Jo walked into the CID office, acutely aware of the numerous sets of eyes focusing on her. The quiet conversations which were ever present seemed to cease, an oppressive hush descending and threatening to chase the brunette from the room. This was precisely why she had wanted to keep her news under wraps, the one reason she could see for not making her colleagues aware of her diagnosis. Always proud, Jo was distraught to think that she had now been reduced in the eyes of those around her to a walking tumour, that all her previous triumphs and achievements were for naught. She wondered how long it would be before any of them had the guts to approach her, how long the strained silence would remain and if her nerves would hold out or if she would find herself too reluctant to face this day after day throughout the battle ahead. She sunk into her chair, looking around at the papers, reports and documents strewn haphazardly across her desk, wanting nothing more than to sweep them all to the floor.
Sam climbed the stairs, a weariness having settled over her as she fought to digest Jo's revelation.
"Guv, we were just on our way to see you." PC's Green and Fletcher called after Sam's retreating back. She waited for them to join her at the top, an expectant expression on her face.
"There's been a report of a missing boy, Dawid Podowski, 3 years old, from a flat on the Canley Estate. He's been gone for six hours, the mother thought he was with his sister but she left him at home to go out with mates. He could have been in the house on his own for anything up to four hours. Tony and Reg are canvassing the neighbours now but, as ever, so far no one heard or saw anything." Will handed over the information they had collated so far to the DI.
"Thanks, I'll get someone on to it straight away." Sam flicked through the folder, her mind already racing with the possibilities. Will turned to leave, heading off back down the stairs but Sam became aware that Beth had remained. She looked up, one eyebrow raised in question.
"I think there's more that the mother's not saying, she seemed more cagey than distraught and her responses were a bit off when we were asking about Dawid. And she wouldn't let us near the daughter despite her being the last one to see him." Sam nodded as she listened, feeling as though the extra information wasn't the real reasoning behind the young PC's reluctance to leave. Beth's eyes kept flickering towards the door of the CID office as though something was on her mind.
"Thank you PC Green, I'll pass the information on and my officers will talk to the family." Sam brooked no further conversation, suspecting that the tiny girl's mind was buzzing with thoughts of Jo's news, which was spreading through the station like a wild-fire out of control.
Jo heard the doors swing open and Sam's distinctive footsteps stride into the room. She picked up on a slight falter in her step as though the eerie quietness had suddenly pricked the DI's subconscious.
"Jo, Mickey, Grace, I need you in the briefing room in five minutes." Sam's voice rang loud and clear in the silent office, resulting in a few murmured affirmations. Those few words seemed to temporarily break the spell, with hushed conversations resuming around the room. Sam strode forward, stopping beside the DC's work-laden desk, leaning close and speaking much more softly than previously. "Jo, can I have a word in my office first?" Jo looked up and nodded, rising from her chair and following her friend and boss.
Sam closed the door, indicating to the brunette that she should take a seat. Waiting until Jo had settled herself, Sam perched on the corner of her desk, facing the troubled woman.
"Is this going to be too difficult for you?" The blonde DI was genuinely concerned about the effect the entire station knowing her predicament would have on the vibrant woman seated before her.
"Which part; the cruel and unusual silence or everyone staring at me like I've suddenly grown a second head?" Jo grumbled, only partially in jest. "The more I run and hide, the longer it'll take to become yesterday's news. If I can show everyone that I'm carrying on as normal, that it's no big deal, hopefully they'll all soon tire and go back to treating me as they've always done." The brunette glanced over her shoulder at her colleagues in the main office. Without turning back to face her friend, she added, "thanks for checking though. Knowing you have my back means a lot and makes it that little bit more bearable."
"As long as you're sure. You know you won't get any preferential treatment from me because of it and if at any time you do feel like you're struggling, I expect you to speak to either me or DI Manson, or even DCI Meadows and let us know. No one will thank you for trying to be a hero and running yourself into the ground, you won't achieve results that way." Jo returned her gaze to her superior, eternally grateful to Sam for making it clear that as far as she was concerned, it was business as usual. "Inspector Gold asked me to inform you that if you ever want to talk to anyone, her door is always open. Bear it in mind Jo, she's had first hand experience of what you're going through and may well prove to be a valuable avenue of support. All I ask is that you think about it and don't dismiss it out of hand, you're exceptionally well thought of amongst you're colleagues and I'm sure they'll all want to do their bit to help you fight this."
"I know," the brunette conceded, "and you have my word that if I'm struggling, you'll be the first to know."
"Good. Well, that said, I'd like you to take the lead on this new case that I'm about to brief you on. I think you're best placed to handle it diplomatically." Sam slid the folder she had been handed towards the DC. "Dawid Podowski has been reported missing from his home on the Canley Estate by his mother, Miss Zofia Podowska. His 15 year old sister, Izabella, was meant to be looking after him but left him at home alone."
"She left a 3 year old boy on his own? What was she thinking?" Jo blurted out, wondering who in their right mind would do such a thing.
"Apparently, she was more interested in meeting her friends and getting drunk than in being a babysitter for her brother. The mother was out at work and wasn't too concerned when she found the house empty on her return. It was only when her daughter got home without Dawid that she realised he was missing. There were no signs of forced entry so we're looking for someone with access to a key. So far none of the neighbours have come forward with any information of seeing anyone enter the flat between the daughter leaving and the mother returning."
"On that estate, why does that not surprise me?" Jo griped, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Shall we continue this in the briefing room while you fill the others in too?" She suggested, happy to sit with Sam in her office but feeling it unnecessary for the DI to go through the details twice. Sam agreed, rising from her perch and crossing to the door, holding it open for the tall brunette and following her as Grace and Mickey also rose from their desks to join them for the briefing.
Sam passed photocopies of the young boy's description round to each of the detectives, outlining the case and the facts as they were known thus far.
"Podowski, what's that then? Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian?" Mickey asked, wondering what minefield they were going to be dealing with.
"It's Polish, not that that means it has any bearing on the case." Jo commented.
"I didn't say it did, just wondered that's all." Mickey snapped back.
"Jo, Grace, I'd like you to talk to the mother, see if she can tell you anything else. Beth seemed to think she was holding something back. See if she'll let you talk to Izabella too, she wouldn't let uniform anywhere near her but we need to know what she knows, even if it's nothing at all." Sam steered the conversation back onto the case at hand, mentally chastising Mickey for showing his discomfort around Jo in such an obvious and brutal manner.
"What about the boy's father? Do we know where he is? Who he is?" Grace spoke up, wondering if this information was floating around somewhere but had not made it into the paperwork.
"Nothing's been mentioned as far as I'm aware. Obviously, if he is still on the scene but not living with the family, we need to pay him a visit, make sure this isn't a father snatching his child from what he deems an unsuitable home." Sam responded, grateful for the DC's usual business-like manner. "Mickey, I want you to do some digging, discretely, with Immigration. We need to know if these people are here legitimately or if there's someone they paid to bring them here who might be holding the son hostage as collateral. Find out as much about them as you can, phone records, talk to teachers at Izabella's school. I'll go and speak to Miss Podowska's colleagues, see what they can tell us about her and the family." Sam watched Mickey's eyes flicker to Jo, his doubt shining there for anyone to see if they took the trouble to return his gaze.
"Guv, why don't you let me and Grace handle the family? Don't you think Jo would be better doing the desk work? You know, not over exerting herself." Mickey realised he had spoken out of turn as soon as Sam heard the question, her face turning to stone and her stare cold and hard.
"Thanks for thinking of me Mickey, but really, I'm fine. I'd rather just get on with it as normal." Jo stepped in, swallowing down the humiliation at having her ability questioned so openly in front of Grace.
"No offence Jo, but none of us know how this is going to hit you. There's a little boy missing out there who's life may depend on us doing our job to the best of our ability. Now isn't the time to be gambling on the hope that you'll be ok or 100 focused on the investigation." Mickey pled his case further, willing them to understand that he was only arguing out of concern for both Jo's and Dawid's welfare.
"DC Webb, last time I checked it was my decision as to who ran a case, not yours. I have every confidence in Jo's abilities and in her decision making. If you have such a problem with taking her lead, maybe I should replace you with an officer who does not hold such reservations." Sam's tone was icy as she addressed Mickey, knowing she should have done so alone and technically not in front of his colleagues, but felt justified since he had shown no such compassion for Jo. "DC Masters is the officer in charge of this investigation and until such a time that she informs me she no longer feels able to run the case, she will remain in charge. Is that going to be a problem for you DC Webb?"
"No Guv," Mickey thought about trying to re-state his concerns but thought better of it.
"Then I expect you to do as you are asked, by myself or by DC Masters, at all times, without question, and you are to report your findings to Jo direct. DC Masters has the backing of myself and the rest of the management team, we have every faith in her so I expect her colleagues to trust our judgement. Do I make myself clear?" Sam pressed, sensing that unless she left no room for negotiation, Mickey would be running straight to DCI Meadows office. Mickey nodded sullenly as Grace and Jo shifted uncomfortably in their seats, neither woman at ease with being privy to the blonde man's dressing down. "Good, then I believe you all have places to be and people to be talking to. I'll be on the mobile if you find anything out and I'll be in touch to let you know what I can get out of Miss Podowska's colleagues."
"Miss Podowska, I'm Detective Constable Jo Masters, this is DC Grace Dasari from Sun Hill. We'd like to ask you and your daughter a few questions about Dawid." Jo flashed her badge at the timid young woman who answered the door to the flat. Looking at her, Jo surmised that she could only be in her late twenties herself, which would mean that either the older child was not hers or that she was conceived very young.
"You are not what I expect from a detective." The woman murmured as she let the two officers in through the door into a tiny dingy flat, strewn with children's toys and clothing. "I thought you would be man."
"Would you prefer a man to talk to you?" Jo asked wanting to put the distressed mother at ease, knowing it would make it easier to get information from her.
"No!" The answer was immediate and emphatic. "I prefer talk to you." Zofia cleared a space on the sofa large enough for the two detectives to take a seat.
"We need to ask some more questions about Dawid, any information you can give us might help to find him, no matter how insignificant it might seem." Grace explained, speaking for the first time since entering the home. Zofia looked to be struggling to understand, her face contorted with confusion and grief.
"Anything you can tell us about Dawid could help us find him, Miss Podowska, anything at all, even little things like where he likes going out, what he likes to eat." Jo reiterated in slightly plainer terms, not wanting to patronise the woman but needing her to understand what was being asked of her.
"He likes the park, with the birds, he give them bread sometimes." Zofia stated, wracking her brain to think of everything she could tell the police about her son.
"Does he know how to get to the park from here?" Jo asked, wondering if he could have somehow let himself out of the flat.
"I don't know, he is so small, he always go with me or Izzy." Zofia replied. Jo nodded at Grace who stepped outside into the hallway to call the station.
"My colleague is going to ask some officers to take a look at the park, make sure Dawid isn't there with the ducks." Jo paused checking that Zofia was following her before asking, "is Dawid's father here? Could he have picked Dawid up?"
"Niko, my husband, was killed in Poland. He worked there for the government, seeking evil men and women who steal children. There was an explosion at a house Niko was sent to watch. He tried to help the people inside. His body was found when the fire was out, in a bedroom holding a small child." Zofia crossed to a battered old dresser, picking up a framed photograph of a handsome young man holding a squirming toddler in his arms. "This was taken many years ago, when Izzy was Dawid's age now."
"Do you know anything about the people Niko was watching? Did he talk to you about his work?" Jo asked studying the photograph, wondering if it was possible it was just a coincidence that Niko's line of work pertained to missing children.
"He never spoke of details, just little of what he did. The men who brought us here know of his work, they are high in government in Poland." Zofia informed the detective, taking the picture back and replacing it tenderly on the cabinet.
"How long have you been in England Miss Podowska?" Grace asked re-entering the room, having overheard much of what had been discussed.
"Call me Zofia please. We came here six months ago, it was all legal by my country's government." The young mother bristled, obviously used to people assuming she had entered the country illegally.
"No one is suggesting you're hear illegally Zofia. We're just trying to get a picture of how long someone could have known you were here for, how long ago someone might have seen Dawid." Jo attempted to placate the woman, steering her towards another seat, the constant pacing making her a little nauseous.
"You think someone watched us? Is it the men Niko was watching?" Zofia voiced fears which had obviously been in her head since her son had gone missing.
"At this stage, we don't know. Dawid might just have got scared in the house on his own and got out to try and find you or Izabella. We will need to speak to your daughter too. We need to know if she saw anyone when she left the house, if she told anyone that Dawid was on his own." Grace informed the woman, watching as Jo fished her ringing mobile out of her pocket. Excusing herself from the room, Jo left the flat to answer the call.
"Jo, it's Sam. Have you found anything out from the mother yet?" Jo filled Sam in on the conversation they had had so far with Zofia. "Can you prepare her to take a look at something uniform found in the park? It's a young boy's trainer, found by the pond. Jo, there's blood on it."