Silent Scream

by Lynda La Plante

  ‘I include every one of you. To date this has been a shoddy investigation. Now is the time to pull your socks up. I want that bastard charged …’

  Langton then swept out almost theatrically, leaving them drained and at the same time angry at the way he had spoken to them.

  ‘Who the fuck does he think he is?’ muttered Barolli. Anna was too tired to argue. ‘What right has he got to speak down to us after we’ve been schlepping our arses off.’

  Barbara wheeled in the television set and caught Barolli’s remark.

  ‘Reason could be that he is Detective Chief Superintendent and you are just Detective Sergeant. He’s rubbed Mike Lewis up the wrong way as well.’

  ‘Where is Mike?’

  Barbara switched on the television.

  ‘He’s gone to pick up Lester James. OK, are we ready to watch this sodding video because I don’t know about anyone else, but I want to go home.’

  Lester James was arrested at three o’clock the next morning. He had been woken by Mike Lewis and two officers, and warned that he was to be questioned with regard to the murder of Amanda Delany. He was allowed one phone call; he made it to his oldest brother Harry to arrange for a solicitor. Lester had hardly spoken to anyone else, remaining subdued as he rested back on the bunk bed in his cell. After breakfast he would be given access to his solicitor before being interrogated.

  With time to spare before she needed to be at the station, Anna skimmed over the pages of her section of Amanda’s diary. It appeared that the girl had indeed attempted to straighten out her life. There were several entries about the filming of Gaslight. She described the director, Julian Pike, as a ‘closet’ queen and wrote that she was looking forward to working with Rupert Mitchell. The fact that he had virtually ignored her had really pissed her off. The make-up department were boring old gossips and her corset was so tight it made her feel sick. There were also references to her staying clean, how hard she found it to concentrate on the difficult dialogue, and how her interaction with the director was not going well.

  Anna was running out of time. She still had a quarter of the diary pages to finish and knew she should be getting ready to leave for the station. She turned a page and came across a rough drawing that looked like the sketch of a woman. Underneath Amanda had written:

  It doesn’t really even look like me, and some of it isn’t filled in, and it was just sad. But I couldn’t tell him as he was like a kid showing it off to me. I feel sorry for him, he’s such a loser and with no class. He’s getting overprotective, and he’s going to have to leave me alone, especially now I don’t need him.

  Anna closed her eyes. Filled in … Wasn’t that what the tattooist had said when she had spoken to him, something about Lester James wanting his tattoo filled in? She turned over the page and found a list of numbers and words: Need a lawyer, the fucking bitch has not paid me my money. I feel used and betrayed and I trusted her.

  Next came references to Josh Lyons and Golden Arrow, then details of the lunch at Le Caprice and the words, underlined in red pen: I will make them all pay.

  She mentioned that Josh Lyons wanted to see her diary. He’s worried about the legal aspect… Can’t see why – I am only gonna tell the truth.

  Then, three days before her death, Amanda had noted that she was not required for filming and had the night off. She had written down Colin O’Dell and Scott Myers’s names and then one word – party. There was no mention of Lester James driving the two of them away from the house. There was, however, mention of LJ a couple of pages further on.

  For all the times he is a pain in the butt, he was the only one who really listened to me. He was very sweet and gave me some tabs to help me through the night filming; he said he would check out the house. It’s a relief, to have someone strong looking after me. He might be a bit of an idiot but he’s still the only person who protects me.

  It looked as if something had been spilled over a section of the page and been wiped away, as there was an odd discolouration over the paper. The next entry was in a different pen, a thicker one, but it was still recognisably Amanda’s childish scrawl.

  I am fucking out of it and I’ve still got two scenes to do. I hate this movie. I fucking HATE it.

  I told the director to go stuff himself when he was rude to me, fucking wanker. They had me drenched with water half the night, and the horse-drawn carriage was smelly inside. I feel like getting onto my agent but it’s too late, so I’m gonna really have a go at her in the morning and I am going to leave her and go to someone else, but first I WANT MY MONEY and I’ll get onto the cops about it if she doesn’t hand it over. I wish filming would end, I feel like I am drowning inside all the time.

  There was a scribbled section as if the pen was running out and then a thick blob of ink. The paper was oddly creased as if it had been folded.

  Anna frowned. Something didn’t add up. If Jeannie Bale had been telling the truth, how could Amanda have written up her diary if she had left it in the flat in Maida Vale after her meeting with Josh Lyons? That meeting had taken place several days earlier, and yet there she was, writing in the diary the night before she was murdered.

  The last page of the diary was blank. It appeared that Amanda wrote up her diary in the mornings and evenings. Would she have taken it with her to the film unit? Not only had she left her mobile phone on the set and the standin had found it, but according to Jeannie Bale, she had also lost her BlackBerry. Jeannie said she had found it in the flat after Amanda’s meeting with Josh Lyons. It had to mean that Jeannie was still lying to them. Was it possible that she had gone to Amanda’s house and taken the diary, along with the BlackBerry? If this was correct, Jeannie Bale would now have to be a suspect in the murder.

  Anna knew she should go straight to the station, but instead she drove across Tower Bridge and through the West End. It took her over half an hour before she turned onto the Edgware Road towards Maida Vale. She parked a short distance from the flat and walked down the basement steps. The front door had been prised open: the temporary locks fitted by the landlord were broken and a padlock was hanging loose. Anna was able to push open the front door with ease, and she edged cautiously into the dark, dank hall. The single low-wattage light bulb in the hall gave a yellowish hue and she could hear dragging sounds, then a dull banging and the next moment Jeannie Bale walked into the hallway, pulling a large suitcase behind her.

  ‘Jeannie,’ Anna said softly and the girl whipped round in shock. ‘We need to talk.’

  ‘I got every right to be here, I’m just clearing out my things.’

  ‘I’m sure you don’t have the right, as the landlord has—’ Anna was interrupted.

  ‘He’s talking a load of shit. We paid rent for this stink-hole for years, and if I wanted, I could stay on as a sitting tenant. All I’m doing is taking what’s mine and then I’m getting out for good.’

  Anna moved closer as Jeannie dragged the heavy case further into the hall, swearing because the strap was broken. She was holding a thick wide leather belt with a brass buckle, which she was clearly intending to strap round the case.

  ‘When did you take Amanda’s diary?’

  Jeannie straightened and pushed her thick blonde hair from her face. She began to wind the strap around her hand.

  ‘I never. She left it here, I told you. Felicity found it in Dan’s room.’

  ‘Yes, you said, after she had the meeting with the publisher.’

  ‘Right. Happened like I said.’

  ‘So when did you take it back to her, and then get your hands on it again?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  Anna edged still closer. ‘Jeannie, you had better tell me the truth, because we have the diary now, and we’ve read it.’

  Jeannie stared at Anna, tossing her head.

  ‘You see, Amanda had to have got it back because she’d written in it. In fact, she’d continued to write it up until the day before she was murdered.’

  ‘W
hat?’

  ‘So you lied. If you’d had it in your possession since the meeting with her publisher, then that was several days before her death. You see my problem?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You took it, didn’t you?’

  ‘No, I fucking didn’t.’

  ‘Then who did?’

  ‘Listen, you’ve got no right to come in here and start having a go at me. I was released and I’ve done nothing wrong.’

  ‘Just answer the question,’ Anna said calmly, ‘because you could now be implicated in her murder. This is very serious, Jeannie, and you had better level with me because I am beginning to lose patience with you.’

  ‘You really scare me,’ the girl sneered.

  ‘Don’t push your luck. Start talking, Jeannie.’

  The heavy suitcase was between them, as Jeannie took a step backwards, her face twisted with anger.

  ‘I am sick to fucking death of hearing that bitch’s name. She stole my part – I was told I’d have got it, if it wasn’t for her. It would have been me with a diary worth a fortune, it would have been me starring in one movie after another. All I needed was a break and she took it from me – she took everything from me. And it wasn’t just me – look what she did to Dan! He worshipped the ground she walked on, and all she did was feed him drugs and make him dependent on her like a wretched dog. But he wouldn’t listen. She’d fuck his brains out and then dump him over and over again. She’d come here with her wads of money and dole it out to us, give us her cast-off clothes as compensation for robbing me of my chance. I hated her guts, I fucking hated her …’

  The rage on Jeannie’s face made her look freakish, with her long blonde hair flying and the spit forming at the corners of her mouth. She stepped over the case and, with the strap curled around her fist, lunged forwards. The edge of the buckle caught Anna on the side of her face, and the next moment Jeannie was on top of her, screaming and punching.

  Using all her strength and training, Anna rolled sideways and grabbed a fistful of Jeannie’s hair. She brought the girl’s head down hard on the edge of the suitcase, and sat astride her, gripping her wrists.

  ‘I am arresting you…’

  Jeannie spat at her, and this time Anna released her right hand to grip Jeannie’s face and bang her head down hard, once, twice. She then flipped her onto her stomach and hauled her arm behind her back, almost snapping her thumb out of joint. Jeannie howled in agony as Anna slowly got to her feet, still gripping the girl’s arm and, yanking it even higher behind her back, forced her to stand with her face pressed against the wall. She grabbed the leather belt and tied it around Jeannie’s arms, then pushed her into a kneeling position. Bleeding heavily from the gash to her forehead, Anna fumbled for her mobile phone and rang through to the incident room for back-up.

  Then she cautioned the sobbing girl and, trying to stem the flow of blood down her face, made Jeannie sit down in the hallway to wait.

  Langton could hardly contain his anger.

  ‘Just let me get this straight,’ he let rip at Barolli. ‘Are you telling me that Travis, without any back-up or discussion with the team, made an arrest? What the fuck has she come up with?’

  ‘I dunno all the facts, sir, just that she is bringing Jeannie Bale in and needed officers’ assistance, and that whatever she’s uncovered regarding this girl has to have connections to Lester James and the murder. That’s all I know. The surveillance were pulled off from the flat two nights ago. She wants us to hold off Lester James’s interrogation.’

  ‘Well, let’s use the time and see if we have completed the simplest task of unlocking our victim’s BlackBerry … Have we?’

  Barolli looked sheepish. ‘Not yet. The tech support team are still working on it.’

  ‘What about tracing the other computer?’

  ‘No luck, but we’re still making enquiries.’

  ‘And the weapon?’

  ‘We have officers going over to the dojo used by Lester James, but we haven’t found any trace of it yet.’

  Langton gave a brusque nod of his head, trying to contain his mounting fury.

  ‘As soon as DI Travis makes an appearance, let me know.’

  Lester James knew by now that he was being held on suspicion of murder. The waiting unnerved him and he couldn’t keep still. Another hour passed, and he began slowly pacing up and down the cell like a caged animal. He banged on his cell door. A uniformed officer opened the flap and peered in.

  ‘How long do I have to wait in here?’

  ‘As long as it takes, pal. You’re talking now, are you?’

  ‘Fuck off’

  The flap was slammed shut. Lester cracked his knuckles, sat on the bed, got up, and began walking up and down again.

  Anna looked dreadful. She had a deep cut to her forehead and her hair was caked in dried blood. Some of it had run down to her collar and stained her shirt-front. Her face was chalk-white, and around the abrasion a dark reddish bruise was beginning to form. Only in the safety of her own car, did she really react to Jeannie’s attack. Although she had insisted she was perfectly fit to drive, she had to pull over. It took a while for her to calm down enough to continue the drive back to the station without shaking.

  Langton stared at Anna as she walked into Mike’s office. He pinched her chin with his fingers, tilting her head up.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I arrested Jeannie Bale and she didn’t like it.’

  He released his hold and gestured for her to sit down.

  ‘She’s not the only one. What in Christ’s name were you doing, going to see her alone?’

  ‘I was on my way into the station, and I just wanted to make sure she was still around.’

  ‘On your way in?’ Langton growled. ‘You think I’m stupid? That was some fucking circuitous route. Why didn’t you call for back-up straight away if you thought she was involved?’ He threw his arms up in a gesture of amazement. ‘Get to the reason we also have Jeannie Bale in the cells. You suspect her of Amanda Delany’s murder?’

  ‘It’s the diary, sir.’ She started to explain.

  When she had finished, Langton stood up and went to perch on the corner of Mike’s desk.

  ‘Right now, I don’t have the time to lecture you about unprofessional conduct. What you have unearthed does put a very different slant on things. Maybe Lester James didn’t act alone. You think they could be in it together?’

  ‘I don’t know, but the diary had to have been returned to Amanda and she continued to write it up until the night before she was murdered. That would mean it was taken from her house on the night of her murder, perhaps along with her BlackBerry. Up till now, we’ve been assuming that it was missing several days prior to her death.’

  Langton did a slow intake of breath, saying, ‘So Jeannie could have been at Amanda’s house on the night she was murdered and took the diary, along with the other missing items. Either that or she was with Lester James, and they killed her together – that is to say, if we still have James in the frame for the murder.’

  Langton stared at the ground, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

  ‘We’ve still not found the murder weapon, nor unlocked her fucking BlackBerry, nor traced the missing computer.’

  ‘Jeannie said that Dan Hutchins sold her computer. Whoever he sold it to must have access to her BlackBerry back-up system.’

  ‘Did she know who he sold it to?’

  ‘No. Apparently he sold it because he needed money for drugs. If these drugs were supplied by Lester James, then maybe he has the computer.’

  Langton looked at Mike, who said straight away that they had not found one in his flat. By now they had accessed his private bank account but there was no evidence of any large cash sums that could have come from drug dealing. Only his wages from unit driving on various projects had been paid into his current account and any withdrawals covered his mortgage and personal items such as clothing and groceries. He had five thousand pounds in a savings account
and eight hundred in his current account.

  Langton gave a low tuneless whistle, and then straightened up and looked at the time.

  ‘Right. Who do we go for first – Miss Lyin’ Through Her Teeth Bale or our very own Bruce Lee?’

  Anna opted for Jeannie. Half the time she didn’t know if the girl was telling the truth, but now she had been arrested, she might be scared enough to give them some evidence they could use against Lester.

  Langton looked at Anna. Her face was still white and the bruise to her forehead and cheek had taken on a purple hue.

  ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Mike and I’ll take Jeannie,’ Langton decided. ‘She might be less cooperative, seeing you again, and we can also use the attack as further reason for holding her in the cells and piling on the charges. Come on, let’s get the ball rolling.’

  By the time Anna had cleaned herself up and joined Barolli in the viewing room, Langton and Mike had been questioning Jeannie for half an hour. Jeannie looked in as bad shape as Anna had done, and she was agitated.

  ‘Done a lot of howling, but she’s quieter now. Langton so far hasn’t said a word,’ Barolli murmured.

  Mike Lewis was conducting the interview in a quiet, calm voice, as he repeated the claim that Jeannie had made: that the diary was in her possession after the publisher had left.

  ‘You also maintain that you found Miss Delany’s BlackBerry behind some cushions – at the same time as you found the diary.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  Langton moved in now. He slapped the pages of her statement with the flat of his hand, making Jeannie physically jump.

  ‘So now we’ve had all your lies, this isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, is it? Is it? I’m sick and tired of listening to you and I don’t think you understand the seriousness of your position one bit. You want me to explain it?’