Chapter 43
Forty-Three
Kim received the message from Stacey as she was preparing the morning coffee pot.
For most of the night and all of her morning walk with Barney, she’d wanted to do a welfare check.
When she’d called Daniel after dropping off Ava last night, she’d heard the relief in his voice when he learned that she was neither at a children’s home nor in the care of her uncle.
Kim had told him only that Ava was in the charge of a trusted police officer.
He had welcomed the opportunity to explain how to care for Ava’s prosthetic.
Kim had texted the info to Stacey, who had offered a thumbs up in response. She was sure the girl had been well looked after, but it was important to reunite her with Daniel as soon as possible.
Having already sent the Zoom link to Stacey, Kim poured herself a coffee while waiting for the others.
At one minute to seven, she heard footsteps approaching the squad room.
‘Cutting it fine, guys,’ she offered as a greeting.
‘Good morning to you, and if you want us earlier, change the briefing time,’ Bryant whinged.
‘Jesus, who ate your last Rolo?’ Kim asked as he threw himself into his chair.
‘I was available, you know,’ he said sourly. ‘You know where we live.’
Kim rolled her eyes. She had kept both of her colleagues updated on Ava’s progress the previous evening through the WhatsApp chat.
‘Bryant, there’s a reason Stacey was the best fit.’
‘I formed a bond with her,’ he protested. ‘I could have—’
‘I know you’ve spent time with her, and I did consider you, but child services insisted that she’s in the presence of a police officer at all times, and unlike Stacey, you can’t do your job from home.
So put your face straight before the wind changes and I’m stuck looking at that sulky mouth until you retire. ’
‘Okay, got it,’ he said, taking off his jacket.
Honestly, sometimes it was like managing a group of moody teenagers. And the oldest one was often the worst.
‘Penn, hook her up,’ she said, nodding towards Stacey’s computer.
He moved around to the constable’s desk and fired up her workstation.
He loaded the Zoom meeting, and a black box appeared where Stacey’s face should have been.
‘Okay, guys, I’m sure—’
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Stacey said as the screen flickered into life.
‘How’s Ava?’ Kim asked.
‘Still sleeping,’ Stacey answered, glancing back towards the guest bedroom door. ‘Pizza and a film and she was exhausted.’
‘Devon okay?’ Kim asked, although she was sure Stacey’s wife would have welcomed the child with open arms too.
‘Yeah, she’s sleeping too. She’s on lates, so she’ll be here until mid-afternoon.’
Kim wondered if that was Stacey’s way of asking what was likely to happen next.
‘Soon as I know anything I’ll give you a shout.’
Stacey nodded her understanding.
‘Okay, folks, so we have another victim, as you know. Same manner of death: single stab wound. On the face of it, these women have nothing in common. Stace, I want you to dig into their backgrounds and find any links between the two of them.’
‘Okay, boss.’ That was a job Stacey could easily do at home.
‘We started with no motive for Ashley, but gradually the cracks started to appear, which gave us Gemma Ross, who would love nothing more than for Ashley to be out of the picture permanently. We have Joe Butler, who is still aggravated at losing his boys, and Robbie Steele, who likes to push his grandma around. All are still on the list for Ashley. Nadine is quite different in that she helps break up marriages for a living. There may be a line around the block of people waiting to put a knife in her.’
They all nodded as she turned to Penn. ‘Chase up that warrant, and the second it comes through, I want you over at the modelling agency. First priority is getting the identity of the man she met yesterday.’
‘On it, boss.’
‘What else?’ she asked, sensing there was more he wanted to say.
‘Mind if I do a bit of digging on Ava’s dad?’
It took Kim a second to realise he wasn’t talking about Daniel. ‘Why?’
Penn shrugged. ‘Maybe Daniel could make it legal. It doesn’t seem like Ava’s biological dad has got any interest in the kid. He might be willing to rescind his parental rights.’
Kim considered for a minute before answering.
It was a strange request from the sergeant.
She relied on his ability to remain emotionally unconnected to any of their cases.
His fact-based objectivity was a necessary part of their dynamic.
But she had to remember that he had visited the Chances.
He had seen first-hand what was likely in store for Ava.
She nodded her agreement. ‘Second priority though.’
‘Understood.’
‘Guv, I’ve been thinking,’ Bryant said, tapping his finger on the desk.
‘Oh, shit, now we’re in trouble,’ she quipped.
‘Maybe there’s a link between the two women after all. I mean, I know Nadine’s job was controversial and all that, but folks would be forgiven for thinking she was a paid homewrecker. Gemma thinks Ashley stole Daniel from her. And some might say social workers are always separating families…’
‘You think someone could have had it in for them because they’ve both broken up relationships?’
Bryant shrugged.
Penn nodded his agreement. ‘Folks have killed for a lot less.’
Kim turned to Stacey’s screen. ‘Look for any link between Gemma and Nadine too.’
‘Talking of Gemma, the Uber guy couldn’t confirm one way or another if she was home,’ Stacey said. ‘She paid and tipped through the app and told him to ring the bell and leave the food.’
Kim felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Gemma was cementing herself at the top of the list in connection to Ashley. Now to find out if she had any links to Nadine.
The thought of the homewrecker link hadn’t occurred to her because she didn’t see Ashley as a homewrecking whore.
But there was definitely someone who did, and it was time to have another word with her.