Page 96 of First Blood

‘His wife, guv,’ Bryant interrupted. ‘She was a woman who lost everything. She had to have had somewhere to go.’

Kim followed his train of thought and began to smile.

‘Good work, Bryant. Bloody good work.’

Chapter Eighty-Seven

‘Hey, Jay, it’s DI Stone. I need your help. I need to know if anyone by the name of Lockwood spent any time at any of the refuges in the last eighteen months.’

‘You mean Wendy?’

Kim cast a triumphant look in Bryant’s direction.

‘Wife of Charles Lockwood?’ she asked, to confirm.

‘Yeah, yeah. She stayed at this one for about four months I’d say. I can check exactly if you’d like.’

‘No, Jay, it’s okay. I don’t suppose you’d have any idea where she moved out to?’ she asked, crossing her fingers.

‘Sorry, Marianne’s gone out and her office is locked. But if I remember rightly she was getting a place in Gornal. Her and her two kiddies.’

Kim felt an excitement building in her stomach. They were getting somewhere. She could feel it.

‘Okay, Jay, you’re a star and I just need one more favour.’

‘Of course.’

There was one key member of staff at the refuge she hadn’t yet interviewed.

‘You have control of the gates. Don’t let Carl Wickes leave until I get there.’

Chapter Eighty-Eight

It hadn’t taken long for Stacey to search the electoral roll and find a Wendy Lockwood living in Gornal Wood.

The area of Gornal was located on the western edge of the Dudley borough and historically comprised three villages: Lower Gornal, Upper Gornal and Gornal Wood. The last being famous for the landmark the Crooked House pub and for being at the epicentre of the 2002 Dudley earthquake that measured 4.8 on the Richter scale, felt as far away as North Yorkshire.

‘Ha, Pig on the Wall,’ Bryant said, passing a McDonald’s.

‘Huh?’ Kim said, looking back to see what she’d missed. She’d seen no pig anywhere.

‘There was a hotel there once called Pig on the Wall,’ he said.

‘What a bloody ridiculous name for a place.’

He smiled. ‘Local legend has it that once a military band marched through the area and caused such excitement that not only did all the locals flock to see it but one guy even put his pig on the wall to give it a better view.’

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Bryant, please tell me we’re almost there.’

‘Yep, this is the road and that’s the one we want,’ he said nodding to the other side of the street.

The house itself was a mid-terrace in a street that had cars crammed end to end along the pavement. Outside number 23 was a battered Fiat Yugo that looked older than her and Bryant put together.

The door was answered by a striking woman in her mid-thirties with straw blonde hair and a light complexion. Immediately, Kim heard children’s voices in the background.

‘Wendy Lockwood?’ Kim asked, showing her identification.

She nodded. Alarm instantly registered on her face and then faded as she appeared to remember that her children were safely behind her.