Cold Revenge (Willis/Carter #6)(15)
‘We don’t think she would have gone to the park with a john,’ said Willis. ‘She had a perfectly good bed at home, just around the corner. This was probably someone she knew, someone she trusted. We can’t ignore the fact that people knew who she was in the area. She’d bragged about her past relationship with Jimmy Douglas, whether this was a factor or not, we don’t know, but we can’t ignore it.’
‘We’re working our way through known offenders in the area. So far we haven’t found one who used both a hammer-type weapon and a knife. But, there is a long list of violent offenders living around there. We might get lucky and be able to match a number from her phone to one of those. Have SOCOs found anything else of interest at her flat?’ Hector asked Willis.
‘Sandford says he’s nearly finished there now. There are many other prints besides hers,’ answered Willis.
‘Understandable, the place is going to be DNA Central. Chris, what are your thoughts so far?’ Carter asked the new analyst.
‘This could be two people. Could be two women she works with, women she’s pissed off. Perpetrator is not necessarily taller than Millie, who was five six. The blows to the head, as discussed, could have been to knock her to the floor to make killing her easier. Someone who knows the park, who used to live there or still lives there. Someone who knew Millie and who she liked, who had picked her up before or who offered her enough money to make it worthwhile – we know she was facing eviction for non-payment of rent. But the messiness of this killing has an amateur feel to it and the person would have thought hard about what weapons to take so we cannot assume this is a person who works with a hammer, or a man, or anything just yet. We need to find the people Millie was close to. My gut instinct is that this is someone she knew well.’
‘DC Blackman, what’s the feedback from the streets?’ asked Willis. Zoe Blackman was not long promoted to MIT 17, having been a policewoman at Archway Police Station next door. Carter had mentored her and she was good friends with Willis.
‘I’ve been talking to some of the girls on the streets and no one liked Millie, mainly because of the fact she bragged about her time with Douglas. She was also really popular with the punters, which didn’t make the others take to her very much. But none of them thought it would have been a fellow prostitute who murdered her, not when I said it had actually happened at the park, none of them would go in there. They said they would have stuck her on the streets if they were going to do it.’
‘What about her father?’ asked Hector. ‘I saw that he’s been up in front of a court a few times for assault. There was a restraining order against him for attacking Gavin Heathcote outside his father-in-law’s pub, the Swan.’ He was interrupted by one of his researchers who handed him a note. ‘We now have Yvonne Coombes’s address.’
Chapter 10
Sunday 21 May 2000
Heather hadn’t slept well. The moon, on the wane, still filled her room with light and the scream of foxes mating was sharp and violent in the night, which had brought her fully awake, as had the pain and sweats of her period. She’d crept along the landing at just gone six on the Sunday morning, pausing to wince at every squeaky floorboard as she made her way to the bathroom. She sat on the toilet and filled the bowl with blood.
She heard her father walking about at seven and then he went outside and began chopping wood. After waiting for a safe amount of time she knocked gently on her mother’s bedroom door. She hadn’t heard her mother get up; normally she would be doing household chores by now.
‘Mum, can I come in?’ She got no reply, so she opened the door and looked around in the musty gloom. ‘It’s gone eight, Mum, can I go up to the farm and turn Murphy out?’
‘Did you ask your father?’ Her mother had her back to her as she answered.
‘No.’ Heather stood waiting, anticipating refusal, gearing herself to be disappointed but instead, her mother turned and looked at Heather.
‘What about your exams?’
‘I’m taking my books with me.’ Her mother sighed. ‘I’ll do it, Mum, honest.’
‘I hope you do, Heather, because your father’s had enough of your behaviour and it’s making my life a misery.’
‘I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong?’
‘Don’t give me that! I can see it in your eyes that you’re chasing boys. You’d better be careful not to get caught out with their lies. Especially now you’ve got your monthlies, you get yourself pregnant and you’ll be on the streets, my girl.’ Her mother rounded on her angrily, then sank back on the bed. ‘Do you understand?’
Heather stared at her mother’s back, unable to quite believe what she was hearing.
‘I don’t know why you’re saying things like that,’ she answered.
‘Yes you do – you’re brazen, I can see it, it’s written all over your face.’
Heather stepped closer to the bed.
‘You okay, Mum?’ She noticed her mother had bruises on her shoulder.
‘Don’t bother asking; just make sure you keep your eyes on your work, and don’t be a fool, Heather. You mind your own business up there in the farm otherwise you won’t be allowed up there any more and I know my brother has plans for you.’ She turned around. ‘He’s told me you will inherit the farm when he’s gone, so you play your cards right and get on with him.’