by Anita Waller
‘Of course. I was knocked off my bike when I was twelve. It caused spinal damage, and I’m fine from the waist up, but from the waist down I feel nothing. I don’t let it stop me doing anything, and this university has been so accommodating of my needs, it’s unbelievable. I have a specially adapted car, although I rarely use it during term time, I get about on this little workhorse.’ She tapped the arm of the wheelchair.
‘Thank you for that. So, you came out of the theatre. Did you stay in the foyer, or go straight outside?’
‘I stayed in the foyer for a couple of minutes while we were deciding what to do, then Clare said she needed a wee. It was rather crowded because most people were waiting inside for their lifts to arrive. It was raining pretty heavily. Susie and I decided to wait outside, thinking Clare would only be a minute, but when we got outside Danny and Dom were waiting for us. I drove up to them, on this, not the car of course, and Susie said she would wait for Clare to come out, and see us down at the pub. I’ve no idea what happened after that. I eventually saw Clare in the pub, but not Susie. I went down to the pub with Dom and Danny. Clare was in the corner with Becky Charlesworth and Katie Davids. I must admit I didn’t think anything of it, simply assumed Susie had decided to go home.’
‘Let’s go back to when you came out of the theatre,’ Erica said. ‘Close your eyes and picture the scene.’
Jenna complied, and the two officers waited.
‘Okay. It was raining heavily, as it had been for what seems weeks, and there were quite a few people hanging around, or getting in cars that pulled up to take them home. Lots of umbrellas. Lots of faces hidden by umbrellas. Dom and Danny were standing higher up that little road at the side of the theatre, and I saw Dom wave. Susie told me to go to them and head off to the pub, to get out of the rain as quickly as possible. I left her…’
There was a catch in Jenna’s voice as she narrated the events of the evening when her friend had disappeared.
‘And I haven’t seen her since,’ Jenna finished quietly. She picked up her drink and sipped at it, looking at the two officers. ‘In fact, to carry things on a day, I haven’t seen either of them since, because Clare has been killed as well. What’s going on? Is it someone with a grudge against Clare and Susie, or are Becky and Katie likely to disappear also?’
‘Becky and Katie have been moved to a safe place,’ Beth said. ‘You don’t need to worry about them. We won’t bring them back here until we’ve caught the person doing this to your friends.’
‘Are we all in danger? Is he targeting girls from here?’
‘Jenna, there is a third victim. We found her this morning. She has no connection to the university as far as we’re aware. But we will be putting out an announcement tonight on Look North, recommending that nobody gets into any car other than a car they’re expecting to get into.’ Erica hesitated. She felt somehow she was breaking rules. ‘I believe, and this is only me, that somebody the girls knew well enough to trust, offered them a lift home or something, to get out of this blessed rain.’
Jenna stared. ‘Should I be worried? I’m rather vulnerable.’
‘Yes. Every pretty woman in this city should be worried. But I do believe a vehicle of some sort is part of the MO, so only ever get into your own car, and don’t give anybody else a lift, no matter how well you know them. Because you don’t know them.’
14
Dom Andrews was waiting to enter the office as Beth opened the door to allow Jenna to leave.
He smiled as he saw her, and bent to kiss her cheek. ‘If you wait till they’ve finished with me, I’ll walk you home.’
Jenna hesitated, then nodded. ‘I’ll sit out here and read.’
Dom sat down, and then Erica asked him to stand. ‘I’m sorry about this, Dominic, but can you empty your pockets, please.’
He looked puzzled, but complied. He took out his wallet, and Erica glanced through it. There was only a ten-pound note in the paper money compartment, and in the card pockets there was a debit card, a credit card, a gym membership card for the Starlite Gym, and a driving licence. She half pulled out the ten-pound note, and he shrugged.
‘Hey, I’m a starving student.’
Erica smiled at him, and checked through all the other items he had placed on the table. She pushed them across the desk to him, and he refilled his pockets.
‘Now your backpack, please.’
By the time he had emptied it, there was quite a pile on the desk. Paperwork from whatever tutorial he had attended, a journal, several pens, a book on criminology, a bag of Skittles, a pencil case… Erica frowned. The pens were lying around loose in a bag when he had a pencil case. She carefully unzipped it, but it contained nothing more sinister than rulers, coloured pencil crayons and a rubber. She looked through everything while Beth searched the bag itself.
Eventually they handed everything back to him. He said thank you.
They waited, but he didn’t ask why they had checked him out, so Erica spoke.
‘You’re not curious why we’ve checked everything you have on your person?’
‘No, you didn’t find the dagger down my sock.’ His face was deadpan.
‘Our killer doesn’t use a dagger.’ Erica’s face was equally straight.
Beth laughed. ‘Stop it, you two. We’ve looked at everything for a quite simple reason, Dom. We’ve heard you ask Jenna to wait for you, and you’ll see her home safely. That’s the sort of line our killer seems to be using, so we’re making sure you don’t have the killer’s trademark tools on you before we let you take Jenna anywhere.’
‘As if,’ he countered. ‘As if I’d hurt a hair on that lass’s head. So you’re happy I’m not going to bump her off on the way home? Do I need permission to take her for half of lager?’
‘No permission needed,’ Erica responded, ‘but you might need more than that tenner in your wallet. Now, can we take you back to Sunday evening. Macbeth.’
‘Excellent performance,’ Dom said. ‘A really good night. Heavy rain of course, but we dry, eventually, don’t we.’
‘You were outside before Clare and Susie?’
‘Yes, I saw Susie with Jenna, so we waved to them to let them see where we were standing. Jenna drove up to us, and left Susie by the roadside. Jenna said Susie was waiting for Clare to come from the ladies and they’d see us in the pub. We left straight away, and walked down.’
‘Okay,’ Erica said. ‘I need you to go back to that scene. The rain is tipping down, there are cars collecting theatregoers to transport them home, what else can you see?’
He hesitated, and Erica knew he was taking himself back to Sunday night.
‘Umbrellas. Lots of umbrellas. A couple of people struggling with theirs because it was windy as well as raining heavily. People huddling together. Groups. No individuals on their own except Susie. Waving.’
‘To you?’
‘No, she was looking up the main road. Her back was to me.’
‘You’re sure it was Susie?’
‘Yes. She had on a bright red coat with a hood with fur round it. Quite distinctive.’
Erica and Beth exchanged a glance. Could this be the first clue as to what had happened on that dreadful night? ‘After she waved, what happened?’
‘I don’t know, I’m sorry. Jenna reached us, and we set off to walk to the pub straight away. We were soaked by this time, we didn’t have an umbrella.’ He smiled. ‘We got to the pub pretty quick, I’m telling you. It got really busy, and I didn’t think any more about Susie and Clare, because I’d spotted Becky Charlesworth at the bar, so assumed the four of them were all together. They always seemed to be together, didn’t really do anything separately. I can’t imagine how Becky and Katie are feeling. They okay? They’ve not been here today.’
‘We’ve moved them away for their safety. We’ll get them back as soon as we can.’
‘Shit. You think this bloke’s after all four of them?’
‘We don’t know. No doubt Jenna will tell you, but there
has been a third victim today, there’ll be something about it on the news tonight. As far as we know the latest victim has no connection with uni, she worked at a solicitors. But obviously we’re taking no risks, so Becky and Katie will be held safely until we catch who is doing this.’
Erica stood and held out her hand. ‘Thank you for coming in, Dom, and I apologise for checking everything you have on you, but now is not the time to take chances. Enjoy your lager, and make sure she arrives home safely.’
Dom grinned. ‘Not my job. Danny will take over when we get to the pub. I’ve never known him have a dagger in his sock, but there’s a first time for everything… he’s got a bit of a thing for Jenna, and she’s got a bit of a thing for him, so I reckon he’ll see her safely inside, not merely to the door.’
Erica and Beth sat for a moment, discussing the two interviews. ‘It seems to me,’ Erica said thoughtfully, ‘if Jenna hadn’t zoomed on that nifty little chair up to Dom and Danny, Susie might still be alive. Jenna going left Susie on her own, and whoever planned this took the opportunity to get her in the car. She waved at him, for fuck’s sake! She knew him well enough to recognise him, or her, through a rain-covered windscreen. Or did she simply recognise the car? I want every house and every business on that stretch of main road, both sides, visiting. I want CCTV checking. Let’s see if we can find this red coat with an arm raised, waving at somebody, and let’s see who the bloody hell she’s waving at.’
‘You’re swearing,’ said Beth.
‘Too damn right I am. We’re clutching at tiny straws like Dom saw her wave at somebody. We have no idea who that could possibly be, or even if we can find any evidence of that action on any CCTV. We know it’s not on the theatre’s, that’s been checked. And I do swear. Occasionally.’
‘It wasn’t a complaint. It was an observation of different behaviour in my ranking officer.’
‘You’ve changed.’ Erica stared at Beth. ‘What’s with this frivolity?’
‘Evan’s gone. It’s given me a new life. Should have happened years ago, but now it has, this is the new me, so get used to it.’
‘Crikey,’ Erica muttered, closing down the computer and switching the phone to her mobile number. ‘This is becoming scary. The worm has turned. Thank God for that.’
Erica followed Beth home at a discreet distance. She saw Beth’s indicator light go on, and she pulled in about fifty yards from her home. She walked down the road and let herself in the front door.
Erica waited five minutes then rang her DS.
‘Beth?’
‘Yes. What’s wrong? Don’t say we’ve another one already.’
‘No, I’m checking everything’s okay with you. No intruders or anything.’
Beth laughed. ‘No, it’s all quiet. Let’s hope he’s got the message. You at home?’
‘I am,’ Erica lied. ‘Ring if you need me. Night, Beth.’
Frannie was already home when Erica arrived, and they prepared their evening meal together, enjoying a glass of wine while they chopped vegetables and cooked.
‘We had one of the neighbours ring today.’
‘One of our neighbours?’
‘No,’ Frannie said with a laugh. ‘Sorry, my head was in front of my mouth, I think. One of the neighbours of my problem family. She said there was an ambulance outside the house. I rang the ambulance service to find out why, and it seemed the mum had fallen down the stairs. Again. Anyway, I went to the hospital, checked her out. It might be genuine. She said she fell over a toy. She could as easily have been pushed. I was there for about two hours. They patched her up and discharged her, so I drove her home, checked out the kids were okay, and gave him the gipsy’s warning about any further injuries to either his wife or any of the kids, and he’d have injuries of his own to contend with.’
‘You supposed to say that?’
‘Nope. Not at all. You going to arrest me?’
‘Nope. I’ll help you with the injuries though. Beth’s going through a similar thing at the moment. She’s split from Evan, and he’s become threatening. I followed her home tonight, before I came here. I wanted to make sure she got in okay, and he wasn’t lurking in the bushes or anything. I rang her after a few minutes, pretended I was home, and she said she was good. She seems a lot happier, lighter with her comments, that sort of thing. Best thing she could do, get rid of him.’
Frannie sprinkled cheese on the top, and put the pasta dish in the oven to finish off. ‘Twenty minutes. Eating in front of the telly, or at the table in here?’
‘Is Vera on?’
‘Eight o’clock.’
‘In front of the telly then. I feel like being swept away by somebody else’s crime tonight. I can’t do anything with my own till tomorrow morning now.’
‘I saw Look North,’ Frannie said. ‘Nice chap. Said it like it is, told everybody about the third one, then stressed not to get into anybody’s car, always be with somebody else, that sort of thing. You any further on with it?’
Erica shook her head. ‘Not so you’d notice. The whole team are feeling frustrated by it. We’ve another six students to see at the uni tomorrow, although I may send Beth to lead that, let her take Flick Ardern. I want to do some door knocking and sabre rattling. People will think more seriously if it’s a DI asking the questions, I reckon, and tomorrow I want an answer to one particular question.’
‘Go you! Now you sound scary. Don’t forget I’m here if you want to talk about it.’
‘What I really want is for this bloody rain to stop, give us a chance to search properly instead of destroying everything with our own sliding footprints. It’s a killer on these banksides, and it’s so damn tiring battling against the wind and rain all the time. They get into the shelter of that refreshment truck and they collapse. Dear God,’ she said emphatically, ‘give us some sunshine.’
15
The sunshine came out around ten that morning; Erica felt an uplift of her spirits, which had been dropping lower and lower as she had requested CCTV to no avail. The sunshine and the CCTV appeared almost in the same second.
The elderly lady had greeted Erica and Sam with a smile once Erica had flashed her ID. ‘I do indeed have CCTV. I’m not sure if it will cover all the area in front of the theatre though. It’s not been the slightest bit of use for the five years I’ve had it, but my son insisted I get it. You’re welcome to look at it. Do you know how to use it?’
Erica smiled. ‘We’ll work it out. Can I have a quick word while I summon one of our experts to come and take a look?’
‘You certainly can. Would you both like a cup of tea?’
Erica and Sam said yes, and within minutes were sitting in a lounge that was spectacularly old-fashioned, and utterly comfortable.
Sam sank back into the armchair and heaved a huge sigh. ‘I really shouldn’t like this room, I’m too young to appreciate doilies and stuff, but it’s brilliant. It’s like my nan’s, you want to nod off as soon as you sit down. And look at that bookcase! It’s groaning with books. You think she’s looking for a grandson to adopt?’
‘Doubt it. Go and see if she needs help to carry in the drinks.’
Erica tried hard not to let her excitement show. The technician had found the relevant time that coincided with the theatregoers coming out of the theatre, and had taken it slowly when the girl in the red hooded coat came into view. The scene was in black and white, but Susie’s coat was recognisable as being of a shade. They watched as she held up her arm in a wave, and saw a small black Fiesta pull in to the kerb.
‘Okay, freeze it,’ Erica said. ‘Can we get that number plate enlarged?’
The numbers and letters became clear quickly, and Erica rang the main office back at the station. She wanted an address and she wanted it yesterday.
Erica was angry. She felt cheated. The number plate belonged to a red Peugeot that had been sent for scrap, and was originally from Leicester. They were no nearer finding the driver of that car than they had been back at the beginning.
Her first thought was that it was actually quite beautiful, if a little frightening. They believed the girls had been dead before they’d arrived at the river, and Erica hoped that was the case; if they were still alive, they would have been so terrified. The noise of the water was scary enough, without knowing you were going to die either by the side of it, or in it.
Being there alone was something she felt she had to do, to get a feel for the place when it wasn’t overrun by teams of searchers. She looked all around, before taking a tentative step towards the river itself. Frannie had described it as a gentle brook, bubbling out from its source and gathering momentum as it dropped down for two miles towards the city centre, before it widened to go under culverts and ultimately to the confluence with the Sheaf, under railway platform five.
Erica stood quietly, listening to the roar, and taking in the surroundings. She didn’t feel overawed by it, but she did feel something. Was she feeling a connection with the three girls who had died there? She thought not; she had seen many bodies during her career, and the binding she had felt with them was purely to seek their killer. In most cases it had been finding the proof to convict the person she felt had done it, but this bastard had eluded her for too long. It was time to lock him up, time to stop feeling her thoughts drifting back to twenty-fourteen at odd times when she was working on a different case. The one that got away. Clichéd, and true.