by Anita Waller
‘Why?’ Her voice was guttural, and suggestive of a long-term smoker.
‘If we can come in…’ Liam said again.
‘Craig!’ she yelled. ‘Cops for you.’
Liam pushed the door wider, and she stepped back, slightly shocked. There had been no intention to let him in.
‘Rosie, can you put the kettle on, please. I’m sure Mrs Ullyatt would like one.’
Rosie nodded and went in search of the kitchen. It was surprisingly clean, and she switched on the kettle before rooting through cupboards for mugs.
‘Is this the lounge?’
Agnes Ullyat nodded. ‘What do you want?’ Liam thought he detected a slight Irish accent.
‘Is Craig here, Mrs Ullyat?’
‘What’s he done?’
‘Mrs Ullyat, we’re going to get nowhere if all you do is answer my questions with another question. Now can we get Craig downstairs, please. And as far as I am aware, he hasn’t done anything, so he doesn’t need to do a runner out the bedroom window.’
She stared at him and headed for the bottom of the stairs.
‘Craig!’ It was a bellow, so much more than a shout. ‘Craig!’
There was a muffled groan in answer.
‘Get down here. I need you.’
A discernible thud followed as Craig Ullyat must have realised his mother wasn’t going to let this drop. Footsteps were heard padding across the room immediately above the lounge.
‘Need a piss,’ he called.
She shook her head and rejoined Liam.
Craig joined them as Rosie reached the lounge door with the tray of drinks. He stared at her for a moment, then removed one of the cups. She hoped he’d washed his hands.
‘Ta.’
‘You’re welcome.’
She placed the tray on the coffee table and left the drinks there.
‘Mrs Ullyat, Craig, I have some news for you regarding George.’
‘George? Where is he?’ Craig was instantly alert. He replaced his cup on the tray.
‘I’m sorry,’ Liam continued, ‘but Friday we found the buried remains of a man. We have now managed to confirm it is George. We believe he died around three years ago. Would that be about the time he went missing?’
Craig reached for his mother’s hand. She had lost all her colour.
‘But I thought he was in London,’ she whispered.
‘Why did you think that, Mrs Ullyat?’
‘He said that’s where he was going. When he got out of prison he said we’d get up one day and he’d have gone. I always thought that’s what happened. I know Craig didn’t, said he knew his brother and he wouldn’t just leave us, but I knew what he’d said.’
‘Craig?’
The lad shook his head. ‘This is something to do with that Michelle, isn’t it? How did he die?’ He wiped away a tear.
‘He was shot.’
Mother and brother inhaled sharply.
‘Shot?’ Craig repeated.
‘I’m afraid so. Do you know where his ex-girlfriend lives now?’
‘Yes. It’s Summerdene Close. Seventy something. Can’t remember the exact number. She owns the bakery on the shops, that one with the daft name. Breadline.’
Breadline. The bakery underneath Heather and Claudia’s flat. Liam wrote the information in his book, playing for time while he gathered his thoughts.
‘She’s not there this week, though,’ Craig said, sounding sullen.
‘Oh?’
‘I watch her.’ Again the sullen tone.
‘Why? What has she done to deserve that?’ Liam knew his own voice held sharpness. He didn’t like stalkers, knew they could do permanent damage to someone’s life, just by getting into their mind.
‘I knew she had summat to do with our George disappearing. Bet she’s got a gun that matches the bullet that killed our George.’
‘We will, of course, be checking all of this out,’ Liam said. ‘Can you remember the exact date you last saw him?’
‘The 4th of June 2014,’ Craig said promptly.
‘That’s pretty precise,’ Norwood responded.
‘It was my birthday. He bought me two games for my Xbox, said he’d been to town to get them. I never saw him again.’
‘He did go to town for you,’ Liam said gently. This lad had clearly worshipped his older brother. ‘We found a bus ticket in the jeans pocket, dated 3rd of June 2014.’
This time Craig didn’t wipe the tears away. He held on to his mother, and Agnes stroked his hair.
Rosie stood and handed the drinks out. ‘Here,’ she said softly, ‘I know it seems daft, but this will help.’
They took the drinks from her, sipping slowly.
‘So what do we do now?’ Agnes asked.
‘Nothing, until the coroner releases the body to you. We don’t need formal identification, it’s been done by DNA.’ He thought it best not to put it into words that the body was skeletal. ‘I’m so sorry we’ve had to bring you this news, it’s not a job we enjoy, believe me. And Craig, I can tell how much you loved your brother. Respect his memory and keep away from that bakery and Michelle’s home. If retribution is needed, we’ll see to it by going down the legal route.’
Rosie and Liam replaced their mugs on the tray and stood.
‘We’ll leave you alone. We will be releasing George’s name to the press now that you’ve been informed, so you’ll need to be prepared for that.’
‘Where did you find him?’ It was almost as if a torch had switched on in Craig’s head.
‘There’s a patch of land…’
‘Round the back of bloody Breadline!’ Craig finished the sentence triumphantly. ‘I told you she was involved. I was there when you turned up last Wednesday and started putting tape on the alleyway.’
‘Craig, I’ll make this official if I have to. You’re making unsubstantiated accusations against another member of the public, and if I hear one word of this from anyone else, I’ll charge you. Is that understood? You keep away from the lady.’
‘Don’t worry, DS Norwood, I’ll sort him. Just get his killer, will you, and Craig can forget all of this. I always liked Michelle, and what our George did to her was wrong. Her married name is Baldwin, by the way.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Ullyat, we’ll get out of your way. And I really am sorry for your loss, it’s even more painful when it’s a son or daughter.’
She gave a slight nod, and stood to escort them to the door, pulling her dressing gown around her tightly. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘For explaining everything. And don’t worry about Craig, I’ll sort him. He’ll not turn out like his brother.’
It came as no surprise to Michelle when Norwood and Havenhand turned up at the bakery. Jade had filled her in about the police activity eventually – it had taken a phone call to elicit any information of the forensic team’s presence – and the presence of a body on the council land. Jade hadn’t known who it was.
Michelle did. She had initially put the body in the brick storage area for a couple of days while she dug what she hoped was his final resting place. It had been backbreaking work, the ground had been baked hard after two weeks of solid sunshine, and she knew it had to be deep. She remembered the old man from across the way asking her if she was burying a body, and she had told him she wanted to put some manure and compost in the hole to make the soil richer. She wanted to grow her own salad crops for the shop. He had been impressed and wished her luck.
She waited until the second night, after midnight, and she had dragged George’s body out of the shed and into the hole. It was a lot quicker filling it in than it was digging it.
She planted the seeds two days later and used the resultant harvest in the shop. She never planted seeds after that one year. The old man, the only one to have seen her, she hoped, died the following year.
The officers introduced themselves and asked if she could spare a few minutes.
‘No,’ she said. ‘I can’t. It’s eleven o’clock, and my busiest time of th
e day. I close at two, and can wait here for you, if that’s any help. What’s it about?’
‘There’s been a body found on your land at the back of the shop. We just need to check a few details with you.’ Liam played down the situation.
‘It’s not my land, it belongs to the council.’
‘We know. But your shop backs onto it, and you may have seen something that would be helpful to us. We’ll see you at two.’ He turned and followed Rosie out of the door.
He glanced up and down the road, pleased to see there was no Craig lurking. Liam knocked on the door next to the shop and waited for one of the ladies to answer. Heather did.
‘Hello?’
‘Mrs Gower, it’s DS Norwood and DC Havenhand. Can we come up, please?’
‘Two seconds.’
The door opened, and they went in.
‘I need you to be quiet for a couple of minutes,’ Heather said. ‘Claudia has been having some pain in her side, and she’s on the phone with her consultant. We’re hoping she can collect a prescription from her doctor, but he may want to see her.’
They nodded and followed Heather through to the lounge.
‘You had a good holiday?’ Norwood kept his voice low.
‘Lovely, thanks, we saw as much as we could but Claudia tires easily. We used the tourist bus and taxis a lot, but it was worth it. She cried when she saw the Mona Lisa.’
‘So did I,’ Rosie confessed. ‘It’s just knowing who painted it, and that you’re virtually stood in the same position he would have been standing when he created it. I found it very emotional.’
They heard Claudia say goodbye, and seconds later she was in the lounge with them.
‘Mrs Bell, I understand you’re not well. If you have to go…’
‘No, apparently it’s to be expected. He’s faxing a prescription through to my doctors for strong pain relief, and I can collect it this afternoon, so we’re good.’ She was holding her arm close to her side and in clear discomfort.
‘Then we’ll not keep you long. I just wanted to check in and fill you in on what’s been happening in your absence. We checked out both of your homes but found no clues as to where James could be. That investigation is still ongoing, obviously, but now we have a second one that happened right outside your patio area. You’ve probably noticed the crime scene tape. We found a body there, one that had been buried for about three years. We have his identification. His name is George Ullyat.’
Claudia felt herself go cold. Hadn’t they just put in a doorbell system to help Michelle if George Ullyat showed up?
Rosie took note of the glance that passed between the two women. ‘You know him?’
‘Only his name,’ Heather volunteered. ‘He’s the one who beat up a friend of ours and served time for it. Is it connected with that?’
‘We have no idea, but we intend finding out. I’m assuming the friend you speak of is Michelle Baldwin?’
They nodded.
‘I’m interviewing her after the shop has closed at two o’clock.’
‘How did he die?’ Claudia asked.
‘He was shot.’
Claudia couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She knew of the existence of a gun; was she supposed to tell the police officer, or keep quiet to protect her friend? And why had that friend pretended that George was the man stalking her, the man who had tried to run all three of them down? Her mind was working overtime trying to come up with logical answers.
And then she knew. The body could have lain undiscovered forever, and that was why Michelle continued to pretend George was still around. Michelle knew exactly where George Ullyat was.
So what had made them dig in that spot? Dare she ask?
She daren’t.
Claudia pulled her arm in closer to her side and groaned.
‘I’m so sorry, Mrs Bell. We’ll go. You need to get that medication. I won’t trouble you again unless we have something to pass on to you.’ He turned to Heather. ‘We’ll see ourselves out. If you have anything to pass on, please ring me.’
Heather nodded. She thought that was a strange thing to say. Did he suspect something that he wasn’t mentioning? She was starting to feel paranoid. So many questions running through her brain.
‘Claud, you okay? I’ll go and get the car and we’ll go get this prescription.’
‘There’s no panic, Heather. The co-codamols are working fine now, just getting the odd twinge. I just wanted them to go, so I played on the pain.’
Heather stared at her. ‘You had better never, and I mean never, do that with me. I need to know exactly what you’re going through if I’m to help you.’
‘I promise,’ Claudia said, smiling. ‘We’ll go out later and get them. I want to talk to Michelle when Norwood’s chewed her up and spat her out.’ Claudia looked at her watch. ‘He’s not seeing her for another hour, so I’ll give her a ring and ask her to come up for a cuppa after he’s gone. Unless he arrests her, of course.’
‘What?’ Heather whispered. ‘You think she killed the feller they’ve dug up?’
‘Don’t you?’
‘But she’s such a lovely person.’ Heather closed her eyes momentarily.
‘And suppose he’d just attacked her again, despite the prison sentence. Suppose the attack involved rape… just suppose, Heather. We know she’s got a gun. She told us that much. And it’s in her attic, probably hidden.’
‘I’ll ring her. You’re right, as always. We need to talk to her. And while we’re waiting for that to happen, we’ll nip out for that prescription. No arguing. I saw the pain you were in before you took your painkillers. Did Mr Quentin want to see you?’
‘Yes, I said I would go on Wednesday. He wants blood tests doing. Something about tumour markers. I didn’t really understand, but I’ll ask when I get there.’
Heather rang Michelle, who said she would be only too happy to come up after Norwood had finished with her, and she would bring some buns. She was having a shit day, and it was time it improved.
Heather could tell that Claudia was still uncomfortable, so she sent her to bed for an hour, and went on her own to collect the prescription.
The receptionist looked serious as she handed over the prescription.
‘And how is Mrs Bell doing?’
‘She’s okay. We’ve just had a few days in Paris, and that was good, but I think she’s maybe paying for that. She’s tired. And her pain has increased. She needs these.’ She picked up the prescription and headed to the pharmacy.
Half an hour later she was home, and Claudia was still asleep.
‘Mrs Baldwin, we are aware of your relationship with George Ullyat. Can you remember when you last saw him?’
‘No.’
‘Not at all?’
‘No, I’m sorry, I can’t. I saw him after his release because he stalked me for ages, but then he stopped, and his blasted brother took over. The family won’t leave me alone, and the police don’t want to know, so don’t come here asking daft questions. I’ve reported Craig Ullyat at least four times, and I don’t imagine he’s had so much as a visit from you.’
She was angry, and justifiably so, Norwood thought.
‘I can only apologise for that,’ he said. ‘I’m hoping it has stopped now. We have had a word with him. However, if you do feel threatened by him, if he continues to watch you, please ring me direct.’ He handed her his card. ‘I’ve warned him there will be consequences if he continues to hassle you, and I mean it.’
‘Thank you.’ She spoke stiffly.
‘Mrs Baldwin, do you own a gun? Or have access to one?’
Michelle laughed. ‘Even if I did have one, I wouldn’t have a clue how to use it. Sometimes I can’t even fathom out the tin opener, so a gun would be way beyond me. No, is the answer.’
‘You are aware, however, that we have found a body. It was buried on the land outside the back door of your shop.’
‘I am. I wasn’t in the shop last week because I had a fall which resulted i
n a badly sprained ankle and a fracture to my wrist. It’s certainly not better, but I can cope with it now. My sister covered the shop for me and she kept me informed. Are you trying to tell me it was George?’
‘Yes. We had his DNA on file following his prison sentence for the attack on you.’
‘DS Norwood, do you have any idea how many people would be in the queue to bump George Ullyat off? I’m nearly at the end of that queue. He was a drug dealer, just as Craig is – he probably took over George’s patch as soon as George was off the scene. In fact he’s the first person I would be looking at.’
Chapter 24
‘Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake in the cauldron boil and bake,’ Heather said, as she carried a tray of buns and mugs of tea into the lounge. She placed it on the makeshift coffee table and handed small plates out. ‘Eat,’ she commanded. ‘Let the three-witch coven begin.’
‘You got any spells for getting rid of smart-arse policemen?’ Michelle asked.
‘Not yet, but working on it. Think we need newts and toads for that.’
‘He’s hassling you?’ Claudia asked.
‘Kind of. He thinks I killed George Ullyat.’
‘Did you?’ Both women asked at the same time.
‘Depends who’s asking.’
Again both women spoke at once. ‘Friends.’
‘Then yes, I did.’
There was silence for a moment.
‘Shit,’ Heather said.
‘Wow,’ responded Claudia.
‘Hadn’t you guessed?’ Michelle turned to both of them.
‘Yes, we had,’ Heather responded, ‘but to hear it confirmed by the person who did the deed is another thing altogether.’
‘You need to get rid of that gun in your attic. He will get a search warrant you know, or he’ll do it by stealth like he did with us. Get rid, please, Michelle.’ Claudia was pleading.
‘It’s not in my attic.’
‘But you said…’ Heather looked puzzled.
‘I said it was in the attic, not my attic.’
