CAPTIVE ON THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of twists

by Joy Ellis

  Nikki stiffened and felt a chill sweep through her. She felt his pain deep in her heart. She wanted to blurt out about her daughter Hannah, to tell him what a lovely bright child she had been, to reach into her handbag and bring out a photograph, but she didn’t. Instead she kept her voice steady and said, ‘I’m so very sorry about your daughter, Detective, but that was something you had no control over. This is totally different. If you want to help her, or others like her,’ Nikki indicated the pathetic figure beneath the white sheets, ‘you are very welcome to work with us, but for God’s sake, keep your cool.’

  Ben nodded.

  ‘So, if there’s somewhere we can go? I see Cat is back now, so she will stay here. Perhaps you’d tell me what you know about Fern? On and off the record.’

  Ben ran broad fingers over his short hair. ‘There’s a relatives’ room just along the corridor. We’ve temporarily commandeered it.’ He gave Nikki a wan smile. ‘Sorry about my outburst, ma’am, it won’t happen again. I’ve completely forgotten my manners. Can I get you both a drink before we get started?’

  Ben went to get some coffees, and Cat moved to her side. ‘This is a right turn up for the books, ma’am. Another victim?’

  ‘Something of a shock, I must say.’ Nikki stared after Ben and raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Too involved?’ Cat asked.

  ‘I hope not, but I get the feeling he’s making a crusade out of this rather than facing his personal grief.’

  ‘He told me about that, but solving this case won’t bring his daughter back.’ Cat winced. ‘Although you’d know all about that, ma’am, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘Exactly, and by the way, I’d rather you kept what happened to my daughter under wraps. It’s not relevant at the moment and I’d rather he didn’t know.’ She watched Ben carefully take the beakers from the coffee machine. ‘And if he’s hurting that much, I wonder what he will do when it’s all over?’

  ‘Throw himself straight into another case, I guess, like you did.’

  ‘Yes, like I did,’ whispered Nikki.

  Ben returned balancing three polystyrene cups. ‘Strong coffees all round.’ He passed one to Cat and said, ‘Why don’t you sit in the room with her? You’ve got a really nice friendly face. I’m sure it would make her feel safer to see you there.’ Then he turned to Nikki and said, ‘Ready when you are, ma’am.’

  * * *

  He steadied his shaking hand and finally unlocked his door.

  He moved straight to his kitchen and stripped off all his clothes, leaving them in an untidy heap on the stone floor. He turned the tap on the water heater, and a splutter of hot water began to trickle into the sink. He filled a bowl to the brim, took a large bar of old-fashioned soap and began to wash. First he viciously scrubbed at his hands, making the skin red and sore, then he worked from top to toe, flannelling or scrubbing every inch of his naked body. It took him twenty minutes before he reached for the threadbare towel and carefully dried himself. Avoiding the dirty clothes as if they had belonged to a leper, he walked into his living quarters and selected some clean ones from his suitcase. Carrying them back to the kitchen, he paused at the work bench and stared down at the small cardboard box sitting beside the kettle. The woman’s finger nestled inside it on a bed of white kitchen roll. There was very little blood, just a dark brown glutinous mess around the severed end where the bone protruded. He looked closer. The fingernail was torn and ragged. The nail varnish was a weird navy blue colour that youngsters seemed to favour these days. Not a colour he found particularly attractive, and it looked odd on that single finger sitting alone in the box. The others had been nicer, one a peachy shade, and the other a bubble-gum pink. He shivered, carefully placed his clean clothes on the workbench and went back to the sink, where he emptied the bowl, re-filled it with fresh, hot water, and began to wash again.

  * * *

  It was after ten in the evening when Nikki arrived back at Greenborough police station. Ben Radley had done some pretty impressive work during the hunt for the people who had held and tortured Fern. He might have become rather too deeply involved, but he had honestly investigated every avenue open to him, until there was none left to explore. Nikki had talked with him for over an hour, and had been sincerely impressed by his painstaking approach to the case. She in turn had volunteered to send him all the reports on Lilli. Together, and hopefully with the young unidentified woman’s help, they would finally get a result.

  Joseph met her in her office, yawning. ‘I waited just to make sure you got back okay. Not that I’ve been slacking. I had Prof Wilkinson in here earlier and he says he’ll have the botanical forensic report by tomorrow morning.’ He looked around. ‘No Cat?’

  ‘She’s going to hang on at the hospital until the girl is well enough to talk. DC Ben Radley has organised somewhere for them to crash out between shifts, then he’s volunteered to come back with her and see if he can be of help.’

  ‘And at the same time have a snoop to check out what we’ve come up with, no doubt.’

  ‘He’s welcome. This case should be a joint venture between Derbyshire and us, so I’ve said we’ll pool all information.’ She threw her jacket over the back of a chair. ‘So what time did Rory come in?’

  ‘Only about an hour ago. He says he’s got a massive workload on and will be working late all week. He’s not long returned to his beloved morgue.’ Joseph yawned again. ‘He sent you love and kisses and said he’ll see you in the morning.’ Joseph shook his head and smiled. ‘You know, I wouldn’t mind living on Planet Wilko. He’s definitely a one-off, isn’t he?’

  Nikki nodded. ‘Oh he’s that alright, but I’m not sure about his world, it’s a bit too ghoulish for me, thank you.’ She sank onto her chair. ‘Nothing else of interest come to light on Lilli? No leads from the picture we gave to the media?’

  ‘Nothing yet. Loads of the usual calls that follow an appeal, but not a single lead worth chasing up . . . Wait. Except one.’ He told Nikki about Dominic Jarvis.

  ‘It sounds a bit like he threw that comment in at the end just to wind you up.’

  ‘You may be right, but he’s a weird one, for sure, seriously freaky. I thought I’d talk to DI Gill Mercer about him tomorrow.’

  ‘Good idea, and now I hear Cloud Fen calling, don’t you?’

  ‘It’s been crying out for hours now.’

  Nikki looked at him fondly. ‘You should have gone home, muppet! You really don’t have to worry about me being out late.’

  ‘I know, but I do.’

  ‘Are you alright, Joseph? You don’t seem your usual “get stuck into everything” self?’

  Joseph shrugged and sat on the edge of her desk. ‘I know, and I’ve got no answers, Nikki.’ He gave her a half-hearted smile. ‘All I can put it down to is worrying about Tamsin and the engagement.’

  Nikki leant forward and patted his leg. ‘Niall is the most honest and kind young man I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. He knocks spots off most guys of his age, and he’s a brilliant police officer. What more do you want for your girl?’

  ‘Maybe you’ve hit the nail on the head. He’s a police officer. Like you and me.’

  Nikki stared up at her friend. ‘He’s nothing like you and me. I’ve said this before, but Tamsin and Niall are a completely different breed to us, and they have totally different goals in life. Plus, they are deeply in love and are young enough to adapt to each other.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘You do know that Niall, the station’s number one Burger Boy, is now embracing healthy eating? Not quite a veggie, but heading that way.’

  Joseph relaxed a little and smiled back. ‘Tam told me. And in turn, she is testing the lad for his exams, and showing honest interest in how twenty-first century policing works. That is something I never believed I’d see in my lifetime.’

  ‘So why the mardy face? Is it to do with this case we are on? With Lilli?’

  Joseph nodded.

  ‘She and the girl before her are affecting a lot of people, Josep
h. That other detective from the Fern case, you know, Ben Radley? He’s well screwed up over her . . . He lost a young daughter, which doesn’t help at all.’

  Joseph gave a little groan. ‘And that didn’t help you much either, did it?’

  ‘One of those moments, I admit, but this time I kept it together. You’d have been proud of me. I didn’t even mention Hannah.’

  ‘I’m always proud of you, Nikki,’ Joseph said softly. He stood up from his perch on the desk. ‘Now let’s go home. And if you care to call in at Knot Cottage, you can help me polish off a nice little lasagne before you retire, because you haven’t eaten, have you?’

  ‘Two packets of crisps, a Mars bar and a sausage roll, actually.’

  Joseph held up two crossed index fingers. ‘Aargh! Go wash your mouth out immediately.’

  * * *

  Cat and Ben sat in silence, watching the sleeping girl in the bed next to them. Earlier, her panic had been so severe that the doctors had decided to sedate her rather than let her injure her mutilated hand any further. Now, as darkness fell outside, and the nurses came in and out occasionally to monitor her progress, a stillness settled over the two detectives and oddly, considering they were strangers, it wasn’t uncomfortable. Once Cat had spent a bit of time talking to her Derbyshire colleague, she found him both interesting and sincere. It wasn’t the usual way coppers behaved. Sometimes the bitching and backbiting in the mess room was as bad as a Miss World contest. And that was just the men.

  Ben stretched his legs out in front of him and yawned. ‘So what’s she like, your guv’nor?’

  ‘Top woman. No complaints.’

  ‘You’re lucky, Cat. The last thing I’d call our current DI would be “top man.” I have a whole shedload of complaints.’

  ‘Well, I suppose not everyone likes DI Galena, either.’ Cat gave a little laugh. ‘At one point a way back, no one liked DI Galena! She certainly doesn’t carry passengers. If you’re on her team, you work damned hard and you don’t piss about! But she’d take your side against anyone, and at least you know exactly where you are with her.’

  ‘Can’t argue with that, can you? I’d rather have a strong boss and know where I stand, than some drippy university graduate that doesn’t know his arse from his elbow where proper police procedure is concerned.’ Ben screwed up his face.

  Cat grinned. ‘Can I assume your actual DI is one of those?’

  ‘Dead bloody right, but I’ll say no more because I need to look after my blood pressure.’

  Their voices were hushed, although there was little chance of the girl waking. It just seemed appropriate.

  ‘Greenborough sounds like a pretty good nick to work at,’ said Ben.

  ‘Yeah, very good.’ Cat pulled a face. ‘We had one arsehole who made my life hell, but he’s moved on now, and funnily enough he actually helped the boss out of a sticky situation, so . . .’ She shrugged. ‘Apart from that one DC, they are a really solid crew.’

  ‘Lucky you. There are a few good old boys that I’d miss here too, but I’m thinking of mov—’

  A painful moan escaped the dry lips of the girl, interrupting Ben mid-sentence.

  Cat leant forward, and in a soft voice introduced herself and Ben. The frightened eyes darted from one to the other, then they rested on Cat, and flooded with tears. Gently, Cat reassured her that she was safe from any more harm and that she would have a police officer with her constantly.

  ‘Can you tell me your name?’

  The girl swallowed, but remained silent.

  Ben stood up. ‘I’ll go tell the nurse that you’re awake, leave you two girls alone for a moment.’

  Cat nodded to him, appreciating his tact.

  ‘We really need to know your name, so we can help you.’ She covered the girl’s good hand with hers and squeezed it gently. ‘We are on your side, I promise. We want to get whoever hurt you, before they do this to someone else. Do you understand?’

  The girl seemed to hesitate. She looked at her bandaged hand and choked back a sob. ‘Sophie. My name is Sophie.’

  ‘Good girl, Sophie. Now first, can I contact someone for you? Family? A friend?’

  Again the girl refused to answer.

  ‘Listen, Sophie. We don’t want to cause you any more pain, I promise, but we have to catch the people who did this. Now, if you’ll just talk to me, tell me all you can, then I’ll organise a victim support officer for you. You won’t be alone in this. You’ll have someone to be with you every step of the way. So will you help us?’

  ‘I’ll talk to you, but only you.’

  There was an accent, but Cat wasn’t sure what it was. Whatever, she decided to get straight to the point while she had the girl to herself. ‘Do you know who did this to you, Sophie?’

  ‘No. I’d never seen him before.’

  ‘It was one man?’

  ‘I only saw one man. He was big, and strong, very strong!’ Her voice was rising and Cat feared more hysterics as she began to recall her experience.

  ‘Sshh, it’s alright, it’s alright.’ Before she could continue, the door opened and a doctor appeared. ‘I’m sorry, Detective Constable, but I’m going to have to ask you to wait outside while I check my patient. I need to see that she is up to being questioned, before you upset her any further.’

  There was no room for argument, and with an unspoken curse Cat stood away from the bed. She whispered to the girl that she would be right outside, on the other side of the window, and would not let her out of her sight for a minute.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Joseph knocked. On hearing, “Come!” he entered the office of DI Gill Mercer.

  ‘Got a minute or two, ma’am? Before your morning meeting?’

  ‘I know exactly who you want to talk about, Joseph, so come in and drag up a pew.’

  ‘I had a visit from your nemesis.’

  The DI snorted. ‘I heard. I’m sorry you had to take an earful of Dominic. He’s not the nicest young man, is he?’

  ‘Bit full on, to say the least. The thing is, he suggested that his missing sister could have known the dead girl, Lilli. Is there a chance he’s telling the truth?’

  She brushed her hair back over her shoulder. ‘Very little I should think. He’s done the same kind of thing before, trying to tie in his sister’s disappearance with current investigations. I really thought he would have backed off by now, but he never gives up.’

  ‘It’s his twin sister, isn’t it? I guess you can understand it.’

  ‘That’s why I did everything I could to make quite sure that we were not missing something. The super was none too pleased about the hours I spent on what he always believed to be a runaway, but I honestly felt for the guy.’

  Joseph sat back. ‘What do you think happened to her?’

  Gill Mercer took a deep breath. ‘It’s my belief that Dina Jarvis met a young man, fell in love with him, and didn’t know how to tell her brother that she was leaving. They’d had a happy childhood, we know that for sure. When I asked Dominic for a photo of her, he produced an album of pictures from childhood onwards, all happy families stuff.’

  ‘But he said his parents went off and left them?’

  ‘Not exactly. Initially the Jarvis family, minus the obligatory Labrador, looked like the prototype for the Perfect British Family Unit. When the kids were in their teens, Mum and Dad went off the rails a bit, and suddenly — love don’t live here anymore.’

  ‘Ah, the split.’

  ‘Yes, but the children were never meant to be abandoned. The daughter was the apple of the mother’s eye, and likewise the son with the father. They could have gone on with their perfect life if they had chosen to, but they wanted to stay together. In the end the parents agreed to go their own ways, and let the siblings, by then eighteen years old, have the house.’ She gave a dry laugh. ‘Not too shabby a deal in my book.’

  Joseph nodded. ‘I see. That does rather support your theory about Dina’s reluctance to tell Dominic that she wanted to leave. An
d I suppose he just couldn’t accept that she’d up and go with no warning.’

  Gill bit on the edge of her thumb nail. ‘Look, this case has always bugged me. I’ve lain awake a lot of nights thinking, “Have I missed something?” Yet if I have, I sure as hell don’t know what it is. If I get Sheila to copy my notes and reports, would you take a glance at them for me? See if anything stands out to you, maybe a lead I never followed, or a comment that I took the wrong way.’ She looked at him hopefully. ‘I’d appreciate it.’

  ‘Of course I will, though with the Lilli case, and the hunt for Freddie Carver, I’m not sure how much time I’ll have.’

  ‘No rush. It’s been hanging around like a bad smell for years now, but even so, I’d hate to think that Dina Jarvis really had been abducted and I did nothing because I didn’t believe her crackpot brother’s theories.’

  Joseph stood up. ‘I know what you mean, and I’ll certainly go through it, ma’am. Thanks for your time.’ At the door he stopped and turned back. ‘Was there any absolute proof that Dina was actually seeing a man?’

  ‘She was quite a gregarious girl, Joseph, and when we talked to her friends, they intimated that she had met someone she considered, and I quote, “Really special, and hot with it.” So I think the answer is yes, although we never managed to identify him.’

  ‘Thanks, ma’am. Leave it with me.’

  * * *

  ‘It’s been a long, bloody uncomfortable night on this sodding chair!’ Ben rubbed at the stubble on his chin. ‘Any more luck with the lass, Cat?’

  Cat closed the door behind her and smiled wearily at her dishevelled companion. She looked back through the window at Sophie. ‘I’m not sure. She’s hiding too much, and I don’t know why. I’m guessing she’s an illegal, but again I don’t know.’ She arched her back to ease the aching muscles. ‘Whatever, she’s still terrified of this man finding her. Even our presence here is doing little to ease her fears. In fact, from the way she looks at the doctor, and no offence intended, but you too, she’s just terrified of men, full stop.’