Locked In (30 page)

Jessica hadn’t done the checking herself but it had already been established the doors and windows had been locked as with the previous three victims. The police officers had found Mary Keegan’s keys with her bag in the kitchen but the reasons were less clear.

Alibis would be checked for Paul, Scott and Steven Keegan – the only other ones with direct access to the house. Paul had given them the details of Scott and Steven’s real father too, Mary’s former husband, but said he was now remarried and living in Scotland. All the details would be looked at but Jessica knew it would all be a formality. The man they needed to find was Nigel Collins. Tying him directly to the four murders could prove more of a problem, given the lack of obvious evidence at the scenes but Jessica figured they would cross that bridge when they got to it.

After she had asked all her questions and heard anything useful she thought she could, Jessica added, ‘Is there anything you would like to tell us?’

For interviews that had been positive where the person had been cooperative, it was always the last question you asked. In training, they had all been told a story of how a murder in the north east had been solved by a complete throwaway comment at the end of an interview. It was probably apocryphal, so many of those training stories were, but the point had always resonated with Jessica.

Paul Keegan just looked at her and shook his head. ‘How do you mean?’

‘Sometimes when we interview victims and relatives, there are things they might remember that seem normal at the time but, in retrospect, could throw new light on something. People they’ve noticed and so on. Silent phone calls, things like that.’

‘Erm, I don’t know really. We had a few problems with kids over the last few months on the estate. Most people do, y’know, riding their bikes late at night and so on. You phone the police but nothing really gets done.’

It was a story Jessica heard all-too regularly. On the one hand she knew how much of a blight it could be on people’s lives but she was also aware the police couldn’t be everywhere. With a lack of funding and targets that needed to be hit, things like this were often treated as a low-priority. Again, there was no irony lost on Jessica considering how Mr Keegan’s stepson had seemingly behaved when he was younger. ‘I can only apologise for that, Mr Keegan. Is there anything else?’

‘Not really, no.’ Jessica thanked him for his time then broke the news that they would have to arrest and speak to Scott. She reassured him his stepson was not suspected of any direct involvement to his mother’s death but couldn’t add any more than that. They were arranging for Scott and Steven to come back to the area. Steven would be interviewed informally at a later date in regards to the killing of his mother though he wasn’t a suspect. With the story breaking in the media tomorrow that their chief suspect was Nigel Collins, having Scott in custody would be a necessity. Even if the original assault case from six years ago wasn’t reopened, they couldn’t risk him running. He would obviously put two-and-two together but they would need to speak to him regardless – if only to formally rule him out of their enquiries for his mother’s death.

She had already arranged for Jonathan Prince and James Christensen to be cautioned in relation to the unsolved assault six years ago too. Things really were getting complicated, with Nigel Collins being both a victim and suspect in two different crimes.

Back in the main part of the station, Jessica could see the search for Nigel Collins was moving, albeit slowly. The original list of forty seven names had been brought down to just three who were the right age. Two lived in the London area, while one in a small town not too far from Nottingham. It had been arranged for an officer to visit the Nigel Collins who lived in the town but dealing with the Met Police in London was always a trickier task. Their structure was even more confusing than Greater Manchester’s and there were always enough jobsworths to tell you that you were speaking to the wrong department to get things done. Anyone would think it was a different country they were trying to deal with. Eventually DCI Aylesbury had become involved and two sets of two constables were now on their way to talk to the other two Nigel Collins.

Jessica knew it was just a matter of time until they were ruled out though. Whoever their killer was, it was someone who had been in the area very recently. Mary Keegan had been murdered that day but must have been watched for at least a few weeks previous to that. Their Nigel Collins wasn’t someone who drove up from Nottingham or London, walked through a wall and then travelled home again.

Door-to-door enquiries were being made at that moment in the hope someone on the street had seen someone acting suspiciously. An accurate e-fit could be their only hope. The police did have a photograph on file from the original case but it was only the one of the poor kid’s battered face that had been on every news broadcast and in every newspaper at the time. It was no use for putting out into a media campaign to find their prime suspect as, from the photo, you couldn’t even tell if the victim was male or female, let alone make out any features.

The children’s home Nigel Collins had lived in as a child didn’t even exist any longer, having been bulldozed a few years ago. DI Cole had already set some officers on the task of tracking down some of the staff who would have been there at the same time as Nigel. Even if they got hold of the right people, it seemed unlikely they would stumble across a picture from his childhood they could use. At best it would be six years old but Jessica doubted they would get anything anyway.

That left them with a name of someone who seemingly didn’t exist, for which they had no idea what he looked like and no idea how he got in and out of locked houses.

Nigel Collins really had set them quite a puzzle.

The next day was something Jessica had not been looking forward to. Every single news bulletin on TV and radio had led off with the story that Nigel Collins was the “Houdini Strangler”. The only photograph the police had to give out was that of Nigel Collins’ bruised face from six years previous, so it had been that staring out from the front of every newspaper, national and local, as well as the morning’s broadcasts.

Jessica had been up at six in the morning to watch the coverage on a loop. She found in the past that watching things over and over could sometimes help clarify the facts in your mind. She first watched the BBC news, then changed channels and watched it on ITV, before going back to the BBC for the local take on it all. She also spent the whole time surfing news websites on her phone. In terms of information released, none of the stations had that much to go on. DCI Aylesbury had hosted a Press Conference the night before. The first three murder victims’ names had been previously released but Mary Keegan had been added to that list. The media were told Nigel Collins was the chief suspect but what hadn’t been revealed was the link to the four victims’ children.

It would surely only be a matter of time before it got out and Jessica was only half-surprised she hadn’t read the story on the Herald’s website that morning with Garry Ashford’s byline. It was just the sort of story he seemed to get a march on everyone for. DCI Aylesbury had been keen to stress that the public were not at risk and the police didn’t believe there was any need for further alarm. It was a fine line as they were pretty sure Nigel Collins had completed his killing spree but couldn’t be sure. It seemed unlikely he would go back for the other parents but perhaps the people who actually tortured him could be targeted?

If it wasn’t leaked, that information almost certainly would be revealed at some point in the next forty eight hours. It seemed inconceivable the original assault case of Nigel Collins would not be reopened.

Randall had stayed over the night before and he and Caroline had got up an hour or so after her and the three of them had watched the news together. ‘Oh God, Jess. This is awful,’ said Caroline, who was cuddled in to her boyfriend on the sofa.

Jessica had never really told her the full extent of the case and, though it had been in the media consistently through the past few weeks, this coverage seemed so much more real given the graphic detail everything was now being laid out in. ‘It’s okay,’ Jessica said, giving her friend a half-smile.

‘It’s sick is what it is,’ said Randall, gripping Caroline tighter and kissing the top of her head. Jessica had to leave them to it. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day, something which was confirmed as she pulled her car on to the road the station was on. She could instantly see a full media scrum outside the gates. She often took the turn into the station in third gear and one of the other officers once claimed he’d seen her car take it on two wheels. On this occasion, she had to stop and crawl through the mass of people. There were television cameras present, while flashes went off from other photographers’ cameras. She drove slowly, being careful not to hit anyone and saw Garry Ashford off to one side as well. In the fleeting glimpse she got, he seemed slightly overwhelmed with the mass of people pushing and shoving.

Scott Keegan had been kept in the cells under the station overnight after returning from Liverpool late the previous evening. They could hold him for up to twenty four hours without charging but the intention had only been to keep him in until the morning. By then the news about Nigel Collins would be widely known and they could speak to him.

Jessica parked up and went in through the station’s main entrance. In the reception area, there was a television high on the wall above a rank of chairs for people who may have to wait there. A few years previously, someone had actually managed to steal an old TV from a similar spot, despite being in the reception of a police station. There had been much mickey-taking at the time. It was usually turned off but had a rolling news channel switched on with the sound turned up as Jessica walked in. She glanced sideways at it and could see an outside shot of the door she had just walked in.

‘They didn’t get your good side, did they?’ laughed the desk sergeant, who was pointing at the screen. Jessica gave him a V-sign and breezed towards the stairs to check in with DCI Aylesbury. DI Cole was also present, of course but the morning update was as she would have expected. All three Nigel Collins’ from the previous day had been ruled out, which left them with no one.

Initial forensic results were back, which meant someone would have been working late into the night. Mary Keegan had been strangled in the exact same way as the previous victims but it was suspected, as with Yvonne Christensen, that she had been asleep. There was next to no evidence of a struggle. As Jessica had thought, all the blood in the bedroom belonged to the victim, while there was nothing in the way of DNA from anyone other than the husband. In some ways that kind of evidence was irrelevant as they knew who they were after. But, if and when they found Nigel Collins, it would have been useful in tying him to the scenes for a trial.

The DCI did tell them that word had come down that the Nigel Collins assault case was going to be reopened. Given the way the two cases were going to be linked together, it was the only thing that could realistically happen. A separate set of officers would return to Leeds Prison to speak to Shaun Hogan again. When Jessica and DI Cole had spoken to him the previous day, he wasn’t under caution as he wasn’t considered a witness in the murder of Claire Hogan; he was behind bars after all. They had gone to talk to him to see if there was any background he could give them to help discover who killed his mother. He had done that, of course, but by admitting to another crime without being formally cautioned, it could be awkward getting a case to court if neither of Jonathan Prince, James Christensen or Scott Keegan backed his version. The hope was that he would repeat what he had told them on tape and under caution. Having seen his demeanour the previous day, Jessica felt that he would.

After the meeting with her superiors, it was then the main team briefing. In itself, it threw up very little but there was at least a buzz considering everything that had happened in the past day. DC Rowlands had been sent back to visit Wayne Lapham. Although he wasn’t a suspect, they still didn’t know if he was linked to Nigel Collins or not. Given his record it could quite conceivably be true that he had just happened to burgle from two of the four murder victims but how that could relate back to their prime suspect was just another mystery in a long list.

Following that, Jessica and DI Cole went to the interview room to talk to Scott Keegan. Jessica almost felt sorry for him when he was brought up. He was more-or-less as she would have pictured him given Shaun Hogan’s story. He was short with sandy coloured short hair but looked strong across his shoulders. All of that was masked by his pale white skin and the bags under his eyes; he didn’t look like he had slept much. He had been told in the cells he was entitled to legal advice. He hadn’t wanted to speak to his father on the phone and, given he wouldn’t have had much money of his own, had opted for the duty solicitor. Jessica thought he already looked defeated as he was led in. There was no swagger and none of the cockiness someone like Wayne Lapham had.

DI Cole started the tape and went through the usual spiel but Jessica had conducted enough interviews by now to know the young man sitting in front of her was going to confess to everything. When he had finished speaking, it was Jessica’s turn. ‘Do you know why you’re here, Scott?’

He didn’t look up. ‘Yes.’

‘I want to ask you about Nigel Collins.’ No answer. ‘Scott?’ He still didn’t respond. ‘Scott, you know that name don’t you?’ As if from nowhere, Scott Keegan just exploded into tears. Jessica couldn’t make out much in the way of words from him, just sobs. No one said anything, just allowing his cries to echo. ‘Are you okay, Scott?’ Jessica asked.

It looked as if the solicitor was about to step in but, as he reached forward, Scott said: ‘It’s why she’s dead isn’t it?’ His words were still half-drowned out by tears but were clearly made out. Jessica saw no reason to hide the truth, he would know it anyway.