Two Victims

by Helen H. Durrant

  “I don’t think so, not with the number of clubs he owns. He was tried and tested. I don’t like this, Elwyn. This smacks of someone clearing up prior to disappearing.”

  The two detectives left the flat, crossing the road and a patch of rough ground to reach the block the shot supposedly came from. Rachel could see Jude’s people working several floors up.

  “There’s no lift,” Elwyn said.

  “Wouldn’t use one in a place like this anyway. You could be stuck in it for months before it got fixed.” They trudged up the stairs.

  “This is the spot.” A CSI pointed to a window facing the block they had just come from. “Your shooter stood here.”

  “How d’you know?” asked Elwyn.

  “He or she must have waited around for a while. They were eating a sandwich — see? There’s crumbs on the floor. And muddy footprints.”

  It had been raining. That meant the killer possibly took a route across the same patch of rough ground as they had.

  “Any CCTV, d’you reckon?” Rachel asked.

  “I doubt it, but we’ll look anyway.”

  Rachel peered at the floor. “Can you get anything from the crumbs or the shoe prints?”

  “If there is saliva on the crumbs we’ll get DNA. Might prove useful.”

  Then again, if the killer was an unknown Romanian, it wouldn’t be any use at all. Rachel was at a loss. She was running out of suspects. She’d pinned such a lot on Blake being the head man. So who now?

  Her ringtone interrupted her train of thought. It was Ruby, calling from a mobile. How in the world had she got hold of a phone? And why hadn’t either of the uniforms discovered it?

  “He’s going to kill me,” Ruby whispered. “You have to get me out of here. Nicu knows where I am and he’ll be back to get me.”

  That hadn’t taken him long. “Stay put. Do not leave that room. I will be with you soon.”

  Rachel turned to Elwyn. “Bloody idiots! That was Ruby. Nicu Bogdan has been to see her.” She saw the look on Elwyn’s face. “Yes, you heard right. Under the very noses of our uniforms, he walks in and leaves her with a mobile. No doubt he intends to contact her with instructions. We have to get over there, Elwyn, before she decides to leg it.”

  It was unlikely that Ruby was well enough to be transferred to a safe house. Instead they’d have to increase the watch and include an armed officer. They needed to stay on the ball. Ruby was an important witness.

  Driving them to the hospital, Rachel heard her mobile ring again. “Get it for me, would you?” she asked Elwyn.

  “It’s your Megan. She asks if you’re okay.”

  “Tell her I’m fine.”

  “She’s coping in her usual way,” Elwyn said. “Burying her head in the sand and pretending it didn’t happen.”

  “I’m fine!” Rachel shouted. “Take no bloody notice of him.”

  After ending the call, Elwyn turned to her. “Megan’s friend Shannon has had a text. There’s an apartment free tonight, the same one as last time. She’s texting you the details. Another night on the lash for a tenner.”

  “Arranged by Nicu, no doubt. We can’t miss this opportunity, Elwyn. He always turns up to collect the money. We’ll have to set things up and wait for him.”

  “We can’t attempt to bring him in if there’s any chance he’s armed. If he’s texted Shannon, loads of kids will know by now. The place will be packed.”

  “We’ll make sure we’ve got the apartment secure. When they turn up, we’ll direct them elsewhere.”

  “It’s risky. For all we know, Nicu could be our shooter.”

  * * *

  Within minutes, Rachel and Elwyn were at the hospital. The two uniforms were still outside the room, oblivious to what had happened.

  Rachel launched into them. “Why not try doing your jobs? He was here, the bloke we’re looking for. You let him get to her. You’re lucky she’s not dead!”

  “The DCI is not best pleased. He left Ruby a mobile and she used it to ring us,” Elwyn added.

  Leaving Elwyn to thrash out security procedures with the uniforms, Rachel went in to speak to the girl.

  “You did the right thing in ringing me, Ruby. How did he get to you? Why didn’t they spot him?” She nodded to the door.

  “He was dressed just like a doctor. The cops out there had no idea. And I couldn’t do a thing. He’d have killed me on the spot.”

  Rachel looked at the girl. She was still pale and very thin, her arms were like sticks. Her once vivid pink hair was showing at least an inch of dark roots. “I want to help you, Ruby, but in turn you’ve got to help me. Why are you so afraid of Nicu?”

  “Because I know something,” Ruby said flatly.

  “Will you tell me what that is?” asked Rachel.

  “Vasile liked me, he tried to keep me safe, then, one night when there was just the two of us he got drunk and high on coke. I looked at his phone, the special one he uses for work. I knew it was a risk but I wanted some leverage. He caught me and went ballistic. There were only a few contacts on it, but I remembered who they were.”

  “Was Ronan Blake one?”

  “Yes, he was there. He ran the club, Leo’s. I worked there for a bit. Nicu hated him. I think he had the hots for Ronan’s wife.”

  “Who else did you see, Ruby?”

  “Leo, Nicu and Mac.”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  With the new procedures in place, Rachel and Elwyn left Ruby to get some rest. “From now on, she’ll be treated by a small team, all of them known to our people. No one else will be allowed to go into that room.”

  “Did she tell you anything?” Elwyn asked.

  “Nothing that helps.” Rachel hesitated slightly. Elwyn had been outside with the uniforms when Ruby gave her the names. “Which is a shame, because now we’re short of a suspect for head man.”

  Rachel took a deep breath. She shouldn’t be doing this. Elwyn and the team had every right to know what she’d just been told. Leo, Nicu — and Mac. Jed McAteer had always been known as Mac. He had to be in the frame. She could not protect him now. She shouldn’t protect him.

  “What about Leonora? We thought her husband was calling the shots, but perhaps we were wrong. She’s a bright lady. I wouldn’t put anything past her,” Elwyn said.

  Rachel had asked Elwyn to drive — her head was hammering, and her mind was in turmoil. She closed her eyes. If only that was the case. She’d have given anything for it to be Leonora, but it wasn’t. Soon Ruby would recover. She’d make a statement, and so would Nicu once they had him in custody. Jed McAteer’s fate would be sealed. Rachel tried to put it together. Had the clues been there all along? Agnes and Jess were found on his land. He’d been at the party in the bar that night, and he knew the Blakes. Plus, he was an old friend of Jamie Chisnall — Blake’s former persona. But people trafficking? Rachel couldn’t believe Jed would sink so low.

  “Who d’you reckon for tonight?” she asked.

  “Me, Jonny and a load of uniforms. Plus armed response, given he could be carrying a weapon.”

  “Hey, what about me?” Rachel nudged him. “You’re not having all the fun, DS Pryce. We’ve been chasing this little toerag for days now. He could be in the frame for Agnes and Jess. He’s bound to have known Jess too, since she worked at the club.”

  “It might be an idea for you to get some rest,” Elwyn said.

  “Absolutely not. When my officers put themselves on the line, it’s only fair that I join them.”

  Elwyn sighed. “Okay, have it your way. Regardless of what I say, you’ll end up doing as you please.”

  * * *

  Back at the station, Rachel gathered the team and they discussed the plan for later. “Jonny — you, Elwyn and half a dozen uniformed officers. Armed response is going to be on standby just in case.” She double-checked the address on her mobile. “The apartment is on floor twenty-one, number ten. It’s accessed from the lift along a corridor with tinted glass windows. We’ll position ou
r people inside, out of sight. She checked her watch. “Time’s moving on. It’s already turned four, and we should get ready. The apartment will be free from seven onwards. Once our people are in position, text me.”

  Rachel was running on adrenalin — the only thing that was keeping her going. Elwyn was right, the sensible option would be an early night, but she needed to be there when Nicu was apprehended. He’d talk and when he did, Jed would be top of the suspect list. And then?

  Seated behind her desk with a mug of strong coffee, Rachel thought back to her conversation with Kenton. He’d asked her about Jed. She’d swerved that one by blabbing on about the party in the bar, but was Kenton convinced? If he already suspected Jed, had he done his research? More to the point, did he know the truth about Jed and her?

  It was time for a full and frank discussion with the man.

  * * *

  DCI Mark Kenton was only too happy to come to Rachel’s office, once she told him what it was about.

  “Over the last year or so, McAteer has become something of a pet project of mine,” he began.

  Rachel shook her head. “You need to get out more.”

  “You find that amusing, do you, Rachel? Believe me, it’s not. That man is evil. I’m not taken in by the reformed businessman act. That’s just not McAteer. What d’you think? You know him better than me. You’ve known McAteer for years, haven’t you? You were at university with him.”

  Dangerously close to throwing up, Rachel took a sip of water. No one, apart from herself, Jed and Elwyn knew that. What was Kenton’s game, digging into her past like this? Had he told anyone else what he’d discovered — Harding for example? This was explosive stuff. A word in the wrong ear and her career was over.

  “There were a lot of people at uni. He may have been there, but it was years ago, and I can’t remember everyone.” She tried to sound casual, but her voice came out strained.

  “You were lovers.”

  Rachel stifled a gasp. This was going from bad to worse. “I was eighteen, I had lots of boyfriends.”

  “You see, Rachel, this gives us a problem. I had a close look at the Brough case notes. McAteer played an important part in resolving that investigation, plus he saved your daughter’s life.”

  “Chance,” she said tightly. “Nothing more.”

  Ignoring her comment, he said, “Naturally, I am coming to some disturbing conclusions.”

  This was the thing she’d been trying to avoid all her working life. He knew, but how much? Kenton had stopped short of actually asking if Jed was Mia’s father. If he did, dare she lie?

  Rachel took a deep breath. “What do you want exactly, Kenton? My job? To ruin my reputation — such as it is?”

  “No, Rachel. I simply want the truth about you and McAteer. Lives may depend on it.”

  He was talking about the trafficked girls. Had to be. Jed was heavily involved. He might even be the head man they’d been chasing after. If she wanted to stop the suffering, she would have to be honest with Kenton.

  “You’re right, I did know Jed years ago,” she admitted. “I can’t change that. But he hasn’t been part of my life since. I owe him nothing, apart from what he did for Mia, and we do not see each other. The other night was work related, to do with the current case in fact. I wanted a closer look at that apartment block.”

  Kenton leaned forward. “Look, Rachel, I’ve been on McAteer’s tail for over a year. At the start, I was working on a tipoff from a reliable source of mine. Since then, me and my team have painstakingly collected all the evidence that will help to nail him. What I have learned from Leonora Blake completes the process. My reluctance to include you in the case is purely because of your relationship with McAteer. I daren’t risk anything filtering back to him. Otherwise I’d have welcomed your input like a shot.”

  “You thought I would pass information on to him?”

  “Perhaps unknowingly. I only know what I’ve heard or read about you, Rachel. It all looks good on paper, but I couldn’t get away from the fact that you were close to the man. You have history, and you owe him for saving your daughter.”

  Rachel looked him in the eye. “That’s not how I work. The second I discovered what McAteer was like, I dumped him. He is in my past, and that’s where he’s stayed. DCI Kenton, it was all many years ago. I know there can never be anything between us. And I certainly would never give him information about any of our cases. The problem is, he lives and works in Manchester, so our paths have crossed in the course of my work. I can’t help that.”

  Rachel waited. She couldn’t tell if Kenton was satisfied with that or not. She didn’t know him, and couldn’t second guess what his reaction might be. “What now? Do you want me to resign? Tell Harding what I’ve told you?”

  “No. You’re too good a detective. The force needs you. And I don’t snitch to senior officers.” He smiled. “You’ve been honest with me because of the case, and I appreciate that. There’s no need for anyone to know what we’ve just spoken about.”

  “In that case, I’ll carry on with our investigations into the murders of Agnes Moore and Jess. We have moved the case forward in the past few hours. Ruby, the missing girl, is in hospital and we’re keeping close watch. You’ll want to interview her, I imagine?”

  He nodded. “With regard to your case, we have a lot of background information on the Blakes and Danulescu, but there is no mention of your Agnes anywhere in all the reams of paperwork. The girl called Jess may have been one of the girls working the club.”

  “That helps to rule out a theory, if nothing else. Go easy on Ruby, she’s delicate.” Rachel paused. “There’s another party set for tonight at that apartment block. It should be an opportunity to collar Nicu Bogdan.”

  “In that case, we’ll join you.”

  “No problem.” Rachel smiled. “Since we’re being so frank with each other . . . you are keeping an eye on McAteer? He’s clearly your prime suspect. If he gets wind of it, he’ll disappear.”

  “Last I checked, he was in his office in Castlefields. I’ve got round-the-clock surveillance on him.”

  Chapter Thirty-four

  The bell sounded for the end of the school day. He waited for the two teenage girls to come out and followed them as they ambled across Poynton Park, finally separating by the lake. This was his chance. Before he left the country, Jed McAteer wanted to see Mia, to say goodbye to his daughter of course, but also to find out what she knew about him.

  “Mia!” He called out. “Wait up.”

  A little surprised at his sudden appearance, she greeted him with a big smile. “Uncle Jed! What’re you doing here? You should have rung — we could have arranged something.”

  “Sorry to collar you like this, but it’s all a bit last minute. I wanted a word because I’m going away for a while.” He pointed to a vacant bench. “Want to sit down?”

  “I’ve thought about you often. You saved my life. I still don’t understand what happened. I asked Mum, but she won’t talk about it.”

  McAteer laughed. “It’s her job, she’s probably not allowed to.”

  “She said I wasn’t to see or talk to you anymore. I don’t understand why. After what happened, you should be one of our best friends.”

  “Bad memories, perhaps,” he said. “She was out of her mind with worry that day. Seeing me probably brings it all back.”

  “Why are you going away? Is it a holiday?”

  “No, it’s business, and I won’t be back for quite a while.”

  “When I first saw you, I thought you were Mum’s new boyfriend.” Mia laughed. “She could do with one, Meggy reckons. Don’t you fancy her?”

  “I knew your mum a long time ago when we were much younger. We used to be close, but people change when they grow up. We are both different people now. It just wouldn’t work.”

  Mia wouldn’t understand, of course, not without knowing the background.

  “Can I tell Mum we met?”

  “Yes, and I want you to give her
a message, but don’t be surprised if she gets angry. For lots of reasons, your mum doesn’t like me much.”

  “Even though you saved my life? It seems odd to me.”

  He shrugged. “It’s just how your mum is. Anyway, I’d like to contact you from time to time, see how you’re doing. Would you be okay with that?”

  He could see her mulling this over. She probably thought he was a weird old man. He wanted to tell her the truth about their relationship, that he was actually her father. But not at this stage in her life. If her mother had anything about her, she’d tell Mia herself further down the line. If and when that happened, it would make the whole thing easier if they were still in touch.

  “Are you really a relative — my uncle, like you said?”

  “Yes, I am related to you, Mia. Though your mum will argue the point if you ask her.”

  After a few moments’ thought, she said. “You could friend me on Facebook. That way we could stay in touch.”

  “I don’t usually do social media, but I’ll make an exception for you. But I won’t be Jed, I’ll be Jenny. That way we don’t upset your mum.”

  She nodded. “Sounds like a plan. If you go somewhere nice, you can post photos. What d’you want me to tell her?”

  “That I’ve been set up. I don’t know who by yet, but it’s a senior detective. And tell her not to trust the Salford DCI. She’ll know what I mean.”

  Mia nodded.

  It was nearly time to go. McAteer had no idea when he’d see his daughter again. By then, she could well be an adult. He took her hand. “Look after yourself, Mia. Before I go, I’ve got something for you.” Reaching into his pocket, he took out a necklace, a gold locket encrusted with diamonds.

  Mia turned it over in her hand. “These are real diamonds, aren’t they? No, I can’t take this.” She handed it back.

  “But you must. I want you to have it. It belonged to my mother, and I have no one else to give it to.”

  “Well, if you’re sure . . .”