HELL'S HALF ACRE a gripping murder mystery full of twists (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 2)

by JACKIE ELLIOTT

  “Knight,” Vega said. “He called himself Mr Knight. Who do you think he is?”

  Walter looked relieved.

  “Art Whilley. He lived where Lee and Nadine — well, not Nadine now, I guess — he lived on that plot of land, but he lived in his parents’ cabin. He was supposed to have died in a fire years ago.”

  “OK, Walter, I don’t know if this is significant or not, but I need to get a look at that photo and find out where Andi got it. Is she home?”

  “No,” Walter said. “She’s staying with Harry on the Pipe Dream. Poor girl. She didn’t feel safe in the apartment.”

  For some reason, Andrew Vega’s heart dropped when he heard that. Pushing the feeling to one side for a minute, and hoping it hadn’t shown on his face, he pulled out his cell phone and spoke to Andi.

  “You have it with you? Great. No, I’ll come to you. I’ll be about half an hour, I’ve got a quick briefing first. Just hang on there.”

  He shook Walter’s hand.

  “Thanks for coming in.”

  As he watched Walter leave the detachment, he turned to Matt.

  “Call Peggy Wilson. No, go to the motel and see if Mr Knight has checked out, or if his car is still there. Get any information you can from Peggy Wilson — but swear her to silence. Threaten to arrest her if you have to. I can’t have gossip spreading and screwing up this investigation, got it? And Matt, do you know Clara Bell?”

  Matt nodded. “I know who she is, sir. She was with Katie Dagg when they found Ricky. You want to speak to her?”

  “Yes. Ask her to come in — I know it’s getting late, but tell her it’s important, OK?”

  Matt nodded and hurried out.

  Vega went into the office and called for attention.

  Keeping it as concise as he could, he briefed his detectives on Walter’s information.

  “I need everything we can find out about this ‘Art Whilley’. Can we connect Whilley or Knight, or whoever it is, to Jade Thompson? Anyone got anything?”

  One young officer put his hand up.

  “This might be something, sir. We went through the mayor’s office to see if there was any clue to her whereabouts — you know, a diary, a scheduled meeting or something, but there was nothing concrete. But we did find an envelope with what looks like a building or development proposal for the old fish plant. One of her staff heard Mayor Thompson and Nadine talking about it the other day. The company name on the papers is Knights Development Ltd.”

  “OK. Good. So it’s possible Jade met up with Knight when she left the office? The fish plant is within walking distance.”

  Vega looked round at the nodding heads. “But let’s not get carried away here. This ‘Knight’, or whoever he is, might just have the misfortune to look like a dead guy. He could genuinely be a real estate developer. And there’s nothing to connect him with any of the Haverses or Nadine.”

  There was something else bothering Vega. He’d heard the name “Knight” before. He said this out loud, and Diane Fowler said, “That dirty little scumbag squatting in the bookstore, you remember? At the strip mall, near the Smoke Room. He claimed to be Ricky Havers’ right-hand man. He was going on about being rescued by a knight in shining armour. He thought it was hilarious. I just thought he was stoned.”

  Vega nodded. “Where is he now?”

  “Passed him on to Nanaimo, sir. Thought he could help with their new drug problem. We found some pills in his stuff, matched the description they’ve been circulating.”

  “Good, Sergeant, get on to them and see if they’ve got anything helpful.”

  “On it, sir.”

  Vega was pleased at the information flowing in the room, but they still weren’t any nearer to finding Jade Thompson. Uniformed officers had interviewed nearly everyone in City Hall. Two people had seen Jade leave on foot and walk in a direction that could have taken her to the fish plant. And then, nothing. And despite Diane Fowler’s keen memory, Vega knew he’d heard the word “Knight” somewhere else.

  He checked the time. Andi was waiting for him, and he needed that photo. At the same moment, PC Matt Beaufort put his head round the door and a detective finished a call.

  “Sir!” they both said in unison.

  “You first.” Vega pointed to Matt.

  “Peggy Wilson says Mr Knight checked out this morning. She didn’t see him go, she just found the key in the box, which is normal if someone’s checking out early. He paid by credit card and she says she knows nothing more about him, apart from what we already know: he was a real estate developer. We have the registration of his car, and I’ve started the paperwork to get the credit card details.”

  “Outstanding work,” Vega said, and Matt beamed at him.

  “You next, Detective,” Vega called out.

  “The search on Summer Thompson’s place, sir. It turned up a gun — doesn’t look like it’s been fired recently, but we sent it in to ballistics anyway. Nothing else out of the ordinary — Jade’s clothes in the closet, doesn’t look like she left in a hurry. We also checked with Hephzibah Brown. She did see Summer this morning, checking if Jade had stayed with her. Says Summer was really worried.”

  “OK. She’s not off the hook yet, but it looks like Mr Knight is our best bet for Jade. Let me think a minute.”

  The room went quiet. Then Vega said slowly, “There’s only one road out of Coffin Cove. Is there any chance at all that this godforsaken town has a camera anywhere on that road?”

  He saw heads shake. He knew it was a long shot.

  Then Diane Fowler blurted, “The Smoke Room, sir! It has a security camera set up over the door that faces the parking lot. If it’s still operational, it might have a view of the road — enough to see vehicles pass, maybe?”

  “Right. Who would monitor that camera?”

  Diane said, “I’ll find out. Maybe Dennis Havers kept the payments up, even after Ricky disappeared. Otherwise the company would have retrieved their equipment, I’m sure.”

  “Follow up, please, Diane. Get the registration of Knight’s car from Matt. And get the registrations of all the vehicles leaving Coffin Cove today. Let’s check them all.”

  Feeling like they were making some progress, Vega left the detachment and drove the short distance to the government dock. He didn’t have time to enjoy the evening air. He had a bad feeling Jade didn’t have time on her side either.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Andrew Vega arrived at the government dock. The sun had lowered behind the cliffs hours ago and the wind was blowing in from the ocean. Clouds scuttled across the sky, obscuring the moonlight. Vega could see the glow of light from the Pipe Dream. A shadow fell across the deck, and he could hear Harry’s voice.

  “Over here, Inspector.”

  Vega didn’t know why it bothered him that Andi was staying with Harry.

  Was he jealous? Vega had this overwhelming feeling it should be him who was “rescuing” Andi, not Harry. Not that she would welcome being rescued.

  He didn’t have time for this. He pushed those thoughts away and shook Harry’s hand as he stepped onto the Pipe Dream.

  “Sorry to disturb your evening, Harry. But this is important.”

  Harry waved away Vega’s apologies and showed him into the galley.

  Vega wasn’t familiar with boats of any kind. The galley was cosy, but there was plenty of room for a kitchen area and dining table. He could smell the aroma of something delicious and was aware he hadn’t eaten in hours.

  Andi was sitting at the table with her laptop in front of her. Vega saw with relief her colour was back and she looked alert, although worried. Beside her was Jim Peters and an older woman he didn’t recognize.

  “Inspector, this is Clara Bell,” Jim explained.

  Vega nodded at the woman, who looked at him with a grim expression. “Pleased to meet you, Clara. My officers are trying to reach you, so I’m glad you’re here.”

  Vega took a seat and Jim started to talk. “Inspector, we have some infor
mation we think is relevant to your investigations. In fact, we think it’s possible a man we all thought was dead has returned to Coffin Cove, and for various reasons has . . .” Jim’s voice faltered. “He’s killed our neighbours. It wasn’t until today after Nadine and the Haverses, well . . . now this makes sense. I’m only sorry we didn’t make the connections before these killings. But I don’t think he’s finished yet.”

  Vega nodded and interrupted Jim. This was making some kind of sense. But he didn’t have much time and needed to formulate a plan.

  “Jade Thompson is missing,” Vega said without any preamble. “You were right, Andi, there was a connection between Ricky and Jade, but it’s not what you thought, and it has nothing to do with Ricky’s death. I’m certain of that.”

  Their faces, especially Andi’s, registered shock.

  “Shit!” said Harry.

  “I thought something was wrong when she didn’t show last night. I was going to call her, but then . . .” Andi tailed off. Vega guessed she was thinking about Nadine.

  Jim asked Vega, “Did you talk to Walter yet?”

  Vega nodded. “I did.”

  Andi asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Walter saw a photograph in your apartment earlier. When he came in with tea for you, remember?” Vega explained.

  Andi nodded.

  “He thinks the man in the photo is either the same man who may be involved in Jade’s disappearance or someone who looks a lot like him.”

  Andi pulled out a file from her laptop case and opened it. “This is the picture.” She handed it to Vega.

  Andi pointed to the men in the photograph. “That man is Wayne Dagg, Lee’s older brother, and that’s Art Whilley. That’s Daniel Ellis, and that’s Doug South—”

  “Wait,” Vega said, his mind racing. “Did you say Daniel Ellis?”

  “Yes,” Andi said, surprised at the urgency in his voice. “I thought you were interested in this one?” She pointed to Art Whilley.

  “I am. It’s just the name has come up.”

  “You think he’s the killer?” Andi asked. There was a hint of the old Andi in her voice, and Vega smiled.

  “I can’t say yet,” Vega said. It came out sounding pompous, and Vega was annoyed with himself. He needed Andi’s help, and he didn’t want to argue.

  “It’s not Daniel, that’s for certain,” Harry said.

  “What?” Vega and Andi said together.

  “Daniel Ellis cannot be the killer,” Harry said. “He was lost at sea. Fishing accident. Well, more stupidity than accident, but the same result. I saw him leave the dock with my own eyes, and he never came back.”

  Vega shook his head. “When Walter came in, he was talking about Art Whilley. He believed Art died in the fire, but Walter swears Art Whilley is wandering round Coffin Cove pretending to be a real estate developer. Now the mayor’s missing, and she’s been in contact with this mysterious man in the last few days. I need to find him, if only to eliminate him from our enquiries. I have my officers looking into the death records,” he said grimly, “but so far they can’t find anything.”

  Vega rubbed his hands over his face. He felt exhausted.

  “I have four people murdered and one person missing. I need to know as much as possible about this Art Whilley, and fast. Jade could be in real danger. So please, no speculation. Just facts.”

  Harry grunted. “There’ve been so many stories about Whilley and Hell’s Half Acre over the years, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. Where did you get the photos anyway?” he asked Andi.

  “Doug and Terri South,” she replied.

  “Figures,” Harry said. “Doug was sort of involved with all that biker gang stuff. So was Dennis, if you can believe it.”

  Vega nodded. “Our mystery man, who may or may not be Art Whilley, he’s calling himself Mr Knight.”

  Harry’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. And you think he snatched Jade Thompson?”

  Vega said, “I don’t know. It’s a lead we’re following, and at the moment, it’s our only lead. Jade was supposed to have a meeting with Knight or Whilley the evening she disappeared. She was last seen walking towards the fish plant. But I have no connection and no motive. So I need to know what you have. Everything.”

  Jim jumped in. “Inspector, if you’ll let me, I’ll tell you what we’ve found out.”

  “Go ahead, Jim, but get to the point, please.”

  “Art Whilley was an abused boy who grew up to be a disturbed young man. Despite a few friends — Clara here, Ann and Doug South — he was a loner. He was also very smart. He liked to mess around with chemicals, and he read a lot. He concocted some kind of drug, a bit like LSD. Somehow, Wayne Dagg, Daniel Ellis and Dennis Havers found out.”

  Jim paused. “I think it’s important for you to understand these three men were Art’s tormentors when he was a boy. They used to ‘hunt’ him, like some kind of animal. Art found some solace with Clara, who taught him how to hunt properly and taught him the old ways of surviving. She did it to help his confidence, but inadvertently showed him how to shoot and use a knife and string up animals — all skills useful for a killer.”

  In his mind, Vega saw the brutal images of Nadine, with her throat neatly slit, and the bodies of Sandra and Dennis Havers. Ricky too, he thought. He was trussed like an animal. They’d thought it was a gangland killing, but Vega realized they were wrong.

  Jim continued. “Wayne, Dennis and Daniel came up with this scheme. They would sell the drugs and split the profits with Art.”

  “Was this Doug South involved?” Vega asked.

  “I don’t think so. I believe Doug is hiding something, but not that.”

  “Go on,” Vega said, beginning to feel like a lot of things were slotting into place.

  “They were successful with the drug business. Wayne had connections with a biker gang, so distribution was easy. Art spent his money on a Mustang, and even had a girlfriend for a while — Nadine Dagg, who broke up with Lee to go out with Art.”

  “Is Lee the jealous type?” Vega asked, aware that Lee Dagg was still at the detachment waiting to be interviewed.

  Harry shook his head. “No. Lee was hurt, and pissed, but who wouldn’t be? Stood up by your girlfriend and then she turns up with the town weirdo in front of all your friends?” He shook his head. “But that was Nadine. Back then and now. Well . . .” He tailed off, remembering.

  Jim said, “Wayne discouraged the relationship. It sounds as if he tried to control everything in Art’s life. Eventually, the scheme fell apart. Daniel died at sea, and we suspect, although we have no proof, that Daniel was also transporting drugs by boat. It’s possible he took a risk when the weather wasn’t good.”

  “Or maybe he was encouraged,” Vega said, remembering Dennis’s note.

  “Maybe. Doug said Daniel was the weak link in the organization. He was reluctant to be involved, and when he met Summer Thompson, she wanted him out. And Art hated her for that, we think because Daniel was kind to him.”

  “So that’s the connection between Art Whilley and Jade? Her mother?” Vega asked.

  Jim nodded. “We can’t find any trace of Wayne’s whereabouts. Wayne disappeared, but not before he somehow became the owner of Art’s property, Hell’s Half Acre. Wayne may have conned Art. Art was smart, but not very worldly, and maybe looked to Wayne as his business mentor. If he thought Wayne betrayed him, it’s another reason for Art to hold a grudge against the Dagg family.”

  Jim became very serious. “If we’re right, Inspector, Art Whilley is destroying all the people who tried to destroy him. The Haverses, Nadine, and now you say Jade Thompson is missing. We believe Lee and Katie Dagg are in his sights too. They’re living at Hell’s Half Acre. It was taken from Art and now he wants it back.”

  Vega let this sink in. Then he asked a question.

  “What did the bikers call themselves?”

  “The Bold Knights or the Knights something,” Harry said. “They ran the biggest drug distributio
n network on the island for a while. You lot tried to nail them, but they were always one step ahead. They were supposed to be using a network of tunnels, the old mining tunnels. They were used by smugglers in the old rum-running days.”

  Sinclair’s report. That’s where Vega had heard the reference to “Knight” before. Everything Harry and Jim were telling him now clicked into place.

  Just then, Vega’s phone rang. He glanced at it, and then said, “I need to take this,” and he stepped out the galley onto the deck.

  When he came back a few minutes later, he said, “Doug and Terri South are at the detachment with Katie Dagg. Summer Thompson is still there too. So I have to get back and verify some things you’ve told me. At the moment we think Whilley or Knight hasn’t left Coffin Cove. But it’s an extensive area, so I need to call in some help.”

  Clara Bell hadn’t said a word. She’d eaten her meal, listening to the conversation, her bright eyes moving from one person to another.

  As Vega went to step out on the deck, she said to the departing figure, “I know where Arthur is.”

  * * *

  Vega wasted no more time. But he needed one more piece of information before he called Superintendent Sinclair.

  Summer Thompson was sitting in an interview room. Her head was bowed and her hands clasped in her lap. For a moment, Vega wondered if she was praying. Then she looked up.

  “Any news?” she asked anxiously.

  Vega shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. But I have to ask you a question and I need you to be straight with me.”

  He pulled up a chair and sat directly opposite her. He looked into Summer’s eyes. She was terrified, he could see.

  He asked, and when she’d answered, he patted her hand.

  “Thank you,” he said. “This will stay between us.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  After Vega had spoken to Summer, he and Sergeant Fowler sat in another interview room with Katie Dagg and Terri and Doug South. Trembling, Katie Dagg pushed a wrinkled business card towards him.

  In a low voice, she said, “Inspector Vega, for the last few days I have been living in a nightmare. It’s surreal. I found Ricky Havers’ dead body, or at least, Clara Bell and I found him. Then my mother was murdered. Then Ricky’s father and mother were murdered, and you think my dad had something to do with it. My dad . . .” Her voice got stronger. “My dad wouldn’t hurt anyone. My parents had problems. They’ve always had problems. But Dad’s never been violent. It isn’t in him.”