FORGOTTEN VICTIM an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detective Rachel King Thrillers Book 4)

by HELEN H. DURRANT

  “I’ve been trying to rouse her for ages but she hasn’t moved,” he sobbed.

  Rachel sprang forward and got down on her knees to check on her. “What happened?”

  “Him and his fists.” Siddall nodded at Pearce. “He thumped her.”

  “Has anyone rung an ambulance?” Elwyn asked.

  “I did,” Siddall said. “That stupid sod has lost his tongue.”

  Ray Pearce tore his eyes away from Rita. “She got in the way,” he mumbled. “That punch was meant for him, not her.”

  “Elwyn,” Rachel whispered. “There are uniforms across the road guarding the mill, get a couple over here. Ray Pearce is coming with us.”

  Rita didn’t look good. She appeared to have trouble breathing and her lips were blue. “He hit her hard?” she asked Siddall.

  “Yes, caught her right here.” He pointed to the spot on his own body. “He’s a heavy man. Those fists — God knows what damage he’s done.”

  Rachel was concerned that Rita might have a ruptured spleen, or some other internal damage. She was thin, and had no meat on her bones to protect her.

  Pearce was standing by the bar, looking dazed. “I didn’t mean it, she knows that. Rita and me, we have an understanding.”

  Siddall looked him in the eye. “And we know exactly what that is, don’t we, mate? Don’t like her behaviour or her attitude and you curb it with violence. You’ve never been any different.”

  Rachel looked up at Elwyn. “See how far away that ambulance is, she’s not good.” Rachel took hold of Rita’s hand. Poor woman, she had a hard life. Rachel couldn’t understand why she stayed. The pub was in dire need of renovation. With its walls of dingy brown paint, it had a depressing ugliness about it. Rachel doubted the living quarters were much different.

  “Don’t worry, Rita,” she whispered. “Help’s on its way.” To her huge relief, minutes later the ambulance arrived.

  Chapter Forty-one

  Eyes on the floor, Ray Pearce sat with his solicitor opposite Rachel and Elwyn. He was subdued, the blustering bully from the Spinners Arms had disappeared.

  “What is it between you and Andy Siddall?” Elwyn began.

  “Rita,” he said simply. “Him and her, they’re close, and I won’t stand for it. It was bad enough when she had a thing for Wellburn, now Siddall seems to have taken his place.”

  “That’s no reason to try to thump him,” Rachel said.

  “You have no idea. Siddall is a piece of work. You don’t know him like I do.”

  “Well, you made a big mistake this time, Ray,” Elwyn said. “You will be charged with assault on your wife.”

  He shrugged, cocky again. “She won’t press charges. Once Rita’s fixed up, she’ll come home, like she always does.”

  “You’re very sure of that,” Rachel said.

  “She won’t go with Siddall if that’s what you’re thinking. Yeah, they’re close, but Rita won’t leave me. Rita’s problem is she’s not independent enough, can’t manage on her own. If she could, she’d have walked out years ago.”

  “So, you’re certain about the charges,” Elwyn said.

  Ray Pearce looked at him as if he was stupid.

  “I’ll talk her round. Bunch of flowers, you know. Rita’s easily swayed.” He grinned.

  “Sooner or later, Ray, Rita will get sick and tired of being your punchbag,” Rachel said.

  “Not this time. She’ll come home, you’ll see.”

  Ray Pearce seemed to be under the illusion that if Rita didn’t press charges, they had little or no chance of keeping him. That wasn’t true, but it would save time if Rita cooperated. And right now, more than anything, Rachel wanted this man locked up. Clipping Ray Pearce’s wings was the only way to keep Rita safe from harm.

  There was a knock on the door. Amy, wanting an urgent word with Rachel. She was holding several sheets of paper and looked excited.

  “I’ve found something, ma’am, it’s important,” Amy said.

  Rachel joined her in the corridor. “Can’t it wait until we’ve finished with Pearce?”

  “No, ma’am, you need to hear this.”

  Amy took a sheet from the papers and thrust it towards Rachel. “That house on Redhill Terrace, the one at the end of the tunnel?”

  Rachel nodded. “Go on.”

  “About three years ago, Ray Pearce rented the place for a few weeks. And it fits our timescale for the murder.” Amy smiled triumphantly.

  Rachel gave her a pat on the back. This was exactly what was needed. “Good work, Amy, you’ve done well.” Rachel looked at the sheet. “Do we know who owns the house?”

  “The Shawcross Estate.”

  That was interesting, but it didn’t surprise Rachel. Redhill Terrace wasn’t that far from the mill and at one time the estate had owned all the houses in the area. This new information meant that even if Rita didn’t press charges, they had enough on Ray Pearce to hang on to him while further investigations were carried out. What they wanted now was to know why he’d rented the house and if it had anything to do with Wellburn’s murder.

  Rachel returned to the interview room and sat down. After a few moments’ silence, she handed the sheet to Elwyn and gave him a wink.

  “Okay, Mr Pearce. Redhill Terrace. Why did you need to rent a house when you already had a home?”

  Pearce’s eyes widened and he turned pale. “I didn’t. You’ve made a mistake.”

  “No. We have the documentation here.” She put down the paper in front of him. “You rented the house for a period of one month. It says so here.”

  He shrugged. “So? I’d forgotten. It was a while ago. Me and Rita weren’t getting on. I rented it as a bolthole in case we split up. The tenancy of the Spinners Arms is in her name, so if things got tricky it’d be me that would have to leave.”

  Sounded plausible enough, but he was lying. His body language spoke volumes. He shifted in his seat, played with his hands and he couldn’t look her in the face.

  “There’s a flagstone in the cellar of that house,” Rachel said. “It leads down into a tunnel that goes directly to Shawcross Mill.”

  Pearce glanced at his solicitor. “Where’s this rubbish coming from? A tunnel, you say. That’s all very interesting, but it has nothing to do with me. I never actually moved into that address, ask anyone. Me and Rita sorted things out and I was able to get out of the lease.”

  “I don’t believe you, Mr Pearce,” Rachel said. “We found a body in that tunnel, that of a man known to have been in a relationship with your wife. That gives you a motive. You’ll be staying here until we’ve completed our enquiries.”

  “I want to make that phone call now.”

  “Certainly. The desk sergeant will arrange it. Who do you want to speak to?” Rachel asked.

  “Mathew Shawcross,” Pearce said.

  Chapter Forty-two

  Ray Pearce’s request threw Rachel completely. Why him? Unless he wanted to speak to Mathew Shawcross because he would have been the landlord at the time Pearce had rented the house, but even so. “What possible relationship can that pair have?” she asked the team. “And more to the point, why does Pearce think that Shawcross will help him?” She looked round at their blank faces. “C’mon. Doesn’t anyone have a theory?”

  “I think someone is orchestrating the drug dealing,” Elwyn said. “Sherwin was the public face, but Pearce could have been the one running things. He was close enough to the mill, the pub is right across the street. We know that Millie Shawcross and her boyfriend were involved with Sherwin — essentially, he was blackmailing them to do his bidding. If I’m right then Pearce will know this and thinks he can now manipulate Shawcross, persuade the man to help him.”

  “You mean to keep his daughter out of it? You think perhaps Millie was more involved than we were led to believe?” said Rachel.

  “With regard to the dealing, who knows? But it wouldn’t surprise me. Her boyfriend is an addict,” Jonny said.

  “And as you pointed ou
t in there, Pearce does have a motive for killing Gavin Wellburn,” Elwyn said. “He’s a jealous man, controlling. If he found out about Rita’s affair, he’s the type who would lash out.”

  “Lashing out is one thing, but Wellburn was shot in both legs and left to rot. It was hardly a spur-of-the-moment killing,” Rachel said.

  “I still don’t understand why Pearce needed the house on Redhill Terrace, or the tunnel,” Jonny said. “Until we put a stop to it, drugs were going in and out of that mill all the time — through the front gates.”

  Jonny had a point. She’d been struggling with that one too. That house had been rented because a hole could be dug from the cellar intersecting with the tunnel leading to the mill. That was a lot of work, and right now, Rachel could see no reason for it. But someone must have thought it worthwhile enough to put in the hard labour.

  “Did you find anything on that address?” she asked Elwyn.

  “Sorry, Rachel, I’ve not had the time,” Elwyn said.

  “Stella,” Rachel called out. “Do a comprehensive search for anything we’ve got on that address in Redhill Terrace. Jonny, Amy, go and find Dylan Healey and bring him in. We’ll see if he is feeling more talkative now that Sherwin’s dead. He knows that area and everything that goes on there. Elwyn and I will go and speak to Shawcross.”

  Rachel glanced at the office clock. It was gone four in the afternoon — the traffic would be heavy. “Sorry, this will take a while. Have you got plans?”

  Elwyn pulled a face and shook his head. “No, you?”

  “I’d better ring home, check in.”

  “Do we call and tell Shawcross we’re coming?”

  “No. Let’s surprise him.”

  * * *

  “Everything okay at home?” Elwyn asked as they negotiated the traffic queuing to get on to the Kingsway roundabout.

  “Couldn’t be better. Seems Jed has a domestic side I was totally unaware of. Hope he keeps it up. He’s staying with us while the legal stuff for next door is completed,” Rachel said.

  “You’ve moved him in? That didn’t take long.”

  “He’s in the spare room and that’s where he’s staying,” Rachel said firmly. “Although I will admit, he’s surprised me. He seems happy enough to slot into my mad family and help where he can. The baby hasn’t fazed him either.”

  Elwyn smiled. “That’s good news but what about the girls, how are they taking it?”

  “Mia is delighted, she took to Jed from the off. Megan, I’m not so sure how that will pan out. For the time being she’s hardly home, too busy shifting her stuff into her mate’s flat in town. I did try to have the conversation but her head’s full of other stuff.”

  “All you have to do now is tell Kenton and arrange your maternity leave. How long will you take? I have to admit, your use of the word ‘extended’ had me bothered.”

  “I’m still weighing that one up, but you deserve the truth, Elwyn. If Jed and I do make a go of it, and it works, I won’t be rushing back. I’ll go off as soon as I can and once the baby comes, I intend to take at least a year.”

  Elwyn’s face fell. “Makes sense. Jed McAteer can well afford to keep you.”

  “If I let him,” Rachel said sharply. “I’m not marrying the man — well, not yet.”

  “Be sure you know what you’re doing, Rachel. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Neither did she. And it was a gamble. Her relationship with Jed had always been volatile. Arguing was all very well when they were alone, but it wouldn’t do to carry on like that in front of her daughters. Rachel turned to look at the passing countryside. A few miles out of the city and the scenery was completely different. The tall concrete buildings and traffic gave way to neat houses with gardens and trees. Even the sky looked bluer.

  “Things will be different this time, Elwyn. I can feel it. Both me and Jed have learned a lot in the past years, particularly about what’s really important.”

  They were turning into the drive of Shawcross’s house. “How do we play this?” asked Elwyn.

  “Carefully. We don’t want to antagonise the man. I’m hoping he’ll help us, talk to us candidly about Millie and what she’s been up to.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  “We’ll have to speak to the girl herself, and her boyfriend.”

  Chapter Forty-three

  Mathew Shawcross swore, then stared at the two detectives in angry silence. Rachel flinched. Maybe he genuinely didn’t know what Millie had been up to. If he had, he was doing a damn good job of fooling them.

  “You believe my daughter is involved with a known drug dealer? That she is in a relationship with an addict and buys drugs for him?” His voice rose.

  “We realise it’s a lot to take in, Mr Shawcross, but we know it to be true,” Rachel said.

  His face was red with rage. “There’s no way she’d do that. Who is spreading these lies? Come on, who told you this rubbish about Millie, and who is this supposed dealer?”

  “His name is Billy Sherwin. He was recently the victim of a fatal shooting. He did most of his dealing out of your mill in Ancoats. It is a regular haunt for addicts, and one of those is your daughter’s boyfriend, Damon Brooke.”

  At the mention of the name, Shawcross turned even redder. “I warned her! I told Millie he was no good, but she’s exactly like her mother, takes no notice and goes her own way.”

  “Have you heard the name Billy Sherwin before?” Elwyn asked him. “Has he ever contacted you, for example, asking for money?”

  Shawcross’s head shot up. “No! Why would he? Besides, he’d get nothing from me.”

  “Sherwin threatened people. He was a thug who thought nothing of using physical violence to intimidate his customers,” Rachel said.

  “Did he hurt Millie?” There was genuine fear in his eyes.

  “No, we don’t believe so, but he did force her to provide false alibis for him.”

  “Let me make something clear. I have never heard the name, and if Millie had come to me, we’d have told you lot straight away. That sort of business needs stamping out.”

  He looked rattled, but Rachel pushed on. She needed to get to the truth. “I am aware that you and Millie have had your problems in the past.”

  “That young detective’s been gossiping, has he? He’s no doubt given you the juicy lowdown on our private lives. Did he tell you she didn’t even use the Shawcross name for years, choosing instead to use her mother’s? Millie is hot-headed, acts before she thinks and has no sense of what’s good for her. I had hoped she’d settled down. Fat chance of that. My heart sank when I learned she was seeing Brooke. I could tell from just looking at him that he was no good.”

  “You really didn’t know about the drugs?” Elwyn asked.

  “I said not, didn’t I?” he retorted. “Bloody cheek, using my mill to sell the filthy stuff.”

  “Did you know about the tunnel?” Rachel said, changing tack.

  “Yes, of course. You found that body in there. That tunnel is very old. It connects to the site of the old brickyard if I remember correctly.”

  Rachel nodded. “When was it last used?”

  Shawcross gave a hollow laugh. “When the body was dumped in it, I imagine. Why do you ask?”

  “Just curious.” She smiled. “Have you ever been down there?”

  “I’ve not been near that mill in years. Why would I? I’m not likely to now, either. It’s on the market and I’ve finally got a developer interested in the land.”

  That was one to ask Jed about when she finally got home.

  “Thank you for your time. We may need to speak to you again,” Rachel said, getting to her feet. “One last thing. Do you know a man called Ray Pearce?”

  “No, why? Who is he?”

  “Currently he’s under arrest and as such he is permitted to have someone notified of his arrest. He gave us your name as the person he wants to speak to. Do you know why he’d do that?” she asked.

  “No idea. It has to
be some sort of joke.”

  “I doubt that,” Rachel said. “What he was arrested for is no joking matter.”

  Shawcross frowned. “Is Millie in any sort of trouble?”

  “She lied for Sherwin, but since he did threaten her, I doubt much will come of it.”

  “I’ll have the family lawyer on standby just in case. Millie is a lot of things, but she’s my only child,” Shawcross said. “Despite what she might have done, it’s up to me to protect her.”

  * * *

  “Well, that was a waste of time,” Elwyn said, back at the incident room. “He told us nothing, didn’t even admit to knowing Pearce.”

  “I can forgive that. He was angry about his daughter, but he certainly didn’t tell us everything. I don’t think Mathew Shawcross is as open and honest as I first thought. But if I’m right, what’s he hiding?”

  The incident room was empty except for Jonny. He was at his computer, ploughing through mobile phone records.

  “Jonny, you’ve done your fair share today. Get off home,” Rachel told him.

  “I’ve got something, ma’am. These are Siddall’s phone records. Everything is fairly standard, except for several calls to another mobile. No name, just a number, and it’s not registered to anyone.”

  “You’ve tried calling it?”

  “Yes, but it’s turned off.”

  “We’ll just have to ask Siddall himself then.” Rachel thought for a moment. “Give that number to the tech people, see if they can help. They may be able to get a fix on where it’s being used from, which mast it pinged, that type of thing.” She looked at the clock. “But in the morning. It’s getting late. Did we find Healey?”

  “Not a trace of him, ma’am. He must have gone to ground since his fracas with Pearce.”

  “No matter, we’ll deal with that tomorrow too.” She turned to Elwyn. “I’m off home. Don’t stay here until the death, either of you.”

  Rachel was looking forward to putting the case behind her for the evening. Jed would have a meal ready, and then the pair of them could discuss the future. That thought made her nervous. Rachel had often dreamed of a future with Jed but now that it was about to happen, she could see the problems. They needed to plan the way forward, thrash out some ground rules, stick to them and, hopefully, all would be well.