‘We’ve got nothing and he’s got bloody Bronwen Scott.’ There was no need to say more. She stifled a yawn, told herself she did not need a drink and settled into her chair. ‘What about you two? Any joy last night at Amatis?’
The other two exchanged a look. ‘Some joy, but not at Amatis, Chris said, shifting in her seat. ‘I agreed to let Paula pursue another line of inquiry–’
‘That’s not how it was, chief,’ Paula interrupted. ‘It wasn’t Sergeant Devine’s responsibility. I talked her into it. It’s down to me. If there’s going to be any trouble, it’s all down to me.’
‘What are you two on about?’ Carol said, amused at their earnestness. ‘If we’re making progress, I don’t much care who’s responsible. Spit it out, Paula. What was your other line of inquiry?’
Paula stared at her feet. ‘I don’t know if you know, but Dr Hill’s been…helping me get myself back together,’ she said, obviously struggling. ‘I was going to quit. But he got me to see things a different way.’
‘I know how good he is at that,’ Carol said gently. She too had needed his talent for repair, though she suspected Paula had gained more from the process because of the lack of intimacy between them.
Paula looked up and met Carol’s eyes, defiance in the line of her jaw. ‘I owe him. So when he asked me to go and see him yesterday, I didn’t hesitate. He told me about another case he believed to be connected to Robbie Bishop. He told me you had already dismissed the idea, and I have to say I wasn’t surprised when he explained how thin it was.’
Carol managed to keep her face still, but inside her composure had evaporated. What the hell was he playing at? At the very least, this felt like lack of faith. At the worst, it felt like betrayal. How could he pluck out one of her own team and use that detective to try to show her how the job should be done? ‘Are you about to tell me you’ve been making inquiries into the death of Daniel Wade?’ she said, her voice dangerously precise.
Paula tensed in her chair but didn’t flinch. ‘Yes, chief.’
Carol tilted her head to one side, considering Paula with the same disdain she gave prisoners in the interview room. ‘And remind me, Detective Constable McIntyre, when exactly you resigned from MIT and commenced your employment with Dr Hill?’
‘It’s not like that,’ Paula began. ‘I owe him.’
‘You had a task assigned to you in a murder inquiry, and you chose to abandon that because a civilian who occasionally works with this unit told you to go and do something else?’ Carol’s voice would have stilled storm. She could see her words cut into Paula and she was petty enough at that moment to be glad.
To her surprise, Chris took up the cudgels. ‘I think what’s important here is what Paula found out, guv. You can see she’s not proud of what she’s done, but there’s no question that she has got a result. She’s a good copper and she doesn’t deserve a caning for going out on a limb. We all do that from time to time.’ Her eyes challenged Carol. They’d had overlapping service in the Met. Carol knew that Chris Devine was bound to know more about her than anybody else on her squad.
‘There’ll be time to deal with the disciplinary side of this after the investigation’s over and done with,’ she said coldly, not wanting to admit the fear Chris’s words had provoked in her. Paula had got a result. Which meant Carol had been wrong to disregard Tony’s opinion. Was she losing it? Was she cutting her nose off to spite her face because he’d seen things she should have but hadn’t? Was the drink taking its toll on her judgement? God only knew she’d seen that happen with plenty of others. ‘What did Dr Hill have you do?’
Looking shaken, Paula told Carol about her trip to the pub and her interview with Jana Jankowicz. She placed the photo of Jack Anderson on the desk. ‘This is the man Carlos identified. Jana thinks he came to the house when Danny was out, but she can’t remember why or when.’
‘We didn’t get any positive IDs on Anderson at Amatis, but one of the barmen thinks he could have been the bloke with Robbie that Thursday night,’ Chris added. ‘All a bit vague, but we thought it might be worth getting Carlos in to work with Stacey to see if we can turn that pic into a better likeness. Different hair, a bit of computer enhancement, that sort of thing.’
Carol felt the rip of conflicting emotions. Part of her wanted to nurse her anger and let them feel the rough edge of her tongue. And the other part of her wanted to congratulate them and set the wheels in motion to find Jack Anderson and bring him in. Even as she recognized the split, the cop in her was battering the angry child into submission. At the same moment, she saw Paula recognize her shift and relax a fraction. ‘Fuck it,’ Carol said, a wry smile creeping out in spite of herself. ‘You have no idea how much I hate being wrong. But next time, Paula-if there is a next time-bring it to me before you go off on one of Tony’s hunches. He’s not always right, you know. And I will always listen.’ As she spoke, she saw Paula’s shoulders drop. There was still a hot coal of anger in Carol’s heart, but she was reserving that for the person who really deserved it. ‘So. Who is Jack Anderson and where do we find him?’
‘That,’ said Chris with a sigh, ‘is where we run into a bit of a problem. According to Stacey, he doesn’t exist.’
‘Meaning what?’ Carol was still prickly, in no mood for guessing games. ‘We have his photo. That must have come from somewhere.’
‘We’ve spoken to the person who sent it to us. And to the third person in the original photo. They both say the same thing. They were at school with Jack Anderson and he used to turn up at the same pub quiz as them. Tuesday nights at the Red Lion in Downton. He was in a team that called themselves The Funhouse. About three years ago, he stopped coming. Our lads asked The Funhouse why Anderson had dropped out and they said he’d moved to Stockport. And that’s where that bit of the trail goes cold,’ Paula said.
‘Because, according to Stacey, he didn’t go to Stockport,’ Chris continued. ‘Or if he did, he’s not registered to vote. He doesn’t pay council tax, he’s not in the phone book, he’s not registered for VAT and he hasn’t filed a tax return for four years. He hasn’t filed for bankruptcy and he doesn’t have a current credit card. Doesn’t it scare you what that girl can find out on a Saturday morning?’
Carol shivered theatrically. ‘I try not to think about it. What about family? Old school friends?’
‘We’re working on it,’ Paula said. ‘According to the bloke who gave us the photo in the first place, Anderson’s dad was in the army. Apparently he was killed in the first Gulf War, not long after Anderson started at Harriestown High. Our source isn’t sure he’s remembering it right, but he thinks it was a friendly-fire incident.’
‘That’s gotta hurt,’ Carol said. ‘What about his mum?’
Chris looked at her notebook. ‘I’m still trying to get detail on this, but we’re being told she committed suicide the summer after Anderson’s first year at university. Sounds like she waited till he was sort of settled then did what
