“I shouted to her, ‘off back to Cornwall then, Julie?’ and she waved and smiled. Her mother’s very ill, not got long I believe, so Julie goes down there whenever she can,” the neighbour said.
They confirmed this by phone with an angry Julie Parker, furious that her ailing mother had been woken by the telephone ringing. She told them she was puzzled that her husband wasn’t at home, but wanted to know just what business it was of the police anyway. “He’s a businessman; his job takes him away from home and we don’t live in each other’s pockets so how the hell am I supposed to know?” she snarled before she slammed the phone down.
Tanya flopped into her chair. Blew out a huge sigh. “Bloody hell, Charlie, every way we turn there’s a blockage.”
“I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere now. Look, you’ve got the alerts out for Freddy Stone and that’s the main thing. The rest of it will wait. I mean this stolen car, it might not mean much anyway. Okay, it makes Alan Parker a bit suspect, but we can look at it fresh tomorrow. Why not call it a day? To be honest, I’m not surprised; it’s a funny sort of a job, I think.”
“Yeah. You’re right. We’re going round in circles. Send the team home, back in at seven in the morning.”
Chapter 55
Charlie and Tanya were in their office long before the shift change at seven. Neither of them had slept well and the night-time quiet of the building eased them into the day and their first cup of coffee.
Kate was the first of the team to arrive. She’d spent hours at home trawling through the bank statements again. She had spreadsheets and lists with highlights and sub-headings that made Tanya’s head spin. Unfortunately, all it had done was to confirm what they already knew.
“I looked for other patterns, boss, but it’s all so random. She was okay for money, more than okay to be honest. We probably know the source was drug dealing but I can’t find any way for us to get to her supplier, or her dealers. She’s been clever. I did wonder if she had more accounts and I’ve got my mate on that. Soon as the banks open I’m getting on to them about these big lumps though.”
“Thanks, Kate.” Tanya paused. “Kate, have you never thought of taking your Sergeant’s exam? You’re so bloody good at this stuff, and you’re a good detective anyway.”
“No, ma’am. I’m fine, thanks. I’m happy doing just what I’m doing. I don’t want any more responsibility and I need to have the time for the family.”
“Well, I’m sorry we’re cutting into that at the moment,” Tanya said.
“Oh yeah, but that’s always going to happen. I accept that, but as for anything else, I’m fine. But, hey, thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I mean it. If you ever change your mind, I’ll back you all the way.”
“Nah, too old.” And with a grin, Kate went back to her desk. Tanya tried to imagine being so contented with what seemed to her to be underachievement, but it just wasn’t possible.
When Paul flung open the door to her office a few minutes later, she knew immediately that something had happened. He hadn’t even taken off his waterproof jacket. Drips of moisture ran from his soaking hair onto his forehead and he swiped them aside as he spoke, loud and animated.
“We’ve found Colin’s shopping trolley, ma’am.”
It was a small thing in the overall puzzle but seemed like a piece of good luck.
“Brilliant. Where? How?”
“One of the woodentops. Mate of mine, he has a bit of a connection with some of the rough sleepers. Apparently, it’s hidden in a squat near to Colin’s usual stomping ground. They haven’t been in. Well, going into one of those places in the middle of the night, it throws up all manner of problems. But Steve the Squatter approached them. He’d been up in the north for the weekend, didn’t know about Colin until last night. When he got back and heard about it he searched out Clive Pierce, to let him know.”
“Right, I’m off down there. Charlie, can you hold the fort here?”
“He’s in an interview room with a sausage and egg sandwich and a cup of tea, ma’am. When PC Pierce rang me, I asked them to bring him in.”
“Okay.” Tanya paused. “Where is the trolley?”
“Still at the squat. I’ve arranged for it to be picked up.”
“Oh, right.” Tanya was taken aback, it was unlike Paul to act without instruction. Maybe the bollocking in front of the team had done some good after all. “Thanks for that, erm, well done. I don’t suppose there’s much left in it now, mind you.”
“Well, according to Steve it’s been left alone. He took charge of it for Colin and he reckons nobody will have touched it when he told them not to.”
“Seems a bit unlikely.”
“Ha. You’ve haven’t met Steve the Squatter, boss.” And with a laugh, Paul turned back into the corridor, sliding out of his jacket and rubbing a hand through his wet hair.
“Well, that’s intriguing. Where is he again?” Tanya called. Charlie had followed her into the corridor.
“Interview 3, boss. Do you want me to come?”
She knew he wanted to, in fairness he had brought this to her. It might help to mend the fences broken over the last couple of days. “Yes, with me, and well-done, Paul.” She glanced at Charlie who nodded understanding and turned off into the incident room to join the rest of the team. The mood had lifted, they were energised again. It wasn’t much, but it was better than yesterday’s nothing.
Chapter 56
He was broad and muscular, with long legs tucked under the table; huge feet in scarred and dirty boots planted on the plastic tiles. The size of him alone would have been intimidating, but Tanya didn’t think she had ever seen so many piercings and tattoos on one person. And she’d seen plenty. The plastic chair was almost invisible under the bulk of him and as Steve leaned forward across the tabletop, his bare arms were a mass of coiled snakes, daggers, anchors, bleeding hearts and names. Tanya tried not to stare but the pictures were mesmerising. When she looked up at his face he was smiling at her. A stud in his bottom lip shifted with the movement of his mouth. But his eyes were clear and the nod he gave her was friendly.
“Morning.” His voice was quiet with the hint of a local accent.
Tanya held out her hand and as he shook it, he raised himself from the seat, just a little.
“Steve, is it okay if I call you Steve?”
He nodded.
“Detective Sergeant Harris tells me that you came forward with information regarding Colin’s things. Thank you for that.”
“No problem. I was really sorry to hear about him. Poor man.”
“Can you tell me how the trolley... it is the trolley?”
Steve nodded.
“...how it came to be in your possession?”
“It wasn’t in my possession. Colin asked if he could leave it at the squat for safe keeping. I told him I would keep an eye on it, and so I did. But it isn’t mine.”
“Ah, no, understood. So, did Colin tell you why he needed to leave it with you?”
“You have to understand that Colin wasn’t always clear about his intentions. He had many problems and was often confused about things.”
“Yes.” Tanya nodded.
“He came to the squat late on Thursday night, upset and nervous. He stayed that night. On Friday morning he was incommunicative. Friday afternoon he went out for a while and when he came back he said that he would need to leave his things with me on Saturday because he had an appointment and couldn’t take his stuff with him. Before you ask, he gave me no names, no locations.”
“You didn’t ask?” Tanya wasn’t surprised when the answer was a shake of Steve’s head.
“Wasn’t my business,” he said. “I just told him I’d watch his stuff. I warned him that I was going away on Saturday afternoon but I’m not sure that registered. It didn’t matter, I told the others that they were to leave it alone. They left it alone.”
Tanya believed him. He was calm, almost gentle but no-one with any sense would annoy
this mountain of a man. He didn’t need to be anything but what he was. It was imposing enough.
“Is there anything you can add that might help us to find out who killed him?”
“Whoever it was must be a heartless bastard, excuse me, but Colin was a broken man. I see now that his upset on Thursday and Friday was because of what had happened to that girl. But I don’t know why anyone would hurt Colin. But then, I don’t know why people do the things they do. They confound me most of the time.”
“Did you know the woman, Suzanne Roper?” Tanya asked.
“I did not. I haven’t been around this part of town more than just a few months. I think she had moved away from the area before I arrived. I have heard talk since her death, not much more than reminiscences – people like to be the friend of someone in the limelight for some reason. But no, I didn’t know her. I’m sorry.” He unfolded himself from the inadequate chair and bent to collect his backpack. “I know I haven’t been able to help you much, but I hope you find out who did these terrible things. I wish you luck.”
He held out a hand and without a backwards glance, Steve the Squatter walked to the door. The uniform constable moved aside for him to leave. They heard the pound of his feet in the corridor as he went back to his chosen life.
Chapter 57
It hadn’t told them much. They knew now where Colin had been on Thursday and Friday, they knew where he had ended up. They didn’t know why. It had given them more frustration and unanswered questions, par for the course it seemed. When Tanya looked into the incident room to mark up the board and brief the team, Kate pushed back her chair and held up some printouts.
“Kate?”
“Boss, the large payments into Suzanne Roper’s account. They came from the Middle East.”
“What?”
“I know. I haven’t been able to do anything since I had the news. It’s still too early there. As soon as we hit their business hours, I’ll get on to them. But, I have to say, my mate is doubtful we’ll get anywhere. They will more than likely refuse to give us anything. We have no clout in that part of the world, nothing. Europe we’d be okay, even America we would stand a chance, but this is like Switzerland, maybe even worse.”
“Okay. That’s a bit of a swine. It does tell us more than we had before, but what? Unless of course she knew some Arabs. I wonder. Okay, stay with me on this. What if she had met up with some blokes from the Middle East in her line of work and they were paying her?” Tanya said.
Charlie butted in, “But why? I mean why bother. She could hardly blackmail them, could she? I think we’re all thinking along the same lines, this has got to be blackmail, it has all the hallmarks. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
Tanya nodded.
“But if they were in the Arab world,” Charlie continued, “why would they care? So, okay they came to England, used a prostitute. It’s hardly shocking, is it? Who would care?”
Tanya sighed, “No, I suppose not, and anyway what has that to do with a scrappy little storage unit. Have we been able to trace that Alan Parker yet?”
“Sue’s on that, ma’am. She’s in the control room now. I’ll check with her, but I don’t think anything came in overnight,” Kate said.
“Okay. I really need to speak to him, the bloody man. Tell you what, ring and find out if his wife is back from her mother’s? We’ll go over there if she is.”
* * *
Julie Parker was back in Oxford, she did not want a visit from the police. She didn’t know where her husband was and, even though Tanya was able to speak to her on the phone, she was unhelpful to the point of rudeness.
“Charlie, get your coat. I’m going over there. She says she doesn’t know where he is. I don’t buy it, she must have an idea. Bloody hell, it’s her husband. There’s the stolen car, and it was his warehouse that caught fire. He was in the Middle East when it happened, so there’s a connection. There’s no trace on the mobile number we have for him. It’s bloody odd and she must know something. I’ll see if I can arrange warrants to see his bank accounts in this country. It might not tell us much, but it will sure as hell piss him off. That’ll teach him for messing me about.”
At first Julia Parker refused to open the door. She screamed at them to go away. She was tired, she had just got back from her mother’s house. Why the hell wouldn’t they just leave her alone. This was nothing to do with her. But Tanya would not take no for an answer. She told her that if necessary they had enough evidence to apply for a search warrant. A car that had been in her husband’s possession had been reported stolen.
The door opened slowly. The smart, together woman that they had met just a few days ago looked dishevelled and anxious.
She stood back to give them access.
“Are you okay, Mrs Parker?” Charlie said. “That’s a nasty bruise on your face. Have you had an accident?”
She turned and walked back towards the kitchen and they had no option but to follow. She stood with her back to them. “Tea, coffee?”
“Thank you, tea would be good.” It wasn’t that they needed a drink, but Tanya saw that the woman needed time; needed to have something to do where she didn’t have to look at them. Or them at her. She glanced at Charlie, raised her eyebrows and nodded her head out towards the hallway.
“Is it okay if I use your bathroom?” He didn’t wait for a response but walked out of the kitchen and did a rapid search of the downstairs rooms. Ignoring the cloakroom in the hall, he ran upstairs and glanced into the bedrooms. He flushed the toilet. Without a warrant, they couldn’t do more. There was no sign of Alan Parker, no sign of any other occupant.
Julie Parker carried the tray of mugs to the table, lowered herself to the kitchen chair and closed her eyes.
“Alright. Elephant in the room. Yes, Alan did this.” She raised her hand to the yellowing, blue and red mark covering her cheek. “Yes, that’s why I went to Cornwall. Though my mother is indeed poorly, and yes, he’s done it before. I know all that you’re going to say. I’m not stupid, so let me just tell you this. I am not going to leave him. I am not going to report him. I am not going to bring any charges. Take a look around you. I’ve worked bloody hard to acquire all this. My mum still lives in a council house in Truro. I’m not giving any of it up. Alan and I don’t spend much time together. We hardly see each other and so, this,” she stroked a hand over her face, “happens once in a while, that’s all – when he’s in a temper or he’s stressed. This was because the insurance people were being difficult about the fire. For some reason he seemed to think it was my fault because I’d suggested the company to him. Anyway, it’s done. I’m over it. So please, just leave me alone and let me get on with my life. Okay?”
“But you could report him. Take him to court. We could help you.” Tanya had leaned towards the other woman, would have taken her hand if she had shown any inclination that it would be welcomed.
There was no humour in the laugh. “Ha! How would you do that? He knows where I work, he knows all my friends, my family, all the places I go to. Would you have me give up all of that? Hide somewhere so that he can’t find me? Because he would find me. And if he found me, this,” again she indicated her bruised cheeks, “this would be nothing.”
“If you have any idea where he is, tell us. Truly, we can protect you. You can’t just go on like this. Do you think he could have taken a car abroad?” Tanya said.
“I shouldn’t think so. He doesn’t take them, that would be ridiculous, they go all over the world. They are picked up in one place, mainly the UK and sometimes Europe, but then they are shipped in containers. On those big ugly ships. He has them in the warehouse, well he did until the fire. He does any tarting up that needs doing. When I met him he was just a mechanic, he knows his way around cars, I’ll say that for him. Anyway, then they are put in containers and off they go, all wrapped in plastic.” She shook her head and made a noise, it could have been a laugh.
She looked at Tanya, and laid a hand flat against her
damaged face. “Oh, don’t you worry, Detective Inspector, I can live with this, I can. One day he’ll get tired of it, move out himself, maybe go off with one of his whores. I can wait. Anyway, I really don’t know where he is. He goes off, maybe collecting a vehicle, maybe meeting up with his horrible friends. As I’ve said we don’t see much of each other. It’s how I know that I can cope, until he buggers off one day and doesn’t come back. It’ll happen, I know it will. The sooner the better.”
“Did you lie to us about where he was when the warehouse burned down?” Tanya asked. It had been instinctive. The woman was so very defensive, so keen to have them leave her alone.
Julie Parker just stared across the table for a moment, then she nodded and a moment later, shook her head. “It wasn’t a total lie, he had been away, out to Dubai he’d told me, rubbing shoulders with other petrol heads, networking I suppose, in a way. He’d been due back on the Tuesday. He didn’t arrive, I had a phone call from him to tell me that if anyone asked I was to say he wasn’t back. I do as he says, it’s easier. I don’t know what he does, what he gets up to. I don’t want to know, he mixes with people I don’t want to have anything to do with. Dangerous people. If he says tell people he’s away, I tell people he’s away. I’m sorry.”
She refused to let them call her a friend to stay, refused to report the abuse, see a solicitor or a counsellor. She just told them to go and leave her alone.
Back in the car Tanya had her tablet out, writing a rough precis of what they had learned. “Charlie, get on your phone, arrange an all-ports search for this swine, I want him found. I believed her, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but what a bloody awful way to live,” Charlie answered.
Once the calls were made they drove back to headquarters in silence, Tanya’s mind was racing but not landing anywhere useful.
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