Missing Without Trace — P.F. Ford

Thirty years ago, ten year old Simon Younger left school after choir practice to catch the bus home, but instead of catching that bus home he seemed to vanish into thin air. The police enquiry at the time went nowhere fast, focusing on just one main suspect but never able to prove a thing...

Now, amateur sleuth Alfie Bowman thinks it's high time this forgotten mystery was solved once and for all so Simon's mother, Daphne, can finally find the closure she so badly needs. But as soon as their private investigations start Alfie receives an unwelcome visit from local Detective Inspector ‘Nasty' Nash, who seems intent on doing his best to intimidate Alfie into going no further with his enquiries.

Why is Nash so desperate to stop them? Is there a connection between Nash and local gangster Nugent? What really did happen to Simon Younger?