‘No,’ Tom said. ‘We went through the days before over and over to see if there was anything unusual. We’d been to the beach the weekend before. My mother had visited on the Thursday and taken Poppy out for a walk with Annie, but they didn’t talk to anyone. Maybe it just was random chance that she walked by the garden and saw the pram.’
‘Shall we do the swabs?’ Daisy asked. ‘The sooner it’s done, the sooner we can get the results. I don’t want Dad to have to wait any longer than he has to.’
‘It’s okay, love,’ Tom said. ‘A few more days won’t make a difference.’
‘I hope it won’t take that long,’ Meadows said.
Edris stood and took a swab from Daisy’s cheek and was collecting Tom’s sample when Daisy’s phone rang. Seconds later Meadows felt his own phone vibrate in his pocket. He excused himself and stepped outside the room. Blackwell’s name flashed across the screen.
‘What have you got?’ Meadows asked.
‘Another body for you,’ Blackwell said. ‘Coopers Wood estate.’
Chapter Nineteen
Meadows sat in the passenger seat as Daisy drove towards Coopers Wood Estate. He was happy to spend this time alone with her having sent Edris to deliver the swabs to the lab.
‘It must have been hard for you losing your mother and sister,’ Meadows said.
‘Dad did his best and my Gran stepped in to help when she could. I suppose it did leave a cloud over my childhood.’
‘I bet you also had a very protective dad.’
‘Yeah.’ Daisy laughed. ‘No boy stood a chance. I gave up bringing home boyfriends. After the interrogations they didn’t last long. Poor Dad, I think I was the teenager from hell. Then I went off to university and had a good time before feeling guilty for leaving him on his own. So I got a job where I would be close to him.’
‘I can relate to that, but I stayed away for too long.’
‘Is that why you came back? To be close to your parents?’ Daisy glanced across at him before returning her attention to the road.
‘That was part of the reason. It’s just my Mum now, or it has been for a long time.’
‘Did you lose your dad?’
‘No, he left.’ Meadows didn’t want to talk about his father. The last memory he had of his father had been a beating and his brother wielding a kitchen knife trying to protect him and his mother. ‘I was also a teenager from hell.’
‘Really?’ Daisy smiled. ‘I thought life would have been all about the love.’
‘You mean the commune?’
‘Yeah, sorry I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. I guess I’m just curious.’
It didn’t surprise him that Daisy knew his background. It was difficult to have any secrets in the valleys.
‘It’s fine. I don’t mind. It was a different life. We were not bound by the usual rules of society. Everything you do is for the good of the community, and we were fairly self-sufficient. It could be hard work and there were long difficult winters. A yurt can withstand a severe storm but I’ve seen high winds snap a tepee pole and the land get flooded. We always pulled together like one big family. I don’t remember any big disagreements. There was never a leader as such. Everything would be discussed and agreed on without any fuss.’
‘What about education?’ Daisy pulled out onto the roundabout and Coopers Wood could be seen in the distance.
‘I was home schooled. Among the adults there was a wide variety of skill sets, so I didn’t miss out. We left when I was fifteen. My brother was ill and he needed a more stable environment.’
‘That must have been difficult.’
‘It took me a while to adjust.’ Meadows smiled.
‘Do you ever go for a visit?’
‘Yeah, every summer.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘I think that’s enough about me. Your turn.’
‘There isn’t much more to say. I think I studied to become a pathologist to help people get answers.’
‘To make up for the ones you never got?’
‘Yes, I guess so.’
Daisy pulled up outside Natalie’s house and Meadows looked at the small crowd that was gathered, their attention on the activity in George’s house.
‘Thanks for the lift.’ Meadows unclipped his seat belt but felt reluctant to get out of the car and leave Daisy’s company. ‘I guess we better see what Blackwell has for us.’
He climbed out of the car under the watchful gaze of those gathered on the pavement. They became silent as if waiting to hear some snippet of information that would tell them what was going on inside.
Meadows waited for Daisy to collect her bag from the boot before walking through the gate where PC Matt Hanes directed them around the back of the house. Blackwell was talking to Valentine who was sat on a worn plastic garden chair looking shaken. George’s dog sat at her feet, his head between his paws.
‘Are you okay, Valentine?’ Meadows asked.
‘She’s fine,’ Blackwell said. ‘Just came out for a bit of fresh air.’
‘It was a little warm in there,’ Valentine said.
‘Two bodies and a missing child and it’s only Wednesday. Hell of a way to start your first week, eh?’ Blackwell gave Valentine a wink.
A rare glimpse of Blackwell’s heart. Maybe Valentine can bring out the best in him.
‘What happened?’ Meadows asked as he put protective covering over his shoes.
‘We got no answer when we called, we came around the back and saw the dog. As you hadn’t got an answer earlier, I thought we better check it out. We spoke to the neighbours who said that he usually went to the post office in the mornings to pick up his paper, but no one saw him this morning. They all said the dog is always with him. We called in with Brianna who said the dog had been outside all night. Natalie said she had a spare key to the back door in case of emergency. I figured we had enough cause for concern to go in. Valentine found him in the bedroom. No sign of a break in.’
Probably her first body, no wonder she looks a bit pale.
‘You can get off home now, Valentine,’ Meadows said. ‘We’ll finish up here.’
‘I don’t mind staying or going back to the station to help Paskin.’ Valentine stood up and the dog fussed at her feet.
‘It’s getting late, I’ll see you for the briefing tomorrow.’
‘Okay, I’ll just wait until this little fella gets picked up.’ She patted the dog. ‘Someone is coming from the dog shelter. Poor little fellow.’
* * *
‘Right, let’s take a look. After you.’ Meadows stood back to allow Daisy to enter first; he followed behind with Blackwell.
They followed the pathway set out by forensics, walking single file through the sitting room and up the stairs. They found Mike and his team collecting samples in George’s bedroom and taking photographs of the body.
Meadows’ eyes fell upon George who was naked and spread-eagled on the bed. His wrists and ankles were bound to each bed post, his lips pulled back into a grimace.
Oh George, what have you got yourself into?
‘Hi Mike.’ Daisy approached the bed and opened her bag.
‘I’ll give you some space,’ Mike said. He called out his team and they left the room.
Meadows stepped closer to the bed and looked at George’s ankle which was tied with dark yellow twine. The skin was bruised and torn, he moved to check the other ankle and found the same. The twine was wrapped around several times and knotted.
‘Looks like a sex game gone wrong,’ Blackwell said. ‘Poor old sod probably had a heart attack, or he was into erotic asphyxiation and couldn’t say the safe word.’
‘Well I don’t know what you are into, but I don’t think George here was a willing participant,’ Daisy said, grinning.
‘I’m not into anything,’ Blackwell snapped. ‘I’m just saying what it looks like. I’ve read it somewhere.’
‘Read it?’ Daisy raised her eyebrow.
‘A case, I’m not a perver
t.’ Blackwell reddened.
Meadows was trying not to laugh at Blackwell’s discomfort.
‘So not a, erm, sexual game then?’ he said to Daisy.
‘Not a heart attack. Asphyxiation. My best guess is with a pillow. He’s been dead about thirty hours. I think he was bound so he would be helpless. If you look at the twine it’s knotted tightly and cut into the flesh. I don’t reckon they intended to free him, it would have to be cut off and that wouldn’t be easy with swollen flesh, but who knows, maybe Blackwell is right and it’s a sex game gone wrong. I’ll know more when I get him back and run some tests.’
‘So, she lured him to the bed with a promise of some fun, tied him up and killed him,’ Blackwell said.
‘Or he,’ Daisy said. ‘It depends on his tastes.’
‘From his porn collection, I reckon we are looking at a female,’ Blackwell said.
‘You noticed that too?’ Meadows asked.
‘Yeah, there’s a drawer full of them.’ Blackwell pointed to a chest of drawers with a TV and DVD player sat on top. ‘Guess he didn’t know about the online availability of free porn. No computer anywhere.’
‘Could’ve been stolen… then again, he has a collection downstairs. Maybe he wasn’t very technical. The question is, was this a regular arrangement? I can’t see it being a first-time thing.’ Meadows said. ‘If he’s been dead for thirty hours then it would be at the time forensics were working in the garden next door. It takes some confidence to walk in, kill him, then casually leave.’
‘Or it was somebody who was sure they wouldn’t be recognised, or maybe someone that wouldn’t look out of place,’ Blackwell said. ‘Either way it doesn’t look good on us. The press is going to make us look like right dicks.’
Meadows looked at George’s wrists again.
‘It looks like he put up a struggle but didn’t get a chance to cry out. If it was a pillow then it would’ve muffled his cries, no chance of anyone hearing from outside.’
‘Just goes to show that too much porn can be bad for you,’ Edris stated as he appeared at the door. ‘Maybe he was one of Natalie’s regulars and wanted a freebee to keep quiet.’
‘That would be a brilliant theory if it wasn’t for the fact that Natalie was at the station when George was killed and Brianna has been with her the whole time. You may be onto something, though. He knew something about Ella’s abduction or the child in the garden, so had to be silenced,’ Meadows said.
‘If he knew something about Ella then he would’ve been silenced before now,’ Blackwell said.
‘Unless he was blackmailing them and they decided not to pay up. Claire could’ve done it,’ Edris said. ‘Yeah, she wouldn’t look out of place on the estate. She could have dressed up in some kinky outfit and lured George up here and persuaded him to play some games.’
A hint of a smile played on Blackwell’s lips. ‘You must have some interesting images in your mind.’
‘I have now.’ Edris grimaced. ‘I’m going to be scarred for life.’
‘George already told us he saw Natalie go out in the car. He would’ve held onto that snippet of information if he had wanted to blackmail them. Maybe whoever killed him thought he knew more than he did,’ Meadows said. ‘It’s worth checking where Claire and Jamie were yesterday afternoon and early evening.’
‘Then there’s the child in the garden,’ Blackwell said.
‘Makes more sense,’ Meadows said. ‘He would know who laid the patio, who had a child that had disappeared, or a child that appeared from nowhere. Maybe this was his payment for keeping quiet.’
‘So why kill him now?’ Edris said.
‘Because the child has been discovered, there is no secret to keep, idiot,’ Blackwell snapped.
‘Mind you, if he’s been dead for thirty hours then the killer wouldn’t have known the child had been found. It wasn’t released to the media until this morning,’ Meadows said.
‘Unless George had told the person in question that the garden was being searched,’ Blackwell said.
‘Or they could’ve been watching the house,’ Edris added.
‘We’ll need to check his phone records, see if you can find a mobile phone anywhere,’ Meadows said.
‘I’m just about finished here,’ Daisy said. ‘He can be moved now. I can tell you more after the post-mortem, like if he managed to have his fun before he went.’
‘Thank you.’ Meadows smiled. ‘There’s no rush. You should get yourself some rest, you’ve had a tough day.’
‘I’ll have something for you by morning. To be honest, I don’t want to go home and watch the clock drag its arms while I wait for the DNA results.’
I’d be happy to keep you company.
Meadows became aware that Edris and Blackwell were stood watching the exchange. ‘Okay.’
‘I’ll see you in the morning.’ Daisy picked up her bag and smiled at Meadows before leaving the room.
‘One of the families we went to see today was Daisy’s. Her sister was abducted as a baby,’ Meadows explained to Blackwell. ‘That reminds me, George mentioned that he had a daughter. She lives in London. We need to get hold of her before news spreads.’
‘I’m happy to do that,’ Blackwell said.
‘Good, you can take the lead on this one.’
‘Great, but I’ll let you get the post-mortem results. Don’t want to deprive the lovely Daisy of your company.’ Blackwell grinned.
That’s the second time I’ve seen him smile today.
‘I don’t think she’ll mind who turns up.’
‘Oh, come off it, I’m drowning in sexual tension here,’ Blackwell said.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Meadows felt the heat creep up his neck.
It’s bad enough having Edris tease me, but Blackwell. I’ll have to watch how I behave around Daisy.
‘If it’s okay with you I’ll contact George’s daughter then call it a day,’ Blackwell said.
‘Got a date, have you?’ Edris teased.
Meadows waited for Blackwell’s snarling retort, but none came.
‘I’ve got plans.’ Blackwell shrugged.
So that’s the source of his happiness. Good for him, the man’s worked like a machine this week.
‘Yeah, that’s no problem, Edris and I can finish up here, and you get off.’
* * *
After Blackwell left the room, Meadows and Edris searched George’s bedroom, looking through drawers and under the bed. Meadows took another look at George’s wrists.
‘Odd thing to use to tie him up. Looks like garden twine. Isn’t it usually silk scarves?’
Edris smirked. ‘If you say so.’
‘I’m just thinking, if the killer planned this or it was some regular arrangement, then they would have brought something more enticing.’ He opened the wardrobe and searched through the contents. ‘George wasn’t a tie man, which would’ve been a better choice. Looks more spur of the moment and they grabbed the nearest thing to hand. Why else would he allow himself to be bound by twine?’
‘Or the killer just wanted it to look like a sex game gone wrong. Maybe it was a man,’ Edris said.
‘There is no sign of a struggle. Nothing knocked over or defence wounds,’ Meadows said.
‘Killer could have drugged him, then taken him upstairs when he was groggy and tied him up.’
‘It’s possible but still means he would’ve known the killer to let them in and maybe drink or eat with them. We’ll have to wait to see what Daisy finds. Come on, let’s see if we can find a mobile phone, see who he’s been in contact with.’
‘You can finish up in here now, Mike,’ Meadows called out as he walked downstairs.
‘I’m thinking of camping out here,’ Mike said. ‘I’m spending more time on this estate than I do at home lately.’
‘I know the feeling,’ Meadows said.
There was a large storage cupboard under the stairs and Meadows rummaged around in the boxes while Edris searched for th
e phone. One of the boxes was filled with gardening tools. At the bottom Meadows found a pair of secateurs and off cuts of the same twine that bound George.
‘George was a gardener,’ Meadows said over his shoulder. ‘Bits of the same twine here, which means there must be a roll, unless the killer took it with them.’
‘Got his phone,’ Edris said.
‘Great, check the log.’ Meadows joined Edris in the sitting room.
‘Only one number called in the last few days, his daughter. No incoming calls logged.’
‘Then it’s someone he met up with yesterday or they called at the house.’ Meadows moved to the kitchen and looked around. A single mug and cereal bowl stood on the draining board. ‘Doesn’t look like they had a drink before they went upstairs. Unless the killer washed up.’
‘Poor old George,’ Edris said. ‘Should have stuck to watching his films for entertainment. Let’s hope no one else knows the secrets of this estate.’
‘Oh, somebody knows, and we need to find them before someone else dies.’
Chapter Twenty
Meadows’ phone rang as he was driving toward the hospital to see the post-mortem results for George. Edris turned the music down and hit the answer button. The lab technician introduced herself before giving the results of the DNA tests.
‘Neither sample?’ Meadows repeated.
‘No, there were no similarities between the DNA samples you sent in yesterday and the DNA of the child. I’ve given Daisy the results, she asked to be called as soon as they came in.’
‘That’s fine,’ Meadows said. ‘Thank you.’
‘Now what?’ Edris asked. ‘I was sure that it would be one of them.’
‘So was I.’ Meadows sighed. ‘I guess we have to look further afield or hope that Paskin turns up something from the previous residents. We better call Jenny Lane, I promised to call as soon as we had any news.’
Meadows felt his stomach tighten at the thought of delivering the bad news. Poor woman probably hasn’t slept all night and is sitting by the phone.
The phone was answered on the first ring. ‘It’s DI Meadows.’
‘Tell me,’ Jenny said.
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