Stolen Children

by Michael Wood

  PP: Is it French?

  CM: I’m not sure. I don’t think so.

  Detective Eric Desailly: Where are you living? Here in France?

  CM: No.

  ED: Can you tell us anything about where you’re living?

  CM: No. I don’t understand the words they use or anything of the language.

  (Detective Suzanne Beltrame suggests a five-minute break be taken here as “Carl” starts to cry.)

  PP: Can you tell us about the night you were taken, March 25th, 2015?

  CM: My parents had gone out for the night. My nan was looking after me. We played games and watched films before I went to bed. I was asleep and was woken up by my bedroom door opening. A man came in …

  PP: Did you know this man?

  CM: No. I’d never seen him before.

  ED: What did he look like?

  CM: I don’t know. It was dark and he had a mask on.

  ED: What kind of mask?

  CM: It was black and it had holes for his eyes and mouth.

  PP: Ok. What did he say to you?

  CM: Nothing. He just grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of bed.

  PP: What happened next?

  CM: I was carried downstairs and out of the house.

  SB: Where was your nan while all this was happening, Carl?

  CM: I don’t know. I could only hear Woody barking.

  ED: Who is Woody?

  CM: My dog. He’s a golden Labrador. He’s only a puppy.

  PP: What happened when you were carried downstairs?

  CM: I was put in the back of a van.

  PP: Can you describe the van?

  CM: It was white. It was dirty and smelly inside.

  PP: What did it smell of?

  CM: I don’t know. It smelled like a garage, I think.

  PP: Was there anyone or anything in the van with you?

  CM: There was a mattress. It was dirty and cold.

  PP: How long were you in the van for?

  CM: I don’t know.

  ED: Where were you taken?

  CM: I don’t know. I don’t remember getting out of the van. The next thing I remember is opening my eyes and being in a strange room with just a single bed in it. Can I see my mum and dad now?

  (SB recommends another five-minute break. CM is becoming agitated and upset.)

  PP: What can you tell us about the people you’re living with?

  CM: They’re friendly. They’re looking after me, but they’re quiet. I’m not allowed to talk much.

  PP: Do you go to school?

  CM: Sometimes. The woman I’m supposed to call mum teaches me at home. When I do go to school, she is with me all the time.

  ED: Do you have any friends your own age?

  CM: No. I’m not allowed out without Mu— The people looking after me.

  ED: Are they the ones who took you from your home?

  CM: No.

  ED: Then how did you come to live with them?

  CM: I was driven to them. We were driving for a very long time. More than a day as it went dark and then light again. I was taken out of the back and the woman came to hug me and put me in the back of her car. We drove again for a very long time to the house they said was going to be my home from now on. Can I see my mum now? I want to speak to my mum.

  End.

  Matilda threw the printed email onto the coffee table and leaned back on the sofa. She hadn’t touched her soup. She wasn’t happy with what she read. She would have liked to have heard a recording of the interview, to listen to the words of the boy calling himself Carl Meagan. She wanted to hear his voice, his accent. The questioning didn’t go deep enough for Matilda’s liking either. They didn’t challenge his version of what had occurred on the night he disappeared. Which way did he turn when he left his bedroom to go down the stairs? Was the living room on the left or right as he made his way out of the house? What was he wearing when he was put to bed by his nan? They were all questions Matilda knew the answer to that had not been made public. She would know if he was really Carl or not by his level of detail.

  What had happened to the couple he was living with? Had they been traced and interviewed? Where was he staying while in France?

  Matilda was not happy at all, and she wasn’t convinced the boy in Marseille was really Carl Meagan. If not, there were two questions she wanted answering: who was he, and why was he doing this? There was also something else to consider: who put him up to this in the first place, and what dark motive could they possibly have?

  It wasn’t long before Matilda’s mind began to wander. The cases of Carl Meagan and Keeley Armitage weren’t dissimilar – a child taken, seemingly for ransom, which is then botched, for some reason. But while Carl is spirited away, never to be seen again, Keeley turns up dead. Were the crimes similar because they were perpetrated by the same people? If so, was Carl dead too, lying buried in woodland in an unmarked grave? Was Carl lying less than a mile away from home and he just hadn’t been discovered yet? She hoped to God he wasn’t.

  There was no doubt in Matilda’s mind that she would catch Keeley’s killer. If she did, would she be catching Carl’s too?

  Chapter 37

  Friday 14th September 2018

  Matilda slept through the night without waking once. That hadn’t happened for a long time. Usually her sleep was interrupted by random thoughts and echoes of conversations she’d had years ago that returned to plague her: old cases, cold cases, relationships with former colleagues that had ended on a sour note, the sight of DC Faith Easter falling to her death and Matilda being unable to do anything about it. Last night, however, she’d fallen asleep within moments of her head touching the pillow and hadn’t woken up until the alarm sounded at six o’clock the following morning.

  She woke to find two text messages from Daniel Harbison. The first was from just before midnight wishing her a good night. The second had arrived a few minutes ago, asking if she wanted to make any plans for the weekend. She did want to make plans; she wanted to tell him how she felt and where she wanted this relationship to go. Hopefully, he wouldn’t run a mile.

  After a quick shower, a light breakfast of a black coffee and two pieces of fruit, she left the house. The long, deep sleep had been exactly what she needed. She felt buoyed and determined. Today would be a good day. She could feel it from within.

  Ellen Devonport was waiting for Matilda outside her office. She paced the floor and had a look of worry on her face.

  ‘DCI Darke, can I have a private word before I have to go around to the Armitages’s please?’

  Matilda could sense the urgency and stress in her voice. So much for today being a good day. It seemed to be going downhill already.

  ‘Sure. Come on in.’

  Matilda switched on her laptop and asked Ellen to begin while she rifled through the colourful Post-it Note messages that had been left on her desk overnight.

  Ellen cleared her throat and filled her in on what the neighbour had said about a mystery surrounding the origins of Riley’s illness.

  ‘What did she mean?’ Matilda asked, leaning forward, a heavy frown on her face.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Didn’t you ask her to elaborate?’

  ‘She didn’t give me chance. She said her speech then ran off back to her house.’

  ‘What did you interpret it to mean?’ Matilda asked. Ellen knew the Armitage family better than anyone else. She was keen to test her judgement.

  ‘Well, I thought she was raising doubt as to Riley’s condition in the first place. But, I mean, you’ve seen him, there’s no getting away from the fact that he’s suffered severe brain damage.’

  ‘Do you think the neighbour was saying that perhaps his condition hadn’t been caused by epilepsy?’

  ‘But how else … oh,’ the penny dropped for Ellen. ‘You mean Linda injured him in some way?’

  ‘I suppose it’s possible. We need to look at Riley’s medical records and talk to his GP as well. I’ll get one o
f the team to look into it. Meanwhile, you go to the house as normal. I’ll be coming along later this morning, anyway.’

  Ellen scratched her forehead and rubbed at the worry lines. ‘I’ve been thinking about this all night; I’ve hardly slept. From where I’m sitting, there are only two possibilities: either Riley’s condition was caused by negligence or he was deliberately injured. If it was deliberate, then maybe whoever did it could be responsible for Keeley’s death too.’

  Matilda nodded. ‘Look, Ellen, do you want to take today off? I can send someone else to the Armitages’s for the day.’

  ‘No. I’m fine, honestly. I’m just … Riley’s really sweet,’ she said with a hint of a smile. ‘And Jodie is too. They really put on her. I want to be there for them.’

  ‘Ok. But you can’t take any of this personally. We’re working on a case here; keep your eyes open at all times. And if you feel uncomfortable, or like you’re in any kind of trouble, call me straight away. Understood?’

  Ellen nodded. She stood up and left the office, quickly walking out of the HMET suite with her head down.

  Matilda’s feeling had changed. Today was not going to be a good day.

  ***

  ‘Sebastian Page has gone missing,’ Rory said, bounding into the open-plan office.

  All eyes turned to him, then to Matilda who was about to start the morning briefing.

  ‘What?’ she said.

  ‘I’ve had a call from the team observing his flat at Pitsmoor. He hasn’t been there for two days and, according to the head at Mary Croft, he hasn’t been back there since he fled on Tuesday. His bank account hasn’t been touched and his mobile is switched off.’

  ‘What about his car?’

  ‘Still outside his flat.’

  Matilda took a deep breath. ‘Right, we need to do a door-to-door. Find out who saw him last, where and when. Sian go back to Mary Croft. I want all the teachers interviewed; what do they know about Sebastian, any places he’s mentioned, friends, family, partners, the usual.’

  ‘Will do.’

  ‘Why would he kill his own brother?’ Ranjeet asked.

  ‘We don’t know that’s what’s happened yet.’

  ‘So then why run off? You only run if you’re guilty. If he hadn’t killed his brother he’d be in his flat, going about life as normal, because he wouldn’t know about it yet.’

  ‘Maybe he killed him because he’s trying to live a normal life while Calvin’s past is destroying that,’ Scott said, thinking out loud.

  ‘Is that a reason to kill someone? If you didn’t want any contact with a family member you just move away, maybe even change your name. You don’t smash their skull to smithereens,’ DC Deshwal said.

  ‘Ranjeet’s right,’ Matilda said.

  ‘First time for everything,’ Rory grinned.

  ‘We need to approach this with caution,’ Matilda continued. ‘We don’t know who killed Calvin Page, but a missing brother is certainly suspicious. Either he’s succumbed to the same fate as Calvin and we haven’t found him yet, or he’s the one who killed him. Christian, put out an alert for him, distribute his description, but tell everyone to approach with caution. He could be dangerous.’

  Christian nodded, scribbling on his notepad.

  ‘Rory, Scott, I want you two to come to the Armitages’s with me. Aaron … where is Aaron?’ she asked, looking around the room.

  ‘He’s not in yet,’ Sian said.

  ‘Why not? Any particular reason?’

  ‘Not that I’ve been made aware of.’

  ‘Ok. Finn, set up interview rooms one and two and the observation room. I want you in there with me.’

  ‘What are we doing?’ Rory asked.

  ‘We’re bringing Linda and Craig in for formal questioning. I think we’ve left them long enough to grieve. It’s time they answered some questions.’

  Chapter 38

  Jodie Armitage was at the sink in the kitchen. Tears were streaming down her face. She would never forget the look on her mother’s face as police led her out of the house to the waiting cars.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Ellen asked.

  Jodie wiped her tears on a tea towel. ‘They looked like they were being arrested,’ she cried.

  Ellen stepped forward, put her arm around the teenager, and led her to the table.

  ‘I know it didn’t look good, but we need to ask your parents important questions that can only be done under formal conditions. Do you know when you see on the news about a dog walker or a jogger finding a body? Well, that person has to go to the police station. They have to give all their clothes to be analysed and they’re seriously questioned. They’re treated like a suspect, basically. From the outside, it looks bad, but it’s just procedure. Your mum and dad will be home very soon.’

  ‘Mum’s not well. She’s sick.’

  ‘In what way?’

  ‘She keeps throwing up. She’s been like it for months. Dad says she should go to the doctor, but she says it’s just stress.’

  ‘Maybe she’s right. It can’t be easy looking after Riley all the time.’

  ‘I help out as much as I can, but I’ve got school.’ Jodie choked on her tears. Her face was reddening.

  Ellen reached out and took Jodie’s hands in hers. ‘Jodie, you can’t be responsible for your parents. I know you like to think of yourself as a grown-up, but you’re still a child. You should be out there with your friends, not looking after your brother.’

  She sniffed hard and wiped her nose on her sleeve. ‘I don’t have any friends.’

  ‘Why’s that?’

  ‘They go out at the weekend to town or the pictures or to Meadowhall, and I can’t go with them because I have to help Mum with Riley while she does the washing. Or I have to help clean the house, or go with Dad to do the big shop. I have to ask if it’s ok for me to go upstairs and do my homework.’

  ‘Oh, Jodie,’ Ellen said, squeezing her hands harder. ‘There are places that can help with children who are carers. Riley can go into respite care for a few days to lessen the demand on the family. It’s a way of helping.’

  ‘Dad’s looked into that, but Mum said no. She said it wouldn’t be fair on Riley.’

  ‘Would you like me to have a word with your mum and dad for you?’

  ‘No,’ she said, quickly wiping her eyes. ‘If they knew I was talking to you like this they’d go mad. We’re not supposed to burden others with our problems.’

  Ellen took a deep breath. ‘Is there anything I can do?’

  ‘Take me away from this place.’

  ***

  Both Craig and Linda were informed that they were not under arrest and were free to leave the station at any time. They could have a solicitor present if they wished, but they were simply being asked questions about their daughter. The finger of suspicion was not being pointed toward them. They both declined legal representation.

  Before the interviews began, Scott had informed Matilda that he’d finally managed to get hold of Craig’s ex-colleague, Dean Oliver, who’d been bad-mouthing Craig on social media once he’d left Parcelforce. The interview had been conducted over the phone as Dean was currently sunning himself in Corfu. Matilda skimmed the transcript and handed it back to Scott, telling him to bring it up during questioning.

  Craig was ushered into interview room one where DS Sian Mills and DC Scott Andrews were waiting. In interview room two, Linda sat at a desk opposite DI Christian Brady and DC Rory Fleming. From the observation room, Matilda sat next to DC Finn Cotton who had entered carrying a coffee for the both of them. The small room was filled with the aroma of strong coffee, which made a change from whatever fragrance Finn had chosen to bathe in that morning.

  As arranged beforehand, both parents would be asked the same questions in the same order. It was important to see if their stories were the same. The interviews were to be taped and filmed.

  ‘Mr Armitage – Craig,’ Sian started. ‘Before we begin, I have to inform you that the results of the p
ost-mortem examination on Keeley have revealed that before she died, she was subjected to sexual abuse.’

  Craig’s face remained blank for a long and heavy moment while he processed the information. He swallowed hard before he spoke.

  ‘But, that can’t be. Ellen told us that she was found fully clothed.’

  ‘We believe the sexual abuse occurred before she went missing. This is something that happened months before.’

  He took a deep and shaky breath. ‘What?’ His bottom lip quivered. He tried to keep hold of his emotion, but he couldn’t stop a single tear falling from his left eye. ‘You mean, someone’s been … with my daughter?’

  ‘I know this is incredibly difficult to hear, Craig, but do you know anyone who may be responsible?’

  ‘No. I mean, how can they have? She’s nine years old. She doesn’t go anywhere without me or her mum.’

  Sian cleared her throat. She was playing with her fingers, a tell Matilda had spotted over the years that she was uncomfortable. ‘Usually, when a child is abused, it’s by someone they know, someone they trust, someone who has manipulated the victim into believing what is happening is perfectly normal. Is there anyone you know of who fits that description?’

  Craig sat motionless. He stared straight ahead, way beyond Sian and Scott. He didn’t reply.

  ‘Craig, did you hear what I asked?’ Sian asked.

  He nodded. ‘I feel sick.’

  ‘This isn’t easy, I know. I’m a mother myself, and I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through. But we need to find the person responsible, and we can only do that with your help.’

  ‘I know. I’m sorry.’

  ‘There’s no need to apologise. Take your time.’

  ***

  In the second interview room, when Christian broke the news of Keeley being abused to Linda, she broke down. Her sobs were loud. She opened her mouth and a let out a cry that sounded like a wild animal in pain. She slumped to one side and fell onto the floor as if her spine had been torn out of her. Christian ran around to her, put his arms around her and held her to him.

  ‘Rory, go and get some water.’

  ‘Not my Keeley. No, no, no,’ she cried into Christian’s shoulder.