Only the Brave (22 page)

11.30 P.M.

Allie and Nick were sitting in the office. Both Ryan Johnson and Kirstie Ryder had been booked into custody and were sitting in cells waiting to be questioned.

‘Get those things fast-tracked, Allie,’ said Nick. ‘Pull in any favours you can. Sleep with Dave Barnett if you have to.’

‘That’s not funny, coming from you,’ said Allie. ‘You’re asking me to use my womanly charms again, after I got into so much trouble on the Steph Ryder case?’

‘Hell,
I’ll
sleep with Dave if I have to.’ Nick raised his hands. ‘Will that do you?’

Allie smiled. ‘I’ll ring him but I can’t promise.’

‘Thanks. Then we need to think how to handle this one. May be a little drip feeding is necessary?’

‘Sir?’

‘Let’s talk money for now until we hear back about the knife. I want to know why she said thirty-five thousand pounds. She knows something – they
both
do. Then once we have more details we can go in for the kill, so to speak. If Kirstie is anything like her old man, she’ll be unwilling to cooperate. Once you’ve tasked her about the money, take a break. Let her stew.’

‘Got it.’

‘I’ll start off with Ryan, see what he has to say about it all.’

‘Don’t you think Kirstie was a bit quick to give us what we wanted?’ questioned Allie.

‘Yes. I’m wondering if this is to take us off the scent of something else as well. Get Financial Forensic Unit to take a look into their finances in the morning and see if anything has gone out of any accounts recently.’

‘Money laundering?’

‘It’s possible, although it seems too much of a coincidence to me.’

Allie nodded. ‘Considering a knife with blood and no prints was found in the exact same place during the Steph Ryder case?’

‘Yes.’ Nick yawned and stretched his arms over his head. ‘I think it’s time you and I paid a visit to the man behind it all.’

Allie didn’t want Nick to say Terry’s name. If he didn’t say it, she could avoid ever having to see him again. It was a nice place to be.

‘The one and only Terry Ryder,’ said Nick.

Her warm and fuzzy feeling evaporated in an instant.

‘We’ll interview these two and if we get nothing from them, I’ll put a request in and we can go early in the morning after team brief. We can be back by lunchtime. Ryder might speak nicely to us if he knows we have his daughter in custody.’

Sam joined them, looking as if she was ready to drop on her feet. ‘There’s good news and there’s bad news,’ she said. ‘
Forensics
have found a DNA match on a cigarette butt found near to the body. The bad news is that it could belong to either of the Granger twins, and it was found on the pathway so may or may not be directly linked to the crime scene.’ She folded her arms in frustration.

Allie dropped her head onto the desk. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’

‘I’m just starting to go through the CCTV we have in to see if I can see one or both boys anywhere on their walk home. In the morning, I’ll see what I can find from the shops en route, too.’

‘Talking of home,’ said Nick, ‘go and get some rest, Sam. You’ll be seeing double anyway if you don’t look at it with fresh eyes.’

‘I can stay a while longer if you need me.’

‘See you in the morning.’ Nick shooed her away. ‘There’s no point in us all staying on.’

‘If you’re sure? I’ll be back in early then.’

‘Night, Sam,’ said Allie. Once she’d gone, she let out a huge sigh. ‘I’m tired – tired of this case. It’s like playing one against the other. And now we have those idiots to talk to.’

‘The Granger twins will cover for each other,’ said Nick. ‘They always do.’

11.45 P.M.

Nick went in to Ryan, who was in interview room one downstairs. He sat down across from him and his legal representative at a table.

‘Right, then.’ Nick got out his notebook after the formalities had been dealt with. ‘Can you tell me anything about the items we found earlier this evening?’

‘Not a thing. I had no idea there was a secret compartment in that wardrobe until your colleague pressed that key fob. It was as much a shock to me as it was to you.’

‘So the money we found won’t have your fingerprints anywhere on it?’

Ryan remained steely-eyed.

‘Oh, come on. You’re saying you don’t know anything about it?’

‘I’m saying exactly that.’

‘What time did you get home this evening?’

‘About nine thirty.’

‘And this morning?’

‘I was out of the house for a couple of hours.’

‘And Kirstie was home?’

‘Yes. What are you trying to insinuate?’

‘Just getting to the truth, Mr Johnson. What was your relationship with Jordan like? Did you get on well?’

‘Yes, we did.’

‘Well, I suppose that’s obvious after he let you move into his house.’

‘It isn’t his house. It belongs to Terry Ryder.’

‘So it was Terry who allowed you to move in?’ Nick cocked his head to one side.

‘You’re putting words in my mouth now, Inspector. I had an argument with my wife a few months back and left the marital home to cool down. I went to see my brother and while I was there Kirstie said I could stay if I needed to. The argument with my wife was beyond reconciliation so I moved into The Gables. It’s only a temporary measure.’

‘How long have you been there?’

‘A few months.’

‘That’s rather more permanent than temporary, I’d say.’

‘I’d say that it’s none of your business, actually.’

‘So you haven’t seen the knife before?’

‘I hadn’t seen
any
of it before. The hole in the wall, the metal box, the money. And I certainly don’t know anything about a knife with blood on it. Is it Jordan’s blood on the blade?’

‘We’re running tests on it at the moment.’ Nick ran a hand over his chin. ‘Do you have any idea how it would have got there if the blood does turn out to be a match?’

‘If it does turn out to be a match, then someone close to me is in very serious trouble.’

Nick met his gaze.

‘I didn’t put it there,’ Ryan elaborated.

‘Did Kirstie ever tell you what happened with her mother and father?’

‘I knew already.’

‘Yet you chose to go and stay at the house of a known
murderer
?’

‘I see no danger in it. He’s not there.’

‘You’re very trusting.’

‘Is that a crime now?’

‘Not at all.’ Nick shook his head. ‘So, to clarify, you don’t know anything about the secret compartments?’

‘No.’

‘You don’t know anything about the knife and whose blood is on it?’

‘No.’

‘Or how it got to be at the house?’

‘No.’ Ryan folded his arms.

‘And you’re saying the money is nothing to do with you and that we won’t find your prints on it anywhere?’

Ryan shifted in his seat. ‘If my prints are on it, it’s been planted by someone.’

‘Oh?’

‘I run Flynn’s nightclub with my brother – or rather, I did. It’s possible that the bundles may have come from there.’

‘What makes you think that?’

‘I’m just saying that I handle money often so it would be quite easy to get my prints on notes and set me up.’

‘So, one last time, Mr Johnson, where were you between one a.m. and four a.m. yesterday morning?’ said Nick.

‘I was at home. But you already know that, Inspector, as you’ve asked me before.’

Allie sat across the table from Kirstie in an interview suite, Perry by her side. As soon as she’d arrived at the station, Kirstie had arranged legal representation, and Ed Woodgate, a solicitor in a three-piece suit with slicked-back hair and round rimless glasses, had appeared in less than thirty minutes.

Even at this late hour, Allie was ready for the challenge of breaking Kirstie’s spirit. Kirstie had denied all knowledge of the money and the knife, yet Allie was convinced she had something to do with the murder of Jordan Johnson. There was too much similarity between that and what had happened back in 2011. She
wondered
how long it would take for a match to come back to the body and the weapon. Dave Barnett had come in to start off the procedure, then left again, saying he’d get a few hours’ sleep and come in early the next morning, push it to the top of his list of high priorities.

Allie went through the formalities and began.

‘Kirstie,’ she smiled politely at the woman sitting across from her, ‘can you just go over again for me where you were between one a.m. and four a.m. yesterday morning, please? The morning of February fifth, 2015?’

‘I was exactly where I told you I was when you asked me
yesterday
.’

‘Remind me.’

‘I was in bed at home.’

‘Can anyone verify that?’

‘Yes and no. Ryan was home too, but he wasn’t in my bed.’

‘Weren’t you worried about Jordan after you’d fallen out?’

‘Why should I be when he was off seeing that tart?’

‘How do you know that?’

Kirstie tutted. ‘I
don’t
know for certain. I’m just using my detective skills – you should try it some time.’

Allie raised her eyebrows. She could feel Kirstie’s stare burning into her, as if she was trying to penetrate her soul, but she wouldn’t look away.

‘The woman you’re referring to – is it Sophie Nicklin?’

‘Well, I’ve only just found out her name but, yes, it seems he was with her. And he was found outside where she lives so he must have visited her, or was about to. You have questioned her too, I hope?’

Allie ignored her. ‘Do you get on with Ryan, Kirstie?’

‘He’s okay.’ Kirstie shrugged. ‘He’s a mean bastard, though.’

‘You took a shine to him when he came to stay with you, is that right?’

Kirstie clapped her hands slowly. ‘Oh, you’ve worked it out. Well done. Yes, I’ve been seeing Ryan since the month after he moved in.’

‘Did Jordan know?’

‘Yes.’

‘And he didn’t mind?’

‘Why should he?’ Kirstie shrugged.

‘So you were sleeping with both of them?’ Allie tried to look surprised but found that she couldn’t.

‘I was indeed.’ Kirstie curled back her fingers on one hand and looked at her nails. ‘I obviously have the touch.’

‘Didn’t it make either of them jealous?’

‘Nope.’

‘Really?’ Allie stuck out her bottom lip. ‘Both sleeping with a good-looking woman like you? I would have thought that might cause a little friction.’

Kirstie shook her head. ‘Ryan and Jordan couldn’t stand each other. They were always arguing.’

‘No brotherly love lost, then.’ Allie smiled.

‘If you say so.’ Kirstie folded her arms and sat back in her chair. The room was silent for a while.

‘Tell me about the money and the knife,’ Allie continued.

Kirstie shook her head. ‘I’ve never seen them before in my life.’

‘You honestly expect me to believe that?’ Allie couldn’t help but snigger. ‘We go straight into a room that you allow us to look around and find them in a secret compartment at the back of the wardrobe? The exact same place we found a knife three years ago with another murder victim’s blood all over it?’

Kirstie stared at Allie, the atmosphere becoming electric. Silence again. Then Kirstie sat forward.

‘What really did happen between you and my father?’ she glared at Allie. ‘I heard you were the bitch that got away. What does that mean?’

‘Answer the question, Kirstie.’

‘No, really, I have no idea. You obviously have the same allure as I have with men.’

‘Hardly.’

‘Don’t they all find you irresistible?’

Ed Woodgate coughed to get her attention, shaking his head when Kirstie caught his eye.

‘This is about you, not me.’ Allie wouldn’t be drawn, although she wanted to lean across the table and slap Kirstie hard. ‘So you’re saying you have no idea how the knife or the money got into the back of your wardrobe?’

‘I’m saying exactly that.’

‘Someone put them there.’

‘Well, it wasn’t me.’

‘Did Ryan know about the compartments?’

‘Of course.’

‘So he could have put the items there?’

‘Now you’re getting it.’ Kirstie smiled.

Allie fumed inwardly. Oh, she was getting it, all right. She was naffed off with every word that Kirstie said.

February 6, 2015
12.30 A.M.

Back in her cell after her interview, Kirstie sat in the corner of the small room, knees drawn up and her arms wrapped tightly around them. She rested her chin on her kneecaps to stop her bottom lip from trembling. Despite her bravado in the interview, the truth was she was terrified. It was her first time in a police cell. She didn’t like feeling caged in, alone, vulnerable. Hearing people yelling obscenities and banging on walls, doors clanking, keys jangling. She hoped to God she wouldn’t have to get used to it any time soon.

The lights were on low, and she’d covered her legs in a
blanket she
’d been provided with but she knew she wouldn’t get any sleep. She didn’t like knowing that the police wanted her to trip up, were waiting for her to make a mistake. Despite her
distress
, she knew she was in good hands with Ed Woodgate. He was a good solicitor, kept on the payroll for this type of thing. But she couldn’t help wondering what else the police would find.

In reality, she still didn’t quite know who was doing what for her father on the outside. She knew money was being moved around. She knew there were some dodgy dealings but she never saw any of it. Steve Burgess had looked after that side of things and she’d been glad of it.

Because Kirstie was alone and vulnerable, people had used her to get back at her father. But she was on her own for sure now. She would try not to crack under the pressure but if she did, she was going to act like a Ryder to the very end, no matter what the outcome.