by Carla Kovach
‘We need to know if it’s his blood.’
‘His father said the trail starts at the summer house and ends where there is a shard of wood sticking out.’
‘That’s where the injury occurred then, at the shard of wood. It must be. Someone came into the garden that night through the hole in the fence, heading to the summer house, and Oscar left with them. That’s a starting theory. Are forensics on their way?’
‘Yes and Mr Spalding is cooperating. They’ll be able to take a sample of the blood and something with Oscar’s DNA on it. We’ll soon know if it’s a match to Oscar or if we have a match on the system. We need to find him before all this blows up in the news.’
Gina’s mind flashed back to the weird dreams she’d had. She opened her mouth to share them with Briggs hoping to alleviate her anxiety a little, but changed her mind. There were more pressing things to deal with. Right now, they had to find the missing boy and hope that he was alive. ‘I’ll meet you at the station in half an hour.’
‘Great. See you soon.’ She heard his front door slam before he ended their call. Five minutes to grab a shower. Five minutes to dress and then the drive into work with damp hair. She shot out of bed knowing that this boy’s life might depend on them getting a move on. That was now three out of five. She could see the next report in the Herald – Cleevesford police team fail again and another kid is murdered. She swallowed as her breath quickened.
Fifty-Six
As Gina pushed through the crowd of shouting journalists she gripped her laptop bag and phone.
‘DI Harte, what are you doing to find the killer?’
‘Why are Cleevesford Police so incompetent?’
‘What has Frank Meegan been charged with?’
‘The public have a right to know more. Two kids have been murdered. Who’s next? People are rightfully scared.’
‘Five went into the woods, four came out. Another one killed in the woods. What are you all doing?’
The questions continued until she reached reception and passed Nick on the desk. He wafted a piece of paper in front of his glistening face, his cheeks a rosy red colour. ‘They never stop. I’ve had to escort more than five of them out when they’ve come in to try their luck. A couple of them have helped themselves to our water cooler. The cheek of it.’
‘They’re a bloody nuisance. If they just left us to do our job instead of getting in the way, maybe we’d have found the killer by now. It’s not like we haven’t done a press release every day.’ She exhaled and continued through to the incident room where a tray of coffees greeted her. ‘Thank you to whoever made the coffee.’
O’Connor frowned. ‘Thought we could all do with it today.’
Wyre, Jacob, Briggs, Smith, Kapoor and several more uniformed officers all crowded around the table.
Briggs stood. ‘Right, we have no time to waste. As we all know, we have a missing teenager. Oscar Spalding’s father called in to say that his son wasn’t home this morning at six. That is the time he usually wakes his son and he said his bed wasn’t even slept in. It looks like Oscar disabled the CCTV and alarm system too. What concerns us most is the blood at the back of the garden. I’ve had word that forensics are now in attendance along with uniform, who are cordoning off the area. As this is the case of a missing minor, the DNA tests will be absolutely prioritised so we should know soon if the blood on site is Oscar’s. A FLO has arrived at the Spalding residence and is sitting with the father. If she finds anything out, she will report back immediately but from what she can tell, it looks like Oscar left in the night of his own accord. His laptop is on its way to the tech team at the station as are his other devices, including the ones he uses for online gaming. There is also a search going on that Smith and Kapoor have set up, thank you for that.’
Kapoor nodded and smiled.
‘Dogs are being used to see if they can track Oscar down. We hope we don’t find that this boy has ended up like Leah and Jordan. Any news or updates, let Harte and me know immediately.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Kapoor said.
‘Over to you, Harte.’
Gina stood beside him, glancing back at the board. ‘You know what we have to do. Jacob and I will head over to Naomi’s house and speak to her family again before heading over to the Spaldings’. We have to get to the bottom of what’s going on. Wyre, you and O’Connor head over to Elsa’s and question her again. They are the only two of the party left and, as far as I’m concerned, they’re either dangerous or in danger. One of them knows something and we’re not treading too lightly this time. Just bear in mind that another one of their friends is missing but don’t be afraid to push them a little more, either.’
Wyre and O’Connor nodded just as a member of despatch came through; a young man with a moustache that curled at the ends. ‘Sorry to interrupt but I was just heading in through reception.’
‘That’s okay,’ Gina replied.
‘There’s a Lara Blakely in reception and she’s in a state. Her daughter is missing.’
Gina glanced around the room. That had come as a shock. ‘Bring her through to an interview room. I’ll see her immediately.’
The man left. She added Caro Blakely’s name to the list on the board. ‘The kids that didn’t go to the party. There was another one.’ She searched for the name on the boards. ‘Anthony. Wyre, you go to Elsa’s as planned but with Smith. O’Connor, you go with Kapoor to Anthony’s. Why didn’t we put in the same levels of help for those kids, the ones that went to the previous party?’
She grabbed her notes and nodded in Jacob’s direction. ‘Let’s go see Mrs Blakely. Two kids are missing and we need to find them before it’s too late.’
Fifty-Seven
The shaking woman’s hair frizzed, framing her face. ‘You have to help me find her,’ Lara Blakely screamed, tears slipping down her cheeks.
‘We have a team searching the woodland and the whole area.’ Gina knew that was of little comfort to the woman in front of her who already thought of her daughter as the next camp killer’s victim. Jacob jotted down her name and the time.
‘You’re looking for a body?’
‘We’re hoping that we find Caro safe and well. It would really help if you told me what happened as you remember it.’
Lara pulled a tissue from the box and blew her nose. ‘With all the chaos that’s been going on lately, I forgot I had an appointment to meet a client at their hotel, then I saw my iPad flash up. I was meant to be there for eleven this morning. I rushed up and got ready then knocked on Caro’s door. This was about nine this morning. There was no answer…’ Lara’s voice began to break into little whimpers.
‘You’re doing really well.’
‘I went in and then I saw that she wasn’t there. I ran into Jake’s room and he said that she left the house in the night, that he’d heard her go but didn’t know what time. I asked why he didn’t say anything and he said that his sister sneaked out in the early hours of Tuesday morning too and she made him promise not to tell. He said she seemed really upset and shaky when she returned.’
Gina made a mental note that Tuesday morning wasn’t the morning Jordan was murdered.
‘This morning, I noticed that the back gate was unlocked as was the back door. That’s how she went. I swear, I was so angry that Jake didn’t come and wake me, I shouted at him…’ Her bottom lip began to tremble. ‘And now he hates me.’
‘I’m sure he can see how upset you are and he must be worried about his sister too. Can you tell me a bit about Caro? How has she been lately?’
‘Not herself. She’s been emotional, quiet and a little sad looking here and there. I’m struggling a little with work and the kids. I feel as though I haven’t been there for either of them. Then I spent most of my time off the other day protesting outside that horrible man’s house.’ Gina knew she meant Frank Meegan. ‘My daughter’s two friends had just been murdered and she needed me but I left her alone to deal with that. I should have cancelled everything to be the
re for her. What kind of mother am I?’
‘One who cares. This is not your fault.’ Gina knew how hard it was to balance a career with one child, she couldn’t imagine having two. ‘Did you try to call her?’
‘Over and over again. It’s as if her phone has died or been turned off. I had a quick look around her room to see if she’d left it but she’d definitely taken it with her. She never leaves her phone for a second and it’s out of character for her to not answer.’
‘Does she often sneak out?’
‘No, never. She’s more likely to tell me she’s staying with a friend so that she can sneak around, which is what happened when she went to the previous party that you know about. This is so out of character. Now that I think about things, I’ve caught her with a few worried looks on her face, like she has something on her mind but she’s not a talker. I’ve found if I push her, she gives me the silent treatment. I just don’t know what I’m meant to do. No one ever prepares you for being a parent.’
‘How well do Caro and Oscar know each other?’
Lara let out a smirk through her tears and shook her head. ‘That boy has been the cause of many tears in our household.’ She paused and cocked her head. ‘Is this something to do with him?’
‘He is currently missing also which is why I asked. Could they be together somewhere?’
‘No. That boy is trouble.’
‘Can you please tell me why?’ Gina leaned in a little.
‘He’d always get her into trouble with his stupid dares. I’ve had to beg shop security not to report Caro for shoplifting. It’s his fault, each and every time. He gets her into trouble. Like at school, they used to sneak out together when they were meant to be in lessons, then the school would call me up to moan. It’s stupid things but I wasn’t happy about him hanging around with her but I couldn’t stop them. I thought they’d calmed down a lot over the past year. He’s been in a fair few fights. I think he starts most of them. He’s a bully and others seem to follow him blindly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hurt those kids.’
‘You mean Leah and Jordan?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why would you say that?’
‘Because he has this look, one he saves for when his father isn’t around. You can see the menace in his eyes. It’s like he screams dominance and control. When he’s in the room, it’s as if Caro needs permission to move and not only that, she seems to be happy about it; they all do. He gives me the shivers. I don’t like him. He’s behind all this and he’ll kill her too. You have to find my daughter. She can’t defend herself against a bully like him.’ The woman wiped her nose again.
‘Do you know of any places where they might go?’
‘No.’ The woman started sobbing again.
‘Mrs Blakely, I’m going to get an officer to go home with you where I want you to wait. If Caro tries to contact you, she might call you on the home phone or she might come home.’
‘Okay.’
‘Just to reiterate, our teams are out there searching. Also, in a short while, I’d like to come over too and take a look at Caro’s bedroom. Would that be okay? There may be a clue in there as to where she’s gone.’
‘Anything. I just want my baby back home.’ The room filled with Lara’s primal screams, the pain of her missing daughter evident in her whole body. Gina could only imagine what she was going through right now. It wasn’t looking good.
Fifty-Eight
Gina pulled up outside Lara Blakely’s house. Terraced but large. Beautifully manicured shrubs at the front with two bay trees standing guard, one each side of the door.
‘I hate this, guv. The team have been searching the woodland for two hours now and nothing has led them to Oscar or Caro.’ Jacob scratched his chin.
‘Something has to give in this damn case. If one or both of those kids are dead…’ She swallowed and closed her eyes.
‘We can’t think like that, guv. It’s good that we haven’t found a body. They could have just run away together.’
‘I’d like to hope that they have, that it’s some teen romance and they’ll be home when they run out of food or money but we both know that’s not it. Let’s go.’
They hurried to the door and went to knock but Lara had already opened it. Her eyes stinging red and glassy, she led them both through to the kitchen where her husband was pacing in a suit. Gina knew the exact same was happening over at Oscar’s right now. Someone knocked at the door and Gina hoped it was PC Kapoor. She’d been reassigned to sit with the Blakelys all day.
‘It could be her.’ Lara ran to the door.
Mr Blakely pressed his temples. ‘It’s not, she has her own front door key.’
That’s when Gina heard Kapoor’s voice. At least they had someone to sit with them and Kapoor was observant. She’d take mental notes, listen and sympathise. No one was to be ruled out of the investigation. Gina glanced up at Mr Blakely. Maybe he hated that his daughter was knocking around with Oscar and has finished him off for good. She shook her head. She could see he was distraught and had no reason to think that.
‘Hiya, guv; DS Driscoll.’ Kapoor sidled in, fanning her uniformed body with her hand. With all the bodies crammed into the kitchen, it was sweltering.
‘Where’s your son, Jake, is it?’ Gina hadn’t seen the boy.
‘Oh, one of my neighbours is watching him. I don’t want him upset so he’s playing with her little boy.’
‘I know this is hard but can we take a look at Caro’s room, now?’
‘I’ll show you up.’ Lara led the way.
Gina and Jacob followed her up the stairs. They passed what looked like an office. Sample pads everywhere, mood boards, colour wheels. Material and a sewing machine. Then Lara stopped outside the second bedroom door. ‘This is Caro’s room. She’d hate anyone being in it but we don’t have a choice, do we?’
‘She’d want you to do this. We need to find her and if the clue to her whereabouts is in here, we will find her.’ Gina gave her a sympathetic smile.
Lara pushed the door open. ‘I’ll wait downstairs. Please take care with her things.’ Lara picked a fleecy blanket up from the floor, smelled it and hugged it before leaving with it clutched in her arms.
As soon as Lara was down the stairs, Gina hurried in. ‘Time is against us and we have to get to Naomi’s. Get looking.’
Gina took the end of the room by the drawers and wardrobe while Jacob took the bed. They slipped on a pair of blue latex gloves and started rummaging.
Within minutes, Gina had been through the wardrobe. ‘Nothing here.’ She moved over to the drawers and the dressing table, taking in all the photos that were stuck around the edges of her mirror. Teens looking happy, pulling funny faces, posing like models in clothes shops. All normal stuff. Jacob was now down on all fours, pulling things out from under the bed then he huffed. ‘Found something, guv.’
‘What?’ she asked as she pulled a notebook from the bottom drawer of the bedside table.
‘There’s a long metal nail file here and it looks like there are traces of dried-up blood on it and there’s a smear on the carpet too.’
‘Good find. Bag it. We’ll need forensics here to take samples. We need to find out whose blood that is.’ As Jacob began bagging up the item, Gina placed the notebook on the dressing table and bagged up Caro’s hairbrush. ‘We need these sent to the lab immediately.’ She picked up the notebook again and began flicking through the doodle pages, the lists of homework assignments, a game of hangman until she stopped at a few pages of scrawled notes marked up; the things I can remember and what I’ve found out.
‘What’s that?’ Jacob finished with the evidence bag.
Gina gulped as she read. ‘I think we may have just found out what happened at the last party and it’s not at all pretty. Poor Caro. We need to find this girl and quick.’
Fifty-Nine
Caro opened her eyes and her head ached like mad. The sun’s rays filtered through the picture window that ran high up acros
s the back wall. The heavy pain in her arm and torso reminded her of how bad things had got. The grit in her eyes was itching and the wound on her leg was still stinging. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered. ‘It’s over, isn’t it?’ A tear slid down her cheek.
Oscar’s stare felt heavy on hers. His livid, angry outburst just waiting to escape. She looked away, not wanting to antagonise him. He didn’t answer her question. In fact, he didn’t say a word and that was worse.
A scurrying sound came from behind the stack of hockey sticks. That’s when the rodent appeared.
She’d miss Jake, even though he was always a nuisance; and her mother who always tried to do her best – Caro knew that. If she’d confided in her mother, maybe things wouldn’t have led to this. It was time to say goodbye to them all. Another tear slid down her cheek and mingled with the dirt that had stuck to her face during the struggle.
Blinded by the sun, she leaned back and stared at the water-stained ceiling. ‘Oscar, please say something.’
Again, no answer from Oscar. He shifted slightly and gave her that sinister laugh where the one side of his mouth upturned. She should have known better than to think it was always him and her, that they were the only people that mattered. She didn’t matter to him anymore. No one mattered to Oscar, except Oscar.
Caro shivered knowing the end was coming. Pain, so much pain, especially her split lip. ‘I guess this really is the end.’
Sixty
‘Update me quickly.’ As Gina stood outside Naomi’s house with Jacob, she waited for Wyre to give her a summary of what was happening at the Spalding residence over the phone. ‘Have you been able to access Oscar’s bedroom and gadgets?’
‘Yes, guv.’ Gina nodded to include Jacob on that answer. Wyre continued. ‘We’ve found something worrying; a wad of bloody dressings and bandages in his bedroom bin. I knew when I saw him he was walking with a limp but the amount of blood looks like he’d sustained quite an injury. Forensics are taking samples at the moment. The blood is going straight to the lab to run against the blood by the summer house. It’s being prioritised over everything else.’