CRIME ON THE FENS a gripping detective thriller full of suspense (10 page)

‘Not yet. You take a minute to calm yourself before they get here, hey? They are already on their way, and this is one heck of a backwater.’ He paused for moment then said, ‘The dead girl? It’s Lisa Jane Leonard, isn’t it? I saw the tiny scar beneath her ear.’

Nikki nodded. ‘Archie and his family will be devastated.’

‘Everybody’s family gets devastated at one time or another, doesn’t it?’ The arm remained gently across her shoulders and his hand squeezed her reassuringly. ‘How long has Hannah been in a coma?’

‘She’s not in a coma,’ replied Nikki. It seemed odd to talk about herself. So odd that she almost didn’t know how. ‘She was, but now she can breathe for herself.’ She looked down. ‘But that’s about all she can do. She’s in what they call a persistent vegetative state.’

Joseph puffed out his cheeks. ‘Phew, how long?’

‘Eleven months.’

He turned to her and his gaze was full of honest admiration. ‘How on earth have you coped?’

‘That’s all I ever do, Joseph.’ She gave him a sad smile. ‘I cope. I just cope. I don’t live, I don’t enjoy anything. I exist, I work and I manage. I
have
to because one day I’m going to get my daughter back.’

‘I hope you do, really.’ A terrible sadness crept across his handsome face. ‘Because I’m certain I’ll never see mine again.’

‘You have a daughter?’ she asked incredulously. Somehow the fact that he may have a family had never even occurred to her.

‘Had. She’s abroad somewhere with her mother. I haven’t seen her for six years.’

A quiet descended on them both, as they fell into a sort of personal reverie and thought about their lost daughters.

After a while, Nikki said, ‘I guess there is nothing we can do for Lisa Jane now, not without disturbing anything. We’d better ring the station and check how long it will be before forensics can get out here. It’s no longer a missing person’s case. It’s murder.’

‘Shall I do it, ma’am?’ asked Joseph.

Nikki slipped, rather reluctantly from his arm, and stood up. ‘I’m okay now, Sergeant, thank you. And I could do with some fresh air.’

‘You and me both.’

Together they made their way back out into a watery sunshine, and Nikki flipped open her phone and reported their findings. ‘They reckon about five minutes, then they have to get across the fields, of course.’ She looked across the acres of flat farmland. ‘Why did her killer pick this place, I wonder?’

Joseph leaned against the quad bike and shook his head. ‘And how did he get her here without Nigel Grieves or one of his family or workers seeing them?’

‘I’m pretty sure he, or maybe they, used the dyke.’ Nikki pointed to the narrow waterway that ran close to the barn. ‘With all the summer rain we’ve had of late, you could easily get a small boat along there.’

Joseph walked across to the edge of the dyke. ‘I think you’re right. The bank is pretty well trampled down. The SOCOs may find something.’

‘Let’s hope.’ Nikki sat down on a stone bollard that had probably once been part of a wall, and looked up at her sergeant. ‘Why haven’t you seen your daughter for so long?’

‘Because she hates me.’ He swung himself onto the quad bike and sat back in the saddle. ‘Well, actually she hates the person I used to be, but Tamsin refuses to believe that that man is dead and gone.’

‘And who was that man?’

‘A soldier. A highly trained special forces operative. One who killed people for a living.’ He threw Nikki a resigned look. ‘So I can hardly blame her for disowning me, can I?’

‘Soldiers don’t kill for fun.’

‘If you ever meet Tamsin, perhaps you might tell her that fact.’ He scratched his head. ‘But if I’m honest, I can see where she’s coming from.’ He gave a humourless laugh. ‘You know what some young people are like these days, full of passion and determination — to save the whales, the polar bears, the rainforests, the planet! Tamsin spent all her childhood collecting orphaned animals and mending broken wings. To her, all life is sacred. Her father’s job just didn’t gel with her concepts of what made a good person.’

‘So did you give up your career for your daughter’s sake?’

‘No.’ Joseph shook his head sadly. ‘Like you, I had a bad mission.’

Nikki looked at him, her head tilted to on side. Her natural curiosity wanted to hear about it, but she of all people knew when not to push.

‘Let’s just say the intelligence we were given was wrong. People died. The wrong people.’ He shuddered. ‘Afterwards, I threw my assault rifle in the river and told my commanding officer that I was going home, for good. He knew they’d cocked up, and he never tried to stop me. I was given an honourable discharge. What a joke!’

‘So then you joined the police?’

‘Not for a long while. I knew I was damaged, so I went away. I travelled, then I spent a year in an ashram, and finally the healing began.’ He smiled at her. ‘Please don’t tell the mess room, but I’ve never been religious. I’ve just spent a lot of time listening to people who lead truly spiritual lives, and now I can embrace the good things in life, and try to forgive the bad ones.’

‘Oh I wish it was that easy, Joseph! I don’t think I could ever forgive some of the bad people that I’ve come across in my life.’ Nikki closed her eyes and saw Frankie Doyle’s wicked eyes twinkle maliciously at her. ‘No, never.’

Joseph gave her long look. ‘I never said it was easy. One day you may be surprised at what you are capable of.’ He smiled again. ‘But right now, I see the Cavalry approaching.’

Nikki stood up. Across the fields, two Land Rovers were churning up the fertile soil as they made their way towards them. She looked back to her sergeant. Somehow she knew that she did not have to ask him to be discreet about her panic attack.

For a moment she just stood and stared at him. For the first time in a very long while, DI Nikki Galena actually trusted someone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

‘Do we know how she died?’ asked Superintendent Bainbridge.

Joseph bit his lip. ‘Unofficially, sir. It’s strangulation.’

The super nodded slowly, ‘I hope they manage to get her off that marsh before night fall.’

‘She’s already here, sir. She was taken into the hospital mortuary a few minutes ago. Professor Wilkinson will do the post mortem this evening.’

‘Rory Wilkinson? He’s from your neck of the woods, isn’t he, Sergeant?’

‘Yes, sir, he’s covering while your own man is up at the Old Bailey as an expert witness. Wilkinson is a brilliant forensic scientist.’

‘
If
you can put up with his weird sense of humour. I know him, Sergeant. And you’re right, he is very good.’

Nikki felt relieved. She had known the girl, and wanted her treated respectfully. If his reputation was to be believed, Professor Wilkinson would do just that.

‘Now,’ the super ran a big hand through his iron-grey hair, ‘we have to break the news to the Leonard family. Lisa Jane needs to be formally identified.’

‘I’ll do it,’ said Nikki. Then she looked across at Joseph, and corrected herself. ‘I meant w
e’ll
do it, sir.’

The super stared at her for a second, his expression mildly confused, then he nodded. ‘Okay, but do it quickly. This is one bit of news I do
not
want him coming by on the underworld grapevine.’ He sat back in his chair, and Nikki saw deep worry lines etched all over his already craggy face. ‘And be careful, Nikki. I know you have a particular rapport with Archie, but the situation itself could be like lighting a fire-cracker under a powder keg. The Leonard family
will
want revenge.’

‘I know that, super. And we’ll do whatever it takes to keep him from starting a blood-bath, I promise.’

‘How much are you prepared to tell him?’

She thought for a moment, then said, ‘Everything, sir. I need his help, so he has to know all the facts.’

The superintendent pursed his lips. ‘You trust him more than I do, but I’ll support you in whatever you decide, Inspector. Now, you have a job to do. I suggest you go do it.’

* * *

As they drove towards the Carborough Estate, Nikki was forced to wonder just how good her relationship with Archie would be after this god-damned meeting was over. The only thing she knew for sure was that her sorrow for his loss was genuine, and he would realise that. She began to rehearse what she would say, then gave up. There were no right words at a time like this. You just had to hope that what you did say came from the heart, and didn’t finish up sounding like a load of tawdry platitudes.

‘What happened to Hannah?’

Joseph’s voice broke into her thoughts, and for a minute she felt like telling him to mind his own sodding business. Then she remembered his kindness earlier, and the fact that he had shared some pretty painful memories with her.

‘Drug overdose,’ she said quietly. ‘After Emily died I was really screwed up, and in the end it wrecked my marriage. Robert went to live abroad, and refused to take Hannah. She was gutted by his rejection, and blamed me for everything.’

‘And went off the rails?’

Nikki gave a short, barking laugh. ‘Oh no! Not Hannah! She was far too clever to do that! She had a master plan. Her one aim in life was to make me suffer. Every day, in every way.’

‘So she dabbled with drugs, just to piss you off?’

Again Nikki shook her head. ‘No, but she did start mixing with some seriously dubious characters, just for my benefit. Then she made the mistake of confiding in someone who hated me even more than she did. Someone who was much cleverer than Hannah, and totally unscrupulous.’

‘Don’t tell me,’ breathed Joseph. ‘Frankie Doyle.’

‘Got it in one, Sergeant.’ Nikki pulled into the Carborough and made her way confidently through the maze of streets. ‘And it was Archie Leonard who helped me find out what had happened, and gave me the name of Frankie Doyle.’

‘What
did
happen?’ asked Joseph.

‘I believe Doyle got hold of a bad batch of drugs.’ Nikki faltered for a second, then she took a deep breath and said, ‘And she spiked Hannah’s drink with enough junk to fell an ox.’

‘She meant to kill her?’ Joseph’s voice rose an octave.

‘I’m sure she did. What better way to get at me, but I could never prove it. Even the info that Archie managed to get hold of was obtained through a dozen backdoors. Only one man could ever help me, and that was the dealer who sold Frankie the junk, so, you can see where that led me, can’t you?’

‘You’ve been on a one-woman witch-hunt ever since.’ Joseph exhaled loudly. ‘But why did Archie help you? You may have had some weird good guy/bad guy relationship, but you’re still the Old Bill.’

Nikki pulled into a space, switched off the engine, then looked up and almost gasped. ‘Another time, Sergeant. Take a look at that!’

In front of them was the end wall to one of the smaller blocks of flats, and painted across it in giant multicoloured letters, were the words,
MASK WARS.

‘Shit!’ Joseph jumped out of the car and ran over to the uncommissioned art work.
‘Graffiti artists sign their work with a tag.’ He searched the bold swirls and slashes of vivid colour. ‘Yeah! Got it, look.’

Nikki caught up with him and peered at the strange hieroglyphic. ‘What’s that? Looks like P-I-E-T to me. Ring it in, Sergeant, get Cat or Dave to run a check for us.’

Joseph pulled out his phone, spoke briefly to Cat, then flipped it shut. ‘She’s going to run it through the computer, not that I think it’ll get us far. I can’t see this being the only one, can you? The estate’s probably covered in them.’

They walked across the road towards Archie’s house, and Nikki paused at the gate. ‘This is not going to be easy.’ Her voice was low. ‘A hell of a lot rests on how we deal with this. Are you up for it?’

Joseph nodded. ‘I haven’t needed my negotiator’s skills for a while, but I guess you never forget.’ He opened the gate and held it back for her. ‘Shall we go?’

* * *

Archie Leonard sat on a cream leather sofa, and stared, granite-faced at Nikki. ‘Whoever did this is going to pay. My God, they’ll pay!’

‘Oh they will, Archie. You have my word.’ Nikki chose her words carefully. ‘But right now, you know what I have to ask you, don’t you?’

‘The identification?’

‘I’m afraid so. And I’m sorry you have to go through it. There is no doubt that it is her, but we need either you or her mother as next of kin to formalise the process.’

‘I’ll go. I’m her guardian,’ he paused, ‘I
was
her guardian while Frank is inside. And Margaret is in no state to see Lisa Jane, not like that.’ The man drew in a deep shaky breath and looked back to Nikki. ‘The family will not take this well, you know that, don’t you?’

‘Archie, you
have
to convince them to leave this to us. We have another girl to think about. Another Carborough family is also going through hell. A vendetta on the estate could seriously hinder our enquiries about Kerry Anderson,
and
about your niece. It’s bad enough with the gangs and the masks, don’t make it even more difficult for us, please.’

‘I care about you, Nikki, you know that, but I went against the family when I walked through that door to the nick. It was not a move that they appreciated, so . . .’ He shrugged. ‘So, they may not be in any frame of mind to listen to me right now. And frankly, I think I would actually
like
to be first to get my hands around the neck of the animal who killed my girl.’

‘Of course you would,’ said Joseph quietly. ‘That’s natural for any loving man.’

Nikki watched as Joseph fixed Archie Leonard with a penetrating stare. ‘But Lisa Jane was not your only responsibility. As I understand it, you have three more girls to consider. Your own two daughters and Frank’s other girl, Melissa.
And
you have boys, there’s nothing to say that one of them may not be targeted. Surely you’ll want to channel all your considerable resources into protecting
them
?’

Archie did not flinch under the unblinking gaze. ‘Ah, we’re a big family, Sergeant, with a lot of friends. Since the moment my niece disappeared, my other children have been watched as carefully as newborn babies. There will still be plenty of time and personnel to sort out our problem.’

‘Then help
us
, Mr Leonard.’ Joseph leaned forward. ‘Think what a combined team could achieve. You have the knowledge on ground level, and we have a whole army of experts and equipment in every field.’

‘He’s right, Archie. We’ve got the technology, and you’ve got street intelligence. And don’t give me that old crap about the family not listening to you. They love and respect you, and the bottom line is, what you say, goes.’ Nikki looked earnestly at him. ‘Work with us. I promise I’ll hold nothing back, if you and the other Leonards keep us in the loop here on the estate.’

Archie rubbed his forehead, but said nothing.

‘I suppose there might be something else we can do, sir.’ Joseph sat back and looked thoughtful. He looked to Nikki more like a successful plastic surgeon discussing a nip and tuck, than a detective on a murder case.

‘And that is?’

It was Joseph’s turn to remain silent for a moment, and Nikki wondered what plan he was hatching.

‘We may, we just
may
be able to keep Lisa Jane’s name from the media. If you could see your way to assisting us, that is.’

Nikki let out a loud breath. ‘Hold on, Joseph! How the dickens do you suppose we’re going to manage that? Promising something that’s damn near impossible is a big mistake!’

‘I never said the word
promise
, ma’am. But we could try, couldn’t we?’

‘Could you?’ asked Archie solemnly.

‘Would you help us, if we did?’ came back Joseph.

‘Before you answer, Archie, there’d be no guarantees,’ butted in Nikki. ‘If the grapevine gets hold of it, or if someone offers a hefty backhander, well, it’s all over, you know that.’

Archie Leonard looked thoughtfully at her. ‘I’ll speak to the family. No promises, but I’ll try, and you do all you can to keep her name from the press. Deal?’

Nikki took the outstretched hand. ‘Deal.’

It wasn’t the first time she’d formed a liaison with this particular part of the underworld, but such a gamble often came at a cost. She looked at Archie Leonard’s troubled blue eyes and hoped the risk would be worth it. Then, as she released Archie’s hand, a picture of Kerry Anderson swam before her, and she knew it was.

‘Now, I’m afraid we have to ask you to go to the hospital. As we need to keep this under wraps, I suggest you make your own way there. It’s visiting time until 8 p.m., so it won’t look odd, and I’ll meet you. I’ll take you to her through the back corridors.’

‘I understand.’

‘I’ll be in the hospital shop in half an hour,’ said Nikki. ‘Don’t acknowledge me, just buy something, a magazine or some flowers, then follow me out, okay?’

Archie nodded.

‘And, I know it goes without saying, but I’m so very sorry.’

The man dropped his head. ‘I know, Nikki. And part of me says that it’s my fault, if I’d come to you sooner, maybe . . . ?’

Nikki shook her head emphatically. ‘Don’t even begin to think like that. I know we’re still waiting for the official reports, but from what we do know,
no one
could have helped her. We are sure she was killed when she was first abducted. What we don’t know, is why.’

‘Then we have to find out what’s going on, before someone else dies.’ Archie straightened up, and a steely expression of determination swept over his face. ‘I’ll call the family immediately, and I’ll see you at the hospital.’