Haines navigated to the folder and a huge list with thumbnails filled the screen. DC Angel leaned forward and pointed. 'Bingo! That was taken at fourteen minutes past midnight on the day we found her. We know she left her friend's house around midnight. That must have been when she was attacked.'
Haines double-clicked and a vague blob filled the screen. They both squinted but it was fuzzy and indistinct.
'Could be a hand? Those bits at the top could be fingers and these darker bits the gaps in between.'
'Yeah, maybe.' Haines didn't sound convinced.
'I don't suppose there's much clean-up can be done on it?' DC Angel wasn't hopeful either.
'Even if they could, which I doubt, then it wouldn't be admissible in court. What do you think it means?'
'Well, the time of the photo matches with her last known location. So we can suppose she was walking home, some creep attacks her, she whips out her phone to take a picture of him and...' DC Angel paused for a moment, staring into space lost in a thought of how desperate that last moment must have been. 'Well I suppose that escalated things. You know, if the creep was only planning a rape or an assault but then he worries that his photo might be out there. Could be an opportunistic killing.'
'Yeah, that figures.' DCI Haines sounded resigned. 'The crushing to the windpipe could be the result of a forearm being pressed down with full body weight.' He started ticking points off on his fingers. 'So, no weapon brought to the scene, no body dump, she was on her route home. Certainly keeps it all simple enough.'
DC Angel nodded. Simple, depressing, and hard to solve. She went back to the list of files.
'That one is a video and only about a week old.'
He double-clicked and the video filled the screen. Confusingly, it was a film of a mobile phone.
'Now, I'm filming, accept the message.' The disembodied voice of a teenager came out of the computer.
On the screen a finger came in and accepted a message from a sender called "WankyBoi". Now watching a video inside a video, Haines and Angel were horrified to see it was a close up of a male crotch in loose jogging trousers. A hand down the trousers was jiggling up and down in a distinctive motion.
Suddenly the other hand tugged on the waistband and the head of the penis made a sudden appearance, already spurting semen.
'Ewww!' DC Angel leaned back instinctively from the screen. The camera panned up and showed that they were in cafe. All around them people were drinking coffee and eating.
'That's it, I got it.' The voice that floated out of the speakers had to be Mazey Taylor, from beyond the grave. The video on the screen ended.
'That's just gross!' DC Angel covered her mouth.
'That's probable cause, that's what it is.' Haines' voice was tight. 'Why were they videoing it from one phone to another like that? I can't imagine they wanted to share it and if they did, couldn't they just send it from one phone to another?'
'No,' DC Angel shook her head. 'The other phone was running an app called TimeBomb. It means you can send messages, pictures or videos and set a time when they'll delete themselves off the recipient's phone. It's the sort of thing that encourages bullying and the papers are whipping the parents up to have it banned. Mind you something else will replace it. That was probably their only chance, a video like that would have been set to delete once it was viewed. So whoever the boy is he thinks he can't be caught.'
Haines frowned. 'This video was on Mazey's phone? So she had a friend who was sent this message, and before she clicked on it, she got Mazey to record it. It's a good idea to collect evidence, but it might have put her in danger.' DC Angel nodded, noticing the strain as Haines tried to keep up with the new technology. 'So, what we need to do, as well as tracing the man in this video is to find that friend. Again, we'll need to get into Mazey's network of friends. See if anyone else has been sent videos from this joker.'
The last thing DC Angel wanted to do was to see the video again, but she shut her eyes and went back through it in her mind's eye. Something was troubling her. Something other than the content, that was. Her eyes flicked open. 'Play that again.' Haines looked at her questioningly. 'I want to check something.'
They watched the video again in silence. 'Pause it there.' Haines stopped the video just before the waistband was pulled down. 'Look, the left hand pulls down the waistband, the other one is obviously, errm, well, busy. So who's holding the camera? The pan up to the cafe is shaky so it's not on a tripod or anything.'
'Two perverts then. Two suspects.' Haines was grimly satisfied. DC Angel nodded. 'So, I'll make sure you aren't given any work or interruptions for the rest of the afternoon.' He handed over the CD ceremoniously. 'I want that spreadsheet sent over as soon as you can. We need to find these jokers. Off you go.'
DC Angel fetched herself a coffee and settled down with the CD and her computer. She methodically started from the most recent files and worked her way backwards. She restricted herself to the last year as she knew how fast teenagers changed.
Everything she uncovered reinforced her initial appraisal. Mazey Taylor lived an unexceptional life. If she had a problem with a creepy stepdad, jealous ex-boyfriend or stalker, she wasn't talking to her friends about it. While she sorted through the data, she did what had been promised and input all the details on a spreadsheet. Soon she had a picture of who Mazey had spent most of her time talking to. Unfortunately it correlated quite closely with the list that was given to the police by Mazey's mother. No secrets were uncovered but they did know who to interview when they went to school.
Chapter Nine
The situation couldn't have been more awkward for getting the truth out of teenagers. They had been allocated a small work room off a busy corridor. There weren't even sofas and low tables. Haines and Angel were sat behind a table while the students sat in a chair opposite.
The first of Mazey's friends came in. DC Angel checked her list and saw that this was Alice Freeman. She had long dark hair, not tied back but held on either side by combs.
After they'd made small talk for a bit and Alice had started dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief, DC Angel decided to get straight to the point. She looked sideways at Haines and he nodded slightly.
'We've analysed the contents of Mazey's phone and we found a disturbing video. I just wondered if you knew anything about it?'
'Oh, you mean the WankyBoi.' She had, despite the situation, a cheerful voice with round West Country vowels.
'Have you received one too?'
'No, not me. I'm not silly enough to leave all my settings open. But the girls here all get them. When one comes in, we all crowd round and have a look and a laugh at them.' Alice shook her head. 'Sad cases really, doing that in public and sending it to girls. Always figured out you'd catch up to them sooner or later.'
DC Angel was struck by how much Alice viewed the whole situation as normal. Boys sending round videos of themselves masturbating wasn't a big deal in her world. That fact alone made DC Angel angry at how wrong the world had gone.
'Well, we need to find out who they are now.' DCI Haines was stern.
Alice furrowed her brow. 'I never found out. Must be someone around here though, they seem to know all the girls. I reckon they left this place with a few GCSEs, didn't find a job and just hang around doing this.' She stopped to think. 'You know what this place is like though. Someone will know.'
The third person to come in after Alice Freeman was Lisa Short. She revealed that she was the friend who had originally received the video that had been recorded on Mazey's phone.
'So, did you or Mazey show that video to anyone?' DC Angel asked.
'No, I don't think so. She didn't even send it back to me once she'd recorded it.'
'So, what was the point then?' Haines asked.
'She said she wanted a bit of time to think. To work out what to do next. And then...' Lisa dissolved into tears.
DC Angel waited for the sobs to die down. As carefully as she could, she approached the subject. '
Would she have shown it to a teacher maybe? Or someone else who could help?'
'I'm not being nasty, because you seem like someone nice.' Lisa was talking directly to DC Angel now. 'But really, who could help? It's just what happens, you know. It's only a small step up from dick pics isn't it? And nothing ever gets done about that.' Depressingly, DC Angel couldn't think of anything to say to that so the teenager carried on. 'I mean what would you do if there was a man, a sad case at the back of the bus who was knocking one out? You'd probably just sit at the front.'
'You should report it. To the bus driver at least.' DC Angel tried to hold on to her professionalism even though as a woman she felt inclined to agree with Alice.
'What difference would that make? The guy would see you talking to the driver, he'd know who got him thrown off the bus. Unless of course the driver doesn't believe you. Trust me, you just shrug it off and carry on.'
Unable to contend with the teenager's cynicism, Angel decided to change tack. 'So, you don't think Mazey showed anyone the video?'
'I dunno. If she did, she didn't tell me about it.'
'And do you have any idea who was in it, who's responsible?'
'Nah. I know some of my friends want to figure it out. I think that's what Mazey was going to do. Ask around and see if she could find the cafe, work out who they were. But I can't see the point, even if you locked them up, some other saddos will replace them.'
DC Angel just nodded. Then she asked the usual questions about where Lisa had been on Tuesday night and if she knew of anyone who might have had a problem with Mazey. As she had done before, she drew a complete blank.
'Shall we take a break, boss?' They had interviewed seven of Mazey's friends and had learned nothing new. No one was showing a special interest, no one knew who WankyBoi really was. It was a dead end so far.
'We could even knock it on the head,' Haines said. Even he sounded defeated. 'You listed the friends in order of closeness. If we haven't got anything this far down the list, it's unlikely that there's going to be anything to find.'
DC Angel nodded. This murder wasn't turning out to be as quick and easy as it had looked on the surface.
Chapter Ten
Emma had just finished her chores at a large out-of-town shopping centre. She'd visited a huge supermarket and a DIY store and was making her way back to the car. She passed a McDonald's and even while she was off duty, she was always checking out the area, in case there was any threat or something that needed dealing with.
Outside the McDonald's there was a group of teenagers, just hanging around, not causing trouble. She was about to pass by when she recognised a couple of the girls she'd interviewed the day before about Mazey. She had a sudden thought and veered off to chat to them. The last time she'd seen them it had been in the stiffly formal setting of the school. Maybe now, they would be a bit more relaxed, more forthcoming.
'Hey! It's PC Emma!' She would obviously never get over doing the round of PSE lessons that she'd had to do as part of her probation.
'Hi, girls!' She briefly checked them out – there were five of them, mostly sixth formers from the school. She was amazed by how far they were from her with only ten years age difference. 'I know we've talked before about Mazey. But that was a bit formal, you know in school, with my boss there. Is there anything else you want to say now?'
'Yeah, but you're still police though, aren't you?'
'That's true.' Emma nodded. It was written clearly that there was a gap between them, both in age and status. She needed to break the ice. 'Tell you what though.' She got her notebook out and held it out them. 'This what I'll do.' She wrote "Information Received" at the top and underlined it. 'No names, I'm not even going to ask you who you are.'
The girls all looked at each other. One of the five was slightly taller, high cheekbones, straight black hair and bright blue eyes. She was obviously better groomed and dressed than her companions. Subconsciously, the others looked at her and she gave a slight nod, almost imperceptible.
'Okay then,' asked a smaller girl with mousy brown hair, who hadn't been interviewed yesterday. 'What do you want to know?'
'Well, one thing that would really help would be tracking down WankyBoi.' The word felt odd in her mouth and she couldn't hide her disgust.
'One of my friends, didn't come over to sixth form with us,' the mousy girl said. 'She reckons it's her cousin and a couple of his mates.'
'How do you know that?' Emma was making notes.
'Well, it's basic psychology, innit?' This came from a girl with curly blonde hair. 'Why do you think they do it? I mean they could just be, you know, doing this and not sending it to girls. So it's obvious – they want people to know. They probably want to be caught. They probably each boast about it to a couple of mates about what they're doing, and then it spreads. Everyone feels better if they know a secret.'
'Psychology A-level,' one of the other girls said with a knowing look. Emma nodded and resolved to listen to what she had to say.
'So, does this friend's cousin have a name?'
'Errr, it was Katie Smithson who left school in year 11. Her cousin was called Justin or something like that? Sorry I can't be more help.'
'No, it's fine. I can get her details through the school, follow the trail. This really helps. We need to find these boys. You said there were three of them?'
'That's what people say. We all get these messages and compare notes.'
'Anyway, it's probably not them. They're just sad little boys.'
There were nods around the group.
'Besides which if they had killed Mazey, they'd have put a video up by now.'
'No! It would be too much. They'd get arrested straight away.'
There were general nods and agreement around the group.
'Well if it's not them, who else could it be?' Emma asked.
Again there was that look over to the lead girl with the straight black hair and again there was a quick nod.
'What about DCM? He gives all of us the creeps.'
'DCM? What's that?'
'Dark Car Man.' Emma gave another blank look so they carried on talking. 'There's this guy in a dark car, drives around at night. Slows down when he goes past a girl. You can never see who it is. It's a bit spooky.'
'Yeah, my brother always thought it was an urban myth, you know, something to scare people. But one night he was walking home and a car slowed down right next to him. It only drove off when they realised he was a boy.' Emma frowned so the girl continued. 'He's got long hair in a ponytail, so from the back...'
'Right.' Emma was still making notes, but she was using her professional duties to hide her unease. It was a universal fear of women, being targeted when alone and at night. Just because she was trained and a police officer, it didn't make her immune. She was still scared, even in the middle of the day in a public place, talking about it. 'So do you know what make or model this car might be?'
'It's always a family hatchback.'
'Astra.'
'Fiesta.'
'One of those Japanese ones?'
'Hold on, I'll ask my brother. He knows his cars.' There was a pause as the girl whipped out her phone and tapped away. After a moment, she looked up and announced. 'It was a Ford. Like I said, either Focus or Fiesta. Black, dark grey or dark blue.'
'That's not very clear,' Emma said making notes. 'Can he be any more definite on the colour?'
More tapping followed then the girl said. 'No, it was those funny orange street lights. But it was him. Dark Car Man. No doubt.' The other girls nodded. He seemed to be a well-known part of their lives.
Emma realised that her Saturday of sorting out chores was over. She needed to get this information into the office and see if she could track down the mysterious cousin and find the Dark Car Man. Two people to trace.
Haines was sat at his desk on a Saturday. Nothing was going right on this case. Forensics had come back as a blank. The victim wasn't stabbed or cut anywhere so there was little chance of eviden
ce transfer to the perpetrator. Her body had been dragged and dumped in a yard and covered with rubbish bags that had all been taken from the bin next to her. Plenty of opening for a defence lawyer to argue that any transfer was accidental or non-probative.
Some progress had been made, however. The body definitely was that of Mazey Taylor and she had died at some point between eleven pm and two am. She had been killed by strangulation – something had been pressed hard enough across her throat to crush her windpipe.
Preliminary theory was that she was walking home from a friend's house and never got back home. There were surface bruises across her back as if she'd been pinned against a wall or the floor. Presumably she had been killed on the pavement and dragged into the alley.
Thankfully there was another negative in the forensics. There was no sign of sexual assault. Her clothes were disturbed, but no more than you'd expect after a struggle and being dragged down an alley. However reassuring it might be to her parents, this information did mean that another forensic route had been closed down.
Next he'd moved on to the video from WankyBoi. Nothing turned up anywhere on a Google search and because it was a video of a video it was impossible to find the original time or date that it had either been made or sent.
The photo taken around the time of death had been sent off for analysis and this had borne out their initial findings. It was probably a close up of a hand. Which, Haines, thought would explain the viciousness of the attack on the phone. He could imagine a teenager of today being attacked and reaching for their phone to take a picture of her attacker. It was a shame, he thought, that she hadn't chosen to run away or call 999 instead.
DC Angel walked in and took a look around the office. 'It's quiet in here. I thought we were running a murder enquiry. First week should be buzzing.'
Rob Haines stood up from his desk and came over. 'Trouble is the case is all negatives. No forensics, no CCTV, no sexual assault.'
'Surely that's a good thing?'
The Retirement Party Page 5
