He played the clips showing the car coming and going several times but couldn’t quite make out the part of the number plate that was visible. It was time to contact Martin again.
‘Martin, in the clip you sent me there’s a car featured at around 1:18 and 19:01 into the video. Can you see if you make out the number plate? The car looks like a Vauxhall Astra to me but see what you think.’
‘If I can get even a partial plate and I know what the make is then there shouldn’t be a problem tracing it,’ Martin said.
‘What would we do without you?’ Mac said and meant it.
Yet another lead, Mac was beginning to get the feeling that the investigation might not be too far away from the tipping point.
‘So we get to do a bit of observation after all,’ Kate said as she took a bite out of her sandwich.
‘Well maybe you do, all I can see is that great big bush,’ Tommy said.
They’d been able to find the ‘back door’ that Dr. Al-Faran had told them about fairly easily. Tommy had looked at the map and found that there was a road that ran right along the back boundary of the clinic’s grounds. Kate had freeze-framed the house that Ashley came out of on her phone to ensure they got the right one. There were very few houses along that stretch of road so it was easy enough to find.
It wasn’t so easy to hide the car though but they were lucky and found a place on the side of the road where they could pull in. They made sure that they were on the blind side of the CCTV camera which Kate could see perched on top of a high metal pole a few yards in front of her. However, while the foliage was great for hiding the car’s outline, it meant that only Kate could actually see the back door. Tommy was keeping an eye on Leah’s front door on his laptop.
They’d been there around twenty minutes when she saw Tommy sit up out of the corner of her eye and turned her head.
‘It’s Leah,’ Tommy said moving the laptop so Kate could see.
She looked at the screen and just caught Leah closing the door behind her. She had a fleece and track suit bottoms on and something very odd looking on her feet. Kate looked closer.
‘Would you believe it, she’s wearing slippers!’ Kate said as Tommy zoomed in on Leah’s feet. ‘Bunny rabbit slippers at that.’
‘She’s obviously not going far then,’ Tommy observed as Leah disappeared from the screen.
Sure enough three minutes later she came back holding a thin plastic carrier bag.
‘I can even see what she’s got in there,’ Tommy said with a grin as the camera zoomed in, ‘two pints of milk, bread, butter and…yes a pack of bacon. Looks like breakfast.’
‘Not exactly an early riser then is she?’ Kate said as Leah disappeared inside. ‘Anyway at least we know where she is.’
They then both settled back as exactly nothing happened in the next hour and a half.
Mac picked up his phone on the first ring. He quickly looked at the number, it has the US country code at the start.
‘Is that Mr. Maguire?’ a young woman asked.
‘It is.’
‘My agent said that you’re with the police and you wanted to speak to me.’
She sounded quite nervous.
‘Is this about Addie?’ she asked.
‘We’re looking into the murder of Ashley Whyte. Did you know her?’
‘No, I knew of her though, she and Addie were school friends but we never met.’
‘How did you and Addie get on together?’
‘Addie and I are cousins, sorry we were cousins. To be honest I still can’t believe she’s dead. Our mothers were sisters and, although I was a bit older than her, we always got on well together when we were young, I kind of lost touch with her as we got older though.’
‘What about Adeline’s sister?’
‘Jemima?’ Mac could hear the disdain in her voice. ‘Oh she’s a right piece of work, the bitch even lied about Addie trying to get her on drugs!’
‘That happened to be true. Adeline admitted it before she killed herself.’
‘Oh,’ Naomi said, followed by a long silence. ‘I just thought it was another one of Jemima’s lies. Are you looking into Addie’s death too, was it really suicide?’
‘Addie killed herself in the presence of two police officers so it was definitely suicide but what makes you think it might not have been?’
‘Just something she said before I left the country, if I’m honest I didn’t know what to make of it.’
‘Was this before or after her father cut her off?’
‘Not long before, I heard about that when I’d been in my new job for a month or so. I sent her some money but I honestly thought that her father would relent once he’d felt he’d taught a lesson.’
‘What exactly did she say, can you remember?’ Mac asked.
‘Near enough I think. What she said worried me at the time but I was going to the States so I suppose I put the best gloss on it. She said ‘I’m in trouble, serious trouble and I just don’t know what to do about it.’ I asked her what kind of trouble but she wouldn’t say. I told her that if it was that serious then she should go to the police but she just shook her head. ‘Lives are at risk,’ she said, ‘innocent lives’. I must admit that this really worried me.’
There was short silence before Naomi continued.
‘Anyway the next second Addie was making light of it and then she told me to forget what she’d said as she was just being silly. I asked her about it again later but she just changed the subject.’
‘What do you think was going on with Adeline?’ Mac asked.
‘I’ve honestly no idea. Addie was very good at hiding her feelings but I thought about it a lot and even more after I’d heard that she was dead. I think it was like looking behind the curtain and getting a glimpse of the real Addie. I think she was worried, really worried but I think she also felt there was nothing she could do about it.’
The words ‘innocent lives’ kept going around Mac’s head. What or who was Adeline referring to?
‘Just a few more questions, I believe that you went to the Al-Faran Clinic for a while?’ Mac asked.
‘Yes I was there for just under four weeks.’
‘What was it like?’
‘Like? Well like a five star jail if you must know but it worked so I shouldn’t be knocking it I suppose,’ Naomi replied.
‘What did you go there for? Was it drugs?’
‘No I’ve never had anything to do with drugs, they never appealed to me for some reason. No it was alcohol, to be precise the best red wines that the Napa Valley can produce. After my bastard of a boyfriend dumped me I was knocking it back by the case. I was stupidly putting everything at risk because of how that rat had treated me. Anyway I had a lucid day and rang Addie, she suggested the clinic and I booked myself in straight away.’
‘What was it like in the clinic? Did you meet any other… guests?’
Mac nearly said ‘inmates’ instead of ‘guests’ and just caught himself at the last moment.
‘No, not one. We all had our own rooms, very spacious and luxurious, but we also had out own guards too. Very smartly dressed men with muscles who made sure you stuck to the plan.’
‘The plan?’
‘Before you were admitted you had to sign a treatment plan in which you basically signed your life away for the time you were there. The only people I saw were my personal therapist, a very sweet young man called Bernard, the guards and now and again the doctor herself.’
‘Weren’t you allowed outside?’ Mac asked.
‘Yes but the grounds were big enough and the guards made sure that you didn’t bump into anyone else.’
‘What about the back door, did you ever use that?’
‘Oh you mean the house at the back of the clinic estate? Yes I was allowed one twenty minute meeting a week while I was there. You won’t believe it but I wasted the first one on my ex-boyfriend.’
‘Does anyone live in the house?’ Mac asked.
‘Yes I think some
of the guards do.’
‘Did they say what would happen if you didn’t stick to the plan?’
‘Oh the doctor was quite clear on that, she’d basically keep all the money and you’d be shown the door, never to return.’
‘Sounds a bit harsh to me,’ Mac said.
‘I suppose it had to be, anyway as I said it worked for me. I still drink every once in a while but I can control it now.’
‘Is there anything else you can tell me about the clinic, did anything unusual ever happen while you were there?’
‘Not really if I’m honest. What I mainly remember is being bored out of my skull, that and the feeling that I was in my own reality show.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well there were cameras everywhere, very discreetly tucked away of course. I’d guess that most people wouldn’t even know they were there.’
‘So how did you know they were there?’ Mac asked.
‘Oh I’ve worked on a couple of reality shows where we used disguised cameras like that, I knew what to look for.’
‘So they didn’t tell you that you were being observed?’
‘Not up front but I did look at the fine print of the contract I’d signed and it was there in clause seventy four or something under Medical Surveillance.’
Mac gave this some thought.
‘How did Adeline know about the clinic?’
‘Oh she went there a few months before I did, cocaine. Seemed to work for her too as I didn’t see her using any afterwards.’
After he put the phone down Mac thought deeply about Naomi’s words. So Adeline had gone to the clinic first to cure a cocaine habit, a habit that Naomi said had been cured. Yet it would appear that in reality she’d merely swapped it for a heroin habit instead. She’d admitted that she was dealing and that she’d been scared because she’d ‘been behind’ with the people who’d supplied her with drugs.
Once again Mac couldn’t help feeling that this was the key. If he could find out who had supplied Ashley and Adeline with heroin he might be close to cracking the case.
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone. It was Martin.
‘Two things Mac, I’ve received a phone that belonged to an Adeline Smyth-Stortford from St. Albans police. I take it that it’s part of your case?’
‘Oh yes I’d be more than interested to see what it might tell us.’
‘Okay give me a few hours and I’ll see what I can get out of it. The other thing is I’ve traced the owner of your car. It belongs to a Mr. Joseph Whyte and here’s his address.’
Mac got up Google maps and located it straight away. It was another drug rehab clinic but its position immediately interested him.
It was right in the middle of the drug gang’s territory.
Chapter Seventeen
Kate was nearly falling asleep when her phone rang. She looked at the screen. It was Mac calling.
‘Martin’s found out who Ashley’s mysterious visitor was. He’s called Joseph Whyte and his address is that of a drug rehab clinic in North London.’
‘Whyte with a ‘Y’?’ Kate asked.
‘Yes, he must be a relative of some sort. Didn’t Joe Ibbotson mention him at all?’
‘No, it’s the first I’ve heard of him. Look we’ll get over there straight away. We’re at the back of the Al-Faran Clinic now but there isn’t anything happening.’
‘Good, I’ve also heard from Naomi Cadogan so come back here when you’re finished and we’ll compare notes.’
‘Will do,’ Kate said.
She turned to Tommy and told him what she’d learned from Mac. He fed the address into the satnav and they were off. Both of them felt a little thrill of excitement at the thought that they might be finally making some progress.
The clinic turned out to be nothing like the one they’d just been sitting outside. An inscription carved grandly in stone above the doors told them that they were standing before the ‘Endeavour Wire Works’ which turned out to be a decrepit and neglected factory building in an area of North London that was surrounded by houses that somehow managed to be even more decrepit and neglected. Kate was glad it was daylight, it felt scary enough as it was. Two double doors with the lock protected by thick metal plates prevented them from going inside. There was a battered metal intercom with a single button. Kate pressed it.
‘Yes?’ a crackly woman’s voice asked.
‘Police, we’re here to see Joseph Whyte,’ Kate said.
‘Hold your warrant card up,’ the woman ordered.
Kate did as she was told. She couldn’t see the camera but she was sure there was one there. The door buzzed and Tommy held it open for her.
The inside was no better than the outside. Long ago someone must have painted the walls white but time had degraded it into a sickly beige. Here and there gouges in the walls showed through to the red brickwork. The space was crudely divided up by flimsy plywood partitions. A young woman was waiting for them. She was tall and slim and Kate admired her perfect Afro hairdo.
‘You want Joseph?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘Yes we just need some information that’s all,’ Kate said soothingly.
‘That’s what you people always say,’ the young woman said, making no move to go.
Kate decided to be honest.
‘We’d like to talk to him about Ashley Whyte.’
‘Oh,’ the young woman said her face softening. ‘I’ll go and get him, he’s in our secure facility at the moment. You can wait in there,’ she said pointing to a door before she disappeared.
There was a small room on the other side of the door with three chairs, all different, and a table with a scarred surface that had a piece of cardboard wedged under one leg.
‘Secure facility?’ Tommy said. ‘Could he be our drug dealer then?’
‘He certainly could be,’ Kate replied. ‘He’s obviously on drugs himself, what else could he be doing in here?’
They had to wait a few minutes before the door opened and a man walked in.
‘I’ll be okay, don’t worry,’ he said to someone behind him.
Kate caught a glimpse of a huge shaven headed man behind him who glared at her as the door closed.
‘In my line of work I normally have as little to do with the police as possible but you said it was about Ashley?’ the man said as he sat down.
Kate looked him over. He was slim, thirty at the most and dressed in a grey T shirt and ripped jeans. He had a light beard and long dreadlocks that were held in place by a thick green, yellow and black band.
He definitely wouldn’t have looked out of place selling ten pound bags on a corner, Kate thought.
‘Yes, you visited Ashley when she was at the Al-Faran Clinic, didn’t you?’ Kate asked.
‘Yes I did,’ he said. ‘Before I say anything else can you tell me why you’re re-opening the case now, after all this time?’
‘We’ve obtained some new evidence and we’re looking into it,’ Kate said not wanting to give anything away.
The man smiled and shook his head.
‘Okay so you’re not going to say. Yes it was me that visited Ashley and I saw the CCTV camera so I’d guess that’s how you tracked me down. I’m just surprised it took you so long to find me.’
‘Why were you visiting Ashley?’
‘She rang me saying that she needed to talk to someone. I was more than happy to help.’
‘Why was that?’ Kate asked.
‘Why would I help Ashley? Well it’s the least I could do for my niece,’ he explained.
‘Ashley was your niece?’ Kate said in disbelief.
‘Well I know there was only ten years or so between us but yes, I was her uncle. My mother had six boys, I’m the youngest and her father Mason is the oldest, he’s twenty years older than me in fact. I suppose me and Ashley were a bit more like cousins really.’
‘Do you know how Ashley got into drugs?’
‘Which time, the first or the second?’
&
nbsp; ‘Both if you can,’ Kate replied.
‘Well the first time that was her loving sister Leah. Ashley and her sister were totally different, Mason loved Ashley in his own way but unfortunately he never had any time for Leah. To be honest most people had no time for Leah, she was spiteful and turned on everyone around her sooner or later. Even though she was supposed to be grown up she was just a jealous little girl at heart. I’d guess that as soon as she saw a weakness in Ashley she went for the jugular. Ashley told me it was Leah who’d given her heroin. Leah had nearly killed her own sister and, if I’m honest, I think her only sadness was that her sister was still alive.’
‘Who was it the second time?’
Joseph shook his head.
‘I’ve no idea. I know that Ashley was keeping as far away from her sister as possible so I’d be surprised if it was her. She said that she was clean while she was at the clinic but after she died I had my doubts.’
‘Why?’
‘Here,’ Joseph said pulling something out of his pocket.
Both Kate and Tommy, thinking of the secure facility, watched him carefully but it just turned out to be a phone.
‘I took this when we met at the clinic.’
He found a photo and showed it to them. It was a selfie of him and Ashley, they were both smiling.
‘So what am I supposed to be seeing here?’ Kate asked.
He enlarged the photo. Ashley had been holding the phone and part of her upper arm had also been photographed.
‘Here,’ Joseph said pointing to a small spot on her arm.
‘What is it?’ Tommy asked.
‘A needle mark,’ Joseph said.
‘Are you sure?’ Kate asked.
‘Oh I’m sure, I’ve seen enough of those believe me. I only noticed it when I was looking at it after I heard the news of her murder.’
Kate noticed his eyes glisten with tears. He obviously cared for his niece.
‘Did you learn anything from her that might be helpful to us?’ Kate asked.
He slowly shook his head.
‘I knew she was in trouble, she wanted to tell me something but somehow she couldn’t. I have no idea what it was but I could sense that she was scared.’
23 Cold Cases (The Mac Maguire detective mysteries Book 5) Page 14