by Liz Mistry
Mickey pressed her lips together and then grimaced. ‘See, I wanted more of a definite commitment about your DS Cooper, Gus. You don’t mind if I call you Gus, do you?’
Gus waved her question away. He wasn’t one for formalities at the best of times and he was curious about why she was so keen to have Alice on board. ‘Go on, I’m listening.’
Mickey uncrossed her legs and leaned forward taking another sip of her whisky. She clapped her lips together looking rather like a goldfish unexpectedly escaped from its bowl.
‘Bait!’
Gus blinked. ‘What?’
‘Want to use Cooper as bait. She’s young and looks a good few years younger than she is. Bet we could easily get her tarted up to appeal to those sick fuckers.’
Gus’ stomach clenched. When he’d said he’d ask Alice, he thought he’d be asking her to sit in a police car as backup with a firearm and a bullet proof vest on. No way did he want her to be used as bait. Especially not right now, when she had so much on her mind.’
He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, Mickey interrupted him. ‘I know the dynamics between you and your DS. I also know she was injured last year and I’m well aware of her current circumstances. DCI Chalmers was consulted on this and referred me to you. Ordinarily, I’d have gone straight to Cooper herself, but in deference to your position as her superior officer, I was prepared, at Nancy’s request, to extend you the courtesy of consulting you first.’
As Gus again started to speak, she raised a finger to stop him. ‘However, before you say something that might come back and bite you on the arse, should your DS ever find out about it, I want you to consider this.’ She drained her glass and returned it to the table. ‘Cooper has been through a lot, as I’ve said. If you make this decision for her, you will, in effect be denying her a choice and, if my take on Alice Cooper is right, she will be feeling frustrated at the diminishing choices ahead of her, as Sean Kennedy continues to spread his poison, effectively shutting her options down, little by little. This could be the thing to give her purpose, to give her the oomph to face the challenges ahead of her. Don’t deny her that, Gus. Don’t limit her choices even more than they already are.’
Wishing he’d opted for a whisky too, instead of the tasteless fizz that was churning in his stomach right now, Gus sighed and leaned back. Mickey’s words were powerful and he knew she was right. However, he also knew Alice. She would damn well jump at the chance and he would be powerless to protect her. In a rush, the feelings he’d had when he thought she’d been killed last time, threatened to engulf him. His chest tightened and a searing pain spasmed in his temple. Breathing in and out, he focussed on the drop of condensation that was trickling down Mickey’s empty glass and watched as it pooled on the table top, catching the reflection from the flickering flames. Mickey was right. It was Alice’s choice. ‘Okay, what’s the plan then?’
Mickey grinned and reached over and tapped him on the knee. ‘That wasn’t easy for you. I think you did the right thing. Alice will be grateful to you.’
Gus rolled his eyes. Alice had never been grateful to him for anything. Alice was Alice; a powerful force of nature and if this went balls up, he’d regret letting Mickey convince him. Putting the thought out of his head, he straightened. ‘This is all off if I’m not happy with the risk to Alice’s safety, and I want an option to pull her out, if it all gets out of hand, understood?’
Mickey rolled her eyes, but gave a single nod. Then, she filled Gus in on all the details. Half an hour later, with a pool of acid in his stomach, Gus stood up to leave.
‘Oh, shit. I forgot to mention the fucking dogs.’
Gus halted in his tracks and did a slow turnaround. Somehow he didn’t think that the dogs she was referring to were Labradors. ‘Dogs?’
‘Yeah, bastards have bloody Rottweilers roaming round the perimeter of the property. Fenced in, according to our source, but that won’t help us when we breach the damn fence. I’d wear thick trousers and a couple of extra jumpers if I was you… just to be on the safe side.’
Fucking extra jumpers. Lot of damn good that would do when your arm’s wedged between the pincer-like jaws of a damn Rottweiler. Nothing like playing things down. He hated big dogs and Rottweilers were his particular pet hate. Who the hell would want to have a dog that could kill you with one bite? Well, the answer to that was simple enough – sick fuckers who ply young girls with drugs, force them to perform oral sex on them and then leave them to die – that’s fucking who!
72
15:15 The Fort
Of course, Alice had jumped at the chance of doing a bit of undercover work. She’d agreed so quickly, Gus was sure she hadn’t considered the implications. All she seemed to want was a distraction from all the Sean Kennedy stuff. He got that. Course he did. That’s why he’d been so eager to get back to work after the whole thing with Greg. None of that stopped him worrying about her though. She wasn’t as fragile as she looked – not by a long chalk – still she wasn’t as bloody tough as she thought, either. This was her way of pretending she was Lara bloody Croft, but it just wasn’t on. In this mood she could be unpredictable; cut corners and take chances. He was not happy about this and the only thing he could do was make sure that on the ground he had her back.
Irritable, pissed off and thoroughly out of sorts, Gus tried, without success, to ignore Alice’s good humoured, if tuneless, whistle as they walked along the corridor to interview room one where the Button women waited. He was almost certain that it was the theme from Rocky that she was whistling, and he was well aware that she was doing it to annoy him, so he refused to rise to the bait. The thought of ‘bait’ made him think of the raid that evening, which in turn made him think of the free roaming dogs. Bloody bait everywhere today!
As if Alice’s effervescent good humour wasn’t enough to contend with, he’d had reproachful glances from Compo, Sampson and Taffy for the last hour. All three were pissed off at being excluded from the planned raid and had, judging by their huffy school boy looks, apportioned the blame for their exclusion on his doorstep. What the hell! Did they seriously think he’d suggested Alice as bait? There was that damn word again – shit, he really needed to get a hold off himself. He’d at least one murderer at large and a teenager to find. He needed to focus now on whatever information he could extract from the Buttons.
He thrust open the door and ushered Alice in, pasting a smile on his face as he did so. The effort made his face feel tight as if it might splinter if he relaxed his enforced smile. Millimetre by millimetre he relaxed his mouth, until the tension was relieved a little. He pulled out a seat and sat down opposite Mrs Button and her daughter. Under pretence of sifting through a folder —it contained blank papers – he observed the women. Mrs Button held herself rigid, elbows on the table top and her fingers clasped tight, her thumbs pressing against each other. Gus realised this was to stop her hands shaking. Her face was taut, and in the few hours since their last meeting, dark bags had accumulated under each eye. This was a woman in distress.
He looked at her daughter and saw that in contrast to her mother’s erect rigidity, Ali was trying to diminish her presence by caving in on herself. Her shoulders were rounded and her arms pulled in to her body. She slumped down in the chair and sprawled her lower body under the table as if trying to hide. Gus had seen it many times before. It was the typical posture of someone with something to hide. In fact, both the mother and the daughter presented as people with big secrets and Gus was sure it was to do with Simon Proctor and his objectionable dare.
Although he felt a modicum of sympathy for Ali, he had his reservations about her mother. If she was the one engaging in a sex act with Simon Proctor, she could look forward to a criminal record and a possible custodial sentence. Although, at this precise moment, he was more concerned with the lad’s whereabouts and establishing if these two had anything to do with his disappearance.
When Alice had set up the recording equipment and pushed a glass
of water over the table to each of them, Gus said, ‘Just start at the beginning and tell me everything there is to know about your contact with Simon Proctor over the past few months.’
Ali glanced at her mother who looked straight ahead, her throat swallowing convulsively.
Gus had no intention of belittling the mother in front of her daughter: they’d have enough to contend with any way. ‘Look, Mrs Button. I’m going to ask Ali a few questions in your presence as her parent. Then, you, DS Cooper and I can have a further chat in private, okay?’
Mrs Button’s posture relaxed a fraction. Her thumbs sprung apart and as Gus had surmised earlier, her hand started to shake as she lifted it to brush her hair from her forehead. She met Gus’ eyes and exhaled.
Gus shuffled his chair round so it was angled towards Ali. The girl kept her head bowed and moved her body closer to her mother. Mrs Button put out her hand and gripped Ali’s hand.
‘So, Ali. When did Simon Proctor first start to show an interest in you?’
Ali shrugged.
Gus maintained his patient tone, ‘Look Ali. You’re going to have to speak. For the tape, you know?’
Ali glanced at the recording equipment as if it was going to jump up and bite her on the nose.
‘So, when did Simon start showing an interest in you?’
Ali pulled her hand away from her mother’s grip. ‘Dunno. Few months back maybe.’
‘In what way did he show an interest, Ali?’
Again, the shrug, ‘Kept bumping into me near my house or outside school. That sort of thing. Then he joined the church and started coming along every week.’
‘Your dad said earlier that he came to your house for tea, is that right?’
‘Yeah,’ her tone was sullen, almost angry now.
‘Was it you who invited him for tea?’
‘No!’
The ferocity of that single word made Gus wince. She continued, her tone sneering and accusatory, ‘It were her.’ She jerked her thumb at her mother. ‘It were her stupid idea. Thought I didn’t have any friends. Thought I should have a boyfriend. Thought Simon would be perfect for me… until–’ she stopped and clamped her lips together, staring straight ahead, her eyes blazing.
Gus glanced at Alice. Alice leaned forward and put her hand on Ali’s hand, ‘Until what, Ali?’
Ali shook her head. ‘Until nothing, okay?’
Alice, her voice calm, yet persistent, continued, ‘I think you were going to say something very important just then, Ali. Something that would help us understand Simon a bit better. Perhaps even something that could help us find him. You do want him found, don’t you?’
Ali rubbed her heel of her hand up her nose and sniffed. ‘Yeah, course I do.’
Her voice wavered and Gus wasn’t sure if that was the truth. ‘Did you like Simon, Ali?’
Without hesitation Ali snorted out her answer, ‘No! I hated him!’
Mrs Button sighed and again ran her hand through her hair.
‘Can you tell me why you hated him, Ali?’
Shaking her head, Ali began to pluck at her sleeve, like she’d done earlier. ‘He was a knob, okay? Wouldn’t leave me alone. Thought I’d be interested in him.’ She glared at Gus, her lips curled, her eyes flashing venom.
Behind the venom, though, Gus could see a young girl in pain. It was as if she wanted to tell him something more but couldn’t get it out. Perhaps having her mother here had been unwise. Maybe he should have opted for an impartial observer.
Giving her space, Gus leaned back in his chair and waited. Mrs Button had bitten her lip so hard it was bleeding, yet still she gnawed at it, as if the discomfort was a distraction from the questions her daughter was being asked. It was a strange dynamic between these two and he couldn’t quite work it out. ‘Why did you hate Simon?’
Ali gulped and folded her arms over her chest. ‘You should ask her.’ She glared at her mother. ‘She can tell you all about Simon, can’t you… Mum!’
‘Ali?’ The word was almost a whisper stolen back by her mother’s lips as soon as it was released into the room. Mrs Button raised her hand to her mouth and stared at Ali with wide eyes.
Ali glared back at her mother. ‘It’s alright for you to fuck young boys, is it, Mum?’
The word ‘Mum’ hung in the air. The venom behind it was scorching. Mrs Button flinched. Before they’d started the interview, Gus had wondered if Ali was aware of a connection between Simon Proctor and her mother. Well, now he had his answer and judging by the mother’s response, she hadn’t been aware of her daughter’s knowledge.
In one word her daughter had thrown into doubt her entitlement to call herself a mother. What the hell had the woman been thinking? She’d only just welcomed Ali into her home as her daughter and for some reason had been compelled to risk everything for a cheap shag with an underage boy. He didn’t know if Mrs Button realised it, but her actions had put Ali’s adoption in jeopardy. There was no way the girl would be allowed to stay in her new family now – even if the family could withstand the inevitable chaos when it hit the news. Mrs Button would be on the sex offenders register and Gus didn’t know many families that could withstand that. His heart went out to Ali. All the girl had needed was a stable and loving home and she’d ended up in the middle of this. Life could be a real fucking bastard at times!
Mrs Button reached out to her daughter but Ali shrunk away from her.
‘Ali, sweetie. I’m sorry.’
Ali refused to meet her mother’s eyes. Her lower lip quivering, Mrs Button tried to connect with her daughter once more. ‘How long have you known?’
Turning her head, Ali glared. ‘Since he sent me the recording of you and him in our home.’
Mrs Button’s face paled and she closed her eyes. ‘There was a recording?’
Ali nodded. Tears were streaming down her face now, her breath coming in quick snatches. ‘I don’t get it, Mum. At church Reverend Evans goes on about not committing adultery and you and dad sit there all smug, nodding and agreeing with him. You tell me that the church helps us follow God’s rules… and then you do this?’
Mrs Button fell to her knees beside her daughter, her hands grabbing at Ali’s, her cheeks awash with tears. ‘I know, I know, Ali. I don’t know how it happened. I just don’t know. He flattered me, I suppose.’
Ali snatched her hands away. ‘Dad flattered you. Why couldn’t he have been enough? You’re just fucking selfish. Just like my real mum. Selfish to the core. You had your family… the one you told me you’d always dreamed of, the one you said I made complete.’ Mouth screwed up, Ali shook her head, her eyes narrowed, no sign now of the flashing temper in them, just a dullness that to Gus signalled defeat, ‘Well you fucked that up, didn’t you? They’ll never let me stay with you now. Not in a million years. I hope fucking Simon Proctor was worth it. I really fucking do.’ And Ali jumped to her feet and delivered a short sharp slap across her mother’s cheek.
Alice and Gus both jumped to their feet at the same time. Gus stepped back, allowing Alice to go to the sobbing girl and lead her from the room as Mrs Button knelt, in supplication on the floor, cradling her cheek with one hand. Gus moved round and helped the shaking woman to her feet and sat her back in the chair. He called out for some coffee and waited till it arrived before continuing the interview.
‘You realise I’ll have to charge you, don’t you?’
Hands once more clasped in front of her, Mrs Button swallowed hard, a single tear trickled down her cheek. ‘Will I be able to see my husband? I need to try to explain it to him.’
‘Yes, I’ll arrange for him to visit. DS Cooper will have contacted him to come for Ali.’ He raised his head. ‘If you don’t return home whilst awaiting your trial and have no contact with Ali, she’ll be able to stay at home with her dad. Is that perhaps something you’ll consider?’
With a humourless laugh, she said, ‘Kyle won’t have me back now anyway. I’ve shamed him in the eyes of our church, in the eyes of God and, p
erhaps more importantly, to him at any rate, in the eyes of his York racecourse clients.’ She took a deep breath and raised her eyes. ‘However, he dotes on Ali. He’ll do everything he can to make sure she’s alright.’ Stirring her coffee with the plastic spoon, she continued, her tone almost conversational, ‘It’s both of our second marriages. Our second chance at life. Kyle lost his fiancée in tragic circumstances a while back and it took him a long time to get over it. She was pregnant at the time and so he lost her and the baby in one fell swoop.’
Recognising this was her way of building up to talking about Simon Proctor, Gus leaned back and sipped his own coffee. ‘What happened to her? Car crash?’
‘No. It was a house fire. She was a social worker and had gone to take some children away from their foster parents because they were under scrutiny for child abuse. The foster parents set the fire and Kyle’s fiancée was trapped. Although one of the kids got out, she died.’
Gus heart skipped a beat. This was madness. It couldn’t possibly be the same case he’d just been talking to Sandy Panesar about, could it? Kyle Button couldn’t be Amina Rose’s fiancé, could he?’ Like a bucket of cold water to his face, he heard Sandy telling him that she’d met Amina’s fiancé Kyle once. He was certain that was the name Sandy had used. He thought back. He’d only seen the fiancé once. The man had been distraught and it was dark. Gus had been transferred to Bradford soon after and didn’t see the case through to the end. However, if Simon Proctor was rescued from the same fire that had killed Kyle Button’s fiancée, then the coincidence was too great to be ignored. Keeping his eagerness, from his face, Gus kept his tone level. ‘Was that in Leeds?’
‘Yes, it was in Leeds a few years ago. Kyle moved to Bradford, got involved in the church and that’s how we met.’
Gus’ mind was full of the implications of this information. Knowing that right now, he had to get to the bottom of why a pretty thirty-some woman with a nice lifestyle and a newly adopted daughter would risk everything for a teenage boy, Gus filed that snippet away in his mind for later use.
