Dead Guilty

by Michelle Davies

  As though aware he was being talked about, Walker chose that moment to text Maggie demanding she return to the team’s hotel as a matter of urgency.

  ‘I’m being summoned,’ said Maggie, closing the text. ‘Can you let Clive and Mandy know I’ve been called away? They can ring my mobile if they need anything. I know I’m not officially their FLO, but I’m here to help them for whatever reason. It’s bad enough being the victim of a crime at home, but it must be bewildering when it happens abroad.’

  ‘It really is,’ said Lyndsey. ‘I’ve never dealt with a missing person’s case involving a British national before, but I’ve had my fair share of sexual assaults, robberies and fatal car accidents to deal with. Magaluf alone is a nightmare for incidents involving tourists. People say to me it must be lovely working on an island where there’s pretty much sunshine all year round but I get to see the darker side of life on Majorca and, believe me, it’s no holiday.’

  41

  The atmosphere in Walker’s room was tense when Maggie arrived there ten minutes later. Paulson and Shah were sitting on the bed with what appeared to be most of the case files strewn next to them. The rest were on the floor. Standing over them both was retired Chief Inspector Martos.

  ‘We haven’t met,’ he said, leaning across to shake Maggie’s hand. ‘I am—’

  ‘I know who you are, sir,’ she said politely.

  The presence of the officer in charge of the initial investigation into Katy’s murder came as a shock and Maggie’s expression must’ve registered as such, because Walker blustered an explanation as to why he was there.

  ‘Mr Martos has information that might assist us in the search for Jade,’ said the DCI.

  Maggie’s eyes narrowed. ‘But we’re not leading the search, boss. Inspector Jasso is.’

  Walker looked away shiftily, so Maggie turned to Shah and Paulson. Neither would meet her gaze.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, already sensing she wasn’t going to like the answer.

  ‘Perhaps I can explain, DC Neville,’ said Martos, his accent even thicker than Jasso’s. ‘The inspector was part of my team who looked into Katy Pope’s murder; he was a lower rank then. I believe his involvement then presents a problem now.’

  Maggie’s brow furrowed deeper.

  ‘Why is that of any concern to you?’ she asked, unable to mask her scepticism and sounding rude with it.

  ‘Maggie—’ Walker cautioned.

  ‘I made many mistakes investigating Katy’s murder,’ said Martos. ‘I hold my hands up to that.’ And he did, literally, raising them in a position of surrender. ‘I let too many things slip down the crack until it became a gaping chasm. I don’t want the same to happen with Jade Reynolds.’

  ‘Shouldn’t this be a discussion for Jasso? We don’t have jurisdiction here,’ Maggie said to Walker.

  Martos made a dismissive ‘pfft’ sound.

  ‘He doesn’t want my help. To the police here I am El hombre que dejó morir a una niña.’

  ‘It means the man who let a girl die,’ Shah translated quietly.

  Maggie regarded Martos for a moment. He didn’t seem too troubled by the description, returning her stare with a defiant one of his own. He was a short man, but powerfully built, his rounded tummy solid rather than flabby and his forearms, exposed by the short-sleeve shirt he wore, thick and sinewy. He had a shock of white hair that was vivid against his dark tan and deep-brown eyes that blazed with something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Arrogance? Disdain? It was definitely one of the two.

  ‘I’m all for making amends, but hasn’t there been a sighting of Jade now?’

  ‘This might be a good point to fill her in, Amit,’ said Walker, nodding to Shah.

  Shah began cautiously. ‘Ten years ago a witness claimed to have seen Katy being bundled into a car on one of the back streets behind the beach and driven off, but the police were never able to trace the vehicle, and –’ he side-eyed Martos – ‘because of that it was ruled out as a false alarm. Half an hour ago, a call was made to the emergency services reporting a sighting of Jade in a car at a junction on the outskirts of the marina. It’s another similarity.’

  ‘Plus the killer did warn us he was coming back in the emails he sent.’

  Maggie was unnerved to hear Walker mention the messages to Declan and Lara in front of Martos.

  ‘Aren’t we meant to be keeping those under wraps, boss?’ she said warily.

  Martos handed her a piece of paper she hadn’t noticed him holding.

  ‘I was sent one too,’ he said quietly. ‘About a week ago. It was written in Spanish, but this is the translation.’

  Maggie’s eyes widened as she read it.

  Dear Chief Inspector Martos

  I do hope you are enjoying your retirement, but you may be spending less time in La Taberna in the coming weeks. I am coming back to Saros. You and I both know why. Katy was never going to be my swansong.

  Be seeing you soon . . .

  ‘At first I dismissed it, but now . . .’ Martos’s voice trailed off as he took the printout back. ‘I told Jasso about the email but he dismissed it as nonsense.’

  ‘I got the same reaction from him when I told him about the ones sent to Declan Morris and Lara Steadman,’ said Walker. ‘He thinks someone’s just trolling them.’

  ‘You’ve told him about Lara?’

  ‘Yes, and he did acknowledge that it was strange she was sent a message from the same email address and he is going to have someone contact her. But he’s still not convinced there is any link between what she says happened to her and what happened to Katy and now Jade, especially since the sighting.’

  ‘Can I call Lara and warn her?’ asked Maggie. ‘I’m worried how she’ll react if the Spanish police ring her out of the blue.’

  ‘Yes, do it. I don’t think Jasso will make it a priority, so you should have time to contact her before they do.’

  ‘Is he really unwilling to consider the cases might be linked?’ asked Paulson.

  ‘He’s pursuing the line Jade went off willingly with someone based on the fact she took her phone and a bit of cash with her, because it gave her the means to arrange to leave Saros. But I think he’s wrong and so do you, don’t you?’ Walker looked to Martos, who nodded, then turned to Maggie. ‘That’s why I’m happy for the Chief Inspector to help us – because he knows what was missed the first time round.’

  ‘We think Jasso is wrong too,’ said Paulson, nodding inclusively at Shah.

  ‘Did Jade’s parents tell you anything that might be useful?’ Walker asked her.

  ‘Actually, Mason did. A few nights ago a man approached him outside a bar while Jade had gone to the toilet,’ she said. ‘He’d been sitting across from them and must’ve been watching them. He warned Mason to keep an eye on Jade and said that young women like her attract the wrong attention. Then he made this weird show of giving Mason a piece of chewing gum.’

  Shah sucked in a breath.

  ‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’ he asked, looking even more serious than usual.

  ‘Yes.’ She retrieved her notebook from her bag and read aloud from her notes. ‘Mason said it was a piece of cinnamon-flavoured chewing gum, the old-fashioned stick kind wrapped in foil and paper. He also gave me a description of the bloke and said he thinks he had a British accent.’

  Shah dropped to the floor and began rifling through the files there as the others watched him keenly. Maggie stayed quiet too, knowing it would slow the process to interrupt him.

  After a minute, Shah got to his feet, two photographs clutched in his hand. He passed the first one to Walker.

  ‘These were taken by the crime scene investigators when Katy’s body was recovered at Orquídea. This one was found by the pond where her right leg was dumped and this –’ he handed the second image to Maggie – ‘was next to where her torso was submerged.’

  The photographs were almost identical. Both depicted the same foil and cherry-red chewing-gu
m wrappers, screwed up and discarded on the grass by the edge of the ponds – and both were clearly labelled as cinnamon flavour.

  ‘I remember the CSI flagging them up but I never lent much significance to them,’ said Martos, an edge of defensiveness to his tone. ‘They weren’t the only bits of rubbish found at the scenes.’

  ‘They’re significant now,’ said Walker grimly. ‘Did the man actually give the chewing gum to Mason or did he just toss the wrapper down like he was discarding it?’ he asked Maggie.

  ‘The piece was still wrapped and by the sounds of it he made a point of putting it down on the table. Mason said he thought the man was saying his breath smelled and was narked. I think that’s why it’s stayed in his mind,’ said Maggie. ‘He didn’t keep it, before you ask. It’s probably in a bin now.’

  Walker stared down at the photos.

  ‘That’s annoying, because I think the killer’s left us his first new clue.’

  42

  Maggie shivered; it felt like the temperature in the room had inexplicably dropped. She was swinging between excitement at being involved in what could now be an even bigger case and a sense of foreboding that they were barking up the wrong tree and about to make massive fools of themselves if it turned out Jade had gone off with someone else.

  Walker turned to Martos.

  ‘I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave now. In the light of this –’ he gestured at the photographs of the chewing-gum wrappers – ‘the email makes you a witness.’

  Martos nodded solemnly.

  ‘I understand. You have my number if you wish to ask me further questions.’

  Walker shook his hand.

  ‘We’ll be in touch.’

  Martos left without saying goodbye to the others. Maggie was relieved to see him go.

  ‘Right, let’s go over everything again, from the top,’ said Walker, once it was the four of them. ‘Maggie, is Mason sure the man who spoke to him had a British accent?’

  ‘As sure as he could be. The man was drunk and slurring his words.’ She took a deep breath, not quite believing how events were gathering pace. ‘There’s something else. I ran into Philip Pope near the hotel where Jade’s family is waiting for news. He’s now disputing Declan’s statement about what he was doing when Katy went missing off the beach.’

  There was a collective intake of breath as Maggie parroted what Philip had told her.

  ‘Even though the obvious explanation is that Declan didn’t fully submerge himself in the sea and that’s why his hair was still dry, Philip is now adamant he would’ve noticed him paddling in the surf,’ she finished.

  ‘The alibi that the Popes gave Declan Morris is what ruled him out as a suspect,’ said Paulson. ‘Does Philip get what he’s saying now?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Maggie answered honestly. ‘He’s very het up at the moment – with reason – and it may be clouding his judgement. I don’t doubt that he believes he’s now remembering correctly, but his mind could be playing tricks on him, if that makes sense.’ She turned to Shah. ‘On what grounds was Declan considered a suspect, other than the fact he was Katy’s boyfriend?’

  ‘The savings pot she had. It was money left to her when her granny died and not an inconsiderable sum. The police here thought he was after the money.’

  ‘How much was it?’

  ‘Twenty-five thousand,’ said Walker. ‘It was a lot of money for a girl her age but killing her wouldn’t have made it any easier for Morris to get his hands on it – it wasn’t like they were married and he’d automatically inherit it, or that she’d written a will naming him, plus Patricia had put it in a trust fund until Katy was older. I think the Spanish police fixated on the money because they hadn’t done enough to establish other credible leads; making Declan the prime suspect because she had some money tucked away was lazy and convenient.’

  ‘Which leaves us with Johnnie Hickman-Ferguson’s theory that Katy was going to leave Declan because he was controlling,’ said Paulson. ‘Good enough reason to kill her?’

  ‘Even if he did, I don’t believe he would’ve disposed of her body the way it was,’ said Shah. ‘The way she was carved up and dumped was ritualistic and designed to grab attention. Murders that are crimes of passion are usually sloppy and the body left at the scene where it was committed. Our killer kept Katy hidden for a week then dumped her with fanfare. It was the work of a psychopath and Morris doesn’t fit the profile.’

  ‘I still want him looked at again, especially if his alibi is bollocks now,’ said Walker.

  ‘How much do we want to trust Johnnie’s word that Katy was going to dump him though?’ asked Maggie. ‘Him suddenly coming forward after all this time doesn’t sit right with me. It’s like he’s trying to force our attention back onto Declan.’

  ‘I agree: me and Amit have gone back over everything and Johnnie doesn’t get so much as a PS anywhere in the case file,’ said Paulson. ‘If you knew something that damning about someone you didn’t like, you’d have said something at the time. So why didn’t Johnnie?’

  ‘I’ve an idea – why don’t I talk to Katy’s brother to see if he’ll corroborate or deny what Johnnie’s saying,’ said Maggie. ‘He was best friends with Declan and close to his sister – if anyone’s going to have an idea of the state of their relationship, it’ll be him.’

  ‘Good idea,’ said Walker approvingly. ‘While you’re doing that, I haven’t given up wanting a chat with Hickson-Ferguson myself.’

  ‘He’s still dodging our attempts to speak to him,’ said Paulson.

  ‘I’ll go down to his boat again after this and wait until he sodding well turns up,’ said Walker. ‘We can’t threaten him with arrest for not talking to us, but we can make it clear it’s in his best interests to cooperate.’

  Maggie thought for a moment. ‘Johnnie said he’d gone to stay at his parents’ place in Ibiza while the Popes were using their villa in Saros. It might be worth us checking out if that’s true. He said he was with his girlfriend at the time. Her name was Camila.’

  ‘Amit, find out what you can about his family’s place in Ibiza and see if you can track down the girlfriend.’

  Shah nodded. ‘By the way, the alibis for the two known sex offenders check out,’ he added. ‘The Spanish police at least got that right. But here’s something interesting – one of them is now living in Palma only two streets away from the jeweller you tracked down, boss.’

  Mention of the jeweller reminded Maggie of what Lyndsey had said about George. Should she mention the incident to Walker? She hesitated for a moment, then decided no; she’d ask him herself about it first.

  ‘Which one?’ Walker was asking Shah.

  ‘Araya, the one who was done for raping a minor.’

  ‘Have we got a picture of him?’ Walker asked.

  Shah nodded.

  ‘Good. I’ll go to Palma tomorrow to show it to the owner. I know you said his alibi still checked out, but it’s worth a punt to see if he was the person asking about Katy’s ring. We’ve always assumed her murder was the work of one person, but maybe Araya was involved somehow.’

  ‘Boss, we agreed with Jasso that I would brief him after talking to Jade’s parents,’ said Maggie. ‘Do I tell him what Mason said about the chewing gum?’

  ‘We can’t withhold evidence,’ said Walker. ‘Tell him everything Mason said and mention that we are aware similar chewing-gum wrappers were found near the ponds at Orquídea. It’s up to him to join the rest of the dots.’ Walker looked pensive as he appraised his team. ‘I don’t need to tell you how carefully we need to tread. Jasso’s telling the world that Jade’s waltzed off of her own accord, and if word gets out we’re looking into the opposite, it’s going to cause a shit storm. So if anyone has a problem with what we’re doing, now is the time to speak up.’

  Paulson was resolute. ‘I’m in. Jade’s life might depend on it. If it is the same killer and he sticks to the script again, we’ve only got a week to find her.’

  �
��Amit?’

  ‘Yep, I’m in.’

  ‘Maggie?’

  All eyes were on her as doubt clawed at her throat, robbing her of what to say. This could be career-ending if it backfired. But what would happen to Jade if they left it to Jasso to find her? If he stuck to the line of inquiry that she’d gone off willingly with someone, it could be a fatal error. Maggie swallowed the doubt down.

  ‘Whatever you need me to do, boss.’

  43

  The table was exquisitely set. The glassware had been rinsed in lemon juice so it sparkled and the cutlery polished to within an inch of its life. At the centre of the table was a small arrangement of gerbera daisies. Less romantic than roses, granted, but in floristry they were a recommended choice to give your love interest in a new relationship, or when you were hoping a friendship might develop into something more. The message they gave were, according to one online expert, ‘I’m getting to know you. Accept these flowers as a token of my growing affection for you.’ The flowers were the pink variety as well, which symbolized adoration.

  There were more of them stuffed into vases on the sideboard and in the front room next door, on the coffee table beside the sofa – but Jade Reynolds paid no notice on her way past.

  She was still unconscious and had been since she reached her destination, curled up like an infant in the confines of the suitcase. The effects of the opiate injected into her neck meant she was oblivious to the hire vehicle pulling up the long driveway and being parked as close to the villa as it possibly could without leaving tyre marks on the lawn out the front, and she felt nothing as the boot was opened, the suitcase unzipped and she was lifted out.

  Her head lolled against her abductor’s chest as she was carried into the bedroom that was to be hers for the next week. It had already been set up for her arrival: the room had been stripped of everything except a made-up bed and a chamber pot. Not the most dignified way for her to relieve herself, but it wasn’t as though she could be left to stew in her own urine and faeces. On the opposite side of the room was a cool box filled with food and water to keep her going for the time being. With the police now actively searching for her, only so many trips could be made here from the resort without arousing suspicion.