CAPTIVE ON THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of twists

by Joy Ellis

  ‘Deliberately or not, he could well have let it slip while having a few drinks in the pub, couldn’t he?’ said Dave.

  ‘Quite possibly. But would he be believed? Denis doesn’t have a warm and friendly personality, and although we know he has a lot of drinking buddies, he has very few real friends. I think it would have been generally considered that he had tried it on with her, been rejected, and was getting his own back by badmouthing her.’ He paused. ‘But going back to Dina herself. If Ryan is to be believed, and I think he is telling the truth, she was on very good form the day before she disappeared, and this was confirmed by other people we’d spoken to earlier. She told Ryan on the telephone that she had come to a decision about something, and that she had some very exciting news for him. The next day, she was gone.’

  ‘Gibson Ash and his promise of X-Factor stardom?’ offered Cat.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Joseph said carefully. ‘I think her “exciting” news, and her decision about it, was what sealed her fate. Last night, when I couldn’t sleep, I kept hearing over and over again, two chance comments. One was Niall talking about Dominic Jarvis, and saying something along the lines of “We think that deep down, he knows what happened to his sister, and sadly he couldn’t admit that she would move on and make a life away from him. Hence he makes waves every so often because it’s expected of him, but he knows, Sarge, he knows.” The second comment was from Dominic Jarvis himself, just before he collapsed. He said, “You really should have found her by now.” He wasn’t just accusing us of not investigating her disappearance properly. The implication was that it was right under our noses, but we had failed to see it. Oh, yes, and he also said, “I can’t do this anymore.” I had the feeling he meant he couldn’t keep living a lie.’

  Nikki stared at him. ‘You are saying that Dominic really does know what happened to his sister?’

  Joseph nodded. ‘I think so. And there is something else. When I visited Dominic’s house and saw Dina’s room, I told you that it was as if she had just stepped out for a moment. There were fresh flowers and women’s magazines, and I’ve only just realised that the copies of Heat, and Bella, were current. Why buy up-to-date magazines for someone who was not there? It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘He could do it out of habit,’ said Ben. ‘Like if he stopped buying them, he would have to admit that she was gone forever.’

  ‘Or is she still there?’ Nikki said slowly. ‘Does that house have a basement?’

  ‘No, ma’am,’ Yvonne stated. ‘None of the houses in Woolpack Lane have cellars, because of the silty soil.’

  ‘What about the rest of the house, Joseph? How much of it did you see?’

  ‘Only the lounge and Dina’s bedroom. And it was a fairly big property. There could certainly be an attic or a box room.’

  Nikki stood up. ‘Okay, let’s run with this. Dave, ring first, then get yourself over to the hospital and see if there is any change in Dominic’s condition. We really need to talk to him. Joseph, we have to search that property. Forget a warrant, we’re suspecting a person in jeopardy, so take the bloody door off if you have to. Take Yvonne and Niall with you.’ She turned to Ben. ‘You want to assist?’

  ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘Then help Cat to go through anything and everything you can dig up on Dominic Jarvis. Check his credit cards, bank statements, see if he has been buying women’s things. Even look at his Tesco lists — food for one, or for two, you know the sort of thing.’ She punched one fist into a cupped hand. ‘Health and employment records too. I want to know everything there is to know about that man.’

  ‘You got it, ma’am,’ Cat said excitedly. ‘Come on, Ben. Take this spare desk and computer and let’s get digging.’

  ‘Everyone keep in touch, and I want to know every piece of information that corroborates Joseph’s theory. I’m off to talk to Greg Woodhall. Let’s aim to regroup at midday, okay?’

  * * *

  Joseph, Yvonne and Niall were back first.

  Joseph looked despondent. ‘No damage done on entrance. Luckily there was a window left on a latch. But no sign of Dina, I’m afraid, and indeed no sense that anyone other than Dominic had been there for a very long while.’

  ‘The place was like an old people’s home,’ said Niall. ‘Really naff furnishings and a patterned carpet.’

  ‘I thought when I went there before that it didn’t suit a young unmarried guy,’ agreed Joseph.

  Nikki narrowed her eyes. ‘That doesn’t mean that he didn’t do something else to her.’

  ‘Like kill her?’

  ‘Been known, hasn’t it? “Threaten to leave me and I’ll kill you.” What’s the garden like?’

  ‘Rather overgrown, with an unkempt feel to it but it is fairly small and overlooked by the neighbours. I can’t see Dominic burying her there,’ Yvonne added.

  Nikki closed her eyes then gently rubbed the lids with her thumb and forefinger.

  ‘If only we knew what that exciting news was. It would give us a big clue as to what happened.’

  ‘I can’t help but think that as those words were spoken privately to Ryan Ruddick, they actually concerned him, which would indicate that maybe she was pregnant,’ Joseph said thoughtfully. ‘After all, it could be classed as exciting, and certainly something to make a decision about.’

  ‘And it would be exactly the sort of thing that would send her overprotective twin brother Dominic right off the rails.’ Nikki glanced at the clock. It was almost midday. ‘Let’s go and see if Cat and Ben have come up with anything useful.’

  As they walked into the CID room, Dave was entering by the other door. His face was sombre. ‘Dominic died earlier this morning, ma’am. I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know straightaway but there was some sort of crisis going on in ICU and I couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone.’

  Nikki uttered a loud groan. ‘Damn! Damn!’

  Niall looked calmly at her. ‘Ma’am? Don’t sweat over it. He would never have told us anything anyway. He had plenty of opportunity to help when the sarge said he would re-investigate his sister’s disappearance.’

  Nikki flopped down into a chair. ‘You are probably right. So . . . let’s assume Dominic was responsible for her disappearance. Did he kill her? If so, what did he do with the body? Or did he send her away or imprison her? If so, where?’

  ‘Ma’am? This might be nothing . . .’ Ben called over from his new desk. ‘I’ve been looking at his grocery purchases over the last few months and he seems to have bought several boxes of very expensive hand-made dark chocolates.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘He’s severely allergic to chocolate. His medical records show that it brings on vomiting and migraine attacks.’

  ‘Maybe they were gifts?’

  ‘Who for? He’s your original Billy No-Mates and he has no family close by,’ Yvonne chipped in. ‘So were they for his sister, do you think?’

  Joseph suddenly said, ‘Ben! When was the last purchase made?’

  ‘A week ago. Ah . . .’

  ‘So if they were for her, she’s still alive,’ whispered Nikki. ‘But where?’

  ‘Can I make a suggestion, ma’am?’ Yvonne asked.

  Everyone looked at her.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about Keel Chandler. He was right about what he saw in Ruddick’s Barn, even if he did misinterpret it. Well, he said that she had never gone away, didn’t he? That he used to hear her out on the marsh. What if he really did?’

  ‘He also said that he’d searched high and low for her. He even went into your great aunt’s deserted cottage.’ Joseph looked at Nikki.

  ‘Hey! Got something!’ Cat almost jumped from her chair. ‘That daft kid could be right! You know I said the Jarvis twins had been left a wad of dosh? Well, that wasn’t all. The old uncle who left them his estate had a cottage too, and I bet you can’t guess where?’

  ‘Carter’s Fen!’

  ‘What was the uncle’s name?’ demanded Nikki.

  ‘Jude.
Jude Dutton.’

  ‘Bloody hell! He owned a big chunk of land and a farmhouse. It was closer to the marsh than Ruddick’s place, and he used to keep cattle down there. Then he got hit with foot-and-mouth disease and the whole place was quarantined. He had to destroy his herd and he threw in the towel, I remember that clearly.’

  ‘This will doesn’t mention a farmhouse. It just says a small farm cottage.’

  Nikki screwed up her face in concentration. ‘There was something . . .’ She exhaled. ‘Yes, you are right, there was a cottage! But it was a wreck, as I remember.’

  ‘Could you find it?’

  She puffed out her cheeks. ‘I suppose so.’ Then she stood up. ‘Yes! Of course I can find it! Joseph, Niall and Yvonne, let’s go back to Carter’s Fen.’

  ‘I can hardly wait,’ muttered Joseph. ‘Bloody miserable hole!’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  ‘Go past the farm on the drove road, then take the track that leads off to the left. It looks as if it ends with an old rotting caravan and a pile of pallets, but we go around that and there’s a sort of copse. A bit beyond there, there’s an inlet that comes in from the marsh itself. The cottage is between the trees and the water.’

  Nikki’s mind raced. People never went further than the farmhouse. She was sure about that. If she herself hardly knew of the cottage’s existence, then she was sure no one else did. Maybe not even Keel Chandler.

  She felt a flutter of excitement. The location was perfect for a hideout. If it was where she believed it to be, it could only be seen from the sea or the farthest reaches of the marsh. The only people who might have been near there in recent months were illegal migrants, and they were hardly likely to approach the authorities if they saw anything out of the ordinary.

  Yvonne drove carefully, picked up speed on the straight drove, then slowed almost to a standstill on the sharp left-hand turn. ‘There’s the caravan, ma’am.’

  ‘Park up, Yvonne. We need to go the rest of the way on foot.’

  Behind the rusty carcass of the abandoned caravan, a narrow path could just be seen. It was half covered by nettles and overgrowth and difficult to follow.

  Niall forged ahead, trying to clear the way for the others.

  ‘Straight on. It opens out a bit as we get closer to the cottage.’ Nikki winced and tried to pull away from a bramble that had snagged itself in her skin. Ahead of them was a dense patch of scrubby, wind-distorted trees, and she heard Joseph mumble a curse about the desolate bloody place.

  They made their way through the cluster of stunted trees and down a slight incline that led to the marsh. ‘The sarge is right, this is a dreadful place!’ muttered Niall as he slipped on some loose shale. ‘Let’s hope we’ve got this wrong. If that girl has been kept out here for all that time I dread to think what state she’s in.’

  Nikki felt ice cold hands touch her heart. There seemed very little chance of finding anyone alive in this desolate spot.

  Then the cottage came into view, a tumbledown, ramshackle hovel, dark and forbidding.

  They made their way through a shattered wooden gate, and found a dilapidated shed door. Niall yanked it open and stared inside. Leaning against a wall that gleamed and glistened with droplets of damp, was an old-fashioned black sit-up-and-beg bicycle.

  ‘That’s no junk! There’s not a spot of rust on that. Is that how he came and went without making any noise?’ asked Yvonne.

  ‘Maybe. He could also leave a car hidden somewhere, then ride in, I suppose.’

  ‘Do you really think anyone is here?’ Niall whispered.

  ‘I think that bike indicates recent usage, so I’m guessing yes, but if she is here, we must not frighten her. If she’s been held against her will for two years, well, who knows how she will react. And we’ll need to call in specialist officers who understand hostage care.’ Nikki shivered at the thought. ‘We’ll find a way in, and conduct a thorough search, room by room. Are we all agreed?’

  They nodded.

  ‘Okay, it’s a long shot, but let’s check the doors and see if any of them are open. You and Yvonne take the front, Joseph. Niall? We take the back, and don’t go in alone anyone. We will do this together.’

  In a few moments, Niall located a weak spot. ‘Kitchen window is bowed with age. I can pop the latch.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll get the others.’ Nikki hurried around the old building and returned with Joseph and Yvonne, by which time Niall was already raising the old sash window.

  One by one they climbed inside.

  The deserted kitchen was dark and dingy.

  ‘I should think this is much the same as it was two generations ago.’ Yvonne switched on her torch and the beam picked out a deep old Belfast sink, a ridged wooden drainer, bleached white with years of use, a quarry tiled floor and a battered table with two straight-backed chairs. In a recess was a black, wood-burning range, which appeared to be the only method of cooking or heating water.

  Niall whistled softly. ‘Look at the state of it!’

  The ceiling was draped with great tangles of filthy cobwebs, and the whitewash on the walls was patchy and mouldering in places. He moved silently into the room, then stopped abruptly. ‘Ah, but this is worrying. Look.’

  Nikki and Joseph looked down at the thick greasy layer of dust on the surface of the kitchen table, and saw a small clear patch, free of dirt. Something had very recently been removed. There were heaps of fluffy ashes in the grate, and the hob of the ancient oven had been meticulously cleaned.

  They stood and listened.

  There was no noise, other than the distant sound of trickling water from the marsh. The fen was unnaturally quiet. No birds cried out, no water rats scurried through the dry reedy grass. No breeze whispered across the acres of sea lavender and tall black grass.

  ‘I don’t like this,’ muttered Niall.

  Nikki coughed to break the tension. ‘Right, this won’t get the baby a new bonnet. Let’s see what’s through here.’ She took hold of the round, brass door handle, and looking braver than she felt, went into the living room.

  They stepped straight into the Victorian era.

  Joseph stared. ‘What is all this?’

  The room was decorated with heavy, flocked wallpaper. Pictures hung on the walls, ornately framed, and the furniture consisted of a bulky sofa, two wing-backed armchairs and a mahogany table. There were books, oil lamps and marble statuettes.

  Yvonne lifted the corner of one of the heavy drapes that hung at the window. ‘Clever! Look, ma’am. This window faces out of the back of the house, but just in case any nosey parker did happen to look in, he’s lined these fine curtains with old bits of rag. No one would dream this place was inhabited.’

  Nikki was looking into a velvet-covered, brocade-fringed waste bin at the empty wrappers from expensive Belgian chocolates.

  Joseph was examining the books. There were textbooks on psychiatry, surgical procedures, and the identification and usage of drugs. ‘What on earth was he doing here? I mean, I know he was a psychiatric nurse, but why all these?’

  There was a panelled door to the right of the fireplace, and a staircase disappearing upwards at the other end of the room.

  ‘You and Yvonne look through there, Joseph, and check any other rooms downstairs.’ Nikki pointed to the door. ‘Niall and I will check upstairs. I’d say there are two bedrooms. We’ll take them one at a time, okay, Niall?’

  ‘Right.’ The young man edged his way carefully up the steep, narrow treads, with Nikki close behind him. On the tiny landing, they saw two closed doors. The rooms behind them were silent, nothing stirred. The first door opened at a touch.

  The room was small and plain with no decoration, just distempered walls, floorboards and a single iron frame bed with a chest with three deep drawers beside it. The bed was neatly made up with white linen sheets, worn, but clean, Nikki noticed, and faded, threadbare blue blankets. There was nowhere to conceal anything, no cupboards, no doors, nothing. It was like a monk’s cell.
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  Without a word, they moved back to the landing, and again, stood motionless, straining to hear the slightest sound from inside the second room.

  As Niall leant closer to the thick oak panels, Nikki was seized with a powerful sense of dread. She knew this was where they would find Dina Jarvis.

  ‘Ready, Niall?’

  ‘Ready, ma’am.’ He put his shoulder to the door, but it did not budge.

  He tried again, but the stout oak held fast. Then Niall stepped back as far as he could on the tiny landing, and kicked hard. The lock shattered and he stumbled into the room, Nikki close on his heels.

  The air in the room was foul, it smelled of a mix of excrement, urine and the staleness of a long-closed room. Nikki retched, and put a hand over her mouth. The curtains were pulled tight and there was very little light.

  They carefully scanned every part of the big room, which was dark and full of shadows. It was quiet. Too quiet.

  The bed was situated under the grimy panes of a barred dormer window. The dark, unmoving shape that lay upon it told them they had finally found Dina Jarvis.

  Nikki wanted to call for Joseph to join them, but she could hear him still moving through the downstairs rooms and decided to let him complete his check.

  She approached the stinking bedclothes, and cautiously pulled back the soiled covers.

  Suddenly she was struck from the side with a blow that knocked the breath from her body and sent her sprawling across the filthy floor. As she struggled to get up, another heavier, almost crushing weight took her back to the boards, where she lay, half stunned and fighting for breath. Pinned down, she heard a throaty, gurgling cry, followed by the sound of someone scrabbling and stumbling on the staircase. Desperately fighting to drag herself from beneath whatever was holding her down, she gasped out for Niall or Joseph to help her.