Marie was still taking in the surroundings. Not cheap. Nice area. ‘How about CCTV?’
‘Yes, that’s weird, isn’t it? Somehow he avoided the cameras, although I have no idea how. They seem to be everywhere.’ She stood up abruptly. ‘Sorry, where are my manners? Can I get you a drink? Police officers thrive on tea, don’t they?’
They both nodded. ‘White, no sugar for both of us, thank you,’ added Carter.
Leah disappeared into the kitchen. Carter passed Marie the list and she scanned it quickly. It began with notes under her car windscreen wipers. Then amorous notes through the door, followed by a sense of being watched, then actual sightings of a shadowy lone male staring at her flat. More recently she thought that a dark van was following her every time she drove away from the apartment block. She had never been able to get close enough to see the number plate and she couldn’t identify the make and model. Now it was telephone calls. The caller never spoke but Leah was certain she could hear soft, rapid breathing down the line. The calls often came at dead of night, and it was these that scared her most of all.
Marie took her mug of tea and placed it on the coffee table. ‘Have you any idea who it could be? A jilted ex? Someone from uni? Maybe some guy who’s too shy to actually talk to you?’
Leah sat down on the sofa and drew up her long legs beneath her. ‘I’ve gone over it again and again, Detective. Auntie Ruth asked the same questions. But no, I really have no clue, and I find that very disturbing.’
Marie found it disturbing too. There was nothing normal about a stalker. It was a perverse and creepy way to approach someone. She glanced out of the big picture window and saw dense woods, close to the block of flats. Oh, great! The perfect spot for a peeping Tom. She caught Carter’s eye and nodded towards the window. He returned the nod. He’d seen it too.
Carter looked at the girl. ‘Okay, Leah. We are going to take this very seriously. I would suggest you continue to stay at your aunt’s house until we get a fix on this guy, and make sure that wherever you go, you always have someone with you. I’ll organise an officer to keep an eye on you, and we’ll both give you our direct mobile numbers. Anything scares you, don’t hesitate, call us straightaway. If he persists, we’ll see about getting your phone tapped as well. Are you happy with that?’
Leah nodded. ‘What do you think he wants?’
You really don’t want to know, thought Marie.
Carter said, ‘Probably nothing, Leah. It’s most likely just some love-struck kid with a crush on you. If you met him in the street he’d probably run a mile, too scared to even speak to you.’
A love-struck kid with enough spare cash for two dozen best red roses? He’s a pervert, and if he goes according to pattern, he won’t stop at a bit of heavy breathing down the phone. Marie gathered up a reassuring smile. ‘I’m sure Sergeant McLean here is quite right. We’ll catch the little sod, give him a blistering ear-bashing and you’ll never hear from him again.’
Carter stood up. ‘So, if you’d like to grab your things, we’ll follow you back to your aunt’s place. Okay?’
Marie wondered just how much of their crap Leah had actually believed. Very little, probably. She looked like a smart kid. She was studying psychology, after all. No, she would know the score as well as they did. They’d sounded so patronising! Marie opened the door, wishing they’d told Leah the truth. At least she would know exactly where she stood. Even if it was a horrible place to be.
*
Jackman spent the rest of the day trying to understand how Suzanne Holland’s life fitted together. It wasn’t easy.
Robbie Melton was by far the most committed officer on this particular case. He seemed to have taken it up as a personal crusade. Well, Jackman wasn’t complaining. Max and Charlie both disliked old cases. They wanted the adrenalin charge of fresh evidence, witnesses that actually remembered something.
Unsolved cases were tedious to begin with, until the moment when you uncovered something new, and then everything changed.
So far they had found nothing, apart from a dipsomaniac ex-husband, who was always too drunk to speak to them.
Jackman looked at the clock. End of play. Maybe tomorrow something new would come to light.
*
Stone Quay was a lonely spot, and rarely visited. It sat on a wide stretch of the Westland River, miles from anywhere. Years ago there had been a small boatyard here. Now it was deserted, and the only building left standing was tumbledown and windowless.
And the only remaining boat was an ancient lifeboat called the Eva May. She was a Liverpool Class vessel, built in the 1930s and had been a fine rescue boat. In her day, she had braved mountainous seas and terrifying storms to bring both survivors and her brave crew home to safety.
Not that she was actually in the river. She stood raised up on heavy wooden support trestles, waiting for the summons to set off back into the water.
Carter and Marie sat together on the smooth, sanded wood of the aft deck with bottles of craft beer. The sun was setting in the western sky, staining it with dazzling streaks of lilac, pink and flame orange.
‘If I were the super, I’d be well worried about my niece,’ said Marie.
‘Even more worrying because she’s a police officer’s niece, isn’t it?’
‘Sure is. Threats to families aren’t common, but there are some nasty bastards out there, and I’ll bet Ruth Crooke has thrown an awful lot of them in the slammer in her time.’
Carter nodded. ‘Yeah. She may not be my favourite person — in fact I wouldn’t piss on her if she was on fire — but she’s made her fair share of good arrests. If I had kids, I’d be shit-scared for their welfare. I must say I was surprised by Leah. She’s nice, isn’t she? Nothing like her aunt.’
‘I know the super can be a battle-axe, Carter, but I find her fair enough. I always feel she’s on my side in a crisis.’
‘Good, and that’s how it should be. It’s an old grudge, Marie, and it’s to do with me, no one else. Let’s not go there, huh?’
Marie nodded and sipped her beer.
For a while they sat in companionable silence, and Marie began to hope that all Carter wanted was to enjoy the peace of a summer’s evening out on the river.
‘I know what Ray wants me to do,’ Carter broke the silence.
Ah, here it comes, she thought.
‘He has a nest egg, and he wants me to find it and give it to his fiancée, Joanne.’
‘Sounds simple enough. Why the long face?’
‘Because I don’t know where it is.’
‘Mmm, I see the problem.’
‘He said it wasn’t in his own name, so that indicates a bank or a savings account of some kind. So how could an ordinary, honest bloke like Ray get himself another name?’
Marie shrugged. ‘Simple enough, if it was really important to him.’
‘It might have been very important to him. His whole family were trash, and his twin brothers were the worst of the lot. They’d have had his money away in a flash.’