Maggie had said goodbye to Kate at the train station as they boarded trains in opposite directions. Kate had assured her that she had her personal alarm and mobile phone, and had been clear that she didn’t want to feel scared about being on her own, though her eyes told a different story.
When Maggie arrived at her desk, DI Rutherford called her into her office. They had an ID on the latest victim, who had a previous caution for shoplifting from her younger years – Kelsey Gilbey. Maggie watched the DI as she gazed out of her window in thought. She knew that below the calm exterior, DI Rutherford was probably as anxious as they all were. They needed to find the killer and keep Kate safe in the process. Turning to Maggie, DI Rutherford smiled.
‘I’d like you to go with Nathan to Kelsey Gilbey’s house and speak to her parents. See if you can look around her room. Find out if anyone has been around there or if she’d mentioned anyone following her. The field officers tried to get answers last night, but the parents were too distraught. Forensics may well be searching the property when you arrive, so keep focused and get what you can as quickly as possible. OK?’
‘Absolutely. Do you know where Nathan is? I didn’t see him when I got in.’
‘He’s just speaking with the COMMS Officer, giving them an update so the vultures are fed. He won’t be much longer. It might also be a good idea to follow up with our Probation colleagues at some point.’ She waved her hand, dismissing Maggie.
Normally this would infuriate Maggie, but she knew DI Rutherford didn’t mean any harm by it. When her head was away on a case, she acted without thinking. Much like Maggie.
Maggie grabbed her jacket when she saw Nathan coming down the corridor.
‘You ready to go?’ He jangled the keys in his hand.
‘Wow. You’re organised this morning. I thought I’d be waiting ages for you to get yourself together.’
‘Ah, you underestimate me. I’ve had to sort my head out with this new role. Too many things happening at once; if I didn’t pull my finger out, I’d be drowning by now.’
‘Better you than me.’ She smiled and followed him out to the pool car. Maggie was glad now that, although she had passed the sergeant’s exam at the same time as Nathan, she hadn’t applied for the Acting DS role. At first, she’d been a bit shocked that Nathan had pursued it, but with a wife who wanted to start a family, it made sense that he wanted to settle into a more managerial role. Maggie still loved the operational side of things and wasn’t ready to give that up yet. Though it seemed Nathan wasn’t either – and not by choice. The team were short-staffed and the higher-ups, when they were around, didn’t want to employ anyone new just yet.
While driving to Kelsey Gilbey’s parents’ house, Maggie noticed how close to the last victim the addresses were. Only two villages away, less than twenty miles.
‘Remind me to speak to Bethany when we get back to the office.’
Nathan quickly glanced at her. ‘OK. What for?’
‘Well I’ve been thinking about all that geographical profiling stuff Kate talked about a while ago. I don’t know if you’ve noticed how close in proximity this address is to the Holloway case, and how close they are to where Kate lives? Also, the disposal sites. I just think it would be something worth looking at.’
Nathan’s forehead creased. ‘Yeah … you’re right. Good job.’
Maggie smiled. They were approaching the address. Although she’d been nearly twenty-nine years old, Kelsey had still lived at home with her parents. The notes Bethany had emailed over indicated that she’d been studying part-time and had worked part-time at a bar in Markston town centre – The Smith’s Forge. She’d been at work on the night she disappeared. Initially, her parents hadn’t reported her missing as sometimes she’d go for a drink with her friends, crash at their house, and then dash home in the morning to change. When Kelsey hadn’t returned the following evening, they contacted her friends and learned that she hadn’t been in college and no one could get hold of her. That’s when they contacted the police and reported her missing. It was two weeks later that her body had been found.
Maggie knocked gently on the door. The FLO answered and pointed towards a room down the hallway. It was a grand living room, furnished with antiques. Maggie noticed there were a lot of pictures of Kelsey around the room at various ages but none of the couple together. The tension in the room was thick as Maggie looked at each of the parents in turn; there didn’t seem to be any intimacy between the two. Mrs Gilbey sat with her body turned away from him, while Mr Gilbey crossed his arms and just stared ahead. Maggie whispered to Nathan, ‘Do you think there’s something else we should know here?’ She flicked her head in the direction of the couple.
‘We’re not deaf, you know. Was there something you wanted to ask us?’ Mr Gilbey huffed.
‘Sorry. That was rude of me. I’m DC Jamieson and this is DS Wright. We just wondered if anything else has happened because you both look angry …’
‘Not that it’s any of your business, but as well as our daughter being murdered, we are also in the middle of a separation.’ He shot a glance at his wife. ‘Which will probably end up in a divorce.’
The woman beside him gasped and burst into tears. ‘How can you do this to me at a time like this and then tell complete strangers our business!’ She stood and ran out of the room, nearly knocking Maggie over as she pushed through the door.
‘You’ll have to forgive me. That was out of order. I’m just finding this whole situation difficult to cope with. Why are you here? Has there been a new development?’ He crossed his arms again.
Maggie walked over to the man. ‘Do you mind if I sit down?’
‘Of course not.’ He pointed at the chair in front of him. Nathan sat beside him, in the seat his wife had left vacant.
‘We’ve no new leads at the moment to share with you, I’m afraid. Just more questions. Did Kelsey mention to you any odd things happening in her life? Was she afraid of anything?’
‘I went over all of this with the other officers – don’t you share details with each other? Kelsey and I were never very close. I couldn’t even tell you what her favourite colour was, let alone name her friends. Her mother might know more, but as you just saw, she’s in no fit state to talk at the moment.’
‘Can you tell me anything about where she worked? Maybe her colleagues know more.’ Maggie opened her notebook and pulled out a pen.
‘All I know is she was registered with a temp agency. She got temp jobs through them, secretarial work, some seasonal work, and some bar work. I wasn’t too happy about the bar work though. A young girl like her, around all those drunk men … recipe for a disaster if you ask me.’
Maggie raised her brow at Nathan. ‘Do you happen to know the name of the agency she was registered with?’
He stood and walked over to a desk by the window and scrambled through the drawers. ‘Here you go.’ He passed the card to Maggie and she looked at the name before tucking the card in her notebook.
‘Thank you. Would you mind if we had a look around Kelsey’s room?’
‘Not at all. Your crime people were here earlier. They left it in a mess. You may as well look at it now too.’
‘Sorry for that and thank you. We won’t be long.’ Maggie followed the grieving father upstairs. He showed them his daughter’s room, before leaving them to their search.
‘Do you think we’re going to find anything that the forensics team missed?’
‘No, probably not. I just want to get a feel for her.’ Maggie looked around the room. The father was right. The forensics team had left the place in a mess. She stepped over items on the floor. Placing protective gloves on, she shuffled things around in drawers.
‘Where would someone hide something if they wanted to keep it a secret?’ Maggie eyed the room.
‘This is a grown woman, Maggie. Why would she feel the need to hide anything?’
‘I got the impression that this is a family of secrets. She wasn’t close with her father. Her mother is very emotional – regardless of the circumstances. Perhaps she displayed one personality for her parents and another in her life away from home?’
‘Hmmm. I’m not sure I agree. Look around her room. All those pictures. It looks to me like Kelsey was friendly, fun, and sometimes a bit feisty but I don’t think she hid anything from anyone.’
‘Maybe you’re right. But I think I’ll still leave that bit open to interpretation. Something feels off. Has anyone spoken to the agency where she was registered?’
‘Not that I am aware of.’ He looked at his watch. ‘It will have to wait for tomorrow though; we’ll head out first thing. Let’s wrap up here and we can check it out in the morning.’
‘Makes sense. I’ll just let her father know we’re going.’
Maggie thanked the parents and couldn’t help but feel sorry for Kelsey’s mother. The woman was in a fragile state, and Maggie hoped she would have news to share soon so the family could find some closure.