Читать книгу Outside Looking In: A darkly compelling crime novel with a shocking twist - Michael Wood - Страница 11

The reduced Murder Investigation Team comprised DSs Sian Mills and Aaron Connolly, DCs Rory Fleming and Scott Andrews, a smattering of uniformed officers and a couple of support staff. It was pathetic. They were originally spread out around the room but Matilda called for them all to group together.

Matilda stood in front of a wall of whiteboards. Presently, very little information was written down as the case was in its infancy.

‘Good morning everyone. We seem to be very few in number but you’re all professional and know your job. Following the events of last night, we’re going to be working long and hard; however, we can do this. I believe in you all and have faith in your abilities.’ She wondered if she sounded convincing enough. She hoped so. ‘Right after this briefing I’m going to the ACC to ask for more support so hopefully we will shortly have a larger team. Now, last night’s double shooting … who did door-to-door?’

‘I did ma’am,’ Rory said putting his hand up. Rory Fleming was like a male version of Adele Kean. It didn’t seem to matter how little sleep he had, he always turned up for work looking fresh and clean in a sharp, fitted suit, perfectly ironed shirt, understated tie and a messy hairstyle that probably took hours to perfect. Was it just Matilda who looked like she’d had five minutes’ sleep in a skip?

Rory continued. ‘There aren’t many houses around there; just a few cottages. I knocked on them all, although I don’t think they were happy to be woken up. I don’t have anything to report I’m afraid. Nobody heard a thing.’

‘How can they not have heard anything? Kevin Hardaker was beaten to a pulp. Surely he screamed. And gunshots aren’t exactly quiet.’

Sian interrupted. ‘Mr Rainsford said his wife has the TV turned up more loudly than is necessary. She refuses to accept she’s losing her hearing.’

‘Mrs Foster next door was at a wedding and didn’t get back home until after we were on the scene,’ Rory read from his notebook. ‘Another cottage is home to Mrs Cliff. She’s recently come out of hospital following hip replacement surgery. She’s on sleeping tablets and slept through the whole thing.’

‘Maybe the gunman used a silencer?’ Scott Andrews suggested.

‘Oh God, I hope not. A silencer suggests a professional job, a hitman. Let’s not go down that road until we have to. What about Clough Lane itself? Where does it lead?’

Aaron had stuck a map of the area onto one of the whiteboards. He followed the road with his finger. ‘Well it’s quite a long road, passes a few farms then out into the Peak District.’

‘So it’s not the type of road you’d go down if you lived in Sheffield?’ Matilda said, thinking aloud.

‘I wouldn’t have thought so.’

‘So why would you pull up on Clough Lane late at night?’

‘For a shag,’ Rory said unwrapping a KitKat he’d taken out of Sian’s snack drawer.

‘Precisely. Help yourself to a KitKat, Rory,’ the rest of the officers sniggered. ‘So, Kevin Hardaker, cheating on his wife, is with his girlfriend, or whoever she is, and they park up on a quiet lane, for what Rory so romantically calls a shag. What happens next?’

‘A bloke comes along and kills them?’ Aaron said.

‘No. That’s not what happens. If this was a random killing, a drive-by shooting, then that would have happened, but this is more personal. Our killer comes along, drags Kevin Hardaker out of the car, beats him senseless then shoots him. Then he drags our mystery woman out from the front passenger seat and does the same to her. Thinking she’s dead, he leaves. What does this tell us?’

Matilda looked out at the sea of blank faces staring back at her. To be more accurate, with a reduced team, it was more like a river of blank faces.

‘It wasn’t a random killing,’ said Rory, licking melted chocolate from his fingers.

‘Go on,’ prompted Matilda.

‘Like you said, if this was a drive-by shooting they would have been shot dead where they sat. They weren’t. They were pulled from the car and subjected to a right beating. This was personal. Someone knew they were going to be there, or maybe followed them there, then attacked.’

‘Exactly my thinking, Rory.’

Rory was still only young and had the fresh-face of a skin-cream commercial actor. He also had a vacant expression that wasn’t always comforting while trying to have an in-depth conversation. However, he was an intelligent young man and would make an excellent detective. He just needed to do a bit of growing up.

‘So, in a personal attack such as this,’ Matilda continued, ‘who are our most likely suspects?’

‘The man’s wife or the woman’s husband,’ Scott spoke up.

‘Thank you, Scott. We need to talk to Kevin Hardaker’s wife and the second we find out who our mystery woman is we need to talk to her husband – if she has one.’

‘That reminds me,’ Aaron spoke up. ‘I had a call from forensics first thing. They’ve found a mobile phone at the crime scene. It could belong to the woman.’

A phone rang. Rory answered it, talking quietly.

‘Excellent. Give forensics a call and have them do their usual routine on it. I want a copy of all the contacts and text messages, photos, emails, apps used, and whatever else is on there. Now, Scott, what was the name of the FLO last night?’

‘Joseph Glass.’

‘Right. Give him a call. Ask him to bring Alice in. She needs to make a statement and I want to know everything about their marriage, any money problems, Kevin’s work – the usual. Also, talk to the neighbours, Kevin’s work colleagues, friends. Aaron, can you sort that out?’

‘Sure.’

‘Sian, what’s happening with Mr Rainsford?’

Sian looked up from her notebook where she had been making extensive notes. ‘PC Grabowski stayed with them overnight. I called her first thing and he’s actually feeling a lot better after a good night’s sleep. She’s bringing him in after he’s showered.’

‘OK. Sian will you interview him and keep me informed?’

‘No problem.’

‘Thanks. Right, I’m going to have a word with the ACC about getting more people in this room to make it look less like a gathering of the Nick Clegg fan club.’

‘Boss,’ Rory called out, putting the phone down, ‘that was a nurse from the hospital I got chatting to last night. The woman is stable, but still critical. There’s evidence she was raped.’

ACC Valerie Masterson was enjoying breakfast at her desk. Like Matilda, she also had trouble sleeping. Once the phone call had come through about the double shooting the logistics of the case weighed heavily on her mind; this could possibly be the Murder Room’s final investigation.

Much to the annoyance of her retired husband, Valerie decided to come to work early. She wanted to prepare for the battle with Matilda. Valerie believed her still to be a fragile individual; she had only been back at work four months and in that time she had faced a fight for leadership of the Murder Room, and internal scrutiny of her ability to carry out her duties. There could have been better resumptions to her career.

The loud knock on the door did not surprise Valerie – she had actually expected it sooner than this. She was tempted to say ‘Come in Matilda,’ but decided against flippancy.

Matilda burst into the room with all the grace and determination of a charging bull.

‘Good morning, Matilda. Coffee?’

‘Please.’

‘I know why you’re here,’ Valerie began, her back to Matilda as she prepared the coffees, ‘I need you to listen to what I have to say first before you erupt.’

‘I have no intention of erupting.’ Matilda’s tense white lips told a different story.

Valerie handed over the cup and saucer remembering that Matilda took her coffee black with no sugar. It was very hot and very strong. Matilda took a sip; it was good coffee. She placed it carefully on the desk.

The silence in the room was crippling; it was like a Mexican stand-off – who would blink first. Valerie sat behind her large desk, which looked bigger than it was due to her small stature.

‘I want you to know that I fought long and hard for the Murder Room to be kept open. You’ve done a brilliant job in building up an impressive reputation, and figures have proven its success.’

‘So why is it closing?’ Despite wanting to remain calm, the firmly folded arms across Matilda’s chest suggested otherwise.

‘It’s mostly budgetary reasons. South Yorkshire Police is under intense scrutiny, as you’re aware; we’re still under the microscope with the Hillsborough inquiry and the level of sexual abuse that has emerged in Rotherham has taken its toll. We’ve got representatives from the National Crime Agency looking into this sex abuse scandal. They’ve uncovered more than three hundred potential abusers. I’m lucky to still be sitting here. As we’ve been underperforming, so they say, we’re having our budget cut. Another reason is that the levels of murder within South Yorkshire have dropped. The Chief Constable believes that a dedicated murder unit is no longer necessary.’

‘I’m guessing he hasn’t heard about the double shooting last night,’ Matilda said with a hint of sarcasm.

Valerie gave a half-smile. ‘That has come with unfortunate timing. However, the Murder Room still exists at present and you have the full backing of the force.’

‘Just not the resources.’

‘Whatever you need to help you solve this case you will have.’

‘I want more detectives.’

Valerie sighed. ‘I will do the best I can for you; however, with these aggravated burglaries occurring left, right, and centre, CID are stretched as it is. Besides, you have Mills and Connolly, Fleming and … what’s his name, blond hair?’

‘Scott Andrews. I need a replacement DI.’

‘And you’re getting one. I have several candidates to interview in the coming days.’ That was a lie. Valerie had one person left to interview. It appeared that South Yorkshire Police’s reputation was not favourable with people seeking to improve their position. It would appear nobody wanted to be associated with the force.

‘Can’t I have one from CID? What about Brady?

‘DI Brady is working round the clock on these burglaries.’

‘Brady has been in this job longer than I have and you’ve got him working on burglaries. It’s not using him to his full potential.’ Matilda’s frustration was mounting. ‘With the Murder Room closing you’re sending dedicated detectives back to menial tasks. They won’t stand for it and they’ll leave. You’ll end up with a force like a ghost town and below-par coppers out of their depth when a serious crime occurs.’

Matilda paused for breath. ‘If the Murder Room closes the inevitable is bound to happen – the more experienced detectives will apply for a transfer to a force with dedicated units and South Yorkshire will be left with the dregs, and before the Chief Constable can polish his buttons crime will rise and the region will be crying out for a dedicated Murder Investigation Team, but there’ll be nobody skilled enough to run it.’

Valerie didn’t seem to be listening as she looked for a folder on her desk. ‘A warehouse in Snig Hill was broken into; £15,000 of computer equipment stolen, the whole place trashed and a security guard with a fractured skull. A house on Dore Road was broken into; elderly man and woman tied up while their house was ransacked. The woman was threatened with rape if she didn’t take off her wedding ring. A man was severely beaten in Heeley and had expensive watches and computer equipment taken. He was tied up with duct tape and doused in petrol. Need I go on? These are not just teenagers pissing about, Matilda.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said quietly, her head bowed. ‘I had no idea of the level of violence involved. Christian Brady is a fine detective. He’ll do well on the burglaries. I just feel like I’m fighting a war single-handed. There’s no way I can win so why bother with the battle?’

‘Matilda, I understand your frustration, and your anger. I will do everything in my power to help you but I’m limited in what I can do. What you did with the Harkness case before Christmas was beyond excellent. I’m not going to placate you but I do believe you can work this case with the minimum of officers and still get a result.’

‘Why should I, though? Why should I work my arse off and get a result when it’s not appreciated? The Chief Constable is closing us down; I’m guessing there will be redundancies and I’m guessing I’ll be one of them. Why should I sweat blood just to be given my cards in a few weeks’ time?’

‘I’ve been assured there will not be any redundancies. It’s about having a CID and an MIT running side by side when it isn’t necessary. Combined you can have pockets of teams working individual cases with one or two senior officers overlooking the whole department.’

Those words may have been spoken by ACC Masterson but they were written by the Chief Constable, and, judging by the look on Matilda’s face, she knew that too. Matilda stood up to leave.

‘Before you go, did you see The Star last night?’

‘I’m afraid I did, yes.’

Valerie pulled out her dog-eared copy and laid it flat on her desk. It was open at page seven: ‘CARL MEAGAN: ONE YEAR ON’. Her stomach began performing somersaults.

Robert Walpole, Spencer Compton, Henry Pelham, Thomas Pelham-Holles, William Cavendish.

It had been a long time since Matilda had recited the names of the British Prime Ministers as an aid to relaxing. She hadn’t needed them since she’d given up drinking and learned to channel her grief. It seemed it only took the mere mention of Carl Meagan’s name and she was plunged back into her paranoiac nightmare.

‘We don’t come out very well I’m afraid. Were you contacted yesterday to contribute to this travesty?’

‘No.’

‘I thought not. It says you were unavailable for comment.’

‘I know,’ Matilda said, looking away from the paper. She didn’t need to see it; it was imprinted on her memory. ‘Why do they have to keep raking it up?’

‘It’s been a year. The parents want to keep the story alive. It’s understandable. He’s their son.’

‘I know,’ she said, bowing her head. ‘But I can’t keep doing this if I’m smacked in the face with Carl Meagan every time I’m working on a case.’

‘Matilda, leave the press to me. Do your job, a job you do incredibly well, and defy them all. I know you don’t believe this Matilda, but I’m with you 100 per cent,’ Valerie said when the expression on her DCI’s face remained hollow and drawn.

‘You’re right, I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it at all.’ She turned and left the room, not caring if there was more to the meeting.

Matilda didn’t have the energy to storm out and make a scene. What was the point in shouting and screaming from the rooftops if nothing was going to change? As Matilda walked away from the door and headed to the nearest toilets she was reminded of the saying ‘no man is an island’. Maybe not, but a high-ranking woman in the police force certainly was.