‘I feel your frustration.’ He dropped the folder onto the desk and fell into the chair.
‘We need an arrest. I can’t walk back through the path of reporters tonight without something positive to share. Did you see what they’ve been writing? They’re tearing us apart. No, they’re tearing me apart.’
‘Yes, they don’t seem to mention how overstretched and underfunded we are and they seem to like using the word “incompetent” a lot. They forget that we need evidence or the CPS will throw it straight out. Oh, and they like blaming the ghosts of Cleevesford Woods. They’re revelling in the theatre of it all.’
‘Damn it! This mess has to end. Call a briefing, now. We need to pool our theories and maybe look for some new ones. Mrs Brown knows something and so does Isaac Slater. They know Alex too. We’re close, so close.’
Chapter Forty-Seven
‘Gather round.’ Gina pushed the chair out of the way and stood at the head of the table. Wyre and O’Connor came from their computers and grabbed chairs, along with PC Smith. Jacob picked up his bottle of water and sat opposite. ‘First things first, has anyone managed to contact Joanna Brent?’
Wyre smiled. ‘Yes, she has given Isaac Slater an alibi for every night over the past couple of weeks. She said he never goes out on his own and they’re in every night after work and they went shopping once, together. She said she has the Asda receipt if we want to see it.’ Wyre shrugged and continued. ‘I also called his place of work but I couldn’t get an answer so I’ve left a message.’ O’Connor passed a packet of biscuits to Wyre. She shook her head and passed them on to Jacob.
‘Thank you. As soon as this briefing is over will you also do an alibi check with Christian Brown? Cherie, his wife, has just told us that she was with him all night on Monday the twenty-sixth of October; that was the night our witness says he heard a woman arguing with Alex Swinton. I want to know if there was any way she could have been out. I also want us to look further into Cherie Brown, she’s keeping something back about the case. I want to know everything about her. Another way to look at this is she may also be in danger.’ Gina glanced back at the board and drew a ring around four names. Isaac, Penny, Marcus and Cherie. ‘They were all school friends and they knew Alex. Both Marcus and Isaac say they barely knew him, Cherie claiming to know him even less. O’Connor, Wyre?’
‘Yes.’ He placed the biscuit he was about to eat on his paperwork.
‘I want you both to investigate them closely and any other links that flag up, I want them forwarded to me straight away. Take any alibis amongst this group with a pinch of salt. The investigation of them doesn’t close because one person confirms they were with another. What aren’t they telling us? That’s where our focus should lie. Any thoughts?’
The room went silent.
‘There’s the obvious.’ Wyre scribbled a few notes and stared at them for a moment. ‘They were all in on killing Alex and now they’re sitting tight, hoping that we can’t prove a thing while they all vouch for each other’s whereabouts.’
O’Connor swallowed a bit of biscuit and continued. ‘Any number of them or any combination of them could be working together. We’ve also established that Alex’s elaborate murder could have been planned and set up by one person, even though it would have been difficult. We have no leads on the coffin or coffin makers. No useful witness accounts or CCTV evidence.’ He put the rest of the biscuit in his mouth.
Jacob leaned in. ‘Or none of them did it.’
Gina paused. ‘That would throw us back into having nothing. They’re all acting suspiciously. If none of them did it, I can guarantee that at least one of them has the information that could lead us to the killer. Whatever they’re concealing, I want it.’ Gina placed her hand in her pocket and felt the biscotti from earlier that morning. Her stomach began to rumble a little. She let go of it and grabbed a biscuit from the table, crunching as she stared at the board. ‘I know it’s early, but are Alex Swinton’s toxicology results back?’
‘No, guv.’ Wyre flicked over to another page. ‘And not likely to be back for ages.’
‘Damn – I don’t know why I asked. I suppose I just live in hope. Apply some pressure. Put a fast track on it. Do whatever it takes. What are we missing?’ She swallowed, knowing full well that any chance of getting toxicology results back so soon was little to none. It was time to address the one thing she didn’t want to speak of. ‘The letter that was sent to the papers.’ As agreed, only she and Briggs knew about the personal letter. ‘This person wants my attention and they’ve got it. Why haven’t they made contact again?’ She felt a shiver under her hairline. ‘I hate to say it but they haven’t contacted me again because they haven’t murdered again. Or have they? We still have no word about Penny Burton’s whereabouts. Talk to me about Penny’s bank and phone records.’
Wyre did her jacket button up. ‘Since the Friday she went missing, there have been no transactions on her debit or credit card. As for her phone, she hasn’t texted or called anyone. We don’t have the details of previous messages, only numbers. She did, however, have another phone and her husband, Marcus Burton, has confirmed that she had taken that phone with her when she disappeared. It’s a pay-as-you-go and not registered. I’ve applied for the content of her contract phone and that should be with us soon.’
‘As soon as you have it, please forward it to me. I want to see her messages in the run up to her disappearance. So far, we have this. She leaves on the morning of an argument with her husband. Her behaviour is classed as normal behaviour by her friends and her husband, Marcus. He was only concerned when she still hadn’t got in touch the next day. She doesn’t have any other close friends that he knows of, so where is she? She didn’t check into a hotel. It’s like she’s vanished.’ Gina walked over to the window. ‘We need to put out a press release. Give them Penny’s photo. We need to find her. I won’t lie, I’m worried for her, which is why I’ve taken the decision to ramp things up. Whether she’s a suspect or a potential victim, we need her found. Whatever it takes. Smith?’
‘Yes, guv.’ The PC undid his jacket and exhaled as he leaned back.
‘Given what happened to Alexander Swinton, I need you to organise a search of all woodland in the area. Get the dog team out. If Penny is out there somewhere, she may not have long, unless we’re too late. It’s been nearly three days since she was last seen.’ Gina swallowed. Finding another shallow grave with a body in it was the last thing she wanted. ‘Just because some of her friends aren’t worried, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be. We have one murder; I don’t want there to be another.’ The emptiness in her stomach caused it to flip. If Penny was out there, she wanted her found. Enough time had already been wasted with the days it took to report that Penny was missing. Those vital hours could never be regained.
As the meeting came to a close, she spotted Briggs passing. ‘Hey, can we talk?’
He looked blankly at her, no warmth in his expression as he ground his teeth. ‘Look, let’s leave it for now. Let me know how you get on today.’
‘Sir—’
It was too late. He was already halfway back to his office.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Cherie gripped her phone to her ear. ‘What aren’t you telling me, Marcus? What did you tell the police?’ She scurried along the path and broke down, just as she turned off the road, away from the police station.
‘I didn’t tell them anything apart from that Penny was missing. What the hell did you tell them?’
‘Nothing.’
He paused on the line as she sobbed into her hands.
