Cold Justice (Willis/Carter #4)(4)
Lauren went back to her desk, but deep in her stomach she had the feeling of anxiousness, and it was growing. It was Samuel’s dinnertime now and after that she would run his bath. He’d have so many toys in there that there would be barely room for him. He’d play for ages filling up cups with water, making the waterwheels turn. Then she’d get him into his pyjamas, give him some warm milk and she’d read him stories and lie down beside him and drift off with him. That was her guilty pleasure, falling asleep next to him just for ten minutes or so, and then she’d creep out and Toby would have made her some dinner, poured her glass of wine and their adult time would begin.
The phone rang.
‘Toby? Where are you? It’s a quarter past five.’
‘Sorry we’re late. I’m coming up the street right now. It’s been hell trying to get through the crowds. There’s something wrong with the buggy’s steering.’
She laughed, relieved. ‘You’ll get used to it. I’ll meet you downstairs at the door.’
‘No need. I can manage.’
‘I want to.’
Lauren came out of their flat and took the lift down to the foyer. She nodded hello to the security guard and saw Toby, using his weight to pull the pram inside backwards. He managed to pull it so easily, she thought. It was always a struggle for her.
Lauren wanted to run over to Samuel. She wanted to take hold of him in her arms and kiss and cuddle him. She hated being apart from him but she knew she should be happy that Toby took him out on his own. She should be glad that he was showing an interest in his son at long last. She didn’t run, she walked across the foyer, past the pebbles and fountain and the reception desk. Toby was inside now. He turned the buggy forwards to push it towards her and he kept his eyes on hers. His shoulders were stiff. His gait awkward. She looked at his face and wanted to ask, ‘What’s the matter?’ Her eyes travelled down to his hands, down to the buggy and the loose strap on the seat. She felt her knees begin to give way. She felt her breath stop and her heart try to hammer blood round but it didn’t move. All time stopped. A heartbeat freeze-framed.
‘Where’s Samuel?’
Chapter 2
Detective Inspector Dan Carter watched and waited for the group of officers to form a circle around him. It was seven thirty p.m. and the sky was black. The open doors of the police van offered a partial windbreak from the deep cold that skimmed icy breaths across the River Thames and gusted around the police officers searching the park. Carter was standing in the glare of the Maritime Museum at the base of Greenwich Park, waiting to address the newest search team. He looked across to where his partner, Detective Constable Ebony Willis, was standing, wearing her trademark black quilted jacket, but today she also had a black beanie hat pulled down over her ears. Her ponytail ballooned from beneath it, lifting in the gusts of wind and floating around her shoulders like a black shawl. She stood with a map in her hands. He knew she was working out the logistics of the search parties. He saw her taking in the layout of the park that rose above them in the darkness, covering nearly two hundred acres. The Royal Observatory was on the brow of the hill, above them. He wondered if she’d ever been up to the Observatory. He knew he hadn’t. It was on his list but one of those things tourists did rather than Londoners. He watched the torchlight of officers as they fanned out along the paths that crisscrossed the park. The noise from the busy streets nearby rolled constant in the background. Access to the park was closed to the public. In daylight they would start a fingertip search, for now they were just looking for a two-year-old boy who had managed to give his father the slip.
Carter stood tapping his right foot, without realizing, as the feeling of anxiety, the pressing need to act, made every second he was waiting feel like an hour wasted.
He pressed his hands deep into the pockets of his dark-grey overcoat as he focused on each one of the officers. Willis came across to join him, laying the map out on the floor of the van.
‘The last sighting of Samuel was in his buggy at ten minutes past four when he was seen leaving the Royal Observatory with his father Toby.’ Carter addressed the hundred officers who stood around him.
Willis picked up the photo pack prepared for the officers and handed it out among them. ‘It is crucial that we find him fast,’ Carter said as he waited until all the officers had the pack. ‘You now have a photo of Samuel. He was wearing a navy all-in-one suit, which has two large snowflakes appliquéd on the front. This is distinctive and unusual; the maker’s label is Ski-Doo from the States. There are matching mittens, label just inside the cuff. He’s also wearing a cream-coloured knitted bobble hat and red snow boots from GAP. He has blond hair, blue eyes.’ Carter looked around and made sure each officer made eye contact. ‘We know how fast a kid’s hair can be dyed, how much a change of clothes and buggy can throw us off, but check every small child you see. Be polite but be insistent. Samuel’s only differentiating feature is a small raised birthmark the size of a five pence piece beside his left eyebrow. Make-up would have to be quite thick to cover it. We need to find this little boy. If he’s been dumped he won’t last the night in these temperatures.’
Carter pointed to the map layout on the floor in the back of the van.
‘We have divided the route into sections. You will be searching the section just west of the Cutty Sark DLR station – the officer in charge of your unit will divide you into teams and I’ll hand you over to them in a minute to explain in more detail. But before I do I just want to make sure each one of you understands – no stone left unturned. No bin unchecked, every space where a child could be hidden has to be examined. Remember, Samuel is smaller than your average two-year-old. He could have been squeezed into a very small space. I want you climbing walls and getting under cars. I want every inch checked. Any problems getting access to an area of interest, alert your commander straight away and we’ll get officers there to assist you. Good luck . . .’