‘Did you talk to Natalie about your concerns?’ Meadows asked.
‘That night there was no point. I told her Ella was crying but she didn’t go upstairs. She said Ella would settle and that I should stop fussing. I changed Ella’s nappy, she was soaking, then settled her down. I went to see Nat the next morning. She was hungover, lying on the sofa while Ella played on that filthy carpet. I told her she was a selfish bitch. Well, I said a lot more than that.’
‘I can imagine,’ Meadows said.
‘I couldn’t even take Eli to visit, I had to leave him with Nia. There’s no way I would expose him to a house stinking of weed. It broke my heart to see Ella playing quietly while Nat ignored her. I had no choice but to report her to social services. Not that it did any good. If they had taken my concerns seriously then Ella would be…’ Leanne bit her lip.
She thinks Ella’s dead.
Meadows waited for Leanne to continue but she folded her arms and sat back in the chair.
‘Do you think Natalie would harm Ella?’
Leanne shifted in her seat. ‘I don’t think she would hurt her deliberately, but she did neglect her. Then there’s Ryan. Nat seemed to care more about him than her own daughter. I don’t trust him and I think he’s capable of anything.’
‘Do you really think that Natalie would protect Ryan if he had done something to Ella?’ Edris asked.
‘Yeah, I think she would.’
‘Do you think Natalie will confide in you, if that’s the case?’ Meadows asked.
‘No, she’ll just continue to lie, but if I have to shake it out of her I will. Nia has arranged an appointment with a hypnotist. I’ll drag Nat by the hair if that’s what it takes.’
‘I guess a hypnotist is worth a try,’ Meadows said. ‘If Natalie really can’t remember what happened that night. At the moment, we have no sightings of Ella and not enough evidence that Natalie or any of the others are involved.’
‘I wouldn’t trust any of them,’ Nia said as she walked into the room. ‘Eli is out for count.’
‘Thank you for being so frank with us.’ Meadows smiled at Leanne as he stood. ‘We’ll see ourselves out.’
* * *
‘No family loyalty there,’ Edris commented as he put on his seatbelt.
‘I think they are more concerned about their niece than protecting Natalie.’ Meadows ran his hand over his chin. ‘Were they concerned enough to take matters into their own hands?’
‘I don’t see how,’ Edris said. ‘Nia has been over at Natalie’s house most of the time and we searched her house. Leanne wasn’t here when Ella went missing.’
‘Unless someone is helping them.’
‘You think they would arrange to have their own niece kidnapped by some stranger?’
‘No. I doubt they’d put Ella through the trauma. Right, we better get a move on and interview the previous residents of Natalie’s house.’
Meadows started the engine.
‘Okay we’ve got Helen and James Morris who lived in the house until 2001 and Sally Matthews until 1993.’ Edris read from the list. ‘Where first?’
‘The Morrises live closer, in Bryn Coed, so we’ll visit them.’
Meadows pulled out of the car park.
‘Paskin and Valentine got quite a bit of information. According to this, James Morris is on disability and his wife claims caring allowance.’
‘Well at least there is a good chance we will catch them home,’ Meadows said.
‘Yeah and they’ll confess to the murder of George and burying their child in the back garden, oh and then tell us where we can find Ella.’
Meadows glanced sideways. ‘What’s up with you?’
‘Nothing, I guess I don’t see how we are going to achieve anything this way. Lester should’ve just let us get DNA samples from the lot.’
‘Yeah, well I guess he has to keep to the budget. We’ve probably blown six months’ worth this week alone.’ Meadows smiled. ‘He also has a point about getting the samples without good cause. At least we get to meet some of the families, see how they react to the visit, maybe something will stand out.’
‘I’ll leave it up to you to feel the vibes,’ Edris said. ‘You’re good at that.’
The Morrises’ house was a mid-terrace set off the main road. The door was opened by a harassed-looking woman. She was short with a full figure and dark hair cropped short.
‘DI Meadows and this is DC Edris we–’
‘Oh God, what’s happened?’ Her hand flew to her chest as her eyes widened in panic.
‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ Meadows reassured her. ‘We’re talking to all the previous occupants of 109, Coopers Wood estate. Are you Helen Morris?’
‘Yes, is this about George? I heard it on the news.’
‘Yes, and about the child that was found in the garden,’ Edris said.
Meadows watched Helen’s reaction. She showed no signs of alarm or guilt.
‘Come in,’ she said. ‘Such a shame about George, I was shocked to hear the news.’
She led them into a sitting room where a man sat in an armchair and a toddler sat on the floor watching the television.
‘Take a seat, excuse the mess.’ She turned to the man in the chair. ‘Police, Jim. They want to talk about when we lived on Coopers Wood estate.’
The man nodded but his face remained expressionless. Meadows moved some toys and sat on the sofa next to Edris.
‘Glad we don’t live there anymore,’ Jim said. ‘With all that’s been going on, you wouldn’t feel safe in your bed.’
Meadows noticed that Jim spoke softly and deliberately, there was also a tremor in his hands.
‘We believe there’s a connection between at least two of the incidents on Coopers Wood estate. There really is no need for the residents to be concerned.’
‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Helen asked. ‘I’ve just boiled the kettle as we were about to have one.’
‘Please,’ Edris said.
As Helen left the room the programme on the TV came to an end and the toddler ran to Jim and climbed on his lap. Wary eyes looked at the visitors sat on the sofa.
‘Grandson?’ Meadows asked.
‘Granddaughter,’ Jim said. ‘Can’t really tell the difference with her hair cut. Shannon always had long hair as a child.’
Something about the comment struck Meadows but he couldn’t grasp the importance. ‘Shannon is your daughter?’
‘Yes, she works at the DVLA so we look after this little tyke three days a week, saves a bit on childcare.’
Well that answers the question of the daughter still being alive. Could they have had another?
‘Just the one daughter you have?’
‘No, we have three boys, they’re all grown up now. Youngest is in university.’
‘Did you have Shannon when you lived in Coopers Wood estate?’
‘Yes, we moved there just after she was born.’
‘She’s in her twenties now?’ Edris asked.
‘Twenty-five. They grow up so quickly.’
Helen came back into the room carrying a tray, she placed it on the table before removing the child from Jim’s lap.
‘Come on, I’ll put something on for you to watch.’
She put the child down and pressed a button on the remote control. The screen came to life with brightly coloured singing animals. She turned to the tray and took a beaker and biscuit and handed it to the child.
‘Help yourself to sugar,’ she said before taking a mug and handing it to Jim. The mug shook violently in Jim’s hands.
‘Parkinson’s,’ he explained.
‘How long?’ Meadows asked.
‘Seems like forever. I was diagnosed ten years ago.’
‘Can’t be easy,’ Meadows said.
‘We manage,’ Helen replied.
Meadows studied Helen as she sipped her tea.
She’s not that old and things must get on top of her looking after Jim. Maybe she sought some affec
tion from George, an escape for a couple of hours. They were neighbours for eight years so could’ve known each other well. He would’ve let her in. Maybe brought up the child found in the garden and his suspicions.
‘So, you lived in the house until 2001?’ Edris’ questions snapped Meadows out of his thoughts.
‘Yes, we moved in when Shannon was born, we’d been living with Jim’s parents in Carmarthen and not really getting on. We were on the waiting list so when the house became free we jumped at the chance. I don’t think we would’ve cared what area we moved to as long as we had our own place.’
‘Did you meet the previous occupant?’ Edris asked picking up a mug of tea.
‘No,’ Helen said. ‘She’d already gone, left the place in a hell of a state. Didn’t take much with her, all the furniture was still there. Single parent from what George told us.’
‘How did you get on with George?’ Meadows asked.
‘He was a good neighbour. We didn’t have any problems, did we, Jim?’
‘No, he was tidy. Used to go out together for a pint now and then. I think he found it hard with no work. He’d been down the pits since he left school, then they closed and he worked for a private mine for a while. I guess the poor sod didn’t have a chance when he left there. He wasn’t trained to do anything else. Spent a lot of time in the garden. Always giving us fresh veg.’
‘Did he have a girlfriend?’ Edris asked.
‘Not that I saw,’ Helen said. ‘He told us that he was divorced.’
‘You said George was a keen gardener. What about you?’ Meadows looked at Jim.
‘No, the time I came home from work I didn’t feel like doing much else. There’s not a lot you can do with a garden when there’s four kids,’ Jim said.
‘It was enough to get him to cut the lawn,’ Helen said. ‘Oh, do you think that poor child was buried in the garden the whole time we lived there? It doesn’t bear thinking about.’ Her eyes shifted to the little girl sitting on the floor.
‘We’re not sure,’ Meadows said. ‘Was there a patio when you moved in?’
‘If you can call it that,’ Helen said. ‘A few slabs, not laid very well. I did nag Jim to pull it up and lay a new one but we never got around to it. Why? Is that where you found the skeleton?’
‘We’re just looking at any changes that were made to the garden,’ Meadows said.
‘Was the house empty for any length of time?’ Edris picked up a biscuit from the plate. ‘Did you go on regular holidays?’
‘No,’ Jim said. ‘We couldn’t afford a holiday.’
‘Any visitors? Or someone showing an unusual interest in the house?’ Meadows asked.
‘No, not that I can remember,’ Helen said.
‘When was the last time you saw George?’
‘We haven’t seen him for years, have we, Jim?’
Jim shook his head. ‘We haven’t had reason to go down that way.’
‘Okay, well that’s about all for now.’ Meadows stood. ‘We may have to come back to ask some more questions.’
‘That’s fine, we’re usually in,’ Helen said.
‘One more thing I have to ask. Where were you yesterday?’
‘That’s easy. I was here, like most days,’ Jim said.
‘I went shopping in the morning and I was here with Jim after that.’ Helen looked at Jim as she spoke. ‘Not sure what time I came back.’
* * *
‘She could’ve done it,’ Edris said as soon as they were back in the car. ‘She wouldn’t be noticed on the estate. Probably has a few friends there. George would’ve let her in – she did say she was out yesterday. Quick bit of shopping then over to George’s. Kill him and home in time to give Jim his tea.’
‘And the motive? Sounds like her daughter is still alive. Easy to check out with the DVLA.’
‘That daughter may still be alive but she could’ve had another one. Child could’ve died at three months. She must find it very difficult looking after her husband. Maybe turned to her old neighbour for comfort, she sees Ella, hears about the neglect and parties and flips.’
‘And what would she do with Ella?’
Edris shrugged his shoulders.
‘If they had a child that died, they would’ve had to move away before anyone noticed and when they did move, they didn’t go far. I can’t see how they’d pull it off,’ Meadows said.
‘I suppose. So we cross them off our list?’
‘Not yet, we need to check out the daughter. There’s still another four families to check out and Paskin has to check out the other missing baby. We don’t want them all to be suspects, otherwise I’ll have to persuade Lester to DNA test them all.’
‘Maybe we’ll have some luck with Sally Matthews,’ Edris said. He looked at the notes. ‘Actually, it’s Sally Anderson, married to a Doctor Anderson. She works as a nurse in the special care baby unit. She doesn’t sound like a baby killer.’
‘Who does?’ Meadows said. ‘She could’ve changed her life around. You better call ahead, see if she’s in work or at home. I don’t want to be driving around Cardiff.’
‘Okay, but we need to stop off for food. I’m wasting away,’ Edris said, laughing.
Sally Anderson arranged to meet them at home so Meadows drove along Cyncoed Road while Edris tried to make out the numbers.
‘Look at the size of some of these places,’ Edris said. ‘Her old man must be minted, or maybe he was born into money.’
‘A different world from Coopers Wood estate,’ Meadows said.
‘I think it’s the next house.’ Edris pointed.
Meadows pulled into the circular drive. In the centre, a stone fountain stood among white pebbles. The house was impressive, with bay windows and a double garage to the side. A silver BMW was parked in front of the garage door.
‘Nice place,’ Edris said.
Sally Anderson appeared at the door as Meadows climbed out of the car. She was smartly dressed in a pale blue woollen dress, her cardigan draped on her shoulders. Her dark blond hair hung over her shoulders, with the fringe cut and straightened to a perfect line at her eyebrows.
Has she changed to meet us? Or does she always dress like this?
‘I’m DC Edris, we spoke on the phone, and this is DI Meadows.’
‘You better come in although I don’t know what help I can be, it must be nearly twenty-five years since I lived on Coopers Wood estate.’
She turned and led them inside.
They entered a hallway where a table stood against the wall, holding a large floral arrangement. On the opposite wall, an oval gilded mirror reflected the flowers. A wide staircase ran up the centre. There wasn’t a coat or pair of shoes in sight. Sally led them to a formal sitting room where Meadows felt an urge to remove his shoes before stepping onto the thick pile cream carpet. The ceiling was high, with ornate coving; a large oil painting hung above the fireplace. There were no ornaments, family photos, or even a television.
‘Please take a seat.’
Meadows sat on one of the two leather sofas next to Edris and watched Sally take a seat. She crossed her legs at the ankles and placed her hands folded on her lap. Meadows noticed that she had short nails.
Could she have bound George to the bed?
‘It’s a lovely home,’ Edris said.
‘Thank you. How can I help you?’
‘You were a resident of 109, Coopers Wood estate from 1991 to 1993,’ Meadows said.
‘That’s correct.’
‘And our records show that you lived there with your daughter, Jade. Was it just the two of you?’
Sally’s shoulders stiffened. ‘Yes, and if that’s your way of asking if I was shacked up with some man, then the answer is no. I was a single parent. Jade’s father wasn’t around and I really didn’t have any interest in men at that time.’
‘Is Jade your only child?’
‘No, I have a son, he’s five years younger than Jade.’
‘So, Jade would be about twenty-four now
?’ Meadows asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Is she still living at home?’
‘No, but I don’t see how that’s relevant. She was only a baby when we lived on Coopers Wood estate.’ Sally hands clenched on her lap.
Meadows got the sense that Sally was uncomfortable talking about the past. Is she ashamed of where she came from or is it something else?
‘I expect you’ve seen on the news that a child was found buried in the garden and your old neighbour, George, was found dead in his home yesterday. We are treating his death as suspicious,’ Edris said.
‘Yes, I did hear something about it on the radio.’
‘Did you know George well?’ Meadows asked.
‘Not really, I haven’t seen him or anyone else from that area since I moved away.’
‘Did you get along with him when you lived there? We understand from previous occupants that he was very friendly and helpful.’
‘I only saw him occasionally, going in and out of the house. Just to say hello. Sometimes I would see him out the garden. I didn’t live there that long.’
‘When you lived in the house was there a patio in the garden?’ Edris asked.
Sally looked down at her hands and pursed her lips, seemingly thinking about the question.
‘No, I don’t think so. It was just a grassy area from what I remember. Why?’
‘We’re just looking into any changes that were made to the garden and when these changes took place,’ Edris explained.
‘Well, that’s about all, for now,’ Meadows said. ‘We just need to ask about your movements yesterday.’
Sally bristled. ‘Surely you don’t think that I have anything to with this.’
‘We have to ask so we can eliminate you from our enquires.’ Meadows smiled. ‘We are asking all the previous occupants.’
‘I worked in the morning then spent the afternoon on the phone. Jade is getting married next week so there are a lot of arrangements that need checking.’
‘Where is she getting married?’
‘Cardiff Castle,’ Sally said.
Suffer the Children Page 17