by Adam Carter
“Come with me,” she said, trying not to allow her voice to crack.
“You said not to leave the house.”
“And have you?”
“Have I? Of course I haven’t. Carrie, what’s wrong?”
“Just come with me. Things have got worse.”
“Worse? Worse how?”
“Just come with me, Harry. Now.”
He opened his mouth to argue further, but there was nothing to say. She stepped back out the door and he followed, looking around sheepishly, as though dark clouds were preparing to strike him with lightning. Lees kept in front and purposefully did not look him in the eyes. She walked slowly towards the waiting car and Harry had no idea he was walking into a trap. She watched as the car door opened and Barden casually emerged.
It was only when Barden grabbed his arm and twisted it that Harry gave a shout and realised he had been set up.
“We meet at last, Harry Gorman,” Barden said, cuffing him before shoving him towards his car. “Now get in.”
“Carrie?”
“Don’t you Carrie me, you two-timing louse. And get in the car before I start interrogating you here on the street.”
She could see the fear in Harry’s eyes and knew it had all been true. Everything Arlene Jeffers had said in her witness statement: it was all true.
“Carrie,” he said, “let me explain.”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
Barden grunted. “And I could certainly do without hearing it.” He shoved Harry again and got him inside. “Now sit down and shut up.”
Lees climbed into the back seat with Harry and obeyed, even though she wasn’t sure which of them he was speaking to. She knew her house was going to be searched soon for a bloody murder weapon, but first they would interrogate Harry, or at least Barden would. Inviting her to the interview would have been a serious error on Barden’s part, and Detective Barden did not make errors. She was surprised, therefore, when she realised they were heading in the wrong direction.
“We’re not going to the station,” Barden told her before she could ask. “We take Gorman to the station, that’s it for you. Before I kill your career, Lees, I want to make sure I have the right man. That might well be Gorman, but it could easily be one of the others. If it’s Gorman, you’re both going down; if it’s not, I don’t know what I’ll do yet.”
Lees could not believe what he was doing, but then she had never been able to predict what Barden was going to do. “If anyone finds out about this …”
“I know. And I shouldn’t put my own job on the line for you, but that’s precisely what I’m doing. So have the decency to shut up a while.”
Being a constable, Lees knew the area well and after a short while reasoned she knew where Barden was headed. Harry did not seem to have worked things out yet, which was good, although when he caught the first glimpse of the river, Harry’s eyes widened in panic.
“Don’t cause a fuss,” Lees told him. “Detectives aren’t going to stab you and throw you in the river, Harry.” She paused in thought. “Constables, though, are a different matter.”
It was not the same area of the river where Tanner had fallen in and Lees doubted it was the same area from which he had been recovered. But the river was long and vast, and there was so much filth at its bottom there might well have been any number of bodies down there that no one yet knew of.
Barden parked and told them both to get out. Lees dragged Harry out and looked around. They had come to an industrial area devoid of traffic and pedestrians. There were large, bleak buildings surrounding them whose broken windows and unkempt appearance indicated the only people inside would have been squatters. The river itself was wide at this location, tumbling along beneath them. Striding across the concrete and weeds, Barden reached the old railing which prevented people from falling in. There had been so few people passing through this way in the last few years that even from Lees’s distance she could see it was rusted through.
“Nice view,” Barden said while he gripped the railing and slowly twisted it. “Tell me where to find Straw and Mullin.”
He was to the point, which Lees had always admired about him. Harry, his hands still bound behind him, did not seem to know what to say, what to do. Lees stepped away from him, almost hoping he would try to make a run for it. She would have been gladder than ever to see Barden chase him down.
“I don’t know where they are,” Harry said imploringly. “I told Carrie, I really don’t know them.”
“Did you stab John Tanner?”
“What? No.”
“Did you ever meet Tanner or Appleton before last night?”
“No. Look, I told Carrie all this, if she just …”
“I prefer to form my own opinions,” Barden said, and Lees could see he had unscrewed one of the rusted metal rails. He was holding it in both hands and there was enough menace to his eyes that Lees honestly had no idea what he was about to do. “Did you,” Barden continued slowly, his eyes boring into Harry’s, “murder Jennifer Appleton?”
“Appleton? No, I … She’s dead?”
“Did you kill her?”
“No.”
Barden brought the metal pole up so quickly Harry stepped back, stumbled and fell on his backside. “Someone tried to make an omelette out of Appleton’s brains,” Barden said. “Was that you?”
“No, I …” Harry was desperately trying to scramble backwards, but with his hands cuffed behind him he could hardly even move. Lees took another step backwards, afraid herself and only glad she was not the object of the detective’s fury.
“One of you killed her,” Barden said. “If it wasn’t you, it was either Straw or Mullin. Give them to me and I’ll work out who to throw away for a double life sentence.”
“I can’t give you them. Wait, I … I have Sean’s number.”
Lees suddenly remembered that was true, and if she had been thinking clearly she would have already mentioned it. She opened her mouth to confirm, but closed it when she realised she would only be implicating herself further. So far, Barden did not know that Lees had ever met Mullin. If she could continue to hide that from him, he could not hold her entirely responsible for everything that had happened.
“Call him,” Barden said dryly. “Arrange to meet him. Tell him the cops are asking you about Appleton and that you think Straw’s gone off the deep end.” He paused. “Bit of gallows humour for you.”
“I can’t call him.”
“Why? Because your hands are tied?”
“I can’t squeal on him to the cops.”
“Oh for the love of …” Barden lunged for Harry, who revealed he certainly was able to squeal, but Barden didn’t touch him and came away with the man’s phone, which he tossed across to Lees. “You call him.”
“Me?” Lees asked, which was a stupid question. “Mullin’s going to know it’s a set-up. He knows I’m police, Ray, and he doesn’t trust me.”
“How does he know you’re police?”
Saying any more would have condemned her, so Lees quickly said, “Harry told him, I think. Quiet now, I’m making the call.”
The phone rang several times before it was answered. On the other end, Lees could hear a dull rumbling which sounded familiar, but was not loud enough to disrupt the call. “Harry?” Mullin asked, sounding very suspicious before Lees had even said a word.
“Close,” Lees said. “Harry’s at the station, there was nothing I could do to stop them picking him up.”
“So they’ve taken you off the case?” Mullin laughed. “Bet you loved that.”
“You listen to me, you stuck-up, cop-hating jerk. Not too long ago, my life was fine. Now Harry’s up on a murder charge and I think we both know he didn’t do it.”
“So who did? The Easter Bunny?”
“Straw. Barden had him but he let him go. You heard from him lately?”
“Dave? No. He’s probably out there losing another fight as we speak.”
“He killed Jenni
fer Appleton.”
“He what?”
“The girlfriend of the guy Harry threw in the river? She’s dead, beaten to death in her home. Well, Barden has Harry so he’s trying his damnedest to make the charge stick on him. But you and I know better, don’t we? We know it was Straw, so if I can find Straw I’m going to be a happier bunny than anything hopping around at Easter.”
There was a pause on the other end. “How do you figure it was Dave? Could well just as easily have been me.”
“Could have been, but I spoke with Straw, sat in on the interview. There was something about him I didn’t like. Something creepy, something sinister. He might lose a fight with a six-and-a-half-foot strongman, but he’s not the type to shy away from beating in the head of a defenceless woman.”
“Well, he always was weird. What do you want me to do about it exactly?”
“Ideally, hand yourself in, but I doubt you’re going to do that.”
Mullin laughed. “I told you when I left your house I was on my way to the station. Just didn’t say what type of station.”
“Hold on a … Are you leaving the country?”
“Station, not airport. I’m on a train right now, heading up the country. There’s no way you have any idea where I’m going.”
“So, if you’re gone, help me find Straw. If he’s taking out all the witnesses, it won’t be long before he comes after you.”
“You really do live in a dreamland, don’t you? Look, all right, I’ll give you something. Not because I like talking to pigs, but because I feel a little bad about what we did to Harry. Didn’t think I would, but the guy invited me round and gave me a beer so I guess I owe him something.”
“What are you giving me?”
“It wasn’t a coincidence. None of it. Someone wants something out of this, Constable. Someone stands to gain.”
“Would that someone be you?”
“No, but I gained as well. Not much, but some. A hundred quid doesn’t seem worth it now.”
Lees glanced to Barden, who could only hear half the conversation and was eagerly waiting for more. “Wait a minute,” Lees said. “You’re saying you were paid to kill Tanner?”
“No.” Mullin laughed again. “We were paid to cause a nuisance. Ruin the mood, pick a fight and throw him in the river.”
She stared hard at Harry. “And was Harry being paid as well?”
“Nah, he was our scapegoat. Me and Dave were being paid a hundred each to toss the guy in, but we didn’t want to be arrested for it. So we convinced Harry it would be a good laugh. He gets the blame, we get the money. Easy.”
“So what went wrong?”
“Guy turns up dead. Someone knifed him, I’ve no idea who. Maybe Dave, maybe Harry, certainly not me.”
“If it wasn’t you, come sort it out. You can’t run forever.”
“Sure I can. Listen, I’m going now. Probably going to toss my phone, so don’t bother calling again. Just bear in mind the fact someone stood to gain far more than me.”
“Why are you telling me even this much?”
“Because I figure I got stiffed. A hundred isn’t worth the upheaval. So I’d like to see other people get a bit of upheaval, too.”
He hung up and Lees wished she knew what he was talking about. She glanced to Barden but glowered at Harry. “You take any money for throwing Tanner into the river?”
“Money?”
“Harry and Dave were being paid. You were their patsy. How’s it feel to be used, Harry? How’s it feel to be lied to and abused?”
“This is about that girl, isn’t it? Look, I wasn’t cheating on you, Carrie. I saw her once, that was all.”
“So you only cheated on me once and that makes it all right?”
“I didn’t cheat.” He seemed genuinely angry. “We didn’t even do anything. I only met her a couple of days ago. So I took a girl to the pub on a Friday night: we honestly didn’t do anything.”
Lees opened her mouth to lay into him again but Barden said, “Hold on. Gorman, you met this girl two days ago?”
“Yeah, so?”
“And she suggested the venue?”
“Yeah.”
“Where you had an argument with her?”
“I told you that already.”
“Over what?”
“What?”
“What was the argument about?”
“I don’t know. Nothing.”
Lees snorted. “Clearly wasn’t nothing.”
“It wasn’t about anything,” Harry said. “She just got angry and started shouting. So I told her where to get off. She told me I drank too much, which was rich considering she’d insisted we do quite a few shots that night.”
“So,” Barden continued, “she got you drunk, then left you?”
Again Lees opened her mouth to say something, but Barden held up a finger.
Harry shrugged. “So?”
“And you just happened to fall into the company of Mullin and Straw,” Barden said, a small smile appearing on his face. “Caroline, I think we have a suspect.”
“We do?”
“This girl. She brought Gorman to the pub, where her hired goons were waiting. She made Gorman drunk and annoyed, and the two men took it from there.”
“So this girl’s behind it all?” Lees asked, uncertain. “So, who is she?”
They both looked to Harry.
“I don’t know,” he said. “She said her name was Jezzie. Short for Jezebel.”
“Not made up at all then,” Barden said. “Would you recognise her if we showed you pictures?”
Lees grunted and mumbled, “Depends if you have pictures of women’s chests.”
“Yeah, I’d recognise her,” Harry said, a little annoyed at Lees’s constant attacks on him. “I can tell you now what she looked like. Short, braided blonde hair, dimples, freckles around the cheeks.”
“That on the level?” Barden asked.
Lees could sense the sudden change in him and it took her a few moments to understand just what it was. “You know this woman, don’t you?” she asked.
“I should do. Only spoke to her today. And, idiot that I am, saw her after that and didn’t put the pieces together. You,” he told Harry as he turned him around, removed the handcuffs and gave him a rough shove with his foot, “disappear.”
“You’re letting me go?”
“I take you in and Carrie goes down with you. Right now I’m not convinced you’re the murderer we’re after, so you get to walk. Don’t go far, don’t leave the city and don’t talk to anyone about anything. Go back home and sit in front of the TV: seems to be all you’re good for.”
Harry tried to say something to Lees, but she held up a hand. “One word and I throw you in the river myself.”
Silently, Harry turned and meekly trotted away. Lees watched him go, but was far more interested in whatever Barden had figured out.
“Who is this woman?” she asked now they were alone.
“I don’t know how it all fits in, Carrie, but Jezebel told me her name was Arlene Jeffers. And since photos never lie, I can tell you her real name is Jodie. And her sister was named Jennifer Appleton.”
CHAPTER TEN
Unsurprisingly, Jodie Appleton was not at home. Instead they found a lavish apartment owned by a man named Morgan Flax. Barden had never known why such palaces were called apartments, considering they were so much larger than Barden’s entire house; he doubted he would have himself been able to afford to run even the porch. Barden did not have any feelings at all towards people with money. It was not his business whether they had earned it or inherited it; if Barden tormented himself with coveting everything other people had, he would never be able to sleep at night.
“This is quite serious, yes,” Barden said. He had of course not told Flax anything about the case, but had phrased things in such a way that made Flax think it was in everyone’s best interests for his fiancée to contact the police immediately. It was something Barden was good at, which he shou
ld have been, considering how much practice he had had over the years. Lees did not say much during the interview, for which Barden was thankful. She had been forced to take in a lot over the past few hours and in truth he felt she was holding up pretty well. It did, of course, not excuse anything she had done, but if she could help him catch David Straw and Sean Mullin, he was even still considering covering for her. That Mullin had vanished up north was a possibility, but Barden intended to keep his options well and truly open.
“Is she in danger?” Flax asked. He was a fairly average-looking man and seemed a decent sort. Barden could not believe he knew anything of what his fiancée was really like.
“Difficult to say,” Barden replied. “I noticed there wasn’t a car parked outside.”
“I don’t drive. Nor does Jodie. Is that a problem?”
Barden had been hoping the lack of car might indicate Jodie was driving around somewhere. If they could get her registration number, he could have people look out for her; but if she didn’t drive, he could not even do that little. Ignoring Flax, he said, “Tell me, do you know a man named John Tanner?”
“John?” Anger took hold of Flax’s face then. “Great, what’s John done now?”
“You know him, I take it?”
“He goes out with Jodie’s sister. I’ve never met him, but I know Jodie hates him.”
“Why does she hate him?”
“Because he’s a violent, drunk sponge.”
“And how do you feel about him?”
“I don’t. But he upsets Jodie just by being with her sister, so I don’t like him too much myself. What’s he done?”
“Died.”
Flax stared in shock.
The Appleton murder was not Barden’s case so he had not got too involved, despite it being linked to his own. He knew the officers dealing with her death would have notified the family, which could well have been why Jodie was not at home; but surely she would have at least left a message for her fiancé.
He decided he would hold back on telling him Jennifer Appleton was dead as well. There was nothing to gain through total disclosure.