Girls Of The Dark (15 page)

Chapter 38

T
he University Principal’s office was significantly larger than his own Professor Morgan noted, but without bitterness. His retirement date wasn’t long away and his needs were modest.

              ‘I’m sorry to call you in at such short notice, Rhodri.’ Chris MacFarlane shuffled around the papers on his desk. He looked flustered. ‘I really need your help with something.’

              ‘Of course, what is it?’

              ‘It hasn’t reached the media just yet, thank God, but there was another attack on the campus last night.’

              Rhodri sat up straight, his blood running cold. ‘Has a student been injured?’

              ‘I’m afraid that a third year girl has been sexually assaulted. She left the student bar at midnight and walked back towards her Halls. A man grabbed her as she emerged from the underpass, dragging her into the bushes.’

              ‘Was she raped?’

              The principal’s face had gone very pale. ‘She’s in a terrible state. I’ll know more when the police inspector gets back to me. Their doctors are in the process of examining her.’

              ‘At least she’s agreed to report it to the authorities. That’s something at the very least.’

              ‘She staggered into one of the Porter’s Lodges at 1am. They immediately called the police.’

              ‘Good. There shouldn’t be seen to be any delays in the university reporting this - as there have been in the past.’

              MacFarlane ruffled his greying hair. ‘That was unfortunate. We won’t be making such a mistake again. But we rely on our reputation for campus safety to attract future students. We are in a very competitive market place.’

              ‘Nothing is less attractive to people that the whiff of a cover-up, Chris. We are in the centre of Glasgow. There is going to be crime of some description taking place.’

              The Principal shuffled up in his seat, making sure their eyes met. ‘That’s why I wanted to discuss this with you. Do you believe we have a serial offender at work here? What can we do to root out this terrible person?’

              Rhodri took a few moments to consider this. ‘You’ll need to give me access to the reports of each individual case to be sure. From what I already know, this person lurks about the campus at night, waiting for girls to come out of the bars on their own. But the attacks are very sporadic, with sometimes a full year passing before he strikes again.’

              ‘Yes. Apart from the attack on DCI Bevan in the library toilets, we’d not had a case since the last academic year.’

              ‘Then he may not be a student here, or a member of staff. The campus may simply be one of his hunting grounds.’

              MacFarlane sighed with obvious relief.

              ‘But he does certainly know the place, so the man must have some kind of connection. I’d say he may be attacking girls in other parts of the city in between times. The police will look into this possibility.’

              ‘What can we do in the meantime to try and keep our students safe?’

              ‘We can’t cause panic. The university must carry on with normal life. But girls should be warned not to leave the bars alone for the time being. They should walk in pairs back to their Halls of Residence whenever possible. As staff, we must be vigilant about picking up on any odd behaviour around the grounds and report anything suspicious. Perhaps the police can provide you with an E-Fit image to place about the classrooms and the lecture theatres? Double the number of security guards you have on duty after dark. If this man believes that the campus is no longer an easy target, he may move on elsewhere.’

              ‘Yes, that’s good advice, thank you. We need to be seen to take action.’ MacFarlane’s expression was less strained.

              ‘I’ll get in touch with my contacts on the force. Then I can let you know how their investigations are progressing. All I can tell you from my experience as a profiler is that this man will keep offending until he is caught. But these people don’t like to take unnecessary risks. They target those places where they’ve found a blind spot. They are opportunists by nature and are pushed underground if they feel pressured.’

              ‘Then let’s pile the pressure on this monster. Let him know he can’t get away with terrorizing
my
students.’

Chapter 39

T
he nurse led Rhodri and Dani towards the hospital room. ‘She’s a bit groggy because the doctor gave her a sedative. But apart from a few cuts and bruises, she’s physically very well.’

              ‘Thank you,’ Dani replied, pushing the door open and entering first. ‘Hello, Ruth? My name is Detective Chief Inspector Danielle Bevan. How are you feeling?’

              The girl was pale and had a purplish bruise on her forehead. ‘I’m okay.’

              When Rhodri followed along close behind, the girl’s face immediately brightened. ‘Professor Morgan! Thanks for coming to see me.’

              He pulled up chairs for them both. Dani decided it might be best to let the psychologist do the talking.

              ‘How have they been treating you?’ He asked gently.

              She nodded. ‘I’ve seen a lady police officer and a lady doctor who’ve been really nice. Do you know if my parents are here yet?’

              ‘They’re still on the road I believe. We’ll let you know as soon as they arrive.’ Rhodri placed his hands in his lap. ‘Now, Ruth, I’ve read through your statement about what happened. I don’t want you to recount the whole thing for me again. But I’d like to hear your impressions of this man. Simply try to imagine that we are in one of our criminal profiling workshops at the university.’

              A flicker of a smile passed across her young face.

              ‘Tell me anything you can about his build and his clothing. Did you catch a glimpse of his eye or hair colour, perhaps? If you wish to stop at any time, just give me the word.’

              Ruth took a deep breath. ‘He was tall. I got the feeling that he wasn’t all that muscly, although because of his size, it was easy for him to overpower me. His face was stubbly, but the hair wasn’t long enough to be a beard. I was pretty drunk but I could tell he’d been drinking too. The alcohol fumes were on his breath. It was beer, I think.’ She put up a hand to touch her face. ‘When he was telling me to shut up and lie still, I could tell his accent was local and very broad. The type that the students from England claim they can’t understand, you know?’

              Rhodri nodded. ‘I do.’

              ‘His skin was dark but he wasn’t black or Asian. The main thing I noticed about him was how jittery he was. It was like he wanted to get it all over and done with as quickly as possible, almost like he didn’t want to be there any more than I did which is really weird, isn’t it? Then why do it in the first place?’ Ruth’s voice cracked and a sob forced its way up through her chest.

              ‘It’s because they need the release,’ Dani explained gently. ‘He would have been extremely on edge until he’d done what he set out to do. It’s like a compulsion.’

              Ruth nodded.

              Rhodri handed her a tissue from the box.

              ‘Yes, that’s exactly what it was like.’

              ‘Did you get a sense of his age?’

              She shrugged her shoulders. ‘He definitely wasn’t my age, but then he wasn’t that old either. I’d say thirties or early forties.’

              ‘And you didn’t feel you recognised him?’

              Ruth tipped her head to one side. She’d clearly not been asked this question before. ‘You mean, had I noticed him hanging around the campus or my Halls of Residence? No, I don’t think I did. There was nothing familiar about the man at all.’

              The nurse poked her head around the door. ‘Ruthie, sweetheart, your parents are here. Do you want me to send them in?’

              The girl glanced at her Professor.

              Rhodri smiled broadly. ‘Of course, we’ve finished with our questions. It’s time to leave this young lady in peace.’

*

They walked in silence back to the car. Dani turned on the engine and said, ‘I’ll pass that information onto the Serious Sexual Offences team in charge of the case. I know the SIO, she’s excellent.’

              ‘When the Principal first told me there’d been an attack, for one awful moment I had the horrible thought that it might have been Calvin, starting up all over again.’

              ‘It’s definitely not him. And this guy’s a serial rapist, not a sadistic killer.’

              ‘Well, he may turn into one if his crimes escalate. He’s already been operating freely for the past couple of years.’

              ‘Yes, he needs to be stopped. Now that the appropriate division are on the case, we’ve got the best chance we’ve ever had. Are you going to assist the investigation?’

              ‘They’ve asked me for a profile, which I’m happy to provide. I can also analyse the locations of his crimes and other reported attacks that followed a similar MO. From this, I will suggest the geographical area in which he is most likely to live.’

              ‘Good. Then they can close in on the bastard.’

              Rhodri cleared his throat. ‘From what Ruth told us just now, did her attacker sound like the same man who held you down in the ladies toilets at the library?’

              Dani gripped the steering wheel hard and continued to stare straight ahead. ‘I don’t know for sure, Rhodri. I wish I could give a definite answer, but I just can’t.’

Chapter 40

A
ndy Calder shivered as he walked around yet another burnt out car lot, this time not far from Sighthill Cemetery. He wished he’d worn something warmer than his leather jacket. The wind was gusting fiercely from the east.

              He noticed a woman in a tight pencil skirt and heels approach him from the main building. She was carrying a cardboard cup. ‘Here you go. My boss thought you might appreciate this.’

              ‘Ta very much. Are you his secretary?’

              ‘I’m the receptionist. My name is Kelly.’

              ‘Were you working here on the day the fire was started?’

              ‘Yes, I’m here every weekday. I finished at 6pm and helped Vic to lock up.’

              ‘Did you notice anything unusual – new clients asking too many questions, that kind of thing?’

              ‘As I said to Vic after it happened, the only strange thing was that man who’d come in on the Monday. He wanted to test drive one of our classic cars. He was really well turned out and nicely spoken – not really like our usual clientele! The car he chose to look at, well, it didn’t really fit with the sort of man he was. It struck me as weird.’

              ‘Did he buy the car?’

              ‘No. Vic took him out for a spin in it. He said he’d think about coming back for another look. He hasn’t been in since.’

              ‘Can I see the car this man was interested in?’

              ‘As a matter of fact you can’t. The barn it was housed in was burnt to the ground in the fire.’

              Andy narrowed his eyes. ‘Let’s get out of this bloody wind. I’ll take a proper statement from you and your boss inside in the warm.’

*

Dani was still feeling sombre after her visit to the Infirmary when she met Sally in Royal Exchange Square. The wind was whipping around the buildings in powerful gusts, leaving a trail of fallen leaves in its wake.

              Sally wore an ankle length woollen coat and seemed entirely unaffected by the chill. She kissed the detective on both cheeks. ‘Do you want to grab a coffee in the Gallery? You look cold.’

              Dani followed her friend inside, grateful for the enveloping warmth of the modern cafeteria. ‘How’s your investigation going?’

              Sally’s cheeks were flushed with excitement. ‘I spoke with
three
of the original jury members yesterday. They were extremely helpful.’

              ‘Do they recall much about the proceedings?’

              ‘Oh yes. They’re all retired professionals. The trial of Calvin Suter was one of the most significant events to happen in their lives. They remembered the events very clearly. The important thing is that none of them had taken much notice of the press coverage before the trial. One gentleman was a retired schoolmaster who worked at Wemyss College in the mid-seventies. He claims that the staff common room never held the tabloids. He’d not so much as lifted one up during the furore about the murders.’

              ‘Okay, but that’s only one man out of twelve jurors.’

              ‘Yes, but the other two had similar stories. One lady had very small children back then and didn’t have time to read the papers. The first thing she’d heard of Suter was when she turned up at the High Court. The other juror I spoke to was a salesman for a drinks company. He’d been travelling around Europe for the six weeks before the trial.’

              Dani sipped her coffee, trying to get the facts straight in her mind. ‘If those three are the only jurors left that can be called as witnesses then Suter’s team can’t claim the first trial was prejudiced by the biased media coverage.’

              Sally beamed. ‘Spot on!’

              ‘What did they say about the trial itself?’ Dani was curious.

              ‘The schoolmaster was absolutely convinced during the trial that Suter was guilty. The fact he led the police to the cave where the bodies were hidden was conclusive to him. He said that Alderton made a good case, but his arguments never cut through that basic fact.’

              ‘What about the others?’

              Sally looked less sure of herself. ‘The young mum had been very upset by the details of the murders as presented in court. She sensed very strongly that Suter was guilty. I didn’t get the feeling the evidence mattered quite so much to her. She was relying on her instincts.’

              ‘And the salesman?’

              ‘He wanted the whole process to be over with quickly so he could get back to work. He was paid largely on commission in those days. But it sounds like he took reasonable notice of the case being put forward. For him, it was Suter’s access to the taxi cab seen parked near the places where the girls went missing that swung it. When Cheryl Moss’s mother identified the clothes found in the blue Ford Anglia as her daughter’s that sealed his guilty verdict.’

              ‘Those pieces of evidence were still purely circumstantial. Did Alderton not make that clear enough to the jury?’

              Sally sighed. ‘If it were my case, I’d have drilled holes in that evidence so big the entire jury could’ve walked through it.’

              Dani chuckled. ‘But was Alderton’s performance actually remiss?’

              ‘Not that I can see. Suter didn’t receive the best defence in the world but it wasn’t negligent. If the jury believes your client is guilty then there is very little that even the most gifted of defence advocates can do about it.’

              Dani lifted her half empty cup. ‘To the wonderful British justice system!’

              Sally tipped her head back and laughed. ‘We’ve got to also remember that no murder case tried four decades ago could ever be conclusively proved. They simply didn’t have the forensic technology we do now. There was fingerprinting, sure, but no DNA analysis. We totally rely on that now. To a certain extent, jurors had to simply make an educated guess as to someone’s guilt or innocence.’

              Dani’s expression had become deadly serious. ‘We’ve got those techniques now though haven’t we? Tests can be performed on archived samples, even if they’re forty years old. Sally, what’s happened to all the evidence in this case – like the clothes belonging to Cheryl Moss? More importantly, what became of the car that Suter was supposed to have transported the girls in?’

              The lawyer seemed confused. ‘Gosh, I’ve no idea. Surely you’re in a better position to find that out than I am? The storage of evidence has got to be a police matter.’