by GS Rhodes
“I’m sure they’ve not given up,” Zoe said. “They’re probably following any lines of enquiry that they have, trying to track his last movements. There would have been CCTV covering the areas where you were near the stadium, I’m sure, and they will be scouring through all of that. Those things take time.” Zoe took a breath. She wanted to help Cherise. At least, she wanted to go and talk to that woman so they could at least put her mind at rest. “Can you give me the details of the woman Eric was having the affair with?” she asked.
Cherise looked up, her eyes wide, glassy, surprised. “You believe me?”
“I believe that it’s worth looking into,” Zoe replied. “We’re going to look at this in line with our other case, okay? We’ll do everything we can.”
Cherise started to cry again, tears rolling down her cheeks and cascading off her chin. But she was smiling, or at least starting to. DS Sanchez had given her a glimmer of hope. Where the other officers had let her down, Zoe and Janya had stepped in to follow the line of enquiry. If nothing else, it would put Cherise’s mind at rest if Brody wasn’t found there. It was enough, at least for now.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kidd’s phone started to ring as he made his way across Kingston Bridge. He’d half expected it to say UNKNOWN NUMBER again and be Craig asking something else. But instead, he was greeted with WEAVER across the front. In a lot of ways, that was worse.
“Boss?” Kidd said as he answered the phone.
“We’ve organised for this afternoon,” Weaver said, his heavy Scottish accent booming through the car.
“Brilliant,” Kidd said. Maybe he would be able to have a chat with Daniel after the appeal. It might not be the best time, sure, but maybe he would be able to find out where it was he had really been going when he was supposed to be in those meetings. “I’d like to have a word with Daniel, if that’s okay? Maybe after, as it may be a bit sensitive.”
“‘Fraid that’s not going to happen Kidd,” Weaver grumbled. “The husband has had to go back to work.”
“You’re fucking kidding,” Kidd growled. He wondered if Campbell had managed to come up with anything while he’d been gone.
“I wish,” Weaver replied. “A pretty heated conversation was happening while I was still on the line. She’s…she’s not happy with him not being there, said something about how he works too much, they can do without him for a day and such.”
“Right, right,” Kidd said, pinching the bridge of his nose. This guy really was a piece of work. Maybe it wasn’t that he was responsible for any of this at all, maybe it was just that he was a fucking asshole.
“What was it you wanted to speak to him about?” Weaver asked.
“I was wondering about his whereabouts, that’s all,” Kidd said.
“Did you not get that from his work?”
“I did,” Kidd replied. “But Campbell did a little bit of digging and found out that he wasn’t where he said he’d been. I wondered if he might be able to confirm that.”
“Maybe pay the office a visit a little later,” Weaver said. “Can’t hurt to drop by and ask him there. Don’t make a scene though.”
“Would I?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?” Weaver replied.
“What time is Rachel getting there?”
“She should be down in the next half-hour,” Weaver said. “How close are you?”
“Round the corner boss,” Kidd said.
Kidd pulled into Kingston station, a few more vehicles present than there had been when he’d left a short while ago. People were already getting themselves set up, getting ready for the press conference. Kidd really did hate them with a burning passion, just thinking about having to be in there and having to face those journalists was making him sweat.
It wasn’t that they were all vultures, it’s just that they were often out here looking for a story. And a story about a police officer being shit at their job is going to get way more clicks and reactions than one about a police officer actually doing good. There would be a few journos in there who would be really keen on catching him and his team out.
Kidd headed into Weaver’s office, startling the man behind his desk.
“Almost gave me a bloody heart attack,” Weaver grumbled. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were around the corner.”
“Nothing to kid about sir, got to get moving on this, right?” Kidd said. “What’s the plan for this then?”
Weaver nodded, gesturing to the chair across from him. “When Rachel gets here, we’ll brief her about this as well. We want her to feel comfortable so we won’t be letting the journalists ask any questions, no matter how hard they try. The important thing to do here, is to keep her protected.”
Kidd had seen how journalists had treated victims in the past. Strangely, it would end up looking worse on the force if they didn’t do everything that they could to keep Rachel protected in all this. The last thing she would want is some asshat from a national rag banging on her door, hounding her for questions.
“I’ll do a brief introduction, then you, as the investigation officer, will brief them about the case,” Weaver said. “After that, you’ll hand it over to Rachel and she will say her piece.”
“Does she know what she’s going to say?”
“We’re going to help her with that when she gets here.” Weaver sat back in his chair, running a hand across his face. He looked troubled.
“What’s up, boss?” he asked. Kidd could probably guess, but wanted to give Weaver a chance to vent.
“Missing children,” Weaver replied. “It always brings out the worst in the press and puts heaps of pressure on us. I’ve seen one too many of these go wrong in my time, Kidd.”
“I know, sir, me too,” Kidd said. “We’re doing our best.”
“Did you get anything from the other statement?”
Kidd shook his head. “All we really got was confirmation that Daniel Walters is an ass.”
Weaver’s brow knitted together. “How’s that now?”
“Well, there was the not answering his phone part when it all kicked off, of course,” Kidd said. “But I heard a bit of a heated discussion while I was at their house this morning. They’re not playing happy families just now.”
“And that makes him an asshole?”
“No, the fact that he’s hitting on his wife’s friends makes him an asshole,” Kidd said. “Found that out from Vicky this morning.”
“So you think he’s a cheat to go with it?”
Kidd shrugged.
“Not sure,” he said. “If he happens to be, it will come out eventually. These things usually do.”
Weaver nodded.
“Secrets can’t stay hidden for long,” he said, his voice like a roll of thunder.
Kidd knew that, he knew that all too well.
◆◆◆
They had packed the waiting journalists in the conference room. It was large, airy, enough space for them all to spread out, though they seemed to prefer being on top of one another and fighting for oxygen. Each to their own.
Rachel had arrived not too long after Kidd had spoken with Weaver. To say she was nervous would be something of an understatement. Kidd couldn’t blame her, of course, she was about to be put out on national TV, begging for information. Even if it was something she wanted to do, something that might help them track down her daughter, it was still a nerve-wracking position to be in. And certainly not one any parent imagines they will find themselves in.
“If it gets too much, we can stop,” Kidd said to her as they waited outside the room. The inside of the room was already getting a little noisy. When he’d seen the press filing in, there had been quite a few people that he’d recognised, people he certainly wasn’t all too happy to see again. “Honestly,” he added because Rachel didn’t look so sure. “I don’t want you doing anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath, picking at the skin around her fingernails as they w
aited.
“I wish…” She shook her head. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”
“What?” Kidd asked.
“I just wish Daniel was here,” she said. “I know it doesn’t make a difference, not really, but if he was here I—”
The door opened behind them, a wave of noise flowing out with it. Voices clamouring for attention, bodies shifting to get in the best position for their photos. The show was about to begin. Weaver poked his head out of the gap.
“They’re ready for you both,” he said quickly before heading back inside.
“You alright?” Kidd asked Rachel. She really was shaking quite violently now.
She shook her head.
“Not really,” she replied, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “But needs must, eh? If it gets my…” She wavered, her voice wobbling. “If it gets my Maggie back.”
Kidd nodded and the two walked inside.
It was like an eruption as they stepped into the room, people getting to their feet, cameras flashing as they walked across the podium to the chairs behind a long table, the Met Police logo on boards behind them. Kidd took a seat to one side, next to where Weaver was already stationed, Rachel taking the seat in the middle.
A FLO, Caitlyn Jones, someone Kidd had worked with many times before, was stationed by the door. She was ready to pounce if anyone stepped out of line, ready to protect Rachel.
“Good afternoon,” Kidd started. “Please, if we could all take our seats. Thank you.” It wasn’t a request. They did as they were told. “My name is Detective Inspector Benjamin Kidd, I am leading this case investigating the disappearance of Maggie Walters.” He filled them in on the details of the case, several of them furiously taking notes as he went, others with voice recorders or iPhones pointed towards him as he spoke. It wasn’t a lot, it was enough for them to print, enough for them to certainly form some opinion about.
“Before we go to questions, I would just like to hand it over to Mrs Walters,” Kidd said.
Rachel had gone ghostly white. She looked fragile, like a house of cards that could topple over at any moment. On the table in front of her, she had clasped her hands together to stop herself from shaking. She stared down at them, taking a few deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.
It seemed to be enough to steady her, at least momentarily. She looked up, her eyes a little glassy, and started to speak.
“I don’t know who will be listening to this,” she said. “I doubt it will be my little Maggie, but it might be the person who took her from me, or maybe someone who saw her when she was being taken, or someone who’s seen her recently, I…” she trailed off, quickly righting herself. “But I want to say that my husband and I are utterly heartbroken by this. Even as I sit here, it is tearing me apart.”
Kidd saw Caitlyn stand up a little straighter, no longer leaning on the wall, ready to jump into action if she needed to.
“If anyone has seen anything of her, I’m sure there are pictures posted everywhere on Facebook and Twitter and such, we’ve posted pictures of her everywhere we can think of, but if you’ve seen her, or think you’ve seen her, I’m begging you—” She sniffed, turning her gaze skyward as if she could stop the tears from coming. But she couldn’t, they rolled down her face anyway. Somehow she managed to keep her voice even. “I am begging you to come forward and say something, no matter how small. I…I don’t know what I will do without my little girl. Please. Please help us.
“She went missing wearing a bright blue coat,” Rachel continued. “She’s wearing it in every picture we’ve posted of her. It’s distinctive, you can’t really miss it. If you think you’ve seen it, please help us.” She took a beat, steadying herself. “And if you’re the person who has done this, and you’re seeing this. You have broken me, and you have broken my family. Please, I am begging you, please give me back my daughter.” A breath shuddered out of her as she leaned back in her chair. “Thank you for listening.”
Kidd checked to make sure she had finished and turned to the waiting crowd of reporters. There was a swell as they all tried to get in their questions first. Caitlyn hurried across to usher Rachel off the podium, Kidd quietly thanked Rachel as she left the room.
Kidd pointed to an Asian woman in the front row in a pristine blue suit. She seemed to be the only one who was patiently waiting to be called upon rather than causing a scene.
“Hello, thank you,” she said, sitting up a little straighter, moving her long, black hair over her shoulder as she locked eyes with the DI. “Maggie went missing yesterday afternoon,” she started. “Why has it taken you so long to get started on looking for her?”
Kidd blinked. “We started working on the case as soon as we arrived this morning,” he said. “Prior to that, the officers that arrived on the scene were taking statements and the forensics team had already begun searching the river. It was assigned to me this morning, we started work on it as quickly as we could.”
“And have you started to investigate Peter West yet?” the woman asked.
“Peter West?” Kidd repeated.
“He was spotted around the Richmond area a couple of weeks ago.” The reporter was smiling at him snakelike, because she thought she’d managed to catch him out. She wasn’t far wrong. Kidd didn’t think that anybody else was aware of Peter West being released from prison. “He has a history of child kidnappings, doesn’t he?”
“It was a case that he was convicted of some five years ago,” Kidd said. “He is on our radar as a potential suspect. We are looking into it as quickly as we can.”
“But will that be quick enough to find her?” the woman asked before Kidd could move on to someone else.
“We’ll have to hope so,” Kidd said, quickly turning his attention to a different reporter. Hope was all they had at this stage. He needed to get that update from Sanchez and he needed to get it now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It didn’t take too much longer for Weaver to jump in and shut down the rest of the press conference. After the question had come up about Peter West, that seemed to be all that the press were interested in. That reporter had managed to light a fire amongst the journalists with her little stunt. That would be what they would lead with and it was enough to put heaps of pressure on Kidd and the rest of his team.
Kidd was glad for it to be over and could feel his shirt sticking to his back as the journalists got up and left.
Campbell slid through the door, skirting around the journalists and up to the table where Kidd was still sitting, trying to pull himself back together.
“Caitlyn wanted me to let you know that she’s taken Rachel home,” he said quietly. “She…she wasn’t really feeling up to much after that.”
Kidd nodded.
“Understandable,” he said. “Did she seem okay?”
Campbell shook his head.
“Worried out of her mind, boss,” he said. “I think the Peter West stuff probably panicked her as well. But her child is missing, so that’s not exactly a surprise, you know?”
Kidd nodded. It was silly, but he’d been hoping she wouldn’t see the rest of the press conference while she was here. Give her time to come down from the adrenaline of speaking to the press, first. Not have to hear about a monster who was running loose, whether he’d been released for good behaviour or not.
“Very good,” he said. “Zoe and Janya back yet?”
“They got back partway through,” Campbell said. “Coffee?”
“Could murder one,” he said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Kidd got up from the table and turned his attention to DCI Weaver. The redness in his face had not yet faded away. His dislike for journalists seemed to be a little more intense than Kidd’s, and Kidd’s was pretty potent.
“All good, sir?” Kidd said.
Weaver nodded.
“Vultures,” he growled. “They really wanted to string us up.”
“What else is new?” Kidd said.
Weaver looked back out the wind
ow, out onto a view of the river that ran alongside the station. He seemed distracted.
Kidd had noticed it over the past few days, something being a little bit off with his boss. He’d tried to bring it up with him, but it hadn’t gone down all that well. Even after he’d managed to convince the man that he meant well and was there if he ever wanted to talk, he wasn’t sure if he would ever take him up on the offer. Kidd didn’t want to push him.
“What’s wrong, DI Kidd, do I have something on my face?” he asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“No, sir, nothing at all,” Kidd said.
“Something on your mind?” he asked.
So many things, Kidd thought.
“Nothing that I’ll bore you with just now,” Kidd said. “Sanchez is back from an interview, I should go and get an update.”
Weaver nodded.
“Sounds good to me,” he said. “Keep me posted if you find anything, alright?”
“Sure thing.”
Kidd made his way out of the conference room and down a few flights of stairs to the ground floor. Getting back to the comfort of the Incident Room, knowing that there would be a coffee waiting for him, was enough to make him move at speed. And hopefully Sanchez would have something to update him on.
“You look like hell,” Sanchez said as he walked in the room. “How did the press conference go?”
“As well as can be expected,” he said, shaking his head. “Campbell, did you find anything more from those places Daniel Walters was supposed to be at?”
Campbell returned to his desk and pulled up something on his computer.
“The Pizza Express people are looking at their CCTV for me, but haven’t come up with anything for the times I gave them. They’re going to expand the timeframe and let us know if they find anything, but I don’t think he was there. The little cafe doesn’t have CCTV.” He held up a hand as if to stem a lecture. “Don’t bother saying anything, I told them they need to get some inside their place or they’re just asking for trouble. But I sent them over a picture and they didn’t recognise him. The other places were public places, so I can’t really get any clarification on those unless you want me to go down and start getting CCTV from the town centre. Happy to do it, you just say the word.”