Blunt sat at the head of the table. He looked at his team and inwardly groaned. Little did he know that Ahmed shared his concern. Saeed and Cushion faced one another on either side of him.
They provided a description of everything that had gone on at the morgue, their chasing up with the coastguard and the interview with Patel.
The senior man had only a few questions on these parts of the investigation;
"Irrespective of it being Norfolk we need to chase forensic regarding the girl's DNA. Yes, it is likely that she is East European but we need to be a little more precise. That could provide us with a handle as to how she came into the country. Again we need some DNA regarding the semen found in her body. Might yield nothing to help the investigation but then again it might. At the moment it is case of gathering whatever information we can.'
Blunt agreed that the girl picked up on King Street would probably generate nothing of significance on the Winterton case. However, their job was to look at people trafficking.
'As far as I am concerned our remit is people trafficking in the widest sense. Trafficking is not just about foreigners it is also about individuals born in this country. We need to find out how young the girl is you brought in from King Street, who she is and how she came to be on King Street. Steve, ' he turned to Cushion 'Can you sort that out. What about getting back down to King Street and seeing if there are any more youngsters'
'I haven't got the time John. I can't get others here to do it either. They're all on tight budgets. Don't forget that we are still living with the consequences of that prat of a Chancellor. That's something that you will have to sort with Strumpshaw'. He saw the frown flit across Blunt's face before continuing, 'but I can probably call in some favours and get it done'
Not the answer that Blunt wanted to hear nonetheless Cushion did seem to be showing a little bit of spark.
'Ahmed ..' he turned to the other, '..regarding Patel we are going to need statements from the rest of the family. I do not know why he is so reluctant for them to help. Do you?'
'It's a bit extreme but then the Asian community is very reluctant to engage with the police or anyone that they see as the authorities. They, or we think that the authorities are never on our side. They think that we. The police, are reluctant to protect them against white racist thugs. That we are too keen to prosecute them for bringing in family or marrying people from back in Pakistan. Again for all we know the grandmother may not be legal. Who knows?'
'Ok, what happened when you staked out Pitt Street?'
Saeed as the senior took the lead.
'It's fairly certain that sexual activity is taking place there. It's a fairly substantial residence. Four beds, three receptions and a kitchen. I reckon that there is also an attic flat. We clocked eight guys and one woman. They were driving an assortment of BMW's Mercedes and Jaguars. We have taken photographs of them all. The most interesting guys were these two'
Ahmed put two photographs in front of Blunt.
One was of an individual who possessed the height, build and head shape of a Neanderthal. There the similarity ended. His eyes were small and hooded by heavy brows that were almost hairless.
The other showed a tall and gangly individual with spindly legs. Long arms and a head that seemed too large for his body. His crew cut hair was white as were his eyebrows. His face was heavily lined and made him look ten years older than his probable physical age.. Like the Neanderthal his eyes were continuously on the move. Unlike his colleague he attempted to dress in a more fashionable manner. Ahmed reckoned Paul Smith.
'We think that these guys are the front men. We followed them last night to three other properties. One in Newmarket Road, Unthank Road and Keswick Road. The one thing all these properties have in common is that they are secluded. That makes it easy enough for them to run high priced girls and for them not to be noticed for doing so. We noted again a succession of high end motors going into and out of the properties. The other thing that we researched was ownership of the houses with the Land Registry. All of them have been purchased in the last six months by a firm of accountants, Darcy and Darcy, on Thorpe Road.
'Good work gentlemen. We need to get around there and to put some pressure on them. Find out about their finances to see whether they could have funded the deals themselves. '
'That's not all ' said Ahmed, 'we followed the two of them going out into the countryside. They were probably going to a more substantial site. Unfortunately, we don't know where...'
Blunt cocked his head and raised his eyebrows,
'...I admit that we lost them. I think that they clocked us. It makes me think that they may have had some kind of training. However, I am sure that they didn't notice us when they returned to Pitt Street after dark. That seems to be their base.'
'If that's the case and they clocked you then you better get round there pretty damn quickly. Otherwise there is the possibility that they will just melt away. Have we got anything on them?'
'No they are not on any of our registers. We telegraphed the photos to Interpol this morning' replied Cushion
'What about their car?'
'Registered to a dealership in Winchmore Hill. London. The dealership is owned by a firm of solicitors in Enfield, Gribben and Gribben. They bought it about six months ago' Cushion again.
'There seems to be a pattern emerging ' this time from Ahmed. 'Assets owned by or registered to third parties'
'I know that firm. They sail very close to the wind and represent and have represented a host of shady characters.' Blunt added and continued to elaborate 'They are razor sharp and know criminal and company law inside out. The last time I came across them they were in the process of opening offices in the West End. They are probably open now. Therefore, it is safe to assume that their business is booming. However, we digress. Apart from the Patel statement we have nothing to go on regarding the dead girl. No sighting, no clothes, nothing!.
He sat back in his chair and steepled his hands.
'Get around to Pitt Street and shake up those two characters, do it during the day. Hopefully they are still around' he instructed.
'Oh, by the way' Cushion commented before leaving 'I know the woman we photographed. She is a senior partner in Clutterbuck and Lozenge on Bank Plain'
'Thanks Steve that is something we may be able to use at some stage'.