by Jade Winters
Sod’s law! There wasn’t a chance of any CCTV capturing him. If there’d been footage, at least it would have shown the time frame of his movements.
“Did you see anybody you knew? Did you speak to anyone? Did you stop anywhere?”
“No to all three questions.”
“How did they find out it was you that walked her home?”
“I know the bartender, Gary. Apparently she was also a regular there. Her flatmate told them she had gone to the bar that evening so when they questioned Gary, he said I’d left with her.”
If this story had come from anyone else, she would have doubted it, but hearing it come from Nathan, she really, truly believed his version of what happened.
Then she remembered the folder – that dark black folder full of horrible images. She looked at her brother, lowering her stern gaze on him. “Tell me about the porn stashed in your wardrobe.”
Her brother sat back in his chair and repeatedly ran his hands through his hair. Ashley waited, reading him and his body language. She could tell he was fighting with himself, debating what to say, what to tell her. She wondered whether anything he was going to say would be the truth.
“Did the police find it during the search?”
“No, Nathan, I did.”
“You!” He looked down at his hands, now clasped on top of the table. Ashley knew he was fighting back tears.
“Yes, me.” For a moment, as she stared at him, he was no longer the man she’d grown up with but just another criminal stranger she was questioning. She knew nothing about him, about his past or who he was. Then she blinked, and he was her little brother again, the same boy who used to put worms down her dress and spiders in her toy tea set.
He stared at her in panic. “They don’t belong to me, Sis, I swear.”
Ashley inhaled deeply. “Are you trying to tell me someone planted them?” she said, her voice cold and emotionless.
“Not exactly.”
“Then tell me where the porn came from!” Ashley hissed. Prison officers were coming into the room – visiting time was up.
“It belongs to my boss. You remember him. Colin. He got married a few months ago and his wife found all his porn and stuff. Naturally, she hated what he was looking at and insisted he get rid of every last bit. He threw most of it away, but apparently that folder is of his favourites. ”
“And he’ll vouch for that, will he?”
“Yes, of course.” Nathan looked up in fear as a guard approached their table. “What’s going to happen to me, Sis?”
“Nothing, if you’re telling the truth. I’ll get you out of here, I promise. I’m going to find out who’s really responsible for Emily Hill’s murder and clear your name.”
The alarm rang and all the inmates stood. Nathan followed suit. “I hope so,” he said, looking down at her with puppy-dog eyes. “I don’t think I’d be able to cope in here if I’m found guilty.”
“Don’t worry, Nathan. If I have any say in this, you won’t have to,” she said with more conviction than she felt.
Yet again she watched her brother being led through a door by a uniformed guard. Ashley’s heart ached for him and hoped that his boss would collaborate his story so that she could at least put those awful photos out of her mind.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dale looked at Ashley expectantly as she eased herself into the passenger seat of his car. He started the engine and turned the heater on, then immediately snapped it off when a blast of cold air blew out. “How did it go?”
Ashley breathed into her cold, cupped hands, trying to warm them. “As well as can be expected, under the circumstances.” Dale frowned at the banality of her answer, but didn’t say anything.
She closed her eyes and pressed her head against the head rest. She could feel the tension rising all the way from her lower back into her neck. Although she despised going to prisons, her job dictated it. It usually took days for the smells and sounds to leave her. But that wouldn’t happen after this visit – the image of Nathan behind bars was so etched in her brain, she couldn’t foresee a time when it would fade. She would forever associate HM Prison Chelmsford with this day.
“What did he say about the porn?”
“That it wasn’t his. He said he was minding it for his boss.”
“And you believe him?”
Ashley shrugged her shoulders and stared straight ahead. “I’ll soon find out. Look, Colleen’s given me a few days off work. I’m going to use that time to find out as much as I can. Ripley and Colleen aren’t interested in digging any deeper into Nathan’s case. As far as they’re concerned, the killer’s locked away and that’s enough for them.” The large, ugly concrete building that was now her brother’s home blurred in her vision. “Will you do me a favour?”
“Anything for you. As long as it’s not illegal, mind you,” Dale said, nudging her shoulder playfully.
“Will you get me the address of the murder victim? Colleen said her name’s Emily Hill.”
Dale frowned. “Ash, I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if someone finds out that you’ve been snooping around?”
“It’s a risk I’m going to have to take. Columbus didn’t discover the New World by playing it safe.”
Dale laughed. “You’re not comparing yourself to Columbus, are you, Ash?”
“Nah. More like the Lone Ranger,” she said with a faint smile.
“Hey, can I be Tonto?”
Ashley laughed. “If you insist.”
“Fantastic,” he said with mock excitement. He turned to look at her, and the humour fell from his face. “I’ll get her address and text it to you when I get to the station.” He leaned over and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Seriously, Ash, I’m here for you – just let me know what I can do to help you clear Nathan, okay?”
Ashley found herself uncharacteristically overwhelmed with emotion at his kindness and all she could do was nod in thanks.
***
An hour later, Ashley parked her new silver Volkswagen across the road from Nathan’s workplace. Jettison’s Law Firm was situated on a street corner in Harlow Town Centre. It was an impressive building – all clean steel sheeting and plate glass windows. A marvel of architecture, it rose as a great monolith of contemporary engineering, towering over the smaller, squatter office buildings surrounding it. Clearly, Nathan’s employers were doing well – very well. As she walked towards the door, she saw a man up a ladder busy with cables and a camera. She wondered if that was why a security man was installing a CCTV camera above the door.
Ashley straightened her shoulders and walked a little taller, made sure the ID badge clipped to her belt was clearly visible, and marched through the entrance doors.
The inside of the building was as imposing as the exterior, and just as cold and featureless. Everything was marble, steel, and dark wood. Whoever the architect was had chosen form over function obviously. Ashley’s observations of the decor were interrupted by a cool, clipped voice.
“Good morning. Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist asked. She had a sleek blonde ponytail and killer cheekbones.
“I’m here to see Colin Bond.”
The receptionist’s gaze dropped to Ashley’s ID, and she quickly rose out of her seat. “Of course,” she said nervously, and disappeared through a door behind her.
Ashley was too tired to ascertain if the woman felt intimidated by her because she was a police officer, or because she’d noticed her surname and assumed Ashley was acquainted with a man charged with murder. Either way, Ashley couldn’t have cared less, as long as it got Colin Bond in front of her to give her the answers she needed.
It took several minutes before the woman reappeared. “Mr. Bond will see you straight away,” she said, gesturing for Ashley to follow her.
Colin, dressed in a light grey, pin-striped suit, was waiting in the doorway of his office as the receptionist led Ashley down a narrow hallway. Ashley’s eye caught some expensive looking sculptures, al
l discretely lit in recessed shelves.
Colin Bond was short in stature and carried more than his share of extra weight. His eyes ran up and down Ashley’s form, never quite settling on her face. She noticed a wedding ring on his finger that seemed too loose. More importantly, she noticed him take the ring off and slip it into the pocket of his suit. Argh, one of those men.
“Ashley,” he said, smiling widely, outstretching his hand to her. “Dreadful, dreadful news about Nathan,” he said, ushering her into his office. “Can Molly get you a tea or coffee?”
“Nothing, thanks. I just need to ask you a few questions.”
“Of course. Please, take a seat,” he said, nodding at the blonde receptionist in dismissal. Ashley noticed he spent a moment or two watching her tight buttocks walking down the passage. When Molly turned the corner, only then did he walk around his desk and slide into his chair. “Right. You have questions for me. Anything you want to know, I’m here to help. Fire away.”
Ashley plunged right in, there was no time for niceties, and she knew they would be wasted on this man anyway. “Has Nathan seemed different in any way lately?”
Colin looked at her enquiringly. “Different how??”
Ashley shrugged. “Like mood swings, change in work habits…” She took a small note pad and pen from the inside of her jacket. She held the pen poised over the pad whilst she waited for him to answer.
“I heard on the radio Nathan’s being held on remand. I can’t believe he’s been caught up in something like this. You don’t think he killed that woman, do you?”
“No, of course not.”
He smiled. “That’s a relief to hear. As for your questions, no. Nothing about his behaviour has changed.”
“Were you part of the group that Nathan went out for drinks with on the second of this month?”
“Yes. It was one of the lad’s birthdays. We keep up the company camaraderie by having a few pints to celebrate that type of thing. Good for morale and all that.”
“Did you see Nathan talking to any women?”
“No. We all stayed together at our table. I don’t know what happened later, though. The rest of us left, but Nathan wanted to stay for one more beer.”
Damn, she was hoping to at least find out if anyone had seen Nathan meet the victim in the bar. She hesitated before questioning him about the folder. She recalled the new security system being installed.
“Just out of interest, is there any particular reason you’re having a CCTV camera installed outside the front door of your building? I realise you already have them internally. Why the new addition?”
“Oh, that. No. Just a precaution, really.”
Ashley raised her eyebrows questioningly and waited for him to carry on.
Colin looked at Ashley for a moment, obviously considering how to respond. “Oh, one of our solicitors said she’d seen a man hanging around here,” he said with an uncomfortable smile. “She thought he was watching her. But, so far, nothing’s happened. She hasn’t seen him lately though. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.” He smiled again.
“Is this solicitor around today?”
“No. She only works part time. She’s just recently had a baby.”
“Did she say what this man looked like?”
Colin shook his head. “Afraid not. She couldn’t see his face properly, as he had on a hoodie. She did mention that he was a big white guy. Quite an intimidating size she said, hence feeling threatened.”
Ashley’s interest was piqued. Could this man be the same person that had been seen at Nathan’s flat? Was it just a coincidence that two larger than average men in hooded sweatshirts had been near Nathan’s workplace and his home? Or could it be that she was so desperate to prove her brother’s innocence, she’d try to push a square peg into a circular hole? She made a note of what Colin had told her and asked him to have the solicitor contact her no later than lunchtime.
Ashley knew she had to tackle the porn issue next. There was no easy way to ask him if he enjoyed looking at photos of woman in sadistic bondage poses, but she knew that to get anything positive out of him, she would have to word her questions as sensitively as possible. “Nathan said he’s been looking after some pictures of yours. Is that true?”
The smile on Colin’s face faltered, then he fixed it firmly in place. “Pictures? No. Why would he be?”
“Because of the content.”
He paused. “I’m sorry, you’ve lost me.”
So much for subtlety working!
“Porn, Mr. Bond! Hard core pornographic photographs. Has Nathan been looking after your porn collection?” she said impatiently.
Colin scoffed with disgust. “Of course not. I don’t know why he’d say such a thing.”
“So you’re saying you have no knowledge of the images I’m talking about.”
“No, I bloody well haven’t! What type of person do you think I am?”
“Okay, fine, they’re not yours,” she said, standing. She put her notepad away and added nonchalantly, “So when the images are sent for fingerprinting, your prints aren’t going to be on them, because you have never seen them and they’re not yours, right?”
A look of horror registered on his face. “Fingerprinting? Now hang on a minute...” Colin jumped to his feet. “What are you on about? There’s no need for fingerprinting for heaven’s sake! There’s nothing illegal about those photographs. They are consenting woman, it’s not like it’s child porn.”
“So, they are yours, then?”
Colin’s face reddened.
Ashley sighed and leaned forward to make good eye contact with him. “Look, Colin, I just need the truth. If you admit they’re yours, that’s the end of the matter.”
“Okay, okay. They belong to me. My wife made me get rid of my collection.”
“I wonder why,” she said dryly, feigning ignorance. “Thanks for your time.” Ashley turned to leave.
“Does that mean I can have them back?”
She spun around and looked at him with raised eyebrows. “What do you think?”
Her mind dismissed all thoughts of Colin as soon as she stepped outside his office. She had her confirmation, and was more than convinced that Nathan wouldn’t lie to her and hadn’t been lying to her about Emily Hill. She still had a mountain ahead of her to climb, but it would be so much easier with this burden of doubt removed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dale was as good as his word. When she checked her phone for messages, Emily Hill’s address was there. He also informed her that Emily had a flatmate by the name of Shelly Wilson. Ashley wondered if the flatmate would still be staying in the home after what had taken place there. Ashley couldn’t help but think of Emily’s heartbroken parents and how disillusioned they must be with the world and the people who inhabited it. Someone had murdered their precious daughter and, as far as Ashley was concerned, the killer was still out on the streets.
Once settled in her car, she leaned her had back against the headrest and took a deep breath before switching on the Sat Nav and typing in the postcode for Emily Hill’s area. The victim’s address was a few streets away. Ashley knew she was taking a chance in going by the house. If Colleen found out she would skin her alive. But she had no choice. To prove Nathan’s innocence, she had to do a lot of digging, and fast. Nathan’s path to freedom was getting narrower every hour.
Ashley navigated her car around the mini-roundabout, took a sharp left off the high street, and found herself driving down a wide tree-lined road. Most of the dwellings were small blocks of flats, with a neat, modest house or two in between. The Sat Nav’s voice told her she’d reached her destination. She pulled over and turned the engine off, but remained seated in the car. A wave of emotion choked her as she scanned the innocent-looking street – the very street her brother had walked along as a free man only five nights ago. She scanned the buildings. All so quiet and so suburban. How could this be a neighbourhood where a young woman had been murdered in the safety of h
er home? It never failed to amaze Ashley how quickly people’s circumstances changed.
She opened the car door and climbed out. A flicker at a window caught her attention as a curtain twitched to reveal the face of a worried neighbour. Ashley didn’t blame her for checking who had driven up, she would do exactly the same if she lived there, after what had taken place next door. She tried to smile reassuringly at the woman but the curtain dropped back into place before she could make eye contact. Ashley hoped that she wasn’t phoning the police to report a suspicious stranger in the neighbourhood. That would take some explaining away!
Ashley smoothed down her jacket and straightened her shoulders. This was always something Tasha teased her about. She called it her “walking on thin ice” action. She said Ashley did it when she was up to something she really knew she shouldn’t be doing, but was going to anyway. Tasha always laughed when she said it. Ashley blinked back tears, missing Tasha acutely. She didn’t want to think about her. She couldn’t afford to. She needed to keep going. If she stopped to think about her, thousands of miles away, and the implications of this, she would fall apart and not be able to continue her investigation and her brother would most certainly remain in prison.
Ashley walked the few yards to the house number that Dale had given her. It was a tidy, grey, pebbled-dashed house, with a small, well-maintained front garden and a wood-panelled garage to the right of the building. Nothing gave away the horror of what had happened within those walls. The door of the house was open, and boxes were stacked neatly on top of one another along the hallway inside. As Ashley neared the entrance, she could see a tall, slender woman with short dark hair poking around in one of the boxes at the bottom of the stairs.
Ashley cleared her throat to draw attention to herself. The woman let out a scream and jerked back, knocking over a box behind her, causing all the contents to scatter across the narrow hallway.
“I’m so sorry to have scared you. Are you Shelly Wilson?” Ashley said quickly as she stepped into the hallway and flashed her ID.