by Ted Tayler
“Finished so soon, guv?”
“Christine kindly provided the names and contact details for the young men in whom we were interested, Neil. Wayne Page and Kane Hatton appear to have a clean bill of health. Both lads had excellent attendance records, were doing well in every subject, and Kane’s mother was secretary of the Parent Teacher’s Association. Ryan Lock, on the other hand, got himself excluded months before Stacey’s death.”
“What did he do?”
“They caught him on school premises with drug paraphernalia, Neil, which includes any implement used for the administration of controlled substances. Namely, one hypodermic syringe, one needle, one plastic tube, a burnt spoon, and a Zippo lighter. Ms Moseley asserts that they found no drugs on Lock’s person, nor in the locker assigned to him.”
“Ryan was cute enough to have another locker,” said Neil, “acquired from a vulnerable first year under duress, no doubt. Ryan was friends with Stacey Read. Lucy confirmed that her sister spoke with him more often than others at school. Does this tarnish the sensible girl image for good, guv?”
“Ms Moseley spoke highly of Stacey,” said Gus. “She was a bright student who starred in the school debating team. Stacey had strong opinions over a wide range of topical matters, such as diversity, and climate change.”
“We need to speak to Ryan Lock, guv,” said Neil.
“Easier said, than done, Neil. Ryan Lock’s not been seen in Swindon for over a year. I’ll ask Gareth to look for him on the computer. He might have a criminal record. I asked Christine Moseley why she didn’t contact the police when those items turned up during a spot check. She said because they didn’t recover any actual drugs, the police might have found it tough to prosecute the case. Ryan could have said he discovered them in the park.”
“She has a point,” said Neil, “they’re easy to find. Gareth’s working on that list from Debbie, by the way. We could pop along to his office and start the ball rolling on finding Ryan Lock.”
“Once we’ve looked at that list to see if we recognise any names,” said Gus, “I want to get hold of Pat Read and Rod Maidment. They haven’t done a runner, as far as I’m aware. We’ll interview them later, and with luck, Gareth will have then found Ryan Lock. Do you feel we’re getting somewhere with this case, Neil?”
“Two steps forward, and three steps back, guv,” said Neil. “I think we’ve been there before. Last time, I believe you told me it’s always darkest before the dawn.”
“Let’s hope so, Neil,” said Gus.
CHAPTER 9
Gareth Francis was typing when Gus tapped on his office door.
“How’s it going, Gareth?”
“I’m halfway through the list that Mrs Read supplied,” sighed Gareth. “You may have difficulty tracing several of these men. Mrs Read thinks they returned to Poland. She could only provide addresses where they stayed while working in Swindon. I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but you may have missed a trick.”
“In what way?” asked Gus.
“What about the first six and a half years of the marriage?”
“Debbie Read implied that her husband kept her occupied,” said Gus. “I suppose her appetite meant she might have seen other men during that time. Thanks.”
“Did DS Davis mention the meeting just now between mother and daughter?”
“No. That meeting was in the corridor. I take it? As you escorted Debbie Read to Reception. Neil came out just behind you. Was something said that you think important?”
“Lucy apologised to her mother for not telling her everything. Mrs Read told her not to worry; nothing could have changed what happened. No, it wasn’t the conversation that struck me. Lucy is such a shy, fragile individual compared to her mother, isn’t she? I didn’t know Stacey when she was alive, but Jake Latimer mentioned that she took after her mother in height and build. Lucy favours her father, I suppose?”
“We haven’t interviewed Pat Read yet,” said Gus. “I’ll bear it in mind.”
“Have you completed your interviews?” said Gareth. “I didn’t see Ms Moseley leave. I hoped to have a word.”
“You would waste your time, Gareth,” said Gus. “I heard her call her partner on her mobile when she left us. I think Christine and Fiona are flying to Ibiza on Sunday.”
“Oh, I see. How long before you want this list?”
“How many more names do you have to type?” asked Gus.
“A dozen,” Gareth replied.
“Can you do me a favour when you’ve completed that list? Ryan Lock got excluded from Stacey’s school just before the end of 2014. Nobody knows where he is at present. I’m sure you know where to look.”
“I have other duties to perform,” said Gareth, “but I’ll do my best.”
“Thanks, Gareth, Neil and I will trot along to the detective squad room now. I want to ask Jake a couple of questions before we leave. Neil can pop back for the list before we drive back to the office.”
With that, Gus left Gareth Francis to his typing.
Neil was outside in the corridor, waiting.
“All done, guv?” he asked.
“Another fifteen to twenty minutes. You can call back later. Let’s see if Jake is in.”
“I’ve just seen him return to the squad room, guv,” said Neil.
Jake looked up as Neil and Gus entered the room. The place was busy, with detectives checking details on screens and updating files from their notebooks.
“Another dawn raid?” asked Gus.
“It’s Friday, guv,” said Jake. “Some people are angling for weekend overtime, and the sensible ones are getting things up together so they can go home on time. How did it go today?”
“We didn’t make as much progress as I would have liked,” said Gus. “Have you got a phone number for Raj Sengupta?”
“Yes, guv,” said Jake, “here we are.”
Gus dialled the number. He introduced himself to the cybercrime team leader.
“How can I help, Mr Freeman?” said Raj.
“When you worked on the Stacey Read case with Jack Sanders, early in 2015, which of the family convinced you that the victim was street-smart?”
“I’m afraid that was the terminology I used in my notes, Mr Freeman,” said Raj. “The young girl was smart and intelligent, according to her school. The family lived in Gorse Hill, a part of Swindon that has two distinct parts. On one side of the road bisecting the district, life expectancy is significantly lower than on the other. The poorer side is populated by people living on streets and roads. The more affluent areas include avenues, drives, and ways. Jack Sanders took the information I fed him and used my ‘street-smart’ phrase to describe our victim and her background.”
“It’s been bugging us for the past few days,” said Gus. “Because Stacey didn’t display those qualities in real life.”
“I didn’t intend to confuse matters, Mr Freeman. I thought Jack would have screened out any ambiguity from the murder file.”
“It’s okay, Raj,” said Gus. “Jack’s heart wasn’t in it by that time. We’ll ignore it. Let’s move on to Pat Read. How did he strike you?”
“The poor girl’s father. I didn’t sit in on that interview. Jack drafted in Theo Hickerton to replace me; I was on a computer course.”
“Right, well I reckon that’s as much as you can help us with, Raj. Many thanks.”
“No good, guv?” asked Neil.
“We can forget Stacey being street-smart. That was a red herring. Where is Theo Hickerton these days, Jake?”
“He hasn’t risen above the transport section role he got assigned to after the massage parlour fiasco,” said Jake. “Shall I call him? What do you need to know? He might not want to speak to you.”
“I want to know whether he believed Pat Read fathered both of Debbie’s girls,” said Gus,
Jake raised an eyebrow and called his old boss.
“That came out of nowhere, guv,” said Neil. “What made you think that?”
“Gareth Francis noti
ced a marked physical difference between the two girls. I’ve never seen a photograph of Pat Read. Any information I can glean before we interview him will help.”
Gus and Neil listened to Jake’s side of the conversation with DI Theo Hickerton.
“Collect that list from Gareth Francis, Neil,” said Gus. “I don’t think Theo’s much help.”
“Theo reckoned they had no reason to consider the younger daughter, guv,” said Jake after he ended the call. “Theo said Stacey was a junior version of Debbie. Here comes Neil. Is that it for now, are you heading back to the office?”
“I’ll call Alex Hardy in a minute. He’s in charge while we’re out of the office. I need to interview Pat Read today.”
“I’ll see you around,” said Jake.
Gus and Neil returned to the visitor’s car park.
“Just hang on while I chat with Alex,” said Gus when they reached Neil’s car.
Alex Hardy picked up on the first ring.
“Yes, guv,”
“Can we interview Pat Read while we’re here in Swindon, Alex?”
“Luke tells me Read’s due home from work at three o’clock,” said Alex. “He’s on the early shift this week.”
“Ask Luke to call him and say we’ll be on his doorstep waiting,” said Gus.
Gus ended the call and shook his head when Neil went to unlock the car.
“I know a decent café a five-minute walk from here, Neil. We’ve got time to spare for a bite to eat. Bring that list of Debbie Reads’ conquests with you. How many men did Gareth have to type details for, anyway?”
“Two dozen, guv,” said Neil.
Gus prayed they didn’t need to find that many more men to interview. As he and Neil made their way to the café, Gus considered the females in Stacey’s family.
Mary Bennett might be less mobile these days, but her brain was still functioning. She put up with Debbie foisting Stacey and Lucy on her while she entertained a string of boyfriends. Luke thought Mary had done her level best to keep Stacey grounded.
Vanessa Nicholls had slipped from a responsible regular job with a building society to part-time jobs, one of which was working behind the bar at a nightclub. Vanessa admitted having several boyfriends since her husband, Barry, flew the nest. No problem, by itself, but she seemed unsure whether Stacey had ever come into contact with one of them.
Debbie Read was another matter altogether. Her aim in life appeared to be to enjoy herself at the expense of other family members. Mary and Vanessa cared for her children for a significant period to free up time for Debbie to have fun. Stacey had been dead for over sixty hours before Debbie contacted the police.
“The pies look tasty, guv,” said Neil.
Gus ordered the same meal as he had last time. Neil opted for the steak and kidney pie.
“A penny for them, guv,” said Neil.
“Who do you fancy for it, Neil?” asked Gus.
“We can discount the women,” said Neil. “So that leaves us with Pat Read and Ryan Lock. Or it could be Mr Nobody, the lone canoeist that Stacey bumped into by the canal.”
“Not much to go on, is it? Who do we have on that list, Neil?”
Neil ran his finger down the names on the first sheet.
“A few foreign names in there, guv, plus the landlord of a pub out at Wichelstowe that I recognise. The contact details for several of these suggest they worked at Dorcan.”
“Did Gareth make a note of relationships?” asked Gus.
“As opposed to one-night stands, do you mean, guv?”
“No, Neil. Married, or single.”
“Two-thirds married, guv. Hang on, this is interesting.”
“Someone we know?” asked Gus.
“The second name on sheet two is Rod Maidment, Wroughton. Single.”
“Vanessa told Alex that Maidment was the only guy likely to have seen Stacey and Lucy at her place. Their relationship was more than a one-night stand.”
Their food arrived, and silence reigned as they got stuck in.
“That was great,” said Neil ten minutes later. “When did Vanessa say she was with Maidment?”
“Between twelve and eighteen months before Stacey died. Why?”
“I was going to call Gareth Francis to ask whether this list is a running order. It’s not alphabetical.”
“Do we need to know which sister he slept with first?” asked Gus.
“No, but it would be good to know if the affair with Debbie came after he’d set eyes on Stacey at Vanessa’s gaff. Even if it didn’t, I reckon we should add Maidment’s name to our ‘possible’ list.”
“Agreed, Neil,” said Gus. “I don’t suppose Debbie could pinpoint dates for every one of those liaisons. We could discount several of the earlier ones because the girls stayed with Mary Bennett.”
“True,” said Neil. He ran his finger down the page to consider the remaining names. “Nobody else familiar, guv.”
“Give Gareth a call, Neil. Ask whether Debbie started from when Pat walked out and worked her way through until February 2015, or it was just random. She could have had a ten- year diary in that bag of hers. While he’s thinking about that, ask how he’s getting on in the hunt for Ryan Lock.”
“Did you want a pudding, guv?” asked Neil, eyeing the selection on the board behind the counter.
“I’d enjoy a bread-and-butter pudding, Neil, but they don’t make it like they did when I was a boy. You carry on. I’ll have a coffee.”
While Neil went to order something fattening, plus two coffees, Gus scanned the names on the sheets for himself. Debbie had slept with twenty-four men over five years. Who was he to say that was excessive, or that Debbie was negligent concerning her children's care and protection? Others would decide that if Geoff Mercer or the ACC thought it right to pass the details to the relevant authorities.
Neil had suggested the women in Stacey Read’s life were innocent.
Innocent was hard to swallow, but how could either woman connect to her death?
Gus had to pin his hopes on the three men still in the frame for the murder until more evidence surfaced.
Neil returned with two coffees. His Spotted Dick would be another five minutes.
“I’ll make that call now, guv,” said Neil.
“Leave it ten minutes, Neil,” said Gus. “I’ll settle our bill while you polish off your pudding, and you can call him from the car. I want to listen in to your conversation.”
Fifteen minutes later, they reached Neil’s car, and he opened his door.
“It’s like an oven in here, isn’t it, guv?” groaned Neil as Gus joined him. “My fault for parking it in the middle of the car park where there’s no shade.”
Neil called Gareth Francis and asked about Debbie Read’s list.
“That woman had a remarkable memory, DS Davis,” said Gareth. “She spared me the details of each encounter, for which I shall be eternally grateful. But my opinion is that the list is ninety-nine percent accurate for each year involved. Mrs Read was unclear of the order in which several of them occurred. She insisted that she’d not missed anyone out.”
“Gus Freeman here, Gareth,” said Gus. “Did Debbie Read have any long-lasting relationships?”
“Only five of the affairs lasted longer than one or two nights. If you study the sheets closely, I indicated those by adding an asterisk after the gentleman’s name. I forgot to tell DS Davis when he collected the information.”
“Thanks for clarifying that point, Gareth,” said Gus. “Neil wondered whether it was a performance appraisal.”
“There’s an asterisk by Rod Maidment’s name, guv,” said Neil.
“Nothing like keeping it in the family, Neil,” said Gus.
Gus missed Gareth’s next comment as Neil’s laughter drowned it out.
“Sorry, Gareth,” said Gus, “I didn’t catch that.”
“I have news on Ryan Lock,” said Gareth. “He’s in the Young Offenders Institution in Feltham, Middlesex.”
�
�That was quick. Well done, Gareth. I’ll try not to bother you again on this case. I’m sure you have other pressing demands on your time.”
“Always happy to oblige,” said Gareth.
Gus nodded to Neil that he had finished and Neil ended the call. They drove to Moredon to welcome Pat Read home from another gruelling day on the Honda production line. Gus checked his watch. They still had forty-five minutes to kill.
“Gareth Francis came up trumps again then, guv,” said Neil. “He can’t detect for toffee, but he’s a decent researcher.”
“He could do with increasing his typing speed, Neil; and for a single bloke in the twenty-first century he’s dim, wouldn’t you say? Gareth was thinking of asking Christine Moseley out for a drink. He was most disappointed when I told him she’d left before he had the chance.”
“I wish I’d been a fly on the wall in the corridor when he crashed and burned, guv. Ms Moseley doesn’t keep it a secret.”
“Why should she, Neil?”
“Fair comment, guv. Gareth should pop into that nightclub in Old Town on Saturday night. He might have more luck with Vanessa Nicholls.”
“Cheeky, Neil. No, don’t go putting ideas in his head. Gareth can sort out his own love life. While we wait for Pat Read, let’s take another look at that list. Highlight the asterisked names. We’ll ask Luke to do a background check on four of those five men. We might need to add them to our list of suspects. Rod Maidment is already a likely candidate.”
“The next thing we can look at is whether any of the names on this list knew Debbie Read when Stacey was two years old.”
“Good thinking, Neil,” said Gus. “Just because Debbie listed them here, doesn’t prevent any of them having slept with her between 2003 and 2008.”
“We must get Luke to ask, guv,” said Neil. “Had they met while Debbie and Pat Read lived together? That will reduce the number that might be Lucy’s father. We need to interview Debbie Read again, too. It could have been a one-night stand, and she was never sure whether or not it was Pat’s.”
“What a nightmare, Neil,” said Gus. “Some people make life so complicated, don’t they? We would be out of a job if people adhered to Commandments five to ten.”
