Authors: Lee Weeks
‘I understand, Guv.’
‘Really . . . you are going to have to lay yourself bare for this one. If you don’t he’ll spot you a mile off. Ebb – you’ve just seen what he’s capable of. He
shows no mercy and he eeks out every drop of pain from his victims, but something . . .
something
made them trust him. He’s clever, manipulative, like I’ve never seen before.
My head and my heart says I don’t want you anywhere near him.’
She looked across at Carter. ‘I would agree – but I believe that Danielle is still alive and I think that from inside that coffin, she’s praying we’re going to find
her.’
Carter shook his head and looked at her incredulously.
‘Christ! I don’t think I’ve ever heard you so emotional. You must want to do it.’
‘I do and I think it’s worth me trying. We know that something about his choice of victim says that he grew up either without a mother or with a mother who was a destructive
influence rather than a nurturing one. I understand what that’s like. Makes me a good target, Guv.’
Carter turned away for a few seconds to gather his thoughts. He looked back at her. He could see her eyes were hungry for it.
‘Yes.’ He turned back. ‘It does.’
‘Her legend is going to have to be watertight,’ Bowie said to Robbo, who had joined Carter in Chief Inspector Bowie’s office. ‘Can you do it this fast?
The training alone for a UC would be two weeks normally.’
‘We don’t have two weeks.’
‘Ebony has a ready-made legend,’ Robbo said. ‘She would be difficult to trace even if she used her own name.’
‘Whose name will you give her? We can no longer use the names of dead infants.’
‘Ebony’s legend will closely follow her own life. We keep her Christian name so that anyone who might know her and see her in the street won’t blow her cover.’
Carter shook his head. ‘To be honest you don’t have to worry about that; Ebony lives a very sheltered life: she works and then she goes home. She doesn’t have any social media
accounts, she doesn’t even have a credit card.’
‘We’ll change her surname to Wilson,’ continued Robbo. ‘Doctor her birth records, issue a new passport and driver’s licence. We’ll keep her childhood in
children’s homes – it suits our purposes very well – but we have her come out of them at the age of twelve and move to Jamaica to live with her grandparents, returning six months
ago. She returned to get Archie into school here and because this is her home. She’s been on benefits. She’s obviously bright but a bit unsettled in her life – big potential but
finds herself a bit out of her depth at the moment. Life’s changing, new prospects, going solo.’
‘When will you have everything ready?’ asked Bowie.
‘Pretty much ready to go, Sir. I asked the guys in the technical unit to design some special equipment for her and I’ve been told it’s ready so I’ll collect that now and
we’ll put the package together and get her familiar with it.’
‘Okay. Carter, you’ll have to keep the appearance of still being the SIO on this case, but I want you to hand it over to me and you concentrate on Ebony.’
‘I think I can manage the two roles, Sir. It will look less suspicious to the rest of the team.’
Bowie shook his head, his face strained. ‘We’ll share the role. I want nothing to stand in our way. Make sure you put her to the test before you send her out. I want her fluent in
her legend.’
‘Yeah, I’ve contacted the UC course instructors and they’ll pick her up when she’s least expecting it, make sure she’s a hundred per cent ready.’
‘Can we talk in private?’ Jeanie came to find Carter. They went to the canteen to get a coffee and sat well away from listening ears.
‘I want to talk about Ebony. To start with – the UC work?’ Jeanie said.
‘Robbo’s creating a profile for her at the moment. Can you fix her up with an image?’
Jeanie nodded. ‘Yeah, but I’m not sure she’s the right choice. Not Ebony. She’s too vulnerable. She is only tough out of necessity. She has a lot to learn in life. She
has the nice things to learn – she knows all about the horrible things.’
‘She’s had it tough; just like our victims. It makes sense.’
‘Yes, but they had the love of their child, of their families, someone else on this earth to care about them when they were tricked into trusting this man. Ebony is yet to find that kind
of trust and affection. She’s never been loved like that.’
Carter looked across at Jeanie and shook his head. ‘You’re wrong. Lots of people care deeply for Ebony.’
‘We all
care
deeply for her but love? Real love? Ebony has never known it. That’s her Achilles’ heel. She could make a mistake one day. The one thing Ebony has never
had is affection. Every boyfriend she’s ever had has only lasted a few months. It seems they reach a point when they’re just not getting what they want from her. And I think
that’s because she doesn’t know how to trust and give affection. She has massive abandonment issues. She’s not a whole person – not yet. She has a long way to go. She
doesn’t know the game or how to play it.’
‘I gave her the option of backing out. I even pushed her to do it, but she’s determined to carry this through. We need to support her in her choice.’ Carter wanted to reach out
and fleetingly touch Jeanie’s hand as it rested on the tabletop but he didn’t, partly because it had a wedding ring on it.
Jeanie nodded.
‘Okay. I’m not happy but I’m part of a team and I’ll stand by Ebony every step of the way. She saved my life once and if I can, I’ll do anything to save
hers.’
‘Thank you. I mean it. I can see how much you care and I can tell you I feel the same.’
‘Okay, well to business then,’ said Jeanie. ‘We are a team after all. I’ll take Ebony off to the shops to get a new image as soon as we’ve finished here.’
Jeanie left Carter and went to find Ebony at her desk. They drove to Emily Styles’ house to pick up some things of Emily’s that would give them a better idea of
what she was like. The Styles had been warned and had a box waiting for them. Then they drove towards Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
‘We’ll go and get you some clothes, Ebb, and then I must get to Tracy and see how she is. What are you looking at there?’
Ebony turned the photo album to show Jeanie the page.
‘That’s on a caravan holiday with Elaine and Trevor. They told me about it. It was an important time to forge new bonds with Emily. I get the feeling they were just beginning to know
her properly as an adult after all the years of her rebelling as a teenager. Sky must have brought them all together. Babies do that, you know, Ebb . . . broaden your view – start making you
think about the big family picture. I’ve even had to make an effort to get along with Pete’s mother and I wouldn’t if I didn’t have Christa. Quite frankly if I didn’t
have Christa I’d hire a hit man to take care of her.’ Jeanie giggled.
Ebony smiled. She was listening but choosing not to comment. She knew Jeanie well enough to know that Jeanie didn’t expect non-stop chatter from her. Ebony was someone who thought about
what she would say. Jeanie was the opposite. She tended to open her mouth, start talking and then roll with it. Ebony often went around to Jeanie’s to babysit Christa. As soon as she’d
got her settled Ebony could enjoy the luxury of a warm house, a family home with food in the fridge and Jeanie’s stash of chocolates. She’d settle down to read a book or watch telly.
Sometimes she stayed over and Jeanie cooked her breakfast. Often she stayed the whole day then. Pete was a lovely guy: quiet and geeky and so in love with Jeanie. Ebony hoped she could find someone
like Pete. But that would involve effort and maybe a bit of therapy to build her self-esteem when it came to relationships. Ebony preferred men as friends.
Jeanie glanced across at her. ‘Christa mentioned you the other day.’
‘What did she say?’
‘She said Ebony likes chocolate
a lot
.’
‘Damn – she must have caught me. Kids are so sneaky.’
‘Yeah, I’ve been told off at the nursery for Christa’s swearing. She says
shit
when something goes wrong. You forget they suddenly become little mimics. She’s
very fond of you, Ebb.’
Ebony didn’t answer – she knew what Jeanie was doing. Jeanie wanted Ebony to get on with finding a boyfriend. After the boyfriend would come the child. Jeanie was a bit of a
surrogate mother to Ebony.
Ebony doubted that she would ever have kids. Her own fractured childhood was not a good template. If she did have them they would definitely never be meeting their grandmother. Ebony’s
mother was in a secure mental hospital after being convicted of murder. All Ebony’s childhood had been spent watching her back, watching her mother’s moods. Ebony’s happiest times
had been when she went to stay with foster parents. Even the children’s homes were better than staying with her mum. But that brought a crushing guilt – not to love your own mother
seemed to be a terrible crime.
She turned the pages of the album.
‘She was really pretty,’ said Jeanie, looking over Ebony’s shoulder. ‘Red hair. I always wanted red hair.’
‘Individual-looking rather than sweet,’ answered Ebony as she continued turning the pages of the album. ‘Quirky almost: face like a pixie.’
‘We didn’t get a lot of useful info from Elaine. It’s hard to see how Emily lived when it’s all been boxed up. You can see her style though. I would say both girls were
not that big on the new porno look for women or wearing kids’ clothes.’
Ebony turned the pages in the album thoughtfully.
‘Yeah, I don’t know much about fashion.’
‘What do you wear if you and Tina are hitting the town?’
‘Jeans and a top.’
‘Would you wear the kind of thing Emily’s got on?’
Ebony shook her head. ‘It’s a dress. I never wear dresses or skirts. But I guess it was summer in this picture.’ She showed Jeanie. ‘It’s a long sundress type of
thing. It’s a bit hippy maybe?’
Jeanie shook her head. ‘Those long skirts were in fashion last summer.’
Ebony turned the pages. ‘Fashionable hippy then?’
‘Have you got Danielle’s iPod?’ asked Jeanie.
‘Here.’ Ebony took it out of the bag containing the personal items they’d taken from Danielle’s flat.
‘Let’s put it through the system here and listen to it.’
Ebony connected it up.
‘Oasis. Arctic Monkeys. Old-fashioned type of rock chick,’ said Jeanie. Ebony skipped forward along the tracks. ‘Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Black Keys, Florence and the
Machine.’ Jeanie reeled off the names of the artists whilst drumming her fingers on the steering wheel.
‘How do you know so much about music?’ asked Ebony.
Jeanie shrugged. ‘Always loved it. All kinds. You have to be brought up with music to know about people like Bob Dylan. Danielle loves acoustic, poetical lyrics.’ They parked up and
walked into the centre, stopping outside H&M.
‘Let’s start here.’
Jeanie led the way, going around the shop collecting clothes whilst Ebony trailed behind her carrying them. Within twenty minutes they were in the changing room.
‘Try these baggy trousers with these five different tops and we’ll decide a look for you.’ Jeanie separated the different styles of clothes onto separate hanging space in the
changing room. Ebony slipped out of her work clothes and waited to be handed the first pair of combat-style trousers. ‘I reckon we go for practical, not too bright, with a hint of feminine
about it. Let your hair down, Ebb.’ Ebony undid the ponytail at the back of her head and untwisted the knot. Her hair ballooned out over her shoulders. ‘So pretty, your hair, like soft,
black candyfloss.’
‘Legacy from my Jamaican dad.’ She waited whilst Jeanie chose a top and took the hanger out of an embroidered peasant-style cotton blouse in green.
‘Ebb, why have you got a sports bra on?’
Ebony shrugged. ‘I always wear them.’
‘They make you look much flatter than you are.’ Ebony didn’t answer. She pulled the blouse over her head. The sports bra was visible as an off-white cloth bar across the gape
where the buttons did up. ‘We’ll have to get you a few bras. I reckon you’re a thirty-four B. Christ, I wish I was that. Mine are huge since I had Christa. It’s taking me
forever to get my figure back. I’m going to go to the gym, Ebb. I’ll have to stop making excuses and just do it.’
‘Don’t beat yourself up about it. Christa’s a pretty good excuse, Jeanie.’
‘I know but I’ll have to think of something; I’m sick of not being able to get back into my clothes.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about it,’ Ebony said as she held out her hand, waiting to exchange another top.
‘That’s all right for you to say. If I had your figure I’d show it off, wear some short skirts sometimes – your legs are fab. I wouldn’t worry about it
either.’
‘I’m shapeless.’ Ebony put the clothes neatly back on their hangers.
‘No you’re not. Who told you that? Whoever it was is not seeing what I see in that mirror. Just jealous, I expect.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Ebony avoided looking at herself in the mirror. ‘I’ve always been big-boned. My mother always tried to make me look pretty – never worked. My mum was
petite but curvy. The opposite to me basically.’
‘You’re athletic and lean but with a proper waist and a woman’s shape. Be proud, Ebb.’ Jeanie could see Ebony was beginning to feel uncomfortable and snatch at the
clothes. ‘Okay. Torture’s over, Ebb. I’ve decided. ‘We’ll take four of these tops, these two pairs of trousers, and we’ll pick you up a pair of skinny jeans for
the evening. Done. Oh, and some underwear: bras that fit, for Christ’s sake.’
It would be evening before Jeanie could think of making it back to Tracy. She gave her a ring.
‘There will be officers stationed outside from now on – just as a precaution. You know – I’m very proud of you – you’re coping much better than you
think.’
‘Thank you, Jeanie. I feel exhausted. I can see me going to bed the same time as Jackson.’
‘What about Steve – is he coming home tonight?’
‘He might do. We have to talk about it.’
‘Do you want me around tonight?’