Page 43 of Little Children (Detective Kim Stone #22)

Forty-Two

Having never visited the seaside resort before, Stacey was still trying to work out if she liked Blackpool or not.

She’d spent the last twenty minutes walking around armed with Google Maps and a few postcodes.

Her travels had taken her along a selection of back streets that had probably been thriving in the town’s heyday.

Empty properties still bore the signs of what had once been inside: markets, craft shops and cafés.

The last back street had spat her out on a long road that, according to Google, would lead her all the way to Coral Island, but she didn’t really want to go that far, just far enough to see with her own eyes where Lewis had disappeared from the view of the camera.

The bed and breakfast establishments on her right were gradually giving way to gift shops and knick-knack stores, chip shops and burger bars as she neared the centre.

The car park Lewis had crossed was coming into view, and now she began to pay attention. She saw from the sign that the space held over three hundred car parking spaces, and right now, at 10a.m., it was almost full.

She continued along the road, looking at the premises on her right and then over to the car park.

A sinking feeling grew in her stomach as she neared the spot on the pavement that lined up with where Lewis had stopped to chat with someone. So far, she hadn’t seen one camera on any of the nearby premises that would be any use to her.

She walked another fifty feet and guessed she was now probably level with the exact spot. Behind and to her left was a tiny café, no camera. Directly behind was a dry cleaner’s, no camera. To her right was a kebab shop…and in the top corner, above the sign, was a camera.

Please, please, please don’t be a dummy device , Stacey prayed as she knocked on the door. A light shining in the back of the premises told her that someone was there despite it not yet being open.

A dark-skinned male with an apron, a mop and a face full of irritation headed towards the door.

Stacey already had her identification in her hand.

‘Police,’ she said, choosing to omit mentioning the force she worked for.

He frowned at her.

She smiled. ‘You’re not in any trouble, but can I just have a quick word?’

‘Go head,’ he said, putting his mop against the door.

‘Is that a dummy?’ she asked, pointing up at the front of the shop.

‘Dummy?’ he asked, scratching his head.

‘Sorry, decoy, for show?’ she answered, trying to make herself clear.

He shook his head. ‘Is real.’

Her despondency got a swift kick of hope.

‘Do you have footage?’ she asked, not realising she was making signs with her hands which were probably confusing him more. ‘Video?’ she clarified.

He nodded and stepped aside.

Only then did Stacey realise her vulnerability in this situation.

She was in a strange town about to enter unknown premises with a man she had never met before.

The boss was always telling them to be aware of their surroundings, but as she spent most of her day at a desk, she didn’t always realise the potential for harm.

Seeing the hesitation on her face and understanding her predicament, the man handed her the keys that he was carrying.

She smiled her thanks before following him through to the back area. Stacked boxes forced her to move crab like through the space.

Beyond the storage area was a small kitchen full of old cabinets. The sink and food-prep area was spotless and seemed new, as did a floor-to-ceiling cabinet next to a freezer.

He made a motion with his hands, and she realised he wanted the keys.

She held them out.

He chose one and handed them back to her before pointing to the cabinet.

‘Thank you,’ she said, putting the key in the lock.

The cabinet opened to reveal a pull-out shelf holding a keyboard and a mouse. The shelf above held a flat-screen monitor, and on the floor was a hard drive. The whole setup looked reasonably new.

‘How many cameras?’ she asked, grabbing a chair.

He held up three fingers.

‘Back, shop, front,’ he said, pointing in various directions.

She fired up the hard drive before turning to the man again.

‘Do you know how long the recordings go back?’

He shook his head.

‘Why the one out front?’ Stacey asked.

‘My son, watches car, late night,’ he said, pointing again to the front.

Was there a chance the camera was positioned to watch the car park?

‘All good?’ he asked, heading out of the room.

She nodded. She was certainly beginning to hope so.