‘Randall’s lying,’ Annie repeated. ‘No doubt about it.’
‘The question is,’ said Banks, ‘what do we do about it?’
‘For a start, guv,’ said Gerry. ‘I could do a full work-up on his background. Find out if there’s any dirt. You never know with doctors. They’re pretty good at closing ranks and keeping things quiet when it suits them, but if I could find a chink to get through...’
‘Do your best, Gerry.’
‘And let’s not forget Mia,’ Winsome added.
‘Ah, yes,’ Banks said. ‘The mysterious Mia. Can I have another look at that sketch, Annie?’
‘Sure.’ Annie fumbled in her briefcase and handed a sheet of stiff paper over to Banks. Ray had got together with Neela Mitchell and Colin Fairfax in the student coffee shop and had managed to turn out what they said was a fair likeness of Mia. The plan was to test it against Sarah Chen’s housemates — Fiona, Erik and Fatima — and then show it around the student areas of Leeds and Eastvale to try and locate Mia. Someone might remember her, even know where she lived. Although it would probably be a quicker route, Banks didn’t want her image all over the papers or on TV because that could scare her off, and she might well disappear into the shadows, if she hadn’t done so already. But she had no reason to do so at the moment, Banks thought, as she could have no idea they were trying to find her, or that they had linked her with both Adrienne and Sarah.
Despite Ray’s grumbling and complaining that the way things were going, his next big show would be called ‘The Collected Police Sketches of Raymond Cabbot’ and might not do his reputation a lot of good, he had turned out what appeared to be a finely detailed likeness. Now all that remained was to test it against reality.
‘We can talk to the girls’ friends again, too,’ suggested Gerry. ‘Adrienne’s and Sarah’s. See if any of them remember seeing or hearing of Anthony Randall.’
‘OK,’ said Banks. ‘It’s a good start. Try to find some dirt on the doc and track down Mia. Is there anything more we can do with that phone number next to Adrienne’s name Ken Blackstone found in Sarah’s room?’
Gerry shook her head. ‘I’ve been trying to chase it down on and off ever since we got it. There’s no mobile active with that number, so it’s history by now. Certainly turned off, perhaps minus its battery, and sim card most likely destroyed if it was incriminating in any way.’
‘I’m thinking that the way the slip of paper read, it was a contact number for Adrienne, but it wasn’t her everyday number, and we also know that Adrienne had left her regular mobile in her bedsit, and there was nothing of interest on it.’
‘That’s true,’ said Winsome.
‘So what does it mean?’
‘That Adrienne had a second mobile?’ Annie suggested. ‘A burner? Like you said at the meeting.’
‘I do hate that word, “burner”,’ said Banks. ‘It sounds so Americanised.’
Annie shrugged. ‘Sorry if it offends your linguistic sensibilities. I can’t think of another one.’
Banks gave her a look. ‘What’s wrong with pay-as-you-go? Or disposable? Throwaway?’ He picked up a prawn sandwich and took a bite. Sir Douglas Quintet had finished now, replaced by Count Five’s ‘Psychotic Reaction’. Banks noticed that Cyril had subtly turned the volume down. ‘Let’s say we’re right about the throwaway phone,’ he said. ‘Why would Adrienne need a different phone from the one she normally used?’
‘Secrecy?’ said Annie.
‘About what?’
‘We don’t know. You mentioned drugs before.’
‘What did you find out about the number, Gerry?’ Banks asked.
Gerry sipped her diet tonic and consulted her notes. ‘It was part of a batch of cheap pay-as-you-go mobiles — not smartphones, by the way, so no Internet capabilities or Wi-Fi, just phone and text — and I managed to discover that they were sent to Argos in Leeds. The city centre branch on The Headrow. I got a keen young employee there to track down a few more details for me, but the most I could find out was that it was sold on the ninth of October, along with nine others and as many five-quid top-up vouchers.’
‘Sold to?’
‘No idea, guv. It was a cash sale. But the same person bought the lot.’
‘Damn. Someone was being careful, then.’
‘It’s an unusual number of phones to buy, and not so long ago,’ said Gerry, ‘so I asked my Argos pal to ask around in the store and see if anyone remembered the customer. The person who made the transaction said she thought she remembered it was a woman, but they were so busy she couldn’t be certain. One of DCI Blackstone’s team showed her the pictures of Adrienne and Sarah, but she couldn’t be sure it was either of them.’
‘OK,’ said Banks. ‘Good work, Gerry. We have a date in early October and most likely a female purchaser, possibly Adrienne or Sarah, though our witness can’t say for certain.’
‘Sarah was the one who lived in Leeds,’ said Annie.
‘But why would Sarah Chen buy ten pay-as-you-go mobiles, including one for Adrienne Munro?’
‘Why would anybody?’ Annie said. ‘I’m just thinking out loud. Adrienne could have gone to Leeds and bought it for herself.’
‘But it’s one of ten phones bought at the same time, by the same person.’
Annie shrugged. ‘All we know is that there was a piece of paper in Sarah’s room with Adrienne’s name and a phone number on it that corresponds to one of ten bought, possibly by a woman, at the Leeds city centre Argos. Hardly conclusive evidence of anything.’
Banks turned to Gerry. ‘Do we have the numbers of the other phones bought from the same batch at the same time?’
‘Yes,’ said Gerry. ‘And I’ve checked. No activity on any of them. It’s a dead end.’
‘Double damn. Someone’s being bloody smart.’
‘Look at the timing in terms of what we have so far,’ said Winsome.
‘Go on,’ Banks urged her.
‘The phones were bought on the ninth of October. That’s just a couple of weeks or so after the university year began. It’s also around the time the mysterious Mia disappeared from the scene. HOLMES threw that up.’
‘Are you suggesting that Mia bought these phones?’ Banks said.
‘I’m only pointing out a correlation,’ said Winsome. ‘But it’s possible, isn’t it? If she was running some kind of drug courier or sex service. It’s the kind of thing they do. Let’s not forget that Hadfield left his phone at home when he disappeared. Maybe he had a second mobile, too? Maybe ten people did, and when the shit hit the fan somebody rounded them all up and got rid of them.’
‘My head’s spinning,’ said Banks. ‘I need another pint.’
‘My shout,’ said Annie, and headed for the bar. The place had filled up a bit, couples sitting close together, a group of tourists from the nearby B&B, the usual locals standing at the bar. Bob Lind sang about an ‘Elusive Butterfly’, and Banks thought he knew what the man was singing about.
‘Mind if I take the last one?’ said Winsome, referring to the sandwiches.
No one objected. Annie came back with the drinks. ‘Where were we?’ she asked.
‘Still searching for answers,’ Banks said.
‘Right. By the way, one thing I forgot to mention. It’s probably not important, but the solicitor who accompanied Randall, Brian Liversedge...’
‘What about him?’
‘He’s on Hadfield’s contact list, too.’
‘Hardly surprising, is it? It seems as if Laurence Hadfield knew all the local bigwigs and more. Doctors, lawyers...’