Only the Lonely: DI Ted Darling Series Book 5

by L M Krier

  Seeing Ted's querying look, she expanded on her theory. 'Well, these are not honourable fellows, are they? They're cheating on wives and partners, and from the look of it, they're picking and choosing who they sleep with. So if they don't fancy the person who turns up, they don't identify themselves. Therefore they're not going to say where they're staying and risk some jilted date turning up at their hotel room when they're in bed with someone else.'

  'Excellent point,' Ted conceded, 'and very good news if we do try to draw our killer in. If he doesn't know the hotel, he can't check it out in advance, and we can get people in there waiting for him. I've asked the DSU to get the go-ahead from upstairs for us to try. In the meantime, I want all the stops pulled out trying to find this John Smith. Maurice, can you contact everyone you can find from the inquest report? Try to trace some family who may know where he is.

  'And keep on with witnesses from the hotels and pubs. Océane, can you update the list of pubs, please? If he's following his victims back to their hotel and then waiting around until the woman leaves, someone must have seen him, surely?'

  'There are a couple of possibilities there, though, boss,' Jo put in. 'If he's in his overalls, playing the maintenance man, he'd be pretty anonymous. And also, he doesn't need to stay inside the hotel, looking suspicious. He's seen what his victims, and the women they've picked up, look like from the pub. All he has to do is follow them to the hotel, see what number room they go into, then go and wait outside until he sees the woman leave. And again, a man standing outside a hotel to have a fag is not going to attract much attention, when they can't smoke inside these days.'

  Tasks assigned for the day, Ted headed downstairs to see the Ice Queen. He paused to put his head round Kevin Turner's office door for a quick catch-up, and to tell him that they were likely to need a joint operation if they got the go-ahead to lure their killer.

  The Ice Queen had the coffee on ready. There was a strange brown object of indeterminate shape, in a cupcake case, sitting on a paper plate in front of the empty chair, when Ted sat down as invited. He looked at it questioningly.

  'It's supposed to be a chocolate chip muffin,' she told him. 'Sitting next to my son's bedside, not knowing if he was going to make it through the night, filled me with a sudden desire to do something yummy mummy, for when the family were all back together. Unfortunately, they turned out rather like dog turds. But it is sincerely meant as a gesture of appreciation of your great kindness and help, Ted.'

  Ted peeled away the paper case and took a wary bite, to be polite. It cloyed his mouth, sticking to his palate and the back of his teeth. When he was able to speak, he said, 'It's very…chocolatey.'

  She surprised him by laughing out loud, not something he could remember having seen her do often. 'You're always very tactful. And it is disgusting, I know. An insult to serve to a man who lives with such a superb pastry cook as Trevor. But it's lovingly baked with my heartfelt thanks. And you were absolutely right about DC Brown. Such a kind and compassionate man. Every team should have one.'

  Then, abruptly, the shutters came back down and she was frosty efficiency once more while they went over the current case-load.

  Virgil went over to Jezza's desk as she was ploughing her way through a pile of witness statements for cross-checking. She looked up and smiled at the welcome distraction.

  'Are you still on for tonight, at Nat's? I'll pick you up and take you back afterwards.'

  'Shouldn't you be at home with the missus, nesting?'

  Virgil groaned. 'I'll be glad of the excuse to escape, to be honest. She's driving me mad. She refuses to be told the sex of the baby, so she's had me paint the nursery in two different colours already and she wants it changing again.'

  When's it due?'

  'May,' he beamed. 'I'm going to be a daddy! How awesome is that?'

  'What are you hoping for?'

  'A healthy baby,' he replied, his tone suddenly serious again. 'We lost the first one, a couple of years ago.'

  'Oh god, Virgil, I'm so sorry, I didn't know…' Jezza stammered her embarrassment.

  'It's fine,' he assured her. 'You weren't here at the time and it's not really something I talk about much. So I'll pick you up at, say, quarter to eight? Have you got someone for Tommy?'

  'Maurice and Steve are coming over. I think they'll be watching Star Wars for the gazillionth time and pretending it's for Tommy's benefit, eh, Steve?' she grinned across at him and he blushed guiltily. At least things were back to normal between the three of them, and Jezza was relieved. She genuinely counted Maurice and Steve as two of her best friends.

  Jezza headed for the ladies, as much to stretch her legs as for any pressing need. She also felt awkward for having put her foot in it with Virgil. She was just running her fingers through her spiky, rebellious hair when Megan sauntered in with studied nonchalance and headed for the mirror, alongside her.

  'So, are you and Maurice…' she asked as casually as she could manage.

  'An item?' Jezza finished off, and laughed. 'Shit, no. He's my best friend, but we're not going out or anything.'

  'So is he seeing anyone, do you know?' Megan asked, fiddling with her hair as she looked in the mirror.

  Jezza turned to look at her with a sly smile. 'He'd like to be seeing you,' she said. 'He told me. Do you want me to put in a good word?'

  Megan looked embarrassed. 'It's just, he seems like a really nice man…'

  'Oh, he is. And we have. You know. But just the once. So I can assure you – you won't be disappointed.'

  Maurice followed Ted into his office when he returned from his meeting with the Ice Queen and took a seat, as instructed.

  'The Super has just been singing your praises,' Ted told him as he sat down at his desk. 'Thanks for helping her, Maurice. It sounds as if she went to hell and back, and you were just what she needed.'

  'So I'm forgiven now, am I?' Maurice asked. 'About Jezza? I would never harm a hair of that lass's head, boss. You think I took advantage of her. I didn't. Oh, I could have. But I didn't. I thought you knew me better than that.' There was a chiding note in his tone.

  Ted sighed. 'You're right, Maurice, and I apologise. I should have known better. I do know you better. Right, what have you got for me?'

  'Hopefully, a possible lead for John Smith. I found contact details for his ex-sister-in-law, the sister of the woman who committed suicide. I phoned and had a brief word. She's not in contact with him now, but she does have some details, so I said I'd pop round there. It may not lead to anything, but it's worth a shot, and it's the best we've got at the moment.'

  'Take someone with you,' Ted reminded him, as Maurice rose to go. It was a sad sign of the times that he preferred his team members to go out in pairs. There had been too many allegations of misconduct against police officers interviewing people when on their own. Fortunately never against his own team, and he wanted to do all that he could to ensure that it stayed that way.

  'Jezza, are you free?' Maurice asked her, as he went back out into the main office. 'I'm off to see John Smith's sister-in-law, see if I can get a lead. The boss doesn't want me going on my own.'

  'Sorry, Maurice,' she said, pulling files towards her on the desk. 'I'm up to my eyes. The boss wants this spreadsheet sorting as soon as. Perhaps Megan could do it?' she suggested, looking innocently across at her.

  If Maurice guessed that he was being set up, he showed no sign. Megan, though, was going pink and looking daggers at Jezza.

  'Do you want to go in my car?' Maurice offered. 'It's extra clean at the moment. The twins helped me clean it this weekend.'

  Jezza smiled to herself as she heard them talking to one another as they went out of the office.

  'Oh, I heard you had twin girls; that must be lovely. I have a boy, Felix. He's eight.'

  They were still deep in conversation when they arrived outside the neat terraced house in Heaviley and Maurice pulled up outside.

  'Well, we're here,' Maurice said, unnecessarily. 'Let's hope w
e can get some sort of a steer on John Smith, and that it's a lead in the right direction.'

  They were clearly expected as, after Maurice had stepped aside to let Megan through the front gate first, the door opened to a slim woman in her fifties. She introduced herself as Val Baxter, the older sister of the dead woman, Elaine Cummings. She showed them into a small but neat front room and offered them tea, which they both declined.

  'Mrs Baxter,' Maurice began, 'first of all, I'm very sorry about your sister. I appreciate it will be painful to go over again, but we really do need to get in touch with her ex-husband, John Smith.'

  'I haven't heard from John for a while. It's nearly two years now since my sister...' she paused to get control over her voice before continuing, handing Maurice a piece of paper. 'I wrote down the last contact details I had for John, but it was about a year ago, I think. He took Elaine's death very hard. He suffered some sort of breakdown. Had to give up work. He was living in B&Bs, never staying long in one place. He blamed himself, because he'd not been able to help her.'

  'Did John ever talk about trying to find the person behind the financial scheme your sister was involved in?' Megan asked.

  'Oh, yes. He tried to track him down. My husband spent a lot of time helping him. He was very good with computers. That was his profession. Then he died suddenly. A heart attack.'

  Both officers mumbled their condolences in the pause which followed. Then she continued, 'That was the point at which John had a serious breakdown, although he had been going downhill since her death. I think he realised then that he might never find the person behind the scheme that took Elaine's money, and then her life. It sent him into a terrible depression.'

  'What was John intending to do if he found the person responsible?' Maurice asked. 'Did he ever show any inclination towards violence?'

  'Oh, good heavens no,' she assured him. 'John was always a very gentle man. So kind. Very good with his hands. That's why he worked in maintenance. I think he just wanted to hold someone accountable for what happened to Elaine. Though I'm not sure he could have done. It all appeared to be perfectly legal, or so we were told at the time. Just one of these schemes which should have worked out, but didn't.'

  'He was never violent,' Megan reiterated. 'So may I ask you what caused the marriage to break down? Why did they get divorced, if you don't mind telling us?'

  'It was the job,' she replied. 'John was away such a lot, as maintenance crew on the rigs up in Scotland. Elaine wanted him to stop. She got so lonely while he was away. But he loved it, and the money was good. She tried telling him she'd be happier with less money and a husband at home. He kept saying he would give it up, but he never did.

  'Elaine started going on these meet-up sites online. Not dating, really, nothing like that. Just for some company. She did go out with a few men, but it wasn't for a casual affair or anything. An occasional meal, going dancing, the cinema, that sort of thing. John didn't like it, of course, but he still wouldn't leave the rigs, so they split up. It was about the same time she met this Nigel.'

  'Nigel?' Megan prompted.

  The woman went on to explain how her sister had encountered the man she knew as Nigel in an online group and met him for dinner a few times. She had always maintained it was nothing physical, just a pleasant companion to go out with, sharing the cost of the meals. At first she had thought him kind and helpful, advising her on where to place her small amount of savings from the divorce settlement, to secure her future.

  Elaine had started to believe everything he told her. It was already too late by the time she could bring herself to admit to her sister that she had gambled everything on a dodgy financial scheme which had seen her lose the house, then left her owing thousands. Of course, the charming Nigel had disappeared off the scene and the only mobile number she had for him no longer worked.

  'So are you looking for Nigel, now? And do you think John can help you in some way?' she asked them, eyes shining hopefully as she looked from one officer to the other.

  'We certainly think he might be able to help us with our current enquiries,' Maurice replied evasively. 'Mrs Baxter, do you perhaps have a photograph of John which we could borrow, please? As you can appreciate, it's not easy finding the right John Smith, especially if he's not at the address you've kindly given us.'

  'I do have a photo of the four of us together, from three or four years ago. Me and Eric, Elaine and John. If you're sure I'll definitely get it back safely…'

  'Best lead yet,' Megan said, as they drove back to the nick, with her holding on to the photo. 'At least we have a likely face to put to our Linda Lovelace.'

  Maurice nodded then said, hesitantly, 'I have the twins most weekends. I wondered if perhaps you and Felix might like to go somewhere with us, one of these days? I'm not sure what the kids would have in common. The girls love crafting. And picnics.'

  Megan smiled. 'Felix adores picnics. Especially if there are cold sausages, and he thinks he might get a chance of seeing a fox. And yes, please, I'd like that very much.'

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Ted had to wait until late afternoon for any good news, but when it came, it was a welcome double dose. He'd almost reached the bottom of his in-tray when Jim called and said, without preamble, 'Wednesday morning, first thing. Get together whoever you need for this operation, and get the ball rolling. Start posting wherever it's needed, see if you can get a bite from our Linda Lovelace. I'll be over for the meeting.'

  Océane was equally pleased to get the green light, when Ted went out to talk to her and to Steve, who was like her shadow if he was not firmly chased out of the office to do other things.

  'Excellent news, boss. Leave it with me. I'll set up a fake profile and scatter it with all the keywords that seem to snare him. With luck, it shouldn't be too long before we have him on the end of our hook and line.'

  'It will be helpful to have you at the meeting on Wednesday, as this is very much your side of the operation. But can you tell me, will we have a shot of tracing him if he makes contact, rather than having to set up the whole sting?'

  She shook her head. 'Doubtful. He doesn't use a mobile phone for his postings, which would be slightly easier. He's using throwaway emails and it's likely he's only posting from wi-fi hotspots or cyber cafés and not staying online for very long each time, which makes him harder to trace. He seems to know some of the basics of staying under the radar, but then Maurice mentioned that the brother-in-law was a computer expert and had been helping him.

  'I'll let you know if and when I can get a trace on him, if he bites, but I still favour bringing him to us. And I imagine that from your side, the logistics will be easier to manage if we do.'

  She certainly knew her stuff and, unlike some of the techie types Ted had worked with in the past, she was aware of how her role fitted in with the rest of the team. He liked that.

  He was just allowing himself a small sigh of satisfaction as he picked up the last file that needed his attention, when there was a brief knock and Sal came into the office. He was having no success in disguising the look of satisfaction on his face.

  Ted took off his reading glasses and looked up at him, motioning him to take a seat. 'This looks like good news. And I'm particularly open to some good news.'

  'I haven't really caught up with you with the progress on the Sabden House case yet, boss, and there has been some,' Sal began. 'I've just been waiting on some test results, so now I can definitely give you some good news.

  'First of all, Jo came back from his meeting with Pocket Billiards with the name of a supposedly dodgy councillor who's been making noises about selling off council housing stock to improve and develop sites. A man named Jake Gilbert. Our reporter friend said the councillor has a brother-in-law, Seth Hartman, who's a property developer. He's been above board about the connection in most planning meetings, always declaring an interest when necessary, to appear to be squeaky clean. But it's no secret that Hartman is very interested in Sabden House and its pote
ntial.

  'Now, fast forward to the hamper, which was in Honest John's flat. When I went carefully through it, I found a gift card inside, tucked away under the food where it was easily overlooked. It was just a typed message from the hamper company, from a well-wisher, no name, but it did have the name of the company. I contacted them and they confirmed that it was paid for by Seth Hartman's credit card, but it was sent to him care of another address.

  'At first I thought we weren't going to be lucky with prints on the hamper or any of the contents. It looked as if whoever took it to Honest John's flat had worn gloves and been careful. Then forensics managed to find a partial print on the catch. Almost as if someone had started to open it for a quick rummage inside, then remembered to put gloves on. It was a print of someone we have on record.'

  'This just gets better and better,' Ted smiled. 'Please tell me the print is either Seth Hartman or Jake Gilbert.'

  Sal shook his head. 'Can't do that, boss, I'm afraid. But don't give up hope. The print belongs to a young man, Theo Cowell, who's got form for some fairly minor stuff, like taking without consent. The hamper was delivered to his address.'

  Like a comedian with perfect timing, waiting for the best moment to deliver the punchline, Sal paused, watching the boss's face, full of anticipation.

  'And the best part is, Theo Cowell turns out to be Seth Hartman's nephew.'

  'Yes!' Ted exclaimed, and only just resisted the temptation to do an air punch. 'So, you're going to bring him in?'

  'Only just got word on the print a short while ago, then had to check him out. But yes, me and the sarge are going over now to haul him in and see what he has to say for himself. DS Hallam, that is. I can't get used to calling Rob anything other than Rob. I can't think of him as DS O'Connell yet.'

  'Excellent news, Sal. Just what we need, a bit of a breakthrough and a morale boost. Go and get him, start questioning him, the two of you. I'll be around if you want me to help. I'll probably let Jo go early, though. He's put in enough hours over the weekend covering for me. And don't forget, with Cowell's pedigree, he will probably have connections, so don't cut any corners.'