Dead Secret

by Noelle Holten

  ‘As long as it is not about the case, go ahead.’ Maggie leaned against the wall.

  ‘I kinda like it when you get angry. Catch you later, Mags.’

  Julie ended the call, and Maggie laughed to herself.

  She pocketed her phone and returned to the open-plan office. She had a puzzle to solve and all thoughts of Julie Noble needed to be put in the back of her head.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Two officers from the weekend had arrived at the haven to follow up on the situation with Ronnie. Lucy surmised that they would need to either progress a case forward or close it down, noting no charges from the victim was forthcoming. Lucy showed them into the communal living room where Ronnie was wrapped in a blanket and staring straight ahead. Although fading a little bit now, her bruised and battered face told a story in itself. Not only had Lucy witnessed similar injuries when reading the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) papers for pre-sentence reports (PSRs), she’d also seen them in the mirror too many times after Patrick had let loose on her.

  ‘If it’s okay with you – and Ronnie – I think it would be good for me to stay while you speak with her?’ Lucy looked at both the officers.

  ‘As long as Ronnie is fine with it, then so are we,’ the officer said out of Ronnie’s earshot. ‘How did she end up here? I tried looking up the details of this place online, but it wasn’t easy – looks like you require agency referrals.’

  ‘Actually, she mentioned that she had been in a women’s refuge on previous occasions and someone there had mentioned this place to her, giving her the details. It’s not the correct process, so I have some work to do on that front, but …’ Lucy shrugged. ‘Why don’t I go over and let Ronnie know what’s happening as I am sure you have a busy day ahead?’ The officers moved aside and let Lucy go through and speak to Ronnie.

  Lucy sat next to Ronnie and caught her attention. ‘There are two police officers here who just want to chat to you about the incident. It might help you to tell them what you can. The more they know now, the more they will be able to take action or at least ensure your future safety. I said I’d sit with you through the interview if that was okay?’

  Ronnie nodded at Lucy. Still not verbalising much other than through the app on her phone, Lucy felt protective of the young woman and questioned whether talking to Ronnie right now would be of any use – after all, she hadn’t opened up to Mark. Her own experience made her fear that if the officers pushed too hard, they may trigger flashbacks to the night she arrived. If Ronnie wasn’t going to press charges, the police would move on, but she was still clearly in distress and could be for some time. Lucy waved the officers over. The female officer took the lead.

  ‘Hi, Ronnie, how are you today? We’d like to get some details from you about your injuries. Are you able to tell us anything more about the night in question and whether you wish to press any charges?’

  Lucy felt the woman stiffen beside her. She began to shake her head and whimper. Lucy reached out to touch her hand, but the woman flinched. She wouldn’t look at the officers and began rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face.

  Lucy looked at the officers. ‘Sorry, it looks like you’ve had a wasted trip. She’s distressed and this will all still be very fresh in her head.’ Lucy couldn’t help the disappointment in her voice, as it looked like the police would be able to close the matter sooner with Ronnie being uncooperative. It wasn’t unusual. Even when women did come forward, they’d often retract statements – fortunately, even if this did happen the police could still bring a case forward, but they needed a perp. Lucy doubted they would get one today – if ever.

  One of the officers leaned in and whispered something to the other. Directing the conversation back to Ronnie, she spoke. ‘How about I leave my card here and Lucy can call us when or if you change your mind? Would that be okay, miss?’ The officer waited for a sign, but when there was none from Ronnie, the pair stood up.

  Lucy walked with them to the door and gave the officer credit for trying.

  ‘Sorry, I had hoped that having had a few days, Ronnie might be more willing to let you know who did this to her. I’ll see if I can get anything more out of her. She refused any medical treatment, though with her permission I took a few pictures of the injuries that I could see. I’m feeling less certain now that she’s going to want to pursue any criminal charges against whoever did this to her.’ Lucy shrugged. ‘Sometimes we just have to accept that.’

  ‘You used to work at the DAHU, didn’t you?’ one of the officers asked.

  Lucy nodded.

  ‘I thought I recognized you when we first arrived. Could you email those pictures over to the unit and we can add them to our information? I know we took photos when this was first called in, but the more we have, the better. Without any details of an address or perpetrator, we’re kind of stuck here. Who knows what the situation is? I mean she could have assaulted her attacker in retaliation. Might be why she is so reluctant to pursue this. I’ll check out if there have been any call outs or assaults reported with other areas. That’s about all we can do for now.’ He smiled.

  ‘I get it.’ She could tell the officers were as disappointed as she was; it wouldn’t be the first or last time they came across a victim of domestic abuse who didn’t wish to pursue the matter. ‘I agree that there may be more to this situation and she’s worried about what trouble she may get into.’ Lucy exhaled. ‘We’ve seen it happen so often, right? Thanks again for coming out. I’ll be in touch.’ Lucy waved the officers off, opened the gate and once she saw the officers leaving the premises, shut the front door behind her. She took a moment, leaning against the door.

  Lucy sent a quick text to Sharon, asking her to hold off on visiting until she came back to her and a final note to enjoy her holiday. She’d catch her up with everything when she was back at work. The reply came back quickly, and Lucy smiled as Sharon expressed concern but also complete understanding. They worked in an area in the criminal justice system where things could happen at the last minute and where trust in colleagues was paramount. She placed her mobile back in her pocket and locked the door before returning to the living room.

  The woman was asleep on the couch. She looked so small and vulnerable. If Lucy had to guess, she figured Ronnie must be in her early twenties. When the police had been asking their questions, Ronnie had rubbed her arms and Lucy caught a glimpse of some scratches and old scars, confirming her earlier suspicions about self-harming.

  Lucy decided to let her rest for a while and closed the door to the communal living room over. She went to her office and turned on her laptop – the secure one that Probation provided for her agency work on reports. She logged in and attached her phone to the laptop so she could upload the photos of the woman. Once the pictures had uploaded, she wrote out an email to Mark at the DAHU. She explained the situation, gave the officers’ names who attended and advised that if she learned anything new, she would forward it on. She knew that Mark couldn’t share specific details with her now that she no longer worked with the DAHU, but attached a copy of her referral form and asked if he could refer the young woman to her haven so everything would be above board. She instructed him to leave the unknown areas blank and they could be completed once they knew more.

  She sat back in her chair and once again the same question popped in her mind.

  What the hell happened to Ronnie and what was preventing her from pressing charges?

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Within the open-plan office, word travels fast and Maggie had heard that they had some more information from the forensics team. An update was imminent, so she waited as patiently as possible, though she wasn’t known for her patience. Gathering her notebook and pen, she walked towards the incident room and sat near the front so she could get a good look at everything that had been collected so far. The board in front of her was riddled with lines, pictures, and notes – she closed her eyes and mentally attempted to restore some order to the chaos, but it wa
s difficult.

  ‘I’ll make this as short as possible.’ DI Rutherford spoke as she walked towards the evidence boards. ‘New information has come in which puts an interesting but somewhat concerning spin on things.’

  Maggie leaned forwards in her chair, pen poised, ready to capture whatever details were to follow.

  ‘I’ve recently been given access to information that confirms there have been previous call outs to DCI Hastings’s home, relating to accusations of physical violence towards his wife and daughter.’

  ‘What the fuck?’ Kat blurted out.

  ‘It’s somewhat … controversial. When his wife was spoken to, she denied all claims, but his daughter, Olivia, was adamant that her father had been abusive towards them on more than one occasion. Seems that because there were no physical injuries to corroborate what was being said, the information was recorded, logged, and then only accessible to the superintendent and above. Hence why we are only receiving this information now.’ Rutherford blushed. Maggie could see she wasn’t comfortable with the decisions made by her superiors.

  Maggie recalled conversations she’d had with Lucy about no further action being taken on domestic abuse cases in the past. If there had been no blood or bruising, one person would be removed from the situation and no further action taken. It was shocking, but fortunately with better training and an understanding that physical abuse may not show injuries until a later time, this sort of thing rarely happened any more. At least that’s what they were being told.

  ‘So, are we saying that DCI Hastings is now definitely a person of interest in the abduction of his daughter and murder of his wife?’ Maggie had to ask this aloud, as she could see the question was on her colleagues’ faces but no one was verbalising it.

  ‘Yes. I think that is a fair assumption to make. We need to speak with him but … we can’t rule out that there is something else going on and that Hastings is a victim himself.’ Rutherford clearly was reluctant to move on from thinking of Hastings as a possible victim and Maggie agreed.

  ‘What would you like us to do now?’ Nathan pulled at his collar. Maggie immediately knew that the whole situation was now escalating, and the team would be in turmoil at the possibility that a detective chief inspector – their DCI – was now someone who they needed to track down … for murder.

  ‘We’ll be releasing an embargoed press release to relevant newspapers that will go out to the public as soon as we get the go-ahead. We’re working on the wording now. What we don’t need is to scare Hastings away if he is responsible or cause his abductors, should that be the case, to do something foolish. The last thing we want is two more bodies on our hands – though the amount of blood in Hastings’s home suggests there may already be another body we’ve yet to find. We’re trying to gather as much information as possible about the family, their history, and a timeline in the days leading up to the abduction.’ DI Rutherford rubbed her temple. ‘In the meantime, I need you all working around the clock to manage the murders and work with the Misper Unit in terms of the possible abduction angle – we’ll see how forthcoming they are with sharing information.’

  ‘So, they are still being treated as two separate investigations? Well, three actually.’ Maggie groaned. She hardly slept as it was; the pressure of two murder investigations as well as liaising with another team about the abductions would be draining.

  ‘For the time being, though it’s likely that we will have to re-examine things shortly. I’m still waiting for news on additional support from outside the area. Nathan will be more on the operational side also …’ DI Rutherford mouthed ‘sorry’ to him, but he shrugged his shoulders. Nathan never minded getting stuck into a case and Maggie knew he enjoyed the investigative side more than the managerial.

  ‘Maggie and Nathan, can I see you in my office after this? The rest of you should know what needs doing – so unless you want me to spoon-feed it to you, let’s get a move on.’ She clapped her hands as she walked out of the room.

  ‘Shit just got real.’ Kat leaned over as she gathered her things.

  ‘It sure did. I’ll catch you later.’

  Maggie led the way to Rutherford’s office and took a deep breath before she stepped inside. She had no idea what to expect, but she also knew that whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  DI Rutherford was pacing her office when Maggie and Nathan joined her. She had never seen her boss in such a state over a case – even at the most stressful times in her career, Rutherford had always managed to keep calm and, in turn, run a seamless investigation. They’d had sensitive cases before, but this was clearly much more than that to their boss.

  ‘I realize that I’m coming down hard on the team, but the longer this goes on, the worse my mood is going to get I’m afraid. The reason I called you both in is because I’d like you to attend the post-mortem of Sophia Hastings. I spoke to Dr Blake and she’s expecting you there in an hour. Clear your schedules; Nathan, delegate what you can and get over to the HQ. I want to know exactly what happened and whether Dr Blake can add any insight. Okay?’

  ‘Absolutely, guv.’ Nathan turned to Maggie. ‘Give me fifteen minutes to sort things out and we’ll go.’

  Maggie nodded.

  ‘That’s all. Report back to me when you’re done.’

  The pair left the room and Nathan rushed ahead. Maggie gathered her things and while she was shutting down her computer, Nathan came bounding out of his office.

  ‘You ready?’

  Staffordshire Police HQ was only a twenty-minute drive if traffic was clear, so when Nathan and Maggie arrived, they had enough time to sign in and make their way to the purpose-built forensics lab that had been built on site. Dr Blake was waiting for them at the door.

  ‘Well, isn’t this nice. Partners in crime back together again. I’ll let you in to the observation room. If you have any questions, there’s an intercom on the wall, but please don’t interrupt me unless it is absolutely necessary.’

  The sarkiness in her tone didn’t go unnoticed by Maggie.

  There was a large microphone suspended from the ceiling, although Maggie could also see a handheld device. ‘For the benefit of DS Nathan Wright and his colleague, DC Maggie Jamieson, who are observing today, I’d like to reiterate some of the initial findings when the victim, Sophia Hastings, arrived at the lab. Estimated window of death is approximately but not limited to six days before she was discovered.’

  Maggie turned and whispered to Nathan: ‘Hang on. So does that mean she was murdered before Tim Griffiths?’

  Nathan pointed at her notepad while staring ahead. She understood his message – write it down, ask me later. Dr Blake was circling the table as she spoke; most of the descriptions went completely over Maggie’s head.

  ‘The hands and fingernails have traces of blood and possibly skin.’ Dr Blake paused momentarily and looked in Maggie and Nathan’s direction. Neither said anything. Although Maggie didn’t completely understand everything that had been said, she noted down the possible defensive wounds and the fact that Mrs Hastings may have left marks on her attacker.

  Dr Blake continued. ‘The deceased was found in an upright position with …’ She stopped as she counted the wounds on the torso. ‘Eight stab wounds covering the chest and stomach area. One deep laceration to the neck.’ Dr Blake bent down, and it looked to Maggie like she was checking the depth of the wound. She motioned to her assistant. ‘Can we turn her over, please?’ Dr Blake placed her recorder down as they turned the body. Picking up her recording device again, she carried on. ‘The heels of the feet have some sort of gravel and sand embedded. There are also scratches present.’

  The forensic assistant held out a small container in which Dr Blake deposited whatever had been embedded in Sophia Hastings’s heels.

  ‘Some scratches on the mid-back as well as shoulders.’ The pathologist stopped the tape again and looked directly at Nathan and Maggie.

  ‘I can’t be sure, but give
n the marks on the back, shoulders, and heels, I think she was dragged or carried by two people. If it had been one person, if she had been dragged by the arms, her heels would have scuff marks, but nothing would appear on the back and shoulders and vice versa if she had been dragged by her heels.’

  Maggie pressed the intercom. ‘Could it have been that one person first dragged her by the feet but then switched when the body became too heavy and dragged her by the arms?’ If two people had been involved, that could mean that Hastings was not responsible for the murder or that he had someone working with him. Maggie dismissed the second premise as unlikely, especially if this was some sort of murder-suicide to avoid prosecution. But it would support the abduction theory. Maggie was trying to consider as many angles as possible, but it was hard to know what to think.

  ‘Yes, that could be a possibility, though I would have expected deeper marks if this was done by one person.’ Dr Blake continued with her examination. ‘Bruising on the wrists and left elbow.’ She placed the recorder down and started feeling Mrs Hastings’s head. ‘No contusions on the head. Okay, let’s turn her over again and open her up.’ Dr Blake motioned to her colleagues.

  While the forensic assistants were cutting her open, Dr Blake went over to the wall where X-ray film viewers were and switched on the light. Placing the X-rays up on the board, she began to speak. ‘There are small fractures on the left index finger and right wrist. Calcium deposits indicate these injuries have healed over and are approximately two years old.’

  Maggie scribbled in her notebook – check if these are consistent with the DV call outs. Dr Blake placed another X-ray up – they looked to be the ribcage.

  ‘More fractures – two to be exact. Left side.’ Maggie watched as Dr Blake turned around, noticing the body was ready for her. She placed the recorder on a small table beside where she stood and began to speak. Maggie wondered how much of this side of things she would be able to grasp.