The Silent Children

by Carol Wyer

  Within fifteen minutes she pulled onto Liam Carrington’s drive. The curtains weren’t drawn, and lights in every room revealed figures hunched over cupboards, tables and drawers, sorting through the couple’s life. Mitz was at the back of the property rummaging through the tiny cluttered shed. Petrol cans and boxes of tools were strewn outside on the patch of lawn behind it. Robyn checked in with them. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Mitz about Anna. It would serve no purpose other than to upset him.

  ‘Nothing so far. It’s filled with man-junk,’ said Mitz, picking up a paint stick used for repairing paint chips on cars. ‘There are boxes and boxes of cleaning cloths and car shampoos and waxes. I’ve been asking myself if Carrington owned a fleet of cars or if he was moonlighting as a car valet.’

  Robyn gave a half-hearted smile. She glanced at the Audi A4 on the drive. ‘You checked it, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes. Inside, and the boot, and underneath it in case something had been taped to the underside. It’s clean,’ said Mitz, picking up a bottle, unscrewing the cap and sniffing.

  ‘It’s unusual these days for couples to only have one car between them. It’s quite an old model too. Done almost 150,000 miles. It’d be a right pain if it broke down. They’d have to use public transport or get a taxi. I wouldn’t trust such an old car,’ he said.

  Robyn blinked suddenly. Anna had checked all the automatic number plate recognition points closest to Cannock Chase around the time of Gregson’s murder. She’d been looking for privately owned vehicles passing through them, in the hope one would belong to the killer. Nobody had been searching for a taxi. She called the station and spoke to the duty officer.

  ‘Is there anyone who can run an ANPR check for me?’

  ‘Tom Shearer’s the only person available. He came in about ten minutes ago. I’ll put you through.’

  Shearer was surprised to hear her voice but listened without comment while she explained quickly why she needed to second him. ‘So, can you check through the footage of all the cars that passed through the ANPR points around Cannock Chase on the fourteenth? See if any of them were taxis. Ring me back when you find one.’

  ‘I wouldn’t do this for anyone else,’ he said. ‘But seeing as you asked so nicely—’

  ‘Thanks, Tom. I owe you.’

  ‘Yes, you do,’ he said before disconnecting.

  Robyn marched across the tarmac drive and directly into the kitchen, acknowledging the officer searching through cupboards.

  Matt was in Astra’s playroom in the attic, hunched over, his huge frame filling the small space as he lifted boxes and toys and scoured for the evidence they so desperately needed.

  The low walls of the room had been painted in a cheerful yellow. A picture made of scrabble letters that spelt the name Astra was fixed to the end wall, below it a fat cushion, and various scattered books. This was her reading corner. The room was small but every fitted cupboard in the spaces in the eaves was crammed with children’s paraphernalia – toys, books, games and clothes. An enormous teddy bear with a smiling face and large bow tie sat propped up next to a chest of drawers. It was surrounded by numerous plastic toys and activity centres, most of which were tired hand-me-downs.

  ‘There’s so much stuff,’ said Robyn.

  ‘Poppy’s the same. She’s got more clothes and possessions than either of us. You can’t help it. You see something and buy it for them. You just want them to have the things you didn’t have,’ Matt explained.

  Robyn opened one of the drawers and felt her heart lurch at the tiny outfits she found. If only, she thought. She felt around, moved the endless neat piles of jumpers and cardigans and shook each one of them. Matt dealt with cupboards filled with piles of boxes. He pulled them out patiently, sorting through the contents. Once she finished with the drawers, Robyn had run out of places to search. She lifted the gaily-coloured rug and felt along the wooden floor for loose boards. There was nothing.

  Matt began to pack up the boxes again. Robyn stared at the cheerful bear. She’d owned a teddy bear but it had been nowhere near as huge as this one. She wandered across to it. It was far too large for a child to lift. Astra probably climbed on it. She picked it up. It was surprisingly soft and lighter than she imagined it would be. It was strangely comforting, and for a second she felt an urge to hug it. She gave it a quick squeeze before putting it back but stopped in mid-motion. It hadn’t felt right. It hadn’t felt squidgy enough. There’d been something hard inside it. She lifted the bear again and searched the seams along its back. The stitching here had been repaired with a different-coloured thread, a shade darker than the original. She licked her lips, suddenly dry. They wouldn’t hide a gun inside a child’s toy, would they? There was only one way to find out. ‘Matt,’ she said, her voice filled with hushed urgency. ‘I need a pair of scissors.’

  With trembling fingers she unpicked the stitching until she’d created a gap large enough to push her hand inside the bear. She eased it through the stuffing until she grazed plastic. Her eyes widened. This was crazy. She gripped the object and drew back her hand. The disappointment was crushing. She held a round plastic device.

  Matt let out a heavy sigh. ‘I know what that is. It’s from the Build-a-Bear workshop store. It’s for a recorded message that’s put inside the bear before it gets stuffed, sewn and completed. We had a bear made for Poppy and one like that inserted. When the child squeezes the bear, it sets it off. Poppy’s says, “I’m Arnie, I love you.”’ He took the object from Robyn and shook it. ‘This one’s broken.’

  Crushed and frustrated, Robyn cast about the room. If there was no weapon concealed in this house, she’d have to work hard at getting confessions from her suspects. It was all too much – Anna had disappeared, Roger was on the loose, and she couldn’t find enough evidence to convict any suspects. She straightened up. Defeat wasn’t a possibility. She’d strip this place if she had to in order to find something that would give her answers. Her eyes lighted upon a pale-pink box marked ‘Treasures’. It was three times the size of a large shoebox.

  ‘Checked that?’ she asked Matt.

  He confirmed he had. ‘Keepsakes,’ he said. ‘Her first baby boots, book, toys. That sort of thing.’

  The tugging at her heart drove her to peer inside. The pain of losing her own child had never left her, and she had no idea what made her look inside a box filled with memories of a healthy baby, other than a desire to know what it would have been like, had her own child lived. The pale-pink baby boots took her breath away. They were so tiny. The white Babygro embroidered with three silver stars was so soft Robyn wanted to hold it to her cheek. She replaced the item before the overwhelming sadness that was bubbling inside consumed her. She lifted the box by its handles to make room to search under the carpets and checked herself. For a box that contained only light items, it felt a little on the heavy side. She replaced it and lifted the lid once more. This time she removed each object: the boots, the Babygro, a hairbrush and toy felt giraffe. She pulled out a newborn’s blanket and a soft rattle bearing a picture of a rabbit. Underneath she found a book entitled Astra and two silver teaspoons. With the box empty, she lifted it again and shook it.

  ‘I think there’s something in here,’ she said.

  ‘I can’t hear anything rattling about. It could just be weighted so it doesn’t collapse. It’s only made of cardboard.’

  Robyn studied the interior of the box and let out a gentle sigh. Matt was right and it would be awful if she were wrong again. She’d already destroyed a beloved teddy bear. This was a precious item and she didn’t want to do the same to it. The slight kink in the corner of the base made her challenge these thoughts. She would be able to lift enough of the base to confirm it was, as Matt had suggested, weighted, without ruining the box. She scratched carefully at the slightly elevated corner, using only the tips of her nails until she felt it give and could get leverage on it. Pinching it between her fingertips, she lifted it. It had been firmly pressed into the base of the box. R
obyn persisted, driven by her intuition. There had to be something other than baby memorabilia inside the box. A weighted strip? She brushed that idea away. The cardboard base eased from the edges of the box, making it easier to peel back. Robyn could concentrate on nothing but the task, all the while wondering what she’d do next if she were wrong yet again.

  Time stood still as Robyn took in the enormity of her find. A bubble-wrapped object lay beneath the false bottom. She lifted it to the light, veins fizzing.

  ‘Holy shit! You were spot on,’ said Matt in an awed tone. ‘It’s a gun.’

  The Smith & Wesson Webley in her hands was surely the same weapon used to kill Henry Gregson. It hadn’t been dumped, as they feared. She had the evidence she needed. She could finally close this case. She’d get back to the station immediately. She was about to speak to Matt when a shout from the couple’s bedroom drew their attention.

  ‘I might have something here.’

  Robyn and Matt raced towards the room, now in disarray, with bedding upturned and clothes heaped in a pile on the floor. An officer was wrestling a panel away from under a set of fitted drawers. ‘It’s loose,’ she explained as the panel came away.

  Robyn bent down and felt inside the space under the drawers. Her fingers immediately brushed against a plastic bag that she withdrew and passed to Matt. His face broke into a broad smile.

  ‘One mobile phone, undoubtedly belonging to Liam Carrington,’ he said, holding up the Nokia. ‘I suspect it’s the same pay-as-you-go phone Henry Gregson called the morning he died.’

  Sixty-Four

  DAY TEN – THURSDAY, 23 FEBRUARY, LATE EVENING

  * * *

  ‘Do you recognise this, Mr Carrington?’ Robyn held the mobile phone up.

  Liam nodded.

  ‘DI Carter has shown Mr Carrington a pay-as-you-go mobile phone,’ Matt said clearly for the recording device.

  Robyn spoke again. ‘Could you confirm your response for the benefit of the tape recorder please? Do you recognise this mobile phone?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Carrington.

  ‘Did you use this mobile device for conversations with Henry Gregson?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘When was the last time you used it?’

  ‘On the fourteenth. Henry rang me.’

  ‘Why did he ring you on this number and not your usual mobile?’

  ‘I had to keep the calls secret. I didn’t want Ella to find out.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I didn’t want her involved in any of it.’

  ‘When you say you didn’t want her involved in any of it, what do you mean by that?’ Robyn stared intently at Carrington.

  The man licked his lips and spoke. ‘I’d cheated the system. I took a winning ticket from a couple in MiniMarkt, told them they hadn’t won anything, and pocketed the ticket myself. I couldn’t claim the jackpot without arousing suspicion, so I pretended the syndicate, of which I was a member, had won it. Henry found out and was going to give me up to the police. I didn’t want Ella to find out – it would have freaked her out. That’s why I got the second phone, so Henry could ring me on it and talk it over. We had several conversations about it. I was hoping he would change his mind and not shop me.’

  ‘But he threatened to do so.’

  ‘He came to my house while Ella was out and said he’d decided to tell the lottery people and the MiniMarkt owners.’

  Robyn folded her arms and studied Carrington’s face. He licked his lips again. She nodded towards Matt, who placed the gun on the table in front of Carrington and his solicitor.

  ‘Is this the weapon used to murder Henry Gregson on the fourteenth of February?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Can you explain why it was found at your home, inside a memory box?’

  ‘I put it there. I hid it. After I killed Henry.’

  ‘You admit to killing Henry Gregson?’

  ‘Yes. I arranged to meet him on Cannock Chase. I hid behind a tree and waited for him to arrive. He didn’t see me at first. I walked forwards and waved at him. He lowered the window to call me over and I shot him. Then I drove home and hid the gun.’

  ‘You drove to Cannock Chase?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And what time would this have been? You were spotted around the village at twelve.’

  ‘I don’t know. After Henry said he was going to tell the lottery people about me stealing the ticket, I lost track of time. I rang him while I was walking about the village. Astra was tired that morning and had dozed off in her buggy, so I put her in the back of the car and drove to Cannock Chase without thinking about it.’

  ‘And you pulled into the car park, walked up to where Henry was waiting for you, shot him and drove home?’

  ‘Yes, except I didn’t go to the car park. I drove to the clearing where Henry was waiting. There’s a lay-by close by. I pulled over there,’ he said with some satisfaction.

  Robyn continued staring at him. ‘That’s indeed very true. There is a lay-by close to the clearing where Henry Gregson was found dead, but you did not drive to it. Your car did not go through any of our automatic vehicle recognition points. If you had taken that route, it would have shown up.’

  ‘I went a different route,’ he said quickly.

  ‘There are points all around that area. It would have been impossible to have approached the lay-by without your car being seen.’

  ‘I did go there. You can’t prove I didn’t. I killed them all.’

  ‘Are you also confessing to the murders of Tessa Hall, Juliet Fallows and Anthony Hawkins?’

  ‘I am. I killed them and I shot Henry.’

  ‘But you said you hid the gun in the memory box after you shot Henry?’

  Liam blinked rapidly before answering. ‘I took it out again to kill Juliet. Then put it back.’

  Robyn nodded then spoke. ‘I’m afraid I don’t believe your version of events.’ She pushed forwards a photograph.

  ‘DI Carter is showing Mr Carrington a photograph taken at one fifteen on fourteenth February.’

  Liam’s face gave nothing away.

  ‘This is a photograph of a car that passed through one of the automatic vehicle recognition points at one fifteen. As you can see, it’s a taxi from A111 Taxis, based in Burton-on-Trent. The driver remembers the passenger who booked this taxi from Burton-on-Trent to Cannock Chase via Yoxall quite clearly and was able to give us a detailed description. The company also has records of the same individual who booked a trip from Cannock Chase to Yoxall an hour later. They have records of the times this passenger was picked up and deposited. If you look very closely at the photograph, which has been enlarged, you’ll see that passenger. Mr Carrington, can you explain why your sister, Ella Fox, was in that cab?’

  Sixty-Five

  THEN

  * * *

  Henry phoned the quiz team members as he threatened to do. It transpired I wasn’t the only one driven by greed and desire for wealth because they chose not to believe him. Everything would have been fine too had it not been for Tessa. She’d been ruminating over Henry’s phone call and had decided to leave the country for a new start. She intended ringing each member of the syndicate to tell us of her decision and advise us to do the same in case the call hadn’t been a hoax.

  As it happened she rang me first, and Ella answered the phone. Ella calmed her down and advised her not to tell the others of her plans. There was no point in alarming them. She told her the phone call was definitely a ploy to cheat her of her money. She’d talk to me.

  And she does.

  ‘You total half-wit,’ she snaps. ‘You’ve probably ruined everything.’

  ‘No, I can fix it. I’ll talk to Henry. He won’t let me down. He loves us. He adores Astra. He won’t spoil it for us. Everyone has a price. He and Lauren want to have fertility treatment. It’s really expensive. I’ll offer him the money so they can start the programme. He won’t be able to refuse.’

  She offers a smile that distorts h
er face, pulling it into a grimace, exaggerated by the horrid scar.

  ‘At last, you’re using your brains. Make sure he takes the money. I’ll call on Tessa and make sure she keeps silent about her intentions. If this all becomes exposed, you’ll be the first to pay for it. I knew they couldn’t be trusted.’

  * * *

  Ella leaves to visit a woman she knows – Cassie – who’s in hospital. Five minutes later, the pay-as-you-go mobile rings. It’s his number. I answer.

  ‘On my way,’ is all he says.

  Astra is colouring a picture of me and Ella and her, all holding hands, in front of a big house. She’s drawn a massive sun above the roof, but when I tell her it’s too large, she gives me a happy smile. I hope she’ll help win Henry over. He spies her when he comes in, and she drops her crayon immediately and races into his arms, shouting his name in delight. He crouches down and chats quietly to her and I think it’s going to be all right.

  ‘I’ve decided to notify the lottery authorities,’ he says from his position on the floor, without any preamble.

  I’m at a loss for words. This isn’t how I planned the conversation. I was supposed to offer him a share of the jackpot, for IVF treatment. I know how badly he and Lauren want children.

  ‘No, please don’t,’ I say. I don’t know how to convince him. My thoughts tangle themselves and words stick in my throat. Finally, I blurt out, ‘This isn’t just about me. It’s about Ella. She desperately needs the money for plastic surgery. Don’t do this to us. She can’t go through life the way she is.’

  He distracts Astra by handing her a red crayon and asking her to draw his car. As she does so, her face screwed in concentration, he speaks.

  ‘I’m sorry for Ella but there are lots of people who manage with disfigurements far worse than hers. I can’t stand by knowing you’ve stolen from somebody and duped others to be part of your plan. I’m sorry, Liam. I have to report it.’