by Carol Wyer
Mitz and Tom pushed, kicked and pulled until there was a splintering of wood and the door collapsed into large pieces that clung to the hinges. Tom let out a loud grunt and gave it one last resounding kick that allowed Robyn to enter. She pushed through a heavy blackout curtain that fell to the floor in front of the door. The smell of bleach was more evident here and she wrinkled her nose as she stood in the doorway, shining light into the space. It was a bedroom, decorated with flocked wallpaper and containing a chest of drawers and a single bed pushed against a wall. On the bed was a small form under a sheet. She raced over to it, dropped down and pulled back a sheet to uncover Florence curled in a ball, face pale, eyelids closed, long strawberry-blonde hair around her head like a halo. The girl remained immobile. Blood pounded through her temples. Too late? She touched her neck, fingers searching for life. There was nothing. Oh, Robyn, what have you done? Her fingers shook. She lifted them and replaced them on Florence’s neck. Mitz watched her, his eyes two huge discs. Tom shuffled and made small noises in his throat as if he were preparing to speak. She shot him a look. ‘Don’t say it, Tom.’
He cricked his neck to one side and the other, stared at the ceiling, tried not to watch Robyn fumbling for signs of life.
Finally, she found it. ‘She’s alive.’ Tears brimmed in her eyes. She was overcome with a desire to hug the unconscious girl. A hand on her shoulder helped her regain control.
‘Well done,’ said Tom. ‘I’m so proud of you. You were right.’
She leant into him, felt his strong arms around her. For a moment she allowed relief to flood her body. She heard Mitz calling for an ambulance. ‘Couldn’t have done it without your help.’ She pulled away and turned towards Florence.
A flicker of a smile passed over his face. ‘Sure you could. Now, if you don’t mind, I need my beauty sleep. I’m off. If you need my report, tough luck. You’ll get it when I come into the station tomorrow.’ He raised his hand and returned to his squad car.
‘Thanks, Mitz.’
Mitz grinned happily. ‘Any time, boss. I can’t tell you how glad I am that we found Florence.’
‘Me too, Mitz. Me too.’ She swiped at a tear that threatened to spill over her eyelashes. Her attention was drawn to the arrival of the forensic team who pulled into the drive seconds later. Robyn waited with the unconscious Florence. She hoped there was no lasting damage to her. The ambulance would only be a few minutes. She held the girl’s hand and whispered, ‘Wake up, Florrie. We all want you back home – me, your mum and dad, and Amélie. We all love you. Wake up, sweetie.’ Although a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she would still have to wait to find out if Florence was unharmed and able to regain consciousness. And there were still three dead girls whose families needed closure and justice. She had a duty to perform. Shearer might be going for some beauty sleep, but Robyn would work all night if she had to in order to extract a confession from Cheryl Chambers. She owed these girls that, at least.
Sixty-Four
Florence looked a little groggy but was sitting up in the hospital bed. Christine and Grant Hallows were by her bedside. She managed a weak smile when she caught sight of Robyn.
‘Hey,’ she said.
Robyn went to the opposite side of the bed and, facing her parents, dropped down on the bed. ‘Good to see you awake. You had me worried for a while.’
‘And us,’ said Grant.
‘The doctor just told me she’s fine.’ Robyn smiled at the sleepy girl as she spoke.
Christine nodded. ‘No damage, thank goodness. Florrie was given a strong dose of Valium. The doctor said it should soon be out of her system. She’s staying in overnight to make sure.’
‘We found that same drug in Cheryl Chamber’s bathroom cabinet. It’s what the doctor prescribed her for depression. We believe she used it to knock Florence out. Want to tell me about it?’ Robyn looked at Florence. ‘That’s if you’re up to it?’
Florence looked at her mother. ‘I feel so stupid.’
Christine took her hand and squeezed it. ‘Go on, Florrie. We don’t think you’re stupid. This is Robyn. She won’t think any the worse of you either.’
Florence gulped back some tears. ‘It all started when I joined Fox or Dog. I met a boy called Hunter and we got on really well. We messaged each other a few times and chatted, and I told him all about the horses and how I liked art and loads of stuff – music, films and all that sort of thing. We decided to actually meet up.’ She sniffed, her eyes red-rimmed. ‘I shouldn’t have, but gave Mum a story about going home with Amélie after school on Wednesday, and arranged to meet Hunter instead. Now it seems such a dumb thing to do. It was only supposed to be for a couple of hours. I didn’t think it would do any harm. I thought we’d have a walk, maybe a coffee, get to know each other more, and then I’d go home. Oh, Mum!’ Tears welled up in her eyes. Christine made shushing noises and stroked her hair.
‘It’s the shock,’ said Robyn. ‘Take your time, Florence. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.’
Florence snuffled noisily. ‘No, I want to tell you everything. I skipped off art ten minutes early to go and meet Hunter at the station. I waited and waited for him but he didn’t show. I was so miserable and fed up at being let down. I tried to message him on the app but he didn’t respond. I thought he’d changed his mind about the meeting, or had been stringing me along all the time. I gave up and decided to go home. I crossed the car park to walk up the road and catch a bus when somebody came at me from behind, pulled my arms so I couldn’t move them, and covered my face with a cloth. It stank. I kicked and tried to shake my head but I couldn’t get away. It seemed to go on for ages. All the time, there was this awful smell. In the end, I went all woozy and fainted.’
Christine stroked her hair again. Florence gave her a small smile. ‘I’m sorry, Mum.’
‘What’s important is that you’re safe and okay. Isn’t it, Grant?’ Her husband put an arm around her shoulder.
‘Too true,’ he said and winked at his daughter.
Florence continued. ‘I woke up in a bedroom, only it wasn’t like a proper bedroom. It was really dark and cold in there. I tried to find a light, and while I was feeling my way around, I heard someone in the room with me. I thought I was going to be killed. I wanted to scream and run away but I couldn’t. I turned around and there was a woman in the room with me. She told me not to be frightened, and that she only wanted to talk to me, and then she’d take me home. It was so weird. She wore a cycling helmet with a lamp on it. It kept shining in my eyes and I couldn’t see her face. I was dead scared at first, but she kept repeating she wasn’t going to hurt me, and even asked me if I wanted anything to eat.
‘She told me I’d been really silly to sign up to Fox or Dog, but she was going to “save” me because it was an evil app. Then she mumbled some weird stuff about it being her duty to protect the innocent and hunt down the guilty. She’d been “patrolling”, that’s what she called it, and after she saw my profile picture she felt really bad for me because I had lots of dog emojis. She sat beside me on the bed and stroked my hair and hummed a lullaby. It was so bizarre. Then she got up and wagged her finger, told me I was very pretty and that I didn’t need to go online to find a boyfriend, and I was to ignore all the horrible people.’ Florence stopped. ‘Can I have some water, please?’
Christine passed her a plastic cup. She gulped down a mouthful, her eyelids beginning to droop a little.
‘A couple of girls had commented about me being ginger, and I got really annoyed. I knew they were only kidding, but I was so cheesed off I left a pretty rude comment on one girl’s profile. I guess it was dumb to stoop to their level. Anyway, the woman in the cycling helmet told me that I should have let it go. She said it was too easy to become a bitchy bully like them and she didn’t want me to be like that. Then she explained Hunter wasn’t really a boy. She was Hunter, and that she’d enjoyed chatting to me. I was bright and cheerful and shouldn’t worry about not being top of the cl
ass or having a boyfriend. She gave me a lecture about enjoying my life, carrying on with my painting and taking up a career in art or something similar.
‘I asked if I could go home, but she became all huffy and said I hadn’t learnt my lesson yet. I had to understand the Internet could be a dangerous place. She’d already confiscated my mobile and stood there typing a text to Mum. I got angry and told her to give it back and let me go. I jumped up from the bed and tried to snatch it from her. She grabbed my hand and held it tightly and laughed again. She said it was nice to have a girl with spirit again, then left and locked me in the room.
‘I tried to kick the door down. I hammered on it until I was so tired I couldn’t lift my arms. I gave up after that and went back to the bed. Soon after, she turned up with a mug of cocoa and some biscuits. “You understand now, don’t you?” she said. I didn’t know what she was on about. I agreed with her because I didn’t want her to go nutty or anything. She seemed happier then and said I was a lovely girl. I began to feel really, really tired. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Next thing, I woke up in the ambulance.’ Florence looked shamefaced. ‘I was such an idiot.’
Robyn shook her head. ‘We all make mistakes, but we learn from them. Believe it or not, I was young once and got into some right scrapes. I made up all sorts of stuff to sneak out and go and see a boy who worked in a butcher’s shop. My mother didn’t approve of him because he had a motorbike. She was terrified I’d have an accident on it.’
Florence laughed. ‘You lied to your parents?’
‘I’m afraid I bent the truth on a few occasions. I caught a lift from school with him one morning and we skidded going around a roundabout. It wasn’t serious, but I scraped my leg and it ripped my new jeans I was wearing for the occasion. I learnt my lesson. We all do stupid things. Let’s just say, it’s best to run things past your parents before you go off and do them.’ She patted the girl’s arm. ‘Anyway, I’m really glad you’re okay.’
Florence sighed. ‘Thanks, Robyn.’
Robyn smiled again. ‘Get some rest. You’ll have quite a story to tell the others at school.’
‘I don’t want to look like a saddo. I might keep quiet about it.’
‘I know somebody who wouldn’t think that. She’s outside, waiting to visit you.’
Florence chewed at her lip and nodded. ‘Can you ask her to come in?’
Sixty-Five
David Marker handed Robyn the sheet of paper she’d requested. Detailed background checks on Elliot Chambers had revealed an important piece of evidence, and the medical report in her hand revealed Elliot Chambers had been admitted to a residential mental health clinic in Oxfordshire on July the seventh, and stayed there until August the twenty-seventh. Although the treatment itself couldn’t be revealed because of patient confidentiality, it showed that he had begun receiving it while at Manchester University in late March, had been referred to an outpatient clinic in June and to the residential clinic in July. It appeared Charlotte’s death had had a profound effect on his mental health. It also meant he couldn’t have abducted or murdered Carrie Miller.
Robyn headed for the interview room with a determined stride. Inside, Cheryl Chambers regarded her coolly. Mitz was already in place. The solicitor next to Cheryl was one she hadn’t seen before, a man in his forties with a terrible comb-over and a baggy suit that had seen better days.
‘You know why you’re here, Mrs Chambers. You’ve been charged in connection with the murders of Carrie Miller, Amber Dalton and Siobhan Connors, and the abduction of Florence Hallows.’
Cheryl sat back in her chair, arms folded, her face expressionless. Robyn continued.
‘Traces of DNA discovered in a chest freezer in the cellar at The Oaks have been identified as belonging to Carrie Miller. DNA samples and blood belonging to Amber Dalton have been found on the floor of an outbuilding and in the boot of a Vauxhall Zafira registered to you.’ She looked up from her notes to engage eye contact with the woman, but Cheryl gazed steadily into the distance. ‘The body of Siobhan Connors was discovered in a chest freezer purchased by you on Friday the twentieth of January, from Argos in Uttoxeter, and delivered to your home the following day, Saturday the twentieth-first of January. Do you wish to say anything about this, Mrs Chambers?’
Cheryl blinked once. Robyn had expected nothing other than silence from her.
‘Mrs Chambers, do you deny abducting Carrie Miller in July of last year?’
She looked up, but there was still no reaction from Cheryl.
‘Do you deny murdering Carrie Miller by cutting her throat, keeping her in storage in a chest freezer, and then transporting her body in a trunk to Rugeley in a van hired in the name of your late husband, Thomas Chambers, where you arranged for her to be left in a self-storage unit?’
The solicitor kept his head down, avoiding Robyn’s gaze, and shifted on his chair.
‘Do you deny abducting Amber Dalton on the third of January, keeping her imprisoned in the outbuilding beside your house, and murdering her on Thursday the nineteenth of January, poisoning her with antifreeze? Do you also deny abducting Siobhan Connors and suffocating her, then placing her body in the chest freezer found in your outbuilding?’
Robyn let out a small hiss of annoyance. Cheryl was ignoring her questions. She tried one last one.
‘Did you, on Thursday the twenty-sixth of January, abduct Florence Hallows and take her to your house, The Oaks, where you imprisoned her, against her will, in an outbuilding?’
Cheryl didn’t flinch. Robyn sighed and shut the folder containing her notes. Mitz remained stern-faced. He knew what she was going to do. They’d discussed it before coming into the interview room.
‘Look, Mrs Chambers. I’m not going to mess about. I have all the evidence I require to make these charges stick. We recovered the antifreeze used to poison Amber Dalton. We have found fingerprints, DNA and blood belonging to these young women. We know these were revenge murders for the death of your daughter, who was bullied online by these three girls. We came across Charlotte’s profile on the Fox or Dog website. It’s still there, along with the comments that were made about her.’ She let her words hang for a moment, knowing they would resonate with Cheryl.
‘There’s no doubt as to what actually happened. We unearthed the mobile phones belonging to these girls that you used to send false messages to their loved ones and friends, in an attempt to pretend all was normal. Partial fingerprints are on those phones.’ She waited for a reaction.
Cheryl blinked twice rapidly and swallowed.
‘You didn’t think we’d uncover them, did you? Putting them in cereal boxes was a clever touch.’
Cheryl shrugged slightly. Robyn was making headway at last. She was going to make this woman confess if it was the last thing she did.
‘We know you were involved in the murders of these girls. I can only assume that by keeping silent you are protecting another guilty party, and that must be your son, Elliot. Your silence will only make matters worse for him; you see, we have evidence that implicates him in all of this. The trunk, containing the body of Carrie Miller, was bought and paid for by your son. His prints were found on it. Items of clothing worn by the person posing as Joanne Hutchinson were found in his flat. He has no alibis for the dates the girls disappeared and he’s refused to talk about his whereabouts over the summer months of July and August when Carrie Miller was abducted and later murdered. He claims he was “chilling” at home which, quite frankly, is not an alibi. All the evidence points to his involvement, and we shall be charging him.’ She gave a sad sigh. ‘I understand why you’re trying to protect him. You’re his mother. It’s only normal to do so. However there’s no point, because in a few minutes he’s going to confess to it. When I spoke to him before coming in here, he was at breaking point.’
Robyn gathered her notes, stood up and prepared to terminate the interview. She hoped she’d played it right. This was her only chance. ‘I think we’ll end it there, Sergeant Patel. We’re c
learly wasting our time here. We’ll move across to interview Mr Chambers. Please have him collected from the cell.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Mitz stood up as well, and headed for the door. Only then did Cheryl speak. Her voice was steady and quiet. ‘It was me. Elliot has no idea about any of it. Don’t ask him any questions about Charlotte’s death. It’ll tip him over the edge again. It took months for him to get back to some semblance of normality, and even now he’s still got a way to go. Charlotte’s death was too much for him. He had to go into therapy after it happened and then into hospital. He can’t talk about her. He has to pretend she’s still there or he goes under. We kept his admission secret. We couldn’t have his new employers knowing he’d spent time in a mental hospital. Imagine what would happen if his pupils found out. Now he’s trying to make something of his life. Don’t ruin that for him.’
Robyn cocked her head. ‘You’re telling us your son has no connection to these murders whatsoever? I find that difficult to believe, Mrs Chambers.’
The solicitor whispered something to Cheryl. She shook her head. ‘It’s no use. They’ll convict me even if I plead not guilty. I can’t let them involve Elliot.’
Robyn stood behind her chair. ‘Would you like to continue this interview, Mrs Chambers?’
Cheryl nodded. ‘Yes. You must believe me. Elliot had no idea.’
Robyn signalled to Mitz. ‘Mrs Chambers, you are about to confess to three counts of murder. Do you understand the implications of that?’
‘I understand.’
‘Mrs Chambers, do you confess to the murders of Carrie Miller, Amber Dalton and Siobhan Connors?’
Cheryl Chambers took a deep breath and spoke clearly. ‘Yes, I murdered them. They were responsible for Lotty’s death. I wasn’t going to let them get away without some justice.’ She folded her arms, hands under her armpits.
‘Believe me, I didn’t set out to kill them. My intention had been to scare them. Frighten them so much they’d never think about online sites like this again, and most importantly, they’d learn that their jibes and caustic comments had resulted in the death of my girl.’ She paused, staring hard at Robyn.
