A Room Full of Killers, Michael Wood [best books for students to read txt] 📗

she said. ‘I bet the rest of CID have cleaned it out by now. Greedy buggers.’

The alarm continued for fifteen minutes. As soon as a heavy silence fell, Kate opened the door to her office. All three of them stepped out into the corridor in time to see Oliver Byron walking a handcuffed and bloody Jacob Brown to the medical room.

‘What’s happened?’

‘The usual. Callum Nixon was up to his old tricks again and Jacob snapped.’

‘Wasn’t there a guard in there with them?’

‘No. The police keep pulling them off their duties for interviewing. I don’t know where half of them are. We can’t keep working like this, Kate,’ Oliver said, looking at Matilda with scorn.

Kate was looking at Jacob’s face. He had a bloody nose, and a black eye was already forming but he’d live. ‘How’s Callum?’

On mentioning his name, Callum was brought around the corner flanked by two officers either side. His face was a mess, but it probably looked worse due to the amount of blood that was covering him.

‘A few cuts—’

‘I’m the innocent party, Mrs Moloney,’ Callum shouted, his voice muffled by the blood in his throat and his thick lips. ‘I was minding my own business when Jacob here just jumped on me.’

‘You fucking liar, Callum. He’s been pissing me off all day. I’m not just going to sit there while he says crap like that.’

‘I was just telling him about this thing I’d read online about blokes who are violent to women because they can’t form proper relationships with them, maybe because they’ve got a small dick.’ He smiled but the pain in doing so caused him to flinch.

‘You’re a twat, Callum. You should be put down.’

‘That’ll do, both of you,’ Kate shouted above them. ‘Oliver, take them both to the medical room and get them patched up. We’ll talk about this later.’

Oliver was leading them both away when Callum looked at Matilda.

‘Hel-lo, how are you doing, love? Fancy kissing my lips better? I’ve got some swelling down here you can help with too,’ he said, grabbing his crotch.

‘Piss off!’ Matilda exclaimed.

Callum was dragged away down the corridor. He glanced over his shoulders and blew kisses towards Matilda.

‘Is he always like that?’

‘A complete shit? Absolutely,’ Kate said, disappearing back into her office.

‘Am I still needed here today?’ Dr Henrik Klein asked.

‘Now more than ever, Dr Klein,’ Kate replied over her shoulder.

‘Am I able to use my usual room?’

‘Of course.’

Dr Klein nodded and headed off down the corridor.

Matilda followed Kate back into the office and closed the door behind her. She sat down in front of Kate’s desk and crossed her legs. She intended being here for a while, much to Kate’s obvious discomfort if her bemused facial expression was anything to go by.

‘Kate, I wanted to ask you about visiting. Do the inmates get regular visitors?’

Kate scoffed. ‘Visiting hours are once a fortnight on a Tuesday afternoon. However, nobody has visited for months.’

‘Really? The boys don’t have any family come to see them?’

‘They’re killers, Inspector. If a child or yours had killed someone would you want to visit them?’

Matilda pondered the question but found she knew the answer almost straightaway. No she would not.

‘Kate, who owns Starling House?’

‘Since it opened it’s been owned by many companies. It’s currently owned by BB Security. They’re based in Northern Ireland.’

‘So why buy a place in Sheffield?’

‘They own several sites all over the country. Starling House was simply an addition to their portfolio.’

‘Do you ever see anyone from BB Security?’

‘I’m in regular contact with the management over there, and every six months we get a visit to make sure everything is running smoothly.’

‘Have you contacted them yet about Ryan Asher’s murder?’

A guilty look swept over Kate’s face. ‘No. Not yet. I’d like to give them some information as to how the case is going. I was hoping an arrest would have been made by now.’

Was that a dig?

‘This is a highly unusual case. Forensics have finished work in Ryan’s room. There is no sign of a disturbance; the door wasn’t forced, and the only fingerprints belong to Ryan. It would appear he left his room voluntarily. Now, the only people who have a key are your staff.’

Kate shook her head. ‘Do you genuinely believe one of my staff killed Ryan Asher?’

‘I don’t know your staff, Kate, you do. Do you think one of them could have killed him?’

Kate took a while to reply. She looked as if she was mulling over the question, thinking of every single member of staff and trying to decide if one of them could stab a fifteen-year-old boy twelve times. Which one of them was capable of that? ‘To be perfectly honest, I’ve no idea.’

‘Have you ever had any problems with your staff? Any complaints?’

‘No,’ she answered; too quickly for Matilda’s liking.

‘What’s the turnover here like?’

‘We have a high turnover of staff,’ she admitted. ‘Some people have difficulty coming to terms with the boys and their crimes. Some of the inmates look younger than they are. They’re fresh-faced, almost childlike. It’s difficult to get your head around the fact they’re violent individuals.’

‘So people tend to leave after a while?’

‘Yes. I’m not surprised when I get a knock on my door and a resignation handed to me.’

‘Is there anyone here currently serving out their notice?’

‘No.’

‘Is it true you don’t have anyone from Sheffield working here?’

‘Unfortunately, yes, it is. When a vacancy becomes available I do still advertise in the local job centre but I never get any response.’

‘Do you sleep here?’

‘Yes, I do. The majority of the staff do. The very top floor in the eaves is divided into twelve separate rooms we use as bedrooms. Some have en suites. There’s a large communal bathroom though.’

‘Do the inmates have access to the top floor?’

‘What are you implying?’

‘I’m not implying anything. They seem to be able to move around quite freely. I’ve seen them walking unaccompanied from the library to the gym. I wondered where else they were allowed to go.’

‘DCI Darke, this may be an extraordinary