She shook her head. ‘His brother.’
‘And he got back in touch through the newspaper?’
‘You heard him. He said he’d been following me for years. It’s not that hard to do with the Internet.’
We both picked up our drinks and sat in silence for a few moments. I watched people bagging up their shopping, going about their normal business. ‘He’s a wanker’ I eventually said.
‘You don’t need to tell me that.’
‘Sorry.’ It wasn’t my place to judge.
She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t look good, does it?’
‘What’s his brother called?’ I said.
‘Gary. I was seventeen. He was a bit older and had a car. A job. He was fun.’
‘How did you meet him?’
‘He’d watch his brother play for my dad’s rugby team.’
‘We all make mistakes, I suppose.’ Once I’d signed for Hull KR, I knew how easy it was to impress girls if you had a bit of money in your pocket. I’d already met Debbie by then, so it wasn’t for me.
‘I asked around before we came here. Trevor Bilton’s your standard lowlife. You can fill the rest of the picture in. He uses kids and a few trusted individuals to stay below the radar. He doesn’t get his hands dirty.’
‘Cleverer than he looks.’ Contacting the media demonstrated that he felt untouchable. It was going to be all on his terms.
Julia turned away from me and looked out of the window. ‘I don’t want to talk about it, Joe.’
I reached across the table for her hand. She pulled hers away and took a deep breath. ‘I want to go back to the hotel, please.’
We drank up and left. I dropped Julia off and said I’d call her later. She shut the car door and walked away from me. My mind turned back to what Trevor Bilton had told us. It helped explain why Siobhan was nervous when I’d spoken to her. Bilton was bad news. I knew she had been holding something back from me.
Sarah was still at the office. ‘Alright?’ I said. Still no sign of Don, but I said nothing more.
‘All done.’ She told me she was finished and was about to head off for the day. ‘Where’s Julia?’
‘I dropped her at the hotel’ I said. ‘She had things to do there.’
I checked my mobile. There were no new text messages. I told Sarah about the meeting with Trevor Bilton. ‘Can you get some background on him for me, please?’ I asked. ‘He’s got a brother, Gary, who I want to know about, too.’
‘I’ll see what I can do’ she said, writing it down on a notepad.
I told her about his connection to Siobhan.
Sarah sat back down. ‘Tasker was back into drugs?’
‘Maybe.’ It was certainly a thought that had crossed my mind. It potentially opened up a whole new dimension to the investigation, but there was no proof yet. My mobile rang. Marcus Whittle.
‘I need an update from you, Mr Geraghty’ he said.
‘I’m working on it’ I said.
‘Have you spoken to Priestley yet?’
‘Earlier today.’
‘That’s a step in right direction. What did he have to say for himself?’
‘Not a lot. He hasn’t got an alibi. The man’s an insomniac. He was out walking.’
‘Do you believe his story?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Priestley’s farm was about fifteen miles away from the centre of Hull. He’d have needed transport, which I knew he had. He could have driven into Hull, killed Tasker, and returned home. Maybe even without his wife knowing. Maybe CCTV would have picked him up as he drove into the city, but the technology wasn’t infallible. It wasn’t guaranteed.
Whittle laughed. ‘There are plenty of reasons to doubt him. I’ve spent best part of the last few hours outlining them to the police.’
‘Want to share them with me?’
‘I have a conference call to take in a moment, but after that we’ll talk.’
I gave him the address for Queens and told him I was looking forward to it.
‘Pleased to hear it. The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better.’
‘Indeed.’
I was relieved to finish the call with Whittle. I busied myself at my desk, waiting for Sarah to speak. She walked over to my desk and told me that Lorraine Harrison’s mother had visited the office earlier in the day. ‘She said her daughter doesn’t know anything about Greg’s death and doesn’t like you harassing her.’
‘I’m not harassing her’ I said. ‘She came to me.’
‘That’s pretty much what I told her. She said we should be talking to her daughter’s husband.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Apparently it was a whirlwind romance. She didn’t approve. She told me he’s very controlling. Lorraine fell pregnant almost as soon as she met him, certainly within weeks, and since then he’s had a hold over her. She regularly goes back to her mum for a shoulder to cry on.’
I was interested. ‘Did she say whether or not he’d been violent?’
She shook her head. ‘I asked, but not so far as she’s aware. But she’s worried for her daughter’s safety when he loses his temper.’
‘Did she say how things had been recently?’
‘Seemingly it had been alright until all this business with New Holland started up again. Her husband never liked her involvement with the band.’
It wasn’t news. ‘Maybe he’s jealous? She knew the band.’ I shrugged. ‘They were famous.’
‘Hardly worth getting upset about, is it?’
I didn’t have an answer. ‘Did she say what she thought Jason Harrison was capable of doing?’
‘That’s why she came. She thinks he’s capable of anything.’
We called it a day so I headed back to my flat. I checked for messages before heading to Queens. I left my car where it was. The fresh air would do me good. Whittle walked up to where I was sitting. ‘This is your local?’
‘This is it’ I said. ‘It’s just been redecorated.’
‘It’s not too bad’ said Whittle, looking around the room. ‘I’ve seen worse.’
‘I’m sure.’
He went to the bar for our drinks. Diet Coke for me. I was still on the clock. I thought about Jason Harrison. His mother-in-law had confirmed he had a temper. I couldn’t ignore that. The pub was quiet, the late afternoon lull before people dropped in for a drink on the way home from work. I found us a quiet corner away from the sports screen.
‘You spoke to Priestley’ he said, putting the drinks down in front of us.
I nodded. I’d already told him that over the phone. ‘I’m doing my job. You don’t have to worry’ I said.
‘I have to check.’
I could understand his reasoning. He didn’t know me. It was a test of my loyalties, but I was a step ahead of him. ‘Have you spoken to Major?’
‘Why would I?’
‘Because he’s wanted back up here.’
‘I’m not his keeper.’ He sipped his drink. ‘Tell me what Priestley had to say, then’
‘He wanted to tell me he hadn’t killed Tasker.’
‘That’s all?’
I nodded.
‘Not much of a defence, is it?’ he said.
‘Depends if he needs one or not.’
‘Did he mention Lorraine Harrison?’ Whittle asked.
The question threw me. ‘Why would he?’
‘You know who she is?’
I said I did. I didn’t offer anything further.
Whittle made sure he had my attention. ‘I’m led to believe Priestley has a thing for her.’
I thought about it. ‘Major told you this?’
He nodded his confirmation. ‘I’m sure I don’t need to tell you Tasker and this Harrison woman had a relationship in the past. Seemingly, it caused a lot of tension in the band. I don’t suppose we’ll ever know the full story, but I would suggest if there was some jealousy between them, it gives Priestley motive as a potential suspect. Maybe you should speak to this Harrison woman and see what you can find out?’
I said I would. Lorraine definitely hadn’t said anything like this to me about Priestley. And nor had he.
He drank up and got ready to leave. ‘Keep me informed, please.’
‘One other thing’ I said, stopping him leaving. ‘Now you know I’m doing my job for you, you can call off whoever you’ve got following me.’
Whittle looked puzzled. ‘Why would I need to have people following you?’
Once Whittle left, I sat in the corner of the pub and stared at my drink, thinking things over. If it wasn’t Whittle or DI Robinson having me followed, I had no idea who it was. It was beginning to weigh on my mind. I was sure they’d introduce themselves before too long, but it was the manner in which it would be done that worried me. I didn’t expect it to be a civil chat. My mobile vibrated in my pocket. I answered it.
‘Fancy a chat, Mr Geraghty?’
It was Robinson. ‘When?’
‘I’m in the car park.’
‘Where?’
I heard a car horn sound.
‘Your assistant told me where I’d find you.’
‘She’s my partner.’
‘Of course. Don’s daughter?’
‘That’s right.’ I put the phone back into my pocket and left the pub. I spotted Robinson, walked over and opened the passenger door. ‘What can I do for you?’ I said.
‘We’ve got a few things to talk about.’
‘I thought we might have.’ I got into his car.
He drove out of the car park, turned left towards Beverley Road. ‘I’ve spoken to Mr Whittle, who I believe you know’ he said. ‘He tells me that Kane Major has had to return to London on urgent business.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Are you happy about that?’
‘About as happy as you, I should think.’
He smiled. ‘I’m pleased we’re on the same page. Now, to be frank, I don’t know who this Mr Whittle thinks he is. If he thinks he can come into my station and demand I answer his questions, he’s very much mistaken. Kane Major remains a person of significant interest to me and I haven’t finished with him yet. I want him back here in Hull immediately.’
‘I’m not his keeper.’ I used the line Whittle had used on me. I looked out of the window. He turned onto Cottingham Road. A hundred yards further, he indicated left again. Newland Avenue. We were heading back to where we’d just left.
‘I assume you can speak to him. Tell him I’ll be much happier if he comes back and makes himself available to me.’
‘I’ve been trying his mobile. It’s switched off.’
‘Try harder.’
‘I’ve tried.’ I didn’t like the situation any more than he did, but I didn’t like his attitude either. ‘You must have contacts down there who could give him a knock.’
‘No luck so far.’ Robinson pulled up. We were halfway down Newland Avenue when he pulled over. I was about twenty minutes away from my flat. He turned towards me. ‘I warned you, didn’t I? I told you to leave this alone, Mr Geraghty, but you didn’t listen to me. You had your chance.’ He turned away again. ‘I’m not going past your flat, so you best get out here. You and Mr Whittle had best get your heads together on this and make Major reappear or there’s going to be trouble.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
Julia rang
my mobile. She apologised for earlier. I told her there was no need. I understood. She was calmer now and ready to talk about it some more. I said I’d go to her hotel. It was cold, but the walk to the city centre would help me think.
Her hotel room was a mess. Her laptop was on the bed, in the middle of notes, newspapers and various printouts. I put them into a neat pile and sat down. She looked better. She’d had a shower and changed.
‘I wasn’t expecting it to hit me so hard’ she said, sitting down opposite me. ‘It’s only his brother, after all. It wasn’t even Gary.’
‘It’s only natural’ I said.
‘It’s been so many years since I’ve seen either of them. I didn’t think it’d bother me anymore.’
‘A bit of a shock to the system’ I said. ‘It’s understandable.’
She smiled. ‘You could say that. I don’t know what I was expecting, really. He just looked so old and nasty.’
I’d read somewhere you get the face you deserve when you hit forty and Trevor Bilton didn’t look like a five-a-day man to me.
‘I used to think Gary had an edge to him. Nothing serious’ she said. ‘I suppose being a stupid teenager, I did it to annoy my parents. Eventually, they gave me an ultimatum. I either had to stop seeing him or leave home.’
‘Really?’ It seemed a bit extreme.
‘I ignored it at first. I didn’t think they meant it, but it blew up into a massive row. I packed my bags and moved into Gary’s flat with him.’
I nodded. ‘How long did you stay there for?’
‘A few months. At first it was great, but it didn’t last long. His brother started to get involved. Trevor was always digging away, encouraging Gary to stop me from seeing my friends and having my own life.’ She shrugged. ‘That was the way he treated his girlfriend. I used to hate Trevor. Really hate him. If he told Gary to do something, he’d do it without question. If Trevor hadn’t been around, it might have worked out better, but in the end, I had to get away from both of them.’
I reached across for her hand. This time she let me. ‘We don’t have to talk about this’ I said.
She took a deep breath. ‘I want to. If we’re going to deal with them, you need to know what they’re like.’
‘How did you get out?’
‘I ran away. I stole some money and got on a bus to London. I had a friend who was studying down there and she was kind enough to let me stay with her whilst I got myself sorted out. I told her I’d fallen out with my family, but nothing more than that. You’re the first person I’ve really told about this. I couldn’t go back home after the arguments. I wasn’t there when Mum died and Dad never forgave me. It was a horrible time, but it made me grow up fast. I knew I didn’t want to become reliant on anyone ever again. I wanted to go back to my studies and be me again. I found a part-time job and got myself sorted. Made a life for myself. Maybe in a perverse way, it helped me to focus. I knew what I wanted and I was so desperate to start again, I threw myself completely into it and here we are. I’ve got everything and I’ve got nothing. I’ve got a career, but I haven’t got a family.’
I paced the room. I wasn’t sure what to say to her. Or what she wanted me to say. I turned the conversation back to Trevor Bilton. ‘Can we trust him?’ I asked.
‘Of course we can’t trust him.’
‘He’s the best lead we have.’ I said, thinking aloud more than anything. Once he’d told us he knew Tasker’s girlfriend, we’d left the pub. Julia had to go back to her editor to get permission to pay him for his story. As we’d left, he’d given us twenty-four hours to sort it out, otherwise he’d go elsewhere. Holding off for old times’ sake, he’d said.