‘I wonder how Glover hired him?’ Diane said.
‘I’ll be asking as soon as he’s conscious. Like I said, Riley was released several months ago. Previous to the Pearson case, Riley had been connected to petty crimes in the area. The worst of them was a heist at a local jewellers where Riley was one of a gang. He was a minor player in the hold-up not the mastermind.’
Grant pinned up a picture of Riley. ‘I found out too late a package was put into the mailbox at Jack’s apartment. A woman dropped it off. It must have been the pay-as-you-go phone passed to Jack by Riley.’
‘So you were right, guv, he’s got an accomplice,’ McGowan said.
‘We’ve got information about Riley’s girlfriend. At the time of his arrest for the Pearson break-in, Riley was living with a young woman called Maria Fernandez.’ Grant nodded to Diane.
‘This picture was taken a few years ago,’ Diane said.
It flashed up.
‘She’s got long dark hair. Like the woman seen in Joan Hardman’s street,’ Delaney said.
Grant cracked his knuckles. ‘The concierge had positively identified her as the woman in the foyer. DCS Fox has sent out a nationwide alert to apprehend Maria Fernandez.’
‘The abductor has the money so it’s likely he’ll abandon the children,’ Ruby said. ‘They’re no use to him now.’
‘Agreed and if it’s sepsis, the paediatrician didn’t give Emily long. We’ve two priorities – we find this bastard Riley and we locate his girlfriend. They’re our best bet of tracking down the children. The whole country will be looking for them by the time we walk out of this room. Delaney, I want you to lead on Maria Fernandez. Collins, McGowan and I will be on the trail of Riley.’
38
Everyone was going full out. They now had two key suspects to track.
Ruby had an idea niggling at the back of her mind. She wasn’t a police officer, which meant she couldn’t take a lead on the action, but she wanted to follow up on what didn’t make sense.
What if Nick Riley had an accomplice they had not yet identified? Ruby wanted to go through the case notes again to see if she could work out what felt wrong.
Grant’s team had left the station and Ruby was on her way to her office when she noticed McGowan slipping into the cubbyhole. Why hadn’t he gone with the others? Finding Riley and Fernandez was a priority.
McGowan’s body posture was off. He was usually cocky and strutting and he stomped in and out of rooms as if he owned them. Why was he slinking about? What was he up to?
The cubbyhole was partitioned from the corridor by a semi-transparent panel and she could make out McGowan’s movements. He was making a phone call.
It was brief. Then, McGowan turned and strode out, giving Ruby just enough time to slip into the photocopying room. The last thing she wanted was for him to spot her spying. Likely he’d blow a gasket.
This is stupid, she told herself. You don’t like him, only it’s no reason to be suspicious.
He was heading for the emergency stairwell. Ruby didn’t give herself time to think. She slunk after him, keeping her back close to the wall while trying to maintain an appearance of normality. If someone else saw her she didn’t want them to think she’d turned into a nutter.
McGowan disappeared up the stairs. The fire door had a habit of banging shut so Ruby made sure she closed it soundlessly behind her.
His footsteps were gritty against the stairs as he ran several flights above her. Then there came voices. He’d bumped into another man, or was it a pre-planned meeting? Ruby strained to hear though she couldn’t catch the words. Who was McGowan talking to? Could she risk peering up the middle of the stairwell to see? What if they spotted her? So what if they do, she told herself. The worst is if McGowan shouts at you and he does that anyway.
Little by little, she leant out. If she looked down, she could see the long drop to the ground floor minus one. Looking up, she caught sight of the arm of the man McGowan was talking to. It was dressed in a dark jacket. She leaned out as far as she dared and caught a glimpse of the insignia on the man’s shoulder.
It was Assistant Chief Constable Treadgold. The man Grant believed to be corrupt.
The two men suddenly stopped talking. McGowan’s head jerked over the railing and she found herself staring him in the face. Shit.
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ McGowan yelled.
Her heart raced as she yanked open the door to the corridor. Ruby wanted to run and she told herself to walk normally and not act as if she’d done anything wrong. McGowan caught up with her when she was outside her office. He pushed her into the wall. Damn, she should have gone the other way because there were always less people down this end. The corridor was deserted.
‘Have you been eavesdropping, Silver?’
‘Get away from me.’
‘Answer my question.’
‘I don’t have to. Aren’t you supposed to be out catching the kidnapper?’
‘You’re not the one who gives orders around here, darling. And if I find out you’ve been spying–’
‘Detective Sergeant McGowan, what the hell is going on?’ snapped DCS Fox.
McGowan jumped and a sound came from his trousers which sounded like a fart.
Fox did not look amused. ‘The case has reached a critical stage. What the hell are you still doing at the station?’
‘I’m on my way out, ma’am.’
‘Too bloody well right. Get moving.’
Once McGowan had gone, Fox turned to Ruby. ‘Whatever it was I saw there, Ms Silver, I didn’t like it. Once this case is over I think you and I and DCI Grant need to have a proper talk.’
39
In the morning, the woman who’d brought the eggs didn’t come.
‘Will there be something to eat?’ Lisa asked her sister.
‘Maybe later.’
Lisa whimpered with hunger and Emily
