“I was hoping we might go away somewhere.”
Calladine’s face dropped.
“What’s the matter? I’m not that bad, surely?”
“I can’t. Sunday’s taken, and if I get Saturday free I’ll spend it in bed.”
“It’s too soon, isn’t it? I’ve always been a fast cow. I should learn how to control myself. Here we are, practically strangers, and I’m asking you away for the weekend.”
Calladine put his arm around her. “It’s not that. I liked you the instant we met. It’s the job. It’s always the job. But we’ll have our little break together soon. Promise.”
“Who’s your plus-one for the christening?”
He pulled a face. “My mother.”
She was looking at him expectantly. “You could take me. All you have to do is ask.”
“Okay, why not? The do is in here afterwards. You can stay at mine on Saturday.”
“Will I get to meet your friends?”
Panic gripped his stomach. Monika! He’d have to speak to her — and Ruth. Set them both straight. Monika was never going to work anyway. He changed the subject. “Robert Silver. What do you know about him?”
“Nothing much. He was a customer who at the first opportunity went off with the cheaper option. He came into the office to book someone to accompany him to a function and she stepped in — Annette. Thought she could set up on her own with my customers, cheeky mare!”
“Did you ever meet him?”
“Once or twice. He is friendly with some other customers on my books. I’ve told you this already,” she reminded him. “Is it important?”
“Not anymore.”
Chapter 23
Saturday
“Tell me about Tanya Mallon.”
Robert Silver sat opposite Calladine and Rocco in the interview room, with his solicitor beside him.
“She had information I needed. My son worked for Costello. He found out about the girl, Carol. Costello talks about her a lot. Drives his wife wild.” He sniggered. “After Ryan was killed I did a little research. Carol had had a friend — Emily Blackwell. I found Emily and leaned on her. She told me what had happened that night. She also told me about Mary’s Slater’s daughter. Some more research and I found Tanya. We were drawn together. We had something very powerful in common: a mutual hatred of Costello.”
“Did you kill Emily?”
“She stopped being helpful. I gave her money but she clammed up. Emily Blackwell had Costello’s gun. Even he didn’t know that. He’d no idea what had happened to it. Emily kept it as a form of insurance.”
“She gave you the gun?”
“I threatened to kill her son if she didn’t.”
“What did you do with Emily’s things, her bag and phone?”
“Threw them in the canal.”
“Why did Davey and Garrett have to die?”
“I needed to flush Costello out. I paid Archer to promise information to you lot. Stuff that would put Costello away.” He laughed. “Don’t we all wish that that bit was true! Archer thought he was working for one of Costello’s rivals. Stupid fool didn’t think it through. They had to die. Costello would get the blame and he’d be forced to show himself, clear his name.” He went quiet. “You were supposed to go after him. Bring him in, charge him.” He paused. “He’s not paying you too, is he?”
“Your plan had merit, Silver,” said Calladine. “Except for one big flaw. Costello is way beyond wanting anything to do with the Hobfield. He’s not interested.”
“But the plan worked. He did show himself, didn’t he? He got worked up about something and made mistakes. If you hadn’t blundered in when you did, he’d be dead now.”
Calladine knew what that something was: Carol Rhodes. Emily’s murder must have shaken him. He’d come to Leesdon for the police interview without demur. He’d wanted to assess the situation for himself.
* * *
“That’s quite a confession, sir.”
“He’s got nothing to lose. Silver is a man consumed with grief after what happened to his son. He was willing to die in the process of getting his revenge. But he wasn’t thinking right. The things he did — shooting Davey, beating and killing Emily. He went too far, but getting Costello overrode everything.”
“Enid Mason and Ricky Blackwell are here, sir,” Joyce told him. “And Professor Batho would like a word.”
“Rocco, you and I will speak to them but I’ll just ring Julian first.”
“Tanya Mallon was given a massive dose of insulin, Tom, by injection. Sedated first then finished off.”
“The ambulance that left her at the hospital. We’ve been unable to trace it, or the doctor that came to the cells. Both he and the solicitor must be in Costello’s pay.”
“Did the solicitor give a name?” Batho asked.
“Yes. He doesn’t exist. Not as a solicitor anyway.”
“The gun. There is a name etched on the barrel. It’s badly worn and difficult to make out but it could say ‘Vinny.’”
“Can we prove that?” asked Calladine.
“Doubtful. It looks as if someone’s taken a grinder to it in an effort to obliterate the letters. To the teenage Costello it must have seemed like a good idea, scratching your name on a weapon. Whoever ground it clean did him a favour.”
“Okay, thanks. If you get anything else, let me know.”
Enid Mason and Ricky were drinking tea in the soft interview room. Enid looked ill.
“I’ve been terrified,” she admitted. “The threats, and after what happened to Emily. We had to leave. I couldn’t take much more.”
“We’ve arrested the man who killed your sister,” Calladine assured her. “It would have helped if you’d spoken to us earlier. You knew things. You knew about Jet Holdings and Costello, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “It’s never wise to talk about that man, Inspector. He has a wide reach.”
“Did Emily speak to you about that night? We know she brought Tanya to your flat. You must have wondered about the child.”
“Yes, she told me the whole story,” Enid said. “We looked after Tanya for a day or two but we knew we couldn’t keep her. I took her to the children’s home in Oldston. I told them I’d found her wandering about Clough Bottom on her own. The police investigated, I imagine. But they couldn’t find Mary, so Tanya went into foster care.”
“Did Emily ever say what happened to Mary Slater?”
“She was shot.”
“What happened to her body?”
Enid stared out of the window for a few seconds. “It makes me go cold each time I think about it. And now someone else is living there. Supposing they find her?”
“Enid. Where is Mary Slater?”
“Vinny Costello threw her down that well of theirs.”
* * *
“The well has been dry for years,” Imogen told them. “The Nadens are having a new water system installed. I’ve been up there. The place is a mess.”
“What will be left of her after all these years, sir?”
“Bones, Rocco, and not a lot else I would imagine.”
“Julian is up there now with a team,” Imogen said. “It might take a while. All sorts of rubbish has been thrown down there.”
Eliza King came into the office. “I’m off now. It’s been okay working with you lot. Just a shame about the outcome.”
Calladine looked up from Ruth’s desk. “Not getting Costello, you mean.”
“That would have been the icing on the cake. Never mind. I’m sure I’ll get another crack at him.” She smiled at Calladine. “And thanks for putting me up.”
DCI Birch entered the office. “Silver was a good call,” she told the team. “You leaving us so soon, DCI King?”
“Yes. And it’s DI King now that I’m no longer seconded to this station.”
“Back to Yorkshire?”
“Via Daneside. DCI Greco is back and wants to brief the new team. That includes me, apparently, for a week or two.”
“Best of luck with that.” Calladine just couldn’t begin to imagine it. The red-haired firebrand and the detail-obsessed Greco. What a combination!
“That grave, Calladine. I’ve got special permission for it to go ahead tonight,” said Birch.
Tomorrow was the christening. Would they recover the remains and have it closed in time? The last thing he wanted was Ruth on his back for this too.
“I’ll take a ride up to Clough Cottage. Imogen, want to come?”
“Not really. The place upsets me. We nearly bought it. If we had, I could never have lived there. I don’t know how Annie Naden is going to manage.”
“I’ll come,” Rocco piped up.
Calladine rolled his eyes at the others. “Morbid interest.”
* * *
The fine weather had broken and there was a sharp wind blowing across the hill. “It’ll rain before long,” Calladine said, looking at the blackening sky.
Rocco was looking around him. “Weird place this. And now that we know what went on it’s even worse.”
“Nonsense. Done up, that cottage will be a great place to live.”
“Julian’s over there, sir.” Rocco pointed.
The forensic scientist was rooting through a pile of debris. He was wearing a white coverall, and shrouded in dust and dirt.
“What have you got there?”
Julian Batho was moving an object around with a small trowel. “If I’m not mistaken, it’s part of a human radius.” He looked up. “One of the lower arm bones.”
“So Mary Slater is down there?”
“It looks like it. But we’ll have to do the DNA testing to make sure.”
“We have nothing of hers to match it against.”
“We have her daughter’s DNA. That should give us the answer.”
“Thanks, Julian. Do you know about the grave later on?”
He sighed. “I’ll have a team standing by. Excavating the well is going to take some time, Tom. And it will be weeks before we have a definitive answer as to who this is. Who have you got in the frame?”
“It’s down to Vinny Costello but we have no evidence. So the short answer is no one.”
“And the rogue body in the grave?”
“Carol Rhodes, we suspect. But again — no evidence. This is a retrieval exercise, Julian.”
Calladine and Rocco walked away towards the car. “Pity. Two women dead and we can’t bring anyone to book.”
“I know, Rocco. It gets to me too. But we got Silver. There’s plenty of evidence to send him down for a long time.”
“And Costello?”
“Walks, doesn’t he? As always.”
Chapter 24
Sunday
“I’m dreading this.”
Eve Buckley was fixing Calladine’s tie. “You’ll be fine. The vicar will tell you what to say.”
“It’s not that. It’s Shez.”
“The woman upstairs? The one singing her head off?” Eve smirked. “I take it she’s coming to the christening too?”
Calladine nodded. “I haven’t told Ruth. She is still expecting me to partner Monika. She’ll break my flaming neck for letting her down again.”
“Are we going straight to the church?”
“And that’s another thing. We had to have a grave opened. It was happening last night. I hope they’ve closed it, or covered it up, because Ruth will never forgive me if it’s just sitting there for everyone to gawp at.”
“Don’t be silly. You won’t be able to see a thing. It’ll be cordoned off. Probably even closed already.”
Calladine checked his mobile. Nothing. He was expecting a call or a text from Julian, telling him what they’d found.
“Will I do?”
Shez Mortimer was standing at the foot of stairs. She looked stunning. Calladine whistled. “Loving the dress.”
“Not too short?”
He smiled. “You can carry it off. This is Eve, my mother.”
Eve Buckley moved forward and held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you. Good that you can join us.”
Calladine’s phone bleeped. It was a text from Julian. The wording was brief and simple. They had found a body. About a foot under the coffin of Doris Ludford. The theory that Carol had been put in the open grave back in 1969 was confirmed. They’d also found a locket around her neck with her name engraved on it.
“Look at the time. We’d better get going.”
“Taxi?” Shez asked.
“I thought we’d walk,” Calladine responded. “It’s only round the corner.”
“Well, it had better not be far. Have you seen these heels?”
“What about the dog?” Eve asked, giving him a pat.
“He can’t come. He’ll be fine here.”
Calladine ushered the two women out of the front door and locked up. They walked together in front of him, chatting away. They were so different but they seemed to get on fine. Eve might be one of the wealthiest women in Leesworth but she was no snob. Shez made no secret of what she did for a living. Neither was she concerned about people’s opinions of the way she dressed. She had a loud laugh, liked a drink and wasn’t shy about sharing her views. He liked her and so, it seemed, did his mother.
* * *
There were dozens of people milling about the churchyard, waiting to go in. Calladine nodded at Rocco and Imogen. Rhona Birch was chatting to his daughter Zoe and her partner, Jo. Everything seemed relaxed enough. And then he spotted Ruth.
Shez was holding onto one of his arms and Eve the other. Ruth’s face was like thunder.
“You look great. Like the suit,” Calladine tried.
“A word.” She smiled at the two women and pulled him to one side. “What are you playing at? Monika will arrive any second.”
“It won’t work. Monika knows that too if she’s honest with herself.”
“I could bang your heads together. And who’s she, your escort woman?”
“Don’t be like that. She’s fun. We get on. Eve seems to like her.”
“Eve is just being polite.”
Calladine tried to change the subject. “Did you hear about the case?”
“I can see that Doris Ludford’s grave has been temporarily covered. Down to you, was it?”
“Carol Rhodes was down there. We were right. And it looks like Mary Slater is in the well up at Clough Cottage.”
“Who’s in the frame?”
“Costello. But there is no evidence. Everyone else connected to that night back in 1969 is dead.”
“The two young men off the Hobfield?”
“We got someone for that.”
“In that case, you got a result. Don’t beat yourself up. The job is hard enough.”
Calladine grinned. “I can hear Harry crying.”
“He’s on one again. Jake’s been wheeling him around trying to get him off.”
“Want me to have a go?”
“No, you’d better stay put. Monika’s arrived.”
Calladine turned around to look. Monika was getting out of a taxi. There was a man with her.
“Who’s he?”
“I don’t know but he’s got his arm around her.”
“She’s dumped me!”
“Looks that way, Tom.” Ruth giggled. “Your face is priceless, and it serves you right.”
“You’re not very nice to me at times, Ruth Bayliss.”
“Do you blame me?”
“Can we get this over with? I’m a bag of nerves.”
“Don’t be stupid. It’ll be over in no time.”
“I’ve had a hard week,” he said to her, as folk began to enter the church. “I had to interview Vinny Costello at one point. Nearly threw up before that one.”
“If you like I’ll do you a swap. You come and look after that grumpy little bundle next week and I’ll do your job.”
“Can’t be that difficult. I’m something of a natural. You said so yourself. When are you coming back anyway?”
“Don’t
know that I am,” she looked at him. “I might decide to be a full-time mum.”
Calladine stood stock still. “Please don’t frighten me like that. After the week I’ve had, I’m delicate.”
“You are so easy to wind up, Tom Calladine.”
The End
THE FIRST FOUR CALLADINE AND BAYLISS MYSTERIES
BOOK 1 DEAD WRONG:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/WRONG-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B010Y7641M/
http://www.amazon.com/WRONG-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B010Y7641M/
First a shooting, then a grisly discovery on the common . . .
Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss race against time to track down a killer before the whole area erupts in violence. Their boss thinks it’s all down to drug lord Ray Fallon, but Calladine’s instincts say something far nastier is happening on the Hobfield housing estate.
Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies and before the press publicize the gruesome crimes? Detectives Calladine and Bayliss are led on a trail which gets dangerously close to home. In a thrilling finale they race against time to rescue someone very close to Calladine’s heart.
BOOK 2: DEAD SILENT
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SILENT-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01185U8NE/
http://www.amazon.com/SILENT-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01185U8NE/
A body is found in a car crash, but the victim was already dead . . .
BOOK 3: DEAD LIST
This book is the first to feature D.I Greco
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DEAD-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B013J9BUAW
http://www.amazon.com/DEAD-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B013J9BUAW
An unlikely serial killer with a bucket list of victims . . .
BOOK 4: DEAD LOST
An abandoned cotton mill holds horrific secrets
Police partners, D.I. Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss face one of their toughest challenges yet. A group of homeless people have set up camp in the grounds of a disused cotton mill belonging to local businessman Damien Chase.
DEAD & BURIED a gripping crime thriller full of twists Page 19