For Better, For Worse

by Jane Isaac

  ‘And the second?’

  ‘On the Sunday, after I’d stayed with Gina Ingram on the Saturday evening. They still weren’t talking and Gina was concerned. She asked me to visit Phoebe to check on her. I was to pass on a message from Gina, inviting Phoebe to get in touch.’

  ‘Did you take anyone with you on that second visit?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I asked you to pair up on inquiries,’ Freeman said.

  ‘It wasn’t an inquiry, it was a welfare call.’

  ‘And after that?’ Andrea snapped.

  ‘That’s it.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘Did you report the welfare call?’

  ‘Not at the time, no. But I did update Warren and record it in my notes.’

  Andrea snorted. ‘What about yesterday evening?’

  ‘I bumped into them at our local service station. Phoebe was in the queue behind me.’

  ‘Mike Carter’s complained that you have been harassing his son and daughter-in-law. Calling at their house, watching them. His son’s family feels targeted. He’s keeping it off the record at the moment, thankfully.’ She huffed. ‘The last thing we need is more bad publicity.’

  Beth turned to Freeman, fighting to keep her voice level. ‘I’ve only been to see them twice on police business,’ she said. ‘But we live in the same area. It’s impossible not to run into people occasionally.’ She paused, vacillated about sharing the details of the cafe meet. Why not? It was coincidental, after all, and something about it had bothered her. ‘I did see him one other time, a chance meeting.’ She spilled out the details. When Beth mentioned Carter’s meet at the cafe, and his associate’s link with Kyle Thompson, Freeman’s face hardened.

  ‘When did you see the other man with Kyle Thompson?’ he asked.

  ‘On Saturday evening. They were in my local store. Kyle’s moved to my village.’ For a brief second, she considered mentioning the street fight, but quickly decided against it. It couldn’t be booked on as a crime as there was no complainant and, luckily, no one locally had reported the disturbance. No sense in exacerbating the situation, and there was still the matter of Eden’s custody battle to consider.

  Freeman paused and pinched the top of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. When he eventually spoke, his expression was grim. ‘Okay, Beth. Log the meeting at the cafe as intelligence, but there’s nothing in what you’ve told me to suggest that Jason Carter is doing anything illegal. We’re not here to follow people. And you need to stay away from Kyle Thompson. I don’t care if he’s living next door to you, give him a wide berth.’

  ‘That will be all,’ Andrea said. ‘The DCI and I have got a meet with the assistant chief constable.’ The chair scraped the floor as Beth stood. ‘Concentrate on the investigation and the tasks you’re allocated from now on,’ Andrea added.

  ‘That’s what I was coming to see you about, sir,’ Beth said to Freeman. ‘We have a new lead.’ She bit back her anger, ignoring Andrea’s eyes boring into her, and relayed her conversation with the social worker and the trace details for Dale Yates.

  ‘That’s interesting.’ Freeman scratched the stubble at the side of his chin.

  ‘There’s a likeness with the CCTV image of the man driving Ingram’s car on the night of his murder. He was released from prison just over a year ago.’ The air in the room thickened. ‘The only part I don’t understand is why there wasn’t a police investigation into the abuse when Yates made the complaint.’

  ‘If Yates was a troubled child, a pain in the arse for the police, it was probably a judgement call,’ Freeman said. ‘It was 1996. Things were different then. Social services carried out their own investigation and didn’t flag up any concerns; perhaps the officer that pulled him in thought he was making it up. We’ll need to look into it, but it was before The Human Rights Act. Wouldn’t happen now, of course.’

  ‘We’ll need you to go out and see Gina,’ Andrea interjected. ‘Find out if either she or Stuart knew Dale Yates or has seen or heard from him recently.’

  ‘I was going to contact Warren, since he’s the senior FLO—’

  ‘Warren is deployed on other inquiries,’ Andrea cut in. ‘You can take Karen with you.’

  Freeman seemed distracted, deep in thought. ‘Right,’ he said eventually. ‘We need to get a team set up to go out to Yates’s. If he’s anti-establishment, as the social worker suggests, he won’t welcome our attention, even if he isn’t responsible. Plus, he’s got a history of violence. We’d better get a tactical support team on board.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we wait for Gina’s account?’ Andrea asked. ‘The evidence is tenuous at best, and we’ve the assistant chief constable in ten minutes.’

  ‘The assistant chief constable can wait,’ Freeman said. ‘Right now, Yates is our priority. If he is our killer, we need to bring him in.’ He looked up at Beth. ‘Call me on my mobile as soon as you’ve spoken with Gina. We’ll get things set up here in the meantime.’

  Beth smarted as she closed the door behind her. She’d delivered Dale Yates to Freeman, yet she wasn’t able to see it through to an arrest or interview, and she’d been warned off the Carters. What she couldn’t understand was, why Mike Carter felt the need to keep his grievance off the record. If he felt he had grounds for a complaint, why hadn’t he made it official? It wasn’t like him to be so trepidatious. Unless, of course, the Carter family did have something to hide.

  34

  The sound of the door knocker woke Gina. She heard Isla answer it, and speak to another female, a voice she couldn’t place at first, and traipsed downstairs, only to see the detective back again. She had another woman with her this time. Her stomach jolted when Beth asked to speak to her in the kitchen. That could only mean one thing: finally, there was some news.

  Gina Ingram stared into the eyes of the woman opposite. The features of the detective grew hazy as her vision blurred. After days of officers visiting, asking endless questions and them wandering out into the hallway to make calls, talking quietly, just out of earshot, the world was beginning to swirl, a fairground ride, moving faster and faster.

  ‘Are you familiar with the name Dale Yates?’ Beth asked.

  Gina forced herself to concentrate, shook her head. Another name she didn’t recognise.

  ‘He was a resident at Whitefield’s for a short time, during 1996. When your husband was still supporting the home with fundraising.’

  Gina’s pulse quickened. ‘What are you saying? Is he the man that murdered my husband?’

  ‘We don’t know. I’m asking if you remember the name.’

  ‘Well, I don’t.’

  The detective reached into her briefcase and retrieved a photo that looked like a mugshot. ‘Have you ever seen this man before?’ She tapped the photo twice.

  ‘No. Who is he?’

  ‘He’s someone that’s cropped up in the course of our inquiries. Gina. Please. This is important.’

  There was something behind the pleading undertone, a specific urgency. Gina rubbed a weary hand across her brow. Fatigue was eating into her flesh and bones, blanketing her thoughts. She glanced back at the photo, forced herself to study it. And baulked.

  ‘What is it?’ the detective asked.

  ‘He came here last week.’ She rolled the words around her mouth slowly as the memory sharpened.

  The detective angled her head. ‘When was this?’

  ‘Last Tuesday. He had a beard and wore glasses. But,’ she took another look, ‘I’m pretty sure it was him.’

  ‘What was he doing here?’

  ‘He said he was from the electricity company. We had a Smart Meter fitted last year. They’re read remotely, but apparently there was some glitch in the system and they were doing an audit and reading a sample of meters in the area to confirm the new system was working correctly.’

  ‘Did he show an ID?’

  Gina’s mouth dried. ‘I-I can’t remember. I don’t think so. But he was
dressed smartly, and he had a badge on.’

  ‘Did anyone else see him here?’

  ‘No. Stuart was upstairs taking a rest. He often took to his bed in the afternoons.’

  ‘Can you remember what time it was?’

  ‘Oh, it must have been…’ Gina swung her head back and stared at the ceiling, grappling with her thoughts. ‘Around two-ish, I guess. We’d not long since had lunch. He was only here a couple of minutes.’

  ‘Can you show me where your electric meter is?’

  Tiny prickles showered Gina’s scalp. ‘You don’t think he was involved in Stuart’s murder, do you?’

  The detective didn’t answer. She was on her feet now, following Gina into the hallway.

  ‘There.’ Gina pointed at a box above the front door. ‘Stupid place to put a meter if you ask me. I had to go to the garage and get the stepladder for him to be able to see it clearly.’

  ‘You left him alone?’

  ‘Only for a few seconds.’

  The detective stared at the box and slowly lowered her gaze, resting it on the glass dish on the hallway table. Where their keys were stored.

  *

  Freeman’s phone was constantly engaged and, after leaving him a message about her meeting with Gina, Beth dialled Pete, anxious to find out how the arrest team were getting on. Somehow the idea of calling Nick wasn’t palatable, not after the exchange she witnessed with the DI in the canteen that morning.

  ‘His address was clear.’ Pete’s deep voice sounded muffled through her earpiece. ‘The fridge was empty, cupboards bare. He’s not been there in a while.’

  Beth pinched her lips together as she wove through the traffic. What was it with this guy? They were so close they could practically smell him, yet he was still one step ahead. She passed on the details of her conversation with Gina.

  ‘Somebody must be sheltering Yates,’ Pete said. ‘Freeman’s despatched the intelligence source handlers out to the field to check with their informants and see if anyone knows him or has seen a man bearing his description.’

  Beth thanked him, cut the call and continued down the dual carriageway when she remembered Myrtle was almost out of food. Since her presence wasn’t needed urgently at the office, maybe she should stop off, get some and fill her bowl. It was practically on her way.

  She was the only customer in her village store that afternoon, most of the residents still out at work. Beth collected her shopping and made for home, surprised to see someone on her drive when she reached her road. As she drew closer, she was even more surprised to find it was Kyle Thompson and he was knocking at her door. He turned to face her as she pulled onto the driveway.

  Mindful of Freeman’s caution, Beth climbed out of the car warily. ‘What are you doing here, Kyle?’

  He peered at her from beneath a baseball cap. ‘Can I come in?’ he said. There was a conciliatory note in his voice she hadn’t heard before.

  ‘I’m working. I’ve only popped back for a minute.’

  ‘It won’t take long.’

  ‘Is this to do with Eden?’

  ‘No. I need to talk to you.’ His face creased in concern.

  She hesitated for the shortest of seconds. It wouldn’t be wise to be seen inviting a known criminal into her home, especially one who’d sparked a recent PSD investigation. But then, it wasn’t wise to be seen chatting to him outside either, especially after Freeman’s recent warning. She unlocked the door and he wandered in behind her. ‘What are you doing here?’ she said, dropping her bag in the hallway.

  Kyle rubbed his chin. ‘I need to tell you something.’ He glanced anxiously at the glass panel behind him. ‘Can we move away from the door?’

  Beth shot him a quizzical look, then indicated for him to enter the front room. Myrtle purred as she lifted her off the armchair and invited him to sit. She placed the cat on the sofa beside her.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  He was quiet a moment. ‘The guy I was having an argument with the other day—’

  ‘Ian.’

  ‘Yes.’ He didn’t flinch when she mentioned his assailant’s name. ‘He’s in a bit of trouble.’

  ‘What kind of trouble?’

  ‘Drugs. He’s been using for years. But his habit’s grown, it’s out of control. He started supplying to pay his dealer back. Small-scale stuff. But he’s in over his head and can’t afford to pay.’

  ‘Who supplied him?’

  Kyle stared at the floor.

  ‘Where is he dealing from?’

  Silence.

  ‘If you want me to help, Kyle, you’re going to have to give me more.’

  ‘I don’t know, all right? All I know is, he’s pissed off his dealers. If he doesn’t get out of the way quick, they’ll hurt him, really bad.’

  Beth shot him a nonchalant look. ‘What do you care? You were knocking lumps out of him last time I saw you.’

  ‘It was because of this. He doesn’t realise how much trouble he’s in. Won’t listen.’

  ‘Are you sure it’s not you that wants him out of the way?’

  ‘This hasn’t got anything to do with me. I shouldn’t even be here.’ He glanced towards the window. ‘We grew up together, Ian and I. Went to the same school. He looked out for me.’

  ‘So, you’ve gone all sentimental? This must happen a lot in your game.’

  ‘This isn’t my game. I’m passing on information.’

  ‘And what do you suggest I do with it?’

  ‘I don’t know. Whatever you guys do with information you’re given. Search his house. Find something. Lock him up. He’ll be safer in a cell.’

  ‘If what you’re telling me is true, it’s unlikely he’d keep anything at his place. And if he did, those he owes would have either got there first, or will track him down in prison. I need more.’

  His cheeks billowed as he blew out a long sigh. ‘Ian’s an IT man.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘No, you don’t understand. He does jobs for high-end clients, on the side, if you know what I mean. His work is not always entirely legitimate.’

  ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘He helps out businesses, hacks into their competitors’ websites and plants viruses to slow them down and give the competition a chance. He’s paid a lot of money for it. If you search his house, check his devices, you’ll find some interesting stuff. Stuff that could put him away for a long time.’

  Beth considered this. She was hardly in a position to take information from a former offender who was the root cause of her investigation by PSD. But she couldn’t afford to ignore it either.

  ‘So you’ll report it back?’

  She fixed him with a hard stare. ‘What about Eden?’

  His forehead arched. ‘What has this got to do with Eden?’

  ‘I need you to stay away from her.’ He turned away. ‘No, this is important, Kyle. You know Eden’s ex-husband is a cop. If he gets a whiff your relationship is back on, he’ll reinstate his fight for full custody of Lily. She could lose that kid and if she does, it’ll break her.’

  ‘So you want to do a deal?’

  ‘I don’t do deals. And while we’re at it, make sure you return everything you have of hers.’

  He stood, a knowing look in his eyes. ‘You can’t mention my name in this.’

  35

  Back at the office, anger fizzed inside Beth. She made her way to Freeman’s office, churning Kyle’s information over and over in her mind. She didn’t buy the sentimental angle and certainly didn’t believe he’d turned up with some sob story about protecting his mate without some ulterior motive.

  Freeman was alone in his office. He looked up when she gave his open door a brisk tap.

  ‘Sir, have you got a minute?’

  Freeman nodded. ‘You heard about the no-show at Yates’s address?’

  ‘I did. He’s not going to make this easy. Can I talk to you? About something unrelated?’

  ‘What is it?’

  Beth closed the
door and started to relay her visit from Kyle. As soon as she mentioned his name, Freeman’s face folded. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a flat hand.

  ‘I think you’ll want to hear this.’

  When she was done, his eyes narrowed to tiny slits. ‘So, Kyle Thompson needs this man out of the way and wants us to do his dirty work for him,’ he clarified.

  ‘Possibly,’ Beth said. ‘The information may well be of interest though.’

  ‘Okay. Go and see organised crime and feedback what you know. Get them to do some digging. The rules surrounding sensitive information mean we have to respect Kyle’s request to keep his name out of it.’ His nostrils flared. ‘He’ll be well aware of that.’

  Beth was leaving, her fingers on the door handle when he called her back.

  ‘Beth? Either, persuade Kyle to become a registered informant and we’ll allocate him an independent handler, or steer clear. You can’t afford to be spending time with him, no matter how useful he might be.’ Freeman pushed a file to the side of his desk. ‘There’s a briefing update on Yates in the incident room in twenty minutes,’ he said, moving the conversation back to the case.

  ‘Thanks. I’ll see you there.’

  ‘Not this afternoon, I’m afraid. The DI’s roped me in on this closer working initiative. The assistant chief constable’s very keen on it, wants me to show my support at the meeting this afternoon.’ He shook his head disapprovingly. ‘Never mind a triple murder investigation. He wants us to improve relations with the local media, including Northants News. Sergeant Geary will be running the office in our absence.’

  *

  ‘I’ve spoken to the prison governor at Bedford,’ Pete said.

  The desk he was perched on bowed beneath his weight. Nick had ordered in an early lunch to accompany the briefing and officers were sitting around, munching on takeaway pizza while listening intently to Pete.

  ‘Given his propensity for violence, Yates spent the majority of his early stretch in isolation,’ he continued. ‘It was only after he transferred to Bedford Prison, six years ago, that he calmed down enough to share a cell. He’s clever too – used their education system to study for a classics degree. Came out with a first.’