Little Girl Gone: A gripping crime thriller full of twists and turns. Stephen Edger

into his trouser pocket and removed the spare tie he always kept in his desk drawer, slipping the pre-tied loop around his neck before straightening the knot. At least the tie would make it appear as if he had been home and changed.

      Exiting the bathroom, he proceeded along the corridor to the large office the team worked out of. There was no sign of Trent, and he guessed she was probably further along the corridor setting up the Major Incident Room, where the team would operate from primarily as the investigation developed.

      ‘Ray?’ DC Owen Hargrove said as he approached, a quizzical look on his face. ‘What are you doing here? I thought—’

      ‘What’s the latest?’ Ray quickly fired back, ignoring the question.

      Owen glanced nervously around like he could sense Trent nearby. ‘I can’t … I mean, we’re not supposed to discuss the investigation with you; DI’s orders. Has she seen you here yet?’

      Ray shook his head, unsurprised by Owen’s reaction. Leaning closer, Ray whispered, ‘Whatever happens, you’ll keep me in the loop, right? I’m not asking you to break any rules, just keep me updated with what’s going on. That’s all I’m asking.’

      ‘I can’t,’ Owen replied through gritted teeth.

      ‘You owe me, Owen. Okay? I won’t stitch you up; just let me know when something new breaks.’

      Owen’s eyes widened as he spotted Trent approaching the two of them over Ray’s shoulder.

      ‘Ray, can we have a word in my office, please?’ she said calmly.

      He nodded and followed her through the banks of desks to the small enclosure at the far end of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. ‘I’m ready to do whatever you need, ma’am.’

      She looked at the creased shirt, crumpled suit jacket and stained tie. ‘What I need is for you to go home and wait for us to call.’

      ‘Please, ma’am, I’ll go stir crazy at home. You know me: I need to keep busy. I promise I won’t get in anybody’s way.’

      ‘I know that, Ray,’ she said empathetically. ‘My stance hasn’t changed from last night. You can’t be anywhere near what is going on for your sake as well as the sake of the rest of the team. We need to consider every angle in cases like this, and I don’t think any of the team will feel able to speak freely knowing you are nearby.’

      He knew what she was implying, even if she hadn’t used the term. He’d been a detective long enough to know that Trent would have already instructed the team to pull together a list of registered sex offenders from the area so they could start checking alibis. The thought of some slime ball being anywhere near Carol-Anne made him want to pick up the chair in front of him and hurl it out of the window. And that was precisely why Trent didn’t want him anywhere near the investigation.

      ‘Please, ma’am, give me anything else to do. I’m not asking to work the case, but just let me be nearby. I could work from my desk here. We’ve got dozens of unsolved cases that I could slowly work through.’

      She considered him silently, but he couldn’t tell if she was pondering his request or trying to find the words to let him down gently.

      ‘How’s Alex coping?’ she eventually asked.

      He thought back to the reprimand he’d delivered in the back of the patrol car before Owen had driven her home. The guilt must have been written over his face, as Trent said, ‘Ah, I see.’

      ‘I’ll check on her when I go home,’ he said, lowering his eyes.

      ‘And how were things between the two of you before yesterday? When you were both at the car park I couldn’t help noticing frostiness.’

      ‘Everything’s fine,’ he lied.

      She laid her palms flat on the table. ‘Take it from someone who’s been through two divorces, what I saw was far from fine. This job … it puts a strain on even the strongest of relationships. The hours can be shit, but it’s more than that. It’s the knowledge that the world is a terrifying place, and being unable to share those experiences with the ones you love for fear of dragging them into the mire.’ Her cheeks flushed as she realized she’d overstepped the mark. ‘You need each other more than ever now.’

      He forced eye contact. ‘Please don’t keep me out of the picture, ma’am. I can be useful. Nobody knows my daughter better than I do. I promise not to go off half-cocked, and to work as part of the team, but please don’t leave me out in the cold.’

      ‘Ray, you know I don’t have a choice in the matter. It’s a massive conflict of interest to have you anywhere near the Incident Room.’

      ‘I can provide valuable intelligence, ma’am. Like-like-like mine and Alex’s schedules and the places we’ve been where the suspect may have first seen her.’

      ‘And as her father, I would expect you to provide those details to one of the investigative team, but you’re too close to this, Ray. Come on, don’t make this any harder than it already is. You’re a valuable member of my team, and I’d love your determination and experience on the case, but my hands are tied. If you push me on this, I’ll have no choice but to put you on leave until the case is closed.’ She paused and stared empathetically. ‘Of course, I don’t want to do that.’

      He knew there was no point in arguing with her, and he wasn’t surprised by her stance, but Trent had always been a reasonable governor, and he had hoped to convince her of his usefulness.

      ‘Before you go, there’s something else I need to ask: what were you doing at Gianni Demetrios’s casino last night?’

      His head snapped up and eyes widened. ‘How did you—?’

      She cut him off by dropping an A4-sized colour photograph on the desk. Ray immediately recognized Demetrios’s office from the night before. He could see why Trent had concerns.

      ‘Where did you get this from?’

      ‘It was emailed to me in the early hours of this morning. It was a taunt, with the subject line, “Who polices the police?”. Do you realize how badly this reflects on me and the unit? I’ve spent two years trying to nail that son of a bitch, and now it looks like members of my team are cozying up to him.’

      ‘It’s just a photograph. It doesn’t mean anything.’

      ‘No, but it’s what it implies. What were you talking to him about?’

      ‘He knows the worst of the worst,’ Ray tried to explain. ‘And I thought if anybody had been planning to get back at me for something, then he might know about it, or be able to point me in the right direction.’

      She narrowed her eyes. ‘Is that what you think happened yesterday? That someone you once banged up snatched your daughter to … what … get revenge?’

      He looked at her sheepishly.

      She ripped up the photograph and dropped the pieces in her waste bin. ‘I’ve seconded PC Isla Murphy to act as Family Liaison. I sent her to your place this morning and she’s messaged to say she’s made contact with Alex.’ She paused, standing and offering him a sincere look. ‘Take my advice, Ray: go home, and get yourself cleaned up. Maybe it would be better if you took a couple of days off. Spend it with Alex. Console and reassure her. She needs you now more than ever; you need each other.’ She pointed at the door – her cue that the meeting was over.

      Pulling the tie back over his head, he walked to the exit. Stumbling out into the fresh air, he made his way along the road to a newsagents where he purchased a sandwich, a bottle of juice, a packet of gum and a fresh carton of cigarettes. He needed to focus. Despite Trent’s reservations, there was no way he was prepared to sit back while his daughter was still out there needing him.

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