by Joy Ellis
Ben terminated the interview and walked to the door. He glanced back at Rosewood’s pale face, and noted with satisfaction that the sardonic grin had faded.
Ben’s superintendent met him outside the room. ‘Good work last night with Hildred, Radley. I thought you should know that the Met have agreed to look at the house called Sheldonhurst in Hackney. As I understand it they are taking in some specialist equipment with a GPR analyst.’
‘Ground penetrating radar? That scans concrete to find embedded objects beneath, doesn’t it?’
‘It’s a state-of-the-art, non-invasive investigative tool, and it could save the force a fortune if it shows nothing.’
‘And if it shows something?’
‘I go buy you a bottle of champagne and we sort out a nice cell to accommodate Mr Carver.’
‘I think it’s Graham who deserves the champagne, sir.’
‘Too right. That man deserves a medal.’
‘He’s already got one of those, and I do believe it saved his life.’
The super gave Ben a concerned look. ‘I just hope he comes back from all this, Radley. So called “normal” life, after what he’s been through, could be very hard on the man.’
‘He’ll come through.’ Ben was surprised at how confident he felt about that. But he was sure he was right. As long as Jessie Nightingale stayed safe, and wanted her man back, Graham would survive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Yvonne sat with Joseph and stared at Keel Chandler’s notebook, in particular the sketch of the wooden building. After a while she closed her eyes and Joseph wondered if she’d been doing too many double shifts.
‘Got it!’ Her eyes flew open. ‘It’s Ruddick’s Farm — the old potato grading shed.’
‘Of course!’ Joseph smacked the side of his head with his hand. ‘I knew I’d seen it before, when we found Lilli, but I suppose it was dark when I went there.’
‘So why is our young artist sketching a potato shed cum murder scene?’ asked Yvonne thoughtfully.
‘And what do those dates mean?’ Joseph traced his finger over the carefully inscribed figures.
‘The last one is only a few days prior to Dina’s disappearance. Do you think he saw her there?’
Joseph scratched his nose. ‘But why? If she were going out with that Gibson Ash guy, he had money. If he wanted to get his leg over, pardon the crudity, but if he did, he could take her back to his hotel or wherever he was staying, or even rent a room somewhere. Not take her to a remote part of the fen and seduce her in a bloody potato shed. It doesn’t make sense.’
‘The boss will be interviewing Ash as soon as he’s been processed. Maybe you should ask him if he has a fixation on root vegetable storage facilities.’
‘I will, don’t you worry.’ He smiled at her and held up the notebook, ‘Have you got time to go through this for me? Just to see if anything makes sense to you. I have a couple of theories about Keel, but I’d value your input.’
‘Of course, Sarge. Niall is out somewhere talking to one of our snouts, so until he’s back, I’m all yours.’
Joseph passed the book to her, then realised that his mobile was ringing. It was an unknown number. ‘DS Easter, can I help you?’
The voice on the other end was garbled and almost unintelligible.
‘Calm down, sir. Let’s start again, shall we? Who is this?’
‘You said I shouldn’t call you, I know, but I have to talk to you! I have to.’ The voice broke into a sob. ‘Something is going on, and I know it has to do with my sister. You must tell me, Sergeant. Have you found her?’
Joseph almost groaned. Dominic. ‘No, I’m sorry. I don’t know what you think is going on, but we have not found Dina.’ He paused, then added, ‘You know that I promised to tell you the moment I knew something concrete, don’t you? And I meant that, Dominic.’
‘They are talking, all around the town. I’ve heard them, they are talking!’
Joseph placed his hand over the receiver and whispered to Yvonne, ‘I don’t like the sound of this. I think he’s having some sort of breakdown.’
‘Want me to get a crew around there?’
He shook his head. ‘No, I’ll go.’
‘Alone?’
‘I’ll be fine, he’s okay with me. I’ll assess his state and maybe give his doctor a call.’
‘What about the interview with Ash?’
‘Tell Nikki where I’ve gone, and ask her if you can sit in. And ask him about the barn at Ruddick’s Farm.’
Joseph picked up his jacket and pulled it on. ‘I shouldn’t be too long. He’s probably just a bit overwrought.’
‘Go careful, Sarge.’
* * *
Joseph arrived at the house to find the front door open. He called out, but receiving no answer he went inside.
Dominic Jarvis was sitting on his sofa with his head in his hands. His fingers were wet with escaping tears.
Joseph knelt down beside him and tried to comfort him. ‘We really are doing our best, Dominic, and we do have some leads now. We are following them up, and when I get some answers, I promise I’ll tell you straightaway.’ He put an arm around the shaking shoulders. ‘I wouldn’t lie to you, so I can’t say we are close to finding out what happened, but we do know a lot more than we did.’
‘If you’d done this a long while ago,’ Dominic choked out the words, ‘Then maybe she’d be back here with me now.’
‘I’m sorry, really I am, but I can’t change the past. I can only tell you that we have a full investigation in progress now, and we will find out what happened, I know we will.’
‘Too late, too late for Dina, and for me.’
Joseph didn’t like the way Dominic’s voice slurred. ‘Dominic? Have you taken something?’
‘Too late. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you will find her after all this time, and I . . . well, I can’t wait any longer, it’s just too painful. I can’t do this anymore.’ Dominic looked straight at Joseph and very clearly said, ‘You really should have found her by now.’ Then he slumped across the sofa.
‘Dominic! Dominic! Speak to me! Stay with me, come on, man.’ Joseph tried to stand him up and get him walking, but he was too far gone, a dead weight. Even Joseph could not support him, and he laid him on the floor and turned him on his side. He checked Dominic’s air passage with one hand and pulled his phone from his pocket with the other.
‘Ambulance! Emergency! Category A! Overdose, patient not responding.’ Joseph rattled off the address and answered the usual questions, then stood up and hunted around to see if he could find what Dominic had taken. He found nothing and he couldn’t leave him, so he pulled a rug from the sofa and wrapped it around the unconscious form. Dominic was breathing, but it was shallow and laboured. ‘Come on! Come on!’
After what seemed an eternity, but in reality only around six minutes, a green-clad first responder arrived, carrying bags and medical equipment. Joseph told him what he knew then left the paramedic working on Dominic while he went to search for whatever drugs he had taken.
In the bathroom, Joseph found a plastic bag and several tablet boxes, all empty.
He showed the paramedic. The boxes had contained anti-depressants and Paracetamol, but they had no way of knowing what had been in the bag, or how many tablets had been taken.
‘I suppose you have no idea how long ago he took these?’
‘He rang me about twenty minutes ago and he sounded weird then. That’s why I came to check on him. He gets pretty manic sometimes. I just thought he was upset.’
‘The ambulance is two minutes from here, but he’s not in a good way, mate.’ The paramedic had done all he could. ‘I reckon he took most of this stuff some while ago. Any idea what brought this on?’
Joseph nodded sadly. ‘Oh yes. I know exactly why he’s done it. His twin sister went missing two years ago, and he blames us for not finding her.’
‘Ah shame, that’s seriously shitty.’
‘Could be said.’
<
br /> The paramedic stood up. ‘Good, the crew are here. We’ll rush him to Greenborough Hospital. Are you going with him?’
‘No, but I’ll get someone over there straightaway. Thanks for what you’ve done.’
‘Sorry to say this, but I think it was too little, too late.’
‘That’s what he thought about our investigation.’
‘You can’t save them all, mate. I wish we could, but . . .’ He shrugged and stood back for his colleagues to take over. ‘You can only do your best.’
As Dominic Jarvis was placed on the stretcher, Joseph wondered why he so often felt that his best was just not good enough.
* * *
‘Vonnie! Vonnie!’ Niall entered the CID room at a gallop.
‘She’s with the boss in interview room 2. They are grilling Gibson Ash. What’s so important?’ asked Cat.
‘I’ve been talking to one of Carver’s drivers.’ Niall was almost babbling with excitement. ‘My snout set up a meeting. This guy is due to collect Carver later today, and then take him to an as yet undisclosed address. If I can get a tracker to him, he will put it in the car! We could have Carver behind bars by tonight!’
‘Jeez! The boss needs to hear this.’
Dave looked up. ‘Just caught the tail end of that. I’ll go interrupt the interview. Cat, you get up to IT and see if you can get clearance for a tracking device.’ He gave Niall a hearty pat on the back. ‘Well done, lad! That’s the best thing I’ve heard in years.’
Dave hurried downstairs to the interview rooms and spoke to Nikki. She didn’t look pleased at the interruption, but when she realised what he was saying, a triumphant grin spread across her face. She suspended the interview and she and Yvonne followed him back upstairs.
‘You are sure he can be trusted?’ she asked Niall.
‘Sure as I can be, ma’am. But believe me, Carver’s men have lived under a reign of terror with that man. Most of them were only working for him because he had some kind of hold over them or their families. Now they want out, and they want to see Carver behind bars’
‘Good enough.’ Nikki turned to Dave. ‘As soon as Cat’s back with the tracker, get it sorted and go see uniform. They’ll want cars on full alert to take him down when he arrives at his final destination. I’ll notify the super. Any idea of the time of this pick up, Niall?’
‘He thought it would be around four p.m., give or take, but he can’t be sure. Things sometimes change, and whenever he gets the call he has to go.’
‘Can he notify you when he’s mobile?’
‘He will, then he’ll break contact and it will be down to us and the tracker.’
Dave glanced at the clock. It was just after midday. ‘What about Gibson Ash, ma’am? The clock will be ticking for how long we can hold him.’
‘I’ll go straight back down as soon as I’ve seen Greg Woodhall.’ She looked around. ‘Joseph not back yet?’
‘Haven’t heard from him, ma’am. Maybe Mr Jarvis has thrown another wobbly and the sarge is doing his social worker bit.’
‘Almost right. He was doing his first responder bit.’ Joseph walked into the office and flopped down in the nearest chair. ‘Dominic Jarvis overdosed earlier. I’ve been trying to keep him alive until the medics could work on him.’
‘Successfully?’ asked Nikki.
‘He was still alive when they got him into the ambulance, but they weren’t hopeful.’
‘Just when we are getting close to finding what happened to his sister,’ murmured Nikki. ‘Silly, silly man.’
‘And Gibson Ash?’ Joseph asked.
‘I’d only just started with him when we got the news.’
‘What news?’
‘Ah, of course, you won’t know.’ She smiled broadly. ‘Come with me to see Mr Ash and as we go, I’ll fill you in on some very exciting news indeed.’
* * *
‘Interview resumed at 12.18 hours. Present are . . .’ Nikki completed the formalities and sat down opposite Ash and James Dooley, the duty solicitor. ‘So far you have confirmed that you knew Dina Jarvis, but insist that you never knew what happened to her, is that correct?’
‘She just disappeared. I had no idea where she went. I still don’t.’
‘But you worked for Freddie Carver procuring women for his sleazy clubs?’
‘No! Well, I represented a lot of people. I am an entrepreneur, so I was scouting for talented artists, not prostitutes.’
‘Come on, Gibson! Carver wouldn’t know a talented artist if he tripped over one. He wanted girls, any kind, as long as they could pull the punters.’
‘I had nothing to do with that! Carver has a couple of legit clubs too, and he does have some half-decent cabaret artists. That’s what he paid me to look for.’
‘And the lovely Dina was one of those?’
‘Yes. I was bowled over by her. She was the complete package, good looks, voice of an angel, and she could dance too. She was a real keeper.’
Nikki glared at him. ‘So what happened? Started handling the merchandise, did you?’
Gibson Ash stared at her balefully. ‘You’ve got this so wrong, Detective.’
‘Then why don’t you shine a light in my darkness, Mr Ash?’
‘DI Galena.’ The weary tones of James Dooley interrupted them. ‘My client has volunteered to help you in any way he can, if you wouldn’t mind at least being civil to him?’
Nikki gritted her teeth. The man clearly did not know her. By her standards, she was being civil.
Joseph stepped in, saying politely, ‘What car did you drive when you were “negotiating” for Dina to audition, Mr Ash?’
‘The same car I have now, an Audi.’
‘Model?’
‘A saloon, an A6.’
‘Nice car.’
‘I like it.’
‘Did Dina like it too?’
‘She said it was really posh, and yes, she loved it. Why?’
‘Did you spend a lot of time with Dina Jarvis?’
Gibson Ash paused. ‘A fair bit. I heard her sing a couple of times, then I took her to a hotel that has a dance floor, just to see how good her dancing was, and I probably saw her about six or seven times while I was setting up her proper audition in London.’
‘Did you take her to London?’
‘We were due to go, but that was when she disappeared.’ He sat back. ‘To be honest, Detective, I wanted to find a proper agency to represent her. She was worth more than Freddie’s clubs. I wanted her to really make it, you know, musicals, recordings, maybe the West End? She was that good.’
Nikki stared at him, trying to read his open and rather too innocent face. ‘Did you have sex with her?’
Gibson Ash tensed.
‘You don’t have to answer that,’ said Dooley.
‘I think he does.’ Nikki pinned him with her icy stare.
‘We got quite close. She was a sweet girl, nothing like the others that I’d had dealings with.’ He clasped his hands together and stared down at them. ‘She wasn’t chasing fame. I don’t think she had any idea just how good she was. She had a naivety about her, and it was pretty refreshing after some of the women that . . .’ His voice trailed off. ‘Anyway, no, we never got to sleep together. We kissed, but no more than that. I think,’ he paused, ‘I think there might have been someone else.’
‘Did she say that?’
‘Not in as many words.’
‘Did you want to take things further?’
He looked up, but at Joseph not Nikki. ‘Yes, I did. She was gorgeous. I’d have to have been some kind of eunuch not to.’
‘And you didn’t push your luck?’
‘No, I did not.’ He gave her that infuriatingly innocent look again. ‘I think she wanted to, but something stopped her, so what could it be, except another man?’ He shrugged. ‘Maybe it was for the best, because I don’t think my employer would have been too happy about it.’
‘Freddie Carver?’
The man mutely nodded.
>
‘I think you should know that there is a very good chance that later today, your “employer” could be sitting in that very same chair, only he’ll be answering some rather different questions.’
‘I wouldn’t bank on that,’ he said bleakly.
‘We’ll see, shall we?’
‘You might think you know where he is, but you won’t get him. He still has allies, even though some of his men have sold him out.’
‘And you?’
‘We, that is, me and the group of men I work with, were told to get away from this area. We would be contacted at a later date.’
Joseph looked at Nikki and nodded towards Keel’s notebook.
Nikki went on. ‘Thank you for that. Now back to the disappearance of Dina Jarvis. For the benefit of the recording, DS Easter is showing Mr Ash a diary.’
Joseph opened it at the sketch of the wooden barn. ‘Do you recognise this place?’
Ash looked at it blankly. ‘No.’
‘You never took Miss Jarvis there?’
‘I don’t know what it is, or where it is. How could I take her there?’
Joseph turned a page. ‘Would you say this is a good likeness of the front of your car?’
Ash sat back and frowned. ‘It is an Audi A6, yes, but it doesn’t have to be mine. What is this crazy book?’
‘Not too many A6 saloons in these parts,’ Joseph murmured almost to himself. ‘Far too good for travelling across muddy lanes and byroads. Must cost around £60,000 new, so more a city car, wouldn’t you say?’
Nikki nodded.
‘What is all this?’ Gibson Ash looked scared again. ‘I had nothing to do with her going AWOL, I promise you that. Think about it. She was my golden goose, my ticket to get away from Carver. I was devastated when she disappeared. Why the hell would I kill her?’
