Page 15 of Indefensible
Deryn was confused. Was this going to turn into an accusation of him wasting time? Was she warming up to confront him about his family? His response felt like self-defence.
“He’s the guy who disappeared, boss. Two days ago. You sent me there, the same day we found the first two overdose victims.”
“I know that,” Glover said, picking a paper off her desk. “The news is that it looks like he’s gone back to the States. Or gone somewhere anyway. This is a report of a call to Crimestoppersabout him, which explainswhyhe left, if not where he’s gone. He’s basically being accused of child abuse in his role as a Scoutmaster. The caller said we could find his car in long-term parking at Cardiff station.”
“Anonymous call?” Deryn asked.
“Of course. But we would have investigated. You know that, and presumably so does Abruzzi.”
It was a good story, but that was all it was. “There was blood on his kitchen floor. One of his neighbours says she saw him pushed into a car outside his home, and someone else drove his car away. And I think the Scouts have excellent safeguarding practices. No one I talked to suggested he was anything but straightforward. No bad vibes at all.” He wasn’t ready to mention the blood in Phillip’s car.
Glover focussed all her attention on to Deryn. “Two things, Deryn. One, child abusers get away with it because they are very, very convincing, as I’m sure you know. And two, why aren’t those reports about what the neighbour saw, or your conversations with the Scouts, on the system?”
“I’ll do it right away, boss.”
“And then close it down. We’ve got enough to do.”
“If the neighbour’s story is true, though, he might be in trouble. Especially if someone thinks he’s a child abuser. Doesn’t that make it more likely he’s come to harm?” Deryn said.
Glover was silent for a moment, apparently considering Deryn’s words.
“Find out if he got on a plane,” she said. “If he didn’t, and if all the reports are up to date, then I’ll have another look. Right now I have post mortems to attend.” She held the door open for him to leave.
It looked as if he had a reprieve. He felt a return of the determination that had enabled him to stand up to Phillip thenight before. He would do the best job he could for however long he had left as a detective.
His phone rang with a call from Brody as he headed to the coffee machine on the way to his desk.
“Hang on for a second,” Deryn said, and headed for the stairs where there was a bit of privacy and less noise. He told Brody what Glover had said about the anonymous call. “I’m going to see if he left the country.”
“I’m not saying it’s impossible,” Murphy said after a moment of silence. “But I don’t think it’s likely. It doesn’t fit with the guy I knew. I’ll see what I can find out.”
It took hours, too many of them listening to “I’m just going to pop you on hold for a minute” followed by awful music, but by the end, Deryn could be fairly certain that no one called Mason Abruzzi had left the UK. There was always the possibility that Mason had a set of identity documents in another name, and he could potentially have left on a private boat, or plane, but for now, Deryn was going withhe’s still here.So, he turned his attention to getting his reports up to date. When he looked up, the office had emptied for lunch, and there was no sign of Glover. Without thinking about it too hard, he got his coat, decided to call at the supermarket for sandwiches and set off for Mason’s house.
CHAPTER 12
DAY THREE
“Istarted with Dai Howell from the Scouts,” Brody said once the first sandwiches had been eaten. “He took the allegation seriously, and talked me through everything they do to keep the children and young people safe. He said no one was ever left alone with a group, and never with only one of the kids. He got a bit embarrassed and admitted that they had all been very suspicious of Mason at first. He was foreign, and no one knew why he came here, and he wanted to work with kids. Big red flags. So, they watched him like hawks. When they found out he was rich, they watched him even harder. Nothing. They were still watching him until he disappeared, they never stopped, even though Dai said he was certain Mason was exactly as he seemed.”
“Didn’t stop them taking Mason’s money,” Deryn said.
“I think that’s one reason for Dai’s embarrassment,” Murphy said. “Anyway, I didn’t stop with Dai. I revisited all the curtain-twitchers round here. Because as a Scout leader, Mason would have been seen as ‘safe’ by the kids. No children visited the house. No teenagers visited the house. It was as if Mason knew people were watching.”
“In a place like this, people are always watching,” Deryn said. It was why he’d left for the flat outside Cardiff. Not that it had saved him from Phillip’s attention. The neighbours would all know he was here tonight, and had stayed last night, and it would have been all round the village by lunchtime. Outsiders called it friendliness. He knew it was a method of social control. No one was allowed to be different. They would have made a project of Mason, waiting for him to slip up. Except apparently he hadn’t. “I’ve left a message for my boss to say Mason probably hasn’t left the country,” he said. “So, maybe she will take the kidnapping theory more seriously. But honestly, with three fentanyl overdoses on the books, it’s not going to be a high priority. The word from on high is to get the drugs off the streets before there are more deaths.”
“I’d probably make the same call,” Murphy said.
The police station was busy again when he got back. Glover beckoned from her office door.
“I’ve had a call from Mrs Branwen Fromow, who I believe is your sister. I’ve never met her, but she insisted on speaking to me, and clearly knows I’m your boss.”
He wasn’t invited to sit.
“I assume you know the nature of the complaint, DC Kent?”
“No, ma’am,” Deryn said, because he would be damned if he was going to make it easy.
Glover raised her eyebrows. “Really? So, you would be surprised to learn that she alleges you broke into her house and assaulted her husband, Phillip?”
