Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Gina
Eager to interview their prime suspect, Spencer Grey, Gina entered the incident room.
PC Smith was sitting at the table. Wyre was tapping away at a computer in the corner and Gina could see that she was looking into Curtis’s dad, Jackson Dunton.
‘You have Spencer Grey?’ she asked Smith. ‘How was he caught?’
‘ANPR got him on Brendon Road. I was close by and managed to pull him over. I arrested him for Mindy’s kidnapping and now he’s waiting in interview room one. His car is currently in the compound and he said he doesn’t need a solicitor because he didn’t do anything.’
‘Hm, that’s why he vanished last night. How did the search of Ursula and Spencer Grey’s home go?’
‘We found nothing incriminating, guv. No sign that Spencer has a secret location. He doesn’t have any tech which seemed odd, although Ursula said he used to have a huge gaming PC that he got rid of and she said he works away a lot.
We took his phone and there are a lot of messages between him and someone named Ron, who we know is Mindy.
I’ve printed them out.’ Smith passed the messages to Gina who quickly read them.
Lots of sexual stuff and arrangements to meet up, but there was nothing relating to the video in there.
A couple of messages caught her eye, ones that were more alarming.
‘Did you check his photos and videos?’
‘Yes, and there’s nothing of concern on there either, although Garth is taking a look through it as we speak. Maybe digital forensics might find something we couldn’t.’
‘What does he do for a living?’
‘He’s in the scaffolding and inspections business, but for tall buildings. Quite specialist stuff, where you need a brilliant head for heights.’
‘So, there’s a chance he might have access to buildings that aren’t being used. That’s interesting. Thanks for looking into that. Definitely keep digging.’
O’Connor walked with Gina through the station corridors until they reached the interview room. It was time to find out where Mindy was being held.
They’d been in the interview room for several minutes now. Gina stared at Spencer. He looked into his hands while sitting further back from the table. Their thirty-five-year-old suspect appeared to not have much to say.
‘I’ve changed my mind. I want a solicitor.’ He sat back and ran his thick fingers through his sandy hair. His muscles looked like they were about to bulge out of his thin knit jumper.
Damn. She knew they weren’t going to easily get him to talk.
O’Connor ended the interview for the tape and they left the room.
Minutes passed and then almost an hour had gone. Gina drank her coffee and peered over Wyre’s shoulders in the incident room. ‘Anything on our landlord, Jackson Dunton?’
‘No, but there is something on his son.’
‘Curtis Dunton?’
‘There was an investigation into an incident when he was fifteen and still at school. He was given a slap on the wrists for forwarding an upskirting photo of a fellow pupil to a friend. The girl reported that her ex-boyfriend at the time had sent it to Curtis and many others.’
‘He has an alibi for yesterday evening.’ She thought of the dark path message again. She knew that Curtis and Brian were heading into something bad, something she couldn’t do anything about. Seeing that message pop up had been an absolute thorn in her side.
‘Solicitor’s arrived, guv,’ Jacob said as he entered the room. He continued speaking while O’Connor tucked into a pasty. ‘Would you like me to assist with the interview?’
Gina nodded, giving O’Connor permission to stand down and have a break. He’d worked a lot through the night and had been with her all morning. She wanted to let him enjoy his pasty and call his wife in peace.
As Gina and Jacob walked back to the interview room, Jacob rubbed his eyes.
‘How are you doing?’ she asked.
‘Better, guv. I got a good block of shut-eye last night. O’Connor’s wife needs to go on holiday more often, it’s like a holiday for me.’ He paused. ‘After the interview, shall I collate all the details from Abel’s alibis. I gather O’Connor is enjoying being in the thick of it.’
‘He’s really missing his wife. It’s taking his mind off her being away.’
‘Great. That’s good. Oh, to be in love. I’ll go through those alibis then.’
‘That would be great. You could also go with Wyre or Kapoor, back to the hospital to question Abel again about the false alibis he gave. I think some of the teens would lie for him. If he’s the ringleader of this little gang by the shops, they might be a bit scared of him.
Also, he still doesn’t have any alibi so he’s still in the picture. ’
‘You’re right. Let’s get this interview done,’ Jacob said as he pushed the door to the interview room open.
‘Guv,’ Garth called as they were about to step in. He ran down the corridor with a printout in his hands, his old battered leather jacket flapping along with him.
Gina took one look at Spencer Grey and closed the door on him.
‘I’ve found some messages on Mindy’s phone that had been deleted. Spencer sent them to a phone Mindy had been using at five forty-five yesterday. He was out there, waiting for her. You need to see them.’