Kay moved between the table and the backdrop, gave Sharp a small smile as he pulled out her chair for her, and sat down. Reaching for her glass of water, she realised her hand was shaking and snatched it back. If Demiri was watching her from somewhere, she didn’t want him to see her look anything but under control.
She had to let him know she was more than capable of bringing him to justice.
A sound at the back of the room to her left roused her from her thoughts, and she began to stand as the Chief Superintendent entered the room from a second doorway.
The woman waved her back into her seat. ‘As you were, Hunter. How are we doing for time, Harrison?’
‘We’re still on schedule, ma’am. I arranged a bit of contingency knowing how busy you are.’
Kay turned her head and caught Sharp’s amused eyes.
He winked, then took a sip from his water glass before leaning back in his chair, his hands clasped on the table in front of him.
Kay wished she felt as relaxed as he looked, then swivelled round to face the room once more as Harrison cleared his throat.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, if you could take your seats, we’ll make a start.’
He waited while the last of the reporters shuffled closer to the front of the room, microphones and phones held aloft, and then began.
Kay’s eyes roamed the reporters’ faces while he read from the prepared media statement, giving out the facts as known, and which had been deemed necessary to try and drive the investigation forward without giving Demiri too much information, before she was jolted from her observations by the sound of her name.
‘I’d like to introduce the two lead detectives in this matter, Detective Inspector Sharp and Detective Sergeant Kay Hunter,’ said Harrison. He swivelled in his seat to face Kay. ‘Perhaps Detective Hunter would like to say something?’
Kay swallowed, then faced the crowded room and tried not to blink as a camera flash went off towards the back of it.
She’d been surprised at Harrison’s insistence on her attending the press conference in the first place. She certainly hadn’t imagined he’d introduce her by name and ask her to speak to the media.
She cleared her throat.
‘We’re very keen to speak to anyone who may have information that will assist with our enquiries,’ she said. ‘We believe Jozef Demiri is still in the area.’
She glanced to her right at Sharp and was rewarded with an almost imperceptible nod before he turned his attention to the reporters.
‘Under no circumstances should Jozef Demiri be approached by the public,’ he said. ‘We consider him to be a danger, and possibly armed. Anyone who has information regarding his whereabouts is asked to please contact the incident room at Maidstone Police Station or through the Crime Stoppers number. I’ll remind viewers that phone calls to the Crime Stoppers number are treated anonymously.’
He gestured to Harrison to wrap up the briefing, and Kay held her breath while the two senior detectives fielded questions from the journalists before Harrison leaned closer to the row of microphones.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time. We’ll let you know as soon as we have further details available for you.’
The Chief Superintendent rose from her seat, and led the way out the back door from the room.
She waited until Sharp closed it behind them before she spoke.
‘Well done, Harrison. You’ll keep me posted on developments?’
‘We will, ma’am. Rest assured, if we receive any information as to the whereabouts of Demiri or his operations, we’ll let you know immediately.’
‘Thank you.’
She shook hands with all of them, and then strode away, extracting her mobile phone from the pocket of her uniform and placing it to her ear as she disappeared around a corner.
Harrison beamed as he watched her go, and then turned to Sharp and Kay.
‘Good work, Hunter. Got the point across succinctly and clearly. No doubt we’ll have more phone calls to work through by the morning.’
‘Er, thanks, guv. Appreciated.’
Harrison glanced down as his mobile phone beeped. ‘Right, well if you’ll both excuse me, the Chief Super wants a quick word. I’ll see you both tomorrow at oh seven hundred shall I, Sharp?’
‘Will do,’ said Sharp. He turned to Kay as the other detective strode away and turned a corner. ‘Come on. I’ll give you a lift back to the station, and then we’ll take the team out for a drink and watch the press conference in the pub. Well done out there, by the way. At this rate, Harrison will be lining you up for interviews on daytime television.’
She began to follow him, then glanced up at his face, but his features remained impassive.
‘You’re joking, right?’
His mouth quirked, and she stopped dead in her tracks as he wandered off, whistling.
‘Bastard,’ she muttered.
Chapter Forty
Gavin swerved through the crowd holding a tray of drinks aloft before he reached the table at the back, and placed it in front of the team.
As one, they launched themselves at the pints of beer and clinked their glasses together.
‘Well, let’s hope it was worth it. With any luck, we’ll have some new leads to work on in the morning,’ said Barnes.
Sharp held his hand up to silence him, and then pointed at the television above the bar. ‘It’s on.’
Kay sipped her drink and watched over Carys’s head as the news channel began to show the press conference.
Relief shot through her as she realised her nerves didn’t show at all, and she was pleased that her voice sounded steady and authoritative.
Sharp swivelled round in his seat and held up his glass
