by Lee Weeks
‘I bet you didn’t share that thought with your therapist?’
Bella didn’t answer. She yawned.
‘You know what? You’ve tired me out – such a shame you are not softening. It would reflect in your face more if you could find that inner peace. Inner beauty.’
‘I’ll go.’ Willis stood and picked up her coat.
‘Yes, go, but come again in two days. I didn’t get a chance to tell you something important. I wanted to show you something, to explain something.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘Don’t talk to me like that – with such disdain. That’s what you’ve always done. You forget, I gave birth to you. You came out of my vagina. You were the result of passion and wild sex and fun. Does that mean anything, Miss Sourface?’
Willis turned to go.
‘I’m sorry.’ Bella started crying. ‘I’m so sorry. Please come back and see me. I want to tell you all about your father. I have photos to show you. You could find him if you wanted. I’d like to see him again before I die.’
Willis stared at her mother. She didn’t know whether to believe her or not. But she knew that behind every lie of her mother’s there was a grain of truth and a whole heap of mischief.
Chapter 20
The last few lorry drivers were getting their vehicles ready to hit the road in the morning. In their silent routines they walked around, checking their load was secure. Their quiet concentration was interrupted by the noise of traffic on the roads nearby and by the primary school when the children were let out for morning break, bursting into the playground in a joyful mass scream. Dominik, with white goods from Poland on his lorry, went to empty his rubbish in the bins at the corner of the car park. He came out of his cab with three carrier bags full and walked across to the bins. It felt good to stretch his legs before he started his long day’s drive to the North. As he approached the waste bins he saw the bare legs of a woman poking out from behind the bottle bank.
Dominik had been allowed to leave by the time Carter got there. The patrol officers had stayed at the scene to protect it.
‘We often see her – her name is Lolly. She hangs about here and offers sex to the lorry drivers. We’ve had to move her on sometimes when she gets to be a nuisance. But she never meant any harm – she just needed her fix too much – only a matter of time, I suppose.’
Carter knelt down beside her.
‘This is hers . . .’ The patrol officer handed Carter Lolly’s purse. Inside, he found her library card and a card for the needle exchange. Lorraine Chance.
‘It could have been an overdose, I suppose?’ one of the officers commented.
‘Could also have been hypothermia, if she tried to spend the night out here,’ added Carter. ‘Anyone see anything?’
The officer shook his head.
‘Most of the lorries had gone by the time we got here. There were only three left and we’ve taken the details for them but this park will have been pretty full last night. At least half are foreign drivers.’
‘We’ll be a long time trying to trace the lorries.’
Carter squatted beside her as he looked her over.
‘She’s been interfered with,’ he said, as he lifted her layers of clothing. He looked up at the officer nearest. ‘Could she have been servicing a customer out here?’
‘Not likely. He would have been a lorry driver. She didn’t charge them – she just wanted some warmth and a place to sleep usually. No way would they do it outside in freezing temperatures when they could do it in their warm cab.’
Carter stood and looked around him. ‘Hard to tell if she was dumped here or she was sheltering. Have you made a scout of the rest of the car park to see if there’s anything?’
‘Yes, sir. There’s broken glass in the car park side of here, the other side of the recycling centre, but no evidence of blood.’
‘Okay – let’s get her taken to the mortuary.’
Chapter 21
‘Are you okay, JJ?’
‘Yes, of course, babe. I’m good now I’m here.’ He stepped out from the shower and swung his head, spraying Paula with water. She giggled but her eyes were still watching him, concerned. He wrapped the small towel around his waist. He was proud of his physique. He kept himself trim and he played tennis whenever he could. He did fifty press-ups every day, a hundred sit-ups. He liked to look slim rather than big-muscled. He stopped drying his hair and looked at her appreciatively.
‘You look lovely. You’ve done something different with your hair?’
‘It took me ages.’ She looked at her reflection. Her long black hair was piled up on her head in a large doughnut shape. ‘I’m practising for a wedding I have to do this weekend. The rest of the girls in the salon are all busy and it’s good money.’
Ellerman looked up from drying. ‘That’s good. You clever little thing, you.’
‘I’m going to put it in the bank, I’m saving for the salon.’ She was still looking at him, waiting for his response. ‘For when we move to Spain and I get my salon.’
‘Good idea.’ Ellerman kissed her forehead as he passed her on his way to the bedroom to get some clean clothes out of his bag. ‘Are the kids okay?’ he called out as he replaced his neatly folded clothes and zipped up the bag.
Paula came to stand in the doorway of the room and watch him get dressed.
‘Yeah, the girls are great, asking about you. What about Craig – what’s he up to? Has he got a girlfriend?’
Ellerman pulled a T-shirt over his head as he answered. ‘No, not yet. Or maybe he has and I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me anything. You know what teenagers are like. If he does talk it’s because he wants something. They always just want money. I see less and less of him now as he stays in his room on his laptop.’ Ellerman grinned. ‘We know what that’s about.’
‘Yuck. Glad I haven’t got boys. Filthy creatures.’
Ellerman made a lunge for her and wouldn’t let her go. She screamed with delight.
‘You love it when I get dirty, you know you do.’ He smacked her on her bottom and she giggled. He let her go and went back into the bathroom and closed the door this time.
‘Come on, babe. What you doing in there?’ Paula called outside the bathroom door ten minutes later.
‘Yeah – won’t be a minute.’
He’d had another text from Dee. He knew what she would want to know – had he sorted the bank? He checked his emails on his phone. If only the contract he’d been chasing for two years now would just happen, for Christ’s sake! He’d poured so much money into courting the potential buyers, a conglomerate of Middle Eastern businessmen, that he had no more money to risk. Still they kept him waiting, with more questions about supplying this or that, tweaking and customizing and basically screwing him down until he was too far under their thumb to work himself loose.
He opened the door to find her standing there waiting for him. ‘I heard you texting. Is it work?’
‘No, babe. It was Craig. He likes to text me when I’m away.’
‘Ah. He sounds lovely. What are you going to do with him this weekend?’
‘I promised him I’d take him out on the speedboat.’ He could see Paula melt. She loved any discussion of wealth and the trappings that went with it.
‘When am I going to meet Craig? You’ve met my girls. They talk about you a lot. Ever since we came back from those few days in Disneyland Paris – it’s all they keep asking – when is JJ going to take us away again? I still feel guilty that we didn’t take Craig.’
‘Craig would have hated it with us. Believe me.’ Ellerman came out of the bathroom, looking perfectly groomed and with his blond hair neatly brushed. ‘I need a haircut if you have time.’
Paula nodded. ‘Sure, babe.’
She followed him downstairs into the lounge.
He looked at his phone again when yet another text came through. It was another from his wife that he wasn’t going to read. He switched it off and looked at Paula and her an
xious face. She was watching him intently. ‘Nothing to worry about – it’s all taken care of. I’m not going to be bothered by clients right now. Now, what have we got to eat here? I’m starving.’
‘I thought we could get a takeaway?’
Ellerman made his disappointed face.
‘And there’s me thinking you’d have a lovely meal waiting for me like you usually do.’
Paula shrugged. ‘No time – sorry. I had to get the kids over to my mum’s, to give us some peace. You said you have some photos of our house in Spain to show me?’
‘I do. They’re on my phone. I’ll show you in the morning. I don’t want to turn it on again – I’ll just have to talk to clients. More stress I don’t need.’
‘Let’s go down the pub then. I told my friends you were coming and they’re waiting there for us. I thought we could pick up a takeaway on the way back. Come on, JJ, it’ll be fun. I want to show you off – my sugar-daddy boyfriend.’ She reached out and ran her hand around his waistline.
Ellerman looked at her and felt real affection for her. She was simple and sweet, uncomplicated and forgiving. When she had contacted him on the Sugar Daddies dating site, she was looking for a secure future for her and her girls. She was willing to wait for him. She was the easiest of all the women and, in a way, he was drawn to her; he was fond of her trusting, simple nature. She reminded him of the way Dee used to look at him; look up to him; idolize him. He enjoyed taking Paula and her girls away. They were grateful and they were proud of him. But even Paula had begun to notice that the presents had dried up. If they went out this evening, she’d expect him to buy several rounds of drinks for her mates. He didn’t see how he could. He might just be able to get a few quid out of the new credit card. He hadn’t used it yet. He was trying not to – the rate of interest per annum was sky high. He’d try to make her pay first.
She pouted at him. He laughed. She was like a small child when she made her petulant, pissed-off face. She went to move away in a huff and he grabbed her and tickled her so that she screeched with laughter, and he guided her back into the bedroom.
An hour later, she gave up trying to keep him hard. He lay back on the bed and sighed. She cuddled into him.
‘What’s the matter, babe? Are you all right?’
‘Sorry.’
Christ – it was coming to something when he had to say sorry to these women. What the fuck was the matter with him? He sat up in bed and pulled his jeans on.
‘What’s the matter? Aren’t we going to try again?’
‘We’ll have all night. You’re right, let’s go out, darling. Let’s go and get drunk and then I’ll come back here and screw you senseless.’
‘Darling? You’ve never called me that before.’
‘Well, it’s because that’s how dear you are to me – my little darling.’
‘Give me an hour to get ready.’
‘No, I’m not waiting an hour. I want to go out now. You look perfect as you are.’
She made the face again. He didn’t laugh this time and she got off the bed and went into the bathroom.
‘Okay then, but I only want you to be proud of me. A girl’s got to look her best.’
Ellerman went downstairs and into Paula’s kitchen, where he knew she kept a stash of spirits. He passed the television on the way – the news was on. He didn’t stop to look at the house fire in Exeter that had claimed a woman’s life – he found the brandy and poured himself a large one.
Chapter 22
‘Which one are you?’ Carter asked, looking over Hector’s shoulder at his screen.
‘I’m a male doctor named Lawrence,’ said Hector. ‘I’m also Sharon Thomas, a teacher. They list their jobs as teachers, politicians, civil servants, policemen.’
‘Well, you pay to get a better class of person, apparently,’ said Carter.
‘You have to go into a lot of detail about what you will and won’t do. You’re encouraged to lay it on the line – make it absolutely clear. For instance, this woman I’m looking at here, can’t see her face but she likes bondage, submission and to be dominated. She says she’s not too keen on pain but mild spanking is great. Humiliation and exhibitionism boxes? Yep – tick, tick – she likes those a lot.’
‘I’m sure I recognize that woman’s mole on her left buttock,’ Carter said, watching as Hector flicked through the profiles onscreen. ‘It’s a good job we can’t see faces. Could be half of the Met’s vice squad on here.’ Pam giggled in the background.
‘Have you managed to get hold of most of Olivia Grantham’s contacts yet?’Carter asked Robbo.
‘Yes. We’re starting interviews tomorrow morning – bringing them in one by one.’
‘What else do we know about any of them now?’
‘I’ve been looking at JJ Ellerman’s story,’ answered Pam. ‘He’s from Portsmouth. He’s forty-five now. Left school at fifteen. He served an apprenticeship in a boat builders’ in his home town and worked his way up the ladder until he became a partner. He married a local Portsmouth-born hairdresser, Dee Thompkinson – she’s five years younger than him – and then they moved to London.’
‘What was his background?’ asked Carter.
‘He’s done a few interviews about his tough upbringing. He seems to have lived alone with his father. His dad died when he was seventeen. Cause of death: liver failure brought on by alcohol abuse.’
‘No sign of the mother?’
‘No. They were already divorced at the time of his dad’s death.’
‘He was their only kid?’
‘Yes.’
‘So he worked his way up the ladder. Determined type. Admirable. Can’t have been easy living with a father who drank himself to death,’ said Carter.
‘He bought out the other partner in Mermaid Yachts at the end of the ’90s and Ellerman and his wife bought a big house in Richmond. It looks like things started to go down for Ellerman after that,’ said Pam. ‘The company accounts show a sharp decline in profit.’
‘How does he afford to stay in the house in Richmond?’ asked Robbo.
‘He has another business. He’s the director of a company renovating houses in Spain,’ answered Pam. ‘He looks like he draws a salary from that.’ Pam’s azure-blue eyes flicked back on Carter.
‘Can we see some of these houses?’ Carter asked as he helped himself to coffee.
‘I’ve had a look for a website – it’s amateur at best. It’s more of a one-page advert than an interactive website. There are a couple of pages of photos of houses, that’s it. There doesn’t seem to be anything else about it online. The company’s called Hacienda Developments; it’s based in Spain although registered here.’
‘If he makes money from it, he must advertise it somewhere.’
‘You’d think so,’ said Robbo. ‘Everything’s online these days.’
‘Unless he’s doing one bespoke project at a time,’ said Hector. ‘I saw something like that on one of those building TV programmes. This one was for a wealthy Brit and it cost a million. If you were in charge of that project, you could expect a fair whack.’
‘So – we think he’s got two high-profile businesses going on? Restoring expensive Spanish homes and selling just as expensive yachts?’
‘The yachts haven’t been doing well for a while,’ said Pam as she looked at the screen over her glasses. They were glam ones – leopard-print with winged sides.
Carter turned to Hector.
‘Did you ask him where he was on Sunday afternoon and evening?’
‘At home.’
‘When was the last time he had contact with Olivia?’
‘They texted one another a lot, said Hector. ‘Last time looks like a week ago. They sent a text to one another first and then there were a few phone calls between them. The last one we have is one from Olivia to him saying: “Great to chat, looking forward to putting plan into action. Very exciting!!!”’
‘She seemed to like him,’ said Carter.
‘Yea
h, there are a lot of calls between them, long ones, sometimes lasting more than an hour,’ Hector replied, looking at the lists of phone records. ‘There is also a six-month period a year ago when Ellerman was texting her every day; looks like a basic, round-robin text – he says the same thing every time: “Hello, gorgeous, how’s things? I’m so hot for you right now. Miss you, love you . . .” That kind of thing. They must have felt a connection—’
‘I’ll interview him myself when we bring him in,’ said Carter.
‘Won’t he recognize your voice from the call about Naughties?’ asked Robbo, who was opening another pack of Haribo. He was trying to get down to one a day. He took out five sweets and folded over the packet top, jammed it under the stapler.
‘I’ll let Willis do most of the talking. I’ll sit in on it – I don’t think he’ll remember my voice – he was too busy panicking at the time.’
‘Where is she?’
‘Personal stuff. She should be back by now.’ He checked his phone and rang her number.
‘I’ll be there in two minutes, guv. I’m just parking the car.’
‘Go straight to the Whittington – I’ll see you there.’
Hector began tapping on his keyboard frantically. ‘I’m into Olivia’s profile now.’
‘You got past her password?’ asked Carter.
‘Wasn’t so hard in the end – she put it in the reminder section on her phone.’
They crowded round to have a look at Hector’s screen.
‘This is not strictly legal,’ Robbo said as he scrolled down the images of the men she had messaged. ‘But well done.’
‘Good job,’ said Carter.
‘I can only look at the past thirty messages on this and that just takes us back a month. We’ll need to get permission to look further. It will mean bringing in the companies’ computers. It’s not going to be easy. It looks like she surfed the net most evenings. Some people have noticed her absence. There are a few “where are you?” messages.’
‘We have to wait to get permission to use the information from the website. It’s an infringement of these men’s human rights,’ said Robbo.
