Child’s Play: A totally unputdownable serial killer thriller, page 9
The man had a point. Forensic examination had linked the accused to the crime, but Penn had seen juries rule out forensic evidence if they felt that witness testimony was weak or fabricated. It destroyed their trust in the police, the case and the process. And it took both a strong stomach and a watertight case to convict for murder. Jurors hung on to the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ so they were not party to the irrevocable change of a person’s life. Which went double for anyone who had watched the Netflix show Making a Murderer.
Unfortunately, the response boxes on the jury service notification didn’t include an option marked ‘I don’t feel I could ever convict’.
‘It’ll be okay, though,’ Lynne said, wringing her hands. ‘We’ll get the conviction and we can all get back to work.’
Doug shrugged. ‘Don’t mind being paid to sit in court all day. Easy money.’
‘Jesus, Doug,’ Lynne blustered but there was a smile in her voice. Doug would always be Doug.
‘Sir, do you have a?…’
‘Mr Kapoor, of course,’ Penn said, stepping away.
‘Are things going wrong?’ he asked, quietly.
Penn shook his head. ‘No, everything is fine. The judge has decided that both barristers need telling off. Prosecution should have prepared the witness better and the defence was guilty of needling her but they’ll be finished in a minute and the trial will resume,’ he said, as he saw Lynne put her mobile phone to her ear.
‘I’ll come find you afterwards and we can have a better chat, okay?’
Mr Kapoor nodded as Penn moved back to his old colleagues.
‘Everything okay?’
Lynne looked troubled and shrugged in response.
‘No idea but the boss, Travis to you, wants us back at the station. Now. And he said that includes you.’
TWENTY-SEVEN
Stacey sat back from Belinda’s phone records, which now resembled a rainbow. Using different coloured highlighting pens she’d ruled out most of the phone numbers on the sheets, which were overwhelmingly yellow for her sister’s mobile phone. Stacey shook her head. She’d never spoken to one person so many times in a day. Ever. Never mind every day.
Blue was for ruled out harmless calls. Mainly incoming from PPI scavengers and other marketing calls.
Pink represented service calls she’d made and received: hair, nails and a recent podiatrist appointment, taxis and a twelve-minute call to her internet provider.
Only three numbers remained. Two outgoing and one incoming.
She tried the first which was to a mobile number that went straight to voicemail. Bog standard message with no indication of who should be at the other end. She put a little pencil mark by it and moved on to the next. It was a landline that just rang out until it eventually cut off. No message option. Stacey put a small pencil mark by that to indicate she hadn’t yet ruled it out.
Then she dialled the last number, a landline that had called Belinda early on the day she was killed.
Stacey waited patiently for the call to be answered and was surprised by the greeting when it was.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Kim instantly understood Felicity’s doubt about the relationship between Charles Blunt and Belinda Evans the second the woman pointed him out.
After berating Bryant for being judgemental she’d fallen into the exact same trap herself and the man was not what she’d been expecting.
Felicity strode across the empty sports hall towards an athletic-looking man in his early to mid-forties. His short black hair was showing strands of silver at the temples. His face was pleasant and open and he exuded health and fitness in khaki tracksuit bottoms and a plain white tee shirt that showed off the dark hairs that ran down his arm to a sports watch fixed at the wrist.
‘This is Charles Blunt who runs our Sports and Exercise Science HND class, and many other things too,’ she said, touching his arm.
He smiled in their direction as Felicity continued.
‘These police officers would like to speak to you about Belinda.’
He nodded and then looked at the college head, who appeared to be waiting for the conversation to start.
Clearly Felicity Astor liked to know everything that went on in the college.
‘Thank you, Ms Astor, we can take it from here,’ Kim said, pleasantly, and waited for the woman to walk away.
She caught the amused expression on the man’s face as he watched her leave.
‘Nice lady,’ she observed.
‘How may I help?’ he asked, offering no response to her statement.
Kim regarded him for a few seconds.
‘I’m trying to think of subtle ways around this but sod it. Were you sleeping with Belinda Evans?’
He smiled at her candour. ‘Not recently but in the past, yes,’ he answered, making no effort to hide the fact.
‘I’m really sorry to ask but…’
‘You want to know why?’ he asked, ending her discomfort.
She nodded. ‘I really don’t mean to be rude but age differences happen more commonly the other way around, and I don’t mean to imply that there was anything wrong—’
‘Please stop, Inspector,’ he said, holding up his hands. ‘I do understand your point and I’m not offended by the question.’
‘Was it a secret?’ Kim asked. Had he been ashamed of the relationship?
‘Only from her,’ he said, nodding towards the door through which Felicity had left. ‘She likes to get in everyone’s business. Makes and changes rules to suit herself.’ He tipped his head. ‘Officer, I’m not ashamed of our time together, and I’m truly sorry that she’s dead,’ he said, regretfully.
He moved towards three piles of mats in the corner of the room and took a seat.
‘How did it start?’ Bryant asked as they both took seats on the mats opposite. ‘If you don’t mind us asking?’
‘I’m not sure you mind asking?’ he said, aiming the ghost of a smile her way. ‘Christmas party last year. Both hunting the buffet for wheat-free options. Got talking and couldn’t stop. Met for coffee during the college break and the same happened again.’
‘And what attracted you?’
‘Her intelligence, Inspector. Not every relationship begins with a physical attraction and it never has for me. I’ve always enjoyed the company of older women but you have to understand that Belinda was not like other women. She was the most intelligent woman I’ve ever met. Her brilliance was both alluring and attractive. She was confident and assured and yet childlike sometimes.
‘She was an exceptional pianist and would play for hours but not difficult pieces, easy, jolly songs and then clap her hands in delight afterwards.’
‘Sounds a little strange,’ Bryant observed gently, echoing her own thoughts.
He shook his head. ‘Not for me. I enjoyed every minute we spent together.’
‘Who ended it?’ Kim asked, hearing both fondness and regret in his voice.
‘I did, but not for any reason you might think.’
‘Go on,’ Kim said.
‘It wasn’t about the sex, the relationship, I mean. Not for me. It was a part of it but I just enjoyed being with her. The sex became more important for her,’ he said, colouring.
Kim appreciated his total honesty so far but could see this conversation was growing increasingly uncomfortable for him. And she hadn’t even started on the hard questions yet.
‘I’m sorry we have to ask but…’
‘No, I understand. Belinda became more demanding sexually. She wanted to try new things, toys, dangerous places, games, rough games, which isn’t something I find appealing. She was insistent, so I had no choice but to end it.’
Kim realised that Belinda had struck lucky with this guy. On the face of it he was a decent, caring man who had been attracted to her for the right reasons.
And yet it hadn’t been enough.
‘It seemed to be some kind of escape for her, a compulsion beyond making love and I didn’t feel the same way.’
‘But you loved her?’
‘Oh yes, officer. I loved her.’
‘Which makes my next question almost impossible to ask,’ she said, recalling the photos shown to them by Keats.
‘Given what I’ve already revealed to you about our private life, that surprises me, but please ask anything you need to.’
‘Did Belinda pass on an STI to you or you to her?’
The sudden shock on his face gave her the answer.
‘Definitely not,’ he answered. ‘Are you saying?…’
Kim nodded. ‘I’m afraid so and it appears she was determined to play those games with someone.’
He shook his head and looked to the ground.
Kim felt as though they’d trampled over their relationship enough but she still had other questions.
‘Did you meet her sister?’ Kim asked.
‘Only a few times but that was enough.’
‘Why’s that?’ Bryant asked, shifting on the mat.
‘She was strange, they were strange together. Belinda changed into a different person around her sister.’
‘Can you explain?’ Kim asked, remembering the things Ida had told them.
‘It was as though they couldn’t stand each other. They bickered about all sorts of things, disagreed on everything but had to be in contact with each other all the time.
‘I remember one time they started arguing over the recipe for their mother’s cheesecake. It ended with Belinda physically throwing her sister out of the house. Two minutes later she was pacing the room and fretting over whether she was okay. Belinda called her and they continued the argument until Veronica was back at her own home, and once Belinda knew she was okay, she ended the call. The dynamic between them was off, but they thought it was perfectly normal.’
‘Did Veronica ever try to get in the way of your relationship?’ Kim asked.
He thought for a minute. ‘Not intentionally, I don’t think. I could always kind of feel her presence due to the level of contact they had but she never openly tried to come between us.’
Was it that somehow Veronica had been more threatened by a platonic relationship with a female like Ida than she was by a sexual liaison with Charles?
‘Did Belinda ever talk about her childhood?’ Bryant asked.
Charles shook his head. ‘Never.’
Whatever had formed them had started there.
‘And lastly, can you tell me where you were on Monday night? We have to ask.’
‘Of course. I was at The Cock Robin pub in Romsley in a pub quiz with my old football team. Left at 10.45 and I’m happy to give you all of their names.’
Bryant took out his notebook as Charles scrolled through his phone offering names and numbers.
Kim stood and offered her hand.
‘Thank you,’ she said, as he shook it. His palm was cool and dry. ‘We’ll be in touch if…’
Her words trailed away as her phone rang.
She stepped away and listened to the findings of her detective constable.
She ended the call and walked back.
‘My apologies, Mr Blunt, but it looks as though we’re not quite done with you yet.’
TWENTY-NINE
‘Why here?’ Penn asked, as they turned the corner into Curzon Street. Before they’d even reached the car the instruction had changed via a text message to Doug’s phone.
‘Not a clue. The boss just… Jesus Christ, what’s this all about?’
A cordon had been placed across the road between two lamp-posts. Beyond it were three squad cars, an ambulance and Detective Inspector Travis on the phone. The street was residential formed of mid-priced semi-detached and detached properties three miles north of Kidderminster.
Without words Lynne parked the car and they all jumped out.
Doug pushed forcefully through the crowds as Lynne followed with shouts of ‘excuse me’, while Penn nodded apologies to people being barged out of the way.
He understood it was a West Mercia crime scene. What he didn’t understand was the reason he’d been summoned to attend. And what the hell could trump a trial for murder?
‘Guv?’ they all said together and it really did feel like old times.
Travis ended the call and looked none too happy.
‘Trial has been suspended for now,’ he said, holding up the phone, confirming that’s what he’d just been told.
‘Guv?’ Lynne repeated.
He looked across the confusion shared by all three of them.
‘Follow me,’ he said, heading along a pathway that separated two detached houses.
At the end of the path was a steep bank with a path trodden between the overgrown weeds.
They scrambled up the bank in single file and stood together when they reached the top.
Penn spotted an arm first, severed just beneath the elbow, approximately twenty feet along the railway track. The stump of the limb was flesh-coloured mulch, deep red with dried blood. Loose flesh looked as though it was trying to crawl away. Sinews hung from the pulped muscle.
Beyond the limb was a crumpled, bloody mess surrounded by white suits. Another clutch of white suits was bunched further up the line, telling him this poor soul had been deposited in bits over a seventy to eighty feet stretch.
‘Bloody hell,’ Doug said.
‘Indeed, Doug. Seven different bits of him strewn across the track.’
As horrific as the scene was Penn still didn’t understand why he was there. If the trial of Gregor Nuryef had been suspended, it was time for him to get back to his own team.
‘Look closer,’ Travis said.
Penn looked back at the solitary arm. The shirt, the suit.
A wave of sickness rose within him.
‘Oh shit, is that?…’
‘Yes, Penn. We’re looking at bits of Mr Dexter McCann, witness for the defence in our murder trial.’
He turned back to them, rage mottling his features.
‘So, tell me, guys, how the hell did you fuck this one up?’
THIRTY
Charles Blunt showed them back into the general office. Ida looked up and Kim smiled in her direction.
‘Lou can tell you much more than I can,’ he said, folding his arms.
Kim noted that all the female employees had looked up at the sound of his voice. She also quickly realised that not one of them except Ida had a chance. Amongst the rest there wasn’t one of them above the age of thirty-five.
‘May I ask what’s going on here?’ Felicity Astor asked from the entrance of a doorway on the other side of the office.
‘And if there’s nothing else I can help you with, I’ll get back to work,’ Charles said, backing away.
Kim thanked him as Bryant stepped towards the head of the college who, although wearing a polite smile, didn’t seem thrilled they were still there.
‘A phone call was made from this location to Belinda’s phone on the day she died and we need to know who made that call,’ Kim explained.
Felicity stared towards the other door. ‘Given what you’ve told me I’d say that was perfectly obvious.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Kim said. Charles had already confirmed that he’d had no contact with Belinda for over a month and following his honesty on everything else she had no cause to doubt him. His alibi would be checked along with everyone else’s whereabouts. ‘But feel free to give us the data that proves us wrong.’
Only the main number of the college had registered on Belinda’s phone records, but Kim was guessing there were hundreds of extensions that all had access to an outside line.
‘All calls in and out are routed via the computerised switchboard,’ Felicity said, tapping the screen on an empty desk. ‘Any call from these premises will register the main number but there are almost three hundred extensions.’
‘Please tell me you record all calls,’ Kim said, hopefully.
She shook her head. ‘Just a little too invasive, officer. We have call monitoring on the sales extensions and the help lines.’
‘So, is there any way of finding out who made that call?’
‘I didn’t say we don’t monitor at all, Inspector. We do like to know that our staff aren’t spending all day on the phone.’
‘So?…’
‘So, there is a database that logs all information of every phone call out of the premises, time made, duration et cetera.’
‘And the database is searchable?’ Kim asked, hopefully.
‘I think you’ll find that Louise is waiting right now for the number called.’
‘It’s Belinda’s—’
‘We don’t keep staff details in there, data protection.’
Bryant took out his notebook and read the number off to her.
She typed it in and waited for a few seconds while the screen loaded.
‘Here we are,’ Louise said. ‘The number was called from the college on Monday morning at 9.55.’
‘That’s the one,’ Kim said.
‘Call lasted two minutes thirty-three seconds and was made from extension number 27, which is… Oh.’
Louise picked up her phone and pressed the two and seven. She waited a few seconds and then shook her head.
‘It’s an active line but…’
‘But what, Louise?’ Felicity asked, frowning.
This was a woman who did not like surprises.
‘It doesn’t exist. There’s no extension 27 on the list.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Felicity said, coming around to the other side of the desk. ‘There has to be.’
Louise shrugged. ‘It’s not on the list,’ she said, tightly.
Felicity looked over her shoulder. ‘So extension 26 is the Biology office and extension 28 is the Physics lab.’
‘But they were all swapped over and kept when—’
‘Excuse me,’ Kim said to remind them she was there.
‘Follow me. The Science block is one of the oldest parts of the complex,’ Felicity explained, as she headed towards the door through which she’d come. Both she and Bryant followed.
