SHADOW OVER THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense (24 page)

‘I got him to record it the other day. I told him we could use it as a lure, to get you to walk into a trap. I would play it at a given time, and he would be waiting for you.’

‘So why use it tonight?’ Joseph asked quietly. ‘I would have come simply because you asked me, without the theatricals. You know that.’

‘Because I had to be sure you’d come alone, Joseph. I couldn’t risk you telling anyone that you were meeting me, not if we are to get away together. No, the tape ensured that you’d say nothing.’ She looked up at him pleadingly, ‘We need to go soon. It’s all set up. My people . . .’

‘And who are your people, Bry?’

‘Just believe that they are taking medical science forward for the greater good. Every single person who works for them, no matter what their role, is deeply committed. But we really don’t have time for this, Joseph. I’ll explain everything later I promise you.’ She sank back on her haunches and looked up at him imploringly. ‘Come with me, please! First, because I love you, and second, because the alternatives are not good.’

He looked at her, pain etched all over his face, and knew that she realised he was going to refuse her.

At that point, the dynamics in the room suddenly changed. For the first time since he entered the cottage, he felt threatened. He straightened and felt a rush of adrenalin course through him. He knew what was wrong.

Bryony’s hand was moving imperceptibly towards the hearth, and the gun.

Joseph acted instinctively, lunging forward, grabbing the gun, then rolling away. In a fraction of a second he had pulled her to her feet and was behind her, with the muzzle pressed to her temple. ‘Tell me about those alternatives?’ he enquired coldly.

‘Oh, Joseph, you’ve made a terrible mistake.’ Her voice had changed, lost the softness. ‘And don’t fool yourself. You couldn’t do it.’ Bryony slowly and deliberately turned her head to look him in the eyes. ‘Sorry, but it’s just not in you to hurt me, yet alone kill me.’

‘Don’t underestimate me, Bryony.’ Joseph stepped back, gripping the gun with both hands and keeping it trained on her head. ‘I was a soldier too, remember? Killing people is on the curriculum.’

She smiled at him. ‘But not like this.’

He knew that she was right. He had been a good soldier, not a homicidal lunatic like Billy. But then he was also a good copper, and his instincts were screaming at him to recognise Bryony, not as the woman he had fallen for, but as a treacherous liar.

‘Bryony, I’m sorry, really I am. But there are questions that need to be answered.’ He stared at her down the barrel of the gun, and fought back tears of his own. Why did it have to be like this? ‘You’ve lied to me, haven’t you? All along the line.’

‘Oh, I’ve lied, Joseph, about practically everything.’ A brief look of pain passed across the beautiful face. ‘Although not about my feelings.’ She took a deep breath. ‘But you’ve made your choice. Now I’m walking out of here, and you, my love, are going to let me.’

‘Oh, I don’t think so.’

The voice made both Joseph and Bryony spin round in surprise.

Nikki moved away from the doorway, and Joseph vaguely saw a set of bar cuffs in her hand. ‘It’s all over, Bryony. Time to go.’ She began to step towards the woman.

‘No, guv! Keep back. Switch on the lights.’

Nikki stopped mid-stride, then eased back to the door and flipped down the switch.

Nothing happened.

‘Just stay away from her, ma’am. I believe she’s dangerous.’

‘Oh I know she is, Joseph . . . I’ve recently met Mr Kurt Carson, or should I say Billy Sweet, posthumously, that is. I’ve seen Bryony’s work first-hand.’

Joseph felt a horrible coldness seep through him, but he never let his eyes, or the muzzle of the gun, leave Bryony. ‘What are you saying, Nikki?’

‘She killed your nemesis, Joseph. Amongst others.’

‘Well done, Detective Inspector.’ Bryony slowly and deliberately clapped her hands together. ‘Excellent work.’

‘We need support, ma’am.’ Joseph tried to keep his voice steady, but inside he was boiling with rage and hurt.

‘Already on their way. Let’s just keep everything calm,’ said Nikki.

‘I couldn’t be calmer, Inspector,’ said Bryony sardonically. ‘It’s you who looks a trifle agitated. But then I suppose you must be
so
relieved that your little puppy dog here is still breathing.’ Her eyes glittered in the pale light of the lantern. ‘I know it’s happened to you before, but it must be terrible to see him bleed!’

Before Joseph knew what had happened, a burning pain seared through his left hand. The nerves and muscles went into spasm, his finger involuntarily jerked on the hair trigger and the gun exploded upwards and away from his grasp.

‘Keep totally still!’

Joseph’s ears still rang with the report from the gun, and he realised that he had made a potentially fatal mistake. In the poor light he had not seen the wicked looking blade that Bryony had strapped to the inside of her wrist. With a groan of pain, he grasped his injured hand, pressed it to his body and tried to staunch the bleeding.

Nikki remained by the door, her mouth slightly open in shock, and hatred burning in her eyes.

And once again, Bryony held the gun. ‘Make no mistake. I am leaving now, and I will kill you if you try to stop me.’

‘No, you’re not.’ Nikki’s voice was husky, but the words were slow and determined. ‘You are a cold-blooded killer and you’ve assaulted my colleague. I can’t let you.’

‘Do as she says,’ gasped Joseph. ‘Please, Nikki.’

‘Ooh, please Nikki!’ Bryony imitated Joseph’s appeal. ‘How touching. But also practical, Inspector. I’d listen to Joseph, if you value your life.’

‘Ah, but there’s the problem,’ returned Nikki, her voice as cold as an Arctic night. ‘I don’t.’ And without hesitation Nikki threw herself forward.

Joseph’s scream mingled with the roar of the second shot, and the two figures crashed to the floor in front of him. Before he could even move, something hit his foot. He swung down, pain like acid flaring through his hand, but somehow he managed to grab the gun.

By the time he had straightened up, one of the two woman was on her feet and running towards the door.

‘Stop, or I fire,’ he yelled.

Bryony halted and turned around. The knife was still in her hand. ‘Oh Joseph, I told you before, you’re a lovely man, but you’re no killer.’

When the blast from the third shot died had away, he whispered, ‘And I told you not to underestimate me, my love.’

EPILOGUE

Joseph pushed open the door to her room with his shoulder. One hand was strapped firmly across his chest and held there by a padded sling, and the other hand grasped a large bunch of candy pink roses and silver-grey eucalyptus. ‘I’ve just seen Linda Kowalski. Her brother is out of ITU and doing well. Now, how goes it with you?’

‘I’m glad to hear about David, and I’m easier today.’ Nikki eased herself up the bed and grimaced. ‘Well, a bit easier. For a flesh wound, it damn well hurts! And you?’

‘Extremely inconvenient, especially getting dressed and anything else that requires pulling up your trousers.’ He grinned at her. ‘Other than that, pretty good. The surgeon reckons I should get most of the movement back, as long as I keep up the physio.’

‘I bet you and the therapists are on first name terms by now?’

‘Yes, there is a certain amount of déjà vu to my visits.’ He smiled and laid the flowers on the bottom of the bed. ‘For you.’

‘They’re lovely, Joseph. Are you going to arrange them for me?’

‘Probably not. It was difficult enough just carrying them into the lift and pressing the button. I’ll leave it to the nurses.’ He sat in the chair next to her bed and looked at her searchingly. ‘How are you really?’

Nikki dropped the smile. ‘If you must know, I’m still pretty shaky.’

‘Me too.’ He stared down at the floor. ‘I can’t get my head around the fact that she was so
ruthless
. You know, I really thought . . .’ his voice trailed off into silence.

‘That she cared? Well, for what it’s worth, I think she did, until you rejected her, then the
woman-scorned
bit came into play. Don’t beat yourself up, Joseph, she had me fooled, and I was actively looking for things to distrust. You, sunshine, had no hope.’ She picked up a thin folder from her locker and passed it to him. ‘The super gave me this. It’s for our eyes only. He thought it may help.’

‘A dossier on Bryony?’

‘Just a précis of what they’ve already compiled.’

‘I don’t think I want to see it right now,’ said Joseph, placing it unopened on the locker.

‘I’ve read it,’ Nikki shrugged. ‘You should too, when you’re up to it. The main thing to know is that she alone was designated to bring ‘closure’ to the Gordon Peace guinea pigs, and that included Martin. She was no carer, Joseph. She killer the carer, she was the fixer.’

‘I thought as much,’ said Joseph with a sigh. ‘When Dave told me about her expertise with drugs and their effects, it all fell into place. It was her organisation that provided the white boxes of medication, wasn’t it?’

‘In the guise of caring and generous healthcare professionals, they provided everything for their precious guinea pigs. The big financial payouts, the close follow-up treatment and ongoing medical care, which included their medication.’ Nikki moved uncomfortably. ‘The super reckons that eighteen months ago there must have been a leak, forcing them to wrap up their British operations, but they decided to do it slowly and insidiously so it wouldn’t lead back to the old trials.’

‘And who would notice the odd suicide or accidental death, when they were months apart?’

‘Exactly. Bryony was sent in to doctor their drugs and send them to their death. And she was doing fine until the organisation wanted everything speeded up and Billy Sweet was seconded to help out.’ She looked at him painfully. ‘You did hear that Sweet was headhunted for his dubious talents by Bryony’s organisation? That they ‘killed him off’ in South America, then gave him a new identity, as Kurt Carson?’

Joseph nodded, then asked, ‘Did you know immediately that the last killing was Sweet himself?’

‘No, I only found out as I drove out to find you. His face was pretty battered, intentionally of course, Bryony didn’t want us to recognise him too quickly. And we didn’t, but Dave had given a photo of Billy to Rory. In it he was holding a weapon of some kind and it showed a badly deformed finger, and Kurt Carson had an identical injury. Rory then used the picture and a computer-generated version of Kurt’s skull, and hey presto. One and the same.’

‘If you believe in Karma, one would consider that a fitting end for such an evil man.’ Joseph gave a little shiver. ‘Bryony’s organisation may be powerful but they made a mistake recruiting Billy Sweet. Although I’m sure he was very effective until he finished up in hospital, saw me, and went on that killing spree. One thing though, I’m surprised that Bryony managed to get the better of him so easily.’

‘Simple. She did what she did best. She drugged him. That was something else Dave informed me of on my trip to Cloud Fen. Rory picked up on tell-tale signs and later found that Sweet had been immobilized before his throat was cut.’

‘Dear Lord, and to think that I . . .’ Joseph shook his head, then swiftly changed the subject. ‘And Bryony’s organisation? Do we have any leads?’

‘We’re out of our depth there. With the Kowalskis’ statements the super knew that we were on to something, but guess what? He’s been ordered not to pursue it.’

Joseph gritted his teeth, ‘And the shadows close ranks and block us out.’

Nikki nodded, and for a moment they sat in silence with their own thoughts. ‘So when did it dawn on you that you were being spun a yarn?’ she finally asked.

Joseph gently massaged his injured hand. ‘Several things didn’t ring true, but the main one was when she told me that Martin was going abroad. It took a second or two, but I remembered all you’d told me about him, about his love for the marsh, how fond he was of his sister, and his precious Knot Cottage. He wouldn’t have upped and buggered off, just for the sake of some medical care.’

‘You’re right. Linda Kowalski told me that they were all promised a big final settlement, then their care would be down to their respective GPs, but in truth, the organisation could never have risked it. Their death sentences had already been signed.’

‘And the executioner dispatched,’ Joseph added painfully. ‘But let’s forget all that for a moment.’ He turned to her and she allowed those dark, earnest eyes to bore into hers. ‘There is still one question I have to ask.’

Nikki had known this moment would come, but said nothing.

‘Did you really mean that you didn’t value your life? I’ve played those last few moments over and over, and I’m still not sure why you did what you did.’

Nikki stared down at the pale green counterpane. What could she tell him? The truth was that there was no way she could have risked his life again. Not for a second time. She had to stop Bryony somehow, and her method may have been a tad gung-ho, but that was Nikki Galena for you. ‘I guess I saw the red mist, that’s all. I thought if I could distract her, you might finally get your finger out and actually do something!’

‘Right. I see,’ Joseph pulled a face. ‘Okay, so you’re not going to tell me.’

‘Not yet. Maybe I’m not sure of the answer myself.’ She smiled at him, ‘Now my turn for a question. When you shot Bryony . . . ?’

‘Did I mean to kill her?’ He shook his head. ‘No, she was right about that. I couldn’t have done it. That would have made me no better than Billy Sweet.’

‘I’m glad, Joseph. Because for Martin’s sake, I want her to stand trial.’

Joseph drew in a breath. ‘Don’t get your hopes up. If her dark and shadowy employers are as powerful as I believe, she’ll never she get near a courtroom.’

Before Nikki could answer, the door opened and two women stood beaming at them.

‘Elizabeth! Janna! Come in.’ Nikki patted her bed for Janna to sit, and Joseph stood up and gave Elizabeth his chair.

‘To cheer you up,’ said Elizabeth brightly, and placed a large, colourful plant on her locker.

Nikki stared at it. It had a mass of dark green heart-shaped leaves and huge waxy red flowers, each with a thick, fleshy cream spike rising from them. ‘My! That’s, uh, exotic! Thank you.’

‘Latin name, Anthurium Andreanum,’ said Elizabeth knowledgably.

‘Common name, Willy Lily!’ laughed Janna.

It was agony to laugh, but suddenly Nikki felt great. She could afford to laugh again. The nightmare was over.

‘And this is to cheer
you
up, Sergeant.’ Janna handed Joseph a fob with two keys hanging from it. ‘We have no problem at all with your suggestion, and Martin would most certainly have approved.’

Nikki threw an enquiring glance at Joseph.

‘I’m renting Knot Cottage.’ He looked at her earnestly.

‘Really?’ Nikki’s mouth dropped.

‘Are you quite sure that you won’t be haunted by everything that happened there? Janna asked.

‘I’m absolutely certain,’ Joseph nodded determinedly. ‘I know what happened was terrible, but in a funny kind of way it finally gave me closure from Billy Sweet.’ He turned to Nikki, ‘From the moment I set foot in Martin’s home I knew it was a very special and well-loved place. And of course I’d be closer to you, if you don’t mind having a new neighbour?’

Nikki felt a warmth suffuse through her. So there would be smoke rising from the chimney, and the lights would burn in the evening again, and like before, they would have been lit by someone she cared for. ‘No objections at all. When are you planning on moving in?’

‘As soon as my new landlords here have replaced the sitting-room carpet. It’s in a shocking state!’

Nikki placed a hand tentatively over the large dressing around her waist. ‘Eh, sorry about that.’

‘Oh, don’t feel too bad,’ said Joseph. ‘Professor Wilkinson took great delight in telling me that there are actually three different blood groups splattered between the hearth and the front door. Something of a record in his book.’

Janna groaned theatrically. ‘I was warned about police humour.’ She stood up and smiled across at Elizabeth. ‘And we should go. Let Nikki rest.’

‘Yes, we only came to say thank you. Without you both; Martin’s murder would never have come to light. His death would have always been thought of as a callous drug-fuelled act of madness. His memory would have been tainted for ever.’ Her voice caught, and Janna continued for her.

‘But now we can grieve properly. And so can the friends and families of Paul Cousins, Amelia Reed and the other poor souls who died.’

Joseph nodded, then smiled to lighten the mood. ‘Yes, it’s lucky that there are still few tenacious old bulldogs left on the force.’ He tilted his head towards Nikki, ‘Or should I have said, stubborn, fool-hardy, pig-headed, persistent, obstinate . . .’

‘Let’s stick with tenacious, shall we, Sergeant? Or do you actually have a hankering to go back to traffic for the next ten years or so?’

* * *

After the two women had left, Joseph sat back down and grinned wickedly at Nikki.

‘So, there is just one thing left. One mystery that has yet to be solved.’

Nikki looked at him suspiciously. ‘And that is?’

Joseph leaned closer. ‘Dr Helen Latimer. Martin’s GP at Cloud Fen? You said that when the case was over you’d dish the dirt regarding your mysterious feud.’

A knowing smile spread over Nikki’s face. ‘I’m sorry, Joseph, you must be mistaken. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.’

Section of article in
The Times
, 14 August

GREENBOROUGH POISONER DIES

The body of Bryony Barton, the woman accused of engineering the ‘suicide’ deaths of more than ten people in the last eighteen months, was found yesterday. The manner of her death remains a mystery, as she was in the process of being transported to court. On arrival she was found dead on the floor of the police transportation vehicle. The Fenland Constabulary are asking for information regarding one of the escorting officers who has since disappeared.

Full story on pages 4 and 5

THE END