It was then Anik’s turn to confirm that they had allocated a surveillance team to monitor Middleton, and see whether or not he would access the bunker. This had proved difficult as it was hard to see any movement on the basement level from the road, so the surveillance team had asked the landlady, Mrs Delaney, if they could use one of the front rooms above the basement yard, to enable them to look down onto it. Surveillance had reported that there had been no movement during the night, but they were continuing to observe.
Sara then took over from Anik to talk about the missing girls, also summarising the results of their meetings with the firefighter and the probation officer, and the visit to Joyce Miller and her husband Harold.
At last, it was Jack’s turn to stand up. He suggested that everyone read the printouts regarding the contents of Middleton’s computer, as well as the details of the calls from Amanda Dunn’s mobile phone. He told them about the bracelet Amanda had given him, claiming she had found it in Middleton’s bed, and that they had verified it had belonged to Trudie.
‘I think we need to be wary of Amanda. She may well be involved in drawing in other runaways, even if she claims she was locked in a bedroom when other girls were there. We need to consider that Rodney has groomed her over the years she has lived with him, and I think she is very much under his control.’
The printed material was passed around the boardroom table as Jack continued.
‘I do not think we should arrest Rodney Middleton prematurely, certainly not before we get access to the coal hole. I’m hoping that, at the moment, he believes we don’t have any incriminating evidence so he may think he’s in the clear, so long as the surveillance team haven’t tipped him off. Mrs Delaney is not to be trusted and she might well have told our suspect that he’s being monitored. But if he thinks he’s being watched, it means he can’t remove anything from the bunker, which could work in our favour.’
DCI Clarke raised his hand. ‘I have given the green light for us to begin the search in an hour’s time. I am concerned about the safety of Amanda Dunn, but I am prepared to go with DS Warr’s delaying tactic since we have a surveillance team in place. Right, we are open to questions but let’s keep it short as I want to move on this as fast as possible.’
A young detective raised his hand. ‘Sergeant Warr, if you believe that Middleton is a killer, what evidence do we have, apart from the fact that the girls are missing?’
‘Well, no direct evidence. But there’s a new shower unit, gallons of bleach, and he’s locked up his girlfriend for hours, sometimes days at crucial times. I’m certain we’ll find the clues inside that bunker. It’s possible that he dismembers his victims, and puts the parts in the refuse containers in the courtyard of the basement. His landlady told me that they were sometimes very heavy, and she often needed her husband to help carry them to the pavement to be collected.’
The meeting continued for another half hour as questions were asked and answered. DCI Clarke then called for everyone to begin their assignments. He turned to Jack as he was about to get up and walk out along with everyone else.
‘One second, Jack. I received a warning shot over the bows before the meeting. I took a very curt phone call from Georgina Bamford, the barrister you met in court. She complained about harassment of Middleton, who she’s representing while Colin Marshall is off sick. Middleton said he was being targeted by officers searching his flat because he had been granted bail.’
‘That’s bullshit!’ Jack burst out. ‘She can’t have any idea why we were searching his flat and it has nothing to do with his bail. I even left a copy of the search warrant.’
‘Yes, I know that,’ Clarke said, making a placating gesture, ‘but we need to be careful. Let’s just hope we get a result today.’
Chapter Fourteen
Jack felt frustrated at not being present during the search of the bunker, but it made sense to leave it to the professional teams. He began to sift through the paperwork relating to Middleton’s two recent arrests, feeling that they did not quite make sense. Middleton had not attempted a robbery or asked for money in either case. The shopkeepers knew him, as he was a regular customer, and he had not hidden the fact that he was carrying a weapon — a stiletto knife on the first occasion and a carving knife on the second. And in both cases, there were other customers in the shop, all of whom gave similar statements. They described how Middleton had suddenly become very aggressive for no reason and had just lunged at the shop owner, shouting. The first victim was Indian and the second was Greek.
Jack matched the assault dates to around the time he estimated two of the missing girls were at Middleton’s flat, first Jamail, and then possibly Trudie.
Jack was standing by the crime board looking at the photographs of the missing girls when Leon joined him with a sheet of typed paper.
‘I think I just traced your Sandra Raynor. I could be wrong, but I’ve spent hours cross-referencing and going through all the records, you know births and marriages, etc.’
Jack nodded impatiently.
‘I found literally hundreds of them, aged between thirty and sixty, but they came up blank as they didn’t fit the description, and in some cases had remarried or emigrated. That’s when Sara suggested going through the deceased. I had already done some checks, but I went back to earlier dates.’
‘For Christ’s sake, Leon, get to the point.’
‘OK, I’ve got a Sandra Raynor, aged six years, buried in Brighton in 1961. Both parents deceased in 1975. The grave isn’t tended to and is very overgrown. I checked on the parents, a Norma and William Raynor, who both died of natural causes. If someone wanted to use a false name, the child is a perfect example as no relative is going to come forward and no passport was ever issued in the little girl’s name or to either parent.’
Jack frowned. It was possible, but at the same time it didn’t really help him discover who she really was. Leon hovered.
‘Is she a missing person to do with the Middleton investigation?’ Leon asked.
‘No, I thought she might be, but too old. Forget it, but thanks anyway; we’ll need everyone on this case, so ignore the Sandra Raynor request as it’s a bit of a time-waster.’ He took the sheet of typed notes, folded it and put it into his pocket.
Jack went over to Sara’s desk and asked her to see if she could check the exact dates Jamail and Trudie had been reported missing. He returned to his desk and took out the single sheet Leon had given him. The little girl was buried in Brighton and Preston Cemetery. Perhaps it might be a lead after all. Maybe the dead woman came from that area, and perhaps she had been seen in or around the cemetery. Jack would do some more checking at home as the search team at the basement flat were calling in, and he wanted to go and see for himself whatever they had uncovered. He also wanted to drop by the corner shop where Middleton had assaulted the owner.
The shop was only two streets away from the basement flat. It sold everything you could think of and also did newspaper delivery. The shelves were crammed with toilet paper, tins, bread, soft drinks and cleaning products, and behind a grille was alcohol and tobacco. A large freezer was filled with frozen meals, and there were racks of confectionery and crisps at the counter. An attractive girl, who looked about fifteen, was serving. She had dark eyes and thick, dark silky hair.