Nothing But Lies

by Lyndon Stacey

  ‘I’ll do my best, even if we only stop him for dangerous driving.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter, does it? He’s a witness to his own crime, just by being alive. He himself is all the proof we need. But don’t go underestimating McAllum, he’s a nasty piece of work.’

  ‘OK, I’ll remember that. I ran a check on the name but nothing came up except a very old conviction, but if he’s been out of the country, that would be why. Oh, and I ran a check on the registration you gave me – you know, the Land Rover. It’s registered to Belinda Travers – I take it that’s Boo. Nothing untoward about it. Tax, insurance, MOT all up to date. No crime in owning a Land Rover, even if you do keep it in an odd place.’

  ‘And I’d lay you a tenner they’ll have moved it by now, anyway. It would be interesting to let forensics give it the once over,’ Daniel said. ‘OK, thanks. Right, now I need to take Taz for a run before you go to work.’

  On his words, Taz, who had seemed to be fast asleep, flat out on the kitchen floor, leapt up and ran to the door.

  ‘I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking about you,’ Daniel remarked, as he followed him and opened the door. Taz dashed out into the garden, tail waving madly.

  It was quite a relief to get out into the fields and woods, and have time to think, but even then Daniel couldn’t relax. He was very aware of the risk he was taking in giving Dennie and Cal space to run, but he still felt it was the only option. He just had to hope that Chris’ surveillance would be thorough enough.

  Taz busied himself with the smells and sounds of the countryside, completely untroubled by any doubts or worries, and watching him, Daniel thought, as he often had before, that for all their supposed intelligence, humans hadn’t got the knack for happiness that dogs had. There was probably a moral in it somewhere, but his brain was too crowded to decide what it might be.

  When he finally got back to the cottage, the heat of the day was fading and the horses were munching contentedly in their stables.

  ‘You leave your phone behind,’ Tamiko said as he let himself in through the back door.

  ‘I thought it was quiet,’ he joked.

  ‘Well, it has rung three times,’ she informed him.

  ‘I’m glad I didn’t take it, then,’ he said. ‘I’d never have stopped talking!’

  He picked it up and scrolled through the call list. One was from Fred Bowden, and the other two from Chris Haynes. He called her back immediately, but frustratingly, there was no answer. Then he noticed there was a voice message.

  ‘Daniel. They’re on the move!’ Chris’ voice came through, sharp with excitement. ‘At least, I think they are. It’s the Land Rover and I can see McAllum and Harrison in the front. I’m going to follow them on the bike. Ring you back when I can.’

  Daniel’s heart rate rose as the adrenalin started pumping, but for the moment, there was nothing he could do. Without knowing for sure where they were heading, he couldn’t even go after them. If he guessed and got it wrong he could end up miles away. It wasn’t Chris’ fault. Presumably she’d left the message when she saw the Land Rover leave Boo Travers’ property and she wouldn’t have known which way they were going either at that point.

  Her calls had been twenty minutes before, but he could only keep trying to get her or hope she soon rang back. On her motorbike, she probably wouldn’t hear her phone until she next stopped, but when would that be?

  In the event, it was over half an hour before his phone rang again and he had started to imagine all sorts of disastrous scenarios. He snatched it off the worktop.

  ‘Chris?’

  ‘Daniel, thank God you’re there! Yes, this is definitely it. I was pretty sure it was when I first called, but now they’ve stopped for fuel and Harrison went in to pay and came back with three cups of coffee. Dennie must be in the back, out of sight.’

  ‘Where are you?’ Daniel asked urgently.

  ‘Near Bridgwater – the Esso station. Sorry, I couldn’t call before this, I didn’t want to stop in case I lost them. The disadvantage of being on the bike – can’t easily phone with your helmet on. But, you were right, it looks like they’re heading back west, so will you call the police now?’

  ‘I will. Great work. Are you on your own?’

  ‘Yes. And I could’ve done with one of those cups of coffee, myself, I can tell you. Look, they’re on the move again. I’d better get after them if you want me to stick with them.’

  ‘Please, but be careful, OK? I’ll let Joey know and then come after you myself, just in case. See you in a bit.’

  ‘Let Joey know what?’ Jo-Ji came into the kitchen in his uniform trousers and shirt. ‘And I hope I didn’t hear you making arrangements to go out, ’cos you know I’m off to work in ten minutes …’

  ‘Bugger! You’ll have to pull a sickie or something. I’ve got to go. Travers and McAllum are on the road, heading west, and Chris is after them on her own.’

  ‘Oh bugger, indeed!’ Joey said heavily. ‘And now you want me to organise a pursuit? You do choose your moments, don’t you? It’s not going to be easy – especially on a Saturday night. I don’t have to tell you how thin we’re stretched, and me and Bella are supposed to be working the crowd at the big footie match tonight.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t choose the time, Joey.’

  ‘Yeah, I know. OK, give me the details and I’ll see what I can do. Where are they now, exactly?’

  Daniel gave him the Land Rover’s last known location.

  ‘I think they might be heading for North Devon. Remember the takeaway receipt from Lynton? Anyway, you’ve got the reg number of the Land Rover because you looked it up for me the other day.’

  ‘OK. I’ll see if there’s anyone down that way that can keep an eye out for them. But you know, of course, that Lynton and Lynmouth are Devon and Cornwall’s patch.’

  ‘Only just. If you can get someone on their tails, it won’t matter if they cross the boundary, will it?’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Jo-Ji repeated. ‘It depends if we have anyone out that way. If we have I’ll give them the lowdown, if not, we may have to pass it over to North Devon, anyway.’

  ‘Is that it?’

  ‘It may be the best I can do. You know how it works, Dan. They’ve got a considerable head start. I’ll let you know when I get to work.’

  ‘Well, can you get someone to come over to stay with Tami and Jahan? There shouldn’t be a threat, now McAllum and Travers are heading out, and I promised Chris I’d go after her.’

  ‘There shouldn’t be a threat if you’re right about all this, but we still don’t know for sure. And besides, there’s still Jafari.’

  ‘Then get someone, but Joey, please, be quick. We don’t want to lose these guys. Remember what they did to Hana.’ He grabbed his car keys, wallet and phone and stuffed them in the pockets of his jeans and leather jacket. ‘Look, I have to go. Don’t let me down, mate! I’m counting on you.’

  With Taz at his heels, he strode out to the car and within moments was off, heading west for the M5. Once he was on the motorway, given a clear run and no speed traps, he felt he should be able to gain some valuable ground on the slower vehicle.

  It was mid-evening, and thankfully the traffic wasn’t too heavy, even though there were a number of holidaymakers heading for the West Country. Driving the Mercedes fast, with his eyes peeled for police cars or speed cameras, Daniel was able to cover the first part of the journey in good time but after leaving the motorway and heading west, he was forced to slow down, not only by the narrower more winding road, but also by the number of caravans and motor homes he encountered. To be pulled over for a driving offence would be frustrating beyond imagination. A Saturday evening in the summer holidays had to be the worst time to try and hurry anywhere, let alone on a main road into the southwest. The only consolation was that the men in the Land Rover, presumably still unaware that they were being followed, would also be forced to hold a steady pace. He was fairly confident about the Land Rover’s
destination and thought it likely that their plan would be to wait until nightfall before heading out to sea, so they would see no need to hurry.

  After the first half hour of the journey, Taz stopped looking eagerly out of the windows and lay down. The urgency with which Daniel had set off had given him high hopes that action was imminent but this faded as the pace became more normal, and the long-drawn-out groan that accompanied his settling down was his comment on the disappointing turn proceedings had taken.

  The meandering A39 followed the coastline fairly faithfully, albeit a mile or two inland. It didn’t pass through any large towns and although Daniel would have liked a progress report from Chris, he felt fairly sure the men up ahead wouldn’t be diverging from the road until they reached their destination.

  What he began to look forward to more with each passing mile was some communication from Jo-Ji. He had tried to call him for an update but got no reply. Were he and Chris on their own or was a unit even now on their tails? He knew that part of the problem would be the area the men were making for. They were heading into the most outlying area of the Avon and Somerset jurisdiction, away from all the major towns. Finding a squad car that could be tasked with watching out for the Land Rover wasn’t going to be easy on a Saturday night, when they almost always had plenty to do nearer home.

  Daniel was still a good five miles short of Minehead when his mobile rang and with a wary eye on the road, he answered it.

  It was Chris. ‘Daniel, I’m sorry, I’ve lost them. I don’t know whether they saw me or what, but suddenly they weren’t there anymore.’

  ‘Whereabouts are you?’

  ‘I’m not entirely sure. Well, I mean, I’m still on the A39 but I can’t give you an exact fix. It was just past Porlock when I realised I couldn’t see them anymore, so I gave it some welly but I’m fairly sure they’re not ahead of me ’cos there’s quite a few caravans and it wouldn’t be that easy for them to get past in the Land Rover. I reckon they must have gone down one of the little side roads. I’m really sorry but I don’t know what else I could have done. Any closer and they’d have clocked me for sure.’

  ‘OK. Don’t worry. We’re pretty certain, now, that they’ll be heading for Lynton eventually, so you go there and wait. I’ll join you as soon as I can. I’ve got a few caravans to contend with, myself.’

  By Daniel’s reckoning, Lynton and Lynmouth were between fifteen and twenty miles away from his current position. He desperately needed to speak to Jo-Ji, to find out what the state of affairs was.

  Why the silence? He wondered. Had Jo-Ji failed to raise any support? He couldn’t imagine that was so. The police couldn’t afford to miss an opportunity of making an arrest of this importance. If Dennie Travers’ disappearance had made headline news, his reappearance and capture after more than two years would make even more of a stir and having to admit that they’d the chance to do so but missed it, would be hugely embarrassing to their reputation.

  The light was beginning to fade now. The sun had sunk beneath the horizon and the sky had an apricot glow, which bronzed the summer fields and touched the occasionally glimpsed sea with silver and gold.

  Daniel found Jo-Ji’s number on his phone and rang it but it went, frustratingly, to voicemail. He left a request for Jo-Ji to call back, threw the phone down on the seat beside him and continued driving.

  He had just passed Minehead when Jo-Ji finally rang back.

  ‘Joey. Tell me what’s happening,’ Daniel said.

  ‘You’re not going to like it. It’s bloody chaos here. There’s been a massive pile-up on the M4, and half the guys were already out policing the football match. We’re stretched pretty thin and I had a job to find anyone that would even listen for ages. Paxton wasn’t exactly receptive when he found out where the tip-off had come from.’

  ‘What are you saying? Are we on our own?’

  ‘No, mate. Of course not, but it might not be the cavalry charge you were hoping for.’

  ‘The bastard! Did you have to go to Paxton?’

  ‘There was no one else. Believe me, I would have avoided it if I could.’

  ‘Surely he can’t afford to ignore something like this.’

  ‘He did his best,’ Jo-Ji said. ‘The problem was me not having any hard evidence. If Boo Travers hadn’t rung in to report it, as well, I’m not sure—’

  ‘What did you say? Boo Travers rang in to report her husband?’

  ‘Apparently. Switchboard took the call, so he couldn’t ignore that one. Even so, there was a lot of grumbling about resources. She didn’t give any details about where he might be heading, but of course, that’s where you came in. Anyway, eventually he gave me the authorisation to get something started and here I am. So whereabouts are you, now?’

  ‘Near Porlock, on the North Devon coast: A39. I still think they’re heading for Lynton, but I’m afraid Chris has lost the Land Rover at the moment.’

  ‘Well, look; it would take forever to get someone down there now. The best thing I can do is pass it on to Devon and Cornwall.’

  ‘No chance of a chopper, I suppose. Unless we catch up with them soon, I’ve a feeling we’ll be chasing them to the coast and if they’ve got a boat waiting …’

  ‘OK, I’ll give them your number and suggest they put in a call to the NPAS and see if they can get some air support for you but that’ll be their call. You’ll have to hope they’re more enthusiastic than bloody Paxton. Listen Dan, be careful, OK? Don’t try and tackle them on your own.’

  ‘I’m not on my own,’ Daniel said. ‘I’ve got Taz and Chris.’

  ‘Yeah, but you know what I mean. A dead hero’s no good to anyone and you say you reckon this McAllum is the one who killed Hana. If he can do that in cold blood, I imagine he won’t hesitate if you get him cornered.’

  ‘I know. I’ll be careful.’

  As soon as he had finished talking to Jo-Ji, Daniel rang Chris again and gave her the update.

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ she exclaimed. ‘How did we ever win a war? If Dennie had headed straight for the coast he’d have been on his way home by now.’

  ‘I know, but it’s not Joey’s fault. Tell it to the government. There just aren’t enough bodies to go round. Get something like this motorway smash tying up manpower and everything else has to wait. Maybe the local mob’ll be able to do more.’

  ‘OK, well, nothing we can do about it, I suppose. Interesting about Boo, though. Who’d have thought it? Anyway, I’m in Lynmouth now. No sign of our friends, yet. I’m going to head on to Lynton and have a look round, it’s only up the hill. How far away are you?’

  ‘Reckon I’ll be with you in fifteen to twenty minutes. Let me know if they turn up in the meantime.’

  ‘Will do.’

  It was, in fact, only a few minutes later that she called back. ‘Dan, they’re here! I’ve just seen them going into a fish and chip shop. Lucky timing; a minute later and I’d have been in there myself. I’m famished!’

  ‘Are they all there?’

  ‘Yeah, even Dennie, though I have to admit, with all that fuzz on his face, I wouldn’t have recognised him if I hadn’t been expecting to see him.’

  ‘Well, if they’ve taken the time to stop at the chippie, we can assume they didn’t clock you after all,’ Daniel said. ‘Are you on foot? And whereabouts are you, now? Lynton still?’

  ‘Yes, Lynton. Hang on … OK, they’re coming out and they’re heading off somewhere. I’ll try and keep them in sight but I’m a bit conspicuous in all this biking gear.’

  ‘Be careful!’ Daniel warned. ‘Presumably they’ll go back to the Land Rover at some point, so you’d be safer watching that.’

  ‘But I’m nosey,’ Chris said. ‘I want to know what they’re up to. I will be careful, though.’ She continued to talk, describing the street she was walking down and then said, ‘Wait a minute, they’ve stopped. It looks like some kind of lock-up garage or something. Perhaps they’re picking up— Shit! Harrison just turned round and I think he mi
ght have seen me.’

  ‘Get out of there!’ Daniel said sharply. ‘Quickly! Don’t take any more chances. Go somewhere there are people and lay low till I get there.’

  She didn’t reply and he said her name again, urgently.

  There was nothing more for a moment or two and then Chris’ voice came again, breathless, ‘Yeah, I’m here. There’s a pub back aways, I’m heading for that. I think they’ve got—’

  The connection was cut and after saying her name a couple of times more, Daniel put both his phone and his foot down. Whether or not they had spotted Chris earlier, it looked like she and Daniel had now definitely lost the advantage of surprise and he wanted to make sure that Chris was all right. Knowing the geography of coastal towns and villages, he knew it was quite possible that she’d just dipped out of signal area, but given the circumstances, it was also worryingly possible that one or more of the men she’d been watching had caught up with her and confiscated her phone. What else they might do at this critical stage didn’t bear thinking about.

  Driving faster than was legal or even advisable, it didn’t take Daniel long to reach Lynmouth, and from there it only took a matter of minutes to drive up the steep hill to Lynton.

  There were a scattering of holidaymakers out and about in the town and consequently a number of cars in the car parks. Daniel drove round two or three with a rapidly growing sense of unease, finding neither Boo Travers’ Land Rover or Chris’ bike, but then, just as he was starting to think they had been and gone, he saw the Land Rover.

  Remembering that Cal would recognise his battered Mercedes from seeing it parked outside the cottage, Daniel drove on round and out of the park, finding instead a place on the roadside, where he hoped it would be less conspicuous. Taking a quick look round and seeing no one he knew, he went back on foot to where the Land Rover was parked and checked it out as swiftly and unobtrusively as he could.

  He couldn’t see the whole of the inside of the vehicle because it had no side windows and the rear ones had been blacked, but in the front there appeared to be nothing of interest, only the detritus of two or three hours spent on the road.