Page 68 of Little Children (Detective Kim Stone #22)

Sixty-Seven

Kim acknowledged the deflation she felt as she headed back down to the squad room.

Without intending to, the chief had made her feel as though they’d achieved absolutely nothing, yet her head was full of the information they’d uncovered and put together.

‘Okay, folks, pack up,’ she said, closing the door behind her.

‘What?’ Penn said, and Stacey looked equally shocked.

‘The chief is standing us down. We’re a distraction and?—’

‘She said that?’ Stacey asked.

‘Pretty much. She accepts we’ve been of assistance with the missing boys, but we’ll call Red to come in for a handover and then we’ll be on our way.’

‘We really gonna leave this case?’ Penn asked, horrified. An expression mirrored on Stacey’s face.

‘Not a chance,’ Kim said, picturing Josh’s body. ‘We’re not leaving the case; we just can’t work it from here.’

‘What about Moss?’ Stacey asked. ‘We just gonna leave him to terrorise the public?’

‘Absolutely not, but I need Woody’s guidance on how we handle it from here. I can give him the whole story without compromising him as it’s not his team.’

They nodded their understanding.

‘Has Bryant gone for the world’s longest piss, or has he started heading home without us?’ she asked, looking around.

‘He went to make coffee,’ Penn said, checking his watch. ‘A good ten minutes ago actually.’

‘I just passed the kitchen and he wasn’t there,’ Kim said, feeling a pang of unease. None of them knew the station well enough or would be presumptuous enough to just wander around without authorisation.

‘Roy was here,’ Stacey offered. ‘I saw him on the phone, and then he ran out of here. Haven’t seen either of them since.’

‘Penn, go check the toilets. Stace, check with dispatch to see if they gave him an urgent call.’

They both spurred into action as she took out her mobile phone.