by Iris Gower
22
‘So,’ Lainey said, ‘we searched through that damned case for nothing. It was a complete waste of time. Someone had taken the trouble to remove the CD, and who does it end up with? Lowri Richards – a coincidence, do you think?’
‘I don’t know, guv,’ Ken Major said tiredly. ‘Look, when are you going to get Matthew Brown back into work? We could do with him now, don’t you think?’
‘Why now?’ Lainey asked.
‘Well, he’s been on holiday for long enough. Anyway, he knows more about computer stuff than I do.’
Lainey nodded. ‘You’re right. I’ll try and get hold of him first thing in the morning.’
‘Brown’s a really good officer, guv. He was a fool to go prancing around with a suspect but then Miss Richards is a very attractive lady, isn’t she?’
‘Aye, if you say so.’ Lainey rose to his feet. ‘I’m off, I don’t feel as if I’ve been to bed for weeks. See you in the morning.’
Lainey left the station and unlocked his car. It was a cold night and the sky was studded with stars. He could see the Plough quite plainly – why had it seemed much more impressive when he was a boy?
Summers were hotter, winters full of snowmen and Christmas gifts when he was a boy. Memories distorted by time, no doubt. He drove out of the station yard and along the road towards Jersey Marine.
‘You’re as bad as Matthew Brown, Jim Lainey,’ he said out loud. Here he was, a responsible detective inspector, and he could not keep away from Lowri however hard he tried. But then she was the main suspect. ‘That is a rationalization, Lainey, and you know it,’ he told himself.
Lowri’s downstairs lights were on, and he parked the car and walked round the side to the back door. He rapped on it lightly. ‘It’s me,’ he called, ‘Jim Lainey.’
After a moment, the door was opened and Lowri stood there, her dressing-gown tied loosely around her slim figure, her hair tangled over her shoulders. It was quite clear he had woken her up.
‘Can I come in?’ he asked.
‘If you must.’ She left the door open and walked away from him. As he followed, she picked up a handbag and held it out to him.
‘Whose is that?’ he asked, seating himself on one of the upright kitchen chairs.
‘It’s Sally’s. I suppose you can look through it, I’ve been prying into her possessions so you might as well do the same.’
Carefully, Lainey took each item out of the bag and examined it minutely. A half-empty, sticky nail-polish bottle held a puce-coloured polish and he grimaced before putting it down. He took outa pair of knickers, lace-edged and minute, and wondered what on earth women wore them for – certainly not to keep out the cold, or anything else for that matter.
‘These weren’t designed for warmth,’ he said dryly, putting the pants next to the nail polish.
‘Jim,’ she said. ‘Why did Mr Watson deny asking me to bring the disc over to him? Are you sure there was no mistake, a breakdown in communication perhaps?’
‘I’m sure.’ Lainey felt sorry for her. Nothing Lowri touched seemed to work for her.
‘I see.’ She paused. ‘There’s a diary,’ she said. ‘I think you might find that more useful than poking through Sally’s knickers!’ She took it from the hiding-place under the carpet and Lainey smiled.
‘First place a burglar would look,’ he commented dryly.
He took the diary and began to flick through the pages, finding the credit card immediately. He saw Jon Brandon’s name written into one of the dates and sighed. ‘So our Sally kept a great deal of her private life private,’ he said. ‘I suppose you didn’t know for sure if he was running Sally White as well as you and that wife of his.’
Lowri switched on the kettle and took two mugs out of the cupboard, along with a packet of tea bags. He watched as she made the tea, knowing just how he liked it. They were getting to know each other’s foibles like a married couple but without the intimacy, worse luck.
‘Did you notice this?’ He pointed to a date in November. ‘See what it says here?’
‘Not Jon’s name again,’ Lowri said, ‘I looked very carefully.’ She put the mugs down on the table and drew her chair alongside Lainey’s. She smelt faintly of soap and whisky. He took a deep breath, resisting the urge to take her into his arms.
‘No, not Brandon’s. It’s a meeting arranged with someone called Chas, short for Charles I would imagine.’
‘So what’s the significance in that?’
‘Summer’s Dean,’ Lainey said. ‘Look, it’s written very faintly, but it’s there. Isn’t that where your parents live?’
‘Yes it is.’ Lowri leaned closer and the softness of her breast against his arm was almost too much to bear. He was falling in love with this girl and he knew it. But it would not do, it would not do at all.
‘Charles, your stepfather?’
‘Possibly. But why? What would Sally have in common with my stepfather? Sally liked them young.’
‘I don’t know,’ Lainey said truthfully. ‘Was he the type to enjoy being a sugar daddy, perhaps?’
‘Very likely!’ Lowri’s tone was bitter. ‘But even Charles would see through Sally, surely?’
‘You mean she was a gold-digger?’
‘Well no, not exactly. But like any girl she enjoyed beautiful things. A decent car, a good wardrobe, gold jewellery.’ She hesitated. ‘Why are we talking about her in the past tense? Do you think she’s dead?’
He shrugged. ‘I just don’t know. People seem to go missing all around you, Lowri. Or have road-traffic accidents.’
‘Is it my fault if Timmy Perkins crashed his car?’ Lowri’s voice was edged with anger. ‘All Timmy ever meant to me was that he was a boyfriend of Sally’s.’ She paused. ‘How is Timmy?’
‘He’s recovered consciousness but he can’t remember anything about the incident. A temporary loss of memory is quite common in cases of head injury. At least, that’s what the doctor at the hospital said.’
‘Look, was this just an unfortunate accident?’ Lowri asked. She leaned back in her chair and for a moment her lips trembled. ‘Come on, Jim, tell me.’
‘The CD he gave you, it must be very important. Someone wanted it very badly. His rooms were ransacked, and various things were stolen. I think Timmy was driven off the road on purpose. The car was searched before it had time to become a fireball while Timmy lay there unconscious.’
Lainey paused. ‘Would Timmy be able to access the information on the CD, do you think?’
Lowri shrugged. ‘I suppose so, he was studying IT among other things.’ He could see she was thinking the matter over. She closed her eyes for a moment and curving eyelashes rested against her pale cheeks. The graze from her fall looked red and sore, and a feeling of protectiveness engulfed Lainey. He took a deep breath, about to speak, when Lowri beat him to it.
‘Yes, I’m sure Timmy would be able to do most things he put his mind to. He certainly came into money before the accident. At least that’s what Sally said.’
‘Weren’t his parents rich?’
‘Yes, but not so rich they’d give him a brand-new car like that. Anyway I think Timmy was the sort of man who would see himself applying to take silk.’ She smiled. ‘But then he always was a bit on the pompous side.’
‘I can’t believe the car smash was an accident,’ Lainey said.
‘Jim!’ Lowri sounded exasperated. ‘Can’t you stop thinking like a policeman for once? Accidents do happen to innocent people all the time and opportunists rifle cars and houses. Isn’t that how thieves make a living?’
She was right, of course. It was just his gut feeling that told him that the crash was no ordinary accident. He leaned forward. ‘Lowri, why would Jon Brandon be sending software to your brother in Canada?’
She looked at him as if he had grown two heads. ‘Don’t ask me! I haven’t spoken to my brother in years. We don’t get on.’ She smiled wryly. ‘Justin deals in wines and spirits but I suppose he’d need to run a network of computers, would
n’t he?’
‘So you had no idea that Brandon was involved in dealings with your brother, then?’
‘Got it in one.’ Her sarcasm was evident. He smiled ruefully.
‘I’d like to believe you, Lowri, but it’s inconceivable you didn’t know anything about Jon Brandon and his business.’
‘Like I didn’t know he was married. Why don’t you go and question his wife? She’s bound to know more than I do about the man.’ She rubbed her eyes wearily. Lainey got to his feet.
‘I’d better go.’
‘To ask silly questions of Mrs Brandon, I take it?’
‘I’ve made inquiries and Mrs Brandon is out of the country,’ Lainey said, cursing his bad luck. He had no reason to order Sarah Brandon to return to England; so far as he knew she had committed no crime. Still she needed watching. He could send one of the men out there. Matthew Brown would jump at the chance and at least he would be out of Lainey’s hair. And at a safe distance from Lowri Richards, but that was his jealous streak talking.
‘Right, I’m off.’ He walked towards the door and Lowri followed him, tying her dressing-gown more securely around her. He stopped abruptly and Lowri cannoned into him.
He caught her arms, felt the thinness of them under the robe and, before he could stop himself, he had drawn her to him and was kissing her with a passion that surprised him.
He felt her lips soft against his. The blood pounded in his head. He felt himself harden. Suddenly embarrassed, he released her.
‘Sorry!’ he said. ‘That was out of order.’
Lowri caught hold of his lapels and drew him back into her embrace. ‘Jim,’ her voice was thick, ‘I’ve told you, you must stop thinking like a policeman all the time.’
He kissed her, he just could not resist the lure of her mouth. Her ragged breathing matched his own. Lowri drew away and taking his hand led him upstairs to her bedroom. He could not be rational any longer; his desire to possess this beautiful, challenging woman was too much for him.
He watched her slip her robe from her shoulders and his mouth was dry as he took in the alabaster skin of her breasts tipped with pink, the nipples standing proud. Her hips were gently curved and at the base of her belly her pubic hair shone golden in the soft light from her bedside lamp.
Emotions he had subdued for so long rose to the surface. He lay with Lowri on the bed and touched her tenderly. Her mouth curved into a smile. ‘It’s all right,’ she whispered. ‘I won’t break.’
She drew his head onto her breast and he took her nipple into his mouth, tasting her, wanting to absorb her into himself.
She cried out as he slid inside her and her legs wrapped round him, holding him close. He lost himself then, hearing her cries of delight with a surge of such love and power that he felt he could move mountains.
They lay together in the darkness of early morning and, wrapped in each other’s arms, they slept.
Lowri stepped out of the shower and studied her reflection in the long bathroom mirror. A flush of happiness illuminated her features. She was in love, really in love, madly, crazily. No man had ever moved her the way Lainey did.
She heard the phone ring. She pulled on a fresh robe and hurried downstairs. Her hair hung damply on her shoulders and she smiled, feeling reborn.
Before Lainey had left he had held her close and though he had spoken no words of love, she knew deep in her being that he felt the same way as she did.
She picked up the phone. ‘Hello?’ After a short pause, a voice came over the line.
‘Hi, Lowri! It’s Justin, your long-lost brother. I’m in London.’ His voice betrayed the Canadian accent that he had acquired during his time abroad. ‘I’m catching the next train down to your little backwater – can you give me a room for a couple of nights?’
‘Justin!’ She frowned. Why had he come back now, of all times? ‘Yes, sure, what time is your train due in? I’ll meet you.’
When she put the phone down, Lowri stared at it for some time. Her joy of the morning seemed to vanish as she thought of her childhood. Being with Justin had always meant trouble. She squared her shoulders. Surely things were different now they were both adults?
She phoned the office and was answered by the impersonal voice of Mrs Jenkins.
‘Will you let Mr Watson know I can’t come in today?’ Lowri said. ‘Something’s come up.’
‘Not again!’ Mrs Jenkins was exasperated. ‘I shall really have to insist on other staff in the office.’ She spoke in her usual manner, as though she hated the entire world and all its inhabitants. ‘I cannot continue to man the office alone.’ With that she put down the phone.
Lowri shrugged. Mrs Jenkins could do as she liked because Lowri was not sure she wanted to work for Mr Watson any longer. He had let her down when she most needed him. He had lied to the police about her, and the thought hurt. Fathers? A girl was better off without one.
She picked Justin up three and a half hours later. As he came towards her he looked tanned and healthy. His hair, blond where hers was red, gleamed in the pale sunlight. He was smiling and his teeth were white and perfect. Canadian dentists must be a superior breed; Lowri remembered that her brother had once had protruding front teeth.
‘You’re looking good, Lowri.’ Justin hugged her. ‘Quite the little beauty instead of the bespectacled, pimply sister I remember.’
She slid her arm through his. ‘Same horrid brother then, no change there.’ She smiled up at him. ‘Come on, you can treat me to lunch, we’ll go somewhere posh seeing as you are the wealthy businessman these days.’
Justin grinned. ‘Yes, I am wealthy and successful, aren’t I? I always said I would be, remember?’
‘I remember, you smug bastard!’
As they walked out of the station arm in arm a police car drew up at the side of the kerb. The doors swung open and several uniformed police stepped out. Lowri watched in disbelief as Lainey emerged from the back seat and gave her a withering look that seemed to shrivel her heart.
‘Mr Justin Richards,’ Lainey said, ‘I want you to come with me.’ He did not look at Lowri again. ‘I have reason to believe you are in possession of certain information that could help me with my inquiries.’
‘Get me a lawyer, sis,’ Justin said as he was bundled into the car. Lowri stood in openmouthed astonishment as it drew speedily away from the kerb, leaving her standing on the pavement feeling as if the world had just crashed around her ears.
23
Lainey sat at his desk and stared at the flickering images on the computer screen with little interest. So far, Justin Richards had given him nothing of value. Lainey closed his eyes. One thing he could be grateful for, immigration had passed on the information that Richards was back in the country. It made up in part for the fact that they had let him down over Jon Brandon.
Lainey had been surprised when the solicitor who came to the station to act for Richards turned out to be Terence Watson. He had been led to believe that there was no love lost between Watson and Charles Richards, so why would Justin retain him? Still, he probably had no choice, Watson might be the only solicitor Lowri could get.
He thought of Lowri with a sinking heart. He had made love to her. Fallen in love with her. She was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And she had lied to him. He had seen her come out of the station, arm in arm with her brother, smiling up at him, no doubt part of all that had been going on.
The door to his office opened. ‘Shall we interview Richards again, guv?’ Matthew Brown stood in the doorway. ‘I know his solicitor got him out pretty sharp but I would like to see the cocky little bastard on his own, if only for ten minutes.’
Lainey shook his head. ‘There’s no point. We lost him through lack of hard evidence. The tip-off we received was that Justin Richards was entering the country carrying a case full of contraband.’ He sighed. ‘By then he could have deposited it somewhere near the airport.’
‘I thought security there had him watched. Surely the
y would have searched his stuff?’
‘Maybe, but he could have had an accomplice or even got some unsuspecting fellow-traveller to carry a case through for him. Perhaps I should learn a lesson from this, never trust a caller who wants to remain anonymous.’
He glanced at his watch. ‘Anyway, it’s getting late, better get off home.’
Brown nodded. ‘I expect you’re right, sir, but what about putting a tail on Richards? He might try to contact someone a bit iffy.’
‘Are you voluntering, Sergeant Brown?’ Lainey rose to his feet and shuffled the papers on his desk. ‘If so, go ahead with my blessing. I assume his sister has taken him back to her place at Jersey Marine?’
‘Yes, guv, and I don’t mind a bit of extra work. I had enough of time off when I was on holiday.’ He grinned. ‘It was a case of nothing to do and no-one to do it with.’
Lainey looked at him. ‘No girlfriend, Brown?’
‘No sir, not at the moment. I’m playing the field until I meet the right one.’
Lainey moved to the door, wondering if Brown considered Lowri a candidate for the ‘right one’ spot. ‘Grab what you can when you can, Sergeant,’ he said. ‘Life has a nasty habit of sneaking up on you and before you know it you’re a lonely old man.’
‘You’re not old, guv.’
‘I was speaking hypothetically,’ Lainey said, ‘but by God, at times like this I feel a hundred and one!’
Lainey left the office and climbed into his own small car. The Golf was past her best but she was a reliable old thing and, in any case, Lainey did not have the sort of money to splash out on new cars, his ex-wife saw to that.
‘Women!’ he muttered as he turned on the ignition. ‘Why do they always let you down?’
‘What on earth do the police suspect you of?’ Lowri and her brother were sitting in her living-room, drinking coffee. Justin shook his head and his bright hair fell across his forehead. It was hard to believe he was the same person who used to torment her when they were children.
‘I’m not sure.’ He smiled. ‘Perhaps I look the criminal type.’
Lowri wondered what had made Lainey suspicious of Justin in the first place. The police usually had a good reason for picking someone up and carting them off to the station. At least Mr Watson had turned up trumps and come at once when she telephoned him.