had been studying with little interest to one side and leaned forwards.
‘What’s he got?’
‘They did a fingertip search in the pile of soggy leaves around where she was found and unearthed a syringe.’
‘Oh no,’ Tom said, his chest feeling heavy with sorrow for the child. ‘Do they think the poor kid did it to herself, or did some bastard take her there and give her too much of the stuff?’
‘They’re not sure. It may even be unrelated. We won’t know until we get her tox results, and even if we put a rush on, they’re going to be a couple of weeks. As you may have noticed, though, that lovely tunnel held all sorts of delights – including the odd syringe if I remember rightly. It could just be coincidence that there was one near the body. Anyway, Jumbo’s team are collecting evidence from the tunnel too.’
Tom pulled a face.
‘They’re going to struggle to get any fingerprints from the body, but there are some on the syringe. No match to anybody as yet. They couldn’t find any footprints – but then they didn’t find the girl’s either. Everything had been blown about a bit in the weather for the last couple of days.’
‘Do they know what was in the syringe?’ Tom asked.
‘Ketamine.’
‘
Ketamine?
I wasn’t expecting that. What theories have we got, then? Some bastard knocked her out so that not only had he bagged himself a kid, but a comatose kid into the bargain?’
Becky winced.
‘Ket’s an unusual choice, I agree. But even if she was injected, it might only have put her into a deep sleep. So she’s just as likely to have died from hypothermia. She had zero body fat from what I can see on the photos. You were away last week, but before we got all this wind and rain it was bloody freezing. They reckon it’s been the coldest March in Manchester since 1962, and the temperature dropped to minus six overnight.’
There was a tap on the open door and Tom glanced up to see DC Ryan Tippetts standing in the door.
‘Boss,’ he said. ‘It’s Natasha Joseph.’
Tom looked at Becky’s face as she grimaced at the thought of passing on the sad information to the girl’s father.
‘Thanks Ryan. That’s confirmed is it?’
The detective looked confused for a moment, then his face cleared.
‘Oh. I see what you mean. No, the
body
isn’t Natasha Joseph. She’s turned up at home. Just walked in the door, apparently. Yesterday.’
‘Yesterday!’ The word burst from Becky’s lips as she spun round to face DC Tippetts. ‘Why the bloody hell didn’t they tell us?’
‘Don’t shoot the messenger,’ Ryan said, holding his hands up. ‘That’s all I know. Oh – except that the kid’s refusing to speak to the police. She says that if we’re involved she’s going to do a runner.’
Becky shook her head in disbelief. ‘Oh that’s
great
. Thanks, Ryan.’ She turned back to Tom. ‘Well, bugger me. That’s a bit of a turn-up. What are you thinking?’
‘I’m wondering where the hell
she’s
sprung from after all this time. We find a body we think might be hers, and then she suddenly comes back? That’s quite a coincidence!’
Nothing about this felt good to Tom. The Joseph girl had been missing since she was six years old, so somebody had been sheltering her. Why had they let her go now?
‘How do you want me to play it?’ Becky asked.
‘You need to pay the Josephs a visit. We need to be certain she is who she says she is. If she refuses to speak to you, tell the Josephs we’ll give her a couple of days to settle in, but then we’re going to have to talk to her. And take a family liaison officer with you – one that’s been trained to interview kids. We need to know where the hell she’s been, who’s been hiding her for all these years, and why.’
12
It felt safe in the bedroom now the door was barricaded shut again with a chest of drawers. She hadn’t known if she would be strong enough to shift such a big piece of furniture, but somehow she had managed,
‘What’s he got?’
‘They did a fingertip search in the pile of soggy leaves around where she was found and unearthed a syringe.’
‘Oh no,’ Tom said, his chest feeling heavy with sorrow for the child. ‘Do they think the poor kid did it to herself, or did some bastard take her there and give her too much of the stuff?’
‘They’re not sure. It may even be unrelated. We won’t know until we get her tox results, and even if we put a rush on, they’re going to be a couple of weeks. As you may have noticed, though, that lovely tunnel held all sorts of delights – including the odd syringe if I remember rightly. It could just be coincidence that there was one near the body. Anyway, Jumbo’s team are collecting evidence from the tunnel too.’
Tom pulled a face.
‘They’re going to struggle to get any fingerprints from the body, but there are some on the syringe. No match to anybody as yet. They couldn’t find any footprints – but then they didn’t find the girl’s either. Everything had been blown about a bit in the weather for the last couple of days.’
‘Do they know what was in the syringe?’ Tom asked.
‘Ketamine.’
‘
Ketamine?
I wasn’t expecting that. What theories have we got, then? Some bastard knocked her out so that not only had he bagged himself a kid, but a comatose kid into the bargain?’
Becky winced.
‘Ket’s an unusual choice, I agree. But even if she was injected, it might only have put her into a deep sleep. So she’s just as likely to have died from hypothermia. She had zero body fat from what I can see on the photos. You were away last week, but before we got all this wind and rain it was bloody freezing. They reckon it’s been the coldest March in Manchester since 1962, and the temperature dropped to minus six overnight.’
There was a tap on the open door and Tom glanced up to see DC Ryan Tippetts standing in the door.
‘Boss,’ he said. ‘It’s Natasha Joseph.’
Tom looked at Becky’s face as she grimaced at the thought of passing on the sad information to the girl’s father.
‘Thanks Ryan. That’s confirmed is it?’
The detective looked confused for a moment, then his face cleared.
‘Oh. I see what you mean. No, the
body
isn’t Natasha Joseph. She’s turned up at home. Just walked in the door, apparently. Yesterday.’
‘Yesterday!’ The word burst from Becky’s lips as she spun round to face DC Tippetts. ‘Why the bloody hell didn’t they tell us?’
‘Don’t shoot the messenger,’ Ryan said, holding his hands up. ‘That’s all I know. Oh – except that the kid’s refusing to speak to the police. She says that if we’re involved she’s going to do a runner.’
Becky shook her head in disbelief. ‘Oh that’s
great
. Thanks, Ryan.’ She turned back to Tom. ‘Well, bugger me. That’s a bit of a turn-up. What are you thinking?’
‘I’m wondering where the hell
she’s
sprung from after all this time. We find a body we think might be hers, and then she suddenly comes back? That’s quite a coincidence!’
Nothing about this felt good to Tom. The Joseph girl had been missing since she was six years old, so somebody had been sheltering her. Why had they let her go now?
‘How do you want me to play it?’ Becky asked.
‘You need to pay the Josephs a visit. We need to be certain she is who she says she is. If she refuses to speak to you, tell the Josephs we’ll give her a couple of days to settle in, but then we’re going to have to talk to her. And take a family liaison officer with you – one that’s been trained to interview kids. We need to know where the hell she’s been, who’s been hiding her for all these years, and why.’
12
It felt safe in the bedroom now the door was barricaded shut again with a chest of drawers. She hadn’t known if she would be strong enough to shift such a big piece of furniture, but somehow she had managed,
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