Bye Bye Baby

TUESDAY
1

I was on my way downstairs to grab a can of something fizzy from the drinks machine when I passed Detective Sergeant Dutton's office. I made the mistake of looking up. He saw me and waved me over.

His room was tiny. The desk took up most of the space and it wasn't a big desk. I wondered how Dutton managed to pull the chair out far enough to squeeze himself in. He was a beefy guy with a porn-star moustache, which he was stroking as he listened to the caller on the other end of the phone.

I stood in the doorway catching the faint smell of tobacco smoke from Dutton's clothes.

He scribbled a few notes, grunted something, then said goodbye and hung up.

"You can have this one, Collins," he said to me. "Missing kid."

"You serious?"

Dutton didn't like me. Few people did, mainly because of my uncle. But with Dutton it was personal.

I'd told his wife she should leave him and she'd told him what I said.

Yeah, I know, I should mind my own business. But I'd heard the way he spoke to her and it was ugly. I'd happily do the same again.

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" He pulled a face. An attempt to look hurt. "Well, if you don't think you can handle it…"

"How old's the kid?"

"Seven."

"Where's the mother right now?"

"At home."

"You have the address?"

"Right here." He tapped a scrap of paper on his desk with his pen. "You sure about this now?"

"You think I'm not up to the job?" I held out my hand.

But he just chewed the inside of his cheek and peered at me. "Maybe it needs someone more senior at the helm," he said. "I think I should take it."

He knew I'd been after a high-profile case for ages. I'd decided a couple of months ago that if I didn't get promoted in the next year, I was going to get out of the police force. Too much paperwork and overtime and arseholes like Dutton for me to stay a constable forever. I had bills to pay, or I'd have left already.

I said, "You decided yet?" If Dutton was waiting for me to beg, he'd have a long wait.

We stared at each other for a while. Then he said, "Don't make me regret this," and handed over the address. "The mother's spoken to Uniform. I'll get her statement. Fill you in over the radio."

"I can speak to them when I get there."

"I've already sent them door to door. Need all the bodies we can get out looking for the kid." He pointed his pen at me. "One other thing. Won't be a Family Liaison officer free for about an hour. You better take a female passenger with you."

"You left the mother on her own?"

"She picked a bad day to lose her son," he said. "But she knows we're on the way. She'll be fine." He pushed his chair back, gave himself just enough leg-room to get to his feet. "Now bugger off and show me what you can do."