by L M Krier
That Monday morning however, he made an effort to stir, opening one bright blue, sleepy eye and saying, 'I feel like you're going off to a new school with an ultra-strict headmistress awaiting you. Like I should get up and make you an extra special packed lunch.'
Ted smiled. 'Ultra-strict is about right. I'll have to call her ma'am every other word and there'll be no cosy morning chats over coffee like I used to have with Jim.'
Trev sat up, redistributing cats to make it easier to do so. 'Seriously, do you want me to get up and make your breakfast while you take a shower? I know today won't be easy, with all this stuff with Flip. That kind of case is bound to be deeply troubling, especially for you.'
Ted lent across to kiss him lightly. 'That's a kind thought, thank you, but don't worry, I'll be fine. You get your beauty sleep. I'll see you this evening – if the headmistress doesn't keep me in after school.'
As ever, Ted was in work and at his desk early, before any of his team appeared. He had barely sat down when the phone on his desk rang. He had known he would be summoned by the Ice Queen once she was installed. He just hadn't expected it to be so soon.
'Inspector Darling? Can you come down to my office please, unless you have anything pressing to do immediately?' The way she said it made it clear that he was not really being given a choice.
Ted replied with a curt, 'Ma'am', then headed down the stairs. The new Super had been given an office on the ground floor, with a bit of a reshuffle of existing uniform officers to accommodate her. Ted's opposite number in uniform, Inspector Kevin Turner, now had an office so small it made Ted's broom cupboard, as he affectionately called it, seem positively spacious.
Ted knocked on the door and waited for a moment until he heard, 'Come in.' At least his new boss was not one of the pretentious ones who simply said, 'Come.'
The new Superintendent was dealing with some paperwork. Her uniform was so immaculate it looked brand new. She left him standing quite a few moments until she looked up. He wasn't sure if she was being meticulous or making a point.
'Good morning, Inspector,' she said formally. 'I just wanted the chance to touch base with you first thing and to lay out my expectations for you.'
Ted groaned inwardly. Superintendent Caldwell came with a formidable reputation. Ted strongly suspected that even her poor husband, a lowly inspector in traffic, had to call her ma'am most of the time.
'I know you come with an excellent record, inspector, and have been offered commendations, which you have refused for reasons of your own, which I respect.' Ted sensed a big 'but' coming. 'However, I do expect officers under my command to adhere to the dress code laid down for plain clothes.' She looked him up and down in evident distaste, her glance taking in Ted's customary polo neck, dark jeans and Doc Marten's boots.
'Ma'am, with respect …' was as far as Ted got before the Ice Queen held up an imperious hand to stop him in his tracks.
'Inspector, as soon as someone says that to me, I know that respect is the last thing on their mind,' she said. 'I'm sure you are going to tell me that how you dress has absolutely no bearing on your performance rates and that might well be true. However, rules are there for a reason and you know the guidelines as well as I do. Your current attire would be acceptable if you were working under cover. Are you working under cover at this precise moment, inspector?'
Ted ground his teeth. He was feeling particularly irritated that she had not yet allowed him to sit down but had him standing in front of her desk so that he really did feel he was in the headmistress's study. 'No, ma'am.'
'Then please, tomorrow, report for duty correctly dressed in suit and tie. Set a good example to your team and make sure they also sharpen up. And not, please, the crumpled safari suit look which I know you favour for court appearances,' she added.
Ted made one last valiant effort. 'Ma'am, when you're my size, it's not exactly easy to find formal clothes to fit off the peg.'
She waved a dismissive hand and said, 'I believe the Trafford Centre is open until ten most evenings. I'm sure you will find something suitable there in that time. Otherwise do your best and order something altered to fit. Now please sit down and brief me on what you are currently working on.'
Still seething, Ted sat down and explained where they were up to with the information from Flip and their enquiries into the whereabouts of Aiden, which had shown up only that he was indeed missing. The home he was in had admitted he had disappeared and had not been seen for several days.
He also took the opportunity to ask for an additional officer to bring his team up to full strength to handle a potentially difficult enquiry.
The Ice Queen was nothing if not brisk efficiency. 'I have the perfect officer for you, I'll arrange to have her seconded. She's uniform, but frequently works in plain clothes. She's a sergeant with a lot of valuable experience for this enquiry in her speciality of child protection.' She was making notes as she spoke. 'I'll get her here as soon as possible, she'll be a valuable addition to the team. In fact, in many ways, she may well be more suitable to head up this particular enquiry than you are.'
Despite himself, Ted immediately felt his hackles going up. 'Ma'am, are you suggesting that because I'm gay, I'm not suitable to be heading an enquiry into potential sexual abuse of young boys?'
The Ice Queen's eyes flashed angrily. 'Don't be ridiculous, inspector,' she retorted. 'I am merely saying than an officer with specific training in all areas of child protection and a lot of experience in this type of offence may well be better placed to steer the enquiry. And don't you ever again dare to accuse me of discrimination of any sort unless you have very good grounds for doing so.'
It took all of the self-control Ted had learned over the years through his martial arts for him to bring his temper back under control. The Ice Queen had hit a raw nerve. He was so accustomed to being discriminated against because of his sexuality he tended to see prejudice where perhaps none existed.
'Ma'am, I apologise unreservedly. I was out of order. I made an assumption,' he said, once he was sure he had his voice back under control.
The Ice Queen's eyes thawed somewhat too. 'I accept your apology, Inspector. A simple misunderstanding. I am not your enemy. I would like you to be clear on that from the outset. I'll arrange for Sergeant Reynolds to join your team as soon as she can. Jan Reynolds, a very good officer, I'm confident she'll fit in and be a great asset to you.
'Now I'm sure you have a lot to do. Please feel free to leave a little earlier this evening to go on your shopping trip. Thank you for your time. That will be all.'
As Ted left the office, it took a lot more self-control not to slam the door behind him. It was only his first day without his old friend Jim Baker and his easy-going ways and already he was missing him enormously.
He went back up to the sanctuary of his own office and headed straight for the kettle. He was in urgent need of green tea to restore his equilibrium.
Whilst he waited for the kettle to boil, he reached for his mobile to phone Trevor at work. Despite having an impressive array of A-levels and speaking several languages fluently, Trev's big passion was motorbikes. He'd decided against university, opting instead to work in a bike dealership where he was blissfully happy. There was absolutely no problem about him taking calls in work time since his boss thought he could do no wrong.
'How do you fancy taking me clothes shopping after work?' he asked as soon as Trev answered.
There was a pause, then Trev laughed. 'Who are you and what have you done with my Ted?'
'The Ice Queen has issued an edict that I must appear suited and booted unless working under cover,' Ted told him. 'She has generously given me until tomorrow morning to get a new wardrobe as she has already forbidden what she unkindly calls my safari suit,' referring to his usual compromise attire of softly crumpled cotton chino jacket and trousers, which he wore for court appearances.
Trev was laughing loudly now. 'I like the Ice Queen!' he said. 'You know it's my dream, clothes shopping for
you, but you always put up such a fight when I suggest it.'
'I'll come and pick you up after work,' Ted said. 'Leave the bike there, I'll take you out for a meal afterwards as a thank you. That way you can have a glass or two of wine. I'll sort you out a taxi in to work for the morning, just in case I get an early call-out.'
Then he added, 'You're really loving this, aren't you?'
'Oh yes,' said Trev. 'The Ice Queen is very definitely going on my Christmas card list.'
CHAPTER Four
Ted's team gaped at him in astonishment when he appeared for the morning briefing. He was totally transformed in an impeccable light grey suit, striped shirt and tie. Gone were the Docs, replaced by stylish brogues with a hint of a heel which just compensated for the slightly too long trouser length.
He glared at his team, daring them to say a word. They all sensed that even their normally easy-going boss was not going to tolerate any comments on his new appearance.
'Where are we up to?' he asked, perching on the edge of a desk, instinctively reaching up to undo his top button and slightly loosen the hated tie. He felt as if he were being strangled. 'Anybody got anything new to report?'
'I talked to my cousin, boss,' Abisali, known to everyone as Sal, told him. 'He's asked around carefully among the other drivers. He told me there's one who's hinted at knowing something but seems very afraid. My cousin's trying to work on him, see if he would agree to talk to me somewhere on neutral territory. That way if anyone saw us I could be just a cousin of one driver meeting another driver for a cup of tea and a chat.'
'Good work, but be careful,' Ted told him. 'What else?'
The phone was ringing in Ted's office but he ignored it as he listened to feedback on where the team were up to. Then the DS's phone rang.
Mike Hallam answered it and said, 'Yes, he's here,' then handed the phone to Ted saying, 'It's the front desk for you, boss.'
Ted took the phone. 'It's Bill, Ted,' the desk sergeant's voice said.' We just got a shout. A kid's body has been found in a skip. A young lad'
'Shit,' Ted said. 'Thanks Bill, on my way,' and he handed the phone back to the DS to hang up.
'Right everyone, may not be connected to this, but we've just had a call about a young lad's body found in a skip. It's bad enough, whoever it is, but let's hope it's not Aiden. I'm on my way there now. Mike, you and Rob come with me. The rest of you, crack on with what you've got so far.'
They took two cars and Ted was on the scene before the other two, having had his foot down hard. The skip was in a yard behind a row of shops in a busy suburban area on the edge of town. A skip lorry was parked nearby. It had presumably come to collect the skip, which was full, and the driver had made the gruesome discovery.
Uniform branch officers were already on site, Scenes of Crime Officers were there and just setting up. Someone had put a ladder up against the skip and Ted could see that the police surgeon, Tim Elliott, was just coming down it.
His face mask was pulled down, showing that his complexion was quite white. He was, as usual, sneezing violently. As it often did, it crossed Ted's mind to wonder what it was about the doctor's job to which he was clearly allergic.
Ted felt in the pocket of the unfamiliar suit jacket, highly relieved that he had thought to transfer from his usual leather jacket his essential packet of Fisherman's Friend. Sucking on the menthol lozenges was his own way of dealing with the distressing parts of his job.
'Morning, Ted,' Tim Elliott greeted him. 'This is a bad business, a very bad business. Do you want to see him before I get him moved?'
'I never want to see them, Tim,' Ted told him pointedly. 'But I need to, with this one as much as any. What can you tell me first?' He was busy putting a couple of Fisherman's Friends into his mouth to prepare for the ordeal to come.
'Poor little lad looks about twelve, I'd say. Probably been there since last night some time. Partially clothed. His trousers and pants are down round his ankles. There are signs of violent sexual activity, although that's not my field, just my initial observation, and he appears to have been strangled. I've notified the coroner, he's arranging for a pathologist to come out to the scene before he's moved. What kind of sick people would do that sort of thing to a little boy, Ted?' he asked in bewilderment.
'I really don't know the answer to that,' Ted told him. 'But you can be sure my team and I are going to do everything we possibly can to make sure we catch the perverts responsible.'
He tried to prepare himself mentally as he climbed up the short ladder. No matter how many deaths he saw, they were never easy to deal with, and the deaths of children were always the worst part of his job.
A small foot in a trainer was what he saw first. Not a bad trainer, although just a cheap market knock-off of a better brand. Then his eyes came level with the other foot and he saw stained pants and trousers crumpled up around the ankles.
Bare, skinny legs, bony buttocks, streaked with blood. A T-shirt and sweat-shirt hoodie, partly pulled up to reveal a thinnish body, with protruding ribs and signs of recent bruising. The face, turned to the side, in amongst old cardboard boxes, was discoloured, the tongue protruding between blueish lips. There was a cord wound around the thin neck and pulled tight. Ted couldn't be sure without getting closer but it looked like the cord out of the hoodie.
Ted had put on gloves and covers over his new shoes but still didn't venture any closer so as not to contaminate the scene. He took a moment to look at the boy and in his mind he promised him justice before he climbed back down the ladder and went to find Rob and Maurice.
'Rob, get on to the home. You've already had contact with them. I want an ID on this boy as soon as possible. If it is Aiden, they should know. Wait for the pathologist to arrive here and find out how soon someone can view the body for identification purposes,' he told him. 'Maurice, ask around the scene. Talk to the skip driver, find out what he knows. You know what to do. Let's find these bastards as soon as we can, before there are any more kids in skips.'
The pathologist was just arriving as Ted turned to head back to his elderly Renault. The coroner had sent out the senior pathologist for what was likely to be a difficult and complicated case. She was relatively new in the post and she and Ted were still getting to know one another, still at the formal stage.
Professor Nelson was short, even shorter than Ted, well built, with a weather-beaten complexion which spoke of a love of the great outdoors. She wore an unfashionable tweed skirt and lace-up shoes and looked as if she should be striding across the family estate, trailed by Labradors and spaniels. She was brusque and extremely efficient, with a good reputation.
'Morning, Professor,' Ted greeted her with a handshake. 'Not a very pleasant one at all, this.'
'Good morning, Inspector,' she responded. 'I'm just going to take a preliminary look at the scene first, then get this poor young boy removed from here as soon as I can. Do we have any ID as yet?'
'Not so far,' Ted told her, 'but my team are working on it and we hope to have someone who might be able to ID the body as soon as you can make that possible, preferably today.'
'I'll do what I can for you, Inspector,' she promised as she started up the ladder.
Ted headed back to the station to bring the Ice Queen up to speed. The meeting was brief but frostily cordial on both sides. On his way back upstairs, he stopped by to talk to his opposite number in uniform, Inspector Kevin Turner.
'Morning, Kev,' Ted said as he went into his office. 'How's life in Narnia?'
'Ha-bloody-ha,' Kevin responded, nodding to Ted to take a seat. 'I suppose that's some smart-arse reference to the Ice Queen, is it? Well, I see she's already brought you to heel. Love the threads, Ted. What's the news from the scene?'
'Poor little sod,' Ted said with feeling. 'Kid of about twelve, looks like he's been raped and strangled. I'm hoping it's not this missing lad Aiden but I'm betting it is.'
Kevin swore comprehensively. 'Just let me know how many of my officers you need and for what. I im
agine even the Ice Queen will be willing to run to overtime on this one.'
Ted got the call late afternoon confirming his worst fears. The boy was Flip's missing friend Aiden Bradshaw, positively identified by someone from the home from which he had earlier disappeared. Ted had another meeting, three-way this time, with the Ice Queen and Kevin Turner, to discuss strategy, now the case had officially gone from a possible paedophile investigation to a child sexual assault and murder. It was agreed that officers from Uniform branch would go and talk further to Flip the following day, to see if he could identify the house where he had gone with Aiden, or anything else that might be of help.
On an impulse, Ted left slightly earlier than usual telling his team he had to be somewhere, and would be contactable on his mobile should they need him.
He headed back to Flip's foster home near Davenport, where he had previously been with Steve, the young TDC. Ted decided he would like to be the one to break the news to the boy of what had happened to Aiden, if his foster mother agreed.
The house was a small, neat semi-detached in a respectable-looking area. Flip's foster mother came to the door, a tea towel over her shoulder, soap suds on her hands.
'Sorry to trouble you again, Mrs Atkinson, I'm Inspector Darling, you may remember,' Ted began.
'Yes, I know who you are,' she said, her tone so neutral he had difficulty deciphering any hidden meaning behind her words.
'I'm afraid I have bad news about Flip's friend, Aiden. The worst kind,' Ted told her. 'He's been found dead. I wondered if you wanted me to tell him, or do it yourself. I also wondered if I could see him in any case?'
She looked at him for a moment then said, 'He's in the kitchen, doing his homework. You'd better come in.'
Flip looked up and beamed when he saw Ted. 'Have you found Aide?' he asked hopefully.
Ted looked towards the boy's foster mother and she nodded briefly, clearly telling him to break the news.