by Sally Rigby
‘Yes, please,’ Whitney said.
‘Me too,’ Brian added.
Once Mrs Payne left the room, Whitney took a sip of coffee. It was instant but she could live with that, it was the caffeine she needed. The cake was exceptionally light and delicious.
‘During your investigation did you come across a boy, Justin Robertson, who’d died from a reaction to a drug he’d taken a few weeks before?’ Whitney asked.
He frowned. ‘No, I don’t recall that we did. Why is this relevant?’
‘From our enquiries we’ve learnt that Anita and Jayne sold this particular drug to him.’
‘Nothing like that came up in our investigation but, as I’ve already told you, we weren’t aware of what they were doing.’
Whitney drew in a breath as she prepared herself to make life a little uncomfortable for the retired inspector. ‘We’ve spoken to one of the students from St Paul’s who saw the girls at lunchtime on the day they disappeared outside the school gate talking to a drug dealer. He was quite well-known in the area and had distinguishing tattoos, in particular an eagle on his neck. Did you investigate that?’
The inspector shifted awkwardly in the chair and glanced upwards and to the side. Whitney went on alert. She’d learnt from George that behaviour like that could mean someone was about to make up a story.
‘As I recall, I’m not sure we did. Most likely it would have been because the girls didn’t disappear until the afternoon so they’d been seen in school after their meeting with this man. My team isn’t coming across well, but because we’d assumed they’d run away, we didn’t look into what they were doing prior to their last sighting. They were in class during the afternoon only missing the last lesson, if I remember correctly. Obviously, it’s many years ago and it’s hard to know exactly, but I think I’m correct.’
Everything he said all seemed a little rehearsed. Had he been planning his response once he’d seen about the girls on the news, to cover his back, because of how crap his investigation had been?
‘Is there anything you can think of that might help us with the investigation?’ She leant forward and made eye contact.
He shook his head. ‘I’ve told you everything I remember. Obviously, now we know they were murdered it changes everything but, unfortunately, nothing pointed to that at the time. I’m very sorry not to be of more use.’
She wasn’t prepared to hang him out to dry as it wouldn’t do any good in respect of them solving the crime. If he was anything like her, he’d be feeling mortified about having stuffed up so badly. But … if something untoward had happened and she found out about it, she’d be back.
‘You’ve helped us get it straight in our minds so thank you very much for that,’ Whitney said.
They finished their coffee and cake and left. They headed down the short path and got back into Brian’s car.
‘Well. What do you think?’ she asked him.
‘For someone who can’t remember anything from all those years ago, he certainly seemed to be remembering a lot, apart from why he thought the girls had run away in the past. I reckon he made that up so his investigation didn’t look so bad.’
‘My sentiments exactly. Call it gut instinct, or whatever, as long as you don’t mention it to George, but nothing sits right. We need to look into the original investigation again and see what else we can find.’
Chapter 24
‘Have you mentioned our holiday to your folks yet?’ Ross asked George after they’d finished their meal and were sitting at her kitchen table talking.
‘There’s no need because we’re going away after Christmas.’ She picked up their plates and walked over to the sink, placing them on the side. She’d do the clearing up later.
‘Are you still planning to see them on Christmas Day for lunch?’
‘Yes, of course. It’s a regular engagement. You can come with me if you wish although I don’t recommend it.’ It was bad enough that she had to endure the family Christmas lunch, but there was no need to inflict it on him.
‘In that case, if you don’t mind, I’m going to do the same as last year and spend it with my family. When will you be back?’
‘I’ll drive home late afternoon, early evening Christmas Day. I’ll only have one glass of wine with my lunch, so driving won’t be a problem.’ She filled the kettle and took out two mugs to make them some herbal tea.
‘Why don’t you come and spend some time with my family once you’re back, you could come over on Boxing Day. I know they’d love to see you.’
‘Thank you for the invite but last year I spent the day with Whitney, and I may do the same again. She hasn’t mentioned what she wants to do yet, but if she’s going to be on her own, I want to spend the time with her. You can come along later.’
‘That sounds good. Umm …’ He hesitated. ‘There is something else I’d like to speak to you about.’
She tensed. Was this heading where she thought it might be? Or was she just imagining it to be like the last time when he’d proposed and asked her to live with him? Only this time, she was more prepared.
‘What is it?’
‘I wondered—’
A knock at the door interrupted them. She glanced at her watch. It was seven-thirty and she wasn’t expecting a visitor.
‘I don’t know who that is,’ she said as she headed out of the kitchen and to the front door.
Standing on the doorstep was Whitney with a bottle of wine in her hand.
‘I hope you don’t mind me calling round on the off-chance. I wanted to speak to you about the interview with Malcolm Payne. I’d like your opinion, as an outsider.’
‘Ross is here.’
Whitney’s face fell. ‘I thought I recognised the car parked in the street. Don’t worry, I can go, we’ll discuss it another time.’
‘You don’t have to leave. I’m sure Ross will be pleased to see you.’
They headed into the kitchen and Ross stood.
‘Hi,’ Whitney said, heading over and giving him a hug.
George wasn’t envious of Whitney’s open displays of affection, but she sometimes mulled over in her mind what it must feel like to be like that.
‘I didn’t know we were expecting guests,’ Ross said, smiling.
‘Neither did George,’ Whitney said. ‘I wanted to have a quick catch-up with her about developments on a case we’re working on.’
‘Over a few glasses of wine, no doubt,’ he said, nodding at the bottle she was holding.
‘Well, yes, there is that, too. You don’t mind, do you?’
‘No, of course not. I can go if you want to talk?’
‘Don’t be daft,’ Whitney said. ‘You can’t leave because of me, I’d feel awful.’
‘Why don’t you two stay in the kitchen, and I’ll go into the lounge and watch the telly.’ He picked up his glass of wine from the table and headed towards the door.
‘Are you really sure you don’t mind?’ Whitney said.
‘It means I can watch the match. Leicester are playing Villa and George hates football.’
‘Do you?’ Whitney said, turning to George. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘Why would you, we’ve never discussed it?’
‘True. I don’t watch as much as I used to when my dad was alive. Match of the Day on a Saturday night was our treat. Mum was like you and not interested, unless it was something big like the cup final.’
‘So, that’s decided then,’ Ross said as he headed out of the room, leaving them to it.
Whitney gave George the bottle of wine she’d been holding. ‘I know you’re going to say it needs to be chilled first, even though it did come from the fridge at the supermarket.’
‘You’re correct. I’ll put it in the fridge. Have a glass of this instead, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.’ She poured a glass of red from the bottle they’d been drinking during their dinner and handed it to Whitney, who took a sip.
‘Mmm. This is nice.’
‘It’s my prefe
rred choice when we have lamb.’
‘Now you tell me. If I’d known you were cooking, I’d have been here earlier. I had to stop for a burger on the way.’ Whitney pulled out a chair and sat at the table. ‘I won’t keep you long, it’s not fair on Ross, although now he’s watching the match, he probably won’t notice how long we take.’
‘He understands about us having to work.’ George sat opposite and had a sip of her wine. ‘But …’ She grimaced.
‘What? Has something happened?’ Whitney leant forward slightly, concern showing in her eyes.
‘Not exactly … Ross was about to ask me a question when you arrived, and I suspect it might be to do with our relationship.’
Witney’s hand shot up to her mouth. ‘Oh, no, I’m really sorry. I’ll go. That’s far more important.’
‘No.’ George said, waving her hand. ‘I want you to stay. It was perfect timing, to be honest because I still haven’t worked out how I feel about our future together and don’t wish to be rushed into making a decision I might regret.’
‘Like before, you mean?’ Whitney asked, arching an eyebrow.
‘I admit that last time I might have made a mistake,’ George agreed, nodding.
‘You think?’ Whitney raised her eyebrows. ‘Well, you know my view.’
‘Yes, I do. You’ve never held back in expressing it,’ she said. ‘We were also talking about Christmas. We’re going skiing on the twenty-seventh, but I wondered if you’d like me to come around again on Boxing Day like we did last year.’
‘Yes, that would be lovely. We can go and see Mum and Rob? I keep hoping Tiffany will appear so she can spend it with us, but the longer it goes on the less likely it’s going to be. Although she has been very evasive when I discuss Christmas so, you never know, she might be planning a surprise. She’d love to see you on Boxing Day if she is here.’
‘Ross may join us as well in the evening if you don’t mind.’
‘The more the merrier. You’ll need some excitement after the trip to your parents for the annual Christmas lunch torture.’
Torture was the perfect way to describe it.
‘Tell me about your interview with the retired inspector.’
‘Malcolm Payne had an answer for everything and appeared too well prepared not to have known in advance that we would be calling on him. I also believe he might have lied to us about the girls having previously run away.’
‘What was Brian’s perspective on all of this?’
‘He agreed with me that something wasn’t sitting right. It was good to have him there and I’m getting used to his ways, even if they are different from Matt’s. I just have to put to one side his relationship with Dickhead. I’m doing your compartmentalising stuff.’
‘I’m glad to hear it. Are you sure about him knowing in advance? Couldn’t he have guessed once he saw on the news about the girls’ bodies being found?’
‘Yes, I suppose so. When I phoned, he did act surprised and said he wanted to help as much as he could. But I’m not going to totally discount him being warned and if that was the case, who did it, and why?’
‘Someone from the station who knew him from before might have contacted him. Especially as you requisitioned the old records. Who else was on the original investigation?’
‘It’s not clear as the files are so slim. I’ll get Ellie on to it tomorrow morning, she’ll be able to find out.’
‘Did the inspector have enough time to get his story straight between the time you contacted him and when you arrived at his house?’
‘I don’t think so, unless he had a copy of the file with him, which is doubtful. So, he was either warned or for some reason he remembered the case. And if the latter, what is it that stuck with him, when you consider he would have investigated hundreds of cases during his time in CID?’ Whitney paused. ‘Unless he knew the investigation was lacking and that knowledge had stuck with him, and with us going to speak to him he wanted to cover his back. Whichever way we look at it, there’s an issue.’
‘But why go to all this trouble now, it’s not like he’s going to be disciplined, is it? Not after all this time.’
‘No, he’s not. But no police officer wants their work to be considered shoddy. Perhaps I’m overthinking and it could be just that.’
‘Going back to the possibility of him being warned, could Chief Superintendent Douglas have mentioned it to him?’
‘George, you’re a genius. Payne was around for five years after I joined, and Douglas was definitely there.’
‘If he did warn him, then why?’
‘I’m not sure. Maybe he doesn’t want to be associated with a sloppy police investigation so he’s wanting Payne to have an answer for everything.’
‘If you look into the investigation further, you might find that out.’
‘I know we’re trying to find the murderer of the girls, but this could also get Douglas reprimanded and I’m all for that, as you know.’
‘Just be careful. You know what he’s like and you don’t want to make more of an enemy of him than he already is,’ she warned.
‘You’re right. We’ll leave Dickhead’s input for now. The question is, where do we go from here? The inspector did say the girls had a history of disappearing, and that’s why he’d immediately thought they were runaways. We need to check.’ Whitney picked up her glass and finished the wine. ‘I’m going now so the two of you can sort things out. How are you fixed for coming in to help?’
George exhaled a loud sigh, was she ready to face Ross again just yet?
‘I’m not back in work until after Christmas, so can be available any time you need me.’
‘Seriously? You mean you’re not going to do anything?’
‘I might do some preparation and work on my research, but that can all be done at home.’
‘All right, tomorrow morning it is,’ Whitney said as she walked out of the kitchen and called goodbye to Ross.
George closed the door behind Whitney and wandered through to the lounge, wondering what Ross was going to say. But she needn’t have worried, he was on the phone.
Phew. A brief respite.
Chapter 25
Whitney looked out from her office into the incident room to check whether the team had arrived yet. They had, so she stopped what she was doing and walked through.
‘Good morning, everyone. Brian and I went to visit Malcolm Payne yesterday and it’s clear we need to look more into the previous investigation as there could be avenues that weren’t investigated which could now assist us. Payne had an answer for everything I put to him and seemed too prepared. He could have been prewarned that we were unhappy with their work by someone who’s still on the force. Ellie, which CID officers worked the case?’
‘I only have Inspector Payne listed, plus the names of the uniformed officers who went to the school to speak to the pupils.’
‘Damn. Okay, I want you to get me a list of CID officers who were working here at the time of the girls’ disappearance and the cases they were assigned to.’
‘Yes, guv,’ Ellie said.
‘Payne also said the girls had run away before and that’s why they’d made their decision. When pushed on this he couldn’t remember where they got that information and suggested we check in the records. When I explained there was nothing noted, he said it was a busy time, and they were stretched. Was he telling the truth? Are you able to track what cases were active during the time of the disappearance?’
‘Yes, guv. I can look into it.’
‘Leave that to me,’ Brian said. ‘Ellie can get on with investigating who was in CID.’
The door opened and George walked towards them. Whitney nodded in greeting. ‘We’ve been going over the old investigation. Brian is finding out how busy the department was back then, and Ellie is looking into the team members. Our priority is to confirm whether Payne’s version of events is accurate.’
‘That should help,’ George said.
‘While they’re
doing that, I’d like to go back and visit the parents of the girls who went missing and find out if they did have a history of running away as Payne has suggested.’
‘I’m ready whenever you are.’
‘Before we go, Meena, phone Mr and Mrs Kennedy and find out if they’re going to be in, and Frank you phone Mrs Bailey for the same. I don’t want to turn up out of the blue, especially at this time of year.’
‘Guv,’ Doug said. ‘I was wondering whether we should go back to visit the farm again with a view to discovering why it was used to dump the bodies. Was it convenience? Was it because the murderer knew the farm well and where best to hide a body? I know the farm workers have been interviewed but could it have been the farmer or his family?’
‘They would hardly dig up the land if they knew the bodies were there, but you do make some valid points. Once George and I have visited the families we’ll go to the farm. It’s on the same side of the city so will save time.’
‘Guv,’ Meena called out. ‘Mr and Mrs Kennedy are at home all day if you want to call around.’
‘Thanks. Frank?’ she asked, noticing that he’d just ended his call.
‘It went straight to answerphone, guv. She’s gone away and won’t be back until after Christmas.’
‘Okay. We’ll go to the Kennedys’ and after that to the farm and have another chat with Anthony and see if he has anything to add, especially as we know about the drug connection. I’ll take photos of the two dealers as he may recognise one of them.’
On the way to the Kennedys’ house George turned to Whitney, who’d been quiet for most of the journey and concentrating on her phone.
‘I’m glad to see you let Brian assist Ellie in the research,’ she said.
Whitney looked up from her phone. ‘I’m learning and, as you said, we’re a team. I think it will all work out.’
‘He appreciated it,’ she reassured her friend.
‘I’ll take your word for it. I can’t tell.’
