before we know it we’ll be up to our necks in tales of satanic rituals.” Gristhorpe stood up, grimaced and put his hand to the small of his back. “Anyway, let’s get on. We’ve circulated Gemma’s picture, and Susan managed to lift a set of her prints from a paint-box, so we’ve got them on file for comparison. Nothing new came up during the night. We did about as well as can be expected on the house-to-house. Four people say they remembered seeing a car parked outside Brenda Scupham’s house on Tuesday afternoon. Of these, two say it was black, one dark brown and one dark blue.” Gristhorpe paused. “I think, therefore, that we can be certain it was a dark car.” He refilled his coffee cup and sat down again. “As far as the make is concerned we got even less. They all agreed it was a pretty small car, but not as small as a Mini, and it looked quite new. It wasn’t an estate car or a van of any kind, so we’re looking at a compact. One said it
reminded him of those Japanese jobbies he’s seen advertised on television, so it may be an import. Needless to say, no one got the number.”
“Did anyone see the couple?” Banks asked.
“Yes.” Gristhorpe looked at the file in front of him. “The woman at number eleven said she was washing her windows and she saw a well-dressed couple going up the path. Said they looked official, that’s all. She thought maybe Mrs Scupham or her friend had got in trouble with DHSS.”
“Hmm,” said Banks. “Hardly surprising. 1 don’t suppose anybody saw them leaving with the child?”
Gristhorpe shook his head.
“Well,” Banks said, “at least it helps confirm Brenda Scupham’s story.”
“Aye.” Gristhorpe looked over at Susan Gay, who had done most of the questioning. “Who would you say was our most reliable witness?”
“Mr Carter at number sixteen, sir. It wasn’t so much that he’d seen more than the others, but he seemed to be thinking very seriously about what he had seen, and he told me he had a strong visual memory?not quite photographic, but he could close his eyes and picture scenes. He seemed careful not to make anything up. You know, sir, how a lot of them embroider on the truth.”
“What colour did he say the car was?” Banks asked.
“Dark blue, and he thought it was a Japanese design, too. But he didn’t see this Peterson and Brown couple, just the car.”
“Shame,” said Gristhorpe. “Had he seen it around before?”
“No, sir.”
“Think it would do any good talking to him again?”
“It might,” said Susan. “I’ll drop by sometime today. He’s a pensioner and I get the impression he’s lonely. He
seemed pleased to have a bit of company. It took me a while to get him round to what he’d seen.”
Gristhorpe smiled. “Let him ramble a while, if it helps. Indulge him. And we’d better organize a house-to-house of the entire estate. I want to know if anything like this has happened there before, people posing as social workers after children. No one’s likely to admit to it, but if you get the feeling that anyone’s being particularly evasive, for whatever reason, make a note and we’ll get back to them. Can you handle that, Susan?”
Susan Gay nodded.
“Take as many PCs as you can find, and make sure you give them a damn good briefing first. Most of the lads are out on the search, but we’ve been promised extra manpower on this.” He turned to Richmond. “We’ve got to check with all the garages in the area and see if they remember anyone matching the description stopping for petrol. And I want to see all the police traffic reports? parking or speeding tickets?for Tuesday. In fact, make it for the past week. I want to know if anyone remembers a smartly dressed couple with a little girl in a dark blue compact. Better check with the car-rental agencies, too. Phil, can you handle all that?”
Richmond nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ve already got a computer printout of locals with any kind of history of child molestation. None of the descriptions match. Do you want me to start on that too?”
“How many?”
“Six, sir?that’s four in the Swainsdale area and two in Sergeant Hatchley’s patch. But we’ve no way of telling where our couple started out from.”
“I know,” said Gristhorpe. “I’ll get onto DS Hatchley, and you just do the best you can. We’ll see if we can’t pay a couple of visits ourselves. But I want priority on tracking down that car. Someone must have noticed it.
By the way, those computers you wanted have been delivered to the mobile unit. Do you think you can take a trip out there and give the lads a quick lesson?”
“No problem.”
“Any questions?” Gristhorpe asked.
“Did forensics find anything at the house?” Banks asked.
Gristhorpe shook his head. “Not a sausage. The SOCO team did a thorough job, and they couldn’t find any traces of a struggle?no blood, nothing?or any indications that Gemma had been harmed on the premises. I think we can assume that Mrs Scupham is telling the truth and this couple really did abduct the lass.”
“Anything new on Les Poole?” Banks asked.
“Nothing,” Gristhorpe answered. “According to the PCs on the night shift, he got back from the pub about ten o’clock and hasn’t been out since. Anything else?”
“What about Gemma’s father?” Susan asked.
“As far as we know, he’s serving with the army in Belfast, poor sod. We’ll arrange to get the locals to interview him today, if possible, just to make sure he’s got nothing to do with it.” Gristhorpe clapped his hands. “Right. If there’s nothing else, we’d better get cracking.” As they left, he touched Banks on the shoulder. “Alan, a moment?”
“Of course.”
Gristhorpe poured more coffee for himself and Banks. He didn’t look too bad for someone who hadn’t had much sleep, Banks thought. Perhaps the bags under his eyes were heavier than usual, but he seemed alert and full of
