Long Gone
Page 29
Cullen looked back up at Natalie, who still feeling her throat. ‘Are you okay?’
She nodded.
‘Good. Amy will be delighted to hear it.’
He turned his attention back to his captive. ‘Jack Morton, you’re under arrest…’
59
Cullen called through for backup as he remained astride Jack Morton, who was still quiet, with his cheek planted firmly in the carpet. Natalie was sitting on the bed, regaining her strength.
After a few minutes they made their way downstairs.
And there waiting for them in the living room was Tabitha.
Tears in her eyes.
And a knife in her hand.
60
‘He’s dead!’ she shouted, her shaking hand clenched tightly around the knife. Her face was crumpled with extreme grief. ‘He’s dead,’ she repeated, her voice now soft and broken.
Cullen looked on, feeling constrained as he was still holding onto a handcuffed Jack Morton. ‘Tabitha, please, put the knife down.’
She shook her head lamentedly. ‘It’s too late. Everything is ruined.’
Natalie stepped forwards, beyond Cullen, towards Tabitha. ‘It’s okay, Tabitha.’
Another shake of the head before she looked up with drowning eyes. ‘It’s all his fault. It’s all his fault.’
At first Natalie thought she was referring to Jack, but she wasn’t.
‘I told them to be careful,’ she continued. ‘They knew what my uncle was like. They knew he’d done it before.’
‘You’re Kenneth New’s niece?’
She nodded.
‘We tried to protect you, Natalie. We tried to put in safeguards. He wasn’t even meant to be there. He was meant to already be in Australia. That was the plan. But the old fool just couldn’t help himself. He never can.’
Natalie took a small step forward, with more than half an eye on the knife. ‘Tabitha…’
‘Even after it happened, we tried to protect him, to limit the damage. We were loyal to the company and to him. We must be idiots.’
Natalie edged closer. ‘It will be okay.’
‘And now my fiancé is dead!’ Tabitha shouted. ‘Guy is dead…’
Without warning, she launched the knife with force. It spun at speed through the air, lodging straight in Jack Morton’s head.
He was dead before he hit the floor.
61
‘Come in!’
Paul Cullen took a deep breath and entered. Maggie Ferguson was stood behind her desk, her back to him, gazing out of the window.
‘Ma’am.’
She stood there for a moment longer without replying, while Cullen hovered by one of the chairs. He noticed that this afternoon’s paper displaying his story was on her desk.
He didn’t regret what he had done. Not for one moment. It was the act that had cracked the case. So it was all worth it.
Whatever came next, he was ready for it.
Finally she turned around. ‘Paul. Thank you for coming in at such short notice, and so late in the day. Please, do take a seat.’
Cullen did as requested, and Maggie Ferguson took the seat opposite. ‘I had quite a surprise this afternoon,’ she said, ‘when I was shown the front page of the London Daily Post.’
‘Yes.’
She picked up the paper and held it up facing Cullen.
‘I’m sure I don’t need to explain to you that when you agreed to take a break, you were supposed to actually take a break.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you?’
Cullen played the answer around in his head, but decided to just tell it the way it was. ‘To be honest, not really.’
She surprised him by cracking a wicked smile, accompanied by a half-laugh. ‘No, of course you’re not. You came to your daughter’s aid and saved the day. I get it.’
‘A dad has to do what a dad has to do,’ he said simply.
‘Indeed,’ she mused. ‘You could have been more careful though.’
‘I was. Until I had to be less careful.’
She nodded her understanding. And then, ominously, her face hardened. ‘What if I were to tell you that your stunt this week has cost you your job?’
He opened his mouth to speak, but the wind had been taken out of him. As much as he had steeled himself for the consequences, he now realised that he hadn’t truly thought he would face the ultimate punishment. He’d thought he was bullet-proof, but the truth was it depended on who was firing the shots. So he just sat there, mouth ajar, feeling as if he were in freefall.
‘I’m really sorry, Paul, but you crossed the line. Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I’ve got a call to take.’
Cullen stood, still in shocked disbelief. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
He walked to the door like a man condemned, gripping and twisting the brass handle as a swell of sickness washed over him.
Was this really it?
Was this really the end of the career that he loved so much?
But still, he couldn’t find a place for regret.
He would do the same again. And again.
‘The inquiry has concluded its investigation,’ Maggie Ferguson announced from over his shoulder.
Cullen turned.
‘You’ve been cleared, Paul. Totally exonerated. Which of course I had every confidence that you would be.’
‘How so quickly?’
‘We received some information earlier today from your friends at the London Daily Post.’
Cullen thought back to what the young journalist Zack had said, how he had promised that there was news that would really help his case. ‘What information?’
‘Monday morning, when you spotted the guy outside Euston, he’d exited a shop.’
‘Yes, a pastry shop. The one just outside the train station.’
‘He’d just made a drop,’ she revealed.
‘Drugs? But there was no…’
‘Evidence of anything in his possession? That’s true. But that was only because he’d managed to dump it when you appeared on the scene.’
Cullen stepped back towards her, rapt at the news. ‘But how…’
‘When you moved to apprehend the suspect, can you remember what he was doing?’
‘Eating, from a paper bag.’
‘Which he dropped when he heard you shout.’
Cullen nodded, beginning to understand where this was going. ‘The bag, it didn’t contain food.’
‘Precisely.’
‘He dropped the evidence and took off,’ Cullen thought out loud. ‘I didn’t give it a second thought. I was focussed on catching him.’
‘And why would you? It was a paper food bag, he’d just come out of a pastry shop.’
‘So what was in it?’
‘Money. Just over five thousand pounds in fifty-pound notes.’
‘How did you retrieve it?’
‘Your friends at the Daily Post passed on information from the girlfriend. In their interview with her, she’d got very upset and angry about what had happened, as you can understand. But it wasn’t you she was angry with.’
‘No?’
‘She told your friend Zack that the shop had stolen their money.’
‘She named the shop?’
‘Yes. She admitted he was planning a drugs drop, in exchange for cash.’
‘And she knew that he didn’t have either the drugs or money on his possession at the time of the road traffic collision, because she was right there,’ Cullen said.
‘Yes.’
‘So she decided to come clean.’
‘They’ve got a two-year-old daughter, and she’s worried about how they’ll survive without his income. From what your journalist friend said, she wanted to punish those who had stolen from her.’
‘Do we know the shop took the money?’
‘We looked through the CCTV again. This time we focussed more on the area where he’d dropped the bag. About twenty seconds after the bag
hit the floor, an individual from the shop picked the bag up and took it back inside.’
‘Bingo.’
She nodded. ‘Officers visited the shop just over an hour ago. They found what we presume to be the bag of money, and a significant quantity of drugs – more than could have been part of that particular deal, I’m sure. Seems like they had quite an operation going on there. One of the workers also matched the person in the camera footage.’
‘Good work.’
‘Thanks to the Daily Post,’ she accepted. ‘Do pass on my thanks to your contact.’
‘I will.’
‘So as I said, the independent police investigation is over. You’re in the clear, Paul.’
‘Thanks, ma’am. It’s been good working with…’ He suddenly felt choked up, and couldn’t get the rest of the words out.
He turned again towards the door.
‘Paul,’ she said, as he reached the threshold.
‘Yes?’
‘You know me well enough not to try something like this again, don’t you?’
‘But I thought…’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘I like you, Paul, a lot. I wouldn’t have given you the DCI post if I didn’t have the utmost respect for you. I also trust you. Or at least I thought I did.’
She let the statement hang there like a noose for Cullen to step into headfirst.
‘You can trust me.’
Her smile was tight. ‘Trust is hard won, but easily lost.’
‘I know,’ he said sadly.
She mused on something. ‘Don’t let me down again, Paul.’
‘I won’t.’
‘Take the rest of the week off,’ she said. ‘And I mean off. I don’t want to see or hear of you until first thing Monday morning. Do whatever you like, as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with policing.’
‘I’m okay…’
‘No arguments,’ she said. ‘Call it a washout period.’
‘Okay,’ he conceded.
She nodded at that. ‘Dismissed.’
Cullen nodded back and left, reflecting on his narrow escape as he descended the staircase to the offices of his team. It was gone six thirty and the place was quiet. Margaret, the cleaner, was emptying the bins and they exchanged a hello.
Cullen surveyed the open-plan office, with the side rooms leading off it. This was his patch. This was where he wanted to be. He’d worked hard to get here, and the thought of losing it all had stung.
He would be more careful. Next time Maggie Ferguson wouldn’t be as charitable; of that he was certain.
‘Boss.’ A voice came from behind him.
Cullen turned. ‘Tony! Didn’t realise you were still here. You do know what time it is? Brenda will be wondering where you’ve got to.’
‘I saw you arrive, thought I’d wait around until you came out from your meeting. I figured you might welcome a chat afterwards.’
Cullen placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘You’re a good friend.’
‘Just tell me she hasn’t sacked you.’
‘Nearly,’ he smiled. ‘But not quite.’
‘Well, thank God for that. We need you here.’
‘Nice of you to say so. Fancy a quick pint?’
Beswick grinned. ‘Now you’re talking.’
EPILOGUE
London Daily Post
BRAND NEW TROUBLE FOR SIR KENNETH
MAVERICK BILLIONAIRE SIR Kenneth New is facing mounting calls to resign from the company that he created as more women from across the world come forward with details of alleged assaults. What started with the revelations from Bristol-based university student Natalie Long has very quickly snowballed, with now over twenty current and former employees of Brand New breaking cover to accuse Sir Kenneth of inappropriate behaviour. It is reported that Sir Kenneth has flown back early from a business trip in Sydney to meet with his Board of Directors who called a crisis meeting following the scandal, which has resulted in a sharp drop in the company’s share price on the London Stock Exchange. One unnamed member of the board is quoted as saying: ‘Sir Kenneth is finished. And I’m sure he knows it. For too long people have turned a blind eye to the rumours, but no longer. Time is running out for people like him.’
DETECTIVE CULLEN WILL RETURN
FALLEN ANGEL, the gripping second novel in the DCI Paul Cullen Mystery Series, will be published early in 2020.
Find out more and order the book now from the Kindle Store at a special discounted pre-order price:
Visit the Kindle Store
Thank you for your support.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, thank you to my family for all the support you give me - I couldn’t do this without you! Thank you to all who have bought and read Long Gone - I hope you enjoyed it and will continue to follow the adventures of Detective Paul Cullen. Special thanks to those readers who read and commented on a draft of the novel, providing me with extremely useful feedback during those final stages of production: Eileen Mintonye, Marje Hirst, Christal Worth, John Campbell, Elizabeth Bowen, Tricia Northall, Patricia Cheshire, Nina Izard, Bev Colthorpe, Kelly Ryan, Sharon Nunnerley, Renee Crosbie, Kimberly Daigle, Tracey Moss, Jac Eden, Julie Murrell, Claire Frith, Tracey Silvestri, John-paul Coe, Vicky Larios, Elsi Gabrielsen, Michelle Nelder, David Gildea, Heather Anderson, Michelle Gonzalez, Alexa Toth, Jennifer Moore, Jennifer Clark, Alex Turner, John Lowrey, Rachael Sweeting, Rebecca Casbeard, Angela Casbeard, Stella Ash, Patty Younts, Quindella Ewing, Pat Field, Jennifer Olow, Kristal Ginn, Anca Andronic, Zahira Soto, Dawn Watson, Sylvia Stottlemyer, and Gayle Valentine. Also a big thank you to the following who were among the hundreds of people who pre-ordered the novel: Patricia Cheshire, Angela Casbeard, Andrew Gibbons, Anne Waters, Ruth Bufton, Lisa Furfie, Dorothy Lancaster, Dale DePrima, Wes and Lynn Whittemore, Julie Putt, Mimi Zwerling, Trevor Flowerdew, Kristal Ginn, Yvonne Pearson, Charlotte Stone, Vicky Larios, Eileen Mintonye, Nicki Payne, Tracey Moss, Sarah Wood, Jim Eisele, Laja DeCuir, Margaret Still, Bev Colthorpe, Patricia Cheshire, Kimberley Vials, Bonnie Fowler, Louise Taylor, Tricia Northall, Jessica Pickering, Stuart Tonge, Marsha Laprade, Rochelle Eames, Nikki “Fluffy Fluffster”, John Campbell, Helinka, Jo, Monique Shorts, Linda Freier, Zena Swansbury, Lynda Ross, Sara Starling, Dorothy Lancaster, Starla, Lynn Walker, Montse Ipas, Craig Adamson, Bev Boyle, Alyssa Biediger, Denise Hanby, Pauline Barnes, Vicky Larios, MJ Ilsley, Anita Friel, Gloria Acque, Steph Clayson, Ashleigh Campbell, Liz Wells, Cathy Evans, Jann Spriggs, brconrad, Gillian Ross, Susan O’Connor, John Doublecarol, Sarah Stephens (and Duke!), Sharuqh Bhuiyan, Diane Winter, Rose Thompson, Molly Burian, Michelle Cummins, rrostrowski, Juanita Nokeley, Laura David, Nichole Gearhardt, Michele Selway, Kristy Younger, Kathy Fisher, Karen Bickford, Duane Taylor, Rae Gunter, Rhonda Cook, Megan Kensinger, Jerry Gentry, Gayle Valentine, Anca Andronic, Patricia Bristow, Yvonne Pearson, Michelle Janssen, Pamela Murray, Carlene Lee, Kay Peet, Linda Shelley, Meredith Lucarelli, Gladys Anderson, Jayne Harris, Marcy Dell, Debbie Hunt, Bernie Desmul, Nicola Falkingham, and Ekta Garg. Finally, a big thanks to everyone in the publishing industry who have helped me on my journey over the past few years - it’s been a dream and you have all played your part in helping it to come true! To find out more about my writing you can visit my website at: www.paulpilkington.com
Best wishes, Paul
August 2019
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known for his fast-paced, emotive thrillers and mysteries packed with suspense, twists, turns and cliffhangers, Paul Pilkington is a British writer from the north-west of England. He is the author of the Emma Holden suspense mystery trilogy, the first of which, The One You Love, was number one in the Bookseller Fiction Heatseekers Chart. The second in the series, The One You Fear, was named as one of the Best Kindle Books of 2013. The final instalment, The One You Trust, has helped the series to achieve over 4,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. He is also the author of standalone mystery thrillers Someone to Save You and For Your Own Protection. Long Gone is the first novel in Paul's new mystery
series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Paul Cullen. The second novel in the Paul Cullen series will be published in 2020.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Also by Paul Pilkington
Contents
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Part II
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Part III
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43