Stop Dead (DI Geraldine Steel)

bloody racket. It’s a cut and dried case of noise pollution, all out of tune she is and out of time. It wouldn’t be so bad if she sang some proper songs, not all this modern rubbish.’

     
    Geraldine didn’t tell him the purpose of her visit.
    ‘Out at all hours, she is,’ he went on, warming to his invective. ‘And up to no good, I’ve no doubt. Caterwauling like that, it’s not normal.’
    ‘Do you know when she’s likely to come back?’
    He shrugged.
    ‘In and out all the time, she is. There’s no knowing with that one. But I can tell you she’s usually home late afternoon. And then she goes out again for the evening. I’m telling you, there’s something not right about the way that girl’s allowed to carry on. I’m glad something’s finally being done about it. I’m not saying she should be locked up or anything, but she can’t carry on causing such a disturbance. It’s not legal, is it?’
    Geraldine pressed him to say more.
    ‘Off the record, Mr –?’
    ‘Parker. Jeff Parker. I don’t care if it’s on the record. It bloody well should be on the record by now. She’s a complete basket case.’
    ‘Basket case?’
    ‘With all that singing.’

     
    Geraldine’s phone rang and she excused herself and walked back to her car as she took the call. It was Sam, enquiring how she was getting on, and asking if she wanted company. Geraldine quickly brought her up to speed. There wasn’t much to say. In return Sam told her about a possible witness a constable had spoken to: a young boy who had been caught shoplifting. He had been assaulted prior to his arrest. Under questioning he had broken down and admitted he had been attacked by a woman.
    ‘Is that it?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘So there’s nothing concrete to link him to the case?’
    ‘Only that he was bashed on the side of the head by a woman on the Andover Estate, about a mile or so from where Henshaw’s body was found.’
    ‘But she didn’t kill him?’
    ‘No. He’s only a kid.’
    Geraldine thought about it. The chances were the incident had nothing whatever to do with the murder investigation, but it was possible the boy had encountered the killer, and had a lucky escape.

     
    ‘It could have been the same woman. Luckily the manager of the shop called up about the theft – it was only a bar of chocolate – and the constable who attended the scene was on the ball. It looks like the boy might have survived an attempted fatal assault. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming – I think he was petrified his mother would find out he’d been nicked for pilfering. But if he can identify his attacker …’
    ‘Find out exactly where it happened and alert Visual Images Identification and Detection Office,’ Geraldine told her. ‘We need to view all CCTV we can get hold of from the area at the time of the attack, check who else was around, and see if we can get a look at his attacker. At the very least we should be able to confirm the gender and general appearance.’

     
    They agreed that Sam should speak to the boy and find out more about the attack. Meanwhile, Geraldine intended to sit tight and wait for Ingrid to come home. She couldn’t afford to let her slip away. Geraldine hoped a DNA sample from the young singer would place her at the scene of the murders. If not, it was best to find out soon so they could stop wasting time on her.
    ‘Are you sure you don’t want to see the boy?’ Sam asked. ‘This could be the break we’ve been waiting for. He might have seen the killer.’
    Even down the phone, Sam’s excitement was clear. Geraldine smiled.
    ‘No,’ she replied, ‘I’ll leave it to you. I’m going to sit it out here for a while. Ingrid’s neighbour said she’s usually home late afternoon. Find out what you can and I’ll see you back at the station in a couple of hours.’

CHAPTER 66
     
    S am never liked being stuck at her desk, staring at the four constables on her team. It wasn’t that they didn’t have enough to do, checking the VIDO reports, liaising with borough intelligence, beavering away hunting for information, and right now they were fully occupied searching for anything that could link the four victims. With Henshaw and Corless the case had presented a tidy picture. The two men had not only worked together and known one another’s wives, they had no doubt been privy to the skeletons each had squirreled away in their closets. Bradshaw remained an enigma, and the addition of Birch to the death toll