Yes, said Dog. What was it you heard?
I heard this man, Parslow, saying the reason youre interested in Jane Maguire is because her sons missing, that you believe hes dead, and that you want to find his mother in order to charge her with murder!
12
It wasnt as bad as the priest made out, but almost. Close questioned, Blake calmed down enough to admit that Parslow hadnt stated categorically that it was a murder hunt, only that the child was missing, the police were anxious to interview his mother, and the possibility of foul play could not be ruled out.
Look, said Dog. Why dont you go in and see what you can do for Mrs Maguire? She knows the boys missing and thats been shock enough. Ill get onto my office to see if anything else has come up.
And youll let me know? The truth this time? said Father Blake harshly.
Ill tell you everything I can, said Dog jesuitically.
Reluctantly, the priest went through into the sitting room leaving Dog to his thoughts.
The whole thing stank of Tench. He must have decided his devious purposes would best be served by going public. And hed get no argument from Parslow. Steady Eddie would have made the statement dressed as Santa Claus, so long as his pension rights were safe.
Dog cooled down a little. Perhaps he was being unfair to both Tench and Parslow. Perhaps something new had come up.
He picked up the phone from the hall table and dialled.
Romchurch police, can I help you?
CID, Sergeant Lunn.
When he heard the sergeants voice, he said, Charley, are you alone? Whats going on?
Maguire, you mean? There was some kind of media leak, I gather, so they wheeled out the super to make a statement. But why he decided to throw petrol on the fire beats me, specially as Id talked to the social worker who tried to see Maguire, and while he said a couple of odd things, there was nothing there to reinforce the murder theory.
Tell me, said Dog.
This chap confirms he rang Maguires bell and got no reply. Then he had a word with Mrs Ashley, the old lady whod made the complaint. He wasnt all that worried, it seems, cos evidently its quite a hobby of Mrs Ashleys ringing up with allegations about domestic mayhem. And in this case he reckoned shed really slipped over into fantasy land because there was no record of a child living in the flat anyway.
Maguire hadnt been in the area all that long, said Dog.
All the same, kids usually figure in the records very quickly. Health, education, that sort of thing. I checked with the DHSS about Child Allowance and theres no trace there either.
Cicero said, Would going to a private kindergarten make a difference to the records?
Officially, no. I mean, children have to be accounted for and County Hall would have a record of all the Vestey Kindergarten kids. But until someone bothers to do a cross check, the fact that a pupil at the kindergarten doesnt figure elsewhere wouldnt come up.
Whereas if the child had been registered at a local authority nursery school, it would automatically be fed into the whole system?
Right. Why so interested in that aspect, Dog? It was the same when I told Parslow. That chap, Tench, from the funny buggers, was there and he didnt seem much bothered that the child abuse thing was probably a fake alarm either.
Oh, Im bothered, Charley. Anything else?
No. Oh yes. Five minutes ago they rang up from the desk to say there was this woman asking for you and did we know when youd be back. A Miss Edmondson. Said she worked with Maguire.
First name Suzie? Long blonde girl, not bad looking?
Dont know. Never saw her.
You mean you just let her go?
Of course not. I went down but by the time I got there, your Mr Tench had swallowed her up. Willy on the desk, though, did have a languid look on his face so maybe your description fitted. Shes probably still in the supers room hang about, I hear Mr Tenchs merry laugh now Ill just have a word
No! snapped Dog, though why the word came out he did not know. But it was too late anyway. There was nothing on the end of the line but background noise of footsteps and a door opening, voices, distant and tinny, silence, more steps, then in his ear Tench, merry and bright.
Dog! Just been talking about you. How goes it, my son?
Whats going on? said Dog. Why have we gone public?
No choice, had we? Press got onto it, probably one of the mums at the kindergarten tipped them off. Youve got to cooperate with the media, Dog, or they wont play ball with yours.
But why stress the possible murder angle?
Because thats what it looks like more and more. Dont knock it, my son. Once were absolutely sure its some batty slag topping her toddler cos he got on her nerves, Ill be on my way and you can get back to the five-hour siesta!
What did Suzie Edmondson say? said Dog, refusing to let Tench irritate him off course.
What? Oh, the girl from the Health Centre, you mean. You didnt mention her, did you? Saving her for yourself, were you? Dont blame you, very tasty. But she just about wrapped it up, Dog. Thought you were just enquiring about the Jacobs business till she heard the news. Then she recalled a couple of odd things Maguire had said to her this morning. Like when she got bawled out for being late, shed told Suzie she was sick of this and was thinking of looking for a real full-time job with better money. Suzie said, what about the kid? And our little charmer shrugged and said she had a life to live too. Now I know its hearsay and what Suzie says about Maguires tone of voice would not be admissible, but it all adds up, my son. Howve you got on with the mother?
Maguire came up at the weekend. Saturday. With the boy. They didnt stay. There was a row and she left.
As he spoke his hand toyed with a spring-loaded index by the phone, its right angles exactly matching those of the highly polished table. He touched M. There was only one entry: Maddy, with a number after it.
A row, you say? What about? Any idea where she went?
Oh, just the usual mother and daughter thing, said Dog. And Mrs Maguire assumed shed drive home.
But we know she didnt. Could be thats when it happened, Dog, said Tench. And she spent all Sunday thinking up her fantasy. Well, itll all come out in the wash. What time will you be back?
Oh, a couple of hours, said Dog vaguely.
See you then if Im still around. Take care, old son.
I will, said Dog, replacing the receiver. Hed no idea why hed lied, except as a defensive response to a gut feeling that Tench was lying too. But about what? He picked up the phone again, dialled Directory Enquiries, identified himself, gave the number next to Maddy, and asked for a name and address. It took half a minute.
Madeleine Salter, The Wardens Flat, South Essex College of Physical Education, Basildon.
He went back to the sitting room. Father Blake was kneeling beside Mrs Maguire, holding her hands and talking urgently to her in a low voice, but there didnt seem to be any response. Dog motioned with his head and the priest followed him into the hall.
Look, said Dog. Ive been on the phone to my station and its not as bad as it sounds.
Will you spell it out to me, Inspector, said the priest grimly. If Im to help this poor creature, Ive got to know how much reassurance I can honestly give her.
Fair enough, said Dog. He gave a rapid digest of the facts, missing out any reference to Special Branch.
So theres nothing to show that Janey had hurt the boy? said Blake fiercely.
Dog hesitated. Then he said quietly, Father, be as comforting as you can, but until we can see our way clearer, it would be wrong to promise certainties.
The gazes locked. It was Dog who turned away first, unable to meet the pain and anger he saw in the priests eyes.
Ill get the local force to send someone round, he said. It wont be long before the press get onto her, I imagine, and itll take a uniform to fight those boys off. Take care of her, Father.
He made for the door. At the telephone table he paused, wondering whether to ring the local station. Better to call personally as he passed. There would be anger there if theyd heard Parslows statement especially as Denver already suspected hed been holding out on him earlier. He shrugged. The anger of colleagues was nothing compared with the pain he was leaving here.
He noticed hed moved the telephone index slightly off square. Carefully he realigned it before he left.
It was the least he could do for Mrs Maguire.
Worse, it was probably the most.
13
The trip south was no better than the trip north. It felt like the wee small hours when Dog hit home territory, but his dash clock told him it was only eleven.
He saw the Romchurch sign, but kept his foot hard on the accelerator. When youre on a rush, you dont eat, you dont crap, you hardly breathe. Just play. Gospel according to Endo.
Basildon. He looked at a map as he drove, located the college. Five minutes later he was parked on the verge by the main gate.
The college occupied a flat windswept site south of the A127. There was still agricultural land here but it would have taken an unreconstructed East Ender, or an estate agent, to call the location rural. The lights of housing prickled in all directions and there was a constant drone of traffic from the arterial road.
But, set in a couple of acres of playing fields, and emptied now for the Christmas vacation, these inelegant boxes of concrete and glass still managed to chill Dogs heart like a Gothic mansion.
There was a hoarding by the gate bearing a diagram of the complex. He studied it, located the wardens flat, then slipped through the gate. There was a caretakers lodge just inside but he didnt want either the bother or the disturbance of explaining his presence so he cut away from it across the grass to minimize sound. The rain had finally stopped and the skies were clearing. Tendrils of mist from the sodden ground curled around his ankles and from time to time he stumbled in the tussocky grass. He doubted if this was doing his expensive shoes much good. Or his career.
He reached the block where the flat was located. The main double glass door was locked, but presumably the warden would have her own personal entrance. Even a college lecturer was entitled to a private life.
He moved cautiously along the flagged walkway running alongside the building. He had to make a full circuit to the other side before he found what he was looking for. There was a car park here with a solitary car parked in it, right outside a conventional single door with a bell push.