by M A Comley
“Are you doing drugs, Mr. Rawlinson?”
“Me? Not me, love. Never touch the damn things. I’ve got some incense sticks burning. That’s what you can smell.” He waved his hand around. “Bit overpowering for you? Sorry, lass.”
Kayli narrowed her eyes and shook her head at him. “Because if it’s drugs I’m smelling, I’d have to take you in, sir.”
He nodded. “Yes, oh yes, of course you would and rightly so,” he slurred and slouched against the doorframe. “You said something about making further enquiries?”
“I did. I was hoping to come in for a chat, but I think I’ll forget that now. Going back to my visit yesterday, can you tell me about a tenant who used to live here who Mr. Potts asked to leave recently?”
“What was the name?”
“That’s the problem—I don’t have a clue. Can you recall someone leaving the building?”
He ran a hand through his messed-up hair. “I think so. Can’t for the life of me give you a name, though. Sorry.”
“Not to worry. I’ll try some of the other flats. By the way, have you seen Bob Nuttall on the top floor since yesterday?”
“Nope. I tend to keep to meself. Sorry, love.” He was already closing the door before she had the chance to say thank you.
Kayli stuck her foot out to prevent the door from closing. “If you’ll take some advice, Mr. Rawlinson, I’d get your priorities in order, knock the drugs on the head and put the money to good use, like paying the rent you owe.”
“I told you already, it’s incense you can smell, not drugs. Never touch the stuff.”
Kayli shook her head and removed her foot to allow him to shut the door. She moved on to the neighbour’s flat and knocked on the door. She smiled when Colleen Porter answered. “Hello again. Sorry to disturb you. I just wondered if I could have a quick chat.”
“Of course. Would you like to come in?”
“Wonderful, thank you. No baby today?”
“I’ve just put him down for a little nap. Neither of us slept well last night, and he’s a bit grouchy.” Colleen closed the door quietly behind Kayli and walked into the first room they came to. “It’s not much, but it’s home for now.”
“You’ve got it looking nice. Have you lived here long?”
“Coming up to two months.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward. “Think I’m going to be moving on soon. Not sure I like being the only woman in this block. It can be quite unsettling at times.”
“I can imagine. Have you ever had any bother from any of the other tenants?”
“Not directly. I just think men can be really selfish at times. They all know I’ve got a child, but they’re totally inconsiderate. You know, banging doors and either playing music or listening to the TV loudly at all hours. I know a lot of them don’t work, but why do they have to be so damn pig-headed about things?”
“That’s such a shame. I’d offer to have a word with them for you, except I doubt they would listen to me, and they’d probably make things a whole lot worse if they knew you’d complained about them. A catch-22 situation.”
“It really isn’t worth the hassle. Can I ask why you’ve come back so soon?”
“We hit on something to do with our case and needed to clarify it. I’m guessing that you took over from someone who’d recently vacated the flat.”
“That’s right. When Mr. Potts showed me the flat, he told me that he’d had to virtually tear it back to its bare bones because the last tenant had wrecked the place. I was thrilled, as you can imagine. This place is lovely. I doubt I’ll find another flat in this condition in the future.”
“I can imagine. People often disrespect things that belong to others nowadays. Do you think Mr. Potts was trying to change the quality of tenants by allowing you to move in?”
“He said just that when he showed me around the flat. I thought I’d give it a little time for him to implement the changes, but no one else has ever moved in. Not sure I can handle it much longer. I need to let Mr. Potts know that I’ve made a decision to move on. It might kick him up the backside and force him into giving some of these blokes the boot.”
Kayli nodded. “Let’s hope Mr. Potts surfaces soon to do just that.”
“What are you saying? That he’s gone missing?”
“Yes, that’s why we were asking questions. To be honest with you, we’re not sure if he’s gone missing or if anything bad has happened to him. His daughters and son seem to think the latter.”
Her hand covered her mouth then dropped into her lap. “That’s terrible. And you think someone around here is to blame?”
Kayli shrugged. “Hard to say. All we have is a few witnesses who said they heard raised voices on Saturday evening. Mr. Potts was here around that time and hasn’t been heard from or seen since.”
The young woman’s face drained of all colour. “Oh no. How awful for the family. That’s it. I’m definitely going to move out now if you’re telling me it’s not safe around here.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. The trouble is we have no evidence to prove anything untoward has happened to Mr. Potts. The person who left the flat before you moved in—can you tell me his or her name?”
“Hang on, I think I had a letter come for them a week or so ago. I’ve been too busy to do anything about it. I was supposed to give it to Mr. Potts the next time I saw him.” She left her chair and walked out of the room. She returned carrying an envelope a few moments later. “Here you go, a Harry Sims.”
“I don’t suppose you know if he left a forwarding address?”
She sat down on the sofa again. “Sorry, no. I’ve had a couple of letters, the brown-envelope kind, for him, and I’ve always given them to Mr. Potts to deal with.”
Kayli sighed. “That’s a shame… never mind. At least we’ve got a name to go on now.”
“I hope it helps. Mr. Potts was really upset by the damage the man caused before he moved out.”
“I’m not surprised. It must be heartbreaking to let out your property only for someone to trash it. Oh well, I better get on and see if I can get any more details about Mr. Sims from the other tenants. Thanks for your help.”
Colleen walked her to the front door. “If you hear of any nice flats in a decent area going cheap, let me know.”
Kayli smiled. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground for you. Hope you find somewhere more suitable soon.”
“Thanks, me too. Good luck with your investigation. I hope you find Mr. Potts soon. He seems a nice old man. Can’t believe that someone would deliberately set out to harm him.”
“Thanks. We’ll see where the investigation leads us. Take care of yourself and the little one.”
Kayli decided to creep up the stairs and stand outside Bob Nuttall’s flat, her ear pressed up against the door, hoping to hear some movement inside. She was unlucky. All was silent. Kayli knocked on the door then listened again. Still nothing. Defeated, she descended the two flights of stairs and left the building. She went round the side and up the alley, where she found Dave leaning against a wall at the rear of the property. “Anything?”
Dave shook his head. “Nope. All quiet.”
“Okay. Let’s not hang around here, then. I’ve got a name for us to look into back at the station.”
“Sounds promising. The previous tenant?”
“Yep. Come on, matey. Hop to it.”
~ ~ ~
They drove back to the station. As soon as Kayli stepped through the door of the incident room, Graeme looked up and motioned for her to join him. Her heart rate sped up. “I’m hoping this means that you’ve located Potts’s car.”
“You’d be right, boss. Here it is, getting on the M5. I’ve tracked its route, and it left the motorway here, in Almondsbury. The car travelled along the M48 over the river and into Wales. That’s as far as I’ve got for now. Just wanted to bring you up to date.”
“Excellent news. What about the driver? Can you see who is driving the car, Graeme?”
“It’s obscured. The ANPR cameras are only picking up the torso of the person driving the vehicle. There are no headshots.”
“Are you telling me it could be a male or female driving the car?”
“I am.”
“Maybe we should contact the police around that area.”
Graeme shrugged. “And tell them what? Let me try and see where the car stops first. I think it would save a lot of time. Wales is a pretty big area, boss.”
“I know. I suppose my eagerness is getting the better of me.”
Dave walked into the room.
“This will cheer you up. Graeme has spotted Potts’s car. The bad news is it was heading into Wales.”
Dave smirked then shook his head. “Okay, I managed to bite my tongue before I spouted anything derogatory.”
“Glad to hear it,” Kayli said, glaring at him. “What about you, Donna? Oh wait, I have another name for you to do a background check on for me. A Harry Sims. He was the tenant who Potts asked to leave. He showed his dislike for that idea by wrecking the flat. I have no forwarding address. See what you can find out about him, if you would.”
“I’ll do my best. I’m still going through the background checks. Nothing suspicious has shown up regarding the family yet. Samuel Potts was in the navy, based in Plymouth for around twenty-five years. Perfect record. Nothing to report there.”
“I didn’t think there would be. He came across to me as a really likeable character. Not every brother I know keeps in touch with his sibling daily.”
“I agree. Let me do a brief search on Sims, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.”
Kayli walked into her office. To occupy her mind, she threw herself into paperwork. Otherwise, she would have been sorely tempted to keep pestering the team every five minutes. Around twenty minutes later, Donna appeared in the doorway of Kayli’s office.
“I hope you have some good news. I could definitely do with it after tackling this crap.”
Donna smiled. “Yes and no. I have a Harry Sims showing up as being deceased.”
“Bloody hell. When are we going to catch a frigging break on this one? We have no way of knowing if it’s the Sims we’re after, right?”
“I can see if I can dig back some more, try to find if there’s a social security number logging him at the flats. Leave it with me.”
“Thanks, Donna. Before you go, what date was his death? Can we get any indication from that?”
“According to the death certificate, around six weeks ago.”
“Any address logged?”
“Nope, looks like he was homeless and got in a scrap. He died in hospital with numerous knife wounds. The one that proved fatal was the one to his lungs.”
“Okay, thanks for the info, Donna. I really wouldn’t bother wasting your time searching any further. Not if he died six weeks ago.”
“I’ll get back to looking into the family’s background then.”
“Let me know what you find out.”
Donna nodded and left the office.
Kayli returned to her paperwork but was disturbed a few moments later when the phone on her desk rang. “DI Bright. Can I help you?”
“It’s Control here, ma’am. My system has flagged up to contact you if we locate an Opel Manta with the registration number B520 60X.”
Excited, Kayli sat forward in her chair. “And?”
“We’ve located the vehicle down by the river at the Saint Philips Trade Centre.”
“Just the vehicle, or was anyone inside?”
“Only the vehicle, ma’am.”
“Have you got the postcode?”
The operator reeled it off.
“No one is to go near the vehicle. Can you pass on that message?”
“I will, ma’am. I take it you’ll be attending the scene?”
“On my way now.” Kayli hung up and rushed out of the office. “Dave, they’ve located Nuttall’s car. Do you want to come with me?”
Dave was on his feet in a flash. “Too bloody right. Where?”
“I’ll fill you in on the details on the way.”
Kayli flew down the stairs, started the car, inserted the postcode in the satnav and pulled up outside the entrance of the station before Dave arrived. He appeared within seconds and jumped in. Kayli put her foot down as soon as he closed the door.
“Where did they find it?” he asked. “Was Nuttall there?”
Kayli shook her head and came to a halt at a red light. “Down at the Saint Philips Trade Centre near the river, and no, Nuttall wasn’t there.”
“Great. So why are we rushing down there then?”
“The last thing I want is dozens of people crawling over the vehicle. I also want to survey the area for myself.”
“Fair enough.”
Kayli navigated the traffic and pulled up alongside the Opel around fifteen minutes later. The driver’s door was open, and the keys were hanging in the ignition when Kayli and Dave approached the vehicle.
Using their patrol car, two officers had cordoned off the area. Kayli surveyed the road and went down the bank towards the river. Dave remained on the road and called down, “Are you thinking he jumped?”
Kayli shrugged, lost deep in thought. It was a strange location for someone to drive up to only to leave their vehicle. Did Nuttall jump as Dave had suggested? Or was he due to meet someone? A possible exchange, perhaps involving Potts. The scenarios were endless and all very perplexing for Kayli to make any sense out of. All she was sure about was that certain elements to this case just didn’t add up.
“What are you thinking?” Dave shouted.
“How can a missing persons case have so many puzzling issues surrounding it? It’s bloody driving me nuts. Did Nuttall have anything to do with Paul Potts going missing? Was the argument just a coincidence? Nuttall taking off like that, why would he do it?”
“It’s all a damn mystery. Do you think he’s in the river? Want me to call in the dive team?”
Kayli held her arms out to the side and slapped them against her thighs. “Would it be worth it? What if he’s not in there? It would be a total waste of funds, right?”
“I guess.” Dave looked in the direction of the nearby buildings. “I can’t even see any CCTV cameras facing this way.”
“Bugger. That’s not helpful. Stay there. I’m going to take a walk. See if I can see anything farther down the river. I’ll be back soon.”
“Be careful. Want me to send one of the constables to accompany you?”
“I’ll be fine. You worry too much,” she called back over her shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s only because I care.”
Kayli chuckled at his response. She walked along the edge of the river for almost half a mile before she turned back. She could make out nothing that seemed to be evidence, and there were no bodies tucked along the water’s edge in the reeds.
She climbed up the bank and trotted along the road until she reached the vehicle. Pulling on a pair of blue latex gloves, she approached the Opel and turned the key in the ignition. The car was dead, no hint of a spark to start it up. Kayli glanced down at the fuel gauge. It was in the red. She slapped the top of the car and heaved a frustrated sigh. “There’s our answer. He ran out of petrol. Probably took off without his wallet and has been driving around until he had no petrol left. I think it’s time we got a warrant to search his address.”
“On what grounds?”
“Avoiding talking to the police. We’ve also got witnesses telling us that he had an argument with Potts before he was reported missing. That should cover it.”
“I’ll get Donna on it right away. She can get Forensics to pick the car up too.”
“Good idea. We need to get back. I want us all looking at the CCTV on this one. Our priority has to be to find out in which direction Nuttall went and if he left his vehicle alone or if he was accompanied by anyone.”
“By anyone, I take it you’re referring to Paul Potts?”
“Of course. Come on, Da
ve, shake a leg.” Kayli grinned when he rolled his eyes at the dour joke.
~ ~ ~
Kayli called for Donna’s and Graeme’s attention as soon as she and Dave arrived back in the incident room. “Graeme, I need you to put on hold tracing Potts’s car for the moment and concentrate on locating Nuttall. Find out what CCTV cameras are working around the trading estate. I’m thinking he set off on foot, although I might be wrong about that, as he could’ve possibly rung someone to pick him up from the location. We need to confirm that ASAP.” Kayli swivelled to address Donna. “Any news on the warrant yet, Donna?”
“I requested it as soon as Dave rang in. They said it should be ready sometime this afternoon. Couldn’t give me a definite time, though.”
“Okay. Until then, I’d like us all to help Graeme search through the CCTV. Can you hook a few computers up at the same time for us, Graeme?”
“I can do that. Give me ten minutes, maybe a little longer.” Graeme left his chair and turned on a few of the nearby monitors to warm up.
Kayli wandered over to the whiteboard and updated it while she waited, to avoid impatiently pacing the room.
Graeme worked swiftly and announced he was finished soon enough. Together, the four of them tackled the task in hand. It wasn’t long before Graeme, the expert in this field, came up trumps. “I’ve got him. At least I think it’s him.”
“Donna, can you print off a copy of his photo from his record for me?”
The printer churned out Nuttall’s image a few seconds later. Donna collected it and held it up close to the monitor for everyone to compare the images.
Kayli nodded. “That’s our guy. He’s heading from the trading estate, right, Graeme?”
“That’s right. I’m just going to speed it up a little to see where he’s heading. There are no other vehicles around at present.”
Kayli watched through narrowed eyes and studied the man’s demeanour. He looked shifty from the outset, constantly looking over his shoulder as if he knew the police would be after him. “Damn, damn, damn, he’s heading into a busy pedestrianised area.”
“Hang on. Yes, he’s going to hop on the bus,” Dave pointed out.
“That’s all we need. Can you get the bus number, Graeme?”