Silent Graves

by Sally Rigby

‘Before you start, where are you with that list?’

  ‘There were fifteen officers in CID in May 1980 and I’ve emailed you their names, guv.’

  She hadn’t checked her email in a while. ‘Any names you recognise?’

  ‘Only Inspector Payne.’

  Damn, that ruled out Douglas.

  ‘Meena and Doug, go through the list of CID officers and see what you can turn up.’

  ‘Brian, what about the cases they were working, any joy?’

  ‘It was harder than I thought, but from what I can tell they weren’t overly busy. I managed to track down overtime records, and there weren’t many hours claimed.’

  ‘That’s useful to know. I can’t emphasise enough that we’ve got to be careful. We can’t go around accusing one of our own until we’ve done a thorough investigation, and some.’

  ‘If Payne insisted that the girls had been runaways in the past and he lied about how busy they were at the time, do you suspect him of being involved?’ Brian asked.

  ‘I’m not sure. He could have been, or it might have been other officers and he was trying to protect them, for some reason. At the moment it’s all supposition. Let’s wait to see if Frank is able to contact Anita’s mother.’

  She glanced over to the older officer who had his phone to his ear. She waited until his conversation finished.

  ‘Guv,’ he called out. ‘I’ve just spoken to Mrs Bailey and she said that Anita hadn’t run away before.’

  ‘Thanks, Frank.’ She turned to Brian. ‘Now we have our answer. I want you to do some digging into Payne when he was serving. See what you can find, however small. I’ll have to speak to the super about this, but not until we have something concrete to tell her. Rumour and guesswork won’t hack it.’

  ‘Agreed, guv. Leave it with me.’

  ‘Thanks, Brian. I’ll be in my office with George if you need me.’

  They went to her office and she closed the door behind them, gesturing at George to sit at the table where they couldn’t be seen.

  ‘This could develop into a huge scandal,’ George observed.

  ‘You’re telling me. I just hope Brian doesn’t leak this to Dickhead. We’ve got to play it very carefully and I don’t want him to accuse us of not running the investigation properly, especially as he might think Clyde should have been informed already.’

  ‘Should she have?’

  ‘I’m in two minds. On the one hand everyone knows how the investigation is progressing, on the other, we are talking about possible corrupt police practice. But I’ve made my decision on how it’s going to be tackled and am prepared to back myself, if it comes to it.’

  That thought had only just come into her head, and she wished it hadn’t. She had enough to worry about without adding to it.

  ‘I’m sure Brian won’t inform Douglas. As I’ve said before, he wants to be a valuable part of the team. When you asked him to research into the inspector his chest puffed out slightly and the expression on his face was of someone eager to please. The untrained eye might not have noticed.’

  ‘Well, it escaped my notice. I hope you’re right because it wouldn’t look good if Dickhead found out before the super.’

  ‘The fact that the inspector has retired, does that matter?’

  ‘No. It will still be treated in the same way, which is why we can’t accuse one of our own without good reason. But I’m jumping the gun here. First, we don’t know if he had anything to do with the clay pigeon shooting club, or if the club was involved.’

  ‘I understand. Do you need me here any longer?’ George asked.

  ‘Why? Is there somewhere you want to go?’

  ‘I want to go into the city to buy a few items I need for our skiing trip, and then go home to start sorting out all of my gear.’

  ‘We can manage without you and I’ll get in touch if you’re needed. If it does involve police officers, this will blow up very quickly. I want to get this sorted before Christmas if possible.’

  George left and Whitney returned to the incident room just as Ellie was heading towards her.

  ‘I’ve got something for you. I’ve traced the clay pigeon shooting club.’

  Whitney’s heartbeat quickened. That was quick.

  ‘And?’ Whitney anxiously moved from foot to foot.

  ‘Dodger was the nickname for Sergeant Dodgson, he retired from the force thirty years ago.’

  ‘I’ve never heard of him, but—’

  ‘That’s not all,’ the officer interrupted. You were right about them entering contests. I found the results of one they entered in March 1980, in Birmingham and … Inspector Payne was on the team.’

  ‘Stop what you’re doing,’ she said to the team. ‘Ellie has discovered that Malcolm Payne was a member of the clay pigeon shooting club.’

  ‘Does that mean we’ve got ourselves a bent copper?’ Frank said.

  ‘That’s what we need to find out. We need to find a reason why Payne would be involved with the girls and their murders. What benefit did it have for him when they disappeared? I’m going to see the super as this is now above my pay grade. We can’t question Payne and accuse him without her permission. Ellie, I want you to continue investigating the shooting club. Could Payne have been working with someone else? Were there any other officers involved and, if so, how many? We have no idea how big this is going to be.’

  ‘Yes, guv. I’m on to it.’

  Whitney left and headed down the corridor on her way to Clyde’s office.

  ‘Guv, hang on a minute.’ She turned around at the sound of Brian’s voice.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I’ve just found something that’s going to blow this case apart.’

  Chapter 29

  Reeling from Brian’s discovery, Whitney didn’t take the lift to the super’s office, and instead took her time, going over in her mind what she was going to say, and how she was going to say it. She had no idea what the super’s reaction was going to be. Whitney was in uncharted territory and, for once, she was glad the buck didn’t stop with her.

  Before she’d come to a decision about how to approach the disclosure, she’d arrived at the office. After counting to ten, she sucked in a calming breath and knocked on the door, half-hoping that the super wasn’t there, or was too busy to see her. Anything to give her a few more moments to prepare.

  ‘Come in,’ Clyde called.

  It wasn’t to be.

  She opened the door and stepped into the office as the super glanced up from the files in front of her. Clyde placed the pen in her hand on the desk and looked directly at Whitney.

  ‘We’ve got an issue, ma’am, needing your immediate attention.’

  The super’s expression remained the same, calm and unfazed. She couldn’t be less like Jamieson if she’d tried. He’d have gone all blustery and demanded to know exactly what had been going on, and in the process assumed it was all Whitney’s fault. And she didn’t need to think about Jamieson at a time like this.

  ‘Sit down, Whitney, and explain to me the situation.’

  She sat on the chair in front of the super’s desk, resting her hands on her lap. She had to appear relaxed, composed, and in control. ‘During our investigation into the bodies dumped on Oak Tree Farm, we have discovered that Inspector Payne, who led the initial enquiry into the girls’ disappearance and has since retired, may have been involved.’

  The super stared at her for a few seconds, clearly processing what she’d been told. ‘That’s a heavy accusation to make against an officer. What evidence do you have?’

  ‘I agree, ma’am, and it isn’t one I’m making lightly, I can assure you of that.’

  ‘I didn’t believe you were, Whitney. I already know you well enough to realise that you’re only here because you’ve got to the stage of requiring my involvement.’ The super leant forward slightly, giving Whitney her full attention.

  ‘Payne has lied to us regarding several aspects of the investigation. Also, during 1980, when the bo
dies were dumped, the farm was used by a clay pigeon shooting club run by the Lenchester police force. Inspector Payne was a member.’

  ‘Okay.’ The super nodded. ‘I agree it’s looking suspicious, but I’m not sure that it’s enough to blame him.’

  Not yet she didn’t.

  ‘I’ve saved the best bit until last,’ Whitney said, shaking her head.

  ‘Whitney, this isn’t a play, I really don’t like all the theatrics.’

  ‘Sorry, ma’am. I was leading up to it because …’ Her voice fell away. ‘Because it’s not pleasant to have to accuse one of our own.’

  ‘I agree. Now tell me the rest.’

  ‘The dead girls sold drugs to a boy who died, as you know. The mother of the dead boy, Peggy Robertson … it turns out that she’s Malcolm Payne’s cousin.’

  Brian had been right. This totally blew the case apart.

  ‘Shit. This is bad.’ Clyde muttered, as she leant back in her chair and looked at Whitney, while shaking her head.

  ‘Yes, ma’am, it is.’ Whitney exhaled a long breath. She hadn’t enjoyed telling the super one little bit, even if it did mean the case was going to be solved.

  ‘When you interviewed Payne, did he appear guarded, as if he expected you to accuse him?’ the super asked.

  ‘On the contrary, he was helpful and calm but that’s possibly because he had no idea what the extent of our enquiry was, or what we’d unearthed.’

  ‘You do know everything has to be done by the book. What do you plan to do next?’

  ‘With your permission, I’m going to take DS Chapman and bring Mr and Mrs Robertson, the parents of the dead boy, in for questioning. It’s pointing to them being involved with Payne. They’re elderly and will be treated gently. I’ll ask Dr Cavendish to observe the interview as she specialises in body language and will be able to assist. She’ll let me know, as the interview progresses, if there are any telltale signs we can use to extract further information.’

  ‘That’s a good idea. I understand now why you wanted a budget to include using her when necessary. I’d like to meet her when you have a spare moment.’

  ‘Thank you, ma’am. We’d have solved far fewer cases without her input. We have to be careful as we don’t want them to warn Payne of our suspicions, so before the Robertsons are allowed home, following their interviews, I think we should bring him in. That way, they won’t be able to warn him.’

  ‘I agree, that’s the best way forward. Remember, take it steady, make sure everything is done by the book and keep me informed. It might work in your favour if you can get Payne to come in voluntarily, on the pretext of needing his help. Update me after you’ve interviewed the Robertsons, and before Payne comes in.’

  ‘I could say we need him to check some photos. I’ll see how it goes.’

  Whether he’d agree to come in immediately remained to be seen. If he did it would make things much easier, if he didn’t then she’d have to insist.

  ‘Chief Superintendent Douglas needs to be informed about this,’ Clyde said, her voice reticent.

  Whitney’s heart sank. He was bound to try to interfere, which was just what she didn’t need.

  ‘Do we need to do that straightaway as we don’t have anything concrete yet?’

  ‘I’m sorry, but we can’t cut any corners, or it could blow up in our faces. He won’t interfere, I’ll make sure of it.’

  If only Whitney could be certain. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it, there was work to be done.

  ‘Thank you, ma’am.’

  What else could she say?

  ‘I’m relying on you to ensure this is handled with the utmost care and diplomacy. Don’t let me down.’

  Whitney returned to the incident room and the moment she entered, all eyes were on her.

  ‘Brian, have you told the rest of the team about Payne and Mrs Robertson?’ she asked before discussing their plans for dealing with Payne.

  ‘I’d just this moment finished, guv.’

  ‘So, Payne’s definitely involved in the deaths,’ Frank said. ‘Everything points to it. Nice work finding out about her cousin, Sarge.’

  ‘Thanks, Frank. Any one of us could have discovered it, it just happened to be me.’

  Whitney stared in his direction. Those words spoke volumes to her about how he was going to integrate into the team.

  ‘Let’s not get too carried away,’ she said. ‘We don’t know for sure. I’ve spoken to the super and she’s agreed that we first interview Justin Robertson’s parents. Brian, you and I are going to visit them and bring them in for questioning. What’s most important is that we keep them together, to prevent either of them contacting Payne. We don’t want him to get wind of what we’ve discovered.’

  ‘Yes, guv. I’ll grab my jacket.’

  ‘I’ll be with you shortly as I’m going to call Dr Cavendish. If possible, I want her observing our interviews as she will be able to feed us any useful insights she makes, and guide us.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s necessary? They’re two elderly people, the interviews won’t be difficult,’ Brian said, frowning.

  ‘Trust me on this. Dr Cavendish will notice the minutest of changes in their faces and body language, which we wouldn’t pick up on. I’m not saying that we wouldn’t eventually get the information we need, but her input will speed up the process. She’s worth her weight in gold.’

  ‘Okay, I’m convinced.’

  Whitney returned to her office, pulled out her phone and pressed the speed dial for George.

  ‘Whitney?’

  ‘We’ve broken the case wide open. Brian found out that Justin Robertson’s mum is Malcolm Payne’s cousin.’

  ‘That’s excellent. Well done.’

  ‘I know you’re probably not even home yet, but I really need you back at the station. We’re going to bring in Mr and Mrs Robertson and I’d like you to observe the interview. Is there any chance of you being here within the hour?’

  ‘No problem, I’ll turn around and will be with you shortly,’ George said.

  ‘Thanks. I’m not looking forward to what’s going to happen. I want to solve the case, obviously but it’s never pleasant when an officer is involved. Can you imagine what’s going to happen when the media gets hold of the story? All hell will let loose.’

  Chapter 30

  They pulled up outside of the Robertsons’ house and Whitney turned to Brian.

  ‘Leave the talking to me when we’re with them.’

  ‘Yes, guv. I’m now fully acquainted with your rules.”

  She bristled, then noticed the grin on his face.

  ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ she replied, nodding her approval. ‘The plan is to get them to come willingly, without alerting them to there being anything wrong. When we get them back to the station, we’ll put them in different rooms and interview them separately.’

  ‘How are you going to do that without them suspecting they’re there for other reasons? Won’t they think it strange?’

  ‘I’ve been thinking it through and decided that I’ll ask for their help with some photographs and say we don’t want them to influence each other with the identifications. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to come up with something else. We mustn’t forget that they’re elderly, so we can’t push them too far. Which is why we’re going to take a softly, softly approach. Let’s go.’

  They walked up the short path and she knocked on the front door. Mrs Robertson answered after a few seconds.

  Her eyes widened. ‘Hello, Inspector. We weren’t expecting to see you again.’

  She appeared nervous. Although Whitney didn’t want to read too much into that, because people were often wary of the police.

  ‘We’re still working on the case of the two young girls who were found buried on the farm, and we wondered if you could help us. Is Mr Robertson here?’ she asked, smiling, hoping to relax her.

  ‘Yes, we both are.’

  ‘We’ve got some photos at the station that we’d l
ike you both to look at, if you don’t mind. We will take you and bring you back once you’ve seen them.’

  ‘Can’t we do it here?’

  ‘Unfortunately not. Everything we have is on computer. You know what all this modern technology is like,’ she said shaking her head. ‘I’m hopeless with it.’

  ‘Oh, yes, we understand. It all goes way over our heads, too.’

  Exactly what Whitney had been counting on.

  ‘I think it does for everyone apart from kids,’ Whitney said.

  ‘Okay, I’ll get Kenneth and we can go.’

  ‘Thank you, we really appreciate you taking the time to help us,’ Whitney said.

  They waited while the couple got their coats and followed them to the car.

  ‘It’s nice to get out,’ Mrs Robertson said. ‘We’ve been stuck inside recently because of the weather. It’s too dangerous and I don’t want to go slipping and sliding on icy paths. I broke my hip from a fall last year and haven’t fully recovered. That’s why I use this stick.’ She held up a brightly patterned cane.

  ‘You’ll be able to see our new station and maybe have a coffee in the cafeteria.’ Brian suggested.

  Whitney nodded her approval at his comment. It helped towards not alarming them, although if it turned out they were involved and then arrested, it wasn’t going to happen. She doubted they would be in the position to charge them at this stage, though.

  The journey didn’t take long, and Mrs Robertson chatted non-stop for most of the way while her husband remained silent. Nerves? They affected people differently.

  Once they arrived at the station, Whitney signed them in and took them towards the interview rooms.

  ‘What we’re going to do, if you don’t mind, is ask you to go into separate rooms so we can show you some photos individually. That way you won’t be influenced by each other and then if you both recognise who you’re shown it makes the identification more solid.’

  The couple exchanged a glance. Mrs Robertson’s pupils were dilated. She was panicking.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Mr Robertson said, hesitating.

  ‘It will be fine, and shouldn’t take too long,’ Whitney said gently. ‘Brian, you can take Mr Robertson to interview room one and I’ll take Mrs Robertson to interview room two. Then arrange for coffee and cake for both of them. I’m assuming you would like something?’ she asked, looking from one to the other.