‘Gina, have you heard the latest? They let me go last night and then they stormed in about an hour ago to get me,’ Briggs asked in a whisper.
‘Why didn’t you call me last night?’
‘I thought everything would be fine, but it’s not. Not now.’
‘What have you done?’
‘I… I, err.’
‘Just say it, Chris. I need to know what I’m dealing with here.’
Wyre burst in and Gina ended the call. ‘Everything okay, guv. I didn’t mean to make you jump.’
Gina shook her head. ‘It’s nothing. Just this case.’ She left the toilets and stood in the corridor in the hope that Briggs would call back quickly, but he didn’t. Once again, she was in the dark. A sick feeling was brewing in her stomach. What line was he asking her to cross?
EIGHTEEN
Jacob pulled up at the large derelict factory unit behind the forensics van. A cool drizzle filled the air and it had caused Gina’s hair to frizz. They stepped out of his car and walked towards the PC guarding the outer cordon. She was no longer on her territory which felt odd. ‘I’m DI Harte and this is DS Driscoll. We’ve come to see DI Kempsey.’
The man turned to a group of people who were huddled by a wall and called out. ‘DI Kempsey?’
Kempsey emerged from the huddle. The first thing Gina noticed was that his huge grey eyebrows matched his moustache, next it was his crooked tie and creased blue shirt. ‘DI Harte?’ He raised his brows.
‘Yes, from Cleevesford. I hear there are similarities in our cases.’ As far as she was aware, Kain Pickering was victim number one. She wondered if their killer had chosen to leave Kain’s body in Cleevesford because the area was familiar. If so, was the perp equally familiar with Kidderminster and the factory unit in particular? The abandoned building would be hard to find if the killer didn’t know the area.
‘DCI Fraser updated me on your case a few hours ago and it appears we do have similarities. I sent him a photo of the teddybear and we can confirm that it is identical to the one found at your scene.’
Gina had clocked that there was no label on the bear left at Maura’s house. ‘Were there any clues as to where the toy may have been bought from, like a label?’
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘They’re really cheap and sold online and in lots of shops. I did a quick search in the hope that it was some person who made them at home. No such luck.’
Jacob stepped a little closer and pulled out his notebook.
‘Can you tell me a little about the victim and the scene here?’ Gina asked.
‘If you both tog up, you can take a look for yourselves. Forensics have already put the stepping plates down and they’ve been working the scene for a couple of hours. I’ll just check with Sheila, the crime scene manager. In the meantime, head over to the cordon, grab yourselves crime scene suits, sign in and I’ll meet you there. I’ll get Sheila, to walk us all through.’
Gina and Jacob grabbed a suit each and began to tog up. A crime scene assistant lugging a bag over her shoulder and a tripod pressed under her arm nudged past. DI Kempsey led the way. ‘Follow me,’ he said in a muffled voice from behind his mask.
A metal door leaned against the front wall of the building, leaving a gaping hole for them to go through. On glancing up at it, Gina was faced with a two-storey factory unit. Weeds grew through the gaps in the brickwork and wooden sheets had been nailed over all the windows. She glanced back and saw that the metal perimeter fence had been cut in several places showing how entry could have easily been gained.
‘Be careful where you step. There’s a lot of needles in the first room.’ DI Kempsey stepped into the high-ceilinged dark room, partially lit by a portable light.
To her right, Gina spotted a scattering of syringes and fast-food wrappers. A couple of teaspoons and a portable gas cooker had been placed against the wall.
‘The owners cleared a group of squatters out around six months ago. They thought they’d sealed it up well but our victim and witness had started to make it their home despite the barriers. People always find a way.’
‘Have you interviewed the witness?’
‘Briefly. Her name is Rita Court. Her formal interview will take place later at the station. She’s currently in shock and is being treated by paramedics. She’s well known in the area by the authorities and the community drug team. From what they say, she’s a very nice woman who has fallen on hard times.’
They followed DI Kempsey up a short flight of steps into what would have once been a huge production space. The smaller rooms positioned along the left of the building must have been offices once, occupied by supervisors and admin staff. She spotted the broken wood at one of the windows. ‘Is that how they were getting into the building?’
‘Yes.’ DI Kempsey pointed to a room right at the back. ‘Rita told us that she and the victim were entering through that window. She stayed in a hostel last night and we have verified that. Her case worker confirmed that she got a bit argumentative and told them she was leaving at around five this morning. She wanted a fix and there’s a no drugs rule at the hostel. As soon as she got here, she found the victim, ran outside, flagged someone in a car down and got them to call us.’
‘What is the relationship between Rita and the victim?’
‘They just agree not to enter each other’s space and sometimes talked in passing. She said he was moody and got angry if she went near him.’
