A puppy separated from its mother too soon would suffer behavioural problems later on; problems that could be exploited as a status symbol for The Deltas.

Kim looked into the eyes of the older dog who would be bred again at the earliest opportunity.

She looked at Bryant whose gaze also rested on the dogs. They exchanged a glance.

‘Whatever that girl’s done is fuck all to do with me. I gid ‘er away years ago.’

The baby beneath them started to cry.

The female sat down and placed her right foot on the back of the rocker. She took out a iPhone and began texting with one hand.

Brian Harris sat beside his daughter. He nudged her, hard.

‘Put kettle on, Tina.’

‘Do it yerself, yer lazy bastard.’

‘Do it or sling yer hook and tek yer damn kids with yer.’

Tina offered him a filthy look but headed into the kitchen. Rhianna followed closely behind.

Harris leaned forward and lit a cigarette, blowing smoke all over the baby’s head.

Bryant forced calm into his voice as he took a seat on the sofa opposite. Kim remained standing.

‘Can you tell us the last time you saw your daughter, Mr Harris?’

He shrugged. ‘Couldn’t say exactly. She was a kid.’

‘How old was she when you gave her away?’ Kim asked.

Brian Harris showed no emotion at the dig. ‘I cor remember, it's been a while.’

‘Was she a troubled child?’

‘Nah, she just ate a lot. Gutsy little cow,’ he said, smiling at his own humour.

Neither Bryant nor she said a word.

‘Look, I had two kids to tek care of when their slag of a mother walked out and I did the best I could.’

He shrugged as though his ‘Father of the Year’ title was just around the corner.

‘So, she was just the unlucky one?’ Kim asked.

He scrunched up his face showing a row of yellowed teeth. ‘She was a funny looking kid. All legs and no meat. She weren't no oil painting.’

Bryant sat forward. ‘Did you visit her at all once she’d been placed into care?’

He shook his head. ‘Woulda just made it harder for ‘er. Had to make a clean break. Don't even know where they shoved her. It mighta bin that place being dug up,’ he said, drawing on his cigarette.

‘And you didn’t think to contact police to see if one of the victims at Crestwood might be your daughter?’ Kim asked, exasperated. One shred of emotion would have restored her faith in mankind.

He sat forward. ‘Is Melanie one of the dead ‘uns?’

Finally, Kim thought, a flicker of interest in the wellbeing of the daughter he abandoned fifteen years ago.

His expression turned to a frown. ‘It ain't gonna cost me anything, is it?’

Kim clenched her hands deep into her pockets. There were times she wished she could lock them in there for her own sake.

Tina returned and handed her father a steaming drink. With the look on her face Kim wouldn’t trust anything in that mug.

‘Mr Harris, we are sorry to inform you that pending a formal identification we do suspect that Melanie is one of the girls recently discovered.’

Brian Harris attempted to look solemn but the selfishness in his eyes won through. ‘See, I gid her up years agoo so it ain't really nothing to do with me.’

Kim watched as Rhianna walked around the sofa to the cage. She put her fingers through the bars and began pulling on the jowl of the dog, who had nowhere to go. Kim moved sideways and nudged the child away with her right foot. The child moved towards the puppy box but Kim was saved from acting.

‘Tina, get her away from there.’

Tina growled again and stood. She reached for her daughter’s hand and led her to the bedroom. With the child out of the room, Kim could bear it no longer. She couldn’t use her fists but she had other tools available.

‘Mr Harris, I’d like to leave you with a picture in your head. A final memory, if you like. Your fifteen-year-old daughter was murdered horrifically. The bones in her foot were smashed so that she couldn’t run away while some sick bastard chopped off her head. She struggled and cried and possibly screamed out for you while the bastard hacked her into bits.’ Kim leaned down into the face of the disgusting excuse for a father. ‘And that information didn’t cost you a damn penny.’

She looked to Bryant. ‘We’re done.’

She stepped past him and headed to the door. Bryant followed but hesitated before closing the door behind them. ‘Wait here, I just wanna ask him one more thing.’

While she waited, Kim realised that hadn’t exactly been textbook practice for informing the family of the death of a loved one. But if she had detected just one ounce of love or attachment, even regret, she would have stuck to the rulebook. She decided that the other families would be notified by someone else. She didn’t trust herself to remain calm if she were faced with such familial indifference again.

The door to the flat opened again and Kim looked on in shock as her colleague exited the property.

‘Bryant, you really have got to be kidding me.’

Fifty-Eight

‘Here, you carry the puppies and I’ll grab the mother.’

Bryant thrust the box into her arms. The four puppies started moving around and Kim could see that their eyes were open. Just.

‘How the hell ...’

‘Told him I’d be prepared to overlook the level of criminal activity in his residence on this occasion if he gave me the dogs.’ Bryant followed her down the staircase. ‘But I never said anything about social services.’

Kim hurried down the rest of the stairs and paused at the car. ‘Erm ... what now Doctor Doolittle?’

He placed the bitch onto the back seat of the car and the box right beside her. ‘You drive.’

‘To where?’ she asked, getting in the car.

‘Come on, Guv, you know where I live.’

‘Jesus,’ she exclaimed, putting the car into gear. She negotiated her way out of the estate and then managed to take a quick look behind. The bitch was peering over the top of the box. One of the puppies was straining to reach her nose.

‘Don’t you ever call me impulsive again, Bryant. What is your missus gonna say about this?’

He shrugged. ‘Tell me what choice I had.’

Kim said nothing. Much as they wished to, they knew they were incapable of saving the whole world – but sometimes you just had to deal with what was right in front of you.

Kim paused at a set of lights.

‘Guv, look,’ Bryant said.

Kim took another look behind. The bitch was licking at the puppy it could reach. The others were trying to claw at the side of the box.

Five minutes later, she pulled up outside his three-bed semi in Romsley.

He stepped out of the car. ‘Okay, if you get hold of ...’

‘No chance,’ Kim said. ‘You’re on your own with this one.’

‘Chicken,’ he said.

‘Damn right.’

Bryant grabbed the lead of the adult dog. She jumped out of the car of her own accord and stood still. Bryant put the box under his left arm and headed to his front door.

Kim said a silent prayer. Having seen Bryant’s missus in a bad mood she feared she might never see her colleague again. She’d give him ten minutes and then she'd be on her way.

She took out her mobile and placed a call to social services. She spoke for a few moments and ended the conversation. An ‘at risk’ call from a police officer galvanised an immediate response. A case worker would be knocking on the door within the hour. Kim suspected Tina was lost but Rhianna and the baby had a chance.

Bryant’s front door opened and he exited. She couldn’t be totally sure, but his limbs appeared to be intact.