Broken Angel

by Diane M Dickson

  She didn’t feel right about this. “I think I’d rather just wait inside.”

  His hands were strong, hard, he had her around the arms, he was pushing her forward, forcing her inside. She tripped and fell across the floor. He pushed her legs in, grabbed at her backpack. Before she could recover, the sliding door slammed, and he was in the front seat. The engine was starting. She began to scream. She shuffled and scrabbled between the seats, pushed to her knees, but it was cramped and awkward.

  “It’s okay, don’t be afraid. There’s no need to be afraid, I’m going to look after you. You’ll be alright.” He was glancing round, shouting to her.

  “Let me go. Let me go, please, please, please. God, don’t do this. Please.”

  Now the van was moving, faster, faster, backing from the quiet, far corner of the car park, turning towards the motel. She tried to slide onto the seat. There wasn’t room to scramble up. The van swerved, rocked. She tried to reach the window. His hand came back between the seats, he grabbed at her. She squirmed away. “Please don’t, please. I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what she was sorry for, but as he roared away down the service road, and out into the fields at the back of Cherwell Valley she felt the cold draught from the window. His hand pulled back, she watched as the phone which he had pulled from the pocket in the front of her bag, flew out into the trees.

  She was just so very sorry for everything.

  Chapter 26

  “Okay, change of plan. Charlie, come with me. Dan and Sue, will you talk to Steven Blakely? We’ve got a young girl missing at Cherwell Valley. The mother’s in a state because her daughter is blond, blue eyed and slim. She’s a lot younger than Sarah and Millie, just sixteen, but apparently looks older. Charlie and I will head down there now, see what’s what. We’ll let you know as soon as we get a clearer picture. Kate – I’m sorry Kate but could you visit the Roberts’, they have a FLO with them. Have you done this before?” She was relieved to see the nod from Kate. She’d do it well, she knew what it was like to have children, must have thought about this situation whenever they were late home or not where they were supposed to be. It was a rotten job and she had been dreading it. If this other thing wasn’t just so much worse, she could have felt grateful to be passing it on.

  For a while Tanya was silent in the car, Charlie drove, she made notes on her tablet, opened folders to look at what they’d had before. “Shit Charlie, if this is another one I’m going to lose this, aren’t I? Three women, Bob’s not going to let me handle it, they’ll hand it over to the Major Crime Unit, I’d half expected it already. Bugger, bugger, I really don’t want to screw this up.”

  He didn’t answer, let her vent. He knew exactly how she felt but this wasn’t the time to remind her of that.

  She took a breath, closed her eyes for a minute and then spoke again, calmer now, regaining control. “Okay, we don’t know for certain this is him again but, well yes, there is a strong possibility. Hold on.” She took out her phone, flicked through the contacts until she found the mortuary number.

  “Moira, it’s Detective Inspector Miller. Simon said that I could give him a call if I needed help.” She was stretching the truth, crossing her fingers.

  “He’s busy, he’s doing a post mortem on your latest victim.”

  How did this woman manage to make it sound as if it was Tanya’s fault? How did she do that?

  She struggled, but kept the tone friendly, “Great, is there any chance you could ask him a question for me?”

  “What is it?”

  “I just need to know whether or not he has been able to decide if the cause of death is the same. It’s really important, Moira. I might have another woman missing. I’d be really grateful.”

  “Hold on.”

  She shouldn’t need to do this, she should just be able to ring up, ask the question and get an answer. Was it always going to be like this, finessing people, buttering them up? She sighed.

  “Hello, Detective Inspector, I have Dr Hewitt for you.”

  “Detective Inspector Miller. Hello there. I was just about to give you a call, that’s twice now, you must be reading my mind.”

  “I’m sorry to bother you. It’s a quick question, Simon. Was Millie killed in the same way as Sarah?”

  There was a pause, the shuffle of papers before he spoke again. “I have to wait for the results from the lab before I put it in writing but I’m assuming your need to know is urgent. So, I will stick my neck out and say that from what we have seen, yes. There is evidence of kidney and liver damage, there has been vomiting, the poor woman’s throat was burned by acid, her bowels were empty, she was dehydrated. Yes, I would say this is the same, I will confirm later of course. Does that help?”

  “I’m not sure that’s the right expression. It may be that we’ve got another woman missing. If that’s true and he’s already been able to get her to eat or drink something containing the mushrooms how long have we got, before it’s too late?”

  “I’m really sorry to hear that. Probably about ten hours, maybe a short while longer, before she seems ill. She may appear to recover after that, but the damage will already have been done. Unless you find her immediately, administer an emetic and get her some treatment, then there is very little that anyone will be able to do. Just another note, Ms Roberts had been washed with bleach, as had the other victim, the dress had been thoroughly cleaned. I don’t think there will be anything from that, though of course they are trying in the lab. Maybe, if, as I understand it, the killer is masquerading as a member of the force, well, I just wonder if it’s possible he genuinely is, given the care he has taken to hide any physical traces. Not trying to teach you your job, Detective Inspector – Tanya – just throwing an idea in.”

  She thanked him and turned off the phone.

  It was hopeless, wasn’t it? If he had done the same as before this girl was already beyond their help. She should have done more to get the word out, should have made more fuss; damn it, she should have been able to stop this. Now she had to face this girl’s mother and tell her not to worry, that they were doing everything they could. Simon had raised a good point as well. It had been in the back of her mind all along and now it must be faced. Had she been too keen to dismiss the idea that it was one of them, a colleague? Maybe the badge was genuine after all.

  She hadn’t been open enough to the idea, she could have done more, circulated what they had to the other forces, someone might have recognised him, someone who knew him well enough to see from his build or his stance. Maybe they could have flushed him out. They had closed ranks quickly, dismissed the idea almost out of hand. They had been wrong. On top of that, the confirmation that it was the same MO, logically the same killer, meant that surely she was going to be taken off the case. A serial killer, they would bring in the big guns of the Major Crime Unit, unless she could prove she was on the brink of solving it, and in truth she didn’t think she was.

  She thumped at the dashboard, it was a pointless thing to do and it didn’t help. Charlie drove on in silence. Fear threatened to overwhelm her, she had to stop that, she had to remain detached, professional. She began to make notes, plan for the worst. She tried to hope for the best but deep inside she could feel it, this was him again. This was the reason for the fixed expression on Charlie’s face, his fierce grip on the steering wheel. They both knew. She gave him a quick precis of the phone call. He didn’t turn to look at her, he nodded – just once.

  * * *

  Patrol cars in front of the café, little groups of people trying not to stare, failing. The posters on the door as they went through the foyer, Sarah, Millie, both dead, it was awful. They climbed the stairs to the nasty little office where a different, younger man than the one she had been expecting, sat beside the sobbing woman. His badge identified him as an assistant manager. Tanya turned to Charlie and mouthed the word ‘George’. He turned away, dialling the mobile number for Simpson, the manager they had met before.

  The woman was beyond distraug
ht. Between pleading that her daughter be found immediately with every available officer involved, she spent time cursing her ex-husband and his decision to ‘abandon’, her word, their only daughter just so that he could go off with his new family. She cried, raged, and begged and Tanya was so sorry for her. She knew though, that to do her job she must step back. Acknowledge the desperation, the anguish and then use that to spur her on. She made all the right noises. Arranged for a family liaison officer to be assigned. How many more times am I going to have to do this? She asked for pictures, looked at the image of the pretty young girl used as the wallpaper on her mum’s phone and saw the similarities. Shining blond hair, slender build, pale skin.

  Another angel.

  As Charlie reached a hand towards the door it opened in front of him. The man standing outside in the hallway leaned round to peer into the room.

  “George? Is he here? The manager?” He ignored the group clustered around Millie’s mother and addressed the assistant manager directly. “I’m looking for George.”

  “Not just now, Peter,” the younger man said.

  “But I need to speak to him, we’ve got business to discuss.”

  Tanya glanced from one man to the other, saw Charlie disappear into the hallway. She spoke to the assistant manager, “Who’s this?”

  “A friend of George. Sorry, I’ll get rid of him.” He took the few steps across the small office and laid a hand on the intruder’s shoulder. “Come on, Peter, we’ve got a bit of a situation here. George isn’t in at the moment. I’ll tell him you came.”

  “Right, thanks then. He’ll know what it’s about.”

  As he came back to the desk he apologised again. “George gives him stuff to do now and then, on a casual basis I think. He knows him personally.”

  “Okay. So, he’s not actually employed here then?”

  “No, not officially, as I say it’s a personal arrangement between him and George, I don’t get involved. George does stuff with charities, things like that, but it’s nothing to do with the company.”

  Tanya made a note, they’d ask George about his extracurricular activities although they had to find him first.

  Chapter 27

  Once they had handed the stricken woman to a uniformed officer and arranged help to get her home, Tanya stepped out of the office to where Charlie stood watching through a narrow window. He was looking down on a scene that was so ordinary, so everyday, it didn’t seem possible that this was happening. Yes, there were uniforms, more than usual, but there were children, teams in track suits and trainers, old guys in motor bike leathers looking faintly ridiculous and then dozens of ordinary people, couples, families, groups, and the women, on their own, living their lives, and it was them who needed her to fix this. They assumed it was safe, she had to make sure it was.

  If only she could work out how.

  “So, George Simpson?”

  Charlie just shook his head. “No answer.”

  They walked around the services, looked at the table where Jane had been picked up on the CCTV, her head bent over the plate of food, untouched in front of her. She had looked like any ordinary teenager, a little angry, a little insecure. They had seen him, watched as he approached the table with his head turned away from the surveillance cameras. He had shown her the wallet and then she had, inexplicably, collected her belongings and walked out with him.

  It was imperative to find the soldier who had approached her, as soon as possible. She had them send the video by email to the office and called to tell Paul to drop anything else he was doing and identify the badges, getting anyone else available to help. She instructed him find out who the hell this was, where he was, and to arrange to have him interviewed as soon as possible.

  The soldier had looked at the killer in the face, he was priceless as a witness.

  They watched as the two figures crossed the car park and vanished out of sight in the narrow road beside the hotel.

  “Why would she do that? Why would anyone go and get in a car with a stranger, Charlie?”

  “Well I guess it’s because he’s not really a stranger. As far as she knows he’s a copper, he’s safe.”

  They started across the car park, it was windy with rain in the air, late afternoon; the services were busy with a wide mix of people.

  Tanya glanced around, laid a hand on Charlie’s arm, and pointed into the parked cars. “What’s going on over there?”

  He turned to see a young woman, long blond hair blowing in the light breeze, attempting to pull her car door closed. A man in uniform was bending towards her, standing in a position that forced her to keep it open. She was obviously distressed, waving her arms at him. They couldn’t make out the words but her voice, high pitched and angry, carried to them across the tarmacked space. They knew that it was ludicrous to think it could be anything to do with their case, it just didn’t happen like that, but they couldn’t walk away.

  Pulling their i.d. from their pockets they approached the white Fiesta. The young woman, barely more than a girl, was crying. Charlie spoke, “Alright mate, can we help?” Although his uniform was official, and most members of the public wouldn’t think about the difference, they had seen immediately that he wasn’t a member of the police force. The man turned on them, held a hand up dismissively.

  “It’s fine thank you. I’ve got this.”

  Charlie moved closer, pushed his warrant card nearer to the man’s face, forced him to look at it. “Would you mind telling us what’s going on?”

  The woman had, by this time stopped crying and was beginning to rant, “Bloody fascist!” Tanya held up a hand, shook her head.

  “Right well, this lady was speeding. I followed her from the carriageway into the services and I am now having a word with her about her driving. I suggested she come and sit in our vehicle or inside the facility as it’s raining, she refused.”

  “Bloody hell I was not speeding. I bloody wasn’t.”

  Charlie pulled himself up to his full height, at more than six feet with broad shoulders, he was imposing even without a uniform. He looked down his nose at the traffic officer, “Did the traffic cameras pick this up?”

  Less officious now, the shorter man answered, “I assume so.”

  The young woman still could not keep silent, “Nothing to bloody pick up was there. I didn’t do nothing.” Tanya put a finger to her lips, shook her head.

  “Look mate, we’ve got a situation here.” Charlie had pulled his copy of the poster from his jacket pocket. The motorway officer glanced at it.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen that. Nothing to do with me.”

  “Well, I guess it is. It’s something that we should all be aware of, should all be trying to help with, yes?”

  There was no answer.

  “Tell you what, the cameras will have picked it all up. If there has been an offence, then it’ll be dealt with. Shall we all just move along?”

  It was too much for the frustrated and embarrassed traffic officer, he turned ready to stride away. Charlie stopped him. “If I could just take your name, mate?”

  “No, you bloody can’t. I’m just doing my job here, trying to.” He paused, knew that he didn’t actually have a choice, and impatiently handed over his identification for Charlie to make a note. They watched as he clambered into his huge four-wheel drive and turned away towards the road.

  Tanya had already begun asking the female driver for details, but it seemed that, apart from her fury at being stopped, and the continuous denial of any wrong doing, the girl was no longer particularly distressed.

  What was of more concern was that, though she used the motorway daily, and the service areas often, she was unaware of the disappearance of Sarah and Millie. She hadn’t read the notices, hadn’t registered the warnings. They went through the motions, asking her if she’d been aware of any suspicious activity but they knew by now that it was going to lead nowhere.

  They headed to the office, most of the drive was in silence, Tanya went over and over th
e scenes in her head. Looking for something, anything that she had missed. Once they were back Tanya rang to make an appointment with Bob Scunthorpe. It was only a question of time before he called her and surely it would look better if she made the first move.

  She couldn’t decide whether it was good or bad that he was available to see her immediately.

  She stopped in the incident room on the way. “Run a check on that traffic officer will you, Charlie. Probably a waste of time but you never know.”

  “Already on it, boss.”

  Chapter 28

  The Chief Inspector offered her coffee, she refused. “This is bad news, Tanya.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “So, what do you see as your next move?”

  It was imperative that she let him know she was in control. She was at a point where there was nothing else to do but to plough on, and he had to believe it was all okay. “I think we have to have a two-pronged attack, sir.” He raised his eyebrows.

  Don’t overcook it.

  “We have to try and find this young woman as quickly as possible, obviously. We have an opportunity with a witness, a soldier. I’ve got the team on that now. We are trying to talk to the manager of the services who seems to have taken time off. Charlie and I both had a feeling that there was something off about him, and he has been known to us in the past.”

  Bob nodded, made a note.

  She knew what she would say next was a thorny subject but after the incident in the car park, she saw that it had become unavoidable. She swallowed hard as he looked up at her.

  “I need to take more steps to protect the public, sir. We need, as a matter of urgency, to alert people. We’ve got the notices but it’s not enough. It’s not doing the job.” She gave him a brief account of the incident with the traffic officer. “That driver simply hadn’t registered the situation, neither, it seems, had the motorway patrol bloke, although we are looking into him more closely, just to be on the safe side. Once these women are taken they are already lost to us. If they eat, drink, then it’s too late. We have to stop them going with him. We need to hammer it home harder, make them scared to be honest.”