Not Dead Yet

from “Unknown Berwick Male”?’
    ‘Yes, I’d say it is,’ Batchelor replied.
    One of the other Search Unit officers, who was busily peering beneath a dishwasher with a torch, looked up. ‘Brett’s mum said he was always good at jigsaw puzzles as a kid.’
    The DS smiled, then pulled out his phone and called the SIO.

    Grace listened intently to the news from Guy Batchelor, trying to think clearly through the panic engulfing him, trying to make some fast decisions. The Chief Constable and the Assistant Chief Constable needed to be informed before they found themselves in the embarrassing situation of hearing about the discovery of Royce’s head on the news. But before he did that, Grace had one absolute priority.
    He rang the US cellphone number of Gaia’s head of security.
    ‘Andrew Gulli,’ he answered, almost instantly, as if expecting a call.
    ‘It’s Roy Grace.’
    ‘Inspector Grace – I—’ The James Cagney whine sounded uneasy.
    ‘We have an emergency situation, Mr Gulli. I have a copy of the production call sheet, and see your client’s shooting at the Pavilion this evening. I’m extremely concerned for her safety – I’ve reason to believe there’s a person out there intent on harming her. He’s already killed at least once. We know what he looks like and we know his disguise, and I think we have a good chance of catching him very quickly. But I don’t want to take any risks with your client so what I’d like to do, with your support, is remove her from the set and keep her and her son indoors in her suite, under guard, for the next twenty-four hours. Is that possible?’
    ‘Hey, Inspector, you and I are on the same page. But I can’t help you. I got fired this morning.’
    ‘Fired?’
    ‘I’m flying back to LA tomorrow.’
    ‘Gaia? Gaia fired you? In the middle of this situation?’
    ‘Yeah, well, the thing is, I told my client I was insisting on her leaving England right away, today, and flying back to the States – and to hell with the consequences. She wouldn’t have it. So we had a kind of a Mexican stand-off. She told me if I didn’t change my attitude, I’d be fired. I told her, “Ms Lafayette, I’m not risking your life, nor your son’s life. You crazy or something? To hell with the consequences.”’ There was a brief silence then Gulli went on. ‘I tell you, Inspector, she was getting paid peanuts for this film compared to what she earns performing, so what the hell, let them sue, I told her. Better to be sued than dead. But she wouldn’t have it. I told her, I was not letting her go on set. So she fired me.’
    ‘Want me to try speaking to her?’
    ‘Gaia Lafayette does what Gaia Lafayette wants, Inspector. She doesn’t listen to anybody.’
    ‘I’m going to go talk to her right now,’ Grace said.
    ‘Good luck. You’re gonna need it.’
    He ended the call with Gulli and immediately phoned the Ops 1Controller Andy Kille, glad that he was still on duty. ‘We’ve found Myles Royce’s head,’ he informed him. ‘And the suspect’s at large with, I believe, real intent to harm Gaia. I’m circulating images of Eric Whiteley and his Anna Galicia persona – I’m printing copies for all officers on duty, and PCSOs. And I want every available officer and PCSO we have, deployed to the Pavilion right away. I want to make it an island site.’
    ‘I could draft in some Specials as well,’ Kille said helpfully.
    ‘Anyone you can get,’ Grace replied. ‘Until we’ve got this maniac locked up.’
    ‘I’m upgrading this to a Critical Incident,’ Kille said. ‘Graham Barrington’s Duty Gold and Nick Sloan’s Silver.’
    Grace thanked him and looked at his watch: 6.15 p.m. According to her schedule on the call sheet, Gaia had been required in her trailer for make-up and wardrobe at 4 p.m., two hours before she was due on set. He turned to the forensic podiatrist. ‘Haydn, I want you to go back to the CCTV room – I’ll get anyone who’s available to help you there. I need you to watch the cameras on the streets around the Pavilion for any sign of Eric Whiteley – or Anna Galicia.’
    ‘Sure – now?’
    ‘Yes, right away, we have to find him, and fast.’ He looked around. ‘Bella, I want you to blue-light him down there, then meet me at the front of the Pavilion. Okay? Go!’
    Bella Moy and Haydn Kelly both stood up hurriedly and headed towards the door. Grace addressed the rest of the team. ‘We all know what Whiteley looks like in