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

by Joy Ellis

  Nikki stood quietly, thinking the whole thing through. The fire chief had made it quite clear that he believed she was wasting resources. He was certain that the dead man was the arsonist, and she had to admit he put up a convincing argument. Now she was not quite so certain that John was right, but deep down she trusted him. She knew the value of a man who’d worked with fire his entire lifetime. Think, Nikki Galena. Facts are what you need, and facts alone.

  She walked back towards where Joseph stood talking with a couple of uniformed PCs. ‘There’s little more we can do here. Let’s go home, grab a shower and some breakfast, and wait for the evidence to filter in.’

  Joseph nodded. ‘We may get a call about a missing person to follow up on. Rory has just told me that the driver was wearing a ring, an old one from the look of it. He said he’d know more after he’d had one of his lab technicians examine it.’

  ‘Good, so we have a starting point. Not much, but it’s something.’ She yawned. ‘Let’s get out of here. I need to get into a nice hot shower and get rid of the smell of burning.’

  ‘Me too. It’s getting like Groundhog Day, washing the smell of smoke from your hair.’

  Nikki wondered if the killer felt the same, if he was still alive and hadn’t fried in that burnt-out car.

  * * *

  After breakfast, Eve and Wendy got out all the old plans and maps for the land where Monks Lantern sat.

  ‘So, we have a graveyard, or a defunct graveyard, just beyond the far wall. Jenny told me she owned that piece of land, but it’s so overgrown that she wasn’t sure what to do with it.’ Eve peered closer at the land registry documents. ‘I’m pretty sure she didn’t know it was a graveyard.’

  ‘She would have loved that idea!’ Wendy laughed. ‘Anything quirky.’

  ‘We need to look up the rules and regulations regarding disused graves. I’m pretty sure that there’ll be things we can do, but they’ll need official approval.’ Eve poured more coffee. Already she knew she’d done the right thing by asking Wendy to come and live with her. The odd feeling of nervousness had dissipated almost overnight. They would have some good times in the old chapel.

  ‘The main thing is, what should we use that area for?’ ruminated Wendy, brushing her dark hair away from her face.

  ‘I have no idea.’ Eve smiled at her friend, noticing that she too looked much more relaxed than when she arrived. She was a tall woman, with athletic good looks. Even in her gardening clothes, up to her neck in nettles, Wendy Avery managed to look elegant. ‘What do you do with a spare graveyard?’

  ‘How about a tranquil garden? It already has some lovely trees. We could add a water feature, do some sensitive planting, and make it into a natural, peaceful place.’

  ‘Nice idea. It would be appropriate too.’ Eve liked the thought a lot. ‘By the look of the plans, there’s a pathway leading away from it down the side of the property to the road. ‘What say we allow the local village people to use it too, when it’s all finished?’

  ‘As long as they respect it, I think that’s a lovely idea. I can already see the over-sixties club using it for their Tai Chi class.’

  ‘And the art group! How lovely to be able to do plant and tree studies outside in the fresh air.’ Eve beamed. ‘As soon as we get the fern garden finished, we’ll make some enquiries about how to proceed.’

  ‘Smashing! Can’t wait.’ Wendy smiled at Eve. ‘I do appreciate this, Eve, really I do. My moving here, I mean. I was starting to think that I only had the downhill slope to look forward to, and after what happened to Anne and Jenny, well . . .’

  ‘Me too, Wendy. And believe me, having you here is a godsend. I was starting to think some very dark thoughts.’

  ‘Dreams featuring Zimmer frames?’

  ‘And stairlifts!’ Eve shivered. ‘Now we have a reason to be cheerful!’

  ‘So what do we do? We decide to revamp a graveyard! Now that’s a really cheerful thought!’ Wendy grinned at her.

  ‘It’s not what we’re doing, is it? We’ve both led active lives, on the go twenty-four seven, sometimes living close to the edge. Retirement and a life of leisure doesn’t suit people like us. Do you know, I’d even given up my pastel painting, and I loved that. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I promised Jenny to finish her fern garden, and then got caught up with finding out about plants and things, I might have been on the slippery slope to resignation and apathy.’

  ‘I know what you’re saying. Now we have a new project, we’ll get our mojo back in no time.’ Wendy gathered up the breakfast dishes. ‘Come to think of it, my friend’s son is in the church. Maybe he knows the rights and wrongs of dealing with disused resting places. I need to ring her and let her know I’m on the move. so I’ll ask her to have a word with him.’

  ‘Excellent. And in the meantime?’

  ‘Back to Jenny’s ferns, I guess.’

  * * *

  John Carson stared at the burnt-out vehicle. Most people would see a bewildering mess, but to him it was a puzzle to be solved logically. Earlier in his career as an investigator, he’d taken a great interest in vehicle fire investigation, and he knew that there were hundreds of different factors to take into consideration. He started by studying the heat patterns.

  He checked the melted rubber and plastic, and the oxidising metal. It was clear to John that this fire hadn’t been started by accident. In the front of the vehicle he found localised burn patterns, and distinct marks where an accelerant had been deliberately poured and splashed. If someone sitting in the driving seat had leant over towards the passenger well to fill a glass bottle, and accidentally dropped it, the petrol wouldn’t have collected in puddles or sprayed the driver. And naturally, the moment something went wrong he would have leapt from the car. John knew he hadn’t been wearing a safety belt. He certainly wouldn’t have sat there waiting for the fire to consume him.

  The driver’s corpse had been removed and taken to the mortuary. A little later, the car itself would be taken to a specialist car pound for further inspection. But John was certain he’d got it right. The driver had been drugged or knocked unconscious, and then placed inside the car, which was set alight. But not before a 999 call had been made.

  John stood back and surveyed the scene for one last time. The timing had been perfect. In another few minutes, all trace of the fire-setter’s kit in the boot would have been gone. As it was, it was easily identifiable. And the fire and rescue guys were convinced that it was the arsonist who had perished. Exactly as the killer intended.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  At four p.m., Nikki took a call from a distraught young woman, worried sick about her husband, Harry. The previous night, he had gone for a lads’ night out and hadn’t returned home. She had rung his friends and his family and the local hospitals, but no one had seen him since he left a public house in Greenborough town centre.

  Normally the disappearance of a healthy young male with no mental health problems would have been of no interest to CID, but right now, Nikki was very interested indeed. It was the first lead they had.

  ‘Joseph! Get a car, would you? We have a call to make.’

  * * *

  Elaine and Harry Moore lived in a two-bedroomed terraced house in a quiet cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Greenborough. Inside, Nikki and Joseph found a neat, well-kept home with little sayings stencilled on the walls.

  Nikki stared at one of these, Learn from yesterday, Live for today, and Hope for tomorrow, and her throat dried up. Although she wanted to know who had died in that car, she prayed it wasn’t Harry Moore. The whole house shone with love and happiness, and she didn’t want to be the one to bring it crashing down.

  ‘He never does anything without ringing me, never!’ Elaine sniffed. ‘I know something terrible has happened to him. It would take something really awful to stop him getting in touch.’

  Her sister, Denise, was with her and she clasped her sister’s hand. ‘He’s a treasure, Inspector. He adores Elaine, and he’d never leave h
er to worry about him like this.’

  ‘You say he was out with friends?’ asked Joseph.

  ‘It was a bit of a celebration.’ Elaine blew her nose. ‘His best friend, Lance, has been accepted into the air force, so they were having a get-together in the Britannia.’

  ‘And his friends saw him leave?’

  ‘At ten, Inspector. He never stays out too late when I’m on my own.’ She swallowed noisily. ‘And that’s the last they saw of him.’

  ‘We’ll be trying to trace his movements on CCTV, Elaine, but at the moment we have nothing to offer you.’ Nikki tried to sound calm, but she was desperate to flee that love-filled room. The cushions with hearts on them, the smiling photographs, the single red rose in a bud vase, were just too perfect, but all Nikki saw was a blackened corpse in a torched car.

  ‘We always thought the police took no notice of missing persons,’ said Denise, ‘but you’ve been really kind.’

  Was this the time to tell them Harry might be dead? Nikki glanced at Joseph. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod.

  She took a breath. ‘I don’t want to scare you unnecessarily, Elaine, but a man was killed last night, so we are taking every report of a missing person very seriously.’

  The two women gasped.

  ‘Harry? My Harry? Oh no!’

  ‘Please, Mrs Moore, we are by no means sure that it is your husband, but we really need to know something about him, if you think you’re up to helping us.’ Joseph spoke softly.

  Denise got up and went to the fireplace. She removed a photograph from the mantelpiece and handed it to Nikki, ‘Harry. Is this the dead man?’

  I wish I knew, thought Nikki. ‘Could we borrow this? We’ll return it to you, of course.’

  ‘But is it him?’ Denise demanded.

  ‘He was very badly injured, I’m afraid,’ Joseph said. ‘But as it’s an ongoing investigation, we really can’t say at present. I’m very sorry, but our hands are tied. I’ve already said more than I should, but we understand your concerns about Harry.’ He gave them a smile full of compassion. ‘Can I ask you some questions about him? I’ll be as brief as possible, I promise.’

  Both women nodded mutely. Nikki was very glad to have Joseph beside her. He managed situations like this very well.

  ‘Does Harry have any distinguishing marks?’ asked Joseph. ‘Tattoos, maybe?’

  They’d be of no help at all in identifying their body, but Nikki realised that Joseph was just working his way to other features that might help.

  ‘No, he never liked tattoos,’ Elaine said softly. ‘And he has no birthmarks or anything like that.’

  Nikki noticed Denise watching them suspiciously. She got the feeling she’d picked up on just how “badly injured” their dead man was.

  ‘One of his front teeth is a crown,’ said Denise, not taking her eyes off Nikki. ‘If that helps?’

  Nikki nodded silently. Yes, Denise understood all right. Maybe she was thinking of an accident on the railway line, or a horrific car crash.

  ‘And one of his big toes has a metal pin through it,’ she added pointedly.

  ‘Thank you,’ Nikki said. That was exactly what they wanted. Now she needed to get hold of Rory, fast. She stood up, still holding the photograph. ‘Mrs Moore, we’ll be in touch the moment we know anything definite, I promise.’ She turned to the sister. ‘Can you stay here with Elaine?’

  Denise nodded. ‘Of course. But you won’t keep us waiting any longer than you have to, will you? You can see the state of her.’

  Joseph touched her arm. ‘You have our word. The minute we know. Okay?’

  Outside in the car, Nikki phoned Rory, but he wasn’t answering. She left a message and hung up. ‘Damn! Oh well, we’d better get back to base and hope he contacts us soon.’

  * * *

  This time it had been a very different experience. He couldn’t work out why.

  It had been the simplest of fires to set, but the most difficult to get right because of the problem of timing. As it was, he had pulled it off perfectly. He just wondered if the police would pick up on his subtle “hint” as to who the driver might be. Not that it really mattered, but it might buy him a little breathing space.

  He had originally planned to conduct his campaign over a much longer period, maybe even a month. But after the first fire, he knew that if he were to ever complete what he had to do, he would need to work as fast as possible and get it over with. He couldn’t fail her, he just couldn’t. It was unthinkable.

  He should get himself some supper, he supposed, but since the work had begun, he’d lost his appetite for cooked food. He couldn’t even face toast. Now he was living on sandwiches, cereal, salad and fruit.

  The previous day he had passed a fast food outlet in the shopping centre. The smell of barbequed ribs had turned his stomach, and he’d been forced to run to the gents. He sat with his supper of cornflakes and began to consider the next stage. The actual setting of the fires had been textbook, and he’d found it exhilarating, exciting, but his reaction to what he was doing shocked and surprised him. He closed his eyes for a moment, and vowed that it wouldn’t stop him from seeing it through to the bitter end.

  * * *

  Nikki waited at the station, refusing to leave until they knew the identity of the man in that burnt-out car. Rory had been called out on an emergency, but had texted her to say he would contact her as soon as he returned.

  Joseph went to find some food, and they sat in her office and shared a KFC meal for two.

  ‘Wish I’d known. I’d have joined you.’ Cameron Walker strolled into the office and pinched a chip from Nikki’s box.

  ‘It wasn’t planned,’ Joseph said. ‘We’re waiting for a possible ID on the body.’ He offered Cam a piece of chicken.

  ‘I’ll wait with you then. It’s a bad business, and between you and me, upstairs are putting pressure on me to clear it up, pronto.’ Nikki opened her mouth to speak and he held up his hand. ‘But don’t worry, I’ve told them to back off and let us do what we have to. Maybe it’s because I’m the new kid in town, but I seem to have got away with it — so far.’ He grinned.

  ‘How are you finding it here, Cam?’ asked Nikki.

  ‘Bit of a culture shock to say the least. Last night I almost threw in the towel. I had some spotty kid who’d never seen the inside of a uniform lecturing me on the use of reasonable force. He kept talking about human rights. Can you believe it? After all the years I’ve done! I felt like using a bit of reasonable force on him.’

  ‘It’s a different world, my friend, and in my opinion the best time to be a police officer is long gone.’ Nikki broke into a smile. ‘But we just keep our heads down and carry on regardless.’

  Cam laughed. ‘It’s the only way. And I’ll cover your backs as best I can.’

  At last, Nikki’s phone rang.

  Rory sounded harassed. ‘Not one of my best days, dear heart. A particularly traumatic infant death, then I broke down on the way back. Still, something good comes out of every situation and the man from Green Flag was gorgeous!’

  ‘I’m telling David!’

  ‘Do! He’d agree with me, I know. But I imagine you need some information on your car driver.’

  ‘Yes, Rory. We have two things that might help with identifying him. One is a metal pin in his big toe, and the other a crowned front tooth.’

  The line fell silent, then Rory said, ‘In that case, this is not your man. Definitely no pinned toes. Actually there was very little at all left of his feet, but the pin would have needed crematorium level heat to break it down, and there was nothing in the residue. Sorry, Nikki, back to the drawing board for you.’

  ‘Does the body have any particular distinguishing features that might help us if we do get another lead?’

  ‘Funnily enough, yes. I was just going to tell you. He’d suffered a fractured lower jaw in the not too distant past, and there was a small titanium plate still in situ. That should help considerably, I imagine.’
>
  Nikki thanked him, relieved for Elaine Moore’s sake, but disappointed too. ‘Sorry, guys. It’s not the man we thought it was.’

  Joseph shrugged. ‘Well, someone will be delighted by the news, although Harry Moore is still unaccounted for. Shall I ring her?’

  ‘Please, Joseph. She might not know where he is, but at least she has hope now.’

  While Joseph made the call, Cameron said, ‘Have you any feelings about this man, Nikki? Anything about his MO speak to you?’

  Nikki inhaled. ‘To be honest, Cam, I’m really stumped. John Carson too, and Laura Archer. He’s not your textbook arsonist at all. Laura’s checking out case histories for us, and John is spending every waking hour at the scenes of the crimes, but this killer is definitely not following the Dummy’s Guide to arson attacks.’

  About to answer, Cam stopped, listening to Joseph talking animatedly with Elaine, or possibly her sister.

  ‘Hold on! Slow down. Now say that again.’

  Nikki stared at him, wondering what was coming next. She saw him scribbling notes while he listened. She mouthed, ‘Loudspeaker!’

  Joseph turned it on and they heard Denise’s anxious voice. ‘He was in hospital all the time. He’d been given something, some drug, and he couldn’t even tell them his name, that’s why he hadn’t got in touch. But that’s not the worry now, he’s much better. It’s his friend, it’s Jez. He’s still missing.’

  ‘Okay,’ said Joseph calmly. ‘Who is Jez?’

  ‘Jeremy Bedford. Everyone calls him Jez. He left the pub at the same time as Harry, but Harry can’t remember what happened to them after that. Now we hear that Jez didn’t get home either, and he wasn’t admitted to hospital with Harry.’

  Joseph took down Jez’s address and contact details. ‘Do you know him personally, Denise?’

  ‘Not well, but I’ve met him several times.’

  ‘Can you describe him for me?’

  ‘Tall, about six foot two, well-built, dark curly hair,’ she paused. ‘He was mugged about six months ago, Sergeant. They broke his right wrist and his jaw.’