Tom Douglas Box Set 2

by Rachel Abbott

  Much to her frustration, Becky had to wait to get some time with Tom. He was tied up with Philippa Stanley, who had asked for an update. That should have taken about two minutes as there was so little to report, but for some reason he was gone for an hour. She kept her eye on the door and finally saw him walk into the incident room and make his way towards her desk.

  ‘You wanted to see me, Becky?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes. It may be something or nothing, but I thought I should run it by you.’

  He signalled her with his head to follow him into his office, and once they were settled she explained what she had heard about Maggie Taylor.

  Tom sat back in his chair and gazed at the ceiling in what Becky always thought of as his thinking pose. It didn’t last long.

  ‘I don’t like it,’ he said, leaning forward again. ‘We thought the first woman was Leo. Don’t look like that, Becky. We’re over that, aren’t we?’ Without waiting for her response, he continued. ‘As far as we know, Leo’s missing. I accept, knowing her the way I do, that she could easily have decided to take herself off because the new boyfriend pissed her off. But failing to turn up to her niece’s christening is a step too far even for Leo.’

  Becky saw Tom take a big breath. ‘I’ve suggested to Ellie that she officially reports Leo missing. She’s resisted up to now for the same reason – Leo is as unpredictable as hell – but we need to take this seriously.’

  Becky said nothing. There was no appropriate response, and she knew Tom was right.

  ‘So now we’ve got both Maggie Taylor and Leo, who look similar to the first victim and to how the second victim was supposed to look. The thing that’s puzzling me, though, is that this makes four potential victims, and all those years ago we were pretty certain that the magic number was three.’

  ‘Maybe Leo has nothing to do with it. It’s an unfortunate coincidence, and as you say she’s gone off on one.’

  Tom gave her a look that suggested he didn’t believe that for one second.

  ‘Let’s make a quick call to Dan Pierce and see if he has any updates on the supposed stalker,’ he said, and put the call through.

  It was frustrating only being able to hear one half of the conversation, but Becky got the gist.

  ‘What did the PNC check throw up?’ Tom asked. He listened to the answer.

  ‘And what do we know about this Adam Mellor?’ There was a pause.

  ‘You’re certain about that, are you?’ Tom said, looking at Becky, his eyes opening wide. ‘I’ll get back to you, Dan. I need to speak to my inspector – Becky Robinson. One of us will talk to you in a few minutes.’

  Tom hung up and looked at Becky with raised eyebrows.

  ‘What’s up?’ Becky asked.

  ‘The PNC check. The number turned up one white van registered to an address in the Manchester area with sufficient matching digits to make it a strong possibility. It’s owned by a guy called Adam Mellor. They sent somebody round to have a word with him, but apparently he’s away and has been since last Saturday. Nobody knows where he is.’

  Becky watched Tom’s face. His eyes were focused somewhere behind her as if he was trying to match up bits of the puzzle.

  ‘The other thing they found out is that Adam Mellor works for Maxwell Jenkins, Manchester’s biggest corporate finance firm.

  ‘And that’s significant because…?’ Becky said.

  ‘You remember I tracked down Leo’s new boyfriend, Julian Richmond? He’s also in corporate finance. And guess which firm he works for?’

  Tom’s eyes met Becky’s. They were both silent for a moment, and then Tom pushed back his chair.

  ‘Get your coat, Becky. Ask one of your team to track down Maggie Taylor’s address. Mrs Taylor needs to know that we’re on our way to see her and she needs to be in, but we have one other call to make first.’

  36

  When Maggie woke up on Sunday morning she hadn’t been sure what she was going to do. She had no doubt at all that the threat to Duncan was real so now she was torn. What if her children were in danger? But yesterday the two men in the van could easily have taken Josh, and they hadn’t. But if they couldn’t get Duncan to do whatever it was that they wanted, would they be back for her, for Lily, for Josh?

  The decision felt as if it had been taken out of her hands when she received a call from Bill Shaw, the desk sergeant she had been trying to contact. A note had been left for him to say she had called, so he was calling to check she was okay.

  Maggie hadn’t had time to think of an excuse, so she had told him the minimum that made any sense. She had focused on the phone calls and the van – maybe enough for the police to take an interest but not enough for her to have endangered Duncan. And if the two men were watching, they would know she hadn’t left the house. She couldn’t tell Bill Shaw about the note and the photo – it would be impossible to keep a breakthrough like that out of the press, and she might be signing her husband’s death warrant.

  After the call ended, Maggie walked into the kitchen and sat down, unsure if her legs would hold her up for much longer. Without a word, Suzy walked across to the kettle and clicked it on, giving Maggie time as she stared out of the window to where her children were playing outside. At least they seemed a little more relaxed this morning.

  Maggie came out of her daze as Suzy put a mug of tea in front of her. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘Sorry for leaving you to deal with the kids.’

  ‘It’s okay, Mags. You don’t have to apologise for anything. What did you say to the police? Did you tell them Duncan was missing?’

  Maggie shook her head. How could she have told them that without explaining the rest? And if she had, how much danger would she have put him in?

  ‘What’s going to happen now?’ Suzy asked.

  ‘I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore, Suze. What’s happening to Duncan? All I can think is that he’s got mixed up in something by mistake, and he doesn’t know how to get out of it. Maybe he saw something he shouldn’t – you know, when he was out doing a job. Perhaps he saw the girl being killed but didn’t know what it was at the time. What if they’re threatening him, and because he’s not here, they’re threatening me? Maybe they’re after him because he knows too much – a gang or something. So he’s gone into hiding to keep them away from me. Maybe he’s scared, Suzy, with nobody to help him.’ Maggie’s voice cracked.

  The phone rang. She ignored it.

  ‘Shall I answer it?’ her sister asked.

  ‘No!’ She waited for the answer phone to click in. It might be the man again.

  ‘Mrs Taylor? I’m calling from Greater Manchester Police. I need to speak to you urgently. Could you please call me back on—’

  Maggie raced to the phone and picked it up.

  ‘Hello. This is Maggie Taylor.’ She listened as the policeman told her that two detectives would like to come and talk to her about her report this morning. ‘It’s good that you’re taking me seriously, but can’t you update me on the phone?’ She couldn’t keep the confusion from her voice. This was overkill for the report she had made.

  ‘I’m sorry, madam, but one of our senior detectives would like to come and talk to you, if that’s okay with you. He should be with you in about an hour as he has another call to make first. Will you be in then?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  ‘Thank you. It’ll be Detective Chief Inspector Douglas. I’ll let him know you’ll be there.’ The line went dead.

  Maggie replaced the handset and stood looking at it, her back to her sister.

  Tom Douglas, the head of the team running the murder enquiry. Why was he coming to see her? Did he know something about Duncan? Had something happened to him?

  With all her heart she wished she could talk to her husband, to give him the chance to explain what was happening to their family and find a way of putting it right.

  Maggie quickly pulled a brush through her hair and reapplied her lipstick. She didn’t want to give the police the impressi
on that anything was wrong. Fixing a smile on her face she turned to her sister.

  ‘Suze, I need you to take the children out,’ she said. ‘I’ll get them. Can you go quickly, please? I don’t want them to be distressed by a visit from the police.’

  Her sister looked up from the screen of Maggie’s laptop, an enquiring look on her face. ‘Sorry – I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to check Facebook but it was already open. I didn’t think you used it?’

  ‘I don’t.’

  ‘So who’s Patricia Rowe? It was her page that was open.’

  ‘What? Oh, it’s nothing. She’s relevant to a case I’ve been working on.’

  ‘What’s this, then?’ her sister asked.

  Maggie was getting more and more worried about time, but she spun the laptop round towards her to see what Suzy was talking about. It seemed she had found Mrs Rowe’s photographs and had clicked through to an album. The photos were displayed full screen, and the one she was looking at was of five kids aged from about ten to mid-teens. Only two were looking at the screen. The others were all involved in fixing their bikes. The bike at the front, centre screen, had a yellow frame, a red suspension fork and a bright green seat stay.

  Duncan’s bike.

  A boy was crouching in front of the bike adjusting the chain, his back to the camera. Maggie couldn’t see his face, but there was something about his hair and the way it grew at the back. She clicked on the next picture. The same group were now all standing in front of their bikes smiling. Except for the boy with the multicoloured bike. He was scowling.

  She turned shocked eyes to her sister as the back door opened and Josh charged in. She snapped the lid closed.

  ‘Lily’s fallen over, Mum. She’s hurt her knee.’

  Suzy stood up. ‘I’ll see to her. We’ll go to the shops and see if a few sweets or an ice cream will help it to get better, shall we?’ she said, turning to Josh. ‘Come on. I’m sure Mummy won’t mind if we borrow her car.’

  Maggie didn’t hear her. All she wanted to do was open her laptop again, blow the picture up and check what she had seen. But she didn’t need to. She knew. The boy in the picture was Duncan.

  37

  If Julian Richmond was surprised to see Tom again, this time accompanied by a young woman, he didn’t show it.

  ‘Come in, Tom. I hope you’ve got some news about Leo,’ he said, a friendly smile failing to mask his underlying anxiety.

  ‘I’m sorry to bother you again,’ Tom said. ‘This is Detective Inspector Becky Robinson. I’m afraid we don’t have any news about Leo, but I wanted to ask you about one of your employees, if that’s okay.’

  Julian looked surprised but lifted his shoulders slightly as if to say ‘Whatever’ and showed them into the house. Once again they made for the kitchen. The radio was playing, and he walked over and turned it off.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I need the radio at the weekend. Now Leo’s not around I can go the whole two days without speaking to another soul, and it feels as if my vocal cords have seized up if I don’t sing or whistle along.’

  Tom decided he liked this man. He seemed honest and genuinely sad that things hadn’t worked out with Leo.

  ‘What’s this about one of my employees, then? I think they’re a relatively honest bunch. You’d like to think that comes with the job, really.’

  Tom smiled. He had met a fair number of accountants whom he might have considered borderline on the honesty front, but decided to keep that thought to himself.

  ‘It’s a man called Adam Mellor. I gather he works for your firm?’

  ‘Adam. Yes, he’s in my team. A bright guy, impressive in front of clients. Why are you interested?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Julian, I can’t say at this point. It’s all a bit vague, but his name has come up and I’d like to hear about him. We’ve tried to talk to him, but he seems to be on leave.’

  ‘That’s right. It was a last-minute thing. He was supposed to be coming to Haydock Park with us all last Saturday – you remember I mentioned that to you? He was coordinating the event. I phoned him in the morning to say we had a spare place as Leo was going to be a no-show, and he called back later to say he wasn’t going to be able to make it either. Somebody in his family had died that morning, so he asked if he could take some leave. He’s going to be away for another week, I think.’

  Tom said nothing and avoided meeting Becky’s eyes.

  ‘Tell me about him, if you wouldn’t mind. Anything you know about his background, his character. It will help us create a picture.’

  Julian was a smart guy, and Tom could see that he was weighing up whether to go along with this or not. But then he gave a small nod of the head, as if convincing himself that Tom was okay.

  ‘I knew his father – he’s dead now – and he admitted to me before we appointed Adam that there had been some difficulties when he was growing up. But when Adam was at university his father paid for some pretty intensive counselling that appeared to be effective. Of course, Adam’s in his thirties now, so I think his wild youth is well behind him. His father asked me to give him a job as a favour, and I agreed. I haven’t regretted it.’

  Julian stopped for a moment and looked pensive. ‘I wonder who could have died that mattered to him? I always got the impression that after his father passed away he no longer had anything to do with his family – what remains of it.’ He shrugged.

  ‘What about his character?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Hmm. He’s not that popular with his colleagues, I have to admit. I’m told the girls think he’s a user, and the guys think he’s power-hungry. But, as I said, clients love him because he flatters them and they’re aware of his wealthy background. He makes no effort to hide where he comes from, and I think some of them are impressed.’

  ‘How did his family make their money? Do you know?’

  ‘I do. They’re quite famous locally. An ancestor on his father’s side was something to do with the original Manchester Ship Canal company. A shareholder, I think. He made his money and got out before the decline in shipping and moved into other growth areas. I believe he was a major shareholder in what was originally the London and North Western Railway. Adam’s father always considered himself a world authority on Manchester transport.’

  It wasn’t until they were in the car and driving away that Becky risked a glance at Tom. He had saved one question for last with Julian Richmond, and Becky had watched his face as he asked it.

  ‘Did Adam Mellor ever meet Leo?’

  Tom hadn’t been able to get out of that house quickly enough when Julian answered. Clearly he hadn’t wanted to be rude, but they needed to find Adam Mellor, and the sooner the better.

  ‘Yes, he did,’ Julian had responded. ‘He was one of a crowd of colleagues from the office that Leo and I bumped into at Cheltenham.’

  Tom had nodded his thanks, as if it was something of a throwaway question, but Becky knew Julian wasn’t fooled. She saw the man’s eyes narrow, but he said nothing. There was nothing to say.

  Now Tom was driving, and Becky was already on the phone, issuing instructions. They needed to make sure they used every means possible to track down the van that Mellor had been driving and check for any other vehicles he might own. She would bet her life he had a flash car. Tom glanced at her sideways as if to say ‘You’ve got to be joking’ when she asked somebody to check with Mellor’s family to see who had died. But she was just doing her job – leaving no stone unturned. He could have been telling the truth. Not that she believed he was for one second.

  Becky also asked one of the team to check up on his education and where he was in 2003.

  ‘You think he was involved back then, don’t you?’ She looked at Tom and he nodded. ‘And now?’

  ‘He’d met Leo. He was suddenly called away. He’s stalking a woman who looks like Leo and like the women who have been killed. Of course he’s involved. He’s the best – the only – lead we’ve got until we can find out who phoned Hayley Walker, or who she w
ent out to meet.’

  ‘Are we still interested in the backgrounds of the people who worked with Hayley?’ Becky asked.

  ‘Yes, and I want Louisa Knight brought back in. Hayley seems to have been friendly with lots of people but doesn’t seem to have had any particularly close friends. We need to get a picture of Adam Mellor and ask Louisa if she recognises him. Has he ever been involved with the hospital at all, or with any of her colleagues? Had she seen him with Hayley? We should have asked Julian for a picture, but if you ring him I’m sure he’ll oblige. He didn’t miss a trick, there, did he? He knew we were interested in Adam for all the wrong reasons.’

  ‘If you’re sure it’s him, why are we looking at the people in the cardio department still?’

  ‘Because I don’t think we can assume that Mellor is acting alone, plus somebody phoned Hayley and they’re not admitting to it.’

  Becky glanced sideways at Tom. She could hear the strain in his voice, the fear that another girl might be killed. And the horror that the third girl might be Leo.

  ‘We’ll get him, Tom.’

  Tom nodded. ‘I don’t know how Maggie Taylor fits into all of this. But one thing I am damn sure about is that Adam Mellor knows what’s happened to Leo. We have to find him, and find her.’

  38

  A broken window pane was allowing gusts of cold damp air into the room, and Leo shouted until her voice cracked, hoping and praying that somebody would hear her. She couldn’t get to the window. Her ankle was chained to one of a row of green metal pillars that reached up to the high ceiling in the vast space. Overhead the remnants of fluorescent light fittings hung, the tubes either dead or long removed. The floorboards had been pulled up in parts, gaping holes revealing another huge open space one level below where she sat. But that was no help. There was nobody on that floor. There was nobody else in the building.