Bitter Edge

by Bitter Edge (retail) (epub)

  ‘Good afternoon, Luke. Merry Christmas,’ Kelly said.

  His eyes narrowed and the lawyer sighed.

  ‘I’ve spoken privately to my client and instructed him to answer none of your questions. We’ll hear the evidence against him now.’

  Bollocks. The guy knew what he was doing. Kelly looked at Emma; she was the one who knew the chronology. Emma shuffled her paperwork and got everything in order. Meanwhile, Kelly listed the drugs offences.

  ‘Possession with intent to supply all classes of drugs.’

  ‘Denied.’

  ‘The amount of profit will hike up the sentence to maximum. When Luke turns eighteen next month, he’ll face fourteen years.’

  Luke shuffled in his seat and went to object. His eyes were like saucers and Kelly could tell that he was coming down off something. The lawyer reached out to still him.

  ‘Bullshit. Today he’s seventeen and a minor. What have you got on profit?’

  Kelly looked at her notes. They’d found around five hundred quid in the car as well as a further two grand in his bedroom.

  ‘Christmas presents,’ the lawyer said.

  ‘When did you start using, Luke?’ Kelly asked the boy.

  ‘Don’t answer,’ the lawyer said.

  ‘Why did you threaten Jenna Fraser with telling her parents?’

  Luke’s mouth fell open. The lawyer stood up. ‘Hold on, what’s this?’

  ‘Did you do the same to Faith?’

  ‘This interview is over.’

  ‘It’s not an interview. I’m charging you, Luke Miles, with possession and intent to supply. Your father can enquire about bail charges, but for the time being, you’ll be moving to a cell. Do I need to read him his rights?’ she asked the lawyer.

  ‘I want some time with my client.’

  ‘Sure, when you’ve heard the other charges. Maybe you need to think about talking, Luke. We know you didn’t organise all of this alone. And we know that both Jenna and Faith knew Danny Stanton. Oh, by the way, your friend Bobby is dead. Knife through the heart, and I don’t think he did it himself. Do you think whoever killed him might come after you next? Any ideas?’

  ‘Don’t answer!’ the lawyer said.

  The sweat on Luke’s forehead ran down into his eyes and he wiped it away. Kelly thought how sad it was for a body so young to be in the grip of such a strong addiction. He was dying right in front of her; maybe not straight away, but it was a statistical inevitability that he’d die prematurely. All his father’s money, all the hope invested from his middle-class roots, all the opportunity bestowed upon him by virtue of being born into his wealthy family: all of it was slowly slipping away.

  Kelly received a phone call, spoke briefly, and hung up.

  ‘Well, merry Christmas. You had MDMA in your bedroom too, Luke, didn’t you? That elevates the charges considerably.’ She turned to the lawyer. ‘For your records, that’s Ecstasy, the one that killed Leah Betts: touchy subject with judges.’

  ‘I’d like to speak to my client before he’s taken down.’

  ‘Taken down? What does that mean?’ Luke spoke for the first time, his voice cracked and terrified. As it should be. Kelly felt sorry for him.

  ‘You’re being incarcerated, Luke. You’ve been formally charged, and until your father can make bail, we’re keeping you here,’ she told him.

  Luke stood up, knocking over the chair. ‘No! I can’t!’

  The lawyer held him. ‘Get a grip, lad. Calm down.’

  Kelly looked at Emma. ‘Detective Hide, be my guest.’

  Glancing briefly at her notes, Emma reeled off dates of communications and presented images from Instagram and Facebook. But the clincher was the proof that Luke had encrypted and hidden up to seven accounts, all linking him with Jenna.

  ‘Did you help Sadie Rawlinson infiltrate Tony Blackman’s computer, Luke? It looks like you’re very gifted in that department. Did you have something against Mr Blackman too?’

  Luke looked at his father’s lawyer and back at Kelly.

  ‘Isn’t it about time you told us what’s going on?’

  He slumped forward and held his head in his hands.

  ‘Is it true that one of your first customers when you became a supplier two years ago was Jake Trent? You threatened him as well, didn’t you, Luke?’

  Luke looked up between his fingers.

  ‘He’s going to kill me,’ he said.

  The lawyer stood up, Kelly looked at Emma, and they all waited.

  ‘Who is going to kill you?’ Kelly asked.

  Chapter 52

  The phone woke Johnny and he struggled to find it, not quite remembering where he was. It was mountain rescue calling, and his heart sank.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Sorry, Johnny, we need you. We’ve got three lads on call attending the Whinlatter site, and we’ve just had another call come in.’

  ‘What’s going on up at Whinlatter?’

  ‘They’re helping secure the entrances to the forest. There’s mountain bikers up there going mad, apparently. Their usual route is barred and they’re having hissy fits.’

  ‘Why? What’s happened?’

  The cycle routes up and down Whinlatter were famous for their risk and unpredictability, as well as, of course, their elevation. The annual Christmas ride was a popular gathering. Johnny had cycled Whinlatter before, many times, and although it wasn’t as tough as Hard Knott, it was a leg-breaker, that was for sure. He could imagine the groups of cyclists turning up, looking forward to the deserted peaks on Christmas Day, only to find their way barred. It must be something important.

  ‘A body’s been found, and it’s chaos up there. A cyclist almost fell on top of it.’

  ‘What?’ Johnny sat up. The blanket fell to the floor and he peered over his shoulder at Josie, who was still on her phone. Wendy was asleep leaning against Ted; Johnny thought they looked contented. If only Kelly could see them. He rubbed his eyes, trying to focus. Like Kelly, he was glad he hadn’t had a drink. Helen in the mountain rescue office continued talking.

  ‘The thaw exposed her. Gossip is it’s the schoolgirl.’

  Johnny put his head in his hand and slowly stood up. His first thought was of Kelly.

  ‘Where do you want me?’

  ‘We’ve had a call from Skiddaw. Someone has taken a tumble on the scree; they fell a couple of hundred feet.’

  ‘How the hell did they do that?’ Skiddaw was like the kindergarten of climbs, path all the way and tame even by English Lakes standards.

  ‘Well they’re giggling like lunatics. There’s at least three of them, and I can’t get any sense out of them. All I know is they’re lost, and one of them has a bone sticking out of the side of his leg, but, and I quote, “we’ve toked him up nice and good, and he’s out of it”.’

  That was all he needed. It happened from time to time; the Lake District attracted romantics and rebels, both of whom seemed to enjoy getting high on the top of a mountain. The problem was that it was fucking dangerous. A group of kids had done the same last New Year’s Eve and almost died on Scafell Pike. It didn’t matter how tame they were, drugs altered minds, and drastically adjusted distance and perception, so that a crevice or drop-off might appear the size of a ditch when it was actually a thousand feet.

  He left the decking and went into the house to tell Josie he had to go out. She nodded and yawned.

  ‘You had a good day?’ he asked.

  ‘Yeah. Look what Leah got, Dad. Isn’t it cool?’ She showed him her phone. He presumed that they all posted their presents online and it saddened him. He looked at the photo. Josie’s friend was sitting on her bedroom floor, surrounded by boxes and bags labelled with famous names. It made his stomach turn.

  He looked at her and almost lost it, saying no, it’s not fucking cool to gloat and pose and show off when some people have fuck all. But he bit his tongue.

  ‘Whatever floats your boat. Personally I like my flip-flops.’

  At least that raise
d a smile, and it was genuine. He couldn’t help think that Josie’s enthusiasm for her friend’s labels was laboured.

  ‘I don’t know how long I’ll be. Stay here?’

  She nodded. She seemed happy to hang out with the old folk, whom she found amusing. Johnny nodded to Ted, who stuck up his thumb.

  ‘Something come up?’ he asked quietly, not wanting to disturb Wendy. Johnny nodded.

  ‘I’ll tell you later. Kelly will probably call you too.’

  Ted looked concerned. It was a while since he’d been on call on days like this.

  Johnny went to Josie to kiss the top of her head, and tucked his phone under his chin, calling Kelly. She confirmed the find.

  ‘Jesus,’ he said.

  ‘I know. We don’t know if it’s her yet, but it’s a female adolescent, and as far as I’m aware, I’ve got no others missing at the moment.’

  ‘Fuck, Kelly, I’m so sorry.’

  ‘I’m going up there now. What are you up to?’

  ‘I’ve got to go up Skiddaw. All the others are busy guarding the area around Whinlatter.’

  ‘Don’t worry, the coppers will have plenty of backup soon, and they’ll be able to relieve you.’

  Johnny looked at Josie before he left, thankful that as far as he could tell she was clean from substances. She didn’t seem to get agitated, apart from the obvious teenage triggers; her skin was clear, and she showed no signs of elevated organ stress. Before Johnny joined mountain rescue, he’d worked in rehab centres around London, counselling and intervening, trying to get as many addicts as possible onto a decent sober programme. Eighty-five per cent relapsed, and plenty of them died. Lots of them were old army buddies, unable to cope with the pedestrian pace of civilian life and the demons in their heads.

  He grabbed his keys and went to the door, glancing back one last time.

  And stopped.

  Wendy wasn’t the right colour. Ted saw the panic in his face and looked down at her, then sat up, holding onto her so she wouldn’t fall. Johnny rushed to them and held his fingers against her neck.

  ‘Josie, call 999!’ he shouted.

  ‘I didn’t feel anything …’ Ted stopped abruptly.

  Johnny listened to Wendy’s airway and heard a slight passage of air, but her pulse was way too low.

  ‘What?’ Josie turned around and took her earphones out.

  ‘Hold her!’ Johnny told Ted, and dialled the emergency services himself.

  ‘Oh my God, what’s wrong with her?’ Josie had begun to realise that all was not well.

  Johnny and Ted laid Wendy gently on the ground, getting her into position so they could administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Both knew they couldn’t do it if she was breathing; they’d kill her. Their eyes met over her limp body, and Ted shook his head.

  ‘Ted?’ Johnny took his arm. He needed him for support, but also for his expert medical knowledge.

  ‘Wendy? Wendy?’ Ted repeated over and over.

  ‘Dad?’ Josie sounded panicked.

  ‘Get a cold flannel,’ Johnny said, just for something for her to do.

  ‘Wendy!’ Ted shouted. Johnny knew they were losing her.

  The ambulance was with them in under seven minutes. Wendy was loaded into it and Ted accompanied her. As Johnny watched it go, he called Kelly but she didn’t answer. He ran to his car. He had to go to the Skiddaw job.

  Chapter 53

  Kelly drove with a heavy heart. It was what she’d dreaded, but expected at the same time. She’d authorised for the family to be told that a body had been found, but that it hadn’t yet been formally identified. She prayed it wasn’t her.

  A crowd had gathered in Braithwaite, and Kelly found it difficult to get through. News had travelled fast, and it looked as though the journos were there already. She saw a van from Sky and realised that Christmas Day was just another day for other bearers of bad news too. A few uniforms struggled to keep a route open and rolled their eyes at her in sympathy as they waved her through.

  The start of the Whinlatter Pass was running with water, and it poured down the road like a river. Kelly wondered if the poor girl had been up here since Sunday, hidden under the snow, ready to reveal her secrets when the weather turned. It made her shudder.

  She parked at the Revelin Moss car park and walked up to the police tape. Stan MacIntyre was on duty; he raised his eyebrows at her, indicating that he’d rather keep his desk job than be in her shoes. A forensic officer was already at the scene. He nodded and gave her some covers for her shoes. Kelly heard flies and shook her head; they were never far away, even if their meal was frozen.

  The thing she saw first was the short top that Colin Shaw had forbidden Faith to wear. The long green jumper that had been found with her backpack, three miles away in the centre of town, had been swapped. It was the kind of detail that was likely to stay with the father beyond all the others. She forced herself to look at the face, and then looked away again.

  She made a quick call to Emma to confirm that it was Faith, then bent down to study the girl, who looked like a doll. Tears sprang to her eyes and she had to turn away for a few seconds to control herself. Faith’s skin was white and her eyes were open. Her gorgeous long brown hair was straggled around her young, sweet face. She was in the foetal position and her trousers and pants were pulled down.

  Kelly bit her lip and anger welled up in her chest. Bastards.

  She mustn’t jump to conclusions until the coroner had had a chance to perform the post-mortem, and she willed herself to be as objective as she possibly could. She had come across frozen bodies before, and she knew that often, before they succumbed to the cold, people in the late stages of hypothermia clawed at their clothes, desperate to take them off. It was called paradoxical undressing, and scientists reckoned that it was to do with the muscles trying urgently to contract to warm the core up, eventually causing fatigue and a surge of hot blood. But she couldn’t get sexual assault out of her head either.

  She knew that the temperature in Whinlatter Forest last Sunday evening had been around minus four degrees: easily cold enough to freeze someone to death. But she wanted to know why Faith had been here. The obvious answer was that her tormentors were still up to their old game of leaving her somewhere alone after tricking her to come with them. She imagined Luke enticing her into his car, and Sadie encouraging her. Kelly felt hot anger flood her gut. Again she willed herself to calm down.

  Faith was only wearing one shoe, a light grey Adidas Cloudfoam: an early Christmas present from her parents. Kelly walked towards a uniform, asking him to help search for the other one. They soon found it. She beckoned the forensic officer, who took photos. Faith would have to be bagged carefully to collect the detritus around her. The likelihood of vital evidence in the immediate vicinity was immense.

  ‘She’s still pretty rock solid,’ the forensic officer said. Kelly knew that this meant Faith would have to be thawed out in a carefully controlled environment at a specific temperature of thirty-eight degrees, to make sure that her extremities didn’t begin to decompose before her internal organs were defrosted. It could take a few days before she was ready to autopsy. She’d have to call Ted, though he’d know soon enough anyway.

  She looked around. The body lay in a shallow ditch not far from the road. Faith could have burrowed there to keep warm once hypothermia was advanced and she’d begun to experience hallucinations and amnesia; if she was still alive at that stage. Kelly’s biggest question was how the girl had died: exposure or murder. She wouldn’t know until Ted got her on his slab.

  Another forensic officer arrived and Kelly agreed that it was time to get the body bagged up. They didn’t want it out here warming up; a process that could allow vital evidence to slip away. She called Ted, but there was no answer. He and Wendy must be asleep, she thought. She envied them, full of Christmas dinner in front of the fire in her lounge.

  She walked back to her car and called Emma again. The Miles family lawyer had been in with his clien
t for over an hour, and had a statement prepared. That was, until the discovery of Faith’s body: they were now in renewed intense negotiations as far as Emma could tell, and the exchange was heated.

  ‘The most important thing is that he won’t want to take the rap for this on his own,’ Kelly said. ‘We need to get him to start giving us some names. Has the CCTV footage come back yet?’

  ‘That’s another thing, guv. It came through to the office email, and I only checked it an hour ago.

  ‘Please give me some good news,’ Kelly said.

  ‘There was a Highways Agency CCTV camera at the A66 roundabout, where traffic turns into Whinlatter. It was disconnected for replacement by a newer model, and sent to be recycled by the DVLA in Swansea.’

  ‘Shit,’ Kelly swore.

  ‘But the images were downloaded onto the Highways Agency computer before it was decommissioned.’

  Kelly held her breath.

  ‘They found it.’

  She closed her eyes, and fist-pumped the air subtly, walking away from the forensic officers as they began to carefully wrap Faith’s hands, feet and head in plastic before lifting her into a black body bag. Moving a frozen corpse was a tricky operation, and Kelly didn’t really want to witness it. Not after getting to know Faith as a living, breathing, beautiful and intelligent young woman with a full life to lead. She still hadn’t accepted her death as real; it would probably take a few days, like it always did. They’d ploughed so much energy into finding her alive. She just wasn’t ready to let that go yet.

  ‘Go on, Emma.’

  ‘We’ve got a positive for Luke’s Hyundai travelling west at 9.17 p.m.’

  A wave of emotion caught in Kelly’s throat and she looked away into the forest. Faith had got into that car willingly, she knew that, perhaps for drugs, perhaps because she was in love with Luke Miles, or perhaps because her friends had said she’d be safe.

  ‘It drives back east at 10 p.m.’

  This was unexpected. It wasn’t a long time to have a party, and it didn’t make sense.

  ‘Can you see the occupants?’