Urban Myth (10 page)

T
he team were still waiting to find out why the last call made on Genna Boyd’s mobile phone was to a man named Jack Keaton in the States.

He hadn’t answered his phone despite repeated attempts to contact him, so they’d requested help from the Houston Police Department. Now they were waiting for them to get back. It was a slow process because Texas is six hours behind GMT and for the cops there it was low priority.

But the team had better luck tracking down the company that produced the DVDs found in Genna’s flat. It turned out that Filthy Films was a limited company with an address in the Sholing area of Southampton. Two registered directors were named as Damien Roth and Belinda Wallis. The company, which had been trading for three years, also had a website.

Temple checked this out and found it was little more than an online store for selling their pornographic DVDs. There were links to other porn sites, including those set up by the people who appeared in their movies. Five of these so-called ‘artists’ were listed. Two men and three women – one of them Genna Boyd. Her own site contained a short bio section which described her as a ‘talented actress and model who worked exclusively for Filthy Films.’ It listed her interests as reading, swimming and TV history documentaries. Yeah right, Temple thought. There were also freeze frames from the various movies she appeared in.

At the top of the screen was a sign-up icon and below it a list of ways to contact Genna including ‘send message’, ‘instant message’ and ‘friends’ comments’. Temple clicked on the ‘friends’ comments’ icon and noted that Genna had over two thousand so-called friends. More than three hundred comments were displayed.

The first, from someone calling himself Wacko Will, said:
‘Hello beautiful. Can’t wait to see your next movie. You have the best ass in the world.’

Cool Bobby from Brooklyn in New York wrote:
‘I really got off on your solo scene with the bottle. What a fucking turn on babe.’

Steve-the-Stud from Birmingham wrote:
‘Keep up the good work Genna. I love you and my dream is to one day lick you all over.’

Temple read a few more comments and then closed the site. Not for the first time it occurred to him that there were a lot of people out there leading sad, lonely lives.

After a quick ciggy he went out into the incident room for the evening debrief. He began by telling the team that he and DI Metcalfe would shortly be interviewing the two directors of Filthy Films.

‘We’ve spoken to Damien Roth on the phone and he’s expecting us at seven,’ Temple said. ‘But before we go I want to summarize where we are and decide what needs to be followed up by the night crew.’

There were perhaps fifteen people in the room – detectives, uniforms and auxiliary civilians. They’d all been working their socks off. After learning the identity of the victim, the pace of the
investigation
had accelerated. There were suddenly innumerable lines of inquiry to pursue. Information was piling up.

‘We now have confirmation that the dead girl is indeed Genna Boyd,’ Temple said. ‘There’s a match between the victim’s fingerprints and those found in the flat.’

‘We still haven’t traced her next of kin,’ DC John Reagan said. ‘But we understand her mother lives locally and we’re following up various leads.’

‘We can also assume she wasn’t murdered in her flat,’ Temple said. ‘Forensics found no trace of blood and the pathologist reckons there would have been plenty of it. For now we also assume that it was the killer who ransacked the flat. We can rule out robbery because her jewellery and other valuables are still there. So we need to find out what he was looking for. We’ve checked her bank accounts and they’re intact. No one has tried to access them in the past few days.’

‘What about a computer?’ DC Reagan asked.

‘That’s a good question,’ Temple said. ‘There wasn’t one in the flat.
But she must have had one because she had her own official website. So we assume that it was taken by whoever trashed the flat.’

Temple told them about Genna’s website and how it put Genna into contact with her fans.

‘Check it out and see what turns up,’ he told no one in particular. ‘You’ll find that she has lots of admirers. See if you can track down those living in the south of England.’

‘Why just the south of England, Guv?’ someone asked.

‘Because we have to start somewhere. She’s got over two thousand registered friends and they’re all over the world.’

Temple then asked for reports from the detectives.

DC Neil Buchan was the first up. ‘We’ve drawn a blank in Burley, Guv,’ he said. ‘No one we’ve spoken to has heard of Genna Boyd. And you won’t be surprised to learn that we haven’t found anyone who saw anything suspicious on the day she was killed. We’ve had teams searching the moor all day but they’ve come up with sweet fuck all.’

‘What about CCTV?’

‘Cameras are few and far between in the forest and none within a mile of where the body was buried,’ Buchan said.

Another detective explained that cameras within a half mile radius of Genna’s flat were now being checked, but without knowing what they were looking for it was going to be a long haul.

‘We’ve put out a country-wide alert for Genna’s car,’ Angel said. ‘There was tax and insurance paperwork in the flat so we have all the details.’

Angel then said that all the numbers on Genna’s call list were being checked out and they’d already discovered that three of them belonged to guys who’d used her as an escort.

‘But going through the list is going to take time,’ she said. ‘We really need more officers.’

‘I’ve spoken to the super,’ Temple said. ‘He’s got a meeting with the chief constable in an hour and he’s confident we’ll get more help. The media are getting excited about this so he won’t want to be accused of skimping because the victim was a girl of dubious character.’

Mention of the media prompted a question from Wayne Fuller, the press officer assigned to the case. ‘When will you be ready to stage a press conference?’ he asked.

‘I’ll do it tomorrow,’ Temple said. ‘By then we should know more. How much do they know about Genna?’

‘They’ve got wind that she was into porn and prostitution if that’s what you mean,’ Fuller said. ‘I gather one of the nationals took a call from the neighbour, Christine Faber. She was after money.’

Temple nodded resignedly. He’d been hoping to keep a lid on that aspect of the case, at least for a while, but it didn’t surprise him that the information was already out there. People were quick off the mark to cash in on anything these days – including murder.

T
he two directors of Filthy Films lived and worked in a large detached bungalow opposite a primary school. Temple couldn’t have imagined a more unlikely base for a pair of hardcore porn peddlers.

The street was clean and quiet, with neatly trimmed privet hedges and speed bumps in the road. He wondered if the neighbours knew what the couple got up to.

It was Damien Roth who answered the front door to Temple and Angel. His friendly smile revealed a set of gleaming white teeth, with a large gap at the front.

‘You must be the two detectives,’ he said. ‘So who’s who?’

‘I’m DCI Jeff Temple,’ Temple said. ‘This is DI Angelica Metcalfe.’

‘Then please come in. I’m Damien.’

Roth was not what Temple had expected. He looked like a respectable teacher, or doctor, and not a producer of dirty movies. He was maybe six feet tall with broad shoulders and a rugby player’s build. But he had a thin, hollowed-out face that didn’t seem to match his body. His fair hair was shoulder length and neatly combed, falling over the collar of his white button-down shirt.

As he closed the door behind them, he said, ‘The living room is through the door on the right.’

A woman in a tight green sweater and jeans was waiting for them. She was about five feet, six inches and lean, with straight auburn hair cut into a bob, the fringe resting below her brow. There were too many hard lines in her face for it to be pretty, Temple thought. Her eyes were black and hard, like chips of coal. And they homed in on Angel.

‘This is Belinda,’ Roth said. ‘My fiancée and business partner. Belinda, this is DCI Jeff Temple and DI Angelica Metcalfe.’

Belinda Wallis smiled, but it didn’t sit right on her face.

‘Angelica is a lovely name,’ she said. ‘You share it with a girl I used to know. We called her Angel.’

Angel shrugged. ‘That’s what my friends and colleagues call me.’

‘And why not?’ Wallis said. ‘It suits you. You have an angelic face. Perfect bone structure.’

Angel blushed and gave a little cough.

‘Belinda’s right,’ Roth said. ‘Yours is a natural beauty, unlike most of the girls who come to us. They try too hard and it shows.’

‘We can’t stand false boobs and Botox faces,’ Wallis explained. ‘All the girls who appear in our movies are one hundred per cent real.’

‘That’s good to know,’ Angel said.

Temple noted with amusement that his DI looked distinctly uncomfortable.

He was going to pass comment but then caught her eye and the look which told him:
Don’t you dare
.

Roth motioned at one of two chunky sofas positioned either side of a smoked-glass coffee table.

‘Please, sit down.’

The two detectives planted themselves on the sofa and Roth and Wallis sat opposite. Wallis chewed on a thumbnail and continued to stare at Angel. Roth leaned forward, giving them his full attention.

Temple took in the room. It was bland and anonymous. No personal touches, no pictures, no plants. There was a wall-mounted TV and a cabinet with a glass front. Inside, a DVD machine and a Sky satellite box. The carpet was the same dull cream as the walls, the curtains dark brown and heavy.

‘Thank you for agreeing to see us at such short notice,’ Temple said.

‘It’s a shocking business,’ Roth replied. ‘We still can’t believe it. Are you certain the girl who was found is Genna?’

‘Ninety-nine per cent,’ Temple said.

Roth shook his head. ‘I can’t imagine why anyone would want to harm her. She was such a lovely person.’

‘How long had you known her?’

Roth pursed his lips. ‘Just over a year. She answered one of our ads in the local paper. We were looking for models to take part in our adult productions.’

‘You mean porn films?’ Angel said.

Roth nodded, unabashed. ‘As you know, that’s what we do. And we’ve been very successful at it.’

Angel raised her brow. ‘Is that so?’

Wallis got in before Roth could respond. ‘There’s a big demand for the type of high quality hardcore material that we produce,’ she said. ‘We’re a small company with a growing reputation.’

‘What’s so special about your stuff?’ Angel asked.

‘We’re both passionate about what we do,’ Wallis said. ‘Our
production
values are high and appreciated by porn aficionados the world over.’

Angel bit down on her lower lip and Temple could see that she was trying not to grin.

‘When was the last time you saw Genna, Mr Roth?’ Temple asked.

‘We checked before you came,’ he said. ‘She was here for some filming eight days ago.’

‘Did you speak to her after that?’

‘Belinda did. Two days later. She rang her with an offer of more work. That would have been the fifteenth.’

Temple turned to Wallis. ‘Was she OK when you talked to her, Miss Wallis?’

‘She was fine,’ she said. ‘But then Genna was always so – well – together. She never turned down work. But for some reason on this occasion she did.’

‘Do you know why?’

‘She didn’t say and I didn’t ask. It was really none of my business.’

Temple mulled this over, said, ‘Who else was here on the fifteenth with her?’

‘There were two other performers,’ Roth said. ‘Jordan Cash and Bev Stuart. They’re both regulars with us. We shot a few scenes for a new DVD.’

‘We’ll need their contact details,’ Temple said. ‘Along with the details of everyone else who worked with Genna.’

‘That won’t be a problem, Inspector. We use a small band of
freelancers
and I’m sure they’ll be only too happy to help.’

‘Did she have a special relationship with any of them?’ Angel asked.

‘I very much doubt that,’ Roth said. ‘It was work and they were colleagues. As far as we know, Genna didn’t have a serious boyfriend. And she kept her private life to herself.’

‘I take it you knew she was an escort,’ Temple said.

Roth nodded. ‘She was upfront about that at the start. But it wasn’t an issue with us. We’ve used other girls who were sex workers.’

Temple thought about that. He wasn’t surprised. Sex was big
business
– even in this neck of the woods. The rate at which young girls were getting involved was quite alarming. It was why the detectives who worked in the Hampshire vice squad were so overstretched.

‘Do you know if she worked for someone?’ he asked.

‘If you mean did she have a pimp then the answer is no. But she worked the street sometimes, around the St Mary’s area of the city.’

‘Is this where you do your filming, Mr Roth?’ Angel asked.

‘Mostly in the spare room at the back,’ Roth said. ‘But we’re very discreet. The neighbours have no idea what we do. They think we run an export business.’

‘It must be quite restrictive here. I mean, it’s not very big.’

‘Depends what we’re filming,’ Roth said. ‘If its bondage with lots of equipment we often go to other locations. It’s pretty difficult to
transform
the third bedroom into a dungeon.’

‘I can imagine it is,’ Angel said.

Temple cleared his throat and took out his notebook.

‘Have you been to her flat?’ he asked.

‘A couple of times. We had to pick her up once when her car was off the road. And then another time she let us film her there in a solo scene.’

‘Have you been to the flat in the last few days?’

‘No we haven’t. There was no need. And besides, we’ve been very busy.’

Temple scribbled down a few notes. After a moment, he said, ‘Do you know if Genna was in contact with her mother? We understand she lives in the area.’

Roth shrugged. ‘I don’t know if they were in touch. But I do know that they didn’t get along. There was history there, apparently. Genna mentioned it once but refused to elaborate.’

‘Tell me,’ Temple said. ‘Have you any idea who might have carried out this murder?’

Roth shook his head emphatically. ‘None at all. Genna wasn’t the kind of girl to have enemies. But I suppose that through her work as
an escort she would have come into contact with some unsavoury men.’

‘No question about it,’ Temple said. ‘But it’s going to take time to trace her clients, especially if their numbers don’t come up on her phone records.’

‘Do you have any clues?’

‘A few, but it’s early days. We’re still going through her flat. It was in a bit of a mess.’

He watched Roth’s face closely for a reaction. When there wasn’t one, he added, ‘For your information someone ransacked the flat. They were obviously looking for something.’

Now Roth did react with what appeared to be genuine shock. ‘Bloody hell. Do you think it was connected with her death?’

‘We’re not sure yet. Any thoughts on what they might have been looking for?’

‘I haven’t a clue. Why would I?’

Temple didn’t bother to answer. Instead, he changed tack, said, ‘How many of your films did Genna appear in, Mr Roth?’

Roth had to think about it. ‘Ten or twelve,’ he said. ‘We paid her well and she seemed to enjoy the work. Told us she was saving to buy her own house abroad.’

‘And these DVDs – where were they made available?’

‘On our website, for one thing,’ he said. ‘Also on Genna’s own site. In addition we have a distribution arrangement with a wholesaler who sells them on to sex shops here and abroad. They also appear on internet pay sites from where they can be downloaded.’

‘Do you know if Genna had any stalkers?’

‘She never said.’

‘But what if someone fixated on her as a result of watching her in action? Would that individual have been able to find out where she lived?’

‘Not from us. We never give out any information and I’m sure that Genna wouldn’t have divulged anything about herself to a stranger. She wasn’t stupid.’

Temple then explained that they would need to take their
fingerprints
and DNA samples so they could be eliminated from those found in Genna’s flat. And he asked to see copies of all the movies
that Genna had appeared in. The detectives were invited into what the couple called their studio. The room, with a window overlooking the small back garden, was typical of those in brothels the world over. It exuded an air of sleaze and sex. The walls were painted black and the carpet was a morose shade of grey. There was a double bed with a red silk throw on it and a shelving unit packed with DVDs and an array of sex toys.

At the foot of the bed was a digital video camera on a tripod. Another camera rested on one of the bedside tables along with a pair of pink handcuffs and a blindfold with a frilly edge.

Temple felt uncomfortable in the room and he didn’t want to dwell, so he asked to see the DVDs in which Genna had appeared. Roth got them down from the shelves and Temple noted the titles. Several alluded to sadomasochism; at least four contained violent sex scenes, according to the blurbs. One jacket description included the phrase ‘simulated rape’.

‘Do you specialize in rough sex?’ Temple asked.

Roth’s gaze flickered briefly to Angel, then back to Temple.

‘There’s a growing demand for edgy material,’ he said. ‘But I can assure you that everything we produce is within the legal parameters. We’re very careful about that. You see, we’re essentially film makers, Inspector. These movies present us with a challenge and allow us to extend ourselves artistically.’

Back in the living room Angel used her small forensics kit to take their prints and DNA. Roth then produced a computer print-out listing the people who’d worked with Genna.

‘You’ve been really helpful,’ Temple said as they were shown to the door. ‘I have one last question. Did Genna ever mention a man named Jack Keaton? He’s possibly an American.’

Roth looked at Wallis and they both shook their heads.

‘The name doesn’t ring a bell,’ Roth said. ‘Is he a suspect?’

Temple shrugged. ‘At this stage everyone is a suspect. But we’re interested in this man because the last call on Genna’s phone was made to his house in America.’

Roth frowned. ‘It’s a mystery to me, Inspector. But I’m sure Genna would have had a sizeable fan base in the States. They’re the world’s biggest consumers of internet porn. And as you probably know, she
was in contact with her admirers through her website. Perhaps Jack Keaton is one of them.’

Temple handed Roth his card. ‘If you can think of anything else that might help us then please give me a call.’

‘You can count on it,’ Roth said.

As Temple and Angel walked down the front path the couple
disappeared
inside the bungalow.

‘So what did you make of them?’ Temple asked when they were seated in the car.

‘They’re creepy and full of bullshit,’ she said. ‘I didn’t like them. I felt they were putting on an act. And I didn’t like the way that woman stared at me. It was as though she was undressing me with her eyes.’

‘I can hardly blame her for that,’ Temple said. ‘But you’re right. There was something out of whack about them. We’ll check them out first thing in the morning. Now what about tonight? Are you coming back to my place or do I have to take you back to the nick so you can pick up your car?’

‘Your place,’ she said without hesitation. ‘All this talk about sex has got me feeling horny.’

He laughed. ‘I’m glad I’m not the only one.’