by Joy Ellis
‘But you knew, and presumably so did anyone else who went to the Briar Patch?’ Nikki was still doubtful.
‘Funnily enough, no. The Briar is a bit of an enigma, Nik. It is a member’s club, but it is an umbrella for an elite businesswomen’s networking group. It has a guests policy. Longstanding members are welcome to bring guests, straight or gay. Madeline Prospero was never a member in her own right. She was always “signed in” by a woman called Zena Paris. I should think very few regulars knew that Madeline was gay.’
‘It certainly has not come to our notice. We’ve spoken to family, friends and dozens of business associates and colleagues, even a boyfriend or two. She did a damned good job of keeping that under wraps.’ Nikki shook her head.
‘I would have told you this earlier, but I’ve been at Warwick University on a course. Bliss only told me about Maddie’s death when I got home.’ Spooky pulled a face. ‘The thing is, the Briar is open every night except Mondays, so the networking group meets fortnightly on Monday evenings. Sammy, who runs it, lets them use the room privately. I’ve been going for quite a while now. I wondered if you might have been invited to join, Nikki. It’s mainly for professional or career women, and members have to be nominated. The majority of the women are gay, but there are a few powerful heterosexual women too.’
‘I guess I’m not their cup of tea. I’ve certainly never been approached.’ Nikki shook her head. ‘Sounds like a group of lady Masons and that is so not my thing!’
‘If you paid them a visit you’d be very surprised, Nik. You certainly wouldn’t be the only copper either! The members include a surgeon, a GP, a councillor, a barrister, a professor, a solicitor, an opera singer and a couple of company directors. The group supports its members, networks information and promotes the entry of lesbian and highly motivated career women into male-dominated professions.’ Spooky laughed. ‘Actually, you fit the bill rather well.’
‘Bollocks! Far from it. So was Madeline Prospero a member of this splinter group?’
‘No, but she was about to be. Zena Paris had nominated her at the last meeting. She only needed to be seconded, and then she would have been allowed to attend.’
Nikki raised an eyebrow. ‘You realise that I’m going to have to interview all the members?’
‘That might not be easy, Nikki. Okay, it’s not what you would call a secret society, but you would probably still come up against a wall of silence. There is no membership list and no formal administration. No one pays to join, and officially it doesn’t exist. The only way to tackle them would be softly, softly.’
Nikki frowned. ‘Surely they would want to help us? Someone murdered one of their own, for God’s sake!’
‘Oh, they will want the murderer apprehended alright. I suspect they will close ranks and use their considerable combined influence and power to try hunting down the killer themselves.’
‘Jesus! That’s all I need! A bunch of upper-class women vigilantes roaming the streets of Greenborough!’
Spooky laughed. ‘That’s not quite how they would operate, Nikki, but don’t underestimate them. They are truly pissed off about Maddie’s death.’
‘Then surely they will want to cooperate with the police! From what you tell me, these are sensible, well-educated professional women. Not the sort to take the law into their own hands. I really don’t understand this!’ Nikki felt anger welling up inside but held it back. She was grateful to Spooky. Without her information, they would have continued to believe that Ms Prospero was a heterosexual single woman.
Spooky looked earnestly at Nikki. ‘Look, I could be wrong about all this. It’s just that last night I overheard Zena and a couple of other women talking, and I got the impression they are making a few enquiries of their own, if you catch my drift? Just don’t drop me in it, will you? I’ll be far more help to you if I’m still welcome at the Briar Patch. If I become persona non grata, not only will my chances of getting any work in Greenborough mysteriously dry up, but they will make very sure that I never hear anything about their activities again.’
Nikki wondered how on earth she had worked in the Fenland Constabulary for so many years without so much as an inkling that such a powerful group existed. Not only that, but an old friend was a member. She might even have been invited to join herself!
‘Perhaps this will help.’ Spooky took a folded sheet of paper from her pocket and passed it across the desk. ‘All the women on this list are gay. But it didn’t come from me, okay?’
Nikki read through the list, her eyes growing wider at each name. Dr Sylvia Caulfield. Professor Anna Blunt. Victoria Hart-Jones OBE. More than twenty-five names, all influential and powerful members of Greenborough society. She whistled softly. ‘Jesus, Spooky. This is not good. I know or have regular dealings with at least half of these women. This could get messy. There’s even a small chance that I won’t be able to continue with the investigation.’
‘Oh shit!’
‘Exactly. Oh shit. This was not the kind of breakthrough I was looking for.’
‘So would someone else take it over?’ Spooky asked.
‘I suppose, but heaven knows who! It’s rather complicated, you see. Madeline’s murder was originally DI Gill Mercer’s case, but her team is short-handed because of illness and so on. My team are assisting. I could back out and leave it with her but,’ she groaned, ‘but then again, Gill probably knows these women as well as I do.’ She drew in a breath. ‘God knows what I will tell Superintendent Greg Woodhall. I will have to pass it all on, whatever happens.’
Spooky looked downcast. ‘I’m really sorry, Nik. I never dreamed that it would get so complex. Look, can I make a suggestion? Why not just hang onto that list for a day or two? No one else knows about any of this, so why not make a few discreet enquiries before deciding what to do?’
‘I’ll certainly sleep on it. There’s a lot to take in here.’ She looked again at the list, noting the name of another inspector and a detective sergeant she knew slightly — and her own cousin, Denise. ‘And whatever I do, I won’t be mentioning your name, okay? I have no wish to see your chances of getting that job jeopardised. Apart from which, Bliss would most definitely kill me!’
‘Too right!’ Spooky glanced up at the office clock and pulled a face. ‘Speaking of which, I have to get home. Oh, and Bliss says it’s about time she saw you again, so come round on Sunday for a home-cooked lunch. That was not a request, by the way, it was an order.’
‘Received and understood. One o’clock okay?’
‘Fine. Meantime, I’ll keep my ears open.’
‘You do that. And, Spooky?’
Spooky paused at the door.
‘Thanks for this. I have no idea how I am going to use the information, but I’m very grateful.’
After Spooky had left, Nikki looked at the clock and decided to wait for the morning meeting to talk to the team. She looked around for Joseph and saw him in his outdoor jacket, closing his office door.
‘You off?’ she called out.
As he came towards her, she noticed the dark circles under his eyes.
‘I promised to call in at B&Q and price up some decorating stuff for the kids. They’ll be back the day after tomorrow and I still haven’t got around to it.’
‘Have you heard from them?’
‘I don’t think ringing Dad is high on Tamsin’s list of priorities right now.’ Joseph threw her a half-hearted grin. ‘But I’m sure they are having a wonderful time.’
‘Niall sent Yvonne a text with a selfie of him posing outside a Paris gendarmerie. Said something like, “Love you, Vonnie, but sorry, I’m so not wishing you were here!”
‘Ah, then they are having a wonderful time.’
‘I should hope so! That’s what honeymoons are for.’ Her smile faded. ‘You look tired, Joseph. Are you sure everything is okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ He avoided her eyes. ‘As I said before, it’s probably all the build-up to the wedding, and then trying to get the cottage a bit ha
bitable.’ He sighed. ‘It’s going to be a long job.’
‘But worth it, and they are young. They can live in a total mess without climbing the walls. In fact they’ll probably love it.’
‘I dare say. They are really looking forward to putting their mark on the old place.’
Nikki touched his arm. ‘Good for them. Now, go do your DIY chore, get yourself home and for heaven’s sake have an early night. You look all in.’
‘Maybe I will.’ He placed his hand over hers and squeezed it gently. ‘I’ll see you in the morning. Night, Nikki.’
Nikki watched him go with sadness in her heart. No mention of supper together, no invitation to drop in for a nightcap on her way home. Those things had become a habit for them in recent years. Now there was nothing. Joseph was her dearest friend. But he seemed to be drifting away from her.
Nikki pulled on her jacket and looked for her car keys. All at once she felt very lonely.
CHAPTER THREE
As dawn broke, a solitary figure stood by the sluice gate and stared into the deep green pool of water. The endless marshes stretched out in all directions. An unmistakable smell rose from them, a mixture of rotting brassicas and the pools of brackish water left by the retreating tide.
The figure walked along the top of the stone wall, paused, leaned momentarily on the metal handrail, and then continued. Their gaunt features were turned away from the sunlight that brushed the silver grey surface of the river. Slivers of molten silver and gold slid across the water, then faded to pewter when a cloud crossed the path of the rising sun. The figure strode on.
A sigh of longing merged with the breeze and was lost.
* * *
Nikki swiped her identification pass through the security gate, and saw an ancient, bright green Citroen Dolly — Rory Wilkinson’s pride and joy — pull in behind her. Excellent! Rory would only turn up at such a ridiculously early hour if he had something interesting to tell her. Nikki had spent the night worrying about Joseph, going over the list of names Spooky had given her and tossing the revelations about Madeline Prospero around in her head. Hard scientific evidence was just what she needed.
‘Morning, Rory! You’re up with the lark. Do you have any news for me?’
Rory peered at her over the top of his wire rimmed glasses and grinned. ‘Oh yes. I will reveal all, but only if you buy me breakfast.’
‘You do know they closed our canteen three years ago?’
‘An outbreak of botulism, I suppose.’
‘Not quite, but the word “dysentery” was bandied about. No, it was a bad case of cost-cutting. The bacon sandwiches were the best in the county so we miss it terribly.’ She fell into step with him. ‘We do, however, have some very willing probationers who are prepared to take a squad car down to Mackie D’s, if you’re interested?’
‘Sounds perfect . . . I think. What’s a Mackie D?’
‘Oh dear. Not to worry, you’ll love it. Just don’t tell David I’ve been feeding you policeman’s fodder.’
‘David is in foreign parts, lucky devil. His job has sent him on a fact-finding mission somewhere hot and sweaty. Actually I don’t envy him one bit, poor baby. He reckons the mosquitoes are the size of Great Danes, and the food could easily be mistaken for—’
‘Enough! I want to enjoy my breakfast!’
Rory pushed open the doors. ’I was only going to say—’
‘Rory! If you want to experience the heady delight of a double bacon-and-egg McMuffin and coffee, then shut up right now.’ Nikki called out, ‘Any one free to get some breakfast? My treat.’
WPC Yvonne Collins smiled at her. ‘Music to my ears, ma’am. I was just going myself. The usual, is it?’
‘Two, please. I have a guest for breakfast. Oh, and if you see Joseph, don’t tell him. Takeaway breakfasts have been prohibited for health reasons.’ She turned back to Rory. ‘Come along, my friend. My office awaits.’
Half an hour later Rory contemplated the empty container. ‘A rare treat, Nikki. I was tempted to take a sample back to the lab with me. A few simple tests should reveal what we actually just ate.’
Nikki laughed. ‘The coffee’s good though, isn’t it?’
‘I have to agree there. It’s certainly better than what comes out of your vending machine. Now, back to your unburied body.’ Rory pushed up his glasses.
Nikki pulled a face. ‘All I know so far is that he’s an adult male, somewhere between forty and forty-five years of age, well-built, five nine or ten, sandy fair hair and probably married.’
‘If the wedding ring is to be believed. I’ll be able to get closer to his age when I get more results, but from the condition of the teeth I would go for a bit over forty. His long bones and the wear and tear in his spine indicate that he did manual work, by the way.’
‘Now, the million dollar question. How long has he been dead?’
‘I think somewhere in the region of thirty years, Nikki. We found some coins with the body. Their position indicated that they were probably loose change left in his trouser pocket. The newest of them was dated 1987 and from the lack of scratches and general wear on the metal, I think it was almost new when he died. All my findings are fitting in nicely with that date too. 1987, or probably more like 1988.’
‘That is more than I’d hoped for, Rory. We can start a missing person’s check for that particular period.’
‘Ah, but we aren’t finished yet. He had an old fracture of the right wrist. It would have been a pretty nasty break, and it never healed properly. He would most definitely have been hospitalised. His wedding ring is unusual too. It’s very old gold. I suspect it was either a family heirloom or he bought it second-hand. It has the remains of some sort of engraving inside the band, but this had been almost worn off with the constant friction against his finger. One of my assistants is working on that now. Our mystery visitor to Father Aidan’s churchyard is giving up his secrets quite quickly.’ Rory had a satisfied look on his face.
‘And the method?’
‘Ah, yes.’ Rory leant back and drained his coffee. ‘Whoever killed him meant him to stay dead. This was no accident, not a fight that went too far. Initially, he was stabbed twice in the back. There are grooves in his ribs and vertebrae that indicate a long, sharp metal object causing deep penetrating injuries. From their angle, I believe that there was a good chance that the lung was punctured. He probably had a massive haemopneumothorax, and definitely did not need to have his skull caved in as well. He would have died quite successfully without expending all that extra effort.’
‘A frenzied attack?’
‘It’s hard to be more conclusive until I get a few more test results. I’d say a very determined killing, but not exactly frenzied. You saw the position of the body, Nikki. He was grasping at his back with his left hand. I found bone-evidence of deep cuts to the thumb, fore- and middle fingers. I think he was trying to pull the blade from his back when he was hit across the back of his head. The blow was hard enough to poleaxe him. I think he was dead before he hit the ground.’
‘Had he been moved?’
‘I’m pretty sure the answer to that is no. Other than to manoeuvre him into the shallow grave.’
‘Phew, you have been busy, haven’t you?’
‘With David away, I decided that a bit of overtime would not go amiss. I love the old ones, those mysterious cases. You get a bit jarred off with the same old RTCs and heart attacks. You will keep me posted on this, won’t you?’
Nikki grimaced. ‘You will be the first person I call when we’ve unravelled the plot! Now, I have to throw you out. I have another case to make some big decisions on.’
‘Madeline Prospero?’
‘Mmm, and a right problem she’s turning out to be too.’
‘Now that was what I call frenzied. She was beaten to a pulp. I really must show you the photos of the blood splatter patterns, and there were splinters from her cranium embedded in the wall.’
‘Lovely, Rory, but I’d rather forget
that particular crime scene until my breakfast has digested, if it’s all right with you?’
‘Sorry.’ Rory looked abashed, but Nikki noted the schoolboy smirk. ‘Anyway, I’ll get all the other results and my full report over to you just as soon as I can. Thanks for the Full English Copper’s Brekkie, it was an experience! Good hunting, Detective Inspector.’ Rory gave an exaggerated bow and made his exit.
Nikki looked at the notes on the desk in front of her.
A thirty-year-old murder. If their body turned out to be a local man, then his killer might well have been local too. There may be a Fenlander living with a monstrous secret.
‘We’ll see about that, you bastard. You may think you’ve escaped justice, but we’ll put you behind bars for what you did,’ Nikki said to herself.
* * *
Before she took the morning meeting, Nikki went to talk to Superintendent Greg Woodhall about Spooky’s revelations.
He, too, was mystified. ‘I cannot understand why this group has never come to our attention. If, as you say, its members are leading lights in the community, you would think it would have some cachet. So why should it be such a secret?’
‘I’ve been thinking half the night about that, sir, and I can only conclude that the women concerned do not want it to be known that they are gay.’
Greg frowned. ‘But this is not the Dark Ages, Nikki! We have sexual equality, civil partnerships and gay marriages. Surely it’s not much of an issue these days?’
‘Don’t you believe it, sir. It is still a massive issue to a lot of people. And if you want confirmation that homophobia is alive and kicking, just stick your head around the mess room door.’ Nikki looked down at Spooky’s list of names. ‘Some of the older women lived at a time when gay men were imprisoned and “lesbian” was a dirty word. There are still an awful lot of people who are prejudiced against them. I checked the workplace stats for last year. Did you know that twenty-six percent of LGBT workers were too afraid to come out to their colleagues, and one in five of those who do have experienced verbal bullying.’ She frowned. ‘I know this because one of the women on this list is an old friend of mine, and I saw first-hand what she had to contend with.’ She handed Greg the list. ‘Have a look at some of the members’ names.’