“Good thinking. I knew I brought you on board for something.” Yvonne laughed and took another swig from Tasha's bottle.
Neither of them noticed the solitary coke can lying beneath the hedgerow.
18
Two days later, and Yvonne and Dewi nervously awaited the three victims of the serial rapist. There would be six men involved in the line-up, including both Mark Grantham and Ryan Smith. They would be dressed in dark clothing and a mask similar to that worn by the attacker in each of the rapes.
All of similar height and build. The men wouldn't be brought in until the women felt they were ready. The victim and family liaison officers would be responsible for helping the victims relax as much as possible. Yvonne and Dewi would be giving the line-up participants their instructions through the microphone.
Angela Barnes from Maesbury was the first to arrive, accompanied by her parents. Once seated, they spoke in hushed tones. Angela held her mother's hand and leaned her head on her father's shoulder. Something she may not have done since she was a girl, the DI mused.
Tina Pugh and Sarah Evans arrived almost together, and were immediately taken to separate parts of the waiting area. Officers made them cups of tea and prepared them for what was to come. With all victims now present, Yvonne began to relax just a little. One of her biggest fears had been a victim no-show.
She admired the courage of the three women before her. She could see the comfort they were finding in seeing others like themselves. Others who had known the fear and pain and even self-recrimination, so undeserved. The fear that doing the ordinary every day, or having fun, as young women should, had put them at risk. That they had put themselves at risk. She could see it in their faces. Even now, they partly blamed themselves. Yvonne's heart went out to them.
Callum tapped her on the shoulder and drew her to one side. “Grantham's arrived, ma'am. He's kicking off and demanding the line-up be held straight away.”?
“Thanks, Callum.” Yvonne followed her DC out of the room and down the corridor, to where Grantham had been taken and offered coffee.
“Mr. Grantham.” Yvonne felt an uncomfortable pleasure in having this arrogant man wait. Uncomfortable because she didn't usually believe in causing others discomfort and Grantham was, as yet, only a suspect. He'd probably hurt a few people in his time, though. If not physically, then emotionally. “?I hear you're in a hurry.”
“Well, how long is this going to take. My time costs.” He ran his hands through his hair, his eyes narrow and accusing.
“You'll understand the need to settle the victims. Their comfort is our priority. They've already been through a lot.”? Yvonne met his steely glare with one of her own. “We will, of course, keep you waiting only as long as is necessary. Is their anything else my officers can get you?”
“No.”
“Have you had the procedure explained to you?”
He scowled at her. “Yes.”
“Then I'll leave you to drink your coffee and then you'll be instructed further.”
With that, she left him to it. She couldn't help the half-smile which curled her lips. She hoped he hadn't seen it. Something about him made her stomach churn. She felt some fear at having this man as her enemy.
Thirty minutes later and the girls were ready. They sat in a row, watching the the room behind the large window, as though about to watch a movie, except each had a visible tremble to their hands, when they raised their cups to their mouths. Yvonne's own heart raced. This was a big deal.
The men filed in. The DI knew immediately which one was Grantham. He was number two. She was having a hard time picking out Ryan Smith. He was either number three or six. She drew in a deep breath.
Each of the men stepped forward when shouted by number, saying, “I do money. You wouldn't know what that is.” They then had to grunt several times. Yvonne was taken aback at the words when spoken by Mark Grantham. He sounded relaxed. Casual. Not the impatient, driven man she'd spoken to only thirty minutes before. He could almost have been someone else. She kept her face passive for fear of giving her feelings away to the witnesses.
There were other phrases for the men, following that. Words relevant to Angela and Sarah. Again, the DI was struck by how casual Mark Grantham was.
Ryan Smith was number six. She recognised him when he spoke. He sounded hoarse, however, like he was recovering from a bad cold.
The men were then led away, only to reappear several minutes later wearing flat caps and wax jackets. They repeated the 'money' phrase.
Each of the witnesses were then taken to separate rooms and asked if they had seen their attacker in the line. The conversations were recorded for evidence.
Tina Pugh shook her head. “I don't think he was there. I didn't recognise any of the men.” Sarah Evans tentatively picked out number four –? PC Davies. Angela Barnes broke down. “I'm sorry, I don't know.”
“It's okay.” Yvonne's gaze and voice was gentle. “I can't thank you enough for coming here today. We'll find the man who hurt you. Today just wasn't the day, but we will.”?
19
Yvonne's head was in her hands, when Dewi brought her a fresh coffee.
“Hey, come on. This was a long-shot anyway, remember?”
“I know, Dewi. We're just no further forward. And it's not just about preventing another rape. It's about preventing another family from being murdered. I know it. I just know.”?
“You know we're going to have to leave Mark Grantham and Ryan Smith alone, now...”
“I know.” Yvonne sighed. “Well, if they're innocent, it's right that we do. I feel...I feel...”?
“Deflated?” Dewi set the coffee down on the desk next to her.
“I got carried away. I let personal dislike get the better of me.”
“Well, not one of the victims was absolutely sure of anything. We still cannot completely rule out either Grantham or Smith. We just can't go after them at the moment.”?
Yvonne pushed her chair back. “Let's get the client list from Williams and Wells. And if we can't get that, let's at least get the files they hold on the dead men. See exactly what information the firm had.”?
“Right you are, ma'am.”
Tasha was leaving the DCI's office, as Yvonne headed back to CID, and she was smiling. “Officially on board now.”? She winked at the DI.
Yvonne gave a weak smile in return. “What did he say?”
“Are you alright?” Tasha put a hand on the DI's shouder.
“The victims failed to pick out anyone from the line-up. That includes Mark Grantham and Ryan Smith.”?
“Oh...”
“Yeah. Thrown me a bit. What did Chris say? Is he going to pay you?”
“He didn't mention fees. He asked me if I'd completed a profile for the rapist. I told him I'd prepared two.”?
“Hey, I haven't seen a profile, yet. And you've done two?”
“Yes. One is a rapist, who isn't killing. The other, a rapist who has also murdered three families.”
“Okay, so what are we looking at?”
“Have lunch with me and I'll tell you.” Tasha's cheeky grin was irresistible and the DI laughed. “?Holding the police to ransom, eh?”
“If I have to.”
“I'll get my bag.”
They decided on 'La Terraza', the little Italian restaurant in Park Street, not far from the station. They asked for somewhere quiet and the waiter showed them to a tiny side-room, where they would only be disturbed when their food was delivered.
“Did you see the wink he gave us? I think he got the wrong end of the stick.” Tasha giggled.
Yvonne rolled her eyes but giggled back. “You're always getting me into trouble.”
They ordered pasta and garlic bread and got down to business.
“You've already had the gist of these profiles from me. Most of this won't be new. All I've done is firmed them up ready for the team.”
“Okay. So fire away.”
“Rapist first. He's going to be a rea
sonably intelligent male aged between twenty-five and fifty-five. Almost certainly a white-collar worker, given his taste in soap. He's a sexual predator who will have shown unusual tendencies from a young age. He'll have had a paraphilia of some description. There may have been a history of petty offending, possibly shoplifting or similar. There may have been an exposure offence.”
“Which would put Ryan Smith in the frame, except he wasn't picked out by any of the victims this morning.”?
“This guy will perhaps still live with his mother but, if he's had relationships, none will have lasted for that long.”?
“What about the rapist-murderer?”
“Older. Thirty-five to fifty-five. A high-functioning, intelligent individual with a considerable amount of personal charm. He's able to persuade savvy businessmen to take potentially unreasonable risks. He may be in a steady relationship or married but his partner isn't enough, and he'll have been rough with her, and there will be, almost certainly, a level of domestic abuse. Possibly spilling into violence.”
The waiter laid their meals on the table, and poured half a bottle of water into their respective glasses.
Tasha continued. “He's most likely a businessman and, if not the boss, then reasonably high up in his organisation. Able to take time out when he needs it. He uses that time to stalk his victims and befriend the businessmen. This guy may have been clever enough to have evaded the law in the past, but he will have started on a much smaller scale. So, he too will have started with paraphilias, and perhaps petty crime.”
“Good work.” Yvonne sipped her water. “When are you presenting these to the team?”
“Tomorrow. The DCI said I must concentrate on the rapist profile.”
“No more than I expected.” Yvonne grabbed a bit of her garlic bread.
“What's your next move?” Tasha began eating her carbonara.
“I'm requesting the client files from Williams and West. I'm hoping there's something in there that'll get this case moving again.”?
Tasha nodded. “Might be worth speaking to the accountants who were used by the dead men.”
“Callum and Dewi looked into that. Nothing found of any interest there. The accountants lost, out too. Quite a chunk of their income disappeared with the deaths.”?
“Of course...”
“I believe the perp created those financial losses as a way to get intimate access to the victims and their families.”? Yvonne mouthed a fork- full of pasta.
“He wanted the wives but raped other females because he couldn't actually have them, until the ultimate act of control when he could invade their bedrooms and take their lives.”? Tasha looked to the window.
“Yes...” The DI put down her knife and fork. Eating, at that moment, felt wrong.
“He probably envied everything the businessmen had. So, he may have tried and failed at big business himself. Or maybe he's employed by such a businessman and can't get the big break he would like - the promotion he was promised, or something of that nature.”?
Yvonne finished chewing a mouthful of seafood pasta. “Then there's the masonic connection. Both Ben Davies and Tony Ball were masons. I believe the dead men attended the Masonic Temple in Newtown but I need confirmation of that. That's all we know at the moment, but they'll have lists of members so we can check it out.”?
“Will they give you the names?”
“More than that, hopefully. Well, that's the plan. We'll start with speaking to the lodge secretary at the temple. I have no idea if anything will come of it, but any information that adds to our understanding of the victims is a bonus. What was really going on in the minds of both men? The wider we cast our net the better.”?
“Understand the victims, understand the killer,” Tasha agreed.
Back at at the station, Yvonne found Dewi going through the statements of the rape victims. Looking for anything they might have missed. “?Aha, ma'am. Where were you? I've been searching all over for you.”
“Sorry, Dewi. I left with Tasha for lunch. We went at short notice. I should have told you.”
“It's okay. I just wanted you to know that Paul Baker's been in touch.”
“Paul Baker, as in Williams and Wells?”
“That's the one. He's bringing in the files they have for Davies, Ball and Bennett.”
“Well, that's great.”
“He sounded nervous on the phone. Something tells me he may not have Darryl Williams' permission.”
“What time is he coming in?”
“Later this afternoon, ma'am. He wasn't sure exactly when he'd be able to get away.”
“Good, we've got time to dash over to the Masonic Hall on Milford Road. I've asked the lodge secretary to meet us there.”?
“Right you are, ma'am.”
The Georgian, iron gate was painted pale-blue, and was far more intricately detailed than any other gate she'd seen on Milford Road. Yvonne turned the knob and pushed it open. It gave way with a well-oiled smoothness.
The building itself was pretty ordinary, save for the 'square and compass' symbol adorning the top. Gold implements on a blue-circle background. Timeless symbols of the masons.
Dewi followed close behind her, his hands pushed deep into his long, summer raincoat. The DI was glad of his presence. Masonic temples were not usually the haunt of women. She was nervous about the reception she'd get.
Huw Williams greeted them at the door. A small man, at five-foot-four, he wasn't how the DI had pictured him. In her head, the Masonic lodge secretary would be a six-foot tall, strapping man in flowing, masonic robes.
The unassuming man in spectacles, greeting them with a warm smile, was the antithesis of this vision. She estimated him to be around fifty years of age.
“DI Yvonne Giles,” she said, taking the offered hand.
He was still holding her hand when he turned towards Dewi, only letting go when the DS thrust his hand towards him.
“Come on in. I'm Huw, secretary and general dogsbody.” He smiled and winked at Yvonne, and motioning them through. “?Tea? I have coffee if you prefer.”
Yvonne had done a little research, and new that the lodge secretary was a very important position. It carried a great deal of responsibility. She was impressed with the humility shown by Huw.
“Coffee please, milk no sugar.” She smiled warmly back.
“Now, how can I help you?” Huw asked, once they were seated.
“We're interested in two men who were members of your lodge: Ben Davies and Tony Ball.” Yvonne searched Huw's face.
Huw sighed, and looked down into his coffee mug, furrows lining his forehead. “That was a bad business.”?
“We're seeking closure for the families and friends – trying to piece together the last six months of their lives. Discovering why they might have made the decision to take their entire families with them.”?
“They were both members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of North Wales. Ben had been a member for about five years. Tony, let's see, Tony for about three years.”?
“Did they come to this temple regularly?”
“They came to most meetings. I think they only missed when they were off on some big business meeting. Many of our members are similar. People get involved when they can.”?
“Did they come here together?”
“Not together, no. Ben Davies was a member of Hafren Lodge. Hafren has a around fifty members. Tony was a member of Cedewain Lodge. There's almost eighty members of Cedewain.”?
“I see...”
“They were good men, Inspector. They did a lot of great work for the round table in Newtown and sponsored events and stalls for the Newtown carnival. They also helped schools and hospitals with equipment from time-to-time. They didn't deserve what happened to them.”?
“Were you surprised at them taking their own lives?”
“Honestly? Very.”
“Could you have foreseen them hurting their families?”
“No. I was shocked. We all were. We sign up to the m
asons to do good work. We all believe in God, or at least in a power higher than ourselves. Our core values are truth, charity and love. We help each other. None of us saw this coming. If we had, we'd have done everything in our power to prevent it.”?
“Did they talk to you, or anyone else in the lodge, about their financial difficulties?”
“They didn't discuss them with me. They may have discussed them with others. We held a special ceremony for them after they passed. No-one mentioned anything. Like I said, we were shocked. I didn't hear of anyone who saw it coming.”?
“How were the men introduced to the lodge?”
“Another member put them forward, originally.”
“Can you remember who?”
“I can for Tony. I'd have to check my records as regards Ben.”
“Who introduced Tony?”
“A gentleman called Darryl Williams.”
“Darryl Williams the financial adviser?”
“I believe he is a financial adviser, yes.”
“Would you check your records, when you get time, and let me know who introduced Ben?”
“Of course. Is it relevant?”
“We'd like to talk to as many people as possible. People who knew the men and may have known of their situation. Get a more complete picture.”? Dewi spoke up for the first time, having been busy getting down the notes.
“Oh, I see.” Huw nodded his understanding.
“I'd appreciate it if you kept our conversation private.” Yvonne finished the last mouthful of her coffee.
“If you wish, Inspector.”
“Thank you, Huw. The North Wales Lodge has the reputation of being one of the most closed lodges. You have been very helpful today, and for that we are really grateful.”?
Huw smiled, sadly. “It's the least I could do, under the circumstances.”
“So, Darryl Williams introduced both men to the lodge.” Dewi opened the gate for Yvonne as they headed back to their car.
“He seems to be cropping up everywhere.” Yvonne paused, in the middle of opening her car door. “?I think we need to find out a good deal more about our Mr Williams.”
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