THE FOURTH FRIEND a gripping crime thriller full of stunning twists

by Joy Ellis

  They were sitting in his car, waiting for the forensic team to arrive, and Marie told him of Carter’s strange reaction to Leah’s abduction.

  ‘Do you know, just before this happened I was about to give him the go-ahead to talk to us about Suzanne and Tom Holland. I’ve had Laura Archer bending my ear about his final task.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Now I’m really not sure what to do.’

  ‘I was going to ask you the same thing. He’s been going on and on about helping with the Holland inquiry. He knew the Hollands. Tom was his best friend. We need his help, and he wants to give it. If he has a major setback, it could happen over anything. Maybe this is it.’

  Jackman sat back, stared out of the window and watched the uniformed police officers securing the scene and knocking on neighbouring doors. ‘Maybe this outburst actually stems from his frustration about the Holland investigation.’

  ‘That, and the fact that Ruth Crooke asked him for help, and he believes he failed her.’ She grunted. ‘The super really tore into him, sir. And he just stood there and took it.’

  ‘I’m very twitchy about him going off like the Lone-bloody-Ranger. I’ve never liked having a loose cannon on the team, but I thought I could handle him.’ He looked at Marie. ‘Any idea where he might have gone?’

  Marie shook her head. ‘Not a clue. All he said was someone he knew might have information that would help him find Leah. A snout, I guess.’

  ‘Do we have a list of names?’

  ‘I do, although he’s been office bound for quite a while now, so it might have changed. Street people do move on.’

  ‘Anyone you can recall who was well in Carter’s pocket?’

  ‘Not especially.’ She looked up. ‘SOCOs are here.’

  A big white van with “Crime Scene Investigation” emblazoned on the side was pulling up outside the property.

  ‘Okay, let’s go sort this, then we’ll see if we can get a fix on our masked avenger, shall we?’

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Danny Hurley paced the big empty storeroom.

  His heart raced. For the tenth time in as many minutes he checked his watch. They had said two hours. And those agonising hours were now up.

  He listened for the sound of an engine, but all he heard was a tractor churning up and down some distant field.

  Had something gone wrong? Had the police changed their observation routine? He doubted it. They had been doing their checks on the dot. He checked his phone, then shoved it angrily back into his pocket.

  They should be here.

  His own car sat waiting, ready to carry his girl away from this horrible town. They were going to a place where they could be alone and get to know each other properly. He laughed, and it echoed around the high, timbered ceiling. There was very little he didn’t know about Leah Kingfield, but she had a lot to find out about him.

  He laughed again, then resumed his pacing. He checked his watch one more time.

  * * *

  Carter drove across town and drew up outside a seedy-looking house on the edge of Saltern’s only council estate. The place was pretty rough, but not too bad, considering. The residents tended to be older, and they did their best to keep it looking reasonable.

  Carter slammed his car door shut and locked it. He loped up the garden path, skirting a rusty wheelbarrow and a rustier bike, and hammered on the door.

  The moment it opened, he pushed his way in and grasped the man inside by the shirt front, propelling him back into the hallway.

  ‘A word, my friend, and I’ll be gone.’ The man was short and overweight, and he put up no resistance. Carter bundled him inside and threw him down onto a tattered sofa.

  ‘I’m in a hurry. I haven’t got time to mess around.’

  The man stared up at him open-mouthed. Carter never behaved like this.

  ‘I need to find someone, and fast. I’ll give you a name, and you tell me exactly where I can find him and do not say you don’t know, because I know you do.’ He leant closer and smelled sweat. ‘This is no joke, so don’t piss me about.’ He whispered a name.

  The man licked his lips nervously. ‘He’ll be at Ramsey’s Bar. The snug.’

  Carter believed him. ‘And the other one, if you please?’

  This time the man looked worried. ‘He doesn’t have a regular routine. I’ll tell you where he lives, but that’s all I know.’

  ‘That will do.’

  The man reeled off the address of a small house on the edge of the estate.

  Carter nodded and backed off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note. ‘For your troubles.’ He flung the ten-pound note onto the sofa and strode out of the house.

  He started up the car and thought for a minute. He had to get this right. His fingers beat out a tattoo on the steering wheel. Why had this happened? He had been so sure. His face was set hard as granite. No point in recriminations now. He needed to sort this bloody cock-up before Leah got hurt.

  * * *

  Marie stared at a long list of names. ‘When he and Bill were working together he always had a lot of people on the ground. He used to say that if you managed them right, they’d save you a lot of legwork.’ She gave a half smile. ‘Carter’s motto was “speculate to accumulate.” My Bill wasn’t all that happy about the way he manipulated some of them, but he did get results.’

  Jackman stared at the list and shook his head. ‘There’s too many. We can’t go tearing round Saltern hunting them down on the off-chance. We’ll be better off getting some vehicles and bodies out there watching for a sighting of him or his car.’

  ‘I’ve already told uniform. They are all aware he’s done a caped crusader, but I have told them to back off if they see him, and ring us. If he really is onto something, we don’t want to gatecrash his party.’

  Jackman massaged his temples. ‘What the hell is he doing?’

  ‘My best guess is that he’s mobilising his informants. I reckon he’s calling in old favours, big time.’

  ‘Has he got that much clout with the villains?’

  ‘He certainly had back then. Carter was never snow-white. But now?’ Marie shrugged. ‘Who knows?’

  ‘Maybe we’ll find out. By nightfall, is that what he said?’

  She nodded. ‘By nightfall.’

  ‘Not too long to wait, but we have to go by the book. Grab the team and we’ll try to find her the regular way, shall we?’

  * * *

  Danny was beside himself. He’d finally received a text saying there had been unforeseen holdups, but all was well. They just needed to lie low for an hour or so, then they would meet him as arranged. The merchandise was safe and secure.

  Dark thoughts crept into his head. If they had harmed one hair on his girl’s head, he swore he would kill them.

  Danny sat down on a pile of plastic storage boxes and put his head in his hands. Never in all his life had he been so utterly consumed by desire. This waiting was purgatory. He wanted to touch the face he had photographed so many times, the skin that looked so much like porcelain. He pulled a crumpled photo from his jacket pocket and stared at it. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Soon . . . oh, soon . . .

  He straightened up. An engine!

  He ran to the big double doors and peered out. The security lights came on, illuminating the grey VW hire van that was pulling in. Danny pulled back the heavy doors and waved the vehicle inside.

  As soon as the truck came to a halt, the driver and passenger doors opened and two men almost fell out. ‘Money!’ hissed one.

  ‘When I see that she’s unharmed.’ He took two fat envelopes from his pocket, but held them close to his chest.

  ‘Money. Now. The girl’s in the back. We need to get out of here.’

  Danny gritted his teeth. ‘If she’s hurt, you can forget the money.’

  ‘She’s not hurt. See for yourself.’ The driver nodded towards the back of the vehicle.

  Danny glared at them, took hold of the back door handle and pulled
it open.

  Carter’s body struck him with the force of a steam train.

  Together they hit the floor with a thump that took the breath from his lungs. Before he knew what was happening, his wrists were in cuffs and he was face down in the dirt.

  ‘I’m DS Carter McLean, and you are nicked.’ He picked up the two envelopes from where they had fallen, and tossed them to the driver and his mate. ‘Here. Now beat it!’

  They were gone in seconds. Danny lay on his back and watched as all his dreams came crashing down around him. The man read him his rights. Then he was on the phone telling the police that two IC1 males were on their toes from a yard in Cray Lane and making off towards the east end of the town on Fendyke Road.

  Danny tried to stand, but a boot smashed into the lower part of his back, and he crumpled, gasping in pain.

  Helpless, he looked on while the man jumped into the back of the van and gently carried out his girl.

  ‘Leah!’ Danny cried. ‘I love you!’

  ‘Love?’ Carter McLean glared at him, and his face contorted. ‘You don’t know the first thing about it, you twisted little creep!’

  He drew back his clenched fist, and Danny tensed, waiting for the impact, but Carter turned aside and spat.

  The two-tones screamed to a halt outside the building. To a chorus of sirens, Danny Hurley’s dreams of running away with the most beautiful girl in the world faded away forever.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ‘I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have gone off alone, sir,’ Carter said to Jackman.

  Carter looked apologetic, but Jackman didn’t believe for a second that he really meant it. ‘Well, you’ve certainly put the super in a difficult position. Half of her wants to tear you limb from limb, and the other half will forever be in your debt.’

  ‘The girl is safe. I’d like to leave it there as far as Ruth Crooke goes. The fact is, I should have listened to her, and to Marie, but I didn’t.’

  ‘Sit down, Carter. We have to talk about what happened.’

  Carter sat, still looking contrite.

  ‘How in heavens name did you find the abductor so quickly? We had half the station watching that girl twenty-four/seven, and found nothing. You found nothing either, before the balloon went up. So what changed?’

  ‘I changed, sir.’ He puffed out his cheeks. ‘I was so involved with my own problems, and with worrying about the Holland case,’ he shrugged, ‘I just never took the threat seriously. I was never really committed to it.’

  ‘Well, I can’t argue with that. But how did you manage to nail Danny Hurley?’

  Carter looked down. ‘I’m not proud of this, sir, but before the accident I wasn’t averse to bending the rules to get a good result. Back then we had a pretty free rein with our informants. We can’t work that way now, there’s a form to fill out for every single bloody thing. But I’ve kept in touch. I’ve got a long memory, sir, and I know a lot about the bunch of thieves I used to work with. And I know who will grass up who, and who has old scores to settle.’

  ‘Marie thought as much. Although she put it rather differently.’

  Carter nodded. He looked up at Jackman. ‘I found someone who knew that Danny was throwing money around, using gofers and runners for something devious. Danny’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and he didn’t cover his tracks or pay well enough for his hired help to pledge him eternal loyalty. After two house calls I had the full story. I caught up with his drivers en route to their rendezvous at the storage yard.’

  ‘Danny is saying some very odd things about how he got his info on Leah.’

  ‘I heard, although he’s not exactly reliable, is he? I don’t think he’s the full shilling. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that Leah might not actually want to run away to fairyland with him.’

  ‘I agree, but some of the things he’s implying are cause for concern,’ said Jackman.

  ‘I haven’t heard his exact words, but he’s saying that it wasn’t him who started the whole thing. Is that right?’

  ‘He swears he was paid to do it.’

  Carter looked puzzled. ‘But he admits he was going to run away with her. From the way he was yelling his undying love as they took him away, I don’t think there is any doubt that Danny was the one obsessing over her.’

  ‘No doubt at all. It’s just unsettling.’

  ‘So where has a little rat like Danny got the money to pay for this kind of thing?’ Carter frowned. ‘I checked on the database. He’s been done for a fair bit of small-time stuff, mainly theft, but nothing big enough to fund this sort of caper.’

  ‘Maybe there’s a grain of truth in what he’s saying. Especially when you consider how well planned it all was. The timing was perfect, and he had a disturbing amount of knowledge about both Leah and how the police operate.’

  ‘Could be right, sir. Danny isn’t bright enough to have worked all that out on his own. He’s had help from someone alright.’ His face darkened. ‘But are we thinking his benefactor was a villain who knows our ways better than we do, or someone on this side of the fence?’

  Jackman tensed. ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Carter. A villain with a grudge against Ruth Crooke would be my first guess.’

  Carter nodded. ‘I don’t like the woman and I’ve never pretended otherwise, but this was nasty.’

  ‘Very, and I think it’s really shaken her. She’s a tough woman, but one’s brain goes into overdrive when a youngster gets taken.’ Jackman put his elbows on the desk. ‘Now, if I can just get one thing straight about what happened. You took off alone in order to keep Marie out of your shady dealings with your informants?’

  Carter nodded. ‘Yes, sir. Marie is straight as a die, as was Bill, her husband, but . . .’

  ‘As you said, you used to bend the rules. And now?’

  ‘We work for a different kind of force now, sir. I’m aware that things have changed, and the old ways don’t work anymore. I know I pulled a fast one today, but it won’t happen again, I promise you.’

  Jackman sighed. ‘It had better not, Carter, because your behaviour was unacceptable. We are team players in this office, every one of us. But . . .’ he looked hard at Carter, ‘you did get Leah home safely and unharmed.’

  ‘And before nightfall.’ There was the hint of a smile on Carter’s face. ‘I can’t believe I actually said that. How melodramatic!’

  ‘Where are you with the Cannon drugs case?’

  ‘End stage. Rosie and I are pretty well through.’

  ‘And your opinion?’

  ‘If the CPS throw this out, there truly is no justice in this world. We’ve sewn it up tighter than a duck’s proverbial.’

  Jackman made his decision. ‘Okay. Then when you are ready, perhaps you would talk to the team about Suzanne Holland? I believe our good intentions to wrap you in cotton wool were somewhat misguided. And we’ve been missing a trick by not using your knowledge of the Hollands.’

  ‘I’m on the case?’

  ‘If there is anything left of you after you’ve seen the super, yes.’

  Carter sat up straighter, looking determined. ‘Talking about the super, is she back from the hospital yet, sir? I think it’s down to me to apologise this time,’ Carter inhaled, ‘even if it does go against the grain.’

  ‘I think that would be a very sensible career move, Sergeant. And, no, she’s still with Leah.’

  Carter smiled. ‘She wasn’t harmed, sir, and she was very switched on. As soon as she knew she was no longer in danger, she was well up for staying in the back of that van and taking a look at the creep who had had her abducted. She’s one feisty young woman.’

  ‘What about the two men that Danny hired to bring her to him?’

  ‘Got away.’ Carter scowled. ‘I was on the radio almost immediately, but they must have had a car close by.’

  ‘You know who they are, don’t you?’

  Carter didn’t answer immediately. ‘I, er, made a few promises, sir. I had to, in order to catch
Danny red-handed. I could have just taken Leah home, but then Danny would have scarpered, and she would still be looking over her shoulder. So I convinced his two foot soldiers to complete their job.’

  ‘In return, you develop amnesia, and maybe give them a head start?’

  ‘Me, sir?’ Carter assumed a shocked expression.

  ‘You, Carter. It stops right here, okay? I don’t want to know how you manipulated this little scenario. All I want is this CID office running as it should do — within the boundaries of the law.’

  ‘Understood. You’ll get no more trouble from me, sir. I promise.’

  ‘You will still have a lot of explaining to do to the superintendent, so I suggest that you make sure your story holds up.’ Jackman knew that Carter’s debriefing would be as tightly sewn up as the Cannon case. He was very good at tidying up loose ends, and if Ruth Crooke’s niece backed him up, he would be off the hook. ‘Right, final warning, Detective, just behave! No solo missions, okay? Or it’s back to that desk for you, and you’ll never leave it again.’ Jackman was beginning to feel like a headmaster forced to admonish one of his star pupils. ‘And one last thing, if the Holland case proves to be too much, you must talk to me. That’s an order. Plus, I want you to have regular chats with Laura Archer while you are working it.’

  Carter nodded eagerly. ‘Received and understood. And thank you, sir.’

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  ‘Isn’t that Suzanne’s brother — or half-brother rather? Is he in the frame for this?’ Carter stared at the image displayed on the whiteboard.

  Marie and Jackman looked at each other.

  ‘Suzanne’s brother?’ Marie asked.

  Carter looked puzzled. ‘Well, yes. Why?’

  ‘Do you know him?’ asked Marie.

  ‘No, but I’ve seen him two or three times.’ The corners of his mouth turned down. ‘Not the kind of guy I’d fancy socialising with.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Deep. As in he doesn’t talk much but he watches people. Looks like he’s analysing everything they say and do. Creepy.’