Dead Nasty

by Helen H. Durrant

  “Stay with Kate and I’ll see if I can free her.” Calladine’s eyes were now accustomed to the gloom. A bench positioned against a wall was cluttered, mostly with old baking utensils. But a section of it had been cleared. Calladine saw a length of rope and several rolls of tape, plus a petrol can. There was also a knife, a vicious-looking weapon. Calladine took it and approached the girl. She didn’t stir. He was praying they weren’t too late. Gingerly, he cut into the rope that bound her hands, slowly freeing them. The rope had been pulled so tight it had cut into her flesh. Dried blood was encrusted round her wrists and ankles. Gently lifting her into his arms, Calladine carried Rachel Hayes out into the fresh air.

  Chapter 20

  “You didn’t like those girls much, did you, Robert?”

  Clarke looked puzzled. “Elsa and Megan? They were challenging — teenagers from difficult homes. I don’t have the experience, that’s all.”

  “They treated you pretty badly. You lost it on a couple of occasions.”

  “That’s a lie! I did not lose it, that’s wrong. I asked Jake Ireson for advice, nothing more.”

  “Elsa, Megan and Rachel, a nasty trio of bullies who targeted you. I can understand why you’d be upset. I know I would be. It’s your first job. You had high hopes, but you got landed with that lot. And you didn’t like it, not one bit.” Clarke looked uncomfortable. Calladine paused. He seemed to be hitting the right buttons. “That’s more or less how it was, eh, Robert?”

  “No it was not. Those girls were difficult, but they would have settled down in time. It was because I was new.”

  “But you couldn’t wait. ‘Settling down,’ as you put it, was taking too long. You were desperate. You had to make it stop. So you killed them both. That’s what happened, isn’t it, Robert?”

  “That’s a load of bollocks!” Clarke looked at his solicitor. “Can he say those things to me? He’s making out that I killed those girls. I didn’t. I couldn’t!” Robert Clarke began to weep.

  “This has come as a huge shock to my client. He needs a break, Inspector. Might I suggest half an hour?”

  Calladine nodded, and he and Rocco left the room. As soon as they were out in the corridor, he was on the phone to the Duggan. Calladine got straight to the point. “Anything interesting in the bakery?”

  Doctor Roxy Atkins, a senior forensic scientist, was on the line. “Lots, and we’re going through it now. Pertinent to your interview with the suspect is an overcoat, a wig and a false beard we found hanging behind the door. Julian is dealing with that.”

  The disguise. That must mean that Clarke was Jason Kent! “Any forensics he gets from that little lot, let us know straight away.” “It’ll take time, Inspector. The science we can do, but miracles . . .”

  “Anything else important?”

  “I’ll send you a report when we’ve logged everything. There was a cat there, a hairy Persian thing. Uniform have handed it over to the sanctuary in Lowermill. We have Clarke’s laptop from the flat upstairs too.”

  “Thanks, Roxy.”

  Calladine was jubilant. “The ‘Jason Kent’ disguise was in the bakery. All we need is a forensic link to Clarke and we’ve got him.”

  Calladine walked into the incident room. “Guv, Jake’s downstairs for you,” Imogen told him.

  “He’ll have Clarke’s work record. I’ll go and have a word.”

  Calladine took Jake into an empty office off the main waiting area in reception.

  “You can’t really think that Robert did this?”

  Calladine nodded. “It’s looking like it.”

  Jake rubbed his forehead. “I can’t take it in. He seems such a good guy. Keen, ambitious and, apart from this little blip. He’d have done okay in time. Teaching is a hard profession. We’re lucky to get the recruits we do.”

  “You weren’t that lucky getting him, Jake. He couldn’t handle the kids, remember? He got grief, and he found his own way of giving it right back.”

  “Getting grief from the kids is par for the course for most newbies in this profession. The kids would have got bored eventually. Apart from Elsa and Megan, who were hard-core troublemakers, the others were fine with him.”

  Calladine had started to flick through the printouts Jake had brought. “Clarke was absent all day when Megan went missing.”

  “And Elsa?”

  “It looks like she and Rachel were taken early morning. That wouldn’t have given him any problems, given where he lives. What did he do for lunch?”

  “More often than not he went home. The cat needed feeding, so he said.”

  “See what I mean? You can’t vouch for his whereabouts, Jake, even though he does have a full-time post with you.”

  “Even so, it’s a big leap from nipping home to feed the cat to doing those dreadful things to teenage girls.”

  But despite Jake’s doubts, Calladine was sure they’d got their man.

  * * *

  “Hi, Ruth! Sorry to bother you at home but I’ve got some information.”

  “It’s okay. I’m not up to much.”

  Imogen paused. “Anything wrong? You sound a bit down.”

  “I’ve been better. It was awful telling Dawn Heywood. Don’t know what I expected, Megan was her only child. But the look of absolute devastation on her face hit me hard. Made me think, what if that was me?” Ruth’s voice was shaky.

  “We’ve had a note sent up from uniform. PC Nigel Hallam — he’s the latest bright young thing tipped for stardom.” Imogen giggled, but got no response. Ruth was really down. “He took part in the search of Donnelly’s cottage. Nothing was found that helps, well that’s what we thought. But as they were leaving, Nigel got talking to Livings. The vicar has a display of porcelain figures in a cabinet in his hallway. Nigel said he liked them and the vicar invited him to come and look. Showed him more in the sitting room. Nigel says that he spotted a router in there. He says it was in a glass cupboard along with the Digi-box for the TV. Given that Livings said he had no computer, I thought this was odd.”

  “There’ll be an explanation. But if you’re concerned, tell Calladine and he’ll sort it.”

  “Are you not coming back in?”

  “I can’t face it, Imogen. I’ll give it a rest until tomorrow.”

  Imogen checked the time. It was gone five. Everyone was busy. All she was doing was checking Donnelly’s diary against the times Jason Kent was spotted. It was a wasted exercise now they’d got Clarke. She’d go home, but on the way she’d call in at the vicarage herself, and see what Livings had to say about that router. Grabbing the note and her things, Imogen left the office.

  * * *

  “That stuff in the bakery under your flat. What do you use it for?”

  “What stuff? I’ve never looked. The place is filthy. I don’t go near. I use the flat door so I don’t have to pass through the bakery to get to my place.” Clarke shuddered.

  “Never been tempted to explore?”

  “None of my business. What stuff are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking knives, the rope and tape, not forgetting the petrol. We’ve got a forensic team going over it with a fine-tooth comb. They will find that the things we found belong to you. That evidence will convict you, Robert. It will be far better further down the line if you tell me the whole story now.”

  “I didn’t do it! How many times do I have to say that? I’m innocent.” Clarke’s face was inflamed with rage. “You’re right, I didn’t like Elsa or Megan. There were times when I could have cheerfully throttled the pair of them. But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I didn’t do them any harm!”

  “Tell me about Jason Kent.”

  Clarke looked puzzled. “Who?”

  “The alias you adopted to get information from Donnelly. Come on! You visited Craig Donnelly in prison, wearing a disguise. Why was that?” Calladine’s tone was even, almost matter of fact.

  “What disguise? And I’ve no idea who Craig Donnelly is either.”

  “He’s the ma
n you visited in Strangeways. You used an assumed name and you consulted him about the murder he committed. You wanted to know what he’d done to Annabelle Roper. You asked for details. You wanted to copy him. We have found the disguise you used in the cellar.”

  “I don’t know how we got to this point, but it’s a bloody nightmare. You’re talking about people I’ve never even heard of!”

  “Why did you take Kate Reynolds?”

  Clarke’s eyes narrowed at the mention of that name. Calladine couldn’t tell what it meant. “Why choose her? She isn’t one of your lippy schoolgirls. She’s your age at least. Did you take her for the money? You’ve asked for a small fortune for her safe return.”

  Clarke shook his head.

  “Kate will speak to us. So will Rachel. They have both been found and are receiving treatment. They will remember what happened to them and they will drop you right in it.”

  Clarke looked at his solicitor. “Is there nothing you can do? I have no idea who or what he is talking about.”

  “Come on, Robert, you can do better than that. We know about the disguise. We know you met with Donnelly. And you took the girls after stalking them online. Tell me, how are your computer skills?”

  Clarke shook his head. “I’ve had enough. I know nothing about any of this.”

  Calladine checked the clock. It was getting late. “We’re going to keep you here overnight, Robert. Use the time wisely. You might want to reconsider what you’ve told us. We’ll resume the interview in the morning.”

  * * *

  Calladine and Rocco were on their way back to the incident room. “He’s not giving much away, is he, guv?”

  “Doesn’t matter, Rocco. The Duggan and the two girls will nail him. If I hadn’t been so blinded by bloody Donnelly, I’d have seen it before.” Calladine threw the file onto Ruth’s desk.

  “It wasn’t obvious. He hasn’t left a trail.”

  “He knew those girls and he didn’t like them. The nature of the injuries has meaning. Hands that can’t text, or post online. Mouths that can’t spout cruel words anymore. It was all there. Ruth tried to tell me, but I wouldn’t listen. Where is she, by the way?”

  Rocco looked at his watch. “Gone home. Imogen too by the looks of it.”

  “Not a bad idea. We could all do with a night to chill. We’ll pick this up tomorrow. Do we know how the girls are doing?”

  Rocco picked up a note that Joyce had left him. “The hospital rang. They’re keeping them both in overnight. Kate should be okay to go home tomorrow but Rachel has hypothermia. Her mother’s with her and the doctors are sure she’ll be fine.”

  Calladine smiled. “Good result.”

  Chapter 21

  Shelley Mortimer grabbed Calladine by his jacket collar, pulled him closer and kissed him. “You are my hero! Thank you for getting Kate back. I thought she was gone for good.”

  “Have you seen her?”

  “Yes, I took her dad to the hospital. He was over the moon that you’d found her. Thinks you’re great! Couldn’t stop going on about you. Kate didn’t say much. She asked about the other girl and dropped off to sleep once I told her the lass was fine.”

  “I’ll speak to them both tomorrow. I’m hoping that between them they can remember something.”

  “As a reward for doing good, I’ve cooked tea. Your favourite, steak and kidney pie with chips, and I’ve walked Sam.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Asleep on your bed. I think I overdid it. Took him up over pots and pans.”

  “He’s getting old. It’ll be the hills that got to him.”

  Shez called back from Calladine’s kitchen. “You had a visitor by the way. Your mother.”

  Calladine could have done without that. All he wanted tonight was to eat and relax. “Urgent, is it?”

  “Don’t think so. Something about a picnic tomorrow, in the park.”

  Tomorrow was Saturday, so it would be the proms thing. A picnic with his mother along with that side of his family, listening to brass band music. He didn’t think so.

  “I’ll ring her later, or even in the morning. To be honest, I’m whacked.”

  Shez kissed him again. “Not too whacked I hope, Inspector. I’ve got the night planned. And don’t worry, we’re not going out.”

  * * *

  DC Imogen Goode had been banging on the vicarage door for several minutes to no avail. She turned to leave. Livings must be out. It’d have to wait until tomorrow.

  “Want something, blondie?”

  It was Craig Donnelly. A shiver zipped up her spine. She forced a smile. “Is the Reverend Livings in?”

  “Why, you’re police. What do you want with him?”

  Imogen was in two minds whether to speak to Donnelly about the router or not. After all, the thing might not even be in use, or be a remnant from a time when the vicarage did have a computer.

  “When your place was searched, one of our officers spotted a router in there.” She indicated the vicarage. “Odd, don’t you think, when there is no computer? I was just going to ask the vicar about it.”

  The man unnerved her. He was staring, his face giving nothing away. Suddenly he smiled.

  “Part of the package. You know, TV box, phone and internet. We just never used the internet bit.”

  It made sense. So why didn’t she believe him? “Could I see?”

  Donnelly didn’t seem too perturbed by the request. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the front door. “Be my guest, blondie. It’s in there, the sitting room.”

  Imogen walked down the hallway and turned right into the room. She could see the glass cabinet PC Nigel Hallam had mentioned. She bent down for a closer look. The router was turned on, and plugged into the telephone socket, all green lights blinking away. Imogen turned to Donnelly, who’d followed her in. “This is in use.”

  “You’ll have to speak to the vicar about that, love. I wouldn’t know one end of them things from the other. Don’t even know how to switch it on.”

  “I’ll leave it for now. But tell the reverend that we’ll want to speak to him again. We’ll send someone tomorrow.”

  “Why? Is it important?”

  Imogen wasn’t sure, but something wasn’t right. She gave Donnelly a smile she hoped was reassuring. “I wouldn’t think so. It’s probably nothing.” Imogen suddenly wanted to get out of there. Every instinct was telling her to run. She’d come here expecting to find Livings. If she’d known he was out, she would have left it until the morning and brought backup. Imogen made for the front door. “Thanks. Got to get home.”

  Outside on the doorstep, she heaved a sigh of relief. That was one scary man. Fishing her mobile from her shoulder bag, she rang Julian. He didn’t pick up. No doubt he was working late on all the stuff from the bakery. She left a message on his voicemail. “Hi, honeybun, going home now, I’ll get tea.” She rang off, smiling to herself. The serious scientist hated being called anything but his name.

  Imogen had left her car on the drive, a good few yards away from the vicarage. It was dark, and there was no one around. The gaunt Victorian church and the tall gravestones cast weird shadows across her path. This place, Donnelly, they had her really spooked. It had been a mistake to come here on her own. She had her key fob in her hand, ready to press the button. Well, a few more yards and she’d be safe.

  It came from nowhere. A sudden crushing blow to the back of her head. Imogen teetered on her feet for a moment. There was another blow, followed by another. Then the world went black.

  * * *

  When the call came, Calladine was sound asleep. He checked the clock beside the bed. It was two thirty. “Julian? I’m sure whatever you’ve got can wait until the morning.”

  Julian’s voice was so strained it hardly sounded like him. “It won’t wait. Imogen hasn’t come home, and her phone’s dead.”

  “What do you mean, not come home? Has she been out somewhere?”

  “No, Tom, home from work. I got a message from her tim
ed at seven thirty. It said she was on her way, but she never arrived. Where did you send her?”

  “Nowhere, Julian. I thought she was with you. We’re busy questioning Clarke at the moment. The part of the investigation Imogen was working on harked back to when Donnelly was in the frame. I thought she’d left work early.”

  “I’m worried. More than worried. Something has happened to her.”

  Calladine’s heart had begun pumping away. Julian was right. This was way off-beam for Imogen. “I’m going in. I’ll check her computer, her messages, see if I can find something.”

  Shez was awake now, and protesting. “It’s the middle of the night.”

  “Missing DC, one of my own, so it’s pull out all the stops time. Sorry, babe. With luck it’ll come right, and I’ll be back before you know it.” He kissed her cheek.

  Why didn’t he believe that?

  Chapter 22

  As he drove in, Calladine rang Rocco. He didn’t want to drag Ruth out of bed, she had enough on her plate with Harry. She could catch up with events in the morning. By the time he arrived at the incident room, Rocco and Julian were already waiting for him.

  Calladine threw his overcoat over Joyce’s chair. “What was she working on?”

  Rocco answered. “Checking Donnelly’s movements against Kent’s. Given we’ve arrested Clarke, she may have ditched that and moved onto something more relevant.”

  Julian looked haggard. “You didn’t send her out somewhere?”

  “No, Julian. No need. It was all going on here. Ruth had gone home, and Rocco and I were with Clarke. When we came out, I thought she’d left.”

  “Imogen called me at seven thirty, said she was on her way home.”

  “Did she give you any hint of where she was, or what she was doing?”

  “Nothing that helps. I presumed she was leaving from here.” Julian slumped in Ruth’s chair.

  “We’ll find her.” Calladine put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

  Julian looked up at him. “How? We have nothing.”

  “Not so, we have CCTV all over this town.” Calladine looked at Rocco.

  “On it, guv.” Rocco sat down at his computer.