Only the Brave (A DS Allie Shenton Novel Book 3)

by Mel Sherratt

  ‘Our Jacob would. He’s always going on about doing someone in, wanting to know how it feels to take a life.’ Tommy looked at Perry with eyes like a child who thought he’d seen the bogey man under his bed. ‘He scares me. That’s why I’ve always been in trouble.’

  ‘Has he used you as a scapegoat before?’

  ‘Yes, lots of times. I couldn’t tell anyone!’ Tommy was almost crying.

  ‘Have you done time for him?’

  Tommy nodded. ‘Once for theft.’

  Perry struggled to keep his emotions in check. How could one brother do that to another? Tommy seemed so scared of Jacob that he didn’t dare admit the truth for fear of repercussions.

  But there was a glimmer of hope for Tommy.

  ‘Jacob has a son, right?’ he asked, looking back through his notebook.

  ‘Yeah, with Malory Victor. He’s not with her anymore, though.’

  ‘Do you know there are tests we can do now that will give us definite DNA from the two of you if one of you has a child?’

  Perry’s hard exterior nearly cracked as Tommy looked at him, so eager to learn more.

  ‘You might be his identical twin but you won’t have the same DNA as the child – only the father will. If necessary, and if we could persuade the powers that be to run those tests, because they are expensive, it would determine whose DNA is on the cigarette butt.’

  Tommy’s shoulders sagged.

  ‘It might not be enough evidence but we have more coming in that we’re going to talk to Jacob about. In the meantime, if I were you, I’d perhaps think about trying to get some help. If Jacob is involved in Jordan’s murder, it could be time for you to make a fresh start.’

  ‘What’s going to happen to Jay?’ Tommy asked as Perry stood up to leave.

  Perry turned back to him. ‘That depends on what he tells us when we interview him.’

  12.30 P.M.

  During a quick briefing, Nick told everyone that he and Allie had got nothing substantial from their visit to Terry Ryder.

  ‘He was playing with us,’ he addressed the team. ‘One minute he was concerned about Kirstie being arrested; the next he was joking about his life in prison and the fact that he could still run his businesses from his cell. He was trying to get our backs up.’

  ‘Smarmy bastard,’ muttered Allie. ‘He knows more than he’s letting on.’

  ‘Maybe, but it wasn’t anything he was willing to share.’ Nick pointed at his desk. ‘Forensics are back. The blood is a match to Jordan Johnson but there are no prints on the knife.’

  There was an audible groan around the room.

  ‘I know, I know.’ Nick held up his hand for quiet. ‘But let’s face it, we didn’t expect there to be any prints. At least we know we have one of the murder weapons used now. There’s still no sign of the bat?’

  ‘No,’ said Allie. ‘It’s a good job that Sam has unearthed CCTV footage. Sam?’

  Sam showed everyone the footage of the Granger twin walking to Kirstie Ryder’s car and giving her something before walking away.

  ‘How did you get on with the Granger twins, Perry?’ asked Nick.

  ‘I spoke to Tommy Granger’s girlfriend, who confirmed that he was with her all night, so that must be Jacob on the CCTV footage. When I told Tommy, he confessed. Said he wasn’t with Jacob but that his brother expected him to cover for him.’

  ‘And Jacob? What did he have to say when you gave him this new information?’

  ‘I’ve left him with his legal rep for a moment while she goes through his position now. It’s not looking good for him either way.’

  ‘And now we’re going to interview Kirstie Ryder and show her what we’ve uncovered,’ said Allie, standing up quickly.

  ‘Go in with Perry first,’ said Nick. ‘See what Jacob has to say for himself.’

  1.00 P.M.

  ‘So Ryder was as cocky as ever when you saw him, boss?’ Perry asked as they walked down the stairs to the interview rooms.

  Allie grinned and lightened her step. ‘Is it that obvious I’m stomping?’

  ‘Can’t say I blame you.’

  ‘The man is a loathsome cretin.’ Allie nodded vehemently. ‘I can’t bloody wait to speak to Kirstie. Just let her try and talk her way out of this one. I’m going to –’

  Perry held up his hand. ‘I think you should lead on this interview with Jacob.’

  Allie turned to him with a puzzled look. ‘But you brought him in and you’re almost done, aren’t you?’

  ‘You could use your womanly charm,’ he grinned.

  ‘Why, you –’ Allie went to slap him playfully but he jumped out of the way. He was right, though. Maybe she could use her pent-up feelings and get Jacob to confess.

  They both went into the interview room. Allie slid the new evidence across the desk to Jacob and watched for a reaction.

  ‘You can’t be sure that’s me on there,’ he said to her. ‘It could be Tommy.’

  ‘Tommy has an alibi.’

  ‘What, that tart he’s sleeping with?’

  ‘We also have a witness who says you went into your home at three forty-five yesterday morning.’

  ‘Who?’ Jacob stared at him.

  ‘That’s irrelevant right now.’ Allie looked at him pointedly. ‘Did you get home at quarter to four on the morning of February fifth?’

  ‘All lies.’

  ‘Is it a lie that you have nearly five thousand pounds stashed in your room?’ said Perry.

  Jacob’s eyes widened. ‘That’s Tommy’s money,’ he muttered, turning to look at Liz Harding.

  ‘For God’s sake, Jacob.’ Allie slammed her palm down on the desk. ‘How much more evidence do we have to provide before you’ll come clean?’ She paused before their final reveal. ‘We’ve found the knife with Jordan’s blood on it. Perhaps you should start talking.’

  Jacob swallowed. ‘I had no choice. I owed money and I was in big trouble.’

  ‘Trouble enough to put a knife in someone?’ Allie scoffed. ‘You really expect me to believe that? It’s murder – it’s not as if someone stood over you, egging you on to “just do it” until you’re brainwashed enough to attack. You had to stick a knife in someone, all alone, with the fear of getting caught. A man who had been beaten up even, unable to retaliate. You knew exactly what you were doing. You can’t blame anyone but yourself.’

  ‘If I didn’t pay the money back, I would have been dead myself !’

  Allie threw down her pen. ‘It’s too convenient. Just like it’s been too convenient for you to blame everything on your brother and let him take the rap for you because of his DNA.’

  ‘I never did that! And you can’t prove it. It’s my word against Tommy’s.’

  ‘You’re saying your brother is a liar?’

  ‘Yeah, he is.’

  ‘Jacob, we have the knife that was used to murder Jordan Johnson.’ She shoved another photo across the desk. ‘We have CCTV footage of you approaching a car we know belongs to Kirstie Ryder a few minutes after we believe Jordan was killed. It clearly shows you giving something to the driver. A few hours later we find the knife at her house. How do you think it got there?’

  Jacob placed his head in his hands and wouldn’t look at anyone. ‘He paid me good money.’

  ‘Who did?’

  ‘Steve Burgess. He said he’d pay me five grand to hit Jordan in the heart. I had to wait until Jordan was beat up and then do it.’

  ‘Wait a minute,’ said Allie. ‘You saw someone beating him up?’

  Jacob nodded. ‘It was Craig Elliott. He was told to knock Jordan about a bit. I was told to wait for him to leave and then finish him off.’

  Allie frowned, not entirely sure she understood everything. ‘And then what happened?’

  ‘I took the knife to that woman – Kirstie Ryder. Just like I was t
old to do.’

  1.30 P.M.

  Allie had a spring to her step when she went back into the office and enlightened the team as to the outcome of their interview with Jacob.

  ‘Well done, everyone,’ said Nick. ‘Great work, Allie.’

  ‘Thanks, sir,’ she replied. ‘Although to be fair, Perry would have got the same results. He worked hard getting to the stage we were at with both twins.’

  ‘I’m not so sure,’ Perry disagreed. ‘I’d have lost my temper with the little scrote and dragged him across the table.’

  ‘No, you wouldn’t! You’re a gentle giant underneath that bulk.’

  Perry grinned. ‘I suppose I’ll give you that one.’

  ‘Never mind who got him,’ said Sam, raising a mug of steaming coffee into the air. ‘We got him, that’s all that matters! And it looks like we’ve got Kirstie Ryder, too.’

  ‘Yes!’ Allie raised her hands in the air and whooped. Then she laughed. It felt so good to hear it. ‘Curry to celebrate is on me, Nick, seeing as I missed buying oatcakes this morning.’

  ‘Absolutely.’ Nick smiled for a moment and then became serious again. ‘Has uniform been sent to pick up Steve Burgess for questioning?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Perry. ‘They’re also checking to see if Craig Elliott has returned as well so we can talk to him, too.’

  ‘Right, I think it’s time for you and me to talk to Kirstie,’ said Nick.

  ‘Bring it on,’ said Allie.

  1.45 P.M.

  When she and Nick brought her out of her cell and into an interview room again, Kirstie was none too pleased.

  ‘Why the hell have I been kept here since last night?’ she snapped as she sat back and folded her arms.

  ‘We’ve had a lot of evidence that has come in,’ Nick explained. ‘We’ve been trying to process it as quickly as possible.’

  Kirstie’s aggressive demeanour dropped a little. ‘What kind of evidence?’

  ‘Do you know whose blood we found on the knife, Kirstie?’

  Kirstie remained stone-faced.

  ‘It’s Jordan Johnson’s blood. It was the knife used to kill him, but then you already knew that, didn’t you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘The knife was found in your house along with ten thousand pounds.’

  ‘I know.’ Kirstie glared at him insolently. ‘I was there, remember.’

  ‘But you don’t remember how it got there, do you?’

  ‘No. I told you – you should be asking Ryan about it.’

  ‘We have. He denies ever seeing the knife, or the money.’

  ‘He would, wouldn’t he? He’s trying to blame me.’

  ‘Why is that?’

  ‘Because he knows he’s in trouble. Look, I don’t know anything about that knife, or the money.’

  ‘So you had nothing to do with the murder of Jordan Johnson?’

  ‘Of course I didn’t. I couldn’t kill someone in cold blood.’

  ‘But you did collect the knife from Jacob Granger, didn’t you?’

  Kirstie’s eyes met Allie’s.

  Allie opened up her laptop, pressed a few buttons and swivelled the screen round to show Kirstie. She watched her face drop as she was shown the footage that Sam had found.

  ‘Is that you?’ Nick pointed to the woman clearly visible in the front seat of the car.

  ‘No comment.’

  ‘Is that Jacob Granger?’ Allie pointed to the man who walked over to the car.

  ‘No comment.’

  Nick leaned forward. ‘It will look better for you if you start telling us the truth.’

  Kirstie looked to Ed Woodgate.

  ‘I think we need to take a break here,’ he said.

  Nick nodded. He and Allie stood up.

  ‘So what happens now?’ Kirstie asked before they left the room.

  ‘You can either talk to us, tell us what you know,’ said Nick, ‘or you can keep quiet, and anything else we have, or find out against you, well, it could mean the difference between a medium sentence or a more lenient one. That also depends on whether we find any more evidence against you. We’ve found so much that’s mounting up now, who knows.’

  ‘Wait!’ Kirstie cried, her voice breaking with emotion. ‘You’re saying I could go to prison?’

  Allie sighed inwardly. Finally, it was about to hit Kirstie how serious everything was going to get. Did she really think she would get away with whatever had been planned?

  Nick nodded. ‘You talk to your solicitor, decide what else to say and then we’ll come back to you. It would be much better for you if you’re seen to cooperate at this stage rather than not.’

  Allie and Nick left the room to the sound of Kirstie’s raised voice as she took out her frustration on Ed Woodgate. Ten minutes later, they were called back. Kirstie’s eyes were red and teary.

  ‘My dad found out that Ryan and Jordan had set me up,’ she said before they had settled down. ‘When Jordan and I bought Flynn’s nightclub, there was a clause in the contract that after two years the club would belong to Jordan and Ryan. I hadn’t read the contract and when my dad found out, he went ballistic.

  ‘Ryan brought thirty-five thousand pounds home. It was meant to be passed to Steve Burgess via Jordan, but it was only to lure Jordan to a place where Ryan would get him beat up. Ryan must have thought that if Jordan was out of the picture for a couple of weeks, then he would be able to sign the club over to himself. He was willing to cut out both me and Jordan and that wasn’t part of the plan.’

  ‘This was all planned?’ asked Nick.

  Kirstie nodded. ‘Steve Burgess set up Craig Elliott to rough Jordan up but not to kill him. That was Jacob’s job. But Ryan didn’t know that.’

  ‘So you knew all along that Jordan was going to be killed?’

  She nodded again, a lone tear running down her face.

  ‘Jacob was paid five thousand pounds to kill Jordan. If it was one-on-one he would never have had the strength but if Jordan was beaten by Craig first, it would obviously be easy for him. Though I don’t know how anyone sticks a knife in someone. He must be mental.’

  Allie tried hard not to show her true feelings. The girl actually thought that Jacob was vicious? It defied belief.

  ‘So how did that happen?’ asked Nick.

  ‘He was waiting in the bushes for Craig to do his job and then he did his. Then he brought the knife to me.’

  ‘Why?’

  Kirstie shrugged her shoulders.

  It was beginning to make sense to Allie now. That bastard Terry Ryder was playing them. He’d used his daughter to get back at them, to taunt her even, about the knife in the wardrobe three years ago. There had been blood but no prints found on that either, so they hadn’t been able to charge him without evidence. Ryder must have thought he would get away with the same thing by using Kirstie to set things up the way they had been before. But this time, it had backfired. This time they had the evidence. His daughter was going down.

  ‘Did your father set all this up, Kirstie?’ asked Allie.

  ‘No.’ Her tone was sharp.

  ‘Are you sure? Because if he did, you’re probably looking at a lesser sentence if we can say that you were coerced into doing –’

  ‘You really would like that, wouldn’t you?’ Kirstie stared at her for a moment before continuing. ‘It had nothing to do with my father.’

  ‘And the ten thousand pounds that we found?’ said Nick.

  ‘Thirty-five thousand was in the bag that Ryan packed,’ Kirstie explained. ‘He told me that only twenty-five thousand of it got to Steve Burgess. Jordan must have hidden some of it and someone else found it. I assume that’s the woman who went into the building at three thirty?’

  Nick wouldn’t confirm anything. Instead he looked at her, kept her gaze.

  They had
her.

  2.30 P.M.

  Nick went in to Ryan.

  ‘We have the blood results back on the knife,’ he said as he sat down opposite him. ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you that it is one of the weapons that was used to inflict harm on Jordan. The blood is a match to your brother’s.’

  Ryan’s shoulders dropped. ‘And fingerprints? Any matches?’

  Nick shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not. It’s clean.’ He slid a photo across the desk to him. ‘Do you know who this is?’

  Ryan looked at the image for a moment. ‘His face looks familiar but I don’t think so. Should I?’

  Nick showed him the next photo, where Jacob Granger was handing something to the driver of a car. ‘What about this one?’

  Ryan frowned and pulled it closer. ‘Is that Kirstie?’

  ‘Yes, she’s just admitted to putting the knife in the wardrobe along with the money.’

  ‘But how?’ He sat forward. ‘When?’

  ‘She went out in the early hours of the morning. This was taken at three-thirty.’

  Ryan looked perplexed. ‘Are you saying she sneaked out of the house, collected the knife and then came back home? And I didn’t hear a thing?’

  ‘Did you not hear a thing?’ questioned Nick.

  ‘No! I had no idea. Why would she do that?’

  ‘She wanted to set you up for the murder of your brother. Something to do with you double-crossing her, she said, about Flynn’s nightclub.’

  Ryan shuffled in his chair but he didn’t speak.

  ‘Steve Burgess has been implicated in it too. We’re bringing him in for questioning.’

  Ryan glanced up, remained calm.

  ‘You don’t want to comment on any of this?’ asked Nick when he’d stayed silent for a while.

  ‘What do you think?’ Ryan’s shoulders went up. ‘Kirstie will have the best legal advice going. I can’t go up against Terry Ryder. It would be more than my life is worth.’