Suffer the Torment, page 9
“Jason Smart,” Roy said. “Has he been a troublemaker before?”
“There’s been rumours of him being a drug dealer and selling cannabis to other students. Daphne’s just been filling me in. Other students have complained about him and his mates.”
“I want all their names, address, and phone numbers. Parents details as well. We can start with Jason.”
“He lives with his aunt. No parents.”
That made perfect sense, Roy thought. Daphne said, “Jason’s not doing well academically. He’s also had disciplinary issues, disrupting class by arguing with a teacher. He can be intimidating as he’s so tall.”
“He will be arrested when located,” Roy said. “Not sure what the charge will be, but evading arrest for starters, unless we find something else.”
“Let us know if we can do anything to help,” Mr Ridpath said. Roy nodded, and then headed for the room where Luke was waiting.
Before they went in, Sarah turned to Roy. Her luminous green eyes bore into him. “He’s a child. Go easy on him.”
“I know.”
Sarah turned the handle and they entered. She shut the door behind them. Luke was sitting on the same chair where Marla had been an hour ago. He twisted on his seat, and his eyes widened. Panic was written all over his face. Sarah raised a hand.
“Relax, Luke. Nothing will happen to you. We just want to know the truth about what’s going on. Then you’re free to go.”
Roy sat down, saying nothing. He was happy to be the bad cop, just to keep Luke on his toes. He also knew the kid had been through a lot in one day. He let Sarah lead.
“Tell us about Jason,” she said.
Luke heaved a deep breath, like he was expelling a weight off his chest. “He’s a bully. Him and his gang often take our lunch money. And they use it to buy drugs. They sell drugs outside school.” Luke looked around him like he expected someone to jump at him.
“Listen, don’t tell nowt to no one, you hear? I don’t want to get beaten up, like.”
Sarah said, “Don’t you worry about that, lad. Give us the names of the gang members. Jason was the leaders, what about the others?”
“Dean is one of ‘em,” Luke said. “He’s not here today.”
“Dean Dawson?” Sarah said. She glanced at Roy, who was frowning.
“Yes. He hangs around with Jason.”
The same Dean who identified the body. Curiouser and curiouser, Roy thought.
Sarah asked, “How close was Dean to Jason?”
“They hung around together a lot.”
“Did they know Emma Purkiss?”
Luke froze. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. “If you don’t tell us we can still find out,” Sarah said.
Luke thought for a while, then blurted out. “Yes. Emma, Marla, they all hung around with Jason, Dean, that lot. Compared to them, I was boring. That’s why Emma and I broke up.” He shook his head. “She was mardy an’ that, but then all of that lot are, mardy and larkin’.”
Roy knew enough of Yorkshire slang to understand. They were moody and got into trouble.
“The others avoid them,” Luke looked to the ground and spoke softly. “They have a reputation, like.”
“Did Jason know Emma well?” Sarah asked.
“I’ve seen them hanging around in a group. They go places after school. And don’t ask me where ‘cos I don’t know.”
“But have you ever seen Jason and Emma alone together?”
Luke shrugged. “Look, I don’t know. Who knows what they got up to outside school?”
Roy cleared his throat. “Where did they sell the drugs?”
“Outside. But sometimes at the back, by the bike shed and that. It was all hush hush. But everyone knew what they were doing.”
Luke shrugged. “They were bad, which made them sort of cool. Not my type. I was surprised when Emma wanted me. She came to watch a rugby match, and that’s where we met, like.”
Roy asked, “What was Jason telling you when I turned up?”
A spasm of fear contorted Luke’s face. “He’d heard the police were here. He wanted to know what I’d told them. See, Jason’s got lads who report to him about what’s going on in school. I told Jason you lot were here to ask for Emma. I didn’t know what was happening, like.”
Roy looked at Sarah. She carried on with the questioning. “Was Jason angry when you told him about us askin’ for Emma?”
“Not sure. He didn’t believe me at first, but then he did. And then he turned up.” Luke pointed at Roy.
“Yes, and saved your butt from a beating.”
For the first time, a ghost of a smile slipped across Luke’s face. “I can take him on, like. He’s bigger but I’ll fight anyone.”
“Good lad,” Roy smiled. “That’s how you stand up to a bully.” He looked at Sarah, who nodded.
“We’re all done for now, Luke. But we might want to speak to you again.”
They stood, preparing to go. Luke’s question stopped them in their tracks. “Is Emma dead?”
CHAPTER 20
Sarah and Roy walked fast, heading for the car park. They had to be honest with Luke. He had guessed the truth about Emma, in any case.
“I wonder if Jason and his gang knew. Like Dean, who found the body,” Roy said as he eased into the seat gingerly. He winced as he put the seat belt on.
“What are you saying?” Sarah frowned as she drove slowly out of the car park. She turned on the road and picked up speed. “Dean was there to check that Emma was dead? Or he killed her?" Sarah shook her head.
Roy clamped on his jaws. It was hard to think these young people could commit such crimes, but it had happened. Rare, but it did.
“They know more than they’re letting on,” Roy said. He turned the black dial of his radio, tapping into the correct frequency. He asked one of the squad cars for an update on Jason.
“We caught up with the bus, guv,” the uniformed sergeant said. “But the suspect wasn’t on board. No one matching his description anyway.” The sergeant told Roy the location of where the bus was stopped.
“Thanks. Keep looking.”
“He got off the bus,” Roy said to Sarah. “Wonder where he went.”
“We know the bus route. He can’t be far. Has to be in the area.”
Roy called the station and spoke to Oliver. “Start a door to door around Nottingham Street, just off Burngreave Road. They stopped the bus at the junction. Jason could still be around there.”
“There’s also a big park around the corner,” Oliver said. “Parkwood Springs. It’s massive, goes up all the way into Hillsborough. He could be hiding in there, and that’s a problem.”
“Let’s start with the door to door. I’ll ask Nugent to mobilise extra units.”
Sarah arrived at the station and parked. Roy waved at a couple of uniformed sergeants out for a smoke. Now that he’d given up, he couldn’t imagine why people tolerated that filthy habit for so long. Even vaping was better, like Rizwan and Oliver did. Sarah suggested they pick up coffee from the canteen, and he agreed. She paid, despite his offer. She picked up a few bacon butties and slid him one across the counter.
“Not muesli and fruits?” Roy asked. “Not very healthy, is it?” He picked up the butty, and the smell of bacon drove him mad with hunger.
“Give over,” Sarah said. “This’ll keep you goin’ all the way till teatime.”
By tea of course, she meant dinner time. Sarah sat down and unwrapped her butty and bit into it. After some hesitation, Roy followed suit. He had to admit, bacon tasted nicer here. Less farmed, and more natural tasting, if that made sense. The way bacon tasted when he was young.
“Mmmm,” he said, chewing.
“Like it then? Thought you might.”
Roy finished chewing and took a sip of coffee. He couldn’t make a habit of this, but it was more than enjoyable. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a bacon butty. The butter melted on the soft bacon and tasted so yummy he could easily have a couple of them.
He frowned when he saw the grin on Sarah’s face as she reached for her coffee.
“What?”
“You always complain first, but then give way.”
“I do? Better than doing it the other way around. And it’s only for something like this,” he pointed to the butty on his hand. “Not good at giving way for most things.”
“Rohan,” she shook her head. “Your bark is worse than your bite.”
“Sarah, you haven’t seen me bite.”
She swallowed, then sipped her coffee. “You’ll find I have. Remember when you went after Burgess in his house? I was there.”
Roy did recall, and he had the scars to prove it. That fracas was nothing compared to what Burgess did later, and while it worsened his scars, he had caught the man, finally.
“And thank you for being there. It hurts me to admit it, but you’re a good copper.” He grinned, then took a large bite.
Sarah finished eating, then went back to the counter. Roy drained his coffee, then joined her.
“What’re you buying now?”
“Egg butty, for Rizwan. He doesn’t eat bacon, so this will have to do. Or maybe a chip butty with scraps. But an egg butty is healthier.”
Roy agreed and took the brown bag bearing the butties from her hand. They walked into the office, and there was a murmur of approval when Roy put the bag on the desk.
“Inspector Sarah treating you today,” Roy said. “Hope you’ve been working hard.” He handed Rizwan the egg butty. “Keep your strength up, son. All that running you did today.”
“Aye,” Rizwan said, taking the wrapper off. “Especially while Ollie sat on his bum.”
“Na then, guv,” Oliver shook his head in exasperation at Rizwan, and spoke to Roy. “I’ve got all the details on Marla, Jason, Dean, and pretty much everyone in the school, including the teachers. Mr Ridpath is squeaky clean. None of the kids have any PCN’s, but Jason’s been cautioned once for drunk and disorderly outside a pub. And I’ve looked at CCTV with traffic. Seems like Jason’s gone into Parkwood Springs, which isn’t good news. But uniforms have sealed of all the entrance and exits, and two squad cars are patrolling. Jason’s in there, and he’s not leaving.”
“You have your uses,” Roy acknowledged. “Any news on who Jason socialised with outside school? Emma and Marla hung out with them, and Emma met someone at the pub, we think. Her latest boyfriend, whom we need to find asap.”
“Not much, but we do have CCTV of him outside school. Not seen it as yet.” He pulled up his laptop, and took a bite of his food, then tapped on the keyboard.
“Multitasking,” Rizwan said, coming over his desk so he could see the screen. “Not like you, Ollie.”
“Not like you to not eat a bacon butty,” Oliver shot back, his smile widening as he saw the sudden discomfort in Rizwan’s face. “At home you’re all goody two shoes, ain’t yer? Outside you do what you want. Apart from here, that is. No one knows, eh?” Oliver winked at Rizwan, who was fuming.
“Shut your face you daft bugger.”
“That’s enough,” Roy said. “Ollie, leave him alone. Let’s see the films.” He glanced at Rizwan, who seemed genuinely pissed off. The DC folded arms across his chest, his face stony as he stared at the screen. Roy had Muslim friends, and he knew it wasn’t easy for the second generation who’d been born and raised in England. The norms at home were very different to that outside. Perhaps Rizwan wasn’t religious, but he felt the pressure to be. Roy had been lucky.
Still smirking, Oliver pressed play. The footage showed the street outside the school, a few cars moving past slowly, some pulling up to pick up children. A tall teenager in a hoodie crossed the road and walked out of sight. Another camera feed caught him farther down the road. It was clearly Jason. His hoodie was down now, and he lifted it again, then looked around. A car was parked under a tree, far away from the other parents and children. Jason leaned over the driver’s side window and seemed to have a conversation with the driver.
The driver’s face wasn’t visible when Oliver zoomed in. The car moved off, and Jason looked around, then walked in the same direction.
“I got the reg number,” Oliver said. Rizwan went back to his desk and flipped his tablet open.
“Go on then.”
Oliver gave him the reg details, and Rizwan searched for it. Then he sat back and whistled.
“Chuffing heck, guv you wan’ see this, like.”
CHAPTER 21
Roy had a look at Rizwan’s screen. The others crowded around him. The car in question belonged to a man who had a number of convictions. He had pale, thin face with large, hooded eyes. His name was Paul Walker.
“DVLA have that car registered to this geezer,” Rizwan said. “When I searched on his name, I got all this.” He clicked on one of the conviction records. It was from the Rotherham County Court, for armed robbery and assault. Mr Walker had also been to jail in Leeds, for possession of narcotics with intention to distribute. The list of his convictions stretched back to when he was a teenager, and he was now in his thirties.
“Look on the bright side,” Roy said. “With that record, he’s stupid enough to roll up to a school entrance with his own car. No wonder he’s been nicked so many times. Where does he live?”
Rizwan pulled up a map and pasted the address on the search box. “Tinsley, not far from Burngreave, where Jason was last seen.”
Melanie spoke up. “Jason could be hiding in the park till night fall, then seek refuge in Paul’s house. That would be stupid, as he must know we can have that house under surveillance.”
“Speaking of which,” Roy said, “What about Jason’s phone? Are we triangulating the calls?”
Oliver said, “Yes, we are. He’s been clever about that. No signal from his phone. He’s turned it off. Last beep was from the school ground. He might have another number.”
“Get hold of Paul Walker’s phone. Put his house under watch,” Roy said. “And bring him in. If he resists, arrest him. I also want statements from Marla and Dean. As friends of Jason, they might know this criminal, Paul.”
Sarah said, “What about Natalie Purkiss? The men loitering outside her house?”
“I’ll go speak to her, guv,” Melanie offered, and Sarah nodded. “Let’s make sure Marla and Dean are at home as well, and we can speak to them after Natalie. That way, we’ve done the students.”
“Good idea,” Sarah said. “I’ll come with you.”
Roy pointed at Oliver and Rizwan. “You two, check out Paul Walker’s house, and catch up with the uniforms at Parkwood Springs. We need to get Jason. He might know who Emma’s new boyfriend was.”
“I wonder if it was Paul Walker,” Sarah said, a deep frown settling on her face.
“Let’s get evidence before we jump to conclusions,” Roy said. “Let’s get cracking.”
Sarah held his eyes as the others got up and stretched. She pulled him to one side and spoke in a low voice.
“What’re you going to do?”
Roy looked down at the unflinching green-eyed stare, which bored into the back of his skull, searching his mind.
“Got something to do,” he found himself mumbling.
“I know what it is. Just don’t do anything stupid, Rohan.” She raised her shapely eyebrows. She was dwarfed by Roy’s height and bulk, craning her neck to meet his eyes, but he had the strangest feeling she was actually scolding him. He grinned but she shook her head.
“I mean it. You could jeopardise—”
“I got it,” he whispered, aware that Melanie was walking towards them. Rizwan and Oliver walked off, giving them a wave.
“Shall we go?” Melanie said.
“Yes,” Sarah gave Roy one last look, then walked away with Melanie. Roy watched them, wondering how on earth five feet five inches of female intuition had worked out his thinking. Then again, that was women for you. He had long ceased trying to figure them out.
*****
Manchester wasn’t far from Sheffield, but the place had a different feel. It was more red bricks and chimney stacks, more cars and rushing people, gritty and grimy. It didn’t have the Peak District on its borders to mellow out the harshness of the urban sprawl. In that sense, Roy mused, as he took the turning for HMP Strangeways, that Sheffield was a unique city.
He had to go through three layers of security and biometric checks, including an airport style whole body check before he was allowed into the reception. His name was on a highly selective list of visitors. HMP Strangeways was max security for a reason, it housed the most dangerous killers in the country, men who would never see the world outside again.
The man behind the bullet proof glass of reception looked bored as he scanned in Roy’s ID. He was getting used to Roy, and he now knew who Roy was here to see.
“Did you make an appointment?” the man, whose name badge said Lee Hurst, asked.
“No, I haven’t. But it’s urgent, can’t wait.”
“I need to let Dr Parsons know you’re here. Hold on please.”
Roy sighed, rocking on his heels. Dr Harold Parsons, the psychiatrist, wasn’t exactly his friend. He had told Roy in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t to question Burns, or Burgess, in his absence. But Dr Steven’s brother wasn’t missing for twenty-seven-years and counting. He didn’t have to struggle with the frustration and rage that came with the … not knowing.
“He’s not answering. Can you wait?”
“No, I can’t,” Roy tried to keep the impatience out of his voice. “I have an ongoing murder investigation to deal with, including a man hunt for the suspect. I was the arresting officer for Steven Burns, and there are outstanding issues after his convictions. I need to speak to him, urgently.” He paused to take a breath. “Please.”
Lee chewed his lower lips, looking at the screen. “Dr Parsons will be back from his break shortly. I guess you can go upstairs and wait for him.”
“Thank you.”
The door next to the reception buzzed and Roy walked through. The short lobby led to the lifts, and he went up to the second floor. He had to bend at the waist for his face to be scanned, then press his thumb on the keypad. The door buzzed and opened into another reception. He showed his warrant card. The male receptionist rose from his desk and led Roy to a door that had a big steel rung, and looked it belonged in a bank vault. The receptionist looked like a wrestler. That was by design, as all the staff here were capable of restraining any of the inmates, or their visitors.
