Entering the room, Rachel saw how young the girls were. Some weren’t even Megan’s age. Her heart went out to them. She smiled and sat down. “Hello. My name’s Rachel and this is Amy. We want to talk to you about how we can help.”
None of them looked very impressed. “You can help by letting us go,” one of them said. “You don’t know what it’s like — he’ll kill us for this.”
“If you’re talking about Danulescu, he can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“You don’t know that. He knows people, and you can’t hold him forever.”
Should she tell them that he was dead? It would most likely only scare them further. “You’ll have to trust me on this — Danulescu can’t hurt you.”
“Do we have to stay here? Are we under arrest?” another girl asked.
“What’s your name?” Rachel asked her.
The girl averted her eyes and said nothing.
“No harm will come to you. You’re not in any trouble. You can talk freely. I want you to trust me,” Rachel said.
“If you really want to help, then let us go. Mrs Blake will want us at the club for opening time.”
Rachel shook her head. “Mrs Blake has been arrested. She’s not going anywhere. If you want to stay safe, speak to us.”
The four girls fell silent, exchanging furtive looks — wondering, no doubt who, if any of them, would speak up first.
“He said the work would pay well, that there’d be tips and a nice place to stay,” one of them said finally. “But he was lying!”
“Danulescu?”
The girl nodded.
She had a good command of English, so Rachel directed her questions at her. “Tell me your name — just your first name if that makes you feel more comfortable.” Rachel smiled.
After a moment or two, the girl said, “Marsela.”
“How old are you, Marsela?”
“Sixteen.”
“Where do you come from?”
“Albania.”
“How did you get to the UK?” Rachel asked.
“Danulescu brought me, along with the others. He said there was work, that we’d be able to save and have a good life.”
Rachel nodded. “Can you tell us how long you’ve been working at that club?”
“Nearly a year,” the girl said, looking down.
“Danulescu was breaking the law,” Amy said. “You’re far too young to be working in a club, or any bar. Couldn’t you tell him, or the Blakes, that you wanted to leave?”
“He said no one could leave until they’d paid off their debt. He charged us all for the transport here. It was hundreds of euros. There is no way we can ever pay it off.” She spread her hands.
The other girls were nodding. It was the same story with all of them.
One of the girls was English. She said her name was Anna. Rachel wondered what her story was.
“My mum got a new bloke. He were drunk most of the time and threw me out. I had nowhere to go. Mum wasn’t bothered — most days she was off her head on coke. I came into the city but it was hard on the streets. I never felt safe, not even in the hostels. One day I met this older lad called Nicu. He took me to see Danulescu, and he gave me the job.”
Nicu again! That young man popped up everywhere. “Where do you live, Anna?” Rachel asked.
“All of us live at the club. In the attic. They don’t like us going out,” Anna said.
The girl sitting next to Anna nudged her.
“What is it?” Rachel asked.
After a pause, Anna spoke up. “They keep us prisoners. When we’ve finished in the bar, we’re all locked in one room, the lot of us.” She looked away. “And then there’s the men.”
“What men?” Amy asked her.
“Them men Danulescu brings. We’re nothing but prostitutes, except that we don’t see any of the money.”
“Danulescu pimps you out as prostitutes?” Amy asked, astonished.
“Yes.”
“Do you know any of these men?” asked Rachel.
Anna shook her head. “I’ve said enough. Things won’t go well for us if Mrs Blake finds out I’ve spoken to you.”
“You’ve been very brave,” Rachel said. “And I can assure you that none of you will be going back to that club. You won’t have to see Mrs Blake again. We will find all of you a safe place to live.”
“Is it just you four work in Leo’s?” asked Amy.
“We’re the only ones that was there that morning you raided the place,” Anna said. “The other girls were working somewhere else.”
“Do you know where?” asked Rachel.
“No. They only let the trusted ones go there,” Anna said.
“Some girls get sold.” All eyes turned to the girl who had just spoken. “I only found that out last week. I came to this country with a friend. She disappeared, and I think that’s what happened to her.”
“What was your friend’s name?” Rachel asked.
“Elira.”
“When did you see her last?” Amy asked.
“At least a month ago. Elira was pretty, with long blonde hair. Men liked her. Danulescu will have got a lot of money for her.”
Just the thought of this was unbearable. Somewhere out there was a young, frightened girl who probably didn’t have much English, a girl with nowhere to turn.
“I’m going to speak to some colleagues who have more experience in this sort of thing than I do,” Rachel said. “They know what you must do if you want to stay in the UK. Or if you’d prefer to go home, they can arrange that too.”
* * *
The interview was over.
Amy looked shaken. “Those girls have been through hell,” she said.
Rachel saw from her expression that the young DC was genuinely shocked. “Take comfort in the knowledge that we’ve put a stop to it — at least where those involved with the Blakes are concerned,” she said. “All their clubs will be visited and the girls helped. We have social services specialists on the case. They will look after them until their future becomes a bit clearer.”
“D’you reckon they know much more about who else is involved?” Amy asked.
Rachel shook her head. “I doubt it. They’d see plenty of people come and go in that club, but they’d have no idea who was who.”
“What about those other poor girls they mentioned? Do we stand any chance of finding them? This is huge, isn’t it?” Amy’s voice was trembling. She was truly upset.
“We’ll do what we can,” Rachel said. “We’ll pass all the information on to the relevant department, but for now, that’s it.”
Back in the incident room, Jonny was waiting for her. “Ma’am, DI Knight has asked if he can have a word.”
“Did he say what about?” Rachel asked.
“No, but he said you might be interested.”
“If it’s not relevant to our current case then it’ll have to wait. I’ll speak to him later. Have we got Agnes’s phone data through yet?” she called over to Stella.
“I’ll give them a nudge.”
“Anything on the white van, Jonny? Have we managed to track it on CCTV?”
“Only so far. It stops next to Agnes and we presume picks her up. Then the cameras spot it on John Dalton Street. It spends some time just riding round and round, and it finally disappears over towards Media City.”
“There are cameras down there,” Rachel said.
“I said towards. I don’t think it went there. There is a gap of roughly an hour when it’s off the radar. It could have parked up somewhere. The next sighting is along Ashton Old Road, just before it stops at the building site. I’ve got the stills — we’re definitely looking at the same van.”
“They’re emailing me the data from Agnes’s phone now, ma’am,” Stella confirmed. “They’ve got people off sick, which is why it took so long.”
“It’s a long shot, but we might get something.” Rachel waited while Stella printed off the data and then sat down to study it. She didn’t have
a lot of time, there was still Ruby to speak to.
“There are a lot of different numbers here. Amy, would you match up the ones that belong to her sister and colleagues? Then we’ll see what we’re left with.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Ruby was by herself in a room off the main ward. A uniformed officer stood in the corridor outside, watching the people going past.
“There’s been no visitors, ma’am,” he told Rachel.
Good, they’d got here before Kenton. Rachel and Elwyn went in.
Deathly pale, Ruby was breathing through an oxygen mask.
Rachel smiled at her. “Hello, Ruby. Are you up for visitors?”
“I’ve seen you before,” Ruby said hoarsely. “You’re police. Why’ve you come here? I haven’t done anything wrong.” She was overwhelmed by a fit of coughing.
Rachel waited while she got her breath back and offered her a sip of water. “It’s a good job you went to Mavis. She got you here just in time.”
“I was desperate. I’ve never been so ill. I didn’t know life on the streets would be so hard.”
“Ruby, we need your help,” Rachel said, getting down to business. “You’re not in any trouble, and I promise that if there’s someone threatening your life, we’ll protect you.”
“That’s easy for you to say, but you don’t know these people. Just being seen with you could get me killed.”
“We’re investigating the murder of Agnes Moore. You knew her. Remember we met? Outside the health centre. You asked about Agnes.”
“I did know her, but not that well. Agnes was a nurse at the health centre. I went to her with a problem and she sorted me out. When I visited her next, she offered to help me get away from that club.”
“How was she going to do that?” Rachel asked.
“She said she could get me a place to stay and a different job.”
“That was a good thing, wasn’t it?” Elwyn said.
“Depends on how you look at it.”
“Did Agnes tell you what sort of job she had in mind, or where you’d be living?” Rachel asked.
“She never told me the details.” Ruby turned her head aside and began coughing again.
Ruby was hiding something. But what?
“Did Agnes help other girls, Ruby?” Elwyn asked.
“I don’t know. We didn’t talk about anyone else.”
Ruby flushed — she was lying.
“Did you and Agnes get on?”
The girl obviously wasn’t finding this easy. When she spoke about Agnes, her voice became flat, toneless.
“She was okay so long as you stuck to the rules. Agnes liked rules. But cross her and she could lose it. Agnes was no saint. She’d help, but at a cost. She did nothing for free.”
“What d’you mean, Ruby? What did she want in return? She must have known you had no money. That was why you went to her for help.”
“You have no idea what Agnes was really like. Everyone thinks she was an angel, but she was selfish, grasping. She’d have sold her own mother if she thought it would turn a profit!”
Rachel was taken aback. This wasn’t her impression of Agnes. Ruby’s outburst had brought on an enormous fit of coughing. Rachel tapped her foot. She didn’t want to push the girl too hard, but how long would it be before Kenton showed his face and took over?
“When we uncovered Agnes’s body, we also found the body of a girl. She was wearing a pink outfit, the same as you had on that day. We think she worked at the club too. Have you any idea who she was?” Rachel asked.
“Sorry, no.”
“We think she might have been called Jess. Does that ring any bells?”
“I told you, no.
The coughing worsened until Ruby seemed close to vomiting. Rachel pressed the button to summon a nurse.
“Go away,” Ruby sobbed. “I don’t know any more. Stop hassling me.”
“We’ll talk again when you’re a bit better,” Rachel said. “I need you to tell me about Nicu Bogdan and the Blakes.” The girl’s eyes widened. She looked terrified. “Don’t worry, you’re quite safe in here. I’ve left an officer on guard.”
Out in the corridor, Rachel had a quick word with the PC. “Anyone visits, ring me at the station, and don’t let her go anywhere. I have a sneaky suspicion that she’ll try to run the minute she’s well enough.” Then she and Elwyn took the stairs to the exit.
“She won’t run, will she? Surely she wouldn’t be so stupid?” Elwyn asked.
“She’s afraid of something, or someone. She didn’t seem to like Agnes much either, which wasn’t the impression I got of her. I thought Agnes was a kind woman who tried to help those who needed it.”
“Ruby was being very guarded,” Elwyn said. “Who knows what she really thinks? We’ll see if things change when she recovers. I note you didn’t push it about Nicu.”
“I think that’s who she is afraid of. She’s been living on the streets, desperately trying to hide. But why? What has she done, or know, that’s made her so afraid?”
“She ran for a reason, Rachel. And it’s all bound up with that club and the people who work there.”
* * *
Back at the station, Jude was waiting for her. “For you!” She held out a bottle of Pinot Noir wine. Rachel’s favourite. “Unwind with a glass in front of the telly tonight and just vegetate.”
“Tempting, Jude, but it’s unlikely I’ll get the chance. Great wine though, and thanks.” Rachel smiled. How thoughtful of her.
“The DNA from Anita Darwin is a familial match to your unknown girl,” Jude announced.
“That means we have her identity at last. The girl is Jess Darwin, Anita’s granddaughter.”
“Digital forensics are still working on the laptop. According to Len, there’s plenty of interesting stuff on it — accounts, bank details, the lot.”
Len Bradley was good at his job. If the information was there, encrypted or not, he’d extract it.
“He’ll let you have his report as soon as. But he sent this with me.” Jude handed over a printout, a list of names. “All girls, just first names and dates. Most of them are foreign.”
Rachel scanned the list. She saw two of the girls she’d already spoken to, as well as Jess. But the list ran into pages. Hundreds of trafficked girls had passed through the Blakes’ club.
“This is what passes for employee records, I suppose. No wages, nothing saying where they came from, or even their surnames.” She looked across at Stella. “Would you check if Salford are still holding Leonora Blake? I wouldn’t mind a word.”
“Don Akerman was shot with a bullet from a Glock,” Jude said. “The gun used to kill the others was a different make. We haven’t finished our tests on the bodies of Agnes and Jess yet. If I get anything else, I’ll be in touch.”
So Rachel finally had her ID, plus proof that the dead girl worked in Leo’s. Time for another word with Harding.
* * *
Nicu Bogdan had scoured the streets of the city but had found no sign of her. Just like that, Ruby had disappeared in a puff of smoke. Well, all that would cut no ice with the boss. Nicu was running out of time. He’d been given a deadline. Miss it and it’d be his life at risk. Time to dish out some serious aggro.
His first stop was the hostel on Ashton Old Road. Nicu turned up at lunchtime with a bunch of thugs, intent on causing havoc. The woman who ran the place would talk or suffer the consequences. His first act was to take a baseball bat to the counter, sending food, dishes and everything else flying to the floor. Amid screams, he and his gang set about wrecking the place.
“It’ll be someone’s head next!” He shrieked, sending everyone running for cover. “Where is she? Where’s Ruby? Who’s hiding the bitch?”
“She’s not here.” Shaken but defiant, Mavis Smithson faced him. “So you can take your bunch of villains and do one.”
Nicu glared at her, bat in hand. “I’ll crack your skull open if you don’t tell me. She comes in here. You feed her. Last
chance — speak up woman!” He shook the bat.
“She’s sick. An ambulance took her last night. Now bugger off and leave us in peace. Come back and it’ll be the police sorting you.”
“How sick?” The bat fell to his side.
“How should I know? I’m no nurse. I just dish out soup and sandwiches.”
She was telling the truth, she had to be. Cursing, Nicu and his thugs left, swinging their bats. “Manchester Royal Infirmary next,” Nicu said. “But I’ll go alone. Less chance of being picked up that way. The cops don’t know me. I’ll borrow a white coat and no one will be any the wiser.” He smiled. “Very soon, boys, I’ll get that bitch, and then it’s job done.”
Chapter Thirty
Rachel was pleased with herself. Harding had spoken to Kenton and had arranged for her to sit in on the interview with Leonora Blake at Salford. It was scheduled for three that afternoon.
“The loving husband hasn’t shown his face,” she told the team. “Kenton’s missed a trick there. My gut instinct is rarely wrong, and it’s telling me Blake is behind it all. Our not so friendly DCI must be tearing his hair out searching for him. Problem is, the Blakes own so much property he could be anywhere.”
“We have a list of most of it,” Elwyn said.
“Might be prudent to give them the once over. Let me know if you turn up anything.”
Jonny hastened in, panting. “Ma’am. There’s been a ruck at the hostel. Mavis says four blokes turned up looking for Ruby and wrecked the place. Mavis didn’t recognise any of them, but the ringleader had a foreign accent.”
That was all they needed. “Could have been Nicu Bogdan,” Rachel said. “He’s another one we need to find in a hurry. Was anyone hurt?”
“Thankfully no, but Mavis was forced to tell them that Ruby was ill and had been carted off in an ambulance. It won’t take them long to find where she is.”
“Double up on the watch. We can’t risk anything happening to Ruby. She’s an important witness, and she’s in our care.”
Rachel picked up the list of girls’ names and went to her office to get ready for the drive to Salford. She couldn’t wait to hear Leonora Blake try and talk her way out of this one.
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