by Sally Rigby
‘How are you getting on?’ Whitney asked Ellie, once she’d arrived back.
‘I might have a hit. I’ve been looking through police records and other databases. His name is Cyril West, and he’s got a record as long as your arm for drug offences and other petty crimes. He’s seventy-eight. But there is something else, guv.’ Ellie bit down on her bottom lip.
What was she nervous about telling her?
‘What is it?’ she asked.
Whitney scanned the office and all eyes were in their direction. Did they know what Ellie was about to say?
‘He’s living in Cumberland Court,’ Ellie said.
Whitney’s heart sank. Crap.
‘Isn’t that the place where your mum lives, guv?’ Doug said.
‘Yes, that’s the one. I don’t recognise his name, not that I know many of the residents. How long has he been living there?’
‘About six months.’
‘Show me his photo?’
She leant in to look at the screen on the officer’s desk.
‘Here,’ Ellie said, pulling it up.
She scrutinised the picture. ‘I haven’t seen him, but he might have seen me, though.’
She hoped not, in case there were any repercussions against her mum.
‘I’ll go with you,’ Brian said. ‘Shall we go now?’
‘No, we’ll go tomorrow. That way I have plenty of time to make the necessary arrangements for him to be taken somewhere out of the way to interview, probably his bedroom.’
‘I can’t make it tomorrow,’ Brian said.
‘Why not?’ she asked.
‘I’ve got something on,’ he said, his voice cagey. ‘It’s personal. Surely, we should see him immediately if he’s pivotal to the case. He could be our murderer.’
What was this mysterious personal thing? He knew they were working over the weekend. If he’d wanted time off, he should have asked. Like Frank had.
‘No. This is a very old cold case and I want to keep it low-key. There’s nothing to be gained by rushing in to see West, all guns blazing. We’ll get more out of him if we do the interview in a relaxed, informal way. I also need to be mindful of the fact that he may know my mum. It’s not a problem, Brian. I’ll take George with me instead. Her expertise with his body language will be of great assistance. Does he have any family, Ellie?’
‘A daughter, but she’s in Somerset and doesn’t live close by.’
‘Good. The chances of her being there are minimal, if that. It means he’s not going anywhere, and at this point has no idea that we’re looking for him. With Shaw being in prison, and Nigel Young having no desire to get involved, especially as he didn’t even know the identity of West, I think we’re quite safe to wait until tomorrow. I’ll speak to the super and let her know our plans. Her car’s in the car park so I know she’s here today. Then I’ll contact the home and make the arrangements to visit.’
Chapter 18
Whitney knocked on the door of Clyde’s office.
‘Come in.’
Whitney entered and the super looked up from her desk and smiled. Such a different response from when she used to see Jamieson. She really needed to stop comparing the two. He’d gone, and this was a brand-new relationship. Not to mention, George would have a field day analysing her if she continued.
‘Morning, ma’am.’
‘Sit,’ Clyde said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of her desk. ‘I want to know how the investigation is going.’
‘We’re making good progress and have identified the man who the girls were last seen speaking to. His name is Reginald Shaw, and he’s a drug dealer who’s now in prison, as you are aware. We’ve also learnt that after speaking to Jayne and Anita he spent the afternoon with a Nigel Young, who was a student at the school at the time. He’s now an optometrist working in the city.’
‘Optometrist?’
‘Yes. It seemed he pulled himself together. It transpired that the girls had been selling drugs for Shaw and they left to go to work for another dealer, Cyril West. Young started selling for Shaw in their place. He told us that Shaw was angry about the girls leaving and he’d made threats against them.’
‘Do you think Shaw is responsible for their deaths?’
‘We’re not sure and he denies it, obviously. DS Chapman has been to see his wife, but she’s ill and doesn’t recall much from those days. We’ve also identified this second dealer who’s in a care home in Lenchester. I’m going to see him tomorrow morning with Dr Cavendish.’
Should she mention her mum was there? No. There wasn’t a need to.
‘Excellent. I’m pleased that the case is moving forward. We should—’
A knock at the door interrupted her. It opened before the super could speak, and Whitney turned around to see Dickhead Douglas standing there.
Her stomach dropped.
‘Morning, Helen. I’ve just come in to see …’ He trailed off as he stared at Whitney, the warmth leaving his eyes, his expression going from amiable to one of contempt. ‘I didn’t know you were in here,’ he said to Whitney.
‘Yes, sir. I was discussing my case with the super.’
‘Is there anything I can help you with, sir?’ Clyde said.
‘It will wait. I don’t wish to talk with other people present.’ He turned and headed out of the office.
There was silence for several seconds.
‘Sorry about that,’ Clyde said.
‘It’s fine,’ Whitney said shrugging.
‘It’s not,’ Clyde said in a cold tone.
‘It’s how he always is when we see each other.’ Whitney tried to make light of it. If she didn’t it would drive her crazy and she wasn’t going to let that happen.
‘As I’ve already said, you can rest assured I won’t let him interfere in your career.’
‘Thank you, ma’am.’
‘Before you go, I wanted to ask you something.’
‘Yes, ma’am?’
‘You mentioned during the interview that you were happy staying as a DCI and I’ve been giving it some thought. Is there any reason for this?’
‘Both my mother and brother are in local care homes. In fact, my mum is in the one we’re going to visit tomorrow as she has dementia and needs twenty-four-hour care. My father died many years ago so he isn’t around to help. My brother has irreparable brain damage following an attack on him when he was young by a group of teenagers. He was beaten up badly, and it left him like that.’
And that was her life in a nutshell. Something caught in her throat and she swallowed it down.
‘I’m sorry to hear that, Whitney. It explains why you have stayed at this force for so long, despite who else was here.’
Whitney nodded, assuming she meant Douglas.
‘I’m committed to my work, but I do have them to consider. I also have a daughter, Tiffany, who’s in Australia.’
She hadn’t intended blurting out her whole life history, but it had just happened.
‘How old is she?’
‘Twenty-one. She was at university but decided to take a year out. I’m hoping when she returns, she’ll go back. What about you, ma’am? How are you settling in here at Lenchester?’
‘It’s all going very well, thank you. We have a lovely building here.’
That was debatable.
‘Have your family settled?’
Was that a step too far? She didn’t want to intrude, but she was interested.
‘Yes, thank you. I’ve two teenage boys who are virtually self-sufficient, and they’re away at boarding school, so it made it much easier for me to move over to Lenchester.’
Boarding school. Had Clyde gone there, too? Would she get on well with George?
‘I’d better be going, ma’am. I need to organise the visit to interview West.’
‘You mentioned that it’s the same home your mother is in. Do you see that being an issue?’
‘No, ma’am.’
‘If you’re happy with that, the
n I’ll trust your judgement. Do remember, if there are any issues, or there’s anything you’d like to discuss, come to me and we can speak in confidence. I’m happy to have you in this position. We’re going to make an excellent team.’
‘Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate you saying that.’
She left the room and sauntered down the corridor, smiling. She thought back to her meetings with Jamieson when each time she’d left his office she was tense and wound up. Being with Clyde was a walk in the park.
If it wasn’t for Dickhead, work would be good. But the new super would have her back. She was confident about that.
Chapter 19
‘You’re looking apprehensive,’ George said to Whitney as they sat in the car outside Cumberland Court, the large Edwardian care home where both her mother and Cyril West lived. There were only twenty long-term residents there but as she’d never come across West during her visits, and her mum hadn’t mentioned him, Whitney hoped that they didn’t have anything to do with each other.
She’d timed their visit for late Sunday morning so that the staff would have done all of the usual morning tasks of handing out medication, getting residents up, and giving them breakfast. Lorraine, the manager, had agreed to ensure that West was taken to his room. It meant they could go straight there and reduce the risk of bumping into her mum and having to explain what they were doing there.
She was hoping to have a quick chat with her mum after the interview as she hadn’t seen her for over a week, because of the new team and the case.
‘That’s because I’m hoping West won’t recognise me, in case he takes it out on Mum. I explained to the manager that we’re here on police business and asked her to arrange for West to be taken to his room to wait for us.’
‘What’s she going to tell him?’ George asked.
‘I’ve said not to mention who we are but to keep it vague and say somebody wants to come and visit him. Hopefully he won’t ask too many questions. Although I’m sure she’ll be able to field them. We’ll sign in first and then we’ll go straight to his room which I believe is on the first floor.’
‘How close to your mother’s room is he?’
‘I’m not sure, but to be on the safe side I’ve suggested that they put her in the day room to watch the television. It’s where she usually is at this time of day so it shouldn’t cause any problems. I don’t want her to know we’re here in case I don’t have time to go and see her after West’s interview as it might confuse her.’
‘If you’re worried, why didn’t you let Brian do the interview instead of you?’
‘He wasn’t at the prison when we visited Shaw, so he’d be seeing West without the information we have. As it happens, I did ask him to come with me today, but he had something personal on. It annoyed me, as he hadn’t mentioned wanting the day off in advance.’
‘It must have been important if he couldn’t come with you, as he doesn’t want to get in your bad books.’
‘I have no idea,’ she said, waving her hands. ‘He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask. What with that and the Dickhead incident, yesterday wasn’t a great day.’
‘What incident?’
She had intended to tell George after it all happened, and then remembered her outing with Ross, so had decided not to bother her.
‘I was in with Clyde, and he walked in wanting to speak to her. He didn’t notice me straight away, but you should have seen the look of disdain on his face when he did. He left the room soon after.’
‘What did the superintendent say?’
‘She reminded me that she had my back. Not in those words but that’s what she meant. It remains to be seen whether she has, or whether Douglas will get the better of her. Come on, let’s go in. I can’t interview with thoughts of Douglas in my head.’
Whitney drew in a breath, before she opened the door and stepped out of the car. Once inside the building, she signed them both in and they took the stairs to the first floor and headed down the corridor. When they reached West’s room Whitney tapped gently on the door and opened it.
‘Mr West,’ she said.
‘Yes.’
The elderly man was seated in his wheelchair beside the window, his head slightly bent over. He was bald, apart from a few strands of grey hair around the back of his head, and his skin was sallow. He didn’t look well.
‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Walker and this is Dr Cavendish.’
‘What’s this about? They wouldn’t tell me.’ He stared directly at Whitney, his eyes alert, and at odds with his frail body. ‘I’ve seen you in here before.’
Damn. Exactly what she didn’t want to hear.
‘Yes, I’m here sometimes.’
‘You visit the woman with dementia who sits in the TV room.’
‘That’s correct,’ Whitney said. ‘But that’s not why we’re here to see you. We want to ask you about two girls whose bodies have recently been found. They were murdered in 1980. You might know about it as it’s been on the news recently.’
‘I don’t watch the news or read the paper,’ he said.
She scrutinised him for any deception or lack of understanding, but he seemed perfectly lucid and the muscles around his mouth were relaxed. Was he lying? George would know.
‘How long have you been here?’ she asked.
‘A few months. I had an accident and social services said I couldn’t take care of myself. They made me come here as there was no one to look after me.’
She certainly understood that, as she’d been in the exact situation with her mum and brother.
‘Do you keep in touch with your daughter?’ she asked, remembering that Ellie had mentioned her.
‘I ain’t seen Sissy in years. I don’t even know where she is. It’s just me on my own.’
Whitney knew that Sissy was in Somerset, but it wasn’t for her to tell him. The daughter would have to make contact herself if she wanted to.
‘What accident did you have?’ George asked.
‘Fell down the front steps and bust my leg and arm.’
‘Are you sure you have no idea about the two bodies that were found?’ Whitney asked.
‘I’ve already told you, so stop trying to trip me up.’ He glared at Whitney.
‘The dead girls were Anita Bailey and Jayne Kennedy.’ His eyes flickered. ‘You remember them?’
‘Yes.’ He nodded.
Now they were getting somewhere.
‘We understand they started working for you, selling drugs to school kids,’ Whitney said.
‘Yeah. So what?’ he replied, his voice as calm as if they’d been discussing the weather.
‘And you think that’s okay, do you?’ Whitney snapped, unable to hide her disgust at his behaviour.
She shouldn’t have spoken like that, but his attitude was winding her up. No doubt George would have something to say about her confrontational manner.
‘You’re talking years ago.’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t even think about it.’
‘According to our sources, Anita and Jayne went missing shortly after they started working for you. Didn’t you think that was strange?’ Whitney asked.
‘The papers said they’d run away.’
‘Did you believe it?’ Whitney asked.
‘Why wouldn’t I?’
‘Weren’t you surprised that they just disappeared without telling you?’
‘A bit, but I had other sellers to do their work. It wasn’t like it was a full-time job, or anything.’
Whitney tensed. She could shake the man for his cavalier attitude.
‘When did you last see the girls?’ Whitney asked.
He stared at her, as if she’d asked a ridiculous question. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. It was years ago. I can’t even remember what I have for breakfast every day.’
‘Think about it,’ Whitney pushed.
‘It wasn’t the day they went missing,’ he said.
‘How can you be sure, if you don’t remember exactly?’
‘Because it was in the papers and there were posters everywhere saying the last time they’d been seen, and it made me think that I didn’t see them that day.’
‘The parents didn’t believe the girls had run away and that’s why they put up the posters. What did you think? Did you agree?’
‘No idea.’ He shrugged. ‘What else do you want to know? And make it quick. I need the toilet, and unless you’re going to take me, you’d better call a carer to help.’
Was he telling the truth, or did he just want to get rid of them?
‘The last person who was seen talking to them, other than students and teachers, was Reginald Shaw.’
He turned his nose up. ‘Oh, him.’
‘Yes, and he was the person who told us they’d started working for you.’
‘That sounds like the bastard. Next you’ll be telling me he said I killed them. Did he?’
‘No.’
‘Did he tell you why they started working for me?’
‘You paid them more money?’
‘He’s a liar.’ He leant forward slightly in his chair and gave a raspy cough.
‘What was the truth?’ Whitney said. ‘You tell me.’
‘His stuff was crap and one of the boys at the school died after taking some.’
Whitney and George exchanged a glance. This was new. Was it relevant?
‘Are you sure? This is the first we’ve heard of it.’
‘That’s what the girls told me, and they should know because they were the ones who sold it to the dead kid.’
‘Do you know the name of the student who died?’
‘No.’
She’d get Ellie on to it.
‘How long did the girls work for you?’ Whitney asked.
‘A couple a weeks, at most, before they ran away. Or whatever happened to them. At the start they were working for me and Shaw at the same time.’
‘Did you try to find them after they’d disappeared?’
‘No. Why would I? There was never a shortage of kids who wanted to make some easy money. I got someone else to do their round.’
‘Is there anything else you can tell us? Do you have an alibi for the day the girls went missing?’
