by Sally Rigby
‘They can’t prove anything. If they come back when I’m out, tell them you know nothing. If they find out we’re related to the child, we could end up in prison and I, for one, am not going back there.’
He shuddered as memories of his past flooded his mind.
‘That was for something different,’ Tessa said.
‘If all this took place over a year ago, why are they investigating now? What’s happened for them to check cars in the area recently and compare it to last year, and work out ours has fake plates?’
‘I don’t know. We hardly ever go into Market Harborough,’ Tessa said.
‘It’s something to do with Emily.’
‘Do you think she saw us last Saturday?’
‘I don’t know. Did you catch sight of her when we were at the ATM?’
‘No, but I wasn’t looking. The thing is, she was only in the car that one time, so surely she couldn’t have recognised it. I wonder how she’s getting on, what she’s doing and if someone’s looking after her properly.’
‘It has nothing to do with us. You lost her, and that’s it. We don’t have to deal with her any longer. Frankly, it’s much easier that way because children aren’t cheap. Whoever has her now can pay for food and clothes. We can do what we like.’
He played down his true feelings because he didn’t want Tessa to know how often he thought of the child and how much he missed her. She wouldn’t be able to deal with the truth.
‘Except we never do anything. I spend my time here. I enjoyed it when I was working. Can I get another job?’
‘Not now. Not until this has blown over.’
Chapter 25
‘Let’s find somewhere to stop for a drink,’ Seb said.
He drove them into Brixworth and turned left into the village, rather than right, which would have taken them to the A508. He needed time to process everything they’d witnessed.
They stopped at the first pub they came to and found an out of the way table to sit at with their drinks.
‘You’ve hardly said a word since we left the cottage. What do you make of everything?’ Birdie asked.
His body tensed. If there was one thing which caused him to lose his cool, it was signs of abuse. He’d deal with it by drawing inwards until he had his feelings under control. It was imperative for him to remain objective in his occupation. He viewed his response as a major failing, although most times he could rein it in.
‘I don’t want to make accusations that can’t be substantiated, but we witnessed a very strained relationship between Tessa and her brother. Did you notice the bruising under her eye?’
‘Yeah, that was an old bruise. I also spotted one on her arm. She was definitely scared of him. Did you see the fear in her eyes when he arrived at the house?’
‘I did. They were both on the defensive and hiding information from us.’
‘It was probably the car. I bet it was hidden in one of the barns, or put somewhere out of the way. We should have demanded to look in the outbuildings, to see if we could find it.’
‘Without a search warrant? Even a half-decent lawyer would get them off before charges could be made. We have to play everything by the book.’
‘You’re right, I suppose. However frustrating it is. Do you think Tessa is the woman in the picture?’
‘She was certainly the same build, but other than that, it’s impossible to tell. It’s not a good image as it’s only her profile.’
‘Laura Kingston thought it was her, and surely she should know as the woman had worked for her.’
‘It’s possible, but you know how often witnesses are mistaken, particularly if they are fixated on something. Laura Kingston’s identification was more to do with the blue bag hanging on the woman’s shoulder than actually examining the profile. It would be hard to make a case against Tessa without the bag. Speaking of which, I didn’t see any sign of it in the house. Did you?’ Seb asked.
‘No. Considering she hadn’t been expecting us to turn up, if she was as attached to the bag as Laura Kingston said, then where was it? I’d have expected it to be draped on the back of a chair. Or hanging somewhere close by, like a hook or the bannister. But it was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen.’
‘She might have placed it in a cupboard or drawer. Or maybe in her bedroom.’
‘Don’t you think the place was freezing and bare? There were hardly enough possessions in the kitchen for me to believe that it was lived in.’
‘Some priests vow to live a simple life. Patrick might have wanted to remain like that, even though he was no longer one,’ Seb suggested.
‘Okay, that makes sense. What did you make of their reactions to the mention of Lacey and then when we showed them her photo?’
‘Most illuminating. They denied knowing her even before they looked at the image you showed them.’
‘That’s what I thought, too. They kept their faces blank, almost too blank.’
‘His face was set hard, as if he was determined not to give anything away. She attempted to be the same, but there was a flicker of recognition in her eyes when she first caught sight of Lacey.’
‘Really? I didn’t notice,’ Birdie said.
‘I thought I’d seen it but replayed the conversation in my mind to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.’
‘Are you ever?’
‘I make mistakes, the same as everyone does.’
‘If you’ve got a search engine in your head instead of a normal brain like the rest of us, then how can you be? It can be pretty annoying, actually.’
‘I thought you were referring to the poor decisions I’ve made in the past.’
‘Ah … well, that’s a conversation for another time. Lacey’s our top priority at the moment. Do you think Tessa’s her mum?’
‘They have identical colouring, and the same shaped face, but we’d need a DNA test to confirm it.’
‘Did you spot the likeness with Patrick as well? You know he could be her dad?’
‘There’s bound to be a family resemblance. He’s her uncle. Assuming he’s also Lacey’s father is making an unsubstantiated leap. Again, a DNA test should prove his paternity or otherwise. But that’s not something we’re able to do.’
‘I’d stake my life on them being involved. DNA test or no DNA test. He wouldn’t have been so aggressive if they had nothing to hide.’
‘I agree with you, but it’s imperative we tread carefully. We don’t want them taking off somewhere.’
‘We also need to work quickly, for the same reason.’
‘It would appear that they’ve been living under the radar where they are. It won’t be easy to find somewhere similar at short notice. Yes, we should act quickly, but not irresponsibly. Let’s get as much information as we can about the pair of them and then decide on how to proceed.’
‘Drink up and let’s go then. I’ll go into work once we get back and do some research into them. I’ll call round and see you later.’ Birdie picked up her glass, which was still half full of cider, tapped it on the side of his glass and then raised it to her lips and finished it in one go.
‘Saturday’s your day off, so what are you doing here?’ Twiggy asked Birdie as she walked into the office and headed over to her desk.
‘I want to do some research, providing Sarge isn’t around. His car wasn’t in the car park, so I’m hoping he’s out. Is he?’ She pulled out her chair and sat down in front of the computer screen.
‘It’s all clear at the moment because he’s with Sparkle interviewing witnesses from the drugs raid. They went out about an hour ago, so you’ve got a bit of time.’
‘What are you working on?’
‘Still going through the list of potential carjacking suspects. Out of the eight names who fit our images, six have alibis, which I confirmed. There are two left, who are friends, according to their social media presence. We’ll bring them in, when you’re on duty, and we’ll interview them together. I’m assuming you want to be in on it.’
&nb
sp; ‘What a stupid question. Why wouldn’t I?’
‘Because you’re working on Lacey’s case.’
‘Not during work time. Well … not exactly. You know what I mean.’
‘I take it you’re here now to do some Lacey stuff. What is it?’
‘You know the car we identified? The stolen one from Creaton. We can’t prove it yet, but it looks like the cleaner took it. We’ve traced the woman. She lives with her brother. We didn’t see the car on the premises, but we’ll find it. It’s got to be connected to Lacey. I know it. I’m going to see what I can dig up on the pair of them. I’d better be quick, in case Sarge makes an appearance sooner than expected. It’s like he has some sort of sixth sense where I’m concerned.’
She opened her computer and searched in the database for any child born to a Tessa Casey.
‘Crap,’ she muttered after looking through the birth records twice, to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.
‘What is it?’ Twiggy asked.
‘There are no births registered in Tessa Casey’s name, nor can I find any record of her being in hospital. Does that mean Lacey isn’t hers?’
‘Not necessarily. Not everyone registers a child’s birth.’
She bit down on her bottom lip. ‘You could be right, Twig. And it would account for us being told at the shop that they’d never seen Tessa, or her brother Patrick, with a child. They could’ve kept Lacey hidden.’
‘Why?’
‘I can think of one excellent reason.’
‘Being?’ Twiggy asked, frowning.
‘Her brother is Lacey’s father. Well, he’s her half-brother, as they had the same dad. He’s much older than she is, and she’s terrified of him. I reckon he beats her. He used to be a priest. Bloody hell. It’s all adding up. He fathered the child, had to give up the priesthood, and they moved off the grid to keep their dirty little secret.’ She sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest.
‘Now you have to prove it.’
‘I will. Believe me, I will. I’ll start by looking into him. Patrick Casey, you won’t be able to hide from me.’
She leant forward and began searching in the databases for anything on him, but none of the Patrick Caseys she came across were him. Then … Her eyes widened, and her lips turned up into a broad smile.
‘Gotcha. Listen to this. Patrick Casey isn’t anywhere in the system, but there was a priest done for child sex offences by the name of Sean Casey. I’ve called up the image, and it’s him. He’s changed his name. It lists his next of kin as Sinead Casey. There’s no image of her, but it’s got to be Tessa. Does that mean Lacey’s birth is registered under that name?’
She went back to the database and went through it again. ‘No. Still nothing.’
‘Surely he’d be on the sex offenders’ register and being monitored? If he changed his name, there should be a note somewhere in his file as it’s illegal not to inform the police,’ Twiggy said.
‘It depends on the crime and how long he had to remain on the register. I’ll find out.’ Now she had his proper name, it was easy enough to get the details she needed. ‘Okay. He was charged with having pornographic images of children on his computer and was sentenced to three years in prison and for his name to remain on the register for ten years. The ten years aren’t up and there’s nothing on record of his name change.’
‘You’ve got him. Great work. But now you have to think about Lacey and what’s next for her.’
‘I know. I’m going out to East Farndon to see Clifford. If Sarge asks, you haven’t seen me.’
‘Why is he going to ask, it’s your day off?’
‘Good point. No wonder you’re a detective. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.’
Chapter 26
Seb opened the door to be greeted by Birdie standing tall with her shoulders back. She held a Manilla folder in one hand, and a bright yellow packet in the other.
‘You’ve had success in your research, I take it?’
‘You bet I have. I didn’t want to risk a celebration yet, in case it doesn’t pan out, so instead of buying booze I stopped at the supermarket and bought these for Elsa. Where is she?’ She held up a bag of chicken delight doggie chews.
‘In the garden. How did you know they were her favourite snack?’
‘You had some when I took care of her that time. Mind you, she’s a Labrador, so I’m guessing that almost everything is her favourite.’
‘True. Come on in and we’ll take them to her. Then you can update me on what you’ve discovered.’
They headed through the kitchen door and into the garden. He spied Elsa sniffing around the lavender. She looked up, saw Birdie and came charging towards them, making a beeline for the officer, who stepped forward to greet her.
‘Hey, Elsa. Look what I’ve got.’ Birdie dangled the packet in front of the dog, who sat down and stared up at her. ‘You’re so well trained.’ Birdie took out a chew and held it out. ‘Here you are.’ Elsa took it from her and then ran off. ‘I’m impressed. She didn’t snatch it from my hand.’
‘Believe me, that took a lot of training, and several sore fingers,’ Seb said, grinning. ‘Let’s go into the study.’
They stopped in the kitchen on the way for some coffee, and then headed to the study, sitting themselves down on the easy chairs facing the French doors which opened out onto the garden.
Birdie opened the folder she’d placed on the coffee table in front of them. ‘First, Tessa and Patrick Casey are really Sinead and Sean Casey. They changed their names.’
‘Interesting. Do you know why?’
‘Sean Casey went to prison for having child pornography on his computer, and his name was put on the sex offenders’ register. He was still working as a priest at the time in Gloucester, which is where they both were born, according to birth records. When he was released, they both changed their names and moved here, but he didn’t inform the police.’
‘There’s a loophole in the law, enabling offenders to change their names by deed poll. They risk a five-year prison sentence if they do so without informing the authorities, but that doesn’t appear to deter many. There have been calls for the government to stop them being able to do this.’
‘I’m not surprised. How awful for survivors of abuse if their attacker could turn up using a different name. You’d be looking over your shoulder all the time, worrying about it.’
‘It’s certainly an issue. Did you discover anything regarding Tessa and Patrick’s links to Lacey?’
Birdie shook her head. ‘I found no birth registered in Tessa or Sinead’s name. I also looked at hospital records and couldn’t find any trace of her having been there, either. If she’s Lacey’s mum, then she had her at home and they didn’t register the birth. That’s all it can be. Unless we’ve got this totally wrong, and Lacey isn’t related to her at all. But how likely is that? We’ve both agreed on the likeness between them.’
‘We could have seen a likeness that wasn’t there, based on our presuppositions. You’ve done excellent work. Now we need to come up with a plan to find out if she is Lacey’s mother.’
‘Don’t forget him. I still think he’s the father.’
‘Another line of enquiry warranting investigation.’
Birdie stared out of the window, drumming her fingers on her leg, before turning to face him. ‘We’ve already seen how scared Tessa is of Patrick … I’m sticking to their current names for now as it’s less confusing. If we want her to confide in us, we need to get her alone, when he’s out. I bet I can get her to cave. She looked like she would earlier, before he turned up.’
‘I agree we might find out more if she’s on her own. I also think it’s more likely that she’ll confess to you, rather than me, because she seemed scared of men. I could tell by the look on her face when we were there that she was much more comfortable talking to you and didn’t like me asking questions.’
‘We need a plan.’ Birdie picked up her coffee and took a drink. ‘I kn
ow. We’ll stake out the place and wait to see if he goes out on his own. If he does, then we can go to the house and speak to her. Not only that, we can also see if he’s driving the silver Golf.’
‘That would work, but it’s better if we go in separate cars. If we see him go out, I’ll follow and warn you when he’s on his way back.’
‘Perfect. We’ll start tomorrow.’ She screwed up her face. ‘Crap. I’m at work. Unless I phone in sick.’
‘Do you have any annual leave owing?’
‘Yes, I’ve got plenty. That’s a better idea. I’ll see Sarge in the morning and ask for some time off. I’ll have to give a few days’ notice. If I tell him it’s a family thing, he should be okay. It’s not like I’m lying because Lacey is my family. He won’t ask what it is, anyway. He never does.’
‘If you can get the time off and it won’t get you in trouble, then it’s worth us doing. I’ll keep watch for the next few days and see if there’s any pattern to what they do. I’ll position myself on the opposite side of the road from the start of the track. Once your leave starts, we can put our plan into practice.’
‘Providing they don’t disappear after today.’
‘We’ll have to take that risk. I’ll follow if he goes out, or if they go out together.’
‘As long as you keep your distance, we don’t want them sussing you out.’
‘Birdie, contrary to what you seem to believe, I know how to do this.’
‘That’s okay, then. Remember to let me know how it’s all going.’
Seb arrived at the spot opposite the track at nine-thirty and positioned himself out of sight. Yesterday, Patrick Casey had left the property at ten forty-five, driving the silver Volkswagen Golf, and Seb had followed him into Northampton, where he’d stopped at the supermarket, and bought a trolley full of non-perishable goods. He then went to a pub in St James End, or Jimmy’s End as Birdie had informed him the locals called it, where he stayed for an hour and then drove home. He was back by one-thirty and didn’t leave again.