Coming, Ready or Not (D.S. Hunter Kerr Book 4) (24 page)

‘
And the names of the two boys?’ asked Hunter.

‘
Dale and Scott – Dale and Scott Moore.’

After dropping Rodney Highton back at home Hunter and Grace returned to their hotel in Wadebridge.
Hunter rang Detective Superintendent Leggate and gave her the news.

‘
That’s brilliant, Hunter,’ she said down the line. ‘Are you liaising with anyone down there about this?’

‘
Yeah. I’ve filled in Rodney Highton’s son with what his dad’s told us. He’s in Wadebridge CID. He got back to me ten minutes ago. He’s spoken with his DCI and they’re setting up an incident room down here. They want me and Grace in tomorrow morning to give them the heads up on what we’ve got from our jobs. They’re setting up HOLMES as we speak, and currently pulling together the paperwork and exhibits from the original job. I’ve passed on your name so you should be getting a phone call shortly from the SIO who’ll be running it.’

‘
Good. What about Dale and Scott Moore? Are you on to anything down there? Do we have an address, or anything for them?’

‘
Not as yet. That’s one of the priorities. They’re trawling their systems, and going back over the original file to see if any friends or contacts were listed at the time. However, that’s not looking too good.
Rodney Highton is of the opinion that the pair were loners, who relied on each other for company.’

‘
And what about the Met? Have you informed them about this?’

‘
Not yet. DS Macey was my next call.’

‘
I’ll make sure that’s done. Do you need any more resources, Hunter? Do you want anyone else to join you?’

‘
Not at the moment. DC Highton tells me that they’re currently pulling together a team. I’ll get back to you tomorrow morning straight after the briefing and update you on that.’

‘
Okay, Hunter, and once again well done – it looks as though things are knitting together nicely.’

- ooOoo -

Day Twenty
: 6th April.

Wadebridge, Cornwall.

The incident room had been set up in the CID office at Wadebridge police station.
Hunter and Grace rose early at the hotel, and gave breakfast a miss to get to the station well before morning briefing. They were met in reception by DC Stuart Highton. As he led them upstairs he told them that extra resources had been drafted in from other parts of the county, and so they weren’t surprised when they entered an office bursting at the seams and bustling with activity.

Two large wipe boards
had been set up at the front and Hunter scrutinised the display. One of the boards was full of photographs – mainly black and white, together with an aerial photo of Harlyn Bay and a large scale ordnance map of the area. He stepped closer to the boards and focused on the crime scene shots. Even in black and white, the sight of James and Helen Moore’s mutilated bodies was horrific. On the adjoining board were details of their killings and a list of priorities. He noted that they had acquired copies of the suspect e-fits which Linane Brazier had helped construct. Besides those were two head and shoulders colour shots of two teenage boys. They looked alike, and were dressed similarly, in white shirts, with blue and black striped ties. Below these, in red ink, had been written, ‘Dale & Scott Moore – 14 years,’ and he guessed these were old school photographs from the original case file. Even given the fact that these images were twenty three years old, he knew that with computer technology they would soon be able to pull together something which would closely resemble what Dale and Scott looked like now. This was a good start, he thought.

Hunter and Grace had no sooner sat down with Stuart Highton
to discuss things, when a tall, slim, flaxen haired man, in a dark blue suit strolled into the room. Chattering faded away as he made his way to the front.

Stopping beside the incident boards he cleared his throat
and glanced in Hunter and Grace’s direction. ‘For our guests here this morning, I am DCI Stainthorpe and I am running this investigation.’

Hunter gave him a cou
rteous nod.

‘
Okay, let’s remind ourselves of why we are here.’ He shot a sideways look at the boards and then returned his gaze. ‘On the twenty-fifth July, nineteen eighty-six, James, a primary school teacher, and Helen Moore, a social worker, both thirty-six, were murdered at Harlyn Bay…’

Hunter listened intently as the DCI outlined the circumstances of the
slayings, which translated in not too dissimilar detail what retired DI Rodney Highton had already imparted the previous day.

Ten minutes into his speech DCI Stainthorpe said,
‘I am told that the original enquiry got bogged down with rumour and innuendo from quite a number of sources. The fact that these two were part of a circle of druids created all manner of suspicion. The original team had to deal with dramatic headlines, witnesses who’d heard rumours that the children were involved in animal sacrifices and that they’d been made to dance naked. The fact of the matter is that none of that was true. The circle of Druids James and Helen belonged to were respectable, law-abiding, professional people and the only thing they practised was Paganism – and only in respect of worship. That was it. I have no doubt once the media get wind of our re-investigation of these murders those issues will crop up again. However, we have already prepared press statements to refute all those rumours. With regards the investigation itself, despite the fact that a large number of people were interviewed no firm suspects were identified. That was until these two came into the frame...’ he paused and slapped a hand over Dale and Scott’s school photographs ‘…following the accidental death of a thirteen-year-old boy.’

Again, Hunter listened on as the DCI revealed details of the incident Rodney had already mentioned.

Continuing, Stainthorpe said, ‘After running away from the care home Dale and Scott Moore effectively dropped off the radar. And with no one else in the frame the investigation into their parents’ murder was wound up in nineteen eighty-nine.’ The DCI dropped his gaze upon Hunter. ‘Now, following the murder of three women in South Yorkshire, these two have arisen as suspects again.’ He extended an open hand toward Hunter. ‘I’d like to bring you in here, DS Kerr. Can you tell us about your killings and how Dale and Scott Moore fit into your enquiry?’

For the next half-hour Hunter had the floor, explaining in detail the 1988 murder of his girlfriend, Polly Hayes
, and the recent slaughter of Gemma Cooke and Elisabeth Bertolutti. He also outlined the evidence they had gathered during their enquiries, and then, he disclosed the links to the attacks in Richmond upon Thames during the 1990s.

As he finished DCI
Stainthorpe picked up the lead again. ‘It would be fair to say that Dale and Scott Moore have a lot of questions to answer and are our chief TIEs. I therefore want all the stops pulling out to Trace, Interview and Eliminate these two as soon as.’ He stabbed a finger over the two suspects’ e-fits. ‘We must consider these men as a real threat, as well as a danger to women out there, and with that in mind I have arranged a press conference for two p.m. this afternoon. I have already cleared it with the Met and South Yorks. By this evening their names and faces will be slapped across every TV in the country.’

By four o’clock Hunter had had enough. He’d spent the day rooted at DC Stuart Highton’s desk, reading through a copy of the original file into the murders of James and Helen Moore, and listening to updates coming in – though unable to get involved – and he was frustrated.

He
’d caught up with DS Macey on the phone, who’d told him she was on her way to join them and anticipated her arrival to be around 5.00 p.m. He’d given her the name of the hotel where he and Grace were staying and then arranged to meet them in a recommended pub-cum-diner in Wadebridge.

From the police station he went to the hotel and f
ollowing a quick shower and change of clothing, Hunter contacted Detective Superintendent Leggate and gave her an update. Then, he called on Grace in her room and shared his frustration. She’d told him that what he needed was a pint. He hadn’t argued and they’d set off early into Wadebridge town centre.

It hadn
’t taken them long to find the place DC Highton had recommended – it was a large Victorian pub on a corner by the High Street.

As soon as they entered they spotted the
copper red hair of DS Scarlett Macey, who along with her partner Tarn Scarr, were already at a table with drinks in front of them. Hunter acknowledged them with a raised hand and went to the bar while Grace made her way across the lounge to join them.

‘
This is a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you two for another hour or so,’ said Hunter, returning from the bar and setting down his pint of local ale. He handed Grace a glass of chilled white wine and pulled up a chair.

Tapping her colleague
’s shoulder Scarlett replied, ‘The roads weren’t that bad so Tarn was able to put his foot down. We got here half an hour ago. We’ve managed to get booked in at the same hotel as you. We thought you’d still be at the incident room so we dumped our bags and came straight down here. I’m famished – I could eat a horse. We’ve just ordered some food.’ She pointed out a menu at the end of the table. Picking up her pint of lager she continued, ‘How’s the investigation going?’

Hunter relayed the
discussions from morning briefing. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but as you weren’t around I told them about the Richmond attacks.’

Scarlett shook her head,
‘Not at all.’ She took a long drink of her lager and then putting down her glass added, ‘I couldn’t believe it when your boss told me about this latest job. Talk about serial killers. Do we know if it’s one or both of them involved?’

Hunter shrugged his shoulders.
‘We don’t know if they’re working together, or independently, or what. There’s no doubt they were together when the thirteen-year-old mysteriously ended up dead in the freezer, and they were together when their parents were murdered, and as we know they’ve been in each other’s company when they’ve been talking with one of our witnesses in London. But, as to our murders, only one person has been seen.’ Hunter picked up his beer. ‘How’ve you got on with your enquiries?’

‘
Really good. Some positive results,’ answered Scarlett. ‘You know we’ve been re-visiting victims and witnesses from the Richmond attacks?’

Hunter and Grace nodded.

‘Well, initially we had a bit of difficulty tracking down some of them, because they’ve moved, but we’ve so far traced the victims and witnesses from two of the jobs and we’ve had a result.’

Hunter
’s eyes widened.

‘
I don’t know if you can remember all our jobs – but one of them was where a couple woke up to find a masked man at the bottom of the bed. He tied them up, but then the boyfriend of the daughter, who had been staying there, disturbed the attacker. There was a fight between the boyfriend and the masked man and the boyfriend was stabbed.’ She engaged Hunter and Grace’s eyes and looked for acknowledgment.

Hunter nodded.
He remembered.

‘
That couple are called Russell and Kate Wheeler, and their daughter, who was nineteen at the time of the job, is Emily. Well we tracked them down to Brighton a few days ago. Emily’s now married to the boyfriend who was stabbed. When we dropped out Dale and Scott’s names, you ought to have seen Emily’s face. She almost freaked out. It would appear that nine months before the attack she’d met somebody called Scott in a pub in London, but after a couple of dates with him she’d called it a day. She said the guy was getting a bit intense with her – wanted to know what she was doing all the time. And he’d dropped it out that he’d spotted her a few times when she’d left her workplace to go for lunch. She got the impression he was following her around, so she told him to back off or she’d call the police.’

‘
Wow,’ said Grace. ‘And that’s the first time she’s mentioned this?’

‘
Until we mentioned Dale and Scott’s names she’d not given it a thought. It had been so long between her finishing with him and the attack.’

‘
You’ve said you’d had a result with two jobs?’ said Hunter.

‘
Yeah, the other one involved a couple called Jamie and Dawn Agar. Do you remember that one?’

Hunter screwed up his face.
‘To be honest, Scarlett, there’s that many jobs floating around in my head now, I’m losing track.’

‘
No problem. Well, Dawn was raped in front of her husband by her masked attacker, and then he cut away a section of the bedding she’d been lain on and took it away with him.’

Hunter could recall it now. He acknowledged with a nod.

‘
Well, I don’t know if you also remember, but before he raped her he asked the couple where their daughter was – she was away for the weekend. It appears that the detectives, who initially interviewed them, didn’t put any great significance upon this at the time, but we managed to trace that daughter – Claire – she was twenty at the time of the attack, and we asked her if the names Dale and Scott meant anything to her. And guess what?’

‘
It did!’ Hunter responded.

‘
Certainly did. They’d bumped into the brothers in a pub in Richmond when she’d been out celebrating her nineteenth birthday. She was out with a crowd of friends, but ended up chatting with them. She left them in one of the pubs because a party had been arranged back at her home. It would appear these two gatecrashed it in the early hours and she ended up arguing with them, because she wanted them to leave. There was a bit of a scuffle between them and some of her mates and she called the police, but they left before they arrived.’

Hunter took a
mouthful of his ale. Over the rim of his glass he said, ‘There’s a theme re-occurring here, isn’t there? From what you’ve just told us, and from what we’ve found out during our enquires, it seems that everyone who’s been attacked, or murdered, have had some sort of run in with either one or both of these two, at some stage before the event. On the face of it, these murders appear to be have been carried out for no other reason than that someone had the audacity to say no to them. That is pure evil.’

Around the table e
veryone nodded.

Hundreds of phone calls poured in following the TV and radio appeal by DCI
Stainthorpe. Many of the calls related to past sightings, or past knowledge of the pair and were of very little help. However, just before midnight, information from two different sources gave the Incident Team the breakthrough they had been praying for.

- ooOoo -