Broken Silence (16 page)

She looked up at him, surprising Brady with the dark malice in her eyes.

‘Jack? Come on, she’s had enough,’ Kate said, intervening.

Brady resisted the urge to shake her by her spoilt, selfish shoulders and wake her up to the cold, grim, brutal reality of what had happened to her alleged best friend.

‘Evie? You must know something? For Chrissakes! You were her best friend!’

‘Mum, make him stop! Please, make him stop!’ cried Evie as she melodramatically dropped her phone and pressed her hands over her ears.

Brady watched powerless as she successfully played her mother off against him.

‘Get out! Get out of my house now!’ shouted Kate as she stood up. ‘I mean it, Jack! Fucking get out!’

Brady immediately felt guilty as he looked at Evie as she now sat sobbing uncontrollably. This was Jimmy Matthews’ daughter after all. Not only that, she was just a kid who had found out that her best friend had been brutally murdered. Why the hell was he giving her such a hard time?

Brady cradled his head in his hands as he waited in Kate’s kitchen. It was fair to say it had gone worse than expected. Evie had fallen apart when she heard the news. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But he had perilously pushed and pushed until she broke down.

He sighed heavily as he went over what he had managed to painfully extract; which wasn’t much. Needless to say he’d have to come back and take another statement once she’d gotten over the shock. That was, if Kate would allow him back.

At least he knew that the victim was with Evie until around
ten. Then she left and walked back to West Monkseaton. Somewhere along that route Matthews must have stopped and given her a lift. After that, it was anyone’s guess.

Brady lit a cigarette.

Matthews had dumped him in deep shit. There was no way he could tell anyone that Matthews had picked up Sophie. For starters, Brady didn’t know the full story and secondly, Matthews going to ground made him look too damned suspicious; even in Brady’s books.

‘You bugger, Jimmy,’ Brady said under his breath.

He looked up as Kate walked back into the kitchen.

Brady had never seen her look so worried.

‘How is she?’ he asked in a hoarse voice.

‘She’s much calmer. No thanks to you,’ Kate replied abruptly.

He nodded, ashamed of how he had behaved.

‘I’m sorry.’

Kate didn’t reply.

Brady couldn’t help but notice that she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

‘Look, if I could have done it any other way I would have done. But you know the job, I had to ask her those questions …’ Brady attempted, before giving up.

It was pointless, Kate wasn’t listening.

He drew the cigarette up to his lips and inhaled deeply as he mulled over what little he knew about the hours leading up to the victim’s death.

Evie had been evasive about how she and Sophie had spent the night. She was certainly clear on what time Sophie had left, but that was about it. When Brady had pushed Evie about where she and Sophie would go out to at night, she had reluctantly mentioned Whitley Bay Park. When
asked if that’s where they’d gone last night, she had clammed up, refusing to answer any more questions.

‘Are you sure that Evie should be going down to Whitley Bay Park at night?’ Brady asked, breaking the silence. It had been plaguing him from the moment Evie had first let it slip. He knew the scum who hung around down there and Evie definitely didn’t fit in.

Whitley Bay Park was part of Mayor Macmillan’s regeneration programme for the rundown, shabby seaside resort. Built on one of the few green areas in Whitley Bay, it sat next to the local, sixties library and opposite The Avenue; a nineteenth-century dilapidated, boarded-up pub now left to rot. The park was sold to the council taxpayers at a staggering price of £350,000.

What the council failed to acknowledge was the nightmare it would cause for the police and the residents living opposite. During the day it fulfilled its function but at night it was a magnet for lowlifes who would travel from miles around. Word spread fast and kids aged from eight up to seventeen gathered there in the dark, shouting profanities, smoking, drinking cheap booze and getting high on whatever cocktail of drugs was available. The finale was either fighting or shagging whoever was off their face enough to be up for it.

Kate slowly turned to face him. ‘Kids go to parks, Jack, where else are they meant to go? Maybe if you’d had some of your own you would have found that out!’

It was a cheap shot and she knew it. They both knew it was one of the reasons his relationship with Claudia had broken down. The other was down to him briefly forgetting he was still married.

Brady didn’t reply.

He would check the park out for himself later. There was always the chance that some of the kids hanging around there could tell him something about last night; something that Evie couldn’t bring herself to share. Not with her mother sat listening to every word.

‘I’m sorry, Kate. I should go,’ Brady said.

She nodded. He wanted her to say something. He didn’t know what, but anything was better than ending it this way.

As he stood up he suddenly remembered the photo he had of Sophie.

‘What do you make of this?’ Brady asked, handing her the photograph that he had taken from Sophie’s bedroom.

She couldn’t disguise her surprise at the image of Sophie with her hand seductively pulling the twenty-something male’s face towards her own. But Brady noted that she composed herself quickly.

‘Look, Jack, I don’t know what you expect me to say.’

Brady shrugged his shoulders.

‘You tell me?’ he replied.

‘This … this is just …’ Kate stopped and looked up at Brady shaking her head. ‘They’re still just silly girls, Jack. What don’t you get?’

‘That’s precisely it. I don’t get it,’ answered Brady.

‘I honestly don’t know what you’re trying to make out here. Someone killed her! She didn’t go looking for it, so all those goddamn questions you asked Evie were inappropriate!’

Brady kept quiet.

The last person he was judging was the victim. All he was trying to understand was her background and what she did outside school. It was simple criminology to know the victim’s history and then you can start to put together
a profile of her murderer. There was something about Sophie Washington, something that made someone want to kill her with more fury and hatred than Brady had ever seen in his entire life as a copper.

‘Just look at the photo,’ Brady persisted.

‘Christ, Jack, why the hell are you so cynical all the time?’

‘Do you know who the bloke is?’ Brady asked, ignoring Kate’s jibe.

‘He’s their form tutor,’ Kate replied shaking her head at Brady’s expression. ‘Like I said, it’s innocent.’

‘He looks too bloody young to be a teacher,’ Brady replied. ‘Are you sure?’

Kate gave him a withering look.

‘I’m certain. This was probably taken on the school trip to the Black Forest a couple of months back. He was one of the teachers who organised the trip. Evie couldn’t make it because she was ill at the time. She was absolutely gutted. Like most of the girls in her class she had a huge crush on Mr Ellison.’

Brady gave her a quizzical look.

‘I’m her mother, Jack. You know these things. It’s not rocket science; teenage hormones coupled with a young, handsome teacher like Mr Ellison, what do you think?’

Kate looked back at the photograph.

‘When Sophie went without her she was beside herself. She hated me for not letting her go. Wouldn’t talk to me for the whole week she was supposed to be away. It wasn’t until Sophie got back that she started to calm down …’ Kate faltered.

‘Thanks,’ muttered Brady as he took the photo back. He knew there was no point in mentioning the other photographs on the victim’s notice board. Not now. He had to
let Kate absorb what he’d told her and then later, when they were both feeling calmer, he’d come back and take another statement from Evie.

‘Do you know the dates of the German trip?’ Brady asked.

‘Not off the top of my head but I can look them up for you,’ answered Kate.

‘That would be good. The sooner the better.’

Kate distractedly nodded.

‘Jack?’ Kate asked as he started to leave.

He turned back.

‘I don’t know what you think you’re trying to prove,’ she said.

‘I’m just trying to get to the truth, that’s all,’ Brady answered in a heavy voice before heading towards the front door.

Brady walked back to Conrad’s car. He couldn’t help but notice that a dark silver BMW saloon was parked opposite the house. It didn’t take much to recognise the passenger; he was easily discernible in daylight. He was six feet four and as wide as he was tall. Unfortunately it was all flexed muscle; glistening, powerful. Gibbs was one of Madley’s henchmen. He covered as a bouncer at Madley’s nightclub in Whitley Bay, but that was for pocket money; his day job paid the rent. Brady hadn’t seen the driver before, a scrawny, dark-haired guy with a sneer for a face.

Brady got in and sighed wearily. His leg was playing up. He rummaged through his inside jacket pocket for some painkillers. His hand nudged against the set of house keys he’d discreetly lifted from Matthews’ kitchen worktop. Matthews had left him no choice. Brady had to come back later to see if he had left any trace of where he’d gone.

He found the bottle and threw two tablets into his mouth and swallowed.

‘Matthews’ kid reckons that Sophie left here at ten last night and walked home. So, we need to widen our door to door enquiries to include the surrounding areas of
Wellfield as well as Earsdon. And, we definitely need to find out who was in The Beacon pub last night. For all we know, someone either leaving or entering the pub saw her as she walked past.’

‘Right, sir,’ Conrad answered as he concentrated on pulling out onto the main street.

Brady thought about organising a filmed reconstruction of the victim walking home from Earsdon village to jolt the public’s memory. But what really worried him was Matthews’ part in this. If someone had witnessed Matthews picking the victim up then it wasn’t only Matthews who would be finished, it would be Brady too.

‘Talked to Jenkins,’ Conrad stated.

‘Did she find out from her classmates whether Sophie had a boyfriend?’ Brady asked, hoping for anything to take the heat off Matthews.

‘Seemingly, Sophie had a reputation for being a party girl. There were some rumours about an older boyfriend, but no one could substantiate it. And as for ex-boyfriends, they only knew about her last boyfriend who was some kid named Shane McGuire. But, aside from that, she was exactly as her parents described, a straight-A student who was well-liked by everyone,’ answered Conrad.

‘Not everyone,’ Brady replied in a low voice.

He looked at Gibbs and his companion as Conrad pulled past the idling Beamer.

‘We’ve got company,’ Brady stated.

Conrad looked in the rearview mirror. His jaw tightened.

Brady was aware that this was all the evidence Conrad needed to know that Matthews was in deep shit. Presumably, he mused, Madley’s men were dumb enough to think that they would lead them straight to Matthews.

‘Bloody idiots,’ Brady muttered. But then again, that was why they had the day job they had with Madley.

Brady sighed as he rested his head back and closed his eyes. Worried didn’t even come close; not any more. If Gibbs had been sent to find Matthews, then Brady knew that Madley was past talking. Gibbs had once been a heavyweight boxer; successful in his time. Brady remembered when he used to do the boxing circuits throughout the North East. Since retiring from the ring, Madley had decided to keep him as a pet; a fierce, snarling, slathering Rottweiler at that, all bite and no bark.

Brady needed to find Matthews first. It was Matthews’ only hope of coming out of this in one piece. Gibbs didn’t talk and he certainly didn’t let his opponent.

Brady pulled out his mobile and rang the station.

‘Charlie? I want you to pass some information on to Rutherford for me. Yeah … yeah … I know he hates my guts. I know… yeah. Tell me something I don’t know!’

Brady laughed as he listened to Turner’s response. Rutherford was a traffic cop who had it in for Brady and would wait at certain junctions to catch Brady out. He knew Brady liked a drink and was adamant that one day he’d get him. There was no loyalty between Traffic and CID; at least not where Rutherford was concerned.

‘Well, this will get him going … Tell the tight-arsed bugger that there’s a dark silver BMW saloon, registration …’

‘Y469 FGP,’ put in Conrad.

He repeated the registration details to Turner and added a few embellishments for good measure.

Brady rested his head back against the headrest and smiled. ‘That’ll keep Gibbs busy for an hour or so. You know Rutherford’s a tight-arsed git when he wants to be.
Let’s see how Gibbs and his mate explain speeding in a stolen car.’

‘Shall I put my foot down, sir?’ Conrad asked.

‘Does the Pope shit in the woods?’ Brady answered.

He started dialling.

‘Kate? It’s me.’

‘Now’s not a good time, Jack,’ she answered coolly.

‘Look, throw whatever you need in a bag and leave.’

‘You can’t be serious?’ answered Kate, incredulously.

‘Kate, I wouldn’t be telling you if I wasn’t serious.’

‘Tell me Jimmy’s not behind this?’

Brady sighed wearily.

‘He is, isn’t he? What the hell has he got himself involved in now?’

‘I don’t know the details. Just trust me. Leave. Go to your mother’s in Morpeth and wait there until everything’s calmed down here.’

Kate sighed.

‘I can’t go there,’ she quietly replied. ‘Whatever trouble Jimmy’s in I’ll deal with it here.’

‘Why can’t you go to Evelyn’s?’ Brady asked.

‘I just can’t. She’s sick of hearing me complain about Jimmy. This would be the last straw if she knew he’d just disappeared and left us to deal with whatever crap he’s got himself involved in. Believe me, Jack, I don’t want my family hearing about this. I … I don’t know what I’m going to do yet about Jimmy but I do know I don’t want Evelyn having another tirade at me about marrying him.’