by Mel Sherratt
‘I spoke to Stacey and her mum,’ Amy continued. ‘Stacey gave me the clothes she was wearing. She said one of her attackers held her down on her knees so there could have been prints on the shoulders of her coat, if forensics were able to get them off at all. But when we questioned her further, she thinks they were wearing gloves because as soon as she mentioned both were wearing balaclavas, she remembered them. Poor girl was traumatised – they all were actually, as they thought they were going to be sexually assaulted.
‘Stacey was left a note that said keep your mouth shut.’ Amy pulled an evidence bag out of her pocket and put it on the table.
‘She never said.’ Eden took it and held it up. It was handwritten in capitals, black ink on lined paper. ‘Can she remember anything about what they looked like?’
Amy shook her head. ‘Only that she thought they were male. And they spoke with a local accent. I asked her if she thought it was anyone she knew. She shook her head pretty quickly.’
‘Too quickly?’ asked Sean, taking the bag from Eden and peering at the note.
‘I think so,’ said Amy. ‘Then there was Ruby Peters, seventy-two Diamond Avenue. She was the same. She wouldn’t take off her hat to show me what they had done to her hair. Her mum is taking her to the hairdressers this afternoon. She’s going to have it all chopped off. She was in such a state. Her mum kept saying that short hair was trendy and that they would spend as much money as it took to make it look great for her.
‘She had a note too.’ Amy pulled another evidence bag out of her pocket and gave it to Sean. ‘The handwriting and the message are the same and the paper too. It looks like it’s been torn from the bottom half of the first note.’
‘Keep your mouth shut?’ Eden frowned. ‘Claire didn’t have a note, but she had been told something similar. Did Ruby give any clue as to what about?’
‘She didn’t know.’
‘She didn’t know – or wouldn’t say?’
‘I think she wouldn’t say.’
‘Claire was less traumatised than I thought she’d be,’ said Eden. ‘I don’t know how anyone can be so barbaric as to make someone walk home with no shoes and trousers on. She only thought to reverse the charges on a phone box as she passed it, and then her parents picked her up in their car. She ran past lots of people with phones, but she didn’t feel able to stop and ask for help.’
‘So Claire didn’t have a note.’ Sean frowned. ‘But the other two did.’
‘She was told to keep her mouth shut.’ Eden reached for her notepad and read from the page. ‘And “tell anyone what we’ve been up to and you’re dead”. She said he had a local accent but denied knowing who it was until I pushed her. Then she told me it was either Travis or Damien Barker.’
A collective sigh went around the room.
‘Travis Barker was in Shop&Save having a go at Maxine Trent earlier too,’ said Jordan. ‘I called to see her, but she said she didn’t want to make a complaint. Just wanted us to know what had happened. Travis made a threat to harm her son if her daughter got off with the murder of his sister.’
‘Did it seem a viable threat?’ asked Sean.
‘I’m not sure.’ Jordan cocked his head to one side. ‘She was scared, but her husband said to leave things as they were. I think they’re both concerned about repercussions. It could also mean that Travis is out of the picture time wise for the attacks.’ Jordan paused. ‘But perhaps he’s in the right place for Jess.’
‘Hmm. So each girl has been the victim of a humiliation attack allegedly by the Barker brothers.’ Sean drummed his fingers on the table. ‘Covered in paint, hair hacked off and returning home with no shoes and trousers. Pretty basic for those two, don’t you think?’
Eden checked their addresses again. ‘All three girls live within half an hour’s walk of each other and they were all part of the gang of kids who hung around on the Mitchell Estate. These three were out on the night that Deanna Barker was murdered, but they weren’t around when the murder took place. They were all questioned but had all seen nothing.’
‘Yes, I can believe that,’ said Sean. ‘The area around the subway is vast. CCTV footage backed them all up eventually. These three had been with a gang of five boys who had gone to hang around down by the Butcher’s Arms. Lucky for them. What about Mr Barker – is he around?’
Eden shook her head. ‘Frank Barker left just after Deanna died apparently. He didn’t take her death too well, blamed Lulu for not bringing the boys up right. Said if it wasn’t for her, Deanna might still be alive.’
‘But he’s their father too?’ asked Amy.
‘Yes, but only the youngest two.’
‘Then surely he should take some responsibility.’
Eden nodded and looked across at Sean. ‘He could be a suspect we need to check out, sir? His whereabouts and what have you.’
‘Yes, let’s go and speak to the Barker family,’ Sean agreed. ‘Jordan, can you search out the CCTV footage from the supermarket and start going through that?’
‘Yes, boss.’
‘And, Amy, can you start going through the list of Jess’s friends, and the contacts on Laura’s and Sarah’s phones?’
Amy nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’
As they got up to leave, Eden felt Sean’s hand on her arm and he urged her to stay seated until it was just the two of them. He closed the door behind Amy and Jordan before sitting next to her again.
‘Is there anything I need to know about Jess?’ he asked.
Eden shook her head. ‘Not anything that I haven’t already told you.’
‘Does she associate with anyone who has form?’
‘I don’t have a clue, if I’m honest. I can ask Laura, but I think she would have told me everything she knows if it would help find Jess.’
‘What about these phones?’
‘I’ll start looking into it.’
He nodded his acceptance. ‘We have to play this carefully with the Barker brothers,’ he added. ‘Especially if we need to figure out who’s further up the chain. They must be stealing the phones for some reason.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘We also don’t want to upset Travis or Damien, with what little evidence we have.’ Sean paused for a moment. Eden watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and then down. It was always a giveaway that he was nervous.
‘And if we can’t get anything out of them,’ he continued, ‘then we’ll have to start looking for a missing person.’
Eden felt her stomach turn over.
Sean reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘We’ll find her, Eden. We’ll bring her home.’
Chapter Forty-One
The Barkers lived in Bernard Place, a small but notorious cul-de-sac on the Mitchell Estate. Eden had had lots of dealings with its residents during her time in uniform, and some as a detective constable on the domestic violence team. Lulu Barker, however, was more known for the trouble that her four sons caused.
Eden got out of Sean’s car as he parked outside the house. A van had come too, to pick up Travis and Damien Barker for questioning.
‘Fills me with dread and pleasure in equal measure coming here.’ Eden followed Sean up the path to the front door with the peeling paint. The fence was down in places, the gate had gone walkabout and the hedges were unkempt. Eden felt the wet of the grass seep through the bottom of her trousers. It was October so it was dying off, but it must have been a foot in height. She pressed through it as Sean avoided the hedge on the other side of the path.
The door was opened by a middle-aged woman who gave out an exaggerated sigh when she saw who it was. Lulu Barker was only a couple of years older than Eden, but life hadn’t been kind to her. She’d been left with the four boys and the gossip when Deanna had been murdered, and husband number two had walked out on her.
‘Lulu.’ Sean didn’t bother to get out his warrant card. ‘Your boys in?’
Lulu left the door open and turned to go back inside. ‘I don’t know what you want with them. T
hey haven’t done anything wrong.’ She shuffled back down the narrow hallway.
Lulu Barker hadn’t let herself go – she just hadn’t been there to start with. Unpainted nails, unwashed black permed hair and clothes that had clearly been worn more than a day were her staple uniform. Eden closed the door behind her, just catching a glimpse of Lulu’s black leggings, short, tight T-shirt and cracked feet in flip-flops as she stepped into the living room.
The smell assaulted her first: teenage boy and unwashed clothes. Something similar to cat pee too. She followed Sean into the room. The smell was marginally better, but the colour of the walls was a faded nicotine yellow. A black leather settee was shoved up against the back wall and a large television screen stood next to the fire, Xbox and PlayStation consoles plugged in permanently by the look of the grubby fingerprints all over them. A tabby cat was curled up on a fluffy yellow hearth rug, two kittens tearing after each other nearby.
‘I need to talk to both Damien and Travis,’ said Sean. ‘About some trouble around the city last night.’
‘Nothing to do with them.’ Lulu folded her ample arms. ‘My boys were here all night.’ She stared. ‘Both of them.’
‘Both of them stayed in?’ Eden came into the room.
‘Yeah. We watched a film – American Sniper – it was good.’
‘Neither of them went out all evening?’ added Sean, asking the same question another way.
‘No, we wanted some family time together before the trial next week.’ Lulu sat down. A huge sigh escaped her as Eden wondered if the settee might collapse under her weight.
‘You know, it’s going to be tough for us all,’ Lulu added. ‘It will bring back bad memories.’
Sean nodded. ‘How are you bearing up?’
‘I’m not,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘But my boys won’t ever know that. I miss Deanna every day. She was my little girl. And those – those bastards took her away in one second.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘But they’ll pay for it next week. As long as you lot have got all the evidence to convict them.’
A hush came over the room.
‘I know you think it’s wrong to charge them all,’ Lulu turned on them, ‘but I don’t care if they rot in hell. My girl is dead. They were each to blame.’
‘We’re not here to discuss the case, Lulu,’ said Sean. ‘We’re here to ask the boys some questions.’
‘About what?’ Lulu stared at them before her eyes shifted to the doorway.
‘Are they in?’ Sean wouldn’t be drawn.
‘They might be.’
‘And Frank, where’s he residing nowadays?’
‘He’s been gone for months now, since Deanna was murdered.’
‘Do you have an address for him?’
‘Why?’
‘Do you?’ Sean sighed.
‘He lives on the Hopwood Estate. But you won’t find him there. He’s—’
‘What’s going on?’ a voice came from behind them.
Eden and Sean turned to see a young man. Damien Barker had a shaved head and a face full of spots, making him more distinctive yet uglier than his younger brother, Travis. He was always a little scruffier than Travis, always a little mouthier. He looked as if he had just got out of bed, although he wore jeans and a white shirt.
‘It’s Damien, isn’t it?’ asked Sean.
Damien shrugged. ‘Might be – what’s it to you?’
‘Manners, Damien,’ Lulu remonstrated.
Eden sniggered under her breath. Sean knew exactly who Damien was and so did she. She’d arrested him on several occasions, each one so far ending up with no charge or a small fine. She had hoped he’d stay out of trouble, but with a family like his, with his two older brothers in and out of prison, there was no one to set a good example for him.
‘They want to know where you and Travis were last night.’ Lulu reached for a cigarette and lit it. She blew out smoke before speaking again. ‘I said we were all in. That’s right, isn’t it, son?’
Damien folded his arms and leaned on the doorway. ‘Yeah, that’s right. All three of us.’
‘Great,’ said Eden. ‘Then I won’t catch any of you, or that banger of a car you have parked outside, on any street cameras anywhere, will I?’
Damien said nothing, but Eden saw his eyes flitting around everywhere to avoid looking at her.
‘There were several attacks across the city last night.’
‘And?’
‘Where were you between the hours of five thirty p.m. and ten p.m. last night?’
‘I told you,’ said Lulu. ‘He was here, and so was Travis.’
‘If we have to go through every single minute of footage around the city, we will,’ said Sean. ‘The attacks last night happen to have been very brutal and very demoralising. I wonder why that would be.’
‘I wonder.’ Damien shrugged.
‘So are neither of you going to ask what’s happened?’ said Sean, looking at them both.
‘No need.’ Lulu took another drag on her cigarette. ‘The jungle drums have been banging since early morning. I know what’s happened to them girls and it’s—’
‘Three females were attacked and a male seriously beaten up to be exact,’ said Eden. ‘And another female is still missing.’
‘That’s got nothing to do with us!’ Damien frowned before backtracking. ‘I only heard about the three girls.’
He knew more than he was letting on, Eden was convinced. ‘Can I look at your phone?’ she asked him.
‘What for?’
‘Got something to hide?’ she challenged.
Damien disappeared for a few seconds and came back with his mobile. He handed it to her.
Eden scrolled through his messages. There were none from Cayden yesterday evening and none sent to him either. It was possible that they had been deleted though.
‘You don’t know Cayden Blackwell then?’ she asked, staring at him pointedly.
‘Not much,’ he replied.
‘Is Travis in, Lulu?’ Sean asked.
‘He’s in bed. If you want to speak to him, you should come after lunch. He’ll be up then.’
‘Not to worry.’ Sean pointed to the door. ‘I’ll get him up myself. You don’t mind, do you?’
‘You can’t just go upstairs!’ Lulu shuffled to the edge of the settee.
‘We need you both down at the station to help with enquiries,’ Eden said to Damien.
Damien protested as Eden held on to his arm and read him his rights.
In minutes, Sean came back downstairs with a sleepy-looking Travis, handcuffed.
‘Mum, this is harassment,’ he cried. ‘Make a note of when they came. I’m not having this all the time.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ Sean shook his head. ‘My heart bleeds for you.’
The two brothers were bundled into the waiting van. Lulu was still shouting as it moved off. She barged past Sean and Eden and into the house with a slam of the front door.
Sean rolled his eyes.
‘Can I be in the interview with you, boss?’ Eden asked. She wanted to help, but she knew it might not be ethical. Sean could get what he needed from them and relay the information to her. But she wanted to know if they knew Jess’s whereabouts. She had to hear what they said.
‘As long as you leave your emotions at the door,’ he told her.
Eden couldn’t promise that, but she nodded to him all the same.
Chapter Forty-Two
Jess had been waiting and worrying all morning. She’d been on full alert, listening for the man downstairs. She’d heard a door open and close every now and then and a toilet flush but no footsteps on the stairs.
But now she could hear him outside the door. She gulped. Was she strong enough to go through with her plan?
The door was unlocked and opened, and she pressed herself into the wall again, making sure to keep her hands hidden under the covers. Although she was terrified, she didn’t want him to know that.
‘I’ve brought you something
to eat and drink.’ He held a tray with a mug of something steaming hot and two slices of buttered toast on a plate.
He came towards her. As he put down the tray, she produced the can of hairspray and pressed the button down, aiming at his eyes.
‘Argh!’ The tray clattered to the floor as he put his hands up to his face.
Jess shuffled off the bed and ran towards the bucket. She picked it up and flung the contents at him. She flew down the stairs, not daring to look behind to see if he was following her.
He shouted as she got to the front door. Looking behind her now, she could see him at the top of the stairs. She grappled with the door lock, but she couldn’t open it.
‘No, no, no!’ A sob escaped her as she realised it needed a key, which wasn’t there. Not having time to look around, she ran through to the kitchen.
‘Wait!’
A hand reached down from the stairs as she raced along the narrow hallway, and she screamed. She slammed the kitchen door and reached out for the saucepan she had seen the day before. The kitchen door opened. She raised the pan in the air as he came towards her and yelled as she brought it down on the side of his head.
He staggered a step backwards at the impact. ‘You mad bitch,’ he cried, pressing a palm to his ear.
For a few seconds, they stood still in the room. Then he ran at her, taking hold of both her arms.
The pressure that he put on Jess’s wrist made her drop the saucepan, and it clattered to the floor. His creased-up features scared her, but she brought up her knee and aimed it where she knew it would hurt. He turned his body to the side and it missed its target. Jess tried to break free from his grasp, but he was too strong for her. She screamed again and he turned her around and pulled her into his chest, covering her mouth with his hand.
‘I told you no one could hear you, and I said that you can’t get out,’ he seethed.
Jess still struggled to escape his grip. She wasn’t giving up until she knew she was beat. She couldn’t let him take her back to that room again. She had been so close. Her hand reached out as they shuffled across the room. She could almost touch the handle to the door that she had first come through, the one that went into the garage.