Frozen Grave (Willis/Carter #3)(71)
Willis stared at the screen. Scott’s face loomed into the camera as she pressed the end call button and logged out. She could see he was still logged on to Skype after he’d ended the call with her. She wondered if he’d be doing the rounds of friends now. He was lonely, just out of a relationship, he said. He hadn’t really had anything to say to her. He’d just wanted some contact with the outside world. Willis didn’t really get that. Everything she wanted was inside the room. She didn’t want contact outside it.
Harding put the bag of takeaway containers into the bin and opened another bottle of wine as she settled down to surf the sites. She sat at her kitchen table but didn’t open her laptop. She knew there was something she had to do, something she’d put off. She phoned Carter. He’d just got into bed beside Cabrina when his phone rattled on the bedside cabinet. He slipped out of bed to take it.
‘Dr Harding?’
‘Sorry – I know it’s late but there is something else I need to tell you about Lorraine Chance. Are you having any luck with tracing the lorry drivers?’
‘No, not so far.’ Carter slipped out of the bedroom, wearing just his boxers. Cabrina sighed as she watched him go. He walked quickly down the stairs so as not to wake Archie. Once inside the kitchen, he closed the door.
‘What’s on your mind?’
‘My car.’
‘The damage, you mean?’
‘Yes. It happened the same night as she was killed.’
‘Okay. That’s unfortunate. But is it connected?’ Carter was beginning to think that Harding was drinking and dialling.’
‘It happened in the adjacent car park to the lorry park. I was going to meet someone there. He didn’t show up, or I’ll never know if he did or not – the minute I circled the car park I saw a light come on in a lorry’s cab and I thought that perhaps my date had made some other arrangement . . . I thought – as we were meeting for a dogging liaison – it was just possible that the lorry driver was going to watch. But, I was just about to make my way towards the lorries when the car was surrounded by youths in hoodies. They just started attacking it – well, you saw the damage.’
‘Substantial. You should have told me sooner. They tried to get in the car by the look of it.’
‘Yes, sorry, that was their intention. I don’t know what they would have done then but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have gone my way.’
‘Who was the person you were meeting?’
‘He sent me a text message. He said he’d contacted me before. He had my number so I thought he must have, even though I didn’t have any previous messages from him. But he seemed to know what I wanted so I thought, “okay . . .”’
‘You have no idea where you met him before?’
‘None. It could have been in a bar – it could have been on a dating site.’
‘Have you messaged him at all since that evening?’
‘No. I was debating what to do.’
‘He didn’t give you a name?’
‘No, I’m sending you the message he sent me. You can see for yourself.’
Whilst he waited for it to come through, Carter went to get his laptop from the sitting room. He fired it up and got into the file on Olivia Grantham.
The message came through from Harding:
I’ll be waiting.
Carter scrolled down until he found what he was looking for – it was the last message Olivia ever received.
I’ll be waiting.
‘It’s our guy, Doctor; it’s the same man who set Olivia Grantham up, I’m sure of it. What do you remember about the people in the car park who trashed your car?’
‘Just a bunch of youths.’
‘You didn’t notice any distinctive dress – gang insignia? Any bandannas?’
‘I didn’t look that closely at what they were wearing, I was trying to stop them dragging me out of the car.’
‘Anyone you’d recognize again?’
‘One face pressed against the window – mixed race, Middle Eastern-looking – Kurdish – that area of the world. He had a dog. The dog was being held back. Having seen what it did to Olivia’s body, I’m feeling grateful now.’
‘Where is your car now, Doctor?’
‘It’s waiting at the Audi garage for a new roof to come from Germany. It’s due in the workshop tomorrow.’
‘Call them first thing and cancel, please, and I’ll alert Sandford and get him to look at the car. You really should have mentioned this before. Tomorrow, we’ll need to see if we can persuade the Dogger to answer a new message from you. Until then, Doctor, can I please suggest you don’t meet anyone else for now. We’ve just come back from looking at the body of another of Ellerman’s women from the list. Please be vigilant and please stay safe. I’ll see you in the morning.’
As she was going to bed, Harding got a text:
I’m still waiting.
Chapter 39
DC Zoe Blackman parked up in the Faith and Light hostel car park and checked her watch – she had ten minutes to wait till ten o’clock, when her mum, Diane, was due to finish her shift. Zoe’s boys were staying with friends tonight and she didn’t want Diane to have to get a taxi or a bus home from an area she didn’t know well, even though she’d said she’d be fine. Zoe was going to surprise her and take her home. She was just about to get out of the car and go in when she saw Simon Smith. She sat back in the shadows and watched him cross the car park, then she saw him stop and look back . . . Mahmet Balik walked up behind him, leading his dog on a chain. Blackman stayed where she was. She looked at Smith and wondered how he would handle it. She couldn’t hear the conversation. She was trying to work out how she was going to disarm Balik and not get mauled by the dog. She was also praying that Diane would not walk out just at that moment. Zoe watched and waited. Simon seemed to be in control. The dog stayed where it was and Balik’s arm gesturing didn’t seem to bother it. It stayed calm. Simon was nodding. Zoe watched as he took something out of his pocket and handed it across to Balik. Zoe didn’t dare breathe or move. Then the hostel door opened and her mum, Lyndsey and Sheila walked out, chatting.