by Salkeld, J J
‘Yes, will do.’
‘Thanks. That’s the first part of Plan B. Now, Ian, the other line that we really need to follow is to try to connect one of the Plouvins, or maybe more than one, to Cliff Morrow. And I mean definitively. If they hired him to kill Rupert then we need to know how they met him in the first place. Were they introduced to him somehow? If so, who by? Hiring someone to kill a close family member can’t be the easiest thing in the world to arrange, and they must have the brains to know that it’s a strategy that almost always leads to detection. So how did they find someone who they thought they could trust, couldn’t be tied back to them, and who would also do the deed for them?’
‘I hope that’s a whatsit question’ said Mann, ‘because I haven’t got a clue.’
‘Me neither’ said Hall, ‘and we have looked already, I know that. All I can suggest is that you go further back in time, and concentrate on the twins. Find me something, anything, that connects Morrow to the Plouvins and we’ll have something to work with. We just need something that will ratchet up the pressure. Because right now they’re looking out of their windows at our folks all looking for Rupert Plouvin’s body, and I hope it’s scaring them shitless. But we all know that we can’t keep it up for long. I’ve got no budget left, and I’m going to have to beg Gorham for more when I see her in the morning.’
‘It’s absolutely ridiculous, is this’ said Mann, getting up. ‘Have we really got to the point where we can’t investigate a murder - sorry, a double murder - properly? It’s a bloody disgrace, Andy. We’re just going to lose public confidence at this rate, and then where will we be?’
‘I take your point, but I’m not sure we’re in quite that state. At least not yet, we’re not. All bets would off if the crime figures got worse, though’ said Hall, ‘but then we all know that’s not going to happen, don’t we?’
Friday, 21st June
Andy Hall hadn’t expected an easy ride from Val Gorham, but he hadn’t expected this.
‘I’m sorry, Andy, but we need to go for external review of this case, and we need it now. I’m sorry, but I asked the Chief for permission this morning, and he gave me his whole-hearted support. You’ve taken an unconventional approach, and I do appreciate that getting the Plouvins to confirm that it wasn’t their brother in South Africa has been helpful, but I’m afraid your methods are open to question. And needless to say our good friend Jenkins has been quick to point that out. And you’ll appreciate that a review has implications for the ongoing investigation.’
Hall did know, but he wanted to know the worst. See what he could salvage from the wreckage of a decision that couldn’t have been more political if it had a rosette pinned to its lapel.
‘Like what, ma’am?’
‘We’ll need to scale back the operation, now, today. I want everyone involved in this search for the body of Rupert Plouvin off the plot immediately. And I do mean immediately, not tomorrow or the day after. I mean now, this morning.’
‘But ma’am, what about the message that would send to the Plouvins? Our visible presence is helping to build pressure on them. Even a small but visible team, just for a couple of days, could make all the difference.’
Gorham did not look impressed. ‘Is that the best you can do? It ‘could’ help? I’m sorry, but it just won’t wash.’ Gorham ticked the points off on her fingers. ‘First, you’ve absolutely no solid evidence that Rupert is dead, still less that he’s buried anywhere on the Plouvin’s land. You can’t even tie them to Morrow in anything that’s a remotely a convincing fashion, let alone suggest that Morrow killed Rupert, and then the Plouvins killed Morrow. It’s just a tottering pile of theories and guess-work, Andy. I know you’ve got a good record, and no doubt that will be acknowledged in the report made by the external assessor, but I think you’ve lost your perspective here, I really do.’
‘How do you mean, ma’am?’
‘Frankly, I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Jenkins, and that’s something I thought I’d never hear myself say. I don’t know why, and I won’t speculate on this point, but I think, that is we think, that you’ve decided, for your own reasons, that the Plouvins are guilty of one murder, and quite possibly of two.’
‘One conspiracy and one murder, actually ma’am, but I assure you I’m not guilty of some kind of class-hatred.’
Gorham very nearly laughed. ‘I wasn’t implying that, Andy, not at all. No, my sense is that you’re so concerned to not be seen as stereotyping the Traveller community as criminal and violent that you’re willfully avoiding the most likely explanation. Which is that it was a Traveller, or a person associated with the community, who killed Morrow, and the place of his burial does not point towards the Plouvins as the perpetrators.’
‘And what about the fact that Rupert Plouvin is missing, presumed dead?’
‘Presumed dead by you, Andy, not by me. Look, I’m not saying that they’re not involved in some scam between them, and no doubt HMRC will be interested, but it’s far from clear that any crime has been committed, on UK territory anyway. And suggesting that there’s a body buried somewhere on their land is no more than a wild guess. Call it instinct if you like, Andy, but that butters no parsnips, not any more. So call off the dogs, and do it now. And you’ll be kept informed about the external review.’
DCI Hall was so angry that he couldn’t face anyone in the incident room at HQ, so he drove straight to Long Meg. He found Tonto and Sandy in the truck, arguing about something as usual, but their hearts didn’t seem to be in it. He could tell that they’d already heard the news.
‘Gory fucking Gorham strikes again’ said Sandy, very loudly, before Hall even had the door closed.
‘You’ve heard, then? I’m really sorry about this. I suppose neither of you has found anything really convincing this morning, like a home-made headstone with the name Rupert Plouvin on it, have you?’
‘Nothing like that, Andy’ said Tonto, ‘but we have managed to complete the ground radar on the farmyard.’
‘And?’
‘Inconclusive, I’m afraid. It looks as if the ground got pretty disturbed before they poured the new slab, and it’s an absolute whopper too. You could drive tanks over that, let alone tractors, and it wouldn’t move an inch.’
‘Is it too deep? Suspiciously so, I mean?’
‘I spoke to the contractor, and he said that it was quite a bit deeper than the ground-works guy had suggested, but that it wasn’t unheard of for it to be that deep either. I’d say you’d have no case to actually dig it up, anyway. So it’s just another taunting possibility, isn’t it?’
Hall nodded sadly. ‘Sandy? Anything from your side?’
‘Fuck all. The dogs are a waste of time if you ask me, and we’d barely got started on anything else before we got stood down. Give me a few more days and I might have something for you, though.’
‘That’s not going to happen, is it? One thing though, have either of you got data that still needs to be analysed? Off-site, I mean.’
‘Aye’ said Tonto, ‘I’ve got some, but don’t get your hopes up, Andy.’
‘I won’t, mate, don’t you worry about that. But that’s useful to know. All I can suggest is to get your people and kit together, and get off the site before Val Gorham herself turns up and writes a parking ticket on this bloody truck.’
Hall walked slowly along the drive to the farmhouse, but changed his mind, walked back to the lane, and carried on to the big house. Christopher always seemed the more self-assured of the twins, but he did live alone in that big house, so perhaps he had been feeling the pressure more than the others. Hall knew that in half an hour it would be absolutely obvious that the Police were withdrawing, so his moment was now.
‘Come in, Chief Inspector’ said Christopher Plouvin. He seemed almost glad to see Hall. ‘Can I offer you a coffee? I’m just making some.’
Hall watched as Plouvin went through the elaborate procedure, using a machine that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a coffee shop.
Except that this one was bigger, shinier and probably cleaner too. Plouvin seemed to read his thoughts, and laughed.
‘It’s not some sort of attempt to save money, if that’s what you’re thinking. When I bought this machine I worked out that I’d have to drink two cups of coffee a day for years to get my money back. It’s just that the nearest decent cup of coffee is bloody miles away.’
‘Kendal?’
Plouvin laughed. ‘Manchester, more like.’
Hall smiled back. ‘I’ve been here too long. My horizons have shrunk.’
‘But at least you’ve had a chance to choose your horizons. Mine were predestined.’
‘Should I feel sorry for you, then?’
‘No, of course not. I didn’t mean that. But this house is a huge responsibility, a tie. Before my brother decided to leave, for reasons that I now understand a bit better than I did, I had more freedom. Much more, truth be told. I could be myself. But now I’m expected to be here all the time.’
Plouvin gave Hall his coffee. Hall took a sip, and looked at Plouvin over the rim.
‘Excellent coffee, thanks. So what you’re telling me is that you never really wanted to take this place on. Is that it?’
‘Not exactly that, but it’s a fantasy that me or David were responsible for my brother’s death. I’ve no idea why he’s had someone impersonating him all this time, but it was his decision and we’ve all gone along with it, I admit that. We probably shouldn’t have, but we did. But I’m sure you understand that I wasn’t really made for rural life.’
‘The only gay in the village, is that it?’
Plouvin laughed. ‘Yes, that’s about it. But isn’t the joke that he isn’t the only gay at all? He just wants to be the only one.’
‘I’m not sure. It’s from a TV show, isn’t it? I only remember the catch-phrase.’
‘Well, around here it’s true, as far as I know. Since the two retired schoolteacher ladies died I’ve been the only gay around here.’
‘What’s in a name, anyway?’ said Hall, cheerfully. ‘When I was driving into work this morning I heard the new head of the National Crime Agency refer to coppers as ‘crimefighters’, like we’re all super heroes or something. Personally, I prefer ‘Bobby’.’
Plouvin was smiling. ‘And that’s not how you see yourself? I could see you with a cape, really I could. Seriously, you’ve struck us all as a very driven kind of person, Chief Inspector. Very hard working. But, to be honest, lots of people seem like that to us. Neither me nor my brothers have never had to do a day’s work in our lives, and in a way I miss it.’
‘I think I’d swap places.’
‘You don’t mean that. I’d say that what you do is a vocation.’
Hall took a sip from his coffee, and held up his cup.
‘Maybe you’re right. Anyway, you certainly missed your vocation.’
‘Barista? Maybe I did. But don’t be coy, Chief Inspector, admit it, you love your work, don’t you?’
‘Yes, of course, but that said there’s lots of it that I don’t enjoy. Having contact with victims of crime is tough, especially when we don’t help them achieve anything resembling closure, and the bureaucracy and politics is a living nightmare, and it’s getting worse. I can honestly say that I don’t much like 75% of my job, and loathe another 20%. But it’s the 5%, when the team achieves something, something difficult, that’s what makes it worthwhile. I’d like to say that I do it for the victims, and that I work to help right wrongs or something like that. Like a proper superhero, I suppose. But that would be a bare-faced lie. I do it for that feeling, the sense that I made a difference, and that’s all there is to it. I’m every bit as selfish as you, as selfish as anyone, in fact.’
‘And you’ll get that feeling if you find this Morrow man’s killer?’
‘In spades, yes. In many ways it’s the kind of case that I enjoy the most. It’s a serious crime, the most serious, but because Morrow was a loner there’s no grieving wife and family to deal with. That’s a blessing, And, to be honest, the poor bloke doesn’t seem to have been missed much at all, which is what leads me to believe that whoever killed him is a very bright, insightful kind of person.’
‘Because they knew he’d not be missed?’
‘Yes, exactly. It’s quite a trick to find a person whose disappearance is hardly even noticed, let alone reported. But, having said that, whoever it was who killed him was naive too, terribly naive.’
‘How come?’
Hall smiled. ‘Thank you for playing the game with me, Mr. Plouvin. That’s very sporting of you. Naive because, if I’m right, the person who killed Morrow is also the person who’d paid him to kill, or in some other way dispose of, your brother. And to think that a one-time payment, probably of ten thousand pounds, would ever have been enough for Morrow was reckless, and it was stupid. At best all it did was postpone the inevitable. Because if Morrow did what we think he did then he had to be killed, it just had to happen.’
‘As I say, Inspector, my brother is alive and well, I’m sure of it. He’ll probably turn up somewhere, like the proverbial bad penny, in a day or two.’
‘I doubt that, Mr. Plouvin, but I’d be delighted to be proved wrong.’
‘You don’t mean that’ said Plouvin, smiling.
Hall grinned back. ‘You’ve got me. I suppose I don’t. But I’m sorry, you’re Rupert’s nearest and dearest. I shouldn’t speak so frankly.’
‘That’s fine, honestly, and I’ve really enjoyed our little chat, though I suspect it’s told me more about you than the other way around.’
‘You’re absolutely right, sir, and I apologise for going on. The reason I came to see you was to say that we’re suspending the investigation on your property and farmland. I should make it clear that we will be back as and when further developments occur.’
Hall was watching Plouvin carefully as he spoke, but he saw no visible reaction.
‘I see. Thanks for letting me know.’ Plouvin paused, and Hall let the coffee-scented silence fill the space between them. ‘So I suppose that means your investigation is coming to an end?’
Hall smiled. ‘Oh, no, not at all. A number of us will continue to work on it, more or less full-time, for weeks and months yet. And even if we don’t make arrests in that time frame the file will remain open. But I’m confident that we will make a breakthrough soon, anyway.’
‘Why’s that? I’m no expert, obviously, but I thought it smacked of desperation when you had your people charging about, hither and yon, all over our land.’
‘Sadly my bosses agreed with you, which is why we’re packing up and moving off. But I’m far from out of ideas, and we still have some very active lines of inquiry. I won’t pretend that we’re close to making an arrest, but we do have a credible working hypothesis, with some evidence to underpin it, and in my experience that’s usually half the battle. I’m pretty sure that I know what happened here, although knowing and proving are two very different things. But the thing is, Mr. Plouvin, I find that evidence is magnetic, by which I mean that when you’ve got one piece others soon come along and stick to it. The noose is tightening, believe me.’
Still no reaction. ‘I thought we’d abolished capital punishment?’
‘We have, thank God. I couldn’t be a Police officer if it still existed. It doesn’t bear thinking about, that kind of brutality. But in a case like this, with a long jail term ahead for anyone convicted for close involvement in these offences, then it’s a pretty grim prospect. Ten years is a long time, if you live every second of it in fear.’
Plouvin smiled. ‘Thanks again for dropping in, Chief Inspector. Do feel free to drop in again. I must say that I’ve enjoyed our conversation. Well, most of it, at least.’
‘Glad to be of service’ said Hall, regretting it as soon as he’d said it. ‘And if you’ve got anything that you want to tell me, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m sure you wouldn’t regret it.’
‘Thanks, but I won’t be contacting you
, Chief Inspector. That I can promise you.’
Hall thought about calling on David and Barbara Plouvin, but decided against it. On balance he thought that David asking his brother questions about Hall’s visit, trying to understand exactly what the position was, might help to destabilise him further. He might even wonder if Christopher was close to grassing him up, with a bit of luck.
But as Hall drove away he decided it was a vain hope. Jenkins would already have told the brothers that if no new evidence emerged then they were in the clear, and the withdrawal of the search teams must make them feel still more secure. Jenkins was right, of course, but as Hall drove back to HQ he still felt optimistic that a break would come. The nagging uncertainty that he usually had when he was close to the heart of an investigation - that sense that if he’d just tried a little harder, thought a little more deeply, then progress would be made - wasn’t there this time.
He didn’t know why, and he didn’t try to force the thought to the surface for fear that it would be found wanting, but Hall felt confident that he and team were close to something that would really move them forward. It would take days before an officer from another force could be even selected to come in and undertake a review, let alone actually turn up in Cumbria, and Hall was suddenly confident that it would never actually happen. Because the best way of avoiding all that stuff would be to make an arrest, and then the bosses would be too busy taking the credit to countenance any kind of review. ‘Shit or bust it is, then’ said Hall to himself, as he was parking his car at HQ.