The incident room door swung open and in strode the squat figure of Chief Superintendent Mark Charlton, walking self-consciously towards Brook and Noble, trying to ignore the dip in noise levels.
‘The Tanners?’ demanded Charlton.
‘We’re doing all we can,’ said Noble, his expression betraying the lack of progress.
‘And PC Ryan?’
‘Should make a full recovery,’ said Brook.
‘Good to know,’ replied Charlton, heaving an ostentatious sigh of relief in front of the troops. ‘But that shouldn’t lessen the severity of our response …’
‘No,’ said Brook mechanically.
‘It’s attempted murder against one of our own,’ continued Charlton, practising for the evening news, when he would pontificate solemnly in front of the hospital.
Brook nodded at Noble, who dimmed the lights before flicking at a remote, and the assembled detectives fell silent. The faces of Nick and Jake Tanner stared out at them, the younger brother in school uniform, face distorted by a silly grin, the elder glassy-eyed and stern for the custody suite camera after his previous arrest.
‘On the left, Jake Tanner, twenty-eight years old and unskilled, though he seems to have worked regularly through the years, mostly as a relief barman in pubs around the city centre, including the defunct Cream Bar. Nick Tanner, the younger brother, is nineteen and has never worked. He has special needs and relies completely on Jake, who is effectively his guardian. By all accounts, the pair are inseparable.’
‘Should make them easier to pick up,’ said Charlton.
‘You’d think,’ answered Noble. ‘But we’ve not had a single sighting on the streets or at any of the transport hubs where they might be expected to head if they want to get out of Derby. Also no reports of stolen cars in the vicinity of the Milton tower block, and local cabs drew a blank.’
‘So how did they get away?’
‘We don’t think they did,’ said Brook. ‘We think they’ve gone to ground somewhere nearby.’
‘Or someone’s hiding them,’ suggested Charlton.
‘Possible,’ said Noble. ‘But if so, we don’t know who. They have no family in Derby and no friends or acquaintances that we can find.’
‘Then where the hell are they?’
‘Unknown,’ said Noble.
‘Are we sure they went home after torching the van?’ asked Charlton.
‘Their flat was partially cleared out,’ replied Noble. ‘After setting the fire, they left the scene at twenty-one minutes past two yesterday morning and CCTV shows them making their way through the city centre, heading roughly in the direction of the tower block fifteen minutes later.’
‘Why go back?’ asked Banach. ‘Having killed someone, wouldn’t they have prepared their escape before dumping the body?’
‘And if they’ve got no other transport, why didn’t they take the van where they needed to go and torch it there?’ asked Morton.
‘Panic, maybe,’ said Noble. ‘Also, we don’t know where they needed to go. They have no connections outside Derby and no obvious destination. Their lives are here. For that reason, we think they packed a few clothes and filled a bag with food before they ran.’
‘Why pack food?’ said Charlton.
‘So they could have something to eat,’ replied Brook, instigating a ripple of laughter. Charlton didn’t join in.
‘When we searched their flat, we found a receipt for twelve pounds’ worth of groceries, mainly baked beans, bought the previous evening,’ explained Noble. ‘Yet there were no provisions in the place. They’re young and fit, but even so they couldn’t have been planning to go far on foot with all that. We’ve had DC Cooper looking for possible locations …’
‘Hang on,’ said a puzzled Charlton. ‘I thought they went to the Cream Bar. Jake was working there when it closed. You said he might have had keys.’
‘He did work there, and it’s possible he had keys,’ conceded Brook.
‘Possible?’ said Charlton. He nodded at Banach. ‘Two officers were assaulted there.’
‘We can’t be certain that was Jake and Nick,’ said Brook softly, aware that he was pulling the rug of certainty from under Charlton’s feet.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Someone stacked pallets against the wall and climbed in through the window before Banach and Ryan,’ said Brook. ‘Why would the Tanners do that if Jake had keys?’
‘And when we arrived, the door was locked,’ added Noble. ‘If they had keys, Jake and Nick would have come through the front door and left the same way. And having just attacked two coppers, you don’t stop to lock the door behind you …’
‘Then who?’ demanded Charlton.
‘We don’t know,’ said Brook.
‘I can’t go on the local news with that,’ said Charlton. ‘It’s Tanner and his brother. Has to be.’
‘We searched the Cream and didn’t find any of the food or clothing the Tanners took from their flat.’
‘They could’ve taken it all with them after the attack,’ said Charlton.
‘Would you be calm enough to do that, or would you just run?’ said Brook.
‘And why assault me?’ asked Banach, coming to Brook’s aid. ‘If I’m climbing through a first-floor window, why not just run out the door?’
‘Then Jake didn’t have keys,’ said Charlton, after a moment’s thought. ‘The brothers climbed in through the same window and assaulted you and Ryan because you were blocking their escape route.’
‘That would mean they carried their baggage and heavy cans through a first-floor window and out again after the attack,’ said Brook.
‘Then that’s what they did,’ insisted Charlton. ‘Assuming they even had bags, which I seriously doubt.’ Brook was silent. ‘Look, people, I can’t go on East Midlands Today with all this … conjecture.’
‘Would you rather go on record with facts that are wrong?’ enquired Brook.
Charlton took a deep breath. ‘Okay, let’s leave aside the assault. Where are we on actually finding them?’
‘We abandoned the roadblocks before rush hour, sir,’ replied Noble. ‘If they had access to a vehicle, they would have left the city by now.’
‘No sign of them at Derby Midland or Morledge bus station?’
‘None,’ chipped in DC Smee. ‘But we’re keeping a presence in case they break cover.’
‘We’ve still got dog handlers going door-to-door until this evening, but after that we’re relying on the phones,’ said Noble.
Charlton nodded up to the whiteboard. ‘You’ll need a better likeness for Nick if you want the public ringing in.’
‘We’re still trying to find a recent image,’ said Cooper, ‘but Nick’s not on Facebook or social media. Nor is Jake.’
‘That’s unusual,’ said Charlton.
‘Poverty may be a factor,’ said Cooper. ‘And because Nick has special needs, he’s never had a job or been to college. He has no mobile, no bank account and has never applied for a passport or driving licence or anything that might require a photo ID.’
‘A nineteen-year-old without a mobile?’ said Read. ‘Weird.’
‘They could have PAYG phones,’ suggested Smee.
‘But then we’d have no record.’
‘You said no family,’ pressed Charlton.
‘Mother deceased,’ said Cooper. ‘Three arrests for soliciting. One for using. No convictions. Father unknown and no male name on either birth certificate …’
‘Sounds like the mother didn’t know the fathers either,’ said Banach.
‘Fathers?’ said Charlton.
Banach nodded at the screen. ‘They don’t look much alike. In her profession and with the age gap, different fathers seem likely.’
‘Jake must have work colleagues at least,’ insisted Charlton.
‘He’s a relief barman,’ said Cooper. ‘He doesn’t stay in a job long enough for people to get to know him. Being full-time guardian to Nick can’t help.’
‘Minimal involvement.’
‘What about prison?’
‘Same story,’ said Cooper. ‘No known associates either on Jake’s file or behavioural reports. He kept to himself and the warden gave him a spotless record.’
‘What was he in for?’
‘GBH. Sentenced to six months, out in three. It was a serious attack but a first offence so he got off lightly. Until the GBH, he was a Category D poster boy – a few cautions as a teenager and a fine for shoplifting.’
‘Do we have background on the assault?’ asked Brook.
‘The file says it was an argument in the street that escalated,’ said Cooper. ‘The victim was a thirty-three-year-old civil servant, Aaron Robertson. Respectable. No priors. But Robertson is gay and there were suggestions that it was a hate crime, though Tanner’s brief managed to fight that off or the sentence could’ve been a lot worse.’
‘No shared history with the victim?’
‘None,’ said Cooper. ‘It was a random attack.’
‘Something else that doesn’t add up,’ said Brook. ‘But it means we have his DNA at least.’
‘To test against what?’ demanded Charlton.
‘We have DNA from a pair of gloves in the van,’ said Brook. ‘If it’s not Tanner’s, it could be the van owner’s, or more likely his brother Max, who used the van, but we don’t have a control sample yet.’
Charlton shook his head. ‘The Tanners don’t strike me as very bright. How the hell can they still be at large?’
‘Their options are limited,’ said Noble. ‘With no friends or family, we’re looking for a lock-up or an allotment. Failing that, our best bet is derelict buildings and squats. So far, nothing.’
‘You’ve considered a home invasion,’ said Charlton.
‘We haven’t ruled it out,’ said Noble, ‘but we’ve been all over it with door-to-door and not a single resident gave off the vibe.’
‘I’m not convinced those two could control a family,’ suggested Read.
‘Not convinced?’ exclaimed Charlton. ‘The Tanners murdered a girl and burned her body. Or am I dealing in the wrong facts?’
Brook hunched forward, talking to the floor. ‘We can tie them to the van, no question. We have film and a witness.’
‘Then what more do you need?’ demanded Charlton. ‘When you confirm Caitlin Kinnear as the victim, it’s a slam-dunk.’
Brook tagged in Noble with a weary glance.
‘The post-mortem ruled out Caitlin Kinnear,’ said Noble. ‘She wasn’t the victim.’
‘Not the victim?’ said Charlton. ‘I thought you connected Jake Tanner to Caitlin on the night she disappeared?’
‘We did,’ said Noble. ‘The victim is the right age, but Caitlin Kinnear had an abortion a few weeks ago and the dead girl was between ten and twelve weeks pregnant.’
Brook’s eye was drawn by Banach, her head bowed in sympathy, her hands moving from forehead to chest, circumnavigating her crucifix – the instinctive response of a Polish Catholic to the death of an unborn child. His eye strayed to the photographs of the missing girls.
‘An unborn child,’ repeated Charlton, pained. ‘God bless. Do we have ID on the mother?’
‘Unknown for the moment,’ said Noble. He pointed the remote, zipping through several crime-scene photographs showing various angles of the melting plastic sheets containing the charred and disfigured corpse. ‘Her fingerprints were destroyed so we’re working on dental. But that won’t be straightforward.’
‘How so?’
‘Because of this.’ Noble flicked through the slides of the victim’s scorched arm, looking for the best shot.
‘It’s a tattoo of the Polish flag,’ said Banach, her mouth dropping open.
‘The dead girl was Polish?’ asked Charlton.
‘It seems likely,’ said Noble. He glanced across at Brook, but he was transfixed by the pictures of Daniela Cassetti, Caitlin and the others.
‘Any candidates from Missing Persons?’ asked Charlton.
‘Several possibilities, sir,’ said Noble. He flicked again at the remote to load another photograph. ‘But this is the current favourite because she’s the closest match to the dead girl’s specs. Nicola Serota. Polish national from Poznan …’
‘I remember her,’ said DC Read. ‘I made enquiries. She was visiting her sister in Derby when she disappeared …’ He clicked his fingers.
Noble obliged. ‘Veronika.’
‘Veronika, that’s right,’ said Read. ‘But …’
‘But what?’ demanded Charlton, when Read hesitated.
‘She disappeared … must be eighteen months ago,’ answered Read.
‘Not that long,’ said Noble, before adding quietly, ‘January third, twenty-fourteen.’
‘Sixteen months!’ exclaimed Charlton. ‘Is this one of the young women Interpol enquired about?’ Noble nodded, looking at Brook for help, but he seemed lost in thought. ‘You’re telling me this Nicola Serota was abducted sixteen months ago and kept alive until she turned up dead the other night.’
‘I’m not telling you that because we don’t know, sir,’ said Noble. ‘But she left her sister’s flat in Derby on that date and hasn’t been seen since. She’s Polish, she’s the right height—’
‘Why don’t I know more about the disappearance?’ demanded Charlton.
‘You said it when we took this on, sir,’ said Brook, rejoining the fray ‘She’s a foreign national. Her movements were always going to be tough to follow. And even then her disappearance could turn out to be completely innocent.’
‘And I suppose her family had no idea she was missing until months later,’ conceded Charlton.
‘Exactly,’ said Noble. ‘They thought she was travelling until it was too late to pick up her trail.’
‘It was months before she crossed my desk,’ said Read. ‘She hadn’t been in touch with home since leaving Poland, yet her parents had no idea there was a problem. With no sightings, all I could do was check her plane ticket from East Midlands – it was unused.’
‘And?’
‘That was it, sir,’ replied Read. ‘She’d only been in Britain a week. I did a risk assessment and passed her file on to the Missing Persons Bureau. Normal procedure.’
‘So let me get this straight,’ said Charlton. ‘We have a pair of fugitives connected to Caitlin Kinnear, who is missing, killing and dumping a corpse that isn’t Caitlin’s in a stolen van.’
‘Except we don’t have direct evidence that they committed the murder, just the body dump.’
‘God forbid we’d have a stone-cold fact,’ snarled Charlton.
‘It gets more complicated,’ said Brook. ‘Jake recently took up a position at a new bar that’s opening in Friargate – Bar Polski.’
Charlton narrowed his eyes. ‘Sounds Polish.’
Brook managed an acknowledging smile. ‘The stolen van belonged to the owner, Grzegorz Ostrowsky, a Polish businessman with a murky past in the Far East.’
‘How murky?’
‘Drug smuggling,’ said Noble. ‘Though it didn’t stick.’
‘Any connection with this … ?’ Charlton waved a hand towards Nicola Serota’s image.
‘None that we can see, but without a definitive ID, we haven’t asked him yet.’
‘You’ve spoken to him?’
‘We’re feeling each other out,’ said Brook. ‘His brother Max is an electrician and used the stolen van for his work. He’d just moved into a flat in Arboretum Street a stone’s throw from Jake and Nick’s tower block, and that’s where the van was reported stolen.’
‘So maybe the victim was connected to these brothers,’ said Charlton.
‘It’s possible.’
‘But if Jake worked for this Ostrowsky, that would connect him to the victim as well,’ said Charlton, looking pleased with himself.
‘That’s true,’ admitted Brook.
‘The plot thickens.’ Charlton glanced at his watch
. ‘So what can I tell the media?’
‘That we’re looking for Jake and Nick Tanner.’
‘What about Caitlin?’
Brook shook his head. ‘We’d prefer the family didn’t get it from the media, even though it’s qualified good news.’
‘Qualified?’
‘She’s still missing.’
‘I can mention Nicola Serota, right?’
Brook sighed. ‘Not until we’re sure. Her biog made no mention of a tattoo. It may not be her.’
‘Then we need to put the tattoo out there from the off,’ said Charlton.
‘At this stage, best we hold that back for confirmation, sir,’ said Noble.
Charlton nodded. ‘I suppose.’ Wearily he stood to leave. ‘I’m going to look like a right chump.’ He glared across at Brook, finally managing a smile. ‘But at least you’ll be sitting next to me.’
‘Something tells me you just flushed your goodwill down the toilet,’ said Noble, looking after Charlton.
‘Back in my comfort zone, then.’
‘So what now?’ asked Noble.
Brook glanced at Banach and beckoned her over. ‘I’ve had an idea. I want a warrant for the Rutherford Clinic, John. We need to go through their records. Constable, you’re a Catholic.’
Banach grinned. ‘I’m Polish – it’s the most Catholic country in Europe.’
‘More than Italy or Ireland?’
‘Absolutely – nearly ninety per cent of the population.’
‘Is this relevant?’ asked Noble.
‘And what can Catholic girls from those countries get in England that they can’t access so easily in Poland, Ireland and Italy?’ persisted Brook.
While Noble floundered, Banach’s eyes widened in sudden realisation. ‘Oh my God.’
Twenty-Five
Harsh light flooded the room. Unused to the brightness, Caitlin kept her eyes closed for a moment to make the adjustment. Then the music came, the sort of stuff her gran listened to on a sleepy Sunday afternoon after the Gaelic football had finished – non-threatening, easy-listening instrumentals. It sent a shudder down her spine. The phone buzzed in her hand.
Rule 5. If spoken to u can say how was your day darling? Nod if u understand.
Caitlin nodded, the fear rising in her.
Over the lush strings she heard a door close behind her and strained to see an elderly man walk in front of her, his eyes lighting up when he saw her, wrinkling in the effort of a smile.
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