One thing which did annoy him was that his phone had been taken away. Lloyd had only been given it a few months ago and, even then, his mum told him to use it only for emergencies as he was too young to be using it for anything else. One of his friends had sent him some jokes he didn’t really understand and he played a few games on it but, other than that, he had done as she had asked. If he still had it on him, he would use it to call his mum. She had said to only use it if he absolutely had to but surely, if she was in hospital, that would be allowed?

Lloyd got off the bed again and walked around the room. The carpet was soft on his bare feet and it did at least feel warm. He had never been in an attic before. When he had been told to head up the ladder into the roof, he hadn’t known what to think. To find a whole room up here was astonishing – something he had never seen anywhere else. It was strange that he was tall enough to stretch up and touch the ceiling in some areas. It sloped up to a steep point where he definitely couldn’t reach, which was where the window was, but it was all a new experience.

Before being left on his own he was told not to worry about his mum but something didn’t seem quite right. He asked where his brother Marcus was but got no response.

The boy completed another lap of the room, running his hand around the wall and touching the low parts of the ceiling where he could reach. He wondered if he would be back with his mum in time for Christmas. He knew she was getting him the big robot which changed into a lorry from his favourite movie but didn’t know what else he might end up with. He wondered if he would still get the robot if he had to stay in the attic.

As Lloyd continued to examine the room, he began to feel tired. It was still early, at least a few hours until his usual bedtime, but his eyes were feeling heavy. It was strange because he rarely felt sleepy. His mum would tell him it was bedtime but he would often spend a while playing games on his phone without her realising.

As his legs grew sluggish, Lloyd lay on the bed again. He had enjoyed his most-recent meal – sausage and chips was his favourite. His food had already been covered with a generous helping of tomato ketchup but he didn’t really mind.

The boy stared at the window high above, trying to keep his eyes open. He could see the stars through the glass and thought about the PlayStation games in the drawer, wondering what he might get up to the next day. Earlier he had been told that he didn’t have to go to school any longer. At first it sounded good but then he realised he wouldn’t see his friends. He kept thinking about his mum, hoping his brother Marcus was looking after her.

As Lloyd’s eyelids flickered and closed, he drifted into a sleep consumed with dreams of his mother lying in a hospital bed somewhere.

13

Jessica scowled at DCI Cole, making sure both DI Reynolds and DS Cornish were well aware of her displeasure. Just in case there were any doubts about her opinion, she clarified it as emphatically as she could.

‘This is complete bollocks,’ she said.

After speaking to Reynolds, Jessica had driven back to the station with Dave before joining a meeting with the inspector, the chief inspector and Cornish in the DCI’s office.

Cole leant back in his office chair, exchanging a look with Reynolds across the desk. The two of them had worked with Jessica for long enough to know that tact wasn’t one of her strong points. Louise would have no doubt figured that out for herself in the past eighteen months too.

The DCI looked back at Jessica. ‘Whatever you might think, this is what’s happening. The Serious Crime Division has a specialist kidnap unit and they have to deal with it.’

‘But we’re dealing with Isaac Hutchings’s murder and skirting around Toby Whittaker’s too. We found Lloyd Corless’s name on a list that connects both those cases and now you’re saying we can’t be involved with investigating his disappearance?’

Cole spoke firmly. ‘No, I’m saying it’s not up to us to lead anything. If you and Jason want to talk to the victim’s mother, we can have you work with the kidnap squad, but it’s that or nothing.’

Jessica considered telling them again what she thought of the Serious Crime Division but instead said nothing. The chief inspector raised his eyebrows. ‘What’s going on with this lorry driver guy?’

Jessica took a deep breath. ‘Simon Hill was a possible suspect in the disappearance of Toby Whittaker fourteen years ago. He was a neighbour at the time and the connection was tenuous. On the day Isaac Hutchings’s body was found, Mr Hill went missing. His wife is under the impression he goes away for days, if not weeks, at a time on business, but his employer says that isn’t true. Now that we have another kid missing, he’s someone we need to find.’

Reynolds was nodding. ‘Do we think he might be some sort of accomplice to whoever the driver is?’

Jessica wasn’t sure. ‘Maybe. The wife didn’t recognise the driver’s photo and we don’t think Simon Hill has any connection to the allotments. That said, we know plot sixty-one was kept by someone calling themselves Glenn Harrison. We’ve been presuming that was an assumed name of the driver but if Simon Hill was an accomplice, it could be him.’

Cole spoke next. ‘I’ve set the wheels in motion to see if we can get a warrant to check his bank records. You know what it’s like, things will take a day or so – especially as we’ve not really got anything to connect him to Toby, Isaac or Lloyd. We’re trying the same with his mobile phone to see if he’s made any recent calls. The superintendent says he’ll get it done one way or the other but it’s going to take time. Meanwhile, I’ve spent all morning talking to various people about Lloyd Corless. The SCD have been talking with our press department and there are all sorts of people involved.’

He looked at Jessica as if attempting to tell her that he was trying his best, despite her displeasure. ‘The upshot is that this has to be a joint venture between us and the kidnap team. Lloyd’s photo is already out with the media as there’s a separate team taking calls on that. So far we’ve not told them about Lloyd’s name being found on the same list as Isaac Hutchings’s. The fact two boys have gone missing within a shortish period of time is going to cause panic enough.’

Cornish had been working on other cases but, with the latest disappearance, had been brought into the senior team briefings. ‘What do you want me on?’ she asked.

Cole checked the notes in front of him. ‘I’m going to spend most of the day liaising with the super and the SCD. Jason will be going back over the Toby Whittaker case as well as working with the team at the dig site.’ It was clear they had already spoken about it but the chief inspector looked at Reynolds. ‘Things aren’t going well today because the ground’s frozen.’ He looked at Cornish. ‘Louise, I’d like you to take on the information relating to Isaac Hutchings and the car theft. I know we’ve hit a few dead ends but maybe a new set of eyes will give us something fresh?’

Louise was making notes, nodding.

The DCI raised his eyebrows and focused on the final member of the trio. ‘Jess, the SCD have agreed we can work alongside them. You can visit Lloyd Corless’s mother along with one of their officers. Leave me to sort out the warrants for Simon Hill’s mobile phone and bank records but we don’t have anything specific to link him to any of the disappearances yet, so let’s find out as much as we can about Lloyd first.’

He leant forward and gave Jessica a Post-it note bearing the name and details of the SCD officer she would be working with.