‘You’re being anal again.’
‘I’m not being anal. What effort does it take to throw away a bit of rubbish? Nothing.’ She glanced at Tarn as he started the engine. His face was so serious. Not the same sparkle to him this morning. She changed the conversation, ‘Is something the matter?’
‘Nope.’
His answer was brusque and she studied him for a second. He was staring out through the windscreen, in no rush to move away. She said, ‘There is, isn’t there?’
Silence reigned between them for several seconds before Tarn responded, ‘I think Trish is seeing someone.’ He remained staring out through the window as if afraid to look at her.
For a couple of seconds Scarlett was stunned. She caught Tarn’s eyes moistening. They had been partners since 2009. She thought she knew everything about him so his reply hit her like a bombshell. For a moment she fought for something to say. Then, she said, ‘Trish seeing someone! No, I can’t believe that. Not Trish. Are you sure?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m not a hundred per cent but there are just a lot of things that are pointing to it.’
‘Like what?’
‘She’s been staying at work a lot just lately. Regularly until eight o’clock. There’re a couple of times she’s come home smelling of drink and when I’ve asked her about it she’s said a couple of them popped into the pub to wind down. She told me they’ve had to do a lot of preparation work for an OFSTED visit.’
‘Well that could be right.’
He nodded. ‘I know, but it’s just that she’s not been fussed before about them. Usually she’s brought the work home. And a couple of weeks ago she went away on a teacher’s conference – Friday and Saturday. She’s never done that. She’s always said she’s glad to get away from the classroom and teachers – especially when it was my weekend off.’
Scarlett processed what Tarn had told her. After a few seconds she said, ‘That’s not enough to accuse her of seeing someone. Come on, think about it. This is Trish you’re talking about.’
His mouth tightened. ‘I know. I’ve done nothing else but think about it. But these last few months I’ve seen changes in her and they coincide with the new head that’s come. I’ve met him a couple of times and he’s quite a likeable guy. A mate told me he’d seen them in the pub one of the times after she told me she’d been working late.’
‘That doesn’t mean she’s seeing him, Tarn. You and I go to the pub together after work.’
‘Yes, but I always tell Trish. That’s what we do. She’s never done that. When they break up – yes – a group of them go out to celebrate the end of term. But not midweek, after work. And why tell me she was working late when she was really down the pub with him?’
Scarlett again considered what her partner had just said. ‘Have you challenged her about what your mate saw?’
He turned, ‘No. I didn’t know how to broach it. I didn’t want her to think I’d been spying on her... I guess I’m afraid of what her answer will be.’
Scarlett saw the grief in his face. ‘I’ve already said this, but this is Trish you’re speaking about. You and Trish. Two wonderful kids together, You and Trish. When I think about all the other guys in the office and the state of their marriages, Yours and Trish’s is probably one of the most solid ones I know.’
‘You think I’m just being silly.’
‘This job always puts a strain on marriages, you know that! And you’ve said yourself that Trish is under pressure, working long hours for this OFSTED visit. What you two need is a break.’ She held his gaze. ‘And if you need Auntie Scarlett to look after Dale and Heather, no problemo.’
‘You have Dale and Heather for a couple of days? No thank you! The last thing they need to learn is your life skills. They’ve got enough bad habits as it is!’ Tarn's solemn face broke into a grin.
She punched his arm. ‘Daft sod. Now come on, we’ve got a job to go to.’
Fifteen
They swung into the Winstanley Estate. The place was made up of drab grey monoliths of concrete from the 60s and 70s. Scarlett took one look at the first block they passed and wondered who on earth would want to live in such a neglected looking place. She wasn’t surprised the young people revolted from time to time. Up ahead, by one of the low-rise blocks, a group had formed outside the entrance. Three cops in high-visibility jackets were doing their best to keep them in check. Beyond, Scarlett spotted a line of emergency vehicles parked up and pointed them out to Tarn.
Slowing, he steered carefully around the assembled residents, many of whom turned and noseyed as they passed, and pulled up behind a CSI van. The block they parked beside was one of the newer builds, comprising three storeys with interconnecting corridors.
Scarlett got out of the car and went to the boot, removed her jacket, dropped it inside and pulled on a protective all-in-one. As she watched Tarn slip on plastic overshoes she glanced about her. The crowd around the block entrance was about thirty strong. A mix of ages. Half-a-dozen youths, no older than fourteen, were circling nearby on their BMXs. Some were stood up rigid on their pedals, weaving slowly, watching. She guessed they were the estate ‘dickers’ for the drug dealers, ready to fly off should circumstances demand it. She switched her attention back to the assembly and wondered if anyone knew anything. She’d give the uniform officers corralling the crowd the job of taking down names. That thought momentarily made her smile. She wondered how many of the onlookers would be willing to assist. Probably none, given the estate's reputation. Slipping on her lanyard identification she checked Tarn was okay to go and led the way to the block's entrance. As she approached the nearest officer she held out her ID. His young-looking face told her he’d rather be somewhere else.
‘Where is everyone?’ she asked.
He tipped his head upwards, ‘Second floor. Flat twenty-three.’
With a smile, she instructed him to find out if anyone in the crowd had any information and then headed for the entrance. The large foyer with metal and concrete staircase was full of graffiti but smelt as if it had been recently cleaned. A slim, dark haired female officer was on guard here. Again, Scarlett held out her ID for scrutiny. The young policewoman checked it and pointed them up the stairs. ‘It’s flat twenty-three. My Sergeant’s up there with CSI who’ve just turned up.’
‘What about the Mother?’ Scarlett had forgotten the woman’s name. The incident log was still in her bag so she fished it out to refresh herself.
‘They’ve taken her back to Battersea.’
‘Has she been arrested?’
‘No just PACE nine.’
That technically meant mum was there as a volunteer and not under arrest. However, in reality she would be prevented from leaving until she at least had given an account of this morning’s discovery.
‘So the scene is secure?’
The officer nodded.
‘Good.’ Scarlett climbed the stairs with Tarn close behind. On the second floor landing she bunched her hair inside her hood and slipped on latex gloves. She spotted another uniformed officer standing by an open door, half way along the landing. He was holding a clipboard and looking their way, pen poised as they approached.
Once more flashing her ID Scarlett announced who they were, and as the log officer scribbled down their names and noted the time, she and Tarn stepped into the flat.
Sixteen
The foul stench that greeted Scarlett made her gasp. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise given the sight before her; waist-high rubbish was strewn the length of the hallway. She shot a look back at Tarn, shook her head in disgust and began negotiating her way past piles of full black bin bags, some of which had burst, spilling out their contents of rotted food and discarded containers. There were small mounds of soiled children’s clothing, empty beer cans and faeces to avoid before she got to the bottom of the stairs. Muffled voices were coming from above.
She called up and a hooded and masked head appeared over the balcony.
‘DS Macey and
DC Scarr from Homicide and Serious Crime.’
The man stepped into the open and pulled down his protective face-mask. ‘Sergeant Harrison from Battersea. I was first on scene with PC Stewart who’s doing the visitor log.’
‘What have we got?’ Scarlett began her climb up the stairs.
‘The woman who lives here is Kerrie Tornese. She called the ambulance service just after seven this morning saying she’d just found her son, two-year-old Rees, unconscious and she thought he was dead. Paramedics got here less than ten minutes later and found him dead in his bed. Kerrie told them she last checked him just after ten last night and he was alive but they’re not happy with that explanation. It’s their opinion he’s been dead for a lot longer than nine hours. And there are a number of unexplained bruises on the child’s body. The two paramedics are waiting in the ambulance – I’ve told them we’ll need a statement before they leave.’
Reaching the landing, Scarlett made a mental note of what the Sergeant had told her. ‘You sound as though you know Kerrie. Is that right?’
‘Yes, I know Kerrie very well. I nicked her as a teenager for shoplifting and possession. She’s been a junkie for as long as I’ve known her. Before that she was always running away from home. She’s had this gaff for a good few years. I’ve been to a couple of domestics here during the past eighteen months. She was living with a well-known dealer called Darrell Stringer until last summer when he was lifted by Drug Squad with a load of gear on him. He’s serving three years in Pentonville for supplying. We believe Rees is his kid.’
‘What about Rees. Do you know anything about him?’
‘All I know is what Kerrie told us when we got here – that he’s two. I haven’t been able to do any checks to see if he’s on the ‘at-risk’.’’
‘Okay. What about Kerrie. Has she said much else about what happened?’
‘No. Only told us what she’d told the paramedics. She’s not very communicative. She stank of booze and she was spaced out when I got here. Looks as though she’s still on the smack, given the amount of needles around.’
‘What’s happening with Rees?’
‘CSI are in with the body now. We’re just waiting for the pathologist to get here.’
‘Okay, great. Anything else I need to know?’
He shook his head, then added, ‘She’s got a little girl. I can’t remember her name. I can remember seeing her when I came to the last domestic. She’s five, maybe six. She doesn’t appear to be here. Kerrie’s mother doesn’t live too far away so she might be with her.’
A bedroom door opened and out stepped a well-made man in a tightly-fitting forensic suit.
Scarlett recognised who it was even before he’d fully removed his mask. ‘Mason Gregory, well fancy meeting you here.’ Mason was one of the very few detectives who specialised in forensics, most being civilians, and was a CSI Supervisor, who took on a regular role of Crime Scene Manager. In years past he had worked alongside her father in CID. The last time she had seen Mason was four months ago, by the banks of the Thames near Ham House. He was examining a suspect vehicle in a murder case she was working on: that case that had resulted in her finding Rose and had finally cleared her sister as a suspect in their parent‘s murder.
‘I thought I heard your dulcet tones Detective Sergeant Macey,’ he smiled. ‘How are you?’
‘Really good thank you. Well I was until I got here. This is a real shit-hole.’
‘Believe it or not I’ve been in worse places, though this is a close call.’
Scarlett jerked her head towards the bedroom he’d come from. ‘I know I can’t go in there yet, but is there anything you can tell me?’
‘The boy’s in bed. Certainly been dead a fair bit of time, although we’ll not know for definite until the pathologist gets here. The kid looks badly malnourished to me and there are a number of bruises on his torso. Chest and arms especially. There are a couple on his head and there’s a strange mark on his neck that we can’t fathom out at the moment.’
Scarlett’s brow furrowed. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s like a band that goes all the way round. I’ve photographed it, as well as all the bruises on the rest of his body and swabbed the skin. Once the body is removed to the mortuary we’ll put him through the scanner to see what that brings up.’
‘Okay, that’s smashing Mason. Do you mind if I have a look round?’
‘Be my guest, but don’t rummage around too much, I need to photograph and examine the rest of the place.’
‘No, I won’t. I just want to view the rooms, that’s all.’
Mason put his mask back in place, gave her an okay hand signal and went back into the bedroom.
Scarlett turned to Tarn and the Sergeant, ‘Can you two see what we’ve got downstairs? I’ll just give the bathroom and this other bedroom the once over and then we’ll convene back in the hallway and wait for the pathologist to arrive.’
As Tarn and the Sergeant went downstairs she headed into the bathroom. She pushed the door open but only poked her head around before determining she didn’t want to go any further. It stank. The toilet hadn’t been flushed, there was shit smeared around the bath and the sink was full of dirty nappies. She screwed up her nose and stepped back outside, shutting the door. Passing the room where Rees lay dead, she walked to the front bedroom. The finger-smeared door was ajar and she opened it fully. It was sticky to the touch. The mess in this room and the smell were no better. Discarded clothing cluttered the floor, fighting for space with empty vodka bottles and foreign lager cans. Used syringes and other drug paraphernalia littered a bedside cabinet. The double bed was heavily stained with what looked like urine. This looked to be Kerrie’s room. Scarlett was about to leave when she heard a rustling noise. It sounded as if it was coming from beneath the bed. Her stomach tightened as she called ‘Who's there? Come out from beneath the bed now!’ For a moment, there was silence. Scarlett strained her ears. A sudden shuffling noise was followed by a shadow snaking its way out from beneath the mattress. Then a head appeared, followed by small hands and arms clutching a teddy bear. It was a little girl. Cowering in semi darkness. She looked terrified. Scarlett’s racing heart began to slow as relief washed over her. ‘Hello,’ she said gently. The little girl’s large brown eyes just stared. Scarlett squatted down and pulled back her suit hood to reveal more of her face. This called for a comforting approach. ‘I’m Scarlett. What’s your name?’
There was a good ten seconds silence as the girl looked her over, before she said, ‘Ruby.’
‘Hello Ruby. What are you doing under there? Hiding?’
The little girl nodded.
‘Who are you hiding from?’
‘Mummy.’
Scarlett felt a sudden rush of adrenalin. ‘Why are you hiding from mummy?’
‘She was mad.’
‘Mad with you?’
‘No. Mad with Rees.’
‘Why was she mad with Rees?’
‘He wouldn’t stop crying. He dropped and broke the cup of water I gave him. Mummy shouted and hit him but he wouldn’t stop crying so she took him upstairs to lock him in the bedroom. I hid because she was very mad.’
‘Well your mummy’s not here now. We’ve come to look after you.’ Scarlett held out a hand to Ruby. ‘Do you want to come out from under there and see what present I’ve got for you?’
Ruby released one grubby hand from her teddy bear and stretched it out toward her. ‘Rees isn’t crying any more. Have you given him a present?’
Seventeen
Scarlett led Ruby carefully downstairs by the hand, meeting Tarn at the bottom. He couldn’t hide his surprise as he looked from the girl to Scarlett and back.
‘This is Ruby. She’s six, and this is Freddy her teddy. I found them hiding under the bed because they’re scared of mummy, didn’t I Ruby?’ she said, looking down at the child. Her hair was matted and her pyjamas didn’t look as though they had been washed for weeks. Scarlett thought that she probably had
head lice and shuddered. If Alex, or anyone else rang her tonight she really would be telling them she was staying in and washing her hair.
The little girl gazed up uncertainly at Tarn and nodded, her mouth set tight.
‘Well my name’s Tarn and I work with Scarlett. I’m very pleased to meet you and Freddy.’
The little girl’s hesitant expression broke. She giggled. ‘Freddy’s not real, he’s only a teddy.’
Squeezing her hand gently Scarlett said, ‘Me and Ruby are going to go back to where I work and play some games and I’m going to show her all the dolls we have, aren’t I?’ She lifted her eyes away from Ruby, fixing Tarn with a serious look. In a half-whisper she continued, ‘I’m going to get the paramedics to give her a quick once-over and check she’s okay, and then I’m going to take her to the Interview Suite and get the FME and Social Services out. I need to get something recorded while she’s talking freely.’
He nodded, ‘Okay. What do you need me to do?’
‘You wait here for the pathologist, see what the initial findings are and then oversee the removal of the body. Also see what evidence Mason’s found. I’m especially interested in that banding mark he mentioned around the lad’s neck.’ She started unzipping her suit. She didn’t want to take the girl back to the car wearing her forensic suit. It wouldn’t look right going past the residents dressed like that while holding Ruby’s hand. Climbing out of her suit she handed it to Tarn for him to bag as an exhibit, then, re-taking Ruby’s hand she said, ‘ Right Ruby, what do you say to some pop and sweets before we go and play with some dolls?’
Ruby looked up with an excited smile, ‘Ooh yes please.’
Scarlett blinked away a tear. Giving the little girl’s hand another reassuring squeeze, she set off.
***
Outside, the crowd had swelled by a dozen or so while she had been in the flat but it was orderly. All eyes set on her as she stepped out of the entranceway. Stooping, Scarlett said quietly, ‘My car’s just down here Ruby. But before we go to play with the dolls I’m going to take you to a couple of friends of mine who are in that ambulance over there. They’re going to have a quick look to see that mummy’s not hurt you.’
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