Gareth Dawson Series Box Set

by Nathan Burrows

  “Gareth,” Annette’s tinny voice came down the line. “Can you come round?”

  “Now?” Gareth looked at Laura. Her eyebrows went up a notch in a silent question. “What’s going on?”

  He listened for a moment, staring at Laura as he did so. The second he disconnected the call, she leaned toward him urgently.

  “What is it? Is there news?”

  “I need to go round to Annette’s, Laura,” he replied. “The police are on their way. They’ve found something.”

  “What?”

  “They wouldn’t tell her over the phone.”

  “Do you want me to come too?”

  “Do you not have to be back at work?”

  “Not really, no,” Laura said, finishing her drink. “Paul’s at the hospital for some sort of test. So I can come if you want me to?”

  “I’d love you to come with me, Laura. Would you mind?”

  8

  Annette muttered to herself as she pushed the hoover around her lounge. The carpet didn’t need hoovering, but she needed to do something to take her mind off the fact that the police would be here soon. She just hoped that Gareth got there before they did—if it was bad news that they were bringing, then she didn’t want to be on her own when she got it.

  After she put the hoover back into the cupboard underneath the stairs, Annette grabbed a duster and polish and set about polishing the surfaces in the lounge. As she did so, she picked up a photograph of Philip that had sat on top of the bookcase since the day he had moved in. The photograph had been taken before she had met him, and Annette didn’t even know where it had been taken, or by whom. It wasn’t anywhere in this country—the palm trees in the background and white sand he was standing on proved that—and he was looking relaxed in the sunshine. It was typical of the man, Annette thought, that he wouldn’t even put any photographs of them together up in the house, preferring instead to have one of just him, doing what he loved.

  Annette jumped at the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside the house. She darted to the lounge window and peered through the net curtains. Thank God, it was Gareth. He climbed out of his truck and was followed—to Annette’s surprise—by a young woman. Despite the situation she was in herself, Annette hoped for a few seconds that perhaps her older brother had found someone new. She had never even met his wife, Jennifer, or attended his trial. Philip would have none of it. I don’t care if he is family, he had said at the time. He’s made his bed, now he’s got to lie in it. By the time Annette eventually came back to England, Gareth was a free man already.

  She put the duster away and hurried to the door to let Gareth and his companion in.

  “Gareth,” Annette said as she opened the front door. “Thank you so much for coming.”

  “Hey, little sis,” Gareth replied, pulling her into a hug. Annette looked over his broad shoulder at the woman with him. She was very pretty, and dressed in a business suit like she had just stepped out of a boardroom meeting. “Let me introduce Laura,” he said as he disentangled his arms from hers. “Laura, this is my little sister, Annette.”

  “Hi, Laura,” Annette said, making an effort to smile at the woman. They shook hands formally, which Annette thought was a bit strange.

  “Hello, Annette,” Laura said. “I’m really pleased to meet you. Gareth’s told me a lot about you.”

  “All good, I hope?” Annette replied, keeping the smile forced onto her face as she slapped Gareth’s arm. She would have preferred it if he had come on his own.

  “Yes, Annette,” Gareth said, winking at her as he replied. “All good.”

  A few moments later, Annette was alone with Gareth in the kitchen, waiting for the kettle to boil. Laura was sitting in the lounge, busy on her phone. Or at least pretending to be. With the noise of the kettle covering her voice, Annette whispered to Gareth.

  “She seems nice,” she said, nodding through the door between the kitchen and the lounge toward Laura. “Are you…?”

  “No, Annette,” Gareth replied with a frown. Annette thought she probably wasn’t the first person to assume that the two of them were an item. “We’re just friends. Laura’s a lawyer. It was her firm that got me out of prison.”

  “Seriously?” Annette said, reappraising the young woman in the other room. “She doesn’t look old enough.”

  “She’s about the same age as you.”

  “She looks younger.”

  The kettle boiled for a few seconds before cutting off. Annette filled a mug, her hand shaking as she did so. Some water spilled onto the granite worktop, and she swore under her breath.

  “Here,” Gareth said, taking the kettle from her. “Let me do it.” He filled up another two mugs and wiped away the spilt water with a tea towel. “What did they say on the phone?”

  “Just that there’s been a development and that they need to speak to me.”

  “Do you know what time they’ll be here”

  Annette glanced at the clock built into the cooker. “He said they would be here about three, so any time soon.”

  Gareth put Laura’s mug of tea down on a small coffee table and sat next to her while Annette paced up and down the lounge.

  “Annette, calm down would you?” Gareth said with a hint of irritation in his voice. “Just sit down and drink your bloody tea.”

  “I can’t, Gareth,” Annette hissed back through clenched teeth. She continued to pace, her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach.

  “This is a lovely house, Annette,” Laura said a moment later. “Have you lived here long?”

  Annette turned to Laura and looked at her, wondering if she was being patronising. When she saw the concerned look on the other woman’s face, she realised that she wasn’t. She was just trying to take Annette’s mind off things.

  “Um, about a year. Me and Philip came back from Australia, and we only needed somewhere small. It was a right wreck when we moved in.” She watched as Laura looked around the lounge.

  “Well, you’ve done a fantastic job with it,” she said appreciatively.

  “Thank you,” Annette replied, managing a brief smile. She crossed to an armchair and perched on the edge of it. “Gareth says you’re a lawyer?”

  “I am,” Laura said, sipping her tea. “I work in a small firm in the city. That’s how Gareth and I met.” Annette saw Gareth flash Laura a quick frown. “I mean, that’s how we know each other,” she added quickly.

  They sat in silence for a few moments. Annette was just debating whether or not to ask Gareth and Laura if they wanted another cup of tea when she heard another vehicle pulling up outside. Her heart started thumping in her chest as she heard the front gate open and close again.

  Annette stared at the photo of Philip on the bookshelf. The one of him standing on a foreign beach in full scuba diving gear, his hair still wet from a dive. A moment later, the doorbell rang, followed by a sharp rap of knuckles on the door. It was a classic policeman’s knock.

  “I’ll get that, will I?” Gareth said, rising to his feet.

  Annette took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

  “Yes, please,” she whispered.

  9

  Malcolm drew himself up to his full height as he saw a shadow approaching the door through the frosted glass window. A few feet behind him was Kate, and he knew without looking that she would be standing with her head slightly down and her hands clasped behind her back. Just like they were taught to do in police college when they had to deliver terrible news. He had thought about getting her to tell Mrs McGuire about the discovery, but thought better of it.

  The door opened, and a familiar face looked out. It certainly wasn’t the one he had been expecting to see.

  “Gareth?” Malcolm said, caught off guard. “Gareth Dawson?”

  “Hello, Malcolm,” Gareth replied, extending his hand for the policeman to shake. “Good to see you again, mate.”

  “Er, likewise, but what–”

  “Annette’s my little sister,” Gareth said, his face
crinkling into an affable smile before it faded quickly.

  “Oh, right,” Malcolm replied. “I didn’t know.”

  “Some copper you are,” Gareth said, his smile returning for a few seconds.

  “This is DC Hunter.” Malcolm nodded over his shoulder. “Kate.”

  “Hello, Kate. Come on in, anyway.” Gareth stepped back to allow Malcolm and Kate to enter the house. “Annette’s in the lounge with Laura. You remember her, do you?”

  “Yes, of course I do,” Malcolm replied. He frowned and stopped for a second before lowering his voice.

  “Gareth, it’s great to see you, but why is Laura here? She’s a lawyer. Why would Annette need a lawyer?”

  “She’s not here in a professional capacity, Malcolm,” Gareth replied. “When she heard that you lot were coming round, Annette asked me to be here. Laura was with me when she called, so I asked her to come as well.” Malcolm thought for a few seconds about the implications of a lawyer being present, but dismissed them almost as quickly.

  “So she’s here as a friend?”

  “Yes.”

  A few moments later, Malcolm and Kate were sitting in the lounge, waiting for Annette and Gareth to make more mugs of tea. Malcolm didn’t really want one, but it would give Annette time and something to focus on before they got down to business. Laura was in the bathroom, so for the time being it was just Malcolm and Kate in the lounge.

  “How do you know him, then?” Kate asked in a low voice, nodding at Gareth who was in the kitchen, his back to them.

  “He’s got a bit of history. Ex-petty thief. Spent some time locked up for murder before being released on appeal.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep, last year. He’s kept his nose clean since though, or at least as far as I know he has. We’ve even used him a couple of times as a security consultant for burglaries. Nothing like a poacher turned gamekeeper.” Malcolm stopped talking as Gareth and Annette returned to the lounge and sat down.

  He watched out of the corner of his eye as Kate appraised Laura, just as any good copper does when they meet someone for the first time. He knew that Kate would be running through a set of questions in her head, and that the answers she came up with would dictate how she interacted with Laura. Kate was already, he knew, a very good policewoman, and she could go a long way in the force if she let herself.

  “Thank you, Mrs McGuire,” Malcolm said as a cup of tea was placed next to him. He put his notebook away, having made one or two preliminary notes out of habit.

  “Please, it’s Annette.”

  Malcolm picked up the mug and took a sip. There wasn’t any sugar in it, even though he’d asked for two spoons, but he made an appreciative face anyway. Putting his cup down, he reached into his pocket for his notebook to signify that the pleasantries were over and it was time to get down to business.

  “Annette,” Malcolm said, deliberately lowering his voice and maintaining eye contact with her. What he was about to say would destroy her, if not now, at some point in the future. This moment would be with her for the rest of her life, and Malcolm was determined to get this as right as he could. “Earlier this morning, some human remains were discovered just off the North Norfolk coast, at Cley-next-the-Sea.”

  A loud sob escaped Annette’s lips, and she threw her head into her hands. To Malcolm’s surprise, it wasn’t Gareth who comforted her, but Laura. The lawyer wrapped her arm around Annette’s shoulder and pulled her toward her. He waited for a moment before continuing.

  “Although this is the start of the investigation, we have reason to believe that they belong to your husband, Mr Philip McGuire.”

  “What do you mean, reason to believe?” It was Gareth. “How sure are you?”

  Malcolm took a breath while he considered his response. He couldn’t reveal too much of the detail at this point in time. It would just be too traumatic for Annette to find out that her husband’s hand had been found in a lobster pot, and that a police dive team was up there at the moment looking for the rest of him. In the end, Kate beat him to a reply.

  “We also discovered Philip’s car up there. According to the parking ticket in the window, he bought a day ticket on April the fourth. That was the day he disappeared. It’s a popular spot for scuba divers to get to the Rosalie wreck.”

  Malcolm looked at Kate, who shot him an apologetic look. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly. It had been exactly the right thing to say.

  “So what happens next?” Annette said in a small voice from the sofa. Laura still had her arm wrapped around the woman’s shoulder, and she was looking at Malcolm intently.

  “Well, the, um, the remains have been taken to the Norfolk and Norwich hospital to be examined. We may be able to confirm the identity sooner, but DNA tests will tell us for sure. They’ll take a few days to come back. One of the things we need to do today is to take a sample of Philip’s DNA for comparison. His toothbrush or comb, perhaps?”

  “His toothbrush is in the downstairs bathroom,” Annette replied. “It’s the only one in there. Mine’s upstairs.” Malcolm nodded at Kate, who got to her feet.

  “It’s just by the front door, Kate,” Gareth said. “The bathroom.”

  “Thanks,” Kate replied, flashing a quick smile at him.

  “Can I see him?” Annette asked as Kate made her way across the lounge. Malcolm saw Kate’s step falter at the question, just for a second.

  “Not at this time, Annette,” Malcolm replied, softly. She would learn the truth about the discovery at some point in the future, but not today.

  “Will I be able to see him in the future, then?”

  “I’m not sure, to be honest with you. If he’s been in the water for some time, well…” He let his voice trail away, not sure exactly what to say.

  A few moments later, Kate returned with a brightly coloured toothbrush in an evidence bag.

  “Is it this one?” she asked, holding the bag up for Annette to see. When she nodded in reply, Kate sat down and started filling out the paperwork for the chain of evidence record.

  A few minutes later, Malcolm knew that it was time to leave. Although she was obviously devastated at the news, Annette was with people who could support her. Malcolm made sure that she had his contact details, and reassured her as much as he could that the police would support her in the days and weeks to come.

  Kate had gently probed Annette about whether or not Philip wore a wedding ring. The hand had already been x-rayed at the hospital and, according to the pathologist, it had a ring on the fourth finger. The policewoman managed to ascertain that yes; he wore one, and it had the date of their wedding inscribed on the inside. That Kate got this information without revealing anything about the grim discovery sent her further up in Malcolm’s estimation.

  He got to his feet, accompanied by Kate, and said goodbye to Annette. She barely responded to him, and he made his own way to the front door. Malcolm let Kate go in front of him and had taken a few steps toward the gate when Gareth caught up with him.

  “Malcolm?” He stopped and turned to face the younger man.

  “Gareth? What can I do for you?”

  “Are you sure it’s him?”

  “We’ll need to wait for DNA like I said, but we’re pretty sure. There’s only one missing scuba diver in Norfolk at the moment, so to find the remains of one near a popular dive site, along with his abandoned car, is fairly conclusive in my book.”

  “He was an experienced diver, though.”

  “I don’t know much about diving, to be honest,” Malcolm replied, “but from what I do know it can go wrong very quickly, no matter how experienced you are.”

  “Well, all I can say is thank God for that.”

  “It must be difficult,” Kate said, stepping back to join the conversation. “At least the uncertainty for Annette is over now, though. She can start to grieve and eventually move on.”

  “No,” Gareth replied, a glint in his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant thank God he’s dea
d.”

  “He was your brother-in-law, Gareth,” Malcolm said, not liking the expression on his face.

  “That’s as may be, but he was an utter bastard to my little sister. Did she tell you he beat the crap out of her the night before he disappeared?”

  “No, that wasn’t mentioned in the report,” Malcolm replied, glancing at Kate.

  “I thought that was why he’d vanished,” Gareth said, his face hard and unyielding. “Because he knew I was looking for him to return the favour with interest.”

  10

  Gareth waited in the hallway for a few seconds after Malcolm and the female police officer had left. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been quite as honest with Malcolm about his brother-in-law—Malcolm was a copper, after all—but it was true. He’d never had any time for Philip at the best of times, but when he found out what he’d done to Annette, Gareth had been ready to make him see the error of his ways.

  He thought back to when he had first heard about Philip. Annette had been in Australia for a while when she had hooked up with him after they met on a holiday resort where they were both working. Annette had been a childminder on the resort, and Philip was the instructor at the scuba diving school that the resort ran. The next thing Gareth knew, the two of them were married. At the time, he’d been annoyed that he didn’t even get so much as an invitation to the wedding, but he’d later found out that no-one had. The ceremony had been on a beach, with only a minister and a witness in attendance. Then the whole thing with Jennifer had happened, and Gareth’s attention had been elsewhere.

  Gareth took a deep breath and walked back into the lounge. To his surprise, Laura was sitting alone. He looked at her and she glanced at him with a concerned expression before nodding in the direction of the kitchen. Through the open door, Gareth could see Annette’s back. It looked as if she was washing up the mugs. He stepped into the kitchen and cleared his throat softly, not wanting to make her jump.