‘Just our mother, and sister Leanne. She lives on the Isle of Man. I can call them,’ Nia offered.
‘Good, we may need to come back to ask some more questions. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, Brianna is here to help you. We’ll see ourselves out.’
Outside Meadows sucked in the fresh air. The next-door neighbour was stood at the gate, a Yorkshire terrier yapping next to him.
I bet he sees all the comings and goings on this estate, Meadows thought. He smiled as he walked past, then climbed into the car, his mind buzzing.
‘What do you think?’ He turned to Edris who was clipping on his seat belt.
‘Skanky ho,’ Edris said with a grin.
‘A what?’
‘A Skank… oh, never mind. The place was stinking, I need a shower. I could’ve caught salmonella or syphilis from that sofa.’ Edris grimaced.
‘You can’t catch either from a sofa.’ Meadows chuckled. ‘Anyway, just because she lacks domestic skills doesn’t mean she deserves to have her child go missing.’
‘I guess not, but it’s all a bit odd, don’t you think?’
‘Yes, very odd. If the door was locked, then someone must have used a key. There was no sign of a break in. Even then it would be risky, if Ella woke up and started to cry then it would have alerted Natalie. Most mothers sleep lightly.’
‘Most mothers, yes, but that one looked out of it. She was definitely hungover, you could smell the alcohol and she looks like a user.’
‘I think you could be right. So, she and the others could’ve slept through it. Maybe whoever took Ella knew they were drinking and likely to be out of it. But where’s the motive?’
‘Seems most likely it’s the father,’ Edris said.
‘Let’s hope so. The alternative is that the door was never locked, and Ella got up to a houseful of sleeping adults and walked out sometime this morning.’
‘Yeah but how far could an eighteen-month-old get on her own?’
‘I don’t know, someone could have picked her up, or she could have wandered into the woods.’
Meadows looked out of the windscreen as he started the engine. The dense wood was over the tops of the houses.
‘We’re going to need a lot more than a few uniforms to search the area if that’s the case. Then there’s the possibility that Natalie is involved.’
‘Do you think? She seemed genuinely upset,’ Edris said.
‘She could be faking it. She wouldn’t be the first mother to snap. It doesn’t look like she is coping that well. In any case, time is against us. News will spread on social media and if someone has Ella they will be rattled. If she’s in the woods I dread to think what could happen to her.’
He let the thought hang in the air as he drove towards the station, the responsibility of finding the child already crushing down on him.
Chapter Three
The station was a hive of activity when Meadows and Edris walked in. Folland came out from behind his desk and walked towards them.
‘I’ve cancelled all leave and called in everyone who’s on rest days. So far there’s been no sightings. I still have a couple of boys out in the woods. Lester has just come in, he’s upstairs waiting for you. Let’s get this kiddie back before dark.’
Meadows didn’t want to dampen Folland’s enthusiasm.
‘Great, thanks Folland.’
‘I’ve put Dylan Lewis in an interview room,’ Blackwell said as he joined the group. He turned to Folland. ‘Can you get someone to give him a cuppa?’
‘If I must. I suppose it’s beneath you to make one yourself.’
‘Too right,’ Blackwell said.
‘Get anything from him?’ Meadows asked.
‘He seemed genuinely shocked at the news. I gave him a pretty good grilling. Says he was in all evening after dropping the kid off and was in work by eight this morning.’
Meadows imagined Dylan Lewis being dragged from his desk and faced with Blackwell, he instantly felt sorry for the guy, especially as he could well be innocent.
Still, at least Blackwell gets the job done.
‘Any reason to think he’s involved?’
‘No, I figure if he’d snatched the kid he’d be well away by now.’
‘I think you could be right, but we won’t rule him out just yet. I’ll talk to him again after the briefing. Come on, we better get upstairs. I don’t want to keep Lester waiting any longer than necessary.’
Paskin was pinning the photograph of Ella to the incident board. DCI Lester stood talking to Valentine, his back erect, hands neatly to his side. A few uniform officers were stood together silently, among them PC Matt Hanes.
Funny how everyone stands a little straighter, and they pick their words carefully when the DCI is around. Meadows smiled to himself.
‘I’ll let you get on with the briefing,’ Lester said.
‘Thank you, sir.’ Meadows approached the incident board and everyone pulled up a chair. Blackwell took front position, seated next to Valentine and Edris.
‘Ella Beynon.’
Meadows pointed to the photograph of the smiling child. She had strawberry blond hair which coiled at her shoulders. A picture of innocence that Meadows knew would pull at the heart of every officer in the room.
‘Eighteen months old, missing from her home in Coopers Wood estate sometime last night or early this morning.’ He gave an account of the information they had gathered from Natalie then paused to let the information sink in as he wrote the names on the board.
‘Natalie is a single parent and, on the face of it, doesn’t seem to be coping with a young child, work, and keeping a home. Judging by her appearance she is, or was at some time, a user. She certainly appeared to be hungover when we talked to her. Blackwell has already spoken to Ella’s father, Dylan Lewis; he has an alibi for last night and this morning which needs checking out. He’s downstairs and we’ll talk to him again later. For now, we have to assume that he hasn’t taken her. There were three other people in the house last night. Claire Phillips, her boyfriend Dan and another friend – Jamie. We don’t have the surnames, but we have an address for Claire and Dan.
‘At the moment, we are looking at three possibilities. One – someone known to the family, who had access to the house, took Ella at some time during the night. Two – the door was left unlocked and Ella left the house on her own. Or three – someone in the house is responsible for Ella’s disappearance.’
‘Are you ruling out the possibility that some nonce watched the house and took an opportunity to take the child?’ Blackwell asked.
‘I’m not ruling out anything at this stage. If someone did take Ella from her cot, either stranger or known, they would’ve been taking quite a risk. There were four adults in the house, any one of them could’ve awoken, especially if Ella had started to cry. Did you check if there are any registered offenders in the area?’
‘Yeah, I have a list from a thirty-mile radius. I’ll check them all out.’ Blackwell cracked his knuckles.
Meadows imagined Blackwell throttling the information out of anyone with a record.
‘We’ll leave that to uniform for now, if there’s any reason to suspect that one of them is involved then you can bring them in.’
He nodded to the officers sat at the back. Blackwell grunted and leaned back in his chair.
‘If Natalie or one of the others in the house is responsible for Ella’s disappearance, that would mean getting out of the house, taking Ella somewhere, dropping her off and then walking back in again without being noticed,’ Paskin said.
‘Maybe while the others were asleep,’ Valentine said.
‘I suppose, but where’s the motive?’ Paskin shrugged.
‘There’s more than one reason why someone would take a child,’ Meadows said.
I’m not going to spell it out, the thought makes me feel sick.
He saw Blackwell’s lips curl in distaste.
‘I think we can rule out kidnapping for money, it
’s obvious that Natalie has no money. There’s always the possibility that something happened during the night and they were all in on it, but I get the impression that Natalie is genuine.’
Blackwell scoffed.
‘Something to add?’ Meadows challenged.
‘No.’ Blackwell scratched the side of his head and crossed his legs.
‘Okay, as most of you know, Coopers Wood estate backs onto a vast area of woodland.’ He pointed to the maps that had been pinned to the board. ‘If Ella wandered into the woods, she could’ve gone in any direction.’
‘It’s also an ideal place to dump a body,’ Matt Hanes added from the back. All heads swivelled towards him and colour rose in his cheeks. ‘I’m only saying what everyone is thinking. There’s no sighting of Ella reported so far – if she had wandered out on the road, someone would have seen her.’
‘Sadly, he does have a point,’ Meadows said. ‘Valentine, how did you get on with search and rescue?’
‘They’re on standby,’ she said. ‘They can get the initial search team to us within an hour, and more resources if needed.’
‘Good, I don’t want to take any risks. If Ella is in the woods then time is against us. It’s cold, we haven’t got much daylight left and there’s also the river.’ He noticed Lester nod his approval from the back. ‘Call them in, Valentine. Blackwell, I would like you to head up the search. The community will want to get involved so I expect a lot of volunteers.
‘There’s the possibility that if someone did put Ella in the woods then they’ll turn up to keep an eye on the search. Blackwell will be in a good position to keep an eye on who turns up for the search. There’s also the coordination and keeping some order. There’s a danger that the public could go trampling over a crime scene, but I don’t think we will be able to keep them away. Besides, we need all the help we can get. It’s a vast area to search. Meanwhile, I’ll continue looking into the family background. I don’t think we have the whole picture from Natalie.’
Blackwell got up from his chair. ‘I’ll head over to the woods now, unless you need me to stay for the rest of the briefing.’
‘No, it would be good if you can be there to co-ordinate with search and rescue from the start. You know the area, so you can direct them, but bear in mind search and rescue know their job.’
Blackwell nodded and left.
Was that a hint of a smile on his face?
Meadows watched Blackwell leave and turned his attention back to the group.
‘Search team are on their way.’ Valentine slid back into her seat.
Meadows nodded. ‘We need to interview Claire, Dan and Jamie, check their story against Natalie’s. Edris and I will do that after we have spoken to Dylan. I want all of Dylan Lewis’ family checked out. Ask to look around the property. Most will agree if they’ve got nothing to hide. If they refuse, get a warrant.’
‘I’ll get on to that,’ Hanes said.
‘Good. Valentine, Paskin, I want the neighbours interviewed. See if anyone has been seen hanging about on the estate or asking questions. Ask them what they think of Natalie and find out what kind of visitors she has at her house. Check if there’s been any complaints made. Look at her social media. I want to know who Natalie talks to. If she’s taking drugs then she’s likely to be in contact with some known dealers.’
‘There are plenty on the estate,’ Edris said.
‘Have you anything to add, sir?’ Meadows looked at Lester. He felt a keen sense of urgency, the adrenalin was tensing his muscles and he wanted to end the briefing.
Lester came to stand in front of the group. ‘I think it would be prudent to activate the child rescue alert, given the age and the vulnerability of the child. We need the support of the public and as many people as possible out looking for Ella. Trafficking is on the increase and we need to ensure that the child is not moved out of the country, if it’s not already too late. There are those who would pay a lot of money for a child.’ Lester’s expression was grim as he turned to Meadows. ‘I will make arrangements for a press conference and appeal. I’m happy to handle the media. I’ll pull in all the resources I can from other stations. Keep me updated.’
‘Will do.’
Meadows left the team to their tasks and headed to the interview room with Edris. Dylan Lewis was pacing around the room when they entered. A cup of tea stood untouched on the table.
‘Sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr Lewis,’ Meadows said and quickly made the introductions.
‘I should be out there looking for my daughter, not shut up in here,’ Dylan ranted.
‘Please take a seat, Mr Lewis, Dylan. I’m sorry but we need to ask you a few more questions. I can assure you that we’re doing everything we can to find your daughter. We have officers searching the woods behind the house. If she’s wandered in there, we will find her, but we also have to look at other possibilities.’
Meadows pulled up a chair and sat at the table. Edris followed. Dylan stared at the two of them then reluctantly took a seat. Meadows surveyed the young man that sat before them. He was dressed smartly in a pair of taupe chinos with an open neck shirt and blazer.
He’s not what I imagined Natalie’s ex-boyfriend to look like. He’s clearly distressed about his daughter’s disappearance. Or is he just a good actor?
‘I understand from Natalie that you had Ella on Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, and that you took her home at about five yesterday.’
‘Yes, I told that other detective all this,’ Dylan said.
‘Did you go back to Natalie’s house after that?’
‘No, I went home.’
‘Can anyone corroborate this?’ Edris asked.
‘Yeah, I live with my parents, I have since Natalie chucked me out. I’m trying to save up a deposit to get my own place.’
‘Did you talk to Natalie yesterday?’
‘Not much, I handed over Ella as usual. She only really talks to me if she wants more money or if she needs me to take Ella for an extra night.’
‘You have a key to Natalie’s house?’ Edris asked.
‘No, is that what she said? She’s lying. I gave her back the keys the day I left, and I haven’t set foot in the house since. Look, I have nothing to do with this. I’ve been talking to a solicitor to see if I can get custody of Ella. He thinks I have a good case. Why would I mess it up? Please, I just want to find my daughter.’
Dylan put his head into his hands. He appeared to be struggling to keep his emotions in check.
‘Why would you want to take custody of Ella?’ Edris asked.
‘Because Natalie can barely look after herself, let alone Ella. She never wanted her, and she hardly bothers to spend any time with her. If she was a decent mother then Ella wouldn’t be missing.’
‘What do you mean by that?’ Meadows asked.
‘She works all hours, and when she’s not working she’s more interested in having a good time than looking after Ella.’
‘A lot of mothers work, it’s not easy being a single parent,’ Meadows said.
‘I do my bit, more than she does anyway, and I give her money. She works the two-till-ten shifts. She dumps Ella in nursery first thing in the morning and she doesn’t get home until Ella’s in bed asleep. I have her all weekend. Does that sound like a good mother to you?’ Dylan clenched his fists.
‘Sounds like you have good reason to want to take Ella,’ Edris said.
‘I told you, I haven’t got her. I don’t know where she is. You should be asking Ryan, if that bastard has done anything to her I’ll rip off his dick and make him eat it.’ He banged his fist on the table.
‘Ryan?’ Meadows ignored the outburst.
‘Ryan Phillips, Natalie’s boyfriend.’ Dylan’s lips curled.
Do I detect a hint of jealousy? Maybe he doesn’t like the idea of Natalie having a boyfriend. Someone playing daddy to his little girl, but there was no mention of a boyfriend. Surely Natalie would have said something. He’s also assuming someone has t
aken Ella and that she hasn’t wandered off.
Meadows looked hard at Dylan, he was a nice-looking guy, in a geeky sort of way. Not the type he imagined to be with Natalie. He sat rigid in the chair, his foot tapping against the floor.
‘Natalie didn’t mention a boyfriend,’ Meadows said.
‘She wouldn’t, would she? She’s not supposed to see him.’
‘And why is that?’
‘There was a raid on the house. Drugs were found, and Ryan was arrested. You should know all this if you were doing your job properly. Look, you can check with my parents. I didn’t leave the house last night. Search the place, but when you’re wasting your time with me Ella could be…’ Dylan’s voice broke.
Meadows gave Dylan a moment to compose himself, he glanced across at Edris who shrugged his shoulders.
Dylan certainly had enough reason to take Ella, but then again, that would blow his chance of getting custody. Even Blackwell didn’t think Dylan was involved. Meadows felt disappointed. He had hoped that this was going to be a simple family matter.
‘We will certainly talk to Ryan. Is there anyone else you can think of who would take Ella?’
‘No.’ Dylan shook his head.
‘Are you sure about that?’
‘Yes.’ Dylan scowled. ‘I’d tell you if there was. Can I go now?’
‘Just a couple more questions. When you and Natalie were together did she ever take drugs?’
Dylan shrugged his shoulders.
Meadows noticed Dylan’s discomfort, but he could feel his patience slipping.
‘I’m not interested in what you got up to in your spare time, I’m trying to find your daughter, so I need to know everything you can tell me about the time you and Natalie were together.’
‘Okay, look, we smoked a bit of weed and took the occasional line. Like I said, Natalie likes to have a good time. She was pissed off when she got pregnant, even threatened to have an abortion. I thought we could make a go of things and make a fresh start. I quit all that shit. I wanted to be a good father.’
‘And Natalie?’
‘She still liked a smoke, we argued about it.’
‘And the other drugs.’
Suffer the Children Page 3