Page 83 of Little Children

Even Bryant could tell that Lewis was uncomfortable and eager to get away.

No one spoke.

‘And this is when he came back,’ she said, clicking on another clip.

They all watched in horror as Lewis was forcibly bundled into the van that hadn’t moved an inch.

‘Shit,’ Red said, straightening. ‘We were convinced that Lewis ran away.’

‘But why?’ Bryant asked.

‘Our own theory, constantly reinforced by the family,’ Carly answered, still looking at the screen as Stacey played it again.

‘Yeah, but why?’ Bryant asked. What did they have to gain?

Red seemed to allow that question to enter his brain before turning back to Stacey. ‘Is there more?’

Stacey nodded, and Bryant felt a rush of pride surge through him. As a team, they were dead lucky to have her.

‘Here’s tram footage before and after Noah crossed the road.’

She played both clips.

‘Same van,’ Adil noted.

‘Hang on, we can’t be totally sure of that,’ Red said. ‘It certainly looks similar, but?—’

‘It’s the same van,’ Adil said with confidence. ‘Go back to the second car-park clip,’ he instructed Stacey.

She did as she was told.

He pointed at the screen. ‘Rear left light is shining brighter than the right.’

It wasn’t something Bryant had noticed, but now it had been pointed out, it was unmistakeable. Stacey clearly hadn’t noted it either. She looked impressed.

‘Bring up the first tram footage,’ Adil said.

Stacey did so, and they all saw it immediately.

‘New bulb must have been fitted recently,’ Adil said. ‘Probably a different manufacturer. It burns slightly brighter.’

‘Bloody hell,’ Dickinson said. ‘What are we gonna do?’

‘What we always do,’ Red answered, taking off his jacket. ‘We go back to the beginning and talk to everyone we’ve interviewed. We ask them again about that night.’

He turned to Adil. ‘Gonk, I want you up and down both streets looking for more CCTV. Now we know what we’re looking for, we might find just one Ring camera to give us a partial plate.’ He paused. ‘Dickinson, I want you trying to track down anyone who was parked in Central car park that night. I’m talking staff members from the shops and arcades. Somebody might have seen something.’

‘I’ve studied the video, and I might be wrong, but I think the person talking to Lewis is a woman,’ Stacey offered.

Red didn’t agree or disagree. Carly was frowning, listening closely to something on the radio.

‘You may be right, so we know we’re definitely looking for two— Carly, turn that?—’

‘Sorry, boss, but it’s DI Crawford’s team. They’re heading out to make an arrest for the Jasmine Swift murder.’

Red’s face drained of all colour as he grabbed his jacket. ‘What the fuck is going on?’

Bryant was sure he saw dust rise from the floor as Red stormed out of the office.