CRIME ON THE FENS a gripping detective thriller full of suspense (23 page)

‘But you don’t kill someone for something like that!’

‘I do. If they piss me off enough.’

‘And my sergeant? How did he piss you off?’

Doyle pouted. ‘He didn’t do anything, except play the hero. What an arsehole!’

‘There’s something missing in you, isn’t there?’ Nikki looked at her, rather like she would a nasty smelly specimen under a microscope. ‘I’m sorry for what you suffered, but it goes much deeper than that, doesn’t it?’ She tapped her head with one finger. ‘Something’s not right, up here.’

Doyle bridled. ‘You can talk! You’re so much better, are you? You hound people, you make their lives a misery.’

Nikki could have laughed at the comparison, if it hadn’t been so pathetic. But still, Doyle’s open admission that she had fully intended to get rid of Hannah had rocked her. All this time, wondering and speculating, and now she knew. She knew, but what was she going to do about it?

For a few moments, Nikki stood and just stared at Doyle. Yes, if she were honest, Nikki wanted to call out for Archie. Tell him to finish off this parasite, this damaged, compassionless creature. She
could
still do that. And the way she felt, she
may
actually do it. But one thing stopped her.

Kerry Anderson.

She glanced at her watch. How long did she have? Just long enough, she hoped. ‘Were you and Stephen Cox lovers?’

‘Me and that meat-head! You’re joking! We were business partners.’ She said importantly.

‘How did he get his face burnt off?’

‘When you chased him out of Greenborough, he started doing a bit of dealing on someone else’s patch.’ She tugged unsuccessfully at her restraints. ‘They didn’t take it too well, and it was just Stevie’s bad luck that one of them owned a restaurant. They griddled him.’

Nikki had carefully watched her face as she told the story. But even though a good-looking man had had his face and the side of his head pressed into a searing hot iron plate, there was no compassion, no horror at what had happened, no emotion at all.

‘It worked out all right in the end, though. He got rid of them and took their manor. Made a packet out of it.’

‘And now, where is he exactly?’

Doyle’s face darkened. ‘We got split up, but he’ll be back for me.’

‘Oh yeah, I thought I saw a bloke outside, on a big white horse, all ready to ride in and save you!’ Nikki laughed. ‘Get real, Frankie! You’re in deep shit and he’s laughing!’

‘Like I said, he’ll be back. He’ll find me.’

‘Mm, you really weren’t the brains of the outfit, were you?’ She threw Frankie a piteous look. ‘You fool! He’ll be miles away by now. He’s ditched you, Frankie. Left you to take the blame for everything. And believe me, you will.’

‘Get stuffed.’

‘Shall I get Archie back?’

Doyle threw her a look of pure hatred. ‘What do you want?’

‘Why did Stephen Cox arrange the abduction of Kerry Anderson?’

‘Because I asked him to,’ spat Frankie.

Nikki smothered her excitement. She
did
know about Kerry! Which meant a slender chance of finding her. ‘Ah, so she was someone else who pissed you off, I suppose. Let me guess? Kerry was bright, intelligent and was making something of herself, even if she came from the Carborough?’

‘Stuck up cow,’ muttered Doyle. ‘She had it coming. Just like the Leonard bitch. All fucking airs and graces the pair of them.’

Nikki felt nauseous, and prayed that Archie was not listening outside the door. Somehow she fought back the rising bile, and knew that she had to keep on probing. Because she desperately needed to find Kerry. ‘Did Cox kill her, like he did Lisa Jane? I know you were there when he did it to Lisa Jane. You spat on her, didn’t you?’

Doyle began to struggle again. ‘I don’t want to talk about her anymore, not with
him,
not with Archie
,
around.’

Nikki walked around until she was behind Doyle, then whispered. ‘As I see it, this could go one of two ways. I give you to Archie, and tell him all about what you and Stephen did to Lisa Jane, or you tell me where I can find Kerry Anderson, then I arrest you for attempted murder, and a whole load of other stuff,
but
then I get you out of here.’ She gave a small laugh. ‘Deal, or no deal? And I know which I’d choose.’

Initially Doyle said nothing, although Nikki was pretty sure that she understood the wisdom in her words, then the woman found some sort of misguided bravado from somewhere and hissed. ‘Stinking pig! Find her yourself!’

Anger coursed through Nikki’s gut.

Suddenly she was tired of all this. Why was she even lowering herself to try to reason with this bag of shit!

Nikki stared at her.

Doyle was callous, lacking in all social graces, and seemed completely indifferent to other people’s suffering.
And
if crossed, even if unintentionally, she was lethal. Better to walk away and leave her to the Leonard family to dispose of. The world would certainly be a safer place.

Do it by the book! Promise me!
Joseph’s voice rang through her mind like a clarion call.

Still staring at the woman, Nikki flopped back against the wall. But they were never going to find Kerry in time to save her, so what did it really matter? She should call for Archie.

‘What are you thinking, Pig? I don’t like the look on your face.’

‘Shut up!’ Nikki never took her eyes off her, but desperately tried to control the heated temper that was boiling away inside. In her head she saw Hannah, just as she was when they hooked her up to the ventilator. She saw Lisa Jane Leonard handing her a cup of coffee and telling her how she had been chosen to model for a sun-crème advert. She saw the stunning photographs hanging on Kerry Anderson’s pod wall, then Mickey Smith’s battered face swam into view, and standing next to him was young Marcus Lee. She saw the doctor’s attending to Callum, the boy who got stabbed for the sake of a mask. And then she saw Joseph. And
he
filled her field of vision like an avenging angel.

By the book, Nikki! She
has
to go down!

Nikki felt a strange peacefulness enter the smelly storeroom, and swirl all around her. And in that stillness, the bitterness and the hate began to fade slowly away.

How close had she just come to crossing the line?

Maybe she would never really know, but now she didn’t need to hear Joseph calling to her any more. There was only one way to deal with Frankie Doyle.

Nikki had overstepped the mark more times than she could ever remember. She’d threatened and intimidated drug dealers, she’d even given one or two a good thumping, but at heart, she was a good copper. Her whole career had been about righting wrongs. Her conscience was not going to let her move into the same category of the scum that she hated so much.

‘Oi! Inspector Filth! I’m fucking talking to you!’

‘And
I’m
talking to you, Frankie. So, shut up and listen.’ She marched right up to Doyle. ‘As Stephen Cox is now out of the picture, I am going to assume that you are the ringleader for this whole thing. The deaths, the abduction, the drug scam, everything. You will go down for life. There will be no successful appeal because no judge or jury in this land will see you for anything other than what you are; a vicious, evil and calculating killer. You won’t go to a secure hospital, because everything you did was deliberate. You will die alone, in prison. One way or another.’

For the first time, Doyle seemed to realise that she really was a scapegoat. Alone and in terrible danger. Her already pale face drained to the colour of wallpaper paste, and her eyes widened.

‘First, however, I’m going to caution you.’ Nikki quickly untied the ropes that bound her arms, then swiftly cuffed her wrists before the circulation returned. ‘Frances Doyle, I’m arresting you for the murder of Kerry Anderson. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence . . .’

‘For Christ’s sake! She ain’t dead! How can you accuse me of her fucking murder, when she ain’t dead?’

‘And you can prove that, can you?’

‘Of course, I can! Unless that lump of shit Cox went back and finished her off, and that ain’t my fault, is it?’

‘Where is she?’

‘Get me out of here! Just get me away from that psycho Leonard, and I’ll tell you.’

The words pot and kettle came to mind, but then Nikki felt a great surge of hope. She pulled out her phone and called Dave Harris.

‘Call this in, Dave, then get your arse down here pronto. I’ve got Doyle, and I want a car immediately, to the Zig Zag café.’

She released Doyle’s feet and stood her up. ‘After you.’ She pushed her through the door and out through the kitchen and into the alley.

Archie waited outside, his face expressionless. ‘I should have guessed which road you’d choose, Nikki Galena.’ He threw her a slightly sad, half smile, then began to walk away. ‘Pity.’

‘You’ll thank me for it one day, Archie.’ She called after him. ‘And thank you.’

He paused, then nodded and walked on, and in moments he had melted into the darkness.

CHAPTER THIRTY

When Nikki and Dave arrived back at Greenborough police station, and the mood was a mixture of disbelief and anger that one of their own had been deliberately injured, and elation at the fact they had secured the massive shipment of drugs,
and
taken three, now four, of five of the villains. The officers that had just returned from the raid were naturally high, the adrenaline was still pumping, and there was the usual back-slapping, high fives, but even they seemed subdued considering the high profile of the operation.

‘Didn’t see you down the docks, Davey-boy?’ called out one young officer. ‘Skiving off again? Dodging the action?’

Nikki spun round on him, but Dave put his finger to his lips, and said, ‘Let them have their moment, ma’am. They don’t mean no harm. I’ve seen plenty of action in my years on the force, done things that he’d only dream of. Forget them, you need to see the super about a search party for Kerry.’

‘Sorry, but some of these gung-ho rookies make me want to puke. They need to learn to keep their big gobs closed when they don’t know the full story.’ She gave Dave’s arm a squeeze. ‘You’ve been a diamond today, and I’m going to make quite sure that the superintendent is aware of it.’ She pulled in a deep breath. ‘Go grab a coffee, Dave, and thanks for everything.’

As Nikki hurried to the superintendent’s office, she vaguely wondered if Cat were still there. She doubted it, Cat’s style was more subtle, she preferred the undercover, clandestine operations, not the riot gear and ‘batons at the ready’ kind of stuff. So, as she passed the CID office, she was surprised to see the hunched form of Cat slumped over her desk.

She pushed the door open and called out, ‘Hey, not sleeping while the rest of the station parties, are you?’

‘Ma’am?’ Cat looked up blearily. ‘Sorry, but I couldn’t go home until I’d heard directly from you about Joseph. How’s he doing?’

‘His operation went fine, but they want to keep a close eye on him for a while. The knife penetrated his stomach and they had to resection a chunk of his intestines. They’re scared of sepsis, so he’ll be pumped full of antibiotics for a while to counteract any infections.’

‘It doesn’t seem fair, does it? A good bloke like the sarge, goes to another nick for a change of scenery, and some psycho sticks a blade in him.’

‘No, you’re right, it doesn’t seem fair. But good news, I’ve caught Doyle and she may know where Kerry is, so I need to see the super right away.’

Cat brightened instantly. ‘Go, ma’am! That’s fantastic!’

She had expected the super’s office to be jam packed with gold braid and shoulder pips, but oddly, the man sat alone at his desk, with an expression on his face that Nikki found difficult to read.

‘Ah, Nikki. Come in and sit down. Thank you for keeping me posted on Joseph’s condition.’ He reached into his drawer, took out the familiar half bottle of whisky and two glasses. ‘It’s such a relief that he’s pulled through.’

‘You may want to put that on hold, sir.’ Nikki would have wrenched his arm off for the drink, but the night was not yet over. ‘Doyle needs to be interviewed, and the book states that as I have issues with the prisoner, I can’t do it.’

The super looked at the whisky, then returned it reluctantly to his drawer. ‘So you really have got her downstairs? How did you manage that?’ He raised an eyebrow, ‘when the rest of the force failed.’

‘We aren’t the only ones who want her off the street, sir. Even the villains hate a loose cannon like that. It muddies the waters for their more
legitimate
crimes.’

‘Ah, good old Archie.’

‘Better to have that man as a friend than an enemy, sir.’

‘Probably. Now about Doyle. You suspect that she knows the whereabouts of Kerry Anderson?’

‘She said she does, and although she’s flaky as hell, I do believe her.’

‘So, let’s hope the custody sergeant allows this interview as soon as possible.’

Nikki nodded. ‘I know all prisoners have rights, sir, far more than they ever allow their victims, but there’s reasonable grounds for believing that there is a serious risk to a girl’s life, if we delay.’

‘I’m banking on that, Nikki.’ The super stood up. ‘Come on. I know you can’t interview her, but you can watch through the viewing window.’ He walked to the door and held it open. ‘By the way, you really should know that top brass are pretty damned pleased with you and your team.’

Nikki nodded, said, ‘Makes a change from their usual vitriolic comments, sir.’ And thought,
Would they be so pleased if they knew my earlier quandary?

‘Well, let’s face it, you were the only one to find some sense in this whole bloody shambolic war!’ He shook his head as if still astounded at what had just happened. ‘And in turn, we managed to intercept cocaine with the street value of over three million pounds! You deserve more than just a pat on the back!’

‘And no one got hurt on the raid, sir?’

‘No. All back home safe, even though it wasn’t quite text book. These hastily cobbled combined ops can be tricky.’

‘How did Doyle and Cox manage to slip the net?’

‘We think something aroused Cox’s suspicions, but to alert the rest of them would have attracted attention, so he and Doyle went to use the loo, then they slipped out and off the radar, leaving the two remaining Flukes to carry the can.’

‘Once a piece of shit, always a piece of shit.’

At the lift, the super pressed the down button. ‘Remind me, this is the man you believe to have been instrumental in Emily Drennan’s death, isn’t it? The footballer?’

‘Ex-footballer, now drug dealer.’

‘I don’t think he’ll get far, Nikki, not with a face as distinctive as that. We’ve circulated a description to all forces, and to all airports and ports. I’d be surprised if he lasts more than a day on the run.’

‘I wouldn’t be too sure, sir,’ said Nikki. ‘There are more villains involved in this than the ones we have in custody. Someone will hide him.’

‘We already have the names for the mask makers. Two of the Flukes have clammed up, but the one that you pole-axed has woken up singing like Aled Jones in order to help himself. Sadly he has no idea where Cox took Kerry.’

‘Then it really is all down to making Frankie talk.’ She stepped into the lift. ‘So what was the shipment concealed in, sir?’

‘Two restored classic cars. Little beauties, they were.’ The super smiled as the doors closed. ‘Apparently being brought in for a private collector up North. Everything was totally kosher, the buyer, the seller, the paperwork, all the real McCoy, but there was one major anomaly. The transport company that was collecting them from the dock didn’t actually exist. Cox’s drivers had nice smart uniforms and two sign written lorries to transport the cars, but they were as phoney as a painting by numbers Rembrandt.’

‘And the drugs?’

The lift sighed to a halt, and the doors opened.

‘In the hand stitched leather upholstery. All the newly restored seats were stuffed with Charley. It was wrapped in some kind of scented material to throw off the sniffer dogs, but the drugs squad found it.’ Rick Bainbridge yawned and stepped out. ‘We haven’t had time to dig up the details yet, but it looks like a very well planned scam.’

‘And one worth murdering for.’

‘If you don’t have one ounce of morality or conscience, it’s not even an issue, is it?’ said the superintendent. ‘I just can’t believe the lengths they went to, to keep us away from the docks. There must have been easier methods.’

Nikki followed him down the corridor to the Custody Suite. ‘I think there are a lot more issues here than we know about, sir. Later perhaps, Frankie Doyle and the Fluke Brothers may collectively help us shine some light on them.’

While the superintendent spoke with the sergeant, Nikki kept well back. In any police station, the custody sergeant was King, and every officer knew it. There were so many rules and regulations that even someone of Rick Bainbridge’s rank couldn’t just walk in and have everything their own way, but very quickly the super turned to her and gave her the okay sign, his thumb and forefinger making a circle.

‘He’s gone to check her condition, but I think we are on.’

Nikki sighed with relief. ‘While we wait, sir, can I just tell you that Dave Harris was a star today. If he hadn’t used his initiative and acted quickly when it was necessary, I’m not sure that I’d be standing here with you right now, and I’m damned
certain
that Joseph would be in the mortuary getting reacquainted with his friend, Professor Wilkinson.’

‘I’m aware of that, Nikki.
And
he gave us the reg numbers of Cox and Doyle’s cars. When they drove into the docks with their import documents in their sweaty little mitts, SO19 knew exactly which vehicles to target.’

‘Good old Dave! There’s a lot more to him than people think, sir, and his home life is difficult, to say the least.’ She looked at her boss. ‘Cut him some slack, sir. Just because he doesn’t rabbit on about his problems, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them. Don’t tell him I told you this, but his wife has early onset Alzheimer’s. He has a lot to handle.’

‘Why the devil didn’t he say? We could help!’ The superintendent looked dumbfounded.

‘Ever heard of pride, sir?’

‘I’ll speak to him, Nikki. Privately and with no mention of what you just said. Simply to commend him on his work today, and then maybe he’ll open up a bit.’

‘Maybe, but don’t hang by your eyelashes.’ Nikki gave him a tired smile. ‘What you
could
do, is make sure some of the young probationers know how professionally he acted today. It doesn’t do to write off the old-timers, their experience is worth its weight in gold.’

‘Point taken, I’ll make sure they hear about him. Ah, look!’

The sergeant was beckoning to them.

‘Are you okay with this, Nikki? After what happened earlier, you don’t have to be here.’ The super looked suddenly concerned about her.

‘I’m fine, sir, and I’m seeing this through. For Joseph’s sake, and for Kerry. Let’s go, shall we?’

* * *

The interview took very little time, and resulted in an irate Rick Bainbridge storming from the room growling. ‘Her idea of knowing where someone is and mine are a very different thing!’

‘At least we’ve got a clearer location to search this time, sir.’

‘Did you hear that smart comment about the fucking marshes not having post-codes?’

Nikki nodded. ‘I did, but the area she mentioned is well known to me. Shall I organise a team, sir?’

The super shook his head. ‘Don’t be daft, Nikki! You know we can’t head out for at least four hours yet. It’s the dead of night! Pitch black and it’s now pissing with rain again! Doyle’s indicated a treacherous spot in the middle of the bloody marshes! It’ll be bad enough after dawn, yet alone now. We can’t put more lives at risk.’

Nikki knew all that, but it had been worth a try.

‘Go home! And tell your team to do the same. Grab some sleep. God knows you all need it. We’ll find her, Nikki, just as soon as it’s safe to get out there, we’ll find her.’

‘I know, sir. It’s just that I’d prefer her to still be alive.’