The deeper into the forest he walked, the less the sound of traffic intruded, replaced by the gentler sounds of nature. He brushed against dense undergrowth to the side of the dirt path, heels kicking up miniature clouds of baked, dusty soil. He felt a smile crawl across his mouth; this was a moment to enjoy. Just him and the forest he remembered exploring as a child.
And the person he had come to meet.
He’d walked the length of two football pitches into the forest before he heard the sound of leather scuffing hardened soil up ahead. Swift hesitated, fight-or-flight instincts rearing up inside him. A brief moment of panic… and a familiar figure came into view, walking slowly towards him. Freddy Swift blew out a deep sigh of relief.
Only to suck it back in again as his eyes zeroed in on what the man held in his right hand.
Twenty-Eight
Angel Spice, in the village of Stilton, was Bliss’s favourite Indian restaurant. Ideally located directly opposite the Bell Inn, it was possible to stumble from one to the other without doing any real damage to yourself – provided you looked both ways as North Street broke seamlessly into the High Street. On the drive north he had called Chandler and arranged to meet her for a late lunch; by the time he arrived, she was already tucking into a serving of thin and crispy poppadums. The place smelled great, and his stomach let out a gurgle of anticipation.
‘Bit early in the day for something this heavy,’ Chandler said as he pulled out a chair. She chomped down on her starter, crumbs spreading out across the white table linen like the final remnants of a landslide.
‘I have a horrible taste in my mouth,’ he told her. ‘I need to nuke it away, and sometimes only a Ruby will do. Besides, I won’t go crazy. I needed refuelling and thought I’d rather have tasty than tasteless.’
They ordered, Bliss adding a bottle of Cobra beer to his. Chandler stuck with the sparkling water already on the table. Bliss grabbed a couple of poppadums and started tucking in. He was hungrier than he’d realised.
‘Where did you get to with Walker?’ he asked.
‘Ah, yes, Mr Dark Horse.’ Chandler waggled her eyebrows suggestively. ‘I’m willing to bet that twenty or thirty years ago, Phil Walker was one of those behind-the-scenes villains. You know the kind: doesn’t ever let the ugly side come anywhere near him, has no obvious source of income, but still drives around in a Roller and lives in a big fuck-off mock-Tudor house.’
‘I have a feeling you may be right,’ Bliss said. He paused as the waiter came over with his drink. It wasn’t as cold as he would have liked, but he took a long pull anyway and cuffed the foam away from his lips. ‘But go ahead and tell me what you found out.’
‘To all outward appearances, Walker runs a thriving import and export business. And despite the economic climate, it’s somehow seeing substantial growth, with plenty of new clients sniffing around. Which, in and of itself, is no big deal, yet he seems to have financed his company a decade ago with hardly any startup capital. Nor can I find any evidence of him ever having a pot to piss in beforehand.’
‘So, bad money, then? The type you keep under your mattress?’
‘Only if your mattress is made of steel and comes with a biometric lock. But yes, clearly he had seed assets the taxman knew nothing about. I would assume he’d try to pass it off as a loan from a friend, but this man stinks of organised crime.’
‘A man with fingers in many pies, by all accounts. One too many, is my guess.’
‘I’d say so. His business springs up about six months after he’s laid up by a stroke, at which point he starts buying in stock from abroad and trading it here, and vice versa. But this is not a small trader by any means – we’re not just talking about a vanload of knock-offs. The numbers I’ve seen run into tens of millions. We ran a credit check and went deep on those finances, and although he does have a few major companies on board, for the most part they’re small outfits that seem to trade well above their profile. I’m still digging around, but I’d say most of them are not legit.’
‘So he’s also laundering.’
‘That’s what I was thinking. The flat we have as his address is almost certainly a front, providing him with a strategic base. He passes himself off as a pillar of the community, involved with all manner of business enterprises, including the local chamber of commerce. There’s also mention of him being the next big thing in local politics.’
‘Family?’ Bliss asked. ‘Is he married? Can we find a way in there?’
‘Divorced, one son. The ex and the son both live in Greece, and have done for a number of years.’
‘I get the feeling Walker is bad news all around.’ Bliss told his partner about his meeting with Siobhan Daley. His impressions of the woman herself were not important, but he’d valued what she’d had to say. Chandler was impressed at how neatly it tied in with everything she had discovered.
‘We need to double our efforts to find him,’ Bliss said firmly. ‘Because either he’s wiping his old mates off the map, or he’s due to be wiped.’
‘Which way are you leaning?’
‘I’m on the fence with this one, Pen. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s our man. If he’s seriously looking at a run for local elections, and he realises he’ll come under closer scrutiny from the authorities, he may be tidying up behind him so nobody can pull the rug from under his feet.’
Their food came to the table sizzling and crackling; the mix of spices smelled divine. His mouth watering, Bliss poured all three dishes onto a plate and mixed it all together with a fork. Chandler, he noted, ate from each individual bowl. She broke off a piece of naan and appeared to think of something she couldn’t wait to say.
‘I think I’ve been patient enough. When are you going to tell me why you went to London on your own this morning?’ She popped the bread into her mouth afterwards so as not to talk around it.
Bliss did his best to look innocent. ‘I thought I already had.’
Chandler finished chewing and swallowed with some difficulty. ‘I don’t think so. You told me what you thought you’d get away with telling me. I doubt there was a lot of truth in it.’
‘In which case, what exactly do you think I left out?’
‘To begin with, I think you were unsure of what was waiting for you down there. Meeting with a woman who used to be married to one of these psycho Doyle brothers you and Conway mentioned – what was it, Jimmy? Were you worried you might not be able to handle yourself if it all kicked off? Or do you think I can’t?’
Bliss ate a portion of his food, allowing himself time to form a suitable response. ‘Neither. I just didn’t see any advantage in putting us both in the same awkward position.’
‘You didn’t see the benefit in having backup?’
‘Pen, with these people, if you need backup it has to come by way of a Chieftain tank. No offence, but your entire nine stone, even in Rottweiler mode, would not have been a deterrent if things had turned to crap.’
‘Why not go mob-handed, then, if you knew it could go sideways? Why does it always have to be you fronting up on your own?’
Bliss held a hand up. Her voice had risen somewhat, and he wanted to calm her down. ‘You’re exaggerating. Look, I needed to slip in and out of there, on the QT. I thought it was something best managed on my own, leaving you to bring another aspect of the case further along while I was gone. We both achieved what we set out to as far as I can see, so all is well.’
‘We both got the same end result, more or less,’ Chandler said sharply. ‘And I didn’t have to move away from my desk.’
‘Yes, but this way we now have confirmation. Two separate sources, which can never be a bad thing.’
‘Not unless one of those sources happens to be surrounded by a bunch of lunatics who, when they spot a copper on his own, are willing and able to make sure that copper never makes it home again.’
Bliss set his fork
down. ‘You’re giving me heartburn. Seriously. Stop nagging and eat. What’s done is done. We need to make sense of what we’ve learned, and we start by having words with Phil Walker.’
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Whenever she was angry or frustrated with him, Chandler needed time to compartmentalise her feelings before continuing as if nothing was wrong. She excelled at it, too. If she entertained grudges, they were held in abeyance until disintegrating entirely at some point in the future .
Bliss took two calls during the meal. In Chandler’s absence from the office, Bishop was nominally leading the case from HQ. Superintendent Conway, he told Bliss, had provided an update on the situation at his end. His report contained a minor link between Earl Dobson and Tommy Harrison; both men had been questioned in connection with a raid on a brothel in the late eighties, witness statements putting the pair together at the same time on several occasions inside a house being used by prostitutes. The fresh information was enough for Bliss; he was now convinced Dobson was an occasional member of the same gang as Harrison, Carlisle and Swift. Which essentially also tied him to Phil Walker.
That name again.
The second call was from Harlow police station. Uniformed officers had visited Walker’s address on two further occasions, but had so far been unable to make contact. They had questioned neighbours living on the same floor as Walker’s flat, but the one person who admitted knowing him had no insight as to where the man might be. The last known sighting was a month ago. Bliss thanked the officer, and asked for the visits to continue whenever crews were in the area until Walker was finally spoken to.
When he was finished with the calls, Chandler was waiting for him with a question. ‘So, let’s talk about the leak. I take it you have something in mind?’
Bliss took a quick pull from his glass. ‘Yes, and I’m going to need everybody to support me on this. So, when we get back to HQ, I need you to tell the team to follow my play, irrespective of what they hear. We have to narrow it down. That’s the first thing. Easiest way is to feed different intel to Conway and Riseborough.’
Chandler looked up from her plate. ‘Risky. Lying to a superior comes with all manner of consequences, no matter how well-intentioned. Conway isn’t going to like it, Jimmy.’
‘Well, he’s going to have to lump it. It’s the right call. Besides, I won’t be lying to a more senior officer if I feed him the correct information.’
‘Okay. And the next step?’
‘Is a bigger risk. Which is why you’re staying out of it.’
Chandler put her fork down with a clatter. ‘What is it with you? When will you ever learn to trust people? Me, especially.’
‘No, it’s not that,’ Bliss said abruptly. ‘This has nothing to do with trust. I’m protecting you. If what I have in mind goes pear-shaped, it’s me who gets taken down for it. There’s no need to involve you or anybody else, so I’m not going to. And there’s no point in arguing the toss with me, because my mind is made up.’
His DS slipped into silence once again, and Bliss took the moment to make a call of his own. He asked DC Gratton to run a PNC check on any vehicles belonging to Walker, and to flag them as possibly being driven by a person of interest in their investigation; if any ANPR cameras recorded the licence plate, police would be alerted. He also asked Gratton to instigate a search on any mobile phones owned by the man, and to obtain authorisation to run a trace on them and gain access to their records. Bliss would love to have listened to the voicemails or read any messages which might offer clues as to Walker’s whereabouts, but these were out of bounds. His final request was for a search of the land registry to see if Phil Walker owned another home.
‘You want me to verify the Prices’ alibi?’ Chandler asked when he finally put his phone down on the table.
Bliss knew this signified their spat was over, though not forgotten. ‘Yes, please. It seemed legit enough, but let’s run it down anyway.’
‘They could just as easily have hired somebody to do the hard graft for them.’
‘I know. That same thought occurred to me at the time. But one of the compelling arguments for the revenge motive is how personal these mutilations are. I can’t see either the father or son paying somebody else to inflict them – it seems to me they would want to do it themselves.’
‘Was that before or after they dropped the bombshell about Valerie Price killing herself?’
It was a valid point, which Bliss acknowledged with a shrug. ‘Before. So yes, we can’t ignore how significant her suicide may have been in triggering either or both men. It would have made 1994 seem like yesterday all over again, and this fresh loss must have made an impact. Tell you what – let’s get into their financials, Pen. If they’re shelling out for someone else to do this on their behalf, it’s not going to be cheap. Unless they happened to have a cash stash prior to these events, it’s going to be hard for them to hide a transaction of this magnitude.’
Chandler took a notebook from her bag and scribbled something on a fresh page. Bliss wondered if his partner was aware that she had taken over Mia Short’s proclivity for making copious notes during an investigation. At least she hadn’t gone as far as to continually tap her pen on the pad; that particular habit of Mia’s had driven Bliss crazy at times. He winced at the stab of pain from the memory. There was nothing he would not give to still be suffering at her hands.
‘How’s Shrek?’ he asked, looking to steer the conversation away from work for the final few minutes of their break.
‘He’s terrific, thanks. Why’d you ask?’
‘No particular reason. You like him, don’t you?’
‘I do. We’re having a nice time together, and we make each other happy.’
‘That’s always a good sign. He seems like a decent enough bloke.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘What, no warning lecture? No insisting he may be too good to be true?’
‘Nope. Pen, if you and I can’t sum a person up inside one or two meetings, we don’t deserve to be doing this job. Shrek may or may not turn out to be the man of your dreams, but he’s not a wrong’un. He won’t feature in your nightmares.’
Bliss had already run a background check on the man she was dating, though he had not told her about it. She would regard the move as one protective and intrusive step too far, so it was best she never found out. It had made him feel better about the relationship, though, and meant he could relax knowing Chandler was in safe hands.
‘What’s the latest from Anna?’ he asked. ‘Any plans to meet up?’
‘I’m due off this weekend, so we’re having lunch together on Saturday and spending the afternoon shopping in Cambridge. Unless I’m needed for the op, of course.’
Bliss popped a mint into his mouth, nudging it to one side with his tongue. ‘Screw that. Take your days off and enjoy time with your daughter, Pen. You missed out on enough as it is. Besides, we’ll get by without you.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m still utterly amazed how well you two have fitted together again after all those years apart.’
‘I know. It’s still so horribly sad that I missed out on all those years, all those firsts, birthdays and Christmases, her growing up, graduating school. But I also missed out on the terrible teens, that parental fear of her living her own life. In truth, I don’t feel quite how I always imagined I would with a daughter. I suppose in some ways it’s more like we’re friends who are related, having to grow into a deeper relationship over time. So it’s awkward sometimes, but I’m grateful for every moment I get to spend with her.’
Bliss stretched out a hand across the table to grasp hers. Her small and thin fingers were warm. ‘The fact that she gave herself up to you so completely tells me she couldn’t be happier to have you in her life. Sure, having not been with you since she was two is bound to make things a bit strained at times. But you’re still her mother. She’s still your daughter. The time you spent
apart can’t negate a connection like that. In time, I’m sure it’ll be as if those intervening years never existed.’
Chandler flashed a wide smile and gave a nod of appreciation. ‘Thank you, Jimmy. You always know what to say.’
‘Either that, or I know what you need to hear.’
‘Same thing.’
‘Let’s hope so. But I’m right. I genuinely believe that.’
‘So, what’s your next plan of attack, boss?’ she said, freeing her hand from his to signify their personal time was at an end. ‘Any inclination to drive back down to London again without me?’
Bliss groaned inwardly. He’d been right – she had not forgotten. ‘Not at the moment, Pen. To tell the truth, I feel at a bit of a loss. We’re making progress, but there’s nothing moving us closer to locating Harrison, Carlisle or Dobson. I have my doubts as to whether any of them are still alive, but they might be. And in my view, that’s worse than the alternative, especially if we don’t find them soon. However, right now I think our way to them is through Phil Walker or Freddy Swift.’
‘Because neither of them has been touched,’ Chandler said.
‘Precisely. Because neither of them has been touched.’
Twenty-Nine
Bliss was meeting with DCIs Warburton and Edwards when DS Bishop rushed into the room to interrupt. Warburton had asked for an update as she was unable to attend the evening briefing; his previous boss, Alicia Edwards, elected to sit in at the last minute. He’d outlined the day’s events in the same way as he had to Chandler, assuring both Chief Inspectors that irrespective of however slow their progress to date, there was now momentum and several clear investigative paths for them to follow. Edwards was the first to respond, agreeing with him but moving swiftly on to the issue of his trip to London.
‘Skipping your morning briefing and taking these interviews on your own was a little extreme, don’t you think?’
Slow Slicing (DI Bliss Book 7) Page 22