Never Return

by Stephen Barnes

  “You said last night that Michael didn’t know what was in the package.”

  “He said Simeon wouldn’t tell him but I think he must have known exactly what was in it. He would have wanted to know how big a risk he was taking.”

  “So what’s the next step?”

  “After what’s happened, Chris Hinton’s likely to give us more DCs. That means we can use Fuller and Garton for what they do best.”

  “Are there any doubts about them?”

  “They wouldn’t be the first on my ‘bent copper’ list. They have their faults but I doubt if their corrupt practices go beyond stretching out the overtime. I called Fuller earlier while he was having his breakfast. He said he’d given you an update on their progress at the bank.”

  “He told me a couple of people recognised the watch and one suggested Simeon may have bought it from Eric Large, a trader who was made redundant in the summer. Everyone thought Simeon was a bit aloof. He rarely saw any of his colleagues outside work.”

  “That was all they got?”

  “Yes. Simeon wasn’t very forthcoming. He didn’t give much away.”

  “I’ve told Fuller to pick up Garton and call on Maxine first thing. I doubt if they’ll get any more at the bank. Michael couldn’t say whether Maxine knew about the drugs but I think she knows more than she’s told us. She’s good at playing the innocent girlfriend but I think there may be more to her than meets the eye.”

  “She hasn’t tried to hide anything.”

  “She’s only told us about things we would have discovered without her help. Fuller and Garton will tease out the whole truth.”

  “Are you sure she isn’t just a bit dim witted?”

  “I don’t think she’s as dumb as she makes out but we’ll see how it goes. When you’ve got your intelligence update, we’ll go to the university. Michael didn’t spend much time in the lecture theatre or anywhere else on the campus but I think it might be useful to speak to his tutor, Paul Cahill. He used to be a Sergeant in CID. You should remember him. He was still around when you started.”

  “That’s right. We didn’t work together though. What about Michael’s girlfriend?”

  “Fuller and Garton found Sarah’s address when they searched Michael’s room last night. She lives off campus in shared accommodation but she wasn’t at home. They gave contact details to her housemates but she hasn’t called. Hopefully she’ll be around this morning.”

  After Marsh had left, Evans took a call from Fuller on his mobile.

  “She’s gone Boss,” Fuller announced.

  “What?”

  “Maxine’s gone. There’s no one at the house. A neighbour said she heard a noise early this morning, looked out and saw Maxine getting into a taxi. What do you want us to do now?”

  Chapter 18

  Evans was summoned to Chris Hinton’s office while Marsh was still making his enquiries. The Superintendent was standing by the window staring down at the car park.

  “They’re starting to arrive,” Hinton said. “Our friends from the media. I’ll be fighting them off in fifteen minutes.”

  Despite his comparative youthfulness, Hinton’s thinning grey hair made him look much older than the Inspector. “They’ll focus on the parents and justice for their sons,” he continued, turning to look at Evans. “And I need to decide whether or not to tell them about Michael’s confession.”

  “Shouldn’t we hold that back for the time being?” Evans said. “It would put the brother’s bosses on the alert if they knew Michael had talked.”

  “Surely they already know.”

  “How could they?”

  “Because you were with Michael. Whoever shot him must have realised you’d been talking in the pub.”

  “They wouldn’t have known who I was and anyway, it might not have occurred to them that Michael had admitted to drug smuggling.”

  “Serious criminals don’t usually take unnecessary risks. Especially when any doubt could be removed for the cost of another bullet. How did the killer know you’d leave the pub through the back door?”

  “Perhaps he’d seen Michael go in that way and assumed that’s how he’d leave,” Evans replied. He was unnerved by the sudden thought that Hinton might suspect him of involvement in the murder. The only explanation for his presence at the scene of the shooting was Michael’s desperate plea for help and Hinton only had his word for that. “I was saved by the car which appeared just after Michael was shot. And since you now know as much as me, the chance to keep me quiet has gone,” Evans added, resisting a more aggressive reaction to Hinton’s inference.

  Hinton was staring out of the window again. Evans observed him, hoping he’d realised his error. Or had he been fishing for a sign that his colleague was with him on the dark side?

  “You shouldn’t have gone on your own Colin,” Hinton said, turning back towards Evans. “You should have reported Michael’s phone call.”

  “I realise that but at the time, I didn’t think there’d be a problem.”

  “So you believe it would be unwise to publicise Michael’s confession?” Hinton asked.

  “We shouldn’t do it just for the sake of giving positive messages to the media. There’s a lot more we could have got from him and any revelations to the media might indicate the things we don’t know. I think we should play safe and say nothing about it.”

  “I’ll have to explain your presence at the scene.”

  “That’s easy. We needed to speak to Michael about Simeon. I’d traced him to the pub and he’d agreed to come with me to the station. We believe he was killed to stop him talking.”

  “I think I’ll stick with the usual spiel,” Hinton concluded. “Enquiry in it’s early stages, a number of leads being followed.”

  “They’ll ask for details.”

  “And they’ll get the other standard response. ‘That is a level of operational detail we wouldn’t want to go into at this time.’ That’s usually enough to hold them back for a while. It’s a shame we don’t have something to inspire their confidence.”

  “Just tell them we’re allocating all the available resources to the investigation,” Evans said.

  “You can have Curtis and Turnbull later today. They need more experience in serious crime.”

  “More mentoring?” Evans asked.

  “They’ve both passed their training Colin. I’m sure you’ll be able to make good use of them.”

  “Thank you Sir.”

  “As far as messages for the media are concerned, there’s a lot we could tell them about what we haven’t got. No significant forensic evidence. No witnesses apart from you. No leads from tracing the cars at the scene of the first murder. No friends or associates of Simeon to interview other than his work colleagues and his girlfriend. And we’ve no idea where he was or what he was doing after he left the bank on Thursday.”

  “We do have one or two pluses,” Evans said, remaining calm in the face of Hinton’s onslaught. “If Michael’s story is reliable, we know that he and Simeon were working for the same criminal organisation. And you have to admit, Simeon getting the job at the bank seems wrong. Alex Newton’s explanation doesn’t wash.”

  “Are you suggesting a senior bank official might be involved in organised crime?”

  “We shouldn’t rule it out at this stage.”

  “Any more ideas?”

  “When I was at the university yesterday, I bumped into Paul Cahill our former colleague in CID. He’s now a history lecturer. Michael Gilbert was one of his students. Michael had a poor attendance record but Cahill might know something about him which could help us.”

  “It’s worth pursuing. You can investigate your suspicions about Simeon’s boss as well but don’t make any unfounded allegations. Where’s Marsh and the two goons?”

  “Marsh is getting a drugs intelligence update. Fuller and Garton are on their way back here.”

  “From where?”

  “Maxine’s house. She isn’t at home. She may have don
e a runner,” Evans was forced to reveal.

  “Well thanks for saving up that bombshell,” Hinton said.

  “We didn’t have enough to hold her. She was bailed to return this morning at eleven. Up to now, she hasn’t breached.”

  Hinton decided to accept the Inspector’s defence. “We must find her,” he said. “It’s vital based on what we now know about Simeon.”

  “She’s a Londoner. Perhaps the Met could help us trace her.”

  “We can ask but if it needs much investigation, we might be pushing our luck. Have we spoken to Michael’s girlfriend?”

  “Not yet. She wasn’t at home last night.”

  “So we may have two missing girlfriends?”

  “Fuller and Garton will find her this morning.”

  Hinton’s weary eyes shifted away from Evans as he noticed Marsh through the glass panel of the office door. He beckoned the Sergeant inside. “Any news on the drugs scene?” he asked.

  “There isn’t much Sir. There are power struggles in the local drugs market but that’s not unusual and there’s no certainty yet about who’s involved. Street prices are falling but that’s been the trend for months. It may not be relevant to us.”

  “So nothing to help us with the Gilbert murders,” Hinton said. “Just more inter-gang rivalry to look forward to. More bodies in the bushes.” He looked at Evans. The Inspector’s expression was blank but his mind was full of despair.

  Chapter 19

  “Paul Cahill was an enthusiastic graduate recruit. Much like yourself,” Evans said.

  Marsh was at the wheel in the chauffeuring role with Evans in the front passenger seat of the unmarked police car. They were making steady progress through the city traffic towards the university.

  “So what went wrong?” Marsh asked.

  “I think he’d spent too much time with Fuller and Garton and saw his possible future.”

  “But he was a DS. He’d already left them behind.”

  “Yeah. But you have to admit, those two can depress anyone with leadership ambitions. They aren’t exactly the model for modern policing.”

  “Did you forget we were here Boss?” Fuller said before turning to look at Garton who was smirking beside him on the back seat. “It’s nice to know we’re so well thought of,” he added.

  “Perhaps you should keep them away from me. I’ve started studying for the Inspector’s exam,” Marsh said to Evans, ignoring the other passengers.

  “Well good luck with that. At least I’ll be long gone before you make Superintendent,” Evans said.

  “Do you think I’ll get there?”

  “Yeah. Chris Hinton did so for you, it should be a breeze. But I’ll have worn out several pairs of slippers before you get the red crown on your shoulders.”

  “I think I’ll get the wife to buy me a pair of slippers for Christmas,” Fuller said to Garton.

  “I’m not one for uniforms. I’d rather stay in CID,” Marsh said.

  “Would you limit your career prospects just to avoid the uniform?” Evans asked.

  “Probably not. Do you really think Cahill will be able to help us with information about Michael?”

  “It’s unlikely but we have to try. It’s not just about Michael though. Cahill is a history man. He may be able to provide an insight into what Simeon was doing in the grounds of Thorbury Hall before he was shot.”

  “How could history help with that?”

  “We need to be open minded Marshy. You know how I work. It’s not always about scientific evidence. Thorbury Hall may have a significance we’re not yet aware of.”

  “If he was running away from someone, the grounds may just have been his escape route from the campus.”

  “Or visa versa. Based on where they found the bullet and the direction of the blood splatters, he was moving towards the main campus when he was shot.”

  “One up for forensics then,” Marsh quipped. “Although I guess science is unlikely to tell us whether or not he turned back for whatever reason.”

  “You need to hang a right up here,” Fuller said to Marsh, interrupting the speculation. “Sarah’s friends said she hadn’t got a lecture this morning. Best to check if she’s at home first. The house is on Stoney Street. It’s just round the corner.”

  “We’ll drop you off here,” Evans said. “You can walk the rest of the way. Call me as soon as there’s anything to report.”

  Marsh pulled up at the side of the road and Fuller and Garton got out of the car.

  “We’ll get the bus back shall we?” Fuller said before closing the car door.

  At the university, Evans and Marsh met Paul at his office as arranged by phone shortly before their departure. The news of Michael’s murder had stunned his tutor. Peter was lecturing and Paul was on his own when the detectives entered.

  “I remember you as a rookie PC before I left the job,” Paul said to Marsh.

  “I guess you didn’t expect the past to creep back like this,” Marsh replied.

  “No. I thought I’d left murder behind me. What’s happened to Michael seems unreal.”

  “How well did you know him?” Evans asked.

  “Not very well. Like I said before, he wasn’t a good attender. I think I only spoke to him twice. He seemed like a normal middle class teenager. Why would anyone want to kill him?”

  “It’s too early to say but obviously we’re assuming a connection with the murder of his brother. We’re particularly interested in the location of Simeon’s murder and whether there’s a meaningful link with the university or more specifically, Thorbury Hall.”

  “I couldn’t suggest an answer to that but I do know there’s a big debate at the university right now about its future. I’ve recently been dragged into it myself.”

  “How are you involved?”

  “Through my colleague, Peter Greening and my partner Carol. Peter is at the forefront of the campaign to save the hall and Carol has recently been infected with his enthusiasm. I was persuaded to approach Tom Thorbury to see if I could elicit his support.”

  “Tom Thorbury?”

  “Yes. He’s the current Earl of Thorbury but he has no interest in his family history or the title. He runs an IT recruitment business in the city centre. He gave us a box of family documents. We’re looking for things which might help with the campaign. It’s really a shot in the dark.”

  As signs of interest began to flicker in the face of Inspector Evans, Fuller and Garton were discussing their retirement plans. Having gained no response to their knocking at the front door of Sarah’s house, they’d made their way to the small back yard via the alley. The discovery of two plastic garden chairs in the yard had provided the opportunity for them to take the weight off their feet following their short walk from the main road.

  “I might try for a job with a bailiff company,” Garton said.

  “That would be good. Wages and pension. I could go for that myself,” Fuller remarked.

  “Could be better than a promotion.”

  “That’ll put a smile on Mrs Garton’s face.”

  “There’s a first time for everything,” Garton said in his usual deadpan tone. He leaned back in the chair and looked up at the grey sky. “Might not do it for long though,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to work for ever should we?”

  “Some people are waiting for us to start. We’ve been here for nearly twenty minutes,” Fuller said after checking his watch. “Let’s try the back door.” He rose from the chair and reached the door in three strides before turning the handle. “They left it open,” he said as the hinges creaked. “Typical students. Might as well take a look.”

  Garton followed Fuller into the small kitchen. “Three women and none of them bother with the washing up,” Fuller said as they walked past the sink which was piled with crockery.

  “You’re so old fashioned,” Garton said.

  “I know. I’m a child of the unpermissive sixties. I believe in pinnies, marigolds and rules for who does what.”


  Apart from the kitchen, the house had two separate downstairs rooms. They made their way through the untidy living room and into the front parlour via the hall.

  “Oh sorry, we let ourselves in. The door was open,” Fuller said to the occupant of the armchair by the window.

  There was no reply. In the dim autumn daylight neither of the aging detectives had noticed the small round bullet hole in the centre of the young lady’s forehead.

  Chapter 20

  “I’ve got the documents at home if you want to take a look. My flat is half a mile from the campus and I’m free until early afternoon,” Paul said.

  Evans considered the offer. “Michael’s brother Simeon had been missing overnight before he was killed so I’d be interested in anything which indicates the existence of a hiding place in the hall or the grounds which could also be used to hold someone against their will.”

  “I’ve seen nothing which might help with that but Carol and Peter may have. They were working through the documents last night long after I gave up. Peter’s busy right now but I could give Carol a call.”

  “I suppose it’s worth asking.”

  While Paul was talking to Carol, the Inspector’s mobile announced a call from Fuller.

  “I think we’ve found Sarah,” the DC said.

  “Good. Get her down to the station as soon as possible.”

  “We can’t do that Boss.”

  “Why not?”

  “There’s a woman dead in the house. Shot in the head. We don’t know for sure it’s her but she matches the description we were given by her housemates last night. We haven’t touched anything but there’s a handbag on the floor by the chair where she’s sitting. I guess there’ll be ID.”

  “Make the necessary calls and secure the scene. I’ll send Marshy over,” Evans instructed. He looked at Marsh who appeared to have got the drift of the conversation. “Body number three,” Evans said. “They think it’s Sarah. You’d better get over to Stoney Street. I’ll join you later.”