‘Please tell me that was after they dialled 999.’
‘They said Sharon had already done it.’
‘OK, I want that footage. Before they broadcast it. And find the senior fire officer on site. I want to see him in the morning – as soon as the house is declared safe.’
I glance across at the hacks, pushed back further behind a cordon, but straining at it like attack dogs. There must be half a dozen outside-broadcast vans here now, gathered like sharks on blood. ‘The Super’s going to have my head on a pole for this. And the bloody IPCC will get their oar in too, I shouldn’t wonder.’
‘You couldn’t have known this would happen, boss.’
‘No, but I could have moved the family as soon as it got out they were being questioned. That’s no doubt the line the ACC will take. Well, we’re going to have to do it now. Have you got somewhere lined up?’
‘There’s that BB we’ve used before off the Cowley Road. Thought it best to get them out of the immediate area. Just in case anyone’s still hanging around. We’re waiting for the paramedic to check the boy over, then Everett will take them. Sharon’s in no fit state, and in any case, her car’s a write-off – it was in the garage.’
‘Good work.’
He doesn’t look that happy. ‘I mean it. You’ve done well.’
‘It’s not that, boss. I was going to leave it to the morning, but since you’re here – ’
I take a deep breath. ‘More bad news? Not sure how much worse it can get, but spit it out.’
‘That pay-as-you-go mobile Mason has been using to text his lady loves? I ran it through the PNC and it came up. It’s on the CEOP database of phone numbers that downloaded material from a porn site hosted in Azerbaijan. It’s hard-core stuff, boss. Kiddies. Babies, some of them.’
He swallows and I remember. He’s having his first.
I reach out and touch him lightly on the arm. ‘I think Barry Mason had better get himself that lawyer. He’s going to bloody well need one.’
—
As I walk towards the squad car, Everett comes towards me. ‘I’ve checked and there are two spare rooms at the BB. If you’re OK, I’ll get uniform to drop them off and then grab some stuff from home and camp out over there. At least for a couple of days.’
‘Good idea. I can’t see anyone tracking them down that far away, but you never know. And in any case, we need to keep tabs on Sharon. Without making it obvious that’s what we’re doing.’
‘Right, boss.’
She turns to go but I hold her back. I get out my phone.
‘Once he’s had the all-clear, can you show this to Leo? See if he recognizes him.’
She looks at me with a question. ‘Is this who I think it is?’
‘Got it in one. Daisy’s mysterious handsome prince. I just hope the real story doesn’t turn out to be Beauty and the Beast.’
I explain what we saw on the CCTV.
Everett frowns. ‘But if the last time she saw him was May the ninth I don’t see how – ’
‘The last time we know she saw him. We can’t be absolutely sure she didn’t meet him the afternoon she disappeared – he could even have gone to the house when Sharon Mason was on her quest for mayonnaise, and Daisy could have let him in. In fact, he’s the only person we know about who she might have gone off with willingly.’
She nods. ‘OK. But I think we should wait till the morning. Leo’s pretty distressed right now. We don’t want anyone saying we questioned him when he wasn’t in a fit state. Reasonable Doubt and all that.’
‘Fair enough. I’ll email you the picture. Ring me tomorrow.’
I watch her walk back towards the car. In the front seat, Sharon has her handbag out and is checking her face in a small mirror.
***
When Everett pulls up outside the BB at 3 a.m., there’s no sign of life. Unlike on the Cowley Road a hundred yards away, where what the authorities euphemistically call the ‘night-time economy’ is still in full swing. Its rather scruffy state aside, the BB doesn’t look much different to the house the Dawsons live in, but the resemblance stops at the architecture. This end of town has always gone its own way and the Victorian developers who tried to turn it into a lucrative mini model of its grand northerly neighbour quickly found it wouldn’t take, and the experiment fizzled out. Some of the houses are still there, but most are student digs, or offices, or BBs. Like this one. Carved into the lintel above the door the name Ponsonby Villa is still just about legible; the current owner – perhaps advisedly – has changed it to The Comfy Inn.
Everett gets out and locks the car carefully (she knows better than most what the crime levels are like round here), then opens the back seat and hauls out a canvas holdall. She’s packed some clothes Sharon can borrow, as well as a couple of toothbrushes and some basics. Should be enough until the shops open in the morning. She makes a mental note to call her neighbour to feed Hector, then lumbers the heavy bag up the path to the front door. It’s a good five minutes before the owner appears, in a rather unsavoury vest and some stained pyjama bottoms that Everett doesn’t dare inspect too closely. Upstairs, in their room, Sharon is sitting on the bed, still wrapped in the blanket the ambulance crew gave her. All she has underneath is a nightdress. Leo is huddled against her, coughing now and again, his face smeared with soot. Everett starts to unpack the bag. A sweatshirt, some jeans, a couple of T-shirts. Sharon looks at them with distaste.
‘I don’t like wearing other people’s things.’
Everett glances at her. ‘Well, I’m afraid you don’t have many other options, do you? And everything’s perfectly clean. It’s straight out of the washing machine.’
Sharon shudders. ‘That stuff is at least three sizes too big for me. I wouldn’t be seen dead in it.’
Everett feels like telling her she’s lucky not to be dead, full stop, but stifles her anger by telling herself the woman’s probably still in shock.
‘Well, like I said,’ she says evenly, ‘you don’t have much choice. You can go out first thing and get some more. After all, you managed to save your handbag, didn’t you? Most people in your position don’t even have credit cards.’
Sharon looks at her narrowly, then reaches for the pink towel laid out folded on the bed.
‘I’m going to have a shower,’ she says.
***
BBC Midlands Today
Saturday 23 July 2016 | Last updated at 07:56
Daisy Mason: Fire at family home
Fire services were called to the home of Barry and Sharon Mason last night, after what is believed to have been an arson attack. The fire spread quickly, causing extensive damage, and the adjoining homes had to be evacuated.
Since their daughter’s disappearance, the Masons have become the targets of a widespread Twitter hate campaign, which gained further momentum after Barry Mason was revealed to be using dating websites under a false name. Some recent tweets have appeared to contain explicit threats against the Masons.
In a statement issued by Thames Valley CID, Detective Inspector Adam Fawley confirmed that the police will pursue anyone using social media to incite violence or criminal damage to the fullest extent of the law. ‘This behaviour is a form of modern terrorism. Those responsible will be traced, and they will be charged.’
Twitter has issued an official statement condemning the violence, and offering the police their full cooperation in tracking down those responsible.
Anyone with any information about Daisy should contact Thames Valley CID incident room on 01865 0966552.