Killing Rosa made him long for the forest, and he vowed to do whatever it took to be free. His cards awaited him, and they would afford him the power to do so much more.

Chapter Forty-One

Briefing brought with it the usual workload of jobs that had trickled in from the night before. Jennifer’s sergeant apologised as she handed the jobs out to her small team. She looked slightly harried, her curly black hair springing up from the crown of her head, reminding Jennifer of a jack-in-the-box toy she had as a child.

‘I’m sorry, guys, but today we’ve got to mop up some plain old domestic incidents to help CID. They’re quite nasty so don’t rush, but if you happen to get any downtime I recommend sorting out whatever outstanding paperwork you have. Jennifer, you’re down to attend briefing in Lexton MIT. See if there’re any updates on the Raven case. Zoe’s written up a report of her dealings with the Facebook group to date, you can bring that with you.’

Jennifer nodded. Zoe had been keeping Jennifer updated by text. She was slowly winning the group members’ trust, particularly a member known as Geoff. She was playing the persona of a teenage girl who had turned to drugs because her parents fed her money instead of love. Each word she typed on the group’s page was carefully constructed, and she expected to be invited to a meeting very soon. Jennifer sipped her coffee as her sergeant continued doling out jobs, and none of them were to her liking.

‘Will, there’s a domestic here for the Cravens. As usual, it’s resulted in a counter allegation, and both parties are in custody. You work with the husband and Zoe can interview the wife. Collate the paperwork and send it to CPS. They’re one of our regulars so you should be able to get a decision today.’

[#]

Briefing in Lexton failed to turn up any new leads. The general consensus was that the Raven had abandoned his van in favour of other means of transport. He was not claiming benefits, and it wasn’t possible to track his spending habits without bank account details. They were at a loss as to how he was sustaining himself. Jennifer wondered if his mother had been one of those mistrusting people who kept her money in a mattress instead of in a bank like everyone else. Her thoughts returned to Emily’s little boy. Her nightmares were filled with his sorrow – she could not get him out of her mind. She turned to Will, his head bowed as he pored over his paperwork. The couple he was working on must have had the police on speed dial, as not a weekend passed without the police being called to their address.

‘The Cravens, they’ve got kids haven’t they?’ Jennifer asked.

‘Five, God help them, and a menagerie of animals.’

‘Mmm,’ Jennifer said, ‘I take it you’ll be giving social services a call to update them on the progress of the case. Would you like me to do that for you?’

‘What are you up to? It sounds like you’ve enough work of your own to be getting on with.’

‘No, that’s OK, I’ll do it. What’s the number of that social worker you’re friendly with, Sally something, isn’t it?’

‘Why are you so keen to call social care all of a sudden?’ Will lifted his gaze from the page and his face broke into a smile. ‘Hold on, you’re after an update on Emily Clarke’s kid, aren’t you?’

‘I might be,’ Jennifer said. She had gotten used to never knowing the outcome of many of the jobs she attended. It was part of the job. You turned up when all hell was breaking loose, and if you were lucky, you found out how it went. Most of the time, you never heard anything, and you had to let it go. Being able to show empathy without becoming emotionally attached became a skill to master. But this time she had to know.

Will handed her a slip of paper. ‘Here’s her direct line. Don’t abuse it.’

‘Thanks,’ Jennifer said, before punching in her number. ‘Hi Sally, it’s DC Jennifer Knight from Haven CID. Sorry to call on your direct line but Will and I are working on a case involving the Craven family and I just wanted to check if you’ve received a social services referral.’

Sally was a children’s advisor, and all referrals in Haven passed through her. Will had gotten to know her over the years, and she was happy to update her that a social worker had already been assigned. Just as she was about to finish her call, Jennifer caught her attention.

‘Oh Sally, before you go, do you have any updates on the little boy who was taken into care the other day? His mother was Emily Clarke. She was murdered.’

‘Oh of course I know about that one, very sad wasn’t it? Let me see … why do you need this information again?’

Her fingers busily clacked on the keyboard as Sally typed in the background.

Jennifer twisted the phone cord between her fingers. Saying she felt a pang of guilt for his mother’s death would not provide her with the information she needed. ‘It’s relevant to the case,’ Jennifer heard herself say. ‘We need to ascertain if the child has said anything about his mother’s killer, if he’s settling in, things like that.’

Jennifer could hear the thud of a cup being placed on a desk. ‘Hmm, well it says here a DC Hardwick has already called with a view to interviewing him. Nothing’s been arranged yet, but the key worker has said in her notes he is showing no adverse signs so far. I imagine it’ll come out in his assessment but there doesn’t appear to be any lasting damage.’

Jennifer warmed to the idea of that. ‘That’s good, so he’s in care, I take it?’

‘He’s been fostered already. It’s early days but he’s doing really well, poor mite.’

It was the best news Jennifer had received all day. ‘Great! Thanks for that, Sally, I should have checked with DC Hardwick first. Sounds like a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.’

‘Are you any nearer to catching the killer or are you not allowed to say?’ Sally said.

Jennifer squirmed. She thought of the whiteboard in the MIT briefing room, and the wall covered with photos of the unfortunate victims, followed by pins dotting destinations, forensics, names, and places. She decided to go for the politician-style answer, and sidestepped the question completely. ‘We’re throwing everything at this case. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.’

‘Aye, well good luck with it, and don’t forget to give me the update on the Cravens.’

Jennifer would hand the responsibility for the updates over to Will and Zoe. They were welcome to them as far as she was concerned. One parent was as bad as the other, and neither thought of their children when they were tearing strips off each other during booze-fuelled arguments.

Jennifer was in the middle of Tesco’s when she received the call from Ethan. The hum of a car told her he was going somewhere, and the urgency in his voice made her hurry as she scanned her sandwich through the self-service checkout. There was no time for small talk as he relayed the news.

‘We’ve had word, there’s a raid going ahead. They’ve found The Reborners’ location.’

‘Really? I’m just grabbing a sandwich. What time is kick-off?’

Ethan mumbled something about turning left and Jennifer guessed he was being driven. ‘No, you don’t understand. Lexton MIT have been hacking into Zoe’s Facebook account and monitoring her conversations in the Second Chance group. While she was in interview, one of the group members invited her to a meeting.’

Jennifer swore under her breath. They were giving their full cooperation, there was no need for underhand tactics. ‘So when is the meeting? Is it today?’

‘It’s now. They’ve planned the raid without us. Zoe and I are on our way. Get yourself down to the quarry now.’