‘Is he okay?’ Ava asked earnestly.
The question hit Kim somewhere in the chest. Her concern beyond her own predicament was well beyond her years.
‘He’s doing fine. Just concerned that you’re okay.’
‘Tell him not to worry,’ she said, and Kim reached over and hugged her. There was something incredibly special about this child.
‘I’ll let you get back to your game. I just wanted to check you were doing okay,’ Kim said, getting up from the bed.
She took one last look before closing the door. Ava’s attention had returned to the game, and although happiness was a distance away, she at least looked safe and content.
‘Listen, Stace, I just want to?—’
‘It’s fine,’ the constable said, taking a seat. ‘I wouldn’t have wanted her to be anywhere else. She really is an exceptional kid… but what happens tomorrow?’
‘I dunno. I bought us some time, but I don’t know what we can do with it.’
‘She can’t go there, boss.’
‘I don’t know how to stop it. Social services have to complete the process.’
‘He ain’t doing it, boss. That kid idolises her dad. The ways she talks about him. The laughs they have, it’s bloody heartbreaking.’
Kim was in complete agreement. That was what she’d come to hear, as well as checking on Ava.
She’d wondered if she’d allowed her own opinion of Daniel Reynolds to colour her judgement on the possibility of child abuse. Stacey had never met him, but she had spent plenty of time with Ava. If there was any truth to the accusation, she and Devon would have felt it somewhere.
Trouble was, they were running out of time. There was an avalanche coming, and she felt as though she was trying to stop it with a beach spade. They were fighting this war on two fronts. There was the accusation of abuse that neither she nor any member of her team felt held merit. Secondly, the fact was that social services would struggle to return the child to a man who had no legal right to her, regardless of their bond.
She couldn’t rid herself of the feeling that Ava was never going to see her father again.
Sixty-Three
‘Okay, folks, let’s get to it,’ Kim said with more enthusiasm than she was feeling. Judging by the look of her team, they’d had the same amount of sleep as she had.
It wasn’t the long hours and the short rest periods that got them down. It was when they had nothing to chase: no leads, no connections. Not one of her team looked weary through lack of sleep, only through lack of hope.
Like yesterday, Stacey was joining them via Zoom.
‘How’s Ava?’ Kim asked.
‘Had a bit of a cry first thing, but Dee has taken her to see the sunrise on Clent Hills.’
Kim felt a rush of gratitude to the immigration officer, who had gone out of her way to look after the little girl. How quickly they had fallen into their roles. Stacey seemed to be the caregiver and Devon the entertainer. She would never have thought of using the dark December mornings to entertain the child, but the sunrise over Clent was worth seeing.
‘Boss, talking of which, how are we going to…?’
‘Get back on that genealogy thingy and find me another relative, Stace. If social services want so desperately to place Ava with a blood relative, let’s give ’em one. I don’t care if it’s a second cousin’s nephew’s half-sister. If they’re related to Ashley, then I want to know about it.’
‘Got it,’ Stacey answered.
‘Boss,’ Penn said, raising his hand. ‘Permission to search for Ava’s real dad properly. Surely it’s worth asking if he’ll surrender parental rights to Daniel?’
Kim nodded her agreement. ‘It’s worth a shot, but first I need to know every one of Karen Felton’s clients for yesterday. Apparently she had a new customer, so we really need a name for them. If you can get access to her social media, you can check for contact, but I suspect it’s going to be the same as with Ashley and the account will have been deleted.’
‘Okey-dokey.’
‘Still with you, Penn. I want you on Mitch’s back about the blood on the crystal. It’s the only potential DNA we have, and we might get lucky.’
