‘And there’s a bit about us here too.’
‘What does it say?’
‘“In related news, a police team led by Inspector Graham Rase have been investigating the disappearance of a member of staff at the Aubrey plant, Thomas Long, 24, of Southney, who has been missing since Tuesday. It is not known if his disappearance is linked to the troubles at the plant, but officers are keeping all options open at this stage.
‘“Inspector Rase, speaking to our reporters earlier today after making a televised appeal for information on Mr Long, explained that, ‘We have no belief that Thomas Long was involved in anything criminal, and certainly had no police record. Even if he found himself in trouble, we are only really concerned at this point with bringing his family news of his whereabouts’. HUNT FOR MISSING MAN — FULL STORY
PAGE FOUR”’
‘Well good,’ said Cori, ‘that should generate some more interest. Anyone reading this could have seen him on Tuesday, or since.’
Grey was unconvinced, though left his doubts unvoiced: for had Thomas been out and about in town these past two days, wouldn’t someone somewhere have called to tell them this by now? Instead he thought on practical matters,
‘Sarah. It looks like the phones are well covered. I want you off that duty, and instead looking at this motorway sighting. I think it’s genuine, and we have nothing else to go on. Can you get onto the hotel, and check if they have cameras covering the outside doors, and if so whether they see as far away as Tom was standing. Speak to Maria, she knows us. Otherwise, I know it’s a long shot, but there must be cameras over the services carpark.’
‘There might be too many,’ Sarah cautioned. ‘It’s a big area.’
‘Well we have a starting point. And even if that corner of the carpark isn’t covered, then move onto the areas either side, for an hour before and after seven pm. And then the areas next to that, for the two hours either side of seven pm… I know, I’m sorry, it’s horrible work…’
‘No, not at all, sir. I’m glad to do it if it helps to find him.’
‘That it might, Sarah. That it might.’ Her enthusiasm touched him.
But for Grey there was no let up, the ending of their discussion only delivering him back to the office of his superior, himself in no mood for smalltalk,
‘Heard anything of Dunn?’ the Superintendent thundered on the Inspector’s entrance.
‘Heard anything of Aubrey?’ the officer replied in the spirit of honest banter.
‘Well, I suppose if Alex Aubrey isn’t here to report him, then Larry Dunn doesn’t matter greatly does he, the case against him missing its victim and principle witness.’ Even Grey had rarely heard Rose’s tone to be so scathing.
‘Actually sir, Dunn may have seen Thomas Long on his last day.’
‘Well. In that case… You know what, Grey? I could throttle him.’
‘Who, Dunn?’ Grey felt much the same himself.
‘No, Alex! Dunn’s just a lad throwing his drunken weight around. At least I hope that’s all he is. Is he seriously implicated with Long?’
‘Grey had to think about it, ‘No sir. I’d like him to be, but Thomas definitely caught his bus from town — the witness only saw Dunn call to him from across the road as he boarded. And Thomas was later seen over by the services hotel, while Dunn was on an evening shift.’
‘And that is still the last sighting?’
‘Yes sir — after seven o’clock on Tuesday evening Thomas Long seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.’
‘Poor sod. Still, if only he were all we had to worry about. You’ve seen the paper? It looks like we were right to be concerned. I’ve squared it with the Assistant District Commissioner — there’ll be men from four forces here first thing tomorrow morning. Young Gareth from HR tells me the workers are not going to be getting a pay check?’
‘No, I shouldn’t think so,’ answered Grey.
‘Then that is that. There’s no reason then to suppose there won’t be some kind of protest?’
‘It would appear not.’
‘Well, I’m not sure what I should be feeling, to learn one of my oldest friends is ruined; that hundreds of men are going to be out of work; the landscape of the town forever changed. But all I feel is…’
‘Numbness?’
‘No, anger! And it is all aimed at him, Aubrey. I knew he was under pressure, but I didn’t know things were so bad.’
‘He couldn’t make his plans work sir, and now he hasn’t time.’
This moment of shared feelings also offering Grey a perfect chance to share his newest piece of new information,
‘And there’s something else sir, just a blip on the radar at present.’
‘Oh?’
‘Well, there might be a link with Isobel Semple.’
‘Oh, my bloody Christ.’
‘It could still be a separate lead, sir; a parallel investigation. But we are pretty sure her boyfriend was called from the Havahostel several hours before Thomas was seen outside of there.’
‘Boyfriend? That lad we never traced?’
‘Yes. No idea if she’s still with him, but they did leave together it seemed back then.’
‘But how..?’
‘His area called us, sir; asking us to look into who made the call. He might be mixed up in drugs.’
The Super’s downcast expression said it all, neither he nor the Inspector men who showed much surprise at the way life could consistently lower one’s expectations, ‘So not much to go on yet?’
‘No, sir.’
‘Still, fancy that name cropping up again…’ The two men were silenced.
‘I was thinking, sir,’ began Grey, ‘what with us already doing all we can to find Thomas, if I might not call the detective involved, even if only to find out if there is any link with the Long case?’
‘Well I wonder if he isn’t the fellow who’s already called for you? There’s a message at the front desk, from Nottingham CID: you put a trace on one of their suspects?’
‘Yes, that might be them.’
‘Well, get it arranged — we need all the help we can get. And even if not, well… Once this Long business is sorted out, we might have a new lead on Isobel.’
‘Indeed, sir. I’ll get right onto it.’
‘I thought Ravi Chohan, for the security detail at the plant,’ said the Super as Grey left. ‘I might get him down there this afternoon, if he can be spared.’
‘A good choice, sir,’ concurred Grey: the natural man for the job, both for the courses he had attended in crowd control and dealing with violent situations, and more pragmatically for the fact he was the officer among them who could, when asked, perform the best impersonation of a brick wall. Grey for one had never been in a situation with him and not felt completely safe.
Chapter 13 — The Semple File
Back at the office, Cornelia had sat down to the file she had asked Sarah Cobb to very quietly point out for her, keen as they were to keep the news of Isobel’s (possible) involvement as lidded as possible.
