by Jay Nadal
8
The bland interior and bleakness of the interview room left a cold, lifeless atmosphere. A light brown desk with two sets of opposing plastic chairs offered little to break up the monotony of the room. Light cream walls rose from the floor to waist height before being split by the emergency panic strip that ran around the circumference of the room.
Freddie Coltrane sat hunched in one chair opposite Scott and Helen. He wrung his hands nervously, occasionally stopping to pick at the skin on the end of his fingers. He looked decidedly worse following his drunken outbursts last night. He was unshaven, and dressed in a crumpled blue shirt and jeans. Freddie looked withdrawn, nervous and anxious as he shifted around on his chair. He shot rapid but brief glances at the officers, unsure as to what to do.
The interview with Freddie Coltrane had been delayed whilst the officers waited for Stuart Wainwright the family solicitor to attend the interview. Freddie’s family had been insistent on his right to have legal representation. Stuart Wainwright sat sombre-faced alongside Freddie. Wainwright’s neatly combed brown hair was short and tidy. He had strong angular features, and was immaculately turned out in a grey pinstripe suit, crisp white shirt and dark blue tie. With a pen and paper in hand, he was poised like a coiled rattlesnake, ready to pounce if the officers asked anything that he deemed Freddie had no need or desire to answer.
Scott had done the formalities and introductions, including the caution and Freddie’s right to leave whenever he wanted.
“Freddie, we weren’t expecting to see you so soon. What concerns me is that your girlfriend is missing, and yet you were out last night on a bit of a bender. That doesn’t come across as someone who seems worried about the disappearance of his girlfriend?”
Freddie glanced over at Wainwright, who gave him the slightest of nods to confirm that it was okay to reply.
He cleared his throat, the stench of stale alcohol wafting across the table in Scott’s direction. “I was just letting off steam. It ain’t an offence, is it?” He shrugged.
Helen noted Freddie’s responses as she closely scrutinised his words. She noticed that every time he spoke his eyes seemed to narrow. Whether that was out of suspicion or concentration remained a mystery.
Scott shook his head. “Of course not, Freddie. It’s just a little surprising that your girlfriend’s been missing for two days, and if I’m honest, you don’t seem bothered.”
Freddie stiffened as he pulled his shoulders into a rigid line. His jaw tightened as he glared at Scott. “I’d hardly say she was my girlfriend. And as I said to you when you came to see me, she’s done a runner with my money. She bled me dry, so I reckon I’ve got a right to be fucked off and not bothered.” His face relaxed as he stared up at the ceiling. “She’s probably moved on to another bloke to leech off.”
“And that bothers you?”
Freddie shrugged once again as he pulled up his shirtsleeves before resting his elbows on the table. “Yes, it bothers me. It bothers me that she fleeced me. I was a mug for falling for it,” he said as he shook his head in regret.
Scott noticed what appeared to be relatively new scratch marks along Freddie’s forearms. He glanced towards Helen as they exchanged a knowing look. “Where did you pick those up?” Scott asked, nodding in the direction of Freddie’s arms.
Freddie glanced at the red welts, and hurriedly pulled his sleeves down to hide them before flicking a glance between Helen and Scott. “Dunno, must have happened last night. But I can’t remember much of what happened. Maybe it was the bouncers being unnecessarily heavy-handed with me?”
“Did you and Hailey ever fight, and by that I mean physically?”
Stuart Wainwright interrupted before his client could respond. “My client is willingly attending this interview and cooperated with questions about the events of last night. I fail to see how questions about his relationship with his girlfriend have any bearing on those events,” he said sternly.
“I’m just trying to build a better picture of his relationship with Hailey, and why the lad seems to be so angry about it.”
“My client is here because he was arrested last night for being intoxicated and the alleged assault of security personnel at a drinking establishment in town. I would kindly ask you to refrain from asking irrelevant questions. Any further deviation in questioning will result in instructing my client to respond to any further questioning with no comment. I hope I make myself clear?”
A knock at the door disturbed the uneasy silence. Scott announced his departure for the tape recorder before stepping out into the corridor to meet Mike.
“How are you getting on, Guv?”
“I’m just fishing at the moment. His brief is a bit of a stick in the mud. I can’t quite make out Coltrane. His girlfriend’s been missing for a few days, and he’s on the piss in town.”
“Well, this may help, Guv. We’ve just had the initial feedback from the tech boys about Hailey’s laptop. Buried in her folders are quite a few pictures. They look like phone downloads of Hailey in compromising positions with Freddie and another girl. It looks like Hailey and Freddie had a thing for threesomes.”
Scott raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Me neither, Guv. By all accounts, she was a pretty down-to-earth girl. Just shows how you can never judge a book by the cover.”
“Do we know who the other girl is?”
“Yes, Guv. She’s got a Facebook and Instagram profile and they’re all connected as friends. Her name is Lucy Wheeler, another student up at the uni. And we’ve also started to pull off phone records. So far there are lots of calls between all three of them. So it may have been a bit of a regular thing for them.”
Scott folded his arms and stared at the floor as he took a few paces back and forth trying to fill the pieces together. Was Freddie involved in Hailey’s disappearance? Were all three willing participants in this threesome? Was there any jealousy?
“Okay. Good work, Mike. Anything else?”
“Yes, Guv. Triangulation data suggests that Hailey’s phone was last used in and around the area of Preston Street. They can’t be more precise than that. So give or take a few hundred yards.”
“Get onto CCTV control. Check records from forty-eight to seventy-two hours ago, in and around the Preston Street and Weston Road area, going right down to the seafront.”
“I’ll get onto it straight away, Guv.”
Scott paused for a moment before re-entering the room. What he had just discovered painted a different picture of the dynamics in Freddie and Hailey’s relationship. As much as he was keen to explore it further with Freddie right now, in his opinion, it made more sense to not divulge it during this interview.
“Freddie, we will process you in relation to the events of last night in due course. But whilst you’re here, we would appreciate your help in trying to build a better picture of Hailey and what she was like. Now we’re obviously quite concerned for her safety, and as I’m sure you appreciate, her parents are extremely worried for her safe return.”
Freddie shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure she’ll turn up.”
“How would you describe your relationship with Hailey?”
“We’ve been through this!” he said abruptly.
“I know we have, but I’m just trying to build a better picture in my mind,” Scott said.
“We had a good laugh. We both enjoyed a good drink, and as I said, we’d go back to my place and get down to business.”
“Business?” Helen interrupted.
“Sex, S – E – X, sex.” Freddie accentuated each syllable as he tapped out each letter with his finger on the desk.
“And was it a good sex life?” Helen asked, feeling braver and wishing to take an active part in the interview.
Stuart Wainwright interrupted again. “I fail to see how this is relevant to the events of last night.”
Freddie raised his hand to silence his solicitor. Confidence started to replace his anxiety.
Arrogance started to replace his humility. “It was pretty good. She was a good girl. Not as fruity as I would like, but she was game for having a good time.”
“Not as fruity? Can you elaborate?”
Freddie tapped the side of his nose and smiled. “That would be telling, wouldn’t it? Let’s just say that after a few drinks she would soon loosen up. Know what I mean?” Freddie asked with a wink in Helen’s direction.
“Did you ever have to coerce her?”
“As I said, after a few drinks, she was always game.”
Scott concluded the interview not long after. The security personnel at the bar in town had opted not to press charges, leaving Freddie to be processed for being drunk and disorderly through a caution.
Scott’s instincts told him that there was more to Freddie than met the eye. Scott was sure of that. What he’d noticed was how very little eye contact Freddie had given during the interview. Freddie was either incredibly shy or he was indeed hiding something. It was a point that Helen picked up as they made their way back to the office. She had noticed Freddie’s reluctance to be forthcoming with answers until they got onto the subject of sex.
Yes, Freddie was hiding something, the question was what?
9
Upper Lewes Road was one of those streets in Brighton that many would refer to as an area of high-density housing. A busy, narrow road, with terraced houses, each one offering little in description or character. Many dwellings had little or no front garden, so residents and passers-by shared the congested space.
Within minutes of the University of Brighton main site, Upper Lewes Road and its surrounding side streets represented student bedsit land. They were houses that had been split and then split again over time to house as many students as humanly possible within each property.
With the absence of a doorbell, Scott loudly knocked on the turquoise door and waited patiently for a few moments. Abby wrapped her arms tightly around her chest and stared at the tatty door that appeared as if it hadn’t had a lick of paint in many years. Fastidious with her cleanliness and tidiness, she hated visiting houses like this. In her mind, she worried about touching things that hadn’t been sanitised or cleaned in ages. Road grime, discarded crisp packets and strips of cellophane had found a home in the doorway.
Scott was about to knock again when he heard the latch and chain being released. A small petite woman popped her head around the corner. Her bright blue eyes, her pale blemish-free complexion and tightly cut bleached blonde hair made her look deceptively young. “Yes, can I help you?” she asked in a soft voice.
Scott and Abby produce their warrant cards, “I’m Detective Inspector Baker. This is my colleague, Detective Sergeant Trent, from Brighton CID. We’re investigating the disappearance of Hailey Bratton. And you are?”
“I’m Sophie Smith, her flatmate,” she replied. Her impish looks and large doe-eyes reflected the softness and vulnerability in her voice.
“We understand that you reported Hailey missing?”
Sophie nodded, as she tucked her hands into jeans pockets.
“May we come in? We just have a few questions to ask you.”
Sophie’s face softened further, her eyes reflecting the sadness she felt. “I’m not sure there’s anything else I can say. I’ve already spoken to the police and answered all their questions. I guess you haven’t been able to find her?” she asked, as she stood to one side to let them in.
Sophie led them through to the lounge, where they were greeted by a mismatch of well-worn green velour sofas and a heavily scratched teak table in the centre. A large TV hung from the far wall of the lounge. The room was basic and functional, with a mixture of prints randomly pinned around the room. It lacked any sense of theme or style.
“I know you’ve spoken to one of my colleagues, Detective Constable Wilson. However, Hailey has been missing for forty-eight hours, so her disappearance is viewed as a priority.”
Abby flipped open her notepad. “According to our notes, last time you saw Hailey was when she said she was heading into town.”
Sophie nodded. “She said she wasn’t going to be in town for long. Then she was going to grab the bus up to Sussex uni to spend the evening with Freddie. I remember her giving me one of her cheeky winks and saying not to expect her back until the morning.”
“Just before she left, was there was anything that gave you the impression that something was bothering her, or that she was upset about anything?”
“No nothing. She just seemed her normal self. I must admit I didn’t like the fact that she was going to see Freddie and spend the night with him. He’s such a perv.”
Abby and Scott exchanged the briefest of glances.
“Perv?” Scott inquired.
Sophie tucked her elbows into her sides and pulled her shoulders up to her ears. “He’s not my type. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women. The minute Hailey’s back is turned, he’s chatting to other girls, and he’s always up at the East Slope bar. He’s such a lech. If you go to the clubs in town, he’ll be there. He’s just a desperate saddo.”
“And Hailey never saw that? It didn’t bother her?”
“What’s the saying? ‘Love is blind’ or something? I did try and tell her that he’s a bit of a perv. But I didn’t want to piss her off or make me sound like I’m jealous of that disgusting tosser. She is besotted with him. She kept saying that he’s her bit of rough. She would go gaga whenever she saw him.”
“Was there anything else about Freddie that concerned you?” Abby asked.
“Listen, he’s a pervert. He likes groping girls. It’s like he gets off on it. And he’s made no secret of the fact that he loves really rough sex. He’s always talking about tying girls down because they love it, handcuffing them to the bed, and then biting and scratching them.” Sophie pulled a pained expression. “Hailey told me that Freddie wanted her to come with him to some BDSM chamber in town where they could both let loose.”
“And did she?”
“Not as far as I know…” Sophie’s voice trailed off as she stared at the floor. “She loves Freddie like mad. She’d do anything for him, so maybe she has. She started taking weed, and she had never been into that. She’d even agreed to take part in threesomes just to keep Freddie happy.”
“Do you know who Lucy Wheeler is?” Scott asked, studying Sophie’s face for any sign of reaction.
Sophie rolled her eyes towards the ceiling before looking away. “That’s who they invited into bed with them. Her morals…Well, let’s just say she doesn’t have any. Everyone knows she puts it about. A few drinks and she will jump into bed with anyone or anything. Male, female, she’s not fussy. I think Freddie finds her really exciting. They’re both fucking shallow and disgusting people.”
Scott cleared his throat at Sophie’s comment. “To save time, do you know where we may find Lucy Wheeler?”
Sophie offered a sarcastic laugh. “If she’s not in Freddie’s bed then she’ll be on her own. Lucy’s in the next block up from Freddie’s room at East Slope.”
“I know student life can be a bit raucous, but this is taking the fucking piss now!” Abby fumed as they once again made their way up the path through the East Slope accommodation. “Anyone would think that campuses are a hotbed of steamy promiscuous sex. And there’s me thinking that their tuition fees were so they could study.”
Scott held the door open for Abby. “Well, I can’t imagine this being a new thing. This has probably been going on for years up and down the country. It’s just that we never knew people like this.
“And I don’t want to tar everyone with the same brush, but I suspect the generation of today are more free-living than of perhaps twenty years ago.”
Abby’s knock on a door was greeted by a loud and strong female voice. “Coming.”
Scott and Abby weren’t really sure what to expect, but a tall curvaceous, dark-haired Amazonian-like female answered the door. Abby noticed how the girl’s pink, thin knitted crop top barely stretched
over her chest and past her ribs. Her pierced navel showed off a red stone.
“I’m Detective Inspector Baker and this is my colleague, Detective Sergeant Trent, from Brighton CID. Are you Lucy Wheeler?”
The girl nodded as she straightened her already long straight glossy brown hair that tumbled over her shoulders and partially covered her chest. If there was any hint of fear at two police officers arriving on her doorstep, then she hid it well as she waved them through with a large, warm smile.
“How can I help?” she asked, raising her hands in front of her.
“We are investigating the disappearance of Hailey Bratton. We understand you may know her?”
Lucy’s dark brown eyes smouldered, as a wry smile broke on her face. She shrugged. “Oh, I know her. She’s a fun girl.”
“And when did you last see her?”
Lucy glanced in Scott’s direction, and shook her head with uncertainty. “Not sure, probably a few days ago.”
“And how did she appear to you at the time?”
“Fine. Normal.”
“Would you care to elaborate on how you actually know her?” Scott continued.
“She’s going out with my boyfriend, Freddie.”
The choice of words didn’t go unnoticed by either officer as they shot each other a glance. “And does Freddie have a surname?”
Lucy laughed. “Coltrane. He lives next door.”
An uncomfortable pause hung in the air as Abby made some notes.
“Oh, I know what you’re thinking. That I’m going out with him and she’s going out with him, and I’m not bothered…?” Without waiting for either officer to reply, Lucy continued, “Let’s just say we have an interesting and open relationship. Neither of us wants to be tied down with one partner. After all, we are still young, and we like to have fun.”