by G D Sanders
‘If that’s correct, what was the abductor up to?’ Ed looked from Saunders to Potts and back again.
Nat perked up, grinning. ‘Perhaps he just liked leching over naked girls.’
Nobody smiled and Nat subsided.
‘We couldn’t force her to have tests,’ said Saunders. ‘We’d nothing to indicate she’d committed a crime. The case was closed for lack of evidence.’
There was a collective silence, which was broken by Ed.
‘If Kimberley wasn’t hurt it would be good if Lucy’s been taken by the same person.’
‘I hope so,’ said Jenny. ‘She’ll be terrified but at least she won’t be physically harmed.’
Saunders looked round the group. ‘Anything else?’
Ed was surprised when nobody broke the silence.
‘Shouldn’t we have another word with Kimberley and Callum?’
‘It was four years ago,’ said Nat.
‘They’ll have forgotten the details,’ added Jenny.
For once Mike could barely contain himself. ‘Forgotten isn’t the point. The information they provided was a total concoction. We should’ve done them for wasting police time. Kimberley wasn’t abducted, end of.’
Nobody spoke. Ed looked to Saunders for support but he closed the meeting and moved swiftly from the room. Ed was convinced re-interviewing Kimberley and Callum was well worth a shot. She’d leave it for now and catch Brian Saunders later.
21
‘A quick word?’ Brian looked up, so Ed continued. ‘I’m worried about Lucy. She’s been missing for ten days. We’re nowhere. We’ve got nothing. She’s disappeared without a trace.’
Ed and Brian were alone and she’d walked across the CID Room to take advantage of the moment. Over the last week, the team had exhaustively questioned neighbours, family and friends with little to show for their efforts. Public appeals had led to the usual stream of sightings reported by the attention-seeking, sad and lonely, but nothing of value had emerged.
‘I wouldn’t say nowhere, Ed. We’ve eliminated almost all of Lucy’s contacts.’
‘But we’ve no leads,’ insisted Ed. ‘No suspects. And no information to pressurize suspects if we had any.’
‘The Super wants search parties combing the countryside,’ said Brian, clearly seeking to divert the discussion.
‘Bosses! They’re all the same. Addler wants photos in the press and film on TV. You can bet the Chief Constable’s been bending her ear. “We’ve got to be seen to be doing something, Karen.”’ Ed’s face registered disdain. ‘There’s no problem with resources when the top brass feel exposed and want to cover their backs.’
‘It’s the same everywhere,’ said Saunders glumly.
‘And up to us to fight it!’ Ed took a breath and continued more calmly. ‘Without a likely location such searches would be pointless. To find the needle you’ve got to search the right haystack.’
‘So, where would you go with this?’
‘I was shouted down last time.’
Brian smiled apologetically. ‘Try me again.’
‘The only potential lead we have is the abduction of Kimberley Hibben four years ago.’
‘You heard what Mike said. On balance, we concluded she hadn’t been abducted.’
‘I wasn’t involved,’ said Ed, ‘but, as far as I can see, there was no proof either way.’
Brian didn’t argue so Ed continued.
‘Surely it’s worth a couple of hours speaking to Kimberley and her boyfriend again?’
Brian thought for a moment and then agreed. ‘Okay, at least you’ll approach it with a fresh mind.’
‘Thanks. Can I take Jenny?’
‘She’s tied up with Mike, take Nat.’
Kimberley was no longer living with her parents but she hadn’t moved far, nor had she remained childless. Ed and Nat found her in the ground-floor flat of a worn terraced house next to a carwash on the Sturry Road. There was a broken buggy by the dustbins in the small unkempt front garden. She came to the door in a scruffy sweatshirt and pants with a baby over her left shoulder. Her body sagged and her pasty face looked exhausted.
‘Yeah?’ It was barely a question.
‘DS Ogborne and DC Borrowdale from Canterbury CID,’ said Ed as they both flashed their Warrant Cards. ‘May we come in?’
Without a word, Kimberley turned and walked down a short hallway to an untidy kitchen. She sat at a table next to a bored child in a playpen and took a drink from a greasy mug. Behind her, an open door led to a bleak bathroom, its breezeblock walls barely covered by a thin layer of white emulsion. The detectives, taking her actions as an invitation, had followed her. Eyeing Kimberley’s mug and the other chairs, Ed decided to decline a drink if it were offered, and to remain standing. She nodded to Nat that he should take notes and began the questioning.
‘We’re sorry to bother you, Mrs …?’
‘Woodcock, but not for much longer – ’e buggered off.’
‘Is that Callum? Is Callum Woodcock your husband?’
‘Yeah, and the father of these two.’
‘Perhaps we could talk about Callum in a moment? There’s been another abduction. We’re here to see if you can help us with our inquiries.’
Kimberley’s expression switched from mild interest to helpless resignation. ‘It’s been four bloody years. Can’t we never let it drop?’ Kimberley sounded tired rather than aggressive.
‘I know it’s been a long time but, with the trauma of the event, little things forgotten at the time may have come back. You may remember something that tells us it’s the same man. Knowing that would be a big help.’
‘I don’t think about it no more.’ However unenthusiastic she sounded, Kimberley’s eyes remained on Ed’s face.
‘Perhaps I could ask you some questions and we’ll see. It won’t take too long.’
‘Take as long as you like. I got all day ’til we go round Mum’s for our teas.’
Kimberley was proving not to be the taciturn teenager Potts and Saunders had led Ed to expect. Stuck here all day with two young children, it wasn’t surprising she was pleased to talk.
‘Perhaps you could start by telling us as much as you can remember. Start from when you left work.’
‘I were pissed off I ‘ad to work. It were freezing cold an’ I still ’ad a bleedin’ hangover from a party down the pub. Thank God it were New Year’s Day and it weren’t an early start. Trade were slow. I were sleepwalking through me shift like a zombie. I’d almost got home when this guy grabbed me from behind. Put a cloth over me mouth and nose. Couldn’ speak. I tried to struggle. Must of passed out.’
‘Did you see who grabbed you?’ asked Ed.
‘Nah, nah … it were perishing. I ’ad me ’ood up an’, like I told you, ’e were behind me.’
‘Did he have a car?’
‘How the fuck would I know? Bleeding passed out, ain’t I?’
Kimberley was beginning to sound exasperated. Ed kept her voice neutral.
‘Try to imagine yourself walking home along the Sturry Road. It’s a main road. Normally, there wouldn’t be any parked cars. We think he must have had a car. Try to remember.’
Ed spoke more slowly, attempting to take Kimberley back to the day.
‘It’s dark. You’re walking towards your home …’
Kimberley’s posture and expression changed. She appeared to be making a real effort to think herself back to New Year’s Day 2008.
‘It ain’t clear. I think I passed something. Just before ’e grabbed me. Not a car. More like a van.’
‘Colour?’
‘I can’t see colour. It’s all grey. Ain’t even sure it were a van.’
‘You said “he” … are you sure it was a man? Did you see him before he grabbed you?’
‘No. I were tired, hungover, on auto.’
‘But you’re sure it was a man?’ persisted Ed.
‘Yeah. I saw him when ’e kept me in that room.’
‘You saw his fa
ce?’
‘Nah. ’E had a hood. Black.’
Ed changed tack. ‘How about his size … how tall was he?’
‘Average … I dunno … it were a long time ago. I were woozy.’
Kimberley’s eyes wandered to the child in the playpen and she moved the baby to her right shoulder.
‘Stand up, Nat.’ Ed gestured to Nat as she turned back to the young mother. ‘Was the man as tall as DC Borrowdale?’
For the first time, Kimberley looked at the young detective and immediately her interest was aroused. Nat was attractive in a street-corner pool-room kind of way and, despite her experience with men, Kimberley looked at him appreciatively for rather too long before she answered.
‘Nah …’e weren’t as fit … err … not as thin.’
‘How about his voice? Was it deep, normal, high-pitched?’
‘It were odd. Like Punch and Judy but sort of softer, not as scary.’
Ed glanced at Nat who was making an enthusiastic note. She turned back to Kimberley.
‘Can you describe the place where he held you captive?’
‘Nah. Didn’t see it.’
‘You were blindfolded?’ asked Ed.
‘Nah. I can’t say cos I didn’t see outside.’
‘What about the inside?’
Kimberley took another drink from her greasy mug.
‘It were just a room, a bed and stuff.’
‘What other stuff?’
‘A table and … I don’t remember.’
‘Was there a window?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What was outside?’
‘Couldn’t see. It were small, high up.’
‘So, there wasn’t much light?’
‘There were daylight from the other room.’
Ed tried to keep the impatience from her voice. She caught Nat raising his eyes to the ceiling and gave him a quick frown.
‘There was a second room with a window? What could you see out of that window?’
‘Nowt. It were round a corner.’
‘If you were in one room, Kimberley, how could you see light from a window in the other?’
‘The wall and door were made of wire, like a fence.’
‘What about sounds from outside?’
‘It were quiet.’
‘And at night, what was the lighting, electric?’ asked Ed, pressing Kimberley gently.
The baby had woken up and was beginning to cry.
‘Nah … some kind of lamp.’
‘What about heating?’
‘There was some paraffin heaters but it were still cold, ’specially at night. I heard foxes. You know, that scary noise.’
The baby was becoming very restless.
‘Is that it? Have we done? I’ve gotta feed Lily.’
‘Just one more question,’ said Ed. ‘Why did you refuse a medical examination?’
‘Cos ’e didn’t hurt me. Like I told coppers, ’e looked after me.’
‘He abducted you, he drugged you, but you say he didn’t hurt you, he looked after you?’
‘I were scared at first but ’e were good to me. Got me everything I wanted and ’e give me nice things to eat.’
‘And there’s nothing else you can tell us about him or the place where he kept you?’
‘Nah, like I said, I were woozy.’
Kimberley was now holding the baby on her lap.
‘Right … that’ll be all for now but we might be back. Should you think of anything else, ring the number on this card.’
Ed motioned to Nat and he gave one of his cards to Kimberley.
‘Thank you, Mrs Woodcock, we’ll see ourselves out and leave you to feed Lily.’
As she started to leave the room Ed turned back. ‘One more thing, do you know where we can find Callum?’
‘Working … DIY store up road.’
The detectives took the car although it was only a short walk to the store. Waiting for a gap in the traffic before making a U-turn, Nat echoed Ed’s thoughts.
‘She was much more talkative than I thought she’d be.’
‘That’ll be down to you.’
‘How come?’
‘Your good looks. Didn’t you see her eyeing you up?’
‘Not my type.’
Ed held back the thought that Jenny, the trim young DC, was more Nat’s type than an overweight single mum with a two-year-old kid and a baby on her shoulder. Instead she returned to the case in hand.
‘Still, she convinced me of one thing; I’m sure she was abducted. I don’t buy the idea that Callum had her hidden for seven weeks. She gave us too much detail about the abductor and where she was held captive.’
When they arrived at the DIY store, Callum was not happy to see them.
‘I told your lot all I knew at the time.’
They were in a small room at the back of the store, which doubled as a combined tearoom and locker-room.
‘Just bear with us, Mr Woodcock, and answer my questions.’
Callum sighed and answered Ed’s questions with bad grace but added nothing new to what they already had.
‘Did you never discuss her experience with Kimberley?’
‘She didn’t wanna talk about it. Anyway, I don’t see ’er so much now … we’re separated.’
‘Married life didn’t suit you after all,’ said Nat.
Callum looked incensed. ‘I give her money for the kids!’
Ed stepped in quickly. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Woodcock, we’ll make our own way out.’
She hurried Nat from the room and out of the store.
‘If you are going to provoke a suspect, do it when you have a chance of getting him to reveal something, not just to score a point. Now, back to the Station.’
With more acceleration than was necessary, DC Borrowdale did as instructed. It seemed Nat was anxious to get back to work but Ed knew better. Nat was an action man, happier driving fast on a blue-light run than the plod of questioning potential witnesses and sifting evidence.
As they turned in to the Station car park, Ed reflected that she would have to manage Nat as part of her CID team and that would mean keeping an eye on the relationship between him and his fellow DC, Jenny Eastham.
22
‘Here, let me help you with that.’ A woman steadied the buggy as Kimberley struggled to hook her shopping over the handles.
‘Thanks, luv, bags cut me ’ands.’
‘With so many, I’m not surprised. Have you far to go?’
‘Nah … just along Sturry Road, about five mins.’
‘Look, I’m not in a hurry, why don’t I carry those two for you?’
‘Thanks.’ Kimberley could manage the short walk but she’d not turn down the chance of a chat.
‘It must be difficult with two small children.’
‘It ain’t so bad. Their dad helps.’
The woman asked politely about their family life. Kimberley answered truthfully. She wasn’t embarrassed that Callum had left her. She knew other women in the same position. As they approached Kimberley’s house the woman carrying her bags stopped walking and said, ‘Ever since we met something’s been nagging me. I’m sure I’ve seen you before.’
Would it never fucking go away? She’d only just got rid of bleeding police. ‘Oh … you mean me photo in local a few years back?’
‘No, I’m sure we were at school together.’ They continued walking. ‘I’m Rebecca Hawthorne – Becky – and you’re …?’
‘Kimberley … Kimberley Hibben. Well, I were Kimberley Hibben at school. I don’t remember you, Becky. Was you in me year?’
‘No, but I travelled in with a girl who knew you. Josie Ainsworth, do you remember her?’
‘She were in me class … not best mates like but I knew her.’ They reached Kimberley’s front door. ‘Thanks ever so for helping. Would you like a cup of tea? Least I can do, tea and biscuits.’
‘If it’s no trouble, I’d like that very much.’
In the kitchen Re
becca offered to wash up the mugs and make tea while Kimberley put her shopping away. When she finally sat at the table Kimberley did so like a woman three times her age. ‘Ah, it’s good to get weight off your feet.’
‘Things must have been tough for you over the last few years.’
‘Since Callum left it ain’t been easy.’
‘I was thinking about the dreadful thing that happened to you. Being held prisoner.’
‘Oh, that weren’t as bad as people make out.’
‘How do you mean? It sounds scary to me.’
Kimberley took a biscuit and a drink of her tea. As an afterthought she pushed the plate of biscuits towards Rebecca. She didn’t want to talk about it but she did want to talk. She hadn’t spoken to anyone for days except for the checkout girl and her mother. Kimberley took another biscuit.
‘Sure, it were scary, bloody scary. I panicked when ’e grabbed me and I were scared to death when ’e left me alone all night. Them animal noises freaked me out. Foxes I think they was. Like babies crying out.’
‘You said it wasn’t as bad as people thought.’
‘When I realized he weren’t gonna hurt me, it were okay. He saw me all right. Got me what I asked for and give me nice food, whatever I wanted.’
‘What did he look like?’
‘Didn’t see ’is face. He’d got a hood on. Black. Like Mexican wrestlers. Not so tight. Like a bag.’
‘What about his voice?’
‘That were odd. It were like the seaside. You know, Punch and Judy, ’e sounded like Mr Punch but more friendly.’
‘I don’t remember reading that in the papers. First you were missing, then found unharmed, and then it went quiet.’
‘They reckoned Callum did it. I clammed up and …’ Kimberley’s voice trailed away. Then, to keep the conversation going, she added, ‘It were difficult.’
‘Why would they think Callum did it?’
‘They thought we was in it together.’
‘Were you?’
‘Nah!’ Kimberley took another biscuit.
‘So you didn’t tell your story to the papers?’
‘Nah. Like I said, I clammed up and stayed quiet.’
‘Why?’ Becky waited for Kimberley to look at her. ‘You might have made some money.’