‘That’s fine. It perhaps only takes one girl to turn things around for us. Also, you mentioned how Abbi spoke of a client she liked – I assume he was fairly regular and she got to know him over time. How about you? Do you have any regulars who have perhaps tried to befriend you, not simply do what they need to do and leave? I ask because I wouldn’t be surprised to find that this man we’re after sees more than one girl at a time.’
Again she seemed to stare far off into the distance as she took herself out of the moment to consider his question. Finally she shook her head. ‘I cannot think of such a man. I do have regular clients, and we get to know each other a little more. You see man only for one hour, you have no time to understand him. You see man for one hour a week for many weeks, you learn things.’
‘But you can’t think of anyone who claims to be looking for a longer-term relationship? Somebody who says they want more than whatever it is you do for them currently?’
‘No. I think not.’
Chandler came back into the room. She remained standing. ‘Wheels are in motion. Anything back from the WhatsApp group yet?’
Obligingly, Sara’s phone pinged to announce another incoming message. This time Bliss saw her eyes widen. She frowned and read the message again before turning her attention back to them.
‘A friend say she know Abbi. They talk. Abbi tell her about a man who became private client. They still do as he asks, but he pay her and not agency. Abbi mention him often and have fondness for him. She think he want to be her boyfriend. She think maybe she want that, too.’
Bliss nodded eagerly, feeling his pulse rate increase. ‘That sounds like precisely the kind of man we’d be interested in. Did this friend mention the last time she spoke to or saw Abbi?’
‘Yes. She say Monday. She try calling her since but only get told to leave message. She is worried.’
‘Understandably so. I have to be honest and say that I am, too. Please ask your friend if she will speak to us.’
Sara started pressing buttons immediately. Less than ten seconds passed before she got a reply. ‘She does not wish to. But if you ask me question, I ask her and she will answer if she can.’
Bliss was a little frustrated, but he understood the other girl’s reluctance. He doubted if Sara would have spoken to them willingly had Yeva not vouched for them. It was a vetting process he was willing to go through again, but he worried about the time it would take. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Please ask her if Abbi ever mentioned this man’s name.’
‘We don’t use name. I told you this.’
‘I understand. But if this man was becoming more than a client to Abbi, she might have mentioned it to someone she considered to be a close friend.’
Sara accepted this with a shrug and once again sent out a message. There was no immediate response. Sara typed something else and hit send. They waited a further twenty seconds before the next ping. This time the message was from another member of the group, telling Sara she did not know Abbi. The next message was the reply they’d been waiting for.
‘She says Abbi once spoke his first name only. She call him Des. That is all.’
Bliss bit into his lip. It was something, but nowhere near enough; nothing that would help find either him or her, that was for sure. Knowing his name might help further down the road, however, so Bliss buttoned up his frustration and smiled at the young Croat. ‘Please thank her for us. Please ask her to think about it some more, and if anything else occurs to her, to contact you or the station. She needn’t give a name – just ask for DS Bliss or DS Chandler.’
As her thumbs became a blur once again, Bliss rose. He smiled at Yeva, who had given up her time and her home to them. ‘We appreciate this,’ he said. ‘As I hope you have come to understand, you mustn’t ever be afraid to call us. Whatever the reason. That card counts as long as I still breathe.’
Sara was done and on her feet. Chandler tenderly rubbed the young girl’s arm and told her not to worry, but also to take care and be cautious. ‘Please watch your back – be careful – at all times. This Des person might be a friendly punter and not our man at all, and you need to be wary of any clients coming to you for their choking fix.’
‘I will be careful. Thank you.’
‘No, thank you,’ Bliss said. He shook her hand, smiling as he did so. ‘This has been extremely helpful. Take care of yourself, and please do pass on any relevant responses you get from your group.’
Out on the street, they stood in the drizzle for a moment, Bliss’s face turned to a leaden sky that looked almost low enough to touch. ‘Why do we live in a world of such opposites, Pen?’ he asked.
‘I’m not sure I know what you mean.’
‘Well, on the one hand you have these lovely, sweet young girls who are pleasant and warm and considerate. On the other you have the sleazy reptiles who use and abuse them.’
‘That’s human beings for you, Jimmy. The best and the worst of us get to share the same space.’
His face creased into an ugly snarl. ‘I’d like to crush the pricks who take advantage of these kids.’
‘Not to mention the bastards who force them into it in the first place,’ Chandler said, walking around to the passenger side of the car.
‘Which brings me back to Lewis Drake. What if Dark Desires
