DARK CRIMES a gripping detective thriller full of suspense (15 page)

‘No. Didn’t come to court. In each case the woman dropped charges after the initial complaint. Then there’s this one.’

She pointed to an entry on the third list. ‘It lacks detail, but an assault case was started. It was dropped and soon after the woman just vanished totally. Apparently she couldn’t be traced, although whoever was in charge of the investigation didn’t consider it suspicious.’

‘Whereabouts did these happen?’

‘The first one was in Poole. The second in Bournemouth. The third one, with the woman who vanished, was earlier than the others. It was in Southampton.’

‘What were you searching for in this third one?’

‘Bruising around the throat.’

‘Get the full details printed out for each one. Put a concise summary on the incident board. I’m just going to call someone I know in Hampshire CID.’

Sophie found the number. ‘Hi Jack, it’s Sophie Allen. Yes, you’re right, I am on that case, and no, I can’t tell you what’s happening. Listen, some seven years ago in Southampton a young woman called Debbie Martinez started an assault case against her boyfriend. She had bruising around her throat. The case was dropped, and she disappeared soon afterwards. Can you find out the details for me? Do a bit of digging? I’ll be eternally grateful. Okay, call me when you can. And keep quiet about it, will you? I can’t afford for the press to get hold of this.’

She returned to Pillay’s desk.

‘We need to follow up these cases. What are the names?’

‘Tracy Beck in Poole in 2005. Sasha Purfleet in Bournemouth a year later.’

‘See if you can find any contact details for them. Barry can call them tomorrow. And well done, Lydia. All the time you and the others have put in will pay off in the end.’

Then Sophie’s phone rang. When it finished she turned again to Pillay. ‘Well, that was interesting. That was David Bell, Donna’s first-year tutor at university. He must have really put some time in, because he’s managed to organise a batch of photos from a variety of social events that Donna attended, many taken by her fellow students. He’s willing to help us identify people in the shots. He also said that the university reported Donna’s disappearance to the local police. If so, it will still be on record somewhere.’

‘Are the photos likely to help that much, ma’am?’

‘There’s always the chance that this boyfriend, Andy, is in one of the shots. He wasn’t a student as far as we know, but maybe he came to one or two of the parties. And if we can eliminate most of the bona fide students, there might just be a chance that her boyfriend is left as an unknown. We match it up against Berzins’ photofit and who knows? That reminds me, the artist promised to email me this afternoon with the photofit image. I’ll just check.’

Within a few moments she had the image on screen and a photo-quality picture en-route to the printer. Pillay picked up the image and looked at it intently.

‘I’ve seen that face somewhere, ma’am. I’m sure of it.’

‘That’s what I keep telling myself too. But it’s only a vague, fleeting recognition, so I wondered if it was just my overstretched imagination. So where could we both have seen him? We were at Corfe on Tuesday when we found Brenda Goodenough. Was it there?’

Pillay kept looking at the image on the screen as Sophie pinned the paper copy onto the incident board.

‘Remember he’s tall, at least six foot. And Berzins reminded me earlier about the grey hoodie he was wearing.’

Pillay rolled her finger over the touch pad and rotated the image. She walked to the window which looked out onto Argyle Road. The area in front of the station was empty. All the reporters and photographers had gone home for the weekend. A few bits of litter blew around in the breeze.

‘It was out here. He was in the crowd yesterday. I stood almost beside him. He was talking to a reporter.’

Sophie came across to join her. ‘Of course. That’s why he seemed familiar. I looked past him when that reporter asked about the car. Shit. That means he heard. It could mean that he suspects his scheme might not be working.’

‘Not necessarily, ma’am. We could just be covering all angles, as far as he’s concerned. But it will make him cautious.’

‘Can you remember what he did when we finished?’

‘Someone left the crowd and walked across Kings Road. I think it might have been him, but I can’t be sure.’

‘I wonder if there’s any CCTV that we could check?’

‘Not this far away from the town centre. I remember asking Barry about it, and he said that it’s all down at the seafront area. If I remember rightly, the reporter this man was chatting to was the one who asked you about the car.’

‘So I now face a real problem. That man works for the local press and I’ve had a run-in with him before. If I ask him about the conversation he had, he’ll smell a rat. Hmmm. I’ll think about it overnight. And we’ll need to find a way of getting this photofit out without arousing too much suspicion. Monday, I’ll get Jimmy to go across to the campus and see David Bell. He thinks he’ll have the photos ready for checking by then. I want them examined there so he and the students can identify people.’

She looked at the clock. ‘I think we’re getting closer to him, Lydia. Time to go home. You need a break, so I don’t want to see you in tomorrow. Barry and Jimmy can take over from you.’

‘What about you, ma’am?’

‘I’ll take some time off tomorrow. Hannah, my elder daughter, is home from drama college for the weekend. We’re planning to have lunch out, and I don’t want that spoiled. I’ll pop in first thing to check things out, then maybe head off mid-morning. But on Monday I want the whole team back and working at top speed.’

CHAPTER 14: The Hidden Daughter

Sunday, Week 1

‘Do you recognise him, Barry?’

They were looking at the 3D image, based upon Berzins’ recollection of a ten minute conversation that had taken place two weeks prior to the murder.

‘How can he be so sure?’ Marsh said. ‘I doubt if I could remember the details of a face from that long ago.’

‘Your girlfriend hasn’t been murdered. I think that might help to concentrate the mind a little, don’t you?’

‘But that’s part of my difficulty, ma’am. How much is wishful thinking? He’s probably been thinking about nothing else for days.’

‘I’d agree with you, except both Lydia and I recognised that face, and it was someone we think we saw, out front on Friday.’

‘But with all due respect, ma’am, it might be some perfectly innocent local man Berzins once saw in the pub and who happened to stop by for the press briefing. There were lots of locals out there.’

‘Well, we won’t know until he’s identified. Maybe we’ll discover that what you say is true, but at the moment we have to assume that the image is probably the man we want. If we find that he has nothing to do with the case, then we’ll move to a different tack. But at the moment we assume some degree of accuracy. Okay?’

Although it was useful to have a sceptic on the team, it could also have a demotivating effect. Sophie was slightly annoyed.

‘I didn’t mean to snap at you, Barry. You know how high the pressure is on this one, particularly since I let Berzins go. I wanted you to look at the image to see if you recognised him, since you’re a local. I know that there’s a chance we were mistaken. So you can’t place him here?’

‘No, no one I know, ma’am, and I do know most of the local press guys. He’s not one of them.’

‘Okay. Now, these three possible earlier victims Lydia picked up yesterday. That’s what I want you to concentrate on, and Jimmy when he comes in later. I’d like them traced so that we can talk to them. Can you make a start on that? Then take a break this afternoon and do something to relax. We’ll all need a clear head this coming week. I don’t know how far this thing is going to extend. We started off on Monday night with what appeared to be a single murder. Now we have at least three, with two earlier assaults and a possible disappearance. I can’t believe that this guy hasn’t shown up on our radar before. If it is the same person, then he’s a meticulous planner, and we can’t afford to underestimate him. And what do we know about him? Nothing. What do we suspect about him? His name’s Andy. His surname might be Rule or Ridgeway. He’s tall and strong. He looks like that.’ She pointed to the image. ‘It looks as though his birthday’s on the twenty-fifth of August. It’s not much, is it?’

Marsh didn’t answer.

‘Barry, it would be useful to find a way of talking to that reporter without raising his suspicions. Bill Rogers is his name. I can’t do it. I had a run-in with him a couple of years ago in Birmingham when he crossed me, and I went to town on him and his editor. He might not be eager to help me. Can you think of a way of questioning him without making it obvious? Give it some thought.’

‘Of course. One thing, ma’am. It’s too easy for a bloke like that to fool everyone completely by shaving his beard off. We could do with another picture of what he’d look like without a beard. Does that fancy software do that?’

‘Brilliant. I’ll phone Louisa and ask. By the way, when Donna dropped out of her degree course and the university couldn’t contact her, they reported her disappearance to the local police. I’d like to know what they did about it. Would you ask Jimmy to follow it up when he comes in?’

* * *

It was well past noon when Sophie finally arrived home. She was worried that she was late. But Hannah, her elder daughter, had overslept and wasn’t ready. Sophie took the opportunity to catch up on the news in the Sunday papers. Martin sat opposite her in their lounge.

‘Are you okay, sweetheart?’

‘Oh, you know, things could be better. A lot better, actually. We’re running out of time, you see. The public think that we’ve already got the killer under lock and key, but we haven’t. And sooner or later it’s bound to come out that we’ve dropped charges against Berzins. Then all hell will be let loose, believe me. The press will be after blood. They don’t like being strung along, which is what we’ve been doing with them since Thursday night. But there isn’t an alternative. We have to make the real killer think that he’s got away with it so he lowers his guard. That’s the plan, anyway. Meanwhile we’ve got dozens of people doing house-to-house inquiries, searching records, interviewing contacts, but trying to keep it all away from public view. We are making headway, but it’s hard work. He’s a clever bastard. That’s the trouble with some of these psychos. They plan everything so carefully. We saw through his first false trail, but has he laid others? Is he working on one now, as we speak? I keep thinking, what’s he doing now? Because he won’t be sitting idly by, twiddling his thumbs, not this guy. He’s too much of a schemer. And I’m his main opponent.’

‘Would he know that you’re heading up the investigation?’

‘I don’t know. Matt’s done most of the media stuff and Tom Rose has dealt with the press releases. But if our guy has been doing his groundwork, he’ll know. We think he might have been outside the station for several of the briefings and, if so, he’ll have spotted me coming and going, and talking to the team. But that’s one of the reasons we’ve kept up the pretence about Berzins.’

‘Do you think he really believes that you’ve fallen for it?’

‘No. Not in my heart of hearts. He must guess that at some stage his whole scheme will fall apart. It was just too good to be true. I’d bet that was why he was there on Friday, to see if we’d seen through it all. It will only take one or two details to get out, and he’ll switch to an alternative plan that he’s got ready.’

‘And that might be?’

‘It doesn’t bear thinking about. He’s already killed three women that we know of, maybe more. We’re trying to trace some of his possible other victims who are still alive, and he’d guess that. It’ll be a race to see who finds them first, and their lives will depend on us being the winners. I’ve told you more than I should have done. But I need your understanding on this case, Martin. Maybe more than most of the others I’ve worked on since we came here.’

He reached across and stroked her hand. ‘I’m glad you told me.’

Just then Hannah and Jade came into the room.

Sophie looked at her two daughters. ‘You both look beautiful,’ she said. ‘Even if I haven’t said it often enough in the past, I want to say it now. I’m so proud of you both.’

‘Gosh, Mum,’ replied Hannah. ‘What brought that on?’

But Sophie was already turning away to put her jacket on. Martin looked at the girls, raised his finger to his lips and shook his head slightly.

* * *

It was wonderful to be away from the case, if only for a few hours. Sophie could afford to indulge in the intense pleasure of being in the company of the three people who meant more to her than she could ever put into words. Even so, she was quiet and thoughtful while they ate. Her two daughters gossiped amiably, with an occasional interjection from their father. Sophie merely watched, basking in the warmth of their cheerful happiness. Up and down the country there were families indulging in all kinds of activities together. Eating, like her and her family, going for walks together, watching TV. People should be able to do all these things without fear and violence getting in the way. And that was the essence of her job — to give them that chance. She looked again at her daughters. Hannah was talking about her first few months at drama college, and the kind of acting roles she aspired to. Jade had her own very different ambition to become a doctor. These were worthy aspirations, and she felt immense pride at having two such intelligent and warm-hearted daughters. She reached across and squeezed Martin’s hand. Then her mobile phone rang. She gave a wry smile.

‘Hello, Jack.’

She listened intently. ‘Interesting. Okay, thanks.’ She looked up to see her family watching her.

‘Sorry, I can’t tell you what that was about. But I do think that you should finish that wine off.’

‘Mum, you’ve hardly had any,’ said Jade. ‘These two have guzzled the lot.’

‘Got to keep a clear head, young lady. I’m driving, remember.’

* * *

Sophie was back in the incident room by late afternoon. Melsom and Marsh were looking at the board. She went over to join them.

‘Jack Dunning phoned from Hampshire about the third possible victim of abuse,’ she told them. ‘Debbie Martinez. They think the boyfriend’s name was Andrew Renshaw, but can’t be certain. The details are not on record, since the case was dropped soon after the charges were brought. Jack’s managed to trace one of the officers involved. Apparently she remembers interviewing him, and describes him as a fairly tall man with a strong build. He wasn’t overtly aggressive or confrontational. She saw the girl a couple of times after the case was dropped. She’d left the boyfriend, and seemed happier. She told the officer that she was thinking of moving away, so her disappearance probably isn’t suspicious. Maybe she’s gone back to her parents. Maybe she’s got married and changed her name. But we need to trace her, if only to check that she is still alive and well. Barry, can you try get across to Southampton tomorrow to see the officer involved?’

‘Of course.’

‘Anything turned up here?’ she asked.

Marsh said, ‘I’ve got a possible address for Tracy Beck in Poole. She’s in a flat on the Bourne Valley estate. Nothing so far on Sasha Purfleet.’

‘How did Tracy show up?’

‘Traffic violation last year. Driving without insurance.’

He handed her a slip of paper.

Sophie glanced at it then looked at her watch. ‘I’ll go and see her now. Do you want to come, Jimmy?’

‘Oh yes, ma’am.’

‘Barry, take a break. You’ve done a lot this weekend.’

‘Thanks, ma’am. By the way, we haven’t managed to think of a way of pumping Rogers, that reporter.’

‘No, me neither. I’ve been puzzling over it, but I end up rejecting every idea I come up with. They’re all too chancy. We can’t afford to breach investigation guidelines and risk the chance of making any evidence inadmissible. And I can’t interview him and ask him to keep it quiet because of the friction between us. He might promise one thing, but do another, just to get even with me.’

‘What about interviewing him with his editor? That way he couldn’t break a promise not to publish.’

‘Useful idea, but still not secure enough, Barry. He could still spread the story about it deliberately but quietly and then deny that it was him. Too chancy. But keep thinking. One of us may have a brainwave. Let’s get off to Poole, Jimmy.’

She let Melsom drive. ‘Did you get anywhere with the university report about Donna’s disappearance?’

‘A couple of Bournemouth PCs visited all her known addresses when the university reported her missing, ma’am. Drew blanks. But at least it was followed up.’

‘It might be worth revisiting those places. Now she’s a murder victim people may be willing to talk a little more. Murder can have that effect. I’ll mention it to Bob Thompson tomorrow.’

* * *

The Bourne Valley estate housed its share of troublesome families. But it was always a minority who gained press attention and gave the area a reputation that it didn’t really deserve. As they drove through the estate they could see that most of the houses were well-maintained. There was an occasional weed-infested property, often with a broken-down car in the garden. Tracy’s flat was in the middle floor of a three-storey block. Melsom parked and they took the stairs to the second floor. A young man answered the door, and eyed them suspiciously. He was of average height with short blonde hair, dressed in a faded T-shirt and clean chinos.

‘Does Tracy Beck live here?’ Melsom asked.

‘Yes. Who wants to know?’

Jimmy showed his warrant card. ‘We’d like a word with her, please. Nothing to worry about.’

The man pulled the door to and disappeared inside. They heard the sound of voices, and a young woman appeared. She had curly brown shoulder-length hair.

‘What do you want?’ she asked, her freckled face looking suspicious.

‘I’m DCI Sophie Allen. We’re investigating a series of assault-based crimes from several years ago, one of which involved you. There are a few questions we need to ask but they are rather sensitive. Can we come in please?’

Tracy led them through a tiny lobby to a small neat lounge, where a young child was playing on the floor with her dolls. The man who had answered the door was sitting on the floor with her.

‘Tracy, we need to speak to you alone and in confidence, if that’s possible.’

‘Well, we were about to take Rachel out to the park. Jerry, could you take her? Maybe I’ll join you later.’

‘Tell me what you want,’ Tracy said, once the door was shut behind them. ‘I thought that was all in the past. Why are you so interested now?’

‘A current enquiry that we are investigating has shown up some similarities to what you went through. There have been several other young women assaulted besides you and we wonder if it's the same man. Since you dropped the charges, we don’t have any details on record. It’s very important to us to see if there are any connections. We’ll be grateful for anything that you can tell us.’