‘Not a stretch,’ Naomi said. She thought for a moment. ‘Thea was nineteen. Terry would have been twenty-two, twenty-three. What about Victor Griffin?’
‘About the same age as Terry. Someone from his work said he was thirty-eight last birthday. Thea … Lisanne, would be about thirty-four, now, wouldn’t she? So, an older friend, a minder?’
‘All possible. But if the connection was made and maintained or even renewed at the funeral, it puts a slightly different complexion on things. It implies that Vic Griffin, nice though everyone agrees he was, wasn’t quite the white-hat-wearing knight we assumed him to be.’
‘Mixed metaphors aside, you’re right. And when it comes down to it, I think the solution to all this depends upon us finding out who Victor really was. And what, apart from Terry Baldwin, he might have been running away from and why.’
THIRTY-SEVEN
Gregory knew there was only so much he could do alone. He had seen Alec drop DI Steel at his flat, done a final check of the area and then driven away, guessing from the way the man moved so painfully that he’d be unlikely to go out again before the following morning. He’d found a place to stay about ten miles from Ferrymouth, checking first that it had a decent Wi-Fi connection and did a full English breakfast – Gregory had his priorities.
He had relayed the picture Alec had sent him to Nathan earlier and he contacted his friend now, asking for an update.
‘Still working on it,’ Nathan told him. ‘We’ve identified about twenty people in the group and have a list of possible identities for about five more. Jackie’s trying a different facial recognition package so we hope we’ll get a few more hits, including our target. The picture quality isn’t the best, you know.’
Gregory chuckled. ‘Alec had to take pictures on his phone,’ he said. ‘He could hardly ask his policeman friend to do a high res copy.’
‘No, I suppose not, but it does slow things down. I’ll send you what we’ve got so far. It reads like a who’s who of organized crime in that part of London.’
‘High level?’
‘No. Strictly porn, drugs and bank jobs. Not the sort of thing we’re used to dealing with. The Baldwins are and were a long way down the food chain, which doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous in their own way.’
Gregory filled Nathan in on events from his end and then opened his netbook and awaited Nathan’s email.
Joey had made his way back home after a late supper at Maggie’s. He expected his father to be at work by the time he got back and his mother to be still up watching the television. He was surprised, therefore, to find the house in darkness, the television off.
Joey paused just inside the front door. ‘Mum.’
‘Your mum ain’t here.’ The voice emerged from the living room doorway and a second later his father stepped through. He was in a mean mood, Joey could see that as soon as he saw his face. Joey took a step back towards the front door. ‘Where’s Mum?’
‘She’s not here.’
‘What do you mean she’s not here?’ For a second, Joey’s heart leapt. Did his father mean that she’d finally left? Had the nerve to get out?
That was replaced immediately by the thought that, if so, she’d not taken him with her.
‘I told you. She’s not here. Now where the hell have you been?’
‘Out.’
‘Out where?’
Joey didn’t see the sense in lying. ‘At the bike project. With Tel.’ His father advanced and Joey took another step back. His father held something in his hand but in the darkness Joey couldn’t quite make out what it was.
‘I suppose that Maggie woman took you there.’
‘Tel’s mum. She gave us a lift, yes.’
‘Your mum says you spend too much time round there. She says you think you’re too good for us. That this Maggie is taking you away from her. That’s what your mother says.’
Joey flinched. He didn’t believe his father, and yet that was too close to what he knew his mother thought for it to be complete fiction. ‘Mum knows I don’t think that.’
‘Don’t you? Don’t you really?’
Joey reached behind him, trying to get at the front door. His father was close enough now for him to smell the beer on his breath. There was another smell too that Joey couldn’t immediately identify but he could see, even in the dimly lit hall, that his father’s clothes were stained.
‘Well let me tell you this, boy. You are going to stay away from that Maggie woman and you are going to stay away from that son of hers. And you are going to stay away from them because if you don’t, then it’s them that’ll be sorry. You understand me?’
Joey backed away, but this last step wedged him right up against the door. ‘Hurt Maggie and I’ll kill you,’ Joey said, but he could hear the fear in his own voice and knew his father could hear it too. His father just laughed at him, and then he raised his arm.
Joey dropped down to avoid the blow, but this time he couldn’t run and he had nowhere to go. He cowered as the pain rained down, until he could no longer keep his arms raised up to protect his head. Until the world turned red and then a deeper black that swallowed him whole.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Terry Baldwin found out that his half brother was dead in a phone call from his older brother.
He listened in growing fury as Roddy outlined what had happened. ‘His name’s not been released yet, they only identified him earlier today and then told the family. But by tomorrow it’ll be all across the news. I wanted you to hear it first.’
‘Did you send him?’ Even as he asked, Terry knew it was a stupid question, but he wasn’t thinking right.
‘What do you mean, did we send him? Fuck knows what he was doing there. Fuck knows what he thought he was trying to do. But we didn’t have bugger all to do with it.’
Terry closed his eyes. He knew his calls were monitored and that his brother would have denied involvement anyway. He also knew from the tone of his brother’s voice that Roddy was telling the truth. Roddy was baffled by the actions of their younger sibling.
‘I want the bastard dead. You understand me? He killed our brother. I want—’
‘Terry!’ Roddy’s voice was sharp. ‘Shut the fuck up and listen to yourself. Look, I don’t know what the hell he was into, but whatever it was, you and me, we leave well alone.’
Terry hung up on him. A rage was brewing that he could not contain. Roddy had agreed that Terry’s wife should be dealt with. He’d known all about that, even if he’d not actually sanctioned it. They’d agreed; she was Terry’s wife and it was Terry’s choice, but the rest …
Furious, he thumped his fist into the wall, three, four times until the blood ran and he heard bones break. He felt his arms grabbed as the guards pulled him away. Better, Terry thought. Better than hitting something that didn’t give a shit. He broke free, swung about and came out fighting, his ruined fist making contact with something that crunched satisfyingly beneath its weight. His other hand swinging and catching the second man a blow to the temple.
Dimly, he heard the alarm sound, felt himself grabbed again, held more tightly this time. Terry kicked out as he went down, making contact again. His head bashed against the concrete floor, stunning him for a moment, just adding to his rage. Terry Baldwin, a dervish of flailing limbs and blood that it took six to hold down and another two to pacify completely, was finally bundled into a cell and left to bleed.
THIRTY-NINE
Steel arrived at the incident room a little late that morning, having had to organize a lift in. He was greeted with the news that there was still no contact with Trinity Matthews but that Madeleine Jeffries, sister to Terry and Roddy Baldwin, had been in touch. She didn’t want the local police coming to her home, but was willing to meet with Steel at a mutually agreed spot.
Steel called her.
‘I’m willing to talk,’ she said. ‘Thea didn’t deserve this, but I’m not having police coming to my door. I walked away a long, long time ago and I’m not
getting involved. You understand.’
Steel was puzzled as to why she even wanted to talk to him. True, he had wanted to speak with her, to warn her of possible dangers should she be on Terry Baldwin’s hit list – though he had never thought that truly likely – and to ask, perhaps, that she might be a support for Sarah. It seemed that Madeleine Jeffries had something else on her mind.
‘Thea sent me something,’ she said. ‘I shoved it in a drawer and never thought much about it. To be honest, it’s only because I liked Thea that I even kept the thing. What I really wanted to do was shove it in the bin.’
‘What was it?’
Madeleine hesitated. ‘Meet me,’ she said.
‘Where? You’re a long way south. Ipswich, isn’t it?’
She laughed. ‘That was years ago.’
Trapping the phone between his shoulder and his cheek, Steel scribbled down her directions. He judged it to be a couple of hours’ drive. Madeleine, he noted, had been very careful not to say where she’d be driving from.
‘Sophie? I’m going to need taking somewhere.’
‘Where are we going?’
‘To meet Madeleine Jeffries.’ He handed her the directions and was then interrupted by another phone call. This one was from the prison, telling him that Terry Baldwin had become very violent when his brother had told him about Steel’s adventures at the hospital. ‘He made specific threats,’ the governor informed him. ‘Threats to kill.’
Steel thanked him for the warning. ‘He say anything else?’
‘Nothing that made any sense. He injured four of my people before they managed to subdue him.’
Steel thanked him and rang off. He felt bad about the death of Ricky Lang, Terry’s half brother, even though the young man had tried to shoot him. He had only been twenty-three; there had still been a chance he could have changed his life. Now there was none.
‘Ready?’ Sophie Willis asked. ‘It’s quite a distance.’
‘I’m ready. I’ll call Alec and Naomi on the way; let them know we’ll be gone for a while. Let’s just hope something useful comes from this meeting and it isn’t just another wild goose chase.’
Steel could not remember ever being in Derbyshire before, though he assumed he must have driven through the Peak District on his way to somewhere else. Madeleine Jeffries’ choice of rendezvous was a curious one. A picnic area high up in the peaks, deserted at this time of the year and overlooking a massive drop down into a steep valley. They had passed signs for Snake Pass a few miles before and seen heavy lorries trundling their way across the high road but apart from a few sheep, this spot she had chosen was isolated and utterly bereft of life.
‘I’m assuming that’s her,’ Steel said. ‘Seeing as it’s the only other car.’
‘Well, she’s got a sense of the dramatic.’
They got out of their car and a woman vacated hers. She was alone, Steel noted, and not dressed for the location. Suit and heels suggested office rather than wilds, and only the big coat which she pulled on as she got out of the car implied that she was prepared for the wintry blasts funnelled down between the craggy hills.
‘Madeleine Jeffries?’
‘You know any other madwoman?’ She smiled tightly. ‘I almost didn’t come. I was having second thoughts just sitting here.’
‘I’m glad you’re here.’
‘I’m here for Thea. That’s all.’
Steel nodded and followed Madeleine Jeffries over to one of the picnic tables. Willis stayed by the car. Madeleine had not even acknowledged her presence and Steel didn’t want to push their luck. Madeleine Jeffries was about forty years old, he guessed. Neat hair, expensive coat, careful make-up, none of which hid the fact that she was deeply agitated.
‘You wanted to tell me about Thea,’ he said.
She opened her bag and removed cigarettes and lighter. Steel didn’t rate her chances of getting anything to light in the howling wind but it seemed she needed something to do with her hands and fiddling with the lighter fulfilled that purpose. She seemed to be waiting for a cue before speaking and so he said, ‘Sarah is doing well, considering. I wondered if you might like—’
‘No. I’ve nothing against the child, but I made my choices long ago. She isn’t part of my plans.’
‘I understand,’ he said.
‘Do you?’
‘Probably not.’
‘Then don’t presume.’
‘Mrs Jeffries, what did you want to tell me? You’ve come all the way here, we’ve come all the way here, I’m sure we’ve both got better things to do than sit in the freezing cold playing games.’
She glared at him for a moment, then pointed her unlit cigarette towards his arm. ‘Is that where he shot you?’
‘Yes.’
‘The news says you pushed him down the stairs, that he broke his neck.’
‘He shot me, I pushed. There wasn’t a lot else I could do. I’d be sorry for your loss, but I’m not sure you care.’
‘You’re right. I don’t. At least, not as much as I should.’
She sighed, seeming almost to deflate, to release the anger. ‘The only reason I contacted you was because of Trinny,’ she said at last.
‘Trinity Matthews. Sarah spoke about her. We’ve been trying to get in touch.’
‘Well don’t try any more. Leave her alone, she won’t want to speak to you. Take it that anything I tell you comes from her too – you understand.’
‘Sarah might like—’
‘It doesn’t matter what Sarah might like. Trinity still lives in the same street, still lives among my so-called family. Just leave her be.’
‘You care about her?’
‘She’s the only bit of my own life I’ve kept in touch with, but don’t read too much into that. She got a card from Thea and Sarah for her birthday last year. She didn’t know where they were or even why they had suddenly decided to send it, but she was pretty happy not to have been forgotten.
‘A few days ago Roddy, my brother, he calls on Trinny and starts asking questions about the card. Now she’d not made any secret about having it and he’d not asked before – bearing in mind that her birthday was last October. So, months ago. But anyway, he’s asking about it and all but demanding that she calls the hospital, speaks to Sarah and reminds her what family she belongs to.’
‘Did he threaten either of them?’
‘No, but Trinny was a bit shaken by it. So she called me. Told me what had happened, gave me the heads up, if you like, just in case Roddy decided he wanted a word.’ She laughed. ‘I never told him where I live now, but I don’t suppose that would make any difference. He’ll have kept track, won’t he? I didn’t cover my tracks like Thea did, though fat lot of good that did her in the end.’
‘Do you think Roddy wanted her dead?’
‘I don’t think Roddy gave a shit about her one way or another. So no. I don’t think he had anything to do with it. Not directly anyway. But the fact that he might upset Trinny – well, that got to me a bit, I suppose. I don’t know. It was a shock, hearing about Thea and everything. I decided I wanted to cut all ties now – you know, just in case.’
Her smile was weak. ‘Sounds pathetic, doesn’t it?’
Steel didn’t commit himself. ‘You said Lisanne … Thea left you something.’
‘Sent me something. Just before she left she asked me to keep it for her. Said she’d ask me for it one day.’
‘And? What was it? Did she ask for it back?’
‘An envelope. I kept it, stuffed it in a drawer and forgot it was there, didn’t even tell my husband.’
‘Does he know you’re here?’
‘You’re kidding, right? He’s my life now, not them.’
She got up and walked back to her car, reached inside and handed Steel the envelope that had lain on the passenger seat. ‘Take it,’ she said. ‘I’m going now and I won’t be speaking to you again.’
‘I can’t promise to keep you out of this.’
‘Yes. You
can. You don’t have to. I’ve done.’
Steel watched as she drove away.
FORTY
‘You are a mess.’
‘So?’ Terry’s left eye was still swollen shut and a cut taped closed with butterfly sutures ran just above his eyebrow. His right cheek was heavily bruised and beneath his shirt his ribs were black and blue. He’d hurt several of the officers who had tried to restrain him; their colleagues had not been gentle with him.
‘So that temper of yours, it’ll get you killed one day.’
Terry leaned across the table to glare at Maxwell. He wasn’t sure why the man had returned and it had crossed his mind that he should refuse to see him. One thing was for sure, Terry was in no mood for intimidation today.
‘Who was the fucking idiot that sent my kid brother to do a job like that?’
‘Why the fuck should I know?’ Maxwell smiled at him. ‘I’m on the other side of the law, remember.’
‘Yeah, right. I want him dead. The policeman. I want him finished off.’
Maxwell’s eyes flicked towards the guards. They were by the door, out of earshot, but Terry wasn’t exactly being quiet.
‘Terry, you’ve not kept the first part of your bargain,’ Maxwell said. ‘So what makes you think you can ask for favours?’
‘Just get it done. After that—’
‘Terry, my employers are beginning to wonder if you have anything to offer them, after all. They are getting impatient. I’m sure you don’t want that?’
Terry looked away, paling beneath his bruises. ‘I’ll give you something on account,’ he said. ‘You got a pen?’
Maxwell extracted a pad and fountain pen from his briefcase and set them down on the table. He wrote the numbers Terry quoted, checked them back.
‘Now fuck off,’ Terry told him. He stood up, signalling that the interview was at an end. ‘You’ll get the rest after. Understand?’
Paying the Ferryman Page 18