by Liz Mistry
Shaking her head, Jessica sniffed and rubbed her nose with a bunched up tissue. ‘No need for that.’
Gus nodded. ‘You can start when you’re ready, Jessica, okay?’
Jessica swallowed and then, hands clasped in her lap, she stared to the left of Gus shoulder as she began to talk.
‘It was dark, you know, and raining. It felt like it’d been raining for weeks. I knew Trixie was up to something. She’d changed, you see. Didn’t spend as much time with me. Oh, I knew she was Bazza’s pet but it weren’t that. No, there was summat else going on. I wondered if she were using again.’ Jess looked at Gus, her face earnest. ‘I’d worked so hard to get her off the drugs. I’d stayed with her for weeks at The Prossie Palace and we’d done it together.’ She sniffed. ‘I were so proud of her. She was so strong. I never blamed her for using drugs.’ Jessica yanked her fingers through her hair pulling out long greasy strands in her anguish.
Gus waited and in due course she continued. ‘Her bastard of a step-dad raped her, you know? She were only ten and he kept on doing it. Then, when her brother were old enough, he made him do it to her too. Then his friends and then folk down the pub and punters and strangers. When she finally got away and came to Bradford she was broken. Not surprising she got hooked. That’s what the likes of Bazza does. They get them hooked and then put them out to work. Fucking animals, the lot of them.’
She lifted her fingers to her mouth and began gnawing at her cuticles. Speckles of blood oozed around the nail, but she kept on nibbling, as if she couldn’t feel it. Gus wanted to put his hand over hers and stop her but he knew that if he did, if he showed any sympathy, she might not be able to go through with it.
At last she pulled the sleeves of her jumper down and covered her hands completely. Gus wondered if this was a technique she’d taught herself.
‘When I met her she were hooked. She was so young and I was angry. Bazza swore he hadn’t got her hooked but, you can’t trust him. Trixie said it weren’t him either. Said it was some Scottish bloke from Leeds. Anyway, I took her in and I got her clean. We made plans, me and Trix. We were going to get away from all this. Go to Spain or somewhere hot, but not Italy. Not with all them earthquakes.’
‘Did you know her real name, Jessica?’
Jess glared at him, ‘Why? So that bastard can come to her funeral? Don’t fucking think so.’
‘No, so that bastard can be locked up once and for all. So he can’t do what he did to Trixie, to other girls. That’s why.’
Jessica looked at Gus, then her mouth curled downwards. ‘Don’t fuckin trust ya.’
Gus shrugged, but said nothing. Jessica hadn’t had much cause to trust the men in her life.
She leaned back in her chair and Gus mimicked her. He knew mimicking other’s body language struck a chord with them. Made them more likely to trust you.
‘Anyway, we were best mates, me and Trix.’ She grinned. ‘We had such a laugh. She was so funny, so alive so real.’
She started to sob. Gus plucked a tissue from the box and placed it in her hand. He lowered his voice. ‘You were more than friends, though, weren’t you, Jess?’
The girl’s shoulders stilled and for a moment she remained silent then she sat up and rubbed her face dry. Gus sat up too and held her gaze. At last her shoulders fell and she said, ‘Yeah, she were my girlfriend. We didn’t tell the other girls. Didn’t want them calling us dirty lesbos or owt. It was our secret.’
Gus nodded. ‘So, what went wrong, Jess?’
She closed her eyes and stayed silent for a long time. When she spoke again her words erupted from her like cold shards of ice. ‘Shahid! That’s what fuckin went wrong.’
Her hands clenched and unclenched in her lap and her eyes blazed. ‘He took her away from me. He bought her things, made her promises I couldn’t make and he took her away from me!’
Tears flooded her face but Gus didn’t think she even noticed.
‘I knew summat was up so I followed her. She should’ve been with Bazza. It was his night but I heard her telling him she were on the rag. I knew she weren’t so I followed her. I thought she were meeting a dealer or summat. I only wanted to stop her doing drugs again.’
She looked at Gus so beseechingly that he smiled and said, ‘I know that, Jess. I know you only wanted to help Trixie. You loved her.’
She nodded. ‘Yeah, I loved her. All I wanted was to help her. But, when I got to the allotments, she were with a punter. Well, that’s what I thought at first. I could hear them you see. I thought she were trying to make some extra money for us to escape, you know. Behind Bazza’s back like. But then, after they’d finished, I heard them talking. I walked closer and I could see it were Shahid. I listened. They were planning to get married. She said they were having a baby. She said she loved him and that she’d sort it out with me. But how could she ever sort that out with me? He killed my mum and now he were taking Trixie away from me too.’
Gus and Sampson exchanged a glance as she went on, ‘I waited till he’d gone and then I went over to her. She weren’t expecting to see me, she kept glancing round like she were nervous or summat. I don’t know what happened. Next minute she was on the floor and I was on top of her my scarf round her neck and I were pulling and pulling so tight her eyes were bulging. Then, I stopped. But she wouldn’t move. She were all floppy and I didn’t know what to do. I panicked, so I stood up and there, by the bushes, was an empty wine bottle. I broke it against the fence and then I shoved it up her fanny like what happened to them other girls and then I grabbed her phone and smashed it and then I phoned you lot with my phone.’
Gus felt as exhausted as Jessica looked. It must have been sheer hell for her to carry the guilt of what she’d done to Trixie on her own. He knew what it was like to carry the burden of guilt. He leaned across the table and squeezed Jessica’s hand. ‘You did good Jessica, you did good.’
Then, standing up he walked round and knelt beside her. ‘You know I have to charge you now, Jessica?’
She nodded. Gus formally recited the charges. Then, with one last look at her, he turned to leave the room. As he reached the door, Jessica said, ‘Wait!’
He turned and met her eye. ‘Dawn Jones.’
Gus nodded. ‘Thanks, Jessica. You did the right thing. I won’t let you or Trixie down on this one.’
As soon as he was out of the room he got Compo to run the name through missing persons. He maybe couldn’t do anything for Alice or Sadia right now, but maybe he could do something for Dawn ‘Trixie’ Jones.
Chapter 88
11:15 The Fort
This was proving to be the longest morning in all of history. The lack of news from the hospital was wearing the team down. Even Compo was more subdued than usual and Sampson, though professional as always, looked wan. They hadn’t seen Brighton and that seemed to suit them all. Gus’ parents had taken over Alice’s parents’ vigil for a few hours that morning and, although they knew he was busy, he could tell they were disappointed that he hadn’t made the time to visit Alice. As soon as he’d dealt with Shahid Khan and the email from DCS Hussain, Gus was going to take Compo and Sampson with him to see Alice. He put the thought that he was using them for moral support to the back of his mind.
He hadn’t intended for Shahid Khan and Jessica’s paths to cross but, a delay with the duty solicitor resulted in Jessica being moved back to the cells at the same time as her half-brother was being escorted to interview room two. Gus felt Shahid tense when he saw Jessica, head down, shuffling along the corridor. The panic in his voice was obvious, when he called out to her. ‘Jess, what are you doing here? You hear me? Don’t you say owt to them. Keep schtum.’ He pulled against the uniformed officer trying to squirm round to yell after Jessica. ‘Jess, I mean it! Keep quiet, okay?’
Watching the interplay with interest, Gus saw Jessica’s eyes dart to her brother and then away again. Her shoulders seemed to slump even more as she walked on in silence. Gus felt sorry for the girl. She’d had a shit awf
ul life and now her future didn’t look too rosy either. He knew Sadia would be gutted when she heard what had happened but, for now, he was more interested in Shahid’s reaction.
Shahid had been cautioned on various weapons charges and on breaking and entering. As the damage inflicted by Shahid had been done in self-defence and as Serafina was pressing charges against both Anastazy and her father, it looked like Shahid would get off with a caution. So far none of the weapons could be linked to Shahid and, in his first statement, he’d said that he, Jai and Bazza’s men had entered the building unarmed and had picked up the weapons inside the building. Serafina corroborated their story and Gus and Sampson had arrived too late to refute that. Gus had decided to ‘forget’ the gunshot used to gain entry to the building in the first place. After all, he did owe Shahid Khan his life and maybe there was something to be said about ‘better the devil you know’. Besides, he couldn’t see which of the men had actually used the gun and there had been enough residue flying about to make it an academic question anyway.
Khan had also hired a hot-shot lawyer who, as Gus knew from past experience, could wangle his way out of most things. He didn’t hold out much hope of getting Shahid banged up but, then again, he was more than happy to have so many testimonies against Anastazy and Mathias Nadratowski, AKA The Old Man. At least there’d be some justice for the Camilla and Starlight families even if they were extradited back to Poland for their crimes there. He knew they’d be spending a long time in prison.
Shahid’s lawyer was waiting for him in the interview room so Gus went into the observation suite and watched with interest. Although there was no sound, Gus could see that Shahid was agitated. He stalked up and down the enclosed space, running his hands through his hair and was clearly disagreeing with his solicitor about something. Gus had a sneaky feeling it was to do with Jessica, rather than the current charges against him.
He turned to Sampson, who was also watching the scene in the interview room. ‘Brace yourself. This is going to be interesting.’
The pair of them walked round to the room. As soon as they entered, Shahid whirled round, eyes flashing. ‘What the fuck’s Jess doing here?’
His solicitor reached out to touch his arm but Shahid pulled away. ‘Leave me alone, for fuck’s sake, okay?’
Raising his eyebrow, Gus pulled out a chair and sat down without replying. Leaning back, he folded his arms across his chest and studied Shahid who paced the room like a caged animal. Sampson followed Gus’ lead and took the chair beside him. Shahid’s lawyer darted glances between Gus and Shahid, whose breathing was growing heavier as he paced.
Without warning, Shahid spun on his heel and slammed both palms down on the table, making the lawyer’s bottled water shake precariously then fall onto its side and roll off the table, landing on the floor with a bump. Shahid towered over Gus, his eyes flashing. ‘You fucking going to tell me what’s going on with Jess?’
Gus, without flinching, maintained eye contact with Shahid, whilst the solicitor scrabbled on the floor for the bottle. ‘You need to sit down, Shahid,’ said Gus.
Shahid glared at him for a moment more and then pushed himself away from the table, flopping into the chair opposite Gus. His solicitor, looking flushed and with a sheen of sweat along his top lip sat next to Shahid. Gus noticed with amusement that the solicitor angled his chair away from Shahid, as if to avoid being in the line of fire.
Gus nodded to Sampson, who started the recording and introduced those present. He looked at Shahid, who now sat shoulders hunched over, his elbows resting on his thighs his hands tightly linked. Gus could feel the tension radiating from him and wondered how best to capitalise on it. Keeping his voice low and calm, he said, ‘You seem upset, Shahid? Care to share what’s bothering you?’
Shahid’s head jerked up and he began wringing his hands. ‘I’ve told you what’s up. I want to know what Jess is doing here.’
Gus bit his lip and shrugged. ‘’Fraid I can’t talk to you about Jessica, Shahid. Confidentiality, you know? Anyway, we’re not here to talk about your half-sister. We’re here to talk about what happened at the Pakeezah warehouse.’
Shahid slammed his hand on the table again. ‘Fuck that!’
Gus, head on one side, studied Shahid. ‘You know, if you don’t calm down, I could add “threatening behaviour towards a police officer” to the charges against you.’
His solicitor, finally manning up, cleared his throat. ‘No, no, Inspector McGuire, my client is understandably concerned about the welfare of his sister. It’s been a very stressful few days with extenuating circumstances. After all, he’s recently lost his fiancée, his brother is still in hospital after a vicious knifing and his business premises were the subject of an arson attack. On top of this, he had the trauma of rescuing Serafina Nadratowski only last night. I’d say these circumstances are enough for you to cut my client some slack.’
Gus nodded and smiled. ‘Okay, I’ll do that, providing Shahid allows me to continue with this interview with no more aggressive outbursts.’
Hearing Shahid’s sharp intake of breath, Gus turned to him. ‘Okay, Shahid?’
As his solicitor began to speak, Shahid waved him to silence. ‘Shut up! Let me think, for fuck’s sake.’ Resting his head in his hands, he sat immobile for a few minutes and then, lifting his head, he looked at Gus. ‘I want to confess to Trixie’s murder.’
Lips pursed, Gus nodded, but before he could reply, Shahid’s solicitor interjected. ‘I want to speak to my client in private.’
This was a turn-up for the books. Two confessions for the same murder in one day. Could things get any more complicated? Gus pushed his chair back, but Shahid turned to his solicitor. ‘I don’t want your advice, okay? Just sit there and shut up. Don’t worry, you’ll still get paid for your time but I want to confess.’
The solicitor started to argue but, at Shahid’s glare, the man subsided in his chair with his notepad before him. ‘As you wish,’ he muttered, under his breath.
Gus sat back down with an exaggerated sigh. ‘So, you killed your fiancée and, in so doing, also your unborn child?’
Shahid flinched, but held Gus’ stare, stating in a firm voice, ‘yes, that’s right.’
Gus nodded and rubbed his chin. He needed to be very careful here. If he ballsed this up, he could be looking at weeks of delay in sorting out Trixie’s murder. Finally, happy with his plan of action, he said, ‘Okay, Shahid, but what I don’t get is why you folded her tights up and placed them so carefully on her chest after you strangled her.’
Shahid swallowed. ‘Just did, that’s all.’
Gus leaned back, placing his hands behind his head and sighed. ‘So, you admit to killing Trixie by strangling her with her tights.’
Shahid frowned and glanced at Sampson, who maintained a neutral expression. ‘Yes! Fuck! I’ve already told you that, haven’t I?’
Gus propelled his chair back until he was balancing on the back legs. He knew exactly what Shahid was doing and he admired him for it. In his own way, Shahid had tried to look out for his sister over the years, despite her hatred of him. ‘Didn’t you think that biting her neck and thighs was just overkill, Shahid? Especially after you rammed that broken bottle inside her, ripping her to shreds.’
Jumping up, Shahid grabbed the bin from the corner of the room and retched into it.
Gus went over to him, handing him a tissue and waited until the other man had finished before taking the bin and handing it to the officer waiting outside the room. ‘You no more killed Trixie than I did, Shahid.’
Shahid, tears streaming down his face, allowed Gus to guide him back to his chair. When he was sitting down, Gus began to speak. ‘Look, I know you want to watch out for Jessica. I know you feel she’s your responsibility but, you can’t do this, Shahid. You just can’t, okay?’
Shahid sniffed and then wiping his cheeks dry, he looked at Gus. ‘Did Jess do those things to her?’
Gus shook his head. ‘No, Shahid. She didn’t b
ite her, nor did she rip her to shreds, but she did kill her.’
Shahid sniffed. ‘Because of me… because of us.’
Gus nodded.
‘I thought she’d come round, you know? Thought she’d get used to it and maybe even move in with us. She were Trixie’s best mate you know? They were so close. Trixie didn’t want to hurt her. That’s why we kept it secret.’ He shrugged. ‘Jess could never accept that I didn’t kill her mum… and now it’s too fucking late. That bastard Hussain, he did it, and now he’s beyond justice and we’re all still here suffering.’
Gus leaned across the table, ‘Look Shahid, I know right now it doesn’t seem like much, but, at least, now, Jess knows you weren’t responsible for her mum’s death. Who knows, maybe in time you’ll be able to see her. Do you think you’ll be able to forgive her, maybe not now, but sometime in the future?’
‘Maybe… but not right now.’
Gus looked at Shahid’s solicitor. ‘We’ll suspend this interview for today. I think your client needs some time to come to terms with everything.’
Chapter 89
13:35 Bradford Royal Infirmary
If he never had to see a hospital again it would be too bloody soon. Gus was grateful to be there with Compo and Sampson but he was also as guilty as hell. As they climbed the stairs, Gus was aware that their steps had slowed to a near crawl. They hadn’t spoken about what had happened to Alice… not really. They were too scared to put their fears into words, Gus reckoned. He knew he was, anyway. She’d survived the emergency surgery the previous night and was holding her own. The next twenty-four hours would be critical.
Being here, yet again, in the critical care unit was torture for Gus and the emotional pain was worse because it was Alice in there now, fighting for her life. As he approached her room, Gus could easily have run away. In fact, had Sampson and Compo not been with him, he probably would have. They held back, allowing him to approach the small window first. As he looked inside, all he could think was that Alice appeared to have shrunk. Under the sheet with monitors all around she looked tiny. Her parents sat, one on either side of the bed, their hands touching her arm as if they couldn’t bear to let her go.
