Surtees’ jaw dropped. Winter stepped up and took him by the arm. ‘This way, sir.’ Surtees allowed himself to be led away without saying a word. The church folk milled in confusion, then turned and tried to make for the door. Mills barred the way.
‘We need to ask each of you some questions before you leave here,’ he told them. ‘I take it you have no objection to helping the police with their enquiries?’
‘If anyone does object, PC Mills, then arrest them immediately.’ Hardcastle’s tone brooked no argument. He looked at the assembled church members, Barbara Neville and three other people. There was another interview room, plus Hardcastle’s office that they could use for questioning.
Then again
, he thought,
there are half a dozen holding cells standing empty
. ‘PC Mills, take Mrs Neville to interview room two. PC Gray, take the others to the holding cells. Put them in alternate cells and leave the doors open. Stay there with them.’ He looked them over, kept his eyes on each person long enough for them to feel uncomfortable. ‘At this stage of the proceedings, only Mr Surtees is actually under arrest.’ He looked at Gray. ‘That may, of course, change, depending upon what we find out.’
‘This way please, Mrs Neville,’ Mills said and led her off to the interview room. Gray nodded in the opposite direction and the three young men who were left headed off toward the cells.
‘Neville first, sir?’ asked Ruth. ‘That way Surtees can sweat over his sins while he waits.’
‘Normally I’d agree, but did you see his reaction? He’s completely wrong-footed, he really thought he had us fooled. We sweat him, he has time to come up with a story. We go straight in, and go in hard, Ruth, no kid gloves, and we might just scare the truth out of him.’
‘Whatever we do, it’s a gamble. Sir, do we know what they got out of the church group today on the visit to Karen’s street?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Surtees is ready whenever you are. He’s in the interview room with PC McAllister,’ said Winter, as he came over to join them.
‘Good enough,’ said Hardcastle, going on to outline what they had in mind.
Winter nodded. ‘He’s in a stew right now. I reckon if we go straight in, we can get him before he has a chance to get his story straight. He really wasn’t expecting this at all.’
‘Are you happy with this?’ Hardcastle asked Ruth. She nodded her assent. ‘Okay, go. I’ll speak to Webb in the viewing room, then I can call you out of the interview room at an opportune moment.’
‘Okay, sir.’ She turned to Rob Winter. ‘Come on, then, I’m looking forward to this. Let’s get stuck in.’
***
When Ruth strode into the interview room with Winter at her shoulder, she was all business.
‘Mr Surtees.’ She put her notes down on the table as Surtees made to stand up and shake hands. ‘Please remain seated, sir.’ Ruth and Rob Winter took the chairs opposite Surtees. McAllister stood behind and to the right. Surtees looked over his shoulder at him; he seemed to shrink back into his seat at the man’s impassive stare.
Winter unwrapped two cassette tapes and placed them in the machine. Ruth turned it on, then ran through the necessary information. Once she had covered the preamble, she listed the names of the people in the room. ‘Present are DCI Ruth Crinson, DI Rob Winter and PC Nicholas McAllister. Also John Surtees of twenty-two Amble Avenue, Sunderland. Mr Surtees?’
‘Yes?’
‘Do you understand that you have been arrested on suspicion of the abduction of Annabelle Snowdon and the attempted abduction of Christina Snowdon?’
‘Yes, but I—’
‘You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’
‘You said that earlier. But I—’
‘Mr Surtees, do you recall the events surrounding the abduction of Annie Snowdon and the attempted abduction of Tina Snowdon nine years ago?’
‘Well, I remember seeing it on the news and I know what happened to George Cotter.’
‘Earlier today, I showed Tina Snowdon your picture and she positively identified you as the driver of the car involved in the events of that night.’
‘George Cotter—’
‘Mr Cotter is known to you, isn’t he?’
‘I’ve known him for twenty years or more.’
‘George Cotter denied any knowledge of the abduction, then out of the blue, he confessed.’
‘I never believed that he had anything to do with it.’
‘No, his confession was a lie.’
‘The stress you people put him under—’
‘George Cotter lied to protect you. Isn’t that right, Mr Surtees?
‘What? No!’
‘Yes. You are the pastor of his church. He couldn’t bear the thought that you would go to prison and so he confessed to protect you. Then, after a decent interval, he recanted his confession and had his conviction overturned. Did the two of you come up with that scheme together?’
‘No!’
‘You visited George Cotter regularly while he was in prison.’
‘Yes, he’s a friend, one of the faithful.’
‘And your saviour.’
‘My saviour?’
‘Because he took the blame for you. You, Mr Surtees, took George Cotter’s car from his driveway without his knowledge. You used it to abduct Annie Snowdon, then, after you returned it, you arranged for the young people of the church to clean it thoroughly to remove any evidence it might have held.’
‘No.’
‘But they didn’t know that the T-shirt Tina left behind was incriminating, so they left it in the car.’
‘This is preposterous.’
‘No, Mr Surtees, it is not. What it is, until I have conclusive proof, is a hypothesis. And it goes further.’
Surtees had his head in his hands.
‘DI Karen Fitzgerald knew you were guilty, but lacked the proof to charge you with anything. I believe she went looking for that proof on her own and you encountered her. What did you do then, Mr Surtees?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments?’
‘The Ten …? What? Yes, of course.’
‘And would you say that you attempt to abide by them?’
‘I don’t understand—’
‘But you clearly have no use for the one that states that you should not bear false witness against your neighbour. You should not tell lies, Mr Surtees. God says so. So why are you lying to me now?’
‘I do God’s work. God’s spirit is in absolutely everything I do.’
‘And what did God’s spirit tell you to do with Karen Fitzgerald?’
Surtees gawped at Ruth. She said nothing, allowed the silence to put pressure on him. ‘I do God’s work,’ he repeated eventually, then sat back in his seat.
‘Did your God tell you to murder Karen Fitzgerald?’ Ruth put a photograph of Karen on the table between them, facing Surtees. ‘Or to falsely imprison her? What about Annie Snowdon?’ Ruth put Annie’s photograph alongside Karen’s. ‘This is what she looked like when she was taken. Do you remember? And this,’ she put another image alongside Annie’s photograph, ‘is an artist’s impression of how she might look now, if she’s still alive. What was God’s will where she is concerned? Is she still alive, Mr Surtees?’ She tapped the artist’s impression. ‘Is this what she looks like?’ Ruth slid more pictures over the table. ‘This is Ben Addams. Amy Thompson. Timothy Barker. Rosemary Cairns. And Billy Scoggins. Do you know these children, Mr Surtees?’
‘This is too much. I don’t know what you want from me.’
‘The truth, Mr Surtees. I want the truth.’
Ruth sat back and let him think about that for a minute, gave him time to look at the faces of the missing people, and Hardcastle took the opportunity to interrupt. She looked at her watch. ‘DCI Ruth Crinson leaving the room at thirteen fifty-five.’ She stood and walked out, turned her back on Surtees without giving him a second glance.
‘Sir,’ she said when she stood outside in the corridor and the door was closed behind her.
‘Webb says they got a positive identification of the God-botherers from the neighbour, Mrs West. Unfortunately no one could say for sure whether they were the same lads they saw cleaning Karen’s car.’ He ran his hand over his head. ‘Although in fairness, I doubt they were. They’ll have had some other kids doing that and I shouldn’t think they’ll take the risk of putting them back in that neighbourhood anytime soon.’
‘So all we really have is confirmation that they were where they said they were?’
‘That and Webb’s observation that Barbara Neville was visibly nervous. She could be a weak link in the chain. Webb and Evans are questioning her in interview room two now.’ He nodded. ‘You’re doing a good job in there, Ruth. Pressing all the right buttons.’
‘I’m not getting anything out of him, though.’
‘Not yet. Wait until he’s spent a night in the cells.’
‘We thought that with Cotter. He just prayed a lot.’
Hardcastle shook his head, his hand rasping over his cheeks. ‘Surtees is a different kettle of fish. Plus we have a positive identification, we know the young people of the church destroyed evidence previously and we can put the church people in Karen’s street around the time her car was returned and her stuff taken. That’s pretty compelling.’
‘We still don’t know where she is, though. My biggest fear is that by arresting him, we set events in motion.’
‘I share your concern, but let’s face it, if they’ve kept Annie Snowdon alive for all these years, they’re unlikely to start killing people now. I think the whole church, or certainly a significant proportion, are in on this, whatever “this” is, and that it has been going on for a very long time.’
‘He insists he’s doing God’s work.’
‘Yeah, well, he’s not the first bad bastard to do that. Wrap this up for now and you and Winter come to my office. Mills, Gray and Bester are questioning the youngsters, they might have something useful we can use as a lever when we get him back in there later.’
Ruth nodded and headed back into the interview room. Surtees had taken his jacket off, damp patches visible at his armpits. No one was speaking. McAllister stood impassive and threatening behind Surtees. Winter sat opposite at the table, staring at him, keeping the pressure on. ‘DCI Ruth Crinson re-enters the room at fourteen oh-seven,’ she said, as she sat down and joined Winter in the staring game.
‘So, Mr Surtees, have you anything you would like to share with us?’ she asked him.
‘I really don’t know what you want from me. I do God’s work—’
‘Well, then, maybe you can pray for these people.’ She indicated the photographs on the table in front of him.
‘I want my solicitor.’
Ruth looked at Winter as she spoke for the benefit of the tape. ‘Interview suspended at fourteen ten. PC McAllister, please would you take care of Mr Surtees?’
Surtees looked at Ruth. ‘When can I go home?’
‘I don’t know, Mr Surtees. Possibly never.’ She turned on her heel and left, Winter following behind.
‘Nice work,’ he said when they got out of earshot.
‘He’s not talking.’
‘Not yet. He will, though. You should have seen him when you were out talking to Hardcastle.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Kept trying not to look at the pictures, but he couldn’t help it. He especially seemed to be looking at Annie Snowdon.’
‘Probably comparing the artist’s impression to the face he sees every day. Sick fuck. What do you think he does with them? Is it sexual? Does he raise church funds by sending them out cleaning? What the hell’s going on, Rob?’
‘I don’t know, but we’ll find out.’
‘We’ve already searched everywhere. Christ.’ Ruth stopped dead. ‘I’m worried sick about Karen.’
Rob turned to face her, put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Yeah, me too. But we’re going to find her, Ruth. We’re going to find all of them. And we’re going to put Surtees, Cotter and any other bugger who’s involved away for a very long time.’
‘How, Rob? I don’t know that we have much left unless one of them cracks. And if we go ahead with just a confession, they’ll sit for a few years then pull a repeat of Cotter’s trick. So how will we do it?’
‘Good old-fashioned police work. We know they’re guilty. We build a case. Every little bit of evidence we collect and verify and collate helps us. Every single bit is a piece of the jigsaw and a brick in the wall we’re going to build round them. I’m convinced we’ve got more than we realise. We need to pull it all together and see where we stand, how things look, then. And it might point us in exactly the direction we need to go in next.’ He punched her arm. ‘Come on, mate. This isn’t like you. We’re smarter than they are. We don’t have blind faith. We have processes and procedures and evidence, and we’re going to use that to build a watertight case. Am I right?’
‘Bloody right.’ Ruth ran a hand through her hair. ‘Sorry, Rob. It’s just …’
‘Karen. I know. But we’re doing this for her, her and the missing kids, and we’re going to pull this off.’
***
‘Ruth. Rob. Come on in. Right,’ said Hardcastle, clapping his hands together, ‘the gang’s all here. Mills, Gray, Bester, what did you get from the people you questioned?’