‘We’ve got four, not three,’ she said quietly.
‘I know. I’d stop this fucking farce in there, but he likes it, and we don’t want him refusing to take us to the bodies in the quarry.’
‘Kumar’s been sitting in on it, started taking notes, but he looks as if he’s filled his notebook.’ They both glanced at Kumar to the side of the screen, sitting head bowed, his notebook on his knee.
‘You think the press tip-off came from him?’
Anna looked at Langton, then back to Kumar.
‘I wouldn’t put it past him, this case is going to be frontpage news for days.’
He withdrew from his coat pocket a copy of the Evening Standard and passed it to her.
‘Trying to get photographs of the Jordans, the bastards, and they’ve dug up all the old pictures we used of Rebekka.’
Anna sighed as she read the front page and was about to turn over when Langton tapped her shoulder.
‘Look what he’s doing.’
Oates was performing his silly prancing shadow-boxing dance, choosing one piece of jewellery and placing it on the photograph of the victim’s face. He was very fast and his tongue pointed out of his mouth like a child’s as he concentrated.
He didn’t speak, but surveyed his handiwork and then with one hand swept the rest of the bits and pieces aside.
‘They belonged to me wife, me kids, left them when they ran away from me; only these things belong to each of my girls.’
Anna stood up, believing he was telling the truth as laid on top of Angela Thornton’s photograph was her gold bracelet.
In small piles by each of the dead women were hair slides, rings, cheap broken necklaces, earrings and bracelets.
‘How do you check if I’m right?’ he asked Barolli.
Barolli told Oates that forensics had already taken what samples they could and now they would see what the reports on the missing girls gave them.
‘I get a prize, do I?’
Barolli could hardly break into a smile, but he gave a small nod and clapped his hands as if applauding Oates’s effort.
‘Okay, we are going to take you back now and I reckon it’ll be fresh doughnuts and a nice cuppa.’
Oates thanked Barolli, and then he glanced at Kumar.
‘You enjoy yourself, did you?’
Kumar stood up as Oates waited for the interview-room door to open.
‘Mr Oates, you also agreed to further assist the police by directing them to where you buried the victims.’
Oates frowned, then pursed his lips.
‘I never agreed to do that. Isn’t it enough what I’ve been doing here all bloody day?’ He was back to his snarling unpleasant self.
Barolli could have slapped Kumar. This was not the time to discuss the search and he knew that Oates, like himself, had been working all day. He glanced at the two uniformed officers waiting by the open door, then pulled himself together to save the situation.
‘Well I don’t know if that would be on the cards.’
Barolli wasn’t sure if he was saying the right thing. He had been instructed to keep Oates sweet, but now the prisoner looked surly and angry.
‘What do you mean not on the fucking cards?’ Oates snapped.
‘Well we’ve got everything agreed – helicopters and search team, cameras . . . it’ll be a massive expense and has to be done.’ Barolli was sweating, knowing full well he was on his own as the tape and monitor screens had been turned off.
‘Helicopters?’ Oates asked suspiciously.
‘Right, this is a big operation, Mr Oates, you are big news, and the coverage, let alone the security, will be massive. But if you are against it then they can maybe do it without you.’
Oates interrupted him, raising his hands, and Barolli stepped back, fearing the former boxer was about to lash out at him.
‘I never said I wouldn’t do it, I’m well and truly up for it, and besides, no one else knows but me where the bodies are buried. You tell them they can’t go without me.’ He gestured to Kumar. ‘I want to be on that search. I got a right to be on it, so you make sure it goes ahead, you hearing me?’ He smiled at Barolli. ‘I was only joking just now. Honest, I’m looking forward to the day out.’
‘Good. Well you’ll be informed as soon as we get the green light.’
As Oates was led out of the room Barolli gave a sigh of relief. Kumar clicked opened his briefcase.
‘I will want to be present, officer, so I sincerely hope that I will be privy to when this search is set to happen.’
‘I am sure you will be contacted, Mr Kumar.’
Kumar picked up his cashmere coat and folded it over his arm.
‘You must be creaming yourself.’ Barolli couldn’t stop himself.
‘I beg your pardon!’
‘Well, let’s face it, this is a whopper of a case for you, media’s already all over it like a rash.’
Kumar gave a tight-lipped nod, and asked to be taken to reception. Barolli said he would escort him personally.
‘The monitor and tapes were off and I got to tell you, I was sweating, but I played up how much it was gonna cost, helicopters and all the security we’d need.’ Barolli was lapping up the team’s praise as he repeated the altercation between Oates, Kumar and himself.
‘All right, all right,’ Mike said brusquely, and then with everyone present apart from Langton, he gave them the details. The fact that Anna had coordinated everything was not mentioned. Mike turned to a large new board marked out with maps and aerial photographs of the quarry and all the equipment the search would need.
‘This is a huge operation and we can’t afford any mistakes or screw-ups. We set up the search areas, Oates will be transported in a blacked-out armoured police wagon with armed guards following behind, and to ensure we get as much daylight as possible we leave here at five in the morning. Oates will leave in the wagon at six with motorcycle outriders to stop the traffic so he should be at the quarry by seven.
‘We’ve got to keep this under wraps. We absolutely do not want any media interference so we’re calling this “Operation Pits”- okay, I know that’s not terribly inventive. Now most of you have been working flat out for almost twenty-four hours, so off you go and we’ll see you first thing in the morning.’
As everyone prepared to pack up and leave for the night, Barolli grabbed Mike for a whispered conversation in which he hinted that the leak could have come from Kumar and suggested they leave it until the last moment to inform him when the search was happening.
Anna was one of the last to leave the incident room. Pinned up on the board were the photographs of the victims: Rebekka Jordan, Kelly Mathews, Mary Suffolk, Alicia Jones and Angela Thornton, and as always the faces of the dead seemed to radiate a chilling energy. Beside them the photographs of Justine Marks and Fidelis Julia Flynn were somehow no longer as haunting, maybe because the discovery of their bodies had in some ways brought them a tragic peace.
‘Goodnight,’ Anna said as the night duty officers set to work and the main lights were lowered. In the centre of the board were the enlarged mug shots of Henry Oates, with his wide pale eyes, his flattened nose and thick lips, his face dominated by an evil energy of its own. Only a few more days and if everything went according to plan they would be able to take his photograph down and rip it to shreds.
Chapter Seventeen
In the darkness of the early morning, the preparations were well under way. The forecast was gloomy and heavy rain was expected, so teams of officers were being kitted out in protective overalls and boots. The catering wagon ‘Teapot One’ had already opened up. It was very cold and the caterers would be kept busy all day with so many people to serve. On one side of the quarry there was a vast area of flattened ground, which became the operation’s main base as the vehicles could park up with ease.
Fifty metres from their base was the cavernous quarry pit with many ridges and smaller pits, and a crumbling cliff edge. Officers began to cordon off the area with
crime scene tape. Anyone entering the location would have to show identification. The two sniffer dogs and their handlers remained in their van, and the barking of the animals echoed across the vast quarry.
Mike had commandeered a large tent, inside which there were tables and chairs, and a board propped up on two easels with photographs and maps of the area divided into squares. Four of the search teams were already exploring the easiest route down to the deep pit. Abseiling equipment, rope ladders and steel extendable ones were being unloaded. A coach with more officers drew up and twenty men and women alighted to await instructions. The marine support unit van was also on site with two large inflatable dinghies and dredging equipment to search the large water-filled areas at the lower end of the quarry. The divers were busy putting on their wetsuits and testing the breathing apparatus. Mike gave them the go-ahead to start searching the pond area as soon as they were ready.
Anna arrived in her Mini and parked beside the coach. Remembering the state of her shoes after her last visit, she was wearing wellington boots and a thick fleece jacket with a hood. She joined Mike and Barolli for a coffee at the catering wagon just as Mike received a call on his mobile to say that Oates had left the station and was on his way with a large escort. They made their way over to the big tent and Mike pointed to the map of the wood.
‘We get him here and then, as he says he came up to the quarry from the wooded side, we start from there, let him guide us to where he says he tipped the bodies over. He claims he also went down into the main pit. How the hell he got down there and back up he’ll have to show us, but it’s bloody steep.’
Anna looked around.
‘I suppose if he’d parked near here someone might have seen him, so coming in via the woods would have been better cover for what he was up to.’
Mike made sure his earphones were working as his phone began to ring constantly. He used a microphone attached to his earpiece to relay messages to the teams, which were still arriving. The police helicopter, India 99, was on standby at its base in Lippitts Hill, Essex, all ready to take off when required, although the thermal image sensor on board would not be of much use unless Oates had recently buried a body. But even after five years they would be able to identify from the air possible ground disturbances in the open parts of the quarry and the Nitesun high-powered searchlight would also help the officers on the ground.
‘Is Langton going to show?’ asked Barolli, who’d just arrived.
Anna smiled and said she doubted that he would miss such a big event.
‘Well he should watch out for himself, this place is lethal – there’s potholes everywhere and the clay makes it like an ice rink.’
‘Yeah, but at least the rain is holding off.’
A large tent with rolled-up sides and a tarpaulin floor had also been erected for the forensic team and they were unpacking boxes of equipment inside. At the same time officers from the POLSA support van began taking out the huge arc lamps.
‘Well it looks like everyone’s here except the star of the show,’ said Barolli. He looked around, impressed: this was a major operation. ‘Eh, look who’s driving up – his nice shiny BMW’s gonna be caked.’
Adan Kumar was showing his identification to the uniformed officers standing by the cordoned entry to the parking area and was directed to park alongside Anna’s Mini. They watched as he got out and looked at the ground. He was wearing his cashmere coat and toggled leather shoes.
‘Silly bugger’s not got wellington boots, and it’s a pity we don’t have any extra protective gear to help him out.’ Barolli grinned.
Mike glanced at his watch. ‘He made good time, I only gave him the location an hour ago, woke him up. Mind you, I never mentioned it was gonna be a mud bath.’
They laughed as the elegant Kumar threaded his way across the potholed muddy ground, side-stepping and hesitant. The hem of his beautiful coat was already covered with white splashes of chalk and he drew it up to avoid a really slithery area as he reached the duckboards set down around the catering van.
‘Do you have any extra boots?’ he demanded.
Mike shook his head and apologized. ‘I regret to say they’re all allocated to the officers. I suggest you sit in your car, Mr Kumar – nothing will be happening for a while, as we’re waiting for your client.’
Kumar asked for a black coffee and brown toast. He then did a tripping dance back to his car with his breakfast balanced on a paper plate. By now the back of his coat was covered in stains as well.
‘Well, that’s him out of the way,’ Barolli said and then he looked up.
‘That’s not ours, is it?’
Mike and Anna followed his gaze skywards. A helicopter was making a slow circuit around the perimeter of the pit.
‘It’s not fucking press, is it?’ Mike said angrily.
‘Can’t see, but it’s moving off.’
‘Can we check with air traffic control if there’s clearance? If it’s press it’ll be a bloody pain in the arse.’
‘I don’t think you need permission to fly at certain heights, but it’s moved well off now.’
Their attention was then drawn to the black-out armoured wagon surrounded by police motorcyclists. It was held at the cordon and they saw an officer gesturing for it to drive on towards the coaches. Behind this was an armed response vehicle, with two armed officers on board. Oates would be handcuffed at all times and the armed guards would be close at hand.
Oates looked clean and well in a police-issue grey tracksuit. He had asked to have a shower and for clean clothing before leaving the station on what he referred to as his big day out. He was asked to remain in the wagon and given hot chocolate with, as he requested, four teaspoons of sugar. The marine unit had warned that the climb down into the pit would be very hazardous. They had attached abseiling ropes to deeply buried anchor poles, but it was a steep drop down to the bottom of the quarry. As more ropes, harnessing and descending equipment were laid out it began to look like a mountaineering expedition. The last vehicle to enter the cordon was an open-backed Land Rover with a high-powered rear winch. The winch was to be fitted with a stretcher and body bag, ready to be lowered when required. It was also decided that the winch could be used alongside the abseiling ropes to lower officers down into the quarry and speed up the descent time. The forensic archaeologist had told them that bodies buried in chalk for a year or more would be badly decomposed due to the limestone content, but the bones themselves should remain in good condition. They felt they had covered every possible problem that could occur and Mike didn’t want any further delays.
It was almost seven when the operation began. Anna and Mike joined the armed officers in their van and were driven along the dirt road leading to the wooded area. They drove for almost two miles, half the perimeter of the quarry. The officers with Oates radioed back to warn them they were close and to slow down as the prisoner thought he recognized the area where he had usually pulled over. The wood had become much more dense and they could see that the wired fence had a break in it.
‘This is it,’ Mike told them. He turned to look back as the prison van stopped. Their own vehicle backed up a few yards to halt directly in front of the police wagon, which was now parked between the armed officers and the backup team of six more men.
Anna and Mike got out, and the armed officers followed as they took their positions by the rear doors of the prison van. Oates had now been given an all-in-one protection suit and wellington boots.
‘Can you step down, please, Mr Oates.’
Oates, with an officer either side of him, his hands cuffed in front, was helped down the steel steps of the wagon.
‘I was gettin’ claustrophobia in there,’ he said irritably.
Mike apologized and with himself and Anna either side of Oates they all turned towards the ditch and the wood.
‘You see that big tree there, one with the black marks up it?’
They did.
‘That was from me setting light to the Je
ep, so I know I’m in the right place, it’s been my marker, but mind the ditch, it’s wider than you think.’
It was. Anna jumped over, and Mike helped Oates steady himself before he too jumped to the other side. Oates stood peering at the trees, then he pointed.
‘Just a bit further up, there’s a gap between two firs.’
They made slow progress as the ground was very uneven, but after a short distance they found themselves on a narrow path covered in thick rotting leaves and branches. There were thick brambles with sharp thorns on either side, making it necessary to walk in single file. The wood was becoming increasingly dense and Anna was growing suspicious, it seemed impossible that Oates could have come this way carrying a body.
‘You sure you’re on the right track?’ Mike asked Oates, who was now leading them.
‘Trust me, I can be certain in a few minutes. All right, everyone halt.’
Oates held up his handcuffed arms and everyone behind him stopped. It would have been comical if the reason for their being there hadn’t been so dreadful. Oates turned around, squinting upwards, but the branches were so dense they could only see glimpses of the sky.
‘No, not yet, forward.’
Mike threw Anna a look and she shrugged.
They continued walking slowly and whether or not Oates knew where he was going they could do nothing but follow in silence. He was like a little sergeant major and obviously enjoying himself as he kept on stopping and looking up, before ordering them to get going once more.
‘How much further?’ Mike asked.
‘Not sure, but I’m on the right track. I’ll know for certain in a minute. See, the trees are wider apart now.’
It was true, they were. Yet again he stopped and turned around, looking upwards, but then shook his head. On they went for another fifty yards or so before he did the same thing, stopping and looking upwards. This time he gestured for them to look up.
‘See, I’m right, there in that tree, can you see it?’
‘What are we looking for?’ Mike came close to Oates.
‘Can’t you see it?’
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