Mark Pearson - Hard Evidence

'You told us earlier that Jenny didn't have any other relatives?'

'That's right, just Jake and me.'

Delaney leaned in even closer and held a photo in front of Morgan's face.

'So who's this then, the sugar plum fucking fairy?'

Morgan blinked, confused, and took the photo off him, his face filling with blood as he looked at it, his scar pulsing and his eyes darting like cold water on hot coals.

'Do you know this woman?'

'No.'

Delaney turned to Sally. 'Liars, you see, Sally. Every damn fucking one of them.'

Sally looked at Morgan; you didn't need a detector to tell he was lying. 'She's your sister, isn't she?'

Morgan shook his head, fear in his eyes.

'Why the hell didn't you tell us you had a sister?'

Morgan backed away from Delaney. 'Where did you get this? Why are you asking about her?'

'You admit you do have a sister then?'

'Not any more! I haven't seen her in fourteen years.'

Sally stepped forward. 'What happened between you?'

Morgan pulled his shirt open to reveal the extent of his scarring, across his chest, up his shoulder, up to his pain-filled eyes and forehead. 'This is what happened. She did this to me with a steam hose. She's not right in the head.'

'What are you saying?'

Morgan looked at her for a moment. 'Where did you get this photo? What's it got to do with my Jenny?'

Delaney held up another photo of the pair of them together. 'We think she's with her.'

'She can't be.' His eyes were wild now.

'We think she made contact over the internet.'

Morgan grabbed Sally by the arm. 'You've got to find her.'

Delaney would have stepped in but Sally held her hand up. 'Try and stay calm, Mr Morgan. We know Jenny's all right now. She's safe. She's with a relative.'

'What are you talking about… safe? She's not safe. You have to find her.'

Delaney barely kept his temper in check. 'Then maybe it's about time you started telling us the truth.'

'I don't know any more. I told you, I haven't seen her in fourteen years.'

Delaney shared a look with Sally. The trouble was, he believed Morgan. He jerked his head for them to go outside, and Sally followed him out as he put a fag in his mouth and fumbled angrily for his matches.

Outside in the yard, Delaney blew a short burst of smoke as he watched Jake Morgan operate a jack to lift a minivan off the ground. His back and shoulders were burned by the glaring heat of the sun but if he felt any discomfort he wasn't showing it. His muscles were bunched and straining and Delaney sensed that he could probably have lifted the van up with his bare hands.

Sally looked back at Delaney. 'Jenny's with a relative. I guess that changes everything.'

Delaney nodded thoughtfully. 'Maybe.'

'We can stand down the media circus.'

'This is a relative she hasn't ever met before, who hasn't been involved with her family for fourteen years if Morgan is telling the truth.'

'And you think he is?'

'Yeah. I do. He hasn't got the brains to lie to us.'

'He lied about his sister.'

'Not really. As far as he was concerned, she doesn't exist any more.'

'Can't say I blame him, seeing what she did to him.'

'If she is as unstable as he claims she is, then it's just as urgent we find Jenny quickly. She's still been abducted, that's what we need to focus on.'

'She wasn't abducted. She went voluntarily.'

'She's twelve years old, Sally. She was taken without her father's consent; he didn't even know she was missing till the next day.'

'Exactly. Maybe she's better off with her aunt.'

Sally looked across at Delaney, biting her lips but the words were out.

'Sorry.'

'Don't apologise. My daughter's definitely better off with her aunt.'

Delaney pulled out his mobile and punched in a quick sequence of numbers, listening impatiently as the phone rang. 'Bonner, where have you been?'

'Doing what I was told. Looking into Howard Morgan's sister, Candy Morgan.'

'You've found her?'

'No. Just found out about her.'

'And…?'

'And it's not good news.'

'Go on.'

'She's been in the system.'

'Prison?'

'Off and on. She's twenty-eight now and has spent a lot of her life behind bars of one kind or another.'

'Go on.'

'She turned a steam hose on her older brother for a joke when she was fourteen years old.'

'Some joke. We've seen what it did to him.'

'She's not a nice person.'

'What else?'

'You name it. She was taken into care after putting her brother in hospital. Three months later she burned the house down.'

'She's got a thing with heat, obviously.'

'And knives. We've got paper on her for most things you can think of. Theft. Aggravated assault, mainly on women. Drug-dealing. Prostitution. She just got out of Holloway five days ago after serving eight years.'

'Eight years! What did she do, murder someone?'

'Seems like some girl came down from Birmingham and started working her patch. She cut one of her ears off and fed it to her.'

Delaney flicked another cigarette into his mouth and, crooking his phone on his shoulder, managed to flare a match and light it. 'Nice.'

'This woman is very far from nice. She served her full term because she took a razor blade set in a toothbrush and sliced a female guard's cheek open.'

'You think she's got issues?'

Bonner laughed drily. 'Yeah. Like Myra Hindley had issues.'

'I meant mental health issues.'

'She was never hospitalised, if that's what you mean. But this woman obviously gets off on violence. Particularly against other women. Not only that, but she attempted suicide twice whilst in custody. This is far from a healthy bunny here. I'd say we'd best find her quickly, because she ain't where she's supposed to be. Picked up, moved out, no forwarding address.'

Delaney went to hang up but a thought occurred. 'Any word on Billy Martin or Jackie Malone's boy?'

'Nothing yet, boss. This case has taken priority.'

'I want you to keep going on Jackie Malone. And you report anything you find directly back to me. We clear on that?'

'You got it.'

'Just to me.' Delaney clicked his phone shut and ground out his cigarette with a sharp twist of his ankle. He looked over to where Jake was lifting off the nearside front wheel of the van, complete with tyre. He tossed it to one side as though it weighed as much as an empty carton of milk.

Sally saw the concern in Delaney's face. 'Not good news from Sergeant Bonner, then?'

'Seems like Morgan was right about not seeing his sister for fourteen years. And he was right about something else too: she's a very nasty piece of work by all accounts.'

'Maybe some girls aren't better off with their aunts.'

Delaney gave her a flat look. 'Time will tell. Always does.' He walked across to where Jake was working. 'Jake.'

The mechanic stood up, squinting in the bright sunlight and shielding his eyes with his hand.

'Yes, sir.'

'You don't have to call me sir.'

'I haven't done anything wrong.' His eyes flicked nervously.

Sally held her hand up reassuringly. 'Nobody is saying you have.'

'Have you found her then?'

'Not yet. Apparently she's with your younger sister.'

Jake blinked. On a face not normally articulate with comprehension, he looked even more confused.

'I don't understand.'

'Candy.'

Jake backed away. 'She's not coming here. I don't want her here.'

Sally held her hands out. 'We don't know where she is. We need to speak to her.'

'I don't want her coming here. She hurts people.'

'Have you spoken to her recently?'

Jake shook his head, terrified.

'Did she hurt you in the past?'

'She set light to Susie.'

'Who's Susie?'

'She was our dog. She set light to her tail and then she burned my brother with the steam hose. She likes to break things. Hurt people.'