by Bill Kitson
‘I thought you told me that Dale Harvey could remember very little about his captivity,’ Fleming objected.
‘We know that, but she doesn’t.’
As a bluff, it worked as well as Nash could have hoped. Listening to the tape afterwards, he admired the way Clara had introduced the subject of Toni’s relationship with the young boxer. It was clear that she still mourned her boyfriend’s death. Clara’s artistry extended when she brought up the matter they were most concerned about. She didn’t mention that it was Dale Harvey, not his father, that she was referring to. Nor did she mention that Dale could recall very little of his period of captivity, and what he could was hazy at best.
Toni broke down and sobbed, admitting that she had willingly allowed White and Fiona to use her basement to keep their victims, and that she had participated in the abductions.
With that confession, and the report from the forensic team who had examined the house, Nash returned to question Fiona again. This time, with the mounting evidence against her, she confessed to her part in the conspiracy. Neither she nor Toni seemed in the least concerned about their victims. To them, a form of justice had been meted out, and if it was impossible for the law to touch the criminals, they, together with Clyde White, had acted as judges, jurors, and executioners.
‘I don’t understand the different tortures they used,’ Fleming said.
‘They did to the victims what they perceived they had done at the trial. Georgina Drake used her sexual wiles on the male jurors, hence the assault on her . . . er . . . private parts; she was blindfolded because she couldn’t see the truth. Henry Maitland was a bully; we were told he kept pointing his finger at the others, hence the amputation, and again the blindfold. Dickie Donut, I mean Richard Graham, lied under oath when he provided Dale and Chad’s alibis for the time when Stanton was murdered, which was why they removed his tongue, and DI Hoyland wouldn’t listen to the truth, so they poured wax in his ears.’
‘I don’t understand why Dickie Donut was strung up, though.’
‘It was because he was a puppet. The strings were being pulled by Gus Harvey. You can’t condone what the three of them did,’ Nash said afterwards, ‘but you can understand why they did it. To them it must have seemed that they had been failed, not once but twice. First, failure to protect their loved ones, and then failure to bring the perpetrators to justice.’
‘What about Gus Harvey?’ Fleming asked.
‘The confessions we got from Fiona Potter and Toni Chandler solved another minor mystery. We couldn’t work out how Gus Harvey’s car reappeared when he was still missing — and how Chad Wilkinson’s body came to be inside it. They admitted luring Gus on the pretext of releasing Dale and then drugging him and holding him prisoner. They thought it appropriate to deliver Chad, and later Gus, back to the point where they believed all the evil originated — Gus Harvey’s house.
‘Gus will be fit enough to stand trial. I interviewed him for the first time yesterday, and I was immediately struck by what Clara said after we found him. This wasn’t the same Gus Harvey we met beforehand. Between them, his vulnerability and the torture broke him. He didn’t actually admit to all the things he’s done, but neither did he deny them. However, he did admit to giving the interview with the reporter. I’m convinced that once he’s properly aware of the strength of the case against him, and knows that Dale has already confessed, Gus will admit to all his crimes. There is more trouble awaiting him, too. I understand the Inland Revenue are planning to sue him for back taxes, and Customs and Excise are going over his books because there is a shortfall in VAT received.’
‘I think they would be as well locking him up and throwing away the key,’ Pearce added.
‘It will mean the end of Harvey’s business empire, of that I have no doubt,’ Nash said, ‘and as for those massage parlours that Chad Wilkinson owned, I believe they have already been bought by a woman from eastern Europe, who plans to extend the services and to resume tanning and beauty treatment. That way, the other services they offered in the past will no longer be available.’
They were about to conclude their discussions when Nash got a phone call from a member of the CSI team working at Fiona Potter’s house. He listened to what the officer said before replacing the receiver. He looked at the others, his face grim as he told them, ‘They’ve found a suicide note hidden in Fiona’s diary, written by her sister Denise. I won’t trouble you with the harrowing details; but it confirms what Dale has already confessed to, the rape he and Wilkinson committed on a young, vulnerable and defenceless girl.’
It was late Friday afternoon when the meeting broke up. ‘Would it be OK if I leave early?’ Clara asked, ‘I’ve someone I’ve arranged to meet.’
‘No problem, I’ll hold the fort. I’ve nothing much to rush off home for, other than a quick stop off on the way,’ Nash told her.
‘Haven’t you got anything exciting planned for tonight and the weekend?’ Clara asked.
Nash’s reply emphasised his solitary existence starkly, ‘Only a mountain of washing and ironing, if you consider that exciting.’
* * *
Nash got into the Range Rover, looked in the mirror, and smiled at the giant teddy bear strapped in on the back seat. ‘Well, my friend, let’s see if we can find you a new home.’
He parked in front of the terrace house and knocked on the door. The large teddy tucked under his arm.
Mira Kaminski opened the door, her expression guarded when she saw the visitor.
‘Hello, Mira,’ said Nash. ‘Don’t look so worried; it isn’t you I’ve come to see. Can I come in for a moment?’
She stepped aside and showed him through to the lounge where her brother and his wife were sitting.
‘My name is Inspector Nash from Helmsdale station. I’m sorry to call so late, but I was hoping the little one would be asleep by now.’ He held the teddy out and passed it to the child’s mother. ‘I wondered if you could find someone to play with this.’
He drove home, his mood somewhat lightened by the reaction of the Kaminski family. When he reached Smelt Mill Cottage, Nash began by putting the casserole he was to dine on into the oven, then loading the washing machine. He poured a glass of wine and walked through to the lounge. He stared at the landscape that hung on the wall, his eyes misting over as he looked at the cat silhouetted in one corner, the artist’s distinctive signature. On a sudden impulse, he snatched the phone up and began to dial a number. After entering the prefix 0034, he stopped and deleted the four digits that represented the international dialling code for Spain.
Nash turned back and looked once more at the painting. Unable to resist the impulse any longer, he began to redial.
THE END
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About the Author
Having taken early retirement from the finance industry, prolific writer Bill Kitson enjoys the challenge of writing both crime and general fiction, often with a twist of humour. Both his series, the DI Mike Nash crime thrillers and his Eden House Mysteries, are set in North Yorkshire, the county of his birth.
He also writes his Greek Island Romances under the pseudonym William Gordon.
Living and working throughout most of the North of England, he is now settled on the east coast along with his wife.
His writing never stops, and when he isn’t seeking inspiration from the surrounding countryside he can be found in a small fishing village on one of the Greek Islands, staring out to sea — laptop at the ready!
For further details go to:
www.billkitson.com
www.billkitsonblog.wordpress.com
ALSO BY BILL KITSON
THE DI MIKE NASH SERIES
Book 1: WHAT LIES BENEATH
Book 2: VANISH WITHOUT TRACE
Book 3: PLAYING WITH FIRE
Book 4: KILLING CHRISTMAS
Book 5: SLA
SH KILLER
Book 6: ALONE WITH A KILLER
Book 7: BLOOD DIAMOND
Book 8: DEAD & GONE
Book 9: HIDE & SEEK
Book 10: RUNNING SCARED
Book 11: THE BLEEDING HEART KILLER
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GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH USAGE FOR US READERS
A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: do a bunk means escape
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Digs: student lodgings
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cush
ioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
DS: detective sergeant
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Father Christmas: Santa Claus
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy, and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Gendarmerie: French national police force
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmother
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
