raised. ‘No, but I don’t imagine there was another “Zena” in her school class, so it wouldn’t be necessary. I’m finished here,’ he continued, briskly. ‘The poor child can be removed to the mortuary. I’ll schedule the post-mortem for four o’clock.’ He pulled up the arm of his tunic to check his watch. ‘That gives you just over four hours to find out who she is and let her parents have a chance to see her before I proceed.’
The three officers left the tent; as he stripped off his crime scene outfit, Pye glanced across at an area of the perimeter where three television crews and other media were being marshalled by PC Jules Hoare.
‘Do you want to talk to them, sir?’ he asked McGuire.
‘No,’ the DCC replied, ‘but you should give them a statement. The midday bulletins will be coming on air very soon. Better all round if it’s based on the few facts we have rather than rampant speculation.’
‘Should I tell them that Bob Skinner was the one who found the child’s body?’
McGuire stared at the DCI. ‘Are you fucking crazy? Tell them that and it’s all they’ll report; on top of that they’ll hound him for quotes. If it was Joe Soap that had found her you wouldn’t have given a thought to naming him. Bob’s a private citizen now, and has as much right to that privacy as anyone else.’
‘Mmm,’ Pye murmured. ‘I’ll take that as a no.’
The DCC grinned. ‘You were winding me up, weren’t you? You do that, Sammy,’ he said. ‘What’s your plan of action?’
‘We find and interview the owner of the car. We search for the driver who ran off; the site manager says they have some CCTV footage of someone who might be him. We complete the identification of the girl.’
‘And there’s no chance the owner was driving?’
‘No. The boss . . . Mr Skinner, that is . . . was quite certain that the driver was in his twenties.’
‘Okay. You talk to the media. I’m off to Hawick.’ McGuire took a few paces towards his car, then stopped. ‘One more thing: no doubt Bob asked you to keep him informed of your progress. Be sure you do, otherwise he’ll bend my fucking ear, and I don’t want that.’
Pye smiled. ‘He did, and I will.’
As the DCC left, he signalled to the duty press officer, and headed in the direction of the corralled media. By the time he reached them, red lights were showing on the three TV cameras, and a clutch of portable recorders were thrust out towards him.
‘Morning,’ he began. ‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Samuel Pye. I’m the lead CID officer for the City of Edinburgh, and senior investigating officer here. I’m sorry to tell you that two hours ago, the body of a little girl was discovered in a vehicle, a red BMW, that had been involved in a minor collision in this car park. The driver ran off after the incident, before the child’s body was discovered. Obviously, finding him is very important to us. We’re looking for a thin-faced white man in his twenties, last seen wearing a grey hoodie and jeans. Any help the public can give us will be appreciated.’
He looked at the TV cameras. ‘I’m asking anyone who saw a person matching that description in this area at any time this morning to get in touch with us. Even if you can’t help us identify him, if we’re able to plot his movements that will be a help.’
‘Has the girl been identified?’ a female voice asked. Pye knew its owner, Lennox Webster, crime reporter of the Saltire.
‘No. That’s our top priority; somewhere there are parents who are facing some tragic news. We need to find them, and break it as gently as we can.’
‘So you don’t know her age.’
‘We’re guessing four or five; we’re asking schools and nurseries whether there have been any unexplained absences this morning. We’ve already established that no children of that age have been reported to the police as missing in the last few days.’
‘Do you know how she died?’ an STV reporter asked, breathlessly.
‘I’m sorry, we don’t. The pathologist’s initial examination found no signs of physical assault. That’s all I can tell you at this stage.’
‘But you are treating her death as murder, yes?’
‘We can’t, not yet. As of this moment we are investigating a suspicious death; that’s all I can say. That may change after the autopsy. In the meantime, I’m as impatient as you are to