Damaged Goods. Helen Black

      ‘In the meantime we could look into the other suspect Valentine mentioned, so we’ve got legitimate ongoing inquiries,’ said Bradbury.

      ‘And we can’t be accused of backing one horse.’

      The two minds working together mesmerised Jack, and he wondered what it would be like to be included in the plan. He was about to find out.

      ‘Jack, you investigate the other body,’ ordered the Chief Superintendent.

      ‘Yes, Sir.’

      Jack found Lilly by the vending machine banging the side with full force.

      ‘You’ll break that.’

      ‘Don’t you start.’

      He pressed a couple of buttons and out came a can of Diet Coke. She held the can against the side of her face for a second, opened it and took a grateful drink. The condensation had left a silver film on her cheek.

      ‘What’s the score, Jack?’

      ‘We’re asking for advice,’ he said.

      ‘Can I speak to the rep?’

      Jack shook his head gingerly. ‘This is too big for that. We’re sending the papers to the DPP.’

      Lilly threw up her arms in exasperation, showering herself with Coke. ‘The DPP? What for? You know what she’ll say. Without a confession you’ve no evidence.’ She licked the spilled Coke from her forearm. ‘I suppose Bradbury didn’t want to let it go. These fast-track wankers love the big ones.’

      Lilly rummaged inside her bag for a tissue and Jack took the can before she could spill any more.

      ‘He’s a good copper, Lilly. He doesn’t want to hound Kelsey but he understands how things work.’

      ‘His type are ambitious,’ she said, dabbing her shirtfront.

      ‘What’s wrong with that? He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life nicking fourteen-year-olds for joyriding, and I can’t say I blame him.’

      He took a swallow himself and handed the can back to Lilly. She put it straight to her lips. The gesture seemed intimate, almost sexual, but Jack was sure he was reading too much into it.

      ‘Don’t underestimate what it is you do, Jack. Small things matter to people’s lives. We can’t all change the world.’

      ‘No, but we can try.’

      Back in the custody suite the sergeant had given up on the fans. Sweat poured down his face and pooled under his chin before falling in fat drops onto his paperwork. He ran a damp fist across the soggy sheet and smeared Lilly’s name into a blur.

      Kelsey stood before him and he spoke to the crown of her head. ‘You’re not being charged at this time, love, and you’ll remain on police bail until the CPS have looked at your case. Do you understand?’

      For the first time that day Kelsey reached for the pen and pad Lilly had given her and scribbled a few words. She tore off the sheet and handed it to her solicitor. Tears welled in Lilly’s eyes as she read it. Finally, she placed it on the desk.

       AM I GOING TO JAIL NOW?

      The faded sofa was deliciously comfortable. Miriam leaned back and sipped her wine. She loved Lilly’s cottage, with its bowed ceilings and scuffed wood floors. Every inch of it ran amok, bursting with books, toys and photographs, the very antithesis of her own place, which was pared down to the brittleness of its bone.

      When Lewis had died she’d wanted to rid herself of everything frivolous or futile, but the clearout became a purge until she could no longer allow herself any comforts.

      Looking at the warm chaos around her she knew she was denying herself the most basic of things – a home. It was the ultimate punishment, which she inflicted on herself and gladly suffered.

      Lilly stumbled from the kitchen with a tray piled high with food. Miriam helped herself to the dips and salads her friend had rustled up in less than ten minutes. Damn, that girl could cook.

      ‘You did good at the station,’ said Miriam. ‘We both did.’

      Lilly slavered purple putty onto some flatbread and spoke through a mouthful. ‘Not good enough, girlfriend. The CPS will hang on to it for at least a month, and in the meantime there’ll be a media frenzy. Whatever the outcome, no one will foster this kid.’

      Miriam was ever the optimist. ‘You don’t know that for sure. There are some great people out there.’

      ‘Which is the next problem. If Kelsey is guilty then other people need to be protected, particularly saintly foster mothers with four kids of their own,’ said Lilly.

      Miriam licked her fingers. The tang of yoghurt and fresh coriander was exhilarating in an evening still crushed by the heat. ‘She says she didn’t do it and that’s enough for me.’

      Lilly gave a half-smile. Evidently she couldn’t agree.

      One last piece of tomato sat in the empty bowl. Lilly stuffed it in her mouth and sighed.

      ‘I’ve been through all the files and there’s nothing to incriminate Max. I can’t even find his website.’

      Miriam pulled a buff folder from her rucksack. ‘That’s because you’re looking in the wrong place.’

      Lilly took the papers from her friend. They were dog-eared and dirty. ‘Where’d you get them?’

      Miriam shrugged that it was better not to ask, so Lilly began reading the social services file for Maxwell Hardy, dated 1989.

      Lilly offered a finger of Twix to Miriam, who took it and went back to her half of the paperwork.

      ‘Anything?’

      ‘Nah. Quiet kid,’ said Lilly. ‘No background of violence, just a couple of cautions for TDA.’

      Miriam shook her head. ‘Taking and Driving Away? He’s not exactly a master criminal, is he?’

      Lilly nodded at Miriam’s pile. ‘What about that lot?’

      ‘No social problems beyond what you’d expect of a kid in care,’ said Miriam. ‘School describes him as a persistent truant and an underachiever. Blah, blah. Good at music and art. Actually, he won a prize for a film he made in Media Studies.’

      She handed the certificate to Lilly, who took one look at it and walked over to her computer.

      ‘Sorry to bore you,’ Miriam called after her.

      Lilly tapped the name of the film into her search engine. ‘Let’s see if this thing is on the net.’

      ‘A school music video? I don’t think so,’ said Miriam.

      ‘Maybe he still uses the name.’

      ‘After all these years?’

      ‘In a life full of crap maybe it’s the only thing he’s ever had to be proud of.’

      Bingo. Up came the site: www.maximum exposure.co.uk.

      Lilly and Miriam huddled together in front of the screen, which had been catapulted into inky black. They looked at each other expectantly and then back to the blank screen. At last, red banners began to emerge.

       Check out our live webcam girls. Uncensored xxx action.

       see the ladies play in the pool

       get hot hot hot in the sauna

       or get down to some dirty action in the bedroom.

      ‘On a night like tonight it’s got to be the pool,’ said Lilly, and clicked the mouse.

      Two buttocks separated by a sliver of leather thong appeared in the left-hand