Cut the deck, p.6
Cut The Deck, page 6
part #1 of DCI Cooper Series
The two green-clad teenagers walked away, whispering about homework and murder.
The staffroom in Tynemouth Comp felt like a giant cork board. Every wall was covered in posters and flyers, covering everything from sign up sheets for the next school fundraiser to recognising signs of female genital mutilation.
Under the watch of a few staff members, Cooper found herself a seat and opened a file on her lap. Tennessee made two cups of coffee that looked strong enough to power the next mission to Mars and joined his superior.
“Hello.” A man in a paint-flecked shirt held his hand out to Tennessee. He wore beads around his neck and had thick-framed glasses perched on a head of bleached hair. “You’re with the police, aren’t you? I’m Brian Hutchins,” he said by way of introduction.
“And I’m Todd Carpenter,” announced another man, one with a hooked nose and possibly the worst posture Cooper had ever seen.
Both men shook Tennessee’s hand and seemed surprised when he introduced the skinny woman sat to his left as the senior investigating officer.
Brian Hutchins took a seat opposite. “I was Rachel’s art teacher. I just can’t get my head around all of this. It’s knocked the faculty for six. Todd here was Rachel’s form tutor. If there’s anything we can do to help the investigation please let us know. All the staff feel the same way.”
Not all the staff, thought Cooper.
“Do you have time for a quick chat, gentlemen? Can you tell me about Rachel?” she asked, turning her eyes to Todd Carpenter.
Todd checked his watch. “She was a popular girl,” he replied. “It’ll be quiet without her, that’s for sure.”
“Quiet?” asked Cooper.
Todd sat down next to Brian Hutchins and he nodded in agreement. “Quite the chatterbox was Rachel. She could never chat to the person next to her either, she always had to shout across the room to the person sat furthest away.”
“How did the other students feel about that?”
“I guess it was annoying for the ones who were trying to concentrate,” answered Brian. “But those are few and far between. These days, kids are all about their on-demand whatnots. Skip this, swipe that, three-second memes and nine-second Vines.”
“I can appreciate that,” said Cooper, though she didn’t know what a Vine was. “Other than being a bit on the noisy side,” and noting that it was opposite to how her yoga classmates had described her, “what else can you tell me about Rachel?”
“She was, how’s a polite way to say it?” said Todd Carpenter. “Erm… An underachiever? She was bright but she didn’t apply herself.”
“I think she did in English, Todd,” countered Brian. “I remember Catherine saying she had a talent for poetry.”
“Catherine says that about all her students. She’s a soft touch.”
“And who were her closest friends?” interjected Cooper. “Did she have any enemies?”
“Enemies?” Todd Carpenter’s eyes widened. “Goodness, I wouldn’t have thought so. All the girls wanted to be friends with her. All the boys… well as I said, she was popular.”
Brian Hutchins removed his glasses from his head and cleaned them on his shirt. “As for her closest friends… Will Harper was pretty much her shadow. Wherever Rachel went, he wasn’t far behind. She was friendly with Tess Livingston as well, and Mackenzie James and Michelle Smith.”
Cooper looked to Tennessee. He opened the list of names Lou Pearson, Rachel’s father, had given him. The top four names were Will, Mackenzie, Shelly and Tess.
“Brian, and… Todd, was it?” Cooper sat more upright in her seat. “I need you to tell me more about Michelle Smith.”
- CHAPTER 11 -
Cooper cursed. She was utterly useless in the kitchen and the fact she couldn’t even fry an egg without bursting the yolk was testament to that. She scraped up the sorry looking egg, laid it on a slice of sourdough, sprinkled a little salt and handed it to Tina.
“Thanks, Mum.”
“You won’t be saying that once you’ve tasted it,” said Cooper, her nose wrinkling at her failed attempt at breakfast.
“It’s the thought that counts.” Tina grabbed her knife and fork and began slicing. “Aren’t you having anything?”
“I’ll have some toast once I finish getting ready.”
“No you won’t,” said Tina, pointing her knife at her mother. “You know, you look like a total badass without your wig on. You should go to work like that. Very Mad Max.”
Rolling her eyes, Cooper tried to laugh it off. “I don’t think so.”
The truth was, without hair, Cooper felt like her femininity had been stripped away. Where Tina saw “total badass,” Cooper saw prepubescent boy. Whenever she looked at herself without her wig she felt weak and a bit of victim. She was the one who sought justice for victims; she couldn’t face being one herself.
“Did you finish your homework?” asked Cooper, changing the subject.
Last night, Tina had asked for help with her maths homework, which was a rarity. Given how gifted Tina was with maths she couldn’t help but think that Tina just wanted her mother’s company and the homework was simply an excuse.
Having broken the news of Shelly’s death to a number of teachers and pupils, as well as Tina, Cooper’s mind was fuzzy and in need of rest when she’d returned home. Unfortunately, she’d been completely unable to switch off and had been less than incompetent when it came to helping with the homework.
“Yeah,” replied Tina, taking a bite of egg on toast. “I finished it before my show started.”
Cooper kissed her daughter on her head. “You’re a bright young thing. No idea where you get it from.”
Both ladies swivelled their heads in unison at the sound of knocking on the front door.
“Will you get that, Tina?” asked Cooper, rushing from the room to make herself presentable.
She only took a few moments to change from pyjamas to a suit, pull her wig on and slap on a layer of red lipstick.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said to Kenny as she re-entered the room.
“Were you expecting the queen?” grinned the wide-shouldered man whose body had been built through a lifetime in the construction industry.
“No. It’s just—”
“Thought I’d swing by and give Tina a lift to school.”
“That would actually be—”
Tina’s knife and fork clattered off her plate. “I’m walking to school. I’m meeting Josh at the corner.”
A vein in Kenny’s forehead pulsated at the mention of Josh’s name and he turned to Cooper in the hope of back up.
“Coffee?” she offered instead, watching the cogs whirl behind her ex’s eyes.
“Please,” he answered before turning to his daughter. “Okay. How about we give Josh a lift too? There’s plenty of room in The Beast,” he said, referring to the monstrosity that was his Ford pickup.
Tina cleared her plate and tried to bargain for her freedom. “Fine. We’ll drive to school but I’m walking home tonight.”
“No, you’re not. I’ll meet you at the gates.”
“But Dad…”
“But nothing. Go get your school bag.”
Tina let out an almighty groan and stormed from the room. Cooper counted the seconds until she heard doors slamming. It was six.
Kenny warmed his hands on the coffee mug and leant forward over the table. The steam from the hot drink danced in front of his round, clean-shaven face.
“I spoke to Linda last night,” he said with a hint of trepidation in his voice. “Another girl was killed?”
“Yeah. ‘Fraid so.”
“And there’s going to be a police presence at the school? The kids have to attend safety workshops? Erica, is our daughter safe?”
Cooper opened her mouth to give Kenny a well deserved earful. He’d never wanted a daughter. When Cooper fell pregnant, he’d wanted her to have an abortion. When she’d been unwavering in her decision to keep the baby, he’d promptly ended their relationship by running away to Devon. Being concerned for Tina’s welfare now did not make up for twelve years of turning a blind eye to his responsibilities. No wonder Tina spent as little time as possible with him.
Cooper held her venom back long enough to take a sip of coffee and calm her thoughts.
“We’re doing our best to find whoever killed those girls, Kenny.” Her voice was cold and businesslike. “It’s true that both girls went to the same school, but that might not be the connecting factor, if indeed there is one. We need to find out what else the girls have in common.”
Tina appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. Her face was still thunderous but she had her school blazer on and her backpack was over her shoulders. “You mean, what they have in common other than Will Harper?”
- CHAPTER 12 -
“Where’s Harper?” barked Cooper down her phone as she buckled up in the old Mazda.
“We couldn’t find the slippery little eel yesterday, boss,” answered Paula Keaton. “Picked him up this morning on Front Street. He looked rougher than a badger’s arse. Anyway, he’s in juvie cell three and we’re waiting on his appropriate adult. Think his uncle’s coming in.”
“Uncle?” asked Cooper. Usually minors acted all tough until the second the cell door closed, then they’d cry for their mummies like they were still being breast fed.
“Yeah, he was adamant he wanted his uncle and not his mum or dad. Sutherland’s doing the Starbucks run on his way in. Want me to tell him to get you owt?”
Cooper started the engine. “An Americano, please Paula.”
“Food?”
“A muffin, one of those poppy-seed lemony ones.”
“I know what you mean. See you in ten, boss.”
Cooper started the engine and headed towards HQ in Wallsend. Ten minutes was wishful thinking. Maybe before they started digging the blasted tunnel for the A19 to pass under the Coast Road, but not now.
When Cooper crossed the threshold of CID, twenty-five minutes later, Sutherland was waiting with coffee and muffin in hand.
“You’re an angel,” she said, removing her coat and laying it over the back of her chair.
“Will Harper’s uncle just arrived. I’ve put him in interview suite one. Are we still keeping the Smith murder under wraps?”
“No point,” Cooper answered. “It’s been public knowledge for over twelve hours now.”
“Well, let me know when you’re ready and I’ll move Will from the cells.”
Cooper took a deep inhalation of comforting caffeine. “I’ll be ready the second I finish this muffin.”
* * *
The stench of weed and cigarettes almost overpowered Cooper as she walked into the interview suite. She brought her coffee to her nose to try to cover it and looked Will Harper up and down.
He was a big lad for his age; a teenage boy in an adult’s body. A triangular frame suggested he lifted weights but regularly skipped leg day. A dusting of acne covered his jaw and he either hadn’t washed his hair in a while or he was wearing far too much product. He looked a world away from the photograph Cooper had seen of him in Rachel Pearson’s bedroom.
Cooper took a seat and waited for Sutherland to do the same. Pushing a button on an audio recorder, she began the interview.
“Northumbria Police Headquarters, Friday fifteenth November. The time is ten fifteen a.m. I am DCI Erica Cooper. Also present is DI Sam Sutherland and Walter Harper who is acting in the role of appropriate adult.”
“It wasn’t my weed.”
Will’s eyes began to dart around the room and his uncle laid a hand on his shoulder.
“I mean I wasn’t smoking. I don’t do drugs. It was a friend. I was next to him while he was smoking. That’s what you can smell.”
Sutherland placed his hands on the table face up in an attempt at open, non-threatening body language.
“Listen, son. I don’t give a monkey’s what you smoke, snort or swallow, but this interview is under caution so I suggest you listen carefully when my colleague speaks.”
“Will Harper,” continued Cooper, “you are being questioned in relation to the murders of Rachel Pearson and Michelle Smith. 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 will be given in evidence. Please state your full name, address and date of birth.”
The young man looked at his uncle with eyes like saucepans. It took an encouraging nod from the older man for Will to open his mouth.
“William Harper. 162 Knott Memorial Flats, North Shields. May thirtieth 2003.”
“Thank you, Will. Can you tell me where you were on Tuesday evening?”
“I was at home.”
“All night?”
“Yes. I didn’t go out.”
“Can anyone verify that, Will?”
Will looked away and pushed his hands under his thighs. “My parents. We had dinner together, then they went—”
He realised too late what he had said.
“Will? Where did your parents go?”
“To the pub. The Lodge.”
“What time was that?”
Will swallowed and kept his eyes in his lap. “About seven, I think.”
“When did they return?”
“I don’t know. I’d gone to bed.”
“Will, do your parents often leave you alone to go to the pub?”
He shrugged.
“I need an audible answer for the recording,” pressed Cooper.
Will looked up. “I guess so,” he said in a quiet huff.
“And where are your parents now?”
“Me da’s probably hungover. Ma’ll be…” he paused to find the right word. “Working.”
Cooper frowned. “What does your mother do?”
Will shuffled and looked to his uncle.
“Will’s mother works in the entertainment industry.”
There was something in the way Walter Harper said entertainment that made Cooper think he didn’t mean she was a singer.
“Can you be more specific?” asked Sutherland.
“I don’t think it’s relevant to your investigation,” replied Walter, and he had a point.
“She’s a whore.” Will’s face had hardened. “I’m not supposed to know, but I’m not an idiot. She’s a smack-head whore.”
Cooper made a mental note to contact child services once the interview was over. “Moving on,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “So, you were home alone on Tuesday evening?”
“I’m not lying.”
“I’m not saying you are.” Cooper stopped to take a drink of coffee and to allow a moment of silence. Silence had a way of making people feel uncomfortable.
“I played on my X-box, had a shower and went to bed. I didn’t go out.”
“Okay,” said Cooper. “How about yesterday morning. Where were you then?”
“I… I was in school?”
“From nine a.m?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not true. Is it, Will? Our officers went to your school but you hadn’t shown up for registration. You told the Pearsons you had a doctors appointment.”
“I… I did.”
“But you didn’t show.”
Will’s face crumpled.
“We checked,” explained Cooper. “Your appointment was at nine but you didn’t show.”
“Are they allowed to tell you that?” asked Will’s uncle. “Isn’t that a breach of patient confidentiality?”
“We didn’t look at his medical history, Mr Harper. This is a murder investigation and I’m trying to establish if your nephew has an alibi for the times when Rachel Pearson and Shelly Smith were murdered. So far, he doesn’t seem to.”
Cooper turned back to Will. “Where were you yesterday morning?”
“I… I couldn’t face school. I’d just lost Rachel. I loved her and I…” his voice started to crack and his eyes glassed over. The child in the adult’s body was beginning to surface. “I went to the park for a bit. Smoked until I ran out of cigarettes then went home and got into bed. Rachel meant the world to me. I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Let me guess,” said Sutherland. “No one else was home?”
Will said nothing. Cooper decided to change tack.
“Tell me about the argument you and Rachel had on Tuesday?”
“What argument?”
Sutherland slapped his hand on the table. “Don’t play innocent with us, boy. We’ve read Rachel’s diary. You’re quite the domineering boyfriend, aren’t you? Telling Rachel what she can and can’t wear. Blaming her when other guys looked at her.”
A tear rolled down Will Harper’s cheek. Fear? Guilt? Cooper wasn’t sure of either.
Sutherland handed the boy a tissue. “Will, we have statements from others in your class who can corroborate Rachel’s version of events. You might as well tell us.”
Will dabbed his eyes. “She liked the attention. She did it on purpose to wind me up.”
“Did what on purpose, Will?” asked Cooper.
“Flirted and shit. She’d rolled her skirt up at the waistband to make it shorter. Then she asked Nick Davies if he thought it suited her and he said he thought her arse looked better in skinny jeans.” Will’s face reddened. “She was testing me, trying to make me jealous and it worked. When we were alone I told her she was making a fool of me.”
Cooper leant forward. “And did Shelly ever make a fool of you?”
“Shelly?”
“Michelle Smith. We know you two dated. A bit odd that two girls you dated end up murdered and you don’t have an alibi for the time of either of their deaths.”
“Very odd,” echoed Sutherland.
Panic was etched on the young man’s face. He looked back and forth between the detectives and his uncle. “But… No… I didn’t do anything, I swear. I’m being set up. I must be.” Will’s breathing became erratic. “I’m not the only one who had Rachel and Shelly in common. That freak Xander Wright has it in for me. He fancied Shelly but she only had eyes for me, then he started seeing Rachel. When Shelly and I broke up, Rachel dumped him for me.”
Desperate actions, thought Cooper, deflecting the attention on to someone else. She would speak to Xander Wright as soon as she could. In the meantime, Will Harper was headed straight to the cells. No alibi. No bail.
The staffroom in Tynemouth Comp felt like a giant cork board. Every wall was covered in posters and flyers, covering everything from sign up sheets for the next school fundraiser to recognising signs of female genital mutilation.
Under the watch of a few staff members, Cooper found herself a seat and opened a file on her lap. Tennessee made two cups of coffee that looked strong enough to power the next mission to Mars and joined his superior.
“Hello.” A man in a paint-flecked shirt held his hand out to Tennessee. He wore beads around his neck and had thick-framed glasses perched on a head of bleached hair. “You’re with the police, aren’t you? I’m Brian Hutchins,” he said by way of introduction.
“And I’m Todd Carpenter,” announced another man, one with a hooked nose and possibly the worst posture Cooper had ever seen.
Both men shook Tennessee’s hand and seemed surprised when he introduced the skinny woman sat to his left as the senior investigating officer.
Brian Hutchins took a seat opposite. “I was Rachel’s art teacher. I just can’t get my head around all of this. It’s knocked the faculty for six. Todd here was Rachel’s form tutor. If there’s anything we can do to help the investigation please let us know. All the staff feel the same way.”
Not all the staff, thought Cooper.
“Do you have time for a quick chat, gentlemen? Can you tell me about Rachel?” she asked, turning her eyes to Todd Carpenter.
Todd checked his watch. “She was a popular girl,” he replied. “It’ll be quiet without her, that’s for sure.”
“Quiet?” asked Cooper.
Todd sat down next to Brian Hutchins and he nodded in agreement. “Quite the chatterbox was Rachel. She could never chat to the person next to her either, she always had to shout across the room to the person sat furthest away.”
“How did the other students feel about that?”
“I guess it was annoying for the ones who were trying to concentrate,” answered Brian. “But those are few and far between. These days, kids are all about their on-demand whatnots. Skip this, swipe that, three-second memes and nine-second Vines.”
“I can appreciate that,” said Cooper, though she didn’t know what a Vine was. “Other than being a bit on the noisy side,” and noting that it was opposite to how her yoga classmates had described her, “what else can you tell me about Rachel?”
“She was, how’s a polite way to say it?” said Todd Carpenter. “Erm… An underachiever? She was bright but she didn’t apply herself.”
“I think she did in English, Todd,” countered Brian. “I remember Catherine saying she had a talent for poetry.”
“Catherine says that about all her students. She’s a soft touch.”
“And who were her closest friends?” interjected Cooper. “Did she have any enemies?”
“Enemies?” Todd Carpenter’s eyes widened. “Goodness, I wouldn’t have thought so. All the girls wanted to be friends with her. All the boys… well as I said, she was popular.”
Brian Hutchins removed his glasses from his head and cleaned them on his shirt. “As for her closest friends… Will Harper was pretty much her shadow. Wherever Rachel went, he wasn’t far behind. She was friendly with Tess Livingston as well, and Mackenzie James and Michelle Smith.”
Cooper looked to Tennessee. He opened the list of names Lou Pearson, Rachel’s father, had given him. The top four names were Will, Mackenzie, Shelly and Tess.
“Brian, and… Todd, was it?” Cooper sat more upright in her seat. “I need you to tell me more about Michelle Smith.”
- CHAPTER 11 -
Cooper cursed. She was utterly useless in the kitchen and the fact she couldn’t even fry an egg without bursting the yolk was testament to that. She scraped up the sorry looking egg, laid it on a slice of sourdough, sprinkled a little salt and handed it to Tina.
“Thanks, Mum.”
“You won’t be saying that once you’ve tasted it,” said Cooper, her nose wrinkling at her failed attempt at breakfast.
“It’s the thought that counts.” Tina grabbed her knife and fork and began slicing. “Aren’t you having anything?”
“I’ll have some toast once I finish getting ready.”
“No you won’t,” said Tina, pointing her knife at her mother. “You know, you look like a total badass without your wig on. You should go to work like that. Very Mad Max.”
Rolling her eyes, Cooper tried to laugh it off. “I don’t think so.”
The truth was, without hair, Cooper felt like her femininity had been stripped away. Where Tina saw “total badass,” Cooper saw prepubescent boy. Whenever she looked at herself without her wig she felt weak and a bit of victim. She was the one who sought justice for victims; she couldn’t face being one herself.
“Did you finish your homework?” asked Cooper, changing the subject.
Last night, Tina had asked for help with her maths homework, which was a rarity. Given how gifted Tina was with maths she couldn’t help but think that Tina just wanted her mother’s company and the homework was simply an excuse.
Having broken the news of Shelly’s death to a number of teachers and pupils, as well as Tina, Cooper’s mind was fuzzy and in need of rest when she’d returned home. Unfortunately, she’d been completely unable to switch off and had been less than incompetent when it came to helping with the homework.
“Yeah,” replied Tina, taking a bite of egg on toast. “I finished it before my show started.”
Cooper kissed her daughter on her head. “You’re a bright young thing. No idea where you get it from.”
Both ladies swivelled their heads in unison at the sound of knocking on the front door.
“Will you get that, Tina?” asked Cooper, rushing from the room to make herself presentable.
She only took a few moments to change from pyjamas to a suit, pull her wig on and slap on a layer of red lipstick.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said to Kenny as she re-entered the room.
“Were you expecting the queen?” grinned the wide-shouldered man whose body had been built through a lifetime in the construction industry.
“No. It’s just—”
“Thought I’d swing by and give Tina a lift to school.”
“That would actually be—”
Tina’s knife and fork clattered off her plate. “I’m walking to school. I’m meeting Josh at the corner.”
A vein in Kenny’s forehead pulsated at the mention of Josh’s name and he turned to Cooper in the hope of back up.
“Coffee?” she offered instead, watching the cogs whirl behind her ex’s eyes.
“Please,” he answered before turning to his daughter. “Okay. How about we give Josh a lift too? There’s plenty of room in The Beast,” he said, referring to the monstrosity that was his Ford pickup.
Tina cleared her plate and tried to bargain for her freedom. “Fine. We’ll drive to school but I’m walking home tonight.”
“No, you’re not. I’ll meet you at the gates.”
“But Dad…”
“But nothing. Go get your school bag.”
Tina let out an almighty groan and stormed from the room. Cooper counted the seconds until she heard doors slamming. It was six.
Kenny warmed his hands on the coffee mug and leant forward over the table. The steam from the hot drink danced in front of his round, clean-shaven face.
“I spoke to Linda last night,” he said with a hint of trepidation in his voice. “Another girl was killed?”
“Yeah. ‘Fraid so.”
“And there’s going to be a police presence at the school? The kids have to attend safety workshops? Erica, is our daughter safe?”
Cooper opened her mouth to give Kenny a well deserved earful. He’d never wanted a daughter. When Cooper fell pregnant, he’d wanted her to have an abortion. When she’d been unwavering in her decision to keep the baby, he’d promptly ended their relationship by running away to Devon. Being concerned for Tina’s welfare now did not make up for twelve years of turning a blind eye to his responsibilities. No wonder Tina spent as little time as possible with him.
Cooper held her venom back long enough to take a sip of coffee and calm her thoughts.
“We’re doing our best to find whoever killed those girls, Kenny.” Her voice was cold and businesslike. “It’s true that both girls went to the same school, but that might not be the connecting factor, if indeed there is one. We need to find out what else the girls have in common.”
Tina appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. Her face was still thunderous but she had her school blazer on and her backpack was over her shoulders. “You mean, what they have in common other than Will Harper?”
- CHAPTER 12 -
“Where’s Harper?” barked Cooper down her phone as she buckled up in the old Mazda.
“We couldn’t find the slippery little eel yesterday, boss,” answered Paula Keaton. “Picked him up this morning on Front Street. He looked rougher than a badger’s arse. Anyway, he’s in juvie cell three and we’re waiting on his appropriate adult. Think his uncle’s coming in.”
“Uncle?” asked Cooper. Usually minors acted all tough until the second the cell door closed, then they’d cry for their mummies like they were still being breast fed.
“Yeah, he was adamant he wanted his uncle and not his mum or dad. Sutherland’s doing the Starbucks run on his way in. Want me to tell him to get you owt?”
Cooper started the engine. “An Americano, please Paula.”
“Food?”
“A muffin, one of those poppy-seed lemony ones.”
“I know what you mean. See you in ten, boss.”
Cooper started the engine and headed towards HQ in Wallsend. Ten minutes was wishful thinking. Maybe before they started digging the blasted tunnel for the A19 to pass under the Coast Road, but not now.
When Cooper crossed the threshold of CID, twenty-five minutes later, Sutherland was waiting with coffee and muffin in hand.
“You’re an angel,” she said, removing her coat and laying it over the back of her chair.
“Will Harper’s uncle just arrived. I’ve put him in interview suite one. Are we still keeping the Smith murder under wraps?”
“No point,” Cooper answered. “It’s been public knowledge for over twelve hours now.”
“Well, let me know when you’re ready and I’ll move Will from the cells.”
Cooper took a deep inhalation of comforting caffeine. “I’ll be ready the second I finish this muffin.”
* * *
The stench of weed and cigarettes almost overpowered Cooper as she walked into the interview suite. She brought her coffee to her nose to try to cover it and looked Will Harper up and down.
He was a big lad for his age; a teenage boy in an adult’s body. A triangular frame suggested he lifted weights but regularly skipped leg day. A dusting of acne covered his jaw and he either hadn’t washed his hair in a while or he was wearing far too much product. He looked a world away from the photograph Cooper had seen of him in Rachel Pearson’s bedroom.
Cooper took a seat and waited for Sutherland to do the same. Pushing a button on an audio recorder, she began the interview.
“Northumbria Police Headquarters, Friday fifteenth November. The time is ten fifteen a.m. I am DCI Erica Cooper. Also present is DI Sam Sutherland and Walter Harper who is acting in the role of appropriate adult.”
“It wasn’t my weed.”
Will’s eyes began to dart around the room and his uncle laid a hand on his shoulder.
“I mean I wasn’t smoking. I don’t do drugs. It was a friend. I was next to him while he was smoking. That’s what you can smell.”
Sutherland placed his hands on the table face up in an attempt at open, non-threatening body language.
“Listen, son. I don’t give a monkey’s what you smoke, snort or swallow, but this interview is under caution so I suggest you listen carefully when my colleague speaks.”
“Will Harper,” continued Cooper, “you are being questioned in relation to the murders of Rachel Pearson and Michelle Smith. 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 will be given in evidence. Please state your full name, address and date of birth.”
The young man looked at his uncle with eyes like saucepans. It took an encouraging nod from the older man for Will to open his mouth.
“William Harper. 162 Knott Memorial Flats, North Shields. May thirtieth 2003.”
“Thank you, Will. Can you tell me where you were on Tuesday evening?”
“I was at home.”
“All night?”
“Yes. I didn’t go out.”
“Can anyone verify that, Will?”
Will looked away and pushed his hands under his thighs. “My parents. We had dinner together, then they went—”
He realised too late what he had said.
“Will? Where did your parents go?”
“To the pub. The Lodge.”
“What time was that?”
Will swallowed and kept his eyes in his lap. “About seven, I think.”
“When did they return?”
“I don’t know. I’d gone to bed.”
“Will, do your parents often leave you alone to go to the pub?”
He shrugged.
“I need an audible answer for the recording,” pressed Cooper.
Will looked up. “I guess so,” he said in a quiet huff.
“And where are your parents now?”
“Me da’s probably hungover. Ma’ll be…” he paused to find the right word. “Working.”
Cooper frowned. “What does your mother do?”
Will shuffled and looked to his uncle.
“Will’s mother works in the entertainment industry.”
There was something in the way Walter Harper said entertainment that made Cooper think he didn’t mean she was a singer.
“Can you be more specific?” asked Sutherland.
“I don’t think it’s relevant to your investigation,” replied Walter, and he had a point.
“She’s a whore.” Will’s face had hardened. “I’m not supposed to know, but I’m not an idiot. She’s a smack-head whore.”
Cooper made a mental note to contact child services once the interview was over. “Moving on,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “So, you were home alone on Tuesday evening?”
“I’m not lying.”
“I’m not saying you are.” Cooper stopped to take a drink of coffee and to allow a moment of silence. Silence had a way of making people feel uncomfortable.
“I played on my X-box, had a shower and went to bed. I didn’t go out.”
“Okay,” said Cooper. “How about yesterday morning. Where were you then?”
“I… I was in school?”
“From nine a.m?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not true. Is it, Will? Our officers went to your school but you hadn’t shown up for registration. You told the Pearsons you had a doctors appointment.”
“I… I did.”
“But you didn’t show.”
Will’s face crumpled.
“We checked,” explained Cooper. “Your appointment was at nine but you didn’t show.”
“Are they allowed to tell you that?” asked Will’s uncle. “Isn’t that a breach of patient confidentiality?”
“We didn’t look at his medical history, Mr Harper. This is a murder investigation and I’m trying to establish if your nephew has an alibi for the times when Rachel Pearson and Shelly Smith were murdered. So far, he doesn’t seem to.”
Cooper turned back to Will. “Where were you yesterday morning?”
“I… I couldn’t face school. I’d just lost Rachel. I loved her and I…” his voice started to crack and his eyes glassed over. The child in the adult’s body was beginning to surface. “I went to the park for a bit. Smoked until I ran out of cigarettes then went home and got into bed. Rachel meant the world to me. I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Let me guess,” said Sutherland. “No one else was home?”
Will said nothing. Cooper decided to change tack.
“Tell me about the argument you and Rachel had on Tuesday?”
“What argument?”
Sutherland slapped his hand on the table. “Don’t play innocent with us, boy. We’ve read Rachel’s diary. You’re quite the domineering boyfriend, aren’t you? Telling Rachel what she can and can’t wear. Blaming her when other guys looked at her.”
A tear rolled down Will Harper’s cheek. Fear? Guilt? Cooper wasn’t sure of either.
Sutherland handed the boy a tissue. “Will, we have statements from others in your class who can corroborate Rachel’s version of events. You might as well tell us.”
Will dabbed his eyes. “She liked the attention. She did it on purpose to wind me up.”
“Did what on purpose, Will?” asked Cooper.
“Flirted and shit. She’d rolled her skirt up at the waistband to make it shorter. Then she asked Nick Davies if he thought it suited her and he said he thought her arse looked better in skinny jeans.” Will’s face reddened. “She was testing me, trying to make me jealous and it worked. When we were alone I told her she was making a fool of me.”
Cooper leant forward. “And did Shelly ever make a fool of you?”
“Shelly?”
“Michelle Smith. We know you two dated. A bit odd that two girls you dated end up murdered and you don’t have an alibi for the time of either of their deaths.”
“Very odd,” echoed Sutherland.
Panic was etched on the young man’s face. He looked back and forth between the detectives and his uncle. “But… No… I didn’t do anything, I swear. I’m being set up. I must be.” Will’s breathing became erratic. “I’m not the only one who had Rachel and Shelly in common. That freak Xander Wright has it in for me. He fancied Shelly but she only had eyes for me, then he started seeing Rachel. When Shelly and I broke up, Rachel dumped him for me.”
Desperate actions, thought Cooper, deflecting the attention on to someone else. She would speak to Xander Wright as soon as she could. In the meantime, Will Harper was headed straight to the cells. No alibi. No bail.
