SHADOW CRIMES a gripping crime thriller full of twists

by MICHAEL HAMBLING

  ‘You can’t prove that.’

  ‘Where did you go when you left the bar?’

  ‘We split up, if you must know. We’d had enough hassle from your lot. Bloody police state.’

  Sophie looked at him coldly. ‘You’ve avoided answering my question.’

  He laughed. ‘No comment.’

  ‘When did you first meet Tony Quigley?’

  ‘No comment. Look, I’ve had enough of this. It’s fucking pointless. If you think you know it all, go ahead and prove it. I’m not gonna give you any help. You can forget it.’

  ‘What’s your dog’s name, Mr Taylor?’

  There was a short silence. Taylor looked straight at her for the first time. ‘Skipper. Where is he?’

  ‘The RSPCA are trying to find someone to take it in but it isn’t easy. It snarls and lunges at anyone who comes near.’

  ‘Skipper isn’t an it. He’s a he. He’s a fucking good dog. Totally loyal. Totally.’ Taylor sat up.

  ‘Well, its future is in doubt. If it’s impossible to find someone, it will have to be put down,’ Sophie said indifferently.

  ‘I fucking told you, Skipper’s a he.’ Taylor was getting angry.

  ‘It’s only a dog, for goodness sake. And a bloody nuisance, if you ask me. You’re not likely to see it again, so why should you care?’

  Taylor looked down at the faded plastic of the tabletop. Sophie watched carefully.

  He spoke in a low voice. ‘I love that dog. If I tell you about Quigley, will you see he’s looked after?’

  ‘I want the truth about Andrea as well.’

  Chapter 41: When a Plan Comes Together

  Friday morning

  Like its neighbours, the stylish, detached house was quiet. Unlike them, it had been unoccupied for several days. Two cats, fresh from a night’s hunting, eyed the three detectives as they approached the front porch. Sophie took a key from her bag and opened the door.

  ‘So where do we start, ma’am?’ Barry asked. ‘I’m still not sure what we’re looking for.’

  Sophie shrugged. ‘Nor am I. Let’s get our bearings by taking a look around the front sitting room. It’ll be familiar to us. And let’s stay together. We can talk while we’re searching.’

  They entered the sitting room, with its brown leather suite staged around the open fireplace, a stack of logs neatly arranged in the hearth. There were several pieces of artwork on the walls, all originals by the look of them, possibly by local artists.

  Rae looked through the magazine rack while Sophie and Barry examined the shelves of a small unit. Nothing seemed out of place or out of the ordinary.

  ‘We need to find the study or office, or wherever he keeps his documents. I want to piece together his history and get an idea of what type of man he is.’

  Barry found what they were looking for on the first floor, a room, once a bedroom, that had been tastefully converted into a functional, comfortable office. A desk was placed close to a bay window, at an angle so that it wouldn’t receive direct sunlight.

  ‘Isn’t this lovely?’ Sophie said, but her two juniors were already moving towards the storage units standing side by side against a wall. Sophie started to sift through the desk drawers. Where would he keep personal material? In the end, she found it in the bottom drawer of the desk. It was the only drawer that was locked, but the key was conveniently kept in a small leather container in the top drawer. A ring-binder contained a sheaf of certificates, diplomas and personal papers, all in chronological order. She turned the pages with increasing interest.

  ‘He was in the army,’ she said. ‘That’s where he got all of these qualifications.’

  The other two came and looked over her shoulder.

  ‘He was a major. Would you believe it? Doesn’t it all make sense now? Look. He was in the SPS branch.’

  ‘What’s that, ma’am?’ Rae asked.

  ‘Staff and personnel support. It used to be known as the Pay Corps. This is fantastic. Let’s keep looking.’

  Barry turned up the next item, something totally unexpected. A list of properties he owned and with it documents that showed clearly that the Highlander Bar in Dorchester, the apparent centre of racist activity in the region, belonged to him. He turned over a few more pages. The Villa Rosina near Malaga in Spain.

  ‘Ma’am, time to break open the bubbly. You need to see what’s in this folder.’

  * * *

  ‘Hello, my hunky man.’ Barry’s fiancé, Gwen, a detective sergeant with Hampshire police, greeted them at the door. ‘Bet you didn’t expect me.’

  The look on Barry’s face was priceless. Sophie couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I didn’t tell him. I thought it would be a nice surprise. What with this case being so complicated, who knows when you two last managed to see each other. I can leave him with you, if you want, Gwen. We’re just about wrapped up. We won’t start the admin stuff until Monday, so we can all afford some time off to relax this weekend. How does that grab you, Barry?’

  ‘I might have known,’ he replied. ‘I should have guessed you were up to something with that last phone call. But I appreciate it. I’ve been running on near-empty for a couple of days now.’

  ‘Haven’t we all,’ Sophie said. ‘It only occurred to me when Jack mentioned that Gwen was on duty across here. But I do love it when a plan comes together. Who said that, by the way?’

  Barry and Rae looked blank, but Gwen answered immediately. ‘Hannibal Smith in the A Team. My dad was a total addict of that show. He had a T-shirt with that very quote on it. It was his pride and joy and he nearly cried when the cat was sick on it while it was in the laundry basket. He claimed he could smell cat vomit ever afterwards, despite mum washing it over and over again. He wouldn’t throw it out, though.’

  ‘Well, this is all well and good, but we’re here for a reason,’ Sophie said. ‘I suppose we’d better get on with it.’

  The group of detectives moved into the hallway. ‘He’s in the lounge, reading,’ Gwen said.

  Simon Osman looked up as the team entered the room. He put down his book and gave Sophie a wary smile. She didn’t return it.

  ‘Good morning, Mr Osman. You’ve obviously been well looked after and well protected during your few days here. That will be coming to an end, as of now.’

  ‘Thank goodness,’ he replied. ‘So, you’ve got them all? And I can go home quite safely?’

  Sophie folded her arms as Barry moved around the room to stand beside the seated man. ‘Yes, we have them all safely in custody, along with lots of evidence. And that evidence is growing by the hour, in all kinds of unexpected ways. We have new witnesses, we have documents and at long last I feel that I can safely say that the end is in sight. Over to you, Barry.’

  Barry cleared his throat. ‘Simon Brian Osman, I’m arresting you for the murder of Andrea Ford. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’

  He clipped the handcuffs onto Osman’s wrists.

  ‘DNA, Mr Osman,’ Sophie said. ‘On the damaged gunwale timber on Taylor’s boat. It looks very much as if it was you who held her hands down while your sick friend hit her with the hammer. And we have a witness who saw you earlier that night as she was bundled into the van. And, of course, there’s all the army stuff in your house. You never told us you were the financial administrator for the same signals regiment the other three served in. Or that you were the joint owner, along with your friend Bill Mapps, of the Highlander Bar in Dorchester and that villa in Spain. And there you were, trying to act the innocent when we interviewed you earlier. I can’t begin to tell you what I think of you, Mr Osman. You and Tonto Leary, as he likes to be known, that sick, barbaric man. Well, you’re right there in the gutter with him. I can’t find words for the utter disgust I feel.’ She turned to Barry. ‘Let’s get him back to the station and put him where he belongs. In a cell.’

  * * * />
  At midnight, in Dorchester Hospital’s intensive care unit, a light on a monitoring unit beside Lydia’s bed began to flash, while a repetitive warning beep sounded at the nurses’ monitoring station out in the corridor. Several nurses ran into the small room, followed quickly by a doctor. A group of anxious-looking staff surrounded the bed, knowing they only had seconds to decide on the best course of action.

  Outside, in the skies above Dorset, the moon shone, cold and bright, its silvery light glinting on the waves lapping the shoreline, onto the bleak heathland, throwing clumps of gorse and heather into stark silhouettes, and down onto the deserted country roads and lanes, causing deep shadows to mottle their surfaces. All was quiet.

  Chapter 42: Concert

  Saturday Evening

  As arranged, a few minutes before seven, Sophie called at Charlie Bailey’s neat little house in a quiet backstreet in Weymouth. The door was opened almost immediately, and the excited face of Danny Fenners greeted her.

  ‘We’re all ready,’ he said. ‘We’ve just got to get our coats.’

  ‘Rae should be there already. She’s planning to bring her boyfriend,’ Sophie said. ‘I think a couple of the others will try to get in as well. I hope there are tickets left. We’re all really looking forward to it. My husband’s going too. I never told you that, did I?’

  Danny looked puzzled. ‘Why would he want to come along?’

  ‘Well, I don’t think I ever told you that one of our daughters plays in the Dorset senior band, and they’re on after your group, in the second half. She plays alto, like you, but I think I did mention that.’

  He frowned. ‘Yeah, but not that she’d be in my concert. Which one’s she?’

  ‘Tall? Dark hair? She’s eighteen now. She’s in her last year at school, up at Wareham, where we live. She’s got a couple of solos to play.’

  ‘Oh, wow. I know who she is. She’s great. I didn’t see the seniors until the dress rehearsal this morning. Is she really your daughter?’

  Sophie nodded solemnly, just as Kerry and Charlie appeared.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Charlie said. ‘Got your music, Danny?’

  The local concert hall was buzzing with excitement while youngsters of all ages found their places in various bands, and family members hunted for their seats. A silence descended on the auditorium as the first conductor appeared, and a junior band of enthusiastic eleven and twelve-year-olds launched into their opening number.

  Rae’s boyfriend, Craig, leant across to speak to Martin Allen. ‘This was me, fifteen years ago, but across in Winchester, where I grew up. Me and my trumpet, making a lot of squeaky noises. It’s great. I love it.’

  ‘That’s music for you. It starts with little kids making all kinds of weird sounds on their instruments and ends up with Elton John and Mozart. It’s just fantastic. And that’s a mathematician talking.’

  At the other end of their row, Kerry was hugging her grandfather’s arm. Sophie glanced across. Was it too early to think that this troubled girl had turned a corner? The shock of her parents’ deaths seemed to have shifted her from her previous self-destructive path, but it was early days yet.

  The time soon came for Danny’s intermediate level band to play their numbers. Danny himself played his short solo in the middle of one of their tunes. He made only one slight mistake, which was far better than most of his friends.

  ‘He’s been practising for ages,’ Kerry said, her eyes shining. ‘Wasn’t he good? We’re so proud of him, aren’t we, Gramps?’

  * * *

  Once the concert was over, the group gathered in the foyer before making their way home. Jade walked across to them, carrying her saxophone case.

  ‘Is there room in your car for me, Mum? It’ll give me a chance to chat to my fellow superstar here.’ She grinned widely at Danny, who smiled sheepishly back.

  ‘I want to play like you one day,’ he said. ‘That was awesome.’

  Kerry, too, was interested in this tall, elegant eighteen-year-old who’d managed to captivate the audience with a moody solo in the middle of a Duke Ellington number. Kerry tilted her head and looked at the older girl through narrowed eyes.

  ‘Are you gonna study music when you leave school?’ she asked.

  Jade shook her head. ‘Nope. I’ve got a place to do medicine. That’s if I get the results they want. It was a hard choice between the two, though. My older sister’s an actress, and Dad always says that having one prima donna in the family is quite enough.’ She paused. ‘What about you?’

  All the adults pricked their ears up and tried not to look at Kerry.

  ‘I dunno really. I think I’ll stay on at school after my GCSEs and see what it’s like. What’s history like? Do you know anyone doing it?’

  ‘Oh yeah,’ Jade said. ‘One of my closest friends. She’s got it down as her first choice for university. She loves it. I think she’s mad. But we’re all different, aren’t we?’

  Charlie put his hand through his granddaughter’s arm. ‘That we are. And it’s a bloody good thing, if you ask me. Wouldn’t things be boring if we were all the same?’

  Sophie switched her phone back on and found a text message from Kevin McGreedie. She leaned back against the wall, tears running down her face.

  ‘Thank God,’ she whispered. ‘Lydia’s pulled through.’

  THE END

  THE SOPHIE ALLEN BOOKS

  Book 1: DARK CRIMES

  Book 2: DEADLY CRIMES

  Book 3: SECRET CRIMES

  Book 4: BURIED CRIMES

  Book 5: TWISTED CRIMES

  Book 6: EVIL CRIMES

  Book 7: SHADOW CRIMES

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  This is a work of fiction, and none of the characters and situations described in this novel bear any resemblance to real persons or events.

  I must thank many people for their help, support and continued friendship during the writing of this novel. Firstly, the staff at Joffe Books. My thanks to the editorial team, particularly Anne Derges, the crime editor, who is an expert at sharpening up my slightly rambling original text to make it fit for people to read.

  Next, to the friends, particularly Sylvie and Becky, who help me to keep my sanity intact by accompanying me to noisy pub-gig nights. I must also mention my friend Patricia Davies, now 91 years young, still a jazz fan and still going strong!

  Finally, and most importantly, a mention of my nearest and dearest. To my sons, Stephen, Malcolm and David, and their families. Above all, to my wonderful wife, Margaret.

  Book1: DARK CRIMES

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/CRIMES-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01B1W9CIG

  http://www.amazon.com/CRIMES-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01B1W9CIG

  A young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart.

  It seems like a simple crime for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning. The case grows more complex as DCI Sophie Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation. There’s an obvious suspect but Detective Allen isn't convinced. Could someone else be lurking in the shadows, someone savagely violent, looking for a warped revenge?

  BOOK 2 DEADLY CRIMES

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEADLY-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01DL5CGRK/

  https://www.amazon.com/DEADLY-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01DL5CGRK/

  A young man’s mutilated body is found on top of the Agglestone, a well-known local landmark on Studland Heath

  It seems that he was involved in a human trafficking and prostitution gang. But why is DCI Sophie Allen keeping something back from her team? Is it linked to the extraordinary discovery of her own father's body at the bottom of a di
sused mineshaft, more than forty years after he disappeared?

  Book 3: BURIED CRIMES

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/SECRET-CRIMES-gripping-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01F6FAR06

  https://www.amazon.com/SECRET-CRIMES-gripping-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01F6FAR06

  Two women go away for the weekend, but only one comes back alive. Was it just the music they were into? And who was the man the victim met at the festival?

  DCI Sophie Allen is back in charge after the emotional upheavals she suffered in 'Deadly Crimes,' but is she really in control? And Detective Constable Rae Gregson joins the team and immediately faces challenges that put her life in peril.

  BOOK 4: BURIED CRIMES

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/BURIED-CRIMES-gripping-detective-thriller-ebook/dp/B01I04EMTW/

  https://www.amazon.com/BURIED-CRIMES-gripping-detective-thriller-ebook/dp/B01I04EMTW/

  A family move into their dream home in Dorchester: it seems perfect, particularly for their two children, but when Philip and Jill Freeman move a buddleia bush, what they find buried beneath its roots will haunt them forever.

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