by L M Krier
Crick turned back and nodded at a room on the left.
‘We’ll go in there,’ he said, then carried his daughter to hand her back to her mother, before returning to talk to Rob and Virgil.
‘You might as well sit down, but I can’t give you long. My daughter likes me to do her bath or she won’t settle. What’s it about?’
Rob was doing the talking, Virgil once more trying to look tough, without the distraction of the child to smile about.
‘We’re still making enquiries into the missing equipment. We’ve now heard what Tam Lee had to say about it, but we need some details from you, please.’
‘I don’t see how I can tell you any more than Tam did at the time.’
‘But you were there at the time of the theft?’
‘Yeah, but I didn’t see what happened or anything.’
‘I see you have your own van. Do you travel to jobs with Tam or go separately?’
‘Depends where we’re working. We might meet up in the middle, if that works best.’
‘And what about on the day of the theft?’
Rob was still doing the questioning while Virgil made notes.
‘I got there first. Tam was a bit behind me. She said we should go and have a look at the site first to see what kit we needed with us as we were going to be working a bit of a distance from where we could park. We did that, then when we got back to where we’d parked and went to get our kit, Tam saw straight off that the tarp was pulled back on her truck and some of it was gone.’
‘Some of it, but not all of it?’
‘Yeah, we reckoned whoever it was must have heard us coming back and legged it. They’d took Tam’s chainsaw, the big loppers and the shredder.’
‘How do you operate a shredder if you’re working off grid? Aren’t they mostly electric?’
‘There’s a genny on the truck, so we can run electrics. Sometimes we might need lighting.’
‘They hadn’t taken the genny?’
‘They hadn’t taken anything except those three things. It meant we could carry on with the work, at least. I had my chainsaw in the van, Tam sometimes carries a spare, and we still had the ladders and some other kit. Tam phoned the police, but no bugger came out or anything. So we just cracked on with the job with the tools we still had.’
‘Was it unusual, to leave expensive kit unattended like that? And for Tam to arrive after you?’
‘Sometimes we have to leave it, although we try not to. Mostly Tam gets there first but she said she’d forgotten she needed diesel so she had to make a detour.’
‘Did you see for yourself that all the kit was on the truck when she arrived? And whether or not the tarpaulin was secure?’
Crick frowned, looked from one to the other of them. ‘Well, no, not really, but ...’
‘Thank you. Now, have you met Tam’s wife, Cyane?’
‘What’s all this about? What has Cy got to do with the stuff getting nicked?’
Virgil spoke up this time. ‘Just routine, Jimmy. Have you met her?’
‘Only a couple of times. She’s not what you might call sociable. Keeps to herself.’
Rob took over again. ‘And is she a telephone sex worker, like Tam told us?’
Crick gave a snort of laughter.
‘Is she buggery! That’s just Tam’s sense of humour. She gets pissed off with people in general. She gets a lot of stick over being a lezzer. Doesn’t bother me, like, but some people make a big deal about it. Plus people always think she must be a man to do the job she does, and with a name like Tam. That really boils her piss.’
‘So what does Cyane do?’ Virgil, again.
‘Helps keep the books straight for the business, Tam told me. She does a little bit of painting, too. Nothing much. Just greetings cards, that sort of stuff. Local scenes. One or two shops take them and sell them. Tam goes round pushing them and supplying them. Cy doesn’t go out much. Only occasionally, and local, mostly. Tam takes photos of places for her on her mobile and she paints from those. On the weekends Tam takes her out further afield to do sketches. Some visitor attractions sell her cards, I think, when she draws their places.’
‘Did you happen to go to their wedding?’
‘No. No one did, as far as I know. Like I said, Cy is very private. They just had some sort of ceremony at their place.’
‘And do you happen to know how they first met? Did Tam ever tell you?’
‘She didn’t need to. I was there. This funny young girl used to stop and watch us work on her way home from school. A teenager, but a bit out of the ordinary. Quiet. Young for her age. Not a lot to say for herself. But she seemed fascinated by watching Tam go up the trees with the chainsaw. They got talking one time, and it led on from there.’
‘Thank you, Jimmy, you’ve been very helpful.’
‘Enjoy bath-time with the little one,’ Virgil told him with a broad grin. ‘Mine will be asleep when I get home but I might manage a sneaky cuddle without waking her.’
Jimmy looked at him in surprise. ‘And here was me thinking you were bad cop. The tough guy of the two of you.’
‘What we need to do next is talk to someone where Lucy Robson went to school. See what subjects she studied,’ Ted began, after listening to Rob and Virgil present their findings on Saturday morning.
Not all of the team were in. Jo had sorted out rotas to allow for a twenty-four hour watch to be kept on the chaplain. He’d apparently shown no signs so far of going anywhere other than the prison, his home and his parish church. He was still being kept under observation.
‘That was good work, the two of you. Interesting on several points. Firstly, him calling Tam’s wife Cy. That fits nicely with one of your theories, Amelie, about a teenager possibly shortening Lucy to Cy. And secondly because it indicates that there is no independent corroboration that the tools were taken from the truck. That they were ever on it when it arrived at the site.’
‘So what are you thinking, boss?’ Rob asked him. ‘That it was an insurance fraud? In which case, does that give us the grounds you need to get a warrant to search Tam Lee’s premises?’
‘At the moment I’m speculating, rather than thinking. Wildly speculating, in fact, which you know isn’t really like me. But we’re not making the progress we should by going the orthodox way, so let’s try some lateral thinking. See if that gets us anywhere.
‘All of this is hypothetical. But let’s just suppose for a moment that, for reasons at present unclear to us, Tam Lee and/or her wife Cyane, who may or may not be Lucy Robson, murdered Bartholomew Byrne. They used a chainsaw and loppers to torture and dismember him and put most of the remains in the deep freeze. The body parts which were most likely to lead to an early ID of the body were disposed of separately. And thoroughly. Some may possibly have gone through the heavy-duty shredder, although there’s another possibility I’m not prepared to share yet as this is already all too far-fetched.’
Amelie’s face lit up at those words. Once again she looked on the point of saying something but contained herself.
‘First, Tam Lee disposes of the equipment which might incriminate them. Where, I’m not sure at the moment, but I doubt it was conveniently stolen. Then once they think the heat has died down, and enough time has elapsed, Tam Lee starts chucking away the body parts from the freezer as she goes out on her various jobs. And I’m betting the freezer was also going to be disposed of afterwards, although I did notice one in the garage when we went there.
‘How am I doing so far?’
There was silence for a moment. Then Jo stood up, walked across the office and stood in front of Ted.
‘I don’t know who you are but I’m arresting you for impersonating a police officer. The DCI Darling I know would never come up with anything as wild as that.’
Even Ted had to laugh at that.
‘Yes, I know. I warned you it was crazy. But it is at least a possibility. So, without letting it cloud our judgement, or leading us to make assumptions, and in the abse
nce of absolutely nothing else to go on, let’s see if it has legs. No pun intended.
‘I highly doubt we’re going to get anything at all from the school about Lucy Robson over the weekend, so that will need to be first thing on Monday. In the meantime, we need to try to figure out what Tam Lee might have done with the equipment to get rid of it, if it wasn’t stolen as she said.’
‘Sir, I don’t think it’s quite as far-fetched as all that,’ Steve began, hesitant as ever. ‘I’ve been playing about with some geographic profiling, based on the body part locations. I did that in my own time, because it wasn’t authorised,’ he said hurriedly, justifying his actions. ‘Océane helped me because she’s really into that stuff.
‘It would be best to show it on a big screen but I can quickly run you off a copy of what we’ve been looking at.’
The printer started to whir almost as he spoke and began spitting out copies. Virgil was nearest to it. He collected them and passed them round.
‘It’s not the sort of case this would usually be used for. It would be more usual for a serial killer, tracking their crimes and estimating their possible home location. But Océane did a few tweaks to see if we could get it to give us any help at all.
‘You can see from the pinkish shading a possible home location for the perpetrator based on the spread pattern of the dump sites. We also factored in known sites where Tam Lee was working on the dates the parts were found.
‘One thing which stood out to us both as something worth looking into is to do with the date when the equipment was meant to have been stolen. On that day, Tam Lee was working out towards the ring road, near to Bredbury. Not very far from where she lives is a council tip. It opens at eight in the mornings. From the tip to her work site that day is a ten-minute drive.
‘Is it just possible, do you think, that she simply dumped the stuff at the tip then claimed that it was stolen?
‘Another thing. We found an arboretum which has these black birches, Betula nigra, growing there. The same type as the fibres on Mr Byrne’s body. They had some storm damage around six months ago which needed tree surgery. Tam Lee was the person who carried it out. So her chainsaw might well have had fibres from that type of tree lodged in the chain. Microscopic traces, which even a thorough cleaning might possibly not be able to eliminate entirely.
‘I have to stress that this method we’ve used isn’t scientifically proven for this type of case. It’s based on Rossmo’s Formula, which is used for serial killer cases. But it does give an interesting hypothesis.
‘Based on all of the information I’ve mentioned, and the locations we entered, the software indicates a strong possibility that the person involved lives somewhere within the Offerton area.’
Steve looked directly at Ted now as he asked, ‘And doesn’t Tam Lee live near Offerton Green?’
Ted had told Jo first thing that he fully intended to leave at midday. Trev’s train didn’t get in until after seven that evening but Ted wanted to make sure the house was clean for his return. He’d been neglecting it in favour of work. He also wanted to go shopping to get something in for their supper.
It was well after two o’clock when Jo finally chased him out of the office and told him he’d carry out his earlier threat of arresting him if he didn’t go and leave him to it.
Ted arrived at the station early but the train was running almost to time so he didn’t have long to wait before he saw Trev alight, then break into a run as he saw his partner there to meet him. Trev swept Ted almost off his feet in the ferocity of his hug.
‘We’ve had the most billirant time but I’ve missed you. And the boys and girls, of course. How are you? How’s everything?’
‘Fine,’ Ted said evasively. ‘How’s the tattoo? Still sore?’
‘Really painful, despite the cream several times a day. I am never, ever doing that again.’
He had an arm draped round Ted’s shoulders as they walked back to the car. He was eyeing him astutely, always finely tuned to his moods.
‘But what about you? What is it you’ve been up to that you’re not telling me about? And don’t tell me it’s nothing, Ted, because I know you far too well.’
‘Let’s get home and then we can talk.’
‘You’re starting to worry me now. Talk is usually the second thing on the agenda when one of us gets back from time away.’
The drive home was short but the atmosphere in the car was tense. Ted left Trev to go in and see the cats while he put the Renault away. Then he followed him indoors, dreading what his partner’s reaction was going to be.
‘Your father came to see me, while you were away.’
He opted for the direct approach. He knew he couldn’t keep anything from Trev for long. As soon as he said it, he saw the muscles along Trev’s jaw tighten and his eyes darken.
‘Well, I hope you told him to piss off.’
‘I didn’t know that’s who it was. When Bill phoned me from reception, he said it was a Mr Lloyd asking to see me.’
‘That’s his middle name. He always was a devious bastard. So then did you tell him to piss off, when you saw who it was?’
Ted went to him and put his arms carefully round his waist, trying not to put pressure on the healing tattoo area.
‘No, I didn’t. Because I’m a police officer, and he came to report a crime. Look, let’s sit down and talk about this like adults. I’ll put our supper in the oven – it’s just a ready meal, but it’s one I know you like – and I’ll open the wine I got for you. Then I’ll tell you everything.’
Chapter Twenty-nine
‘Ted Darling, you wild and crazy man, remind me one more time why I love you so much.’
They were sitting near the top of Kinder Scout, close to the waterfall, sheltering as best they could amongst the rocks. Trev had to raise his voice to make himself heard above the howling wind which was making the Downfall defy gravity, sending great clouds of water into the air to form a mist. Ted was doggedly trying to pour coffee from his flask into two cups without losing too much of it in the process.
He paused to look at his partner as he said candidly, ‘I have no idea why you do.’
He’d long since given up trying to rationalise what had brought them together in the first place, let alone kept them so for more than eleven years. He was afraid of spoiling the magic by over-analysing.
They’d sat at the table until gone midnight the previous evening, talking. Ted was never keen on face-to-face personal discussions indoors on difficult subjects. His preference was for the top of a mountain or a windswept upland. It had been as hard for him as for Trev. He’d been trying to persuade his partner to do what he’d not found the strength to do himself – to his eternal shame. To talk to the police about the man who had abused him.
Ted had been a young schoolboy when he was raped by a teacher. Trev had been fifteen; mature beyond his years. But Warboys was still breaking the law when he’d slept with him, and as Ted had patiently explained, his actions had caused two of his vulnerable victims to take their own lives. That news had moved Trev to tears.
As difficult as the discussion was for both of them, Ted had been in policeman mode. An officer talking to a victim about their options on whether or not to testify and how it would go. He’d been calm, persuasive. Trying not to let the fact that the victim was his partner influence the way he would handle the situation.
Trev had started out angry. Clearly feeling hurt by what he saw as Ted’s betrayal in agreeing to speak to his father once he’d found out who his mystery visitor was.
Halfway through the bottle of wine, he’d mellowed enough for them to discuss things calmly. Once the bottle was empty, he’d agreed to testify.
‘Will I have to go down to London to give a statement?’
Ted shook his head. ‘Someone will come up here to speak to you. They’ll probably ask to use our vulnerable witness facility.’
‘And can you be there? Because I need you with me, if I’m going to do this.’
‘It would be unusual, but I’m sure I can swing it, if that’s what you want. I already spoke to my Met contact, Jono. I needed to tell him about the rest of the cases, and particularly about the two linked suicides. I’ll talk to him again to make sure he sends someone suitable, and I’ll ask him if I can sit in.
‘There’s a bit more I need to tell you, too. Something Sir Gethin did for me.’
Ted was careful not to refer to him as Trev’s father. Now his partner was calm he didn’t want to risk lighting the blue touch paper once more. He was hesitant to mention what Armstrong had done, all too aware that it sounded like a bribe. But he hadn’t been exaggerating when he said he and Trev had no secrets. Anything as big as that he simply couldn’t contemplate keeping from him.
Trev listened in stony silence while Ted explained about the mysterious file on Mercado and his business.
‘I’m happy you’ve got that scandal-monger off your back, Ted. I really am. But I hope you realise you’ve sold your soul to the devil by letting Mr Lloyd,’ he placed heavy sarcasm on the name, ‘help you. One day he’s going to expect a pay-off.’
‘But in the meantime, I’ve booked the day off tomorrow. Another Do Not Disturb day, so we can spend some quality time together. Do something to help us chill out a bit.’
Trev was now laughing hysterically among the rocks near Kinder Downfall, watching Ted’s battle with the coffee. It was a special place for both of them.
‘When you said we could chill out, I hadn’t really imagined risking getting exposure was on the agenda. I’d thought more of a leisurely morning in bed with fresh croissants and hot filter coffee. God, Ted Darling, some days I have no idea why I put up with you and your mad ideas. But I do love you, though. You’re very good for me.’
‘Mrs Hughes? DC Vine, Stockport Police. Thanks for making time to see me so quickly. I really appreciate it.’