23 Cold Cases (The Mac Maguire detective mysteries Book 5)

by Patrick C Walsh

  Amrit smiled and then said with anticipation, ‘So what’s the new case then?’

  ‘I was just thinking before you came in about the role sheer chance plays in some crimes. I mean people who have it in them to be murderers will murder but they always need a victim, don’t they? A lot of the time who that victim turns out to be is just luck or bad luck I suppose for them, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

  ‘Is that what happened in this case?’

  Mac took another bite of tikka and paused while he savoured it.

  ‘Looks like it. Here’s what happened, a twenty five year old woman called Terri Maynard was last seen driving home from a friend’s house one winter evening around six years ago. The friend’s house was in Royston and Terri was driving back down the A1198 towards Papworth Everard where she lived. Terri was a receptionist at the sleep clinic at Papworth Hospital where she’d worked for the previous four years.’

  ‘Oh yes, I know someone who works there,’ Amrit interrupted.

  Mac paused and made a mental note before carrying on.

  ‘Anyway she had a boyfriend who she’d been living with for two years, he was a nurse and worked at the hospital too. He became concerned when she didn’t arrive home and phoned the friend that Terri had been visiting. She confirmed that she’d left some hours before. As Terri was driving their jointly owned car he got a friend of his to drive him down the route she would have taken home. Their car was quite old so he thought that she’d probably just broken down. They found the car parked in front of a disused entrance into the Bassingbourn Army Barracks but there was no sign of Terri. They shouted for her and looked around the immediate vicinity but found nothing.’

  ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Poor Terri,’ Amrit said.

  ‘Yes, poor Terri indeed. They called the police who conducted a search and they found Terri’s body in the undergrowth about twenty yards away from the car. She’d been sexually assaulted and her throat had been cut. The police tested the car and found that it had genuinely broken down. Terri must have just managed to get the car off the road and into the entrance to the barracks. Unfortunately the phone signal was quite weak in that particular spot so she may not have been able to get a call out. They surmised that someone must have stopped and offered to help her and then that someone overpowered her and raped her.’

  ‘Cutting her throat though,’ Amrit said with a grimace. ‘Why do they do that?’

  ‘Usually that happens when the rapist is holding a knife against his victim’s throat to control them and they sometimes get carried away when they ejaculate. I’ve had a couple of murders where that’s happened and both murderers said that they didn’t plan to kill their victims, it just happened.’

  ‘Bastards!’ Amrit said with feeling.

  ‘Exactly. Unfortunately the evidence in this case is pretty thin, there were no traffic cameras on that route and very little traffic at that time of night. Even so someone must have drove past Terri’s car but even after a televised appeal no-one came forward. Not surprising I suppose as it’s a fast road and it was night. It had been dry for days so there were no tyre marks found. However forensics did find what they believed to be the murderer’s DNA on Terri but, of course, they needed a sample to compare it to. The only thing they could say for sure was that it wasn’t anyone directly related to Terri or the boyfriend. There were some fibres and other trace evidence but again by themselves they weren’t of much use.’

  ‘So was that it?’ Amrit said with some disappointment.

  ‘Yes, more or less. They investigated Terri herself, the boyfriend and anyone who knew her but got nowhere. They concluded that in all probability it was an opportunistic crime. Unfortunately for Terri she broke down in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would have been a very long walk before she came to any houses and, as she was wearing high heels, perhaps she didn’t think that was an option anyway. The investigators think that she probably tried to flag a car down. It was just her bad luck that she picked the wrong one.’

  ‘So another dead end then?’ Amrit asked. ‘If they had his DNA then why didn’t they test all the men in the area? I saw a programme on the telly about a real case where they did that.’

  ‘Yes they did that in the Pitchfork case, the first investigation ever to use DNA testing. There were two murders in the same area so they suspected that it might be a local man. The only problem in this case was that this happened on a road. If the murderer had been driving north he could have been heading for Cambourne, Huntingdon, Peterborough or anywhere north on the A1. If he was driving in the other direction then he could have been heading for Royston, Bishop’s Stortford or even London. You’d end up having to test half the men in the country.’

  ‘Yes I see. So there were no leads at all?’

  ‘Looks like it but I’m going to go through it again just in case. By the way who is this friend of yours that works at Papworth?’

  ‘Her name’s Dr. Zaynab Teymouri, she’s a specialist in sleep disorders now but she was just a junior doctor when I first knew her.’

  ‘How long has she been at Papworth?’

  ‘Oh it must be six or seven years now.’

  ‘Do me a favour when you next speak to her ask her if she knew Terri. Ask if there’s been any rumours going around the hospital about the murder, you never know.’

  ‘I’ll do that. It’ll be nice to play the detective for real.’

  Amrit stood up and put Mac’s empty plates on her tray.

  ‘Thank you Amrit. That was entirely wonderful,’ Mac said.

  ‘You’re welcome. Oh well the cupboards won’t clean themselves. Give me a shout if you need anything and, of course, if you get a lead.’

  Mac read it all again. He had the feeling that there was something, some little detail that he’d missed. He’d keep reading until he found it. It took him quite a while but he found it buried in a very lengthy autopsy report.

  The pathologist concluded that the neck wound was consistent with a blade that wasn’t sharp along its entire length. Mac looked at the photos for some time. The report also stated that there were traces of polystyrene in the wound consistent with the type of material used in protective packaging. The pathologist in a note tucked away on page eleven added that, although she couldn’t be entirely certain, she thought that a home-made box cutter might be a good candidate for the weapon. This would also explain the presence of polystyrene.

  So our man was probably a delivery man or courier of some sort, Mac thought. It pointed again to the crime being a spur of the moment thing as he’d used whatever was to hand. Was it his first time though? He was aware that men who carried out these sorts of crimes usually had a compulsion that they couldn’t control. If this was his first time then it would in all likelihood happen again.

  He went through the file and it looked like the investigators had done their due diligence in checking with other police authorities for any similar crimes. They’d found nothing. Perhaps Terri was the murderer’s first victim and, if that was the case, then he could have done it again in the six years since.

  Given the paucity of leads Mac felt that this was probably the only way that he was going to make any headway with the case.

  Mac phoned Martin and explained the situation.

  ‘Well I can check for any murders using a similar weapon and MO but, if it’s just an assault for instance, then I’m not sure that we’ll find it on the national databases,’ Martin replied.

  ‘Okay, well check for any similar murders and call me back,’ Mac replied.

  He didn’t hold out much hope so when Martin rang back he wasn’t disappointed.

  ‘Nothing then. Okay so what if our man had assaulted someone but it didn’t come off for some reason? I take it that we’re back to ringing around all the police forces for information like we did on the Natasha Barker case?’ Mac asked, hoping he wasn’t going to be right.

  ‘That’s pretty much the case I’m afraid. I’m sorry
Mac I’d like to help but at the moment I’m…’

  ‘No problem Martin. The case isn’t a priority and it’s not as though I’m short of time at the moment, however, I would be grateful if you could send me all the phone numbers I’ll need.’

  ‘Sure thing Mac, right away. Best of luck.’

  Mac thought he’d need it. Anyway it would definitely keep him occupied for quite a while.

  Mac had a look at the map. He decided that he’d try the eastern side of the country first. He’d go as far south as he could and then he’d go north. If he didn’t get anything then he’d try the western side.

  It took him almost three days to make all the calls and, although he was still waiting for some call backs, it looked like he’d drawn a blank.

  Oh well, he thought, it was a long shot at best and it did pass the time.

  His phone rang. He was surprised to hear a familiar voice at the other end.

  ‘Hello is that Mr. Maguire?’

  ‘Mrs. Collins, how are you?’ Mac replied, somewhat puzzled.

  ‘Oh I’m fine. I’m sorry to disturb you but we needed to speak to someone and Emily thought that you might be the best person.’

  Mrs. Collins ran a retirement home, mostly for elderly people with dementia. He’d questioned her and Emily, who was one of the ‘guests’ as they liked to call them, during the Natasha Barker case. He smiled when he thought of Emily, in her seventies and learning computer programming. There was certainly no hint of dementia there.

  ‘Well, I’m afraid that I’m stuck in bed for a while, quite a while perhaps…’

  ‘Yes I know but I could pop around to your house if that would be alright.’

  ‘Yes, of course if I can be of any help. Can I ask what this is about?

  There was a moment’s silence.

  ‘It’s about a murder Mr. Maguire and we think we might have some information.’

  Chapter Six

  To say that Mac was intrigued would be putting it mildly. A half an hour later the doorbell rang and Amrit ushered a clearly agitated Mrs. Collins into his room. She’d looked familiar when Mac had first met her as she’d reminded him of his old primary head teacher, well upholstered and with a sure air of authority. However today she looked a little flustered.

  ‘Please sit down Mrs. Collins,’ Mac said.

  ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ Amrit offered.

  ‘Oh yes please,’ Mrs. Collins replied, her gratitude evident. ‘Mr. Maguire, I’m really sorry to trouble you when you’re like this…’

  ‘Oh it’s no trouble, no trouble at all. It’s actually quite nice to have a visitor, it can get really boring being stuck in here.’

  ‘How are you? I read all about the case in the paper, you were so brave,’ she said with sympathy.

  ‘Oh, I wasn’t that brave believe me. I’m afraid that the papers make more of things than they should. Anyway I’m okay, just stuck in this bed for another few weeks, well just another five weeks or so actually,’ Mac said with a sigh. ‘Anyway how can I help?’

  They were interrupted by Amrit who brought in a cup of tea and the travel mug.

  ‘Aren’t you having one too?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Well yes but…’ Amrit tried to reply.

  ‘No buts, bring it in here. You might as well hear this too, it’ll just save me having to tell you later.’

  Amrit smiled.

  ‘Okay I’ll go and get a chair.’

  ‘Amrit’s my nurse but she’s also helping me with some enquiries,’ Mac explained. Seeing a suspicious look on Mrs. Collin’s face he quickly added, ‘Oh not in that way. I mean she’s helping me with some old cases I’m reviewing for the police.’

  Once Amrit was seated Mac said, ‘You said you had some information about a murder…’

  Mrs. Collins thought for a moment before answering.

  ‘Yes well, I don’t know. It’s a bit difficult that’s why we decided to talk to you first rather than the police. It’s probably nothing but....’

  ‘Tell me.’

  ‘As you know, apart from a few like Emily, most of our guests have dementia of one sort or another. With some it’s permanent while for others it can come and go. Well around two months ago a new guest arrived, a Miss Cassandra Bardolph. She’s only fifty four and she’s had severe dementia for a couple of years now. I always find it sad when it strikes people that early. Anyway I could see from the medical records that she’d been sent to all the best hospitals for treatment, even to one in the US, but there was obviously nothing they could do. So she came to us in more or less a vegetative state. For over six weeks she said nothing and then she started talking, saying the same thing over and over again.’

  ‘What did she say?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Here you can see for yourself.’

  She pulled out a tablet, turned it on and selected a video. She handed the tablet to Mac.

  ‘I take it that we’ve got Emily to thank for this?’ Mac asked.

  ‘God yes, I wouldn’t have a clue personally. I only use my tablet to read books,’ Mrs. Collins replied.

  Mac waved at Amrit to come over and look at the screen. He started the video off.

  A woman who looked a lot younger than fifty seven sat in a chair with a vacant expression on her face. Her eyes then started moving as though she was watching something happen in front of her. The camera moved to show that she was staring at a blank wall.

  ‘What is it?’ she said a look of concern on her face. ‘There’s blood on your hands, what’s happened?’

  She then stopped as though listening intently.

  ‘You killed her? Oh my God, she’s dead and you’re saying it’s your fault? Tell me exactly what happened, every detail.’

  Again she listened.

  ‘We need to get you away, they’ll be looking for you and you could be in danger. Don’t worry I know just what to do.’

  She then seemed to relax and fall asleep in the chair. The video ended there.

  ‘That’s all she ever says. She just keeps on repeating those few sentences,’ Mrs. Collins explained, ‘like it’s on a loop or something. What do you think?’

  ‘I take it that you’ve tried to get more information from her?’

  ‘Of course but, other than what you’ve seen on the video, she’s totally unresponsive and doesn’t even seem to know we’re there.’

  Mac gave it some thought.

  ‘Well as luck would have it I’m looking at some old cases at the moment. Perhaps hers might be one of them, if she’s from the area that is. If you can send me whatever information you can about her I’ll look into it.’

  ‘I’m afraid that I won’t be able to give you anything other than her name, her birth date and where she used to live.’

  ‘Why? Data privacy issues?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Well yes that would apply but, if I’m being honest, it’s because that’s all I know about her. Her fees are paid by a firm of London solicitors and, while I’ve tried to get more information about her from them, they’d tell me absolutely nothing.’

  ‘What did you want to know about her?’

  ‘What her job was, what hobbies she had, whether there were any old photos we could have, that type of thing. We can sometimes stimulate memories in dementia sufferers by reminding them of their former lives but, to be honest, Miss Bardolph is probably a bit too far gone for that anyway.’

  ‘Okay then send me what you’ve got and I’ll see what I can do.’

  Mrs. Collins visibly relaxed.

  ‘Oh thank you Mr. Maguire, it’s a weight off my mind.’

  Mac gave her his email address. After she’d gone he thought about what she said. He was interrupted by Amrit collecting his mug.

  ‘Can you find out much from just a name, birth date and address?’ she asked.

  ‘You’d be amazed what information you can get just from going to a few government departments. Besides any criminal convictions we should be able to quite easily find out about her family, siblings
and so on, what her income was, who she banked with, where she worked, any major bouts of sickness, what car she drove and so on. Once you’ve got that then you can really start digging and begin building a picture of the suspect. Not that she’s really a suspect yet I suppose.’

  ‘Bit frightening that, isn’t it?’ Amrit said with a frown.

  Mac looked up.

  ‘What, the amount of information that’s held on us?’

  Amrit nodded.

  ‘God that’s the very least of it. I’m not really into all the high tech stuff but believe me if you’ve pressed a key of a computer or posted a message on social media somebody, somewhere in the government will know about it. However they’re rarely willing to share this information with the police so we’ll start off with what we’ve got and see where it takes us.’

  ‘It’s still a bit of a challenge though, isn’t it? Building up a picture of a person from just a name and address?’

  Mac smiled broadly.

  ‘Yes it’ll be a challenge alright but that’s just what I need right now. It should keep me going for quite a while I hope.’

  The first thing Mac did was ring Martin Selby. He was happy to make the initial enquiries with the relevant government departments. Mac made a mental note to send him a bottle of something to show his appreciation.

  In the meantime Mac skim read the rest of the cold cases so he’d have them all in his head when the information arrived.

  He was interrupted in this by his friend Tim. It was a more than welcome interruption though. Tim had been calling around most nights for a chat but he’d come early today as we was off at four the next morning on a buying trip that would take him away for a few days. Mac told him about what he was working on.

  ‘It’s good that you’ve got something to keep your mind going,’ Tim said. ‘Do you think there’s anything in it though?’

  ‘As Mrs. Collins said it could be something or nothing but, if I’m honest, it’s more likely to be nothing. If I was investigating this officially then I’d have to make a decision on whether to expend resources following it up and, based on the low probability of success, it would inevitably have been parked. However, the only resource involved here is my time and, as I’ve got quite a lot of that, I’m going to give it my best shot.’