Shut Up and Drive: DI Ted Darling Book 4

by L M Krier

  Once again, she led the way carefully down the hallway into the front room and immediately groped for the remote to turn off the television. Ted took a seat where she indicated and looked around the room, which he noticed was not all that warm with the frugal heat of just one section of a gas fire alight.

  There were only three Christmas cards on the mantelpiece, and the remains of what looked like a Meals on Wheels dish, gone cold and congealed on the table laid for one.

  'I just thought I'd call round to wish you seasons' greetings, and to let you know what was going on, with regard to our earlier conversation, Miss Norman,' he began.

  'You are very kind, Inspector. Certainly the most considerate police officer with whom I have had contact.'

  'As Jenny Holden threatened, she did go to the press about her allegations. Of course, I was not able to tell the local journalist anything at all about your brother. Even if I had been able to, I would have preferred not to.

  'I think I've bought him off by sending him in a different direction altogether, for a bigger story. I thought I would just come and let you know in person, and to make sure you had my contact details, just in case anyone from the press ever does try to get in contact with you. Please free to call me, at any time, and I will do whatever I can to help you.'

  'That is indeed kind, but surely above and beyond the call of duty?'

  'I'm just trying to help, Miss Norman. It saddens me very much to hear how your brother was treated and I'm just trying, belatedly, to do all I can to make it, if not right, exactly, then better than it was,' Ted told her frankly. 'I don't mean to sound patronising, but are you on your own?'

  'I am,' she told him. 'There was only ever Kenny for company, after our mother died. I've never been what you might call a joiner. Someone who signs up for every club and group going. So as you have no doubt deduced, you being a detective, from the small number of Christmas cards, my circle of friends has diminished over the years as my peers have passed on.

  'Might I ask you an extremely personal, and therefore impertinent, question, Inspector?'

  Ted was taken aback, not expecting her to even suggest doing so, but he said, 'Yes, of course, Miss Norman.'

  'As I told you before, I no longer see very well, so I can't tell from your appearance. I do apologise for asking, but I'm sensing from your kindness and empathy that you are someone who understands what it is like to be different from others in some way.'

  'I'm gay, Miss Norman,' he told her candidly. 'My partner is a much younger man. Even in these supposedly enlightened times, we still occasionally experience a degree of homophobia from some people. Including from those who should know better.'

  'Thank you. And thank you for all your efforts for Kenny.' She made to stand up to show him to the door but Ted stepped closer to shake her hand and assured her that he was happy to see himself out.

  As he let himself out of the house, making sure that the door was securely pulled closed behind him, the mobile phone in his pocket began serenading him with the opening bars of 'Barcelona'. Ted took the phone out. The screen told him it was Jezza calling.

  'Yes, Jezza, what can I do for you?'

  'Boss …' Her voice was low and muffled with tears

  Ted was instantly alert as he headed down the driveway to his car.

  'What is it, Jezza, what's happened?' he asked anxiously.

  'Boss, can you come and get me?' she sobbed. 'Just you? Please? Don't tell anyone else. Please, boss.'

  'Where are you? What's wrong?' He opened the car door and leapt into the driving seat, starting the engine. 'Tell me where you are, Jezza, I'm on my way.'

  For a moment, he could hear only sobs. Then, her broken voice added, 'He got me, boss.'

  Chapter Seventeen

  'I'm coming Jezza, just tell me where to find you. I'll be right there. Is he still there? Jezza, please talk to me.'

  Ted was racing the engine without realising, itching to be on his way, but not yet knowing where to go. Then he heard a noise as if the phone was being moved. A woman's voice he did not recognise said, 'Inspector? I'm with Jezza. She's been attacked, but I'm waiting with her until you get here. She wouldn't let me call anyone else.'

  The woman gave him clear directions as to where to find them, then added, 'She's most insistent you come on your own first. She is injured but is adamant it's not life-threatening, and we have dressed the wound between us.'

  Ted slammed the car mercilessly into gear and left rubber marks as he roared out of the quiet road, tyres squealing. Darkness had fallen and it was rapidly going cold and frosty.

  It was not far to the location he had been given, near to Reddish Vale. Traffic was heavy near the exit from a busy supermarket, but there was no sign of anyone on the single-track road he took nearby, turning off the main road, following the unknown woman's directions. He slowed down as he started along the road, his eyes scanning anxiously for any signs of Jezza or the woman, either on the road or among the willow trees and undergrowth along the sides.

  In the light cast by his dipped headlights, ahead of him, he saw a woman standing in the middle of the road, two enormous German Shepherd dogs by her side. He could just make out a huddled form on the ground at the side of the road near to them. Ted stopped the car and turned off the engine, switching on the four-way flashers and leaving the dipped headlights on to light his way.

  He grabbed his torch and got out of the car, eyeing the dogs warily. 'Jezza?' he called.

  'Here, boss.'

  He didn't think he had ever heard such evident relief in anyone's voice. He started cautiously forward, pulling out his warrant card and holding it up towards the unidentified woman. Both dogs immediately began to growl and bark menacingly. The one with short hair was big enough, but the second, longer-haired one, appeared to be the size of a small pony.

  'Perro! Sjambok! Lie down,' the woman ordered. Both dogs obeyed immediately. 'It's safe to come closer, Inspector, just please don't make any sudden movement, especially towards me.'

  'Jezza, are you all right?' Ted asked anxiously, walking nearer. As he approached, he decided the bigger dog wasn't the size of a pony at all. Up close, it looked more like a bear. But at least the two of them stayed obediently lying down as he approached, though both were rumbling under their breath.

  He could see Jezza now, sitting at the edge of the road, her knees drawn up to her chest, one arm clasped tightly around them, the other holding her side. Her face was battered and bruised, streaked with tears, eyes puffy. There was no sign of her car.

  'I'll call an ambulance,' he said, reaching for his phone. Both dogs immediately sat up and barked again.

  'No sudden movements, please,' the woman reminded him, then again ordered the dogs to lie down.

  At the same time, Jezza said, 'No ambulance, boss. Just you. He knifed me, but it's not serious. Olivia had a first aid kit. As long as I hold this pad in place, it'll be fine. Just take me in yourself. Please, boss.'

  'I must have come along just as the man was leaving,' the woman told him. 'I heard a car backing very fast down the track towards the main road. I've not touched her, just made sure she was able to dress the wound herself. I've tried not to get too close. Scene of crime, and all that.'

  Ted looked at her enquiringly. She made a self-deprecating face as she said, 'I'm a crime fiction writer. Olivia Radnor. You may have heard of me?'

  Ted shook his head, but his attention was focused on Jezza. 'I'm going to have to call the cavalry, Jezza, you know that. We need to get you seen by a doctor as soon as possible. They can advise if you need to go to hospital.

  'Mrs Radnor, would you mind waiting here until someone arrives to take your witness statement, please? I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but we do need to take note of everything you can tell us, while it's still fresh in your mind.'

  'It's Ms Radnor,' she corrected him. 'It really would be better if I take the boys home for their tea and someone comes to the house to interview me, if that's possible? I don't l
ive far away. I've written all my contact details here, and I'll be at home all evening now.'

  She handed him a card, which caused an increase in volume of the grumbling from the dogs, though they made no move, having been told to stay.

  Ted nodded reluctantly, then, as she made to leave, he said, 'Please would you put the dogs on leads, Ms Radnor. I can see that you have them under control, but just in case we need to bring in police dogs to work the scene of crime for any reason. We'll also need to do a thorough fingertip search, so it would be better if your dogs don't wander everywhere and cause a distraction.'

  'Of course, how stupid of me, I should have realised,' she said, as she clipped the dogs' leads on and started to walk away, adding, 'I do hope you will be all right, Jezza. Do please ask someone to let me know how you are.'

  Jezza mumbled her thanks. Her teeth were chattering with cold and Ted knew he should get her seen and treated by a doctor as soon as he could.

  'I have to call back-up now, Jezza, you know that,' he told her again, his tone apologetic. 'Then I need to take you either to the station or to St Mary's, as soon as possible, whichever you prefer. It's your choice how we go forward with this. Is there someone you want me to call, to be with you?'

  'The nick, not the rape centre. I don't want to go there. I want to be on familiar territory. And please call Maurice,' she said decidedly.

  A seemingly unlikely but genuine friendship had grown up between Maurice, Steve, Jezza and her young brother, Tommy. 'Tom's with the child minder until seven, but could Maurice take Steve round to my place to take over until I get back? And can you ask him to bring me a change of clothes? Anything.'

  Ted nodded his understanding. Maurice in fatherly mode would be a brilliant choice, if she had no one else to call on at short notice.

  He phoned Maurice, gave him brief details and location, and swore him to secrecy. He didn't want word to leak out to the rest of the team too soon. When he called Mike Hallam and asked for two team members to come to the scene, he didn't tell them who the victim was. He didn't want them driving like lunatics and putting themselves at risk, knowing a colleague was involved.

  Next he called the station to summon reinforcements, then turned all his attention back to Jezza. He crouched down so his face was at her level, but not moving too close.

  'Are you sure the wound is all right? Is it still bleeding? What can I do to help?' he asked her quietly.

  'What I really need right now is a hug,' she wailed forlornly.

  Ted felt as if his heart was being torn out of his chest. 'You know I can't do that, Jezza. You know I shouldn't touch you.'

  For a moment, her milky-blue eyes blazed with anger as she spat, 'I'm a bloody human being, not a scene of crime!'

  Ted crouched a little closer. He had instinctively pulled on latex gloves before approaching, a reflex action for any crime scene. Jezza had dropped her chin and broken eye contact with him. As gently as he could, he reached out one gloved finger and tilted her head back up so he could see her eyes.

  'Jezza, I know how you're feeling. Really. I do know,' he said gently, as their eyes locked. Her own eyes suddenly widened in startled comprehension as she realised what he was telling her. Then, at the first sound of sirens in the distance, he continued, speaking softly, 'If you're sure, I can put you in my car and take you straight to the station. But I'll just have to wait until they get here,' nodding his head towards the approaching sounds.

  'I'll get you the latest fashion in onesies from the car, then help you in there before they get here, so you don't have to see anyone. I'll start it up so you can have the heater on full blast. I don't want to take a risk with draining the battery, the way my luck has been running with cars lately. Then I'll take you in. You know the procedure. You'll be spoken to by specially trained officers, and you'll be in control all along of what happens.

  'It's going to be all right, Jezza. And I promise you, we are going to get him.'

  He got her carefully into his car, manoeuvred it as far to the side of the track as he could, then turned up the heater to maximum so she could benefit from some much-needed warmth.

  Uniform officers were first on the scene in a patrol car. Ted got out to brief them and to tell them that he would be handing over to Mike Hallam as soon as he arrived.

  'I don't know if there are any cars in the parking area at the far end. You might want to take a drive up there first. Send them on their way, if there are any. We don't need any rubberneckers. Then secure the scene from either end of the road, once you get another unit on site. And don't let anyone through, for any reason, not even on foot or bikes.

  'My team and SOCO should be here very shortly. I'll watch this end, you go and check the parking.'

  Mike Hallam arrived next, with Rob, and parked his car behind Ted's. Ted quickly strode forward to meet them both, before they saw who was in the passenger seat of his car.

  'I didn't want to tell you on the phone but it's Jezza. He got Jezza.'

  Both men swore under their breath, then Mike asked, 'Is she all right, boss? Is she badly hurt?'

  'She says not, but I want to get her to the station and checked out as soon as possible. She doesn't want to go to St Mary's. Here's the details of a passing dog walker who, luckily, stopped to help her. Rob, can you get round there as soon as you can and get a statement. And can you sort out trying to find Jezza's car. It's distinctive, so it might be spotted and we might just get our man that way.

  'I better get going now. I'll need to let the Super know, for one thing. I know I can always trust you to do a thorough job but this time it's one of ours, so can you double your efforts on it, please? And keep me posted all the time.'

  Ted got back into his car, put it into gear then backed carefully down the narrow road, hoping he wouldn't run into any of the reinforcements coming the other way at speed.

  'How are you doing now, Jezza?'

  'Oh, I'm having a bloody marvellous time,' she snapped back sharply, with a flash of the old Jezza, as she was when she had first joined the team.

  'Sorry,' Ted said. 'I'm rubbish at knowing the right thing to say.'

  'Well, can you just listen instead? There's something I want to say, but I don't want anyone else to know. I want to explain how it happened. How I let it happen to me.'

  'No one is blaming you, Jezza, and you mustn't blame yourself. This isn't your fault …'

  'Boss, can you just shut up and listen? Please?' she asked, but her tone was lighter. 'I have been being really careful, I honestly have. I didn't park in a quiet corner, always where it was busy. And I was keeping an eye on anyone around me.

  'I'd been into the store to change Tommy's present. I was just taking it back to the car. I saw a man at the car next to mine, just getting his keys out. He was really ordinary-looking. He was wearing a flashing Santa hat. He looked just like someone's dad. He smiled at me. I even smiled back …' her voice broke slightly.

  'I didn't give him a second thought. He didn't look like any kind of a threat. Then as soon as I unlocked and got into the car, he was through the door and into the passenger seat in a flash, and I could feel the knife up against me. I could feel the blade through my clothing.

  'He told me to shut up, keep both hands where he could see them and do as he told me. He said if I did, he wouldn't hurt me. I knew he was lying. I knew what he was going to do. But I kept thinking if I did exactly as he said, it might be all right. He might not kill me, he might not even rape me. He might just take the car and let me go.

  'I was praying in my head that that's all that would happen. And I was absolutely terrified. Too scared even to think about grabbing the spray Inspector Turner gave me. Or doing anything else. All I could think about was that he was going to rape me, and I was petrified. Because I've never had sex with anyone.' She broke off again, with a small sob, before she added. 'Only my father.'

  They were just pulling away from traffic lights. Ted let the clutch out too quickly in his shock at her words and sta
lled the car, then fumbled with the key to restart it. He had no idea what to say.

  'It started on my eleventh birthday. He told me it was my special present, because I was a big girl now. It went on until I was sixteen, when I insisted on having a lock on my bedroom door. My mother knew, I'm sure. That's why she made him buy me the flat, to get me as far away from him as possible.'

  She looked at him as she said, 'I'm sorry to dump all this on you, boss. I just needed to tell you that. Anyway, I was still hoping I'd be all right. I thought once we were out of the car, maybe I could do something. Kickboxing. Run away. Anything.

  'I thought he'd make me get out my side while he got out of the passenger door and came round. Somehow he seemed to guess that I was planning to do something. When he told me to stop, he grabbed me, held the knife up against my throat, and pulled me out of the passenger door with him.

  'There was just one moment when he didn't have the knife up against me. I took a chance on a kick. He must be trained. He moved faster than anyone I've ever fought in kickboxing. He grabbed my foot and pulled it up higher so I overbalanced onto my back. He leapt on top of me, kneeling astride me, and punched me a few times in the face. Then he cut me with the knife. Enough to draw blood. A clear warning not to try anything else.

  'The rest you can imagine.'

  They had arrived at the station. Ted parked as near to the entrance as he could. He always kept a spare fleece jacket in the car, and he it draped carefully around Jezza's shoulders now, over the disposable coverall he'd given her to slip on.

  'I don't want anyone else to know that,' she told him, anxiously. 'I just needed to tell you.'

  'They won't,' he promised her. 'Now, this next part is not going to be easy, either, but everything is going to be all right. I promise you. It will be all right.'

  Chapter Eighteen

  Now she was in the coveralls and he wouldn't leave traces of his own DNA on her, Ted put a protective arm around Jezza's shoulders as he helped her into the station. He was careful to shield her from enquiring glances at the front desk.