by Hylton Smith
“You didn’t hear it from me Sam, but lots of people would be happy to see Cooper take a tumble. Do you want another beer?”
“Ok, but make mine a half, I have to drive back.”
*
Stephanie found Gerry Walton was having one of his poor days, and the nurse said she shouldn’t stay too long. He said he was in considerable pain, but was pleased to see her and noticed that she was clutching the diary.
“It’s not much of a testament to a person’s life is it? I thought about burning it many times but never had the guts to do it.”
“I can’t follow too much of the descriptive passages but you seem to mention most of your colleagues and friends by using their initials.”
“Yes, it was easier for me that way. You know we didn’t get much time to write during the campaign in Yemen. There was always something going on with insurgents. It’s a kind of war we aren’t comfortable with. We’re trained to fight the enemy in a recognisable uniform, not to suspect the people we’re trying to help. It puts pressure on the relationships between even the best of friends. Seeing your closest buddy blown to hell by a child suicide bomber makes you question why you are there in the first place, and after that you have the chilling feeling that you can’t win such a war.” Stephanie was really moved by the emptiness in this inarticulate man’s eyes. He was about to expire and had no idea why he’d been put on the planet.
“I suppose it doesn’t help when civilians like me don’t understand what you were going through. I’m going to continue reading your diary, but the nurse wants me to let you rest today, so I’ll just ask you about the first few initials. I recognise R.B. as Alex’s father Robert, your best friend. What about N.D.?”
“That was Norman Dexter, and he was always last out of the mess room. He was killed by a sniper, and fell right next to me. He knew he was going to die and gave me his wife’s photo in a locket in his neck chain. I took it to her a few months later.”
“Then you talk about E.R.”
“Yes, Eric Rogers, he was the real comedian of the squad, not me. It was obvious to the rest of us that it was to cover his fear. He was to be discharged after losing a leg. It wasn’t the way he’d feared, he was hit by a runaway armoured vehicle and trapped against a wall. He contracted gangrene and passed away before he could be shipped home.” Stephanie was rather glad that she was only going to ask about a few more. It was a harrowing experience hearing about the personalities as well as their fate.
“A.C. comes next.”
“Ah yes, Major Cranston, he was a real leader of men. When I talked earlier about our confusion over the purpose of our mission, he was always able to temporarily disperse the fog. He was an old school soldier. He knew everyone’s name and those of their family. He had time for you when he must have had pressing problems of his own. This man kept up our spirits by example as well as with his words. Other officers of his rank I’d known were aloof, requiring a ‘distance’ from the ordinary recruits like me, whereas the Major was able to bridge that gap. Yemen was his last tour, and he was expected to take a position in the M.O.D. Strategy team somewhere. I saw his picture in their magazine a few times and he retired early because of Dementia, the memory loss ruled him out of continuing in his new job, such a shame. Yes, he was a great man, but unfortunately when I went to see him with Robert Blake he didn’t recognise us. It was one of the saddest days of my life.”
“Ok Gerry, there’s just one more for today. What can you tell me about D.B?”
“Donkey Baxter, well his name was Donald actually. He could carry more kit than any two of the rest of us. He had no fear either. He was one of those men who knew he would make it through the campaign and helped raise the confidence of others. He didn’t make it though, because he saw a group of men in the next unit in the line struck down by an RPG. The line was called to retreat to better cover, but Donkey ran to rescue whoever was still alive. He hoisted a badly injured, screaming man with half of his face blown off, on to his shoulder and began to pick his way back.” Gerry stuttered and succumbed to the need for a short silence, marshalling resistance to being overcome, before continuing. “He got back to us, but the soldier was dead. Donkey was never quite the same. Less than a week later he responded to a little boy who was begging in the street. Kneeling down to give the child part of a chocolate bar, the bomb was detonated. There was virtually nothing left of him or the boy.” It was Stephanie who couldn’t hold back her swirling emotions. From the first day she’d seen the Priory corpse on the Intranet, she had marked it as the worst experience of her life. This man had seen worse on a daily basis, and they were people who were known to him.
She made sure Gerry knew she was coming back to see him. The look in his eyes for the first time betrayed anticipation of his own demise. “I’m really looking forward to that. I’ll get the nurse to get us some of my favourite biscuits to go with our tea. I think you’ll like them.”
*
Renton received another call from Adams.
“I hated doing it Boss, but I checked out Steph’s boyfriend David Miller, and he is genuine. Everything she was prepared to tell me about him ties up. However, Sam pulled something out on James Bradley. He’s one of Cooper’s moles and I’m going to speak with Cousins to move him on, but it isn’t really pertinent to the leak of Daniel’s hospital admission. Cooper is a slippery anal orifice, but being associated with someone like Frank is way out of his bailiwick. So it’s still a mystery. Anyway the locals gave me a lead on the Lindisfarne killing, and it seemed like a good match. The guy was actually there that morning. It turned out to be iffy though. He was the right age, build, and is a surgeon, but he wasn’t anywhere near six feet tall. He works where you are – his name is Corbett. Do you know of him?”
“Yeah, he had the final say on my operation. He’s definitely not our man Ben, apart from his lack of height, his voice is totally wrong. When I spoke to Frank, dressed as a clown, without knowing it was him, I remember saying that he didn’t have a regional accent. Then when he called me shortly afterwards to make the threat, his real voice became permanently etched in my mind. Corbett speaks well enough but can’t quite disguise his Geordie roots.”
“Ok, well that saves me making him come in again. Is it ok for me to visit yet or is Jane still on the prowl?”
“Just come in Ben, Daniel would appreciate your company just the same as I would. Jane can like it or lump it. I look forward to seeing you soon.”
*
Bernard Cousins wasted no time in arranging for an interview with D.I. Cooper. It was related to his own embarrassing secondment to the Penshaw Monument case. He hadn’t made any real progress following the discovery of the severed arm, and then the rest of the body of Sandy Evans being washed up at the mouth of the Wear. Cousins and everyone else suspected that the Colony had arranged the hit shortly after Evans was released from prison. It was made to look like Frank’s work, but this had been denied, and the available evidence supported that denial. Cooper was known to have contacts who could exchange information with the mob. Cousins raised the subject of James Bradley, and this threw Cooper, who’d prepared himself for a different thrust. The tactic turned into a bluff and Cousins threatened an independent police inquiry into information obtained and circulated through Bradley.
“This has been inadvertently discovered while he has been at the Newcastle office. Your protégé has been indiscreet D.I. Cooper. You may also be aware of Chief Bradstock’s war on corruption in the Capital at the moment, and he is determined to cleanse the force nationwide. If you are prepared to let James Bradley off the hook by denying these leaks, then your career is likely to end with your noble sacrifice. You will be wondering what it will take for me to discipline Bradley and ensure an experienced officer such as yourself isn’t tarnished with his impropriety. It’s very simple. We have additional DNA from the severed arm which does not belong to the owner, lots of it. So far we don’t have a match. We know it comes from within the Colony, and all w
e need is a little guidance on where to look. We can be creative with why we would like to interview such a character and ask for DNA for elimination purposes for a different crime. It will all be wrapped up without a hint of your involvement. I need an answer now, because Bradley is about to be informed of the internal inquiry, and he may not be as selfless as you are. When is it that you retire, well, let me rephrase that, when would you have retired under normal circumstances? Please don’t piss me about. I have to travel this evening to see Bradstock.”
Cooper was a time-hardened cop, and also recognised a fit-up when he saw one. These things usually went the way they were designed to go, and he knew they would start at the bottom. While he considered all of his options, Cousins rang Newcastle and asked Adams to be ready for the arrival of a party of officers to take Bradley to Durham for his interview. As he pulled his papers back into a file and stood up to go, he casually remarked, “You haven’t even asked me for the specific information we have gathered. I can only imagine that is because you are in even deeper shit than I thought.” Cooper folded and said he would get one name for Cousins. “Oh no, the future tense isn’t open to you in that sense. I need it now, as I’m driving to London from here, and Bradley is on his way to meet an internal investigation panel. If he implicates you, and I’m sure he will, you are going to need testimonials from people like me to push the verdict toward it being one person’s word against another. I have a file of stuff here which would be better for the entire Three Rivers Force if it was buried, but one way or another it isn’t going to be allowed to head in my direction. You are that safeguard, at least for now. Tomorrow will be too late.”
Cooper spelled out a name letter by letter, as he didn’t know whether the meeting was being recorded. “B-a-r-r-y- K-e-n-y-o-n, Chief Constable Cousins.” The reference to Cousins title was deliberate, in the event that this internal inquiry did rebound further up the food chain.
“Thank you, and don’t try to contact Bradley until his judgement is known. If he rings you, refuse the call. He has to accrete the entire blame or the deal is off.”
Chapter 29
Frank was back online and called Renton to let him know of his post.
“You will be relieved that I have kept your name out of the firing line for now. The disclosure of Rory Davenport’s identity as one of the victims has been confirmed by me. I have also hinted that the plods are not as incompetent as I had initially portrayed them, suggesting that perhaps they know the identities of others. I have achieved my second stage objective with the Lindisfarne publicity, so I am willing to revise my tactics within the overall plan. The internet may provide clues as to why Davenport was chosen, but those bloggers don’t have any means of linking him with the others, whereas you do. So, there is another opportunity for them to overtake you again – with my assistance. We must have a level playing field. With respect to my threat against your family, do not be lulled into complacency, as this slight alteration of course does not affect that aspect. Have you noticed I am no longer employing voice distortion?”
“Yes, I’ve noticed that, but you aren’t speaking in your Northumberland Street voice either.”
“Well done Inspector. You know, we really should meet again. I will consider it, but not for a while. Now, I have a confession of my own to make. I was economical with the truth a little when I first told you that you could save lives by cooperating with me. I suppose you guessed that it did not include those already in cold storage, waiting patiently for their entrée. The symbol was explicit insofar as twenty-six were in the plan. So we have five plus two, plus one, hence eight in all who have been exposed thus far, therefore only eighteen to go. Your people have not spent much time on the hand I gave them, or maybe they have and are keeping quiet about it. Nothing that I give you is irrelevant.” A shudder squirmed its way down Renton’s spine. Frank was right, as he’d never even been told of the hand accompanying Radcliffe’s body. It may have been because Adams had decided not to bother him with case details just yet, and it had not been disclosed on the news. He would ask Ben when he came to see him.
*
Bradley was astonished when he was marched out of the Newcastle office by his escorts. Even Adams thought it was all a bit melodramatic. The rest were speechless and as soon as the party had left, they demanded an explanation. Adams was quite convincing when he merely said, “Join the queue.” Simon Jones looked more anxious than anyone else.
*
Stephanie showed Sam the names Gerry Walton had transcribed from their initials.
“Do any of these ring a bell with you?” Sam briefly glanced at the four names and shook his head. Stephanie was disappointed. “I know I’m obsessing again, but I also feel someone owes Gerry an audience. He hasn’t talked to anyone about his terrible time in Yemen for many years, and he is about to die. It seems so damned unfair. I have to confess that part of my refusal to give up is driven by his plight, and I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty about that. I won’t get another pass out from Adams unless I have something genuine to bite on, so I might go to see him again at the weekend in my own time.”
“Good on you Steph, you’re not just a pretty face, you are a real cracker.” She felt appreciated.
*
Cousins had brought Barry Kenyon in to help with a reported mugging in Sunderland town centre. He was relaxed because he had been nowhere near the incident and said he must have been wrongly identified. When asked if he wanted a legal presence he declined.
“Look, I don’t have a criminal record, and that’s important to me, so I’m cooperating with the police. I’ll have a cuppa thanks, and a sandwich wouldn’t go amiss. Come on, you scrub my back and I scrub yours. I don’t mug people, I’m a respectable businessman. Prawns, you know that would be really nice – for the sandwich.”
His attitude was bordering on arrogance but Cousins played along. The coffee cup was bagged after he had been allowed to go and Cousins took it himself to forensics.
“This sample is inadmissible as evidence because it wasn’t given freely. I just want to know if it matches any DNA from the severed arm you already have on file. You don’t need to know the identity. If there is a match I will get a legitimate sample. I didn’t tell you any of this.”
*
Bradstock had been informed of the James Bradley disciplinary hearing and took it well. The vague hint that they also had a lead on the Penshaw Monument killing perked up his interest, but Cousins said it was not advanced enough to get excited just yet.
“I stress the need for caution Sir, we have had so many false dawns that I’ve become more difficult to convince that we have a solid suspect. I’m more optimistic than I have been for a while, please give me a few more days and I’ll report back.” He got his wish.
*
Ben Adams wandered into Renton’s ward and they immediately went to the noise cover of the tea room.
“Ben, tell me about this hand you found at Lindisfarne.”
“How did you know about that?”
“It was on the internet.”
“Shit, I haven’t been keeping up with that stuff.”
“I’m pulling your leg, it was courtesy of Baron Frankenstein.”
“He told you that?”
“Yep, and he said it was important, well at least not irrelevant. Has either Greg or Donoghue checked it out?”
“I don’t know, but I have no report yet, so maybe they’re still working on it.”
“A kick up the arse might help.”
“Bloody hell, you must be about ready to come back, are you?”
“You bet, just as soon as the Doc signs my discharge sheet.” They chatted for some time about the case and Renton concluded with his intention to clear the air with Bradstock before he took anything else for granted.
*
In the meantime Donoghue had capitulated to Angela’s request to have her contact look at the yellow body bag. He had conceded there was nothing in the way of debris or fibres which
could help guide them to any profile of use or ownership. The man took less than ten minutes with his scanner to rule out Air-Sea Rescue origin. Their hopes sank, but he picked up on the buttons. “This is irregular, and I’m only suggesting we should check out the stitching along the opening.”
“Please explain,” said Donoghue, “we may need to log anything you interfere with.”
“Well, the armed forces sometimes use bags like this, but they usually have Velcro flap covers as well as zip fasteners.”
“I see, well proceed then.” He needed a magnifying glass.
“There we are, just as I suspected, this bag has been modified with easy to open buttons. You can just make out the original flap line of the Velcro stitches. Why would anyone do that?”
“I think I may be able to explain that,” said Donoghue, “thank you for your help.”
He turned to Angela and said, “We needed him out of the way before speaking to Adams, let’s go.” Angela’s glow due to being right to bring in the body-bag expert changed to a wave of butterflies, at the thought of Ben Adams being told of her astuteness.
When Adams had heard the story he looked blankly at Donoghue. This didn’t last long.
“The man said that the armed forces use bags which are fitted with zips and Velcro. I suddenly remembered that body-bags were different to body-part bags. The bags for a single body are also fitted with hermetically sealed closures for long transport trips in hot climates. Body-part bags in conflict areas are sometimes opened and closed several times in mobile field hospitals. It isn’t always possible to choose where badly injured soldiers are treated. If you need more dots joined up, think about the surgeons who have to carry out this work.”
“Whoa, you mean we have the link? Yes I see, no, I mean we couldn’t see it, Clive. Fantastic, Angela, remind me to buy you a glass of Bollinger when this is all over.”
“I’ll hold you to that, and I have a witness.”
