While Lorne took in her surroundings, Pete bombarded the man with questions. He'd assured Pete that he'd never met Kim Charlton, he'd told him that Wacko told the drivers to back off and only he was to pick the girl up.
Lorne shuddered when they left the flat and a cloud of uneasiness lingered. "Jesus, what a freak. Did you see the way he was looking at me? You asked him if he lived alone, didn't you, Pete?"
"Maybe he fancied ya." Pete laughed and Lorne shuddered again, "Yeah, he told me he lived alone, why?"
She pondered before answering him. "That's strange because I think there's evidence of a woman's touch in that room. How many guys do you know who dust every day, or plump up the cushions on their couch after they've sat on it?"
"You've got a point, not many. I know I ain't got time to do it. Maybe he's got a cleaner."
"Highly unlikely. I don't suppose you noticed the scratches he had on his neck either, did you?"
"Don't suppose I did, no," Pete admitted, tartly.
Lorne's phone rang. "DI Simpkins."
"Hello, ma'am it's Tracy."
"Yes, Tracy, what's up?" Lorne picked up how nervous her colleague sounded.
"Sorry to bother you, ma'am but you're needed back at base ASAP."
"Enlighten me?"
"Umm … It's important ma'am."
"I understand, Tracy. ETA ten minutes."
Lorne's heart raced and an ominous feeling swept through her.
Chapter Forty-Three
They barged through the swing doors of the incident room, both gasping for breath. The two distraught children sitting at Tracy's desk immediately caught Lorne's attention.
Tracy hurried towards her and filled her in.
"They arrived about an hour ago, ma'am. We've rung their parents, they're on their way. We haven't asked any questions yet, not until the parents arrive."
"I don't understand, Tracy. What's going on?"
"Sorry, ma'am I should've said. The little ones ran into the station screaming. Apparently their teacher called for a cab, she was going to drop them off on the way home. Out of the blue the teacher said something to the driver. The kids said he blew his top and struck out at her. The kids got scared and jumped out of the car when he pulled over. They started shouting to draw attention to themselves and the driver sped off with the teacher still inside. They knew the station was close by and came here straight away to tell us. Up 'till now we've given them a drink and called for a doctor to check them over."
"Jesus, have they said anything? Like what type of car it was?" Lorne looked over at the kids.
"I tried to ask them without it sounding like I was questioning them, ma'am and the girl thought it was dark green but the boy seemed pretty sure it was a black Peugeot."
"Good girl. Ring Toni's Taxis, make sure you only talk to Toni, no one else. Ask her what type of car John Scott drives."
"Right away, ma'am."
Lorne wandered over to the children and smiled broadly at them. "How are you two doing? I gather you've had a bad day." She pulled up a chair and sat between them, Pete stood behind, notebook at the ready.
The children were about eleven. The girl had swollen red eyes and was fiddling with a tissue in her lap. The boy had a glazed look in his eyes as if he was reliving his ordeal in his mind.
Before the kids had a chance to answer, a WPC brought in the girl's frantic parents. The mother hugged her daughter as tears ran down her face. "Sharon, my God … Thank goodness you're safe."
"Don't fuss, Mum, I'll be all right. But the man … he took Miss Sedark. What's going to happen to her?" The young girl's eyes pleaded with Lorne for the answer.
"The more you can tell us, Sharon, the quicker we can find Miss Sedark. Do you know why the man hit your teacher?"
"He picked us up from school. She lives around the corner from us and sometimes gives us a lift. At first he was quite chatty and he asked Miss Sedark how long she'd been a teacher at school. She said about thirty years. Then the man kept asking her questions like, did she remember this and that from years ago?" the girl paused.
Lorne said quietly, "Then what happened?"
The girl let out a long breath and said, "Miss Sedark said she remembered the man — that was when he hit her. Lee and I jumped out of the car when the driver pulled over. I made as much noise as I could, Mum, just like you told me to, and no one came to help us. We knew the station was just round the corner so we ran all the way. But he's still got Miss Sedark, Mum. We couldn't get to her."
The girl's mother hugged her again. "There, there love, you did the right thing. So you do listen to your old mum after all? I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."
"I know this must be hard for you, Sharon, but was Miss Sedark still conscious, I mean awake after the man hit her?" Lorne leaned forward and rested her elbows on her thighs.
"No. I don't know if she was unconscious or dead," the girl replied, as a sob caught in her throat.
The doctor performed a brief exam and concluded that both kids were suffering from a touch of shock, but felt they were tough enough characters not to have any lasting side effects.
Lee's parents arrived soon after, which meant that Lorne could direct her questions to both children now. "Can you describe the driver to us?"
"He had brown hair …" Lee said, before Sharon cut him off.
"No, I'm sure it was blond."
"How old would you say he was?" Lorne smiled at the kids.
"I'd say he was about forty," Sharon said, and this time Lee agreed with her.
"Did he have an accent or do you think he was from around here?"
"He was definitely from around here, 'cos he said Miss Sedark taught him years ago." Sharon said, looking pleased with herself.
Lorne stood up and took Pete to one side. "Look into John Scott's background, find out which school he went to, and when. See if he's got any siblings too, will you, Pete? Jesus, I've just thought of something, Scott lives in Clearmont Rd."
Pete looked puzzled and then the penny dropped. "It backs onto the railway line. Shit. You're right, it's gotta be him."
Before Lorne could respond, Tracy interrupted them. "John Scott drives a black Peugeot, ma'am. He was due to start work at five. Guess what, he neglected to turn up."
"Is Wacko still in custody?" Lorne asked the Sergeant.
"He is."
"Do you know if Dr Arnaud rang the Chief?"
"I haven't got a clue, ma'am. I could find out for you."
"No, it's okay, Tracy, I'll go and see the Chief myself after I've finished with the kids."
"I'll crack on, see what I can dig up on J.S.," Pete walked towards his desk.
"Tracy, you come with me, we'll take down the kids' statements. I don't want to keep them hanging around here any longer than necessary, they've had a traumatic day."
* * * *
Chief Roberts arrived as Lorne was recapping Sharon's statement with her.
"Can I have a word, Inspector?" he asked abruptly.
"I'm just about finished here, anyway. Thanks for all your help, Sharon, now go home and get some rest. I don't want you worrying about Miss Sedark. You have my word that we'll find her, okay."
"What's going on? Why wasn't I informed of this incident the minute it occurred? Why did I have to hear about it from my secretary?" Roberts demanded, anger making his mouth twitch.
"It all happened so quickly, sir. I didn't have time to tell you."
"Forgive me if I don't believe you, Inspector. Was it your idea to rush Wacko's prints over to forensics? I've had an irate pathologist on the phone, some guy with a French accent. He told me in no uncertain terms, he believes we're holding the wrong man for these murders. I smell a rat. Did you have anything to do with that call, Inspector?"
"First of all, we found prints at a couple of the scenes. I thought it only right we should check those prints against Wacko's. They didn't match. I didn't think they would. We've carried out all the relevant background checks on the guy and nothing untowa
rd has popped up. His alibi checked out. This guy's so innocent he hasn't even had a shit in the wrong place. If he had, I'd know about it." Her voice rose out of frustration. "Secondly, I didn't tell Dr Arnaud to ring you. It's his responsibility to ensure he gives us the evidence he finds. He also, presumably, wants to make sure innocent people don't get thrown in prison due to aggressive policing."
"When you've quite finished, Inspector. It'd be wise for you to adopt a more respectful tone when you're speaking to a superior officer. I realise our situation must be unsettling for you, but the fact remains, that's exactly what I am, your superior. Do I make myself clear?" His eyes widened and the angry twitch grew more intense.
"As clear as a nun's conscience, sir." Lorne said.
"What happened to the kids?" the chief asked sternly.
"Before I answer that, I'd like to know if I'm still the leading investigator on this case?"
"Have I told you otherwise?"
"No, but you ordered me to take the weekend off at a crucial time in the case."
"I think you'll find that decision was down to my predecessor. Although, I did agree with his decision. We hoped giving you the time off would flush the killer out into the open."
Holding back her temper, she said, "Are you aware he contacted me at home and his car was seen driving away from my house? Had I remained on duty over the weekend as planned, maybe, just maybe my family wouldn't have been put at risk."
Roberts, now looking sheepish cleared his throat and said, "It was a regrettable mistake and I can only apologise for the way things have turned out. Are Tom and your daughter all right?"
"Tom and I decided it'd be better if he and Charlie stayed at his mum's for a while. At least until we've caught the killer." She hoped the lie convinced him.
"Good idea. Look, I'll let Wacko go but you need to bring in other suspects. Have you got any solid ones, yet?" he asked, mellowing for the first time since his return.
"Just the one. Pete and I questioned one of the taxi drivers today, John Scott. Just being in the same room as him gave me the willies." Lorne explained what happened and how she felt when Scott's eyes followed her around the room. "Pete's in the process of looking into his past now." He nodded, and Lorne felt he was, at last, taking her seriously. "One final thing, when we were at Scott's house I noticed some scratches on his neck. One of the victims, Doreen Nicholls, fought with her attacker, the pathologist found samples of skin, from the assailant, under her fingernails."
"Does this guy have a record?"
"Nope. Like I said, Pete's carrying out a more thorough check now. The guy gave me the jitters, he's creepy. Pete didn't pick up on anything, but then he's not a woman, is he?"
"Well, if your instincts are that strong, pull, him in. Hold on a moment, what about his voice? You've spoken to the killer, did his voice sound familiar at all?"
She shook her head. "Hard to say, his voice has always been muffled as if he was holding a cloth over the mouthpiece. Can you organise a warrant to search his house?"
"Leave it with me. In the meantime, pull everything on him, bank details, previous employment, the lot. Wasn't there some speculation about him having an accomplice at one point?"
"Yeah, we've got no idea if the accomplice is male or female though. As soon as you get the warrant sorted we can bring him in."
"Find out about the missing teacher, too, will you, Lorne?" Roberts said.
"I'd like to organise surveillance on his house while we wait for the warrant to come through." Lorne surveyed the room for Tracy and Mitch.
"I agree. But if he's abducted the teacher do you really think he'd be foolish enough to take her back to his home?"
"I can't answer that, but someone should be on the scene if he did. I'll get Tracy and Mitch over there. Can you sanction some overtime?"
"Just do what you have to do, Lorne. Leave me to worry about that side of things."
Lorne watched Roberts walk up the corridor to his office, unsure what the future held for her. She stepped back into her office and rang home, hoping Tom would've changed his mind and returned, but the answer-phone kicked in. She thought about ringing his mum's but decided against it.
She was just on her way out of the office when the phone rang. Fear gripped her insides as she answered the call.
"Lorne, how are you, cherie?"
When she heard Jacques' voice she released the breath she'd sucked in.
"Bearing up. I was just about to call you." She ran through the latest developments.
"That poor woman. We must remain optimistic. Up 'till now his victims have not been killed immediately. Perhaps it's his way of prolonging their punishment. If the victims are from his past, the mental abuse he subjects them to would probably be more satisfying than the actual murder itself. As soon as you get the warrant, ring me. I'd like to help conduct the search of his property, if you're adamant he's the killer."
"I just hope we manage to locate him before Miss Sedark becomes victim number five. When the warrant's in my hand you'll be the first to know."
"I guess dinner is out of the question tonight?"
It seemed to be a daft question under the circumstances, but one she appreciated nonetheless. "I'll be here all night. You could pop by later, I'll have to grab something to eat at some point."
"I'll do that. Have you heard from Tom?"
"No. I've just rung home and he's still not there. I better get on. I'll ring you later."
Chapter Forty-Four
"Find anything interesting, Pete?" Lorne asked, stretching the knots out of her back as she approached his desk.
"The school's shut, so not much. John Scott attended Ashleigh High between 1975 and 1980, along with a Katherine Scott, I take it she's his sister. That's all we have on file," he said, pushing his notebook away from him in disgust.
"Contact the headmaster, I don't care if it is after hours, I'm sure he'll want to know about Miss Sedark. We'll get him to give us access to the school's files."
"Right away, boss."
"Tracy, you and Mitch stakeout John Scott's house. Just watch the place until we get our hands on that bloody warrant."
Covering the mouthpiece of the phone, Pete said, "Boss, I've got the headmaster, Mr Warren, on the phone. He's willing to meet us at the school now."
Lorne checked her watch. "Tell him we'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Molly, you and John take over from Pete. Go through John and Katherine Scott's bank records. Pete and I will be back in a couple of hours."
"Bearing in mind what happened the last time he abducted someone, what if the killer tries to contact you, ma'am?" Molly asked.
"Try to get a trace. Spin him a yarn. We should be back by eight."
* * * *
Mr Warren was nervously waiting at the entrance of the school when they arrived.
The man, in his early-fifties, pulled the collar of his cream trench coat high around his neck to keep the rain out. "Any news?" he asked.
"Not yet. I appreciate your co-operation, Mr Warren. Has Miss Sedark taught here long?"
"She joined us straight from teacher training college about 35 years ago. She gets on well with the students. The personnel files are in my office."
As they swiftly made their way through the deserted school, Lorne asked, "What about the student's files, how far do they go back?"
"During the war, the Germans bombed the school and it had to be rebuilt. Our records are now kept in a different part of the building. The authorities didn't want a repeat situation so they had a steel room built at the rear."
"Do you mind if we see the student's files first?"
"Not at all, it's this way. Let me turn on some lights." He walked over to the boxed panel on the wall, flicked several switches and the area flooded with bright light. The sounds of Lorne's low-heels click-clicking on tiles echoed loud in the silence as they followed Mr Warren down to the end of a different corridor. "Here we are," he said, and stopped in front of the steel doors.
Once inside, Mr Warren inched his way along the rows of storage boxes arranged neatly on metal shelving units. "Let me see, 1975 you said. John and Katherine Scott … Here we are, John Scott, but no Katherine Scott. What age was the girl, do you know?" He blew the dust off a manila folder and opened it up on a table in the centre of the room.
"We don't know. My team is checking at the moment. Any help you can give us would be a bonus."
Cruel Justice (DI Lorne Simpkins (Book one)) Page 25
