Dawson turned to Kim. ‘Boss, I’d like a job where I get to spend all day on social media too,’ he said.
‘Then you should have worked harder at school,’ she replied. ‘Anything else, Stace?’
‘Looking at more of the parents next, so I’ll keep you updated.’
Kim nodded her thanks. ‘Kev?’
‘We got an awful lot of cloak and dagger stuff at this place,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Exclusive clubs, calling cards, selection process…’
‘And?’ Kim asked, impatiently. Was this really what he’d been investigating?
‘Oh yeah, and our victim’s sister is right at the top of the pile.’
Kim hesitated. ‘Go on,’ she said. There was something about Saffie Winters that caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.
‘There are four groups, all named after card suits. The red ones are girls and the boys black. Eleven members in each suit, the head of the group being either the King or the Queen.’
He paused and, receiving no comments, he continued.
‘Cards are chosen based upon the power and influence they may have in later life. Of course it doesn’t hurt if your parents are powerful too. A new card is chosen by the rest of the suit, and an ace is left on the bed of the new card.’
‘Why an ace?’ Bryant asked.
‘Each new card has to start at the bottom and work their way up. They accept the card and then have to do some kind of task, and their place in that suit is secure. For life.’
Stacey mock yawned. ‘Really, Kev? We’re investigating the murder of a young girl and you’re spending your time on playing cards?’
Dawson shook his head. ‘You’re not getting it, Stace. Once you’re in these clubs, you don’t leave. It’s like a bond for life. You’re tied to these people for good.’
‘And Saffie Winters?’ Kim asked.
‘Is the Queen of Hearts,’ Dawson replied. ‘The highest she can be. Probably due to her future as a pianist as well as her family connections.’
‘And Sadie?’ Kim asked.
Dawson shrugged. ‘No evidence she was in a suit, but she may have been invited and refused. Apparently, you don’t refuse,’ he said.
‘Jesus, Kev,’ Stacey said, rolling her eyes.
‘But why would she have been invited in the first place?’ Kim queried. ‘By all accounts Sadie wasn’t gifted or special in any way, so why would they have wanted her?’
‘Nepotism,’ Dawson offered. ‘Maybe her sister wanted her in the group.’
‘Or maybe she didn’t,’ Kim said, changing her earlier opinion of his wasted time. ‘Stay on it, Kev. I want to know a bit more about what goes on in these groups, and while you’re at it I want you to do your best in tracking Sadie’s last movements.’
‘Will do, boss,’ he said.
Right now she had no clues, leads, suspicions or facts that would aid her in finding Sadie’s killer but what she did know was that in this environment the kids outnumbered the adults by fifteen to one. In a murder investigation they were not odds that she was comfortable with.
‘Okay, guys, we’re two whole days clear of Sadie’s death and we have absolutely nothing. We need to be considering every option right now. We have to look more closely at the kids.’
‘Guv, seriously…’
‘Whether we like it or not, kids kill kids, Bryant, and it’s a line of enquiry we have to explore.’
They all nodded and began their prescribed tasks.
She turned to Bryant.
‘Carry on to Shaun’s post-mortem. There’s somewhere I need to go.’
Thirty-Eight
‘So, how’d it go, Stace?’ Dawson asked her as soon as the boss and Bryant had left.
‘Is it your business?’ she asked without looking up. ‘I don’t recall you sharing all that much.’
‘Come on, show me yours and I’ll show you mine,’ he said, winking across the desk.
‘I’m showing yer nothing and there is nothing of yours I wish to see,’ she offered with a smile.
‘Did the boss tell you off for working late all the time?’ he asked.
‘I’d hazard a guess the boss didn’t tell you off for that,’ she replied.
‘Aww… come on, Stace. What were your areas of improvement?’ he pushed.
She met his gaze. ‘Chatting with my colleagues too much,’ she said, pointedly.
Stacey had no wish to share the details of her appraisal with him. She hadn’t meant to reveal to the boss the real reason behind her motivation and work ethic, but she’d hated the fact that the boss thought she was having to prove herself. She had never been made to feel that she had to outperform her male colleagues to be taken seriously. The boss would never have allowed that.
‘All right then, did you find out anything for me?’
She tutted. ‘Yeah I was all over it while you were off talking about bloody playing cards.’
‘Did you or not?’
She stared at him. ‘See that thing in front of you, it’s called a computer. You can do all kinds of wonderful things on it like search…’
‘Stace…’
She rolled her eyes in despair. Sometimes he frustrated the life out of her.
‘Okay, just a few facts. Tilly Tromans’s parents are new money. Father won EuroMillions jackpot two years into the marriage. Spent the first few million on yachts, houses and holidays and a huge divorce settlement after a string of affairs. Tilly had already been registered at Heathcrest and about the only thing her parents do agree on is the education of their child.
‘Completely different for Geoffrey Piggott, whose family dates back about seven centuries. Both parents are barristers, and his mother has just won a landmark Human Rights case.’
‘Right to stay?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘And if you want any more than that you can flipping well search yourself,’ she said, huffily.
‘Didn’t see Devon last night, eh?’ he asked, smartly.
Stacey opened her mouth to answer but Dawson had already turned his attention back to the screen.
And by the look on his face there was something he was desperate to find.
Thirty-Nine
Kim knocked on the door that she had known from when she was six years old.
She heard the humming before Ted Morgan answered the door.
His surprise turned to delight. ‘Kim, what a surprise. Come on in,’ he said, stepping aside.
She entered the two bedroom terrace into the lingering smell of bacon and eggs, a smell that was as familiar to her in this house as the man himself. She continued through to the kitchen and sat down as he passed her and reached for the kettle. He filled it and turned.
‘How are you, my dear?’ he asked.
‘I’m well, Ted,’ she answered.
‘And Barney?’
‘Is well, too,’ she said.
‘I’ll make coffee and then you can tell me what’s troubling you.’
Kim felt a stab of guilt that she only visited the man when she needed something from him. She had first sought him out when dealing with the sociopathic Alexandra Thorne and had continued to bring him difficult questions since.
‘Don’t feel guilt, on my account,’ he said, knowing her better than anyone else on earth. ‘I am honoured that you trust me with your troubles.’
Kim instantly relaxed. Ted had been a part of her life for as long as she could recall.
At various stages of her childhood she’d been sent to him for counselling. Never had she opened up to him about her feelings and she doubted that she ever would. Ted knew every bad thing that had ever happened to her, from her file. And despite her resolute silence throughout their sessions, he had never given up trying.
‘Nasty business a few months ago with that girl of yours,’ he observed.
Kim guessed he was talking about Stacey’s abduction.
‘And I suppose the reports were true?’ he asked, turning to look at her.
‘About what?’ she hedged.
‘That you entered the property unarmed even though there were guns involved?’
Kim didn’t answer. The question was rhetorical.
‘She must be quite a detective,’ he observed. ‘For you to risk your own life. One might even say she’s important to you, don’t you think?’
Kim opened her mouth to speak and changed her mind. There was nothing innocent about anything Ted said to her. Every word was designed for a response that he could read, analyse and probe further.