Gallows Drop

by Mari Hannah

  ‘No, guv.’

  He stood up, ready to leave. ‘Please give him my regards when you see him.’

  ‘Yeah, like I’m relishing the thought of that encounter.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ll cope. You always do.’

  Under his steely gaze, Kate looked away.

  Through the window, fluffy clouds sailed by on a stiff breeze, stripping a horse chestnut tree of its leaves. She stood up too. Opening the window, she took a deep breath. What she wouldn’t give to throw on her running kit and hit the tarmac through Jesmond Dene, where there was a spectacular display of autumn colours to enjoy. She’d run and run until she was too exhausted to carry on. Then she’d run some more, pushing herself to the limit, until she felt re-energized – the reverse of what she was feeling now.

  Naylor still hadn’t moved. ‘Are you feeling guilty for dropping him in it with Bright?’

  ‘Not one iota.’ She turned to face him.

  ‘So you’re stewing over what he called you?’

  ‘No, guv.’

  Kate didn’t want it known how deeply upset she was by Atkins’ homophobic rant. So much so, she’d avoided the subject when she saw Jo last night. In the whole scheme of things, it was low on her priority list. There were more important considerations on the table. Life and death for two people whose lives had touched hers – her father’s and Beth’s – three, if you counted her unborn child.

  Naylor wasn’t fooled. ‘You sure about that?’

  Kate crossed her arms. ‘Perfectly.’

  He didn’t dwell on her reluctance to expand on it. Like everyone else, he was probably wondering why she’d not come out sooner. And what the hell was he finding so amusing, she wondered. He was very nearly grinning.

  ‘Do you remember the night at training school when I asked to be let into your room to save my arse?’

  She smiled at the memory. ‘How could I forget?’

  He was in trouble, on a final warning, and highly inebriated at the time. He’d returned to base in the small hours to find all the doors of the accommodation block locked. Undeterred, and in spite of a long drop that would certainly have killed him had he slipped and fallen, he’d scaled the ledge in order to knock on her window. There was no other way in. Had he missed roll call, he’d have been sent packing. It would have been curtains on his career before it had even begun.

  ‘What made you think of that?’ she asked.

  He was unable to keep a straight face.

  ‘What?’ she said, eyebrows knitting together.

  ‘Hmm . . . how can I put this?’ He was teasing her.

  She waited.

  ‘I’d done it before, only you had company.’

  ‘You what?’ Kate felt her cheeks burning. Leaning in, she dropped her voice to a whisper. ‘You knew all this time and didn’t say?’

  ‘You were keeping it under wraps. Thought I should too. You were having fun with women. So was I!’

  Throwing her head back, Kate laughed, a real belly laugh she couldn’t control. It felt good and her embarrassment melted away.

  Naylor grinned. ‘You looked like you were having a lot of fun.’

  ‘It was my experimental phase, guv. I swung both ways back then.’

  ‘No law against it,’ he said.

  She thanked him.

  ‘For what?’ he asked.

  ‘Everything. Your friendship means the world to me.’

  Now it was his turn to feel embarrassed. He checked his watch. ‘I must go. We will return to the subject of Atkins at some point. His suspension hasn’t yet been made official. Bright is gunning for him, for what he said to you, rather than his failure to disclose prior knowledge of Elliott Foster, but we have to come to a decision on his future.’

  ‘His future?’ Kate felt sick. ‘I would have thought that was obvious.’

  ‘Not to me.’

  ‘You want me to decide what action is justified? If you don’t mind me saying so, that’s hardly my responsibility.’ She didn’t hide her contempt for what he’d said. ‘I take no pleasure in seeing any officer suspended, Ron. You know that as well as anyone. But he sure as hell doesn’t deserve to be reinstated, if that’s what you’re suggesting.’

  ‘I agree, and he won’t be, not to MIT.’

  ‘Hallelujah,’ she mumbled under her breath. ‘So what’s the catch?’

  ‘No catch.’

  ‘Why don’t I believe you?’ she said.

  Naylor paused as a detective walked by and waited for him to move off before speaking. ‘Ask yourself what will happen if Atkins loses his job. Who will support Beth and her kid when her mother dies? Think on it.’

  ‘With all due respect, that’s not my problem. From what I’ve observed, there’s no love lost between them. Beth probably wouldn’t want his help anyway.’

  ‘He’s her father!’

  ‘And they don’t get on. The world is full of warring families who never see each other. Why should those two be any different?’

  Naylor was perplexed. ‘I’ve lost you.’

  ‘I’ve lost me too, guv. Don’t worry about it.’

  He cocked his head on one side, thrown by the sarcastic edge to her voice and the fury in her eyes. ‘Kate, I know you’ve had a rough couple of days. Even so, you’re never this temperamental. Are you sure there’s nothing else I need to know?’

  ‘Don’t you know enough?’ He didn’t know the half of it. Violence bred violence. If Kate thought she’d get away with it, she’d deck Atkins herself. Not for what he’d done to her. For what he’d done to Beth and Diane. She couldn’t bear to think that he would be offered another chance to keep his job and carry on as if nothing had happened.

  ‘You’re going to have to help me out here, Kate. I’m not a mind-reader.’

  ‘It’s nothing.’

  He knew she wasn’t telling the truth. He also had a point. Who would take care of Beth and her baby when her mother was gone, assuming the foetus survived a hefty drug overdose? From past dealings with Diane Casey, Kate knew that there was no extended family to step in or help out when times were tough. When the inevitable happened, Beth would be a vulnerable young mother, living alone, unable to work. At the very least, she’d require financial assistance. As far as Kate was concerned, she’d be better off on the social.

  She could swing for emotional support.

  ‘Hello?’ Naylor was still waiting for a response.

  Over his shoulder Kate caught Hank’s eye. He could see that they weren’t arranging a night out on the tiles and was showing concern. He’d quiz her later. Her eyes shifted back to Naylor. ‘So, you’re hoping this might be Atkins’ wake-up call?’

  ‘Anything wrong with that?’

  ‘And you’re prepared to sweep his behaviour under the carpet?’

  ‘That’s not what I said.’

  ‘That’s what you’re implying—’

  ‘No, it’s not. And don’t put words into my mouth.’

  ‘I’m not,’ Kate said.

  ‘Maybe we should take this into my office.’

  ‘I’m fine here.’ Kate wanted the conversation to end. ‘I thought you had to be somewhere.’

  ‘Everyone deserves a second chance, Kate. Even arseholes like Atkins.’

  ‘Guv, someone else used those exact words to me over a decade ago when he assaulted his wife. These days he’s graduated to bullying his daughter, bullying me. How many chances does he get? He crossed the line.’

  43

  Making her apologies for a delayed start, Kate called for attention and took her position at the front of the room. She found Grant in a sea of faces. ‘Colin, I’ll start with you. Gayle Foster misled you and has expressed regret. Her mobile has been examined and I now have unequivocal proof that Elliott called her from his own mobile and not the village telephone box. That means his device is still in circulation.’

  Carmichael raised her hand.

  ‘What is it, Lisa?’

  ‘Before he rang his mother, Elliott u
sed the phone several times on Saturday afternoon.’

  ‘You know this how? It’s my understanding that he had no contract.’

  ‘You raised an action to check out Morpeth supermarkets.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘There aren’t that many. Andy spotted him on CCTV behind Sanderson Arcade. There’s a Morrisons on Dark Lane, nearby. Their security cameras caught him topping up his credit, a tenner’s worth on Wednesday. I got the number by comparing till receipts with the time on the footage.’

  ‘Who did he call and when?’ Kate asked.

  ‘That’s where it gets interesting. He tried the same number five times unsuccessfully. It’s registered to his friend, Richard Hedley. The calls were made between two and four o’clock. Only the last one was answered and it lasted less than half a minute. I tried Hedley several times. The phone appears to be switched off. They’re with the same service provider: EE. My contact claims that Hedley has missed calls – two on Sunday, three yesterday and one this morning – all from a mobile that is on a contract.’

  ‘Beth Casey?’ It was pure guesswork. A nod from Carmichael confirmed it was accurate. Kate knew that Beth hadn’t been entirely honest.

  ‘Sounds like she was frantic,’ Grant said.

  ‘Yeah, but what about?’ Hank was talking to the room. ‘Was she warning him to keep his head down or letting him know what had happened to his mate? None of Gardner’s gang mentioned him, did they?’

  There was a collective shake of heads.

  ‘Which means she was probably telling the truth about not seeing him,’ Kate said. ‘Lisa, place all of the actions with regard to the village box in for referral and get on to your contact at EE. Ask them to flag up Elliott’s number and also Richard Hedley’s. I expect a call if either phone is used again.’

  ‘This Hedley doesn’t want to talk to us,’ Maxwell said.

  ‘I reckon he’s legged it,’ Robbo said. The DS looked shattered. His poorly child had kept him up half the night. He glanced at Carmichael. ‘Any sign of Hedley’s car?’

  ‘No. I rang his neighbours again. They’ve not seen it or him for days.’

  ‘Did you complete a background check?’ Hank asked.

  Carmichael nodded. ‘He has no form and he’s a second-year student at Newcastle College. According to his tutors, he’s a quiet lad. He got excellent grades at school, good enough to get him into university had he stayed on for A-levels. I gather he wanted to study locally for personal reasons.’

  ‘That fits with what I picked up from villagers in Elsdon,’ Kate said. ‘He doesn’t mix much. Never has, apparently. Not since he moved in. When was he last in college?’

  ‘Friday.’

  ‘The tenth?’

  Lisa nodded.

  ‘I want the registration number of his vehicle ASAP.’

  ‘I have it,’ Lisa said. ‘Hank asked me about it last night.’

  Kate’s eyes were on Hank. He raised a hand in apology for the lack of communication, something they were normally good at. She put it down to his preoccupation with Atkins generally, which had worsened after his outrageous attack on her yesterday. She made nothing of it. With so much going on, they were all feeling jaded.

  ‘Have you put a trace out for the vehicle?’ Kate asked.

  Hank nodded.

  ‘No joy so far,’ Lisa said.

  Kate smiled. ‘You two are on a roll.’

  ‘But if he’s legged it we might be too late.’ Maxwell was a master in the art of stating the obvious. ‘You want an all ports warning out?’ It was a good idea. It meant the focus would be on Hedley, rather than his car. The action was entirely justified, given that he was the person Jane Gibson swore her grandson was going to meet on the night he died.

  ‘Do it,’ Kate said. ‘What have we done to find Elliott’s mobile?’

  Robson had his hand up, drawing her attention.

  Kate indicated that he should take the floor.

  He stood up to make himself visible. ‘Fingertip search at both crime scenes revealed nothing. There are no reports of any “lost” mobiles being handed in to any police station locally. I don’t even know if they record stuff like that any more.’ For clarification, he eyed the uniformed sergeant he was sitting next to.

  Scotty had been seconded to MIT to assist with the investigation due to his local knowledge, a shrewd move that was paying off. He’d been able to offer advice to officers conducting interviews with Liam Gardner’s cronies who, he informed them, had been the bane of his life for years. ‘They should log all lost property,’ he said defensively.

  ‘That’s not the same thing as it actually happening though, is it?’ Hank said. ‘The service is going tits up and no one gives a stuff.’

  ‘So we keep looking,’ Kate said. ‘Where’s Andy?’

  ‘Here, boss.’ Brown’s strawberry-blond hair poked out from behind Carmichael. They were never more than a few metres from one another. They had joined the team on the same day, were great friends as well as colleagues. Few of the other detectives associated outside of work, barring special occasions. These two enjoyed going out together, a platonic relationship founded on similar interests and taste in music.

  ‘Did anyone manage to speak with Adam Foster’s commanding officer while I was with Gardner?’ Kate asked.

  ‘I certainly passed on your message,’ Brown said.

  ‘And what was the outcome?’

  ‘He said his officers had acted appropriately, then hung up on me and went over my head.’

  ‘He called Naylor?’ Kate frowned. ‘He never mentioned it.’

  ‘Worse,’ Brown said. ‘He called Bright.’

  ‘Oh, let me guess,’ Kate said: ‘he’s since backed down and we can interview Adam Foster at our earliest convenience. In fact he’ll throw in afternoon tea for good measure.’

  ‘That’s pretty much how it went.’

  Hank chuckled. ‘I’d love to have been party to that conversation.’

  Kate continued, still with Andy Brown. ‘Did you speak to Dodds about the tyre tracks found at the scene?’

  ‘They don’t belong to him. He’s not been near the perimeter of his land for months. His son has. Given the close proximity to the gibbet, which naturally draws a lot of tourists, that area is checked on a regular basis in case anyone has thrown litter over the fence that might harm their livestock.’

  ‘Gut feeling?’

  ‘They’re as good as gold. And mortified that someone has been murdered on their doorstep.’

  ‘The farm vehicles have all been checked?’

  Brown nodded. ‘None of the tyres match.’

  ‘Missing rope?’

  ‘Still no joy. To be honest, I can’t see how a farmer would know if any was missing. Most yards and barns have piles of the stuff shoved in untidy heaps all over the place. It would be hard to tell one length of rope from another. The saying “how long is a piece of string?” really fits the bill in this line of enquiry.’

  Maxwell held a finger in the air. ‘Do you want me to increase the search radius to include other farms?’

  Kate thought about this for a moment. ‘Have we exhausted every possibility in the boundaries I gave you?’

  ‘Not quite.’

  ‘Then don’t. We need to keep this tight.’

  ‘I agree,’ Hank said. ‘If we’re done with the rope, I’d like to return to the army for a second. Military personnel at Otterburn have been extremely cooperative. They’re happy for us to talk to any of their men. However, the guy I spoke to was quick to point out that they were on special ops on Salisbury Plain at the weekend.’

  ‘All of them?’ Kate asked.

  ‘So that’s where they were off to.’ Scotty was thinking out loud. ‘My missus saw them leave in convoy last week,’ he went on to explain. ‘She said it was like we’d declared war.’

  Kate ignored him in favour of Hank. ‘No squaddies left behind? No one sick?’

  He shook his head. ‘No guys like Neil in their unit
.’

  Maxwell was taking the dig in good spirits, rather than protesting his innocence. He’d been known as Sicknote since taking up his post. Arriving at MIT under a cloud, he’d taken too many days off, leaving a depleted squad, putting a strain on those who were left to pick up the slack. Consequently, Hank wasn’t his greatest fan – hence the snide remark.

  While detectives carried on the banter, taking the piss out of Maxwell, Kate asked Hank to arrange for those guarding Otterburn camp to be questioned. She needn’t have bothered. He was already on it. She drifted to the murder wall to study some stills of the victim, specifically the injuries he’d sustained to his face.

  ‘Liam Gardner.’ She turned back to face the team. ‘For those who’ve not yet had the pleasure, he’s a nasty piece of work. Ask Lisa. I understand she got more of him this morning than she bargained for.’

  ‘No matter how hard I scrub, I still feel contaminated,’ Carmichael said.

  ‘It was a clean operation otherwise?’ Kate immediately apologized for the unfortunate choice of words. Every day the police risked transference of diseases like HIV and hepatitis via saliva and other bodily fluids. Lisa had accepted a shot of antibiotics as a precautionary measure but Kate wouldn’t rest until she was given the all clear. ‘What I meant was, are Gardner’s crew all present and accounted for?’

  Lisa nodded. ‘The cell block is heaving, but they’re all here.’

  ‘Great work,’ Kate acknowledged publicly. ‘We appear to be deadlocked: Beth and Collins saying one thing, Gardner and his mates saying the exact opposite. The only thing they agree on is that the victim was punched and kicked—’

  ‘Not quite,’ Hank said. ‘Although Gardner’s mates aren’t actually admitting having done anything themselves, other than being present when the fight took place, they know they’re in a lot of trouble. They all state that Elliott Foster was alive when they left the scene and swear that they all stayed together that evening and through the night, Gardner included.’

  ‘Well they would, wouldn’t they?’ Maxwell said. ‘They’re covering his ass.’

  Kate took over. ‘Did anyone ask where they spent the night?’