by M A Comley
Nadia sat up and glared at Katy. Suddenly, she stood, tipped her chair back and flew at Katy, striking her in the face with her fist and clawing at her neck. Charlie raced around the desk and grappled with Nadia to restrain her. She slapped the cuffs on and righted the woman’s seat then thrust Nadia in it.
“Sit down and don’t move. Are you all right, boss?”
Katy took a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at her neck. “I’m fine. That attack was uncalled for, Miss Crawford. All you’ve succeeded in doing is proving that you have a violent nature and are capable of going on the attack when pushed into a corner.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“Words are cheap. This interview will continue, I have no intention of drawing it to a conclusion, not yet.”
“Okay by me,” the female solicitor agreed, glancing sideways and giving her client a judgemental glare.
“No, I can’t take any more. I’m sorry for lashing out, but you pushed me. You’re not listening to me. I’m confused, that’s why I went on the attack. No other reason, you have to believe me,” Nadia said for what seemed to be the tenth time that morning.
“It’s my job to get to the truth during an investigation, Nadia. Now, tell me what happened twenty-four years ago. For your information, I’m already aware. I need to hear it from you, though.”
Her eyes widened, and she clenched her cuffed hands together. “You know?”
“Yes. We’ve only just found out. I want to hear your recollection of events.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you what I know. The other night, after my father died, I had a nightmare, it’s the only recollection I have of what happened that night. I can’t tell you how accurate the memory is. This is the truth. I fear all I’m guilty of is blocking the image from my mind. It was horrendous, not something a child of four should have seen.”
“Go on.”
“That night…” She stared at the names on the list to the side of her. “These men, all of them, took a turn in raping my mother. Can you imagine the trauma I must have gone through as a child seeing that?”
“I can’t, it must have been hideous. Did it happen the once or numerous times?”
“A number of times to my knowledge, always in the cellar. They bound her to a table and gagged her to prevent her from screaming. The men laughed and were eager to take it in turns. This particular night, their sex game went too far. One of them strangled her. They all panicked. I ran back to my bedroom. I heard a noise outside and raced to the window. They carried my mother’s body in a rug, at least, I’m presuming it was her. Someone noticed the curtain move. My father ran up the stairs to our room. I had to pretend to be asleep. I think he was aware of what I saw that night and punished me for the rest of my life. With my mother out of the way, he got his kicks from raping me.”
“Is that why you killed him?” Katy asked softly.
“I didn’t kill him, as much as I’ve wanted to over the years, I didn’t do it.”
And at that point in the investigation, Katy believed the young woman sitting opposite her. She had nothing to back up her claims to believe Nadia was guilty.
“How far did the abuse go, for you, I mean?”
Nadia gulped. “It was constant, from the moment my mother…died to well into my teens.”
“Not lately?”
“No. I think I was around nineteen when he finally stopped coming into my room at night.”
“Why didn’t you leave with your sister?”
“Please don’t ask me that, I’ve been asking myself the same thing for years. Penny has a courage that knows no bounds. She knew what he was doing was wrong from the outset.” She jabbed at her temple with her shaking hand. “I don’t know, but maybe seeing my mother get killed that night…I don’t know what I want to say because in my head none of this makes sense.”
“You believe you owed it to your father to be a stand-in wife, is that what you’re suggesting?” Katy asked quietly, trying to get around how a four-year-old growing into her teens could possibly justify any form of abuse. She had no concept of what ran through kids’ minds who found themselves in such dire situations, having never had to deal with such atrocities herself.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to call it how it is, Inspector. He was my father. Rather than feel his wrath, I did things that may seem unnatural to others. Thinking back now, it sickens me to think of…it repulses me, but he was my father, and I loved him in spite of all his faults.”
“There’s no greater love than that between a father and his daughter, I appreciate that. I love my father with a passion, but he’s never abused me. Did you try to seek help at all?”
She inhaled a deep shuddering breath that inflated her chest. “I thought about it once but I couldn’t go through with it.”
“Do you know why?”
“Purely selfish reasons. I knew if my father was put in prison I would have been taken into care. No one could convince me the same thing wouldn’t have gone on in someone else’s home.”
“Believe me, the care system isn’t like that. I’ve maybe heard of a smattering of cases over the years, but they have all been dealt with promptly.”
“You see? How could I take the risk? Better the devil you know, eh?”
“Did you ever raise the subject of your mother’s death with him? Was he aware in later life of what you saw that night?”
“No. Like I told you earlier, what happened to my mother appeared to have been stored away in the deep recesses of my mind until the other night when the nightmare resurfaced.”
“And that was after his death, right?”
“Yes, after his death.”
“Okay, if I’m to believe what you’re telling me to be the truth, why do you think these men have been killed, and more importantly, who do you think might be killing them?”
“Gosh, how could I possibly know that? I’m as shocked and surprised to learn about the other deaths today. The only one I knew about was Dale Peters because you’ve already questioned me and asked me for an alibi relating to his murder, am I right?”
“Correct. It would really help if you told us the other man’s name? Was he at the funeral?”
“I’m guessing he was, there were four pallbearers. I have his name and contact details at home in my father’s address book, that’s how I was able to get in touch with the men, to ask them to attend.”
“We’ll need that. Are you sure you can’t think of his name at least?”
She picked up the list and narrowed her eyes to study it as she thought. “Keith, that’s who is missing. I can’t for the life of me think of his surname, though. That’s the best I can do, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I think we’re done here anyway.”
“Does that mean I can go?”
“Yes.”
“You no longer suspect me?”
“I think I’m willing to draw a line under that for now, on one proviso.”
“I’m listening.”
“That you have a psych evaluation.”
“Of course, anything, anything at all. I’m so sorry for attacking you. I had to make you see sense, that I am an innocent victim in all of this.”
Katy smiled at her. “I believe you. I’ll survive a few surface bruises and scratches. I’m more concerned about how you’re going to cope going forward.”
“Despite my father’s death, I’ve been coping all right. I’ve thrown myself into work, which has helped and prevented me from sitting at home dwelling on his death and what happened to my mother all those years ago.”
“I can imagine. I’ll get someone to drop you back home. If you’ll give them the information about the fifth man, his name and address if you have it.”
“I do have it, I just can’t remember it off the top of my head. Thank you for believing in me. I know you don’t have to, and I think other officers would feel differently to how you do.”
“Okay, then you’re free to go. You have my number. If you think of a
nything else relevant to the investigation or what happened to your mother, please let me know.”
“I will. I promise you.”
Charlie ended the taping session, and everyone rose from their seats and left the room.
Katy thanked the solicitor for attending and then spoke to the desk sergeant. “Ray, have you got a car available to run Miss Crawford home?”
“I can sort that out for you immediately, ma’am, leave it with me.”
“Thanks.”
Katy went back to Charlie and Nadia. “If you take a seat, a uniformed officer will give you a lift home ASAP. Just a reminder, give them the address for Keith before they leave, if you would.”
“I will. Thank you for understanding, Inspector. I’ll wait to hear from you regarding the other details you mentioned.”
“I’ll arrange for you to be evaluated shortly. Speak soon.”
Nadia sat on the seat closest to the door, and Katy and Charlie walked upstairs to the incident room.
Charlie flopped into her chair. “What do you think? Before you answer that—”
“No, it’s not what I think that matters, you tell me what you think.”
“I was just going to say, I understand you asking her to take a psych eval, but isn’t there an illness where someone does something unknowingly? Like they switch off and allow another personality to take over?”
“Maybe. There’s a condition called Split Personality Disorder or whatever it’s known as nowadays, but I’m not sure how far the person would go. I need to do some research. You go home, I’ll work through and get things organised.”
“No way. I’m here for the duration. Will you be able to contact a shrink at this time of night? Oops…it’s now morning.”
Katy spun around and glanced at the clock. It was one-thirty. “Shit, I didn’t realise that was the time. Looking on the bright side, not long to go before our shift is supposed to start, right?”
They both laughed.
“There is that. Shall I get us a coffee? We’re going to need one to help us stay awake,” Charlie proposed.
“Good idea. I’ll boot up your computer, and we can bounce some ideas around.”
13
By the time the rest of the team had arrived, Katy felt she knew every clinical term possible for what they were conceivably dealing with.
Charlie had nipped out for a bacon roll each at around seven when they knew the café would be open. Which gave them the sustenance needed to continue their working day.
Katy filled the team in on what had come up over the past few days: the murder of Ellis Bird, the fact his wife was sitting in a cell still—she’d get around to interviewing her within the next couple of hours. The interview with Nadia had hampered things there the day before. There was no getting away from the fact that Amy Bird knowingly covered up the murder of Nadia’s mother twenty-four years previously. Plus, now they had the final man’s name—there was work to do there as well.
“I think we need to put this man under surveillance. My thinking is that either he’s the murderer, knocking off all his friends, or he’ll turn out to be the final victim.”
“Should we haul his arse in for his part in Nadia’s mother’s murder?” Graham asked the obvious question.
“That’s our ultimate dilemma. If we do that and he’s out of the scene, how are we going to catch the murderer, if he’s not the guilty party? Am I talking nonsense? My brain’s gone to mush.”
“No, I get where you’re coming from,” Charlie backed Katy up.
“Good. So, who’s up for sitting in their car for God knows how long?”
Graham tutted. “Okay, I’ll do it. Patrick, are you up for it?”
“As long as I don’t have to listen to bloody U2 all day long like the last time I paired up with you.”
“All right, guys, cut it out. I need you to take up your post now. Ring me if anything happens. We have a few loose ends to sort out in your absence.”
The two men leapt to their feet and exited the incident room.
Karen coughed and cleared her throat. “All right if I chip in with something in light of what you told us, boss?”
“Go ahead, Karen, feel free.”
“What about the sister, Penny?”
Katy tilted her head. “What’s on your mind?”
“Could she be the killer? She has the motive to kill her father because of the abuse. Not sure about the other men, though.”
“Hmm…it’s a thought. Do some digging for me. Let’s see if she’s still up in Scotland for a start. I forgot to ask Nadia if her sister was aware of how her mother died. Maybe she kept the secret from her sibling.”
“That’s a definite possibility if Nadia is telling us that she’s kept it hidden for all these years.”
Katy went over to the whiteboard and added all the facts they’d gathered overnight to the other information noted down. “I’m going to visit the chief, keep him up to date.”
“Want me to ring the psychiatrist on call?” Charlie offered.
“Yes, if you would, Charlie. Tell them that the matter is an urgent one and we need that psych report ASAP.”
“I will.”
“I’ll be back in a tick.” Katy set off and walked the length of the corridor to the DCI’s office.
Trisha smiled. “Back again so soon, Inspector?”
“I might as well set up a desk in his office, eh?”
“I’m sure that would go down well with his nibs.”
“Hey, at least I’ll have fancy coffee on tap.” Katy winked as Trisha left her desk and knocked on the chief’s door.
“DI Foster to see you if you have a spare moment, sir.”
“Send her in,” Roberts replied.
Trisha stepped back and smiled. “Can I get you a coffee?”
“That would be lovely, thanks, Trisha.”
Katy entered the office.
Sean was eyeing her suspiciously. “Inspector, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Thought I’d drop by to bring you up to speed on the developments we encountered overnight, sir.”
“Okay, first of all, sorry, take a seat, I have some news for you.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“I know it’s taken a while to surface, and I bet you thought I’d forgotten about it, but I hadn’t.”
“Are you going to give me a hint about what you’re referring to, sir?”
“The incident with the gun leaving the evidence room in your previous case. DC Wainwright turned out to be the culprit. He admitted the charge against him plus asked several others to be taken into consideration. Apparently, some of the gang’s drugs and arms were seized, and he handed them back to the gang after they blackmailed him and threatened to kidnap his teenage daughter and hand her over to a human trafficking ring.”
“Fuck. So he did it under duress. Will the powers that be go lightly on him in that case?”
“They’d better. We’re hearing more and more about this type of thing happening to our members, it’s a wonder people still want to sign up to join the police.”
“It’s a scary thought. AJ and I discussed this not long ago with regard to me changing my name. That’s settled, I’ll keep to Foster at work. The last thing I want to do is put AJ and Georgie in jeopardy.”
Trisha walked in with two cups of coffee and distributed them.
“Thank you, Trisha. I’m sure this is the only reason DI Foster insists on making these frequent visits to my office.”
Katy pulled a mock-offended face. “How dare you insinuate that, sir? Is that the thanks I get for pulling an all-nighter?”
“Okay, maybe I’ve misjudged you. What do you think, Trisha?”
“I’m keeping out of it, sir, if you don’t mind. I enjoy working here.” Trisha left them to it.
“Anyway, he’ll plead his case with the IPCC, probably get a rap on the knuckles, nothing more now that the gang has been wiped out and is no longer in existence.”
Katy sipped
her smoothly roasted coffee and then nodded. “There’s bound to be another gang take their place soon enough, there always is. Charlie’s organising a psych evaluation for Nadia—there’s still a possibility she’s our suspect. It might be a case of Dissociative Identity Disorder as they refer to it these days. I’m an expert on the topic now, or I should be after the hours Charlie and I have put in researching the damn subject.”
“Is there such a thing? You’re telling me you think she’s killed these men without realising that she’s done it?”
“I know it sounds far-fetched, I hope I’m wrong, but the mind is a complex organ. If, as she stated, she’s suppressed the images of her mother’s death until recently, who knows what’s going on in her head?”
“But she’s a nurse, should she still be performing her duties?”
Katy sighed and puffed out her cheeks. “That’s the sixty-four-million-pound question. All this is supposition on my part, we don’t have any evidence at this point to back up either my claims, or her guilt or innocence.”
“It’s a puzzle we need to unravel soon.”
“There’s another thing. The car the witness spotted leaving the Bird murder scene has also been found, dumped on a trading estate.”
“Well, that’s good news. I take it Forensics have it now.”
“Yep, first thing I asked when it was found. The desk sergeant had already actioned the request.”
“Glad to hear the team are on the ball. What are your plans for the wife of the latest victim? That’s a tough call because you’ve had a grieving woman locked up in a cell for two nights now.”
“I’m aware of that. I don’t know whether to feel guilty or take pride in hauling her in.”
“Odd conclusion, I must say. She needs to be charged and released, Katy.”
“I know. That’s my next task, well, after I get a statement of events from her first.”
“You’d better get a move on then, time’s a wasting, as they say.”
“Can’t I finish my coffee first, after slaving all night?”
“All right. There’s no need to keep playing the martyr.”
