Caprice led the way from the break room where Rob was talking to Nigel, with Scarlett bringing up the rear and Izabela between them. Scarlett wanted to keep the young prostitute in sight in case she made a run for it, but to her credit, she never once looked like she was going to try.
They stepped into the upstairs apartment that she presumed Nigel called home and Caprice showed them into a dining room. Scarlett thanked her and left Caprice with no doubt that she wanted to be alone with Izabela.
“Thank you,” Scarlett said, showing Caprice the door.
“Sure.” She looked over at Izabela. “I’ll be right outside, okay?”
“That’s fine,” Izabela answered.
Scarlett smiled one last time and then shut the door. She turned to the teenager and smiled. “Why don’t you take a seat,” she offered. Izabela accepted, and Scarlett joined her, readying her notepad as she settled. “Thank you for agreeing to talk to us.”
The girl shifted in her seat and fiddled with the ties on her top. “No problem.” She looked traumatised and scared, so going in hard wasn’t going to work. She’d clam up, and then they’d get nothing. She needed to ease Izabela into the questions and let her tell the story in her own time. They’d get way more out of her that way.
“I’m Scarlett, by the way.”
“I got that,” she answered flatly.
“I know this is difficult, but it sounds like you’re worried about some… people, maybe the same people we’re trying to find. The people who killed Penny. So if you can help us find them, then you’re going to be doing what Penny would want you to do, I’m sure.”
“I know.”
“How about you tell me a little about yourself? How did you end up here, in the UK?”
“Money,” she answered. “I wanted money.”
“And you thought coming here would get you that?”
“I did, once…”
“Why? What do you want to earn this money for?”
“To support my mother. She lives alone in Poland. She worked and always tried to provide for us when I lived with her, but it’s hard. We never had enough. So, then I hear of someone who can get me a good job in England. So I can travel, I can see the world, and I can earn some money while I’m travelling. It sounded perfect. So I went to them, and they were interested. Before I knew it, I was on my way here, and then it went wrong. They take my passport, and they smuggle me into the country.”
“Who’s they?”
“Radek. He’s the leader. He brings people over, girls, boys, men, women. I don’t know what he does with them all, but they forced me to…” Her breath caught in her throat, and she took a moment to calm herself and get control of her emotions. Scarlett let Izabela take her time, never rushing her and waiting for her to tell the story. “I had to carry drugs… inside me, you know?” She pointed to herself.
“I understand.”
“They wanted me to swallow the… things, but I couldn’t do it. It was a nightmare. No one told me…” She sighed. “I was only here for a day before they forced me onto the street. They made me do it. They hooked me on drugs. They made me into this.”
“I know. It’s not the first time I’ve seen it.”
“I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know this country. I didn’t have my passport, my ID or anything. I didn’t know where I was. But Radek didn’t know that I could speak English. I kept that from him, and I listened.”
“So, what happened?”
“I heard of the Clip Club. I heard Radek talk about how some of the girls from a rival gang used it because the owner was nice to them. So I waited, and as soon as I could, I ran, and I came here. I spoke to Nigel and Caprice, and they offered to help me. They helped me off the drugs. I don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t offered to help. They saved me.”
“But then you started working again, right? With Penny?”
“Yeah, I did. I was here for a few months, and I started to relax. I started to talk to some of the girls who came here, like Penny.” She paused for a moment as she considered her words. “You have to understand, I was broke. I had no money, and I knew that Nigel was spending a lot to help me. I felt useless. I didn’t want to rely on his help. It wasn’t right, but I also needed to send money back to my mother in Poland. Penny assured me that I could do that, that her pimp would protect me and help me, and that I could earn money. It sounded good. I knew what I was getting into. I’d done it before. So, I convinced myself it would be alright.”
“And it wasn’t.”
“No. It wasn’t any different. They took most of my money, they hurt me, they forced me to do things I didn’t want to do.”
“So, Penny tricked you?”
“Yes. She did it because… She wanted to…”
“To curry favour with her pimp? She got stuff in return for bringing you into the group.”
“Yeah,” Izabela confirmed. “She lied to me, but… I know why. I don’t blame her, she was only playing the game. She was doing what she needed to do to survive. I understand that. I would do the same.”
“You’re very forgiving,” Scarlett commented, surprised that Izabela would be so kind to the person who’d pulled her back into this horrible life.
“She wasn’t in a good place either,” Izabela continued. “She had it tough, like me. We all did what we needed to survive.”
“So, who was this pimp? What was his name?”
“Abel. He’s a gang leader, I think. He deals drugs and stuff, too.”
“Alright,” Scarlett said, noting down his name. “Does he have a surname?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s okay. How about where he lives? Do you know where we might find him?”
“I’m so sorry,” she answered. “I don’t know where he lives. We were always driven from the house to where we worked. I’d recognise it if I saw it, but I don’t know where it is.”
“You’re sure about that? You didn’t see any road signs?”
“I… I can’t remember. They blacked out the back windows, and it was dark…”
“There were others there with you? Other girls?”
“Just Penny,” Izabela said, but it didn’t ring true.
“Just you and Penny? That’s it?”
“Yeah…”
“Izabela. I think you’re lying to me. I think there were others there, but because of some misguided loyalty, you’re protecting them, right?”
Izabela shook her head. “I’m not, no. It was just us two.”
Scarlett narrowed her eyes. She was lying about this, but there was little she could do about it. She probably thought she was protecting the other girls, keeping them safe, when in reality, she was doing the exact opposite.
“Look,” Izabela said. “This wasn’t Abel; he didn’t kill Penny. It was Radek. I know it. He found out about me and wants revenge.”
“Revenge?”
“For me escaping. He probably found out I was working with Abel and wanted to punish him, so he killed Penny. He’ll be looking for me now, so I had to get out of there. I had to escape.”
“And how did you manage that?”
“I was out working, and a punter drove me to the allotments. Abel usually waits for me and picks me up, but he wasn’t there.”
“And this was last night?”
“Yep. I’m not sure why, but he wasn’t there. So, I ran.”
Scarlett bit her lip as she considered what had happened the night before and then came to a realisation. Had they accidentally facilitated Izabela’s escape by talking to the prostitutes and drawing Abel’s attention.
She smirked.
“What?” Izabela asked.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Look, all I want is for you to capture Radek. He’s out there, looking for me. I know it.”
Izabela might well be convinced of this idea, but Scarlett felt like she had a way to go with it. While it was certainly possible that this Radek character was after Izabela and was embarking on some kind of gang war, she wasn’t sure that this was the cause of Penny’s death. Something didn’t add up about it.
“Okay,” Scarlett said. “And I’m guessing you don’t know where we can find this Radek, either, right?”
Izabela’s face looked apologetic. “Sorry, no. They keep that hidden, even from me. They always drove me in a blacked-out car, and sometimes they blindfolded me or put me in the back of a van. I never knew where I was. It’s not far, though. It didn’t take us long to get anywhere.”
Sensing this was something of a dead end, she decided to focus on something else. “Tell me about the night Penny went missing. What happened?”
“She got a punter. It was the usual, you know? He just drove up, they negotiated, and then she went off with him.” She sighed. “She didn’t come back.”
“Okay. What about this punter? Did you see him? Do you remember what he looked like or what car he was driving? Did you catch his number plate?”
“No, I... I don’t know. He was in a car, I think. A dark one. I didn’t get a good look at him, but he wasn’t unusual or anything. Just a guy.”
Scarlett frowned. “But you were with Penny when she picked up this punter? So, he saw you too?”
“Aaah, yeah. I think so.”
“Okay, so if he saw you and didn’t pick you up, that means it’s unlikely that this punter was working for Radek because I would assume that Radek would show his men a photo of you, at least. He’d want them to be able to find you.”
“I guess. I didn’t suggest that the John was the killer, though.”
“No, you didn’t. But it helps with the timeline. If we can eliminate this John from the investigation, then we know that whatever happened to Penny happened after she left her final client.”
“I suppose,” Izabela answered, sounding unsure. She sighed and glanced around the room while Scarlett made a couple of notes on her pad. “He doesn’t like her, you know.”
“Hmm? Who?”
“Nigel. He doesn’t like Penny. Ever since I left him and went off with her, he’s hated her. I know he has.” Her tone was casual as she vocalised her thoughts.
“Then, is it possible that Nigel killed her? Was this revenge for what Penny did to you?” Scarlett frowned as she continued the thought, thinking it also made sense that he dumped the head in Emmett’s bin, given he hated Emmett so much. Maybe he was trying to pin it on Emmett. That made a scary amount of sense.
“No,” Izabela cut into her thoughts. “He couldn’t kill someone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Nigel wouldn’t do that. I know he wouldn’t. He’s a good man.”
“But you just said he hated Penny, the girl who tricked you into getting back into being a prostitute. That sounds like a very good reason for wanting to hurt someone.”
“I don’t care what you think,” Izabela scoffed. “It isn’t Nigel. It can’t be Nigel.”
“I admire your optimism,” Scarlett replied sceptically, keeping her cool.
“No, don’t say that. He didn’t do this. He wouldn’t. He’s a good man. He saved me once before, and he’ll do it again.”
“I really hope that’s true.”
“It is.”
“You know, I can arrange some accommodation for you if you like. I can find somewhere for you to stay where I know you’ll be safe.”
“I’m safe here,” Izabela spat, apparently annoyed at this line of questioning.
“What about you?” Scarlett asked, changing her line of questioning. “Did you like Penny?”
“She was… err… She was okay, I suppose. We became friends, I think.”
“But you’re not sure?”
“I don’t know…”
It wasn’t a great answer, but there probably wasn’t one that Izabela could give her.
With her questions answered, Scarlett suggested that they make their way back downstairs to find the others. As they got up, Caprice stepped inside. She’d apparently heard the interview end.
“Are you okay?” Caprice asked.
“I’m fine,” Izabela confirmed as Caprice walked up and took her by the arm, leading her out of the room. Scarlett caught a judging glance from Caprice, but she didn’t mind or care. It was her job to ask these questions and to find out the truth about what had happened. She wasn’t here to try and make friends.
Scarlett followed Caprice and Izabela back downstairs to the break room. One of the other bar staff appeared out of the door at the back of the bar as they walked along the corridor.
“Caprice. We could really do with a hand back here.”
“Okay,” Caprice said before turning to Izabela. “Will you be alright?”
The girl nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
“Alright, but you come and find me if you need me, okay? You don’t have to answer their questions.”
Izabela nodded again before Caprice dashed up the hall to the bar while Scarlett led Izabela back into the break room.
“Successful interview?” Rob asked as they stepped back into the room.
“Informative,” Scarlett answered before she turned and gave Nigel a look. It seemed like a good enough time to ask her questions. “I do have a question for you though.”
“Go ahead,” Nigel answered.
“What did you think of Penny?”
Nigel seemed a little surprised by the question and took a moment to consider his response before answering. “Um, she was okay, I suppose.”
“You suppose?”
“Well, she wasn’t terribly nice to Izabela, so…”
“No, she was not. Are you in the habit of liking people who do terrible things to your friends?”
“Well, no…”
“So, would I be right in saying you didn’t like Penny?”
“I guess.”
“You guess?” Scarlett asked.
“Alright, no. I didn’t like her. Is that what you wanted to hear? I did not like Penny.”
“Thank you for being a little more honest with us,” Scarlett said. “But would it not be more accurate to say that you hated Penny? She tricked Izabela into joining Abel’s crew, turned her back into a prostitute, undid all your hard work, and caused her a lot of pain and suffering.”
Nigel gave her a glum pout and sank back into his chair. “I don’t know about that. I don’t think I hated her. Not really. Not enough to kill her, I can promise you that. I couldn’t kill anyone.”
“And yet, you had the motive and the opportunity, and the dislike of Emmett, too.” She gave Nigel a knowing look. “It’s almost as if someone was trying to pin this on Emmett, isn’t it?” Scarlett noticed Rob nod out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to agree with this assessment.
“I can’t deny that I dislike Emmett. I’ve been upfront about that, and I’m not the biggest fan of Penny, either. But I promise you that I didn’t kill her. Besides, Izabela had larger issues with Penny. She was the one who’d been tricked and forced to work as a prostitute.”
“That doesn’t exactly exonerate you,” Rob suggested. “She still did this to someone you took in and helped. She undid all your amazing work. Penny ruined it all, destroyed it. I know I’d be upset if I were you.”
“If you think I, did it, then arrest me.”
Rob met his gaze for a long moment before answering with a wry smile.