‘I think that woman would lie her way out of anything. She’s a slag and with two kids already, now about to have a third and all on the social services, living in that hovel of a flat.’
‘Well, taking all that into consideration,’ Helen smiled patiently, ‘did you think she had more to tell us?’
‘I dunno, but what we do know is that Mr Clean and everybody’s best friend, Alan Rawlins, had another side to him.’
‘A gay one.’
‘For chrissakes, just because that slag says he knew Sammy Marsh doesn’t mean that he was also sexually involved with him.’
‘Maybe not, but it does give us an insight into the fact that he may have been using drugs with Marsh. It’s just showing a different side to Alan, and one I think we’re going to have to dig into.’
Anna sat in her office sifting through Alan’s magazines and checking out the personal ads. A number had red rings around them as if they were of interest. They were mostly gay men seeking partners and a few were of a more explicit nature, but none of the bondage adverts were ringed. It meant they would now have to get in touch with all the advertisers who were possibly contacted by Alan Rawlins.
Brian Stanley was also going through the magazines and making similar notes. The pornographic DVDs were stacked to be checked out, and the homophobic or obscene remarks flying around the incident room as Brian constantly read out various sections were becoming tedious.
By the time Helen and Paul had caught up with the new developments and were able to add theirs, it was obvious that Alan Rawlins led a double life. Top priority was the need to trace Sammy Marsh, for which they would need the assistance of the Devon and Cornwall Drug Squad. Meanwhile, the computer taken from Alan’s room was still being assessed by the Tech Support team. They had reported back that many files had recently been deleted, not that it mattered as they would still be able to gain access and reproduce whatever material was on them as they had the hard drive.
Anna called for a briefing update towards the end of the afternoon. Although they now had a lot of new material, plus the contacts to be sifted through, they were still no closer to identifying the victim. But they now knew that Alan Rawlins’s double life was centred on his time in Cornwall. Anna realised they would have to go there, to search Sammy Marsh’s flat, and his studio, and to start questioning everyone who might have known Alan Rawlins.
‘First thing tomorrow we start the round of calls connected to the gay magazines’ adverts. Also, I am certain that Alan had money stashed somewhere and it could be a considerable amount. We have the sales and receipts from his vehicle business and we can assume he rented a place in Cornwall so we need to check that out.’
Stanley did his finger gesture.
‘You think that maybe he was in league with Sammy Marsh? From what we’ve gathered, Marsh was a drug dealer; what if Alan was also involved? We know that Marsh was a nasty piece of work; according to the Cornwall Drug Squad he’s done a runner somewhere. As we still don’t have the blood identified as Alan’s in his flat, it could be someone else’s – maybe even Marsh’s.’
‘He’s got a criminal record so his DNA should be on the national database. Get Liz Hawley to check it out.’
Anna had even considered this herself, but they had been so snowed under with all the new developments, it had slipped her mind.
Helen asked if Anna believed Tina Brooks was aware of the double life Alan was leading.
‘To be honest, I don’t. That is not to say we shouldn’t talk to her about it. So we line that up for tomorrow, and do a buccal swab for DNA. I also want to talk to Mr Rawlins again, just in case he removed other material from his son’s room.’
Stanley had his finger in the air once more.
‘Cash . . . Do you know if Rawlins was making cash deals with his sale of cars? That would be a nice way to offload it, paying cash for drugs. I don’t mean for his own use, but what if he went into business with Sammy Marsh?’
‘It’s possible, but we have not as yet uncovered this cash. We have no other bank account details or bank statements except for the ones we removed from his flat. From his receipts he had listed at least four hundred thousand over a period of five years, plus . . . Paul, didn’t the woman Sandra Fallow say he also drove a flash car in Cornwall?’
‘Yeah. She was also very certain he had a relationship with Marsh; saw them together at the Smugglers café.’
Anna asked if the Tech Support had come through with anything, but was told they were still working.
‘We might get lucky with the files and documents on his computer,’ she said.
Stanley swung back in his desk chair.
‘Yeah, probably more sicko gay stuff like his disgusting DVDs. I’m not gonna watch them – they turn my stomach. Paul, you might like to take a bunch home.’
Before Paul could rise to the bait Anna turned on Stanley.
‘That’s enough from you, but we do need to check these DVDs out.’
‘I’ll do it,’ Helen said.
‘No, we can all spend time on them, so split them up between you all – and that includes you, Brian, all right?’
There was a moan around the incident room.
‘Listen up, everyone,’ Anna snapped. ‘A body was cut up in Tina Brooks’s flat. Right now we have found no murder weapon and, in case you are unaware of it, no body. It has to have been dumped somewhere and this has to also be a priority.’
‘We got a negative result from Forensics on her car. She was asking to get it back or said could she charge us for a rental,’ Helen reported.
Stanley gave a wide-armed gesture.
‘She’s a cheeky cow, but do we release her car back to her or not?’
‘Yes, as long as Forensics have finished with it.’
Anna checked her watch and then turned to look at the incident board. It was a display of names and contacts, arrows linking one person to another with Cornwall underlined.
‘Tomorrow I’ll arrange for a trip to Cornwall, but in the meantime we’ll see what the Newquay police can give us to trace where Alan Rawlins lived whilst he was there. As yet we have no address.’ She scanned the board again. ‘How could he hide his double life and give no addresses of rented flats or hotels, even?’
‘We’ve underestimated him,’ Paul said quietly.
‘You can say that again.’
Paul stared at the board. ‘Maybe he used another name when he was there?’
‘Maybe he did, but we don’t even have details of how often he went there. Was it once, twice or three times a year – or just a couple of weeks in the summer?’
‘I’ll check with the garage he worked in and see what holidays he took, going back a few years.’
‘Good, yes – do that, Paul.’
‘What about Tina? She must have been aware of how often he went so I’ll also check with her.’
‘No, I’ll do that first thing tomorrow, and I’ll also call in on Mr Rawlins. I’ll check with him about Alan’s holidays, hotels, guest houses et cetera.’
Anna instructed the team to break for the evening. She made a point of picking up three porno DVDs for herself to peruse and then she asked Brian to come into her office.
He already had his overcoat on when he came to see her. He held up three DVDs.
‘The wife’s gonna be worried about me watching these.’
‘For goodness sake, Brian, grow up and stop giving the snide sexual remarks to Paul. It’s not funny and quite clearly upsets him. You cut it out. I won’t have it, understand me?’
‘I didn’t know he was a shirt-lifter.’
‘For chrissakes, it’s childish homophobic remarks like that which—’
‘It’s the truth. I didn’t know he was homosexual and if he can’t take a joke about it . . .’
‘It’s nothing to joke about. It’s his private life, so consider this an official warning, and from now on just watch what you say.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘I mean it, Brian.’
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‘I will curb my tongue. And besides, with the way this case is going I think he’s going to be an asset.’
He gave a straight-faced small nod and she waved her hand for him to get out. He held up the porno DVDs.
‘I can’t wait to get home.’ He turned to leave the room.
‘One other thing, Brian. Any luck with the CCTV from Asda?’
‘The manager phoned and said he thinks the system was down the day we’re interested in, so . . .’
‘Less talk more action, Brian. Go and see him personally and check it for yourself.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
After he had left she leaned her head in her hands, resting her elbows on the desk, before eventually sitting back and picking up the phone to talk to Langton. She gave him a brief rundown of all the new information and said they would open the budget because she felt they would need a trip to Cornwall and doubted that it could be accomplished in just one day.
‘Well, let me think about it. That poofter kept it well under wraps, didn’t he?’
She couldn’t believe it. He was almost as homophobic as Brian Stanley.
‘Yes, he kept this other life very secret.’
‘You think that it was maybe some kind of queer-bashing scenario that went on in his flat?’
‘I think it was something a lot more subversive than just—’
Langton interrupted her. ‘They do get nasty, you know – handbags at dawn and all that.’
‘For God’s sake, I have had enough snide crude remarks from Brian Stanley without you joining in! If you must know, we are now looking into the possibility of a drug connection.’
‘Ah well, watch you don’t step on too many toes. If it’s drug-related, bring in the Drug Units. Keep them abreast of your investigation and don’t forget to take your bucket and spade.’
‘You are very witty this evening.’
‘Am I?’
‘Do I get that you are okaying the trip to Cornwall?’
‘Mulling it over. You need to get to grips with tracing the dismembered body. Someone had to cut it up and remove it, and whoever that someone was had to know what they were doing. They had to have gone to that flat well-prepared. There was no sign of a breakin, right?’
‘Correct.’
‘Right now you have no sign of a suspect – is that also correct?’
‘Not exactly. I am still keeping Tina Brooks in the frame. It was a bloodbath in that flat of hers, but I am just not certain of the timeframe. She didn’t admit that Alan was missing for two weeks, and even then nobody got onto it at once, so it’s possible if she was involved she had a lot of time to clean up. Without a body we don’t have a time of death.’
‘Can’t they give you one from the congealed blood?’
‘No. It’s a central-heated flat. The blood could have been there for a week or a month. All we have is the date of the last sighting of Alan Rawlins in London; we don’t know if that was the last time he was alive. As we now have him leading a double life, he could have gone anywhere.’
‘Jigsaw, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, but I am getting the pieces. It’s always more difficult finding the ones in the middle, don’t you think?’
‘No. Personally, when I last did a jigsaw – when I was around ten – I enjoyed getting the frame like blue sky and the corners sorted, but then I would get impatient. In fact, my mother once caught me using scissors to make a piece fit.’
‘Well, I can’t cut any on this. It’s painstaking, but we are moving.’
She found it strange that she was having this bantering conversation with him. In fact, he seemed loath to get off the phone.
‘We should have dinner one night,’ he said.
She shook her head. Here it was again, the proposed dinner.
‘Yes, we should. Maybe when I get back from Cornwall. Hopefully we’ll have more pieces by then.’
‘Okay. Keep me updated.’
He hung up. She looked at the receiver in her hand and then dropped it back into place before gathering her things and turning off the office lights. On the way home in her Mini, she couldn’t stop yawning. Rather than watch the DVDs or skim through them, she decided to go straight to bed. She set her alarm for 5 a.m. and after a shower she got under the duvet and drew it up to her chin. Then the unexpected happened. She wasn’t even thinking about Ken or his death when a black cloud engulfed her. She sobbed, not really understanding where the darkness had come from, and cried his name over and over again.
‘Grief has ways of creeping up on you when you least expect it,’ Langton had told her. She remembered him saying it – she couldn’t recall when, but it meant that he had felt the same way. Anna had been so preoccupied recently with her case that she hardly gave a thought to what she had been through – the murder of her beloved Ken. It was as if he was demanding that she didn’t forget, and had reached out and touched a spring that opened her emotions and let them run out of control. She cried herself to sleep.
Chapter Nine
Anna was at Tina Brooks’s salon at nine o’clock. She was surprised to see quite a number of customers there already. Tina was expecting her and was acting as the receptionist, rolling her eyes as she said Felicity was late as usual.
‘You look busy,’ Anna commented.
‘Early-bird offers – it’s half-price between eight-thirty and ten-thirty, but that doesn’t include any beauty treatments, just wash and blowdry. I get the women going into work, as you can see.’ She gestured towards the hairdressing section and then turned back to Anna.
‘What’s this about? I had a sleepless night wondering if it was bad news.’
‘I’m sorry, I just called to arrange for us to have a talk. There have been some developments. I also need to take a buccal swab for DNA testing, basically for elimination purposes.’
‘Really? Well, do what you have to do.’
Tina was wearing her salon robe, but had obviously had her hair done, and her make-up was flawless. She looked even prettier than before.
‘I like your hair,’ Anna said, smiling.
‘I’ve had it straightened and had some highlights put through it.’
‘Do you have to stay on the desk? Only I’d like to talk to you in private.’
Tina turned and yelled for one of the juniors to look after the desk and then gestured for Anna to follow her through to the staff cubicle.
Anna was surprised how willingly Tina allowed her to take a buccal swab from her mouth. As Anna placed the small saliva stick into a plastic evidence bag, Tina poured herself a cup of coffee. Anna then took out her notebook. She would have preferred a less public place, as the cubicle had no door, and the noise of the salon dryers and music was very intrusive.
‘So . . . don’t keep me in suspense,’ Tina said, sitting opposite Anna.
‘Well, let me first tell you that we have not as yet discovered the whereabouts of Alan, and we are obviously treating this as a murder because of the evidence discovered in your flat.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Tina leaned forward.
‘The blood pooling has not yet been verified as Alan’s.’
‘What?’
‘We are looking into the possibility that it could be someone else’s. To prove it is Alan’s blood we need his DNA and so far we have been unable to obtain any.’
‘I don’t believe this. Are you telling me that it wasn’t Alan?’
‘No, I am saying we have no positive proof that it was him.’
Tina closed her eyes.
‘There is a possibility that Alan might have been with someone else and—’
‘Another woman, you mean?’
Anna continued to be as diplomatic as possible without revealing that Alan was not the biological son of his parents. She showed Tina the photograph of the surfers, asking if she recognised anyone, and without hesitation Tina identified Alan, but did not know anyone else.
‘How often did Alan go to Cornwall? He was a very keen surfer, wa
sn’t he?’
Tina sipped her coffee. She obviously recalled the last time he had been away because she had told Anna about it previously.
‘Did he go on a regular basis?’
‘I suppose so. Well, not in the winter, but often if I had a hair competition he would go off then.’
‘Did you ever accompany him?’
‘No. I can’t swim.’
‘Did you know of any hotel Alan would have stayed in?’
‘No, I think he said he stayed with friends.’
‘Would it be possible that he also owned or rented a home there?’
‘In Cornwall?’
‘Yes.’
Tina was nonplussed, saying she doubted it and he had never mentioned it to her.
‘But he did go frequently?’
‘Yes, I suppose so, but I don’t call a few times a year frequent, and like I said it was usually when I was away for competitions.’
‘How long would you be away for these competitions?’
Tina said that it would depend. The big ones she’d spend a few days at as they sometimes ran on for that length of time, so she would travel to the venue and book into a hotel.
‘So that would be what – five days?’
‘Yeah, or maybe less, but I never wanted to stay that long. Liverpool and Birmingham were not that great, but the Blackpool one I’d take Donna with me and we’d have a week out.’
‘Could you give me these dates?’
Tina sighed and said it would take a while, but she had a calendar somewhere. She then asked why Anna was so interested in Cornwall and in her hairdressing competitions.
‘We are trying to discover how many times Alan was in Cornwall so we can trace his friends there.’
‘You think he had a place there, do you?’
‘Yes, it is possible, but we are not exactly sure of the location. We found his surfboards and wetsuit at his father’s home.’
‘Yeah, we didn’t have any room and he was obsessive about his boards, wouldn’t let them stay in the garage at the flats. He sometimes had a couple more at his workplace. Oh, by the way, can I have my car back?’
‘Yes, you can. Tina, you said a “couple more” at the garage where he worked but we only found one there. Do you think he had more?’
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