The Body That Vanished, page 1
THE BODY THAT VANISHED
DI ELLIS YORKSHIRE CRIME THRILLER
BOOK 7
OLIVER DAVIES
Copyright © 2024 by Oliver Davies
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
A Message from the Author
PROLOGUE
Angela Lowell. Lydia Henton. Nadia Manir. Marika Dabrowska.
Those names had become almost a personal mantra to me. I thought about their names repeatedly in order to keep myself motivated. Personal mantras were supposed to be positive, but three of the women were dead, and the fourth, Marika, had likely suffered the same fate. The knowledge was far from welcoming.
Still, I needed to repeat their names to myself. I needed to make sure myself and no one else would ever forget their names. They were all young women, barely in their twenties, who had been murdered in the most brutal of ways, and I knew I would stop at nothing to ensure justice was served.
Cold cases always presented a number of obstacles and difficulties. The most obvious being that, as the case wasn’t solved in the first place, there must have been a reason why it wasn’t—in this case, it was due to insufficient evidence. There was also always the possibility that a lot had changed since the case first opened, and with just under twenty years since the first victim, Lydia, it was likely a lot had changed. The murderer could have moved far away, or they could have spent two decades building up their anonymity so high it would be impossible to track them down. They could even be dead.
I quickly brushed those thoughts from my mind and returned my focus to my driving. I couldn’t accept the possibility that our murderer could have vanished or be dead and buried. No. He would be made to face punishment for the vile things he had done to those innocent women.
I looked in my wing mirror and smiled to myself when I saw that Detective Superintendent Nadia Begum was still close at my tail. We’d just finished having breakfast together to catch up on my progress with the case so far, and we were now travelling separately to meet Rosie Swift. She was a woman who had various connections to those allied to the case who we hoped could aid our enquiries.
So far, I’d dealt with most of this case on my own, so I couldn’t deny how good it felt to see Nadia close behind me. Unlike me, she wasn’t retired, and her high status at the station meant I now had access to a lot more resources and help than before. Nadia had been giving me aid throughout the past few days, and even though, initially, she’d been incredibly sceptical we could get any closer to identifying the killer than before, she had now reopened the cold case officially based on everything I’d found so far. This was a big step and could be fundamental to helping us solve it once and for all.
As I turned my gaze away from her to focus on the road, my mind went back to that anonymous letter left at Victoria Way Station several days ago. That letter had caused this cold case to become hot. The letter’s content was minimal, consisting only of seven words, but those seven words were all I needed to push to act. The letter only said the names of the three known dead women and the Wolf and Lamb Pub, but I instantly knew it was a lead to help me with this case.
But who had left the letter? And why?
Was it the killer playing games and wanting to see how close we could get to him? Was it someone who knew who the killer was and could no longer live with that knowledge? Or was it maybe someone who had a vendetta against Larry Arnold, the owner of the Wolf and Lamb Pub, and was trying to point the finger of suspicion in his direction? I had no idea, but whoever they were, I had a lot to thank them for.
If it was the killer getting cocky, his arrogance would be his downfall. Thanks to that letter, I’d been taken to the pub where I found out that Lydia, Angela, Nadia, and even Marika had all worked. That small crumb had led me to various people and to meeting with Rosie.
Rosie Swift, known as Rosie Brown when Larry had known her, was an ex-girlfriend of Larry’s and she’d suggested she was happy to meet me and talk. I hadn’t given much away in our text correspondence, and I was surprised she didn’t ask more questions. At least she’d expressed a willingness to see me. While there was always the potential she knew nothing, my hopes were nevertheless high. I also still had Andrea, an ex-colleague of Larry’s, to talk to, as well as the most crucial piece of evidence so far. That was Samuel Waltz’s revelation that he had seen Nadia Manir on more than one occasion with a man who used to deliver his alcohol. Although I was still, frustratingly, waiting for Samuel to provide me with the list of deliverers, before that moment, no one had known anything about Nadia. Now, thanks to Samuel, we had our first key piece of information on her. It had cracked this case wide open.
My gut purred happily anytime I thought of that delivery driver, and that could only mean it was likely he was our killer.
I was pulled from my thoughts of the case by the sound of my sat-nav instructing me to take the next left. I hastily put my indicator on and followed its directions to Rosie’s house. Rosie lived in Fulford, a quaint village on the outskirts of York, and as Nadia and I had just had breakfast in the main village, I knew the drive to her house would be quick. As I admired the beautiful village while I drove, I knew I needed to make more of an effort to venture out of York. The city of York had become almost a crutch to me since I’d retired, and even during my career as a detective, I only tended to venture out of it when work demanded it. I made a mental note to myself that once this killer was behind bars, I’d finally enjoy my retirement.
The sat-nav declared I had reached my destination, so I quickly put on my signal and pulled up on the side of the road. After I parked, I gently pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the address Rosie had given me. Once I saw I was at the right location on Pavilion Row, I put my phone away and slowly got out of my car. I saw Nadia pulling up to park behind my car, so I nodded my head in acknowledgement before I turned my gaze to the houses. The houses here were all attached, and while the majority of them demonstrated brown and red brickwork, there were two random houses in the middle that were both painted white. The white houses were attached and looked identical. They had the same five square windows in view, the same dark grey metal fence wedged between two red brick pillars that left a space before the front door, and the same grey roofs with a chimney—only on the left house the chimney was to the far left, and on the right house the chimney was on the far right. Apart from the location of the chimneys, the only obvious difference between them was that one of the white houses had a sky-blue door, and the other had a bright red door. Both houses’ front doors were surrounded by a well-made white archway that was attached to the building. I checked the number of Rosie’s address on our texts and soon realised her house was the one with the red door.
As I put my phone back into my jacket pocket, I felt the presence of Nadia beside me. She crossed her arms as she gazed at the buildings.
“While I personally wouldn’t want a house right alongside a busy road, these can’t be cheap,” Nadia said in a quiet, thoughtful voice. “The location alone would likely add another one hundred thousand pounds to the price.”
“Aye, she’s clearly done well for herself,” I replied.
Or married well, I thought to myself.
“Ready to see what Rosie has to say?” Nadia asked.
I didn’t give a verbal response. Instead, I stepped toward the red front door and knocked on it. After only a few seconds, I heard footsteps approaching, and it opened. I didn’t know what I’d expected Rosie to look like, but it certainly wasn’t the woman I saw before me. I knew she’d been with Larry in the past, and Larry, although kind, was a rough-and-ready sort of man who dressed casually and, some could argue, scruffily.
Rosie, on the other hand, made me feel like I’d stepped into a time machine and was suddenly transported to the 1950s.
She wore a knee-length red dress with white polka dots that flowed widely at the bottom. The dress revealed her neck and some of her small chest and had three-quarter-length sleeves. A matching patterned belt to the dress wrapped around her waist. Her full lips were delicately covered in red lipstick, and her blond hair was wavy and curled in a way that would have suited a traditional housewife from that time. She smiled when she saw us, making her large blue eyes shine brightly.
“Sean Ellis?” she asked me i
I knew my typical Yorkshire drawl would stand out in comparison.
As she looked me up and down, I saw a sceptical look in her eyes that questioned how I could have held such a high position in the force. I’d tried with my grey sweater to dress professionally, but compared to Rosie’s attire, I might as well have just put a tracksuit on.
“Aye, that’s me,” I said humbly before gesturing toward Nadia. “I hope you don’t mind, but this morning, I was contacted by Detective Superintendent Nadia Begum, and she asked if she could join us today?”
Rosie’s eyes lit up with respect as she moved her gaze to Nadia. She stood up taller and looked at Nadia in awe. I could immediately sense the difference in the way she looked at Nadia compared to me.
“Certainly,” Rosie said gently. “You’re more than welcome, Detective Superintendent. I must say, it’s good to see a woman in such a commanding role!”
Nadia nodded appreciatively. “Thank you for your kind words, Rosie. Please do call me Nadia. It hasn’t been easy, but I worked hard to build my way to where I am today.” She turned to me affectionately and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I must say, none of it would have been possible without this man. He saw the potential in me before anyone else did and did nothing but sing my praises and push for me to get higher.”
Rosie looked at me differently, as if she was suddenly seeing me not as an older gentleman who was past his best but as the man I was when I did work in an official capacity for the Yorkshire police.
“Won’t you both come in?” Rosie asked sweetly, stepping to the side and making a sweeping motion with her hand. “I’ll give you both a brief tour.”
“Ta, Rosie,” I said gratefully.
“Thank you,” Nadia said.
We stepped past Rosie and into her home. The first thing I noticed was that the red color on the front door wasn’t just to differentiate from the other white house; it was clearly a color Rosie favoured. It carried throughout the rest of the house. In some areas of the house, the red was more subtle, such as a few red cushions placed on the tan leather sofas in their beautifully sized conservatory or some red fake roses in vases throughout the kitchen and dining areas. In the living room, however, the red theme was much more apparent. She had four red chairs—two one-seater sofas and two larger sofas—and the large table in the centre between them had a red throw covering it.
“You have a lovely home,” Nadia complimented.
Rosie smiled at her happily. “Thank you, Nadia. It’s got four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and more room than me and my husband need,” she said with a laugh.
I was unsure if Rosie was attempting to gloat about her home or if she was trying to sell it to us, so I simply gave her a small smile in response.
“Why don’t you both take a seat in the living room, and I can make us all a drink?” Rosie offered gently.
“I wouldn’t say no to a coffee, ta,” I replied gratefully.
“Same for me, too, please,” Nadia replied, folding her arms and giving me a sly look. “Make sure Sean’s has a lot of milk in it. I’ve never known a man so fussy when it comes to his drinks.”
Rosie held her hand to her mouth and giggled. “My husband could probably give him a run for his money.”
She led us back to the living room and gestured for us to take a seat. “I won’t be long.”
The moment Rosie left us, I led Nadia to one of the larger sofas so we could sit together. Once we were seated, Nadia turned to me and started to speak in a hushed tone.
“Are you sure this woman can help us?” she asked sceptically. “She seems more Disney princess or housewife than anything else.”
I raised an eyebrow and leant casually against the back of the sofa. “Have we not been helped by housewives in the past?” I asked with a smirk.
Nadia blushed slightly and shuffled awkwardly in her seat. “Of course we have. I just mean, her life seems very different from that of a woman dating a bar owner; that’s all. That was probably a lifetime ago to her.”
“She seemed happy to meet me, so let’s just hope she remembers at least something,” I said optimistically. “Besides, everyone’s life changes at some point.”
We stopped speaking at the sound of Rosie returning. She carried our drinks on an impressive and expensive-looking silver tray and placed them on the centre table.
“Right, there we go,” she said cheerfully as she placed the tray down.
We thanked her as she stepped away from the tray and took a seat in one of the one-seater chairs.
“Okay, so how can I help you both today?” Rosie asked as she crossed one leg over the other and placed her hands on her lap delicately. “You didn’t give much away in your messages, Sean.”
“I’ll cut right to the point, Rosie,” I said in a loud voice, moving so my posture looked straight and serious to reflect my tone. “Nadia here has recently granted me permission to reopen a cold case from over twenty years ago. This case in question involved the deaths of three women whom I believe you met.”
I could tell that for whatever reason Rosie thought I was here, it wasn’t this. She opened her mouth in shock, went rigid in her chair, and struggled to verbalise anything.
“Three women I know are dead?” Rosie stammered. “Who? How? When?”
“I don’t think they were exactly friends of yours,” I said quickly, relaxing slightly in the chair in the hopes of calming her down. “Their names were Lydia Henton, Angela Lowell, and Nadia Manir. They all worked at the Wolf and Lamb Pub, which you used to frequent.”
Although Rosie mimicked my movements and relaxed slightly in her seat, she pursed her lips and looked aggravated. “Ah, yes, the pub my darling ex owns,” she said with venom. “I haven’t been there in quite some time now, Sean.”
I knew old romantic relationships could be complicated, so I didn’t want to pry into how she and Larry had broken up. Instead, I kept the focus on the women.
“But you did go there when those women worked there, right?” I pressed.
“I met both Lydia and Angela, but I don’t think I ever met Nadia.” Her lip wobbled. “I remember seeing her face on the news, though. It was awful.”
“Aye, that it was,” I said with emotion. I coughed, then continued. “The reason I got your number and knew of your connection to the deceased women was through Larry.” I paused uncomfortably at the way Rosie’s face changed just from the sound of his name. “He suggested you and Angela grew rather close during that time.”
Rosie’s angry face softened at the thought of Angela. “Yeah, she seemed like a nice girl. She had her head stuck in the clouds a bit, but then again, I was no different at the time.” She added bitterly. “She was full of romantic notions, and although she was rather shy and reserved at first, she eventually started to open up to me about them. We spoke when I visited the pub, but I wouldn’t necessarily have called us friends.”
My hopes started to rise at her words about romance.
“Larry informed me that Angela told you she had a husband and that you’d met him on occasion?” I asked, attempting to keep the desperation out of my voice, but my body naturally leaned closer toward her.
Rosie rolled her eyes and huffed. “Trust Larry to get it completely wrong,” she said miserably. “That man never listens, I swear.” She stood up, passed Nadia and me our drinks, and then grabbed her own before she sat back down. “What I’d actually said to him was that Angela told me she was engaged and soon to be married, not that she was already married.” She took a sip of her tea. “Plus, I never met the man she was with. I never so much as saw a photo of him, which seemed strange. Made me often wonder if she even had a man.”
My hopes fell down faster than a row of dominos at her words. I was pinning so much on Rosie having an eyewitness account of Angela’s husband, and now I was back to nothing.
“Why did you find it so strange, Rosie?” Nadia asked gently, crossing her legs in her seat to get comfortable.
“Once she moved past her initial shyness, Angela spoke about this mystery man all the time.” She sighed. “Literally… all the time, but when I tried to find out specifics, she would keep her lips sealed.” She took a small sip of her tea again before continuing. “She never told me his name or what he looked like, and any time I tried to find out anything, she insisted her boyfriend was private and didn’t want her to tell anyone details about them until they were officially married.”
