Read Online The Two Towns (The Lakeland Murders) by J. J. Salkeld - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: J. J. Salkeld
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mum.’
‘We have, Pete, and she can’t help. Or she won’t, we don’t know which. She told one of my colleagues that she was totally out of it on Wednesday night, by about ten she thinks.’
‘Aye, that sounds about right.’
‘All right. So when do you think he left?’
‘Probably in the morning. Thursday, like. When we spoke on the phone at about eleven he was still at home.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Aye, I think so. Aye, I’m sure.’
‘Good, that’s useful. So here’s where you can really help us, and your brother. Where might he have gone?’
‘Dunno.’
‘How about friends?’
‘No. I tried those.’
Mann nodded, but didn’t comment.
‘All right then, is there anyone else? Relations? Out of the area, perhaps?’
‘No. Mum doesn’t get on with any of them. Says they’re all stuck up twats, like.’
‘How about your dad?’
‘Mine, or Johnny’s? Either way he won’t be there. His dad fucked off years ago.’
‘And how about yours?’
‘Dead. An overdose when I was three.’ Jane thought he said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
‘So you can’t help us?’
‘Honestly, mate, I can’t.’
‘And you haven’t heard from Johnny?’
‘No.’
‘How about your mum? Has he contacted her?’
‘No. He wouldn’t do that.’
Mann was about to ask why, and then he realised that he already knew the answer.
‘Christ. Your mum is involved in whatever you wanted Johnny to do. That’s right, isn’t it?’
Graham hesitated. ‘Like I said, Johnny wouldn’t get in touch with our mum. But that’s all I’m saying. Listen, can I get that lift home now?’
‘Aye, you can. But if you think of anything that might help us find your brother you tell us, or tell Mr. White and he’ll pass it on to us. So you don’t need to worry about incriminating yourself, OK? You can make sure that doesn’t happen, can’t you, Mr. White?’
‘Yes’ said White gloomily, ‘I expect I can.’
The three officers stood in the CID kitchen, cradling their cups of tea. There was no-one else around, so they didn’t bother going to Hall’s office.
‘Let’s all get off home, and get a bit of kip’ said Hall. ‘But before we do let’s divvy up the tasks. Ian, you and Ray get round to the school as soon as the staff are in, and get the name and address of every kid that Johnny is even remotely friendly with. Then I want each and every door knocked on, and if necessary track the parents down at work. I’ll make sure you get all the uniformed support you need. But we need to know if any of his mates have seen him, or if Johnny talked about anywhere that he likes to retreat to. Christ knows he must need somewhere, with a family like that. And Jane, you and me will go through his computer, his phone and anything that was recovered from his room. Before we go home I’ll call HQ and get the computer and phone shipped back down to us here. The bloody tech team have been sod all use anyway. Right, is there anything I’ve missed?’
Jane and Mann both shook their heads, and the three officers stood in silence, except for the occasional sound of Ian Mann’s slurping. But they were all thinking the same thing. What were a fourteen year old’s chances, if he was sleeping rough somewhere? The nights were getting cold and long, and the days were short, wet and windy. Hall rinsed out his mug sleepily, and was about to go.
‘One thing’ said Jane. ‘Should we make a public appeal? Talk directly to Johnny. Tell him that there’s nothing to worry about. And ask anyone who’s seen him to get in touch?’
‘You’re right, Jane. I thought about sending the press office an email tonight, but nothing would happen until tomorrow anyway. So let’s see what progress we make in the morning. But if we haven’t got a solid fix on the kid by lunchtime then yes, let’s do it.’
Jane was back in the office soon after half-six, and Ian Mann was already there. Or rather he
‘We have, Pete, and she can’t help. Or she won’t, we don’t know which. She told one of my colleagues that she was totally out of it on Wednesday night, by about ten she thinks.’
‘Aye, that sounds about right.’
‘All right. So when do you think he left?’
‘Probably in the morning. Thursday, like. When we spoke on the phone at about eleven he was still at home.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Aye, I think so. Aye, I’m sure.’
‘Good, that’s useful. So here’s where you can really help us, and your brother. Where might he have gone?’
‘Dunno.’
‘How about friends?’
‘No. I tried those.’
Mann nodded, but didn’t comment.
‘All right then, is there anyone else? Relations? Out of the area, perhaps?’
‘No. Mum doesn’t get on with any of them. Says they’re all stuck up twats, like.’
‘How about your dad?’
‘Mine, or Johnny’s? Either way he won’t be there. His dad fucked off years ago.’
‘And how about yours?’
‘Dead. An overdose when I was three.’ Jane thought he said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
‘So you can’t help us?’
‘Honestly, mate, I can’t.’
‘And you haven’t heard from Johnny?’
‘No.’
‘How about your mum? Has he contacted her?’
‘No. He wouldn’t do that.’
Mann was about to ask why, and then he realised that he already knew the answer.
‘Christ. Your mum is involved in whatever you wanted Johnny to do. That’s right, isn’t it?’
Graham hesitated. ‘Like I said, Johnny wouldn’t get in touch with our mum. But that’s all I’m saying. Listen, can I get that lift home now?’
‘Aye, you can. But if you think of anything that might help us find your brother you tell us, or tell Mr. White and he’ll pass it on to us. So you don’t need to worry about incriminating yourself, OK? You can make sure that doesn’t happen, can’t you, Mr. White?’
‘Yes’ said White gloomily, ‘I expect I can.’
The three officers stood in the CID kitchen, cradling their cups of tea. There was no-one else around, so they didn’t bother going to Hall’s office.
‘Let’s all get off home, and get a bit of kip’ said Hall. ‘But before we do let’s divvy up the tasks. Ian, you and Ray get round to the school as soon as the staff are in, and get the name and address of every kid that Johnny is even remotely friendly with. Then I want each and every door knocked on, and if necessary track the parents down at work. I’ll make sure you get all the uniformed support you need. But we need to know if any of his mates have seen him, or if Johnny talked about anywhere that he likes to retreat to. Christ knows he must need somewhere, with a family like that. And Jane, you and me will go through his computer, his phone and anything that was recovered from his room. Before we go home I’ll call HQ and get the computer and phone shipped back down to us here. The bloody tech team have been sod all use anyway. Right, is there anything I’ve missed?’
Jane and Mann both shook their heads, and the three officers stood in silence, except for the occasional sound of Ian Mann’s slurping. But they were all thinking the same thing. What were a fourteen year old’s chances, if he was sleeping rough somewhere? The nights were getting cold and long, and the days were short, wet and windy. Hall rinsed out his mug sleepily, and was about to go.
‘One thing’ said Jane. ‘Should we make a public appeal? Talk directly to Johnny. Tell him that there’s nothing to worry about. And ask anyone who’s seen him to get in touch?’
‘You’re right, Jane. I thought about sending the press office an email tonight, but nothing would happen until tomorrow anyway. So let’s see what progress we make in the morning. But if we haven’t got a solid fix on the kid by lunchtime then yes, let’s do it.’
Jane was back in the office soon after half-six, and Ian Mann was already there. Or rather he
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