Danielle Ramsay - Broken Silence

‘It just doesn’t look that great from where I’m sat, now does it?’ Jenkins continued.

‘Meaning?’ demanded Ellison, exasperated.

‘Look, let’s be straight here. Your fifteen-year-old student has turned up murdered. We have evidence that she was having a clandestine sexual relationship. One that started when she went on the Germany school trip, accompanied by yourself. You have a chequered past, shall we say, when it comes to becoming personally involved with your students—’

‘That is a ridiculous assumption!’ attacked Ellison.

‘Really? It seems that your last employers suggested that you hand in your notice to avoid any damning publicity. Sixth former or not, it is still deemed unacceptable by most people.’

Ellison clenched his jaw as he looked at Jenkins.

Brady watched, impressed as she casually moved her sleek, black bob back from her face.

‘Firstly, it was an unsubstantiated claim. The girl had a crush on me. When I refused to accept her advances, she turned into a malicious, hysterical liar and tried her utmost to make sure I lost my job. How about you open your eyes and take a good look at the way these kids act nowadays? They’re not the sweet innocent girls you’re making them out to be. In fact, most of the sex talk I overhear in the corridors would make you blush.’

‘Finished?’ Jenkins asked.

He didn’t answer, but his look said it all.

‘Thank you for your time,’ Jenkins politely concluded as she stood up.

Ellison didn’t answer her. Instead he turned and busied himself packing his bag to leave.

‘Sir?’ Brady said, walking to the door. ‘Don’t disappear. It won’t look good.’

‘Why would I?’ Ellison retaliated.

‘That’s what I’m trying to figure out, sir.’

‘What did you make of Ellison?’ Brady asked as Conrad drove them back to the station.

‘I thought he was full of himself,’ Conrad replied.

Brady nodded. He wasn’t going to disagree. He didn’t like Ellison. But it wasn’t just the fact that he made Brady feel old. There was something about his manner that didn’t rest easy with Brady. He thought about what Ellison had said. Or more to the point, what he hadn’t.

Paul Simmons suddenly came to Brady’s mind. His gut feeling was telling him that both the victim’s step-father and teacher knew more about her life than they were letting on.

Brady turned to Jenkins who was sat in the back of the car.

‘What did you make of him?’

Jenkins swept her hair back from her face as she thought about Ellison.

‘He was very uncomfortable when you showed him the photograph, that much was clear. And he tried very hard to hide his surprise that you had it. Other than that, it’s difficult to say,’ offered Jenkins.

‘Is that it?’

‘What more do you want? Do you want me to tell you that I thought he was a jerk? Is that it?’ Unlike him, she didn’t react to hunches or gut feelings. Her job was to remain rational and impartial.

‘His reaction to that photograph was understandable,’ Jenkins stated.

‘Maybe,’ answered Brady.

His steady brown eyes penetrated hers, holding her gaze. She was surprised at how gentle his eyes were, realising she had never noticed before. There was something about Jack Brady that she found intriguing. Jenkins suddenly felt a flush of irritation as she tried to suppress the attraction she felt. She firmly reminded herself that he was an ex-patient and a colleague. Nothing could ever happen with him, more so given the fact that it was painfully obvious to her that he was still in love with his estranged wife.

Annoyed with herself, she shifted her gaze, breaking his hold over her.

‘You have to think about how Ellison would have felt. A student of his has been found murdered. And then you turn up with a photograph of the two of them suggesting he was having an inappropriate relationship with her.’

‘I didn’t exactly say that,’ retaliated Brady.

‘You didn’t have to. Subtlety isn’t your strong point, Jack.’

‘So what are you saying?’

‘All I’m pointing out is that Ellison wouldn’t be human if he didn’t react guiltily when you handed him that photo. Most people in his situation would. It’s the ones who don’t that you have to watch out for.’

‘You mean like Simmons?’

‘I didn’t say that, Jack,’ replied Jenkins.

‘You didn’t have to, I did,’ stated Brady.

Jenkins sighed. Why, she questioned, had she ever allowed Gates to talk her into working with Jack Brady?

‘Anyway, talk about me being heavy-handed. What about you with the accusation that he’d slept with a previous student?’ Brady asked.

Jenkins smiled at him.

‘I just wanted to see his reaction.’

‘And?’

‘And what?’

‘Do you think he slept with her?’

Jenkins looked straight at Jack.

‘I’m not paid to make assumptions. That’s your job,’ she answered, smiling lightly. ‘But between you and me, there’s no smoke without fire.’

‘What about you? Do you believe that Ellison was nothing more than her teacher?’ Brady asked as he turned to Conrad.

‘Why not?’ Conrad questioned.

‘I don’t know. It just seems to me that everyone’s lying to save their own neck, while we have a victim who’s turning cold. Very cold.’

Chapter Thirty-Two

Brady looked around the Incident Room. It was crammed with over thirty detectives and officers. They were tired and restless and he couldn’t blame them. It was 7.10 pm on a Friday night and their shift still wasn’t over. He had spent the last ten minutes briefing the team on what they had so far; which wasn’t a lot. But what concerned him was what they were going to find if they kept digging. Matthews’ name kept uncomfortably coming to mind.

‘Harvey, Kodovesky: I want statements taken from all of the bar staff working in The Beacon last night,’ Brady ordered. ‘And I want you to scrutinise the security tape if they have one. The pub is right next to that abandoned farmland which means someone could have seen the victim before she was murdered. The person we’re looking for might have been drinking in The Beacon for all we know.’

Harvey nodded.

‘I thought we were looking for someone known to the victim? The modus operandi points to the murderer having a personal attachment to Sophie Washington, sir?’ questioned Kodovesky.

‘We still are,’ Brady answered. ‘Forensics found male hand and footprints at the opening in the fence leading out ontothe back lane next to the victim’s house. Prints that match ones found at the murder scene,’ Brady replied. ‘Someone was either waiting for her there, or she was already with them.’

Brady looked around the room.

‘She then had sex, consensual sex an hour before she was murdered. So we can take it as read that this boyfriend her classmates talked about, who may be older, does exist. It’s crucial that we find out his identity.’

‘Are we sure she actually walked home?’ asked Harvey.

‘We know that the victim left Evie Matthews’ house in Earsdon at around 10 pm on foot,’ Brady answered.

But what Brady wasn’t telling them was Jimmy Matthews’ involvement after that. Given what Matthews had told him, he must have picked her up somewhere between Earsdon and West Monkseaton to have then dropped her off home. But what happened after that was lost on him. What worried him was a CCTV camera catching Matthews actually stopping to give her a lift.

‘Our problem is we don’t know what happened between the victim leaving her best friend’s house in Earsdon at 10 pm and then being murdered yards from her own home between roughly 1.30 pm and 2.00 pm. That’s between three and a half to four hours. Our job is to fill those hours in, minute by minute.’