‘Clive Osborne hasn’t been seen in around ten years. Hard to pinpoint an exact date after so much time has passed. He last used his bank account about two weeks before the Corrigans moved into the area.’
‘Who reported him missing?’
‘No one; that’s the strange thing. I have managed to locate his mother’s phone number. She lives in Spain now.’
‘Have you called her yet? I can do it after I speak to Cameron Becker,’ Adrian offered.
‘Great, I’ll ping the number over to you.’
Gary tapped away at the keys furiously and just seconds later, Adrian felt his phone vibrate in his pocket to alert him that he had an email. Phone calls he could do.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Sitting in a car with DI Walsh for almost four hours was going to be a challenge. Imogen was pleased at least that she was the one doing the driving, definitely preferable to being the passenger. She always found it hard to stay awake in the passenger side on journeys over an hour; she didn’t much like reading in cars, either.
Beside her, DI Walsh was going through some information that Gary had given him, doing what they all did, looking for things they missed before. Sometimes you could look at something for the fiftieth time and suddenly it would make sense of something else. They only ever had fragments until they put the whole picture together.
She couldn’t help thinking she should be back at the station with Adrian.
‘I feel like there is some kind of problem with us, Grey,’ Walsh said unexpectedly.
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Just a feeling I get.’
‘I don’t have a problem with you,’ Imogen said.
‘But?’
Imogen exhaled. He had brought it up, it was only fair that she tell him what was bothering her.
‘I just don’t know you. It’s not like we chat about things. Knowing that you are close to the DCI also makes me wonder if I am constantly being evaluated, I guess. Plus, I don’t like the way you speak about DS Miles sometimes. I think you have him all wrong.’
‘But there is no problem between us …’ He smiled and raised his eyebrow.
‘Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to. I am not the girl who is going to lie to make you feel better.’
‘Technically, I didn’t ask a question.’
‘The question was implied, or why mention it at all?’
‘OK, then what do you want to know about me? You say we don’t chat at all, but I am not one for small talk, Grey. As for DS Miles, I don’t have a bad opinion of him, I just think he behaves unprofessionally sometimes.’
‘You never put a foot wrong?’
‘I didn’t say that.’
‘Let’s start with an easy one, then,’ Imogen said.
‘Excuse me?’
‘An easy question. You said I could ask you. Are you married?’
‘No.’
‘Have you ever been married?’
‘I have.’
‘So, you live alone now?’
‘Totally and utterly, not even a goldfish for company.’
‘How old are you?’
‘I am forty-six years old. Before you say it, I know I look older. I went grey before I hit thirty.’
‘OK. Why did you transfer down?’
‘Mira called and said she had an opening and was looking for a DI she could trust. I have no ties and so it was easy enough to pick up and move to Exeter.’
‘No other reason?’
‘There are always other reasons. You transferred as well, you know how it is.’
‘What’s your opinion of me? Professionally speaking,’ Imogen asked.
‘I think you are holding yourself back and I don’t know why. I suspect it has something to do with DS Miles, again. I think you two are too close. And I think your loyalty to him is both admirable and also professional suicide.’
‘Thank you for being so blunt. My reasons for not wanting to put myself forward are more to do with the fact that I don’t feel ready yet. I was never in this to become chief of police. Advancement is not something I crave. I like the role I am in. Do I seem like someone who would let another person hold me back?’
‘I guess not and for what it’s worth, I am not spying on you for the DCI,’ Walsh said.
It was the first time she remembered him actually referring to their boss by rank and not her first name. Maybe he finally understood why there felt like a division between him and the rest of the team.
‘What’s your favourite band, then? What music do you like?’ Imogen continued.
‘Anything but jazz.’
‘Amen to that.’
They talked about music for a while and Imogen felt the invisible barrier between them dissolve a little. They didn’t have a great deal in common, but he was a serious man and she realised he just didn’t speak when he didn’t need to. Maybe she had had a problem with him, after all.
She noticed how he had braced himself before she started asking questions. She wondered what question he was most worried about. Everyone has one, that one question you can’t lie or laugh your way out of, the one that exposes you for who you are. Her worries about Matt Walsh faded as they got closer to Shropshire. Maybe he wasn’t so bad, after all.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Adrian dialled Clive Osborne’s mother in Spain. She answered almost immediately. He heard her take a long drag on a cigarette and exhale while she waited for him to introduce himself.
‘Mrs Osborne, I am calling from Exeter police in the Devon constabulary to speak to you about your son, Clive?’
‘It’s Mrs Ortega now. Is Clive in trouble?’
‘Nothing like that, Ma’am. We just wondered when the last time you heard from him was?’
‘Did you say Exeter? Why is Exeter police interested in what Clive is up to?’
‘He is a possible witness to a crime. We just want to speak to him about it. Can you tell me the last time you heard from him?’
‘Why, yes, it was about two weeks ago.’
‘You heard from him two weeks ago? Where is he?’
‘Once a month he sends me some cash to keep me in ciggies, bless him. Lovely boy, my Clive.’
‘So, you haven’t actually spoken to him or seen him recently, then?’
‘Like I said, he sends me money and Christmas cards and all that. He don’t like flying, which is why he’s never been out here. I haven’t seen him in around ten years. He fell out with me when I decided to move to Spain with Xavi, my new husband. They don’t get on. Xavi’s a bit younger than Clive and he didn’t approve. I understand, I suppose; it must have been strange for him.’
‘Right, OK. Do you know a man called Reece Corrigan?’
‘Yes, Reece, course I do. He’s a very good friend to my Clive; sorted him out with a new job and everything after they left for Devon. He even set me up with a builder over here when we needed some work done on our place. Is this about Reece? Is that why you’re calling me from Exeter?’
‘No, we are purely trying to locate Clive. Do you have an address for him?’
‘Sorry, no, I don’t.’
‘How much does he send you every month?’
‘Three hundred euros.’
‘How does he send that?’
‘He sends me a card with the cash in it.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Ortega, you’ve been very helpful.’
Adrian rung off, even more certain at this point that Clive Osborne was dead. Yet again, there was no evidence. Maybe they would find something at the house in Oswestry.
Chapter Sixty-Four
The house in Oswestry was worth considerably less than the one in Exeter. It was a good size, but not quite as striking as the dream house Reece had bought with Angela Corrigan. The door of the modest 1940s semi-detached opened and a young man answered. He couldn’t have been much older than twenty.
‘I’m DS Grey and this is DI Walsh,’ Imogen said, holding up her warrant card.
‘You’r
e here for the search? My dad has just gone down into the cellar with one of the police officers. Do you want me to get him for you?’
‘Thanks, if you can just show us the way,’ DI Walsh said.
‘Sure, just follow me.’
They walked past a police officer doing a deep scan of the walls using a hand-held Doppler radar device. Reece Corrigan had the means to make a body disappear with relative ease. The chances of him leaving the body in the house he used to live in were slim; however, it was one of those things they couldn’t ignore. The timing of him leaving the town and moving to Devon was suspicious, as though maybe time had run out for him there. Knowing what had happened to Simon Glover, they couldn’t take a chance on this. No stone would remain unturned.
They followed the young man into the cellar, where his father stood looking over the room with concern.
‘Hello, Mr Parkin. Thank you for letting us conduct this search. I am DI Walsh and this is DS Grey,’ Walsh said.
‘Anything I can do to help. My wife is on the force and so we are more than happy to assist.’
A man approached them.
‘I am DS Ali Hasan. Welcome to our corner of the world. We’ve been going at this for a couple of hours but so far nothing. If the radar doesn’t find anything then as a last effort, we will bring in the cadaver dogs. Sometimes they find things the radars don’t and vice versa.’
‘Thank you for having us,’ Imogen said before turning to Mr Parkin. ‘Is your wife here?’
‘No, she stayed in New York. We were visiting her sister over there and I didn’t think it was fair to ask her to come back when all you needed me to do was let you in. My son came back with me as well, to give his mother some alone time. She’s had this holiday planned for months and you know what a pain it is switching holiday when you’re in the police.’
‘We really appreciate this. Did you ever meet Mr Corrigan, before you bought the house off of him?’ Walsh asked.
‘I did meet him once, yes. I can’t say I liked him much.’
‘Did you meet his wife?’ Imogen asked.
‘No, I’m sorry. He showed me around the place and it was everything we were looking for. We snapped it up because of the lower asking price. My wife fell in love with the garden particularly.’
‘Did you question why they were so desperate to move out quickly?’ Imogen said.
‘It was worth more than we paid for it. He wanted a quick sale. We even knocked him down a little and he still went for it. I’m afraid we didn’t much care why he was doing it. He didn’t even seem remotely fazed. My wife wanted to push it down even more, but I thought we had tried our luck enough. We paid about thirty grand under market price and ten years ago, that was a significant markdown.’
‘Do you know if Mr Corrigan had had any work done on the place before he left?’ Imogen asked.
‘Well, this cellar hadn’t long been done. Do you really think that there’s a body here?’
Imogen shot DS Ali Hasan a look.
‘We don’t know. All we can do at this point is look. Your cooperation is definitely going to speed up the process,’ Walsh said, trying to comfort the man.
‘Will you have to dig up the foundations?’ Mr Parkin said.
‘Depends on the foundations. They start with ground-penetrating radar and then go from there. As long as it’s thin enough, the radar can usually get a pretty good read on what’s underneath. If there is any digging or drilling, you will be asked first and you will be compensated for any damage to the property. Apart from the cellar, is there anywhere else that you can think of?’ Walsh said.
‘No, I mean there is a sizeable garden out back, but it’s very well established. The garage we had converted doubled the size of the kitchen. The builders had to reinforce the foundations; they would have found something then if there was anything there, I think. Whatever you need to do, you just go ahead. I would rather we knew for sure.’
Imogen nodded to Walsh to one side, indicating she wanted to speak to him away from prying ears.
‘What do you think?’ Imogen said.
‘Sounds like Corrigan wanted to get out of here fast,’ Walsh said.
‘My thoughts exactly. Let’s hope the radar gives us something we can nail this piece of shit on,’ Imogen said.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Adrian pulled up outside Cameron Becker’s property, the director of Hatfield Homes, at DCI Kapoor’s request. An old rectory house on the outskirts of St Leonards in Exeter. It felt strange to be conducting an interview without Imogen and even stranger to be alone.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door, ignoring the anxiety that made him want to turn around and drive away. If he couldn’t do something like this then what use was he?
The door opened a crack, the chain on. A man looked through the gap and Adrian pulled out his warrant card to show him. The door closed and Adrian heard the man remove the chain before opening it again.
‘I’m DS Miles. I’m looking for Cameron Becker.’
‘I’m Cameron Becker. How can I help you?’ the man said.
‘I need to speak to you about any dealings you may have had with Corrigan Construction, namely with Reece Corrigan,’ Adrian said.
‘I’m afraid I don’t know the man,’ Becker said, clearly lying.
Adrian wasn’t sure if he was projecting, but he could have sworn the man tensed as soon as he said Corrigan’s name.
‘We are currently investigating his business. I don’t suppose you know anything about bid rigging?’
‘I don’t,’ Becker said, clutching the door, seemingly desperate to close it.
‘We’ve heard some rumours about Mr Corrigan, about people around him getting hurt. Do you know anything about that?’ Adrian continued.
Cameron Becker peered up and down the road before leaning towards Adrian with a look of what can only be described as terror on his face.
A horrible idea formed in Adrian’s mind. What if what happened in the back of that van wasn’t the first time something like that had happened at the behest of Reece Corrigan? As if answering his own question, he remembered the look on Leon Quick’s face as he took his own life. He dismissed the memory. He couldn’t deal with this right now.
‘Please, I can’t tell you anything. You need to leave me alone,’ Becker pleaded.
‘Did he do something to you?’ Adrian asked.
He could feel his brow furrowing as he said it. It seemed like a massive leap to assume that this man had been sexually assaulted, but somehow Adrian knew that’s what had happened to this man. He could see it in his eyes.
‘No. Just leave me alone. I don’t know anything.’
Adrian took his card out and handed it to the man.
‘If you think of anything, or if you want to talk, then call me. We can talk off the record if need be,’ Adrian said, half trying to convey his understanding of the situation while still trying to remain professional.
He walked away from the house as Becker closed the door. His mind was on fire. He already knew Corrigan wasn’t afraid of staging accidents against people he worked with. Was sexual assault part of his remit, as well? Was he using extreme sexual violence to gain power over people who got in his way? Even if Adrian’s attack was connected to Corrigan, he had no idea if Corrigan had actually instructed the men to rape him. Maybe that was something the man in the van decided to do on his own.
This investigation wasn’t even supposed to be about what happened to him and yet Adrian couldn’t get away from it. He would have to face it at some point. He would want the answers one day, he knew that much. He just didn’t know if he was strong enough to get those answers just yet.
His chest was heaving when he got back to the car. There was no hiding from this, was there? First, he had to concentrate on helping Angela out of her situation and then maybe he could think about himself. Everything was too much to think about at the moment. Concentrate on one thing at a time. He pulled away from the house, wondering
how many other men Corrigan might have done this to.
Chapter Sixty-Six
At the property in Oswestry several hours later, they had drilled a number of test holes in the garden and examined the dirt, soil and dust, with no trace of human remains. It had been a long shot, anyway. They couldn’t go around digging up every place the Corrigans had lived or worked. The fact is, Reece Corrigan had ample opportunity and more than enough means to dispose of anyone he wanted. His company had been involved in so many construction jobs over the years that they could have hidden a body on any one of them. The chances were that they would never find Clive Osborne’s remains. But it had been worth a shot. At least they’d tried.
Back at the car they waited for the Parkins to close the door before pulling away. Imogen looked at the clock: it was after ten. Walsh was driving this time. It was only fair and he insisted. Even though she preferred to drive, it was possible he preferred it, too. At least this way she might be able to get some sleep.
‘What now, then?’ Imogen said, trying to cram the work talk in before she nodded off.
‘We’ll have to put some more pressure on Jimmy Chilton, see if he can be a bit more forthcoming with the information.’
‘Do you think that will work?’
‘We already know that he never worked alongside Osborne and so I don’t see how he can help us with that. He might have more information on Glover, though.’
‘He definitely knows more than he is letting on. It always amazes me how many people are complicit in domestic abuse.’
‘It’s hard to get involved, I guess. You don’t want to make things worse. It’s one thing to suspect something and another entirely to out and out accuse someone.’
‘Is that what it is?’ Imogen asked. ‘Or are people just more worried about looking after their own shit?’
‘I suspect there is some of that, too.’
‘It’s so frustrating.’
‘So, now I guess it’s my turn to ask you a question.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You asked me some questions before and now I want to ask you something.’
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