Chapter 42
An enlarged photograph taken from Kaiden Longley’s driving licence was on the smartboard next to a composite of the man who had chased Ben and answered to the name Josh.
The composite of ‘Josh’ had arrived on Henley’s phone at the exact moment she was talking to Ezra.
She and Ezra were sure. Kaiden Longley and Josh were the same person.
‘I can’t believe he was here,’ said Copeland, stepping back from the smartboard. ‘Why didn’t Ezra call someone?’
‘Ezra did call someone. He called me,’ Henley said defensively. She popped two paracetamols out of the packet and swallowed them down with water.
‘And this Kaiden guy was long gone by the time Eastie and I got downstairs,’ said Stanford, shooting Copeland a look.
‘What exactly did he say to Ezra?’ asked Ramouter.
‘That things have gone too far. That he didn’t expect people to die. Which is all well and good, but the fact is that four people are dead,’ said Henley. ‘So, what exactly do we know about him?’
‘Kaiden Longley. Aged forty-two. Born in Boston, Massachusetts,’ said Ramouter, reading from his notes.
‘His wife Rachel Longley is from London. They got married in the States eleven years ago and have two sons aged eight and five. They moved back to London four years ago and he started working for Soteria. No previous convictions in this country or the States and he has a clean driving licence.’
‘Is there any indication, any social media that could tell us why he would get involved in a vigilante gang?’ asked Eastwood. ‘I mean on paper he seems decent.’
‘None that I could find,’ said Ramouter.
‘I hate that he’s just disappeared into the wind,’ said Henley. ‘Officers from Stoke Newington police station went to his home address but there was no one there.’
‘What about the wife?’ asked Stanford.
‘City of London Police attended her office in Fenchurch Street. She said she last saw her husband when she assumed he’d left for work at 7.30 this morning,’ said Henley. ‘She hasn’t heard from him since and all calls to his phone are going straight to voicemail.’
‘So, what are we supposed to do?’ asked Copeland. ‘Just sit and wait for him to turn up tomorrow morning with a cup of tea and a bacon butty?’
‘Right now, we don’t really have much choice,’ Henley said, fighting to keep the anger out of her voice. ‘If what Ben Trezeguet told you and Ramouter is correct then this man is running scared.’
‘The question is scared of what?’ said Stanford, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. ‘This man is not scared of the police, that much is obvious, because he came to our front door, which must mean he’s afraid of Iron Shadow.’
Henley picked up the control for the smartboard and brought up the sketch artist composite of the man that Laurence Durant had called Don.
‘Kaiden was called Josh by the man who was at Nathan Hall’s house, so I’m assuming that this guy has a fake name too.
Laurence said he met him at the victim support group.
I spoke to Jorge who confirmed that a man who he knew as Don attended three group sessions last year, but he has no other information.
No last name and no idea why he was actually there. ’
‘Do you think this Don wasn’t a victim?’ asked Eastwood as Pellacia entered the room his face flushed as though he’d run up four flights of stairs.
‘When Mark spoke about the pack mentality of vigilantes the other day,’ said Henley, ‘he said that the leader may not necessarily have been a victim themselves, and I can’t think of a better place to find people to save than a victim support group.’
‘It’s almost predatory,’ said Ramouter.
‘Not almost, it is predatory and manipulative,’ said Pellacia. ‘How sure is Ezra that this Kaiden Longley will come back, if he’s not picked up?’
‘He’s pretty confident,’ said Henley ‘And before you ask, no he hasn’t received anything yet, but he’ll let us know as soon as something drops in his inbox.
So, onto next steps. We’re waiting for both Lewisham council and TFL to locate CCTV from Forest Hill and New Cross Stations and also Amersham Vale in New Cross.
I’m hoping that we’ll get actual footage of this Don character. ’
‘What about this composite image of him? Do we want this circulated now or would you prefer to wait until we can join it up with some actual footage?’ asked Pellacia.
‘I think that people’s memories are more likely to be jogged with actual footage,’ said Copeland. ‘So it might be best to hold off.’
‘I agree with Copeland,’ said Henley begrudgingly. ‘The sketch is good but not the best but let’s put a time limit on it. If we’re still at square one at 9 a.m. tomorrow, then we release it.’
‘Sounds good to me,’ said Pellacia, standing up and turning to Henley. ‘Are you all right to have a quick word before I let you get on?’ he asked.
‘Of course,’ Henley replied, grabbing her phone from the desk.
‘Before you lot go,’ said Stanford. ‘Where are we with the prison? We’re wasting time here.’
‘You’re good to go first thing tomorrow,’ Pellacia replied over his shoulder as he held the door open for Henley. ‘Jo’s got the paperwork.’
‘Look before you say anything, I need to apologise. About the handing in my notice thing,’ said Henley. ‘I lost my temper and—’
Pellacia held up his hand and shook his head. ‘Don’t. You don’t need to apologise. I didn’t handle things the right way with you. I should have done better and I’m sorry.’
Henley felt the muscles in her shoulders relax. She hated fighting with Pellacia. He had been on her side for so long both as a colleague and a friend that the thought of losing him filled her with an indescribable dread. ‘So, is that it or is there something else?’ she asked.
‘Ezra,’ Pellacia admitted, unbuttoning his top button and removing his tie. ‘I would have been with him if it wasn’t for this stupid meeting at the Yard, talking about fucking nothing. He shouldn’t have dealt with that on his own.’
‘If it helps, Ezra seems fine. He’s not shaken.’
‘It’s not the point though, is it? I don’t give a shit whether this Kaiden Longley has regrets or not. He came here and he came looking for Ezra.’
‘I’m not going to pretend that I’m pleased about it either. We were both at Soteria’s office, but Kaiden Longley chose Ezra specifically because he’s not a police officer.’
‘That doesn’t make me feel better. I’ve got a long history with Ezra – I was the one who arrested him, for God’s sake – and I was the one who brought him into the SCU. I’m responsible for him.’
Henley sat down next to Pellacia. ‘Come on,’ she said gently. ‘He’s not in danger.’
‘Even so, I’ll drive him home tonight and I’ll pick him up tomorrow morning.’
‘His own personal chauffeur service. You’ll never hear the end of it,’ Henley said as she squeezed Pellacia’s arm. ‘Look, I was thinking, we haven’t had a proper welcome drink for Copeland yet—’
Pellacia looked up at Henley with surprise. ‘You’ve changed your tune,’ he said.
‘I’m trying to do the mature thing and, also, I think this lot need it but not tonight, I’ve got to—’ she paused not wanting in that moment to let Pellacia into her date night plans with her husband. ‘How about tomorrow night?’
Pellacia reached up as though to touch Henley’s face but then pulled away. ‘Tomorrow will be fine,’ he replied.