"Bobby sat and sulked in front of the telly. Just after seven, Terry suggested we went out for a quick drink. I told Bobby that as soon as his programme finished he was to go straight to bed. Me and Terry went out and were back just after ten. I went upstairs to check Bobby was all right - and he wasn't there."
"Little sod - just did it to spite us," said Green.
"Did the officers who came earlier do a search of the house? Sometimes kids hide, just for the fun of it."
"They turned the place upside down. He isn't here. We've been out pounding the streets, looking for him. We've been round to all his friends' houses and they haven't seen him!"
His friends. Could one of them be the dead boy? "None of his friends were missing, I suppose?"
She looked puzzled. "No - we spoke to them all."
"I see. And you've absolutely no idea where Bobby might be?"
"I know where he is," said Green. "He's round his bloody father's moaning about us."
"If he was there, Harry would have phoned," said the woman.
"Hold on," said Frost. "The father - he lives locally?"
"He lives in Dane Street with his slag Chinese girl."
"Suzie bloody Wong," added Green.
"Are you telling me the father lives in Denton and you haven't checked to see if your son is with him?"
"If Bobby was with him, he'd phone me."
"And you haven't told him Bobby's missing?"
"If he knew we'd left Bobby in the house on his own while we went to the pub, he'd come round and cause trouble. He's already threatened to smash Terry's face in."
What better reason to go round and see him, thought Frost.
Outside, in the car, he radioed through to Liz Maud to tell her that the dead boy wasn't Bobby Kirby and that the search for him should continue. "If we don't find him tonight, get Bill Wells to organize a search team for the morning. We'll have to pull men in off their rest days - tell him to clear it with Mullett."
"Right," she said.
"Circulate all forces with a description of the dead kid. Ask if anyone has reported him missing."
"Right."
"Anything you can't manage, let me know."
"There's nothing I can't manage," she snapped. "Over and out."
"What do you reckon to Ms Maud?" asked Burton, as he tried to get the engine of Frost's car to cough into life.
"Maud can come into my garden any time she likes," said Frost. "Hooray!" This because the engine suddenly belched and fired and they were away. "Put your foot down, son. I can't wait to see what this Chinese slag girlfriend looks like. Oriental nookie turns me on."
"Oriental women are old and wizened at thirteen," said Burton.
"Then let's hope she's only eleven," said Frost.
The house looked promising. Gone midnight, but lights were on downstairs. Burton thumbed the door bell and after a short while a woman's voice called, "Yes?"
"Police," said Burton. The door opened on a chain and he pushed his warrant card through the gap. "I wonder if we can have a word?"
The door opened. She was a stunner. A Chinese girl in her late teens, a doll's face and shiny black hair flowing loosely down her back. She had just showered and she glowed, squeaky clean and wholesome, in a white to welling bathrobe. She smelled of Johnson's baby powder. Her name was Koo Chen, a nurse at Denton Hospital, and she was getting ready for night duty. "How can I help you?"
Bloody easily, thought Frost, but he let Burton do the talking. "Is Bobby here?" Burton asked as she led them through to a tiny kitchen, everything spotless and gleaming.
"Bobby?" A flicker of concern darkened her face. "Bobby is with his mother."
"Could we speak to his father - Mr. Harry Kirby?"
"He asleep. But I fetch."
Harry Kirby was thickset with tight fair curly hair. Some six feet tall, he towered over the tiny nurse who looked up to him with obvious pride. Straight from bed, he had pulled on a
"Little sod - just did it to spite us," said Green.
"Did the officers who came earlier do a search of the house? Sometimes kids hide, just for the fun of it."
"They turned the place upside down. He isn't here. We've been out pounding the streets, looking for him. We've been round to all his friends' houses and they haven't seen him!"
His friends. Could one of them be the dead boy? "None of his friends were missing, I suppose?"
She looked puzzled. "No - we spoke to them all."
"I see. And you've absolutely no idea where Bobby might be?"
"I know where he is," said Green. "He's round his bloody father's moaning about us."
"If he was there, Harry would have phoned," said the woman.
"Hold on," said Frost. "The father - he lives locally?"
"He lives in Dane Street with his slag Chinese girl."
"Suzie bloody Wong," added Green.
"Are you telling me the father lives in Denton and you haven't checked to see if your son is with him?"
"If Bobby was with him, he'd phone me."
"And you haven't told him Bobby's missing?"
"If he knew we'd left Bobby in the house on his own while we went to the pub, he'd come round and cause trouble. He's already threatened to smash Terry's face in."
What better reason to go round and see him, thought Frost.
Outside, in the car, he radioed through to Liz Maud to tell her that the dead boy wasn't Bobby Kirby and that the search for him should continue. "If we don't find him tonight, get Bill Wells to organize a search team for the morning. We'll have to pull men in off their rest days - tell him to clear it with Mullett."
"Right," she said.
"Circulate all forces with a description of the dead kid. Ask if anyone has reported him missing."
"Right."
"Anything you can't manage, let me know."
"There's nothing I can't manage," she snapped. "Over and out."
"What do you reckon to Ms Maud?" asked Burton, as he tried to get the engine of Frost's car to cough into life.
"Maud can come into my garden any time she likes," said Frost. "Hooray!" This because the engine suddenly belched and fired and they were away. "Put your foot down, son. I can't wait to see what this Chinese slag girlfriend looks like. Oriental nookie turns me on."
"Oriental women are old and wizened at thirteen," said Burton.
"Then let's hope she's only eleven," said Frost.
The house looked promising. Gone midnight, but lights were on downstairs. Burton thumbed the door bell and after a short while a woman's voice called, "Yes?"
"Police," said Burton. The door opened on a chain and he pushed his warrant card through the gap. "I wonder if we can have a word?"
The door opened. She was a stunner. A Chinese girl in her late teens, a doll's face and shiny black hair flowing loosely down her back. She had just showered and she glowed, squeaky clean and wholesome, in a white to welling bathrobe. She smelled of Johnson's baby powder. Her name was Koo Chen, a nurse at Denton Hospital, and she was getting ready for night duty. "How can I help you?"
Bloody easily, thought Frost, but he let Burton do the talking. "Is Bobby here?" Burton asked as she led them through to a tiny kitchen, everything spotless and gleaming.
"Bobby?" A flicker of concern darkened her face. "Bobby is with his mother."
"Could we speak to his father - Mr. Harry Kirby?"
"He asleep. But I fetch."
Harry Kirby was thickset with tight fair curly hair. Some six feet tall, he towered over the tiny nurse who looked up to him with obvious pride. Straight from bed, he had pulled on a
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