Chapter 51
FIFTY-ONE
Back at the station, Gina stood outside the interview room with Jacob. ‘What did Garth say, about Danny’s laptop?’
‘There was a deleted message on an app that gamers tend to use from someone who calls themselves BustYourAss.’
‘Charming.’
‘That’s what I thought. The message said, “Need to talk. Can’t live with this shit over my head any longer.
You have to meet me now.” We’re thinking that Danny was talking about the video.
There are also other deleted messages in the run up to Kain’s murder.
Kain had been trying to blackmail Danny for money and threatened that if he didn’t manage to get ten thousand pounds, Kain was going to show the video to the police.
There are numerous credit card applications in Danny’s name, which were all turned down. ’
‘So, Danny has a strong motive and Craig does too. He’d want to cover for his son.
I also think that when we questioned Justine and Danny, they spun us a yarn about the money that Kain took from Craig as a deposit for a security system.
Justine knows and she too was trying to cover for her son.
That still doesn’t explain Zavier’s murder or DCI Briggs’s attempted murder.
Can we confirm who Danny was messaging?’
‘It was Craig.’
Gina sighed. ‘Craig is now hiding Danny somewhere. Do we know if Craig has used his bank cards recently?’
‘I checked this with Garth, too. Not for two days.’
‘He knows we’re trying to trace him. Then he goes and sends that horrible message to Pia, ending it with, “I’m coming for you.” We need to bring him in. Let’s talk to her. See what she knows.’
Gina entered the interview room with Jacob and they both sat opposite her.
After Jacob introduced them for the tape, Pia scraped her chair along the floor to be closer to the table.
‘That message, I couldn’t stop reading it all day.
Then I thought of Craig and how little I knew him.
I have so stuffed up my life. I just want things to go back to the way they were before the affair and I know Simeon is going to find out.
I can’t keep this from him. You have to find Craig.
I’m scared of him. I told you what he was like at the apartment. ’
Gina interjected. ‘That’s what we’re trying to do. Did Craig mention anywhere else that he might go? Favourite places? Places he went to be on his own? Friends?’
‘No, I’m so sorry. I wish I knew more.’ She paused. ‘Thank you for not doing this in front of Simeon. I need to be the one to tell him.’
‘How about Danny? Did Craig ever mention where Danny hung out?’
‘He never spoke about Danny when we were together. Danny almost caught us one time because he came to meet his dad early. From this day onwards, I was never sure if he saw me or not, but he didn’t say anything. Craig said Danny had accused him of seeing someone and they’d argued over it.’
Gina felt her frustration building up. Pia knew nothing of any importance. She let out a quiet sigh. ‘How well did you know Kain?’
‘Not well. I met him at Lindy’s house but that was it. I know what Lindy told me. Kain had always been trouble. Look, I don’t know anything that will help. I had an affair with what looks like your prime suspect, that is all.’
‘Have you heard from Justine Crawford today? We’re really worried about her.’
Pia shook her head.
‘Do you know where she might go?’
‘Only to her mother’s.’
Gina looked down. Justine had run from her mother’s house.
‘We’re taking the threat in the message you received seriously. Do you have somewhere else you can go after this?’
She shrugged. ‘I’ll get Simeon to book a hotel when he gets here. There’s no way I want to go home until Craig has been caught.’ She bit her bottom lip and frowned. ‘Simeon’s not going to want to do anything for me when he finds out what I’ve done. I guess I’ll be staying in a hotel alone.’
‘We do have some more information. The message sent to you was from an account in Craig’s name. I know you guessed it was from Craig but we can confirm it.’
‘And I told you, he’s dangerous.’ She began to sob. ‘He has this way of making you do things you don’t want to do.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘When I went over to see Justine on the night the affair started, I didn’t intend for that to happen but it did.
I weirdly didn’t know how to stop it, like I was under some sort of spell.
I wanted to end it but… sometimes I didn’t even want to be with him near the end but he’d threaten to tell Simeon if I didn’t turn up and… ’
‘And what?’
Pia stood and started to do her coat up, trying to speak as she choked back her tears.
‘I want to go. I don’t know anything else and I’m not under arrest. I’ll let you know which hotel I end up booking a room at.
Get Craig so I can go back home, please.
’ She shook her head and began doing the buttons up.
‘I really do hate him now. He’s ruined my life.
He’s going to pay for what he did. He hurt me in that flat.
I want him charged with assault. He hurt me and all this is going to come out anyway.
What have I got to lose? He owes me too.
You need to catch him and punish him. All debts must be paid in full.
When you hurt someone you have to pay and I want him to pay!
’ She scrunched up her fists and punched the door.
Not an ounce of pain showed on Pia’s face.
‘I hate him so much, I wish that had been his face.’
All debts must be paid in full. Gina knew she couldn’t ignore the mention of paying in full. ‘What was that?’
‘Sorry, I’m just so angry and upset by all this. I don’t normally punch doors.’
‘Pia, what did you mean when you say that all debts should be paid in full?’
Pia scrunched her brow. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘Like what, Pia?’
‘Like you suspect me of something? I told you, I didn’t mean to punch the door and I shouldn’t have said what I said about wishing it was Craig’s face. Look, I’m sorry I hit your door. There’s no damage so we’re all good. I best go. Simeon and I have a lot to talk about.’
A sick feeling welled in Gina’s stomach.
It didn’t feel good to do what she had to do next but with Lindy’s life on the line, she couldn’t ignore what she’d just heard.
‘Pia, I’m arresting you on suspicion of the murders of Kain Pickering and Zavier Sellers, along with the attempted murder of DCI Chris Briggs, and the kidnapping of Lindy Pickering.
You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.
Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
’ Briggs’s attacker had said, all debts must be paid in full, just before trying to drown him with a hosepipe.
She could not let Pia leave and vanish into the night.
Gina glanced at the clock. It was almost nine thirty that evening. She didn’t know how much longer Lindy had. Then Gina thought, if Lindy was relying on Pia to stay alive right now, she’d just killed her by arresting Pia.