Линда Ла Плант - Unholy Murder

Stanley looked squarely at Jane. ‘What is it with you and Nick Durham?’

Jane looked him in the eye. ‘I’m seeing him... we’ve been out to dinner. It’s nothing serious yet, but—’

‘Jesus Christ, this just gets better and better. And there was me thinking it was the priest who was shagging you!’

‘That’s uncalled for!’ she snapped back.

‘If Barnes was still here, you would be out the door with his boot up your backside.’

‘Why? I haven’t revealed anything about our investigation to Nick or Thomas Durham,’ Jane argued.

‘You can’t see the wood for the trees, can you? You seem to forget Becky Rogers is obsessed with Melissa Bailey’s murder. She told her colleagues she was going out to follow up on a lead and has vanished off the face of the Earth. Her notes clearly show an interest in Bishop Meade and Thomas Durham. We know Meade refused to speak to Becky, so where in that detective’s head of yours do you think she might have gone?’ Stanley asked scornfully.

Jane closed her eyes and sighed as the realisation hit her. ‘To speak to Thomas Durham.’

‘Exactly! The Durhams stand to lose everything because of Becky’s article. No one in their right mind would want to buy a property where they thought murdered children might be buried. How would you feel if a young journalist who just lost you millions of pounds turned up on your doorstep asking questions?’

‘I’d be upset, but it doesn’t mean I’d kill them,’ Jane replied.

‘We both know it doesn’t take a lot to send people over the edge and lash out. One punch, one stab and a life can be over.’

Jane knew she’d messed up and it was pointless arguing. ‘Are you going to interview Thomas Durham?’

‘You’ve met him on three occasions and been to his house. You’re best placed to search his premises, arrest and interview him... with Boon.’

Jane was stunned. ‘I don’t think that would be appropriate under the circumstances.’

‘If you don’t like it, then go back to the Bromley office and deal with the simple everyday crimes.’

‘Do you not think there’s a conflict of interest if I arrest Durham?’

‘No. Not now you’ve told me what you know. Unless, of course, you think your boyfriend Nick might be involved in Becky’s disappearance?’ Stanley said.

‘As far as I’m aware he was in his office all afternoon, then he spent the night at mine. I didn’t get the impression he’d just murdered or kidnapped anyone,’ Jane retorted.

‘We need to confirm his exact movements for the afternoon Becky went missing,’ Stanley said. ‘So I’ll interview him. Due to your unfortunate relationship with Nick Durham we need to do things by the book when we search his father’s place. I want you to type up a search warrant for Thomas Durham’s house. Get it signed by the on-call magistrate, then come straight back here. While you’re doing that I’ll get as many uniformed officers as I can to help you search the grounds. I also want inquiries made at every flat to see if anyone else saw Becky or her car.’

‘Should I get DS Johnson involved as well? He could look for any traces of blood or hairs matching Becky’s.’

Stanley nodded. ‘For what it’s worth, I hope we’re wrong — not just for Becky’s sake, but yours as well.’

There was a knock on the door and Boon entered holding some papers. He looked at Jane.

‘These were just faxed over from the diocesan archivist.’

She looked through them. ‘There’s a document headed “Durham Building Company Ltd”, giving a quote for repair work to the chapel roof. There’s also an invoice for the work done, both signed by Thomas Durham and dated a year before Melissa went missing. There are other quotes and invoices from the same company for repair work over a two-year period... again before Melissa went missing. There’s also a report on the fire damage and an estimated cost of repair to the buildings.’

‘Jesus Christ! If he did all this work on the convent back then and kept quiet about it, he’s also a potential suspect for Melissa’s murder!’ Stanley exclaimed.

The magistrate asked a few questions about the investigation, signed the warrant and Jane returned to the incident room shortly after the six o’clock news broadcast about Becky Rogers’ disappearance.

Once again the detectives were busy on the phones, gathering information from members of the public who had called in. Jane noticed Lloyd Johnson putting up some photographs of the foxglove seeds and silver birch slivers on the wall.

‘How’s it going?’ she asked him.

‘I was at the convent earlier with the fire investigator,’ he said. ‘You were right about it being arson. It’s bloody amazing what they can tell from burnt-out buildings, even years later. He could tell from the burn damage where it started and how it tracked from one building to the next.’

‘So where and how did it start?’ Jane asked.

‘In the bakery. The fire investigator examined a rusty old paraffin heater which was still in there. The screwcap on the oil container was missing and there were three separate seats of fire in the bakery. He reckons whoever committed the arson poured the oil out in three locations then set light to each one individually.’

‘Thanks, Lloyd. It’s good to know I got something right.’

‘You seem a bit down... something up?’

‘Stanley’s pissed off with me.’

‘What have you done now?’ Lloyd asked.

Jane sighed. ‘It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.’

Jane knocked on Stanley’s door and went in.

‘Any sightings of Becky?’ she asked apprehensively and showed him the search warrant.

Stanley nodded. ‘It looks like she went to the convent on Tuesday afternoon. An elderly couple who live in one of the flats phoned in. They were on their way out at a quarter past two when they saw a young woman getting out of a red Citroën 2CV near the main entrance. The description matches Becky and the clothing fits with what her colleagues say she wore to work on Tuesday.’

‘Did they see her again?’

‘No, but her car was still there when they returned home at six o’clock. They said it wasn’t there the following morning. This is not looking good. I’ve called in the Special Patrol Group and dog section to help with the search. I’m going to speak with PC Rogers, let him know what’s happening. I understand that you’re in an awkward position. If you don’t want to be part of the search and arrest team then—’

‘No, I want to do it,’ she said firmly. ‘You were right. I should have interviewed Thomas Durham as soon as I suspected he was lying. If I had, then maybe right now Becky Rogers would be sitting in the comfort of her home writing her investigative journal.’

‘You can’t change what’s happened, Jane, but you can make a difference to how it ends.’

‘I’ll do my best,’ Jane said.

‘We’ve all made mistakes on this investigation,’ Stanley said, ‘me and Tony Barnes included. The reality is, it’s you and Boon who have uncovered the vital evidence. You should both be proud of that.’

‘Is Boon coming on the search?’

Stanley nodded. ‘I spoke with him while you were out. I told him we think Becky went to Thomas Durham’s house and you were getting a search warrant. He was pretty cut up, but he’s still hoping we might find her alive and being held against her will.’

‘If we find her body there it might be too much for him,’ Jane said.

‘If Boony wants to go I’m not going to stand in his way. Finding out what’s happened to Becky might even be cathartic for him.’

Stanley opened his briefcase and took out a clear plastic property bag. He removed a rag doll and handed it to Jane. The doll had button eyes, smiling red felt lips and yellow yarn hair. It was dressed in a pink floral dress, red apron and red shoes.