‘Okay, Barnes. Give us a quick update on the search at Demiri’s house,’ said Sharp.
‘There were no vehicles on the driveway when we arrived, guv. There’s a separate building to the right of the house – an old stable block that had been converted into garages, with room for two vehicles – but that was empty.’
Barnes pointed with his mug of tea at the aerial image Sharp had set up on the whiteboard once more.
‘The woodland around the property doesn’t actually belong to Demiri – it’s leased to him by the neighbouring farmer. Needless to say, there’s an additional forensic team on site now, using GPS to check for any disturbed earth or other recent anomalies.’
‘Was the house unlocked like the offices were?’ said Gavin.
‘No – we had to break down the front door. All the furniture was still there, but all of Demiri’s personal effects are gone – clothing and the like – and there’s no sign of any electronic equipment. Even the television’s gone.’
‘Cleared out in a hurry,’ said Carys.
‘No, and that’s the thing,’ said Barnes. ‘I didn’t get the sense that this was done in a panic. It felt too coordinated.’
‘As if he was expecting us?’ said Kay.
‘Exactly.’
‘When we interviewed him, he mentioned a new business venture in Romford,’ said Sharp. ‘Anything turn up about that?’
‘No,’ said Kay. ‘I heard back from my contact at the Joint Intelligence Unit earlier, and they’ve come up empty-handed. I don’t think Demiri has any business interests there. He was lying to us.’
‘Well, at the moment he’s done a disappearing act as famous as one of Pluckley’s bloody ghosts,’ said Barnes, then turned as Simon Harrison burst through the door and hurried towards them.
‘Good, you’re still here,’ he said, tucking his mobile phone into his jacket pocket.
‘What’s going on?’ said Sharp.
‘The Chief Superintendent’s agreed to holding a press conference at headquarters to talk about the Demiri case. If we hurry, we can get it on the six o’clock local news. National coverage will go out at nine o’clock tonight.’
‘What?’ Kay felt her jaw drop open, a moment too late. ‘Sorry, guv. It’s just that – do we want to tip him off about the investigation?’
Harrison’s eyes darkened. ‘Given the disaster of today’s searches, I wouldn’t say we’ve got a lot of choice, would you, Hunter? I mean, for goodness’ sake – didn’t either of you suspect anything when you interviewed him at his offices?’
‘We didn’t request the guided tour when we were there,’ said Sharp through clenched teeth.
Harrison straightened his tie, and then glanced over his shoulder before beckoning them back towards the door.
‘Well, it’s too late now,’ he said. ‘Come on. We need to go. Demiri knows we’re closing in on him. Right now, we’ve got him on the run. His business has closed, his offices are shut, and there’s no sign of him at his house. He’s hiding somewhere, and you know as well as I do that if we do a televised appeal for information, someone close to him may come forward.’
Kay caught Sharp’s glance in her direction, and shrugged before grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair and following him.
Based on her own involvement with Jozef Demiri, she doubted very much whether anyone who knew him would be brave – or stupid – enough to volunteer his whereabouts, despite Harrison’s assertions.
From the expression Sharp wore, it was evident he thought the same, although he remained silent.
‘Shall we take your car?’ Harrison pushed through the door and strolled across the car park ahead of them.
‘What’s going on?’ said Kay under her breath.
‘No idea,’ said Sharp. ‘Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. We’ll reconvene after the press conference. Somewhere out of earshot from Mr Harrison and his sidekick, O’Reilly.’
‘Right.’
Chapter Thirty-Nine
When they reached headquarters, various news vans and cars emblazoned with television channels’ logos were jostling for space in the visitor car park.
Harrison checked his watch as he climbed from the passenger seat and waited while Sharp locked the car.
‘We’re running late,’ he said, and hurried towards the building.
Kay cast her eyes over a nearby news vehicle as a technician slammed the door shut and looped a row of cable over his shoulder, whistling as he worked.
She scowled.
She knew news conferences were necessary to engage the public and seek information about ongoing investigations, but she despised the fact that it was often viewed as entertainment, a way to increase the evening’s ratings, and that competition between the television channels would be high.
She glanced across at Sharp as they followed Harrison, and noticed that he wore a similarly troubled expression.
They remained silent as they followed the detective chief inspector through the building and to the room that had been set aside for the news conference.
Kay stood on the threshold, and gathered her thoughts while she watched the various reporters, cameramen and photographers take their places.
A long table had been set up at one end of the room, a blue cloth covering its surface and a row of microphones taking up most of the space.
Various logos of familiar news channels were fastened to the microphones, each television station ensuring it received free advertising from its competitors’ cameras.
Four chairs were behind the table, a glass of water in front of each.
A large panel emblazoned with the Kent Police logo had been erected behind the table, the Crime Stoppers telephone number clearly visible from the back of the room.
Despite the five rows of chairs that had been manhandled into the small room, reporters had to jostle for space around the edges, murmured reproaches from the camera operators reaching Kay’s ears as she followed Harrison to the front of the room.
He gestured to the two seats to the right of the table. ‘Sharp, if you take the one on the far right, with Hunter
