FIRE ON THE FENS a gripping crime thriller filled with stunning twists

by Joy Ellis

  FIRE ON THE FENS

  A gripping crime thriller filled with stunning twists

  (Detective Nikki Galena Book 9)

  JOY ELLIS

  First published 2018

  Joffe Books, London

  www.joffebooks.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The spelling used is British English except where fidelity to the author’s rendering of accent or dialect supersedes this.

  ©Joy Ellis

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  THERE IS A GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH SLANG IN THE BACK OF THIS BOOK FOR US READERS.

  CONTENTS

  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

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Epilogue

  OTHER BOOKS BY JOY ELLIS

  The DI Nikki Galena books

  FREE KINDLE BOOKS AND OFFERS

  Glossary of English Slang for US readers

  Character List

  This book is dedicated to my friend Peggy Fujimura, and all the people who have lost their homes and suffered as a consequence of the Kilauea eruptions. Our hearts go out to you. Aloha, Joy.

  There is something both exciting and exquisitely dangerous about a glowing ember, whether it be a spark of inspiration that leads to a great idea, the gently smouldering ashes of an old memory, or the first lick of flame that ignites a roaring fire.

  However, if you combine all three, you have the makings of a treacherous and unstoppable inferno.

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘Not much left of that lot, is there?’ Denny said. The young firefighter stood with one of the big hoses draped over his shoulder to clear the water remaining inside it.

  Josh, one of his crewmates, nodded at the massive piles of smouldering charred wood. ‘Farmer reckons that’s a couple of thousand pounds worth of pallets there, nothing but ash now.’ He looked at a car standing just beyond the fire appliances. ‘He’s here again. Third time this week.’

  Denny glanced across to the tall man staring at the scene of the fire. ‘Is this what happens when you retire from the fire service? You spend your days chasing blue lights?’

  ‘He’s one of the best fire investigators you’ll ever meet, I’ll have you know. In his day, John Carson solved some of the country’s most complex arson cases. Why he’s trailing us around these bored yobs’ attempts at arson beats me.’

  Denny pulled a face. ‘Mmm. I heard he was the top banana. So what’s his interest here, I wonder?’

  Josh grinned. ‘Ask him. Go on, I dare you.’

  ‘No way,’ Denny said. ‘If the old guy’s some kind of legend, he’s hardly going to talk to me, is he?’

  Josh shrugged. ‘Too late now, he’s back in his car. You lost your chance.’

  ‘Come on, you two!’ yelled the crew commander. ‘Get those hoses away and stop gossiping!’

  Denny and Josh completed their task and scrambled back into the fire engine. Josh watched the investigator’s car until it drove out of sight. John Carson was onto something.

  * * *

  A few hours later, John Carson was back at the site of the fire, now deserted.

  His boots squelched in the muddy black residue, all that was left after the hoses had quelled the flames. The stench of burning hung heavy in the air.

  ‘Bloody vandals!’

  John had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t heard the farmer walk up behind him.

  ‘At least the stack was some way from your farmhouse — and the main outbuildings.’ John tried to sound reassuring. ‘You’ve lost a bit of money here, but it’s nothing compared with what a serious fire could have done.’

  ‘Scared me though.’ The farmer ran a beefy hand through his thatch of greying hair.

  John nodded at the blackened mess. ‘You have every right to be scared, sir. Only a fool underestimates fire.’

  ‘You with the fire service?’ the farmer asked.

  In response, John stuck out his hand. ‘John Carson. I’ve spent my whole working life involved with fire, first fighting them and then investigating them.’

  The farmer shook hands with him vigorously. ‘Lewis Rhodes, and I’ve spent my whole life, every minute of it, here at Birch Farm. Born here, Mr Carson, and we’ve never had a single fire.’ He sighed. ‘The kids in these parts are getting more and more bored and out of hand. No boundaries any more. Threaten them with the police and they laugh at you. Little hooligans.’

  John’s nod was perfunctory. ‘Did you see anyone around here before the fire?’

  ‘We were all tucked up in bed, fast asleep,’ Lewis said. ‘Busy time this, up and out long before dawn.’

  ‘Well, let’s just be thankful no more harm was done. Nice to meet you, Mr Rhodes. Take care.’

  He left the farmer shaking his head over his lost pallets. John knew just how lucky this particular farmer had been. If the stack had been next to a barn, as they often were, and the barn close to the farmhouse, he might be mourning the loss of his family.

  He opened the boot of his Land Rover and replaced his wellingtons with a pair of shoes. With one final look back, he put the car into gear and pulled out into the Greenborough Road. It was time to talk to an old acquaintance of his.

  * * *

  DI Nikki Galena had started work early, hoping to slope off mid-afternoon and spend some time with her mother. Eve Anderson had been working all spring and summer to get a new fern garden laid out, and now that it was almost finished, she wanted Nikki to see it before the evenings got too dark.

  Her mother’s new home, a converted chapel in the village of Beech Lacey, was a real showplace. Prior to inheriting the beautiful old chapel, Eve had known nothing about gardening, but now she was a born-again Gertrude Jekyll. Nikki smiled to herself. At least it kept her out of trouble, and boy, did her mother need it! She shivered when she considered the danger Eve had been in last year. Her new role as head gardener was much safer than that of private investigator.

  Nikki went back to the reports that she needed to get ready for the new superintendent. This was to be his first day, and she and the whole team were on tenterhooks, wondering what he would be like. Rumour had it that he was a fast-track university swot from the direct entry programme, who didn’t look old enough to drive, let alone take on the responsibili
ty for all the operations in their division. Though the grapevine was often wrong. Only time would tell. Nikki glanced at her watch. A couple of hours, to be precise.

  After the sudden death of Superintendent Greg Woodhall, they had muddled through, with everyone temporarily stepping up a post. Today they would be back to full strength, whatever that might mean. Nikki grimaced. A new super, especially one who needed to prove something, or maybe just make his presence felt, could be a big problem for her and Joseph. Ranking officers were not allowed to work together if they were married or in a personal relationship, and she and DS Joseph Easter were now in a relationship. For a very long while, for the sake of the team and their working partnership, they had remained just friends. Then, following a traumatic case that affected both of them badly, they had decided that life was just too short. They had never actually moved in together. Joseph retained his quaint Knot Cottage, and she still lived in her family home, Cloud Cottage Farm, but they spent most of their time together. They hadn’t made a thing of it. In fact they never spoke about it at all. Canny Superintendent Greg Woodhall had chosen to ignore the rumours, well aware that half the station believed they’d been a couple for years, while the other half didn’t give a damn. But a new super? Nikki wasn’t sure how things were going to pan out.

  She loved her job and had no intention of losing it. But equally she loved Joseph, and didn’t want to lose him either. If her new commanding officer asked her outright, she wouldn’t be able to lie. Maybe he wouldn’t find out how close she and Joseph were. It was all she could hang onto. They always drove to work in separate vehicles, and they always appeared slightly distant when in company, so it was now in the lap of the gods.

  There was a soft tap at her door. She looked up expecting to see Joseph, but it was Sergeant Niall Farrow, Joseph’s son-in-law.

  Whenever she saw Niall, Nikki always had to look twice. She still thought of him as the young, gung-ho constable who had joined them years before, all fired up and full of an enthusiasm that sometimes clouded his common sense. But now he was a responsible man. He had a wife, a home, and three stripes on his shoulder, and it made Nikki’s heart sing. She had a very good reason for being especially fond of him. She owed him her life, although he still hotly denied it. He could have played the hero, but instead he played it down.

  ‘Superintendent would like to see you in his office, ma’am,’ Niall said

  ‘Good heavens! It’s barely eight! He’s not due till ten. What’s this all about?’

  ‘New broom and all that.’ Niall grinned at her, and then his smiled faded. ‘When you’re through, if you have a minute, I wondered if I could have a word?’

  ‘Of course. Something wrong, Niall?’

  ‘No, not exactly, we’ve just got a few odd things going on in Greenborough that I’d like to run past you.’

  ‘I’ll come and find you after my meeting with, er, Superintendent Lucien Crawford.’ She pulled a face. Lucien? What kind of name was that for a copper? The mess room would love that. She’d have put money on “Juicy Lucy” for his nickname.

  ‘I’ll be downstairs, ma’am. Just give me a bell and I’ll come up.’ Niall paused in the doorway. ‘And good luck.’

  Nikki gathered up her paperwork, thankful that she’d started work so early.

  Outside the superintendent’s door, she stopped and took a deep breath. It didn’t seem right somehow. It should be Greg sitting behind that desk, not some fast-track egghead. She sighed, knocked and went in.

  ‘Cam? What are you doing here?’ Her voice shot up an octave. Rising from his seat behind the desk was her old friend, DCI Cameron Walker from Beech Lacey, not “Lucien.”

  ‘Not exactly who you expected, am I?’ The big man’s smile was warm. ‘How are you, Nikki?’

  ‘I’m fine, but what on . . . ?’

  They both sat down.

  ‘Your new super had a skiing accident, and it seems he won’t be fit for action for a good long while, so,’ he spread his hands, ‘guess who’s your acting superintendent?’

  ‘But that’s brilliant!’ Relief flooded through Nikki.

  ‘I’ll tell you if I agree after the first month, shall I?’

  Nikki frowned. ‘Hang on. You always said that no matter what, you’d never step further up the ladder than DCI. You hate all the management stuff!’

  Cam’s face became serious. ‘I had no choice, Nik. They’re closing Beech Lacey and we’re being integrated into the surrounding districts. My job’ll be gone in a couple of months’ time and I need a few more years under my belt for a full pension.’

  ‘You said “acting?”’

  ‘With a view to a permanent position. They can’t wait for Lucien Crawford to recover — this station needs stability.’’ Cam leaned towards her across the desk. ‘And I had an ulterior motive for taking this. It concerns you.’

  Nikki stared blankly. ‘Me?’

  ‘I heard something on the jungle drums about the only other candidate for this position. Do you know a Superintendent Cresswell?’

  Nikki groaned. ‘Do I! Everything by the book, and no deviations. No grey areas and no sense of humour at all. He makes anal retention look positively hedonistic! Lord! Did he apply?’

  ‘Yes, and those drums I was talking about said he was very interested in you, Nikki, and your private life.’

  ‘What?’ Nikki gaped. ‘Oh, shit!’

  Cam smiled angelically. ‘I, on the other hand, want to know nothing at all about such things, and would be most grateful if your private life was never spoken of again.’

  Nikki could have hugged him. ‘We owe you big time, Cam.’

  ‘So how is Joseph?’

  Nikki beamed. ‘Good, really good.’

  ‘You look happier than I’ve ever seen you, Nikki Galena.’

  ‘That’s because I am.’

  ‘And you can hack having me as your new super?’

  Nikki had known Cameron and his wife, Kaye, for many years. He was an honest man and a damned good detective. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had stepped in. ‘Cam, you’ll be a great super, and I promise not to give you too much of a hard time.’

  ‘Mmm. Greenborough does have a reputation for its stroppy DIs, doesn’t it?’

  ‘All lies! Don’t believe a word of it!’ Nikki said, and smiled. ‘Welcome aboard, Superintendent Walker. It’s good to have you here.’

  ‘Only acting superintendent, don’t forget. But I don’t think the job’s going to be as quiet and gentle as I’d hoped.’ Cam’s brows furrowed.

  ‘Why? We’ve got nothing major on at present. In fact, it’s all pretty mundane stuff.’ She looked at his worried expression. ‘You know something I don’t?’

  ‘I’ve had a call from an old friend of mine, Nikki. John Carson, ex fire-service investigator.’

  ‘I know him. He came out when a psycho torched my garage a few years back. He really knew his subject. I was dead impressed that he managed to discern anything from the mess that remained, but he told us how and where the fire started almost immediately.’

  ‘He’s the best there is, or he was. Shame he retired. But anyway, he told me he’s been monitoring a lot of small fires in the last few weeks.’

  Nikki nodded. ‘Yes. Uniform have reported a whole spate of them. Wheelie bins, skips, a shed, a chicken feed store. Nothing big though. They reckon we have a group of idiot kids with a bulk buy of matches and lighter fuel.’

  ‘John thinks otherwise. He’s recorded each fire — time, date and location. Last night a farmer had a twenty-foot high pallet stack torched. Hundreds of wooden pallets burned to a crisp.’

  ‘Oh. They’re expanding their repertoire, are they? That means they’re becoming dangerous — to property, the public and to themselves. Little shites!’

  ‘Not quite that straightforward, Nikki. John is certain these fires are carefully planned practice pieces. The last one was cleverly prepared to do the maximum amount of damage to that stack. He’s seen it before. He bel
ieves that someone is doing an apprenticeship, learning their new trade. He thinks we have an embryonic arsonist in Greenborough, Nikki, and he’s certain they’re escalating.’

  ‘An arsonist?’ Fear trickled down Nikki’s spine like melting ice. A deep, primeval fear. ‘He’s certain of this?’

  ‘I trust John’s judgement. But on the plus side, he’s prepared to help us. He’s lived a whole life dealing with fires of one sort or another, and there’s nothing he doesn’t know about them. With him on board, we have a massive advantage.’

  She was silent for a moment, contemplating the type of person who would deliberately start fires. They made her blood run cold. These crimes were usually committed under the cover of darkness, and the victims never saw their attacker. It was an insidious, callous and cowardly crime, and she didn’t want it on her patch. ‘If he’s right, we’ll gratefully accept his help. I don’t want a single building, or more to the point, a single human being, to come to harm in this lovely old town.’

  ‘He’s coming in later to talk to us,’ Cameron said. ‘Great start to the day, huh?’

  ‘So far nothing’s gone as I expected, but having you here is a real bonus.’ Nikki stood up. ‘Will you take daily orders this morning?’

  ‘I’ll be there, but you take it, Nikki. I’ll just introduce myself. I’ve had a brief glance at what’s going on here, but I need to get up to speed on everything and put names to faces.’

  ‘They are a good bunch, for the most part. There’s a few wild cards, but not many. And you know my team from the investigation involving my mother.’

  Cameron gave an exaggerated shiver. ‘Don’t remind me of that case! Anyway, I’m pleased to report that Eve has settled in to become a pillar of the community in Beech Lacey. She’s the go-to woman for horticultural advice.’

  ‘A far cry from sleuthing, thank goodness! Long may it last.’

  As she left, Nikki heard him mutter, ‘You can say that again!’