Only the Brave (24 page)

7.00 A.M.

At the station, Allie checked through her action list and emails as she sat at her desk.

‘Sarge,’ said Sam, ‘we’ve had a call from Stella Elliott. She was dismissed from hospital late last night and went home. But hubby never showed up. She’s worried about him.’

‘Well, I’m not – the bloody scrote,’ Allie retorted. ‘How the hell can she stand by him after what he did to her? He’s beaten her black and blue, more than once as well. And she lied to us to cover for him about what time he got home. She’s just as bad as him!’

‘Who rattled your cage this morning?’ said Perry, throwing his keys onto his desk and stretching before he sat down.

Allie shrugged but didn’t say anything, knowing that the mood she was in had nothing to do with the Elliotts.

Nick started the team brief and they went through everything that had happened overnight. Allie expressed her concerns about the knife.

‘It’s too much like the Steph Ryder case to be a coincidence, isn’t it?’ She looked at Nick for confirmation. ‘I think it was set up for us to find.’

‘But why?’ Sam looked puzzled.

‘I don’t know,’ said Allie. ‘It will be interesting to see if there are any fingerprints on this one.’

‘We’ll get forensics back around lunchtime, said Nick. ‘Perry, can you check over Leah Matthews’s statement, see if her story is straight, and go and see Stella Elliott, see if Elliott is still missing?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Sam, can you continue checking CCTV around the surrounding streets?’

‘I’m on it, sir.’ She moved away as the phone began to ring on her desk.

‘Anything else?’ Nick addressed the room again.

‘There were some incidents of noise and shouting last night on floor one but no one would say any more than that,’ said Perry. ‘No flat numbers, no names were given. Just stuff in general. But we now know that was probably to do with Leah, Stella and Craig’s coming and goings.’

Allie sighed. ‘Is there anything we
can
say for definite?’

‘Yes, there’s been a mur-dar.’ Perry grinned to lighten the mood.

‘Before we leave, Allie, can you ring Simon at
The Sentinel
, see if there’s anything in the news recently about the Granger brothers that we didn’t know of? Have they upset anyone, etcetera? And get someone from uniform to check out every Car Wash City again. Anything we can get to nail Ryder and add to the investigation, I want to be all over it. Anything else?’

‘Sir,’ Sam shouted over. ‘We’ve had a call from Sandra Granger. She must have grown a conscience overnight, as she’s saying that both boys didn’t go out on Wednesday night like they told us. She said Tommy was with his girlfriend and stayed overnight with her, too. Jacob came in about three forty-five a.m. She remembers because he always makes himself something to eat, so she gets up to check that he doesn’t leave the grill on and fall asleep.
Apparently
, he did it once and almost burned the whole kitche
n down.’

‘Let’s bring them both in.’ Nick stood up. ‘Everyone back here at midday, I think, and we’ll go through what we have before we attempt to tidy this all up.’ He clasped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly. ‘Grab a car, Allie. You and I are going to see Terry Ryder.’

‘But what about Ryan and Kirstie in the cells?’ Allie asked, hoping he would let her continue to interview them alone, see if she could find out anything else.

‘Let them stew,’ he replied. ‘We’re still within our time limits.’

8.00 A.M.

At Harrison House, Perry knocked on the door of flat 404. Three uniformed officers waited behind him.

Sandra Granger opened it.

‘Is Jacob still here?’ he asked.

Her face dropped and she pointed to a room.

Perry scowled as he went in. He wasn’t sure which smell was worse – stale ale, sweaty socks or dirty bedding.

‘Wakey, wakey, rise and shine.’ He turned on the bedroom light.

Jacob sat up in bed. ‘What the –’

‘Just a few things to clarify for us down at the station.’

‘It’s always me, isn’t it? It’s never Tommy.’

‘We’ve picked up Tommy as well.’ Perry grabbed the box of
cigarettes
that were on the drawers by the side of the bed and tutted. ‘You need to be more careful where you throw your butts, Granger. Sometimes they’ll put you in the right place at the righ
t time.’

‘You’ve got nothing on me!’

‘Well, I guess we’ll be sorted by lunchtime and you can come back to your pit. Now get up and put some clothes on.’

‘I’m not coming with you!’

Perry barred the door as Jacob made a run for it, then knocked him to the bed. Within seconds, he had a knee in Jacob’s back, holding him secure. He read him his rights while he took out his handcuffs.

‘You would make things hard for yourself,’ he said, fastening them securely around Jacob’s wrists. ‘Now you’ll have to go as you are in your pants and it’s a bit nippy out there.’

‘Let me put my trousers on!’

‘Oh, so now you’ll cooperate. Get dressed and shut the fuck up complaining.’ He turned to the officer behind him. ‘Do the honours and help him into his kegs, would you?’

On his way out, he nodded his gratitude to Sandra. It couldn’t have been easy doing what she’d done, and although she would feel guilty for a while, it had been the right thing to do.

Allie felt thankful for the cold weather as she popped her hands into leather gloves. Having them covered up might stop her wanting to wring them, as she was prone to do when her nerves got the better of her. She didn’t want to alert Nick to how she was feeling.

‘He knows something about this money,’ Nick said as he drove down the M6 towards HM Prison Long Lartin in Worcester.

‘Possibly,’ Allie agreed, ‘but bear in mind what a sleazeball he is. He and Kirstie could be in this together, and slipping up might have been her intention. I wouldn’t put it past her to be double-crossing Ryan even if they are seeing each other.’

‘Is that what you think?’

‘I wouldn’t rule anything out when dealing with a member of the Ryder family. They’re slick operators who think they are beyond the law.’

They sat in silence, the temperature rising as the ice made way for heavy rain. Allie couldn’t help but wonder how prison had treated Ryder. Would he still be lording it up as he had done
outside
before being locked up? Would he have his minions working for him on the inside now as well as on the outside? Would his time in prison have been served well?

She wondered if he’d still been taking regular exercise, keeping his body fit as well as his mind – knew the answer, really. Someone like him wouldn’t lose the feeling just because there weren’t many women around for him to manipulate.

She checked her watch: less than half an hour to go before they would arrive at the prison. She should really stop giving him so much time in her thoughts.

8.15 A.M.

After he had arrested Jacob Granger, Perry went to see Stella Elliott.

‘And you’re worried about
Craig
?’ he asked incredulously when she opened the door. Stella’s face was a riot of blacks and purples, her top lip, nose and left eye swollen. She had a bandage around her wrist and two fingers taped together. She held on to her chest as she shuffled through to the living room.

‘I haven’t seen him since last night and now he’s not answering his phone,’ she said as she lowered herself down slowly onto the settee.

‘After what he’s done to you, I’m surprised you want to speak to him at all.’ Perry couldn’t stop his anger from spilling out. He sighed. ‘Would you like a cup of tea making?’

‘No . . . Thanks.’

Perry nodded. ‘When did you see him last?’

‘When do you think?’ She glared at him. ‘You were with me last night after what happened.’

‘Routine questions, Stella. Did you see him after he beat
you up
?’

‘No, I tried to ring him when I was released from hospital but he didn’t pick up.’

‘Was the phone switched on?’

‘Yes.’

‘Does he stay out at Flynn’s? You know, in that stay-over room.’

She shook her head. Perry saw her wince in pain.

‘And there’s nowhere else he would be?’

‘Not unless he’s cheating on me again.’ A tear dropped down Stella’s face. ‘Don’t judge me. I can’t help loving the bastard.’

‘There’s nothing we can do for now but report him as missing,’ said Perry. ‘I’m sure you’ll understand that Jordan Johnson’s murder takes precedence, but we’ll do our best to find him for you.’

9.00 A.M.

If the prison surroundings weren’t enough to intimidate her, sitting in a room waiting for Terry Ryder to be brought in to them was making Allie’s heart leap about inside her chest. She could hardly hear the sound of clanking doors, keys in locks and the faint shouts of men for the sound of it. Now she had removed her gloves, she had no choice but to rub her hands together. She sat on them eventually and turned towards Nick as they heard noises outside in the corridor.

‘Here he comes, the suave bastard,’ Nick muttered as the door opened.

It was like stepping back in time. Terry’s skin was paler than she remembered, although other than that it seemed prison life had been kind to him. She was right about his fitness: he still kept himself trim. His hair had more grey at the roots but it was still dark, short and tidy. His lines had deepened a little, but his eyes had the same come-to-bed vibes that she remembered so well from that night three years ago.

He sat down across the table from them.

‘Allie, how marvellous to see you after so long.’ His smile seemed sincere. ‘But I’m disappointed. Not a card, or a phone call, a visit to say hello, perhaps? Have you missed me?’

Allie ignored him, mortified as she felt the telltale blush rising across her cheeks.

‘Cut the crap, Ryder,’ said Nick. ‘We have a few questions for you, concerning your daughter.’

‘Is she okay?’ Terry sat forward, a concerned look on his
face now.

‘She’s fine. She’s in one of our cells at the moment.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Jordan Johnson has been murdered. Surely you know?’

‘Jordan?’ Terry sat forward. ‘I had no idea.’

‘You don’t watch the news on TV?’

‘Not if I can help it.’ His eyes fell on Allie again. ‘How have you been?’

Allie stared at him, but eventually she was intimidated enough to drop her eyes.

‘So why is Kirstie at your place?’ Terry shook his head. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Jordan was beaten and stabbed. He had a large quantity of money with him. When we questioned Kirstie and Ryan, we never mentioned an amount. Kirstie then said something about thir
ty-fiv
e thousand pounds.’

‘You found that much money at my house?’ Terry raised his eyebrows.

‘We found ten thousand pounds.’

‘Where exactly did you find it?’

‘It was hidden in one of the compartments in the wardrobes,’ said Allie. ‘The last time we spoke, not many people knew about it if I recall rightly.’

‘It’s been three years since we last spoke, Allie.’ Terry looked meaningfully at her. ‘I’ve dreamt about you every night, though. Please tell me you’ve missed me.’

Allie rolled her eyes. God, he really was playing a blinder. But she was prepared, despite her flushing skin.

‘Who knew about the compartments?’ asked Nick.

‘Kirstie’s young, trusting. She could have told anyone about them.’ Terry pouted. ‘How do you know it has anything to do with her? Does the money have her prints on it?’

‘We have it with forensics at the moment. It will become clea
r soon.’

‘So you’ve arrested her for what, exactly?’

‘We’re trying to make things better for Kirstie by understanding how the money got into the compartment, where it came from in the first instance and why she mentioned a figure of thirty-five thousand pounds.’

‘I thought as detectives you might be able to tell me that.’

Nick fidgeted in his seat. ‘We also found a knife with the money. The blade had dried blood on it. Sound familiar to you?’

‘You can’t trust a soul in Stoke these days.’ Terry shook his head as if mocking them.

‘We just wondered why it would be found in your house, in a place that only Kirstie knew existed.’

Terry looked at them again. ‘Can you be certain that only my daughter knows about it?’

‘No.’

‘Then she has no case to answer to. I’m sure Mr Woodgate will tell you that too.’

The air thickened as Terry looked from one to the other over and over again. A silence fell in the small room.

‘Was Jordan put in to look after Kirstie?’ Allie broke into it.

Terry sighed. ‘Yes. She’s a young woman, who lost both of her parents in the space of a month. I couldn’t leave everything under her control.’

‘But he’s young, good-looking, power-hungry even. I’m sure a man of your intelligence would have seen that as a threat rather than an advantage?’

Terry laughed. ‘What planet do you live on, Detective
Sergeant
? He’s just an employee of mine.’

It still irked Allie that nothing of Ryder’s could be taken away from him until they could prove he was doing something illegal.

‘What did Jordan help you out with?’ asked Nick.

‘Well, as you know, he helped to run Flynn’s nightclub and he kept an eye on Kirstie and the house.’

‘So he didn’t work for you regarding Car Wash City?’

‘Ah. You mean the best hand job in town.’

Allie drew in her breath.

‘Sorry?’ said Nick, frowning at him.

‘It’s a new tagline I thought up while I was in here. Good, isn
’t it?’

Allie wanted to lean across the table. She would punch his lights out if she had the chance, or courage to fight. An obnoxious twat – that’s all he ever was.

‘Do you have people running around doing everything for you on the outside?’ Nick continued.

‘It seems I do.’

‘And do they know everything that goes on?’

‘I’m not with you.’

‘Do they know where that large amount of cash came from?’

‘I’m not sure I follow what you’re getting at.’

Allie raised her eyebrows.

‘You think I’m money laundering, as another side of the business?’ Terry laughed. ‘Just exactly how much do you think I can do from my cell?’

Perry joined Jacob in the interview room and sat across from him and a duty solicitor. Liz Harding was a heavy-built woman, mid-thirties, dressed in a black trouser suit, the frame of her glasses almost the same shade of red as her short hair. Perry had known her for a few years now.

‘Jacob, where were you between one a.m. and four a.m. yesterday morning?’

‘I was out with Tommy.’

‘For the benefit of the recording, please confirm who Tommy is.’

‘My brother.’

‘You told me that you were in Burslem and had a few pints at The Leopard. Is that right?’

Jacob folded his arms and sat back in his chair. ‘No comment.’

‘What time did you get home?’

‘No comment.’

‘What time did you leave the pub?’

‘No comment.’

‘Did you go anywhere else?’

‘No comment.’

‘Are you covering for Tommy, Jacob? Did you really go out together last night?’

‘No comm –’

‘No comment. Yes, I get it.’ Perry shook his head, folding his arms and then unfolding them again just as quickly. ‘Do you smoke, Jacob?’

‘No comment.’

‘And Tommy – does he smoke?’

‘No comment.’

‘There was a cigarette butt found near to the body of Jordan Johnson and it has your DNA on it.’

Jacob met his eye with a steely glare. ‘No comment.’

‘Do you think Tommy could stick a knife in Jordan Johnson?’

‘I doubt it. He’s a wuss.’

‘I think that you could.’

‘No comment.’

‘So it wasn’t you who stabbed Jordan Johnson?’

‘No comment.’

‘And the only alibi you have is your brother, Tommy Granger?’

‘No comment.’

‘Interview paused at twelve forty-five. I’ll grab you a brew, Jacob. Tea or coffee?’

‘Tea. Two sugars.’

Perry sighed. ‘Those three words were easy enough to say.’