Killer on the Fens

by Joy Ellis

  Two uniformed officers were approaching them, and from their purposeful stride, Rory guessed they were not going to offer to tuck him in.

  ‘Professor Wilkinson! I’m sorry, sir, but we’ve had the order to evacuate.’

  ‘What!’ He fought to get out of the restricting bag. ‘Is this some idea of a joke?’

  ‘There’s been a development, sir. You have to pack up immediately. Some HGVs are on their way to collect all your equipment and the remaining coffins.’

  ‘Hell and bloody damnation! We are this far,’ he held his thumb and forefinger a half inch apart, ‘from finishing. What can be more important than nineteen bodies, for God’s sake?’

  The officer shrugged. ‘Sorry, but DS Easter’s daughter is missing, and if the worst case scenario is right and the killer has her, there is a high possibility that he will bring her here. That means you could be in danger as well.’

  ‘In which case, better do as he says, mate.’

  He felt Stuart’s hand on his arm. Rory’s heart sank. Stuart was right. They had no choice.

  * * *

  Dave thought Nikki had aged ten years overnight.

  The news of Tamsin’s disappearance had rocked the station, and when the DI called a meeting in the murder room, everyone turned up.

  She began immediately. ‘You’ve all heard what happened early this morning. I’ve just been told that one of the search parties has found signs of a scuffle.’ She drew in a deep breath then added, ‘And a piece of cloth was found in the mud. It had been soaked in chloroform.’

  Dave let out a low whistle. ‘That stuff is archaic!’

  Nikki nodded. ‘That’s true, and I’ve spoken to the forensic team about it. It seems it’s a very dangerous substance, much misrepresented in the whodunnits.’ Her face looked haggard. ‘It does work after several minutes, but it also causes convulsions and it can be lethal. He reckons that the point where the victim relaxes,’ she swallowed, ‘is not far from the moment of death, as it paralyses the heart muscles.’

  Dave was heartily glad that Joseph was not in the room. For a moment all he could see was the bright face of Tamsin Easter. He dragged himself back to what the boss was saying with difficulty.

  ‘I cannot stress enough how important it is to find Tamsin quickly, because there is another worrying fact about chloroform . . .’ She paused. ‘It can have a delayed effect. And in some cases, it can kill. So we need to get out there and find her. Now, this is how I suggest we tackle this.’ She looked around the room. ‘I want every member of the splinter group of the history society brought in. While we question them, I want all their houses and work premises searched. But I have no intention of holding any of these suspects for long.’

  There was a low mutter of dissent, but she pressed on.

  ‘Think about it! If they are connected in any way, they could lead us to Tamsin. Which is something they can’t do if they are incarcerated in our custody suite. We keep them all under constant close surveillance. It’s a hope, just a hope, but we have to follow it up. Now, apart from bringing in the suspects, our main search area will have to be the old airfield. This time, however, we will not have our friendly guides with us.’ She paused. ‘This is not easy for any of us. Joseph is a valued colleague and we all feel deeply for him at this time, but I do ask you to stay focused.’

  She looked into Niall Farrow’s shocked face. ‘Don’t let your emotions take over. We have to find her, and fast. She is in grave danger. Go to it, and good luck.’

  As the officers dispersed, Dave caught up with the DI. ‘Guv, where’s the sarge?’

  ‘He’s with the super. Being told to stand back and leave the investigation to us.’

  ‘And will he, ma’am?’

  ‘Would you?’

  * * *

  Frank Kohler and his sister, Simon Flower and the Brewers were being questioned in different interview rooms.

  Nikki paced the murder room, cursing loudly to anyone who was within earshot.

  ‘Where the hell are the others?’

  Cat Cullen joined her. ‘God knows where Marcus Selby is, but Andrew Friar has been picked up from a liquid lunch in a local bar. Pissed out of his brains — or appears to be. The officer who brought him in isn’t too sure, so he’s getting the FMO to check him out in case he’s faking it.’

  ‘And Joshua Flower?’

  ‘His brother says he’s gone on a ramble. Apparently it’s nothing unusual. Joshua often goes out on the Fens, watching waterbirds and the like.’

  ‘Very bloody convenient! ’ Nikki almost spat the words out.

  ‘We’ve got two officers at their house. They’ll bring him in as soon as he comes back.’

  ‘If he bloody well comes back.’ Nikki’s tirade suddenly evaporated. ‘Cat, come with me. We need to speak to Simon Flower again.’

  * * *

  In a small windowless room, Simon Flower sat patiently, waiting to be seen. There was no lawyer present, and Simon had been told he was free to go at any point. He was purely assisting them with their enquiries.

  Nikki slowly and concisely explained that Tamsin Easter had been abducted.

  ‘My God! Tamsin?’ His eyes widened and darted from one detective to the other. ‘But that’s absolutely terrible! How is DS Easter taking it?’

  ‘Much as you’d expect,’ said Nikki tersely.

  The man sat shaking his head from side to side in apparent disbelief. Then he looked at Nikki and asked, ‘Do you think this has anything to do with whatever has happened out at the airfield?’

  Cat answered. ‘We cannot rule it out, and because of your associations with Flaxton Mere, we need to know your whereabouts between five thirty and six thirty this morning.’

  Simon looked astonished, then he shrugged. ‘I was at home alone, probably showering or getting dressed around about then.’ He paused. ‘But I did ring work around six-ish. And they do log calls into the fire station.’ He frowned. ‘I was on standby to attend an industrial blaze out at Barley Gate, but I was stood down as another investigator was in the area. That’s why I was at home when your officers called to search our house.’

  ‘And your brother?’ asked Nikki.

  ‘As I said, out birdwatching. He often goes out before dawn.’

  ‘It’s now two o’clock, sir, and he’s not returned. Aren’t worried?’

  ‘Why? He’s probably driven up the coast. My brother comes and goes. He’s enjoying his freedom.’

  ‘And he has no mobile phone?’ asked Cat incredulously.

  ‘He doesn’t own one. He says they are anti-social.’

  Nikki’s eyes were hard. ‘How convenient.’

  Simon Flower sat back and stared at her. ‘Ah no! You surely can’t think Josh has anything to do with that lass disappearing? That’s madness!’

  ‘And what would you think if you were me?’

  He sighed. ‘I can see where you’re coming from, DI Galena, but you don’t know him. He’d never hurt a fly. He couldn’t.’

  ‘Well, we can’t find him, Mr Flower. And our officers have checked all the places you said he likes to go, so where now?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I have no idea.’

  Nikki stood up and pushed her chair back. ‘Then there’s damn all else we can do. You had better get home, sir. And ring us the minute you hear anything or you clap eyes on your brother, understood?’

  * * *

  Dave drove Flower home, and checked on the surveillance car parked outside.

  ‘Nothing happening. Quiet as the grave.’

  Dave winced at the choice of words. ‘We’ve put another car around the back, so keep your eyes peeled and we’ll have the radios set on “talk-through.” Let me know if anyone goes in or out. And if Professor Flower turns up, bring him in immediately.’

  Dave had always believed that men should not show emotion, but as he drew into the station car park, he felt a lump in his throat as he thought about what Joseph Easter must be going through.

  * * *


  ‘Ma’am, we’ve picked up Marcus Selby.’ Reg Jenkins entered the murder room. ‘Been fishing. He arrived back well kitted out with equipment, and had a couple of fresh fish in his bag.’

  ‘And Joshua Flower?’

  The constable shook his head. ‘Nothing, ma’am. We’ve notified all the local stations and circulated him as wanted, plus we’ve put out the details of his car.’

  Nikki turned back to Cat Cullen, who sat staring at her notebook.

  ‘Got something?’

  ‘Not sure, ma’am. I’ve been going through some reports. Do you remember that the bodies from Flaxton Mere were sort of embalmed and herbs were used?’

  Nikki nodded.

  ‘Well, one of the beat bobbies had a word with the owner of that posh greengrocer on Lower Hill. He sells a lot of fresh “locally grown” herbs and he said that his supplier is one our historians: Margaret Brewer.’

  Nikki frowned, then said, ‘A supplier, as in a herb-growing business? Did we know about this? Who interviewed them?’

  ‘Me, ma’am,’ Dave answered immediately. ‘They never mentioned herb growing. They said they’d retired early and their hobby was the WWII airfield. But another thing about the Brewers — we’re having trouble checking their background. In fact we draw blanks on practically everything they’ve told us.

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Employment, for one thing. The company that William Brewer said he worked for on a freelance basis seems to have disappeared. And we can’t find a marriage certificate for them. I’ve been checking the registers and zero. Cat’s taken over that one, guv,’ said Dave. ‘She likes paperchases.’

  ‘Okay. Yvonne, time to practice your knowledge of botany, at the Brewers.’

  Yvonne grimaced. ‘I barely know my basil from my rosemary.’

  ‘Good. Go check out their back garden, and without giving anything away, throw in some comment about the husband/wife thing to one of them, preferably her. Nothing heavy, just see how she reacts.’ Nikki paused, ‘And take Niall with you but keep an eye on the lad. I think he’s got a soft spot for Tamsin Easter.’

  Yvonne nodded, ‘Of course, ma’am. And it’s alright, I’d worked that one out for myself.’

  ‘And what can I do?’

  Nikki turned round the moment she heard Joseph’s voice. ‘You’re with me, my friend. Either officially or unofficially, I don’t care.’

  ‘Thanks, Nikki. Luckily the super understands. He’s told me all the things he’s obliged to and asked me to keep a low profile, but I need to get out there.’ He looked at Nikki imploringly. ‘We need to find my girl. I can’t get her back then lose her all over again. I just can’t.’

  ‘I know.’ Nikki felt tears forming and bit them back. ‘So let me fill you in on the morning’s findings.’

  When she had finished, Joseph nodded, then said, ‘Joshua Flower. Has it occurred to you that he might be another victim?’

  Nikki pulled a face. ‘I can’t say that I’d looked at it that way.’

  ‘Worth considering?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  * * *

  As the afternoon progressed, scores of uniformed officers continued the search for Tamsin Easter and Joshua Flower. They knocked on doors, picked their way through gardens and wasteland, stopped motorists and questioned numbers of vagrants and homeless people.

  On Flaxton Mere, sombre-faced men, women and tracker dogs covered acres of marsh and farmland, hunting for anything that might lead them to the whereabouts of the missing girl and the history professor.

  The airfield teemed with police officers. No one went below ground, and only the people working on emptying the crypt were allowed to leave. Overhead, a helicopter with a heat-seeking camera slowly circled the area.

  Greenborough police station had become a giant magnet, attracting both the media and the general public, all demanding to be told the truth about Flaxton Mere. Finally the chief superintendent gave a statement. He kept it very much to a plea for help regarding the two missing persons, and chose to omit the full details of the horrific find beneath the airfield.

  ‘Guv!’ A young detective with strange, staring eyes and an uncanny knack of looking like a teenage drug addict stuck his spiky, gelled head around the murder room door. ‘Sorry to interrupt, ma’am, but we’ve found Flower’s car.’

  Nikki, Joseph and Dave looked up sharply. ‘Where?’

  ‘A disused barn between the main road and the airfield. The chopper spotted it through a gaping hole in the roof.’

  ‘And has anyone seen Flower?’

  ‘No, ma’am, but we’ve increased the manpower down there. They’ve got all the entrances and exits well and truly covered. He hasn’t gone onto the airfield.’

  Nikki was not even mildly convinced of that. Joshua Flower knew that place better than any of them. If he wanted in, then she was certain he’d get in.

  She looked at the odd, pale eyes and said, ‘Okay, get forensics. I want that car brought back to the lab and stripped down to bare metal.’

  ‘Already done, ma’am. They’re on their way.’ The young man left and Nikki turned to Dave. ‘Are Yvonne and Niall back from the Brewers yet?’

  ‘We’re here, ma’am. Just got in.’ Yvonne opened her notebook. ‘Well, they certainly grow herbs, ma’am. Big time. They must have half an acre of them.’

  ‘And how long have they been doing that?’

  ‘Years. It started as a hobby that, well, grew. Thing is, they don’t exactly sell them. They just ask for a small donation to buy new seed and compost. It’s not a business, it’s just what they enjoy doing. Friends can walk in and help themselves, and businesses like the greengrocer pay what they think they’re worth.’ She leafed through her pad. ‘I got her to give me list of who she supplies, and I’ve found a familiar name, ma’am.’ She looked at Nikki meaningfully. ‘Professor Joshua Flower is a very good client.’

  The DI stiffened. ‘And why is that?’

  Niall tilted his head on one side and added, ‘She thinks he has a friend who makes something called potpourri? Reckons she’s a local woman who makes dried flower arrangements and herb pillows for charity shops and church fetes.’

  Nikki wasn’t convinced. ‘Check that out, guys, and what about their dodgy marital status? Anything on that?’

  ‘As you say, ma’am, distinctly dodgy. Even though her old man wasn’t there, Margaret Brewer clammed up tight.’

  ‘Ma’am? Telephone, in your office,’ Cat called out. ‘Simon Flower for you.’

  ‘I still haven’t heard from Joshua.’ Simon Flower sounded worried sick. ‘I’ve phoned everyone I can think of, but no one has seen him. I didn’t think too much of it at first, but now, well, I’m really concerned.’

  Nikki wondered how much to tell him, then opted for the truth. ‘We’ve found his car, Mr Flower, out near Flaxton Mere.’

  There was a silence, and then she heard a long intake of breath. ‘Well, I guess it shouldn’t surprise us, should it? You know how much he loves it.’

  ‘Yes, but he knows it’s closed off because of our investigation, so why go there? To look for nesting waterfowl?’ Her voice held a clear message.

  ‘I . . . uh . . . I don’t know.’ His voice suddenly lost its strength. ‘You think he’s the one you’re looking for, don’t you? For whatever you found at the airfield, and for taking Tamsin.’

  ‘We need to find him, Mr Flower, even if it’s to eliminate him from our enquiries.’

  ‘Can I help? I’m going stir crazy stuck here.’

  ‘For now we need you to be there, in case he rings or finds his way home. I’m sorry, sir. We’ll be in touch as soon as we hear anything.’

  * * *

  Superintendent Greg Woodhall gave Nikki a long, hard stare. ‘This long-term dealer of death was already frightening the shit out of me, and now we have the daughter of one of our officers missing.’ He leant forward in his chair. ‘You’ve talked to this Professor Flower, Nikki. Do you think it’s him?’
/>   Nikki let out a loud sigh. ‘Whatever I think, he knows more about that old airfield than any of the others. Plus his car has been found close by, and he’s been purchasing massive amounts of herbs for years, and herbs were used extensively in the embalming process.’ She paused. ‘And he’s missing.’

  ‘Answer the question, Detective. Do you think it’s him?’

  Nikki bit her lip. Greg Woodhall had only been superintendent for a few months and she was used to Rick Bainbridge’s way of working. But Nikki was too close to Joseph, and it was his daughter who was missing. She couldn’t trust her own judgement. ‘I really don’t know, sir.’

  ‘With all that evidence, Nikki, I should have thought you would be champing at the bit to get him into custody. Why the indecision? Was he so charming when you questioned him?’

  Nikki looked miserable. ‘No, sir, I wasn’t charmed.’ She thought back to the interview that she and Joseph had conducted in the Flowers’ study. ‘I admit he’s fascinating to listen to, but after a while I found him patronising and I didn’t like his tendency to talk at you, rather than to you. Joseph thought it was a university lecturer’s habit, but I felt somehow belittled.’

  ‘Academics can do that. Their knowledge can be pretty awe-inspiring. But don’t forget, some of the most intelligent people can be totally without common sense, and that, I hope, is where we come into our own. Common sense, solid logic and basic observational skills will catch more villains than a university degree.’ He looked at her. ‘So, I ask again.’

  ‘He might be a highly educated professor, but . . .’ She paused, trying to recall the conversation. ‘He was so passionate about RAF Flaxton Mere. Joseph saw how hard he tried to communicate his love of the place. Everyone seemed to look up to him. Without a doubt he is the leading light in the history society. If he is the killer, then surely he wouldn’t be happy to have all and sundry traipsing around the perimeters of his secret crypt.’

  Greg Woodhall peered at her over his glasses. ‘Listen to yourself, Nikki, and try to think a little differently. Instead of passion, what about obsession? Consider him not as a leading light but as the dominant figure. And if he is the killer, what better way to show his superiority than to allow everyone else, including the impotent police force, to get within a hair’s breadth of his underworld?’ Greg’s gaze never left Nikki’s face. ‘Think. When we talk about Joshua Flower, are we not describing a psychopath? And does that not strike you as just a little scary?’