Page 83 of Little Children (Detective Kim Stone #22)

Eighty-Two

Stacey was just gathering up everyone’s coffee mugs as Iris entered the squad room, pulling her vacuum cleaner behind her.

‘Late tonight, Iris,’ Stacey said, passing her on the way to the kitchen.

‘It’s my anniversary, so I changed my shift,’ she said, switching on the vacuum cleaner and preventing Stacey from striking up any further conversation.

She washed out the mugs, her mind playing over the events of the night. Once the fight venue had emptied, there had been nothing more for her and Steve Ashworth to do.

The reporter had been helpful, and between the two of them and Adil, they’d managed to record the registration number of every vehicle leaving the venue.

They had been surprised at the number of luxury car models they’d seen, indicating that this was a lucrative sport that attracted many wealthy spectators.

Ashworth had offered to drive her and Adil back to Blackpool station, and with no further instructions she had accepted.

She’d expected the drive back to be uncomfortable, given that he’d been trying to destroy her boss’s reputation.

In truth, he’d been a pleasant travelling companion, who, after admitting he’d been wrong about her boss, had regaled her with funny stories about some of the minor celebrities he’d dealt with over the years.

She realised that he hadn’t been the only one to have made a mistake.

He’d dropped them at the station after giving his assurances that he wouldn’t divulge any details of the unofficial operation. He would now focus on assisting the police to uncover and expose the rest of the fighting ring and return every other boy to his family. She had believed him.

Adil had headed home to await instructions from Red, and she had mounted the stairs back into the office.

At that point, she’d received a call from Penn, giving her a full update.

Six young boys were now safe and would never be forced to fight again.

No calls had yet been made, but Stacey felt a rush of pleasure that six families were about to get an early Christmas present.

She’d also been told that the boss had rushed off somewhere, leaving Bryant and Penn at the scene.

She had no doubt that someone would collect her once they could safely head for home.

In the meantime, she’d finish off her statement and call Devon.

When she returned to the squad room, Iris had stopped vacuuming and was now flicking her trusty duster around the desks.

The woman was humming, a smile on her face.

‘It was you,’ Stacey said, moving towards her.

‘What’s that now?’ Iris asked. Her forehead should have been more furrowed if Stacey was going to buy her confusion.

‘You left the list of names under my keyboard.’

Iris shrugged. ‘Don’t know what?—’

‘You’re invisible, Iris,’ Stacey said, sitting on the edge of Roy’s desk. ‘You hear things, you see things, but no one notices you.’ Stacey paused as the full picture came to her. ‘The tip-offs were you too. You called the anonymous line to complain about inappropriate behaviour, didn’t you?’

Iris shook her head and carried on dusting.

‘You know what went on here today?’ Stacey asked, tapping the desk she was sitting on.

‘I’ve heard rumours.’

‘Then you should understand that we’d never have known what a truly despicable character Roy Moss is without those names, and we’d never have been brought in at all if it wasn’t for those anonymous calls.’

Stacey paused again. Iris stopped dusting.

‘You should also know that Roy Moss will never get the chance to hurt anyone again.’

‘Thank God,’ Iris said under her breath. For the first time, she met Stacey’s gaze properly. ‘I could lose my job. I’ve signed stuff, and if anyone ever thought?—’

‘The thing about theories is that without any proof it’s best just left in your head,’ Stacey said, having already decided she’d keep this information to herself. Even the rest of her team didn’t need to know. Roy Moss was safely behind bars and would never taste freedom again.

Before placing the knowledge in a sealed vault in her mind, there was just one more thing she wanted to say.

‘Iris, thank you for trusting us to do the right thing.’

The woman smiled and continued to go about her business.