Without a Trace

by Mari Hannah

  ‘One of my team has. Robbo called her, out of the blue apparently.’

  ‘Why would he do that when he was so overworked?’

  ‘He wouldn’t.’

  ‘Be careful, Kate. She could be in cahoots with Nikolaev, someone trying to cultivate a copper who has or had a gambling problem, a detective they might consider malleable to their malign manipulations. That’s how they operate. I mean no disrespect.’

  ‘None taken. It’s a fair point, given Robbo’s history—’

  ‘Except they didn’t turn him, did they? He must’ve been quite a guy.’

  Kate had no words as a wave of grief hit her.

  Torres was intuitive, clever enough to know that the best way to help Kate over her temporary silence and get her on track was to give her something else to think about, preferably work. She asked, ‘How’s your timeline going?’

  ‘It’s coming together. No arrests yet. That’ll change. Our targets may have gone to ground, but they can’t lie low for ever. We have surveillance on one or two of their runners and, as of five minutes ago, Nikolaev’s son, too. The team are making slow and steady progress. Robbo had been working hard. CCTV captured him entering our command HQ at around six o’clock on the night he was murdered. At five past the hour, he checked the PNC, our national computer database, accessing the vehicle index, a general search on Audi R8s registered locally.’

  ‘Interesting. Did he find any?’

  ‘Two. We’re attaching significance to it. He didn’t raise an action with our receiver to trace either of the owners. That’s not how we normally do things, which suggests he wanted to check it out himself. I’m about to follow up on that now.’

  ‘Take a SWAT team with you.’

  ‘Not our style.’

  Carmichael passed Kate a note: I found her.

  Kate lifted a thumb, a big smiley thank you, an urgent tone to her voice as she returned to her call. ‘Gabriele, I’ve got to run. I may have caught another break this end. I’ll update you as soon as I know more.’

  ‘Good luck.’

  The line clicked. Torres was gone.

  The woman’s name was Anita Marr. She seemed to be legit, the MD of her own company that had been going for several years and was now worth a small fortune. She’d favoured a meeting out of town. Carmichael agreed, though she insisted on a location of her choosing, a good move on her part. Only Kate knew where it was. Unhappy about this, Jo collared Bright as soon as he arrived from HQ, voicing her concerns in the strongest possible terms, pointing out that Robbo might have been lured to his death by Marr.

  Kate thought so too.

  Given that the nature of Marr’s business was logistics, managing the flow of goods from A to B, it was the perfect foil for a slick drug-trafficking operation. Supply and demand was the name of the game. Pushed for time, she interrupted Jo mid-sentence. ‘What you’re saying makes perfect sense, were it not for the fact that Lisa was the one who made contact, not the other way around.’

  ‘Yeah, like Robbo, so forgive me if I’m not reassured.’

  ‘Jo, calm down.’

  ‘No, you need to listen to me. These people aren’t stupid. What makes you think that they didn’t anticipate that Robbo might get in touch? Has it even occurred to you that he wasn’t a random choice? That, in killing him, Nikolaev’s men or whoever is responsible knew perfectly well that you’d analyse his lifestyle in minute detail and follow up on his contacts, especially the dodgy ones?’ Jo turned her attention to Bright. ‘Guv, this meeting could be a ploy to target more police.’

  ‘Jo’s right,’ he said to Kate. ‘You could be walking into a trap.’

  Kate scanned her team.

  Every MIT officer seemed to agree.

  She was outnumbered.

  Jo was staring at her. She’d said her piece, but it was unlike her to lose her temper. She didn’t apologise for letting fly in front of everyone, an unprecedented public outburst that took them all by surprise, including their guv’nor and Kate herself. Jo was right to be cautious, Kate was well aware of it, but what happened next was a frustration she could do without. Detectives were stood down, the briefing delayed while arrangements were made.

  Bright left the incident room without another word.

  Kate followed him to his office, not bothering to knock as she walked in. ‘Sir—’ She rarely called him that. ‘I can’t wait around. I have a potential, possibly vital, lead.’

  ‘Close the door on your way out,’ he said.

  ‘But—’

  ‘You heard me. You can thank me later.’

  ‘Fuck’s sake!’ It wasn’t said under her breath. ‘The witness is waiting to talk to me at a prearranged time and place. Marr sounded extremely nervous when Carmichael made contact. If I don’t show, she’ll be in the wind.’

  Her plea was ignored.

  Kate stormed out.

  They didn’t speak again until he summoned her and Hank to his office and gave them the go-ahead to leave Middle Earth, much later than scheduled, wearing Kevlar vests beneath their overcoats at his instruction. The detectives were to be tailed by armed response, insurance against ambush. The last thing Bright said echoed in their heads as they left the building.

  ‘You go after them, they’ll come after you.’

  79

  ‘Well, that was fun.’ Hank punched a Durham postcode into the satnav as they left Northern Area Command HQ. ‘Jo obviously thinks this meeting is a bad idea. She might be right if we’re late getting there. I can’t see Marr hanging around for long, can you?’ He checked his watch. ‘You’ll have to step on it, Kate. It’s almost seven forty-five. We said we’d be there by eight.’ He tapped the navigation screen. ‘According to this, we have an ETA of eight fifteen.’

  Flooring the accelerator, Kate checked the rear-view mirror, a smile developing as the car behind picked up speed. ‘Relax, Hank. Jeff is our escort. They don’t call him Shifty for nothing.’

  Hank crossed his arms, watching the speedometer climb … seventy … eighty … ninety miles an hour. He liked nothing better than a fast ride. ‘Don’t worry about Jo,’ he said. ‘Carmichael is under orders to sit on her till we get back.’

  ‘You don’t think she’s that stupid—’

  ‘To follow us? Hardly. You’d give Lewis Hamilton a run for his money.’

  Kate didn’t laugh. ‘You didn’t tell her where we’re going?’

  ‘’Course, I told her to bring her mates along too.’

  ‘Sorry …’ Changing down, she negotiated a roundabout at high speed, taking the slip road south. ‘I shouldn’t have asked.’

  ‘No, you shouldn’t.’

  ‘Jo had no right—’

  ‘She had every right. Didn’t take you two long to start arguing, did it?’

  ‘Not surprising. She’s stressed to death.’

  ‘And you’re not?’

  Kate deflected the question with one of her own. ‘If we don’t act, who will? I’m damned if I’ll let these bastards slip away from us. I promised Irene that I’d hunt them down until they have no hiding place. We can’t afford to lose momentum.’

  The hotel was set back off a B-road. Carmichael had chosen well, one road in and out, no junctions, easily managed if there was a threat. Kate drove into the car park, relieved to see one of three vehicles registered to Marr’s address parked up near the rear door, a new Land Rover Discovery with a 64 registration plate, practically brand new.

  As the armed response vehicle pulled up in a location that gave him the best viewpoint, Shifty’s voice filled the car: ‘Hold your position while I recce the building, guv.’

  ‘Make it quick, Jeff. If she spots you, she might leg it.’

  ‘I would if I were her,’ Hank said. ‘He scares the hell out of me.’

  A chuckle over the radio. ‘I’ll try not to frighten the lady.’

  Shifty got out, scanning the fringes of the car park, the hedges and shrubbery. It was ominously quiet and, like all armed response personnel
, he had a nose for danger. Satisfied that there was none, he walked towards the pub while his colleague remained in the car, checking the registration of two unidentified vehicles that had been reversed into spaces close to the main gate.

  ‘You think Robbo was slipping?’ Hank said, while they waited.

  Remembering her chat with Veitch, Robbo’s poker buddy, Kate said, ‘Do you?’

  ‘Once an addict, Kate.’

  ‘You’re such a cynic. You’re wrong, Hank. Robbo was his old self. Once Irene knew he had a problem, she watched him like a hawk. The only nights he spent out of the house were ones when he was genuinely working late.’

  ‘She couldn’t possibly know that. How many of our lot are screwing around, passing off their absence from home as work-related. It’s the cover-all excuse, the oldest trick in the book.’

  ‘True, except for one detail.’ Kate grimaced. ‘Irene and I had a pact. Whenever I asked him to stay on, I texted her.’

  ‘Remind me never to have an affair.’

  Kate grinned. ‘It was for his own good.’

  Moments later, Shifty emerged. A nod: all clear.

  ‘That’ll be her.’ Hank peered into the bar through a double-glazed door with a good view of the room. He stood back, allowing Kate to step forward. A well-dressed brunette, more tanned than most Brits at this time of the year, was sitting alone, flicking through her mobile phone, a strand of hair flopping over her eyes.

  Kate glanced over her shoulder at Hank. ‘Did you work that out all by yourself?’

  He laughed. Anita Marr was the only woman in the bar.

  Kate was already disappearing through the door, making a beeline for Marr’s table, conscious of him on her tail. The woman looked up as they approached, poker eyes, a blank facial expression. If she was angry because they were a few minutes late, she didn’t show it. Apologising for keeping her waiting, Kate took care of the introductions, asking if she’d like a drink.

  ‘Don’t touch the stuff.’

  ‘Hank will get us a coffee.’

  He headed towards the bar. Despite the heat from a woodburning stove, Kate kept her coat on for fear of exposing the Kevlar underneath. She sat down opposite Marr. The woman was around Robbo’s age. Kate didn’t know why, but she’d expected her to be older. ‘Thanks for seeing us. We appreciate you taking the time to drive so far.’

  ‘I wasn’t given a choice. I’m only here because of what happened to Rob, I mean Paul.’ She explained, ‘I always knew him as Rob. I was stunned when I saw his photograph on TV. It really upset me.’

  Hank arrived and sat down. ‘The barman will bring them over.’ He pointed at Marr’s latté glass. ‘I ordered you the same again. Is that OK?’

  ‘Perfect, thank you.’ Marr asked, ‘Were you guys close to Rob?’

  ‘As close as it gets,’ Kate said.

  ‘Then I’m sorry for you. He was a great bloke.’

  ‘The best.’ Hank meant it.

  Even though Robbo had fallen from grace, the team had rallied round once they knew he had a problem. He was universally popular. Kate felt a tug somewhere deep inside her chest, but remained focused on her witness. ‘How long had you known him?’

  ‘We met about three years ago at a casino in town.’

  ‘Which one?’ There were several.

  ‘The only one for serious gamblers: Providence. I find the rest a bit seedy. The Pro has a good vibe. Rob was new. Unsure of himself. Roulette was more his thing, but he used to watch me play poker and blackjack. I knew he was in trouble. I can spot a loser a mile away. I mean in the literal sense, not to be unkind. He was losing heavily, chasing his bets, a mug’s game. It didn’t take long to realise that he was unable to bankroll his addiction. He was very concerned that he might lose his family, his job, or both. I gather he very nearly did.’

  Kate didn’t confirm it. ‘And you’d kept in touch?’

  ‘No. Until Monday, we’ve not seen each other or spoken in almost two years.’

  ‘You told DC Carmichael that he called you out of the blue.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘You didn’t perhaps instigate the call via text?’ She eyed Marr’s phone. ‘They’re easily deleted.’

  ‘No, I did not.’ Marr slipped her device in her pocket, a hint that they would have to take her word for it. ‘He wanted to meet but wouldn’t tell me why. I asked him if he’d started gambling again and he said he’d explain when he saw me.’

  ‘He didn’t disclose the fact that he was a detective?’

  ‘Not until we met the other day, though I had my suspicions.’

  ‘Where did that meeting take place?’

  ‘At my Jesmond office.’

  The barman arrived with their coffee. As he set it down on the table, Marr thanked him, drawing her drink towards her. She was very polite, soft-spoken and articulate. Kate could see why Robbo would take to her. Momentarily, she wondered if they had ever been closer than betting pals, but then discounted the idea. He’d never cheat on Irene.

  Marr was staring at Kate. ‘Look, this is a bad idea. I don’t want to get involved.’

  ‘You are involved,’ Kate said. ‘You were the last person we know of to see him alive, which makes you a person of interest. What did he want?’

  ‘Information.’

  Hank said, ‘Then it stands to reason he thought you had some to give.’

  ‘It wasn’t me he was interested in.’

  ‘Oh?’

  Replacing her coffee in its saucer, Marr leaned forward, dropping her voice. ‘When Rob was frequenting the casino, there was a young couple throwing their cash around. They were new too. Not members, I know that much. They bribed their way in. Everyone has a price, right? The doormen are supposed to keep non-members out, but this bloke was personable and loaded. Right up their street. He was keen to strike up a relationship—’

  ‘With you, or DS Robson?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Rob. I warned him off.’

  ‘Why?’

  Marr hesitated. ‘I had a bad feeling about the guy and I didn’t like his girlfriend. I walked in on her snorting cocaine in the toilets. The evil bitch saw me looking, put me up against the wall and told me to keep my mouth shut or she knew someone who’d slit my throat and make me disappear. She was off her face.’

  Kate was intrigued. ‘You believed her?’

  ‘She was laughing when she said it.’

  ‘And you told DS Robson?’

  Marr’s confirmation explained a lot. ‘It didn’t surprise him. He was like the rest of you, eyes everywhere, checking out who was coming and going. I thought he was nervous by nature, making sure he didn’t come across someone he knew who might tell his wife what he was up to. He was a mess. But as time went on, I’d made up my mind that he was in your line of work. It made sense of his anxiety, the fact that he kept a low profile. I was the only one he had any dealings with.’

  ‘It seems he had good taste.’

  ‘Don’t patronise me, Inspector. Not all gamblers are a lost cause. The difference between me and Rob was that I have a disposable income and know when to stop. Rob didn’t. I also win more than I lose. Not many can say that. You’re his boss, right? The one who got him to kick the habit, the one who paid his IOUs?’

  Kate didn’t admit or deny it.

  Hank showed no reaction, but she could feel his laser eyes burning a hole in the side of her head, probably wondering how much it had cost her. Kate thought Marr was on the level, but maybe poker wasn’t the only game she was good at. Now she’d started talking, they couldn’t shut her up, another reason to be wary, but also a chance to move off the subject of what Kate had done to save one of her crew from imploding.

  ‘You know Rob,’ Marr said. ‘He was intuitive, a man who trusted his instincts. He didn’t need my warning to stay away from this guy and his girlfriend. He’d already clocked them as trouble. His gambling skills were crap but his radar was spot on.’

  ‘And still you didn’t ask what he did for a
living? I find that hard to believe.’

  ‘I’m telling the truth. Like I said, I had my suspicions. I figured he’d tell me if he wanted me to know. He might’ve been a liability from your point of view, but not from mine.’

  ‘Describe this couple for me.’

  ‘The guy was late twenties, early thirties. Impeccably dressed. Good shoes. Foreign, a very bad loser. A taker, too, asked a lot of questions but gave nothing of himself. He didn’t give a name. We didn’t ask – at least, I didn’t.’

  Kate was desperate to ask if he was Russian but couldn’t lead the witness. ‘Can you take a punt at nationality?’

  Marr gave a shrug. ‘Spanish, Portuguese, I’m not sure.’

  The words South American popped into Kate’s head. She was itching to know if Hank was thinking the same thing. She decided to bank it for later. When Marr told her that Robbo was more interested in the girl, it made perfect sense. He’d have been looking for a weak link. Leaning on a cokehead, someone he may have perceived as suffering a greater addiction than his own, probably hoping to get a handle on her boyfriend before making his move.

  ‘And the woman?’

  ‘Younger than him. A looker. Dark hair. Expensive kit. Articulate. I got the impression she was independently wealthy.’

  ‘Is there anything more you can tell us about either of them?’

  ‘Neither of them drank alcohol. Beyond gambling, it was the only thing we had in common.’ Marr paused. ‘The girl was a piece of work. She liked the high life, and worked the room in the casino at every opportunity. She had multiple relationships. Only hung out with monied, shady characters who, for some reason, were falling over themselves to gain her attention. I couldn’t see the attraction myself.’ Marr paused. ‘I go every week and saw them often, together and with other escorts.’

  ‘Have you seen them recently?’

  ‘That’s what Rob asked. He wanted to know if the pair were still around.’

  ‘What did you tell him?’

  ‘That the guy hadn’t been in for a while, which was unusual. The last couple of times I saw him, he was on his own. I guessed they’d fallen out. He didn’t always get his way with her. I saw them leave the club once …’ She explained that the ladies’ restroom overlooked the car park behind the casino. ‘They were having a right go at one another and he was coming off worse. It surprised me. He didn’t strike me as a man you’d cross. She drove off in a red Porsche leaving him to find his own way home. He was bloody furious when he walked back into the casino. Their relationship was a ticking bomb if ever I saw one.’