Collide-O-Scope (Norfolk Coast Investigation Stories Book 1)

by Andrea Bramhall

  “No. You go to the cash point and pay for the car to be valeted.”

  “There,” he said, pointing out of the windscreen. “That’s her.”

  Kate hit the break and slowed them down to fifty miles per hour. Enough under the speed limit to prevent them gaining on Leah anymore, but fast enough not to lose her.

  “Phone Stella. Tell her where we are.”

  Jimmy did as he was asked and Kate continued to hold her distance from Leah. Traffic onto the A148 slowed Leah to a stop and Kate could do nothing but join the queue behind her and hope she didn’t recognise either of them. Leah turned right and Kate followed, pulling out in front of a huge lorry to make sure there was nothing too big between her and Leah. Nothing was going to come between her and wrapping up this case. She had a weekend ahead that she planned to enjoy.

  Passing through the town, she managed to pick up three cars between them, a Kia Picanto that couldn’t have reached seventy if it had tried, a BMW X3, that seemed just as frustrated with the Kia, and a VW motorhome that equally couldn’t have made seventy if it had tried. A section of dual carriageway on the flyover let her and the BMW pass their struggling friends, and Leah was once again in easy view as they started down the A17. Ten minutes more and they’d be at the lay-by where Tom and Collier were waiting in a car park to pick up the collection vehicle and follow it to wherever it went.

  Traffic ahead of them slowed to a crawl. A string of drivers ahead weaved to the right to see what was up ahead. Judging by the way speed dropped from sixty to twenty-five, it didn’t take too much effort to figure that a tractor was holding them all up. So much for progress.

  Five minutes later, the queue in front began to speed up and she saw a tractor idling in a parking place fifty yards ahead. “Let Tom know she’s almost there. Five, six minutes tops.”

  The lay-by in question was brilliantly placed between two roundabouts. One at the end of a swing bridge over the River Nene and the other fifty yards farther on, which offered a convenient turn-off to Tydd Gote power station. Or, for their purposes, to turn round on themselves. Leah was two cars ahead of them and they could see her pull off into the lay-by while they were still on the bridge. She stopped twenty yards along a tarmac road beside the river. A road that went nowhere. Not even back up to the main road. It was simply a dead end. And Leah just sat there. Waiting.

  Tom and Collier were sitting in their car on the opposite side of the road to the lay-by. There was a small shed builder’s yard and the car park led out onto the power station roundabout. Kate drove all the way around the roundabout and went back over the bridge. She pulled in to a parking area across the river from Leah. She had a better view of Leah’s car than Tom did, but he was better placed to follow the second vehicle they were expecting. Kate was perfectly placed to pull Leah over after the exchange happened.

  She pulled her new phone out of her pocket and dialled Tom. “She’s there.”

  “Any sign of another vehicle?”

  “None. Stella tell you about Ally watching out of the door?”

  “Yeah. You think she’s set us up?”

  “Don’t know. Possible.”

  “Time will tell. Ring if you see anything.”

  “Will do.” She tossed the phone into the drinks holder between the seats. “Eyes peeled, Jimmy.”

  He handed her the binoculars. “I did bring two pairs, you know.”

  “Good.”

  “Do you think it’s a setup?”

  She shrugged. “Like I said, it’s possible. Time will tell.”

  “It was odd, though. Her waiting at the door like that for so long?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe that’s her routine. She’s gotten away with this for a long time, Jimmy. You don’t do that by being stupid or careless.”

  “I guess not.”

  “So we just have to wait and see.”

  CHAPTER 31

  “Hello?”

  “Gina, it’s William. One of the pipes has burst for the upstairs bathroom. There’s water pouring through the ceiling in the dorm room and the whole place is flooding.”

  “Damn it. Have you turned the water off?”

  “I’ve turned the isolation valves off but it made no difference.”

  “No, you need to turn it off at the stop cock.”

  “Where?”

  “Boiler room.”

  “Okay, there’s a lot of pipes in there. Which...”

  Static filled her ears. “Oh, for God’s sake. Bloody signal.” She knew from past experience that as soon as you went in the boiler room, all mobile signal was lost. Connie had said it was to do with all the copper pipes in there. She didn’t know if that was true, but the signal disconnection certainly was. “Bollocks.”

  She stuffed her feet into her shoes and looked at Sammy.

  “I have to go to work. Get your shoes on.”

  “But I’m not supposed to leave the house.” Sammy made her voice all deep and stern.

  Gina fastened her laces. “I’m serious, Sammy. We’ve got to go. We won’t be long.”

  Sammy tutted but started to hunt down her shoes. “Fine.”

  Gina went to grab her keys and remembered that her car was still at the police station. “Shit.”

  “Mum!”

  “Exceptional circumstances.” She grabbed the key to Kate’s courtesy car, clipped Merlin’s lead to her collar, and hustled Sammy out the back door. She glanced around to make sure there was no one around before unlocking the car and ushering Sammy and Merlin into the back seat. “Put your seatbelt on.”

  “I know.”

  “When we get there you are to go into my office and stay there. Right?”

  “Right.”

  “I mean it, Sammy. You go in there, put the telly on, and you do not leave. Understood?”

  “Can I watch a film?”

  “Only a kid’s one.”

  “Okay.”

  Gina pulled up at the campsite, unlocked her office door, handed Sammy the remote, and pushed her onto the sofa. “Do not—”

  “Leave this room, I know. But, Mum, what if I need a wee?”

  “Do you?”

  “No.”

  “Then we’ll worry about it later.” She kissed the top of Sammy’s head and went straight to the boiler room. William stood with his phone to his ear and a red wheel about four inches in diameter in his hand. He stuck his phone in his pocket as soon as he saw her and ran over.

  “It said ‘water stop cock to hostel’ on a tag so I turned it.” He held up the red wheel. “Then it broke off.”

  “Right. Because this just wasn’t bad enough. We need to turn it off at the mains, then. It’s under one of the manhole covers in the driveway.” She went straight to the tools hung up on a board at the back of the barn and selected a hammer and a crow bar. “It’s the oblong-shaped one that says ‘water’ on it.” She handed William the tools. “Put the hazard triangle out and pry up the cover. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  William took the tools and ran out, obviously glad to be able to do something. Gina started rummaging around for the tool she needed. She knew from experience that the stop cock in the main was too far down for either of them to be able to reach and get enough leverage to turn the valve off. It had happened once before and they’d had to improvise a turning device out of a piece of board that had snapped halfway through. Afterwards, Connie had found a specialised tool for just this kind of job. They’d never had cause to use it. Until today. It was a three-foot-long steel rod with a cross piece on top and a V-shaped notch at the bottom. It simply slipped over the tap head of the valve and allowed them to turn it from a distance. Perfectly simple. Would work a treat. Just as soon as she could find the damn thing.

  In the end, it took five minutes to locate the tool. It had fallen behind a metal locker filled with gas canisters and all she could see was the blue painted steel V-shaped notch sticking out. A quick shove, a kick, and a few more curse words later, she managed to retrieve it and the water was t
urned off in a few seconds.

  “Come on then, show me how bad it is.”

  Bad was being generous. The ceiling above two of the rooms was badly damaged. In one, it had already come down, which had let all the water escape. But the plasterboards in the other were beyond saving. The whole ceiling would need to be taken down and replaced. The floor boards in the upstairs room were badly damaged and probably half would have to be replaced. The insulation, the underfloor heating system, the joists, all showed a lot of damage and would have to be replaced or repaired before any of the rooms could be used again. But they needed to get the water capped before they could turn it back on for the rest of the building.

  She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialled the plumber. She begged and pleaded with him to come out and help her. He said he’d be there before the end of the day. She checked her watch. It was barely lunchtime. She shook her head. Helpful.

  “Do we have anyone in?”

  “Yeah. Three couples.”

  “Move them to the other building. We should be able to get water back on for them today. This one’s going to be out of commission for a while. Any idea what happened?”

  William shook his head. “The woman in that room came into reception and said water was coming through the roof.” He shrugged. “Don’t know anything else.”

  She sighed. “Right, thanks. Can you talk to the guests and get them resettled while I go and call the insurance company?”

  “No problem.”

  “Thanks. Oh, and can you also start taking some pictures, will you? I’ll need those for the claim.”

  “Already got some. While the water was pouring out.”

  “Thanks, William.”

  It was three hours before the plumber arrived. He sucked on his teeth and crossed his arms over his chest, whistled, then got to work. Gina decided that was plumber speak for “it’s going to be expensive.” Wonderful.

  Two hours later she was ready to get Sammy and make her way back to Kate’s. She opened the door, stepped out of the information centre, and walked up the lane.

  “Hey, Gina, thought it was you I saw earlier playing about in manholes.”

  Shit. “Hi, Ally. Yeah, we had a burst pipe in the hostel. Had to get it turned off.”

  “Ouch. Lot of damage?”

  “More than I’d like, that’s for sure.”

  “Shame Connie isn’t here to sort it out.” Ally closed the distance between them and Gina wished she’d thought to just wave and keep on walking.

  “William and I coped.”

  “I’m sure. Haven’t seen you around for a while. How’ve you been? Nasty business all this. Murder, in our little village, hey?”

  “Yes, terrible.”

  “But you’re coping, right? And little Sammy too?”

  “Yes, thanks, we’re fine. I need to get off now. Need to make tea and all that.”

  “Sure, sure. Haven’t seen you around much lately.”

  “No, I’ve been busy. Between this place and Sammy, I feel like I never have a minute to myself.”

  “I’ll bet. Haven’t seen Matt around for a while either. Not been in the pub or anything.”

  “Really? That’s not like him.”

  “You’re right it’s not. You ain’t seen him, have you?”

  Gina shook her head.

  “Well, that’s even stranger. He’s like clockwork with that kid of yours, ain’t he?”

  “Most of the time.”

  “But not lately.”

  “No. Maybe he’s sick or something. I’ve had more on my mind to worry about than Matt’s social life.” She moved to edge around her. “Like my daughter being upset because Connie died.”

  Ally leaned in and stared at her. “I think you’re telling me porky pies, Gina.”

  Gina could feel the sweat bead on her brow, her heart thundered in her chest, and she drew in a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. “No, I’m not.”

  “I think you are.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Hmm. Interesting question. Why would you do that?”

  “Exactly, I wouldn’t. I’m not his keeper, and I don’t care what he does if it doesn’t relate to Sammy.” Gina’s palms were slick and her fingers trembled. She lost her grip on her keys and leaned forward to pick them up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got stuff to do.”

  “I’m sure you do. But I think we need to have a little chat, Gina.” She leaned closer and wrapped her fingers around Gina’s bicep. “I don’t like it when people lie to me.”

  “I’m not.”

  Ally smiled menacingly at her. Her dark eyes looked almost black in the fading light and Gina could see nothing in them. They looked flat and lifeless, there was no spark of humanity in them. Soulless. Gina shuddered.

  “I guess we’ll see about that.” Ally tugged and pulled until Gina was moving away from her office and the information centre. She started to scream but a large hand covered her mouth and pressed hard. “Enough of that. Let’s go say hello to that little scamp of yours. See if she knows where dear old dad’s hiding.”

  Gina stopped resisting so much. Ally was dragging her away from her office and towards her house. She didn’t know where Sammy was and that was just fine with Gina. She didn’t stop resisting altogether, she wanted Ally to believe she didn’t want to go to home, but home was a far better option than where Sammy was. Whatever Ally had in mind, she didn’t want to give Sammy any more ammunition for her nightmares.

  CHAPTER 32

  Kate checked her watch. Five o’clock. The light had already started to fade and everyone had their headlights on. The lights were bright and distracting and the sheer quantity of them coming and going was going to make it difficult to see what was happening at the lay-by. She realised now why the earlier time had been chosen last week. Early morning rush hour and low light—even if someone was watching, they’d have a hell of a job seeing what was going on, and following a vehicle driving away would be difficult. It made her glad she hadn’t pissed off Stella and was tasked with picking up Leah instead.

  “There,” Jimmy said, “you see it? There’s another car pulling up behind her.”

  Kate looked through her binoculars and stared across the river. “Licence plate Charlie Bravo five five Bravo Romeo Tango. White Ford panel van. Not a transit van, the one down.”

  “Got it.”

  “Pass me the camera, I’ve got the better angle for the licence.”

  He handed her a DSLR with a large zoom lens on it. She used the steering wheel to help hold the heavy lens still and zoomed in tight on the back of the van. Then she clicked off a few shots, and swivelled a few degrees over to get the driver as he climbed out and went to the back of Leah’s car. Exactly as Matt Green had described. He didn’t talk to Leah, he didn’t even indicate he was there. He looked right and left, but obviously saw nothing of concern. He just opened the boot, lifted out the black bag, and closed it again.

  “Description?” Jimmy asked.

  “White male, maybe late twenties, maybe six-foot, judging against the height of the vehicle. Jeans, dark coat, beanie hat.”

  “In other words, every white van driver in England.”

  “Pretty much. Is Tom ready to roll?”

  “I’m on speakerphone, your majesty,” Tom said.

  “Hmm. I like that one, Tommy boy. You can keep using it. He’s getting back in the car now, the bin bag’s in the back.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Good luck.”

  “See if you can get an ID on this guy before I have to stop him, will you?”

  “Uploading his picture to Wild now. We’ll let you know if we get anything from facial recognition or off the plate. He’s rolling. Waiting for a break in traffic to join the A17, indicating left,” Kate said.

  “It’s a one way. He wouldn’t be going right.”

  Kate ignored him. “He’s pulled into the right-hand lane, should be visible to you now.”

  “I see him,�
�� Tom said.

  “All yours. Leah’s still here. Looks like she’s asleep in there.”

  “Be careful, Kate.”

  “Worried about me?” Kate asked.

  “You ruled Leah out as the murderer because she hasn’t got what it takes to plan this murder or hold her hand steady enough to make the shot, not because you don’t think she’s capable of killing. A junkie with their back to the wall. You’ve seen it more often than I have. Be careful,” Tom said.

  “We’ll be fine, dad.”

  Jimmy sniggered.

  “Don’t lose him.” She hung up and handed Jimmy the camera to pack away. “Wanna wake up sleeping beauty or wait and see what she does?”

  “Wait. If she wakes up, checks the boot, and finds it empty, we’ve got her dead to rights that she was waiting for the drop-off. If not, she could argue she was robbed while she was asleep.”

  “She still might try that one.”

  “Won’t stand up unless she calls the police straight away. She’s got a mobile on her,” he said.

  “Fair point. We just might make a fair investigator out of you yet.” She winked at him.

  Leah didn’t wake up for another hour. Six-fourteen, to be exact. Traffic was thinning, and it was fully dark. The red lights on top of the power station could be seen for miles around. Kate stared at the reflection they made in the water. Two little red dots shimmering and dancing on the ebbing tidal river. It amazed her how a slight shift in perspective changed things so much. One slight shift of the head and you see something different. Like the world tipping on its axis and the picture you’re looking at changes. Only it doesn’t change, and you don’t change, but in that instant everything changes.

  It was her phone that had woken Leah up. Kate could see her holding it to her ear. She watched her get out of the car and check the boot. Just like Jimmy had predicted. Then she slammed it closed, got back into her car and started the engine. Kate’s phone rang.

  “Damn it.” She clicked “answer” and turned on the engine. She pulled closer to the road, ready to pull out after Leah. “You better not have lost him, Tom, or I swear I’ll—”

  “Kate?”

  “Oh, hey, Sammy. What’s up?”