Come and Find Me (DI Marnie Rome Book 5)

by Sarah Hilary

  ‘Ted Elms,’ Noah repeated. He sat back, interested to see how far Darren would push this. He was still lying, it was all over him. Body language, eyes, voice.

  The solicitor made another bid to curtail matters, getting slapped down again.

  ‘Do we get a lot of shade from the woods, is the soil deep on the plot? How often do we turn it?’ Darren’s face darkened. ‘How big’s the shed, what do we keep in it? On and on. Questions about Mum, about Charlie, but mostly about the allotment. Yeah. He had a lot of questions.’ He ground the words through his teeth. ‘You want to know about Mickey’s escape plan, that’s who you should be interrogating. Not me. Ted.’

  39

  ‘Natalie is perfectly safe,’ Ruth said. ‘She has food and shelter, and she’s drawing. I’m surprised it was so easy to take her. I’d imagined you’d be taking very good care of everyone. Except Michael, of course, that goes without saying. But it appears your neglect is democratic. You’ll blame cuts in funding, I’m sure, but I’m inclined to look closer to home.’

  Marnie let her finish this sanctimonious speech before she said, ‘May I speak with Natalie? It would be helpful to be able to tell her mother that she isn’t too frightened.’

  ‘She doesn’t speak very much.’ Ruth’s voice didn’t change, round with self-congratulation. ‘But you have my word she’s safe and well. Now before you pass me over to a professional negotiator, I should make it clear I’ll deal only with you, DI Rome. Is that understood?’

  ‘I’ll make a note of your preference,’ Marnie said blandly. ‘But you’ll understand there’s a procedure I have to follow. It was put in place as soon as we were alerted to the kidnap of a child.’

  ‘I hardly kidnapped her. We went for a walk, with her grandmother’s blessing.’

  ‘After you’d falsely identified yourself as a Victim Support Officer. Shall we talk about what you’re hoping to achieve by taking a vulnerable child hostage?’

  ‘If she’s vulnerable it’s because she lives with a liar.’ A lick of asperity in her voice now. ‘A woman who refuses to tell the truth even when it puts people at risk.’

  ‘Natalie will be frightened,’ Marnie said. ‘No matter how careful you’re being with her, she will be frightened and wanting her mum.’ She paused, considering her next words. ‘You’re not a cruel person, I know that. You’re not someone who wants to hurt a child who’s already struggling. Let us come and get Natalie, and give her the help she needs. And let us give you the help you need.’

  ‘I need Michael. I need to know he’s safe and well. Can you give me that?’

  ‘Not over the phone,’ Marnie said. ‘Not like this.’

  ‘Then we have nothing to talk about.’

  Ruth ended the call.

  Marnie nodded at the team. ‘I’ll get hold of Toby Graves on another number.’ Toby was a hostage negotiator, the man they needed for this job. She handed her phone to Colin. ‘Let’s treat this as the number she’s calling to. Update everyone connected with the search. Who does Ruth know in London, where might she have gone? We need to know where she’s taken Natalie, and we need teams on the ground there as quickly as possible.’

  40

  ‘Ted Elms is on life support,’ Noah said. ‘He has been since the night of the riot.’

  ‘Yeah, well.’ Darren drew a smiley face on the table with his thumb. ‘That’s what you get for fucking about with a psycho.’

  ‘Ted was fucking about with Michael. In what way?’

  ‘Every way. He said it was the only thing keeping Mickey from freaking out. He used to scream at night, a lot. And he was hard to handle, because of his moods. No one wants an inmate who’s hard work. Ted reckoned he’d found a way to make him happy.’

  ‘Doing what?’ Noah asked.

  ‘Letters. From Lara and Ruth. Lots of letters.’ Darren waited for another question, but continued when Noah was silent. ‘They wrote to him anyway, but it wasn’t always the right stuff. Ruth was too bossy, and then Lara stopped writing. It made Mickey mad. That’s when Ted started to write the letters himself. All I had to do was deliver them, pretend they’d come from Lara or whatever.’

  ‘And you agreed to this plan.’

  ‘It wasn’t doing any harm.’ Darren shrugged. ‘It was keeping Mickey from going up the walls.’

  Noah thought of the man wired to the machinery in the hospital. He’d pitied Ted Elms. He still did. It was too easy for Darren to make a scapegoat of someone in no position to defend himself. He let Darren see how little he believed in this new alibi.

  ‘That stuff on the allotment,’ Darren insisted. ‘The sketchbook, batteries. It came from Mickey’s cell but he shared that cell, yeah? With Elms. How come you’re not looking at it from that angle? How come it’s all about me and Charlie?’

  ‘Ted is in hospital,’ Noah said. ‘On life support. Michael attacked him on the night of the riot. Just like he attacked Tommy Walton, and Neil Bayer.’

  ‘You don’t know that,’ Darren shot back. ‘You think because he ran, he’s guilty. You stopped looking at anyone else for the fire and the rest of the mess. Fair enough, why make life more complicated than it needs to be? Only don’t start pointing fingers at me because you haven’t anyone else to point them at. If I’m meant to be mad at Mickey for being the last person to see Charlie alive then why would I help him escape? I had him where I wanted him, in prison. Why would I want him back out there?’ Flinging a hand towards the door.

  ‘Perhaps because you had a gun out there.’

  His solicitor gestured at Darren to keep quiet, but Darren shoved his stare at the man. ‘I’ve got this, yeah?’ He jabbed a finger at Noah. ‘I didn’t kill him. I didn’t want to kill him. I liked him.’

  His face fixed into a grin. ‘Yeah. You hate that, don’t you? I’m not supposed to like inmates, I’m only meant to pretend, let him think I like him, that I’m not going to treat him like shit in case it pisses him off. But I liked him. He was a cool guy. Bit fucked up, but aren’t we all?’

  ‘And the men he maimed? The fire, the riot. Charlie. I’m supposed to believe none of that matters to you.’

  ‘Charlie was a suicide,’ Darren hissed. ‘How many more times? Charlie was weak.’

  He wanted Noah to discount revenge as a motive. If he hadn’t loved or liked his brother, why would Darren blame Vokey for Charlie’s death? And if he didn’t blame Vokey for that, where was his motive for murder? It was a good act, if it was an act.

  ‘Explain the forgeries. Ted wrote the letters, you delivered them to Mickey.’

  ‘Sometimes.’ He flicked his tongue across his teeth. ‘I put them in the post or got mates to post them. I didn’t want it to be obvious what we’re doing. Mickey wasn’t stupid, it had to look real.’

  What else had to look real? Darren’s admiration for Mickey? All he did was run. If the forgeries were Ted’s idea then how could they convict Darren? Ted was in no condition to defend himself, to admit or deny these fresh accusations. That was convenient, to say the least.

  ‘You knew Mickey was hiding on your mum’s allotment. One night, you said. How did you know that if you didn’t help him?’

  ‘Ted told me.’ Darren drove two fingers into the metal table, leaving sweat prints in place. ‘He told me Mickey was running, that he’d been listening in when we talked about the allotment and he’d figured out the shed was a good hiding place. For all I know, Ted encouraged him to go there.’

  ‘And the clothes, and food and money, that you took from the house. How did that happen?’

  ‘After I found out where he was, I needed him thinking I was on his side, yeah?’ He wet his lips, his tongue grey and cracked. ‘Like the training teaches us, make them think you’re on their side because it lowers their threat level and that’s a good thing, right? That’s got to be a good thing. I took him the stuff so he’d feel safe, and so he’d stick around long enough for me to tip you lot off.’

  ‘You wanted the police to find him. But you didn’t actual
ly report the fact of his whereabouts,’ Noah said flatly. ‘That’s what you’re asking me to believe.’

  ‘I didn’t want him on my fucking property!’ Darren thumped at the table. ‘I knew what you’d make of it, even before you figured out what’d happened with Charlie. I knew you’d stitch me up!’

  Noah studied his agitation, which was peculiar, suspended between hostility and the need to be believed. He’d had nearly two weeks to dream up this alibi, but it was full of holes, hardly CPS-proof. On the other hand, as an alibi for murder, it was functional. Not too slick, not too clever. And Darren wasn’t clever. Which made his leaky alibi more credible, not less.

  ‘I knew you’d stitch me up.’ Darren threw himself back in his chair, huffing his breath through his teeth. ‘So much for being on the same side.’

  His solicitor leaned in to speak to him, but Darren shook his head. ‘I’ve got this.’

  That need to feel in control, how far had it taken him? To the allotment, to the woods?

  ‘Tell me more about Ted Elms. Why would he help Michael Vokey to escape?’

  ‘He wanted him out of there so he’d have the cell to himself again. He was sick to death of Mickey, and that was before the business with the bonsai.’

  ‘What business?’

  Darren wiped his nose with his hand. ‘Mickey chopped up his bonsai, just to see what Ted’d do. Ted was mental about that tree, about all his plants. Mickey was just mucking about, pushing buttons, but he went too far with the bonsai. Ted had a total fit, freaked out big time. Probably that’s when he decided to get shot of Mickey. I’m just surprised he didn’t do him there and then.’

  ‘Do him.’ Noah looked for slyness in Darren’s face, but found no trace of it. ‘You mean kill him? You’re surprised Ted didn’t kill Mickey after the business with the bonsai?’

  ‘I’ve seen some nutters in my time, but Ted’s in another league.’ He wiped at his nose again, examining his hand before smearing the wetness onto his sweat pants.

  ‘Ted’s on life support,’ Noah said again. ‘How do you explain that?’

  ‘Someone had to stop him,’ Darren said tightly. ‘He was going berserk in that corridor. You saw the state of the place. He was going mental.’

  ‘Wait a minute.’ Noah held up a hand, keeping his stare on Darren. ‘The riot, GBH in the corridor. You’re saying that was Ted Elms.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Darren rubbed sweat from the palms of his hands, eyes sliding south of Noah. ‘That was Ted. All of it. The eyeballs, and the teeth. Someone had to stop him. And you know what?’

  Noah was silent, waiting for him to compound the lie.

  ‘It was Mickey made him stop,’ Darren said. ‘Your madman, the one you’re all hunting. He dug Ted’s thumbs out of Tommy Walton’s skull. Then he ran, because he could. He dealt with the real maniac, with Ted. And then he ran.’

  41

  ‘Michael is capable of change,’ Ruth insisted. ‘Why won’t you believe that?’

  Toby Graves nodded at Marnie to answer. The connection wasn’t good, the signal dropping in places as if struggling through dense walls or bad weather; Ruth had moved to another location since her first call fifteen minutes ago.

  ‘I can talk to you,’ Marnie said. ‘But not while I’m concerned for Natalie. My chief concern right now is the safety of a vulnerable child; that has to take priority. We can discuss Michael, we should discuss Michael, but first let’s get Natalie home.’

  ‘Home to her, that liar who put him away? She doesn’t deserve a child. She used Natalie in court, her fear for her daughter! All part of her lies to make them punish him.’

  Ruth’s anger was new, as if the consequences of what she’d done were only now hitting home. She’d kidnapped a child and was holding her hostage. How could she justify that other than by accusing Julie and the courts, the police, everyone except herself?

  ‘He terrorised her.’ Marnie shut her eyes to concentrate on the words she needed to talk to this woman. ‘He terrorised Julie in front of Natalie. Imagine what that did to Natalie, how frightened she must be right now. Even if you’re being gentle with her, because I know you’re not a cruel person, even if you’re being very gentle with her, she’s very frightened. Help us make sure she’s safe and well, and then you and I will sit down and talk about Michael.’

  ‘You don’t believe in him. You didn’t even acknowledge his talent, his art. You sneered at it, at me! You tried to make me feel ashamed.’

  ‘If I did that then I’m sorry. I was concerned for you, because I felt Michael was taking advantage of your kindness. I wasn’t sure he deserved that kindness.’

  Marnie opened her eyes to see Toby Graves nodding at her. This was the tack to take with Ruth, fair but firm, giving no quarter to the woman’s bluster.

  ‘He’s a changed man. You’re supposed to believe in that. Prison changes people.’ The line crackled, the signal losing strength. ‘You’re supposed to believe in rehabilitation.’

  You can’t rehabilitate sociopaths or psychopaths, Marnie knew that. Michael Vokey had used his art to try and understand how fear felt to Julie, and to Charlie Lamb. People were puzzles to him, but he wasn’t interested in solving or admiring the puzzles.

  ‘Why can’t you believe he’s capable of change?’ Ruth’s optimism was beginning to look like wilful credulity. She’d convinced herself of Michael’s rehabilitation because the opposite was too awful to contemplate, that she’d assisted in the escape of a violent, remorseless offender. ‘Why don’t you believe in a way back for him?’

  Toby signalled for Marnie to stay silent. This was about finding the parameters of Ruth’s panic, and her rage. With the signal on the blink, every word they could get out of her was essential.

  ‘Where is he?’ Her voice climbed a pitch. ‘Do you know?’

  Toby waited a beat then nodded.

  ‘We’re looking for him,’ Marnie said. ‘Where do you believe he is?’

  ‘Pray—!’ The signal dropped, chopping Ruth’s words. ‘He’s— Pray—’

  ‘Ruth? Tell me where you are. Let us help you, please.’

  The line was dead.

  ‘Hang up,’ Toby said. ‘She’ll try again. She wants to talk.’

  ‘It sounds as if she’s underground.’ Marnie said. ‘We have eyes on Marion Vokey’s house, yes?’

  The house Michael had asked her to safeguard. Ruth had been prepared to fight Alyson for that house, saying she knew how much it mattered to Michael. She’d been searching for him here in London since the interview two days ago. But why was she suddenly so frantic for news? She couldn’t be afraid that he’d be found and rearrested, because then she could be in contact with him again. No, she was scared the opposite was true. He was gone, for good.

  ‘We don’t have eyes on Marion’s house,’ Colin was saying. ‘It was sealed off as a possible crime scene, but the location fits with the CCTV searches. Last sighting of Ruth and Natalie was on a bus headed for Northfields. There’s a connecting service to West Ealing.’

  ‘We need a team there,’ Marnie said. ‘Ruth knows how important that house is to Vokey. She might even be thinking he’s gone there. We know he didn’t, but she doesn’t know that.’

  She nodded at Colin, and at Toby Graves. ‘We need a team at Marion Vokey’s house.’

  42

  ‘What do we know about Ted Elms?’ Noah asked Ron, back in the incident room.

  ‘He lived with his mum in Derbyshire. She died a while back, but Ted carried on claiming her pension. That’s how he ended up in prison. Benefit fraud, so he’s hardly Charles Manson. If the prison system wasn’t so screwed by overcrowding he’d never have been in that cell with Vokey.’

  They stood studying the evidence boards, the photos of Ted before and after his incarceration. Darren’s solicitor had asked for a break in the interview to allow his client the chance to rest and eat. Marnie was in West Ealing. She wanted Noah and Ron concentrating on the charges against Darren, finding out exactly how much he k
new about what had happened to Vokey.

  ‘Darren wants us to believe Ted was responsible for his escape, and not only that. The GBH at the prison, the blinding of those two men.’ Noah nodded at the images. ‘Darren says it’s all down to Ted.’ He moved his hand to Vokey’s angry sketch. ‘He drew this after he destroyed Ted’s bonsai. That was the last straw, according to Darren.’

  ‘A bloke who freaked out over a bonsai? Face it, Ted’s an alibi.’ Ron dismissed it. ‘Handy because he’s out of the picture and can’t answer back.’

  ‘Darren’s alibi, or Vokey’s?’ Noah asked.

  ‘Both, I reckon. Very convenient that we find this cartoon of him looking like a nutter right when we might otherwise be deciding Darren did all the dirty work. Who’s to say Vokey didn’t draw this from his imagination?’

  ‘He doesn’t have that kind of imagination. He doesn’t understand people, that’s why he draws us, and it’s why he winds us up first. To observe our emotions, try and figure out what makes us tick. He made Ted angry on purpose so he could draw this. We know Ted was different, before.’ Noah nodded at the arrest photo. ‘Sharing that cell with Vokey did this to him, you said it yourself.’

  ‘Ted’s the one on life support,’ Ron objected. ‘Vokey’s the one out there.’

  ‘Just because he’s in the hospital doesn’t make Ted innocent. The same could be said about any of the men injured in the riot.’ Like Stephen Keele. ‘And we know what those men are capable of.’

  Ron sighed. ‘This case’s doing my head in.’

  Noah felt his pain. ‘We need to look at Ted Elms as a suspect in this. He knew too many details about the allotment, and he was almost certainly the one forging those letters. Darren isn’t smart enough to have done that.’ He paused, reaching for his phone. ‘There’s something else, too.’