They were both waiting for him when he arrived.
‘Come in, sit down,’ ordered Turnbull.
When he had settled himself in front of them, Turnbull simply barked, ‘Update, and make it brief. I don’t want to be here on a Saturday when I could be on the golf course.’
Ridpath took a deep breath and counted silently to three. This man was deliberately goading him, trying to provoke a reaction. The team was working twenty-four seven trying to crack the case and all his erstwhile boss cared about was a round of golf. He could feel his face becoming redder and redder.
‘Have you made any progress, Ridpath?’ Claire Trent’s voice was softer, more emollient.
‘We have made a lot in the last couple of days. Firstly, we know the names of two of the people who had their hands amputated. They were Joseph Rowlands and Gerald Duffy. We are still testing the third hand.’
‘So what links Rowlands and Duffy?’ asked Claire Trent.
‘A great question. We’re not certain at the moment. We think it could be Daisy House.’
‘The children’s home where the backpack was found by the film crew?’
Ridpath nodded. ‘Joseph Rowlands worked there as a gardener, and Duffy may have been connected to the place, perhaps as a volunteer. We have information Jane Ryder was a resident at Daisy House, too.’
‘Hold on, who is Jane Ryder?’ asked Turnbull.
‘She’s the missing person case Ridpath has been working on for the coroner,’ Claire Trent answered for him. ‘What has she got to do with the case?’
‘The backpack in which the hands were found. We think it belonged to her.’
‘Think?’
‘Yes.’
‘But you don’t know?’
‘We’re pretty certain. It’s limited edition, and Mr Ryder bought exactly the same one for his daughter. We have pictures of her with it on the day she disappeared in 2009.’
‘You have pictures of her with it at the children’s home?’ asked Claire Trent.
‘No.’
Turnbull smiled. ‘It’s circumstantial. Do you have proof it’s the same backpack?’
‘No, but we’re pretty sure.’
‘But you don’t know.’ Turnbull was pushing hard.
Ridpath sighed. ‘Correct.’
‘What happened to the backpack between 2009 and when it was found last Tuesday morning?’ demanded Turnbull.
‘We don’t know.’
‘More stuff you don’t know.’ A triumphant glance from Turnbull to his boss. ‘Anything you do know?’
‘We are convinced the hands in the backpack and the disappearance of Jane Ryder are linked.’
‘How?’
‘We don’t know… yet.’
Another smirk from Turnbull. ‘Where are the bodies of the victims?’
‘We don’t know.’
‘Why were the hands removed?’
Ridpath stayed silent.
‘I presume you don’t know.’ A dramatic pause. ‘Do you have any suspects?’
Ridpath shook his head.
‘Persons of interest?’
Ridpath stared at him.
‘Or even any witnesses you haven’t interviewed yet?’
‘We have only been working on it for a few days, give us a break,’ snapped Ridpath, instantly regretting that he had lost his temper.
Turnbull sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his large chest.
‘Do you have any leads?’ Claire Trent asked.
‘Two possibles. One is Patricia Patterson, the social worker involved with Jane Ryder.’
‘I presume you will be interviewing her.’
Ridpath waited before quietly saying, ‘She’s disappeared.’
‘What?’
‘She vanished last Wednesday, the day after the hands were found.’
‘Isn’t that suspicious?’ Claire Trent sat upright in her chair.
‘We think so. We’re looking for her at the moment.’
‘You said there were two possibles.’
‘The other is a man in the picture with Jane Ryder the day she disappeared.’ He dug out a copy from the file. ‘This man. We want to know who he is and how he is linked to Jane.’
‘A long shot. The picture was taken in 2009.’
‘We can hope. Chrissy is getting the facial recognition people on it today.’
‘More resource and time.’
‘I can’t investigate this case, DCI Turnbull, without using them,’ snapped Ridpath.
Another smile. ‘Remember you have until Monday.’
‘Speaking of Monday,’ interrupted Claire Trent, ‘Mrs Challinor and I have agreed she will go ahead with her inquest calling her preliminary witnesses. I have already briefed the Police Legal Service to be there and to request a postponement of the inquest pending our further enquiries.’
‘Mrs Challinor told me last night.’
‘Afterwards, MIT’s involvement will gradually be phased out and the inquiry will be passed to the Cold Case Unit.’
‘What?’
‘We can’t waste any more time or resources on it.’ Turnbull was smiling.
‘But we’re actually getting somewhere. We need more time. There may be other victims and other deaths.’
‘It will be for Chief Inspector Holburt and his team at the Cold Case Unit to decide. Not us. You have until Monday, Ridpath.’
‘But that’s unfair, I need more time. We could be dealing with a serial killer here.’
The two senior detectives stared at him, before Turnbull asked, ‘What is your evidence there is a serial killer operating in Manchester? Three hands that may or may not have been linked to a children’s home?’
Ridpath wished he’d stayed quiet. ‘There seems to be a pattern in the deaths. Perhaps the hands were trophies kept by the killer.’
‘What’s his reason for killing?’ asked Claire Trent.
‘We don’t know yet.’
‘Have you confirmed a link between all three hands?’
‘Not yet. It could be Daisy House. There could be a conspiracy to cover up something that happened in the past there.’ Ridpath realised how vague his words sounded.
‘Listen to yourself. So many weasel words and not a shred of hard evidence. If you’re so convinced these hands in a backpack are linked to Daisy House, have you interviewed any of the former residents?’
Ridpath looked down.
‘Spoken to any of the staff?’
Ridpath didn’t answer.
‘Have you even compiled a list of residents? People you could ask if anything criminal occurred that might lead to a conspiracy or a cover-up?’
Ridpath finally shook his head.
Turnbull turned to Claire Trent. ‘I warned you about Ridpath’s imagination, his reliance on “hunches” rather than the hard graft of evidence gathering. Now what do we have? A lot of questions and not a lot of answers. Conspiracy theories rather than concrete facts.’
‘Listen, don’t you get it? There is a serial killer or killers out there. People keep disappearing; Jane Ryder, Joseph Rowlands, Gerald Duffy and now Patricia Patterson. And somehow, they are all linked to Daisy House.’
Claire Trent spoke slowly. ‘The disappearance of people is not proof there is a serial killer in Manchester. Nor is it proof of a conspiracy to cover up something that may or may not have happened in the past. Without evidence linking these people to Daisy House Children’s Home, you have nothing, Ridpath.’
‘People disappear all the time. You haven’t thought this through, lad.’
‘That’s not fair, I—’
‘Life is unfair, Ridpath,’ smirked Turnbull, ‘you’d better get used to it.’
Ridpath ignored him, appealing directly to Claire Trent. ‘I just need another week, boss, I’m sure we could find the link, work out why these people have disappeared and how it relates to the children’s home.’
‘I’ve made up my mind.’
‘Just a couple of extra days.’
‘I have made my decision. You have till Monday. Now if you don’t mind, I have a mountain of paperwork to get through.’