Dead Nasty

by Helen H. Durrant

  “Get real! That girl is every bit as bad as her brothers. The only thing she’s got going for her is education. She’s clever, and that teacher is good with her. Keeps her on track. She’s got a shedload of GCSEs and she’s doing A levels now.” The woman shrugged. “Might do her some good. She’s the only one of mine who’s ever passed anything.”

  “We will speak to her teacher and her friends. If she turns up, or you think of anything else, ring me.” Ruth handed Mrs Ramsden her card.

  “She wasn’t much help,” Rocco complained as they walked back to the cars. “The kid’s done one, or worse, and no one’s much bothered.”

  “We’ll look into it. I’ll speak to Jake. He knows what goes on with the older kids at school. He might throw something into the pot.”

  Rocco smirked. “Elsa is soft on him then.”

  “Jake’s got quite a fan club. Doesn’t see it. I’ve told him to watch his step. Those girls are okay up to a point, but they can be lethal when they turn against you.”

  Chapter 3

  It was lunchtime. He felt as if he’d been walking up and down the avenue for hours. She had to come back soon. He knew her routine, he’d been keeping tabs. She had no classes this afternoon.

  Craig Donnelly checked his watch. Only an hour to go before check-in. Out on license — what a bloody laugh. He’d given those idiots in that prison everything they wanted. He’d been a model prisoner, saying and doing all the right things. The Reverend Michael Livings had put him straight. Explained what he needed to do, then coached him. He’d even started going to church. Finally they’d believed that he was genuinely sorry. Fools! If they knew the truth he’d still be under lock and key.

  The bus stopped at the corner. She got off with a group of girls. Donnelly threw a cigarette butt into the gutter and craned his neck for a better look. She’d grown. When he’d got banged up, Leanne had been pregnant and Gaby was born two months into his sentence. Now she was a young woman, and so like her mother. Pity that. But at least her mother was a looker.

  He stepped forward. “Gaby!” He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but the look of horror on her face froze his soul. What had gone wrong? He watched and waited while she said a quick goodbye to her friends. “You got my letters? I wrote most days. And the photos? You must have. You recognise me?”

  “Mum put everything you sent straight in the bin. I know what you look like because Mum showed me a recent photo. She warned me you might come calling. You’re wasting your time! I hate you! I always have. Don’t you dare come near me — understand?”

  “But I’m your dad. I’ve missed you. I’ve counted the days. I’ve wanted to see you so bad.”

  “I haven’t missed you. Not one bit, and who can blame me? Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me and Mum over the years? The trouble you’re still causing? Do you know that most of the kids at school don’t want to know me anymore? Do you have any idea how that feels?”

  His eyes narrowed. He knew exactly how that felt. If her life was so bad, how come she was refusing to have anything to do with him? All he wanted was to take her away from all this misery. “Whatever you think you know, it’s wrong. It was all a big mistake. Things got twisted. People wanted me out of the way and I got banged up for something I didn’t do,” he said. “The authorities know that now, so they let me go. I’m out, aren’t I? Would they do that if there were doubts? This is our chance to put things right. Put these mistakes behind us.”

  She took several steps backwards. “Don’t come near me — creep. I don’t want to breathe the same air as you! All my friends know what you did. Living in this town, going to that school, none of it is the same now. You ruin everything!”

  “Don’t say things like that, Gaby. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

  She screamed at him. “You exist, don’t you? That’s enough! Me and Mum want nothing to do with you.”

  The look of disgust on her face cut him to the quick. “But I’m your dad.”

  “You’re a monster! A bloody embarrassment! Even more so now everyone’s talking about you.”

  “It’ll pass. People will soon forget. I can put it right. I have money. Why don’t you come with me? We’ll go away, somewhere warm. Have a holiday. I’ll be a proper dad to you.”

  “Get lost!”

  “I mean it, Gaby. I’ll look after you.”

  “Mum looks after me. She always has. I go short of nothing. Look where we live.” She gestured at the house. “Why would I give all this up to take off with someone like you?”

  “I can talk your mum round, I always could. We can be a family again.”

  Gaby laughed. “Mum hates you even more than I do. When I tell her you’ve spoken to me, she’ll go to the police.”

  He certainly didn’t want that. “Okay, I’ll go. But this isn’t over. I want you in my life, Gaby. I’m not giving up.”

  * * *

  Ruth put her bag and coat on the floor by her chair. Some welcome! Her desk was a shambles, covered in all sorts of rubbish. And only Joyce was in the office. No Imogen, no Calladine, not even any uniform. She nodded at the mountain of paperwork. “Where’s that lot come from?”

  Joyce cast her eyes over the untidy pile of documents. “Looks like the boss has lumbered you with the backlog.”

  Ruth picked at one or two pieces of paper. “It looks more like junk food central on here. Whiffs a bit too. This, for example.” She threw a carton containing half a mouldy ham sandwich at the waste bin. “This paperwork is from months ago. Has Calladine been sitting here?”

  “Eliza King had his office while she was here. The boss took your desk. He’s been flitting between the two ever since. As for the rubbish — sorry. I think the others have been using your desk as a dumping ground.”

  “He doesn’t do this with his own desk. Wait till he gets back! Where is he anyway?”

  “He won’t be long. He’s sorting out Sergeant Thorpe. Imogen is down in records. I thought Rocco was with you.”

  “He was. He’s getting some lunch in the canteen.”

  “I’ll go through all that stuff,” Joyce promised. “Stash it all on the shelves over there for now. Good to finally have you back, by the way.”

  Ruth smiled at her. “Good to be back. It makes me feel like life is becoming normal again.”

  “Got to have its compensations, though — a new baby, a spell at home. Not having to cope with everything that gets thrown your way here.”

  “It’s felt really strange being away, Joyce. I like being a mum, but I like being a detective too. Don’t ask me which I like best, cos I can’t answer that. The roles clash. I’ll just have to get used to it.”

  The two women heard whistling along the corridor and Calladine walked in through the office door.

  A beaming smile crossed his face. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes! Really glad you’re back.” He gave her a hug. “We’ve missed you, Ruth. All of us have.”

  “Glad to be back, boss. Although I could do without having to fumigate my desk!”

  “Sorry — that’s mostly down to me. Don’t cope well without you, you see.” Calladine winked at Joyce.

  “Come off it. You’re not a child.”

  “I’ve had to get by without my best sidekick. It’s bound to tell in the end.” Ruth looked him up and down. “Like what you see?”

  “Not bad. Hairdo, new suit. A bit sharp for the office maybe. Who are you trying to impress? Last time I was here you looked a right state.”

  “Impress? Me? You’re joking. But a bloke has to try. Apart from which, I had my run-in with the doc this morning.”

  Ruth had known Calladine was on something of a health kick, but she’d not expected him to stick to it. “You’ve really gone for it with the makeover. You look great.”

  “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

  Ruth had her hands on her hips. “Never mind that. Plenty of time for compliments later. Now, what about all this clutter? Left to your own devices, you
’re hopeless, d’you know that? This desk is a disgrace. It doesn’t look like you’ve done any paperwork for the entire time I’ve been away.”

  “I tried to keep up. But we’ve been pushed without you.”

  Ruth was smiling. “So you have really missed me?”

  “Too bloody right. And you’re back just in time. The work’s building up. I couldn’t stand having another unknown detective foisted on us. The last one was hard work, all attitude, and moody with it.” He handed her the Craig Donnelly file. “Birch wants us to watch out for this character, but to keep a low profile. Problem is, I know him. He’s an evil bastard I helped to put away years ago. It’ll take more than a casual glance from uniform, or us, to keep him on the right track.”

  Ruth paged through the file. “Craig Donnelly? I’ve heard the name but I can’t recall what he did.”

  “Teenage girls and young women — stalking, making a general nuisance of himself. Finally, he murdered someone. He got a long sentence. By rights he should still be inside, but he’s been the model prisoner. Proper little governor’s boy. So he’s out on license. But the merest hint that he’s up to his old tricks and his feet won’t touch.”

  “And what’s that?” Ruth nodded at the other file.

  “Missing teenager.”

  “Elsa Ramsden? Rocco and I have just come from her home. Mother wasn’t much help. More bothered about getting flak from the neighbours for talking to the police. Elsa is one of Jake’s students. We will have to talk to him, and to her friends.”

  Back from lunch, DC Rockliffe came up to them.

  “Rocco, set it up. Ring the school. Ask Jake to invite any parents who might want to be present at the interview. Impress upon him that we’ll keep it low-key for now. Elsa might just have gone off in a strop after some row or other.”

  Ruth chipped in. “Coming from a family like that, it’s highly probable. It was her older brother who reported her missing. Her mother doesn’t seem bothered at all.”

  Calladine nodded at the file Ruth was holding. “She could have gone off with a boyfriend. We need to know a lot more about that young lady before we jump to any conclusions.”

  Ruth turned to him. “Did the doc keep you long this morning?”

  “Did a right number on me, Ruth. A real going over. But he was pleased with the progress I’ve made. He still asked all sorts of tricky questions, though. Gave me all the chat about weight, booze and exercise. Given what I’ve achieved, it depressed me actually.”

  “Don’t worry. He has to go on about all that stuff. They get paid to do it. He ticks a lot of boxes and job done.”

  Rocco put the phone down. “Jake says we can go to the school whenever we like. He confirmed that Elsa isn’t in today, nor was she in on Friday or Monday. He also said that there had been a heated argument last week between Elsa and a Gaby Donnelly.”

  “Donnelly? Any connection to this chap?” Ruth waved the file.

  “His daughter is called Gabrielle, so it could be her. She’s the right age, and local.”

  “Her father is out. He has history with teenage girls. It might be jumping the gun, but perhaps we should pay him a visit.”

  “Let’s see what her friends say first. If she hasn’t run off to see some boy, and they don’t know anything, then we will investigate what this Donnelly character has been up to.”

  “We need to do something. She’s been missing since Friday morning and we’ve only just been told.” Ruth checked the office clock. “Fancy some lunch first? It’ll give Jake time to get the girls together.”

  “Okay, but I’m not allowed to eat much. You can tell me all your gossip.”

  Ruth grumbled away as they went down the stairs. “What gossip? For the last few months I’ve been a stay-at-home mum. I went to the baby clinic a lot. Got covered in sick more times than I care to think about, and I’ve hardly slept. You’re the one with all the juicy stuff going on.”

  “That would be a reference to Shez, I suppose?”

  “And why do you call her ‘Shez?’ What’s her proper name?”

  “Shelley. She’s okay with Shell or Shez. It suits her. And yes, I suppose I do have a lot to tell. Not that I’m going to. I wouldn’t want to make you blush.” Calladine grinned.

  “Come off it. You’re showing off now. What I can’t fathom is why she’s with you in the first place. She’s a lot younger, and she’s good-looking.”

  Calladine protested. “I don’t scrub up bad myself these days. New shape, new clothes, the hair. Could fancy me myself.”

  “You keep doing it, don’t you?”

  His reply was distinctly huffy. “Can’t help it if women like me, can I?”

  “She’ll be after something. They always are.”

  “And here was me thinking I’d missed you.”

  “You have. I’m the voice of reason. You should listen. Go get us a table while I look at the specials board.”

  Chapter 4

  Jake Ireson was in the sixth form common room, busy marking books. A group of chattering teenagers, a mix of girls and boys, sat at the back, their faces stuck in their phones, gossiping.

  “How does he cope with this lot, Ruth? He deserves a bloody medal.”

  “At least they’re not chucking stuff about or fighting. If they weren’t texting or whatever, they’d be making a helluva racket.”

  Calladine looked round. “No parents. They all seem to have thought better of it.”

  Ruth nodded. “Work. Parents won’t take time off for some spat at school. They’ll expect the teachers to sort it out. Fortunately for us, that’s okay. This is a group of eighteen-year-olds, so we don’t need the parents.”

  Jake was sitting with a young man, ploughing through a pile of students’ work. When he saw the two detectives he clapped his hands for silence. Several pairs of eyes swung their way, most eying Ruth with interest. Word must be out that she and Jake were an item.

  Jake introduced the young man. “This is Robert Clarke, our latest recruit.” There was a loud ‘whoop’ from the back of the room. “Keep it shut, Rachel.” Jake turned back to them. “He spends the majority of his time with this group, so I thought he should be here.”

  The look on the young man’s face said he’d rather be anywhere than here.

  Calladine turned to him. “Very brave, going into teaching. I couldn’t do it. Not got the patience. I reckon it’s worse than police work, the way teenagers are today.”

  Robert Clarke nodded but didn’t say anything.

  Jake shrugged. “This lot aren’t that bad. We’ve had worse. What we’ve got here are the brains of the school. Most of them have their hopes set on university.”

  “Can I speak to them?” Calladine asked.

  Jake nodded. He rapped on the desk with a text book. “Listen up you lot!” The group fell silent. They obviously knew better than to mess Jake around. “The inspector here is going to ask you some questions. Serious answers only, please.”

  “We’ve done nowt.” The speaker was a blonde girl, sitting perched on the edge of a desk, filing her nails.

  Calladine smiled. “I’m not saying you have. I just want to know about Elsa.”

  Another girl piped up. “Done one, has she? She’ll be hiding from him.” She giggled and pointed at Clarke. “Threatened her, didn’t you, sir? You got all upset and sent for help. Called Elsa names. Swore a lot too.”

  Clarke flushed. “That’s not true! I never even raised my voice.”

  “Calm down, Robert,” Jake told him. “They’re just having their few seconds of fun.”

  “At my expense as usual!”

  “You’re the new boy. They’re testing the water, seeing how far they can push you. Take no notice. They’ll get fed up soon enough.”

  “Was there an incident?” asked Ruth.

  Jake shook his head. “No, this lot are taking the mick, as usual.”

  Ruth continued. “Does Elsa have a boyfriend?”

  The blonde girl scoffed at this. “Not
here. The lads in this school are too immature. Like bloody kids, the lot of them.”

  That brought a howl of protest from the boys in the group.

  “Then who?”

  The girl shrugged. “I dunno.”

  “Whoever it was, she spent her life texting or whatever. Never off her damn phone. Life would be a lot easier if the things had never been invented,” Clarke added.

  Ruth looked at the group. “So there was someone. Anyone going to tell us?”

  The question was met with shrugs and muttering.

  Calladine continued. “Was anything bothering her? Was she getting grief from someone?”

  The group looked around at each other. More whispering.

  Jake stood up and they all fell silent. “Okay, what is it?” He turned to Calladine. “I know this lot. You have to drag stuff out of them.”

  “There was that thing with Gaby last week. The photo, sir, remember?” Jake obviously had a lot more clout with the group than Robert Clarke. Now they might get somewhere, thought Calladine.

  “Elsa, the girl’s who’s missing, and Megan there,” Jake nodded at the blonde girl, “took a photo of Gaby Donnelly in the showers after a gym session. Gaby was very upset. It was a back view but she was naked. Both girls were hauled in front of the head. The photo was deleted from Elsa’s phone and they both apologised.”

  Ruth shook her head. “Gaby must have been angry and embarrassed, don’t you think?” More silence. The students were looking at each other, as if afraid to speak. “Is Gaby here?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “So where is she?”

  Robert Clarke intervened. “She said she had a headache and I let her go home. To tell the truth, I felt sorry for her. Gaby told me about her father. She was terrified that he’d try and contact her. She was really upset. What with him and the photo, she’d had enough. I hope I didn’t overstep the mark, but I went to see her father. He is living nearby, at the vicarage. I asked him to stay away.”

  The blonde girl laughed.

  “What is it, Megan?” Jake asked.

  “Nothing, sir.”

  “Have you been upsetting Gaby again?”