Further investigation into these irregular payments showed that the money transfers had all come from accounts used by the ten men whose names had been identified from the list of initials in her address book.
The links were there.
It would now be down to Danny and his team to prove exactly what the payments being made to Caroline were for.
‘Okay, people, listen in. We’re being supported by members of the Special Operations Units from both Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in today’s operation. You’ve already been split into your teams, and you all have a package identifying your target. This package will identify the reason for their arrest and what you should be looking for evidence-wise in the subsequent searches of their addresses.
‘I’ve arranged for extra staff to be on duty in the cell blocks at Hucknall and at Worksop. Under no circumstances should any of the nine men identified be brought to Mansfield Police Station.
‘The arrest teams designated to detain Caroline and Bill Short are to bring their prisoners direct to Mansfield. They are to be told that our enquiries are now complete, and that their bail has been cancelled. I’m fully expecting Caroline Short to request the services of Grenville Slater to act as her legal representative. That is the reason no arrest team has been designated for him. I would like Slater to be present throughout at least the first interview with Caroline. I want the interviewing officers to gauge his responses as the interview unfolds, and some of the evidence we’ve gathered is revealed.
‘When the time is right, Slater will also be arrested. Our best chance of obtaining any admissions is to try to play one detainee off against the other. I’ll personally brief the interview teams for Caroline and Bill Short about strategy and tactics. First and foremost, let’s get out there and get these bastards under lock and key.’
Danny paused before continuing: ‘It’s vital that all the addresses are hit at the same time – seven o’clock on the dot. There are to be no telephone calls allowed from the addresses. Tell your prisoners they will be allowed a phone call at the station. Hopefully, we’ll have them all under arrest by then.’
‘Are there any questions?’
A voice from the back of the briefing room said, ‘Shouldn’t we be taking the arrests made in Derbyshire into one of their designated police stations, as they are closer?’
Danny addressed the entire room with his answer: ‘I made enquiries about this with the Force lawyers last night. As this is a joint operation and the arrests being made are all for the same offence of conspiracy to commit murder, it will be fine to take them to the nearest designated police station within the Force area in which they are sought. In this case, the nearest of our stations is Hucknall. That’s where I want you to take them. Any other questions?’
‘Just one, sir. Are we expecting any violence or resistance at the addresses?’
‘No, we’re not expecting that. I’m hopeful that the arrests will come as a total shock to all these men. However, that doesn’t guarantee you won’t encounter some resistance. You have teams of Special Operations Unit officers with you. I would expect them to deal quickly and effectively with any resistance you meet.’
That seemed to be the end of the questions.
‘Right, everyone, let’s get on the road. Don’t forget, do not knock on their doors until exactly seven o’clock. This operation will only succeed if the arrests are made simultaneously. As soon as your respective targets have been detained, fire a call back into this office immediately. Good luck, everyone.’
The office erupted into a cacophony of sound. Chairs were scraped back, and voices all began to talk at the same time.
Danny, Rob and Brian walked back into Danny’s office and sat down.
Brian said, ‘Do you think we’ve got enough?’
‘We’ve certainly got enough evidence to get them all in. What we really need is for one of them to turn and start talking. If we can get one doing that, then we’ll get them all.’ He paused, then said, ‘Rob, it’s going to be down to you and Glen Lorimar to interview Caroline. I’m counting on her requesting Grenville Slater to represent her initially. My guess is that, as per usual, he will instruct her to go “no comment”. At this stage, I don’t want you to disclose anything about Mayflower Cottage or the address book. For that first interview, stick solely to the evidence from the minibus. Towards the end of the interview, start asking her about the address book and what the initials refer to. I want you to see his reaction when you read out the initials G.S. I think he’ll immediately attempt to close the interview down. He’ll demand more disclosure if we want to question her further. When he does that, I want you to shut down the interview. Ask him to accompany you to the custody desk. It’s at that point I want you to arrest him on suspicion of being involved in a conspiracy to murder. I’m not bothered if Caroline hears you do it.’
‘Got it, boss.’
‘Then we take it from there. We really need Caroline and Grenville to turn against each other. Brian, you’re interviewing Bill Short, with Lyn Harris. Bill normally says absolutely nothing. He doesn’t even bother to say “no comment”. I think you may be able to shock him into talking by revealing that he’s been under surveillance at Edale Close. Drop it out to him who’s been visiting his address every time he leaves the flat. I bet he already has his suspicions; it won’t hurt to confirm them for him. I don’t really give a shit if it’s unethical. It’s legal, and we need to turn these bastards against each other. Okay?’
‘I’ve got no problem with any of that, boss.’
‘Okay, let’s get amongst them and get this thing cracked. Keep me posted on progress.’
Both the inspectors left the office.
From being absolute mayhem, the office was now deathly quiet.
Danny walked into the small kitchen that serviced the office and made himself a coffee.
He returned to his office and sat down heavily in his chair. He opened his notebook, took a sip of coffee, and waited for the telephone to start ringing.
66
1 July 1986
South Lodge, Retford
Stewart Ainsworth woke with a start.
He had no idea what the time was, but he could hear voices outside the building he was imprisoned in. It was a man and a woman. They were laughing and joking.
The voices were getting closer.
Suddenly, he could hear the padlock on the door being opened. The door was flung open, and bright sunlight streamed into the gloom, temporarily blinding him.
‘I told you our guest would be wide awake by now.’
‘You’re always right, Jimmy. I should have known.’
Ainsworth cringed; just the name Jimmy was enough to make his heart race. As his eyes became more accustomed to the bright light, he could now make out the features on the faces of his captors.
He instantly recognised Melissa Braithwaite.
What he didn’t recognise was the cruel smirk on her face or the evil glint in her eye.
The man standing beside her looked familiar.
Was it Jimmy Wade? The hair was different, the face slightly fatter. Then he saw the cold, piercing blue eyes, and he knew immediately that he was staring into the face of the psychopath.
Ainsworth finally found his voice and quietly asked, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’
Wade replied, ‘You know the answer to that already, Ainsworth.’
He virtually spat out the name before continuing. ‘You thought it was highly hilarious, and perfectly okay, to allow those two thugs to beat me up with impunity.’
‘I never realised what was happening. I swear.’
‘Don’t lie to me! Of course you did. I told you myself what was happening, you grovelling piece of shit.’
‘It’s not too late! I can report them now. I can make them pay for what they did to you.’
Wade roared with laughter. ‘Oh! You can make them pay, can you? I think it’s probably a little late for that. Have you seen them around lately?’
‘No, I haven’t. Nobody has.’
‘I’ll let you into a little secret: I’ve seen them. Fred and Jack have also been our guests here. They loved their stay so much, they both told me they never want to leave.’
‘What have you done to them?’
‘What’s my name?’
Ainsworth shook his head, the enormity of his situation sinking in.
‘I asked you a question, Ainsworth. What’s my name?’
‘Jimmy Wade.’
‘And what, exactly, does Jimmy Wade do?’
Again, he didn’t answer. He shook his head and shrank back towards the wall.
‘Tell him, Mel. Tell the nice social worker what Jimmy Wade does better than anybody else.’
‘Jimmy likes to kill people, Stewart.’
Ainsworth spluttered, ‘They know I’m here; they’ll be looking for me.’
Wade said, ‘Who knows you’re here?’
‘The police. Two women have been poking their noses in around the hospital, asking about Barnes and Williams. I told them I was coming to see Melissa.’
Wade was now intrigued and said evenly, ‘Were they detectives?’
‘Yes, CID.’
‘You’re making it up. I don’t believe you. What were their names?’
‘It’s the truth! One of them was a sergeant. Her name was Prowse, I think.’
‘And the other one?’
‘Rachel something or other.’
‘Detective Constable Rachel Moore?’
‘Yes, that’s her. They both knew I was coming here.’
‘Never mind that, Ainsworth. It’s immaterial whether they knew you were coming or not. The bottom line is, we both know you won’t be leaving here alive, don’t we? Now, as much as I’d love to stop here and chat with you longer, Mel and I are going for a lie-down. We should only be gone for an hour, so don’t go away, will you? My lover wants to say goodbye to you properly, don’t you, Mel?’
‘I can’t wait, Jimmy.’
She stared at Ainsworth and smiled.
Her cruel, manic smile sent a cold shiver down the spine of the social worker. In that instant, Stewart Ainsworth knew Braithwaite would be the one to kill him, not Wade.
67
1 July 1986
Mansfield Police Station, Nottinghamshire
Danny looked at the clock on the wall of his office.
It was now almost eight o’clock in the morning.
For the past hour, the telephone in his office hadn’t stopped ringing. All but one of the targets of the morning’s operation had been detained and were now in custody.
He was feeling frustrated and disappointed that the only person they hadn’t been able to arrest was William Baxter. The anaesthetist at Chesterfield Hospital was high on the list of people Danny wanted to interview.
When detectives had drawn a blank at Baxter’s home address in the small village of Heath, close to the M1 motorway, they had immediately moved on to his place of work. It was during these enquiries at Chesterfield Hospital that detectives discovered William Baxter was on holiday in the Maldives for another week.
Caroline Short and her husband, Bill, had both been detained at their temporary home address, without fuss. They were currently being booked into the custody suite downstairs.
Rob had just telephoned Danny and informed him that, as expected, Caroline Short had requested Grenville Slater to be her legal representative. The smarmy solicitor would now be present for any interviews with her.
As usual, Bill Short had requested the services of Eric Buckle to legally represent him.
Danny knew there would now be a delay while the interview teams waited for the solicitors to arrive. The detectives would then have to provide the legal representatives with disclosure, informing them exactly what matters they wanted to talk to their clients about. Then the solicitors would have a consultation with their respective clients, where advice could be offered in private.
The whole process would take at least a couple of hours.
It was frustrating and time-consuming.
The new rules had been in place ever since the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. The fact of the matter was, they were in force now and that was that. The police would have to adapt, to make the new system work. They would need to become far more professional.
Danny paced up and down in his office, like a caged tiger.
He really wanted to be downstairs in the custody suite, preparing to interview the suspects. Actually, talking to offenders was what he enjoyed most. Presenting them with overwhelming evidence, right up to the point where they cracked and admitted their guilt.
Since his promotion, there had been a few occasions when he had felt an overwhelming urge to be more involved, in a hands-on way. For some reason today, he felt it even more keenly.
He desperately wanted to interview the people he believed were responsible for the death of Evan Jenkins, and personally bring them to justice.
He walked back behind his desk, sat down heavily in his chair, and muttered out loud, ‘Patience, Danny. Patience.’
68
1 July 1986
Rampton Hospital, Nottinghamshire
Rachel parked the car in the visitors’ car park on Fleming Drive.
The two detectives had returned to Rampton Hospital to interview and take a statement from Stewart Ainsworth.
As they walked towards the front entrance of the hospital, Tina asked, ‘What do you think Ainsworth will say today?’
‘Do you mean do I think he will have changed his version of events from what he told us the other day?’
‘I suppose I do mean that, yeah.’
‘Not a chance. Ainsworth won’t change his mind; he’ll just try to brazen it out.’
‘We’re still a bit early. He doesn’t start work until half past nine. It’s only just gone eight.’
‘Not to worry. Let’s get inside, sort out a brew and set up the office. As soon as we’re ready, we can contact the hospital admin department.’
‘Do we have any other interviews today?’
‘There are three other staff members to see after Ainsworth, then we’re done.’
‘I’ll need to contact the boss later today and give him an update on our progress – or rather our lack of it.’
‘Sounds like they’ll all have their hands full today. I was chatting to Fran yesterday. The entire Unit are in today, making arrests on the Jenkins case.’
‘Bloody hell. That sounds like a proper job, and we’re still stuck up here chasing our tails on this enquiry!’
‘Tina, you can’t think like that. Don’t forget this is also a murder enquiry now. We’re not just chasing Jimmy Wade, the escaper. Don’t forget that Steve Thorne is now dead. He died as a direct result of the injuries inflicted by Wade. This enquiry is just as important as the murder of that young boy.’
‘You’re right, Rachel, sorry. I’m just frustrated because we don’t seem to be getting anywhere.’
‘I know what you mean. Let’s talk to Ainsworth and the others today, and then we can fully assess where we’re at.’
‘I can’t wait to talk to Ainsworth this morning. I’m not going to put up with any of his bullshit today. There’ll be no softly-softly approach with him today. He can bloody well start talking.’
‘That’s more like it, Tina. Come on, let’s get inside and sort that brew out before we get Ainsworth in.’
69
1 July 1986
South Lodge, Retford
Melissa Braithwaite snuggled in next to her lover and said, ‘Is everything ready, sweetheart?’
‘Ready for what?’
‘For Ireland, of course. As soon as Ainsworth’s been dealt with, we can leave here and start our new life together.’
A moody, sullen-looking Wade remained silent.
‘You’re not changing your mind, are you, Jimmy?’
‘It’s bothering me what Ainsworth said before. You heard him your
self. One of the detectives he spoke to was Rachel Moore.’
‘So what?’
‘So what? Don’t you understand? It’s her fault I was put in that bloody place. It was her lies that convicted me.’
‘Forget her, Jimmy. You’ve had your revenge with these three. Leave it at that.’
‘I can’t. If there’s even the smallest chance I can finish Rachel Moore, I have to take it.’
‘Do you still want her physically? Is that what’s behind this?’
‘No, I don’t want her physically! That’s ridiculous. I just have unfinished business with her, that’s all.’
‘If you promise we can go to Ireland straight afterwards, I’ll help you get her.’
‘How can you do that?’
‘The same way I got Ainsworth here. That worked, didn’t it?’
‘Trust me, Rachel Moore isn’t as stupid as that imbecile Ainsworth.’
‘I know that, Jimmy. I can tell you still want her.’
He was starting to get annoyed by Melissa’s constant whining. ‘What are you rambling on about? I’ve just told you I don’t fancy her like that. I just need to get even. I have to win; I have to come out on top.’
‘I wouldn’t mind. If you wanted to have her before you kill her, I wouldn’t care. I think I’d enjoy watching.’
Wade looked into Braithwaite’s demonic eyes, staring back at him, unblinking.
She really was on the edge of madness.
‘Let me think things through. Let’s go and sort out Ainsworth first.’
He wanted to test her. He needed to see just how far into his own depraved world she had fallen.
The demonic grin reappeared. She said hastily, ‘Let’s do it now, Jimmy. I can’t wait.’
‘Do you remember how I said to do it?’
She said breathlessly, ‘Yes. I’ve got it.’
Hand in hand, they walked down the garden, to the outbuilding.
A Cold Grave: A DCI Danny Flint Book Page 24
