‘Did you build it?’
‘No, love. I added to it a bit. I put the burner in, see? But this has been up here a long time in some form or another. How do you take your tea?’
‘Just white, please. Thanks again, I could really do with a cup of tea.’
‘I can see that.’
Jenny was suddenly conscious again of her appearance and of her injuries. She knew she was drawing attention to herself. There wasn’t much she could do about it. Mike put a tin cup down in front of her. He topped it up with milk from the flask. ‘So, you up here with a loved one?’ Jenny was puzzled; he must have picked up on it. ‘Do you have a relative buried up here?’
‘Oh, no. I just needed the peace and quiet. That is okay, isn’t it?’ She was suddenly a little panicked, like she had broken some law.
Mike chuckled. ‘That’s just fine. There’s nothing like the peace and quiet you get in a place for the dead. They tend to keep themselves to themselves.’
‘I guess they do. I’m a little jealous. You ever have the feeling that the world is just chaos everywhere and you just need to get away from it all?’
‘Oh, yes. Now you are preaching to the converted, love. I used to chase chaos for a living but it was always one step ahead of me. I was a medic for over thirty years. I worked the wards and the ambulances — always accident and emergency work. This is the perfect job for me, now. That was all noise and chaos. This is making sure the lawn is neat for the eternal rest. I’ve never been happier to come to work.’
‘A retired medic. Sounds like you earned your retirement.’
‘Well, everyone does, really. The thing with being a medic for so long is that you get good at spotting people that need help. Even those who are trying to hide it.’ He lingered on her, holding his smile.
‘I reckon this tea is giving me all the help I need.’
‘You’d be surprised just how often I prescribed it. A good cup of tea. You really can’t go wrong.’
‘You really can’t.’ Jenny took a sip. It was hot as hell.
‘You sure there’s nothing more I can do to help? I got a car just down the hill if you want driving somewhere through the rain? After we’ve finished our tea, of course.’
Jenny was back to thinking about where she could go next. It was still too soon to go back into the town. She would surely be better off waiting until it got dark.
‘Thanks, but I’ve got nowhere I can go.’
‘Really? A bright young thing like you? Not got friends or family nearby? I don’t mind a bit further afield or a train station? You shouldn’t be sat out here in the rain.’
‘No, my family are a long way from here. I was just looking to find somewhere to wait for an hour or a little more. In the dry. Can you help with that?’
‘Oh. Well, I don’t know about that — I mean, the wife’s at home. I don’t know if I could make her underst—’
‘Mike, I don’t need you to take me home with you! I meant here. I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be right now. You really do have a beautiful place to while away the hours. I was hoping to be able to watch the sunset maybe. Then I’ll be gone.’
Mike peered around now. He settled back on Jenny. ‘Sure, I guess you can stay in here for a couple of hours. My shift’s just about done. I just fired up the stove for the last tea of the day. You can stick around. I’ll leave the flask and there’s some milk in there if you want some more tea. Just push the door shut when you’re done, okay? There’s a padlock.’
‘Sure. Thanks so much, Mike. I can’t tell you how much it means.’
Mike waved her away. ‘We gotta help each other out. You take that from a thirty-year paramedic. The main thing I learnt in all that time is that we all need someone sometimes.’
‘I think you’re right.’
Jenny made small talk for another fifteen minutes or so. Maybe it was the sudden rush of warmth, the soothing crackling of the burning logs and the knowledge that there was a camp bed directly behind, but she suddenly realised just how tired she was. Mike was true to his word. He finished his tea, tidied a few bits and locked up his mower before saying his goodbyes. Jenny promised to drop back in for a cup of tea on another day. He stoked the burner for her and plied it with two fresh logs before he went. Jenny moved the chairs out of the way and dragged the camp bed over the uneven stone floor. She positioned it so it was close enough to the fire. She lay on her left side. Her head was still tender to lie on but it didn’t seem to matter. She forgot her pain quickly and was overcome by sleep.
* * *
‘Hey, Paul. Good to see you.’ Paul Bearn stepped out of the grand front door of Wingmore Farm to greet George and Emily as they pulled up in the car. George hadn’t called ahead. Paul must have been in the front room. George could picture Stan sat in the same place he had left him. Paul would have heard his approach on the gravel drive.
‘Good to see you too, George.’
‘How’s it been? Hard going I bet?’
‘It’s been okay. We know he’s taken it hard, but I’m struggling to get through to him. There’s certainly no sign of improvement yet.’
‘It’s still early. And, trust me Paul, you will be making a massive difference just by being here with him.’
‘I know that. It’s like he’s missed out a step though. We’ve seen enough people after something like this and they always seem to be a bit numb, you know? But you can spend the day talking with them and they start to make sense and you can get things done. Then you’ll come back the next day and you might get nothing. Like they’ve realised just what has happened and you can’t even get two words. It feels like that’s where Stan is right now.’
‘Is he talking to you at all?’
‘Yeah, he is. He’s a nice old fella. He told me about Janice, about how they met and where they’ve been. They’re quite the travelled couple. We’ve talked a bit about what needs to happen, about funeral arrangements and getting people here, but he’s struggled with that. I can’t really get him to engage.’
‘Have you spoken to the daughter? He wouldn’t let me call her.’
‘No. But I’m told a neighbour has. I can’t get any details to confirm that either way.’
‘So we don’t know what she knows?’
‘I can’t be sure she knows anything. He’s a wily old bastard, George. I get the impression he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the wool if he wanted to.’
‘Where are we with CSI? I see Ali’s van is still here.’
‘She’s still here too. She’ll be back tomorrow for certain. It might roll into day three if they can’t get any help for her. But the body is leaving today. Another hour or so.’
‘Oh, that’s good.’
‘It is for Stan. I think he needs her to go now. He’s been preparing himself for that. It needs to happen.’
‘It does. Let’s go talk to him.’ George moved to the front door, Emily and Paul followed just behind him. Sure enough Stan was in the same armchair he had been in earlier in the day. He looked even smaller and his head was still slumped forward. He did look up and managed a weak smile.
‘George.’
‘How’s it going, Stan?’
‘How do you think?’
‘You’re right — one of my stupider questions. I hear Janice is going to be leaving shortly. Did you know that?’
‘I did. Paul told me they would be taking her away. She’s got another ordeal in front of her, George — they need to do an autopsy. I don’t see why. She was shot in the stomach, she lost a lot of blood and she died. Surely they don’t need to go chopping her up to tell that?’
George knelt back down in front of Stan. ‘Janice is gone, Stan, there’s nothing of her left now. The autopsy, that’s the bit where we get our evidence. That’s the bit where we get a report from an expert that says your wife was fatally injured by a gunshot. That’s the bit where I can be sure that no sleazy barrister further down the line can’t argue that your wife was murdered in cold blood so he ca
n try and get his bastard client off the hook. You understand me? You and I both know what happened and the court will know what happened because we will be there to tell them. But I don’t want a single thing left to chance. When I present a case, especially one like this, I want to be sure that there’s nothing anyone can do but send them down for life. I know what you mean — I know it’s not a nice thought, Stan — but that’s not Janice anymore. Okay?’
‘Okay, George, if you say so. Do you know how long? Until they take her away?’
‘I don’t. Not for sure. Let me ask.’
George swapped out with Paul who moved forward to sit with Stan. Emily stayed in the background. George moved through to the kitchen. Ali was still in there, still in her forensic suit. She was on her hands and knees in the middle of the kitchen.
‘Ali!’ George called out.
‘I thought I told you not to go into any other rooms!’
‘Sorry. I’m not technically in.’
‘You’re not technically out either, are you?’
‘Well, no.’
He could hear Ali chuckling from behind her mask. ‘I’m pretty much done with this room. I’ve not even started with the hall where the gun cabinet is yet, or anywhere else in the house. I haven’t done much outside either.’
‘So I can be in here?’
‘You can be that close.’
George could see all he needed to from where he stood. He could see the splatter too. He was always surprised just how much of a mess the human body could make. ‘Are we getting the clean team in?’
‘No. We don’t do that anymore, George.’
‘Since when?’
‘Since the cuts, I suppose.’
‘So you get to clean up your own family member’s insides now?’
‘Welcome to the new regime.’
‘That’s awful. Have you still got the contact details for them? It’s the council that do it, right?’
‘I used to call the council — the hygiene people. They had a contact — a private company, and basically that is what they do. They clean up the stuff that nobody else will touch.’
‘Do you still have the number?’
‘I actually have the company owner’s number. I should be able to dig it out. But they won’t do it. Nobody does anything for free these days, George, no matter how sad your story.’
‘I wasn’t expecting it for free.’
Ali dug around in her suit and produced a phone. She slid a finger out of her glove to operate it. George felt his phone vibrate. ‘I’ve sent you the number for the council. You’ll need to speak to them before 5 p.m., though. They work office hours.’
‘Thanks, Ali. Let Paul know first — when you’re ready to move Janice, I mean.’
‘Will do.’
George moved back through to where Stan was sitting. He looked up at George. ‘It’s not going to be long, Stan, I can’t give you an exact time, but I reckon within the hour. Ali will pop through and talk to you and Paul here when it’s time. I’m going to head back to carry on with my bit. I’ll talk to you regularly Stan and you can speak to me any time of day. You have my number.’
‘Thanks, George.’
George turned to where Emily stood behind him. ‘Stan, this is DC Emily Ryker. She’s our finest intelligence officer. She’s going to be helping with the investigation too. We’ve got our best people on this, Stan — trust me on that.’
Stan lifted up watery eyes to take in Emily, then he slumped back to stare at the floor again.
George returned to the car and Emily walked out with him. She slid into the passenger seat as he fiddled with his phone. It started ringing through the speakers as he turned the car around on the gravel.
‘KMS cleaning services, Kerry speaking, how can I help you?’ The voice sounded distant through the tinny speakers.
‘Good afternoon. My name is George Elms. I’m a police inspector in Langthorne. I understand you provide a specialist cleaning service for us when a crime scene demands it. Is that right?’
‘Oh. Well . . . yes. We have done in the past, Mr Elms, but that contract has run its course. We no longer work with the police. We were informed there was no funding for this sort of thing anymore.’
‘I see. I know I’ve used you people in the past, Kerry, and I couldn’t put a price on what you guys do. I’m faced with an elderly gent who in a short time will be asked to mop up what is left of his wife from his kitchen floor. That just doesn’t sit right with me.’
‘I see. I mean, I agree, of course. That isn’t right.’
‘Can I ask . . . are you the K in KMS, Kerry?’
‘I’m the whole thing. My initials. Not very original, eh?’
George chuckled, ‘Well, no. What can I say? I can’t even pretend I’m impressed with the creativity there!’
‘I picked it out of a shortlist. It was either that or Guts R Us. This isn’t an easy business to brand.’
George laughed harder. ‘I like it! I think maybe you should have stayed with the guts name. Just my personal opinion.’
‘I’ll bear it in mind. Look, I’m very sorry we can’t help. Obviously you can pass our details on to your man who’s facing the clean-up. We’ll be more than happy to come out.’
‘I honestly don’t think he would even be capable right now. I was hoping to get it arranged without involving him to be honest. What sort of cost would he be looking at?’
‘We would come out and quote you. But if it’s one room, for example, our prices would start at six hundred. Depends if you need anything specialist or deep cleaned.’
‘Six hundred! I see. Look, I’d like to put this through us. I know there’s no contract or relationship with us anymore but if you could do it for a more palatable price you could invoice me direct. I’ll make sure the bill is met.’
‘I don’t think that’s going to be possible, Mr Elms. I’m really sorry. Your police force were not very quick payers historically, and that was when there was a system in place. I can’t afford to be waiting on jobs.’
‘I appreciate that. This would be a direct invoice to me. If I can’t turn it round in three working days you can bill my own credit card. You have my word. That’s the word of a police officer right there, Kerry!’
‘I’ve worked with plenty of police officers, Mr Elms.’
‘Shit!’ George laughed. ‘In that case, I shouldn’t have said that.’
‘No you shouldn’t.’ George detected laughter on the other end of the phone.
‘How about three hundred and you can take card details from me now. I’ll try and get it back on expenses, but that will be my problem. You’ll have your money.’
‘I’ll have half my money, Mr Elms.’
‘George, please. Call me George.’
‘Thank you. So I’d have half of my money, George.’
‘Three-fifty.’
‘Five hundred, George. I’ll give you a discount for bare-faced cheek.’
‘Come on, Kerry! This is my money here. I’m trying to look out for my victim. Sixty-two years married. I won’t have him cleaning up her blood. I can’t have that. I will do it myself, but I’ve seen what you people do and I know how good you are. What you may not know is just how important you are in that person’s recovery.’
‘Flattery will get you nowhere.’
‘I was already getting nowhere! Four hundred and you have my word that I will get you back at the table for a renewed contract.’
‘We’ve already talked about policemen and their word!’
‘Not me, Kerry. You’ve never dealt with me.’
‘No offence if I say I don’t want to again.’
George was back to laughing again. He fidgeted to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. ‘Kerry, I’m going to hand over to my glamorous assistant. She’ll give you address details and a contact number for the CSI. She’ll also give you the payment details for the three-hundred-and-fifty-pound payment. This has been an expensive shift, Kerry . . .’
‘Fine. Pass her over and I will take the details for your four-hundred-pound payment. And that’s before inspection. Best I can do.’
‘You’re a wonderful person, Kerry. And that’s exactly what I’m going to say when I get back to head office. I look forward to working with you in the future.’
‘I’m sure you do.’
George grinned over at Emily. He was gesturing with his wallet. She took it out of his hand and introduced herself. A few minutes later and the call was completed.
‘That was good of you,’ Emily said. ‘You know you won’t see that money again, George — not with our finance department.’
‘This man’s already destroyed. I can’t imagine what happens to him if we leave him to clean that up. I’m going to have the bastards that did this. I need your help, Emily.’
‘I said I would.’
‘You did, but around this other job. I know that’s the force priority but it needn’t necessarily be ours. You saw him back there . . .’
‘I did. You made sure I did. You made sure he knew I was on board and you put me in a front row seat to listen to you begging for a clean-up. I get it. I get that you’ve taken this one personal. I will do what I can, George, just like I always do when you ask me to.’
‘I know you will. Sorry, Emily, I didn’t mean to rub your nose in it. I just know that when you put your effort into something you always get a result. I need a result.’
‘What did you just get told about flattery?’
‘A lie, Emily. I just got told a big, fat lie.’
Emily grinned. George was relieved. She had seen straight through him, just like she always did. But she was still on board and that would bring results.
Chapter 13
George didn’t sleep well. A few years before he had been stood too close to an explosion and suffered damage to his ears that he’d been told might be permanent. That damage currently took the form of a constant whooshing in his ears — or tinnitus, to give it its medical name. This wasn’t the only hindrance to a good night’s sleep. The last few years of worrying and wondering about his wife and child had added to his difficulties. Now he was quite accepting of his condition. It was amazing how you could adapt when you needed to. George had once been someone desperately in need of his eight hours’ sleep and now he seemed to manage well enough on just a couple per night.
The George Elms Trilogy Box Set Page 34