Woman in Black (8 page)

She held her hand out for him to shake. ‘Are you Charlie?’

‘Yes. Detective Daniel?’

The two shook hands and Jessica asked if she could take the swab. He had no objections and she passed the sample to an officer who would arrange for it to be taken across the city to the laboratories to be tested. Because Jessica had known a day ago they would be getting the saliva, she had already spoken to one of the scientists to tell them to expect it. With the first hand having already been tested, the person assured her it wouldn’t take very long for Charlie’s DNA to be compared to it.

Charlie was standing around looking a little lost and Jessica felt bad about bringing him in for something that had taken just a few moments. As with Vicky Barnes, she figured she could at least get as much information as possible from him to go with the missing persons file. Even if it turned out the first hand didn’t belong to the man’s brother, at least she would have done something.

Jessica invited him through to her office. With Louise seeming to be constantly out of the station, it seemed as good a place as any. Jessica wheeled the absent sergeant’s chair around to the other side of her desk, offering it to her guest, before moving a few stacks of paper from her table so they could see each other. ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’ she asked. ‘It’s only from the machine and tastes a bit like washing-up liquid but I’ll go get you one.’

‘Were you a salesperson before you took this job?’ Charlie replied, smiling.

Jessica grinned back. ‘Yeah but I only sold coffee.’

‘I think I’ll be all right, it’s too warm for a hot drink anyway.’

She fully agreed but could never hear anyone saying that without thinking of her mother claiming a hot drink was the best thing to rehydrate you on a warm day. It sounded suspiciously made up but she had never bothered to look into it to know for sure.

Jessica rarely took notes herself nowadays, which was something that came with seniority. She hunted through the drawers of her desk to find a notepad and a pen and, for the first time in a while, started to write.

‘I’ve read the report about your brother’s disappearance but I was hoping you could tell me a bit more about it. ‘When exactly did he go missing?’

Charlie shrugged slightly. ‘I’m not sure. Obviously I’ve been living down south and he’s been up here. We’ve only been back talking regularly recently and even then not more than once or twice a week. It was only when I’d not been able to reach him for a couple of weeks that I contacted you.’

‘Why have you only recently been back in regular contact?’

Jessica thought she saw Charlie shiver a little but it was likely because of the air-conditioning unit buzzing away over his head and the fact he was dressed for a summer’s day.

The man sighed, looking at the floor. ‘We had a big falling out and didn’t speak for something like five years. He got in contact a few months ago and it was only after that we started talking again. Things were going well and it’s partly why I was moving back here.’

Jessica could see he was looking a little upset but trying not to show it. ‘What did you fall out about?’ She knew the answer was likely one of two things – a woman or money.

Charlie hesitated for a moment before replying. ‘Our mother died when we were young but our dad passed away five years back. He raised Ed and me on his own. I’m the oldest by eighteen months and I guess I thought what he left would be shared out between us. Back then I had been working around the country but Ed had been looking after Dad as he was getting ill. It turned out Dad left the house and pretty much everything else to him. Ed said he’d earned things by being a full-time carer while I had gone off to pursue a career. There was this big row not long after the funeral and that was it – I went to London while he stayed here.’

Jessica had heard similar stories many times before. There was nothing quite like a will to get families falling out.

‘Is it just you two?’

‘Yes, we don’t have any other family. I suppose it’s why the disappearance is so hard to take. We had just made things up after all this time and then he’s gone.’

Jessica could see he was looking a little emotional. ‘Is all of this why you were moving back?’

Charlie nodded. ‘Sort of. I was looking for a new job anyway. I work in publishing but wasn’t enjoying it any more. It was more going through the motions and getting paid each month. Ed was an artist and the one with real talent. He phoned my office out of the blue three or four months ago. I didn’t know how he got my number at first but he said he had looked me up on the Internet and found my name on the company’s website.’

‘Did you actually meet or just talk on the phone?’

‘We met once. He came down to see me and gave me a key for the house, saying I was welcome any time. Eventually, with that and the fact I was after a new job anyway, I decided to move back. Ed lived in our house – Dad’s house – ever since he passed away. He told me he wanted to sign half of it over to me and that I could come and live with him. I didn’t know if I wanted it to be a permanent thing. The place is massive out Alderley Edge way but I think I’ve got a taste for city centres after living in London.’

Jessica knew the type of houses he was talking about. The area was just across the Cheshire border on the south of the city with many properties belonging to famous footballers and other celebrities. Even the smaller houses were enormous and, given the money involved, she could see why one brother had been so aggrieved at being written out of the will.

‘What did your father do?’ she asked.

Charlie knew what she was getting at. ‘Oh, the house? We weren’t rich or anything, it’s complicated. Our mum died because of a medical mistake and our dad got a large payout; that’s why he had a house in that area. Apart from the gardens, I don’t think he ever really liked it. He was more hands-on and worked as a gas-fitter before that. With all that money he took up gardening and that was pretty much his only pleasure. I think the money just depressed him. Given the choice between that and Mum, he would have picked her every time.’

Jessica could see a picture of a very complicated family life emerging. She picked up the missing persons file that was still on her desk and read the address out. ‘Is that where you’re going to be living now?’

Charlie rubbed the stubble on his chin as he nodded. ‘I guess. It’s not as if I have anywhere else to go. I was only renting down south and the furniture was all theirs. I had a few bits to sell off but everything I arrived with this morning is all I have.’

Jessica felt an idea forming. ‘Did your brother ever sign the other half of the house over to you?’

‘No, he was going to do it when I moved back. I don’t know what’s going to happen now.’

Jessica had a reasonable inkling. It would probably take a while to go through the legal hoops considering Ed was missing, not confirmed dead, but the house would eventually become Charlie’s in its entirety. Given the earlier rivalry between them, she wondered if the wounds hadn’t entirely healed – people had killed for less in the past. If the test result on the first hand didn’t come back as a match, it might be worth looking into the circumstances regarding Ed’s disappearance and any possible connection to his brother. If Charlie’s swab did show the first hand belonged to his brother though, it could give them a lead, albeit one with many unanswered questions.

There had been a brief pause in the conversation and Charlie spoke next. ‘Can you tell me what you needed a sample for? Do you think he’s…?’

He didn’t finish the sentence but Jessica didn’t jump in too quickly, watching him closely to see if there was any reaction she wouldn’t expect. Charlie looked a little upset. His eyes were slightly red and he had his arms crossed tightly. Jessica figured she was going to end up telling him one way or the other within the next few days, so informed him about the hand they had found. She left out the woman in black – if he wanted to check the news, he could find that out for himself.

‘So you think the hand could be Ed’s?’ Charlie asked.

‘We don’t know. Your sample will help us find out one way or the other.’

‘Why do you think it might be his?’

Jessica didn’t give the full details but said someone he previously went to college with had also been missing and it was a shot in the dark. Charlie nodded along.

‘Can I give you a couple of names and ask if you know them?’ Jessica asked.

‘Sure but I’ve not lived here in a while.’

‘Do you know a “January Forrester”?’

Charlie shook his head. ‘Never heard of her. I’d probably remember someone with that first name but I don’t even recognise the surname.’

‘How about Lewis Barnes?’

The man screwed up his eyes. ‘I don’t think so. It rings a vague bell but maybe that’s just because the first and last names aren’t that uncommon? I can have a look in the house if you want? All of Ed’s photos and papers are still around – there might be something in those.’

Jessica wasn’t sure what to make of his reaction. It seemed genuine and perhaps she was being overly suspicious because of the complicated family setup. He hadn’t really done anything to alert her. ‘Okay, that would be good. Do you still have my number?’

‘Yes, I’ll call if I find anything.’

She knew it was a little premature as there was every chance the first hand didn’t belong to Ed but extra information couldn’t do any harm. Jessica glanced at the clock above the door, realising they had been talking for over an hour and a half. After making sure there was nothing else Charlie wanted to ask and assuring him she would let him know the results from the hand as soon as she had them, Jessica showed the man back out of the station, asking one of the officers to give him a lift home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent typing up her hand-written notes for the missing persons report. Jessica was a quick typist but reading her own writing was proving tricky. She was holding the paper a few inches from her face, squinting, when the phone on her desk rang. ‘Daniel,’ she answered.

‘Hi, I’m calling from Bradford Park with the results you wanted from this afternoon’s sample,’ a man’s voice said.

Bradford Park was the central hub where the force’s forensics work took place.

‘That was quick. What have you got?’ Jessica asked.

The person at the other end gulped. ‘I’ll email you over the confirmation but the swab came from a “Charlie Marks”, correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘That first hand comes from a direct relation of his.’

EIGHT

Jessica was in her office, with Izzy sitting on a chair across from her and Dave perched on DS Cornish’s desk. She had already told him once not to disturb the neat rows of photographs her office mate had laid out but was keeping a close eye as her colleague’s backside edged ever closer to the other sergeant’s family pictures.

‘What is going on with the heat?’ Rowlands asked, undoing his top button.

‘Er, funny story that,’ Jessica said. ‘It was a bit chilly in here yesterday so I asked someone from admin if I could alter the thermostat. Unfortunately, a bit broke off.’

‘So the station’s entire air-conditioning system has stopped working because of you?’

‘No, because whoever installed it didn’t do a very good job,’ Jessica said defensively.

‘But it was you who broke it?’

‘It’s not like I wrenched the dial off, it just snapped. The engineers were in this morning and reckon it’s not just the dial. Apparently there was some knock-on effect and the whole thing has to be turned off.’

The constable took off his suit jacket, placing it across the desk while being careful not to nudge the various knick-knacks. He rolled his shirt sleeves up. ‘Brilliant, so we’ve all got to walk around sweltering because you’re bumbling around like the Incredible Hulk breaking things.’

‘You can’t blame me for the heatwave. Anyway, what the hell’s that on your arm?’ Jessica pointed to a tattoo on the constable’s inner forearm she hadn’t seen before.

‘It’s just a tattoo. I had it done a few weeks ago.’

Jessica stood and stepped forward to get a closer look. ‘What does it say?’

Rowlands didn’t seem too keen to talk about it. ‘It’s Chinese lettering,’ he said. ‘I picked it out of the guy’s folder. It means “Warrior”.’

Izzy giggled from her chair and Jessica glanced over to her, raising her eyebrows while re-taking her seat. ‘“Warrior?”’ Jessica said. ‘How is that appropriate? Do you go cage fighting in the evenings?’

‘Sod off, I just liked the shape of it.’ Rowlands twisted his arm around so he could see the marking.

‘Are you sure it doesn’t say “knob” or something like that?’ Izzy asked in between giggles. Jessica joined in the laughing.

‘All right, all right,’ Rowlands said, pointing at Jessica. ‘You’ve been hanging out with her for too long. What’s this, some sort of harem with the two wicked witches ganging up on me?’

‘In your dreams, mate,’ Jessica said. ‘Besides, from what I’ve heard, this is the most female attention you’ve had in months.’

Rowlands didn’t seem amused. ‘Why are you so obsessed with me? I know I’m charming and dazzlingly good-looking but your infatuation is almost worrying.’ Both women were openly laughing now. Dave nodded towards Izzy. ‘What’s with the bright red hair anyway? Are you a secret ginger?’

The two women exchanged amused looks. ‘What’s wrong with being ginger?’ Izzy asked.

‘Nothing, Ginge. You’re the one trying to cover it up.’

Jessica was grinning but knew it was time to get to business. ‘All right, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, a lot of the officers around here are stuck failing to find Christine Johnson. Jack let me pick who I wanted to work with and, because I’m losing my mind, I opted for you two. We’ve got uniform support when we need it but, for now, it’s just us. You know the first hand belongs to Ed Marks and we already knew the second comes from Lewis Barnes. Now it’s down to us to connect the dots.’

Despite the jovial atmosphere moments before, Jessica knew the two constables were professional enough to switch on when they needed to. The banter got them through the day and Jessica enjoyed it but they did have a job to do.