‘Yes, ma’am.’
Jenny grabbed her duffle coat from the end of the banister. She walked over to the WPC standing guard at the living room door, shrugging the coat on as she went, then the pair of them left the house. The wind and rain caught Jenny and she pulled her hood over her head. Both of them hunched their shoulders and scurried in the direction of the house Kate had indicated.
Kate remained standing in the hallway watching them, but her mind was on Megan, out there in the dark, the howling wind and the rain. There had been no word from Sue, and she had no idea how the search was proceeding, and whether they would find the girl before she reached the quarry.
* * * *
Megan couldn’t feel her hands or feet, but she continued to run. She could hear sounds behind her and they were closer now. He wasn’t alone. She’d heard of rings of men who grabbed girls off the street and did all sorts of horrible things to them. Her breath caught at the back of her throat and she tried to run faster, but the soggy ground clutched at her feet slowing her progress. The trees were thinner here. Maybe she would reach a road, or a house, or something. Anything that would get her out of the clutches of these men.
A root grabbed her foot and she pitched head first onto the ground, wildly flailing her arms in a vain attempt to break her fall. She hit the ground with a thump that winded her. Her face and nose thudded into a muddy patch. She lifted her head and snorted to clear the mud, and that was when she saw a light in the distance. There must be a house or building over there, but it seemed far away and the sounds of the search were getting ever nearer.
She was tired, her arms and legs ached, she couldn’t feel her feet and she had an overwhelming desire to give up, to lie there until the men found her. Maybe they wouldn’t see her if she lay still, or maybe she could crawl under a bush and hide. But she knew that was impossible, because they had a dog, and even if they didn’t find her, the dog would. And if they found her what would they do to her? She shuddered.
The distant light seemed to wink at her and she struggled into a sitting position. She looked back over her shoulder and could see torches blinking through the trees, which meant her hunters were getting nearer. But if she could get to the house before the men reached her, she should be all right because a lighted house meant people. It took all of her strength to scrabble to her feet, but once she was up she had a sudden surge of extra strength and started to run, towards the light and safety.
The trees thinned, and suddenly she was out in the open with grass beneath her feet. The wind whipped at her sodden clothes and hair. The rain battered down on her. But she continued to run, battling through the storm, away from the hunters and towards safety. She had to get there before the hunters reached her.
At that moment the earth vanished beneath her feet and she was unable to suppress the scream, that burst from her lips, when she felt herself falling.
Chapter Forty-Four
‘You do the knocking and introduction, and I’ll follow up with the questioning,’ Jenny said to WPC Cameron.
Walking from the Carnegie house to the neighbouring one Kate had indicated, had been enough time for Jenny to find out the young officer’s name was Alison, she had recently graduated from Tulliallan, the Scottish Police College, and this was the first time she’d been involved with a crime of this seriousness.
Before Alison’s hand made contact with the door, it swung open.
‘I saw you coming.’ The man was old and stooped, but his eyes were alert. ‘Come in, come in.’ He ushered them into a living room cluttered with magazines and newspapers on every available surface, as well as the floor beside an armchair which was obviously where he sat. He collapsed into it and nodding to them, said, ‘Take the weight off your feet, the sofa’s quite comfortable.’
The sofa was a patterned moquette with sagging cushions and Jenny perched on the edge, fearing it might swallow her if she leaned back. Alison wasn’t so careful and had to struggle to regain her balance.
‘What a to-do this is,’ the man said, his eyes gleaming. ‘Never had so much excitement in the street before.’
Jenny glanced at Alison, but the young officer was still struggling out of the depths of the sofa and had obviously forgotten she’d agreed to make the introductions.
Jenny smiled at the man. ‘I’m Detective Constable Cartwright, and this is Police Constable Cameron, and we’d like to ask you a few questions.’
‘Of course.’ The man clasped his hands in his lap, the action making the blue veins on the back more prominent on the parchment-like skin. ‘I’d be glad to do anything to help.’
Jenny fished in her shoulder bag for her notebook and a pencil. ‘First of all we’d better have your name, and date of birth.’
‘Dennis Fisher, and I was born on Christmas day in 1928.’
Jenny scribbled in her notebook. ‘That makes you eighty-one. I must say you’re remarkably alert for your age.’
Dennis smiled. ‘I try to keep active and interested in what’s going on.’
‘What can you tell us about tonight?’
‘I saw it all you know. I saw them all come home and I heard the scream. I stayed at the window, saw the ambulance car, and the ambulance arrive. Saw you lot arrive as well.’ He nodded at Alison.
Jenny scribbled more notes. ‘That’s fine, now did you see anything before they all came home?’
‘There was a man. I’d seen him at the house a couple of times. He knocked at the door and someone let him in.’
‘What time was that?’
‘It was a good while before the news came on the telly. I’d guess about half-past-five, or a quarter-to-six.’
‘That was before the family came home?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you see who let him into the house?’
‘No, I’m afraid not.’ He fidgeted in his chair. ‘Did he do something? Did he hurt someone? I saw them carry someone out to the ambulance, and I did think he looked a suspicious character.’
‘I’m afraid I can’t go into details about what happened in the house. But I’m sure the newspapers will report it as soon as they are able.’ Jenny paused. ‘Now let’s get back to what you saw. After the man entered the house, did you see anyone leave?’
‘No, I’m afraid not.’
‘And it was after that the family came home?’
‘That’s right. First the lad came home, then about half an hour later Mrs Carnegie and the lass came home. That’s when I heard the scream.’
‘What time did the son come home?’
‘I was watching the BBC News, although the Scottish News hadn’t started, it must have been about quarter or twenty-past six.’
‘And what time did Mrs Carnegie and her daughter get home?’
‘Ah, the Scottish News had just finished so it would be seven o’clock, or maybe five minutes after.’
Jenny scribbled the arrival times in her notebook.
‘That’s a great help,’ she said. ‘But after the scream, what did you do?’
‘I did think about going out to see if I could help. But I’m not young any more and didn’t think it might be a sensible thing to do.’ He scratched his chin with long blackened fingernails. ‘Anyway, I didn’t want to get involved.’
‘Did you phone the police? Anything like that?’
He shifted in his chair as if it had suddenly become uncomfortable. ‘No,’ he said with a note of aggression in his voice, ‘as I said, I didn’t want to get involved.’
‘I see.’ Jenny snapped the notebook shut. ‘Well, thank you for your time, you’ve been very helpful.’
Jenny looked over her shoulder when they reached the street, but Mr Fisher’s door was closed, although she detected a slight movement in the curtains.
‘Come on,’ she said to Alison, ‘let’s get the rest of the neighbours questioned, although I doubt if we’ll get anymore than we got here.’
* * * *
Kate peered into the kitchen. ‘Colin?’
One of the white-suited SOCOs looked up. Kate hadn’t been entirely sure it was Colin because only the men’s eyes showed behind the all encompassing hood and face mask. But something about the way he moved and held himself led her to believe it was him.
‘Found anything interesting?’ She leaned against the door-frame and waited for him to approach her.
He lowered his face mask and nodded. ‘We found the syringe on the table, but it’s been touched by Diane Carnegie. Apparently she pulled it out of his arm when they found him here, so I’m not sure whether we’ll find any useful prints on it. We may be lucky though. I’ve also bagged the cup he drank from, it’ll need to be fingerprinted and analysed to see if anything was in it.’
Kate nodded. ‘I expect there will be, because that’s the way this killer works. Drugs them first, then injects them.’
‘I’ve also bagged the green beads we found on the table. If I’m not mistaken they’ll be a match for the ones we found in our previous two victims’ eyes.’ He reached into his evidence case, pulled a bag out, and held it before her. ‘What d’you think? Are they the same?’
Kate peered at the beads through the bag covering. ‘They certainly seem to be.’ She sighed. ‘I’ll need the house gone over to see if there’s any drug paraphernalia as well as more of these beads.’
‘Looks like we’re going to be here most of the night, I’d better get a move on.’ Colin grimaced, pulled his face mask up and turned back to the task in hand.
Kate walked down the hall to the living room, where she could hear the murmur of voices. As soon as she opened the door, it went quiet. Diane sat on the sofa, white and drawn, as silent and still as a statue. Emma, who was sitting beside her, looked up but said nothing, although Kate noticed her hand tighten on her mother’s. Ryan was slumped in an armchair with his eyes closed and gave the appearance he hadn’t heard her come into the room.
She pulled a chair over from the side of the room and sat. She had no intention of putting herself at a disadvantage by sitting on the sofa beside the two women, nor was she going to risk sitting in an armchair. She needed to maintain a dominant position.
‘I’m Detective Inspector Rawlings, and I need to ask you some questions about what happened tonight.’
‘We’ve already told the other police officers all we know.’ Emma’s voice was belligerent, although her body language reflected weariness.
‘Well, you’re going to have to tell me all over again, and if you don’t do it here, I can easily arrange for you to come to the police station.’
Emma shrugged, but her face reflected what she thought.
Kate dug a notebook and pencil out of her shoulder bag. ‘First of all I want to know how Detective Sergeant Murphy came to be here.’
‘How should we know? He was here when we arrived.’ No doubt the family had already compared notes and Emma seemed to have taken it on herself to be spokesperson.
‘Were you the first one home?’ Kate deliberately made her voice formal and challenging.
‘No, Ryan was. He was here when we got back.’
‘Then maybe Ryan can answer the question.’
Ryan opened his eyes. ‘I didn’t even know he was here until they found him.’ He nodded at his mother and sister.
‘Someone must have let him in?’
‘Well it wasn’t me.’ Ryan looked as if he was on the point of crying. ‘Oh, I know I’m going to get the blame because I was the first one home. But I went straight upstairs because I wanted to shower.’
‘It wasn’t us either. He was here when we got in.’ Emma leaned forward in her chair and glared at Ryan.
‘Let me get the facts. You arrived home, when?’ Kate addressed the question to Ryan.
‘I don’t know, it must have been after seven o’clock, but I went straight upstairs and showered.’
Kate wondered if he knew he was repeating himself. ‘You were alone?’
‘Yes, but I was with someone before I came home, her name’s Kara and she works at the club. She could tell you what time I left to come back. And my mum and Emma came in just after me. I wouldn’t have had time to do anything.’
Kate turned to Emma. ‘And you, what time did you get home?’
‘I didn’t look at the clock, but it must have been about half-past sevenish. I was with Mum, we arrived together.’
‘Had you been together all evening?’
‘No, we bumped into each other at the bus stop. I was coming back from uni and Mum had been at Broughty Ferry. We walked up the road together.’
‘Can anyone verify this?’
‘Maybe the bus driver, but they’re always so busy it’s doubtful they’d remember.’
‘I expect someone from the university can verify what time you left?’
‘I suppose. I was in a lecture. A lot of folk were there, although I wasn’t sitting beside anyone I knew.’
‘Mrs Carnegie? Is there anyone who can vouch for you at Broughty Ferry?’
At first Kate thought Diane hadn’t heard her and was getting ready to repeat her question. But then Diane stirred, and looked at Kate with a blank expression in her eyes.
‘No,’ she said. ‘I was just walking. I saw a group of young folk who gave me cheek but I don’t know who they were.’
‘I see.’ Kate consulted her notes. ‘When you got home you went upstairs and showered. Is that right, Ryan?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you go anywhere near the kitchen?’
‘I’ve already told you that. I didn’t go into the kitchen, nor anywhere else. Just upstairs and into the shower.’
‘So, Emma, maybe you can tell me what happened after you walked up the road from the bus, and got to the house.’
‘I put my key in the lock but the door swung open, which was unusual, and I thought maybe we had a burglar. I told my mum to wait while I went in, but she followed me. I went into the kitchen and that was where we found him. He was sitting on a chair and was slumped forward on the table, and he had a needle sticking out of his arm.’
‘You’re sure the needle was still in his arm.’
Diane looked up. ‘I removed it,’ she whispered. ‘I know I shouldn’t have touched it, but I was afraid if it was left in it would hurt him further. He was a nice man, he didn’t deserve that.’
Kate closed her notebook. ‘I think that will do for now. But I’ll want to question you again after I’ve got all the other details.’
‘When will be able to leave the living room? I think Mum needs to get to bed, she’s exhausted.’
Kate had been wondering, ever since she arrived, what she was going to do. She didn’t think it would be appropriate to take them to the station at this time of night, but on the other hand she couldn’t allow them the run of the house while forensics were still involved.
‘Leave it with me, I’ll see if I can arrange somewhere for you to stay.’
Emma stared at her. ‘Does that mean we can’t have the use of our own house?’
‘Not until forensics are finished with it, I’m afraid.’
Kate left the room before Emma had time to argue.
Chapter Forty-Five
The scream echoed through the wood and Sue knew, instinctively, they were too late. Megan had plunged into the quarry. There could be no other reason for the scream.
The light from the torches held by the searchers flickered in front of her and she hurried in their direction. She wanted to run but the trees held her back. However, they didn’t seem so thick here, and all of a sudden she was in open ground, the trees behind her and soggy grass embracing her ankles.
Megan must have started to run when she reached this open ground which would be why she hadn’t seen the edge of the quarry.
The searchers had now stopped, their torches trained on something below them. Sue heard the murmur of voices as they talked together and shone their torches into the stygian depths. She thought she saw the glint of water, far below.
‘She won’t stand much
chance if she’s gone into that,’ Sue heard one of the officers say.
‘Wait,’ she heard another say. ‘What’s that down there, I saw something white.’
‘Where?’
‘Over to your right, about a quarter of the way down.’
‘I see it. D’you think it could be her?’
‘Not sure, but there’s something there.’
Sue felt like grabbing one of their torches, but instead, she ordered, ‘Everyone move nearer to that area and shine all the torches in that direction so we can get a larger beam of light.’
She moved along with them, and when they were above the section of the quarry where they thought Megan might be, she leaned forward and shouted, ‘Are you down there, Megan?’
A faint cry echoed upwards. ‘She’s there,’ Sue said, ‘but we’ll never get her out of the quarry ourselves.’ Without looking up, she snapped, ‘Radio it in and get mountain rescue out here, we’ll need them. And tell them we’ll need a helicopter as well. And tell them to be damn quick, she might fall from whatever she’s perched on.’
She waited a moment until she saw one of the officers on his airwave set carrying out her instructions, then she leaned over and shouted down, ‘Hang on Megan, we’re sending for help and we’ll get you out of there as fast as we can.’
* * * *
Kate listened in silence to Jenny’s report. The two officers had been shaking the drips off their wet coats when she emerged from the living room.
‘I see,’ she said, ‘so the neighbours are in agreement DS Murphy was admitted to the house before any of the family came home. That complicates things.’ She had been sure Bill’s attacker was sitting in the living room, but if the information given was correct that seemed to rule them out. It was possible one of them could have been here, left the house and doubled back. She would have to check their alibis, but in the meantime she had insufficient evidence to hold them further.
‘Wait here until I make a couple of phone calls,’ she said, ‘then I’ll tell you what I want you to do.’
Missing Believed Dead Page 23
