Two Victims

by Helen H. Durrant

  “The warrant isn’t ready yet,” PC Connor whispered.

  “It’s okay. Round up everyone in the building and bring them in here, particularly the girls. I want to know where each one came from, and if any of them are being kept here against their will.”

  “My husband will have your job for this,” Leonora fumed.

  “You can contact him from the station. And I suggest you think about a solicitor while you’re at it.”

  Rachel watched the officers escort Vasile and Leonora out of the building. “Phew! He’s some size, isn’t he? I wouldn’t want to meet him on a dark night.”

  “I’d like to know why a small backstreet club needs muscle like him,” Elwyn said.

  “I think he’s more than just muscle, Elwyn. I doubt those girls are here by choice. Vasile keeps order, arranges their transportation from wherever they come from. I spoke to a girl just now — young, pretty and probably an addict. Being kept here against her will, I reckon. Put a call out for Ronan Blake. Let’s bring him in and see what he has to tell us.”

  * * *

  Rachel left the officers searching the club and went back to the station, keen to get on with the interviews. “Stella, do you have anything on the Blakes yet?”

  “Ronan Blake is a businessman, done well for himself. He has no record and neither does his wife.”

  “Would you check that those are their real names? Go back a while, to before his businessman days. What about Vasile Danulescu?”

  “That one has a record as long as your arm. The trouble is, not a single charge has ever stuck. Each time he’s arrested, he gets out on a technicality.”

  Rachel was determined that this time would be different. Danulescu was probably guilty of people trafficking, with Leonora complicit in the offense.

  “Has he been processed?” she asked.

  DC Amy Metcalfe nodded. “He was wearing a ring, ma’am, a huge gold thing with a diamond in the centre. I’m thinking about the mark on Agnes Moore’s face. If he killed her, it might still have her DNA on it.”

  “Good call, Amy. Contact Jude, get her to do the tests.” Rachel turned to Elwyn. “We’ll interview him first.”

  “I doubt it’ll be pleasant. We’d better take a couple of uniforms for protection. He’s easily riled and I bet he packs some punch.”

  “Let him try!”

  Rachel nodded at two of their uniformed colleagues who were sitting at their desks. “You pair will join us. Wits about you, mind. This one fancies himself as a tough guy.” Grabbing the files on the murders of Agnes, the unknown and what little they had on Akerman, she beckoned to Elwyn.

  “I want to talk to each of the girls working at that club in turn,” she told Amy on their way out. “Keep them sweet, but don’t allow them to leave. We need to know where they came from and the circumstances of their employment at that club.”

  “There are only four of them. One is British and the others are foreign,” Amy said. “If any of the foreign girls are here illegally, immigration will have to be told.”

  “For now, I’m more interested in their welfare. Where are they?”

  “In the soft interview room,” Amy said.

  “Stella, get onto to social services and give them the heads-up. Once I’ve spoken to them, they’ll need finding safe accommodation,” Rachel said.

  The two detectives and the PCs entered the interview room. The uniforms stood at the back by the door, while Rachel and Elwyn sat opposite Vasile Danulescu and his solicitor.

  Rachel made the introductions and got straight to business. “Tell me about the club. What sort of a place is Leo’s?”

  Vasile stared at Rachel, his face impassive. “It’s a dive. People go there to drink, to ogle the girls. It’s not complicated.”

  “What is your role?”

  “I do not have one,” Vasile said simply.

  “What were you doing there last night?” Rachel asked.

  “I was merely a customer. Later on, Mrs Blake asked me to control an aggressive customer.” He shrugged. “I’m happy to help.”

  “Leo’s has security staff, why couldn’t they sort it out?”

  “I do not know. There was a problem, I sorted it. Mrs Blake was grateful.”

  “Tell me about the girls. Where do they come from?” Elwyn asked.

  “I do not know. Mrs Blake hires them.”

  “At least one I spoke to is Romanian, like yourself. Surely you must have spoken to her?” Rachel said.

  “You’re not really interested in the girls, are you?” Vasile said. “You are after something else. What do you really want?”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Mr Danulescu. I’m very interested in those girls, particularly when they end up dead or missing.”

  He shrugged. “I do not know what you’re talking about.”

  “We‘re investigating the murder of a young woman. She was found wearing the same clothing as the girls who work in the club. Surely you must have noticed that she was missing?” Rachel said.

  “I’ve noticed nothing. They all look the same to me. I go there to drink and I mind my own business.”

  He was a cool customer alright, composed, well-mannered and so far, he hadn’t put a foot wrong.

  “Currently you have one missing girl, and she’s giving you the run-around. Her name is Ruby.” Rachel watched him closely for his reaction.

  “I do not know her.”

  When he heard the name, Rachel thought she detected a small change in his demeanour. His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched. He knew the girl alright. All her instincts told her that this man was a killer, but she needed solid evidence.

  “I believe you are involved in trafficking girls and enslaving them. You ensure they’re pliant by getting them hooked on dope.”

  “Rubbish! You are deluded. The girls go to Mrs Blake looking for work. She is doing them a favour taking them on.”

  “Do you know a young man who goes by the name of Nicu?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “He isn’t someone you task with finding the girls when they go missing, or sourcing new candidates?”

  “I do not know him. You are wasting both your time and mine questioning me like this. You have no evidence that I have done anything unlawful.”

  This smug reply irritated the hell out of Rachel. “You assaulted one of my officers and held him all night against his will. For now, that is all I need.”

  “That was a mistake,” he conceded. “The way he acted, I mistakenly thought he was a troublemaker. I put him somewhere safe, intending to phone the police. However, the club was busy, Mrs Blake needed me and I forgot.” He paused for a moment. “Please give your colleague my heartfelt apologies.”

  Rachel had heard enough. She needed more evidence. Her gut said this man was as guilty as hell, but that would cut no ice with the CPS.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Rachel and Elwyn were on their way back to the incident room. “He is part of the trafficking ring, I’d stake my career on it,” she said. “He’s been interviewed before. He knows the ropes. Nothing we said bothered him in the slightest.”

  “He’s certainly been arrested before, but like Stella said, nothing stuck.” Elwyn shook his head.

  Harding and Kenton were waiting for them in the incident room.

  “My office, DCI King,” Harding ordered.

  Rachel followed him and Kenton. She’d no idea what this was about.

  “You’ve brought Danulescu in,” Kenton said. “Why?”

  The look on his face said it all. The Salford DCI was furious. But why? “He imprisoned and assaulted one of my officers,” she retorted. “Apart from which, I believe he’s part of a trafficking ring. We’ve got four girls waiting to be interviewed. Three of them are foreign, and one has already told me that it was Danulescu who brought her into the country.”

  “I’m afraid he will be coming with me, and my people will speak to the girls.”

  Rachel was determined that he was
n’t getting away with this. But how to stop him, particularly when Harding did nothing to back her up? “Oh no you don’t! Danulescu will remain in custody here. I haven’t finished my investigations yet. There may be evidence among his belongings to show that he killed one of our female victims. I’m having a ring of his processed as we speak.”

  “Look, I’m sorry, I don’t like doing this, but arguing the point won’t get you anywhere. The trafficking case is mine, and Danulescu is coming to Salford to be interviewed.”

  “Sir?” Rachel turned to Harding.

  “It’s out of my hands, Rachel. DCI Kenton has the full backing of the ACC in this instance.”

  Bloody bureaucracy! “Have you met Danulescu? Do you know who you’re dealing with?”

  Kenton nodded. “I’ve interviewed him on several occasions.”

  “But have you got enough evidence to charge him? Are you sure the girls will speak up against him in court? The four I have here are terrified. I doubt they’ll say anything useful at all.” Kenton seemed to hesitate — he wasn’t sure how to answer that one. “You haven’t got anything, have you? So why take him?” She looked from one man to the other, and then it hit her. “Please tell me you’re not offering this man a deal! Surely, he’s not going to walk away from this?” Neither said a word in response. “Because evidence or not, you know as well as I do that he’s as guilty as sin.”

  “What happens to the man is no longer your concern,” Kenton said at last.

  Not good enough. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m trying to build a case against Danulescu. I think he hit one of our victims before he killed her. His ring could hold the proof I need. If I’m right, it puts him at the scene of her murder.” Rachel looked at Harding for help. “Are you going to allow this, sir?”

  “I have no choice. Perhaps DCI Kenton will allow you speak to Danulescu once his people have processed him.”

  Rachel looked at Kenton. “Well?”

  “It’s a possibility,” he said. “We’ll keep in touch.”

  Rachel was seething. “Are you taking him now?”

  Kenton nodded. “I have a car outside.”

  “Does Danulescu know?” she asked.

  “His solicitor has been told, so yes, he does.”

  Rachel shook her head. “He’s had this get-out clause planned all along. That man is playing you. How much d’you bet he gives you nothing useful?”

  Rachel could see Kenton growing more annoyed with every word she said. “He’s our way into a trafficking ring we’ve been trying to crack for months. He will give us names, routes, but more important the name of the local head man. Danulescu is small fry. It’s the boss I’m really after, DCI King.”

  “You’re confident that he’ll talk?” she asked.

  “We have been building a case against him for a while,” Kenton said. “It’s accept the offer or go to prison for a long time. Danulescu realises it’s the end of the road for him, so he has no choice.”

  “Can I suggest that you leave the girls with us? I and a female DC will speak to them. They are very frightened but we may get something.”

  Kenton nodded. “Okay, but I want a full report, and my officers will have to speak to them at some point.”

  Rachel nodded. “It’s my intention to find them temporary accommodation. I’ll inform immigration, and social services will help with housing them.”

  Kenton didn’t put up an argument. It was obviously Danulescu he wanted — he didn’t seem particularly bothered about the girls.

  Rachel looked at him. “This head man you’re after, you must have a theory.”

  “I do, DCI King, but it isn’t up for discussion.”

  Kenton had won. Rachel was deflated but still furious as hell. He’d breezed in, laid down the law and snatched her arrest from under their noses — all with Harding’s blessing.

  “You can’t fight it, Rachel,” Elwyn said when she told him what had happened.

  “This head man they’re after must be some catch for them to offer a deal.”

  “Any idea who he is?” Elwyn asked.

  “Kenton wouldn’t say, but we’ve got all the pieces to the puzzle now. We should be able to work it out. But I’m not finished with Kenton yet. Danulescu knew Akerman, and he in turn knew Agnes. There’s a link, and I need the opportunity to explore it. I want a firm appointment to speak to Danulescu before he walks.”

  “What can you do?” Elwyn asked.

  “Give me minute. I won’t be long.”

  Eager to collar Kenton before he drove away, Rachel flew out of the incident room and down the stairs, spotting his car at the main entrance. Danulescu was just being escorted to a seat in the back. “Kenton! A word.”

  He stood beside the car door, just about to get in. “It’s all been said, Rachel.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not happy with the way things have been left. I want to be party to the interviews. I have questions—”

  She got no further. At that moment, a single shot rang out. The bullet struck Danulescu and he dropped like a stone. Kenton pushed Rachel to the ground, covering her with his body.

  * * *

  Danulescu was dead. A single bullet had entered his right temple and exited the opposite side, embedding itself in the station wall, just centimetres from where Rachel had been standing.

  She wasn’t even sure what had just happened. Kenton gently helped her to her feet, slowly back to the incident room and sat her down. “Tea,” he said to Amy.

  Elwyn hurried up to them. “What happened? I heard the noise.”

  “Someone shot at us,” Rachel said, staring into space.

  “Not us — Danulescu,” Kenton corrected. “Whoever he was working for was making sure he wouldn’t talk.”

  “It’s broad daylight! A police station! Who are these people?” Elwyn said.

  “Not people you mess with, believe me.” Kenton was kneeling in front of Rachel. “You’re okay. Shame you came out when you did. What did you want?”

  His voice was gentle, reassuring, not at all that of the man she’d been arguing with in Harding’s office. “I . . . wanted to arrange an interview. Danulescu knew things. He could have helped with the murders we’re investigating.”

  “Someone should take you home,” Kenton said. “I think you’ve had enough for one day.”

  “Who are these people? Who would shoot their own before allowing them to speak to the police?” She looked at Kenton. “You spoke of a head man. Who is he?”

  “Even if I knew that, I couldn’t tell you. All I can say is that he’s in Manchester, with links to organised crime. Danulescu’s evidence would have nailed him.”

  “Look at me, I’m shaking.” Rachel held out her hand. “You must think I’m a right soft cow.”

  “Certainly not. I know your reputation, Rachel. You’re a first-class detective.”

  Praise now. So why all the secrecy? Why keep everything so tight? He must realise that she could be trusted to keep the information to herself. Or perhaps he thought she couldn’t. Her head was swimming. Danulescu, Nicu, Ruby, the names spun around in her brain but she couldn’t quite catch hold of them. This man at the top linked them all, but who was he? Kenton wouldn’t share his theories, so she’d have to work it out for herself. Their investigations overlapped, so had he come within their sights already?

  She took the tea Amy offered her and sipped the hot, sweet liquid. Curiosity was eating at her. Organised crime was active on her patch. This was nothing new, but people trafficking was. Up until now it had mostly concerned drugs, armed robbery and money laundering. Kenton and Harding knew more than they were saying, and Rachel was determined not to be kept out of the loop. It just wasn’t an option. In her mind, she listed the individuals involved with the murders. Danulescu had worked for Ronan Blake. She didn’t know a great deal about Blake. He had no record — perhaps that was deliberate. His wife was currently being held. As far as Rachel was aware, her husband had made no attempt to contact her or provide a s
olicitor. Why?

  “Have we brought Ronan Blake in yet?” she asked Elwyn.

  “We can’t find him,” Elwyn said. “His mobile is switched off and he’s not at home. It looks suspiciously like he’s done a runner.”

  “Blake is no concern of yours, Rachel,” Kenton said. “Leave him to me.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Ten minutes later, Rachel was still shaking, and she had the most awful ringing in her ears. “I’ll be alright,” she said in response to Elwyn’s concerned looks, “as soon as I get my head round what just happened.”

  “A man was shot dead only inches away from you,” Kenton said bluntly. “You need to go home.”

  “There’s the girls from the club, and Leonora Blake. They all need to be interviewed.”

  Kenton frowned. “I’ll leave the girls to you, but I want to interview Blake.”

  His expression gave nothing away. Rachel couldn’t tell if Kenton wanted to speak to Leonora because she was Danulescu’s employer, or for some other reason.

  “Are the Blakes part of this?” she asked him. “It’s interesting that Ronan Blake is now missing.”

  He said nothing in reply, sticking his hands in his trouser pockets and going over to the windows. He checked his mobile. “Armed response was on the ball. They’ve done a sweep of the area but found no one. It looks like whoever shot Danulescu got clean away.”

  “Blake isn’t his real name, is it? We’ve checked him out and can’t find anything on him further back than twenty years. So, who is he?”

  “You’re very astute, Rachel, but I can’t discuss this with you. For now let’s just say that the Blakes are persons of interest.”

  “Of interest to us both, in that case.”

  “Your car is waiting outside,” Kenton said. “Leave the rest until you feel better.”

  “We’ll interview the girls tomorrow,” Rachel told Elwyn and Amy. “Get them sorted for tonight.”

  * * *

  Given the choice, Rachel would have remained at work. But Kenton was adamant. He wanted her gone. He was probably right. She must be in shock. But the case was bugging her. On the journey home she closed her eyes, leaned back and went over what they had. How was Agnes’s murder linked to that of Danulescu and the trafficking gang? The answer was simple enough — because of the girls. The evidence for that was the outfit Ruby was wearing that day outside the health centre. Their unknown had been found in the same one, which meant that Ruby probably worked at Leo’s too. Then there was the pink hair found on Agnes’s sofa, suggesting that she had been sheltering the girl. Akerman was in a relationship with Agnes, and they had the hostel in common. Rachel presumed that Agnes’s involvement was down to visiting the hostel and becoming concerned about what she saw there, and what she was told. She must have been trying to get them away from whatever they were involved in.