DARK CRIMES a gripping detective thriller full of suspense (11 page)

Before joining Marsh at the car, Sophie called through to the forensics team leader.

* * *

Berzins’ brother appeared in the incident room shortly before seven. Matt Silver himself had driven him down from HQ. Sophie called the team together just before they packed up for the evening, and told them of the day’s developments. She and Marsh were the only officers still there when the two men entered.

The brother looked to be about five years older than Vilis Berzins. Nicolajs was taller and broader than his sibling, but had the same dark hair and clear blue eyes. His greeting was wary. He shook her hand and watched her carefully.

‘How was your journey?’

‘It was as expected. I cannot say that I enjoyed it. It was necessary because of Vilis. I wish to see him as soon as possible.’ He spoke with a much more pronounced accent than his brother. ‘I have a letter of introduction for you from my chief officer, and my police ID card.’

He handed over an envelope. Inside was a single sheet of official paper from the office of the Riga chief of police, and apparently signed by him. It described Nicolajs Berzins as an outstanding young policeman, and the Berzins family as being upright citizens. Sophie glanced briefly at Silver, who nodded. He’d obviously checked its authenticity back at headquarters.

‘Thank you, Nicolajs. The letter reflects well on you and your family. Your brother is in the interview room with the duty solicitor, waiting for us. I have already explained to the solicitor what I am about to say and do, so he is prepared. I want you to know that we have your brother’s best interests at heart.’

Vilis looked up as his brother entered the interview room, gasped and stood up to hug Nicolajs. He started to sob, as if the days of tension were finally being released. Barry Marsh appeared with a tray of coffee and biscuits, then took up his position by the door.

Once Vilis calmed down, Silver motioned everyone to sit. ‘I’m handing over to Detective Chief Inspector Allen, who is in charge of the investigation into the murders of Donna Goodenough and her mother, Brenda. She will explain the purpose of this meeting.’

Nicolajs looked puzzled and opened his mouth to speak, but Sophie held her finger to her lips. She turned to the younger brother.

‘Vilis, you were charged with the murder of Donna because traces of your salivary DNA were found on some cigarette butts recovered at the crime scene after the discovery of her body. However, the positioning of the butts appears to be highly suspicious and artificial, and we are now convinced that they were planted there by the murderer to divert suspicion to you. Other factors that have come to light also lead us to believe that Donna’s murder was carried out by someone else. We are therefore planning to withdraw the charges against you. Do you understand?’

Both brothers looked shaken. There was a silence.

‘Do you understand?’ Sophie repeated.

‘Yes, I think we both do,’ said Nicolajs. ‘But—’

‘Let me explain, please,’ she went on. ‘I have a favour to ask of you both that will help our investigation. The real murderer will know that Vilis has been charged. This would have been part of his plan. He will be feeling safe. If we release the news to the press that Vilis is to be freed, it will put him on his guard. So I would like you to agree to Vilis remaining under police supervision while we continue with the investigation. We would like you both to stay in one of our safe houses, with Vilis out of view so that the press do not find out that he has been released.’ She turned to Nicolajs. ‘You are a respected policeman, and we can use your experience to help us in this. If you agree, you would be free to come and go, but Vilis must remain out of view. He must still appear to be in custody for a few days longer.’

‘If we don’t agree to do this? What will happen?’ asked Nicolajs.

‘I will have to officially drop the charges in several days’ time, and release him. But I won’t try to hide him from the press.’ She turned to Vilis. ‘If you want to see Donna’s killer brought to justice, and I believe you do, you will do as I ask.’

‘Of course I do. And we will help you, won’t we, Nicolajs?’

Nicolajs said, ‘Someone in the chief’s office in Riga knew of you from a talk you gave in Geneva. He said, if you see Inspector Allen, she is worthy of respect. I will agree to your request, but I can only be here for five more days. Then I must fly back.’

‘Thank you, Officer Berzins. Now, we can’t get the safe house ready until tomorrow morning. Vilis will need to remain here overnight, but you are welcome to stay at my house tonight. Too many questions will be asked if you stay at a hotel here in Swanage. I think your parents deserve to know what is happening. You can phone them from my house, but they must not tell anyone else.’

Sophie wondered how her husband and daughter would react when she brought a handsome young Latvian policeman home with her. She collected a wad of papers from her in-tray before they left the office. She was intrigued by the message Melsom had left for her.

CHAPTER 9: Student Days

Friday Morning, Week 1

The safe house was in a quiet cul-de-sac on the northern edge of Wareham. Sophie took Nicolajs Berzins to inspect it before they set off for the police station in Swanage. It was a small end-of-terrace property, built in the seventies. It was basic but comfortable. It had no garage but a driveway ran alongside the house. This meant that a car could be parked off the road, unlike the houses in the rest of the terrace, whose owners clearly had to jostle for parking places on the street.

‘This is fine,’ said the elder Berzins brother. ‘We will be comfortable here. It is better than would be provided in Latvia.’

‘You and the duty officer should take the first-floor bedrooms, and we’ll put Vilis in the loft room. It has sloping skylight windows. I don’t want any chance of him being seen from outside, so he should keep away from the windows.’

‘I will take care of him. And thank you again for allowing me to stay last night. You have a lovely home and family.’

The early morning sunshine was beginning to break through the mist. A few yellowing leaves remained on the trees, and the woodland areas looked stunning with frosty halos of ice crystals clinging to the foliage.

‘You are lucky to live in such a beautiful area, I think,’ said Berzins. ‘It is bad that such crimes can happen in such a place.’

‘Murder is unusual here, but it happens. I sometimes wish that my job didn’t have to exist. But to be honest, I enjoy my work. I love the challenge.’

‘Are you getting close to the real murderer in this case, Chief Inspector?’

‘No comment, Nicolajs. I’m sure you were expecting that answer.’

He smiled.

* * *

Sophie drove into the car park at the rear of the police station, and took her car as close to the back entrance of the building as possible. A gaggle of reporters and press photographers were still occupying the area outside the front entrance.

Once inside, Berzins’ brother was shown to a small interview office. Sophie made her way to the main incident room to catch up on the latest developments.

Lydia Pillay reported on her visit to the Bournemouth Hospital the previous day. The medical staff had found the records relating to Donna’s visit and could confirm the nature of the injury. They were unable at first to provide any further information, but with some help from one of the doctors, Pillay managed to trace a nurse who had interviewed Donna during her visit. The nurse was suspicious about the cause of the break, but Donna had insisted it was a sports injury. She had other noticeable bruises and marks on her body, some of them quite severe.

Pillay had left the hospital mid-morning and had driven to Walsall in order to pay a visit to the family GP. The doctor had been worried by some of the comments in the report from the hospital. She had been unable to trace Donna for any follow-up treatment. The address she held for the young woman was the family home in Walsall, but the family were no longer living there, so it hadn’t been possible to contact her. Pillay spent some time with the doctor, talking through the family’s medical history.

‘Where did she get the plaster taken off?’ asked Sophie.

‘She had a follow-up appointment at Bournemouth for removal after six weeks. She turned up, but there’s nothing added to the notes made at her first visit.’

‘You know, Lydia, her behaviour shows all of the classic signs of her being in a very controlled and violent relationship. The secrecy, the lying to cover up injuries, the gradual withdrawal from previous friendships and family ties. I think the poor girl was being beaten by a psychopathic bully. I wonder if she ended the relationship when she moved to Swanage, but he found her and these murders are the result. What about the other things I asked you to check? Her parents?’

Pillay told Sophie what she had found out from her inquiries.

‘It just doesn’t add up, Lydia. We have to follow it up.’

Melsom reported that he’d spoken to the owners of the flat above Donna’s. Apparently they'd been at the flat on the evening of the murder, as they had visited for the weekend and stayed over until late on Monday. They reported that they were sure someone was in Donna’s flat when they left at ten. They’d heard a bump, as if something had been dropped, as they passed the door on their way down the stairs.

‘We need a statement from them, Jimmy. Can you contact them to arrange a time? Try to pin them down on exactly what they heard. And well done for that information about the father’s death. It’s intriguing, isn’t it?’

Sophie decided to accompany Tom Rose, the station’s senior officer, to the front of the police station when he made his daily statement to the press in the middle of the morning. It would give her an opportunity to gauge how much interest there was. They were outside for less than five minutes. Sophie was obliged to make a short statement in response to an unexpected question from one of the reporters. She felt uneasy about it, and tucked the memory away, hoping that it wouldn’t get lost in the logjam of her mind.

* * *

It proved fairly straightforward to get Vilis Berzins out of the station and into her car, helped by his elder brother and Jimmy Melsom. Vilis still seemed bemused by the sudden turnaround of events.

‘I have been thinking of your questions about the cigarettes,’ he said when they were safely on the road. ‘There was a man who spoke to me last week while I was outside one of the bars. I had forgotten about it, because of all the other thoughts about Donna. I only remembered last night. I had not seen him before. I was in the garden at the back, lighting my cigarette. I think he had come out after me.’

‘Was Donna there with you?’

‘No. Each Tuesday she had the evening off and often visited her mother. I went out with Georgs after we finished work. We did this each Tuesday if I wasn’t seeing Donna.’

‘Can you remember the conversation?’

‘Not clearly. I think he asked where I was from. He saw I was not English.’

‘If he is the person we are looking for, he must have got hold of your cigarettes after you had finished smoking them. How could he have done that?’

‘There is a small tray for butts on one of the outdoor tables. I think he cleaned it as we were there. I think he said it was too full, so he emptied it into a bin. I was going in after the cigarette, but he asked me to stay for another. He said that he wanted to visit Riga sometime, and needed to know the best places to visit in the city.’

‘Was Georgs still there?’

‘Georgs doesn’t smoke. He likes to think he is a tough guy, but he isn’t really. He doesn’t drink much either, and only comes out to keep me company. He was in the bar talking to other people.’

‘So what did this man look like?’

‘He was taller than me. He had begun a beard.’

‘What was he wearing?’

‘Jeans, I think. He had on a hooded jacket.’

‘Did he tell you his name?’

‘I think he did, but I don’t remember. He talked about the visit to Latvia he was planning.’

‘Was he by himself?’

‘It is hard to remember. I think he left soon after I went back in. Someone may have followed him out, but the pub was busy that night. People were coming in and going out.’

‘Keep trying to remember, Vilis. I’ll bring up an identity expert as soon as I can, and we’ll see if we can create a likeness that might stir your memory.’

* * *

Jimmy Melsom had volunteered to carry out the first overnight duty at the safe house. Meanwhile, once the Berzins brothers had been dropped off and their belongings unloaded, he and Sophie drove on to Bournemouth University.

Jimmy had traced two members of staff who had known Donna fairly well, and had asked them to be available. David Bell had been her economics tutor in her first year at university and had seen her regularly for monitoring and progress interviews. He was now approaching retirement age. He said that Donna’s attitude to her work had impressed him. She had a considered and mature approach to her studies, and he guessed that this would also have been true of her life in general. But she sometimes seemed troubled.

‘Can you be more specific?’ asked Sophie.

‘Well, she was the same age as the other students but was not quite one of them, if that makes sense. She seemed older. She took her work more seriously. She was less relaxed, particularly as the year went on. If someone cracked a joke during a group tutorial, she’d smile but would rarely laugh. She mixed with the other students, but didn’t seem to fit in with them. I got the feeling that she was a bit of a loner.’

‘What about in her second year? Were you still in touch with her?’ Sophie asked.

‘I was no longer her tutor then. I only saw her during a short series of lectures that I gave in the autumn term. If anything, she seemed even more remote, but that could have been my imagination. I seem to remember the lectures being first thing in the morning, so that might explain it. Some of the students didn’t even bother coming.’

‘Were you surprised when you heard that she’d dropped out?’

‘Yes, and very disappointed. I tried to contact her, but none of her contact details seemed to be correct. She was no longer at the address we had on record, and we got no response from any of her phone numbers. I put one of the welfare officers onto tracing her, but she didn’t get any further than I had. It was even impossible to trace her parents. We gave up after a while. We could only guess that she didn’t want to be found.’

‘Did you ever notice any marks on her body? On her face or arms?’ said Sophie.

‘Oh, goodness. Don’t tell me she was being abused. That makes me feel terrible. We should have been looking after her if that was the case. But no, I don’t recall any. But if I remember rightly, she always wore long-sleeved tops and trousers, so I wouldn’t have seen any marks. I’ll do what I can to find some of her fellow students. Some are back on campus if they did a year out in industry. Those that were on a normal degree finished in the summer, I’m afraid.’

‘Do you know why she opted for Bournemouth?’

‘It’s on her record, from when she was first interviewed. Apparently it was because her gran lived somewhere near, and they were very close.’

‘That’s all been very helpful, Dr Bell. If you do remember anything else that might be relevant, please let us know. We’d like to interview other students who were on her course, so a list would be useful. Do you have group photos taken at the start of your degree courses?’

‘No, not officially. The only ones we organise are the graduation shots. But no doubt the students take lots of photos at the different events.’

‘What about at freshers’ week? Would there be photos of balls or discos, do you think?’

‘It’s possible. I’ll get onto the student committee and see if there were any official photos for when Donna started.’

‘And any other social events for her first year here. I’d really like to see who she was with,’ said Sophie.

‘Of course. It may take a day or two, but I’ll get the department secretary onto it. Now, if you’d like to use my office, I’ll round up the others that you wanted to see. Mary Porter was her tutor for her second year, and there are a couple of students still here that might fill in some details. I asked them to be available.’

Donna’s second year tutor was less helpful. She appeared to be a cold, unemotional woman and gave the impression that she resented giving up her working time. She admitted that she had failed to act when Donna started to miss her tutorials. She’d thought that the problem was temporary. Donna was still attending some lectures, although somewhat irregularly. Sophie formed the impression that this woman didn’t bother to get to know her students very well. But she was able to supply one vital item of information. Sometime before she dropped out completely, Donna had appeared with several bruises on her face.

‘Did you ask her about it?’ said Sophie.

‘I didn’t have an opportunity, since she wasn’t attending my tutorials. One of the other students said she’d heard that it was a sports injury.’

‘Didn’t you check?’

‘I can’t possibly check every incident of that type. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.’

‘But surely that is the job of a student’s personal tutor, isn’t it? These were classic signs of a student in distress, weren’t they, Dr Porter? A pattern of absences building up, along with signs of injury?’

‘You seem to be judging me against your school teachers, if I may say so. We couldn’t possibly offer that degree of personal guidance to our students. Since you’ve probably never been to university, you are in all likelihood speaking from a position of ignorance, Inspector.’

‘I think I can see the problem that Donna faced with you as her tutor, Dr Porter. You jump to conclusions far too readily. I am a chief inspector, by the way, and I did go to university. I have a degree in law. Moreover I remember that all of my university tutors took their roles very seriously. I think we’re finished for now, but if you do remember anything else about Donna, please let us know.’

She turned to Melsom before the pink-faced Porter could respond.

‘Jimmy, could you show Dr Porter out, please, and round up those students?’