Only 24 Hours To Crack The Case (Part 2)

Four days after the event, “Melissa” (14yrs) is admitted to A&E with an overdose. It is one of those real I want to end it all overdoses. The sort involving tubes and beeps and lights and readouts. We only find out about it when she recovers. She speaks to Mum, and alleges that her boyfriend got her very drunk, took her to a seaside hotel and raped her whilst she was passed out.

The modern version of the bag of sweeties

So on day six, the Police are called. Day seven Melissa is sensitively and appropriately interviewed to find out what happened to her. She is not sure of her boyfriends’ name, it might be Bilal (we will learn that this is not the truth) . She is not sure what sort of car he has, just that is “well wicked” and customised. She thinks he is 21 (we will learn in the end that he is well over 30). She does know that she went with her friend “Cara” and her boyfriend Qasim. Melissa thinks hearts and romance. Bilal thinks just another goray.

Mum thought she was sleeping over with Cara, visa versa obviously. Into the car, one stop to get a bottle of vodka and a bottle of gin. Glug glug glug in the back of the car. Next stop the rent-by-the- hour Bedbug Towers hotel in a convenient seaside town. Melissa wakes in a strange bed to the inevitable and thoroughly planned molestation.

Some 8 days after the event and its time for the detectives to get involved. OK one lucky lucky lucky (and I say again lucky) break. All of Melissa’s laundry from the night is still lying mid way up the heap on her bedroom floor. We have forensics maybe. A pair of us are despatched to find Cara. Cue two hours tramping the streets of a run down estate. We do find her in the end via a grandparent. With distressing inevitability Cara is now enjoying the dubious benefits of “Bilal’s” attentions. She is 17 but she looks a lot lot younger. That’s probably why Bilal gives her a second glance. Cue three hours of talking, cajoling and persuading Cara to stand up for her mate. The tipping point comes when she MMS’s a picture of Bilal to my phone. She tells it like it was, sort of. Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas and Cara is never going to say that she knew what the plans for Melissa were. She can also give us an address for Bilal. It is not the address where Bilal’s wife and three children live. The jackpot is when we drive Cara to the seaside ourselves and against the run of play she picks a hotel and she gets it right. Twelve pages of statement follow, from which she will later try and recant when Bilal declares his love to her again.

Further enquiries at the hotel confirm Bilal’s presence on the night with a girl who was sick outside and again in the lobby. The Lithuanian night porter remembers Melissa being carried upstairs by Bilal, Qasim and Cara. Disturbingly, the staff recall having to put the mirror door from the wardrobe back on the next morning.

The interview was a wash out. No forensics yet, no comment but VIPER is a hit and CPS direct authorise charges.

We will get more statements showing where the booze came from and proving that Bilal took Melissa to the hotel with evil on his mind.

We seize the mattress from Bedbug Towers. In time this will give us a DNA hit. Bedbug Towers ain’t keen to ever have it back when they learn about Bilal’s Hep A status.

Last but not least, Bilal actually gets bail checked, by a very good bobby with the mobile numbers for Bilal as known to Cara and Melissa on speed dial.

“Hello Bilal, I’m here to check your bail. Oh, what’s that ringing sound? Oh its your mobile. I’ll have that. Thanks.”

Now me, if I had video of me molesting a 14 year old on my phone, if I had used a well positioned door mirror to video my grinning evil self on the job and I was charged with raping her, I would delete it. Thank you Bilal you stupid arrogant child rapist.