by Jack Slater
‘Good idea. I’ll do that. Then I’m going to see if I can nail down where Lauren went into the river.’
*
Pete saw the tree from some way off with the bright yellow Mini parked beneath it, a strange trailer attached to the back. Beyond it, he could make out the roof of the pub that the little car belonged to and, just this side of it, the narrow junction of a side road on the left. He was travelling north up the A396, a few miles out of Exeter, approaching the little village of Up Exe. As he got closer to the junction, he could see that the trailer on the back of the Mini was made from the front end of another Mini, also painted yellow, and it held a large decorative well with the name of the pub prominently displayed.
He had been here a couple of times with Louise and the kids. He remembered sitting in the garden at the back after a huge meal, feeling stuffed and satisfied while Annie and Tommy raced around, laughing and shouting, scrambling over the slide and the climbing frame as they chased each other happily. He’d looked at Louise, sitting next to him, and thought he was living the perfect life.
And now, Tommy was gone and Louise had barely been out of the house in months. Jesus! Where are you, Tommy?
And what the hell was Simon Phillips doing to find him?
He slowed and made the turn into a lane that was barely wide enough for two cars to pass. The tarmac was pitted, the edges cracked and broken from lack of maintenance. A couple of hundred yards down, a farm-shop notice pointed across to a double-width gateway. As he changed up through the gears, his phone rang abruptly. He slowed the car and pulled out the phone.
‘Hold on a sec.’ He dumped the phone on the passenger seat and flicked on his indicator.
The car dipped and splashed as he turned into the puddled and potholed car park of a farm shop in a big green metal barn. He stopped and picked up the phone.
‘DS Gayle.’
‘Boss, it’s Jane. Nothing useful on Downton Road, but there’s one house we still haven’t managed to catch anyone in yet. I’ve had a word with Chris Mellor though. Seems he split up with Becky a couple of weeks ago. Or at least, she did with him. She accused him of letting his mates see her pictures, which he denies vigorously and, I must admit, convincingly.’
‘So, why did she accuse him?’
‘She reckoned that people saw the photos and made fun of her and the only place they could have seen them was on his phone.’
‘What about on Rosie’s phone? There were some of her in the computer, too. Maybe they shared them?’
‘Possible. We’re never going to know, though, the state her phone’s in.’
‘True.’
‘Maybe someone nicked Chris’ phone and then put it back. They’re not allowed to have them in class.’
‘But he’d keep it in his locker, wouldn’t he? Especially if he knew things like that were on it.’
‘You’d think. So . . .’
‘Look into it a bit further. Find out exactly who saw them and what they’ve got to say about it.’
‘OK. How are you getting on?’
‘I’ve figured out how far Lauren’s body could have travelled in the time she was in the water – a maximum distance, at least. Now, I’m trying to find where she might have been dumped in, within that range.’
‘Good luck with that.’
‘Actually, there’s only about half a dozen possible sites. If I can find the right one, it might give us a lead. A witness, a tyre track, some forensic evidence.’
‘We’ll see you later then.’
‘Yes.’ He ended the call and started the engine. Turning left out of the entrance, he headed downhill, towards the river.
CHAPTER 20
‘What the hell are you trying to pull?’
Pete frowned as Barry Enstone shouted down the phone at him. He caught movement in the corner of his eye as Dick Feeney looked up, hearing Enstone’s voice on the phone from six feet away.
‘You couldn’t pin anything on me, so you set the bloody press on me, is that it?’
Pete had completed his search for dump sites and returned to the station half an hour ago. ‘You’d better tell me what you’re talking about, Mr Enstone.’
‘I’ve just got home from an early shift and there’s a bunch of bloody reporters outside my house, wanting to know if I’m involved in the Rosie Whitlock abduction or the bodies in the river. I didn’t even know there were two bodies in the bloody river.’
‘I’m surprised there’s any left to be at your place, Mr Enstone. Most of them were parked outside the station, here, a little while ago. But, whatever they’ve got, it hasn’t come from me or from anyone else on my team. I can guarantee it.’
‘Yeah, right. Even if it wasn’t you, there’s that Miles bugger and the other one that was with him. I could tell they had it in for me from the off. Especially the one in uniform.’
‘Mr Enstone, they both know better than to pull a trick like you’re suggesting. If I found out about it, they’d be out on their ears and they know it.’
‘Bollocks. They’d get a promotion, I bet. This is harassment, this is. And I haven’t bloody done anything. Christ, they’re knocking on the damn door now! I can’t take this.’
‘Have you told your girlfriend about your past yet, Mr Enstone?’
‘I was going to do it tonight, when she gets home, but with this lot out the front, it’s going to be too bloody late, isn’t it? She’ll find out from them, and then where does that leave me? In the bloody shit, that’s where.’
‘I’ll have someone come round and get rid of them for you when I’ve got a minute.’
‘When you’ve got a minute? When’s that? Next bloody Tuesday? I need these leeches gone, I’m telling you.’
‘Don’t worry, Mr Enstone. We’ll get on to it.’
‘Well, make it soon, yeah? Please.’
‘All right. I’ll have a word.’
Pete ended the call and headed for the door.
He found DCI Silverstone going through some papers. ‘DS Gayle. What can I do for you?’
‘I’ve just had a phone call, sir. From Barry Enstone. He’s one of the three local men currently on the sex-offenders register. We interviewed him yesterday and cleared him of any involvement in the current cases, but it seems like the press have got hold of his name and address from somewhere and they’re camped out in front of his house, asking if he had anything to do with Rosie Whitlock’s disappearance. And we both know they’re not inclined to ask nicely or take no for an answer. One of them was round at my place, earlier. Louise was in a right state by the time they finished.’
Silverstone’s lips were pursed. His gaze had lost focus. ‘Yes. Well. I suppose he’s done his time. He ought to be able to get on with his life unmolested. But, on the other hand, the press is free to come and go as they please. There’s not a lot we can do about it.’
‘They might be free to come and go as they please, but slander and harassment aren’t included in that. Especially when we’ve already established his alibi.’ It was much simpler not to go into the finer detail that they hadn’t actually talked to the person providing the alibi yet, he thought.
‘True. True. But what are we supposed to do about it?’
‘Well, the only thing we can do is go and talk to them. Tell them that we’re on the case and we’ve already established that he’s not involved. We’re narrowing down our suspect list and he’s no longer on it.’
‘And we’re sure about that?’
‘Yes, sir. He’s not involved.’
Silverstone sighed and flopped the folder closed in front of him. ‘All right. I suppose, if anyone’s going to have the authority to make them move on, it’ll be me.’
‘That’s true.’
‘Mmm.’ Silverstone tried to sound reluctant, but Pete knew he was already seeing his mug in the papers yet again, declaring his authority and the competency of his team. He stood up.
‘I’ll leave it with you, then, shall I, sir?’
‘Wh
at? Yes. I’ll need his address, of course.’
‘Send it to your phone, shall I?’
‘Perfect.’
As Pete returned to his desk, he saw Dave Miles watching him and gave him an OK sign with a circled thumb and forefinger. Dave grinned and dropped his head, at least pretending to concentrate on what he was doing.
‘So, how are we doing then?’ Pete asked as he dropped back into his seat.
‘I spoke to Enstone and the other guy on the register – Jeremy Tyler – and got nothing. They both say they’ve been out of the scene since they got sent down, so they don’t know anything of any use. And the blokes at HQ couldn’t do any better. I just spoke to them while you were in with FTP. I’ve still got to get on to CEOP in London, see if they’ve got anything popping in this area.’
‘Do that. I’m going to have a word with Forensics and get them to check a couple of the sites I went to earlier.’
‘Did you find anything useful, boss?’ Jane asked.
‘Well, there are only two places with the necessary access in a remote enough location that our man might have risked it. I couldn’t see any sign of activity at either, but you never know: the boffins might come up with something.’
‘I hope so. I told you I spoke to Chris Mellor, didn’t I?’
Pete nodded.
‘I also took the opportunity to talk to Becky again, while I was there, with the school nurse present as responsible adult.’
‘And?’
‘She confirmed what Mellor said about the pictures and splitting up with him. Reckons they couldn’t have come from anywhere but his phone. Rosie didn’t have them. I pointed out that someone might have borrowed his phone without his knowledge, but I don’t think it helped. It did let me ask about the pictures, though. I asked if her dad knew about them and if he’d ever taken any of her like that, but she reckoned he didn’t and he hadn’t. He was just a normal dad. She said, “I’d just die if he saw them. It would be so embarrassing.” I didn’t like to tell her that we knew he already had those and more.’
Which he claimed to have talked to her about, Pete thought. ‘So, you reckon there’s nothing to the idea of her dad being involved?’
‘I don’t know that I’d go that far, but I’m pretty sure he’s not been abusing her.’
‘Hmm. He might have been abusing her friend though. Mind you, if that were the case, Rosie would have stopped going round there, wouldn’t she?’
‘Depends what he threatened her with, I suppose. Or promised her. She’s a good kid. Kind. Helpful, by all accounts. If he threatened her friend or her family, she might well put up with what he was doing to protect them.’
‘Yes, but he’s got an alibi for when she was taken.’
‘Bit of a shaky one, though, eh? I mean, just because it’s the same make and model of car, male driver about his size, doesn’t mean it was actually him. And if he travels that route every day, he’d know if another, similar vehicle travelled it as well.’
‘Possibly. But how do we find evidence, one way or the other?’
She shook her head. ‘Dunno, boss. I leave the clever stuff to you.’
*
‘Boss, that was CEOP in London.’ Dick put down his phone, grimaced and shook his head. ‘They’ve got nothing in this area.’
‘Well, it was worth a try.’ Pete’s phone rang and he picked it up. ‘DS Gayle speaking.’
‘This is all your bloody fault! You’ve screwed everything up. Everything!’
‘Barry?’ The man sounded distraught. As if he had been crying and could start again at any second. ‘What are you talking about? I acted as soon as I spoke to you. My DCI was coming round in person.’
‘Well, he was too bloody late, wasn’t he? It’s finished. Ruined. She knows and so will the neighbours in the morning. And the blokes at work. I won’t have any work by lunch-time, you wait and see. They’ll find an excuse to get rid of me. What’s the bloody use, eh? It’s all ruined.’ He slammed the phone down.
‘Shit.’ Pete put the phone down and reached for his notebook, flipped it open, searching for Enstone’s number.
‘What’s up with Enstone?’ Dave asked.
‘Apparently, our beloved leader’s bedside manner needs further refinement,’ Pete said dryly. He found the number, picked up the phone again and dialled. It rang and rang, but the man clearly wasn’t going to answer. Pete let it ring until the automatic voice cut in: ‘The number you have dialled is not available. Please try again later.’
Well, if he wasn’t going to answer, there was more than enough else to do. He put the phone down. He would leave it a while. Maybe Enstone would calm down a bit in the meantime.
Jane stood up and took her coat from the back of her chair. ‘I’m off to the airport,’ she said. ‘Airparks reckoned they’d have the extra CCTV footage ready for half past five and I don’t want to get caught in the traffic both ways.’
‘What about the antique place?’ Pete asked.
‘They won’t have theirs ready until tomorrow sometime. But I thought at least I could get a start on the Airparks stuff. Might not need the other lot.’
‘Fair enough.’
Jane headed for the door and Pete noticed Dave Miles staring at him. ‘What is it, Dave?’
‘I was thinking, boss. Like you said before, you don’t go from looking at dirty pictures on the computer to murder in a single step unless it’s a mistake or a panic reaction. And you don’t get two of those in three weeks. So this guy must have been doing stuff for a while that we’d surely have picked up on. Unless he’s just moved into the area, and then there’d be a record of him wherever he moved from.’
‘Right. So, we need to check the national database for offenders that match this guy’s MO, then see which, if any, of them have been planning to move down here.’
Dave nodded.
‘You’ve just given yourself a bloody big job, then, Dave.’
Dave looked horrified. ‘There’ll be bloody dozens of them.’
‘Make an overall list, then we’ll get some extra manpower on it, divide it up and check with the relevant police forces and parole offices. But we need to get a move on. There’s no telling what Rosie’s going through right now. Or how long we’ve got until she follows Lauren Carter and Mandy Kernick into the Exe.’
CHAPTER 21
‘Hello.’
Louise looked up as he entered the sitting room. She was dressed in fresh sweatpants and T-shirt and she had washed her hair.
Her expression did not change as her brown eyes slid across his and away to the TV, a game show playing with the sound turned down. ‘So, this is it, then, eh? Straight back into the twelve- and fourteen-hour days. Whatever happened to easing back in gently?’
Shit. Already? he thought. ‘Two young girls are dead and another one’s missing, that’s what happened,’ he said, trying to sound reasonable, rather than irritated. ‘We need to find the bastard who’s doing it before any more have to die. Then I can ease back on the hours. Don’t you think I want to? You think I like being away from you and—’ he stopped himself before he could say what he was about to – the kids ‘—you and Annie all this time? I’d much rather be here, believe it or not.’
She sighed. ‘I know. It’s just . . . why’s it got to be you? Why can’t someone else be doing this? Jim or Mark or Simon? Or Colin Underhill? They’re all as qualified as you are, as capable as you are, or supposed to be. Why do you have to take on a job like this, right off the bat?’
‘Because this isn’t the only case that’s going on right now. That’s why they needed me back, remember.’
‘It never is, though, is it? Never will be.’
He shook his head. ‘Police and nurses – two professions that will always be needed and there’ll never be enough of.’
She smiled and he caught a glimpse of the old Louise – the Louise from before Tommy went missing. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be carrying on like this. I know you’re doing your best. And that you
did your best over Tommy. With the rules as they are, and a self-centred prick like Silverstone in charge, there was nothing more you could have done without putting your job on the line. I just can’t help it sometimes. It gets all bottled up inside me – all the hurt and anger and grief and God-knows-what-else – and it has to come out somehow or I’d just explode. And there you are, in the way of it, like a bloke standing too close to a ladder when the window cleaner drops his bucket.’
He sat and reached for her hand. ‘I’ve spent too much time at work for way too long. I know that. I get caught up in the chase. Once we get this bloke, I will ease back though. I promise. I’ll try to be a better husband. A better dad. To be here when I’m needed, instead of out on a case – like I should have been the night Tommy was taken. If I’d been there when I was supposed to be instead of twenty minutes late . . .’ His throat clogged and his head dropped forward as the guilt overwhelmed him.
He felt Louise put her other hand over his. ‘It wasn’t your fault, Pete. You can’t say that.’
I can think it though. And know it’s true. His jaw clenched as he fought the emotions welling up inside him. He couldn’t break down now. He had to stay in control. Stay strong for Louise, for Annie and for Rosie Whitlock. He was no use to any of them in a blubbering mess. He had to find Rosie and get her back to her parents. Knowing, as he did, what they were going through, he could not let them down. Even while he knew he needed to be at home more, with Annie and Louise, he still had to find Rosie.
*
‘Well, I’ve got the list.’ Dave waved a wad of paper nearly half an inch thick in the air as Pete walked back into the squad room little more than an hour after he’d left.
‘Give me half and we’ll make a start.’
‘OK. You asked for it.’ Dave slipped a fingernail into the top corner of the stack and lifted off a section. ‘Here you go.’
Pete leaned over and took it from him. He was halfway back into his seat when his phone rang. He dumped the papers on his desk and picked it up. ‘DS Gayle, CID.’
