Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)(27)

‘No.’ The frown deepened and he added, ‘There’s nothing here for you. This is private property.’

‘Sorry, sir, but we have a young woman missing.’ Kevin tried to look taller and tougher than he actually was, but gave up quickly. ‘We are checking all the unoccupied buildings in the area, and we’d like the owner’s permission to have a look around.’

Something darted across the giant’s face. Andy found his expression hard to read, but the mention of the girl had clearly affected him in some way.

‘Oh, well, that’s different.’ He didn’t smile at them, but his anger seemed to abate somewhat. ‘A girl, you say? Well, I’ve been out here from dawn to dusk for the past month and I’ve seen no one.’

‘It’s a big place, sir. She could have sneaked in, or been brought here, and you’d not necessarily have noticed. We do need to have a look, I’m afraid.’

‘Yes, of course, uh, I don’t suppose the owner, Mr Broome, would object.’ He brushed dirt from his meaty hands and wiped them down his trouser legs. ‘But I’ll have to come with you. This place is not safe. And some of it is locked. I’ll need to get the keys. Oh, and you’ll need hard hats too. Health and safety, and all that crap.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ said Andy politely. ‘And you are . . . ?’

The man took his time. ‘Micah. I’m Micah Lee, Mr Broome’s caretaker. He don’t come here too often, so I keeps an eye on things for him.’

‘And you are doing a lot of work too,’ added Kevin, looking at the site that Micah was in the process of clearing. ‘What are the plans for this place?’

‘It’s a big project, a dream really. But you’d better ask Mr Broome about that. I’ll give you his card when we go into my office.’ He sniffed loudly. ‘Now, come with me and we’ll get those hats.’

An hour later, their shoes scuffed and their uniforms dirty, the two policemen decided that enough was enough.

‘No one has been here, have they?’ grumbled Kevin.

‘They’d be barking if they did,’ added Andy, rubbing plaster dust from his trouser leg. ‘This place is a death trap.’

Kevin looked at Micah. ‘Sorry to have disturbed you, Mr Lee. Good luck with the project.’ He grimaced. ‘Because I reckon you are going to need it.’

‘Oh it’ll happen, you’ll see, Officer. It will take time, but Mr Broome will get his dream one day.’

Kevin opened the car door and sank gratefully down into the driver’s seat. ‘I hope so, sir.’ He turned on the ignition, waved, and then drove down the wide driveway as swiftly as he could.

‘Bloody hell! That was one ugly son-of-a-bitch, wasn’t it?’

‘Hagrid meets the Incredible Hulk.’ Andy swallowed. ‘I’m going to have nightmares thinking about that face, and did you see the calluses on his hands?’

‘I did, and I certainly wouldn’t want to meet him in an alley on a dark night.’

Andy stared down at the tatty dog-eared card that he held in his hand. ‘Shall I give this Broome bloke a bell?’

Kevin slowed down at the gatehouse then pulled out into the deserted lane. ‘Not much point. I get the feeling that the big guy will probably have already contacted him about our visit.’ As he accelerated away from the desolate old property, he frowned. ‘But I will make sure the boss knows about this place. I can’t say that I’m really happy about it, are you?’

Andy let out a whistle, ‘Want me to be honest? I’ve never felt so spooked by a place since I was a cub scout and someone shut me in the churchyard at dusk.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘Shit-scared, my friend, that’s how I felt. Shit-scared.’

*

Back at the station, Jackman went to check for any messages from forensics. Clive, his office manager, flashed a cheery grin and began to root around in the masses of untidy paperwork on his desk. He located the correct memo sheet in seconds, something that always amazed Jackman.

‘One of the SOCOs rang us from the scene, boss. She reckoned there were enough bodily fluids floating around in there to crash their computer’s DNA file, but unfortunately the tests take time. It will be over a week before we get the results.’

‘Sod it! How about prints?’

‘A shedload. She’ll stick them on the database as soon as she gets back to the lab. If there’s any matches they’ll come up straight away.’

‘That sounds a bit more promising. Keep me posted, will you?’

Jackman went back to his office, where Marie joined him. ‘Marie? I suppose you don’t know if we’ve ever bumped into young Nicholas Barley before — in an official capacity.’

‘He’s had his collar felt a few times,’ said Marie. ‘Unfortunately it was nothing bad enough to warrant taking his dabs.’

‘No matter. We’ll take them anyway.’

‘I’ll get that sorted,’ said Marie. ‘By the way, can I run something past you, sir?’

‘Fire away.’

‘Do you think Toni Clarkson would be up to going to the old chapel, to see if she can remember if that was where the so-called party was held?’

Jackman nodded. ‘I think she’s got the nerve, don’t you?’