The Dare: An absolutely gripping crime thriller

by Wyer, Carol

  ‘How come he recognised her?’

  ‘She and her friends visit the shop most weeks. It undertakes computer repairs and sells mobile phones. It also sells accessories, phone cases and such-like, and two of the girls have pay-as-you-go phones and go in regularly for top-ups to their data allowance.’

  Natalie thought back to the plastic phone cases she’d found in the box in the wardrobe. Savannah had at least five different cases. ‘What did the girls argue about?’

  ‘It was over a bracelet that Savannah had given Sally. She’d wanted it back but Sally had lost it and they rowed about it. Sally said Savannah was in a lousy mood because she’d been involved in a brawl with another girl, Claire Dunbar, at school that day. She often got ribbed for her accent and for being part of a travelling community before settling here. Sally told us Savannah was fed up with the name-calling. It was at this point we wondered if she’d run away rather than been snatched. We went through the usual procedures: tried ringing her phone, conducted door-to-door enquiries along Western Park Road and then roads in the vicinity. Some neighbours wanted to assist and formed search parties to help officers cover the park and wasteland. We called off the search at midnight, and at eight o’clock this morning we received an anonymous call saying Savannah had been spotted in the park. I sent a unit out and they discovered her body almost immediately.’

  ‘You’d already covered the area where she was found?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And you have no idea who made the call?’

  ‘It was from an unidentifiable phone. I sent the information to the technical support team but they haven’t been able to trace it. It’s no longer transmitting. This was the worst possible outcome. I’d really hoped Savannah was cooling her heels and would come home once she got over whatever was bothering her. Most teenagers come back within twenty-four hours. The evidence – the argument, the fight, unhappy at school and home – it all seemed to be pointing to her running away rather than an abduction.’

  ‘Unhappy at home?’

  ‘Holly said Savannah had been crying a lot recently, and when they’d asked her what was wrong, she wouldn’t tell them but said she hated her mum.’

  Natalie made a mental note to talk to Holly about this. ‘You tried to track her phone?’

  ‘We did but we had no joy.’

  ‘Thanks, Graham. You’ve been really helpful.’

  He puffed out the last of the smoke between pursed lips and pinched the tip of his cigarette between thumb and finger before pocketing it. ‘You never forget them. The ones you didn’t find. They haunt you.’

  Natalie understood what he meant. She felt the same way about past victims. She had to bring to justice those responsible. Those she’d let down were forever in her thoughts.

  * * *

  Sergeant Lucy Carmichael waited in the doorway while the secretary buzzed through to Watfield Secondary School’s head teacher. Holly Bradshaw and Sally Gilmore were both at school in spite of the terrible news of Savannah’s death. Lucy shifted from one foot to the other and cast about the cramped office. There was something about schools that brought out the rebel in her. She’d never been a high achiever, and had it not been for her best friend, Yolande, now married to her other best friend, Murray, she’d have dropped out altogether. The corridor was painted in similar dingy hues of off-brown and creamy yellow that brought back recollections of her and Murray standing outside the head’s office awaiting punishment for smoking. She pushed aside her childhood memories of miserable schooldays and foster parents who had given up on her wayward nature. She wasn’t the same person. Nowadays, she had Bethany and a baby on the way, and she was a sergeant in the police force with opportunities to advance her career. Lucy Carmichael had come a long way since those dreadful days.

  Lucy’s mobile rang. It was Natalie who wanted to pass on the news about Savannah’s fight with Claire Dunbar.

  ‘Find out what you can about it and talk to Savannah’s other friends about her relationship with her mum. Ask if they argued a lot or maybe ask how she really felt about her mother,’ she said.

  ‘Would you rather I brought both girls to the station?’ Lucy asked.

  ‘No. Best if they’re kept in familiar surroundings. They might feel intimidated if we interview them here. We can always talk to them again.’

  Lucy ended the call and pocketed the phone. The secretary looked up and gave her a small smile.

  ‘Mr Derry is free now.’

  The head teacher was in his thirties, not much older than Lucy, with pewter-grey eyes and a heavy monobrow that undoubtedly caused sniggers among the schoolchildren. He shook his head sadly although his face remained impassive. ‘Terrible news about Savannah.’

  ‘I wondered if you had any information which might help us form a picture of her.’

  His shoulders lifted and dropped in his oversized grey cardigan and he opened wide hands. ‘Tricky in that I didn’t know her very well. This is a very large school and to know each child is impossible although I’ve seen her out and about the grounds, usually alone. She was very timid. Soon after she arrived, I recall I spoke to her in the corridor to see how she was settling in, and she adopted the startled look of a rabbit caught in headlights, wouldn’t meet my eye and scurried away as soon as she could. Kirsty Davies was her form teacher and she’ll undoubtedly tell you the same as all the other teachers here: Savannah was a quiet girl, one of those who barely registers on your radar. I don’t mean to sound unkind. I’m merely trying to explain how anonymous she was. She kept in the background and never drew attention to herself.’

  ‘I understand she was friendly with Sally Gilmore and Holly Bradshaw. I’d like to talk to them and possibly other classmates.’

  He looked at his watch pointedly. ‘I’m afraid they’re with a grief counsellor at the moment. I don’t really think we should disturb them. They were shaken by the news.’

  ‘Savannah Hopkins was murdered. I think that takes precedence, Mr Derry. I don’t need to remind you time is of the essence and we must gather whatever information we can.’ It felt odd standing up to this figure of authority but Lucy maintained a steely gaze and the head teacher offered a tight smile of contrition.

  ‘Of course. Do you need to speak to them together or separately?’

  ‘Separately. I’d like to start with Sally Gilmore then Holly Bradshaw and finally Claire Dunbar.’

  ‘Claire Dunbar? She’s in the year above. Why do you want to talk to her?’

  ‘She and Savannah were involved in a fight yesterday. I’d like to ask her what it was about. Is there somewhere I could interview them? And would you be prepared to sit in with us, please? They are minors and have the right to an adult presence.’

  ‘Certainly. How about conducting your questions here in my office?’

  ‘That would be most helpful.’

  Mr Derry spoke to his secretary outside and returned with an extra chair for Lucy to use. ‘Where would you like this?’

  ‘Would you mind if I sat at your desk and you moved to the rear of the room?’

  ‘If you’d prefer,’ he replied and placed the chair in front of a bookcase cluttered with box files. ‘Sally and Holly are on their way.’

  ‘Thank you. I’d also like to chat to Kirsty Davies.’

  ‘I’ll arrange that once you’ve finished with the girls.’

  A light rapping on the door announced Sally’s arrival. Her voice quavered. ‘Sir. I was told to come here.’

  ‘Come in, Sally. This is Sergeant Carmichael. She wants to ask you a few questions about Savannah.’ Mr Derry’s bright voice made Lucy cringe.

  Sally seemed to shrink back, her red-rimmed eyes widening.

  Lucy spoke up before the girl became too scared. ‘Hi, Sally. This won’t take long. I need your help. I don’t know much about Savannah and I hoped you’d be able to tell me about her.’

  Her gentle tone seemed to work. Sally edged forwards and dropped onto the seat in front of the head teacher’
s desk. She clenched a tissue in her fist and kept her gaze lowered. Lucy spoke quietly.

  ‘Yesterday, you and Savannah had an argument. Can you tell me what it was about?’

  Sally sniffed a few times and nodded. ‘She gave me a bracelet because we were friends. It came undone and I lost it. She noticed I wasn’t wearing it and thought it was because I didn’t want to be her friend any more, and she asked for it back. I told her I lost it but she didn’t believe me and said I was deliberately keeping it. She got really snotty about it and then said I wasn’t a proper friend cos proper friends wouldn’t lose things and stormed off.’

  ‘Did she often lose her temper?’

  ‘No but she was in a bad mood because of Claire Dunbar. Claire called her a thieving gypsy and said Savannah’s stepdad used to steal from people’s garden sheds.’

  ‘I imagine that upset her.’

  Sally shrugged.

  ‘I’d be pretty upset if someone accused me of stealing when I didn’t.’

  Again, Sally shrugged. Lucy didn’t push the subject.

  ‘Did Savannah give you any idea of where she was going?’

  The girl’s head moved only slightly. ‘No.’

  ‘You must have been good friends for her to give you a bracelet. I expect she shared some of her secrets with you.’

  She gave another slight lift of her shoulders and her eyes anchored on a fountain pen on the desk. Her knuckles whitened as she clenched the tissue more tightly.

  ‘I don’t want you to tell me everything she shared with you but maybe you know something that will help me find out who did this to her. Can you help me, Sally?’

  Another sniff, a flutter of eyelashes and a soft, ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Did she have a boyfriend or was she seeing somebody regularly?’

  ‘I don’t think so. She never said.’

  ‘But you must have talked about boys and relationships. I talk about people I fancy with my friends. Was there anyone she really liked?’

  ‘Justin Bieber and a boy in our class called Toby, but he’s got a girlfriend and besides he doesn’t like Savannah.’

  ‘Why doesn’t he like her?’

  ‘Dunno really. I suppose it’s cos she was shy, especially around boys.’

  ‘She didn’t mention anyone else, outside of school, or possibly online?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did she talk about her stepfather, Lance?’

  ‘Only to say she was glad he’d gone. He used to get really drunk and hit her mum.’

  ‘Did he hit her too?’

  ‘I don’t think so. She’d have said.’

  ‘I heard she was mad at her mum. Do you know anything about that?’

  Another shrug from the girl. ‘I get mad at my mum some days.’

  ‘Help me, Sally. Why was Savannah angry with her mum?’

  The girl blinked several times before speaking again. ‘She got a new boyfriend and Savannah said he was really creepy.’

  ‘In what way was he creepy?’

  ‘I dunno. Creepy. Staring at her when her mum wasn’t around, saying stuff to her, being slimy and trying to touch her then pretending it was only because he was being friendly, staring at her tits, that sort of thing.’

  ‘Did he touch her?’

  ‘She didn’t say he did, only that she wished her mum had never met him.’

  ‘Did she tell you his name?’

  ‘Um, it was Phil, I think… He stayed over at their house a couple of times. Savannah didn’t like him at all.’

  Lucy considered what she’d just learnt. Savannah might simply have been jealous of this new man in her mother’s life and made up some of these allegations. However, he’d require investigating. ‘Did she seem different yesterday at all? Did she seem excited or worried or nervous – before the fight with Claire?’

  ‘I didn’t notice. She was always really quiet. She didn’t like people noticing her. Sometimes I forgot she was even in class.’

  ‘Did she bring any clothes into school with her? She might have shown you them – a hoodie and jeans?’

  Another shrug. ‘I didn’t see any clothes. She was acting a bit weird yesterday. She didn’t go to lunch with us as usual. She disappeared after our art lesson and when I asked her where she went instead, she said, “Nowhere,” and that she’d stayed in the form room.’

  ‘Did she often disappear like that?’

  ‘No, she usually hung around with us. She was okay when you got to know her. She liked the same things as us… It’s a bit awkward, y’know. My mum doesn’t like Savannah’s mum. I liked Savannah but I wasn’t really her best friend. I hung about with her cos she was good at being invisible.’ She suddenly stopped talking.

  ‘What do you mean, Sally?’

  ‘Nothing. I’ll miss her.’ Her eyes filled with tears and she lowered her head.

  Lucy was certain there was more but Sally wasn’t going to say anything further.

  ‘Sally, thank you very much. You’ve been a big help and a good friend to Savannah.’

  ‘Can I go now?’

  ‘Of course, unless there’s anything more you want to tell me?’

  Sally pushed back her chair and stood to leave. Her eyes were dewy but she looked at Lucy. ‘She was okay and I really did lose the bracelet.’

  Holly was waiting outside the head’s office and came in as soon as Sally left. She had bright eyes and a pretty, round face and to Lucy’s surprise, didn’t appear to be unduly distressed by the news of her friend’s death. She answered Lucy’s questions without hesitation and confirmed much of what Sally had already told Lucy, including the news Savannah disliked her mother’s new boyfriend.

  ‘Why didn’t she like Phil?’

  ‘She was angry at her mum for letting him stay over without asking her. The first time he stayed, Savannah didn’t even know he was in the house, not until he walked into the bathroom while she was taking a shower. She said he deliberately hung about, gawping at her, and didn’t leave, even though he said he was really sorry. She thought he was really creepy – hated him coming around.’

  There it was, that same word – creepy. Lucy wanted to find this Phil and quickly.

  Holly stared openly at Lucy. She appeared to be more cooperative than Sally.

  ‘Did he ever touch her?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘I heard she was crying a lot, recently. Do you know why?’

  ‘She was unhappy.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘Other kids being horrible to her, and she was upset because she thought after her stepdad left, it’d be her and her mum again like it was before he arrived, but instead her mum found a boyfriend.’

  ‘She was close to her mum, then?’

  Holly pulled a face. ‘Not close but she liked it being just her and her mum. She used to talk about how it was before they moved away with the travellers, when they lived with her gran in Dudley. I think she was happier then.’

  ‘Did she ever mention running away?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Not at all?’

  Again, Holly shook her head.

  ‘Holly, Savannah had a lot of new stuff in her bedroom – clothes and things with price tags on them. Do you know how she got them?’

  The girl lowered her eyes.

  ‘Holly,’ Lucy urged quietly. She tried again. ‘Were they presents from somebody?’

  Holly shook her head. ‘She nicked them.’

  ‘Stole them?’

  ‘Yeah. She took stuff from supermarkets, shops, anywhere really. She always got away with it. I never took anything. Honest,’ she suddenly added, swivelling to face the head teacher. ‘I told her she shouldn’t but she didn’t care.’

  ‘She smoked too, didn’t she?’ Lucy asked.

  Holly’s cheeks flushed pink. ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Did you see her smoke?’

  ‘Once or twice.’

  ‘How could she afford cigarettes?’

  Holly lowered her voice to a whi
sper. ‘Sometimes she sold the things she stole to get the money.’ She kept her head down and would no longer meet Lucy’s gaze, leaving her to assume Holly was also party to the smoking, if not the shoplifting. At least she’d established how Savannah had come by some of the goods Natalie had found in her room.

  ‘Did she sell the things at school?’

  Holly glanced in the direction of the head teacher and then nodded once.

  Mr Derry cleared his throat as if he wanted to speak but Lucy glared at him.

  ‘Can you tell me who she sold stuff to?’

  ‘I don’t know who.’

  ‘Don’t you have any idea? Maybe they could help me find out more about Savannah.’

  ‘I really don’t know. I didn’t ask her.’

  Lucy found that hard to believe but she was mindful of the head teacher’s presence, which might be hampering Holly’s willingness to say more. In spite of further questions, Lucy could get no extra information from the girl who either didn’t know the answers or wasn’t prepared to share them. She also claimed she didn’t know where Savannah had been going or who she might have met up with. Holly’s expression became more determined with each question. Lucy wondered if Holly’s and Sally’s mothers knew what their daughters got up to when they weren’t at home. She allowed Holly to leave and waited for Claire Dunbar, the girl who’d started the fight with Savannah, to arrive. She already had some idea of how Savannah behaved and why; she could take that information back to the team for further discussion, and a name – Phil.