‘Entwistle, I need you to speak to the manager, Mr Green. You’ll find him in his office down there,’ she said, pointing to the corridor that led off the bar. ‘Get the names of every guest who attended the event tonight, then see if any of them have criminal records or questionable backgrounds.’
‘Sure thing, Guv.’
‘Bov, I want you to suit-up and get out there with Evans and the team. See if you can find any signs of who took Hollie.’
Bov nodded with a heavy sigh. ‘I see. So the peasant Italian has to do the donkey work out in the cold whilst golden-balls here gets a nice warm office.’ He landed a playful punch on Entwistle’s shoulder.
‘What you complaining for?’ teased Jones, tapping Bovalino’s thick midriff. ‘You’ve got plenty of meat on you to keep you warm.’
‘Piss off!’ joked Bovalino, swatting Jones’s hand away.
Phillips allowed herself a smile before refocussing the team. ‘Right. Jonesy and I need to talk to the head of security. I want to know why that gate wasn’t locked. Everyone clear on what they’re doing?’
‘Yes, Guv!’ the team replied in unison, and got busy.
John Robbins was back in front of the monitors, checking the CCTV footage, when Phillips and Jones walked into his office, this time without knocking. He spun round to face them.
‘Found anything else of interest?’ asked Phillips.
Robbins’s brow furrowed. ‘Nothing yet, but I’ll keep looking. The footage you wanted will be downloaded within the hour. It’s a massive file.’
‘Thank you,’ said Phillips.
‘Happy to help.’
‘In the meantime, we have some more questions.’
‘Go ahead. What can I tell you?’
‘Is the gate where Hollie was taken usually locked?’
‘Of course. As Mr Green said, the members are often subject to unwanted media attention, so every exit and entrance is secured.’
Phillips produced her phone and presented Robbins with one of the photos she’d taken earlier. ‘Well, this is how we found it when we went over there just now.’
Robbins took the phone and studied the photo for a moment, using his fingers to zoom in.
‘As you can see, the lock is open, but remains intact,’ Phillips continued. ‘It was either left that way or the kidnappers had a key.’
Robbins’s mouth fell open. ‘But that’s impossible. Every lock is checked at the start and end of each shift. No one mentioned any issues with the gates down there to me.’
‘Who would have been the last person to check it?’
Robbins thought for a moment. ‘Erm, it would be Sam Cartwright. She’s been looking after that section of the building tonight.’
‘And do you trust her?’ asked Jones.
Robbins jerked his head back. ‘Sam? Absolutely. She’s one of my best. A former medic in the Army. She served in Afghanistan and Iraq.’
‘Where is she now?’
‘She’s still here. She’s on until 6 a.m., when the next shift takes over. She’ll be doing her rounds.’
‘Can we speak to her please?’
‘Of course. I’ll radio her now.’
A few minutes later, the door to Robbins’s office opened and Sam Cartwright stepped inside. Short and stocky, with close-cropped hair, someone not paying attention could easily have mistaken her for a man.
‘Sam, this is DCI Phillips and DS Jones from the Major Crimes team. They’d like to talk to you,’ said Robbins. ‘Please, take a seat.’
Cartwright moved across the room, her stooped posture giving her an apologetic air. She smiled weakly as she sat down, revealing heavily stained teeth. Like Robbins, she wore a shirt and tie, but the collar could not fully hide a tattoo running up the left side of her neck to just under her jawline.
Phillips wasted no time getting to the point. ‘Sam, where were you at 8 p.m. this evening?’
Cartwright repeated the question. ‘Where was I at eight o’clock?’
‘Yes.’
Cartwright’s eyes narrowed. ‘Er. I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’
‘What don’t you understand?’ shot Phillips. ‘It’s a simple enough question.’
‘Well, I was here, wasn’t I?’ Cartwright said, and glanced at Robbins, half smiling.
‘Yes, we know that,’ said Phillips, ‘but where specifically were you within the club at that time?’
Phillips watched Cartwright closely as she gazed up at the ceiling. ‘Er, well, I don’t remember exactly, but I think I would have been out on the tennis courts.’
‘Did you see Hollie Hawkins at all?’
Cartwright shook her head. ‘No. I’m afraid not. I mean, to be honest, with all the guests wearing costumes, it was hard to tell who anyone was this evening.’
Phillips turned to Robbins. ‘Could you bring up the footage of Hollie talking to the masked man, please?’
Robbins obliged, and the image filled the middle screen on the wall.
‘Did you see this man anywhere tonight?’
Cartwright spun the ring on the middle finger of her right hand with her thumb as she scrutinised the image. She shook her head. ‘No, I can’t recall seeing him.’
Phillips said nothing for a moment, allowing the silence to linger as she watched Cartwright’s face.
Cartwright shifted in her seat.
‘Do you recognise this?’ Phillips presented her with the image of the padlock they’d witnessed on the external gates.
Again, Cartwright scrutinised the image for a long moment before shaking her head. ‘No, sorry.’
‘This is the lock that secures the gates to the air-conditioning units. That area was under your watch tonight, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, it was.’
‘And Mr Robbins tells me they should remain locked at all times?’
‘Absolutely,’ Cartwright affirmed.
‘Yet tonight they were left unlocked, which allowed four men to abduct a person we believe to be Hollie Hawkins.’
Cartwright’s eyes widened. ‘You don’t think I had anything to do with that, do you?’
Phillips stared at Cartwright for a long moment. ‘Did you?’
‘Oh my God, no. This job is my life. I would never do anything to jeopardise it.’
‘So how do you explain the open lock, then?’
Cartwright’s mouth fell open, but she said nothing, her eyes darting to Robbins before staring back at Phillips. She continued to spin the ring on her middle finger at a pace. ‘I honestly don’t know. I checked all the locks tonight at the start of my shift, as per usual. They were all secure then. Every single one of them.’
‘Sam is one of my best operatives, Chief Inspector, with a decorated military record,’ Robbins cut in. ‘If she says they were secure, I believe her.’
Phillips locked eyes with Robbins now. ‘Of course, Mr Robbins,’ she said, without feeling, ‘I’m sure you understand the seriousness of the situation, though. We have to check everybody involved, including you.’
Robbins eyes bulged, and he leaned back in his chair. ‘I can assure you, I have nothing to hide. Integrity means everything to a Royal Marine.’