‘Cool as a cucumber,’ Ezra said. He left the room passing Stanford as he walked back in.
‘Everything all right?’ Henley asked, noticing the look on Stanford’s face.
Stanford stopped at Henley’s desk but didn’t sit down. ‘That was Gene. We’ve been matched with a kid. Our social worker wants us to meet him this weekend.’
‘Isn’t this a good thing?’ Henley replied warmly. ‘This is what you and Gene have wanted for God knows how long.’
‘That’s the thing. Each time we’ve gotten close it’s all fallen through. It’s a bit hard for me to get my hopes up.’
‘But youshouldget your hopes up. Meeting your potential child for the first time is a big step. I doubt that the social worker would be arranging for you to meet if this wasn’t going to be a thing.’
‘Hmm,’ Stanford replied noncommittally.
‘What do you know about them? The child I mean?’
‘He’s eighteen months old. White. The poor kid has been in care since he was nine months old. His mum has drug issues and was using when she was pregnant with him, so he’s got developmental delay, and the father isn’t in the picture.’
‘Poor kid,’ Henley said, pushing her chair back and standing up. ‘But he’s going to have a good life with you and Gene. The best. So be positive. It’s ok to make plans.’
‘Yeah, I’ll do my best.’ Stanford gave a smile and Henley pulled him into a hug.
‘I promise you; it will be fine. I have a good feeling,’ Henley told him. Pellacia’s office door opened and Ramouter strode out with an unmissable grin on his face.
‘Boy wonder looks like he must have got a good review from the big man,’ Stanford commented.
‘So, he should, he’s doing well,’ Henley said proudly.
‘Look at you. You’re beaming like he’s your own kid.’
‘He’ll be a DS before you know it. He’ll probably end up taking your spot.’
‘Let’s not get too carried away. He’s boy wonder, not Superman.’
Henley laughed. ‘You’re so easy to wind up.’
‘Right, back to work. I need to keep my mind off things. What’s going on with the new murder case?’
‘I’ll update everyone once Pellacia’s done,’ Henley answered. ‘But I wish that it wasn’t her, Fox-Carnell, not that I wish death on anyone, but for it to be her …’
‘It comes with a whole host of problems, doesn’t it? It means that we can’t deal with this investigation in the dark so to speak.’
‘No, all eyes are going to be on us.’
Pellacia took his usual position, standing in front of the window, with a wide view of the whiteboard and his team. He nodded at Henley to start.
‘This is where we’re at.’ Henley pressed a button on the presentation pointer and three images of Sian Fox-Carnell appeared on the screen. The first was her custody picture that had been taken when she was first arrested in 2014 showing her with dark blonde hair, the second was a screenshot taken from her recent appearance onGood Morning Britainand the third was a photograph of the woman hanging over the river.
‘Jesus Christ,’ said Eastwood. ‘How the hell did anyone manage to get her up there?’
‘No bloody idea,’ Henley answered. ‘But I can confirm that the woman hanging from the pierisSian Fox-Carnell. Anthony emailed me with the DNA match about an hour ago. Her stepfather, Keith Fox, should already be at the mortuary with his brother-in-law to view the body.’
‘How were the family?’ Pellacia asked.
‘We’ve only spoken to the parents so far. Her biological father has been out of the picture since Fox-Carnell was three years old.Her mother Linda is angry, very angry. She blames us, the police, for both her daughter’s disappearance and her death.’
Stanford snorted disapprovingly.
‘The stepfather, Keith Fox, although upset was a bit more amenable to our presence and he made some interesting points.’ Henley continued, pressing the remote again, bringing up a timeline. ‘Fox-Carnell was released on Monday afternoon at 12.03 p.m. with stringent bail conditions which included residence at her parents’ address and an electronically monitored curfew. The initial bail application was made in chambers. No press or members of the public. The dad swears blind that no one knew that Fox-Carnell was bailed to their address.’
