Chapter 50
Fifty
Gina
The last thing Gina needed was to be stuck in an interview room with Jackson when he kept saying, no comment.
Those two words repeated in her mind and the duty solicitor’s constant yawning was grating on her.
All she knew is that Jackson arrived at Mindy’s by taxi and he’d left his car at home as he’d been drinking.
O’Connor twiddled a Biro between his thumb and index finger, over and over again.
Gina slammed her cup of water on the table. ‘Mr Dunton, a young man is missing. Where is Dustin?’
He let out a long slow breath, pursed his lips and began rubbing his stubble.
‘My client doesn’t have any more to say.’ The solicitor folded his arms.
‘Doesn’t he?’ Gina stared at Jackson.
He let out a loud roar and began running his fingers through his thick short hair. His face contorted until she saw his eyes watering up.
‘Mr Dunton, what is it? A man’s life is at risk. His name is Dustin and his mother is beside herself. You have a son.’
‘Me being at Mindy’s house. It’s not what you think.’
‘Why? Please explain. I need to understand.’ She kept her tense hands under the table, not wanting to stop him from talking.
He huffed out a breath, scraped his chair back and began taking deep breaths. He placed his head between his legs.
‘Mr Dunton, are you okay?’ His behaviour was starting to worry Gina.
‘Yes,’ he said in a mumble.
‘Why were you at Mindy’s house?’
‘I had no choice.’ He sat bolt upright.
She frowned. ‘Go on.’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t.’ His stare pleaded with her to stop but she couldn’t. Mindy had been murdered.
‘You can. There’s still time to save Dustin.’
‘I’m sorry. I lied about the key but people kept losing them so this time, when Mindy moved in, I made sure I had one cut. I didn’t use it, ever, until tonight. I’ve had to call a locksmith twice because they keep locking themselves out and, of course, the window catch hadn’t been broken before.’
She sighed. Him opening up couldn’t only be about the key. ‘I need to know what led you to Mindy’s bedroom, Mr Dunton. As you know, we are currently searching your house. What are we going to find?’
He began to shake as he pulled his chair back in. ‘I, err… I’m involved in something and I can’t see a way out.’ He began to sob, big ugly, desperate sobs mingled with clenched fists.
‘Then, please let us help. You have to tell us what you know.’
‘I’ve been on this forum, on the dark web. It’s called OpenMeSmiler.’ He went silent.
‘How did you find out about OpenMeSmiler?’
‘When I got home, I found a card in my pocket. Someone must have slipped it in there or maybe I picked it up with a receipt at a shop. I don’t know.
I’d just got back from walking the dog on the field by the skatepark.
I don’t think I had it before then.’ He paused.
‘Actually, when I got home, I noticed my wallet was missing so I went back to the field.’
‘As you know, we found your wallet and bank card in the house on Raven Drive. Can you explain how it got there?’
‘No, I can’t. I went back to the field and all my other cards were strewn over the grass.
Just the one was missing and my wallet, of course.
I called the bank and cancelled the card but it didn’t matter.
It was an old card so it was invalid. I didn’t think about it again.
I’d just been grateful that nothing valuable was missing. ’
‘Did you notice anyone suspicious in the park?’
He slowly shook his head. ‘Wait, someone with a dog walked into me and apologised.’
‘Did you see this person?’
‘I didn’t take any notice. It was just a man and I was messaging my son at the time. I can’t remember.’
Someone was trying to set Jackson up, but who? Whoever killed Mindy and has Dustin – that’s who was behind it all. Could that person really be the man in front of them?
‘Okay, can we go back to the card. You got home, went back to the skatepark area, picked up your cards and then went back home. Is that when you found the OpenMeSmiler card in your pocket?’
‘Yes. OpenMeSmiler was written on the front. Several Bloody Mary’s later in my study I got the card out and noticed there was print on the back.
It said, tor browser, and there was a link underneath.
I typed it in and it led me straight to OpenMeSmiler.
It took me a while to be able to gain entry but when I did, it was full of videos of people milling around in their own worlds.
Videos of various streets around the world, interiors of pubs and clubs.
Then there was those of people in their homes.
I knew it was wrong but it was compelling and as I said, I was drunk and stupid.
’ He closed his eyes for a second. ‘I set up an account and got talking to some guy. He checked me out and let me in. I’ve been on it for a couple of weeks.
It’s not just me, there are loads of people on it.
I saw links to go further and caught comments mentioning a dark path and something about a tavern but I could never get in, then a couple of days later, this guy asks me if I’m ready and I said yes.
At this point, I’m thinking this is all some silly harmless joke built like a game for adults to have a bit of fun. ’
‘A bit of fun?’
He shrugged. ‘Adult fun. I thought it was all set up to arouse if you get me. I didn’t think they were real people in their bedrooms, unaware that they were being filmed but I clicked.
I was on the dark web. It dawned on me that it was real.
’ He looked down. ‘Getting in was taking ages so I browsed the net a bit and then tonight, a message popped up on my screen. I say pop up, my whole computer was taken over and I had no choice but to watch. I pressed every button. I tried to crash the system, shut it down, but nothing worked. Then…’ He placed his head in his hand and sobbed.
‘Then what?’
‘I didn’t hurt anyone. I swear. I didn’t hurt the woman at the pet salon and I don’t know anyone called Dustin.’
The killer was still out there. Jackson seemed distraught and Gina needed to move fast. ‘What happened after that?’
Jackson sat bolt upright in silence for what felt like an eternity, eyes dark under the rim, lips bitten down.
‘OpenMeSmiler sent me a video of myself and said if I didn’t do exactly what I was told, it would be shared to all my contacts, to all my work colleagues.
When I said I browsed the net, I mean I looked at porn – legal porn and that bastard had been watching me through my computer lens.
I was stupid, so stupid, so I did what I was told. ’
‘Which was?’
‘Go to Mindy’s house. Go into the bedroom and remove all evidence of the camera behind the picture. After that, my computer began playing up. Zigzag shapes filled the screen, like a virus was wiping everything from my computer.’
‘Go back to the park, when you bumped into the man.’
He wiped the damp trails from his cheeks. Gina passed him the box of tissues. ‘I can’t remember anything.’
‘Please try.’
He scrunched his brows. ‘Am I still under arrest?’
‘We’re going through your house and we’ll talk through your statement after, but I thank you for your cooperation.’ It was likely that as long as nothing incriminating came from his home, he’d be released. ‘About the man?’
‘Err, he had a dog, but like I said, I was messaging Curtis and then I scrolled through Facebook. I don’t know what type of dog and it was late afternoon, so it was dark.’
‘Small or big dog?’
He shrugged. ‘Wait, the man had this really thick, long coat on. He must have been wearing a hat, all dark clothes.’
‘A long thick coat?’
‘Yes. Oh, and I caught sight of a pin badge. The light from my phone caught it. It was a football.’
Gina frowned. It was the perp. Garth had mentioned the football talk that had happened on the forums. The same chat that had lured people into OpenMeSmiler.
‘Were you at your house earlier? Did you leave around eleven thirty?’
‘No, about nine, I went to the Angel for a few. Was meant to go on a date but I cancelled it. Then I walked around freezing my balls off before calling the taxi to take me to Mindy’s road.
I knew I shouldn’t have gone in but I knew I had no choice.
I walked around the block a couple of times, totally torn as to what I should do. ’
‘So, the staff at the Angel would be able to confirm you were there?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. I never went back home.’
‘There was someone, other than your son, in your house just before we went in with the warrant. We thought it was you, so we gave chase. The man that left had a long thick coat on.’
Jackson stared wide-eyed. ‘He’s been in my house? Where’s Curtis?’
‘He also ran after letting us in your house.’
‘He’s ruined me and now he’s coming for my boy. He won’t stop until he destroys us both and it’s all my fault.’
‘Do you know where Curtis could be?’
‘No. This Dustin, the man you say is missing? Has he taken my son?’
There had been zigzags on Curtis’s and Jackson’s screens. She recalled the mention of the dark path on Curtis’s iPad but wasn’t aware of the relevance at the time. ‘Do you know anything else, Mr Dunton? We have reason to believe that Curtis was also logging on to OpenMeSmiler.’
‘No, not my son. Please, not my son.’ He roared again.
‘How…? He didn’t get it from me.’ He frowned.
‘Wait, I know where he’d run to. His friend Brian’s.
Claudia’s away, that’s Brian’s aunt. Curtis told me earlier.
The kids are on their own. You need to go there now before something terrible happens. ’
Gina knew what terrible meant. Dustin was episode two and now there was going to be an episode three unless she could stop OpenMeSmiler.