The Dare: An absolutely gripping crime thriller

by Wyer, Carol

  The single bedroom was distinctly bohemian with white walls and dark wooden furniture, ethnic-print blinds, colourful bed linen and a matching makeshift canopy draped over two ceiling-hung poles. Soft toys sat on white shelving, crammed in next to schoolbooks and a collection of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games and Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series. A toy unicorn smiled merrily at her and gaily coloured necklaces hung over a mirror on a white dressing table cluttered with fabric boxes, inside which were items of jewellery: small earrings, necklaces and friendship bracelets.

  Leigh’s room was a chaotic mess of clothes and shoes, thrown onto any free space. Savannah’s was less so, although the bed was unmade and the wardrobe housed numerous cardboard boxes, piled one on top of the other, and was cluttered with garments, several heaped on the same clothes hanger. Natalie pulled one hanger out. There was a brand-new sparkly top from a trendy boutique in town along with a pair of jeans from another shop, both bearing price tags. Savannah had placed a baggy woollen jumper over them, which struck Natalie as strange when there were other empty hangers on the rail. She dragged out a soft bag that had been shoved to the rear of the wardrobe and peered inside. It contained all manner of plastic goods, stationery items, animal-shaped erasers, key rings, bracelets, face jewels, mobile phone cases. There were more boxes all jam-packed under the bed, each filled with make-up – some unused – and nail varnishes, pens and items that were important to a teenage girl, haphazardly thrown into each. Out of sight, thought Natalie.

  Searching through Savannah’s drawers, she unearthed an unworn sequinned T-shirt, screwed up in a plastic bag and hidden under underwear, and in yet another drawer, a disposable lighter and half-smoked packet of cigarettes. A picture of the girl was forming in her mind. No matter what Jane believed, Savannah had been keeping secrets from her mother.

  Downstairs, a slightly calmer Jane had accepted a glass of water and was now sitting down at the kitchen table. Natalie dropped down in the chair opposite her.

  ‘What can you tell me about your daughter?’

  Jane sighed wearily. ‘She was a good kid. She didn’t have the easiest time coming here to Watfield. It took a while for her to settle, and then after Lance pissed off, she had to put up with some more crap from the other kids in her class. We’ve both had a hard time.’

  Jane’s face had the drained, lean look of somebody who’d found life difficult. She pulled at the skimpy top she was wearing that revealed a tattoo of a rose on her left breast. She was in control again although her cheeks were now smudged black from the heavy mascara she’d been wearing. ‘People didn’t take kindly to travellers moving into the area,’ Jane continued. ‘Not that we’re really proper travellers. Lance’s family are and they move all over the country, but I wanted a proper home for us all, and when this house came up for auction, we put a bid in. It needed a lot of work but it was our first bricks-and-mortar home.’

  Natalie waited for Jane to continue – whatever she said might help Natalie to build a picture of the girl. Jane shifted in her chair. ‘Lance didn’t like it here and couldn’t adjust. In the end, he left. Savannah and I stayed. I used all my inheritance to buy this place because I thought it was the right thing for us both. I thought Savannah would benefit from living in a community, in a town. Christ, how I wish we’d never moved here. If we’d stayed put, this wouldn’t have happened. This is all my fault.’ She dropped her head into her hand.

  ‘Did Savannah ever see her biological father?’

  Jane released a sigh. ‘She never knew him. He was killed in a motorbike accident soon after I discovered I was pregnant. Savannah and I lived with my mum in Dudley where I was brought up, until her death in 2015, when Savannah was coming up ten. Soon after she passed away, I met Lance. His family had moved onto a disused site near my flat and we bumped into each other. He was helpful, carried my shopping upstairs because the lift had broken and I lived on the top floor. We hit it off. The travellers stayed on the site for a few months before they were forced to move on, and when they did, Savannah and I went with them.’

  ‘Have you any idea where Lance is?’

  Jane shook her head. ‘He went in search of his family. Could be anywhere.’

  ‘Do you have a phone number for him?’

  ‘No. His old pay-as-you-go number isn’t working. I think he must have changed his phone and decided not to give me the new number. It’s been tough since we came here. I hoped living away from the travellers would bring us closer, but it turned out to have the opposite effect. Lance hated it and, in the end, we knew we couldn’t make it together. We’re too different. I wanted stability for Savannah and for myself and he just wanted his old life back. I had no reason to stay in touch with him.’

  ‘Not even for Savannah’s sake?’

  ‘Lance isn’t great with kids, especially teenagers. He never touched her, if that’s what you’re thinking. He wouldn’t have done that.’

  ‘I understand he was cautioned for violence.’

  ‘He never hurt her. I swear. He hit me a few times, bust my lip once after a major row, but I didn’t press charges at the time. He started drinking heavily and made a nuisance of himself in town and got pulled for fighting in a pub. I had to bail him out. It was getting embarrassing. I was trying to make a new life for us all and he kept messing it up, and by then I’d had enough of him.’ The words came out automatically as if she’d told the story many times and was tired of it.

  ‘After he left, Savannah didn’t try to contact him, did she?’

  ‘No. She was sick of the arguments too. She wasn’t bothered about him going. They’d never been close. It’s a different life, being with a travelling community. You don’t live as individuals and family units. You all rub along together except I couldn’t and Savannah struggled too. The other kids wouldn’t accept her. They were all born into that life and were related – we were outsiders even though we lived with Lance. There were quite a few pressures: his ex-girlfriend and child lived on-site with another member of the group, and Lance’s mother didn’t take to me. Things got strained between me and Lance, and that’s why I insisted we move to Watfield. This house was a bargain and we could afford it. His family didn’t seem upset when we left. I guess they knew he’d return to them. They understood him far better than I did.’

  ‘What about Savannah? Didn’t she miss them all?’

  ‘She didn’t appear to. We talked about it a few times and I think she was relieved to have some stability in her life. She was fed up of never settling in one place and she didn’t like Lance’s mother either, or the other children on-site.’

  ‘You don’t think she was in touch with any of them, do you?’

  ‘Not that I know of. It’s unlikely.’

  ‘Did she settle here?’

  ‘It took a long while for her to become accepted at Watfield Secondary – you know how ignorant people can be. There were ups and downs, for us both. She was such a quiet girl but she seemed to come out of her shell the last few months and she’d made proper friends.’ She choked back a sob.

  ‘Can you give me their names?’

  ‘She hung about mostly with Sally Gilmore and Holly Bradshaw – they were both in her class. I asked them if she was with them yesterday, but they hadn’t seen her. Holly said Savannah and Sally had had an argument and Savannah had walked off.’

  Natalie wrote down the names of the girls. They might be able to tell her more about Savannah and explain why she had new clothes in her wardrobe, hidden from view. ‘Did you give Savannah pocket money?’

  ‘She got five pounds a week. She complained it wasn’t enough but I’m not made of money. I have bills to pay.’

  Natalie nodded. There was no way Savannah could afford all those clothes and cigarettes on that amount of money.

  ‘Savannah was wearing a Superdry top, black jeans and Converse trainers when we found her, not her school uniform. Could she have come home and got changed then gone out again?’

  Jane’s brows fu
rrowed. ‘I don’t think so. I’d have seen her uniform hanging on the back of the door, where she normally leaves it. I bought her that outfit for her last birthday. Cost me a fortune but she was so pleased with it.’ She swallowed hard. ‘Her school bag wasn’t at home either. She might have let herself in and gone out again but she’d have told me – left me a note or rung me. She wouldn’t have just gone off.’

  ‘You hadn’t fallen out over anything?’

  ‘No. Not at all. We got along fine. We had our moments, but what mother doesn’t have run-ins with her daughter? She wouldn’t go off without letting me know where she was. She wouldn’t do that. And she wouldn’t have turned off her mobile.’ She shook her head in bewilderment.

  ‘What about other relatives? Is there anyone else who has had contact with her?’

  ‘My father did a bunk when I was a kid and hasn’t been in touch since. There’s no one else. There was only Lance.’

  ‘Did you stay in touch with any of your old friends from Dudley?’

  ‘I burnt those bridges when I moved away with Lance’s family. Nobody wanted to know me after that.’ She squeezed her eyes shut. Sadness, like an invisible shield, radiated from her. Natalie wondered how Savannah felt about her mother’s hermit-like existence. It must have put some strain on their relationship.

  ‘Does Savannah own a pair of silver star earrings?’

  Jane wiped her eyes, staining her forefinger with silver-blue eyeshadow. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Was she wearing them yesterday morning?’

  ‘She’s not allowed to wear jewellery to school. Why? Was she wearing them?’

  ‘She was.’

  ‘She loved those earrings. They were her favourite. I don’t understand any of this. Why did she change out of her uniform?’

  ‘That’s one of the things we’re trying to work out. Did she mention a boyfriend?’

  Jane stared at the shiny eyeshadow on her finger as if she couldn’t work out where it had come from. ‘Boyfriend? No. She wasn’t interested in boys as far as I know.’

  ‘What was she interested in?’

  ‘The usual things: make-up, clothes, shopping, online games, films, books and singing. She practised singing all the time. She made up her own dance routines too. She wanted to be a pop star.’

  ‘She went online? I imagine she had social media accounts. Do you own a computer?’

  ‘I can’t afford expensive stuff like that. I’m stretched as it is. She had a mobile. Don’t they all at that age? She used it for online activity, mostly Snapchat or Instagram and to play games, and she used the school’s computer if she needed it for schoolwork.’

  Natalie probed further, trying hard not to upset or annoy the woman. ‘I expect you monitored her online activity.’

  ‘Of course I did. Any games or apps had to be bought through my account, and it was a pay-as-you-go so she had limited data. It had parental controls too. I watch the news and I know what can happen to vulnerable teenagers online. I wanted her to stay safe.’ She swallowed hard again and tears sprang once more to her eyes.

  ‘I noticed you are having some work done to the house.’

  Jane nodded. ‘A bit of landscaping and some repainting. Lance made a start on it but left the garden half-done. It looked such a mess. I got a local firm to sort it.’

  ‘Were they working yesterday?’

  ‘Yes, but they weren’t here when I got home. They’re supposed to work until five but they’d clocked off early.’

  ‘Which company are you using?’

  ‘Tenby House and Garden Services.’

  Natalie made a note. ‘And the names of the men working here?’

  ‘Stu and Will. I don’t know their surnames.’

  ‘What time did you get home yesterday?’

  A muscle twitched in Jane’s jaw. ‘Quarter past four. I’m usually at home before Savannah, who was always home by four – I didn’t like her to come home to an empty house – but I was stuck in traffic.’ Jane’s voice weakened. Her face had taken on a look Natalie had seen before – that of a person whose life has just been shattered.

  ‘Where do you work?’ Natalie tried to keep the woman engaged. It wouldn’t be long before she broke down again.

  ‘Wilton’s Building Supplies, on the main Ashbourne road.’

  Natalie jotted down the address.

  ‘I got held up. I ought to have been home by quarter to four.’

  It wasn’t her fault she’d been stuck in traffic yet something in Jane’s tone made Natalie study Savannah’s mother, who twisted a tissue in her hands with downcast eyes and whose face was racked with guilt.

  ‘I’m going to leave you with PC Granger for now but I’ll be back again soon. Have you got anybody who could come and stay with you?’

  Jane shook her head.

  ‘No friends?’

  Jane swallowed hard. ‘There’s a friend – a work colleague.’

  ‘I really think you need support.’

  Jane nodded but fell silent.

  ‘PC Granger will answer any other questions you have. I really am most dreadfully sorry.’

  Five

  Tuesday, 17 April – Morning

  Natalie drew a deep breath before looking up and down the street. The interview with Jane Hopkins had been most uncomfortable, and part of her had wanted to reach out and comfort the woman, but all she could offer was a promise she’d try her hardest to track down Savannah’s killer. It hardly seemed enough and would never bring back Jane’s daughter, yet it was Natalie’s duty to find answers. Her officers would be nearby. They had to amass as much information as possible. This was the golden hour, the point when memories were freshest and they stood the greatest chance of getting leads. She needed to set to work quickly.

  Spotting Murray ahead of her, she strode in his direction and caught up with him on the pavement outside another ramshackle house. She handed him the details of the workmen. ‘I’m heading back to the station to speak to the officer in charge of the search last night. I need you to track down these two at Tenby House and Garden Services. They ought to have been on-site when Jane got in yesterday afternoon but they weren’t. Get their surnames and bring them in for questioning.’

  Ian and Lucy appeared from nowhere and joined them. Lucy shrugged her shoulders. ‘Not got anything. Most people were out at work yesterday afternoon. Those that weren’t saw nothing, and no one seems to have been about early this morning either.’

  ‘Same here. Nobody saw a thing,’ said Ian.

  ‘Okay, Ian come back with me. I’d like you to check up on a few people, namely Lance Hopkins, his family and Savannah’s mother, Jane. There was something I picked up on – a hesitancy when I asked her about getting home late. I’m sure her journey home should only have taken fifteen minutes but she didn’t get back until quarter past four. She claimed she got held up in traffic but that’s odd for that time of day. It’s not exactly rush-hour traffic in these parts. Lucy, try Savannah’s teachers and her friends – these two in particular: Sally Gilmore and Holly Bradshaw. I’ve had a quick look in her bedroom and there are a few new items, some with tags still attached, and I don’t think she got the money for them from her mother. Someone might have given them to her as a present, or she might have stolen them. She changed out of her uniform at some point and even put in her favourite earrings. It’s unlikely she went home to change because she didn’t leave her uniform or school bag behind. Her mum says she’s wearing an outfit that she got for her birthday and I suspect she might have put it on to meet somebody. We need to find out if there was anyone she was seeing behind her mother’s back – a boyfriend perhaps. At the moment, we’ve no idea where her uniform, bag or mobile are. Oh, and Ian, put a trace on her phone – see if we can locate it or where it last transmitted a signal. We’ll reconvene at twelve o’clock.’

  Back at the station, Natalie lost no time in catching up with DI Graham Kilburn, who’d been heading the initial hunt for Savannah. A gaunt-faced man in his early si
xties with grey straggly eyebrows and a bald head, Graham looked like a man who’d had enough of life and his job. He pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, offered one to Natalie – who declined – and tapped one out, placing it between his lips with the expertise of a serious smoker.

  ‘Mind if we go upstairs? It’s been a hell of a night.’

  ‘No problem.’ Natalie hadn’t smoked for a year and a half. She’d given it up the same day she’d slept with Mike but still enjoyed the smell of a freshly lit cigarette. It was difficult some days not to take it back up, especially as many of her colleagues were smokers, but she was determined not to give in. They had enough expenditure in the house without her adding to it. Her mind flicked to the cigarettes hidden in Savannah’s drawer and her mother, who had no idea of what her daughter did in her free time. Do any of us? She didn’t really know what Leigh got up to when she was out of sight.

  From the roof she watched the morning traffic heading towards the city centre, bustling, busy, unaware of what was going on inside the walls of the police HQ.

  Graham lit up and inhaled. ‘All the paperwork you need is on your desk. Local uniforms were alerted to the girl’s disappearance at five thirty when Jane Hopkins went to the station to report her daughter missing. We weren’t notified until two hours later after they’d conducted enquiries. They had her down as medium-risk because there was some cause for concern given the volatile relationship between Mrs Hopkins and her husband, Lance, who was known to them. Although her husband left in September last year, a neighbour, Amy Stephenson, believed she’d seen him hanging around the house only two weeks ago. We couldn’t corroborate that claim as there’d been no other sightings of him.’

  ‘Did you discover where he’s moved to?’

  ‘Unfortunately not. We interviewed Jane Hopkins but drew blanks and she was fairly sure Lance wouldn’t have taken Savannah. Their split wasn’t acrimonious so he wouldn’t have taken her out of spite or to get back at his wife, and according to her, he’d never been especially close to Savannah. We searched the house and Savannah’s bedroom for clues as to her whereabouts but found nothing helpful. Her mother wasn’t able to tell us if anything was missing from her room and insisted the girl hadn’t run away. By all accounts, she wasn’t a popular girl and only had two friends – Sally Gilmore and Holly Bradshaw. She’d been arguing with Sally before going off “in a mood”. We reviewed footage from CCTV cameras in the town centre and spotted the girls at the back of Aldi supermarket but lost sight of Savannah after she moved away from Sally and Holly at around three forty. We checked with all shopkeepers and had information from an assistant in the phone shop, Nick Duffield, known as Duffy, who recalled seeing Savannah pass the shop still wearing her uniform and carrying a black backpack at around three forty-five. He assumed she was headed home.’