by M J Lee
‘Hmm,’ was all that Ridpath answered.
‘Look, I know, but we asked him three times and each time his story was consistent. Plus the description of the man was so detailed and it matched a similar description given by another witness of a man hanging round the tennis courts thirty minutes earlier.’
‘Right, I’ve seen enough here. Let’s go and see Michael Carsley.’
They walked out of the basketball court, across a field towards the Altrincham Road exit. A man sitting on a mower, his ears covered in large orange noise protectors, was heading towards them. Both Ridpath and Emily Parkinson had to jog to get out of his path.
As he ran in front of the mower, Ridpath flagged it down.
The man slowed and brought the machine to a halt. Ridpath flashed his warrant card, indicating the man should take off his noise protectors.
‘Do you mow this park often?’
‘What?’
‘Do you mow Wythenshawe Park often?’
‘About twice a month, we cut a lot of fields.’
‘You work for the council?’
‘Nah, we’re contract, mate.’ He pointed to another mower in a distant field. ‘Do all over the North West, me and him.’
‘Did you mow any of these fields on 21 July, the day of David Carsley’s disappearance?’
‘The young lad who went missing?’
Ridpath nodded.
‘Nah, the police already asked us. We were here the day before, though.’
‘Did you see anything unusual? A man hanging around, perhaps?’
‘Nah, like I told the police, I just cut the grass. Bloody stuff never stops growing this time of year.’
‘Right, thanks for your time.’
As Ridpath and Emily Parkinson walked away, they could hear the engine starting up again and that familiar earthy smell of freshly cut grass assaulted their nostrils.
Emily sneezed. ‘Hay fever,’ she mumbled.
‘What’s that?’ Ridpath pointed to a group of garishly painted vans parked close to Altrincham Road.
‘It’s the local fun fair. They’ve been parking their trucks here for years.’
‘In a park?’
‘Where else? And before you ask, we interviewed them. There were a couple of lads working on the trucks but they saw nothing.’
‘Kids always have an attraction to fairgrounds.’
‘That’s what Turnbull said. So we checked them out and interviewed them separately. Their stories were identical.’
‘So we’ve got this big, open park, a seven-year-old boy goes missing and nobody saw anything?’
‘That about sums it up.’
‘Something doesn’t smell right, Emily.’
‘It’s probably the grass,’ she said, pointing to the long line of hay across the field. ‘Lots of dogs here.’
Chapter 29
Michael Carsley was sitting in exactly the same place as the last time Ridpath had seen him. It was as if he hadn’t moved in twenty-four hours. The television was blaring and the curtains were drawn, with only a thin sliver of the summer’s day fighting its way into the room.
‘Good afternoon, Mr Carsley, can I turn this off?’
Ridpath switched off the TV.
Carsley didn’t move his head.
‘I’d like to have a chat with you about the day your son went missing?’
‘I’ve already told the police everything I know.’ His head didn’t move from the now darkened television.
‘I am aware you’ve already given a statement; I wanted to go over some of the details with you.’
Carsley didn’t say anything. It was as if Ridpath wasn’t there.
‘What happened on the morning of your son’s disappearance?’
For the first time, the man’s head swivelled slowly round to acknowledge Ridpath’s presence. Then he looked across to Emily Parkinson.
‘Why is he asking me questions? I thought he worked for the coroner?’
‘He does. Detective Inspective Ridpath is seconded to the coroner from Greater Manchester Police.’
Carsley frowned. ‘Another boaby.’
‘What?’
‘Boaby. Polis. Policeman.’
Ridpath tried again. ‘Mr Carsley, could you answer my question? What happened the morning your son disappeared?’
‘It’s like I’ve told you lot again and again.’ The voice was a monotone, repeating a story he had told many times before. ‘That morning David and Daniel were watching the box, cartoons or something. David had got up first and Daniel later.’
‘Where were you?’
‘In bed, I was loused, hadn’t slept well.’
‘What happened next?’
‘I heard fighting. They were arguing over the remote. So I got out of bed, went downstairs and gave them both a clip round the ear. They soon stopped fighting, I can tell you. Then I went into the kitchen to make myself a cuppa and have a fag.’
‘What time was this?’
‘Around eleven o’clock. I made the kids something to eat…’
‘What was it?’
‘Beans on toast.’ He paused for a moment as if remembering something, his eyes staring at nothing. ‘David loved his beans on toast.’ Then he focused again, turning back to Ridpath. ‘Afterwards, Daniel asked if he could go to the park. I said yes as long as he took his brother. They’d been cooped up for so long during lockdown, it was time for them to go out and get some fresh air.’
‘So they went to the park?’
‘Daniel wasn’t too happy taking his little brother along, but he did.’
‘Did they go to the park often?’ asked Emily.
‘Not that often. But I thought it was a bonnie day and they couldn’t stay inside all the time, could they? The park is only five minutes away…’
‘Across a busy road?’
‘Yeah, but Daniel was used to it. He knew how to cross the road safely.’
‘What happened next?’
‘Well, about an hour later, Daniel came back to see if his brother was at home. I lost the plot with him, he was supposed to look after his wee brother. So I got dressed and we went out to look for him in the park.’
‘You searched for about an hour and then reported it to the police?’
‘There was a mounted copper in the park, I had a word with him and he reported it in.’
‘But you carried on searching?’
There was a long pause. Finally, he said ‘Aye,’ his voice breaking.
‘When the children went to the park, what did you do, Mr Carsley?’
He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I sat here watching TV and smoking, like I do every day.’
‘What was on?’
‘On?’
‘The box? Which programmes did you watch?’
He exploded. ‘I told the other copper. I don’t know what I watched. The box was on but I dinnae remember anything, I was sat here, staring at it.’
‘OK, Michael, calm down, DI Ridpath is only asking a few questions.’
‘I’ve had that other bastard here all day yesterday, asking the same bloody questions. What did I watch? When did I watch it? My son’s been murdered and all you lot care about is what TV I watched!’
‘We’re just trying to help you, Michael.’
‘You can help me by finding my son’s killer. Because, I tell you this, if I find him first I’m going to swing for the bastard. I’ll strangle him myself. I don’t care if I get put inside for doing it. I’ll kill the bastard.’
‘What about Daniel if you’re inside, Mr Carsley?’ Ridpath said softly. ‘What would happen to him?’
Michael Carsley seemed to stop for a moment, surprised by the question.
Ridpath followed up. ‘I’d like to have a chat with Daniel, if he’s around. With your permission, of course.’
Chapter 30
Michael Carsley leant forward, moving for the first time since Ridpath had come into the house, and bellowed through the open door. ‘Get your arse dow
n here, Dan.’
A few seconds later a young boy appeared in the doorway. ‘What you want, Dad? I’m on my Xbox.’
‘This boaby wants to talk to you.’ He pointed at Ridpath.
‘I’ve already talked with them a thousand times already.’
‘Well, sit yourself down and do it a thousand and one times.’
The boy’s shoulders slumped and he lurched into the room, sitting on a chair near the fire.
‘Hi Daniel, my name’s Ridpath, I’d like to ask you a few questions.’
Michael Carsley stared at the black screen of the television, as if taking no interest in the interview of his son.
‘I’ve already told the police everything I know.’
‘Ridpath works for the coroner, Daniel, he’s here to help,’ said Emily Parkinson, moving to sit next to the young boy.
‘DS Parkinson is right, Daniel. I work with Mrs Challinor, the coroner.’ Once the detective had settled in next to Daniel Carsley, Ridpath began asking his questions. ‘Now what shall I call you? Do you prefer Daniel or Dan?’
‘My mum always calls me Daniel, but everybody else says Dan.’
‘I know what you mean, my mum always called me Thomas, but I preferred to use my last name. So Dan it is.’ He opened his notebook. ‘What time did you go to the park?’
The boy shrugged his shoulders. ‘I dunno, around one o’clock I guess.’
‘What was on TV when you left?’
The boy’s eyes drifted upwards and to the right as he thought about the question. ‘The news, I think. You know that awful music they play before it starts.’
‘On the BBC?’
‘I think so.’
‘Great. It starts at exactly one p.m. every day so that gives us a pretty accurate time. So, you left the house with your little brother…?’
At the mention of David Carsley, Daniel’s head dropped. ‘Yeah.’
‘What happened next?’
‘We walked to the park together.’
‘You crossed the main road?’
‘Yeah, it’s easy, you only have to wait for the green man at the crossing.’
‘Good, well done, so what happened then?’
‘We went to the playground and played on the swings. Then my mates came with a basketball.’
‘What were their names, Daniel?’ interrupted Emily Parkinson.
The boy looked quizzical. ‘Who?’
‘Your mates. The boys you played basketball with?’
‘Just friends from school.’
‘I guessed that, but what were their names?’
Daniel thought for a moment. ‘There was Andy Greene, the Cassidy twins, Alan and Stuart, Mike Murphy, and Fred Simpson, but he didn’t stay long.’
‘So you went off to play with them?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Didn’t your brother go?’
‘He didn’t like to play, he was too small.’
‘So you went over to play basketball?’
‘But I kept checking to see if my brother was OK.’
‘How did you do that? The area around the playground has a lot of trees and bushes.’
‘I could see him when I was taking shots at the bottom of the court.’
‘And you saw him talking to a man?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I ran back to the playground. Dad always tells us not to talk to strangers.’
For the first time, Michael Carsley appeared to notice his son was being interviewed, turning his head away from the television.
‘That’s good advice. What happened when you approached the man?’
‘I told him to leave Dave alone.’
‘What did he say?’
‘He said he was just chatting. So I said I would call the police if he didn’t leave David alone and showed him my mobile phone.’
‘You had a mobile phone?’ Nobody had mentioned this to Ridpath previously.
‘Yeah, Dad gave me one for my birthday.’
‘And what did the man do?’
‘He scarpered pretty sharpish once he saw the phone.’
‘So you then went back to play with your friends?’
‘Yeah, I asked Dave to come with me, but he wouldn’t.’
‘Why not?’
The boy shrugged his shoulder. ‘I dunno, don’t think he liked my friends.’
‘So that was the last time you saw your brother?’
Daniel Carsley frowned, nodded and looked down again.
‘When did you realise he was missing?’
‘I didn’t.’
It was Ridpath’s turn to frown.
‘I mean, I didn’t realise he was missing, I only knew he wasn’t there at the playground.’
‘When was this?’
‘About ten minutes after I spoke to the man. I looked across from the basketball court and couldn’t see Dave.’
‘So what did you do then?’
‘I ran to the playground, but he wasn’t there. I shouted his name, again and again and again. Then, me and my friends started looking for him…’
‘I thought you ran home to check if he was there first.’
‘No, we looked for him, but not for long, then I ran home, but he wasn’t there.’
‘What time was that?’
‘Dunno, can’t remember. My dad thinks it was around two o’clock.’
‘So you told your dad?’
‘Yeah, and we all went out looking for him. I thought he was lost, see.’
‘If you thought he was lost, why did you run home?’
‘Because he’d done it before. Gone home without telling me.’
‘So it wasn’t the first time you’d gone to the park with your brother?’
‘Nah.’
Ridpath closed his notebook. ‘Thanks Dan, that’s useful. I’ve got to go somewhere else now, but I’ll come back maybe tomorrow and we can chat again.’
‘I’m finished? Can I go back upstairs?’
‘Sure, we’ll chat soon.’
The boy stood up, almost rushing to get out the door.
‘One more thing, Dan.’
The boy stopped and turned back slowly.
‘Do you still have your phone?’
‘It’s upstairs.’
‘Can I borrow it? I’ll give it back as soon as I can.’
‘But I need it to text my friends.’
‘Give him the phone, Dan,’ growled Michael Carsley without looking away from the flickering television.
Daniel stared at his father, then left the room, stomping upstairs. He returned a minute later with his mobile phone, one of the cheaper Samsungs.
‘You’ll give it me back?’
‘Of course. Emily will make sure I do, won’t you, Em?’ Ridpath took out an evidence bag and held it open for the boy to put the mobile inside. He then sealed the bag, writing the time and date on it and signing his name.
‘Can I go back upstairs, Dad?’
‘Yeah,’ answered Michael Carsley.
Ridpath stood up. ‘I need to go, Mr Carsley, thanks for your time. Did the undertaker call you?’
‘Mr Daly? Yeah, he did. Said he’d organise everything.’
‘Good, I’ll liaise with him and let you know what’s going on.’
‘When are we going to bury David?’
‘I don’t know the date yet, but let me get back to the office and I’ll let you know.’ He looked at the mantlepiece with its photo of the man and his sons in their football shirts. ‘Could I take the picture?’
‘It’s all I have of him.’
‘I understand.’ Ridpath picked it up and stared at it closely. There was a warmth, a happiness here. ‘I know what it’s like to grieve over someone you love.’
‘Do you? Well, I don’t want your understanding, right? Find my wee lad’s killer. That’s all I want from you.’
‘We will, Mr Carsley, I promise.’ He put the picture into his jacket pocket. ‘I’ll see myself out.’
Michael Carsley nodded once and then turned his head back to stare at the television.
As Ridpath was going out of the house, he heard the click of the remote and the sound of voices.
In the darkened room, the television was the only source of light.
Chapter 31
As they walked past the few press still standing opposite the house, a woman approached them.
‘Hiya, Emily, got any news for a poor reporter?’
‘You know I’m not allowed to speak with you, Molly.’
She eyed Ridpath up and down. ‘And who’s this tall, strapping young man? Your bit of stuff?’
‘This is DI Ridpath… a colleague,’ Emily added.
They both carried on walking with Molly Wright trotting along after them.
‘Ridpath? The name rings a bell. Wasn’t your wife killed? You were a coroner’s officer, weren’t you?’
‘I still am,’ mumbled Ridpath, increasing his speed to get away from the woman.
‘Have they released the child’s body yet? Are you here to arrange the funeral?’
Ridpath stopped dead and turned to talk to her. ‘No comment. Don’t you have anything better to do than feast on the unhappiness of others?’
‘Oh, he is a feisty one. I’m doing my job, DI Ridpath. I wish you lot would do yours. Two weeks since the body was discovered and still the police have nothing?’
He turned and walked away. She followed after him, trying to catch up.
‘Any comment, DI Ridpath? Why have GMP not arrested somebody? I’ve heard you have 3000 replies to your photofit appeal? Care to comment?’
Ridpath carried on walking around the corner with Emily trying to keep up with him. Eventually, the woman gave up and dropped back to rejoin her photographer.
‘You shouldn’t let her get to you.’
‘She’s a leech who doesn’t care who gets hurt as long as she gets her story. I remember them after Polly died. Parasites…’
‘She’s dangerous, that one. I’d watch out for her.’
They approached where they had parked the car. ‘She’s not worth the time of day. The investigation is all that matters.’
For a second, Ridpath went to his safe place. Standing on top of Mam Tor, staring down into Castleton in the Peak District, the wind blowing through his hair and the sun shining on his face. Within seconds, he was feeling calm, collected and focused. ‘What did you think of Daniel?’ he asked, back on the job.
