Where the Innocent Die

by Where the Innocent Die (retail) (epub)

  He shivered.

  He had come outside just wearing a shirt. Shit. The hospital appointment, he had forgotten all about it. Another thing he had to get done. He would ring them and re-arrange for another time.

  Too much to do for one man, and too little time to do it all. Claire Trent and MIT had to get involved.

  And it struck him that if he could confirm the murder of Liang was linked to the death of Wendy Chen, they would have to take the case on.

  He turned to climb the stairs to go back inside, bumping into Carol Oates standing behind him. ‘I saw you standing out here, Ridpath. Are you OK?’

  ‘Fine, Carol, just needed some fresh air.’

  She pushed an errant blonde hair that had escaped from her chignon behind her ear. ‘You came out without your jacket. Be careful you don’t catch cold.’

  ‘I’m just going back in.’ He tried to step around her, but she moved into his path. ‘I couldn’t help but hear the conversation you had with the coroner. It isn’t right what she’s doing. I agree with you; the inquest should be postponed.’

  ‘Well, it isn’t, so I need to get on with the work. We have so little time.’ He edged past her up the stairs.

  She put her hand on his arm. ‘An inquest should never jeopardise a criminal investigation. The coroner has ignored the law. I’m here to help if you want me.’

  Ridpath stared at her. ‘But to help who, Carol? Yourself or my case?’

  Chapter 43

  ‘Sophia, do you know if Dr Schofield has finished his post-mortem on Mr Liang yet?’

  ‘I haven’t heard anything, Ridpath.’

  ‘Can you give him another call and ask him to let me know his topline findings as soon as he can? Particularly if he can confirm the killing is linked to Wendy Chen?’

  ‘Will do. And Christie’s Hospital called saying you missed an appointment.’

  ‘I’ll call them back.’

  ‘Not anything bad is it?’

  ‘No, just routine.’

  ‘A couple of other things.’ She handed him a brown file. ‘This is Dr Schofield’s report on Wendy Chen.’

  ‘Did you read it?’

  ‘Clear cut case of murder. Tasered first and then killed. You can’t cut your throat if you are unconscious.’

  ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘No. But Dr Schofield is and you can’t argue with his conclusions.’

  ‘The fount of all wisdom?’

  Sophia’s cheeks reddened. ‘He’s good at his job.’

  Ridpath opened the file and scanned through it. ‘You’re right, this is good.’

  ‘Told you. One other thing. While you were at the morgue, I nipped to the market and bought you these.’ She held up a pair of slip-on shoes.

  Ridpath stared at his feet – he was still wearing the pink flip-flops. ‘You’re a godsend. How much do I owe you?’

  ‘6.99. I thought I’d splash out. But I wouldn’t go near a fire, they might melt.’

  Ridpath took off the flip-flops and slipped into the shoes. ‘Perfect fit. How did you know the right size?’

  ‘Years of window shopping and buying for my dad.’

  ‘Right, let’s get to work. You get onto the pathologist.’

  Sophia hurried back her desk. Ridpath rang Christie’s Hospital on his mobile. ‘Hi there, it’s Thomas Ridpath. I’m afraid I missed an appointment this afternoon.’

  There was a loud sniff on the end of the line. ‘Which doctor?’

  ‘Dr Morris.’

  A few clicks on a computer. ‘A blood test. You did miss it.’

  ‘I know, that’s why I’m calling.’

  A few more clicks. ‘Next appointment can be a week today… er, hang on, there’s an urgent sticker on your file…’

  Urgent, why was it urgent?

  ‘…Right, you’re in luck. I’ve just had a cancellation. Can you do ten a.m. tomorrow morning?’

  ‘Tomorrow?’

  ‘Thursday, September 19th.’

  ‘Well…’ Ridpath thought about all the work he had to do on the inquest, the investigation, on everything.

  The woman at the call centre interrupted his thoughts. ‘There is an urgent sticker on your case file, Mr Ridpath.’

  ‘OK, I’ll make it… somehow.’

  ‘Your appointment is confirmed, Mr Ridpath, please don’t be late.’

  Ridpath rang off. One job done, now he just had to make sure he went there.

  Sophia was hovering. ‘Mrs Challinor just rang through while you were on the phone. Your appointment with Claire Trent is at six this evening.’

  Ridpath checked his watch. 5.30. He’d better get a move on. ‘Anything from Dr Schofield?’

  ‘He’s still performing the post-mortem on the dead man.’

  ‘Message me when you get some news, Sophia. It’s important.’

  ‘Will do.’

  Ridpath stood up, putting on his jacket. He had to get Claire Trent to take this case. Without her, there was no way he could do all the work on his own.

  ‘Wish me luck, Sophia.’

  ‘You don’t need luck, Ridpath, you’re the golden boy.’

  ‘Not after today, Sophia, not after today.’

  Chapter 44

  ‘Come in, Ridpath. Seeing you at 6 p.m. on a Wednesday evening after an urgent call from the coroner sends shivers down my spine, and not the sort I enjoy.’

  Ridpath took a seat opposite, putting his files on her desk.

  Her eyes went to the brown files and back to him. ‘Mrs Challinor rang me and said you had something. What is it? I have drinks with the Chief Constable at 8 p.m. One of his “informal” chats, which means he’s worried about something and wants my input. The latest computer cock-ups are getting to everybody.’

  ‘It’s a murder committed at Wilmslow Immigrant Removal Centre last month.’ Ridpath handed over the file with the police investigation carried out by Ronald Barnes with its witness statements and the post-mortem report by the pathologist Dr Ahmed.

  Claire Trent opened both files and read through them. ‘A competent investigation, if not as thorough as one would hope. The pathologist decided it was suicide and DS Barnes has gone along with that conclusion.’

  ‘Competent? It’s a tick the box exercise. No interviews of any witnesses other than the Centre’s staff. No follow up with Immigration Enforcement. No investigation into the background of the victim, Wendy Chen aka Wendy Tang. No checking of CCTV. The Custody Officer who discovered the victim states the door to the victim’s room was open and that’s why he went inside, but Barnes did not check it out. The same officer says he locked all the rooms at 9.15 the previous evening.’

  ‘No, Ridpath, in his statement, he said he thought he locked all the rooms. Human error, he mustn’t have locked hers.’

  ‘The one room where a detainee was found dead happens to be unlocked? Bit of a coincidence.’

  The DCI shrugged her shoulders. ‘They happen. Listen, Ridpath, deaths in Removal Centres happen; people don’t want to go back to their countries or they are depressed. We investigate every one but once the post-mortem reports suicide, there’s not a lot we as police can do. It’s up to the coroner to determine if negligence led to the death.’

  ‘And what if we had a post-mortem stating it wasn’t suicide but murder?’ He handed over the latest report from Dr Schofield.

  Claire Trent read through it. ‘He seems to be suggesting she was rendered unconscious by a stun gun or Taser before her throat was cut. This is damning evidence. Is he sure?’

  ‘You know Dr Schofield, he wouldn’t make such a statement unless he was. Another pathologist, a Dr Ahmed, the man who carried out the first post-mortem, now admits he was wrong and agrees with him.’

  ‘Still doesn’t warrant the involvement of MIT. I presume you’ve let DS Barnes know of these developments in his case.’

  Ridpath’s face went blank. In all the chaos of today, it was the one thing he had forgotten to do.

  ‘You haven’t informed
him, have you? Instead of following basic police procedure, you have come running to me… Jesus, I thought you were smart, Ridpath. I also heard you’ve been giving Manchester Central more work.’

  Ridpath raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Ted Jones’ boss rang me. He suggested, politely, you give him notice if you’re ever on his patch again. People have a habit of dropping dead when you’re in the neighbourhood.’

  ‘He can bugger off. The witness to a death is killed and he’s worried because I’m giving him work.’

  ‘Can you prove a link to the death of the man today and the death of your woman in the Removal Centre?’

  Ridpath shook his head. ‘Not yet.’

  ‘Until you do, we have two unrelated deaths. One investigated by the police with a conclusion of suicide and the other with an investigation launched by Manchester Central and in progress. Why should MIT get involved?’

  Ridpath’s phone rang. ‘I have to take this.’

  Claire Trent waved her hands. ‘Don’t mind me, I’m just your boss.’

  Ridpath answered the call. It was Sophia. He listened to what she had to say before switching off his phone.

  ‘I hope you believe in coincidences, boss. The pathologist has just released his preliminary report…’

  ‘And?’

  ‘The same MO was used in the death I discovered today and the woman at the Removal Centre. Both victims were tasered first followed by their throats being cut.’

  Chapter 45

  ‘Shit.’

  ‘My thoughts exactly, guv’nor.’

  Claire Trent bit the nail of her thumb and stared into mid-air for a long time. ‘Right, Ridpath, we’re taking this on. Collect all the files and come with me.’

  She stepped out from behind her desk and marched out into the detective’s room. Heads popped out from behind computers and from Pret A Manger sandwiches. ‘Right, you lot, meeting room now. You too, Chrissy.’ She pointed to a Police Support Officer wearing a light blue Manchester City scarf and anorak, who was just heading out of the door.

  The woman did a U-turn and deposited her bag on her desk. ‘Just twenty seconds more and I would have been out of here. I should’ve known as soon as Ridpath went into her room…’

  She picked up a pad and joined the rest of the detectives in the meeting room.

  ‘Right, you lot,’ Claire Trent stood at the front next to a whiteboard, ‘we have a new case brought to us by DI Ridpath.’ She indicated he should speak.

  Ten pairs of eyes turned towards the detective. He wasn’t sure they were happy at the prospect of more work or pissed off.

  ‘The murder of two Chinese nationals,’ Ridpath placed the picture of Wendy Chen from his file onto the whiteboard. ‘This woman died in Wilmslow Immigrant Removal Centre a month ago. The second, a Mr Liang Xiao Wen, was discovered by me this morning in the centre of Manchester.’ Ridpath had no picture so he simply wrote the name on a blank sheet of paper and posted it next to the young woman’s photo. ‘I don’t have much, but here’s what I have on both murders.’

  Ridpath detailed his investigation, ending with his discovery of the body of Liang Xiao Wen.

  ‘How can we be sure the murders are connected?’ asked DS Alan Butcher.

  ‘Dr Schofield’s preliminary report on the second murder will tie the MOs together. I’m waiting for it to be sent across.’

  ‘So we think the same person killed both people?’ This was from Emily Parkinson.

  Ridpath peered across at Claire Trent. ‘Yes. The MO is the same.’

  Chrissy Wright put her hand up. ‘But one of them happened in a Removal Centre. How does anybody enter, commit a murder and leave a secure facility without being seen?’

  Ridpath sighed. ‘Great question, Chrissy. And the answer is I don’t know.’

  ‘We need to find out and quickly,’ interrupted Claire Trent.

  ‘Next steps?’ asked Harry Makepeace, one of the few inspectors left over from Charlie Whitworth’s time.

  Claire Trent looked over at Ridpath. ‘Why don’t you tell them, Detective Inspector? You’ve been involved in this case so far and know most about it, why don’t you lead?’

  Ridpath took a deep breath and stepped forward. ‘From talking with the parents of Wendy Chen this afternoon, it is obvious she entered the country illegally after being deported. We need to know how the Immigration Enforcement found her and when they arrested her. Emily, can you do the work?’

  The DS made note in her book.

  ‘We also need to know more about the staff at the centre. Chrissy, can you do background checks on everybody, including the Centre Manager? Either the person who committed the first murder was already in the Centre or they gained entry later. Plus the security officer, Stuart Collins, said he was in London on August 19th and 20th attending a meeting. Can we check the alibi?’

  ‘You think the killer could have been one of the staff?’ asked Claire Trent.

  ‘I’m not ruling it out.’

  ‘I’m on it, Ridpath,’ said Chrissy.

  ‘Alan, can you liaise with Dr Schofield? We need his report as soon as possible.’

  DS Butcher nodded his head.

  ‘Harry, can you follow up on Liang Xiao Wen? Who was he? What work did he do? You know the drill. And get onto Ted Jones, they should have completed the house-to-house looking for witnesses by now. With a bit of luck, somebody will have seen something.’

  ‘Aye and pigs might fly knowing Chinatown,’ said Makepeace.

  ‘Isn’t that what the police helicopter is for?’ answered Alan Butcher to laughter.

  Ridpath stopped the laughter by raising his hands. ‘Three more things, people. First, we have a phone call to Rowley station from Wendy Chen on the day before she died. I was going to get round to it today, but I’ve had no time. Chrissy, can you find out who she called?’

  ‘I’ll call the duty sergeant, he’s an old mate. And a City fan.’

  ‘Poor bugger,’ muttered a voice from the back.

  ‘Second. There is an added complication to the investigation. The coroner, Mrs Challinor, is starting an inquest into the death of Wendy Chen tomorrow morning…’

  ‘Can’t we get her to postpone it?’ asked Emily Parkinson.

  All eyes turned to Claire Trent.

  ‘I’ll call her later tonight. Coroners are supposed to wait for the outcome of a police inquiry before holding inquests.’

  ‘Can she do that? Continue on with the inquest when we’re still investigating?’

  ‘I already spoke to her,’ said Ridpath. ‘She doesn’t want to postpone it. She sees it as her duty to the family of the deceased. It means we may lose the body if it’s released back to the family after the end of the inquest. We have to work quickly, people.’

  Claire Trent checked her watch. ‘I have to go to meet the Chief Constable, but I’ll be back in an hour or so. He’s not going to be a happy camper when I tell him he has two more murders to add to his stats this year. And I’ll handle Manchester Central and Rowley, they will be more than happy to hand over the cases to us.’

  She walked towards the door.

  ‘I have just one more point, boss.’

  ‘What is it, Ridpath?’ replied Claire Trent irritably.

  Ridpath wrote a name on a blank sheet of paper and pasted it next to the picture of Wendy Chen. ‘I think this person is key.’

  ‘Yang May Feng? Who is she?’

  ‘She came into the country illegally with Wendy Chen but evaded arrest by Immigration Enforcement.’ Ridpath fished around in the file for the picture the old woman had given him, placing it on the whiteboard next to the name.

  ‘Why do you think she’s important, Ridpath?’

  ‘Because, unless we find her, I think she could be our next victim.’

  Chapter 46

  Manchester was too dangerous for her now.

  Only an hour ago, she had gone to Liang’s place to give him the money she owed. The bastard was always asking for more and the inte
rest rate was forever going up. Wendy had argued with him so many times, but he wouldn’t listen.

  ‘You two owe us for bringing you here,’ he always said. Owed him their lives and their bodies is what he meant.

  She didn’t want to go out again, but this was the last time for a week. She couldn’t risk Liang and his goons looking for her if she didn’t pay. One bad man chasing her was enough.

  When she got to Liang’s place, the area was full of police. The alley leading to his flat had been cordoned off with men in white suits and masks wandering in and out.

  She asked somebody in Mandarin what was going on.

  ‘Somebody’s dead.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘I think it was one of Lam’s men, stabbed they said. Good riddance to bad rubbish…’

  But she was already gone, running away from the scene, looking for a taxi to take her back to the flat before the woman finished her sentence.

  Now she was back here, what was she going to do? Was it still safe or did he know where she lived?

  Her whole body was trembling with fear.

  She ran into the bedroom and buried herself under the covers.

  What was she going to do?

  Chapter 47

  The large clock ticked loudly on the wall, the minute hand making a clicking sound as it advanced. It was already past ten o’ clock. He hoped Polly wasn’t waiting up for him.

  Ridpath sat in the situation room all alone, staring at the pictures of the two people who had been killed.

  He was strangely elated. The pleasure of running a team, all working towards a common goal, had left him feeling high. God, he loved the early days in any case when the team were reporting back almost hourly with new information and ideas. Ideas sparking additional lines of inquiry.

  After Claire Trent had left for her drinks with the Chief Constable, the team had quickly coalesced around him. There was no questioning his authority, no slacking in their desire to get the job done.

  The board had been filled with additional information. The first arrest and deportation of Wendy Chen had been dredged from the files along with a new photograph and an address where she had been found working. It wasn’t a restaurant in Chinatown but a massage parlour in Cheetham Hill. One of those places that popped up and closed with all the speed of a cold sore on the lips of an addict.