Vanish Without Trace (2019 Reissue)

by Bill Kitson

  ‘But now we’ve only got a suspicion based on what the parents said and your sense of smell. We’ve no proof,’ Pearce pointed out.

  ‘I know, but suppose I’m right. Do a DVLA check and go through the Sex Offenders Register again. I want the details of any silver Ford Mondeo registered in the Bishopton area. And see if any of the addresses tally with someone on the SOR. Whilst you’re waiting, ring Charleston’s. I want the name and address of their sign erector, plus any other members of their staff who live in the Bishopton area. Whilst you’re on with them, give them the list of towns where the victims lived. Ask if they’ve branches in those towns.’

  Nash paced the floor whilst he waited.

  Viv came back, almost at a run. ‘You were right, Mike. They’ve got branches at each of those towns. I got a hit from the DVLA too. There’s only one silver Mondeo registered in the Bishopton area.’

  ‘Let me guess, the registered keeper is Les Franklin.’

  Pearce stared at him. ‘No, here, look.’ He thrust a piece of paper into Nash’s hand.

  ‘Good God!’

  ‘Now what do we do?’

  ‘The only thing we can do. Get round there, and quick.’

  ‘We won’t get a warrant on this alone,’ Pearce objected.

  ‘We can’t wait. And I daren’t go through official channels. It’d take too long.’

  ‘You’re not going to involve Superintendent Pratt?’ Viv was aghast.

  ‘He’d want things doing properly and we don’t have time. We can’t afford a delay. Anything could happen. We may be too late already.’

  ‘All through this you’ve said how careful this man is. How everything he does is planned to avoid detection. How are you going to get proof, without tipping him off? He’ll probably be up to his armpits in security. If he’s got alarms, CCTV, etcetera, how will you get past them? By the time you get to the girls he’d be long gone. He’d sacrifice Clara and Monique. You haven’t a hope. You’d never be able to bypass that sort of security.’

  Nash stared at him for a moment. ‘You’re right, but I know a man who can. All I’ve got to do is persuade him to break a promise. Are you with me or not?’

  chapter eighteen

  Maggie Johnson answered the phone, then held out the receiver for Jimmy. ‘It’s for you. He says it’s extremely urgent.’

  Jimmy listened for a while. ‘Okay. How long? Oh, I’ll be right out. You got my tools?’

  He turned to Maggie. ‘I’ll likely be late home so don’t wait up for me, hen.’ He picked up his torch from the hall table.

  ‘Here, you’ll need these.’ Maggie passed over a set of door keys. ‘I’m not having you locking yourself out. Not that you need them.’ It didn’t really matter that they were her set. He grinned, gave her a quick peck on the cheek and was gone.

  The car was waiting. Jimmy climbed in the back and sat forward as the car moved off, listening to Nash’s attempts to dissuade Pearce from joining in the venture.

  Nash had calmed down slightly. The risks were now becoming apparent. ‘There’s no reason for you to be part of this, Viv. What we’re going to do is totally illegal. We’ve no evidence, just guesswork. If we’re caught, it’d mean the end of your career.’

  ‘What about your career? You’ve more to lose than I have.’

  ‘That doesn’t matter. I’ve gone as far as I want to in the job. I came back to Yorkshire for a quiet life. If I’ve to leave the force, it wouldn’t worry me, but you’ve a great future in the police. Why risk it?’

  ‘I can’t stand aside and do nothing.’

  ‘You can stay with the car and act as back-up.’

  ‘If I do nothing, I’d never be able to look Clara in the eye again.’

  Mike gave up flogging a horse that was obviously dead.

  ‘I need to know what sort of customer we’re dealing with,’ Johnson said. ‘It’s useful to know what sort of precautions he’d take.’

  ‘He’s a very clever planner, ultra cautious. He leaves no trace, no evidence.’

  ‘How long’s he been at it?’

  ‘Eighteen years to our knowledge.’

  Johnson whistled. ‘How did he pick the lassies, what made him choose them?’

  ‘They look alike, Jimmy. All extremely pretty, with blonde hair and blue eyes.’

  ‘Like dollies, then?’

  ‘Bloody hell,’ Nash exclaimed. ‘That’s it. Why didn’t I think of that?’

  ‘What?’ Pearce asked.

  ‘Don’t you see? What Jimmy said, it all makes sense. They’re not dead; at least not to him. He thinks of them as dolls, to keep and play with.’

  ‘But he couldn’t, not for long anyway. I mean, well, to be blunt they’d start to smell after a while wouldn’t they?’

  ‘Think about it. When Mexican Pete came to see me, he stank of formaldehyde. I smelt it earlier too, only I couldn’t recall what it was, thought it was some chemical they use on the FOR SALE signs. When I smelt it in Monique’s kitchen I thought that’s what it was. But I was wrong. Formaldehyde clings to you for days, and to everyone round you. It takes some shifting, no matter how often you wash or change your clothing.’

  ‘What is it, this formaldehyde?’ Jimmy asked.

  ‘It’s a very strong chemical. Scientists use it to preserve anatomical specimens. It’s also the main ingredient in the embalming process. That’s how our man would be able to keep his victims. He embalms them. That explains the length of time between the abductions. He didn’t need a new victim to gratify his lust.’

  ‘Jesus, what sort of maniac is he?’ Jimmy muttered.

  ‘They call it necrophilia, Jimmy, having intercourse with the dead.’

  Jimmy shuddered. ‘How did he find these lassies?’

  ‘He didn’t, they found him; or rather their parents did. They’d all bought houses via Charleston’s Estate Agents, and the purchase of each of those houses was handled personally by Peter Charleston. That’s highly significant, because Charleston doesn’t have time to handle individual sales. So why did he get involved in those deals? The answer is because he was lining up another victim.’

  As Nash was talking, they swung off the main road, following the signpost marked ‘Bishop’s Cross; Village Only’. The road narrowed, and just before they reached the outskirts, a pair of large stone gate posts was set at right angles to the lane. On one of these was the inscription ‘Quarry House’.

  Pearce swung the car into the opening, confronting the wrought iron gates, now brightly lit by the headlights. Johnson scanned the scene, his voice urgent. ‘Either reverse the car, or start kissing each other. Do it now.’ Johnson had assumed command.

  ‘I’ll move the car,’ Pearce muttered, engaging reverse gear and continuing along the lane.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Sorry, Mike; not in my job description.’

  ‘No, I mean what’s up, Jimmy?’

  ‘Bloody great CCTV cameras, on top of the gate post. Now, just drive slowly,’ he instructed Pearce.

  ‘What was it about kissing?’

  ‘There’d be only two innocent reasons to stop at the gate, well three. Either a courting couple, someone taking a piss or somebody lost. To take a piss’d mean getting out and chance being recognized, so it had to be one of the others. Slow down. You’re supposed to be lost, remember.’

  Nash grinned in the darkness. ‘I still think you should have kissed me.’

  ‘There’s a limit to what I’ll do, even for Clara,’ Pearce replied.

  Jimmy exclaimed in disgust. ‘You’ll not go far in the police,’ he told Pearce. ‘Mind you, it’s the other end you have to kiss, as a rule.’

  The grounds of Quarry House were protected by a high stone wall. Johnson scanned the wall and the area round it. After a few hundred yards he grunted, ‘He may be a cunning and perverted killer, but he’s also as big a con man as any estate agent.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘So far, I’ve counted fourteen CCTV cameras, al
l very obvious, mounted on posts over the wall. The reason they’re easy to spot is because they’re only for show. Unless he’s got a team of security guards watching monitors, they’d be no use. Nobody could watch that many screens at once. They’re like the speed cameras you lot put inside bright yellow boxes by the roadside. You know, the ones with no film in? Just there to slow people down, or in this case to frighten them off.’

  ‘You mean this boundary isn’t protected?’

  ‘I wouldn’t say that,’ Johnson disagreed. ‘My guess is the camera at the gates works, and the gates probably have a photo-electric cell across them. The wall should be no problem, once I find the best place to climb it.’

  They’d travelled another two hundred yards, when Jimmy commanded, ‘Stop the car. This looks okay.’

  ‘Shall I get the big torch from the boot?’ Pearce asked.

  ‘No need,’ Jimmy told him.

  The topmost three courses of stone were missing, reducing the height of the wall to less than five feet. They got out of the car, closing the doors as quietly as possible. The night was cloudy, and without the headlights they were in total darkness, until a strong torch beam lit up the wall in front of them. ‘Nobody should leave home at night without a Maglite,’ Johnson explained.

  Climbing the wall was easy. The next part presented a far sterner challenge. The torch picked out a tangle of bracken, shrubs, briars and brambles.

  ‘Keep to the wall side; it’s not as dense there. Walk along till we find a better place to get through.’

  After a few minutes, they found a less overgrown patch. They forced their way through and emerged, at the cost of no more than a few scratches. They were standing on the edge of a large lawn. It sloped gently up towards the house, which they could just make out against the night sky.

  ‘This is where it gets trickier,’ Johnson told them. ‘Follow me, and don’t wander about. Walk exactly where I do.’

  They moved slowly across the grass in single file, the detectives relying on Johnson’s instinct. ‘I can’t use the torch. We’re too exposed,’ he whispered.

  It seemed an age before they reached the front of the building. ‘What now?’ Nash’s whisper sounded like a shout.

  ‘Round the back, it’s never as well protected,’ Johnson instructed them, his voice barely carrying.

  When they reached the corner of the building, Johnson flicked his torch on. ‘Concrete,’ Johnson muttered with a trace of contempt. ‘An amateur, just as I told you. If he’d been serious he’d have put gravel down. You can’t walk quietly on gravel.’

  They rounded the next corner, and the torch was lit again. The beam played over the back door, up the back wall and across the flagged patio area. After a quick glance round, Johnson directed the beam up the wall to an alarm box. He chuckled quietly, then redirected the light back on to the patio, illuminating the heavy mahogany table and chairs. ‘Bring that table over here and set it down against the wall, then bring two chairs. Put one of them alongside it, the other on top.’

  He took a small, slim canister from his tool kit, turning to Pearce. ‘You’re the tallest. Get on the table and brace yourself against the wall and steady me. Mr Nash, I want you to keep watch.’

  Seconds later, he was balanced precariously on the chair. The detectives heard a hissing sound. ‘Okay, help me down. Now we’ve to wait five minutes.’

  Pearce asked, ‘What did you do?’

  ‘It’s a kind of foam. I sprayed it through the louvers on the front of the box. It expands and sets like concrete. If we trigger the alarm, it sends a signal to the box and the bell will sound. Only it won’t ’cos I’ve muffled it.’

  Five minutes later Johnson tackled the door. Less than a minute later, he turned the handle and opened it. ‘Said he was an amateur. He should have bolted the door.’

  ‘It’s like watching a magician,’ Pearce muttered.

  ‘Would bolts have been a showstopper?’ Nash asked.

  ‘No, it’d have just taken longer.’

  The house was as dark and silent inside as it had appeared from the outside. They entered through the kitchen, and moved into the dining room, then out via a solid-looking door to the hall. Apart from the brief flashes of illumination provided by Johnson’s torch, there wasn’t a glimmer of light to be seen. Not a breath of air moved. Nash shivered. The place felt like a grave, dark, cold and airless. ‘I don’t like this place,’ Johnson whispered. ‘It reeks o’ death.’

  Nash sniffed. ‘You’re right, Jimmy. What you can smell is formaldehyde. Charleston may not be here now, but he’s not long gone, either that or he stores the stuff here.’

  Fear was contagious. ‘Let’s get on with it, Mike,’ Pearce said in an urgent whisper.

  The sitting room yielded nothing of interest, but the door in the far corner led to a study. Johnson’s torch swept round and settled on the desk. Nash strode across and looked at the open file resting on the blotter. ‘Look at this.’

  Pearce and Johnson looked at the papers. ‘Who’s Monique Canvey?’ Jimmy asked.

  ‘One of the two abducted last night. Charleston abducted her twin sister a few years ago.’

  ‘Mike, look there,’ Pearce pointed across the room.

  The wall behind the desk contained three photographs of the same subject, a young teenage girl.

  ‘It’s Clara,’ Pearce breathed incredulously.

  Nash crossed to the wall. ‘Bring the torch closer, Jimmy. No, it isn’t Clara. But it’s a damned good likeness. Look at the clothing, it’s years out of date. When Clara was this age it would have all been nineties fashion. This is more like they wore in the sixties and seventies.’

  ‘If it isn’t Clara, who is it?’

  Nash pointed to the top photo. ‘Shine your torch here. There’s an inscription in the corner. It’s faded a bit, but it says To Charlie, With All My Heart, Sassy.’

  ‘Wow, that’s a bit steamy for a kid to write,’ Pearce suggested. ‘But who was Sassy, and for that matter who’s Charlie?’

  ‘There’s a filing cabinet in the corner,’ Johnson pointed out. ‘That might give you some clues.’

  Nash tried the handle. It was locked. ‘Jimmy?’

  ‘Ten seconds, Mr Nash.’

  Inside the cabinet, they found files relating to each of Charleston’s victims. Another set of folders, they guessed might be potential targets. The horror these files revealed paled, when Nash discovered another in the bottom drawer. As he read the contents, Nash realized who Sassy was, and Charleston’s true identity. Then he discovered the reason for Charleston’s fixation. The final piece of information Nash read, revealed the full extent of Charleston’s depraved insanity. He handed them a newspaper cutting.

  CARLISLE NEWS & STAR

  Thursday 21 August 1975

  LONG AWAITED HEARING OPENS AT LAST

  The inquest opened today of Carlisle teenager Samantha Peterson, the fifteen-year-old schoolgirl who died five months ago. The inquest heard from the senior Cumbrian pathologist that Samantha had taken a massive cocktail of sleeping tablets and antidepressants. He also revealed that the dead girl was two months pregnant.

  The News & Star has learned that an extensive series of blood tests has been conducted to determine the paternity of the dead girl’s unborn child. Samantha’s family has suffered further heart-break following the mysterious disappearance of her brother. Charlie, who discovered the body of his sister and is three years older than Samantha, was last seen a week after his sister’s death. He was reported to have been ‘traumatised beyond belief’ by the death of his sister, to whom he was devoted. ‘Charlie and Sassy were very close’, a family friend told the News & Star, ‘they were more like twins than brother and sister’.

  Police commented that they were baffled by Charlie’s disappearance; and highly concerned over his whereabouts and well-being. ‘We are more than anxious for his safety’, a police spokesman revealed, ‘especially with the shock his sister’s death will have caused him’. The inquest
resumes tomorrow.

  Nash turned to the last item, a sheet of writing paper. ‘This is a letter from the dead girl to her lover, the father of her child. He vanished a few days after she died. Charleston was her lover, the father of the child she was carrying. Only he wasn’t called Charleston then. His real name is Charles Peterson. Samantha, the mother of his child, was his sister.’

  ‘Did he rape his own sister?’ Pearce asked in horror.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Nash held up a bundle of letters. ‘These are letters written to him by Sassy. She sounds completely besotted with him, more than happy to consent to the incest.’

  ‘And the girls he’s abducted since then?’

  ‘Don’t you see? They’re replacements. Each one, a new Sassy; that’s why they had to die. They had to die, because Sassy died. It was history repeating itself. Charleston couldn’t let a replacement live when Sassy had died. I bet he believes he wasn’t responsible for Sassy’s death. If he thought that, it would destroy him. So, he rejects it.’

  Nash stopped abruptly. He pictured another room. A group of young women, their faces staring impassively, sitting in eternal silence. Complete and immaculate, their beauty preserved for all time. They were close. They had to be. Charleston would want them near him.

  ‘We’re no nearer to finding them,’ Pearce’s voice contained a hint of desperation. It broke Nash’s spell.

  ‘I know, but they must be close. He’d need his collection of dolls nearby, so he could play with them whenever he wanted.’

  ‘In the hall, Mr Nash, I spotted a big aerial photo of the house and grounds.’

  They examined the image, huddled closely together. Pearce pointed towards a large building near the edge of the photo. ‘What do you think that is? It looks like a barn or cattle shed.’

  Nash felt a cold shiver run through him. ‘It’s not a barn. At least I don’t think so. Remember the name of the house.’ He pointed to an outline in the photo, where the land formed a depression. ‘I think that’s the quarry. That could be the old quarry office.’