no bearing on—’
‘How many?’ Alex interrupted, fixing her with a firm stare.
Isla sighed. ‘Okay, in the interest of establishing a circle of honesty with you, I will answer your question, but I cannot stress enough that you should not read anything – either positive or negative – into it.’ She paused. ‘I have been liaison in five separate child abduction cases, and in four of those, the child was safely returned.’
Alex couldn’t prevent the trace of a smile breaking out across her face.
‘You need to understand that none of the five cases bore any of the hallmarks of yours,’ Isla cautioned. ‘In those successful cases, we identified the perpetrator as a relative or family friend, and the circumstances surrounding the holding of those children were not as complex as what occurred yesterday.’
‘You got them back?’
‘I didn’t personally, but the investigating team did manage to reunite the child with the parent.’
‘And the fifth?’ Alex interrupted. ‘What happened with the one who didn’t make it home?’
Isla’s forehead tightened. ‘Why do you want to know?’
‘I just want to know what to expect.’
‘There’s no way to know what to expect. Every missing child case is different.’
‘What happened to the child?’
Isla sighed again, raising her eyes to the ceiling. ‘I’m not at liberty to—’
‘Please just tell me!’
‘He died,’ Isla sighed, and the heavyset frown revealed she instantly regretted it.
Alex wasn’t prepared for the answer, and had to steady herself on the stool. ‘What happened to him?’
‘I’ve already said too much. I will repeat that what happened then was totally different to what you are going through. You need to remain positive. The police will do everything they can to find your daughter.’
Alex fought against the nausea building in her stomach, pushing the remains of the toast to one side. ‘I’m going to take a shower and get dressed. I want you to interrupt me the second you hear something.’
Isla promised she would, and then watched as Alex headed for the staircase, a mutual understanding already growing between them.
Tired eyes stared back at him from the large mirror above the basins. Ray wasn’t accustomed to sleeping slouched over a desk, and as he straightened and rotated his shoulders, his lower back ached from the uncomfortable position. Running the hot tap, he allowed the sink to fill with water before lowering his hands into it and splashing handfuls of warm water against his stubbly cheeks.
It didn’t bother him that he was still in yesterday’s clothes. He doubted his colleagues would comment even if they did notice. None of them would judge him, not after what had happened. Although Trent had made it clear she wouldn’t involve him in the investigation, he hoped she’d have softened her resolve overnight and might at least allow him to hang around in the office. He didn’t want to interfere, but he wanted to be the first to know the moment a break was made. Somebody would have to collect Carol-Anne from wherever she was and he couldn’t think of anyone better.
Emptying the sink, he reached into his trouser pocket and removed the spare tie he always kept in his desk drawer, slipping the pre-tied loop around his neck before straightening the knot. At least the tie would make it appear as if he had been home and changed.
Exiting the bathroom, he proceeded along the corridor to the large office the team worked out of. There was no sign of Trent, and he guessed she was probably further along the corridor setting up the Major Incident Room, where the team would operate from primarily as the investigation developed.
‘Ray?’ DC Owen Hargrove said as he approached, a quizzical look on his face. ‘What are you doing here? I thought—’
‘What’s the latest?’ Ray quickly fired back, ignoring the question.
Owen glanced nervously around like he could sense Trent nearby. ‘I can’t … I mean, we’re not supposed to discuss the investigation with you; DI’s orders. Has she seen you here yet?’
Ray shook his head, unsurprised by Owen’s reaction. Leaning closer, Ray whispered, ‘Whatever happens, you’ll keep me in the loop, right? I’m not asking you to break any rules, just keep me updated with what’s going on. That’s all I’m asking.’
‘I can’t,’ Owen replied through gritted teeth.
‘You owe me, Owen. Okay? I won’t stitch you up; just let me know when something new breaks.’
Owen’s eyes widened as he spotted Trent approaching the two of them over Ray’s shoulder.
‘Ray, can we have a word in my office, please?’ she said calmly.
He nodded and followed her through the banks of desks to the small enclosure at the far end of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. ‘I’m ready to do whatever you need, ma’am.’
She looked at the creased shirt, crumpled suit jacket and stained tie. ‘What I need is for you to go home and wait for us to call.’
‘Please, ma’am, I’ll go stir crazy at home. You know me: I need to keep busy. I promise I won’t get in anybody’s way.’
‘I know that, Ray,’ she said empathetically. ‘My stance hasn’t changed from last night. You can’t be anywhere near what is going on for your sake as well as the sake of the rest of the team. We need to consider every angle in cases like this, and I don’t think any of the team will feel able to speak freely knowing you are nearby.’
He knew what she was implying, even if she hadn’t used the term. He’d been a detective long enough to know that Trent would have already instructed the team to pull together a list of registered sex offenders from the area so they could start checking alibis. The thought of some slime ball being anywhere near Carol-Anne made him want to pick up the chair in front of him and hurl it out of the window. And that was precisely why Trent didn’t want him anywhere near the investigation.
‘Please, ma’am, give me anything else to do. I’m not asking to work the case, but just let me be nearby. I could work from my desk here. We’ve got dozens of unsolved cases that I could slowly work through.’
She considered him silently, but he couldn’t tell if she was pondering his request or trying to find the words to let him down gently.
‘How’s Alex coping?’ she eventually asked.
He thought back to the reprimand he’d delivered in the back of the patrol car before Owen had driven her home. The guilt must have been written over his face, as Trent said, ‘Ah, I see.’
‘I’ll check on her when I go home,’ he said, lowering his eyes.
