Righteous Anger: A frantic hunt for a child killer (DCI Rob Miller Book 3)

by BL Pearce

  Suddenly there was much to do.

  He thought about Tessa Parvin and the abject terror on her face when she’d come flying out of the woods. She’d known. She’d always known.

  The Shepherd watched as they pulled his little angel from the sacred ground and carried her to the van.

  How dare they disturb her final resting place!

  She’d been safe there, under the canopy of trees. Away from the people who’d hurt her. Sleeping peacefully for an eternity. Yet that eternity had been cut short.

  Now she was just a pile of bones being taken to a lab to be analysed, probed and prodded.

  Such ignorance.

  His darling little angel. He recalled watching her pale face as her eyes fluttered closed and she stopped breathing. At peace at last.

  He remembered the smell of her hair, freshly washed. Thick and luxurious. And how it felt as it slipped through his fingers. He never knew anything could be so soft.

  “Darling Arina,” he muttered. “What have they done to you?”

  The shroud he’d used to cover her delicate, damaged body was gone, probably torn to shreds by now. Her skin and flesh wasted away to nothing.

  A high-pitched screech only meters away made him jump. Then a woman came hurtling out of the trees. Once his heart rate had returned to normal, he recognised her. She was the girl’s mother.

  Stupid bitch.

  It was all her fault. She was just like the others, a neglectful, selfish parent. If she’d performed her maternal duty, her daughter wouldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t have had to die.

  He blinked as a tall man in dark jeans and a casual shirt caught the hysterical, sobbing woman.

  Who was he?

  Was this the detective in charge? The Senior Investigating Officer?

  He strained his eyes. The man looked uncomfortable, unsure of himself. He didn't know how to handle the hysterical woman in his arms.

  Fool.

  Most men were useless when it came to emotion, but not him. He felt their pain. He felt it so acutely it took his breath away.

  So, this was the man who was going to try and track him down. The Shepherd knew how these things worked. He also knew how incompetent the police were.

  If they’d done their job properly, he wouldn’t have to do what he did.

  He watched as Arina’s remains were loaded into the van and driven away. Tears welled up in his eyes and it was a few moments before he could see clearly again.

  Then, he turned and melted into the shadows of the trees.

  29

  Rob addressed the team. “DNA has confirmed it was Arina Parvin’s body discovered at Bisley Common yesterday.”

  The news had filtered down and even though it was early, everyone was amped and eager to get to work. The air in the squad room pulsed with energy.

  Mallory stood beside him in a smart suit. He’d wheeled out the whiteboard from Incident Room 2, which contained photographs and essential information on the other four female victims.

  “There’s a hell of a lot to get through,” said Rob. “So we’re going to work in our designated teams. My team will dig into the people involved in Katie’s life, particularly the men. I know we’ve looked at the list her mother provided, but we have to go deeper. I’m convinced this wasn’t a random attack. The kidnapper must have met Katie at some point. He would have watched her, stalked her, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.”

  He turned to Jenny who was hanging onto his every word. “Jenny, go and see Lisa Wells. Make a list of everyone who visited the house in the last few months, no matter how obscure. Take Celeste with you. We’re missing something.”

  “Yes, guv.”

  “Jeff, you and Mike coordinate the second search of the nature reserve, Barnes Common and the wetlands. Bring in the cadaver dogs. I think we have to consider that she could be buried somewhere in the local area.”

  Both constables nodded, only too pleased to be taken off the CCTV work.

  This was going to be expensive, but they were working six different cases. Seven, if you counted Jo’s sister, Rachel.

  “Will, I need you on the Arina Parvin investigation. Follow up on old witness statements, talk to her friends, and see if you can track down that white van. It could belong to our killer. There must be other footage of it in the area.”

  “I’m already searching the ANPR database,” he said.

  “Good. I have a feeling that’s going to be key.”

  Rob nodded at Mallory to take over the briefing.

  The DI cleared his throat.

  “My team looked into the disappearances of Rosie Hutton, Elise Mitcham, Chrissy Macdonald and Angie Nolan. We divided the victims between us and familiarised ourselves with their cases, all of which are still open.”

  “Talk us through them,” said Rob. It was important they shared information in case there were any crossovers. It would all be marked on the database, however, he was a firm believer in open channels of communication.

  “Rose Hutton was twelve years old and lived in Cheam, near Sutton. She was abducted on her way home from an ice cream parlour she and her friends had visited after school. Her mother alerted the police at seven o’clock that evening.”

  All eyes darted to the photograph of a mature-looking girl with blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. She was smiling into the camera, obviously laughing at something the taker had said. She had dimples and big brown eyes.

  Elise Mitcham was eleven, the same age as Katie. She vanished on her way to school. She used a scooter to cover the five blocks but when she didn’t arrive for class, her teacher raised the alarm. Her scooter was found abandoned in a ditch beside the road she used to take.”

  Elise was a serious, dark-haired little girl with a pale complexion and dark rings under her eyes.

  “Chrissy Macdonald was the oldest of the missing girls at fourteen. She was last seen at a local newsagent with a friend. CCTV confirmed it. Her friend, however, said they parted ways outside in the street. Her school bag was never found.”

  The photograph of Chrissy was of a slim teenager in skinny jeans and a short-cut top.

  “Finally, the last victim is Angie Nolan. She was only ten when she was kidnapped from a local park. Her grandmother, who was with her, didn’t see anyone approach her. She said one minute she was there, the next she was gone. In a later statement, she admitted to not watching her as closely as she should have.”

  Angie was a cute little girl with olive skin, a dark bob and slanted eyes.

  “The similarities with Katie and Arina’s disappearances are striking,” said Mallory, “But before we get the cases transferred, we need to prove a definite connection. We’ve logged their positions on a map and we’re going to search local bodies of water for their backpacks or school bags. We can’t sanction searches of the nearby open spaces yet, as there is too much ground to cover, and local searches were done at the time they went missing.”

  “Thanks, DI Mallory.” Rob glanced at the team. “I don’t need to tell you to look for a connection with a man with a white van, or someone who they all might have been in contact with. A teacher, a priest, a tutor, a coach, anything that rings any bells.”

  Everybody nodded.

  “Okay, then let’s get back to work. We’ll touch base this afternoon at four-thirty.”

  Just then Rob and Mallory’s phone beeped simultaneously. Never a good sign.

  “Shit, there’s been an incident at the gallery,” said Rob.

  Mallory gasped. “A stabbing. You don’t think…?”

  “Come on.” Rob grabbed his jacket.

  Mallory followed him out at a run.

  The scene outside the gallery was one of utter carnage.

  A local police officer was trying to keep the crowd back, while two medics bent over a man lying at the side of the road. One was performing CPR, while the other, a woman, measured his vitals.

  “I’ve got a pulse,” she called, her fingers pressed against his neck.

/>   Another two police officers had apprehended a frizzy-haired woman who was screaming her head off. “He killed Arina. He killed my baby!”

  “Christ, it’s Tessa Parvin!” exclaimed Rob, jumping from the car.

  They flashed their warrant cards to the flustered police officer and approached the man who was bleeding all over the street. His eyes were shut and his face was paler than the white lines of the demarcated parking bay upon which he lay.

  Rob’s stomach lurched.

  It was Anthony Payne.

  “What happened?” he asked the medics.

  “Stabbed multiple times in the chest and abdomen,” replied the man who’d been administering CPR. He’d stopped thumping the man’s chest and was now positioning an oxygen mask over his face. “We’ve managed to stabilise him, but we have to get him to A&E for treatment. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

  “The ambulance should be here shortly,” said the woman. The two medics had arrived in a fleet car, which was great for responding quickly, but not designed to cart someone away to hospital.

  An ambulance blared up the road, its siren deafening. Thankfully, it turned it off as it pulled over beside Payne’s prone body.

  Rob got out of the way so they could work and joined Mallory who’d gone to talk to the two officers holding a writhing Tessa Parvin. She was in handcuffs and her eyes had the semi-glazed look of someone who was in shock.

  “Tessa, it’s me, DCI Miller.”

  She gazed through him rather than at him.

  “What are you doing, Tessa? This man is not responsible for your daughter’s murder.”

  “How do you know,” she spat. “I saw the newspaper article. He lived in the same areas as those other missing girls. He’s the serial killer I was telling you about.”

  “No, he’s not, Tessa. We eliminated him from our enquiries.”

  Damn the papers.

  A flash of uncertainty crossed her face, then she started crying. “I wanted to punish him for taking my baby.”

  Rob shook his head. Tessa was in no state to be questioned. “Take her away,” he told the police officers, “but be gentle with her. She’s had a shock. She’s going to need a FLO assigned to her.”

  They nodded and led a crying Tessa to the police car. Onlookers watched horrified as she was guided into the back seat and driven away.

  “I saw it all,” one man said as he walked past. “She went for him like a mad woman.”

  “One moment, sir,”

  Rob called the flustered police officer over. “PC Nelson,” he read the man’s name on his shirt badge. “Take this man’s witness statement, along with anyone else who saw the altercation take place.” He gave the officer his card. “Can you manage that?”

  “Yes, sir.” The man stood a little taller.

  “Good. Thank you.”

  “What a fuck-show,” he growled as they got back into the car.

  Anthony Payne had been stabilised and was being transferred onto a stretcher. The medic held the oxygen mask over his face as he was carried to the ambulance.

  “The press has a lot to answer for,” said Mallory.

  “How the hell did they connect the dots?” Rob frowned as he pulled out into the traffic. “We haven’t announced the link between the other missing girls.”

  “Someone else must be leaking information,” he said.

  “Christ, the Super’s going to go apeshit. There’ll be an enquiry into this.”

  “That’s all we need,” Rob turned up past Barnes Pond into Station Road. They drove past the boys’ school where Payne had stood watching at the gate, caught on CCTV.

  “She’s a loose cannon, that woman,” murmured Mallory.

  “She needs help.” Rob turned into Upper Richmond and came to a standstill. Back-to-back traffic proceeded at a trickle. “It’s all been too much for her.”

  They were going through Barnes when an alert from the control room burst through the police radio. “All units, a young girl fitting Katie Wells description has been found in Suffolk Road Recreational Ground.”

  Rob grabbed the receiver. “Is she alive?”

  “Yes, sir. She was playing in the park. Over.”

  He and Mallory stared at each other.

  “We’re on our way.”

  30

  Rob switched on the siren and performed an illegal U-turn in the middle of Upper Richmond Road. Surprised motorists came to a standstill as he maneuvered the vehicle through the heavy traffic, back in the direction they’d come.

  He turned off the crowded Upper Richmond Road as soon as possible and used the back streets to zigzag his way towards the park. Suffolk Street was two blocks away from where Katie had been abducted and was on the same road as her school.

  “Why there?”

  He pressed his foot to the accelerator. Had she escaped? Had she been released? Was she injured? It didn’t sound like it from the police broadcast, but until they got there, they wouldn’t know for sure.

  Mallory found out the particulars. Apparently, she’d been recognised by a mother who was at the park with her two children and their dog, and this woman was looking after her until the police arrived.

  “We’re closest to the location,” Mallory said. “Other units are on the way.”

  Rob screeched to a halt outside the gated park. It was a small area for a recreational ground, about the size of two football pitches with a child’s play area in the middle sporting a climbing frame, a slide and a roundabout.

  Sitting on a bench watching the children play was a blonde woman, and beside her sat a dark-haired little girl.

  “Are we sure it’s her?” hissed Mallory as they strode across the lawn.

  “The woman seemed to think so.”

  They rounded the bench. The little girl glanced up.

  It was Katie.

  No doubt about it. Rob had seen those serious eyes look out at him from the posters for over a week. He’d know her anywhere.

  “Katie Wells?” He bent down in front of her.

  She nodded.

  “I’m detective Miller and this is my partner, detective Mallory. We’ve been looking for you.”

  She stood up. “Can I go home now?”

  He smiled. “Yes. Yes, you can.”

  She appeared unharmed. Her hair was loose, but it looked clean. Her skin shone in the morning sun. She wasn’t wearing the school uniform she’d disappeared in, instead she wore a pale blue summer dress with daisies on it.

  “My partner here will take you to the police car while I talk to this lady, then we’ll take you home.” He nodded to Mallory.

  To his surprise, Mallory took Katie’s hand and led her gently away. “That’s a pretty dress,” he remarked. “Where did you get it?”

  They’d arrange for a forensic pathologist to meet them at Katie’s house so they could take her clothing for analysis, then they’d question her in the presence of a responsible adult, in this case, her mother.

  More police vehicles arrived as he introduced himself to the blonde woman who’d found her.

  “I got here with my two, and there she was, playing on the climbing frame. There was no one else here, so I asked her who she was with. She said no one. That’s when I recognised her from the news.”

  “There was no one here, you’re sure?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. We usually come in the morning as it’s quiet, and Bertie’s always happy for a walk.” Bertie was a fluffy cocker spaniel who was still prancing around the perimeter of the park, sniffing the grass and lifting its leg against as many oak trees as he could find.

  “And you didn’t notice anyone leaving as you arrived?”

  “Not a soul.”

  Rob frowned. The sooner they questioned Katie the better.

  “What state was she in when you found her? Was she upset? Frightened?”

  “None of those things. She seemed happy. She was singing to herself when I got here.” She shrugged. “It’s almost like nothing happened.”


  Rob was silent for a moment.

  After a week of searching, Katie miraculously appears, singing to herself, apparently unhurt, just like nothing had happened. How was that possible?

  “Okay, thank you Mrs–?”

  “Brink. Suzie Brink.”

  “Mrs Brink, do you think you could come down to Richmond Police Station and give an official statement? Once you’ve taken your children home, of course.”

  “Oh. Yes, I suppose I could.”

  “Thank you.” He took her contact details and gave her his card.

  Katie fidgeted in the back of their car, while Mallory spoke to the other police officers who’d arrived. They were full of questions.

  “Yes, it is her,” Mallory was saying. “She appears unharmed.”

  An ambulance pulled up.

  He turned to Rob. “Shall we get her checked out?”

  “Tell the ambulance to meet us at her house,” he said. “I think it’s important we get her home to her mother. We can do everything else there.”

  Mallory nodded and went to inform the ambulance driver.

  Rob dialled Lisa Wells’ number. She picked up on the first ring, her voice shaky, full of apprehension. She recognised his mobile phone number.

  “Hello, detective?”

  “Hi Lisa. We’ve found your daughter. She’s alive.”

  He smiled as she shrieked down the line.

  He cut in on her barrage of questions. “We’re bringing her back to you now. We can answer any questions you may have then.”

  She was crying as he hung up.

  “Who gave you the pretty dress?” Mallory asked as they sat in Lisa Wells’ kitchen. Rob and Mallory on one side of the wooden table, Katie and her mum on the other. Lisa’s sister-in-law had made them a pot of tea and left them to talk in private.

  “The lady did.” Katie didn’t seem remotely traumatised by her ordeal.

  “Does this lady have a name?” Mallory asked. He seemed to have a way with kids, so Rob let him take the reins.