After Archie Leonard had been escorted out, Joseph and his boss returned to the interview room. The DI closed the door, leaned back on it and let out a long sigh. She then stared at the floor until Joseph began to wonder if she were all right. To break the silence he said, ‘That can’t have been easy, to walk in here and ask for help.’

‘You’ve no idea!’ She walked over to one of the chairs and sank down. ‘He’s broken every underworld law there is by turning to us.’

‘So do you know anything about this mysterious new outfit?’ Joseph flopped into the chair opposite her and wished he wasn’t so out of his depth. In his own area he knew all the names, knew what was going down, but in a different manor it was difficult and frustrating.

The DI thought for a moment, then shook her head, ‘Not much. An informant told me he’d heard rumours about a new gang. Vicious, violent and wanting a patch of their own. Maybe they are looking at the Carborough?’

‘Then surely we know exactly where to look for the girl’s abductors?’ asked Joseph in surprise.

‘There’s just one tiny problem. Just like Archie, we don’t know who they are.’ She frowned. ‘And as there have been no prior direct threats to him or any of his family, these shadowy newcomers really may just be myth.’ The DI bit her lip. ‘Our biggest problem right now is how we deal with it since Archie doesn’t want Lisa Jane’s disappearance broadcast.’

Joseph shifted uncomfortably, knowing they were wasting time. ‘Well, whatever he wants or doesn’t want is irrelevant. We now have two girls missing. We have no choice but to work fast, do we? So how do we proceed?’

The DI leaned back in her chair and stared at him. ‘Carefully, that’s how. We don’t just rush out there like headless chickens. This is delicate stuff, Joseph. Lisa Jane is a lovely girl, but she’s still a member of a close-knit gangland family.’

Joseph calmed his mind and thought about it, then realized what the media might make of it, and the hype they could splash across the tabloid press. Something that could severely hamper their enquiries into both disappearances. He looked back at the DI and saw deep concern etched on her face. ‘You like Archie Leonard, don’t you?’

For a moment he thought she was going to tell him to mind his own damned business, then she nodded.