Dark Spaces (38 page)

‘By rights I should call Social Services,’ he says and takes out his mobile.

Gem feels like a nest of rats has been disturbed in her gut. Tyler can’t go into care. It would break Mum’s heart. And Gem’s as well. They’ll never get him back. Not after everything that’s happened.

She won’t let him make the call.

The air around her turns white and her ears ring as she jumps to her feet, throws herself at him and knocks the phone out of his hand. It arcs through the air towards Feyza. Big Fat Fucker stretches for it, misses and grabs a handful of Feyza’s hair instead. It comes away in his fingers and he lets out a yell as he drops it to the floor.

Feyza screams and her hands fly to her head, now as bald as one of the Slaughter brothers. ‘I fucking kill you,’ she shrieks at Gem.

Big Fat Fucker looks at the wig lying on the carpet like a dead cat, then at Feyza. Then he looks at Gem. ‘You’re all finished,’ he says.

Too late he notices that Gem isn’t finished with him. When he sees her arm pulling back and the punch coming, it’s already connected with his nose, making a proper ugly crunch as the bone breaks. Blood everywhere.

Wooohooo.

Chapter Fourteen

To: Head of Social Services

From: Patricia Lyons, Children’s Guardian

Subject: Phoebe Talbot

Further to the meeting on 3 October 2009, I must reiterate my grave reservations about not passing on the information of her sister’s whereabouts to Phoebe.

Keeping this from her will, I believe, only serve to exacerbate her feelings of abandonment and isolation. Her mental health is already very fragile and I am of the opinion that this step may prove to be one too far.

I wish for my opposition to be noted formally on Phoebe’s file.

Lilly parked outside the station. A swift recce of the car park told her Jack wasn’t around so she marched into reception and asked to speak to someone from MCU.

‘Officer McNally isn’t here,’ said the teen, who appeared to have entirely forgotten their last encounter.

‘I know,’ said Lilly. ‘Anyone will do.’

His hand hovered over the phone, clearly unsure what to do. Lilly didn’t have the patience for this, not now with her temperature soaring and her mind in free fall.

‘Get anyone in the team.’ She tried to keep her voice at a reasonable level. ‘I really do not care who it is.’

When the lad’s eyes still wavered, she slammed her hands on the counter. ‘Just start at A and work through the list.’

He nodded and began to dial. Sometimes it paid to be unreasonable.

Finally, she was buzzed through to the custody suite where a DI Hammond was bringing in another prisoner. Apparently, he could spare Lilly a few seconds. That was fine by Lilly. All she wanted to do was pass on the information about Foley and Staines and get the hell out of there.

Once in the custody area things weren’t so straightforward. Someone, who she assumed was DI Hammond, was chasing a young girl around the benches. The scene was almost comic in that the DI was at least seventeen stone and hardly nimble and the girl was wearing only knickers, bra, suspenders and stockings.

‘Just sit down,’ DI Hammond begged, his belly rolling from left to right under his shirt.

‘Are you his mate?’ the girl screamed. ‘You lot are all his mates, aren’t you?’

‘Whose mate?’ DI Hammond asked.

‘Bill.’ She pointed at the DI. ‘And Big Fat Fucker and all the rest of them. Do they work here then, do they?’

The girl caught a glimpse of Lilly and darted behind her, holding Lilly in front of her for defence. Lilly could smell sweat and crack. And fear.

‘Hold on a minute,’ she told DI Hammond. ‘Let’s all just calm down here.’

The girl behind her was crying now, huge sobs from under her diaphragm.

Lilly took off her jacket and put it around the girl’s shoulders.

‘I wouldn’t do that, miss,’ said DI Hammond. ‘We picked her up in a brothel.’

Lilly flashed him a look. ‘And that means you can treat her as if she isn’t human, does it? She’s clearly underage and she’s clearly very frightened, so can I suggest you stop looking at her as if she’s something the cat dragged in and call a doctor.’

By now the girl had sunk to the floor, weeping and pulling her hair.

Lilly crouched next to her. ‘Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?’

The girl looked up at Lilly, with eyes so sad and lost, it made Lilly shudder.

‘Gem,’ the girl whispered.

‘I’m Lilly. Do you think you can come and sit on the bench?’ Lilly smiled. ‘I don’t know how much longer an old woman like me can stay in this position.’

‘You ain’t old,’ Gem said.

Lilly helped the girl to her feet. ‘That’s a matter for discussion.’

She led Gem to the bench where DI Hammond was waiting with a blanket from one of the cells. Lilly grabbed it and put it over the girl’s thin legs.

‘They’ve taken my brother,’ said Gem. ‘They’ve taken Tyler.’

‘She had a little boy with her,’ DI Hammond told Lilly.

She nodded as if it were an everyday occurrence that a child would be forced to work as a prostitute and take her younger brother with her. The fact was this was perfectly normal for kids like Gem. They had no choice.

‘Where’s your mum, Gem?’ Lilly asked. ‘Where can we find her?’

Tears welled in Gem’s eyes once again and she let out a sound so desperate it was obscene. ‘Please help us.’ She clutched Lilly’s arm. ‘Please help us.’

The ex’s cottage is all rather twee with gingham curtains and herbs growing in pots. I can hardly believe Jack lived here. He must have hated it.

My mobile vibrates in my pocket but I don’t answer. It will be him. We’ve had our first fight, you see. After we bumped into that dreadful woman in John Lewis, the one with the ridiculous name and the baby so ugly I almost gagged, he told me I shouldn’t have interfered. Then when Lilly came round to the flat, screeching like a banshee in labour, he was even more angry. He said I had ‘made matters worse’.

Bless him.

Of course, I pretended to be hurt. I even managed a few tears.

He’s calling to apologize, but I’m going to let him stew just a fraction longer.

Jack needs to understand that nothing else matters now. Just him and me and Alice. We have to finish what we started and can’t be sidetracked by a few bumps in the road.

I move a pair of wellington boots from the step with my foot. They’re garish yellow with lime green spots. What grown woman chooses something so revolting?

I plaster on a smile and ring the bell.

A man answers. ‘Can I help you?’

He’s well spoken and needs a decent haircut. This is going to be a breeze.

‘WPC Knight.’ I hold up my warrant card. ‘May I come in?’

Lilly’s new client was being seen by the FME. She almost laughed out loud at the situation. Only she could pick up a new case on a routine trip to pass on a message.

Still, what was the point of this job if she couldn’t help a kid like Gem? If she’d learned anything in recent times, it was that when a vulnerable child asked for help, she should give it.

While she waited, she began flicking through Lydia’s documents, hoping to find something that would help Chloe. After the news clipping of the Talbots’ arrest there was a pre-sentence report on the mother, then a psychological assessment of the auntie. As Lilly read, a story began to emerge. The Talbot children had been routinely and systematically abused, but sadly their torture didn’t end with their removal from their parents. Damaged and angry, they ricocheted around care homes and foster placements, moved on and separated from the only thing that had sustained them: each other.

Phoebe Talbot, in particular, seemed to have been broken by this treatment, spiralling into self-destruction.

As fascinating and heartbreaking as all this was, it did beg an obvious question: why did Lydia Morton-Daley have these papers? What did it have to do with her?

Lilly ploughed on. Perhaps Lydia would be mentioned later.

When she reached an application by Gigi Talbot for contact with her younger sisters, she stopped short. There was no mention of Lydia but another familiar name caught her eye. In support of her application, Gigi had attached a report by a Dr Piper. Was that a coincidence? Could there be two Dr Pipers?

Lilly pulled out her mobile to call Harry, but she was distracted by the FME coming out of his room with Gem.

‘How is she?’ Lilly asked.

‘I’d say she’s suffering with stress and exhaustion. She needs rest and recuperation.’

‘I know a good place,’ said Lilly. ‘If you can make the calls, doc, I’ll drop her there myself.’

‘Hold on a minute.’ DI Hammond lumbered over. ‘There’s the small matter of an assault charge.’

‘Do you really think the victim’s going to give a statement?’ Lilly asked. ‘A customer in a brothel?’

‘You never know,’ said DI Hammond.

‘I suspect he might be reluctant when he finds out she’s fifteen,’ said Lilly.

‘What with him being a copper an’ all,’ said Gem.

DI Hammond sighed and his shoulders drooped.

‘Bail her to the Grove,’ said Lilly. ‘We’ll come back next week for a review.’

Lilly ushered Gem towards the entrance of the Grove. DI Hammond had rustled up a paper suit for her, but the temperature had dropped dramatically. Minus six and counting, according to the gauge on the dashboard. A fresh flurry of snow whipped round them.

‘Don’t worry, it’s like a sauna inside,’ she told Gem.

Despite the cold, Gem lagged behind, shivering into the wind.

Lilly took her hand. ‘It’ll be fine.’

‘I’m not a nutcase,’ said Gem.

‘Of course you’re not, sweetheart,’ said Lilly.

Applying gentle pressure, Lilly pulled Gem inside and introduced her to the nurse on reception. While Gem was being processed, Lilly’s phone rang. It was Jack so she ignored it. Wasn’t it enough that he had accused her of being a bad mother and was threatening to take Alice from her? Did he have to argue with her about Chloe’s case too? He must know now that Foley and Staines had done a bunk. He should be spending his time finding them, not harassing Lilly.

A bleep indicated a text. He was persistent if nothing else.

To: Lilly Valentine

From: Jack McNally

Results of DNA tests do not match either suspect.

Lilly stared in disbelief. No match? There had to be a mistake.

She swallowed her pride and her anger and called Jack. ‘Are you absolutely sure?’ she asked.

‘Yes. If you want, you can check with Cheney,’ he replied.

‘I don’t understand it. It has to be them.’

‘It isn’t,’ said Jack. ‘And no one else had access to Chloe’s room.’

‘No one except Harry.’

‘Harry wasn’t on the list.’

‘Well, no,’ said Lilly. ‘I just assumed you’d test him anyway to exclude him.’

‘Why would I do that, Lilly?’ Jack asked. ‘His name wasn’t on the list and he certainly didn’t volunteer when I was at the Grove taking samples.’

‘Perhaps he didn’t realize he needed to,’ said Lilly.

‘Or perhaps he didn’t want to give a sample.’

‘Oh come on, Jack, I know you don’t like him but you don’t think it was him, do you?’

‘I don’t know what to think, Lilly,’ he said. ‘I just know that he is the only other person who knew the code to Chloe’s room.’ He hung up.

The floor zoomed up towards Lilly and she had to put out her hand to steady herself.

‘Are you okay, Lilly?’ Gem asked.

‘It’s this cold,’ said Lilly. ‘It’s making me light-headed.’

‘Sit down here.’ The nurse proffered her chair.

Lilly sat down and put her head between her knees. It couldn’t be Harry. It just couldn’t be. He was devoted to Chloe and his other patients. He was a man of integrity and honour. Wasn’t he?

‘I need some air,’ she said and rushed from reception.

The night outside was bitter, but Lilly didn’t care. At least she could breathe, let her mind clear. She leaned against David’s car, her hands burning on the frigid metal, and pictured Harry. The way he wore coloured scarves that matched his eyes. The way he smiled at her. The way he made her feel.

This had to be a mistake. Someone else had got into Chloe’s room. Maybe Foley or Staines had given the code to another member of staff. That would explain why they had run away. All Harry need do was take the DNA test. That would prove he had nothing to do with it.

She was starting to feel better, when she saw the padded envelope on the back seat. It niggled her. Why had Lydia kept these papers? Why was Harry’s name in there?

She opened the car door, reached inside and leafed through the file in the snow. Lydia’s name didn’t appear. Nor Harry after his brief mention. Perhaps it was just a coincidence?