by Karla Forbes
“How did it happen?” Nick asked lamely.
“You tell me!” Ed exploded. “She was running away from someone. She said something about you leaving her and there being another woman. What the hell did you do to my sister?”
“Nothing,” Nick said, shaking his head in denial. “She was fine when I left her. What other woman?”
“What other woman?” Ed parroted, sarcastically. “If you’re so fucking innocent, why the hell is every police force in the country looking for you?”
“You tell me!” Nick snarled. “You’re the clever policeman.”
Without warning, Ed pulled back his fist and smashed it into Nick’s jaw, spinning him round and sending him sprawling in the mud. He advanced on him, fists clenching, expecting Nick to spring angrily to his feet, but Nick curled into a ball, overcome by a wracking cough as he struggled to breathe.
“Nick?” Ed asked, startled. “What the hell’s the matter?”
As Nick lay there, dragging air noisily into his lungs, Ed hunkered down beside him, seriously alarmed. “Christ, Nick, you’re not going to die on me are you?”
Nick began to haul himself with difficulty to his feet. “I might if you keep hitting me,” he wheezed. Ed instinctively reached out a hand to steady him.
“Get in the car,” he ordered. Nick did as he was told, and Ed hurried round to the passenger side and slipped in beside him.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked, scrutinising Nick’s face with a frown.
Nick squinted at the mirror examining the damage. “You mean apart from the fact that some big ape just whacked me on the jaw?”
Ed had the decency to look ashamed. “It was only a tap. How was I to know you’d go all girlie on me? I’ll ask again, what’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing that a few hours’ sleep in my own bed wouldn’t cure.”
“You need a doctor,” Ed said bluntly.
“No,” Nick argued. “I just need you to keep your fists to yourself, OK?”
As Nick was obviously not about to die, Ed remembered why he had hit him in the first place. He rounded on him with fresh anger. “You’d better start talking, Nick. Because right now I’m still trying to decide whether to arrest you or break every bone in your body.”
“Just the two options, is it?” Nick said sourly.
“Yeah, you’d better believe it. Start explaining.”
“I’ve told you all I know,” Nick protested. “When I left Annelies she was fine.”
“So who was this woman?”
“If I knew I’d tell you.”
Ed stared hard, his expression stony. “I don’t know whether you’re telling me the truth or lying your head off, but I do know that Annie wouldn’t be in hospital if you hadn’t dragged her into this.”
Nick turned and looked him in the eyes. “Ed, this is your sister we’re talking about. Have you ever known her to listen to good advice, let alone take it?”
Ed opened his mouth to argue, but then shut it again. “Yeah, OK, you’ve got a point. But why the hell did you leave her on her own? If you weren’t able to stop her tagging along, the least you should have done was keep her with you and look after her.”
Nick averted his eyes. “I made a mistake. I’m sorry, I really am.”
“Nick Sullivan finally admits to making a mistake,” Ed said with empty triumph. “Yeah I’d say you made a fucking mistake!”
Nick gazed through the windscreen. “A clever man once said that anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” He turned to Ed. “Albert Einstein.”
“Nick!” Ed exploded. “Stop hiding behind quotes. You always do it, and sometimes it can be fucking annoying. If you’re scared or ashamed, just admit it, like the rest of us poor sods who haven’t got a computer instead of a brain.”
Nick sighed heavily. “Sorry. You’re right to be angry. I should have refused her help. The truth was it was nice to have someone around who believed that I was innocent.” Nick looked down at his hands despairingly. “Is she going to be alright?”
Ed shrugged feeling equally helpless. “I don’t know, and that’s the truth. Shit. What a mess this all is.”
“You could say that,” Nick agreed, despondently. “Life was certainly looking better a couple of weeks ago.” He snatched a sideways look at Ed. “Those two options?”
“What about them?”
“Are you going to break every bone in my body?”
Ed stared hard through the windscreen. “Probably not, though I’d like to.”
“So it’s Option Two, then: you intend taking me in.”
Ed turned to him. “It’s for the best.”
“Best for what?” Nick asked quietly. “Justice, or your career?”
Ed resumed staring through the windscreen.
“You know I won’t let you arrest me,” Nick warned. “If you try to take me in, one of us is going to get hurt. Our friendship will never recover from that.”
Ed opened his mouth to speak but said nothing.
“There is a third option,” Nick said, gently.
“Which is?”
“You could walk away now and pretend you never came here today. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t.”
“And how would that help anything?”
Nick sighed heavily. “I don’t know. Perhaps you’re right.” He sank his head in his hands. “Until you told me about Annie, I thought the only thing that mattered was nailing those bastards for killing Tim. But now I don’t know anymore. If I’d done the sensible thing and listened to you in the first place, Annie would be safely at home, not lying in hospital.”
Ed’s shoulders sagged as the fight drained out of him. “What’s done is done; don’t go all maudlin on me.” He hesitated a moment. “When Annie first recovered consciousness, the first person she asked for was you.” He fixed Nick with a penetrating stare. “She loves you. Did you know that?”
Nick said nothing.
“Did you hear what I said?” Ed demanded.
“Yes, I heard.”
“And do you love her?”
Nick rounded on him. “You know I do. We go back a long way.”
“I don’t mean like that. What I mean is, did you two… You know…Did you…?”
“Mind your own business,” Nick said, not unkindly.
“I take that as a ‘yes’.”
A silence descended between them as Ed grappled with the problem of what to do. “A couple of weeks ago you thought you had a happy marriage. “
“Yeah. Well, I was wrong.”
Ed took a deep breath. “Think hard before you answer this question,” he ordered. “Are you taking up with my sister on the rebound from Esther?”
“No, it wasn’t like that,” Nick said vehemently. “It just happened. I’d never deliberately hurt Annie.”
Ed snorted, but said nothing. Eventually he sighed deeply and looked around him, his lip curling with disdain. “So what brought you to this godforsaken dump?”
“I’ve been following the men since I broke into Fox’s house. They stayed overnight in one of the caravans.”
“Come on then,” Ed said, opening the car door. “I didn’t come all this way to sit and look at your miserable face. We’d better go and check it out. With luck we might find out where they’ve gone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Option Four,” Ed said with resignation. “I stay and help.”
“Why the change of heart?” Nick asked with a grin.
“If my poor deluded sister has decided that she loves you, life won’t be worth living if I don’t try and help. And anyway, if these bastards had anything to do with putting her in hospital, I want to nail them as much as you do.”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Face it, mate, you can’t do this alone. I’m helping, whether you like it or not.”
Nick gave a loud sigh of relief. “It’s Caravan 43,” he said. “If you promise to
look the other way, I’ll break in.”
“What?” Ed gasped, pretending shock. “You’ve taken to this life of crime pretty damned fast, haven’t you?” He fished in his wallet and pulled out his warrant card. “I’m a copper, remember? We’ll do this properly and ask for the key at Reception. Unless that’s too boring for you nowadays.”
Nick grinned. “No, that’s fine by me.” He clambered out of the car and the two men retraced their steps towards the caravan park. As they cleared the trees and came into view, Nick shot out a hand, yanking Ed roughly back into the shadows.
“What the…?” Ed spluttered.
“They’re back!” Nick hissed, pointing to where a white van was parked by a caravan.
Ed glared with narrowed eyes. “You’re sure?”
“Quite sure. I’ve been following them for long enough. They’ve changed the number plates a couple of times, but I’d know that van anywhere. You see the padlock on the back?”
Ed nodded.
“It’s very distinctive. The hasp is a real heavy-duty bit of hardware that looks as though it’s been welded on recently. These men are serious about keeping people out.”
Ed pulled a mobile from his pocket and began stabbing buttons.
“Who the hell are you calling?” Nick asked in alarm.
Ed looked confused. “The police, of course. You don’t expect me to go in there without back-up?”
“I don’t expect you to go in there at all,” Nick told him, snatching the phone. “What reason have you got?”
“They put Annie in hospital,” Ed pointed out bitterly. “They murdered Tim. I would have thought that either of those things was reason enough.”
Nick struck his forehead with the flat of his hand. “Have you listened to a word I’ve said? I’ve been following these bastards around for days now, trying to find one shred of evidence against them, but they haven’t put a foot wrong. All they’ve done is travel around the south of England, staying in holiday accommodation and visiting the suburbs of London. It might be a senseless way of passing their time, but as far as I know there’s no law against it.”
“You said they’ve changed their number plates,” Ed said, searching around for anything. “We can get them for that.”
“Oh that’s OK, then,” Nick said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. “I can’t prove they murdered Tim, but I’ll sleep better at night knowing they’ve been done for driving an incorrectly-registered vehicle!”
“Well, what do you want me to do?” Ed growled with exasperation.
“Until they slip up and do something the police will be remotely interested in, there’s nothing you can do,” Nick told him bluntly.
Ed opened his mouth to argue, but it was obvious to both of them that Nick was right.
“This is hopeless,” he said, after a moment’s awkward silence. “You can’t trail around after them for ever hoping to catch them with a smoking gun.”
“It won’t be for much longer,” Nick said. “I don’t believe for one minute that they’ve been enjoying a late-season holiday, do you? Whatever they’ve been up to has been for a reason, and I’ve got a feeling that they’re going to show their hand quite soon now.”
“You think so?” Ed asked sceptically. “They’ve been good at covering their tracks so far.”
“Not that good,” Nick pointed out bitterly. “Annie must have seen something that made her run.”
Ed stared at the caravan with an expression of malevolence.
“Yeah, you’re right.” He turned back to Nick. “Listen, mate, I can’t stay here indefinitely. If I’m not back at work tomorrow they’ll start asking questions. But I want you to know that I’ll do anything I can to help. And stuff the consequences.”
Nick gave him a tired smile. “I appreciate that.” He reached out a hand to give Ed a friendly cuff on the shoulder, but without warning grabbed him violently and yanked him down.
“Shut up!” he hissed as Ed began to protest. “Over there, look!”
Ed turned, to see three men step out of the caravan and walk towards the van. All of them were carrying bags, but one bag was far larger than the others and looked heavy.
“Is that them?”
Nick nodded. “The big one is Wilson – the guy who killed Tim. The one with the heavy bag is Fox, and the other one is Hubner.”
“What are they doing now?”
“This is it,” Nick whispered intently. “I know it.”
“One of your famous hunches?” Ed asked, his eyes fixed on the three men.
“You’d better believe it,” Nick muttered, his whole body tense as he watched. “My hunches have been profitable for me in the past. I always trust them.”
“That’s good enough for me then.” Ed pulled his mouth into a grin but the next moment, his jaw fell open. “Shit. What the…?”
Nick caught his breath as he stared with disbelief. “It looks like…”
“It is!” Ed said vehemently. “They’ve had a kid in that van!”
They watched with horror as the biggest man, looking furtively around him, hurried towards the caravan carrying a small limp form in his arms. It was covered with a blanket, but a child’s arm could be clearly seen dangling from one side. With one last look around him he disappeared inside the caravan as the other two men continued to stow their bags inside the van.
Ed jumped to his feet. “You saw that, Nick. They’ve got a kid in there. I’m sorry, mate, but I’m calling for back-up right now.”
“Of course,” Nick said, also clambering to his feet and dragging his hand distractedly through his hair. “I knew there was something important about that van.” He turned to Ed. “I should have broken into it when I first caught up with them in Hampshire. What if they’ve killed a child and I could have stopped them?”
“Stop that,” Ed ordered. “It’s not your fault. You might get the occasional lucky hunch, but you’re not psychic.” He reached into his pocket and seconds later was speaking urgently into his phone. Meanwhile Hubner slammed and locked the caravan behind him, shrugged on a coat and strode back to the van.
Nick grabbed Ed’s arm and pointed. “They’re on the move. I’m going after them. I’m not losing the bastards now.”
Ed disconnected the call. “You’re on your own,” he said. “I can’t leave the kid here. I’ll have to hang on and meet the police.”
“Give me your car keys,” Nick ordered. “I haven’t got time to go back for Annie’s car.”
Ed hesitated for barely a second, then snatched his keys from his pocket and dropped them into Nick’s outstretched hand.
“Look after it,” he said sullenly. “I’m still paying for it.”
***
Nick took the keys before Ed had a chance to change his mind, and peered around the tree for another look at what was happening outside the caravan. Hubner and Fox were slamming doors as the engine roared into life, then the van pulled away at speed. Nick hurried over to where Ed’s car was parked, dived into the driver’s seat and raced out of the caravan park, tyres screeching. He came to the main entrance and saw the van a couple of hundred yards ahead, waiting to pull onto the main road. Easing off the accelerator he drew up behind it, grateful that he was driving a different car from when he had last been following them.
Once on the main road he allowed two or three vehicles to come between them and then sat back, alert but relaxed, focused and in control. He was beginning to recognise this feeling; it came from having something positive to do. Hanging around with nothing but failure to contemplate wasn’t, he concluded, for him.
They drove for several miles,then began picking up the signs to Pegwell Bay Country Park. Nick no longer tried to figure out why. He had a gut feeling that the three men were about to show their hand, and it would all come clear soon enough. As they drove along the A256 he began to see flashes of sunlight on the sea, then, without warning, the van pulled into a car park. Nick slowed but kept going. At any other time there might have been enough people ar
ound to make his entrance less obvious, but on a chilly weekday in November the car park was almost empty.
He stopped a little further down the road and waited nearly for ten minutes, watching in his rear view mirror. The road lay deserted behind him. When he was sure that it was safe, he double-backed and slipped unobtrusively after them. The van was parked over the other side of the car park, apparently deserted. He hunched down in his seat, pulled his hood well down over his face and drove a slow circuit of the car park. He glanced casually in through the van’s windscreen as he went by. It was empty.
Nick looked around him, wondering what could have bought them to this deserted spot. Adjacent to the car park was scrubland and salt marsh, but further on were the mudflats: home to waders and wildfowl. Already the curlew, oystercatchers and redshanks were being joined for the winter by sanderling and grey plover. It was a place for bird-lovers, not murderers. He gave an involuntary shiver; it was as though the presence of the three men had contaminated the desolate beauty around them.
He knew the area well. As a keen sailor he was familiar with most places of interest along the coast. Much of the land to the south of the River Stour was off limits to people due to its year-round population of roosting and breeding birds. There were footpaths that cut through to the bay, and from there you could look across to Ramsgate. He couldn’t begin to guess why they were here.
For a brief moment, Nick was struck by the terrible thought that he had misread the whole situation. Since he had been following these men they had done nothing wrong. They had acted like tourists, staying in holiday accommodation and visiting places of interest. But he quickly dismissed the notion. He had witnessed them murder Tim; he had seen them carry a child into the caravan. Their current actions might look innocent, but Nick knew they were not.
A cold, gusty wind played with the dead leaves and litter, throwing discarded crisp packets into the air and giving a chill warning that winter was just around the corner. The long weeks of summer were now a fading memory, a distant thing that had happened in a different, happier life. He wrapped his arms around him for warmth and set off at a steady jog along the track that skirted the River Stour before it wandered towards the shoreline. A feeling of calmness descended on him as he accepted that soon his fate would no longer be his to control. The police would be swooping down on the caravan site, and Ed would have to explain what he was doing there. How long would it be before he was telling them everything he knew, including details of the car that Nick was driving? It was now only a matter of time before they picked him up, and unless the next few minutes or hours yielded the proof he needed, he was still the prime suspect for a murder he hadn’t committed. He found that he no longer cared. He was ill and exhausted and had done all he could.