Make Believe

by Cath Staincliffe

  ‘So, Sammy Wray is still missing plus you have no idea who the murder victim is. You’ve lost two days following false trails for the murder, two days acting as though the abduction led to it.’

  ‘We never said it was Sammy Wray,’ Janine pointed out.

  ‘But you assumed it was, you let that determine your strategy, your actions,’ Louise Hogg said.

  ‘The same age, sex, colouring, they had the same t-shirt,’ Janine tried to defend herself.

  ‘The most popular high street range, as I recall. The Chief Constable is waiting to hear from me. He wants to know exactly how we’re helping Sammy’s parents, how we intend to reassure the community and how we’ll protect the force’s reputation. What can I tell him?’ She stared at Janine, displeasure clear in the set of her expression.

  Janine cleared her throat, stood up straighter. ‘That no-one is more dedicated to solving this than me and my team. That we will pursue every possible line of inquiry, and that I have no doubts of our eventual success.’

  ‘All very well, but what we need is a breakthrough. Instead we’ve been stuck down a blind alley for forty-eight hours.’

  Louise Hogg gave a curt nod of dismissal and Janine left, feeling awful.

  The team were studiously avoiding eye contact with her, pretending to be occupied as she made her way through the incident room to her own office. Would she lose their trust, their support because of this?

  ‘Tea, boss?’ Lisa spoke up and Janine felt a moment’s gratitude towards the young DC.

  ‘Ta, no – make it coffee. Then separate all the data on the boards out, everyone else the same with your reports, divide them into those related to the abduction and those relating to the murder. Meeting in an hour-and-a-half, anyone out in the field call them in.’

  Murmurs of assent rippled round the room. Perhaps it was too early to say but she didn’t feel any air of resentment. Maybe they were all as surprised as she had been at the shock revelation. And as gutted.

  Her preparation wasn’t as thorough as she would have liked for the new briefing, disentangling the evidence and information of the Sammy Wray disappearance from that of the murder was complicated but Janine felt it was more important to give the team some sense of momentum, to reinvigorate them rather than have all the details finessed and neatly presented.

  Once everyone was in the room, including Millie, Louise Hogg joined them, no doubt putting in an appearance to indicate she thought Janine required close supervision. Janine felt as though she had been caught out, found wanting. It wasn’t a sensation she liked. Was she losing her touch? Was there anything she could have done differently? Would another SIO have handled things any better? It was a genuine mistake, assuming the body was Sammy Wray, everything had seemed to point that way.

  Now she had to hold it together, give a lead, no matter how badly shaken she was by the turn of events.

  Two distinct investigation boards had been established. The one on the left read Murder, it held all the details from the crime scene, information on individuals linked to the location: the builders, the Staffords and the Palfreys, other neighbours. The post-mortem summary was there, as were forensics from the scene.

  The board on the right was headed Missing Person: Sammy Wray. Sammy’s photo was there, details about the Wrays and Felicity and Phoebe, information from the park inquiry, including the references to the single woman, elderly couple and the bearded man.

  Each board now had its own distinct timeline.

  Janine began, ‘We have an abduction and we also have the murder of an unknown child. A week last Saturday, three-year-old Sammy Wray was abducted from Withington Park. Two days ago, the body of a child was recovered from Kendal Avenue, a mile away. This child was of similar age and appearance, but he is not Sammy Wray. Sammy Wray is officially a missing person again. Sammy’s been gone eleven days now. We will discuss that case first. Sammy’s father Clive Wray lied to us about his whereabouts and still has no alibi for the time of the abduction. Mr Wray claims he was driving around in his car after an argument with his daughter Phoebe and can’t remember where he was. He also failed to mention that he had taken Sammy to visit his ex-wife Felicity Wray without Claire’s knowledge. A neighbour reports seeing a woman matching Felicity Wray’s description outside Clive’s house on the Saturday afternoon. Felicity Wray denies going to the park but we are trying to establish whether the single woman from eye-witness reports is her. Latest on that?’ Janine looked to Shap and Butchers.

  ‘Three witnesses, all agree the woman had long hair, two say blonde, one says brown. Age varies between twenty-five and forty,’ Shap said.

  ‘Could do a line-up – see if people identify Felicity as the single woman at the park?’ Richard suggested.

  Janine nodded. ‘Phoebe’s another contender for that. We talk to her, too. Her mother says she was at home but I’m not sure we can take her word for it. Felicity Wray has made no effort to hide her resentment of the missing child or her belief that Clive Wray belongs with her and Phoebe. She has a stronger motive then Clive, so she is at present our key candidate.’

  ‘Did you search her house?’ Louise Hogg said.

  Christ! What if Sammy was there? Been there all along. Alive? Dead? Did they have enough grounds? Louise Hogg obviously thought so. ‘We’ll get a warrant,’ Janine said decisively, ‘bring her in for further questioning as well as the line up. And,’ she took a breath, ‘look into her recent harassment of Clive and Claire – what threats has she been making? Where are we up to with tracing other witnesses?’

  ‘We’ve found the older couple from the park,’ Lisa said. ‘They were visiting a relative in hospital.’

  ‘The weirdy beardy man?’ Janine said.

  ‘Nothing,’ Lisa said.

  ‘Other actions?’ Janine surveyed the room, inviting contributions. The team needed to be involved, invested in the case not simply told what to do.

  ‘Revisit the sex offenders, anyone suddenly gone underground and so on,’ said Shap.

  Janine nodded.

  ‘And if you rule out Felicity Wray?’ Louise Hogg said.

  ‘The cases could still be linked,’ Richard said, ‘someone targeting three-year-olds.’

  ‘Or there could be no connection. We deal with these as two distinct inquiries,’ Janine said. If a connection did emerge then so be it but until then the investigations would be treated as distinct and discrete.

  ‘Reconstruction for the abduction set for one pm tomorrow,’ Millie said, ‘and Press Release in hand informing the media of the new situation.’

  ‘We don’t want scaremongering, hysteria,’ Janine said to Millie, though she felt close to hysteria herself, panic and confusion inside. ‘We need to reassure people.’

  ‘Damage limitation,’ said Millie, ‘that’s all I can try to do. Journalists are asking the same questions we are: is it a series, is Sammy still alive? If I can’t give them anything they still have front pages to fill, they’ve got their own agenda.’

  ‘Selling papers,’ Janine said.

  ‘It’s a huge story,’ Millie explained, ‘doesn’t get much bigger.’

  No doubt there would be negative opinions expressed in the media about the conflation of the two inquiries but Janine felt the best way to handle criticism was head on, to be visible rather than hide away. ‘I’ll attend the reconstruction,’ she said.

  Janine moved to the other board. ‘Child murder, this is not Sammy Wray, so who is it? We have as you know no recent reports of other missing children of that age in the country. One case in London, three-year-old boy, is a suspected kidnapping as a result of a custody battle but that child was only taken four days ago. Our victim has been dead for longer. Interpol have identified several missing children. So far the only one of particular interest, of the right age and gender and similar physical description is Tomas Rink.’ She indicated the photograph of the child. ‘We have requested a DNA comparison.’ If it was Tomas Rink, how had he ended up in a sewer in South Manche
ster? Trafficking was a possible explanation, there was an abhorrent and lucrative market in selling children to paedophiles and pornographers, though their child had not borne any obvious signs of sexual abuse. ‘With no ID for the child, we concentrate on the site.’

  She heard a sharp intake of breath and wheeled round.

  ‘Boss,’ Shap pointed to the television, on but muted, in the corner, ‘McEvoy.’

  Janine saw the builder expounding to some news camera.

  ‘I thought we’d sorted this,’ she said to Millie.

  ‘So did I,’ Millie said sharply.

  ‘What’s he saying? Turn it up,’ said Janine.

  Lisa hit the remote and McEvoy’s Scouse twang, filled the room. ‘I’ve seen some things in my time but that … wrapped in a sheet but you could tell it was a body. He’d been there a while and I’d been working just a few yards away. Beggars belief.’

  ‘Turn it off,’ Janine snapped. ‘I want him gagged. Talk to him,’ she said to Shap. It was crucial to stop Donny McEvoy from speaking to the press, his meddling could seriously hamper the investigation not only because it might directly influence public attention in the wrong way but even more importantly it could be held up as prejudicial if the case made it to trial ‘Why’s he so keen?’ she said.

  ‘Most exciting thing that’s ever happened to him,’ Richard said.

  ‘Or did he have a hand in it? Who else apart from the builders had easy access to the site?’

  ‘The property developer is on a lounger in Mexico,’ said Lisa.

  ‘Verify that,’ Janine said.

  ‘Neighbours,’ said Butchers, ‘the Palfreys and the Staffords. Staffords couldn’t get rid of us quick enough.’

  ‘Wouldn’t be that hard for anyone to access,’ Richard pointed out. ‘No gates on the drive, might still be just a matter of convenience.’

  ‘Well, we eliminate them all before we take this any wider. Record checks, background checks. Be thorough. We have ruled out the house at 16 Kendal Avenue as the primary crime scene?’

  ‘That’s right,' Richard said, ‘no evidence the child had ever been inside the property.’

  So many questions. Who was the child? Where had he come from? Where had he been killed? ‘We’re starting afresh with this,’ she said. ‘Look at everything as though it’s completely new to you. We’ve two crimes here. Two boys. We need to find one of them. And identify the other.’

  Chapter 12

  Janine was gathering papers together in preparation for the interview with Felicity. Richard came in and handed her a card to sign, for Butcher’s engagement.

  ‘If that child was there when we went round …’ Janine looked at him.

  Richard shook his head. ‘No word yet.’

  She couldn’t think of anything more original than ‘Good Luck’ to put in the card, she scrawled her name beneath it.

  ‘Butchers has put his ‘do’ back an hour. You going?’ Richard said.

  ‘Doubt it. Need to get my head round this lot. You?’ She passed him the card.

  ‘Show my face,’ Richard said.

  ‘Taking Millie?’

  ‘Might be,’ he said.

  Why did he have to be so bloody coy about it? ‘Only asking,’ she retorted, sounding more defensive than she’d intended.

  Half-an-hour later he was back, ‘Felicity Wray’s in interview room one.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Janine getting to her feet.

  ‘We got the data of the texts that she sent Clive Wray,’ Richard said, ‘nasty stuff.’

  ‘He didn’t delete them?’

  ‘Maybe he wanted some proof in case anything weird happened,’ he said.

  ‘Like child abduction?’ she said.

  By the time Janine started the interview proper after making introductions for the tape, Mrs Wray had already made her displeasure clear, sighing and shuffling in her seat, twirling her hair around her fingers. Even yawning.

  ‘You’ve been up to your old tricks, Mrs Wray. Attacking property, threatening Clive and his family,’ Janine said.

  ‘Second family,’ Felicity said.

  ‘We’ve read some of the messages you sent him,’ Janine picked up the transcript and quoted, ‘“Your life won’t be worth living. Your slut and her brat can rot in hell.” This all started up again after he brought Sammy round.’

  ‘What did he expect? Rubbing my face in it. He knew I resented that child,’ she said.

  ‘Resented, past tense?’ Janine said.

  ‘You think he’s still alive?’ Felicity said.

  ‘Do you know any different?’ Janine said seriously. It was hard to believe the woman was still being so cavalier.

  ‘She put you up to this, didn’t she? Trying to blame me. She was the one that lost the child. She took Clive and now she’s still persecuting me. She knows where Clive really belongs, that’s why.’

  Janine refused to be drawn.

  ‘You are aware that we are searching your property?’ Janine said, ‘Is there anything you’d like to tell me about, anything we might find?’

  Felicity Wray gave a little shake of her head, ‘Only that it seems to be a dreadful waste of police resources.’

  Felicity Wray maintained her big show of finding the questions tiresome but Janine felt she enjoyed the attention, a chance to perform as the wronged woman, the victim in her very own soap opera.

  Was she just a narcissist, interested only in her own tribulations, indifferent to the fate of a small child or the hell that the supposed love of her life was going through? Or was this self obsession of a much darker nature? Jealousy led people to commit terrible acts.

  ‘I’d like to ask you again, did you enter Withington Park on the nineteenth of April?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Did you take Sammy?’

  Felicity Wray rolled her eyes. ‘No.’

  ‘Do you know where he is?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘We are entering your details into a video identification parade to see if any witnesses at the park remember seeing you there.’

  Felicity Wray shrugged. ‘Knock yourselves out,’ she said.

  ‘What do you think?’ Richard asked her as they waited in her office while the video parade was carried out.

  Janine raised her hands, palms up. Search me. Nothing untoward had been found at Felicity Wray’s house, so far. A more detailed examination of the premises was still in progress.

  ‘She’s cracked enough,’ Richard said.

  ‘Let’s see what we get out of the line-up,’ Janine said.

  Millie Saunders came through the incident room, and knocked on Janine’s door.

  ‘Yes,’ Janine said.

  There was a look of exasperation on Millie’s face. ‘My phone’s in meltdown. Local press have got wind of an arrest. Half of them are camped outside. Is it true you’re questioning the ex-wife for the abduction?’

  ‘We are,’ said Janine.

  ‘Thanks for the update,’ Millie said sarcastically.

  ‘We have been rather busy,’ Janine said.

  ‘I should be told of all major developments,’ Millie said. ‘This is a major development?’

  At exactly the same moment as Janine answered no, Richard said yes.

  Millie shook her head in disgust, gave a humourless laugh. ‘Final answer?’ she said.

  ‘There’s a lot of speculation flying about at this stage,’ Janine said.

  ‘Well, unless you give me something to work with, that speculation is going to be all over the airwaves as well. Or shall I put the calls through to the incident room? To the horse’s mouth?’

  For one delirious moment Janine considered telling Millie Saunders to bugger off. Instead she took a steadying breath and then said coolly to Richard, ‘Please brief Millie, make sure she’s up to speed on all developments. Now, and for the duration of the investigation.’ She held her hand out towards the door, inviting them to leave. ‘And Richard – no names to be released yet.’

  You thi
nk he’s still alive? Felicity Wray had taunted her. It wasn’t likely. Though it depended on who had taken him, or more specifically what for. Janine’s gut instincts told her that while Felicity Wray had some motive to want the child out of the picture, she was an unlikely kidnapper. The way she made no attempt to hide her dislike of Clive’s new family, her jealousy, also suggested her innocence. If she actually had taken Sammy surely she would be more circumspect and not go all out to antagonise the police. However if a lone paedophile was behind the abduction he might well have got rid of Sammy Wray within the first few hours after abusing him. Rape and murder. A ring of paedophiles would trade the boy as long as they could get away with it, keeping him enslaved for years. It didn’t bear thinking about – except for the fact that it was Janine’s job to think about such horrors, to face them squarely and calmly, analytically, to examine the evidence and try and reach the truth. Her colleagues at CEOPS who concentrated solely on child exploitation and protection had been alerted.

  Janine’s phone went – Lisa at Felicity Wray’s house. They had not found Sammy, nor any trace of him and there was no sign of any attempts to conceal a body, like recent digging in the garden. Thank God. If they had found the child there Janine would never have been able to forgive herself. And neither would Louise Hogg.

  Chapter 13

  Butchers had tolerated the stupid balloons and the noose above his desk as best he could but when he saw Lisa handing cash over to Shap he couldn’t let it lie.

  ‘Are you doing a whip-round?’ Butchers hissed.

  ‘Who pissed on your chips?’ Shap said.

  ‘I told you I didn’t want any fuss. It’s just a small do,’ Butchers said.

  ‘Don’t know what you’re on about, mate. I’m collecting for the lottery. We’re in a syndicate.’ Shap was a weaselly bastard, lie his way out of any situation and Butchers didn’t know whether to believe him.