Kim had the urge to turn and run, escape this woman’s agony as it worked its way right into her soul.
‘Can’t you just give him what he wants? She’s so little – look at her, look at her.’
Kim looked again at the face she already knew well. The smooth skin with a few freckles scattered over the bridge of the nose, the brown hair and the hazel eyes, the toothy smile, the joy and innocence in her face.
‘I’m sorry – I have to go,’ Kim said, turning away.
‘Please, please, I beg you. Whatever it takes, Detective. Please bring my daughter back to me.’
The words rang in her ears as Leanne and Bryant joined her at the entrance to the station.
‘Guv, you can’t—’
‘Leave it, Bryant,’ she snapped, heading up the stairs.
Right now she was getting a bit pissed off at being told what she could and couldn’t do. The woman was desperate for news of her daughter. She could only imagine the pictures that were going through her head, and after her own encounter with the man, Kim was sure she understood that mercy was not a character trait he possessed.
Kim took a deep breath before entering the squad room.
‘Hey guys,’ she greeted Penn and Stacey, who had clearly got in just minutes before she had.
Penn headed for the coffee machine.
‘Leanne’s turn today,’ she said, turning to the protection officer. ‘If you drink it, you gotta make it.’
Leanne shrugged off her jacket and took a bottle of water from underneath the printer to add to the percolator.
Kim took another breath and focussed her attention on the wipe boards. ‘Okay, guys, quick recap from yesterday. After catching the neighbours’ son hiding under the bed in an active crime scene, we know that Reece had some kind of emotional attachment to Rozzie. We also know that to spot the fire from the kitchen window, he had to have been closer to the house than the public footpath at the edge of the property. We know he’s not keen on offering a DNA sample, but I feel confident he’ll be here this morning to comply.’
‘You think he might be the father of Rozzie’s baby?’ Stacey asked.
‘Perhaps, but I’m also thinking he could be the elusive Martey who was making her life a misery on social media. We have no way of knowing if his attention was positive or negative. We only know that he knew an awful lot about her.’
‘Maybe she spurned his advances,’ Penn said.
‘Why, because he was the handyman?’ Bryant snapped.
‘No, because he was considerably older and she seems to have preferred boys her own age,’ Penn replied evenly.
Why had she not noticed these occasional terse exchanges between the two of them before Woody had handed her the microscope?
‘Also coming in this morning is Rozzie’s on-off boyfriend, so we may have an identity for Rozzie’s baby’s father soon.’ She paused. ‘We spoke to Roy and Davey Burston yesterday,’ she said, nodding towards the board where their photos had been placed with everyone else. ‘There’s no doubt that both father and son are angry. They’ve lost their livelihood because of one business decision. I just can’t help feeling they’re angrier with Daryl than they are with William. Still need checking on, Stace,’ Kim instructed.
‘Got it, boss.’
‘We know that relationships between the family members were not conventional. Rachel was with Gavin before Gavin met Zach, and I think she was still a bit in love with him, but of course we’ll never know.’
‘Convenient accident, guv,’ Bryant offered.
‘Or not. Stace, I want you to comb every bit of CCTV in the area. I know the witness accounts claim Rachel was all over the place, but take a good look around.’
‘Want me to speak to the lorry driver?’ Stacey asked.
Kim shook her head. ‘His statement offers nothing except self-preservation. He makes no mention of anyone other than Rachel, and he’s already instructed a solicitor.’
Traffic division were investigating his actions before considering charges. Right now they weren’t going to get anywhere near him.
‘Focus on what we can see with our own eyes.’