Endangering Innocents by Priscilla Masters Read Free Book Online Page A

and I will follow up some leads. We’ll be in touch.”
    She waited until she and Mike were in the car before daring to speak. “Haig Road,” she said.
    While Mike drove she was in contact with the station. Uniformed officers were detailed to take statements from the two teachers and Madeline’s parents. Someone would be despatched to the classroom assistant’s home to interview her. Before an hour had passed more officerswould be interviewing the parents of all the children in Madeline’s class and a vehicle alert was put on Baldwin’s blue van. They would search the school and its surrounds for any sign of the missing child. Photographs and descriptions would buzz around the town. They got an emergency warrant to search Baldwin’s flat.
     
    They flashed the blue light and made sixty through the streets and along the Buxton road, the tyres shrieking as they rounded the corner into Haig Road. The council flats stared back at them innocently. There was no sign of Baldwin - or of anyone. A dog barked frenetically a few doors away. Joanna felt a terrible thumping sense of urgency. They pulled up outside number fourteen. It looked deserted and there was no sign of the blue van.
    They hammered on the door but there was no response.
    They walked round the back of the flat, peering in through the windows. It looked empty.
    She was invisible.
     
    “Can I help you?”
    The occupant of 14b was leaning over the stairs. A slim blonde girl who looked about seventeen. A baby on her hip staring curiously. “I don’t think he’s in.”
    They climbed a couple of steps towards her. “No? When did you last see him?”
    “He popped in a few minutes ago. You just missed him. He was in a tearing hurry. Must have forgot something.”
    Mike’s eyebrows were knotted. “Was he alone?”
    “I didn’t look in the van but I didn’t notice anyone with him.”
    Mike and Joanna exchanged glances. “Which way did he go?”
    “I don’t know.” The girl looked from one to the other. “Look - what is all this about?”
    “We’re police officers,” Joanna said. “Just making some enquiries. That’s all.”
    “So - what’s Josh done?”
    “Hopefully nothing,” Joanna said. “We just want to make sure. Routine enquiries.”
    It wasn’t enough for the girl. “What sort of routine enquiries?”
    “As I said,” Joanna replyed. “We just want to make sure.”
    The girl’s eyes had narrowed with suspicion. “You think he’s done something?”
    “We just want to make sure,” Joanna said for the third time.
    They clattered down the stairs, the girl leaning back over. “I wouldn’t have thought …”
    The two-way radio was crackling. She picked it up from the dashboard. “Piercy.”
    “We’ve got the blue van, Joanna.” DS Alan King was speaking.
    “With Baldwin?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And?” She hardly dared voice the question.
    “Nothing. She isn’t with him.” She let out a breath, not sure whether she was relieved or not.
    “Don’t let him out of your sight. I don’t suppose she’s turned up?”
    “No such luck. But we’ve only spoken to one or two of the parents.”
    “Put it out on the local radio. Stoke and Signal. In the meantime contact the remaining parents as quickly as you can. She might simply have gone out for tea.”
    “It’s proving a bit difficult,” King answered. “Quite afew of the families seem to be out. It’s possible they’ve gone away on holiday or for the weekend.”
    “Well - do your best.”
    “Will do.”
    She eyed the empty flat. “It’s only four-fifteen. Surely he hasn’t had time to bring her back here and …”
    Mike said nothing.
    “How long does it take?”
    “To do what?”
    “Abduct a child, hide her?”
She didn’t want to say anything more.
    “Where?”
    “Here. We’re going in, Mike.”
    Korpanski touched her arm. “You know it’ll unleash some of the…”
    “I know exactly what it’ll unleash but he wouldn’t be in this position if he hadn’t