After putting in a request to have Luke Bradford moved, Maggie returned to Stafford Police Station. Her head hung low as she walked into the office and all eyes turned to her for an update.
‘I’m afraid I have some sad news.’ The team waited eagerly for Maggie to continue. ‘Kate is going back to Ireland with her parents once she’s been discharged from hospital and her statement has been taken. She said she’ll be back for the trial but …’ Maggie’s emotions took over. She grabbed a tissue from her bag. ‘I don’t know if she’ll be returning to her post at Markston.’
Bethany gasped. ‘Oh Christ! Though I can understand her position, it can’t be easy to deal with all this right now.’
Maggie knew they had no time to dwell on the situation and pulled herself together. ‘Anyway. What do we have on Mr Bradford so far? He’s been arrested at the hospital and there’s an officer stationed outside his door. I’ve requested a transfer to a different hospital because Kate is not happy being in such close proximity; however, I was told that as Kate will probably be discharged shortly, it’s unlikely he’ll be transferred given the paperwork and cost of doing so.’
Nathan rolled his eyes. ‘Well let’s hope Kate doesn’t find this out. She’ll be furious. Bethany’s done some digging. I can’t believe he’s been here, at HQ and at Markston Police Station. Christ! We’ve all chatted to him at some point. That being said, he seemed to be able to disguise his presence expertly.’
Maggie nodded. The police had found numerous wigs and body suits to alter his shape inside the loft room when it was searched. His position as a maintenance man allowed him access to all the police stations and explained how he could come into contact with Kate, and get her phone and her email details so easily. It also allowed him to find out information about the case, as he went about his day-to-day tasks, eavesdropping on conversations as he fixed lightbulbs, windows and any other task requiring his skills. No wonder he stopped contacting Julie Noble. He must have overheard the team discussing their plans. What angered Maggie most was that police checks hadn’t identified his name change back in 2016 after his daughter had been in killed in London. In the scheme of things it didn’t make much of a difference as he didn’t share the same last name as Catharine Hill, but it may have alerted the police to dig a bit deeper when he had applied for the position. He led a fairly quiet life, lurking in the background as he stalked his prey. His many disguises explained why Kate felt she had known the killer but couldn’t quite place him. Maggie slammed her hands on the desk in front of her.
‘We really should have seen this. Focusing on the temp agency staff threw us off course.’ She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into the palms of her hands.
‘We followed the evidence. There were too many coincidences not to go down that avenue. He hid his tracks well. Bethany, tell us what you’ve discovered so we have more to go on when we interview him.’ Nathan sat down and instructed the team to listen closely. Maggie knew this guy was clever and would have answers for everything they threw at him. They needed to be prepared.
‘I haven’t had the chance to go through everything collected at the scene, but from what I can gather so far, Luke Bradford (aka Stockton) was born in Stafford but his family moved to London when he was a child. His father was a funeral director and the family lived above the funeral home he owned. He’s an only child. When police spoke to his mother, she didn’t appear shocked at all, describing her son as selfish and creepy. She rambled a lot about how he would ‘play with the dead’, so we can only assume that he spent a lot of time with his father.’ Bethany scrolled down her computer screen and continued. ‘His father died when Luke was in his early twenties. By this time, he was working in schools and universities, one of which was the University of London, and records show he was there when Dr Moloney was lecturing. That may be when he first came across her. His mother returned to Staffordshire not long after her husband died. It seems the pair were estranged for a period, but no information as to why. A possible area to explore in the interview. Our London colleagues advise that they spoke to Catharine Hill’s mother and she admitted to having a one-night stand with Luke that landed her pregnant. She never disclosed to her daughter who the father was, but admits that he had pursued her relentlessly until she threatened police action. She only knew him as Luke, and she never told him she was pregnant. And she never even thought about him when her daughter was murdered because she assumed he had left the area. Everyone, even the police, believed that the murder was by an intimate partner—’ Bethany sighed.
Maggie interrupted. ‘I wouldn’t put it past him not to have followed Catharine for years after finding out he was her father.’
Bethany continued. ‘Whatever was the case, Catharine Hill was reported missing by her mother in 2016 and six months later, her body was discovered. We’ve all seen the pictures – she could be Kate’s twin. But what I don’t understand is, why did he abduct and kill the two other women before Kate? He’s been working in the police stations for a few years now.’
‘That’s something we’ll have to ask him. In fact, I was hoping we could do that soon in case they do decide to transfer him.’ Maggie looked at Nathan.
‘Yeah. I agree. Let me update DI Rutherford and we’ll head over to the hospital now. Visiting hours will be over soon, so we’re less likely to run into Kate’s family and have to come up with an explanation.’
Maggie took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. She headed to the pool car and, as she was opening the door to get in, her mobile pinged. A message from Bethany.
Mr Bradford has lawyered up. Apparently, he wants to ‘cleanse his soul’, whatever the hell that means. Nathan knows and is on his way down.
Bethany x