NINETY-SIX

6.35 P.M.

‘Bryant, I wouldn’t say this to anyone except for you, but I don’t have a good feeling about this,’ Kim said as they headed towards the park and playground.

All she could picture was that little girl lying in a hospital bed. And a heart from another little girl just waiting for a new home. ‘What the hell happens if we don’t find Nazeera in time?’ she asked.

‘We both get more free time for our hobbies,’ he said, which was no funnier than his last attempt.

The ringing of her phone startled them both.

‘Go ahead, Stace,’ she said, putting the call on speaker.

‘We’re finding stuff, boss. It’s like a trail. So far we’ve got a shoe and a handbag.’

Kim briefly wondered why she hadn’t been called after the first item but let it go.

‘Okay, we’re on our?—’

‘Shhhh,’ Bryant said.

‘Gotta go,’ Kim whispered into the phone before ending the call.

‘Voices,’ Bryant said, pointing to the swing set at the edge of the small playing area.

A scream and then the sound of footsteps running.

Both she and Bryant began sprinting towards the sound as two figures disappeared into a row of bushes.

‘Stop,’ Kim shouted as she dived into the hedge, but she could already hear the footsteps continuing on the other side.

‘Damn it,’ she muttered, pulling twigs out of her hair.

The figures were just twenty metres in front. She could now see that they were kids heading for the perimeter fence, looking back as they ran.

Five more strides and she had one by the hoody.

Bryant surged past her and deftly grabbed the other one.

‘What are you doing here?’ Kim growled, turning the kid to face her.

‘Messing about. Ain’t hurting nobody. What’s it to you, copper?’ he asked, thrusting his chin forward.

Kim guessed him to be no older than fifteen but with an attitude that was much older.

Bryant had turned the other lad around. While he was probably the same age, he did not look as confident as his buddy.

‘What you got to say for yourself?’ Bryant asked. ‘Before I take you home and see what your mom thinks.’

‘Fuck, Jenks, he said we wouldn’t get in no shit,’ he said to his cocksure buddy.

‘Who told you that?’ Kim asked, turning her attention to Bryant’s charge.

‘The guy who told us to hang around here and make a noise. He gave us twenty quid,’ the lad said, patting his pocket.

‘What guy? What did he look like?’ Kim asked.

The one she grabbed appeared to have turned mute.

‘Just looked like a guy,’ Bryant’s captive answered.

‘You’ve gotta be able to give me a bit?—’

‘Guv…’ Bryant said, letting the lad go and then tapping his watch.

Her colleague was right. The priority right now was finding Nazeera and not being late.

‘Get out of here,’ she said to the kids, shoving one against the other.

They turned and ran, having escaped parental wrath and made a few quid.

Despite the time factor weighing down heavily upon her, she took a second to think.

The man had left a trail of women’s garments on the other side of the site and had provided a time-wasting distraction on this side.

It was clear that their sicko wanted them travelling in both directions. The only question was why.