by Lee Shepherd
***
His two daughters were still up as he arrived home earlier than the previous night, and Fifi instantly greeted her daddy with a big hug as she jumped up into his arms. Rebecca offered him a huge smile upon witnessing this, seeming happy that she might actually get to spend a few extra precious hours with her husband for a change.
After a few short moments of the girls greeting their recently absent father, with even Molly showing an interest, their mother instructed the girls to go get their pyjamas on and prepare themselves for bed.
‘What’s the hurry?’ Charles asked Rebecca as the kids made their way towards their bedrooms to change.
‘Let’s just say that I have got a surprise in store for you after dinner and once the kids are asleep,’ Rebecca replied.
Charles smiled. ‘I suppose I better go for a shower and get cleaned up before dinner then shall I?’
She nodded her head and offered a cheeky wink as he started to make his way towards their bedroom. Upon exiting the shower and putting on some fresh clothes, Charles made his way into his daughters’ separate bedrooms. Firstly he gave Molly a goodnight kiss, as she insisted she was too old for bedtime stories, then he tucked Fiona in for the night with her favourite soft toy and book. As he made his approach back to where his wife was making dinner, Rebecca began to make casual conversation with him.
‘Did you happen to catch the local news this evening by any chance?’
Charles, sensing something wasn’t quite right and feeling a little bit as though he was being quizzed by her, sat upright. ‘No why? Should I have?’
‘Oh no, I just thought you might have seen that another young girl has gone missing. This time from the Penrith area.’
‘No, I haven’t heard anything, love,’ he responded.
‘Well, they’re saying it’s too early to tell at this moment in time, but the police have said that there is a very slim chance that this may be related to that poor girl Lucy who disappeared before Christmas from Gretna. What is the world coming to when teenage girls are randomly being snatched off the streets? I won’t be letting our two out of my sight from now on. I can only imagine what those poor families must be going through right now!’
‘Yeah, god only knows how they must be feeling.’
After the couple had finished eating their dinner they nestled down together on the sofa for the evening. After about an hour or so had passed, Charles noticed a familiar figure appear on the television screen who he recognised instantly as Jennifer Metcalfe, the slim, young journalist who had reported on the disappearance of Lucy Mitchell. His eyes lit up as he awaited what she had to say on the second missing schoolgirl.
‘I am here now in Penrith, where police are investigating the disappearance of fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Sarah Davidson, who hasn’t been seen since yesterday evening. Her parents are deeply worried and are appealing for her to return home. If anybody knows where she is, could they please come forward and cooperate with the police and help them in their investigations? This is Jennifer Metcalfe, reporting live from Penrith.’
Even though it was brief, Charles could barely contain the smug grin that enveloped his face: he would finally get the recognition his work deserved. Maybe now they might start to take him seriously! The thrill of it all started to make him feel aroused, and about five minutes later he turned to his wife with a hungry look in his eyes.
‘So, what was it you had in store for me tonight anyway?’ he asked her in a playful manner.
‘Follow me and find out,’ she told him.
She got up and took his hand, then led him down the corridor towards their bedroom and marital bed.
***
The next morning Charles chose to take a different route to work, opting to go the long way around and pass through the picturesque little village of Wetheral he had left under the cover of darkness the previous evening. Much to his dismay, there was no activity near the site of where he had dumped the girl’s body, but he knew he didn’t have time to sit around and wait and potentially be reported for acting suspiciously, so he left the area and headed the few short miles to work. It was just after lunch that Charles was informed of the third girl’s body being discovered.
‘Have you heard the news about that missing girl?’ Linda asked with a sad look on her face.
Charles, just realising that he hadn’t had the radio on today as he had been far too busy catching up on jobs, replied to his secretary by saying, ‘Yes, it’s terrible, that poor young girl from Penrith. I saw it at home last night. It’s an awful shame. Has she turned up yet?’
‘No, not her Charles, this is a different girl. They’re saying that a body has been found by the side of the river Eden by a passing jogger, and although they are not quite sure who she is yet, they have said that she definitely does not match the description of Sarah, the girl from Penrith.’
‘Oh, bloody hell! That doesn’t sound good.’ He quickly returned to his office, immediately putting his radio on to see if he could hear any more news on the recent discovery. A few more hours passed before the police finally confirmed that the body was that of seventeen-year-old Carlisle college student, Amber Thompson, who had not returned home the night before. The report continued to say that the police were now contemplating the possibility that Amber’s body and the disappearance of Sarah Davidson and Lucy Mitchell may be connected.
There was a media frenzy over the following days, with dozens of journalists and television crews desperately trying to get an insight into the Cumbria police’s official line on the matter, and any information they may have on leads in their investigations. On top of that, there was a community on edge and starting to become extremely hostile, with demonstrations taking place not just outside Carlisle police headquarters, with families of the victims leading the protests, wanting answers as to how this was allowed to happen in their usually peaceful, and generally safe communities.
As the mob grew and became more and more impatient with the lack of information, Cumbria’s Chief Inspector, Ian Messenger, decided that the time was now right to call a press conference and let the families and media know exactly how they were going to be handling the case, and inform them of any leads, which, as of this point they did not have.
***
It was on February 16th 2014, just two days after Charles and Rebecca had celebrated their fifteen year anniversary, that the press conference took place in Carlisle police headquarters conference room. The families of all the three girls were invited, along with a selection of local and national newspaper journalists and a couple of television crews. Chief Inspector Messenger began the proceedings by welcoming everybody there under such difficult circumstances, and assured the families that the case had become their number one priority since the discovery of Amber’s body. It was at this point that he introduced the man sat to his right, Detective Inspector Steven Taylor — the lead detective assigned to the case.
It was at this point that Detective Taylor stood and addressed the tense crowd before him. He started by thanking everybody in attendance and went on to reassure them that he and his team of detectives would be working around the clock to catch the person or persons who murdered Amber Thompson; although they were unsure of there being any connection between her death and the disappearance of Lucy Mitchell and Sarah Davidson, they would be exploring all possibilities and avenues of investigations.
‘We will find the perpetrators of these crimes, and they will be punished,’ he said passionately. ‘I’ll now take questions from the audience.’
The first question to be directed at him was from a very emotional Mr Thompson, Amber’s distraught father.
‘Do you have any idea who abducted and murdered our daughter?’ he choked, as he clutched the hand of his wife, who sat beside him.
‘I’m so sorry to say Mr Thompson, but at this moment in time, I’m afraid we cannot shed any light on who committed this terrible act. What I can say, however, is that right now my team has enlisted the h
elp of a psychological profiler to try and help us narrow down the search, and hopefully offer us some fresh ideas. The forensics team are painstakingly inspecting every inch of the site where Amber’s body was discovered, and they will hopefully offer more evidence to help with our investigation.’
The next question came from the mother of Lucy Mitchell. ‘Why is it that, nearly two months after our daughter was taken, we are still no further forward in discovering what exactly happened to her. Do you honestly believe that the disappearance of all three girls are connected?’
‘Well, I can’t comment on any investigations into Lucy’s disappearance, Mrs Mitchell. Until Amber’s tragic discovery, along with Sarah Davidson going missing the night before, Lucy’s case was being handled by Dumfries and Galloway constabulary. It’s only since then that my team and I have had any correspondence with them, as it was believed that Lucy’s disappearance was an isolated incident, with no evidence to suggest otherwise. However, I can assure you that both constabularies will be working alongside each other from hereon in, and sharing any fresh information any of us might bring to light.’
The following question came from the journalist who had been covering the story from the onset.
‘Jennifer Metcalfe, Border TV. Without wishing to sound insensitive, Detective, could you give us your honest opinion as to whether or not you believe the missing girls Lucy Mitchell and Sarah Davidson have fallen victim to the same fate as Amber, and have yet to be discovered? Or do you still hold any hope of them turning up unharmed?’
‘That’s a very good question, Miss Metcalfe,’ Taylor responded, ‘and the honest answer is that at this moment in time it is too early to tell.’
This started a whole barrage of questions from the media. The term ‘serial killer’ started to be thrown around the room, prompting Chief Inspector Messenger to interject.
‘There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that this was the work of a serial killer,’ he said firmly. ‘As of yet, we have only discovered one body and there’s no solid evidence to link the three girls. Any speculation to the contrary of this will only cause widespread panic and hysteria to the local communities, and may have a negative effect on the investigation.’
It was at this point that he decided to call a halt to the conference and informed everybody that as soon as they discovered any more details they would be released to the families and the press in due time. The two detectives then swiftly removed themselves from the room, leaving the remaining police officers to restore order and disperse the crowd calmly.
As the two of them returned to their respective offices, Chief Inspector Messenger turned to his colleague.
‘We need answers, and we need them fast, Detective Taylor. If there is any chance whatsoever that we have a serial killer on our hands then we need to bring this reign of terror to an end before we lose the trust of the community and have a civil outcry on our streets!’
‘I assure you, sir, I’m going to do everything in my power to solve this case. You have my word on that.’
‘Let’s just hope that is enough, Detective,’ Messenger said gravely, before returning to his own office and firmly closing the door behind him.
Taylor’s thoughts were a blur. Shit. Where should he even begin? He made his way towards his department and team to see if there was any new leads.
Chief Inspector Messenger had placed a lot of trust in Taylor by placing him in charge of his CID department only a few years earlier. He’d chosen him from an outside department as opposed to promoting from within, and rightly so, as Taylor came from Hyndburn in Lancashire’s Serious Crime Task Force with a glowing reference after gaining a great reputation and making a name for himself in the 90s. He and his partner had solved the gangland murder of Jonny ‘The Butcher’ Balmer, the head of a serious organised crime gang in Lancashire. He went on to run the division for a number of years before opting for a more ‘peaceful’ life, heading north to Carlisle’s CID department in Cumbria. He’d never thought for one moment that he would be faced with the biggest case of his career, tracking a possible serial killer, but he was confident that he was the right man for the job and threw himself into his work.
It was a hive of activity in the department, with people desperately trying to filter through the hundreds of calls being received by the hour offering clues as to who might be behind all this. Most of them were from genuinely concerned citizens offering any scrap of information they might think relevant, but there were also a number of fake callers and cranks proclaiming to be the killer due to the publicity the case was getting nationwide.
Taylor knew that he had the whole country, let alone the county, watching intently to see where this would lead. It was at this point that, whilst Detective Taylor was conversing with the forensic team who had been working the site where Amber’s body was discovered, one of his colleagues introduced him to the psychological profiler who had been called in to help build up an understanding of who they might actually be up against.
‘Sir, this is Miss Georgina Riley, she is going to be working alongside you in helping to build a picture of the person or persons we are looking for.’
‘Please, just call me George or Georgie, Detective,’ she said to Taylor.
Taylor, taken aback by the stunning redhead he was faced with, tried desperately to remain composed. Although he was a married man, he immediately felt a strong attraction towards the woman before him, and stuttered slightly as he formally introduced himself and dismissed his colleague.
He waited for his colleague to leave, watching Miss Riley intently.
‘You’ve turned up at just the right time, Miss Riley’, he informed her. ‘I was just about to get some answers from forensics regarding any evidence from the discovery site.’
‘Please, lead the way then. I’m here to help and assist you in any which way I can.’
‘So, you were saying?’ Taylor spoke to the forensic expert in a matter of fact manner, immediately trying to impress Miss Riley.
‘Yes, as I was saying. Pathology have confirmed that Amber was murdered sometime on the early evening of her disappearance, possibly between 7 and 10pm. But due to the fact that she wasn’t discovered until the next day, and adding to that fact that there was heavy rain fall that evening, we estimate that her body could have travelled anywhere between two to six miles on that particular stretch of river.
However, we did discover a couple of miles upstream what appears to be a partial footprint on the river embankment. It is in the process of being analysed, and looks to be about a size ten or eleven, although that hasn’t been confirmed yet.’
‘Was that all?’ Taylor asked.
‘Well, from the bruises on her neck, and burst capillaries around her eyes and cheeks, we have been able to confirm the cause of death as asphyxiation caused by strangulation. Another thing that will interest you is that toxicology also confirmed that she had a large quantity of ketamine in her system — far more than would be used recreationally — and also a trace of chloroform was detected.’
‘What about fibres or DNA traces?’ Taylor then asked, becoming more and more intrigued by these discoveries.
‘Again, unfortunately due to her being in the water for possibly up to fifteen hours, we were unable to find any traces of fibres, or semen for that matter. Which is disappointing, because due to the bruises around her groin, it would appear that forced intercourse took place. Also I might add, she must’ve been unconscious at the time the rape took place as there was no sign of any struggle, and no skin or fibres under her fingernails.’
‘Thanks.’
Taylor and Georgie then left and made their way towards the vending machine to get a cup of coffee, then into his office.
As they entered his office, Taylor pulled up a seat for her and asked Georgie for her opinion on what had just been discovered.
‘Well, I will start by saying that it doesn’t bode well for the other two missing girls if these cases are related.’
&n
bsp; ‘And what may I ask leads you to that conclusion?’ he questioned.
‘Going off what I have just heard, it would appear that we are dealing with an extremely well-organised and calculated individual, with a good knowledge of the local area. And if it is the same person that has taken all three girls, I would say that the other two bodies just remain to be discovered.’
‘Shit!’ Taylor brooded for a moment before sighing. ‘Please continue.’
‘Again, and it’s only a theory at this point, but, if they are related, then the common denominator is the fact that they are all teenage girls.’
‘I could have told you that!’ he snapped at her in frustration.
‘Do you want my help or not, Detective?’ she retorted fiercely.
Taylor then mumbled an apology under his breath and politely asked her once more to finish what she was saying.
‘As I was saying; the fact that all three are all teenage girls, alongside the fact that Amber appears to have been raped, it would suggest that it was a male. I would hazard a guess at saying a white male between the age of thirty-five and fifty given his extensive knowledge of the different areas. I would also go out on a limb and say that he probably lives and works somewhere within a region of fifty miles from here.
‘I would say that he is possibly a little socially inept, and maybe a bit of an introvert who struggles to speak to members of the opposite sex — he may possibly even have some sort of an affliction that causes him to be self-conscious. As for work, I would also maybe say it is someone who travels a fair bit, possibly a truck driver or cabbie maybe. There’s just one thing I can’t quite get my head round though…’
‘Which is?’ Taylor excitedly fired back at her.
‘The ketamine and chloroform. How did he gain access to these? I feel as though I’m missing something.’
‘What about his background?’
‘Well, he is careful by nature and possibly has knowledge of forensics; he drugged her before the rape, and also submerged her in water to try and rid her of any evidence. I would say that there is a real possibility that he has maybe been trialled or even prosecuted for previous sexual or violence related offences, or possibly been treated for anger issues.’