Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Her eyes began to fill as she gripped the piece of clothing against her chest. Don’t lose it in the middle of New Look. She shoved the jumpsuit back on the rack and shook her head as she left. She checked her watch. It was a little early but she was heading back to see if the man’s friend had turned up.

As she approached, another man was standing there, talking to the first man. He looked a lot older and walked with a stick. Limping as he moved.

‘I’m done in town,’ she said to the man she had left the photo with.

‘This is John, he’s not really called John, but he likes John, don’t you, John?’

‘Always John,’ he replied in a raspy voice, sounding like he had tonsillitis. ‘Here, no one cares what we’re called. I could be called Beetroot, no one cares. What’s your name?’

‘Julia, I’m looking for my daughter. Have you seen her?’

‘I was just getting to that. John gets around, spends some time in Birmingham and Coventry too,’ the first man said as he passed his friend the photo.

The older man scrutinised the photo and walked into the sunshine. ‘Sorry, I can’t see that well. Need some glasses but as always, can’t afford a thing.’ He squinted with an open mouth as he concentrated on the photo. ‘You know something. I never forget a face, not one as pretty as this anyway.’ Her stomach turned slightly. Had he found her teen daughter attractive? ‘I have a daughter. Haven’t seen her for years and your girl reminds me of her. I love her but what can I say, her old man is nothing but an embarrassment. She doesn’t want my drunken arse around the grandkids. The reddish brown hair and slightly thin top lip, that’s what makes me remember her.’

Julia exhaled. His comment was likely an innocent one. ‘You remember her?’ Her heart rate began to ramp up.

‘I saw her, if not someone who looks just like her, a few months ago. Probably in April. My diary keeping isn’t that good though so don’t take that as gospel.’

‘Was she with a man?’

‘No, she was with a girl. A little streetwise thing. There were three girls to begin with but after a while, I just saw the two of them hanging around. Other girl probably found her way off the street. I used to watch them thieving from shops. They were masters at it. I can’t be totally sure, you know. She looked like the girl in this photo, but the streets, they roughen

you up, you know. People get grubby and their clothes turn craggy, I mean, look at me. I haven’t had a good wash since the snow in March. We were all brought in then by the do- gooding community, but people forget us at other times.’

‘Can you describe the other girl, or where she was?’

‘Well, I used to see them hanging around at the entrance of the Bullring. I used to hang out by the bull statue sometimes. I think they were mostly there trying to scrounge or shoplift, but then so was I.’

‘And the girl?’

‘The other girl. I’d say she was a bit older, sixteen to eighteen maybe. Always wore her hair in a cap. Quite a skinny thing and could pack a punch when someone harassed her. At night you see it all. We get harassed by the drunks, they like to abuse us. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are generous and can give big when they’re hammered but others, they can punch us, spit at us, piss on us. It ain’t any fun being out at night in a busy city, which is why I come back here. Sick of it in the end. Sick to the back teeth. And I was missing my mate ’ere, weren’t I?’ The man sitting with his dog passed his friend the can from his bag. He grabbed the can of cider and took a long swig before passing it back.

‘Were they based anywhere? Did they have a favourite spot or do you know where they slept?’

The older man shook his head. ‘I wish I knew more, I really do. I hope you get your daughter back, miss. Take care of yourself out there.’

Julia smiled and nodded. She held out the rest of her cash, ninety-five pounds. ‘Please, both of you buy some lunch and things you need and thank you so much.’

‘Bless you, but I didn’t say all that for the money. I really want you to find her. The streets are no place for a lovely girl like her and it looks like she has a family who love her. Don’t give up. Find her and take your little girl home, where she belongs.’

She pressed the money into his chapped hands and gave him a smile as she left. Roy was wrong when he thought throwing money at her would make everything better. She didn’t want it. For the first time in a while, she had hope. They had given her hope and that was worth everything she owned. As soon as Roy left for work the next morning, she was leaving for Birmingham in search of Christina.

THIRTY-SEVEN

‘Okay, crowd, gather round. Try to stay with me. The girl from the van, we have further results back from her clothing. The girl in the shallow grave, we have the results back from her clothing and the blanket she was lying on and partially wrapped in. You can see how, from the photo.’ Gina pointed to the board with her pen. ‘The site is still being worked but the clothing and blanket were sent to the lab to be processed while the excavation is still going on. We have a link.’

The room was silent. O’Connor stopped tapping the desk. Jacob titled his head, anticipating what was going to be said and Wyre crossed her legs as she rolled forward on her chair, closer to the table.

‘A link, guv?’ Jacob said.

Gina smiled. ‘I can see you’re all excited. I’m not as good at explaining these things as Bernard or Keith but both of them are working flat out at the site and in the lab. I’ll try to get this correct, excuse any mispronunciation. Latin is not my best subject. Cast skins of Anthrenus verbasci were found on both of the girls’ clothing. To you and me, that is a carpet beetle. They typically grow to three millimetres long and to anyone who’s had the misfortune of dealing with an infestation will know they are a nightmare pest. The larvae chew on textiles,

carpets, clothing, and then tend to hatch in spring and summer, leaving these little casts behind. There is also a further link. The microfibres found on the casts both match. The creatures were living in the exact same carpet.’ Gina reached into her files. ‘Here’s a lovely poster showing the lifecycle of a carpet beetle. O’Connor, could you Blu-Tack it to the wall?’

‘Yes, guv.’ O’Connor pulled a packet of Blu-Tack from a drawer and began fixing the poster to the wall.

‘It’s horrible, guv,’ Wyre said as she began to scratch her arm.

Gina agreed as a shiver ran down her spine. She’d be horrified if she found those little grubs and beetles all over the place. That would be another thing for her to worry about. She was definitely going to check the dusty corners of her house, armed with a vacuum, when she got home.

‘Agreed. Mini-freaks of nature. Before we all join in with your scratching, we best move on. The other thing they found in the clothing of the shallow grave girl is a hair and, get this, the follicle is attached. It has been run through the database and there isn’t a match. There is, however, a DNA match to the blood that we found on the van girl’s clothing. As you remember, it was confirmed that this blood did not belong to our victim. So, we have blood and hair belonging to another person, not either of our victims.’

‘Wow, this is huge,’ Jacob said.

‘I know. What is happening to these girls, and on our doorstep? We are working on the theory that our perpetrator is local given that they knew about Senton Lane. Only locals really take this shortcut.’

‘Any more on the hair?’ Jacob asked.

Gina began adding to the board details as she spoke. ‘The hair is brown, barely noticeable auburn tones so this hair might not mean anything, and about thirty centimetres long. The root is grey, which doesn’t fit the pattern. Whoever this hair belonged to was certainly a lot older than the girls. Again, this adds slightly to the red hair connection. All different strengths of red but the connection is clear. Any more information, I’ll feed it to you as I get it. Going back to Mrs Dawson and her missing daughter. Her DNA has been sent to the lab and she gave us full permission to keep it on the database. She wants her daughter found. We’ll soon find out whether her daughter is the girl who was found in the shallow grave.’ Again, Gina hoped the girl wasn’t Julia’s daughter but there was a chance. She was about the right age and matched Christina’s height. ‘The lab are going to run the shallow grave girl’s DNA through the database and get back to me. This was a little harder to obtain but we have it, which is great news. Results should be in anytime now.’ She checked her watch. Maybe they were running late. They all knew what time the briefing was and she’d fast-tracked the tests.

‘Two girls and we have no idea who they are. We could really do with a break on identifying these girls,’ Wyre said as she tightened her ponytail and neatened her fringe.

‘Certainly could. We will find out what is happening but as it stands, again, working on the theory that there is evidence to link the two girls, we are looking at a murder and kidnap at the very most. No doubt, there could be another story behind what we see, but it isn’t going to be a good one either way. We will need to know if there are any signs of trauma on our shallow grave victim but we know our van victim was in a right state. She could have escaped from somewhere, but where, and why? There are drugs involved, which is why we are liaising

with Smith and his team. It’s not our best lead but I’ll go with anything at the moment. We need to make sure we’re on top of what’s happening. Link information. Share with them, them with us. Our van girl was on heroin. If we pull any dealers in, we can check the blend that they sell, this may provide a match for what was shown in the girl’s toxicology report. I know I’m giving you all a lot of information and it’s overwhelming, but bear it all in mind as you proceed. Always have one eye on the board, check the system for updates, as these will constantly be added. As soon as you have any information, update, don’t wait – that is the motto.’

‘I suppose we’re all on free overtime? I’ll call Mrs O and tell her not to wait until I get home to have dinner.’

‘I’m really grateful for all that you do. The community is really grateful and, most of all, these girls deserve to rest in peace and to do that we need justice. Justice involves catching whoever is behind this. I have a daughter. My daughter was a prize pain in the arse as a teen but no one deserves this to happen to them. If I were the parent of these girls, I’d be so thankful for what you’re all giving up to be here. I’m sorry the rewards aren’t huge, I’m not getting any overtime either. I know you all put in more than you get out. We all do at times like this. I’ll take whatever time you can spare.’

‘I’m with you, guv,’ Wyre replied.

‘Count me in. Amber hasn’t texted me all day. I now sense that I have all the time in the world. One day I’ll meet someone who understands,’ Jacob said, half-jokingly.

Gina smiled. She couldn’t have chosen a better team to work with. ‘Right, in that case, O’Connor and Wyre, you will both work closely on our shallow grave victim. Jacob and I will work on the van victim. We’ll reconvene at the next

briefing and discuss what we’ve found. I can’t promise I won’t interfere in the case of the grave girl though. In fact, scrub what I just said. I’m on both cases.’

PC Smith passed the room as he headed towards the toilets. ‘Smith, can you come here a moment?’

He glanced at the toilet door, then back at Gina. ‘Of course. How are things going with the case?’

‘We need to be kept up to date at real time with any drug- related finds or investigations. I’ll come and chat with you in a while, update you on where we’re at and why it’s so relevant.’

Smith began squirming on the spot. ‘Okay, guv. I’m desperate for a leak. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.’ Jacob laughed as Smith hurried out of the room.

Gina stared at the board. The words ‘help her’, written under the girl from the van’s photo stood out. She pointed to the words with her pen. ‘Given that we have a definite link between the two girls, we need to seriously start thinking about a third girl. ‘Help her’ – who was our van girl referring to? We have no time to waste. I don’t want a third girl to go through what these poor girls have been through.’

Gina’s phone began to buzz. She took the call and hurried to the back of the room. A huge smile spread across her face.

‘What is it?’ Jacob asked.

‘Our database has come up trumps. Our girl from the shallow grave has been identified as eighteen-year-old Simone Duxford. O’Connor, Wyre, call Bryn in on a voluntary basis, and ask him if he knows a Simone Duxford. Jacob, I think you and I should pop over to Big North Project Investments and talk to Stan and Elizabeth. If we hurry, we’ll be back by lunchtime. Someone will have to inform her family. Paula,

Harry, can I task you with this too?’ O’Connor and Wyre nodded.

THIRTY-EIGHT

Big North Project Investments stood a little back from the main road and was located just on the way out of Cleevesford. Not a weed littered the block paving and the hanging baskets looked as though they were competing in the annual Cleevesford in Bloom competition. The simple detached modern office building looked tiny against the backdrop of meadows it was set within. Sheep grazed in the distance and a bird’s nest topped a dried-out tree. The Norths had money; that was clear. A purpose-built business property set in all this land wouldn’t be cheap. Gina had checked their records. They constantly invested in property projects, new-build estates, they had made huge sums from everything they’d been involved in and they had working office blocks throughout the country.

Gina pressed the buzzer as Jacob tried to look through the tinted windows.

‘Big North, who’s calling?’ the voice asked though the intercom.

‘DI Harte and DS Driscoll. We’re here to see Mr and Mrs North.’

‘Please wait in reception, I’ll be down in a moment.’ The door released and Gina led the way into a plush waiting area.

Two grey couches faced each other, divided by a long, high- gloss coffee table. The mid-shade grey and mustard yellow colour scheme worked well with their logos and designs. A large and complicated looking coffee machine adorned one end of the room. Jacob took a few steps forward on the stone floor, each step echoing through the room.

‘Hello, let me show you up.’ The woman who she’d heard on the other end of the intercom and who looked to be in her mid-twenties with shoulder-length brown hair beckoned them over. They followed her up the stairs until they reached another wide corridor with several doors leading off. She opened one of them and did a slight bow to the Norths. ‘Mr and Mrs North will see you now,’ she said as she closed the door.

‘What an unfortunate thing to happen. You know how much this is going to cost us?’ Elizabeth North asked.

‘It’s already cost someone dearly. The bones we found on your land were that of a girl in her teens,’ Gina snapped.

Mrs North cleared her throat and looked at the pad in front of her. Gina made a mental note that the work culture seemed a bit odd. She could see that Stan and Elizabeth North were firm bosses. There were professional photos of both of them adorning the walls. On each photo, Mrs North had a different hairstyle of varying colours. One collection of photos held Gina’s attention for longer than the others. The Norths standing in front of a block of flats, then a housing estate, followed by a development in Canary Wharf. Not one of the pictures showed them with their team, their builders, and all the other people that did the ground work. Mrs North sat at the head of the table with Mr North to her left. Gina walked along

the wall and took the seat beside Mrs North. Jacob slumped in the seat beside her.

‘We’re sorry to hear that, really we are, but we have work to get on with. Do you know how long you lot will be and can you try not to make too much of a mess?’ Mrs North asked. She tapped her plum-coloured nails, which matched her perfectly applied lipstick, on the conference table. As the woman awaited her answer, she turned to the window, checking her reflection. She smoothed her blonde bob down.

‘Mrs North, we are potentially investigating a murder. It will take as long as it takes. As soon as we have all we need from your land, we will let you know straight away. Right, when did you first go and see the property?’

Elizabeth North sighed as she placed her hands flat on the table and stared directly at Gina. She was asserting dominance. She sensed that Mrs North always got her own way. ‘We drove by early April, just before the auction. Never been before.’

‘I see from our records that you had access from the property after the auction on the twentieth of April. You’re telling me you never went to the property before April.’

‘That is what I said. Did you not hear me the first time?’

Gina watched as Mr North rolled his eyes and looked to the side. ‘Elizabeth, not now. Sorry, detectives. My wife and I are upset by what has happened. I’m sure you can appreciate that.’

Gina was certain Mrs North was upset but only about potential profits lost. ‘Mrs North. We have contacted the auction house in which the property was listed and sold by. Graham Danks, the person in charge of your property at the time, stated that he first took you both to the property on

Wednesday the seventh of March so I’ll ask again. Can you tell me when you first went to see the property?’

‘Are we under caution?’ Mrs North asked.

‘No. We are just trying to establish what happened at your property. You are not under arrest or under caution. We just thought you might be able to give us information that will help with our investigation. We appreciate anything you can tell us. We would appreciate your cooperation or we may have to do this down at the station.’

Mr North dragged his chair closer to the table. ‘Can we start again? My wife is very protective of our interests. This will hurt our investment, that is all. We don’t mean to hamper your investigation.’ He took his glasses off and placed them on the table. Mrs North folded her arms and leaned back. ‘Let me check my diary.’ Mr North selected his diary on the tablet in front of him and scrolled back to March. Gina could just about see the entry from her side of the table. ‘Graham occasionally gives us a good tip on what’s hot to go for. On this particular day, March the seventh, he gave us a call and we went to visit Foxglove Cottage. He didn’t have the keys at that point so we just looked through the windows. I was able to make a rough assessment from the outside of how much it would cost us and what margins we needed to achieve. I’m sorry that this information escaped our minds but it was a while ago. You can see from the diary and how much we have booked in, this would be easy to do.’ He held his tablet up. His diary was bursting with appointments.

‘Thank you for confirming that for us,’ Jacob said.

‘Did you go back between seeing the property that day and purchasing the property?’

Mr North scanned all his diary entries. ‘No, we didn’t. I went into this investment with Bryn Tilly though. He may have gone back for a look.’

‘May I ask? Why did you invest with Bryn Tilly when you clearly have enough capital to handle this property by yourself?’

‘I lived near Bryn, growing up. He was a decent kid back then, worked hard after school on building sites. He came to me, begging for a chance in property development and showed me a portfolio of his past work and said he had a bit of money to invest. What can I say, I like the guy. He was prepared to do all of the day-to-day running of the project and most of the work. He was a bargain, really. I know him well, he wouldn’t harm a fly. As for going to the property before we bought it, he probably did. He’d need to see the extent of work needed for himself.’

Gina nodded at Jacob. She only had one question left to ask. ‘Do you know this girl?’

The couple looked at the photo for a moment. ‘Never seen her,’ Mrs North said.

Mr North put his glasses back on. Gina wished she had a better photo but Simone’s mugshot was all they had on file. ‘Is this the girl on our land?’

‘It’s just another enquiry we’re following up on.’ Gina hadn’t even contacted Simone’s family as yet but she needed to know. One of the team back at the station would be making the call right now.

‘I don’t recognise her at all,’ Mr North said. His gaze lingered on the photo a little longer and he placed his hands in

his lap, under the table. ‘No, never seen her.’ He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

‘Are you sure?’

He swallowed and took a swig from a glass of water. ‘I’d know if I’d seen this girl and I’d tell you.’

‘Is that all, detectives, as we have work to do?’ Mrs North slammed her notebook shut and stood.

‘I’m sure he recognised her,’ Gina said as they headed towards the car and whacked the bonnet.

‘Me too but hitting your car won’t help,’ replied Jacob as he opened the car door and slumped in the seat.

He was right. She took a deep breath and got into the car.

She’d soon find out what he knew, somehow.

THIRTY-NINE

Wednesday was as boring as Tuesday, which was as boring as Monday. No one had checked on her at all for a couple of days. She pondered over the fact that she’d considered quitting her job after her telling off. On her ten pound per week allowance her parents gave her, before she started work, she couldn’t even afford a proper trip to the cinema, which to her meant a ticket, some nachos and a large cola.

The door made a ping as a man entered. The tall man in the suit stopped at the counter and looked past her. He opened his mouth to speak then stopped. He reminded her of her father, all suited up with a tie. Receding hairline. Expensive- looking watch. Her dad had once owned a Rolex too. He was handsome in a way, for an older man, but she wasn’t into that. He was probably in his fifties, like her dad. She preferred boys of her own age or just a little bit older, not like a couple of her friends. His gaze met hers. She glanced over his shoulder and spotted the silver car in the car park. It was the man who’d been watching her.

An icy shiver ran up her spine. She gulped as he stood in front of the door, blocking the exit. Her breathing quickened as she took a step back.

‘Can I help you?’ she asked as she fiddled with the corner of her tabard, trying to control the tremble that was working its way through her body.

‘I’m just looking.’ He walked over to the jam and honey and fiddled with the jars. He glanced back as she stared at him, open-mouthed, not knowing what to do or say next. ‘Sorry, I’m just after something for my wife, are you okay?’

She nodded and dropped her shoulders. Maybe she’d got him all wrong. It might be like Mrs Hanley was saying. Perhaps he pulled in for a break occasionally and decided to come in the shop this time. Stop being an idiot Elisa. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. ‘I’d recommend the honey if you’re looking for something to go on toast.’ Maybe if she shifted a bit of honey, Mrs Hanley would be pleased. She’d also spent ages making a honey pyramid by the entrance.

‘Not the jam? My wife prefers jam on her toast.’

‘The jam stinks,’ she whispered, hoping that he’d act a little friendlier and put her at ease. ‘The honey is local and is far superior.’

‘Thank you for the warning.’ He grabbed five jars, some set and some runny. She’d definitely formed the wrong opinion of him. Smiling, she took the jars from him and led him to the counter.

The man followed her and once again began looking over her shoulder into the staff area. ‘Is there anything else I can get you?’ She fiddled with her hair as the man’s gaze slowly met hers, the shiver up her spine returning. She wanted him to hurry up and leave. If he took a step closer to her, she’d run as fast as she could up the stairs, straight into the office.

‘Huh?’

‘Sweets, chutneys, anything else?’ Her voice cracked as she forced the words out.

‘No, thanks. Who else works here with you?’

He was getting creepy. As he awaited her answer, a loud chugging noise came from above them. Someone was printing and the old printer made a racket. She smiled and pointed to the ceiling. ‘There is always someone else on the premises.’

He nodded before leaving fifteen pounds on the counter and rushing out of the door. His transaction only added up to twelve pounds fifty. She rung up the transaction and placed the two pounds fifty change into her pocket. It was the least she deserved after almost being scared to death by the creepy customer. She ran to the door, checking that he wasn’t coming back. His car turned onto the main road, heading to Cleevesford, as before.

Mrs Hanley came down the stairs. Elisa dashed back behind the counter and began cleaning the glass.

‘How are things going?’ she asked. She smiled. ‘Okay, but—’

‘But?’ She waited for her to continue. ‘Look, about the other day when you came upstairs—’

‘I’ve forgotten about that, I shouldn’t have come up.’ She gave her a goofy smile. ‘It’s a customer. He just came in and creeped me out. That’s all.’

‘I see. If anyone comes in and bothers you, just give us a shout. Did he bother you?’

‘No, he just seemed a bit weird. It’s probably just me. It’s nothing. I’m being an idiot.’

Mrs Hanley responded with a broad smile. ‘You’re here on your own most of the time. I suppose you feel a little vulnerable. It’s normal to feel like that. If you’re ever worried, you just have to shout up the stairs.’

‘Thanks, Mrs Hanley.’

Mrs Hanley grabbed her phone and held it to her ear as she headed back into the staff area before stomping back up the stairs.

Elisa’s phone beeped. It was Ethan offering to pick her up from work. She listened to Mrs Hanley settling back in her creaky chair before she replied, accepting his offer straight away. They could go cruising and at least if the creepy man came back at closing time, Ethan would see him off if he came near her. She shivered at the thought.