Necessary as Blood

decently duck out of the office she was going to see for herself, when there was a tap on her door and Melody Tklbot came in. They‘d spoken only in passing at the department briefing that morning, a busy one, as intense heat always seemed to increase their caseload, and the buzz of excitement over the approaching carnival had added to the ferment.
    ‘Boss,‘ said Melody, closing the door, ‘got a minute?‘
    Gemma glanced down at the report she‘d been reading. A boy had been knifed near Ladbroke Grove Tube station on Saturday night, and although he‘d survived, he was refusing to name his attackers. She sighed, sympathizing with the investigating officers‘ frustration, and with a click reassigned the case to a team who were working on two similar incidents. They might very well be connected.
    Then she smiled at Melody, blanked the computer screen and switched off the CD. ‘I‘m all yours. What‘s up?‘
    ‘Um.‘ Melody hesitated, unusual for an officer who was normally a model of efficiency. Curious, Gemma nodded towards a chair. Melody sat, looking deceptively demure in her navy skirt and white blouse. She‘d already shed her suit jacket. Not even Melody could keep up her standards of crispness in this heat. ‘It‘s about Saturday night,‘ she said, still not meeting Gemma‘s eyes.
    ‘Melody, what on earth are you talking about?‘ asked Gemma, baffled.
    ‘I missed your call, and I never rang you back. It was a family dinner. I had my phone turned off, and then didn‘t think to check messages.‘
    ‘Oh, that. I‘d completely forgotten.‘ Gemma realized she was sweating and shrugged out of her light cotton cardigan. ‘You weren‘t on duty, Melody. There‘s no need to apologize. You have a right to personal time.‘
    ‘But if you‘d needed me...‘
    As it turned out, I don‘t think there was anything you could have done.‘ She told Melody about Tim‘s call and what had followed, but even as she reassured Melody, she felt a flicker of doubt. If Naz Malik had still been alive when she‘d rung Melody, was there some way they might have found him in time? She shook her head, telling herself that was useless speculation, and finished her story.
    ‘You got the little girl placed with Wesley‘s mum?‘ said Melody. She was sitting forward, on the edge of her chair now, interest apparently having banished her momentary awkwardness. ‘Brilliant. How‘s she doing?‘
    ‘As well as you could expect, I think. Although I‘m not sure what you would expect.‘
    Gemma thought of Charlotte as she‘d left her yesterday afternoon, sobbing in Betty‘s arms, and remembered how she had hated to let the child go. ‘She‘ll be all right,‘ Betty had reassured her. ‘It‘s just that she‘s had a long day, and she feels safe with you.‘
    ‘I‘ll come and see you tomorrow,‘ Gemma had promised Charlotte, kissing her damp, sticky cheek.
    ‘I‘ve promised to visit her again today,‘ she told Melody. ‘And I‘ve got to check on my mum. She‘s in hospital, since yesterday.‘
    ‘I‘m sorry, boss,‘ Melody said quickly. ‘Anything I can do?‘
    The flash of concern in Melody‘s eyes made her feel a surge of panic. ‘No. No, it‘s nothing major,‘ she said. ‘She has a little low-grade infection. Her immune system‘s depressed from the chemo. And they‘re putting in a port for the treatments—‘ She stopped, aware that she was rattling on to reassure herself rather than Melody. ‘I‘m sure she‘ll be fi—‘
    Her mobile rang, rescuing her. But when she saw Betty Howard‘s name on the caller ID, she excused herself, feeling the same instant prickle of worry that she got when one of the boys‘ schools rang.
    ‘Betty, hi,‘ she answered quickly. ‘Is everything all right? 1 She listened for a moment, frowning, tapping a pen on her desk, then said, ‘Let me check into it. I‘ll ring you back.‘
    ‘Is something wrong?‘ asked Melody when Gemma ended the call.
    ‘I don‘t know.‘ Gemma frowned. ‘Betty says she got a call from the social worker, Janice Silverman. Silverman said she contacted Charlotte‘s grandmother, who told her she wanted nothing to do with Charlotte. But later this morning, Sandra‘s sister, a woman named Donna Woods, rang her up. She says she wants to take Charlotte.‘
    ‘But surely that‘s a good thing,‘ said Melody. ‘The child should be with family.‘
    ‘Yes, well, maybe,‘ Gemma said slowly. ‘But it depends on the family.‘ It