This wasn’t a usual request from someone involved in this type of case. If he were the father, he’d more likely be asking if the baby was safe and well. Where was the mother? A man had called, but a woman had recently given birth and she certainly hadn’t been assisted by anyone with any midwifery skills, given that the cord was cut so badly. Somewhere, there was a woman in pain, in distress, yet this man was calling and begging for the baby to be DNA tested. Something didn’t compute. This wasn’t a typical abandonment.
There was no way it could be a crank call, as the caller had given them a description of the birthmark. What if there wasn’t a match? In that case, their only hope of making any progress with the case would be to wait for another call.
She opened up a new email and addressed it to Briggs. Even though she was more than fond of him, his new tight-fisted approval process on anything that ate into their measly forensics budget was wearing her down.
Ten
An email from Briggs popped up on her screen, requesting her immediate attendance in his office. She swallowed as she stood and made her way through the main office and along the corridor. She took a deep breath, scooped her messy hair up into an elastic band and knocked. She heard Briggs bellowing down the phone as he ended his conversation. Her stomach grumbled and she felt a wave of nausea sweep through her. As soon as their conversation was over, she needed some lunch.
‘Come in,’ Briggs called.
‘Sir,’ she said as she entered. Briggs finished texting and placed his phone on the table. She watched as he tidied his suit jacket and rearranged his tie.
‘I hear some congratulations are in order. The CPS says the robbery case you passed to them is watertight. Good result.’ He paused and smiled. ‘It’s good to see you again, Georgina.’
She grimaced as he said her name in full. He was the only person in her life who called her Georgina since Terry had died. It sounded different when it rolled off his tongue though. ‘Thank you. It certainly was a cause for celebration.’
‘And that we did,’ he replied, before his gaze moved towards his computer screen. Gina felt her face flushing as she stared at her feet and tried to forget that night.
‘Anyway, I didn’t call you in just to massage your ego, Harte. What’s this about a request for more DNA tests?’ He stared at his computer screen and clicked his mouse.
At least he was back to calling her Harte. She began to pick her fingernail as she spoke. ‘We had the strangest call relating to the abandoned baby case. As I explained in my email—’
‘The email,’ Briggs repeated as he clicked his mouse and began reading what was in front of him. ‘Yes. Call from a wack job asking us to run a DNA check on the abandoned baby. Right, here’s where I stand, Harte. This department has already gone over its forensics budget by twenty-six per cent and the financial year isn’t over yet. Looking at your history, a lot of this budget has been wasted. We’ve had forensics go out to standard car break-ins where we already knew the owners had contaminated the crime scene. You see where I’m coming from? I just have to make sure it’s justified,’ he said as his hand hovered over the keyboard, occasionally tapping as he continued to read.
‘But sir, this case is different. Whoever called is definitely connected to the baby. It may be our only clue as to who left her.’
‘But is it crime of the century? No one is in danger. We can still continue with the public appeal.’
Gina felt a fluttering in her chest as the pressure began to build up. She knew there was more to this case. ‘There is a mother out there somewhere. A man called, basically pointing us in the right direction. He made an attempt to disguise his voice, and used an unregistered phone to call us, which has now gone off the radar. This is no ordinary case of abandonment, with all due respect, sir.’
‘I sent the press release out. We should wait a bit longer, at least until everyone has seen the news. The baby is safe. No one has died and no one is in immediate danger.’
‘I know, but I also know there’s more to it. Why would this person call? Why? He knew about the birthmark.’
Briggs looked up at her for a second, then back to his computer screen. ‘If this turns out to be a waste of resources, it’s on you, Harte. I’ve just sent the approval through.’
Taking a deep breath, she smiled. ‘Thank you, sir. It won’t be a waste. I’ll get on with it right away.’
‘Georgina? Are we okay?’
An uncomfortable silence filled the room. She felt the redness creeping up her neck as she thought back to the other night. At that moment, he knew where her mind was and she knew exactly where his was. She cleared her throat. ‘We’re okay, sir.’
‘Sir. It sounds so ridiculous now.’
She gave him a slight smile as she left his office.
As she walked down the main corridor, she scratched her hot neck. She didn’t know whether to smile or mentally slap herself. What had she got into with Briggs?
A bucket caught the rain that dripped from the ceiling. They’d needed a roofer for a while. It was becoming impossible to do the job properly. They needed more available officers; they needed a larger forensics budget; they needed more people everywhere, in every department. An abandoned baby probably wasn’t crime of the century, as Briggs said, but it needed resolving like any other and that’s what she was going to do.
As she passed the main office, she spotted one slightly damaged sausage roll on O’Connor’s desk. ‘Thank you,’ she said as she grabbed it and scurried into her office. She picked up her mobile phone and began texting Hannah. There was no way she’d make their appointment at teatime. She had the DNA sample to organise. She took a bite of the sausage roll and tried to swallow, but guilt won. The lump in her throat was saying no. She spat the pastry in the bin next to her desk and threw the rest of the sausage roll in there too. Letting Hannah down was going to be hard. She’d probably been expecting it, which made it worse.
I’m so sorry, my love. Something really important has come up and I won’t be able to make our teatime date. Send my love to Gracie. I will make it up to you both. Xx
She could picture Hannah’s expression when she read the message. Her face always went a little red when she was flustered. She’d inherited her fair complexion and white-blonde hair from her father, and with that came redness while expressing any emotion. She flashed back in time, seeing Terry’s flushed face as he reached the top of the stairs in their old house, the face he made just before… She sucked in a burst of air and began to hyperventilate.
The sound of pumping blood travelled through her ears. Feeling light-headed, she rolled back on her chair and opened the window, letting the wintery chill fill her office. As she shivered, the memory of Terry and that night began to fade – for now.
Several minutes had gone by, and Hannah hadn’t replied. She was officially being ignored. She blew her nose and took a couple of painkillers. The ones she’d taken earlier had worn off and her head was thickening once again.
Grabbing the file she’d marked up as ‘Library Baby’, she began to pull out the scene photos and make her own notes on the call that had been logged.
Her phone beeped. Her heart threatened to fly out of her mouth as she grabbed it and read the message, but it was just another piece of PPI-related spam, destined for deletion. Hannah wasn’t going to answer. Then, a message from Briggs pinged up.
Can I call you later?
Where the hell was all this going? She knew they needed to talk at some point but it wasn’t going to be easy. They’d made a mistake, that’s all it was. It had meant nothing. Or had it?
Eleven