by Sally Rigby
Seb had reported what he’d seen to Birdie, but they decided they wouldn’t apprehend him straight away for driving the stolen car. That could wait. It was more important to discover whether going out in the morning was a regular occurrence or a one-off.
What worried Seb was the vast amount of food and other goods the man had bought, all of which would be suitable for travelling if they left the area.
His phone pinged, and he picked it up from the passenger seat. It was a text from Birdie.
Sarge got back to me and approved my leave. I’m off from 5 today. How’s it going?
Excellent. With Birdie with him tomorrow, they might get the chance to speak to Tessa.
I’m parked opposite the track, waiting to see if Casey leaves again. I’ll be in touch.
Seb returned his phone to the seat and glanced across the road. In the distance he glimpsed the Golf heading down the track. He started the engine and waited. Patrick Casey was driving, and he was alone. He turned left and Seb waited for a few more seconds before following him.
Seb kept his distance as Casey headed along the A508 towards Northampton. Seb was a few cars behind as they drove through Kingsthorpe and, just in time, he spotted Casey turning right at the traffic lights. He remained in pursuit until they reached the car park of a large DIY store in Duston, finding a space in the row behind the Golf.
Thirty minutes later, Casey left the store pushing a trolley. Seb held up his binoculars to see what the man had bought.
‘Oh no,’ he said to himself, as he saw camping gear in there. Non-perishable goods and camping equipment. A holiday or were they planning to leave? And, if the latter, when?
Casey drove into St James and went to the same pub as the day before, where he stayed for an hour before going home. Seb followed him back to Holcot and then phoned Birdie.
‘Anything?’ she asked straight away.
‘Casey went out again this morning at ten forty-five and bought items one would use for camping.’
‘Do you think they’re planning to scarper?’
‘It’s possible. He then went to the same pub as yesterday before going home.’
‘We’re expecting a storm tomorrow, so surely they won’t go then. We’ll stake out the house in the morning and hope he goes into town again so I can get to Tessa. I’ll meet you in Holcot at nine, by the shop. That should give us plenty of time to talk things through before we go to wait for him.’
‘Jay Murphy and Elliot Faulkner are downstairs for interviewing. They were brought in separately. They’ve both got records for petty crimes. I gather Murphy is being mouthy,’ Twiggy said as he replaced the phone on his desk.
‘I bet he’s the short one. They’re always the worst. It’s like they’re trying to prove something. We’ll speak to the quieter one first and see if we can break him. They’ve got to be nailed today because I’m off on leave from five this afternoon. It’s annoying we couldn’t get to them yesterday.’ Birdie said.
‘The sneaky little shits must have realised we were after them. Though I’m not sure how. Still, at least we have them now.’ Twiggy picked up his jacket from the back of the chair and pulled it on.
Elliot Faulkner wouldn’t make eye contact with either of them when they entered the interview room. He stared at his hands, which were tightly balled and resting on the table.
Twiggy pressed the recording equipment. ‘Interview Monday, 18 May. Those present: DC Branch, DC Bird and … state your name.’
‘Elliot Faulkner.’
‘Mr Faulkner, where were you on Saturday, 9 May at eight in the evening?’ Birdie asked.
‘Out somewhere. I don’t know.’ He shrugged.
‘Who were you with?’
‘My mate.’
‘Jay Murphy?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Where did you go?’
‘Just out.’
She glanced at Twiggy, who was tapping his foot impatiently.
‘Were you drinking?’
‘We might have had a few, I don’t remember.’
Birdie opened the folder in front of her and slid it over to him. ‘Is this you and Jay? It was taken in the town centre on Saturday night.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well, let me help you. This was taken after you and Jay attempted to carjack a woman on Welland Road.’
‘No, we didn’t.’
‘We have your image here and we’ve got software which can take all the body proportions and compare them with yours.’
‘It wasn’t us.’
‘Do you have an alibi other than each other? If you have, then we’ll let you go. It’s easy.’ She leant forward and stared directly at him.
‘Look, we’d had a few, I don’t remember. But we didn’t carjack anyone.’ He rubbed the side of his nose with his fingers.
Classic lying.
‘How’s your leg?’ Birdie asked.
‘Still hurts a bit, after I …’ He clamped his jaws shut.
‘After you jumped in front of the victim’s car and didn’t land right,’ Birdie said.
‘No. I … I …’
‘If you cooperate, we’ll let the Crown Prosecution Service know and it will go in your favour. Whose idea was it to do these carjackings?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Look, son, you’re in enough trouble. Tell the truth,’ Twiggy said.
‘Put it there,’ Twiggy said, high-fiving Birdie.
‘I can’t believe Faulkner caved so easily.’
‘He wouldn’t have done if you hadn’t mentioned his leg. Great catch.’
‘Just doing my job,’ Birdie said, waving a dismissive hand.
‘Come off it. I know you’re pleased. Even with Murphy denying it, we’ve got enough to lock them up.’
‘I’ll ask Sarge to arrange some search warrants, and we can officially charge them later. The rest is down to you until I’m back from leave.’
Chapter 27
The next day, after stopping at the supermarket on her way, Birdie drove to Holcot to meet Seb, arriving at five minutes after nine.
No surprise that he was already there, so she parked behind him, grabbed her bag, and hopped into his car.
‘Look at me, only five minutes late. I hope you’re impressed.’
‘Five minutes ago, I would have been. Now …’
‘Don’t finish that sentence, or you won’t get any of the supplies I’ve bought.’
‘I don’t see any.’
‘That’s because they’re in my car, for when we’re watching the house.’
‘In that case, my lips are sealed.’
‘I knew you’d be here first, even though I’m not properly late. It’s got to be over fifteen minutes before it counts. What time did you arrive?’
‘Ten minutes ago. Follow me and we’ll drive to a spot opposite the track leading to the cottage. We can’t be seen there because of the curve of the road.’
Once they were there, she returned to his car, this time clutching the bag of doughnuts she’d bought.
‘Look what I’ve got,’ she said, wafting the bag under his nose.
‘Doughnuts?’ He grinned.
‘I know you love them as much as I do. I take it you’re happy with my selection?’
Seb reached into the bag. ‘I certainly am. Jam, I hope.’
‘It’s the best.’ She took one for herself and bit into it.
‘Was it difficult to persuade your sergeant to give you the time off?’ Seb asked between mouthfuls.
‘No. I told him it was a family thing, and he didn’t ask what it was. I’m due in court next week and I told him I’ll be back for that. All I can think is, it’s because he’s working on budgets, and he’s tied up in meetings with the DI. He probably didn’t have the time to argue about it. Anyway, I’m not complaining. But we do have to wrap this up quickly.’
‘We have no choice if they’re planning to leave.’
‘It could be a holiday.’
‘There w
ere a lot of provisions in his trolley. If they were going on holiday, they could shop at a local supermarket, but it looked like he was stocking up so they could go off the grid for a while. Him buying a tent, and camping equipment yesterday, confirmed it.’
‘Maybe we should let them disappear.’
Seb frowned in her direction. ‘What made you say that?’
‘What if Tessa and Patrick are Lacey’s parents? Will she have to return to living with them?’
‘That’s not up to us to decide, is it?’ Seb said gently.
‘I don’t get it. He’s a sex offender. What woman would let her child live with a man who possessed child pornography on his computer? Even if he is the father.’
Had she been right in asking Seb to look into Lacey’s background with her? Now they’d got this far she was having serious doubts. She turned and stared out of the window.
What had she done?
‘Have you considered that Tessa might have given up Lacey to stop her from being in his clutches?’
‘Not really, but—’
‘There’s a car coming down the track,’ Seb said, interrupting her. He picked up his binoculars. ‘It’s Patrick Casey, and he’s on his own again. I’m going to follow him. Give it half an hour to allow him time to be well away from here and then drive up to the cottage and speak to Tessa.’
‘If he turns around and comes back early, call me and I’ll get out of there quick.’
After Seb had gone, Birdie sat in the car waiting, staring ahead at the winding track which broke up the overgrown grass on either side of it. Each passing minute seemed like an eternity, but finally it was time for her to drive to the cottage to speak to Tessa.
She headed over to the house and gave a gentle knock on the door. There was no reply, so she wandered around the back of the house to see if Tessa was there. In the small fenced off garden, which backed into the fields, she could see the woman picking beans off the plant and putting them into a bowl she was holding.
Birdie didn’t want to surprise her, so as she got closer, she made a noise on the gravel which ran alongside the garden. Tessa looked up, fear in her eyes. The sun was shining, but it was at odds with the scared look on her face. The woman had on a short-sleeved shirt, showing bruises on both arms, as if she’d been held in a tight grip.
Was her brother responsible?
Birdie walked over to her, smiling. ‘Hello, Tessa. I’ve come back to have a quick chat with you.’
‘I can’t talk,’ she said, looking around as if expecting her brother to turn up.
‘It’s all right, I know Patrick has gone out and probably won’t be back for a couple of hours.’
‘You’ve been watching us?’ she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
‘Only to make sure he wasn’t going to be here, so we’d have time to talk uninterrupted. I could sense when we were here the other day that you wanted to but you couldn’t once Patrick came home. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am.’
‘You’re right,’ she whispered.
‘Let’s go inside. Everything you say to me will all be off the record,’ she added, hoping that would push her in the right direction.
‘Um …’ she said, clearly undecided.
‘He’ll be gone for ages, and I promise to make sure that I’ve left before he returns.’
She wouldn’t mention that Seb would warn her if Patrick was on his way back, or that he was actually following him. That would only worry her further and make her think she was in trouble.
‘Okay, I suppose so.’
They went into the kitchen and Tessa put the bowl of beans beside the sink. Birdie’s eyes were drawn to a painting on the wall. She hadn’t noticed it before. It was quite abstract and had what looked like a small sun shining through some thorns.
‘What does this represent?’
‘It’s showing the crown of thorns that Jesus wore, to symbolise his sacrifice. We only have religious artwork on the wall. Patrick wants it like that. It stems from him being a priest,’ Tessa said, as if she wanted to excuse it.
‘Do you share his views?’
The woman shrugged. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘Why don’t you tell me a bit about you and your brother. How long have you lived together?’
‘My parents died in a boating accident when I was twelve and there was no one to look after me, so Patrick took me in. We share the same father. We lived in the house that came with his job, in Gloucester.’
‘Where did you go when he was in prison?’
Her jaw dropped. ‘You know. How?’
‘From my research.’
‘We went to live with a friend of Patrick’s’
‘We?’
Did she mean Lacey?
‘Only me, but I had to take Patrick’s belongings. When he lost his job, he lost the house that came with it.’ Her face coloured.
Was she lying?
‘I also know that you both changed your names by deed poll when Patrick was released from prison. Previously you were Sean and Sinead. Why did you do this?’
‘Patrick said it was for the best so we wouldn’t be victimised. That’s why we moved here, where no one knew us.’
‘Did you work when you were living with Patrick’s friend?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I didn’t feel up to it.’
Or she was taking care of Lacey?
‘Was there a reason you didn’t move into your own place?’
‘I had nowhere to go, and I couldn’t support myself. I’m not trained to do anything as I dropped out of university before finishing my course.’
‘What did you study?’
‘Philosophy and theology. The only job I’ve ever done is cleaning, but that doesn’t pay enough to cover rent.’
‘When I was here, the last time and I showed you a picture of a little girl who was left in Market Harborough, you said you didn’t know her.’
‘Yes, that’s right,’ Tessa said, averting her eyes.
‘I saw the look in your eyes when you were asked. You didn’t tell the truth. You know her, don’t you?’
Tessa’s fists clenched by her sides. ‘No, I don’t. You’ve got it wrong.’
Silence hung in the air, and Birdie deliberately remained silent for a while.
‘I don’t think so, Tessa,’ Birdie eventually said, her voice soft. ‘Would you like to talk about her?’
‘I’ve already told you I don’t know this girl. You’d better leave now. If Patrick comes back, he’ll be annoyed to see you here.’
Tessa opened the front door and gestured for Birdie to leave.
On her way out, she turned to the woman.
‘I’m going to wait in my car for a while in case you change your mind.’
Tessa didn’t reply. She just closed the door.
Chapter 28
Patrick Casey drove into Northampton again.
Would he do the same as he had the previous two days, shop and then stop at the pub for a drink?
Seb followed him into Kingsthorpe and waited while he went into the chemist. He was only in there for five minutes and then he drove straight to St James, where he parked around the corner from the pub he’d visited the previous times.
Did that mean he wouldn’t be away from home as long as he had been before? He hoped not, or that wouldn’t give Birdie much time with Tessa.
Seb double-parked further up the road from Casey and monitored him in his rear-view mirror, making sure he actually went into the pub. Once he was in there, Seb looked for somewhere to park.
He ended up driving around the block twice until eventually coming across a vacant spot in the next street. The trouble was, he couldn’t stay in his car because he wouldn’t be able to observe Casey’s movements, so instead he walked down to the main road, turned right and stationed himself outside the pub.
Fortunately, because of his height, he could stare through the small, rather dirty window and se
e the interior of the pub. He watched Casey take a pint from the bartender, hand over his money, and then head over to a circular table along the side wall where he sat opposite a man in his fifties, who was wearing a flat cap and an anorak. They shook hands and talked. Was it a prearranged meeting? If only he could go inside to watch and listen. But it was too risky. Casey might notice him.
Instead, he leant against the wall and waited.
After Casey had been in there for ten minutes, Seb peered through the window and saw the man he was sitting with slide an envelope across the table. Casey picked it up and started running his fingers through the contents.
Was it money?
What was he being paid for?
Seb pulled his jacket around him and shivered as a gust of wind whistled through. A sign that the storm was on its way, no doubt. He sighed and leant against the pub wall, preparing himself for a long wait.
Chapter 29
Birdie turned the key in the ignition, letting out a frustrated sigh. Her plan had backfired. She’d been waiting outside the cottage for ten minutes, but Tessa hadn’t appeared. She’d been convinced the woman would. Damn it.
She put the car into reverse gear, glanced in the rear-view mirror and was about to move when there was a bang on the passenger side window, startling her.
The car door opened.
‘Okay, I’ll talk to you. I want to know about Emily, but you must promise not to say anything to Patrick.’
Emily? Was that Lacey’s real name?
‘You have my word that I won’t.’ Birdie turned off the engine and hurriedly jumped out of the car, following Tessa back inside the house.
They sat at the table. ‘May I see the photo again?’ Tessa asked, her eyes anxious.
Birdie took out her phone, called up a photo of Lacey, and slid it over. ‘Here, you are.’
‘She’s looking well.’ Tessa held the phone in both hands.
‘She’s very well cared for and has settled down a lot, but she’s quiet and reserved, and scares easily. Is she your daughter?’ Birdie asked, coming straight out with it.
The woman nodded. ‘Yes. Yes, she is.’