by P. F. Ford
‘I just wondered,’ said Slater. ‘You see, he rented a cottage in Trillington. You know Trillington, don’t you?’
‘Of course I do, it’s not far from Ramlinstoke where I used to work.’
‘But you never met Mr Hudson while you were there?’
‘No, I did not! Are you trying to suggest I’m somehow connected to this dead child through him?’
‘Good heavens, no,’ said Slater. ‘The DNA results also told us who the mother of the child is – or was. Her name was Kylie Mason.’
Diana had gone extremely pale all of a sudden. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, and holding her hand to her mouth, she rushed from the room, across the hall, and into a small downstairs cloakroom. She slammed the door behind her. The sounds of retching could clearly be heard. It was a good five minutes before Diana emerged, her face still deathly pale.
‘I’m sorry,’ she explained. ‘It must be something I ate.’
‘There’s lot of it around,’ said Slater. ‘Let’s hope it’s nothing serious.’
‘I’m sure I’ll be fine once I’ve had a lie down,’ she said.
‘Yes, of course,’ said Slater. ‘We’ll get out of your way and let you recover. There’s just one more thing before we go. Do you know a DS Colin Norton?’
‘Yes. We were colleagues at Ramlinstoke.’
‘Good friends, were you?’
‘No, I didn’t really know him that well. Like I said, we were colleagues, nothing more, nothing less.’
‘Oh, I thought you must have been good friends,’ said Slater. ‘Didn’t he take some leave and come up here to help with the search for your son when he went missing?’
Diana licked her lips nervously. ‘Well, yes, he did, but I don’t know why. Perhaps he was at a loose end and wanted to do something useful,’ she said, unconvincingly.
Slater stared at her, making it quite clear what he thought of her lies without actually saying as much.
‘Here’s another coincidence for you, Mrs Randall,’ said Watson. ‘Kylie Mason, the child’s mother, was found in the same ditch as her son.’
‘You found him in a ditch?’ Diana sounded horrified.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t we mention that before? He was found in a ditch, just along from his mother. It looks like she was killed by a hit-and-run driver and was either knocked into the ditch or dumped in there.’
Slater and Watson stared at Diana Randall, waiting for some sort of response. ‘I really think I need to go and lie down,’ she said, putting a hand to her head.
‘Yes, I think that’s probably a good idea,’ said Slater. ‘We’ll see ourselves out.’
Chapter 30
Slater climbed into the driver’s seat, clicked his seat belt on, and started the car. ‘So what did you make of that?’ he asked, as he pulled away.
‘Did you tell her we were coming?’ asked Watson.
‘No, I didn’t, but she was definitely expecting us, wasn’t she?’
‘She complained to DCI Lipton, didn’t she?’ asked Watson. ‘Would he have told her?’
‘I couldn’t honestly say for sure,’ said Slater, thoughtfully, ‘but I don’t think he has any more time for the Randalls than you or I have.’
‘Ted Rivers?’ asked Watson.
‘I got the impression he didn’t much care for her,’ said Slater.
‘That rather narrows the field then, doesn’t it?’ asked Watson.
Slater quickly aimed a smile in her direction. ‘So you spotted the bullshit about not really knowing Colin Norton?’
‘She really must think we’re all stupid,’ said Watson. ‘He wouldn’t even have known her son had disappeared if he wasn’t in touch with her.’
‘He might have seen it on the daily bulletin,’ said Slater.
‘Yes, he might have seen it a couple of days after the event, but we know he was there the very next morning, his name’s on the search list! Do you want me to get hold of his phone records?’
‘There you go again, thinking the same thing as me and planning ahead,’ said Slater. ‘It’s beginning to look like I have the perfect partner. I like that.’
Watson blushed at the compliment, and they drove on in silence for a minute or two.
‘What about her reaction when you mentioned the ditch?’ asked Slater.
‘It is quite a horrific idea when you think about it,’ said Watson. ‘Some poor kid dumped in a cold, wet ditch all alone.’ She gave an involuntary shiver.
‘Yeah, I suppose it could have been that,’ said Slater.
‘But you don’t think it was?’
‘I’m beginning to feel we may have missed something by not pursuing it, but perhaps it’s just me and I’m seeing things that aren’t there.’
‘You mean your dislike of her is stopping you from being objective?’
‘Yeah, I suppose,’ agreed Slater, reluctantly. ‘If it’s that obvious, it’s not very professional, is it?’
‘Some people are very easy to dislike, and she’s certainly one of them,’ said Watson. ‘But, don’t worry, I’ll say if I think you’re too far out of line.’
Slater inclined his head in acceptance, but said nothing.
‘What if she’s right about what she said the first time we spoke to her, and the St Christopher pendant was taken from their son and given to the dead boy?’ asked Watson.
‘If that’s the case, we’ve still got another body to find,’ said Slater, ‘but, quite honestly, I’d prefer it if we could make do with the two bodies we already have.’
‘Of course, if it’s the same person behind the abductions, it’s possible that Sonny Randall might still be alive.’
Slater took his eyes off the road to glance in Watson’s direction. ‘How do you work that one out?’
‘Suppose the whole idea was to steal a little boy and then turn him into some sort of slave?’
‘You mean for sex?’ asked Slater.
Watson pulled a face. ‘Well, yes, I suppose so.’
‘God, I hope not,’ said Slater. ‘Anyway, why have two?’
‘Perhaps it was always intended there would only be one, but it went wrong and he died.’
‘What, and then he steals the Randalls’ son as a replacement?’ asked an incredulous Slater.
‘It’s possible,’ said Watson.
Slater looked across at Watson again, and then turned back to the road. ‘I had you down as an innocent, maybe even a bit naive, but I can see I was wrong. I thought you hadn’t dealt with this sort of thing before?’
‘I only said I’d never had to deal with a missing child, but I’ve worked a bit of vice before.’
‘So, there’s a whole lot more to Samantha Brearley than meets the eye,’ said Slater with a mischievous grin.
‘Never judge a book by its cover,’ said Watson, with a twinkle in her eye. ‘You should know that, sir.’
They drove on in silence for a couple of minutes before Slater spoke again. ‘If you’re just gazing out of the window, do you think you could take another look through the Diana Randall file? I’ve studied it and studied it, but I’m sure I’ve missed something. It’s on the back seat.’
Chapter 31
Watson raised her eyebrows, but then reached back for the file. ‘I know you’re the boss, but can I ask why you’re so focused on Diana Randall?’
‘You mean, is there more to it than the fact I don’t like her?’
‘Well, I accept we’re pretty sure she is, or at least was, up to something with Colin Norton, but as far as we know it was just an affair, and that’s not actually a crime, is it? I know you’ve asked me to go through the file because you think you’re missing something, but as we know her son’s not one of our victims, I can’t see how it’s relevant to our investigation.’
‘Do you think I have some sort of vendetta against her?’ asked Slater.
‘I wouldn’t put it quite like that,’ she said, diplomatically, ‘but we’re not giving David Hudson this much attention.’
‘That’s becau
se we know he has an alibi for the time Kylie died,’ said Slater.
‘When did Diana become a suspect in Kylie’s murder?’
‘As we don’t have anything to go on right now, everyone’s a suspect in Kylie’s murder,’ said Slater.
‘I hope you’re not proposing that for real.’
‘What? No, of course not,’ said Slater. ‘Look, I can’t tell you what exactly it is I suspect Diana Randall of doing, and maybe I’m completely wrong, I’m just convinced she’s done something.’
‘It’s because of that pendant, isn’t it?’
‘You were there, Sam. You saw her face. It was the same when you told her about the ditch. It meant something significant to her.’
Watson nodded slowly. ‘But what if she was right and it was just a similar pendant, or someone had taken it from her son and given it to Kylie’s son? What if she had met David Hudson and given it to him, and then he’d given it to his son?’
‘You’re clutching at straws there and you know it,’ said Slater. ‘I mean, what are the chances? David Hudson had never met his son, and I can’t even see how Diana could have met Hudson, and anyway we’ve already ruled him out as a figure of interest.’
Watson sighed. ‘I suppose you’re right about Hudson. I think he stopped being a figure of interest when you asked him if he was the father of Diana Randall’s son, and he nearly had a coronary at the very idea.’
‘I didn’t put it quite as bluntly as that,’ said Slater.
‘Well, no, but you have to admit he did look pretty horrified at the idea. Poor man, he didn’t even get to share the experience of seeing his son born or get the chance to take some time off to enjoy his first few days.’
An alarm bell was suddenly ringing in Slater’s head. What had she just said? ‘Can you say that again?’
‘The bit where he was horrified?’
‘No, what came after that.’
‘I said he didn’t even get the chance to take a few days off to be with the baby.’
‘That’s it! How could I be so stupid? I told you I’d missed something, didn’t I?’
There was a lay-by just ahead, and he quickly indicated and pulled over into it. He reached a hand towards her. ‘Can I have that file back a minute?’
‘What is it?’ asked Watson, passing him the file.
‘You just said it,’ he said, flipping through the file. ‘When we spoke to Hudson he was really indignant I should even suggest he was the father of Diana’s son, right? But he went further didn’t he? He told us the boy had been born before the Major took him up to Flipton Dene, and that was before he met Diana.’
‘Right,’ said Watson, uncertainly. She really wasn’t sure where Slater was headed with this.
‘Think about the dates. The Major took Hudson up there when he came out of prison, so it was the latter half of 2001. We know Diana was a DI at Flipton by then, and she would never have got that promotion if she had been pregnant.’
‘So, the baby must have been born while she was still at Ramlinstoke,’ said Watson, matter-of-factly, ‘before she became a DI. I don’t see why that’s a problem.’
‘No?’ asked Slater. ‘Well, let me explain. The Randalls claimed Sonny was six years old when he disappeared. That means he must have been born in 2000, right?’
‘Yes, and?’ asked Watson.
‘Don’t you see?’ asked Slater. ‘That was the year Diana got her promotion.’
‘And that worries you because?’
‘That worries me because I don’t believe they would have promoted someone that young who had just had a baby.’
‘That’s a bit sexist isn’t it?’ asked Watson, derisively. ‘Do you really think they would penalise her for having a baby?’
‘Come on, get real,’ said Slater. ‘Of course they would, but that’s not what I’m getting at.’ He finally found the page he had been looking for and passed it across to Watson. ‘Here you are. There’s no mention anywhere in this file of her ever having taken maternity leave. I mean, whoever heard of a woman having a baby and going straight back to work?’
‘She’s a career girl,’ said Watson. ‘Maybe her husband looked after the baby and she cut her maternity leave short.’
‘But according to her records, she’s never had more than the odd day off sick. Now, I’ll admit I don’t know much about childbirth, but she would have to be superwoman to be back at work next day, wouldn’t she?’
Watson stared at him for a long moment. ‘Perhaps they adopted,’ she said. ‘I’ll get the team to check.’
‘Tell them to get a move on,’ said Slater. ‘We’re going back up there tomorrow and I want some answers before we get there.’
‘Do you want to go back now?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Slater. ‘I want Alan to be there. They knew we were coming today. Next time, I want to surprise them.’
* * *
That evening, just after eight, Slater's phone began to ring.
‘Hi, Norm, what do you know?'
'I went round to your flat on my walk this morning, like you asked, and I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I looked through the windows but, if I'm honest, I would have to say the place looks empty. I'm pretty sure Jenny's not there.'
'Oh, right,' said Slater, gloomily. 'Well, thanks for going round there, mate.'
'That's okay,' said Norman. 'These walks can get pretty boring, so it gave me a change of scenery. Look, is there something I should know?'
'She's pissed off about me working away,' explained Slater. 'Every time we've spoken since I got here, all she's done is complain about being left on her own. Then the last couple of nights she's not even answered my calls.'
'Ah, right, I see,' said Norman. 'So you think what?'
'Well, I thought she was just trying to annoy me by ignoring me, but if she's not there, well, I dunno what to think, really.'
'She hasn't left you, has she?' asked Norman, bluntly.
'Good grief, no,' said Slater, a little too hastily. 'She said something about going to her parents to try and make the peace. I expect that's where she is.'
'Do you want me to get my spare key and go round and take a look?'
'What? No, I don't think so, Norm. I'll admit I was a bit worried, but I wouldn't want her to think we were spying on her.'
'It's no trouble—'
'No, it's okay, Norm. There's no need for you get involved in one of our domestics. You know how Jenny likes to make a big deal out of these things. She's always threatening to leave me, but she never does. I'm sure we'll be fine once I get back. It will all blow over, you'll see.'
'Okay, but if you change your mind, just let me know?'
'Sure I will, thanks Norm.'
Slater ended the call and tossed his phone onto the bed. This was worse than he had thought. Maybe this time, she really had packed her bags and gone!
Chapter 32
It was a pretty quiet journey up to Flipton Dene the next morning. Slater wasn’t in the mood for talking, and thankfully Watson seemed to realise that and stayed quiet too. About an hour from the Randalls’, her mobile phone began to ring.
Slater was deep in thought and barely heard Watson’s conversation. He hadn’t heard from Jenny since the night before last, and it was beginning to worry him. This was the first time they had been apart since they had started living together, but they had been in an ongoing argument for the first few days about her being on her own. Even so, he had been quite sure she was okay. Then she had told him she was going to see her parents to try to make the peace.
Of course, he had been pleased to think she was finally going to start putting her life back together, but why hadn’t she called him back last night? He thought maybe it was because she was with her parents and hadn’t seen them in a long time, and there was lots of catching up to do, but even as he tried to convince himself, he knew he was making a pretty lame excuse for her. She knew he worried about her, but she always told him she was fine and he sho
uldn’t fuss.
He had called her twice and left a message each time. She should have called back, but she hadn’t even sent a text. He wondered if she sulking again, or was this some perverse idea of hers to teach him he shouldn’t worry? If it was, it was having totally the opposite effect. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted when he became aware Watson was speaking to him.
‘Sir?’
He glanced across at her, almost surprised to see her there. ‘I’m sorry, I was miles away.’
‘You have been ever since we left this morning.’
‘Yeah, I’m sorry about that,’ he said, sheepishly. ‘I should leave personal stuff at home.’
‘But sometimes that’s easier said than done, isn’t it?’ said Watson. ‘Especially when you’ve got the best part of three hours on the motorway in front of you. Remember you told me I shouldn’t be afraid to show I’m human? Well, that goes for you, too. I wouldn’t want a robot for a boss any more than you want one for a partner.’
Slater thought that was fair enough and conceded the point without comment. ‘Well, anyway, I’m here now,’ he said. ‘What did you want?’
She waggled her phone at him. ‘That was the team. I told them you wanted some quick results, and they’ve got some. It turns out Diana Randall has a maternal great-grandmother who was Irish. A devout Catholic, she lived in Dublin before she came over to England. That doesn’t prove there’s a link between her and the silversmith who made the pendant, but it lends a bit more credence to the theory.’
‘So maybe great granny was given the pendant as a child and then it passes down through the girls in the family,’ said Slater.
‘Until it gets to Diana, and she doesn’t have a daughter so she gives it to her son,’ finished Watson.
‘It works as a theory,’ said Slater, ‘but it’s just circumstantial at best if we can’t prove it.’
‘There’s more,’ said Watson. ‘It appears the Randalls have never adopted a child. At least, not officially.’
Slater whistled appreciatively. ‘Now, that is interesting,’ he said, with a broad grin. ‘That has definitely brightened my day. Well done, Sam!’