The Missing Children

by M A Comley

  “Have you grilled the parents?” Troy demanded angrily.

  “Is there a reason why you should ask that?”

  “Just going along the lines you’ve outlined. How many of these cases end up in the news, pointing the finger at the parents? I love my brother dearly, but do we truly know what goes on behind closed doors, Inspector?”

  Dave nudged her knee with his under the table.

  Kayli sighed. “Is that truly what you think?”

  “Maybe they disguise it well until the front door is firmly shut,” he said bitterly.

  “Are you perhaps just striking out because you think your brother has pointed us in your direction?”

  “If the cap fits. Who knows nowadays? If he’s keen to point the finger at me, I’m more than willing to return the compliment.”

  Kayli raised her eyebrows. “Family loyalty, eh? There’s nothing like it.”

  “Are we done here now, Inspector?” Moorcroft said, tapping his pen on his notebook.

  “I think so. Unless there is anything else your client wants to tell us?”

  “Nothing. I know nothing about my niece’s abduction or her death. I want to put it on record that I think it’s appalling that you should order me in here for questioning like this when you should be out there trying to find the real culprit. Clutching at straws comes to mind, Inspector.”

  “Thank you for humouring us in that case, Mr. Watson. I’d rather clutch at straws than have the culprit hiding under our radar. As you said earlier, a lot of these types of crimes reported through the media reveal the murderers to be the parents or even a relative. I like to think of us covering our backs. If we offend the family members along the way, then that’s something we’re all going to have to live with. I appreciate you taking the time to come and see me.”

  “Huh! Typical woman! Seems to me like you’ve got an answer for everything.”

  She scowled at him as Dave ended the interview for the tape. Kayli and Dave walked the two men back through the reception area and tried to shake their hands. Moorcroft accepted, though Troy Watson merely looked at them in disgust.

  Kayli smiled at the solicitor and said, “You have my card. Please get in touch if you think of anything else we should know in the future.”

  After the men left, Kayli and Dave walked slowly back up the stairs to the incident room.

  “What did you make of him?” Dave asked.

  “He seemed genuine enough. Maybe it was wrong to haul him in and throw the assault charge at him. He’s right—that type of thing shouldn’t see the light of day once the charges have been dropped.”

  “Yeah, I can see his point of view, but it’s always going to be on his record, boss. He needs to deal with it. Perhaps it’ll keep him in line in the future, not that he’s guilty of doing anything, but it might act as a deterrent if the temptation arises in years to come.”

  Kayli’s lip curled and her brow furrowed. “Are you bloody talking in riddles again, Dave?”

  “I know what I mean. I just didn’t articulate it very well, I guess.”

  “No shit, Sherlock! You are funny. Seriously, though, I think we can discount him, but what we can’t dismiss is what he and the teacher have both suggested.”

  “The teacher maybe. I wouldn’t necessarily let what Troy said about his brother cloud your judgement, boss. It reeks of a tit-for-tat ploy to me.”

  Kayli chewed her lip the rest of the way into the incident room, contemplating her partner’s warning. The team spent the afternoon going over and over old ground. Kayli felt they were no closer to discovering who had abducted the girls or who had tortured and killed little Jamillia Watson. Her gut told her that none of her family members were capable of such deplorable behaviour. But if it wasn’t them, then who?

  However, after getting nowhere with the final interviewee, who turned up at five fifteen as promised, she took the decision to visit the Watsons with Dave in the early evening, not knowing if Kelvin would be home or not.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Kelvin opened the door, his expression confused. “Hello, Inspector. What are you doing here?”

  “All right if we come in for a moment, Kelvin? There are a few things we need to clarify.”

  He stood aside to let them into the house. He motioned for them to go in the lounge, where they found Lorella, still in her dressing gown, playing with Marcia on the floor. Lorella jumped to her feet and gripped her gown tightly at her chest.

  “Hello, do you have some news for us? Have you found him?” Lorella asked, her eagerness noticeable in her high-pitched voice.

  Kelvin walked across the room and placed an arm around his wife’s shoulders.

  “Maybe we should do this without your daughter being in the same room,” Kayli suggested with a taut smile.

  Lorella looked at her husband, panic-stricken.

  “Please, just say what you have to say. Marcia is distracted with her toys—aren’t you, darling?” Kelvin asked, looking down at his daughter, who was humming to herself and playing with her dolls.

  When Marcia didn’t answer her father, or acknowledge the officers, Kayli thought it would be okay to proceed. “We’ve gone through the list of names you gave us and interviewed everyone concerned. A few things were highlighted by your friends that I’d like to address, if that’s all right with you?”

  “Okay, would it be better if we sat down for this?” Kelvin suggested.

  The four of them sat down, and Kayli’s gaze drifted towards Marcia again. “First of all, Kelvin, I need you in particular to remain calm whilst I tell you what one of Jamillia’s teachers told us. It seems that your daughter had confided in them a few weeks before her disappearance.”

  Kelvin and Lorella exchanged confused glances.

  “Confided what?” Kelvin asked eventually.

  “The teacher said that Jamillia told them you had touched her inappropriately.” Kayli’s gaze swiftly shifted between Marcia and her parents. The little girl, thankfully, continued to be mesmerised with her toys in her own little world.

  Kelvin jumped off the couch and ran a hand over his short hair. “What? This is crazy. I would never, never do such a thing.” He looked over at his wife.

  Her mouth was hanging open, and she was staring up at him.

  “Lorella, you have to believe me.”

  Lorella began to slowly shake her head as tears dripped onto her cheek. “Why? Why would she tell someone that if it wasn’t true, Kelvin? Answer me that!” She dropped onto the floor and cradled her daughter in her arms.

  “Are you telling us that it’s a lie, Kelvin?” Kayli prompted.

  “Yes. Yes, it’s a damn lie, but how am I going to prove it now my daughter is dead. Who said this? I need to have a word with them, the twisted shit.”

  “I’m not at liberty to reveal that. They were adamant that Jamillia confided in them, but the conversation was not reported to the headmistress.”

  “So, someone hints at something that can neither be proven nor disproven, and you think it’s all right to come here to my home and cast your aspersions?”

  “No one has done anything of the sort. If a statement such as this is highlighted during an investigation, then I am duty bound to ask you whether the allegation was true or not.”

  “Well, it wasn’t. Jesus, I can’t believe Jamillia would ever tell anyone such a downright lie. Why? Why would she say that about me? I loved the very bones of that girl. I protected her when she was in my care. Never once did I touch her in the wrong way. I can’t believe that she would even suggest such a disgusting thing. Why would she say that, Lorella?”

  His wife rocked their daughter and stared at him through wide eyes.

  “My God, don’t tell me you believe this crap? You know me better than that.”

  He paced the floor as his anxiety mounted.

  “I thought I did...” Lorella replied quietly.

  Kayli’s heart thundered. She despised putting the family through such angst at a time when they
were busy grieving for their daughter. Nothing in what Kelvin had said or done so far had caused her to doubt he was telling the truth. “Like I say, it’s just an allegation at this point.”

  Kelvin threw himself back into his chair. “What does that mean? Are you saying that you believe me? Because if you are, I wish you’d tell my wife that. I think she suspects that I’m some kind of monster right now.”

  With the raised voices between her parents, Marcia started to cry. His wife shot him a distrustful glance but said nothing as she soothed their daughter with a rocking motion.

  “I needed to make you aware of what had been said. There’s no way of us telling if this is a false accusation or not, as your daughter is no longer around to verify the claim.”

  “I’m telling you, Inspector, it’s a downright lie and one that has made me sick to my stomach. Who could make up such a lie about me? Is it that easy to convince the cops these days? One allegation—a false allegation!—and you begin to treat someone you’ve been dealing with in a different way.”

  “That really isn’t going to happen, Mr. Watson. I’ll note the information down, but at this point, I have no intention of taking things further.”

  “Are you saying that you won’t be involving Social Services?” Lorella asked in a shaky voice.

  “No. I see no reason to. I just wanted to make you both aware of what had been said. I have another snippet of news to tell you that you might not want to hear.”

  Kelvin threw his hands up in the air. “Great, hit us with more bad news, why don’t you? Keep piling it on us, making us feel worse still.”

  “I need to reassure you that it’s nothing to do with you directly, if that puts your mind at rest.”

  “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “We had to call your brother in for questioning because we discovered a sexual assault charge in your brother’s file.” Kayli raised her hand when she saw Kelvin’s agitation. “I have to say in your brother’s defence, the charge was later dropped.”

  “Bloody hell. When?”

  “A few years ago. Obviously, in a case such as this, that type of information can be seen as crucial to the SIO. Having spoken to your brother for a few hours, I’m satisfied that no further action needs to be taken against him.”

  “So why bring it up?” Lorella asked. “Do you like causing us misery intentionally?”

  “Sorry, that was not my intention. I needed to tell you the truth of where we are at this point in the investigation.”

  “But he never told us,” Kelvin said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Why? Who accused him of the assault? Was it a child?”

  “No. The allegation was raised by one of his work colleagues. It wouldn’t be right of me to continue the investigation without you being aware of that information. The charge was dropped before it got out of hand.”

  “But you believe there’s no smoke without fire, right?”

  “Maybe. What I wanted to ask, is if you’ve ever had any reason to distrust your brother around either of your children.”

  “No, never. Christ, we’re a loving family. We’ve never had any reason to suspect any family members of...well, you know, that filth. We’re an ordinary family whose child was abducted from somewhere she should have been safe. Now all this shit is coming to our door. I’m at a loss what to say about this, Inspector. You say the charges were dropped against my brother, and yet, here you are bringing them to our attention. I can only assume that you think he’s involved with Jamillia’s abduction in some way.”

  “No, I genuinely don’t. I’m sorry. I just felt you needed to know the facts. I really didn’t want to add to your burden at this sad time. If you’d rather me not update you on how the investigation is progressing, then that’s fine by me.” Kayli rose from her chair, and Dave followed her out into the hallway.

  Kelvin joined them and opened the front door. “I’m not sure how you expected me to react to such news, Inspector. I’m sorry if your visit didn’t go as you planned.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Mr. Watson. I want to assure you that we will be noting down the accusation from the teacher but not taking it further at this point. If some other evidence shows up in the meantime, then I might have to revisit that decision later.”

  Kelvin let out a large sigh. “So be it. I suppose I should be grateful to you for at least not arresting me and hauling my arse down the station. Please keep us informed of what you find, Inspector. I promise to try and not overreact next time.”

  She held out her hand for him to shake. “Your reaction was understandable. Had you not reacted in the way you did, it would have caused major suspicions in my mind. Look at it as you passing a test.”

  Kelvin smiled. “Thanks, I think. Good luck with your investigation.”

  They left the house and jumped back in the car.

  “What did you make of that?” Dave asked.

  “Nothing to make of it. He’s innocent in my eyes. What I really want to know is why Jamillia confided in her teacher the way she did?”

  “Confided or lied?”

  “Either she lied or Briggs is lying. But why?”

  She dropped Dave back at the station and noted the time on the dashboard. It was almost six thirty, later than usual for her to be going home. She rang Mark en route to see if he wanted her to pick up a takeaway. He sounded almost distant on the phone. Gone was the joviality of the previous day. She couldn’t help wondering if Giles’s promise of the possibility of a job offer had fallen through, like so many others.

  Ever the pessimist, love. Keep up the good work. She chastised herself as she queued up for fish and chips at the nearby chippie.

  When she arrived home, Mark had the plates laid out on the kitchen table and had opened a bottle of wine. He ate his meal without any reference to his job hunting, and Kayli didn’t have the heart to raise the subject as they snuggled up together on the couch to watch an action movie they had seen half a dozen times before. It felt good to be wrapped in his arms, setting aside the mixed day she’d had at work and his lack of news on the job front. Over dinner they shared their excitement about the forthcoming barbeque at the weekend. Maybe Giles would be able to give them more details about the job he hinted at by then. For now, it felt good to be snuggled up, ignoring all that was wrong in their lives.

  CHAPTER TEN

  During her drive into work, Kayli switched on the car radio just in time to catch a report about a fire at the Watsons’ address. She turned up the volume at the same time she pressed her foot down on the accelerator and dipped down a side road. A fire. Shit!

  Within five minutes, she had parked her vehicle in the station car park and was running up the staircase to the incident room. Donna was sitting at her desk, sipping a cup of coffee.

  “Have you heard the news?” Kayli asked her.

  Looking puzzled, Donna shook her head. “No, boss. About what?”

  “A fire, at the Watsons’ house! I just heard it on the radio in the car. Can you get me more information about it?”

  “On it now, boss. Shit! That doesn’t sound good.”

  Kayli glanced at the clock on the wall. Almost eight forty-five. “Come on, Dave. Get your arse in here.” She paced the floor for the next five minutes to the sound of Donna pounding the keys on her keyboard.

  Dave walked into the office soon after. “Morning all. Something wrong, boss?”

  “Damn right it is. We need to get over there, now!”

  “Whoa, back up a second. Where?”

  Kayli ran an agitated hand over her face. “The Watsons’—I need to see for myself what happened.”

  “There’s been a fire, Dave,” Donna said, filling in the gap.

  “Shit! Okay, we need to get there ASAP, boss. I’ll drive. You’re in no fit state.”

  Kayli’s heart was in her mouth as she arrived at the scene. Warrant card in hand, she approached the fireman who appeared to be in charge. “Hi, I’m DI Kayli Bright. Can you tell me what happened? Are the family al
l right?” she asked as she read the graffiti that had been daubed across the front of the Watsons’ house. Child killers! Rot in hell. The window to the lounge had shattered, but that was the extent of the damage from what Kayli could tell.

  “Yes, luckily, the father got all three of them out before the fire had a chance to spread inside. Judging by the message scrawled across the front of the house, I take it the fire was started intentionally.”

  “The couple’s daughter was found murdered a few days ago.”

  “I see. Looks like someone squirted petrol through the letterbox then threw a lighted match in to ignite it.”

  Kayli searched the area. “And the family? Where are they now?”

  “They were whisked away in an ambulance. Suffering from smoke inhalation.”

  “Damn! Let’s hope it’s nothing serious.”

  “The fire didn’t get a chance to get out of hand. I think they’ll be fine. We got here as fast as we could.”

  “What time did this occur?”

  “Around six this morning.”

  “Wow, okay. Thanks for all your help. I’m going to shoot over to the hospital now.” She smiled and ran back towards the car, where Dave was standing. “Let’s get to the hospital. See how this went down.”

  Dave drove and Kayli leapt out of the car before it had even stopped. She heard Dave’s footsteps behind her as she entered the reception area of the hospital. Flashing her ID, she asked, “A family were caught in a fire. Can you tell me where I’m likely to find them?”

  The brunette smiled and looked down at her computer monitor. “Do you have a name I can search for?”

  “Sorry, Kelvin and Lorella Watson, and their daughter Marcia.”

  “Ah, yes. They’re still in A&E, being processed.”

  Kayli pointed left and right with her hands. “Which way?”

  “To the right, just down the hallway.”

  “Thanks. Come on, Dave.”

  They rushed through the busy hallway and into the Accident and Emergency Department, where they found yet another brunette sitting at a desk. Kayli showed her warrant card again. “Kelvin and Lorella Watson, where are they?”