Hail and Farewell (The Lakeland Murders) (23 page)

‘And you’re not mixed up with her?’

‘Of course not, Andy. Christ, like I keep saying I’m not a bloody probationer. I know the rules.’

‘I didn’t mean that. I just meant is your judgement clear? If we could tie that fly-tipping load back to Hayton, or better still the car to him, then we’d be one step closer to proving a conspiracy. But you know what that means, don’t you, mate?’

‘Aye. It’s one step close to her being on the charge sheet and all. I do get it, and I’m fine with it.’

‘All right. Well don’t do anything that I’m not able to do.’

Mann glanced at Jane and they both laughed.

‘On your way, DS Mann’ said Hall, smiling. ‘Or I’m going to be late for the ACC Crime. And you know what she thinks about timeliness.’

‘That it’s next to Godliness?’ said Jane.

‘Cleanliness, more like’ said Hall. ‘That’s far more important to her, I reckon.’

But DCI Hall wasn’t late for his audience, and his reception was warmer than he’d expected. Val Gorham feigned interest in his injury for just the right amount of time, and approved the audio analysis even if it meant using an external consultant.

‘Just so long as it’s not Lancashire’ she said, and Hall didn’t like to ask why. More politicking around a possible force merger, he guessed.

‘Absolutely, ma’am. Say no more. Now, about the other matter. Have you discussed it with the CPS?’

‘I have, and they’re willing to consider your proposal. However, there are certain to be conditions. The most significant is that Bill Iredale needs to understand that he will be subject to a full investigation, and that a deal is only on offer if there is no evidence that he benefitted materially from his association with Hayton, as he claims. In other words the CPS is proceeding on the basis that he was, in effect, the victim of blackmail following what was, at the time, a relatively modest disciplinary breach.’

‘He understands that, ma’am.’

‘Good. And I have to tell you that Superintendent Skinner was also supportive, when I discussed it with him.’ Gorham looked sharply at Hall, but his expression was as hard to read as always. ‘And before you ask, DCI Hall, yes it was absolutely necessary to involve the station Superintendent.’

‘And what did he say? Exactly, I mean.’

‘I don’t expect to be cross-examined by you, Andy.’

‘I’m sorry. I have to think about who might possibly be involved with Hayton currently. And I can’t entirely eliminate anyone who’s worked in west division over the last few years. Not at this stage.’

‘Well, let me put your mind at rest then. Because Skinner was entirely supportive of your proposal. Much more so than I expected, truth be told. He said that he regards Bill Iredale as a friend, and he was frankly astonished that he had admitted to providing information to Hayton for the better part of twenty years. He also said that he would be willing to support any operation that exposed any other corrupt officers within his division.’

‘I see. And if I could ask, did you ask him if he felt that anyone on the strength was especially worthy of investigation?’

Gorham smiled.

‘I did. And he did mention a couple of names. But I don’t think this is the time or place to talk about them.’

‘Don’t worry, ma’am. Smith and Hodgson, that’s who he mentioned.’

‘It is. Why, do you suspect them too? Could we simply make an arrest without the need for all of this cloak-and-dagger stuff?’

‘I’m afraid not. Smith and Hodgson are long-serving CID officers who’ve had lots of contact with Hayton and his gang down the years. So they’d simply be the obvious suspects. But they’re not involved. I’m almost certain of that.’

‘I know the way your mind works, DCI Hall. I sometimes think your brain is a kind of reverse Occam’s razor.’

Hall smiled. ‘You mean I like things to be complicated? Perhaps, but it isn’t Smith and Hodgson. As I say, ma’am, I’m certain that they can be eliminated from the enquiry.’

‘All right, let’s leave that for another day. Because we have one other pressing matter to discuss.’

‘Yes, indeed. Do we wait to see what, if anything, the audio analysis reveals before we try the Bill Iredale plan?’

‘Exactly.’

‘I’d like to suggest that we proceed immediately, not least because we’ve effectively got a potentially separate investigation with respect to possible police corruption, and a hugely sensitive one at that.’

‘I agree, Andy. Are you surprised?’

Hall didn’t look surprised. But she doubted if he would offer any visible response unless she kicked his bad knee.

‘That we agree? Of course not, ma’am.’

Gorham smiled.

‘All right. And one more thing, before you go. I’m going to have my driver take you home now, Andy. And I don’t want to see you back at Kendal nick, or any other police premises, until you’re signed off by the medical officer. Is that quite clear?’

‘But I can keep working on the case?’

‘Could I stop you?’

Hall left the question hanging, and started to get up. To his surprise Val Gorham came round and helped him up.

DC Keith Iredale kicked out at the new pile of rubbish on the foreshore and swore. It didn’t make him feel any better. And to make matters worse it was in exactly the same place as the first of the recent deposits, right by the beach car park and the start of the Coast-to-Cost cycle way.
Deja vu
, all bloody over again.

Even as he’d parked the car he could see that this load was larger than the first one, but the contents looked depressingly familiar. There were parts of a fitted kitchen, including the kitchen sink, plus a bathroom and what looked like half a ton of topsoil as well. Iredale called the council, reported the location and type of material, and then picked over the stuff that was lying on top. As usual there was nothing to suggest where the material had come from.

He was just about to give it up when he noticed a section of plastic wrapping, and he reached down for it so that he could keep it from blowing away before the council clean-up team arrived. There was a bar code, and a product name on it. Iredale was sure that it was from the DIY superstore on the far side of town, so he picked it up by the corner, and walked back to the car with the plastic flapping in the breeze like a broken kite. He found a large evidence bag in the boot, and put the plastic inside. He started the car, then looked down at the G-Shock that his dad had given him when he joined the force. If he was quick he wouldn’t even be missed.

The old man on the customer service desk couldn’t have been more helpful, and it didn’t take Iredale long to persuade him that he really didn’t need management’s permission to tell him who’d bought that particular type of kitchen unit recently.

‘It’s just a filler cabinet, is this one’ the old man said, ‘so I doubt we’ll have sold many.’ He tapped the product number into the computer, very slowly, and Iredale was tempted to suggest that he did it instead. ‘I was right, look, we’ve just sold one of those in the last six months. Customer’s name is Mike Gambles. Trade account, it is. Sorry, but I don’t have the address on here.’

‘Don’t worry, I don’t need that. Could I just have a print out please?’

Iredale ran back to the car, intending to go straight to his sister’s place, find out where Mike was, and nick him there and then. But before he’d even reached the exit of the huge and almost empty car park he knew that he shouldn’t do that. He couldn’t see how Mike could be directly connected to the Chris Brown investigation, but fly-tipping definitely was. So he’d need to tell Ian or Jane, and let them decide what to do next. And it wasn’t as if Mike was likely to be going anywhere.

Ian Mann was waiting for him when he walked into the office, carrying the evidence bag and the print-out.

‘I think I’ve identified our fly-tipper.’

‘Is it connected to Hayton?’

‘No. Don’t think so. It looks like it’s my brother-in-law, Mike Gambles.’

‘Really? I thought you said he was only tipping from the back of a Transit?’

‘Aye, that’s right.’

‘So what size was this load?’

‘A big ‘un. I don’t know, maybe he did a few trips, like.’

‘Possible, I suppose. And you’re sure it’s him?’

Iredale thought before he replied.

‘Well I’m sure that something that he’s handled is in the load I just saw, aye.’

Mann smiled. ‘You’re learning, lad. Andy Hall would be proud of you, giving an answer like that. No assumptions, that’s the way. So we’re saying that the Haytons look like they might be in the clear for the fly-tipping, after all?’

‘Aye. Do you want me to go and nick Mike?’

Mann smiled. ’Wouldn’t you rather someone else did it?’

‘Christ, no. He’s a bloody chancer and he always has been. It runs in the family, my dad reckons. He spent most of his career trying to pinch Mike’s dad for something.’

‘Did he ever manage it?’

‘No, worse luck. He got close a couple of times, mind. Anyway, shall I go and nick Mike?’

‘No, he’ll keep. Let’s go and talk to Debbie Hayton again.’

‘But I just said, they’re in the clear for the fly-tipping. I think so, anyway.’

‘Aye, you think. And there’s the car too, remember. It really could have been in one of their sheds, couldn’t it?’

‘It could have been in any one of a million other places too, Ian. And I’d have thought you’d want her eliminated from our enquiry, so you can have your wicked way with her.’

Iredale grinned, and Mann glared back. A week before that would have wiped the smile off Iredale’s face, but now he knew for certain that Mann could see the funny side. He just wasn’t about to let it show, that was all.

As Mann drove he brought Iredale up to date on the interviews with Lee Bell and George Hayton.

‘I’m not surprised that the DCI didn’t get anywhere with Bell’ said Iredale. ‘But do you think the boss really believes that Hayton wanted to make sure that we knew that Bell is connected to the death of Chris Brown, and the conspiracy?’

‘Probably, aye. I don’t know how he does it, because Andy Hall is so middle class that he was probably delivered to the maternity ward in a John Lewis carrier bag, but he just has this knack of second-guessing offenders’ motivations and actions. I always tell him that he would have made a great criminal, even though he definitely bloody wouldn’t.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘He can think like one, I’ll give him that. But he could never act like one. Now me, I definitely could. If I had to, like.’

Iredale wasn’t sure if he was supposed to disagree or not, and decided against it. He actually thought that Mann would make a truly scary con, so he changed the subject.

‘You reckon that the boss is right about that video tape as well then, Ian? There’s something on it that we’ve not spotted?’

‘Aye, I do. I was in that room with George Hayton, remember. I don’t know what it is, or even if we’ll find it, but Hopalong Cassidy is convinced, and that’s enough for me. Like I say, when Andy gets really excited about something like that he’s usually right.’

‘Let’s hope so. I could really do with being part of the team that gets a result here.’

Mann glanced across at him.

‘You’re worried about Smith and Hodgson? About going back to work for them, after this is over, like?’

‘Aye, a bit. They used to take the piss and give me the shit jobs, I’ll grant you. Now they hardly even talk to me. I think I preferred it the way it was before. Do you think I should talk to them about it soon? Clear the air, like.’

‘No. No. Just let it lie. Take my advice and keep your distance, all right?’

Debbie Hayton was waiting for them in her office.

‘Do you always travel in pairs?’ she asked Mann, pointing towards seats at her meeting table.

‘He’s my minder’ said Mann, straight-faced, and she smiled.

‘I very much doubt that. Now, what is it this time? Something about a stolen car, wasn’t it?’

‘That’s right’ said Mann. ‘A dark blue Renault Laguna. We’re trying to trace its whereabouts between last Tuesday and when it was found, burnt out, on Saturday morning.’

‘And you think it was here?’

‘Was it?’

‘Of course not. Does someone say it was?’

‘It’s a line of enquiry, that’s all. Tell me this though. If someone wanted to hide a car here, somewhere that you wouldn’t see it, is there somewhere suitable?’

Debbie took her time. She seemed to be weighing something up.

‘Look, I still think that you’re just picking on us because of who my father is. But, like I told you before, he’s just a director of the company. I run the business day-to-day. But there is somewhere, I suppose. We’ve got an old shed that’s due to be demolished because it’s structurally unsound. No-one goes in there, for obvious reasons. So if I wanted to hide something on site, it’s where I’d put it.’

‘Can we take a look?’ asked Mann.

‘At your own risk?’

‘Absolutely. You don’t have to come in.’

‘I won’t. Follow me then. You are quite the daredevil, Sergeant Mann.’

It was a sunny morning, and the diesel fumes in the yard smelt sickly warm and sweet. The old shed was right in the far corner of the yard, and Mann realised that he hadn’t even noticed it before.

‘It might take me a minute to work out which keys I need’ said Debbie. But at the second attempt the lock turned, and Mann and Iredale each slid a steel door back along its runners. It was dark inside, and the air smelt of battery acid and old engine oil. Mann and Iredale walked around slowly, both looking at the floor. It was surprisingly clean. Mann glanced over at Iredale, who shook his head.

‘OK, thanks’ said Mann, when they rejoined Debbie Hayton outside the building. ‘Sorry to have wasted your time.’

Debbie smiled.

‘As a matter of fact there was something I wanted to mention to you. It’s about that fly-tipping.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that’ said Mann, smiling. ‘DC Sherlock here has got that one sorted by the looks of it.’

‘I see.’

‘Come on, Keith. We’d better get back.’