A Duty of Revenge

by Quentin Dowse

  ‘Sir. Tell me what you want from me… I’m sorry. I need to keep my job.’ He looked suitably crestfallen.

  Kingston realised that he was finally getting somewhere. He was used to bullying the more junior ranks. Accustomed to getting his own way. He saw it as his right – damn it, he’d been on the Police Special Course. He even looked down on those of his own rank who were less well educated than he – and, as far as he was concerned – that was all of them. But he was not a complete fool and grasped that this young man was not going to cave in as quickly as most did, so he changed his approach.

  ‘Look, Constable, I know Detective Superintendent Darnley better than most. We work on the same corridor, we’re the same rank and we do the same job… only I do it correctly. The man is a dinosaur, a throwback to the bloody seventies. His methods are extremely questionable… you must have heard the stories?’

  Granger recognised the change of tone and approach and decided to appear more compliant. ‘I don’t know why you are telling me this, sir.’

  ‘You do know why. From my enquiries about you, I know you are not stupid and I’d much prefer it if you didn’t treat me as if I were. I know that Darnley has delayed your suspension, claiming that you have cultivated a vital informant in his current inquiry. I know about the photograph of Grantmore that Darnley is trying to hush up. It’s not just Darnley that has informants in the force, you know.’

  The last sentence was said with a pathetic attempt to impress. He then paused, as if unsure whether he should continue but clearly decided to plunge somewhat incautiously on.

  ‘I know that all this has something to do with Russ Holland attacking and blinding Sean Grantmore. He has covered it up. And you are wrapped up in the middle of it somewhere… somehow.’

  Granger opted for silence again.

  ‘You are hoping that Darnley will speak up for you at your disciplinary hearing, probably supported by your own dim-witted divisional commander. Both of them are corrupt has-beens and have absolutely no chance in preventing your dismissal.’

  Silence was again Granger’s only choice.

  ‘Darnley is bent. He is not trustworthy. He’ll promise to help you but will just use you.’

  The young man had worked out what was coming next. As his interlocutor had said, he wasn’t stupid.

  ‘What do you want from me, sir?’

  Kingston sat back in his chair, smiling, looking smug.

  ‘Tell me what Darnley is up to. Tell me what Grantmore wanted to see him for today… and what Holland has got to do with it. I know Darnley’s bent… you give me the evidence to prove it and I guarantee you’ll keep your job. I have real influence in this force… let me speak up for you at your hearing. I’ll show how you were honest, upright and courageous enough to expose a corrupt senior officer… who is using you.’

  For a ludicrous moment, Granger was actually amused. He now had two high-ranking detectives vying for the opportunity to help him. One wanting to sing his praises for solving serious crimes – the other for exposing corruption.

  It slowly dawned on him that if he played his cards right, he could be shown to have solved the robberies and murders and also expose Darnley. Kingston had said that Darnley was using him. Would that mitigate his own part in Darnley’s actions? If he got the statement from Morley and then Grantmore admitted his role in setting up the crimes and named the others involved, then his own role in solving the crimes was evidenced – he didn’t need Darnley to speak up for him. For the moment he kept quiet, unsure what to say – or what to do. He desperately wanted to keep his job.

  ‘Well, young man, what do you say?’

  Detective Superintendent Kingston knew the young fool was going to tell him what he wanted to know. Shafting Darnley would give him immense pleasure and probably get him the next rank. Sticking up for a young PC who had thumped a sergeant and started to go native would get him nowhere. That was not going to happen.

  ‘Come on, young man. You can trust me.’

  Twenty-Five

  The Next Day

  Tuesday, 9th February 1999

  At two thirty the next morning, Sean Grantmore walked out of Queens Gardens Police Station accompanied by his solicitor. Andrew Lynch had been advising Grantmore how to handle police arrests and interviews for several years and invariably that advice was to keep his mouth shut. Such advice had proved effective more times than not. The rape allegation by Lisa Holland had been a notable, and successful, exception. This interview had been different. Hearing Grantmore confess to his part in a kidnap and a robbery which had led to a murder was a novel experience – and totally contrary to his advice. When he also implicated three other men in those crimes and told how they were planning another, he knew that his client had struck some sort of deal with Detective Superintendent Darnley, well known in legal circles for his wheeler-dealer methods. Afterwards, Lynch had tried his hardest to get Grantmore to explain what the hell he was getting himself into but he had remained tight-lipped. His suspicions were confirmed when the prisoner was granted police bail for such serious crimes and the ABH charge on Holland was withdrawn pending further enquiries. He knew that Grantmore was digging himself a hole, and as they parted company on the steps of the police station, he made one last attempt to find out what was going on. A last attempt at damage limitation. Grantmore was still having none of it and he walked off to look for a taxi, leaving Lynch shaking his head in frustration.

  After Darnley had left and he sat in his cell waiting to be interviewed, he desperately searched for a way out of his predicament. Darnley had instructed him to contact Frame as soon as he could after his release and arrange a meet with his “driver”. He in turn had promised the detective the details of the targets by Wednesday evening. Darnley was anxious to move things forward quickly, getting his man into the gang and finding some concrete evidence that would mean the gang could be arrested before another crime took place. Grantmore knew Frame’s methods. Darnley’s hopes were futile.

  Nonetheless, he was keen to comply. Doing Darnley’s bidding gave him some breathing space, some time to get out of the mess he was in. Now he was out of the nick, he felt some of his old confidence returning and there was no way he was going to let Darnley put him away where he was almost certain to die at the hands of Frame’s associates, or from some random attack on the prison’s latest grass. There were no secrets in prison.

  He went back over the interview in his mind during the taxi ride home.

  The only evidence the cops actually had was that bloody photograph of him and Frame with the Vauxhall at the Silver Cod. They knew nothing else. So he had played down his role in setting up the robberies in Beverley and Bridlington. He claimed only to have identified the prospective targets and provided Emmerson as the driver. He described how he and Frame had met, the intimidation over the fifty grand loan, which had forced him through fear to help him. He explained how Frame had intimated it was he who had shot Emmerson and relayed the incident at Cleopatra’s when Frame had the gun, as further evidence of coercion. He provided solid alibis for the time of the actual robberies at Bridlington and Beverley and Emmerson’s and Harrod’s murders. He denied knowing how the gang knew to target Anne Beedham and Janice Cooper but told them it was Frame who had visited the Atwick bungalow in the Vectra. The interviewers had obviously pressed him on these points but had nothing to refute his claims. What he did fully divulge was all he knew about Frame, Keegan and Pike. He wanted them behind bars.

  Grantmore knew that Frame and the others would eventually tell a different tale when they were arrested. Exactly what was going to happen next, no one knew. Darnley had a plan – but so did Frame. And so did he. The possibilities were endless. He’d had to admit his part in the crimes in order to gain his temporary freedom, but it made sense to limit his exposure to eventual prosecution as much as he could.

  Darnley’s reassurances that Holland was off his bac
k he took with a pinch of salt, just as he did all of the detective’s promises. The only person he could trust was Sean Grantmore, and the one thing he knew for sure was that he was not going to spend one day in prison.

  *

  Peter Granger let himself out of his house at 6.30am, intent on finding Morley before the morning’s briefing at Driffield. He was confident he could secure his cooperation as a witness and thereby enter into evidence how his work had got their first admission of guilt and driven a huge crack into the gang’s defences. He didn’t want to miss the briefing and the buzz of excitement, learn more about how Darnley proposed to formally progress the inquiry and of course bask in the limelight that was now bound to come his way.

  He had hardly slept a wink worrying about his confrontation with Kingston and whether he had done the right thing. But he had now burnt his bridges and was committed to the course he had set with the young detective superintendent. He was even more worried about what Darnley was going to do when he heard what had happened. On top of all that, there was his marriage. Amy had left for her night shift before he had returned home and he had found several missed calls from her on his mobile, made while he had been busy with Kingston, along with a lengthy answerphone message in which she expressed her disappointment at missing him that evening. On entering the house, he found a handwritten note from her on the kitchen table in which she yet again swore her undying love and begged him for his forgiveness for her affair with Sergeant Knaggs. He left the house that morning knowing she would not be home until after he had left. He had no desire to see her.

  As he drove down Willerby Road heading towards the city and Morley’s flat, his mobile vibrated in his pocket. Expecting it to be Amy, he checked the screen, intending to ignore it, but it was Darnley. He had totally forgotten that he had left his boss the answerphone message the night before about Kingston wanting to see him. He was all too well aware that by mid-morning, the shit would hit the fan about what he had said to Kingston. He knew he had no choice but to tell Darnley – warn him. He owed him that much. But he’d planned to do it after the briefing, face-to-face. He declined the call and drove on. Within thirty seconds, Darnley had sent a text: CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS – KINGSTON??? Again, he ignored it, hoping that Darnley would think he was still asleep.

  Thirty minutes later, he had once again checked Morley’s flat and found it empty. His concern grew when his mobile failed to even ring out. Clearly alerted by his knocking, a rather harassed-looking elderly gentleman peered from the door of a flat opposite Morley’s. Granger showed him his warrant card and asked if he had seen his neighbour. He was invited into the man’s neat and tidy flat, and his concerns multiplied. The old man firstly set out his credentials as a reliable witness – ex-military policeman; ex-Midland Bank manager; Treasurer, local Conservative Club; Secretary of St George’s Road Bowls Club and active member of Neighbourhood Watch. He then categorically stated that something must have happened to young Morley. Apparently the two were mates and Graham had not called round since last Thursday evening to check that he was okay and have a cuppa. He never ever missed a night, unless he warned him he wouldn’t be able to call. He had not clapped eyes on him since and had resolved to contact the police this very morning to express his worries. He assumed PC Granger was investigating Graham’s disappearance. After trying to reassure the frail and elderly chap that his friend and neighbour was in all probability safe and well and that the police would track him down, he jumped back in his car and headed for Driffield. But his views now mirrored those of Morley’s elderly friend – something had happened to him.

  He arrived at Driffield just as the briefing was about to start and immediately sensed the change in atmosphere. The bare bones of Grantmore’s confession and identification of the gang members had already spread through the team and everyone was keenly awaiting the full story from the boss. Several of the detectives gave him a congratulatory slap on the shoulder, or nodded a “well done” as he looked for an empty seat.

  Jo Young passed him a cup of coffee and said, ‘Great work, Peter. We’ve got the bastards now.’

  Darnley came out of his office, symbolically rolling up his shirtsleeves. He motioned the young PC over to him and whispered, ‘When I ask you to ring me, I expect you to do it immediately. As soon as the briefing is over, I want you in my office. I want to know what Kingston wanted. Have you found Morley?’

  Granger shook his head. ‘No and I’m worried.’

  Darnley waited for the men and women before him to quieten down and then he took them in detail through the events of the previous day – or at least those parts he wanted them to know. He told them all about Graham Morley and how and why he had come to take the photograph of Grantmore and Frame. He was even open about how he had misjudged the potential of Morley and how Granger had kept talking to him, eventually discovering the incriminating photograph and recognising its evidential value. Once again, the young officer received appreciative nods from several of the others. He explained how Granger was now going to try and persuade Morley to give evidence and formally introduce the photograph into the evidence chain.

  He then handed over to Jo Young and her partner who had interviewed Grantmore, and they described the full extent of his confession and how he had implicated Frame, Keegan and Pike, who he believed to be three ex-army pals, currently living somewhere in the north-east. The officers had researched the names on the Police National Computer and only Pike was recorded, but then only for a very minor assault years ago, before he joined the army.

  The interviewers were sceptical that Grantmore had admitted his full part in the crimes, but things he had said could now be investigated and either confirmed or challenged in subsequent interviews. Would the alibis he had provided stack up? They still had the obvious link to Noel Priestley and his suicide to explore. Darnley had decided that they hadn’t yet had chance to investigate Priestley’s role and had instructed the interviewers not to ask Grantmore about it. Had the manager told Grantmore about the society’s practice with the keys, or had that information gone directly to Frame? Grantmore could well have been the source that told Frame to go to Janice Cooper and Anne Beedham for the keys, even though at this stage he had denied it.

  When DC Young revealed that Grantmore had said that Frame had implied to him, as a threat, that it was he who had murdered Emmerson, an additional wave of excitement rippled through the team. A double murder inquiry, crossing two forces, was something that few officers ever got to work on – and they now knew who’d done it. Overnight, the visit from NCIS and Northumbria Police, accompanied by their own ACC (OPS), had changed from an occasion they were dreading into one at which they’d have a chance to impress. An opportunity – not a threat.

  When she then revealed that Grantmore had told them off the record that the gang were in the act of planning another job in Humberside and would commit the crime next week, the room really began to hum with excitement.

  Darnley told them that he had spoken to the SIO in Northumbria and the names of Frame, Keegan and Pike meant nothing to their inquiry. They had few tangible leads and were now trying to discreetly locate the three men. He had also agreed that they should start enquiries with the army, again discreetly, so as not to alert the gang to their interest.

  At this point, however, Darnley reined in some of the high-octane excitement and self-congratulation. He thanked PC Granger and the interviewing officers for their late-night efforts and for all the information they had gleaned from Grantmore.

  ‘After two months, it’s great news to have the suspects in our sights and know we will be successful. However, I have grave misgivings about how long we have got to gather sufficient evidence to make it worthwhile arresting Frame and his gang. A fishing expedition is no good at this stage… we need more than Grantmore’s word. I’m worried about this next job they’re planning… in our area. Someone else could get hurt and we cannot allow that to happen. That is w
hy I arranged for Grantmore to get bail. I want him out there, trying to get us more information. I’ll keep in touch with him. What I want to impress upon you all is the need for speed coupled with your usual due diligence. Tell your families that they aren’t going to be seeing much of you for a while. It’ll be twelve-hour days from today and only one rest day per week. Right… now let’s determine the actions we need to raise, and prioritise them.’

  As the assembled officers asked questions of the interviewers and the SIO, DS Ride and his HOLMES team made a list of all the actions and enquiries that would now need to be made to focus the last two months’ work on Grantmore, Frame, Keegan and Pike. That focus and those specific actions were then refined and prioritised. An obvious immediate priority was to find Morley and secure his cooperation, and Granger was asked to describe what he had done so far, and he repeated the concerns of Morley’s elderly neighbour.

  As Granger sat and listened to the hum of activity and excitement, he realised the inquiry had spent two months searching for evidence, securing intelligence, information and even gossip. Blind alleys had been entered, cul-de-sacs explored, time-wasters interviewed, witnesses seen and re-seen, well over 1,000 statements taken and a nominal index of over 2,000 names created. A large majority of which was of no use now that they knew where to focus. It had been like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle without a picture – and using pieces from the wrong jigsaw. But now it could be completed. Useless pieces could be ditched and the right ones searched for. He was also acutely aware of how he had been allowed to see more of the true picture than the others. He understood how Darnley had managed to gain the confession. He also knew that he did not intend to complete the puzzle in accordance with the rules. He had some shortcuts planned. But what?