Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)(5)

‘Of course, I’d expect no less. And if you need help, ask, okay?’ Ruth Crooke stared at them. ‘But don’t procrastinate over the cold case either. There is a lot at stake with this. When I said the powers that be want it dealt with swiftly, I meant it, understood?’

The interview was over.

Marie’s instincts shouted that this investigation was going to be far from simple.

They walked towards the lifts.

‘Kenya Black.’ Jackman almost whispered the name. ‘I never saw that coming.’

‘Me neither,’ replied Marie.

‘How do you feel about taking this on?’ asked Jackman.

‘Well, of course we should. The super’s right. The family needs answers, and maybe new eyes will see something different.’

‘That’s not what I asked.’ Jackman levelled his eyes at hers. ‘How do you feel about it?’

They slowed their pace. ‘If I’m honest, and I have no idea why I feel this way, I’m quite troubled by the thought of tackling this investigation.’

As they entered the lift, Jackman nodded. ‘Me too. From the moment I saw that file with that name on it, my stomach has been doing somersaults.’ He drew in a long shaky breath. ‘But you are right, it’s time that dreadful case was closed, so we’d better get our heads together and sort it, don’t you think?’

In the silence as the lift descended, Marie had a strong sense of foreboding.





CHAPTER THREE

Jackman and Marie went directly into his office and closed the door.

Jackman sat down heavily in his old leather captain’s chair and swung round to face Marie. ‘I need to get my head around this before we tell the team. I’m not sure how we are going to juggle it all. It’s going to take quite a bit of strategic planning.’

Marie puffed out her cheeks. ‘Well, the super seemed absolutely determined that we be the ones to tackle the case, even if we are already working the Shauna Kelly investigation.’

‘Mmm, she was almost complimentary about the team, wasn’t she?’

‘But thinking about it, there really is only us, isn’t there? Our counterparts are up to their ears in tying up that big fraud case and getting it ready for the CPS. They certainly couldn’t tackle something on this scale. And DI Andy Feltham’s team are way understaffed due to illness and accident.’

Jackman made to answer but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

DC Max Cohen entered, carrying a large sealed envelope. ‘Sorry, boss, but I think you’ll want to see this. It’s from the pathologist, marked urgent.’

‘Thanks, Max. We’ll be out in a moment, so perhaps you’d get hold of Charlie. We’ll meet you in the CID room in ten for a briefing, okay?’

As the door closed, Jackman stared at the manila envelope in front of him. His name was written across the front in Rory Wilkinson’s version of Gothic script. An awful lot rested on what this brief report would tell them, not least the fact that he might have to break it to one of his own staff that her daughter was dead. From the moment he had seen the girl on the beach, Jackman’s gut feeling was that she hadn’t fallen, and she hadn’t jumped.

He frowned and tore open the envelope.

The dental records confirmed that the drowned girl was Shauna Kelly. Without a word, he passed the sheet to Marie.

Marie sighed. ‘I so hoped . . .’

‘I guess we know what our next step is.’

‘A very sad visit to Liz Kelly. We’ll do it together, shall we? We’ve both known Liz for quite a time, and I’m sure she’ll appreciate it coming from people she’s familiar with.’

Jackman nodded. ‘I wish we had more to tell her.’

‘Whatever we say today will be lost on her. The only words she’ll hear are the ones telling her that her child is dead.’

Jackman stood up. ‘You go tell Max and Charlie about this, and I’ll notify the super.’ He grimaced. ‘And then we’ll go and break the news to Liz.’

‘And Kenya Black? Shall I tell the others?’

‘No. Let’s get something rolling regarding Shauna. Kenya Black has been gone a very long time, so a few more days won’t make any difference, whereas we need to really move on Shauna’s investigation while there may be evidence to gather and people’s memories are still fresh.’

‘Wilco, sir.’ Marie strode outside to find the others, and Jackman made his second visit in twenty minutes to the superintendent’s office.

Ruth Crooke looked almost haggard. ‘So what do we actually know about Shauna?’

‘We have no idea what happened to her yet, ma’am. Rory Wilkinson is treating it as a priority, so we just have to hope that something shows up in the post-mortem that will determine whether foul play was involved.’ He pushed a hand through his thick, light brown hair. ‘Apparently Shauna was always a handful, but not a bad kid. Six months ago her father left home, and things got worse. She started drinking, and Liz told me that she has had trouble keeping her away from some of the wilder kids in town.’

‘And the night she went missing?’

‘Max and Charlie have located her three times on CCTV, all around the town-centre area. The last sighting was of her laughing with a man, close to the Lincoln Arms public house on Brewer Street.’