Death on Account (The Lakeland Murders) (22 page)

‘You need to fucking move’ said Frostick, punctuating his words with kicks.

‘But we’re behind with the rent. The Housing Association won’t move us.’

‘That’s your problem. Why not be a man and leave Kylie and her kids in the house? Do something decent for a change. But just so we’re clear, we want you out in the next week. If you’re not, we’re going to come and find you, and we’re going to feed you what Eleanor gave the kid. You understand?’

A couple of kids were walking along the pavement and Frostick waved to them as if nothing was happening.

‘All right lads?’ he said, and gave Walker a parting kick in the head. They lads heard Walker’s nose break as they walked past, and the last thing Walker saw before he passed out was one of them giving Frostick a big thumbs up.

It was Ray Dixon who texted Nobby Styles when he heard the news, and no-one was surprised when Nobby turned up at work for the back-shift.

‘Heard the good news?’ asked the sergeant when Nobby was ready to go out. ‘Up to you, but if you want you can go to the hospital and take Terry Walker’s statement. And Nobby, do me a favour. Please make sure that he knows that we’ll do everything we can to put the person who did this away for a very long time. Tell him everyone here is thinking about him.’

Nobby laughed all the way to the car, even if the only one left was the Fiesta with the dodgy starter-motor. But he’d have happily walked the whole way anyway, so that wasn’t a problem at all.

They’d put Terry in a room on his own.

‘Is he in a lot of pain?’ he asked the nurse who showed him the way.

‘Yes, I’m afraid he is. He’s got lots of nasty soft tissue damage. But he’s conscious, and other than a broken nose and a couple of ribs he’s not too bad. No skull fracture, and no internal bleeding that we’re aware of.’

‘Still, early days yet’ said Nobby, pushing the door open. ‘How are we doing then Terry?’ he said, loud enough to wake patients two wards away. ‘How’s the headache then, lad?’

He didn’t bother taking his notebook out. Everyone on the estate already knew exactly who had given Terry a seeing to, and that included PC Nobby Styles, and he also knew that the chances of Terry grassing up Alan Frostick were rather less than the square root of bugger all. Still, it would be fun getting Terry to relive every second of the attack.

Monday, 13th May

‘Don’t be daft’ Hall had said when Jane had said she needed to go to the loo before they went upstairs to the office. ‘Unless you’ve got the weakest bladder in history you’re just trying to avoid walking in to the office at the same time as me.’

‘Tongues will wag’ she said.

‘They already are, so I wouldn’t worry about it’ said Hall. ‘If our colleagues were just half as good as observing criminals as they are keeping an eye on each other then the cells would be full to bursting.’

‘And the divorce courts would be empty.’

Hall forced a smile. ‘Granted, but we only got together after Carol had gone, and you played absolutely no part in what happened. We know that, the kids know it, and that’s all that matters. Look how welcoming they were to you. I reckon they think I deserve a bit of luck.’

‘I thought you were going to say fun.’

‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves’ said Hall, laughing.

Ray Dixon was whistling loudly and tunelessly when Jane and Hall walked in to the office. He stopped, looked at them both and grinned. ‘Morning both’ he said, with heavy emphasis. ‘Another lovely day in paradise.’

‘Stop it, Ray’ said Jane, ‘I get nervous when you’re this cheerful.’

‘I can’t help it. I expect you heard the news?’

‘That Terry Walker took a hiding off Alan Frostick, the world’s least convincing righter of wrongs?’

‘Oh yes. Nobby phoned me at home first thing and said that not only is Terry in loads of pain, but he’s shitting himself about what Frostick might do to him if he doesn’t get the hell out of Dodge, as they say.’

‘Couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke’ said Hall, ‘but you do know we’ll have to calm this down, don’t you, Ray? I assume that someone has had a word with Frostick? And that it isn’t Nobby who’s doing it. He’d have his fingers crossed the whole time.’

‘And who could blame him, boss?’

‘Maybe so, but Frostick isn’t any better than Terry Walker. We all know that.’

‘Well, boss, all I know is that we’re not going to be able to charge Walker with anything, so I don’t care where a bit of old fashioned retribution comes from.’

‘Have you been watching those old Clint Eastwood films again, Ray?’ said Hall, smiling. ‘We have had to speak about that before. Now, do you want to go and make us all a nice brew, since you’re in such a sunny mood? And try not to make it the most powerful cup of tea in the world, would you?’

Half an hour later the three of them were sitting together in Hall’s office.

‘I’ve had an email from Tony Sheridan. Their Chief has spoken to our Chief, and the long and the short of it is that Tony and his team are being stood down on the Williams killing. They regard Murphy as a road block which they’ll never get past. He’d obviously do jail time for Cafferty if he had to. And they’ve concluded that Gill McGrath’s mum knew nothing, or next to nothing. So she’s not worth a charge.’

‘So does that put Gill in the clear?’ asked Ray.

‘It does, and Robinson has asked her to come in so he can tell her personally, and ask her if she’d like to carry on as a Special.’ Hall paused for a moment. ‘So that’s good.’

‘So are we giving up on Williams too?’ asked Dixon.

‘No way. Let’s keep on at it from this end for as long as we can. Have you got anywhere on that print on the file, Ray?’

‘No, it’s a proper whodunnit. I’ve eliminated everyone who I think should have touched it.’

‘Could it have been a re-used file?’ asked Jane.

Dixon shook his head. ‘No, not unless we’re so broke that we’re re-using paper inside it too. We’ve got a print inside too, see.’

‘OK’ said Hall, ‘so how do we move this forward? Ideas?’

There was long silence.

‘Ray, have you listened to the tape of the Murphy interview?’ asked Hall.

‘No, boss, should I? I’ve been a bit tied up with the Eleanor Barrow thing.’

‘Understood. But tell you what, why not spend the rest of the day reviewing Tony’s file then? Concentrate on everything that’s been added over the last few days. I won’t get my hopes up,’ Hall paused, ‘but you better find something, Ray.’

He smiled, and so did Dixon. They both knew that the chances were slight at best.

‘I’ll give it my best shot.’

‘So long as it’s better than this tea. OK, so that brings us to friend Walker. Ray, is there any chance of getting anything out of Kylie, or the neighbours?’

‘I got nowt. You know what they’re like down there. None of them are going to talk to us, especially now that Alan Frostick has handed out a bit of rough justice.’

‘OK then, how about SOCO? Have they had second thoughts, or turned up anything that would help us charge Walker?’

‘No, nothing. We’re not going to be able to lay a finger on him, honest, boss.’

‘I could talk to Kylie’ said Jane.

Dixon shook his head immediately. ‘No offence Jane, but being a woman is pretty much all you’ve got in common with Kylie. You’re a copper, you’re well educated and you don’t have to live with an utter arsehole like Terry. If you’re hoping for some kind of connection I think you’ll struggle.’

‘Point taken’ said Jane. ‘So how about Nobby? Get Kylie on her own, away from those sons of Terry’s, and see if she’ll open up to him a bit maybe?’

Dixon shook his head. ‘Sorry Jane, but Kylie’s scared shitless of Terry. Nobby won’t get a word out of her, I promise you.’

Hall shook his head slowly. ‘We’re running out of options here, aren’t we? Tell you what, Ray, why not have a word with Nobby anyway? He’s a good lad, and I reckon he’d be willing to give it a try. And ask tech support to give him a recorder, nothing fancy, something even Nobby can use. And tell him he’d need to be in civvies, and meet Kylie away from the house, and away from Terry’s lads especially.’

‘You’ve got it, boss.’

‘If Nobby’s willing I’ll have to clear it with the Super.’

‘I’m sure he’d be willing to put in some off-duty time on it, boss, and I’d certainly be happy to help, keep a bit of a watch on the Walker’s house, that sort of thing.’

‘When you’re off the meter, Ray? Have you gone mad? But I’d be happy to do the same if Nobby’s up for it. But it’s still all official mind. Has to be, if we’re looking to use a covert recording.’

‘I’m in too’ said Jane. ‘I can’t think of anything that would feel better than helping to put Terry Walker away.’

‘Really, Jane?’ said Dixon, in mock surprise. ‘Nothing would feel better than that?’

‘Cut it out, Ray’ said Hall, smiling despite himself. ‘Now sod off and find me something useful on the Williams case. Let’s show our friends down in Merseyside that the country cousins know how to keep an investigation going, even when their accountants have called it quits.’

‘But what if we still get nowt and end up wasting a load more public dosh?’ asked Ray.

‘Then the bean counters don’t need to know, do they?’

Ray Dixon worked his way through Sheridan’s file over the next few hours. He listened to the recorded interviews with Mrs. McGrath and Pat Murphy. He took a late lunch and walked in to town. It was another lovely day, and he regretted not getting his shades from the car. He felt slightly unsettled, as if there was something that he wasn’t quite seeing or hearing, something he wasn’t quite connecting. Was it important, or not? He couldn’t tell.

Dixon had known that feeling before, many times, in his career. And this time he savoured it, because he knew that it might be the last time. It made him feel nostalgic, and slightly sad. Sometimes that feeling had led him somewhere, but more often it hadn’t, and he knew from experience that the best bet was not to force it. It would come to him when it was ready, if it was going to at all.

He’d emailed Nobby Styles earlier in the day, so he wasn’t surprised to find Nobby sitting at his desk when he got back.

‘I could get used to this’ said Nobby. ‘My bunions are killing me.’

‘And my piles are killing me’ said Dixon. ‘So you stay there, and I’ll stand, old lad.’

Nobby laughed, then listened as Dixon explained what he had in mind.

‘Kylie’s a nice lass underneath’ said Nobby, when Dixon had finished. ‘But she does have truly shit taste in men. And if anything the bad feeling towards the Walkers is building down on the estate. Even the most work-shy scroungers down there know that Terry Walker is a right nasty bastard, and that he’s to blame for what happened to Eleanor. But I still don’t reckon she’ll open up to me.’

‘So you don’t want to even try? That’s not like you, Nobby.’

‘I didn’t say that, Ray. I’ll try if you and the DI want me to, but don’t expect me to get anywhere, all right?’

When Nobby had gone Ray sat at his desk and tried to chase down that feeling again. What was it he was missing? He flicked through Sheridan’s file again, and this time he started at the back. He looked at all the photos on the system, and had another read through the records of Williams, Aidan McGrath, Murphy and all of Cafferty’s known associates. He was still sitting there when Andy Hall left the office at seven.

‘Blimey, Ray, has the wife kicked you out?’

‘No, boss. There’s something in here somewhere, and I’m not seeing it. I just know it.’

Hall grimaced. ‘Nasty feeling, isn’t it? But when it happens to me I’m always pleased in a way.’

‘I know what you mean, boss. It means that there’s something to be found. Bloody frustrating though, like the name of a Burnley striker from 1966 that I can’t quite remember. It’s there, just out of reach, taunting me.’

‘Go home, Ray. Think about something else for a bit. It’ll help.’

‘Aye, you’re right. I’ll be off in a bit.’

Twenty minutes later Dixon gave it up, and thought that if he’d worked this hard for his whole career he’d be retiring on a Superintendent’s pension. He was thinking about what kind of villa in Italy he’d have with the lump sum when he noticed Alison Thornton coming the other way. And then, a second later, it came to him. He stopped in his tracks, feeling the relief. He knew what it was.

‘Evening, Alison, you just coming in or just going out?’

‘Just coming in, Ray.’

‘Have a good one. I’m off home’

Alison moved as if to walk past him.

‘You work for a security firm don’t you? As your day job like.’

‘Yeah, that’s right. I want to leave though. I’d like to get something up here.’