‘Childhood relationships never survive adolescence anyway,’ said Cooper. ‘Girls mature earlier, so boys of the same age suddenly look like children. And the girls develop an interest in the bigger boys.’ ‘Possibly. We weren’t able to prove that they were more than just friends, anyway. But they’d known each other for a long time, so it was quite natural they should share a house.’
‘What sort of state are the Renshaws in these days?’
The state of Cloud Cuckoo Land,’ said Fry.
‘Right.’
‘Don’t forget our meeting, Ben.’
‘What?’
‘We’re supposed to be arranging a meeting. I take it you’ve forgotten?’
‘Well, in the circumstances …’
Fry nodded. ‘OK. But let’s not forget about it altogether, eh? I think we have some talking to do.’
A couple of hours later, Ben Cooper was watching PC Tracy Udall check her duty belt. She was painstaking in her routine, even as she continued talking to him. But a patrol officer’s safety could depend on carrying out this routine properly at the start of every shift. Udall shook her head and tutted when Cooper told her about Lucas Oxley and his dog.
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‘It was my own fault,’ he said. ‘I don’t think 1 identified myself clearly enough. He seemed to be a bit deaf or something. A uniform will make a difference, I’m sure.’
‘Perhaps it was rather rash, going on your own,’ said Udall. ‘But you hadn’t got the full picture about Waterloo Terrace.’
‘Exactly/
‘But you’ll be all right with me. I can subdue any savage dog with a single glance. My kids take no notice of me, but other than that, I’m mustard.’
Udall unfastened the four keepers on her uniform belt and clipped her duty belt over it. Cooper could see that she was right handed - she positioned her rigid handcuffs on her right hip and her baton on the left, her weak side. She drew the handcuffs out of their holster, pushing the single bar through the double bar and pulling it back to the preload position before re-holstering them carefully.
‘Is your son behaving no better?’ said Cooper.
‘He had another tantrum this morning about me going to work.’ Udall sighed. These duty rosters don’t help. He doesn’t understand the shift system.’
‘Does anybody?’
Udall laughed. ‘He needs a routine at that age. He needs to know exactly when his mum is going to be at home and when she isn’t. A regular routine provides a bit of security in itself. But that’s what I can’t give him at the moment. Quite honestly, I could do without going through a major guilt trip every time I set off for work.’
‘You’re not thinking of leaving the force, Tracy?’
‘Nah,’ she said. ‘But it’s difficult sometimes.’
After a hastily called briefing at Glossop section station to gather resources, Cooper was about to find himself on his way back to Withens. It was almost as if the body of Neil Granger hadn’t been found at the air shaft in the interval since his last visit. Or that he had been in the right place yesterday, but not asking the right questions. Granger was related to the Oxleys, and the Reverend Derek Alton had been expecting to see him the day he died. Cooper had cornered his own line of enquiry, and it centred on Waterloo Terrace.
‘By the way, I asked the community constable about the Oxley kids,’ said Udall. ‘He’s only been on the patch about eighteen months, but he’s had a few dealings with them already.’
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‘Any of them in particular?’
‘There have been several complaints about the younger ones. The usual sort of stuff - hanging around outside people’s houses, making a lot of noise, swearing, running across gardens. You get the picture.’
‘Nothing out of the ordinary there.’
‘No. Nothing out of the ordinary. Not where there’s a group of youngsters gathering together. And of course that means they get blamed for anything that goes off in the village - minor thefts and damage to property. Also any vandalism, graffiti, litter - you name it.’
‘Did the community bobby ever get any proof the Oxley kids were involved?’
‘Proof’s a different matter. But he’s spoken to them many a time. Also to their parents. Or he’s tried to.’
‘I know what he means,’ said Cooper, with a sigh.
Udall laughed at him as she tested the security of her baton in its ring on her left hip and switched her torch on and off. She flipped open her medical protection pouch, which contained a face mask, latex gloves, antiseptic wipes and a contaminated-waste bag. The most immediate threat to a police officer often came from an encounter with body fluids rather than with a lethal weapon. Hepatitis B and HIV were on the streets, even in Edendale. But just in case she did need to subdue a violent suspect, Udall had also been issued with a CS spray. ‘He says the Oxley adults cooperated to the minimum amount they could get away with. They never became aggressive or argued with him. They always promised to talk to their kids and keep a closer eye on them. They never gave him justification for taking further action.’
‘But have the complaints stopped?’ said Cooper.
‘No. And the Oxleys had quite colourful careers, by all accounts. All the boys have court records. There were even some arson charges at one time. Ryan and Jake are the ones giving most cause for most concern at the moment. Actually, the Social Services case officer is quite optimistic about Ryan - she says he’s a sensible lad at heart and will probably settle down.’
‘Really?’
