Bad Tidings (15 page)

Fuck this job, Henry thought bitterly.

He walked back to A&E hoping that Janine Cromer hadn't got bored and disappeared. He was amazed to see she was still in the waiting room, looking pale, in shock and staring blankly ahead. She shook herself out of her reverie on Henry's approach.

‘Right, we need to get down to Blackburn nick and sort out Freddy – and on the way down, you need to tell me what the phrase “not as such” means.'

They were in the Audi, heading down Shadsworth Road towards Whitebirk, the location of Blackburn's new police station. In fact it had been open several years, having replaced the old Victorian one in the town centre.

‘You said you didn't know “as such” what all this shit was about,' Henry said harshly to Janine. ‘Not knowing “as such”,' he persisted, ‘means you know something. So fire away.'

‘I . . . I . . .' she stuttered.

‘Look, Janine, there's three dead men back there. This isn't just about protecting a family or looking the other way, trying to distance yourself from them. I need to know what you know. This is serious fucking stuff now, and I'll get to the bottom of it, with or without you. If it's without you, don't be surprised if you get dragged into it as well.'

Henry slammed on at a red right.

‘Then it'll be without me,' she said. She crossed her arms. Defensive, withdrawing.

Henry angled sideways. ‘Your decision.'

She stared dead ahead.

‘It's all going to get much worse,' he warned. ‘And then worse still. There's no upside to this shit,' he said relentlessly.

‘The lights've changed.'

Henry shot through.

Janine said, ‘You didn't just turn up at the house because Freddy was missing, did you? You must have known something about all this. Like we said, superintendents don't come knocking just because some nutter goes AWOL.'

‘Some nutter?'

‘Medical term.'

They glanced at each other and the tension was eased slightly.

‘You show me yours and I'll show you mine,' Henry said.

They hit the first roundabout at Whitebirk.

‘Honest, I don't really know much. I do keep them at a distance. And they keep me away, too. Just occasional family get-togethers, and Christmas. That's pretty much when I see them.'

‘Doesn't mean you don't know things.'

‘Only bits. I'm not included in the “family business”, whatever that is, OK?'

Now they were at Blackburn nick. Henry drove into the secure parking compound and parked close to the custody office entrance.

‘Which bits do you know about? Men with guns bits?'

‘There's been a big fallout with a Blackpool crime family . . . the Costains?'

‘Could Freddy have been kidnapped by them?' Henry speculated.

‘Why? I don't know . . . maybe . . . there's a lot of goading going on, a lot of posturing, some skirmishes. Bit like a schoolyard scrap, no one really wanting to throw the first punch. But something did happen at one of the clubs a couple of nights ago.'

‘Clubs?'

‘One of my dad's places in Blackburn. It got a bit yucky. Bouncers, knives and such.'

‘Which club?' Henry racked his brain to see if he could recall any mention of this on the chief's daily briefing or in the other incident logs. Janine told him and he frowned. ‘Was it reported to the police?'

She uttered a snort of disbelief. ‘Yeah, right. What world do you live in? Cops don't hardly hear of anything that goes on, they just think they do.'

‘OK,' Henry conceded. ‘I take it Freddy has no part in this crap? Y'know, with him being some nutter?'

‘Not really. He thinks he's part of it – in some of his lucid but ludicrous moments. But Dad won't let him near. The violence that gets used needs to be for a purpose. The violence Freddy uses isn't for anything. And there are enough nutters in the business to start with. Adding one who's out of control all the time would be too iffy.'

So it is a turf war, Henry thought. And he knew it needed to be stamped on now.

‘Now yours,' Janine said.

‘Uh?'

‘Show me yours,' she insisted.

There passed one of those indefinable moments. The look. The insinuation. The double meaning. And Henry's guts lurched. Ten years ago – less – he might have done something very, very stupid, such as fall into bed with the daughter of a dangerous gangster. Now, in his mid-fifties (an age he was becoming increasingly vague about), he was above and beyond such actions. Plus he was so much older than Janine and he could just imagine her disappointment when she saw his naked body. Even he was disappointed with it. Every day.

He cleared his throat and cleansed his mind of the image. ‘I'm investigating the activities of a possible serial killer.'

‘You think Freddy is a serial killer?' Her screwed-up face showed her complete amazement at this thought.

‘No . . . I thought he could be a victim. He fits the profile of the previous ones – right age, background, all of them killed and their bodies dumped over the Christmas period. And then, hey, Freddy gets reported missing. So yeah, I'm interested in him.'

Still incredulous, but in a different way, she said, ‘Are you saying someone's killing off mentally deranged individuals?'

Henry grimaced. ‘So he's been promoted to a mentally deranged individual, has he?'

‘That's what he is.' She shrugged. ‘Call him what you like.'

‘But with moments of lucidity?'

She shrugged again.

Henry said, ‘No . . . he's just from the right age group and background . . .' Then he suddenly didn't want to say any more. ‘That's why I turned up at Southfork, because I was investigating murders linked to missing persons . . . not because I was being nosy . . .'

‘Although that played a part, as we've already established.'

‘A little.' He squeezed his thumb and forefinger together. ‘A teensy bit.'

‘I couldn't even begin to imagine a serial killer wanting to nab someone like Freddy. A bit of a handful. If he had the nous it would be more likely to be him,' she said, and stifled a yawn. ‘But he hasn't.'

‘Let's go and see him. Whatever, it looks as though someone did kidnap him, but for a different reason than to murder him.'

‘Which would be?'

‘To use him as bait.'

Before doing anything else, Henry ensured that the custody record was straight. Once, way back, he had fallen foul of the system by failing to make the correct entries at the correct times and had learned a harsh lesson. Once the paperwork was done, a gaoler brought Freddy up from the cells to an interview room.

He was silent, sullen and compliant, and sat across from Henry without making eye contact. One side of his face was badly scratched, the other bore the burn marks Henry recalled from all those years ago. Henry asked him what had happened since leaving the club in Knuzden the previous evening.

Freddy made no response. He was in no frame of mind to talk, but at least he wasn't violent for the moment. Neither did he respond to any of Henry's other questions. It was as though he wasn't hearing a thing, like Henry was simply mouthing silently at him. It didn't take Henry long to realize there was no profit in this.

He had Freddy put back in a cell, after which he and the custody officer chewed over the options available as regards Freddy's disposal.

Then Henry went to talk to Janine, seated out in a visitors' room.

‘Main problem I have is that he attacked a nurse,' Henry explained. ‘Mental or not, I don't want to brush that under the carpet.'

‘In reality, what would happen to him if he went to court?' Janine asked.

‘Secure facility for a month or two, maybe.'

‘So he'd be out again in no time. Truth is, nothing's really going to happen to him, is it? He might as well be free.'

‘I do want to get him assessed. I can't just let him out, unless you're willing to look after him,' he suggested. That had been Henry's plan all along: dump him on his relatives.

Janine pondered this. ‘I could . . . for a while, anyway.'

Henry knew that putting Freddy through the justice system would be futile. He would only end up in the social care system after that, and it had been pointless putting him there in the first place. In fact there was probably no answer to someone like Freddy, short of a captive bolt. Henry might as well kick him out of the door and hope for the best. At the moment he was just filling up a cell which could be occupied by someone more deserving.

‘I'm going to release him into your custody. How does that sound?'

‘Pretty shitty.'

‘I'll take that as a nod.'

He led Janine to the custody office, and Freddy was brought back from the cells. When he saw his niece, his eyes widened with pleasure.

‘Hi, Freddy.' She gave him a little wave.

His fat bottom lip began to tremble. ‘My darlin',' he said.

Henry leaned on the custody counter. ‘Freddy – I'm going to release you, but you have to go with Janine, OK?' Freddy blinked at Henry. ‘You need to get a good kip and then I'll come and speak to you about what's happened. And you have to behave yourself and take your tablets, OK? Deal?'

‘OK,' he whispered. ‘I know you, don't I?'

‘We've met.' Henry tugged at his collar, feeling the ghosts of Freddy's thumbs on his windpipe, as well as their more recent incarnations. He glanced at Janine. ‘I'll arrange for someone to drop you off.'

‘Not taking us in the Audi?'

‘No – I don't want blood on the seats.' His mobile rang. He stepped away and answered it. It was Rik Dean.

‘Couple of things come up I thought you should know about,' Rik said.

‘Fire away.'

‘Speaking to the nursing staff on C10, it looks like Bill Grasson did all the shooting, no weapon seen in the hands of the guy with him. Grasson took out both of the Costains, it seems. It was chaos, as you know, but that seems to be the picture.'

‘OK – that simplifies things to an extent.'

‘Yeah. I've also been to the security office and checked some CCTV footage. I've ID'd the guy with Grasson, the guy who did a runner. You'll like this, Henry.'

‘I'm champing at the bit.'

‘Terry Cromer.'

‘Yesss . . . thought as much.'

‘We going for him?'

‘Oh yeah, strike while the blood's still hot.' He checked out Janine and Freddy, standing by the exit door. Freddy was hugging Janine, and she was patting his shoulders lovingly, speaking softly to him, whilst looking sideways at Henry. Henry frowned slightly as he watched them, but it was only a fleeting thought, gone in an instant. He jerked his head for her to come to him and she detached herself from Freddy. Henry laid it straight on the line. ‘It was your dad with Grasson.'

She swallowed and nodded numbly as though this was not unexpected. ‘Guessed so.'

‘I need to speak to him – on my turf. Here.'

‘Are you going for him now?'

‘Yes, I need to.'

‘Did he shoot either of those men?'

‘I don't know yet,' Henry lied a bit.

‘But it's possible.'

‘You know it is.'

She sighed tiredly. ‘What's your plan?'

‘To go and get him now.'

She laughed harshly. ‘That won't be easy.'

‘Could be with your help. But if you're not willing, I'll go in with a bunch of cops wearing Doc Marten's size elevens in front of me. This is a hot operation and I want to move with the momentum. Easy or hard.' He didn't tell her that the gang of size elevens he was referring to would take about eight hours to pull together. ‘What if I get Freddy taken home in a police van and I take you back in the Audi? That way I can exchange Terry for Freddy.'

‘Suppose I warn him you're coming?'

‘You won't . . . me getting hold of him now will make his life much easier.'

‘Are you going up with armed officers?'

‘Should I? I'd rather keep it low key.'

‘OK – you drive me back. Take Uncle Freddy in a van – and I'll see what I can do. I promise nothing . . . cops coming for him are an occupational hazard.'

‘All right . . . tell you what, though, we'll all go in the van. I'll commandeer one.'

Freddy was placed in the back of a section van, reassured by Janine. Henry and Janine sat up in front and Henry started the engine, a little shot of excitement zipping through him. It was a long time since he'd driven a marked police vehicle and there was always something good about it, no matter how crappy the vehicle itself. A million memories flooded back.

He reversed out of the car park and set off towards Belthorn. Alongside him, Janine sat pensively, fingers interlinked on her lap. Henry didn't interrupt her thoughts, which he guessed were conflicted. He did look at her when he heard her chuckle. ‘What?'

‘Where do you get a phrase like “move with the momentum” from? Sounds like a line from a bad rap song.'

‘I'm just good with words. Got an O level in English . . . grade C.'

She laughed, but then her face turned hard. ‘I don't think this'll be easy, you know. I may be his daughter, but I have no influence on him whatever. If he kicks off you'll have more than a handful.'

‘I've got a chum with me.' Henry jerked his thumb backwards.

They had travelled up Shadsworth Road, the hospital over to their right, and then turned onto Haslingden Road towards Belthorn, at which point a vehicle had taken up a following position behind them.

Janine peered into the side mirror, saw the headlights.

‘Just the one,' Henry assured her. ‘If it does go all wrong, I'll call for further assistance. Let's hope it stays amicable.'

Janine shook her head, and Henry crossed his fingers. Getting more officers to back him up would be a bit of a conjuring trick, because there weren't any. If Terry got upset, Henry would back off and return later with a mini army.