Peter Robinson - Aftermath

“On the bed with you?”

“Yes. Starkers.”

“Was she involved in what went on sexually?”

“Oh, yes. She knew what she was doing, all right. Proper little minx.”

“She never seemed to be coerced, a victim in any way?”

“Never. No way. She was in control. And she liked what was happening. She even came up with suggestions of her own… you know, different things to do. Different positions.”

“Did they hurt you?”

“Not really. I mean, they liked to play games, but they seemed to know how far to go.”

“What sort of games?”

“He asked me if I’d mind him tying me to the bed. He promised they weren’t going to hurt me.”

“You let him do that?”

“They were paying well.”

“And they seemed nice.”

“Yes.”

Banks shook his head in amazement. “Okay. Go on.”

“Don’t judge me,” she said. “You don’t know anything about me or what I have to do, so don’t you dare judge me!”

“Okay,” said Banks. “Go on, Candy. They tied you to the bed.”

“She was doing something with hot candle wax. On my belly. My nipples. It hurt a bit, but it doesn’t really hurt. You know what I mean?”

Banks hadn’t experimented sexually with candle wax but he had spilled some on his hand on more than one occasion and knew the sensation, the brief flash of heat and pain followed by the quick cooling, the setting and drying, the way it pinched and puckered the skin. Not an entirely unpleasant sensation.

“Were you frightened?”

“A bit. Not really, though. I’ve known worse. But they were a team. That’s what I’m telling you. That’s why I came forward. I can’t believe you’ve let her go.”

“We don’t have any evidence against her, any evidence that she had anything to do with killing those girls.”

“But don’t you see?” Candy pleaded. “She’s the same as him. They’re a team. They do things together. Everything together .”

“Candy, I know it probably took you a lot of courage to come here and talk to me, but what you’ve said doesn’t change things. We can’t go and arrest her on-”

“On some tom’s statement, you mean?”

“I wasn’t going to say that. What I was going to say was that we can’t just go and arrest her on the evidence of what you’ve just told me. You consented. You were paid for your services. They didn’t hurt you beyond what you were prepared for. It’s a risky profession you’re in. You know that, Candy.”

“But surely what I’ve said makes a difference?”

“Yes, it makes a difference. To me. But we deal in facts, in evidence. I’m not doubting your word, that it happened, but even if we had it on video, it wouldn’t make her a murderer.”

Candy paused for a moment, then she said, “They did. Have it on video.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I saw the camera. They thought it was hidden behind a screen, but I could hear something, a whirring noise, and once when I got up to go to the toilet I glimpsed a video camera set up behind a screen. The screen had a hole in it.”

“We didn’t find any videos at the house, Candy. And as I said, even if we had, it wouldn’t change anything.” But the fact that Candy had seen a video camera interested Banks. Again, he had to ask himself where was it, and where were the tapes?

“So it’s all for nothing, then? My coming here.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Yes, it is. You’re not going to do anything. She’s just as guilty as him, and you’re going to let her get away with murder.”

“Candy, we’ve got no evidence against her. The fact that she joined in a threesome with her husband and you does not make her a murderer.”

“Then find some evidence.”

Banks sighed. “Why did you come here?” he asked. “Really. You girls never come forward voluntarily and talk to the police.”

“What do you mean, you girls ? You’re judging me again, aren’t you?”

“Candy, for crying out loud… You’re a tom. You told me yourself. You sell sex. I’m not judging your profession, but what I am saying is that girls who practice it rarely make themselves helpful to the police. So why are you here?”

She shot him a sly glance so full of humor and intelligence that Banks wanted to get on his soapbox and persuade her to go to university and get a degree. But he didn’t. Then her expression quickly changed to one of sadness. “You’re right about my profession , as you call it,” she said. “It’s full of risks. Risk of getting some sexually transmitted disease. Risk of meeting the wrong kind of customer. The nasty kind. Things like that happen to us all the time. We deal with them. At the time, these two were no better or worse than anyone else. Better than some. At least they paid.” She leaned forward. “But since I’ve read about them in the papers, what you found in the cellar…” She gave a little shudder and hugged her skinny shoulders. “Girls go missing,” she went on. “Girls like me. And nobody cares.”

Banks attempted to say something but she brushed it aside.

“Oh, you’ll say you do. You’ll say it doesn’t matter who gets raped, beat up or murdered. But if it’s some little butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-knickers schoolgirl, you’ll move heaven and earth to find out who did it. If it’s someone like me… well… let’s just say we’re pretty much low priority. Okay?”

“If that’s true, Candy, there are reasons,” said Banks. “And it’s not because I don’t care. Because we don’t care.”

She studied him for a few moments and seemed to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Maybe you do,” she said. “Maybe you’re different. And maybe there are reasons. Not that they get you off the hook. The point is, though, why I came and all that… not just that girls do go missing. Girls have gone missing. Well, one in particular.”

Banks felt the hairs bristle at the back of his neck. “A girl you know? A friend of yours?”

“Not exactly a friend. You don’t have many friends in this profession . But someone I knew, yes. Spent time with. Talked to. Had a drink with. Lent money to.”

“When did this happen?”

“I don’t know exactly. Before Christmas.”

“Did you report it?”

Her cutting glance said he’d just gone down a lot in her estimation. Curiously, it mattered to him. “Give me a break,” she said. “Girls come and go all the time. Move on. Even give up the life sometimes, save up enough money, go to university, get a degree.”

Banks felt himself blush as she said the very thing that had crossed his mind some time ago. “So what’s to say this missing girl didn’t just up and leave like the others?” he asked.

“Nothing,” said Candy. “Maybe it’s a wild-goose chase.”

“But?”

“But you said that what I had to tell you wasn’t evidence.”

“That’s true.”

“It made you think, though, didn’t it?”

“It gave me pause for thought. Yes.”

“Then what if this girl didn’t just move on? What if something did happen to her? Don’t you think you at least ought to look into that possibility? You never know, you might find some evidence there.”

“What you’re saying makes sense, Candy, but did you ever see this girl with the Paynes?”

“Not exactly with them, no.”

“Did you see the Paynes at any time around her disappearance?”

“I did see them sometimes, cruising the street. I can’t remember the exact dates.”

“Around that time, though?”

“Yes.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll need a name.”

“No problem. I know her name.”