‘So you never met anyone she was friendly with?’
‘No.’
‘Did you ever see anyone in a white Range Rover?’
Dora nodded. ‘I never saw the driver, seein’ as the windows was blacked out, but I saw that car a few times, waiting down below. Carly Ann never went out when it was there. I think it might have been a pimp, or someone she’d known. I even said to her that if she wanted me to call the police on him, I would — but she wouldn’t let me. Then it just stopped coming round, so we never contacted the cops.’
‘Did she ever mention to you her killer, Idris Krasiniqe?’
‘No.’
Anna stood up. ‘May I see her things, please?’
Dora nodded, and plodded in her flip-flops to the door. ‘It won’t take a minute. I got them all in a suitcase.’
Anna followed Dora along the narrow hallway, Mike just behind her. The box room was very small, with just a single bed and a narrow wardrobe.
‘Like I said, it wasn’t much I could offer her, but she loved this room; said it was her home.’ Dora picked up a cheap brocade suitcase. ‘This was hers, and I just put everything in it. Well, I got my friend to, as I was too upset, but there’s all her things in here. I also got Esther to list everything, so if you take it away, I know what’s in it.’
Anna smiled. ‘I won’t need to take it, Dora, but I would like to look through it, if you don’t mind.’
‘You go ahead.’
Anna opened the suitcase and started to sift through the neatly folded clothes. Some were cheap market purchases, but others surprised her: they were designer labels. She took out her notebook and began to list everything, including the sexy underwear. The case had a musty, musky smell, perhaps from her old perfume. There was a pink satin bag filled with toiletries, and a square carved box. Anna eased off the lid, and started looking at the jumble of necklaces, rings and bracelets. Like her clothes, some were cheap baubles, but then Anna picked up the heavy gold necklace. It was eighteen carat and weighed a lot; there was a matching bracelet and two diamond rings. There was also a clatter of gold bangles, all heavy African gold.
‘What you got?’ Mike Lewis leaned on the doorframe.
‘There’s a lot of very good jewellery here, solid gold and two big diamonds; I’d say this was worth about ten, fifteen grand.’
He whistled. ‘If she was just a cheap tart hooked on heroin, she had to have some heavy clients; all this is worth money.’
‘Like Dora said, she was a beauty. Maybe she walked away from being a good earner for her pimp? You know what these creeps are like.’
As Anna put the clothes back into the case, she felt around the edges for anything she’d not seen, and patted the lining. There were no handbags or purses, or any sign of anything like letters or address books.
Mike and Anna rejoined Dora, who had made fresh coffee, even though they didn’t want it.
‘No handbag or letters?’ Anna queried.
‘No, that’s what she came with. I don’t even know where she was living before, but I think wherever it was, she got out fast — you know, did a runner.’
‘Maybe from a pimp?’
‘Maybe. She wouldn’t tell me, said she was ashamed of her past life. I dunno, only sixteen and with a past life; makes me sad.’
‘She has some very valuable jewellery.’
Dora looked up, surprised.
‘There are gold bangles and necklaces, diamond rings.’
Dora shook her head. ‘Maybe that’s what they were after.’
Anna leaned forwards, suddenly alert. ‘What was that?’
‘I was broken into just after she died; they made a mess of the place, but nothing was taken. All her things was packed and locked in the case — I had it under my bed. My next-door neighbour disturbed them and called the cops. They’d gone by the time they got here.’
‘Did you also speak to the police?’
‘Yes, ma’am, I did, an’ I also give them the registration number of the car, just in case the guy came back.’
‘I’m sorry, which car?’
‘That white one; the one you asked me about before — the Range Rover. I took his number-plate down when he was hovering around Carly Ann.’
Anna glanced at Mike Lewis, then back to Dora.
‘I think we just got lucky,’ she murmured.
Chapter Fourteen
Anna was just entering the incident room back at the Hampshire station to type up her report, when she stopped. Harry Blunt was in full throttle.
‘I don’t effing believe it! How come you get just a bloody limb of a guy and, within weeks, you got an ID and a suspect banged up? We’ve been running around like blue-arsed flies, trying to track down this bloke Sickert plus his two kids, and we’ve got sweet FA!’
Frank Brandon was sitting with his back to Anna, perched on a desk. ‘Well, you can call it exceptional, dedicated policework, pal.’
‘Hello Frank,’ Anna said.
He turned and grinned. ‘Eh, how you doing? I was just telling Harry here we got lucky; seems your team are a bit out on a limb.’ He laughed.
‘Well, we did get a break today,’ she said, crossing to her desk. ‘So, what brings you out here?’
‘Joining your team, of course. From what I’ve gathered, you need all the help you can get.’
Across the room, Harry raised his eyebrow at Anna. ‘What’s the break you’ve got?’
Anna told him they had a registration number for the white Range Rover seen at the site of the murder of Carly Ann; Mike Lewis was running it through the DVLA computers to discover the owner/driver. Starting to type up her report, she asked where Langton was.
‘Gone down the East End to see some voodoo doctor; Grace is with him.’ Harry came and leaned over the back of her chair. ‘What else did you get this morning?’
‘Well, for one, Carly Ann was a stunner; she was clean, off heroin, off the game and living with a community carer called Dora. The white Range Rover seen at the murder site was often parked by her flats; Dora said she thought the driver might have been Carly Ann’s pimp.’ Anna stopped typing. ‘She also had some very good quality jewellery. If it was her pimp, he was paying well, or keeping her in bling.’
‘Did this Dora know anything about who Carly Ann was working for?’
‘No, she never discussed it. My feelings are, whoever was pimping for her would not have wanted her to quit. With her looks, she must have been a gold mine.’
‘You reckon the guy in the Range Rover was her pimp?’
‘If he was, he was also watching them try to hack her head off.’
At that moment, Mike Lewis walked in and flung his hands up in the air. ‘Okay, we got the registered owner of the Range Rover; he lives in Kensington. I spoke to his wife — they sold it a year ago.’ He sat glumly on the edge of Anna’s desk. ‘The geezer bought it for cash; looks like he gave a fake name and address.’
‘Any description of the buyer?’
Lewis took out his notebook. ‘Tall, black guy, well dressed in a suit, spoke good English, appeared very charming, et cetera, et cetera. Because he paid cash, they did a deal on the price.’
‘Well, we’ve got the licence plates so we can put that out — see if we get anything.’
‘Already done.’
Harry ruffled his hair. ‘Not the usual vehicle wheeled around by pimps, is it? Too noticeable. I mean, white Range Rover, black tinted windows.’
‘By the amount of gear Carly Ann had, I’d say he was a bit more than a cheap pimp.’
‘If she worked for him, maybe he didn’t like the fact she was getting cleaned up?’