Driving into Darkness (DI Angus Henderson 2)
Page 26
In so many ways, Larner had been a clever sod. He was being treated in the same hospital as Henderson and although in a much worse condition, still fit enough to be interviewed by Gerry Hobbs on Sunday night. Surprise, surprise he revealed nothing and denied everything and even had the cheek to say he would be making a claim against Sussex Police for brutality.
Henderson wasn’t naive enough to believe his ‘confession’ out in the Channel or the files found on his pc would stand up in court as Larner could claim they were the components of his latest novel, a screenplay, or the fantasies of an over-active imagination. However, the kidnap and serious assault of Marta Stevenson and Sanjay Singh were real enough and not something he could wriggle away from.
The Subaru had been examined and despite the passage of several months since David Young’s death, he doubted the car had ever been cleaned since. The Vehicle Forensic team found tiny flakes of red paint and in time they were confident of matching them to David Young’s red motorbike. It was positive news but as he stewed in the crisp, white sheets of his hospital bed, the feeling would not go away that the killers of Sir Mathew Markham were slipping away.
This feeling persisted until the arrest of Nicky Heath and Stevie Nolan. Henderson expected them to follow Larner’s defence and ‘take the fifth’, as the Americans would call it, and force his detectives to build a case against them, but they surprised him. They both admitted their part in the Markham attack but said they were unaware of Larner’s intention to kill and only participated in the venture to put the ‘frighteners’ on.
Now facing serious charges and the prospect of ten to fifteen years in prison if charged with being active participants in a murder, it didn’t take long before they spilled the whole story. A good lawyer would pick apart their ‘let’s blame Larner’ defence but Heath told them where the knife was hidden and now it was being fast-tracked through forensics. If it proved to be Larner’s knife and if Markham’s DNA was found on the blade as he felt sure it would be, he would at last have his killer.
After dealing with a sudden flurry of emails, some praising his actions while other made stupid jokes about sailors, water, and boats, he decided to call William Lawton. If Larner’s computer files were to be believed, Lawton was next on the hit list after the battery development team were ‘recycled.’ Larner intended to kidnap him on Sunday when he would next be playing golf at West Hove, but as Larner was laid up in hospital at the time, Henderson didn’t bother to tell him.
It was fortunate Henderson didn’t know that Lawton was being investigated by the Fraud team upstairs in Sussex House, for a crime he tried to blame on David Young, as then it would have made him his number one suspect and led him up the wrong path. In fact, if it wasn’t for Jackson’s surprise announcement in firing him, it seemed to him he had more to gain from killing Young and Markham than Larner. Yes indeed, he needed to have another wee chat with the slippery William Lawton.
He dialled his office number but five rings later, he heard a click as it diverted.
‘Mr Markham’s office, Jules speaking.’
‘Oh hello Jules. I'm looking for Mr Lawton. This is Detective Inspector Henderson, Sussex Police.’
‘Hi Inspector. I’m sorry to say Mr Lawton has now left the company. The young Mr Markham, Jackson Markham is now in charge. Would you like to speak to him?’
‘No thank you. Do you know how I can contact Mr Lawton?’
There was a muffled rustling from the handset. ‘To tell you the truth, he’s persona non grata around here, if you know what I mean, but I liked him. I called his mobile on Saturday to see how he was and when I didn’t get a reply, I went round to his house. His wife answered and do you know what she said to me? She hasn’t seen him since Friday and was now so worried, she was thinking of calling you lot.’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Iain Cameron was born in Glasgow and moved south to Brighton in the early eighties. He has worked as a management accountant, business consultant and a nursery goods retailer. He is now a full-time writer and lives in a village outside Horsham in West Sussex with his wife, two daughters and a lively Collie dog.
In the first three months after release, his first novel ‘One Last Lesson’ was listed in two Amazon bestseller lists within crime fiction and it’s been there ever since. ‘Driving into Darkness’ is the second novel to feature DI Angus Henderson of Sussex Police, the Scottish detective with the calm demeanour and hidden ruthless streak.
To find out more about the author, visit the website:
www.iain-cameron.com
ALSO BY IAIN CAMERON
ONE LAST LESSON
University has just become a dangerous place
The serenity of a rural golf course is shattered after a popular university student is found murdered. There are few clues, leaving DI Angus Henderson of Sussex Police angry and frustrated, until he finds out the victim was a model on an adult web site run by two of her lecturers.
It is a difficult case for the DI and brings him into confrontation with two dangerous animals - but only one of them is human.
FEAR THE SILENCE
Fame won’t protect you
A woman disappears without trace. She was once a famous fashion model and married to a former television interviewer, so media interest is intense. DI Angus Henderson of Sussex Police has many suspects but in time, all are eliminated except the husband.
Despite compelling evidence and pressure from all sides to arrest him, the DI has doubts. He is unsure if this is yet another tragic domestic murder or something else; but then a killer reveals his true intentions.