Suffer the Torment, page 7
Roy stretched his broad shoulder and saw Sarah. “DNA swab,” he said, and Sarah nodded, taking out the swab stick from her pocket. “Do you mind if I do David’s as well? It’s just a swab from the inner cheek” she asked Natalie, who nodded her assent.
Ten minutes later, Sarah and Roy left the house. She watched as Roy crossed the road and went up to the entrance of the block of flats opposite. He watched Natalie’s house for a while, then returned.
“I want to have a look around the back,” he said, a focused look in his eyes, and a firm set to his lips. She’d seen that look before. He set off before she could say anything. She walked after him, aware of the strange mood that descended on him sometimes. He barely spoke, and there was a hard glitter in his eyes, like he was furious. But he spoke calmly, and she found him quiet when he looked at her, chestnut eyes swirling. She didn’t want to admit it, but she found him attractive. Not that she’d do anything about it, and so far, he hadn’t given any inclination either, which was just as well. She needed her job, without any drama.
Sarah walked to the end of the block and took a left, then walked down till she came to the rear of the gardens. A wooden fence separated the houses from the street, too tall for her to look over. She couldn’t see Roy, but then caught a movement in black, to her left. It was Roy’s head, mysteriously gliding behind the garden fences. She speeded up and found a gate that blocked access to a path that ran behind the houses. Roy had stopped and was standing on his tiptoes to look inside Natalie’s small garden.
“How did you get in there?” She called out, pulling at the grill gate and the padlock.
“Climbed over,” Roy said, then came back. He grabbed the wooden fence, and heaved himself up, then vaulted over, landing on his feet on the pavement. Sarah stood back to allow his acrobatics.
“That’s what Emma did last night,” she said, “Unless she had a key to this, which I doubt.”
“Maybe a passerby saw her,” Roy said, brushing dust off his shirt. “We need boards up asking for witnesses.”
They walked back to the car. “I don’t like the coincidence,” Roy said, a knot forming on his forehead. “Three schoolkids find Emma there, and they know her from school.”
They got into the car, and Sarah started to drive. “Yes, I know,” she said after a while. The thought was bothering her as well. Did Dean and the other two boys know more than they were letting on? Were the warehouses a popular spot for the kids to hang out? For rebellious teenagers anyway. Even so …
“What did you think of the mother?” she asked as she took a corner and headed to the main road.
“I don’t think she’s lying. One hell of an act if she is. Women in her position find it impossible to hide things. She told us about Emma’s depression, and she knew about the self-harm. Not easy for her to deal with all of it. She’s blaming herself.”
Sarah glanced at him. Roy was looking out the window. The sun slanted across his bronze cheeks, and she saw his nostrils flare as his jaw muscles bunched up. He kept his eyes averted.
“This new boyfriend,” he said eventually. “Let’s see if we can get him.”
“Back to school?”
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 15
Rizwan glanced at the new sergeant, or skipper. Melanie seemed nice enough. She was friendly, but also had a no-nonsense attitude. Now, her eyes were fixed on the teenager who sat in front of them. His name was Luke Riley, and he was the alleged boyfriend of Emma Purkiss.
“When did you last see Emma?” Melanie asked. “We can check, so tell us the truth.”
Luke brushed away floppy brown hair from his forehead, revealing his acne covered skin. Luke was tall, almost six feet. Acne spots marred his face. Rizwan felt a tinge of sympathy for him. He had acne as a teenager.
“A few days ago, I can’t remember. I see her on the hallway, and in the canteen. Didn’t speak to her, as we don’t talk anymore, like.” Alarm flitted across Luke’s face, and his eyes widened a fraction. “Why you askin’ me though? Anything happened to her?”
Dean, Eddie, and Travis were at home. The school children didn’t know about Emma, as yet.
“Just answer the question, Luke,” Melanie smiled briefly at the young man. It was designed to put him at ease, but it didn’t work. Luke remained on edge. His hands moved, and he flicked his eyes from Melanie to Rizwan.
“Have you heard anything about Emma recently? From the other students, or the teachers?”
Luke shook his head. “Nope. Emma was always a bit of a loner, like. She had a couple of mates, but that’s all.”
Rizwan said, “You play rugby, don’t you?” Him and Melanie had sat down to have a chat with Luke’s form tutor, who had filled them in about the teenager’s activities.
Luke nodded. “Aye. I’m a winger.”
“You’re one of the lads, eh? Got loads of mates.” Rizwan grinned.
“Wouldn’t go that far.” Luke smiled cautiously, glancing at Melanie.
“If Emma was a spod,” Rizwan said, “What made you like her?”
“She was pretty. We went to the same classes for English and Maths. Became friends, and then it happened.” He shrugged. “Other girls didn’t like me, but she did.”
“What made you break up?”
Luke stared at Rizwan for a few seconds. Then he seemed to make his mind up. “What’s happened to her? Something bad, I reckon. Or you wouldn’t be asking all these questions.”
Rizwan and Melanie exchanged a glance. Melanie inclined her head briefly, and Rizwan continued.
“If you tell us what we’re asking, that would be best, for now.” Luke went to speak but Rizwan raised a hand. “And then we’ll tell you what’s going on.”
“I didn’t do nothin’,” Luke said, his eyes flaring. “I broke up with her three months back. Who even told you about us, anyway?”
“When you broke up,” Rizwan asked patiently, “Was she upset?”
Luke was frowning. “Not really. I mean kind of. We were close, like, but we didn’t love each other.” He looked down at his hand, and something changed in his attitude. His spine sagged on the chair, and a dark shadow settled on his features. He wouldn’t look at Rizwan anymore.
“What is it?” Rizwan asked. He put his elbows on the desk and leaned forward. Melanie didn’t move, but her eyes were fixed on Luke.
“She wasn’t right. In the head, I mean. Proper mardy like. She cut herself and that.” Luke’s voice was low, and he wouldn’t look at the detectives, who remained silent, giving the teenager time and space.
“I saw the marks on her wrists, aye. I was shocked, like, you know. Asked her, but she wouldn’t tell owt. Felt bad for her, like.” Luke lapsed into silence.
Rizwan repeated his earlier question. “Was she sad when you broke up?”
Luke looked at him. “She was always down, like. Got mardy all the time. To be honest I couldn’t deal with it anymore. She was a nice lass an’ that, but her mood swings were terrible.”
“She tried to bray me once, and that did it, for me. I weren’t goin’ back to her.” Luke looked up, and alarm shot through his face. “Don’ tell nowt to no one though.”
“What happened?”
“She threw a stick at me, then tried to hit me, like. I fought her off, easy though. She were off her rocker, she were. Anyway, after that, it were off. We broke up. I couldn’t deal with that no more.”
Luke inspected his foot, then shook his head. “Did feel sorry for though. She had shit goin’ on. Never told me what it were, like, so don’ be askin’ me.”
Melanie spoke up. “Thank you, Luke. Do you know Emma’s friends? You said she hung around with a couple of girls.”
“Aye. One lass called Marla. Dole or summat her last name is.”
Rizwan had received a call from Sarah. He checked his notebook. “Marla Doyle?”
“That’s it. Look, can I go now?”
Rizwan looked at Melanie. She was his boss here, although it seemed they were pretty much equals, given it was her first day.
Melanie said, “That will be all for now. But we might want to speak to you again. Looks like you knew Emma quite well?”
“As well as you can know someone if you’re going out with them for five months.” He looked from Melanie to Rizwan. “You haven’t told me owt though. What’s happened to her like?”
Melanie sighed. “We can’t tell you right now, Luke. But we will be in touch.”
Luke stared at them, his gaze lingering on Rizwan. Then he stood to leave. “She ain’t at school today, is she? I ain’t seen her around. Is she in jail?”
Rizwan said, “I can’t tell you, but we will, soon.”
“And keep all this to yourself,” Melanie added. Both of them knew it was futile. Sooner or later, the whispers would spread like wildfire up and down the school corridors. It was damage limitation, nothing more.
"One more thing," Rizwan called out. “Do you know if Emma had a new boyfriend?”
Luke was turning away, but he stopped. “I heard she moved on, like. Marla told one of my mates. She didn’t say any names.” Luke shrugged.
Rizwan watched him go. “Marla’s next?” he asked.
“Yes.” She stood and opened the door. They were in an office on the fourth floor, where the headmaster and teachers had their offices. Melanie walked to the water cooler at the end of the corridor, and Rizwan followed. With a cup of water in hand, they knocked on the teacher’s common room door, and a woman answered. She was Emma’s form tutor, and she went downstairs to get Marla. Rizwan and Melanie returned to their room. Melanie stood by the window, looking down at the playground. It was empty as the afternoon classes were on full swing.
Rizwan said, “Do you believe him?”
Melanie turned. She had hazel eyes, and they formed a nice contrast to her black hair.
“Luke? Yes, I think so. I thought he might not tell us about the self-harm, but he wasn’t cagey, was he?”
“No. He seemed a little sad, to be honest. I do want to speak to his mates. Find out more about him.”
There was a knock on the door, and the teacher entered, with a teenage girl who was about five-feet-six, and wore baggy jeans, and braces. Her hair was done up in pigtails at the side, and she had lipstick, and pink blusher on. Her trainers were also pink. She wore a white T-shirt with a Hello Kitty logo, and a pink cardigan. The long strap of a handbag was crossed over her torso, and the bag was also pink, with a Hello Kitty brand name.
“This is Marla Doyle.” The teacher introduced her and left.
And brand ambassador for Hello Kitty, Rizwan thought, suppressing his smile. When he looked at Melanie though, she was grinning widely. Marla gaped at them; mouth open.
“What’s wrong? What have I done? I ain’t been larkin’, honest.”
“Don’t worry,” Melanie said stepping to her, and ushering her to the chair. “This isn’t about you. We just want to talk about Emma Purkiss.”
Marla’s head snapped towards Melanie. Her eyebrows lowered, and the innocent schoolgirl suddenly vanished. A hard glitter danced in her light grey eyes. “What about her?”
CHAPTER 16
Melanie sat down next to Rizwan. The frown remained on Marla’s face. She had black mascara on her eyes, and pink make-up on her cheeks.
“Where’s Emma? Have you got her, like?”
Melanie made a sound in her throat. “Hmm. Why should we have her?”
“I know what you coppers are like. You make things up. I ain’t sayin owt.” She looked at Melanie with frank suspicion in her eyes.
Rizwan was surprised. The hard act was at odds with the cute teenager and her Hello Kitty ensemble. He wondered if Marla had been in trouble before, and scribbled ‘PCN’ on his notebook, to remind himself.
“What you writin’ about me?” Marla demanded.
“This isn’t about you,” Rizwan looked up. “We want to know about Emma. She was your best friend. You’ve been to her house. Correct?”
“So what?” Marla made a face. “She’s been to mine as well. Where is she now? She ain’t called, and I ain’t seen her today.”
Melanie glanced at Rizwan and took over. “Marla,” she said quietly. “Is something bothering you?”
“No. I just want to know where she is, and why you’re here.” Marla’s nostrils flared suddenly, and the corners of her eyes narrowed.
“Hang about.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Is she alright? She hasn’t …” Her words died away.
“Hasn’t what?”
Marla folded inwards then, her chest caving in as her head lowered. She stayed like that for a while.
“Marla?” Melanie raised her voice. “What is it?”
Marla looked up at her, fear spiking in her eyes. Colour drained from her face. “She didn’t … oh my god. That’s why you’re here.”
“Can you explain?”
“She pressed the reset button, didn’t she? She did. Oh god she did.” Marla’s mouth opened in shock.
“What is that?” Melanie looked to Rizwan, then back to Marla. “What do you mean?”
“Like turning a device off when it’s not working, then back on again? Marla, look at me,” Rizwan said, steel in his voice.
Marla obeyed.
“I can guess what resetting means. Did she mean to commit suicide? Is that what this is about?”
Marla’s eyes flickered down. “Where is she? What happened to her?”
“Tell us what’s going on, Marla,” Rizwan said softly. “Help us.”
The teenager picked at her nails. Then she spoke. “It’s a thing for us. We were meant to do it together. But if you’re here, it means she’s gone and done it anyway.” She looked up at him. “Hasn’t she?”
“Talk to us,” Rizwan said quietly. “We don’t know until you tell us.”
In response, the girl pulled up her full-length sleeves. She splayed her arms, so they could see. Rizwan’s eyes widened, and Sparke’s breath caught audibly in her chest.
Marla had dry laceration marks from her wrists to halfway up her forearm. Smaller marks were present on her elbows. Marla pulled her sleeves down.
“We went through it together. Emma’s mum found out, and she got help. I did too. Didn’t do owt for her, but helped me, like. I stopped the pills, like. They made me all mardy. I was takin’ them pills, and still did this.” Marla indicated her wrists, then her hands settled on her thighs, and clenched her jeans. Slowly, she raised the jeans, to show them her ankles. Both ankles had dry cuts, similar to the wrists.
Rizwan and Melanie were shocked into silence, unable to say a word. Marla did the talking.
“I got better after that. But Emma didn’t. She also broke up with Luke then, and it went bad. Really bad. She started cuttin’ again. Talking about resetting.”
“She also found another boyfriend, didn’t she?” Melanie said. Marla looked at her sharply.
“How do you know?”
“Don’t worry about that. Tell us who it was. We know that you knew about her new boyfriend.”
Marla seemed to weigh up her options. She was no longer the scared girl who had walked in to face two police officers. There was an eerie calm about her, a fatalistic acceptance of what happened – which was strange, Rizwan thought, because despite her guess, she didn’t know for sure. Or did she?
Rizwan observed her closely. There was more to Marla than pigtails and Hello Kitty, she had a dark, quiet undercurrent that was slowly revealing itself.
And she was only sixteen.
“Emma didn’t tell me. All I know is that she was happier for a while and liked seeing him. She was around at his all the time. But she didn’t tell me who he was.”
“Where did she go to meet him?”
Marla shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it was someone from outside school. She met him at the pub, I think.”
“You went to the pub?” Melanie raised her eyebrows. “How did you get served?”
Marla looked away, pursing her lips together. Rizwan said, “Fake ID?”
Marla shot him a glare of contempt.
Rizwan nodded. “Thought so. Which pub did you go to?”
The teenager picked at a spot on her jeans.
Melanie said, “Tell us now. We can find you anyway, by following you on CCTV, or asking around. The teachers will find out. Looks worse for you then.”
Marla shook her head. “You coppers. OK, we went to the Duke of Devonshire pub, in the centre.”
“And she met someone there? Can you describe him?”
“Didn’t you hear owt of what I jus’ said? Give over.” She rolled her eyes. “She never told me nowt. I kept askin’ her like, and she wouldn’t.”
“Did you go to any other pub?”
“No. That’s the only place that accepted our ID and served us.”
“Did you take drugs?”
Marla’s eyes opened wider, and her jaws relaxed. “Of course not.”
She was trying a little too hard to look shocked, Rizwan thought. Melanie glanced at him, and there was a wry smile on her face.
Melanie said, “A bit of pot? Or speed as well?”
Marla’s mouth opened wider. “You deaf? I just told yer I never did owt!”
Rizwan knew Melanie was doing it for shock and awe, trying to get more out of Marla. The teenager’s face was heated, crimson spotting her cheeks.
“So, you have no idea who this man was? Although you think Emma might’ve met him at the pub.”
“I just think that I don’t know.” Marla firmed her jaws. “Can I go now?”
Rizwan asked, “Do you know anyone called Gloria?”
Marla frowned, thinking. Then she shook her head. “No. Ain’t got no friends called Gloria. Why?”
“The name was associated with Emma, that’s all.”
“Associated? Not sure what that means. But neither Em nor me knew any Gloria.”
Rizwan and Melanie exchanged a glance. They still didn’t know if Marla was speaking the truth. But they had new leads to follow. The pub would have CCTV, and maybe Marla and her new bloke would be on it.
