by Martina Cole
‘Quick learner your mate, ain’t she, Burrows?’ Suzy lit herself a cigarette. ‘Did she learn at the same place you did, Kate?’
That was when they realised there was something drastically wrong. This girl was playing with them, and given what they had on her she should be shitting hot bricks and throwing them out of the window at regular intervals.
‘So who’s the Mr Big then - or the Mrs Big as the case may be?’ Kate kept her voice and demeanour casual, but Suzy knew she was getting to them.
She opened her eyes wide. ‘You mean, you don’t know?’
‘Are you going to lay all this at Barker’s door?’ Kate’s voice was low. ‘Only it isn’t going to work, I can assure you of that much, lady.’
Suzy finished her cigarette, her pale painted nails looking babyish on her long slim fingers. Other than her face, she was a stunner. Each part of her body was perfect from her hands to her breasts to her legs. It was only above the neck that she let herself down.
She looked from one to the other.
‘You really don’t know, do you?’ She was grinning in triumph and it was all Kate could do not to go for her.
‘I thought you already knew. I really did.’ Suzy was shaking her head in apparent disbelief.
‘We know a great deal,’ Kate bluffed.
‘But, Miss Burrows, surely you know who’s behind it? After all, you live with him, don’t you?’
Kate felt fear gripping her heart even as she was telling herself she had no reason to believe this girl.
‘What are you on about?’
‘The distributor of course. It’s Patrick Kelly.’
Kate was out of her chair and round the table in record time. Her hand flew out and she grabbed the girl by the face. The feel of her fingers digging into warm soft flesh was wonderful.
As Suzy fell from her chair and collapsed to the floor Kate felt hands dragging her away. She was so angry she was spitting hatred and rage from her mouth like a madwoman. She kicked out as Suzy lay on the floor. It took three PCs and Jenny to finally drag her away from the crumpled figure.
‘You disgusting sick bastard! You will not get me like that, you hear me?’ Kate could hear the terror and the shock in her own voice and hated herself for it. ‘You piece of shit!’
Suzy sat up, dazed. She looked at her brief and said in a pleased voice, ‘I want to press charges.’
Kate watched her drag herself from the floor and lean against the table as if she was in pain. But she was still smiling.
‘I thought you knew, Miss Burrows. I realise it must be a shock, him being shot recently and everything.’
Kate was standing unrestrained now, her arms hanging limply by her sides.
‘You had better be able to prove this allegation.’
Suzy picked up her cigarettes and looked at Jenny when she replied.
‘I’d hardly come here if I couldn’t, now would I?’
‘You are a liar. You know you are and I will prove it. I can prove it,’ Kate cut in.
Suzy smiled again. ‘Can you? We’ll see.’ She wiped a hand across her face. ‘I can understand you wanting to protect your man. That’s why I never helped you before. I knew I couldn’t tell you anything about him.’ She glanced at her brief. ‘I realised I wouldn’t be believed, you see.’
Mr Millan took some papers from his briefcase. ‘I have a statement here naming Patrick Kelly as the distributor.’
Kate stared at the little man in his cheap suit and shook her head in complete and utter disbelief.
Jenny turned her round forcibly and pushed her outside.
‘I will be pressing charges, Miss Burrows, you can bank on that.’
Suzy’s laughter followed Kate from the room.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
‘You bloody fool, Kate!’
Ratchette’s voice was loaded with anger and sheer embarrassment.
‘You should never have raised a hand to her. You have done exactly what she wanted.’
Kate was aware of that herself; she didn’t need this buffoon to point it out to her.
‘What on earth possessed you? I’ve been put in an impossible position now. She’s not only pressing charges but insinuating that you had to have known about everything. I have no other option than to suspend you pending further enquiries. I have never been in such an embarrassing situation in my life.’
‘Let’s worry about you then, shall we, sir? Is that what the real problem is? You and how this affects your life? Only you are part and parcel of Patrick Kelly and his legal businesses, aren’t you?’ Kate turned from him scornfully and left the room.
Jenny was waiting in her office.
‘I can’t believe this, Jen, can you?’
She shook her head sadly. ‘I know this isn’t what you want to hear, Kate, but could Kelly have been a part of it?’
Kate looked into her face. A depression covered her now, like a cloak.
‘I will never believe that, never. Whatever else he might be guilty of, there is no way he could ever be a part of anything like that.’
Jenny couldn’t look her in the face and Kate felt a great sadness wash over her.
‘Listen, Jen, I would lay my life on what I just said. Patrick has his faults, and they are legion. No one knows that better than me. But he would never, never, be involved in anything like this.’
Jenny still couldn’t look at her.
‘You don’t really know what he was involved in, do you?’ she said quietly. ‘Be honest. He had the lap-dancing club - you knew nothing about that, remember?’
‘With respect, Jenny, a lap-dancing club is legal in this country, so I don’t think having an interest in one of those automatically makes him a child pornographer, do you? Or maybe you think I am a mug, and that he is the distributor for paedophile literature and videos. Look, he knew I was investigating those same films and the mothers who were allowing their kiddies to take part. It’s a wonder he didn’t tip them all off, isn’t it? Christ, Jen, I can’t believe that you honestly think he is actually a part of it all, knowing what a slippery bitch Suzy is, knowing that she’s already in with Ratchette’s mob. We were warned off her, remember? Think about it, Jen, doesn’t all this strike you as odd at all?’
Jenny didn’t answer her and her silence told Kate everything she wanted to know.
Picking up her bag, Kate walked from the office and left the building. In her car she felt the sting of tears, but they were tears of anger. Anger and disappointment. It seemed her association with Patrick was leading her into more trouble than she could ever have guessed at before.
Her mobile rang and it was Golding.
‘I have a copy of her statement, ma’am. It’s there whenever you want it.’
Kate smiled gently. Her relief at having a friend overwhelmed her.
‘Bring it to the hospital and we’ll see what Patrick has to say, eh?’ She turned off the phone.
Help came from the strangest places. She had disliked Golding so much, yet Jenny who lived at her home and had become a friend had doubted her. She had believed that she was trying to cover up for her man. Life kicked you in the teeth and you never knew who the final blow was going to come from.
Well, she would get to the bottom of it all. Whatever she found out, she would at least know the truth. Once and for all.
She wheelspinned out of the station, the screeching of her tyres giving her a sense of satisfaction, and drove straight to the hospital.
‘Leave it out, Kate. There has got to be someone here who can see what a shower of shite all this is.’
Kate sat on the bed gripping his hand.
‘She must have something, Patrick, to go this far. She has to have something concrete; she wouldn’t dare otherwise. The worst thing is, she was laughing at me. This was calculated.’
She took a deep breath. ‘Have you ever been in on any kind of distributing? If you have been in on any porn film-making or have financed it, I need to know now, Patrick.’
; He wiped a hand across his face. He had half expected this question and knew that he had to give her an honest answer.
‘I have fingers in so many pies, Kate, I couldn’t swear at this moment in time that someone ain’t doing something with money I might unknowingly have provided. I am sorry, darlin’, I can’t tell you what you want to hear because I honestly don’t know. Through the club I could be down on paper for all manner of things I actually have no knowledge of.’
It was what Kate had expected to hear, but it didn’t make it any easier. At least he was being upfront and honest. For that much she was grateful.
‘Golding has her statement. She must have given up a few bodies to make it believable. Once he gets here we can see if you know anyone by name.’
He nodded. ‘I’m sorry to the heart for this, Kate. Do you think they are going to arrest me?’
She shrugged. ‘Get your doctor to say you are too ill to be questioned and leave it to me. I’ll see what I can do.’
He half smiled. ‘It makes a change, eh, us two working together?’
‘I could do without all this, Pat, to be honest.’
He said craftily, ‘Did you smack her one hard enough to make her remember it? I hope so, Kate. She sounds like a good slap has been on the cards for years.’
Kate sighed. ‘I can’t laugh, Patrick. After patting myself on the back these last days I now have to fight my way out of yet another dirty big hole. I was on top of everything. I had Suzy even though Ratchette had told me to ease off her because she has friends in very high places. She’s actually on video with those kids, showing them what she wants them to do. Christ knows how Robert got hold of them. I can’t even talk to him now because I have in effect ruled myself out of the enquiry by losing my temper with Suzy.’
Patrick felt bad. Once more he was the cause of Kate’s being investigated. It was high time for him to pull himself together and start hauling them both out of the shit before his dreams of retirement and marriage to Kate went straight down the pan.
Willy ambled into the hospital room eating a bag of crisps.
‘All right, Pat?’ He lowered himself carefully into a chair.
‘Still in pain?’
Willy nodded, screwing up his face. ‘It’s me nuts, Pat. They did take a hammering, boy.’
Patrick couldn’t help grinning and Willy laughed as well.
‘You’ve been a good mate, Willy Gabney. The best.’ Willy was embarrassed. ‘Stop being a tart, Patrick, and tell me what’s going down?’
He explained about Suzy Harrington and what had happened to Kate.
Willy was amazed. ‘How can you be involved in all that?’
Patrick shrugged. ‘No idea, and I don’t recognise any of the names in the statement she gave either. Someone is up to a large piece of skulduggery and my name is at the top of the list of suspects. I got Tarbuck to give them the sob story. I am not only a suspect, I am going to get me fucking collar felt and all. But they won’t come in here with a warrant.’
Willy frowned. ‘It has got to be Duggan, Pat. He was into everything. Weren’t there no addresses - nothing?’
Patrick shook his head. ‘Her statement basically says that she gave the films to a third party, who she didn’t know, who then allegedly gave them to me to distribute. I was protected because I had a bird who was a Filth. The usual old fanny, but that’s the general drift.’
Willy finished his crisps.
‘It can only be Duggan,’ he grunted. ‘I mean, if you’re involved without knowing it - and I reckon you could be, given what we know now - that means Boris must have some knowledge, don’t it? He’s in the driving seat now. Which brings me to what I came here for. I went to the club and had a chat with Pascal.’
He shook his head once more in consternation.
‘That Boris is a right saucy fucker, Pat. He is still letting the club’s fucking bills be settled in your name while he is skimming off the cream. He needs a serious sorting out and I am just the fucking man to do it. I have a few numbers and addresses from Pascal. I think I may have to waste that Russian cunt, Patrick. Just for the piss-take, like. And it ain’t like I ain’t got reason, is it? I respected him as a businessman, but this last lot is too much. He needs the hard word.’
Patrick agreed with what Willy was saying but wasn’t so sure he wanted his old friend in on it all.
‘Listen, mate, I am going to sort him out so stop worrying. Get the addresses and numbers checked out by Billy Baines. He is trustworthy. We’ll work from there, OK?’
Patrick picked up the phone and called Ratchette’s private line.
‘I have just had a thought, Willy. I think I will pull in a favour.’
Robert Bateman looked at Kate in disbelief.
‘I was under the impression you were not involved any more.’
She could tell he knew what had occurred and wondered who had enlightened him: the police or his brief.
‘Is this a legal interview?’ Kate didn’t answer and he grinned. ‘Oh, I see.’
He sipped at a glass of apple juice. ‘It’s all I can drink these days. Now then, what do you want to know?’
She sat opposite him and lit a cigarette. ‘How did you get your hands on those videos - the ones with Suzy in them?’ She saw his cunning grin and held her breath.
‘I told you, I have keys to a great many homes. Including Suzy Harrington’s.’
‘Where are those keys?’
‘Oh, you are in a hurry, aren’t you?’
‘I certainly am, Robert. And I’m not feeling very patient at the moment as you have probably guessed.’
He pushed back his hair in the feminine gesture Kate had come to know so well.
‘Temper, temper, Katie.’
She had had enough.
‘Robert, you were mad to do what you did but not so mad you can’t remember it. Now then, how can I put this? If you keep fucking me about I am going to come round that table and kick your head in! This is no idle threat. Ask Suzy what I’m capable of when I’m upset. So tell me what I want to know and I’ll leave you in peace.’
Robert seemed to be enjoying himself. ‘What exactly do you want to know, dear?’
‘Who distributed the films?’
His soft-eyed expression was replaced immediately by a look of disdain. ‘Are you really telling me you don’t know?’
Kate closed her eyes and murmured a prayer that he was not going to try and lay it at Patrick’s door. If he and Suzy had shared a brief then Kate was finished and she knew it. It had been a long shot anyway and Ratchette had put his arse on the line allowing this interview in the first place. Not that that bothered her, but to come all this way and then find out that Robert was in collusion with Suzy would be the final straw.
‘The distributor was a recent recruit. Suzy went to her old friend and mentor Lucas Browning, of course. I’d already guessed she would use him.’
‘How do I know any of this is true?’
Robert straightened his shoulders and said gently, ‘You don’t. I am telling you this because you asked, dear. I liked you, Kate. Liked you a lot. You can take it from me it’s true - Suzy told me. You see, I had already let her know I was on to it all. She thought I was part of it. I would drop hints about kids I thought might be ripe for her kind of offer. Mothers who were hard up, in debt or just basically pieces of shit.’
Kate couldn’t believe this fresh twist. ‘So you actually gave her some of the kids you say you were protecting?’
He nodded. ‘Terrible, aren’t I? You see, sometimes I think one way, really loving kids and wanting to help them, and then another time I think something completely different. So I would tell her and then watch from the sidelines. I am ashamed to say I enjoyed it.’
He looked suitably contrite: ‘Barker had been to see her. I waited for him to come out of her flat before approaching him. He had also been to see Sharon Pallister. I killed her shortly after his visit. Trevor told me all I needed to know. I toyed with making it l
ook like Barker had killed her but in the end I couldn’t be bothered. By then I was just taking everyone out as and when the fancy took me.’
He sighed then said gravely, ‘You know the worst thing of all, Kate? Once you kill, it gets easier and easier. Strange that, isn’t it? Someone should write a paper on it. I enjoyed it so much that I needed the buzz again and again and again. I would kill now if I got the chance but don’t quote me on that one, dear. And I felt I was making a difference, was ridding the world of scum, so I had righteousness on my side into the bargain.’
He chuckled and shook his head. ‘I always wanted to be a do-gooder.’
He had lost it again. Kate watched as his mouth opened wide and he literally roared with laughter.
‘Were you in on all this, Robert, really?’
He stopped laughing and was quiet again. It was as if someone had turned a switch and shut him down.
‘Who knows, Katie?’ he said quietly. ‘Who really knows anything?’
Then he was off again and she left him shortly after, his laughter echoing in her ears and his fanatical eyes burned into her memory. It seemed that now he was caught, now he was locked up, he didn’t have to keep the threads together any more. He was insane, she already knew that much, and he liked playing games, which was why she couldn’t really believe what he had had to say until she had investigated it fully for herself.
As she passed Golding he ignored her and she was pleased. He was learning to play the game. Once he had finished he was going to be a good officer, she was sure of that.
She held her head up as she left the station, but it took all the strength she had to do it.
Evelyn had gone to the hospital and Kate was glad to have the house to herself. She went upstairs to shower and change and without thinking walked into Jenny’s room and looked around.
All her stuff was gone. Clothes, smellies, everything.
Kate felt bitterly disappointed. She could understand Jenny’s not wanting to be implicated by staying with her now but Kate had at least expected her to say she would be leaving to her face. She felt sick from the letdown.