Maddie grinned, delighted that her confidence hadn’t been knocked too badly. ‘So what do we know about Alex Thompson?’
‘Not too much, there are still a lot of gaps. We have a very slanted view based on the experiences of social workers. The woman who went out worked for something called Early Help. They get kids referred to them who need assistance at school. In this case, Alex was referred because his performance took a sudden dip and the suggestion was that this was due to circumstances at home. They work with the family and the child to try and get them back on track. The social worker was working with Alex a couple of years before and met some of the other members of the Thompson-Garner family. The story we have is that Alex lived with his mum and dad. Alex has two much older siblings, a brother and a sister. The older siblings have a different dad and resent the stepdad for whatever reason. This seems to have caused a lot of trouble in the home. I think it was untenable. I think one or both of the siblings left the home and when this happened there was an improvement in Alex’s performance, to the point where they closed his case.’
‘So nothing since?’
‘She was involved again around a year after that and this is when our informant met Alex — around eighteen months ago. The school contacted Social Services to say that the mother had passed away and they were worried about how it might affect him. Social Services ran a few sessions but he was deemed to be okay and again his case was closed. The informant only went to the first session. There is some anecdotal evidence that there was a dispute over the inheritance. I think the siblings’ dislike for the stepdad reared its head again. The theory is that either the mother wrote her new partner into the will, or didn’t include their natural father. Certainly something caused an issue.’
‘And what about the boy’s speech? I assume she was able to talk with him at least?’
‘I asked the same thing. She seemed genuinely shocked to hear that we hadn’t heard a word from him. She said he’s an intelligent kid and had strong opinions that he seemed to enjoy sharing. She didn’t always agree with him, but she always knew she would have a good conversation about it at least. She described him as old beyond his years.’
‘Okay. And this father-stepfather figure, do we know who he is?’
‘No. Social Services were not heavily involved; they only visited the family home once and that was after the mother died. Other sessions were done on the school grounds. Social Services seem to work very different from us . . . where we would get the details of everyone there, they don’t seem to. She’s sure her friend would have got those details, but there’s not much hope of getting them now. I do have the details of the siblings. There’s nothing on the local police systems to help either. I was hoping we’d been there for a domestic or something. Social Services provided the home address and I passed that on to Thames Valley Police, who cover that area. They sent a patrol around and there are new people living there who said they’ve been there eighteen months or more. They weren’t sure who was there before.’
‘So we don’t know where they are?’
‘Not a clue. The house was rented. I spoke to the agent and they said they barely heard from the previous tenants — then they just upped and left.’
‘Did they have a record of all the occupants?’
‘I asked. It was all in the mother’s name. They know she lived there with a partner but it wasn’t a joint tenancy.’
Maddie sat back to let the information sink in. ‘So they could be in Kent too? The rest of Alex’s family, I mean?’
‘That has to be the most likely scenario. And not too far from where we found Alex, right?’
‘Alex. We’re just calling him that now, are we?’ Maddie chuckled. Rhiannon did too.
‘Now you’re starting to sound like DI Blaker.’
‘Experience, see? That’s what I was talking about! Are you still thinking of going to see Alex? A lot could be learned by his reaction I suppose.’
‘I did that already.’
‘You did?’
‘Yesterday. Not long after I spoke to you. I got a reaction, too, nothing that means I can say for sure I was right, but I know I am.’
‘A reaction?’
‘Well he hid under the covers like you said he would, but he went from lying down to sitting up. I know that doesn’t sound much. At the time though, it felt like all I needed.’
The same man Maddie had seen wrestling with the sandwich board out the front of the café now put two plates in front of them. Maddie had to lean back, she was grinning the whole time. Rhiannon waited for the man to leave, then spoke immediately.
‘What?’
‘You’re right then. You learn to trust your instincts when you’ve been doing this job a while. You have good instincts.’
‘I hope you’re right. Just to prove the boss wrong for one!’ Rhiannon grinned then seemed to suppress it instantly. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean that disrespectfully . . .’
Maddie waved her away. ‘You wouldn’t be proving him wrong, he doesn’t think this is the wrong line of enquiry, he was just concerned that you were following it and disregarding any others. We still need to keep an open mind. But I think you’re aware of that.’ Maddie started on her breakfast. She used the time to think. ‘So, is Alex Thompson not a reported misper?’
Rhiannon shook her head. ‘He left school a little while back. After his mum died, his older sister, Michelle Garner, became his primary carer. A few months later she withdrew him from school and said he was going to be home educated. As far as the school are concerned, he isn’t missing, he left.’
‘How old is he?’
‘Ten. Nearly eleven. Bang on what we thought.’
‘So a ten-year-old can just leave school?’
‘Not entirely. Different areas run it different. In Reading, it seems, you can opt to home-school your child but a specific school still has to assign you work and they have to meet a minimum standard. A teacher is supposed to do a home-visit every three months too, but the school are being a little coy about that. I only phoned them. I should have got Mick to go in there and speak face-to-face. They’ve asked for official data protection forms, but I think they’re stalling.’
‘You don’t think they’ve been doing their visits?’
‘I don’t.’
‘So a child can go missing without ever being reported?’
‘If he’s living with his primary carer and being schooled at home, he’s not technically missing from anywhere. All his work is sent to him online. He was doing it, too, judging by what little information I did get from the school.’
‘So he gets sent work online. I assume he returns it the same way? There’s no sending anything out to an address or taking it out by hand?’
‘No, aside from these three-monthly visits, it’s all online.’
‘So you could be attending a school in Reading and living in Canterbury.’
‘It is quite feasible.’
Maddie sat back and huffed.
Rhiannon nodded. ‘I know, it feels like one step forward and two steps back.’
‘It’s not quite as bad as that. It gives us lines of enquiry.’
‘It does. Mick has sent over the details of all the family members. We’ll be running all the checks we can on police systems. We’ll get Thames Valley to do the same. I’ll go back to the school, the renting agents again maybe. The Department of Work and Pensions may have an idea what area they are in at least.’
‘Assuming they’re claiming benefits,’ Maddie said.
‘Yes, of course. I was going to try and find out who dealt with the will, too. Which solicitor, I mean. I might be able to get a steer on what happened — maybe even a contact number.’
‘From a solicitor? You might . . .’
‘I know, it’s a longshot.’
‘But one you have to take. You’re right to give it a go. So what did you need to speak with me for? You seem to have everything under control?’
Rhiannon sat back a
nd looked thoughtful. ‘I suppose I just wanted to run it all past you. See if there was anything I was missing.’
‘Not that I can think of. But it’s always better to get as many opinions as you can when it comes to complex investigations.’ Maddie lingered on Rhiannon long enough for her to take her hint.
‘You mean DI Blaker?’
‘Yes. And I tell you why. If nothing else, when you sit down and tell him what you’ve told me, he’ll see just how much you’ve done and just how much you have considered. He’ll be impressed. He has to be.’
‘I’m not sure it’s possible to impress him at all, is it?’
‘I know what you mean, but trust me, it happens. And then he shows it when you least expect it! In all seriousness, though, use him. Use his experience. He may well have another angle neither of us have considered.’
‘Of course. Sounds good to me.’
‘Excellent. Let’s get this finished up and then head in. I suggest you take half an hour to get a briefing prepared and we can speak with him pretty much as he gets in. Harry’s always at his best first thing in the morning.’
‘Is he?’ Rhiannon said.
‘Of course not!’ Maddie laughed hard. Rhiannon did too. Maddie noticed the DC was pushing the food round her plate more than eating it.
‘You not hungry?’
‘I was. You get a lot here.’
‘You do. I suggest you eat it, though. You need to keep your strength up if you want to come running with me in the morning.’
‘I don’t want to come running in the morning!’
‘All the more reason to keep your strength up. Sounds like you might need enough to run and moan about it.’
* * *
‘Morning, Harry. How did you sleep?’
‘Why would you ask that?’ Harry’s reply was immediate and defensive.
‘Because it looks like you haven’t.’ He was at his desk. Maddie had spoken while putting a black coffee down for him. He swept it up and gestured a thank you with it, then brought it to his lips. ‘And that’ll be hot,’ she added.
‘It’s fine and you’re right . . . I didn’t sleep so well. I need this today.’
‘You want me to put another shot in it?’
‘No. A refill, maybe. Too strong and it makes my heart race.’
‘And there it is! I’ll just go and tick that one off.’ She turned to leave.
‘What? Tick what off?’ he called after her, sounding irritated.
‘On my List of Things I Know About Harry Blaker. It took me a year to get the first two things, but now there are three! And never did I think I would answer the question what makes Harry Blaker’s heart race?’
‘Very good,’ Harry grumbled. ‘You’re just what I need, aren’t you?’
‘Don’t you want to know what the first two things were?’
Harry stood and picked up his notebook. ‘No, I think it’s fair to assume I should know them both already. Aren’t we meeting Rhiannon now?’
‘We are.’ She turned sharply towards the door and her grin dropped away quickly as she almost ran into Charley Mace on her way in. ‘Shit!’ Maddie called out in surprise, then she scowled. She was still turned away from Harry and she spoke to Charley. ‘Do you think he heard me?’
Charley nodded. ‘I think he might have, yes.’
Maddie turned back into the room. ‘Sorry, boss, but this no swearing thing is killing me. The things we see . . . the people we deal with . . . sometimes there’s only a very few words left to describe them.’
‘I don’t care. A strong dislike of profanity. There’s another one for your silly list.’
She shook her head. ‘That’s one of the two things I already had.’
‘Charley, did you want to speak with me?’ Harry said.
‘Well, both of you, I suppose. Good timing. Do you have a minute?’
‘We were just on our way to a briefing,’ Harry said, ‘but you can have a minute. If you need longer, we can come and see you straight after?’
‘The blood from your country puddle . . . I had it couriered yesterday so it got to the lab. I put you down as authorising the cost. Anyway, they ran an urgent comparison against the database . . .’
Maddie couldn’t resist. ‘And it’s Jarod Logan’s blood!’
‘No. It’s Jack Knight’s blood.’
‘Jack . . . Who the hell is that?’ Maddie said.
Looking pleased with herself, Charley put a folder down on the desk. ‘This is why I’m in forensics. Black and white, see? I work with confirmed results and definites. And it’s definitely Jack Knight. Who that is, why that is, and how it got there is down to the detectives. He’s known to us following an arrest two years ago for some minor offence. Lucky for us it was serious enough to get his DNA on the database. You let me know if you need anything more, okay?’ Maddie and Harry exchanged glances, then both pairs of eyes fell to the folder on the desk.
‘We need to put this briefing back,’ Harry said.
Maddie was already on her way out the door, ‘I’ll let Rhiannon know.’
The meeting room was just across the floor. Rhiannon was already there with a couple of her detectives. She was shuffling paper and had fired up the monitor on the wall. Maddie felt bad; this was all her idea in the first place. But she knew Rhiannon would understand. And she’d make it up to her.
‘Rhiannon, I’m so sorry. We’re going to need to put this back. Something’s come up. I’ll explain later.’
Rhiannon nodded dumbly. She may even have looked a little relieved. Maddie didn’t stick around. This development was important, perhaps critical. By the time she got back into Harry’s office he was staring into his screen and he already had an update.
‘Jack Knight is just a kid. He was arrested for criminal damage a couple of years ago — graffiti. We have a home address, looks like he lives with mum. That’s about all we know.’ Harry half rose to his feet, leant on his desk and scribbled something in his notebook.
‘Let’s go.’ Maddie felt her pockets for her keys and led the way.
* * *
Maddie drove slowly along a row of twee cottages in the village of Littlebourne, on the outskirts of Canterbury, then came to a stop outside the third dwelling from the end. It had a red door that was brighter in the sunlight and it stood out from the whitewashed walls. Harry knocked on the door with two hammer blows. There was movement at the window first. She couldn’t see any detail, the light was wrong for her to be able to see through the glass. She lifted her warrant card and smiled, hoping it would reassure the occupant that they shouldn’t be judged on her colleague’s apparent attack on their front door. It seemed to work. The door was pulled open a few moments later.
‘Can I help you?’ A middle-aged woman opened the door, although not much. It was just enough for Maddie to see that her dark hair looked to be damp as it clumped over her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing make-up either and it looked like she was wearing a robe. Harry held up his own police ID. Her eyes flickered over it and then beyond him to Maddie.
‘Are you Mrs Knight?’ Harry said.
‘That’s right. Is there something wrong?’ She stiffened and the hand that was gripping the door slid a little higher as she stood straighter.
‘Is Jack here?’ he said.
‘Jack? No. I mean . . . he doesn’t live here. Has he done something wrong?’
‘We’re not sure what he’s done,’ Harry said. ‘When was the last time you spoke to him?’ His permanent growl rarely gave away his emotions or the motives behind his questions. Maddie was very aware that the woman in front of them was starting to panic. Maddie stepped a little closer. ‘Do you mind if we pop in for a minute? Maybe we should explain why we’re here. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, but we do need to speak with him.’
Mrs Knight didn’t move straight away. Her hand was still gripped round the door but she let go and pushed it further open before disappearing into the shadow behind. Harry stepped in next and Maddi
e followed. The front door opened directly into a living room and Mrs Knight had backed into a small, two-seater sofa. There was another one on the wall where they had come in and a small television on the opposite wall beside an open fireplace. There wasn’t much room for anything else.
‘I’m DS Maddie Ives and this is Inspector Harry Blaker. We work out of Major Crime at Canterbury. When was the last time you spoke with Jack?’
‘A few days ago, I suppose. We speak a couple of times a week, I was seeing if he was coming out for Sunday dinner.’
‘Is that a regular thing?’
‘It seems to have become regular, yes. He was here for the last few. He misses it if he has to work, but he doesn’t do too many Sundays now.’
‘Where does he work?’
‘What is this about? Can you at least tell me if he’s in some sort of trouble?’
‘It’s a bit of a strange one, the sort of thing that Jack could probably explain away in a minute or two if he were here. We are working a crime scene and there is something in the area that is linked to your son. We just need to ask him if he was in the area at the material time. He might be a witness — a really important one.’
‘Oh, I see. Well I haven’t spoken to him for a few days, but if he saw something bad he’d call me, I’m sure of it.’
‘I’m sure of it too. The thing is, sometimes people can see something and not even realise how important it is. We get it all the time. If you could let us know where he’s living, we can go and ask him a question. That’s all we need.’
‘Yes . . . I have it here somewhere. He’s in a flat in Langthorne. Not a bad little place — the only one he could afford on his wages. He works at the big supermarket in the town. Just on the till, but it’s a start at least.’ Mrs Knight pulled her phone from her gown pocket and fiddled with it as she spoke. ‘I’ve got friends with kids the same age. I don’t think any of them are working. It’s not much but at least he’s working, you know?’
‘I agree. That’s half the battle, getting your foot on the rung. Can I take his phone number too?’
‘Yes, of course. Did you want me to give him a ring?’
HE WILL FIND YOU an absolutely gripping crime thriller with a massive twist Page 18
