Thanks as always to Hollie for your reviews, I hope you enjoy!
A week had passed since his suspension and Callum was going crazy. He lived for his job, so when it was suddenly snatched away from him, he didn't know what to do with himself. It was harder every time Jess left the house for work, because it wasn't like she could tell him how things were going.
It was a balmy summer night and the couple were sat in the garden cuddled up on the sofa in front of the fire pit. Callum had done a BBQ for dinner, and now they were enjoying a glass of wine as the sun slowly set. Callum hadn't said a lot, but then again, since his suspension he hadn't been in the best of spirits. Jess' eyes were drifting shut when Callum spoke. The rumble of his chest made her sit up and twist so that she was facing him.
"How was work?" he asked her neutrally.
She smiled briefly, "Well, let's just say that we're doing the bare minimum we can without getting sacked."
"What?" Callum asked, confused.
"Well until they reinstate you, we will do our jobs, but that's it. We're not going any further. We're not going to stay on after our shift is finished even if we're mid case. Because it's not fair. We don't want to work for a Superintendent who suspends a brilliant Sergeant simply because of politics, and for an accusation that there is very clear evidence against." Jess said righteously.
"So that's why you've actually been home on time?" Callum asked.
"Yep, thanks for noticing. Smithy asked me if I could stay longer, and I hated saying no to him, but he understands why. And he said if he wasn't having his arm twisted, he would join me." Jess answered.
"Why's he having his arm twisted?" Callum asked, intrigued.
"Both him and the Inspector are fully in support of you being reinstated, but with Commander Kennedy still hanging around like a bad smell pulling all the strings, they have no choice but to comply." Jess said sadly.
"I just wish they would make their mind up already. It's winding me up not knowing whether I can still call myself a Sergeant or not." Callum said heatedly.
"I know honey." Jess said, kissing him lightly on the lips.
"But you don't. That's the thing. I know you mean well, but you don't know what it feels like. My job is such a huge part of my life and I've worked damn hard to get where I am, and it feels like I'm being made a poster boy to show that the police don't stand for police brutality, but I didn't do anything wrong." Callum said, perhaps more harshly than he meant. Jess just froze and her face went blank.
"Fine. I'll just leave you alone then as I don't understand what it feels like." Jess said, her voice strangled as she held in the tears. The wine and the long shift were definite contributors to her emotions. She grabbed her wine glass from the table and started to walk into the house.
"Jess come on! I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did." Callum said apologetically. Jess paused, turned around and walked back over. Callum thought she was coming back to sit with him until she grabbed the wine bottle as well before leaving him alone with his thoughts.
The next morning, Jess got up before Callum was awake. She was still pissed and upset at him, and she knew that he had a point, but all she had been trying to do was be a supportive girlfriend. Just thinking about it made her angry though. She twisted her long blonde hair into a bun and was just leaving the bedroom when Callum called her.
"Leaving without saying goodbye?" he muttered, his voice still heavy with sleep.
"I didn't know whether I wanted to talk to you yet. And I don't think I do." Jess said over her shoulder as she carried on out the room and out the house. Callum just sighed, collapsing against the pillows. Women, he thought to himself.
Jess had been on shift for only ten minutes when Sally asked her what was wrong.
"Oh me and Callum had a tiff last night, nothing major." Jess said with a strained smile.
"You sure?" Sally asked, walking with Jess to the briefing.
"Yep. He's just going stir crazy being locked up in the house and said something which he could have phrased better. I'm just letting him boil." Jess said with a small laugh. As they walked past reception Mel stuck her head out.
"Are you two doing anything?" she asked them.
"No why?" Jess asked, pausing mid stride.
"I've got a woman here who says her daughter has gone missing." Mel explained, signalling over her shoulder to the frantic woman pacing in reception.
"Shouldn't it go to CID?" Sally queried.
"I've just rung up; they said that they're too busy at the minute and to give it to uniform until they have time." Mel said, rolling her eyes.
"Charming. Yeah, we'll just clear it with Smithy then we'll be through." Jess said with a smile.
"Thanks." Mel said with a smile. Jess and Sally carried on walking and were just about to walk through to briefing when they caught Smithy.
"Sarge, Mel's got a woman in reception claiming her daughter has gone missing. CID can't take it cause they're too busy, so they told her to get uniform to do it until they're ready. Can we take it?" Sally asked.
"Bloody CID! We're not their slaves!" Smithy said frustratedly.
"Can we take it?" Jess prompted.
"Yeah that's fine. Let me know how it goes." Smithy said with a nod as he walked through to the briefing room.
Twenty minutes later, Jess and Sally were sat in the quiet room just off reception, consoling the woman in front of them. Catherine Stevens was hysterical. Her daughter Kimberly was only fifteen, and she had been missing for two days. She had told Catherine that she was staying at a friend's for the night, but when Catherine had rung the friend's house asking what time she needed to pick Kim up, Kim's friend had been confused and told her that Kim wasn't there. Catherine had gone round Kim's other friends, but no-one had seen her.
"She never does anything like this. She always tells me where she's going, she never lies." Catherine said desperately.
"Alright Mrs Stevens. We're going to do our best to find her. Now can we ask you some questions about Kimberly?" Jess asked in a comforting voice. Catherine sniffed, wiped her eyes with a tissue then nodded.
"Ok. Has she been acting any differently lately?" Sally asked, pulling out her pad and a pen.
Catherine thought back over the past few weeks. "Now that you mention it, she was spending more time than usual in her room, but she said it was because she had more homework. She's coming up to her GCSE's, so I didn't think anything of it."
"Do you know if she's been having any problems at school?" Jess asked.
"No she hasn't. She's a good girl; she always goes to school and tries her hardest. Her teachers have nothing but praise for her." Catherine said, willing the officers to believe her.
"Has she got a boyfriend?" Sally questioned.
Catherine shook her head, "No." And then she paused.
"Mrs Stevens?" Jess prompted.
"She told me there was a boy, but then she didn't say anything else about it." Catherine said.
"Was this boy from school? Or did she meet him somewhere else?" Sally asked.
"He wasn't from school. Kim is always saying how immature the boys from school are. But she didn't tell me where she met him." Catherine said, wiping her eyes again as fresh tears fell.
"Alright Mrs Stevens, you're being really helpful." Jess said with an encouraging smile, "Just a few more questions. Did Kim ever meet up with the boy? Or did she tell you his name?"
"She said his name was Milo, but that's it. And she's never met up with him, she would have told me. We tell each other everything, me and Kim. There's no way she would keep this from me." Catherine said adamantly, her body tensing, as if waiting for the officers to defy what she was saying.
"I'm sure she wouldn't." Sally replied in a soothing voice. "Have you got any recent pictures of Kim that we could have?"
Catherine fumbled in her bag, emptying the contents on the table. Finally she pulled out a picture. She smoothed it out on the table, just looking at it for a moment before handing it to Jess, "This was taken last year. She looks pretty much the same though."
"Thanks Mrs Stevens. What was she wearing when she left the house?" Jess asked, handing the picture to Sally.
"Uh she was wearing a black summer dress, about thigh length, with her denim jacket, it's got flowers embroidered on the back. And she had a lilac rucksack with her, which she said had her sleepover stuff in it." Catherine said with a sob.
Sally reached over and gently touched Catherine's shoulder. "You're doing great Mrs Stevens, nearly done. Does Kimberly have any siblings?"
"Yes, I've got a son. Why?" Catherine asked, confused.
"Would it be possible to talk to him?" Jess asked.
"What for? What has he got to do with it?" Catherine asked.
"We just want to know if he knows anything. Siblings are more likely to tell each other more than they tell their parents. He might know something that you don't." Jess said softly.
"Oh, well, I can call him and ask him to come here if you want." Catherine offered.
"That would be great. If you just want to wait in here, a colleague will wait with you while we go and talk to our Sergeant." Sally said kindly.
"Thank you. I didn't think you would take it seriously." Catherine said quietly.
"Why not?" Jess asked curiously.
"Well you lot haven't got very good press at the minute." Catherine said, feeling guilty for saying it as soon as she saw Jess' face harden. "Sorry I shouldn't have said that."
"No, it's fine. We'll be back in a minute." Sally said, a false smile plastered on her face as she dragged Jess from the room.
They knocked briskly on the Sergeants office door. "Come in!" Smithy called.
"Sarge, we've just been speaking to Catherine Stevens, the mis-pers mother." Jess said, taking the seat that Smithy offered.
"First impressions?" Smithy asked, looking at the two blonde officers.
"Catherine mentioned something about Kimberly meeting a boy called Milo. She said this Milo wasn't a school friend, and she doesn't know where Kim met him. It seems a bit suspicious. Kim lied to her mum; she told Catherine she was staying at a friend's but when Catherine called to find out when to collect her, the friend told her that she wasn't there. Catherine has checked around all her friends and her haunts, but she's no-where to be found." Sally explained.
"Are you thinking it could be something to do with this boy Milo?" Smithy asked.
Jess and Sally nodded, "We've asked Catherine to ask her son to come in, to see if he knows anything more about it. But we can ring the school to find out if there are any Milo's there that Kim knows." Jess suggested.
"Yeah, and if there isn't a Milo there, we need to find out where she met him. Head up to CID, see if they are free yet." Smithy said, dismissing them.
Jess and Sally walked into CID and were surprised to see that the officers didn't seem to be doing much.
"I thought you had too much work to do that you couldn't take a mis-per case?" Jess said sarcastically as she perched on Mickey's desk.
"What mis-per case?" Mickey asked.
"The one that Mel rang up for someone to take?" Sally added.
"Yes PC Armstrong, we are busy. We've just had a big case and the paperwork still isn't done." Max said, striding through the doors.
"No offence, but it doesn't look like anyone is still doing paperwork." Jess said, not caring if she got in trouble for being cheeky to him. Max stopped, his dark eyes boring into hers.
"Well PC Hunter, seeing as you are only a police constable, maybe you can be forgiven for not understanding how us detectives work." Max said coldly. Jess smacked Mickey on the arm as he started to laugh.
"Yeah Jess, us detectives have a lot of important things to do that someone like you can't understand." Mickey said in a snooty voice.
"Shh Webb!" Jess said with a laugh.
"So are you free or what?" Sally asked.
"Me and Stevie are. What have you got then?" Mickey asked as Stevie walked over.
"Fifteen year old Kimberly Stevens. She's been missing for two days, she told her mum she was staying at a friend's but never turned up and the friend had no idea Kim was apparently staying. Whether that's true or not we don't know, we need to talk to the friend. Her mum has been looking for her everywhere, at her friends and at her normal hangouts, but she is nowhere to be found. Her mum did mention a boy Kim had met called Milo, but she doesn't think Kim would meet him without telling her. We've asked Catherine to call her son in to find out if he knows anything more about where Kim has gone." Jess filled in, handing them a photocopy of the picture of Kim.
"So we're going to call Kim's school, see if there are any boys called Milo that Kim knows." Sally added. "And talk to the friend she was supposed to be staying with."
"Is the son on his way in?" Stevie asked, and just then Jess' phone rang.
"PC Hunter." she said professionally. She listened to the person on the other end, nodded, and then said, "Ok cheers Mel, we'll be down in a minute."
"Is he here?" Stevie guessed.
"Yep, just shown up now." Jess said with a nod.
"Right then, you come with me and we'll go talk to him. Mickey, if you and Sally go to the school rather than ringing them, talk to Kim's friends, talk to her teachers you know, the usual." Stevie said.
"Yes Sarge. Come on Sal." Mickey said, leading the way out of CID.
"Right then Jess, let's go." Stevie said with a smile, walking down to reception.
"This is my son Harry. He's eighteen." Catherine said when she saw Jess appear with Stevie.
"Hi Harry. I'm Jess, and this is DS Stevie Moss. Do you want to come through?" Jess said kindly, leading Harry and Catherine back through to the informal interview room.
"Ok Harry, we just want to ask you some questions about Kim. Is that alright?" Stevie asked, settling in a seat opposite the boy and pouring him a cup of water. Harry nodded, looking surprisingly unconcerned for someone whose sister had been missing for two days.
"Has Kim ever mentioned a boy called Milo to you?" Jess asked, watching Harry's face carefully. Harry's eyes darted to his mothers face and then to the two officers.
"She might have. Why?" he asked, his chin jutting out in defiance.
"Harry! Don't get all smart arsey! Just tell them what you told me!" Catherine begged.
"Harry?" Stevie prompted. Harry sighed.
"Fine. Yes she did mention Milo." Harry said.
"Who is he? Where did she meet him?" Jess asked.
"He's just a guy. Kim says he's nineteen." Harry answered, "She met him on Facebook."
Stevie and Jess exchanged a look, and alarm bells started to go off in their heads. "On Facebook?" Stevie confirmed.
"Yeah, that's what I said isn't it?" Harry said.
"Harry! Don't be so rude! Sorry." Catherine said apologetically to the officers.
"It's fine Mrs Stevens. Harry, do you know if Kim ever went to meet Milo?" Jess asked carefully. She saw Harry look at his mother in a worried way. Jess realised he didn't want to say whatever he had to say in front of his mother. "Mrs Stevens, how about Mel takes you to get a coffee in the canteen?" Jess suddenly said. Stevie looked at her confused. Jess bent down so she could whisper in Stevie's ear, "Harry won't open up while his mother is there." Stevie nodded and smiled at Mrs Stevens.
"Me and Harry will be fine Mrs Stevens. You go with Mel." Stevie said with a smile.
Catherine looked unsure and looked at Harry, who was purposefully avoiding his gaze, "Harry, please just tell them what you know. I just want Kimmy back home safe." Her bottom lip started trembling again as she followed Jess to the door. Jess waved over Mel, asking her to take Catherine to get a coffee. Jess gently touched Catherine's shoulder as she walked off with Mel. Jess turned and walked back into the room, resuming her seat next to Stevie.
As soon as Jess was settled, Stevie turned back to Harry. But she didn't even have to ask him again, it all came blurting out.
"She went to meet him two nights ago. He added her on Facebook, and they got talking. He kept asking her to go meet him, but she kept saying no. Then these girls were really mean to her at school, calling her frigid and teasing her for not having sex. And that's when she decided she would meet him." Harry blurted.
"Do you know where she went to meet him?" Stevie asked urgently, pen poised.
"Erm, she said something about a hotel not too far away from her school." Harry said, wracking his brains.
"A hotel?" Stevie said, and the alarm bells going off in her head were nearly deafening.
"I know it sounds bad, but Kim isn't stupid. She isn't." Harry pleaded, as if trying to convince himself.
"Why didn't you tell your mum?" Stevie demanded.
"Because Kim text me yesterday evening telling me she was fine and would be back today." Harry said on the offensive now.
"Can I have a look?" Stevie asked, hand out.
"Sure." Harry replied, digging in his pocket. He got his phone out, found the message and handed it to Stevie.
ME AND MILO R HAVING A GOOD TIME, HE UNDERSTANDS ME! WILL C U 2MOZ, THANX 4 NOT TELLING MUM. LOVE YOU!
"Is this how she normally types to you?" Jess asked, looking at the text.
"Yeah, and I checked her location and she was where she said she was too. I drove over there last night, just to see her myself and make sure she was ok. And she really was. She came out of the room and spoke to me for a few minutes- she'd forgotten her phone charger so I took it there. Do you think something's happened?" he asked, sounding like a small boy, not the man he was.
"We don't know Harry. What time did you see her and what hotel was it?" Stevie asked.
"Um it was about 1930, at the Rose Lodge Hotel." Harry answered.
"Ok thank you Harry, we'll take you to your mum now. Thank you." Stevie said with a tight smile.The alarm bells were now a count down, a race against the clock to find Kimberly. Alive or dead.