Scream, You Die (24 page)

“Are you absolutely certain Rose?” Scarlett had drawn her legs up onto the sofa and shuffled around to face her sister.

“I’m not a hundred per cent sure but he reminds me of  one of those men I saw standing over Dad when he was bleeding.” Her face took on a thoughtful look. “It’s triggered something else as well! I remember now that the taller one also had a shaven head. That one, whose face was on the TV, was the one who chased after me, but he was a bit fat and a lot slower than me so I was able to get away.”

“And is this the first time you’ve seen him since that night Mum and Dad were killed?”

Rose nodded vigorously. “Once Dad told me to run and I’d got away that was it! I was terrified! I didn’t know what to do. I just wandered around and hid. I was shit-scared. I didn’t know if the police would believe me or if they’d think I had something to do with it, especially as one of them was someone I’d been drinking with. I didn’t know what to do and that’s when I started drinking.” She paused. “I’ve told you the rest about the drinking and dossing down. That’s when I met some other homeless people and just fell into their way of life. Most of the time I was out of it with booze. For the first year or so my life was a blur. I just moved around a lot, sleeping rough, until those friends from the squat found me. After that I spent the rest of the time moving from one squat to another and keeping my head down. I have to say that ever since that happened, and I saw those two, I’ve given every shaven-headed guy a second look, but I’ve not seen either of the two men since that night. Well, until I’ve just seen his mug on telly. And I’m telling you, I’m sure he looks like one of those I saw standing over Dad.”

“God Rose, this is so weird. The bloke we’re looking for in relation to our murders could be the same person involved in Mum and Dad’s killing. How much of a coincidence is that?”

Rose’s face lit up. She pulled out her legs from beneath her and pushed herself up on the sofa. “One thing you said a couple of minutes ago just clicked.”

“What’s that?”

“These murders you’re working on. The two men who mugged you and the woman in the same house? Did I hear you say something about the woman being Lithuanian?”

“Yes. But to be honest we know very little about any of them. We don’t yet know if the women who were killed were illegals. We’re inclined to think they were. The one whose body parts we found in Battersea we believe was killed and cut up in the house in Wandsworth.” Scarlett dipped her head and pointed towards the TV. “The same house where Andrius, who’s also Lithuanian, and who we found burned to death in Brixton this morning, was staying. It’s also the same house where we found another Lithuanian man killed, who was one of the men who mugged me.” She engaged her sister’s eyes. “I hope I’ve explained that okay. It’s all a little complicated. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know if this is a coincidence but a young Lithuanian girl has been staying at the squat with us. We found her hiding in an old garage a couple of weeks ago and brought her back.” She diverted her gaze and shook her head as if something was disturbing her thoughts. Then she returned her eyes and said, “She was in a bit of a state. She speaks pretty good English and she told us that she and a friend of hers had been tricked into coming to England and that when they’d got here some men had kept them prisoner in a house.” She paused and her mouth tightened. “She told us she been raped by one of them.” She paused again. “And they’d hurt her. They branded her on the back, near her shoulder, with a soldering iron, like they do cows.”

All the time Rose was talking Scarlett could feel herself becoming more and more rigid. When she finished she said, “Does the branding look like a crescent moon and a star?”

Rose’s forehead creased and she nodded. “Certainly a crescent moon, now you mention it. Don’t know about the star. There’s another mark but it just looks like a bit of a blob to me. It was a real mess, to be honest, when she was found. It had gone septic. By rights she should have gone to hospital, but she was too scared to go, so one of the girls treated her and she’s a lot better now. But it’s left a nasty scar.” Rose threw Scarlett a questioning look. “Do you know her or something? Is she wanted?”

Scarlett shook her head. “Did she explain how she got be in the garages where your friends found her?”

“She said she’d managed to escape. The men who’d kept her prisoner were taking her and her friend to another house. They told her she was going to work for them.” She paused then added, “She thinks as a prostitute. Well that’s what she said. She was certainly dressed as if she was.”

“Did she say how she’d managed to get away?”

“She said they put her and her friend in this big black car, but there was only the driver with them. Not long after they’d set off it got stuck in traffic, and her friend attacked the driver and she’d managed to get out and run.”

“What happened to her friend?”

Rose shrugged her shoulders. “She doesn’t know. She just ran until she found that empty garage. She’d been there two days before we found her. She daren’t move.” She paused a moment and added, “Very much like what happened to me.” She paused again, only momentarily, before continuing, “She was terrified of what the men would do to her if they caught her. She thinks something bad happened to her friend. She said the men who held them were really evil.”

For a minute Scarlett was thoughtful. She ran through everything Rose had just said, desperately trying to piece things together. A new twist had been added to what she was working on and yet things were becoming clearer. After thirty seconds she asked, “Did this girl tell you her name?”

“She’s called Grazyna. She did tell me her second name but I can’t remember it. And she did tell us the place she came from in Lithuania, but I can’t remember that either. I’d never heard of it.”

“No problem, Rose. What about her friend she was with? Did she tell you her name?”

Rose took on a studious look. She appeared to be thinking over the question. After several seconds she shook her head. “She did but I’m sorry, Scarl, I can’t remember it. It’s a name I’ve never heard before. I think it began with a K, but I’m not sure.”

Scarlett leaned forward, fixing her sister’s look. “Something you said just now about the car they were put in. Did you say Grazyna told you they got into a big black car?”

Rose nodded. “Yes.”

“Did she say what type of car it was?”

Rose seemed to think about the question again. After a few seconds she answered. “No, I don’t think so. I’m sure she just said they were put into this big black car. Why, is it relevant?”

“Could be. We have a sighting of an Audi Q7, which is a big black four-by-four, on a lane close to where the suitcase with the headless woman was found. The driver of that car was the shaven-headed man whose e-fit you’ve just seen. We’ve not yet been able to identify who the woman is we’ve found.”

Quick as a flash Rose said, “And you think it could be Grazyna’s friend?”

“It would certainly fit.” Scarlett clasped her hands together. “One thing I’ve not mentioned. The headless woman in the suitcase had a recent scar on her shoulder. She’d been branded as well, with a crescent moon and a star, which also fits with what happened to your friend Grazyna.” Scarlett unclasped her fingers and pushed herself back. “Just one more question, Rose. Did Grazyna mention the names of any of the men who’d held her and her friend prisoner?”

“She told us the driver’s name who she’d managed to escape from.” Rose nodded toward the TV. “She told us that his name is Arjan. She said he was Albanian. She told us so we could keep a look out for him.”

Scarlett spun sharply and met Alex’s look.

He was sat on the edge of his seat. He had hardly touched his beer.

Scarlett said, “We have to find where Rose’s friends have gone; this Grazyna is crucial to our investigation.”

DCI Diane Harris stood at the front of the incident room, a serious look etched on her face.

Behind her on the interactive screen was the latest body find – Andrius Machuta’s charred remains. There were also various photos of the old abandoned station where the brutal killing had taken place.

She began the morning briefing.

“While I’m not yet pointing the finger, the sad fact is that someone, and I believe it’s someone in this room, has leaked information which has caused the deaths of at least two people crucial to our enquiry.” She let her opening words hit home a few seconds before progressing. “In the case of Greta Aglinsky, it could have been Immigration and Border Control, but not in this latest killing. Only this team knew where Andrius Machuta was located. And, although SO 19 were told, the common denominator in both these murders is within this squad.” She paused and scanned the room looking for a reaction on the faces of her team. While no one looked guilty there were a lot of sheepish faces. Continuing, she said, “I will get to the bottom of this, make no mistake, and once I find out who is responsible that person will not only be off the team but they will be under arrest. I have already spoken with the commander and an internal investigation is already underway.” She paused again, taking a deep breath. “While I know it puts everyone under the spotlight I’m afraid there’s nothing I can about that and I can’t halt this investigation. All I can say is that if you are innocent you have nothing to fear.” Pausing again she let the thread of what she had just said peter away. After a few seconds she said, “Right, now to the work of the day.” She brushed the sides of her slacks as if removing something before moving on. “We have a killer or killers out there who have now murdered four people. We still haven’t found out the identity of our headless woman in the suitcase but it is natural to think she like the other victims is Lithuanian, especially given the identical branding to that of Greta Aglinsky. And it is also reasonable to believe the two women are street workers, given the premises in Wandsworth, which we believe we will link Greta to once forensics come back. As to the two men, Henrikas and Andrius, we do not yet know what part they play in all this. Diane Harris took on a more thoughtful look. “The only suspect lead we have at present is our shaven-headed friend” – the head-and-shoulders digital e-fit appeared on screen – “who was sighted on River Lane by our car thieves, standing next to a black Audi Q7 in the early hours prior to the body in the suitcase being found at the bottom of that lane, and also is identical to the driver of a black Q7 involved in a minor RTC two days before that, only a mile from the house in Wandsworth, and who was seen fighting with a young female in the back of the car. As you all know this e-fit was aired on London news last night and although a number of calls came in with names, none of those are definite. Following up those names is a priority today. If anyone is in the least bit suspicious about who they are talking with you immediately call for backup.” Directing a finger at the e-fit on screen she continued, “This man is extremely dangerous. I don’t want any heroics.” She lowered her hand. “We also still haven’t found the Audi Q7. Our viewing team are still going through CCTV and I have an ANPR enquiry out. Also today an enquiry will be allocated to check on what CCTV there is around the Brixton Station Road area to see if we can pick up anyone acting suspicious.” She pushed her hand in her jacket pocket. “That’s it, everyone. Back here tonight for eight o’clock briefing.”

****

Scarlett and Tarn together with a Uniform team had been tasked with carrying out house-to-house enquiries in and around the residential streets leading away from Brixton Station Road. They had also been given responsibility for liaising with the Forensics team who were working in the abandoned station where Andrius Machuta’s body had been discovered.

Trudging the streets with Tarn, Scarlett was having difficulty focussing. She had a heavy heart and was experiencing a great deal of guilt and shame. She felt as if she was not only betraying the squad by not disclosing what she found out from Rose last night, but also that she was betraying DCI Harris, who she respected immensely. She had a name for their suspect and she couldn’t mention it. She wanted to, but she had difficulty with how she could introduce it without mentioning where it had come from. Rose after all was still a suspect in their parents’ murder. And although she now could give a good account of herself it would still mean arrest and a couple of days in a cell while it was cleared up. She knew Rose wasn’t ready for that and it would complicate the relationship they had just resurrected again after all these years. It was a dilemma she knew she had to deal with, and soon, if she wanted to retain her credibility and her place on the team. She had her fingers crossed that Alex and Rose would come up trumps today with finding where the people had gone from the squat. That way she would have access to Grazyna and that should go some way to clearing up the problem of revealing the e-fit suspect by name.

****

Scarlett was shattered, physically and mentally, by the time she got to Alex’s place. Rose greeted her at the door in buoyant mood, skipping away back to the lounge, calling back over her shoulder, “Drink, Scarl?” as Scarlett closed the door behind her.

“I could murder one,” she replied, prising off her boots and unzipping her leather motorbike jacket.

Entering the lounge, she saw that the ten o’clock news had just started and flopped onto the sofa. Alex was busy in the kitchen, preparing something on the work surface. Rose was pouring a glass of wine.

Alex looked her way. “I’m just making us a sandwich –cheese and tomato – want one?”

Scarlett was handed the wine. She raised her glass. “That sounds delish.”

She took a sip of the chilled white wine, removed the glass from her lips and eyeing it said, “That hit the spot.”

“How’s your day gone, Scarl?” asked Rose, plonking herself beside her.

Rose’s sudden movement bounced the cushion up and Scarlett had to quickly place a hand over the top of her glass to stop the wine slopping over the rim. “More to the point, how’s you two’s day gone? Did you find your mates?”

Rose shook her head, “We went to a couple of the places where they normally hang out but there was no one there.” She glanced over her shoulder to where Alex was plating up the sandwiches. “We’re going to try some other places tomorrow aren’t we?”

Alex nodded, taking a bite of a sandwich. Then, balancing three plates, he joined them, handing them each a plate.

He settled in the chair looking at Scarlett. “We’ll find them, don’t worry. And we’ll find your witness.”