Dave Slater Mystery Novels Box Set Three

by P. F. Ford

  'Are you going to tell Naomi the real reason you were watching Jenny, or shall I tell her?'

  Bradshaw said nothing.

  'I've got to be honest,' Norman said. 'I was willing to believe all the bollocks you told us about her being in hiding and how you were looking out for her, although I didn't totally buy the idea you could do that at the public's expense. But you made sure we didn't question what you said by offering Dave the chance to get back into his old job, so I didn't really pay too much attention back then.'

  Darling had stopped writing long ago, and now she looked back and forth from Bradshaw to Norman, confusion written all over her face.

  'But now I know what I didn't know back then,' Norman said. 'Now I know what Jenny never told us, and what you decided we didn't need to know. You weren't watching her for her protection, were you? You were watching her in the hope she would go back to her drug-dealing boyfriend and you would be able to follow her right there, weren't you?'

  Darling's mouth dropped open, but Bradshaw's jaw tightened and his face hardened.

  'Yeah, I thought so,' Norman said sneeringly. 'You didn't give a shit about her safety, did you? And I suppose that means we're considered expendable too, right?'

  'Don't be so damned melodramatic,' said Bradshaw eventually. 'Yes, I admit we'd lost track of them, but it was her fault! If she hadn't pulled that case apart, those two would have been behind bars where they belonged.'

  Norman stared at Bradshaw open-mouthed for a couple of seconds, and then his face broke into a broad grin. 'Wow! I just suddenly realised why this is such a touchy subject for you. It was your big drugs bust Jenny ruined, wasn't it?'

  'I hate to disappoint you,' Bradshaw said, sniffing, 'but I've never worked for the drug squad, so there's no way I would have been involved in one of their cases.'

  'So what's the score then?'

  'Those men should have been put away for years, and instead of that, they walked away in an even better position than they were before. She ruined--'

  'You can't blame Jenny for shortcomings in the prosecution's case,' said Norman. 'She just did her job better than you lot did yours. If the case had been put together right, she wouldn't have been able to pull it apart. You all underestimated her, didn't you? But then I bet you gave her no end of grief after. Was it your idea her firm should kick her out?'

  'That was nothing to do with me,' said Bradshaw indignantly. 'It was her decision to shack up with a drug dealer that ended her career.'

  'Then what happened? Did you ask her to sell him down the river? You expected her to do that to put the record straight, right? Can you imagine the danger you were putting her in?'

  'I only arranged the surveillance on her,' Bradshaw said quickly. 'She wasn't supposed to be at risk. Yes, we were hoping she would lead us to him, but the plan was to get her out of the way and keep her safe. Anyway, it didn't matter in the end because she said no. Then, later, she seemed to have left Jerry and settled with Slater, so eventually the whole thing was called off.'

  Darling went to speak, but Norman flashed her a look which made her think better of it. 'Is there anything else we need to know?' he asked Bradshaw.

  'I don't think so.'

  'You don't think so? Is that supposed to fill me with confidence?'

  'Look, if you don't want to finish this job--'

  'Oh, don't worry, we're more than happy to finish it,' said Norman. 'We just wanted to know we were being given a fair chance, that's all.'

  'Alright,' said Bradshaw impatiently. 'I can assure you, you know everything I know.'

  'Then we're done here,' Norman said. 'I can't think we have anything else to discuss with you. Come on, Naomi, let's get out of here.'

  * * *

  'I didn't realise you still hadn't told him about the letter,' said Darling as they walked to the car. 'You should have told me. I very nearly let the cat out of the bag.'

  'Yeah, I'm sorry,' said Norman. 'You got my signal though, right?'

  'You mean the face? I thought you were trying to turn me into a pillar of salt or something.'

  'Aw, come on,' he said, putting an arm around her shoulders as they walked. 'It was just a look.'

  'Oh, no, it was definitely a glare,' she said. 'It was the sort of look that could have made me burst into tears.'

  'That's crap, and you know it. You're made of much tougher stuff than that. If I offended you that much, you'd probably punch me.'

  'Don't tempt me,' she said, laughing.

  Chapter 14

  'After our little chat with Mr Two-Faced Git Bradshaw, let me make sure I'm thinking what you're thinking,' said Darling as she drove them back onto the motorway. 'Let's start with Jenny. For reasons we don't yet fully understand, she's on the run and comes to Tinton. She finds you guys, makes eyes at Dave, draws him in, and then moves in with him.'

  'You make that sound like she was looking for him all along,' Norman said.

  'That's just how it seems to me. I told you I didn't like her because she was using him, and I think this proves I was right, don't you?'

  Norman sighed. He didn't want to admit he was wrong about Jenny's motives towards Dave, but it was difficult to argue with her. 'Well, I don't think it's conclusive, but I'll concede it is possible you're right.'

  'Alright! Result to me,' said Darling triumphantly. 'Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Jenny moves in with Dave. Now, we know Bradshaw has asked her to work for them, and we believe she's said no. But we also know Bradshaw underestimated her, so what if she's not dumb at all, and she realises they're still watching her and hoping? Maybe the reason she left wasn't because she split up with Jerry, but there was some other reason.'

  'Like what?'

  'I'm not sure yet, but just hear me out.'

  'Okay, okay,' said Norman. 'I was just asking.'

  'What if she left him because they both knew she was being watched? We know she can make it look like she's fallen out with someone. Maybe the plan all along was for her to stay out of the way until the heat died down and then to go back to him, unseen?'

  Norman pulled an appreciative face. 'It's a bit out of left field, but that would work. But have you thought about how she might have sussed out she was being watched?'

  'No, but you obviously have.'

  'What if Bradshaw had actually approached her again? What if that's the bit he doesn't want to tell us?'

  Darling nodded her agreement. 'D'you think that's what he's so cagey about the whole thing but still wants us to carry on? Maybe he feels it's all his fault she's dead.'

  'It adds up, doesn't it?' agreed Norman. 'But carry on with your theory. I like what I've heard so far.'

  'Well, that's about it, really,' she said. 'We already know she deliberately fell out with Dave so he wouldn't go looking for her.'

  'So you agree she did care for him a little bit?'

  'Yeah, okay, I'll perhaps give you that much, but that doesn't get away from the fact she used him. Anyway, I think she was going back to this Jerry guy, and, for whatever reason, she got stopped. God, you don't think Bradshaw had anything to do with that, do you? Let's be honest, he's got one hell of a motive if she ruined his rise to the top.'

  'I'm beginning to think anything might be possible in this case,' said Norman gloomily, 'but we've already told him we think there's some sort of conspiracy going on. I think if he was that closely involved, he would have pulled us off it by now.'

  'And you don't want to believe he's involved, do you?'

  'No, I don't. I think he's guilty of making a complete mess of an operation, and he got her killed as a result, but I don't believe he would have arranged to have her killed. What would be the point? What would he gain by it? If he suspected she was going back to the guy, surely he would have carried on watching her.'

  Darling pulled a face. 'Yeah, I think you're probably right. Anyway, that's all I've got in the way of a theory. I thought it was pretty good while it was still in my head, but now it's out in the open, it doesn't really he
lp much, does it?'

  'If it's any consolation, I don't think I can add much to it,' said Norman. 'And there are some huge gaps, aren't there? If we're right to think she left Dave to come back to Jerry, what's she doing in Redville? Unless, of course, Jerry's also here somewhere.'

  'He must be, mustn't he?'

  'It's beginning to look that way, isn't it?'

  'Finding him has to be our priority,' said Darling. 'It would help if Bradshaw gave us a photograph.'

  'He said he'd send them, but I don't want to push it. We don't want Bradshaw to know we think Jerry's in town.'

  'He'll be able to work that out for himself.'

  'Probably,' Norman said. 'He might even already know exactly where he is, but let's hope he doesn't because we want to get to Jerry before he does, or we probably won't get the chance to talk to him.'

  'I still don't understand why she had to end up dead,' said Darling. 'Who would have wanted her dead, and why?'

  'In my experience, drug dealers don't have any sort of moral standards. I suppose if they did, they wouldn't do what they do. Bradshaw said they believe Ben and Jerry have fallen out and gone their separate ways. Maybe Jerry's here looking to set up an operation and the resident dealer wants to stop him. If that's the case, then it's just possible we've stumbled into a turf war, and Jenny's death was a means of getting at this guy Jerry.'

  They fell into a gloomy silence for a few minutes until Norman spoke again. 'There is one thing you forgot to mention.'

  'What's that?'

  'You said you wanted to make sure you were thinking what I was thinking.'

  'Yes, and?'

  'You forgot to mention what I think of Bradshaw.'

  Darling smiled. 'Ah, yes, but that's because I'm trying to give up using bad language. A young lady couldn't possibly use that sort of language.'

  Norman went to open his mouth.

  'Don't you dare say what you're thinking,' she warned him.

  'What?' he said, innocently.

  'You know what. You were going to say it would be alright for me to use that language because I'm not a young lady, weren't you?'

  He smiled. 'Those weren't the exact words, but you've got the gist . . .'

  Chapter 15

  It was grey and drizzly when they got back into town, so they headed for the church where Spiderhair had told them he got a free Friday lunch. They figured on a day like this it would be somewhere warm for him to shelter from the weather for an hour or so. He had previously mentioned the name Jerry, and Norman figured there was a distinct possibility he actually knew more about Jerry than he was letting on.

  There were just a handful of people in the Church Hall when they peered in the door, but Spiderhair was nowhere to be seen.

  'I guess I was asking a bit too much expecting him to be here just because I wanted to talk to him,' said Norman. 'Maybe we'll find him later.'

  As he turned to walk away, he saw Jasper turning off the street and into the car park, heading for the church hall. He was walking with his head down against the weather, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his coat, but when he saw Norman, his face broke into a snarl, and he snapped upright. As he increased his stride towards them, he pulled his hands from his pockets, bunching them into fists, ready for action.

  'Oh, crap,' muttered Norman. 'Looks like trouble heading our way.'

  'I can handle him,' said Darling.

  'No, hang on a minute. We don't want to keep humiliating the guy.'

  'But he's just a bully.'

  'Yeah, but even so. Let's see what's eating him first.' Norman put his hands forward, palms facing the fast-approaching Jasper. 'Whoa, now, Jasper, just hang on minute,' he said, standing his ground. 'You don't want to pick a fight with me. I had a heart attack not long ago. Too much hassle and I could drop dead. You don't wanna face a murder charge, do you?'

  Jasper stopped just inches away from Norman, his chin jutting forward, fists at the ready. 'I ought to beat your head in,' he snarled.

  'Just remember what happened last time,' warned Darling. 'I'd be quite happy to dump you on your arse again.'

  Jasper looked down at her. 'You can do what you like, Missy,' he said. 'Make me look a fool if you will. I don't give a damn about me, but what you've done to young Spiderhair, now that ain't right.'

  'What are you talking about?' Norman asked. 'We haven't done anything to him, apart from feed him and ask a few questions.'

  'You took him somewhere. I want to know where you took him, and what the hell you did to him.'

  'He found a mobile phone that belongs to someone we're looking for. He offered to show us where he found it if we drove him out there. So we took him to this street on the outskirts of town. Naomi offered to drive him back into town, but he said he wanted to walk back.'

  'When was this?'

  'Yesterday morning.'

  Jasper stared uncertainly into Norman's face. 'You're lying. Tell me what you did to him!'

  'I swear, he was fine when he left us,' said Norman, who was beginning to get a horrible feeling.

  'Well, he ain't fine now, and as far as I'm concerned, it's all your fault.'

  'What do you mean he's not fine now?' asked Darling, the concern clear in her voice. 'What's happened? Where is he?'

  'You mean you really don't know?' Jasper asked, his voice a bit calmer.

  'I promise you he was fine when we last saw him,' she insisted. 'Please tell me what's happened to him.'

  'He didn't come back to camp last night, and I started to get worried, so I went looking for him. Poor little sod was in a terrible state when I found him. He was literally trying to crawl back to camp.'

  'What happened to him?' Darling repeated.

  'I don't really know. He couldn't speak properly. It looked as if he'd had some of his teeth knocked out.'

  Darling's hand shot to her mouth. 'Oh my God. Who would do something like that?'

  'I dunno,' said Jasper, 'but whoever it was wants to watch out, 'because if I find 'em--'

  'Wait a minute,' said Norman indignantly. 'Are you saying you thought we had something to do with this?'

  'Well, he was alright until you two came along and started asking questions. What am I supposed to think?'

  'But we're investigators, not thugs!'

  'Well you'd better get on and start investigating what's happened to the boy,' Jasper hissed into Norman's face, 'or you'll be investigating who buried an axe into the back of your head when you weren't looking!'

  Norman recoiled at Jasper's garlic breath, but there was no mistaking the menace behind the threat. 'Look,' he said. 'We never intended the kid to come to any harm. If I'd thought anything like that would happen, I would never have gone anywhere near him.'

  'He was doing fine until you came along. You turned his head,' said Jasper.

  Norman felt quite helpless. Jasper obviously wasn't interested in listening to anything he might say.

  'When you found him last night, did he say anything?' asked Darling.

  'He was just making mumbling noises. Like I said, he seemed to have lost a few teeth. It was difficult to make out what he was saying.'

  'Have you any idea?' Norman pleaded. 'Anything might help us, even if it doesn't seem to make sense right now.'

  'He kept repeating the same thing. It might have been "men". Yeah, now I think about it, he was probably trying to tell me some men had attacked him. I suppose that's not much help, though, is it?'

  'Maybe, maybe not,' said Norman. 'We'll go to the hospital and see if we can speak to him right now. We'll do everything we can to find out who did this.'

  * * *

  By the time they got to the hospital, Norman had decided there was no point in messing around. There was only one way they were likely to find out where Spiderhair was, and playing it cool wasn't going to cut it. 'Just follow my lead,' he told Darling as they walked into the main reception area.

  Norman marched right up to the harassed-looking woman behind the desk, who was talkin
g to someone on the phone. Knowing she was distracted, he pulled the badge Bradshaw had provided from his pocket and flashed it quickly under her nose, making sure she didn't have time to study it before he put it back in his pocket.

  'We're detectives Norman and Darling. We're investigating what we believe was the attempted murder of a young homeless guy who was brought in overnight. He had been pretty badly beaten up. Can you tell me where he is?'

  The woman made a face at him, indicated the phone, and raised her eyebrows. It was obviously not the easiest call she'd had to deal with. Norman nodded and smiled his understanding. 'Just tell us which floor. We can take it from there.'

  She put her hand over the mouthpiece. 'If it was last night, he'll be on the third floor. ICU's up there too.'

  He gave her a hugely exaggerated thumbs-up. 'Got it,' he said. 'Thanks for your help.'

  'You realise you could have just got her the sack?' asked Darling quietly as they headed for the lifts.

  'She'll be fine,' said Norman as he pressed the button to call a lift. 'I doubt if anyone will even know we've been here.'

  'Don't you think this is all a bit gung-ho? You've already got someone beaten up, and--'

  'Hey, wait a minute. I seem to recall you were there, too, right? All we did was ask a few questions. Do you think I would have involved him if I had any idea this would happen?'

  The lift arrived and they stepped inside. Darling looked distinctly sheepish as the doors swished closed. 'Well, no, I suppose not. I just feel so bad about this. Like Jasper said, he's just a kid.'

  Norman turned to her, took her shoulders, and made her look at him. 'Look, I understand you feel bad about the kid, I do too, but we don't even know if this has got anything to do with us. Besides, blaming me, or yourself, isn't going to help him, is it? We need to find out who did this. The chances are it was just someone out to beat the crap out of some homeless kid simply because they could.'

  Darling looked thoroughly miserable.

  'C'mon, we can do this,' Norman said as the lift slowed to a halt.