He Knows Your Secrets

by Charlie Gallagher

  The man stepped away, he seemed to check that he was off camera then he gestured furiously for her to step in. He tapped his wrist where a watch might be then tugged at his belt and started pulling at his jeans. He wasn’t someone she had seen before. She had no idea who he was but she knew that didn’t matter. She could do nothing to choke back the tears now.

  He reacted, his jaw seemed to crease, his face a mask of fury. She felt a firm shove from behind. She stumbled into the room and, before she could turn, she heard the door pulled shut. There was a click — the sound of it locking. There was no getting out of that room, not until she had done what was required of her. She turned back to where the man stood, still furious. He gestured again, then pulled his trousers down as the laptop behind pinged with demands.

  Chapter 8

  Maddie closed the door of her unmarked Ford Focus and paused. The semi-detached house that they had come to in the East Cliff area of Langthorne was just a few hundred metres short of the entrance to a primary school and within walking distance of an area known as ‘the Warren’. This was a winding trail that commenced on the clifftop and finished on the beach below. It was a good area where you might expect good people. It made the news she was about to break all the more difficult.

  Harry stood up out of the passenger side. He must have seen her hesitation. ‘Do you want me to do the talking?’

  ‘No, it’s okay. I’m just trying to get it straight in my mind.’

  ‘They may already know. It’s on social media isn’t it? And local news.’

  ‘Not really. They’ve reported a car going over, but that’s about it. The press don’t have any other details. We don’t have much more.’

  ‘Time to get some answers, then.’ Harry walked up the drive to the front door. By the time Maddie joined him it was already being answered in response to his firm knock.

  ‘Hello?’ A young woman answered. She wore a light brown hijab and seemed wary of Harry. Maddie was aware of the etiquette around male strangers among some Muslims. She pulled his arm gently to stand in front of him. It got the woman’s attention.

  ‘Hey,’ Maddie said. ‘I am looking for the home address of Taruc Mardin. I’m a police officer. We both are. I was hoping to speak with his family.’

  ‘Taruc?’ The woman had big, brown eyes that Maddie thought were quite striking. They seemed to widen even more. ‘My husband? Is he in trouble? Is he hurt?’

  ‘Can we come in — just for a few moments?’ Maddie stepped forward. The woman hesitated but then bowed her head slightly and gestured for them to enter. Maddie immediately knelt to take her shoes off. She made eye contact with Harry to make sure he did the same. She could tell he was grumbling under his breath.

  The living room was just off the hall. The woman led the way. She gestured to a long sofa but stayed standing herself. Maddie took a seat.

  ‘Tea?’ the woman offered. She backed towards a second door that led to the back of the house.

  ‘No, thank you,’ Maddie said. ‘You may want to sit down. There are some questions we need to ask about your husband. Have you heard from him?’

  ‘Heard from him? He is at work.’ She sounded a little panicked now.

  ‘He’s a taxi driver, right?’

  ‘Taxis yes, he drives.’ Her attention flicked back to Harry. She was still standing and she gave the impression of being on the verge of backing out of the room.

  ‘A taxi was involved in a serious incident today, and the driver . . .’

  ‘Taruc?’ she breathed.

  ‘We can’t be sure. We have a rescue team with the vehicle now. There are . . . complications. With getting to it, I mean. We are trying to determine if it is your husband’s car. His taxi firm haven’t heard from him since earlier today and the type of car fits with what your husband was driving.’

  ‘A white Skoda, this is the car? He drives this!’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Oh . . . Taruc! Is he . . . is he dead?’ She lifted her hand to her mouth and those deep brown eyes were now brimming with tears.

  ‘We cannot be sure. I am so sorry to come here without answers but if it is his vehicle then the chances of us finding someone alive are very low. I am so sorry.’

  Mrs Mardin pitched forward with her hand still over her mouth. Maddie rose to stand. It looked for a moment as if the young woman might keel over but she reached out to take hold of the doorframe. Suddenly she spun on her heels and moved out of the room. Maddie and Harry exchanged glances but didn’t speak or move. Just a few seconds later, Mrs Mardin reappeared holding a phone to her ear. Maddie could hear the dialling tone through the silence of the room, then the sound of it cutting straight to voicemail. The woman dialled again. Her eyes had lost all focus and her hands trembled. When the phone cut out again she looked at Maddie. ‘What happened?’

  Maddie took a moment to consider her response. ‘We are still trying to work that out, but it might be that Taruc set out this morning to hurt himself. Would that be a surprise to you?’

  ‘Hurt himself?’

  ‘Is there any suggestion that Taruc might look to take his own life? Has he been suffering with his mental health?’

  Mrs Mardin flushed, her whole demeanour suddenly of someone angry. ‘He would never do this! Not to his family. This is not him. We have nice life . . . we have nice home . . . we are people of God.’

  ‘I know this is difficult. I am so sorry to be asking these questions. We do not know your husband. We do not understand what has happened so we must ask.’

  ‘Ask your questions . . . but I will tell you this . . . this is not a man who will take his own life. It is not for us to decide when we die, or how. This is for a higher being to decide. This is great shame on our family! You must not share this, our community . . .’ She broke down again.

  Maddie was still standing. She gave the woman a moment. ‘We have no intention of sharing anything. We’re just trying to understand. From what we know right now, it is difficult to see how this could have been an accident. Has he made any contact with you today? Did he leave you anything to read or say anything that might suggest he was not intending to come home?’

  ‘He WAS coming home!’ Her raised voice seemed to catch her out as much as it did Maddie. She seemed to check herself. She was wearing a long, elegant dress at which she now tugged as if to straighten it. ‘I am sorry — this is a shock to me. We have children. Two children. They are just at school. I will need to speak with them, I do not know how I can tell them all of this.’

  ‘I can’t imagine.’

  ‘But it may not be him? This is what you say?’

  ‘We have not been able to get to the vehicle just yet. But we are as sure as we can be. I think you need to be prepared for it to be Taruc. I know this is hard.’

  ‘Cannot get to him? What has happened that you cannot get to him?’

  Maddie hesitated again. Harry cut in. ‘The vehicle was driven over a cliff. No sign of braking, no deviation. it would appear to be a deliberate act.’

  Mrs Mardin fixed on Harry as if he was speaking a different language. Her eyes glazed, her head started to shake slightly.

  ‘I know that the thought of Taruc taking his own life is not easy to talk about, but if he left you something . . . if he hinted at this . . . if you know something about why he might have done that then you need to let us know now. We are not looking to share what happened or the cause of it with anyone else but the less we know the more people we may need to speak to — to get our answers. Then we start to lose control of the information.’

  ‘He does not do this. This is not him. We have nice life — happy life! He loves his two boys . . . they are everything. He loves me! We talk, two nights ago . . . we are moving house. We rent here but we will buy in the area. We are happy here. We make plans like normal family!’ She leaned back against the doorframe.

  Maddie’s phone rang out.

  ‘Would you excuse me?’

  She was glad to be able to ste
p away and the woman didn’t look up. Maddie moved into the hall, but she could hear Harry’s rumbling tones. She guessed he was trying to comfort her. It wasn’t really Harry’s strength; she should hurry her call.

  ‘Maddie, where are you?’ It was Mitch Evans, a civilian investigator who worked with Major Crime. His role was largely the collation of information and most of the time he was based out of headquarters. He was mainly desk-bound, a good single point for all information to go through when a team of detectives were working a case.

  ‘At an address in Langthorne. The wife of a taxi driver.’

  ‘Taruc Mardin by any chance?’

  ‘Yes. Do you have something to add?’

  ‘The rescue team have made it to the car. We’re pretty certain it’s him.’

  Maddie sighed. ‘Pretty certain? His wife might want a little more than that.’

  ‘It’s him, Maddie. How’s that?’

  ‘Okay. Deceased?’

  ‘Yes. Both of them. Very.’

  Maddie’s thoughts had been on what she was going to say when the call finished and she had to return to the living room but her mind now snapped into focus. ‘Both?’

  ‘I thought that might get your attention! Taruc had a passenger on board. We’ve been able to use a roadside lantern and we got an instant hit.’ Maddie had seen the ‘lantern’ used before. It was a bit of kit issued to Traffic, effectively a mobile fingerprint device.

  ‘Okay?’

  ‘Seems Holly Maguire was along for the ride. She’s still in the passenger seat. Our driver was thrown clear. They’ve pretty much retrieved him already. Maguire and the car are going to take longer but it should be in the next few hours.’

  ‘Holly Maguire? Is that someone I should know?’

  ‘You would if you worked vice. Thirty-four-year-old woman who’s been linked to prostitution in the town for some time. She’s turned up a few drug warrants, too, but only suspected to be an occasional user. Last intel is two years old, though, so nothing recent.’

  ‘Do we have an up-to-date address . . . next of kin, that sort of thing?’

  ‘I’ve had a quick look. We have an address. Again, it’s a few years old. I’ll see what I can get for next of kin and anything else I think you might need. I know the uniform skipper is tasking out the death message once we have someone to deliver it to. Did you want me to put the skids on that?’

  ‘Not necessarily. I’ll talk to the boss, though. He’s here with me now. This changes everything.’

  ‘It does. It’s not just a simple suicide anymore, Maddie, is it?’ Mitch chuckled like this was so typical. Maddie felt a sudden surge of anger. She was standing out in a hallway, opposite a cluttered shoe rack. The shoes were seemingly arranged from big to small. Several coats hung over it, too. The one closest was a small, blue rain jacket with a Paddington Bear print, all evidence of a rich family life. Mitch Evans’s chirpiness grated, as did his turn of phrase. Simple suicide. She swallowed her first response however, reminding herself that while she was looking at the shoes belonging to the children of their victim, he was some way removed.

  ‘It’s not, if such a thing exists. Find out what you can about both our victims. We’ll head down to the scene. First I need to break the news to his wife.’

  ‘Have you not done that already?’

  ‘Kind of.’

  ‘Kind of?’ Mitch chuckled again.

  ‘Kind of. When I first stepped in here, there was hope. I can’t offer that anymore.’

  ‘I guess not. Rather you than me!’ That chirpiness stayed. This time Maddie just hung up the phone.

  Chapter 9

  As Maddie stepped out of the car, the sea air was an immediate assault on the senses. The breeze still carried warmth, along with enough salt content for her to taste and smell it at the same time. The sun was bright against the cliff’s white face more than a hundred metres away. She could see an area of hard standing then a high fence that marked the edge of a railway track passing under the cliffs. From here there was an area of greenery that looked thick even from this distance. Suddenly she could understand why it had taken all morning just to reach the stricken vehicle.

  She stepped under a length of largely pointless police tape that flapped in the breeze; she didn’t imagine this to be somewhere that members of the public were at risk of strolling through. Access to this point was impossible on foot and via vehicle only when granted by railway staff. She paused to hold the tape up for Harry, who grumbled a thank you. She could see marked vehicles from the police, ambulance and a local search-and-rescue charity that worked with police regularly on misper cases. A coastguard pickup also came into view as she walked to the scene.

  ‘Anyone for a game of emergency services bingo?’ Maddie said. Harry didn’t react. A huddle of police officers presented as black silhouettes against the white of the looming cliffs. The first to break away was a man she recognised as Sergeant Tim Betts. He was shaking his head while he walked towards her.

  ‘Been here all day,’ he said. ‘Can’t say it’s been an easy one, this one. Literally couldn’t have gone down in a worse place.’

  ‘So I see. Where are we?’

  ‘In the middle of a shitload of brambles. We’ve beaten our way through to the car. Now it looks like the way to go is to just drag it out. There’s not much that we can do otherwise. Recovery vehicles are en route. CSI have done what they can in situ. We’re just waiting for you to give us the okay to move it, really.’

  ‘They’re here, then — CSI, I mean?’

  ‘Nope. Been and gone. Coming back, though. Charley had to pop back to the nick for something she was missing. She did say what it was, but it was a long word and I’ve forgotten it.’

  ‘I see. And they agree with the dragging idea?’

  ‘It was CSI’s idea. Charley herself said to “sell it” when Major Crime got here.’

  ‘Okay then. We would generally take the lead from them anyway, so if she says to move it, I suggest we move it.’

  ‘She did say she was in charge! I think she just wants to be able to record that Major Crime okay’d it. She’s managed to get photos of the interior and the surrounding area. Up top has been done as well. The helicopter’s taken some more general ones and I already have those on my email. They show it up the best to be honest — you get a better idea of what’s happened. The car’s come to a rest upside down so we will be dragging it out on its roof. The brambles are sort of holding it up.’

  ‘Has Charley done anything inside?’

  ‘Not with the car. From a risk assessment point of view, we shouldn’t have gone anywhere near it, really. I had to lean in to take a fingerprint on the lantern, but I shouldn’t have done that to be honest. The car’s just about ready to fall and it still has a way to drop. You’ll see what I mean. You wouldn’t want to be stood in front of it.’

  ‘So body recovery will be when the car’s out?’

  ‘Definitely. The driver was thrown clear. Charley has processed him and he’s gone already — she took a lot of photos so you wouldn’t moan. He was quite a mess, as you can imagine, but better preserved than his passenger. Neither of them has much left to recognise. A lot of us know Holly from old — knew Holly, but none of us would have been able to positively ID her if we hadn’t got that fingerprint hit. Again, you’ll see what I mean. I guess a six-hundred-foot drop will do that.’

  ‘So what are your thoughts, here, sergeant?’

  Tim smiled. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that! We normally hand over to the detectives and keep our thoughts to ourselves.’

  ‘We’re all detectives, Tim. We just handle different parts of the investigation. What’s gone on here? In your expert opinion?’

  ‘Like I said, we all know her as a local Tom. So me and the rest reckon she was up on the top, maybe engaged in what she knows best and things got a bit out of hand then the earth quite literally moved, if you know what I mean.’ Tim was smiling. Maddie did the same. It seemed easier now she
wasn’t in the victim’s family home.

  ‘So an accident?’

  Tim shrugged. ‘Maybe the handbrake slipped and no one noticed in time. I dunno how you would prove that. Maybe that’s why I’m not the official detective!’

  ‘It’s a good theory. I hadn’t considered that.’

  ‘Did you know Holly?’

  Maddie shook her head. ‘Never had the pleasure.’

  ‘And she would have been active when you were elsewhere.’ Tim now spoke to Harry. ‘How long have you been on the East, boss?’

  ‘A couple of years. I’ve not heard of her either.’

  ‘Might explain why that wasn’t your first thought. Don’t get me wrong . . . nice enough girl — never gave us any real issues — but she was prolific for a while. We were more worried about keeping her safe than anything. She got into the scene quite young. All quite sad, really.’

  ‘Scene?’

  ‘Selling herself for sex. There were rumours about her a good few years before she turned eighteen even. Broken home, moved about a lot — the standard story. She didn’t deserve this, that’s for sure.’

  ‘I’m sure she didn’t. Can I get closer? I’d like to have a look.’

  Tim looked over at Harry. ‘Well, I’ve just been outranked so the scene now belongs to Major Crime. That means that all health and safety considerations go with it. You can certainly get to it but I am telling you that it’s dangerous to do so.’

  ‘Thanks Tim, I’ll bear that in mind!’