Body by the Docks: detectives investigate a baffling mystery

by Diane M Dickson

  * * *

  The sat nav offered two routes with only minutes difference in the timings. “I reckon going via Formby will be easier, boss. The A565, less wiggly. Take the M62 down past Prescot and Knowsley.”

  “Fair enough.” Jordan judged it enough of an emergency to use the integral blue lights and the outside lane of the motorway for the first part of the drive. But he stayed within the speed limits. It wasn’t a chase, and he had no backup. “Let’s hope Molly likes a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast,” he said.

  “What, with a little baby? Any sleep at all is probably a bonus,” Ros said.

  “What the hell is she doing in Southport? Is she meeting someone? What is all the money about? This is all looking a bit dodgy for her, but I just can’t imagine how. I can’t believe she had anything to do with her mum’s murder. She was gutted. She’s barely more than a kid. Still…”

  He didn’t need to say more. They both knew that age and gender was no barrier to violent crime. He didn’t believe it though, surely not that small fragile young mother. He hoped not. The job knocked a lot of the sentimentality out of you very quickly, but he would be sad if they were to find Molly McCardle was a murderer.

  * * *

  “That’s it there.” Rosalind pointed to small hotel standing in a tarmacked car park. The walls were rendered and painted white. There were heavy-looking drapes at the windows and hanging baskets of pansies outside the porch. It had been a grand house in the past and now it was just one of hundreds of similar small hotels in every seaside resort in the UK. Jordan liked the look of it and could see why it had appealed to Molly, not as daunting as one of the big chain places. More homely, friendly.

  There was a young girl behind the reception desk wearing a black skirt and white blouse. “Good morning, do you have a reservation?” As she spoke, she turned her computer monitor so she could read the screen and she jabbed at the keyboard.

  When she looked up from the desk, Jordan and Rosalind had their warrant cards held in front of them. “I’m DI Jordan Carr and this is my colleague, DC Searle. We need to have a word with the manager.”

  The girl stared at them, her eyes popping, and then without a word, she jumped from her stool, held up a finger in a hang on gesture, and shot through the door behind her. They heard her screeching in the room behind the reception. “Mr Bromley, the police. It’s the police. Out in reception.”

  Jordan looked down at Ros and gave her a grin. “Not often we get that sort of reaction these days, eh?”

  She laughed.

  * * *

  “Ah yes, I was expecting you. What can I do for you, officers?” Roger Bromley wasn’t as fazed as his young employee had been. He smiled at them as he lifted the heavy wooden flap which allowed him access from the reception desk and out into the hallway.

  “We won’t keep you long, sir,” Jordan said. “We believe you have a young woman staying with you. She has a baby with her. She checked in last night. Molly McCardle. We just need to have a word with her.”

  “Oh right, yes. Nice young thing. Arrived quite late, hungry. I made her something to eat. Didn’t have any luggage – so I assumed, well, I thought perhaps…” He shrugged. “I hope she’s not in any trouble.” He waited, obviously hoping for information, a bit of gossip. When none was forthcoming, he went back behind his counter and moved the mouse to wake the computer. “Yes, here we are. I put her in room twenty-four. First floor, easier for her with the pram. Though we do have a lift.”

  “We really do need to speak to her, sir. As soon as possible,” Rosalind said.

  “Ah, well. I’m afraid you missed her. She went off just after breakfast. In a bit of a rush, to be honest. I was surprised. She handed her key in at reception and left without so much as goodbye. I did wonder if everything was okay. There was a man with her, according to Karen, and she said she seemed a little… flustered. Yes, that was the word she used. Flustered. I wondered if it was the husband. I hope she’s okay.”

  “What time did she leave, do you know?” Jordan asked.

  “Well, as I say, just after breakfast – before nine anyway.”

  “We need a word with Karen.” Jordan glanced at DC Searle. She nodded. “Okay. My colleague here will have a word with your receptionist. See if she can help us with a description. Do you have CCTV?”

  Bromley blushed and shook his head. “There’s a camera, out in the car park. To be honest, it hasn’t worked for a couple of months. We need a new one, I want to upgrade the system. I’m hoping for a good summer season to pay for it. We leave the other one there because it makes the guests feel more secure but…” He shrugged his shoulders.

  “Great.” Jordan turned away and went back out to the car, leaving Rosalind Searle to begin to interview the girl.

  He called Terry Denn. “Too late, Terry. She’s gone off with someone. Could be Eddie, I suppose. Can we try and get an image of him from Gary McCardle? Failing that, see if we can get a copy of his passport photograph. I’m going back in to speak to the girl here and then we’ll go straight to the McCardle house. I’m hoping it is Eddie and she’s gone home with him. I’m really hoping that.”

  “Do you want me to ask Gary if she’s there?”

  “I don’t think so. If she is, we’ll find out soon enough and if she isn’t, it’s only going to cause him more stress. It can wait until we have more information.”

  Chapter 27

  Karen, the hotel receptionist, looked like a startled hare. She had pulled the sleeves of her blouse down over her hands and twisted and pulled at them, popping a button in the process.

  “There’s nothing to be alarmed about, honestly,” Rosalind Searle told her. “All we want to know is what happened when Miss McCardle left this morning. Did she say anything? Did she tell you where she was going, for example? How did she seem? Happy, upset, worried?”

  “Like I told Mr Bromley, she seemed just a bit flustered.”

  “Can you explain what you mean?”

  “Well, she looked as if she’d had to go in a rush. She had her baby bag with her and her jacket and handbag but that was all. No suitcase. But, I don’t know what she brought originally, I wasn’t here when she checked in yesterday. She just put the key on the counter and said, thank you, and that was it. Then she went out. The man followed her. He didn’t speak at all. Well, it was alright because I knew we had her card details and she’d paid the deposit and she hadn’t been here long enough to have anything from the bar or the restaurant. So, she just went. Normally people say whether they’ve had a nice time. They say they’ll come back again – or something. Friendly, you know. But she didn’t. I wondered where the baby was. I looked out of the door, but they got into a car, so I assumed it was there. I know you shouldn’t do that, leave them in cars, babies. So, I just thought that was why she was a bit panicky. Seems odd because she could have kept him with her, couldn’t she?”

  “Okay. So, this man who was with her,” Jordan said. “What can you tell us about him?”

  “He was quite tall, about the same as you, about the same age as well. Dark hair, slim erm…”

  “Yes, you’re doing very well, Karen. You are being really helpful. Anything else? What about his clothes?”

  “Oh right. He had jeans on and a grey top, a sweatshirt. And that’s about it really. No coat or anything. I had seen him earlier in the dining room and he had a brown jacket with him then. I didn’t realise at the time he wasn’t a guest, not until Mr Bromley said. He was sitting with her, holding the little baby. I thought they must be together. Were they not?”

  “To be honest, we don’t really know at the moment, but you have been a huge help. Thank you so much.”

  Jordan’s phone chimed. There was a text message from Terry Denn.

  Sorry Boss. Gary M refused to provide a picture of his brother. Working on a passport photograph or social media. Nothing yet.

  Jordan went back to the girl. “Now, this car they left in. What can you tell us about that?”


  “Not much. Sorry. I don’t know about cars.”

  “Okay, don’t worry. What colour was it? Do you know?”

  “I think it was dark. I only saw the back of it. Dark blue perhaps, yes it was dark blue.”

  “But you don’t know what sort it was? If we show you some pictures, do you think it will help?”

  “No, I only got a quick look. I just saw she got in the back and they put the pram in behind the seat. She had the baby on her knee, that’s not right, is it? But that was all I saw, then it went. Anyway, the phone was ringing, and I had to dash back inside. I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t see the licence number?” Rosalind Searle wasn’t hopeful, but the question had to be asked.

  Karen shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes and she scrabbled in the pocket of her skirt for a tissue.

  Jordan leaned towards her. “Please don’t be upset. You’ve done nothing wrong at all. Look, we’re going now and I’m sure when we find Molly, she’ll be fine. If you do think of anything else, just give us a ring. I’ll leave my card with Mr Bromley. Perhaps you should just have a cup of tea.” He glanced at the hotel owner who nodded at him.

  “Anything else we can do for you – just let us know,” Bromley said.

  “Thanks, we will. It’s alright, honestly, Karen. Look, we don’t know there’s a problem yet. We just want to talk to Miss McCardle and make sure she’s alright. She’s had a couple of problems lately and we are a bit worried for her,” Jordan said.

  “It was just the way he pushed her that upset me.” Karen sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

  “Sorry, what did you say?” Ros asked.

  “The tall bloke. When they got to the car. She stopped and looked in, I thought she was checking on the baby, but he just opened the door and sort of pushed her. Not hard, not so she’d fall over but just by her arm, you know.”

  “I thought she had a problem. Right from the start. She just seemed… tense… you know.” This from Bromley.

  “Aw poor thing.” With these words Karen dissolved into a full-on crying session and Jordan tipped his head towards the door. Rosalind Searle followed him out into the car park.

  “Well, that was interesting. I don’t know how much of it was just looking for things to up the ante on the part of the receptionist. She seemed to be a bit of a drama queen, don’t you think?” Ros said.

  “I’m glad you said that and not me.”

  “Well, I know. But it was all a bit intense. I wonder if he really did push her, or maybe just helped her in.”

  Jordan pointed at the defunct camera on top of its useless pole. “I wish there was some sort of regulation about those things. If you’re going to have them, they should bloody work. I don’t suppose there are any traffic cameras down here, it’s a bit off the main drag. A dark-coloured car, maybe blue, isn’t much help.” He unlocked the car and slid into the driving seat. “Right, let’s get back to Wavertree and find out why Gary McCardle is so hesitant to supply a picture of his brother.”

  Chapter 28

  “So, you haven’t found her?” Gary McCardle was shouting. He had flung open the door when Jordan and Ros arrived but then had leaned out into the street, looking back and forth. “Where’s Molly?” he’d asked.

  “We don’t know. We know where she was overnight, and we have spoken to people who were with her this morning. Right at this minute, all we know is that she was well, and the baby was okay.”

  “You’re bloody useless, aren’t you? Dada was right. You have to look after yourself. You can’t rely on other people and especially not the police.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr McCardle, Gary – I know you’re upset but why don’t you just sit down for a minute and we’ll talk about this.” Jordan tried to usher the younger man into the living room. He refused to move out of the hallway, and they stood in a line squashed into the small space.

  “There’s nothing to talk about. I wanted to find her myself right from the start, but you put me off. Leaving me here just waiting. I thought you had all sorts of technology. That’s what you said. Well, fat lot of good it’s done us.”

  “We found her, Gary. But by the time we got there, to the hotel, she’d gone.”

  “So, use your bloody technology and find her again.”

  “Gary,” Rosalind spoke quietly. “She went off with someone. Now, the best thing you can do is help us to find out who it was. We wondered if it could be your brother.”

  “I told you he’s not here.”

  “Well, you don’t know where he is, so perhaps it was him. Do you really not have a picture of him? What about the holiday you all had? You must have taken some snaps then. Happy memories and all that. Maybe your mum had some here. Where did she keep those sorts of things?”

  “She didn’t. We don’t do much of that.”

  “Really? These days everyone takes pictures all the time. With their phones and then put them on the internet and so on.”

  “Well, I don’t.” He sighed. “Okay, I do have a couple of pictures but I’m not happy about giving them to you. Not without talking to our Eddie. That’s not right. I don’t know what you’ll do with them. How do I know they won’t end up in some database?”

  “What about his bar in Spain, doesn’t he have a website?”

  “Yeah, he does.”

  “Let’s have a look at that then. Maybe he’s on there.”

  “No, he’s not. It’s just pictures of the inside and the view. Some of the parties they organised.”

  “What are you not telling us, Gary? There’s obviously something here you’re not talking about. We need to know. If you want us to find out who killed your mum and maybe even where Molly is then we need to know about your family,” Jordan said.

  “No. I know what you’re doing here. You’re trying to turn this around. Trying to make out I wouldn’t help you. You’re just covering your arses. I’m not daft. I’m not giving you pictures of my brother.”

  “Okay, I can’t force you. The girl at the hotel said the man who Molly left with was tall, dark-haired, about my age.”

  “Well, in that case it wasn’t our Eddie.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “He’s a ginger and before you say anything, he wouldn’t have dyed it. Anyway, I wouldn’t call him tall, he’s about the same height as me.”

  “Okay – not your brother. But does it sound like anyone you might know?”

  “Nope. It’s time for you to leave. I’m going to Southport to find my sister.”

  “Really, Gary, I have to advise against it. You don’t know where to start and we don’t know what’s going on. If she is at risk, you could make things worse for her. Anyway, you could put yourself in harm’s way. I wish you’d be honest with us. I know you’re not being and unless you trust us then you’re tying our hands.”

  “Trust you? Ha! Yes, that’d work, wouldn’t it? I did trust you, and see where it’s got us. Look, I just want you to go. I’ve had enough of you.”

  “There is something else we need to ask you, Gary, and then we’ll go. We’ve been looking into your mum’s background. It’s routine – we are looking for anything that might help us trace someone who possibly had a grudge against her. That sort of thing.”

  “I’ve already told you, there’s nobody.”

  “Well, that might be true, but have you got copies of your parents’ birth certificates? We’re having trouble obtaining copies. It would help if we could confirm dates and locations.”

  “No. I haven’t. A load of stuff was lost. Something about a box that got tossed by mistake once when they were having a clear-out. They didn’t bother to replace them. Mam said she didn’t need bits of paper to tell her how old she was.”

  “What about when she went abroad? Only she would have needed a passport for going to Europe.”

  “Yes, she had one when we went to Spain. We had to get them, but she already had one. I don’t know why. Didn’t think about it at the time. I suppose she’d used it once and then ju
st kept it up to date in the hope.”

  “In the hope?”

  “Yes, that she’d have the chance to go and see Eddie. Well, in the end she did. Too late for Dada but we all went over. Eddie booked a place for us to stay. It was lovely and just what Mam needed at the time. Molly was quite young, still at school.”

  “Okay. So, what do you know about your past? Were they born in Liverpool, your parents? Didn’t you say you had a cousin in Ireland?” Jordan asked.

  “A cousin, no I don’t think so.”

  “Yes, you did,” Jordan insisted.

  “Well, I was upset, who knows what I said. It was Liverpool, yeah. As far as I know. We didn’t talk about it much. They had no relatives. Mam was an orphan brought up by her auntie who died when Mam was a teenager, and Dada’s parents were killed in the war and he stayed with some people at a farm somewhere. Well, that’s what the story was anyway. But we were never bothered. They didn’t make a fuss about it and that stuff – it’s irrelevant, isn’t it?”

  “Well, it’s one way of looking at it. I like to know about my family, though. About where I came from,” Jordan said.

  “Aye well, maybe it’s more interesting. You coming from…” There was a short pause. “Well, from Africa or wherever.”

  “Jamaica. My family, originally,” Jordan said.

  “Well, that’s more interesting than bloody Wavertree, isn’t it? Like I say – there’s no papers, no pictures. It all got tossed and nobody was bothered. We had each other and it was enough for us. Haven’t a clue whether she still had the passport. She wasn’t a big one for keeping stuff like that and she hasn’t been well enough to travel far for a while now. It would have been out of date by now anyway. Look, Mam’s dead. It stinks, and of course I want you to find out who did it, but you have to find Molly and Jakey. You just have to, at least try and do that.”

  “If you hear from her, let me know.” It was all Jordan could say and they had no choice but to leave and head back to the station with their tails well and truly between their legs.