by Mistry, Liz
Chapter 43
Tuesday 10:30am, Great Horton
Having gained entry to the Marigold Court Old Folks Home, DC Sampson and DC Hussain stood outside Mrs Louise Brown’s flat. The old lady, hunched, with arthritic hands and the cloudy eyes of those with cataract problems, glared at them and shook her head. ‘You can’t come in you know.’
Sadia shuffled impatiently, but DC Sampson smiled widely and in his pleasantest tone said, ‘We won’t take up much of your time, Mrs Brown. We just want to chat to you about what you saw.’
Still not giving an inch the old lady glowered at him from behind the half-closed door. ‘It’s Tuesday! You can’t come in,’ she said, glancing at Sadia, whose face, Sampson noticed, resembled a skelped arse. What the hell was wrong with the woman?
Sadia moved forward, but sensing that all would not end well if she led the discussion, Sampson nudged her gently out of the way, ignoring her annoyed tut. Once more, he smiled at the old lady. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Brown, I’m not sure I understand.’
Her mouth pursed into lip-sticked creases and in a tone that made no attempt to disguise her annoyance at Sampson’s stupidity she said, ‘It’s laundry day. Every Tuesday. Without fail.’
Sampson shook his head to indicate he still didn’t understand.
The old lady sighed theatrically and, with over-emphasised enunciation, said ‘Tuesday. Laundry day.’ Jerking her thumb towards the lifts, she continued, ‘she takes my laundry every Tuesday.’ Then, lowering her voice to a whistling hiss she said, ‘But I don’t give her my knickers.’ She shook her head ferociously. ‘No bloody way!’
Ignoring the sound of Hussain’s foot tapping impatiently behind him, Sampson said, ‘Ok. It’s Tuesday and it’s laundry day, but I still don’t understand why we can’t come in for just a few minutes. After all, you requested a home visit.’
A whoosh of air suggestive of recently eaten garlic hit Sampson’s nostrils as she all but yelled. ‘My knickers are in a bucket.’
Sampson blinked. ‘Sorry?’
‘I’ve got my knickers soaking in a bucket so you can’t come in. Come back tomorrow,’ she said, as if addressing an imbecile.
Momentarily stymied, Sampson gawped at her. Then, seeing that Sadia was ready to step into the breach he wedged himself firmly in front of her again. Dredging patience from a previously untapped source he smiled. ‘Am I right in thinking that you’re not letting us in because you’ve got your… er… delicates soaking in a bucket?’
Her over-rouged face split into a huge grin and she gave a guttural whoop of laughter. ‘Not sure I’d call my knickers ‘delicate’, lad. But yes, you’ve got it at last.’
Risking her garlic breath, he bent his head closer to her. ‘Where do you keep your bucket? The one with your…er.’ He glanced sideways, caught Sadia’s eye and was annoyed to feel himself blushing. ‘Knickers?’
‘Where do you think I keep them, sonny? In the bathroom. Where else would I keep them?’
‘In that case, if we promise not to go near your bathroom would you let us in so we can have that little chat?’
Cocking her head to one side for a second, she considered his proposal. Then, she shuffled back from the door, allowing them entry into her flat. Standing in front of the bathroom door like a sentry on duty, she watched as they settled themselves onto the settee in her living room. The first thing he noticed on entering the flat was the faint smell of mints. The second was the overabundance of greenery. Every conceivable surface boasted a plant of one kind or another, giving the small living room the look of a greenhouse. The gas fire, fastened to the wall beneath a painting of cancan girls in red corsets, blasted out enough heat to allow Mrs Brown to grow exotic fruit, should she so desire. She shuffled in and sat opposite them on her padded high-backed chair. ‘Well?’
‘You phoned last night requesting a home visit because you had some information for us?’
‘Yes, that’s right. But, I distinctly remember telling that girl on the phone that Wednesday would be best.’ She flapped her hands, a frown flitting across her face, then she said, ‘anyway, it must have been about three weeks ago in the middle of the night. I’d got a dose of diarrhoea.’ She leaned towards Sampson and whispered, ‘Actually had a couple of accidents, if you know what I mean.’
Despite Sadia’s slight snigger he managed to keep a straight face. ‘I know exactly what you mean.’
Folding her arms under her breasts, she smiled. ‘Well, I were up and down all night. It were fair running right through me and my tummy was sore. I couldn’t settle. I saw the lights shine across the curtains and so I looked out and there it was. One of them white vans like my window cleaner has. Only it weren’t his, ’cos his is blue.’
‘Do you remember what time this was?’
‘Yes I do as it happens. I thought it was strange, so I looked at the clock. It was 3:20am.’
‘Did you notice anything else?’
‘Well, it were there for a while. I saw this man get out the front and move round to the back and open the door. I think he were talking to someone but he could’ve been on the phone. Those young ’uns are always on their phones these days.’ She directed an accusing look in Sadia’s direction as if suspecting her of being a prime phone culprit.
Bringing her back on track, Sampson said, ‘What did the man look like?’
‘No idea I’m afraid. Too dark and besides I don’t see right well either. But, I did notice the mattress picture on the side. Thought it were a damn funny time to have a new mattress delivered.’
Realising they’d exhausted Mrs Brown’s knowledge of the van and its driver, Sampson thanked her as he and Sadia stood up to leave. With surprising agility, Mrs Brown sprang to her feet, elbowed past Sampson and sprinted to take up her sentry position in front of the bathroom door, as the pair trooped out of her flat.
With the door shut behind them, Sadia burst into hysterical laughter placing her hand on Sampson’s arm to support herself.
‘Oh, so you do have a sense of humour then, Hussain?’ said Sampson, surprised by the change from the dour-faced, monosyllabic woman she’d been earlier.
Sadia winked at him and straightened up before resorting to her normal stern demeanour. ‘Yeah, but don’t tell anyone, will you?’ She punched him lightly on the arm. ‘Bet you’re glad we didn’t come calling the week she had her shitty knickers soaking in her bucket.’
Chapter 44
Tuesday 11:30am
The baby was screaming and Beth Graves was nearly pulling her hair out. She couldn’t remember it being as bad when Molly was a baby. Why was he always crying? Colic, they said, but this was so relentless. She looked down at Sam’s scrunched up red face and immediately her earlier anguish was replaced by concern. The poor thing was pulling his little legs up to his tummy and was clearly in pain. She laid him on his back and very gently, with two fingers, pressed on his little tummy following a circular movement round his scabby umbilical cord like she’d learned at baby massage class when Molly had been a baby. His screaming subsided slightly until finally, with a series of tired hiccups, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Rather than disturb him, Beth covered him with a blanket and stretching herself out on the floor beside him. She fell into a fitful doze with one ear tuned to the rhythmic breathing of her baby.
An hour later, stiff and cold she started awake when Sam began to whimper, his tiny arms and legs building up momentum as they kicked and waved. She straightened herself, rubbed her eyes and gingerly got to her knees before lifting him and moving to the wooden rocking chair to feed him.
Smiling she looked up when the bedroom door opened and Granny Jessie poked her head round. Her smile faded when she saw the look on Jessie’s face. ‘What is it?’
Jessie waved her hand dismissively. ‘Probably nothing, it’s just– I can’t find Molly. Is she here with you?’ Her anxious gaze travelled round the room hoping to see the red-haired girl hiding behind the curtains or some piece of furniture.
Beth
felt her heartbeat quicken and she stood up deftly refastening her bra as she did so. ‘She’s not here Jessie; I’ve not seen her since breakfast.’
‘She didn’t go to work with Alex then?’
Beth frowned and shook her head. ‘No, no. Why would she? She’s hardly speaking to him since he withdrew her internet rights for being cheeky the other day.’ She handed the gurgling baby to Jessie. ‘Can you change his nappy? I’ll check outside and then I’ll phone her. She can’t have gone far. She knows not to wander off without permission.’
Nevertheless, at the back of Beth s mind was the knowledge that her twelve-year-old daughter had been feeling jealous since the arrival of her brother and was playing up. Pushing the boundaries more than usual. But she wouldn’t have left the grounds would she? She knew how dangerous it was out there. She’d always instilled the need for caution in her daughter. Surely she wouldn’t have risked her safety to go off on her own? Then, unbidden, the headline from the previous night’s news sprung into her head. Children found in attic room in Bradford. Paedophile ring suspected. She flung her hands over her face and shuddered. ‘Oh please, not again. Please, God, don’t let this all happen again!’
Chapter 45
Tuesday 1:30pm
DCI Nancy Chalmers threw open the door and stood there until, sensing her presence, Gus looked up. Her face was ashen and her hands shook as she pushed a stray curl behind her ear. Immediately, Gus tried to jump up to go to her but he’d been going over interviews and notes for hours and with the strain of being in one position for too long, his leg gave way on him. Frustrated he slumped back into his chair, as she made her own unsteady way towards him.
‘What the fuck’s wrong, Nancy?’
Gus watched as her eyes quickly surveyed the room. Compo was fully engrossed in his computer screen with headphones on and his head bobbing to some erratic beat that seemed to send vibrations along the floorboards to his feet. Sadia Hussain, looked up, but when Nancy glared at her, her mouth tightened and she averted her eyes.
Pulling out a chair Nancy plonked herself down. Tentatively stretching his leg before standing, Gus got up and walked over to pour her a large mug of coffee. Noting that her hands still shook slightly he added two lumps of sugar before returning to his desk and depositing the mug in front of her. ‘Drink,’ he said in a tone that brooked no argument.
As she sipped it, Gus looked over at Sadia, whom he suspected was faking absorption in her computer screen. Pursing his lips, he dipped his hand into his pocket, withdrew a tenner and turned to Sadia. ‘Nip over to The Chaat café and get us a bacon butty and some cookies, Sadia.’
Sadia grimaced. He didn’t know whether it was at at his peremptory tone or at the thought of the bacon butty which, Gus acknowledged, some might consider to be an insensitive request to make of a Muslim. For Christ’s sake though, he wasn’t asking her to eat the bloody thing.
Huffing, she snatched the money from his hand and left the room.
Nancy shook her head and smiled slightly. ‘You do know who she is, don’t you?’ Gus shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter who she is as long as she does her job and doesn’t get too nosy.’
Nancy gave an inelegant snort. ‘You were just like her when you were a DC. Impatient to move up the ranks and too keen to know everything.’ He felt her eyes on him as she continued, ‘And it’s not a bad trait.’ She paused. ‘As long as you’re on the right side.’
Gus frowned ‘… and she’s not?’
‘I don’t know. You’ll have to find out for yourself.’
Gus sat back down. ‘So, who is she then?’
Some of the colour had returned to her cheeks as she placed her mug on the desk. ‘She’s DCI Hussain’s daughter. His only daughter. And he’s very protective of her. Word is he didn’t want her to join the force after her degree, but she was insistent.’
‘Shit, I don’t need him breathing down my neck on this investigation. It’s complicated enough as it is.’
‘Don’t worry, when I was asked to take her on I insisted he keep his rather large and disdainful nose out of our business and away from my team.’
Grinning, he imagined Nancy going head-to-head with the tiger of the station. Gus had had a major run-in with the man just before he’d been injured. A drug bust gone wrong due to the shoddy, gung-ho work of some of DCI Hussain’s team (namely Knowles & co). This had led to a minor altercation, which had escalated in part due to Hussain’s heavy-handedness. When Gus had intervened, the other man had made some rather harsh aspersions regarding Gus’s ‘credentials’ as an inspector. It seemed DCI Ishmael Hussain wasn’t a fan of the fast-track option for officers with degrees. Unfortunately, Hussain was the big boss’s favourite. He was trotted out every time Bradford Police was accused of racism. Gus wasn’t the only one to doubt the man’s sincerity or his commitment to equal opportunity, but his misgivings weren’t shared by the powers that be.
Face serious, Nancy, placed her elbows on the desk. ‘Things have just got even more complicated, I’m afraid.’
Nodding, he waited for her to continue. Biting her lip and drumming her slightly chipped varnished fingernails on the table, she sighed. ‘A young girl has gone missing in Ilkley. It’s safe to assume she’s been abducted.’
Gus frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but Nancy held up her hand to stop him. ‘It’s linked, I know it is, without even a shred of doubt. Jankowski was right and the identity of the current victim confirms it.’
‘Who is this young girl?’
Getting to her feet, she paced the length of the room. ‘Look, I know you’re up to your ears in this investigation. And I know it’s a lot to ask of you when you’ve only just returned to work, but I want, no scrap that, I need you on this case. I don’t have time to go into everything right now but I want you on the ground in Ilkley. I want you there at the house and the parents will explain everything. Trust me, Gus. This is important and it’s got to be kept quiet for now.’
The fluttering in his chest was caused not so much by Nancy’s words, as by her tortured expression.
‘I need more information than that, Nancy.’
‘Trust me Gus, it’s better you hear it from the mother, Beth Graves.’
Gus tossed his head, his face sullen. ‘For God’s sake, Nance, you know how busy we are here. Can’t you send someone else?’
She held his gaze. ‘I’ve told you, this is crucial to your ongoing investigation. Just do it!’
Smarting from her harsh tone, Gus snatched the address from her hand, and grabbed his coat and bag. He reached the door just as Hussain, face flushed with exertion, burst through.
‘You! With me now!’ said Gus.
Sadia barely had time to grab her bag and cast a quick bemused glance at Nancy before trotting out of the room after her irascible boss.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Ilkley and you’re driving, hurry.’
Chapter 46
Tuesday 1:45pm
With Sadia proving to be a fast and capable driver, they drove over the tops to Ilkley. Bracken and heather, smothered by snow drifts, flashed past the window. It was beautiful and if a child hadn’t been abducted, Gus would have enjoyed the drive. However, his head was full of questions. Why was Nancy so convinced this was linked to the current cases? Why was she so shaken? And why break protocol to have the major crimes unit involved so early for a possible abduction.
Thankfully, unlike Alice who always chattered like an express train, Sadia seemed content to listen to the radio, leaving him with his thoughts. Normally, he’d have chosen Alice to accompany him, but Nancy’s assertion that he’d been more than a little like Sadia Hussain when he was a lowly DC had made him choose Sadia. He hoped his instincts wouldn’t be proved wrong. If she was some sort of spy for her dad, who openly disapproved of Nancy, Gus and the major crimes unit, it was wise to keep a close eye on her.
The confined car felt stuffy, so Gus cracked the window open. This earned him a pointed frown from Sadia. Despi
te himself, he smiled and cracked it another inch. As cool air infiltrated the car, the whoosh of wind drowned out Sadia’s annoyed tut. However, seconds later his thoughts were interrupted when his window whirred back up. Casting a sideways glance at Sadia, he noticed the slight smile on her face. Cheeky bitch used the central control to close my window. He turned to look at her. She was, despite the sulky look she often carried, quite beautiful. Flawless complexion, long blue-black hair and eyelashes also long and dark that framed deep brown eyes.
Smothering his grin, he resumed his silent contemplation of the scenery for a few seconds before pressing the button to open the window again. The urge to grin increased when he realised she’d locked the passenger window.
Driving through the well-gritted town centre, Sadia turned left at a road leading towards the woods. At the bottom end of the moor, she slowed slightly. ‘Sir?’
Gus turned towards her as she negotiated round a parked car. ‘Yes?’
‘What’s the big urgency in Ilkley?’
Gathering his thoughts, Gus rubbed his shoulder. He’d had to strap it up again and it was throbbing like shit. ‘A child’s gone missing, suspected abduction. DCI Chalmers says this is a ‘sensitive case’. That’s about all I know. We’ll find out more when we get there.’
She checked her rear mirror. ‘Haven’t we got enough on with the trafficking case and Asif’s murder?’
‘DCI Chalmers thinks there may be a link between this and the other two cases. Who knows? But, if she wants us on it, it’s because it’s important.’
