“You mentioned tying up loose ends, Anna?” Red urged, glancing at the clock.
“Sorry, Guv. Yeah. Years before the Uncle Tom business Bristow had been convicted of the sexual abuse of Kevin over a sustained period. The full grooming story. The parents were almost as bad. They pretty much let Bristow do whatever he wanted, just to have the boy out of the way. It’s not clear what happened to Nikki at this time, but when the Police became involved both kids were taken into care.”
“What about the parents?”
“The picture Nikki paints is not a pretty one. But one we’ve all seen a thousand times. The parents get slapped wrists for neglect. The kids go through the Social Services meatgrinder.”
“Makes you proud to be British,” Taylor muttered.“Putting kids like that in care is just like the old borstals and reform schools. Breeding grounds for future criminals.”
“Exactly so,” Anna agreed. “Apparently Kevin was a regular fire-starter. Loved playing with matches. He’d start a fire somewhere and then go into the girls’ rooms and play with their clothes while everyone’s attention was elsewhere. One real mixed-up kid according to the social worker’s reports.”
“That I can imagine,” Red said.
“It seems Nikki knew Kevin was being abused by Bristow,” Anna continued, “but no-one took any notice. Later she dug up all the dirt she could on him, and tracked him through his time in jail, and his release.”
“Surprised he wasn’t the first victim,” Roberts said.
“My thoughts exactly. So I looked a little closer. Bristow died when Nikki was still in care, so not much she could have done to him. But remember the link Mac spotted? That all the victims had been in HMP Coldingley for one reason or another? Guess where Bristow did some of his time…”
Mackenzie chuckled. “Guilt by association? What a lousy reason to be killed.”
“There may be more to it, but we’d have to dig a lot deeper to see exactly what their connection with Bristow was. If any. But I’m guessing the Guv will veto that. Nikki Marshall is dead. Case closed. Why waste more of the tax-payer’s money?”
Red stood. “That’s exactly my position, Anna. Thanks for all that, but the Nikki Marshall case is now officially closed.” Red grabbed her jacket. “And guys, I don’t know about you, but I think that calls for a quiet celebration. First round is on me.”
Chapter 157.
“Before you start, I only had the two.”
Pippa raised her hands in faux defence. “What did I say?”
“I know the glare.” Red slumped onto the sofa. “Yes, Terri Miller was there, but so was everyone else. Including Jez Harris. It was just a quiet drink to mark the occasion.”
Pippa sat up, eyes sparkling. “Oh my God! Virginia? When do you fly out?”
“Doh!” Red palmed her forehead. “Dream on, Counsellor. I can assure you FBI training is not on the list.”
Pippa deflated slowly. “So why the celebration?”
“Hardly a celebration. We’ve just laid the Nikki Marshall case to rest, that’s all.”
“Just in time to go to Virginia,” Pippa persisted. “I’ve told everyone in Chambers. You should have seen their faces.”
Red sprawled out on the sofa. “Pip, read my lips. I am, not, repeat not, going to the States, least of all to the FBI training centre. I mean, be serious. I’m barely the right side of forty. The Met’s not going to invest that sort of time and money in sending me to be trained up when I’m almost ready to collect my pension.”
Pippa looked Red up and down. Slowly. Twice. “You’re probably right, Cass. You are beginning to look frayed at the edges.”
Red threw a cushion. Hard. “And I love you too, Counsellor.”
Pippa pushed her paperwork to one side. “Seriously, Cassandra, wherever it is they are planning on sending you, we’re going to need to make provision for the children. If Richard sees I’m trying to cope with all three on my own whilst working full time at the Bar it will play right into his hands. And Steve is due to start teaching in September.”
Red pulled herself straight. “There’s always Deimante.”
Pippa looked away. “I’m not sure Deimante will ever forgive me, let alone agree to work for me again. And we do still have a commitment to Steve. He wants to stay on as private tutor for the children outside of school hours.”
“Fear not,” Red said. “I feel a cunning plan coming on.”
“So long as it’s not too cunning, Cassandra. I know your cunning plans.”
Red dismissed the barbs with a wave if the hand. “We’ve got an hour before Madame Sin gets back with the kids. Counsellor, put some coffee on while I grab a shower and we can talk it through. Better still, forget the coffee. Let’s both have a shower and talk it through.”
Chapter 158.
A hand reached out from beneath the quilt. Bleary eyes registered the time. One-fifteen. In the morning. Then the caller ID. Metcalf.
Red threw back the quilt as she hit the button. “Pete?”
Metcalf’s normally measured tones were breathless. “Guv, we need you here. Battersea Park. Ladies Pond, near the Pump House Gallery. Lee’s been knifed.”
Red dressed with the phone to her ear. “How bad is he?”
“Lost a lot of blood. The paramedics are loading him now.”
“Any Police there yet.”
“One patrol so far. They’ve arrested one suspect. The one I managed to pin down. The others ran off when they heard the blues and twos.”
“Pete, go with Lee to the hospital. I’ll be at Ladies Pond as soon as possible. Let the officers know I’m on the way.”
Red turned to Pippa. “Sleep tight, Counsellor.”
Chapter 159.
“In intensive care. They say it’s fifty-fifty. Pete’s there with him.”
Sombre silence echoed around the briefing room.
Finally Mackenzie asked, “What were they doing in Battersea Park at that time of night anyway?”
“Being good coppers, from what I understand,” Red said. “They’d been out for a late curry and were following a bunch of drunken youths harassing bystanders. Just hanging back in case things got out of hand.”
“Which they did clearly,” Anna said.
“Racist attack,” Red continued. “The youths spotted Pete and started throwing the usual taunts.”
“Not like Pete to let that sort of thing bother him,” Mackenzie said.
Red nodded agreement. “Pete took it in his stride, but Lee, probably having had one too many, waved his badge and told them to cool it. Obviously that was right thing to do, but there’s a time and a place. This was neither. There were six of them. In a particularly badly lit area of Battersea Park. Pete and Lee had both been drinking, and this at the end of a long day…”
“Idiots,” Taylor muttered.
Harris asked, “Pete wasn’t hurt?”
“Just his pride. Unlike Lee. One of the kids produced a knife, and against all procedural advice Lee stormed in. Pete had already called for back-up by this stage, and luckily there was a patrol vehicle very close. When the blues and twos appeared the gang scattered. Pete rugby-tackled one of them. The others got away. Then he realised Lee had been stabbed.”
“Bags I have first go with the suspect.” Taylor smacked a fist into his palm.
“Sorry, Barry. That sort of response is precisely why I asked Chelsea to take him.”
Taylor glared at Red. “You did what? Battersea Park is our manor, not those northerners over the river.”
Red levelled her palms to quell the growing dissent. “Barry, I feel the same way you do, believe me. Which is why I asked for the transfer. The defence will have a field day in Court questioning our impartiality if we have anything whatsoever to do with this. Both the Super and the Chief Super approved the decision.”
Taylor sneered. “See what you’re coming back to, Jez? The Guv in league with the forces of darkness upstairs.”
Red’s face darkened. “That will do,
DC Taylor.”
Terri asked. “Which hospital is he in, Guv?”
“The new place. The Halo. They say it’s the best in the city.”
“It had better be. If Lee doesn’t pull through…” Taylor thumped his fist into his palm again.
Chapter 160.
“Well, this is nice isn’t it?” A smug Pippa looked at the faces around the table.
Red fidgeted in her seat, forcing a smile. “Steve, allow me to introduce the famous Deimante. Dei’, this is Steve. Steve filled in for you with the children while you were away.”
“Filled in, Miss Cass?” Deimante shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“He did your job for you. Steve was our child minder whilst you were back in Lithuania.”
Deimante forced a shy smile at Steve. “Thank you for looking after the children for me.”
“My pleasure Deimante,” Steve smiled. “How was Lithuania?”
“You know I am from Lithuania?”
Steve laughed. “I know all your secrets. The children talk about constantly. Especially the little Princess here.”
Ruby beamed at Deimante.
Pippa brought a tray of chilled juice to the table. “Well, I imagine you are both wondering why we asked you here together.”
Ella and Jack exchanged knowing glances. Ruby sat between Deimante and Steve like the cat that got the cream, a hand held by each au pair.
“Obviously the summer holidays are about to end,” Pippa said, “and both the children and Steve will be starting school.”
Deimante stared at Steve. “You are going to school too?”
“Steve is starting work as a teacher,” Red said. “As you know, Deimante, we told you we’d review the situation at the end of the month. Obviously having taken Steve on in your absence, we couldn’t just dismiss him when you suddenly reappeared.”
“The problem being,” Pippa took up the story, “that we had by then not just committed to Steve for the duration of the holidays, but had also agreed he would continue with us afterwards. Obviously, Deimante, we had no idea at the time if we would ever see you again.”
“You mean…” Tears glistened in Deimante’s eyes. She turned to Ruby. “Oh, my baby, I shall miss you so much.”
Steve leant forward. “Hold on. This isn’t right. Look, I knew from the off that you already had a child minder, and I have absolutely no doubt that the kids adore Deimante. The job was and should be hers. I really don’t mind. I can easily find something else to tide me over. It was only ever going to be part-time with you guys anyway, once school started.”
“That’s very noble of you, Steve,” Pippa said, “but we felt that it would be wholly unfair for Cass or I to make that decision ourselves. So we asked the children to decide.”
Steve spread his hands wide. “Democracy at work. The final say should always be with the children. I’m happy to abide by their decision and bow out quietly.”
Pippa said solemnly, “The problem is, they wanted you to stay, Steve.”
“Oh,” Steve blushed. “I’m really sorry, Deimante.”
Deimante looked from Steve, to Pippa, to Red. Then at the children. She burst into tears.
“Tissues, Cassandra, please,” Pippa said.
Red passed a box of tissues across the table. She said, “Okay, kids.”
Ella and Jack grabbed Ruby between them and disappeared into the hallway. Pippa mouthed reassurances to a deeply embarrassed Steve while Red comforted Deimante.
The door opened. Ruby and Jack appeared, each with a gigantic home-made card in their hands.
“This is for you, Deimante!” Ruby shouted. “And this is for you, Steve!”
Ella followed behind, balancing a drunken-looking chocolate cake with a mis-matched bride and groom couple stuck haphazardly in its centre. She placed it carefully on the table. “Happy Child Minder Day!”
Ruby jigged excitedly in front of Deimante. “That’s you, and that’s Steve,” she said.
“As I was saying, Deimante,” Pippa said. “We asked the children to choose and they said they wanted Steve to say. But they also said they wanted you to stay. Deadlock.”
“So what happened, kids?” Red demanded.
Jack put a comforting arm around Deimante’s shoulder while Ella took Steve’s hand. Red pushed Ruby between them.
“We told Mum and Cass it was both of you, or no-one,” they said.
Chapter 161.
Harris knocked a final time, then slipped the key into the lock. He pushed the door open. A courtesy shout. “Kevin? It’s Jez.”
He stepped into the living room, greeted by a sombre silence broken only by the occasional traffic outside and a radio or television from an adjacent flat.
“Kevin?”Satisfied, Harris pushed the closed. Alone in Nikki’s flat. Suddenly reality hit.
Nikki would never return here. He would never see her again. He walked slowly around the living room, through to the kitchen, then back, juggling fleeting memories.
He was holding a framed photo in his hands, picked up without even being aware of it. A wave of emotion trembled through him. He eased himself onto the sofa, studying the girl he once loved. Swamped by memories, first the good, then the bad. First the dream. The girlfriend model with augmented breasts. Then the reality. Three men murdered.
He shook the fog of loss from his head. Shook the SOCO images from his mind.
He put the photo-frame gently back on the bureau. Adjusted the angle. Stepped back to admire it. Wondered if Kevin would notice if he took it.
Kevin. The thought jolted him back to reality. The scrapbook. The spare key. The reasons he was here.
He slipped the scrapbook from beneath his jacket and placed it on the coffee table. Put the key Nikki had given him on the table next to it. Reached into his pocket for his pen and notebook. In the car.
He remembered Nikki kept a spiral-bound notepad and a jar of biros by her bedside. She liked to doodle when chatting on the phone.
Pushing open the bedroom door triggered a whole new wave of memories. He kept his mind focussed, trying not to look at the bed. He grabbed a biro and the notepad and walked back to the living room. Jotted a quick note.
Kev,
Called round to see if you were okay, but you weren’t in. Returning the spare key and Nikki’s scrapbook. Give me a call if you need anything.
Jez.
He tore off the sheet and left it on the scrapbook. Put the key on top to keep it in place. Returned the pad and pen to the bedside cabinet.
He spotted the card on Nikki’s dressing table as he turned. Kevin must have found it after SOCO left. The same gel pen and same handwriting as the card he had been shown in Blake’s office. The one Taylor had picked up at the murder scene. He slipped it into his wallet. Too late to matter. But worth a few brownie points with the Guv. And something to throw at the SOCO officers when next they met.
The shrill of the bedside telephone cut through his thoughts.
After a moment’s hesitation, he answered the call.
“Hello?”
There was a pause on the line. “I was expecting the lady of the house?”
Harris sucked in a breath. “I’m afraid she’s not here at the moment.”
“Can I leave a message?”
“A message?” Didn’t this guy read the newspapers?
“Tell Samantha I’ll be at the Romney at midnight sharp, not midnight-thirty as arranged. She’ll know who I am.”
Harris breathed a sigh of relief. “Sorry, mate. I think you’ve got the wrong number. There’s no-one here by that name.”
He used the toilet. Checked himself in the mirror. Took a last glance around the flat. Tidier than when Nikki was here. No dirty dishes. No frilly undies on the radiator.
Frilly undies. Harris found himself looking at the photo of Nikki again.
Found himself wandering back into the bedroom. Staring fondly at the dressing table. Make-up and cosmetics neatly displayed. Kevin must have put everythin
g back as it was after SOCO left. That was probably when he found the card they missed.
Harris found himself opening the dresser drawers, running a hand over bras and panties, a smile tugging at his lips. He crossed to the wardrobe, revealing Nikki’s dresses. Mini-skirts, midis, long flowing gowns. Sexy tops. He ran his fingers down the sleeve of a blouse he recognized. The one she had worn to the Romanian restaurant.
He turned his attention to the long dresses. Kevin had put everything back as if Nikki were still alive. Sad, Harris thought. The poor bastard still doesn’t get it.
He pulled the door closed on Nikki’s flat for the final time. Texted Anna on the way downstairs.
Fancy a last coffee with me before I start back with Baz Monday? My treat.
Chapter 162.
“To justice!”
Red touched her coke glass to Pippa’s wine. “In this case bittersweet justice, Counsellor.”
“All justice is bittersweet, Cass. That’s why defending the guilty is just as important as defending the innocent. Every convicted criminal leaves behind unintended victims. Their own families, friends and relatives.”
“Like Kevin, you mean.”
“Actually I was thinking more of Jeremy. The system will offer Kevin some sort of support. And from my acquaintance with him at Rapunzel’s I doubt he fully understands what’s happened anyway. But Jeremy…”
“But Jeremy what?”
“Jeremy has to deal with both the personal loss and the professional misjudgement, for having got mixed up with her in the first place.”
Red shrugged. “Not everything is black and white, Pip. Serial killers don’t walk around with sandwich boards advertising the fact.”
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