Little Girl Gone. Stephen Edger

for Alex’s hand he pulled her towards the window and pointed at the two girls in the street. ‘That’s probably all it was: kids on their way to the bus stop.’

      Alex pulled her hand free of his. ‘You think I misheard? It was Carol-Anne,’ she repeated through gritted teeth.

      Ray shook his head sceptically. ‘I know you want to believe that, but how could it be? We’ve all checked and she’s not in her room. Some bastard has taken her, and what you heard was your body’s way of telling you that you’re missing her. I’m sorry, Alex.’

      She stormed from the room, and stomped down the stairs. Ray remained where he was, taking a final glance back around the room, disappointed that he’d allowed Alex’s imagination to let him believe that Carol-Anne was hiding somewhere in the property. To be safe he moved out to the landing, pulled down the loft ladder and, using the torch on his phone, he scoured the floor space, searching behind dusty boxes of Christmas decorations and old photograph albums. He found nothing more than silence and cobwebs.

      Closing the hatch he headed back downstairs, his heart heavy at the prospect of Alex’s previous psychological issues returning en masse. Finding Isla alone in the kitchen, he nodded when she offered to put the kettle on.

      ‘Trent says you’re one of the best FLOs she’s worked with,’ he said to finally break the silence.

      ‘That’s very kind of her. She’s one of the better SIOs I’ve come across,’ Isla smiled back. ‘You couldn’t have asked for someone better to be in charge of your case.’

      ‘Trent said you were dialling into the morning brief; anything to share with us?’

      ‘It was a standard primary briefing, leads they’re going to pursue and that kind of thing. She did also say she wants your permission to appeal to the public.’

      ‘What did Alex say?’

      ‘She gave the go-ahead.’

      ‘Did you tell her to delete her Facebook account?’

      ‘I did. Standard procedure in these circumstances. You should do the same.’

      He grunted. ‘I don’t have time for all that sort of thing. My digital footprint is as clean as they come.’

      Isla looked as though she wanted to say something else and was holding back.

      ‘Spit it out, whatever it is,’ he finally said.

      Closing the door, she leaned in closer, her voice barely more than a whisper. ‘You’re not going to be trouble for me, are you?’

      His cheeks reddened at the implication.

      ‘DI Trent warned me that you aren’t likely to sit quietly and wait for my updates, and she has asked me to remind you that you are not authorized to be directly involved with this investigation. Any contact with her or the rest of your team is to be social only, and kept to a minimum. In this morning’s brief she warned everyone not to engage with you on matters pertaining to the investigation.’ She sighed. ‘Listen, I know better than anyone how hard it is to leave others to the job, but that’s precisely what you need to do. Is that clear?’

      Ray didn’t answer, instead heading out of the room and stepping outside before he said something he knew he would regret.