‘If we smash the window I should be able to climb through,’ Edris said.
Meadows moved to the door, turned the handle and the door opened.
‘Tomos,’ he called as he stepped inside.
The cottage was silent.
‘Search this place,’ Meadows said.
He ran upstairs and threw open the first door. It was a bedroom. The bed was unmade, and the wardrobe door was open. A few clothes were heaped on the bottom, the hangers were bare. He slipped his gloves on and took a quick look in the drawers then moved to the next room. It was the same as the first.
‘Nothing down here,’ Edris called.
Meadows checked the bathroom then joined Edris downstairs. ‘It looks like they have cleared out in a hurry,’ he said.
Outside they peered in the Land Rover and Edris hit his fists against the bonnet. ‘Where is she?’
‘They couldn’t have got far without a vehicle,’ Meadows said. ‘If they took Valentine’s car it will be picked up. We have the force out looking. Call Paskin and see if they’ve had any luck over at the Lewises’ house.’
As Meadows was pulling away from the cottage he noticed a farmer in the field. He stopped the car and jumped out.
‘Excuse me,’ Meadows shouted.
The farmer looked up and started to make his way across the field. As Meadows waited he watched a knot of sparrows darting in and out of the hedgerow. They kept together as they foraged for food. They reminded him of the people he had encountered during this investigation. Alone they exuded sadness, yet they were bound together by grief. Could they have drawn strength from each other, found a common purpose and a way to alleviate their pain?’
‘What can I do for you?’ The farmer interrupted Meadows thoughts.
‘Have you seen Ellis and Tomos John today?’
‘Yeah, saw them going out at about eight this morning.’
‘In the Land Rover?’
‘No, Sarah picked them up.’
‘Have you seen any other cars? Or maybe a woman, shoulder-length dark hair.’
‘No, haven’t seen anyone else today.’
‘Okay, thanks for your help.’
‘They’re with Sarah Kelly,’ Meadows said as he got back in the car. ‘It was too early for Valentine, she would have been on her way to the hospital when they left. Unless she ran into them later. What did Paskin say?’
‘Looks like the Lewises have cleared out and there is no answer from Mary Beynon or Vicar Daniels. House-to-house hasn’t turned up any sightings of Valentine. She has to be with one of them and they have taken her out of the village. If she isn’t already–’
‘Don’t go there,’ Meadows said. ‘So far the victims have been killed because they were believed to have done some wrong. Valentine hasn’t done anything wrong. They left me alive that night at Bill’s farm.’
‘Yes, but she could be lying somewhere injured.’
‘Then we do what you always do when you lose something. Retrace your steps. We’ll start at the hospital. There is every chance she went to see Blackwell.’
‘If Blackwell had a signal on his phone we could ring him,’ Edris said. ‘It would be quicker.’
‘I want to go there. We can look at the footage, see who else was at the hospital at the same time. Something threw her off track and sent her chasing after someone.’
‘Tomos John, his father and Sarah left early enough to go to the hospital. She could have seen one of them there,’ Edris said.
‘I think they have run,’ Meadows said. ‘They packed before they left.’
‘So someone else, maybe they were supposed to pick up someone from hospital, Valentine saw someone get in the car with them and followed.’
‘Could be, but where were they heading? Get someone to check the footage from the cameras this morning, see who else was on the road at the same time as Valentine.’
While Edris was on the phone, Meadows sped towards the hospital with his mind whirring. There were too many possibilities and the only way they would be able to help Valentine was to pin it down. Find which of the suspects she met with. The Lewises had gone – was it because Rhodri was involved? Was it because they knew something and were scared? The same applied to Tomos and Sarah.
‘They are on it,’ Edris said.
‘Good, I’m thinking that Tomos John and Sarah were sat next to Donald at the film night. Maybe Tomos John followed Donald and they attacked Stacey together. He’s bald so he could be the one wearing the wig.’
‘Yeah, and the others may not have noticed that he left the vicarage with Donald. Sarah would have noticed.’
‘But the injuries on the doctor trouble me. They are too close to Harry Lewis’ amputations. Same missing digits.’ Meadows thought of the sparrows he had seen in the field – where there was one, another wasn’t far away. ‘The only conclusion that I can come up with is that they are all in on it. Stacey was babysitting the night the doctor was killed so it would make sense to keep her quiet.’
‘So, the four of them, five if you include Tomos’ father.’
‘Six with Donald.’
‘I can’t see that they all would be involved. Besides, Valentine wouldn’t have tried to tackle all of them alone. If she guessed, she would have called it in.’
‘Then we have to assume she learned some information and wanted to check it out first.’
Meadows pulled up outside the hospital and the two of them hurried down the corridors and up the stairs to the ward. Blackwell was sat up in bed reading.
‘What’s with all the visits today?’ Blackwell asked.
‘Have you seen Valentine today?’ Edris asked.
‘Yeah, I saw her this morning, what’s happened?’
Meadows quickly filled him in, and Blackwell pulled back the bedsheets and swung his legs off the bed.
‘Whoa,’ Meadows said. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m coming with you to find her.’
‘No, you’re not,’ Meadows said. ‘You have to stay here, you’re not well.’
‘You can’t stop me,’ Blackwell said.
‘No, but if you collapse again you’ll only delay us. The best thing you can do for Valentine is stay here and tell us everything she said to you this morning.’
Blackwell huffed but he put his legs back onto the bed.
‘I was half asleep when she came. She’s been here every evening since I came in. She blamed herself for what happened to Donald Hobson and this morning she was on about putting it right.’
‘In what way?’
‘She said she had seen someone, but she wanted to check it out first. Something about him not wearing a wig.’
‘Valentine was attending an oncology appointment,’ Edris said.
‘We gotta go,’ Meadows said. ‘We’ll call you as soon as we have news.’
‘Call the hospital, still no signal,’ Blackwell called after them.
‘Why didn’t you mention this earlier?’ Meadows asked. ‘You just said hospital appointment.’
‘Because she didn’t want anyone to know, she’d found a lump in her breast so was getting it checked out. It didn’t seem relevant at the time.’
‘No, but it’s obvious the wig the killer wears is not for a disguise. It’s because of illness.’
They located the oncology department where only a few people were sat in the waiting room. Meadows approached the receptionist, showed his ID, and asked to be admitted to the office. The receptionist, a middle-aged woman with dark blonde hair, let them in. A younger woman sat at a desk and stopped typing when they entered.
‘We need to have a look at your patient list from between eight and nine this morning.’
‘I’m sorry, I can’t show you the list. It’s confidential and you of all people should know there are procedures to follow.’
‘One of our officers attended this morning, Reena Valentine. She is now missing. We believe that she may have met with someone here. This person is a dangerous individual
and is wanted in connection with five murders.’
‘I’m sorry but I could lose my job if I handed over that information.’
Edris stepped forward. ‘Do you understand what we are telling you? If this person–’
Meadows held up his hand to silence Edris. He knew Edris was about to lose his temper and it wouldn’t help the situation. ‘Please,’ he said. ‘Detective Valentine is in danger. We need to find her as quickly as we can. You are our only hope of doing that.’
The receptionist turned to her colleague. ‘Della, go and find Mr Henshaw. See if he will authorise me to give the information to the detectives.’
When Della had left the office, the receptionist turned back to her computer, hit the keys, and brought up a list. ‘I think it may be quicker if I help look for my boss.’ She stood up and nodded to the screen.
‘Thank you,’ Meadows said. As soon as the receptionist left the room he leaned over, ran his fingers down the list and saw a name he recognised.
Chapter Thirty-two
Darkness had fallen while they had been in the hospital and as Meadows drove into Gaer Fawr he could see children dressed in Halloween costumes walking along the pavement. The headlights picked out their ghoulish masks and gave the village a sinister atmosphere.
‘Vicar Daniels, I still can’t believe it,’ Edris shook his head. ‘He is supposed to be a man of God.’
‘Considering the Bible quotes that were left on the bodies we should have looked at him as a credible suspect.’
‘We did look,’ Edris said. ‘There was nothing on him. His reputation is immaculate, and no one had anything bad to say about him. Then there was the writing on his door.’
‘He probably did that himself to throw us off.’
‘Unless he told Valentine something, and that’s what sent her off looking.’
‘No, she told Blackwell the person she saw wasn’t wearing a wig. I think she recognised Vicar Daniels. It looks like he is sick.’
‘Yeah, he’s sick alright,’ Edris said. ‘Why would Valentine go after him alone?’
‘I don’t know. I imagine she wanted to be sure.’
Meadows took the turn to the vicarage and found Hanes and Paskin waiting along with two uniformed officers. Paskin approached the car as Meadows drew to a halt.
‘There is no sign of the vicar or his car,’ Paskin said. ‘We are just about to break the door down.’
The two uniformed officers moved to the front door with a battering ram. Two swings and the door burst open.
‘Vicar Daniels!’ Meadows shouted as he stepped inside.
They spread out and searched the house. Meadows could hear doors opening and closing. Anxiety gnawed at his stomach as each voice reporting no sign of Valentine diminished his hopes. He returned to the front door.
‘Break down the garage door,’ he said to the two officers.
It took a little longer to get the garage open but when the door was finally lifted they found Valentine’s car inside.
Meadows snapped on latex gloves, opened the car door, and took the keys out of the ignition. He then moved to the back of the car. He didn’t want to look. A silence fell over the garage as Edris came to stand next to him. Paskin stood at the entrance. Meadows turned the key, and the boot sprang open. It was empty. He let out the breath he had been holding.
‘I’ve put out a call for his car,’ Paskin said. ‘There is still no sightings of Sarah Kelly, Tomos John, Mary Beynon or the Lewises. They could all be together.’
‘That would be my guess. Have you checked the church?’
‘We looked when we called around earlier. It was locked.’
‘You said the vicar was wealthy,’ Meadows said.
‘Yes, and he was left a property and money in a will, but the house was sold.’
‘See if he has any other property, a holiday home or caravan in his name.’
‘Okay,’ Paskin said.
He turned to Edris and the two uniformed officers. ‘We need to search this place. Look for any paperwork that would give us an indication of where he might go. Bank statements, old photographs, a favourite place, anything.’
Meadows started in the vicar’s study. There was heaps of paperwork but nothing helpful. Paskin was going through old bank statements and Edris and Hanes were checking the rest of the house. There were several letters from the hospital with appointments for chemotherapy and some information on palliative care. It was obvious from these that Vicar Daniels was dying.
‘There is a fair amount of money in his bank account but nothing that stands out,’ Paskin said. ‘The last statement is dated over a month ago.’
‘Found this.’ Edris came into the room carrying a small bottle. ‘Liquid morphine.’
‘There is nothing here,’ Meadows said. He could feel his frustration building along with those around him. ‘You said he gave the money left to him to the church. He’d have access to the accounts so there could be something there.’
‘What? You think there’s a property owned by the church?’ Edris said.
‘It’s worth a look. They must have had a plan and somewhere to go. They can’t use any of their bank cards or they will be picked up. Come on, there has to be paperwork in the church.’
They ran down the path to the church with the two uniformed officers behind them carrying the battering ram. Meadows tried the handle of the church door and it opened.
‘It was locked earlier, honestly,’ Hanes said.
‘He must have come back after you came here or it’s one of the wardens.’ Meadows said. ‘Stay here with Paskin, Edris and I will go in. If Vicar Daniels is in there we don’t want to cause him to panic.’
Meadows stepped into the porch and as he turned to walk into the auditorium, he saw Vicar Daniels standing by the altar.
‘I knew it wouldn’t be long until you got here.’ Vicar Daniels raised a shotgun and pointed it at Meadows.
Chapter Thirty-three
Meadows raised his hands as he heard Edris take a sharp intake of breath.
‘Why don’t you put the gun down and we can talk,’ Meadows said.
Vicar Daniels shook his head. ‘I can’t do that, not yet.’
‘Okay, let Detective Edris leave and it will be just you and me. I won’t come any closer.’
Vicar Daniels nodded.
‘Go,’ Meadows said.
Edris hesitated.
‘I’ll be fine,’ Meadows said.
‘I’ll just be outside.’ Edris moved slowly backwards.
Meadows knew that Edris would call for an armed response unit and as much as he didn’t like the gun pointing at him, he knew he had to get Vicar Daniels to talk before they arrived. He needed to find Valentine.
‘That gun looks heavy,’ Meadows said. ‘I know you don’t want to hurt me, and we don’t want any accidents. Why don’t you lower it? I’ll sit down.’
‘Okay, but no sudden movements. I really don’t want to hurt you.’
Meadows inched towards the pew and sat. It was only then that he realised how weak his legs felt. ‘We are all so worried about Detective Valentine. Can you tell me where she is?’
Vicar Daniels glanced down at his watch. ‘Not yet,’ he said. He sat heavily on the steps and set the gun down keeping his hand on the barrel.
‘Can you at least tell me if she is okay? I know you are a good man. I’ve read all the wonderful things people say about you. Not one bad word. You’re not well. Valentine has a family who are worried, a lot of people care about her. She is a good hard-working woman. Is she with the others?’
‘Others?’
‘I know you didn’t act alone. Sarah, Ellis, Tomos, Gemma, Rhodri, and Mary are all missing. They’ve all gone into hiding. Was that the plan? They stay away and you take the blame?’
‘No, it’s not like that. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.’ Vicar Daniels rubbed his hand over his eyes. ‘For the record, Ellis had nothing to do with it. Tomos didn’t want to leave his father b
ehind. I only wanted to make things better. I worked so hard to build a loving congregation and community, one that helps each other. When I took over the parish barely a handful of people came to church. I saw it blossom, I wanted to leave it like that but all I saw was pain. Mary Beynon looking older than her years. Her granddaughter cruelly taken and her daughter in prison. The guilt and shame making her ill, and no justice. The person responsible left to carry on hurting others.’
‘We did everything we could for Ella Beynon. Her death was a tragic accident. She took pills that were left lying around the house. Her mother was negligent, and she is serving her time. We could never prove that Ryan Phillips was the one to leave the drugs in the house. It may well be that they weren’t his drugs,’ Meadows said.
‘You don’t believe that,’ Vicar Daniels said. ‘I know you felt guilty for what happened. You wished you never gave the child back to her mother. I also know you to be a good man. I see it in your eyes. That’s why I couldn’t kill you that night at Bill’s farm. I just wanted to warn you. You guessed the meaning of the writing on Stacey’s body and I was afraid you would figure things out before my work was done. I saw you on the bridge that night and I knew it was a sign for me to act. Everyone was busy trying to stop the flood water, so no one missed me. I asked Sarah to make sure you were okay.’
‘I expect Sarah was easy to convince to help you. Another one full of grief and anger.’
‘Poor woman. She has suffered so much. She needlessly lost her only child. She gave up everything for her. Her dreams of going to university and travelling. She lived through Erin. Poor child, driven to her death by a doctor who should have helped her and a spiteful girl who made her life a misery. Have you ever witnessed a mother walk behind her child’s coffin? The grief so heavy they can barely put one foot in front of another. That pain never goes away. Sarah was barely living a half-life. She may appear tough, but she is as fragile as spun sugar.’
‘I have seen people in pain. Seen them lose loved ones through violent crime and tragedy. You can’t take that pain away. All I can hope is that the work I do goes some way towards bringing closure.’
A Knot of Sparrows: a murder mystery set in the heart of the valleys Page 21