Jennings seemed almost relieved by her response. She knew he wasn’t exactly overwhelmed with resources, and at least this way he could defer making a decision. ‘Okay, we’ll keep it under review. But just bear it in mind. For now these remain two separate cases but I want both of you to share information. If anything comes up to confirm a link I’m to be told immediately.’
‘Understood.’ She turned to Dwyer. ‘Can you find out for me if we’ve a name for the person who identified Jonny Garfield? Garfield was one of the few real leads we had. If he’s out of the picture, we’re almost back to square one. If there’s anyone out there who knows more about him or Darren Parkin, we need to find them.’
‘I’ll let you know.’
‘Thanks.’ She gestured back towards the house. ‘I’ll have a chat with Sheena about trying to get her away from here.’
‘She’s a proud woman,’ Dwyer said. ‘Maybe too proud in this case.’
Annie gazed at him for a moment, then shook her head. ‘It’s not a question of pride. It’s her job. She can’t be seen to be running away in the face of intimidation. As far as she’s concerned, she owes it to her constituents.’
‘I didn’t mean—’
‘No, I know, Andy. And I’ll do what I can. But I can’t promise anything.’
She left Dwyer talking to Jennings, and made her way back into the house, checking her phone as she went. To her surprise, it was already nearly 8:00 a.m., and she was conscious she hadn’t informed Zoe yet, and she didn’t want Zoe to think she was being sidelined after their conversation the previous day. After they’d found the body, everything had moved too quickly. Jennings had turned up unexpectedly with the rest of the crew, Dwyer in tow, and for the last couple of hours she’d found herself swept up in the activity.
Zoe had already left her a couple of voicemails. Steeling herself for a potentially awkward exchange, she dialled her number.
Zoe answered almost immediately. ‘Annie? I’ve just got into the office and heard the news. Is everything okay?’
‘As okay as it can be. Sorry, Zo, should have called you before. It all just got a bit hectic after we called it in. Then Jennings turned up…’
‘That never helps.’ Zoe sounded more cheerful than she had the previous day. ‘No worries. I was more concerned about you and Sheena.’
Annie had closed the back door of the house behind her and was standing in the kitchen. She kept her voice low, knowing Sheena was in the living room. ‘It’s really knocked Sheena back. She’s pretty tough but this feels like the last straw. I’d like to get her away from here. Problem’s finding somewhere suitably discreet for her to go. I don’t want anything that’s just going to result in a media scrum.’
There was silence for a moment at the other end of the phone. ‘This is probably a stupid idea, but she could stay with us.’
‘Oh, God, Zo, I wasn’t suggesting—’
‘I’m serious,’ Zoe said. ‘We’ve got room. Gary wouldn’t mind. We’re about as low-key as we can get. No one would think she’d be staying there. And you could trust us to be discreet.’
‘I know that. But if there’s any risk involved then I couldn’t impose that on you and Gary.’
‘There’s no risk if no one knows she’s there. And I’m a cop, after all. If there should be any problems, I’m better qualified than most to deal with them.’
‘That’s what I thought about myself,’ Annie said. ‘And I’ve not done a great job so far.’
‘Please think about it, Annie. The offer’s there. See how Sheena feels.’
‘Thanks, Zo, I will. It’s good of you.’
‘Actually,’ Zoe said, ‘I didn’t call you about any of this stuff. Not the first time, anyway. There was something else I wanted to share with you.’
‘Go on.’
Annie listened as Zoe recounted what she’d discovered about Tom Miller and his historic links to Werneth Holdings. ‘I did a bit more digging,’ she said. ‘There seems to be a whole network of companies linked to Werneth. Various permutations of the same group of directors. Some shared registered offices. Some dormant. Some active. Miller’s name occurs a couple of times as a past director, though I couldn’t see any sign he was currently involved.’
‘It’s intriguing,’ Annie said. ‘Another odd coincidence, and we seem to be finding rather too many of those at the moment. Speaking of which, Dwyer reckons that someone’s identified Garfield in that protest outside Sheena’s office. Maybe it’s just highlighting how small this community really is, but it feels as if we might be starting to join a few dots even if we’ve no idea what we’re drawing.’
‘You think it’s worth talking to Miller again?’
‘Yes. Though the first priority is to break the news to Garfield’s dad. There’s just a chance he might have more to tell us now.’
‘You think he’ll care?’
‘Who knows? They hardly seemed close, but there seemed to be some paternal spark there.’
‘So Garfield’s dad. Miller. Any other priorities?’
‘I’m conscious we haven’t seen Carl Francis yet. I suspect he’ll be a dead end from what his mum said, but he’s one of the remaining leads we’ve got on Parkin and Garfield.’
‘Impression I got was that he wouldn’t be part of their circle any more.’
‘That was my impression too, but mums don’t always know everything. If Francis had been as much under their influence as she said, maybe he was still in contact with them. Worth a shot, anyway, given we’ve contact details for him.’
‘Is that our morning sorted, then?’
‘Sounds like it. There’s not much I can do here till the CSIs have done their business, and that’ll take some time. I’ll head back in and do the morning debrief with the team, then we can get started.’
‘I’ll have a coffee waiting.’
Annie ended the call, relieved that any lingering tensions from the previous day seemed to have dissipated. That didn’t mean that the issue was resolved, of course. She had no idea of Zoe’s real state of mind, but she’d sounded more energised than she had for a while.
She walked through into the living room. Sheena was sitting on the sofa, apparently sorting through some papers, but even at first glance Annie could see that Sheena’s eyes were unfocused, her mind elsewhere.
‘How are you doing?’
‘Oh, you know. As well as can be expected after two apparent attempts on my life and finding a body dumped in the back garden. You?’ Her voice was toneless, with no trace of her usual humour or enthusiasm. Annie couldn’t recall seeing her like this before, even in the most stressful moments.
Annie smiled. ‘Yeah. Same. Look, I was thinking…’
‘That I should get away from here?’
‘You MPs have scary telepathic powers.’
‘I need them, given how some of my constituents clam up. But it’s written all over your face. You’re worried.’
‘Obviously I’m worried. But what do you think?’
‘Where would I go? I mean, to be honest, I had the same idea. I’ve no desire just to be sitting here waiting for something else bad to happen. Someone literally knows where I live, and they’re making the most of it.’
‘There’s a good possibility the body might have been a message to me rather than you.’
Sheena gave a mirthless laugh. ‘I didn’t realise it was a competition. But, no, Annie, it doesn’t make me feel any better that someone might be targeting both of us.’
‘So what about it?’
‘Like I say, where would I go? I couldn’t think of anywhere I wouldn’t be conspicuous. I was wondering about staying with someone we know, but most of the possible candidates have kids, and it wouldn’t be right to bring any kind of threat into their homes.’
‘I’ve had one offer.’
‘From who?’
‘Zoe. She reckons she and Gary would be delighted to have you.’
‘That’s a relief. For a moment, I thought you w
ere going to say your mum.’
‘There are some limits to what I’d inflict on you. What do you think?’
‘I’ve no idea, really. Wouldn’t she feel uncomfortable?’
‘There’d be a bit of awkwardness. But you know each other quite well, and you’ve always seemed to get on.’
‘No problem in that respect. I’ve always liked her. But it’s different being under someone’s roof.’
‘We’re only talking a few days. If we don’t get this sorted by then, we’re going to have to rethink anyway.’ She paused. ‘To be honest, I get the impression that Zoe might be glad of another person there. Not that there’s any problem between her and Gary, as far as I’m aware. But there’s something going on with her at the moment that she doesn’t want to discuss. You’re good at listening and giving advice. Zoe might be more willing to talk to you than she was to me. She’d trust you not to say anything to me without her agreement. I’ve been wondering if that’s why she made the offer. For herself as much as for you.’
Annie wasn’t sure if this was true but she was desperate to keep Sheena safe. Staying discreetly with another police officer was probably the best she could hope for. And if she could stop worrying so much about Sheena, Annie could get on with her job and maybe prevent more threats.
‘You think that’s likely?’
‘There’s no knowing with Zoe. I think she needs some help and she might just see you as the ideal compromise. Not a stranger, but not too close, either. Someone she trusts. Someone who’s experienced enough to give her some advice.’
‘But you don’t know what any of this is about?’
‘I haven’t a clue. All I know is that it seems to be affecting her state of mind, and that at the moment she’s not doing the job she’s more than capable of.’
Sheena finally smiled. ‘You’re a cunning bugger, Annie Delamere.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Don’t come the innocent with me. I know you too well. You know exactly which buttons to press to get me to take up Zoe’s offer. I’d be reluctant to do it just for my own sake, but you know I can persuaded to do it for hers. And if I do, you’ll have someone inside the tent keeping one eye on Zoe. Okay, I’ll have a think about it, assuming Zoe really is serious. And I’d want to give her some kind of recompense.’
‘Treat her and Gary to a weekend away once this is all over,’ Annie said. ‘She deserves it.’
‘Too right she does, if she’s prepared to put up with you at work and me at home. Speaking of which, what about you?’
‘What about me?’
‘If I get out of here for a few days, you don’t think I’m going to leave you here? Like you say, that body might have been a message to you rather than me.’
‘I can’t come to Zoe’s. That really would be too awkward. And it wouldn’t allow her to talk to you freely, if that’s what she wants.’
‘So where will you go?’
Annie hesitated, then gave the answer that she knew she’d already resigned herself to. ‘I could always go to my mother’s, I suppose.’
Chapter Thirty
Clive Bamford was collecting his belongings ready to leave the house when his mobile rang. He’d been tempted to ignore it, conscious he was already running late for work. Then he glanced at the screen and saw the caller’s name. Robin Kennedy.
It wouldn’t actually be Kennedy, of course. It would be Eric Nolan passing on some message from the great man. That was if Kennedy hadn’t already relegated him to someone even lower in the pecking order.
Even so, he couldn’t ignore the call. If he really did want to undertake this work, then there was no point in risking offending Kennedy so early in the process. He dropped his bag, sighed and took the call.
‘Clive.’ It was unmistakeably Kennedy’s voice booming down the phone. ‘Really sorry I missed you last night. I can only offer you my most sincere apologies. Just got caught up in something that ran on much longer than I’d expected.’
‘No problem, Robin,’ Clive found himself saying. ‘I appreciate you’re a busy man.’
‘Never too busy to find time for you, Clive. In fact, I was slightly annoyed Eric didn’t come to find me last night. Not his fault, of course. I’d told him I didn’t want to be interrupted. But if I’d known it was you…’
‘Don’t worry, Robin. Really. Eric was very helpful.’
‘I’m sure he was,’ Kennedy said. ‘And he was able to pass on the good news that you do want to work with us. That’s really why I’m calling. To let you know that I’m delighted and that we’re privileged to have you working with us.’
‘Likewise. That was why I wanted to let you know straightaway.’ Clive looked at his watch. His drive to work took forty minutes minimum. He was already running late because he’d become caught up in reading the material that Kennedy had given him.
‘I was just wondering whether there was any chance you might be able to pop over to see us today.’
Clive took another look at his watch. ‘Today? What time?’
‘This afternoon, if possible. We’ve got a meeting going on. We call it a symposium, but that’s a rather grand name for it. It’s essentially just a convocation of some of the more senior figures in the movement, in preparation for developing our next clutch of neophytes.’
‘Neophytes?’ Clive remembered just too late what the word meant.
‘The newbies, if you like. People who’ve joined us in the last few months and are beginning to take the first steps to enlightenment. Anyway, I thought that if you could join us, it would provide you with an immediate and very rounded insight into what we’re about.’
‘It sounds very interesting.’ Clive was already trying to work out the possibilities. He was due at work in – well, less than forty minutes now, he realised. He couldn’t take annual leave at this kind of notice, and he knew that once he went in he’d struggle to find any convincing excuse for taking the afternoon off. On the other hand, he was keen to attend the meeting. Partly because it did sound potentially invaluable in informing his understanding of the movement, and partly simply because he didn’t want to be appearing unhelpful or uncooperative.
‘I’m not sure, Robin. I’ve got various commitments today, and I don’t know—’
‘I do appreciate it’s very short notice, Clive. It’s my fault for not mentioning it before. But we don’t open these meetings up to just anyone, so until you were safely on board, I didn’t think it appropriate to raise it with you. But now you are, it would seem a tremendous pity for you to miss it. We don’t run these often, and the attendees are all people I’d want you to meet.’
‘I’ll see what I can do, then.’
‘Of course, Clive. Fully appreciated.’
‘What time do you start?’
‘If it’s possible for you to get to the farm by around two thirty, that would be perfect. We’ll have kicked everything off by then, so you can see us in full flow.’
Kennedy was already beginning to sound as if this was a done deal, Clive thought. ‘Just give me a few minutes, then, Robin. I’ll see what I can do. Shall I call you back?’
‘Just heading into another meeting before the day kicks off, so might be better if you text me to confirm your attendance.’
‘Will do. Thanks for calling, Robin,’ Clive said, but the call had already ended.
He thumbed through his phone contacts and found his manager’s mobile number. ‘Mark? Clive here.’ He gave a cough that, to his own ears, sounded anything but realistic. ‘Really sorry about this, but I’ve woken this morning feeling like death. Hoping it’s just a bad cold, but it feels like it might be flu. Temperature, aching joints, the lot. Barely been able to drag myself out of bed. I was trying to struggle in, but not sure I’m up to it, and I don’t want to risk infecting others…’
He ended the call having secured grudging acceptance of his non-attendance. He was already feeling guilty. He’d never skived off work before. He’d never even missed a day through
genuine illness, which was presumably why his boss had accepted the story relatively readily.
He texted a short message to Kennedy: Managed to rearrange other commitments. Will be there at 2:30.
A moment later, the phone buzzed with a return text. Just a single word. OK. Clive would have liked a bit more appreciation but perhaps Robin Kennedy would express his gratitude in person later.
If he didn’t have to be at Kennedy’s till 2:30, he should at least make best use of the time. It would give him another opportunity to focus on the documents Kennedy had given him. He walked back into the kitchen to make himself another coffee.
He was beginning to reconcile himself to what he had done. Somewhere in the back of his mind, though, he felt conscious that, without even realising he’d done it, he had somehow crossed a line.
Chapter Thirty-One
The bright morning sunshine did little to improve the appearance of Pete Garfield’s house. The peeling paintwork and filthy windows were even more apparent than before, and the scene had been further enhanced by an overflowing wheelie bin by the front door.
At first, there was no response to the doorbell. Annie glanced at Zoe and pressed again, holding the bell down longer this time. She could hear its insistent ringing from somewhere inside the house.
Finally, the door opened and an unshaven face peered out at them. ‘Christ, Cagney and Lacey again. Thought you’d done with me.’
‘Good morning, Mr Garfield. I’m afraid we have some bad news.’
The door opened fully to reveal all of Pete Garfield. He was dressed in a worn dressing gown that was barely long enough to protect his modesty. It was past 10:30 a.m., but Annie guessed they’d dragged him out of bed. ‘What bad news? This about Darren Parkin again?’
Small Mercies Page 20