Mary. We’ll do it gently and calmly. If necessary take your time to get the translation exactly right. Nadia speaks a little English, and may think that she understands my questions. I want you to translate even if it looks as though she understands what I ask.’
The desk officer called across. ‘Ma’am, Barry Marsh just phoned down. You can use Inspector Rose’s office. He’ll be out of the station for the next hour or so.’
‘Thanks, Tony.’
Sophie left Mary Porter in Tom Rose’s office while she went to fetch Nadia and Marsh. She had begun to care about Nadia as if she was her own daughter. She could not easily forget how careless Mary Porter had been the previous year. Donna Goodenough had also been subjected to abuse, which Mary Porter had chosen to ignore.
‘The chief inspector’s very focused, isn’t she?’ Porter said to Marsh.
Marsh was arranging the chairs for the interview. He pointed to one of them. ‘That’ll be yours.’
‘Do you know about me?’ she asked.
‘No. All I know is that you met when we were investigating Donna Goodenough’s murder. She never told me what happened between you. My DC was there, but he was told never to talk about it. So no one else knows in case it’s worrying you.’
* * *
The first stage of the interview lasted for over an hour. Sophie sat beside Nadia and held her hand, occasionally stroking her arm. Barry Marsh took notes. Nadia described a chilling scenario. She was one of a group of six teenage girls and young women. They were lured away from college or jobs in Romania with the promise of work in the hotel industry in Britain, attendance at local colleges and the chance to study for a degree course at a British university. They and their families had paid for the transport to the UK. Things were wrong from the outset. The promised luxury coach had been replaced with a minibus. Conditions during the drive across mainland Europe deteriorated rapidly. By the time they stopped at a remote farm on the Normandy coast, their documents and passports were in the hands of the two drivers. Nadia did not know how many trips the men had made before hers, but she suspected there had been many. Conditions deteriorated further after they were transferred to an old motor launch for the cross-Channel trip. They travelled overnight, and the girls were locked in a cabin. They had waited in France for several days until stormy weather cleared to a patchy mist.
They moored to a small, rickety jetty in Poole Harbour, where they were let out of the cabin and led ashore. Nadia recognised one of the trio of men who met them. He was Stefan, her second cousin. They were roughly bundled into the back of a van. It was then that the girls knew they had been duped. When one of them objected to their rough treatment a man punched her twice in the face. The girl spent the short drive to their final destination sobbing in the corner of the van, while the others tried to clean up her face with paper tissues. They were all hurried inside a farmhouse and taken to a room on the first floor, furnished with three old double beds.
Nadia stopped talking and began to cry. After a while she continued speaking, her voice catching, shaken with sobs.
The rapes started that night. After they had eaten, the girls were hauled out and taken to a larger room on the ground floor. Five men were waiting for them, including Stefan. The girls were each given a drink of fruit juice. Nadia refused hers and spat it out. One of the men slapped her hard across the face and Stefan tried to intervene. She couldn’t follow everything they said, but she thought Stefan was trying to protect her. An argument ensued, and Stefan left the room, slamming the door behind him. Then the horror began. Each of the men grabbed a girl and hauled her to his room. The man who took Nadia had a gap between his teeth.
Sophie glanced across to Marsh. The man at the farm.
When her ordeal ended, this man led Nadia back into the
The desk officer called across. ‘Ma’am, Barry Marsh just phoned down. You can use Inspector Rose’s office. He’ll be out of the station for the next hour or so.’
‘Thanks, Tony.’
Sophie left Mary Porter in Tom Rose’s office while she went to fetch Nadia and Marsh. She had begun to care about Nadia as if she was her own daughter. She could not easily forget how careless Mary Porter had been the previous year. Donna Goodenough had also been subjected to abuse, which Mary Porter had chosen to ignore.
‘The chief inspector’s very focused, isn’t she?’ Porter said to Marsh.
Marsh was arranging the chairs for the interview. He pointed to one of them. ‘That’ll be yours.’
‘Do you know about me?’ she asked.
‘No. All I know is that you met when we were investigating Donna Goodenough’s murder. She never told me what happened between you. My DC was there, but he was told never to talk about it. So no one else knows in case it’s worrying you.’
* * *
The first stage of the interview lasted for over an hour. Sophie sat beside Nadia and held her hand, occasionally stroking her arm. Barry Marsh took notes. Nadia described a chilling scenario. She was one of a group of six teenage girls and young women. They were lured away from college or jobs in Romania with the promise of work in the hotel industry in Britain, attendance at local colleges and the chance to study for a degree course at a British university. They and their families had paid for the transport to the UK. Things were wrong from the outset. The promised luxury coach had been replaced with a minibus. Conditions during the drive across mainland Europe deteriorated rapidly. By the time they stopped at a remote farm on the Normandy coast, their documents and passports were in the hands of the two drivers. Nadia did not know how many trips the men had made before hers, but she suspected there had been many. Conditions deteriorated further after they were transferred to an old motor launch for the cross-Channel trip. They travelled overnight, and the girls were locked in a cabin. They had waited in France for several days until stormy weather cleared to a patchy mist.
They moored to a small, rickety jetty in Poole Harbour, where they were let out of the cabin and led ashore. Nadia recognised one of the trio of men who met them. He was Stefan, her second cousin. They were roughly bundled into the back of a van. It was then that the girls knew they had been duped. When one of them objected to their rough treatment a man punched her twice in the face. The girl spent the short drive to their final destination sobbing in the corner of the van, while the others tried to clean up her face with paper tissues. They were all hurried inside a farmhouse and taken to a room on the first floor, furnished with three old double beds.
Nadia stopped talking and began to cry. After a while she continued speaking, her voice catching, shaken with sobs.
The rapes started that night. After they had eaten, the girls were hauled out and taken to a larger room on the ground floor. Five men were waiting for them, including Stefan. The girls were each given a drink of fruit juice. Nadia refused hers and spat it out. One of the men slapped her hard across the face and Stefan tried to intervene. She couldn’t follow everything they said, but she thought Stefan was trying to protect her. An argument ensued, and Stefan left the room, slamming the door behind him. Then the horror began. Each of the men grabbed a girl and hauled her to his room. The man who took Nadia had a gap between his teeth.
Sophie glanced across to Marsh. The man at the farm.
When her ordeal ended, this man led Nadia back into the
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