‘Of course, I can see you’re not looking so well,’ Tommy replied.
‘Can you update Dan before you go home?’
‘No problem. Do you think there’s anything to what she’s saying?’
‘I’m not sure but we have to give her allegations due weight and investigate thoroughly. If they’d done that years ago then a lot those children who have suffered terrible abuse might had been spared.’
Mac wouldn’t say it but he was still highly sceptical of Miss Ackley’s motives. He felt as if he’d just overturned a stone and found a scorpion.
Chapter Ten
Third day missing
Mac woke up in stages. He was nearly there anyway when the alarm went off. He turned it off and lay there for a couple of minutes trying to summon the courage to sit up. He did. It wasn’t as bad as he feared. The really hard part was next though. He stood up and waited for the pain to hit him. It didn’t. He tried a few steps. His back was sore but just about bearable which was far better than he’d expected.
He smiled as he shaved. He’d been so sure that today would be a bed day and he was so grateful that it wasn’t.
He had coffee and toast and even managed to fill the bird feeders before Tommy arrived. He looked concerned as he watched Mac limping towards the car.
‘Are you sure you’re okay, Mac?’
‘Well it’s not great but it’s not terrible either. Don’t worry though, sometimes the pain goes away a bit as I get through the day.’
Mac said a little prayer that he might be right.
As they drove down the hill Mac could see the traffic light turn to red. They pulled up as once again no traffic came out of the site. It still annoyed the hell out of him for some reason. He was going to ask Tommy what Dan had said the previous evening but Tommy beat him to it.
‘You…er…haven’t heard from Bridget, have you?’ he asked.
Mac looked over at him. Tommy seemed to be a little worried and he wanted to know why.
‘No, I went straight to bed last night. Why? Has something happened between the two of you?’
‘No, no…well, perhaps sort of. I was due to meet her to look at a flat last night and, if I’m honest, I got talking to Dan about the case and nearly forgot all about it. By the time I remembered and drove to the flat, there was no-one around. I’ve tried calling her but her phone must be switched off.’
‘And you think she might be mad at you?’
Tommy shrugged, ‘Well, yes. I think she really liked this flat.’
‘Have you two decided to move in together?’
‘Well yes…hasn’t she told you?’ Tommy asked, looking more than a little sheepish.
‘No, she didn’t,’ Mac said as he tried to keep a serious expression on his face.
Tommy looked even more concerned as he quickly glanced over at Mac.
‘Well, it’s alright , isn’t it?’
The ‘isn’t it?’ ended on a tremulous upward inflection. Mac couldn’t hold it any longer and burst out laughing.
‘Oh it’s fine with me and I know that it’s more than fine with her. She told me at Easter that she hoped you’d ask her to move in with you, especially now she’s going to be working locally.’
‘She did?’ Tommy grinned. ‘I only got the courage up to ask her a few weeks ago. I was surprised when she said yes. I mean she’s so…well perfect.’
‘She’s many things but I wouldn’t count perfection as being one of them. Don’t worry though, she might have been mad at you last night but it won’t last. I’m really glad you’ve both come to the sensible decision. I take it that you’ve been having problems finding somewhere suitable?’
Tommy nodded.
‘We’ve not got much time left either, I’m already well into the notice period for my flat. It’s such a shame, this one looked so good too.’
‘Don’t worry, something will turn up.’
They pulled up outside the incident room. The smell of coffee welcomed Mac once again as he opened the door. Another cup would be just fine.
A few minutes later and they were all assembled around the white board.
‘Okay we’ll very quickly go through where everyone is up to,’ Dan said. ‘Chris, Martina do you want to start?’
Chris stood up.
‘We had four candidates from the Sex Offenders Register who live locally. We’ve checked them all out but nothing’s come of it so far. Martin’s come up with three more that look a bit more likely plus we had someone walk in with some information. Amanda?’
Amanda stood up and looked quite nervously out at the team.
‘A Mrs. Evelyn Tarbot walked in just after four yesterday afternoon. She’s a retired lady who lives just opposite the rugby club. She reported that a neighbour of hers was ‘acting suspiciously’, her words. She’d seen him taking food and other things into a big shed he has in his garden, one he keeps permanently locked. She thought that perhaps he was holding Natasha there. Apparently this neighbour is not ‘the right type’, her words again.’
Amanda sat down.
‘Apparently Amanda managed to winkle out of Mrs. Tarbot how she managed to witness all these comings and goings,’ Chris said with a smile. ‘She lives in the top of the house, in a dormer conversion, and uses a stool and a pair of high powered binoculars.’
‘Well worth talking to then,’ Dan said. ‘I’ll bet she knows everything that happens around that area.’
‘Okay, Andy and Leigh,’ Dan said.
Andy let Leigh speak.
‘We’ve gotten around all but two on the list of Natasha’s friends. There’s at least one possible lead to follow up. The last of Natasha’s friends we spoke to said that two boys at the college were spreading it about that Jonny Aldis had murdered Natasha and that they knew something about it.’
‘Really? What about this Mickey Morgan?’ Dan asked.
‘We checked her out and, while it’s true that she said some threatening things about Natasha, it just appears to be a normal case of teenage friends falling out with each other. Anyway she was away with her family in London the night Natasha went missing and she looked as upset about it as anyone if I’m honest.’
‘Thanks, Mac and Tommy?’
‘We’ve been looking at the teacher, Anthony Hamilton, and investigating an incident from his past. A Miss Joy Ackley has now formally accused Mr. Hamilton of rape and sexual assault which she says happened when she was thirteen. She’s also stated that Mr. Hamilton showed quite an interest in Natasha and that she once saw Natasha coming out of the book store in his classroom, that’s the place that she says that Mr. Hamilton used to have sex with pupils.’
‘Anything in it?’ Dan asked.
Mac shrugged.
‘I’m not sure if I’m honest.’
‘Well we have to follow it up,’ Dan said. ‘I always thought it was a bit of a coincidence him being so close by when she picked up the taxi. Colin anything from the door to doors?’
The burly sergeant stood up.
‘Nothing much I’m afraid. A man in one of the houses on Purwell Lane reported that he saw headlights in the car park around the time Natasha disappeared. I’m afraid that’s about it. We also managed to catch up with all of those who weren’t in when we first did the door to doors but nothing there either.’
‘I’m afraid that the search of the field opposite the pub has also turned up nothing so far but we’ve still got some way to go with that. It’s a lot bigger than you’d think. Okay before I start dishing out tasks for the day has anyone got any ideas that they’d like to share?’
They all looked at each other. Gerry stuck his hand up.
‘How are we getting on with finding Jonny Aldis?’ he asked.
‘We’ve done all the usual things but nothing so far. To be honest I was hoping that you might have found some leads through talking to his friends.’
‘He seems to be the secretive type,’ Gerry replied. ‘Mind if I have a go at looking for him?’
; ‘What’s your idea?’
‘I used to be in the Army before I joined the force, did a lot of camping too. I’m just wondering if that might help in identifying places he might use.’
‘He could be anywhere though. What are your assumptions?’ Dan asked.
‘If he did kill Natasha then yes, he could be miles away by now, but what if he didn’t? Natasha’s friends are all insistent that it wasn’t him. Perhaps he’s looking for her himself. In that case he might be very close by on some bit of parkland perhaps, there’s a lot of that in and around Hitchin.’
Dan gave that some thought.
‘And if he didn’t kill her why would we want to find him?’ he asked.
‘He might know something, something he doesn’t know he knows, if you know what I mean. He was with her a lot just before she disappeared, so perhaps he saw something or she said something to him that might be important.’
Dan gave it some more thought.
‘Okay I’m sold. Gerry and Jo you start searching for Jonny Aldis, pull in some uniforms if you need them.’
Gerry looked really pleased but Jo looked exactly the opposite.
‘Okay Andy and Leigh carry on with Natasha’s friends and also have a look at these two boys who are saying that Jonny Aldis murdered Natasha. Bring them in, I want to see them whether you think they’re telling the truth or not. Chris and Martina carry on with the sex offenders and Mrs. Tarbot and if you have any time after that then meet me in the field. Mac and Tommy, can you interview Anthony Hamilton and see if there’s any substance in Miss Ackley’s accusations. Adil and me will get our wellies on and go back to that great bloody sticky mess of a field. If we find anything I’ll let you all know. Right let’s get on with it then.’
As Mac headed to the door he heard Gerry say to Jo, ‘Talking about wellies I hope you’ve got some.’
She looked horrified.
‘Wellies? If I can’t wear high heels I don’t want to know.’
‘You’re going to need them especially as there’s a forecast for rain today,’ he said with a big smile.
‘Rain? I joined this unit because I was fed up doing a desk job. Please God let me go back!’
Gerry seemed to be enjoying Jo’s discomfort.
They’re like chalk and cheese those two, Mac thought. He could see Jo giving Gerry daggers when he turned his back. A thought occurred to him.
‘Jo you were stationed at Stevenage, weren’t you?’
‘Yes and I wish to God that I was back there right now,’ she replied.
‘Did you know a Bob Waters who worked there?’
‘Yes sure I did, he died not long ago.’
‘What was he like?’ Mac asked.
‘Can I ask why you’re asking?’
Mac told Jo about the report he’d done for the school.
‘Well Bob was straight up and down, a good investigator too. He didn’t do any favours if you know what I mean, he’d have given his wife a speeding ticket if he had to.’
‘So you’d trust his report?’
‘Absolutely,’ Jo replied.
‘Thanks, that’s all I needed to know.’
As they walked towards the car Tommy’s phone rang. He had a message. He looked at it and smiled broadly.
‘Dodged a bullet there,’ he said passing the phone to Mac.
It was a text from Bridget.
‘Sorry Tommy but couldn’t make it, last minute emergency at work and then phone battery went dead on me. I’ve rang the flat and we can view tonight. I’ll see you at seven and I’ll make it up to you x B’
Mac laughed.
‘Yes you did. Anyway best of luck with the viewing. Where is it?’
‘Just down the road from where you live actually.’
‘Really?’ Mac said as he tried to hide a smile.
Having Bridget so close by would be wonderful. He’d missed her dreadfully when she first left home for university but even more since his Nora died. The thought also occurred to him that, with both Bridget and Tommy being good cooks, a nice hot home-cooked meal every now and then might be a distinct possibility. Things were definitely looking up.
As they pulled up outside the Hamiltons’ house his good mood evaporated. He really wasn’t looking forward to this.
Mrs. Hamilton opened the door.
‘Oh, it’s you,’ she said, managing a smile. ‘Please come in.’
‘Is your husband around?’ Mac asked.
‘He’s in the garden,’ she said brightly. ‘Shall I go and get him?’
Mac could hear the sound of a lawnmower outside. It stopped and a minute later Mr. Hamilton came into the room.
He smiled at Mac and Tommy.
‘How can I help you?’ he asked.
‘I’m sorry,’ Mac said, ‘but there’s no easy way to say this. I’m going to have to ask you to come to the station with me. We need you to make a formal statement.’
He looked mystified.
‘A statement? A statement about what?’
‘A Miss Joy Ackley has alleged that seven years ago you sexually assaulted and raped her.’
The shock was evident on Mr. Hamilton’s face. It was his wife who spoke first.
‘That bitch! We’ve already been through hell because of her once. How can you believe a word she says?’ she said angrily.
‘I’m not saying we do but she has alleged that a crime has taken place and we have to investigate,’ Mac said as evenly as he could.
‘It’s alright dear, they’re just doing their job,’ Mr. Hamilton said. Turning to Mac he continued, ‘I’ll just have a quick wash and then I’ll be ready.’
While Mr. Hamilton was gone Mac noticed that Mrs. Hamilton’s expression had turned from anger to one of fear.
‘Oh God, she’s going to do it to us again, isn’t she? I wish I’d never…’
‘You wished you’d never what, Mrs. Hamilton? Mrs. Meredith said that Joy Ackley had it in for your husband because he caught her smoking or is there more to it than that?’
Mrs. Hamilton sat down.
‘While that’s true I think it might be more to do with me, with something I did,’ she said, her face readying itself for tears.
‘What did you do?’
‘I caught her bullying one of the younger girls. Joy was banging her head off the wall. The poor girl was so frightened that she’d wet herself. I sent her home and then had a word with Joy or rather she had a word with me, several words actually and most of them beginning with the letters ‘f’ and ‘c’. It was most unlike me but I’d had a very hard day. Anyway I totally lost it and I smacked her in the face, twice. She hardly flinched when I did it. She just looked at me with those evil eyes of hers and she told me that she’d get her own back. I thought she’d report me to Mrs. Meredith, as she had a right to of course, but she didn’t. Then, a few weeks later, when she alleged that Tony had assaulted her, I knew it was aimed at me.’
‘I see. So she had a reason to get back at the both of you,’ Mac observed.
‘Why now though Mr. Maguire? Why now after all these years? We’ve been so happy and now…’ the tears finally came.
Mr. Hamilton came into the room and went straight to his wife and comforted her.
‘Is it okay if I ring a friend to come and sit with her?’ he asked.
Mac nodded.
Once seated in the interview room in the police station Mac asked if he wanted a solicitor.
‘No, why should I? I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m an innocent man and I’m quite happy to answer your questions,’ he replied.
Mac read Joy Ackley’s statement to him. Mr. Hamilton’s face showed his shock, especially at Joy’s allegations about him and Natasha.
‘Is there any truth in Miss Ackley’s allegations?’
‘No, none whatsoever,’ he protested, ‘and as for her saying that there was something between me and Natasha that’s absolutely unbelievable. I’m sorry but I can’t get my head around any of this.’
‘Did y
ou have any sort of sexual encounters with Natasha, Joy or any other pupil?’ Mac asked.
‘No, never. I could never understand what some men saw in young girls, I mean they’re just children, aren’t they? I really don’t know what to say or how I can prove it to you though.’
‘If you didn’t sexually assault Joy Ackley why do you think she’s making these allegations?’
‘I’ve no idea. She definitely had an axe to grind with me after I caught her smoking but that was years ago. I’d have thought she’d have forgotten all about that by now though.’
Mac looked closely at the teacher. He seemed lost and confused. As far as Mac was concerned he was ticking all the right boxes so far.
‘Okay I’ll get someone to take your formal statement and then you’ll be free to go home.’
‘What happens next?’
‘We’ll investigate further and then I’ll give my findings to my superior. He’ll then consult with the Crown Prosecution Service about possible charges.’
‘You’re thinking of charging me with something?’ he asked, his face showing his total bewilderment.
‘I didn’t say that. A serious allegation has been made against you. If we find evidence of your guilt you will be charged, however, if we find that Miss Ackley has knowingly made a false allegation then we’ll be charging her,’ Mac explained.
‘Oh I see,’ he said, looking a little calmer. ‘Why do people do these things? Why do they wilfully hurt each other so?’
‘I really wish I knew,’ Mac said with deep sincerity.
‘So what now?’ Tommy asked as they stood in the hallway.
‘Let’s go back to the incident room and see if those reports have arrived from the school. If this DS Waters was as good an investigator as the headmistress and Jo claim we might as well use his report as the starting point.’
When they got back Martin had not only received the reports but had produced a nice pile of printed paper for Mac and Tommy to read.
Mac read DS Waters report first and then swapped with Tommy and read the headmistress’s report.
The Blackness (The Mac Maguire detective mysteries Book 4) Page 10
