by Lynne McEwan
‘I can nail him, with your help. I owe it to Siobhan.’ She paused. ‘You owe it to Siobhan and yourself. He’s never going to stop unless we stop him.’ She watched as the young woman made the calculation, a look of resignation signalling she’d balanced the odds.
‘Aye, maybe you’re right.’ Isla stubbed out her cigarette. ‘Okay. His name’s Evan Campbell. He’s from Glasgow but he’s got a flat in Carlisle too. Jamie took me there once.’
‘Do you know the address?’ Shona pulled out her phone and pressed Dan Ridley’s number.
Isla shrugged. ‘No idea.’
Shona quickly updated Dan. When she gave him the news that Isla was alive and had information on their suspect he was shocked into silence. Then she could hear him beaming with enthusiasm, the keen, urgent edge back in his voice. With a witness and a suspect, they could build a case. Show Shona was right, get her reinstated. Shona reminded him they’d have to catch Evan Campbell first.
‘Can you describe Evan Campbell’s flat? Did you go by car?’ Shona asked Isla.
‘Aye, underground car park. Lift to the penthouse suite, all very flash.’
‘Did you hear that, Dan? Ring any bells?’
‘Could be any number of places,’ Dan replied glumly.
‘What else, Isla? Anything?’
Isla screwed up her face with the effort of remembering. ‘There was this chimney, this big brick chimney. Like it was an old factory or something, but really tall.’
‘Shenton Mill,’ said Dan triumphantly. ‘It all flats now. I’ll get over there with back-up.’
Shona gave Isla the thumbs up and moved away, lowering her voice. ‘That’s great, but listen, Dan, I want you to keep the fact Isla is alive between you and me for the moment. Officially, Campbell is wanted in connection with the death of your bail absconder, Jamie Buckland. That’s all anyone needs to know. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
‘Okay,’ Dan said slowly. ‘You think there’s a leak? You think Isla could be in danger?’
‘I think whoever killed Siobhan thought she was Isla. Let’s not take any chances.’ She paused. ‘Dan, what happens after a big drug raid?’
‘A new team takes over in a couple of months and we’re back to square one,’ he sighed.
‘Isla’s just told me the new crew had people in place before the raids.’
‘How could they do that?’
‘Maybe they knew we were coming,’ Shona said. There was silence as Dan digested this possibility. ‘Just be careful,’ Shona continued. ‘We’re on our own now.’
‘Okay, boss.’ He ended the call.
Between the leaden boxes of the caravans, Shona could see two bright dots. The boys in their colourful anoraks were orbiting Marie, refuelled by chips and coke, running wide circles around her. Shona returned to Isla.
Isla took a mint from the cigarette packet. ‘If she asks, I’ll say you gave me the fags,’ she said, a twinkle in her eye before turning sombre. ‘You know, I never really thanked you for what you did in the hospital. That night you stopped Gringo hammering me. I guess I knew then I could trust you.’
‘Will you go back to him, when he gets out?’ Shona asked. She’d seen it time and again.
Isla shook her head. ‘No. I need to stay clean, help my ma with the boys. She wants me to go to college, but, you know.’ She shrugged. ‘No one off my estate goes to college.’
‘No one off my estate became a police officer either,’ said Shona. Curiosity flashed in Isla’s eyes so Shona continued. ‘I’ll tell you a secret. I came from a place like you. My mother OD’d when I was a kid, never knew my dad. But I was lucky. I got an education and my gran taught me you can do anything you put your mind to. You were right to get angry, it’s still about respect. So, Isla Corr, just you remember, you’ve been given a second chance. Get out there and teach the world to respect you.’
‘Aye.’ Isla grinned, linking her arm through Shona’s as they watched Marie and the boys walk towards them. ‘Who can stand against two angry wee women when they put their minds to something?’
‘Naebody I can think of,’ Shona replied, solemnly.
Chapter 33
Marie boiled the kettle and doled out tea to Shona while they waited for news from Dan Ridley in Carlisle. Isla found a charger for Shona’s phone then got out a pack of cards and showed the boys how to play patience.
‘About a week after you told me she was dead, she turned up at the house,’ said Marie quietly. ‘It was dark and raining. I heard this noise in the garden, opened the back door. There she was. Nearly gave me a heart attack. She was all wet. I thought I was seeing things, that she was a ghost, come back from the sea.’ Marie shivered. ‘I wanted to say something to that nice lad of yours, Ravi. Should have told my sister Margaret I suppose, but she didnae care about Siobhan. Seemed better to just keep quiet until you got the guy. Isla’s been here ever since. I’m sorry.’
Shona touched her arm. ‘It’s okay.’ She thought of Becca and how far she’d go to protect her. ‘In your shoes I might have done the same thing.’
Liam was coaxed into offering Shona a biscuit from a packet of chocolate digestives he gripped tightly. Shona took one and thanked the little boy who walked slowly back to his cousin, giving no sign that he’d heard her.
When she’d drunk her tea, Shona distracted Liam and Ryan by building a Lego garage for the battered toy car they’d found at the beach, giving mother and daughter some space. Marie took her daughter into one of the bedrooms and half closed the door. Shona could hear her rising voice and worried tones as she questioned Isla on what was happening. Then Marie came out and gave Shona a look that said, you better be right about this.
As the day wore on and the skies grew darker, Shona could feel the elation from finding Isla alive and a lead on the murders begin to ebb, with no news from Dan forthcoming. The atmosphere inside the caravan was close and tense. Condensation pooled on the windows as five warm breaths raised the temperature of the confined space. Marie made sandwiches. No one wanted more tea. Ryan was restless and pleaded to go back to the beach with Isla, but with the full threat against her family now laid bare, Marie didn’t want anyone leaving the caravan. Even with Isla’s blonde hair dyed black, and few neighbours, her mother was taking no chances.
Marie finally shooed the boys into her bedroom and a few seconds later Shona heard the jaunty sounds of a kid’s cartoon start up on the TV.
Shona took the opportunity to step outside for a moment, holding her phone up to check the signal. The strong four bars said she hadn’t missed any calls. In ordinary circumstances she would be badgering Dan, demanding an update and issuing fresh orders. The wind cut through her fleece and she shivered as she stared south across the Solway Firth, across the border, as if the pressure of her gaze alone could bring some news. The claustrophobia of the caravan and her own powerlessness pressed on her, raw and heavy. She wanted nothing more than to dive into her car and head for Carlisle, but she wasn’t even sure she had enough petrol to get there.
‘C’mon, what are you doing?’ she muttered at the phone. They should have heard something by now. She checked the time. It was just after six p.m. In less than an hour it would be dark. They must have risk-assessed the building. Campbell might be armed. Perhaps they’d decided to go in early tomorrow, catch Campbell in bed. After ten minutes of cold, damp air she could see the women’s anxious faces through the van window and she went back inside. ‘No news yet, sorry.’
‘Fuck, I need a fag,’ Isla muttered, and her mother frowned at her.
Shona sat back down. Her phone pinged. Marie and Isla both jumped in their seats. Shona had only put a few close contacts in the directory. Becca’s name lit the screen. ‘It’s okay,’ Shona smiled and reassured them. ‘It’s just my daughter.’ She opened the text message. At lifeboat station. Pick me up.
Shona tutted. She thought she’d at least succeeded in bringing Becca up to use please and thank you when she wanted something, but the thought was q
uickly overtaken with relief. At least Becca was getting out. Rob’s worries about the effect of the accident were an overreaction. Tommy had probably coaxed Becca into some small lifeboat task, counting donations or polishing brass, pointing out she still had one good arm and may as well make herself useful by using it. On this holiday weekend there would have been some visitors to keep her busy. This might be Shona’s chance to have a word with Becca away from Rob. Ok, back in a bit. Shona hit send. The reply was immediate, Come now.
Before Shona could remind Becca of her manners, Dan’s name appeared on the screen as an incoming call. ‘I’ll just pop outside and take this.’ Shona got up from the table. Marie’s hand reached across and took her daughter’s.
‘No sign of Campbell at the flat,’ Dan said. ‘We’re got a watch on it and doing ANPR checks on a vehicle registered to him, a dark grey Land Rover Discovery.’
Shona’s heart sank. ‘Okay. Listen, you’ve got the CCTV footage. Campbell’s wanted in connection with the death of your bail absconder, Jamie Buckland. Get it out to the media and put a cross-border alert out on him.’
‘Already done, boss,’ Dan replied. ‘Don’t worry, I’m on this,’ he reassured her. ‘You should really talk to Murdo though, he’s beside himself.’
‘Why? What’s happened?’ Shona felt guilty she hadn’t called her deputy, but any association with her left him open to disciplinary proceedings.
‘A temporary DI, some guy from Ayr station, is pulling the place apart. He’s suspended all investigations into the deaths and is reviewing cases from the last six months.’ Dan hesitated. ‘He’s also told all staff not to contact with you. Murdo’s attempting damage limitation but I don’t think it’s going too well.’
It was as Shona had thought. ‘Then while I’m suspended, it’s best I don’t phone him.’
‘He’s really worried about you. He’s been calling your house on the sly. Rob said you we’re out, but he didn’t know where.’
‘Will you tell Murdo I’m fine, Dan? But don’t mention Isla,’ Shona said, biting her lip. ‘Concentrate on finding Evan Campbell, he’s the key to this.’
‘Okay, boss. You still with Isla?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you want anyone with you? I mean, if she’s a target?’
‘No, we’re safe enough here. Only you and I know she’s alive. Make sure it stays that way until Campbell’s in custody. Keep me posted.’ Shona stepped back inside and delivered the news that there was no news. Marie had opened the kitchen window and was furiously washing a set of already clean mugs.
‘How can youse no find this guy?’ Marie’s frustration boiled over. ‘You’ve got cameras all over the place. You cannae move without getting nipped for drink driving, but murder folk and suddenly you’re invisible?’
Isla was sitting curled up on the banquette. Her gaze met Shona’s. A small, perverse smile of triumph. I told you so, the girl seemed to say. The devil himself. You won’t find him.
‘Look, it’s still early. Officers are at his flat and tracking his vehicle. If he’s out there, they’ll get him. We just need be patient. It will be on the local news. Web, radio, TV, the works.’ Shona saw Isla’s look turn to alarm. ‘Don’t worry, Campbell’s wanted for Jamie’s murder. No one knows you’re alive. No one knows you’re here.’
‘But we cannae stay here for ever,’ Marie said. Isla sat biting her nails. ‘Maybe we should go to Spain, there’s family out there. Isla’s got Siobhan’s passport. We could get the kids away,’ Marie said desperately.
‘No,’ Shona said firmly. It was what she’d been afraid of. If Isla and Marie fled, she’d have no witness and no way of protecting them. The gang would find Isla, even in Spain. Marie and the boys would be collateral damage. ‘You need to stay here. You need to trust me.’
‘Aye, but how can we? You’re not even with the police, are you?’ Marie’s mouth was a firm line. She pointed to the open window above the sink. ‘I heard what you said. You’re not on a day off, are you? You’re suspended.’
‘Is that true?’ Isla looked up at her.
Shona sat down heavily on the end of the banquette. ‘Yes, it is,’ she said quietly.
‘How come?’ The young woman’s eyes were hardening.
Shona propped her forehead on her hand for a moment, the cold fingers a relief against the dull throb in her head. She looked sideways at Isla, who was still studying Shona with her sharp assessing look.
‘I was told to stop investigating your… Siobhan’s… death. But I didn’t,’ Shona said simply. ‘Cumbria Police are chasing Campbell. DC Ridley will get him.’
‘You trust this guy?’
Shona thought of Dan. The earnest schoolboy in his raincoat waiting on Silloth shore for the lifeboat to bring in the casualty. His sometimes fanciful notions of serial killers and political plots. Others might have doubts, but underneath it all Shona saw an officer as committed and determined as she was. More than once she’d offered Dan the chance to walk away. He’d refused every time. ‘Yes, I trust him.’
Isla looked up at her mother. ‘And I trust her, so we’re staying.’
Marie folded her arms and leaned against the sink, her expression set firm. She shot daggers at Shona. Her whole posture said, we’ll see about that.
Shona’s phone pinged. There was a stream of missed texts from Becca. Hurry up. Where are you? Come now. Shona checked the time. The grey day was sinking into a greater gloom. The sun had dipped down unseen behind the flat clouds. Shona considered the frosty stand-off between Isla and Marie and decided Isla was the more determined of the two. Nothing more could be accomplished here. The women wouldn’t be going anywhere tonight. She could safely leave them to smooth things over for a few hours. Coming, she replied to Becca.
‘Look, I’m going to leave you for a bit. I’ll be back later.’ Shona calculated her fuel situation. Tommy had spare jerry cans of petrol for the lifeboat. Would he lend her some? She’d have to explain the situation, her suspension and lack of cash, but she could rely Tommy McCall to keep it quiet.
‘What? You’re leaving us?’ said Marie, who a moment ago had wanted Shona gone.
Shona put her hand on Marie’s arm. ‘I just need to see my daughter. Someone hit her with a car a few days ago. She’s all right but… you know?’
‘It’s fine, Mum,’ Isla said getting up. ‘We’ll be fine,’ She put her arm around Marie and nodded to Shona. ‘Off you go.’
Shona put her head into the bedroom to say goodbye to the boys. Ryan lay back propped up on pillows, eyes fixed on the TV, while Liam dozed next to him. Shona felt a moment of uncertainty about leaving them without an officer to protect them, but if Isla was right about Evan Campbell’s connections then it wasn’t safe to involve social services or even her own colleagues. Murdo. She really wished she could call Murdo, but it was too much of a risk. She would only be a couple of hours at most.
Shona walked quickly between the shuttered caravans back to the car park. She kept a sharp watch for any suspicious vehicles, especially a dark 4x4 Land Rover Discovery, but her own car sat alone in the deserted car park like a shiny black rock left behind by the tide. She jumped in, pulling away with a spray of gravel, and headed inland along the poker straight road. Past a scattering of low, white-washed houses with black slate roofs, their windows bright in the gloaming, along a long single-track stretch between flat fields and up to the junction with the main coast road. On the way she called Becca to say she was coming, but to her annoyance her daughter’s phone went straight to voicemail. The slick tarmac of the A-road began to climb through stands of saplings already bare for winter, their pale trunks whitening like bones in the headlights. To her left, Shona glimpsed the bright silver of Southwick Water snaking its way across the marchlands to the Solway. With each mile, and no news from Dan, her hopes of Campbell’s arrest were evaporating; she saw how far away she was from being reinstated. She tried Becca’s phone again. She wanted her daughter to be ready when she arrived but, as usual,
whatever she was doing was of a higher priority than answering her mother’s calls.
Twenty-five minutes after she’d left the caravan park, Shona came in on the back road to Kirkness, dropping down between two big Victorian villas which had travelled from private homes to nursing homes and back again, only to be carved into holiday flats.
It was almost dark, the estuary was quiet and calm, a streak of indigo between inky shores. The main street lay empty. At the far end, the bare bulb above the shop door of the lifeboat station was unlit, but Shona saw the glow of the crew room lamp upstairs. Tommy’s van was parked across the road between tourist 4x4s. She slotted the Audi next to them.
The roller door of the boat hall and the shop entrance were both locked so Shona made for the side door that led straight into the crew changing area. Inside, all was dark. Tommy and Becca were obviously too busy gassing in the cosy crew room to come down and attend to the lights. She felt for the switch, but nothing happened. The building was 140 years old and, despite rewiring, intermittent faults with the electrics were becoming a regular feature again. Her eyes were slowly adjusting. She saw the glimmer of white helmets high above the hanging forms of dry suits, their yellow wellies, monochrome in the gloom. Shona huffed, her hands stretched out in front of her. She took a step towards the door at the far end that led direct to the boat bay and the stairs to the mezzanine level, but her foot caught. She tumbled forward onto the bags someone had left on the floor. She swore under her breath. As she put out her hands to right herself, her fingers touched not plastic or canvas but skin and hair. She flinched, scrambling back, fumbling for her phone. The ghostly glow showed a horror scene; a slumped body, a red-smeared floor.
Tommy lay on his side. Shona gasped and leaned quickly forward, feeling for a pulse. It was slow but strong beneath his chin. She searched for the source of the blood. A deep gash above his eye running into shadowy streaks down his blue overalls, but she couldn’t find any other wounds.
‘Tommy? Tommy, can you hear me? What happened?’ Shona shook him. He didn’t look like he’d fallen. Where was Becca? Had she gone home? Tommy only groaned, blood and saliva bubbling from his nose and mouth. Shona wiped his face with the sleeve of her jacket, then bundled the garment under his head to keep his airways clear. ‘Tommy?’ She shook him again as she dialled 999.