Chapter Thirty-Seven

 

Emma could hardly contain her excitement all the way back to the station. This was right, she knew it was the big breakthrough that the case needed. She would take this to Kev Slater and then they could make some progress.

She hoped she could gloss over the fact that Rob had been working unofficially on the case. The quality of the information would surely override any minor infringements that had taken place.

Finally, she got to her desk and saw that Kev was in his office. Without sitting down, she went straight across with her pocketbook in hand.

'Sir, have you got a minute?'

'Of course, constable, sit down.'

'I got a call from Rob Haines today,' Emma started, unsure how much to admit. 'About the case.'

'I thought we'd already closed off that avenue. I got word that his psych report looks like he's heading for retirement on medical grounds. We can't have someone like that with access to the police computers.'

'But,' Emma said, panic setting in, 'we've got a big breakthrough. He's found the first thing on this case that makes any kind of sense.'

Kev Slater held up his hand. 'No. I don't want to hear it.' Emma frowned at him. 'The minute I hear that, I become part of a chain of tainted evidence. Anything that comes from this, has to come from good, clean information. If we find the bad guy, then his defence team goes through all the evidence with a fine-tooth comb. And I don't want to be the investigating officer when they find out that an unauthorised officer found key evidence.'

'But this is good information. It could help us to catch the killer.'

'No, DC Angel, you are wrong. It could help us to identify the killer. But to catch him, we need solid verifiable evidence. That will stand up in court.'

Emma ground her teeth. She was a detective constable. She had been on the witness stand more times than she could remember. She knew that it would be easy to go back over the evidence and link together the three women who found the body. All it would take was a follow-up interview to find out why they had been targeted. It would be easy, although heartbreaking, to keep Rob Haines' name off the paperwork. But she could also see that Kev Slater's mind was made up.

'I hear you, sir, loud and clear,' she said, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm. 'I'll just go back to my desk. Check the outstanding actions.'

As she got up to leave, Kev Slater said, 'Just one more thing. I know that you have some kind of special relationship with Rob Haines. And you know that I've warned you about this in the past. But you have to bear something else in mind. He's off on medical leave right now and within weeks, if not days, he'll be a retired police officer.' Emma struggled to keep herself under control as he adopted what he obviously thought was a fatherly attitude. 'Listen to me. I'm at the end of my long career, and you're at the beginning. More than the arrests you make, there is one thing that will affect your career. You have to decide who to hitch your wagon to. Which senior officers will help your career and which will take you down. The world is full of retired officers with bitter opinions and no power. So, go back to your desk and think about that.'

How dare he? He hadn't earned the right to come across as a father figure to her.

Emma slumped down at her desk and let her head hang back, eyes closed. Anger, resentment and embarrassment swirled through her. And frustration. She knew how to solve the case but she was being patronised by her boss. She could feel everything slipping away from her.

'That bad, huh?'

Emma opened her eyes. Suse Berman. 'Yeah. It's okay though. Just another day at the office.' She mentally toughened up. There was no way she was showing weakness in front of the detective sergeant.

'Well, if you're sure,' Suse said, before walking back to her desk.

Emma looked around the office. Suse Berman, purely focused on statistics and furthering her career. Brian Chisholm, someone who'd be in court for domestic abuse if he had any other job. Even though he was supposed to be reformed, he still made her uneasy. She had the feeling that he was just spinning his wheels until retirement. And rounded off by the other two constables, Stonor who had looked the other way and Dent who was freshly minted.

She took a deep breath. It was not time for her to strike out alone. She was part of a team. She just needed to find a way in. She took a breath and felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She went back over Slater's words as she left his office. She knew it was true. Haines' was finished. Any sway he had had in the force was on the wane.

With great reluctance, she got up from her desk. There was a huge distance to cover between her desk and that of Suse Berman. She knew she didn't agree with her motivations, but they did have common ground. They wanted to solve crimes, and ultimately, like Haines, keep Bradwick safe. Keep it being the same town they knew now.

'Hey, er, Suse. Truth is, I'm not okay.' Suse frowned, waiting for elaboration. In reply Emma glanced at Kev Slater's open office door. 'I'm just going for lunch.'

'I need to grab a sandwich too,' Suse said smoothly. 'I'll walk down with you.'

Soon they were perched on high stools with coffees that were too hot and sandwiches that were disappointing. They watched the shoppers on Bradwick High Street. 'So, what's up then? You don't usually seek me out, do you?'

'Well, that's... it's just that...' Emma wasn't really used to straight talking.

'Oh, I know,' Suse said. 'Office politics is oblique but I've no time for that. I can tell you don't agree with my outlook – you're a bit too bleeding heart liberal. Whereas I'm more hard headed, practical.' She sipped her over-hot coffee and the two women stole sideways looks at each other, measuring up. 'So, the fact that you've come to me, well, that is interesting, isn't it? What's Slater gone and done now?'

'I think it's partly my fault.' Emma took a deep breath. She was about to cross a line. 'Listen, can I trust you?'

'Let me guess, you're still in touch with Rob Haines? Our disgraced ex-leader who's hiding from a corruption charge by staying on medical leave?'

'That's a bit harsh. And is it that obvious?'

'Yeah. I mean, you are the type who would be loyal to your friends even against your boss's instructions.' Emma was momentarily stunned that she was so transparent. 'It's not you, I make it a point to know who I'm working with. I intend to get on in this job and that won't happen if I get blindsided by something.' She softened and attempted to look conciliatory. 'What's Rob done now? I wouldn't worry about trashing his reputation – I think that ship has sailed. And I know how to keep my mouth shut.'

'You sure?'

'Oh for God's sake, Emma! You wanted to talk to me away from the office, either tell me or we can both go back to work and carry on bashing our heads against the wall that is this case.'

'Okay. Well, you know Rob was briefly attached to the case but had his access rights removed?' Suse nodded. 'That's not quite the whole story. Rob made some written notes on the case which he kept. He's still been working on them and he's found something that we've missed. Could be just what we need to crack the case.'

Suse chuckled softly. It was the first time Emma had seen her even vaguely cheerful. 'And you went to Slater with this? Oh, I wish I'd been there to see his face. I know it makes sense bringing in more local experience, but Slater hates it. Having to ask for help from the last person to run CID is bad enough, but the fact that he was a chief inspector as well? He outranked Slater and was everything that he wasn't – popular, unorthodox and a good thief taker. That's such a blow to his ego. He can't solve a proper case on his own, so he has to go to a bent copper for help.'

Emma opened her mouth to say that Haines wasn't bent. But she had to shut it again. 'Haines had his heart in the right place,' she said weakly.

'Oh, that much was clear,' Suse agreed. 'He was a good officer, someone I could've dealt with.'

'Anyway, he's found the pattern we've been looking for. All three crimes were reported by women who were all the same age. And they grew up in the same area and went to the same school, in the same year.'

Suse went very still. In a perfectly even voice, she asked, 'Which area exactly did they grow up in?'

'On the Seaview Estate, why?'

'Oh Christ! We have dropped the ball on this one. Give me a moment, Brian needs to hear this.' Without waiting, she got her phone out and had a hurried conversation with Brian. Then, the two women waited awkwardly. Emma knew they had little in common, so instead of making small talk, she concentrated on eating her sandwich. She could sense that something big was happening and her instincts, honed over her years in the police, were to eat now, before something big happened.

She was also curious. Suse didn't appear bothered or upset by her revelation. She actually seemed excited, as if Emma had turned up with a missing piece of the puzzle.

Finally Brian bustled into the café. As usual he looked slightly dishevelled and a bit out of place. As soon as he sat down with his food and drink, Suse said, 'Emma has the missing piece of the Seaview Theory.'

'Seaview Theory?' Emma asked.

Brian heaved a huge sigh. 'We've been working on some theories under the table. We figured that our esteemed boss, DI Slater, wasn't, how shall I put it, open to new ideas. But equally we could see that the old ideas weren't panning out. I was listening when you kept on at him about Callum Frost. You were right, it was a clue and a big one.' Emma couldn't hide her surprise. 'I'm not a bad copper,' Brian insisted. 'I know you're in thick with Rob Haines and he's no doubt told you how I'm a wife beater who's lucky to have a job and not be in prison. How close am I?'

'Yeah, something like that,' Emma said, mortified that what she'd been thinking was laid bare.

'Well, I didn't get on with Rob Haines, that's no secret. And I did get in some trouble. But I'm still police and I still want this killer caught.' There was an awkward pause. 'Back to what I was saying. I heard what you were saying and started looking at the Seaview in relation to these murders. First of all, you could walk from there to the motel in around twenty minutes. No CCTV, no car number plates, in and out. The second victim, Garner, was sofa-surfing and several of the places he stopped over were also on the Seaview.'

'And the third one was stuffing leaflets through doors on the Seaview Estate,' Emma said in a stunned voice. She was amazed. Not only were the two sergeants actively working behind Kev's back, but they also had uncovered more links between the killings. And it all pointed back to the Seaview Estate.

'What's Emma's new information then?' Brian asked.

Briefly, she repeated what she'd just told Suse, emphasising that the three witnesses would've just finished school and been on the estate at the time of Callum Frost's disappearance.

Brian and Suse looked at each other. They nodded as they reached agreement. Suse said, 'We need to action this. And fast.'

'We haven't got enough manpower,' Brian said. 'We must interview each of these three women at the same time. If they know each other, then we don't want them comparing notes. Suse, you take Emma and do one. I'll tell Andy to take young Nick along. And I'll call in a favour I'm owed and get a uniform to accompany me. This has to be done completely by the book.'

'What about the boss?' Emma asked.

'You've already tried to tell him, haven't you love?' Brian said kindly. 'And he wasn't listening. We can't let this get bogged down in his protocol and form filling. Let's find out what the link is between these three women, Callum Frost and the Seaview Estate. Then we'll go to him.'