‘How far ahead are they?’ Bryant asked, scrolling to Woody’s direct line. It was for emergencies only and he’d never used it before.
‘I’m guessing about twenty minutes.’
‘Shit,’ he said as Woody answered the phone.
‘Exc—’
‘Sir, it’s DS Bryant,’ he said hurriedly. ‘It’s DI Stone. Symes has her.’
Silence fell and for a second Bryant wasn’t sure if they had lost connection.
‘Bryant, if this is some kind of untimely April Fool’s—’
‘She gave Leanne the slip at the Dayneses’ property.’
‘How the hell did Leanne allow that to happen?’ he bellowed. ‘She had one job, which was to stay with her at all—’
‘Sir, to be fair she was unconscious after having a dislocated shoulder pushed back in,’ Bryant defended. ‘I think once she heard that recording she knew what she was going to do. Walking away from the Dayneses’ house was a deliberate act to lure Symes to her. She knows—’
‘That it’s the only way to find the girls,’ Woody finished.
‘Sir, Penn is on his way to the hospital, and Stacey will update you fully from the office on the Daynes case, but we need—’
‘Name it.’
‘We need two more squad cars to join us. We’re heading towards Himley.’
‘And?’
‘That’s it for now,’ he said, trusting Leanne’s judgement.
‘One second,’ Woody said, covering the phone.
Bryant took a second to glance over at Leanne’s phone. The green dot was still pulsating.
‘Okay, Bryant. Get your officer to call his location into the control room. The cars will be with you in minutes.’
Bryant did as he asked, and the officer offered his location to dispatch.
‘Tell me again that’s all you need,’ Woody said.
Bryant knew he was fighting the urge, like himself, to throw every resource he could muster at their direction of travel.
‘Just until we have a location and then we can throw the works at it.’
‘Stay in touch, and Bryant?’
‘Yes, sir?’
‘Bring her back.’
He was prevented from saying anything further when the line went dead in his ear.
He would have said that he fully intended to, because any other outcome was not an option.
‘What’s happening?’ he asked Leanne, who hadn’t once taken her eyes from the phone.
‘Still moving.’