Little Boy Lost

by J. P. Carter

  Khan had two nuggets of information to report from the house-to-house inquiries he’d been helping to carry out. A couple of the neighbours had told them that a homeless man named George usually slept rough in the doorway of the derelict pub, and sometimes inside it.

  ‘Apparently he’s a familiar face in the area, but since the riots began, he hasn’t appeared,’ Khan said. ‘I’m guessing he’s found a safe place to kip. Sweeny and Mortimer are on the lookout for him. Also, one of the home owners living opposite the pub had noticed a dark car drive onto the forecourt several times during the past few weeks and park around the back of the building. He assumed at the time that it belonged to someone working for the estate agents. According to this bloke, and several others we spoke to, there used to be a rope across the entrance along with a no trespass sign. But it disappeared months ago and was never replaced.’

  ‘Do you have the make of the car or, better still, the plate number?’ Anna asked.

  ‘I’m afraid not. The guy said he didn’t pay much attention to it. But he thinks it was a saloon rather than a hatchback. And it was dark blue or black.’

  ‘Plug away at it then,’ Anna said. ‘We’ve got some officers starting afresh later having had a night’s sleep. Arrange for them to take over from Sweeny and Mortimer. And put the word out on the homeless guy. If he was bedding down next to the pub it’s possible he saw something. And speak to the estate agents to find out if the car does belong to one of their staff.’

  Another hour came and went, then Anna took a call from Phillipa Moore. The FLO sounded breathless and distressed.

  ‘You need to get over here right away, ma’am,’ she said in a high-pitched voice. ‘There’s been a development.’

  ‘Calm down and tell me what you’re on about, Officer,’ Anna said.

  Moore took a breath before continuing. ‘The postman just arrived with a letter for Mr Rossi,’ she said. ‘He explained that there’s been a delay in delivering mail because of the riots, and that the letter was posted with first-class stamps on Tuesday, the day after Jacob disappeared. Inside was a note that appears to be from whoever abducted him. And with it is a photo of the boy chained to the cellar wall.’

  ‘My God.’

  ‘I’ve made sure that nobody has touched any of it apart from Mr Rossi. I’ve put each item into an evidence bag, including the padded envelope.’

  ‘That’s good, Phillipa. Now what I’d like you to do is take photos of the items and send them to me. I want to know what we’re dealing with before I head over. And then you need to tell Mr and Mrs Rossi that I’ve arranged for them to visit the mortuary at ten o’clock this morning.’

  Anna rushed into the ops room to alert the team. Seconds later pictures of the letter, the photo, and the envelope arrived on her phone. As she opened them up and viewed them, a cold weight settled in her chest and she was suddenly unable to speak.

  The added pain that must have suddenly been inflicted on the poor parents just didn’t bear thinking about.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  By seven forty-five, after another quick meeting with the team, Anna was heading back to Bromley.

  At last dawn was breaking over London and the streets were quieter. But not all the rioters had decided to take a break. Major disturbances were still happening in parts of the city, and the morning rush hour was adding to the traffic chaos in places.

  DI Benning was in the passenger seat of the pool car and the pair were discussing the contents of the letter that had been sent to Mark Rossi.

  There was no question that it had come from his son’s kidnapper. The colour photo showed Jacob sitting on the inflatable mattress in the cellar with his back against the wall. He was staring at the camera, eyes wide, a look of abject terror on his face. The leather manacles on his wrists were clearly visible, as was the chain that snaked off to the left and out of shot.

  Jacob was wearing his blue shirt and trousers, but his shoes had been removed. There was no way of knowing if the photo had been taken on Monday after he was snatched or at some point on Tuesday before the letter was posted.

  Anna could only imagine how awful it was for Jacob’s parents to see for themselves how their son had spent the last few days of his young life. It was a truly horrific image of a boy who was scared, vulnerable and at the mercy of a sadistic monster.

  It gave no clue as to the identity of the kidnapper, but it was further evidence of just how cruel that person was.

  The short, printed note that accompanied it was just as chilling:

  I’m sick of seeing you boast about your perfect life on social media, Rossi. You’ve had it too good for too long and that’s not fair. You act as though you’re special and more deserving than the rest of us. So I’ve taken your son because I want to see you suffer. And I’m sure you will when you’re sitting at home wondering what I’m doing to him. Pleasant dreams, Mr big shot TV man.

  Anna had left the team with instructions to dissect the note and to solicit the opinion of one of the Met’s criminal behavioural analysts. The message was stark and venomous, and it raised a number of questions that needed to be considered. She was curious to know, for instance, why there was no ransom demand. And also if the kidnapper was one of Rossi’s followers on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

  When she started reading it, she immediately leapt to the conclusion that it was written by someone with no link to Mark Rossi other than through social media. A complete stranger in other words, someone such as Michelle Gerrard, the mystery woman who’d been posting disparaging remarks about him.

  Back at headquarters, DI Walker had pointed out that people often created an illusion of intimacy with celebrities through social media.

  ‘I read a report recently that dealt with this very subject,’ he said. ‘It was commissioned by some behavioural science unit in the States following a big increase in the number of attacks on public figures, especially actors and pop stars.

  ‘It coined some interesting phrases that have stuck in my mind. It said that for a lot of people a so-called digital relationship feels like a personal connection. By following their idols on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram they somehow convince themselves that they’re involved in a two-way conversation, which in turn amplifies infatuation. But it can also lead to problems when they blame those same idols for their own troubled lives and seek revenge against them.’

  Anna had asked Walker to dig out the report and have it circulated. It was certainly something she would make a point of reading.

  DI Benning had a different take on the kidnapper’s note, though, and reckoned they should be cautious about reading too much into it.

  ‘We can’t ignore the possibility that the note might have been sent with two objectives in mind,’ he said. ‘One was clearly to upset Mark Rossi. But what if the aim was also to cause an element of confusion, to make us shift our attention away from the obvious suspects?’

  Anna had to agree that it was certainly a consideration given that those suspects included a local paedophile and two men who found out their wives had slept with Rossi. If one of them was indeed the perp, then he might have anticipated being placed in the frame by the police and decided to pen the note as a diversionary tactic.

  ‘One conclusion I think we can safely draw from the wording is that the kidnapper is acting alone,’ Benning said. ‘It’s written in the first person – I’ve taken your son – I want to see you suffer – I’m doing to him.’

  ‘And that’s useful to know,’ Anna said. ‘It should mean we can rule out anyone who can provide a cast-iron alibi for when Jacob was abducted on Monday.’

  Anna’s mind spun with so many questions that it was beginning to make her head ache.

  Would the perp have made the mistake of leaving a print or DNA trace on the note, the photo, or on the envelope they were put into?

  Did the note suggest that the kidnapper had been planning to keep Jacob alive in order to taunt his father with more photos of him in th
e cellar?

  Or had the intention been to eventually demand a ransom?

  Anna also wondered if the kidnapper had known that the parcel hadn’t been delivered on Wednesday. Having been posted first class on the Tuesday, it should have arrived the following day. But there’d been a delay because of the riots.

  So had the perp spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday wondering why there had been no reaction from the police and the family through the media?

  If so, then would this have made him or her angry since the stated objective had been to see Mark Rossi suffer?

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Presenter: ‘This is the BBC news at eight o’clock … and another person has died as a result of the rioting, bringing the total number to five. Dozens more have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.

  ‘Most of the violence is still taking place in London. In Peckham rioters clashed with a group of soldiers who had been drafted in and there are reports of shots being fired. A petrol bomb was thrown through the window of a car showroom in Greenwich, causing a massive explosion. And a mob of youths has now descended on the Brent Cross Shopping Centre in Hendon where stores are being ransacked and vandalised.

  ‘The Mayor of London has been speaking to reporters in front of City Hall.’

  London Mayor: ‘The level of violence and destruction that’s being inflicted on our city is horrific. The police and other emergency services are coping as best they can and I am hopeful that the situation will soon be brought under control.

  ‘A great many people are suffering, and so we’re setting up a number of crisis centres to help those people who have lost their homes and businesses. Details will be available shortly.’

  Presenter: ‘The mayor went on to say that extra funding is being made available to help kick-start clean-up operations across the capital.

  ‘Outside London trouble has now spread to other cities …’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  As expected, the vultures had descended on the Rossi house. A Sky News satellite truck was parked in the street and a group of about ten reporters and photographers were gathered on the pavement.

  Camera flashes erupted and Anna and Benning faced a barrage of questions as they pulled into the kerb and got out of the car.

  ‘Can you confirm that the dead boy is Jacob Rossi?’

  ‘Was the boy killed before the fire started?’

  ‘Had he been chained up in the cellar since he was abducted?’

  ‘Do you have any suspects?’

  ‘Is an arrest imminent?’

  Anna decided to seize the opportunity to appeal for help from the public. She told Benning to go up to the house while she stood with her back to the driveway and gestured for the hacks, photographers and the one TV camera crew to gather round.

  She introduced herself, which was unnecessary since they all knew who she was.

  ‘I would ask you all to appreciate that this is a difficult time for the family,’ she said. ‘It’s true that the body found in the derelict pub has not been formally identified, but all the evidence indicates that it’s Jacob Rossi, who went missing on Monday. His death is believed to have been due to smoke inhalation. Jacob was trapped in the cellar of the building when it was set on fire and he was unable to escape because he was chained to a wall. There are therefore two strands to our investigation. We want to know who was holding Jacob captive in the building, and who carried out the arson attack.

  ‘It’s obvious to us that we’re looking for two different people. The fire was started by a rioter who threw a petrol bomb, but we don’t think that person knew there was a boy in the building. Nevertheless, he or she committed a serious crime, and we would like to hear from anyone who witnessed it.

  ‘We believe that Jacob was taken to the building after he was abducted on Monday, and it’s possible that someone has information that can help us with our inquiries.’

  Anna provided more details, including the exact location of the old Falconer’s Arms pub, and the road in Bromley where it was thought Jacob had been picked up.

  She said that her team were still trying to establish the motive for the kidnapping, but decided not to mention the letter that had been sent to Jacob’s father.

  More questions were fired at her, but she politely declined to answer them and walked up to the house. Officer Moore was holding the front door open, and as Anna stepped over the threshold, she said, ‘Mark’s mother is here. Her name’s Emily. And be warned, ma’am, they’re all in a bad way.’

  The three of them were in the spacious kitchen/diner. Rossi stood with his back to the sink, his arms folded, his face grey and pallid. His wife and mother were sitting at the table in the dining area, hunched over mugs of hot drinks. Benning was hovering next to the breakfast bar in the centre of the room. On top of it rested three evidence bags containing the letter from the kidnapper, the photo of Jacob and the envelope they arrived in.

  A palpable sense of shock and despair hung heavily in the air. It was obvious to Anna that a lot of tears had been shed since the postman’s visit. But Jacob’s grandmother was the only one still sobbing. She was a small, frail-looking woman with wrinkled features and a crown of curly white hair.

  Anna walked over to her and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.

  ‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Tate,’ she said. ‘You must be Emily.’

  The woman looked up at her through liquid eyes and spoke in a voice that was throbbing with sadness.

  ‘Whoever did this to our darling boy should be made to suffer for all eternity,’ she said. ‘They can’t be allowed to get away with it. They just can’t.’

  ‘And I will do everything in my power to ensure that they don’t,’ Anna said. ‘I promise you that my team won’t rest until those responsible are behind bars.’

  Emily shook her head. ‘Jail is too good for them. A slow, painful death would be the only acceptable form of justice.’

  ‘My mother is right,’ Mark Rossi said sharply. ‘That photo of my son was taken by someone who has no right to go on living.’

  Anna turned towards him and noticed how his good looks had all but disappeared. His face was tense and haggard, and there were tired shadows beneath his eyes.

  ‘I just don’t understand why a person would be so cruel,’ he continued. ‘I know that there are people out there who don’t like me. But that’s the same for anyone who spends his or her life in the spotlight. I can’t imagine what I might have done to make someone hate me so much.’

  If the circumstances had been different, Anna would have pointed out there and then that he was being disingenuous, and that sleeping with other men’s wives was a sure way to incur their wrath. But the man was grief-stricken, so she would have to broach the subject delicately and preferably when she managed to get him by himself.

  She crossed to the breakfast bar and picked up the clear evidence bag with the note inside.

  ‘We’ve deduced from what’s written on here that the perpetrator, who we strongly believe to be a man, is probably acting alone,’ she said. ‘And it’s possible that you haven’t actually met him, Mr Rossi, or given him any reason to hate you.’

  His wife spoke up at this point, her voice weak, strained.

  ‘Then why is he blaming my husband for what he did to Jacob? It makes no sense.’

  ‘Our job is to try to make sense of it, Mrs Rossi,’ Anna said. ‘We’ve some way to go, I’m afraid. I’m hoping that the photograph and the letter will help us to get there.’

  ‘So what progress have you made?’ This from her husband.

  Anna looked at her watch. ‘We’ve got plenty of time before we need to leave for the mortuary, Mr Rossi. So I’ll bring you up to speed, and if it’s OK I’d like to ask you both some more questions.’

  Anna tried to put a positive spin on what she told them. She said that Gavin Pope and the man who was seen loitering outside Jacob’s school had both been re-interviewed and further checks were being carried out o
n them.

  ‘We’re also looking into the backgrounds and alibis of the other former employees of your stepfather’s company who were left out of pocket when it collapsed,’ she said.

  Anna mentioned that other leads were being pursued, including the sighting of a dark-coloured car on the forecourt of the derelict pub.

  ‘In addition, we’re trawling social media sites for trolls who have uploaded posts which were either abusive or threatening against you, Mr Rossi,’ she said. ‘And I’ve issued a public appeal in which I’ve said I want to hear from anyone who thinks they might have information.’

  Anna could tell that the family were not impressed, which was hardly surprising since she wasn’t offering up anything concrete.

  ‘I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re all going through,’ she said. ‘But I need to know if there is anyone else you think we should be talking to. Perhaps someone in the past who you had concerns about. Or did Jacob mention having an unusual encounter with anyone in particular? Maybe a teacher at his school?’

  Rossi shook his head. ‘We’ve been over this already. Jacob never mentioned anything like that, and we can’t think of anyone who would want to do this to us.’

  ‘So what about The Falconer’s Arms pub? Had you ever heard of it before yesterday?’

  ‘No we hadn’t,’ Rossi said.

  ‘What about Camberwell then? To your knowledge do you have – or have you had – any friends, relatives or acquaintances who live or work in that part of London?’

  The question prompted an unexpected reaction from Emily, who said, ‘I’ve never heard of that pub, but I do know that my late husband’s ex-partner was living in Camberwell when she died. That was five years or so ago.’

  Anna’s ears pricked up, but Rossi responded before she did.

  ‘You never told me that, Mum. How do you know?’

  ‘Your stepfather found out by chance,’ she said. ‘He bumped into a man they both knew while they were together, and he told Isaac that she was in the last stages of terminal lung cancer and was being looked after by her son who had moved in with her.’