Cruel Tide

by Ruth Sutton

  ‘But,’ he began.

  She held up her hand. ‘No buts, constable. That’s enough for now. She’s in no fit state. Now off you go and we’ll tell you when she’s ready. Shoo.’

  ‘It’s Nurse Froggatt,’ she said, turning back to Judith. ‘I’m going to bring you some tea, and something to eat. The doctor will be round soon. Just rest. No one’s going to bother you.’

  Judith lay back and turned her head to one side. Behind her eyes she could see Anthony’s body rolling, twisting, disappearing into the fog.

  ‘No serious damage, Miss Pharaoh,’ said the doctor a while later. ‘You were very cold, good thing someone found you when they did. Bruises, and you’ve twisted your knee, but that’s about all. Have they asked you who we should call, family, and so forth.’

  Judith shook her head. ‘My dad,’ she said. ‘John Pharaoh, at Sellafield. What time is it?’

  He looked at his watch. ‘Just gone eleven,’ he said.

  ‘In the morning?’

  ‘Yes,’ he smiled. ‘In the morning. Looks as if you’d been out there all night.’

  ‘Have they found Anthony?’ she asked.

  He frowned. ‘Just you, as far as I know. Was someone with you?’

  ‘Anthony, but he was hurt. I couldn’t hold on to him.’

  ‘We’ll let the police deal with that, shall we?’ he said. ‘My job is to get you back to yourself again, and we’re halfway there. A few more hours and you’ll be much better. Need to sleep, though. I’ll ask Nurse Froggatt to give you something. See you later.’

  A few minutes later the nurse returned with a pill and a cup of water. Judith did as she was told, and drifted away into dreamless darkness.

  The next thing she saw was her father’s face.

  ‘She’s awake,’ he said. ‘Judith, it’s me, Dad. They called me at work and I came straight down.’ She felt his warm hand on her cheek and looked into his face and his brimming eyes.

  ‘I’m all right Dad,’ she said. ‘I’m still here.’

  He sobbed. ‘They say you could have died, pet. From the cold. Out there all night. What happened to you?’

  Judith didn’t know what to say. ‘I saw a man I know get taken away. They hurt him and dumped him out on the sand, so I went to find him.’

  John shook his head. ‘Have you told the police?’

  ‘Not yet. Is Sam still here?’

  ‘There’s a young man outside. Is that him? He looked very upset.’

  ‘Can you ask him to come in, Dad? I need to talk to him.’

  John didn’t move. ‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘You’re not fit to answer questions.’

  ‘How long will I be here?’ she asked. ‘I’m not badly hurt, the doctor said.’

  ‘You need to rest,’ said her father. ‘As soon as you can leave here, I’m taking you home. I’ll get you some clothes.’

  Judith said nothing, holding her father’s hand as he blinked back his tears.

  ❖ ❖ ❖

  Three hours later, Judith was sitting by the side of her bed, wearing clothes that her father had brought from the flat. The curtains had been pulled back and she watched the nurses come and go. Women in other beds looked across and smiled at her. The door at the far end of the ward opened and Sam walked towards her. He was smiling, too.

  ‘Good to see you looking more yourself,’ he said, as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed. ‘Doc says I can ask you the questions we need to have some answers to, before your dad takes you away to St Bees. Elspeth wanted you to stay with us, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Has anyone from your work been?’

  ‘Don’t know,’ said Judith. ‘They made me sleep for a while. Then Dad came, and now you. Nurse Froggatt’s pretty fierce, she might have sent them away.’

  ‘Quite right, too,’ he said. ‘This is a police investigation, and the press will have to wait.’

  ‘Have you found Anthony?’ she asked again, although she knew that he was dead.

  He shook his head. ‘Tide’s come and gone, and there was no sign of anyone where you were found. It was a high tide last night, could have taken him anywhere.’

  She rested her head on the high chair and turned away.

  He lowered his voice. ‘Tell me what happened, Judith, right from the time I left you at the corner last night.’

  She told him, every detail she could remember, and the tears came again. He looked around, fearful that Nurse Froggatt would intervene, but the ward was quiet and she was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘He told you that the two men who went to your flat were in a Landrover?’

  ‘He said “they’re here” when the Landrover went past the end of the alley.’

  ‘And when you found him, there was a knife in his chest? What kind of a knife, can you remember that?’

  She shook her head. ‘I wanted to pull it out, but he stopped me.’

  Sam nodded. ‘Why did you stay with him so long? You could have drowned.’

  ‘I thought I might be able to save him, if the water took his weight and I could get us both towards the shore. I didn’t want him to die like Stevie.’ She felt the tears in her eyes again.

  ‘What else did he tell you?’

  She dredged her memory. ‘He said he’d threatened Harries, and found his body, but he didn’t kill him.’ She hesitated, thinking. ‘He sent the tape to the paper ’cos he couldn’t write, and something about the brothers at Bindoon not caring about them. I didn’t understand that.’

  ‘Maybe something to do with Australia. That was all?’

  She nodded. ‘He told me to go, said he was done. I don’t remember much after that.’

  ‘So we’re left with these two men,’ said Sam. ‘Can you remember anything about them, anything at all?’

  ‘It was dark, and it was all over so quickly. When I saw them, they were holding Anthony between them, then they pushed him in the back of the Landrover.’

  ‘Tall, short?’

  ‘Hard to tell. They looked taller than Anthony, but he was hanging down, feet dragging on the floor.’

  ‘And the Landrover?’

  ‘I think it was red,’ she said. ‘Dark red, but the lights were orange and it was foggy.’

  ‘Number plate?’

  ‘Not all of it.’ She closed her eyes, trying to see it. ‘I think the first letter was A, and the numbers, I don’t know. Maybe 26 or 28? It was so dark. It had only one light at the back. They drove away in it. It must be somewhere.’

  ‘Did they know you were following them?’

  Judith shrugged. ‘I tried to hide, but they could have spotted me. If they know where I live, they probably know about the scooter.’

  Sam looked at her. ‘You can’t stay in Barrow,’ he said. ‘Go back to St Bees with your dad and we’ll tell the police up there to keep an eye on you.’

  ‘Where is my dad?’

  ‘The nurse said he’s gone to get some more things for you, and he’ll be back. Stay home a while, let things cool down. Give me the telephone number and I’ll let you know what’s going on.’

  As she spoke, he wrote the number down and put his notebook away. He looked at her again. ‘Thank God you’re still here. We could have lost you.’

  ‘But you didn’t,’ she said. ‘So cheer up.’

  ❖ ❖ ❖

  It was dark when John’s car pulled away from the hospital. Judith sat beside him with a rug over her knees.

  ‘I look like the Queen Mum with this on,’ she said.

  He laughed. ‘Can’t imagine anyone less like the Queen Mum than you,’ he said.

  ‘What’s that suitcase on the back seat?’ she asked.

  ‘I took your keys, but when I went to the flat, I couldn’t find clothes that looked clean, so I just went out and bought a few things. Hope I got the sizes right. Mum will take you shopping when you’re ready. She’ll love that.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, dreading the prospect of a shopping trip to Whitehaven with Maggie, and probably Granny Violet in tow as
well. ‘Has anyone told work where I am?’

  ‘That young detective said he was going to see them,’ said John. ‘Apparently Mrs Thornhill offered to have you to stay again, but he told them you were coming back with me.’ He hesitated. ‘Your mother wasn’t too happy about you staying with them last time.’

  ‘That was different,’ said Judith. ‘I had to work, but now I can take some time off.’ She glanced at her father. ‘Not long though, Dad. You’ll tell Mum that won’t you? Don’t let her think I’m coming back for good.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ he said.

  The homecoming was much as Judith had expected, and she did her best to sound pleased to be there. ‘Bit drastic wasn’t it?’ said Vince. ‘I knew you really wanted to come home, Jude, but you didn’t have to get half drowned before we’d let you in.’

  She smiled, and punched his arm. ‘Right,’ she said.

  ‘Granny Violet wanted to come over, but I told her to wait until you were better,’ said Maggie when she brought Judith tea and sandwiches on a tray. ‘We’ll have a proper dinner later, this is just to put you on. Your room is aired and ready, whenever you want to go and rest. Do you want to put your feet up?’

  ‘I’m all right Mum, really. My knee hurts a bit, but that’s all, honestly.’

  The next day Judith woke with a start. It was light and for a moment she couldn’t remember where she was. In the flat the window was to her right, but now everything was the wrong way round. She heard the phone, but where was it? She lay back, trying to remember. The bedroom door was pushed open and Vince put his head round.

  ‘Jude? Are you awake? Do you want to speak to your boss?’

  ‘Vince,’ Maggie called up to him. ‘Leave Judith alone. Who’s on the phone?’

  ‘As you were,’ said Vince. ‘She who must be obeyed is calling.’

  Judith heard him tread slowly down the stairs. He’d left the door open and she could hear her mother’s raised voice.

  Several minutes later Maggie came into Judith’s room carrying a cup of tea. ‘That’s told him,’ she said, putting down the tea and perching on the bed. ‘Mr Thornhill. Can he help at all, indeed? Thanks, but no thanks. And what kind of job puts a young woman in such danger, I’d like to know.’

  Judith groaned. ‘He didn’t send me out there, Mum.’

  ‘Well who did?’ said Maggie. ‘What on earth possessed you?’

  ‘Not now, Mum, please,’ said Judith. ‘Don’t ask me any more questions.’

  ❖ ❖ ❖

  Sam had questions. They’d been piling up in his mind, and one of them he’d asked before leaving the hospital. ‘Doctor Hayward was discharged three days ago,’ was the answer. ‘He’s quite unwell, but it was felt he would be more comfortable at home.’ Sam had checked his watch, found Hayward’s home number, and called it from the hospital payphone.

  ‘This is the second call we’ve had about my husband in the past twenty-four hours,’ said Mrs Hayward. ‘I shall tell you what I told the other one. My husband is ill and tired and does not wish to speak to anyone, least of all the police. I’d be grateful if you could respect that and leave us alone.’

  ‘Who was the other person who called?’ asked Sam.

  ‘Inspector Morrison, of course,’ said Mrs Hayward. ‘He’s pestered my husband for far too long, and you can tell him from me that he’s not welcome here. Goodbye, constable.’

  Back at the CID room the following morning, Sam called to the WPC who was in the outer office doing some filing. She came through, notepad in hand.

  ‘Can you get on to Records for me, Kath? I’ve got a possible number plate. Not much, but’s it’s a red Landrover and there can’t be too many of those.’ He handed over a piece of paper. ‘And can you ask them for anything they’ve got on two villains using a Landrover. Probably have some previous, assault, GBH and local enough to know about the sands, tides, that kind of stuff. Doesn’t ring any bells with me, but I’m new here.’

  ‘What about Sergeant Morrison?’ said Kath Tunnycliffe. ‘He’s been around forever, knows all the locals. He came in a while back. Told me to get his desk cleared up. That’s a joke.’

  ‘You get going with Records, I’ll plough through the stuff on his desk again,’ said Sam. ‘Maybe he has a system that works like carbon dating, with the really old valuable stuff at the bottom.’

  ‘Good luck with that,’ said WPC Tunnycliffe. ‘I suppose you’ll want some tea.’

  ‘I’ll get it,’ said Sam. Tunnycliffe must be about the same age as Judith, he thought, and people treat her like a skivvy. If that happens at Judith’s office, no wonder she gets so grumpy.

  He looked down at Morrison’s desk, put one hand under the pile of papers, lifted them up and turned the whole lot over, so that the deepest layer was on top. He turned over some of the items. Most of it was inconsequential and out-dated, but his eye was caught by a name at the bottom of a note. Need to talk to you. Call me at home. Hayward.

  Sam checked the date. It was three days after Stevie’s body was found on the sands. He replaced the pile of material as he had found it and went to fill the kettle.

  ‘Where’s Grayson?’ he asked WPC Tunnycliffe. ‘I need to check some thing with him.’

  ’He’s off today. You might get him at home.’

  Sam went back in the office and picked up the phone.

  ‘Harry?’ he said, when Grayson eventually answered the phone. ‘Got some more information about the suicide at Attercliff. Took a statement today from someone who heard Anthony Lennon admit that he’d threatened Harries, and found his body in the woods, but says he didn’t kill him.’

  ‘Well, that deals with the question of the cigarettes. Lennon must have smoked a couple there while he watched Harries’s body swinging in the wind. Nice. Who’s the witness?’

  ‘Judith Pharaoh,’ said Sam. He knew what reaction there’d be.

  ‘That nosey bitch,’ said Harry. ‘How did she find Lennon before we did? And where is she now?’

  Sam told him as little of the story as he needed to know.

  ‘Is she all right?’ asked Harry, more gently.

  ‘Shocked, mild hypothermia apparently, but she’s recovered from that now. Seems all right to me. She’s gone back home with her dad, but I’ll go up there and take a statement. She was so done in she couldn’t think straight at the hospital.’

  ‘We assume Lennon’s dead, do we?’

  ‘Looks like it,’ said Sam. ‘No report of a body, but in the bay it could take a while to turn up.’

  ‘And what about the pair in the Landrover?’

  ‘No sign of them either,’ said Sam. ‘We’re still looking.’

  ‘Let me know if you need me,’ said Harry and rang off.

  WPC Tunnycliffe put her head round the door. ‘I’ve been on to Records,’ she said. ‘No joy with the number plate so far, but there’s new information. Lancashire police in Hest Bank have been on. A red Landrover was found out there a couple of hours ago. Looks like someone tried to torch it.’

  ‘Good,’ said Sam. ‘Something happening, at last. Have you got a contact, and the location?’

  She waved a piece of paper at him. ‘All here,’ she said. ‘And I’ve got you a car for tomorrow.’

  ‘Is there a registration plate on the Landrover?’

  ‘I asked but they said it was missing. Do you want me to carry on with what we’ve got?’

  Sam agreed, but he feared it would be like a needle in a haystack.

  ❖ ❖ ❖

  It was just after eight on Friday morning when Sam walked into the car pool yard to pick up the keys.

  ‘What time d’you call this, constable?’ said Sergeant Morrison. ‘I’ve been waiting here ten minutes. You driving?’

  They were well on the way to Ulverston before Sam said, ‘Thought this was my case, sarge.’

  Morrison drew on his cigarette. ‘It was lad, for too long. Not enough happening and I’ve been asked the question. Now some nosey bitch has got herself invol
ved and we’re waiting for the big front pager from the News asking what the police are doing, blah, blah. So the DI leans on me and I lean on you. That’s the way it works.’

  Sam didn’t respond.

  ‘What the fuck was she doing out there anyway?’ Morrison went on. ‘From what I gather Lennon was over from Australia on false papers and got himself in bother with some of the locals. Dumping him in the bay was a bit stupid. Could have bumped him off quietly anywhere if they’d wanted to. That’s assuming it’s the same Landrover.’

  ‘Didn’t know you were taking such an interest, sarge.’

  ‘No thanks to you, lad. Good job I keep my ear close to the ground.’

  ‘Where did you hear about the Landrover?’

  ‘From the press, God help us. Thornhill told me, last night.’

  And who told him, Sam wondered.

  ‘So here I am, Nelly, and we’ll have a proper look at this Landrover, or what’s left of it. They’re taking it to the compound at Lancaster nick. Know where that is?

  ‘I was in the Lancashire force for three years, sarge,’ said Sam. ‘I think I know where I’m going.’

  ‘Touchy, constable. You still look about nineteen to me.’

  They found the Landrover standing forlorn in the corner of the police compound covered with a tarpaulin.

  ‘Bit late for worrying about the rain, isn’t it?’ said Morrison. ‘Looks as if the water’s probably washed away most of what we’re looking for. Any prints?’

  ‘Some,’ said the Forensics man. ‘Not too good, but worth checking. Everything was pretty sodden by the time we got it out. And they’d try to torch it but the tide must have caught them out. Registration plates gone.’

  ‘Any sign of where they went?’

  ‘Nothing. Too wet, and the tide washed out any bootprints too. It’s not far to the road from where it was dumped. They could have walked, or got a lift.’

  ‘What about blood?’ asked Sam, remembering what Judith had said about the knife.

  ‘Some stains in the back, we’re checking those now. Do we know the blood type of the bloke they snatched?’