Cold Justice (Willis/Carter #4)(52)

Kensa looked from one to the other and then nodded.

‘What did you want at the Forbes-Wright house?’ asked Carter. ‘Why did you go there?’

‘I was going to see who was there, that’s all. I clean there sometimes. Just interested, is all.’

‘Did you know Jeremy Forbes-Wright?’ Willis asked. Kensa moved her head just enough to indicate that she did.

‘You weren’t going there to clean at this time of night, though, were you?’ asked Carter.

‘No. I wanted to see who had come. I saw the woman. I looked in at the kitchen. She was crying. I wanted to tell her something . . . I’ve seen her boy – I know he’s safe. She doesn’t need to worry – he’s in safe hands.’

‘Where, Kensa? Where did you see him?’

‘In my dreams.’

‘When you went down to the house this evening, is that what you were going to tell her? That you’ve seen him in your dreams?’ asked Willis.

‘Yes.’

‘Kensa? Is it all right if we take a look inside the van?’ asked Carter. She looked behind her and became agitated again. She started to clench and unclench her hands; she made them into fists and knocked her knuckles hard against each other.

‘We need to take a quick look, Kensa, and then we’ll be gone,’ Willis reassured her. ‘We won’t disturb anything.’ Kensa started to shake her head as she looked back inside.

Carter took a step closer.

‘Come on, Kensa, it’s got to happen – let’s get it over with,’ he said. ‘We won’t be here long; we’ll leave things as we found them.’

Willis stepped inside and led Kensa to the sofa. ‘Stay there, Kensa. Don’t worry about anything.’

Carter stepped back outside and closed the van door on them as he had a look around, underneath and at the back of the van with the help of Misty, who was fascinated by the intrusion so late at night. At the back of the van there was a gazebo that was battered but not quite broken. Beneath it were three white plastic chairs and the smell of a bonfire gone cold. There was a spare gas cylinder under the van and a water container.

Willis looked around her. The caravan had the smell of poverty and horse and unwashed bodies. There was no television or laptop, no sound at all besides the creaking of the caravan. Willis found a few bags of weed in the bedroom, hidden on a shelf above the bed.

As Willis came back in the lounge she could see Kensa rocking on her feet.

‘Do you have a friend living nearby?’

‘No . . .’ Kensa shook her head and stared out at nothing as she pulled the blanket around her. She sat down and stared at her hands as they clenched and unclenched.

‘You need someone to help you, Kensa. You’re not well. Would you like me to see if I can get help for you?’

Carter was standing at the door – he’d finished his search. He stepped inside and sat down, sliding behind the lounge table. He looked from Willis to Kensa and shook his head. Willis sat down next to Kensa on the sofa.

‘Kensa, did you go down to the house tonight to look for someone?’ Carter asked.

She nodded.

‘Who, Kensa?’

‘I thought Toby might have come. I thought he would come now that his son is here.’

‘How do you know Toby?’

‘We were sweethearts once. A long time ago.’

‘How old were you then, Kensa?’ asked Willis.

‘We were teenagers, but he wasn’t very nice to me. I haven’t seen him since.’

‘Kensa, if you know where Samuel is, you have to tell us. He needs to go home to his mum and dad,’ said Willis.

There was a silence.

‘Okay, Kensa, we’ll go now,’ Carter said, looking at Willis to agree. ‘Have you got a phone, Kensa?’ he asked. She nodded. ‘Well, here’s my card.’

‘Kensa?’ Willis laid a hand on Kensa’s. ‘If you want help, we can get some for you. Just ring that number.’

They walked back towards the house.

‘How does she manage to look after a horse? She can’t even look after herself,’ said Carter, as they walked down the unlit lane. They could hear the roar of the waves below them.

‘She probably looks after the horse better than she does herself,’ Willis replied.

Carter phoned Robbo again. ‘I have a name for you: Kensa Cooper. That’s our victim from 2000, I think.’

After Carter left her to go back to the hotel, Willis lay in bed and listened to Lauren crying. It was two in the morning. She heard the dog whimpering too and then she heard the sound of Lauren getting up and going downstairs. Willis stood and went to look out of the window. The moon was bright and the frost was already thick on the roof of Lauren’s car.

Willis put the light on and took out her notebook as she sat on her bed in the onesie that Tina had given her for Christmas. She went through everything again and started a new list of questions that she wanted to ask in the morning. Then she got up to put the light off to try and get back to sleep. She heard the sound of Lauren coming up the stairs talking to the dog, so she guessed that they’d be sharing a bed tonight. As she looked up she saw the old security camera in the corner of the room. She looked around for a chair and stood on it to have a look at the camera. She wrote down the name of the manufacturer. Another question to add to her list. Why wasn’t the alarm system working?