by Bill Rogers
‘That doesn’t make him a sex pest, let alone a serial killer,’ Nick pointed out.
‘True,’ said Jo. ‘But we all know it goes on. There have been three cases of police officers being convicted of wilful abuse of a public office for sexual gain in England this year alone. Two with prostitutes, one with a vulnerable victim he was supposed to be helping. None of those men were serial killers.’
‘It could still be him though,’ said Nick. ‘Either that or it’s a highly inconvenient coincidence.’
Gordon turned on him. ‘Highly inconvenient? Have I ever told you you’re a master of understatement?’
‘No, Boss.’
‘Well, you are. It’s a bloody disaster whatever way you look at it.’
Gordon was right. At best it was a terrible embarrassment for the force, and at worst it could mess up the entire investigation, resulting in a new team having to start from scratch.
Unless, of course, Henshall really was the unsub.
Jo wondered if that was possible. Even if he had carried out the two earlier murders in Wigan and Leigh, he was hardly going to carry one out on his own patch, where so many of the girls could identify him. But then who knew what went on in the mind of a psychopath? Apart from Andy.
Gordon rubbed his chin aggressively. ‘They could be making it up.’
‘That wasn’t the impression I got,’ said Jo. ‘But you can decide for yourself. I managed, with Agata Kowalski’s support, to persuade them to come in and make a formal statement. Her and Max are babysitting them downstairs.’
Gordon looked fit to burst. Jo pre-empted his objection. ‘It was the only way I could get them to cooperate. Without her help we wouldn’t know any of this. And to be fair, she could have gone public without warning us first.’
Gordon scowled. ‘She’s not sitting in on the interviews.’
‘She doesn’t expect to. I’ve already made that clear.’
He grabbed his jacket, and shrugged it on. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Sooner we know the worst, the sooner we can sort it.’
‘Gordon,’ she said, ‘they are all terrified about doing this. They’re convinced that nobody will believe them. That you’ll do anything to protect your own.’
‘That’s not going to happen,’ he said. ‘I’m disappointed in you, Jo. I thought you knew me better than that.’
‘I do. But it’s not down to you, is it? Granted, the Crown Prosecution Service will have the last say, but with something like this it’ll go all the way to the Chief Constable before they get to see it. And he’ll have to tell the Mayor. Once it goes political, anything can happen.’
‘She’s got a point, Boss,’ said Nick. ‘As soon as Madden’s body was found, Henshall must have known there was a chance he’d be outed. He’ll already be covering his tracks. It’s going to be his word against a couple of prostitutes.’
‘Hopefully more than a couple,’ said Jo. ‘But that will depend on how these interviews go.’
Gordon had one arm stuck in the sleeve of his jacket. He wriggled it free, and made eye contact.
‘Whatever it is you’re trying to say, just spit it out.’
She took a deep breath. ‘I think you should let me take the lead on these interviews.’
‘You don’t want me in the room?’
She shook her head. ‘On the contrary. I think it’s important you are there. So they can see that the senior investigating officer from GMP is taking their allegations seriously.’
He cocked an eyebrow. ‘But?’
‘But I know that you’ll want to prod and probe. To try and find any weakness in their stories.’
She held up a hand before he could interrupt.
‘I would if I was you. If I still worked for GMP. It’s only natural. You need to be sure before you take it any further. All I’m asking is that you let me do that. If you come across as accepting their story, sympathetic even, I’ll be better placed to find any flaws in their stories. They already trust me . . . Besides . . .’ She paused, preparing for the reaction her next words were bound to generate.
‘Besides?’ Gordon prompted.
She took a deep breath. ‘Shouldn’t Professional Standards be handling this?’
Nick stared at his boss, waiting for the inevitable eruption. To their surprise Gordon appeared to take it in his stride. He sat down slowly on the edge of a desk.
‘I’ve already thought about that,’ he said. ‘The last thing we need is that lot trampling all over Firethorn. The first thing that’ll happen is an internal struggle between the Investigation Branch and the Counter Corruption Unit about who gets to handle the complaint.’
He shook his head slowly. ‘We can’t have that. Not till we’re sure there’s something to investigate and that something has nothing to do with Mandy Madden or any of the other killings. Then they can take Henshall and do what they like with him just so long as they leave Firethorn alone.’
‘They’re bound to say you should have handed it over straight away,’ Nick ventured nervously.
Gordon smiled. ‘Depends on what you mean by straight away.’ He turned to Jo. ‘You didn’t take a formal statement from any of them?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘Given how serious it was, I thought you’d want it on the record here at the station.’
Jo could tell that he was about to say ‘Good girl’, something he’d done frequently in the early days of their professional relationship. But then he saw her expression, and clearly thought better of it. They exchanged knowing smiles, to Nick’s obvious bemusement.
‘Quite right,’ Gordon said. ‘Which means there is no complaint until we’ve given them the chance to make it official. In the meantime, we assess if it’s got legs and, if so, what this means for Firethorn. If it’s a sideshow, PSB can take it over, and leave us to get on with the big one.’
‘And if it isn’t?’ said Nick.
Gordon slid off the desk, and brushed the knees of his trousers.
‘Then we’ve got our unsub,’ he said. ‘Case closed.’
Chapter 20
‘So you’re saying that you believe them, DCI Holmes?’ said Helen Gates. Her furrowed brow and anxious tone suggested she had been hoping otherwise.
‘I’m afraid so, Ma’am,’ he replied. ‘As does SI Stuart.’
Jo nodded her agreement.
Mark Davis, the Deputy Chief Constable, whose roles included oversight of the Head of Professional Standards Branch, leaned forward. ‘On what basis exactly?’ he asked.
Gordon cleared his throat. ‘We formally interviewed them both last night separately. All three of them described identical behaviours on the part of DC Henshall. The way in which he first approached them, the exact nature of the threats he made against them, even the nature of the sex acts he forced them to perform on him.’
‘Acts they alleged he forced them to perform,’ said Gates. ‘For God sake, let’s not rush to judgement.’
‘Alleged,’ Gordon acknowledged.
‘They also described,’ said Jo, ‘a rug that he kept in the back of his van on which they were expected to perform these alleged acts. They claimed that when he started using an unmarked car he’d take the rug from the boot, and drape it over the rear seats. Presumably to minimise trace evidence.’
‘How do we know they didn’t cook all this up between them?’ said Davis. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time a group of sex workers conspired to make false allegations against a serving officer.’
Gordon shook his head. ‘All of their statements were similar enough to provide corroboration without being so alike as to suggest collusion.’
‘There were small pieces of detail in each of their statements,’ Jo added, ‘that were both unique and credible enough to give the whole thing the ring of truth. That’s not something they are likely to have thought of themselves.’
Gates sat back in her chair.
‘Damn!’ she said. ‘What a mess.’
‘There will have to be an immediate investigation, Helen
,’ said the Deputy Chief Constable. ‘Especially in light of Operation Firethorn. If he’s the killer and we don’t act quickly, the press will crucify us. If he’s not, the sooner we know and take him out of the equation, the better.’
He addressed the two detectives. ‘Have either of you formed an opinion on how best to substantiate or disprove these allegations?’
Jo and Gordon looked at each other.
‘You first,’ said Gordon. ‘You’ve had more time to think about it.’
‘The rug is an obvious starting point,’ she said. ‘If we find it in his possession, that will back up their stories. Even better, it may hold vital trace evidence that will link him to them. The same with the vans he used, and his current car. The girls told us they still have the clothes they wore on the dates of the alleged incidents with DC Henshall. It would just be a matter of comparing any fibres from Henshall’s vehicles to those clothes.’
She looked at Gordon. ‘We have dates and times for at least five of the occasions when he is alleged to have solicited sex from them,’ he said. ‘It would be easy to check them against DC Henshall’s work records to establish whether he had the opportunity to be in those places at those times, or alternatively if he has rock-solid alibis. I could also interview the officers he was scheduled to work with when he was in uniform to see if they were aware of anything at all suspicious about his movements.’
‘You said I,’ said the Deputy Chief Constable. ‘Given the serious nature of these allegations, I hope you don’t think for a moment that it’s appropriate for you to be investigating one of your own officers. This is clearly a matter for the Professional Standards Branch Investigations Unit.’
Gates began to nod her agreement.
Gordon raised a tentative hand.
‘Go on,’ Gates said, her tone advising caution.
‘Ordinarily I would agree,’ Gordon said. ‘But given that we don’t know for certain that this isn’t connected with Operation Firethorn, I believe that my team should be involved until that possibility has been eliminated.’
‘He has a point, Mark,’ Gates said.
The DCC frowned. ‘It’s far too risky. For a start this is serious enough for us to have to inform the IPCC.’
Gates looked askance at him. ‘The Independent Police Complaints Commission?’ she said. ‘It’ll take a week for them to agree the terms of reference, let alone who should lead the investigation. What about inviting the NCA to take on Firethorn until these allegations have been dealt with? After all, they are already involved.’
‘We don’t have the resources to do that,’ said Jo hurriedly. ‘Besides, our role is serious and organised crime.’
Mark Davis raised both eyebrows. ‘You’re saying a serial killer isn’t serious and organised?’ he said.
‘Stop splitting hairs, Mark,’ said Gates. ‘You know very well what SI Stuart means.’
Jo was beginning to wonder if there was more than a professional relationship between these two. Why else the Christian names and the absence of the normal acknowledgement of rank?
‘Can I make a suggestion?’ Jo said. ‘What if I liaise with your Professional Standards Branch to gather initial intelligence and evidence relating to DC Henshall? That would leave DCI Holmes free to concentrate on Firethorn. As soon as you have enough evidence to proceed one way or another, our focus would be back on Firethorn, and the PSB could handle the abuse-of-public-office investigation.’
She could feel Gordon staring at her, and studiously avoided his gaze. She had no idea what he was thinking. Gates and Davis looked at each other. There was a brief nodding of heads.
‘That would work for me,’ said the Deputy Chief Constable.
‘What about you, DCI Holmes?’ said Helen Gates.
Gordon shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. ‘It would also work for me,’ he said. ‘As long as the rest of SI Stuart’s team will still be supporting Firethorn.’
‘Absolutely,’ said Jo, secretly praying that Harry Stone would agree with that to which she had just committed herself.
‘Splendid!’ said the Deputy Chief. ‘Let’s agree first steps here and now. Number one, have the complainants been warned not to tell anyone else that they have talked to the police?’
‘Yes,’ said Jo. ‘We impressed on them that to do so could undermine the investigation.’
‘What about this reporter, Kowalski? Can you persuade her to keep quiet until we are in a position to move on Henshall?’
Jo nodded. ‘I’ve already done that. But she will expect some exclusivity. At the very least she’ll want to be free to set out her role in bringing the allegations to our attention.’
‘We can’t stop her doing that,’ said Gates. ‘But she can forget exclusivity. Whatever the outcome there’ll be a very carefully worded press release that they all get at the same time.’ She shrugged. ‘I suppose you can promise her some privileged details after that.’
‘Thirdly,’ said the Deputy Chief, ‘the PSB investigation unit will place Henshall under surveillance, and start digging into his professional and personal background. And finally, you, DCI Holmes, will find a pretext to give him a role that keeps him away from Firethorn. You’ll also turn over to my team his work schedules and records for the period covered by the Firethorn killings.’
‘What about the period before he joined my syndicate?’ said Gordon. ‘He’s only been with us for a couple of months.’
‘Leave that to us.’
Jo raised a hand. ‘What about my role?’ she asked.
‘I suggest that you work that out with the PSB senior investigator,’ Davis said. ‘But since you already have a rapport with the complainants, why don’t you get some samples of those clothes you mentioned, DNA swabs from each of them, and see if either they or any of the other sex workers can produce anything else that may help us to resolve this PDQ?’
‘He’s sidelined you already,’ said Gordon as the two of them headed for the stairwell.
‘We’ll see,’ said Jo.
‘Smart move of yours,’ he continued, ‘handing it to him on a platter.’
She stopped, forcing him to do the same. ‘That’s not fair, Gordon,’ she said. ‘They were never going to let you handle the Henshall investigation. You know that. This way you get the best of both worlds. The resources of the PSB investigations branch to get it resolved quickly and cleanly, and me on the inside making sure that neither you nor Firethorn is compromised in any way.’
He smiled sheepishly. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘Of course you are. Can’t deny me a bit of male vanity though, can you?’
They carried on down the stairs.
‘One thing I don’t understand,’ Gordon said, speaking to the back of Jo’s head, ‘is that Henshall hasn’t exactly been keeping a low profile since we started Operation Firethorn. Instead he’s carried on playing the jackass. You’d think he’d either want off the case or keep his head down.’
‘That’s just a measure of his overweening self-confidence. He probably thought the girls would be too scared to say anything. That’s why he tried it on in the first place. Because he saw them as vulnerable.’
She paused.
‘Just like our unsub.’
Chapter 21
FRIDAY, 5TH MAY
‘What do you think?’
It was the second time of asking. Andy Swift appeared not to have heard. His head was bent over the notes he had been making for the past half an hour.
It was nine in the evening. Thirty-two long hours since the decision had been made to create parallel investigations for Firethorn, and the allegations against DC Henshall. DCI Harvey Ince, the Public Standards Branch Senior Investigator, together with Jo, Ram, and Andy, from the Behavioural Sciences Unit, had been at The Quays reviewing the data they had thus far.
‘Andy?’ said Jo, touching him lightly on the arm.
Andy jumped like a startled hare. ‘What?’ He stared at each of them in turn.
‘DCI Ince was asking what
you think. About Henshall.’
Andy nodded sagely, as though it suddenly made sense. ‘It’s not him,’ he said.
‘What’s not him?’ said Ince, visibly irritated by Swift’s laconic response.
‘He is not the unsub.’
‘Are you sure?’ asked Jo.
‘But he is certainly capable of the offences of which he has been accused,’ Swift replied, ignoring the question.
‘Whoa,’ said Ince. ‘I don’t recall asking you to look at Henshall as the Firethorn unsub. This meeting is about alleged abuse of office.’
Andy removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. It reminded Jo of just how tired she was. They had been working crazy hours ever since Mandy Madden’s body had been found. The psychologist replaced his glasses, and turned to her. ‘I’m confused,’ he said. ‘I understood that Max, Ram, and I were still focusing on Operation Firethorn.’
‘You are,’ she told him. ‘But it makes sense to get your perspective on these allegations, and on what DCI Ince has discovered about DC Henshall.’
She turned to Ince. ‘Harvey, this was always about eliminating Henshall from Firethorn as well as investigating the complaints. Why not hear Andy out?’
It had been clear from the outset that Ince was one of those officers who needed to be seen to be in charge. According to Gordon there had been sighs of relief all round in FMIT when he moved over to Professional Standards. She was beginning to understand why.
Ince shook his head but demurred. ‘Go on then,’ he said. ‘So long as it doesn’t take too long. I’m due back at Central Park in an hour and a half.’
Andy smiled. ‘I can do brief,’ he said, sitting back in his chair, and placing his hands behind his head. ‘Let’s see. Henshall is in the age range that we might expect either as the potential unsub or as the alleged perpetrator who coerced those three women into giving him sexual favours.’
Jo found herself smiling. Sexual favours was exactly the kind of coy phrase she would expect Andy to use.