Captive

by Jay Nadal

  Good girl, in you go. He watched her take a few cautious steps through the front door. With her safely out of view, he folded the newspaper, tucked it under one arm and walked away slowly along the Lewes Road through the evening rush hour.

  She’d know that they had been broken into. He’d be long gone before the police arrived.

  16

  The pot of water bubbled on the stove. Steam twisted and pirouetted from the boiling pan, dancing to their own tune as they wafted into the air. Scott had been tasked with chopping the carrots and had paused midway through slicing one. His knife hovered just an inch or two above the vegetable, like a guillotine blade.

  Cara and Scott had both decided that they deserved a long overdue night in, with home-cooked food and a bottle of red wine. Cara had been chatting away, telling Scott about new regulations for pathologists. She stopped for a moment and glanced over at Scott, fully expecting him to be nodding in agreement.

  “Penny for your thoughts…”

  There was no response.

  “Earth calling Scott. Earth calling Scott…”

  Cara still didn’t get a response.

  It was on her third time of calling, when she poked him in his ribs that Scott jolted back to the present.

  “Sorry, babes. I was away with the fairies. Sorry, what were you saying?” he asked apologetically.

  Cara tutted and replied, “I was just saying how I wanted to put dark purple streaks in my hair.”

  “Really?”

  Cara burst out laughing. “No, you doughnut. As if. Anyway, what’s up with you, babes?”

  “Oh, nothing important, just work stuff.”

  “Well, it must be important if it’s enough to take you away from chopping carrots,” Cara said with a smirk as she gazed at the half chopped carrot.

  That was Scott’s cue to carrying on the task that he’d been given. “I’m just not happy about the decision that Meadows has taken to put the new DC undercover. That’s bad enough in my view. To be left out of the decision-making process, has really pissed me off.”

  “You’re struggling a bit with all of this, aren’t you?” Cara asked, as she came in by his side, wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder.

  Scott nodded.

  “Do you think he’s got it in for you?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. We just don’t see eye to eye. He’s very much into showing officers, especially the senior ones, that he’s in control and that he gets results. Losing Sian was a major blow for all of us. But for Meadows, he took that personally. It’s a blot on his career and he doesn’t like that. He likes everything clean, tidy, organised and efficient. I think he feels I’m to blame for that blot on his record, and that’s why he gives me a hard time. He’s a cunning bloke.”

  Cara looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, he’s into promoting himself as an important and busy officer, someone who has his pulse on everyday policing and the management of his team. I’ve noticed that he only goes to meetings where there’s something of value to him. Other times, he’ll send apologies for being absent to the meetings he doesn’t want to attend. He’s quick to step in if there’s anything that threatens to rock his ship.”

  “And losing Sian rocked his ship?”

  “Possibly. Recruiting Helen, then deciding to put her undercover is his way of showing the brass that he’s got things under control.”

  Cara nodded at Scott’s explanation. “It still sounds like he’s got it in for you. Bloody politics!” she fumed.

  “I think he’s just trying to unsettle me. He’s probably hoping I slip up or challenge him and in return. It gives him the ammo to get me disciplined or kicked out,” Scott said, anger lacing his tone.

  “I tell you what we need; we need a break. How about if we go away after this case? Just you and me, no work, no distractions, just R & R?”

  Scott shrugged his shoulders. The way he felt at the moment, he’d struggle to find anything that piqued his interest. The chances of him being able to switch off ranked poorly. The fact that the team had just lost Sian left him uncomfortable with the idea of being away from them. He dreaded the thought of them thinking for one moment that he’d gone off on a jolly whilst they were still grieving and coming to terms with the loss.

  “I will make it worth your while,” Cara whispered softly in his ear, as she softly held his earlobe between her lips. “I’ll make sure that you switch off, especially if I’m standing there naked in front of you. It’s something about being on holiday that makes me feel really horny. It must be the sun, sea and sand that bring out the worst in me.”

  Cara always found a way to bring a smile to his face. “So are you telling me that you get even more horny when your holiday, than you are now? Is that possible?” he teased.

  “If you think you’ve seen me horny, then you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “Now you’re scaring me.” He laughed.

  Cara moved around in front of Scott to squeeze herself between his body and the kitchen work surface. “I’m being serious Scott Baker. We could do with getting away after the past few months. I think you and I need some we time. I think it would be nice for us to be able to get away, to relax, to talk, and maybe even talk about our future.”

  “Now you’re really terrifying me,” he said with eyes fixed wide open in mock fear. “If you’re looking for me to make an honest woman of you, dream on.” He winked.

  “Oi, you can go off people really quickly you know,” she said playfully punching him in the chest. “Scott you know I love you, and I’d do anything for you. I’ve not been this happy in a long time. When I meant talking about the future, I just thought maybe we could look forward to moving in together on a more permanent basis. Wink wink, maybe even the patter of tiny feet if you thought the time was right one day?” Cara’s voice dropped to a soft murmur as she probed and tested the waters.

  Scott nodded silently. Hearing those words took him by surprise. As he reflected, he couldn’t help but feel that there was a part of him that felt terrified by Cara’s suggestions. Enough so to set off warning bells. However, there was a part of him that craved stability and a family life. He wanted the chance to feel normal once again. It had been so long, that he’d forgotten what normal really meant.

  As he stared into Cara’s eyes, her soft warmth reached out to him and connected with a deeper part. He felt strangely comforted and reassured that this woman wanted to be a permanent part of his life.

  “Now, I suggest you finish preparing the carrots, or I’ll stick them where the sun doesn’t shine.”

  “Now now, there’s websites for that type of thing!” he offered with a smile.

  17

  The door rattled in its frame as the sound echoed up and down the corridor. At this time of morning, most of the students would be fast asleep, and it’s for this reason that Scott had decided to execute the search. It gave little opportunity for Freddie Coltrane to hide anything that might be deemed as incriminating, and it also gave the team the element of surprise.

  Scott knocked on the door again. The manner in which a search was executed depended on each case. If there was a threat to life, or if the suspect was deemed dangerous, or could potentially dispose of evidence such as drugs, then the method of entry tended to be swift, loud and explosive. In such instances, Scott and the team would rely on the tactical entry team who would use the big red enforcer, a sixteen-kilogramme steel battering ram that officers used to gain entry into properties. However, this method of entry often causes unwanted and hostile attention, which on occasion had led to extra resources being drafted in to protect officers undertaking the search.

  On this particular occasion, it had been agreed with the vice-chancellor of the university that a low-key approach was preferred to avoid unnecessary distress to fellow students. The vice-chancellor had expressed his concerns to Meadows as to the necessity to execute such a search in the first place. With Freddie Coltrane’s father b
eing a significant donor to the university, the vice-chancellor was at pains to suggest that Freddie’s father should be consulted first. But Meadows had been of the view that Freddie was an adult, and that his father’s involvement with university donations wasn’t a valid reason to change their approach to investigating the case.

  Scott, not wishing to announce their identity, and risk other students hearing, knocked gently again, and tried the door handle. Scott and Abby exchanged curious glances when he realised that the door wasn’t locked. As he pushed the door open, he peered in. The room was just as clean and tidy as it was on their last visit. The curtains were wide open, flooding the room with daylight and the bed hadn’t been slept in.

  The element of surprise hadn’t turned out the way they’d expected. Freddie Coltrane had clearly left earlier or had not been back all night.

  Scott, Abby and Mike squeezed into the cramped room. The two uniformed officers remained outside.

  “Bastard,” Scott fumed. He’d been hoping to catch Freddie off guard. “Where is the little scrote?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine, Guv,” Mike responded. “He could be in any one of these rooms on campus or he could have crashed on someone’s floor in town, or…”

  Scott thought about the final option. He could have something to hide, and was on the run. Scott instructed one of the uniformed officers to contact local officers in Ipswich via the control room. He needed to make sure that Freddie hadn’t done a runner and gone home.

  Scott, Abby and Mike put on blue rubber gloves and placed the empty evidence bags to one side as they split up. However, in this case, the term split up was really lost in this situation. With the room barely being ten-foot long and seven-foot wide, there was little space to manoeuvre.

  Freddie’s room was immaculately clean with several packets of bleach wipes and Febreze air freshener sprays sitting on one corner of his desk. The search lasted less than two hours. With just a bed, desk, bedside table and wardrobe there was very little searching to be done. Mike had commented on how there were an equal proportion of casual clothes, as there were dark grey and navy suits, which appeared odd for a student. Scott commented that perhaps they were for interviews post-graduation.

  Mike discovered a shoebox at the bottom of Freddie’s cupboard with incriminating evidence of Freddie’s sexual preferences.

  Within the shoebox were several items of female underwear, photos and DVDs together with a digital camera.

  Upon examination of the digital camera, Mike found pictures of naked women performing oral sex on an unidentified white male. Other more disturbing footage was uncovered in videos where a male was clearly seen inserting as much of his hand as he could into an unknown female’s vagina. The woman was clearly in pain and seemed to object as she attempted to push his hand away. There were several videos showing similar acts on other women, despite their objections.

  Further evidence uncovered during the search increasingly made Freddie’s position untenable. A small four-inch bladed knife was discovered under his bed.

  All the evidence was gathered and individually sealed in evidence bags and clearly documented including his mobile phone.

  18

  A clearer picture began to form about the lengths Freddie Coltrane would go to in order to satisfy his sexual needs. However, current lines of enquiry uncovered nothing of substance to suggest that Freddie was complicit in the death of Hailey Bratton. The questions on everyone’s lips were that Freddie had a colourful, extreme and often aggressive tendency towards sex, but was he capable and willing to commit murder to satisfy that tendency? And where was he?

  The team listened intently as they gathered around the incident board. Scott was feeding back on the post-mortem and forensic reports on Hailey Bratton.

  “Post-mortem results concluded that Hailey Bratton did die from extreme blood loss as a result of a severed carotid artery. There were traces of alcohol and cannabis in her blood. Dr Hall identified several partial bite marks in and around her neck, breast and pubic regions. These were human bite marks. Dr Hall called in a forensic Odontologist to examine them immediately. She needed to maximise the chances of collecting as much evidence as possible, before the characteristics of the marks changed.”

  He paused so the team members who were taking handwritten notes could catch up.

  “However, due to the time period that’s elapsed between the approximate time of death and the discovery of her body, there was what the odontologist referred to as distortion, which led to the bruising being diffused into the surrounding soft tissues. There were also drag marks which made the impressions less clear. Nevertheless, photographs and sizing were carried out, as well as swabs for any DNA. So we may or may not be able to use dental impressions of any suspects including Freddie,” Scott explained as he passed around the photographs of the bite marks.

  The team pored over the photographic evidence, taking a few moments to turn the images through a three hundred and sixty degrees rotation to get a clearer perspective.

  “There were traces of earth and grass identified on Hailey’s body that match the location where her body was found. The likely cause of the abrasions on her heels are from being dragged backwards. Analysis of the abrasions identified two substances. There was soil matter which originated from the location in which she was found, and the oily residue, which underwent detailed forensic examination, to be identified as marine engine oil. Matt and his team are looking into this further because it would suggest that she may have been kept somewhere where there was evidence of such oil.”

  “Could she have been kept on a boat, or a yacht or something like that?” suggested Raj. “After all, you’ve got many points of entry along the coast where shipping vessels, yachts or sailing boats can tie up.”

  Scott nodded and agreed that it was a possibility that couldn’t be ruled out. He assured the team that forensics were carrying out further investigations and analyses on the oil to identify its grade, viscosity and likely use.

  “The killer clearly is doing their hardest to cover up their tracks. The red skin scrapings taken from Hailey’s body identified traces of ammonia. So that would suggest to me that the body was cleaned with an ammonia-based substance to remove any incriminating evidence such as DNA residue. The highest concentrations of ammonia were found on her arms, back, buttocks, pubic region, back of legs and palms.”

  “So unlikely that will get any saliva or semen DNA?” Raj asked.

  “There was certainly nothing found from the random swabs taken from the skin surface of the body including the bite marks. However, DNA evidence was found inside her. Nothing has come up on the database as a match, but they are now running a comparison with swab samples taken from Freddie.”

  Scott informed the team that Helen had been placed on East Slope under the guise of a friend staying with a student. He stressed, that it was a pointless exercise as Freddie was nowhere to be seen, but she could still keep her ear to the ground and pick up any undercurrents of unease, or suspicious activity that might threaten the safety of the students.

  Scott was in mid-flow when the doors to the CID office swung open and Meadows strutted in. He took a place towards the back of the office and gave Scott a cursory nod to suggest that he should continue with the briefing. Scott’s mind whirred again, Is Meadows checking up on me, or is he snooping, or am I just being paranoid?

  “What more have we got on Freddie?” Scott asked as he watched Meadows slip back out again. Meadows’s actions only served to intensify the suspicion and frustration Scott felt.

  Mike started flicking through his notes before saying, “I’ve looked at the phone records and CCTV in relation to Freddie’s movements. I’ve also tied that in to local enquiries. He seems to be a frequent visitor to an S & M place called Brighton Dungeon.” Mike accentuated the Brighton Dungeon bit by raising an eyebrow. “I suggest we pay them a visit?”

  Abby rolled her eyes and said, “Yes, I bet you’d be first in line to pay them an
official visit.”

  “I’d go with him, Guv, just to make sure he didn’t misbehave,” Raj said with a snort of laughter.

  Scott folded his arms and looked at the pair of them. “Listen, if we send you and Mike in there, the chances are you probably won’t come out for hours. Abby and I will pay them a visit.”

  Raj pulled a disappointed face more akin to a seven-year-old child who’d been told that they couldn’t go and play.

  “Mike, you keep digging. See if you can find any CCTV footage of vehicles in and around the location of where Hailey’s body was found. Then cross-reference against the riding school and the farm, and let’s see if that throws up anything.”

  “Guv, Raj and I went and had a chat with Freddie’s ex-girlfriend, Yana Melnik. She’s pretty much confirmed what we’ve already learnt about Freddie. She said he was sadistic and perverted. He wanted to do things to her that she wasn’t comfortable with. She agreed to some, others she didn’t. She said that he turned aggressive with her on more than one occasion and pinned her to the bed by her throat when she rejected his advances. He said he wanted to stretch her pussy with his fist.” Abby pursed her lips in frustration.

  “And did he carry out that act?” Scott asked.

  Abby shook her head to confirm that he hadn’t carried out the intended threat.

  From the reports coming in, it was becoming clear that Freddie Coltrane was a serial sexual deviant and predator. Scott’s assumptions were reinforced when Abby said that Yana mentioned how Freddie’s eyes would light up when he talked about bodies being mutilated. Apparently he loved horror movies that involved blood and gore.

  “Okay, thanks, Abby. We need to pull out all the stops now to either confirm or eliminate Freddie from our enquiries. Raj, I want you to pull up everything you can find on Freddie. Go back as far as his school. Then pull up all his medical records, dental records, bank statements etc. If he’s implicated in any way with Hailey’s death, then we need those answers now, and then we need to find him.”