The Birthday: An absolutely gripping crime thriller (Detective Natalie Ward Book 1)

by Carol Wyer

  ‘We’ll start with Guy.’

  ‘He’s now employed at Sudbury Wildlife Centre, a small sanctuary about half an hour away.’

  ‘Okay, let’s go and talk to him.’

  As they pulled away from the workshop, Natalie caught a glimpse of Carl in the wing mirror. He’d stopped working and was sat on a tyre, head in his heads, shoulders shaking. She continued watching until he became little more than a speck, and they turned to join the busy line of traffic.

  Seven

  WEDNESDAY, 26 APRIL – LATE AFTERNOON

  According to the green sign fronting the building, Sudbury Wildlife Centre was a small sanctuary housing mostly exotic animals and birds of prey. Guy Noble was standing behind the front desk to welcome any visitors. He flashed them a broad smile that faded slightly when Natalie held up her ID card.

  ‘Are you Guy Noble?’

  ‘Yes, I am. What’s this about?’ Guy’s face scrunched up in puzzlement.

  ‘Ava Sawyer.’

  His eyes narrowed further. ‘I remember Ava. She was the little girl who went missing at the birthday party where I used to work. She disappeared from under our noses. Why? What’s happened?’

  ‘We’ve uncovered her body.’

  His eyes clouded with concern. ‘Oh, crap! Hang on. I need to get someone to take over here.’

  He disappeared through a door only to return almost immediately. ‘Sorry, we have to man the desk. It gets more popular after school when it’s decent weather, like today, and we’ve got a birthday party group coming in at about four o’clock. You found Ava Sawyer?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Buried behind the garden centre.’

  ‘Really? Oh no. That’s dreadful. She was at the centre the whole time we were searching for her?’

  ‘We’re not sure about that, yet. I’d like to ask you about the party. We were hoping you might remember something, anything, that would help us with our enquiries. Did you notice any strange activity at the Craft Centre and Farm in the days before Ava’s disappearance?’

  ‘Nothing springs to mind. I gave a full statement at the time,’ he said, heavy eyebrows furrowed deeply.

  ‘I know but this is no longer a missing person enquiry and we have to look at it with fresh eyes.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘What can you tell me about Elsa Townsend and Alistair Fulcher, the owners of the centre? Did you notice anything unusual about their behaviour around that time?’

  His forehead creased in concentration. ‘Not really. They didn’t get along easily so there were always disagreements. Erm… let me think. I might have overheard them arguing on a few occasions and Elsa shouting. She shouted a lot. After Barney, her husband, left her and the business, she got shoutier, if that’s a word.’

  ‘But Alistair and Elsa co-owned the place?’

  ‘That’s right. Barney and Elsa used to run the place but they split up and he sold his half of the centre to his friend Alistair. Elsa had to go along with it because I don’t think she could have run the place without a partner. Mostly, they stayed out of each other’s way; Alistair dealt with the craft and garden side and Elsa stuck to the parties and animals.’

  ‘Alistair didn’t get involved in those?’

  ‘No. It was more Elsa’s thing, although once Barney had gone, she backed off and left the running of the events to Donna, Janet and me. I think she found the kids a bit much some days. They could be a handful.’

  ‘How was Elsa that day?’ Natalie asked, wondering if the kidnapping had been a deliberate act against Elsa, to discredit her business.

  ‘Majorly stressed. Alistair went off at the last minute, leaving her to run both the craft and garden centre side of things and the party. There were only four employees at work that day, so we were all stretched to the limit. Ted Marshall and Kristin Jónsson were working the craft centre side and Janet Wild and I were helping Elsa with the party. Elsa stomped about a lot, barking orders and nitpicking: the games in the barn hadn’t been set up properly, the horses didn’t look like unicorns – stuff like that.’

  ‘Was that normal behaviour for her?’

  ‘When she was hassled, she could be a right bitch.’

  ‘And how did you feel about that?’

  Guy gave a half-laugh. ‘I took the crap she dealt out with a smile. I was already making plans to leave and had applied for a job at this place. I wanted to get into falconry and wildlife. Plants are okay and I enjoyed working on the farm side there, but it got a bit too heavy sometimes.’

  ‘Heavy?’

  ‘Yeah, when she was like that, it wasn’t much fun. She’d upset people and that ruined the atmosphere. It’s difficult to be upbeat with a bunch of children when the boss is staring daggers at you.’

  ‘You told officers at the time you didn’t see Ava Sawyer at any point that day.’

  ‘That’s true. Donna Swanson was supposed to be in charge of the birthday party, but something got screwed up and Donna took the day off, leaving Elsa to deal with it last minute. Normally, whoever was in charge would hold a quick briefing so we’d all know how many children were coming and whose birthday it was, but not that day. Elsa handled the meet-and-greet, which is something we usually all got involved in, and then conducted the party games alone. I was supposed to help out at those, but I went to check on the animals and one of the rabbits had nibbled through some wire netting and escaped, so I had to find it, and then repair the netting. By the time I arrived at the barn, the games were over and Elsa was in a fluster. She told me to take the kids to the petting zoo. She shot off, leaving me with the children. I joined Janet, who was already waiting at the animal enclosures, and together we sorted them out. It was only when Elsa met up with us at the stables much later, we knew a child was missing.’

  ‘None of the children mentioned Ava was missing?’

  ‘There was loads going on. I was telling them all about the animals and letting them pet or feed them. We went all around the yard, stopping at various points. There wouldn’t have been time to register that one of their friends was missing. I expect everyone in each group thought Ava was with the others in the other group.’

  ‘Can we go back a minute? You said you checked on the animals. What did you do exactly?’

  ‘I made sure they’d got food and water, that there was clean straw in the lamb enclosure and some milk ready for the children to feed him. That sort of thing.’

  ‘The animal enclosures were near the barn, weren’t they?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘You didn’t spot anyone, staff or visitors, in the vicinity?’

  ‘I didn’t.’

  ‘You looked after the ponies too, didn’t you?’

  ‘That was mostly Janet’s area. I dealt with the other animals.’

  ‘Did you ever use hessian blankets to keep them warm?’

  ‘Not that I’m aware of. They were kept inside. Not much call for blankets.’

  ‘What about the ponies?’

  ‘They had blankets. You’d have to ask Janet whether or not they were hessian.’

  ‘What about the plants? Did you ever need to protect them from frost?’

  ‘They were mostly under cover or, if they were fragile, we over-wintered them in greenhouses.’

  ‘Did you sell hessian as frost-protecting material?’

  ‘I don’t know. I didn’t work on the sales side of things. That’s something you’d have to ask the other staff.’

  ‘Okay. Thank you for your time.’

  As they walked back towards the car, Natalie glanced across at Murray. ‘Not much help regarding the hessian, then. We’ll ask Janet Wild. By the way, did you read Donna Swanson’s statement?’

  ‘Yes. She was at a hotel with Alistair Fulcher at the time of the disappearance.’

  ‘I wonder if Elsa knew about their tryst?’

  ‘Even if she did, how would it have any bearing on the case?’

  ‘I don’t know if it
does. I just think it’s jolly convenient that on the day Ava Sawyer disappeared, the woman who was supposed to be in charge of the party suddenly took the day off to shag her boss, who should also have been at work. We really need to talk to Elsa about this. Can you find a number for her as soon as we get back to the station? I want a quick chat with Janet Wild first. She lives about ten miles away from Uptown in Axmouth. I’ll give her a ring to let her know we’re on our way.’

  Axmouth was a small village consisting of two antique shops, a pub, a primary school, a church and a village hall. The village green was bordered by a mishmash of houses, an eclectic mix of white-and-black timbered properties, thatched cottages, three-storey properties and renovated Victorian residences.

  The house they were looking for was towards the end of a narrow lane, one of a line of terraced cottages facing the church. Murray parked the car in the church car park and they walked across to number 4 Elm Tree Road. Natalie rang the bell and was greeted by a volley of yaps. The door opened and an eager snout emerged before a hand grabbed the animal’s collar and hauled it back inside. ‘Come in. Bart, no. Sit!’

  Janet Wild was in her thirties, with deep auburn hair and ruddy cheeks. The dog, a cheerful mongrel, sat obediently, wagging its tail all the while.

  ‘He doesn’t bite but I don’t like him jumping up at people.’ She produced a bone-shaped biscuit from her jeans pocket, which the dog immediately took to another room to consume. ‘Okay, want to come into the kitchen?’

  They followed her and crammed into the tiny, utilitarian kitchen.

  ‘As I told you on the phone, we would like to run back over the events surrounding Ava Sawyer’s disappearance.’

  ‘It was a terrible thing. I couldn’t sleep for days after she went missing. I kept seeing the look on her mother’s face when she found out Ava had disappeared. I can only imagine what she was going through.’

  Natalie had clocked the photograph of two toddlers in the hallway when they’d entered.

  ‘You have children?’

  ‘Oh, you saw the photo, didn’t you? They’re my nieces, my sister’s kids. Love them to bits. I don’t have any children. I’m not in any serious relationship so probably won’t have any for a while yet. Bart’s my baby at the moment.’

  ‘I’d like to go back over the statement you gave at the time of Ava’s disappearance. You told DI Franks you were by the animal enclosures when Guy arrived with a group of children. You took nine of them with you.’

  ‘That’s right. We divided up the group willy-nilly. They weren’t the quietest group of children we’d dealt with and some became quite excitable when they spotted the animals, lots of squealing and so on, so we set about the animal experience pretty quickly.’

  ‘What does that entail exactly?’

  ‘Basically, taking the kids around to each pen and telling them about the animals inside it, then letting them stroke or pet the animal. There were gerbils and floppy-eared rabbits in addition to pot-bellied pigs, and a few sheep. We had a lamb at the time. He was a big success. The children loved him. We let the birthday girl or boy feed him. Harriet, the birthday girl, was in my group so she got to give him a bottle of milk.’

  ‘Did any of the children mention Ava at any stage?’

  ‘I don’t think so. Like I told the detective at the time, it was difficult to register what they were saying, given they all talked at the same time, and Harriet was especially demanding and quite vocal. If any of the children said anything about Ava, I missed it.’ She chewed momentarily on her bottom lip. ‘When I was first interviewed I tried really hard to think back at what was said but I really couldn’t remember. Your mind plays tricks on you, doesn’t it? Since then I’ve talked myself into believing one of the boys said something about her being outside, but I must have imagined it. I’d have remembered at the time, wouldn’t I?’

  ‘In these sorts of cases, after so much time has passed, it’s unlikely your memory would be as accurate as it was at the time of the event.’

  ‘That’s what I figured. I wish I could help more. You still searching for her?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. Her body was recovered yesterday afternoon.’

  ‘Oh no. That’s dreadful news. Her poor parents.’ Janet shook her head sadly.

  ‘Janet, I understand Elsa was in charge of the party that day. Did she seem okay to you?’

  ‘As okay as she ever was. She was quite bossy at times, especially when she got stressed. I’d worked with her for five years so I knew her moods. I remember she wasn’t happy with Donna for leaving her in the lurch. I saw her in the office an hour before the party. She wasn’t looking on form. I asked if she was okay. She replied she had a “bit of a headache”. I volunteered to take over for her but she insisted she was fine and she’d do it. Apparently, Harriet’s mother was well-connected and Elsa wanted to keep her sweet. She took Ava’s disappearance really badly.’

  ‘Did she ever confide in you?’

  Janet shook her head. ‘She didn’t confide in anybody at work to my knowledge. She kept her private life private, especially after she and Barney split up.’

  ‘You gave up your job at the centre soon after Ava disappeared.’

  ‘We lost all the party bookings overnight and it wasn’t the same place. We all felt extremely responsible. Elsa was the worst. She stopped coming into work and then Alistair got rid of the farm and the animals, so I felt it was best to move on. It came as no surprise Elsa and Alistair sold out to Poppyfields. I don’t think she and Alistair could actually bear the sight of each other towards the end.’

  ‘What makes you think that?’

  ‘Arguments, snide remarks, angry words. She made it quite clear how she felt about Alistair. It was no secret they didn’t get along.’

  ‘You looked after the ponies, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes, that was one of my jobs. I cleaned out their stables and decorated them for the parties.’

  ‘Did you ever use hessian blankets?’

  ‘We used to but we got rid of them in favour of fleece blankets, which were warmer.’

  ‘Did you retain the hessian blankets?’

  ‘Yes. Elsa didn’t like waste. I think they got stored in one of the stables. Can I ask why?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I can’t comment,’ said Natalie. ‘I think that’s everything for now. Thank you for your time.’

  Janet chewed again at her bottom lip. ‘I’m truly sorry about Ava. Every parent’s worst nightmare.’

  ‘It is.’ Natalie handed over a card. ‘If you remember anything, however insignificant it may seem, give me a call.’

  She and Murray crossed the road to the church once more. Natalie hesitated by the car, puzzling over what she’d discovered. Murray waited for her to voice her thoughts.

  ‘We’ve not got much, have we? So far, all we’ve ascertained is that there might have been some hessian blankets in one of the stables and that Elsa and Alistair had issues and didn’t get along too well.’

  ‘Do you think Elsa had something to do with Ava’s disappearance?’ Murray asked.

  ‘If I’m to believe what I read in the case files earlier, then no. DI Franks examined every aspect of this investigation, down to the last detail, and followed up every lead. He checked out Elsa thoroughly and could not come up with a motive as to why she’d take the child or how she’d manage to do so without being spotted. Yet, there’s a question mark over her whereabouts that afternoon. We only have her word she was in the office trying to shake off a headache.’

  ‘Elsa knew about the hessian blankets too,’ said Murray.

  Natalie nodded. ‘I agree. We must talk to her. Uncovering Ava’s body at the centre has cast fresh light onto this case. Why there? Why the centre? And surely somebody must have noticed something suspicious that day.’ She scratched her head, perplexed.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by ringing from her mobile. It was Lucy.

  ‘Natalie, we’ve just received information regarding another missing ch
ild. It’s one of Ava’s friends from the birthday party that day – Audrey Briggs. She’s been found dead in Queen’s Park.’

  Eight

  WEDNESDAY, 26 APRIL – NIGHT

  Mike, who’d also been called to Queen’s Park, stood in quiet conversation with Natalie on the pavement outside 75 Queen’s Avenue, home to the Briggs family. Officers were keeping a small group of journalists, photographers and neighbours at bay. Mike had already told them to back off but still they waited behind the police cordon that now stretched across the Briggs’ front garden. Police had blocked the road at both ends, preventing all vehicles other than emergency services from entering. Blue lights strobed across the darkening sky as Natalie spoke to her colleague.

  ‘What do we know?’ asked Natalie.

  ‘Audrey’s mother collected her from school at three twenty this afternoon and took her directly to the Little Stars Dance Academy in Uptown for a class. The class finished at four thirty and they returned home from school at approximately four forty-five. Soon after, she cycled to the local convenience store situated at the bottom of Queen’s Avenue to buy a bottle of cola. Apparently, it’s a very safe neighbourhood and Audrey had cycled to the store before on a few occasions,’ he said, catching the look of surprise on Natalie’s face. ‘When she hadn’t returned by five thirty, her mother, Caroline Briggs, went in search of her. The shop manager, Rod Bunting, hadn’t set eyes on the girl. On learning her daughter hadn’t even reached the shop, Caroline alerted us.’

  Natalie squinted into the distance. By the entrance to Queen’s Park, adjacent to the road, the K9 unit was loading eager German Shepherds into their van. She dragged herself back to the conversation. ‘What about her friends?’

  ‘None of them saw her after school. Her mother was the last person to see her.’

  ‘Audrey was missing for about three and a half hours,’ said Natalie, glancing at her watch.

  ‘That’s right. Initially, officers spoke to Caroline Briggs and then called it in to the missing person’s team. Due to the nature of Audrey’s sudden, unexplained disappearance and her mother’s obvious distress, we decided to act immediately and began the search.’