‘Okay. You’re the boss.’
‘There’s one other thing, Bill. I’ve binned all your videos.’
‘You’ve done what?’
‘When I got rid of the drugs, I destroyed all your porn.’
‘Why the fuck did you do that?’
‘It was homemade porn, you idiot! The stars of the movies were all kids from the other homes. Jesus, you really are a fucking moron, aren’t you? Do you think we’d be sitting here now if the police had found any of that shit?’
‘I still don’t see why you had to destroy it; you could’ve just hidden it so I could watch it again after this has all blown over.’
‘I don’t know why you want to watch it anyway; it’s fucking sick. You’re sick. It’s all gone; get over it! I’m going to bed, and you’re in the other bedroom. I can’t be dealing with your shit tonight.’
‘Yeah, you go and sleep on your own,’ he sneered. ‘No doubt you’ll be dreaming of the handsome Grenville!’
‘Fuck off, you moron!’
‘You fuck off! You slag!’
50
27 June 1986
Retford, Nottinghamshire
It had just turned eight o’clock in the morning.
Vicarage Terrace in Retford was deathly quiet.
The rumble of a diesel engine shattered the silence as the instantly recognisable white Transit van of the Special Operations Unit drove down the road and parked up behind the CID car occupied by Tina Prowse and Rachel Moore.
Rachel glanced into the rear-view mirror and said, ‘Bang on time, as usual.’
Both detectives got out of their vehicle and walked towards the van. Sergeant Archer got out of the front seat of the van and said, ‘Good morning, Detectives. Sorry we couldn’t get up here to assist you yesterday morning, but we were doing the drugs warrant at Tall Trees kids’ home. What have you got for us today?’
Tina replied, ‘Like I said on the phone last night, Sarge. We need to gain entry and search this house for evidence of a possible abduction.’
‘And you think the owner of the house is the person who’s been abducted?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you want us to force entry and search it? For what exactly?’
‘I’m not sure, really. If he was abducted from inside the house, there could be signs of a struggle.’
‘Is there no spare key anywhere?’
‘Trust me, Sarge, we’ve been down that road and exhausted every possibility. Can you pop the bloody door, please, so we can have a look inside? We’ll be here all day at this rate.’
‘Alright, keep your hair on. It’s just a bit unusual, that’s all.’
The sergeant walked back to the van and barked some instructions to the men in the back.
Tina and Rachel walked to the front door of 74 Vicarage Terrace. Tina whispered, ‘Bloody man. I wish he’d just get the fucking door open.’
Rachel grinned. ‘Sergeant Archer’s a good guy, but he’s a stickler for the rules.’
‘It’s all above board. He should know that we can force entry and search property if we fear a person’s life may be in danger. For all we know, Fred Barnes could be lying injured inside.’
‘We both know what the odds on that are. I like the fact you’re starting to think more like a detective every day.’
Sergeant Archer returned, carrying the red Enforcer door opener, followed by three other SOU officers.
The burly sergeant said, ‘Stand back!’
Rachel and Tina took a step back just as the Enforcer smashed through the door lock of the front door. The door flew open, and Sergeant Archer walked in, followed by his men and then by the two detectives.
The house was unoccupied. There was no sign of Barnes, dead, dying or otherwise. It was immediately obvious there were no signs of a struggle anywhere in the house.
Tina turned to Sergeant Archer and said, ‘Thank you, Sergeant. I don’t think we need to detain you, or your men, any longer. We can take it from here.’
‘Right you are. If you’re sure you don’t need us for anything else, we’ll resume. Have you got the boarding-up sorted for the front door?’
‘Yes, we have. Thanks again.’
The SOU men left, leaving the two detectives alone in the house.
Rachel said, ‘I love it when you come over all Upstairs Downstairs.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You, just then: “I don’t think we need to detain you, or your men, any longer.” You sounded like the Queen talking to her footmen.’
Tina chuckled. ‘Was it really that bad?’
‘Yep.’
‘Oh well, he deserved it. Let’s have a look around and see if we can find anything useful before I arrange for the boarder-uppers to come and secure the door.’
The two detectives began a cursory search of the property.
The only thing they found that was of any use was the up to-date passport of Fred Barnes. This find confirmed that the nurse hadn’t gone abroad and taken a surprise holiday.
Tina then arranged for the house to be secured through the local control room.
Fred Barnes’s house was the same as the house rented by Jack Williams at Dunham. There were no clues in either property that would help explain the disappearance of the two men.
Two men from Victory Glass arrived and began the task of boarding up the property. They hammered a sheet of hardboard onto the front door to secure it.
As they finished their work, Rachel turned to Tina and said, ‘I think we should go back to Rampton. The answer to all this has got to be there somewhere.’
Tina nodded. ‘Let’s finish the follow-up enquiries on these two first. I want to see everyone on this street, just to be sure we haven’t missed anything. We should be done in a day or two at the most. Then we’ll go back to Rampton.’
‘Okay, but I really don’t think we’re going to find anything else here.’
51
28 June 1986
South Lodge, Retford
Jimmy Wade had been patient, but now he felt he’d waited long enough.
The daylight was rapidly turning to dusk. The air was still, the sun beginning to slowly drop below the thick woodland that surrounded the stone lodge.
‘It’s time.’
‘Are you sure, Jimmy?’
‘The sooner this is done, the sooner we can leave and start a new life in Ireland.’
‘Do you need me to do anything?’
‘No. Stay here and start preparing our evening meal. I won’t be long. Unless you want to come and watch the fun?’
‘You don’t need me down there, sweetheart. I’ll make a start on the food. Would you like a cold beer pouring, ready for when you come back?’
‘That would be lovely.’
He walked over and kissed her hard on the mouth.
In her mind, she was wondering why he couldn’t be like this all the time. Sometimes their relationship seemed perfectly normal. He displayed tenderness, affection and even love.
Most of the time, however, Melissa Braithwaite was literally in fear for her life.
Over a period of three months, her spirit had been broken to such an extent that even when presented with opportunities to escape from Wade’s clutches, she hadn’t dared to take them.
She was now totally subservient and watched impassively as he walked off towards the outbuilding. She felt nothing when she saw him slip the heavy lump hammer into the thick leather belt around his waist.
Wade unlocked the padlock on the door of the outbuilding and stepped inside. Now that the sun had dropped below the horizon, and the stone building was cast in shadow, the temperature inside had dropped markedly.
He paused in the doorway, allowing his eyes time to adjust to the dim light inside. It also afforded time for his sense of smell to get accustomed to the stench emanating from the two men.
Both of his prisoners were sat up. Fully attentive, eyes wide and staring at their captor. He glanced at their hands to
check they were still secured by the steel manacles attached to the wall.
With a superior air, Wade addressed them both, ‘Well, have you decided? Which one of you wants to live, and who wants to die?’
The question was left hanging. Both men looked down at the floor and remained silent.
Wade looked at Fred Barnes. ‘What about you, Fred? You’re old and fat already. Are you prepared to let Jack live instead of you?’
Again, it was a heavy silence that greeted the impossible question.
Wade turned to Williams. ‘Do you feel like sacrificing yourself, disfigured as you now are, so that Fred can survive?’
Silence.
‘Thought not. There’s only one way we can settle this. I’ll have to unlock your manacles, shut the door, and let the strongest survive. I’ll leave you alone for one night. If you’re both still alive in the morning, I’ll kill you both myself. Do you understand the rules of the game?’
Without looking up, both men nodded.
‘There’s one last thing I need to do, to make this a fair contest.’
Removing the lump hammer from the belt around his waist, Wade stepped forward and smashed the heavy metal hammer down onto the lower leg of Barnes. The force of the blow shattered the shin bone just below the knee. He instantly turned and repeated the same action, this time smashing the shin bone in Williams’s left leg.
Both men had been powerless to stop Wade. He had effectively crippled them in seconds. They were now screaming in agony. Wade stepped forward, then unlocked and removed the manacles from their wrists.
Any thoughts of resistance had been smashed from their minds by two sadistic blows from the lump hammer.
Leaving both men writhing on the dirt floor, Wade grinned and said loudly, above the noise of the screams, ‘I’ll see you in the morning. One of you bastards had better be dead!’
Laughing loudly, he stepped out of the building, closed the door and locked the padlock.
He stalked away back to the lodge.
He stepped inside the kitchen, where Melissa was waiting with a glass of cold lager.
‘That’s perfect, sweetheart, thanks.’
52
29 June 1986
Mansfield Police Station, Nottinghamshire
It was almost six thirty in the morning, and Danny was being briefed by Rob Buxton and Brian Hopkirk.
Brian said, ‘We’ve finally finished speaking to all the staff at the home and have reinterviewed them, this time specifically about the minibus. I’ve collated all the information from the statements taken. The findings are very interesting. It seems that the only person who ever drives that Ford Transit minibus is Caroline Short. The vehicle’s only insured for her to drive.’
Danny asked, ‘Doesn’t her husband drive it?’
‘He doesn’t drive at all; Bill Short was disqualified from driving a year ago. He was banned for three years, following his second drink drive conviction. He served a six-week custodial sentence in Lincoln prison, for the same offence.’
‘And none of the other staff drive it?’
‘No, it’s only ever Caroline.’
‘Do we know what it’s used for?’
‘Because Caroline has insured the vehicle herself, she uses it for her own personal use, as well as for trips run by the home.’
‘But the vehicle’s still registered to the local authority. Is that right?’
‘That’s right. It seems some sort of deal has been struck between the local authority and Caroline, which allows her use of the vehicle provided she insures it and maintains it.’
‘When was it last used on a trip for the residents of the home?’
‘The last time anyone could remember it being used on a trip was at the beginning of May. Some of the boys were taken to the local swimming pool. The trip to the pool used to be a weekly event, but after two of the boys absconded, Caroline banned all future trips there.’
‘That’s all very helpful.’
Danny turned to Rob and said, ‘How are you getting on with your enquiries into Councillor Leonard Mellor?’
‘The councillor appears to be a pillar of the community. He’s heavily involved in the rotary club and other charities. He’s been a councillor for over five years. He stood as an independent in the 1981 elections. He’s held the ward ever since. He’s a builder by trade and still runs the family business along with his brother, Richard Mellor. He’s been married for twenty years, but has no children. His wife, Vera, works as a secretary in the family business. It’s early days, but so far, there are no obvious areas of concern.’
‘Thanks, Rob. Brian, how’s Andy getting on with the address book?’
‘He hasn’t fared very well so far, but he’s seeing a British Telecom engineer later today. This engineer’s travelling up from Swansea. He’s their top man. If anybody can crack it, it’s this Welshman.’
‘I suppose it’s too early to expect anything back from the van?’
Rob replied, ‘I spoke with Tim Donnelly on the telephone late last night. He was quite excited. They’ve recovered a single human hair from the rear of the minibus.’
‘Where, exactly?’
‘Where the back doors are, there’s a small recess between the floor of the vehicle and the rear bumpers. It’s like a small crevice that runs across, directly below the rear doors. The hair was recovered from there. They plan on doing comparison tests on it today. We should know if it’s a positive match for Evan Jenkins by the end of the day.’
‘Wow! That’s brilliant news.’
‘Tim Donnelly said they often find useful debris in this area. If someone swills the van out, it’s where the water runs. If it’s not washed away immediately, stuff can get trapped in this little crevice.’
‘It’s still brilliant work. Is there any news on the tyres?’
‘First reports are that the tread analysis is looking promising. They still need to find more identical markings to call it a positive match. It’s still a work in progress, boss. The soil from the tyres has been sent off to the lab for comparison, but that will take a little longer to process. The same goes for the mud sent from the pair of wellington boots.’
‘Thanks, Rob. This is for your and Brian’s information only and isn’t to be shared outside these walls. The crime squad surveillance team have maintained observations on Caroline and Bill Short. Caroline hasn’t strayed from the flat. Bill, on the other hand, has been out a few times. He went with Grenville Slater to Tall Trees to collect clothing and other articles, as arranged. He then went on foot to the local Tesco, where he purchased food, toiletries and, interestingly, quite a lot of cleaning products.’
‘Maybe the flat’s a bit of a shithole,’ said Brian.
‘Could be. This is what’s really interesting, though. Yesterday, Bill went out in the morning. Crime squad followed him into Mansfield, where he went to the bank and drew out a large sum of money. He then spent the next three hours in the betting shop on the market square.’
‘So he’s got a gambling habit,’ said Rob.
‘Maybe. The interesting bit is what happened back at the flat while he was out at the bookies. Fifteen minutes after Bill had gone out, Grenville Slater arrived. He was let into the flat by Caroline, who was wearing a very skimpy negligee. Two hours later, Slater left the flat, looking red in the face and dishevelled. Make of that what you will, but it seems to me that Caroline may be paying for her legal advice in kind.’
Rob shrugged and said, ‘Like you said, boss, it’s interesting, but not really surprising. Grenville Slater isn’t exactly a candidate for the Law Society’s solicitor of the year, is he?’
‘No, he isn’t, but that unprofessional conduct may prove useful later, if we can drip-feed some of this extramarital affair into Bill’s ear at some stage.’
‘What do you mean? Try to turn them against each other?’
‘Exactly that.’
‘Well, I hope they slip up a bit more than that. It’s going to take a bit more
than a sordid little affair to convict these two shits of murder.’
‘You’re right, Rob, but every little helps. We’ve just got to make sure we’re there when they do slip up.’
53
29 June 1986
South Lodge, Retford
Jimmy Wade and Melissa Braithwaite peered down through the small window, looking at the two desperate men lying on the dirt floor below them.
Wade watched intently as he saw Fred Barnes start to move, dragging his shattered right leg behind him.
Wade knew that the damage he had inflicted on Jack Williams’s left leg was even worse. The younger man was now in an extremely poor state.
As the morning light started to filter through the window behind him, Wade could see that Williams remained in a fitful sleep. The enormous pain that racked his young body wouldn’t allow for a deep sleep.
Barnes was getting closer all the time. He was desperately trying not to aggravate his own irreparably damaged leg as he inched his way towards Williams.
Jimmy turned to Melissa and, in an excited voice, said, ‘Look, Mel. Fat Fred’s making his move.’
Melissa giggled.
The couple watched from above as Fred Barnes crawled alongside the sleeping Williams.
Wade grinned as he saw Barnes slip both hands around the younger man’s throat and begin to squeeze.
He turned to Melissa and said, ‘Here we go.’
Williams woke immediately and began trying to pull Barnes’s hands from around his throat. He had a feeble grip around the older man’s wrists, but could not budge his hands. His feet began thrashing around in the dirt as he struggled to breathe.
Wade said, ‘He’s got him. He’s going to throttle him. Are you watching, sweetheart?’
A Cold Grave: A DCI Danny Flint Book Page 19