The automated system ran through different options, none of which were beneficial to them. Instead, Charlie remained on the line in a queue until she spoke to an actual person. She was caller number ten.
“Wonderful, so much for this being an emergency number, what if someone was desperately in need of their help?” Katy grumbled. She picked up a pen and tapped it on the desk.
“I suppose if someone is desperately ill, they would need to ring nine-nine-nine or one-one-one. Again, I might be talking out of my arse.”
Katy chuckled. “You always manage to brighten a dull day.”
She stared at the clock, it was coming up to twelve-fifteen and they’d been on hold, listening to what was supposed to be soothing music, for more than ten minutes. She left her seat to stretch her legs. “This is driving me bloody potty.”
A woman’s voice came on the line. “Social Services, how may I help?”
Charlie sat back in her chair and motioned for Katy to reply. “Ah, yes, sorry to trouble you. I’m DI Katy Foster, I’m in need of some information.”
“You’re aware this is an emergency hotline and not an information service, aren’t you, Inspector?” the woman said abruptly.
“Yes, and I apologise, but this really is a matter of life and death. We have a kidnapped child we’re trying to trace.”
“I see. What do you need from me?”
“We’re at a loss as to where to turn. We’re trying to contact the family of the person we believe may have kidnapped the child. The woman in question has a disabled brother. As far as we’re aware, he doesn’t live with her. What we need to find out is where the brother lives. It’s our only way of tracing this woman.”
“I understand. I’ll see what I can do to help. What’s the brother’s name?”
One hand held up with her fingers crossed, Katy replied, “It’s Daniel Johnson. There was an accident eighteen years ago, their parents were killed outright. Daniel was in a coma for a while and then classed as disabled after the accident.”
“Just a moment, I’ll input the information to see what I can find.”
“Wonderful.”
“Ah yes, here we are. I thought I recognised the case. A terrible shame for the kids to contend with. According to our records, the aunt and uncle offered to care for Daniel and Megan. As far as I can tell, they’re still caring for Daniel.”
“Marvellous. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give me their address, would you? It’s imperative we find out where Megan is.”
“I’m going to need you to send me some form of ID first, I can’t possibly hand over such sensitive information at the drop of a hat, I’m sure you understand.”
“Totally. How do you want to do this?” Katy said, trying her hardest not to grit her teeth at having to jump through hoops for this woman.
“I need you to scan your warrant card and send it to the following email address. That way it’ll come straight to me and I can action things immediately.”
“Scan it? Won’t a photo of my card via my phone do? The technology is more up to date than having to hunt around for a scanner. I’m not even sure the printer in the office scans documents et cetera.”
“It does, I can do it for you,” Charlie whispered.
“Okay, ignore that. My partner said she’s willing to give it a go.”
“That’s perfect, problem solved. If you give me your number, I’ll ring you back once I’ve received the email from you, and we’ll go from there.”
Katy jotted down the email address the woman gave her and let Charlie do her bit regarding the scan. “What a bastard, having to prove who I am over the damn internet.”
“It’s better to be safe and all that. Can you imagine the number of calls they have to contend with? Fake calls at that.”
“All right, you’ve convinced me again. How long is it going to take?”
“More time if you persist in asking me questions.”
Charlie worked her magic with the computer mouse and the scanner and before long, a light traced a line under the lid.
“All the years I’ve been here, I just thought it was a damn printer.”
They both laughed. Charlie sourced the document from the computer, attached it to an email and hit the send button.
Within seconds, the woman from Social Services was on the line, verifying that the documentation had been substantiated.
Thank fuck for that! Not sure what I would have done if she’d rejected it. “Great to hear. Now, about that information. You know, what with time being of the essence and all that jazz.”
“There’s no need to be grouchy, Inspector, we all have our protocols to adhere to, as you’re well aware.”
“I am. Can we get on with this, please?”
“Very well. The children were placed with their Aunt Gail and Uncle Sam. Their address is number eight Whittaker Close, East Finchley. Do you need the postcode?”
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
The woman read it out and Charlie entered it on a clean page in her notebook.
“That’s very kind of you. I don’t suppose there’s anything on their records that we should be cautious of, is there?”
“Wait, I’ll just check. No, I don’t believe so. Apart from Daniel being severely disabled. He has problems communicating with the family.”
“How sad. Okay, we’ll take it easy when we go and question them. I can’t thank you enough for your help.”
“My pleasure. I hope you locate the kidnapped child. If you hadn’t mentioned that, I doubt I would have been so willing to divulge the information, not over the phone and definitely not on a Sunday.”
“So glad you took pity on me. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Ha, I doubt it. Good luck.”
Katy hung up and her gaze was immediately drawn to the clock. It was getting ever closer to one, with ten minutes to spare.
Reading Katy’s mind, Charlie said, “Would you rather visit
