Chapter 44 #2
‘Use your imagination,’ said Gareth. ‘Think about what you would want to do if someone hurt – and I mean really hurt – your wife, boyfriend, your kid, your dad. Bloody hell, even your dog. Whatever you’re thinking about, it was probably done.’
‘All this information you got about the … victims,’ Stanford said carefully. ‘Where did it come from?’
‘I’d always wondered the same thing, because the info Karim and I got, it was like a little dossier. Sometimes we got copies of witness statements so we could get a real feel for what our victims went through.’
‘You mentioned that this Mika had a partner. Did you ever meet him or her?’
‘No, but I know his name. Elliot. Karim met him. I got the impression that neither of them liked to get their hands dirty. She never came out with us. Just gave us our orders.’
‘But you met this Mika?’
‘A couple of times. She wasn’t what I expected at all. She looked like she should be decorating the church on a Sunday, do you know what I mean?’
‘If we got a sketch artist—’
‘I got an A-level in art and I’m a graphic designer by trade. I could draw her myself,’ Gareth said proudly. ‘Give me your pen and a sheet of paper and I’ll draw her for you now.’
‘You’ve just appeared in court for violently assaulting a prisoner and you want me to give you a pen that you could use as a weapon?’ Eastwood was incredulous.
‘You have my word that I will not shank you,’ Gareth said, making the sign of the cross.
Eastwood looked across at Stanford who gave a slight shrug.
‘Fine,’ she said as she ripped out a sheet from her notebook, took another pen from her pocket and slid both across the table.
‘I always liked doing portraits. People’s eyes tell you everything,’ said Gareth as he started to sketch.
‘So, what happened to her, what happened to the group?’
‘They must have got new members because my perverted brother-in-law ended up in the bottom of the canal when Karim and I were inside.’
‘But you got in back in touch with Mika when you were out?’
‘The best way I can describe it, is that it’s like an addiction.
You’re always looking for that rush of making people pay.
So, we got back involved but it wasn’t just us.
There were more people in the group and not just from Manchester.
There was a couple of people from your end because I remember seeing screenshots in the WhatsApp group of a guy that someone had doxxed in East Ham – I think it was – and there was also an online chatroom thing. ’
‘Was murder ever discussed in the group?’
‘I mean people said things like “I wish so and so was dead” but I didn’t take any of that seriously and you’ve got to remember that I didn’t know my pervert brother-in-law was dead until after I was released from prison.
It’s not as if my stupid sister was visiting me and giving me updates.
Also my kids and mam weren’t talking to me. Nothing new there.’
‘How did you find out?’
Gareth shook his head with a look of disbelief on his face as though he was reliving the moment.
‘I met Karim for drinks in the pub and when I got there, he wasn’t alone.
There was guy with him, tall, stocky, think he had a beard, and he had a London accent.
I can’t really describe his face because I was already a bit pissed.
We went outside to have a cigarette and to do a couple of lines.
Anyway, we’re out there and this guy brings up that pervert Douglas and then he asked me to put my hand out which I remember thinking was weird, but I was buzzing and then—’
Gareth put the pen down and his face paled, making his bruises almost glow under the harsh fluorescent light.
‘This thing fell into my hand. Have you ever seen a chicken that’s been plucked?
Imagine that but with thick, greying black hair on it.
That’s what it looked like, a slice of chicken skin. I remember it feeling dry.’
‘What did you think it was?’ asked Eastwood.
‘At the time, I wasn’t sure. I just dropped it and then I left. It was only afterward that Karim told me that it was Douglas’s scalp.’
‘Had scalping been discussed in the group before?’
‘Not when I first joined but it was mentioned when I was released and got involved again.’
‘And how did you feel about it?’
‘Listen, when you’re dealing with crazy, well you’ve got to go crazy too,’ said Gareth. ‘But in all honesty, it wasn’t for me.’
‘You were given an additional two years because you assaulted another cellmate and nearly scalped him and you’re now saying that it wasn’t for you?’ said Stanford.
Gareth looked up at him. ‘I think the doctors were exaggerating,’ he said, calmly resuming his sketch.
‘Do you know how much work it would take to scalp someone without a proper knife. Did I shank him in his head? Yes, but the idiot then fell back against the bed frame and sort of ripped his head open. I was not expecting that. Don’t get me wrong, it was nasty, but I didn’t scalp him. ’
‘OK. You said that Mika and her partner were the ones who got the information and basically handed it out?’
‘That’s right. Mika sent the information.’
‘Including the information on Gong Bo Hyoo?’
Gareth twisted his mouth. ‘Most likely, but remember I was still in here, in Strangeways.’
‘But you know who was involved in the Gong Bo Hyoo tar and feather assault and her murder?’
‘Now, why would I admit to knowing that? But what I will tell you is that in November 2019 the WhatsApp group was deleted. Just like that,’ Gareth said, snapping his fingers. ‘No warning.’
‘Did you ask Karim about the group being deleted After all, he was the one who introduced you.’
Gareth nodded. ‘He said that Mika’s partner had got a new job and that they were moving down south, but they said they would be able to carry on with their duties or “our cause” as Mika liked to call it.’
‘Do you know what either of them did for work?’ asked Eastwood.
‘I had my theories; I thought that maybe one of them worked for the CPS or the police, but you really need to ask Karim. I think he saw or bumped into her somewhere and speaking of her—’ Gareth smiled as he slid both the pen and sketch towards Eastwood. ‘Told you I was good,’ he said.