Blind Alley

by Danielle Ramsay

  Brady was grateful to Amelia. She had a way of steering people and getting them to agree to something that ordinarily they would have opposed.

  ‘Thanks,’ Brady said, the relief evident in his voice. ‘Chinese take-out’s on me later. And if we manage it, a couple of rounds at the Fat Ox.’

  But Brady knew he was being hopeful in suggesting that they might be finished before last orders. There was a hell of a lot he needed them to do. And the first thing was putting as many holes as possible in Bentley’s theory that the Whitley Bay serial rapist had strayed into North Shields – his territory. Brady knew that Trina McGuire had not been attacked and raped by the same suspect his team were trying to apprehend. She had her own reasons for wasting Bentley’s time. But the last thing Brady wanted was the public being misinformed. There were two rapists out there – not one. And they were very different. The public needed to know that for their own safety. Brady wasn’t interested in Bentley, or his reasons for the course of action he had taken. Maybe Bentley still believed that the assault was a drugs-connected crime. Perhaps this was his way of disarming Madley. Or maybe it was simpler than that? Maybe Bentley had a score to settle with Brady and this was all a ruse.

  Whatever Bentley’s reasons, Brady did not want to see Trina McGuire’s attacker have the opportunity to disappear. Let alone strike again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‘All right, Conrad,’ Brady began.

  Conrad looked at him. He already had his notebook out ready to take whatever Brady threw at him.

  ‘I want everything that Bentley has on the Trina McGuire case. And I mean absolutely every little detail. I know Bentley promised Amelia that he’ll pass what he has on to her but I want you on top of this. I’ve already requested this information twice and for some reason I still haven’t received it. What about your contact at North Shields, are they actually part of Bentley’s team?’

  Conrad nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Good. Use them if you can. We need to make sure that Bentley’s not fobbing us off with filtered information.

  ‘I want photographs of Trina McGuire’s injuries. In particular, photos of the injury to her wrist and inner arm. I want them sent with the photographs of Chloe Winters’ injuries and Anna Lewis’ to Jed ASAP. I need those images digitally enhanced and back to us tonight. And tell him I don’t give a fuck that it’s late Friday afternoon – this is urgent.’

  Jed was Northumbria’s computer forensic officer. He was one of the best. But slashed budgets had seen his workload double.

  ‘As soon as he comes back with the images I want them sent across to whichever forensic scientist is available to us. And tell them I need a quick turnaround on this now Bentley is involved.’

  Brady was certain that Trina McGuire’s wounds were different. But it would take a forensic scientist specialising in knife wounds to ascertain if it was the same perpetrator, or the same implement. Even knowing whether the wounds were carried out by a left- or right-handed person was crucial.

  Conrad nodded. ‘Will do, sir.’

  ‘Daniels and Kenny,’ Brady began. He watched as they prepared themselves for the worst. ‘You two are going to be revisiting the CCTV footage from the nights the victims were attacked and in particular the evening Chloe Winters was abducted. Check every piece of footage, particularly along the Promenade where the clubs are,’ Brady instructed. ‘Anything, and I mean anything, no matter how incidental, you report it to me.’

  Kenny suddenly folded his arms and slouched back against his chair at the magnitude of the work they had been given.

  ‘But we’ve been through that CCTV footage three times already,’ Daniels complained, unwilling to accept their fate.

  Brady’s dark expression said it all. He was not impressed at having his orders queried.

  ‘If it takes you ten more times analysing that bloody footage, you’ll do it. Understand? This isn’t the bogeyman we’re dealing with here. Or some bloody ghostly apparition that just materialises out of thin air, attacks our victims and then evaporates. He’s there in those tapes. He has to be. We’re just not seeing it.’

  Despite the sullen, pissed-off look in his eyes, Daniels kept quiet. He knew not to push Brady. They all did.

  This was the job – sitting around and checking records, CCTV footage, cross-referencing details. The majority of the time it was downright time-consuming and boring. If Kenny and Daniels had joined the force thinking it was going to resemble The Sweeney, they were sadly mistaken.

  Brady finally turned to Harvey and Kodovesky.

  ‘I know we’ve already done this but I want you two to go over the information we have on the bartenders and bouncers in the clubs and pubs in South Parade and the Promenade again. In particular, I want you to focus your energies on the Blue Lagoon nightclub. We’re missing something. These attacks have spanned two months now. Even if it’s something as coincidental as a bouncer or bartender starting work within the last year, inform me. The last thing I believe in is coincidence. The problem we have is that our offender is right here – in Whitley Bay,’ Brady said as he jabbed the table with his right forefinger. ‘He’s right under our noses but for some reason we’re not seeing him. So, it’s time to up our game and put the pressure on. Starting with the Blue Lagoon.’

  Conrad couldn’t contain his surprise at Brady’s request.

  It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Brady, but now was not the time to explain his decision. Not here in front of the rest of the team.

  If Bentley was investigating Madley, Brady would make sure that his team trampled all over his career-enhancing, undercover operation. He knew that was guaranteed to piss Bentley off. And there was nothing he could do about it. Brady was merely chasing up his own leads. Then there was the business card advertising the Blue Lagoon left at the crime scene where Trina McGuire was attacked. That was something that troubled him. Whether Madley was being set up, Brady had no idea. But that was the least of his concerns right now.

  But this wasn’t just about pissing off Bentley. Brady needed to publicly cover his back. He did not want any allegations levied at him that he was biased. That he was protecting Madley. He had no choice but to make sure the same, if not even more extensive, checks were carried out on the Blue Lagoon staff.

  ‘You’re not serious are you, Jack? This will take us all weekend,’ Harvey said, taken aback.

  Conrad shot him a look.

  ‘Sorry, I mean, sir,’ Harvey corrected, as he stared straight at Conrad.

  Brady knew that old habits died hard. Harvey and Brady had shared the same rank for years and during that time had developed a strong friendship. It’d felt odd for both of them when Brady had become the boss. But over time they had got used to it and found a way of balancing their friendship with the imbalance in their professional relationship. Not that Harvey would have wanted Brady’s job. He had made it clear that he didn’t want the politics or the responsibility that came with it. Brady understood his reasons. He would not wish his job on anyone. Especially at this precise moment.

  He sighed heavily as he looked at Harvey.

  ‘Look, I hate to state the obvious but we’re running out of time. It won’t be long before he attacks again. So we need to do everything we can to try and find him. And if that means working through this entire weekend then that’s what we’ll do.’

  ‘So, you really think Bentley’s got it wrong? That the rape last night isn’t connected to the ones we’re working on?’ Harvey asked, confused.

  ‘Yes. Which is why I just said we’re up against the wire here because I guarantee that he’ll strike for a fourth time any night now.’

  Harvey didn’t look convinced. Whether it was the fact that it was the end of a long week and he just wanted to go home or Bentley’s public stunt had persuaded him otherwise, Brady was unsure.

  ‘Despite what DI Bentley has said, Trina McGuire’s rape couldn’t be more different from our three victims,’ Brady said as a means of appeasing Harvey. ‘What do
you think, Dr Jenkins?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I can’t comment yet. I’m not up-to-date on her case,’ Amelia answered. It was honest and direct.

  Brady nodded. He should have known better than to ask her to offer an opinion when she hadn’t been fully briefed.

  ‘OK. Forgive me if I’m not as eloquent as Dr Jenkins here but I’ll give it a go. There are three main types of rapes committed: power, anger and sadistic rape. Nicholas Groth, a leading expert in this field, states that fifty-five per cent are power rapists, forty per cent are anger rapists and five per cent are sadistic rapists.’ Brady paused for a moment as he caught Amelia’s eye. It had momentarily thrown her. She looked both surprised and impressed at what he’d just said.

  Brady cleared his throat before he continued: ‘I would say that Trina McGuire’s assailant was clearly an anger rapist. An anger rapist is about physical brutality. This kind of rape is based on conscious anger and rage. The rapist’s intention is to hurt and debase his victim and he’ll do this through verbally abusing her, beating her and then, finally raping her. Always remember, this is not about sex. It’s about absolute debasement and humiliation. Sex is a weapon that the rapist uses to defile, degrade and humiliate his victim. This is precisely the kind of rape that Trina McGuire was subjected to.’ Brady stopped for a moment, expecting questions. But there were none.

  Brady nodded. ‘OK. With regards to our other rape victims we are dealing with a sadist. He eroticises power and anger, taking great pleasure in his victims’ suffering as he tortures them. The sadistic rapist often has a bizarre or ritualistic trait, which we clearly see exhibited with the three rapes we have here. In particular with the last victim, Chloe Winters. Sadistic rapists have a penchant for mutilating their victims’ sexual areas. All three victims’ breasts were mutilated. This isn’t the case with Trina McGuire,’ Brady said, looking at Harvey. He was intentionally labouring the point so that his team were under no illusions that the two investigations were actually linked.

  ‘Chloe Winters also had most of the skin on her upper chest removed.’

  Some of the team shifted their eyes over to the whiteboard to photographs of the victim.

  ‘The skin removed from her right breast had been tattooed some months earlier. As you know we have taken statements from the owner of the studio where Chloe Winters had the work done and we ran checks against his two employees and his clients. But nothing unusual came up.’

  ‘Conrad was telling me that? Trina McGuire had skin removed from the inside of her wrist and lower arm,’ Harvey said.

  Brady looked at him. Tom Harvey was like a dog with a bone once he got an idea in his head.

  ‘You’re right, Tom. But the difference is our offender exhibits both sexual mutilation and ritualistic qualities. As for Trina McGuire, I hardly think her lower arm constitutes a sexual area, do you? Unless you have some strange fetish that you want to share with us?’ Brady asked.

  ‘No, sir,’ Harvey muttered as he tried to ignore his burning cheeks.

  Kenny and Daniels couldn’t stop themselves from bursting into laughter.

  ‘I always wondered why all those Internet dates you’ve had never worked out,’ Kenny sniggered with a cruel glint in his eye. ‘What? You don’t know your arse from your elbow, eh? Or is it, you don’t know their bits from their tits?’

  ‘Thanks, Kenny. I think we’ve got the picture,’ Brady interrupted before the conversation slipped even further.

  Amelia shot Kenny an acerbic look that told him to grow up. But it was lost on him as he sat elbowing Daniels.

  ‘Did Trina McGuire have a tattoo removed as well then?’ Harvey asked, attempting to move the conversation on.

  ‘Yes,’ Brady answered. He had no choice but to be honest. Bentley had already found out that the skin cut from Trina McGuire’s wrist had been tattooed.

  ‘What was it?’ Harvey questioned.

  Brady could see it in his eyes. He was still belligerently hanging on to the hope that there could be some merit in Bentley’s assertion that Trina’s attack could be connected.

  Brady shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

  It was easier to lie. If Brady had told the truth then awkward questions might be asked – especially if Bentley and his team had no idea that the tattoo was NICK – his brother’s name. Whether Trina McGuire had told them, or would tell them, was her call. He knew that she was protecting Nick, so he highly doubted that she would inform them the actual identity behind the name tattooed on her wrist. Too many questions would be asked.

  ‘Focusing on what we do know, all three of our rape victims had been bound and blindfolded before he tortured them. Same MO with all three. But we see evidence with Anna Lewis, the second victim, that he’s actually starting to develop his technique in preparation for the third victim – Chloe Winters. He held her captive for forty-eight hours during which she was subjected to—’ Brady stopped and shook his head. The torture that she had undergone was sickening.

  He looked around the room. The air was heavy and still. No one was laughing now – rightly so.

  ‘The rapist used some type of instrument or foreign object to damage or penetrate the victim’s skin,’ Brady explained as he walked over to the whiteboard.

  He pointed at the multiple photographs of Chloe Winters’ injuries.

  ‘You see here,’ he asked, pointing at the carnage that had been exacted on her breasts. He tried not to flinch at the gruesome photographs. Brady didn’t like to think about the time she had spent in surgery. ‘He did exactly the same to the first two victims with what we think could be a screwdriver. Chloe Winters suffers the same injuries but he then takes it up another level by removing a significant portion of the skin on her right breast and the area above.’

  ‘Why, sir? Why actually remove the skin?’ Kodovesky asked, frowning.

  ‘Good question. And I don’t know the answer. I can only assume that the tattoo disgusted him and he wanted to remove it,’ Brady answered.

  ‘Or,’ interrupted Amelia,‘perhaps he took it as some kind of a trophy. He clearly focuses on the victims’ breasts. This is the area he stabs and cuts. He would have taken great pleasure in hurting Chloe Winters to this degree. Both physically and mentally. He has actually removed a piece of her. Something unique to her. No one else would have had that tattoo in that particular place.’

  Brady nodded. ‘Good point. We know that he blindfolds his victims while he tortures and rapes them, which is characteristic of a sadistic rapist. And that’s why we’ve had such a problem getting an accurate photofit. As you all know this image’ – Brady pointed to a copy of the photofit he had shown Trina McGuire – ‘is the best we could come up with given all three victims’ descriptions. The problem we have is that the victims were intoxicated when he attacked them, and before they got a chance to see his face they were blindfolded. The main similarity between the descriptions of the attacker is that he is tall, shaven-headed and in his mid-twenties.’

  ‘And you definitely think he works in the area where the victims were attacked?’ Harvey asked. ‘If he’s an opportunist, why not just cruise the streets until he finds a young woman that’s easy pickings? It’s not hard in Whitley Bay at the weekend. You know the problem we have with stag and hen parties getting bladdered down here. Then there’s the hardcore locals who go out every Friday and Saturday night. It wouldn’t be hard to pick up a girl too drunk to even know her name.’

  Brady walked back over to the large conference table. He poured himself a glass of lukewarm water before answering. He needed to clear his throat.

  ‘He is definitely an “opportunist” who works in Whitley Bay at the weekend. He’s clever, Tom. Which is why we haven’t caught him yet. He’s part of the milieu. He’s comfortable there. Knows it.’

  Harvey frowned at this comment.

  ‘He’s part of the physical or social setting. He’s watching the victims. I’ve already said he’s not got a type and that his choice of victim is opportunistic but what I
mean by that is that all three were regular drinkers in Whitley Bay at the weekend. Heavy drinkers by all accounts – the high alcohol levels in their blood samples shows that. Also, all three victims said that this wasn’t the first time they had found themselves walking home alone. Yes, they all regularly got taxis, but on the odd occasion they would find themselves with no cash, separated from their group of friends – whatever. I firmly believe that his assaults are deliberate, calculated and pre-planned. He’s already chosen his victim. Now all he has to do is wait until the opportunity arises to attack them, and to be able to do that, he has to be in the same vicinity biding his time for his moment to strike. He’s not a fool, he doesn’t take risks.’

  ‘So, if I’m not mistaken, there’s one common factor here,’ Conrad interjected.

  Brady turned to Conrad. He knew exactly what he was going to say. It was his next and final point.

  ‘Go on,’ Brady encouraged him.

  ‘Well, sir. Based on information we’ve got from the victims themselves, their friends and the social network sites they used, they . . . well . . . liked to party.’

  Brady nodded. ‘Yes, like a lot of kids their age who go out drinking at the weekends, Conrad. The only difference is, someone out there is watching them and waiting for the right opportunity to enact his sadistic fantasies.’

  Amelia looked at Brady and then turned to the rest of the team: ‘The problem we have here is that for some sadistic rapists, the ultimate satisfaction is gained from murdering the victim. What happened to Chloe Winters is just the beginning for him. I think his next victim might not be so lucky – not that “lucky” is the right word considering what the victims have suffered.’