'We'll see,' she smiled, determined to prove him wrong.
He dropped her off at her digs. 'Get a few hours' kip. I'll see you back at the station later.'
He drove to his house for a quick cup of tea and flopped wearily in an armchair to drink it. He was dead tired. He leant his head back on the cushion and closed his eyes for a second. He woke with a start. His untouched tea was stone cold. Outside it was already dark. The phone was ringing.
'Frost,' he said, shaking the sleep from his eyes.
It was Johnnie Johnson, who had taken over from Bill Wells as Station Sergeant. 'You'd better get over here, Jack. Another child's gone missing.'
'On my way,' said Frost.
Five
He slouched into the incident room rubbing sleep from his eyes. 'What's all this about another missing kid?' he yawned.
'Judy Gleeson, fourteen years old,' said Burton.
Frost collapsed into a chair, relieved that it wasn't another eight-year-old boy. 'Tell me about it.'
'Mother goes to work. She came home at five. No sign of her daughter and no table laid, which the daughter usually did. She assumed the kid was with her mate. Half-past six, still no Judy, so the mother gets worried, phones around and learns that Judy hadn't been at school all day.'
Frost chewed this over. 'I can't see it tying in with our missing boy. Sounds like your average girl doing a runner to me.'
'Probably, but we can't take chances. Detective Sergeant Maud has gone round to the house to get details. Should be back soon.'
'Right,' said Frost. 'And how are things going with the search for Bobby Kirby?'
Burton told him the position. The search parties had plodded on until it was too dark to see properly. All the more likely areas had been covered and they were now moving on to the less likely ones.
'I've laid on the frogmen team for tomorrow morning.'
Frost nodded his approval. 'What about our appeals to the Great British Public?'
Lambert came forward. 'Thirty-five more positive sightings. Eight of them were kids with men.'
'Probably fathers taking their sons home. What about the dead kid? Did anyone see him?'
'There's a snag,' Burton told him. 'Both kids left home wearing similar clothes. People are reporting seeing kids in zip-up jackets and it could be either of them.'
'Or neither,' said Frost. 'The cinema?'
'Three kids playing truant from school are pretty certain they saw Dean in the Curzon yesterday afternoon. He was sitting on his own. They didn't pay much attention to him and didn't see him leave.'
Liz stuck her head round the door. 'That missing girl. I've circulated details, but it looks as if she's just run away from home. I spoke to one of her friends who reckoned there had been some friction between Judy and her parents, but the mother denies it.'
Frost waved a hand in acknowledgement. Kids running away from home were all too common these days.
Liz went back to Allen's office to check the in-tray and was irritated to find someone had been in and removed all her stuff from Allen's desk and dumped it back on the small desk in the corner. Probably whingeing Bill Wells up to his bloody tricks again. Seething with annoyance she moved it all back and was just reaching for the phone to ask Wells what the hell he was playing at when the door crashed open and a thickset sandy-haired man in his early forties barged in.
'Do you mind knocking before coming into my office,' snapped Liz.
The man glowered at her. 'And do you mind getting out of my bloody desk,' he roared.
Cassidy had dumped his suitcase at his digs and had then taken a drive round Denton to see how much the place had changed since he was here last. He drove past his old house, the house he had had to make over to his wife as part of the divorce settlement. The downstairs blazed with light and the front lawn looked immaculate. Very different from when he lived there and there was never any time for gardening. He stopped the car and stared up at the small bedroom window, his daughter's room. Today would have been Becky's eighteenth birthday, not that anyone else would have remembered.
He passed a florist's that was just closing and, on impulse, stopped and bought a small bunch of flowers. She loved flowers.
It was getting dark, but he managed to find the grave without much difficulty. A small white headstone. 'Rebecca Cassidy aged 14 years.' To his annoyance there was already a large, ostentatious bouquet of pink carnations lying by the headstone. The attached card read: 'On your birthday, darling, from Mummy and Geoff.' Geoff! The new bloody husband! He was shaking with rage. How dare that swine give my daughter flowers. He never even bloody knew her! Cassidy snatched up the bouquet and tore the card to shreds, then gently laid his own small offering in its place. Fourteen! Fourteen years old, all her life in front of her, and some bastard, probably drunk, had mowed her down and didn't bother to stop to see if she was alive or dead. And then Frost had sodded up the investigation.
He walked away, clutching the carnations, looking for a bin where he could dump them. He passed another grave, overgrown and neglected. He stopped. Talk of the devil! It was the grave of Frost's wife, the grass overgrown, long-dead stalks of flowers in a vase. The callous bastard hadn't been back to tend it since the day she was buried. As he tore up some of the long grass to make room for the carnations, he winced. The cold night air was getting to his wound, triggering off the hurt. He hurried back to the warmth of the car.
Mullett marched into the incident room and headed straight for Frost. 'Another missing child?' he barked, making it sound as if it was all Frost's fault.
'Yes, sorry about that, super. I'll try and see it doesn't happen again.' He scooped up some papers and headed for the door, but was called back.
'Traffic are talking about extra overtime. I haven't authorized it. Do you know anything about it?'
'Ah yes,' said Frost, who had forgotten all about it. 'I was going to come in and see you about that.' But he was saved by the bell. Liz Maud came in, not looking at all happy, and behind was Flaming hell! Jim bloody Cassidy. Where did he spring from?
'Ah,' said Mullett. 'In case you don't know, our old colleague Mr. Cassidy is taking over as acting detective inspector only until Mr. Allen gets back. I'm sure we're all delighted to have such a worthy addition to our team.'
The news was greeted with stunned silence, broken by Liz. 'If I could have a word, sir,' she said, her eyes smouldering with resentment. Mullett had as good as offered the promotion to her and she wanted to know why he had gone back on his word.
'Later, later,' said Mullett, backing hurriedly to the door. 'Make an appointment with my secretary. I'm a bit tied up just now.' He scuttled back to his office and switched on the red 'Engaged Do Not Enter' light. Cassidy might be trouble, but there was no way he was having a woman detective inspector in his division, even if the promotion was only temporary.
'Good to see you, Jim,' said Frost. He didn't hold out his hand as he knew Cassidy wouldn't take it. He introduced him around. One or two people knew Cassidy from his previous time in Denton, but did their best to hide their dismay. 'And, of course, you've met Detective Sergeant Maud?'
Cassidy flicked her a brisk nod. 'I'd like an office on my own. Perhaps she could move in with you.'
'Of course,' agreed Frost. This wasn't the time or place to start a row.
'And I'd like someone assigned to me to do my filing and odd jobs and things.' He pointed to Burton. 'He looks a likely chap.'
'We all do our own filing and odd jobs and things,' said Frost. 'I can't spare anyone we've got too much on.'
Cassidy's expression did not change. 'I see. Well, perhaps you had better brief me on just what you do have on.'
