Page 8 of Little Children (Detective Kim Stone #22)

Seven

‘Okay, first impressions?’ Kim asked once she was back in the office they’d been assigned.

She’d grabbed a display board and pulled it in front of a couple of the glass wall panels to give them some measure of privacy, even though the squad room next door was now empty except for the officer they called Gonk.

‘I’ve had first contact,’ Bryant said. ‘Tyrannosaurus Roy cornered me in the kitchen.’

‘And?’ Kim asked.

‘He doesn’t like you very much.’

‘Gutted. Anything else?’

‘He’s a racist, misogynistic piece of shit.’

‘Splendid,’ Stacey muttered under her breath, echoing Kim’s own thoughts.

She was pretty sure the constable had endured dinosaurs like Roy Moss before, but that didn’t make it okay. Kim couldn’t protect her from the man’s thoughts, but his actions were another matter.

‘Stace, you let me know if he…’

‘Will do, boss.’

‘Any other observations?’

‘The others don’t even want to look at us,’ Penn offered. ‘I’ve tried to catch their eyes, but they just look away.’

‘No fraternising with the enemy,’ Kim noted.

‘Okay, on to priorities. The chief is equally keen to find out who reported the misconduct, so she can make sure they’re not in any danger, and also to learn whether any of them is actually up to no good.

’ She turned to Bryant. ‘I think you’ve got the best chance of finding out about anything shifty, so make Roy your new best friend. ’

He grimaced and nodded at the same time.

‘Penn, Stace, any opportunity you see to engage with any of the others, take it. But before anything else, we’ve got two missing boys, and our brief is to focus on the first case.

The local team will continue to investigate the disappearance of Noah last night, and we’ll be concentrating on twelve-year-old Lewis. ’

She waited for the groans to pass. They all knew this entailed going over someone else’s work, treading old ground and unlikely to find anything new.

‘Bryant and I will be talking to family and friends.’

‘Got all the addresses ready, boss,’ Stacey said.

‘Penn, I want you combing through statements. Is there anyone not spoken to that needs attention?’

‘On it, boss.’

‘Stace, you’re on CCTV review.’

She nodded.

Both Kim and Bryant reached for their coats.

Kim’s gaze rested on the officer in the corner of the squad room.

‘And by the time I get back can someone find out that kid’s name?’