Chapter Four;
Stuart
Within seconds of pushing open the CID doors, Millie was being directed to go right back out of them. Having spent the last 20 minutes with the Roxons, she'd returned to CID preparing to inform them that the family had never heard of Archibald Natovnia when she'd been met at the door by DS Carter telling her to turn around and head back before thrusting a picture into her hands. She pouted. "Couldn't have given me this task when I was still at the Roxons?"
"No, because you wouldn't've had this." He tapped the picture and gave her a blank look.
She made to protest but his frown deepened and she sighed. "I'm going sarge." She turned, folding up the picture and shoving it in her jeans pocket, before bounding downstairs
Max turned and went back inside to listen to Stuart, who had just returned from the media department, going on about a report just come in from a local paper. "Don't ask me where they heard about it, but by the sounds of it they want a witch hunt. Media department are getting calls every few hours from the head editor who wants a report right now. I told them to threaten him with PCs on his door, but they don't want to annoy the public."
"Probably a good idea. What are they telling him?" Neil frowned at Stuart's empty threats to the editor of local paper the Canley Commercial.
"Nothing. He doesn't know Bolt's name, just knows about a wanted drug runner who escaped bail. Reckons the public can help us catch him. Apparently Superintendant Heaton has been threatened and he jumped at the chance. Probably a bad move on media's part but they don't tell me how to do my job and I don't tell them how to do theirs."
"What did you give them?"
"The old 'we have a new line of enquiry' bull." Stuart sat down at his desk, frowning at the computer screen for a second before flicking it on with his thumb. "One of the PCs down there looked about ready to kill me. I think they've had enough of this too. I wouldn't swap jobs with them any day." He turned his attention on a half-empty cup of cold coffee, frowning at it with a wrinkled nose. "They're going to issue a report, before Canley Commercial's editor makes out Bolt is some psycho-killer hell-bent on the destruction of London. You know, like Hitler with a Manc accent."
"They were after a statement from you. What did you give them?"
"You mean the whole 'we have a new line of enquiry' line doesn't work anymore?" He beamed but Neil stayed blank. "I told them to put in that Sun Hill had acquired the help of other nicks to find this man. I thought that would do. Bit of good press for our Northern friends." He winked at Hayleigh who shook her head.
"Okay, that should hold them off for a while."
"Guv, I wouldn't stress, it's the Canley Commercial. It's a free paper run by an old guy who used to own a Fish & Chip Shop. No one reads it."
"I use mine to line the cat box." Stevie added, speaking up from behind a pile of papers on her desk.
Stuart snorted. "See guv, no problems. You mark my words, this won't go too much further than a small story in the corner of the third page." Neil nodded and turned his attention back to a conversation with Hayleigh. Max returned to his desk. Only Stuart frowned at his blank computer screen, hoping he was right.
*
"You're back." Eleanor smiled from the doorway as she opened it. "Forget something?"
"Are your parents still here?"
Eleanor nodded, her smile falling. "In the kitchen." She opened the door wider and Millie walked in, making straight for the kitchen. Eleanor followed. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Andrea? David?" The pair looked up from the kitchen table where they'd been talking over cups of tea. "I just have a quick question. Have either of you heard of a man named Lewis Dunn?"
David stood. "Why? Does he have anything to do with this Natovnia man you're after?"
"We believe he does have a connection to Natovnia, yes."
David looked at Andrea who was frowning. "Have you heard the name?" Andrea shook her head. "I'm sorry, no."
Millie remembered the picture and withdrew it from her pocket. She shook out the paper and placed it on the table in front of them. The adults looked at one another, saying nothing until Eleanor leant across the table and clicked in their face. They both looked up at her. "Tell them."
Millie frowned at her. "Tell me what?"
"We know him." Eleanor started.
"Ellie." Andrea warned.
"No, enough. Whoever this Natovnia guy is, if Millie says he's bad and this bloke is a way to get to him, then I'm going to tell her." Ellie picked up the paper. "This man is uncle Craig's right-hand man. Craig sends him around every so often for money. Dad owes him £50,000."
Millie looked at David. "Is this true?" David nodded solemnly. "This man, Lewis Dunn, he was at your car accident last week. You knew him then?" David nodded again. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I was a bit preoccupied by the situation then." He protested, standing quickly. Millie stood her ground and he sat down again. "I wasn't sure I recognized him, then I heard the name Dunn. I don't know him as Dunn. He calls himself Mr. Lloyd to me."
"And he works for Craig?"
"He works for whomever it is that I owe money too. I asked Craig for the money, whether it's his or not I don't know, but this man…" he tapped the paper. "He knows Craig."
Millie looked between the three of them. "I'm going to need you to come down to the station and make a statement on that."
David was hesitant to reply so Eleanor spoke up. "They'll come." She glared at her father. "Won't you dad?"
"Let me get my jacket." David shuffled from the room as Millie withdrew her phone and called the station. "Guv?" Neil's voice came through the phone. "Yeah, I'm at the Roxons. We might have a development regarding Bolt's connection to Natovnia." She smiled at Neil's congratulations. "I'm bringing the Roxons in now to make a statement. Yeah, see you soon." She flipped the phone shut as David appeared in the doorway with his jacket. "Okay?"
Eleanor beamed. "Let's go."
