by Mari Hannah
‘Taking Beth with her.’ Hank gave her a sideways glance. ‘And of course you had nothing to do with that.’ He was being facetious.
‘I did what I had to do.’
‘No wonder he vents his anger on you though, is it?’
‘She was a child in danger!’
‘Yeah, but couldn’t you find a friendly social worker to do it for you? Anonymous tip-offs not in your repertoire then?’
The dig hurt. ‘That sounds a lot like I deserve the shit he’s throwing my way.’ You have no idea.
‘I’m not saying that—’
‘Aren’t you? I acted for the sake of his kid, Hank. You’d have done the same in my shoes.’
‘Probably. But there are ways and there are ways.’
‘I know that now. Maybe I didn’t think it through. Diane needed my help. I gave it willingly. I didn’t have time to contemplate my navel. She was desperate.’
Kate’s mobile beeped.
She took it from her pocket and checked the display. ‘It’s Bright,’ she said. ‘There goes my holiday.’
‘Kate, you need your leave.’
‘You can say that again. If you remember, it was his idea that I go in the first place.’
‘Can’t he find a replacement?’
‘He wasn’t confident. I need to call him.’
‘Do it,’ Hank said.
Kate made the call and then hung up, shaking her head. When she told him the outcome, he tried not to gloat. He’d never wanted her to go on leave. If it had been anyone but Jo she’d been going away with, he’d have begged her to stay.
‘You made the right call,’ he said.
‘I didn’t make the call. He did.’
‘Well, you can hardly bugger off on holiday with this hanging over your head, can you?’
‘Try telling Jo that.’
‘She’ll understand. You’re going to have to meet this crisis head on, otherwise it’ll look like you scurried away, rather than deal with it. That includes telling Jo.’
Kate glanced at her phone. That was one conversation she was dreading. Even worse than having the exchange was not having it. Either way, it would have to wait. She had something more important to do first.
32
Kate spat into the basin and raised her head. Now she’d freshened up, she didn’t feel so bad. Dropping the toothpaste tube and toothbrush into her wash bag, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
Same old Kate . . .
Labels didn’t change people . . .
Ignorance and bigotry did.
So why did she feel so guilty for not telling her team?
The driving force behind her decision was her belief that she’d never fulfil her potential as a police officer if she came out. She had good reason for thinking so. Less cautious officers had faced a lot of opposition from above. Even their more liberal colleagues gave them a hard time over it. Those who’d tried being open had a tough job convincing people that they were like everyone else, that their sleeping arrangements made no difference to their investigative ability. Kate had witnessed animosity many times. Sadly, Atkins wasn’t a one-off.
Hank was already in the incident room when she arrived, an expression on his face that lifted her spirits. He had news, he told her. She couldn’t wait to hear it.
‘You were right about Adam Foster. I finally got a call from Matt Willis.’
‘He’s been hiding him?’
‘No. But Adam’s in the area, shacked up with a girlfriend and their kid. He made contact with Willis after reading about his brother in the Evening Chronicle. He’s upset, naturally. Willis pointed him in our direction. Foster wants to talk to you in the morning. Then he plans to hand himself over to the military police.’
‘What time?’
‘Seven.’
Kate pulled a face. ‘Here or in Elsdon?’
‘Here. I could send him to yours if you prefer. I’ll ask him to bring his bugle and play reveille through your bedroom window, make sure you don’t sleep in.’
Laughing, she turned her head as a door slammed shut on the cell block. The custody sergeant was heading their way, boots squeaking as he moved along the corridor, keys jangling from his belt. Prisoners were shouting, banging on doors on either side of him, each with their own agenda.
‘Hey, Sarge!’ a male voice yelled. ‘You been in touch with my lass yet?’
A female prisoner was begging a smoke from the custody sergeant as he passed her cell, offering a free blowjob in return. Another guest was making out he had pains in the chest and needed a doctor urgently. It was an excuse they had all heard a hundred times before, guaranteed to get you seen first. No copper wanted a stiff on their watch.
Remembering her own stint in the custody suite, Kate exchanged a wry smile with the sergeant, asking to be let in to Collins’ cell. She followed the officer down the corridor, waited to one side as he unlocked the cell door and pulled it open.
Thanking him, she moved over the threshold. Her prisoner was lying on the bed. She gestured for him to stand.
‘About time.’ Collins swung his legs over the side of the bed. ‘It’s like a madhouse in here – and it stinks. Not that you care. The tea was like piss and I wouldn’t feed that to the dog.’ He was pointing at the untouched, curled-up cheese sandwich on a paper plate on the floor.
‘I’m not interested in your opinion of our hospitality, Mr Collins. Have you had sufficient time to consult the duty solicitor?’
He nodded.
‘Out you come then.’
They walked down the corridor to an interview room where the solicitor was waiting. Paul Bennett stood up as they entered. He was middle-aged, wearing well, an experienced brief who wouldn’t give her any hassle. She felt grateful for that after the day she’d put in. They shook hands and he returned to his seat. Placing Collins’ police record on the table between them, Kate sat down opposite.
Hank switched on the recording device. ‘I’m DS Hank Gormley.’ He checked his watch. ‘The time is eight fifteen p.m., the date Monday, 13 October 2014.’
Kate introduced herself for the benefit of the tape.
Collins’ solicitor followed suit.
Hank repeated the caution and then Kate took over.
‘Mr Collins, you understand that we are investigating a very serious incident that took place at Winter’s Gibbet at some time on Saturday night.’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. I’ve been informed that you had contact with the deceased, Elliott Foster, in the village of Elsdon that evening. I’d like you to tell me, in your own words, your recollection of events from the moment the two of you met. There’s no rush, so take your time.’
Collins glanced at Bennett.
The brief nodded that he should comply.
Collins yawned. ‘Sorry, I’m knackered. You get no kip in here.’
‘Tell us why you were in Elsdon and how you came to be with Elliott,’ Kate said.
‘We met by chance,’ Collins continued. ‘I was waiting for someone who’d been to the show.’
‘Someone?’ Hank stopped making notes. ‘We need specifics.’
‘Beth Casey. I was waiting for Beth.’
‘Go on.’
‘She’d given a mate a lift and was running late. I was keeping an eye out for her car when I noticed Elliott being dropped off by his mum on the corner of the village green.’
Kate didn’t react. That was news to her. Surely DS Grant had asked the woman when she’d last seen her son alive. Making a mental note to question him on it, she sought to clarify the details with Collins. He could have been mistaken.
‘Are you absolutely sure it was his mum?’
He nodded. ‘She waved at me as he got out of the car.’
‘You’ve met before?’
Another nod.
‘What time was this?’
Collins shrugged. ‘Sixish.’
‘Did you speak to Elliott?’
‘I asked him how he’d got on
in the wrestling. He told me he’d won. Said I should’ve gone along. It was a laugh.’
‘Where were you exactly?’
‘At home, watching TV.’
‘I meant when you spoke to Elliott.’
‘Outside the church.’
‘At the scene of the fight or somewhere else?’
‘Where the scrap took place.’ Collins picked nervously at dry skin on his lower lip. He looked shattered and scruffy and worried enough to make her wonder why. Maybe he wasn’t as innocent as Beth Casey had suggested earlier. Misreading her silence, he filled the gap.
‘For the record, the fight wasn’t my fault.’
‘I’ll come on to that,’ she said. ‘Why didn’t you go to the show?’
Collins smirked. ‘I’m too much of a city boy to join the Waltons.’
‘I take it you’re not into country pursuits.’
‘Nah. My mum moved to Otterburn to work as a receptionist in a hotel. She needed the money. I had no choice but to come with her. She does funny shifts and couldn’t get there in time on public transport. I couldn’t let her come up here on her own, could I? Anyway, I didn’t have enough cash on me to go to the pub with Elliott.’
Hank lifted his pen. ‘Is that where he was off to?’
‘That’s what he said. I told him I was meeting Beth. I asked if he’d seen her.’
‘And had he?’ Kate asked.
‘Not since midday,’ Collins said. ‘He said he’d been hanging out with mates before and after the wrestling.’
Kate knew that was true. She’d seen Elliott with a load of lads herself. ‘Go on.’
‘A car came round the corner. I knew it was trouble when I saw who it was.’
‘Liam Gardner, I presume?’
Collins nodded uneasily.
‘What happened next?’
‘He jumped out of the car and started winding me up.’
‘In what way?’
‘He told me to watch my back. Said that Elliott had been putting the bite on my lass, or words to that effect. He was talking bollocks, as usual.’
‘Your lass?’
‘Beth . . . Casey.’
We’re good mates.
Kate wondered why Beth hadn’t told her that her relationship with Collins was more than a friendship. She could tell by looking at the lad that Atkins wouldn’t approve. Probably the reason she’d kept it to herself – and who could blame her?
‘What Gardner said has two connotations,’ Kate said. ‘What did you think he meant by that?’
‘Eh?’ Collins had lost the thread of the conversation.
‘By “putting the bite on Beth” did he mean money or sex?’
‘What do you think?’
‘The DCI is asking you,’ Hank said. ‘She’d like an answer.’
Collins bristled, biting down so hard on his teeth it made his jaw rigid. It was clear he didn’t like being told what to do. Eventually, he felt compelled to fill in the detail. ‘He was suggesting Elliott was giving her one.’
‘And was he?’ Hank asked.
‘She says not.’
‘You don’t sound too convinced, son.’ Hank was trying to get him to open up and show his true personality. Collins wasn’t stupid. Nor was he playing ball. Hank tried again. ‘You’ve obviously talked to her about it. Are we to conclude that you thought there was some truth in it then?’
Collins sidestepped the question. ‘Gardner is full of shit. He’s always making things up.’
‘Such as?’ Kate asked.
‘All sorts of stuff.’
‘What things does he make up?’
‘He claims he used to play in a band. He’s a black belt at Judo. That he’s—’ He didn’t finish the sentence.
‘That he’s what?’ Kate wanted to know.
‘A fucking celebrity. Shouldn’t you be asking him?’
‘We intend to,’ Hank said.
Collins glared at him. ‘’Spose you’ll tell him where the information came from too.’
‘If it suits our purposes,’ Hank said. ‘On the other hand – apart from running from DS Grant earlier today – you appear to be cooperating. It might be possible to keep your helpful comments between the four of us for the time being. Whatever you were about to add just now must’ve been important if you thought better of it.’
Collins made no reply.
‘We get the picture,’ Kate said, taking over. ‘Would it be fair to say that Liam Gardner is a fantasist?’
‘That’s exactly what he is.’
‘Sounds like you don’t believe half the stuff he tells you.’
‘No one does, even his arsewipe mates.’
‘So you were fairly confident that Elliott Foster didn’t have a thing for Beth?’ Kate watched him carefully. He wasn’t too sure about that one. She let him stew a while. ‘OK, I can see you’re not going to answer that one. How did Elliott react to the allegation?’
‘He denied it. He’s not daft.’
‘He’s not anything now, is he?’
Collins eyed the floor. ‘He told me to take no notice. That they’d been mates forever, like I didn’t know.’ He seemed to drift away a moment, his expression darkening. ‘She talks about him constantly. Elliott this, Elliott that. I told her they should get a room.’
‘Did Elliott say anything else?’
‘Nah. Just begged me to believe him. Said Gardner was only causing trouble, as usual.’
Kate sat forward, resting her elbows on the table, pressing on to the fight itself while she had the momentum. ‘I don’t want to put words into your mouth, but I’ve been in this job a long time and I have an imagination. I take it Gardner didn’t like being called a liar. Is that when it all kicked off?’
‘You could say that.’
‘What did he do?’
‘He started shoving Elliott.’
Kate looked down at the file on the table. ‘I heard it was you who was doing the shoving?’
‘What?’ Collins’ eyes flitted between the two detectives. ‘Who told you that?’
The DCI let the allegation float in the air between them.
This lad was nervous. Even so, his story matched Beth’s.
So far.
‘I did push him, but it wasn’t me who started it, I swear.’
‘Were you two fighting or not?’ Hank asked.
Collins remained silent.
Kate raised an eyebrow to his brief.
‘This is a serious matter,’ Bennett said. ‘Tell the DCI what happened. If what you told me is correct, Christopher, you have nothing to hide.’
Collins’ focus switched to Kate. ‘We were having words, that’s all. Gardner was pissing himself, making out that Elliott was screwing my lass. When she arrived, she told us all to cut it out. She was upset. Who wouldn’t be?’
‘And did you cut it out?’
‘Yeah man, we were cool.’
‘Not the way Beth described it.’
‘What? It was Gardner! He’s a fucking psycho. He lashed out with his feet, split Elliott’s lip wide open, I think he broke his nose. It was pouring with blood.’ Collins was picking his face again, making it red. ‘Elliott got up. He lurched towards me. He put blood on my kit and I shoved him off. Gardner smacked him again. Elliott went down like a bag of hammers. Gardner ran off with his lot, got in his car and drove off. I grabbed Beth and legged it too.’
Kate exchanged the briefest glance with Hank. The story about the blood covered the lad forensically. It was a plausible explanation should they find trace evidence on his clothing. Was he a clever liar, she wondered.
‘Have you seen Gardner since?’ Hank was asking.
‘Once. He said if anyone talked to the law, they’d get the same.’
‘He actually said that?’
‘Yeah. That’s why I didn’t come forward when Beth asked me to.’
‘That’s not strictly true though, is it?’ Kate studied him. Opening the file on the table in front of her, she made a meal of s
canning the front page, taking her time, putting her prisoner under pressure. ‘You have convictions for violence yourself, I see—’
‘Look at the date,’ Collins said. ‘It was years ago.’
‘Nevertheless, you’ve been inside. Twice. Does Beth know?’
‘Depends if her old man’s told her or not. He probably has, even though in the eyes of the law I’m rehabilitated. That’ll be why she’s not answering my calls. Can I go now? I need to get in touch with her, let her know I handed myself in. She begged me to. Not that it’ll make any difference. Atkins will never let her see me again.’
‘She’s an adult. She can see who she wants,’ Kate said. ‘Be honest, Mr Collins. The reason you didn’t come forward was because you wanted to hide your past from Beth, not because Gardner threatened you. Isn’t that the case?’
Collins didn’t answer.
Kate crossed her arms, leaned back in her seat, waiting. ‘Question too hard for you?’
‘He did threaten us,’ Collins insisted. ‘Like I said, he’s mental.’
‘Let’s leave it there, shall we?’ Kate stood up. ‘You’re free to go, but don’t leave the area because I’ll need to talk to you again.’ The jury was out on Christopher Collins.
33
‘There are a few things I’m not happy about,’ Kate said to Hank as they made their way upstairs to the incident room. ‘If he thought Beth was two-timing him, Collins has motive. He wasn’t exactly seething but he was sulking.’ She hesitated at the entrance to the incident room. ‘Did you notice that jealous streak? He obviously doesn’t trust Beth any further than he can throw her.’
‘He didn’t hide it well, did he?’ Hank pushed open the door.
Kate stopped dead, checking her watch. It was gone nine and not one of her team had left for the evening. Their solidarity made her well up inside. She had to fight to keep her emotions under control. As their mentor, she couldn’t afford to show weakness. It took Hank a second to recognize that she was struggling. He stepped up, taking the focus off her, something he’d done for years. He’d never know how grateful she was.
‘Collins has been bailed,’ he said. ‘But he’s still in the mix. What he told us in interview is fully supported by Beth Casey, unless they put their heads together and got their story straight before he came in. Somehow, I doubt it. They both claim that Liam Gardner was the instigator of the fight. I’m inclined to believe that he’s the one we need to speak to.’