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  Tyler took a quick glance at his watch as Collins and Webb continued to interview Addlestone.

  He needed to arrange a briefing. In the last couple of hours, so many things had happened, and the team urgently needed an update.

  Chapter 53

  Tyler left DC Collins and DC Webb questioning Addlestone and called an emergency briefing for the rest of the team. He would fill Collins and Webb in after they had finished the interview, but right now, it was important the entire team were working from the latest information.

  Zelda Smith was still present, at Brookbank’s insistence, and she sat at the front of the room, goading Tyler with icy blue eyes. He personally had nothing against behavioural analysts, he just wished their answers weren’t so wishy-washy. They added a qualifier to everything they said so when someone was finally arrested for a crime, they could take the credit without taking the blame if they were wrong.

  Tyler didn’t think that was fair.

  He waited for everyone to take their seats around the large oval table. There were never enough seats for everyone in an investigation this size, and some of the officers and admin staff had to stand up again.

  Tyler pushed a stack of briefing notes into the centre of the table. He wasn’t a big fan of paperwork but believed in briefing notes. When there were a lot of facts to give out in a brief period of time, it was hard for the human brain to absorb them all.

  Whatever was said first at the briefing, would distract people from listening to the rest of the topics. Their minds naturally tried to break the initial information down and make sense of it, which means they missed other important points that were brought up afterwards. And in this investigation, they couldn’t afford to miss anything.

  After everyone had the single sheet of A4 paper with Tyler’s bullet points, he made a start.

  “As some of you already know, I discovered photographs of Kirsty Jones on Curtis Watson’s home computer. They were the same images we found on Terrence Addlestone’s MacBook last night. Curtis says, Addlestone threatened his family and emailed him the photographs. He told me he believes Addlestone took Ruby as a way of warning him to keep his mouth shut.

  “I’ve just come from the interview suite where DC Collins and DC Webb are questioning Addlestone. When he was confronted with what Curtis had told us, Addlestone insisted that he was set up by Curtis. It is not yet clear how this is related to Lila George’s and Ruby Watson’s abduction. It could be smoke and mirrors, and Addlestone could be responsible.”

  Zelda Smith raised her hand and smiled confidently at Tyler. He barely resisted rolling his eyes but nodded at her, giving her permission to talk.

  She turned, putting her back to him and facing the rest of the room. “From what I have read so far, our accumulated knowledge on the Watson family tells us Curtis is highly intelligent. It is possible he could have set Addlestone up, on the other hand, Addlestone does possess some characteristics of a classic manipulator. It is important for him to be in control and in a position of authority with children or young adults. Child abusers often take jobs to come into contact with children, and Addlestone has always taught teenagers.”

  Tyler thought that was ridiculous. Surely, the same could be said of most teachers. That didn’t mean they were all manipulative and a danger to society.

  Evie Charlesworth, who stood against the wall at the back of the room and spoke up, interrupting Zelda, “Sorry to cut in, but I have something important to share.”

  Tyler nodded at her. “Go ahead.”

  “Well, we have been looking into Terrence Addlestone’s background, trying to get an understanding of the man, and one thing we have been able to access is the emails on his computer. He has email receipts proving he has been making regular payments to somebody by PayPal. Not a company, a person. There is no name, though. They are only identified by an email address. If Addlestone has been set up, is it possible that Curtis is blackmailing him?”

  “Even if Addlestone wasn’t set up, it’s still possible Curtis decided to blackmail him rather than report him after finding the pictures of Kirsty Jones. How soon can we find out who Addlestone was paying?” Tyler asked.

  “It might take us a little while to access that information. We only have an email address. If we ask PayPal for information, it could take a while. But if we suspect Curtis, there is one way we could find out without waiting for warrants and approval.”

  Tyler nodded, interested to hear what she was going to say next.

  “We now have Curtis’ computer. I have spoken to the tech team and they confirmed Curtis has a mail application on his computer. We can get the address from that and see if it matches with the PayPal payments. I’m waiting for them to call me back.”

  Tyler nodded. He liked that idea. “Good work, Evie. We’ll look into that after the briefing.”

  Mackinnon slipped into the room, having just arrived back at the station after visiting the Georges.

  Tyler looked up. “Jack, anything to report?”

  Mackinnon nodded. “Lila George’s parents are extremely distressed after they received Lila’s bloodstained shirt. They think it’s some kind of punishment because they didn’t play the game. I also spoke to the woman I mentioned seeing the other day outside Drake House.

  She was talking to Claire Watson again, and when I caught up with her I found out she was actually Curtis’ grandmother. I only caught the tail end of what you were saying just now about the possibility of Curtis blackmailing Addlestone, but it turns out Curtis is encouraging his grandmother to blackmail his mother.”

  Mackinnon paused to let the news sink in, and there were lots of puzzled frowns around the briefing room.

  “So what the Watson’s told us about Curtis and Ruby not having any contact with their biological families wasn’t true?”

  “Claire has been paying Curtis’ grandmother to stay away from him, what she doesn’t know is Curtis has carried on seeing her behind his mother’s back, and it was his idea for his grandmother to demand money.” Mackinnon shrugged. “If he’s blackmailed someone once, it’s pretty likely he could again.”

  “This is clearly a demand for attention,” Zelda Smith spoke up. “Curtis is blackmailing his own mother because he doesn’t feel loved. That’s why he is reaching out to another family member. I agree with DS Mackinnon, he could be targeting Addlestone. Blackmail has worked for him once, so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility he would decide to do it again.”

  Mackinnon nodded slowly. “Only this time, maybe he has bitten off more than he can chew.”

  Tyler sighed. “Curtis did say Addlestone had threatened his family. It could be Addlestone’s motive for taking Ruby Watson and the reason we haven’t had a ransom demand.”

  The evidence was beginning to suggest Curtis had only been telling them half of the story.

  “Can we find out if Curtis put those photographs on Addlestone’s computer or whether it was the other way around?” Mackinnon asked.

  Evie, who had been in communication with the tech team, nodded. “We should be able to analyse when the files were created and modified on individual computers and get a rough idea that way. The thing is, Addlestone’s been deleting files on his computer, but there are techniques to find out what those files were because nothing is really ever scrubbed from the computer properly. He hadn’t been using specialised software. If he’d done this kind of thing before, surely he would know to smash the hard drive rather than try and delete the files.”

  Tyler pondered on that for a moment before summarising the remaining developments. The rest of the team gave their feedback and then Tyler brought the briefing to a close.

  Tyler felt they were getting closer, but he wanted definite answers. If they found out Addlestone had been blackmailed by Curtis, that would give him a strong motive for Ruby’s abduction.

  He raked a hand through his grey hair. Of course, it didn’t help them understand why Lila George was taken, too, or why the abductors had decided to
make it some kind of sick game. Perhaps that was Benny and Rob Morris’ influence, though? Addlestone wouldn’t have handled something like this himself, so it made sense he would have employed a couple of goons.

  Now, they had to try and find a link between the Morris brothers and Addlestone if they were going to prove this case against him.

  Chapter 54

  Mackinnon was at his desk writing a report about his conversation with Melinda Wainwright when Evie hurried into the incident room.

  Mackinnon looked up from his computer screen as Evie walked up to his desk, looking confident and pleased with herself. “It was Curtis’ email address. We don’t know what bank account the money has been going into yet, but Addlestone has been sending him money via PayPal.”

  Mackinnon leaned back and smiled at her. “Nice work. That is pretty strong evidence Curtis has been blackmailing him.”

  Evie nodded. “It is sad really. Curtis must be devastated that he’s put his own sister in danger.”

  Curtis didn’t act like a normal sixteen-year-old, and had behaved oddly every time Mackinnon had spoken to him, but surely even he realised that by blackmailing Addlestone his actions had inadvertently led to the kidnapping of his sister?

  Before Mackinnon could respond to Evie, Tyler strode back into the incident room.

  “Okay, listen up everyone. We’ve had an ID on a man who was acting suspiciously close to Bryant Lane Primary School. He was standing on the other side of the road, and it looked like he was recording the scene. We believe he could be involved in the abduction and possibly coercing the Georges and the Watsons into performing tasks. His name is Marlo Wainwright. He is a petty criminal, who served a short sentence for repeat shoplifting offences.

  Mackinnon had felt a jolt when Tyler mentioned the name Wainwright. Surely, that couldn’t be a coincidence.

  He interrupted Tyler, “Sir, Curtis’ grandmother’s name is Melinda Wainwright.”

  Tyler’s face changed in an instant. “What else do we know about the family?”

  “Not much yet. Her daughter, Curtis’s mother, died of a drug overdose a few years ago. I don’t know whether she has any relatives called Marlo.”

  Tyler nodded. “Well, we had better find out. Get in touch with her ASAP.”

  Mackinnon reached for the phone on his desk and searched through his mobile for Melinda Wainwright’s number. He prayed she’d given him a genuine telephone number.

  Feeling the eyes of everyone in the incident room on him, Mackinnon felt relieved when the call connected and he heard a ringing tone.

  A husky woman’s voice answered the phone. The television was on in the background.

  “Mrs Wainwright?”

  “Yes, that’s right. If you’re selling something, I’m not interested.”

  Tyler nodded to indicate he wanted Mackinnon to put her on speakerphone, and he did by pressing the green button on the phone panel.

  “It’s DS Mackinnon. I spoke to you earlier today, and you were kind enough to answer some of my questions.”

  She chuckled. “Now, don’t tell me, you’re making a follow-up phone call to ask me out on a date.”

  Mackinnon knew he would be in for plenty of ribbing about that one later. He ignored the smirks and pressed on.

  “I wanted to ask if you have someone in your family called Marlo?”

  Melinda Wainwright was quiet for a moment, and her voice was guarded when she next spoke. “My grandson is called Marlo. He is my eldest daughter’s boy, Curtis’ cousin.”

  Tyler gave a broad grin.

  “Marlo Wainwright. He kept his mother’s name not his father’s?”

  Melinda gave a throaty chuckle. “No chance of that. She had no idea who the father was.”

  “Has Curtis met Marlo?”

  “Yes, they’ve met a couple of times. I had a barbecue at my place a couple of months ago, and they were both there.”

  “Do you know where I can find Marlo?”

  This time there was no hesitation before Melinda snapped, “And why should I tell you? The poor lad has had enough trouble with the police. He is trying to make a fresh start.”

  “I am sure he is, Mrs Wainwright.”

  Mackinnon glanced up and looked straight at Tyler. He didn’t want to give too much away. If he mentioned the fact that Marlo could be involved in Ruby’s abduction, his grandmother could warn him and that would hamper the investigation. Before Mackinnon could decide how much to reveal, Melinda Wainwright spoke again.

  “To be perfectly honest, love, I have no idea where he is. He’s a bit of a black sheep. Deep down, I don’t think he’s a bad lad, but he is always disappearing off somewhere on the back of one of his big ideas. He’ll return eventually with his tail between his legs when his current scheme has fallen through. He always does.”

  After Mackinnon thanked Melinda Wainwright and hung up, Tyler came and sat on the edge of Mackinnon’s desk. “Well, that was unexpected. If Marlo is involved in the abduction, why would he target Curtis’ sister? Is he jealous of Curtis, do you think?”

  “They are cousins,” Mackinnon said. “They share the same DNA, and yet, Curtis has huge advantages in life over Marlo. Jealousy is a definite possibility.”

  Zelda Smith walked over to Mackinnon’s desk and looked directly at Tyler. “I should go and talk to Curtis. I think he’s a deeply unhappy young man, and he might be able to tell us where we can find Marlo.”

  “I am not sure that’s a good idea,” Tyler said. “We could bring him in, but before we do that, we need to have a much better idea about what’s going on here. Does this mean Addlestone is in the clear? Is Curtis involved, or is his cousin doing this for some kind of envy-motivated revenge?”

  “I can’t do my job properly if I can’t speak to the people involved in this case,” Zelda said sharply. “Looking through your interview notes just doesn’t cut it.”

  Tyler narrowed his eyes and glared at Zelda. “Maybe we could bring him in after we discuss an interview strategy, but I’m not screwing up the investigation so you can put the kid on a therapist’s couch.”

  Zelda’s eyes widened, and she looked indignant. “I think it would be much better if I talked to Curtis in his own home. He will feel far more confident there, and I should be able to get him to open up. From what I know of his personality, Curtis is feeling isolated. He doesn’t feel like part of his new family but he also doesn’t belong to his old family, and I think he’s struggling with that.”

  Eventually, Tyler sighed and agreed. “Okay, you can go to Drake House and talk to Curtis. I’ll ask his parents’ permission, and I’ll come with you.”

  Zelda tossed her blonde hair and gave a satisfied smile. “When shall we go?”

  “We can go as soon as Collins and Webb have finished questioning Addlestone.”

  Zelda walked away, looking like the cat who’d got the cream, and Tyler rolled his eyes at Mackinnon before heading out to give Brookbank another update.

  Mackinnon picked up the phone and dialled Charlotte’s number. She needed an update because she’d been at the hospital waiting for Benny to wake up and answer some questions.

  She was going to be shocked by the latest news to say the least.

  Chapter 55

  Benny Morris had been put in a private room to recover after his operation as the medical team were worried he could be violent when he woke up, and for the past thirty minutes, Charlotte had been walking up and down the corridor outside Benny’s room, trying to burn off some nervous energy as she thought over the questions she needed to put to him.

  She’d been running on empty for the past few hours. A Snickers bar from the vending machine washed down with two cups of coffee had given her a desperately needed boost. Now, she was buzzing from the sugar and caffeine.

  The doctor who’d just been in to see Benny said he was still groggy, but Charlotte would be able to go in and talk to him soon. Despite their initial concerns, Benny had not been violent. That was the good news. The b
ad news was that Benny hadn’t uttered a word since he’d come round from the anaesthetic.

  “Is there any medical reason he isn’t talking?” Charlotte asked.

  Dr Marina Patel shook her head as she looped her stethoscope around her neck. “No, I think it’s down to the fact he’s just been through a very traumatic experience. Waking up in hospital must be disorientating.”

  Charlotte nodded. That made sense. She could only hope that Benny would trust her enough to open up. Would he be willing to talk? The fact that he had been stabbed suggested that all was not well between the abductors and she might be able to use that as leverage to get Benny to talk.

  The doctor rushed off to attend another patient, and a few minutes later, a nurse stuck her head out of Benny’s room and told Charlotte she could come in and talk to the patient.

  Charlotte walked forward quickly but shot a quick glance at Constable Doyle who was still sitting beside the door. He was a comforting presence.

  She’d seen the CCTV evidence and knew Benny was a big guy, but seeing him in person was something else. He looked too big for the hospital bed. He wasn’t fat, though. He was just big all over. His hands were easily twice the size of Charlotte’s, and even his face was huge.

  As soon as she stepped into the room, his big eyes locked on hers, but his face remained impassive. She didn’t say a word until she’d approached the side of his bed and pulled up a chair to sit down.

  “Benny, I am Detective Constable Charlotte Brown of the City of London police. I have some questions for you.”

  Benny said nothing but he kept his gaze fixed on Charlotte’s face.

  Charlotte continued, “You were brought into hospital this morning with a stab wound, Benny. Can you tell me who did that to you?”

  Again, Benny didn’t answer, but this time a flicker of emotion passed over his face.

  “Two young women, Lila George and Ruby Watson, have been abducted, Benny. Do you know anything about that?”