I nodded gratefully. I wasn’t sure what PE was, but at least I had a partner.
Suddenly I felt brave enough to ask her the question that was playing on my mind.
‘Why are they all looking at me?’ I asked.
‘Just because you’re new,’ she said, snatching the rest of my crisps and walking away.
I didn’t mind. Louise was going to be my partner. That meant she was going to be my friend.
The lunch bell sounded, and I followed the crowd back to the classroom and then over to the sports hall. I couldn’t get close to Louise. There were too many people around her. But I told myself it was okay. She was going to be my partner. She had said so. I was already hoping that one day she would come to my house for tea.
Mrs Shaw was a thin, pretty lady dressed in a short pleated skirt. She asked me if I’d brought my gym bag. I shook my head no. I hadn’t known that I’d need one.
She hesitated for a moment.
‘I think we have some spare,’ she said, heading out of the hall.
She got to the door and paused.
‘Louise, show your new friend where to get her own gym mat,’ Mrs Shaw said before she disappeared from view.
Louise turned and smiled in my direction.
But that wasn’t what she did at all.
Sixty-Five
Kim called them to order for the morning briefing as soon as the last one had sat down.
She strode out of The Bowl. ‘Okay, guys, quick as you can, as I’ve had a message that Isobel has asked to see me. So we know Tracy Frost is either missing or has gone AWOL. She’s still not answering her phone and her car is not outside her house.’
Kim had called her mobile three times already that morning and whizzed past her house on the way in to the station.
‘You really think our guy has her?’ Dawson asked.
Kim thought for a moment and nodded.
‘Nice newspaper article,’ Dawson said and then held up his hands. ‘And before you ask, it wasn’t me.’
Kim wasn’t sure why he felt that instant suspicion would fall on him.
‘I know, Kev,’ she said.
‘I thought I’d get the blame… because… well… I’ve got a big mouth, and it was clearly leaked from someone involved in…’
‘Kev, it was me,’ Kim said.
‘What?’ Bryant and Stacey said together.
She said nothing.
‘You actually spoke to Tracy Frost?’ Dawson said, horrified.
‘Yes, I did, and now it’s time to move on. So Louise Hickman was the first victim that we know of. There was then a break for a few years until Jemima returned from Dubai. He then tried to kill Isobel and now he’s taken Tracy. So far we know that three of them went to the same school. There was an incident that the headmaster recalls vaguely that may have sparked this entire killing spree and two of our victims have the same hairgrip that Louise Hickman wore at school. We know that’s the key.’
‘Seems a bit extreme,’ Stacey offered. ‘We all had some shit at school.’
Kim nodded. ‘I agree. We need more detail of the incident.’ She paused for a few seconds before turning to Stacey. ‘Find me a dinner lady, Stace. Dinner ladies always know everything and there’s more to this than we have so far.’
‘And the guv is almost prepared to admit she was wrong,’ Bryant said with a smile.
‘Am I?’ Kim asked, surprised.
‘Well, you heard the headmaster. He said it was a girl. Even you have to admit that we were right, and you were wrong. We’re looking for a female.’
‘Could be her brother, father, uncle, boyfriend, husband?’ Kim offered.
‘Ah, so instead of saying you were wrong you might go so far as to admit it’s not the most right you’ve ever been?’ he asked.
Kim shook her head. ‘I admit nothing until we know more about what happened that day.’
‘I’m still looking to see where Isobel fits into this,’ Stacey said. ‘I’ve got Louise Hickman and Jemima Lowe in the same class. I’ve got Tracy Frost in the class above…’
‘Check middle names as well, Stace,’ Kim advised. ‘Some people adopt their middle names in certain situations.’
‘Will do, guv.’
‘I still want to know about those marks on the legs and stomach. They don’t make sense and we know that both Jemima and Isobel have them. Obviously there’s no way of knowing with Louise.’
The flesh around her thighs had been far too decayed to confirm.
‘Talking of Isobel, she regained consciousness yesterday but has no memory of the events or her own life. Added to that, the girl has hep C. I don’t know if she’s aware.’
‘What, that she’s a druggie?’
‘You’re not ignorant enough to believe that’s the only way to get it, Kev,’ she snapped. Although, to be fair, in their experience it was the most common reason.
It was possible that Isobel was an addict who’d cleaned up. Kim had noted no obvious signs of withdrawal or track marks.
‘Does the boyfriend know?’ Dawson asked.
And was she going to tell him? She heard the question in the young detective’s voice.
It was a question that had been nagging at the back of her own mind. Watching Duncan care for his girlfriend was heartening and meant that Isobel had someone but would he be quite as keen if he knew the truth? Eventually Kim had come to the conclusion that it was not her truth to share.
‘Kev, I want you asking around at local shelters and even some of our known prostitutes to see if anyone has heard of a woman named Isobel.’
‘You think she’s a whore?’
Kim’s head snapped up. ‘I’ll give you a full three seconds to rethink your terminology.’
Bryant stood before Dawson had a chance to open his mouth.
‘I’m getting coffee and Stacey’s gonna help me.’
Kim raised her eyebrows in agreement and folded her arms before the two of them had left the office.
‘How dare you? I mean how bloody dare you refer to these women or any woman with so little respect?’ she asked and then held up her hand. ‘Actually don’t even bother to answer, because this is going to be a conversation that requires no input from you, got it?’
His surprise was mixed with irritation.
‘We seem to have this same chat every investigation, and quite frankly I’ve had enough of it, Kev. You have moments of pure brilliance when I’m actually proud to have you on this team and then there are occasions when, honestly, I’m not proud at all.
‘You see, Kev, I get pissed off when you seem to apportion a different priority to a person based on your pre-judgement of them. The thing is, I couldn’t care less about whatever Isobel was or wasn’t before I met her. All I know is that I watched her moaning on the ground, fighting for breath while blood was streaming out of her head. And then I spoke to an incredibly courageous woman who has fought back from a coma, all for the pleasure of not knowing her own name.
‘So when you have the audacity to refer to her as a whore it tends to piss me off a bit. Get it?’
She could see the colour rising up his neck and that only happened when he was emotional.
‘It’s just sensitivity, Kev,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Just think before you open your mouth, yeah?’
She heard Bryant’s cough from along the hallway. Subtle he was not.
‘Canteen isn’t open yet,’ he said, taking his seat. Stacey followed.
Of course it wasn’t. They all knew it opened at eight.
‘Guv…?’ Dawson said.
‘Yes, Kev?’
‘Do you think Isobel is a prostitute?’
Kim didn’t hesitate in answering. She’d said her piece. ‘I think she could have been. The scars on her wrist mean she’s been troubled and desperate enough at some stage to consider ending her own life. The contraction of hepatitis C could indicate she’s dabbled in prostitution at some stage to support herself.’
And it was a world where people came and went without having to clock in or out. She could easily have evaded the police but not other prostitutes. It was their business to know who was around.