that easy. According to Jasmine, the man in front of him had crossed a line and paid her way more attention than he should have.

Red frowned and started to tense up a bit.

‘Didn’t seem like the sort to me, but…’ Bryant said, shrugging.

‘How would you know anything about Justin?’ Red asked.

‘Sorry, my mistake. I thought Roy had let you know that we paid a quick visit to the guy to tell him about Jasmine,’ he said, throwing Roy under the bus and driving over him.

‘Jesus Christ,’ Red said, rubbing his hand through his hair.

Bryant shrugged again, deciding to keep the morgue visit to himself for now. ‘I’m sure he’ll update the SIO with everything when he gets there.’

Red looked as though he wanted to shout some more, but the object of his rage was no longer in the room.

The man visibly composed himself before speaking again.

‘Okay, back to our own case.’

‘Cases,’ Stacey interrupted.

Red rolled his eyes. ‘Not that again.’

Even Bryant wondered where Stacey was going with that claim. These folks were determined to believe that Lewis was not connected to Noah.

‘I’ve got proof.’

Carly groaned. Dickinson folded his arms. Adil sat up straighter, and Red took a seat at Roy’s desk.

‘There’s a camera,’ Stacey said. ‘Opposite the car park, above a kebab shop. It captured Lewis being physically bundled into a van.’

‘What?’ they all said together, including Bryant. He’d had no chance to catch up with Stacey since returning.

If what she said was true, she’d had a much more productive day than he’d had.

‘Here,’ she said as every team member came to stand behind her.

‘There’s Lewis talking to someone before going into the arcade,’ she said, playing a video that lasted a few minutes.