He is Watching You

by Charlie Gallagher

  Chapter 18

  Maddie was in early — 7:30 a.m. — and she was shown to the Major Crime floor by a cheerful cleaner who didn’t appear to speak a word of English. Maddie was concerned that she was being led somewhere completely wrong when they crossed a yard to a separate building entirely, but then the woman gave a beaming smile as she pointed at the words Major Crime above a set of double doors. Maddie thanked her and pushed through.

  It was open plan. Rows of desks were laid out in threes in a similar fashion to the CID floor over in the range. A little more spacious perhaps. There were rooms coming off it that looked as if they’d been set up as meeting rooms. In one, the glass panels in the door were covered crudely by yellowing sheets of A4 paper stuck down with clear tape. She could see Harry Blaker sat at a desk down the far end of the room. He was facing her but he was looking down and hunched over an open book, a silver ballpoint shuffling furiously. A cup steamed next to him. She was aware that Major Crime detectives generally started at 8 a.m. but somehow she had known that Harry would be in already. She scuffed her shoes on purpose as she approached. He didn’t look up. She moved closer. Still he remained bent over his book. His pen stopped.

  ‘Hey, Harry.’ He took his time. He looked up but didn’t change his position.

  ‘How you doin’, kid?’

  ‘The kid thing . . . Any chance we could move on from that?’

  ‘Maybe it’s a term of endearment.’

  ‘Or maybe it’s a term for a junior.’

  ‘You’re in the Major Crime office. This is for experienced detectives. Maybe you are a junior?’

  ‘I’m no one’s junior,’ Maddie bit. She immediately wished she hadn’t. She got the impression he had been trying for one.

  ‘Noted. I’ll try and remember that.’

  ‘How’s your luck? Did the burnt-out vehicle give you a result?’ She moved the subject away.

  ‘We got someone in the bin.’

  ‘Oh really! They in now?’

  ‘No. Last night.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And now they’re back out again.’

  Maddie smiled. Day two of Harry Blaker and she reckoned she was already starting to work him out. She reckoned he was short with everyone so they didn’t come back and bother him. He certainly wasn’t much of a people person and persisting with him was probably the best way to piss him off. And she was nothing if not persistent.

  ‘You bailed him?’

  ‘Early hours.’

  ‘It’s like pulling teeth with you, Harry. But I like a challenge.’

  Harry adjusted his position so he was sitting back a little. ‘And what makes you choose me as your challenge?’

  ‘Maybe you want to be chosen.’ She chanced a smile. He immediately bent back into his notes. His pen started moving again.

  ‘If you bailed him in the early hours . . . have you been home yet?’

  ‘Briefly.’

  ‘Quick change of pants?’

  Harry stopped again. ‘Did you have something you needed from me, kid? It was a long night. I am tired. If you think I was a challenge yesterday, try me today.’

  ‘I didn’t come to try you. I just wanted to run something past you is all. I can come back?’

  ‘Later? I’ll be worse. What do you need?’

  Maddie moved to lean on the desk. ‘At what point does a missing person become someone Major Crime might be interested in?’

  Harry let his pen fall onto his pad. ‘When we suspect foul play.’

  ‘How much cause for suspicion do you need?’

  ‘What have you got?’

  ‘On the surface, not much. I’ve got an alcoholic who has been missing umpteen times in the recent past who hasn’t come home. Reported by her ex-husband because she missed two appointments with their daughter. A uniform cop responded to a concern for welfare call that was put in by a neighbour who claims to have heard shouting at her address. Our missing person told her there was nothing doing and that she was home alone. The officer’s camera shows that someone was moving around in the background. The ex-husband has a bad feeling about it all. He says she’s been clean for eight weeks and has turned a corner. I don’t know . . . I just don’t like it either.’

  ‘You want us to take it on? Based on that?’

  ‘No. I want to keep it. I just wanted some direction and I didn’t want to be stepping on anyone’s toes. If this is the point where you would normally look at it, then I don’t want to be the junior messing up on her first day.’

  Harry picked his pen back up. ‘It’s all yours.’

  ‘Understood. I know she could just turn up with the mother of all hangovers but this is the longest she’s ever been missing. I guess I’m more interested in looking for this one woman than reading through the twelve other cases. I’ve had a brief glance. They’re all crap.’

  ‘There’s a lot of that. You do realise that looking for missing people isn’t actually your job?’

  ‘I do. But no one’s told me that yet.’

  ‘I just did.’

  ‘And I didn’t hear you.’ Maddie was walking away.

  ‘How long has she been missing?’ he called out after her.

  ‘She was reported on Monday but she was last seen on the Friday before that. At an AA meeting.’ She called back over her shoulder.

  ‘An alcoholics’ meeting?’ The interest in Harry’s tone was sudden and clear.

  ‘No. It was a get together of roadside mechanics.’

  ‘Don’t dick about, kid.’

  ‘Well, I thought you weren’t interested! Yes, then, Harry. Alcoholics Anonymous. A meeting in Canterbury. Why’s that important?’

  Harry had stood up. He chewed on his bottom lip. ‘It probably isn’t.’ He sat back down to his notebook. ‘Send me her name ­— now you’ve made me aware.’

  ‘Will do.’ Maddie continued out of the office.

  Chapter 19

  He had to press firmly on the brakes and pull the steering down hard left to make the turn into the track that led through Leonard’s Farm. He nearly overshot it. He had planned to park up in the lay-by that was just twenty metres further back. He was going to wait until he was sure there was no traffic, until he was sure no one could see him pulling onto the property. But he was angry. He knew he was and that it was putting everything at risk. His eyes flicked to the rear-view mirror. He was kicking up a big trail of dust behind him that would be visible for miles. He eased off the throttle and took a deep breath. He was going too fast. He wasn’t thinking straight. He wasn’t being careful.

  He pulled up next to the derelict barn and glanced over at the container. It looked identical to when he had left it a few days earlier. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. The door to the truck was heavy as he pushed it open as far as it would go. The dust cloud was still moving; it caught him out again and quickly filled the cabin. He turned his face away and held his breath. He chastised himself mentally: he was still being hasty, still making mistakes. It was the anger, the fury that had been building up inside him. He needed to unleash it. He needed to get this finished. He stepped out and moved to the back of the truck. The hydraulics hissed. He reached in for a fishing box. It had tackle in it: weights, lines, lures and even a spare reel. It was all ancient, none of it functioning, but it gave him a plausible excuse for the other thing that he was carrying in that box. He lifted out the vicious-looking knife, its handle wrapped tightly in a sterile bandage.

  He stepped away from the truck and took a moment to take in the scenery. He tried to hold his breath, to calm his racing heart so that he’d be able to hear any other vehicle — or person — approaching. There were some bird calls, the sound of the plastic roofing clacking together in the breeze, a rodent moving at the back of the barn. Nothing was out of place. He was alone. He reached back into his vehicle for a paper suit and slipped it on over his clothes. He closed the truck back up.

  He gripped the knife tightly in his right hand. He could feel the weigh
ted handle through two pairs of gloves and the layers of bandage. He could feel his heart racing, too, as he moved towards the container. He passed the bin, the recent scorch marks tainting its metal, and he stopped at the container doors. He listened again . . . still nothing. The doors were still shut and the padlock secured. This close he could smell the odour of death — just a whiff of it in the air. Inside, it would be overpowering. Only the door was holding it all back.

  He pushed the key into the lock and twisted it. The lock snapped open and he pulled it clear. It banged against the metal, loud enough to make it audible from the inside. He put his left hand on the door and stopped still, listening for movement but, more than that, he wanted to savour this moment. It had almost been ruined but he was here now.

  There was a sound! It was so slight he almost dismissed it, but it came again, a scraping noise, louder and stronger. Definite movement from inside. His pulse increased with his excitement. He tensed his arms and chest. He clamped his fist tighter round the handle of the knife.

  He pulled the door open.

  Chapter 20

  Canterbury had more church halls than Maddie had envisaged and it hadn’t been easy finding the right one. This was it, though. The doors were open. She could hear beating music and loud instructions being called out by a breathless-sounding woman. She walked along a corridor lined with faded blue boards with notices and charity appeals that had slipped to hang at an angle. There was another door at the end. She pushed it open to reveal the main hall. It was hot and musty. Double doors on both sides hung open. She could see around fifteen women in Lycra outfits stretching in unison. Each stood in front of a mat and they were all heavily out of breath and flushed with exertion. It looked to Maddie like a warm-down, the end of the class. There were wooden benches running along one of the walls. She moved over to take a seat. She would wait.

  Only one of the women was facing her. She seemed to be in charge. She led the stretches and she had a microphone taped off around her ear.

  ‘If it hurts now, it just means you’ve worked hard!’ she hollered. ‘No pain, no gain!’

  Maddie thought she could see a lot of pain around the floor. She wasn’t sure about the gain. A few more stretches, a lot more looks of anguish and the class finished.

  Maddie stayed seated. She was certain the woman leading the class had seen her. The participants all moved away through the same door she had come in. The woman wiped herself down with a towel. She stacked up a few of the mats that were closest to her, then walked over.

  ‘Thinking of giving it a go?’ She held out a card and Maddie took it. It read: Kelly Dower, Throw some shapes to change your shape.

  ‘Nice slogan,’ Maddie said.

  ‘It works too. You get a room full of people dancing and they don’t even know they’re working out. It’s a great way to get what you want while having fun.’

  Maddie grinned through the sales spiel. Her mind flicked back to the exhausted faces that had just filed out. She was pretty certain those women had known they were in a workout. ‘I’ll bear it in mind. I am new to the area. This is the sort of thing I might be interested in.’

  Kelly Dower stopped dabbing her brow. ‘That’s not why you’re here then?’

  ‘No, actually. Sorry . . . Kelly. I was actually after speaking to whoever arranges the bookings for the room. Would you mind helping me out?’

  Kelly’s eyes shifted to look her over. ‘You after running a fitness class as well?’

  ‘No! I’m not the competition, Kelly, don’t you worry about that. I’m just looking for someone who comes to one of the other groups in this hall. I was hoping someone here might have her details. They may be able to help me find her.’

  The woman was still eyeing her suspiciously. ‘I’m not really into helping people find people. Some of the groups here . . . you get participants who’d rather not be known.’

  Maddie had a realisation. Her hand snatched to her rear pocket. She pulled out her police badge and opened it up for Kelly’s benefit. ‘I really should have said this bit from the start!’ she chuckled. ‘I’m a police officer. I specialise in looking for missing persons. One of the women we’re seeking, the last confirmed sighting of her was in this building. There are a lot of people concerned for her safety. I’m one of them.’

  Kelly relaxed visibly. ‘A police officer! Yes, you really should have said that. Sorry, I thought you were just some random trying to find someone. I don’t like getting into other people’s business. Did this girl come to mine?’

  ‘No. There’s an AA meeting run from here, I understand?’

  ‘There is, yeah. It runs on a Friday morning. I had a dance class that used to start straight after it before I changed the time. I assume it’s still going.’

  ‘Do you know who set it up?’

  ‘I’ve got the number I use. I guess it’s the same person. Just let me get hold of my phone and you can have it.’

  ‘That would be great, thanks.’

  She watched the woman walk to the back of the room. She dug around in a bag and walked back over with a pen. ‘Do you still have that card I just gave you?’ Maddie handed it back. She watched Kelly scrawl a number out on it. She also wrote a name: Jeremy.

  ‘Do you know anything else about him?’

  ‘I don’t. I don’t really have much to do with him. I set the class time up as a regular thing and I drop money in a lock box in one of the rooms here. I run my own list of attendees, mostly over Facebook.’

  ‘Understood. Thanks very much.’

  ‘No problem. And bear me in mind, yeah, if you fancy a bit of a workout. We’re a good bunch and you certainly look like you can keep up!’

  ‘I will do, thanks.’

  Maddie waited until she was back in her car before she dialled the number. She was just about to give up when it was answered.

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Oh, hey, is this Jeremy?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Jeremy, my name is Maddie Ives, I’m a . . . I’m a detective sergeant from just down the road at Canterbury police station. I was hoping to talk to you regarding an investigation I’m running at the moment.’

  ‘You don’t sound too sure about it. About being a detective or whatever.’

  ‘It’s a bit of a new thing for me. I’ve been a cop a long time but the detective thing is new. So I need your help.’

  ‘With what?’

  ‘A missing person actually. It’s nothing to do with you as such and certainly nothing to worry about, but—’

  ‘I don’t know anything about no missing person.’

  Maddie took a second before answering. ‘No, of course not. And how could you? I haven’t even told you who she is yet!’

  ‘I don’t get involved with people like that. I don’t get involved with the police either to be honest. You could be anyone.’

  ‘You’re right. I tell you what . . . how about I come meet you. I can show you my ID and we can talk about what you might know. Does that sound okay?’

  ‘Not really. I get busy, you know?’

  ‘I’m very busy, too, Jeremy. I’m not calling you up to waste your time, or mine. You might be one of the last people to have seen a vulnerable young lady before she went missing. That makes you important. I suggest you make time.’ Maddie was aware of a very obvious huff from the other end of the phone. She didn’t bite. She let him consider his options for a few seconds. He spoke again.

  ‘What do you need me for?’

  ‘You arrange the use of the church hall, right?’

  ‘Some.’

  ‘Fine. The AA meetings, do you arrange those?’

  ‘I run those. So what?’

  ‘Great. So there you are. You are more important than we realised. One of the members of that group hasn’t been seen since she attended your meeting. I need to talk to you to see if you remember her, to see if she said anything that might help and to talk about who else was there.’

  ‘It’s anonymous.’

/>   ‘I get that, Jeremy. Thank you.’ Maddie took a second to quell her anger.

  ‘I don’t know who they are, they don’t know who I am. It’s a safe environment.’

  ‘It got a lot less safe for one of the members when she left. I’m very concerned about her. If I could just come and talk to you—’

  ‘No, I don’t think so. I don’t talk about those meetings. That’s what the whole thing is built on.’

  ‘I appreciate . . . hello?’ the line was dead. Maddie swore loudly. She wiped her mouth and peered out of the car. She pressed the redial button. It rang out. She pressed it again — same result. She waited. She would sit there for thirty seconds and try again. She would keep doing it until he picked up. She was stubborn when she was pissed off.

  The phone rang in her hand. It was a concealed number. She considered that it might be Jeremy calling her back.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Maddie Ives?’ The voice was gruff with a flat tone — instantly recognisable.

  ‘Harry Blaker, if I’m not mistaken.’

  ‘Very good. Where are you?’

  ‘I have no real idea. I’m just off a major road leading out of the city. Sturry Road, I think?’

  ‘Okay. You need to head back in. We have a meeting in ten minutes.’

  ‘We do? Did I miss something? I wasn’t aware—’

  ‘No, you didn’t miss anything. Ten minutes.’

  For the second time in quick succession someone hung the phone up on her.

  * * *

  Maddie was a little longer than ten minutes. She headed for the Major Crime office. She could see Harry standing in one of the meeting rooms off to the right. When she walked into the room she could see a big flat-screen television projecting a video conference. DCI Julian Lowe’s image filled half of the screen. He was sitting at a desk. The upper right quarter of the screen showed five people in smart clothing, all seated at a round table and looking attentive. The final quarter, at the bottom right showed Harry Blaker but, much to her embarrassment, became filled with her face as she stood too close to a wall-mounted camera. Harry spoke.