‘Could he really be holding her at one of those addresses? If the developments are ongoing, he’d be running a huge risk that someone would find her. Where does he live?’
‘Owns an apartment down by Ocean Village, ma’am,’ Patel confirmed. ‘Hardly surprising: fits in with the polished image he tries to present.’
‘Please, ma’am, let’s bring them in. We have Jackson already, but he’ll be released in the morning unless the supe will authorise extending his custody by a further twelve hours. With all three here, I’m sure one of them will crack.’
‘My money’s on Phillips being the first to blab,’ Patel agreed.
Kate looked at her two most-trusted allies and finally relented. ‘Fine. Have the phone company pinpoint Phillips’ phone and go and get them.’ She looked over to Humberidge as he hung up the phone. ‘Take Quinlan and the two of you get Vardan. Laura and Patel, have uniform check out the two developments while you bring in Phillips. We’ll give them just enough rope, and then see which hangs himself first.’
The four of them bustled out of the room, the echo of their excited chatter drifting down the corridor, until silence descended on the incident room once more.
Standing, Kate made her way to the board and silently reread Laura’s notes, still trying to shake the voice of doubt that continued to niggle at the back of her mind. Reaching for the reports Ben had produced following his post-mortem analysis of Maria’s foot and the two hearts, she began to read, hoping the final piece of the puzzle would present itself.
According to the report, the foot was severed at the joint where the tibia met the plantar calcaneonavicular ligament, but described the cut as succinct and efficient. Ben’s notes also confirmed that the cut was completed in one go with a powerful electric circular saw. Yet the vena cava, pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary trunk of both hearts were cut using some kind of shearing instrument. She still couldn’t believe that Phillips would have sent the hearts. On neither occasion she’d met him had he demonstrated any kind of emotion or guilt, nor had he attempted to confess his actions.
A knock on the incident room startled her. Turning, she saw DI Steve Hardy, wearing his usual white lab coat, leaning in. ‘Ah, Kate, I was hoping one of you would still be here. I’ve just been processing the belongings of Petr Nowakowski that you collected from Mountbatten House. We’re currently testing fibres from his clothing, but I thought this might interest you.’ He thrust out a small plastic wallet, carrying it over to the desk. ‘Found it folded and hidden inside the framed photograph of the young woman—’
‘His sister, Ana,’ Kate confirmed. ‘What is it?’
Hardy rested the wallet on the desk. ‘Looks to be a printed copy of a chat room conversation between Nowakowski and someone with the username Guardian Angel. I guess he must have wanted to keep it as confirmation of what was discussed.’
Kate stared down at the page, reading the exchange between the two parties. Her eyes widened with every word. ‘He was trying to sell a kidney? Is there any more? Can we see what website this chat occurred in? Or who this Guardian Angel person is?’
‘Afraid that’s all there is. Looks like the conversation occurred two weeks ago, about a week before he died.’
Kate’s mind raced. Could one of Vardan, Phillips or Jackson have been trying to buy a kidney from Nowakowski? It didn’t fit with Laura and Patel’s blackmail motive. Did it? She couldn’t see the angle.
‘There’s nothing else? Just this page?’ Kate urged.
‘Unless you managed to find a computer and printer at his address that you forgot to drop off, I’m afraid that’s all I have.’
‘He didn’t own a computer… where else could he have printed this off?’
Hardy considered the question. ‘A library? Internet café? An office he worked at? Maybe a friend’s device? Could be any number of places.’
Kate reread the messages. ‘He was offered ten grand in exchange for his kidney.’
Hardy nodded. ‘Quite a lucrative market, the unofficial transplant of organs. Most people can survive with just one kidney, and these predators will pay good money for one if you can find them. Doesn’t tend to be a big thing in the UK, mind you. It’s a much bigger issue in the developing world, but I thought it might give your investigation some steer.’
‘Is there any way to find out where this page was printed? If we could trace the original printer and computer you’d be able to find the website and possibly this Guardian Angel, right?’
‘In theory, but being able to narrow down exactly where this was printed could take a lot of hours and even more luck.’
Kate looked at him pleadingly.
‘All right, all right,’ he sighed. ‘Leave it with me and I’ll see what I can do. You look exhausted, Kate. Don’t you ever go home to rest?’
‘No,’ she smiled back, as he left the room.
Kate was about to lift the phone and call Laura, when it suddenly rang. ‘DI Kate Matthews,’ she said, answering it.
‘Ma’am,’ Freeborn said urgently. ‘I was just called by the mobile phone company. Daisy Emerson’s phone was just switched on. They have its location.’
Kate grabbed a pen and paper. ‘Talk to me.’
Freeborn relayed the coordinates. ‘I’m at my brother’s in Portsmouth at the moment. You want me to meet you there?’
But Kate was already grabbing her car keys and coat, racing out of the door.
54
Throwing her coat onto the passenger seat, Kate dived into the Audi and started the engine, punching the coordinates into the Satnav and flooring the accelerator as she shot out of the car park, her blue lights and siren warning other drivers of her urgency. Her wipers squawked as they battled with the falling snowflakes but Kate was oblivious to the noise, her heart pounding and mind racing as her subconscious pieced together everything she’d seen and heard in the days since Daisy had disappeared.
‘Laura, where are you?’ she called out as her phone connected via Bluetooth.
‘We just got to Phillips’ office, but he’s not here. His phone is on charge, but there’s no sign of him. Security had to let us in.’
‘Daisy’s phone was just switched on at a place called Old Harry Rocks off the Dorset coast.’
‘She’s alive?’
‘That, or he’s messing with us. I’m en route now, but I need backup. Freeborn can send you the coordinates.’
‘Wait, and we’ll join you.’
‘There’s no time. I need to get there before the signal goes. Have Rogers double-check he’s not at home, but get there as quick as you can.’
‘I know the place you’re going,’ Laura said. ‘My dad used to take me there as a child. Three chalk formations jutting out to sea. According to legend, the devil used to sleep on the rocks. Go careful, ma’am, the pathways up there are precarious, and in this weather, make sure you’re not ambushed.’
‘Do me a favour, Laura. See if you can get any kind of air support over that way. I’m not sure they’ll be able to fly in these conditions, but explain it’s an emergency and see what they say. Have you heard from Humberidge yet?’
‘No, ma’am, but I’ll follow up with him and let you know as soon as Vardan is in custody.’
‘We need warrants to search each of their homes and offices for evidence of their involvement in illegal organ transplants.’
‘Ma’am?’
‘Nowakowski was trying to sell a kidney to someone called Guardian Angel. We need to check their hard drives, phones and tablets for confirmation of who Guardian Angel is.’
‘I’ll get Humberidge and Quinlan on it.’
Kate disconnected the line, focusing on the road ahead, the traffic starting to clear, but the dark night sky enveloping the horizon.
* * *