by Dai Henley
“Don’t reply, will you? Let’s agree what to do next tomorrow, promise me?”
“I promise.”
*
RP made a few changes to his diary appointments to accommodate my visit first thing Monday morning, after I’d stressed the urgency. He was so into this case now, like a terrier with a slipper.
He expressed great pleasure about Alisha getting hold of Greenland’s mobile, although he was concerned about the violence used.
“I knew she had balls, that girl. I’ll give her that.”
“Is it worth Alisha reporting this attempted rape to the police?”
“She could. But can’t see where it would get us. She’d have needed to go to the police straight after it happened to preserve any DNA evidence. As it is, it’ll be her word against his. Even then, say the police believe her; he’ll get put away for a while. Then what?”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“I’m more interested in this.” RP had Greenland’s mobile in his hand. He acted like a kid with a new toy, tapping away and scrolling through the content and list of contacts. “These messages and texts look interesting. My techies next door can get access to deleted stuff too. This is Pandora’s Box!”
I explained my uneasiness about Alisha getting back in touch with Johnson. He agreed, but as usual, his brain had assessed the likely pros and cons.
“I know you don’t like it, but if Alisha’s up for it, I think she should get back with Johnson one more time.”
“No Roger. Enough is enough.”
“But look at this way; if I can get closer to our mystery man from Greenland’s mobile, I’ve got an idea that’ll flush him out.” He shook the mobile under my nose. “The fact that Johnson’s keen to make it up to Alisha will play into our hands.”
RP was never more persuasive than when he had a plan in mind.
“No, I don’t like it Roger. It’s not fair on Alisha. Christ, Johnson nearly raped her!”
I stared out of the window at the drab, late autumn day.
To my back, he said, “Why don’t we ask her to see him just one more time?”
I turned and said, “I’ll advise her not to.”
Putting his hands up in mock surrender, he said, “OK. I understand. Anyway, I’ll see if I can get somewhere with this mobile later today. Why don’t we have a chat then?”
*
RP called later that afternoon and suggested Alisha and I meet up with him as soon as possible, said he had interesting information to share. We arranged to meet at his now familiar office later that evening.
She arrived at the office still wearing sunglasses. I asked her to take them off so I could see her face. She obliged. The swelling had gone down slightly, but there remained a deep purple bruise under her left eye. Her split lip had crusted over.
RP offered words of sympathy to Alisha, before getting straight to the point. He looked pleased with himself.
“We’ve been working overtime on this and we haven’t totally completed our search into all of Greenland’s contacts but there’s one name on the list that needs further investigation. I don’t believe it could be another coincidence.”
RP sat back in his chair and pointed his hands together, prayer-like. The tips of his fingers met his chin.
“If I remember correctly, Greenland said on the last tape that he’d done time in Belmarsh, but didn’t admit to knowing Burrows. Well I’ve come up with another person who’d done time in Belmarsh at the same time as Greenland. In fact, according to my contact, they shared a cell together whilst they were on remand.”
Before I could ask who it was, RP raised his palm to me and continued.
“Also, there’s a note indicating that this person happened to be visited several times by Greenland after his release in December 1997.”
“Go, on,” I said, eager to get to the point.
“The most important thing I discovered is that this person began his sentence on 10th February 1996 and was released on parole on 3rd July 1998, a month before the arson attack.”
RP looked at Alisha and then me.
“His name is Hartley, John Hartley.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
September – October 1999
Before I could react, Alisha put her hand to her mouth and said, “Oh my God!”
“What do you mean?” I asked her. “Do you know Hartley?”
“Oh, James! Yes, I do know him. Maybe it’s best if I talk to you privately.”
I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “Alisha, if we’re going to sort this out, we’ll need to know everything, otherwise we can’t fill in the gaps. What do you know about him that I don’t?”
Looking nervous, her eyes darted between RP and me.
“Well… if you’re sure you want me to. Lynne made me promise I’d never tell anyone… ever. It was her secret.”
I yelled at her, “What bloody secret? What the hell has Lynne got to do with Hartley?”
Alisha avoided eye contact with me and said, “I don’t know where to start… it’s all so… complicated.”
Looking up and facing me, she said, “How can I put this…? Before you came on the scene, James, Lynne and John Hartley had an affair.”
“What? Are you sure? I’d never put them together.”
“It’s true, James. I hate having to tell you this. It started in October/November 1994, I think. They met at the Mercedes dealership you bought. At first, despite being worried that Nick might find out, she became excited. He treated her well. He always had loads of money and spoilt her rotten. But as time wore on, he showed his true colours.”
“I had no idea. She never mentioned him,” I said.
Alisha continued. “He was married. Their meetings were clandestine affairs. As far as I could tell, no one else knew about it apart from me.”
Inspecting his notes, RP interrupted. “Yes, married three times, the last time in 1989.” He waved a hand towards Alisha, signalling her to carry on.
“I first met him at Lynne’s flat. She wanted my approval. But something about him, I don’t know… I didn’t like.” She shook her head.
“I had to admit he came across as charismatic and charming. He’d hooked her. But to me, he appeared over-confident, a bit smarmy, thought he was God’s gift to women.”
She brushed an imaginary piece of cotton from her leggings before adding, “Believe me, I’ve met a few of those types in my time.
“Actually, later, I hated him. Lynne told me that he didn’t like her going out with make-up on or dressing provocatively. She told me that, on many occasions, he completely lost it if she didn’t agree with him and sometimes he hit her. Then he’d be full of remorse. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
“Just like Nick,” I said.
“I know. She’d swapped him for Hartley, except Hartley controlled her more psychologically. He really messed up her mind.”
I said, “But why did Lynne put up with it? Surely she’d learnt her lesson?”
“My sentiments exactly. She was hopeless with men… a sucker for anyone showing her attention. And useless at getting herself out of these situations.”
“Did Hartley know what you thought of him?” RP asked.
“You know me. I couldn’t stand by and watch Hartley mess her up. I called him once. Told him to back off and not treat Lynne so badly. He tried to turn his charm on me. Made me feel sick.”
“Did he respond?” I asked.
“You’re joking. He completely ignored me. I begged her to end the relationship.”
“Are you saying he was seeing her at the same time as me?”
“Yes, but only for a short time, a couple of months at the most. She tried hard to extricate herself, but he wouldn’t have it. He’s a clever bastard.”
“I can’t believe Lynne had been cheating on me!”
“No, it wasn’t like that. Lynne tried desperately to get Hartley out of her life, especially after meeting you. But she fell unde
r his spell. Even more so than Nick, and we know he’s bad news. He’s thuggish. Hartley’s in another league. He’s a smooth, manipulative charmer.”
Anger grew in her voice as she said, “He kept putting her down all the time, telling her she was useless, didn’t know what he saw in her, that kind of thing, to the point where she’d burst into tears. Then he’d treat her like a Goddess before knocking her down again. This became the pattern. That way, he had total control of her emotions. She thought she was going mad.”
“Bastard!” I muttered. Alisha looked at me sympathetically and continued.
“I felt so sorry for her. After she met you, she tried even harder to get rid of Hartley. Then, around the same time, she had to deal with all that stuff with Nick abducting Georgie to Florida. She’d replaced one problem with another.”
I asked, “Did she finally end the affair?”
“Well, suddenly, I think about the beginning of February ‘96, a few months after you and Lynne got together, he disappeared and she never saw him again, at least, not to my knowledge. Lynne thought that, at last, Hartley had given up, that you being on the scene had got in the way of his plans.”
She turned to RP. “You said he went to prison about then.”
Inspecting his notes, he said, “That’s right, 10th February 1996.”
“I’m so sorry, James.” She reached for my hand.
After a moment’s silence, RP asked me what I knew about Hartley.
I told them about his job with us and the embezzlement.
“He left us after giving us a cock and bull story about his wife having cancer before we’d discovered it. Later, we traced him to Belmarsh prison.
“I didn’t realise he’d been released. He was due out in 1999, at the earliest. I planned to visit him then, try to get what was left of the money back.”
RP checked his notes to confirm the dates.
“Looks like he appealed against his sentence. Got a year knocked off.”
I shook my head and said, “This is unbelievable.”
RP nodded and studied his notes again. “I think I’ve got an accurate time frame for the Lynne/Hartley relationship which appears to fit. What we don’t know is what happened after Hartley’s release on parole from Belmarsh in July 1998.”
I turned to Alisha and asked, “Did Nick know about Hartley?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, if he did, that would have inflamed his hatred of Lynne even more, wouldn’t it? Make him more determined to take revenge.”
RP stopped scribbling and said, “There are still a few gaps here. To be sure whether Hartley’s our man we have to find a link between Hartley and Johnson. ”
“How can we do that?” I asked.
RP, stroking his chin yet again, said, “It looks like Hartley’s been using Greenland as the go-between. Hartley’s not unintelligent. If he did use Johnson as a hit man he wouldn’t want any evidence like text messages or calls from him on Johnson’s mobile. One possibility is that Hartley texts Greenland and he tells Johnson where to meet up for the monthly ‘insurance’ payment.”
RP placed his pen on the desk and sat back in his chair.
“Why don’t we take a time-out now? I’ll give this more thought. Let’s meet again tomorrow morning. Are you happy with that, James?”
“Er… yes… sorry… bit shell-shocked, that’s all. I wasn’t prepared for this.”
Alisha said, “I’m so sorry, James. Lynne swore me to secrecy.”
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Lynne. She’d got herself into an intolerable situation. Perhaps she thought that adding the complications of an affair with Hartley to her problem with Nick would drive me away.
*
Next morning, a cloudless autumn day, we met at RP’s office again.
He went straight to the point after pouring the ubiquitous coffees.
“Any more thoughts?”
Alisha, who’d taken a few days’ sick leave, still wore her sunglasses. She shook her head. I think she thought she’d already said too much.
I shook my head, too. I felt numb.
RP, looking at us both in turn, said, “OK. Alisha, what’s the situation with Johnson? Is he still texting you, begging forgiveness?”
“Er… yes. I got another one yesterday.” She fumbled inside her handbag and produced her mobile, lifted her sunglasses onto her forehead, scrolled though the texts for a few seconds and read out, “‘get in touch alisha. miss u. really sorry 4 what I done. wanna make up Ill do anything. Call me. Leroy.’”
“That’s about the fifteenth one he’s either sent or left as a message.”
“Excellent. Obviously, he’s still interested. We can use him to flush out Hartley.”
I spluttered, “How? Are you still suggesting Alisha gets in touch?”
“I think it’s the only way.”
Before I could respond, he turned to Alisha and said, “You remember you put in Johnson’s mind that the £500 per month insurance money is peanuts? And you implied Hartley took him for a fool settling for so little?” Alisha nodded.
“I’ve got an idea. It’ll need you to get back with Johnson, but only for a short time, I promise.”
I slammed my hand on RP’s desk. “No, I’m sorry Roger. You weren’t there when I picked Alisha up after Johnson had beaten her and tried to rape her. It wasn’t a pretty sight. It’s not fair she should run that risk again.”
“It’s OK James,” Alisha said, putting her hand on my arm. “I acted stupidly. I asked for it. Let’s hear Roger out.”
“Thank you, Alisha. Well, my plan is this; call Johnson, say you’ll continue the relationship but you won’t stand for any more violence. And tell him that you’re fed up spending time with him holed up in his flat. You want him to take you to fancy restaurants, travel a bit, and have a good time.”
“Then what?” Alisha said.
“Well, we have Greenland’s mobile with Hartley’s contact number, don’t we? You can tell him that you’ve found out from Greenland who the mystery man is and his mobile number. He may not believe you, but the way I see it, he’ll be gagging to impress you. I doubt he’d worry about where the info came from.
“Get him to text Hartley saying the ‘insurance’ money needs to be greatly increased − suggest he wants a big lump sum upfront, say twenty-five grand. Get him to imply that he’s written a statement involving Hartley and if he doesn’t play ball, he’ll pass it over to the police.”
“And then?” I said.
“Well, first Hartley’ll be beside himself with the fact that Johnson knows his mobile number. Remember? I’m certain the contacts between them were via Greenland.” RP waved Greenland’s mobile at us.
“Hartley would want to ensure there’s no evidence linking him directly to Johnson. If Hartley bites, his response could be the evidence we need.”
“Is that it?” I said.
“It’s the first stage. I’ve got an idea where this’ll lead. Ultimately, we’ll need to deal with Johnson and Hartley if he’s the one, won’t we?”
Alisha and I both nodded. “What do you think, Alisha?” I said. “Are you sure you want to carry on?”
“Too right, I do! We’ve come this far, haven’t we? I’ll get in touch with Leroy. I’ll try to persuade him to get more money out of Hartley. Be interesting to see Johnson’s reaction.”
“Well, I’m still not happy. It’s far too risky,” I said.
RP responded, “It is. However, there is one other point Alisha can make to Johnson. Remind him he’s immune from prosecution for the arson attack, but Hartley’s not. If he’s banged up, he can’t hurt him. That may strengthen your hand.” Alisha nodded again.
I said, “Roger, there’s one thing I couldn’t get out of my mind last night. Do you think Hartley ever saw Lynne again, you know, after his release from jail?”
RP turned to Alisha and said, “Did Lynne ever mention it to you?”
“No, of course not, I’d have said so.” She sou
nded affronted.
RP said, “I think I should visit Greenland with one of my guys. Put a bit of pressure on him. Get him to tell us more about Hartley.”
“No, Roger. I want to be involved. I’ll go. I can handle myself.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Positive.” I needed something to feed my hatred of the low-life scum we were dealing with.
“OK. Here, take Greenland’s mobile. You’ll need it to prove the connection with Hartley and Johnson.”
RP, in his usual meticulous way, then gave me a master-class in how to approach the situation. I felt like a sleuth’s apprentice.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
October 1999
Alisha called me at home the next day. “I’ve done it. I called Leroy and we met up last night. He’s swallowed the bait. I told him there were two conditions if I went back to him. The first, no more physical stuff. I told him if he so much as slapped my arse, I’d be off!”
Typical Alisha.
“And the second, I told him I wanted to be better off. He totally bought the blackmail line. I think he’d been thinking about it since I pointed it out a couple of weeks ago. He’s a greedy bugger. Wants to prove to me how tough he is. I told him straight; I want to wear expensive jewellery, go travelling to nice places and all that. Whether he believed Greenland had given me Hartley’s number or not, he couldn’t wait to send the text. The power of love, eh?”
“Yeah, right. Power of lust, more like. Did you mention he can’t be tried again?”
“Yes I did. He said his solicitor had already told him after his acquittal.”
“Be careful, Alisha. I don’t want you to get beaten up again… or worse.”
“I will, I promise. We’re getting close to knowing what happened, aren’t we? I can back off soon. Then it’ll be up to you and RP.”
*
Greenland’s mobile buzzed in my jacket pocket immediately after Alisha had called. I didn’t answer it, hoping the caller would leave a message. He did.
I couldn’t mistake the bass timbre of Hartley’s newsreader’s voice.
