Page 52 of Little Children (Detective Kim Stone #22)

Fifty-One

The first thing Bryant noticed upon entering the squad room was that Red was back.

The second thing he noticed was the state of him.

His whole body was transmitting tension like sonar. His face was pinched and flushed, and his gaze was aimed squarely at Moss.

‘What the fuck did you think you were doing, Roy?’

Moss appeared to be unperturbed as he took his seat.

Bryant slid into the chair beside Stacey as Walsh headed their way.

‘Wanna sort some drinks?’ she asked in a blatant attempt to give the two men privacy.

‘Nah, I’m good thanks,’ Bryant replied as Stacey shook her head.

Red had his own office, and if he couldn’t be arsed to act in a professional manner and take the man out of earshot, Bryant was totally here for it.

If it had been any other member of the team, Bryant would have followed Walsh’s respectful lead, but it didn’t look like Red was going to notice either way.

Bryant stretched out his legs and folded his arms.

‘Do you wanna fucking explain?’ Red shouted.

Roy shrugged. ‘We got the call. How was I to know it hadn’t come through you?’

‘Because then I’d have fucking called. I told you we’d likely get a call, and you should have referred it back to me instead of taking it upon yourself to attend the crime scene.’

‘You’re busy,’ Roy said, showing no embarrassment at being bollocked in full view.

‘Not too busy to decide which cases my team members are working.’

‘Sorry, I just assumed the instruction had come via dispatch from you, and that you’d tasked me to attend. I think it’s dispatch that fucked up. All I did was?—’

‘What you did was offer first response on a case you can’t continue to work, putting the SIO at a fucking disadvantage before they’ve even started.’

‘Come on, Red – a body trumps any missing?—’

‘Not when it’s a kid we’re still hoping to find alive.’

Bryant seriously wished he’d got a bag of popcorn for this show.

‘I ain’t bailing you out of this one, Roy. You fucked up, so you’d best get over to DI Crawford and explain your actions.’

‘She got the case?’ Roy asked in disgust.

‘Yeah, and she’s already behind the ball thanks to you. Go tell her what you did minute by minute, and don’t be surprised if she bawls you out as well.’

For the first time, Roy looked uncomfortable with the conversation.

Bryant was willing to bet it was because he now had to explain himself to a woman of all things. And a woman who held a more senior rank than he did.

Roy pushed back his chair with force and glowered at his boss.

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.

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.

An arrest for Jasmine Swift, so soon? He was definitely wondering about that, although that wasn’t the question foremost in his mind.

Two pre-teen boys had been bundled into the same van within ten days.

His biggest question was why?