Murder Mile

Chapter Fourteen

Pulling up in the small car park at Ladywell mortuary, Jane reflected on how it had become like a second work place over the last few days. Guiding Mrs. Matthews through the double doors, Jane took her to the waiting room and informed the coroner’s officer she was here to identify the body. He told Jane that DCI Moran was currently in the chapel of rest with Eileen Summers’ parents, who had travelled down from Manchester. Jane hadn’t expected him to be at the mortuary, and realized she’d forgotten to phone him with the news that Helen Matthews was their unidentified victim. Jane asked the coroner’s officer if he would inform Moran that she was with Brenda Matthews in the waiting room, and having seen a photograph of Helen Matthews, Jane was one hundred per cent certain she was their hitherto unknown victim. He said he would and left.

Jane returned to the waiting room and sat with a pale-looking Mrs. Matthews. She explained the viewing procedure and the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Summers were presently viewing their daughter’s body.

The waiting room door opened and DCI Moran walked in with Eileen Summers’ parents. Mrs. Summers was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief already sodden with tears, whilst her husband held her by the arm, the effort of keeping his emotions in check obvious from his haggard expression.

Jane stood up. ‘Brenda, this is DCI Moran, who is leading the investigation.’

Moran took her limp hand in his. ‘I’m deeply sorry for your loss, Mrs. Matthews. Myself and my officers are doing everything we can to find the man we believe is responsible for these horrendous crimes. If you’ll excuse me, I just need to have a quick word with WDS Tennison.’ He tilted his head to one side for Jane to follow him.

Moran closed the door and walked a little way down the corridor before turning around and facing Jane.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t ring you, sir, but Mrs. Matthews didn’t have a phone, and I had to take her to the school to see her grandson, Simon. I’m certain our unknown victim is Helen Matthews. Her nine-year-old son Simon is in Eileen Summers’ class at Southfield Primary.’ She felt the emotion of it all welling up again. ‘Telling him his mother was dead was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.’

Moran put his hand on Jane’s shoulder. ‘You’re doing a good job, Jane. Cases like this get to us all, one way or another. Being compassionate and listening to people shows you care, and in turn makes you a better detective. Just don’t allow your emotions to affect your work or cloud your judgment.’ He opened his notebook and began flicking through the pages.

‘I spoke with Mr. and Mrs. Summers before the identification. Eileen spent half term with them and told her mother she had concerns about a boy in her class being abused.’

‘My God, was it Simon Matthews?’

‘Eileen never divulged any details about the boy or his family to her parents. Apparently, she did speak with the boy’s mother and told her the child had become withdrawn at school, and his classwork was not as good as usual. The mother dismissed Eileen’s thoughts as rubbish and stormed off.’

‘So, it could have been Helen Matthews who Eileen Summers spoke to.’

‘Under the circumstances it seems likely, but we can’t know for sure.’ Moran tapped his notebook with his pencil. ‘It’s strange — Summers didn’t say anything to Mrs. Rowlands, the headmistress?’

‘If she had, I’m sure Mrs. Rowlands would have told me. Maybe Eileen was worried she might lose her job if she was wrong,’ Jane suggested.

‘Either way, the abuse issue needs to be resolved. Get a statement from Brenda Matthews with as much detail as possible about Helen, her acquaintances and relationship with Simon.’

Jane gasped. ‘Are you suggesting his mother was abusing him?’

Moran shrugged. ‘I didn’t say that, but it can’t be ruled out. We also need to find out if Helen Matthews knew Aiden Lang.’

Jane could see that was a valid point, but wondered if there was more behind it. ‘Are you thinking Lang may have abused Simon?’

‘He could have had access to Simon if he knew Helen Matthews. Gibbs interviewed the accountant, who admitted paying Lang for oral sex in the toilets at Hampstead Heath.’

Jane rolled her eyes. ‘And therefore, being a homosexual, he must also abuse children?’

‘No, not necessarily, but he could have a liking for young boys as well,’ Moran said defensively.

Jane thought back to Moran’s advice about not letting your feelings cloud your judgment. But it seemed he had convinced himself that Lang was responsible for all the murders and sexually abusing Simon Matthews.

‘On that basis, it doesn’t make sense that Lang, as a homosexual, would rape two of his female victims,’ Jane argued.

That seemed to be the last straw for Moran. ‘What’s your bloody problem, Tennison? In my time in Vice I came across men who swung both ways — particularly rent boys doing it for the money.’

‘I wasn’t challenging you, sir,’ Jane insisted. ‘Just giving an alternative viewpoint. Like you said yourself, Eileen Summers’ abuse fears could be wrong. When I first saw Simon he seemed quite happy, until I told him about his mother.’

Moran glared at her. ‘How many abused children have you dealt with in your short career?’

‘Well, none yet, but—’

‘People who abuse children always scare them into silence. I want you to interview Simon, but not on your own. Get social services involved. They deal with this sort of thing regularly and can assist with the interview. They can also arrange counseling for the poor lad after all the trauma he’s been through.’

‘Yes, sir, I’ll get a statement off Brenda after she’s identified her daughter’s body,’ Jane said brusquely, turning to walk away.

‘I haven’t finished yet,’ Moran snapped. ‘Do you have an address for Helen Matthews?’

‘Yes, sir.’ She opened her notebook to the relevant page and handed it to Moran, who wrote the address down in his book.

‘I’ll get Lawrence to check the address out for any forensic evidence that might help us.’ He tossed Jane’s notebook back to her.

The morgue attendant approached and told Jane the body was ready for viewing. He apologized about what had happened before and said he’d done a better job this time. Jane thanked him and said she’d be a couple of minutes.

Jane and Moran returned to the mortuary waiting room. Brenda Matthews and Mrs. Summers were sitting holding hands and consoling each other, unified in grief. Then Moran ushered the Summerses out with him, leaving Brenda Matthews staring disconsolately at the wall.

Jane took a deep breath. ‘I know this will be hard for you, Brenda, and you can spend as much time as you want with Helen. I will be with you, but if you want to be alone with her, that’s fine.’ From the distant look on Brenda Matthews’ face, Jane realized she hadn’t heard a word. She stepped into her line of sight. ‘Are you OK, Brenda? We can go and see Helen now, if you’re ready.’

Mrs. Matthews answered in a flat voice: ‘Mrs. Summers said her daughter had been raped and strangled. Did he do the same to Helen?’

Jane had planned to divulge this information after the viewing and now regretted it. ‘The pathologist couldn’t be certain about any sexual assault, but it’s possible she was.’

Brenda Matthews started to retch, but as she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, there was nothing in her stomach to come up. It was another five minutes before she was composed enough to go with Jane to the chapel of rest.

Helen Matthews’ body had been well prepared by the morgue attendant. He’d closed her eyes, washed her hair and face, and arranged the shroud neatly so it concealed the strangulation marks on her neck. Although her skin was pale, Helen Matthews looked as if she was in a peaceful sleep. Jane gave the attendant a nod of approval.

‘Is this your daughter, Helen?’ Jane asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Mrs. Matthews nodded. Jane had expected her to break down, but she remained composed as she leant forward and kissed her daughter on the forehead. She then removed her wedding ring and lifted the shroud from Helen’s side, revealing her right hand.

‘I wanted her to have this when I died.’ She placed the ring on her daughter’s right ring finger and kissed her one last time.

After the identification, Jane took Mrs. Matthews to the bereaved interview room at the mortuary. It was sparsely furnished with just a desk, four chairs and white painted brick walls. The heat blasting from the large cast iron radiator made it stuffy. Jane opened an A4-size notebook, placed it on the table and took her pen from her jacket pocket.

Brenda Matthews watched her forlornly. ‘Will the statement take long? I should be with Simon.’

‘I’m just going to take some notes for now, then write your statement up later. I can bring it to you to read over and sign tomorrow.’

‘Thank you.’ Her voice was almost a whisper.

‘If you want, I can speak with the victim support organization, who can help you and Simon through this terrible ordeal,’ Jane offered.

‘I can’t afford anything like that, but thank you for offering.’

Jane smiled. ‘It won’t cost you anything, Brenda. They’re a new national organization, and have trained volunteers. They offer practical and emotional support to victims and witnesses of serious crime.’

‘If you think it would help me and Simon, then yes, I’d like to speak with them.’

Jane nodded. ‘I think it would be good to share your feelings with someone who’s not connected to the investigation.’

Sooner or later, Jane was going to have to tell Brenda Matthews that Simon might have been sexually abused. Her first instinct was to wait until Mrs. Matthews had recovered from the shock of seeing her daughter’s body, but she knew there was no ‘good’ time to deliver this disturbing news.

‘What I’m about to tell you is quite distressing. We have reason to believe Eileen Summers was concerned about one of her male pupils being abused. Obviously Helen and Eileen Summers are connected through Simon, so it’s possible—’

Grief turned to anger as Brenda Matthews interrupted her. ‘How dare you suggest my daughter abused her son! Helen was a good mother and worked hard to provide for Simon. She’d never even smacked him and hardly ever raised her voice. Now if you don’t mind, I want to see Simon.’ Brenda stood up and pushed past Jane. ‘I’ll make my own way to Mrs. Rowlands.’

A flustered Jane got up and followed her. ‘Brenda, please listen to me, I don’t believe for one minute it was Helen. I know it’s a difficult subject to discuss, and the last thing I want to do is upset you. My concern is if Simon was abused, it could be connected in some way to Helen’s murder.’

Mrs. Matthews turned around sharply. ‘If Simon was being abused, Helen would have told me.’

‘If Helen did know, or just suspected, she may not have wanted to upset you. Please... there’s just a few more things I need to ask. Then we’ll finish, and you can be with Simon.’

Reluctantly, Brenda returned to her seat and Jane sat down opposite her.

‘I wish to God I didn’t have to ask you such upsetting questions, Brenda. Unfortunately, we don’t know which boy Eileen Summers thought was being abused. It may not even be Simon, but we need to be sure either way.’

Brenda sighed. ‘I appreciate you’re only doing your job, but if Simon was being abused, I know he would have said something to Helen or me.’

Jane remembered what Moran had told her. ‘Sometimes children are threatened by their abusers and too frightened to say anything. Did Helen have a boyfriend or any friends who had regular contact with Simon?’

‘She dated a man about two years ago, but that’s all over. As far as I know, she hasn’t been seeing anyone since. She hasn’t any close friends — she’s always too busy working.’

‘I’d still like to interview Simon with a social services officer who specializes in child welfare.’

Mrs. Matthews looked worried. ‘They’ll take Simon away from me if he was abused!’

Jane shook her head. ‘That won’t happen.’ She pulled the photograph of Aiden Lang from her pocket. ‘Have you ever seen this man before? His hair may have been dyed blond since the photograph was taken.’

Mrs. Matthews looked closely at the photo. ‘No. Who is he?’

‘His name is Aiden Lang. He also uses the name Ben Smith. Eileen Summers’ body was found in his hostel room.’

Mrs. Matthews put her hand to her mouth. ‘Did he kill Helen as well?’

‘We don’t know for sure. We are doing everything we can to trace Aiden Lang and have released his picture to the press.’

‘I hope he rots in hell.’ Mrs. Matthews pushed Lang’s photograph back across the desk.

‘How did Helen seem when you saw her on the afternoon of Friday sixteenth of February?’ Jane asked.

‘A bit moody, as I recall. I thought it was because she was tired after taking on the extra cleaning work over the half-term break.’

Jane flicked back a couple of pages in her notebook. ‘You said before that Helen visited about three thirty p.m. Can you remember when she left?’

Mrs. Matthews thought for a moment. ‘It wasn’t long after... between four and four thirty, I think.’

‘Did Helen say where she was going when she left your flat on the Friday?’

Mrs. Matthews shook her head. ‘No. I just assumed she was going to do another cleaning job.’

‘Do you know where Helen did her cleaning work on Fridays?’

‘No. It was various places for cash-in-hand. I know she did some work for a dentist in Harley Street.’

‘Do you know the name or address of the dentist?’

‘No, but Helen said he was a nice man. He fitted Simon’s braces for him.’

‘That must have been expensive.’ Jane wondered how Helen had been able afford dental treatment in a posh Harley Street clinic.

‘He did the work for nothing because she was his cleaner. Simon had crooked front teeth and Helen had mentioned it to the dentist. Mind you, Simon wasn’t too happy, seeing as the braces gave him a lisp and some of the boys in his class started teasing him and calling him Jaws, after that big bloke with the scary teeth in the Bond films.’

‘Children can be very mean to one another at that age without even realizing it. Did Helen tell Miss Summers about the bullying?’

‘No. She just had a word with the two boys — put the fear of God in them. Believe me, they soon stopped calling Simon names.’ Mrs. Matthews smiled at the memory, then suddenly started to cry. ‘I just can’t believe I’ll never see my Helen again. And the thought Simon may have been abused is unbearable.’

Jane quickly made a note to make enquiries about Helen Matthews’ cleaning work in Harley Street, then put her hand gently on Mrs. Matthews’ shoulder.

‘I’ll arrange the interview at social services and be in touch tomorrow, Brenda. I’ve got a few things to do back at the station now, I’m afraid. Will you be OK if I get a uniform patrol car to take you to see Mrs. Rowlands?’

Mrs. Matthews nodded as she blew her nose on a tissue and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Jane was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but made sure she updated Moran before she left the office. Driving home to an empty fridge, she stopped at a kebab shop and chose a chicken shish with salad. At least it was healthier than a doner kebab, she thought wryly to herself as she got back in the car.

Once home, she wolfed down her kebab, had a relaxing bubble bath and went straight to bed. But sleep eluded her as the events of the day replayed themselves in her mind. So many lives had been changed for ever. The thought of little Simon losing his mother was almost unbearable, but Jane knew that even Andrew Hastings, as obnoxious as he was, must be suffering at the loss of his own mother. Jane suddenly found herself welling up as she thought of the three dead women, their families and how happy times could turn to misery and grief in the blink of an eye. She thought again of her own parents, and how it must have been for them when her brother drowned aged three. She was only four herself then, and didn’t really understand what had happened at the time, but right now she imagined herself in the mortuary viewing her brother’s body with her parents. In the darkness, her tears began to flow.

The bedside phone rang. Jane didn’t want to speak to anyone, but knowing it might be something to do with the investigation, she reluctantly picked it up. It was Paul Lawrence.

‘Hi, Jane, sorry to bother you at home. I just wanted to apologize for my surly behavior today. I hope I didn’t upset you.’

Jane took a moment to compose herself, but her voice sounded hoarse. ‘You didn’t. We’re all under pressure, Paul, and I know you’ve got a lot more on your plate than most of us.’

‘You OK?’

Jane wanted to pour out her feelings, but was scared Paul might think she wasn’t coping. ‘Yes, I’m fine. I’ve had a busy day and I’m tired, that’s all.’

Paul wasn’t convinced. ‘Are you sure? If there’s anything bothering or upsetting you, you know you can tell me in confidence. It’s better to let it out than bottle it up.’

There was such obvious concern in his voice, Jane began to well up again. ‘I know it’s stupid, Paul, and it’s not like me, but I feel like I’m on an emotional rollercoaster and can’t get off.’ She began to tell him about her day. She was speaking so quickly, he could hardly keep up with her, let alone get a word in himself. In the end, he just let her pour out her feelings and listened.

‘...and ever since I got home I can’t stop thinking how sad it all is. To be honest, I don’t even know why I’m crying.’

‘You’re crying because you care, Jane,’ he said finally. ‘Shedding a tear, even as a police officer, is nothing to be ashamed of. Believe me, I’ve had many a blubber under the sheets when I’ve got home from some horrific crime scene. Especially where children are the victims. You’re strong, Jane, a good detective, and although you may not think it, well respected.’

‘Thanks, Paul.’ Jane sniffed and took a deep breath. ‘Did you do a search at Helen Matthews’ house?’

‘Not personally. I was busy at the lab. Moran sent Edwards and two SOCOs to the address. Just like Eileen Summers’ flat, the place had been ransacked but there was no forced entry. Aiden Lang’s fingerprints were found on the dressing table drawers and the wardrobe.’

‘He must have stolen Helen’s house keys when he murdered her and went looking for money and valuables,’ Jane mused.

‘Certainly looks like it. Moran’s now worried the three women’s murders may be linked to sexual abuse on Simon.’

‘Then that means Simon could be in danger!’ Jane exclaimed.

‘It’s OK,’ Paul reassured her. ‘Moran already thought of that. Simon and his grandmother are staying at Mrs. Rowlands’ and there’s an armed PC at the front and rear.’

There was a brief silence before Paul continued. ‘I was just wondering — and I know it depends on how the investigation is going — but would you like to come round to my place for dinner on Saturday night?’

‘That would be lovely, thank you, Paul.’

‘Do you like beef Wellington?’

‘I do. And I’ll bring a nice bottle of red to go with it. Are you still at the same address?’

‘No, I moved from the mews house.’

Jane grabbed a pen and notepad off her bedside table and wrote down the new address.

‘Pop into the lab tomorrow if you want to talk more,’ Paul said finally.

‘I’m going to Harley Street. Helen Matthews was a cleaner for a private dentist there, so I want to speak with him.’

‘OK, take care then.’

She put the phone down and realized how much better she felt after speaking to Paul. She smiled to herself as she snuggled up in bed. Paul was a very attractive man, and maybe it would be nice if something did develop between them.