He nodded and went over to Harry Blunt, who had returned from trying to gather information on Rashid Burry.
Harry wafted his sandwich towards Langton. ‘The fucker was only claiming benefits. Gave the same address we had for him at the halfway hostel — bloody unbelievable. We have this bastard’s face plastered over the newspapers, in every police station, and he just walks in and picks up his fucking benefits!’
Langton sighed; sometimes Harry’s tirades irritated him, but he had to agree with him on this one. ‘What you got?’
Harry opened his notebook. ‘Last seen Wednesday at the hostel. Social worker — and she was fucking brain dead not to contact us — says he gave her this bullshit about starting work on a building site. She gave him the benefit slips, and asked for a forwarding address; by rights, he was no longer under a probation order, but somewhere ticking in her brain was the fact that we had been there half a dozen times asking about him. Anyway, he gives her a load of bullshit and walks out. She called the local cops to say he had been there; according to them, they were in the process of contacting us! She also said — and this I could believe — that he scared her; one of the reasons she didn’t want to get into a confrontation with him was that he was built like a brick shithouse.’
Harry thumbed through his notebook and bit into his sandwich. ‘There was a kid there with probation order and tag — probably have that cut off in a few days — anyway, I’m asking around if anyone saw the hulk Rashid, and this boy—’
‘How old is he?’ Langton interrupted.
‘Sixteen: done for aggravated burglary and threatening a police officer — got two years and out on probation for six months.’
Langton gestured for Harry to continue.
‘Rashid asks the boy if he wants some extra cash; kid said he was up for anything and Rashid gives him this mobile number.’ Harry passed over a Post-it note. ‘We’ve been trying to track it down, but it’s another pay-as-you-go bugger, so we might not get much luck; it was over two weeks ago.’
Langton asked whether, when Rashid’s body was found, they had also found a mobile.
‘Nope, pockets stripped, nothing on him; surprised they left his gold teeth.’
Langton sighed. ‘Okay, keep on pushing.’ As he turned away, Grace informed him that the doctor and his wife had arrived.
‘I’d like to sit in on that one,’ Harry said, his mouth full of the last of his sandwich.
Langton smiled and walked out of the incident room, gesturing to Anna to join him.
She was on the telephone and signalled for Langton to wait. ‘I’ve got something,’ she mouthed.
‘Can’t it wait?’ he snapped.
‘No, it can’t.’ She had to take a deep breath. ‘Two children have just been dumped at a playground in Tooting. Teacher said a black guy was seen at the gates, holding the kids by the hand; then he walked off. They’re white — and their ages match those of Gail Sickert’s missing children.’
‘Jesus Christ, get over there!’ He then stopped, frowning. ‘No, I need you in with me.’ He nodded over to Harry. ‘Give him the details, then come into the interview room.’
Anna returned to the caller. ‘Have they been able to give their names?’ She listened, then said, ‘Someone is coming over there straight away.’
It took a while longer for Anna to take further details, before she was able to send Harry to pick up a Family Liaison Officer to accompany him to the Tooting nursery school.
‘Fingers crossed, Harry, we might have found Gail Sickert’s kids, but neither is talking and both seem traumatized. Pick them up and arrange for a counsellor. You know what to do.’
Harry nodded and sat down to make sure he had all the details as Anna hurried to join Langton, Dr Elmore and his wife Esme.
Anna was taken aback by the stature and appearance of the doctor. He was way over six feet tall and wore an immaculate charcoal grey-suit. His wife Esme was in traditional African wraparound skirt and flowing loose top, with a matching cotton turban. They were a quiet and unassuming couple, with excellent manners. The doctor waited for Anna to sit down, helping her move the chair closer to the table, before he sat down opposite her. Esme did not meet her eyes, but kept her head bowed and her hands folded in her lap.
Langton had already described in detail the murder of Arthur Murphy and the resulting condition of Eamon Krasiniqe. He said that the boy had refused food and was now in isolation, with an oxygen tent helping him breathe.
Anna said nothing as she opened her notebook, listening to Langton.
He explained how Anna had subsequently interviewed Idris Krasiniqe, the sick boy’s brother. Dr Salaam asked her to give as much detail about Idris as possible — how he had behaved towards her, and whether she had any more information about the boys’ backgrounds. Both were illegal immigrants, she told him; the police were not even sure if their names were real, as they had come into the UK on fake passports.
‘Are they twins?’ was his next question.
Anna looked to Langton, and they both shrugged; not according to their passports.
Langton continued, moving on to the murder of Carly Ann North. Dr Salaam made no further interruptions. He occasionally glanced at his wife, but she never raised her eyes. Langton went on to outline the death of Gail Sickert and her small child; even though there was now a possibility the other two children might have been found, he implied that they were dead, or being used as sex objects. Esme looked up at the details of the children, then turned away, shaking her head. Langton kept his voice low; in the bare room, the silences when he paused hung in the air. Anna watched him draw on the emotion and aim it especially at Esme.
Langton showed the children’s photographs, placing each one down slowly. Elmore Salaam took out a case and put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Next Langton brought out the hideous mortuary shots of Gail Sickert’s body and the skull of her dead child, followed by the photographs of Carly Ann. Lastly, he opened the envelope containing pictures of the torso of the dead boy found in the canal.
‘We believe that all these murders have a link to Camorra. We have also just discovered this man, Rashid Burry. His body was found in the rear of a white Range Rover. He had been garrotted and stuffed into black plastic bin-liners; the vehicle was to be crushed.’
Elmore peered very closely at Rashid Burry’s photograph; his wife, by now, was sitting well back in her chair, her head averted from the appalling array of death laid out on the table.
Langton gave a small nod to Anna.
‘Doctor Salaam, Mrs Salaam,’ she began, ‘we are very much in need of someone to help with the boy Eamon Krasiniqe. If we are able to save him, his brother Idris has promised me that he will give us information. We believe that both the brothers were involved with Camorra, but Idris is too afraid to speak to us. He is in prison for the murder of Carly Ann North. He admitted the murder, and when first arrested he—’
Langton interrupted her. ‘He gave us two names — men he said were part of the murder — but we were unable to trace them.’
Anna looked at him. He made no mention of his attack and, by interrupting her, made sure she did not bring it up either.
‘Idris pleaded guilty to the murder, but retracted his statement,’ she went on. ‘He said no one else was involved, and that he alone committed the rape and attempted mutilation of her body. We have two samples of DNA taken from her body, so we know Idris was not the only man who raped her or had sex with her before she died.’ Anna looked nervously at Langton, wondering if he wanted her to give even these details.
Amongst the array of mortuary shots and pictures of Gail Sickert’s children was the computer e-fit of Joseph Sickert. Dr Salaam, who, unlike his wife, had shown no emotion, pointed to it, and Langton passed it to him. He stared at it, then turned to his wife. Side by side, the couple gave the picture their full attention, then placed it down on the table in front of them.