by Anita Waller
He nodded, then moved to his desk to download the pictures he had taken that morning. Kat strolled across and watched what he was doing. He put all the photos in one file labelled Roy/Sanders, then clicked on the file.
Kat watched as the pictures appeared on the screen, then laughed.
‘You know him?’ Luke asked.
‘Not him, but I’d know that Saab anywhere. Leon wanted to buy it for me, but the owner wouldn’t sell. It’s immaculate, a beautiful car. He told Leon it was a source of his income. We assumed he rented it out for weddings and suchlike, but clearly he uses it to con women.’
‘I’ll make sure that goes into the report as well. I need to print about half a dozen of these pictures – Keeley needs to see we have evidence to back up everything we’ve found.’
‘You’ve done well, Luke,’ Kat said. ‘Thank you.’
Luke felt proud and… pleased.
Tessa took Adam Armstrong to Cromer police station to give his statement, in which he confirmed he hadn’t seen his son for around six months. He had spoken to him twice in that time, and he had said he was happy with the fairground people he had chosen to spend the next part of his life with. He wouldn’t be returning to school. And Adam wouldn’t be returning to Baslow. That part of their life was over.
He was also able to prove his whereabouts on the night his wife was killed; his top-of-the-range CCTV system worked not only to show unwelcome visitors to his home, but also the presence of anyone in that home at any given time. Adam Armstrong was definitely not at Chatsworth.
Tessa felt somewhat cynical as she thought of what would probably happen over the next couple of days when Debbie Carter took possession of Adam Armstrong’s address.
32
Debbie arrived with Charlie in the pushchair to find only Kat and Mouse in residence at Connection.
‘Quiet in here,’ Debbie said. ‘You must be busy.’
Kat laughed. ‘We’re always busy. You just get me today; Mouse has some work to do for our Manchester business, dealing with a couple of interviews she’s organised. Luke is out on a case, and Doris has a new kitten which is taking precedence over everything else. Come into my office, the coffee’s ready. I can make tea if you’d prefer.’
‘No, coffee’s fine. It will maybe give me some energy. This little monkey had me up three times in the night. You have news for me?’
‘We do.’ Kat waited until Debbie had settled Charlie before handing her the coffee. ‘Sit down, Debbie, and we’ll go through it.’
Debbie’s hands shook as she clutched the mug. She prayed it was good news and not merely information that Adam had disappeared for good. She shivered as Kat’s pale pink nails hovered over the folder.
‘First of all, Debbie, I need you to look at these pictures and tell me if you believe it to be Adam.’
Kat thought back to the short but sweet text of half an hour earlier, that simply said Confirmed and statement taken. More later.
She removed the photographs from a white envelope and handed them across the desk.
Debbie’s breathing became erratic, and she stared at the man she hadn’t seen for ten years. She stroked a shaking finger down his face, and tried to collect her thoughts so that she could speak.
She looked up at Kat. ‘Of course it’s him. Does he know we’re looking for him?’ She brushed away tears, trying not to show how much the picture had affected her.
Kat shook her head. ‘No, he didn’t when these photos were taken. We had to assess the situation, because we knew if we approached him he would run and his name would never be cleared. As you know, we are legally bound to advise the police if we know anything at all linking to any crimes, and so we had to tell DI Marsden. She has been to see him this morning…’
‘But…’
‘Debbie, I know what you’re going to say, but by doing it this way, the correct way, he has given a statement which I’m assuming exonerates him, although I’ll find more out later.’
‘And Danny?’
‘I don’t know yet. We have tracked down Adam, and, as you can see from the photos, he was actually seen by Doris and Luke, but there was no sighting of Danny. He was possibly inside the house when Adam brought out the wheelie bins. I’m sure we’ll get the full story when DI Marsden returns, but until then I can pass on Adam’s address. I’ll get his phone number when DI Marsden returns. I didn’t want to keep you waiting any longer to find out that we’d tracked him down. All incidentals will follow.’
Debbie picked up the pictures once more, and sat and stared at them.
‘You want some advice, Debbie? Wait. Don’t go tearing off to Cromer. I imagine he’s disappeared again anyway, but that will only be temporary. He’ll go back to his home; he’ll probably want some time out to gather his thoughts. We’ve just changed his world. The best way you can go about this is to send him a letter, possibly one from you and one from Simon, reassuring him that he’ll be welcome back home in Derbyshire. I think all this is going to take time, and if you push too hard he’ll do a bit of long-distance selling up, and you’ll never get to see him or Danny again. He’s gone to a lot of trouble to keep any connection to Baslow out of their lives. What Nicola said or did to him to make him so scared is almost beyond comprehension, but he’s been a frightened man for ten years. What’s just as concerning is that his friend who helped him has continued to give him his full support for so long, so the threat must have been very real. And if instinct is serving me well, I think the threat was probably against Danny, not Adam.’
‘He had a new name?’
‘He did. It was James Owen.’
Debbie smiled, while still brushing away tears. ‘Michael James Owen, Adam’s all-time hero. I should have known.’
‘Mine too,’ Kat laughed, feeling relieved that the meeting seemed to be going so well, despite not having all the information. ‘I was the one that picked up on it, because in my misspent youth I had a poster of him on my wall that had his full name on, and of course, hearing the name James Owen took me straight back to that time. Then Simon confirmed they were both Man U supporters, so Bob’s your uncle!’
Kat handed over the second envelope. ‘This is the report with all the information we have – there will be more, obviously, once Marsden can comfortably tell us without compromising her investigation, but I suspect he really is in the clear, because she would have said if she had to arrest him. Did you love him?’
The question hung in the air. Kat couldn’t believe she’d asked it, but now it was out there, she waited for an answer.
Debbie glanced down at her hands, lying in her lap. ‘Yes, I did. We had to split up when Nicola told him she was pregnant. The only way to get over it was to stay away from each other, which we did, until the scars and cuts required medical assistance. That’s when he turned to me. I loved him so much. I cared for Rob, but in the end, even with Adam off the scene and possibly dead, it wasn’t enough. Rob’s happy now, and so am I. That’s made so much better by knowing Adam is alive.’
She paused for a moment, sorting out her thoughts. ‘I always wondered if he did it on purpose, the complete disappearance bit, in the hope the police and all of us would think Nicola had murdered them. Lots of people knew of her anger issues – in fact, lots of people had been on the receiving end.’
‘I’m sure that one day you’ll be able to ask him. Just handle it carefully. Don’t rush him and Danny, let them return to the house, maybe even on their own the first time, because if he’s not coming back here he will need to sell up. Let him set the pace, Debbie. I’ll give you every bit of information I can get from DI Marsden, then we’ll send you our final account. Is that okay?’
‘It’s fine, Kat. I’ll pass all the info I have on to Simon; he’ll be chuffed that his best mate is alive, but I imagine he’ll feel some antagonism towards him too. He would have helped in a heartbeat, and Adam knew that.’ She stood. ‘I’ll wait to hear from you, and thank you for all you’ve done so far. I knew if anybody could do
it, you could. The police were never really interested. I loved him so much, Kat. We would have been perfect together but the so-called pregnancy made us realise we couldn’t be partners.’
Luke and Doris sat in Keeley’s kitchen watching her face crumple.
‘Married? He’s married? But…’
Doris reached across the table and grasped her hand. ‘It’s better you know now, rather than a year down the line. Everything we’ve found out is in this envelope. Luke has worked really hard on it, so I want you to read it all carefully. I haven’t brought you a final bill, in case there is anything else we can help you with. Take time to digest it all, and Luke will give you a call in the morning, to make sure you have everything in there that you need to know.’
Keeley clutched the envelope in her left hand, and stood. ‘I’m not going to read it until Henry is in bed. I have to get him from school in a few minutes, so I’ll have to go now. Thank you, especially you, Luke, for this. I’ll speak to you tomorrow, I promise, when I’ve had time to think things through.’
She walked them to the door, waved as they set off, then allowed the tears to fall.
Married? Fecking married? She grabbed some kitchen roll and dried her tears. That piece of gob-shite gigolo was going to find out what it was like to be caught out in a lie, a hefty lie at that. Tonight, plans would be made that would rock Vincent Sanders’s world to the very core.
Tessa and Hannah discussed events all the way back, both recognising what a massive part Connection had played in finding Adam Armstrong. Neither of them thought Adam would return that night to his Cromer home, he had been shaken to the depth of his being by their arrival.
The miles disappeared underneath them, and eventually they pulled into Chesterfield headquarters, tired, yet knowing they wouldn’t sleep. It had been a good day for clearing one mystery, but Adam had been unable to help with the murder of his wife. He had admitted to feeling relieved that it was all now in the open, and Danny was safe, but he couldn’t begin to imagine how his life would pan out. He wasn’t convinced he would ever set foot in Baslow again; the memories were too overwhelming. Somewhere in that village was every bit of confidence he had ever possessed, destroyed by Nicola.
Tessa thanked Hannah for doing all the driving.
Hannah simply smiled. ‘I hoped you would close your eyes for a bit, get some rest, but no, there’s too much running round your head, isn’t there?’
‘There is. Anybody on the outside of this, looking in at what we’re doing, what information we have, would say Adam Armstrong is the one who has killed Nicola. Now, I know he is clever with security, it’s what he does, but our tech lads will soon be able to suss if there’s any tampering on that tape, with either date or times. He’ll know that, so I believe him, damn it. And I also think he really struggles with being away from his home. He was in a panic when we said he had to go to Cromer police station, not because it was a police station, but because it meant he had to go out. How can anybody destroy a person, because that’s what she did. I think he’s had ten years of not daring to go out in case she had tracked him down.’
‘She must have been a nightmare to live with. Why would you want to go home after work if you never knew what was waiting for you?’ Hannah mused. ‘I understand he had no choice, not once she started hurting Danny, but what a bloody awful life he must have had. She’s messed with his mind, and in some ways that’s worse than the physical attacks.’
‘Let’s get in and report to the DCI, then we’ll head off home. It’s been a long day.’
‘You… erm… you don’t fancy going for a drink or anything?’
Tessa smiled at her sergeant. ‘No thanks, Hannah. I think Martin’s at my place, so I’d best get home. He’ll have cooked something delicious, best not keep it waiting.’
Tessa didn’t see the look on Hannah’s face, a look that spoke of disappointment. And something else.
33
The phone was ringing as Luke entered the office next morning. He grabbed at the receiver. ‘Connection. Can I help you?’
‘I hope so. I’ve been up all night planning this.’
‘Keeley?’
‘Oh, sorry. Yes it is. I’m not thinking straight, I’m so blazing mad. Have you time to call round today?’
‘Of course. You need Doris as well?’
‘Is she any good at decimating people? No, I don’t mean people, I mean men.’
Luke thought of the video of Doris he had watched. ‘I would say so,’ he said with a laugh.
‘Then in that case, if both of you can spare me ten minutes at some point today, I’ll be very grateful.’
‘I’ll book you in for ten. Does that suit you?’
‘Fine. Thank you, Luke. See you later.’
Doris was sitting with the sleeping kitten on her knee, reluctant to move. ‘Belle,’ she whispered, ‘I have to go to work now. Try not to destroy anything, play with your ball and your teddy.’ The tiny cat ignored her.
Doris stroked the top of Belle’s head with one finger. ‘Five minutes more, then we really have to move.’
She wanted to be early this morning – she had a feeling Tessa and Hannah would call in at some point to fill them in on their trip to Cromer. She hoped it had progressed the investigation, but thought they would have heard by now if it had.
Belle moved slightly, and Doris scooped her up into her arms and carried her through to the kitchen. She placed her on the cat bed, and stroked her. ‘Now remember what we discussed, little one. If you want to poo or wee you use this tray with the grey stuff in. We practised, remember? And you did very well. I’ve left you some food and water down, so be a good girl. I’ll come back at lunchtime to check on you.’
Doris glanced around the kitchen to make sure there was nothing Belle could wrap herself around, into, or swallow, then quietly closed the door.
Belle opened one eye, surveyed her domain, and drifted off to sleep once more.
‘Simon? You got ten minutes?’ Debbie felt and sounded stressed.
‘About that, yes, then I’ve got to go. I’m working in Matlock today.’
‘Then I’ll make it quick. I have Adam’s address.’
‘What? But…’
‘But what, Simon? Did you know he was still alive? Just how much did you know?’
‘Hang on a minute, Debs, of course I didn’t know. I didn’t believe he could be alive, not after all this time and no word from him.’
‘I’m remembering how you didn’t want me to ask Kat to track him down. Why was that, Simon?’
There was anger in her voice, an anger reminiscent of Nicola’s underlying tone whenever she spoke.
‘Because I felt we were throwing money away, and Connection won’t be cheap. You know I always thought Adam and Danny were dead. So tell me what we now know.’
‘I thought you had to go to work.’ The anger had been replaced by sarcasm.
‘Debs…’
‘Okay. He’s been living in Cromer for years, possibly since he went. There’s a lot more to the story that we don’t know yet, but Connection found him. Because he’s a person of interest in Nicola’s murder, they had to tell the DI who’s investigating it, and the police went to see him yesterday. Kat is going to be speaking with them, and she’ll pass on any further information as and when she can, but we’ve got a starting point with his address. She suggests we both write him a letter, keeping it light. If we start with heavy-handedness, she says he’ll disappear.’
‘Okay,’ Simon said.
‘Okay what? You’re being very strange.’
‘Feeling a bit angry, if the truth be known.’
‘Angry that he’s alive?’
‘In a way. He could have let us know; he knew we were on his side. Do you really expect him to come back to Derbyshire, after everything he went through? And how’s Dan? You’ve not mentioned him.’
‘That’s because they only saw Adam, putting bins out of all things. I’m hoping we’ll have news of him soon.�
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‘Can I go now?’
‘You can. I’ll keep you informed.’ Debbie knew her words sounded stiff, but she couldn’t help it.
The briefing room went quiet as Tessa walked to the board. ‘Good morning, everybody. Good day, yesterday. Thank you everybody who took part, and we had no problems. Apart from a very scared man. We found Adam Armstrong, talked to him and took him to Cromer HQ to make a statement. We have CCTV from his home to check, and I want it checking to the nth degree, please. This CCTV is his alibi. He says he very rarely goes beyond his front gate; he has something of a phobia brought on by fear that his ex-wife would find him. However, he is something of an expert in CCTV and everything related to it, so we need to make sure that the recording didn’t mysteriously stop working, and it wasn’t tampered with in any way. If it’s spot on, Adam Armstrong is in the clear.’
‘Any information on the lad, boss?’ Ray Charlton’s voice rose above the general hubbub.
‘Not much. It seems a few months ago Adam and Danny had a fall-out because Danny was hanging around with a gang of lads from the fair. They were dabbling in drugs, generally being a nuisance. Anyway, he said when they moved on, Danny disappeared overnight and went with them. He’s apparently rung home a couple of times, and says he’s all right, so I’d like somebody to try to track that fair down. Adam said it was around last June when it was in Cromer.’
‘Do we have a photo for the board, boss?’
‘No. If you saw the inside of the house, you’d understand why. It takes minimalism to a whole new level. There was nothing in the way of ornaments, no pictures on walls, no photographs, not even cushions on the two armchairs. It felt like an empty house when we walked in, as if an estate agent was going to show us around, that sort of feeling. I asked him for a picture of Danny to help us identify him once we’ve tracked down the fair, and he just looked at me. He said there was nothing. No pictures, no mobile phones, an ex-directory landline for emergencies and business only, no Facebook, nothing. He did say that it was probably the reason Danny left, he wanted to be part of the world the fair lads had, with their phones, and their texts and stuff. Adam even had his groceries collected by the tenant next door, which is something that’s happened ever since Adam and Danny arrived there. I had a brief chat with the adjoining neighbour – we may or may not have to talk more, but for now he said he paid a much-subsidised rent to Mr King to keep an eye on Adam and Danny, and help them get away if ever it became necessary. In Adam’s pantry there’s a door, a low one, that leads straight through to the next door. It’s all been well thought out, I can tell you, but I’m also sure it was set up well in advance of the great escape. He was planning to leave for months, but had to go quickly in the end because the violence dramatically escalated. I’ve interviewed many many people in this job,’ she said, her mind drifting to the most recent one with Adam, ‘and I have never seen such a scared man before. He knows she’s dead, but there’s more than that. Whatever’s still wrong, he needs psychiatric help to work through it. Now, is everybody clear on what they’re doing? Priority is the CCTV; I need to know beyond any doubt that it’s genuine.’