Michael Fowler - Secret of the Dead

“When you say a bit of a soft spot?”

“In the strictest professional sense, of course. I’ve known Jodie a long time, in fact almost nine years. She did her first probation sentence when she was sixteen. Don’t get me wrong, Jodie could be a pain in the backside at times, but she also had a heart of gold once you got to know her.”

“And how well did you know her?”

“Probably better than any of others in the office. In fact, she could cause some of the girls here a bit of grief at times. Jodie had a bit of a temper on her, you see. Especially when she’d had a drink. And so I used to get her every time you lot had charged her. Everyone else wanted to avoid her, but I got on well with her.”

“Why was that?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. I suppose I didn’t give up on her like others had done. She had a pretty shitty life you know.”

“Were you fond of her?”

Ray Austin’s brow creased into a frown and his mouth tightened. “Fond of her. I don’t get what you mean?”

“Mr Austin Ray, I won’t beat about the bush. When we found Jodie’s body, in her jeans pocket she had a photograph of you.”

“A photo of me?”

Hunter flipped open the cover of Jodie’s file, withdrew the clear plastic evidence bag containing the torn photograph, and turned it so that it was facing him. “That is you?”

“Wow. Now I know where that photograph went.”

Hunter had expected the Senior Probation Officer to look embarrassed or surprised, but he did neither. It was Hunter’s turn to frown.

“That photo went missing from my desk well over six months ago. In fact, it’ll have been longer than that. It was the start of the year when I noticed it had gone from my frame. I wondered where it had gone to.” He reached out to a wooden photo frame next to his desktop computer and turned it around to face Hunter. “This is another copy of the same photo. I replaced it.”

Hunter studied the framed photograph. He saw that the image contained not only Ray Austin’s head and shoulder pose but he had his arm around the shoulders of a tanned, dark haired, good-looking woman, in her mid to late thirties. There was no doubt that the torn section of photograph they had recovered from Jodie’s jean pocket was in part an identical copy of this one he was looking at.

“That’s my wife, Sarah, with me. We’ve been married almost ten years.” He returned the framed photograph to his desk top, nudging it into roughly the same position it had been before. A smile creased his face. “Now I realise why you were asking me the type of questions you were. You thought something was going on between Jodie and me.”

Still guarded, Hunter said, “Was there?”

For a second Austin’s smile grew wider, then just as quickly it was gone and his face straightened. “You’re being serious aren’t you? Look, when I say I was fond of Jodie it was nothing like you think. It was strictly probation officer and client when we met. But like I said, I did have a soft-spot for her. You didn’t know Jodie like I did. She had a shit life and it wasn’t getting any better.”

“Tell me about it.”

“As I say, I first came across Jodie when she was sixteen. She’d got drunk and badly assaulted a younger girl at the care home she was in. I’m afraid Jodie was yet another failure in our care system. She had suffered a life of neglect and abuse by parents who drank heavily, and went into care when she was twelve as a result. She was fostered out a few times but caused havoc with every family she was placed with and so in the end no one would have her. She started drinking heavily when she was fourteen, and by the time she was fifteen had been cautioned three times. The assault was her first court conviction and I was given her file. After that, I got her paperwork every time she went to court. Don’t ask me how, but I just seemed to be able to get on with her. In fact, even when she wasn’t on our books she’d pop in to see me and have a chat. She did say to me once that I was the only person who listened to her and understood what she was going through. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but she obviously could relate to me.”

“Obviously. After all, she took your photo and kept the part of it with you on.”

He shook his head. “I never realised I had that impression on her life.” Momentarily, he drifted his gaze up to the ceiling. Returning his look back to Hunter he said, “Can I ask you now how she met her death? Was it to do with drink?”

“No. Drugs actually.”

“Drugs?”

“Heroin.”

He looked startled. “Heroin?”

“Yeah. An overdose. She was found in the cellar of a derelict pub. The place had been used as a shooting den. You sound surprised?”

“That’s because I am. As far as I was aware, Jodie never touched drugs. Maybe the odd spliff now and then, but not the hard stuff. In fact, you know when I said earlier that at times she had a heart of gold?”

Hunter acknowledged with a nod.

“Well, that was to do with drugs. A couple of the care staff from the home where she lived told me that Jodie used to come back there from time to time, and if she found any of the kids using gear she’d end up preaching to them about the dangers of the stuff. She had some success as well. Helped get a few of the kids clean. She was actually a role model for some of them, in a strange way.” He paused, stroking his bottom lip. Then he said “Are you sure it was heroin? You’re not mistaken?”

“Absolutely. A really pure concentrate as well. Not the normal street smack.”

“I really find this difficult to believe. If you’d said she’d died as a result of choking on her own vomit from drink, then yes, I’d believe that, but not drugs.”

Hunter pushed himself back into his seat. There was something in Ray Austin’s response which was setting alarm bells ringing. He thought back to the crime scene photographs, especially those relating to Jodie’s post-mortem. And then it hit him. When he had viewed Jodie’s photographs yesterday, he had missed vital evidence. The scarring on her arms from her years of self-harm had distracted his investigative eye. Everything was suddenly a whirl. He shook his head in an attempt to dismiss the chaos in his brain.

Ray Austin eased himself back. “You look a little concerned, DS Kerr?”

“That’s because I am. I think I’ve been walking down a blind alley over this. What you’ve just said has completely changed my thoughts about Jodie’s death. I thought she’d overdosed. Now I’m going to have to go back and re-look at things.” He glanced at Jodie’s file. “Just another couple of things to sort out before I leave you in peace?”

“Oh yes?”

“First thing, her address?”

“Sure, no problem.” He picked up a bunch of bright yellow Post-its, scribbled on the top one, tore it off and slapped it fast to the inside cover of Hunter’s folder. He pointed at his note. “Her flat’s on the top floor. It’s only a one bedroom place, but she never had many possessions, so it was just right for her. She shared a bathroom with two other flatmates on the same floor. There’re ten flats in that place, mainly DHSS clients.”

Hunter glanced at the address on the note. “Thanks. We found a key on Jodie so I’m hoping it’s for this place. I’m going to nip up there next. Just one more thing Ray, we also found a Christmas card in her possession. It’s signed Mr X. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

His face creased into a smile. “Goodness me, has she still got that? I sent her that donkey’s years ago. It was sent as a bit of a joke type thing but I know she appreciated it. I’ve already mentioned that she used to pop in the office from time to time for a chat, even when she wasn’t on probation?”