by Deborah Lucy
‘She did say that a relationship had developed between them. The nature of it was complex. We spoke about it at length and she did concede that this relationship confused her.’
‘In what way?’
‘Difficult to say in brief. She described it as both repelling her and compelling her. That’s really all I’m prepared to say.’
She stone-walled him to any further questions on the subject.
‘What was the regularity of your meetings – when was the last time you saw Greta?’ asked Temple.
‘We met as and when directed by her GP, or more often, if her condition warranted it. I guess I met Mrs Ashton-Jones once or twice a year. The last time would have been five months ago,’ Dr Jacques said.
‘And, as to Mrs Ashton-Jones’s condition, what would it be like?’
‘It’s important to remember, Inspector, that in my opinion, this was a condition that was still very mild and treatable, hence we were still at an anti-depressant stage, which, in the rounds are not the norm. This is a much undiagnosed condition generally. Some leaders, high-flyers, academics may well exhibit traits. Medication naturally changes to suit the prevailing symptoms. In Mrs Ashton-Jones’s situation, it was mild but both she and her doctor decided that she would benefit from my sessions and medication. She would exhibit classic symptoms – risky behaviour, such as spending large amounts of money, she would confess to an increased sex drive and a desire to make new sexual relationships, a need for love and acceptance; this is typical behaviour as she sought security and physical closeness. There was also a lack of need for sleep. She would feel excessively happy and in this state, would have appeared as interesting and good company. Of course, this is only a bare outline, as I say. There are quite startling figures as to how many people actually have the condition and function without ever being diagnosed.’
Temple thought he fitted some of those traits himself. Maybe that was his problem; Leigh went so far to say he was damaged.
That was all she was prepared to divulge. Temple persisted, but happy that she had complied with her duty, Dr Jacques sat back in her chair and said nothing more. Temple thanked her for her time and left.
Back in his car, Temple’s mobile rang.
‘It’s me,’ Tara whispered. ‘Something you should know.’
‘OK,’ said Temple.
There was a long silence at the end of the phone.
‘I overheard King saying he’s got a gun,’ she whispered.
CHAPTER 14
TEMPLE’S GUT KNOTTED. He knew he’d been right. King had had every intention of carrying out the threat he made in court to burn his house down. King had burnt an old lady alive and Temple suspected King had had much the same fate in mind for him the night of the fire. Instead of finding Temple at the house, he had found and taken the gun. Tara was his only chance of staying a step ahead. His mind raced.
‘Did he say where he’d got it?’ Temple held his breath. If she said she knew it was his, he was finished.
‘No, just that he had one.’
‘OK, thanks, Tara. Where are you now?’
‘I’m at home, in the flat,’ she said. ‘I’m going back to the pub later.’
‘Where’s Finch?’ he asked.
‘He’s still at the garage, he had a lot on today. He’s meeting King in the pub later. I fucking hate this. I don’t want King here, he scares me. This scares me.’ She sounded desperate.
‘I know, I know. Tara, look, if you help me, I’ll get him locked up again. Do you know where he might keep the gun?’
‘He’s got a big bag, a holdall, in the spare room, but I’m not looking through his stuff. He’ll know it was me,’ she said.
‘I just want you to tell me if it’s in the bag. I don’t want you to touch it or move it, can you do that – please?’ Temple pleaded.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied. She was alone in the flat but King could return at any moment.
‘Please, Tara. Come on. Just go and look,’ he coaxed. ‘Please.’
‘Hang on,’ she said.
Temple listened on the phone as Tara went into the spare room. He heard the holdall being unzipped.
‘My hands are fucking shaking,’ she said. ‘He’ll know it was me, he’ll know.’
‘He won’t know, Tara. Just look inside,’ Temple continued to talk gently.
‘It’s here. It’s in the bag. It’s just sitting on top, he hasn’t even hidden it.’
‘Describe it to me, Tara, what does it look like?’ he asked.
‘It’s a gun, with a barrel.’
‘Describe the grip to me.’
‘It’s wooden, with like crosses across it …’
‘OK, don’t touch it. Is there a letter in there with it, a solicitor’s letter?’
‘The gun’s resting on top of a folded piece of cream paper,’ she replied.
‘OK, that’s good. Just don’t touch it. Zip the bag up and leave it as you found it,’ Temple instructed.
‘I want him out of here, Temple. He’s a fucking psycho.’ Tara’s voice faltered with fear.
‘Leave it with me, Tara, I’ll sort it. Listen to me now. Leave your door key on the top of the door ledge outside the flat. Go with Finch to meet him at the pub tonight and text me when you are all together. Ring me straightaway if King leaves the pub or the holdall leaves the flat.’
Relief flooded through him. At least he knew where the gun was. His urge to go round to the flat there and then and seize it was overwhelming, but he knew he had to fight that and think it through. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation with King. He had to get the gun back, he just needed to work out quickly how he could do that and ensure Tara was protected. He knew he owed her for this.
Temple made his way back to Swindon Police Station to meet Sloper and Kelly, hopeful of recovering the gun, but he needed to think quickly. He had to concentrate on the inquiry for the next few hours. He had to get everyone up to speed with the information from the Financial Unit, Caroline Black, Dianna Forrester and Dr Jacques and direct the next set of inquiries. He found Kelly in the general CID office.
‘How are we getting on with locating Jonathan Silvester and Michael Cooper? I want Jonathan Silvester – have you got him yet? In the absence of Maxwell, he will be very useful.’
‘I’ve located both. I’ve got Silvester coming in tomorrow,’ Kelly replied.
‘I’ll go and see how Simon’s doing.’
Temple went off to join Sloper interviewing Marcus Hussain. Knowing that Maxwell Ashton-Jones would profit from another hefty insurance payout made him a prime suspect. Temple suspected that Hussain was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sloper had made a start. Marcus was sitting across from him in the interview room with his solicitor when Temple joined them. Looking at him, Temple saw that Hussain had lost some of his earlier bravado. A night in the cells sometimes did that, he thought. He observed while Sloper continued his questioning.
‘CCTV shows us that you left The Palace and drove off in a car, a Porsche – or someone’s Porsche – was it Greta’s?’ asked Sloper.
‘Yeah, it was Greta’s car, man.’
‘Where did you go?’
‘Just drove around before going home,’ replied Hussain.
‘You’re lying. How do I know you’re lying, Marcus?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Because ANPR caught you going out of Swindon, in the direction of Ramsbury.’
‘So you know I was in Greta’s Porsche,’ said Hussain.
‘Of course, I know everything, Marcus. Just testing you. Now, are you going to tell me the truth?’
‘Look, man, OK, I did. I did drive out that way, but it wasn’t to Greta’s. I didn’t drink in the club because I was going out to get some coke, the stuff you found at the house. I was meeting a dealer on the road at Cadley.’
‘What road?’ asked Sloper.
‘The A346.’
‘And where did you stop? It’s a long roa
d, Marcus, where did you agree to meet?’
‘In a layby, there’s a road sign and I pulled up, just past there.’
‘I think this is a cock and bull story, Marcus. You’ve had long enough to think about it,’ Sloper challenged.
‘Look, man, you found it, you found what I bought that night when you searched my house.’
‘Are you telling me you couldn’t have got that in The Palace? The place is heaving with the stuff,’ Sloper said.
‘I’ve got my own dealer, had him for years. I use the same guy, that way I don’t get any shit.’
‘So why didn’t you tell us this before?’ asked Sloper.
‘Because I was going to buy drugs, man.’
‘You know what I’m going to say next, don’t you, Marcus?’
‘Precisely, man. That’s exactly the reason why I didn’t tell you.’ Hussain threw up his arms in exasperation.
‘I’ll ask anyway. Who is it, who’s your supplier?’ asked Sloper.
‘I’m not saying, man.’ His eyes looking down onto the table, Hussain sat and shook his head.
‘Let me concentrate your mind for you. I’ll think you’ll find you’re still in the shit here, Marcus,’ said Sloper.
‘I did not kill Greta, I’ve done nothing wrong,’ Hussain insisted.
‘That’s where you’re wrong. You’ve constantly lied to us, Marcus. We’ve given you every chance here to tell the truth. I suggest you think carefully about not revealing your alibi. You can’t account for your time. It’s not looking good for you, Marcus. You had a good job there, at the Porsche garage …’ Sloper was enjoying himself.
‘All right, all right. I got my gear from Shaun Wheeler. I arranged it on my mobile. You can check my call list.’
‘We will, Marcus, you can be sure of that. Shaun Wheeler – Wheeler the Dealer. I know Shaun Wheeler. But I tell you something, Marcus, if I was you, I wouldn’t want to rely on him.’
The interview was suspended while Sloper tracked down Shaun Wheeler.
While Temple tried to concentrate on reviewing the growing amount of information they were gathering, his mind tried to work through the logistics of having King arrested at the pub and him being able to retrieve the gun from Tara and Finch’s flat. For his plan to work, he needed to be in Trowbridge when Tara texted him – if she texted him. His mobile rang.
‘Boss, it’s Jackie, I’ve got some news for you.’
‘Is it the DNA results?’
‘Yes. Two profiles with one a match to the foetus. I’m sorry, boss, but it looks like there’s no match to your man in custody for either of the profiles.’
‘Don’t be sorry, if it’s not him, it’s not him. Thanks, Jackie.’
Temple rang the custody unit and instructed Hussain be released on bail.
CHAPTER 15
TEMPLE DIALLED HIS wife’s mobile number.
‘Hello?’
‘Leigh, it’s me.’
‘What do you want?’ she replied flatly. As soon as she heard his voice she remembered the hurt he’d caused her. She couldn’t help it, but her voice changed automatically. She couldn’t hate him and that annoyed her more than anything. Every time she heard him, like now, she just felt an overwhelming sadness.
‘Can you talk for a minute? I just need to sort of explain something. How are you? How’s Daisy?’ he asked, trying to read her mood through her voice.
‘Fine. Just say what you have to say.’
She hated the way he dropped into her life with his calls, interrupting the flow. She was torn between screening his calls, not talking to him at all and still having a chance to hear his voice. That’s what the sound of him did to her. Momentarily wish things back the way they used to be. The sound of him confused her, made her turn against herself for the thought of taking him back.
Temple persevered. ‘Do you remember the Paul King case, aggravated burglary and he threatened to kill me, us, when he got out?’
‘Not really, no.’ Temple could hear the tension in her voice as she spoke to him.
‘Well, he did. He’s out now and he tried to set fire to the house last night. I just want you to be careful until I can get him arrested.’
‘How careful do I need to be?’ she asked. ‘Don’t think that you’re going to see Daisy while this is going on, I’m not having you put her in danger,’ she said, the words tumbling out, her voice much edgier than she thought she was capable of and with more force than she had meant.
It proved to her just what the sound of him did to her. How had they got here, she wondered. She was all right all the time she didn’t hear from him but in one phone call, there it was again and she hated herself for it. She missed him and she hated admitting it. Even now, eight months on, with Roger in her bed, it wasn’t the same. She could tell this to her secret self – perhaps everyone felt like this when they split up, perhaps she just had to persevere, try not to miss him, adjust. She was all right until he rang and his voice was soft.
‘Of course I won’t put her in danger, I don’t want either of you in danger which is why I’m ringing. Perhaps I could drop by and explain, see Daisy – later on today?’ If he could just meet with her today, they could talk, properly.
‘No, I’m taking her to the doctors. She’s not eating properly.’
‘You said she was fine!’ he almost shouted, regretting it instantly. The hard edge to his voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she was angry again.
‘No, I said I was fine. I expect it’s all this bloody upset you’ve caused. I’ll talk to Roger when he comes home, you don’t need to come round. I can’t talk anymore now.’ She wanted to end the conversation and knew any mention of Roger would do it.
‘I’ll ring later on then, to see how you got on at the doctors.’
‘Whatever.’ Leigh ended the call. Temple sensed the hurt he’d caused her in every word she forced herself to speak. Every time they spoke they seemed to end on a row. If he could just get to see her, speak to her, he knew they could start to sort things out.
CHAPTER 16
SLOPER HAD TRACKED down Shaun Wheeler to his home in Liden, Swindon, a new housing estate, full of three storey townhouses in cream coloured Cotswold stone. Sloper looked into the window of the BMW parked on the small tarmacked drive before ringing the bell. Wheeler answered the door.
‘All right, Shaun?’ said Sloper sarcastically. ‘Remember me? DS Sloper, CID. Can I come in?’
‘And you’re here because?’ Wheeler stood his ground. Standing in front of the door, he barred Sloper’s entrance.
Sloper drew himself up to full height, pushing out his large stomach, in contrast to Wheeler’s skinny physique.
‘Well, we can do this here, on the doorstep – and, we will – or you can invite me in. What’s the matter, caught you on the hop, have I? Weighing out the gear?’ asked Sloper.
He eyed Wheeler. He’d watched the little shit dealing drugs for years, since he was fourteen, but his intel record showed that he hadn’t been caught for some time. It was shits like Wheeler that gave Sloper the run around, the ones that took most effort. They didn’t know the ‘rules’ and made out like there weren’t any. Well, Wheeler was about to find out there was.
Wheeler stood aside and gestured Sloper to go in. Sloper took a quick scan of the room, looking for evidence of dealing. The living room was fashionably off-white, with a new cream leather settee and a fifty-five inch flat screen television mounted on the wall. Sloper noticed the place was clean and tidy, not the usual drug den he was used to seeing. This was a dealer on the up.
‘You live here on your own, do you, or are you still living with your mum and dad?’ he asked.
‘On my own. This is my place,’ Wheeler replied.
‘Is it now? And where did you get the money for this, as if I didn’t know? Who’d give you a mortgage – one of Jake Shaw’s dodgy mortgages, is it? One of Jake’s loans?’
‘What have you come here for?’ Wheeler asked, looking bored by Sloper’s quest
ions and annoyed at the way he was looking at his things.
‘Don’t get cocky, Wheeler. I need to ask some questions and I need you to think very carefully before you answer me. Marcus Hussain – do you know him?’
‘No.’
‘Well, he knows you and he’s telling me that you and him met up in the early hours of Sunday morning, out at Cadley – what do you say about that?’
‘Don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘He says that you’re his dealer. Says he’s always used you, in which case, you’d know all about him. So, I’ll ask you again, do you know him?’
‘No.’ Wheeler hunched forward and thrust his hands into the long pockets of his cargo pants.
‘That’s a shame for him and good news for me. He says that you met him at Cadley and you sold him a wrap of coke. We found the wrap in his house when we searched it. Now, I’m going to cut you some slack. I’m not interested in the coke. All I’m interested in is if he’s telling me the truth because I need to know where he was that night. Now, do you know him and did you sell him some coke?’ Sloper asked.
‘I don’t know the guy and if he says I do, then he’s a fucking liar,’ replied Wheeler.
‘You see, Shaun, he’s in a bit of a tight spot. I suspect he murdered someone that night, but he denies it. He says he drove out to Cadley to meet you and buy some coke. Now, it doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have done all that and still carried out the murder, but I still need to know what he did that night.’
Wheeler was wide eyed. Hussain was a good customer but he never had him down as a murderer. Shit, if he was violent, a murderer, who knows what he’d do the next time he wanted his drugs.
‘I know Marcus,’ he said, slowly.
‘That’s better. And?’
‘I’m not admitting to supplying any drugs. I don’t know who he gets his drugs from but it wasn’t me. I did see him out at Cadley, though, as he says, in fact, I raced him in his Porsche back to Swindon. What sort of murder’s he committed then?’
‘Never mind that. What route did you take coming back?’