Cold Courage (28 page)

When they had been on the road for approximately an hour, Paddy rang Lia.

Scott and Anderson had notified him that they had closed up the flat on Vassall Road behind them. They had bound the guard again, but he would probably get free during the course of the afternoon.

‘That’s enough,’ Lia said.

She then rang the police exchange and asked them to connect her to Detective Chief Inspector Peter Gerrish.

‘I have a tip about the Holborn Circus and Hyundai murders.’

‘We have other officers collecting public tips. I can connect you to…’

Lia interrupted.

‘You ask Gerrish whether he wants to accept a tip from Lia Pajala.’

Half a minute passed and then the call went through.

‘Gerrish.’

‘This is Lia Pajala. Do you remember me?’

‘I do. What do you have?’

‘A tip. The one I talked about before.’

She told him that in Leyton was a shop named the Eastern Buffet that sold precisely the same combs they had found with the remains of the woman in the white Volvo.

‘Is that so? Interesting. Is that all?’ Gerrish asked impatiently.

‘No. The first victim’s name was Daiga Vītola and the second’s was Anita Klusa. They were Latvian prostitutes.’

The line fell silent.

‘Where did you get this information?’

‘That I can’t say. But in about an hour I’ll be able to tell you more. Then you need to be ready to make an arrest. It would be best to do it quickly, because he’s most likely behind both murders.’

‘Hold on. You know of someone who could be a suspect for both murders?’

‘Yes. But I can only tell you more in about an hour. You just prepare to make the arrest.’

‘Why do you think you can order the police around?’

‘I don’t think anything of the sort. I’m just offering you tips. In return for what you told me before.’

‘If you have reason to suspect someone of these women’s murders, it is a crime to delay providing that information to the police…’

‘I’ll ring you in an hour. Be ready.’

Lia rang off. Mari’s plan required self-confidence, and, from somewhere, Lia found it.

She rang Mari’s number and gave a report on events so far.

At 12.52 p.m. Paddy pulled into a campsite, followed by Berg with the camper van.

The Twineham Green Caravan Site was small, and it was so close to Christmas that no one else was there. It was a stark sight: a few bare trees, a concrete building for the showers and toilets, and the site attendant’s hut. The camp host was astonished to have so many vehicles show up. Berg parked on a pitch near another, smaller camper van, which was waiting at the edge of the campsite area.

Lia and Berg told the women in the back that for the next few days they would have the use of the smaller motor caravan as well as the larger one they were in. All told the two vehicles held beds for ten.

‘Berg and I will stay here with you,’ Lia said. ‘Berg does snore, so we may have to cast lots to see who sleeps with him.’

The women were excited to get out and stretch their legs, even if the place was just a bleak caravan park.

Lia and Berg learned Elza’s companions’ names: Alise, Kamilla and Rozalinde. The women also wanted to tell them the names they used as prostitutes. The name had to be simple so the client could remember it, and it had to sound Eastern European. Kamilla had chosen to be Anya. Alise was Elena. Elza was Olga, and Rozalinde used the name Katya.

Amidst all the buzz of conversation, it took Lia a moment to realise something was wrong.

She couldn’t see Daiga Vītola’s mother Henriete anywhere.

Attempting to contain her anxiety, she searched the area. Kamilla and Rozaline were smoking outside the large camper van. Elza and Daiga Vītola’s daughter Ausma were sitting talking in the smaller vehicle. Berg was chatting with Alise about British television shows and adjusting the large camper van’s TV aerial.

Lia checked both toilets. No one.

Paddy was sitting in his car making a call on his phone. Lia waited for him to finish and then went to tell him what was worrying her. Together they went through the entire campsite and both camper vans again. There was no sign of Henriete anywhere.

‘I don’t think she’s disappeared here at the campsite,’ Paddy said.

He had been in his car the whole time and could see the camper vans and the people moving about around them. If Henriete had gone off for a walk, Paddy would have noticed.

‘Let’s ask Elza,’ Lia suggested.

They could see instantly that Elza knew what was up.

‘No, Henriete isn’t here. She decided not to come.’

‘Where? When?’ Lia demanded.

‘When we left Sangley Road. She wanted it that way.’

‘Why? What does she intend to do?’

‘I’m not sure. I imagine she intends to have it out with Vanags over Daiga and Anita’s deaths.’

Lia and Paddy stared at each other, speechless.

‘Damn it. Does she have a weapon?’ Paddy asked.

Elza nodded.

‘What weapon? Where did she get it?’

‘A pistol,’ Elza said. ‘I don’t know what kind. It was the Vassall Road guard’s gun. I took it when you tied him up.’

‘Damn, damn, damn!’ Paddy cursed, turning around on the spot.

‘I looked for a gun, but when I didn’t see one, I assumed that he didn’t have one,’ he said to Lia.

‘Do you know that Henriete could end up dead because of this?’ Paddy snapped at Elza.

Elza looked at him and then at Lia for a long time.

‘I know, and so does she. She decided this herself.’

Lia felt as if the entire situation had turned upside down. She rang Mari and explained the new state of affairs.

‘Do you have any specific idea what Henriete intends to do?’ Mari asked.

Lia asked Elza, who shook her head.

‘Good,’ Mari said. ‘She probably won’t go out looking for the Eastern Buffet, since she doesn’t know London. But she could be
waiting on Sangley Road to see whether Vanags comes there after hearing the prostitutes escaped.’

‘And I’m supposed to ring Gerrish and tell him about Vanags soon.’

‘Ring him now. Ring right now. Maybe they’ll have time to arrest him. And in the meantime, you can pick up Henriete and get her to safety.’

Lia’s hand was shaking as she dialled the police exchange number again.

‘Detective Chief Inspector Peter Gerrish. He’s expecting my call. This is Lia Pajala.’

Reaching Gerrish took only a moment. Lia began telling him Vanags’ name, but Gerrish interrupted.

‘The owner of the Eastern Buffet shop you mentioned. We looked it up. Why do you suspect he killed these women?’

‘That’s what my source told me. That’s all I can tell you. I don’t have any evidence.’

She gave Gerrish the address to Vassall Road. The police were sure to find evidence linking at least one of the murdered women to that flat.

‘Pick up Vanags from his shop for interrogation. And his
companion
from that flat.’

‘Do you know whether he’s armed?’

‘No, but I would assume the worst. You have to hurry. I assume he’ll try to destroy any evidence in the flat.’

Gerrish thought for only a few seconds.

‘We’re going to speak again,’ he said and then rang off.

Lia rang Mari back.

‘Go to Sangley Road. Henriete may not listen to you, but she’s sure to listen to Elza,’ Mari said.

Elza did not resist when Lia asked her to come along. Paddy, on the other hand, was reluctant.

‘We aren’t a strike force of some kind. We’re talking about a woman who’s been held prisoner for over six months and is out of her mind with grief. And Vanags might be there too. Not a good combination.’

But he didn’t have any better suggestions.

‘Let’s go. And hope nothing has happened yet.’

Leaving the other women for Berg to keep track of, they set off in Paddy’s car.

The mood in the car was tense. The journey still took more than an hour, even though Paddy sped most of the way. Mostly they were quiet, lost in their thoughts.

‘I don’t know whether Henriete knows how to use a gun,’ Elza said. ‘She asked me where she could get one. I had it in my purse just in case. I hadn’t thought of giving it to her.’

Lia could see on Paddy’s face that he felt like shouting at her. But Paddy controlled himself.

They were only five kilometres from Catford when Lia’s mobile rang. It was DCI Gerrish.

‘Kazimirs Vanags isn’t at the Eastern Buffet,’ he announced. Vanags had left the shop about an hour earlier, in a terrible rush, had said the young woman who stayed to watch the place.

‘That’s bad news,’ Lia said.

‘Where else can we find him? Will there be others at the Vassall Road flat, and are they armed?’

‘I would imagine he would have gone there. And yes, there could be others. He seems to have several assistants who help him run the prostitution ring, all of whom you might call professional criminals.’

‘Right. If you hear anything…’

‘I’ll ring you straight away,’ Lia said.

Paddy swore again when he heard that Vanags had escaped the police.

‘This could go badly wrong for a lot of people now.’

‘But not for the women at the Twineham Green campsite,’ Lia said. ‘He won’t find them there.’

Elza cast Lia a small, thankful smile.

Paddy parked the car on a side street near Sangley Road and turned to speak to Elza.

‘I’ve already taught Ms Pajala here a little about operating in dangerous situations and how to take instructions. We’re not just
rushing in there. You both walk behind me and only talk if I say it’s OK.’

Elza nodded.

From the outside, number 182 looked just as deserted as before in the pallid afternoon light.

Paddy walked slowly round to the back garden and approached the door cautiously. Lia and Elza followed behind him. At the door, Paddy motioned for them to crouch against the wall on either side of the doorway.

‘Ask if anyone is there,’ Paddy said to Elza.

‘Henriete, vai tu tur esi?’

No answer.

Elza made to stand up, but Paddy stopped her with a wave of his hand.

‘Again.’

Elza raised her voice.
‘Henriete? Vai tu tur esi?’

A reply came from somewhere inside the house.
‘Elza, tu?’

It was Henriete. Elza engaged in a short conversation with her and then translated.

‘She says we should come inside. She says there are things we need to know.’

Paddy and Lia looked at each other hesitantly. Lia grabbed the door handle. The door opened, although Paddy had left it locked.

When they stepped into the living room, they heard Henriete moving around in the adjoining room.

‘Come here,’ Henriete yelled in English.

Paddy pushed the bedroom door open. They saw Henriete standing against the wall. From her left shoulder ran a trail of blood.

Henriete was holding a large handgun, aiming it across the room. She would not for a moment take her eyes from the point she was targeting.

‘Come here,’ she said again.

‘Not as long as you have that gun,’ Paddy said. ‘If you put down the gun, we can come in.’

Henriete understood without an interpreter. She smiled and said something in Latvian.

‘OK,’ Elza translated. ‘Stay there. I just want you to hear this.’

From the other side of the room came a cough. It was the man Henriete was covering with her gun.

‘Is it Kazis?’ Elza asked.

No answer.

‘Kazis Vanags, are you in there, you son of a bitch?’ Elza screamed.

From the bedroom came male laughter.

‘I’m here,’ Vanags said. ‘You and the girls decided to run off.’

Lia recognised Vanags’ voice from the time she had visited his shop. The sound made her heart pound even harder.

He sounded as if speaking was difficult. But still his tone carried a threat. He spoke to Elza as the owner of an animal might, intent on disciplining his pet for its foolishness.

‘Elza, you know running away is one of the things you get punished for.’

‘Ask her what she wants,’ Paddy said to Elza.

Elza obeyed.

Henriete’s reply was long, and as she listened, Lia’s blood ran cold seeing Henriete’s expression.

She means to kill this man
.

Finally Elza interpreted the answer.

Henriete wanted Vanags to pay for Daiga’s death. She had been waiting for him outside. She had known he would come here after hearing his whores had escaped. She knew that he would come here intending to kill her and her granddaughter.

When Vanags had come to the door, Henriete forced him to enter at gunpoint. Inside he attempted to overpower her. He turned and slashed at Henriete with a knife. She fired three shots. Two hit home. One shot to the arm, another to the chest.

Henriete added something.

‘She says it isn’t enough yet,’ Elza interpreted.

Hoarse laughter came from the bedroom. Vanags said something to Henriete in Latvian.

‘He called her a mother of a whore,’ Elza said, her voice dark with anger. ‘This is a very bad insult in Latvian.’

I’m not surprised.

Lia swallowed and tried to get Paddy’s attention. They had to try to defuse the situation. Paddy shook his head: too dangerous.

Henriete spoke to Vanags in her halting English.

‘I want you tell to them same thing as to me. Tell them how you kill Daiga and how you kill Anita.’

Vanags coughed. His breathing was laboured.

‘Tell them,’ Henriete ordered, shifting her grip on the pistol.

‘Very well,’ Vanags said. ‘I killed Daiga, because Daiga was stupid. I told her many times how things work in our houses. But she was always arguing. I was ready to kill her before, but then she was still bringing in money. Then she smuggled you here, her old mother of a whore and daughter of a whore. Then I thought why should I look at this ageing whore who isn’t making me much any more and thinks she’s something. So I shot her.’

Lia, Paddy and Elza listened in silence. Tears were running down Henriete’s cheeks. She stared at Kazis Vanags along the barrel of her gun.