'TELL ME!?' Bannister suddenly exploded.
Brewster cried out and continued to yank at the handle as he realised, he was locked in the car with a raging maniac.
Outside the darkness deepened.
71
Lasser flicked on the main beam as they drove along the lane lined with trees, slowing down twice to let squirrels dash across in front of the car.
'And you say this is Jepson's drive?' Carole asked in disbelief.
'Yeah, but he has the house to match.' When the gates appeared in the twin beams, Lasser frowned as he pulled up to the wrought iron.
'I take it the last time you came here the gates were open?' she asked.
'Yeah, they were,' Lasser said as he pushed the door open and climbed out before walking to the gates, Carole moving to his side.
'Looks as if we're going to have to walk the rest of the way,' she said as she shone her torch to the right.
'It's not much further,' Lasser said as he went back to the car and turned off the engine before sliding the keys from the ignition and closing the door.
Seconds later, they had walked around the gates and set off along the lane, Lasser leaving his Maglite off as Carole kept her own light trained on the tarmac.
'Seems a bit pointless having gates that you can walk around,' she said as they strode forward, the evening air cooling rapidly.
'Guess it stops anyone after the family silver from driving up to the front door,' Lasser replied as an owl hooted in the darkness.
The lane began to bend slowly to the left, Lasser glanced up as the first of the stars appeared in the darkness, the air cooling beneath the trees.
When the house came into view, Carole came to a stop and Lasser glanced at her, she looked shocked by the sheer size of the place, lights were dotted here and there in the vast frontage of the property, spilling out onto the close-cropped lawn that looked to be the size of a football field.
'My God,' she said.
'Told you it was impressive,' Lasser replied.
She looked at him and nodded. 'I know but I wasn't expecting something quite so ostentatious.'
'Makes Haigh Hall look like a two-up, two-down,' Lasser responded as they set off walking again, then their feet hit the gravel and they both automatically moved left onto the short grass, to make approaching the house easier and more importantly, silent.
They were twenty feet away from the imposing front door when they saw the figure appear to their left.
'Are you lost?'
Lasser recognised Jepson's voice in the darkness as he cut towards them across the grass, his long stride eating up the ground.
'Police,' Carole raised her voice, lowering the torch as they came to a halt, the light pooling at their feet.
Jepson didn't break stride until he came to a stop less than six feet away. 'Sergeant Lasser, bit late to be taking a stroll.'
'We'd like a word,' Lasser replied.
'And this is?' Jepson asked as he moved closer and looked at Carole.
'My boss, Chief Henson,' Lasser offered.
'Ah right, well, pleased to meet you.'
'Call me Carole.'
Jepson smiled. 'Carole it is then, now what can I do for you?'
'It's about Julie Emmeret.'
His lordship nodded as if it was no surprise to find them here. 'You have news?'
'I wonder if we could go inside?' Carole asked.
'Of course, of course,' Jepson replied before turning and heading for the stone archway, Carole having to quicken her pace in order to keep up.
Reaching the door, he pushed it open and stepped back to let them in.
The house from the outside was impressive but the size of the hallway was breath-taking, the marble floor shone, bathed in warm light from the huge chandelier that hung high above. The walls were lined in oak, an array of what Lasser assumed were family portraits stared down at them.
'This way,' Jepson said as he moved left and through a set of ornate double doors and into an equally impressive library, the bookcases stretching up to the ceiling almost twenty feet above, all lined with leather-bound tomes.
Lasser counted five huge Chesterfield sofas placed around the room.
Seconds later, Jepson sat down and gestured to the sofa opposite.
Carole pocketed the torch, Lasser still had his clasped in his right hand.
'Now, you say you have news?' Jepson smiled.
'One of our colleagues has been over to the garden centre in North Wales and we have…'
'Ah the Evans's,' Jepson interrupted. 'I really need to get over there to see them at some point, but there never seem to be enough hours in the day.'
'You said the last time you had been over there had been almost ten years ago.'
'That's the last time I saw Elizabeth, though I have been to Wales a good few times in the last few years.'
'Can you tell us why?' Carole asked.
The smile was still on Jepson's face as he nodded. 'Well, the last time I was over there was around Christmas, I'd been to Bangor on business.'
'What sort of business?' Lasser enquired.
'I own one or two shops in the town, so I called in to see the people who run them and then I went to the church to have a word with the vicar.'
'You're a religious man?'
Jepson looked at Carole, his smile widening. 'Forgive the cliché, but ''dear God'' no.'
'So why did you go to a church?'
Jepson casually crossed one leg over the other and eased back into the sumptuous leather. 'I'm afraid it's something of an old family obligation. You see my ancestors paid to have the church built, the family have deep roots in the area, going back almost eight hundred years and although I don't share their beliefs, I still take my duties seriously.'
'''Duties''?' Carole asked keeping her eyes locked on his lordship's face.
'I pay for the upkeep of the church, five years ago they had a new roof, expensive business, but like I said, I see it as something of a responsibility.'
'To honour your ancestors?'
Jepson nodded. 'In part and to be honest in these modern times the congregation has been considerably reduced.'
'That seems to be happening all over,' Carole admitted.
Although Lasser had given her a brief description of Jepson she had to admit he wasn't quite what she had been expecting, although if anyone were to picture a typical aristocrat then Jepson would have fitted the bill and yet there was more to it than that. He looked casual, relaxed and yet there was an energy about the man, as if he was used to working out but not in a gym type of way.
'Alas it is and although I'm a nonbeliever I still find it sad that the church is having a hard time converting people to their belief system.'
'Can you tell us if you had ever met Julie Emmeret? Lasser suddenly asked.
Jepson looked confused by the sudden change in the conversation. 'Met her?' he asked, raising an eyebrow.
'Yes, we've discovered that she worked at Evans's garden centre, and she was there ten years ago when you last visited the place.'
'Was she really?' Jepson asked, seeming genuinely surprised by the news.
Lasser nodded in reply as they waited for his lordship to speak.
'Well, that is a surprise and most puzzling.'
'You never met her, is that what you're saying?' Carole asked as the grandfather clock in the corner of the room chimed the hour.
Jepson shrugged his narrow shoulders. 'Not that I'm aware of.'
'What sort of answer is that, you either met her or you didn't?'
Jepson looked at Carole as if surprised by the change in her tone. 'You're asking me to remember if I met someone ten years ago?'
'That's correct.'
'Well, forgive me but as far as I am aware I never met Julie Emmeret, though of course if she was working for the Evans's family at the time then it's possible that I could have met her, though to be honest I have no recollection of doing so.'
'She would have only b
een around nineteen or twenty at the time,' Lasser lied about Julie's age as he kept his eyes on Jepson's face.
'As I said, I can't recall meeting her and as you know I haven't been back to the garden centre since then.'
'Her car was found on a lane on the outskirts of Bangor, a lane that you would have passed on your way back to the dual carriageway,' Carole explained.
Jepson looked from one to the other, the smile fading. 'I really have no idea what you are talking about, though I have to say this sounds a trifle worrying.'
'Let me guess, you want to ring your solicitor?' Lasser asked, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice.
'Why on earth would I want to do something like that?' Jepson asked.
For a few seconds, the reply threw Lasser and then he focused again. 'You can understand our concern, Julie Emmeret worked at the garden centre, you own the house and land, she goes missing and her car is found on the lane you would have been passing on or around the time she was taken.'
'Well, yes of course, I can see the dilemma, but…'
'Then she's killed over seventy miles away from where she went missing four months ago and she is found on land owned by you,' Carole said.
Jepson nodded in understanding, his face now thoughtful. 'Mm, I can see why that would ring the alarm bells, though correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't she killed by a drunk driver?'
Lasser nodded. 'That's correct.'
'And you know who the driver of the vehicle was?'
'That's right.'
'And what about the woman called Rea?' Jepson asked.
Lasser's eyes narrowed.
His lordship waved his hand in the air. 'It was on the news, they said something about a woman called Rea Lomax had gone missing from Hamley Road shortly after Julie Emmeret was killed.'
'We believe that whoever was chasing Julie was also responsible for the abduction of Rea,' Carole admitted.
'Terrible business,' Jepson said with a shake of his head. 'I mean, do you have any idea why this Julie Emmeret was being chased in the first place?'
'We have one or two theories,' Lasser offered.
Jepson looked crestfallen when Lasser failed to elaborate.
'Well, the whole thing seems utterly bizarre to me,' he eventually said as he folded his hands in his lap.
'You look as if you like to keep fit,' Carole suddenly said, trying to quell the feeling that Jepson was somehow playing with them.
'I like to run, though I have never been one for the gym.'
'And finding somewhere to do your running isn't a problem when you own so much land.'
'That's correct,' Jepson nodded as the smile slipped back onto his face.
'Can you tell me if you have a gorilla working for you?'
Jepson's eyes widened in astonishment at Lasser's question.
'I'm sorry, but I have no idea how to answer that question, but I can assure you I have no primates in my employ.'
'Big guy, looks like a throwback,' Lasser said, deliberately keeping the questions brief and direct.
Carole caught the brief look of annoyance flash in Jepson's eyes, and she leaned forward slightly on the sofa.
'Well?' she asked.
'Look, I know this might sound unlikely but over the years there have been as many as thirty members of staff working at this house. Now, there are none.'
'Are you saying you live here alone?' Carole asked in disbelief.
'That's correct and I know it seems unlikely, but it is nonetheless the truth.'
'And why is that?'
Jepson looked at Lasser and smiled again. 'Look, I know the house is on the large side, but I basically live in a couple of rooms, some might be under the impression that a man like me would be unable to look after themselves, but I can cook for myself. I know how to use a washing machine and can push a hover round with the best of them, in fact, I can turn my hands to most things and if I can't then I simply get someone in who can.'
'But why would you want to live here alone, as you said you have the money to pay people to be at your beck and call, so…'
'I never actually used those words,' Jepson broke in the smile slipping slightly. 'I employ a lot of people, Sergeant Lasser, but that doesn't mean I want servants looking after me as well.'
'Have you ever been running over near Dyer's farm?' Carole questioned.
Jepson took a moment to answer, his eyes lingering on Lasser. 'Not for a very long time,' he replied before turning to Carole. 'Though the truth is I've probably run over every acre I own around these parts, and the same in Scotland and the Lakes.'
'What about North Wales?'
Jepson shrugged. 'I have done some running over there, but not on land I own, after all you have all the hills and mountains within easy reach and running around a few acres of garden centre would seem a little odd, don't you think?' he smiled again as if pleased with the quip.
'And you always run alone?'
'Definitely, I like the solitude, it gives me the chance to clear my head.'
'Of what?'
Jepson shrugged. 'Believe it or not, having money does not mean you're immune from concerns and even worries.'
'What kind of worries are you talking about?'
'Oh, this and that, nothing specific.'
'Why are you allowing the council to turn Parbold Hill into a rubbish tip?' Lasser asked.
'Excuse me?' Jepson once again looked baffled by the question.
'You own the land, right?'
'I do.'
'So why would you allow a local beauty spot to be ruined?' Lasser pushed the issue.
'I'm sorry but what has that got to do with anything?' Jepson asked with more than a hint of confusion.
'I'm just asking, you see I've been told that you are responsible for certain things that don't fit with the image you like to portray.'
'What things?' Jepson's voice came out almost as a snap, his fingers entwining slowly as he waited for Lasser to elaborate.
'A few years ago, you did a documentary with the local news.'
'I'm sorry, but I'd like to know about these ''certain things'' that don't fit the image you say I portray?'
'Michael Brewster was the one who interviewed you, wasn't he?' Lasser asked ignoring Jepson's question.
Uncrossing his legs, his lordship looked from one to the other, his eyes now appeared sharp, his mouth set in a thin line. 'Yes, Brewster did the interview, but I fail to see what…'
'What did you make of him?' Lasser interrupted.
Jepson shifted slightly on the sofa; his hands now locked together. 'I had no real opinion either way.'
'Bet he kissed your arse though, didn't he?' Lasser asked as he scratched his chin. 'Made you look good, talked about all the charitable works you do, did you mention the church in Bangor by any chance?'
'Look that was years ago and forgive me but I am not in the habit of watching old clips of something that I can hardly remember doing.'
'Oh, you don't strike me as the kind of man who forgets much,' Carole said.
Jepson flicked her a glance. 'You'd be surprised what I forget, but believe me the important things are never forgotten, they always stick in my mind.'
Lasser heard the implied threat in Jepson's voice, gone was the relaxed attitude, the easy-going manner, the man who faced them suddenly appeared brittle, and they watched as he smiled, though for the first time it appeared laboured and false.
'You still haven't answered the question?' Lasser reminded him.
'And which question was that, you seem to have bombarded me with so many?' Jepson asked, he made to cross his legs again and then seemed to change his mind.
'Why you decided to turn Parbold into a landfill site?'
The lord looked relieved almost as if he had been expecting a different question, something that would prove harder to answer.
'The council approached me, they were finding it problematic to find a site that was suitable to use and believe it or not I am all for green energy, so I agr
eed.'
'Green energy?' Carole asked.
Jepson sighed and nodded. 'Believe me, it hasn't been easy trying to get the locals to see the benefits of having all green waste from the town recycled there.'
'So, it won't be household waste?' Lasser asked.
Jepson slowly shook his head. 'It sounds to me as if you have been listening to one of those who have painted a very grim image, endless black bin bags full of God knows what. When the truth is there will be nothing like that, all the waste will be of the green variety that will be turned into a sustainable fuel source giving off clean energy, nothing toxic I insisted on that and have been hands-on with the process. The truth is it will be good for the environment in lots of ways and the lease will run for five years and if successful I have other sites earmarked that they can use.'
Lasser tried to quell the sense of admiration as he listened to Jepson wax lyrical about his green project, reminding himself of the anger he had seen in his lordship's eyes a few seconds earlier.
'That's the trouble when you get your information secondhand rather than going straight to the source, people have agendas and I am glad that we've sorted out that little misunderstanding,' Jepson said as the relaxed attitude reappeared.
When Carole rose to her feet, Lasser did the same, and then his lordship sprang up from the sofa and rubbed his hands together.
'Well, once again, if there's anything I can help you with then please do not hesitate to contact me.'
Carole nodded, her face impassive, Lasser followed her out of the room and across the huge entrance. As they left, Lasser glanced over his shoulder but there was no sign of Jepson in the large library, closing the door they stepped out into the chill evening air.
Carole lifted the torch from her pocket and flicked it on as they headed for the grass.
'I see what you mean about him,' she said as they walked. 'Part of me admires the man and yet there's something about him that I don't trust.'
Lasser said nothing, his eyes fixed on the splash of light in front.
'What do you make of him?' she asked.
'I have to be careful, I have a natural dislike for those with money and power,' he admitted.
Driven by Fear (The DS Lasser Book 27) Page 24