‘One minute . . .’ Donovan uttered, stung by his colleague’s betrayal. ‘One minute with him is all I need to find out where those kids are.’ He paced the Neighbourhood Policing Office – the one place they could find some peace.
‘It’s driving me crazy too,’ Amy said, slamming down her empty mug on the desk. ‘They’re not going to let you near him and we’ve no clue where Matty is.’
‘But I have,’ came a voice from behind them.
Both Amy and Donovan turned to face the man who had walked in.
‘I really wish you hadn’t gone haring off like that yesterday,’ Denny said, as he joined them.
‘Denny,’ Amy said, surprised by the interruption. ‘I know he was your sergeant, but it’s time to face facts. Bicks was up to no good.’
‘Bicks wasn’t my sergeant,’ Denny replied. ‘And Matty is safe.’ His gaze flicked from her to Donovan. ‘I’m from PSD. We’ve had our eye on Sergeant Bickerstaff for some time.’
Amy blinked, trying to process his words. It wasn’t uncommon for the Professional Standards Department to plant an officer if they suspected foul play. ‘So you knew all along? And Matty’s OK?’
‘He’s in a safe house. We couldn’t risk him getting hurt.’ Grabbing a swivel chair, he took a seat across from them. Of course, Amy thought. Matty had been due to meet Molly the night he disappeared. Whoever was responsible for trafficking the gang could not risk the truth getting out. But Denny had got to him first.
‘Please tell me you’ve enough evidence to charge Bicks.’ Amy’s eyes were wide with hope.
‘For perverting the course of justice? Easily. But for everything else? Not so much.’
Donovan rubbed his chin. ‘If you were watching him, why didn’t you catch him on the pier the night Carla died? Because that’s what you’re saying, isn’t it? You think he’s responsible for her death.’
‘He wasn’t under twenty-four-hour surveillance. Even our budget didn’t stretch that far. Which is why I worked from his office.’ Denny turned his attention to Amy. ‘Nice move, setting up a camera in the property office. Did you get clearance for that?’
‘I can’t take credit for the camera,’ Amy said. ‘I was there when they set it up. I just asked them to keep it under their hats for a while.’
Denny eyed Amy with curiosity. ‘And when he panicked about your so-called witness, that was enough for you to go after him, was it?’
‘I couldn’t risk him leaving the country,’ Amy said. ‘His passport was in that case.’ She regarded the officer with a deeper respect. ‘Shame you didn’t confide in me. We could have worked together on this.’
‘Kinda goes against the whole idea of being undercover.’ Denny smiled.
‘What are you investigating him for?’ Donovan failed to see the humour in the situation.
‘Operation Turntable,’ Denny replied. ‘Child sex trafficking. You’ll hear about it soon enough.’
‘And you think Bicks was involved? Why didn’t you shut it down?’
‘The same reason I would have advised against DI Winter arresting Bicks so soon.’ Denny looked at Amy pointedly. ‘Evidence. We know Bicks has been manipulating the system for years, but human trafficking . . . that was a big step up for him. Things have come to a head now, so we’ll work with the evidence we have. We’ll be taking over the case from here.’
Their heads swivelled towards the door as a uniformed officer walked in. Taking one look at their expressions, he froze, a wad of paperwork in his hand.
‘Can you give us five minutes?’ Amy said, her eyebrows raised.
With a nod of the head, he left. The station had a weird vibe today; it was as if they were all bit players in another crime drama-documentary.
Which led Amy to her next question. ‘Is Bicks the puppet-master? The one who’s been ferrying these kids from place to place?’
‘He’s got a few minions beneath him, but Bicks is running the show, yes.’
‘I don’t get it,’ Amy said. ‘Why didn’t he just move them along when things heated up?’
Denny was ready with an answer. ‘Because everything runs to a tight schedule. Each hideout, each location, each list of clients. At least it did, until Carla got involved. She must have got wind of it.’ He looked from Amy to Donovan. ‘She died because she knew too much.’
‘And April? What about her?’
‘We think Bicks beat her up out of frustration after George Shaw died.’
Amy grimaced at the thought. She had noticed reddening on Bicks’s knuckles after he was placed under arrest. It was hardly any wonder that her sex-worker informer Mama Danielle was spooked. How can you trust the police when they are the ones committing the crime? ‘So why did those men travel to seaside resorts? Couldn’t they have gone local?’
Denny looked from Amy to Donovan. ‘You don’t shit on your own doorstep. They couldn’t risk it.’
‘Who’s murdering the punters?’ Donovan asked. ‘Bicks can’t be responsible for that.’
‘No,’ Denny replied. ‘It’s not good business either. We’ll question Sergeant Bickerstaff about it, but we don’t believe he’s involved.’
‘You should have been watching Carla,’ Donovan said solemnly. ‘She deserved better from us.’
‘We had no way of knowing she was involved.’ Denny gesticulated with his hands. ‘How could we?’
Amy frowned as she recalled their dinner at Bicks’s home: the recent home renovations, the fashion label. Things a sergeant’s wage could not buy. ‘Did his wife know?’
‘Yes,’ Denny replied. ‘It looks that way.’ The room fell quiet for a few seconds as the implications hit home. ‘But we got to Matty on time. He was being groomed, forming bonds. But he hadn’t been sold for sex.’
Amy smiled with relief. At least he was safe now. But they couldn’t say the same for April. There were so many other victims, and unanswered questions still remained. Who was killing the men paying for underage sex?
‘What about April and Tina . . . and the rest of the group?’ Donovan said. ‘April needs a doctor. Her mum’s staying in Clacton. I can give her a ring to
