'It does look like this lets the WankyBois off the hook though?'
'Listen to me.' Haines finally let his irritation bubble over. 'Nothing will let them off the hook. They are perverts who traumatised any woman whose mobile number they could get hold of. We caught them at the beginning of what could've been a long and damaging career. I still feel that they've got some connection to this case, somehow. They were very technologically savvy. Maybe they sent out the blueprint for these killings so they'd look innocent?'
Angel didn't trust herself to argue. She'd been wading through the technical data from their computers. Considering how high tech their crimes were, the three boys were surprisingly isolated from their peers. They didn't chat much to anyone else outside their group. She took a deep breath and thought that she'd have to wait out the twelve hours and then make her representations when they had more data.
As she was down to cover the phones overnight, DC Angel diverted the phone up to the MIT room and worked on a new board next to the one for Mazey Taylor.
The victim still had her handbag and was soon identified as Stella Evans, a nineteen-year-old who worked as office assistant at a local estate agents. The day before, she'd finished work at six and picked up a few items in a corner shop on the way home. The site where the body had been found was on the most direct route from work to home.
DCI Haines stayed in the room too, working the phones, coordinating the coroner, the pathologist, and the uniforms who were all working to get as much data as fast as possible.
As well as filling in the board with her details, Angel got a flip-chart and drew up two headings – similarities and differences.
Under the first heading, she listed the facts. Both victims were local young females. Both were attacked as they returned home. Both women had been killed by compression of the windpipe, and the bodies appeared to have been left where they were killed. There was no CCTV coverage for either crime scene. There was also no sexual assault or other interference with the bodies. They both appeared to be opportunistic killings.
Under the second heading, DC Angel wrote that one victim was a sixth form student, the other had worked since leaving school at sixteen.
She stood at the board thinking for a minute. 'Boss, they were both found walking home from work, but one was in a bit of scrub land, the other was behind a row of shops. Does that count as a difference?'
'I think so,' Haines replied. 'They're quite different areas, and if we're looking at someone who waits for a victim and then leaps out at them, well they're different areas and times of day that he's waiting.'
'Yes, but it's all in Bradwick itself. He might have a range, but it's not a huge one.' She paused. 'I'll put it down, I guess.'
Other items in the differences column were that they were different in hair colour and that Stella had been in a relationship for the last eight months. Finally, she wrote that no mobile had been found at Stella's scene although she was wearing headphones.
Now the case was looking more complex, DI Hargreaves had been drafted in to give more weight and experience. He was the first to speak. 'The thing is, everything that makes these cases similar is a definite. We know who was killed and how and where. If there is a single killer responsible, then unless he's a stalker as well, he won't know if they're a student or not. He can't tell by looking if they've got a boyfriend or not. If it is just one person, then they obviously aren't choosy, just young women.'
'What about the mobile phone?' DCI Haines queried. 'She was found with headphones and worked for an estate agent. It hasn't been found anywhere.'
Hargreaves shook his head. 'When we did the press release for Mazey Taylor, to get more information on our three suspects, we said that we'd got data from the victim's mobile. If we have a single perpetrator, then he'd have read that and realised that he'd failed to destroy Mazey's phone. The safest thing for him to do in the next attack is to completely remove the mobile from the scene.'
DCI Haines nodded slowly and turned back to the board. He was undeniably the boss, the governor of this team, and no one spoke while he considered all the facts.
'Right. Lockwood, Knight, and Small are perverts and they've been caught. But at the moment they're out of the frame for these killings. We'll package them up, make sure our notes are ready for court and then dump the whole thing on the CPS and forget about it. Don't think of this as a mistake, we've got three very nasty men off the streets and that's always a win.' He stopped to take a deep breath. 'However, it does mean that we're back to square one, with a whole new enquiry. We need a full profile of both victims, paying particular attention to any overlaps. We also need to consider that we might have a killer who's picking victims at random that he doesn't know. We need to hit the streets, pick up informants. We're behind on this and we will need to run to catch up.'
Part 2
Chapter Nineteen
Emma finally drove home on Saturday lunchtime having been awake for over twenty-four hours. No police officer wanted to find a body but this one was worse than most. When she turned into her road, she was disheartened to see a motorbike was parked outside the house.
Her worst fears were confirmed when she saw the lanky frame of David Marks relaxing on the sofa. He had a beer in his hand and looked completely at home. Emma shot a look at Michelle, her housemate who was obviously to blame.
Out of David's eyeline she shrugged and rolled her eyes. Obviously, she had been unable to dislodge him. Emma held one hand up to David to indicate he should wait. He didn't look like he was going anywhere soon.
She went into the kitchen and got herself a beer from the fridge. She rolled the bottle across her forehead, feeling the cold drips trickle down. She closed her eyes and tried to figure out what she should do.
One part of her wanted to completely unload everything that was going on in her head straight at David. Tell him that her case was completely screwed, had driven itself into a brick wall. It was a dead end that she'd seen coming but had been unable to stop. She hadn't said anything because she was new to the team and a woman as well so she wouldn't have been listened to. In fact she had tried to steer the team away from this disaster and been ignored.
She was exhausted and felt grimy after so long on duty, which made her less tolerant. Added to which she was due on and cranky so she didn't want to be nice to anyone. There was no way David was getting her into bed. She knew she was being irrational and moody but all she wanted was a bath, a glass of wine, and a slab of chocolate. She'd have to make do with a shower as the chances were high that she'd doze off in the bath.
She took a deep breath and decided the first problem was an easy one. She needed to remove David Marks, both from her sofa and then from her life.
She marched back into the living room. 'Right, you need to go now.'
'I just arrived. Michelle let me in. Couldn't we at least have a drink and see where things go from there?'
Emma knew exactly what he meant and needed to head that idea off at the pass. 'You can't behave like this, David. It's not on.'
'What? I thought we were an item. We haven't been communicating so I thought I'd pop over.'
'Not communicating? We had a row and then you sulked by not answering my texts. And now you just turn up and hope to pick up where you left off? You know we all work shifts, that some days the work takes over and others I can have lazy mornings. I can't just be picked up and put down without any regard for my job. It might surprise you but this is the twenty-first century and women have careers and have to work harder than men to get ahead.'
David chose to ignore most of her words and focus in on the original argument. 'But it's okay for you to just pick me up when you want a roll in the hay? That's okay is it?'
'That's not what happened. I texted and asked if you wanted to come over and you agreed. That's how grown-ups have relationships, they communicate and agree a time and place to meet up. They don't sulk and then turn up with no warning.' Before David had another chance to talk, sh
e carried on. 'I can't be doing with all this. This is my house and you're leaving now.' She took his beer from him and looked at the door.
David stood up and assessed his options. Lucy had heard the raised voices and stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed and a determined look on her face. Michelle was stood in the doorway to the kitchen, looking similarly resolute. He knew when he was beaten and muttering under his breath about 'a house full of dykes' he strode out and slammed the door.
Emma collapsed on the sofa with her beer. Michelle and Lucy collapsed into the armchairs. They glanced at each other then all collapsed into giggles as the tension dissipated.
Chapter Twenty
Haines wished he could go back to his office and close his eyes for ten minutes. But he was in the first twenty-four hours of a murder enquiry and the picture was getting increasingly bleak. They had gone up a blind alley with the three suspects they had in custody for the Taylor killing and now had to start from scratch.
He knew about the golden twenty-four hours but he also knew that he was close to burning out. He had one last check to make sure that everything was proceeding. Search teams, what little CCTV there was, interviews with family and forensics were all in progress.
He made sure his mobile was charged and decided to head down to the club. Hopefully Patterson would be there on a Saturday afternoon and he could try to regain a sense of perspective.
Soon he was installed in his usual leather-lined booth in the main bar of The Bradwick. Seated opposite him was Reg Patterson.
Rather than rehash the failings in the murder case, Haines had something else on his mind.
'What do you make of Hargreaves?'
'That's an odd question, Rob. Don't tell me you've worked with him for five years and now you don't trust him?'
Haines briefly recapped the debacle on Friday night when neither of the senior officers were available.
'So?' Patterson said. 'The guy has a right to a private life. You know what Glen Hargreaves is like, don't you? Always a bit buttoned up, never really shared much with the team.'
'Yes, well, after all that fuss when he was a desk sergeant, it's hard to blame him.' Years ago, Hargreaves had been sergeant to an intake of probationer PCs. One in particular had been very slack in terms of the basics – proper uniform and starting her shift on time. Finally, he'd had to issue her with a warning, and she replied by offering him favours in return for her staying on. He turned her down straight and she went to the inspector with a trumped-up sexual harassment claim. He was suspended, investigated, and exonerated, but ever since Haines had noticed that he'd been very reserved, especially around female officers.
'Listen, Rob, you were on rota and he was off and that's all there is to it. You got caught with your pants down, so just move on. For all we know Hargreaves likes being spanked by some leather-clad dominatrix or gets his rocks off with other men. It doesn't matter at the end of the day.'
'Yeah, you're right. It's just that Billy is getting increasingly twitchy. He's got men undercover in the Latvian gang and is trying to get me info. If it all plays out then I'll have a big raid before I move up and it'll take all the pressure off Billy while he's getting used to Hargreaves.'
'And if it doesn't play out?' Patterson always had a knack for asking the awkward questions.
'Then I'll still get my promotion and most likely Billy will be finished. It'll be the end of an era. And Hargreaves will have to deal with the Latvians.'
Patterson nodded. 'That'll be messy.'
'That's why I'm throwing everything at this. I've started rounding up immigrants, paying special attention to the Latvians. You know how tribal these gangs can be. I reckon if they've got people here picking fruit or whatever, they're probably the ones actually handing out the beatings. They'll be leant on by the people back in the cities. With a bit of luck I'll disrupt their networks and buy Billy some time.'
They lapsed into a companionable silence, both sipping their drinks. 'How's the new girl shaping up?' Patterson finally asked.
'DC Emma Angel? She's as good as she looks on paper. She does martial arts in her spare time. I'd be surprised if she's over five foot three but I've seen her subdue suspects with no problems. She's sharp too.'
'It does sound too good to be true,' Patterson said gently.
'Well, she's not really a team player. She's managed to put Stonor's back up several times, and I don't think Hobbs is her greatest fan either. And she does go off on her own without telling people what she's up to.' He stopped to think for a moment. 'Trouble is she's got a degree in policing and while she's not on the official fast track, you can see that she's going up through the ranks. She's got to learn how to rub along with these folks as I can see her outranking them within five years.'
'Hargreaves has got his work cut out then!'
'Yeah. I said I'd size her up before handing over. But she's a closed book, she seems to be all about the job.'
Patterson nodded. 'Those are the ones you've got to watch out for. Everyone needs a life outside the job.'
'We can talk. Look at the two of us, sat here on a Saturday afternoon drinking and talking about work.' He left a small pause. 'How are you coping without Mary? The house seem too big yet?'
'Oh, you know. It is a big hole, you know, married for all those years. But you have to keep your routines, your discipline. I still go out for my daily run, still go to the gym. Come here for a drink. No sense in sitting around moping, staring at the walls. How about you? How's Jem and the kids.'
'Kids? Abby's in her third year at university and Charlie has a job in Bristol. Between you and me I think Jem is looking forward to my promotion more than I am.'
'Working out ways to spend the money?'
'No, drawing up a list of DIY jobs to do now that I'll have more evenings and weekends at home!'
The conversation flowed after that and eventually circled back around to the killings. Patterson held firm to his belief that if you dug around hard enough in someone's background, then you'd find a link, find a reason why they were killed.
Eventually Haines said, 'I really ought to swing by the office one more time and check that the ship's on course before heading home to see what Jem's got for dinner.'
Chapter Twenty-One
DC Angel stood on the doorstep where she'd last seen Lukas. In her head she rehearsed the questions she'd need to ask to find out where he was now. She assumed two things – that he would have moved on and that his former housemates wouldn't co-operate.
She was on her way home from the first meeting of the MIT. She knew she should be focusing on Mazey Taylor and who had killed her, but the crime figures were niggling at her. Why could she not make sense of them?
She took a deep breath to steady herself. This was what she needed to do. It was clear that she was the new girl in town. And that something decidedly odd was going on with both Haines and Hargreaves. She wasn't going to be left behind, so she had to use all of her available resources to get up to speed as fast as possible. And to do that she needed to start forming her own network of informers within the town of Bradwick. Which led her to here. She knew all the reasons why Lukas was dangerous – both her own reaction to him and what he knew about her past. But he was also her best shortcut into the underbelly of the town. Without much hope, she rapped on the door.
When it opened and Lukas stood there, she was surprised he was home. He wasn't expecting her either, and both were struck dumb.
'Lukas,' she said finally.
'Yeah, um, yeah. Not a good time, really.' He looked up and down the road nervously.
Emma sighed dramatically. 'So, how long before the dealer gets here?'
Lukas looked as if he was about to argue with her. Then he gave a half-shrug and said, 'He said thirty minutes, maybe an hour.'
'So, I'll be gone in twenty-five.' Not waiting for an answer, she pushed past him but he didn't make any effort to stop her. She tried not to notice being so near to him but couldn't avoid the phys
ical closeness that the narrow corridor forced on them. Not for the first time she had serious misgivings about coming here. She planned to ignore plenty of evidence of drug use and other crimes.
Eventually they had negotiated the social niceties of coffee – black because there was no milk – and were sat in the lounge. As Lukas moved around the room, he had the natural grace of a rock star who was off duty. His jeans hung low on his hips and his T-shirt was too big making him look like a waif. Emma sat on a worn-out sofa while Lukas sprawled opposite in an armchair. She saw ashtrays, empty beer cans and takeaway containers on the coffee table, littered among other mess that she tried hard not to study.
'So, babe, what brings you to my house?'
'Your house?' Usually she'd be irritated by being addressed as babe, but this was Lukas. He was overly affectionate with everyone he met and wasn't being patronising. He was a genuine hippy.
'Well, you know, turn of phrase. It's where I am right now. Anyway, what's up?'
She paused. This was the problem. 'I need information on the local dealers--'
'Oh no! Come on babe, you're way better than that. We're better than that. You and me, we go way back and you blunder in here like that.' He reached for a tin and started rolling a cigarette.
'No, you idiot! We have files and lists of names. We don't need you to finger who sells you a bit of gear now and again.' She paused for breath. 'Even you must've noticed that there have been attacks on people around here.' She paused. Now she was sat in front of Lukas, she couldn't exactly say what she was thinking. Scrotes, lowlifes, petty criminals, the scum of the estates. 'Well, let's just say that our victims aren't used to being on the other side of the table, giving statements.'
'Oh that. Well, yes. It's definitely going on.' Lukas lit his cigarette without meeting her eyes.
The Retirement Party Page 10