Like This, for Ever

properly thought about it before, and also that it was completely and undeniably true.
    He leaned back in his chair, increasing the distance between them, and pursed his lips into a long, slow whistle. ‘I have a huge amount of time for Helen,’ he said. ‘But I think she’s going to struggle with that one.’
    Dana couldn’t help the smile, couldn’t stop the tears.
    ‘Come here,’ he said, holding out his arms. She stepped forward, had felt the brush of his hands on her upper arms when her phone started to ring. She turned to look at it, as though to check it reallywas a phone and it really was ringing. Well past midnight. A phone call at this hour couldn’t be good. She walked over, checked the display screen and turned back to Mark in surprise.
    ‘It’s Lacey,’ she said.

33
    LACEY WAS AT the lock-up yard getting increasingly cold. Standing ten yards from the corpse, she could just about make out the waxy pale flesh of a body that had spent weeks in fast-moving water. It was badly damaged, most of the skin and hair gone. Identifying it would be almost impossible without dental records or DNA testing.
    By attaching police tape to moored boats and to vans in the yard, Lacey had managed to cordon off the scene. Now she just had to wait.
    A flicker of blue lights in the road outside told her that uniform had arrived. After a few seconds a police officer appeared over the gate. He dropped down into the yard and was quickly followed by another. Coat collars tucked up around their ears and hats pulled down, they made their way through the debris towards her.
    With the human instinct to sense the presence of law enforcement, someone else was watching the two constables through a hatch on one of the boats.
    ‘Detective Constable Lacey Flint, Southwark.’ She held up her warrant card. The taller of the two officers shone a torch on it. When he seemed satisfied, she directed her own torch towards the corpse.
    ‘I got a text about forty minutes ago,’ she said. ‘It claimed this is the body of Tyler King – you know, the kid who went missing justbefore Christmas. I came down first myself in case it was a windup. Once I’d seen the body, I secured the scene and called the MIT, who are dealing with the case. Somebody should be trying to trace the owner of the yard, get those gates opened.’
    ‘We’ll just have a look,’ said one of the men, stepping past her. His mate looked as though he was about to follow.
    ‘By all means check you’re happy with how I’ve secured the site.’ Lacey raised her voice to stop them in their tracks. ‘But there could be prints and other trace evidence. You don’t want to risk disturbing the scene.’
    ‘What’s going on?’
    Two people had appeared now on the deck of the nearest boat.
    ‘We’re from the police,’ Lacey called back. ‘Do either of you have a key to the gates?’ She turned to the two officers. ‘Actually, can one of you get back to the gates and make sure no one leaves the site? People might start trying to slip away once they realize what’s going on.’
    Neither looked happy at being given orders by a young female, but an unspoken message passed between them and one of them set off back towards the gates, accompanied by a bloke from the boat.
    ‘So you think it’s him,’ said the other, in a low voice. ‘The one whose body wasn’t found?’
    ‘The decomposition’s pretty bad,’ said Lacey, ‘but it certainly looks about the right size.’
    ‘Not good for the parents,’ said the constable. ‘I suppose there’s always hope, until the body’s found.’
    A few minutes later, the gates to the yard opened and more uniformed officers made their way towards them. Lacey could see equipment being unloaded from a large white van. SOCOs had arrived. Then a man in his fifties whom she thought she recognized as one of the police doctors.
    ‘This your guv’nor?’ asked the uniform, indicating the slender, dark-haired woman who was making her way towards them. A taller, broader figure was following her like a shadow.
    ‘That’s her,’ agreed Lacey, looking at the man whose eyes had already found hers over Dana Tulloch’s shoulder.
    Tulloch didn’t waste time with social niceties. ‘Let me see the text,’ she told Lacey. Lacey held out her phone.
    ‘I’ll be keeping this,’ said Tulloch, a second after she’d read the message.
    ‘Didn’t expect anything less,’ said Lacey, catching Joesbury’s eye again. She thought she saw a