Chapter Nineteen

 

It had been a very long day trying to get to grips with the new murder that had happened the day before. When she finally got home, all she wanted was some time curled up on the sofa with Florence the cat and a bottle of beer. A bit of down time to process everything.

However, when she got in, her housemate, Lucy, was waiting for her in the kitchen. Emma had forgotten that she'd promised to go with her to a monthly meet-up of car enthusiasts. It was a get together of young adults who could easily get into trouble with the police. With a combination of education and bribery, the police arranged these meetings to try to keep them on the straight and narrow and earlier in the year, Emma had worked with them to identify Dark Car Man – a dangerous predator who'd been killing young women in Bradwick.

Now she remembered that she'd promised to go back with Lucy. As the case had been closed by CPS, due to the only suspect being dead, there had been no real publicity. But the teenagers, especially the young women, had been asking for news from the police. So Emma had promised to go along to the next meeting and tell them what she could. Only, with the recent murder, she'd completely forgotten that it was that night.

It was a favour she owed, and given that the meetings were only monthly, it couldn't be put off. 'Okay, yes, I just remembered,' Emma said. 'Give me time to shower and change and I'll be right with you.'

Soon enough, Emma found herself with Lucy in a car park on the outskirts of Bradwick. As before it was occupied by modified cars and their young owners. Emma was uncomfortable addressing them as a group – she wasn't sure of the protocol as this was a crowd standing around in a car park, not a formal meeting with a stage and lectern. There was nothing to do but to start talking and hope they quietened down enough to listen.

'Some of you may remember me from before, when I came here asking for help with some photos. We had a car we were trying to trace. Dark Car Man's vehicle in fact.' There were nods and murmurs around the group. Most of the conversations had stopped, and more people were joining the crowd, drifting closer. 'Well the good news is that, thanks in part to your help, we caught the man responsible. And it turns out he was guilty of the attacks on young women in the area. We found enough evidence to be sure of that.'

'How come we ain't heard nothing about it? What's going on? Usually you get something in the news about how an arrest has been made, then they go quiet before the trial.'

'Ah, yes.' Emma hadn't had time to work out how to break the news. 'Unfortunately the man in question took his own life before we could arrest, question or charge him. But we are confident that we had the right man and as a result the town is now safer.'

'Well, who was it? We have a right to know who's been killing women in our town!'

'We're not releasing his name at the moment.' Emma was resolute. 'He still has relatives living in the area and, bearing in mind the strength of feeling these attacks have raised, it wouldn't be fair to expose them by naming him.'

The crowd of teenagers erupted into expressions of distaste and discontented murmuring. Judging by how this simple statement had turned the mood ugly, she was glad that she hadn't told them the name. She could see a mob forming already.

'Okay, so does this mean that we're safe to walk home at night now then?' This was from a teenage girl with coffee coloured skin and a haze of frizzy hair.

'Erm, well, obviously we'd always advise, in the police, that you exercise reasonable caution.' Emma cursed herself – why hadn't she seen this coming? The feminist, radical part of herself wanted to say that women should go where they wanted to, when they wanted to, wearing whatever they fancied. But the sensible, police part of her needed to keep people safe and keep her conscience clear should there be another attack. She also knew that although she had the skills to defend herself and the training to spot a dangerous situation, not everyone was so lucky.

'So that's it? The same useless advice? That doesn't tell us anything!' The frizzy haired girl turned and stalked to the back of the crowd.

'Wait!' Emma took a breath. 'I'm a young woman too, you know. And I want to go out to a club without worrying about what's in my drink. I want to be able to say no to the losers who try to chat me up without being worried that they'll be waiting outside with their mates at closing time. I'd love to wear a miniskirt and walk home at two in the morning and feel safe doing so.' The teenager had stopped and was now listening intently. 'But what do you want me to say? I could say that you should retake the street and walk where you want, when you want, wearing what you want. But then, how do I feel when I'm taking your statement in the sexual assault suite the next day? Regardless of the politics, of what's right and what's wrong, at the end of the day we have to do two things. We must campaign for change but at the same time we have a responsibility to keep ourselves safe.' A stunned silence settled on the crowd. Emma seized her moment to wrap things up. 'Right, that's all I wanted to tell you. Any questions?'

'So, he's really gone then? DCM?'

'Yes. We know who he was and that person is dead. We've seized the car. Have there been any more sightings?'

There were shaking heads and murmurs but it did appear that she could at least close off the case of the DCM.

She wandered away from the crowd to commiserate with Lucy. 'Well, I made a right mess of that.'

'No, don't say that. These kids, they're bright. They know bullshit when they hear it. You did the right thing by being honest with them. And they needed to know. It's been a big part of their lives.'

Emma walked with Lucy and watched her working, stopping to chat and talk to the youths. Emma had been sceptical when Lucy had first explained the scheme but now she could see the value of it. Children could easily grow into adults viewing the police as the enemy, some force to be railed against. But projects like this were collaborative, they worked with the young people who could easily go into a life of petty crime. Hopefully projects like this would divert some of them.