DS Jessica Daniel series: Think of the Children / Playing with Fire / Thicker Than Water – Books 4–6 (14 page)

‘What do you reckon?’ Jessica asked.

‘I reckon that Santa needs a bloody kitchen knife taking to it,’ Esther replied. Jessica laughed, appreciating her response. ‘Honestly? I don’t know,’ Esther added.
‘I’m going to have to phone in and see what’s going on at our end. No one knows who’s supposed to be leading the investigation. From what I gather, our lot have been at the
school today trying to see if anyone saw anything, while your lot have been checking cameras in the local area. Someone’s going to have to sort out who’s supposed to be doing
what.’

‘I want to see the ex-husband,’ Jessica said. ‘What are you going to do now?’

Esther looked at her watch. ‘Oh, sod it, I’ll phone in later. Let’s go see this Adrian guy.’

‘What did you make of Rachel?’ Jessica asked.

‘She’s in shock, you never know what you’re going to walk into with these situations. Everyone thinks a mother’s going to be shouting and demanding results, either that
or running through the streets trying to find their kid. Some are like that but a lot act like Rachel – they don’t know what to do with themselves. They sit at home and wait for the
phone to ring or the doorbell to go. It’s the right thing to do really.’

As they reached their cars, the lights flickered to life on the giant Christmas tree at the front of the house next to the one with the oversized Santa. The illuminations alternated colours,
blinking on and off. ‘Imagine living opposite that,’ Esther said. ‘I’d be out there with a chain-saw in the middle of the night.’

Jessica was partly in agreement. ‘Nah, that’s too obvious. The best thing to do is pour a litre or so of petrol in the pot it’s in. The whole thing will wilt in a few
days.’

Esther looked at Jessica with a big grin. ‘Ooh, that is naughty. Aren’t you a dark horse?’

Jessica shrugged. ‘I’ve had thirty-odd years of people pissing me off – I’m full of ideas.’

‘Well, I’ll remember not to get on your wrong side then.’

Jessica unlocked her car. ‘Do you know where we’re going?’

‘I have the address somewhere. I know it’s not in Manchester – I think it’s up Preston way. Just follow me.’

As Esther got into her vehicle, Jessica watched her in the rear-view mirror, wondering why she had made such a fuss earlier.

Jessica rarely took her battered old car on the motorway, largely because she didn’t trust it not to break down. Esther’s powerful new vehicle could have
comfortably sped away from her at any point as they travelled in convoy along the M61.

Unmoving traffic was backed up in the opposite direction as they drove and the sun had disappeared below the horizon by the time Esther parked outside a house on the outskirts of Chorley.
Jessica pulled in behind her, only realising how cold it was when she got out of the vehicle. She could feel chills on her exposed hands as she opened the door to get into Esther’s car.

‘It’s bloody freezing out there,’ she said.

Esther reached across to the back seat and picked up a file before handing it over. ‘I’m in a bit of trouble,’ she said. ‘I’m supposed to be staying with the
victim. I’m heading back after this.’

‘Why did you want to come here?’

Esther flicked her long brown hair behind her head and scratched her ear. ‘I’m not in
trouble
trouble. It looks like I’ll be spending a decent amount of time with
Rachel until her son is found . . . or not.’ She hesitated over the last two words before continuing. ‘I just want to meet Adrian. We’ve only heard one side of the story but it
would be nice to have both before going back.’

‘Do we know if he’s got a girlfriend?’ Jessica asked.

Esther shook her head. ‘There was nothing in the file so, if he does, she doesn’t live with him.’

‘That’s what I thought.’ Jessica opened the car door and again felt the bitter cold. ‘Right, let’s go.’

Because it was almost dark, it was a lot harder for Jessica to judge the type of area where Adrian Corless lived. His house didn’t appear to have a number, leaving Jessica and Esther to
check the adjacent terraced properties to make sure they were at the right one. Rather than a plastic double-glazed door, the house had an old-fashioned wooden one, the type Jessica knew officers
loved to kick in if the opportunity ever arose. She’d had a conversation with a member of the tactical entry team a few months ago in the station’s canteen where he told her new-style
doors had taken most of the fun out of the job. ‘It’s one thing to use a battering ram on those things,’ he said, ‘but nothing feels quite as good as sticking your boot
right through one of those old wooden ones.’

In the apparent absence of a doorbell, Esther thumped loudly on the frame. A light flickered inside and the door was opened by a tall thin man with round-rimmed glasses. He had a shaven head and
was wearing a pair of jeans with a slim-fitting T-shirt. He looked the exact opposite of what Jessica might have expected. Perhaps because Rachel was so insistent he was somehow involved in
Lloyd’s disappearance, Jessica had a picture in her head of him being large and menacing. Instead, after seeing the man, she had two letters in her mind: ‘IT’.

Longsight shared a computer specialist with another police station in the area. He was on call at all times and, in theory, would fix their terminals whenever there was a problem. His advice
usually consisted of turning the machine off and then on again. If that didn’t work, he seemed as lost as anyone else.

He also looked very similar to Adrian Corless.

Adrian didn’t appear particularly happy but forced a smile after the two officers had introduced themselves. He had a weary look on his face as he said, ‘He’s not here’,
then waved both women inside.

There were few niceties as he led them into a sparsely filled living room, offering them each a chair at the dining table. The house didn’t seem as if it had been decorated in the previous
twenty years or so, with faded brown wallpaper and a patchy, thin dark blue carpet. Aside from an armchair facing a television and a round dining table with three hard wooden chairs, there was no
other furniture in the room – not that there would have been much space in any case.

The two officers sat at the chairs by the table but, before they could say anything, Adrian pointed to the room behind them. ‘Do you really think I’d take my son and keep him here? I
know it’s a complete shithole and I have to live here.’

Esther nodded gently towards Jessica, who spoke. ‘Why are you assuming that’s why we’re here?’

‘You’ve not found him, have you?’ Adrian was still standing but his tone was hopeful and sounded sincere.

Jessica replied. ‘I’m sorry, we haven’t.’

The man’s face fell. ‘So you are here because you think I’ve got Lloyd?’

Jessica figured a direct question was as good as any. ‘Have you?’

Adrian pointed to the rest of the room again. ‘No. I told your people that yesterday when they came round. Why aren’t you out there looking for him?’

‘We are looking for him but we have to examine all possibilities.’

Adrian sighed, running a hand across his head before sitting on the third chair at the dining table. ‘I know . . .’ He paused, leaning back into the seat and continuing. ‘Look,
I know you’re only doing your jobs but he’s not here. He’s just not. Whenever it’s my day for visits, I try to take the boys out so they only have to sleep here. I
don’t know why Rach is saying I took him. Maybe it’s to get back at me or perhaps she’s just hoping.’

The two women exchanged a glance. Jessica believed him and it was clear from the look in Esther’s eyes that she did too.

‘Can you think of anyone who might want to take Lloyd?’ Esther asked. Adrian shook his head. ‘Your ex-wife says there was some sort of issue between you regarding
access?’ she added.

Adrian stood and let out another large sigh. ‘It was my idea to break up, did she tell you that? She’s just . . . she’s a pain in the arse, I can’t think of a better way
to put it. When we got together, we had a good time. My mum didn’t want us to get married but we did anyway – but that was partly because Rach was already pregnant. First Marcus and
then Lloyd came along, we just got into a routine.’

He had started to pace and it felt like he was talking to himself. He wasn’t facing the officers and Jessica thought he was speaking to clear his own thoughts as much as anything else.
‘For the first few years, I used to work with computers,’ he continued. ‘I was the main IT guy for this call-centre place up in Preston. It was good money and we saved loads for
the wedding and had all sorts of plans to get a bigger house and so on. Then the company was bought out and I lost my job. I got bits and bobs from the job centre but that’s where it started
to go wrong.’

Jessica resisted an urge to smile at the revelation Adrian had worked fixing computers. Even though it wasn’t necessarily relevant to the case, she was interested in where the story was
heading. She knew from experience that sometimes the best way to get information was to stay quiet and let them speak.

Adrian didn’t seem to know if he wanted to sit or stand but ended up resting his hands on the back of the chair, leaning forward. He made eye contact with both women, then stood and
started pacing again. ‘Look, I’m not perfect but I love my kids, I just couldn’t get on with
her
any more. We both knew things were shit, I was just the one who admitted
it first. She wanted the boys and so did I. My solicitor told me there was no point in going to court because the mother always wins. I did it anyway, even though I ended up paying him most of my
wages and now I have to live here. The judge ruled for her and I get them every other weekend.’

‘When was the last time you saw Lloyd?’ Esther asked.

‘Weekend before last. I took him and Marcus to the football on Saturday. We were going to do something on the Sunday but it rained all day.’

‘You’ve not seen either of them since?’

‘No. I didn’t even find out Lloyd had gone missing until one of you contacted me. Rach hasn’t bothered to call. The worst thing is that she’s telling you I’ve got
our son and, while you’re here talking to me, he could be anywhere. I went out last night, driving around in case I saw him anywhere. Then I had to come back here and answer questions. Now
I’m doing it again.’

‘Where were you yesterday afternoon between 3p.m. and 5p.m.?’ Esther asked. Both officers had already read the answer in the file.

‘I was here, on my own, watching TV.’

As alibis went, Jessica knew it was pretty terrible.

Adrian stepped away from the table and stopped pacing, holding his arms out wide. ‘There’s not much else I can say, just look around for yourself and then, when you’re done,
can you please get on with finding my son?’

The two women looked at each other and then stood in unison. Adrian turned around and sat on the armchair, switching on the television with a remote control. Esther left the living room,
entering a small kitchen with Jessica just behind her. Together they walked into the hallway and up the stairs. Looking around someone’s house wouldn’t usually be so straightforward
but, as the man had offered, there was no reason to turn him down.

‘Seems fairly genuine, doesn’t he?’ Jessica asked when they reached the top and were out of his possible earshot.

‘Yeah, he’s got a point too. If Rachel’s busy telling everyone who’ll listen that he’s involved when he’s not, it’s just taking resources away from
where we should be looking.’ Esther clearly believed what he had said, as much as Jessica did.

‘Maybe the break-up was so bitter she can’t see past it?’ Jessica suggested.

‘Probably, but it’s pretty stupid if that’s the case. I’ll see what I can get out of her when I go back.’

‘It might be just blind hope that Lloyd’s safe and that Adrian’s got him somewhere? At least then he wouldn’t be hurt.’

There were three closed doors at the top of the stairs. ‘Which one do you want?’ Esther asked.

Jessica pointed to the one on their left. ‘I’m guessing that’s the Presidential suite, so I’ll have that.’

Esther stepped towards the opening on their right as Jessica opened the door she had chosen. It certainly wasn’t anything approaching ‘Presidential’ on the inside. There was no
carpet or wooden flooring, leaving the floorboards exposed. A single bed with a metal frame was pushed up against the back wall, the only other furniture a single chest of drawers that was almost
as big as the bed. Despite its size, clothes were strewn across the floor and, because of the adult-sized shirts, T-shirts and jeans in the pile, it seemed a fair assumption this was Adrian’s
own room. Jessica looked around the door, checking the ceiling for an attic but she couldn’t see anything of note and turned back around.

The room Esther had gone into was the only one that seemed to be decorated. There was a new carpet on the floor, the walls unmarked and recently painted. Two single beds were made up with
matching bedding and a portable television was on a chest of drawers.

As Jessica entered, Esther was staring out of the window. ‘Anything?’ Jessica asked.

‘Nope, not too bad in here though, is it?’

‘Much better than the other room. This must be where Marcus and Lloyd sleep when they stay over.’

The rest of the house offered very little of note. There was a large cupboard downstairs but no sign of a basement, attic, shed or any other place someone could obviously be hidden. Jessica
hadn’t expected there to be, given Adrian’s openness in letting them explore. His name would be checked against storage units and, in the wake of everything that had happened, other
places that could be rented such as allotments. Jessica didn’t think they’d find anything. If the example of ‘Glenn Harrison’ had shown them anything, it was that using a
fake name was easier than it should be.

Adrian was talking to someone on his mobile phone when the detectives re-entered after looking around. He stood and ended the call. ‘I’m going back out in the car,’ he said.
‘He’s got to be somewhere. One of my mates is coming over and we’re going around all the parks. I tried calling Rach but she’s not answering.’