Rachel looked from left to right before leaning in. ‘They’re being shuffled around every few weeks from one resort to another. You should have them on CCTV.’
Amy sighed. CCTV was being checked by each police force, but given how busy each resort was, it was an onerous task for officers involved. ‘And you’ve spoken to them?’
‘Briefly, but they’re moved on each time. They’re like a pack of street foxes. They only go out when they must. They’re wary. They won’t volunteer to be taken into care.’
‘I wouldn’t have thought they’d have much choice in the matter,’ Amy said. ‘If they’re underage and neglected you need to be taking them in.’
‘If only it were that easy.’ Rachel’s expression darkened. ‘Do you know how many teenagers are reported missing every day?’
‘Hundreds,’ Amy replied. ‘But many of them return home.’
‘And many don’t. There are a lot more teenagers kicked out of their homes, vulnerable and sleeping rough. These kids fall into that group. Some of them aren’t reported missing because their parents don’t give a damn.’ Rachel’s dark eyes flashed with passion for her subject. ‘There are so many unwanted kids in this country, and a good few of them are well shot of the families who turned their back on them. Some turn to crime because they have no choice.’
‘There’s always a choice,’ Amy responded, not wishing to get into a debate. ‘What makes you think they’re involved in the drownings?’
‘Because they’re at each resort when it happens. They even leave their tag.’
‘You mean graffiti tag? How do you know about that?’
Rachel responded with a shrug. ‘It’s common knowledge. But whoever’s controlling these kids is good at covering their tracks.’
‘But the kids have been seen out on their own. Why don’t they accept help?’ Amy tried to wrap her head around it. ‘Surely a children’s home could offer security? Food on the table, a clean bed to sleep in.’
Rachel gave her a knowing look. ‘So could prison, but you wouldn’t want to stay in one, would you?’
Amy paused for thought. She had been fortunate that Robert and Flora Winter had adopted her so quickly after her birth parents were arrested for murder. She knew her siblings, Mandy and Damien, had suffered in the care system, but things must surely be better now. She needed to help these kids because they were putting themselves in danger each night they went out on the streets alone. She caught her thoughts. Since when had she become so maternal? She downed some of her coffee and licked her lips.
As she felt Rachel’s eyes on her, she realised she was waiting for a response.
‘Do you have any proof of sex trafficking?’ A pang of disappointment hit home. She had hoped Rachel would have something substantial to back up her theories.
‘Not yet, but they’re frightened out of their wits. The last person they asked for help ended up in the sea.’ Leaning back in her chair, Rachel folded her arms tightly across her chest.
‘You’re talking about Carla?’ Amy replied. ‘What do you know about that?’
‘Only that she was trying to help them too. She contacted us several times. Don’t you have a record?’
‘No. No, we don’t.’ Amy’s frown deepened. ‘I’ll need everything you’ve got. Times, dates, what was said.’ Why had Carla kept her enquiries a secret? What else didn’t they know about?
‘She spoke to Tina – she’s the matriarch of the group,’ Rachel said. ‘She spoke to the boy too.’
‘That’ll be Matt. Chatty Matty, they call him apparently,’ Amy added. ‘Although there’s nothing to say these names aren’t made up.’
‘Then there’s April,’ Rachel added. ‘She’s one of the few with a home to go to. We’ve been trying to hunt her down.’
‘You know about April?’ Amy said, although keenly aware of her promise to Donovan to let him sort it out. ‘What’s her surname?’
‘Lamb. As in lamb to the slaughter,’ Rachel said dryly. ‘She was a good kid, doing well in school, but it all went downhill when she stayed with her dad. We didn’t link her to the group until Carla emailed us and told us she’d seen her there.’
Amy sighed. The more she heard of Carla’s investigations the less she understood. No such calls or emails were recorded on the system. It was bad policing, and it made her wonder how Donovan could be so accepting of it. There had been times in the past when Amy went off-grid, but it clearly drove Donovan mad.
She fixed her gaze on Rachel as a question popped up in her mind. ‘If Carla knew so much about these kids, why didn’t she pin them down?’
‘They’re clever. Quick-witted. Fast. They starburst when anyone in authority approaches them.’
‘Do you have anything else?’
Rachel gave the question some thought. ‘They’re vulnerable. Some of them are clearly using. They had needle marks on their arms. But whoever’s supplying is keeping a low profile.’
She was talking about drugs: you didn’t need to physically tie people down when they were hooked. Amy glanced up as a queue began to form. It was nearing lunchtime and she needed to get back to the office. ‘I’m inclined to agree.’ She pushed her empty coffee cup away. ‘We’ve seen no CCTV of them coming to Clacton by train or bus. Someone’s transporting them from place to place. You mentioned a connection to the suicides?’
She looked into Rachel’s eyes and was surprised to see a spark of defiance there. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?’
‘Not to me,’ Amy replied, trying to draw her out.
‘Well, then, it should be,’ Rachel said coldly. ‘The so-called victims were paedophiles. And either they couldn’t live with the guilt, or someone thought the world would be a better place without them.’
Amy absorbed her words. The theory had already occurred to her, but it was the look on Rachel’s face that gave her pause. ‘I need everything you can give me, and every record of your contact with Carla, because we have nothing our end.’
