Page 85 of Little Children (Detective Kim Stone #22)

Eighty-Four

Kim stared at the coffee on the other side of the table, dreading the conversation she was about to have.

After arriving back home in the early hours of Friday morning, she’d spent the day tying up loose ends from the mammoth events of the previous few days.

Her first visit had been to Woody to fill in the details of the text message she’d sent on the way back from Blackpool.

His disbelief had given way to rage and disgust and eventually acceptance.

He’d congratulated her on an excellent job, even though part of the result was his former friend behind bars.

Red Butler sure had some sorting out to do. His later text message to thank her and the whole team only confirmed her opinion that she’d been wrong about him in the first place.

Although he hadn’t gone into detail, he had confirmed that the evidence found on Walker’s phone had been damning and would likely result in a plea deal.

He had taken no pleasure in arresting his boss.

He’d held a great deal of respect for her and had been somewhat relieved when he’d been able to hand her over to the custody officers.

News of her arrest hadn’t yet made the news, but it wouldn’t be long until both her name and reputation were ruined for good.

Kim had believed Red when he’d admitted he’d made a mistake with Jasmine. He had misread her gratitude for personal interest, and it wasn’t a mistake he was likely to make again.

Lewis and Noah had been returned to their families after making detailed statements.

Although it couldn’t be proven at this point, they were all sure that the pills mentioned by both boys had been steroids.

Whether they’d been meant to induce a higher level of aggression she wasn’t sure, but thankfully the short time they’d been subjected to the drugs wouldn’t cause any long-term health problems.

Once Lewis’s statement was complete, Kim had insisted on being the one to take him home.

Dressed in clothes much too big for him, he’d sat in the back of Bryant’s car, Kim next to him with a reassuring hand on his arm.

She’d felt his growing tension as they’d neared the house and understood it.

However desperate he was to see his family, a small part of him knew that they had been complicit in his abduction.

When he’d last been in this house, he’d been public enemy number one, a burden that no one wanted to carry.

Even though she’d assured him that Bobby was gone, she’d still sensed the anxiety running through him.

He was twelve years old, and he had a lot of big feelings to deal with.

‘They’ve missed you,’ she’d said, squeezing his arm.

She’d felt his hesitation as Bryant had pulled up, and yet once he’d seen Shirley throw open the front door, he’d fumbled the door handle in his haste to get out of the car.

Kim had watched them run towards each other and collide into a fierce embrace, both of them crying as Lewis buried his head deep into his mother’s shoulder.

Kevin had stood in the doorway, holding back his younger siblings, all eager to greet their brother, and Kim’s earlier doubt as to whether home was the right place for the boy had evaporated.

Despite what had happened, there was a lot of love in this family.

Though she’d enjoyed every second of the reunion, Kim hadn’t been able to stop herself thinking about Josh’s fate, and she just thanked God Lewis and Noah had been found in time.

‘Oi, come here, yer little shit,’ Kevin had called when Lewis came up for air.

Lewis had done as he was told, and his older brother had grabbed him hard, Shirley sobbing openly as she’d watched them.

Kim had stood beside her as Lewis bent down to hug the little ones.

‘He’s happy and relieved right now,’ Kim had advised. ‘But tomorrow or the next day he’s gonna be angry, hurt and disappointed. You’ve got to earn his trust back.’

Shirley had nodded. ‘I’ll do whatever it takes,’ she’d said, touching her arm. ‘I have him back thanks to you.’

‘Just look after him,’ Kim had replied. ‘And for God’s sake, get the kid some matches.’

Shirley had smiled as Kim had taken one last look at them all before heading back towards the car.

Her hand had been on the door handle when she’d felt a tap on her back.

She’d turned as Lewis had thrust his arms around her waist and hugged her hard.

‘Thank you,’ he’d whispered against her shoulder.

Kim had swallowed down the emotion constricting her throat. ‘And thank you too,’ she’d said, kissing the top of his head.

She was pleased to learn that Kevin and his mum had already packed up all Bobby’s belongings. Their family looked different now, but she had no doubt that they’d manage somehow.

Bobby Stevens had already been arrested for obstruction, and Kim knew that Red was talking to CPS with a view to applying child trafficking charges to ensure a prison term.

In addition, he was having his team look closer at the burglary which had brought the family to their attention in the first place.

They all felt Bobby had arranged it, and Red was determined to make the man pay for his crimes.

Red’s intention with regard to Shirley remained unclear and was between him and the Crown Prosecution Service, but Kim hoped they’d feel that she’d suffered enough.

She knew the woman would spend the rest of her life making things right with Lewis.

Red had informed her that Noah’s mother had refused to let her son out of her embrace for a good twenty minutes.

The parents of the other four boys she’d rescued had been traced to other police territories, one as far away as Dumfries. All of the boys recovered were now safely back home, and a task force had been assembled to track down the rest of the operation.

It gnawed at her heart that there were still boys out there not yet discovered, but she trusted that every effort would be made to bring each one of them home safely.

By far her hardest conversation of the day had been with Josh’s mum, who had just collected her wife from the hospital.

No one had uttered a word as she’d explained what had happened to their son in the years since they’d lost him.

She’d tried to keep the graphic details out of her account, but she couldn’t be responsible for the horrors their own imaginations would insert.

They weren’t going to heal overnight, but the process could now begin.

And after she’d shared all the horrific details, the family had thanked her. They had fucking thanked her. She had left their home fighting a wave of emotion.

Her most recent update from Red had been to inform her that after obtaining a search warrant for Roderick Skidmore’s property, they’d broken into the basement the cleaner had told them about.

They’d discovered a dedicated computer room where they’d found links to the website for the fighting league and more than forty thousand indecent images.

Red also had a lead on the paedophile’s property in Thailand, and with luck it wouldn’t be too long before the man was back behind bars.

She was pleased to see that Red was proving himself to be one of the good guys.

When they’d arrived in Blackpool at the beginning of the week, none of them had known what they were going to find with the home team.

At different points, it had appeared that every one of them was corrupt.

She’d even suspected her fellow detective inspector of murder and collusion, to find that in reality, he’d become complacent and lazy.

His energy and motivation had now been reignited and was trickling down to his officers.

They seemed to have been electrified into action as she’d bid them goodbye.

She felt that Red now knew he had to cultivate a deeper feeling of trust within his team.

Adil had held valuable information on Roy but hadn’t trusted his boss enough to share it.

Who knew what might have been prevented if he had?

But she’d been pleased to hear Red addressing the young officer by his first name instead of his nickname as she’d headed out the door.

The sour taste had still not left her mouth at the thought of Miranda Walker.

She had respected, even admired the woman who’d headed up the north-east part of the illegal fight network.

She’d identified with the woman’s past: her childhood in and out of the care system; her struggle to survive and even excel in the police force; her determination to succeed despite the system’s unspoken bias.

She had overcome it all, and for no other reason than to feather her own nest. Walker was hiding behind her solicitor, so there were no further details on how long she’d been a part of the fighting ring or how it had been established, but Kim hoped that both the criminal investigation and the internal review would eventually give them all the answers they needed.

She was sure this case would leave a mark on all of them, not least her friend Bryant.

She’d never tell him so, but she’d never met a more decent man in her life.

He wasn’t unaware about corruption in the police force or na?ve about life in general, and he hadn’t baulked at the task of befriending one of the most despicable and cruel men they’d ever had the misfortune to meet.

She wasn’t sure anyone would ever understand the enormity of that achievement when all he’d wanted to do was beat the man to a pulp.

But Bryant was aware that without that pretence at friendship, without that time spent together, it was possible that they’d never have joined the dots between the photo on Moss’s phone and the photos taken by the forensic team.

Bryant’s sacrifice would ensure the man remained behind bars for the rest of his life.

And for that Kim had granted him one last wish before they’d left Blackpool.

With her watching from the car, he’d knocked on Pippa Jacobs’s door and assured her that she no longer had anything to fear. The woman had all but collapsed with relief before thanking him profusely.

The look of satisfaction on Bryant’s face had accompanied him all the way home, and to a long weekend with Jenny.

Roy Moss’s continued silence while hiding behind his lawyer meant they might never know how or why he’d chosen Jasmine Swift as his second victim, but she hoped they’d receive an update from Red sometime in the future.

That left only her own unfinished business. This conversation was long overdue. It was a tough one, but she could avoid it no longer, she thought as the door to the café opened.

Frost offered a wide smile and a wave as she approached. Kim’s heart sank. Clearly her full memories hadn’t returned while Kim had been away.

‘Hey, buddy,’ Frost said, leaning in for a hug.

Hell no , Kim thought, turning sideways to indicate that a cuppa was awaiting her.

Frost sat and placed her handbag on the spare seat.

‘How’ve you been, pardner?’ Frost asked in an awful cowboy voice.

Damn, she’d rehearsed this so many times in her head, but now the words had deserted her. She resolved that she wasn’t leaving this table until Frost knew the truth.

‘Hey, I’m glad you called, Kim,’ Frost said, filling the silence. ‘There’s a new eatery opened in Sedgley. I’d love to try it. Wanna go?’

Even her first name sounded weird coming out of the woman’s mouth.

‘Listen, Frost, we need to talk.’

‘What’s with the surname?’ she asked, frowning. ‘Since when was I not Tracy?’

Kim groaned inside. How the hell was she supposed to do this to a woman whose brain had not yet recovered?

She was given another minute’s reprieve as the reporter continued to talk.

‘You know something, Kim, I don’t think I’ve ever properly explained to you how it felt having you beside me when I came out of that coma.

I felt safe. I really thought I was going to die, but I remember hearing your voice and it was like I was being pulled back from the edge.

I knew my friend needed me, and I had to come back, for your sake. ’

Kim’s leg began to twitch beneath the table. She felt like the worst person on earth for what she was about to do, but surely it was crueller to let her believe they were best friends?

Frost continued. ‘Every day I’m so grateful that you were there for me, holding my hand, reaching into the darkness to pull me out. That’s the sign of a true?—’

‘Frost, we’re not friends,’ Kim blurted out.

‘Wh…what?’

‘I’m sorry, but I have to tell you the truth. We can barely tolerate each other. Your brain isn’t fully recovered yet, but we’ve never been for a drink, swapped recipes or exchanged memes. I’m glad you’re on the road to recovery, but you have to know that we’re not best buddies, and we never were.’

Kim waited to see the hurt on Frost’s face, the confusion at the tricks of her memory, the embarrassment at her assumption.

She saw none of those things. Instead, what appeared was a genuine, honest smile filled with unashamed amusement.

‘Bloody hell, Stone. You took your fecking time.’

Kim’s mouth fell open at the level of subterfuge employed by the reporter. But as she joined in the laughter, she had to admit that, on this occasion, Frost had got her pretty damn good.