Paul was already waiting for me in one of the interview rooms when I returned. I handed the tape over to him and left him to listen to it whilst I organised the vehicle search.
“What do you think?” I asked, after he had shut the machine off.
He gave me one of his non-committal shrugs. “Well, I’m doing my best to keep an open mind, as I promised. But this – this is really something. If I didn’t have the details from the chief inspector I’d have to say this was some kind of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Is this exactly how she saw her vision?”
“Yes. In almost every detail, except Connie’s added one or two things we didn’t know about.”
“I’ll listen to it again in a bit, if you don’t mind. But, accepting for a moment that what Connie says is true, and from what I’ve heard, it does sound as though our man’s getting more and more desperate.”
“How do you make that out, Paul?”
“He’s beginning to expose himself, for a start. He abducted that girl almost in front of her mother – that was a hell of a risk to take. Anyone could have seen him, in which case I doubt he would have got very far. As a matter of procedure, generally, our man is very, very careful. He’ll research his quarry with almost painstaking detail; and he won’t act till he’s absolutely sure of his security. And now he’s made his first mistake; today’s incident has all the appearances of an almost impulsive snatch – there was very little planning involved other than his disguise as a park ranger.
“His second mistake was leaving his car in the park. We’ve only got a partial number from Connie, but I’ll bet someone in that park saw it and will be able to give you a better description. If you think about it, Angie, it had to have been there for quite some time, and it certainly wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. And now, of course, you’ve got the bloodstains. No doubt the DNA will match him with Josephine Marsden’s abductor. That was another mistake; and unlike the clothes in the field, it wasn’t intentional. It was outside his control, and he really won’t like that. What you have to do now is to keep up the pressure on him.” He shrugged. “I realise it doesn’t help this latest victim, but it might stop him getting another one.
“Let me think about it some more, Angie. I’ll play the tape again and see if there’s anything I’ve missed. Where will you be?”
I pointed towards the incident room. “I’ll be out there, helping with a vehicle search. But I’m not banking on getting anywhere. This is going to be some trawl.”
And I was correct. In the West Midland area alone there were over 6,000 four-wheel drives with a ‘T’ registration, ranging from Toyotas to Jeeps to Range Rovers, and a host of other smaller manufacturers.
“Where the hell do we start, Frank?” I asked Frank Kewell. I was damned if I was going to address him as ‘inspector’!
“Well, let’s see if we can narrow it down somewhat, shall we? First off, we’ll eliminate all the women owners.” One of the WPCs keyed the information and the search question into the computer, and a matter of seconds later the list was reduced to a little over 4,000.
“Now,” Frank said, “let’s print out a list of the dealers in this area who sold this type of car in that year, together with their e-mail addresses.”
That process took the best part of half an hour, and at the finish we had more than 200 e-mail addresses. Whilst the computer was carrying out the search, Frank was drafting an e-mail communication to all the dealers, asking them for the following information:
1. The names and addresses of all males who had purchased T-Reg four-wheel drive vehicles, new, in that year together with the full registration number of the vehicle concerned.
2. How they paid for the vehicle.
3. Did they do a trade-in? And, if so, please supply the details.
4. Are any of the customers known to you personally? If ‘yes’, again supply details.
5. Please try to exclude all purchasers over the age of 50 and under the age of 25.
Please note, this information is required urgently to assist our enquires into the recent child abductions. We would be very grateful for your immediate cooperation. All replies to:
Detective Inspector Kewell, etc., etc.
“Well that should grab their attention,” I told him. Then I took the printout and a pair of scissors and began cutting the list into a number of much smaller lists; Peter Corkhill then handed them out to the teams of staff in the incident room.
“You’ve only got about six or seven each to send,” I informed them. “So, come on gang; let’s get to it. But listen up: give each of them an hour to respond, and any that haven’t by then – chase them up again. And keep chasing them, on the phone if necessary; and if that fails we’ll arrange a visit. This is number one priority. In the meantime, the inspector and I will set up a database for the replies. Go straight into Access and type in the information; I can do a sort when we have all the details to hand.”
Frank Kewell actually grinned at my call to the troops. Perhaps his earlier irritation with me was just frustration and not rank pulling. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt by returning his grin.
When I went to rejoin Paul in the interview room he also handed me a draft communication. I was no wiser after I had read it.
“What on earth is this, Paul?”
“It’s a computer bulletin, for the notice board. The phraseology is just the kind of stuff paedophiles use on the Net.”
“Fine. But what does it say?”
He looked at me, with embarrassment, I thought. “Effectively it says that I know where there’s a girl available – a child of eight – in the Manchester area, and that I’m willing to trade.”
“Jesus!” I gasped. “Is that how they do things? Like a kind of white slavery, only with children?”
He nodded. “Remember I mentioned that the sadistic offender is likely to use computer bulletin boards or coded chat lines to seek out victims? Well that’s exactly what we’re going to do to try and trap him. I’m banking on him becoming that desperate, particularly if we keep up the pressure on him, that he’ll go for something like this – that’s if he hasn’t already. And, bear in mind, this system is supposedly totally anonymous and fail-safe; it has to be for it to have any value to these people.”
I treated him to one of my naive, puzzled glances. “But if it’s so secure, Paul, how do we use it to trap him? Won’t it simply be a case of one anonymous advertiser dealing with another anonymous customer?”
“In theory, yes. But eventually, once each party is satisfied about the bona fides of the other, they can’t stay anonymous.”
“They have to show their hand, you mean?”
“Precisely.”
“Well, it sounds reasonable on the surface, but how do we go about it? Who accesses the computer and how do we get to place it on an appropriate website? I don’t think any of us in this police station has any experience with this kind of thing.”
“No. Of course you don’t. But you must know people who do.”
“You’re talking about other paedophiles, aren’t you?”
He just nodded, almost conspiratorially. “What you do is find one in the Manchester area who’s a persistent offender, who has a record for this type of trade – obviously – and who’s well known to the local police. And you recruit him, by any means you consider necessary. He’ll know all the procedures we have to go through, and the coding I’m sure these people adopt for secrecy.” He held up the draft document. “Like this website notice I’ve drafted. I’ve been taking lessons from one of our patients.”
“So, why can’t we use him?”
“Wrong area; these people aren’t stupid, you know. It has to be someone actually based in or around Manchester. If we enter a chat room from this part of the country it might throw up suspicions of a trap. Also, it contravenes the Mental Health Act.”
“Right. I’m with you. Anything else on the tape?”
“No. I think I’ve covered everything. But there are a couple of things I’d suggest to keep the pressure on him. One, update the photofit with Connie’s latest input and circulate it over an even wider area. And two, enquire if it’s possible to have CCTV cameras installed outside the principal schools and children’s playgrounds in the area; then publicise the fact.”
“Well, the photofit isn’t a problem, Paul, but I don’t know about the cameras. You’re talking a lot of money here.”
“Then ask if it’s possible to rent the system for a short period. And if you can’t do that then lie about it, let him think that’s what we’ve done. Believe me, Angie, it’ll push him into a corner and that might produce dividends.” He paused thoughtfully. “One other thing. If I accept that Connie’s vision is genuine – and I’m coming more and more round to that view – then I’m even more concerned now about her safety than I was before. Talk to Jim about that, will you? I believe it’s essential to increase her cover.” He glanced at me, puzzled, when I didn’t acknowledge him. “Do you have a problem with that, Angie?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. It’s just that I have something nagging me at the back of my brain; I’m damned if I can put a finger on it.”
“Don’t worry; it’ll come back to you. It always does with me. Look, I have to dash now. I have a patient review this evening. If Jim wants to speak with me he can catch me later at Forest Hills. Keep me in touch, won’t you?”
“Absolutely. Take care, Paul.”
* * * * * * * * * *
The database was almost complete when I returned to my desk; very evidently Inspector Kewell knew his stuff when it came to computers.
“Finish this off, Angie, will you? Jim’s on his way back and he wants me to set up a meeting with the superintendent.”
“Sure.”
“Oh, and then you’ll need to save it on floppy disks.”
“I realise that, Frank. Then we’ll have to network it – right?”
He grinned. The second time today; he was definitely softening! I finished off the database just as the first replies to Frank’s e-mail started to filter in. I left the team to deal with it, and then joined the others in the conference room. It was a very gloomy atmosphere.
“Any news?” I asked.
Jim just shook his head. “This guy has more lives than a cat,” he grunted. “Nothing on the APB; nothing on the roadblocks. But for him to disappear so quickly must suggest that he lives somewhere in the vicinity of the abduction. I recommend that’s where we should concentrate our efforts. Did you talk to Paul, by the way?”
“Yes. He made some good suggestions.” I went through my discussion with Paul; they listened in silence until I had finished.
“I like the idea of the CCTVs,” the superintendent said, “even if we have to install phoney systems then lie about it. I’m buggered if I understand the suggestion about computer bulletin boards, though; it’s a bit out of my league, I’m afraid. Can anyone explain it to me?”
“Yes, I can,” Frank said, then proceeded to give a detailed and simplified explanation of how the plan might work, including the logic of a Manchester base.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” the superintendent said. “These bastards not only have their own communication network they also have their own language! How do we implement that, Jim?”
“We’ll have to send someone to Manchester to work with the local CID. Fancy volunteering, Frank?”
“I’ll go if I have to. But wouldn’t we be better off with a computer boffin?”
“No; I need someone with senior rank. We don’t want any ego clashes with the locals. And you’re better with computers. So, we’ll pencil that one in. I’ll get on to the DCI at Manchester and make the arrangements. When can you go?”
Frank shrugged. “Today, if necessary, providing Angie takes over the vehicle investigation from me.”
“Angie?”
I nodded my head in agreement. “Sure, I think I can organise the legwork.”
“I’ll contact the various school governors if you provide me with a list,” the superintendent offered. “Persuade them to go along with the CCTV suggestion.”
“And I’ll try to stave off the press,” Jim said, tight-lipped. “They’re screaming for blood out there. Christ knows what else I can say that might pacify them. Any ideas, anyone?”
“Why not tell them we’ve got a witness who’s given us a good description, and we’ll be issuing an updated photofit later today?” That was my input, but it was very tongue in cheek in case it exposed Connie’s position even more.
Jim pondered over it for a few moments. “Yeah. I think I know what you’re getting at, Angie, and I’m sure you’re aware of the risks to that friend of yours.”
The superintendent got up from his chair. “This is where I leave you people,” he snapped. “I thought I’d made it clear I have no wish to be involved in that airy fairy nonsense.”
Jim let out a sigh of exasperation. “You did, Phil. You made it abundantly clear. But I have to tell you that I’m keeping an open mind, rather like Dr Simmons, and I’m not going to reject any avenue that might lead to an arrest. And I’d remind you that a completely closed mind is a completely unreceptive mind.” He then stood and glared at the superintendent. “And if you find that offensive, sir, then you had better take me off the case and replace me with someone with less imagination.”
The superintendent raised his hands defensively. Jim was glowering at him in real fury. I didn’t think I had ever seen him so angry.
“Alright, alright,” he stammered, trying to contain his own irritation. “Let’s try to compromise on this one, shall we? I won’t interfere with your running of the case if you don’t involve me directly in this so-called psychic stuff. Is that fair?”
Jim softened at that. “Yeah, Phil. Okay. Sorry about the outburst, but this case has got us all uptight.”
“I understand. Let me know if you need any help with the media.” He turned to leave. “Oh, and, Angie, I believe you’re right to arrange additional protection for that young friend of yours.”
“Okay, team,” Jim said, after the superintendent had left. “Let’s get to it, shall we? We’ve got a hell of a lot to do. Frank; start making your arrangements, will you. I’ll try to get you up to Manchester later today. Ange; see if you can arrange for a team of two to give Connie extra cover. And ask PR to come up again; I really do need some help with this media thing.”
The meeting broke up and we went back to our appointed tasks. The response from the car dealers was coming in thick and fast now. It seemed everyone wanted to help us catch this vicious psychopath.