Stolen Children

by Michael Wood

  ‘What can you tell me?’

  ‘There’s a heavy blow to the back of the head. I’ve no idea if it was from when she fell or was pushed down the embankment or if it was a deliberate blow to kill her. I’ll know more when I get her back to the mortuary. However, I can tell you that she was strangled, and her neck was broken.’

  ‘Any sign of … you know?’

  ‘Sexual assault?’

  Matilda nodded.

  ‘She’s still wearing her underwear and tights, so on the face of it, it doesn’t seem like it. I’ll know more after the PM.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you can estimate a time since death?’

  ‘No. Rigour mortis has passed. However, she’s wearing exactly the same clothing she went missing in and it doesn’t appear to have been disturbed. We’ll take soil samples and analyse stomach contents, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was killed shortly after she went missing on Monday evening.’

  ‘Why take her just to kill her?’ Matilda asked, almost to herself.

  ‘I’m so pleased I don’t have to answer that question.’

  ‘Are you finished here?’

  ‘Almost.’

  ‘When will you do the PM?’

  ‘Is first thing tomorrow morning all right for you?’

  ‘Yes. I’ll be there. I want Claire to do a full digital autopsy too.’

  ‘I’ll give her a call. Are you all right?’

  ‘No. But I will be,’ she said, giving her a brief smile. She couldn’t take her eyes from Keeley’s broken body. It was an image she would be seeing for many sleepless nights to come.

  ***

  Christian was waiting for Matilda outside the tent. She nodded, confirming the body was that of Keeley Armitage.

  ‘Would you like me to give Ellen a ring?’

  ‘No. I need to do this.’

  ‘Why do you put yourself through such hell?’ Christian asked.

  ‘Because it’s my job.’

  ‘No, it isn’t. You can delegate duties, you know. That’s the whole point of being a DCI.’

  ‘No. I need to tell Linda myself.’

  She started to walk away but Christian grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

  ‘I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m not talking as a DI, I’m talking as a friend,’ he took a deep breath. ‘This is not the Carl Meagan case. You can’t atone for what happened in the past. This was never going to end well, and you are not to blame for her dying.’

  ‘I’ve let her family down.’

  ‘No, you haven’t. You haven’t let anyone down. Look how many people have been involved in searching for Keeley. Do you think they’re all going to go home tonight and blame themselves? No. I won’t. Sian won’t. Rory and Scott won’t. It’s not about blame. It’s about finding the person responsible and making sure they pay for their actions.’

  ‘You’re right,’ she said, struggling out of her forensic suit. ‘I know you’re right, Christian. It doesn’t stop me beating myself up, though.’

  ‘That’s why you have supportive people around you. We can help. We will help. You don’t have to go through all of this on your own.’

  ‘I should go.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘To break the news to Linda and Craig.’

  ‘I’ll come with you.’

  ‘You don’t have to. Ellen’s there.’

  ‘No. She’s there for them, not for you. I’m coming with you,’ he said with determination as he headed up the embankment.

  Matilda smiled to herself. As much as she hated delivering the death message, as difficult as the job was at times, she was thankful she was surrounded by people who looked out for each other and cared so much.

  Chapter 26

  It wasn’t far from Storrs Brook, where Keeley’s body was found, to the Armitage house in Acorn Drive, but there was no direct route. The easiest way was to drive up Rowel Lane, over the River Loxley, onto Spout Lane and turn on to Acorn Way leading to Acorn Drive. It would take less than ten minutes.

  Matilda asked Christian to take the longer route, pass Wisewood Cemetery and up the long Stannington Road. What was the rush to deliver the worst news possible? Delaying the inevitable would give the Armitages a few more minutes of hope before destroying their entire world. It also gave Matilda time to compose herself and decide what she was going to say once she’d knocked on the door.

  At the back of her mind, she kept picturing the sexualised photos of Keeley found on her iPad. Who had taken them? And why? The father was the number one suspect. She’d watch his reaction closely when she told him of Keeley’s fate. On the other hand, if he had killed her, why had he left the iPad on display?

  As Christian drove slowly and carefully towards Acorn Drive, Matilda looked out of the window and watched life continue as normal. It was dark, and there were few people out on the streets – the odd dog walker, people coming home late from work, or back from the shops with an emergency bottle of wine. Matilda didn’t have a clue what to say. How could she tell parents their nine-year-old daughter was dead? It was almost inhuman.

  ‘We’re here,’ Christian said, turning off the engine.

  Matilda looked up at the house. The curtains were closed but lights were on in almost every room.

  She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and breathed out slowly.

  ‘Do you want me to do it?’ Christian asked.

  ‘No. I’ll manage.’ She looked over to him. ‘Thank you, though,’ she said.

  As she walked up the garden path, she looked around her, and felt as if every curtain in the road was twitching. People were ghouls and wanted to be in on the moment when a family’s life was destroyed. She rang the doorbell and stepped back.

  Ellen opened the door. Her smiling face dropped as soon as she saw Matilda and Christian’s grim expression. She knew that look. She knew what they had come to say.

  ‘Oh my God, no,’ she said in a whisper. Her bottom lip began to wobble, but she managed to swallow her emotion. She stood to one side to allow them both in.

  ‘Where are they?’ Matilda asked.

  ‘They’re all in the living room. We’ve had a full house this evening: Linda’s parents have been round. So have Craig’s and his sister.’

  ‘They’re not here now, are they?’ Matilda asked quickly. The last thing she needed was an extended audience.

  ‘No. They went home about an hour ago.’

  ‘Where’s Jodie?’

  ‘She’s in the kitchen making tea.’

  ‘Ok. I’d rather she wasn’t there while we speak to the parents.’

  ‘Right. I’ll go and sit with her.’

  Ellen headed for the kitchen while Matilda and Christian entered the living room. Linda was sitting in the corner of the sofa, cradling a cushion. Her eyes were red from crying. She was biting her bottom lip raw. Her face was devoid of emotion. She looked physically and mentally drained. At the other end of the sofa, Craig was scrolling through the channels with the remote. He wasn’t paying the television any notice, flicking from one channel to the next before seeing what programme was showing. He looked up first when he heard them enter the room and turned the television off.

  ‘Is there any news?’ he asked.

  Matilda sat on the armchair opposite while Christian stood next to her for support. She leaned forward, hands clasped in front of her.

  ‘Craig. Linda,’ she began. Her voice was quiet, almost inaudible. She cleared her throat and started again. ‘I’m afraid there’s no easy way for me to say this …’

  She didn’t get a chance to finish. Linda opened her mouth and let out a blood-curdling wail that sounded like a wounded animal. Craig reacted, leaping across the sofa towards her and taking his wife in his arms as she collapsed into his embrace. Matilda shot back in her chair. She’d never heard anyone make such a noise before. Christian placed a hand on her shoulder. The door to the living room opened and Jodie came running in followed by Ellen.

  ‘Mum?’ Jodie as
ked, tears streaming down her face.

  ‘No. No. No. It’s not possible. It’s not,’ Linda screamed through the tears.

  Craig tried to hush her. He held her tight, rocking back and forth. Jodie sat beside her father and placed her arm through his. She didn’t say anything as she nestled in and clung on.

  Craig looked up to Matilda. ‘Are you sure?’ he asked quietly. ‘There’s no doubt or anything?’

  ‘I’m afraid not.’

  Linda continued to scream. Her face was red, and her entire body shook as if the devil himself was trying to escape from within.

  Matilda studied Craig. He had both arms wrapped around his wife and daughter. His face was blank, his eyes full of tears just waiting to fall.

  ‘I really am terribly sorry to have to tell you such news,’ Matilda said, her words lost over the sound of crying. ‘I promise, hand on heart, that I will not rest until I’ve caught the person responsible.’

  Craig gave her a sympathetic nod and smile.

  ‘If there’s anything you want or need, please, ask Ellen, and she’ll get in touch with me straight away.’ Matilda stood up. Her legs felt wobbly and she edged slowly to the door, not taking her gaze from Linda, whose heart was literally breaking before Matilda’s eyes.

  In the hallway, Matilda told Ellen all she knew about Keeley’s death so far. The details were scant but the fact she was still wearing tights and underwear was perhaps a sign no sexual assault had taken place.

  ***

  Christian drove Matilda home in silence. He offered to come in, but she declined, saying she’d call Adele and ask her to come over with a few bottles of wine and maybe a chocolate cake.

  ‘Go home to your wife and kids, Christian. Give them an extra hug tonight.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘I always forget how difficult it must be, doing this job when you’ve got kids.’

  ‘I’m usually not bad at keeping work and home separate. I go home, I play with the kids, help them with their homework, tuck them into bed, and that’s it. Work seems to have stayed in the car. I don’t think it will tonight. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get that sound Linda made out of my head.’

  ‘I know. It cut straight through me.’

  ‘Me too.’

  ‘Well, we’ve got a lot to do tomorrow. Early start,’ she said, getting out of the car. ‘Take care, Christian.’

  ‘You too.’

  She slammed the door and headed for her home. She looked around her, up at the apartment above the garage, took in the silence of the surrounding countryside, and, for the first time since moving in here, hated the isolation.

  As she unlocked the front door, she sent a text to Adele:

  Tell Chris he and Scott are welcome to move into my flat.

  Once inside, she slammed the door closed with her foot and scrolled through the contacts in her phone. She paused as her finger hovered over the green call button before pressing the screen.

  While waiting for the call to connect, she went into the kitchen, turned on the light, and pulled a bottle of wine out of the fridge.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Daniel? It’s Matilda. If you’re not doing anything, would you like to come over?’

  Chapter 27

  When news broke that Keeley Armitage had been found dead and it was PC Tranter who had found her, Rory and Scott raced to the scene and took her back to their apartment in the city centre. She’d cried, showered, cried again and now lay on the sofa in Rory’s arms.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ Scott asked, handing her a glass of wine.

  ‘I honestly don’t know, Scott. I mean, I’ve seen dead bodies before, we all have, but I’ve never actually found one. She was … she didn’t look real. It was like a prop from a horror film. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.’

  ‘You will,’ Scott said, sitting on the edge of the armchair next to the sofa. ‘It’ll just take time, that’s all.’

  ‘Her poor family.’ She wiped tears from her eyes.

  The intercom buzzed. Scott got up and went to answer it. It was Chris. He buzzed him up. He opened the front door and waited. It wasn’t long before the door was pushed open at the end of the corridor and a beaming Chris came bounding along with a bottle of supermarket prosecco.

  ‘Matilda said we can have the flat,’ he grinned. ‘I know it’s not champagne, but we’ll save that for when we move in.’

  ‘Are you serious?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes. I wouldn’t spend a fiver on a joke,’ he laughed.

  ‘That’s brilliant.’ Scott pulled Chris into an embrace and held him tight. ‘I’m so thrilled. I love you.’

  They both froze.

  ‘What?’ Chris asked.

  ‘Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It just slipped out.’ His eyes widened and he looked horrified that he’d gone too fast too soon.

  Chris swallowed hard. ‘Say it again.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Say it again.’

  ‘Do I have to?’

  ‘Please.’

  ‘I love you.’

  ‘I love you, too.’ Chris broke into a smile.

  ***

  DS Sian Mills was in bed with her husband, Stuart. She had come home late from work, deflated and defeated. The discovery of Keeley’s body was the worst news they could have hoped for. Sian’s four children were either in bed or in their rooms doing whatever it was teenagers did behind closed doors, out of sight of their parents.

  Stuart had cooked a meal for the whole family and left Sian a plate for her to warm up in the microwave. She couldn’t face a heavy meal, and went straight to bed.

  After almost twenty-five years of marriage, Stuart recognised the signs of distress in his wife and gave her the space she needed. When he went into the bedroom half an hour later with a mug of tea each and a packet of chocolate biscuits for them to share, she was under the duvet and the lights were off.

  He knew she wasn’t asleep and turned on the light. There was movement beneath the duvet.

  ‘If you want me to fit into that suit for the anniversary party, you’re going to have to help me eat these biscuits,’ he said.

  Slowly, the duvet was peeled back, and Sian sat up.

  ‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

  Sian’s face was red from crying and her hair was all over the place.

  ‘We found Keeley. She’d been strangled.’

  Stuart sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his wife into his arms. Stuart had the solid build of a rugby player. His huge arms wrapped around Sian’s thin frame and her head rested perfectly in his centre of his pillowy chest.

  ‘Do you know who did it?’ he asked.

  ‘No. Not yet.’

  ‘You don’t usually let things get to you like this.’

  ‘I know. It’s just … it’s never easy when it involves kids. Matilda’s not coping too well. It’s bringing back memories of Carl Meagan going missing and that reminds her of James dying. I’m trying to be supportive, but …’

  ‘You need support too,’ he finished her thought.

  ‘Well, yes.’

  ‘And I’ve not been much support with this party, have I?’

  ‘I didn’t mean that.’

  ‘I know you didn’t, but I could help out more. I’m sorry. Would you like me to make you something to eat? I could do you a sandwich if you don’t want your tea.’ He went to get up off the bed, but Sian refused to let go.

  ‘Stuart, will you stay here with me?’

  ‘Of course I will.’

  She snuggled into his body and felt safe and protected while his arms were around her. It didn’t matter what went on out in the real world – children being murdered, prostitutes going missing, car crime and knife attacks – Sian was being comforted in the strong arms of the man she loved. She never wanted this feeling to end.

  ***

  For the second time in three days, Linda Armitage had to be sedated. She had cried so hard she’d vomited in the k
itchen sink.

  With Linda in a deep and unnatural sleep, Craig was left to deal with the fallout. Ellen looked after Riley in his bedroom, playing with his toys and keeping him occupied while Craig had some quality alone time with his only surviving daughter. Ellen strained to listen, but their voices were deliberately low. It was more than half an hour before she heard movement and Craig came in to Riley’s room to get him ready for bed.

  ‘Would you like me to make you something to eat?’ Ellen asked when Craig entered the kitchen.

  He slumped down at the table. ‘No. Thank you. I don’t think I could eat anything.’

  ‘You need to keep your strength up. Linda and the kids will need you to be strong.’

  He looked up at her. Tears were heavy in his eyes. ‘I haven’t cried yet. I’m being strong for Linda and Jodie, but who’s strong for me?’

  Ellen sat in the seat opposite it. She reached across the table and took his hands in hers. ‘Me. That’s what I’m here for.’

  The tears began to fall. ‘She was my little girl, my little princess,’ he sobbed. ‘Why? Why would someone do something so …?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she interrupted. ‘There are some people in this world who are just evil for the sake of it.’

  ‘Do you know what happened to her?’

  ‘Not everything, no. There will need to be a post-mortem.’

  ‘Do you know if she was … you know?’ He gripped her hands tighter.

  ‘It doesn’t look like it, no.’

  He gave her a weak smile. ‘Thank you. What happens now?’

  ‘Our work is just beginning really. We will do everything in our power to find whoever did this. DCI Darke will not rest until she’s arrested the killer. I can promise you that.’

  Their eyes remained locked on each other. Ellen turned away first and let go of his hands.

  ‘I should probably go up and check on Linda.’

  In the doorway, he turned back and went over to Ellen. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. ‘Thank you for what you said.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure.’

  He released her then left the kitchen, leaving Ellen watching him go, a look of bewilderment on her face as to what had just happened between them. She heard voices from upstairs: Craig talking to Jodie.