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

by Joy Kluver

  There was a loud ping. Worth glared at Tom as he took his mobile out.

  ‘Sorry, sir.’

  ‘Thank you, Anderson. In the meantime, we need to think about Laura Moffatt. If the two cases are connected then she’s in imminent danger. Our priority now is to find her. This motorcyclist keeps cropping up. And the fact we now have an independent witness from Saturday is useful. Who went to see her?’

  ‘I did, sir,’ said Matt. He opened his notebook. ‘We have a location for where he was seen which DS Allen has passed on to the CCTV centre. So hopefully we’ll get some footage very soon. We’ve got a good description of the motorbike and of the rider and passenger. I didn’t show her the photo of Luke Davidson until afterwards. But her description matches the photo.’

  ‘And this “chat” you were having with Luke Davidson, DI Noel, have you had any more contact?’

  Bernie looked across at Matt. ‘DC Taylor sent a message this morning but he hasn’t responded yet.’

  ‘He’ll probably come back with a comment that he was at college or something like that,’ said Matt.

  There was a buzzing sound coming from Kerry’s phone. ‘Sir, it’s Gerald from the CCTV centre. Can I?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  Kerry answered the phone as she left the room.

  ‘And Tom, you’ve been looking at the IP address for Luke Davidson,’ said Worth.

  ‘Yes, sir. He’s using Tor, so it’s proving difficult to track him down. But I’ve just had an interesting email arrive from the mobile phone company about Ria’s phone.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘Because we knew roughly when Ria had died, I gave them specific time parameters to search for. They’ve messaged now to say that her phone was switched on and used last Saturday afternoon between three and six p.m., outside the time I’d asked them to look at.’

  ‘What? But she’d been dead for over a week by then,’ Worth said.

  The rest of the team sat up.

  ‘Does this mean Bruno now has her phone?’ Mick asked. ‘And there are actually two perpetrators after all?’

  Bernie thought for a moment. She remembered what the bus driver had told Salisbury police and what she had seen on the CCTV footage.

  ‘No. I still think it’s Luke Davidson,’ she said. ‘We know that Laura had a different phone on Saturday afternoon. What if he gave Ria’s mobile to her and, by doing so, deliberately put suspicion on Manetti? If he was in a relationship with Ria, she might have told him about her former boyfriend and what he’d done to her. We know he’s a clever man when it comes to technology. He’s not going to give Laura a phone that can be traced back to him.’

  Worth was about to answer when there was a loud ‘Yes!’ from just outside the office door. Kerry popped her head round. ‘We’ve got them on CCTV. Gerald is going to send the recordings over but he’s also taken some stills and he’s going to email them to me now.’

  There was a collective sigh of relief.

  ‘Do you want to put those pictures out to the media?’ asked Jane.

  ‘Well, let’s see them first,’ answered Worth. ‘Make sure they’re good enough.’

  Bernie tapped her pen against her notepad. ‘Releasing them may help with contacting Luke. He told us, well, Chloe, that he didn’t meet Laura. We could go with the “you lied to me” tack and see how he responds.’

  ‘Hmm, that might work. OK, plan of action. DS Anderson, I want you to contact your Italian counterpart – speed up those dental records. DS Allen, I want to see those photos as soon as you get them. And see if you can get a registration. I think he’s probably using false plates but let’s at least try. DCs Taylor, Parris and Hart – I want you to keep trawling through all the messages that we have between Luke and the other girls. There has to be a clue in there somewhere. Jane, get a press release ready to send out. Tom, keep trying with the IP address and the internet service and mobile providers. In particular, see if you can get a location for that phone on Saturday. DI Noel’ – Worth turned towards her – ‘you and I are going to pay one more visit to Ryan Willis. We need all the names of the people at that race.’ Worth looked at his watch. ‘It’s nine thirty hours now. Check in at eleven thirty hours.’

  Bernie inwardly winced as she changed gear and a spasm of pain shot through her wrist. She would have to go back to her GP and chase up a physio appointment. She had hoped Worth would have his usual driver but he had suggested she drove instead.

  ‘You know the way there, don’t you?’ he had said. ‘Best if you drive then.’

  ‘What’s your approach going to be with Ryan, sir?’

  Worth looked across at Bernie. ‘He responds best to you. What would you do?’

  Bernie swallowed. Was this a trap or did Worth really want to know what she would do? She was still unsure about what to do with the information she’d been given by Clive Bishop, and then Alex’s comment. And if Rupert Fox was doing something dodgy, did DCI Worth know about it?

  ‘I think we need to be willing to drop the police assault charge and promise there will be no enquiries into illegal betting, in return for a full list of names of everyone present at the motorbike race.’

  ‘And what if Ryan is the one who raced this man and knows more than he’s saying?’

  Bernie shook her head. ‘No. I don’t think so. His grandfather told me about something that happened when Ryan was five. You know the cave where we found the helmet and jacket? Someone, one of his brothers’ friends, persuaded Ryan to hide in there. And they left him. It got dark and he was absolutely terrified. He hasn’t gone up that track at night since then.’

  ‘You only have the grandfather’s word for that.’

  ‘Actually, one of his brothers confirmed it.’

  Bernie could see the farm up ahead. A gentle breeze was causing ripples across the small pond by the entrance. She slowed down to avoid a few ducks as they crossed the farmyard.

  ‘We may find Ryan’s out in the fields somewhere,’ said Bernie.

  She parked near the farmhouse and saw Janet, Ryan’s mother, come to the door. Bernie could see signs of exasperation on Janet’s face.

  ‘What now?’ asked Janet, as they approached.

  ‘I’m sorry to disturb you but we do need to talk to Ryan again,’ said Bernie.

  ‘He hasn’t done anything wrong.’

  ‘Except hitting a police officer,’ said Worth.

  Janet glared at him. ‘You weren’t there. You didn’t see what happened. That officer goaded Ryan, tried to grab him.’ She looked at Bernie. ‘Why didn’t you come to speak to him instead? He would have gone peacefully with you.’

  Bernie kept her face straight although she was desperate to turn to Worth and say ‘told you so’.

  ‘I’m here now,’ she said. ‘Janet, think about Laura Moffatt. We’re fairly certain that the two cases are linked.’

  A look of horror appeared on Janet’s face. ‘You mean… the man who killed that poor girl has Laura?’

  ‘Yes, we think so. We have to get all the names of the men racing that night. One of them had a final race with the mystery motorcyclist. He may be a key witness.’

  Janet’s early defiance melted away.

  ‘All right. I’ll get him to come back.’

  52

  Bernie and Worth waited for Ryan in the farmyard. There was no offer of tea and cake from Janet this time and they hadn’t been invited in either. The breeze was beginning to pick up and Bernie could smell rain in the air, along with manure. A bank of cloud was moving in. Worth had his phone out and appeared to be studying something closely, before looking up at her.

  ‘An email from Kerry. She’s sent a still of the CCTV. Looks good enough to me but difficult to read the registration. Although I suspect they’re probably false.’

  Bernie looked at the picture. It captured the motorbike from behind and it was clear that there were two people on it.

  ‘Kerry’s contact is going to keep looking and see if he can get a better
image,’ said Worth.

  ‘But that would probably be good enough for the moment. Something to put out to the media.’

  ‘Yes. I’ll tell Kerry to liaise with Jane and get a statement out ASAP.’

  Bernie turned as she heard the front door open. Stan was standing there leaning on a stick, Hollie the dog next to him.

  ‘I know our Janet is cross with you but it’s probably about to start chucking it down with rain. I can smell it. Come in. Can’t have you getting wet.’

  Ryan was drenched when he came in to the lounge.

  ‘Do you mind if I get changed first?’ he asked.

  ‘No, not at all,’ said Worth, ‘but we don’t have much time.’

  ‘I’ll be five minutes, tops.’

  Ryan returned a few minutes later wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. His hair was still wet. He sat forward in an armchair, his arms resting on his legs, his back bent over. He kept his head down. He no longer had the dressing on his forehead. The cut from where he hit his head on the table was visible, along with a purple bruise.

  Bernie was next to Worth on the sofa and Stan Willis was in his normal chair by the fire.

  ‘Do you want me to leave, Ryan?’

  ‘No, you’re all right, Granddad. You can stay.’

  Bernie glanced at Worth, who gave his customary nod.

  ‘Ryan,’ Bernie began, ‘when I saw you last, I said to you we thought Laura may be with the man who came to your motorbike race.’

  ‘Yeah, I remember.’

  ‘We’re more certain now. Could you look at this photo please? We’ve only just received it.’ She passed over the DCI’s phone.

  Ryan took it and stared for a few seconds. ‘So, you think this is Laura?’

  ‘Yes. She’s only twelve, Ryan.’

  ‘I know how old she is. It could be the same motorbike. It’s definitely a BMW. It was dark when I saw it though. I can’t be one hundred per cent sure. Like with the photo of the motorcyclist you showed me – I can’t be sure it’s him. It was dark. I keep telling you.’

  ‘I know, Ryan. But we need more information than that if we’re going to find Laura. We need the names of everyone who raced that night. In particular, were there any other new bikers? Sorry to sound melodramatic, but this is about life and death now.’

  She watched Ryan’s head sink a little lower.

  ‘We’re willing to drop the assault charge and we promise to overlook the illegal betting with your race,’ said Bernie.

  Ryan shook his head. ‘It’s more than just that. Some of the guys don’t have insurance, some don’t even have licences… some are under sixteen.’

  Bernie looked back at Worth. He sighed but gave a slight nod.

  ‘We can overlook those things too,’ said Bernie.

  Ryan stayed silent.

  ‘Stan told me a story about you the other day, Ryan…’

  ‘Now, hold on, I told you that in good faith,’ said Stan.

  ‘I know. But I think Ryan might be the only one to understand about Laura. To be tricked into thinking something will be fun, only to discover you’re trapped. You had a family who came and looked for you. We’re Laura’s search party. You are Laura’s search party. If one of those other guys knows anything that could help find her then surely it’ll be worth giving us their names.’

  Bernie could hear Ryan sniffing.

  ‘Come on, lad,’ said Stan. ‘You can’t muck about when someone’s life is at stake, can you?’

  Ryan rubbed his face with his hand and finally looked up at Bernie. ‘He was the only new guy that evening. I’ll get a pen and paper and write down the rest for you.’

  Bernie and Worth read down the list of the names as they sat in the car. Raindrops bounced off the bonnet.

  ‘Quite a few names,’ said Bernie. ‘I know some of them but not all… Oh shit – sorry, sir – Craig Moffatt was there.’

  ‘No apology necessary. I wasn’t expecting to see his name either. We’ll head there in a moment. I think we need to get the others to go and visit the rest of them.’

  ‘Yes, split them into two teams. Send Anderson and Matt out together and Kerry with either Mick or Alice. Whoever stays behind can search for the addresses of the men we don’t know.’

  Worth gave her what Bernie thought was an appraising look. ‘Yes, that’s just what I was going to suggest. You see, when you’re not mucking about and being stupid, you’re actually a good officer.’

  Bernie did her best not to roll her eyes. She turned the key in the ignition and started the engine. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment, I think. I’m assuming you’re going to ring in and give the orders.’

  ‘But of course.’

  53

  Despite their destination being only a couple of miles away, the railway line intersecting the land meant they had to drive a long way round. Bernie could hear a dog barking as they drove up the driveway.

  ‘If you’re willing, sir, I have an idea as to how to handle this.’

  ‘Go ahead. You managed to get through to Ryan.’

  A surly-looking man came out to greet them. Bernie headed towards him, holding out her hand.

  ‘Mr Moffatt? I’m Detective Inspector Bernie Noel and this is Detective Chief Inspector Worth. Could we come in for a few minutes please?’

  ‘Have you found her?’

  ‘No, not yet. I’m sorry. But we would like to talk to you all, as a whole family.’

  Bernie looked at the family’s anxious faces. It was obvious Caroline Moffatt hadn’t slept. Her eyes were sunken, her face pale. Maybe she had reached the stage where she couldn’t cry any more and was now completely numb. John Moffatt sat next to his wife on the sofa, his eyes darting between her and Worth. He was a lot older than his wife. Craig was bundled in an armchair with a duvet wrapped round him.

  ‘We have some news,’ Bernie said. ‘We haven’t found Laura yet but we have more of an idea of who she may be with. Mrs Moffatt, did you tell your husband what I said yesterday about Luke Davidson?’

  Caroline lowered her eyes. ‘No. I’m sorry, John. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. They think he has Laura.’

  John’s face flared with anger. ‘What you waiting for then? If you know who she’s with, go and get her!’

  ‘I’m afraid it isn’t that simple, Mr Moffatt. We’re fairly certain that Luke Davidson is a pseudonym. His profile says he’s seventeen but we think that highly unlikely. We’ve read conversations between them and there’s definitely been some grooming happening. I hate to tell you this but Laura has sent explicit photos of herself at his request.’

  John thumped the sofa but kept his gaze on Bernie. ‘There’s more, isn’t there?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, I’m afraid so. There’s no easy way of saying this but we now have enough evidence to link Laura’s disappearance with the murder of the young woman found in the woods on your property.’

  Without making it too obvious, Bernie looked across at Craig to gauge his reaction. His already pale face had taken on a ghostly complexion, his eyes wide with terror.

  A wail emerged from Caroline and John Moffatt opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Bernie said. ‘We’re still considering this as a missing child operation at the moment.’

  Bernie glanced at Worth who was standing by the fireplace. His eyes were trained on Craig. She knew what she had to do.

  ‘We believe the murder victim had been on your property for a while, and using forensic techniques, we’ve managed to ascertain that she had been dead for almost a week when she was discovered. We have evidence to suggest there was a motorbike race that took place on the other side of the woods. We believe she was there.’

  Worth gave a little cough. ‘Mrs Moffatt, I think you could do with some sweet tea. If you come with me to the kitchen, I’ll make you some.’ He gently helped Caroline off the sofa and supported her as they left the room.

  ‘Well, that was subtle,’ said John Moffatt. ‘You obvi
ously want to ask either myself or Craig some questions without Caroline here.’

  Bernie nodded. ‘You’re right, Mr Moffatt. I need to ask Craig some questions. I’d rather do this informally at the moment. Do I have your permission?’

  John Moffatt let out a long sigh. ‘Yes. I think I know what it’s about. You’ve been riding my motorbike again, haven’t you?’

  Craig had sunk even lower and only his eyes and the top of his head could be seen from under the duvet.

  ‘Were you at the race, Craig?’ Bernie asked.

  He gave a glimmer of a nod.

  ‘Speak up, lad,’ said his father.

  A muffled ‘yes’ was heard from under the duvet.

  ‘Craig, I need you to pull the duvet away from your mouth. We’re talking to everyone in the race and I can promise you that you’re not in trouble with us for taking part. I can’t speak for your father though.’ Bernie was trying to keep it light. ‘Was there someone new at the race?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Can you tell me any more?’

  Craig’s voice trembled. ‘He was dressed all in black and had a really big bike. He was winning all the races. I don’t know how he managed it as that lane is so full of potholes. You have to know the way.’

  ‘Was he alone?’

  ‘No. He had a woman with him. She had a helmet on so I didn’t see her face.’

  ‘Did she speak?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘We’ve heard there was a final race against this new guy. Do you know who else took part?’

  Bernie watched Craig carefully. She saw a tiny shake of his head.

  ‘How did you get back home? Did you ride up the track and through the woods?’

  Craig’s eyes flickered to his father and then back to Bernie.

  ‘No. I came back the long way on the roads. I won’t ride over the railway bridge and up the track in the dark.’

  ‘Why?’ Bernie asked.

  ‘Cos of the legend. Ryan told me what happened to him.’

  ‘You stupid lad,’ said John Moffatt. He turned to Bernie. ‘Craig has permission from me to ride on our land but only when I say so. He’s absolutely not allowed to go on the roads. And he’s not allowed to take part in races.’