Broken Girls: A totally addictive and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Bernadette Noel Book 2)

by Joy Kluver

  The stalemate progressed. Both Worth and Hart asked questions but Ryan refused to answer. Bernie was frustrated. She paced the small viewing room. She knew Ryan would talk to her.

  ‘I think we’re going to pause for a short break. The time is twenty zero five hours,’ said Worth.

  DC Hart switched off the recording.

  ‘Perhaps you would like a drink, Ryan. A tea or coffee?’ asked Alice.

  Ryan finally looked up. ‘Coffee, please. Two sugars. And maybe get the fit one to bring it. I’ll talk to her but no one else.’

  Bernie wanted to punch the air. When Worth gave a sideways glance to DC Hart, she knew how much this must be killing him.

  ‘OK, Ryan. Although I think Detective Inspector Noel would prefer to not be called the “fit one”,’ said the DCI.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Bernie. She grinned at Mick, who was still rubbing his chin.

  38

  Bernie placed a plastic cup with coffee in it in front of Ryan. She pressed record on the machine.

  ‘This is Detective Inspector Noel resuming interview with Ryan Willis at twenty fifteen hours. I gather you want to talk to me.’

  Ryan nodded, a slightly sulky look on his face.

  ‘I thought anything I said was just between you and me.’

  ‘It was but there’s been quite a significant development. Ryan, I have to ask you this, where were you on Saturday from, say, three p.m. onwards?’

  Ryan slurped his coffee and then pulled a face. ‘Tastes like shit, man. How do you drink this all day?’

  ‘I don’t. We have a higher quality instant up in our kitchen. This is the Custody special. So unless you want more of this crappy coffee for the next twenty-four hours, you’d better answer my question.’

  Ryan blew noisily out of his mouth. ‘I was working at the farm all day. We were dipping the sheep. Fun job.’

  ‘So, your family can vouch for you?’

  ‘Yes, and some farmhands that Dad took on for the summer and autumn. Why are you asking me this?’

  Bernie paused. Should she tell him? She was aware Worth was watching. She decided to take the risk.

  ‘A girl went missing on Saturday. Laura Moffatt. Do you know her?’

  Ryan rubbed his nose. ‘Vaguely. Her family owns the farm on the other side of the railway tracks. I did hear about a girl going missing. I hadn’t realised it was her though. God, that’s awful. Maybe she got spooked by the dead girl in the woods.’

  ‘No. We have reason to believe she met someone online. Do you know a Luke Davidson?’

  Ryan looked thoughtful as he picked a spot on his cheek. ‘No, I don’t think so. There used to be a Luke at school but I’m fairly certain his surname wasn’t that.’

  ‘OK. What about Instagram? Are you on that? Or any other social media?’

  ‘God, no, I’m not on Instagram. I’m on Twitter though.’

  ‘Why not Instagram?’

  ‘I was for a while but then I came off. Too many old classmates looking me up and writing shit comments.’

  ‘And they don’t on Twitter?’

  Ryan twisted in his chair. ‘Different name on there.’

  ‘You haven’t thought about using a different name on Instagram then?’

  ‘No.’ He glanced at the table.

  ‘What name do you use on Twitter then?’

  Ryan flushed. ‘Promise you won’t laugh?’

  ‘Not sure if I can guarantee that.’

  ‘It’s Wilts Farm Boy.’

  Bernie smiled. ‘There’s nothing wrong with that.’ She tipped her head to one side and looked at Ryan closely. ‘You like being anonymous, don’t you?’ She saw a sheen of sweat appear on his face. ‘Why is that?’

  Ryan rubbed his nose again. ‘It’s hard being the youngest. People always comparing me to Will and Gareth, especially teachers. I’m not clever or sporty. I don’t know any of my followers on Twitter but they like my tweets and reply. I can just be me.’

  Bernie found herself feeling sorry for Ryan but then she remembered the ABC of police work – assume nothing, believe no one and challenge everything.

  ‘I want to go back over what you told me about the motorcyclist.’

  Ryan took another slurp of the coffee and pulled a face. ‘Doesn’t get any better as it cools down, does it? I’ve already told you he was dressed completely in black. I didn’t recognise his voice. He had a bird with him. She didn’t say anything. Was wearing a black jacket and helmet. A short skirt or dress. In heels. What else do you want to know?’

  She desperately wanted to ask him about the cave Kerry had found but knew she needed to keep that info to herself for the moment.

  ‘You raced to the end of the lane but no further. Is that right? Or did you go over the little bridge and up the track?’

  Ryan looked at her warily. ‘Just to the end of the lane. We don’t go onto the track normally.’

  ‘Why’s that?’

  ‘It’s dark and quite steep.’

  Bernie tapped her fingers on the desk. Does he believe the ghost story? She looked casually at Ryan. ‘Nothing to do with the legend then.’

  ‘Legend?’

  ‘Apparently it’s haunted.’

  Any cockiness that Ryan had had, appeared to have left him.

  ‘I think that’s why you don’t go up there at night, isn’t it?’

  Ryan’s sweat was more obvious now. Bernie could even smell it.

  ‘What is it about the track next to Wroughton’s Folly that bothers you? Or maybe you know it better as Maggots Wood.’

  Perspiration was dripping down Ryan’s face, his breath shallow.

  ‘Ryan, are you all right?’

  His voice came in gasps. ‘I need… to… get out… of… here.’

  Bernie pressed the alarm button as Ryan slid to the floor, hitting his head on the edge of the table.

  ‘That went well, then,’ said DCI Worth as the ambulance took Ryan Willis away. ‘Seems to be a habit of yours, DI Noel. Witnesses going to hospital after being questioned by you. Make sure you write it up in the accident log and then get the room cleaned. He certainly bled a lot.’

  Bernie bit her lip to stop herself from speaking out.

  ‘I’ll be in my office, should anyone need me,’ said Worth.

  Bernie felt a poke in her ribs. It was Kerry.

  ‘You OK?’

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘Don’t feel guilty about it. It wasn’t your fault. It sounds as though you tapped into a memory of Ryan’s. Something happened to him on that track. Something bad.’

  39

  ‘Got anything yet, Tom?’ Bernie asked.

  ‘Well, considering Instagram is all about photos, he has very few on his account. Apart from his profile pic, which probably isn’t him anyway, there are no other personal photos. The ones that are up are mostly of landscapes. I thought they might be of anywhere but Matt reckons they’re local.’

  ‘Yeah, definitely. They’re off the beaten track but I recognise them, especially this one. There’s a similar picture on the board over there.’ Matt scrolled down Luke Davidson’s page and clicked on a photo.

  ‘Oh my God, that’s the track,’ Bernie said. ‘When did he post that?’

  ‘A month ago. Checking it out perhaps?’

  ‘God, yes. Did he put a comment?’

  ‘Just “out for a ride”. Do you think we have enough to convince Worth that the two cases are connected?’

  Bernie grimaced. ‘Only one way to find out. He can’t keep ignoring the evidence when a girl’s life is at stake.’

  Bernie paused before knocking on the door. It sounded as though the DCI was on the phone. She couldn’t quite catch what he was saying but his side of the conversation sounded terse. When she heard the phone click down, she knocked.

  ‘Come in.’

  Bernie opened the door.

  ‘Sorry to disturb you, sir, but we’ve found some more information. It’s looking far more likely that Laura’s di
sappearance is connected with our dead woman.’

  Worth signalled for her to go on.

  ‘Laura has been groomed online. The “boy” who’s been contacting her calls her “babe” and writes about having a motorbike. We’ve found a message between Laura and “Luke Davidson”, detailing where to meet in Salisbury, including where he would pick her up – in a service road behind the place we tracked her to on CCTV.

  ‘I wanted to ask Ryan Willis about what the motorcyclist had said. He called the woman with him “babe”. And now, Tom and Matt have just found a photo of the track by the woods on Luke Davidson’s Instagram page. I’m sure the cases are connected. In which case, Laura is with a very dangerous man who’s already killed once.’

  Worth rolled a pen between his fingers.

  ‘Firstly, you got one of my officers to do some work for you…’

  ‘Actually, sir, DC Taylor is one of my officers…’

  ‘Please don’t interrupt me. Secondly, there were two riders in that final race and we don’t have identities for them so we don’t know for certain that Laura is with either of them. Thirdly, why are you only telling me this information now? Don’t you think it would have been useful to have known this before I interviewed Ryan Willis? We only have his word about this motorcyclist. No one else from the race has come forward. It might not even have happened. He might have made the whole thing up to cover his tracks. Don’t you realise that Ryan Willis is now our prime suspect?’

  Bernie could see it looked bad for Ryan but her gut instinct told her something different.

  ‘He says he has an alibi for when Laura disappeared.’

  ‘Then you’d better go and check it.’

  Bernie glanced at her watch. It was close to nine thirty. ‘Now?’

  ‘Yes, now. You can go home afterwards. And you’re going to need more evidence that it’s the same man for both cases. We have to be one hundred per cent sure before we alert the public. Anything that might suggest a serial offender will cause a massive stir and the press will be over us like a rash. Be aware that I’ll be watching you closely from now on.’

  40

  Bernie knocked on the farmhouse door. A TV was muted, followed by a shuffling noise inside and a dog barking.

  ‘Who is it?’ said a voice, from behind the door.

  ‘Stan, it’s me, DI Bernie Noel.’

  ‘Ah, Bernie, wait a minute.’

  A key turned in the lock and then the door opened.

  ‘Hi, Stan. I’m so sorry to call late. It’s about Ryan.’

  ‘Oh, I know all about Ryan. Janet and Ron have gone rushing over to the hospital. I have to say Janet’s a bit cross with you and your lot.’

  Bernie sighed. ‘I don’t blame her. Can I come in, please? I need to ask a few questions and hopefully your answers will help Ryan.’

  Stan moved back. ‘That’s all right. I know you’re only doing your job. Since Janet isn’t here, I can’t offer you a cuppa, I’m afraid.’

  Bernie took the hint. ‘How about if I make us one?’

  ‘That would be lovely, dear. And there might even be some cake in the tin if you want some.’

  ‘None for me, thanks. But do you want a slice, Stan?’

  ‘Well, if it’s not too much trouble.’ He winked his good eye.

  The fire crackled as Stan poked at it. Bernie set the tea and cake down on a little table next to his armchair.

  ‘There you go, Stan. I’ve only given you a small bit, though. I don’t want to upset Janet.’

  Stan tapped the side of his nose. ‘Just between you and me. Now, what did you want to ask me?’

  ‘Do you know where Ryan was on Saturday? Particularly in the afternoon.’

  ‘Yes, he was here. We had to dip the sheep. It was a full-on family affair. All the boys were here to help Ron and we’ve had some Polish chaps helping us too.’

  ‘I don’t mean to be rude, Stan, but your eyesight…’

  ‘My eyesight is bad, I know. But there’s nothing wrong with my hearing. I was talking with him.’

  Bernie smiled. ‘OK. But I’ll still need a visual confirmation.’

  Stan slurped his tea. ‘All right. But there’s something else you want to know, isn’t there?’

  Bernie laughed. ‘How did you know?’

  ‘You could have confirmed that alibi over the phone. And I think you knew Ron and Janet wouldn’t be here. There’s something you think only I know.’

  ‘You’re uncanny. How did you know?’

  ‘Wisdom of old age. So, shoot.’

  Bernie drank some of her tea before she started. ‘When I was talking to Ryan this evening, I asked him why he only rode up to the bridge for the race and not over and up the track. He suddenly went very strange and that’s when he fainted. Well, I say suddenly, he’d been anxious for a while. I could see it in his body language.’

  ‘Ah,’ said Stan. He reached for his plate. ‘If you don’t mind, dear, I’m going to eat my piece of cake before I tell you.’

  Bernie knew what that meant. Stan was fortifying himself to tell her something big, and, as Kerry had suggested, something bad.

  She glanced around the room while Stan ate, glad his dentures appeared to be behaving this time. She looked again at the family photos she had seen only a few days before. There were the obligatory school sibling photos and one of Ryan on his own in uniform. He looked such a weed compared to his strapping older brothers. She remembered what he had said before he’d passed out. It wasn’t easy being compared to them.

  Stan put his plate down and had another gulp of tea. ‘Right, my dear. I love all three of my grandsons but… Gareth and Will have always picked on Ryan. They still do now although they always brush it off as harmless banter.’ Stan shook his head. ‘Not always harmless though. Gareth and Will are two years apart and then Ryan is five years younger than Will. Older two used to love playing over at Wroughton’s Folly with their friends. They’d build dens and set traps and have lots of adventures. When Ryan was five, he wanted to go with them. Janet wouldn’t let him. He was such a tiny mite but very determined. So, when Janet’s back was turned, he went running down the lane to try and find them. Ron used to take him on the tractor out there so he knew where he was going. Anyway, he found them. The boys weren’t best pleased. They thought he was showing them up in front of their friends. They let him tag along for a bit but then got fed up with him. So they decided to play hide and seek. Now’ – Stan pointed at Bernie – ‘Ryan was very good at hide and seek. It was his most favourite game in the world. He and I used to spend hours playing it when he was very little. So, when his brothers suggested it, he was thrilled. I never did find out who it was who showed him the hiding place but someone must have helped him.

  ‘Along the track, the sides go up very steeply. There’s a hole on one side, up quite high, called Holy Man’s Cave. Gareth and Will used to like going up there and they hooked up a rope so they could get up easily. Someone in that group got Ryan to climb up to the cave and told him to hide in there. Then, they pulled hard on the rope and it came down. Ryan was trapped but he didn’t know it. Of course, he wasn’t found. He thought he had the best hiding place. But then it started to get dark. There were all sorts of noises and he got scared. And, well, I’m responsible for the next bit, I’m afraid. He was always pestering me for stories and I had told him about the legend, about the track being haunted. Do you know about that?’

  ‘Yes, I was told yesterday by a dog walker.’

  ‘Well, as it got darker and noisier with all the eerie night-time sounds and he couldn’t find the rope, he got properly scared. By the time we found him, he was completely traumatised. We had to fix up another rope to get him down. I carried him back to the car. He said to me, and only to me, he’d heard the horses galloping and whinnying and then a terrible crash, followed by a scream. It was weeks before he was right again. His brothers had a big smack that night. I know it’s not the done thing these days but it was a wicked thing to do. They swor
e blind they hadn’t put him up there but I’m sure they knew who was responsible. But they never said. They weren’t allowed to play there again.’

  Stan’s good eye was damp. His hand trembled as he wiped tears away.

  ‘It wasn’t your fault, Stan.’

  ‘Wasn’t it? If I hadn’t told him about the legend then he would have been scared still but not as much as he was. He had to sleep in with Janet and Ron for weeks he had such bad nightmares. Janet took him to the doctor in the end. He suggested counselling but Ron wasn’t going to have that. I told him if he stuck with me, he’d be safe. So he did. He was my little shadow.’

  Bernie rose from her seat and patted the old man on his arm. ‘You’ve done a good job, Stan. Thank you for telling me all that. When I next speak to Ryan, I’ll know what to say.’

  ‘Do you have to speak to him again? Can’t you leave the poor boy alone?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. He hit an officer. And if my DCI has his way, Ryan will be charged. I’ll do what I can but getting someone else to alibi him for Saturday would be useful.’

  ‘OK. Pass the phone over. I’ll get you Gareth. He was working with Ryan.’

  Bernie gave Stan the phone and he pressed a couple of buttons.

  ‘Gareth’s on speed dial five. Makes life a lot easier for me. Oh, hello, Gareth, it’s Granddad. I need you to talk to someone for a few minutes… Yes, I know it’s late but it’s important, I wouldn’t ring otherwise… a police officer… about Ryan… OK.’

  Stan handed the phone to Bernie. She decided to take the call in the hallway.

  ‘Hi, Gareth, I’m Detective Inspector Bernie Noel. I just have a few questions for you.’

  ‘What’s Ryan done now?’

  ‘I can’t go into that, I’m afraid, but can you confirm where he was last Saturday?’

  ‘At the farm, all day. We had to dip the sheep. He was working with me.’

  ‘What time did you finish?’

  ‘We started early but I think we finally finished around three p.m. And then we ate lunch. We were starving.’