Текст книги "Jessica Daniel: Think of the Children / Playing with Fire / Thicker Than Water"

Автор книги: Kerry Wilkinson

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 56 страниц)

10

The two sergeants didn’t exchange much more than small talk after leaving the house but Jessica could hear Neil Martin’s words bouncing around her mind on her drive back to the station. Some people did things for revenge but, for others, it was because of the reward waiting for them at the end. Jessica felt uncomfortable sharing her thoughts with anyone else as she had next to no basis for them but Lucy’s new husband had certainly gained from everything that had happened.

Back at the station, Jessica typed his name into their computer system to see if there was something from his past. Aside from a few driving offences, there was nothing but she used the Internet to search his name as well, although that didn’t reveal much. She knew it was probably nothing but felt it was worth keeping Neil’s name in mind.

After that she re-read the file relating to Toby’s disappearance and checked in with Izzy, who was working with Rowlands on paperwork for a few other cases, while also trying to find time to track down Ian Sturgess and Simon Hill. What they knew was that neither man lived in the same house he had fourteen years ago. Jessica left them to it but asked them to call if they came up with anything.

She drove out to the woods where the dig had begun. A row of cars and vans was parked close to the pathway she had walked along a few days earlier but the entire area looked different now it wasn’t pouring with rain. The day hadn’t really brightened up and the overcast skies were threatening but so far it had stayed dry. Jessica weaved her way along the trail, trying to avoid puddles that didn’t seem as if they were going to disappear any time soon. She could hear noises in the distance and caught sight of activity just across the threshold of the woods as she crossed the stile.

As well as actual police officers, forensic archaeologists were used when there was a chance they could discover a buried body. Because some parts of the soil might need to be forensically examined, the whole process was incredibly slow-moving. Jessica could see Reynolds and Cole standing at the edge of the trees talking. Jason noticed her first. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked as Jessica approached.

‘I want to feel like I’m doing something,’ Jessica said.

Cole was wearing a heavy coat and pulled it tighter as a gust of wind blew across them. ‘There’s not much to do around here. We’ve spent most of the day watching.’

Jessica was wearing her suit and felt a chill breeze through it. She tried not to shiver. ‘I know, I was wondering if either or both of you wanted to come for a drive?’

‘Where to?’ Cole asked.

‘I wanted to drive the route – go to the land where Toby Whittaker was taken from. I brought the maps from the station, it’s not far.’

Reynolds looked at their boss and stepped forward. ‘I’ll come, it’s bloody freezing here.’

Cole smiled at the two of them. ‘Aye, aye, leave the old man out in the cold.’

‘You’ve got the big coat,’ the inspector replied with a grin of his own.

‘Maybe I’ll just pull rank?’ He looked back to Jessica. ‘How was Toby Whittaker’s mother?’

‘She’s remarried, it’s Lucy Martin now. She was understandably annoyed and upset. It helped clear things in my mind seeing her though.’

The other two detectives nodded as Jessica chose to keep quiet about Neil Martin’s possibly ambiguous remarks. She wondered if Louise had the same opinion about him.

Jessica and Reynolds made their way back to her car after another light-hearted crack from their supervisor about leaving him at the mercy of the elements. She had printed some maps off the Internet which Jason picked up from the passenger seat as they got in.

‘Do you know where we’re going?’ he asked.

‘Sort of, have a look yourself. I read through the files and checked the location. I was trying to match the old descriptions with how it is now but it’s hard to figure it all out online.’

Reynolds was scratching his chin, looking through the papers. ‘It looks like there are buildings on this site now,’ he said.

‘That’s exactly what I thought and why I wanted to look it over.’

Because of the intensity of the investigation, no one had actually had time to revisit the scenes from the old case. It was highly unlikely they would be able to find anything significant that had been missed so many years ago but, having read the file to the point of almost memorising it, there was something concerning Jessica.

With Reynolds navigating, they made their way through a series of lanes back towards the main road. It soon became clear that the wasteland where Toby Whittaker had last been seen was now anything but. An industrial park had been erected on the site, with a dozen enormous warehouses spread out on their own plots and various interconnecting roads that had been built recently. Jessica parked her car half on the pavement and the two officers got out before examining the map together.

Reynolds pointed at a dark green building that had a large empty yard at the front. A sign bore the name of an electronics manufacturer. ‘I think he was taken from somewhere around there,’ he said, before indicating towards the way they had already come. ‘The main road would have always been there but this bit we’ve parked on is new.’

‘Where are the woods in relation to here?’ Jessica asked. The two of them looked at the map again and turned around so they were facing in the opposite direction. Reynolds held his arm out towards a second warehouse behind them but they both figured it out.

‘We’ve had to drive the long way around but it’s only going to be a few hundred yards over the back of there. Maybe half a mile at most?’ Jessica suggested.

Reynolds nodded in agreement. ‘What is the significance, do you think?’ he asked. Jessica’s tone had clearly indicated something was on her mind. She walked the few paces back to her car and leant on it facing where the woods would be. Reynolds joined her.

‘Something has bugged me about that map ever since we found it,’ she said. ‘I think we can both agree that you’d only need a map if you didn’t know where you were going, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘We don’t know if our driver was looking to bury Isaac’s body, collect the clothes or do something else – but it’s logical to think that, whatever he was doing, he hadn’t been to the site before.’

‘Either that or he hadn’t been in a while.’

Jessica nodded, turning to face her colleague. ‘That might be true but I think this place is key. Say whoever took Toby all those years ago is our driver; maybe he was looking to bury Isaac in the same place he’d left the first boy? The problem is that all these buildings have now appeared. Because of that, he was going to bury Isaac in the closest place to where we’re standing. Somewhere it was unlikely to be found. We never would have found the spot in the woods if he hadn’t had that car crash.’

‘So do you think Toby is buried somewhere around here?’

Jessica shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Perhaps. Maybe he is in the woods where we’re digging? I just think it’s a bit of a coincidence that we found one dead kidnapped child in a car with a map leading us to a place so close to where Toby went missing from.’

‘Why would that person bury the clothes?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe it was some weird way of returning the clothes to Toby if that is where he was buried? Or perhaps he’s buried here like I said? It could explain the map. Let’s say Toby was killed, and his body was buried somewhere around here before the warehouses went up. Whoever did it kept the clothes for whatever reason and then, fourteen years later, kidnapped Isaac. At some point those clothes were buried in the closest spot to where Toby was, maybe as a sick goodbye? When Isaac was killed too, that person was going to bury his body in the same place. It could explain why our guy needed the map because he made it when leaving the clothes after finding out all these warehouses had been built.’

Reynolds seemed slightly confused and not entirely convinced. He replied quietly. ‘I’m not sure . . . you know we’ll never be able to dig the whole area up around that warehouse just in case there’s something there. We’d need proper evidence.’

Jessica agreed. ‘I know. I’m just thinking out loud. We need to find out who the driver is but we’re nowhere near getting that digital impression.’

‘I’ve asked, so has Jack. They say they’re having to guess the bone structure because there was so much damage done to the skull. It doesn’t sound like it’s very simple. They have other things on the go too. We’ve been checking missing persons reports every day with no luck. It’s hard without a photo we can realistically use.’

Jessica knew he was right. She and Reynolds climbed into the car but instead of starting the engine, Jessica took out her phone and put it on loud-speaker mode before calling Izzy’s desk phone. The constable answered on the second ring.

‘Hello.’

‘Hey, it’s Jess. I’m with Jason. Have you got anything yet?’

‘Bits, it’s been Dave mainly to be honest. Hang on.’ The line sounded muffled for a few moments as Jessica could hear someone moving around and then Rowlands’s voice.

‘Jess?’

‘Yep, it’s me. Have you got anything yet on those men from the Whittaker files?’

Rowlands cleared his throat before answering. ‘Yes, first off, the teacher Ian Sturgess. Basically, we don’t have a clue. He moved house within about six months of Toby going missing, then left the school he was working at around ten years ago. As far as we can tell he no longer teaches plus he moved from that other house he was living in. There doesn’t seem to be anyone locally who matches the age and name, although we’re still trying to check nationally.’

‘What about the neighbour?’

‘We’re not sure, we might have something. We know Simon Hill moved quite a few years ago but his name is fairly common. We’ve had a few age matches and called around. We managed to eliminate all but one. We’ve got a phone number which no one is answering but we have an address too. We’ve been waiting for someone senior to get back.’

Jessica asked him for the address and Reynolds noted it down, along with the name of Simon’s wife.

Traffic was heavy as they made their way out to Bury to the north of the city. By the time they arrived, the sun had almost set and street lights were beginning to flicker on. Any rain that might have been around had cleared, along with the clouds, but that created a larger problem with dew already beginning to set and an overnight frost an inevitability. Jessica didn’t know exactly where she was going but Reynolds directed her to the road where they believed Simon Hill had lived and they eventually found the correct house. The lights were on inside the property.

The temperature had dropped significantly in the last hour. Jessica shivered as she got out of the vehicle and Reynolds asked her if she was okay. She waved away his concerns, wondering how the digging crew would fare the next day if the soil froze overnight.

She rang the doorbell of the house and instantly knew there was someone in, as she could hear what sounded like a vacuum cleaner switch off moments after the chime. The detectives waited as the door was opened by a short woman somewhere in her late forties. She had long grey hair and was wearing a knee-length skirt and blouse, as if she had been working in an office.

‘Hello,’ she said, a puzzled look on her face.

‘Are you Paula Hill?’ Jessica asked.

‘Yes, who’s asking?’

‘I’m Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel and this is my colleague, DI Reynolds.’ Jessica glanced down at a pad of paper and read out the address of where Simon Hill lived fourteen years previously. ‘Can I ask if you’ve ever lived at that house?’ she added.

‘Why do you need to know?’

‘It’s complicated at the moment.’

The woman shrugged. ‘Yes, Simon and myself lived there for a few years but we moved ages ago. What’s the problem?’

‘We wanted to speak to Simon if that’s all right?’

‘He’s not here.’ Paula was beginning to sound annoyed.

‘Where is he?’ Jessica asked.

She was still looking down at the pad but almost dropped it as the woman replied. ‘I don’t know, I’ve not seen him in nearly a week.’

11

‘You’ve not seen him?’ It was a pretty pathetic response but Jessica blurted it out without thinking. If Simon Hill hadn’t been seen in around a week, that would correspond with the time it had been since their nameless driver had crashed.

‘Yeah. What’s it got to do with you?’ Paula, one hand on the front door, was now sounding defensive.

DI Reynolds spoke before Jessica could. ‘Your husband’s been missing for a week and you’re not concerned?’

The woman seemed bemused. ‘Who said he’s missing?’ The three people looked at each other wondering where the confusion had come from. Paula clocked that something had gone over her head, continuing: ‘Why do you think he’s missing?’

‘Where is he if you haven’t seen him in a week?’ Jessica asked with a little more aggression than she intended.

‘He works as a lorry driver . . . he’s often away for a week or two at a time, then he’s home. What’s going on?’

With a little persuading the two detectives managed to get invited in. Jessica insisted the woman had nothing to worry about, they were simply looking into new leads for old cases. Paula didn’t seem entirely convinced but answered all of their questions.

She and Simon had moved into a smaller house because, at the time, they were struggling to pay the mortgage on the property they owned. Paula then got a job working as a clerk for a legal firm and they moved to the place they were now in. Everything from that point of view seemed perfectly fine but Jessica still wondered about the woman’s husband. Paula reluctantly gave them the details of the haulage firm employing Simon and they left.

Before they got back to the station, Jessica tried calling the company but they were closed for the evening. They could have followed things through by trying to find the owner, then contacting him, but Simon Hill was still not a suspect in either case, and his wife’s explanation for his whereabouts seemed legitimate.

It was an annoying end to an equally frustrating day as Jessica dropped Reynolds at Longsight. He put a hand on her shoulder and told her to get some sleep as he said goodbye. She thought she must look bad if someone she considered a friend was saying she needed to rest, even though it was barely early evening.

As she opened the door to her flat, it took Jessica a few moments to remember Caroline was staying. A delicious smell was drifting from the kitchen, something which had barely happened the entire time Jessica had lived there. Her usual diet consisted of either microwaved food or takeaways and the only thing she trusted herself to cook was toast and occasionally either a fried egg or some baked beans. Her friend Hugo had cooked for her a few times but, aside from that, her kitchen was mostly unused.

It was probably because Jason had implied she looked exhausted but Jessica spent large parts of the evening yawning and telling Caroline she wasn’t tired. While she was doing that, she could clearly see her friend trying to act as if everything was normal. She told Jessica she had spoken to Thomas and told him she wanted to separate – and that she meant it. She didn’t want to elaborate and Jessica thought there was probably more to the situation, although she wasn’t going to push the point.

She made up her mind that evening to not bother calling Simon Hill’s employers the following day; instead she would go there unannounced. She checked the address on the Internet and realised it was less than five minutes away from Rowlands’s house. After clearing it with Reynolds, Jessica sent a text message to Rowlands to tell him she would pick him up in the morning because they had somewhere to go.

After another night’s sleep broken by a nagging feeling she had missed something, as well as not being used to sharing a bed with anyone – even if it was her best friend – Jessica was already in a bad mood by the time the morning came. It didn’t get any better when she left the flat only to find her car frozen under a thin coating of ice. She didn’t fancy another trip upstairs to boil a kettle, so spent ten minutes hacking at the ice to clear the windscreen.

The icy roads made what Jessica thought would be a routine half-hour journey across the city a frustrating series of start-stop manoeuvres punctuated by an increasingly irate string of swear words. She even turned off the radio because every station seemed to be playing festive music, something else she couldn’t stand. It wasn’t that Jessica disliked Christmas but she never decorated her house largely because she knew that it would still be up in the summer.

By the time she reached Rowlands’s house, she definitely wasn’t in the mood for his ‘What took you so long?’ greeting as he got into the car.

‘Sod off. Why are you so cheery anyway?

‘Am I?’ Rowlands put his seatbelt on as Jessica pulled away.

‘Were you out with Chloe last night?’ she asked.

‘I was actually.’

His upbeat tone of voice was infuriating. ‘Oh, for f . . . Can you please stop being so nice?’

‘What?’

‘Just take the piss out of my car or something. All these pleasantries are weird.’

Dave smiled. ‘Are you jealous?’

‘No, I just preferred it when you were unhappy.’ Jessica spoke with a laugh but realised there was a little truth in the statement too. Everyone seemed to be moving on, while she was stuck doing the same thing. In many ways she felt better about her own life when her close friends were stuck in the same rut as she was.

Before Rowlands could answer, Jessica tried to gloss over what she had said. ‘What did you get up to last night then? And spare me the graphic details.’

‘After I left the station, I picked Chloe up from judo . . .’

Jessica interrupted before Rowlands could finish his sentence. ‘She does judo?’

‘Yeah, she’s a blue belt.’

Wondering if she had misheard, Jessica queried: ‘A black belt?’

‘No, blue, it’s a few levels down.’

Jessica didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. ‘So she’s a bit shit then?’

‘Well, put it this way, she could kick my arse.’

‘I could kick your arse.’

Rowlands sounded outraged but Jessica suspected he agreed with her. ‘Whatever. Anyway, she could kick both of our arses, probably together.’

‘So why isn’t she a black belt?’

‘Because you work your way up. You start at white, then there’s yellow and a few others. Anyway, red’s the highest.’

Jessica had no idea what she was talking about but didn’t want to concede the point. ‘What about black?’

‘I don’t know, I just know red’s the highest.’

‘So, hang on, if she’s not even black – and that’s not the highest – how hard can she be?’

‘Why are we even talking about this? Do you want to fight her or something?’

‘I don’t know, maybe. Blue belt sounds a bit crap.’

Rowlands was laughing. ‘Okay, well, I’ll tell her that. Anyway, after I picked her up, we went to the Palace Theatre.’

Jessica indicated to pull around a stationary car and flashed her lights at a driver on the opposite side of the road who didn’t give way. ‘Oh, piss right off. You went to the theatre? This time last year you’d spend your evenings drinking cans of Carling and playing PlayStation games.’

‘This time last year you kept taking the piss because I spent my evenings drinking cans of Carling and playing PlayStation games.’

‘Exactly, that was way better. Right, what did you do after that?’

‘I thought you didn’t want to know that bit.’

Even more annoyed than she had been when she set off, Jessica ignored him and continued driving. Deep down she was pleased he was doing all right. The problem was deeper than that, she was a little jealous he seemed to be settling down. With everything that was going on in the case – as well as having Caroline staying at her flat – Jessica could feel an invisible burden upon her.

The haulage firm was based in an industrial area similar to the one Jessica had visited with Reynolds the day before. Tall metal gates surrounded the structure, with the company’s name printed across a large blue sign at the front. Jessica parked the car and they steadily made their way across the icy pavement into the large courtyard. The tarmac was covered with a layer of frost, only broken by long patches of clear ground where lorries would have been waiting overnight. Slowly, Jessica and Rowlands walked across to a small structure not far from the main gate. It was barely bigger than a caravan but Jessica could see the grey brick building had wire mesh across each of its windows.

She knocked on the door and heard a gruff ‘come in’ from inside. As they entered, there was a man with his feet on a desk leaning back in a comfy-looking office chair. He peered around a newspaper with a curious look on his face, clearly not used to dealing with people who wore suits. Jessica would have guessed he was somewhere in his fifties. He had closely cropped grey hair with the same shade of stubble on his chin. Putting his feet on the floor, he dropped the paper on the desk but didn’t stand. Behind him on the wall was a large map of the UK, along with four foil Santa faces. Loose strands of tinsel lined the front of the desk. In the corner was a small fake Christmas tree on a table with a string of fairy lights wrapped around it, blinking. As far as decorations went, Jessica thought it was about as half-hearted an effort as she would make.

‘Who are you?’ he asked in a broad local accent. Both detectives took out their identification and the man rolled his eyes. He spoke before either of them could say anything. ‘Christ alive, haven’t you got proper crimes to be solving? There are old ladies out there being attacked and you keep coming around here.’

Jessica had no idea what he was talking about but didn’t want to let him know that. ‘Why do you think we’re here?’

He tutted, rolling his eyes again and pointing outside as if to emphasise his point. ‘Look, I’ve checked all the tyres and they’re fine. The log books are in order, the paperwork is all filed away. If you want to be pricks, then go ahead but you won’t find anything.’

It was Jessica’s turn to roll her eyes. ‘Blimey, you’re a smooth talker. I bet you’re a massive hit with the ladies,’ she said sarcastically.

The man leant forward in his chair. ‘This is harassment. I know my rights.’

‘Do you really?’

‘Yeah, I know you can’t keep coming around here.’

‘I didn’t know you were so up to date with all the various laws and legal rulings. Are you a part-time lawyer on the side? You know, lorry firm by day, legal advice by night?’

He was clearly confused, undermining his claim to knowing the law. ‘What?’

Jessica couldn’t be bothered winding him up any further so sat in the seat across the table from him. There was a plastic-looking plaque on the desk with the man’s name and ‘President’ engraved underneath it. If it were made of an expensive metal, it would have been the type of thing found in a boardroom. Jessica pulled a face as she read the words. ‘Right then, Mr President, believe it or not we’re not here to check your vehicles’ tyres, go over your paperwork or look at any of the log books. We simply want to ask about one of your employees.’

He clearly didn’t believe her but acted as if he would play along. ‘Who?’

‘Simon Hill.’

‘Si?’

‘If that’s what you call him.’

The man looked as if he was trying to figure out what the officers were really up to. ‘What about him?’

‘How long has he worked here?’

Jessica kept a steady gaze as he shook his head. ‘I don’t know, ages. Ten years? Probably longer.’

‘What does he do?’

‘He’s just one of the drivers.’

Jessica nodded and could hear the gentle scratches of Rowlands making notes behind her. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t remember anything but it helped add to the pressure and Jessica was glad he had almost read her mind by taking his pad out.

‘Where do you send him that means he needs to be away for weeks at a time?’ she asked.

The man shunted his chair back a little, scrunching up his face. ‘What are you on about?’

‘It’s a simple question – where does he drive for you?’

‘What do you mean? I told you all the log books are in order.’ He clearly thought the detectives were trying to pull some sort of trick.

Jessica sighed and leant forward. ‘Just answer the question. Where does he drive for you?’

‘I don’t know, a few places, mainly up north. He goes to Scotland for some bits and usually goes via the northeast on the way up. Newcastle or Middlesbrough, places like that.’

‘So he doesn’t go on long journeys abroad or anywhere?’

‘No, he’s only part-time. I’ve only got one or two guys who go to Europe. Why, what’s the problem?’

There was a short pause, where even Rowlands’s pen had stopped writing. Jessica felt she had to check the information. ‘So Simon Hill works for you but only part-time and he never does jobs that take longer than a day or two?’

‘So what? I’ve got the paperwork to prove it.’ He was being overly aggressive and Jessica took photocopies of the documents just to confirm it.

The owner may have had issues with the police over various things but everything he handed over seemed to be in order. The two detectives left the office and walked slowly back to Jessica’s car.

Rowlands spoke first when they were far enough away from the office so there was no danger of being overheard. ‘What was that?’

‘I don’t know but something’s not right.’

‘You think he was lying?’

‘No, and I don’t think Simon’s wife was either. For whatever reason she thinks her husband spends weeks at a time on driving jobs.’

Rowlands said what they were both thinking. ‘But if he’s not working then where is he?’ Jessica didn’t reply but, given Hill’s possible connection to Toby Whittaker fourteen years ago, finding out was their new priority. That was until her phone begun to ring, with DI Reynolds’s name flashing up.

Jessica answered, wanting to tell him what they had found but not getting a chance before he started speaking. ‘Jess, you remember that list of children you found at that allotment?’

She felt a shiver go down her spine unrelated to the weather. It was something she would never forget. ‘Of course.’

‘One of the other kids has gone missing.’