TOUCH: A DI Charlotte Savage Novel. Mark Sennen

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      Enders clicked through his list.

      ‘Um, Jenny Smith?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘Simone Ashton?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘That’s your lot from round here.’

      ‘We need to widen the area or the timeframe or both,’ Calter chipped in.

      ‘Evidently.’

      Enders went back to the search page where he changed some of the parameters.

      ‘Still sticking to Devon and Cornwall, but extending the date range to six months.’

      ‘That’s long enough. The girl died in the last week or so.’

      ‘Right.’ Enders hit the return key and data filled the screen. ‘Bloody hell. Eighty-four names.’

      ‘I’ll get some coffees, ma’am,’ Calter said as Enders began to scroll through the results.

      Savage nodded and examined the list. They had searched for females between the age of fifteen and twenty-five missing in Devon and Cornwall in the past six months and the results were staggering. The figures would be distorted by the fact that the area was a tourist destination: many on the list would have gone missing while on holiday and turned up later back on their own patch. The problem was nobody bothered to inform the police. Even so the number seemed high. Savage knew a couple of hundred thousand people went missing in the UK each year but she’d always mistrusted the figure. Most would turn up, but the official guidance set down in procedure was clear: if the investigator had any doubt then they were to think murder. Her thoughts were interrupted by Enders jabbing at the screen.

      ‘Don’t bother with the coffees, I’ve found her.’

      It was too late as Calter had already gone, but Enders was right. Savage looked at the record and the dead girl’s face stared out at her. Kelly Donal, eighteen years old, enrolled on an Early Childhood Studies course at the university with a work placement at Little Angels nursery. Her address was listed as Beacon Park, Plymouth. She had been reported missing thirteen weeks ago.

      Enders gave a quick précis of the notes.

      ‘We have a report of an incident at the flat in the city that Kelly shared with a friend – this was the day before Kelly went missing – but by the time officers arrived it was over. According to the friend it was something to do with Kelly’s glamour modelling. A guy had turned up demanding to see Kelly and she wouldn’t let him in. There was a row in the street and a neighbour called the police. When they arrived a man known to them as David Forester was hanging about outside. He was allowed to leave when Kelly insisted she was not making a formal complaint. Forester had already received a conviction for ABH at the start of the year. Managed to avoid a custodial, got a Community Service Order instead. Before that he had a caution for possession. Let’s see, yes, registered address is in North Prospect. A right swillyite by the sound of it.’

      ‘If he’s implicated there is going to be some serious press heat,’ Riley said.

      ‘Yes, but for once it won’t be on us. Should have been banged up.’

      ‘Go on,’ Savage said. ‘There’s more.’

      Enders continued reading from the notes.

      ‘Seems like Kelly told the flatmate she was going to a friend’s house for the weekend, something she often did. The next day was a Friday and the flatmate came back to find Kelly gone.’

      ‘And she didn’t worry because she thought she had gone away?’

      ‘Precisely.’ Enders pointed at the screen again. ‘It wasn’t until Monday evening that she called Kelly’s parents to ask them if Kelly had been there. They said that they hadn’t seen her and in turn called us.’

      ‘Appears we did bugger all,’ Riley said.

      ‘They were told to call again at the end of the week and did so. Seems like then someone decided the girl had gone off to London modelling. She mentioned something about an agent to the flatmate and in the weeks before she had fallen out with her parents. Further investigation led to the incident being classified as low risk with a flag to review the case and reassess it at a later date. As of today it doesn’t seem as if that has happened.’

      Savage could understand why. The amount of resources needing to be deployed was not inconsiderable. They would need to get search teams into Donal’s property, obtain the necessary permission to access landline and mobile telephone records and bank accounts, liaise with the Met to see if there was any evidence she had ever made it to London, check with the UK Border Agency as to whether she might have left the country … Now those resources would be forthcoming, but Savage wondered if the officers on Kelly’s case had been hesitant in taking the investigation to the next stage because of cost worries or if the error was down to negligence.

      ‘This is all news to me,’ Savage said. ‘I think I was on holiday at the time.’

      ‘You’d flown out to Brazil to meet your husband,’ Riley said. ‘I remember the sun, sea and sand on the postcard made us all depressed.’

      ‘You shouldn’t have transferred down here if you like the weather sunny and warm.’

      ‘It was a little too hot in London, I was in danger of getting burnt,’ Riley said, without further explanation. ‘Anyway, where does Forester fit into all this?’

      ‘I’m on the case, Darius,’ Enders said. He typed and clicked and the results of a new search for male mispers came up. He pointed to the screen. ‘David Forester, twenty-nine, of North Prospect. Reported missing by his parents on the eighth of August.’

      ‘Damn. Why didn’t that get linked in with Kelly’s case?’ Savage said. The date was two weeks after Kelly’s disappearance, but there should have been some sort of flag in the system to draw attention to the previous incident; a definite mistake on somebody’s part.

      ‘Someone missed the connection,’ Riley said. ‘For a mispers case it doesn’t seem much of an oversight, but now we’ve got a body …’

      ‘Exactly. Forester is now the prime suspect,’ Savage said. ‘Right, we need to generate some action points on this. One, get family liaison to inform Kelly’s parents and arrange for formal identification of the body. Two, let’s get the Beacon Park officers involved in the domestic and ABH incidents in, plus those on the Kelly mispers case, we need their input. Three, get a search team into Kelly’s and Forester’s properties. Four, re-interview Kelly’s parents and her flatmate. Five, interview Forester’s parents and employer.’

      ‘He was unemployed,’ Enders said, pointing to the screen again. ‘Used to work at Tamar Yacht Fitters, but was dismissed after the conviction for ABH.’

      ‘Still, might be worth a word. You and DS Riley will take that one and I’ll see what I can get out of his parents. I also think we need to make an appeal for David Forester to come forward. This isn’t a missing person inquiry anymore, it’s murder. Let’s ditch the interview with Isaacs and ask the CPS if they want to charge him with the sexual offence on the body. Then we can concentrate on Forester.’

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