The Naked Soul by Alexander Lindsay

Author:Alexander Lindsay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robert Hale
Published: 2016-01-21T00:00:00+00:00

Mallund came screeching into the police station car-park which was full except for one space evidently reserved for some top brass. He half-parked, half-abandoned, his battered Kia in that space, jumped out of the car and barged through the front door. A startled desk sergeant looked up from his charge sheets and put a hand up to stop Mallund, as if he was directing traffic.

‘Now then, sir, slow down. What’s the hurry?’

‘Detective Gordon – where can I find him?’

‘Is he expecting you, sir?’

‘Yes, dammit, just tell me where he is.’

‘Your name?’

‘Mallund. The Reverend Jack Mallund.’

‘Mallund … Mallund … Mallund.’ The sergeant consulted a list on a clipboard. ‘No Mallund here, as far as I can see. How would you be spelling that, sir?’

‘Look, he just called me and told me to get here. It’s urgent. My daughter’s missing and my ex-wife’s here and is very upset.’

‘Oh, that lady, sir.’ The sergeant could not conceal his knowing smile. ‘Second floor. You can’t miss them.’

Mallund sprinted up the stairs and into the large open-plan space. Jennifer was sitting on a steel and plastic chair in front of a grey steel desk behind which a slim young man with closely cropped fair hair was earnestly trying to explain something to her. Frustration was written all over his face.

‘I say again, madam, we are doing everything we can, but it is early days yet. She could be staying with a friend and didn’t think to tell you. We need to explore the most likely explanations first. In the UK we get some three hundred and sixty thousand missing person reports a year. Only about two hundred thousand of them turn out to be confirmed missing person cases.’

‘Only!’ Jennifer’s hackles were up, Mallund could tell. ‘And what if my daughter is one of the two hundred thousand?’ She saw Mallund approach and waved him over with an unsteady sweep of her arm. ‘Jack! Thank God! Can you try to get through to this knucklehead that they need to get out and look for Alice? Get up a search party. She’s been gone since teatime on Saturday and I’m at my wits’ end. She’s never done anything like this before. And this lame excuse for a detective is doing nothing. Nothing!’ She reached forward and was on the point of slipping off her chair when Mallund grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her.

‘Just calm down, Jenny, we’ll get this sorted.’

‘Calm down! Calm down! That’s your solution to everything, isn’t it? Can’t you see? My daughter – your daughter – is in great danger. Anything could have happened to her. Oh my God, when I think …’

The detective gave a helpless shrug.

‘You’re Gordon, right?’ said Mallund.

‘DS Alan Gordon. I’ve been trying to explain to your wife—’

‘Ex-wife.’ Jennifer said bitterly.

‘I’ve been trying to explain to your ex-wife that we have not been idle. There is a well-tried procedure in place and we have to work by eliminating every possibility. It will take some time, but be assured we are doing everything we can.

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