Dead To Me

33

‘KEYS,’ JANET SAID as they reached the car park.

‘How long you going to keep that up?’ Rachel said.

‘While I live and breathe.’ Looking ratty.

Rachel threw them to her.

The day was grotty, wet and gloomy. ‘Did I miss anything last night? Anyone throw a punch or get their kit off?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Janet snapped.

‘God, who pissed on your chips?’ said Rachel.

Janet didn’t answer, maybe she’d drunk too much and was fighting a hangover but not wanting to let on.

At the children’s home, Janet introduced Rachel to Marlene.

‘Oh, yes, you rang about Martin Dalbeattie,’ Marlene said. ‘Was he any help?’

Janet’s smile froze in place and she turned to Rachel. Rachel, not feeling all that good any more, said, ‘We’ve not spoken to him, yet.’

‘You’ve heard about Rosie Vaughan?’ Marlene said, obviously not knowing Rachel had witnessed the whole thing. ‘So awful. That poor girl. Everything stacked against her, relentless – we just couldn’t get her to access mental health services.’

Janet murmured something back and Rachel studied her shoes. She didn’t want to think about Rosie, with her spindly arms and that pathetic ring of junk like a charm bracelet round the sofa. Though every time the cut on her hand throbbed, it all came rushing back at her. Rachel felt the bile of revenge. I didn’t do it, she told herself. The bastard who raped and beat her – this is on his head. And before him the mother who abused her, who made her do things that no child should ever suffer. The mother had done her time, punishment served, but Rosie’s rapist was still out there. Rachel wanted to get the bastard now more than ever.

Once they were settled in Marlene’s office, Janet said, ‘We want to find out if any of the boys who’ve been here since 2008 had a reputation for sexual violence?’

Marlene raised her eyebrows in a question mark.

‘We’ve got some forensic evidence suggesting a possible link between Rosie Vaughan’s rape and Lisa Finn’s murder.’

‘Oh, God.’ Marlene closed her eyes for a moment. ‘What a waste,’ she said, ‘both of them. You do everything you possibly can, but… they didn’t deserve… no one deserves-’ she broke off, upset and angry. Rachel felt awkward, suddenly too hot in the room.

‘You’re right,’ Janet said. ‘But anything you can do to help…’

‘Of course.’ Marlene sat up straighter and swivelled round to the computer on a workstation at right angles to her desk. ‘Nobody springs to mind, but I’ll just have a look.’ She keyed some strokes and peered at the monitor.

There was a climbing frame in the garden and Rachel could see a toddler scaling one of the sides, bundled up in a bright red padded all-in-one. She had a sudden rush of fear that the child would fall, felt sweat break across the back of her neck and her mouth fill with saliva. Get a grip.

‘Of course, once our kids move out we wouldn’t necessarily know what’s going on,’ Marlene said. ‘Some of them move away or lose touch, even though social services have a duty of care to continue assisting the most vulnerable.’

‘It wouldn’t be anyone with a criminal record,’ Janet said. ‘Whoever this person is, they’re not on the database.’

‘I can’t see anyone here I’d have any doubts about,’ Marlene said, turning back from the computer.

‘Would you be happy to send us the names,’ Janet said, ‘so we can double check?’

‘Sure.’

‘Did Rosie and Lisa know each other?’ Rachel asked.

‘Yes. Not friends, though. Rosie was chummy with a girl called Angela – they were the same age, and Lisa was a couple of years younger. In fact, Lisa and Angela had a few scraps.’

‘Where’s Angela now?’ Rachel said. Rosie knew her rapist, Rachel was sure. If Angela was close to Rosie, perhaps she’d have an idea who it might have been.

‘I can get her last address for you.’

‘Could you send us a list of all the girls who were resident here, same dates, 2008 onwards?’ Janet asked.

‘And those that are here now?’ Marlene said.

‘Yes, please: names and dates of birth,’ Janet said.

Marlene nodded in agreement.

‘Can you think of anyone from outside the home who knew both Lisa and Rosie? Boyfriends, hangers-on, dealers?’ Janet said.

‘No one I knew about. There are a lot of problems with gangs targeting care homes, grooming girls for sex, but so far we’ve escaped that.’

‘What about the staff?’ Rachel said baldly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Janet wince, heard her draw in a short breath of air.

Outrage sparked in Marlene’s eyes and her face set like a mask. ‘Our staff are all CRB checked and trained to rigorous standards,’ she said frostily.

‘Martin Dalbeattie was their social worker,’ Rachel pointed out, ‘both of them.’

Marlene looked as if she’d explode. ‘Martin worked with us for almost twenty years. He was an exemplary worker, hugely well respected. You can’t barge in here, making libellous and completely groundless allegations on some sort of fishing expedition-’

‘I’m sure Rachel didn’t mean-’ Janet started her peacemaker routine.

But Rachel wasn’t going to let it drop. ‘If he had an alibi…’ she said.

‘Rachel!’ Janet glared at her. ‘I do apologize,’ she said to Marlene.

‘Not on my account,’ Rachel said. The kid outside was on top of the climbing frame and bawling.

‘Will you just-’ Janet shot at her.

‘Look, having a fistful of qualifications is no bar to crime. The world’s full of nutters who deliberately work in places like this-’

Marlene leapt to her feet. ‘We have never, ever,’ her eyes glittered, ‘had one allegation of sexual impropriety brought against any member of staff. I live in the real world, I know what goes on. Hell, half the kids in here come from that sort of horror show – and we look after them.’ Really losing her rag.

Janet spoke quickly, ‘We’re aware of that and we are not here to ask about staff. I’m sorry. If you could send through those names, we’d appreciate it. You’ve got my email. We can check if any others have come to harm since leaving care.’

Marlene’s eyes were hard, her nostrils flaring. Like a horse with a cob on. Rachel half expected her to whinny and start pawing the ground. ‘Certainly,’ she said, squeezing out the word like it’d kill her.

‘Jesus! What charm school did you go to?’ Janet muttered as they reached the car, out of earshot of Marlene, who stood on the front steps, arms folded, lips pursed, obviously intent on seeing them off the premises.

‘She shouldn’t be so touchy,’ Rachel said.

‘Rachel, you were suggesting, without any grounds, that her colleague, a man she respects and admires, is a potential rapist and murderer. That’s outrageous. You know what it’s like when someone accuses a cop of being dirty?’

They got in the car. ‘Sometimes they are,’ Rachel pointed out.

‘Yeah, but we hate it, don’t we? The possibility that someone’s joined the other side. It’s sickening.’ Janet started the engine, buckled her seat belt. ‘And if someone starts putting it about that a good cop is corrupt, it’s a total nightmare. Try and see it from her point of view.’

‘Why?’

‘Because a bit of bloody empathy’ – Janet was riled now – ‘will get you a damn sight further than slinging your weight around. We want her cooperation. I know Marlene; she’s brilliant at what she does, so your little party piece won’t put her off doing the best she can to protect those kids and get justice for them, and she’ll come through with the list. But a different face, a different day and we’d be whistling for it. Acting the way you did is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. You need to improve your communication skills.’

Rachel stifled a yawn, stared out of the window and let her drone on for a bit, wondering how she could establish Martin Dalbeattie’s whereabouts on the day of Lisa’s murder without anyone finding out.