Chapter 89
‘Right, you’re both too close to this investigation,’ Estelle said. ‘Until it’s over, I’m in charge. We do what I say. Do either of you have a problem with that?’
Poe didn’t. He needed Estelle to fulfil Flynn’s old role. Flynn’s strengths had been keeping them on task. Taking care of the bullshit so he and Tilly could do what they did best. ‘Fine with me, boss,’ he said.
‘Tilly?’
‘We need someone to keep us focused, Lady Estelle Doyle-Poe,’ Bradshaw said.
Despite the circumstances, Poe smiled. Bradshaw worked well under pressure.
Very well. She had that rare knack of being able to shut down the parts of her mind she didn’t need.
Put her entire bandwidth into the task at hand.
But when that happened, she tended to revert to her old, very formal way of addressing her friends and colleagues. Full names. Titles.
‘Good,’ Estelle said. ‘The first thing we need to do is get a nice cup of tea.’
‘Is this really the best use of our …’ Poe started to say. Stopped himself. ‘Good idea. My throat’s drier than a popcorn fart.’
‘That’s yucky, Poe,’ Bradshaw said. ‘Why are we drinking tea, Lady … Estelle?’
‘Because we need a circuit breaker. Something to clear our minds,’ Estelle said. ‘How many times have you thought of something important when you weren’t forcing yourself to think about it, Poe?’
‘More often than not,’ he admitted. ‘When I’m out with Edgar usually.’
‘Edgar’s not here. The kettle is. I’ll pop it on and we’re all going to watch it boil.’
They took their drinks back to Poe’s conference table. Poe sat. So did Bradshaw.
Estelle remained on her feet. ‘If we didn’t have a personal connection to this, what would you do, Poe?’ she said.
‘If I was a cop, or now?’
‘Now.’
‘Call Cumbria Police. And then I’d call Detective Chief Inspector Gilliard. Let the NCA know.’
‘Why haven’t you?’
He took his time before saying, ‘Like you said, we have a personal connection. I didn’t want to rush into anything.’
‘Do you still think that?’
Poe paused, a fraction of a second, no longer. ‘I think I still don’t want to call the police.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘And I think you do.’
Poe put down his cup and concentrated. Something had bothered him about this case right from the start, right from Mark Buckby’s murder.
How had the Red Chamber known about him?
How had they known that Buckby had arranged a meeting with someone who knew about Océane Blue’s tattoo?
And being doorstepped at the Szechuan Palace in Newcastle, that hadn’t made sense either. He said, ‘You have a theory?’
Estelle nodded. ‘How long have we known Esmerée?’
‘Not long.’
‘But how well do we know her?’
Poe’s brow puckered. He thought that wasn’t as easy to answer.
Esmerée had come into their lives foul-mouthed and spitting with anger.
You could almost see the protective shield she wore.
The independence that had been forced on her.
They’d taken her into their home, made her feel welcome.
And gradually she’d started to defrost. She was still foul-mouthed, but there was less venom behind her words.
She’d opened up and discussed her life in New York, the battles she’d had with her mother.
With Vincent du Buk. And she’d started to think of her future.
A doctor. A pathologist. Even a private investigator.
‘I think we know her quite well,’ he said. ‘She still has her secrets, but I believe she’s been as honest with us as she feels she can. She’s a kid, but she’s also smart and streetwise.’
Estelle nodded. ‘She is. What does that tell you?’
Poe stared at his tea. Estelle was hinting at something, but she wanted him to get there on his own.
She didn’t want to lead him. He said, ‘Tilly, hack into Cumbria’s nine-nine-nine logbook.
See if anyone has reported a girl being forced into a van or a car.
Greggs is in the city centre. If she’d been dragged away, someone would have reported it. ’
It took Bradshaw less than a minute. ‘Nothing, Poe. The last emergency call to the police was about a masturbating tramp at seven o’clock this morning.’
‘She was lured into a car then,’ Poe said.
Estelle nodded. ‘She was.’
‘But like we said, she’s streetwise. She knows the Red Chamber are a threat. That means she wouldn’t get into a vehicle with a Chinese person.’ He thought it through. ‘She probably wouldn’t get into a vehicle with someone she didn’t know.’
‘Exactly. She was taken by someone she did know,’ Estelle said. ‘Someone she trusted.’