‘Mother or child?’
‘Both.’
‘Mrs Bunting was pretty banged up and has a mild concussion and, according to her, he struck her daughter a couple of times to keep her quiet.’
The rage inside her began to bubble.
She stood up and reached for her phone.
Leanne hadn’t moved from her position at the breakfast bar. Kim wasn’t sure if it was the same coffee in her hand or a refill. She was going to have to swill it down. They had work to do.
‘What are you doing?’ Woody asked.
‘Assembling the team. We’re already four hours behind the snatch time. We need to mobilise—’
‘Put the phone down,’ Woody said gravely.
Suspicion began to rise when she counted back the hours.
‘Why am I only hearing about this now?’
‘Because you’re not going anywhere near it.’
‘Sir, you have to let me run this case. I know how he thinks,’ she protested hotly.
‘And he knows how you think. That’s the problem. His only aim with that taunt was to draw you out. To lure you. He knows how you’ll react. One of you has to act against type, and it’s going to be you.’
‘Give me twelve hours and I’ll have Emma back—’
‘Not happening. A team has been assembled working out of Dudley. You are strictly forbidden from involving yourself in any way with the abduction case. Go anywhere near it and there will be consequences. I’m talking severe repercussions.’
‘He’s going to kill her,’ Kim protested. ‘He feels he’s owed two lives. If you don’t get her back, she could be dead by the morning. There could even be another—’
‘Calm down, Stone. Let’s not get ahead of—’
‘Sir, I swear, if you let me work with the search team, I’ll find her—’
‘There is nothing you can do or say that will sway me so stop wasting your breath. Symes is playing with you. He’s after maximum suffering. He’s also trying to get in your head. Divert your focus. Do not let that happen.’
He stood. ‘If you try and get involved in the investigation, you’ll be a distraction to the team running the case. You have to let them do their job or you may be putting Emma’s life in danger.’
She followed him to the door, still reeling from what she’d been told.
‘How severe, sir?’ she asked as she pulled back the locks.
‘Sorry?’ he said, putting one foot out the door.
‘You said the repercussions of my involvement in the abduction case would be severe.’
‘And I meant it. It’s a direct order.’
‘So, how severe?’
‘Now is not the time to test my limits, Stone.’
‘How severe?’ she repeated.
He thought for a moment. ‘It’s safe to say that if you go anywhere near the team running the abduction case, it will be the last thing you do for West Midlands Police. I promise you.’