Broadland

by David Blake

  ‘We haven’t been able to find her. She fell down the stairs, just after she cut Jenny’s…, but then she seemed to vanish. I’ve got Cooper and another officer looking for her now, but I don’t think she’s in the mill.’

  Remembering the hidden rowing boat, Tanner peered along the jetty. It was still tied up, and he pointed to it. ‘We think she used that boat to get herself over the river, but as it’s still here, she must be this side, somewhere.’

  Barrington surveyed the surrounding reeds. The wind had dropped to nothing, and they were standing tall and still in the cold night air.

  ‘There’s something else as well, sir,’ continued Tanner. ‘Inside the mill.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Cots, sir. Three of them. And inside two of them are…’ Tanner stopped as he searched for the most appropriate words to describe them. ‘I believe they are the unborn children of Jane Richardson and Emily Warren. Follett must have surgically removed them. She had them wrapped up in blankets, as if they were new-born babies.’

  ‘Jesus Christ!’ said Barrington, with a look of absolute horror.

  ‘She admitted to killing Jane and Emily, but I don’t think she killed Simon. When I asked her about it, she didn’t even seem to know he was dead.’

  ‘She didn’t kill him.’ stated Barrington. ‘Forensics found fingerprints plastered all over him and the kitchen, and DS Gilbert just told me on the way over here who they belong to.’

  CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE

  ABOUT AN HOUR later, having returned to his boat to retrieve a fresh shirt and tie, Tanner brought his XJS to a halt outside the imposing black wrought iron gates that marked the entrance to the Lambert’s residence in Horning.

  Before reaching for the intercom button, he stared down at the empty passenger seat. He took a moment to say a silent prayer that Jenny would be OK. As he did, the squad car that had followed him there pulled up behind him, its orange indicator stabbing at the night, but thankfully not the blue roof lights.

  Tanner lowered his window, leaned out and pressed the intercom button.

  It wasn’t long before a man’s metallic voice responded.

  Recognising it, Tanner said, ‘Mr Lambert, it’s Detective Inspector Tanner. Could you open the gates, please?’

  There was a pause, before John Lambert replied, ‘It’s very late, Detective. Can’t you come back another time?’

  ‘I’m afraid it can’t wait.’

  ‘Well, I’m sorry, Detective, but I think it’s going to have to.’

  ‘You need to let us in, Mr Lambert, and you need to do so now. If you don’t, you could be facing a charge of obstruction of justice.’

  The intercom fell silent, before Tanner heard a familiar clunking sound and the gates started to whir open.

  As Tanner began driving in, motion sensor lights sprang on, lighting up both the drive and the entire front section of the house. There, the same two cars were parked as before, the Aston Martin Vanquish and the Range Rover Vogue, looking even more glamorous in the incandescent brightness of the now spot-lit drive.

  With the squad car following, Tanner continued all the way around until he’d reached the front of the house.

  As he climbed out of the car, the front door opened, and John Lambert emerged, folding his arms over his chest with resolute firmness.

  ‘What do you want?’ he called out, as the squad car pulled up behind Tanner’s.

  With the two uniformed officers stepping out, Tanner said, ‘We need to speak to your wife, Mr Lambert.’

  ‘Well, she’s not in, I’m afraid.’

  Gesturing over at the two gleaming black cars, Tanner said, ‘I assume one of those is hers?’

  ‘Just because her car’s here, doesn’t mean she is.’

  ‘Then you won’t mind telling us where she’s gone?’

  ‘I’ve really no idea. Now if you don’t get the fuck off my property, I’ll be suing you for trespass, harassment, intimidation, and anything else my lawyer can think of!’

  ‘Mr Lambert, we know what your wife has done. I suspect you probably do as well. As much as I’m sure you’d like to, unfortunately you won’t be able to stop us from arresting her. If you’re not prepared to ask her to come to the door, we do have the authority to gain entry to your property to conduct a thorough search, by force if necessary.’

  With a look of increasing desperation, John blurted out, ‘But as I said, she’s not in!’

  As Tanner gestured over his shoulder for the two police officers to come forward, Ruth Lambert appeared from behind the door; her face pale, her eyes red.

  Resting a steadying hand on her husband’s shoulder, she looked at him and said, ‘It’s OK John. You don’t have to do this.’

  ‘But…’

  Standing beside her husband, Ruth gazed over at Tanner and said, ‘I’m ready to come with you, Detective,’ and took a step forward.

  Taking a firm hold of her arm, John tried pulling her back. As he did, he glared over at Tanner, saying, ‘No! You can’t have her! I’ve already lost my daughter. I’m damned if I’m going to lose my wife as well!’

  Resting her hand on his, Ruth turned to study her husband’s face.

  ‘I’m sorry, John, darling,’ she said. ‘I shouldn’t have done it. I know I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t let him get away with it. Not our Jane. Our precious, beautiful Jane.’

  As she prised his fingers from her arm, John lost control of his emotions and began to sob, the hand that had been holding on to his wife now a fist, pressed firmly against his mouth.

  Stepping forward, Tanner took hold of Ruth’s other arm and began guiding her towards the two waiting police officers.

  As one of them began handcuffing her hands behind her back, John screamed out, ‘YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME!’

  Tanner stood helplessly by as John sank to his knees, raking his fingers back through his hair. He didn’t have the heart to tell him that his wife had murdered an innocent man. Simon Richardson hadn’t killed their daughter, no matter what the press may have said. No doubt he’d find that out soon enough, as would his wife. But it wouldn’t be him who’d be telling them.

  Hearing the police car’s doors close, Tanner tore his eyes away from the distraught man and climbed back inside his own. Starting the engine, he waited for the car behind to lead the way back out, before following along behind.

  As both vehicles waited for the gates to automatically open, Tanner’s mobile phone began to ring.

  Digging it out from his inside pocket, he answered it by saying, ‘Tanner speaking!’

  ‘Hi, Tanner, it’s Lucy – DI Gilbert.’

  ‘Yes, Lucy. How can I help?’

  ‘I just wanted to let you know that we’ve had a call from Wroxham Medical Centre, about Jenny, sir.’

  Tanner didn’t say anything in response. Instead he just sat there, his heart pounding deep inside his chest.

  He stared into the rear-view mirror, looking at John Lambert, still sobbing on the porch.

  Is that about to be me? he wondered.

  ‘I just thought you’d like to know that she’s going to be OK.’

  As he heard the words, a surge of relief swept through his body.

  ‘Are you still there, sir?’ asked Lucy.

  Before daring to say anything in response, Tanner sucked in a lungful of air which juddered as it went down. After holding his breath for a moment, with forced dispassion, he eventually managed to say, ‘That’s good news, Lucy. Thanks for letting me know.’

  With that, he ended the call.

  Seeing the car ahead set off through the now almost fully open gates, he put the phone away, wiped the tears which had appeared from nowhere from his eyes, placed his XJS’s gear lever into the drive position, and headed back towards Wroxham.

  CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

  ARRIVING BACK AT the station, through a furious burst of flash photography from the awaiting press, all desperate to catch a glimpse of
the handcuffed woman they could see being helped out of the back of the squad car, Tanner followed the two uniformed police officers as Ruth Lambert was led inside.

  It was only after he’d watched her being handed over to the desk sergeant, and had completed his arrest report, that he was finally able to make his way back to his Norfolk cabin cruising yacht on Malthouse Broad.

  Driving out of Wroxham, over the low bridge, now devoid of traffic, he glanced briefly down at the moonlit River Bure as it slipped gently past. As he did, he found himself thinking about Jenny, wondering when he’d be able to see her, and how long it would be before she was back on her feet.

  Would she still be interested in pursuing a career within the police? After all that had happened, he wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to call it a day. Half of him hoped that she would, and find herself an office job instead. At least that way she’d be safe. But the other half of him knew that he’d miss her if she did, and doubted she’d still be interested in him were she to decide to leave.

  Forcing himself to stop thinking about her, instead he thought about the wooden yacht that was waiting for him, and was surprised to find himself actually looking forward to being back on board. Despite its insanely cramped accommodation and total lack of even the most basic amenities, he was beginning to think of it as a safe haven; one that was far removed from society’s seemingly endless storm of dangerous obsessions and cruel machinations, and one which was increasingly beginning to feel like being his new home.

  EPILOGUE

  Saturday, 20th April

  OVER THE NEXT couple of days, leading up to the busy Easter weekend, Tanner kept close tabs on the situation with Jenny by occasionally asking DS Vicky Gilbert how she was doing. He’d tried to make such enquiries seem as casual as possible, by finding excuses to pass by Vicky’s desk, or by deciding to make a coffee whenever she happened to be doing the same. But by the time Good Friday rolled along, it had become fairly obvious, to Vicky at least, that his interest in his colleague’s wellbeing was beyond just professional.

  During such enquiries he’d learnt that her condition had initially been very much touch and go. The knife wound to her neck had sliced open her main jugular vein. Subsequently she’d lost a huge amount of blood; so much that she’d fallen into hypovolemic shock, just before reaching Wroxham Medical Centre. Fortunately, DS Cooper had had the foresight to call ahead to let them know of the incoming medical emergency, and that warning had probably saved her life.

  Despite knowing that she was OK, and that she had started to receive visitors, Tanner decided to wait until Saturday before going to see her himself. He’d delayed his visit for a couple of reasons. For a start, he didn’t want to be seen doing anything that could give people the impression that his feelings towards her were anything other than professional; but he also wanted to wait until he could find some suitable gifts to bring with him, one of which proved just a little difficult to track down, and he’d had to buy it from eBay.

  With a nervous knock, he poked his head around the door to her private room.

  Pleased to see there was nobody else there, he crept inside.

  She was asleep, or at least her eyes were closed. The bed she was lying in was angled in such a way that she could sit up, but she must have drifted off.

  In the silence he looked round at the various cards and flowers that surrounded her.

  After a moment or two he realised he’d better make some sort of noise to alert her to his presence, just in case she woke up to find an uninvited man in her room gawping at her; so he cleared his throat rather loudly and said, ‘Hello? Jenny? Are you awake?’

  Her eyelids fluttered open.

  Seeing Tanner standing in front of her, holding a brown paper bag in one hand and a large plastic bag in the other, she gave him a warm smile, and croaked out, ‘Hello, boss!’

  Returning her smile, he said, ‘I just thought I’d drop by to see how you’re doing.’

  As she made an effort to sit up properly, whilst making a few self-conscious jabs at her hair, she said, ‘I’m feeling much better, thank you.’

  An awkward silence followed, as Tanner tried to think of what to say next.

  Eventually he placed the plastic bag down by his feet, which allowed him to pull a bunch of purple grapes out of the paper one.

  Handing them over to her, he said, ‘I brought these for you.’

  ‘Wow!’ she said, with wry amusement. ‘You shouldn’t have!’

  ‘Well, I thought it was the least I could do.’

  ‘You mean, after leading me into a disused windmill for me to have my throat cut open by some deranged psychopathic receptionist? Yes, bringing me grapes probably was the least you could do.’

  Having said that, she couldn’t help but let a smile play over her lips.

  With an ambivalent shrug, Tanner added, ‘I brought you something else as well.’

  Reaching for the plastic bag by his feet, he pulled out a small rectangular box with the picture of a car on its front.

  Handing it over to her, he said, ‘It’s an Airfix model of a Jaguar XJS.’

  Taking it from him, Jenny stared down at it, momentarily stumped for a suitable response.

  ‘I know how much you like my car, so I thought I’d give you one of your own!’

  Finally getting the joke, she looked up at him and smiled.

  ‘It’s just what I’ve always wanted, thank you!’

  She was about to open it, when Tanner stopped her by saying, ‘Actually, it’s probably not a great idea to do that. It’s a collectors’ item, you see, so it’s worth more if you don’t open it.’

  ‘You mean, you bought me an Airfix model of a car that I don’t really like very much, and I can’t even make it?’

  ‘Well, yes, but I thought you’d enjoy looking at the picture.’

  She stared around, looking for somewhere suitable to put it, but with so many flowers and cards, she eventually left it lying in her lap, saying, ‘I’ll ask the nurse to think of something suitable to do with it.’

  Reaching back into the plastic bag, Tanner pulled out a much larger box.

  Handing it over to her, he said, ‘I brought you this as well.’

  ‘It’s…a…2000-piece jigsaw puzzle!’ she said, staring down.

  ‘I thought it would help pass the time.’

  ‘Well, at least it’s a picture of a boat.’

  ‘A sailing boat as well!’ he pointed out.

  ‘Fab!’ she replied, and again spent a few moments staring around, wondering where she was going to put it.

  ‘Shall I ask if the nurse can find you a table so you can start doing it?’

  ‘Er…it would have to be quite a large one.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure they’ve got one that’s big enough.’

  ‘If you mean, like a dining room table, then I’m not sure it would fit through the door.

  ‘Maybe they’ve got a fold up one you can use. Hold on – I’ll ask someone.’

  As Tanner made as if he was about to go looking for a nurse, Jenny said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll just pop it down here, on the floor. Hopefully the cleaners will find it there in the morning.’

  They exchanged smiles at their shared sense of humour, then there was a moment’s pause, before with a serious expression, Jenny said, ‘I heard that Burgess didn’t make it.’

  ‘I’m afraid he didn’t, no.’

  Silence followed, as they both paid their quiet respects to their fallen colleague.

  After a while, Tanner said, ‘There’s a rumour that Barrington might not, either.’

  ‘How d’you mean?’

  ‘I suspect that the powers at be are looking for a scapegoat for what happened to Burgess, and that Barrington is going to be it.’

  There was another lull in the conversation.

  ‘I’ve not heard anything about a funeral,’ said Jenny, deciding to leave the discussion about Barrington till another time.

  ‘There’s going to have to be
an inquest first.’

  ‘Of course. How about Susan Follett. Was there any news?’

  ‘Didn’t anyone tell you? She was picked up last night, trying to sneak into her flat.’

  ‘That was stupid of her! Why did she go back there?’

  ‘I’ve no idea, but if it wasn’t for Lucy having had the good sense to arrange for a patrol car to keep an eye on the place, she’d probably have found some way to leave the country by now.’

  ‘Has she been charged yet?’ asked Jenny, enjoying the opportunity to talk about work again.

  ‘She has, although she denies knowing anything about what she’s been charged with; certainly nothing about the murders of Jane Richardson and Emily Warren.’

  ‘Even though we found their unborn children in that god-forsaken mill of hers?’

  With a shrug, Tanner said, ‘She even denied killing Burgess. She said that she was forced to stab him out of self-defence. According to her, he tried to rape her! But anyway, there’s more than enough evidence for a conviction. The knife she used to try to kill you was the same one used on Burgess. It was also what was used to remove the foetus from Emily Warren.’

  ‘How about the murder weapon. Did anyone find that?’

  ‘We didn’t, no. We assumed she must have thrown it in the river somewhere, but there should be more than enough evidence for a jury to find her guilty for the murder of the two women, and Burgess as well.’

  Keen to steer the conversation away from work, Tanner changed the subject. ‘Any idea when you’ll be given the all-clear?’

  With her normal presumption, Jenny asked, ‘Why? Are you thinking about asking me out on a date?’

  Tanner had forgotten about her bold mischievous streak, and it took him a moment to come back with, ‘I was actually wondering if you’d like to come sailing on my boat with me?’

  ‘I didn’t think you could sail?’

  ‘I can’t, no.’

  ‘Or that it was your boat!’