I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER WHITE SOCKS.
‘PLEASE, YOU MUST COME, I’ve just seen a strange man walking away with Denise Walker, she lives just down the road from us. She’s only a wee thing, about 3 or 4, I’m not sure.’
‘OK, love,’ Dave Armitage says calmly, although his heart is suddenly pounding. ‘Where are you, love? Where are you calling from? Give us your address, and I’ll send a car to you right away.’
‘I’m in the call box at the corner of Culverton Road.’
‘I know it. And what’s your name, love?’
‘Dorothy, Mrs Dorothy Hyde.’
‘OK, Dorothy, you’re doing a grand job.’ Just then the pips went as her money ran out. ‘Bugger,’ he swore, already scanning the roster to see which cars should be in the vicinity. ‘Alpha Two’ should be on patrol. He called over to Suzanne Fillmore, who is on desk duty with him, ‘Suzanne, get a car over to Culverton Street, soonest. Get the dispatcher to call Alpha Two; they’re probably the nearest and call in any other car nearby to assist. Possible child abduction. A Mrs Dorothy Hyde is in the phone box there. Hope she waits; only her money ran out.’
Keith Balderstone and Alan Edgely in Alpha Two took the call from the dispatcher and sped, bells clanging, to Culverton Road. They could see the red phone box and the caller, an elderly lady, waving at them frantically as the car drew near, as if afraid they might not see her. With a squeal of brakes, they pulled up, and Balderstone leapt out, as Edgely remained in the car, engine running, and ready to set off again without delay.
The lady looked up at Balderstone anxiously, her face screwed up tight with worry and concern. ‘I’ve been so worried, waiting. I hadn’t any more pennies in my purse, see, and I didn’t want to go back to the house, in case I missed you.’
‘Don’t you worry, love. You’ve done a grand job,’ Balderstone said, patting her hand reassuringly. ‘Just tell us what you saw, eh?’
Dorothy took a deep breath. ‘Well, I was looking out my window, that’s my bedroom window, at the front, and I see little Denise Walker wi’ a strange man. I mean, I don’t know her that well, but I’ve no doubt but that it were her. As for the man, I’ve never seen him around here before. Never. So, I was worried like, you know, with that murder of that other wee lass, that Emily.’
‘When was this?’ Balderstone asked, looking up and down the street, hoping perhaps to see the little girl and the man she was with.
‘Bout half an hour ago, I s’pose. I was dead worried. ‘Cos of that poor young lass, but I didn’t want to bother you neither, you see, to waste police time.’
‘Don’t you worry, Dorothy, my love. You’ve done exactly right to call us. It is Dorothy, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, Dorothy. Mrs Dorothy Hyde. I live at number 23.’
‘And the little girl you saw, Denise Walker?’ Balderstone coaxed.
‘I don’t know the number exactly, but it’s about 15 or 16 houses further down, down towards Middleton Road.’
‘And you saw her from your bedroom window walking away with a strange man, is that it?’
‘Like I say, I’ve never seen him before. Never. I mean, I know most of the folks who live round here, not all by name of course, but I notice, notice who lives where.’
A lace curtain twitcher, Balderstone thought, the most effective form of neighbourhood surveillance ever invented. If you want to know the comings and goings in any street, ask the little old lady with nothing else to do with her time.
‘You did right, love, exactly the right thing.’
‘Well, you can’t be too sure these days, can you?’
‘No, you’re dead right. So, the little girl, what was she wearing, can you recall?’
‘Well, I don’t see that well these days, and my glasses are not the best.’
‘Just do your best, eh? Can’t ask for more than that.’
‘I’d say she wore a red coat, course I only saw her briefly as she walked past with this strange man.’
‘That’s fine, no problem. Anything else you can recall about her?’
‘She was wearing a hat, yes, that’s it, a woolly hat, lots of colours, looked as if maybe her mother or somebody had knitted it for her. Oh, and white socks, I distinctly remember white socks.’
‘Very good, Dorothy, love. Now, about the man, what about him?’
‘He was quite tall, at least next to her, but I suppose any adult would look tall next to her. He was fair-haired, I noticed that ‘cos he wasn’t wearing a hat. He held her hand as they walked.’
‘And what was he wearing, eh, love?’
‘A mac, dark blue mac, that’s all really.’
‘You’ve done really well, Dorothy, love. Can you make it back to your house, OK?’
‘Aye, it’s not so far. I was a bit puffed getting here, ‘cos I hurried, but I’ll take my time going back, no problem. You make sure you find her, you hear?’
‘Don’t you worry, love, we will. We’ll find her, don’t you worry yourself about that. Now, you take care now.’
‘You’ll let me know, won’t you? Else I’ll be dead worried, wondering whether she’s come to harm.’
‘Don’t worry, love, will do,’ Balderstone reassured her as he climbed back into Alpha Two.
‘Where to?’ asks Alan Edgely.
‘Where would you take a little girl to, round here? Millside Park, that’s where. It’s not more than what, a couple of hundred yards away, three hundred tops?’
‘Aye, maybe four hundred, but you’re right about it being the place he’ll take her. It’ll not be too busy, not with the schools gone back. There’s lots of wooded areas nearby that he could take her to; we’d best get on before he can do owt.’
‘Right, hit it but no bells, don’t want to scare him into doing summat in a panic.’
‘Right.’
‘I’ll radio in for back-up.’
Alpha Two sped down the road, heading for Millside Park.
‘What d’you think, the same bastard as did Emily?’ Edgely asked.
‘Could be. Could be,’ Balderstone answered, the hopes of catching Emily’s killer tempered by the possibility that he might already be killing another.
The dispatcher radioed Alpha One instructing them to head to the park also. No bells. Useless Eustace Pink drove, and Dennis Brighouse, aka Death Breath, sat alongside him, working the radio.
Millside Park is a long strip of municipal park that stretches for almost a mile along Carverside Road, bounded by the road to the east and the rising wooded slopes of the private Netherthorn estate to the west. A thin stream, Millside Burn, a meagre rivulet, a tributary of the River Gar, runs through the park. The burn is shallow; no more than a foot deep even in full flood and in the summer months, it is a playground for children splashing and larking about. During school term, fifth formers from the nearby grammar school can be seen building dams against the stream in hopeless optimism that the pile of rocks and stones can stem the tide, but the thin reluctant burbling stream of the burn will always prevail.
The park boasts a bowling green, boating lake, 9-hole pitch and putt course, a small outdoor swimming pool, children’s playground with slides, swings, and see-saws, tea shop, and a small bandstand, although no one can remember a band ever playing there since the end of the Boer War. There are picnic areas, paved footpaths that meander through the park, park benches, a bluebell copse protected by the parkkeeper, and, on the other side of the burn, thickly wooded copses, dense woodland that once formed part of a larger forest.
The rest of what remains of the forest lies in the hands of the Netherthorn estate, owned by the Alexander family, owners of the Alexander and Matthew steelworks, whose payroll Frankie Starling tried to rob, shooting Peter Cushman in the process and ultimately paying with his life on the gallows of Armley Gaol.
It was these woods that Balderstone and Edgely feared the abductor of Denise Walker may have taken her.
Alpha Two pulled up by the park entrance and parked next to an ice cream van. The vendor looks up hopefully as Balderstone walks quickly over to him, hoping for a sale. Business has been slack today, and he has barely covered his costs. ‘What can I get you, officer? A cone? Choc ice? Lolly? Sandwich?’
‘Nothing. Just tell us, have you seen a man and a girl go into the park? Maybe three-quarters of an hour ago, maybe an hour, tops?’
‘What do you mean,’ asked the ice cream man, picking at a spot on his chin. ‘Like a couple, going in for a bit of… well, you know… a bit of naughty?’
‘No, a man with a young girl; a kiddie, three or four years old, wearing a red coat?’
‘Don’t recall a red coat, but there was a kiddie with a man, she stood by the gate, he bought her a cone with some hundreds and thousands sprinkled on and he had a sandwich with wafers. Why, what’s he done?’
‘Not exactly your business, is it, mate?’
‘Nah, s’pose not. Got to be interested though, ‘ain’t I? Human nature and that.’
‘Curiosity killed the cat, remember that. Anyhow, did they go into the park?’
‘Yeah, s’far as I know, yeah.’
‘OK, listen. We’ve got to find ‘em quick like, but the park’s a big place, right? You see them coming out again, or you see him coming out without the girl, you call the station, right? Talk to the desk sergeant. Tell him what you’ve seen. Say it’s about Denise Walker. Got it?’
‘Yeah, Denise Walker. But I can’t leave my patch, can I? Might lose business, and Jackie Slater, it’s his van, see? He’ll not like it, not one bit. Could lose my job!’
‘Any problem, we’ll sort it out with Slater. Just you make sure you call in if you see owt,’ said Balderstone, walking away, shaking his head in frustration.
‘Jackie Slater’s not an easy man to sort, you know. Could still lose me job,’ the ice cream man shouted after him, but Balderstone waved the comment away.
Alpha One pulled in behind Alpha Two, and Eustace and Death Breath Brighouse got out. Balderstone and Edgely quickly filled them in on the situation, and then the quartet of officers hurried into the park, dividing into pairs.
Balderstone and Edgely going straight for the bridge, passing by the nearest amenities as Eustace and Death Breath hurried on down to the farther end of the park, where there were also several heavily wooded areas which could conceal a couple about adulterous business or a child abductor with his prey.
The early autumn day was bright and clear, sporting a vivid blue sky without a cloud, but the air was sharp with an occasional gust of chill wind, a lovely day to be out. Despite the chill, however, the scurrying coppers soon raised a sweat as they half ran, half walked past the bowling green and pavilion. The tea shop was next door, the outside tables devoid of custom.
The boating lake is off to the right, and there is one solitary boat on the water, a single man rowing with energetic purpose, the splash of his oars carrying across the still lake. A flotilla of ducks floats serenely by, unconcerned by the events around them.
Suddenly Edgely stopped and stared over to the left, towards the playground where he can see a tall man in a blue mac pushing a little girl in a red coat on the swing. She squeals delightedly as he pushes her even higher, the tails of her open coat flaring back like wings.
Edgely grabs Balderstone by the arm. ‘Keith, look, it’s them. In the playground. On the swings. Has to be.’
‘Aye, you’re right. OK, we’ll just walk slowly over, don’t want to spook him. When we get there, you get ready to cut him off if he makes a break; you can run faster than me. I’ll get the girl.’
‘Right.’
Without apparent hurry, the two officers walked over towards the playground, separately to cut off as much escape as possible if he decided to run. The man looked up and saw the police walking towards him and looked around to see if there was anyone else in whom they might be interested.
‘Higher, Uncle, higher,’ they heard her shout, and the man, uncle or not, pushed her again.
Balderstone and Edgely looked at each other again. ‘Uncle? Uncle could mean several things, the little girl’s mother’s latest boyfriend. Something that he asked the little girl to call him when he took her.’ Naturally suspicious, the last thought to come to their minds was that he might actually be the girl’s natural uncle. And even if he was her uncle, it did not mean he had not abducted her. They were now in the playground slowly walking towards him, uncle or not.
Again, he looked puzzled; the playground was deserted, and there was no one else in sight.
‘Can I help you, officers?’ he called.
‘If you could stop pushing the swing, sir, we’d like a word with you.’
‘Is it Mary? Has something happened?’
Edgely was now behind the man, eager and tensed, ready to grab him if he made a break for it. Slowly the swing slowed down, and the little girl pouted in disappointment.
‘Why have we stopped, uncle? I want to play some more.’
‘In a minute, sweetheart, I just need to see what these gentlemen want.’
‘Could you please identify yourself, sir?’ Balderstone asked, very politely, but with a cold inflection.
‘Is it about Mary, the baby? Is everything alright?’ he asked again, anxiety in his voice.
Balderstone looked at Edgely; this did not sound right. It might not be Denise Walker and an abductor, but if the man in the blue mac was the abductor, he was playing it very cool.
Balderstone squatted down on his haunches, smiling into the face of the little girl as she sat on the swing, pushing it back and forth a few inches with her feet. ‘Hello love, what’s your name then? Let me guess, is it Denise? Denise Walker?’
The girl had picked up on the man’s anxious inflection; she looked back up at him and then back at Balderstone. ‘Is it Mummy? She’s got a baby in her tummy; she’s at the hospital to have it taken out.’
‘You are Denise Walker?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you, sir?’ Balderstone asked, standing up again.
‘Birchall, Paul Birchall. Please, what is this all about? Is it Mary? Has something happened to Mary?’
‘And Mary is?’ Edgely asked.
‘My sister, Denise’s mother.’
‘Might I ask, sir, what you are doing here?’
‘Obviously playing with my niece,’ he answered with a thin edge of sarcasm.
‘Is this man your uncle, Denise, or did he just ask you to call him that?’ Balderstone asked, squatting down and taking her hand to lead her away if necessary.
‘It’s Uncle Paul. Mummy’s brother. I’m going to have a brother too when Mummy gets back from the hospital.’
‘And does Mummy know that you are here with your Uncle Paul?’
‘What is this all about?’ Birchall said, anger beginning to frost his voice.
‘In good time, sir. I’ll get to you in a minute; I’m just talking to Denise for the moment.’
‘So, Denise love, does Mummy know you’re here with your uncle in the playground? Did she say it was OK?’
Denise now began to feel a little bit frightened. Mummy had not actually said she could go to the playground with Uncle Paul, but she hadn’t said she couldn’t either. She was confused and upset, thinking she had done wrong and now the big policemen were going to take her away and put her in a home for naughty children. She slowly shook her head – NO. A little tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away with her hand.
‘What is this all about?’ Birchall asked again, his anger rising to the surface in escalating waves. ‘I demand you tell me. Is it about Mary?’
‘We have no knowledge of any problems or difficulties with a Mary Walker giving birth,’ Edgely answered. ‘That is not why we are here.’ And he stepped up very close behind Birchall, almost breathing down his neck.
‘What is this?’ Birchall demanded.
‘I think you had better come down to the station, sir, there is some explaining to do here.’
‘About what? Being in a playground with my niece?’
‘Being in the playground with your niece without her mother’s permission, sir. That is the issue here.’
‘This is absurd. My sister’s in the hospital having a baby, and I’ve come to look after Denise until she comes out, and maybe a day or two after.’
‘We’ll sort it out at the station, sir. If it is as you claim, there’ll be no problem, will there, sir?’
‘This is ridiculous. I shall be making a formal complaint,’ Birchall said angrily. ‘Ridiculous!’
‘That is your right. In the meantime, please come with us. By making any more fuss, you are only going to upset the little girl.’
Balderstone squatted down in front of Denise, now thoroughly upset by the angry words. ‘Hello sweetheart, how’d you like to come for a ride in my police car?’
‘I don’t want to go to the naughty children’s home, there’s rats and snakes and toads,’ she sobbed.
‘Look at her, you’ve upset her now,’ Birchall said, starting towards her, but Edgely took hold of his arm.
‘Just you wait here, sir.’
‘She’s upset, can’t you see? Are you blind? Or stupid? Or what?’ he said angrily, trying to shake off the restraining hand.
‘I will restrain you with handcuffs if I have to, but we don’t want to be upsetting little Denise any more than we have to, do we, sir?’
‘No, no, I suppose not, but you don’t have to hold my arm. I won’t do anything to upset her further, right?’
‘OK, but just be mindful of what I said,’ and Edgely let go of Birchall’s arm, who pulled it away as if fearful of infection, making his point by rubbing at it forcefully.
Meanwhile, Balderstone was trying to calm and reassure Denise. ‘Now, now, who said anything about a children’s home, eh? Not me. Not my friend Alan there. Did your uncle say something about you going to a children’s home? Because that’ll not happen while I’m around,’ but at that, she shook her head vigorously in denial, almost too vigorously for Balderstone’s liking. ‘Now, love, all we want to do is go down to the police station, have a chat with you and Uncle Paul, and maybe go and see your Mum, how about that?’
Her face brightened. ‘Can I hold the baby?’
‘That’ll be up to your Mum, but newborn babies are delicate like, maybe you’ll have to wait a few days.’
‘But Mummy says I can help her look after the baby, says I’ll…be a great help to her,’ she said breathlessly, obviously parroting her mother’s words.
‘I’m sure you will be, sweetheart. We’ll just wait and see what your Mum says.’
She nodded, mollified somewhat, the fear of the rats and snakes and toads diminishing with the thought of helping with her baby brother. Or sister. ‘You want to walk with me, and Uncle Paul will walk with our friend Alan, and we’ll go for a little ride in my nice police car.’
He took her hand, and they walked slowly back towards the car. ‘Best give Useless and Death Breath a whistle,’ he said to Edgely, ‘else they might be out here all night.’
‘Might do DB good, leave him all day out in the fresh air, blow the stink away.’
‘Yeah, but it would pollute the atmosphere, kill off all the wildlife and plants.’