Kelly secured warrants for both Blackman’s flat and Sarah Peaks’ cottage. She hated being double-crossed, and she’d been duped, outdone, sewn up, and whatever other phrase her furious brain came up with to spit out the rage that she was trying to divert into the investigation.
It wasn’t working.
During the period of his suspension from work, Tony Blackman had spent most of his time at the home of Sarah Peaks, his alleged friend-cum-lover. Kelly arranged for both places to be searched at the same time to avoid either of them getting a heads-up and being able to hide anything. It was still unclear if Sarah was involved; Kelly kept an open mind. Meanwhile, she went back to Luke Miles and delivered the news that Sadie had come clean.
By 8.30, her team was assembled and she briefed them on what had come together overnight. Faced with Sadie’s testimony, Luke had changed his statement again. He was informed that due to Mr Blackman’s coercion and manipulation, a plea bargain would be accepted in principle by the CPS. It was two weeks before his eighteenth birthday, and he’d be charged as a minor.
Ted called with the toxicology results: Bobby Bailey’s DNA matched the DNA from the rape swab.
‘The residue inside her gums was ketamine, and the injuries inside her mouth prove that it was rubbed into her skin forcefully enough to cause tearing and trauma. It would have entered her bloodstream very quickly.’
Ketamine was fast becoming known as a date-rape drug. It could be snorted, injected or smoked. It was also marketed to kids as ‘Special K’ to make it sound cool.
‘How long would she have been out of it?’ she asked.
‘Enough time to be raped. Cause of death was freezing, though. I’m sorry.’
‘I need to prove that the drugs were a fundamental part of her death.’
‘What difference would that make? Bailey is dead.’
‘If the victim of drug misuse is a minor, the dealer can be convicted of murder. I told you before, Ted, I’m nailing these bastards for the deaths of Jenna Fraser and Jake Trent.’
‘Faith didn’t die of an overdose, though.’
‘No, but the drug rendered her unconscious in sub-zero conditions, and she was left for dead.’
‘Is that sufficient intent?’
‘Yes, because she died as a direct result of being administered that drug.’
‘Difficult to prove.’
‘If I can prove that the teacher, Tony Blackman, was the kids’ main dealer, I could get him for gross negligence manslaughter, because he was in a public position of power, and murder, because Faith was fifteen. There’s also oblique intent for indirect murder because her death was as a direct consequence of his actions. If – and that’s the kicker – I can get the others to testify.’
‘I’m proud of you, Kelly.’
She hung up before either of them said more.
There was still no sign of Mr Blackman as they worked on his culpability and the escalation of his involvement. There had never been any evidence that the suicide of Laura Briggs was connected to Blackman, but Jenna Fraser was another story. Emma had been doing her homework and had traced a web of texts and secret WhatsApps between Jenna and Luke Miles. She’d also found three texts from a number they now knew very well: Tony Blackman’s. He’d threatened to tell Jenna’s parents of the secret addiction that was destroying her Olympic dream.
After twenty-one hours in a cell in Dover, Danny Stanton, accompanied by a legal aid lawyer, admitted that he was a regular conduit between Manchester and Barrow for Tony Blackman. The Revelin Moss car park was a frequent rendezvous point, and the night of Faith’s death, he said, he was merely there to drop off a load of drugs to Luke Miles, but that they’d partied and ended up taking a quantity of cocaine. The last thing he’d seen after he’d dropped off the packages and decided to leave his car in the carpark, was Luke and a bunch of kids driving away, and Bobby cornering the girl.
He was asked why he hadn’t intervened, given his knowledge of Bobby’s character, as well as Faith’s vulnerability. His reply was that it was none of his business, and that news broke Kelly’s heart. She’d seen enough pictures of Bobby Bailey to know that he’d been physically wasting away. Danny Stanton, on the other hand, was a healthy, strapping young man who could easily have stopped the attack. But as usual in these cases, he was saving his own skin. Still, she knew that Stanton would have a hard time convincing a jury that he’d merely walked away and not participated in the attack. His DNA was taken and sent to the lab.
He was also asked about his contact in Manchester. He was only able to tell them that it was some guy who didn’t speak very good English, but he positively ID’d Nedzad Galic. It was enough to go after him, and Kelly informed the Manchester drug squad.
The atmosphere at Eden House was tense, and Kelly had to remind herself to be patient. Several moving parts were in action at once, and it felt like they were nearly there. The incident room was hushed, the only noises those of furiously tapping keyboards, ringing phones, and the odd word. Her team wheeled their chairs between desks to swap and compare information. Out on the streets, Blackman was being hunted, the trap was closing around Nedzad, and Bobby Bailey was cremated at public expense because no one claimed his body.
Kelly took a call from the reception desk downstairs and was puzzled by what she heard. She left her seat and jogged into the incident room.
‘Kate, come with me. Sarah Peaks has just walked into the station.’
Kate grabbed her phone and radio and they both went to the stairs. It was quicker than waiting for the lift, and their adrenalin was pumping, urging them to move. When they saw Sarah, they both loosely framed a likely picture in their minds of what might have gone on. Sarah held a bundle of tissues to her eye. Her hands were shaking and she was having trouble getting her words to come out correctly. Seeing Kelly only made her worse, and she began babbling. Blackman’s name was mentioned, and she kept saying that he’d tried to kill her. Their priority was to calm her down.
‘Come on, Sarah, let’s go and sit down,’ Kelly soothed. She nodded at the officer at the front desk, and they were buzzed through into the corridor where the interview rooms were situated. Sarah was still breathless and desperately scared. As they escorted her, Kelly saw that she was missing two fingernails, her ear was bloody and an angry dark red bruise was swelling around her eye.
They went into the room and Sarah sat down. She appeared to be more composed and took a few deep breaths.
‘You’re safe now,’ Kelly said.
Sarah nodded and accepted water from Kate.
‘What happened?’ Kelly asked.
Sarah’s face crumpled and she held the tissues to her eyes again, wincing as she touched the bruised one.
‘I saw him with … a woman. She used to teach at the school. She’s called Amanda. I knew they’d had a thing, but he was with her.’ Sarah peered between Kelly and Kate. ‘He was kissing her.’
This event was evidently hugely important and hurtful to Sarah, and Kelly quickly surmised that she and Tony Blackman were more than likely lovers. She glanced at Kate, who opened a pad on the table and began to take notes. Sarah gave them the details of the woman.
‘Where did you see them together?’
‘I didn’t know where he’d gone and I was worried. He’d told me about his other flat, where he went to relax. He kept it quiet because of the trial; it was an old rental property that he bought years ago. I never went there but he told me where it was and I thought I might try it. I thought he might be waiting for me to go there, scared of leaving or something like that.’
‘Do you have the address?’ Kelly asked.
Sarah nodded and gave it to them.
‘Do you think he might still be there?’
‘I don’t know.’
Kelly spoke into her radio and called for a patrol car to proceed to the address, with caution. Sarah’s eyes widened.
‘How did you sustain your injuries?’ Kelly asked her.
‘He was going into the flat with this woman, and I shouted. He looked at me as if …’ Her face crumpled again. She had been truly betrayed, and her pain was real. ‘As if he hated me.’
‘Carry on. Tell us what happened next.’
‘I confronted him about his interview with the police – the one where he was cleared of all the charges – and told him that he knew too much about the computer, and that he was mixing his facts up. His face changed then, and I was scared for the first time. He turned away from me and I screamed at him. I wanted to know what he was doing. I …’
She blew her nose and dabbed her eyes again. Kate pushed a box of tissues towards her.
‘He unlocked his door to go in and then he just grabbed me. It came from nowhere and my head smashed against the door. The pain was so terrible. I don’t know what happened, but I knew that if I didn’t get out of there he was going to really hurt me. I kicked him between the legs and he howled. I ran and ran and ran until I didn’t even know where I was, but I knew he wasn’t behind me.’ Her face softened for the first time, unburdened.
‘He didn’t see that coming, did he?’ Kate said. Sarah managed to smile.
‘Well done. You did an amazing job. The officer at the front desk has called a medic and they’re coming to check you out. Kate and I have to go now, to see if we can find Tony. I’ll call someone in to sit with you, and then we’ll take you home if you don’t need treatment. Those nails look sore.’
Sarah looked down and winced; it was obvious that she hadn’t noticed them before. It often happened in cases of abuse and domestic violence, when adrenaline ran so high that the victim had no idea of the extent of their injuries. ‘You’re safe now,’ Kelly told her.