‘I’m sorry, the results were negative. It’s not Cerys.’
There was silence on the end of the line.
‘Jenny, are you okay?’ Meadows asked.
Stupid question of course she’s not okay.
‘Yeah, I will be. Well at least I can go back to hoping that she’s still alive and could one day turn up.’
‘I really hope that’s the case. I’m sorry we had to put you through this,’ Meadows said.
‘It’s okay, thank you for letting me know so quickly,’ Jenny said and quickly hung up.
‘I feel bad,’ Meadows said. ‘It’s not fair to get people’s hopes up.’
‘We didn’t really have much of a choice,’ Edris said.
‘No, I guess not but it would be different if one of them had come back positive. It wouldn’t feel like we had turned lives upside down for no reason.’
‘Well, cheer up, you’ll see Daisy in a minute. That will put a smile back on your face.’
Daisy was sat at her desk alone when they arrived, and Meadows was secretly pleased to find that Theo had gone. She smiled at Meadows even though she looked tired.
‘I’m sorry about the results,’ Meadows said.
‘That’s okay. It was a long shot anyway. Maybe next time.’
I hope there isn’t a next time. I don’t want to see another child in the ground.
‘I’m happy to look into the case for you when things quieten down,’ Meadows said.
‘Thank you, but I can’t see that there would be anything new after all this time. I appreciate the offer. Come on, I’ll take you through to see George.’
‘Lovely, can’t wait,’ Edris said.
‘Nothing like a dead body to wake you up in the morning and make you feel alive,’ Daisy said. ‘Makes you realise you’ve got a lot to be thankful for.’
‘I think I’d rather have a coffee,’ Edris said, laughing.
George looked peaceful, his face muscles now relaxed. He was laid out on a trolley, his body covered by a sheet.
‘There’s not much more to tell you than what we saw yesterday. Cause of death, asphyxiation; his tox screen was clear, no drugs or alcohol. He had a heart attack at some time in the past and there was warfarin in his system. His ankles and wrists show signs that he struggled against his bonds, as you saw. No signs of sexual activity.’
‘Poor old sod,’ Edris said. ‘They could’ve at least let him have his fun before croaking him.’
‘I don’t think George would’ve seen it as any consolation,’ Meadows said.
‘Well, whoever killed him wasn’t bothered about leaving traces,’ Daisy said. ‘They didn’t wear gloves when tying him. I spoke to Mike earlier, they have plenty of samples from the twine and the pillow used to kill him as well as fingerprints at the scene.’
‘Just have to find the person to match them,’ Meadows said.
Daisy pulled back George’s blanket and pointed to two symmetrical bruises on his chest.
‘The bruises are consistent with being straddled. I guess your killer sat on his chest with knees either side and held the pillow over his face. He would’ve bruised easily given the warfarin he was taking.’
‘Okay, thank you.’ Meadows smiled. ‘His daughter is coming down from London today to see him.’
‘Not to worry, George, I’ll smarten you up and send you to the chapel.’ She replaced the sheet. ‘Much nicer for her to see him there.’
‘I’ve just got to step out to make a call, excuse me a moment.’ Edris hurried out of the room.
What’s got into him?
Meadows turned his attention to Daisy.
‘I’ll leave you get back to work. If you change your mind about having me look into your sister’s case, or you just want someone to talk to…’ Meadows could feel the heat rising in his neck ‘…you can call me anytime.’
‘So that’s all it takes! A missing sister to get your number. If I’d known, I would’ve told you sooner.’ Daisy’s eyes twinkled.
Meadows felt his skin tingle. ‘You already have my number.’
‘Yeah but not an excuse to call it.’ Daisy gave him a coy smile.
‘You don’t need an excuse.’ Meadows felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch her. ‘Like I said, call me anytime.’
‘You better get going or Edris will wonder what you’re up to,’ Daisy said with a grin.
I better go before a make a complete fool of myself.
‘See you soon.’ Meadows left the building and could still feel the smile on his face when he reached the car where Edris was waiting.
‘So, did you ask her out?’ Edris asked.
‘Not exactly, but I think you were right. She was waiting for me to make the first move.’
‘Yeah, and if you had listened to me months ago you could’ve been shacked up in lovers’ bliss by now.’
‘I don’t know about that–’ Meadows laughed ‘–but I will call her when we’ve solved this case. Anyway, who did you have to rush out to call?’
‘No one, just thought you needed a moment alone.’
‘Anyone would think you were trying to hitch me up. Not a word about this to the team. Or to my mother for that matter. She’ll have Daisy around discussing grandchildren before I’ve got a first date.’
Edris smiled. ‘My lips are sealed.’
* * *
As they entered the office, the whir of the helicopter vibrated through the windows as it passed low, heading for the mountain in the continued search for Ella. Lester joined the team for the briefing and they all gathered around as Meadows took off his jacket and approached the incident board.
The first thing he noticed was that a picture of George had been added, which left the board crammed with information.
‘Firstly, we need to act quickly to find out who killed George. For one, we have no more room on the incident board, secondly, it is too much of a coincidence that he lived next door to the abducted child and the child that was buried in the garden. He knew something about one of the children, or both. He most certainly knew the killer well enough to let them in, be persuaded to go to the bedroom, and allow himself to be bound. No break in, no drugs in his system. We are working on the assumption that it’s a woman. She’s killed once and there may be others who know her secret,’ he said.
‘George was killed late Wednesday afternoon,’ Meadows continued. ‘There was plenty of activity next door. Forensics were working out the garden as well as conducting a thorough search inside. The killer was confident enough to walk in the house, maybe she was well known in the neighbourhood or a regular visitor to George. She didn’t wear gloves so there is plenty of forensic evidence.’
‘I talked to the forensic team,’ Blackwell said. ‘They didn’t notice anyone hanging around but the dog was out the garden yapping most of the afternoon. They couldn’t give an exact time that the dog was put outside and they didn’t see or hear George. Uniform are conducting house to house enquiries to see if anyone saw who went into George’s house, or if anyone was hanging around that afternoon.’
‘This isn’t going to look good for us,’ Lester said. ‘A murder next door to a house full of officers. I’ve already had calls from the residents of Coopers Wood estate concerned for their safety and that of their children.’
‘I don’t think anyone on the estate is in immediate danger unless they are withholding information,’ Blackwell said.
‘I’ve set up a press conference. I’ll tell them we believe that George’s murder is connected to the disappearance of Ella Beynon.’ Lester nodded to himself. ‘That should reassure the residents and prompt anyone with information to come forward.’
‘Then people are going to assume that George had something to do with Ella’s disappearance,’ Blackwell said. ‘That’s not fair on his daughter.’
‘I’m sure I can manage to phrase it in such a way that that won’t be the case.’ Lester gave Blackwell a stern look.
‘I think George’s murder has more to
do with the child found in the garden than Ella Beynon,’ Blackwell said.
‘Fine, I’ll go with that,’ Lester said.
‘Or we could be looking at the same person for all three crimes,’ Meadows said. ‘Our priority is to find Ella but it’s also important to find the identity of the child. The two possible missing children, Cerys Lane and Poppy Moore, were not a match. Did your search show up any other possibilities, Paskin?’
‘Not for a child that age. I’m looking at cases where a child is believed to have been taken by the father and possibly out of the country. I found one where the baby was one month old. The mother went out shopping and when she returned both child and father were missing. The father was Iranian. I think it’s worth following up to see if there’s evidence that the child and father are in Iran. Or if he had any connection with this area.’
‘That’s definitely worth following up. In the meantime, I think the answer lies with the previous residents of the house. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that one of them buried the child in the garden. Who would miss the child if that was the case? They could’ve moved around a lot. There’s even the possibility that for some reason the pregnancy was kept secret and the mother couldn’t cope. Perhaps mental health issues. Might even be a whole family covering it up?’
Meadows could see the discomfort on Lester’s face.
I bet he’s imagining holding a press conference where he has to explain how the death of a child went unnoticed.
‘Anyone have a better theory?’ he said.
‘It seems a bit, well, incredible that a three-month-old baby could disappear and no one notice. There’s neighbours, grandparents, and health visitors,’ Valentine said.
‘Well that’s the point, George may have noticed but for whatever reason kept quiet. Or he could’ve just suspected and only when the body was found knew for certain. There may not have been grandparents involved, could’ve lived too far away, or the family was estranged. As for a health visitor, I wouldn’t think it difficult for one child to get lost among the workload. If the family moved away shortly after, then the child would easily be lost in the system, no one would be looking. It’s the only thing we’ve got to go on at the moment. I don’t think it’s possible that someone could’ve chosen that garden randomly and sneaked in to bury a child. The only access is around the side of the house and overlooked by the bedroom windows as well as the neighbours. One of the previous occupants has to be involved at some level.’
‘How many families are we looking at?’ Lester asked.
‘Six,’ Paskin said. ‘If you include Natalie and go back to 1973.’
‘I think that’s far enough back and covers the timeframe we were given, even allows for a bit extra. Any of the families have children? Girls specifically.’
‘Yes.’ Paskin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘1973 to 1980, John and Mary Evans; two children, Andrew and Vanessa. 1980 to 1991, Raymond and Susan Davis; three children, Rachel, Robert, and Rhian. 1991 to 1993, Sally Matthews, single parent; one child, Jade. 1993 to 2001, Helen and James Morris; four children, Owen, Rhys, Rhodri, and Shannon. 2001 to 2014, Michelle and Jason Stanley; three children, Preston, Abigail, and Keira. Then there’s Natalie.’
‘Was the house unoccupied for any length of time?’ Meadows asked.
‘No.’
‘Okay, we need speak to the families and check out all the girls.’
‘Valentine and I have been working on tracing the families, well, the parents. It’s going to take longer to check if all the children are still alive. We’ll start with school records,’ Paskin said.
‘We only need to check the girls. I think we can discount the last family before Natalie, if they only moved into the house in 2001 it doesn’t work into our time frame, unless the child hasn’t been buried as long as the initial tests show. But it’s still worth talking to them, see what they can tell us about George. Maybe we should just DNA test the lot of them, quickest way to get our answers.’
‘I think forensics are already stretched,’ Lester said.
‘Yes, but I don’t see what choice we have. It’s the only sure way of knowing,’ Meadows said.
‘Talk to the families first, see what reaction you get and if all the girls are accounted for. If you have reason to believe one of the families is involved, get a DNA test. As it is, I don’t think it’s reasonable to ask for a sample from all these families and they don’t have to co-operate.’ Lester looked around the team.
‘And what reaction are we looking for exactly,’ Blackwell said. ‘Just ask these families if anyone has buried a child in the garden, and flipped and taken Ella Beynon?’
‘There’s no need for sarcasm,’ Lester said. ‘I just don’t think we have enough grounds to ask all of them for a DNA test.’
‘Keep the enquiry simple. We want to establish the whereabouts of their children, well, their daughters, and their relationship with George. It would be useful to know when the patio was laid,’ Meadows said.
‘Couldn’t they have dug up the slabs to bury the child?’ Paskin asked.
‘Yes, but it’s unlikely they’d go to that much trouble. They would’ve picked an easier spot in the garden. It could be that the patio was laid at a much later date but I think it’s possible that the person that laid the patio did so to make sure the child remained concealed.’
‘I think that’s a fair assumption,’ Lester said.
‘Okay, so let’s make a start. Paskin, could you print out copies of all the information you have so far on the families? We’ll split the interviews between us. Edris, give Martin Hughes a call, see if social services have had any dealings with the families.’
‘I’m seeing George’s daughter,’ Blackwell said.
‘That’s fine, you can take the last family on the list, and the rest of us will interview the others.’ Meadows turned to Lester. ‘Any development on the search for Ella?’
‘No, it’s been five nights so it’s not looking good. No new reported sightings and the search team is still working around the clock. There’s talk of scaling down the search. Without a suspect…’ Lester let the sentence hang in the air.
Meadows turned and looked at the incident board where Ella’s photograph smiled sweetly. All his earlier euphoria had dispersed and was replaced by a heavy, sinking feeling.
I’m not giving up on you yet.
‘Did you manage to get a list of Natalie’s clients from Serenity, Valentine?’
‘Not so easy. They don’t keep records as such and they assured me that the workers’ real names are not given out. To be honest I can’t see that she would have invited anyone home. She managed to keep her work a secret.’
‘Well it was a long shot,’ Meadows said. ‘What about Clare and Jamie?’
‘Both have alibis for when George was killed, volunteering with the search,’ Blackwell said.
‘I caught up with Brianna earlier. She said tensions are running high between Natalie and Nia,’ Paskin said. ‘The other sister, Leanne, has arrived and is staying with Nia. Brianna thinks that the two of them are going to put a lot of pressure on Natalie.’
‘Could be a good thing,’ Meadows said. ‘Maybe they’ll have better luck than us getting information out of her. Come on, Edris, I think we need to pay a visit to the sisters, see if they have anything new to tell us.’
Chapter Twenty-one
Nia looked flustered when she answered the door.
‘Is there any news?’
‘No, I’m afraid not,’ Meadows said. ‘We heard that Leanne is staying with you.’
‘Yes, she arrived late last night.’ Nia made no offer to invite them in.
‘We’d like to talk to her,’ Edris said.
‘She’s just about to put Eli down for a nap. He had a long journey yesterday so is a little bit fractious.’
‘We won’t keep her long,’ Meadows said.
‘Fine.’ Nia huffed. ‘Police are here and want a chat with you,’ she called ou
t as she led them into the sitting room. ‘I did tell them you were about to put Eli down for a nap.’
‘It’s okay,’ Leanne said.
‘We won’t keep you long,’ Meadows said. He immediately saw the resemblance between the sisters. Leanne had the same strawberry blond hair which was braided in a long plait that swung as she jiggled the toddler on her hip. The little boy had the same blue eyes as his mother but his wispy short hair was brown. He looked at the strangers then buried his head in Leanne’s chest.
‘I’ll take him for you.’ Nia held out her arms.
Leanne handed over the child who clung tightly to Nia as she left the room.
‘Have a seat.’ Leanne pulled her green jumper down over her jeans and plonked down in the armchair.
‘Nia said you arrived yesterday. Did you fly into Cardiff?’
‘No, I took the ferry crossing to Heysham. It’s cheaper.’
‘Quite a drive.’ Meadows smiled.
Leanne shrugged her shoulders. ‘It’s not that bad. I’ve done it a few times.’
‘Have you seen Natalie?’
‘No, I went to see Mum this morning. Once Eli settles, I’ll leave him with Nia and go and see Nat. I’m not looking forward to it.’
‘I can imagine,’ Meadows said. ‘It must be difficult for you all, having your niece missing and trying to comfort your sister.’
‘Comfort?’ Leanne scoffed. ‘That’s the last thing she’ll be getting from me. Nia has filled me in on everything. Working as a… as a whore.’ Leanne shook her head. ‘And now she claims that she can’t remember what happened the night Ella went missing because she was off her face. What sort of mother is she?’
‘I understand that you made a report to social services,’ Meadows said.
‘Yes, last time I was here, Christmas holidays. The house was a state, I don’t mean untidy but filthy. That Ryan creature was hanging around. Nat only seemed interest in enjoying herself, she hadn’t even bothered putting up decorations. I tried to talk to her, get her to take some interest in Ella. Even took them shopping for presents. At first, she didn’t want to go but I made an excuse that I needed her to drive me to town so she came. I shopped for new clothes and toys for Ella. Nat spent the whole time looking at her phone and texting. I tidied up Ella’s room. Put clean sheets on the bed. The next evening, I called around, she had her friends over. The house stank of weed and Ella was screaming in her cot.’
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