by Wyer, Carol
‘Hi. Any news?’ he asked.
She shook her head.
‘I thought I’d wait up in case she came home – friendly face and all that.’
A wave of affection threatened to bowl her over. Eric had been a rock throughout their marriage and played a huge part in the children’s lives. ‘You need anything? A whisky? Hot milk?’
He chuckled. ‘I already had two large ones. We opened David’s last bottle of best malt.’
‘He asleep?’
‘Maybe. He’s in bed.’
‘Thanks for being here.’
‘Where else would I be? You’re family.’
She moved across the room and planted a kiss on his head.
‘What’s that for?’
‘Being family.’
She plodded up the stairs and went directly into Leigh’s room. Dropping onto her bed, she picked up Sammy the bear and, holding him to her chest, let the tears roll, all the while silently begging the universe to send her daughter home.
Twenty-Eight
Friday, 20 April – Morning
Natalie had left the house at eight. David had tumbled into the kitchen just as she was planning on leaving and was dismayed she had spent the night in Leigh’s room.
‘I didn’t want to disturb you.’
‘I wanted to be disturbed.’
‘David, we’re too wound up to talk or discuss anything. Our priority is Leigh.’
‘Don’t you think I know that?’ he begins, then stops himself.
‘I’ve got to get to work but I’ll stay in contact with Graham. If Josh doesn’t want to go to school today, keep him at home but it might be best if he sticks to the normal routine.’
‘How can you be so calm about this?’ David asks.
‘I’m not. Believe me, I’m in no way calm but we have to go about business as usual for the moment. She’s not been gone twenty-four hours yet and there’s a good chance she’ll appear today.’
‘I hope to God you’re right. I don’t think I can go through another day of this.’ He rubs his already red-rimmed eyes and it grieves her to see him so powerless. Losing Leigh has shocked him to the core but can she ever forgive him? She chooses not to think about it, and with promises she’ll stay in contact with him, she leaves.
Murray interrupted her thoughts. ‘Natalie, there’s something strange here. I’m looking at the footage taken at Aldi car park when Katy disappeared. I’ve been rewinding to see if anyone else was around when Katy was in the shop and I noticed a van that drew up close to the entrance, sat for a while and pulled away. I’ve just run a DVLA check on the personalised number plate and it belongs to Mitchell Cox.’
Natalie jumped to her feet. ‘We’ve been hunting for somebody who knew all three girls and maybe knew they intended to disappear. Mitchell Cox might just be that person. Come on. We’re going to talk to him.’
The shutters were down on the phone shop even though it was almost nine but Natalie remembered the side entrance, accessible via a brick archway that led to a small car park. Mitchell’s white Peugeot van with its personalised number plate was in the far corner. She pressed the buzzer marked ‘Phone Shop’ and waited for Mitchell, who was a few minutes before opening the door. ‘Morning. Is everything okay? Have you found Katy?’
‘We’d like to ask you some more questions if we may?’ said Natalie.
‘Most certainly. Come inside. It’s not too warm out there.’
He beckoned them inside and, taking the lead on the staircase, said, ‘Come on up.’
Classical music was playing in his sitting room and he muted it with a control so they could talk. He dropped onto his chair that made a sound like a soft sigh. Natalie glanced at the painting of solemn-faced Cosmina, the woman he’d once loved, whose eyes seemed to follow her as she moved forwards into the room.
‘Were you here Wednesday afternoon, Mitchell?’
‘Yes, I was.’
‘You didn’t go out at any point?’
He wrinkled his forehead than raised a forefinger. ‘I popped out to buy some glue. I was working on a laptop with a broken case and I ran out.’
‘Where did you go to buy the glue?’ Murray asked.
‘I was going to try the supermarket, but when I got there, I suddenly remembered I had a spare tube in my toolbox, so I came back home.’
‘You drove to the supermarket.’
‘Yes.’
‘It’s only a few minutes on foot. Why did you drive?’
’The supermarket was my first stop. If they hadn’t stocked the type of adhesive I needed, I’d have driven to the retail park.’ He looked at Natalie with a puzzled expression. ‘Why?’
‘We understand you were in the car park about the same time as Katy Bywater was in the supermarket.’
His eyes grew large. ‘Really?’
Murray spoke again. ‘Did you see Katy while you were there? Maybe going in or coming out of the supermarket.’
‘I don’t think I even looked in that direction.’
Murray said, ‘Are you sure?’
Mitchell lifted a finger to his lips as he pondered the question then said, ‘No. I can categorically say I didn’t notice her. Or anyone else. I drove into the car park and was about to get out of the van when I thought of my toolbox. I started the car back up and drew away again. I had no idea.’
‘Did you return immediately?’ Natalie asked.
‘Yes, of course. I had to mend the laptop. The customer wanted it back urgently. In fact, they collected it first thing yesterday. It turned out to be fiendishly more difficult to repair than I’d anticipated. It took several hours. I almost didn’t finish it in time.’
‘Can I go back to a week on Saturday when you saw Duffy outside with the girls?’ Natalie asked.
Mitchell looked her in the eye. ‘Yes.’
‘Did you hear any exchange at all between them?’
‘Nothing. I heard a laugh. I think I mentioned that to you. That’s what attracted me to look out the window but I couldn’t hear what they were discussing.’
All the dead ends were draining Natalie’s patience and energy. Katy had been missing for over a full day and they were no closer to knowing what had happened to her. She decided to wrap it up. Mitchell stood up. A loud whirring and clicking suddenly filled the flat.
‘That’ll be Duffy. He has a remote control to open the shutters. I ought to have done it. I’m glad you didn’t charge him. I didn’t want to fire him. He’s a rare find. Not many people with his computing and technological skills are willing to serve in a phone shop. Was he tampering with phones?’
‘He was unblocking parental controls so underage children could play games with an eighteen-plus rating. He didn’t sell them the games, so what he was doing wasn’t technically illegal, but it’s a grey area. We warned him if he did it again we wouldn’t be so lenient. You might want to talk to him yourself.’
‘Yes. I’ll do that. Thank you. I’m very pleased he’s nothing to do with what’s happened. He’s a lovely young man.’ He flushed at his words. ‘I’ll leave you to make your way out.’
As they walked down the stairs, Murray commented quietly, ‘I think he’s got a crush on Duffy.’
The shop bell sounded as they made their way downstairs and a loud voice said, ‘You’re open then?’
Duffy replied. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘You weren’t here on Monday afternoon when I came by.’ The voice sounded irked.
Natalie drew to a halt and listened.
‘I had a dentist appointment—’ Duffy began.
‘And I needed a top-up. I’ve been out of credit and had no phone all week because I couldn’t get back in before today. Can I have twenty quid’s worth, please?’
Natalie pushed the door to the shop open and walked in. Duffy’s eyes widened. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Could I have a word with you, sir?’ Natalie directed her question at the man.
‘What about?’
‘Di
d you just tell Duffy you tried to buy a top-up for your phone on Monday but the shop was closed?’
‘That’s right. There was a “back in ten minutes” sign in the window so I waited outside the shop but no one came back. It’s the only phone shop in the area and I’ve been at work all week and not able to get to town until now.’
‘What time was this?’ Natalie asked.
‘Ten to four. I waited for twenty minutes but nobody showed up and I had to go back to the car because my car park ticket was only for thirty minutes.’
Natalie stood for a second. ‘And you’re certain you were here at ten to four?’
‘Yes, I came straight from work.’
‘Thank you. Do you live locally, sir?’
‘Over the other side of the railway lines – Lichfield Green. Number three.’
‘If I need to talk to you again, I’ll be in touch.’ Natalie gave him a smile.
Murray, behind her, had witnessed the exchange and joined her as she climbed the stairs and tapped on the door to Mitchell’s flat. The man appeared quickly, an anxious look on his face.
‘You’ve not been honest with us, Mitchell,’ said Natalie.
The man’s mouth opened in protest but Natalie lifted a hand to silence him. ‘Monday afternoon you supposedly took over from Duffy when he had a dentist appointment, but you didn’t. You put up a sign saying you were out and would be back in ten minutes.’
‘Surely, that’s not important?’ He rubbed a hand over his face, screwed up in confusion.
‘You told us you were in the shop but now it seems you weren’t.’
‘But I was. I was in the shop in a manner of speaking. I had the most awful headache from eye strain and I nipped upstairs to take a couple of paracetamol and use my ice bag. I keep it in the freezer for whenever I get a bad head. It helps relieve the tension. I sat with it over my eyes for ten minutes or so, then went back downstairs. I didn’t leave the shop. I was here all the time!’
‘But you told us you were in the shop,’ Murray persisted.
‘And to all intents and purposes I was.’
‘We have a witness who said you were gone at least twenty minutes.’
‘That’s rubbish – I can’t have been that long. I’m sure it was no more than fifteen minutes tops. I really didn’t think it was important to mention it because I was upstairs the entire time. I didn’t leave the shop.’ He levelled his gaze at Natalie.
She couldn’t prove otherwise, and as tempted as Natalie was to bawl him out for withholding information, it would not achieve anything. All the chance encounter with the customer had achieved was to delay her further, and another quarter of an hour had been lost. Chasing facts only worked when you had useful facts to follow up. They left the phone shop empty-handed and frustrated.
Natalie jumped into the passenger seat and said, ‘Dig up some background information on him.’
‘He seemed genuine enough.’
‘I know but check him out all the same. I know he was out of the shop for only a few minutes but they’re now unaccounted for.’
Towards the roundabout leading out of Watfield, traffic began to slow. They crept past Jane Hopkins’ house and Western Park, and as they slowed to a halt, Natalie glanced across at the closed gates. The railings and gates were a colourful display of flowers, gifts and cards. The girl who had been shunned in life had become popular in death. A cloak of sadness enveloped Natalie as she considered the irony of that scenario. If only Savannah had been more readily accepted by people in the town, she might be alive today.
It had been three full days since Savannah’s body had been left behind those railings and placed by a waste bin. Someone had used the cover of darkness and had been cunning. They edged closer to the roundabout by which stood the CCTV camera they’d been examining. Had the killer come through it or had they approached from the town side? They might find out very soon. It still wasn’t soon enough for Natalie. The bastard who’d murdered these girls had planned this fastidiously: they knew how to dodge cameras and people, where to place the victims’ bodies, and they were still one step ahead of her. A sudden tremor ran through her body. Had that somebody deliberately snatched Leigh to get to her? She fervently hoped that wasn’t the case. She forced images of Leigh out of her mind. It wasn’t productive to dwell on what might be happening to her daughter, as hard as it was. Traffic was flowing again, and as she looked at her wing mirror, she could just make out the last of the line of houses. Inside number 21 lived Jane Hopkins, a mother who needed answers, and Natalie had to help her find them. It was too late to help Savannah or Harriet but Katy was still out there somewhere, and as long as there was no news of her death, there was still hope, and Natalie clung onto it.
* * *
Lucy had tried two of the five marinas in the county – those closest to Samford and Watfield. So far no one had recognised the photograph of Brendon Jones she’d obtained from Manchester Police, or spied the narrowboat, Swinging Rose, in the area. It had moved from its long-term mooring at Castlefield Basin in Manchester several months after the Alisha Kumar case, but seemed to have slipped away unnoticed. The last sighting of it had been along Caldon Canal, which ran from Etruria, north of Stoke-on-Trent, and had last been spotted near Froghall Tunnel in January of this year. She’d ascertained it was a fifty-seven-foot narrow beam boat, built in 2004, trimmed in oak and painted blue, but more than that she did not know.
It wasn’t as simple as she’d imagined given not only the number of waterways in the county but also the fact there were several more neglected areas and canals where those who did not wish to pay for moorings hung out, often moving their boats regularly. It required more than one officer to track it down.
The marina at Barton-under-Needwood, approximately thirty-five miles away from Samford, was far larger than she anticipated and home to 300 berths, a thriving visitor area of shops, bars and restaurants and new-build apartment blocks. If Brendon Jones was using an alias and had changed the name of his boat, he’d be able to remain undetected for some considerable time. She glanced again at the photograph she carried. The man had dark-brown hair and a beard that covered most of his face. It would be simple enough for him to remove the facial hair, reveal his features and become instantly unidentifiable. He could become invisible.
A text message lit up her phone. It was from Bethany.
Spud just jabbed me.
Don’t forget – 2 p.m.
X
Lucy smiled to herself as she typed out a reply. This was the second time the baby had poked Bethany. A proper little fighter, Lucy mused. It would be truly difficult to leave such an important investigation, especially with Natalie’s own daughter also missing, but she’d do whatever she could to be with Bethany today and see their child.
Will try my very best.
Love you both.
X
If she was honest with herself, it was going to be nigh on impossible to get away, even though the hospital was only a few minutes down the road from headquarters. She’d play it by ear and hope she had some free time to scoot off at 2 p.m. for half an hour.
She sat in her car and tried to fathom out what to do next. If she were the killer, where would she hide out? Would it be somewhere like Barton Marina, or would she choose to hide away on the less-used routes and stay on the move? It would be the latter.
She studied the map of the canals closest to Watfield on her smartphone and sighed. There were thirty-eight miles of waterways between Samford and Watfield. It would take her at least fourteen hours to march it out. There had to be an easier way. Brendon certainly wasn’t going to walk it. There had to be bridges and exit points along the route where he could collect a vehicle to get in and out of Watfield. She’d drive the length of the canal and check each one. It wasn’t going to be an easy task but it had to be done and she was nothing if not tenacious. She put the car into gear and wondered if Natalie had heard any word on her daughter. Her boss constantly surprised her with her abili
ty to soldier on regardless, and Lucy wasn’t sure that if she were in that unenviable position, she would have as much grit. Her admiration for Natalie had hit new heights and the only way she could assist was to locate Brendon Jones.
Twenty-Nine
Friday, 20 April – Late Morning
Murray and Natalie were only five minutes out of Watfield when Graham rang her with news of the discovery of Katy’s body. Natalie could hardly speak. She’d been clinging to the belief the killer had changed their MO and Katy was alive. It had kept her spurred on and motivated and had helped her from going crazy with worry about her own daughter.
‘She was found in a skip.’
Natalie blinked back tears. The idea that a human being could discard these girls so callously was more than she could bear in her heightened state of anxiety. ‘Was it close to her house?’
‘Two streets away. The house owners hired it a week ago because they’re having their front drive dug up and replaced. It was half-filled with rubble. The builders, a landscaping and gardening outfit from Watfield, came on-site at ten and that’s when they discovered her.’
‘Who were the builders?’
‘Tenby House and Garden Services. The lad who discovered her is in terrible shock – Stu Oldfields. Had to get paramedics out to him. We interviewed him when Savannah went missing.’
‘He’s known to us too.’ The killer was playing a complicated and twisted game and it sickened Natalie further. ‘We’re not far from you. Where exactly are you?’
He gave her the address. Murray cast a sideways glance at her. ‘You okay to go and do this?’
‘I’m fine.’ She knew she wasn’t. They’d not saved Harriet and now they’d let down Katy too. They’d all done everything possible and yet the girl had still been murdered. The sadistic bastard was taunting and tormenting them all and had taken three girls and killed all of them. Would Leigh be next?