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Authors: Lynda La Plante
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brothers had been at boarding school and were not at home when she went missing.
As Anna was wondering how much their family life and relationships had changed since the disappearance ofRebekka, Joan approached her, excitedly waving a piece of paper.
‘I have a contact number and address for Henry Oates’s ex-wife. She is working at a dry-cleaner’s in Glasgow. As for his two daughters, the eldest, aged eighteen, is in drug rehab and the other, only sixteen, is six months pregnant.’
‘That was fast. Good work.’
‘I spoke with the Department for Work and Pensions and they put me in touch with the Glasgow housing association. Mrs Eileen Oates has a criminal record here in London for prostitution and drug abuse. It appears she’s now drug-free with no arrests or convictions for nine years.’
‘Thanks, Joan. Did you speak to her personally?’
‘No.’
‘Okay, I’ll do that and in the meantime can you get me a contact number for a DCI on the Glasgow murder squad?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
Mike Lewis drew up the blinds from his office window and tapped to indicate he wanted to talk to Anna. It irritated her slightly that he couldn’t walk the few steps from his office to ask her, but crooked a finger instead; it reminded her of the way Langton often did it.
‘You wanted to see me,’ she said, entering Mike’s office without knocking.
He held up the phone, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. ‘It’s Langton, he wants to talk to you.’
‘Oh thank you.’
Mike walked out, closing the door. She sat behind the desk and waited a moment before she spoke into the phone.
‘DCI Travis.’
‘Listen, I’ve just had a lengthy talk to Mike. My feelings are these: it’s a no-brainer the fact they have Oates bang to rights for the murder of Justine Marks.
‘Mike told me about his latest interview with Oates and my take on the bastard is this: the more visits he gets and the more attention we give him, the more he’s going to string us along. I don’t think he’s mentally unstable and anyway Mike tells me Kumar hasn’t raised the issue of pre-trial psychiatric reports.’
‘I think it’s only a matter of time, though, and it would be in his client’s best interests,’ Anna replied.
‘This is what I want the team to concentrate on. We need hard evidence that ties Oates into the two other murders he claimed to have committed.’
‘It’s hard without him giving us more details.’
Langton snapped and raised his voice. ‘If he killed them he’s dumped the bodies, so he will have left evidence. Find it, find them, it’ll surface. When you have the evidence apply for a break in police custody from the prison, bring him in and scare the living daylights out of him.’
‘What about a BIA to help with the interview strategy?’
‘A BI what …?’
‘Behavioural Investigative Adviser – they provide support and advice that links the academic basis of behavioural science to the investigation of serious crime.’
‘You mean a profiler. No fucking way.’
‘They are now police-accredited psychologists and might help us to understand Oates’s way of thinking. We often recommend them on case reviews.’
‘If you need a shrink to tell you how to interview a suspect then I suggest you go back to your desk at Specialist Casework. If Oates wants to play at being crazy you find the evidence to show he’s a devious bastard who knewexactly what he was doing. Remind him what happened to Peter Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper – the judge rejected diminished responsibility and the expert testimonies of four psychiatrists who all thought he was a paranoid schizo.’
‘That was thirty years ago, things have changed and—’
‘Yeah and thirty years later he’s still in Broadmoor, so if Oates or Kumar think they can pull one over on us then they’re both mistaken. You been to see the Jordans yet?’
‘I’m still reading the case file. I need—’
‘Get it done and go and see them.’
He
As Anna was wondering how much their family life and relationships had changed since the disappearance ofRebekka, Joan approached her, excitedly waving a piece of paper.
‘I have a contact number and address for Henry Oates’s ex-wife. She is working at a dry-cleaner’s in Glasgow. As for his two daughters, the eldest, aged eighteen, is in drug rehab and the other, only sixteen, is six months pregnant.’
‘That was fast. Good work.’
‘I spoke with the Department for Work and Pensions and they put me in touch with the Glasgow housing association. Mrs Eileen Oates has a criminal record here in London for prostitution and drug abuse. It appears she’s now drug-free with no arrests or convictions for nine years.’
‘Thanks, Joan. Did you speak to her personally?’
‘No.’
‘Okay, I’ll do that and in the meantime can you get me a contact number for a DCI on the Glasgow murder squad?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
Mike Lewis drew up the blinds from his office window and tapped to indicate he wanted to talk to Anna. It irritated her slightly that he couldn’t walk the few steps from his office to ask her, but crooked a finger instead; it reminded her of the way Langton often did it.
‘You wanted to see me,’ she said, entering Mike’s office without knocking.
He held up the phone, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. ‘It’s Langton, he wants to talk to you.’
‘Oh thank you.’
Mike walked out, closing the door. She sat behind the desk and waited a moment before she spoke into the phone.
‘DCI Travis.’
‘Listen, I’ve just had a lengthy talk to Mike. My feelings are these: it’s a no-brainer the fact they have Oates bang to rights for the murder of Justine Marks.
‘Mike told me about his latest interview with Oates and my take on the bastard is this: the more visits he gets and the more attention we give him, the more he’s going to string us along. I don’t think he’s mentally unstable and anyway Mike tells me Kumar hasn’t raised the issue of pre-trial psychiatric reports.’
‘I think it’s only a matter of time, though, and it would be in his client’s best interests,’ Anna replied.
‘This is what I want the team to concentrate on. We need hard evidence that ties Oates into the two other murders he claimed to have committed.’
‘It’s hard without him giving us more details.’
Langton snapped and raised his voice. ‘If he killed them he’s dumped the bodies, so he will have left evidence. Find it, find them, it’ll surface. When you have the evidence apply for a break in police custody from the prison, bring him in and scare the living daylights out of him.’
‘What about a BIA to help with the interview strategy?’
‘A BI what …?’
‘Behavioural Investigative Adviser – they provide support and advice that links the academic basis of behavioural science to the investigation of serious crime.’
‘You mean a profiler. No fucking way.’
‘They are now police-accredited psychologists and might help us to understand Oates’s way of thinking. We often recommend them on case reviews.’
‘If you need a shrink to tell you how to interview a suspect then I suggest you go back to your desk at Specialist Casework. If Oates wants to play at being crazy you find the evidence to show he’s a devious bastard who knewexactly what he was doing. Remind him what happened to Peter Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper – the judge rejected diminished responsibility and the expert testimonies of four psychiatrists who all thought he was a paranoid schizo.’
‘That was thirty years ago, things have changed and—’
‘Yeah and thirty years later he’s still in Broadmoor, so if Oates or Kumar think they can pull one over on us then they’re both mistaken. You been to see the Jordans yet?’
‘I’m still reading the case file. I need—’
‘Get it done and go and see them.’
He
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