by Kay Leitch
'NO!' Vanessa shouted, 'My Mum never touched me, she loved me…I should have told her, I did just before she died, but it was already too late by then…the damage had been done…to me and then to Faye,' she broke down in tears. 'If I had told Mum earlier all of this,' she spread her arms wide, 'would have been avoided…if only I'd been brave enough I could have saved Faye…' she was sobbing now, 'Louise…I could have saved Louise.'
Carla started to have an awful feeling she knew what this was all about. 'I don't understand Vanessa, what was it that you should have told your mum, how could your mum have saved Louise, and why was Faye in danger?'
'From him!!...that monster, that fucking pervert…he was the reason it all happened…him!'
'Are you talking about your dad…is that what this is all about…Vanessa who was the father of your child?'
'Oh god do I have to spell it out for you… him, darling daddy… that's what I've been trying to say. He put that thing inside me, then he abused me because it was there and left me to get rid of it…like it was just some rubbish…then when I did what he asked he threw me out…because my Mum had found out. Then when after all these years she comes looking for me… my little girl. He sent her away, calling her vile names…he is a monster…he doesn't deserve to live, I wish he was dead!' she collapsed in tears, Carla tried to keep focused, she needed to get some answers from Vanessa, no matter how upset she was.
'Vanessa, are you still maintaining that you never emailed Louise, never arranged to meet with her?' Vanessa nodded, 'What would you say if I told you that the emails that Louise received from someone calling themselves mum, came from your computer…I've got a printout of them for you to read…you can clearly see that Louise has made arrangements to come to Kenley to meet you, her mother…are you sure you didn't send those emails Vanessa?'
Vanessa looked at the printout in disbelief, 'I…it makes no sense…I didn't send these Carla, someone is playing a joke on you, I had no idea how to get in touch with Louise…I don't understand what's going on.'
'So you deny sending these emails?'
'Yes, emphatically I deny it, and I think I need to get my in touch with my lawyer…something is not right here, how did those messages get onto my computer…it's ridiculous.'
'Of course you are entitled to a solicitor and…' she broke off as there was a knock on the door, a uniformed constable came in and spoke to Carla.
'I have a message for you ma’am,' he said and handed Carla a piece of paper, which she read. 'Ok I think now would be a good time for a break, I'll make sure you have a phone to get in touch with a solicitor Vanessa,' she said as she and Ted exited the room.
'What's up Carla?' said Ted as soon as they were outside.
'Frank's just sent word that we've just found our matching earring, at the bottom of a chest in Vanessa's bedroom, things are going from bad to worse for Mrs Poole I'm afraid.'
There was more good news for Carla when she got upstairs to her office…a mobile phone had been found. It had been lying about 50 yards from the murder site, at the side of the path…it was an 'iphone' and considerably worse for wear but they were working on it and Carla at last had hope that they were about to make a breakthrough in this case. She still didn't feel convinced about Vanessa, she couldn't put her finger on it but it just didn't seem to fit. The fact that Vanessa had obviously been abused and eventually raped by her father could have affected her so much that she was capable of murder it was true, but she seemed to be distraught at the thought that she had missed seeing her daughter…one thing was certain in Carla's mind now though, Vanessa had been in the Glory Woods near where Louise had been found, sometime between her death and the day that she was found, the earring found in her bedroom was an exact match to the one found in the woods…Vanessa had some more explaining to do.
Ted popped his head round her door, 'Vanessa's solicitor will be here in a couple of hours he says, that's the earliest he can make it.'
'Well it won't do any harm for us to take a break from interviewing her for a while, what do you make of it Ted?'
Ted heaved a sigh, 'Well there's no denying if what she is telling us is true she has every reason to be seriously deranged. I can't stop thinking about it, that man should be castrated…to rape your own child, and then leave it to her to get rid of the consequences, by herself at age 15…well I know we come across some right bastards Carla but Derek Styles… phew I just don't know what to say…I just want to be there when you question him.'
'Well as to that Ted, could you check with the nursing home, see if they've heard from him yet…the sooner we speak to him the better I think, I've got a feeling Mr Styles may be the missing part in this mystery.'
'Yep ok, I'll get on to it right away…what shall I do with Vanessa meantime?'
'I think she's ok where she is, let her know about her solicitor and make sure she's had a cup of tea or something will you Ted?'
Ted bustled off and Carla set about trying to work out how this new information fitted into what they already had.
Five minutes later Ted came back with the news that Derek Styles still hadn't shown up at the nursing home and wasn't answering his phone…they were beginning to become concerned.
Carla had managed to find a phone number relating to Faye's address in Melbourne, she had tried it several times already but she thought it would do no harm to try it again. She checked her watch it was nearly 6pm, which would make it early morning in Australia, perhaps she would have more luck finding someone at home at this time.
The phone was answered after a few rings. 'Hello,' said a sleepy voice.
'Hello,' said Carla, 'could I speak to Faye Pinner please, this is Detective Inspector Carla Right, I'm phoning from England.'
'What...do you know what time it is?'
'Yeh sorry about that I wouldn't have phoned if it wasn't vital I speak to Miss Pinner, is she there?'
'Fucking hell, some of us didn't get to bed till 2 and have got work in a couple of hours…' Carla could hear the phone being put down angrily and footsteps retreating into the distance, then, 'Faye…Faye someone's on the phone for you…well I don't bloody know do I? Some copper from England….well that's what she said, oh just bloody well come and talk to her will you.'
Footsteps coming back to the phone, 'Yeh she's just coming…'
'Thank you, sorry for waking you.'
The phone was put down with a grunt then a couple of seconds later, 'Hello Faye Pinner speaking, how can I help you?'
'Hello Faye, I'm Detective Inspector Carla Right from the police dept in Kenley we are trying to trace your father Derek Styles, have you been in touch with him recently?'
'Oh my god what has he done now, I haven't seen him for years, I came to Oz to get away from him…what's happened…has someone finally killed him?' said Faye seemingly unconcerned at that prospect.
'Not as far as I know…it's just that we were under the impression that he had been with you for the last two weeks.'
Faye laughed sarcastically, 'God no…why would I want to see the old bastard, I haven't left Australia for over a year, and that was just a quick visit with my Auntie Kath in Scotland. My Dad and I had a bit of a falling out when I was younger, I was brought up by my Auntie Kath, he kept writing to me though wanting to see me, I never answered but he kept on…so I eventually sold my Mum's old house and used the money to start up over here…that was years ago though.'
'So you didn't keep in touch with your sister, Vanessa, then?'
'No, we lost touch ages ago…I know she lived in Ashford for a while and I did try and find her once, but it seemed she'd got herself mixed up in prostitution and drugs and stuff, and I couldn't be doing with all that, so I gave up. Oh god she's not dead is she…is that why your phoning me?' Carla tried not to react to this new information about Vanessa; it was really hard to imagine the sleek polished landlady being a drug addict and a prostitute.
'No nothing like that Faye, but she is in a bit of trouble I'm afraid…'
<
br /> 'Oh nothing new there then…what's she done this time?'
Carla ignored the question, 'How long ago was it that you heard she was a prostitute, how did you find out?'
'Oh years ago, I had been over to finalise the sale of my Mum's house and I tried to find her…she had left home under a bit of a cloud you see. I wanted to make things right before I left for Oz, so I badgered Dad until he gave me the address of the man she'd been working for, only when I got there it turned out to be a derelict old building, that had once been used as a massage parlour. I went to the police to see if they had ever had any dealings with her…well they knew all about her, she'd been working as an escort for years…not a bog standard prossie standing on street corners, oh no that would never have done for princess Vanessa, but a high class hooker charging a fortune to hang on some disgusting old man's arm and give him the ultimate blow job at the end of the evening. She'd got herself a nice place too…I went there but she was too busy to see me, too ashamed more like, anyway I didn't hang around, as far as I could see she was the same old Vanny running true to form, she always was trouble, what's she done this time?' Faye repeated, even from thousands of miles away Carla could hear the bitterness in her voice.
'Were you aware that your sister gave birth to a daughter, when she was 15?'
'Well that was the story that she told everybody, I didn't really believe her though, that was just her excuse for worrying my Mum to her death…she always had to be centre of attention, Vanny did.' Carla felt herself growing a bit irritated by Miss Pinner's dismissive attitude.
'Well this time she was telling you the truth, she had a baby girl in 1996 in Maidstone, Kent. She left it in a bag outside the entrance to Maidstone general hospital's A&E dept, after giving birth in an old porta cabin…by herself… she must have been about 15 at the time. She is saying that the baby was your fathers, that she was abused by him from the age of 10 and eventually raped and impregnated by him…do you know anything about that?' Carla heard a sharp intake of breath at the other end of the phone…then a pause before she said.
'Na, she's just spinning her lies again…do you actually know for a fact that she had a baby, because she's very good at making things up you know.' Carla was beginning to realise how awful it must have been for Vanessa, if even her own family wouldn't back her up.
'Yes we are sure the baby was hers, she had given birth all by herself in an old porta cabin just outside Maidstone hospital,' there was silence at the other end of the phone, as Faye digested what she had been told. When she spoke at last it was in a voice filled with shock and horror as the truth finally began to sink in.
'Oh my god…oh poor Vanny, I didn't believe her, well no one did, we just thought she was trying to cover up for running away with some boy and worrying Mum to death…oh my god…' Carla could tell that she was struggling to talk, 'I could have helped her, she begged me to go to mum with her…oh my god …he sent her away, and I just let him do that…'
'How old were you Faye when all this happened?'
'I must have been about 10 I suppose…what happened to the baby…the little girl, does anybody know?'
Oh no thought Carla, sometimes she hated her job.
'I'm afraid she died Faye, she was murdered. In fact we found out about Vanessa abandoning the baby…um Louise was her name, as part of our murder investigations. Whilst questioning Vanessa about the events that led up to her abandoning Louise, she mentioned that she was worried that your father had been abusing you as well, is that true Faye?'
There was silence on the other end of the phone; Carla could hear the occasional sniff, so she knew Faye was still there, she only just heard the whispered:
'Yes.'
'I know this is really hard for you, but can you fill me in on the events that happened when Vanessa came home…after she'd had the baby, after your dad sent her away…'
Faye sniffed loudly a few times…
'Mum died…but before she died she phoned my Auntie in Scotland…'
'Auntie Kath?'
'Yes that's right, she told her about my Dad…um you know…the things that he'd done to me, and made her promise that she would come and take me and Vanny to live with her when she died…oh Dad wasn't happy about that, he tried his best to stop it but Auntie Kath must have threatened to tell the police I think because he soon backed down and I went with her, but by then Dad had sent Vanessa away to Maidstone and Auntie Kath couldn't find her. Dad refused to give her the address, said he'd lost it or some rubbish like that, she tried her best even putting ads in the Maidstone local newspapers in the hope that she might read it, but she'd disappeared from the face of the earth…I didn't want her to be found, as far as I was concerned she had killed my Mum…I thought that for a long time…oh god poor Vanny…oh my god…' Faye collapsed in tears again and it was a few minutes before Carla could speak to her.
'Did you ever meet her husband, Giles?' she said when Faye had pulled herself together once more.
'No although I did hear she'd got married, my Dad wrote to me about it, I never met him though. Dad was typically crude about him, said Vanny had married some old punter with a bit of money…he seemed to hate the idea that she might finally be happy…but that was my Dad… ever the nasty bastard.'
'Do you have any idea where your father is now Faye, he left the nursing home two weeks ago, they were under the impression that he was going to stay with you, they still had your Sevenoaks’ address…as I understand it there was even a taxi sent by you to pick him up, he was expected back a few days ago, so naturally they are becoming concerned…can you shed any light on these events?'
Faye was obviously having difficulty in pulling herself together so there was a long pause before she said, 'No …um I'm sorry but I have no idea where he is, the only contact I have had with him in the last few years has been the occasional letter. He told me he was going into the home a couple of years ago after he'd had a stroke. I don't think it was a terrible one, but he was finding it difficult to look after himself…I thought at the time that he was trying to get my sympathy… you know so that I would come home and look after him…huh fat chance, I was surprised to hear that it was Vanessa that had stumped up the money to pay for it though. That was weird but to be honest I haven't given him a thought for years, him or Vanessa, but I did know that since Mum had died he had been living in a flat in Westerham, which I don't think was suitable for someone with his disabilities. Anyway I wrote back and told him that I thought it was for the best that he went into the home, and the next letter I got was from the Happy Valley care home…um…as I said I haven't given him another thought…as far as I'm concerned that part of my life is well and truly over. He's a nasty sick bastard, I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't tried it on with the wrong person and they've done him in…it's no more than he deserves…especially now when I know about Vanessa…oh god…poor poor Vanny…' She was obviously crying again so Carla thought she had got all she could out of her for now.
'Ok Faye…um thank you for talking to me, if you do hear from your father I'd appreciate a call…' she gave Faye the station number and her mobile number, just as she was signing off Faye said,
'Please would you give Vanessa a message from me, would you tell her I'm sorry…sorry for everything, tell her I didn't know…I just didn't know.'
'I think you should tell her that yourself Faye don't you, but I will pass on your message and I'll give her your number in case she wants to get in touch.' With that she ended the call and went down the corridor to where Ted was in his office looking over some statements, he looked up when Carla came in.
'We've got a problem Ted,' she said sitting down wearily in the rather battered old chair opposite him.
'Derek Styles never went to his daughter’s house for a visit, she's in Australia, hasn't seen him for years, doesn't want to either from the sound of it. So where the bloody hell is he, and who sent a taxi pretending to be Faye?' Carla put her head in her hands, 'Oh my god this case just gets more a
nd more complicated.'
Ted watched her thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, 'Ok let's think this through bit by bit…you don't think maybe Derek could be our murderer…I mean she did go and visit him, maybe he was scared of what she could tell people about him…maybe she was blackmailing him…and we don't even know how disabled he really was do we…I mean could he walk, would he have been able to get out to meet her…'
'Hold on a minute Ted,' interrupted Carla, 'I don't think Derek would have had any reason to kill Louise, remember she had no idea that he was her father. She went to see him as her Grandfather and according to Jools, he wouldn't see her, sent her off with a flea in her ear. So she wouldn't have been able to blackmail him even if she'd wanted to…no I don't think he's our killer…but I do think we need to find him, he's been missing now for over two weeks and someone knows where he is, because they sent a taxi to pick him up! We need to find that taxi company and find out who sent it and where they took him, can you get on to that straight away Ted, or rather get Frank to do it I want you with me…has Vanessa's solicitor arrived yet?' at Ted's nod she said, 'Right well let's get back in there.'
Carla went back to her office and pulled out the two bags containing the earrings, there was no question that they were a pair, despite one of them having been left on the woodland floor for a couple of weeks, she found a note on her desk asking her to call Betty, who was one of the forensic team that had taken the iphone, she called to Ted to wait for her and made the call.
'Hi Betty, what have you got for me?' she said as soon as the phone was answered.
'Well, I've got good news and bad news, we've been able to get a list of all incoming and outgoing calls and text messages I'm just doing you a print out as we speak, the one thing I can tell you now is that none of the numbers match with the phone that Mrs Poole gave you, so either she has another phone somewhere or she didn't make those calls.'
'Damn…ok Betty can you get me that print out as soon as you can, thanks hun?'