Least of Evils

by J M Gregson

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Recent Titles by J. M. Gregson from Severn House

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Recent Titles by J. M. Gregson from Severn House

  Detective Inspector Peach Mysteries

  DUSTY DEATH

  TO KILL A WIFE

  THE LANCASHIRE LEOPARD

  A LITTLE LEARNING

  LEAST OF EVILS

  MERELY PLAYERS

  MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD

  MURDER AT THE LODGE

  ONLY A GAME

  PASTURES NEW

  REMAINS TO BE SEEN

  A TURBULENT PRIEST

  THE WAGES OF SIN

  WHO SAW HIM DIE?

  WITCH’S SABBATH

  WILD JUSTICE

  Lambert and Hook Mysteries

  AN ACADEMIC DEATH

  CLOSE CALL

  DARKNESS VISIBLE

  DEATH ON THE ELEVENTH HOLE

  DIE HAPPY

  GIRL GONE MISSING

  A GOOD WALK SPOILED

  IN VINO VERITAS

  JUST DESSERTS

  MORTAL TASTE

  SOMETHING IS ROTTEN

  TOO MUCH OF WATER

  AN UNSUITABLE DEATH

  LEAST OF EVILS

  A Percy Peach Mystery

  J. M. Gregson

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  First world edition published 2012

  in Great Britain and in the USA by

  SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD of

  9–15 High Street, Sutton, Surrey, England, SM1 1DF.

  Copyright © 2012 by J. M. Gregson.

  All rights reserved.

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Gregson, J. M.

  Least of evils. – (DCI Percy Peach mystery)

  1. Peach, Percy (Fictitious character) – Fiction.

  2. Police – England – Lancashire – Fiction. 3. Detective

  and mystery stories.

  I. Title II. Series

  823.9'14-dc23

  ISBN-13: 978-1-78010-222-1 (ePub)

  ISBN-13: 978-0-7278-8143-4 (cased)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-84751-415-8 (trade paper)

  To Pat Ross,

  who has supported me ever since I began

  this strange exercise forty books ago.

  Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.

  This ebook produced by

  Palimpsest Book Production Limited,

  Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland.

  ‘I have often thought upon death,

  and I find it the least of all evils.’

  Francis Bacon, An Essay on Death

  ONE

  The man stood looking at the wall in the cold winter twilight. He tried to enjoy this last moment of stillness. This was the point where you gathered your resources for what lay ahead. It was the last moment when you could turn back, if you chose to do that. But he knew that he wasn’t going to turn away from this. He’d put in too much preparation. Research, he’d heard it called – but research was far too pretentious a term for a practical man like him.

  It gave you a feeling of power, the knowledge you had. And also the knowledge that others didn’t have, about you. No one knew he was here. No one knew what he was going to do. The people who dwelt beyond this wall might have all the resources in the world, but at this moment they didn’t know that he was here, or what he proposed to do.

  The wall was much older than most of the buildings it surrounded. It had been here for a hundred and seventy years, protecting the solid home and the extensive estate of the cotton magnate who had built it. Cotton was king in Lancashire in those days, had remained king for another century and more. Then, after Hitler’s war and the end of empire, cotton had sickened and died. The hundred chimneys which had stood like grimy sentinels over the town had fallen one by one.

  The man beside the wall knew this. They had told him about it at school, in the days when he had still attended and listened. They had shown him pictures of the old Brunton, with men in cloth caps and women in shawls and clogs looking obediently and stolidly at the camera outside the gates of the mills.

  They were well into the twenty-first century now, and the great mansion of the man who had controlled the destiny of these people and made a fortune from their labours had fallen too. A dreadful thing, the local people said, that such a massive and dignified Victorian residence should be demolished and a brash modern palace erected in its stead. But you were only replacing an inefficient residence with a more modern one, the architect argued; what looked raw and ugly now would merge happily into the landscape after twenty years or so.

  The planning committee could find nothing against the change and an impoverished council was anxious to bring new money into the town, no matter how it had been gathered. The immediate neighbours of the estate were relieved to see it preserved in its entirety, when they had feared it might have been developed as new housing, which would stretch to their borders and destroy their privacy. And few people got more than a glimpse through high wrought-iron gates at the new property, because the old wall around the estate had been preserved.

  The man studied that wall now. He breathed deeply and regularly, gathering his resources for what he was to do, relishing the knowledge that no one inside the place knew of his presence here. Knowledge was power. And ignorance was not always bliss. Then he realized that he was putting off the moment when he would test his nerve and venture into danger. It was time to act.

  The wall had been renovated when the huge new house was built. New money demanded privacy, at whatever cost. But the man in the deserted lane outside the wall knew that privacy meant that you had things to hide from curious eyes. Valuable things. From a distance, the repaired wall looked a solid obstacle. But there were a few crevices in the old mortar between the bricks. That was inevitable. It was also very welcome, to a bold and resourceful predator like him.

  They had a security system in the big house, of course. A sophisticated one, as you would expect in a place like this. Entry would be impossible during the hours of darkness. Any unauthorized intruder would be arrested, or worse. Perhaps much worse, if you believed the rumours which circulated in the murky underworld where he gathered his information. No one knew quite how the man who had built this new castle had acquired his money, but everyone agreed he was ruthless.

  But the system was switched off during the daylight hours, when the outside staff needed to main
tain this modern tzardom came and went. No one expected that anyone would be bold enough to attack during daylight. Research again; and the power of original thought on which he prided himself. When you lived by your wits, it was best to keep them sharply honed. He took a final deep breath, looked swiftly up and down the lane, and set the toe of his trainer into the tiny gap in the mortar.

  He was on the top of the wall in a second, his slim body tight against the coping stones to be as inconspicuous as possible. Then he dropped swiftly down on the other side, a twig cracking like a rifle shot beneath his foot. It wasn’t really so loud, it was just his heightened senses that made it seem so, he told himself. He crouched for a full half-minute beneath the cypress tree where he had landed. Instant concealment; he congratulated himself again on his careful pre-planning.

  The winter twilight was dropping in fast on this sunless day. There were lights on already in the house, as he had known there would be. But not in every room. That was the cleverness of it; that was what you gleaned from careful preparation.

  The old wing of the early Victorian house had been preserved as part of the planning bargaining. Here there were no lights visible. The man made for this section, gliding swiftly from bush to bush with swift, simian movements. Crouching beneath the last big rhododendron, he paused and glanced at his watch, nerving himself for the real challenge which lay ahead.

  Ten past four: exactly the time he had planned to be here. The accuracy of that pleased him.

  The temperature was dropping rapidly now, but he wasn’t cold. There might well be a frost overnight, if the skies cleared towards morning as the weathermen promised. But he would be away long before then. The whiteness would cover his tracks, not reveal them. He slid his hand within his close-fitting fleece top and closed his fingers on the jemmy. The old tools were the best, when they suited a job so admirably.

  The wood in the side strut of the old sash window yielded to the jemmy quietly, almost noiselessly. Thank heaven for listed buildings, imperfect wood, and the opportunities they offered to the resourceful burglar. It was the first time he had allowed himself to use that word. A burglar he was indeed, but a superior one. Not one of those childish opportunists who pinched tellies and computers and stray bits of cash from ordinary folk, but an altogether more sophisticated class of felon. A man who planned and executed his coups expertly. Hadn’t his teachers always said he was a bright lad? It was one of the few things those buggers had got right. He levered open the window and eased his slim frame into the building.

  This had been the library in the days of the old house, the woman had told him. He glanced up at the high ceiling and its elaborate cornice, letting his eyes grow accustomed to the dim light. He had a torch in the pocket of his fleece, but he wouldn’t use it until it was absolutely necessary. There were easy chairs spread in a semi-circle around a big desk, and paintings which he could not distinguish upon the walls. No books here now. Bloody philistines! Typical of the new wealth which had taken over the country. It made it easier to rob them with a clear conscience.

  He moved softly to the door, opened it cautiously, and slid noiselessly on to the wide corridor outside. There was a narrow flight of stairs to his right, which must have been a servants’ staircase in the great days of the house. It led him to a landing which was thickly carpeted. He flicked his torch on briefly, illuminated the three wide modern doors opposite him, and moved quickly to the furthest one of these, which adjoined the spot where the completely new part of the building met the Victorian wing.

  The door opened readily to his touch. He crept into the big room, flashed his torch beam over the door to the en-suite bathroom, then slid it round the room until it located the item he wanted. The dressing table had three drawers on each side of a large mirror. He slid open the bottom-right one of these, found it contained what he had expected, gasped nevertheless at the myriad facets which glittered and winked under the close light of his torch.

  The information had been good. Careful preparation again: the basis of success in this dangerous game. There were velvet-lined boxes which should have contained most of the pieces, but the owner had neglected to put her jewellery away when she took it off. Sloppy cow! Serve her right if she lost it – when she lost it. She’d probably inflate her claim when she contacted the insurance people. These people did that. They made bloody sure they didn’t lose, even when they were robbed, people like this.

  He fought hard to control his excitement as he pocketed a diamond necklace, matching earrings, some sort of tiara with what he thought must be emeralds. There were five rings; diamonds again, plus sapphires and rubies. A double string of pearls and another necklace, which flashed bright-green emeralds as he laid it across his wrist. Should be in a safe, not lying loose in a drawer, these things – more money than sense, some people. There were silver hairbrushes on the surface of the dressing table, but he resisted them: too clumsy to carry and not worth a fraction of what he already had weighing down his pockets.

  His torch caught two enamelled miniatures on the surface above the drawers. He hesitated a moment, then slid both of them swiftly into his pocket on top of the jewellery. He’d no idea whether they were worth thousands or worth peanuts, but they were things of exquisite beauty and he coveted them. He knew even as he did it that he was being self-indulgent. Successful thieves weren’t swayed by aesthetic impulses, which got in the way of efficiency.

  His hyperactive ear caught the first noise he had heard since he had entered the mansion. It was small and a long way away; several rooms at least, his experience told him. But it was a reminder that he should not linger here; he wouldn’t wait for a second one. He shut the drawer carefully; you could delay the moment of discovery by several hours, by a whole day if you were lucky, so long as you took care to cover your traces.

  He kept his torch on now as he moved to the landing, located the top of the narrow staircase, and left by the route he had chosen so carefully to climb to his killing. It was good information the woman had given him. Perhaps he’d give her a little extra, when he’d disposed of the stuff. He’d see what he got for it first.

  There was a moment of panic when he located what he thought was the door to the old library and found himself peering into a much smaller room. He felt his heart pounding, realized how much on edge he was. No bad thing, that. You needed to be hypersensitive to danger when you were bringing off jobs like this. He was in the big league now.

  He found the big room at the second attempt. He kept his torch turned downwards upon the carpet and moved carefully past the desk and the armchairs. He was controlling the urge to rush headlong into the near-darkness beyond the window. That was always the urge when you’d almost completed a job. But haste could lead to mistakes; you had to keep your brain working steadily; you were like a car cruising easily in top gear but with bends still to negotiate.

  He had pulled the damaged window roughly shut after his work with the jemmy had allowed his entry. He had a moment of panic now, when the shattered wood seemed to have set itself firmly against the undamaged timber of the frame and trapped him within the house. But when he tried pulling from a different angle, the wood eased upwards with the straining groan of a wounded animal. It left a foot of space, through which the cool air flowed into the room as a refreshing draught. His lithe, small-boned body was through the gap in an instant, where bulkier men would have needed more space and made more noise. He was built for this game, body as well as mind.

  It was perhaps that moment of fear and the relief which followed hard upon it which upset his concentration now. As he slid horizontally through the aperture and into the coldness outside, he looked back into the house whence he had come, instead of into the new challenge of the wider world outside it.

  There was very little light left now. But it was enough to undermine him. He had scarcely registered the cold of the January night when a harsh challenge rang out and chilled his blood. Fifty yards away to his left, from the long shadows beneath the new part
of the house.

  For a split second, his limbs seemed to be frozen with fright. Then he was away, feet flying over the route he had trodden so carefully twenty minutes earlier. Past the rhododendrons, past the tall firs which had provided such welcome cover as he had crept cautiously towards the house. No caution now, yet the wall he had scaled to enter seemed suddenly impossibly far away.

  There were shouts from behind him, a torrent of oaths as he was bidden to stop. But all from one voice, he thought; that must be his comfort. Yet the human brain rarely operates as its owner thinks it should. It now thrust the totally irrelevant thought into the felon’s head that it was as well he had left all the bulky items behind in that bedroom, when he should have been thinking only of the route to freedom. He tried to keep the vegetation between him and retribution as he ran.

  The wall came at last into welcome view as he rounded the final fir. His very impetus was a help. He had no time to search for crevices in the mortar, but he flung himself upwards with a thrust born of desperation. His hands clutched the top of the wall, his scrambling trainers caught a minimal gap between the bricks. It was all he needed. He thrust with a mighty effort to reach the point of balance atop the wall, then flung one leg over it. Now gravity would ensure that his slight frame dropped clear and triumphant on to the ground outside and the lane which led to freedom.

  It was at that point that the first bullet came. He felt the sharp pain against his shin before his ears registered the noise of the shot. For a moment, he thought he had been hit. Then he realized that the bullet had hit the wall beneath him, flinging a fragment of shattered brick against him, but nothing worse.

  He hit the ground more heavily in his haste than he had intended, landing with his face in the mould of rotting leaves, forcing the breath from his lungs with the impact. But with the knowledge that the pursuer was armed, fear thrust down every other sensation and took over his being. He scrambled to his feet and was away, his feet beating swiftly upon the welcome tarmac of the lane. He could outrun all pursuit. For no reason at all, he saw the unseen presence behind him as heavier and slower than he was.