‘What do you know about the payments that Robert received every month since the middle of April?’
‘That was Ken, trying to sweeten the deal. He was trying to coerce Robert into taking on more responsibility by showing him what he could get out of it. Robert refused to spend any of it, but the money kept coming in. He told Annette they were performance bonuses, I think. He didn’t want to scare her, not until he’d worked out a way to get them to safety.’
‘What happened when he got to the boat on Friday night?’
‘He told me what he’d found. Obviously he couldn’t go into the properties – he didn’t want Ken to know he’d been there, but someone must’ve seen him and reported it. He said he did see that they were toy companies and that was what he’d suspected. He had paperwork, too. Stuff he’d found in Ken’s study – some notes, I think – but he was convinced Ken had got involved in something big. Ken had mentioned to him and Annette over the summer that he was thinking of branching out with the business to make sure it became the legacy he wanted to leave behind for Alice. He told Robert that he might have to take on some more work to free up his time. Robert thought that’s why Ken employed John five months ago – because he wouldn’t have time to run the wine merchants side of things if he was pursuing his other interests.’
‘What happened to the paperwork?’ said Barnes. ‘We found nothing on Robert when he was discovered.’
‘Ken must’ve taken it, then.’
‘What about the MS?’ said Kay.
‘All bullshit,’ said Greg. ‘Robert worked that one out a while back, but didn’t say anything to Annette. He followed him one night from the house. Turns out Ken was meeting someone at a fast food restaurant the other side of Ashford, in the car park. A woman.’
‘Did Robert say who she was?’
‘He didn’t know her name, but he said he’d seen her go into one of the factories in France.’
‘Did he describe her?’
Greg leaned back and stared at the floor. ‘Black hair, down to her shoulders. Slim. Black jeans and a leather jacket. Sorry, that’s all I remember. He said she looked like she belonged on a motorbike, not driving a top of the range SUV.’
‘Did he tell you when this was? Did he give you any idea what date he saw this?’
‘No, sorry.’
Kay checked her notes. ‘Tell me about the boat at Allington lock.’
‘Robert hired it. He was paranoid that Ken might find out that I had Alice with me, so the plan was to moor the boat I’d hired next to Allington Castle and then walk up to the lock to pick up the boat in his name. I think he thought it would sow some confusion if Ken found out, because he’d think Robert was still in France.’ He choked out a bitter laugh. ‘God, we were so naïve. That’s why I didn’t use it in the end. I thought they’d figured out the whole plan.’
‘Where would you have gone from Allington?’
‘Downstream to Thanet, and then switch to a third boat – a larger one. Robert was going to take Alice out of the country, you see. He has contacts through the wine trade in Germany. It was the only thing he could think of doing to keep her safe.’
‘Did Annette know?’
‘No – he was too afraid Ken would find out and harm her in some way.’ His mouth twisted. ‘He was going to send for her once he knew Alice was safe.’
‘Instead, Ken somehow found out, and knew Robert was back in the country, thanks to his contacts,’ said Kay. She leaned forward. ‘Do you believe Kenneth Archerton murdered your brother?’
‘Yes, of course,’ said Greg. ‘And you’ve let Annette take Alice back to him.’
Fifty-Two
Sharp appeared from his office as Kay and Barnes entered the incident room, and gestured to the skeleton team that mingled at the far end.
‘Carys and Gavin have just finished updating HOLMES2,’ he said. ‘Grab yourselves something to drink and then join us. I presume your visit to Greg Victor proved worthwhile?’
‘I think we’re ready for an arrest, guv,’ said Kay.
‘Good. Two minutes, then.’
The sweet scent of energy drinks underpinned an overwhelming smell of takeaway food as the assembled police officers tried to stay awake by fuelling their tired bodies with fat and sugar.
Kay took a moment to run through her notes, and then once she was satisfied she could provide a succinct account to her colleagues, she pinched a spring roll from Debbie’s desk with a wink as she passed and joined Barnes at the front of the room.
Sharp was already barking orders to the uniformed ranks, planning the details of Ken Archerton’s arrest and making sure all the files and documentation were in order for the Crown Prosecution Service.
‘Right,’ he said, as Kay joined them. ‘Carys, let’s have you up here to take us through Patricia Wells’s interview. Only the relevant points, mind – if anyone’s interested in further details, they can read yours and Piper’s report on the database.’
‘Thanks, guv.’ The detective constable stood in front of the whiteboard and cleared her throat. ‘Okay, so Patricia has confirmed our suspicions about Kenneth Archerton’s illness. She was recruited in France while taking a sabbatical there in a place called Laval – it’s west of Le Mans. Archerton told her that her job was to help him keep up appearances. She started working for him five months ago, and met him for the first time a week before her appointment. She maintains that she only found out about the drugs a few weeks back, and that she was afraid for her life so she told Archerton she’d remain silent. He then used her to ferry him back and forth from meetings with an end user organisation in Manchester, under the guise of visiting a specialist about his MS. She scored a pay rise shortly after she found out about the drugs, so no doubt Archerton was ensuring she didn’t go back on her word. I think she already suspected what he was capable of if she came to us.’
‘What about the night of Robert’s murder?’ said Kay. ‘Could she shed any light on that?’
‘Yes – she states that Archerton took a phone call that night. She didn’t know from whom, or what it was about, but she said he was in a bad temper afterwards. At nine forty-five, he took her car and left the house. She then went on to say he didn’t return until half past eleven.’
‘Giving him plenty of time to get to East Farleigh by ten-fifteen when Andy’s lot picked up her car on CCTV, wait until it was dark and then walk along to the boat and back,’ said Gavin.
‘Thanks, Carys,’ said Sharp. ‘Kay? How does that fit in with what Greg Victor told you?’
Kay smiled. ‘I think we’ve got him, guv. Greg confirms that Archerton doesn’t have MS – apparently, Robert suspected as much earlier in the summer, and he also didn’t buy into his business expansion. Then, he found some paperwork in Archerton’s study that rang alarm bells. Who knows? Perhaps Archerton realised Robert had that – Greg certainly seems to think that Robert had evidence at the time he arrived at the boat on Friday night, but it wasn’t in his possession when we found his body.’
‘What is interesting is that Greg says Robert saw Archerton meeting with a woman in a fast food restaurant car park the other side of Ashford a few weeks ago,’ said Barnes. ‘Did Patricia give you a description of the woman who she met in Laval?’
‘Black hair, slim, about my height,’ said Carys. ‘Goes by the name of Beatrice – no surname, unfortunately.’
‘Sounds exactly like the woman Robert described to Greg,’ said Kay. ‘So she’s definitely a person of interest in all this.’
‘What else have you two got?’ said Sharp, updating the notes on the whiteboard.
‘Greg said his brother was convinced the toy factory in France had something to do with what Archerton is planning,’ said Barnes. ‘And we know now that’s probably where the rabbit was manufactured.’
‘So, Archerton’s got a business partner in France who’s planning to use his knowledge of importing to bring in toys stuffed with drugs,’ said Sharp. He rested his hands on his belt and frown
ed. ‘Why toys though?’
Laura raised her hand. ‘Guv?’
‘Speak up.’
The police constable rose to her feet. ‘When I was at uni, I did a few modules in marketing as part of my degree. So, I just wondered if maybe, using the soft toys, Archerton could get the drugs past customs more easily given they’re under pressure with the number of continental goods checks coming through Kent as it is. By splitting up the shipments into smaller quantities of goods he’d reduce his risk and then, if he distributed the toys through a trusted business partner – the Manchester connection – end users could access them under the guise that they were buying the toys for their kids. He could be trying to establish a county lines operation as well by forcing vulnerable kids to move the toys between users, or perhaps sell them on to older kids who are after the drugs, to establish a future customer base. They call that “cradle to grave” in advertising and marketing parlance.’
‘If kids got their hands on those drugs by mistake, it could kill them,’ said Barnes, his voice little more than a growl.
Sharp sat on the edge of the desk nearest the whiteboard, his face full of wonder. ‘Bloody hell, Laura. Good thinking.’
‘Yeah,’ said Barnes, giving the police constable a light punch on the arm. ‘Guess that degree of yours wasn’t a waste of time after all.’
Fifty-Three
Kay shielded her eyes from the rising sun as Carys turned sharply into Ken Archerton’s driveway behind two liveried patrol cars, their lights flashing.
In the door mirror, she saw another car slide to a standstill, blocking the driveway, and then Carys was braking, the manoeuvre pushing Kay into her seatbelt with force.
‘Jesus, Carys – that’s going to leave a mark.’
‘Sorry, guv. I don’t want him to get away.’ The detective constable loosened her grip on the steering wheel and flexed her fingers. ‘Do you still think Alice knew something was wrong?’
‘Yes, I do. She may only be five years old, but it was clear from her interview with Bethany that she’s incredibly perceptive for her age.’
‘I hope she’s going to be okay after all this.’
‘Me too.’
Kay pushed open the car door and strode towards the front door, her jaw set.
A green four-by-four was parked with its rear facing the house, the engine emitting a ticking noise as it cooled in the morning air.
Before she could raise her hand to knock on the front door, it swung open.
Annette Victor stood on the step, her face wan.
‘Where’s Patricia? My father isn’t here, and he’s taken Alice with him – where are they? What’s going on?’
‘Slow down,’ said Kay. ‘Patricia’s been with us, answering some questions. What do you mean, your father’s not here?’
‘When I got back from the market in the village fifteen minutes ago, he’d disappeared. There’s no sign of him – or Alice. What’s happening?’
Kay took a step back. Patricia’s black hatchback was parked off to the side of the house, blocking the path leading to the side door. She raised an eyebrow at Carys, then took Annette by the arm.
‘Let’s go through to the kitchen,’ she said. ‘Then you can tell me everything your father said to you before you went out.’
As she led the woman along the hallway and into the spacious kitchen, she could hear Carys murmuring orders to the four uniformed police officers to start searching the house to corroborate Annette’s assertion that Alice was nowhere to be found.
‘What exactly did your father say to you this morning?’ she said to Annette, who now leaned against the stovetop, nibbling at a fingernail.
‘He said that he wanted some food and things from the market – at this time of year the fruit is better there than the superstore in town. He said he was too tired to go with me, and said he’d keep Alice company while I was gone.’
Lips pursed, Kay turned at the sound of footsteps to see Carys heading towards her. ‘Anything?’
‘No.’
‘Annette, do you know how your father gets around if Patricia isn’t here to drive him?’
‘No, he’s completely dependent upon her. Unless I drive him or he uses a taxi, of course.’
‘Does he use a regular taxi firm?’
‘Yes – Abbotts Cars.’
‘Carys, can you phone them please and ask if they’ve picked up Ken Archerton and his granddaughter this morning?’
‘Guv.’
‘What is it you’re not telling me?’ said Annette. She took a step forward. ‘What’s going on?’
Kay sidestepped the question. ‘Are there any other access routes away from this house, apart from the front driveway?’
‘Not that you could use with a car, no. There’s a bridle path that runs along the other side of the stream at the bottom of the garden.’
‘Where does that go?’
‘Well, if you turn right that’ll take you to the farm up the hill. If you turn left, it comes out at the train station on the edge of Headcorn. Why?’
‘Hang on, Mrs Victor. I’ll be right back.’
Kay brushed past Carys, the detective constable holding her mobile phone to her ear and talking in a low voice, and hurried out to the hallway where the four uniformed officers waited.
‘Get yourselves down to the back garden. Mrs Victor says there’s a bridle path the other side of the stream. Debbie – there’s a farm at the end of the bridle path to the right of the garden. Find out the name of it and give them a call to see if Ken or Alice have been seen there.’
‘Will do, guv.’
‘The rest of you – apparently, the other direction leads to the railway station at Headcorn. Ken might’ve boarded a train there, or arranged to collect a car. Hurry, go.’
She turned back to the kitchen, joining Annette at the window as the four officers ran to the bottom of the landscaped garden.
‘What are they doing?’
‘Mrs Victor – Annette – do you have a note of any of your father’s friends? People he might know who he could borrow a car from?’
‘Why would he borrow a car? He can’t drive.’ Annette paced the tiled floor. ‘I-I think there’s an address book in his study. I don’t really know any of his friends. He doesn’t have that many – he likes to keep to himself.’
‘Guv?’
‘What is it?’
Carys raised her phone. ‘The taxi company confirms they haven’t taken Mr Archerton anywhere this morning.’
‘Okay, thanks – can you take a look in his study, see if you can find an address book?’
‘It’s got a brown leather cover,’ said Annette. ‘It’s usually next to his laptop.’
‘Thanks.’
A knock on the kitchen door made Kay spin on her heel, and Annette crossed the room to open it.
Debbie beckoned to Kay. ‘We’ve got two sets of footprints in the dirt on the other side of the stream. One pair is a child’s size. There’s a similar pair of prints on the other side of the fence on the bridle path and the grass has been trodden down – I think he’s gone in the Headcorn direction, guv. They haven’t been seen at the farm.’
‘Thanks, Debbie. Leave the other two officers here. Take Parker with you and head over to that train station. If there’s no sign of Archerton or Alice, then see what security footage there is. Phone me as soon as you’ve got anything.’
‘Guv.’
‘Detective Hunter.’ Annette tugged on her arm as Debbie closed the door. ‘I demand an explanation. What the hell is going on, and where the bloody hell is my daughter?’
Kay sighed. ‘You’re not going to like this.’
Fifty-Four
Kay ended the phone call and ran a hand over her eyes.
‘What did he say?’
Carys stomped on the accelerator and dived over the crossroads in front of a slow-moving tractor, a signpost for Headcorn flashing past the window.
‘Sharp’s put out an all-ports alert on Kennet
h Archerton and Alice. He’s been on to British Transport Police and they’ve alerted all train guards on the stretch of track that runs through Headcorn. If Ken got hold of a car instead of taking a train, they’ll put out an Automatic Number Plate Recognition search if Debbie can get a note of a licence plate from security footage at the station, and two of the roads out of Headcorn have had roadblocks set up in the past five minutes. They’re posing those as random breath-test stops so as not to alert Archerton.’
‘If he’s still in the area.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Christ.’
Kay beat a rhythm against the window with the side of her fist.
‘Do you think Annette will be okay?’ said Carys.
‘I don’t know.’
Annette had been disbelieving at first, her jaw dropping open as Kay had informed her of her father’s other business activities while two more uniformed patrol cars had arrived at the property. Disbelief had turned to anger soon after, and then she had squared her shoulders.
‘What can I do to help?’ she said.
Kay’s surprise at the woman’s comment hadn’t gone unnoticed.
‘From what you’re telling me, he killed my husband and endangered my little girl,’ Annette had said. She had pulled her cardigan around her waist, and exhaled. ‘I knew there was something going on. Little things, like him not limping on some days if I turned up unexpectedly, or phone calls he hurried to finish if I went into his study. He never did that with the wine merchant stuff – he was always trying to get me involved in the hope I’d change my mind about taking it over. The past five months though, he’s been distant, almost rude. Tell me – how do I get my daughter back safe?’
Cradle to Grave Page 22
