Necessary as Blood

Alexander‘s arrest, Azad feels he may have had some degree of responsibility for what happened — although of course he didn‘t realize this at the time.‘
    ‘Of course,‘ Kincaid agreed, with no small degree of sarcasm.
    ‘Look,‘ Lou Phillips said again. She brushed at her lapel. ‘Azad‘s not a bad guy, really. Feudal, yes, but that means he takes care of his own. He‘s loyal to his friends, and his family, and he would never condone child prostitution. He heard rumours going round in Ritchie‘s club. Maybe because he‘d been charged with human trafficking, certain people let things slip. They were checking him out, he thought, to see if he was interested in abusing children.
    ‘But Azad was disgusted. He told Naz about it. Then, the day before Naz disappeared — the day before he was murdered,‘ Louise corrected herself, ‘they had a row. The upshot was that Azad finally agreed to tell Naz the names of the people he thought might be involved. Alexander was one of them. But Naz must have made the connection between Alexander and Sandra himself.‘
    ‘And, then, Naz went round to confront Alexander,‘ Kincaid finished. ‘With disastrous consequences. You realize I could charge your client as an accessory. Or, at the very least, with obstruction.‘
    Louise Phillips gazed levelly back at him. ‘I don‘t think you will. My client has only just realized the pertinence of his information.‘
    Knowing he couldn‘t prove otherwise, Kincaid conceded with as good a grace as he could muster. ‘Would Mr Azad be willing to testify?‘
    ‘Maybe,‘ Louise said. ‘But, first, you lot have to make a case that will hold up.‘

    Gemma nibbled a sandwich at her desk, trying to concentrate on shifting her neglected caseload. But between glancing at the clock and checking to make sure her phone really was turned on, she wasn‘t making much progress with lunch, or work.
    She‘d left two messages for Janice Silverman, even though she knew that the family court hearing might have run behind schedule. She‘d managed to refrain from ringing Kincaid, as she knew he‘d call her as soon as he heard anything about the excavation of the garden in Hoxton.
    When her phone actually rang, she dropped her egg salad and cress on her computer keyboard.
    It was Betty Howard, and her warm voice sounded unusually harried. ‘Have you heard anything, Gemma?‘
    ‘No. I promise I‘ll call as soon as I do, but Mrs Silverman may call you first.‘
    ‘She‘s that unsettled today, little Charlotte,‘ Betty said softly. ‘She didn‘t want to sleep in her bed last night. She wanted Toby, and she kept fretting for you, and "the big man”.‘
    ‘The big man?‘ Gemma asked, puzzled. She cleaned the remains of her sandwich off her keyboard and tossed it in the bin.
    ‘She means Duncan, but she can‘t say his name very well.‘
    Gemma smiled. Naz Malik had been a smallframed man and so, compared to her father, Duncan must seem large to Charlotte — and apparently comforting as well. Charlotte had become attached to him very quickly, but her trusting nature terrified Gemma as much as it touched her. The child had never been mistreated. How would she cope with Gail and her uncles?
    ‘Oh, Betty, surely they won‘t place her with the family. At least not yet.‘ She knew she was trying to reassure herself.
    ‘Listen, Gemma...‘ Betty sounded hesitant. ‘I‘ve been worryin‘ a good deal. Even sayin‘ the judge decides against the family, they may not place her with me. She‘s mixed-race, and they may feel she‘d be better off with a white family. And... truth be told, I‘m not gettin‘ any younger, and I‘m not sure I can give the child the best care in the long term.‘
    Gemma felt as if she‘d been kicked. ‘Are you saying you don‘t want her?‘
    ‘No, no, I‘m not meanin‘ that at all,‘ Betty said. ‘I‘m just worried. I‘d have to think hard about raisin‘ up another child — about what‘s best for her. She‘s special, this girl. She deserves more than I can give her.‘
    ‘But, Betty, no one could do more—‘
    ‘Just you ring me soon as you hear somethin‘,‘ Betty interrupted, and disconnected.
    Gemma stared at the phone, her head reeling. She‘d thought that if she could protect Charlotte from her family, the child would be assured of care and a safe future.
    But if Betty didn‘t take Charlotte...
    It wasn‘t that Gemma didn‘t understand Betty‘s concerns. Betty had raised five