by Carla Kovach
‘Did she ever mention being in a relationship with anyone from her course?’
‘Yes, but that was over weeks ago. She slept with her lecturer a handful of times and joked about it. She just wanted to know what it would be like but then things got awkward for her in lectures. I didn’t approve, obviously, but it was him doing the cheating. Amber wasn’t married. Amber said she wasn’t his first fling, he apparently had one on the go with every year group. She wouldn’t really say much more to me, especially after our night together.’
Lauren stared at the dog on her screen. ‘Amber was just enjoying life. Her father would never let her out when she lived at home and I suppose she went a bit mad, partying and one-night stands. He was really strict with her. When she first moved in he was here all the time. She had a big row with him and told him he was stifling her.’
‘Did she ever take drugs?’
Lauren bit her lips. ‘I don’t, ever, but I know Amber took the occasional tab and those weird canister thingies, but then so does everyone.’
The sound of Wyre’s pen scraping on her pad came to a stop.
‘What will happen to that video of me and Amber? I know we were only kissing in the hallway.’
‘It’s currently in police evidence. From what we have, I can see that it hasn’t been uploaded to any public sites.’
‘At least that’s some good news, I don’t think my mother could take the shock. I still can’t get over the fact that some sicko was spying on us while we were… It doesn’t bear thinking about.’ Lauren exhaled and wafted her hand in front of her face. She too had suffered a violation in all this.
Gina had read the notes that were on file about Mr Slater’s laptop. He’d shared the video of his own sexual encounter to a porn site but not the one of his daughter kissing Lauren. ‘How close are you all, in this building?’
‘We’re quite tightknit, I think. We sometimes have weekend drinks, albeit not noisy ones. When we do, we open all our doors and wander around the building freely. It has a house share feel to it even though we all have our private quarters.’
‘Tyrone Heard, does he mix much?’
‘He’s not here as often. His best friend is Madison who, well… you know, the girl who got attacked. He’s made it clear he wants to move out of this block and he doesn’t really gel with the rest of us.’
‘Great, thank you for your time and I’m sorry that we came bearing the news we did. Someone will be in touch soon about the case.’
Lauren stood and awkwardly fidgeted on the spot. ‘I saw Tyrone staring through Amber’s door when it was open one day but I thought it couldn’t be him. I know Tyrone is gay so he wouldn’t be interested in Amber, not in that way. I just don’t get him.’
Gina smiled. ‘Thank you for being so helpful. We’ll be in touch.’
As they left, it worried Gina that the housemates left their doors open quite often and that the front door may have been on the latch – anyone could easily access the building.
52
Gina heard voices coming from downstairs. They peered through the bannister and spotted Corrine and Curtis passing a roll-up between them. ‘May we have a quick word?’ Gina hurried down.
‘No probs.’ Curtis put the cigarette out between his fingers. ‘Sorry about smoking. There’s no alarm in the hall on this floor and it’s cold. Won’t happen again.’
Gina ignored it. The last thing on her mind was Curtis smoking in the communal area. ‘We’re just following up on all your details.’
‘Okay.’ Curtis’s greasy face shone under the stark light.
Gina whipped out her own pad. ‘I have it that you’re studying motor mechanics at Bromsgrove and, Corrine, you’re studying hairdressing at Redditch, is that correct?’
Both of them nodded.
‘Do you know if Tyrone Heard is in?’
‘That dick?’ Curtis popped the unlit roll-up between his lips.
‘What makes you say that?’
‘I don’t know. He just doesn’t make an effort to get on with us. It’s like he thinks he’s above us.’
Corrine nudged him. ‘Don’t say that. You can be a prick sometimes, Curtis.’ She brushed her long blonde fringe from her eyes.
‘Well, it’s true. He never wants to have a drink with us and you only have to see the way he looks down his nose because we’re not at uni and he is.’
‘He doesn’t do that at all. I think the problem is you. You feel inadequate when you see Tyrone because he’s a finer specimen of a man than you are.’ Corrine nudged him in the ribs and laughed.
He giggled back. ‘Whatever, but it’s true, I’m telling you.’
Corrine pushed him again. ‘Tyrone seems okay. When Amber was sick once, he popped his head around her door and asked if she was okay or needed anything from the shops, she told me. He did the same for me too when I had a hangover. Once, when Amber had come back from partying and left her door open, Tyrone made sure she had a blanket over her and a bowl on the floor before closing her door. I think that was last October. He’s a good guy really, he just has his own friends and prefers to hang out with them. Curtis is just jealous that Tyrone is a nice guy.’
‘Like hell.’
Gina wondered if they were both talking about the same Tyrone. Now was a good time to find out. ‘Thank you. Sorry to have kept you.’
Gina hurried up the stairs with Wyre following until they reached the top of the building. She knocked and there was no answer. Placing her ear against the door, she listened but all she could hear was her own heart beating. ‘Can you hear anything?’
Wyre placed her ear on the wood and shook her head. ‘There’s a rustling noise behind this door. It sounds like someone’s in there.’
Knocking again, Gina called out. ‘Tyrone, it’s the police. Please open the door.’
No answer.
Gina bit her bottom lip. ‘It could be Kapoor. Tyrone seems to be the outsider here. The kind of resident that people barely notice. The one who comes and goes quietly and he’s also a link between the two victims, Amber and Madison.’
Wyre stood back. ‘What do we do? Go in?’
‘Make a call to the station.’
As Wyre pulled her phone out and waited for an answer Tyrone came into sight behind them on the stairs and he stared directly into Gina’s eyes. She could see his panic and the tremor in his hands made his keys jangle. Whatever was behind his door, he didn’t want anyone to see.
53
Tyrone Heard pushed past and stood outside his front door, holding his keys out. ‘Can I help you?’ The angry scratch mark on his chin looked to be seeping a little.
‘I’m DI Harte and this is DC Wyre. We just want to speak to you about Amber Slater. May we come in?’
Without speaking, Tyrone stared between the two women – a wide-eyed stare that was filled with dread. ‘Err, it’s a bit of a mess. Can we talk here or maybe I can come to the station?’
Nothing sounded odder. It was rare that people volunteered to come down to the station. ‘There’s no need for that but we would like to come in.’ The sound of pans clattering to the floor came from behind the door. ‘Is there someone else living with you?’
‘No.’ Tyrone swallowed.
‘Mr Heard. As you know, Amber Slater was murdered and another young woman, Madison Randle, was attacked last night and we know her to be one of your best friends. What you don’t know is that another woman has since gone missing. We really need you to open the door.’ Gina felt her hands trembling. Maybe they should have called for backup but she wasn’t stopping to do that now, not when he was about to let them in. Someone was in his apartment and those pans clattering may have been a sign from PC Kapoor, hearing them talking outside the door and hoping to be rescued.
He placed the key in the lock and led the way into the dingy attic hallway. ‘I’m in big trouble.’
Gina kept back a little, holding her arm out to keep Wyre behind her. Standing at the top of a staircase made her feel part
icularly vulnerable. If Tyrone wanted to make a run for it, all he had to do was push her hard and she’d tumble to the landing, taking Wyre with her. The sound of the thud that Terry made as he hit the bottom of their stairs all those years ago made her legs feel slightly jellified. ‘Please step away from the door. Back a bit.’
The young man scratched the dark hair on his head and stepped backwards into the bathroom. A tapping noise came from the living room. Gina could see Tyrone Heard shaking under his black skinny jeans as she passed him and headed to the living room. Wyre remained in place at the front door, keeping an eye on Tyrone’s movements.
Gina placed her shaky hand on the door handle and pressed down. As she entered, she heard a scurrying noise heading to the kitchen. All the curtains were shut and the room was in pitch darkness. A stale smell made her stomach churn, that of rotten meat. She felt acid beginning to burn her throat and her mouth began to water, not in a good way. The last thing she could think about was food. She reached for the light switch and the whole messy room was illuminated by a single bulb in the centre of the studio apartment. She glanced around but all she could see was clutter everywhere and a desk by the window with a pile of paper next to it. ‘It’s okay, Wyre, come through.’
‘Please don’t tell my landlord.’
A meow sound came from the worktop and next to the microwave sat a scrawny black kitten.
‘Having a pet is a breach of my tenancy. I’m sorry I looked cagey. You won’t tell him, will you? I won’t be here long. Alice messaged me, someone is leaving her block and she said they’re allowed pets. It’ll only be for a few more weeks.’ Tyrone stepped into his living space and grabbed a pile of clothing, throwing them on the single bed that had been pushed into a corner of the sloping attic space.
The cause of the smell was now apparent, cat food in a bowl on the floor. ‘No, I won’t say anything. Why didn’t you just say that you had a cat when we were outside?’ All that anxiety that Gina had just felt had been for nothing. She was slightly angry with Tyrone. The cat meowed again and her heart rate slowed down a little.
‘Sorry. I guess I’m an idiot. With all that’s going on and all. That’s Clover. I found her in the bins outside on New Year’s Eve. I know she still looks a little sad and sick but she’s in much better shape than she was a couple of weeks ago. I have to keep popping out of lessons to see to her though. She’s already clawed my bed base and all my furniture. Oh well, at least it belongs to me and not Vincent.’ He paused. ‘I couldn’t leave her there, in the bin, and I didn’t want to take her to a cats’ home just in case no one wanted her. Do you want to sit?’ He grabbed more clothes off his wooden chairs and threw them into the growing pile on the bed. ‘I know I live in a mess and I know the place stinks…’
‘That’s okay.’ Gina and Wyre sat and Tyrone wedged his bottom on the edge of the bed.
Wyre flipped out her pad and leaned it on the desk that looked like it doubled up as a dinner table given the dirty plate that had been left there to rot.
‘I know you have already made an initial statement which I have read but I just want to follow up. How well did you know Amber Slater?’
He shook his head, the black fluff on his chin catching the light as he shifted to get comfortable. ‘I don’t know her that well. I’ve borrowed things off her but we all do that here. You know, bread and sometimes coffee, things like that?’
‘So you’ve been in her apartment?’
‘Yes, but ages ago. We’ve all been in each other’s apartment.’ His gaze shifted to the floor, then back up. ‘We don’t always lock our doors, it feels more like a house share here than apartment living. Some nights the others have a drink together, then everything is open.’
Gina paused for a moment, trying to listen for anything that suggested that he was nervous, a crackle in his voice, hesitancy in answering, any display of nerves, but she couldn’t see anything that alarmed her. ‘The others say that you aren’t always a part of their social gatherings.’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t always want to sit around drinking. Besides, my best friends live in another block. I spend more time hanging out with them. Me and Madison are on the same nursing course so we hang out at uni too. Alice is studying social work. I don’t have as much in common with the guys in this block.’
‘Where were you on Tuesday evening?’
‘I was with a guy I met on AppyDater, at his bedsit.’
‘Can I take his name and address, please?’
‘It’s Sully. I don’t know if that’s his real or full name but that’s the name he used on the app and that’s the name I called him all night.’ Tyrone began scrolling down his messages and Wyre was poised to take Sully’s phone number and address.
After he’d finished, Gina stood and walked over to the kitten on the worktop and began stroking it under the chin. ‘She’s beautiful.’
The young man’s frown turned into a slight smile. ‘Which is why I’ve kept my mouth shut. I’m keeping her.’
‘It was mentioned by one of the other tenant’s in this block that the main door is often left on the catch. Have you noticed anything strange or anyone hanging around that shouldn’t be?’
‘Not that I can think of. Although, I came back late one night and saw Vincent gently tapping on Amber’s door. I tried to listen to what was being said from the top of my stairs but they spoke in whispers and he went inside for a couple of minutes. I thought that was weird as it was too late to be fixing anything, but I haven’t seen anything else. The main door bangs at any time, day or night and occasionally one of the others has fallen asleep drunk in the communal areas, but not Amber. I’ve never seen her like that.’
‘Can you remember how long ago it was that you saw Vincent at Amber’s door?’
He stood and grabbed his diary. ‘I remember, I’d handed in an assignment that day, a big one.’ He flicked a few pages and pointed. ‘It was Friday the eighth of January and I think I’d not long come back from the Angel Arms, where I’d met Madison and Alice. I go there most Friday nights. Money’s been a bit tight after the Christmas spend so I didn’t stay out late. I was probably back about ten, latest. It must have been about that time or not long after.’
‘You’ve been really helpful. Now, can you think back to the Angel Arms on Monday the twenty-fifth of January? Madison said she saw someone suspicious on the lane that runs alongside the back of the beer garden. A little later, she said someone stood outside the toilets while she was in a cubicle, then they turned the lights off. Did you see anything that night?’
He scrunched his nose and stared into space. ‘I remember her saying something about the toilets. She thought I was messing around but it wasn’t me. I did pop out to the loo while she was in there… wait… when I was in the men’s, I used the urinal. The cubicle was locked. I was literally in there for half a minute and the cubicle was still locked. I didn’t think about it before now but there hadn’t been any other men in the pub. It was dead, so I don’t know who was in that cubicle.’ He began biting his nails. ‘Poor Madison, I think I joked about what she’d said. Are you saying that whoever was there might have attacked her?’
‘We’re not saying anything at the moment. It’s just a line of enquiry we’re following. Do you recognise this woman?’ Gina held up a photo of PC Kapoor.
‘Yes, she’s a police officer, isn’t she?’
Gina nodded. ‘You’ve met her before?’
‘I saw her on the day Amber’s body was discovered. She was with another officer, asking questions. I spoke to the policeman and I think I saw her heading towards Vincent’s bungalow. Is she the woman who’s missing?’
‘I’m afraid so. If there’s anything else you can tell us that might help, however small, it might mean everything.’ The kitten began chewing on Gina’s sleeve. Patiently, she teased the material from its mouth before patting its soft head.
‘I wish I did know something. I really do.’
‘Here’s my card. If you can think of a
nything, if you see anything, remember anything, call me straight away.’
He walked over and took the card from her before picking the kitten up and stroking it as he held it to his chest. Its little paw worked its way out of Tyrone’s hold and began to hit his chin. ‘You little minx.’ He kissed it on the head. Looking at Tyrone, she found it hard to imagine that he could be the murderer but until his alibi had been confirmed, he wouldn’t be completely off the list.
‘Thank you.’ Wyre stood and walked over to the door, closely followed by Gina.
‘Can you show yourselves out? I don’t want her to escape. Not until I’ve moved, had her inoculated and microchipped.’
Gina nodded. ‘Of course. You’ve got my number.’
As they left, her phone rang. ‘Jacob, everything okay?’
‘Yes. News on the Collinses. Their car has been flagged up by ANPR. We’ve tracked them to the Bridgnorth area but the trail has run cold. I’d say they’ve headed along the country roads. I’ll keep you updated.’
‘Can you pass me Sully’s address?’ She waited for Wyre to open her pad to the right page and then she read it to Jacob. ‘I need to know if a man called Sully was with Tyrone Heard on Tuesday evening. Let me know what he says.’ She ended the call and they headed off to the back of the apartments ready for a night of watching Vincent Jordan’s bungalow.
As they got into the car, through the trees and shrubs Gina could see his hall light come on and he stood on his doorstep. The spark of a lighter flashed and he puffed out a plume of smoke. ‘Why would he be at Amber’s apartment late at night on the eighth of January? What were they whispering about?’
Wyre shivered as a smattering of sleet hit the windscreen. The drive ahead was blanketed in snow and it was still coming down. ‘We’ve got to get a look in his bungalow. Tonight has to yield something.’