Knocking twice, Kate entered the supe’s office, but it was only when she saw who was seated across the desk from him that she understood the summons.
‘Mrs Watkins,’ Kate said, moving quickly over to her. ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’
‘How could you let my little boy die?’
‘I couldn’t stop him,’ Kate pleaded. ‘We were talking and then the next thing I knew he’d leaped from the edge.’
‘I warned you about speaking to him alone! He was a wonderful boy, but he didn’t know his own mind. You should have called me!’
‘There wasn’t time, Mrs Watkins. I was trying to coax him back from the edge of the cliff, but I had no idea what he was planning to do.’
‘What were you even doing there with him so late at night? And on your own too? Is this how the modern police operate? Threatening the life of a vulnerable man until he breaks?’
‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, our being there had nothing to do with me. I didn’t even know he was there until I arrived.’
Imelda eyed her cautiously.
‘Please, Mrs Watkins, I understand this is an impossible time for you, but if you’ll hear me out, I believe I can shed some light on what’s been going on. Please?’
Imelda retook her seat, reaching into her handbag for a tissue and dabbing her eyes.
Kate glanced over to the supe, who looked like he’d been getting it in the neck since before Kate arrived. He nodded for her to proceed.
Kate sat next to Imelda, and adopted a non-threatening stance. ‘Neil had Daisy Emerson’s mobile phone, Mrs Watkins. That’s how we traced where he was.’
Imelda blinked back tears, shaking her head in disbelief. ‘No, there must be some kind of mistake.’
Kate fixed her with an empathetic look. ‘I’m so sorry, but it’s the truth. I have reason to believe that Neil has been the unfortunate victim in all this, and that somehow, Daisy inadvertently stumbled onto what was going on, and that it was Neil who took her—’
‘Absolutely preposterous! My Neil wasn’t like that. Just because he was different doesn’t make him a paedophile!’
Kate raised her hands apologetically. ‘Nobody is accusing Neil of being a predator. If anything, I believe he took Daisy because he believed it was the only way to keep her safe.’
‘Ever since you met my son, you’ve been trying to pin something on him.’
‘It isn’t like that, Mrs Watkins. Neil was the one who told me he was trying to keep Daisy safe. I know it can’t be easy to hear, but I assure you it’s the truth. We have three men in custody who we believe may have been responsible for manipulating him.’
Imelda’s eyes suddenly stared at Kate. ‘Three men?’
‘I’m not able to say much more than that for now, as we’re still investigating, but it seems like they duped Neil into carrying out activities for them and when he tried to confess what he’d done they threatened him into silence.’
Imelda looked to the supe for confirmation, and he nodded gravely back at her.
‘But I don’t understand,’ Imelda continued, ‘who are these men? How did they know Neil?’
‘We think they met him through the school. I’m sorry, Mrs Watkins, there really isn’t any more I can say at this time.’
Imelda dabbed at her eyes, as she continued to look at the supe. ‘I cannot believe this has happened again. He was such a sweet-natured boy. All he wanted was the best for everyone, and there are people out there who will take advantage.’ She turned back to Kate. ‘Did he… did Neil say anything before…’ her words trailed off as fresh tears filled her eyes.
‘I think he was very troubled at the end,’ Kate said kindly. ‘I don’t think his conscience was able to cope with what he had done, that’s why he wanted me to find him. He wanted to know that the truth would come out. Turning on Daisy’s phone was his one final act of defiance against whoever was threatening him.’ Kate paused. ‘Mrs Watkins, Neil told me that Daisy is still alive, but we haven’t been able to find her, and it seems unlikely she was being held where I found him. Can you think of anywhere Neil might have taken Daisy? Somewhere quiet, where nobody would notice him taking a fifteen-year-old girl, and somewhere where she wouldn’t be heard?’
Imelda blew her nose. ‘I’m so sorry, detective, I really have no idea. I still can’t believe he had anything to do with that poor girl’s disappearance. Up to this point, I thought she was just another runaway. Are you sure he had her phone, and wasn’t given it by one of these other men?’
‘The way he spoke to me, he realised that what he’d done was wrong. I am truly sorry for your loss, Mrs Watkins.’
‘Kate,’ the supe interrupted, ‘would you mind stepping outside for a moment so Mrs Watkins can have some alone time?’
Kate stood and followed the supe out of the room, down the corridor and into the incident room. ‘Where do we go from here, Kate?’
‘We know that Vardan and Jackson knew each other and as much as the teacher denies it, I can’t help thinking he was planning to instigate something with Daisy if he hadn’t already.’
‘What about the other man? The building inspector?’
‘I think Phillips used Neil to pay a bribe to Vardan to help him secure the swimming pool project at the school. Phillips has admitted he is in serious money trouble, and that makes sense.’
But the supe was frowning. ‘Vardan is Daisy’s form tutor, isn’t he?’
‘Yes, sir, form tutor and English Lit teacher, I believe.’
‘Then I very much doubt he’s the person Phillips was bribing. He wouldn’t have had any say in which bids were accepted for contract. Mark my words, as a former school governor myself, I know that the teachers have very little sway or influence over such matters, if any at all. Did Phillips admit to paying off Vardan?’
Kate thought back. ‘Well, no, not in so many words, but it…’ her words trailed off as an impossible idea floated to the surface. ‘Sir, would you excuse me? There’s something I need to check on.’
‘Very well, very well. I’ll see if a patrol car can give Mrs Watkins a ride home. We should assign a Family Liaison Officer too.’
‘No, wait. Can you keep Mrs Watkins in your office for now?’
His brow furrowed. ‘Why?’
‘Please, sir, just trust me. I’ll speak to you as soon as I’ve got this sussed.’
* * *
‘What exactly are we looking for?’ DI Steve Hardy asked from the confines of his office.
‘I’ll know it when I see it,’ Kate replied, as he continued to recover the deleted internet history from the hard drive. ‘Have you managed to download the emails yet?’
Hardy pointed at the printer in the far corner. ‘They should be printing as we speak.’
Kate rose and moved across to the printer as the final page spurted out. Carrying them back to Hardy’s desk, she stifled a yawn.
‘My wife must think I’m having an affair,’ Hardy chuckled, glancing at the clock.
‘I promise I’ll let you go as soon as you’ve finished. I really do appreciate your support.’
‘Right,’ he said, sitting up. ‘That’s all the partitions scanned. I should warn you, a lot of this data will be fragmented, depending on what software was used to erase the original information. Think of it as a book where all the pages have been shredded. I do have software that can painstakingly find the fragments and try to stick them back together, but that’ll take time.’
‘Time is the one thing I don’t have.’
‘And you’re sure we’re allowed to extract this data? From what I understood, the suspect didn’t live at this address.’
‘He was staying there at the time of his death,’ Kate confirmed, ‘which means he had access to this computer, and we’re therefore within our rights to review the contents.’
Hardy cocked a sceptical eyebrow. ‘If you say so. Okay, what terms do you want me to search for?’
Kate looked him straight in the face. ‘Guardian Angel.’
Hardy frowned. ‘You think the guy who jumped was the one offering Nowakowski money for his kidney?’
‘Humour me,’ Kate replied.
Hardy pulled up a search window and typed the words.
58
THIRTEEN DAYS MISSING