DS Jessica Daniel series: Think of the Children / Playing with Fire / Thicker Than Water – Books 4–6 (74 page)

They stood in silence watching their daughter breathe. Cameron would have been happy standing there for the rest of the night but his wife turned and nestled her head into his shoulder.
‘Where’s Oliver?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know. He’s not downstairs.’

‘He wouldn’t have just gone home . . . would he?’

Cameron rubbed the bottom of the woman’s back soothingly. ‘His mobile phone was on the floor.’

Eleanor pulled away and met her husband’s eyes for the first time since they had left the restaurant. She asked the question they were both thinking. ‘So where is he?’

Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel finished chewing the chip she was eating and scowled at her friend across the canteen table in disapproval.

‘I’m not rising to it,’ she said.

Detective Constable Isobel Diamond laughed. ‘You always rise to it. There’s no way you’re going to let it go.’

Jessica picked up another chip and put it in her mouth, shaking her head. ‘I’m a changed woman.’

Izzy laughed again. ‘Not that changed if you’re still talking with your mouth full.’

Jessica swallowed. ‘That was just a treat for you. Anyway, I’m not rising to it.’

‘I’m just asking if you’re ever going to take Adam’s last name.’

‘Yes but you’re not really asking, are you? You’re stirring.’

Izzy giggled further. ‘I am a bit, yeah.’

Jessica looked across the canteen table at Detective Constable David Rowlands. ‘What’s up with you anyway? Nothing funny to say?’

The constable had been swishing his cup of tea with a teaspoon absent-mindedly for around five minutes. ‘Jessica Compton would make you sound like a farmer’s daughter,’ he
concluded, not looking up from his mug.

Jessica raised her eyebrows and met Izzy’s surprised stare. ‘That’s a bit rude,’ Izzy replied.

Dave shrugged, picking up his tea and downing what was left. He offered a half-smirk as he raised his gaze to their eyes. ‘It does sound a bit
farmy
though, doesn’t it?
It’s like you should be working somewhere in Alabama throwing hay bales around.’

‘Have you ever been to Alabama?’ Jessica asked.

‘No, you?’

‘Surprisingly no, but I doubt they throw hay bales around.’

‘Anyway,’ Izzy said. ‘Are you changing your name or not?’

Instead of replying, Jessica picked up another chip and chewed it deliberately slowly. ‘It’s your first day back, Iz,’ she eventually said. ‘You’ve returned earlier
than anyone expected. Haven’t you got more important things to be getting on with?’

‘Not really, no. Everyone’s being particularly nice and offering to carry stuff or take work off my hands. I might have a few more children if this is what everyone’s reaction
is like.’

She raised her eyebrows in a silent suggestion.

‘Don’t even say it,’ Jessica replied. ‘You either,’ she added, turning to Rowlands.

Izzy snorted with laughter. ‘It’s going to happen, Jess. You’re married. It’s kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, the lot from now on.’

‘My mum’s been dropping hints,’ Jessica confessed. ‘After she got over us flying to Vegas, she started talking about us figuring out somewhere more permanent to live so
we can “sort out the spare room”.’

Izzy giggled knowingly as Dave kept a straight face. ‘Are you still living at your mate’s flat?’ he asked.

The house Jessica had lived in with her boyfriend Adam had burned down and they had been staying in an apartment owned by Jessica’s oldest friend. ‘For now,’ she replied.
‘We’re looking for places but it’s bloody boring . . .’

‘. . . And you wouldn’t know which name to write on the mortgage,’ Izzy interrupted.

Jessica tried to stop herself smiling but Izzy’s mood was infectious. ‘There’s nothing wrong with keeping your own name,’ she insisted.

‘Adam could take yours,’ Dave suggested unhelpfully. ‘Adam Daniel.’

‘I did mention that but it didn’t go down well.’

Izzy swished her long red hair behind her and tied it tightly. ‘I’ve missed all of this.’

‘What, winding me up?’ Jessica said.

‘Pretty much, yes.’

Jessica grinned. ‘At least you’re honest. How is Amber?’

Whether it was deliberate or not, Izzy shuffled in her seat until she was sitting up straighter. Her smile widened. ‘I’m missing her. I know her grandparents are looking after her
fine but you get used to spending every day together.’

‘When I saw you last, it didn’t look as if you’d slept in a week,’ Jessica pointed out.

Izzy shrugged. ‘Amber’s sleeping a bit better now and doesn’t wake up so often in the night. You get used to it.’ She paused for a moment, before adding with a wink:
‘
You’ll
get used to it.’

Jessica ignored her. ‘My mum reckons she used to give me a tiny amount of whisky on my dummy whenever I couldn’t sleep. You should try that.’

‘I’m not giving my baby alcohol to make her sleep.’

‘It didn’t do me any harm.’

‘Aside from the chronic wine intake nowadays, you mean.’

Jessica ignored the dig. ‘Are you sure it’s not just a massive scam to get extra presents? Not only do you get gifts for Christmas and birthdays, you now get Mother’s Day stuff
as well. It’s one big cycle of getting free stuff.’

‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Izzy replied sarcastically. ‘That was my first thought when I found out I was pregnant.’

Jessica grinned. ‘You’re quiet,’ she said to the other constable.

Rowlands, who was fiddling with his empty mug, shrugged dismissively. As Jessica took another chip, he locked eyes with Izzy. There was an awkward silence as Jessica glanced up and caught
them.

‘What?’ she demanded, wondering what she was missing. Dave quickly looked back at the table. ‘Are you two up to something?’ Jessica persisted, although neither of the
constables replied.

‘So are you going for Jason’s job or not?’ Izzy asked.

Jessica paused for a moment, wondering whether to let the obvious subject change go. After a very deliberate pause to let her friends know she was onto them, even though she wasn’t,
Jessica replied. ‘I’ve been asked to apply but I don’t think it’s for me.’

Both constables groaned together. ‘Jess, you’d be perfect,’ Izzy said. ‘You practically do the job already.’

Jessica shrugged dismissively, although she knew it was true. Ever since Detective Inspector Jason Reynolds had been suspended for leaking sensitive information to the media a few months
earlier, his workload had been spread out among his colleagues – with Jessica and Detective Sergeant Louise Cornish taking the brunt.

Their bosses had already been looking for an additional inspector but whoever got that position would end up doing it in place of DI Reynolds instead of alongside him. That was until the results
of his disciplinary were through, which would be months, if not longer.

‘They’re interviewing over the next few weeks,’ Jessica said. ‘But I don’t want to end up sitting around here all day. I’d rather be out there annoying
people.’

‘You are very good at being annoying,’ Rowlands replied.

Jessica wiped up the remaining brown sauce with her final chip and bit it in half. ‘Thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment.’

‘So you’re definitely not going for it?’ Izzy continued.

As she finished the final part of her lunch, Jessica pushed the plate away. ‘Nope. I’d be jealous if anyone else got to order Dave around. That’s my job.’

‘It’s not because you’re thinking about the pitter-patter of tiny feet, is it?’ Izzy asked with a smile.

Jessica rolled her eyes. ‘You’re not going to let it go, are you?’

Before Izzy could reply, Jessica saw Detective Chief Inspector Jack Cole striding into the canteen. He didn’t need to speak before she was on her feet. ‘What’s up?’ she
asked.

He was biting his bottom lip, unsure how to phrase his words. ‘I’m not sure,’ he finally admitted. All three officers were now standing. ‘It’s good to have you
back,’ he added, turning towards DC Diamond.

‘Thanks, Sir.’

‘What do you need?’ Jessica asked.

The chief inspector cleared his throat. ‘You know the usual policy on missing persons is to wait a day but we’ve had something this morning that is a little different . .
.’

Jessica kept one eye on the road as she tried to glance sideways to see Izzy’s expression. ‘Are you going to tell me?’ she asked.

‘What?’

‘What’s going on with you and Dave? Or, more importantly, what’s going on with Dave? He’s been moping around for ages now.’

Izzy sighed slightly. ‘You should probably ask him.’

‘I have, he gives that blokey “nothing” reply, then carries on sulking.’

‘It’s probably just the Chloe thing. Ever since he split up with her, he hasn’t quite been himself.’

Dave had broken up with his girlfriend a few months previously but Jessica hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to him about it because she had been dealing with her house fire at the same
time. She flicked on the indicator and turned left, impressed by the fact she knew where she was going.

‘Didn’t he break up with her?’

‘Yes.’

‘So what’s the problem?’

Izzy replied after a short pause. ‘I don’t know.’

Jessica didn’t think it sounded too convincing but didn’t want to push her friend so soon after her return from maternity leave. She manoeuvred her way through a selection of side
streets, pulling up outside the address Cole had given her. With the absence of anywhere to park, she blocked in whoever was on the driveway and then, with Izzy a few steps behind, walked up the
small set of steps before ringing the doorbell.

Almost instantly, a man opened the door. He was tall, with slightly greying hair tucked behind his ears. He was attractive in the way some men were when they reached a certain age, his delicate
wrinkles displaying a wisdom and kindness as he stood hesitantly on the top step. He pushed himself up onto tip-toes looking over the officers towards the road and then, eventually, inviting them
in.

Jessica had been on many call-outs with Izzy in the past and, given the woman’s bright red hair and good looks, she was almost always eyed – even briefly – by the men they
visited. After confirming his identity as Cameron Sexton, Jessica knew instantly something strange had happened because he barely gave the constable a second glance. Instead, he invited them into
the living room, pointing them towards the sofa and continuing to pace.

‘Are you all right, Mr Sexton?’ Jessica asked.

He was wearing a jumper over a shirt, which was half-untucked from his jeans. He fiddled with his sleeve for a moment before stopping and sitting in an armchair opposite, fixing Jessica with a
stare. ‘I don’t know if we should be angry or worried,’ he said.

Cameron went on to explain that he and his wife had come home from an evening out to find their front door open and the babysitter missing.

‘I understand your child is fine?’ Jessica asked.

Cameron nodded. ‘She slept through it all last night. We took her to the hospital this morning, just in case, but everything is fine.’

‘How long have you been using Oliver Gordon as a babysitter?’ Jessica asked.

‘Six or seven months? He would come over once a month or so and we would pop out for something to eat. It wasn’t even necessarily for us to have an evening away, more so that Lara
could get used to being with other people and also, I suppose, to get Eleanor used to not being with her all the time.’

‘Why Oliver?’ Izzy asked, before adding: ‘I mean, why not a relative?’

Jessica wondered if the constable was thinking about her own child and how she had left Amber with her parents-in-law.

Cameron continued to tug nervously at his clothes. ‘No reason really. Ellie’s parents aren’t around any more and mine live quite a distance away. Oliver is the son of one of
Ellie’s friends so we’ve known him a bit as he’s grown up. It was just one of those things.’

Izzy nodded, apparently satisfied.

‘Is it always Oliver that you use?’ Jessica asked.

Cameron responded with another nod and then continued, ‘We phoned his parents last night to see if he had gone home but obviously he hadn’t. That’s when they called
you.’

‘And you found Oliver’s mobile phone?’

Cameron stood and walked around to the doorway to show the two officers exactly where it had been left on the floor, then took the device out of a drawer underneath the television and handed it
across before sitting back down. Jessica put it in a plastic bag just in case but the fact it had already been picked up and handled meant it was unlikely they would be able to get anything useful
from it.

‘I was really angry last night,’ Cameron said. ‘At first we thought he had just left and gone home. Then, when we called his parents, we realised he wasn’t there. They
said to call his mobile but I had already found it here. Then they started panicking.’

‘Is he usually reliable?’ Jessica asked.

‘Always. I mean, he’s like most people that age; he’s a bit quiet but that’s just being a teenager, isn’t it? He gets here early and there have never been any
problems in the past. Plus Lara always liked him. She can’t say his name properly and giggles about it. She calls him “Dolly”. We keep saying it’s “Ollie” but
she can’t seem to say the word without putting a “D” at the front.’

Jessica already had the briefest details of Oliver’s past but he had no record of anything, other than being born and attending a private school just outside the city.

‘Have you spoken to his parents?’ Cameron added.

‘Officers have been there,’ Jessica replied. ‘We’re heading there next. We wanted to visit you first to establish exactly what happened. What was the house like when you
got home?’

Cameron shook his head, as if not wanting to remember. ‘It’s hard to describe. It looked normal but it didn’t feel right. Have you ever walked into a room and thought,
“Something’s gone on here”? It was like that. As soon as I got in the front door, I had this feeling.’

Jessica had an inkling of what he meant.

Cameron shivered, perhaps recalling the moment, before continuing: ‘After I saw Lara sleeping upstairs, I didn’t know what to think. I was angry, then worried. Then I thought maybe
someone had broken in.’