Birdman

34

'You feeling all right, mate?' Maddox asked Caffery later in the office.

'Just tired.'

'About what happened, your brother… We can review and I can clear you for compassionate. Up to two weeks, if you want it.'

Caffery nodded. 'Thank you.'

'When do you want—?'

'No. I won't take it.'

'OK.' He fiddled with a paper clip. 'I wish you'd told me. We could have done something.'

'I'd see you do something with Mel Diamond first.'

'I've cautioned him. One more mistake and we skip reprimand and go straight to a hearing.'

'Gets off easily. Doesn't he?'

'A verbal warning's all I can do at this stage. I've got to let it slide.'

'Jesus.' Caffery slung his pen down with a clatter. Maddox looked up, startled.

'What?'

'I don't know — all I see, Steve, is this. The man is shit. He screws up just about everything, and you—' He paused, took a breath. 'And you just seem to bottle it. You and the Met boat club and the frostbite run and your old boys' network—'

'Hang on, hang on.' Maddox held up a hand. 'I'm not stupid, Jack. We all know Diamond gets by on flattery. And this old boys' network thing? Doesn't exist. Maybe other places but not in AMIP.' He paused and his voice dropped a tone. 'Look, Jack—'

'What?'

'I shouldn't need to say it, but I will. You are a better cop than him. He will trip. Sooner rather than later. You?' He broke the paper clip in two and threw it in the waste-paper basket. 'You, Jack, you won't. You…' He sat back in his seat, folded his arms and looked at his DI with an expression of something like satisfaction. 'Well, just don't worry, OK.'

'Sir.' Kryotos appeared at the doorway sucking the chocolate off a Twix bar. 'The courier's here from FSS.'

'Thank you.' Maddox got wearily to his feet. 'This should make our decision whether to charge or not a little clearer.'

He left the room, leaving Kryotos and Caffery to stare at each other.

'Yes? What?'

'Oh, nothing. Just hope you're OK. That's all. We're worried about you.'

Caffery subsided in his chair, embarrassed by his anger. 'That's — that's good of you.'

'Not good. Human.' She turned to go and stopped in the doorway, one chocolatey finger in her mouth. 'I take it you don't want to interview Cook now?'

'No.'

'Good, because that Air India flight is leaving in an hour — are you sure?'

'Yes — let him go.'

'Oh, and there was a message for you on last night's crop. Call Julie Da-a-a-rling. You know, Little Darlings.' She curled a smile at him. 'Darling.'

He could tell from Julie's voice that he'd woken her.

'I'm sorry.'

'That's OK.' She stifled a yawn. 'I'm a late riser. Goes with the territory.'

'I got your message.' He tucked the phone under his chin. 'Is there something you remembered?'

'Not remembered. Something's happened.'

'I'm listening.'

'You told me to call if anyone skipped out on me.'

'Yes.'

'Someone has.'

Caffery paused. 'OK. Who?'

'Her name's Peace. Peace Nbidi Jackson, she's, I don't know, half Ghanaian or something. She didn't turn up to a gig in Earl's Court — and I haven't heard hide nor hair since.'

'Where did she last show?'

'She was booked in east Greenwich. The Dog and Bell. Last Wednesday.'

The day before we were there. He got in before us—

'Julie.' He reached in his drawer for a biro and uncapped it with his teeth. 'Have you got an address for her? Let's set our minds at rest, shall we?'

In the incident room Kryotos already knew all about Peace Nbidi Jackson.

'She's one of the lot the Yard's been onto us about. One of thirty.' She scrolled down the screen. 'Here we are. Clover Jackson, that's Peace's mother, reported her missing yesterday. Peace has got a little drugs problem. Heroin. She took a bus from East Ham to somewhere near the Blackwall tunnel. Mum thinks she'd been in Greenwich recently, and when she didn't come home Mum called the cops half out of her mind with worry.'

'OK. Let's get someone over to her house. Start a file. Maybe he's slipped up for the first time. Taken someone who's been missed.' He looked up. Maddox stood in the doorway, a paper in his hand. Caffery recognized the blue and red FSS diamond in the right-hand corner. It could only mean one thing.

Maddox waited until the incident room was quiet.

'Right. The good news is we can give up knocking down the magistrate's door.' No-one spoke. 'That poor bugger in Greenwich is going home. Even if they had a better sample they wouldn't have needed it. It's not even the same blood group.'

In his chair against the far wall Diamond's jaw muscles worked under the tanned skin, the pinched nostrils pulsed gently as if they wanted to flare. Kryotos's phone jolted to life, making everyone jump. She stared at it for a moment, red-faced at having been singled out like this. It was Betts calling from London Bridge. Kryotos listened, looked at Maddox, then at Diamond, and handed the phone silently to Caffery.

Gemini stared at a textured black streak on the cell wall wondering if it was what he thought it was. Don't they clean these rahtid places? The door opened and the custody sergeant came in, holding Gemini's clothes in a plastic cover. The Nikes were perched on the top like twin loaves clean, fresh and new from the oven.

'Mr Henry.'

'Whassup?'

'You're going home.'

Gemini rolled his eyes suspiciously. 'Is it?'

'Yes.' The officer placed the clothes on the bunk beside him, straightened up and gave him a bored look. 'It is.'

Caffery was on the phone to Fiona Quinn when Essex and DC Logan knocked on the door. Essex had a grim look on his face.

'On our way to Harteveld's.' He held up the familiar yellow grab box.

'I'm a step behind you. Quinn's meeting us there.'

'Jack.'

'What is it?'

Essex leaned in so Logan couldn't hear. 'Dr Amedure's been trying to reach you from the lab.'

'Yes?' Caffery straightened up and covered the mouthpiece. 'Did she have something?'

Essex paused. 'She's got something.'

'Well?'

'She says they're animal. Pig bones. She's sorry.'

Caffery sank back in his seat.

'You all right?'

'Yeah. It's not a surprise.'

'They could probably do Penderecki for breach of the peace. Get him bound over. You've got witnesses coming out of your ears.'

'No.' Caffery was tired. Tired of what Ewan was costing. 'Thanks. But I'll let it go. It won't be the last time.'