by Wyer, Carol
‘Have you not heard about it?’
Holly shifted in her seat. ‘I have. It’s a challenge website. I’ve heard about it but not from Savannah.’
‘Who told you about it?’
‘I don’t remember who. We were talking about it on WhatsApp. Somebody said they’d like to try it out and go missing but none of us could think of how to hide without being found.’
‘And you definitely didn’t say anything to Savannah about it?’
‘No. We were talking about the banana and Sprite challenge and somebody brought up the subject of Disappear. Savannah wasn’t in the WhatsApp group.’
‘Sally, you haven’t heard of it at all?’
Sally shook her head and tears sprung again.
Lucy persisted for a while longer, but although the teenagers were cooperative, they were also upset and had no more to offer her. After half an hour, Lucy called an end to the interview and headed back to the station.
The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’ came on the radio and she increased the volume, beating the rhythm against the steering wheel with the palms of her hands. Bethany loved this track. She was half-tempted to phone her other half. They’d both had a rough night, what with her getting in so late and then getting up again and then Bethany becoming restless in the early hours after Lucy had returned home for the second time. They’d have to get used to little sleep. Once the baby was born, there’d be no lie-ins or full eight hours of kip. Now Bethany had more of a visible bump, the baby was becoming a reality, and although Lucy had doubted her ability to be a good parent at times, she now had to admit to a sense of excitement that a new life would be joining them in a few months.
Her mobile rang and, muting the track, she answered. It was an exasperated Murray.
‘No fucking joy! Stu was at work all day and got home at six thirty yesterday and stayed there. His mother confirmed he didn’t leave the house at all. She couldn’t sleep, so she was up until the early hours reading. Unless he managed to sneak out without her hearing, it’s unlikely he managed to video Harriet, kill her and dump her body. Didn’t get anywhere at Tenby House and Garden Services either. Noel Reeves was highly affronted. Says they never fly-tip. He even showed me the skips they use to transport any leftover debris to the recycling facilities and invoices for them. I’ve located a couple of local building companies and I’m going to track them down but this feels like I’m on a wild goose chase. What about you? How are you getting along?’
‘Same. Savannah’s friends gave me huge doe eyes and burst into tears but they knew nothing. I don’t think their acting skills are good enough to put on such a convincing performance of upset and confusion. I felt shitty asking them about the Disappear website and Harriet Long. Good thing their teacher was with them. She took them to the school nurse after the interview.’
‘Where are you headed now?’ he asked.
‘Station. Going to help Ian trawl through hours of CCTV footage.’
‘Better you than me. Makes my eyes sting like buggery.’
‘Me too, but I’ve clearly got a much higher pain threshold than you and infinitely more patience with such matters – ah, soz, got another incoming call, Murray.’
‘Okay. See you later.’
Lucy accepted the second call, this time from Ian. ‘I can’t reach Natalie, and Lance Hopkins is on his way to the station. Are you nearby or should I put him in a holding room until somebody gets back?’ asked Ian.
‘I can be there in a quarter of an hour. I’ll interview him.’
‘Cheers. Catch you in a while.’
Lucy started the music up again immediately after she ended the call. She pressed the accelerator pedal and listened to the wounded Brandon Flowers belting out the words in his anguished fashion. This time she didn’t think of Bethany singing along off-key to it and dancing in the kitchen or of the baby. She ran through questions she needed to fire at Lance because, at present, he had to be considered as a suspect. With Natalie out of the station it fell to her to handle the interview appropriately. One thing was for certain: there could be no slip-ups. This might be their only shot at establishing if Lance had been in the vicinity, and she couldn’t mess it up.
Seventeen
Wednesday, 18 April – Afternoon
Natalie spent over an hour with Savannah’s mother, Jane, along with the family liaison officer, Tanya Granger. Natalie hadn’t gleaned anything new and Jane hadn’t known about the pavilion or any website that dared teenagers to go missing. There were no words to describe the anguish on the poor woman’s face as she struggled to answer Natalie’s questions. Her world had imploded. Her only child was dead, her lover and employer had been charged for possessing child pornography, and the building yard where she worked had been temporarily closed, although it was fairly likely it would become permanent.
Now Natalie was on her way to Melissa Long’s house and wishing she could get leverage on the case. Before she interviewed the woman, she drove past her home, towards the woods and to the turn-off. It was a tight turning with no sign and easy to miss. It would definitely be somebody in the know who had taken Harriet there, or somebody who’d stumbled across it when hunting for the perfect spot to leave her body – somewhere close to her home yet somewhere associated with waste. She couldn’t shake off the feeling it was somehow connected to the Alisha Kumar case. There were similarities between Alisha’s murder and the murders that had taken place in Watfield that she couldn’t ignore.
The five-bar gate that had been unlocked last night was now padlocked as it apparently had been when officers arrived on the scene. If the killer had brought his victim’s body here, he’d have had to climb either the heavy metal gate or the wooden-barred fence to gain entry. Mike’s team had examined the area for signs that the body had been dropped or lowered into position but found nothing to support that theory.
Making a three-point turn, she retraced the route to the terraced houses and knocked on Melissa’s door. A baby wailed – earnest anguished cries that increased in pitch and cut through her – and her heart went out to the mother inside, struggling to maintain some semblance of normality with two young children demanding her attention, while reeling from such a dreadful shock.
The door opened and Kyle shuffled outside. ‘It’s a bad time. The little ’un’s playing up.’
‘I understand but I need to ask further questions. Can I start by asking you a couple, regarding Lance Hopkins?’
‘What about him?’
‘I understand there was an incident in a pub last year.’
He looked around to make sure they were alone and pulled the door to. ‘Melissa doesn’t know anything about it. She’d go ape if she found out I’d been fighting with Lance.’
‘What was the fight over?’
‘He stitched me up. He did the job on the gutter I told you about and I paid him all I was prepared to pay him, but it was a shit job and I mean really shit. The bloody guttering was crap quality and three days after he supposedly fixed it, it leaked again. He’d charged me handsomely so I went to get my money back, only he wasn’t prepared to admit he’d ripped me off and he got majorly pissed about me bawling him out in front of everyone in the pub. He swung for me. We wrestled for a bit and I got smacked in the nose, and then someone called the police and we got taken away. Melissa hates all that sort of behaviour, so I didn’t tell her.’
‘Was that the only time you fought?’
‘The one and only. The man’s a fucking gorilla. I wouldn’t stand a chance if he’d really tried to hurt me. Besides, there was no way he was going to give me a refund. I only wanted others to know he was a cheat. I thought if word got out how he swindled people, he’d not get any more work.’
‘And Savannah, you never met her?’
‘Never.’ A chill breeze whistled around them both. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet to warm up.
‘I’d really like to talk to Melissa. I know this is a dreadful time for you both but I need your help i
f I’m to catch the person who killed Harriet.’
‘She’s in a bad way. She won’t talk to me or anyone. She yelled at the liaison officer to get out too and we’ve turned off all the phones because journos keep ringing us. Bastards. They ought to leave us alone.’ He rubbed his hands together then tucked them under his armpits.
‘I’d like to see her all the same.’
He pushed open the door wide and said, ‘She’s upstairs.’
The baby’s cries had lessened to sobs, and Natalie climbed the creaky wooden staircase and headed towards the noise. The sobs were coming from the first bedroom door, which was ajar. She tapped gently on it. ‘Melissa, it’s DI Ward. Can I come in?’
She stepped into a single bedroom, a room that screamed ‘teenage girl’ to her and was filled with familiar clutter she’d also find in her own daughter’s room. The décor was different to Leigh’s room, with a découpage dresser against one wall, each drawer covered by different-coloured pieces of fabric, and above it, a white canvas picture, clearly home-made, on which was written in gold ink, ‘Laugh as much as you breathe. Love as much as you can.’ Several school books were stacked haphazardly on the floor next to a bright-red table lamp, which stood on top of a science textbook. A pink nightdress hung half in and half out of a wicker basket in the corner of the room. The shelves next to the bed contained a collection of plush animals: a pink monkey with long legs that dangled over the shelf, a fat cheerful hedgehog and a chubby baby rabbit. Her eyes alighted on a photograph of a young Harriet with a man Natalie didn’t recognise but presumed was her father. She glanced at another white canvas, ‘Wake up and make-up’, hanging above a half-made bed on which sat Melissa Long, eyes unfocused as she rocked back and forth, the baby in her arms. Next to her sat a large blue toy elephant – Harriet’s treasured possession.
The baby’s nose was running badly and he snuffled noisily. ‘Mine were like that when they were teething. My boy was the worst. Got seven teeth all in one go. I didn’t get any sleep for months. I hear teething crystals are the way to go these days,’ Natalie said. Her gentle words had the desired effect.
‘I bought some but they don’t seem to be working. He’s fretful. Been worse today than ever.’
‘Is there anyone who can come and help you out for the time being? Can Kyle’s mum?’
‘She’s already looking after Jack. I couldn’t dump this chap on her as well. He’s too needy at the moment. My parents said they’d come but I can’t… I can’t speak to them. I can’t face them. They’ll be understanding and sympathetic but they’ll blame me too. They’ll say I should have looked out for her more. I know they will.’
‘You can’t be sure of that. They’re grieving too and they’re your parents. They’ll want to be there to support you, not play any blame game. Melissa, it’s really hard for you at the moment, why not let the liaison officer help you? There’s a great deal of support for you. You don’t have to go through this alone.’
Melissa blinked back tears. ‘But I do. I feel so responsible. I had no idea of what was going on in her head. That’s wrong. That’s so wrong.’
‘Teenagers don’t like to share much with their parents. Harriet was no different to most.’
Melissa stopped rocking the baby, whose eyes had closed at last. ‘I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to do.’
‘Help me. Help me find whoever did this to your daughter.’
‘How?’
‘Tell me what you do know about her. What sort of things did she talk to you about?’
‘School, friends, clothes, make-up… she loved nail varnishes. She had so many she could have started her own salon. That’s what she wanted to do. Become a nail technician.’
‘You told me she was a little wild at times.’
‘Rebellious streak, like her father.’ A ghost of a smile played across her face as she reflected on some memory.
‘What were some of the things she got up to?’
‘Mostly arguing with teachers. I was called to the school on a few occasions because of disruptive behaviour – answering back, fighting, smoking. She wasn’t a saint but she wasn’t a demon either. She was a proper daddy’s girl, and when Shane was sent down, she always believed the authorities were in the wrong, not him. She used to big him up to her friends, and getting into the odd spot of bother was her way of proving she was his girl.’
‘Did she ever do anything that really worried you? Self-harmed, took drugs?’
‘Not at all. She was keen on fitness – regularly used the gym at Watfield Sports Centre, and even played football for a while. I know she was caught smoking at school but it was only the once and only because her friends dared her to. She actually didn’t enjoy it at all. For all her faults, she had strengths too and she thought anyone who took drugs was an idiot.’
There it was – the word Natalie had been waiting for: dare.
‘Did Harriet ever talk about trying other challenges, or her friends doing dares?’
Melissa shook her head. ‘I can’t think of anything. Oh, she did the Ice Bucket Challenge with Emily. Emily tipped freezing-cold water over her. I came home and found them giggling over the video they’d made. Everyone seemed to be doing that challenge though – celebs, some of my workmates, everyone. It wasn’t harmful.’
‘What about her online activity? Was she on many social media sites?’
‘She used to play a lot of online games and she liked the app where you can mime along to music as if you’re singing it. She loved Instagram. She was always posting photos of her nails on it. She used to do mine for me when I had time, but not recently. It’s difficult to keep them looking nice when you have little children to run after. That was our mother–daughter time – she’d happily sit down at the kitchen table and do them for me.’ She swallowed heavily. The baby let out a soft snore and stirred. She stroked his cheek tenderly.
‘How did she feel about her stepbrothers?’
‘She pretended she couldn’t be bothered with them but secretly she loved them. I’ve heard her reading to Jack or playing with his trucks with him. He doted on her and I think she was fond of them both.’
‘And Kyle?’
‘She didn’t dislike him. She got on okay with him but there was a bit of tension at times. Only because she felt so strongly about her father. Nobody could replace Shane in her affections.’
‘Did she visit her dad in prison?’
‘Shane didn’t want either of us to visit. He turned his back on us both once he was locked up and I moved on. Harriet turned him into some sort of a romantic figure that would one day come back into her life. She wouldn’t hear otherwise.’
‘Did Harriet ever mention a website called Disappear?’
Melissa shifted the baby to her other arm and flexed her fingers to get the circulation moving again. ‘I’ve not heard of it. Is it a gaming site?’
‘It’s where teenagers are encouraged to disappear from families, friends and loved ones – to hide for hours or even a few days.’
‘You think that’s what she was doing? Trying to hide from us?’
‘It’s possible. You’re certain she’s never said anything about it?’
‘Not to me and I doubt she’d have said anything to Kyle. They don’t talk much at all.’
Natalie’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She couldn’t think of much else to ask Melissa, who picked up the blue elephant with her free hand.
‘Why would she want to hide?’ Melissa asked.
‘It’s a challenge – a type of dare. Do you think she’d be likely to try such a thing?’
‘Why would she want to frighten me that way? She must have known I’d go out of my mind with worry. Why would she consider such a thing? You know, DI Ward, I wonder if I ever knew my daughter at all.’
Melissa retreated into her own world again and stared fixedly at the elephant. She wouldn’t respond to any further questioning. Kyle came upstairs, forehead lined with creases. Natalie spoke quietly. ‘
I’ll have to leave you again. I’ll make sure the family liaison officer comes back. Talk to her, Melissa. She’ll advise you on how to handle the press and what will happen next.’
Natalie checked her phone when she was back in the car. It was gone five and Lance Hopkins was being interviewed at the station. She pulled away from the line of houses and passed the turning to the fly-tipping area. There was so much more to do but her stomach felt full of acid, and tiredness tugged at her eyelids. She couldn’t continue without some rest. She rang the station and asked them to contact the FLO for Melissa Long and let her know if there were any developments, then checked in with Graham to ensure there hadn’t been any further reports of missing children, and finally drove towards Castergate and home, desperate for some sleep.
* * *
While Natalie was talking to the victims’ relatives, Lucy and Ian were in the interview room with Lance Hopkins, who sat with his legs apart, head in hands.
‘We have a witness who claims to have seen you in Watfield in recent weeks.’
‘I’ve not been back since Jane and I parted company. There’s no reason for me to return. I didn’t even enjoy living in the place when we did. I never fitted in.’
‘Why was that, Mr Hopkins?’
‘Because people are petty-minded bigots. They assumed because we’d been travellers we were nothing more than a bunch of thieving, cheating crooks and they didn’t give us a chance. They certainly didn’t give me one.’
‘Was it the same for Savannah?’
‘Poor kid. She took some stick when she first started at that school. I told Jane it was a stupid idea to move to a place like Watfield. Most of the residents have lived there since birth. We weren’t merely outsiders, we were detested outsiders. I did it for Jane. She couldn’t fit in with my family, and when she said she had enough money to buy the house, I was willing to give it a go – last-ditch attempt to see if we could work things out. My mum was right. She said all along we weren’t right for each other. We want very different things and ways of life. Jane stuck it out, got a job, tried to make friends, and Savannah seemed to settle a little, but I couldn’t. Work was impossible to find and I missed my old life. I missed my family.’