Blood of the Innocents

the long version

When two teenagers go missing on the same day on Mariner’s patch, it seems to be nothing more than a coincidence. Leaving aside their age and disappearance, the two have little in common. Yasmin Akram is the talented grammar school educated daughter of devout Muslim professionals. Ricky Skeet disappears after storming out of his mother’s council house after a row with his mother’s latest boyfriend. Mariner knows Ricky’s mother from his days in uniform, so he is less than happy when his superiors – bowing to media pressure – take him off the Skeet case and reassign him to the more politically sensitive investigation. The press – and his bosses – seem convinced that Yasmin’s disappearance is a racially motivated abduction, especially since the Akrams have found themselves the target of the far right and a prominent white supremacist group. However working with Asian liaison officer Jamilla Begum on the more high profile case, Mariner soon discovers that the picture of Yasmin her school friends paint is far different to her parent’s claim she is a total innocent…