Constable Steve Harrison had already pre-empted our arrival: the sandwiches were on the table. And when he began fussing over Connie, I grabbed a plate and retreated to join Paul in his study. He had a second computer terminal up and running, obviously anticipating a long session. I was right. We worked through solidly until seven, and if Sheila hadn’t brought us in a coffee I doubt if we would have stopped at all. Paul even grimaced when I excused myself to go to the loo!
At the end of the day we had three possible candidates from the West Midlands area.
1. Peter Driscoll, a Caucasian, from West Bromwich. At the age of 13 he had sexually attacked and attempted to rape two young girls from his school; they were both aged nine. Evidently, he had lain in wait for them on separate occasions whilst they were on their way home from school. The first time he was given the benefit of the doubt – a nine-year-olds word against his. The second time he wasn’t so lucky; an independent witness saw him whilst in the course of the attack. Had his mother not pleaded for him at Juvenile Court he would certainly have received a youth custody sentence. In the event, however, he was referred to the local psychiatric hospital, where he spent six months as an inpatient and received a further two years of therapy as a day patient. At 16 he left school and nothing more was heard of him. He would now be 40 or 41. Other than the above, the police computer confirmed he had no criminal record. Present whereabouts unknown.
2. Brian Ennisford, also Caucasian, from Wolverhampton. At the age of 14 he sexually attacked his sister in a vicious assault, which resulted in her hospitalisation and his being charged in Juvenile Court with attempted rape and grievous bodily harm. Because of his age he could not be named. Before sentencing, psychiatric reports were called for, which diagnosed possible paranoid schizophrenia and recommended an extended period of psychiatric treatment as an inpatient in a suitable institution. He was released into a halfway house after seven years, and told he had to remain on appropriate medication indefinitely, and report to the hospital as an outpatient on a monthly basis. He adhered to the routine for approximately three years, since when he has disappeared from the scene. He does have a corresponding record as a juvenile offender, but the police confirm there is no DNA record attached to his file. His age now would be 44. Present whereabouts unknown.
3. Arnold Brownlaw, Caucasian, from Edgbaston, Birmingham. A prolific offender throughout his teenage years, who first came to the attention of social workers following a sexual attack on a neighbour’s eight-year-old daughter when he was 13. As a result of this, and the corresponding reaction from the family involved, the Brownlaws moved to the West Bromwich area. Two years later Arnold, then 15, was again brought before the court, this time for the alleged rape and battery of a nine-year-old girl. He was accused of abducting the child from a care home, dragging her into some nearby woods and then viciously attacking and raping her. He denied the allegations, and the charges were eventually dropped because the girl’s supervisors at the home refused to allow her to give evidence, on the grounds that she was too traumatised. At that time DNA testing was not available, but there was little doubt, from other available police evidence, that it was Arnold who had carried out the attack. At 17 he was placed in youth custody, for an indefinite period, for the rape of a ten-year-old girl. On this occasion the child’s parents did allow the victim to give evidence, and as a result Arnold was convicted. During his confinement he was referred for psychiatric treatment to the Birmingham Psychiatric Hospital, where he was assessed as sexually dysfunctional and admitted as an inpatient. Records of his hospitalisation period indicate that he was responding to therapy over a time-span of three years. He was eventually discharged, shortly before his 21st birthday. I accessed the police computer files, which showed that there is no record of further court appearances. His age now would be 39. Present whereabouts unknown.
I leant back in my chair and stretched wearily. It had been a long and exhausting day, and, although we had identified three possible suspects, I wasn’t sure where that took us – or in fact, where we went from here. I had no doubts that we would be able to trace these three men, eventually, but we could hardly level accusations at them because of their past transgressions; nor could I really justify asking Jim to place them on an official suspects lists.
“So, Paul, we’ve achieved what we set out to do; but where do we go from here?”
He yawned, obviously as tired as I was. “The first thing to do, Angie, is to find them. That’s your job. Then we investigate their present lifestyles; you know the sort of thing better than I do. Are they, or have they been, married? Do they have children? What sort of job do they do? Are they wealthy? And all the other aspects that will help us build a profile. Then, we see if they match, or come anywhere near, the one we’ve already mapped out.
“Essentially, it means a great deal of police work, and it’s up to you and your superiors to decide whether or not it’s likely to be productive. I’m happy to give Jim some input if you think it’ll help. I can only add that this way does work, based on my previous experience. It’s also consistent, if you recall, with the typical pattern of the ‘sadistic offender’, insofar as, almost invariably, they’ll have committed similar offences in the past. And these three candidates have done.
“Anyway, I’ll leave it with you, and I suggest we call it a day. If you agree, I think we’ll postpone any further examination of mental health records for other parts of the country until we have approval for our recommendations.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “I agree. I’ll discuss it with Jim in the morning. Where will you be if I need to call you?”
“At Forest Hills. I have a medical conference there at ten, so I won’t be free till the afternoon.”
Connie had gone out with her police ‘guardian’ when I checked; there was a note from her apologising for not thanking me for a ‘lovely weekend’. She was going to have her ears pierced, she said – and maybe her navel as well! There was no mention of yesterday’s vision, so obviously it hadn’t fazed her too much. But it wasn’t something that would simply go away, like a bad dream. If it were intended as a prophetic image of a yet-to-unfold event then it would be wrong to dismiss it. As yet I hadn’t had the chance to give it much thought – my head was still spinning from the hours spent on the bloody computer – but I did make a mental note to mention it to Jim. I scribbled a quick reply, letting her know I would call her tomorrow.
I was absolutely beat, so rather than return to the station I headed for home. Perhaps tonight I really would manage an early night. I stopped briefly on the way home for tampons and toothpaste. Then I bolted the door, disconnected the phone and placed a frozen pizza in the microwave. When I had eaten I took a cup of hot chocolate into the bathroom and soaked luxuriously for a good 20 minutes, completely undisturbed. It was lovely. I was so tired I put off shampooing my hair until the morning, climbed into bed and almost immediately crashed out.