by Liz Mistry
46
11:20 The Fort
Having deposited Adnan in interview room one, Gus arrived at the incident room and tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. He leaned his shoulder on it and shoogled the handle before finally noticing the flashing red light on a keypad just below his eye line. He pressed the button and waited. After a bit of static and a brief skirmish, a disembodied voice demanded to know his business.
‘I’m leading the fucking investigation, does that give me entry?’
He laughed as he heard a muffled ‘Oh shit, it’s the boss,’ swiftly followed by footsteps approaching. Compo, Diet Coke in one hand and KitKat in the other, opened the door and took a quick step back as if expecting a rollicking.
Gus ambled in. ‘Good work with the door, Compo, just need to make sure we’ve all got the code to get in.’
‘Oh yeah, forgot about that.’ He scrabbled in his pocket coming up with a small card with a chocolate stain in one corner and six numbers written on it. ‘Best memorise that, boss.’
Gus took the card, looked at the numbers and shoved it in his pocket. No way was he going to admit to Compo that he couldn’t even memorise his bank card PIN with four digits, never mind these six digits. It was then he noticed that everyone was crowded round Compo’s computer. ‘Got something, Compo?’
Compo’s face lit up and he led Gus over to his table.
‘I’ve finished rationalising the Facebook contacts lists and so I started going over the stuff young Tayyub recorded and I found a few things. The first thing is that I’ve IDed the girl dancing on the table. Jenny Gregg, fifteen, from Cottingley, attends City Academy.’
‘Right, Taffy and Alice, you interview her, ASAP.’ Then as Comp coughed he added, ‘After we’ve seen what else Compo’s got for us.’
Gus grinned his approval, and Compo continued. ‘I got something else, too. I was just about to show the team this. I’ll run it through the projector so we can see better.’ He frowned. ‘To be honest, though, I don’t really think any of us want to see it.’
Gus looked at him sharply. ‘You okay, Compo?’
‘Yeah, you’ll see what I mean when you see it.’ And with that Compo switched off the lights and started the recording.
Tayyub appeared to be sitting in the Proctor’s living room idly recording passers-by, focussing here and there. At 22:35 there seemed to be some commotion off camera. Tayyub pointed the camera out of the living room towards the front door where two massive blokes in leather jackets stood, each with their arm round a skinny girl. Gus recognised the one on the left as Jade Simmonds. They came in and kicked over the small table at the bottom of the stairs and stared pugnaciously at a couple of lads who quickly lowered their heads and sidled past and out the front door. The two bikers’ fists bumped. One of them grabbed a can from a lad who was coming down the stairs and pushed his way past Tayyub with the camera.
‘Play it again, Comps.’ Gus again watched the bikers entering the premises. With any luck they’d be able to get a better image from this footage. They were thugs, through and through. From picking up two young girls to vandalising the Proctors’ property to leaving Jade Simmonds to die alone and uncared for. He’d have those bastards, if it was the last thing he did. Such a waste. If the next hour had played out differently, Jade would have been alive on Sunday morning. Maybe nursing a stinker of a hangover, but alive none the less. Bloody animals!
Compo fast forwarded to 22:55. The bikers and their girls were over by the window with Simon Proctor. Although Simon’s back was to the camera his body language indicated he was neither frightened nor worried. As they watched, Simon high-fived the two bikers and flung his head back, as if laughing. One of the bikers placed an arm round Simon’s shoulders and pulled the boy in for a hug. Whatever was being said was drowned out by the bass beat and localised laughter and chatter. Compo stopped the recording. ‘There,’ he said, excitement making his voice wobble, ‘Do you see it? There?’
Sure enough, one of the bikers took a clear bag out of his pocket. In it were little blue pills. Simon took the bag, hid it in a plant pot behind the curtain and rummaged in his back pocket. He handed over a wad of money. The biker flicked through the cash, kissing it, before putting it away in an inner pocket with a laugh. He thumped Simon on the back and walked away, Jade and the other girl obediently following behind.
Again, Compo fast forwarded, but this time before pressing play, he said, ‘This is bad, okay? Believe me it’s bad.’
Tayyub had zoomed in on the bikers as they walked from the dining room to the living room. Anything, or anyone who happened to be in their way was swatted away like an annoying midge. They approached the couch and one of them yanked a boy, who was snogging his girlfriend, up by the collar. The couple didn’t argue as the two bikers wedged their arses into the middle of the couch and pulled Jade and the other girl down into either corner. Although Jade looked pale and sleepy, the other girl seemed alert.
A few minutes were taken up by the bikers belching and drinking beer, with the girls laughing encouragingly. The background noise diminished as the teenagers became aware of the bikers in the living room and edged away. Deep voices, talking insultingly about everything and anything, drifted through the room. They referred to the girls as their ‘bitches’ or sometimes their ‘hos’ and the girls giggled like the kids they were. Pills and bottles of beer were shared, until Jade grabbed the arm of her biker. ‘Feel sick, help me up.’
He laughed and jeered at her, moving his hands in and out close to her face to make her dizzy. Jade paled visibly and then suddenly lurched to the side and vomited over the arm of the sofa onto the carpet beneath.
‘Fuckin’ mingin’ cow!’ The biker pulled her upright by the hair and slapped her on the face.
Jade’s eyes shot open and she lifted a hand to her face. ‘Ouch, that was sore.’
He laughed. ‘Well, it were meant to be.’
Jade looked miserable. ‘Can’t I go home now? I’ll get a taxi?’
‘You’ll fuckin’ stay here till I say you can go, right!’
The other biker grinned. ‘You tell the bitch.’
There were a few more minutes of loud obnoxious behaviour and then the other biker said, ‘I know, let’s have a race.’
‘What sort of fucking race?’
He flung his head back and laughed.
Gus, stepping closer to the screen, imagined he could smell the BO and alcohol wafting from the man. His skin tightened as if a million pins were being pressed simultaneously into his body. Sensing that the scene was going to play out in an even more despicable way, Gus wanted to look away… yet he knew he couldn’t.
The biker nodded at the two girls, his tone full of glee when he spoke. ‘A blow job race. First to swallow the lot wins.’
The first biker waved his arm in a circular movement above his head and whooped. ‘You hear that, Jade? We’re having a blow job race. First to swallow wins, okay?’
Jade looked up at him, her voice was barely audible. ‘I’m going to be sick again. Just wanna go home.’
The two men got onto their knees on the couch and straddled the girls. Two large jean-clad backsides filled the screen and the girls’ faces were obscured. A few moments of wobbling as the men found their balance by reaching out and gripping the back of the couch with one hand. The unidentified girl’s giggle, was punctuated by Jade’s slurred pleas, ‘No, stop it, I’m gonna be sick, please. Don’t feel well.’
A slap rent the air and then it seemed that the two men were fumbling at their flies before, for an agonising couple of minutes, all that could be seen was their thrusting butts. Gus had an urge to push his fingers in his ears to drown out Jade’s fading moans. It continued till Jade lay in a heap on the couch and the other three left the party. The time was 23:28.
The team were silent. Dry mouthed, Gus realised he’d clenched his hands into tight fists. He wanted to slam one into the wall. Perhaps that would release the tension across his shoulders. On the o
ther hand, it might just break his hand, shatter it into clouds of dust motes. The tightness in his chest wasn’t panic, although it felt similar. No, this time it was fury; huge and all-consuming. It threatened to swallow him whole, so he opened his hands, forced his fingers wide and pumped them open and shut for a few moments before he spoke. ‘Compo, get stills of those men and get them out to every bloody police officer in the county. Get them into every damn database we have. I want them found.’
Before Gus had finished speaking, Compo handed him a printed photo. ‘I’ve sent them out already – knew we should be quick on this one.’
Alice stood up and stretched. Her face was pale yet determined. ‘Do you think that constitutes murder, Gus?’
He shook his head, his face red with anger. ‘Probably not. Probably can’t prove she actually asphyxiated during the act. I’ll speak to my dad. We’ll get the bastards for drugs, for sexual and physical abuse of a minor, lewd behaviour, assault on any of those kids they touched that night. We’ll fucking get them, good and proper.’
‘I swear I saw that fucking bastard held her nose to force her to swallow.’ Compo’s expression was one of disbelief. ‘How could he do that? Give me ten minutes with either of those two and it’ll be their own dicks they’re swallowing.’
‘Hear, hear,’ echoed Alice.
Gus looked at his team. Sampson and Taffy had remained silent throughout. Taffy, wide-eyed, looked ready to cry, and Sampson, folding a piece of paper again and again into a square with precise, measured movements, was breathing heavily. He knew how they felt. There were some things you just could not un-see and this was one of them. Gus knew he wouldn’t be the only one having nightmares that night. He made a mental note to refer them for counselling when this was all over. You couldn’t let these things fester… he knew that only too well. ‘Look, you lot, everybody go out, have a walk in the park or something for half an hour, clear your heads and then come back and we’ll get on with nailing the bastards, okay.’
47
11:55 The Fort
Whilst his team took the half hour to process what they’d seen on the tape, Gus sat at his desk and studied the crime boards. They were no further forward accessing where the footage of Simon Proctor had come from. Although Compo was working like a man possessed, every lead had, so far, turned up a dead end. Hits were coming in from the images Compo had taken of the bikers but nothing conclusive. Gus wanted to rattle something loose, yet he could see no way of doing that right now. Despite telling himself that he wasn’t doing his body any favours, he’d drunk another cup of coffee, ignoring the swishing gurgle in the depths of his stomach. If they could locate Simon Proctor they might get a lead on the bikers. On the other hand, Simon Proctor may well be dead.
Compo’s computer pinged just as the man himself returned to the room. Rosy-cheeked and carrying a plastic bag, no doubt filled with provisions, Compo bustled over to his PC.
‘Another video on Facebook, Gus.’ And, without waiting to be asked, he filtered it onto the screen.
Within seconds, Gus was looking at Simon Proctor lying in the same position on the bed. The date stamp said the footage had been taken at 10:15. The footage was shadowy and Gus could just about make out a small lamp illuminating the scene. At least the lad’s not in complete darkness. ‘Why the delay posting the video, Compo?’
Munching a packet of crisps, Compo shrugged. ‘No idea. It’s as easy to schedule it as it would be to upload it real time. Seems like whoever is doing this is playing with us.’ Compo wiped his greasy hands down his trousers and flexed his fingers before rattling them across his keyboard. ‘However, every time he posts something, he’s giving me more to play with. I’ll get this toe-rag, don’t you worry.’
Drumming his fingers on the table top, Gus bit his lip. What the hell was Simon’s abductor playing at? Why abduct Simon Proctor? The more he learned about the lad, the more he disliked him. Who would be in a position to abduct him, keep him incarcerated and post footage online? This was a puzzle. He wasn’t even sure whether Sue Downs’ death was linked to the disappearance or not. The coincidence of poor Jade Simmonds’ death was one thing but abduction as well… that just seemed one step too far. However, he knew that if anyone could break the code or whatever it was, it would be Compo. Right now, though, that didn’t help him.
As Alice walked through the door, colour back in her face and her step a little lighter, Gus stood up. Thank God. Maybe Adnan would set them in the right direction. ‘Al, you’re with me. I’ve got Sue Downs’ boyfriend in interview room one. He has a social worker and a duty solicitor with him. Hardeep took his prints when he came in, and I don’t want to keep him hanging about for too long.’
Alice grabbed a notebook and pen and followed Gus along the corridor.
Once in the room with the recording equipment set up, Gus introduced everyone for the benefit of the tape, before reading the lad his rights. ‘Look, Adnan, I’m not going to lie to you, it looks bad that we had to come and get you. That you didn’t come forward yourself. It looks suspicious, so, if I were you, I’d think very carefully about what I’m saying. You need to tell us the truth, okay?’
Adnan nodded, his hands clasped tightly on the table before him.
‘Right, Adnan, do you know Sue Downs?’
Adnan bobbed his head once and Alice leaned forward. ‘You’ve got to speak, Adnan, for the tape, okay?’
Gus repeated the question.
Adnan swallowed. He looked like he’d burst into tears at any moment. ‘Yes, I knew Sue.’
‘Was she your girlfriend?’
Adnan shrugged, then glanced at Alice. ‘Sort of, she was sort of my girlfriend. You know? We went out sometimes.’
‘Were you with her on Saturday night at Simon Proctor’s house party?’
‘Yes, yes, I was, she were fine when I left. I didn’t hurt her, honest.’
‘Were you in Mr and Mrs Proctor’s bedroom with Sue?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Did you have sex with Sue?’
Adnan paled and he looked down at the table. ‘No.’
‘Sorry, I’ll repeat the question. Did you have sex with Sue Downs on Saturday night?’
Adnan twisted his fingers. ‘No, I said no, didn’t I?’
‘Would you volunteer to a DNA test to eliminate you from our enquiries?’
Adnan considered this for a minute. ‘Yeah, yeah, suppose so.’
‘When were you with Sue in the Proctors’ bedroom, Adnan?’
He shrugged. ‘Don’t know, probably got there after those fat biker blokes arrived. I popped my head into the living room and they were being dicks so we went upstairs.’
‘What time was that, roughly?’
‘Probably around half-eleven or so, maybe a bit later.’
‘Were you and Sue alone in the room?’
Adnan blushed. ‘Well, yeah. I locked the door.’
‘Why did you lock the door? Was it because you planned to have sex with Sue?’
‘No, no, just in case those bloody bikers came up, that’s all.’
‘So, what were you doing in the bedroom with the door locked?’
Adnan started to weep. ‘Nothing… we weren’t doing nothing… just snogging and that, that’s all.’
‘What’s and that, Adnan?’
‘Don’t know what you mean, I didn’t do owt to Sue. I liked her… I’d never hurt her.’
‘When did you leave the room, Adnan?’
He wiped his nose with his sleeve. ‘Don’t know… maybe half-twelve, one-ish, I didn’t check the time.’
‘Why didn’t Sue leave with you?’
‘Dunno, she wanted to stay.’
‘Did you have an argument?’
‘No, no, we didn’t.’
‘So why did you leave without her? You see what I mean? If you didn’t have an argument, why do you leave without her?’
Adnan shrugged.
‘Did you argue about the pregnancy?’
Adnan’s h
ead shot up and he fired a frightened glance at Gus. ‘What pregnancy?’
‘Sue was fourteen weeks pregnant when she died. Whoever killed her also killed her baby.’
Adnan laid his head down on the table and wept again. The social worker put his hand out and touched the boy on the shoulder. ‘Maybe Adnan could have a break?’
Gus turned to Alice. ‘Get him some water, will you, and I’ll have a coffee.’
Alice left the room and Gus looked at Adnan. ‘You need to pull yourself together and start talking to us. Start telling us the truth.’
The social worker passed the lad a tissue whilst the duty solicitor looked at his watch as if he had somewhere more pressing to be. As Adnan wiped his face, Gus said, his tone caustic, ‘You in a rush or something?’
The solicitor had the grace to flush as he shook his head. Gus scowled at him and waited, arms crossed, till Alice returned with drinks for everyone.
‘Right Adnan, let’s go back to the beginning. You were in the bedroom with Sue for about an hour. You locked the door. Did you have sex with her?’
Adnan began to shake his head, but Gus raised his hand. ‘Don’t deny it, Adnan, we’ve got DNA to prove it was you.’
Adnan thought for a minute. ‘No, no, you don’t. I didn’t.’
Gus opened the box file he’d brought in with him and took out a clear bag with a soiled tissue in it. ‘We found this tucked down the back of the bed, Adnan. You used a condom and when you took it off you wiped yourself with a tissue and it ended up down the back of the bed, didn’t it?’
Adnan stared at the bag and swallowed hard before replying. ‘Yeah, I did have sex with her on Saturday night and that is the tissue I used. I ain’t the father of that baby. That’s the first time I ever had sex with her… or anyone else.’
Gus looked at him and bit his lip. ‘Did you know she was pregnant, Adnan?
‘No, she didn’t say.’
‘So why did you leave her behind?
‘Well after, you know… after…’ he pointed at the tissue, ‘after that, she started to cry and got all upset and all and she started shouting at me and told me to go. In the end she was hysterical so I just went. I just left her there, honest to God, I never killed her.’