In the Red Corner - Volume III of the Operation Jigsaw Trilogy

by Hayden, Mark

  ‘Of course I’m pleased to see you. I just don’t want you to get in trouble. Where’s Luke? Why did he let you in here on your own?’

  ‘Luke, the handsome dentist? He’s waiting downstairs until I’ve finished speaking to my client. As far as he’s concerned, I work for Dominic McEwan. Someone had to pay your bills.’

  She had to sit down, and the only place was on the dentist’s chair. She perched on the edge. ‘I thought you were going to be in Kabul for a year. What happened?’

  ‘Finished early. I’m working just down the road near Preston. On a racecourse, would you believe?’

  ‘I’d believe anything of you.’

  ‘I can’t be too long, but if I play my cards right, I should be able to see you again. Luke thinks there could be quite a few visits.’

  She pulled a face. ‘That’s like aversion therapy. I don’t want to be reminded of the dentist every time I think of you. I’d rather think of other things.’

  ‘Me, too. Look, I’ve brought something for you. Mr Joshi gave me a call.’

  He went over to a cardboard box, and she noticed his limp. It was getting worse, not better, since the last time she had seen him. He put the box next to her on the chair and gestured for her to open it.

  On the top was a long-sleeved thick woollen pullover in black: it was so soft it could be cashmere. She held it to her face and then threw it over her head. It came down to mid-thigh and the sleeves were too long, but it would be perfect when the wind blew up the valley. Underneath were two pairs of leggings, some walking shoes and, at the bottom, a package wrapped in tissue.

  ‘What’s this?’

  ‘Open it and see.’

  She unwrapped the tissue paper to find a deep green kameez tunic with red edging and matching red churidar trousers.

  ‘Are they too much? Will the other girls get jealous?’

  ‘Yes, they will, but only if I wear it. This is going at the back of my wardrobe until I’m released. Thank you. I don’t know what to say.’

  He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. He did it very gently, as if her jaw were still in pieces, but she kissed him back hard and put her hands behind his head to lock their mouths together. Under the new pullover, she broke out into a sweat. They separated when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Luke was back.

  ‘One more thing,’ said Conrad. He lifted a little package from his pocket. ‘I had the devil’s own job getting these.’

  She opened the package and found a thin gold chain. On it were two tiny charms. She had to squint to make them out. One was of Ganesha; the other was of a helicopter. She slipped them into her pocket. They would be going around her neck later.

  Conrad kissed the top of her head and opened the door. Luke was waiting outside. Conrad thanked the dentist, shook hands and disappeared downstairs. Mina packed away the clothes, and Luke pulled over a stool.

  ‘I’m just going to take a look today,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen the X-Rays and the photographs from your surgeon, but there’s nothing like seeing the real thing. When I’ve done that, I’ll give you some options as to how we proceed. Okay?’

  She lay back, and he prodded and poked around. A lot. On both sides.

  ‘You haven’t been near a dentist in years, have you?’

  ‘There wasn’t a lot of point.’

  ‘Well, I think I’ll start on the left-hand side. There’s quite a bit of work to do there, before we get to the main course. Are you busy on Wednesday?’

  ‘I’ll have to check my diary. I’m sure I can fit you in.’

  ‘You went speed dating.’

  ‘Go on. Laugh. You know you want to.’

  Kate felt guilty all of a sudden, and for no apparent reason. Just because she had been in Dublin enjoying herself, it didn’t mean that her cousin couldn’t go speed dating if he wanted – or scuba diving in the Thames, or anything else for that matter. Diana Morton was rolling on the couch laughing, then sat up when she realised that Kate hadn’t joined in.

  ‘Kate? What are you not telling us? Who have you been seeing over there while we’ve been snowed into London?’

  ‘I know. It’s terrible – I can’t remember seeing so much snow over here. It’s more like Yorkshire than the South East.’

  ‘Answer the question. You’ve been in Dublin a fortnight and you’ve already scored. What are you like?’

  Tom had retreated to the kitchen, as he usually did when the talk turned to their love lives. If only he could actually get a woman back to his flat, he’d be well away. Every woman likes a man who can cook. Well, almost every woman. Kate couldn’t care less.

  ‘It was nothing. He’s just some guy who’s on a break from a relationship, that’s all,’ she said to Di.

  Tom came back and joined them. ‘How’s the job going? Can you talk about it?’

  ‘This time, I can,’ said Kate. ‘It’s a well-known video games company. They’re working on the next instalment of their mega-franchise, and they’d got to first build stage.’ The others looked at her blankly. ‘That means the combat and movement and stuff are all working. They add other elements after that, piece by piece. Except that someone put the first build on a Dark Web store for sale. It could cost them millions.’

  ‘It doesn’t work properly, does it?’

  ‘No, but that’s not the point. They are very particular about what information they release ahead of the launch. They want every fanatical gamer to pay full price on release, to maximise their profits. Now they’ll have to go back and rewrite the story, so that the final version is different. They’ve hired me to find out who sold them down the river.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t do hard-core hacking,’ said Tom.

  ‘I don’t. I’ve been using my detective skills. As well as a bit of judicious electronic eavesdropping. It’s all in their contracts – the only place I can’t listen in is the toilets. I use spies for that.’

  ‘Are you getting close?’

  She gave them an enigmatic smile. ‘Wait and see. Anyway, Tom, how are you getting on in Earlsbury?’

  He told them all about his case, and at certain points in his story, his hand went unconsciously to his shoulder where the skin graft had been made. He sounded determined and resolute, but for Kate, who had heard the full story in York, he didn’t sound at all confident.

  She swirled her wine around in the glass. ‘Even if you find this confederate of Griffin’s, do you think it will lead to your bomber?’

  He shrugged. ‘Who can tell? All I know is that this is the only line of enquiry I’m allowed to pursue. I can’t go looking for the bomber directly: that’s the responsibility of Lancashire & Westmorland. They’re getting nowhere, by the way. They’ll scale down the enquiry when it gets closer to Christmas. The only loose end that’s not in Blackpool is Patrick Lynch’s death. Do you remember him – the money launderer from Earlsbury?

  She nodded, but Diana looked a little vague. ‘I remember you telling me about him,’ said Kate. ‘Do you really think the bomber killed him?’

  ‘There’s no evidence for that, but I definitely think he was there when Pat died.’

  Kate sat back and considered things. Tom brought out an A4 notepad and a pen.

  ‘What’s that for?’ said Diana. ‘Are we going to play word games or something?’

  ‘Sort of,’ said Tom. ‘We’re going to work on my profile.’

  Kate and Di exchanged glances.

  ‘Speed dating was a bust,’ said Tom, ‘so I’m going to try online dating instead. I need to tap into your vast experience as women to produce the perfect profile.’

  ‘Easy,’ said Di. ‘Don’t tell them you’re a copper.’

  ‘And definitely don’t tell them you used to be a lawyer,’ added Kate.

  After the meal and the taxi back to the City, Tom gave Kate a nightcap, and added a few more details about the case that he didn’t want to share with his sister. When he went to the toilet, Kate looked in his briefcase and stole the Patrick Lynch file
. She’d put it back tomorrow, but she needed to take some notes first. She’d had an idea.

  Chapter 11

  Earlsbury – Dublin – Cairndale – London

  Calais – Hampshire – Southport – Boulogne

  Monday – Sunday

  6-12 December

  The snow at the back of Earlsbury nick had been piled up into little banks, and was already going dirty. The last time Tom had come here, Hayes had intervened to pull the local DCI off him when they got into a fight. For his own dignity, if nothing else, he was going to face them on his own.

  He identified himself at the door, and was buzzed into the custody suite. The sergeant recognised him straight away. ‘Morning, Inspector. Shall I get DCI Storey down? Then we can sell tickets.’

  ‘It’s “Good morning Chief Inspector” now. If you’re going to sell tickets, I want a bigger share of the purse this time.’

  The sergeant grinned. ‘How can I help, Chief Inspector? I wasn’t expecting to see you again after Paddy Lynch cashed in his chips.’

  ‘You know me, Sergeant – always sticking my nose into unwelcome places and upsetting people. It’s a good job I love my work.’ Tom grinned back.

  The grin faded on the other man’s face. He moved uncomfortably behind the counter. Tom waited until he was about to speak and said, ‘Actually, I really would like you to call in DCI Storey. I need a witness when I talk to you.’

  ‘Me?’

  Tom said nothing. Thoroughly unnerved, the sergeant started making the phone call. Tom noticed that the two custody officers had paused in their cleaning jobs to watch the encounter.

  ‘He’s on his way,’ said the sergeant.

  ‘Good. How many males have you got locked up today?’

  ‘None. They’ve all been released or transferred to the magistrates’ court.’

  ‘Then let’s wait for DCI Storey in one of the cells. It’s more private.’ Tom hooked a plastic chair from the lobby under his arm and walked down to the end cell. Dragging his feet, the sergeant joined him a moment later, and Storey was not far behind.

  Tom sat on the chair, and the other two had no option but to sit on the plastic mattress. All of them knew that a whole variety of bodily fluids were spilt on the mattresses every week. If they’ve done their cleaning properly, thought Tom, it shouldn’t be a problem, should it? He took out a folder.

  ‘Thank you for coming. I’m looking into an arrest that was made last year. In the autumn. What recording system does this suite use for CCTV?’

  ‘We changed over to a hard disk system in January of this year,’ said the sergeant. ‘It was VCR before then.’

  ‘And would the tapes be available?’

  ‘Unless there is an active case, all tapes are destroyed after one year.’

  ‘I thought as much. Do you remember this arrest, Sergeant?’

  He passed over the folder, and the man began to study the contents. Storey peered over his shoulder and appeared to grasp the significance of the documents before the sergeant did.

  ‘No. Nothing. Can’t remember it, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Are you sure? Do you get incidents like that often?’

  ‘It wasn’t an incident. If the prisoner is restrained or chokes on his vomit or overdoses, then that’s an incident. This man was released without charge.’

  ‘And you can’t remember if anyone other than the people named on that arrest record were present in the custody suite.’

  ‘I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast unless I write it down in my notebook.’

  ‘I see. But you are confident that all the details in that record are accurate.’

  The sergeant passed the folder back to Tom. ‘I signed it, didn’t I? They’re accurate. I don’t make things up. Unlike some people.’

  Tom assumed the latter remark was aimed at him, but he didn’t care. ‘I may need you to make a witness statement to that effect, but I’ll serve the proper notice on you if that becomes necessary. Thank you for your time.’

  Tom left the suite, and DCI Storey followed him into the car park. For a fraction of a second, Tom felt the hairs on his neck prickle in case Storey was after another few rounds with him, but the man was more worried than angry. At the end of the first phase of the Griffin enquiry, Tom had insisted that Storey take two weeks’ leave. The break seemed to have done him good; the man was no longer on the edge of a breakdown.

  ‘Have you got a second?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Tom. ‘But if you want more than a second, we’ll have to go back inside. It’s too cold out here.’

  ‘I take it from that file you showed me in there that the clean bill of health you gave my team is no longer valid in the case of one particular officer.’

  ‘I said that none of your team was involved with Griffin, and I stand by that. As for the man you’re thinking of, don’t jump to conclusions. People often accuse us of throwing mud around to see if any of it sticks, but we don’t actually do that. Don’t fall into the same trap yourself.’

  Storey nodded and considered what Tom had said. ‘You’re right. He’s a good officer, and I’m still short-staffed. I’ll try and forget about it.’

  ‘I really hate to say this, but from what I hear, that staffing level might become permanent. Look, could you do me a favour?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘We don’t have Griffin’s notebooks for that night – it was too long ago. Could you dig them out, and see if he was working with anyone else on the night of the arrest?’

  Storey nodded, and they went their separate ways.

  Down in the Dublin basement, not a million miles from where the Easter Rising had met its end, Kate had already discovered two affairs, an illegal betting syndicate, and a man who really, really should come out of the closet. She had also discovered that the guy she slept with last Thursday wasn’t on a break from his relationship at all. His wife was away on business, and he was trying to order flowers for her return.

  She could see how it might be addictive – peering into the intimate, unsuspecting lives of other people. Perhaps that explained why the Stasi became so powerful: the thrill of eavesdropping was definitely compulsive. So compulsive that she would have to find the source of the leak soon or give up before she became hooked. She had narrowed it down to a small group, and was about to cross another one off the list when she paused to think about what Tom had said. The answer is in the people, not the paperwork. She put a question mark next to one of the names instead of crossing it out and took a break upstairs.

  Out of the basement, her phone pinged with messages once she was back in range of the mast. One was from her father: When you next in UK? Wd like to meet. Dad.

  She felt worried. Very worried. Her father was the most stoical man she had ever met: he thought displays of emotion were something you encountered in films, not in real people, and it had taken her years to accept that he was just as cut up about his wife’s death as Kate had been about losing her mother. In fact, it was only when she accepted that her mother had been married to the man, had loved him and been loved in return, that she realised what her father had lost.

  What if he were ill? What if his silences and absences were trips to the hospital for chemotherapy?

  She grabbed a coffee and went back down to the basement.

  Assistant Chief Constable Malik Khan sat rigidly in the chair, his gaze fixed on a point above Tom’s shoulder.

  ‘Before you begin this witness interview, I would like to register my objection to the presence of DC Hayes. It is my belief that her prejudice against me will jeopardise the investigation, and I would like her removed.’

  Hayes sat back as if she’d been slapped. Tom could sense her looking at him in appeal, but he kept his eyes focused on Khan. She had to trust him to deal with Khan. No protest came from Hayes, and if she had protested, he would have gotten rid of her immediately. He waited to see if Khan’s gaze would drop down, but it didn’t. This was clearly a man with huge self-control.


  ‘You assigned DC Hayes to this investigation, sir. If she was good enough then, she’s good enough now. Has she ever made a formal complaint against you?’

  ‘You know she hasn’t.’

  ‘Has she ever been subject to formal or informal disciplinary procedures because of her attitude towards you?’

  ‘You know that, too.’

  ‘No, I don’t. I know that she was never sanctioned, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been subjected to unofficial guidance. Has that ever happened?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Then we’ll continue.’

  ‘If you insist. I would like you to make a note of my objection.’

  ‘Are you sure? Very well: consider it noted. It will appear at the top of your statement for everyone to read.’

  Khan realised he’d made a mistake. He was being petty, probably misogynistic and possibly racist. It wouldn’t look good if things went further. The man finally looked down from the wall and made eye contact with Tom. He drew a deep breath and said, ‘Perhaps I was getting on my high horse. As this is a witness statement, perhaps we’ll let it lie.’

  Tom wasn’t going to have that, and Hayes deserved a lot better. ‘The implication being that if you are arrested, you might object at that point. Sorry sir. I’ll be proceeding with DC Hayes wherever it might lead us, objection or no objection.’

  ‘Then get on with it.’

  Tom opened the file he had taken to Earlsbury division yesterday. ‘As part of our investigation into DS Griffin’s affairs, we have been checking all his cases, including those which never came to court.’ He held up the file so that Khan could read the name on the front. The ACC had to squint, but was too vain to get out his reading glasses. After a second, he realised what he was looking at.

  ‘In October last year,’ said Tom, ‘DS Griffin stopped a vehicle being driven erratically, and administered a roadside breathalyser test which proved positive. He arrested the driver and took him to Earlsbury police station, where the reading was entered into the custody system. It was over twice the legal limit.’