Page 18 of Her Hidden Shadow

They entered his tiny, cluttered lounge. He removed a dirty plate from the arm of the sofa and took it into the kitchen. ‘Have a seat,’ he called out before re-entering the room. Gina and Jacob sat on the two-seater sofa, and he sat on a pull-out chair opposite them. ‘So, what is it you want to know?’

Gina got her phone out and held out a photo of Lauren Cross that she’d taken from the woman’s social media. ‘Do you recognise this woman?’

He began playing with the mole under his eye as he gazed at it for a few seconds. ‘Am I meant to?’

‘You picked her up and dropped her off last night. Her name is Lauren Cross.’

‘Yes, booking for Lauren.’ His eyebrows furrowed as he looked again. ‘Yes, although she looked different then with all her make-up on and her hair down.’

‘Can you talk us through the pickup?’

He stared suspiciously at them for a few seconds. ‘It was around nine in the evening. I pulled up at about five minutes early and rang the bell. She answered, telling me they’d be out soon so I waited in my car. She and two other women came out. The woman in the photo, Lauren, waved at her neighbour across the road who was holding a pizza. I only noticed that as I was hungry. They all got in and I dropped them off at Hurst Street in Birmingham. They were a little drunk and giggly on leaving. We arrived at about nine forty-five. The three women got out and headed into the club.’

Jacob noted down what the man had said.

Gina sat forward a little on the uncomfortable sofa. ‘Can you remember what they talked about?’

‘They were taking selfies and laughing. Lauren was talking about her engagement and showing them what I thought were pictures of wedding dresses. I gathered that’s what the celebrations were about. I don’t think much else was said. The other two women were being mean about another woman called Tiffany, I think.’

‘Mean, in what way?’

‘Lauren was upset that she wasn’t with them and one of the others said she didn’t like her much anyway and that she would have ruined the night, that she wasn’t a fun person; things like that. Lauren jokingly told her to stop being mean. That was all really.’

Gina waited a bit longer than usual for Jacob to catch up. She noticed him scribble out a line and start again. ‘Okay, let’s move on to when you collected them from Hurst Street.’

‘I was booked to pick them up at two fifteen and they were there waiting in the same spot where I dropped them off. They were really drunk; staggering and loud. Lauren got into the front seat and the other two got into the back. Not long after starting off, the two in the back fell asleep, then Lauren fell asleep too. I was quite grateful for that, and I hoped I’d get them home before one of them vomited in my car. I dropped the two in the back off first and Lauren last. She got out and I left. No one spoke on the way back so if something happened after that, I can’t help.’

Gina knew that Kimmy the neighbour had told them another version of events, one that didn’t match up to what Ulrich was telling them. ‘There was a murder at Lauren Cross’s house. You probably haven’t heard it on the news if you’ve been asleep.’

‘Shit. Was it her?’ He ran his fingers through his dark greasy hair.

‘A witness heard Lauren telling you not to touch her.’

He flung himself back in the chair. ‘But I didn’t hurt her. I was helping her out of my car. She was very drunk, and I couldn’t leave her there all night and I had another job to go to. I just pulled her by the arms, that was all. I didn’t hurt her.’

‘The witness claimed that you waited around a little longer, and that you pulled up down the road.’

‘Yes, I wanted to check my phone and I don’t drive while looking at my phone. When I stopped, I noticed an umbrella in my car, so I got out and walked to her door. I thought I should ask if it was Lauren’s before I drove off, only when I got to the door, I heard crying and thought, it’s nothing to do with me. Instead of knocking, I took the umbrella and left. I don’t think it was hers anyway. It’s at the office in lost property. After that, I got a call to say my next job was cancelled. I drove back to the office and headed home.’

‘Where were you between dropping Lauren and her friends off and picking them up?’

‘Taxying people all over the place. It was Saturday night. I don’t have enough time to stop for a piss on Saturday nights. I can’t remember all my journeys but the taxi controller, Bert, has a record of them so you can check with him.’

Gina knew this was something that could easily be checked so she waited for Jacob to add that to the list. She then selected a photo of Sienna Moorcroft and showed it to Ulrich. ‘Do you recognise this woman?’

‘No, she wasn’t with them last night. I’ve never seen her.’

‘Did you see anything suspicious at the bungalow when you dropped off or picked up Lauren?’

Ulrich pressed his lips together. ‘I heard something, so I checked down the side of the bungalow after dropping her off. It was just before I heard the crying. I thought someone might be walking into the garden, but I didn’t see anyone, so I thought that it was probably a fox. Do you think that’s why she was crying because there was an intruder?’

Gina didn’t know the answer to that. She wondered if someone had been in the house when Lauren had returned. Maybe Robbie had been making his escape out the back.

‘Is she okay? You didn’t answer my question.’

Gina nodded. ‘Yes.’

He leaned back and exhaled. ‘I’m sorry that something bad has happened but it was nothing to do with me. I’m glad Lauren is okay.’

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