Bring Them Home (Detective Karen Hart Book 1)

by D. S. Butler

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘We’ve had a call from a man called Mark Goodman. He has a daughter called Phoebe, and he’s got something to tell us about Nick Gibson.’

  Sophie perked up at this and looked up from her computer screen. ‘Sian’s uncle?’

  ‘Yes,’ Rick said nodding, still looking at the sheet of paper. ‘According to Mr Goodman, Nick Gibson took some photographs of his daughter, Phoebe, when she was underage. It sounds like a strong lead, Sarge. Shall I give him a ring and get him to come in?’

  Sophie jumped up from the desk to read the piece of paper over Rick’s shoulder. ‘I could do it. I know Rick’s got a lot of other things on at the moment.’

  Rick frowned and moved the piece of paper away from Sophie. ‘Oh no you don’t. I’ve been through a mountain of leads to get to this one. You can’t just cherry-pick the best ones, Sophie.’

  ‘Cherry-pick? I was just offering to help.’ Sophie tried to look affronted but Karen saw the eagerness in her eyes.

  Karen leaned over Rick’s desk and quickly scanned the text, absorbing the main points. ‘Interesting.’

  ‘I’ll call him now,’ Rick said. ‘I take it you’ll want to speak to him yourself, Sarge?’

  ‘Yes, ask him to come in as soon as possible. If what he has to say has a bearing on our current case, it’ll be good to have him at the station in case we need to follow things up.’

  ‘That’s just what I was thinking,’ Rick said and reached for the phone.

  ‘You’ll need someone else in the room when you question him,’ Sophie said. ‘It would be a very good opportunity for me to get some experience.’ She looked at Karen with puppy-dog eyes.

  Rick glared at her. ‘You’ve only been on the job a few months. I uncovered the lead, and by rights I should be in the interview with Mark Goodman.’

  ‘You’re both being ridiculous,’ Karen said. ‘Rick has more experience and he’ll join me in the interview.’

  Sophie’s face fell.

  ‘I’m sure you’ve got a lot to be getting on with in the meantime, Sophie,’ Karen said.

  As Sophie sloped off back to her desk, Rick grinned. ‘I’m glad you saw it from my point of view, Sarge.’

  Karen narrowed her eyes. ‘Don’t get too cocky, Detective Constable. I’m getting tired of the sniping between you and DC Jones. You should be helping her, not arguing with her.’

  Rick looked repentant and nodded. ‘Sorry, boss.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Less than an hour later, Mark Goodman arrived at Nettleham station and was shown into interview room three.

  Karen and Rick joined him and got the formalities out of the way. They were not planning on recording the interview, but it was good to know the equipment was in place if needed.

  ‘We understand you called the hotline with some information, Mr Goodman,’ Karen said.

  Mark Goodman, a balding man with a pot belly and small, dark brown eyes, nodded. ‘I did. As soon as I heard those two girls were missing, I knew I had to phone the police and let them know the truth about Nick Gibson.’

  ‘We appreciate you coming forward,’ Karen said. ‘If you could explain in your own words, please.’

  ‘I did already explain this on the phone,’ Mark Goodman said.

  ‘If you could repeat it for our benefit, sir, that would be most helpful,’ Rick said. ‘We don’t want to get anything wrong.’

  Mark Goodman nodded and fiddled with his shiny blue tie, which was well worn and had a small stain at the bottom. ‘Yes, well, I’m glad you’re taking it seriously this time. When I went to the police after it happened, they didn’t want to know.’

  ‘When what happened?’ Karen asked.

  ‘It’s about my daughter, Phoebe. She was fifteen when Nick Gibson took an interest in her. She was young and naive, and he took advantage.’

  Rick made a note on the pad in front of him. ‘I see, and how did your daughter know Nick Gibson?’

  ‘They were both in an amateur dramatics society, working on a production of The Taming of the Shrew. I should have noticed something was wrong – Phoebe seemed so excited about it at first but then became very withdrawn after a few weeks.’

  Karen said nothing but nodded encouragingly.

  ‘Well, it was then that I found the photograph. It was a Polaroid, and it showed Phoebe, lying on a bed.’ His mouth quivered a little, and then he said, ‘She didn’t have any clothes on. Of course, I hit the roof, but when we talked it over, she explained to me that Nick had talked her into allowing him to take the photographs and then he’d threatened to show them to people if she told anyone.’

  ‘And Phoebe was fifteen at the time?’ Karen asked.

  ‘Well, that’s the thing. I know she was fifteen because Phoebe told me it had happened months before I found the photograph, but by the time I went to the police, Phoebe had passed her sixteenth birthday. She was scared, and so she told the police officers that they’d been in a relationship, and the photographs were consensual, but I know that wasn’t true. Phoebe wasn’t like that. She wouldn’t have just agreed to have those kinds of photos taken. He must have threatened her with something.’

  ‘When did this occur?’ Karen asked.

  ‘Nineteen ninety-five.’

  Karen mentally calculated that would make Nick Gibson only a year or so older than Phoebe.

  ‘Do you think Phoebe would mind talking to us about this?’ Rick asked.

  The man pulled a face. ‘She won’t talk about it. She’s put it behind her now and moved on. In fact, she hates it if anyone even mentions anything about Nick Gibson.’

  They asked Mark Goodman a few more questions, and Karen got the sense that Phoebe and Nick had had some kind of relationship when she was underage and that it had ended badly. She didn’t like the idea of anyone taking naked photographs of a fifteen-year-old girl, but if Nick himself was only sixteen at the time, she didn’t think it necessarily made him a serial child predator.

  They thanked Mark Goodman for his time, and after he left, Karen turned to Rick. ‘What did you make of that?’

  ‘I think we need to speak to Phoebe,’ Rick said. ‘We’re only hearing things from her father’s point of view, and he’s obviously dead set against Nick Gibson. I don’t blame him for that, but I don’t think there’s enough evidence to suggest Nick Gibson has an unhealthy interest in his young niece.’

  Karen nodded. ‘I agree. Still, we’ll need to have a good look at Nick Gibson’s background. If it’s all right with you, I’ll ask Sophie to call and speak to Phoebe.’

  Rick looked hurt. ‘Why? I could do it.’

  ‘I know you could, but Sophie was right when she said she needed more experience. I also think Phoebe might feel more comfortable talking to a woman.’

  Rick shoved the chair under the desk and walked around to follow Karen out of the interview room. ‘I suppose you’re right,’ he said grudgingly and switched the light off behind them before closing the door.

  Sophie was pleased as punch to get the task of phoning Phoebe Goodman. And she made quite a song and dance about it, irritating Rick as she picked up the phone and prepared to dial, giving him a smug grin.

  Karen rolled her eyes. She wished the two of them would learn to work together and stop being so competitive. If it got much worse, she’d have to mention it to DI Morgan.

  Sophie spoke to Phoebe for ten minutes and when she’d finished, she came over to Karen’s desk.

  ‘She tells quite a different story to her father. Phoebe admitted having a relationship with Nick Gibson, but she said she was almost sixteen, and Nick was only a year older than her. She never got over the embarrassment of her father finding the photograph and admitted she probably led him to believe it was more Nick’s fault than hers. She told me the photographs were consensual and that there hadn’t been any hard feelings between her and Nick.’

  Karen nodded. ‘I suspected as much.’ She leaned back in her chair and tapped her pen on a desk. ‘Di
d she agree to speak to us in person?’

  ‘Yes, but she took some persuading. She said she didn’t want to dredge it all up again, but when I told her it was very important for us to get the full story, she agreed. I did hint that if she didn’t speak to us, we’d be focusing our enquiry on Nick. That was when she agreed to come in.’ Sophie looked at her watch. ‘She promised to come to the station after she’s finished work. That’ll be about five thirty.’

  Karen smiled. ‘Good work. I’ll go over some interview questions before she gets here to make sure we get the whole picture, and you can ask the questions if you like.’

  Sophie beamed. ‘Absolutely, Sarge. I won’t let you down.’

  Over Sophie’s shoulder, Karen noticed Rick mimicking her words and pulling a funny face. She sighed. Honestly, it was like being back at school.

  DI Morgan leaned forward at his desk, resting his elbows on the paperwork scattered in front of him when Karen told him what Phoebe had said.

  ‘I’m not convinced Nick Gibson is involved but it’s certainly something we can’t ignore. We’ll apply for a warrant and I want to have his place searched. We need all of his electronic devices analysed. In my opinion, we need to play it safe. I don’t want to take any chances here.’ He turned to Karen. ‘Are you happy to take the lead on this?’

  Karen looked up, surprised. ‘Yes.’

  DI Morgan nodded. ‘Good. You should take Sophie with you. It’ll be good for her.’

  ‘I agree,’ Karen said. She pictured Sophie bouncing off the walls in delight. It would be a good experience for Sophie, but Karen wished the junior detective could contain her excitement just a little.

  ‘I’ll touch base with the families,’ DI Morgan said. ‘I need to talk to Thomas Gibson and find out if he knew about the photographs his brother took of Phoebe. I’ll try to be as gentle as I can, but I want to find out whether they had any reservations about Sian spending time with her uncle.’

  Karen didn’t envy him that task. She appreciated the fact that he’d given her the responsibility of overseeing the search of Nick Gibson’s property. It was definitely the better job of the two. She thought perhaps he might be trying to make up for blocking her questioning the Palmers. Was this his way of showing he still believed in her?

  It didn’t take long for the warrant to come through, and the teams coordinated to meet at Nick Gibson’s residence. Karen drove there in a fleet car with Sophie in the passenger seat.

  Sophie was practically buzzing with anticipation. She kept fiddling with the radio and then clutching her hands together and grinning at Karen. It was distracting.

  ‘Thanks for letting me come along, Sarge. I really admire the way you work. I see you as my mentor.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’

  ‘I think us women have to stick together in the force, so it’s great to have a role model and someone to look up to. What level were you at when you were my age?’ Sophie asked.

  Feeling positively ancient, Karen replied, ‘I was in uniform for a few more years than you.’

  ‘So I’m ahead of the curve then.’ Sophie smiled. ‘That’s good to know.’ She reached for the radio to change the station yet again.

  When Sophie opened the window half an inch and closed it again for the third time, Karen turned to her and snapped, ‘Sophie. Do you think you could keep still for just one minute?’

  The excited smile slid off Sophie’s face. ‘Sorry, Sarge. I’m just looking forward to my first proper search. We could find something at Nick Gibson’s place that could solve the case.’

  Karen felt guilty for taking the wind out of the young detective’s sails. ‘I hope we do. Just follow my lead and watch how things progress.’

  ‘Do you think he’ll confess when we get there?’ Sophie asked. ‘I mean, he’ll know we’re on to him.’

  Sophie was acting as though they’d solved the case already and it was simply a matter of extracting a confession. That would be nice but Karen wasn’t convinced.

  ‘We don’t know if he’s taken the girls, Sophie.’

  Sophie pulled a face. ‘But . . . he took photographs of a young girl in the past. Surely that suggests he’d do it again given half the chance.’

  Karen shrugged. ‘Yes, and that means he’s a suspect, but our missing girls are a lot younger than Phoebe was. Usually in this type of case, as sick as it sounds, they stick to a particular age range.’

  Sophie’s lower lip poked out in a pout. Karen glanced at her and then turned her attention back to the road. Sometimes she felt like she was babysitting these younger detectives rather than training them.

  ‘Now you sound like DI Morgan,’ Sophie said. ‘Wasn’t that exactly the reason he thought the Palmers couldn’t be involved in the girls’ disappearance? Because Amy Fisher was so much older?’

  Karen nodded and conceded the point. ‘Yes, and he’s right.’

  She was about to go on and try and explain her feelings regarding the Palmers to Sophie but although she hated to admit it, in this case, DI Morgan was justified. Her gut instinct about the Palmers relied on hunches and intuition, but they needed hard, concrete facts. There was an underlying evil lurking beneath the surface in the Palmer family, but it was hard to put her sense of foreboding into words. Instead, she went over some of the technicalities involved with a search warrant, and Sophie listened intently, absorbing every word. Karen had never known such an eager pupil.

  They met the rest of the team just around the corner from Nick Gibson’s residence, and when everything was synchronised, they moved in.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The door was opened by Nick Gibson, who despite the time had clearly just woken up. His hair was sticking up and he wore a T-shirt and striped boxer shorts. ‘What’s going on?’

  Karen handed him the warrant and showed her ID. ‘We’re here to search your property, Mr Gibson, and remove any items pertaining to our investigation.’

  Mr Gibson stared at the piece of paper open-mouthed and then looked up at Karen and blinked a couple of times as the officers moved past him into his flat to start the search.

  ‘I don’t understand. What are you looking for? I’ve been up day and night searching for Sian and Emily. I’ve only just put my head down.’

  Karen could feel the waves of dislike coming off Sophie, who stood beside her.

  ‘Perhaps you could put some clothes on, Mr Gibson, and we can have a chat,’ Karen said and assigned a male officer to accompany Nick Gibson to make sure he didn’t try to hide any evidence or tamper with any electronic devices.

  ‘If you could put your mobile phone on the kitchen counter, please, Mr Gibson,’ she said as he began to walk towards his bedroom.

  ‘You want my phone as well?’ He looked crestfallen as he walked into the bedroom to get his phone and then brought it to Karen.

  She nodded to one of the search officers, who put it in a plastic evidence bag and labelled it.

  ‘You can’t suspect I have anything to do with my niece’s disappearance?’

  ‘Can’t we?’ Sophie asked with an arched eyebrow.

  Karen shot her a warning look. ‘It’s come to our attention you took indecent images of a young woman some years ago.’

  ‘I was never charged! It was all a misunderstanding.’ Nick looked at Karen and then at Sophie pleadingly. ‘We were both young. She let me take the photographs. I didn’t pressure her into it.’

  Karen said nothing and Sophie glared at him.

  Nick Gibson covered his face with his hands and let out a muffled sob. ‘I can’t believe this is happening. Does my brother know about this? He knows I would never hurt Sian. Ask him.’

  ‘We’d like to take you to the station to answer some questions, Mr Gibson,’ Karen said. ‘We can do it now if that’s convenient for you.’

  ‘What if I refuse?’

  Sophie folded her arms over her chest. ‘Well, if you refuse that just makes you look guilty.’

  His face crumpled in frustration, and h
e slammed a hand against the kitchen counter. ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ he said again. ‘Why are you wasting time on me when somebody out there has got those two little girls?’

  ‘It’ll be easier for you if you come with us now and answer our questions, Mr Gibson,’ Karen said. ‘By the time we finish, the search should be over.’

  Reluctantly, Gibson agreed, and he went to get dressed.

  Sophie and Karen had a quick word with the officer overseeing the search and let him know they would be off-site. Karen signed the paperwork and then, with Sophie by her side, escorted Nick Gibson out of his flat and towards the fleet car.

  All around them curtains twitched, and people walking on the street stopped to stare.

  ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’ Nick muttered yet again. ‘They’re all going to think I had something to do with it now. I’ll never live this down.’

  ‘Mind your head, Mr Gibson,’ Sophie said coldly as she opened the car door, allowing Nick to climb into the back seat.

  Once he had fastened his seatbelt, she slammed the door and brushed her hands together.

  ‘He’s full of it,’ she mouthed to Karen as she walked around to the passenger side.

  Karen wasn’t feeling as confident as Sophie. In fact, she couldn’t help thinking that like Les Greenwood, this was another false lead.

  They drove Nick Gibson back to Nettleham station in silence, and frankly, Karen was relieved to have some peace and quiet. Sophie’s chatter and hero-worshipping tendencies could get a little much.

  At the station, she left Nick Gibson in interview room three under the watchful gaze of Sophie, while she went to get the paperwork and grab them some coffee.

  When she entered the open office area, she saw Rick and decided to have a quick word. She’d been abrupt with him on the phone earlier and events since then had meant she hadn’t had a chance to speak to him about it.

  ‘Did you bring Nick Gibson in, Sarge?’ Rick asked as she approached his desk.