‘Put a pair of these on. We need to itemise everything on the table. Anik, have you sorted out what’s in all the small boxes yet?’
‘Sorry, no, I got side-tracked by the letters. You can do that, Sara.’
Jack left quickly, finding their competitiveness irritating. Nevertheless, he was pleased that Clarke had requested his presence and he was keen to get to the flat. He ran out to the squad car, which was waiting with the engine running.
Clarke was sitting in the front. ‘Let’s hope we get a result, Jack. There’s nothing confirmed from the tests on the tools that were taken, and the lab is now checking out the contents of the two drums they removed. There’s oil in one and it appears the entire house had an oil central heating system which was changed seven years ago, but there was a waste section containing the stuff used in fertilisers. Superphosphate of lime is non-flammable but phosphorous sulphur when heated can produce toxic gases.’
Jack nodded. ‘We’ve found a lot of interesting material amongst Middleton’s personal belongings, including photographs and letters.’ Jack was about to continue when the DCI’s phone rang. He listened to the caller before checking his watch to say they would be there in fifteen minutes, and then said that he had it with him so was ready for any eventuality. Clarke ended the call and turned to Jack.
‘I’ve decided to arrest Middleton on suspicion of murder and abduction, but we need to be prepared for that bloody woman Georgina Bamford to stick her oar in. The surveillance team are still on standby, but as yet Middleton has made no move to leave the property. He had a delivery of hamburgers and chips last night.’
Jack said nothing but his heartbeat quickened as they approached the turning leading to the flat. They got out of the squad car and crossed over to the large van parked outside, to put on protective suits and shoe covers.
Uniformed officers had cordoned off the street and were standing by to direct traffic towards a diversion, due to the discovery of possible toxic fumes. Clarke and Jack moved down the basement steps as two suited forensic officers were removing their lamps from the coal hole and placing them in the courtyard area outside the basement flat’s front door.
Jack and DCI Clarke stood to one side as the large luminol pump was prepared to spray the now empty interior of the coal hole. Jack had never seen anything like it, as usually they just used a small handheld spray. There was a faint hissing sound as the forensic scientist moved around the dank coal hole and then began to slowly back out to join them. He had sprayed all the walls, the ceiling and the concrete floor and now handed the pump back to his assistant. He then picked up a high- powered torch and went back in, followed by Jack and DCI Clarke. The luminol would take a few minutes to take effect, so they got everything ready to photograph the glow when it appeared.
‘Oh my God,’ Clarke exclaimed in a shocked voice.
Florescent green marks covered the walls, ceiling and floor. There were splatters, drag marks and handprints, as well as dense pools over the concrete floor. No explanation was needed: the horror of what must have occurred there was obvious.
They were all so focused on the scene that surrounded them that the sudden sound of Beethoven being played at ear-splitting volume was startling. The music stopped as suddenly as it had begun as the basement door opened. Rodney Middleton stood there smiling. A uniformed officer had been positioned at the door and stepped to one side.
‘I suppose you want to arrest me? I’ve been waiting.’ He seemed to be enjoying the moment.
DCI Clarke gestured to the two uniformed officers to come down to the basement courtyard. He cautioned Middleton and explained that he was being arrested on suspicion of murder and abduction. Middleton didn’t seem to be paying much attention. He turned to Jack and calmly said, ‘Can you go in and see Amanda? She’s very upset.’ Clarke nodded to Jack as Middleton was handcuffed and led up the stone steps to the street level.
Jack was badly shaken, and took a breath before going into the flat. He stood in the hallway and he called out for Amanda, but there was no answer and he suddenly felt afraid at what he might find. He called out again, more loudly, then pushed open the main bedroom door. The room was strewn with takeaway cartons, littering the bed and the floor. Most of the containers looked half-eaten and there were also empty bottles of Coke.
Jack hurried down the hallway, pushed open the bathroom door, then opened the door to the back room where he had last seen her. Amanda was sitting propped up on the bed, wearing a set of headphones connected to her phone. He quickly went to her side.
‘Amanda...’ He gently removed the headphones, and she instinctively shrank back. He could tell by her eyes that she was high. He pulled the duvet away. She was fully dressed, wearing the same pink bed socks.
Jack called for an ambulance before gently easing Amanda out of bed and walking her to the open front door. He walked her up and down the courtyard, trying to keep her awake and asking her what she had taken. She was completely incoherent and it was a huge relief when the two paramedics arrived to take over.
Jack stayed with Amanda until the ambulance left to take her to the nearest hospital. A young female officer accompanied her, and Jack called the station to ask Sara to meet them at the hospital and to keep him updated about Amanda’s condition. She was a key witness, and they would need to take further statements from her at some point.
Rodney Middleton was placed in one of the station’s cells. As DCI Clarke had anticipated, he soon received a belligerent call from Georgina Bamford declaring that her client was being harassed and demanding to see him, though she instantly calmed down when it was explained that her client was being questioned about at least three murders and that she would be allowed to speak to him at the appropriate time.
‘You know perfectly well, DCI Clarke, that I have every right to talk to my client before you interview him,’ she said, regaining some of her poise.
‘Obviously and, as I said, that will be permitted, but not at the present time,’ Clarke insisted firmly.
Jack was relieved that Middleton was finally in a police cell. He also knew that the hard work of building the evidence against Middleton to convict him was only just beginning. The most urgent task was to identify the victims they believed had been murdered in the coal hole. It would be a marathon task, but the forensic team were busy collecting blood samples to be tested for DNA. Tests on a wire brush, a saw and the contents of the rubbish bins also came up positive for blood stains. The subsequent search of the basement flat after Rodney’s arrest had also revealed matted human hair in the drains, from the plugs in the bathroom sink and shower, and the missing girls’ families had been contacted, asking for any personal items that might contain DNA for matching.
In all there were now fifteen officers who would be working 24/7, all assigned to different groups by DCI Clarke. Rodney Middleton had lived in the basement flat for five years, so efforts were being concentrated on the missing girls who were known to have been staying with him during that time, but Jack couldn’t help wondering how many more victims there could be.
Jack eventually returned home after 10 p.m., having called Penny earlier to let her know that he would be late and would have dinner at the station. DCI Clarke’s schedule had been divided up and Jack had agreed to take his fair share of day and night duties. There were officers who would be travelling to the homes of the missing girls in order to obtain as much information and evidence as possible to enable identification. Family liaison officers had to approach the families ahead of the officers’ arrival, and the detailed co-ordination of all this was very time-consuming.
The forensic teams were working round the clock to process the vast number of items that had been brought in for testing, while another team were still at the basement flat, taking up floorboards and carpets and removing the entire shower unit and bath pipes in order to look for further evidence.