Twisted

by Lynda La Plante

  Reid sighed. ‘Whatever was said between Amy and the driver is critical to the investigation. Get the driver traced asap and get him questioned.’

  ‘Yes, guv. Bit of a sad revelation if she was turning tricks.’

  ‘Find the driver before assuming anything. I’ll be back from the school in about an hour.’

  ‘You with the delectable Miss Polka? I wouldn’t mind taking an art class with her.’

  ‘Get on with your work,’ Reid said, then ended the call and returned to the sitting room.

  Yet again she surprised him, her ballet pumps made her so silent. She had in her hand an iPad and held it out for him. ‘I took this from her because if it had been discovered she would have been on detention, which always means they have to return earlier than scheduled on a Sunday, and I knew how she treasured her weekends.’

  He frowned as he took it from her. ‘You should have handed it over before now. Does it have a password?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’m sorry, but I put it in a drawer and forgot about it.’

  She hung her head in an apologetic childish manner, and then spread her hands. ‘I am so sorry but I was concerned about possible repercussions.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘This is very difficult.’ She started running her fingers through her hair again.

  ‘Miss Polka, I have just had a call from one of my officers: your exemplary pupil has been caught on CCTV camera by the vice squad, in her school uniform, turning tricks. It seems she was very likely prostituting herself, so never mind about the cyberbullying and what might be on her iPad, I am now concerned that she was picked up by some bastard and he’s killed her. You have withheld what could be a vital clue as to—’

  At this onslaught she broke down sobbing, and Reid knew he had gone too far. He knew he shouldn’t have lost control, but the phone call had sickened him, and now he was ashamed as she was clearly terribly shocked. He did the unthinkable and put his arms around her.

  ‘Shush. I’m sorry, I should never have let that out, and we do not have confirmation. We also have a situation with her father which I can’t really divulge to you.’

  She buried her face in his shoulder, her whole body shaking. He kept his arms around her, but his intuition was telling him that Miss Polka knew something. It was when she had said ‘repercussions’, and now he wondered if she meant for herself or Amy. Gradually the crying stopped and she slowly moved away from him to make her way with dance-like steps to a box of tissues. She plucked one out, blew her nose and wiped her eyes.

  ‘I could lose my job,’ she said quietly.

  He was certain she was not referring to keeping the iPad, but he was astute enough not to make a reply. Waving the tissue, she gestured to the paintings and nude photographs of herself, and then crumpled the tissue in her hand.

  ‘You know I said I lived with an artist? She was also my partner and when she left me I was devastated. We actually met at art school and it wasn’t until I was thirty-two that I began teaching. I have worked at two schools before being employed here, and although nowadays it is probably acceptable I would say that Miss Harrington might not have offered me this position and the chance to live on the premises had she known about my sexuality.’

  Reid was taken aback, but managed not to show it. She gave a long sigh, and then began to twirl a curl through her fingers.

  ‘I might as well come clean with you, and you have to understand it was truthfully never my intention for it to happen, but now I feel wretched about it. As a teacher I am obviously to blame and should never have allowed myself to be drawn in, but I was, and now if it was to come out then I might as well pack my bags.’

  ‘I can’t promise you anything, but if you know something, and if it is a possible reason for Amy to disappear, then the sooner you tell me the better and I will endeavour to maintain your privacy.’

  ‘Thank you. Loath as I am to admit it, it happened, but it was never instigated by me.’

  He waited, suppressing his irritation and allowing her the time to admit what he suspected.

  ‘It started last term; she had returned from her weekend with her mother, and she had been brought back earlier than usual. It was an awful night with rain lashing down. Anyway, her dorm was empty, and she told me she didn’t want to go into supper as she had already eaten. Sundays I am not on duty but there are always teachers around, but this night for some reason, whether or not it was the truth, she said she was all by herself and felt lonely. I think she might have been standing out in the rain for some time, maybe getting up the courage to come here – either way she was on my doorstep, soaking wet, in just a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. The girls often come back to school at the weekend in their own clothes and bring their clean uniform with them.’

  He wished she’d get on with it, but whether or not she was drawing it all out as an excuse, he didn’t want to interrupt. ‘I invited her in, and as she was soaking I offered to let her use my bathroom and my hair dryer. I put on some soup and boiled a kettle to make a pot of tea, but then she came into the kitchen . . . she was naked apart from a bath towel. She said she had eaten and didn’t want anything, and I swear to you I did not encourage it, but she dropped the towel and embraced me. It does not make it in any way an excuse for what happened next, but in all honesty Amy was the instigator and I did try to dissuade her but she was very insistent.’

  ‘Did it become a regular thing between the two of you?’

  ‘I hoped after the term break it would not be repeated but she would turn up on the odd Sunday evening. I tried very hard to dissuade her from continuing it, but I was in a sort of Catch-22 predicament. I told her I could lose my job and she swore she would never tell anyone, and she never showed any sign that we were having an affair when she was in my class. She never threatened me, but I always got the impression that if I didn’t allow her to be here with me, she could make it difficult.’

  ‘Do you believe that she was experienced sexually?’

  ‘Yes – as I said, she instigated our love-making. I felt guilty as obviously she was underage, but I was also incapable of ending it. I love her, and since she went missing I have been unable to sleep, worrying if I am to blame.’

  ‘Did she ever profess to love you?’

  Miss Polka kept her eyes averted and started to cry, shredding the tissue between her fingers.

  ‘No, she never said anything really. She liked to touch me, kiss my body, but whether or not she had experienced a lesbian relationship before me, she never admitted it. The last time she was here with me was about six weeks before she went missing, and I honestly did try to say that we should not see each other, but whenever I attempted to dissuade her she would ignore it.’

  ‘Did she discuss her parents with you?’

  ‘Not really. It’s hard to understand, but she didn’t talk very much at all. I met her mother a few times at one or other of the parents’ days. She was very glamorous and appeared to be very caring towards Amy, and the same went for her father. I met him a couple of times – it’s no wonder that Amy is so beautiful as both her parents are good-looking, and her father was always charming.’

  ‘She never implied that she was unhappy at home?’

  ‘No, never; she said that their divorce was amicable, and that she had a lot of freedom because she could choose who she spent the weekends with. She never at any time with me hinted that there was a problem with her parents.’

  Miss Polka seemed more at ease and Reid wondered if it was due to the fact that he had shown no reaction. However, when he asked if she felt that Amy was in a way controlling their ‘friendship’, and that if it did not continue she would expose Miss Polka’s sexuality, he saw the first flicker of how she really felt.

  ‘Yes I did, and as I said before I was in a Catch-22 situation, although it never felt as if she was blackmailing me, because she never asked me for anything.’

  Eager to leave, he stood up. ‘I can’t promise not to reveal your lesbia
n relationship with Amy as it is now part of my inquiry.’

  ‘Will you be telling Amy’s parents and the school?’

  He didn’t answer.

  ‘Should I resign as a teacher?’

  He said nothing, refusing to tell her what to do or give her any confirmation of his intentions.

  She ushered him out in her little ballet shoes, through her tiny hallway with all her paintings and pictures of herself. Glancing at them again, he noticed one of a pretty young girl with short blonde hair in her late teens; she was on a beach leaping in the air. It reminded him of Amy but obviously wasn’t her.

  ‘Is that you?’ he asked, pointing to the picture.

  ‘No, it’s my younger sister when we were on our last holiday together.’

  ‘She’s very pretty. Do you get to see her often?’

  ‘Not any more – she died six months later. Brain tumour. So sudden, it was heartbreaking.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realize . . .’

  ‘It’s okay. I miss her dreadfully but have many happy memories.’ She made it clear the subject was closed.

  ‘Thank you for your time and for being open and honest with me,’ Reid said as she opened the front door of her cottage.

  ‘You know, it’s a sort of relief, and if I have to leave here then so be it. I hope that I had nothing to do with her disappearance, because I do still love her.’

  Deep in thought, he walked back down the path, around the various outbuildings and towards the staff car park. He bleeped open his car, placed the iPad on the passenger seat and drove out. He was just heading past the racecourse when he pulled over to the edge of the road to fully take in what he had just been told. Try as he might to form some kind of profile of the missing girl, he found it deeply depressing that nothing quite made any sense. Unless she was so abused she was reaching out for some kind of comfort – but then he had to consider the fact that she was emotionally blackmailing Miss Polka. Even if this was the case, Reid knew that as a teacher she was responsible for her actions. It mattered not whether Amy was a willing participant in the affair as she was under sixteen. In the eyes of the law she was still a child and therefore unable to give informed consent. He felt Miss Polka, as a qualified teacher, must know that she had abused a position of trust and committed the criminal offence of sexual abuse. Not only had she risked her career, but arrest and if convicted a minimum of two years’ imprisonment. Even though Reid was in a quandary about what to do about Miss Polka’s admissions, he felt some admiration of the fact that she had been honest with him. Knowing about the evidence taken from Marcus Fulford’s flat, the Antigua video and vice squad CCTV footage, he believed that Miss Polka was telling the truth about Amy Fulford instigating their lesbian relationship and for now he would keep it to himself.

  Chapter 21

  It was pouring with rain by the time Reid got back to the station and he was in a foul mood. DS Lane made it worse by greeting him with the problems they’d come up against as they attempted to arrange the underwear identification at the forensic lab. Reid listened as Lane told him Marcus Fulford had agreed to be there whenever requested, but Justine Hyde, Gail Summers and two prostitutes were due later that afternoon and he couldn’t be certain that things would run to schedule. Reid grunted that he didn’t give a damn, he just wanted it sorted. ‘When’s Lena Fulford getting there?’

  ‘Car was sent to collect her ten minutes ago,’ Lane said and then in his usual jokey way asked if Miss Polka was also to be present, as he would like to see her again.

  ‘She bats for the other side, Jimmy,’ Reid said to shut him up but deliberately avoided mentioning her affair with her pupil. ‘You got hold of the punter driving the car yet to see what Amy did or didn’t say?’

  ‘DC Wey is going to see him as I’ve got to help you at the lab. He’s an art dealer with a gallery in Brook Street.’

  ‘I told you to get it sorted. I want an answer by tomorrow morning,’ he barked and Lane nodded before walking off sheepishly.

  As Reid drove into the car park at the lab, he could see Lena Fulford heading into the building with DC Burrows. Remembering there was a small waiting room off the main corridor leading to the examination labs, he guessed that was where they would be and as he passed the glass-fronted door he was able to see he was right. He tapped on the glass for Barbara to join him in the corridor, so he could make the suggestion she keep Mrs Fulford waiting until he had time to check out the lab himself. Barbara said Marcus Fulford had called her to say he was on his way in.

  ‘Keep them both in there until I get back to you.’

  Burrows, keen as ever to do as he asked, returned to the waiting room. Reid continued down the long corridor until he reached the double doors of lab two, and was just about to enter when heading towards him was Lane, with two women. They were none too pleased about being there, and Lane hurriedly explained that he had made a mistake and had taken them into lab three. He introduced a Russian girl called Tanya; her companion was a well-endowed Liverpudlian in a faux fur jacket and high-heeled thigh-length boots.

  ‘Bloody liberty this, and I’m losin’ money being here,’ she said in a strong Scouse accent.

  Reid snapped at her that their priority was trying to trace a missing teenager. He told Lane to wait a few minutes, as he wanted to speak to the forensic scientist in charge.

  ‘’Ang on a mo, you’se bizzies saying we just ’ang out in the corridor, do we?’ she snapped back, hands on her hips while switching her head from side to side.

  Reid drew her close by the collar of her faux fur jacket. ‘I didn’t get your name, sweetheart.’

  ‘Joyce, and I ain’t your sweetheart or anyone else’s.’

  ‘Just behave yourself. You’re lucky not to have been arrested, so the quicker you help us the quicker you’ll be out of here and back on the streets to ply your trade, so look at this as a good public relations exercise.’

  Fighting to keep his temper, Reid went into the lab, where an equally belligerent scientist was tapping his wristwatch, ready to confront him.

  ‘It’s almost six and I’ve been on duty here since eight thirty, so I hope this is not going to be a long drawn-out game show. I have been ready since after lunch and there have been repeated phone calls back and forth to Richmond interrupting me. This is not the only case I am working on, DI Reid.’

  ‘Sorry, you are . . . ?’

  ‘Andrew Bracken, filling in for Pete Jenkins who’s out at a crime scene?’

  ‘Just show me the items and we’ll get on with it.’

  Bracken led Reid to a trestle table where the stained ladies’ underwear had been tagged and laid out. Each pair of panties was pinned to display it in an easily identifiable way.

  ‘Okay, I believe you have two girls waiting outside. Let them come in so we can get this over and done with,’ sighed Bracken. ‘I will take a DNA mouth swab as well for profiling and comparison.’

  ‘How much will that cost?’ Reid asked.

  ‘Your job, if you don’t follow correct procedure. What we are doing just now is already highly irregular, but I understand your need for quick answers to assist your investigation in finding out what has happened to Amy Fulford.’

  Lane led in Joyce and Tanya.

  ‘Okay, ladies, move along the table and if you recognize any item as belonging to you, please do not touch it but just point and state that it is yours,’ Bracken said.

  The ringtone of Reid’s mobile began to sound and he stepped outside to take the call. It was Burrows in a state of some agitation, informing him that Marcus Fulford had joined his wife in the waiting room, Justine Hyde was due to arrive at any moment and Gail Summers was in reception. Reid attempted to calm her, suggesting that she offer them tea or coffee, and pointing out there was a vending machine near reception. He was about to go back into the lab when DC Wey appeared.

  ‘Not missed anything, have I?’

  ‘Stop wasting time, Takeaway – what did you get from the art dealer?’<
br />
  Wey flipped open his notebook. ‘The dealer, a Philip Salver, aged fifty-eight, denied ever kerb crawling, and when told he was caught on CCTV said he’d only stopped to ask directions. He’d been to a private gallery exhibition and was actually going to pick up his wife, who was dining with friends—’

  ‘Just get to the point, for Christ’s sake,’ Reid said in a raised voice.

  ‘When I suggested his wife might like to see the CCTV he changed his tune and said it was the first time he’d ever kerb crawled.’ Wey rolled his eyes and continued to read from his notes. ‘Salver said he drove round the block three times and because the girl never moved he assumed she was a hooker so he pulled over and stopped then—’

  ‘Did Amy say anything?’ Reid interrupted impatiently.

  ‘According to Salver she leaned in and said, “What do you want?”, and seeing how young she looked and the school uniform, he panicked and drove off.’

  ‘So she wasn’t soliciting, and didn’t say anything that intimated that was the case,’ Reid remarked.

  Wey shrugged his shoulders. ‘That depends on how you interpret the phrase “what do you want?”, plus she was standing around for a while. Looking at the video, Salver was parked up beside Amy for at least a minute, so a lot more could have been said that he won’t admit to and really we can never prove.’

  Before Reid could react, Lane came out of the lab with Joyce and Tanya, who had both given DNA swabs, but weren’t happy about it.

  Joyce took up her swaggering hands-on-hips stance. ‘Bloody cheek, sticking that horrible thing in our mouths.’

  ‘You’d think she’d be used to it in her trade,’ Wey whispered to Reid, who was not amused.

  ‘What you say, Bruce Lee?’ Joyce asked.