Her Last Mistake - Detective Gina Harte Series 06 (2020)

by Kovach, Carla

  Gina knew from her notes that Kerry and Cassandra had been in touch but Cass had spoken about Kerry in nice ways. Her upset had been directed at the man sitting in front of Gina. A slight churn in her stomach told her something wasn’t right. Cass had come to the station, made a statement stating that she knew nothing of the drugs in the garage and left. She hadn’t said much about Kerry. Gina made a note on the next page of her pad. Cassandra’s name with a question mark next to it.

  ‘How do you know Phil?’

  ‘From the pub. Everyone knows Phil the Pill.’

  ‘Where were you during Holly Long’s murder? Several people say you were out of the room when her murder could have taken place.’

  His solicitor sighed.

  ‘Yeah, and so were many of the others. It’s a big place, we were all over it.’ He paused. ‘Okay, I’ll fess up. I’m not being nailed for this. I have a past yes, but I also have someone who will vouch for me. At the time I was in the toilets with Phil, scoring something to relax me when I got home. That was the only time I headed towards the stairs.’

  Gina knew they were both up to no good but now they both had an alibi. As long as Phillip Brighton said the same thing, she had to brush them aside in the murder investigations. She felt her hands tensing up. She wanted to screw them into a ball and slam them into the table. All that time wasted on Phillip Brighton and Robin Dawkins and there was still a murderer out there. Her mind wandered back to Edward Powell. She still couldn’t confirm if he was in the park alone and the answer would be revealed just as soon as O’Connor had contacted the owner of the Volvo. Powell had recognised the account number on Holly’s statement and he was Holly’s baby’s father.

  ‘If you’re not going to charge my client, you need to let him go. It’s seventeen hundred hours. He’s never been convicted of a drug-related offence before and he is being cooperative.’

  No, Robin, Elvis, Mr Dawkins – whatever he wanted to be called – he was not getting off with a slap on the wrists. She wouldn’t allow it. He’d hindered a murder investigation with his lies. ‘Robin Dawkins, we will be charging you with the supply of Class A drugs. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention now when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’ Gina slid the paperwork to Jacob. ‘Can you follow up on the charges with the CPS?’ Jacob nodded as Gina stood to leave.

  Hurrying along the corridors of the station, she almost bumped into O’Connor as he came from the incident room. ‘I was just coming to see you, guv. Take a look at these bank statements. Wyre dug a little deeper and found the company that this account number was registered to, a TAR Holdings Ltd.’ She stared at the company name. She’d never heard of a TAR Holdings, it certainly wasn’t a local company – then it clicked.

  Her heart began to pound but what she was thinking didn’t make sense. She’d have never suspected that this person could be involved but the more she went over his interview her hands shook. He’d taken full control of everything, misdirecting the investigation, casting suspicion on another. The another he’d brought up might not be innocent of everything but this person had been clever. Not any more. She wanted answers and she was going to get them. If her mind had drawn the right conclusions, she had to rethink everything. Had Holly told him that the baby was his?

  ‘What is it, guv?’

  ‘Is this company based abroad?’

  ‘Grand Cayman, guv.’ She knew it. What she’d seen of him, business-wise, was only the tip of the iceberg. It was easy to look at the Phillip Brighton’s and Robin Dawkins’s of the world and see guilt; they were guilty of things and trouble for them was easy to get into. But looking at the man whose image filled her mind, all she could see was respectability. He was clever but he wasn’t going to outwit Gina.

  ‘You and Wyre are a pair of geniuses! Did you get me the owner of the Volvo?’

  ‘Yes, guv.’ A smile spread across Gina’s face. ‘I just spoke to him myself. He can confirm that he remembers someone matching Edward Powell’s description sitting on the bench. His family walked around the lake a couple of times with their dog and he said that Powell was there the whole time. Apparently, he looked worried so the man with the dog made some light conversation with him when the dog’s stick had landed by his feet.’

  ‘Is he prepared to put that in a statement?’

  O’Connor nodded. ‘Yes, his wife can confirm the same too.’

  ‘I need to check something but I think we have him.’

  ‘Who?’

  She smiled. ‘Give me five and be ready to leave. I’m on my way. I just need to grab Jacob from the interview room. Someone else can finish up with Dawkins.’

  In her mind she saw Holly struggling under the pillow until she’d breathed her last. She saw his strong fingers clenching her around the throat, digging his nails into the back of her neck. The hairs on the back of her own neck prickled, the same as they had on her wedding night when Terry held her down on the bed and strangled her until she almost turned blue. As she escaped his clutches, falling off the bed, he lay back and laughed as she coughed.

  She gasped for breath and leaned against the wall. Now wasn’t the time for dwelling on her past. A surge of adrenaline had kicked in, giving her just what she needed to finish the job. She had to stop this very same thing from happening to anyone else. He was not going to get away with his crimes.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Cass half opened her swollen eye and flinched as an ice-pick headache struck. She tried to shout but the taste of her own scarf in her mouth mingling with metallic blood was making her gag. One of them turned her way; she clenched her eyelids closed. If they knew she’d seen what had just happened, she’d die, she was sure of that. Don’t let them see I’m awake.

  Her stomach clenched as she thought of Holly and Fran. Why had he killed them? She knew from the way he was standing that he was the man who’d followed her home from Lilly’s house. What she couldn’t understand was why he’d tied his wife up in their cellar.

  ‘Get a move on. Let’s go,’ the man shouted as the wine rattled on the shelves. ‘Move it, we don’t have much time.’

  Cass half opened an eye and spotted the man placing a pink tablet into a holdall.

  ‘I am moving it. We’ve got an hour and ten before check in closes. We’ll be fine.’

  ‘Shut up!’

  As they glanced over Cass closed her eyes again. A moment passed. She could feel her pulse hammering through her head. She slightly opened one eye and the man stared right at her, the same man who’d once been like a second father. A trickle of blood hindered her vision. As she went to speak, her muffled words were lost behind the material, then he laughed before pressing his firm fingers around her throat. How could she have been so stupid as to think that Kerry wanted to be her friend? Was this Kerry’s doing? Kerry had messaged her, she’d lured her here with the promise of friendship and Cass had fallen prey to the trap. Once again, she’d been humiliated, just like back then in the school playground as she lay there crying over her bloodied knee, now she was weeping over the fact her friend had deceived her. Nothing had changed over the years except instead of being on the ground with a bleeding knee she was tied to a chair with a banging, bloodied head.

  The cellar looked like it had tilted and shifted as more blood seeped into her eye. As she gasped, he gripped harder. In the distance she heard a laugh. Who was laughing? The jewel like bottles of red and white were beginning to fade as her peppering vision took her sight. Her head flopped and the chair overturned, banging her ear against the stone floor. As the laughing faded she knew her end had come. No one would save her, she couldn’t be saved. Maybe she didn’t want to be saved. There was no point in fighting an end she half wanted. Everyone had to die, at least she had nothing to live for. She had no family, her colleagues hated her, Kerry was never going to like her and her boyfriend wasn’t who she thought he was. Lying in a pool of her own b
lood in a dark cellar was her end. She shivered as her short sharp breaths became less frequent. It was time to say goodbye to the world.

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  Gina knocked at the door of Kerry Powell’s house and the woman eventually answered. She leaned against the doorframe, barely able to stand. ‘What the hell is it now?’ A scab had formed in the corner of Kerry’s mouth and her cheeks burned a deep crimson colour. She wasn’t the beautiful bride Gina remembered seeing only a few days ago, the young woman standing in front of her looked as though her world had been ripped apart.

  ‘We need to speak to you. May we come in?’

  Jacob waited beside her and the whole station was on standby. At the moment, Gina wanted to do as little as possible to unnerve Kerry Powell.

  ‘Don’t you think I’ve been through enough?’ A fresh tear rolled down, refreshing the old tear tracks on her face, mingling with what looked like sleep in her eyes and yesterday’s make-up. ‘My friends are dead. My husband just happens to be the father of my dead friend’s baby. What the hell? My dad is livid.’ She kicked the door open and held onto the staircase as she headed towards the kitchen.

  In Gina’s book that was an invite. Jacob closed the hefty door behind them. Several suitcases lined the hallway. Shirts stuck out the gaps, jamming the zips, and coats had been flung over the top. A carrier bag of shoes had toppled over.

  ‘He’s a gonna,’ she said as she swigged wine straight from the bottle.

  ‘Is your husband in?’

  She shook her head and stared out of the bi-fold doors. ‘I told him to go. He’s meant to be back in a couple of hours for his bags. I never want to see him again.’ She leaned back on the stool and slammed the wine onto the kitchen island. The stool creaked and Gina wondered for one moment if Kerry and the stool would tip backwards but her slight frame was secure, for now.

  ‘Kerry, I need to ask you about TAR Holdings Ltd.’

  She grabbed the kitchen roll and blew her nose. ‘What has that got to do with anything?’

  ‘The company is registered in your name.’

  ‘No it’s not.’

  Gina placed the paperwork on the island and Kerry squinted as she read. ‘My head hurts. I don’t get it.’

  ‘What don’t you get?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ She placed her folded arms on the worktop and lay her head on them.

  Gina gave her a slight shake. ‘Kerry, stay with us.’ The woman was as drunk as she could be and Gina thought for a moment she’d started to snore. ‘We tried to call you, to say we were coming.’

  With one eye closed, Kerry sat back up. ‘Have you found my phone?’

  Gina shook her head. ‘No, sorry. Have you lost it?’

  ‘I haven’t had it since yesterday. I must have left it at my parents.’

  Gina glanced at Jacob.

  ‘Have you spoken to your parents today?’

  ‘No. Should I have? Do I look like I want to speak to anyone? I just want the world to go away and I’m sick of my mother fussing. I wish people would stop hassling me.’

  ‘Hassling you.’

  ‘I’m glad I haven’t got my phone. Between Ed and Cass, I can’t deal with it all.’

  ‘Cass?’

  ‘She kept messaging me but I just need to be alone. I know she means well but I can’t face things yet, not after what Ed has done to me. It’s not her fault. I should have messaged her back, but what can I say? I couldn’t find my phone.’

  Sitting on the stool next to Kerry, Gina placed an elbow on the worktop and faced her. ‘Kerry, we have a company registered in your name that you say you know nothing about. Does the TAR stand for Trevor Alison Reed?’

  A laugh escaped Kerry’s lips as she grabbed the wine bottle once more and took a huge swig of the liquid. Gina gently took the bottle and placed it on the worktop.

  ‘Kerry, we need to know what’s going on here. Payments were made monthly to Holly Long’s bank account and these large amounts came from an account that has been traced back to TAR Holdings Limited. Why would TAR Holdings Limited, registered in Grand Cayman, be paying Holly a regular income? We need to know.’

  Kerry’s laughter turned hysterical. ‘I want the answer to that question too. Ed came home yesterday and before making his sleazy confession, he asked me the very same thing. Just what the bloody hell is going on here?’

  ‘We have also found something else out. It’s not only the company you own, you own every asset too. You own this house, your parents’ house and a whole smattering of rental properties, businesses and restaurants, including Reed Corporation. You own every car, every office – the whole lot, it’s yours. It has been for years.’

  ‘The lot?’ In an instant, it was as if Kerry had sobered up slightly. ‘Does Ed know this?’

  Gina shrugged. ‘Did you or anyone tell him?’

  ‘I’ve only just found out. How could I have told him? I might get away with just giving him half of this house.’ Kerry grabbed the wine bottle and hurled it at the oven, glass shattering everywhere. ‘My father told me to get a prenup but I just laughed. We fell out over it. Am I going to have to share everything with that cheating prick? Everything my parents worked so hard to build up? I suppose I’ll have to speak to Dad when—’ The woman’s face paled as she stood. ‘Excuse me.’ She half ran and staggered out of the room and Gina heard her retching as she ran along the hallway.

  The distribution of her family’s wealth was the least of her problems but Kerry couldn’t see that yet. Gina had confirmed everything they needed to know. She gave Jacob the nod to get everyone on standby and in position. Jacob showed her the message from Wyre that had been emailed to both of their phones.

  The warrant has come through. Give me a call when you get a moment. I have something, it may or may not help.

  She called Wyre. ‘What have you got?’

  ‘We bailed Robin Dawkins and he called us when he arrived home. He said he can’t get hold of Cassandra Wilson, his partner. She’s not answering her phone and that’s not like her. He called her work and they told him that she hasn’t been in today. He’s concerned. I don’t know if this is anything to worry about or if it has anything to do with the case but given that she’s cropped up a few times, I thought I best mention it.’

  ‘You were right to. Alert everyone. Leave now and we’ll meet you at the house.’

  Gina slid off the stool and hurried to the door. As they left, she spotted PC Kapoor pulling up on the drive. ‘Stay with her. She’s in the bathroom at the moment and I don’t want her left alone.’ Kapoor nodded and Jacob followed. ‘We have to go – now!’

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Gina crept around Trevor and Alison Reed’s large house, hitching her black trousers up her waist. Her shirt had rolled up under her stab vest. Passing the kitchen window, she peered in. ‘I can’t see anything unusual. I can’t see the Reeds either.’

  Jacob followed her closely. PC Smith nodded as he received news that Wyre and O’Connor were covering the front door.

  Silently, Gina stepped around the planters and stopped at the back door before trying the handle. ‘It’s open.’

  She nodded back to PC Smith. ‘Call Kapoor, tell her to keep Kerry there.’

  As Gina leaned against the door it creaked open.

  ‘I recognise those boots. Cassandra Wilson was wearing them when she made her statement.’ She held up a hand to silence the chafing of coats against stab vests. Nothing, not a sound came from the house. She crept through the boot room and pushed the kitchen door open. ‘Mr Reed, Mrs Reed. It’s DI Harte and DS Driscoll from Cleevesford Station. We have a warrant to search the property.’ She pulled the paperwork from her pocket along with her identification and held it in front of her as she headed through the kitchen. Silence followed. ‘Cassandra Wilson?’

  Jacob and a further two officers followed her in, all of them listening intently. She thought Kerry’s kitchen had been large but it paled into insignificance compared to this vast open
plan kitchen diner. Two couches and a coffee table adorned the one end, complete with coffee table books on wildlife and business. Everything gleamed and the dark shaker kitchen looked newly installed. As Gina passed a large dresser full of best china, she spotted a scuff mark on a white door. Maybe it was the pantry or it could lead to the hall. She edged closer and pressed the handle. ‘Mr Reed. Mrs Reed. Cassandra?’ Again, there was no answer. She pushed the door open and gestured for the two officers to continue to the lounge while she and Jacob headed down the cellar steps.

  Jacob reached for the cord and the light flickered on. ‘DI Harte and DS Driscoll. Hello.’ Three steps down, Gina spotted the wine racks.

  ‘Anything, guv?’ Jacob whispered.

  The light flickered again and all she could hear was the intermittent buzzing noise they made. Gina felt a surge of adrenaline run through her body as she spotted the red pool. ‘Get a paramedic,’ she said as she hurried down and kneeled beside Cassandra. She began to untie the woman’s hands to release her from the chair. Removing the gag, she leaned in and hoped more than anything she would feel the young woman’s warm breath on her cheek, but there was nothing. Blood seeped from her head where she’d hit the floor. An angry cut from her temple to her ear led Gina’s gaze to the red marks on her neck. She reached for her wrist and felt for a pulse. ‘Where are the paramedics?’

  ‘They’re coming, guv.’

  ‘Hurry, I can feel a pulse.’

  Cassandra coughed and began to choke. Gina kept her on her side and reached into her mouth with her index finger. She coughed again and a piece of tooth escaped from the side of her mouth as she tried to murmur. ‘You’re safe. I’m DI Harte and help is on its way.’ She snatched the scarf that had been in Cassandra’s mouth and placed it hard against the wound on her head to try to stem the bleeding from her face.