Unsolved Read online

  ‘I’m afraid we haven’t, but it’s something we’re hoping to do.’ Hunter explained his and Maddie’s role in reviewing the case and said, ‘We want to ask you just a few questions in relation to what we have read in her medical notes, if that’s okay?’

  ‘What do you want to know?’

  ‘You might well have been asked some of these questions before if detectives came to see you after Tina disappeared, but either nothing was written down, or we’ve lost what you told them with the passage of time. The file has been handled quite a number of times during, and since, their disappearance, so sorry if it seems we are repeating things.’

  ‘I understand totally. That happens in the health service as well, as you probably know. And in answer to your question, a detective did come to see me after they all went missing. It was quite tragic, what he told me. And it wasn’t just Tina he asked about. Both little Amy, and Tina’s husband, David, were also my patients. I was asked about all of them.’

  ‘Can you remember the detective who came to see you?’ Hunter asked.

  ‘It was a very young detective.’ Dr Bhatia paused, pursing his lips. After a couple of seconds, he said, ‘He had a double-barrel name. It’s slipped my mind.’

  ‘St. John-Stevens?’ Hunter enquired.

  ‘That’s him. Yes.’

  ‘Can you recall what he asked you about?’

  ‘Oh yes. He wanted to know about Tina’s pregnancy. You see, she had come to see me several weeks before her disappearance to tell me she had got caught and was pregnant and wanted a termination. I asked her why, and she told me because it wasn’t David’s. She said if he found out, that would be the end of her marriage and so asked me if I could arrange it. I had to tell her it wasn’t something I could make a decision on, on my own — that it needed two doctors to agree, and that terminations were only usually given on medical grounds. I had to tell her the fact that it wasn’t her husband’s baby was not medical grounds. She was in a terrible state when she left my surgery.’

  ‘Did the detective ask you anything else?’

  ‘He asked me if she’d mentioned to me who the father was.’

  ‘That’s something we’re interested in. Did you know who it was?’

  ‘No, I’m afraid not.’ The doctor shook his head. ‘It was not something I discussed with Tina. It never got around to that anyway, because she changed her mind.’

  ‘Changed her mind?’ interjected Hunter.

  ‘Yes, a few days before she disappeared, Tina came to see me to tell me she had changed her mind and that she no longer wanted a termination. She’d decided to have the baby.’

  This news came as a complete surprise to Hunter, and whipping round his gaze to meet Maddie’s, he saw she was masking the same astonished look as himself.

  Hunter dropped Maddie off at the office to update her journal with details from the meeting with Dr Bhatia and then drove over to Chief Superintendent Michael Robshaw’s house, to meet his former boss. Michael was pleased to see him and ushered him through to the kitchen, where he put on the kettle and grabbed a couple of mugs, into which he put tea bags. Hunter noticed that his former boss was no longer on crutches, but he had a distinct limp from the deliberate attempt on his life by Dawn Leggate’s ex-husband.

  ‘You’re looking well. You seem to be moving around a lot better now,’ Hunter said, pointing towards his injured leg.

  ‘I’m still at the physio’s twice a week and I’m getting out most days for a walk. The consultant told me my femur should be stronger than before now it’s pin and plated, but he says I might always have a bit of a limp from the damage to my hip. I need to build my walking up for my forthcoming retirement,’ Michael replied, ending with a half-laugh.

  ‘The boss mentioned you were calling it a day. Are you ready for that?’

  ‘You don’t need to call Dawn “boss” in our two’s company. Anyway, she’s not your boss anymore.’

  ‘More’s the pity. I’ve missed her.’

  Michael issued another short laugh. ‘A little bird told me you’re not seeing eye to eye with DCI St. John-Stevens.’

  ‘Have you heard what he’s done to me?’

  ‘Moved you to Cold Case? Not much gets past me. I’ve still got my ear to the ground and my contacts.’

  ‘I’ve had a few run-ins with him since he moved me as well, I’m afraid. I don’t know why he’s got it in for me like he has. I can only think it’s since that incident with my informant when he got me suspended and then Dawn got me re-instated. It seems to be sticking in his throat and this is his way of showing he’s now in charge.’

  ‘Cold Case is not bad. There’re a lot of unsolved cases that need a fresh review, and by someone with the right skills. To be honest, Hunter, I would have thought this was right up your street. And it’s not going to be forever. St. John-Stevens is ear-marked for higher achievement. Two years in MIT and he’ll be promoted and off to manage a district somewhere.’

  ‘Isn’t Dawn coming back, then?’

  ‘Honest answer, don’t know. Jack’s trial is in two months, and whilst it’s not her fault what he did to me, I’m sure Jack’ll be blaming her and me for his predicament. And don’t forget, when she came down here on the joint operation to capture Billy Wallace, she was still married to him. There’s going to be the scandal of us two having an affair while we were conducting an investigation together. I’m sure Jack’s barrister will give her a rough time when she gives evidence against him. It’s not going to paint her in a good light.’

  ‘The Force are not going to hang her out to dry, are they?’

  Michael pursed his lips. ‘I hope not. She doesn’t deserve it. Dawn’s a bloody good senior detective. If I’ve got anything to do with it, she’ll be back on full operational duties within two months of the trial ending. I should still be in the job, albeit preparing for my retirement, so hopefully I can yank a few strings. We’ll have to see.’ Michael finished making tea and handed Hunter a mug. ‘Do you mind if we talk in here? I prefer to stay standing. If I get settled down, my leg stiffens and it takes me ages to get going again.’

  Hunter laughed. ‘You sound like a pensioner already.’

  Michael pointed a threatening finger and said with a grin, ‘Careful what you say. I can make sure you’re in Cold Case for the rest of your career if you’re not kind to me.’ Taking a slurp of tea and swallowing, he added, ‘Anyway, what do you need to speak with me in confidence for, as you said on the phone? I can’t pull any strings to get you out of Cold Case, if that’s what you’re here for.’

  Hunter shook his head. ‘No, it’s not for that, boss. It’s about a case I’m reviewing. I’ve got some very serious concerns about the initial investigation, especially regarding the officer involved in the case, and I didn’t know where to take it.’

  ‘Have you discussed them with DCI St. John-Stevens?’

  ‘That’s the problem, boss. He was the officer who investigated the job when he was a trainee detective. I have sort of aired my concerns about the case, and he had a go at me, accusing me of criticising his investigative skills. He’s told me I have to drop the review. He’s taken the file away from me.’

  Michael stroked his bottom lip, letting out a drawn, ‘Mmm.’ Then, he said, ‘I can see why you’ve come to me in confidence. Do you want to take me through the case and I’ll see if I can give you some advice or not?’

  Hunter took a quick swig of his tea, set down his mug, took out the duplicate copy of the Bannister file from his briefcase, and flipping open the cover, removed the original crime scene photographs he had kept, and spread them out across the work surface for Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Robshaw to view. Then he recounted his review of the investigation in chronological order, starting with the information from his former colleague Roger Mills, who had been first to the Bannister home after they had been reported missing. He gave Michael a blow-by-blow account of Roger’s initial actions at the house, especially focussing on the many aspects that h
ad been left out of the file’s summary: the house phone ripped from its socket, the overturned table, the cigarette ash on the carpet in the lounge and the missing onyx ashtray that had possibly been used as a weapon. He showed his former boss the photograph with the specks of blood on the hearth. He then introduced the SOCO findings of the bleach-washed kitchen floor, where a large spillage of blood had been cleaned up, and also the bleach-washed mug left on the kitchen draining board that was possibly evidence of a visitor before the family’s disappearance. That led him to Denise Harris’s testimony regarding the stranger on the doorstep on the day before the family were reported missing, and also the mysterious person she saw getting into the driver’s seat of the Peugeot car parked in the alleyway beside the Bannister house on the same evening, both of whom had never been identified. He finished with the information they had learned that morning from Dr Bhatia. As Hunter finished, he looked into the eyes of his former boss, awaiting his response.

  For a long moment, silence ensued. Michael had a studious look on his face. Finally, he responded. ‘I have to say, now you’ve gone through all this, I do remember the case. But only faintly. I remember it being on the local news and in the papers, but that’s all I remember because I was a DI in Sheffield back then, so had my own case-load to focus on. The way you have explained things just now, I can see why you’re concerned. All these matters should have been included in the investigation summary, especially because this evidence suggests a serious crime was committed and the speculation is that David Bannister committed a double murder and then committed suicide.’

  ‘That’s what I thought. It’s what I would have expected.’

  ‘But from what you have told me, with regards to the actions of St. John-Stevens, he does appear to have covered all the bases of a vulnerable missing persons enquiry.’

  ‘I totally agree, boss. There were lots of boots on the ground very early on doing local searches. Roger Mills told me they did checks at neighbours’ houses, and searched the nearby industrial estate, and also Underwater Search Unit was called out and they did searches at various locations where a car could be driven into the canal or river, but without gain. As I’ve mentioned, Scenes of Crime carried out a thorough examination of the house and even media appeals were done. Initially, everything was done by the book, but then, as the enquiry developed, the leads weren’t followed up satisfactorily. For instance, the sightings of the two strangers on the day the family disappeared don’t appear to have been investigated properly. For me, trying to identify who those individuals were would have been a priority. I wouldn’t have made the speculation about David killing his wife and daughter and then taking his own life until I had been satisfied there were no other lines of enquiry.’

  Michael Robshaw nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t interrupt Hunter.

  ‘Part of our review has been to check back with witnesses mentioned in the summary, and as I’ve said, they’ve told us things that I feel should have been put into the summary of the file but haven’t been. Pretty important things to me.’

  Michael Robshaw nodded again.

  Hunter continued, ‘We have made all the necessary checks to see if there is any possibility the family could still be alive and nothing’s come back. The last record we have of any of the family was back in July, nineteen-ninety-one, so it does appear they are dead, but except for St. John-Stevens’ speculation on paper, it’s not backed up by physical evidence.’

  ‘So, you think his theory is ill-judged?’

  Hunter hunched his shoulders. ‘It could well be the case that David did kill his wife and daughter and then took his own life, but for me St. John-Stevens’ speculation is without foundation, especially given the information and evidence we’ve collected.’ He paused, tightening his mouth, before adding, ‘And I know I despise the man because of how he’s treated me, but my thoughts about this are based on the facts and not what I think about him.’

  Michael stroked his chin. ‘I think you have a point, Hunter. This is not the way I would have expected the case to be presented. This is shoddy work from a detective, and I’m sure if the press got wind of what you have uncovered, there would be a lot of questions posed.’ He paused and said, ‘And you say you’ve gone back to St. John-Stevens and presented him with your findings?’

  ‘About the stranger at the door, I did, and that’s when he told me he’d bottomed who that was. He said it was one of David’s work colleagues, but I now know it wasn’t from the enquiries I’ve made. The timing’s all wrong. The work colleague was warned off by David months prior to this. I haven’t mentioned what Denise Harris told me, or George Evers, and also what we’ve learned this morning from Dr Bhatia, because he told me to drop the case. He doesn’t know I’m still working on it.’

  Michael slowly shook his head. ‘And you don’t need me to tell you that is not something you should be doing behind a senior officer’s back.’

  Hunter shrugged his shoulders. ‘I know, but what would you do in my position?’

  Michael issued a sardonic smile. ‘Now you’re putting me on the spot here, Hunter, asking me to side with you against a senior officer, and that’s also something you shouldn’t be doing with the Force Head of Crime.’

  ‘I know that, boss, believe me. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I just think the enquiry has still not run its course. There are too many unanswered questions and avenues to be investigated.’

  ‘And I agree with that sentiment, Hunter. So, what do you want from this? Where do you think you can get the answers?’

  Hunter then expounded his notion about Dylan Wolfe being a candidate for the stranger who was seen at the front door of the Bannister house and the possibility of him also being the stranger in the car in the alleyway, detailing his criminal background, and adding that Dylan’s first victim only lived four streets away from the Bannisters. He put forward his own theory of Dylan targeting Tina, turning up at the house to rape her and being disturbed by David coming home that lunchtime, and it being Dylan who killed them all and dumped their bodies and then dumped the car. He finished by telling his former boss that Dylan Wolfe had been released five weeks ago and had since disappeared from his bail hostel. Hunter left out his recent receipt of the note and doll and his speculation that he was also involved in the abduction of Rasa Katiliene, for fear of sounding too fanciful.

  When he had finished, Michael said, ‘Fascinating. As much as I don’t like theories without evidence, you’ve put forward a very credible alternative. Is there any physical evidence from back then which could support your theory?’

  ‘SOCO did a thorough forensic examination of the house and lifted fingerprints and blood samples and also swabbed the kitchen floor, but as you know DNA testing was in its infancy and the samples weren’t offered up for that analysis. I’ve checked with forensics and they still hold those samples. The ideal scenario is for fresh scientific tests to be carried out on those samples. I’m especially interested to find out whose blood was cleaned up in the kitchen. Roger Mills told me that the SOCO told him that the indications were that there had been significant blood loss in the kitchen, suggesting someone had been very seriously injured, more than probably killed, and if that blood is David’s, as per my theory about Dylan Wolfe, then this would change everything and so I could justify reopening the investigation.’

  Michael let out a blast of air. ‘There’s a big cost to that, Hunter, and the fact that there’s no official investigation means there’s no budget for that work to be carried out.’

  Hunter held his former boss’s gaze for a good few seconds before asking, ‘Is there any way round this?’

  ‘Crikey, Hunter, this is really putting me on the spot. My immediate answer, as Head of Force Crime, is no. Absolutely not.’ Michael stared long and hard at Hunter, finally shaking his head and saying, ‘I don’t know, Hunter, if it was anyone else except you asking me this, I would stick to force protocol, but having listened to your story, I have a degree of understandi
ng of what you want to achieve, and I share that feeling.’ Michael paused and for several seconds was silent. After what seemed an eternity to Hunter, he said, ‘I’m not making any promises, but leave this with me. I’ll think it through and get back to you.’

  On his way back to the office, Hunter called in at the street where the Bannister family once resided, parking opposite their old home, directly outside the front window of where Deborah Harris had lived so that he had the same view she would have had that day she saw the stranger at the front door of the Bannister house. He also wanted to see how good her observation point was, and how it had enabled her to see the stranger getting into the Peugeot car parked in the alleyway next to the house. As he ran his eyes along the front, and to the side where the alleyway was, he was more than happy with Deborah Harris’s depiction of the two events and the descriptions of the individuals.

  Before pulling away, he looked at the photograph Scenes of Crime had taken of the Bannister home back in 1991 and then returned his eyes to the current premises. There were significant changes, especially to the front, with new PVC windows and a new front door. Somehow, it now seemed soulless, and he wondered if that was his imagination running away with him or if it was something else. Something far deeper that he hadn’t yet grasped. Had he missed something?

  As his eyes settled on the front door, he thought about some of the conversations he had had with Alice Bannister during his follow-up calls. The most recent had been about the bureaucratic difficulties she had encountered disposing of the property because no bodies had been found and no one knew for certain what had happened to her family. With a sad and frustrated note in her voice, she had told him it had taken years of negotiations with her son’s bank and building society, involving solicitors, before she had finally been able to sell the house. Now they had Claudia’s Law, following the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence, for families of victims who had vanished, but back in 1991 that hadn’t existed. Alice had said that when they had finally disposed of the house, all they had been left with was a few hundred pounds after years of pain and anguish and still no answer as to what had happened to her family.