‘It wasn’t planned,’ she lied, withering beneath Winter’s gaze. ‘They didn’t know I was a copper. I told them I was on holidays.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Amy said. ‘How did you manage that?’
Molly allowed herself to smile. ‘I dressed down. Wore my hair in plaits. They wouldn’t have spoken to me otherwise—’ Molly came to an abrupt halt as she realised she’d been caught out. Had she simply gone for an amble, she would not have been prepared.
‘Look’ – Amy folded her arms across her chest – ‘I’ve sent you out to talk to people off the record before. But wandering around on your own where no one can hear you is another kettle of fish. You saw what happened to Carla. Use your common sense.’
‘Honestly,’ Molly said, ‘I wasn’t in danger. I don’t think one of them was over eighteen.’
‘Age is no measure of security,’ Amy said sagely. ‘Tell me everything.’
‘They’re runaways,’ Molly said, after recounting her time with them. ‘Tina, the girl in the baseball cap, is the ringleader. They look up to her. She was suspicious at first, but Matty, the youngest, took a shine to me.’ She glanced at Winter, encouraged by the fact she had not torn a strip off her yet. ‘One of them took off when I got there, it looked like she had somewhere to be. I sounded them out. Asked if any jobs were going. I figured maybe they were selling weed on the side.’
‘You’re swimming in dangerous waters,’ Amy said. ‘Be careful. Don’t compromise yourself.’
Molly relaxed. ‘I won’t. I told Matty that if anything came up to give me a shout . . . Just as a way of keeping in contact with him,’ she added hastily. ‘I didn’t want to push too much the first time. They were guarded as it was. Just as well that I wasn’t on that documentary after all.’
She stiffened as a job car responded to a call, the police siren blaring into life. She missed being in uniform. Her mum had encouraged her into the safety of an office as soon as she passed probation. It had been a rush, flying into the face of danger, never knowing if you were going home in one piece. Nowadays, she grabbed her adrenalin rushes where she could. She watched as the police car sped through the electric gates and beyond.
She returned her attention to her DI, a woman she carried unfailing admiration for.
‘I’m all for you making local enquiries in a safe environment, but this can’t turn into any kind of covert work. Not without the proper authority.’ Molly was aware of Amy scrutinising her intently as she spoke. ‘If Donovan hears that’s what you’ve been up to, he’ll insist that you back off.’ She sighed.
Molly knew that look. Her boss’s passion for the case was tempered by frustration due to the restrictions of her job. But Molly would make it a little bit easier for her. ‘To be fair, it’s just intelligence gathering. They seemed harmless enough.’
‘But you think they’ve been travelling from resort to resort?’
Molly nodded. ‘And I hope to find out more.’
‘Keep it under your hat for now,’ Amy said. ‘At least, until I bring it up with the DCI. I don’t want him thinking I’ve put you up to this.’
‘Sure thing,’ Molly said. But there was more to it than that. It was only a matter of time before their team were called back to London to deal with the next big case.
As the SERCO lorry rumbled away from the station, Amy and Molly turned to go back inside. She had only taken a few steps when her mobile phone rang. Damn, she thought, hoping it wasn’t her mother. She’d rung her several times already, and Molly thought she’d put it on vibrate.
‘Aren’t you going to answer that?’ Winter said, as ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams played out.
Molly’s smile tightened as she checked her phone. But this was not her mother. ‘It’s Matty,’ she whispered, as if he could hear her. ‘It has to be. Nobody else has this number.’
‘Put it on speaker.’ Amy guided her to the outside wall of the property office, away from the custody block.
After exchanging a glance with her boss, Molly answered her phone. Don’t balls this up, she thought, conscious of her audience.
‘Who dis?’ she said, her voice sounding younger, more carefree. Her heart skipped a beat as she awaited a response. Had she put off her caller before their conversation had even begun?
‘Em . . . is that Mols?’ It was Matty on the end of the line.
Molly didn’t want to sound desperate. It was the quickest way of scaring him off. ‘Who’s asking?’ she said, softening her voice.
‘I met you last night – it’s Matt . . . chatty Matty.’
Molly smiled. ‘Oh, mate, how are you? You got a job for me?’ She turned towards the wall, shielding the phone from outside noise. She prayed another police siren would not drown her words. She couldn’t look at her boss, who was listening intently. She was in character now.
‘Tina dishes out the jobs,’ Matty said, ‘but, like, we’re meeting up soon if you wanna come.’
Molly sucked in a breath, choosing her words carefully. ‘For sure. How about now? I’m going downtown in half an hour – fancy sharing a bag of chips? I need to get out. My auntie’s doing my head in.’
A pause. ‘Mmm, nah . . . I can’t. But I’ll bell ya the next time we’re out.’
Molly pulled at a strand of errant hair. ‘Cool, cool.’
‘And bring some cans next time, yeah?’
‘I’ll see what’s in the fridge.’ Molly chuckled before ending the call. She exhaled, finally meeting Winter’s gaze.
‘Well done,’ Amy replied. ‘But when you get a time and place, you’re not going alone. We’ll clear this with the DCI first.’
Molly’s face fell. ‘Do we have
