Witness Protection
Author's Note: This chapter contains scenes of sexual assault, although it is not too graphic. This is just a warning in advance. Viewer discretion is advised.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Rose awoke early and set up an easel in the garden, having seen a perfect sunrise breaking out over the hills from her back garden. She found the perfect spot, and brought out her stool which would hold her paints and tools. She started to paint the backwash, a pale lilac colour, when her mobile started to ring.
Rose picked it up, and with a cynical smile, she answered. "Took you long enough." She commented, voice laced with sarcasm. "I was expecting a phone call earlier than this."
"Sorry to disappoint. Where are you?" Ellie Miller asked.
"I'm at home, in the garden. You can come through by the side gate. I'll see you shortly."
It was around an hour later, when Rose could sense their presence behind her. She was just finishing a finely painted silhouette of the fence and some trees when they arrived.
"I didn't know you were an artist." Alec commented, realising how accurate her canvas was to the scene in front of them.
"Didn't Ellie tell you?" Rose wondered. "It's what I'm studying. A lot of the artwork that's in my house I've done myself. I assume that this visit isn't an informal one?"
"Your witness statement has given us insight and the potential to reopen the case with new evidence." Alec explained, his mood having changed to one of seriousness. "With this in mind, we like you to come to the police station to give a formal interview, and we'd like you to do this as soon as possible."
Rose nodded, folding her arms across her chest. "I see. Would I need a lawyer?"
"It would be easier for us time wise if you didn't, but legally you have the option to apply for one." Ellie advised, hoping that Rose would do this willingly.
"Can I at least put this canvas inside to dry in case it rains?" When Alec confirmed that she could, with Ellie's help, Rose managed to get her freshly painted canvas into the kitchen and the equipment she'd brought out. She grabbed her coat and bag, shoving her phone into her pocket and collected her keys. "I'm ready."
It felt eerie sitting in the interview room.
There wasn't much to look at. The walls were a dull grey, and there was a table Rose was currently sat at, with two chairs opposite her and a recording machine. Part of her was regretting agreeing to come in, but it was too late. She was here now, and she had to say something, even if it got them off her back.
The door opened, and DI Hardy entered with a thick, brown folder in his hand, followed closely by Ellie who closed the door behind them.
"How are you feeling?" Alec asked, sitting down opposite her.
Rose tried to play it cool. "Fine, I guess. A little nervous."
"That's understandable." He agreed, opening his file which was labelled as 'Sandbrook', and pulled out the witness statement Rose had pulled out. "This is a more formal interview." He went onto explain. "It's to get more information regarding your statement, and to confirm your alibi. Do you understand?" Rose nodded mutely, focusing on his every word. "Just tell us the truth, and this should all be resolved."
Ellie reached out and pressed the button of the recording device, indicating that whatever was said from now on was being recorded. Rose took a deep breath, preparing herself for the questions as Ellie announced who was present, and why they were there.
"Let's start off with the easy questions, shall we?" Alec suggested, opening his file and pulling out the witness statement that Rose had filled out, amongst other things. "How did you first meet Pippa Gillespie?"
"I believe it was year three or four. I witnessed her being bullied by some of the older kids, and I don't tolerate bullies, so I decided to do something about. I punched the ring leader of the group hard enough to give him a bloody nose, and as a result, my Mum got called in to speak to the headteacher. It wasn't the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last." Rose chuckled wryly at the memory. "After that, Pippa and I were inseparable." She concluded with a shrug. "We were at one another's houses at least every other weekend, if not more. Sleepovers, birthdays, even just to do one another's homework."
"So it was a fairly solid friendship, then?"
"I'd say so, yeah."
"Did you ever have any arguments? Any fights?"
Rose shook her head. "No. None that I can recall."
"Not even about boys?" Ellie wondered, giving Rose a knowing smile. "Anytime my friends and I argued, it was usually over a boy or a man that we fancied."
"We didn't have any arguments or fights." Rose clarified. "But I used to tease her about a boy she liked, I think his name was Charlie. It made me feel sick when I saw her fawning over him, and he wouldn't pay her any attention. She'd want to do all of these things to impress him."
Alec nodded towards Ellie, who was writing notes as Rose spoke. "When we initially met, you told me that you weren't sure what had happened the night the girls disappeared, as you were not at this sleepover. You stated that you were babysitting for your little brother Tony whilst your parents went to the same wedding that Pippa's parents did. Was that original statement correct?"
Rose shook her head, shifting in her seat and cleared her throat. "No, it wasn't."
"In your own words, could you please tell us what happened that night?"
"Pippa and I left school together at around half three that afternoon, and we were discussing our plans for the weekend. It was her turn to host the sleepover, and for the most part we didn't have anything too exciting planned. We both had projects to work on, so it was going to be a chilled weekend." Rose began to explain. "But there was this guy in our year at school, that Pippa had a crush on. She never admitted it, but I knew. He was one of the popular boys, and because we weren't in that clique, Pippa wanted to impress him and get his attention."
"How did she want to do that?" Ellie wondered, leaning forwards a little. "My older son Tom is a teenager, so I can only imagine what he'd get up to to impress a girl." She offered Rose a smile, hoping it would encourage her to open up more if given the softer approach. "He's done things that he'd know I wouldn't approve of. Would Pippa do the same?"
"Well, yeah, she was a teenager. She was no angel like her parents thought she was, neither of us were. For a while Pippa's Mum didn't like me because she thought I was leading Pippa astray, but Pippa always had a rebellious streak. Cate was oblivious to it." Rose snorted, remembering some of the shenanigans that the two girls would get up to together. "Cate was a heavy drinker." Rose recalled. "So even if she did see something she wasn't happy with, she never really said it." She shrugged.
"What did the two of you do, though?" Alec pressed, wanting more information. "What was the most rebellious thing you ever did?"
"We once ditched school and spent the day in London." When Ellie's eyes widened in surprise, Rose couldn't help but smirk. "Really, we did."
"You travelled from Sandbrook to London and spent the day there?" Ellie asked in disbelief.
Rose nodded. "It took a lot of convincing because Pippa had never ditched school before, so she was terrified. When we got to London though, she was in her element. We got caught by the police and brought back home at around nine o'clock that evening. My parents grounded me for the rest of the month, Pippa had to miss out on her football training that month, but she didn't care. We had the best day, and it gave her a major confident boost."
"Is there anything else that you did? Did you ever experiment with drugs, or drink?"
"Here and there." Rose said with a shrug. "Again it was to impress Charlie, but when that didn't work, she did things like that on occasion when we hung out."
Alec cleared his throat, feeling as though they were going off course. "Back to the night in question, in your own words, could you tell us what happened?"
Rose sighed, starting to regret agreeing to do this interview. "Uh, we left school at half three, and I went home to get my weekend bag. Most of our sleepovers lasted until Sunday, or sometimes Monday and wherever we were staying, we'd go to school together. Both of our parents were going to a wedding of a mutual friend, so that's why Lisa was left in charge, technically 'babysitting'."
"What do you mean by technically?" Alec wondered, not knowing Lisa as well as Pippa.
"Lisa didn't really supervise us all that much." Rose clarified. "She was older than us, and was more into boys and giving them more attention. If we didn't bother her too much, then she'd let us do what we wanted without any questions asked. If it was something ... untasteful, then Lisa promised never to tell the grown ups. The night was going well, and Pippa and I were working on our projects for school. We were getting ready for bed, when Lisa told us that this kid was watching her from across the street. One that wouldn't leave her alone."
"What was their name?"
"Gary Thorpe. He'd had a crush on Lisa for the longest time, and Lisa took pity on him and went on a date. But he didn't get the message, and started stalking her. We were about to get into bed, but then Lisa told us to grab our stuff and bring it next door."
"Where were you going?"
"To Lee and Claire's. There was only Lee there, I think Claire had gone out with some friends. He said we could stay at theirs for the night because Lisa was worried about Gary. We decided to stay up a bit later to work on our projects, and Claire returned home. She was surprised to see us, but accepted Lisa's reason as to why we were there. We all got a takeaway, and then Pippa and I went to bed. When I woke up, Lee told me that Pippa and Lisa had gone for a walk, so I decided to go home early when they didn't come back."
"This is your version of what happened?" Ellie asked, who was still taking her notes.
"Yes."
"No."
"Excuse me?" Rose was bemused as she focused her attention on Alec.
"I'm sorry, I'm calling bullshit on that." He declared, and withdrew an object that was familiar to Rose. "For the tape, I am show Rose some evidence, that will be labelled as M24. Recognise this?"
Her eyes widened in horror. "What the hell? How do you have my diary?"
"DI Hardy went to visit Cate Gillespie, and I went to visit your parents." Ellie confessed. "Your mother handed over the diary to use as evidence."
"Oh, did she now?" Rose scoffed, feeling slightly betrayed as she folded her arms, leaning back in her chair. "Does she have the right?"
Alec ignored her questions, and continued, now on a roll. He opened up the diary to some of the pages that he'd saved. "A few days before this 'sleepover' for example, you wrote that you and Pippa wanted some alcohol and weed to try, to impress this boy, but you didn't know where to get some. So you asked Claire Ashworth, didn't you?"
"No comment."
"Oh, let's not do this." Alec groaned, really disliking Rose's stubborn streak. Her mother was right with that regard.
Ellie decided to throw a curveball. "When did you first become sexually active?"
Rose was dumbfounded. "T-that's none of your business. Is she allowed to ask that sort of question?" She asked of Alec.
"If she thinks it's appropriate." Alec responded, exasperated.
"Thank you, DI Hardy. I am asking this question in reference to one of your other entries, regarding Lee Ashworth."
"Yeah, what of it?"
"In this entry, you mentioned retrieving the alcohol and the marijuana from Claire, after she had discussed it with Lee. Then you went on to say that Lee once picked you up from school, and you finished the entry off by stating to never get in the van with Lee alone. Ever." Ellie leaned closer, observing Rose's facial expression closely. "What happened in Lee's van, Rose?"
Flashback ...
The school bell rang, indicating the end of the day. Students piled out of the main entrance, eager to start the weekend. Rose Tyler was one of them, who was now walking home alone because Pippa had a last minute football practice.
Rose had put in her headphones to listen to some music on the way home, and had walked only a few steps away from the school gates, when a familiar blue van pulled up beside her.
"Oi, Rose!"
Startled, Rose took out her headphones, stopping in her tracks. "Lee? What are you doing here?"
"Claire said we need to talk about something. Get in." Lee instructed, opening the passenger door from where he sat.
"I need to get home though, I've got a tonne of homework to catch up on." Rose partially lied, not feeling comfortable about getting into the van with Lee alone. "Can't it wait?"
"No, it can't. Your Mum said it's fine if I pick you up, it won't take long. Get in." Rose sighed, and against her better judgement, she climbed into the passengers seat, closing the door behind her. "Put your seatbelt on."
She did as she was told, and Lee started driving away from the school.
"Where are we going?" Rose asked, after a while, as Lee started driving out of the town and down some empty backroads. She was starting to regret getting in the van with him.
"No need to get angsty, we're nearly there." Lee smirked, turning into another dirt road that was more secluded by trees, and pulled up on the side of the road. "Claire told me that you and Pippa were wanting some stuff for your next sleepover, somethings that your parents wouldn't allow you to have because you're underage, right?"
"Yeah ..." Rose trailed off, wondering where he was going with this.
As if reading her mind, Lee pulled up a black backpack from the back of the van. It clinked as it was jostled and placed in the gap beside her feet.
"There's two bottles of vodka in there, and there's four marijuana blunts in there." Lee explained. "Don't use it all at once." He advised. "And if you've never had weed before, then I'd recommend sharing a blunt between you. It can affect people differently if they've never used it before." He recommended.
"Oh. Brilliant, thank you." Rose reached into her own bag, and pulled out her purse. "How much do I owe you? I've got the money for it."
To her surprise, Lee shook his head. "I don't want your money."
Rose frowned, confused. "But Claire said you'd be expecting some sort of payment."
"I am." Lee grinned at her salaciously, reaching out and placing his hand on her knee, slightly under her skirt. "But probably not in the way you were thinking."
It soon clicked for Rose what Lee was implying, and her blood turned cold when his hand started to inch up higher, under her skirt further.
"Lee ..." Rose stammered, unable to form the words properly in her head, wondering how she always seemed to end up in these situations. "You're married." She tried to turn away, squirming uncomfortably as Lee leaned in closer, pressing gentle kisses into the crook of her neck. She hoped that Lee would back away, knowing how stupid he was acting if he remembered that he was married.
Instead, he chuckled, which made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Oh don't worry about that." He assured her, his hand getting closer and closer to her inner thighs and towards her underwear. "She already knows about this. In fact, Claire suggested it. She also made it clear, that if you don't comply with what's about to happen, then she'll tell your parents that you were asking for stuff that you shouldn't have. Knowing your dear old Dad, he wouldn't be too happy to hear that his precious little girl is drinking and smoking, do you?"
Rose whimpered as he started to fondle her, his mouth still on her neck, and her body seemed to betray her by responding to his ministrations.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He whispered huskily in her ear, laughing as she shook her head, not saying a word. "Claire said you were a virgin, but I don't think that's true. I bet you're secretly a slut, aren't you?" Lee pulled on her tie and removed it, and got even closer in her space, and started opening up the buttons on her shirt, one at a time.
By the time he undid the third button, Rose grabbed his hand, stopping him. "Please don't do this. Please, I've got money - I can pay you -" she stammered, heart pounding out of her chest.
"I've already told you, I don't want your money." Lee stated calmly, his hand moving her shirt slightly to see the colour of her bra. He hooked a finger under her chin, turning her head to face his. "Just relax. If you relax, then you might just enjoy this."
"No Lee, please don't do this." Rose pleaded, her pleas falling on deaf ears as he continued touching her in ways that she shouldn't be touched.
End of flashback ...
Rose had zoned out of the interview room, focusing on nothing in particular, but clearly deep in thought.
"What happened in Lee's van, Rose?"
Ellie asked Rose the question again, bringing her back to reality.
"No comment."
"Did Lee Ashworth sexually assault you in his van?"
"No comment."
Alec sighed, rattled by Rose's 'no comment's' to the questions they threw at her. "Was it Claire?" He tried a different tactic, hoping it would throw her off course. "Did Claire groom you for Lee? Did she set you up?"
"No comment."
Alec shared a look with Ellie, who nodded, both of them stumped. "Interview terminated at 11.23AM." With that declaration made, Alec sighed and switched the recording machine off.
"Is that it?" Rose asked, relieved. "Can I go now?"
Alec nodded. "For now. We might need you to come back to confirm other details or discrepancies." He added, getting up and showing Rose out to leave, then he was left alone with his colleague. "She's lying."
"Of course she is." Ellie clarified, confirming his suspicions. "She's not going to confess to it though, is she? She's clearly terrified of Lee and Claire, they've probably threatened her to stay quiet. Maybe she knows too much about what happened to Lisa and Pippa, and they're ensuring that she doesn't speak out."
"Let's keep our distance for the time being. Keep an eye on her, but still keep our distance." Alec suggested. "Go home for now, Miller. Get some rest. We can drive back up to Sandbrook again tomorrow, and do a search of the Ashworth's old home, see if there's any evidence that was missed last time."