Chapter 10
TEN
On arriving back at the station, Gina and Jacob jogged until they reached the incident room. The message from O’Connor kept going through her mind.
Guv. Briggs has just been taken off the case and no one is telling us why. A new acting DCI is being sent from Gloucester. You both have to get back, fast!
At the far end, she could see where Briggs had been writing up all their information on the board with O’Connor and Wyre.
Stuck in the centre of the largest board was a blown-up photo of Kain Pickering taken from his driving licence.
Underneath were a few crime scene photos that had come from Bernard’s team.
She checked her emails and saw that he’d sent them through about an hour ago.
She could clearly see the stretched-out Sheena tattoo on Kain’s mottled, bloated arm. It was definitely Kain.
O’Connor sat at the far end rubbing his hand over his shiny head, the cake sat in the centre of the table, that Mrs O had more than likely made, remained untouched.
Wyre leaned back, biting her bottom lip and clipping back her straight black fringe.
Trainee Detective Constable Jhanvi Kapoor drank water from a bottle before doing up the buttons on her grey suit jacket.
‘Why have they taken DCI Briggs off the case? Have you heard anything yet?’ Gina asked O’Connor.
‘Only that the new DCI will be here any minute. We don’t know any more.’
Gina sat near the head of the table, her stomach churning with worry.
Yes, they’d argued earlier but that didn’t mean she’d stopped caring about him, even if that was just as a friend.
Whatever he was going through, she was going to be there for him, just like he had for her in the past. She owed him that much.
Throat clearing echoed through the corridor.
Everyone waited silently for whoever was fast approaching to enter.
Gina almost gasped out loud when she saw Brodie Fraser.
She’d only known him for a year and that year had been her first-year training on the job.
She took his features in. He still had his slightly round chin and the same hazel eyes.
His once all-brown thick hair was now thinner and greying at the sides, but still he looked like the Brodie she knew back then.
He began speaking in his Glaswegian accent. ‘I know you’re probably all wondering what’s going on so I won’t keep you all in suspense for much longer. DCI Briggs is a part of the case now which is why he’s not with us at the moment.’
Gina itched to interrupt and ask why Briggs had been sent off the premises but she knew it was best to sit back and wait. She didn’t want to be taken off the case, too.
Brodie continued. ‘I will be acting DCI and I’ll be working out of the office next to Briggs’s.
Any press releases will be handled by me.
I’ve been going through what we have so far and I know it’s early doors when it comes to the case, but can anyone talk me through what we have so far.
The clock is ticking and we want this murderer caught. ’
Gina popped a hand up and stood. Brodie scrunched his brow and focused on her as if taking her features in.
She wondered if he still recognised her.
They’d almost had drunken sex as rookies in a pub toilet, not something she was proud of.
They’d been on a night out with the team.
She remembered falling off the sink unit and then they’d landed in a heap, laughing on the floor of a filthy pub toilet.
Terry had been dead for over two years and Brodie had been the first man to get her attention since his death.
His wit and sense of fun had seduced her with ease.
‘Gina?’ He looked down at his notebook. ‘DI Harte?’
He remembered her and a part of her wished he hadn’t. ‘Yes, that’s me.’
His smile widened. ‘Come to the front and tell me what you have. You’ve been out all morning at the scene speaking to witnesses.’
She stepped towards the board and filled him in on their morning so far.
‘As for the timeline…’ She took the pen and began adding to the notes on the board.
‘I’ll start with the scene where we’re almost certain that the victim was murdered.
On Friday the fourteenth of November, Maura Pickering’s neighbour, Joyce Burton, heard banging coming from the house the victim was living alone in.
Later that evening, she saw someone wearing the victim’s cap while loading something into Maura Pickering’s car boot.
I need to add here that Maura is dead – natural causes.
We’re hoping for a confirmation on the cause of Kain Pickering’s death during the post-mortem tomorrow. ’
‘Tell us about the scene where the car was discovered this morning.’
‘It was parked on the drive of one Chandelton Avenue. The car was booked to be there through a parking app but the driver failed to collect the car. Ms Wild, the homeowner, suspected that there was a body in the boot earlier today, so she called us. The parking space was booked for one night but Maura’s car was still there five nights later. ’
‘Suspects or persons of interest?’
‘Sister, Lindy Pickering, she’s a person of interest. Joyce Burton mentioned that there had been a lot of conflict between the family over Kain taking money from their mother.
Kain had recently lost his business so it might be worth checking out his employees or anyone who he owed money too.
Hopefully the team at Maura Pickering’s house will be back soon with his paperwork and laptop.
He had a unit which Lindy claims is cleared of his things but it will need checking out.
Kain had an ex-wife called Sheena. He has her name tattooed on his arm.
’ She pointed at the photo on the board of Kain’s tattoo.
‘Lindy said that their divorce was finalised a few months ago.’ Gina noted Sheena’s name down.
‘A neighbour saw the silver Merc racing around dangerously on Chandelton Avenue at midnight on Saturday the fifteenth. She also thought she heard someone hanging around by Tina Wild’s house the day before at around seven p.m. She saw fog or smoke coming from behind the tree by Ms Wild’s house.
The team found a disposable vape that has now gone to the lab.
That narrows down a time for the car’s arrival at between midnight on the fifteenth and six a.m. on the Sunday.
If the driver was loading Kain’s body into the car around ten p.m. on the fourteenth, then arrived at Ms Wild’s just after midnight on the fifteenth, that driver must have parked up somewhere for a day.
’ Gina quickly updated the timeline on the board.
‘We need to check ANPR, see if the vehicle pops up on any of the cameras,’ Brodie added.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition had been on her mental to-do list. Gina nodded to Wyre. ‘Could you look into that, please?’
Wyre nodded.
Gina continued. ‘Going back to Joyce Burton. She has a cat and that cat had been trapped in the bedroom Kain Pickering was using. It had been there for days and the blood found in the room suggests that some sort of attack happened there. We currently have the cat, just in case it’s harbouring trace evidence in its fur or under its claws.
There was also a small blue teddy bear left at the scene and we don’t know if it was Kain’s or something the killer left behind.
The teddy is out of place. Both Joyce and Lindy said that Maura hated clutter, including teddy bears.
As for the scene, it looks like Kain might have been killed in the bathroom as there had been a struggle and Bernard has confirmed defence wounds on his arms. We don’t have exact cause of death as yet but given the struggle in the bedroom and the bath full of water, the scene is leading us to believe that he may have drowned.
He didn’t die in the car; he was placed in the boot post-mortem – Bernard has confirmed that already.
We also have another lead coming from Maura Pickering’s house.
A torn blue hoodie was found there and it looks like it was used to punch some glass out of the door to break in.
A business card belonging to Justine Crawford was found in the pocket.
She’s a corporate videographer. Lindy also told us that Kain was a police officer many years ago but I see you already know that.
’ She didn’t want to add what she was thinking.
That was the reason Briggs was off the case. Briggs and Kain had to be connected.
‘Yes, we are going to be investigating that angle also,’ Brodie said.
‘Can you share anything with us yet?’ Gina’s heart began to bang as she waited for him to answer.
He shook his head. ‘No, sorry. We can’t jeopardise the case in any way. DI Harte, you’re senior investigating officer on the case.’ He nodded to Gina to take the lead.
She let out a long, slow breath. She had to speak to Briggs herself somehow.
‘Thank you.’ She turned slightly to address the room.
‘I know you must all be worried about DCI Briggs right now but we have to continue the investigation and get to the bottom of who murdered Kain Pickering. Let’s break this down and start following the leads we have.
Wyre, you’re on ANPR. O’Connor, could you liaise with PCs Ahmed and Smith who are still at Chandelton Avenue?
’ She turned to trainee DC Kapoor. ‘Can you look into Kain Pickering’s background, and all of you, when Kain’s laptop comes in, can you speak to Garth in the tech department.
Also, you will need to start looking through Kain’s paperwork.
Have a PC check his old unit and look into the debts associated with his business.
Jacob, we need to visit Justine Crawford.
Can you dig up her address? She has a business so she should be easy to find. ’
A hum of yesses told Gina that they were good to go.
‘Lindy Pickering is coming in this evening to make a formal statement. O’Connor, Wyre, could you please interview her? We need more details of her whereabouts during key times.’
Brodie turned to leave. ‘DI Harte, I’ll be in my office, if you need me.’
Gina glanced back. Jacob was pouring himself a glass of water while talking through a few details with Wyre and O’Connor. Gina followed the DCI out. ‘Brodie,’ she called, just as he was about to turn a corner at the end of the corridor.
‘Gina.’ He looked away and smiled. ‘I can’t believe I’m seeing you again after all these years.’
‘I know, what a surprise.’ Is that all she had to say? She felt a bit silly but she couldn’t help remembering all the joking around they did, all the laughing and fun they had all those years ago. ‘So, you’re a DCI, now? That’s amazing.’
‘Yes, I’ve only had this role for about two years and you, you’re a DI.’
‘And I’ve been a DI for years. I like getting into the nitty-gritty of it all. I’m maybe too hands on for the role but I can’t help myself.’ She wondered if she should try asking about Briggs again but decided not to. He wasn’t going to tell her anything.
‘We, err… we should catch up properly, have a wee drink while I’m in town… if you’re free that is.’ His accent sent a pleasurable shiver through her. She’d always loved it when he spoke and she regretted that they’d lost touch when he moved away from Birmingham to work in Gloucester.
She glanced at his hand and he held it up with a grin. ‘Divorced twice. Obviously not my fault because I’m perfect.’ He let out a laugh and she couldn’t help laughing too. He was the Brodie she remembered. If it wasn’t for Briggs’s predicament, she’d have enjoyed their conversation.
She looked into Brodie’s eyes. ‘When we get a break from the case, that would be nice.’
‘Okay, maybe that’s a date, but not a date.’
Gina left him to it and headed back to the incident room. Jacob stood holding a piece of paper. ‘Guv, I have Justine Crawford’s address. The hoodie is a man’s size large and PC Smith is now at Maura Pickering’s house and he has an update.’
‘What did he find?’ She glanced at her watch. It was almost six thirty.
‘A tiny bit of torn blue material found under the driver’s seat of Maura Pickering’s car that matches the colour and texture of the hoodie found at her house.
There is a strip of the sleeve missing and what was found in the car appears to be that missing piece.
This links the car and the house break-in. ’
‘In that case, Justine Crawford has a lot of explaining to do. Let’s go.’
As Gina hurried across the car park with Jacob, her phone rang. No number came up. ‘I’ll catch you up,’ she called to Jacob as he continued.
‘Hello.’
‘Gina, I’m going to need your help. I did something terrible, years ago, and it’s coming back for me. You have to—’
The call ended. Whatever Briggs had been pulled off the case for, it was bigger than him just knowing the victim.
She stared at her phone as Jacob waved to her from the other side of the car park.
You have to – what? What did he need her to do?
Briggs had compromised himself to save her in the past. Could she do the same for him?