by John Nicholl
‘No, just sparring, I took an extra class when the usual instructor couldn’t make it. I lost concentration; it sometimes happens when you’re teaching. I was trying to focus on too many things at once.’
‘The world’s gone bleeding mad. Mine’s a coffee, if you’re making one.’
Kesey nodded. ‘Give me a second, boss, nearly done.’
Grav sat himself down, took off his shoes, and massaged his cold feet for about thirty-seconds before pushing some files aside so he could rest them on his desk. ‘How’s Mike getting on with the CCTV?’
‘There’s no cameras anywhere near the river, but he’s been looking at the surrounding area at the relevant time.’
‘Anything of interest?’
‘No, nothing so far. No one with any history of violence or sexual offences.’
‘Tell him to keep looking.’
‘Will do.’
‘Any joy with the missing persons records?’
She nodded, pleased to be able to reply in the affirmative. ‘Yeah, I think I may have found our girl.’
‘As quickly as that?’
‘The tattoo was the clincher. If I’m right, her name’s Amanda Williams, a twenty- two-year-old from the Uplands area of Swansea. She was reported missing by her fiancée a few days back.’
‘Another sex worker?’
Kesey poured boiling water into his chipped, but much prized, black and white Neath Rugby Club mug, added powdered milk, coffee, and five sugar lumps before stirring. ‘No, not this one. She was a paralegal based in Llanelli. She’d left work early for a dental appointment last Wednesday afternoon, and that was the last anyone saw of her until her body was found this morning. The local police deemed it a medium risk case – after the family insisted her disappearance was totally out of character.’
‘High risk would have been a more appropriate designation. The bastard’s deviated from his usual victim profile.’
‘It seems so.’
‘Has she got any history of drug use, anything at all?’
‘Nothing, and no record; I ran a check.’
‘That’s not good, it’s not good at all. Not that I’m saying one victim’s more regrettable than another; a dead girl’s a dead girl, whoever they are, whatever their life choices.’
‘There you go, boss.’
Grav accepted his mug and cupped his big hands around it to warm them. Thanks, love, it’s appreciated.’
‘So, where do we go from here?’
‘I want you to get yourself down to Swansea and speak to the girl’s relatives sometime today. The boyfriend, the parents – poor sods. One of them will have to formally identify her. And let’s get hold of a recent photograph for the media. Someone may have seen her with the killer. The family deserve to know the truth, however unpalatable.’
‘Okay, boss, will do. I’ll have a quick bite to eat before heading off, if that’s all right with you? I didn’t have time for breakfast.’
Grav lowered his feet to the floor and picked up a scuffed, brown leather shoe that was badly in need of a polish. ‘Yeah, of course it is, love, no probs. I’ll come down to the canteen with you, if you fancy a bit of company? My treat.’
‘Ooh, let’s hope they’ve added caviar to the menu, or lobster maybe, something really expensive.’
He laughed hoarsely as he fastened his laces with broad fingers and spoke with a smoker’s rattle that was getting gradually worse with each month that passed. ‘What, in this place? You’ve got no chance. It’ll be egg and chips, if you’re lucky.’
The two detectives sat together, eating their respective meals and making intermittent small talk for a few minutes before returning their attention to the case. ‘So, it looks as if he kept the poor girl tied up somewhere before finally killing her in the early hours of this morning.’
Grav swallowed a well-chewed piece of salty bacon and nodded twice. ‘Let’s wait to see what final conclusions Sheila comes to in her report, but yeah, it’s looking that way, much the same as the others.’
‘Will her report be available today?’
‘I’ll be sending someone to pick it up shortly after four, but you know what she’s like. She gave me a summary; I’m not expecting any surprises.’
‘Why take the victim all the way down to the river before killing her? Why risk it, unless she was already dead? Maybe it was just a dumping ground. I hadn’t considered that.’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t think it’s likely. It’s a fair way from any potential parking spot to where the body was found. He’d have to be built like a brick shithouse.’
‘It doesn’t make any sense. He could have killed her wherever he’d kept her and dumped the body wherever he chose. Why so near town? It’s not like we’re short of remote locations in the area.’
‘Nothing the maniac does is particularly rational, love. Think about it. Fuck knows what goes on in his head. It looks as if he’s not as forensically aware as we’d feared. Let’s just be grateful for that.’
She opened and closed her mouth before finally speaking. ‘Yeah, I get what you’re saying, but something’s not right, boss. He’s left significant clues for the first time. Why do that?’
‘It’s no mystery, love. Either he’s gaining confidence, or he’s getting sloppy. I’ve seen it before. It’s not unusual in cases like this. They think they’re indestructible and get complacent.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m not so sure.’
‘What are you saying exactly?’
‘I can’t put my finger on it. It’s just a feeling.’
‘Look, just think about it. He’s left all the bodies in beauty spots – this time’s no different in that respect. He abducts them, he imprisons them, and he kills them where and when it suits him. He wants the attention; he wants the publicity. He wants them to be found, and he wants to shock. He wouldn't be the first serial killer to crave infamy.’
Kesey drained her cup and nodded. ‘Yeah, I guess so… The detective chief super was looking for you this morning. Did she manage to get hold of you?’
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. Did her majesty say what she wanted?’
‘She mentioned something about a press conference.’
Grav relaxed. ‘Okay, makes sense. I’ll give her a shout sometime this afternoon, if I get the time; doff my cap, curtsey, and all that. If he’s on the National Database, we’ve got the bastard. Hopefully, she’ll agree to hold off until we get the results back from the lab. It would be nice to give the press some good news for a change.’
‘Fingers crossed.’
‘And everything else, love.’
Kesey delved into her black leather handbag in search of her car keys. ‘Any final instructions before I head off to the big city?’
‘Find out as much as you can about the girl’s recent movements and contacts. And let’s get hold of her computer and the like for the tech people to have a look at. She may have been in touch with the killer.’
‘Will do. Are you about in the morning?’
‘Yeah, I’ll see you then, love. Just to confirm, you did send the cigarette butt off for testing, yeah?’
‘Of course I did. Do you really feel the need to check up on me?’
‘Just asking.’
‘You don’t need to do my job for me, Grav. I’m a detective sergeant, not some kid straight out of training college. I know what I’m doing.’
‘I know you do, love. It’s just my way, that’s all. I didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘I’ll be on my way, then.’
He raised a hand in mock salute. ‘Keep an eye on the weather. The forecast mentioned the possibility of snow. I wouldn’t like to see you stranded somewhere on the motorway for God knows how long. Who’d make the coffee?’
‘You are pushing your luck.’
Grav grinned mischievously. ‘And make sure you dress up nice and warm. Perhaps put a vest on. It’s freezing out there.’
Kesey raised a fist in the air and shook it play
fully. ‘One of these days, I’ll frigging swing for you.’
8
DS Kesey parked almost opposite the Williams family’s modest, 1950s semi-detached, Swansea council house and stared at the front door for almost five minutes before exiting the vehicle. The lights were on; someone was almost certainly in. She had a job to do, and it was time to get on with it. She was the purveyor of bad news, and the family would know it as soon as she appeared at their door.
Kesey approached the house, knocked, less than enthusiastically and kept knocking until a careworn, middle-aged woman, with tightly permed brown hair, stood facing her. ‘What can I do for you? If you’re selling something, I’m not interested.’
The DS took her warrant card from her coat pocket and held it up. ‘Detective Sergeant Laura Kesey, West Wales Police, and you are?’
The woman swallowed twice as her face paled . ‘Is this about Amanda? I’m her mother. Have you found her?’
‘Can we speak inside please, Mrs Williams? There are things we need to discuss.’
Mandy Williams grabbed at the doorframe to either side of her as her legs buckled. She hit the floor hard, grazing one knee, and banging her head on the wall to her left.
‘Come on, Mrs Williams, up you get. Let’s get you in the house.’
The ragged mother looked up at Kesey with hazy eyes, but she didn’t attempt to get up. ‘What’s happened to my Amanda? Just tell me. I need to know.’
‘Is there anyone else in the house? Anyone at all?’
Mandy Williams lifted herself into a seated position and shook her head. ‘No, there’s just me.’
Kesey reached out and helped her to her feet. ‘Let’s get you into the lounge and sat down properly. Come on, that’s it, up you get, one step at a time.’
The woman was weeping as she slumped into the nearest armchair. ‘I w-want to know what’s h-happened. It can’t be any w-worse than m my imagination. Just tell m-me, please.’
The detective took a deep breath and tried to speak as calmly as possible, fighting her emotions and losing. ‘There’s no easy way of saying this. The body of a young woman meeting your daughter’s description was found early this morning. I’m so very sorry to have to give you the bad news.’
‘Is it d-definitely her?’
‘We’ll need to confirm her identity, but it’s likely.’
Mandy Williams looked up, eyes wide. ‘So, it m-may not be my Amanda, you could be mistaken? That’s a possibility, that’s what you’re saying, yes?’
Kesey moved to the very edge of her seat, her hands resting on her knees. ‘I’m sorry. I think you need to prepare yourself for the worst.’
’Where was she f-found?’
‘On the riverbank in Caerystwyth.’
Williams sensed hope and clung to it. ‘Why would she be in Caerystwyth? Why by the river? You’ve got it wrong. I know you’ve got it wrong. It’s not my lovely girl. It’s some other mother’s child.’
‘The dead girl has a red heart, and the name Simon, tattooed on her left buttock. I believe your daughter has a tattoo meeting that description.’
All hope was suddenly lost. ‘The two of them had them d- done last summer on holiday in Ibiza after a few drinks too many. But it’s not as if anyone else could see it. That’s what I told her. They’re getting married in April. Everything’s booked and paid for. She can’t wait.’
‘Is there someone I can contact for you, Mrs Williams? Your husband, perhaps?’
Mandy Williams let out a loud, guttural gasp of air from deep in her throat, that Kesey thought was the saddest sound she’d ever heard. ‘I want to see her.’
‘That’s going to be difficult today, but I’ll try to arrange something for first thing tomorrow morning. If you could give me a recent photograph, that would be helpful.’
The woman’s mouth was wide open, her eyes glaring, and her voice rose to a hysterical whine. ‘Are you winding me up? I want to see her now. Do you hear me? Now!’
‘I can understand your urgency, but it really would be better if you waited.’
‘Are you a mother?’
Kesey’s eyes reddened as they filled with tears. ‘No, no, I’m not.’
‘Well, if you were you’d know that tomorrow’s just not good enough. Have you got that? Have you got it into your thick head? It’s just not fucking well good enough.’
Kesey remained in her seat, looking up as Mandy Williams stood over her. ‘Look, there’s no easy way to tell you this. There was a post-mortem earlier today. The young woman’s body is at Caerystwyth Morgue. We haven’t received the pathologist’s written report yet, but we have very good reason to believe that she was murdered.’
Williams clutched her stomach with both hands and resisted the impulse to vomit. ‘I want to see her now. Not tonight, not tomorrow morning, right now. I need to know for certain. Surely you can understand that? If it’s her, I need to start grieving. And if it’s not, if you’ve got it wrong, as I pray you have, I need you to find my lovely girl before it’s too late.’
Kesey nodded. ‘Give me two minutes. I’ll make a phone call and see what I can do.’
‘Thank you.’
‘It’s the least I can do.’
‘There’s a framed photograph of Amanda on the dresser, if that’s any good to you. You can take it with you, but I want it back when you’re finished with it. It’s one of my favourites.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Williams, that’s very helpful.’
Mandy Williams was ready and waiting, with her hat and coat on, when Kesey re-entered the lounge a minute or two later. ‘It’s all arranged. The pathologist will meet us on arrival.’
‘Okay, let’s go. I want to get this over with.’
‘What about your husband?’
‘I’ve rung him. I’ve told him what’s happening. He’s not Amanda’s father – he cleared off years ago. This is something I’ve got to do myself.’
The journey passed slowly; both women struggling to make intermittent small talk, given the gravity of events, right up to when Caerystwyth Morgue came into view about forty-five minutes later. Kesey parked as near to the entrance as possible, as a single grey-black cloud moved slowly across the sky and masked the winter sun as if God were mourning humanity’s many failings and frailties.
Kesey turned off the engine and turned to face her passenger. ‘Okay, this is it. Are you ready?’
Williams screwed up her eyes and nodded once. ‘As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s get on with it.’
The detective led the distraught mother of two into the building to be met by Doctor Carter, who smiled thinly, introduced herself, and held out a hand in greeting. ‘Come into my office and take a seat, Mrs Williams. I realise this is going to be somewhat traumatic for you, but I want to do everything I can to make the process as easy as it possibly can be under the circumstances.’
Mandy Williams sat, as instructed, with Kesey immediately next to her. ‘I want to see the body.’
Doctor Carter took a large colour image of the victim’s face from a green cardboard file and placed it face down on her desk. ‘I’d like you to take a good look at a photograph initially, if that’s okay with you? If you think it’s your daughter, we can progress matters from there. Does that sound acceptable?’
Williams took a paper hankie from her patent leather handbag, dabbed at each eye in turn, and said, ‘Yes,’ in a quivering voice reverberating with emotion.
‘Are you ready?’
She grabbed DS Kesey’s hand and held it tightly. ‘Yes.’
Kesey nodded. ‘Take your time, Mrs Williams. Take a good look. You need to be sure. Our brains can play tricks on us in circumstances like this.’
She released the officer’s hand, picked up the photograph, studied it, and began weeping silent tears, which quickly became a torrent, as her chest heaved, and she gasped for breath. ‘It’s A-Amanda. It’s my l-lovely girl. Why? Why would a-anyone want to hurt her? She was kind. Gentle. She didn’t have an e-enemy the world
. Why would …?’
Kesey reached out and squeezed the grieving mother’s arm.
‘I want to see her.’
Doctor Carter met her eyes. ‘Are you ready?’
Williams blew her nose noisily and nodded. ‘I’m ready. Where is she? I want to see her. I can’t stand the idea of her being alone.’
‘If you follow me, I’ll take you straight to her.’
‘Thank you.’
Carter lifted the sheet from Amanda Williams’ cold and pallid face, and took a step backwards, allowing the mother to slowly approach her daughter’s body. ‘Is it okay if I kiss her cheek?’
Kesey met the pathologist’s eyes and nodded. ‘Of course.’
She leaned forwards and gently kissed her daughter. ‘She’s so cold. She hated the cold. She’s gone. Hopefully to a better place.’
The doctor kept her counsel, allowing the officer to take the lead.
‘Yes, no-one can hurt her now.’
‘What did he do to her?’
‘There’s no easy way to tell you this… Your daughter was strangled.’
Mandy Williams paled as she swallowed hard and turned away. ’Like the other girls, the girls on the n-news.’
‘Yes, just like them.’
‘They were raped.’
Kesey’s expression darkened. ‘Yes, they were.’
‘What about my Amanda? Did the bastard violate her?’
The detective paused before replying, wishing she had a very different answer to offer. ‘Yes, we believe so. I’m so very sorry.’
Williams suddenly looked away from the two women and approached her daughter, seemingly oblivious to the unwelcome response. ‘Was Amanda wearing her necklace?’
Kesey shook her head. ‘No, no jewellery was found.’
‘Amanda was wearing it when she left the house that morning. It was a Christmas gift from Simon. She loved it. There’s no way she’d have taken it off herself. She was never without it.’
DS Kesey took her pocketbook from her handbag. ‘Is it okay if we use your office, Doctor? I’d like to make some written notes.’
Carter placed the sheet back over Amanda’s face. ‘Of course, no problem. Take as long as you need.’
