SHADOW CRIMES a gripping crime thriller full of twists

by MICHAEL HAMBLING

  ‘We can do that,’ Rose said. ‘I got loads of stuff. Listen, George is a mean cook. What do you fancy for your tea? You must be starving. Would sausage and mash be okay? With onion gravy? Or would you prefer chips?’

  The atmosphere gradually became more relaxed, so once they’d had a quick cup of tea, Sophie and Barry decided to leave. The two youngsters were watching TV, Rose was chatting with Charlie and George was in the kitchen, cooking sausage and chips for five. He’ll make a great catch for some lucky young woman, Sophie mused. She thought back to the time, four years earlier, when she’d first interviewed George as a witness, and he’d asked her about the possibility of joining the police. It had been a propitious moment. He’d shown real talent and commitment, and had proved himself to be the perfect foil for the highly experienced but rather too cynical Rose Simons. She’d blossomed in the role of mentor. A win-win situation.

  * * *

  Danny was tucking into a second helping of chips, lavishly coated in ketchup, when he started to speak.

  ‘I might have seen someone last night, when I got out of the kitchen. There was a load of smoke and my eyes were stinging, but I thought I saw a man. He was walking away. In a hurry.’

  Rose decided she’d have to go carefully. She ate another mouthful of food. ‘Do you think he might have been involved, Danny?’

  The boy shrugged. ‘Dunno.’

  ‘Did you recognise him? Had you seen him before?’

  ‘Might have. It could’ve been him.’

  Rose finished the last of her chips. ‘Could it have been someone your dad knew?’

  Kerry was sitting bolt upright, staring at her brother. ‘Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Was it that Tonto Leary?’ She put her hands flat on the table and leaned forward. ‘Bastard. Fucking murdering bastard. I always hated him.’

  ‘So you both know this man?’ Rose said. She noticed that Charlie was looking bemused. ‘Did you know him, Mr Bailey?’

  ‘Never heard the name. Mind you, I didn’t go round their house very much. I wasn’t really made to feel welcome, even though Sara was my daughter. The only time I visited was when I knew these two were going to be there on their own. Sara was always trying to get money from me, and I got fed up with it.’ He turned to his grandchildren. ‘Why didn’t you ever mention this man to me if he worried you so much?’

  ‘He was only there a few times and it was recent. And I didn’t want to think about him. I hoped he’d just go away and never call on us again,’ Kerry said. ‘He used to look at me, you know, as if he couldn’t wait to get his hands on me. Eugh.’ She shuddered.

  ‘His dog growled at me. All the time,’ Danny added. ‘Like a low rumble in its throat. Every time I moved it watched me. It had great big teeth and it dribbled. I always thought it was a wolf.’

  ‘Anything else we should know about this man?’ Rose asked.

  The two children shook their heads.

  ‘In that case, I’d better report in about him.’ She went to call Sophie.

  Chapter 28: A Shadowy Web

  Monday Evening

  Lydia scrolled through her emails. At last, the Ministry of Defence had sent the information. She opened the first of several official-looking messages from the armed forces records office. Liam Fenners had served eight years in a logistics corps unit operating out of barracks in north Wiltshire but had been discharged five years ago after he’d stolen some communications equipment. Very interesting.

  The next email confirmed Lydia’s theory. Luke Boulden had served in the same unit and, guess what? He’d been discharged for the same reason, at the same time.

  Lydia hurried to Sophie’s office, where she found her temporary boss packing some paperwork relating to Tony Quigley into a folder.

  ‘It’s coming together, Lydia,’ she said. ‘I thought it would. There’s more work to do though. I still think there are more people involved. Let me have a look at those emails.’

  She read the two printouts. ‘The details are a bit thin, but it looks as though they were caught pretty easily. That means they didn’t think things through when they stole the stuff, which suggests to me that they’re doers rather than thinkers. Someone else is doing the planning and pulling the strings.’

  ‘Should I go up to Buckley Barracks tomorrow morning to see if I can dig anything up? It’s just north of Chippenham, so I can get there in about two hours.’

  ‘Absolutely. You can ask about these two, but try to find out if anyone remembers others who might have been involved. And do it carefully. Will you take Jimmy with you?’

  ‘I think so. Is that okay?’

  ‘Of course. Being a bloke, he might be able to find someone who’s willing to open up a bit over a coffee. You know, Jimmy can be a charmer when he tries, particularly if he finds someone to talk football with.’ She waved her sheaf of paper in the air. ‘Somehow this all links together, Lydia. There’s a shadowy web of people involved, and we need to work out who’s who and how they’re connected. This might be the breakthrough we need. Let Kevin know what you’re doing and make an early start tomorrow. And good luck. Oh, one last thing. There might be someone going by the name of Leary involved. Tonto Leary. Why Tonto, I haven’t a clue. It’ll be a nickname from way back when. But it’s the kind of stupid nickname that squaddies give each other. Officially we don’t know about him, so you’ll need to be very careful about bringing it up.’

  ‘Okay. I understand. We don’t want to give anything away needlessly. Who was it who said “softly, softly, catchee monkey?”’

  ‘Hmm. It might have been Baden-Powell, but some people say it has a Ghanaian origin. You know how people argue over the origins of clever sayings. It definitely applies in this case.’

  * * *

  Sophie, Barry and Rae sat around a table with two sets of documents spread out in front of them.

  ‘There’s got to be a connection between these two,’ Sophie said. ‘Andrea and Tony Quigley clearly knew each other, but we have no evidence for it. Surely there must be something that links them? Ideas, anyone?’ She leaned back and yawned. It was getting late. ‘The trouble is, I don’t know what we’re looking for. Did you say there was nothing in the Spanish connection, Rae?’

  ‘No. They both had holidays there, but I’ve checked back through every single flight they took. They never went at the same time, though the flights went to the same airport. Malaga.’

  ‘Could they have been using the same hotel or villa?’ Barry asked.

  Sophie leaned forward. ‘Now that’s an interesting idea. What if one of the gang leaders has a villa out there, and used it to reward our two? Laura Quigley might remember where she and Tony went, and why. The trouble is, we haven’t found anything of Andrea’s that tells us where she stayed. No photos, no diaries, no social media posts.’

  ‘Do you think the Fenners ever went to Spain, ma’am?’ Rae said. ‘Is it worth asking those two children?’

  ‘That’s another great idea. How come it’s you two that are coming up with this stuff? I must be losing my touch.’ Sophie looked at her watch. ‘You’d better be getting across there, Rae. You’re due to relieve Rose Simons in an hour. Spend some time getting to know the kids, then ask them about holidays. Careful though. That Kerry’s as sharp as a blade but she’s suspicious of everything and everyone. You won’t be able to get round her with food either, not tonight, because apparently George has just cooked them all sausage and chips. Who can compete with that?’

  ‘I’ll think of something.’

  * * *

  Rae arrived at the safe house within the hour, laden with bags of crisps, puffs, nachos and an assortment of dips.

  ‘I come bearing food,’ she announced. ‘But I expect I’ll have to eat it all myself. I’ve heard that you’ve all had sausage and chips.’

  The teenagers looked at her warily. Charlie gave her a polite smile and raised his hand in welcome.

  ‘I’m Rae Gregson, a detective constable. That means I’m at the bottom of th
e pecking order, just like George.’

  ‘Rose said you’d be the overnight watch,’ Charlie said. He looked at her warily. ‘If something did happen, could you cope? I mean, you’d be by yourself.’

  Rae laughed. ‘I’m tougher than I look. And we have a fast response unit in the neighbourhood, patrolling around in an unmarked car. No need to worry.’

  ‘What’s the difference between a detective and an ordinary policeman?’ Danny asked.

  ‘We solve crimes,’ Rae said as she sat down. ‘Ordinary police try to prevent crimes from happening. But they also help out with investigations. There are more of them than us. But remember, there are lots of policewomen, Danny. They aren’t all men.’

  ‘It’s just a phrase,’ Kerry snapped. ‘Danny didn’t mean anything by it.’

  ‘I know that. But it’s important that women’s contributions are recognised. Surely you understand that, Kerry? In fact, Dorset’s chief constable is a woman. She’s one of the most senior police officers in the country. Anyway, let’s talk about other things. Have you all decided where you’ll be sleeping tonight? And have you left somewhere for me? I don’t really want to end up on the couch.’

  Kerry looked puzzled. ‘I thought you’d be up all night, keeping watch.’

  ‘That won’t be necessary. It’s not as though there’s a mad assassin out there, desperate to liquidate the three of you. Moving you out for a few days is just a precaution. And no one knows where you are, not even the local Weymouth police. Anyway, I’ve been at work all day and I’m really tired. I couldn’t stay awake all night even if I wanted to. To be honest, my plan was to sleep on the couch in here. It would be better if I was downstairs. But you must promise not to blunder in and wake me too early in the morning. I can be a bit grumpy if my beauty sleep is disturbed. Now, who’s for a few crisps and nachos, or is it only me?’

  Rae collected some dishes from the kitchen and tipped some of the nibbles out. Despite the sausage and chips, the youngsters soon joined in.

  ‘These always remind me of a holiday I had in Spain,’ Rae said. ‘I wondered if I’d meet a tall, dark, romantic Spaniard and fall in love. It didn’t happen though. Have you two ever been to Spain?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Danny replied. ‘We went twice. It was brill.’

  ‘Did you stay in a nice hotel?’

  Danny shook his head. ‘We were in a sort of house with a low roof. But it had a swimming pool and everything.’

  ‘It was a villa, Danny,’ Kerry said. ‘That’s what you call that type of place.’

  ‘They’re a bit expensive, aren’t they? I couldn’t afford to rent one,’ Rae said.

  ‘It was someone Dad knew. We went swimming in the pool every day, didn’t we, Kerry? It was amazing. I learned how to bomb into the water. Mum did her nut ’cause she kept getting soaked.’

  ‘Whereabouts in Spain was it? Can you remember?’

  Kerry replied quickly. ‘It was in Malaga. And don’t think I don’t know why you’re asking. I keep saying to you lot, I’m not stupid.’

  Rae thought for a moment. ‘So, you’d prefer me to be absolutely open with you, Kerry?’

  ‘Yeah. Why can’t you just trust us?’

  ‘Is it possible that the villa was owned by someone involved in crime? Someone who owed a favour to your dad?’

  ‘Yeah, obvious. Why else would we stay there for free?’

  ‘Did you ever meet anyone there? Did anyone come visiting?’

  ‘Once. But Dad used to go out some evenings to meet someone. I watched once from my bedroom window. He got picked up in a big black car in the lane outside the villa.’

  ‘Was the person who came to call Spanish? Or was he British?’

  ‘He was from around here, I think. He said something about Weymouth as if he knew the place.’

  ‘It wasn’t that Tonto Leary, the one Danny told Sergeant Simons about?’

  ‘God, no. That scumface doesn’t have a villa in Spain, but he’s used the same one we were in. I heard him talking to Dad about it once. He’s a moron.’

  ‘Did you ever hear this visitor’s name? Do you remember what he looked like?’

  Kerry shook her head. ‘He only came once, and I only saw him for a minute. And it was years ago. But he sounded as if he owned the place. It was something he said to me as I got out of the pool. Something like, what do you think of my pool?’

  Danny looked anxiously at his sister, seemingly mystified. ‘You’re scaring me, saying all this,’ he said.

  Kerry looked at him. ‘I hated Mum and Dad, Danny. You know that. But it doesn’t give someone the right to burn our house down and kill them, and nearly kill you. Dad was into something he didn’t want us to know about. It was obvious. It was bound to be one of them that did it. And that Tonto Leary was the worst of the lot.’

  ‘It would help if you could remember the address of the villa,’ Rae said hopefully, but Kerry shook her head.

  ‘It was called Rosina,’ Danny said.

  ‘Danny has a really good memory for stuff like that,’ Kerry said. ‘He remembers all kinds of weird stuff. There were lots of other houses the same, all along that lane. It took us a long time to find it the first time we went. We should have got a taxi from the airport, but Dad said the bus would be cheaper. We had to walk miles up this steep lane, pulling our cases. Mum was crying ’cause her feet were so sore. So was Danny. Mean skinflint.’

  Old Charlie had been listening in to the conversation. ‘I might still have the postcard your mum sent,’ he said. ‘I keep them pinned to the fridge for a year, then I put them in an old biscuit tin.’

  ‘That would be very helpful, Mr Bailey. I’ll get someone to visit your house and collect it tomorrow.’

  Rae was pleased. There might be enough here to go on. She wondered how her two bosses would fare tomorrow when they interviewed Tony Quigley’s widow, Laura.

  Chapter 29: The Villa Rosina

  Tuesday Morning

  Having been back in her house for twenty-four hours, Laura Quigley was forced to admit that she missed Tony’s company, although not as much as she’d feared. The problem had always been his grumpiness and his dictatorial manner. He had a habit of boasting to all and sundry that he was an old-fashioned, unreconstructed male, and that he couldn’t be doing with all this modern “sharing and caring stuff and nonsense.” After all, what were wives for but to do the domestic chores? On being treated to his pronouncements, most people moved off as soon as they could. A few, men of course, nodded in agreement, while their wives looked on with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. Laura cringed with embarrassment. Why couldn’t Tony just shut up sometimes?

  Well, he was permanently shut up now and, in the main, Laura had few regrets. For the first time in decades she could please herself. She could eat what she liked, when she liked and where she liked. The house was so much tidier without Tony’s bits and pieces littering the tables, shelves and floors. Dirty washing was in the laundry basket, towels on the towel rail. And the whole house smelled so much nicer. The icing on the cake had been the unexpectedly large cheque from Tony’s insurance company. With her other cash, she now had the money to do whatever she felt like doing. She’d come out on top at last, and for once her life was looking just that little bit rosier.

  She was sitting in her lounge enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. She glanced out of the window and saw a man and a woman, both smartly dressed and looking like officials. Insurance? Police? Council people? She opened the door to them, led them back into the lounge and offered them coffee. Well, one of her guesses had been right. The woman had introduced herself as a detective superintendent. Was that more senior than a sergeant? Laura guessed so from her air of authority. And quite clever too. She settled back in her chair and listened to what they had to say.

  ‘We’re getting closer to the people who killed your husband, Mrs Quigley,’ the woman said. ‘We think there was more than one person involved in the planning, although we don’t know how many
came into your house that afternoon. We want to lift them all at the same time, so we’ve got to make sure we’ve identified and located all of them. There are a few questions we want to ask you about Tony’s contacts. You’ve had a couple of holidays in Spain in recent years. Is that right?’

  Laura nodded, smiling. ‘Yes, down in Malaga. It’s beautiful. I loved those holidays. Well, we both did.’

  ‘Where did you stay?’

  ‘In a villa belonging to a friend of Tony’s. He said it was someone from the prison service and we got it cheap. I never got involved with the money side of things, but Tony said we’d saved ourselves a lot.’

  ‘Can you remember the name of the place? Or the address?’

  ‘It was called Villa Rosina, but I don’t know the address. Tony dealt with all of that. We’d get a taxi from the airport or to take us out to a restaurant, although we didn’t do that very often. The villa was a lovely place, a real sun trap. It had a pool and a really pretty shrubbery. I can remember saying to Tony that it was prettier than all the other villas around. Tony watered the plants every day. I think that was part of the deal.’

  ‘Do you know who the owner was?’

  Laura shook her head. ‘No. Tony never mentioned it as far as I can remember, and I never asked, not after the time he shouted at me.’ The detective raised her eyebrows. ‘The first time we went, I told him we ought to get them a present, but he was a bit negative about it. I thought the least we could do was send a card saying how much we were enjoying staying in their villa. I wrote it and asked Tony for the name and address, but he flew off the handle and tore it up. He was like that sometimes. Moody. Well, not just sometimes, he was moody a lot of the time.’

  The detective’s eyes were fastened on her, probing. ‘Was he always a bit moody, Laura, or was it just in recent years? Since he retired? Or a few years before that?’

  Somewhat taken aback by the question, it took Laura a few minutes to work out just when her husband’s grumpiness began. ‘Well, he can’t have been too bad when we first met because I’d have never settled for him if he’d been like it then. When we were first married and living in the Midlands he was okay too. When I think about it, it must have got worse about ten years or so ago. That was when he started really snapping at me. Mind you, he was never any help around the house, even when we were a lot younger. He expected me to do all the work, even when I had a job.’