I caught Moore's gaze and nodded towards him. He ignored me, turned to Temple.

I wasn't surprised.

God knows what I'd been thinking when I joined up. I used to be a bus driver, enjoyed that more than any other job I'd ever done. Then Holly got pregnant and we got by for a few years. Then she got pregnant again and we knew we were going to struggle so I applied for the police. No big deal. I don't deny that my uncle was a big help.

After I'd been in uniform for seven years, I applied for CID. They turned me down, despite my uncle. And the next time they turned me down too. Third time, I was accepted. Thanks to my uncle, so I heard.

Becoming a detective was a major step up in the career of Frank Collins. Didn't take long to see that I wasn't going to get any further though.

My uncle told me I had to keep my mouth shut and learn to kiss some arse.

Two skills I didn't possess.

I scanned the office again, still looking for a passenger. A detective I hardly knew was sitting at his desk, making a call. The only other officer around was DC Erica Mason.

I hadn't worked on a case with her in a while. I'd been avoiding her. Or she'd been avoiding me. Maybe a bit of both.

I walked over to her desk and cleared my throat.

She looked up from her computer screen, her olive-green eyes unblinking. She reached behind her head, tightened her pony tail. Her hair was dyed, russet. Her fingernails matched her hair.

"Why do I feel as if I'm not going to want to hear this, Collins?" she asked.

"Might have a missing kid."

She nodded. "And you want me as a passenger?"

"For the mother's sake," I said. "She'll feel a lot more comfortable with a female officer there."

"That's total pants."

"Just grab your jacket," I told her.

"I didn't say I was coming."