Backlash (30 page)

Langton, knowing all this already, was able to watch from a different perspective to that of the team. He had known Anna from her first murder enquiry. Rightly or wrongly, he had had a
relationship with her, and they had continued to work alongside each other on many other murder enquiries. He had wrapped her in his arms when he’d had to tell her about her
fiancé’s death and advised her to take time off work, which she had refused to do. He had loved her passionately, then in an almost fatherly way, and he still cared for her even more
than he admitted to himself, but watching her now gave him an inordinate feeling of pride. In front of him was a woman whose confidence and astute working methods outstripped everyone else’s.
He remembered her tottering behind him in her high-heeled shoes covered in mud, he remembered her fainting at her first autopsy, her distress when the appalling injuries to the victim in the Red
Dahlia case had moved her to tears. He noticed that her shoes were muddy now from the chalk quarry and the gypsy site, but she appeared to not even be aware of it. Her hair, scraped back in a knot,
had strands loose. He had always found it touching the way she fiddled with her hair, making sure she looked presentable. Now it was obvious that, like her muddy shoes, her hair was of no
importance. What he was watching was a woman fired up, her determination explicit, and her cohesive delivery of the facts made everyone pay close attention to her every word.

‘I believe that Henry Oates has killed at least four, maybe even more. We are dealing with a devious killer, a man who preys on young women and prides himself on his ability to remain
undetected. So far we have only recovered two bodies. Justine Marks from the back of the van and Fidelis Julia Flynn encased in concrete in the lift shaft. Earlier today DCS Langton and I uncovered
evidence that may lead us to where the other bodies are.’

She hesitated and gave a small satisfied smile.

Langton leaned forwards, now attentive to what she was saying.

Anna stood beside the map of the quarry she had pinned on the board. As Mike and the team were not yet privy to what had happened that afternoon, the room went very quiet.

‘You can see on the map a gypsy camp six miles from the disused quarry, on the wooded side. The camp is legal, as they have permission from the farmer and have been camped there for
fifteen years. Five and a half years ago, and this is of utmost importance, because it was five and a half years ago that Rebekka Jordan disappeared, they found a Cherokee Jeep. An attempt had been
made to burn it after it had smashed into a tree by a ditch near the wood. They towed the Jeep back to their campsite and the virtual shell of it has remained there. The seats, wheels and any part
that could possibly be sold on, including the number plates, have gone. However . . .’

Everyone waited as she put up a picture of the burnt-out Jeep on the board and then turned to her captive audience with an almost theatrical flourish.

‘Forensics have confirmed from the chassis and engine numbers that this was the same Jeep stolen from Cobham. Finding any further forensics is a long shot, but the steering wheel, windows
and doors are still intact. They will not know until later if we have any identifiable prints that match Oates. It is also doubtful that they will be able to recover any DNA, but they are working
on it.’

In fact Anna had only just received this information in a text message from Pete Jenkins. She had managed to reply before taking the floor, asking him to make sure they covered
every inch of what was left of the Jeep for prints and bloodstains. Now, she ended her lengthy speech by indicating the dates on which Oates was seen covered in chalk dust.

‘His basement was a filthy hovel, but nothing that could link him directly to the chalk quarry was found. His slipup was Mrs Murphy seeing him looking “ghostly” at two in the
morning. Oates told Mr Murphy that it was chalk dust his wife had seen on him. She cannot be sure of the exact day but I have narrowed it down to the week Rebekka went missing . . . Added to this
is the confirmation from one of his associates that he had attempted to get work driving the trucks in the quarry, and this means Oates knew the area.’

A murmur broke out as she returned to her seat and Mike Lewis stood up once more. Like everyone else, he was taken aback by the revelation of such vital pieces of evidence. But
to calm things down, he stressed that they were still without a single witness for two of the murders Oates had claimed. Without doubt, they had him for the murder of Justine Marks, but even with
the considerable amount of circumstantial evidence, they would still have difficulty in proving Oates murdered Fidelis Julia Flynn and Rebekka Jordan. It was at this point that Mike looked at
Langton. There was an embarrassing delay as Langton found it difficult to get to his feet. Barolli had to give him a hand, which he clearly hated, but he covered it by making a joke about
stiffening up due to waiting so long to say his piece. He adjusted his tie and firstly apologized for keeping everyone waiting for the briefing to start. He then gestured to the incident board and
as always gave a theatrical pause for effect.

‘The cost of this triple enquiry has escalated and it has been difficult for me, being out of action, to oversee everything that’s been going on, especially the Rebekka Jordan case.
However I congratulate DCI Travis as she has uncovered vital evidence that five years ago I was unable to bring to light. Acting on admissions from Henry Oates regarding the two unsolved murders,
you have all shown incredible dedication, but even considering your achievements it has still been a major problem for me to get the green light to continue.’

A murmur broke out and Anna clenched her hands. Surely he was not going to pull them off their cases at this juncture? But then he gave one of his flashing smiles.

‘But we have the go-ahead, and now with extra staff and total commitment I know you will find the evidence to put Oates away for every murder he has committed.’

He indicated the photographs of the items removed from Oates’s basement.

Anna was relieved and sat back in her chair as Langton continued, informing the team that in the morning they would be getting Oates back in police custody for interview. He reminded them they
were dealing with a man who had killed and who enjoyed the power it had given him to outwit the law. He went into detail about the cost of searching the quarries, and warned that it might be
impossible to mount such a big operation due to the time and manpower it would require.

Anna was nonplussed. One moment he was opening up their enquiry and the next it felt as if he was closing it down. Langton started to loosen his tie before taking a chair and turning it around
so he could remain standing but lean on the back of it.

‘If we can find further evidence, in particular from that bastard’s trophy box, I believe it will be the key to breaking him down in the interviews. It will be imperative we move
slowly, if we want him to admit his sick prowess, but with encouragement and tenacious psychological questioning, I believe Oates will crack . . .’ He crooked his finger and smiled.

‘Get the fox out of his lair, get him so fired up with his cleverness he will want to reveal his brilliance, and it will be Oates himself who will take us to the poor souls’ graves.
I have lived for five years with the face of little Rebekka Jordan, I felt I failed her and her family, but I truly believe we are close to uncovering what happened to her, uncovering this
man’s sick perverted pleasures. So, good work everyone, keep at it, and we will get the result we all want.’

The briefing broke up. Langton had, as he always did, given everyone a boost of confidence, an energy boost. Anna could see that he was tired out, and was about to offer him a
lift when he disappeared into Mike’s office, asking Joan to order a car in fifteen minutes.

Barolli sidled up to her desk and nodded towards Mike’s closed door.

‘You think Mike is up for this?’

‘Up for what?’

‘Getting the fox, as the guv said, out of his lair.’

‘You got that wrong, Paul, he’s got to think we don’t know what we are doing, not him, it’s going to be up to Mike to draw him out.’

‘Langton should be the one to do it.’

‘No he shouldn’t. This is Mike’s investigation, he has to take the lead, but Langton will be in the viewing room.’

‘You in for the interview with him?’

‘Samuels said it might be a bad idea, so you might have to do it.’

‘Who, me? You know more about all the cases than I do.’

‘What’s wrong, Paul – not up for it?’

As Paul hurried off, Anna laughed. Langton had already said she would be in the interview with Oates. The truth was, she was unsure about Mike’s ability to conduct the type of interview
Samuels had recommended, but it was not her place to say so, and she knew that if she was sitting beside him rather than Langton he would have the opportunity to prove himself.

Langton left without saying goodnight, and Anna and Mike found themselves still working at nine o’clock, preparing for the following morning.

‘Christ, there’s so much here to get through, it’s going to take all night,’ Anna said.

Mike, visibly drawn and tired, hesitated and then ruffled his hair.

‘You think Langton should steer the interview?’ he asked Anna.

‘No, this is your investigation and you’ve led the team from day one. He’ll probably be looking over your shoulder from the viewing room and he’ll proffer advice along
the way, but believe me, Mike, you are ready for this.’

He smiled and had no idea she was lying.

‘Thanks for that. Can we just go through some more strategy before you leave? I’ve got a shedload of notes from Langton and I’d like to run them by you.’

‘Sure, and we need to work out a signal between us when one or other of us takes over questioning Oates.’

‘What did you and Langton have?’

She smiled and said Langton would close his notebook to indicate that she was to open hers. Other times he would tap her on the knee beneath the table. It wasn’t a question of good cop,
bad cop, it was simply exhausting work trying to draw out truthful answers from the depths of a twisted mind. Since everything was filmed and recorded, they had to go by the book.

‘Another one of Langton’s tricks is to use a fountain pen,’ Anna remembered. ‘He’ll take it out of his pocket when the interview starts, remove the cap and use it
to write something. He then replaces the cap to look as if he’s finished. It unnerves the suspect as they think the questioning is over and they feel relieved, only for it to start again as
he takes the cap off. I’ve seen him put that pen in and out of his pocket numerous times – again it unnerves the suspect – but the signal to take over is when he lays the pen down
flat by his notebook, and if he taps the table twice with the pen he wants to take over the questions.’

Mike leaned back in his chair. She could tell he was very unsure of himself, and again she encouraged him, reiterating that no matter how nervous he was, she would be right beside him and
together they would make a strong team. He opened a desk drawer and took out a fountain pen, held it up and smiled.

‘I’ll put some practice in, top off, top on.’

Anna suggested that they re-read the report from Samuels and pay very close attention to his interview advice. Mike agreed and together they went through the file he had left with them.

‘I reckon you should start off by asking Oates about the Justine Marks case first,’ Anna said.

Mike was puzzled as he had already done this and he didn’t think it would take them any further.

‘Remember Samuels said Oates knew the game was over as soon as Justine Marks’ body was found in the back of the van but you went in blind and were too aggressive,’ she
prompted.

‘Thanks for reminding me. My confidence needed boosting.’

‘My point is that this time you’re not blind. Her case is the one with the strongest evidence out of all of them. It’s the freshest in your mind, isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well it’s the same for him, but the difference is he’s revelling in it, still getting his rocks off dreaming about it every night. To Oates Justine is still a fresh
kill.’

‘So you’re saying if I can draw him out about Justine’s murder using his behavioural patterns he may let it all out . . .’

‘Then the rest will follow and he will be dying to tell you about all the other murders.’

‘That’s brilliant, Anna, thanks for that.’

‘Just in case it doesn’t work, don’t disclose the doll pieces, trinkets box or crucifix to Kumar. Oates doesn’t know about them either and still thinks we haven’t
found anything. To him they’re murder trophies, so it’ll be like dropping a bombshell when we reveal what we know.’

It was after eleven by the time Anna collected her briefcase and coat ready to leave, and even then some of the team were still working. Tomorrow was a big day, and she could
see the trolley of files stacked up for Mike to select and check through. The mug shots of Henry Oates had been enlarged and pinned up. Having never met him, Anna stared at his face: the blue eyes
set wide apart, the flattened boxer nose, the thick-lipped mouth. The face could not be described as foxy, there was no cunning in the vacant eyes, but she knew that inside Henry Oates was a
vicious animal and that if they drew him out too fast, he would bite them and retreat back into his lair. To lure and keep him out of his lair they would have to stroke, cajole and encourage him
and it would take time and patience.

Tomorrow she would meet him face to face. Her emotions were very mixed, but shockingly she was actually looking forward to drawing out the fox.

A
dan Kumar arrived at Hackney Police Station promptly at eight-thirty. He was as usual overconfident and ingratiating, smiling and shaking hands
with both Mike Lewis and Anna as they at first discussed the murder of Justine Marks. As he was already well aware that his client was charged with her murder, he listened without interruption. He
had not, as they feared he would, requested a psychiatric assessment of his client. Kumar did however express concerns about his client’s physical and mental state, but Mike informed him that
on his arrival earlier this morning Oates had been seen by a doctor who had declared him fit to be interviewed.