“I did ask Boston to send two coppers; they should be there by now. Let me know if they don’t turn up. Make sure you interview all the Cushings separately, especially the girl. Find out if Philippa Grummett said anything strange or seemed worried or preoccupied last night. Ask when she was last in touch with her parents. And get some item belonging to her from the Cushings that can give us a DNA sample.”
“If you want me to interview Alice Cushing on her own, I’m going to need a policewoman here as well.”
“Good point. I’ll ask Juliet to come. We’ve got a meeting with Thornton now. I don’t know exactly how long it’ll take, but I think Juliet can be with you in about an hour and a half. Interview the parents in the meantime. I’m going to join you as soon as I can. The tighter we can keep this case, the better. I’ll try to make sure we’re all briefed about new developments as they happen. Otherwise we might miss stuff that’s common to both disappearances.”
“You do think they’re connected, then? That both are kidnappings?”
“Well, it seems more than likely, doesn’t it? I don’t believe in coincidences. Besides, I haven’t forgotten what Verity Tandy said about Cassandra Knipes’ resemblance to the Grummett girl. I’ve got a photo of Cassandra now. It’s not a very good one, but I can see what Verity means. The hair colour alone is rare, especially in this area. There’s almost certainly some connection.”
“What about the train accident? Do you think that has anything to do with it?”
“I need more time to think about that. It strikes me that it could have been the catalyst for all of these events, but I can’t see why. It was an accident, after all. I can’t see how anyone could have engineered it, least of all one of the Grummett family. Has someone notified the Grummetts that Philippa’s missing?”
“Not yet. I waited to speak to you first.”
“I’ll do it. We’ll need to interview them again urgently, as well. It would be better to see them face-to-face to tell them about her, but I’ll have to do it by phone now. They’re Philippa’s next of kin and they mustn’t hear about this from someone else first. Cushing hasn’t told them, has he?”
“No. I think he’s terrified of facing up to them. He regards himself as responsible because Philippa was staying under his roof.”
“Well, he has a point there. Was there any sign of forced entry, or do you think the girl left the house of her own accord?”
“I don’t know. They seem to think she walked out, but I’ll need to probe further when I talk to them. And we’ll have to get Forensics in to examine the house.”
“You’re right. As soon as possible, too. How’s Patti getting on with what the contractors found? Do you think she could leave that for a while, or is it crucial she stays with it?”
“I don’t know. I left her to it when Peter Cushing showed up.”
“Right. Leave her where she is for now. I’ll speak to her when I arrive. I’d better go. Sorry to repeat myself, but please don’t speak to the media. We’ll need Thornton’s take on what to say to them. He may want to tell them we only know for sure that one of the girls has been abducted, though they won’t believe it.”
Superintendent Thornton was closeted with Juliet and DC Ricky MacFadyen when Tim reached his office. As Tim raced up the stairs, he could see Thornton holding forth through the internal window. He spotted Tim and beckoned him to join them. Tim couldn’t imagine what had got into his boss since the day’s dramas had begun to unfold. Masterful would have been the word that sprang to mind, if he hadn’t known Thornton better. He would have to look to his laurels if Thornton continued to up his game like this, but Tim suspected that his sudden self-galvanisation was prompted by some political manoeuvre and therefore likely to vanish as quickly as it had materialised.
“Ah, Yates. Thanks for returning pronto. I’d hoped you would. All the road-blocks have been set up now. Carstairs will stay with the Cushing parents until you reach him. I gather that you’ve spoken to him about it. PC Tandy’s still with the Knipes parents, is she? Good. Urgent next steps are to talk to the Grummett parents and then enlist the help of the media. Which means designing a press release that isn’t too lurid and then calling a press conference.”
“I’m quite happy to . . .”
“Good Lord, Yates, not you. If you don’t mind my saying so, tact is not your forte. I believe I have quite a way with words myself, but my prowess is not equal to DC Armstrong’s. I’ve asked her to draft something for us. It won’t take you too long, will it?” He turned to Juliet.
Juliet flushed and gave Tim a little sidelong glance. “No, sir, but I’d prefer to work on it alone.”
“Of course, of course. Off you go.”
He favoured Tim with a quick aside.
“I’ve decided that MacFadyen should break the news to the Grummett parents, Yates.”
“But Ricky’s not been involved in this case so far. I’d be grateful for his help, of course, but I’d really like . . .”
“He is involved in it now. You can go, MacFadyen. Let us know when you’ve spoken to the Grummetts. Hopefully you’ll find them both at the hospital. If not, check with the ward staff that Mrs Grummett is mentally stable enough to hear the news by herself.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ricky flashed Tim a quick smile of sympathy as he left the room. The Superintendent continued.
“You can’t do everything yourself, Yates. You must learn to delegate. Besides, I want you to talk to the Cushings as soon as possible. You can take Armstrong with you. I know that Carstairs is already at the scene, but he was detailed to support Ms Gardner, and I don’t want him to lose sight of that. He can go back to her once you’ve arrived. You and Tandy, MacFadyen, Carstairs and I will have to co-ordinate carefully, so that the victims’ parents and guardians all know what’s going on before I talk to the media.”
“You’re going to talk to the media, sir? But I thought that I was the SIO for this case.”
“You’re the SIO for the accident and whatever else has been going on at the site of the accident. As far as we know, the kidnapping of Cassandra Knipes and the disappearance of Philippa Grummett are not related to that. We also have no proof yet they are connected.”
“I think it’s unlikely they’re not, sir.”
“So do I, Yates, very unlikely. And if you want my opinion, it is that all of these happenings are related. But I’m not going to waste time thinking about exactly how at the moment. My priority is to find those girls unharmed and restore them to where they belong. And to preserve the credibility of this police force while I’m at it. I suggest to you that I’m unlikely to achieve either by giving you an enormous SIO caseload. Do you agree?”
“Yes, sir,” said Tim reluctantly.
“Good. Nevertheless,” Superintendent Thornton continued in a silky voice, “naturally I shall be relying on you to do a great deal of the work on all the cases.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“And I’m quite well aware that you’re more au fait with the minutiae than I am. So I want to know if I’ve missed anything? We’ve been going at quite a pace this morning.”
Tim wracked his brains for some flaw in the Superintendent’s arrangements.
“There’s just one thing, sir. PC Tandy had been going to Spalding High School to see Mr Lennard, but she’s been detailed to stay with the Knipes now. And we should send someone to Boston High School: Philippa Grummett is a pupil there.”
“Good point. Chakrabati visited Spalding High School with Tandy last time, didn’t he? Send him again. And get Boston to send someone to the school there. In both cases, immediately. And tell them not to talk to the media.”
“Yes, sir,” said Tim. “I’ll do just that – I want to find out why they haven’t yet got my requested support out to Dowdyke Road.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
GIASH CHAKRABATI EMERGE
D from his car, which he’d parked in the front drive of Spalding High School, to see Richard Lennard walking briskly towards him. Giash smiled inwardly. He was going to enjoy this encounter.
“Oh, hello,” said the headteacher in an offhand way. “I’d been expecting PC Tandy. I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”
“PC Chakrabati. PC Tandy’s been detailed to remain with Cassandra Knipes’ parents. I’ve come in her place.”
Lennard’s urbane mask fell away. He looked alarmed, confused almost.
“With Cassandra’s parents? But why?”
“I’m sorry, sir, I had thought you knew. Can we go inside? It’s not something we can discuss out here.” Giash glanced across at the road at a small car that had just pulled up.
“Certainly. We can talk in my office.” He gestured to the door and, leading the way, opened it for Giash. As they walked down the corridor, the bossy school secretary whom Giash had encountered on his previous visit came rushing up to them. Ignoring Giash, she launched into a breathless rigmarole.
“There you are, Headmaster. I’ve been ringing round the whole school for you. Councillor Start’s here. He’s most annoyed that the meeting booked on Saturday coincides with a netball match. Most annoyed. He says that the school is paid to guarantee privacy for his society’s meetings and it’s not good enough. He says . . .”
A withering look from Lennard stopped her in her tracks.
“Hello, Mrs Hargreaves. Where is Councillor Start?”
“He’s waiting in your office. He . . .”
“Please ask him to leave my office and wait in yours. We’re going into the staff room for a couple of minutes to get some coffee. By the time we’re ready to take it to my office, I expect him to have moved. Tell him that I’m with PC Chakrabati,” he finished, enunciating Giash’s name very distinctly.
“Yes, Headmaster,” said Mrs Hargreaves, still looking dubious; but Giash also saw the gleam of curiosity dawning in her eye. She scurried away, her large bottom straining against the panels of her tweed skirt.
“You’d like coffee?” Lennard said to Giash.
“Thank you, sir. But what I’ve come to talk to you about is urgent.”
Richard Lennard shrugged.
“Have coffee or not, as you wish. As you see, coming briefly into the staff room with me will be the quickest way of ensuring you get my attention.”
“Yes, sir. I think I’ll stay here, if you don’t mind.”
“Very well. I will fetch the coffee.”
He disappeared through the staff room door while Giash waited in the corridor. As he’d expected, Councillor Start emerged from the office almost immediately, with Mrs Hargreaves waddling in attendance. He was expostulating in a loud voice and very red in the face. As he turned to take the two steps to Mrs Hargreaves’ office, he cast a brief glance behind him and met Giash’s eye. Quickly he looked away. Giash noticed that he fell silent immediately.
Richard Lennard emerged from the staff room as soon as Start had disappeared, as if their actions were co-ordinated. He was carrying two Styrofoam cups of coffee. He pushed against the door of his office, which the Councillor had left ajar, and entered.
“Come in, Constable Chakrabati. Shut the door behind you.”
Lennard didn’t retreat behind his desk, as Giash had expected, but instead set down the coffee cups carefully on the small oval table and seated himself there, waving to Giash to join him.
“I apologise for the fuss,” he said. “I’m all yours now.”
“As I said, sir, I thought you’d been briefed. I’m sorry to shock you: Cassandra Knipes has been kidnapped.”
“Cassandra! But why?” He paused. “And how can you be sure?”
“I have no idea why, sir. That’s what we’re trying to find out – and quickly. We know that she was abducted because her mother saw her being bundled into a van.”
“Her parents are quite old.”
“Mrs Knipes has not made a mistake, if that’s what you’re suggesting, sir. We’d like you and the staff and students here to help us as much as you can. We have twenty-four hours, forty-eight at most, before the trail goes cold. And Cassandra’s chances of survival are decreasing all the time.”
“Of course everyone will help. What should we do?”
“I’d like to speak to Cassandra’s two friends – the girls that PC Tandy and I saw last time we were here. And would you ask the teachers who taught Cassandra yesterday if she seemed subdued, or they noticed anything unusual in her behaviour.”
“Yes – although it will mean taking them out of their classrooms. Should I close the school?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary at the moment, sir, or even advisable.”
“But if Cassandra’s been kidnapped, shouldn’t we issue some kind of warning to the rest of the students – and to their parents?”
“Superintendent Thornton, my boss, will be giving a statement to the Press, TV and radio shortly. I suggest you write a letter to all parents, based on what he says. After I’ve talked to Cassandra’s friends, you might like to gather the school together to offer advice and reassurance. We’d be extremely grateful if you wouldn’t discuss Cassandra with the media just yet. They’re bound to turn up here, sooner rather than later, I’d say, and it’d be best not to treat them in a hostile way, as they might be helpful later. But we’d like you to work with us on exactly what you say to them.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
KATHLEEN HARGREAVES SHOWED the two girls into Richard Lennard’s office. Both were pale and subdued. Leonora Painter scuttled into the room and looked around nervously, as if unsure what to do next. The skin around her eyes was puffy, as if she’d been crying. Isobel Baxter was sad in a dignified way. Giash guessed she probably had superior powers of imagination and better understood than Leonora the dangers that Cassandra might be facing.
“Do you want me to stay?” said Kathleen Hargreaves brusquely, addressing the question to the headteacher.
“Please, Mrs Hargreaves, if you would.”
She took a chair beside Richard Lennard’s large desk, behind which he’d now retreated. Giash found this curious. On his previous visit, when the girls weren’t upset, Lennard had fetched chairs and sat with them. Now, rather awkwardly, they and he were obliged to remain standing.
Richard Lennard waved a hand in Giash’s direction.
“This is PC Chakrabati,” he said. “You probably remember him – he accompanied PC Tandy when she visited a few days ago. I know that Mrs Hargreaves has told you about Cassandra’s disappearance. PC Chakrabati would like to ask you a few questions.”
Giash smiled at the two girls before scrutinising Lennard. The latter held his gaze. Giash thought he could read contempt in the headteacher’s expression.
“Cassandra hasn’t merely ‘disappeared’,” he said quietly but firmly. “We have an eyewitness account that she was abducted while waiting at the bus stop a few yards from her house.”
“Why would anyone want to abduct her?” asked Isobel.
“That’s one of the questions I’d like to ask you. Does Cassandra have any enemies that you know of?”
“No,” said Leonora. “Everyone likes her. She’s a really nice person.”
“What about boyfriends?”
“We go out in a group with some of the boys in the sixth form at the Grammar School.”
“Is she friendly with one of them in particular?”
“I’m not sure,” said Leonora, looking down at her feet.
“It’s all right, Leo,” said Isobel. “I don’t mind telling the truth. Cassie has a kind of on-off relationship with my brother, Jack. But if you think Jack would kidnap her, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“Remember your manners, Isobel,” said Kathleen Hargreaves, glowering.
“It’s OK,” said Giash quickly
, inwardly cursing the woman for slowing the momentum of the conversation. “Why do you describe Cassandra’s relationship with your brother as ‘on-off’? Do they argue frequently?”
“No, I don’t think so. But I don’t think Cassie’s parents like her to have a boyfriend.”
“Were you with her yesterday?”
“Yes, in lessons and at the end of the day. We walked part of the way home together.”
“What about you, Leonora?”
“I saw her in lessons, too. I didn’t walk home. My mum came to pick me up.”
“Thank you. Isobel, what did you talk about when you were walking? Did Cassandra seem upset in any way?”
“Not really. She worries about her Dad a lot – he’s old, and not well. I think she worries about both her parents, actually. But last night was no different from usual. She mentioned that her Dad had had a bit of relapse, then we started talking about tomorrow’s netball. It was Cassie’s turn to bring in the food for it. Her mother was baking biscuits. Cassie said she’d have a lot to carry and she’d probably take the bus. That’s why I didn’t think it odd when she didn’t call for me this morning.”
“Of course we’ll be cancelling the netball match,” Richard Lennard said eagerly. “It wouldn’t be seemly to carry on with it after this has happened.”
Giash recalled vividly Lennard’s brief but fraught exchange with Mrs Hargreaves and Councillor Start’s departing glance over his shoulder.
“I’ll check with my boss,” he said evenly, “but I think he’ll say that he’d like the netball match to go on as planned. We may have found Cassandra by then, and if we haven’t, the match itself might give us more clues.”
“I fail to see . . .”
“Sometimes people who’ve committed crimes hang around places associated with the victim. By mingling discreetly with those attending the netball match, we may be able to spot unusual behaviour and we’ll be asking you and your staff to look out for anyone who comes that you don’t know.”
“Have you finished talking to Isobel and Leonora now?” asked Mrs Hargreaves icily. Lennard shot her a swift look of . . . what? Admiration? Gratitude?
The Crossing Page 16
