The Child(99)

“I’ll be speaking to your editor,” DI Sinclair said, turning on his heel and marching off into the night, his DS scurrying behind him.

“Bugger,” Kate said out loud. “Another contact bites the dust.”





EIGHTY


    Kate


WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2012

Joe was hard at work when she arrived in the office the next day, focusing on his screen with the sort of attention that gave her an instant headache. Kate was too tired and dispirited to be bothered to ask him what he was doing. She slumped down in her chair and waited for the next bollocking.

It only took thirty seconds to arrive.

Terry beckoned her over. The slow, angry finger beckon.

“Right, my star reporter, where are we then?” he said, his tone laced with sarcasm. “Have you stood this story up yet?”

“Well,” Kate started.

“Yes or no?”

“No,” she said. “And I think Simon is going to get a complaint from the police. I got an earful from my contact on the case last night and was told not to write anything until an official statement is released. I think our love affair is over.”

“Great,” Terry said, winding himself up. “So we haven’t got the exclusive I promised Simon? And he’s going to get an earful from the commissioner? Brilliant. Bloody brilliant.”

She thought about saying sorry, but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“I’ll try another route,” she said and slunk back to her desk.

Joe looked up. “Shall I get you a coffee, Kate?” he said and she could have hugged him.

“Yes, my lovely boy. Have I told you I’m going to adopt you? And get a brandy if they’ve got one.”

She switched on her screen to appear in work mode and got her notebook out.

I wonder what Simon will say, she thought, the threat of redundancy fluttering at the back of her mind. He’ll back me, won’t he?

Joe returned with caffeine but no strong liquor. “They were all out of brandy,” he said.

“What are you looking at?” Kate asked when he screwed his eyes firmly back on his computer.

“A thing about DNA,” he said. “It’s really interesting. Did you know if you test the mitochondria, our DNA can be matched with our ancestors? Well, through the maternal line to our great-grandmothers. And if you do Y-STR profiling, you can do the male line. It’s fascinating.”

“Fascinating,” Kate said. “Haven’t you got a story to get on with?”

“No, you don’t understand. All our closest relatives—parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents—will match. They share the same DNA markers.”

“Okay. So what you’re saying is more than one person could match the baby’s DNA?”

“Yes, I think so,” Joe said. “That’s what it says on Wikipedia.”

She leaned over his shoulder and read the entry for herself.

“Not two babies, then,” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “Two relatives.”

She rang Andy Sinclair’s mobile, but he didn’t pick up. Still sulking, she thought.

Bob Sparkes answered immediately. “Oh dear, Kate. Not DI Sinclair’s favorite reporter, I hear.”

“You hear right. Has he called you? He threw a hissy fit last night and marched off.”

“Not the description he gave me, but he is extremely fed up with you. And they are having to run all the tests again because they keep getting the same results. He’s under huge pressure. Cut him some slack, Kate.”

“Cutting slack won’t solve this case, Bob,” she said and he laughed.

“You just can’t leave things alone, can you? Like a terrier with a bone.”

“That’s what makes me a good reporter, Bob. Anyway, Andy won’t take my calls. But I’ve got something to suggest. Can I run it past you, first?”

“Go on, then,” Sparkes said.

She told him about Joe’s discovery, omitting the fact that the information was on Wikipedia, and waited for him to digest it.

“So both Angela and Emma could be related to the baby?”

“Could be if I’ve understood the science properly . . .”

“I’ll ring him now,” Sparkes said and rang off before Kate could ask him to call her back immediately.

She took a mouthful of coffee, swilling it round thoughtfully. Joe perched on the edge of her desk.

When the phone trilled, she gulped and spluttered and pointed to Joe to answer.

“Hello, DI Sinclair, I’ll just pass you over,” he said, handing it to Kate.

“Hello, Andy. Sorry, just choking on my coffee. Look, I’m so sorry about last night. It was all very stressful and I probably overreacted.”

DI Sinclair cleared his throat. His turn.

“Yes, well, I probably came over a bit heavy-handed. Let’s put it behind us, shall we?”

“Yes, let’s do that. Thanks for ringing me. I really appreciate it.”

“Bob Sparkes has just told me your suggestion,” DI Sinclair said. “I wanted to let you know that our forensic team is already comparing Emma’s and Angela’s DNA as a check on false positives. That would confirm their shared ancestry. And we’re about to talk to both women to try and establish a link. So please, do not get in contact with either of them until we have done so.”