Stolen Children

by Michael Wood

  She knocked into Rory’s car, forcing him off the road. Jodie must have sensed what Matilda was planning to do when the car sped up. She grabbed the steering wheel and pulled it the other way. They left the road, drove onto the saturated grass, smashed through a fence, and Matilda slammed the brakes on just in time before the car crashed into Stanwood Methodist Church.

  Jodie banged her head on the side of the door. Concussed, she swung her right hand towards Matilda, aimlessly trying to stab her. Matilda reached out to stop her, grabbing the knife by the blade and cutting open her palm in the process. With her other hand, she slammed Jodie’s wrist onto the dashboard, causing her to drop the knife. Matilda quickly picked it up, opened the driver’s door, and fell out.

  ‘What’s going on? Matilda? Is that you?’ Rory asked, running towards her.

  ‘Rory, arrest him,’ she shouted.

  ‘What? Who?’

  ‘Craig Armitage. Arrest him!’

  ‘Why?’ He asked, looking confused.

  ‘For sexually abusing his daughters. Just arrest him.’

  ‘Fucking hell,’ Rory turned and ran back to the car. He opened the door, but Craig was nowhere to be seen.

  Matilda went around to the passenger side, opened the door, and, with the handcuffs from her back pocket, she handcuffed Jodie to the handle above the door.

  ‘Jodie Armitage, I’m arresting you for the attempted murders of Ellen Devonport and Sian Mills. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, anything you later rely on in court. Do you understand?’

  Jodie looked straight ahead at Matilda and smiled.

  Chapter 57

  Matilda spoke at speed as she tore her sleeve from her shirt and used it as a bandage around her bleeding palm. She told Rory to wait in the car with Jodie until back-up arrived. She commandeered his phone and asked him for the pass code. She was already dialling as she ran for his car.

  Matilda called for an ambulance to go to Acorn Drive and was told one was already there, thank goodness. She called Christian and told him to put out an alert for Craig Armitage, then to send back-up to Rory somewhere on Stannington Road. He mentioned something about Ranjeet and Ellen, but Matilda had already hung up. She needed to get to Sian and see what condition she was in.

  Acorn Drive was lit up with a sea of blue flashing lights. Neighbours were on their doorsteps in dressing downs, standing in their doorways to shelter from the rain, yet eager to see why the emergency services had come to the Armitage house for the second time in less than an hour.

  Matilda pulled up on the garden. She could see a hive of activity in the house through the open front door. She jumped out of the car and ran straight into the house and the kitchen.

  Sian was on the floor, unconscious. Surrounding her, a team of paramedics worked to stem the flow of blood.

  ‘Sian? How is she?’ Matilda asked anybody who would listen. She received a few glances, but nobody said anything. ‘I’m DCI Darke from South Yorkshire Police. She’s DS Sian Mills,’ she barked.

  ‘She’s unconscious, but stable,’ a paramedic said, standing up. She was a small woman with a thin face but looked chubby beneath the layers of uniform she was wearing. ‘She’s got a strong heartbeat, but she’s lost a great deal of blood. We’re trying to stabilise the wound before we transport her to hospital. Are you hurt?’ She asked looking down at Matilda’s hand and the blood seeping through the makeshift bandage.

  ‘It’s nothing.’

  ‘Stab wound?’ She asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I want you to come with us in the ambulance. We’ll get you patched up.’

  ‘Will she be all right?’ Matilda asked, not taking her eyes from her stricken colleague. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

  ‘Providing she remains stable and we get her to hospital quickly, she should be fine. The knife wounds don’t appear to have struck any major arteries or organs. She’s incredibly lucky.’

  Matilda visibly relaxed. ‘She really is.’

  ‘Come and sit down.’

  The paramedic led Matilda to a seat next to the table.

  ‘Oh my God, Riley,’ Matilda remembered.

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘Riley. Where is he?’

  ‘Who’s Riley?’

  Matilda stood up and headed for his bedroom. The door was closed. She didn’t want to open it for fear of what had happened to him.

  ‘Who’s in there?’ The paramedic asked.

  ‘A four-year-old boy. He’s severely disabled.’

  Matilda placed a hand on the door handle and pushed it down. She opened the door and stepped into the darkness of the room. She couldn’t hear any breathing. There was no ambient lighting or mellowing music playing. She feared the worse.

  She scrambled on the wall next to the door for the light switch and flicked the main light on. The room lit up in a brilliant white and both women squinted. The bed in the corner of the room had the side railings raised to stop Riley from rolling out of bed while he slept. They couldn’t see from the doorway whether he was in there or not. Tentatively, Matilda stepped closer. It seemed to take an age to walk less than three feet to the bed. All the while, Matilda listened for any sound of the young boy sleeping, gurgling, snoring.

  She took a deep breath and looked inside. Riley lay motionless on the mattress. His face was pale, his eyes wide open, his lips blue.

  Matilda felt herself being pushed aside as the paramedic stepped forward and began the futile task of attempting to revive him. Matilda couldn’t take her eyes from the poor boy. There was something otherworldly about looking into the eyes of a dead child. It was an image Matilda would never forget.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said to herself as warm tears pricked her eyes.

  Chapter 58

  In the ambulance to the Northern General Hospital, Sian’s heartbeat began to slow and she went into ventricular fibrillation as the ambulance pulled into the bay outside A&E. There was nothing Matilda could do but watch as she was rushed into theatre.

  Matilda stood in the entrance, watching the doors close on her colleague and friend. She couldn’t lose Sian. She was one of the good guys.

  ‘Matilda, what are you doing here?’ Christian came out of nowhere, making her jump. He saw her hand hastily wrapped in a makeshift bandage. ‘What happened to you?’

  ‘Long story. Sian’s been stabbed.’

  ‘What?’

  Matilda couldn’t speak as tears began to fall down her face. Christian placed his arm around her shoulders and led her to the waiting area. Between sobs, she filled him in on everything that had happened at Acorn Drive.

  ‘I should call Stuart. He should be here with Sian.’

  ‘I’ll do that.’

  Matilda nodded and fell silent. ‘Shit, how’s Ellen?’

  ‘Concussed. She also inhaled a great deal of dirty water. They’re going to keep her in for observation. She’ll live, that’s the main thing.’

  ‘And Ranjeet?’

  ‘He’s fine. He’s had to have his stomach pumped and he’s broken his ankle. Kesinka’s with him reading him the riot act.’

  Matilda briefly smiled. ‘I’m not surprised.’

  ‘He did well. They all did. Scott and Natasha. They should get a commendation for this.’

  ‘I’ll have a word with the ACC when … oh my God, I haven’t spoken to her for ages. I don’t know how Arthur is. What time is it?’

  He looked at his watch. ‘Just coming up to midnight.’

  ‘Is it still Saturday?’

  ‘For a few more minutes, yes.’

  ‘It’s been a long day.’

  ‘Let’s go and get your hand seen too. You’re starting to drip.’

  ‘I feel sick.’

  ‘That’s what happens when you lose blood. Come on.’

  ***

  Matilda’s wound had been cleaned up. She’d been given a tetanus injection and something for the pain. She lay
back on the bed, her palm facing upwards waiting for it to be dressed. She closed her eyes. She was shattered and wanted to go to sleep. Everything was a mess. She’d assumed Craig had been abusing Keeley but hadn’t had the evidence to charge him. She’d had no idea how deep his vile vindictiveness ran. Poor Jodie. She’d been used, brainwashed into thinking she was in a loving relationship. Had the signs been there? The more Matilda thought about it, yes, they had been. Why hadn’t she seen it?

  The curtain was pushed back and Adele stepped into the cubicle.

  ‘I’ve put in a request with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals to have one of these cubicles named in your honour.’

  Matilda looked up and smiled dopily. ‘Injured in the line of duty.’

  ‘You shouldn’t be, though. You’re supposed to send the younger ones out to do the leg work. You’re supposed to be behind a desk pulling your hair out about overtime and arrest targets.’

  ‘That sounds dull.’

  ‘Safer than getting stabbed,’ she said, looking closely at her injury. ‘That doesn’t look too bad. I don’t think it will affect you holding a glass of wine.’

  ‘Can you check up on how Sian’s doing?’

  ‘She’s in ICU. Her stomach wall was ruptured. She’s lost a great deal of blood. The next twenty-four hours will be critical.’

  ‘Jesus. Is Stuart here?’

  ‘Yes. He and the kids are in the relatives’ room.’

  ‘I should go and see them,’ Matilda said, trying to climb off the bed.

  ‘Don’t even think about it,’ Adele pushed her back down. It didn’t take much effort. ‘Listen, do you want me to call Daniel?’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘To tell him what’s happened.’

  Matilda thought for a moment. ‘No. Don’t call him.’

  ‘He’ll be concerned.’

  ‘I know. That’s why I don’t want you to call him.’

  The curtain was pulled back again and a nurse stepped in. ‘Right then, Mrs Darke, time to get your wound dressed then you can go home.’

  ‘I’ll wait outside,’ Adele said.

  ‘Is she your sister? She can wait if she wants.’

  ‘No. We’re not sisters,’ Adele said.

  ‘No. She’s my lesbian life partner,’ Matilda said with a grin.

  Chapter 59

  Sunday 16th September 2018

  Matilda sat at her desk with a forlorn expression on her face. She had hardly slept, despite the number of painkillers she’d taken for her hand, and the two glasses of wine she had been advised against drinking when she arrived home. Wide awake at seven o’clock, she’d quickly showered (with her hand wrapped in a plastic bag) and headed for South Yorkshire Police HQ. Jodie Armitage was being interviewed this morning and Matilda had plenty more questions for her to answer. What had happened to Keeley on Monday night? How had Riley died? What had caused Linda’s illness? It was far too much of a coincidence for Linda and Riley to have died so close together for it to be natural causes.

  There was no doubt in Matilda’s mind that Jodie had murdered her little sister. In her warped and twisted mind, Jodie would have seen that Craig was trying to replace Jodie as his “lover” with Keeley and she would have done everything in her power to stop that from happening, even if that meant killing a defenceless child.

  ***

  Matilda Darke sat in the observation room overlooking interview room one. Next to her was DC Finn Cotton.

  ‘How’s the hand?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s fine, thank you,’ she smiled.

  ‘Is there any news on DS Mills?’

  ‘She’s had a comfortable night, apparently; whatever that’s supposed to mean.’

  The door in the interview room opened and Jodie Armitage was led in. She was wearing a grey jogging suit which was a size too big for her. Her hair was pulled back firmly in a ponytail. She walked with her head down and shoulders hunched. She was shown where to sit by a uniformed officer. An appropriate adult sat next to her. They didn’t speak to each other.

  Matilda observed Jodie’s behaviour. Her eyes were red with heavy bags beneath them following a night of crying and very little sleep. She looked scared and played with her fingers on her lap.

  DCs Scott Andrews and Rory Fleming entered. They started the recording of the interview and stated who was present.

  ‘Finn, is there any word on Craig Armitage yet?’ Matilda asked while the formalities were taking place.

  ‘No. Uniformed officers have been camped outside the house all night and he hasn’t returned. DI Brady’s doing the round with his family and anyone who might know where he is.’

  ‘Jodie, tell us about the events of last Monday evening,’ Scott asked, leaning on the table with his pen poised over a blank pad.

  It was a while before Jodie answered. ‘What do you want to know?’ Her voice was quiet, hardly above a whisper.

  ‘What happened when you picked Keeley up after school and went to the Co-op on Oldfield Drive?’

  ‘I bought Keeley an ice cream as it was a hot day. She hadn’t finished it by the time we reached the Co-op, so I told her to wait for me outside. I told her not to move and not to talk to people she didn’t know.’

  ‘How long were you in the Co-op for?’ Scott asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Five, maybe ten minutes. Not long.’

  ‘And when you came out, she’d gone?’

  Jodie nodded. ‘I thought she might have gone on home without me. I was annoyed because I’d got a lot of shopping and could have done with some help carrying it. I managed to get it home without dropping anything though.’

  ‘Was Keeley there when you arrived home?’

  ‘No. Mum said she hadn’t come home.’

  ‘So then what happened?’

  ‘I went out to look for her.’

  ‘Where did you look?’

  ‘I walked back the way I came home. I asked people I knew if they’d seen her. They said they hadn’t. I went into the park, too, but she wasn’t there.’

  ‘She’s lying,’ Matilda said.

  ‘What makes you think that?’ Finn asked.

  ‘She’s refusing to look Scott in the eye. Look,’ she said, pointing to the video monitor that was showing Jodie’s face. ‘Her eyes are all over the place.’

  ‘Do you think she’s covering for her father?’

  Matilda left the question unanswered.

  ‘How long did you stay looking for her?’ Scott asked.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘And what happened when you returned home?’

  ‘Mum was crying. The woman from next door was round. She said Mum had received a phone call saying Keeley had been … she’d been …’ Her words were lost to the tears and she lowered her head to her chest.

  ***

  ‘She’s lying. She’s fucking lying,’ Matilda kicked a wastepaper basket in the HMET suite which toppled over and spilt its load. ‘She lured her sister to Stows Wood and she killed her.’

  The interview hadn’t lasted ten minutes without Jodie being unable to talk through her tears. The appropriate adult had requested a break.

  ‘We don’t know that’s what happened,’ Finn said.

  ‘And if it did, she’s not going to admit that, not without evidence,’ Rory said.

  ‘Somebody must have seen her. I want house-to-house enquiries on every route possible from the Co-op to the woods. All we need is one person to say they saw Jodie and Keeley together and we’ve got her. Finn, bring up the CCTV footage from the Co-op again.’

  The lights were lowered, and the screen pulled down from the ceiling. They all stood around watching as the silent film began. It showed Jodie walking to the entrance with Keeley behind, licking her ice cream. Jodie turned and waited for her sister to catch up. She stood her by the door, squatted down to her height, and spoke to her before standing back up and entering the Co-op.

  ‘Rewind it,’ Matilda barked.

  The video played out for a second time. />
  ‘Stop,’ she called out. ‘Rewind and play it from when Jodie squats down in front of Keeley. There. Pause. Can you zoom in on Jodie?’

  ‘Yes. Hang on.’

  ‘There. Look.’ Matilda went over to the screen and pointed. ‘Jodie is looking directly up to the camera. She knew they’d be caught on CCTV. She wanted this to be the last point Keeley was seen alive, so it looks like she’s playing the saintly sister.’

  ‘Can’t we get a lip reader to have a look, see if they can find out what Jodie’s saying to her?’ Scott suggested.

  ‘We can try, but the quality of the footage isn’t great.’

  ‘She knew what she was doing from the start. What a manipulative bitch,’ Matilda said, fuming in frustration. Why didn’t you spot this before? It’s so obvious.

  ‘Where do we go from here?’

  ‘We need to keep interviewing her. There’ll be holes in her story, there has to be. Also, I want the house stripped. I want the whole place torn apart and every computer, tablet and mobile phone analysed.’

  ‘Forensics have been through them all.’

  ‘Then get them to check again. Come on, break time’s over. Get her back in that interview room and tell the appropriate adult to keep her mouth shut. I decide when she needs to rest.’ Matilda stormed out of the HMET suite but had to stop suddenly as she felt light-headed. Bloody medication.

  ***

  ‘Jodie, tell us about the relationship you have with your father,’ Scott said as the interview resumed.

  Jodie took a tissue out of her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. She sniffled. ‘I love my daddy. He trusts me to look after Keeley and Riley, and Mum when she’s ill.’

  ‘That’s a lot of responsibility for someone your age.’

  ‘I don’t mind.’

  ‘Jodie.’ Scott leaned forward. ‘After Keeley was found, we ran some tests and discovered she’d been sexually abused. We’ve spoken to a lot of people who knew her, and we think your dad may have been responsible. Can you tell us anything about that?’