She heard Toby Butler sit on the opposite side of her. She heard a shuffle of papers on the desk and he lifted his landline phone. He pressed two buttons and she heard a faint ring.
“DC Booth,” came a faint reply.
“Hi Marie, will you bring all the files from the following unlawful killings. Elizabeth Jane Peterson, Lyndsey Murray, Susan Carlin, Julie Ann Cooper, Paula Cassidy and Emma Little. Will you also please get two lattes for Emma Harper and Lucy Spires. They’ll be using my office. I’ve an appointment with a home office pathologist then a press conference to prepare for. Please give them all the help they need. Please get them any information they may need. Cheers Marie.” With that he stood up. “Emma, you two get your heads together. We need to move up a gear. As you said Lucy, we don’t have time for a PR exercise. We need to get a name and we need to close this. Lucy, you know this team better than I do. Get them doing the things they do best.” With that, she heard his chair move back, his jacket swung on. “Emma,” he said. “Look after Lucy. Both of you go through these files, look at them with an open mind. If you’re right Lucy, there must be things we’ve missed. Get me on my mobile. If I don’t answer, I’ll get back to you.” With that the door swished open and closed after him.
Before the two women could even speak, the door opened again. It was DC Marie Booth carrying an arm full of files. She placed them on the desk and halved the files.
“Oh,” said DC Marie Booth. “Do you take sugar?” she asked a little nervously.
“No,” came the joint reply.
With that she turned and left the office. DC Emma Harper stood up and picked up a file. “We’ll start with them in order. Elizabeth Jane Peterson. Unlawfully killed February thirteenth, person/persons unknown.” She sat next to Lucy Spires, had a drink of her coffee and passed the other cup to her friend.
“Emma, we don’t need to go through these files. I wrote most of them! Please look at the back of the files for updated notes, dated after my accident. Look for new witness statements, or anything that will help,” she said.
She heard the turning of pages and DC Emma Harper pause for a few seconds, reading dates, reading them through. Lucy Spires felt a little frustrated. She thought give me back my eyes, just for a few days. DC Emma Harper brought her out of her daydream.
“The only thing I can see is a report of a black or dark coloured quiet motorbike, no lights, no crash helmet and no registration number plate, seen by the witness who discovered our victim.” Lucy Spires had heard this before. She seemed to remember a report of a motorbike seen at the crime scene.
Two hours later, they had gone through all the crime files and had identified a further line of enquiry. A motorbike now meant a means of how the murderer got to the scene of the crime and left. With that information, DC Emma Harper tried to ring Detective Chief Inspector Butler to tell him of this albeit minor breakthrough and see how he wanted to move forward. There was no answer from his mobile. Lucy Spires decided to take the initiative and she asked DC Emma Harper to take her to DC Phil Henderson. She had a very important job for him. They came out of the Chief Detective’s office and found there was a hush around the room. She was guided to his desk. He turned and stood up as she began to talk.
“Phil,” said Lucy Spires, “we’ve got a task for you. We’ve identified how our offender got to and from the crime scenes. The issue is a little complicated. Our offender used a black or dark coloured motorcycle to commit these crimes. But because of the geography and distance between the assaults, I think he had another vehicle used to transport this motorcycle nearby, then change to commit the offence, and then back to the vehicle. Where the offences took place, to use a motorcycle with no lights, no crash helmet and missing a registration number would show up on CCTV nearby. Phil, you’ve always had a sharp eye for detail. I need you to find where this bike came from, where it went to and get this man behind bars. Look at every evening before the murders. The retail parks have superb cameras, they must show us some detail. Once we have this then we should go knocking on doors.” With that, the buzz around the room resumed.
DC Emma Harper was a little in awe of Lucy Spires. Her way of thinking once explained made perfect logic. Lucy Spires felt a little tired; she had been concentrating for several hours now. Both women went back into the Chief Detective’s office and Lucy Spires told Emma Harper she was tired. They had been concentrating for several hours.
Just over an hour later, DC Phil Henderson burst into the office. It made Lucy Spires jump. “Ma’am, sorry, Lucy,” he said. “I think I’ve found a link. But it’s not a bloody black motorbike! I found a few images of a motor bike, no distinguishing features possible as all images were taken at night, plus random directions away from the crime scenes.” He paused to clear his throat. Lucy Spires could feel her heart rate increase. Get to point she heard herself say in a very impatient voice. “Well, Miss Spires!” said Phil Henderson. “I decided to look at vehicles going into the retail parks or around the area big enough to hide a cycle, I thought of a larger vehicle, a van, a lorry, a large 4X4. And the only vehicle in the area on four occasions was a single seven and a half tonne, bright blue lorry, with a large logo of ‘Shopwell Tyres’ emblazoned on the side. Plus I checked CCTV from yesterday and yes, there it was again at Low Meadows Retail Park. At the back of all the parks are various tyre and exhaust repair centres, some independent businesses or part of a national chain. It stuck out in my mind as my daughter texted me yesterday that she needs two new tyres before her car has an MOT.” With that he took a long breath and said, “Lucy, it’s great to have you back!”
Lucy Spires’ heart was pounding. The noise volume in the incident room increased. Usually in her role in charge she would be allocating jobs to her team. She took a breath. “Phil, I could kiss you!” she said. “Emma, please get a hold of Toby Butler. We need to update him. He should be finished at the hospital,” said Lucy Spires. She shuddered at the thought of the last time she had been to the post mortem of Julie Ann Cooper and what happened a minute later. DC Emma Harper passed a phone to Lucy Spires. They talked for fifteen minutes, going through the breakthrough they’d found. He said to wait until he returned to headquarters as he would have to discuss this with Chief Constable James Ingram. They would have to be careful and see this carefully to its conclusion. He said he was on his way. Lucy Spires asked the team to find out all they could about the company called ‘Shopwell Tyres’. Check to see if there were tyre and exhaust centres at all of the other retail parks where offences had occurred, plus any other information they could get for her prior to seeing Chief Constable James Ingram.
Thirty minutes later, Detective Chief Inspector Toby Butler was filling in the details of the morning autopsy. He had come straight from the Queen Ann Hospital. The victim a twenty-two-year-old sex worker, brutally killed in the same way as the other girls. Twenty minutes later, detective chief inspector held Lucy Spires arm as they went into the Chief Constable James Ingram’s office. He gestured them to take a seat.
“Well done Lucy,” he said. “I knew you would bring things to this case.” With that he moved over to her, he gently squeezed her shoulder and he continued, “Toby, where do we go from here? Do we have any other evidence apart from the work the team has done today on this tyre company, what is its name?” He flicked a page over on his desk. “Yes, Shopwell Tyres. What else do we know about this company or the employees?” He sat down waiting for the reply.
Toby Butler wasn’t too keen on his Chief Constable. He liked the praise when things were going well and figures showed crime rates down and he was aligned with his financial budgets. Detective Chief Inspector Toby Butler sat upright in his chair. He had given this new evidence some thought. “Well Sir, we only have visual evidence this lorry was in the area. No other evidence to give a name, or even prove the driver of this vehicle is the same man. We don’t have any viable reason to even ask for a search warrant to go after anyone in the company.” He got out a notebook. His team had
done some research on the company. “Sir, the company is an importer of all makes and brands of tyres. It’s a family run company and they have been in business for twenty years. They supply daily deliveries across the North of England to any company needing tyres. They employ around fifty people. Shopwell Tyres also own nine garages fitting tyres and exhausts.” The Chief Constable held up his hand and the detective went silent.
“Lucy,” said the Chief Constable. “How sure are you this new evidence will prove fruitful?”
Lucy Spires took a long breath. “This is our only lead. There are no such things as coincidences. We have the vehicle on CCTV at the retail parks the day before each murder. Right time, right place,” she said.
“I agree,” said the Chief Constable. “I thought we were looking for a black motor bike? This means we have another line of enquiry. Good progress.”
With that, they knew it was time to leave the Chief Constable to it. Lucy was guided back to the main office where DC Emma Harper was waiting for her.
“Time to take you home,” said DC Emma Harper, “It’s been a long but productive day. Who knows what will happen tomorrow!”
With that, Lucy Spires asked DC Emma Harper to get her handbag as she was ready to go home. An hour later, Lucy Spires had eaten her meal, her carer had called to cook her dinner, and made sure she was settled and left. As Lucy Spires settled down with a relaxing glass of wine, her phone began to ring. Only a few people had her number.
“Hi Lucy. Great Day!” It was Chief Constable James Ingram. He went on, “I’ve spoken to the Crime Prosecution Service. They won’t give any warrant to look closer at this ‘Shopwell Tyres’ company. But I have a little idea to get them to help us, discreetly of course. Will you come to my office when you get to HQ tomorrow?” He had a way of making you want to help.
“I’ll ask DC Harper to bring me up to your office when I arrive. Your coffee is nicer than the coffee in the office canteen,” said Lucy Spires. She heard a little laugh.
“Miss Spires, you drive a hard bargain. Have a nice evening. See you tomorrow.” With that he terminated the call.
What he had in mind, Lucy Spires had no clue.
Chapter 8
DC Emma Harper collected Lucy Spires at eight o’clock the next day. It was a warm, bright, sunny morning. On the journey to Police Headquarters, Lucy Spires told her friend about the phone call the previous evening. Lucy said she’d slept badly because of the anticipation of the Chief Constable’s cryptic call. She needed a strong latte to kick start her day. DC Emma Harper called at a new coffee drive through for cups of kick start double shot coffee and Danish pastries. A slow drive later and they arrived ready for a busy, full day.
They went straight to the office of the Chief Constable. He met them at the door carrying a box with a new mobile phone in his hand. He smiled at DC Emma Harper and Lucy Spires.
“Good morning. A beautiful sunny day and the latest hi-tech phone has finally arrived,” he said with a wide smile. “Have a seat while, as promised, I’m your coffee maker for this morning.” Lucy Spires had forgotten the last piece of the evening conversation.
“Two nice and strong fresh Lattes?” he said.
“Yes please,” said Lucy Spires before DC Emma Harper could even draw a breath.
“Well, after I spoke to the department to look at trying to get a warrant to look more closely at ‘Shopwell Tyres’, I thought of a way to get them on our side.” With that he gave them their coffees.
Lucy Spires heard him move to behind his desk. He coughed a little to clear his throat. She could hear him tapping numbers on his desk telephone. She could hear a faint ringing tone and then she heard a female voice answer. “Good morning, can I speak to the managing director please?” he said with his usual confidence. Lucy Spires thought he would have made a very good politician. He had confidence and was always very sure of himself. A few seconds later, the soft female voice asked who was calling. “Oh, my name is Chief Constable James Ingram. I would like to discuss our fleet of ninety-two vehicles. I think most may need new tyres.” She put him straight through. He looked at DC Emma Harper and smiled. “Ah, yes good morning Mr Richardson. My name is James Ingram, Chief Constable for the Northern Constabulary. Our tender for our tyres is due for review for our fleet of ninety-two vehicles. I wouldn’t usually get involved personally, but I have to keep a very close eye on budgets. Your company was mentioned at the last charity function I was asked to attend and again at my golf club. As you can imagine, we use a lot of vehicles every day of the year and need to maintain them in top condition. I’ll have my garage manager email the sizes and types we use. If you can get that back to me, my team will make a decision very quickly.” He again smiled in the direction of DC Emma Harper, who, by this time, had drunk her strong coffee. She looked at Lucy Spires; the cup in her hand was also empty. A few seconds later and the conversation was over.
The Chief Constable went on to explain his plan to get ‘Shopwell Tyres’ to help with their investigations. He also felt the sightings of a black motor cycle in the area was a pure coincidence. He wanted the main focus to be the tyre company. Both women left the office impressed with his proactive, unusual approach. He was to ring the managing director back in a few hours and use his charm and potential business dealings to open any door needed to complete their investigations.
Three hours later, detective chief inspector Toby Butler called DC Emma Harper and Lucy Spires into his office. “Sit down ladies, you’ve charmed our Chief Constable into doing some police work. We have unofficial access to ‘Shopwell Tyres’. Apparently the MD shares the same golf club. He will be at his office after the rest of the staff have gone home to assist with our enquiries. Tonight is overtime for you DC Harper, along with DC Henderson and DC Evans. Travel in one car. Lucy, you can go with them or get dropped off at home.”
Lucy Spires said she would like to go with them if possible. At six-fifteen, the four set off to the biggest depot of Shopwell Tyres and the head office of the company.
When they arrived at the depot a short time later, they were met by the managing director Jack Richardson and his son William. The two men greeted them under a large ‘Reception’ sign. Inside the office, the two owners offered the team coffee or tea, but they declined. The team were really interested in one of the large lorries used on the specific dates. They had the registration number of the vehicle. The team didn’t examine any vehicles. The brief they were given was to obtain information of potential suspects, the drivers of the vehicles, but keep the investigation low key, with the reason for the investigation to routinely dismiss the vehicles from their enquiries.
To make sure the two owners weren’t aware of the real reason for the investigations, they took the details of all the vehicles and acquired, more importantly, names of all the drivers. In particular, the main suspect, now known as ‘Richard Edward Garner’. The managing Director said all his drivers usually drove the same vehicles on the same routes. The only exceptions were the companies requiring early deliveries or very late deliveries. This was the main reason for an overnight stay. He went on and said that the lorries had a lot of deliveries across the Northern region, even delivering tractor tyres to farms. The son of the managing director told Lucy Spires they all had ‘nicknames’. Richard Edward Garner was also known as ‘Hairless Reg’. His initials were his nickname. He was called "Hairless Reg as he shaved his entire body hair off! The son of the managing director told Lucy Spires he had worked for his company for around ten years. He lived alone and was a reliable, loyal employee. He was even known to take his lorry home at weekends to clean and polish it. He went on to say that his neighbours thought he was a lovely man. He helped elderly neighbours keep their gardens tidy and did a lot of shopping for them. He never took holidays. He didn’t mind staying out over night as he had no reason to rush home. He was, in the managing director’s opinion, his best worker. The team learned he was scheduled to be away overnight the next three Wednesday nights. They took de
tails of all other employees to make sure no-one was missed as a potential suspect. Lucy Spires took the initiative and asked both men not to tell any members of staff of the police investigation. Her reasons were the police were often seen wasting resources and their time. The managing director said he had no intention of informing them of the police activity; after all, it was routine enquiries to eliminate his employees from serious crimes committed and his company possibly obtaining a lucrative contract.
DC Emma Harper took Lucy home. She felt both exhausted and excited. There was now a named suspect, a serious person of interest. She knew the next day, the team would be tasked to find out everything about this man. She looked forward to the following day with anticipation. A few hours later, as she lay in bed, she felt her life had new meaning and a purpose. Her mind went back to the Farooq El Haj case. She would have liked to bring that particular case to a successful close. He was a particularly vicious and dangerous man. She wondered how his girlfriend was; the information passed by her had been vital. Lucy Spires wondered how many lives he had devastated by bringing in more drugs, people trafficked into the country and all the other illegal crimes he was involved in. She wondered who within the police force was informing Farooq El Haj of the police investigations and keeping him one step ahead of arresting him. Before her mind started on a course of going through details of the case, she knew she needed to sleep. She knew that would have to wait for another day.
Eight o’clock came around and DC Emma harper duly collected her friend. Lucy Spires noticed a different smell as she got into the car.
“Emma,” said Lucy as they drove away. “New perfume? Smells nice!”
“Not really,” came the reply “I’ve ran out of my usual one. My fella got me this one for my birthday. I’m not too keen as it reminds me of his mother, so I haven’t got a lot on! Still, got to keep him happy!” A little laugh came as she said that.
Lucy Spires – The Blind Detective Page 6