Riddled on the Sands (The Lakeland Murders)

by Salkeld, J J

  Rachel laughed. ‘I thought you might. Like how do we know with so much confidence that there’s a big shipment coming in?’

  ‘That’ll do for starters.’

  ‘We don’t, not for sure. But all the signs are there. Street level gear, heroin especially, is cut to buggery. Much worse than usual, and that’s bad for business. The punters can’t exactly complain to Trading Standards about it, but they can vote with their feet. And we’ve had a whisper that one of the bigger players on the west coast had to take a re-supply from Newcastle, and he had to pay what was asked. Which was a lot.’

  ‘You mean they need a re-up then, don’t you, Rachel?’

  She groaned. ‘This isn’t The Wire, Andy, even if half the bloody cast was British. But yes, they do need a new supply.’

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘You’ve probably guessed that we’ve infiltrated one of the north Cumbrian gangs, and our man is a mid-level player now. He’s done well, but that’s mainly because most of the others are either off their heads most of the time or have to share their brain cells around. Anyway, our man was told by his bosses to get every tenner in clean cash that he had together, and to hand it over to a courier.’

  ‘When was this?’

  ‘He was told on Friday.’

  ‘And how long has he got to do it?’

  ‘His meet’s on Wednesday. And Andy, the plan is to nick them then, and soon. The whole lot. The new Super is keen to get a few notches on his gun, and we’re talking about some decent level players here, so its understandable. That’s why I’m in work, because we’ve got over fifty arrests to co-ordinate.’

  ‘Shit. Any idea when?’

  ‘That’s not decided yet, or if it is the decision hasn’t filtered down to me.’

  ‘OK, Rachel, thanks for the heads-up. I’ll do what I can to get them to hold off for a week or two.’

  ‘Why? Have you had a development? A whisper, even. Come on, Andy, I’ve told you stuff I shouldn’t have here, because I trust you. Surely you can do the same?’

  Hall only paused for a moment. ‘No, nothing solid, but the Capstick killing has moved things on. It looks almost certain that he was recruited by someone in the village, or someone who visited him regularly, and it was that person who killed him.’

  ‘Yes, and what exactly?’

  ‘Yes and nothing, so far. But we’ve got a couple of solid leads for the Capstick killing at least. That won’t help us catch Jack Bell’s killer though, because I very much doubt that Capstick’s killer even knows who it was. Our best chance of nicking him, or them, is if we can catch them when they’re on their next delivery. And it’s got to be the one that you’ve got wind of, hasn’t it?’

  ‘Not necessarily, and you know it. And even if it is, who’s to say that they’ll even come back in the same way? I know I wouldn’t.’

  ‘I agree, but look at it this way, Rachel. They don’t have long to sort out another delivery mechanism, do they? And they were unlucky that it was Jack Bell who saw them. Most of the other net fishermen would have ignored whatever it was that caught his attention, but from what I gather Jack was just an inquisitive sort of bloke. And Morecambe Bay is a big place, they’ll know we can’t watch all of it, or even the whole shoreline come to that.’

  ‘OK, Andy, and since you were right about the knife that killed Capstick I’ll humour you on this. So where, oh great and enlightened one, do you think they’ll try to land the drugs?’

  Hall laughed. ‘Absolutely no idea, Rachel. Though bringing it ashore at Morecambe would at least shorten the supply chain.’

  ‘That’s a bit harsh, mate. Although, to be fair, there have been a couple of nice busts there lately.’

  ‘I was only joking. Look, I’ve got no idea exactly where they might try to land the gear, if there is going to be a next time, but I know a man who might. I’ll get back to you.’

  ‘Please do. And one little bit of information for you. Forget about Piel Island, or Roa come to that. We’ve got them both pretty well covered, and from what our man on the inside tells us, his bosses are well aware of that. It’s the obvious place to use, but I don’t think it’ll happen.’

  Hall logged off his computer, and closed his office door on the way out. He was going to have a quick word with Jane, but she was on the phone. He waved, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  Ian Mann was waiting outside Capstick’s house, chatting to Geoff Atkinson.

  ‘The very man’ said Hall, as he got out of the car.

  ‘That sounds ominous’ said Atkinson.

  ‘Not really. I just wanted to ask you something, Geoff. If we work on the assumption that whoever killed Jack Bell was looking to land something, probably drugs, and the plan was for Pete Capstick to bring it back to shore on his tractor, then where else might they try, next time I mean?’

  ‘Do you think there’ll be a next time?’

  ‘If there was. Hypothetically, where might they try?’

  ‘I’d need to give it some thought. Morecambe Bay has a huge coastline you know, Andy, and there are hundreds of ways on and off. There’ll be places I don’t know, especially on the Lancashire side. Let me mull it over for a bit, would you?’

  ‘Of course, it’s not urgent. Just when you get the chance.’

  ‘Aye, grand. So you and Ian are on with interviews again today. Don’t worry, I know better than to go ask who you’re seeing, and why.’

  ‘Thanks, Geoff. I appreciate your tact. You know what the Super’s like, a stickler for procedure. But we trust you, don’t we, Ian?’

  ‘Aye, of course we do. Shall we pop in and see Tonto before we make a move? He was still setting up, the last time I went in.’

  ‘No, let’s leave him to it. The fewer people we have tramping about in there the better.’ Mann nodded. ‘Listen, Geoff, can we buy you a pint later on? If you’re going to be around, that is.’

  ‘Aye, Andy, thanks. I’m always around.’

  ‘See you later then.’

  They all stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, then Atkinson said his goodbyes, and walked back to his house. When he was inside Mann said, ‘The first one is just round the corner. We’re expected. His name is Simon Healey, known as Si. He’s one of the ones we’ve already spoken to, incidentally.’

  Simon Healey’s wife answered the door, and the toddler in her arms looked tired and hot to Hall. But he’d almost forgotten what his own kids looked like that at that age. The thought made him feel guilty. They said that no-one ever died wishing they’d spent more time at work, and for once Hall was coming to the conclusion that ‘they’ were actually right about something. Mann didn’t seem to pay much attention.

  ‘Sorry to disturb you, love’ he said. ‘Is Si about?’

  They went through to the living room. There was a jug of lemonade and four glasses.

  ‘You’re a life-saver’ said Hall, as Si Healey was pouring the drinks.

  ‘It’s in the job description’ said Healey, smiling. He didn’t seem nervous, or curious about being why he was being interviewed twice. Mann spent ten minutes going through the background. Hall took notes, but he knew that there was nothing new in any of the answers.

  ‘So you were where on the night of the 14th, Si?’

  ‘I was on duty, the back shift. Started at 10pm.’

  ‘And that’s at Grange?’

  ‘That’s right. I was just going off duty in the morning when we heard about Jack being missing, so obviously I stayed on then. The other lads all came in as well, to help, like. He was one of our own, was Jack. I’m not saying that we don’t make the same effort for anyone, but when you know the person it’s a bit different, isn’t it?’

  Mann said it was. Hall couldn’t help but glance across at him, but Mann’s expression gave nothing away.

  ‘And this Friday? The one just gone.’

  ‘I was off. We went out for the day, the three of us. Saw my mum in Grange, then we went down to Morecambe.’

  ‘What t
ime were you home again?’

  ‘About six.’

  ‘And you spent the evening at home?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘And I guess you must have known Pete Capstick too?’

  ‘Aye, all my life. Just like Jack really. Their way of life might be vanishing, like, but somehow I thought they’d both be around for ever. You know what I mean?’

  Hall decided to jump in. He’d heard enough, and watched closely enough, to know that Healey had absolutely nothing to hide. Whether or not Jimmy Rae had a genuine lead this particular Coastguard had no involvement in the case, Hall was certain of it.

  ‘Can I ask you a bit about your work, Si?’

  ‘Aye, of course, if it’ll help. Fire away, like.’

  ‘How long have you been a Coastguard?’

  ‘A lot of years, I joined straight from school. So that must be ten, no eleven, now.’

  ‘And you like the work?’

  ‘Oh aye, you can’t beat it. Well, if you like boats, and the sea and that.’

  ‘And you do?’

  ‘Of course. Grew up around boats, and the Coastguard as well, I did. My did was a fisherman, like Jack and Pete, years ago, but he gave up when the job started going downhill. Then he joined the Coastguard, did it ‘till he retired a couple of years back.’

  ‘And do you have much contact with other organisations?’

  ‘How do you mean?

  ‘Well, when you’re at work do you have contact with us, for example?’

  ‘Aye, of course, when we have a fatality, or a serious accident, or if someone goes missing. Until he retired Geoff would have been the officer that we saw most often.’

  ‘And what about any other specialist Police teams?’

  ‘Drugs, you mean? The boss gets these reports, notifications I suppose, telling us when we’re to be on the lookout, usually for particular vessels, boats like, and all that.’

  ‘And what does your boss do? Read them out at watch briefings?’

  ‘No, not these days. He circulates them in our email.’

  ‘So everyone sees them?’

  ‘Aye. I suppose so.’

  ‘And have you ever seen a target vessel when you’ve been on duty? Or anything suspicious?’

  ‘No, not one single time. And that’s not for want of trying, I can tell you.’

  ‘Really? How do you mean?’

  ‘Well, I’ve taken a ride round all the local harbours, marinas, when it’s been quiet, like, and we’ve had one of those warnings recently, like. I’d love to be the bloke who spots one of those vessels. Help with the raid too, maybe.’

  ‘So you like excitement? A bit of danger?’

  ‘Oh aye, I’d be well up for that. Don’t tell my dad, because he’d go mental, but the job can be a bit boring sometimes. Posh yachties that’ve got lost or gone aground, the odd missing pet. It’s not all blues-and-twos, you know.’

  ‘I’m sure. So you don’t get these warnings about drugs in from us very often?’

  ‘No, maybe two or three a year. Something like that. Like I say, I look forward to them.’

  ‘And when did you last have one? Can you remember, Si?’

  ‘Aye, about three months ago. Maybe a bit more. Do you want me to check exactly when it was? It’ll only take a minute.’

  ‘Maybe later. But you didn’t have any warnings in force the day that Jack Bell disappeared?’

  ‘No, definitely not. We’re not coppers, but we’d have put two and two together like, if we had.’

  ‘Just one more question for now, Si. We’ve taken up too much of your time already. But did anything unusual, out of the ordinary, happen during that shift? Before you heard that Jack Bell was missing, I mean?’

  ‘No, it was quiet as the grave, like. Weather was fair, there wasn’t much happening at all. I remember hoping something would happen, but I didn’t want it to be Jack going missing like that. I felt properly guilty after, I can tell you, like it was all my fault.’

  When they were outside Mann banged his hand against the cottage wall.

  ‘What’s wrong with these people? Those memos have ‘confidential’ and ‘senior officers only’ written all over them, don’t they?’

  ‘That’s the trouble with emails, mate. You never know where they’re going to land. Just ask the Americans. But there’s nothing we can do about it now, so let’s re-focus. How many staff do they have at Grange Coastguard station, did he say?’

  ‘Twelve, including the part-timers.’

  ‘Well that’s just doubled our work-load for the day. Because if your mate Jimmy’s right, and the leak did come from one of those Coastguards, then I’m afraid we’ll have to look at the whole bloody lot of them.’

  It took until six o’clock to get round them all. They’d had to drive to the last one, and afterwards Mann drove them back to Flookburgh.

  ‘So what do you reckon?’ asked Hall, as they were parking. He’d already formed his conclusion, but he wanted to hear what Ian thought.

  ‘I think that either Jimmy Rae is talking out of his arse, or one of those lads should have gone to bloody RADA or something. Not one of them came across wrong. Just a decent bunch of blokes, that’s what I thought. I’d love to be wrong though.’

  ‘I agree. They’re none of them involved in this, I’d bet your pension on it. So are you going to tell Jimmy the good news? Our unofficial view is that he’s just wasted a day of Police time.’

  ‘He won’t be happy.’

  ‘I’m sure he won’t, but what’s he going to do? Invade the Isle of Man?’

  ‘I wouldn’t put it past him. So what do you want me to tell him?’

  ‘Other than the fact that he should stick to whatever it is he does and leave the detective work to us, I can’t think of anything much. The Coastguard angle is a waste of time.’

  ‘But what about what Rachel Skinner told you? Doesn’t it confirm what he’s told us about when to expect a shipment? So Jimmy’s not always wrong.’

  ‘Yes, Ian, that’s probably right, but use your loaf man. Jimmy, or one of his bosses, has access to our files, he must have, so it makes sense to assume that he’s able to see Rachel’s lot’s files too, plus Customs’ and I don’t know who else’s intel. Which means he’s bound to be better informed than us, every step of the way. He could just be feeding us our own stuff, for all we know. So just tell him that we’re sorry, but his Coastguard idea has just sunk without trace.’

  ‘Will do. So you fancy a quick pint with Geoff before you head back to Kendal?’ Mann paused. ‘But are you allowed, do you reckon?’

  ‘If I know Jane she’ll be at work for hours yet. And I’d like to call in on Tonto anyway. What the hell has he been doing all day with that table? He could have made a new one in this time.’

  ‘You know SOCO. They spent three weeks working out who’d been nicking their milk from the shared fridge at HQ. They put a motion activated camera on it in the end.’

  Hall laughed. ‘Who was it?’

  ‘The Chief’s PA. They decided not to pursue the matter any further.’

  ‘Very wise. Do you want to come in and see if Tonto’s got anything, or push off home?’

  ‘I’ll come and have a look. All I’ve got waiting for me at home is yesterday’s washing up.’

  Hall was doubtful that the sun ever set on any undone chores in the Mann home, but he didn’t say anything. When they reached Capstick’s house one of the SOCO vans was parked outside.

  ‘Tonto must have called in reinforcements’ said Mann.

  Inside there were four of them, all looking at Tonto’s computer screen. There was quite a bit of pointing going on too.

  ‘Anything?’ asked Hall.

  ‘Too much’ said Tonto, leaving the screen to the others. ‘Your man seems to have written on that table all the time, and he never seems to have leant on anything. So there’s all sorts we can read, but I doubt much of it is any use. The only phrases we can make out that might be of interest, and w
hich are definitely among the most recent are these two, look.’ Tonto held out his Police-issue notebook, and Hall looked.

  ‘’Thought you were my friend’ and ‘forced to do’. Is that it?’

  ‘Yes. We’ve been laser scanning to try to work out exactly what’s on top of what, but he must have written hundreds of notes on here over the years. If you run your finger over the surface you can actually feel tiny bumps and ridges. Go on, have a go.’

  Hall didn’t want to ruin one of SOCO’s little demonstrations, so he did as instructed. He couldn’t feel anything. ‘Oh yes’ he said, ‘I’ve got you. Little tiny ridges and hollows. So will you get any more out of it, if you take it back to base?’

  Tonto looked pleased. ‘We were just debating that. Yes, we’ll uplift it now, and take it back to the lab, but we’ll do pretty much the same work again. It’s possible that we might get a bit more out of it, but there are no guarantees. I’m pretty doubtful, in fact.’

  ‘OK, do your best, and thanks for turning out like this, all of you. Can I buy anyone a pint, before you load up?’

  But the SOCOs had a lab to go to, so Hall and Mann walked over to Atkinson’s door and knocked.

  ‘Sorry we were so long’ said Hall, when Atkinson opened the door. But it was obvious that he’d started drinking without them. They walked over to the pub, and Mann said ‘hello’ to a couple of villagers. Hall was always slightly jealous of how quickly Mann struck up a rapport with people. It wasn’t even as if he had a friendly face.

  ‘I hear you’ve been talking to all the Coastguard lads’ said Atkinson, when they’d sat down.

  ‘That’s right’ said Hall. ‘Word travels fast round here, eh, Ian? I shouldn’t tell you this, although I expect the bush-telegraph will already be carrying this newsflash already, but they’re as leaky as a bloody sieve, that lot.’

  ‘Oh aye?’

  Hall was going to say more, but he checked himself, and Mann noticed. Maybe Atkinson did too. And Hall quickly changed tack.

  ‘But it’s not all bad news. Capstick did leave a suicide note, which the killer must have taken and no doubt destroyed, but Tonto and the SOCO lads are getting their lasers or whatever they are going, and it seems they’re making a bit of progress too. They’ve maybe deciphered a bit of the note already, so that might tell us something.’