‘Lisa? She’s not here. What’s that?’ Her eyes were looking beyond where Maddie was standing. Maddie turned to see what she was indicating.
‘Harry . . .’ she said. Harry walked past her, looking down at the smears of red.
‘Dammit!’ He turned back to where Mrs Simpkiss was still staring wide-eyed. ‘Do you know where Lisa is?’ The woman was still looking down. ‘Lisa! Do you know where she is?’
Her eyes snapped up to meet with his. The fear was back, it quickly turned to panic. ‘Is she okay? Is Lisa okay?’ She became unsteady. Maddie reached out for her, pulled a seat out from under the dining table and helped her into it.
Harry paced gingerly across the kitchen. He stopped at the back door. He pulled his sleeve over his hand to pull the handle down. The door swung inwards and he stepped out.
‘Sir?’ Maddie said.
‘She was dragged to here. There’s more on the path.’
‘My Lisa!’ Mrs Simpkiss whined.
‘What happened to her?’ Maddie said. She watched Harry step out. He walked slowly across the window towards the far side of the house. His eyes were down. He stepped out of sight. Maddie was about to follow him out when he reappeared.
‘The spots stop at the drive. There must have been a car.’
‘I thought she went to the shops!’
‘It’s okay. Tell me what happened?’ Maddie said. ‘Was she here?’
‘She was. She was here — I don’t know when!’
‘You have to think!’ Harry cut in. ‘You have to try and remember! There’s a lot of blood. If this is one person’s . . . if this is Lisa’s and she’s lost this much blood we need to find her. You need to think. You need to tell me what happened!’ Olive’s eyes flickered around the room and her mouth opened and closed. She was trying to speak, but she couldn’t. Her breathing was suddenly quicker and she seemed to be struggling with it.
‘I can’t . . . I don’t . . .’ Her breathing got worse, quicker and shallower still. Harry was standing over her and Maddie pushed past him. She dropped to her knees in front of the woman. She took hold of her hand.
‘Focus on me, Olive. Can you do that?’
Olive’s eyes flicked around the room, her breathing faster still. She was losing control. Maddie recognised the start of a panic attack and tightened her grip on the old woman’s hands. Olive looked down at them. When she lifted her eyes again they met with Maddie’s.
‘Good, that’s good.’ Maddie smiled, ‘I know you can help us, I know you can — but you have to stay focussed on me. Can you hear me okay?’
The woman managed a jerked nod. ‘I want you to do something for me, okay?’ She got another nod. ‘I want you to tell me five things that you can see. Can you do that?’
‘Five . . .’
‘Five things. I’ll count them down.’ She lifted her hand, she had her fingers splayed out. ‘Tell me the first thing you can see,’ she said.
‘Y . . . you . . .’ she managed.
Maddie dropped one of her fingers.
‘Excellent. Give me four more.’
‘My cooker . . .’ she sniffed, ‘the floor . . .’ Her breathing was a little more controlled, a little less rushed. ‘The chair . . . your hand.’
‘That will do, Olive. Well done. Now, four things you can hear.’
She lifted her eyes. ‘Your voice . . . the washing machine . . . I can hear me — my breathing.’
‘You’re doing so well.’ Maddie reached out, took hold of her hand and pulled it towards her. ‘Now tell me something you can feel.’
Her face creased, it was criss-crossed with wrinkles from a lifetime of smiles. They hadn’t been revealed until now.
‘You’re holding my hand.’ Her breathing was back to normal and the fear in her eyes had dissipated. She sniffed and her eyes flicked to Harry.
‘Okay, Olive,’ Maddie said. ‘That’s great . . . you did great. Do you remember why we came here?’
Her eyes suddenly lit again, like she had been caught out, she looked between the two detectives, suddenly worried.
‘It’s okay if you don’t, Olive. That’s our fault. We came here unannounced. Anybody would be a little confused. I’m sorry we disturbed you. We came to see Lisa.’
‘Lisa’s not here!’
‘Okay, but maybe we should check she hasn’t come back home again. Do you mind if I pop upstairs to check?’
‘Well, I don’t think she will be up there, but I suppose . . .’
‘Great!’ Maddie looked up at Harry. ‘Stay with her. I’ll see what I can find.’ Harry nodded. She moved back into the hallway and across to the living room. The television was on and paused. Olive’s seat was obvious, it was high-backed with extra cushions and a low table beside it that was cluttered with an asthma pump, an empty blister packet of pills, some discarded glasses and a listings magazine. From a quick check she could see no signs of disturbance, no obvious clues that Lisa had been in here and, crucially, no more blood.
Back in the hallway she cast her eye around quickly and looked up the stairs. The carpet was a dark blue. She turned the light on and bent forward a little to see if any patches of blood shimmered in the light. She couldn’t see any. The banister and the walls were painted in a light vanilla shade. She checked them on the way up for any signs of splattering.
The stairs came up at one end of the landing. On the immediate right was the main bedroom. She stepped in. She guessed it was Olive’s. The bed linen was floral and outdated, the bedside furniture the same. A cardigan hanging over the back of a chair looked to be similar to the one Olive was wearing.
She moved back out and across the landing into a box room. It had been the only door that was closed. It looked like it was used for storage — old clothes mainly — some piles of books and an old exercise machine with more clothes hanging off it.
The next room along was Lisa’s for sure. It was sparse. It looked like the occupier hadn’t quite unpacked yet — or was someone who wasn’t unused to making anywhere home. The furniture, the single bed, it all seemed reminiscent of an adolescent Lisa. Maddie got the impression that she might have moved out a few times only to come back when she’d run out of options. This room was a little more untidy. There were clothes on the floor, the wardrobe was hanging open, with more clothes spewing out. She had numerous pairs of shoes lined up and an equal number of handbags thrown over the top of them. Maddie sifted through them quickly: lipsticks, makeup mirrors and the occasional packet of chewing gum — nothing that would be of any help to them.
The next room was the bathroom. She made sure to lift the soak-aways in the sink and the shower to check the undersides for blood. A good giveaway if someone had tried to clean up. She used the torch function on her phone to see right down the plughole for the same reason. The bath plug was fixed. She couldn’t lift it out but she was able to ease it up just enough to be sure. The blood was isolated to the kitchen. And whoever it belonged to had been dragged outside from there. She ran down the stairs and back into the kitchen.
‘She’s not here.’ Olive was still sitting at the kitchen table. Harry had taken a seat next to her, he was turned in and facing her. Olive had her hands on her lap and her head was bowed.
‘Anything of note?’ Harry asked.
‘Nothing that stands out,’ Maddie replied.
‘I told you she wasn’t here!’ Olive said. Her handbag was on the table. She reached for it. She pulled a small packet of tissues out and blew her nose. She offered the packet around. Both detectives declined. She left the bag on her lap.
‘We were just talking about Lisa,’ Harry said. ‘Olive, here, was saying that she saw her today. She was here with the police.’
‘The police?’
‘Yeah. They found you out on the streets this morning, didn’t they, Olive? We’re not sure what time.’
‘And the police spoke with Lisa, did they?’ Maddie said.
‘We’re not too sure, Maddie. Maybe we’ll have a record?’
‘Maybe she called me!’ Olive exclaimed suddenly. ‘I found my phone today! She always lets me know where she’s going. I thought I had lost it. I found it just earlier! Now . . . where did I put it?’ She sat up straighter, her eyes flicked around the room, scanning the surfaces. Harry stood up, keen to assist; Olive’s phone would have her daughter’s number at the very least. They might be able to use that to find her.
‘I’ll have a look if you like,’ Harry said. ‘You stay sat down. You told me about your bad knee there.’
Maddie swapped with him to sit next to the old woman. ‘What happened to your knee?’
Olive flexed her leg gingerly and started describing her symptoms. Maddie wasn’t really listening. Instead, her eyes followed Harry as he moved round the kitchen. He was searching the worktops and the drawers. He was being careful with his feet. Maddie took in the red smear across the floor. The blood surely had to be Lisa’s and here was her mother talking casually about joint pain. She didn’t seem to have a clue about the carnage that must have taken place in her own home — perhaps even while she sat watching her television.
‘Do you have children?’ The question punctured Maddie’s thoughts and caught her out.
‘I don’t, Olive. Not yet. You have two, right?’
Olive suddenly broke into a wide smile. ‘Two daughters. We tried for a boy, but it wasn’t to be.’ Olive’s expression was suddenly melancholy. ‘God didn’t want us to be blessed with a boy. I reckoned it was his way of telling us that we needed to make the most of what we had. I tried. We both did. You can’t live their lives for them, though, can you?’
‘You can’t. You can only bring them up the best you can.’
‘They’re good kids, though. We’ve had our problems. My Cathy, she’s a real high-flyer, I always knew that about her. My husband, John, he used to say, “she’s born ambitious that one.” He was right, too. She puts me to shame. I’ve been a stay-at-home mum my whole life. I mean, it was different then. Now you can go out and do what you want. But back then, that’s what you did.’
‘Of course you had to.’ Maddie could see Harry had stopped searching. He was the picture of frustration.
‘But my Lisa . . . well, at least she might have got herself a man now. And he seemed nice. It’s nice that she even brought him back here to meet me. I don’t think she’s ever done that before!’
‘No, they don’t, do they!’ Maddie was still looking away but her attention suddenly switched back to Olive. ‘A new man?’
Olive was beaming now, her eyes losing focus. ‘Yes, he was here earlier. It must be early days. He seemed a bit nervous, you know, to meet me. The good ones always are. They want to make a good impression, see?’
‘Do you remember his name, Olive — or anything about him?’ Maddie tried to sound casual.
Olive grimaced. ‘Oh, no, I don’t. She would have told me, wouldn’t she? She would have introduced him to me. I’ll get into trouble! I should remember things like that . . . important things. But just recently, you know, I don’t seem to—’
‘It’s okay, Olive. I’m sure she’ll understand. I’m not very good with names either. Maybe they said where they were going?’
‘I don’t remember. I don’t remember what she said.’
‘Did you think they were going out somewhere nice? Was he treating her? Did she seem happy when they left?’
‘I don’t know! I think . . . I just don’t know.’
‘That’s okay. Don’t worry. Do you remember them leaving?’
‘I . . . I think they went together? I’m a bit of a muddle. Oh I found my phone! When they left. It was just there. Maybe I should give her a call and see what time she wants me to put dinner on for.’ Olive shifted her position so she could reach into her pocket. She pulled out a sleek smartphone. She grimaced again, her confusion obvious.
‘Oh dear! I don’t think I can work this one. Maybe this isn’t mine after all?’
‘Would you like me to have a try?’ Maddie said, as she locked eyes with Harry. Olive handed it over without a second thought then went back to flexing her leg.
‘I’m not supposed to walk on it,’ Olive said.
‘Sounds like good advice!’ Maddie replied. She lifted the phone. She kept her voice low to speak with Harry. ‘There’s blood on it.’ The glass front was spotted but there was a clearer smear down the side. Maddie was suddenly conscious that she shouldn’t be handling it — too late for that. The screen demanded a passcode or a thumbprint. Maddie swore under her breath. She spun it round to show Harry.
‘Have you got a second?’ he said.
Maddie made her excuses to Olive and they moved as far as the hallway. She still faced back into the kitchen, where she could keep an eye on Olive. ‘This must be Lisa’s phone. We need to know what’s on it.’
‘We do. We can assume this Andy is known to her and she should have a number for him — maybe other information that can help. I might know someone who can get into the phone.’
‘On a Saturday morning?’
‘I’ll need to be persuasive. I’ll get some more coppers here on the hurry up. We need to get a scene on and be away.’
‘I agree,’ Maddie said. ‘We’re not going to get anything more from here. We need to be doing something — and fast. We have to assume the daughter has been injured and dragged out. If we can’t get into that phone though, we may need a plan B.’ She paused for a moment. ‘What did you do overnight? Around Andy McCall?’
‘We don’t have any addresses for him in the county. I spoke to Jim McCall, but only on the phone. He said he was out of the area on business. If he’s to be believed he doesn’t know where his brother is living. Apparently he moves around a lot. He did say that he thought he was living in Brighton and then Hastings at different times.’
‘That ties in with the other girls.’
‘It does.’
‘Did you get a phone number from him?’
‘Yes. I already ran a trace. It hasn’t connected to a network for four months.’
‘He’s changed his phone.’
‘Highly likely. His brother also said that the last time he saw Andy he was really angry — like, beside himself angry. He turned up at the office and was raging about Jonathan Lee getting arrested. He wanted to know what was going on — all the details. James McCall said he told him as much as he knew, which was that Jonathan had been arrested and someone had been knocked down by one of their trucks. James said he was furious about the arrest, about the police being at the office. It seemed strange to James at the time because he didn’t think that Andy and the fella we arrested even knew each other.’
‘You think he was angry because we were sniffing around?’
‘I certainly do now.’
‘So he moved the girl. He won’t be using that site again, will he?’
‘I wouldn’t think so. I’ve tasked search teams with doing all the sites McCall’s provided. There are seven in total — five in Lennockshire. The other two are in Sussex.’
‘Makes sense.’
‘It makes sense to search them to be sure, but it wouldn’t make sense for him to use one of them. Not now.’
‘So how do we find him?’
‘You tell me! You wanted in on this, Maddie. Now’s the time to pull something out of the hat!’
‘That’s hardly fair.’
‘You’re right.’
‘We think he’s in a McCall’s truck. We can nominate the registration numbers on the ANPR system — just in case he runs a camera.’
‘Okay.’
Maddie was still thinking. ‘Did you speak to James McCall yourself?’
‘I did. Over the phone.’
‘And you think he was telling you everything he knows?’
‘Hard to tell for sure. He sounded sure when he was sp
eaking about his brother but he was a bit hesitant about his own whereabouts. I’m not convinced he’s out of the area, put it that way.’
‘Okay . . . I don’t think his brother will change his MO.’
‘So you think he’ll use one of the sites?’
‘Not one on that list he won’t.’
‘You think there are more?’
‘At least one more. There has to be. Andy McCall would know that we’ve been in the office. Maybe there’s a site that never even got to the negotiation stage.’
‘And the only way for that to happen would be if James blocked it?’
‘Exactly. Maybe he put his foot down.’
‘Okay, so you want to go back to James McCall?’
‘Or Ryan Clarke. But I think Ryan told us all he knew when we saw him. If you’re not sure James did the same, then he might be the better bet. Especially if he is at home — we can catch him on the back foot if he lied about being away.’
‘You’re starting to think like a detective now, DS Ives, you should be careful with that.’
‘It’s plan B, though. That phone is still the best option.’
‘I agree. I need to make some phone calls.’
Maddie nodded then turned back to Olive. She was still sat at her kitchen table — humming to herself in blissful ignorance.
Chapter 40
Robert Ford was Maddie’s idea of a stereotypical techie. Harry had called him as they came away from Olive Simpkiss’s house. Maddie’s worries about leaving her were eased by the uniform officer who turned up, a middle-aged woman with a kindly disposition. It was the best she could have hoped for.
They were back at Canterbury police station. Robert lived within walking distance and was there waiting when they’d arrived. He wore khaki shorts and flip-flops and his hair was long and unkempt, as was his beard and the sizeable belly that threatened to push the creases right out of his Spiderman t-shirt.
‘Let me see it then, but like I said on the phone, no promises. If it’s Apple then you’ve got no chance.’
‘It isn’t. It says HTC.’ Harry had the phone in an unsealed, clear bag. Rob took it off him and held it up.
HE IS WATCHING YOU an Absolutely Gripping Crime Thriller With a Massive Twist Page 28
