Blunt Force

by Lynda La Plante

  Elliott paced back and forth for a while, then told Dabs to take a short walk. Jane saw Dabs hesitate and then do as he was asked.

  Elliott put his arm around her shoulder. ‘You can say no, Jane, but tomorrow morning I want to wire you up and coax that bastard Murphy into revealing himself as the rotten, corrupt copper he is.’

  *

  Jane stopped off at the local tobacconist and bought herself a pack of Marlboro Lights. Elliott had told her that he would organize the surveillance with the obo van and the tech guy, and would call her early in the evening. Jane lit up a cigarette and made herself a black coffee but knew there was no way she would be able to sit in her flat, just waiting patiently. She decided if no one else on the team was interested, she would re-interview Julia Summers just to keep herself from going mad.

  She drove to Julia Summers’ mews but was frustrated to discover there was no one at home.

  She had just walked back to her car and was opening the driver’s door when a taxi passed her, heading towards the mews. Tanya, wearing a very short mini skirt and a fox fur jacket, got out. Jane called over to her as she paid off the taxi driver. Tanya turned around and then waved.

  ‘Oh, it’s you. I thought it was Julia. This is her fur coat and she’ll go apeshit if I’m caught wearing it.’

  Tanya opened the front door. ‘If you want to speak to Julia she’ll be back later.’

  Jane followed Tanya into the house. ‘Actually, it’s you I want to talk to.’

  ‘Oh, I’ve been at an audition. I get really pissed off as they always tell me I’m too tall. Most actors must be midgets. But then I’m not tall enough for modelling.’

  Jane was going to say perhaps Tanya shouldn’t have worn her platform shoes for the audition then, but decided against it. She looked around the untidy lounge, which now contained some battered suitcases along with a number of smarter Louis Vuitton ones and large cardboard boxes. She watched Tanya take off the fox fur, open one of the smart suitcases and stuff it in.

  ‘What do you want to talk about? Because I have to sort out my stuff. Her bloody father is making her go back to live at home, so I’m kicked out at the end of the week. I dunno where I’m gonna go. It’s all right for her – home’s a fuckin’ palace. She said it was your fault because Annalise’s parents were going apeshit and calling her father.’

  Jane moved a pile of clothes from an armchair and sat down, taking out her notebook. Tanya perched on the arm of the cluttered sofa and rummaged in her handbag, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

  ‘I need to ask you some questions and I want you to be truthful. If I think you are wasting my time, I will have you brought into the station.’

  Tanya used a box of matches to light her cigarette and inhaled deeply as she crossed her legs, tossing the match onto the carpet.

  ‘I dunno what I can tell you about anything that I haven’t told you already. I’ve done nothing wrong.’

  Tanya began to tap one foot up and down as she inhaled and flicked at the ash on her cigarette. Even with too much make-up she was a very pretty girl, with wide slanting eyes and a small turned-up nose. She had a large full-lipped mouth and a pixie quality that probably made her very photogenic. But there was no innocence to her, and she was very obviously not posh like Julia Summers.

  ‘How old are you?’

  ‘I’m nineteen.’

  ‘How long have you worked for the KatWalk agency?’

  She shrugged. ‘When it started I was one of the first girls on their books, not that I would say they’re much good. I got a few photoshoots for teen magazines but they were only just starting up and Simon Quinn wasn’t there until months later. He’s useless – he doesn’t know anything about the industry.’

  ‘So who approached you to join the agency?’

  Tanya got up and went to the kitchen, tossing her cigarette butt into the stacked sink of dirty dishes.

  ‘I was actually applying as a part-time sort of secretary to work on the reception when Rita or Angie were on holidays. I can’t type or do shorthand and my main idea was maybe getting an agent for acting. I met Charles Foxley and he suggested I get represented by his new modeling agency. He also asked if I had any model friends that would be interested.’

  ‘Is that where you met Julia Summers?’

  ‘Yeah, but not until she came to work for Foxley. She mentioned that she needed someone to share her house, to pay half the rent. I’ve been here since then but I owe her because I’ve never had much.’

  ‘Did you earn extra money from the premieres and first-night events?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s how I could keep staying here. I’ve done quite a few.’

  Jane listened as Tanya giggled about always getting a bit extra, charging for expensive evening gowns that she’d actually borrowed from friends. Julia had even allowed her to wear some of her clothes.

  But she began to grow tense when Jane asked about the other activities at these events. Eventually Tanya admitted to being aware of just how much she could earn if she was ‘accommodating’, but it took a while before Jane got her to admit that she had actually had sex. Not always full sex, but often giving blow jobs. The following day she would report to Foxley and he would pay her in cash, on the condition she signed a confidentiality document.

  ‘That’s how I mostly paid my rent here, because he was very generous. It was always a one-off and I was not to make any contact with whoever I’d been with. I know a lot of the girls were doing the same thing but some exaggerated what had taken place to get more cash. We all sort of knew what was expected of us, and as long as we kept our mouths shut, we’d get more work. There were a lot of girls.’

  ‘Like Annalise Montgomery?’

  Tanya chewed her lip, and then said that Julia encouraged her to go but she doubted that Julia really knew the extent of what some of the girls would get up to. With Annalise it all went badly because she was so naive and she ended up in a terrible state. She came around to the mews when Julia was out, so Tanya had told her to complain to Foxley and he would see she was taken care of.

  ‘Tell me about the girl called Yasmin.’

  Tanya lit another cigarette. Jane waited as she took a deep drag. Eventually she sighed.

  ‘I feel bad about her because in a way it was my fault. I mean, if you thought Annalise was naive, then Yasmin was like a child, with no concept of how to deal with the situation. She was very star-struck. I got her dressed in one of my evening gowns. We did her hair. My God, she had the most amazing hair down to her waist and it was so silky. She was so excited, she kept on saying that she felt like a princess because we put in earrings and a flower in her hair. She was a bit coy about the dress being low-cut and kept on telling us she had never worn anything revealing as her parents never allowed her to even uncover her hair.’

  ‘So you brought Yasmin to the agency?’

  Tanya nodded.

  ‘How did you meet her?’ Jane asked.

  Tanya stood up again to toss the cigarette butt into the filthy sink.

  ‘I met her about six months ago. It was by the Royal Albert Hall. She was sitting on a bench reading and I was just walking past her with an ice cream. This guy on roller skates careered into me and I fell over and cut my knee. He didn’t even stop and I started crying. She was so sweet and came over to see if she could do anything. Because I lived close by, she helped me walk home. My knee was bleeding and she had a scarf that she wrapped around it.’ Tanya shrugged her shoulders. ‘When we got home it was obvious that it wasn’t that bad, but I made her a cup of tea and washed her scarf. We just got talking. She told me that she had very strict parents and was studying for her O-levels from home. Her aunt was helping tutor her, but it meant she had hardly any friends and no social life.’ Tanya frowned. ‘I felt really sorry for her. I don’t even think she knew she was beautiful. When I told her I was an actress and a model, she said she could only ever dream about doing something she really wanted. She said she would have liked to study drama and
the only free time she had she spent watching movies. But if her parents knew, they would disapprove.’

  Tanya then told Jane that Yasmin said she was trying to find some kind of work that would allow her to save money.

  ‘She told me she wanted more than anything to run away from her family and have her own life. That’s when I told her that I could maybe get her a job with the modeling agency. To be honest I didn’t think she’d do it, and she didn’t say anything straightaway, but a week or so later she appeared on the doorstep. Like I said before, I felt sorry for her because she was so sweet. I know her parents were very strict.’

  ‘Where did her parents think she went when she was with you?’

  Tanya shrugged. ‘Funnily enough, I asked her that, but she kept on telling me that she couldn’t do this or couldn’t do that. It sounded to me like they kept her a prisoner. But she said that she had told them she was going to her local mosque for religious instruction and that she persuaded her cousin to back up her story. Anyway, a friend of mine took a couple of photographs and then a few days later – wearing some of my clothes – I took her into the agency.’

  ‘What happened next?’ Jane asked.

  ‘Well, I didn’t see her for a few weeks, maybe even more. I don’t know if she did get any modelling work. Then she came around again and told me she had been chosen to go to a film premiere and I agreed to get her all dressed up. I was not around when whatever happened to her happened, but I know she created a big scene because something had gone on in one of the hotel rooms.’

  ‘Was she sexually abused?’ Jane asked.

  Tanya frowned. ‘Listen, I’m telling you all I know. I’ve just said I wasn’t there when the shit hit the fan. But I did my best to calm her down later and I told her if anything bad had happened to her, she was to tell Charles Foxley and he would give her more money than she could dream of.’ Tanya gave a nasty laugh. ‘I think she took my advice but I never saw her again.’

  ‘Do you know how old she was?’ Jane asked.

  Tanya shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I never asked any of the other girls. Now I hear Simon Quinn’s lost his job after what happened to Mr. Foxley, so I suppose that’s me fucked.’ She smirked. ‘Literally.’

  Jane stood up. ‘Thank you for being honest with me, Tanya.’ As she opened the door to go, she looked back. The tough-as-nails Tanya seemed on the brink of tears.

  ‘I hope nothing bad has happened to Yasmin after that night, because she was not only beautiful, but really sweet and kind.’

  Jane closed the door behind her.

  *

  Jane drove to South Thames College in Tooting. By now it was after 3 p.m. By the time she got to the entrance a number of teenage students were leaving and she was concerned that she might be too late to speak to anyone. She stopped a young Asian boy and asked him if he knew Midilah Fareedi. He gestured behind him and Jane saw a young woman wearing a hijab. Jane approached her.

  ‘My name is Detective Sergeant Jane Tennison. Are you Midilah Fareedi?’

  The girl’s beautiful dark eyes immediately became wary, glancing towards the street.

  ‘I cannot speak. I must return home,’ she said quietly.

  ‘I just need to have a few moments of your time, Midilah, to talk about Yasmin Farook,’ Jane said.

  Midilah kept walking. ‘I cannot speak about my cousin. Please.’

  Jane kept pace with her. She kept her voice calm and polite. ‘I’m sorry but I’m concerned for Yasmin’s safety. I need to know where she is.’

  Midilah stopped, keeping her head bowed. ‘It is a private family matter.’

  Jane could feel the tension as the girl clutched at her satchel.

  ‘Please, I just need a few moments of your time, Midilah. My car is parked very near. I really don’t want to ask you to accompany me to the police station, but we could drive somewhere more private.’

  Jane felt slightly guilty saying that, as she would not have taken her to the station, and she actually had no authority to even be talking to her, but it seemed to have worked. After looking around quickly, Midilah nodded.

  After they’d gotten into the car, Jane drove to a small side street and pulled into a parking space. Midilah kept her head bowed, holding her satchel tightly on her knees.

  ‘Thank you for talking to me, Midilah. I really appreciate it,’ Jane said, trying to make her feel at ease. ‘Now, do you know where I can contact Yasmin?’

  Midilah sighed. ‘I have been told she has been taken to live with relatives in Pakistan. I do not know the address. My father arranged everything.’ She gave Jane a furtive glance. ‘Have you spoken to my father?’

  ‘No. I am hoping it won’t be necessary,’ Jane replied.

  Midilah looked away. ‘My father is a very good man, but he would not approve of me speaking to you. My father is head of the family and he brought Yasmin and her mother to England because my uncle had got into trouble when he was working as security. He felt that reestablishing the family would be good for him when he came out of prison.’

  Jane nodded encouragingly. ‘OK, go on.’

  ‘Yasmin found it very difficult as she did not speak English, and my aunt still has poor English. She eventually went to a comprehensive school but she began to disrespect my father, who had arranged for their accommodation. No matter how supportive he was, Yasmin blatantly lied to his face. I tried to persuade her to cooperate but I was forced to tell tales about her behavior.’

  Jane found it strange that after being so uncommunicative, Midilah had, without any real encouragement, started revealing her family’s intimate business. Her intuition was that it sounded rehearsed.

  ‘When you say you were forced to tell tales about her behavior, what are you referring to?’ she asked.

  For the first time, Midilah showed a spark of defiance. ‘I’ve just explained everything. We were not close friends. I am older and I plan to go to university. If I behaved in the same way as Yasmin, there would be severe consequences.’

  Jane recalled the empty, austere flat with the two single beds.

  ‘Did you live with Yasmin and her parents at the flat in Wandsworth?’ Jane asked.

  ‘Sometimes I stayed with my aunt and uncle, but my father has an apartment above his business.’

  ‘And that’s where you live now, is it? Above a Halal butcher shop?’

  ‘Yes, I live with my father,’ she said, her hands still holding tightly onto her satchel.

  Jane reached over to the back seat of the car and picked up her briefcase. Midilah flinched, as though she felt Jane was going to assault her.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Jane said, gently tapping her shoulder. She removed the photograph of Yasmin from the envelope in her briefcase. Midilah was pressed against the side of the passenger door as Jane held the photograph in front of her.

  ‘Have you seen this picture of Yasmin before?’

  Midilah gasped and reached for the handle of the car door.

  ‘I have to go. You have now made me very afraid that my father will find out that I have spoken with you. I am begging you not to speak about this with him. You have no idea of what could happen to me,’ she said.

  Jane slid the photograph – now one hundred percent sure it was Yasmin – back into the envelope.

  Midilah pulled the door handle, then turned towards Jane. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

  ‘You do not understand. Yasmin was far more beautiful than that photograph, but she was also the sweetest, most generous child, with dreams that she would never be allowed to fulfil. Her disobedience was shameful to the family.’ Midilah opened the passenger door and hurried away.

  By now it was almost 4 p.m., and Jane, afraid she would miss Elliott’s call, drove back to her flat. She had only been at home twenty minutes when Dabs called. He explained briefly that Elliott had managed to acquire an obo van and one of the best tech guys to wire Jane up. She would be collected at six the following morning.

  Jane took a deep breath. ‘A
re you going to be there, Dabs?’

  ‘No, afraid not. This has all been very hush-hush, and to be honest, I just want to get on with my life.’

  There was a pause. ‘Tell him I’ll be ready.’

  She quickly replaced the receiver, not wanting Dabs to say anything more. She had heard his concern for her in his voice. She lit a cigarette and began pacing her small kitchen. All she wanted now was to confront Murphy.

  *

  Jane left her flat at 8 p.m. and drove towards the Winstanley Estate. In the darkness, the run-down building seemed ominous. She felt nervous, not just because she was on her own, but because she was aware it was against regulations. She knew if she didn’t get some answers, she could be in real trouble.

  She rang the doorbell and waited. Eventually it was opened cautiously by Farah Fareedi, the obligatory lock chain still attached.

  ‘Farah, it’s Detective Tennison again. I really need to talk to you. I am by myself and have no other officers with me.’

  Farah’s dark eyes seem to bore into Jane as she hesitated before slowly sliding the key chain free.

  ‘Are you alone?’ Jane asked.

  Farah nodded. ‘My sister has gone to help my husband Ameer package the meat for the deep-freeze section.’

  She stepped back from the door to allow Jane to enter and then relocked it. She was wearing a niqab and was dressed in a fine black wool dress, black stockings and black lace-up shoes. She ushered Jane into the drawing room and sat on one sofa as Jane sat opposite her on the other.

  ‘I am sure you must be aware that your sister’s husband has admitted killing Mr. Charles Foxley.’

  Farah showed no emotion but simply nodded.

  ‘He has also refused to explain why he did it and has become deeply distressed when asked to reveal his reasons.’

  Again Farah showed no sign that what Jane had said meant anything to her. The woman’s luminous eyes did not stray from Jane’s face but remained without expression. Her beautiful hands, with long nails, were folded impassively in her lap.

  ‘When was the last time you saw your niece?’ Jane asked.