SHADOW OVER THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense

by Joy Ellis

  SHADOW OVER THE FENS

  A gripping crime thriller full of suspense

  (DI NIKKI GALENA BOOK 2)

  JOY ELLIS

  First published 2016

  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.

  First published as “Shadowbreaker” by Robert Hale.

  ©Joy Ellis

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  http://www.joffebooks.com/contact/

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

  AVAILABLE NOW

  DI Nikki Galena Book 1

  CRIME ON THE FENS

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/

  https://www.amazon.com/CRIME-gripping-detective-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B01H98SG5G/

  A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER

  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

  EPILOGUE

  DI Nikki Galena Book 1

  Character List

  Glossary of English Slang for US readers

  DEDICATION

  For Rosemary Keywood and Rachel Appleby.

  CHAPTER ONE

  As Detective Inspector Nikki Galena locked the door of her Fenland home, a shiver of anticipation coursed through her. She gazed across the wide expanse of remote marsh, took a deep savouring breath of the fresh salty air and smiled. It felt good to be back where she belonged.

  Across Cloud Fen she could see the mist clearing, and a green gold morning slowly waking up the salt marsh with its bright clear light. She stepped into the garden and wondered what this new dawn would bring with it, apart from the arrival of her new sergeant. Her smile widened. She had been waiting for this moment for a while and it was something she both welcomed and dreaded.

  Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter was joining her CID team. It was also his first day back after being injured on duty. She had no illusions that his new position would be a breeze, because it wouldn’t be. It would be a testing time for both of them.

  She just hoped that he was as match fit as he claimed to be.

  Nikki crunched her away across the gravel drive to her car and muttered a small prayer of thanks that for once the nick was unusually quiet. At least she wouldn’t be throwing the poor sod straight in at the deep end.

  ‘At last! Nikki! I was beginning to think I’d never see you again!’

  A tall, craggy faced man, wearing tracksuit bottoms, a bright red rugby shirt and a black rucksack, brought his bike to a halt, hurriedly climbed off and grinned warmly at her.

  ‘Martin! How have you been?’ Nikki welcomed the friendly hug, then pushed him back and stared at him. ‘Hey, you look good!’ She had known him for more years than she cared to remember. He was her closest neighbour, even though he lived some quarter of a mile away down a narrow track that led onto the marsh.

  The man beamed at her. ‘I’m fine, but all the better for hearing your news. I’ve seen the workmen out here for a few weeks now. They told me that you were planning on moving back.’

  ‘It was time to come home, Martin.’ As Nikki spoke those words, she knew it was true. She’d been gone too long. Stuck in the town; spending every waking hour hunting down drug dealers. She had driven herself on until she could barely remember what life was like before her drug-crushing crusade had eaten into every part of her existence.

  ‘Glad to hear it.’ Martin Durham brushed a swathe of wavy iron-grey hair from his eyes and looked up appreciatively at her old farmhouse. Fresh paint glistened in the morning sunlight. ‘Nice job! The weather out here takes no prisoners. I was beginning to wonder if the east wind was going to claim it before you!’

  ‘It was in a bit of a state, wasn’t it?’ She suddenly felt horribly guilty for neglecting her old family home for so long. ‘But this winter, I promise you’ll see smoke rising from the chimney again.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Oh Lord! I’m sorry to dash off, but the Fenland Constabulary calls. Why don’t you come round for a coffee at the weekend? We can catch up.’

  ‘Thanks, I’ll do that. Actually I’ve got a little bit of interesting news for you, but it can wait until then. Oh, and . . .’ he looked at her weather-beaten front gate, ‘. . . I see your workmen didn’t get as far as this. I was going to give my fences a coat of wood preserver tomorrow, I’ll do this at the same time, if it helps?’

  ‘Great. If it’s no trouble?’ Nikki clicked the central locking on her car. ‘But be sure to let me know what I owe you, that stuff costs a fortune.’

  ‘I don’t think one gate will break the bank! Consider it a welcome home present.’ With a wave, he climbed back on his bike, hauled his rucksack up over his shoulder, and pedalled off in the direction of his cottage.

  Nikki slid into her car, leaned back, and allowed herself a long sigh of relief.

  It had not been an easy decision to return home, but then her last case had changed a lot of things in her life. Now, having had some time to reflect, she knew it had thrown her a life-line. Her vigilante-style, one-woman mission to clean Greenborough of drugs had nearly cost her her career, and was beginning to turn her into the most blinkered and disliked officer in the area. And that was not the kind of woman she wanted to be. Just meeting Martin again made her realise just how thoughtful people could be. Maybe the whole world was not populated by evil shits after all.

  As the tall figure in the scarlet shirt slowly disappeared from view, she felt a kind of peace wash over her. It was really good to be back. She belonged here in this strange and remote water-world, with its great stretches of marshland, teeming with wild life, and with a big, big sky hanging over everything.

  With one final glance up at the old house, she turned the key in the ignition and pulled out onto the lane. At last, she was ready and willing to take on whatever Greenborough nick decided to chuck at her. It was going to be a good day.

  * * *

  As Nikki began her drive from Cloud Fen, Joseph Easter touched his fingertips on the turquoise tiled wall of the pool and burst through the surface of the sparkling water.

  Fifty lengths. Nowhere near the distance he used to do, but he was getting there. He stood for a moment getting his breath back. Every day showed improvement. He could now do a pretty impressive ten miles on the hardest programme on the exercise bike without
too much pain. He lay on his back and floated for a while. And it wasn’t even pain any more, well nothing like what he had suffered just after the operation.

  He glanced at the clock. He didn’t want to be late on his first day at his new station. He swam easily back to the steps and pulled himself reluctantly from the warm pool. Until today he had spent almost two hours every morning in the club gym and the small pool, doing all he could to get strong enough to pass the medical that would let him return to work.

  Joseph padded into the changing room, collected his towel and toilet bag from his locker, and went for a shower. The FMO had grudgingly allowed him back, with a few reservations about what duties he should avoid for a while, but all in all it had been a pretty good outcome. His only worry was that although his body was recovering, he had no way of knowing how his mind would react to an unexpected situation. And he wouldn’t know that until the next time the shit hit the fan. He could test his muscles and his physical endurance, but as far as he knew, there was no simple test for his mental state. Which meant there was little point in worrying about it. He was finally free to join DI Galena’s team, so he’d better just get on with it. He grinned to himself as the soapy water cascaded down his back. Into the lion’s den.

  As he rubbed shampoo into his mop of light brown hair, he remembered his first meeting with his new boss. Instead of welcoming him to his temporary assignment, she had been acid-tongued, short-tempered and bloody rude. Joseph laughed aloud, then stuck his head under the stream of hot water. Because despite all of that, he had liked her. Well, maybe ‘like’ was not quite the right word, but he had recognised a dedicated, honest copper beneath the hard-as-nails exterior. He could not have been more delighted when she asked him to leave his old nick and work with her permanently at Greenborough.

  He towelled himself down and dressed. Somewhere during that last case that they had worked together, they had forged some sort of unspoken bond. He had felt it, and he was pretty sure that she had too. Why else would she have requested that he transfer from Fenchester?

  Joseph dried his hair and stared at himself in the mirror. He didn’t look different, but he knew that deep down he had changed. He looked at his reflection. In his eyes he saw the same old intensity, although maybe there was something else there now? He forced a grin to banish the gloomy mood that was threatening to wash over him. Maybe it was just that the locker-room mirror needed cleaning.

  Joseph gathered up his kit, pushed it in his gym bag and walked down the corridor to the foyer, thinking as he went about his new position. He wasn’t daft enough to believe that working with DI Galena would be easy. As individuals, they were complete opposites, but somehow their varied approaches brought them, by different avenues, to the same conclusions. And that would catch them villains.

  As the automatic doors sighed back, he smiled to himself. They had all the right ingredients to make a damned good team. His expression darkened. Just as long as they both allowed the past to stay where it belonged and not creep into the present.

  Sunshine warmed Joseph’s face as he stepped outside, and his smile returned. This was not the time for raking up old garbage. Today was all about fresh starts, and if he didn’t get a wriggle on, his first words from his new guv’nor would be a rollicking for being late.

  He loped across the car park, unlocked his boot and threw his bag inside. As he closed it again, he noticed someone give him a friendly wave. He lifted his hand automatically, then walked around and got into the driver’s seat.

  The other early morning swimmer was a dark-haired woman who he had seen briefly a few times before. She was thin, but not in a skinny way. She looked lean and core fit like an athlete. He paused and watched her make her way towards the club entrance. Her stride was confident, and her limbs moved with a graceful fluidity. Joseph found himself staring unashamedly through the windscreen at her, and for a man who had always believed that looks were not the only thing that mattered, it came as something of a shock. There was definitely something very attractive about the woman’s appearance.

  Joseph shook himself. He’d never been late for work in his entire life, and he didn’t intend to start today. With an annoyed snort, he started the engine, released the handbrake and sped noisily from the car park, but not before one last glance in his mirror to watch the dark-haired woman disappear into the building.

  * * *

  He had not been sure what to expect from the team, but Joseph’s entrance into the CID room was accompanied by a rowdy chorus of cheers and an assortment of handshakes and back-slapping.

  ‘Great to see you again, Sarge!’ DC Cat Cullen’s grin almost sliced her face in two.

  ‘Love the hair!’ Joseph stared wide-eyed at the short blond spikes and the emerald green Mohican-style strip that ran from her forehead to the nape of her neck.

  ‘Yeah, cool, isn’t it? The guv’nor’s had me getting down and dirty with some of Greenborough’s youth. On a covert surveillance case, you understand.’

  ‘I’m never quite sure with you, Cat. Your disguises suit you a bit too well!’

  ‘Sarge! How are you?’ The big form of Dave Harris muscled in and grasped his hand, pumping it up and down with ferocious delight.

  ‘Doing well, my friend. And happy to be here, I can tell you. There are only so many old movies you want to watch!’

  ‘So, you really have decided to join us at last, Detective Sergeant.’ Nikki Galena’s voice instantly quelled the chit-chat.

  Joseph had not even noticed her come in. ‘Yes, ma’am. But only on the condition that our next case is considerably less injurious than the last one.’

  A pained look passed swiftly across her face, then the Inspector shrugged her shoulders. ‘There are no guarantees in this line of work, Joseph. Let’s just hope that lightning doesn’t strike twice, shall we?’ She threw him a rare smile and held out her hand. ‘Welcome to the team. We are glad to have you on board.’

  The room rippled with comments of agreement, and as Joseph gripped her hand in his, he felt a lump form in his throat. He’d worked with this small group of people for such a short time on his assignment, but there were already his trusted comrades. That was what that kind of case did to you, brought you close together and tied you with the tightest bonds.

  With difficulty, he tried to formulate a reply, but the words would not come.

  ‘Okay, you lot!’ The guv’nor saved him. ‘Fun and games over! Bugger off and catch me some criminals!’ She studied him carefully and he wondered what she was thinking. ‘Coffee and a chat in my office sounds good to me. You’re buying.’

  DI Galena turned and marched out of the CID room, and Joseph smiled to himself. He’d heard that she had mellowed, and wondered how such a metamorphosis could have been achieved. Now he knew. It was subtle. She still yelled at everyone, but there was just the hint of a twinkle in her eye now. The Ice Maiden was still very much in charge, but there was the slightest melting, a softening around the edges, and it suited her.

  As he scurried obediently off to the coffee machine, the smile remained on his face.

  * * *

  Behind the closed doors of her office, Nikki allowed the façade to fall away. ‘Good to have you back, Joseph. There were a few moments back there, when I wondered . . .’ The rest went unsaid.

  ‘You and me both, ma’am.’ Joseph took a deep breath and held it for a while. Then he slowly exhaled and said, ‘But here we are again.’

  ‘And this time as a fully paid up member of the team.’ Nikki sipped her coffee. ‘Are you going to move into the town?’

  ‘Not sure yet, ma’am. I want to get it right, not just grab the first thing that comes along.’ He pushed his hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair. ‘I feel kind of different since I came out of hospital. I think I’ll stick it out at the B & B for a while. My room’s not too bad, and I’m actually getting sort of attached to Mrs Blakely’s 1960s retro-style of decoration.’

  Nikki nodded. ‘Probably a wise mov
e not to rush things.’

  ‘Yes. I think I’ll get my flat in Fenchester on the market, then when it sells, sit on the money until I’m ready to make a move.’

  ‘Well, if you get stuck, you can store whatever you want out at Cloud Cottage Farm. Apart from the house itself, I’ve got some pretty useful outbuildings, and they’re all dry and secure.’

  ‘Thanks, ma’am. I may take you up on that.’ He looked at her hopefully, ‘So, anything interesting going down in CID?’

  ‘Before I fill you in on our work status, I need to say one thing.’ She leant forward. ‘I’ll bring this subject up only once, then it’s going to be business as usual, okay?’ She didn’t give him chance to reply, but hurried on. ‘If anything bothers you, or if anything is too strenuous, I want you to be perfectly honest with me, and we’ll find a way around it. I want no big hero stuff, and no being a martyr either, got it?’

  Joseph nodded reluctantly. ‘Loud and clear, guv. But honestly, I’ve not spent weeks in physio and the gym getting myself fit to go and mess it all up in my first week back.’ He flashed those infuriatingly sincere eyes at her, and Nikki was forced to believe him.

  ‘Right. Lecture over. Any questions?’

  ‘Can’t think of any, although I’m delighted to see Dave Harris is with CID now.’

  ‘He sailed through the interview board, I’m glad to say. His experience and local knowledge are a great asset.’

  Joseph nodded. ‘Plus he’s a really good bloke. So, what are we working on at present, ma’am?’

  ‘Nothing heavy, unless you count the mountain of paperwork that the last month generated.’ She grimaced, then pulled a thin file across the desk. ‘Frankly we’re about as quiet as I can remember.’ She opened the folder. ‘A spate of small fires. Most likely arson.’

  ‘Kids?’

  ‘We thought so, but now we’re not so sure. The last one took out a lock-up at the back of the big garage on Monk Street. It was lucky that Trumpton got there smartish, or there could have been a major incident, what with dozens of motors and the petrol reservoirs.’