Sleep Tight

by Caroline Mitchell

  Eve shuffled her papers, her jacket draped across her shoulders. Whoever was in control of the heating seemed to be sparing it tonight. Ruby was used to the cold, but Eve was a creature of comfort, and huddled under her coat as she spoke. ‘I’ve researched Snow White, and fairy stories in general. What you said about her lungs being removed seems to fit in with the original version of the Brothers Grimm.’

  ‘Go on,’ Ruby said, wondering why it always fell to Eve and not her male counterparts to research such things.

  ‘In the Brothers Grimm version the huntsman was ordered to cut out Snow White’s lungs and liver as proof that she had been killed, not her heart. He took pity on her and allowed her to live, palming the wicked stepmother, or mother in some versions, off with an animal’s organs instead.’ She glanced around the room before returning her attention to her notes. ‘To cut a long story short, Snow White was poisoned with an apple but it became dislodged and she survived. Some of the details of the original story are disputed, but I imagine the removal of Ellie’s organs and the clothing she was wearing when her body was found are a tribute to the original tale.’

  Ruby’s attention was drawn to DC Owen Ludgrove, who was rather annoyingly tapping his pen against the table. Luddy was a lovely young man but she had no doubt he had been read the sanitised version as a child.

  ‘Why, though?’ he piped up, frustration evident on his face. ‘It’s not even accurate.’

  ‘That’s what we’ve got to find out,’ Ruby said. ‘At this stage we don’t know if the suspect is male or female, young or old, or if they’re working with accomplices. Nothing can be ruled out until we know more.’

  ‘I bet she had some dodgy clients though,’ Luddy said. ‘Things go wrong all the time, we know that.’

  It was true; Ellie was not the first prostitute to be murdered on their patch. But there was more to this case than a one-off killing. It was the attention to detail that made the hairs stand up on the back of Ruby’s neck. She kept her expression firm, a gaze of steady determination, as she interacted with her team.

  But as they exchanged intelligence and delegated jobs, it appeared the answers were not forthcoming as of yet. An hour later, she masked a yawn, casting an eye over the clock on the wall.

  ‘We’re not going to get any further with this tonight. Go home, get some kip, and be back here bright and early in the morning. Except for you, Eve, you’ve got a pregnancy scan in the morning, haven’t you?’

  Eve smiled, a twinkle returning to her eyes. ‘Yes, but I’ll be here straight after.’

  ‘Good, and make sure you bring that scan photo when you do. I’d like to get a glimpse of my namesake before the rest of the team.’ Ruby winked. They were already taking bets on what the baby was going to be called.

  As she saw the last of her colleagues out, Ruby flipped off the light switch, wearily hooking her jacket over her shoulder. She knew the faces of Lisa Caldwell and Ellie Mason would haunt her dreams tonight. She prayed for answers tomorrow before any more victims turned up on her patch.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘I need your help.’ Those were four words Ruby never thought she would hear from Nathan’s lips. It was five in the morning, and as she roused herself from sleep, she detected the sound of a car engine in the background of their call: he was on the road. Ruby rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palms as she sat up in bed. ‘What do you mean? What’s going on?’

  As usual, Nathan’s response was sharp and to the point. ‘Have you still got the phone I gave you?’

  ‘Yes,’ Ruby said, a bolt of fear ripping through her as she flicked the plastic button of her bedside lamp. The tone of his voice told her something was very wrong. ‘Are you OK? It’s not Cathy, as it?’

  ‘Cathy’s fine. Ring me back on the other phone.’

  ‘It’s not charged,’ Ruby said. But Nathan had already hung up.

  A chill descended as she pushed back her duvet, the wintry night nipping at her skin. Nathan was no stranger to trouble, but he was a proud man. Hearing him call for help made her heart skip a beat. Tumbling out of bed, she wrapped her dressing gown around her. She cursed the electrics as the living room bulb blew for the second time that week. ‘Shitty flipping flat,’ she muttered, trying to distract herself from her concerns, each one spearing her heart like tiny needles of doom.

  Kneeling in the corner, she rooted under the floorboards in her secret hiding place. It was hidden for a reason: the contents of that box could put her job in jeopardy. But, regardless of the risk, it was reassuring to know that the firearm Nathan had gifted her was still there. She patted the old tin biscuit box without opening it. Reaching into the old Tesco plastic bag, she took the phone, and slid the wooden board back, standing on it until she heard the satisfying click as it fell into place. Like her, Nathan had a spare phone, one that could not be traced.

  Her heart was hammering by the time she plugged the Nokia into a charger. Dialling Nathan’s number, she held her breath, releasing it only when he answered after two rings.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she said. Sitting back on her bed, she was ready to jump into action at a second’s notice.

  But Nathan’s voice had taken on a hard edge as if he’d had time to reconsider his call. ‘You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the drugs raid at my place, would you?’

  Ruby frowned. One minute he was calling her for help, and the next he was accusing her of having it in for him. ‘You know better than to ask me that. It must have been the drug squad.’ But why was he calling her at this hour over a drugs raid? Nathan wasn’t stupid enough to keep the product in his home. His quick wit and intelligence had kept him out of prison all these years, and he wouldn’t begin taking stupid risks now. She strained to hear the sound of traffic in the background, knowing that he would not be making telephone calls from the back of the police car. His silence unnerved her. She had to keep him talking before he changed his mind and hung up. ‘Just tell me – what’s happened?’

  ‘I came home to find the place was swarming with Old Bill. Mum texted to warn me so I didn’t go in. The place was clean, but they found something else. . . something that puts me right in the shit.’

  ‘What is it?’ Ruby asked, wanting to get dressed, but unable to leave the phone while it was plugged into the charger.

  ‘It’s a set-up, that’s what it is. Someone’s trying to frame me for that girl’s murder, the one you found dressed as Snow White.’

  News of the killing had hit the media early. It was hard to avoid, given that both Lisa and Ellie’s bodies were found in such public places.

  ‘You’re not making any sense,’ Ruby said, ‘Are you talking about Ellie Mason? Why would they frame you for that?’

  ‘They found it under my bed in a gift box. They must have thought there were drugs inside. It’s fucking disgusting! I don’t know how they got in, but someone’s going to pay.’

  Ruby leant into the phone, her mind swimming in confusion as she tried but failed to work things out. ‘This is doing my head in. One minute I’m fast asleep, and the next you’re ringing me up, talking about drug raids and gift boxes. I’m sorry, Nathan, but can you get to the bit where you start making sense?’

  ‘It belongs to that girl you found. I know it does.’

  ‘What?’ Ruby said, her tone insistent. ‘What was in the box?’

  ‘Her lungs and liver – the dirty bastards. Someone put them in a box under my bed.’

  Ruby drew in a sudden breath as the seriousness of the situation sunk in. ‘I see. Where are you now?’

  But Nathan’s inability to answer a direct question was painfully evident as she tried to access the truth.

  ‘It’s a set-up. They’ll waste no time in getting a warrant for my arrest,’ Nathan said. ‘I need to lay low for a while. You need to sort this out, I’m not going to prison.’

  ‘There’ll be a trace on your car,’ Ruby said. ‘And don’t use a cash machine. There’s CCTV everywhere. It’s only a matter of ti
me until they find you.’

  ‘I’ve got no problem laying low,’ Nathan said, his voice clear as the steady hum of the car engine extinguished in the background. Wherever he was, he had arrived at his destination. His tone lowered, almost pleading. As if she was the only person in the world he could rely upon. ‘Can I trust you?’

  Ruby frowned. She sensed he was coming to the end of the call. ‘What kind of question is that? Of course you can. How did they get into your house to plant the box? I thought that place was a fortress.’

  ‘It is. The cops have seized the CCTV. I wouldn’t put it past them to corrupt the evidence.’

  ‘Now hang on. . .’

  ‘You know how long they’ve been waiting to collar me. They’re not gonna let a little thing like CCTV get in the way. But that’s the least of my worries now. I’m staying at your new flat tonight, and then I’m moving on. I’m relying on you to clear my name; I’m not going to prison.’

  ‘You won’t,’ Ruby said, heaving a sigh so deep it made her feel like she was drawing up air from inside her toes.

  Her head was spinning. Soon dawn would be filtering through the flimsy bedroom curtains. She needed to get dressed and go to work, but what would she do then? DI Downes knew all about her on-off relationship with Nathan, and he wasn’t one of his biggest fans. There was no way she could share Nathan’s location but she was a member of the Establishment that was hunting him down. She had never felt so torn, wanting to see her lover but unwilling to draw attention to his location. Nobody knew about that flat apart from the two of them – he had always kept it a secret, even from his brother. It was well stocked. There was no reason that he could not stay there until this died down. But did he trust her? Was that what this was really all about?

  Her investigator’s mind taking over, Ruby returned her attention to their conversation. ‘I’ll help you, but it works both ways. I need a list of all the people who could be setting you up for this.’

  ‘That’s a fucking long list, babe,’ Nathan said, the night breeze taking his whispers as a car door slammed behind him.

  Ruby imagined him leaving the car and taking cautious steps as he entered the walkway to the flat. ‘I know, but there’s a lot easier ways for people to get revenge than planting a set of internal organs under your bed. This is someone who’s inventive, and would go to any lengths.’ She tapped her bottom lip as she thought it through. ‘I’ll keep my phone hidden, but, if you need to reach me in an emergency, you’ll have to block your number before texting my work mobile. Just say something like “thanks for the flowers,” so if my texts are interrogated, it won’t show up on the history that we’ve spoken.’

  The jingle of keys was followed by the sound of a door closing. At least he was inside, safe for now.

  ‘OK. You go to work as normal,’ Nathan replied. ‘Don’t act like you know anything until they tell you.’ He inhaled a terse breath. ‘I hope I can trust you, Ruby.’

  A bloom of outrage rose from within, and Ruby pulled the phone from its charger as she paced the floor. ‘That’s three times you’ve brought my loyalty into question. After all we’ve been through, do you know how hurtful that is?’

  ‘Hmm.’ Nathan groaned, falling silent as he formed an appropriate response. He never was very good at conveying his emotions. ‘I don’t mean it that way. You’d only serve me up if you thought it was for my own good. You’d want me to turn myself in because I’m innocent. But it doesn’t work like that. They’ll put me away for this, they’ve been looking for an excuse for a long time now.’

  Ruby wanted to tell him that that would never happen, but she could not find the words. Sometimes police relied on other means to catch known criminals, such as traffic offences or financial matters, instead of what was really going down. But they would never manufacture evidence. Then again, her colleagues would not need to search hard for forensics when it was so conveniently planted under Nathan’s bed.

  ‘I swear, I won’t say a word. Just hang tight where you are. I’ll do everything I can to sort this out, but I need to know what I’m dealing with. What about your car?’

  ‘You don’t need to worry about that,’ Nathan said.

  Of course. Nathan was well versed in covering his tracks and had most likely swapped it on the way over.

  Ruby jumped as her mobile phone played out. She glanced at the screen before returning her attention to Nathan. ‘It’s Downes. I’ll find out what we’re dealing with, and I’ll call you as soon as I can. In the meantime, I need you to compile a list of all the people you’ve pissed off over the last year, including any recent prison releases. You know what these people are capable of. We’ll have this cleared up soon.’

  Ruby tried to sound hopeful as she ended the call but she knew the truth: if she wanted to clear Nathan’s name, she had a fight on her hands.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As DI Downes called Ruby inside, she threw her eyes over the empty takeaway cartons on his desk. His office stank of last night’s curry. The tie loosely hanging around his neck harboured a matching stain, and she wondered if he had slept in his clothes. They had finished just before two, which meant she was motoring with only a couple of hours’ sleep in the tank. Not that it was worth mentioning. By the look on Downes’s face, he was in no mood to offer sympathy.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, doing her best to project a look of confusion.

  ‘Don’t pretend you don’t know,’ Downes said. After catching her disapproving glance, he turned to throw the takeaway wrappers in the bin, still grumbling as he opened the window, allowing the spicy smell an escape. Spikes of rain dappled the blinds as they swung from left to right. Wind and rain were gathering outside with the promise of a storm. It was going to be a rotten day. ‘I’m no eejit,’ Downes grumbled, taking a seat in his swivel chair. ‘And I’ve known you too long to believe you’re in the dark about this.’

  Ruby leant against the side of his desk. It was too late to change tack now. ‘Boss, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, but it better be good for you to drag me in here at this ungodly hour. Is it the murder case? You know I still think Danny Smedley could be telling the truth.’

  Arms folded, Downes delivered a relentless stare, as if he was trying to see into her soul. But lengthy silences meant nothing to Ruby. She was the queen of long pauses and would be the last person to crack.

  ‘It’s Nathan Crosby,’ he relented. ‘The drugs squad carried out a raid on his home last night, and they found evidence connecting him with Ellie Mason’s murder.’

  Ruby’s eyes widened. It was hard enough hearing it from Nathan, but it still felt like a hammer blow to the stomach to hear it from her superior officer. Deep down, she had hoped that Nathan had got it wrong. ‘Evidence? What evidence? You’re having me on, right?’

  ‘Do I look like I’m joking?’ Downes said, with a face as thunderous as the storm clouds outside. ‘He’s wanted for murder.’

  ‘Wanted for murder? So he’s not been arrested yet?’ Ruby said, repeating Downes’s words for effect.

  She knew she could trust Jack enough to tell him that she had spoken to Nathan, but she could not trust herself. Downes had a way of getting around her. In no time at all he would be persuading her to make Nathan turn himself in. She could see it now: him clasping his hands over hers, his soft honeyed voice convincing her that if Nathan were innocent, he would have nothing to be concerned about. But she knew that was not true. Nathan had plenty to worry about, and so did she. She could not bear to think of him spending time in police custody, where officers would be tempted to administer some justice of their own. He was at the top of his empire, but there were always people willing to topple him down. She could not afford to tell Downes anything, and once again she found herself being put in an impossible situation as her loyalties were tested.

  ‘It’s got to be a mistake,’ Ruby said. ‘What did they find?’

  ‘Well, I’m hardly likely to tell you that now, am I?’ Downes said. ‘D
on’t you see? I can’t allow you to handle this case. It’s a conflict of interest.’ A gust of wind whooped in through the window, scattering a pile of paperwork onto the floor. ‘Feck’s sake,’ Downes grumbled, slamming the windowpane shut.

  Together they picked up the paperwork from the thinly carpeted floor. Ruby contemplated Downes’s outburst: so that was why he was so annoyed, it wasn’t just about her. If DCI Worrow found out about her connection with the Crosby family, Downes would get his arse kicked for allowing her to handle the case. Ruby stacked the pile of overtime sheets back onto his desk. She would not beg, but she had to find a way of keeping ownership. She stood firm, grateful they were the only ones in the darkened office. Soon her team would be filtering in, and she did not want them to witness their disagreement. She closed the blinds, blocking out the view into the office that housed her team. Downes’s office was situated across the room from hers, and both were contained on the expansive floor that made up Shoreditch Serious Crime Unit. Satisfied her conversation was private, she turned to her DI.

  ‘You can’t take me off the case, people will ask questions.’ No reply. She took it as a good sign and continued. ‘It’s not the first time I’ve been compromised, is it?’ she said, referring to her previous case, the door-knocker killer. ‘But that turned out OK.’

  Downes grunted. ‘If you call nearly getting killed “turning out OK”. What if you find some potentially damning evidence against the Crosby family, what then?’

  ‘I think that ship has sailed, don’t you?’ Ruby said. ‘If you remove me from the case, the team will be asking why. Nobody will know about my connection with Nathan, not unless you tell them.’ She softened her voice, touching Downes on the arm. His muscles tensed beneath her fingers, and she slowly drew her hand away. ‘Boss, please,’ she said, hoping her face would speak the truth, because she meant what she was about to say. ‘I won’t defend a murderer, especially after he’s killed a girl young enough to be my daughter. Neither would I allow a man to blinker me from finding out the truth. You do believe me, don’t you?’