by Joy Ellis
Jessie burst out laughing. ‘He has trouble toasting bread! No, my Graham is a microwave salesman’s dream. He uses it so often that he has to replace them on a regular basis. I don’t think he’s used a conventional oven in his life.’
‘I’m sure he has lots of other worthy attributes.’
‘In abundance, Eve. He’s a good man, and I love him so much.’
‘Then he’ll come back from this. If you have love, you do.’
‘That sounded like it came from the heart.’
‘It came from personal experience, my dear, trust me.’
Jessie smiled and looked down. ‘I do trust you. And thank you for what you are doing for me. It’s a big thing, and neither of us will forget it, I promise you.’
‘It’s nothing. When this is all over, you must put it behind you and forget this awful time.’
‘I might forget some things, Eve, but not you.’
‘Oh, go on with you! You’ll have us both in tears in a minute. Now pass me that jar of Chinese spices. I think those lads out there deserve a treat tonight.’
Jessie smiled broadly. ‘I’ve never known anyone get the “workmen” to actually do any decorating! They are well into stripping the wallpaper.’
‘Authenticity is the key to good deception.’
‘Is that what you told them?’
Eve looked up to the ceiling, all innocence. ‘I might have said something along those lines. But I can tell they are well trained. They are constantly on the alert, one-hundred-per-cent professional.’
‘I just wish this were over.’
‘I’m sure you do, child.’ Eve felt a rush of affection for the young woman. ‘I’m sure you do.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Once again, Nikki was leading the way out to Carter’s Fen. This time they were returning to Ruddick’s Farm, for a little chat with the three brothers. She and Joseph were in her Land Rover, which had sustained no serious damage, and Yvonne and Niall followed in a squad car. When they arrived at the farm, Joseph and Nikki went in alone.
They found Stan and Betty in the kitchen. Stan was reading the paper and Betty was chopping vegetables.
‘The boys are upstairs getting changed. Denis and Clive are going into town after their dinner, and I expect Ryan will be going to the local for a pint.’ Betty still looked tired and drawn, and Nikki wondered if all was well in the Ruddick household.
‘I take it this is to do with that poor lass we found out here?’ Stan folded up his paper and put it aside.
‘In a way,’ Nikki answered. ‘Although we actually need to speak to them about an old case that might be connected in some way.’
Betty ran her hand through her hair. ‘What would my sons know about anything? They are good boys, they’ve nivver been a scrap of trouble.’ Her face was creased with worry.
Joseph’s voice was calm and even. ‘It’s alright, Mrs Ruddick. They are local lads, and we need to know about someone the same age as them, who they might have known.’
Mrs Ruddick’s face relaxed. ‘Oh, I see. Of course.’
Stan looked at Nikki and raised his eyebrows. He nodded towards his wife. ‘Worries about everything, that one.’
‘And you don’t, I suppose?’ Betty’s tone was sharp, leaving Nikki in no doubt that there was a distinct lack of domestic bliss in the Ruddick kitchen. Last time she had been here they had come close to arguing over something too. Oh, yes, Stan wanted to sell up, even though Betty had spent a great deal of money on the farmhouse. It seemed the boys weren’t keen to continue with the family business. Now why would that be, I wonder? A steady income, hard work, but the Ruddicks had never shied away from that. They had a lovely home with every convenience and meals cooked for them. Surely that was every young man’s dream, until he married and got some other poor soul to shoulder the burden of looking after him. Odd, she thought, very odd.
‘Here they come now.’ Betty looked towards the hallway. ‘Stan, take the officers into the front room. They will be comfier there.’
‘Hey, Mum! There’s a cop car outside!’ Clive almost ran into the kitchen.
‘I know, son, and there are two police officers in the other room, waiting to talk to you. They need your help with something.’
The three young men walked slowly into the “best” room and looked suspiciously at Nikki and Joseph.
‘You two were here when the girl was found,’ Ryan stated flatly.
Nikki nodded. ‘Sit down, lads. This shouldn’t take too long.’
Denis and Clive took the sofa, and Ryan sat on a hard chair apart from them. Nikki noted his body language. He clearly had no wish to be close to his brothers, nor was he joining them for a night on the town. Alarm bells rang in her head. A family feud, no less.
‘Were any of you ever friendly with a girl called Dina Jarvis?’
If alarm bells had rung earlier, an almighty great klaxon went off now.
Ryan had tensed. Nikki could see his hands tighten on the chair arms. The other two gasped.
‘I’ll assume you were friends, shall I?’
The silence was palpable.
‘Would one of you three stooges like to add anything? Or even answer the question?’ She looked at Joseph, and he shrugged.
‘It’s not a trick, boys. It’s actually quite simple, or shall I offer you multiple choice answers?’
Still no one spoke.
‘Okay. Clearly that one was too difficult. Try this for size. What happened in the defunct selection shed on that night two years ago when you brought Dina Jarvis here?’
The reaction to that was nothing less than bizarre.
Clive doubled forward, head in his hands, and began to cry.
Denis stared at Ryan, then began screaming obscenities at him. Ryan himself went white, his face a death mask.
‘Okay, you three. I think we need to start from the beginning, don’t you? And I need the truth, understand?’ Her eyes narrowed to slits. ‘I want some straight answers, and cut the hysterics. It’s time to grow up. You first, Ryan, and the whole story, please.’
* * *
Eve didn’t like the twilight. She found it eerie. The shadows were long and illusory, light came and went before fading into darkness, and she didn’t always trust what her eyes were telling her.
She was working in her garden studio, although not producing a great deal. They had agreed that for the sake of the neighbours, she should keep to her normal routine. She had spoken with the nearest of them and sprinkled her conversation liberally with comments about her lovely niece, Michelle, and how delighted she was that the girl would want to spend time with her.
‘You might call it a bit of a recuperation holiday really. Poor girl had glandular fever for ages, so she’s staying with me for a while to get her strength back before returning to work.’
That had gone down easily, along with the fact that she had casually mentioned using Michelle’s brother’s decorating business to carry out the work on her new property. ‘Keeping it in the family, you know. I’m so lucky that they had a cancellation and another job in this area. They are not local, you see. Michelle’s family live in Loughborough. The boys are fitting me in in sort of shifts.’ She had laughed conspiratorially. ‘Mates’ rates if I feed them and put John and his foreman up for a few nights. Not that I mind, dear, the more the merrier as far as I’m concerned, and I get my decorating done too! Win, win, I’d say, wouldn’t you?’
She was a good liar, although she preferred to think of it as being a talented actress. She’d had a lot of practice in the old days. Eve sighed. She missed the excitement of her job. She missed a lot of things, as well as a few special people — one in particular.
She stretched. Enough of that! There was no use getting lost in a reverie, she needed to keep her wits about her. The men who were looking out for the young policewoman were perfectly competent professionals, but Eve had been in the business a lot longer than they had.
Eve put away her pastels and wiped her
hands on a damp towel. It was time to go back inside and finish preparing dinner. She moved towards the door, then stopped in her tracks. Something was wrong. She had no idea what it was, but she never doubted her gut instinct.
Her stomach muscles had tightened, and all her senses were on alert, trying to source the cause of her discomfort.
Nothing was immediately apparent, but she went back to her artist’s table and opened the big wooden storage box that she used for her pastels and painting materials. From the bottom drawer she carefully removed an object shrouded in a duster. Then she left the studio, leaving the lights on.
She moved to a shadowy spot in the garden and checked the gun. She had practised blindfolded, and could do it quickly and efficiently in the dark. She hoped that the gun would not be needed, but if it was, she had no doubt of her abilities. Proficiency in small arms is of course mandatory for all military organisations, but Eve had also been a long-serving member of the RAF Small Arms Association, and had more trophies stashed in her cupboards than most people had pairs of socks.
The gun she now held was a 9mm Browning Hi-power semi-automatic pistol. It was an L9A1 service pistol, loaded, well looked after and cleaned regularly. It made her feel a whole lot better about whatever it was that was worrying her.
After carefully watching the garden for several minutes, Eve moved stealthily into a border of shrubs that flanked the neighbour’s fence. She made her way through the bushes until she had a clear view through the French windows into the house. Jessie was watching television in the lounge, and one of her guards could just be seen moving about in the dining room.
The side gate that connected to the front garden was unlocked and clipped back. Looking down the passageway, Eve could see the white van still parked on the drive. Nothing seemed anything other than normal, but she knew, in every part of her body and mind, that something was not right.
Then it came to her.
Smoke! She could smell smoke.
And then she saw it. Tiny tendrils of pale smoke were drifting out from the “builders’” works van.
Eve knew a diversionary tactic when she saw one, and she pulled out her phone and tapped the send button. She had already written the text message, Fancy a pizza tonight? Love Eve x. Nikki would receive it immediately.
That done, she took a deep breath. Eve had an intruder to deal with.
* * *
Ryan Ruddick was now a sickly shade of grey, but at least his brother had stopped swearing at him.
‘I’ve been waiting for this since she went.’
‘Why is that, Ryan?’ Nikki asked.
‘Because I knew you’d think I had something to do with her disappearance.’
‘And didn’t you? I mean, she disappeared the very next day after you and your brothers . . . What exactly did you and your brothers do to her? Did you kill her?’ Nikki probed.
‘No!’ Denis shouted. ‘Of course we didn’t kill her!’
‘So where is Dina Jarvis?’
‘We have no idea, I swear.’ Clive had finally found his voice.
Joseph shook his head. ‘Okay. Ryan? You and Dina were an item, yes?’
Ryan nodded. ‘Yes, we had been seeing each other for about six months.’
‘As girlfriend, boyfriend? Or lovers?’
‘Lovers,’ he muttered.
Nikki frowned. ‘Ah, now here we have a problem, Ryan. Because all her friends and everyone else we have spoken to, say that Dina was a virgin. So could you explain?’
Ryan sighed. ‘She told everyone that so no one would suspect we were seeing each other.’ He glowered at Nikki. ‘And to keep one or two local letches from trying to get into her knickers.’
‘What would be so terrible about admitting that you were in a relationship? I suppose you were both really fond of each other?’ asked Joseph.
The glower deepened. ‘Have you met her brother? He’d have killed us both. Dina was his precious little twin sister, no one was good enough for her. He didn’t mind her going out and having a bit of fun, but the thought of her sleeping with someone . . .’
‘What about the talent scout, Gibson Ash?’
Ryan pulled a face. ‘She said he was really kind to her and honestly believed that she could make it big time, in London maybe. But although she went along with it for a while, she didn’t really want to go.’
‘Why not? It was a huge opportunity for her.’
‘She liked what she already had. She didn’t want to spoil it.’
‘And what did you have that was so special?’
‘Sex,’ growled Denis. ‘She was addicted to my brother’s di—’
‘Shut up, arsehole! You’ve never done anything to help with the problem. You were just so jealous of Dina and me!’
‘As if!’
Nikki held up a hand. ‘What problem?’
Ryan turned a sad face in Clive’s direction. ‘I have to tell them, bro. I’m sorry, but it’s over. We need to tell them everything.’
‘I know we do, but could we do this someplace else?’ Clive looked towards the door, where Nikki knew his mother and father were hovering impatiently. ‘Somewhere private?’
‘The station sounds like a good place to me,’ said Joseph quietly. ‘Just for a chat, if that’s okay with you boys?’
Ryan stood up. ‘Perfect. It’s time this mess came out into the open, then maybe we can be a family again.’
Nikki looked at Denis’s belligerent expression and thought that Ryan probably shouldn’t hold his breath.
As Clive and Denis climbed into the back of Yvonne and Niall’s squad car, and Joseph held the door for Ryan, Nikki’s spare mobile made a chirruping noise.
‘Eve!’ Nikki grabbed the phone from her pocket and read the text message — one word stood out: Pizza.
In seconds she had alerted the station and the superintendent. She knew that an armed unit had been dispatched, but she needed to be there too.
‘Hold on, Ryan! This could be the ride of your life!’
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
One thing that Eve was planning on changing in her new home was the conservatory. It was old and hadn’t been constructed particularly well, she suspected it had been a DIY project. It was long and narrow and had single-glazed doors and windows, something the man with the glass cutter had probably been extremely happy to discover. The cutter was a standard piece of old-style house-breaking equipment and consisted of a circular cutter and a suction pad. A ring of glass was carefully cut out and removed silently, leaving a neat hole big enough to slip an arm through to unlock the door from the inside. Simple!
Eve observed him from beside her garden shed, and decided that he was definitely not an amateur. He worked fast. She had heard the front door open, and shouts coming from the front of the house. His fire had been noticed, and no doubt one of the two police officers had gone to try to either stem the blaze, or get the van off the drive and away from the house. And that left Jessie with only one man to watch over her.
The man who was just about to enter her house evidently thought that a single opponent would prove no problem. It made him either very good or overconfident. Eve opted for “very good.” It was safer that way. Never underestimate your enemy.
She felt in the pocket of her artist’s apron. The gun was right there, and so were a couple of other useful items, just in case. She looked through the conservatory and saw that the sliding doors to the lounge were wide open. She had not left them like that. Maybe Jessie had gone out there and then forgotten to close them again. Whatever, it did not make things easier. If the man was armed, and she was sure that he was, he could kill Jessie’s minder before the man even knew he was a target. Eve needed to sort this, and fast.
The man was now opening the door and silently entering the conservatory.
‘Can I help you?’
She saw him jump. He glanced back at her, and she smiled sweetly at him. An older lady in slippers, wearing an artist’s smock and sporting dabs of indigo blue past
el on her ageing face was not exactly a threat to a six foot, muscular man, but the gun did seem to bother him.
Eve had kept far enough away to prevent him reaching her with a blow. And he obviously realised that she was watching him like a hawk in case he went for his own weapon.
Her voice was as steady as the hand that held the pistol. ‘If you make the slightest move, I will take you down. This gun, as you probably know, has a 13-round magazine, and I don’t need to tell you the effect that it would have on human flesh at this close range.’
The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. ‘Oh yes. I know very well.’
‘I see you do. And I also see that you are considering your next move. Please don’t make one. I have killed men before, and I will kill you, make no mistake.’
In the background, Eve saw Jessie’s minder bundle her unceremoniously from the lounge. Then she saw him making a call. Just so long as no one decided to play the hero and butt in on her.
‘So, dangerous lady, what do we do now?’
‘We do nothing.’
‘Can I sit down?’
‘No, you cannot. You can breathe, but I’d even do that with extreme caution.’
‘You will not be able to hold that gun like that for long, you know. Your arm will tire, and if you make the slightest adjustment to your grip, I will be the one issuing the threats.’
Eve knew he was right, but wasn’t about to tell him so. ‘I disagree, but let’s not argue.’
The man laughed. Eve thought it was the coldest sound she had ever heard.
And then he called her bluff and lunged.
Eve stepped back through the open door and shot him in the elbow.
His screams echoed through the shadowy back gardens of the leafy residential lane. He was still screaming when the armed response team arrived.
* * *
Nikki looked at the tableau before her and wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry.
The house was lit up like Blackpool Tower. Uniformed policemen were stationed all around it and the gardens. A van was smouldering quietly in the road, two paramedics were trying to tend to a profusely bleeding man under the close surveillance of several sharpshooters from SCO19, and her mother was standing, centre stage, lowering a wicked-looking semi-automatic pistol into an evidence bag.
