‘You don’t think that going through CRIS reports, identifying patterns and analysing information is police work, that it’s important?’
Copeland sighed. ‘Of course it’s important,’ she said firmly. ‘I don’t mind doing the work, but I would appreciate it if Henley, sorry Inspector Henley, afforded me the same respect that she gives to the rest of the team.’
‘Is that it?’
‘I just want to do my job, guv, but yes, that’s it,’ Copeland said, standing up. ‘Thank you for hearing me.’
‘Wonder what that was all about?’ Ramouter asked Stanford as they both watched Copeland pick up her phone from her desk and walk out of the office from where they stood in the kitchenette.
Stanford threw the teaspoon into the sink. ‘Probably having a moan about Henley,’ he said.
‘You don’t really think that, do you?’ Ramouter replied.
‘I’d put money on it. The tension between Henley and Copeland is as thick as the custard that my nan used to make.’
‘She’s just keen,’ Ramouter said. ‘And let’s be honest, it’s not easy joining you lot. Remember you had a bet running that I wouldn’t last six months in the SCU.’
‘That’s very true and also a reminder that I need to start a bet on Copeland. So, what do you reckon?’ Stanford said, walking back to his desk. ‘Twenty quid, she’ll be kicked out by the end of the next week?’
‘Wow? Ye of little faith,’ Ramouter laughed, reaching for the doughnuts on top of the microwave. ‘Fifty quid she’ll be made permanent.’
‘Bloody optimist. Just make sure your cash is in the tin by Friday,’ Stanford said. His phone rang. It took a couple of seconds to realise that 0161 was the area code for Manchester. He quickly answered.
‘This is DI Forfana. Serious sexual offences unit. Greater Manchester police. I’ve been on annual leave and came back to a bunch of messages on my desk. So, what can I help you with?’
‘Douglas Mantell’s murder is possibly linked to a series of murders that we’re investigating.’
‘Mantell was pulled from the canal well over a year ago, but even so, shouldn’t you be talking to the SIO from the homicide team?’
‘We already are but one of the unique features of our investigation is that all of our victims recently appeared in court and either walked away with an acquittal or a light sentence that wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.’
‘I’m assuming one of your line of enquiries is looking at anyone who would have been unhappy with the verdict?’
‘Exactly. Someone like Mantell I doubt would have had an outpouring of support. So, are you good to go?’
‘Fire away. I’ve got the case files open in front of me.’
‘Ok,’ Stanford said as he picked up a biro and smoothed out a page. ‘When did you first open the investigation into Mantell?’
‘Four years ago, Mantell’s daughter Gia first reported theallegations of sexual assault to her GP. She has a younger sister, Hazel who was nine years old at the time of the report. Gia said that she could see her dad looking at her sister the way he used to look at her and it unnerved her.’
There was a pause, where the only thing that Stanford could hear was the hum of office activity down the line. He heard Forfana kiss his teeth.
‘Sorry,’ Forfana said. ‘There are some things that you just can’t harden yourself to. Gia was five months pregnant when she made the allegations and had also found out that she was having girl.’
‘Her sister and the baby. It triggered her.’
‘Exactly. She broke down in front of her GP. Told him what her dad had done to her and what he’d made his friends do to her.’
‘His friends?’
‘Yeah, it’s turned into a much bigger investigation than we initially thought. Still ongoing. Mantell was just the tip of the iceberg. Gia’s GP directed her to SARC—’
‘The Sexual Assault Referral Centre?’
‘That’s it. She went to SARC, and the case came through to me. She was understandably scared. She didn’t want to be responsible for breaking up her family, but she came in and gave her statement over several months. I couldn’t ask for anything more from her really,’ Forfana’s voice softened with empathy. ‘We arrested and interviewed Mantell, hoping he’d break and give up the names of the others, but he didn’t. He was charged and the court system being what it is, it took a while for the trial to come around and when it did … I don’t know why the jury couldn’t all agree that the dirty pervert was guilty.’
Forfana’s disappointment and sense of failure permeated through the phone. Stanford let the silence sit for a while.
