From the Dead by Mark Billingham Page B

Thorne thought. He cleared his throat. ‘Such as?’
    â€˜Well, DNA and dental checks are the obvious ones.’
    â€˜She identified him, for Christ’s sake!’ Thorne saw Brigstocke raise a hand in warning. He raised his own to make it clear that he was perfectly in control, that he was unlikely to throw himself across the desk and start throttling the chief superintendent just yet. ‘The body was the same height as Alan Langford and wore Alan Langford’s jewellery. And Alan Langford’s wife formally identified it.’
    â€˜Even so—’
    â€˜And if all that wasn’t enough, she knew it was him handcuffed to the wheel of that Jag because she had paid somebody to do it. Bearing that little lot in mind, sir, aside from the formality of the post-mortem, there seemed no reason to trouble the boys in the white coats.’
    â€˜However it might have seemed , a belt-and-braces approach is always advisable. And it would certainly have paid off in this instance.’
    Thorne could not suppress a grin, remembering something. ‘On top of which, I seem to recall a memo from yourself which was widely circulated at the time, implementing a Command-wide cost-cutting scheme.’
    â€˜Hang on . . .’
    Thorne leaned forward, enjoying it. ‘“Any non-essential procedures involving payment to external bodies or individual specialists must be carefully considered and if at all possible . . .” Blah blah blah, bullshit like that. With respect. Sir.’
    Jesmond’s smile was long gone, although Thorne noticed one creeping across Brigstocke’s chops. ‘We need to cover ourselves.’
    â€˜How?’ Thorne asked.
    â€˜Take the case,’ Jesmond said. ‘Treat it as though you’ve just caught the Epping Forest Barbecue all over again. We desperately need to ID the body, and as there’s now every reason to believe that Alan Langford had something to do with the murder, we need to find him. What do you think the ex-Mrs Langford wants out of all this?’
    Thorne told them about his conversation with Donna Langford, about the daughter that had gone missing and Donna’s belief that her ex-husband was responsible.
    â€˜Well, that clearly needs to be another element of the inquiry,’ Jesmond said. ‘We need to keep her happy.’
    â€˜Do we?’
    â€˜She may not have a leg to stand on legally, but she might decide to make a few quid by selling her story. If she went to the press or wrote a book, we could be made to look like idiots.’
    Thorne bit his tongue.
    â€˜Let’s give her what she wants,’ Brigstocke said. ‘After all, it’s what we want too, near enough.’
    Thorne had no real objection, at least not when it came to searching for Ellie Langford. Her mother’s concern was genuine. And it was not the first time Thorne had looked at photographs of a missing girl and found it hard to catch his breath for a few seconds. ‘OK, whatever,’ he said.
    Jesmond nodded and grunted enthusiastically. ‘But let’s try to keep it all as low key as we can, all right? Make this a priority, but we don’t want any bulls in china shops.’
    Thorne did not need telling which particular bull his superior officer was talking about. ‘What about Anna Carpenter?’ he asked. Jesmond glanced down at his papers. Clearly the homework had not been that thorough. ‘The private detective.’
    â€˜Right.’ Jesmond thought for a few seconds. ‘She could embarrass us too, if she felt like talking to the papers.’ He looked over to Brigstocke, received a nod of agreement. ‘What does she want?’
    â€˜This case,’ Thorne said. ‘Well, any case, I’m guessing, but she’s keen to do something.’
    â€˜OK, let her get involved,’ Jesmond said. He saw Thorne open his mouth to object. ‘Or let her think she’s involved. Tell her she can