‘He found the Cotton brothers.’
Sharon and Millie gasped.
‘It was Adam Cotton and an associate of his who killed Ella – your mother. I don’t know how else to say it, Millie. I’m sorry. I thought I’d feel relief at knowing, but I don’t.’
Sharon squeezed Millie and the girl closed her eyes.
‘But where’s Jordan, Dad?’
‘It turns out he’s spent the last few days doing what I suspected: trying to track them down. He found them in some warehouse, but the police weren’t far behind.’
‘What did he do?’ Millie and Sharon waited.
‘It’s unclear. He got into a scuffle with Adam Cotton. I don’t think he intended to do it. I’m sure it was a mistake, or a flash of anger.’
‘Dad!’
Thomas jumped and stared at his daughter.
‘What did he do?’
‘Adam Cotton is dead. He was stabbed. Kelly Porter called me and I went straight over there. Jordan’s been arrested.’
Millie burst into noisy sobs. Thomas hung his head, and his shoulders sank lower as tears fell to the carpet. After a few moments, he composed himself and coughed, wiping his eyes.
‘I was able to be with him throughout the whole thing. He’s got a lawyer there. We’re waiting to hear if he’s being charged with murder.’
Chapter 56
Johnny clasped her hand.
She hated this place. The Penrith and Lakes was where her mother had died, where she went to watch autopsies, and where Ted now lay, in a critical but stable condition, having been beaten to the ground by mindless thugs getting off on the violence spilling over from events on the Beacon Estate.
She blamed Ormond. If he hadn’t given the order for Op Eagle, the young men on the estate wouldn’t have harboured such anger. None of the arrests from that night had given up anything useful. All it had done was alienate people further.
They sat in a waiting area on uncomfortable plastic chairs. Callum’s father had picked the two teenagers up and taken them home. Josie wanted to stay but Johnny explained there was nothing they could do.
‘So what will Counter-Corruption do?’ he asked. He was passing time for her.
‘I suppose they’ll look under every rock. Everybody will be guilty until proven innocent. I won’t be allowed into the office except for interview, and that goes for the whole team.’
‘What about cases?’
‘They’ll be handed to other teams, perhaps in Lancaster, maybe in Barrow or Carlisle.’
‘You’ll be popular.’
‘Especially at Christmas.’
‘It’s almost time to get a tree.’
She smiled. She knew what he was doing and she allowed herself to be distracted. Christmas was going to be tough. It was her first one without her mother. Memories of last year flooded back and she fiddled with the ring Johnny had given her. The rubies were blood red, but she’d seen so much blood over the last week that she’d become almost immune. The pool around Adam Cotton had become an oil slick for the medics and uniforms to slip around in as they’d tried to save him.
She slumped her head onto Johnny’s shoulder and closed her eyes.
‘What will happen to the Watson boy?’
‘I don’t know. I think it’s quite clear what happened, but with what he’s been through and Liam not budging from his story that he got in between them, it could be a surprise. He’ll be dealt with in juvenile court, and he’s got no previous. There are also huge mitigating circumstances.’
‘We should be celebrating you cracking both cases. What happened to Ormond?’
‘Counter-Corruption will find him; it’s their problem now. I just hope he hasn’t got a contingency plan to get him off the hook. With the solicitor’s testimony, as well as the links to organised crime, I can’t think of any scenarios that would save him now. I wonder if he’s done a runner. He’s been getting away with it for so long now that to lose it all would be devastating. How does a man like that go from king of the jungle to nothing?’
‘His pride will definitely take a bashing, but people like that usually lie anyway, and go down crying their innocence. They’re in permanent denial.’
Kelly saw June and Amber turn the corner and rush towards them. They both stood up and the four of them embraced, exchanging updates and answering questions.
‘Can we see him?’
‘Not yet. I think he should be back from his MRI and they’ll have to look at it.’
‘We watched the riot on TV.’
‘I think a lot of people did.’
A man in a white coat walked down the corridor and smiled at them.
‘This is Dad’s consultant,’ Kelly said. She introduced June and Amber.
‘Good news,’ he said. ‘You father’s pulling through. We’re happy with the MRI scan and that the damage is temporary. He’s had quite a knock but it doesn’t seem to have caused a major event, just severe bruising. He’s going to be in a lot of pain for a while yet. He’s groggy, but he’d like to see you. If you want to follow me?’
Johnny squeezed her hand and they followed the consultant along a series of corridors. The smells, the noises and the sounds of the sick disturbed Kelly. In her job she saw the worst a human body could be put through, but she could never work in a hospital. The consultant stopped outside a private room.
‘Could you keep it to around ten minutes? He needs to rest.’
‘Of course.’
They went in. The room was dark, lit only by a small lamp. Ted lay propped up in the bed, his head bandaged. He turned slowly to the door and smiled at them. Kelly went to the bed and held his hand. June and Amber stood either side of her.
‘Can I give you a hug?’ Amber asked.
‘A gentle one.’ His voice was weak and Kelly was reminded of the frailty and vulnerability of the human body: they were all just an arrangement of flesh and bones that could be broken and torn. He had a black eye and the other one was bandaged.
‘We haven’t had a conversation about my sight, but I’m not daft. I think I’ll struggle with my left.’
‘You don’t know that for sure,’ Kelly said. ‘There’ll be masses of swelling; I can see it under the bandages. Just wait until all that goes down. I’m so relieved, Dad. I couldn’t believe it when they told me. Do you know who it was? Did you see them?’
‘No, it was a big mess and I didn’t see it coming. I thought I’d fallen. I only remember Johnny helping me up.’
Johnny took his hand and shook it. ‘Any time.’
‘This is a happy reunion; we must do it more often!’
‘Dad!’ His strength was diminished but his character was indomitable.
‘I know they’ve given you ten minutes, so come on, tell me you’ve cracked the cases, Kelly.’
‘Have you?’ asked June.
‘We got them. All of them. You were right, Dad. Ella was murdered randomly, and Keira was murdered by someone who knew her. For very different reasons, but I won’t bore you with that now. You need to rest.’
‘I knew you’d do it.’
Kelly didn’t mention the counter-corruption investigation.
‘It was such a shame about the march, because the whole thing was fabulous. Why do the few always have to spoil things? Is the organiser all right? The one who fell off the car?’ Ted continued.
‘Yes, she is, and it’s only made her more determined to carry on.’
‘Good for her. I’ll go to her next rally,’ said Amber. ‘If I’d been there, I would have knocked the blocks off those thugs.’ No one in the room doubted her.
A nurse came in and apologised for the interruption but Mr Wallis needed his sleep.
‘I do not! I need my family.’
The nurse smiled. ‘Ten more minutes.’
They chatted for a few minutes more, all thankful for the opportunity to see Ted awake and lucid.
‘My brain’s obviously made of rubber.’
After saying their goodbyes,
and insisting he rest – his eyes were closing anyway – they walked to the car park together and arranged to meet back at the hospital tomorrow.
Then Johnny drove Kelly to Eden House.
Chapter 57
As Mrs Ormond parked her brand-new Audi in the driveway, she noticed that Neil’s car was there too. He usually spent Saturday afternoons at the golf club, at the bar, swapping stories of birdies and bogeys with his tiresome friends. Things tended to go on way into the evening and invariably he’d end up getting a cab home. So to see his car was odd. She opened the boot and carried her shopping to the front door, locking the car behind her.
Once inside, she cursed her husband for leaving a window open, because the house was bloody freezing. It was annoying; at this time of year, it was so lovely to walk into a warm house. She wondered if the back door was open, because it really was very cold.
‘Neil!’ she called. There was no reply, so she left the shopping in the hallway, took her shoes off and went upstairs to check.
She went from room to room in the sprawling six-bedroom home that they rattled about in these days. She was looking forward to the children coming home for Christmas. There were no windows open, so it must be downstairs.
She tutted. ‘Neil!’ She shouted his name one more time and gave up. She figured he must have gone outside for something and forgotten to close the door. Perhaps he was gardening. They’d neglected the weeding at the end of the season, and some plants still needed cutting back, even though the first frost had descended weeks ago now.
She heard a sound and stopped. She was at the top of the staircase and couldn’t quite decide what it was, then the penny dropped and she knew that next door’s dog had probably got through the fence. She heard it again: it was a whimper and a little howl.
Bless her. She must be hungry. She went downstairs and picked up the shopping, taking it through to the utility room: the back entrance to the kitchen.
‘Raffles?’
The dog woofed and panted and she heard its claws scratching on the tiled floor.
‘I knew it was you! I’ve got a treat for you!’
But the dog didn’t come. Neil had probably already fed it. He was such a softie when it came to Raffles; they’d even discussed getting a dog of their own.
She opened the back door and called her husband again, walking around the house to the garden. That was when she noticed that the French doors were wide open. No wonder the house was so cold! She tutted again, and closed them, peering into the kitchen but seeing no sign of either Neil or Raffles. Maybe the dog had gone home.
She walked back to the utility room door and closed it behind her. Instantly the chill started to lift. Neil was in big trouble.
After she’d finished unpacking the shopping, she unloaded the washing machine and flicked on the radio, then went into the kitchen area, where she swore she could hear the dog again.
‘Raffles?’
It was definitely the sound of a dog grooming itself, probably satisfied after a feed.
She went towards the kitchen sink and rounded the island.
Before she sank to her knees, she didn’t think to scream, nor did she have time to question whether she was in some kind of dream-like state. She simply vomited, and the dog came padding over to her, the fur around its mouth all red.
Next to the cooker, on his back, lay her husband of forty years, the father of her girls. He was covered in blood and his chest seemed to have been ripped apart. His skin was almost blue, and great black patches had formed on his arms. She knew he was dead.
When her senses came back to her, one by one, she wriggled towards him and felt his face: he was stone cold.
‘Neil! Neil! Help me!’
She found her voice and screamed, over and over again. She heard banging on the French windows and noticed her neighbour peering in. The dog ran to its owner, leaving a trail of bloody pawprints.
The neighbour came in, and when she saw the scene, she gagged and stepped away to dial 999.
When the ambulance arrived, the death was instantly treated like a homicide and Serious Crime was contacted.
Chapter 58
Counter-Corruption had taken over the offices on the top floor of Eden House. They hadn’t wasted any time, but that wasn’t surprising. Ormond was one of the top-ranking officers in the country.
Kelly walked wearily. She felt a bone tiredness akin to fatigue and knew that she was exhausted. Maybe she was coming down with something. She was shown to an interview room by a surly-looking officer in a suit who avoided eye contact. Her team were already waiting there, including Will Phillips.
‘Boss,’ Kate greeted her.
‘How’s everyone doing?’ Kelly asked. They filled her in and told her that the counter-corruption officers had begun trawling through their computer files and case documents.
The door opened and Emma’s name was called.
‘They’re going in alphabetical order,’ Kate said.
The rest of them sat and listened as Kelly brought them up to date on the afternoon’s events. Jordan Watson had been taken to a juvenile correction facility in Carlisle, where his father would meet him tomorrow with his lawyer. The CPS would have a decision by then as to whether there was a case to pursue against him. Liam Brook was downstairs in one of their cells; again, the CPS would decide if he should be charged.
She glossed over the events at the warehouse but caught Will’s eye several times. She couldn’t help but be drawn to him, because she had such affection for him and had done for a long time. She just wanted to know the truth.
Emma didn’t come back. The door opened again.
‘DS Phillips, please.’ Will left. After another hour, he hadn’t returned either. Kelly was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, and they all filled time with calling loved ones, sorting out domestic arrangements and discussing the case.
It was usually a cause for celebration when they reached the conclusion to an inquiry, but this was different. They didn’t congratulate one another, though Kelly did thank for them for their incredible hard work.
‘What shall I say?’ Rob asked.
‘Tell the truth. We’ve done nothing wrong and we’ve got nothing to hide. That’s all I ask.’
She glanced up as the door opened.
‘DI Porter, please.’
She was led upstairs to her own incident room. She hardly recognised it. At least ten officers sat at desks, and she knew none of them. Nobody looked at her. They were all busy staring at screens and making copy files. It felt personal and she found herself on the defensive instantly. She was shown into her office. A woman sat at her desk and gestured for her to sit down. Another officer sat to the side with a laptop.
The preliminaries were read out: why they were there, how the process worked, how long it might take, and various legalities and housekeeping. Kelly tried not to look terrified.
‘When was the last time you saw Superintendent Ormond?’
‘I’m entitled to a chaperone.’
The woman running the proceedings sighed and nodded to a colleague, who went to grab a fellow officer.
‘Impartial.’
The woman nodded again, and this time they went to get a uniform from the front desk. It was a familiar face, and Kelly smiled. They quickly ran through instructions for conduct and boundaries, and began again. Kelly answered the question.
‘He hasn’t been in the office throughout the whole inquiry. I last saw him downstairs at the Watson press conference appeal. Though he called me last night to threaten me. I think he was drunk.’
‘Can I just point out that this isn’t an interrogation, DI Porter. I’m simply gathering timelines and perspectives. Superintendent Ormond was found dead tonight at his home. He’d been stabbed. The CSI gave an estimated time of death between midday, when he was seen leaving his golf club, and three p.m. He was seen leaving the clubhouse in a hurry.’
‘Jesus.’
‘I wanted to be the one to inform you. I
t’s become clear to us that this is an inquiry into the conduct of a lone officer. Under those circumstances, the rest of the team can operate in a quasi-skeleton capacity. I’m the SIO, and I want you on the case. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Tell me what happened when Superintendent Ormond was given the news about Ella Watson’s death.’
Kelly took a deep breath, and began.
* * *
By the time she left Eden House, it was 11 p.m. The SIO expected her in the office by midday tomorrow. It meant she could have a much-needed lie-in, and go and see Ted.
She got a squad car to take her to Johnny’s. He’d picked Josie up and they’d had pizza. She crept in quietly and found him asleep on the sofa with the fire still crackling and an empty glass on the table. She poured herself one and sat beside him, not wanting to disturb him. It was enough to be next to him, staring at the fire as it fizzled and popped. She got up carefully and threw another log on.
Of all the outcomes in this case, the murder of Neil Ormond wasn’t something she’d ever contemplated; she’d had no reason to. She knew that Ormond’s house was currently being picked over for evidence, not just for his murder, but for the corruption inquiry. Ironically, they didn’t need a warrant. If there was anything to find, they’d sniff it out.
She was numb.
The murder was shocking, yes, but a man like that must have had a queue of people wanting to take him out. She tried to work out if the Cotton brothers might have had the brazen arrogance – and the time – to carry out the attack and get back to the warehouse. Of course they could have.
She closed her eyes and put her glass down. Johnny’s sofa was large and soft and she grabbed a blanket from the arm and covered herself, lying down so that they topped and tailed. He murmured and sighed and she drifted into a grateful sleep.
Chapter 59
Jordan woke up in his cell. He felt at peace, which was more than he’d felt last night when he’d peered into his father’s broken face. The juvenile facility was noisy and he’d slept badly, but at least he was calm. It was the first time he’d kept still since Wednesday, when his world had changed forever.
Little Doubt Page 27