‘Police!’ Hanes moved the door to the side and continued shouting out as he entered the hallway.
As Meadows stepped over the threshold he heard the top door open and footsteps on the stairs. He stepped in front of Hanes in time to see Ryan rushing towards them, eyes wild and brandishing an iron bar.
‘Don’t be stupid, Ryan,’ Meadows shouted.
The words had no effect and Ryan launched himself at Meadows swinging the bar.
Meadows moved quickly but the bar caught him on the shoulder, he felt the impact and pain seared down his arm. He saw Ryan raise the bar again. This time Meadows grabbed his wrist and twisted as he knocked Ryan’s feet from beneath him. The bar clattered to the floor as Ryan fell backwards. Hanes and his partner took over, turning Ryan and cuffing him as he screamed a string of obscenities.
‘Get him out of here,’ Meadows said.
‘Bastards!’ Ryan yelled as Hanes hauled him to his feet and dragged him from the house.
‘You okay?’ Edris asked.
‘I’ll live.’ Meadows rubbed his shoulder as he headed upstairs.
‘I’m impressed,’ Edris said. ‘You don’t take no prisoners.’
Meadows laughed. ‘I’m losing my touch, he got one hit in.’
‘You should get it checked out.’
‘No time, come on let’s search this place.’ Meadows hurried into the sitting room, his eyes darting around.
Nothing.
He moved to the bedroom.
‘She’s not here.’ Edris followed him in.
Meadows’ hope fizzled out as he scanned the room.
‘I suppose it was hoping for too much.’
His eyes caught sight of a power cable leading out from the top of the wardrobe and disappearing into a hole in the ceiling.
‘The attic.’ Meadows rushed out of the room, his eyes fixed to the ceiling as he looked for the hatch. ‘There.’ He pointed upwards.
‘There’s a step ladder in the kitchen.’
Edris disappeared and came back with the ladder, positioning it under the hatch.
‘I’ll go up.’
Meadows climbed the ladder and lifted the hatch. Warm air and the whirring of fans greeted him as he pulled himself through the hole and upright. He had to keep his head stooped to stop it from hitting the rafters.
The whole area had been boarded and insulated. Heavy duty black plastic tents emitted a soft glow and took up most of the space. Meadows knew what to expect before he unzipped the first tent, he had seen it before. He pulled back the plastic and saw rows of cannabis plants below a light with a built-in fan circulating the air through carbon filters.
He breathed in the heady aroma.
‘Anything?’ Edris’ voice drifted up.
‘Looks like he’s trying to start up a farm.’ Meadows climbed back down the ladder where a group of officers stood.
‘Search every inch of this place. I want his shoes and clothes bagged and the computer sent to the tech boys. There is a fair amount of plants up there, should be enough to get him sent down for a couple of years.’ He turned to Edris. ‘Come on, time to round up the others.’
Chapter Thirteen
‘Lunch,’ Edris called as he dumped a large plate of sandwiches on the desk and emptied his pockets of bars of chocolate.
Valentine followed with a tray of tea and coffee. ‘I couldn’t remember who takes sugar, so you can help yourselves,’ she said.
‘Bit early for lunch,’ Meadows said. ‘It’s not long past breakfast.’ He rubbed his shoulder which, last time he checked, was sporting a black, angry bruise.
‘Breakfast was hours ago, and I didn’t get any lunch yesterday.’ Edris picked up a sandwich and took a large bite.
‘That’s the lot.’ Blackwell sauntered into the room and grabbed a sandwich. ‘Took me a while to track down, but I got the little buggers. Folland says Ryan is still kicking off in his cell, demanding a phone call and solicitor. He reckons he was off his face when Hanes brought him in.’
‘I think he’s probably right, we’ll leave him to come down to earth before we talk to him. Has the duty solicitor been called?’ Meadows asked.
‘Yep, I’ve got a couple lined up and waiting. Dylan doesn’t want one.’
‘Neither does Natalie,’ Paskin said. ‘Brianna brought her in, and I did explain that this will be a formal interview.’
‘Good, well you can guarantee the others will want one, they know the drill. Do we have anything yet from the stuff brought back from Ryan’s?’
‘Match on the footprint,’ Blackwell said. ‘File on my desk.’
‘You have been a busy boy,’ Edris said.
Blackwell gave him a scathing look.
‘Someone has to be on the ball around here.’
‘Well at least we have something on him, not a lot to go on, though. I take it Natalie’s house is being searched?’ Meadows asked.
‘Forensics are there now. This time they will be checking all the rooms, see if there are any signs that Ella was injured,’ Paskin said.
‘Good, better make sure they search the garden, they were all out there at one point. I want to know what they were doing.’
‘I’ll get onto it.’ Paskin picked up the phone.
Meadows took a bite of his sandwich and swilled it down with tea.
‘The forensic search could take hours, we’re just going to have to question them with what we’ve got. We don’t have time to sit around. Maybe one of them will let something slip. Edris, you can take Dylan. Blackwell, you can have Jamie. Paskin, see what you can get out of Dan. Valentine, are you okay to interview Claire?’
Valentine’s eyes lit up. ‘I’m happy to give it a go.’
‘Good, just keep going over their statements for inconsistences. They all lied about Ryan being there and someone left the house that night. I’ll talk to Natalie. We’ll leave Ryan until last. Let him stew for a while.’
‘Can I have a word?’ Brianna asked as she entered the office.
‘Yeah, grab a seat.’ Meadows smiled.
‘It won’t take a minute.’ Brianna leaned against the desk. ‘I was cleaning away some stuff this morning in the kitchen. There was an old teapot on the windowsill. I went to swill it out but there appeared to be the remnants of mushrooms.’
‘Of the magic kind?’ Meadows asked.
‘I can’t be certain, but yes, looks like it. I’ve bagged them and sent them for testing.’
‘Good work. Right, you can add that to the list of questions. I want to know who brought the shrooms to the party, and if they all enjoyed the brew.’ He turned to Brianna. ‘Do you want to sit in on the interview with Natalie? I think it may be useful.’
‘I’m happy to do that, I think she trusts me.’
‘Good,’ Meadows picked up a file and headed downstairs with Brianna.
* * *
Natalie was sat picking at her nails, a cup of untouched coffee on the table in front of her.
‘Hi, Natalie.’ Meadows took a seat and laid a file on the table before turning on the recording device and dealing with the formalities. Brianna sat next to Natalie.
‘Natalie, you do understand that this is a formal interview?’ Meadows asked.
Natalie nodded, and her eyes rested on the file.
‘Brianna said that it was normal for you to interview everyone.’
‘Yes, we’re interviewing everyone that was at your house on Sunday night. I need to remind you that you are entitled to legal representation.’
Natalie shrugged. ‘I don’t need a solicitor.’
‘Okay, but you can change your mind at any time during the interview and we can stop.’
Natalie nodded.
‘You need to answer for the record.’
‘Yes, I understand.’
‘Firstly, I have to tell you that we found items of clothing that we believe belong to Ella.’ Meadows took a photograph from the file and pushed it towards Natalie. ‘Are these Ella’s pyjamas?’
> Natalie ran her fingers over the photo. ‘Yes, they’re Ella’s. Where did you find them?’
‘They were buried in the woods.’
Meadows watched Natalie’s eyes widen. She wrapped her arms around her body and rocked in the chair.
‘I don’t understand. Why would her clothes be buried? Did someone take them off her?’ Her bottom lip trembled. ‘You’ve found her, haven’t you?’
‘No, we haven’t found her.’
‘But you think she’s dead, that’s why you’ve brought me here,’ Natalie said.
Meadows watched Natalie’s movements. Her whole body trembled, and her face was drained of colour. She continued to rock with her arms tight around her body, her shoulders hunched.
Either she’s a good actress or she has nothing to do with Ella’s disappearance, unless…
‘Natalie, you were seen leaving the house at 2 a.m. You were wearing your pink coat and drove away in your car. You were gone for forty-five minutes. Where did you go?’
‘I didn’t go out. I’d been drinking so I wouldn’t have driven anywhere.’ She looked towards Brianna. ‘I didn’t go out.’
‘What size shoes do you wear?’
‘Five.’
‘Do you own a pair of boots?’
‘Yes.’ Natalie looked confused. ‘Why?’
‘Do the boots have a block heel?’
‘Yes.’
‘We found footprints near where Ella’s clothes were buried, a size five block heeled boot and a size ten trainer. Ryan is a size ten, isn’t he?’
‘I don’t know.’ Natalie shrank into the chair.
‘Forensic officers are at your house and are also checking your car. They will be able to match the footprint to your boots, and any samples they take from the tread of the car will be matched against the soil in the woods. So, if you did drive out there then we’re going to find out.’
‘I didn’t go into the woods, why won’t you believe me?’
‘You haven’t been very honest with us from the start, Natalie. You lied about Ryan.’
‘I told you why.’
‘How do you account for your car being driven off by someone wearing your pink coat and matching your description?’
‘I don’t know.’ Natalie sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘Maybe someone put on my coat to look like me and drove the car.’
‘Why would someone do that?’
‘I don’t know, maybe whoever took Ella wanted you to think it was me. I can’t find my coat.’
Maybe because you buried it in the woods as well.
Meadows sat back in the chair and folded his hands.
‘Okay, Natalie, let’s look at that possibility. Do other people drive your car?’
‘No. Well, Claire sometimes. She drops me off at work, so she has the car to pick Ella up from nursery when I’m working late.’
‘Does Claire know where you keep the car keys, or does she have a set of her own?’
‘She has her own keys.’
‘So, Claire could have waited until you were all asleep, put on your coat and taken Ella from her cot?’
‘Yes, but Claire wouldn’t take Ella, she loves her.’
‘What about Ryan?’
‘Ryan wouldn’t take my car, he has his own.’
‘He could have gone with Claire, maybe it was his idea to take Ella.’
‘No, he was sleeping on the sofa with me, I would have felt him get up and come back later.’
‘Well that depends on how drunk you were. How much did you drink last night?’
Natalie shrugged. ‘A few I guess, the boys brought around some cans.’
‘And you had a few joints?’
‘Some of us.’
‘Come on, Natalie, we know you like to have a smoke and we know you were smoking last night.’
‘Okay.’ Natalie huffed. ‘I shared a joint with the others, everyone does it.’ She looked at Brianna.
‘Who brought the shrooms to the party?’
Natalie opened her mouth, then shut it again.
‘We found the teapot with the evidence so there’s no use denying it. You had yourself a little brew.’
Natalie shot Brianna a scathing look. ‘I’m not saying any more.’
Meadows leaned forward and pushed the photo of Ella’s clothes further towards Natalie.
‘Your child is missing. Do you want to help us find her or is this just a game? Did you take Ella into the woods? Did she have an accident? You panicked then had to make up a story about her being taken.’
‘No, that’s not what happened.’
‘Then tell us what happened,’ Brianna coaxed. ‘All we want to do is find Ella.’
‘I got up in the morning and she was gone, I’m telling you the truth.’
‘What happened? You’ve told us you were drinking and smoking marijuana. You all went out the garden. What were you doing out there?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You don’t know, or you won’t tell us.’
‘I can’t remember.’ Natalie put her head in her hands. ‘I don’t know what happened,’ she sobbed. ‘I can’t remember anything.’
Meadows felt a coldness creep over his skin. If she doesn’t remember, anything could have happened to that little girl. I thought maybe she had a few blank moments but what if she can’t remember the whole night?
‘You took the mushrooms?’
‘Yes, I remember what I was doing before that. We were just having a good time. I’ve taken them before and nothing bad ever happened.’
‘Do you remember anything?’
‘No, just flashes. I was out the garden, I think. It was raining, silver thread landing on my skin, it felt good.’
‘Your clothes were covered in mud and there was dirt under your fingernails,’ Meadows said.
‘Yes, I was digging.’
‘In the woods?’
‘No, in the garden.’
‘With Ella?’
‘No, Ella wasn’t with me.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘Who brought the mushrooms?’
Natalie shrugged. ‘What does it matter?’
‘Well someone might not want you to remember Sunday night.’
‘I can’t tell you.’
‘Because you’re afraid, or because you want to protect Ryan? Isn’t your daughter more important?’
‘Yes, she is, but we all took the mushrooms, we were all out of it. I can’t remember what happened last night, but I do know that I would never hurt Ella.’
‘Until you remember you can’t be certain of that. You could have had a bad trip.’
‘No.’ Natalie shook her head.
‘You could have driven into the woods with Ella.’
‘Oh God.’ Sobs wracked Natalie’s body.
‘Natalie, we’re going to keep you here until we’ve finished the search of your house. In the meantime, I suggest you think hard about last night and it may also be wise to take some legal advice now.’
Meadows stood and ended the interview. He watched as Natalie was led to a waiting room.
Blackwell came out of the opposite interview room, his face thunderous.
‘Get anything out of Jamie?’ Meadows asked.
‘No, he’s sticking to his story. I pushed as hard as I could. Reckons he was out of it most of the night.’
‘Natalie says pretty much the same. Can’t remember what happened after they took the mushrooms.’
‘You believe her?’
‘Yes, I think she’s telling the truth. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t involved in Ella’s disappearance.’
‘Great, well as it stands we have nothing to charge them with, it’s not like we have a body.’
‘We have the clothes, a missing child, and footprints.’ Meadows sighed. ‘You’re right it’s not enough. Let’s hope forensics turn up something.’
‘Or we could just charge the lot with abduction. One of the
m is bound to crack.’ Blackwell said. ‘They can’t all claim drug-induced amnesia.’
‘No, but it could’ve been planned. Two of them could have pulled it off. Got Natalie off her face and taken the child.’
‘What, and sell the kid or kill her for kicks?’
Meadows felt a sickness in the pit of his stomach. ‘It would help if we knew who brought the mushrooms to the party. Natalie’s not telling so I’m betting she’s protecting Ryan. Come on, let’s see if he has returned to earth. You can sit in and use your charm.’
‘My pleasure,’ Blackwell said grinning.
* * *
Ryan sat with a scowl upon his face and fingers drumming the table. The solicitor sat next to him scribbling notes on a writing pad.
Blackwell turned on the recording device, announced the time, date, and those present, before sitting down. He pulled his chair forward and glared at Ryan. ‘Where’s the girl?’
‘I dunno, told you I was only there for ten minutes Sunday night. Didn’t even see the kid. If I knew anything, I would happily tell you.’ A smile played on his lips.
‘You were at Natalie’s house all night Sunday. You didn’t leave until eleven yesterday morning. We have witnesses,’ Meadows said.
‘They’re lying. I’ve answered your questions, you’ve no reason to keep me here.’ He looked at the solicitor.
The solicitor cleared his throat. ‘As I understand it, you haven’t charged my client.’
‘Your client will be charged with an assault on a police officer for a start.’ Meadows resisted the urge to rub his shoulder.
‘Self-defence, mate.’ Ryan smirked. ‘I thought someone was breaking into the flat.’
‘My officers clearly identified themselves when they entered your property. There was sufficient light and you were facing me when you attacked me with an iron bar. Not what I’d call self-defence,’ Meadows said.
‘You nearly broke my back,’ Ryan retorted.
‘I used reasonable force to disarm you. So, you’re not going to worm your way out of this one.’
‘I assume you had a warrant,’ the solicitor said.
‘You assume correctly.’ Meadows took a copy of the warrant from the file and handed it to the solicitor.
Suffer the Children Page 10