BooksBarbecue
Back Found
Chapters (62)
  1. Title
  2. Copyright
  3. Contents
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Book
  6. Dedication
  7. Your Worst Nightmare
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. The Answer to All Your Prayers
  18. TEN
  19. ELEVEN
  20. TWELVE
  21. THIRTEEN
  22. FOURTEEN
  23. FIFTEEN
  24. SIXTEEN
  25. SEVENTEEN
  26. EIGHTEEN
  27. NINETEEN
  28. TWENTY
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. Somebody Else’s Child
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. THIRTY-FIVE
  45. THIRTY-SIX
  46. THIRTY-SEVEN
  47. THIRTY-EIGHT
  48. THIRTY-NINE
  49. FORTY
  50. FORTY-ONE
  51. FORTY-TWO
  52. FORTY-THREE
  53. FORTY-FOUR
  54. FORTY-FIVE
  55. FORTY-SIX
  56. FORTY-SEVEN
  57. FORTY-EIGHT
  58. FORTY-NINE
  59. Sunlight on Water
  60. July
  61. September
  62. Acknowledgements

‘That beggars belief,’ says Campbell. ‘The boy was in the back of it, two abductors in the front, and there’s nothing to go on?’

‘I’m not saying there’s nothing at all,’ says Hagen. ‘Of course there are prints and DNA. Just nothing that ties in to anyone we know.’

‘The ANPR data hasn’t been much help either,’ says Naylor. ‘We’re thinking they must have switched cars shortly before we got them on the A61. But finding the car they abandoned – if there was one – is an impossibility. It could be anywhere, in a garage somewhere or under a tarpaulin. For all we know it’s crushed and gone by now.’

‘No soil samples, nothing like that?’

‘Nothing. All that tells us is they’ve been sticking to city driving.’

‘And what about the men themselves? How did they just vanish?’

Naylor shrugs.

‘It isn’t hard to do, Sir, if they split up and both found themselves a pub, sat for half an hour with a pint and called themselves a taxi. We’ve checked the CCTV at the rail and bus stations, nothing there. Appeals for information haven’t given us anything. Most likely someone came and picked them up.’

Campbell wanders over to where the coffee machine has just brewed a fresh pot. There’s an open biscuit tin which once held Scottish shortbread, recently filled by Rose with Oreos, and Campbell helps himself.

‘So what’s next? Rachel, how did your interview with Evan go?’

‘We did our best,’ says Naylor, ‘but he never said a word. The closest we came to any response were a couple of photos where I thought there was something. Maybe, maybe not.’

‘Worth a look though, surely, if we’ve nothing else? When are you bringing him back in?’

‘With respect, Sir, I think we should leave it a while. He’s so traumatised, it isn’t ethical to keep chipping away at him. According to Claire Ferrers, he’s little better than catatonic. He needs more time. Rose agrees with me.’

‘I appreciate the boy’s fragile,’ says Campbell. ‘And in an ideal world, we’d give him all the time and space he needs, but under the very pressing circumstances I think we have to push him. Bring him back in and try again. What else have you got?’

‘The car’s the obvious one,’ says Hagen. ‘We need to make sure we’ve exhausted everything there. And I agree we could take a look at the photos which caused a reaction, if a reaction it was. The thing is, it’s impossible to say whether our photos might just have reminded him of someone. They might both be complete dead ends.’