3
Pete stalked up the length of the room as the two senior officers turned back into Colin’s office.
The door had not quite closed behind them when his open hand hit it hard. Silverstone was halfway through the interconnecting door to his own office when the loud slap behind him made him stop and turn.
‘A word. Sir,’ Pete said stiffly.
The DCI’s eyebrow rose. ‘DS Gayle?’
Pete ignored Colin for now. He was standing behind his desk, out of the direct line between him and Silverstone. ‘That case should have come to me and my team. You know it and I know it.’
‘This is your first day back, Peter. And it’s a missing girl.’
‘So? I haven’t got anything else on the board and if it’s a missing girl, it’s not likely to be related to Tom, is it? Paedos’ 101. Basic training. Ninety-eight per cent of the time, they go for boys or girls. Not both.’
Silverstone stepped forward and let the door close behind him. ‘That may be, but I still feel it’s too close and too soon, Peter. I want the parents to know that the person handling this is on it one hundred per cent. No distractions.’
‘Right. So you give it to a guy who’s already got a full caseload. That makes sense. Sir. And what progress has DS Phillips made on the Jane Doe or my son?’
Silverstone sighed heavily. ‘This is not about DS Phillips, Peter. Can you honestly tell me that you’re ready to cope with something like this? Whether it’s a boy or a girl. Because I don’t know that you are, and I’m not going to risk the safety of a thirteen-year-old girl to prove a point.’
Not going to risk the safety of your promotion, more like, Pete thought. ‘If I wasn’t ready, I wouldn’t be standing here. And I’ve got a damn good team behind me so, even if you doubt me, there’s no reason to doubt them.’
‘It’s not that I doubt you, Peter. Your abilities as a detective are well established. I simply don’t want to put you in a position where you might become overwhelmed, for personal reasons – the similarities between this case and your own, albeit this one’s a girl.’
DI Underhill sat down at last and Silverstone turned to him. ‘Help me out here, Colin. What do you think? Honestly?’
‘Honestly?’
Pete looked at him. Honesty was the last thing the DCI wanted from his deputy right now. What he wanted was support.
‘I can see both sides here, sir,’ the older man said. ‘I mean, I can understand why you’d show Pete some consideration, in the circumstances, but I can also understand how it might leave him feeling frustrated. Not trusted. And how it will look to the rest of the guys out there.’ He nodded towards the squad room.
Silverstone’s eyebrows pinched closer together. ‘And how is that, Detective Inspector?’
‘Well, like you’re hedging your bets, sir, possibly to the detriment of the case. And the girl.’
‘I see.’
‘What it comes down to, sir, is who’s able to give the case most commitment at this moment in time. And I have to admit, Pete’s right. If he’s back with us fully and completely, it’s him.’
Silverstone turned to face Pete. ‘And are you, Detective Sergeant? Back with us fully and completely?’
‘Yes, sir.’
The DCI sighed noisily. ‘Very well. But I want you to share the case with DS Phillips. That way, if it does get too much, you can hand it over without any break in continuity. And it may tie in with what he’s already working on, which was why I chose him to begin with.’
Pete drew a long, slow breath. What was he – some bloody rookie on his first job? He’d been a detective since before this jumped-up twat got to bloody secondary school. He didn’t need his hand holding. He let the air out through his nose. ‘Sir.’ He turned away, grabbed the door handle and went back through to the squad room before he had a chance to let himself down.
‘Simon.’
The younger detective looked up. Tall but a couple of stones overweight, with curly brown hair and a baby face, he had been a DS just over two years and Pete still struggled to take him seriously in the role.
‘Hi, Pete.’
‘I’m taking that new case off your hands. The missing girl. DCI’s had a change of heart.’
‘You sure?’
‘Don’t you bloody start.’
‘I mean that he’s got a heart to change.’
Pete smiled. ‘No, but he’s changed something. What have you got?’
Simon handed him a sheet of paper. ‘Just what you heard a few minutes ago. And the parents’ address and phone number.’
‘Apparently, I’ve got to keep you in the loop. Might be a connection to your Jane Doe. What’s that about?’
‘She was found ten days ago in the river, down by Powderham Deer Park. About ten, eleven years old. Sexually assaulted, strangled and naked. We’re still trying to find out who she was.’
‘Shit.’ Pete let his eyes close for a second as he absorbed that information. Still trying to ID her and still trying to find Tommy. Some detective you are, he thought. ‘All right. We’ll have to keep an open mind on a possible link then.’
‘Yup.’
Pete went back to his desk and sat down. He put the report sheet on his desk, picked up the phone and, taking a deep breath, started dialling.
The phone was picked up almost before it had rung. ‘Alistair Whitlock.’
‘Mr Whitlock, this is DS Peter Gayle. I’ve just been handed your daughter’s case and I’d like to come and talk to you about it – and your wife, if she’s there?’
‘She is.’
‘Perfect.’ He glanced at the address. ‘We’ll be there in a few minutes, OK?’
‘Thank you.’
He put the phone down and stood up. ‘Jane, you’re with me.’
‘Boss?’
‘Interview time. The Whitlocks.’ He headed for the door.
‘Wh—We’ve got that now?’
‘Yes. Come on, chop-chop.’ He paused long enough to hold the door for her, then hurried on down the stairs, feet clattering on the polished concrete.
They were moving along the back corridor, towards the car park behind the police station, before she caught up with him. ‘How did you swing this then?’
‘By
