Page 48 of Making a Killing

The door closes behind Gow, and they all turn to look at me.

‘So where do we start, sir?’ says Sargent.

‘By reviewing the evidence from 2016. Find out what we got wrong. But, and this is an importantbut:I don’t want any of you who worked that case to start blaming yourselves, or thinking you messed up. You did a fine job based on the information we had at the time, and if anyone messed up it was me, not you. So that’s the task for this team: review the original case, with the aim of establishing where Daisy went, and with whom, be that a stranger, or someone she already knew. Meanwhile, in parallel, South Mercia will run the murder inquiry at the Hescombe end. And if anyone’s wondering about conflict of interest – and I wouldn’t blame you, I certainly did – it’s officially Detective Superintendent Renshaw who’s the SIO on this, so I’ll be reporting to him. On a day-to-day basis, acting DI Quinn will be in charge here, and DS Asante will be temporarily stationed at the Gloucester HQ. I need someone up there to act as liaison between the two teams and to make sure I’m in the loop.’

All of which is true, but moving Asante to Gloucester has the added advantage of giving Ev a chance to shine here.

‘Acting DI Quinn is now going to take you through the operational side.’

I nod to Quinn, who stands up a little straighter, then comes to the front. He’s taken his jacket off and loosened his tie, so there are no more catcalls. In any case, I think we’re past that. This is serious now.

‘OK,’ he says, ‘I had a nice little work programme all mapped out before we started this meeting, but safe to say I’ve had to do a few fast adjustments in the light of what we just heard.’ He holds up a sheet of paper and even from where I’m sittingI can see the crossings-out. He allows himself a wry smile. ‘Best-laid plans, eh?’

There are some laughs around the room.

‘So, we have two work-streams. One to cover off any sex offenders we might have missed back in 2016, possibly because they’d only just become active at the time. And the other, much bigger task of talking again to Daisy’s family and friends. They may remember something now that they didn’t then, and even if they don’t, if Daisydidknow her abductor, someone in her circle must have known something about it: eight-year-olds just don’t have “private lives” the way teenagers do – they’re monitored 24/7, or as good as. Though it’s worth remembering that this is Daisy we’re talking about – she was seeing her half-brother right under her parents’ noses back then and neither of them had any idea.’

I look round. ‘The other point, of course, is that this mystery person almost certainly “disappeared” around the same time Daisy did, which will significantly narrow the list of potential suspects.’

I see Morris open his mouth to speak but I get there first. ‘I suppose it’s possible they could still be in the area living some sort of double life and have Daisy in hiding, but I think it’s unlikely.’

Quinn now: ‘So, what we have in the room is a pretty good mix of officers who worked the case in 2016, and those with no knowledge of it at all. Which is why you’re going to be working in pairs.’

There are a couple of grins, a few knowing looks.

He smiles drily. ‘Holmes and Watson, Morse and Lewis, Starsky and bloody Hutch, whatever floats your boat. The point is, one of you will be from the original team and the other will be coming at it with no preconceptions. Anyone who can’t see the point of that see me after and I’ll draw you a diagram.’

He turns to the whiteboard and starts writing. ‘So, first up, the stranger-danger scenario. I’ll oversee on this, but it’ll be managed by DC Morris, who’s been assigned to us from Newbury. If and when we identify a potential suspect, we can obviously draft in more resources.’

This is neat footwork by Quinn – he’s clearly got Morris’s number already and worked out he’s best used where he’s out of everyone else’s hair doing something that feels important, even if what it looks like to me is a shed-load of work with next-to-zero prospect of success. Then again, there’s that thing Alex always says – that the reason most people miss opportunities is because they turn up wearing overalls and looking like work. I may be wrong yet.

‘So let’s start by reviewing Daisy’s family and friends,’ says Quinn, nodding to Gislingham, who joins him at the board and starts sorting through photographs and pinning them up.

‘First up, Daisy Mason herself. Though, as discussed, she’s almost certainly been living under another name.’

Gis pins up the missing poster we issued in 2016. The blonde hair, the little gap between her front teeth, that smile. She was a newspaperman’s dream.

‘For those new to the case,’ continues Quinn, ‘this picture went nationwide, we had sightings pouring in from all over the place –’

‘I remember,’ says the new female DC. She looks so like Somer I had to do a double-take when I first saw her. ‘I was still at training college. It was in the papers for weeks.’

‘Right,’ says Quinn, slightly irritated at being interrupted, but less so than if it had been one of the men. ‘Which, looking back now, raises the possibility that her appearance was changed very early on. Or – as I said – that she and her “abductor” left the area within a few days.’

‘Or even the country,’ says the DC.

‘Right,’ he nods. ‘And you are –?’

‘DC Stillwell,’ she says. ‘Sarah Stillwell. Seconded from Reading MissPers.’

‘Right. Good. That might be useful.’ He turns to the rest of the room, and then back to Gis, who starts putting up another series of pictures.

‘We’ve put that original photo of Daisy through age-progression software and it came up with these. How she’d look now if she had red hair like what was found in the grave. But as you can see, we’ve also done a variety of other hair colours, hair lengths, glasses, coloured contacts, the whole nine yards, given that she could quite easily have changed her appearance yet again since that grave was dug. Especially if she’s in some sort of cahoots with the perp.’

Ev nods. ‘It’s been all over the papers – whoever killed that woman must know the body’s been found.’

‘Right.’ He looks at the board again. ‘And bear in mind these images are only an indicative range – she may look completely different, even to these.’

The mood in the room dampens a little, and I can see why. Even though the basic features are the same, the girls on the board bear almost no resemblance to one another. A spiky blonde gamine cut, dark plaits, red curls, a mid-brown ponytail.Make-up, no make-up; glasses, no glasses. The possibilities are depressing.

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