The Two Towns (The Lakeland Murders)

by J. J. Salkeld

  ‘Aye, exactly. Like I said, he’s a right clever bastard, is Clark. He knew that other people had reported petty vandalism and stuff, he admitted that, so it was a simple bit of misdirection. Like I say, a fucking case study. I wouldn’t worry if you get nowhere with it, love.’

  ‘So people keep telling me.’

  Jane drove back to the office, and knocked on Hall’s door.

  ‘How did you get on with Sandy?’

  ‘Fine, thanks.’

  ‘Did it help?’

  ‘Not much, if I’m honest.’ Hall nodded. Jane was getting used to his neutral expression. ‘There was something else, if you’ve got a minute.’

  ‘Yes, Ray mentioned it. You want to have a look at young Johnny’s phone and laptop.’

  ‘That’s right. If tech support aren’t already working on it.’

  ‘They’re not. I’ve pulled all the strings I can, and upgraded the enquiry as far as the Super will let me, but they still can’t take it until later in the week. So you’re fine to have a go at it tomorrow. It’s all on your desk. No suspicious prints, just his. The notebook that you bagged gave us his prints for elimination.’

  ‘I was thinking about making a start at home, tonight. If that’s OK.’

  Hall looked at her for a moment.

  ‘Haven’t you got stuff to do, Jane? Moving in type things. I don’t know, decorating, buying lampshades, all that.’

  She laughed.

  ‘Lampshades? Who am I, Miss Marple? No, you’re all right. Nothing that can’t wait.’

  Hall paused again.

  ‘It’s up to you, of course it is, and don’t think I’m not grateful. I don’t mind telling you that I’m anxious about this one. Especially when you found the kid’s phone. My two are joined to theirs by some kind of invisible gravity field. But there is life outside the job, Jane, and we do have other people to carry on the enquiry while you’re off duty. It’s not a crusade; it’s a job. And I don’t want any officers in my team feeling under pressure from me to put in too many hours. I hope that’s clear.’

  ‘It is, boss, yes.’

  ‘But you’re still going to be taking the stuff home, aren’t you?’

  Jane smiled. ‘I am. Yes, I am.’

  When Jane looked up at the old clock on the mantelpiece it was past midnight. She was hungry, stiff and tired. The fire was nothing but embers, and the room was already getting cold. She wondered if she could find her hot water bottle among the unpacked boxes. Just finding it might warm her up, she thought.

  The lad’s laptop was old, heavy and slow, and it was protected by a four-number lock. But Jane had looked up Johnny’s date-of-birth and, sure enough, that got her in at the first attempt. She started with his browsing history, and wasn’t surprised by what she found. It was an insight into the mind of a fourteen year-old boy, and she was touched to see all the searches that, she guessed, he’d made while he was doing his homework. His email trail was modest, to say the least, but that wasn’t all that surprising either. She wasn’t sure how kids communicated with each other, but she knew that it wasn’t by email.

  Then Jane had a look through the files on the laptop. She was immediately struck by how well organised they were, with a pleasingly logical and neat structure to the sub-folders. She would leave some searches running overnight, looking for words connected to drugs, criminality and fear, but for now she just opened a few documents and tried to get a feel for the boy. His biology homework caught her eye, and as she read his work she was reminded of herself at that age. The lad was bright, no doubt about that.

  As far as Jane could tell there were no hidden files or folders, and she was just about to boot the old laptop down when she noticed a folder called ‘home.’ There was just one document in it, called ‘dad.’ Jane opened it, started reading, and then started crying. She heard the sound she was making, as if it was coming from someone else, and she wondered if the neighbours could hear it too. She forced herself to quieten down, and closed the document, half-read. But those few paragraphs took her back to the years after her own dad had died, and to the things she’d wanted to say to him, and to the way that she’d felt. To the the way that she still felt, come to that. Jane Francis wanted to find Johnny Graham. At that moment she wanted it more than anything.

  She entered all the search terms that she could think of, and left the laptop searching the whole hard drive for them. She got up, felt the pins and needles in her left leg, and went to the kitchen to make a cup of peppermint tea. She promised herself that she’d just stay up until the tea was drunk, and no later.

  Johnny’s phone was the same model as hers, and Jane had no difficulty in finding her way through the call history and the texts. She concentrated on the most recent of each, and saw one number featured several times on the call list, both incoming and outgoing. She wrote it down, and then looked at his most recent texts. The same number turned up again, on both Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, and they were from someone called Pete. Jane turned to her own laptop and confirmed that one of Johnny’s older brothers was called Peter, and then she read the texts carefully. Pete wanted Johnny to meet him on Wednesday evening, Johnny said he had homework, and Pete replied that homework was for wankers. On Thursday morning he’d texted again, twice, asking Johnny to meet him outside school. Johnny hadn’t replied to those at all.

  Jane’s tea was finished now, but still she didn’t go to bed. Instead she opened her own laptop and created a new spreadsheet. Then she entered the numbers and times of all the calls made and received by Johnny on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the previous week. Next she added the texts, and transcribed their content as well. She knew that the tech department would do the same, and use software to do it much faster than she could, but she didn’t mind. Because Johnny Graham was her concern now, and she wanted to know everything she could, and as soon as she could.

  When she’d finished she sat back and looked at her work. The last call that Johnny had made - or at least that had been made from his phone - was at a little after 11pm on the previous Wednesday night, while the two incoming texts from Thursday morning had both gone unanswered, as had the few that Jane hadn’t transcribed, and which had come in after school hours on Thursday right through to that very day. They were all variants on the theme of ‘WAYN M8?’, which Jane decoded, after some thought, as ‘where are you now, mate?’

  She didn’t bother looking at the clock again, because she knew that she wouldn’t like what she saw, and instead she logged into the system at work and checked Pete Graham’s record. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she didn’t. He had been arrested almost thirty times, cautioned for almost half of the offences, and received two brief custodial sentences in juvenile institutions. And even though he was only barely seventeen his pattern of offending was both clearly established and troubling. Because his most recent arrest, three weeks before, was for possession with intent to supply, while the one before was for ABH. He was still on bail for both, plus another affray from the summer. ‘What a busy little bastard you are’ Jane said, out loud, and checked that his home address was still the same as Johnny’s. It was.

  And now, finally, Jane did boot down her computer, and she sat for a minute or two, in the half-dark of her new, still unfamiliar living room. She was beyond tired now, but at least she knew exactly what she’d be doing as soon as she got in to work in the morning. She got up, stretched, and climbed the creaking staircase. In a week or two she wouldn’t even notice the sound, and the treads certainly felt firm enough. For the first time she felt quite certain that she’d made the right decision, coming to Kendal. And as she cleaned her teeth, slowly and carefully, she also knew that the morning couldn’t come quickly enough.

  Tuesday, 8th November

  DI Andy Hall was in the office at just after seven. He hadn’t slept well, although that was nothing new. He was thinking about Ray Dixon’s MISPER as he pushed the outer office door open, until he caught sight of Jane si
tting at her desk on the far side of the office, away from the windows. It was newbie’s corner, and everyone knew it.

  ‘Fancy a brew, Andy?’ she said, looking up and smiling.

  ‘Yes, please. But only if you’re making. We all take it in turns here.’

  ‘I know that. But it’s a cheap round, isn’t it? There’s only the two of us here at the moment.’

  Hall laughed. ‘You’ll make Chief Constable yet, with low animal cunning like that.’

  Five minutes later Jane knocked and brought in the teas.

  ‘Thanks. You’re in very early, Jane.’ It didn’t sound particularly like a commendation.

  ‘So are you.’

  ‘Fair point.’

  ‘I’ve been looking at Johnny Graham’s phone and laptop. Can I talk to you about it?’

  ‘Of course. But it’s Ray’s case, so you’ll need to chat it through with him too. When he rocks up, of course.’

  Hall gestured towards the chair opposite his.

  ‘I will of course, but I wanted to show you this.’

  Jane passed the printout of her spreadsheet across the desk. She watched Hall’s eyes as he read it, then started again. It was as she’d expected. He was clearly a man of established method. His approach reminded her of something that her dad used to say when he was working in the little shed that smelled of easing oil and wood shavings: ‘measure twice, cut once.’

  ‘So what conclusions do you draw, if any?’ he asked.

  ‘That we should talk to the brother, pronto.’

  ‘He’s got plenty of form, I take it?’

  Jane handed another printout across the desk. This time Hall only read it once. A second time would just have been too depressing.

  ‘Another model citizen’ he said, dryly. ‘Sally must be very proud.’

  ‘I wonder what Pete wanted from his brother?’

  ‘Indeed. Have you handed the stuff over to tech support yet?’

  ‘No. They’re not in until nine, apparently. Why?’

  ‘If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind having a quick look and seeing how many times Pete has called and texted, over the last three months say? Maybe he often sends texts like these.’

  ‘Will do. It shouldn’t take long.’

  ‘Great. And I tell you what, why not show Ray what you’ve got when he rolls in, and then both of you come and talk it through with me, OK?’

  ‘Fine.’ Jane felt as if she’d been put in her place, gently, but firmly. Perhaps Andy Hall was a bit more of a conformist than she’d imagined.

  ‘And how are you getting on with the Clark file?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m going round there tonight, after work. I’ll just do what you suggested. Introduce myself, and tell him that I’m doing the review. Try to get to know the bloke a bit.’

  ‘Are you going on your own?’

  ‘Yes. Why not? I’m not after anything of any evidential value.’

  ‘We both think that he killed his wife though, Jane. We need to assess the risks.’

  ‘I don’t want to take anyone else. Not even another female officer.’

  Hall put down his mug, and looked at it, as if trying to read something in the tea-leaves. He’d have a job, thought Jane, unless his teabag had burst.

  ‘All right, go on your own. But I want you to phone me before you go in, and again when you come out. If I don’t receive the second call within twenty minutes I will send in the cavalry.’

  ‘Yes, I will call you.’

  ‘Good. Well, thanks for the tea, and come and see me again as soon as you’ve briefed Ray. You’re concerned about this lad, aren’t you?’

  ‘I am, and I know that Ray is too.’

  ‘Well that makes three of us. Uniform have really put their backs into this one for us already, and they’ve turned up nothing so far. And when people act in a way that’s so out of character, even if they’re fourteen, then I do start to worry.’

  ‘Maybe especially if they’re fourteen, boss.’

  Ray Dixon didn’t seem to mind at all that Jane had done so much of the leg-work, and he read everything that she gave him carefully, while he sipped the tea that she had made for him.

  ‘Come on, let’s go and see the boss. He’s not going to like this at all.’

  And Dixon was right. Hall closed his laptop as soon as they came in, and the three of them sat at his meeting table. As Jane spoke she could feel the intensity of Hall’s gaze, and sensed his complete concentration on what she was saying.

  ‘So Pete hardly ever texts the lad, and when he does it’s to tell him to pick up chips or a Chinese on the way home from school?’

  ‘That’s about it, Andy, yes.’

  ‘Shit. This just keeps getting worse. Right, unless either of you have got any better ideas I think we talk to all of the Graham clan, and especially young Pete, and we do it now. Do you two need any time for further enquiries, or shall we have him picked up immediately?’

  ‘Now, boss’ said Dixon, before Jane could speak. ‘Let’s see what he’s got to say for himself about these calls and texts.’

  ‘Who would you like to interview with you, Ray?’

  ‘Jane, boss. It’s her hard work that’s got us here so fast, after all.’

  ‘Absolutely right. OK, Ray, get uniform to do the necessary. Keep it as low key as they can, though Sally will scream the place down as per usual, I don’t doubt.’

  ‘You want her brought in too?’

  ‘No, not unless they have to nick her anyway, which has to be an each way bet I suppose. But ask uniform to be as tolerant as they can. She’d just confuse the issue I expect. Anyway, let’s meet again when you’ve interviewed the lad. I don’t care if I’m in a meeting, or anything.’

  Jane looked round the unfamiliar interview room with rather more interest than Pete Graham was showing. He’d been cautioned, and had insisted on the duty solicitor being present. Dixon smiled at the man, whose name he’d forgotten, but who he always thought looked a bit like a character from Dickens. Not that he’d ever read any. One of the old ones anyway, who probably owned a goose or something. White, that was his name. White, just like his hair.

  ‘I want to talk to you about your brother’ said Dixon, and Jane focussed on Graham’s eyes, and then on his thin, pale lips.

  ‘Oh, aye. That’s nice. Which one, like?’

  ‘Johnny.’

  ‘What about him?’

  Jane zoomed her gaze out. Had he answered a bit too fast? Had he stiffened in his chair as well, just ever so slightly? She was almost sure that he had.

  ‘When did you last see him?’

  ‘Dunno. He’s always at school, or doing his homework. I hardly ever see him. We keep different hours, see.’

  ‘Think harder, Pete. When did you last see Johnny?’

  ‘My client has already told you that he has no precise recollection of that, so can we move on, please?’ White spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he was being paid by the word.

  ‘All right’ said Dixon. ‘How about by phone, or by text? When did you last have contact?’

  ‘Dunno. Last week. The week before maybe. I’m a popular bloke, like.’ He winked at Jane. ‘Popular with the older ladies, I am.’

  Dixon let it go, and Jane didn’t react at all. She’d heard it all before, and worse too, much worse.

  ‘Look at this sheet of paper. Can you confirm that the number at the top is yours?’

  ‘Aye.’

  ‘This is a log of all the calls and texts made between two phones. You’ve just confirmed that one is yours, and the other one is Johnny’s. I want you to look at last Wednesday for me. You called your brother three times, between 4pm and just after 7pm. What did you talk about? And ‘I don’t remember’ isn’t going to be enough for us, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Well I don’t remember. Not exactly, like. But I was probably asking him to pick up some food, like.’

  ‘What, three times? You must have been hungry.’

  Graham gla
nced across at Mr. White. He didn’t glance back.

  ‘I remember now, aye. He knocked me back, that were it. So I had to call him again.’

  ‘And where were you, last Wednesday between four and seven PM, when these calls were made?’

  ‘At home, I expect. Maybe round a mate’s house.’

  ‘Well which was it? Did your brother normally act as a take-away delivery service?’

  ‘Aye, sometimes. Our ma says they take too long, those delivery lads. She says the stuff’s cold by the time it arrives, like. Kicks right off at them, she does.’

  ‘So did your brother go out and get the food, eventually?’

  ‘Aye. I mean no. No, he didn’t.’

  ‘You don’t seem very sure.’

  ‘I’ve just told you, haven’t I?’

  ‘All right. Let’s move on through the evening of last Wednesday. You sent your brother some texts, can you see them on the printout? You said that you wanted to meet him.’

  ‘Aye, I did.’

  ‘But why? I thought you were at home?’

  ‘Or at a mate’s house. That’s what I said, isn’t it, mate?’ He turned to White who nodded, slightly and eventually. ‘That’s it then, I must have been at a mate’s house.’

  ‘So why did you want to see your brother?’

  ‘I don’t remember, mate. Just something and nothing, I expect.’

  ‘I don’t think so. Because look, you tried again on Thursday morning, didn’t you? So how can it have just been something and nothing?’

  ‘Look, mate, I can’t help you, all right? Now what’s Johnny done, to attract all this bloody attention from you lot?’

  ‘Your brother has been missing since Thursday. Didn’t your mum mention it?’

  ‘Oh, aye. So that’s why she only ordered two pizzas last night, like. Where is he at then? Johnny?’

  ‘You do know what the word ‘missing’ means, don’t you?’