Silent Scream (52 page)

It looked as if something had been spilled over a section of the page and been wiped away, as there was an odd discolouration over the paper. The next entry was in a different pen, a thicker one, but it was still recognisably Amanda’s childish scrawl.

There was a scribbled section as if the pen was running out and then a thick blob of ink. The paper was oddly creased as if it had been folded.

Anna frowned. Something didn’t add up. If Jeannie Bale had been telling the truth, how could Amanda have written up her diary if she had left it in the flat in Maida Vale after her meeting with Josh Lyons? That meeting had taken place several days earlier, and yet there she was, writing in the diary the night before she was murdered.

The last page of the diary was blank. It appeared that Amanda wrote up her diary in the mornings and evenings. Would she have taken it with her to the film unit? Not only had she left her mobile phone on the set and the stand-in had found it, but according to Jeannie Bale, she had also lost her BlackBerry. Jeannie said she had found it in the flat after Amanda’s meeting with Josh Lyons. It had to mean that Jeannie was still lying to them. Was it possible that she had gone to Amanda’s house and taken the diary, along with the BlackBerry? If this was correct, Jeannie Bale would now have to be a suspect in the murder.

Anna knew she should go straight to the station, but instead she drove across Tower Bridge and through the West End. It took her over half an hour before she turned onto the Edgware Road towards Maida Vale. She parked a short distance from the flat and walked down the basement steps. The front door had been prised open: the temporary locks fitted by the landlord were broken and a padlock was hanging loose. Anna was able to push open the front door with ease, and she edged cautiously into the dark, dank hall. The single low-wattage light bulb in the hall gave a yellowish hue and she could hear dragging sounds, then a dull banging and the next moment Jeannie Bale walked into the hallway, pulling a large suitcase behind her.

‘Jeannie,’ Anna said softly and the girl whipped round in shock. ‘We need to talk.’

‘I got every right to be here, I’m just clearing out my things.’

‘I’m sure you don’t have the right, as the landlord has—’ Anna was interrupted.

‘He’s talking a load of shit. We paid rent for this stink-hole for years, and if I wanted, I could stay on as a sitting tenant. All I’m doing is taking what’s mine and then I’m getting out for good.’

Anna moved closer as Jeannie dragged the heavy case further into the hall, swearing because the strap was broken. She was holding a thick wide leather belt with a brass buckle, which she was clearly intending to strap round the case.

‘When did you take Amanda’s diary?’

Jeannie straightened and pushed her thick blonde hair from her face. She began to wind the strap around her hand.

‘I never. She left it here, I told you. Felicity found it in Dan’s room.’

‘Yes, you said, after she had the meeting with the publisher.’

‘Right. Happened like I said.’

‘So when did you take it back to her, and then get your hands on it again?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

Anna edged still closer. ‘Jeannie, you had better tell me the truth, because we have the diary now, and we’ve read it.’

Jeannie stared at Anna, tossing her head.

‘You see, Amanda had to have got it back because she’d written in it. In fact, she’d continued to write it up until the day before she was murdered.’

‘What?’

‘So you lied. If you’d had it in your possession since the meeting with her publisher, then that was several days before her death. You see my problem?’

‘No.’

‘You took it, didn’t you?’

‘No, I fucking didn’t.’

‘Then who did?’

‘Listen, you’ve got no right to come in here and start having a go at me. I was released and I’ve done nothing wrong.’

‘Just answer the question,’ Anna said calmly, ‘because you could now be implicated in her murder. This is very serious, Jeannie, and you had better level with me because I am beginning to lose patience with you.’

‘You really scare me,’ the girl sneered.

‘Don’t push your luck. Start talking, Jeannie.’

The heavy suitcase was between them, as Jeannie took a step backwards, her face twisted with anger.

‘I am sick to fucking death of hearing that bitch’s name. She stole my part – I was told I’d have got it, if it wasn’t for her. It would have been
me
with a diary worth a fortune, it would have been
me
starring in one movie after another. All I needed was a break and she took it from me – she took everything from me. And it wasn’t just me – look what she did to Dan! He worshipped the ground she walked on, and all she did was feed him drugs and make him dependent on her like a wretched dog. But he wouldn’t listen. She’d fuck his brains out and then dump him over and over again. She’d come here with her wads of money and dole it out to us, give us her cast-off clothes as compensation for robbing me of my chance. I hated her guts,
I fucking hated her . . .’

The rage on Jeannie’s face made her look freakish, with her long blonde hair flying and the spit forming at the corners of her mouth. She stepped over the case and, with the strap curled around her fist, lunged forwards. The edge of the buckle caught Anna on the side of her face, and the next moment Jeannie was on top of her, screaming and punching.

Using all her strength and training, Anna rolled sideways and grabbed a fistful of Jeannie’s hair. She brought the girl’s head down hard on the edge of the suitcase, and sat astride her, gripping her wrists.

‘I am arresting you…’

Jeannie spat at her, and this time Anna released her right hand to grip Jeannie’s face and bang her head down hard, once, twice. She then flipped her onto her stomach and hauled her arm behind her back, almost snapping her thumb out of joint. Jeannie howled in agony as Anna slowly got to her feet, still gripping the girl’s arm and, yanking it even higher behind her back, forced her to stand with her face pressed against the wall. She grabbed the leather belt and tied it around Jeannie’s arms, then pushed her into a kneeling position. Bleeding heavily from the gash to her forehead, Anna fumbled for her mobile phone and rang through to the incident room for back-up.

Then she cautioned the sobbing girl and, trying to stem the flow of blood down her face, made Jeannie sit down in the hallway to wait.

Langton could hardly contain his anger.

‘Just let me get this straight,’ he let rip at Barolli. ‘Are you telling me that Travis, without any back-up or discussion with the team, made an arrest? What the fuck has she come up with?’

‘I dunno all the facts, sir, just that she is bringing Jeannie Bale in and needed officers’ assistance, and that whatever she’s uncovered regarding this girl has to have connections to Lester James and the murder. That’s all I know. The surveillance were pulled off from the flat two nights ago. She wants us to hold off Lester James’s interrogation.’

‘Well, let’s use the time and see if we have completed the simplest task of unlocking our victim’s BlackBerry . . . Have we?’

Barolli looked sheepish. ‘Not yet. The tech support team are still working on it.’

‘What about tracing the other computer?’

‘No luck, but we’re still making enquiries.’

‘And the weapon?’

‘We have officers going over to the dojo used by Lester James, but we haven’t found any trace of it yet.’

Langton gave a brusque nod of his head, trying to contain his mounting fury.

‘As soon as DI Travis makes an appearance, let me know.’

Lester James knew by now that he was being held on suspicion of murder. The waiting unnerved him and he couldn’t keep still. Another hour passed, and he began slowly pacing up and down the cell like a caged animal. He banged on his cell door. A uniformed officer opened the flap and peered in.

‘How long do I have to wait in here?’

‘As long as it takes, pal. You’re talking now, are you?’

‘Fuck off’

The flap was slammed shut. Lester cracked his knuckles, sat on the bed, got up, and began walking up and down again.

Anna looked dreadful. She had a deep cut to her forehead and her hair was caked in dried blood. Some of it had run down to her collar and stained her shirt-front. Her face was chalk-white, and around the abrasion a dark reddish bruise was beginning to form. Only in the safety of her own car, did she really react to Jeannie’s attack. Although she had insisted she was perfectly fit to drive, she had to pull over. It took a while for her to calm down enough to continue the drive back to the station without shaking.

Langton stared at Anna as she walked into Mike’s office. He pinched her chin with his fingers, tilting her head up.

‘What happened?’

‘I arrested Jeannie Bale and she didn’t like it.’

He released his hold and gestured for her to sit down.

‘She’s not the only one. What in Christ’s name were you doing, going to see her alone?’

‘I was on my way into the station, and I just wanted to make sure she was still around.’

‘On your way in?’ Langton growled. ‘You think I’m stupid? That was some fucking circuitous route. Why didn’t you call for back-up straight away if you thought she was involved?’ He threw his arms up in a gesture of amazement. ‘Get to the reason we also have Jeannie Bale in the cells. You suspect her of Amanda Delany’s murder?’

‘It’s the diary, sir.’ She started to explain.

When she had finished, Langton stood up and went to perch on the corner of Mike’s desk.

‘Right now, I don’t have the time to lecture you about unprofessional conduct. What you have unearthed does put a very different slant on things. Maybe Lester James didn’t act alone. You think they could be in it together?’

‘I don’t know, but the diary had to have been returned to Amanda and she continued to write it up until the night before she was murdered. That would mean it was taken from her house on the night of her murder, perhaps along with her BlackBerry. Up till now, we’ve been assuming that it was missing several days prior to her death.’

Langton did a slow intake of breath, saying, ‘So Jeannie could have been at Amanda’s house on the night she was murdered and took the diary, along with the other missing items. Either that or she was with Lester James, and they killed her together – that is to say, if we still have James in the frame for the murder.’

Langton stared at the ground, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

‘We’ve still not found the murder weapon, nor unlocked her fucking BlackBerry, nor traced the missing computer.’

‘Jeannie said that Dan Hutchins sold her computer. Whoever he sold it to must have access to her Black-Berry back-up system.’

‘Did she know who he sold it to?’

‘No. Apparently he sold it because he needed money for drugs. If these drugs were supplied by Lester James, then maybe
he
has the computer.’

Langton looked at Mike, who said straight away that they had not found one in his flat. By now they had accessed his private bank account but there was no evidence of any large cash sums that could have come from drug dealing. Only his wages from unit driving on various projects had been paid into his current account and any withdrawals covered his mortgage and personal items such as clothing and groceries. He had five thousand pounds in a savings account and eight hundred in his current account.

Langton gave a low tuneless whistle, and then straightened up and looked at the time.

‘Right. Who do we go for first – Miss Lyin’ Through Her Teeth Bale or our very own Bruce Lee?’

Anna opted for Jeannie. Half the time she didn’t know if the girl was telling the truth, but now she had been arrested, she might be scared enough to give them some evidence they could use against Lester.

Langton looked at Anna. Her face was still white and the bruise to her forehead and cheek had taken on a purple hue.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Mike and I’ll take Jeannie,’ Langton decided. ‘She might be less co-operative, seeing you again, and we can also use the attack as further reason for holding her in the cells and piling on the charges. Come on, let’s get the ball rolling.’

By the time Anna had cleaned herself up and joined Barolli in the viewing room, Langton and Mike had been questioning Jeannie for half an hour. Jeannie looked in as bad shape as Anna had done, and she was agitated.