‘Sorry I’m late back,’ Bliss said. ‘I had to nip out to attend to something personal. I’ll make up the time.’
Bishop’s cheeks flushed red as he looked up from his reading material. He appeared stumped as to how to respond. Awkward moments like these were bound to arise, Bliss reflected. But he’d been right to make the apology. It was giving the man his due respect.
‘No problem,’ Bishop finally said. ‘You put more than your fair share in every day. I think we can let this one go.’
‘No revelations while I’ve been gone?’ Bliss asked.
‘Not so as you’d notice. Glen managed to dredge up some fresh info on that other escort agency. Looks as if it might be another of Drake’s, masquerading as an eastern European outfit. It genuinely is based where it says it is. What’s more, we’re still coming up short trying to find a local contact.’
Bliss thought about that, and knew what his next move would be. ‘You thinking we should pose as a punter and give one or two of their girls a bell?’
‘That’s precisely what Penny and I were talking about when you came in.’ Bishop indicated the folder sitting on the desk, and gave it a spin so that the information it contained was the right way up for Bliss to read. ‘These are some of the young women we’re considering. For the time being, we’re looking at those most likely to be English, or at least potentially born here. We don’t want to waste a setup on a girl who’s fresh off the boat and barely able to speak the language.’
Nodding, Bliss said, ‘That’s a good shout. I’m still thinking about giving Nicola Parkinson another go. That all right by you?’
‘Sure thing. We can take care of the rest. Perhaps by the end of the day we’ll actually have some idea where to focus our resources.’
‘Yeah. That’s always the tough part. Sometimes you get too many leads, sometimes not enough. Most of the time you get what we have at the moment: a pile of odds and sods that don’t amount to much, but need following up on anyway.’
Bliss was about to suggest Chandler grab her jacket when something occurred to him. In the rush to follow up on how his own business card had come to be with their victim, he’d completely neglected the other card that had been discovered inserted into the lining of her bra. He looked up, spotted the person he needed to talk to.
Carolyn Miller had been assigned as the case exhibits officer. As an adaptable civilian worker, Miller had experienced a whole range of investigation-related roles. She worked alongside police officers and other civilians, gaining an overall insight into each case and their differing operational methods. Bliss knew the woman and appreciated her diligence and sharp mind.
‘DI Bliss,’ she said, looking up from her monitor. The accompanying smile was genuine. ‘What can I do you for?’
Pulling a pained expression, he reminded Miller of his demotion. ‘But don’t worry about it, Carolyn, because we can easily overcome that by you calling me Jimmy, as I’ve always asked you to.’
She put a hand to her mouth and blushed. ‘Whoops. Sorry. Yes, perhaps sticking to Jimmy will prevent me from putting my foot in it again.’
‘It’s not a problem. Honestly. What I’m after is a piece of evidence that would have come in from Cambridge. Two business cards were found secreted in our victim’s clothing. One of the cards is mine. It’s the other one I’m interested in.’
Miller raised a finger. ‘First thing this morning I removed the evidence from the storage area and locked it away in here so that it’s available should anybody need it.’ She took out a key, unlocked the desk drawer and pulled it open. After rummaging around for a few seconds, she took out a plastic evidence bag and handed it across the desk.
‘Cheers.’ Bliss smiled and checked the seal. Nobody had signed it out since it was originally stuck in place.
‘Are you going to need to open it up?’ Miller asked.
‘I’m not sure. Let me find a better light and I’ll see if I can make do.’
Chain of custody had to be followed at all times. If he opened the evidence bag he would have to seal it again, before signing and dating the inspection of the material it contained. He moved to stand beneath a ceiling light strip, examining the card through the clear plastic.
Similar in size to his own, the card felt thicker, heavier, and clearly more expensive. It was matte black, with two words in shiny black print on the front: Dark Desires. The reverse side was also black, only this time Bliss saw a series of letters and numbers written in gold coloured ink.
EE
Enter in A1
DP575
He looked over at Ansari and called out to her. ‘Gul. Our victim’s phone provider – I don’t suppose it was EE, was it?’
‘It was, yes. Why, d’you have something?’
‘Maybe. Come and take a look at this.’ Bliss showed her the card, the writing on the back. ‘I’m thinking this Dark Desires might be an exclusive escort agency. If this writing refers to our victim’s mobile number, this may provide a new connection for us. Problem is, I have no idea what the rest of it means. Perhaps some kind of access code related to the account? I don’t know. Any immediate thoughts?’
Ansari took a breath and shook her head. ‘Not off the top of my head. I can tack it on to my request, see if it makes any sense to them.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Actually, this may be something they can tell me outside of RIPA. I can ask them if it’s a generic code, not attached to a specific number.’
‘Good. Do that for me, please. See if you can get me an answer by the time I get back from visiting dear Nicola P.’
The DC gave a mock shudder. ‘Rather you than me. That woman makes my flesh
