“And Swansea?” Hillier said. “Sergeant, I’d prefer straight information to dragging everything out of you.”
“Well, the in’eresting thing so far is we got a car registered to Mark Phinney—tha’s Teo Bontempi’s superior officer before she got transferred—“a few times in the ’mediate area. And he doesn’t live anywhere near Streatham. We got him on the CCTV from her building ’s well.”
“How do the dates match up with what happened to her?”
“Two match up fine with what he’s told us. The third and the fourth? They don’t.”
“Get on it, then.”
“I ’spect tha’s what DI Lynley’s working on, sir. Like I said, he went up to talk to Phinney this morning.”
Hillier kept his eyes fixed on Nkata’s face in a disconcerting manner that Nkata assumed the assistant commissioner used on everyone he wished to intimidate. “Anything else?” he said evenly.
“We been checkin out an appointment book we found at a closed-down clinic tha’ DS Bontempi was associated with. It’s all women with appointments, see, which makes sense cause the women who got arrested claimed the place is a women’s health practice. But here’s wha’s in’eresting, sir. Not a single woman was willing to say wha’ her appointment was for when we contacted her. And each woman? Right af’er each woman’s name is another name in brackets. These’re female names ’s well. We’re thinking our murder victim turned the clinic over to the local coppers as a place was cutting girls, so we reckon that diary has appointments for mums bringing their girls to get cut, and the names in the brackets belong to girls. We don’ know that for sure, ’course, but we’re looking for the woman who worked there.”
“What’ve you come up with?”
“She’s done a runner. She wasn’t using her real name, either. Jus’ now we’re locating the building’s owner—this would be where the clinic was—an’ soon’s we have the owner’s name and address, we reckon he’ll hand over hers.”
“Who’s working on that?”
“Barb Havers was . . . is. But . . . well . . . to be honest, we could do with more help. CCTV alone is taking forever, an’ we can’t weaponise any interview without it.”
Hillier’s eyes narrowed again. He said, “You’ve just told me you have two DCs.”
“An’ they’re excellent, they are. Bu’ we need more cos ever’time we turn up a name, there’s another person got to be looked into. An’ we got to show the pictures round, sir, once we get our mitts on copies of the decent ones. You know the drill.” He said the last bit without being at all certain. He doubted Sir David Hillier had blazed his remarkably ascendant career through time spent on murder investigations. But it was worth a try to mention this, Nkata thought. Every avenue needed to be greased.
This one paid off. Hillier said, “I can give you two more, and that has to be the limit. You’ll have seven people in total working on this, and that’s all we can spare. This isn’t a serial killer we’re dealing with. If DI Lynley can’t pull a case together with that number of people, we’re in serious trouble and so is he. So get me those pictures, and in the meantime, we all need to pray that something happens that will direct the tabloid press’s interests elsewhere. I certainly wouldn’t say no to a natural disaster.”
Nkata found that he didn’t disagree.
MAYVILLE ESTATE
DALSTON
NORTH-EAST LONDON
Sophie went with him when Tani left the flat. Prior to setting off, Tani brought out the rucksack with Simisola’s things stowed inside, and he showed Sophie what he’d chosen. She fingered through it and recommended two more T-shirts and sandals if she had them. He took two more T-shirts from a drawer and held up a pair of purple Crocs for her approval. Sophie picked up one of Simi’s stuffed animals—a tiger with a missing eye—and that was the last thing that went into the rucksack. After that, and at Sophie’s suggestion, they set off to Ridley Road Market. It was a good possibility, she said, that Monifa had taken Simi there.
They split up at the market entrance. Sophie took the side of the street on which Abeo’s butcher shop and fishmonger’s stall were situated. Tani took the other. They met at the end thirty minutes later. Neither of them had set eyes on Simisola. When Tani caught a glimpse of the interior of Into Africa Groceries Etc., as well as the butcher’s shop, he couldn’t see Abeo either. This was far more unusual than the absence of Monifa and Simisola.