by L M Krier
'Maurice, if you're going to apologise again I may have to use Krav Maga on you,' Ted said with a weak smile. 'It's fine, really. We're all at a low ebb as we're not winning this one at the moment. But we will. We just need to knuckle down a bit harder and cover the routine stuff.'
Ted did not feel like staying long, so he left the price of a second round behind the bar and headed home. He felt a pressing need to spend as much time as he could with Trev, never easy in the middle of a difficult case.
Trev was in the kitchen, cooking. As soon as he saw Ted, he stopped what he was doing and wrapped him in a hug.
'You look like you had a very bad day,' he said. 'Do you need a brew?'
Ted slumped in a chair and nodded. 'I got a right roasting from the Chief Constable. I'm definitely not on his Christmas card list any more,' he said wearily. 'Did you see the piece on the local rag's website? And that was before they knew there'd been another death. If ever they find out I was in the home when it happened, I might be reduced to issuing fixed penalties for parking.'
Trev finished what he was doing and sat down next to him.
'Do you want to talk about it?' he asked.
Ted shook his head emphatically. 'Not remotely.'
His mobile phone started to ring. As he took it out of his pocket, he saw the name on the screen and said, 'Jim.'
'Have you told him about me, yet?' Trev asked. 'You can, if you want to.'
'Jim, it's nice to hear a friendly voice,' Ted said, as he took the call. 'At least, I hope it's going to be friendly. I've had enough of a kicking for one day, thanks.'
The gruff voice of his former boss, Jim Baker, greeted him jovially enough. 'I saw the article. I imagine you're not having an easy time of it. How's the Ice Queen taking it?'
'She's being surprisingly supportive at the moment. The Chief Constable, on the other hand, chewed me up and spat out the pieces.' He made an apologetic face and mouthed 'sorry' at Trev. He hated bringing work home at the best of times, and this was currently not the best of times. Trev shrugged and made a waving gesture of hello towards the phone. 'Trev says hi, by the way.'
'I'm hoping he can say that in person soon,' Jim replied. 'I was phoning to ask if you're both free on Saturday night. There's someone I want you to meet.'
Ted sat up a bit straighter and smiled into the phone.
'That sounds interesting. I think we're free Saturday night,' he looked at Trev, who nodded in response. 'This is someone special, I take it?'
Jim sounded almost embarrassed as he said, 'Well, I think she is. That's why I'd like you to meet her, if you're free. Say, around seven-thirty for eight?'
'Seven-thirty is perfect. Are you expecting us to dress up? Trev made me buy new clothes, ready for Willow's wedding,' he said, as if it had been a real trial.
'I think I've known you long enough not to expect you to dress up off-duty,' Jim chuckled. 'Come in whatever you feel comfortable in. And good luck with the case. I know you, you'll crack it, eventually. You always do.'
Ted felt his spirits lifted somewhat by Jim's words. He had served under his friend for several years when Jim had been a DCI. He had been sorry when Jim's promotion to Superintendent had seen him transferred to another division. Ted's relationship with the Ice Queen was not remotely on the same footing and he highly doubted if it ever would be.
Trev had made him tea and put it down in front of him. 'How hungry are you? Food won't be ready for a while. You've got time to forget about work and chill a bit first. Shall we sit in the garden? I think it's still warm enough, and it's not raining for the moment. Might as well take advantage.'
They went out and sat down in the steamer chairs.
'You didn't tell him, then?'
'It didn't seem quite the moment, really,' Ted told him. 'We'd love to come to dinner on Saturday evening. Oh, by the way, Trev may have inherited a serious heart condition. I did tell the Ice Queen, though. I hope you don't mind. I had to tell her something. She was giving me a look which made Vlad the Impaler look like quite a reasonable chap.'
Trev threw his head back and laughed at the image, but his laughter only served to make Ted look contrite.
'I'm sorry, here's me, as usual, banging on about my problems at work and you have enough on your mind right now,' he said.
'What's a life-threatening heart condition compared to what you go through on a daily basis?' Trev smiled. 'How are you getting along with the feisty Jezza these days, or is she still one of the problems?'
'She certainly doesn't help,' Ted admitted. 'She has the potential to be a good officer, I can sense that. But she doesn't do herself any favours at all with her attitude and I still have no clue as to why she's like that. The team clearly think I'm going soft, keeping her on. But for this case, working undercover, she really is the best bet I have at the moment.'
'Could you not borrow an officer from uniform? That PC Heap seems like a very nice type,' Trev said with an ironic wink. He had found her to be kindness itself when he had gone into the station to apologise for his drunken behaviour in the pub.
'I could, but it still wouldn't be enough. There's a lot of these homes on the patch. It's clearly a lucrative business to be in, judging by how many there are. Even if Kevin would lend me Susan for long enough, and I keep Jezza in a home, that still leaves a lot them with no one in undercover. And frankly, I wouldn't know which home to put her in, without a lead.
'And can you really imagine the likes of Maurice or Virgil blending into the background and not looking suspicious enough to put our Angela off showing her face? We have no leads on her at all at the moment, even assuming she is one and the same person every time, and is involved in the case.
'But at least we've got your appointments sorted out now, and not too long to wait.'
'You will be able to come with me, won't you?' Trev asked anxiously. 'With all that you've got going on, I know it's hard for you to get away from work. But I really would like you to be there.'
Ted reached across and laid a reassuring hand on his arm.
'I'll be there. If I have to work some twenty-four hour shifts to make up the time, I will be there.'
Trev took a drink of his red wine, then said thoughtfully, 'You know what you should try with Jezza?'
'Sacking her? Too much paperwork,' Ted said firmly.
'No, I'm being serious now. Try using a bit of psychology. What have the two of you got in common, apart from both being coppers?'
'I hope you're not saying I have the same attitude as she does?'
'Martial arts,' Trev said. 'Why don't you reach out to her a bit? Tell her about our self-defence club for kids. Ask her if she'd come along and give a demonstration. The kids would love to see her kickboxing. You could even spar with her. Kickboxing versus Krav Maga. Show the kids how that goes.'
This time Ted threw his head back and laughed.
'I'd be afraid to. She might beat me. And besides, it would probably be breaking all sorts of rules of professional conduct.'
'But why? In the dojo, dojo rules and etiquette, Bernard to referee. Kids like Flip would absolutely go wild to see that.'
'I'll think about it,' was all Ted would say. 'Now tell me a bit more about what Bizzie told you. How are you feeling about it? Did you find out anything about her? I feel I still hardly know her at all.'
'She's great. She really did help. I think our Bizzie might have been a bit of a tinker in her day,' Trev said, smiling fondly. 'I also think someone broke her heart very badly, so badly that it can't be put back together again.'
'Do you think it was a man or a woman?' Ted asked.
'Oh, Ted, please,' Trev said reproachfully. 'Surely you, of all people, are not going for the cliché of Bizzie must be a lezzie because she lives alone with a farting dog and she wears tweeds and brogues? My guess is that it was a man, and not a very nice one, at that.
'I suspect her life is full of regrets because she kept telling me to carry on living my life to the full. She told me that if I didn't
and there turned out to be nothing wrong with me, I'd regret bitterly the lost opportunities along the way, even if it's only a matter of weeks before I know. And that if the worst did happen, I would probably know nothing at all about it and at least I would have enjoyed myself in the meantime.
'She also told me,' he said with a suggestive wink, 'that I shouldn't let it interfere with my sex life.'
'She said that?' Ted gaped at him.
'Oh, yes. Like I said, I think Bizzie might have been a rare old gal in her day and she is now deeply regretting that she didn't carry on as she started. That she let one person, whoever it was, ruin her life for her.'
Ted looked at him thoughtfully.
'And you say the supper won't be ready for a while yet?'
Trev stretched languorously in his steamer chair, looking like one of the cats who surrounded him, as always.
'It can happily stay in the oven for as long as it needs to.'
Ted stood up.
'In that case ...'
Chapter Twenty-six
Finally, there was the first sniff of a lead, the possibility of at least bringing someone in for questioning. Meticulous checking of personnel records had revealed two carers who had worked in more than one of the homes where there had been deaths. There was also one who had worked in one home and the hospital. It was not much to go on, but it was their first real break of the case.
It did at least mean that Ted could report to the Ice Queen that they were bringing people in for questioning, and she in turn could inform the Chief Constable. Ted had decided to make the questioning formal from the start, partly to show they were making progress, of sorts.
Sal filled the team in on what he had been revealed by cross-checking staff records at all of the homes on their patch, as well as the hospital.
'Gillian Shaw, works at Limekiln House now, home of Jane Applegate, before she went into hospital, where she died. Before that, Shaw also worked at Snowdon Lodge. They seem to have the highest turnover of any of the homes. So far, they're the one constant between the three possible suspects.
'Mandy Griffiths, now at Snowdon Lodge, was previously a Health Care Assistant at the hospital. Two deaths to date at Snowdon Lodge, Gwen Jones and Betty Hibbert.
'Finally Stacy Bancroft. He works at The Poppies now, where Maggie Tyler died, and before that he was at Snowdon Lodge.'
Maurice gave a snort. 'I thought there was something suspicious about him, the moment I saw him.'
Ted smiled and said mildly, 'Just because he has eye-liner and a pony tail doesn't make him a murderer, Maurice. Any more than it means that he's gay.
'Right, I'd like all of these people brought in at some point for questioning. Stress that it's just routine at this point. We have nothing more than circumstantial evidence to point to any of them at the moment, but let's at least check them out.'
'Surely none of them can be Angela though, boss?' Sal asked. 'If they're already working in a home where there's been a death, they can't be going in posing as someone else. They'd be recognised, surely? And one of them's a bloke, anyway.'
Maurice was about to say something, saw Ted's face and thought better of it.
Jezza scoffed. 'Like I said before, it's easy enough to change appearance, even for a man, as long as the height is right.' She glared challengingly round at them and said, 'I bet I could fool the lot of you into not recognising me, if I wanted to.'
'Put your money where your mouth is, bonny lass,' Maurice replied. 'Tenner says you can't.'
'All right, settle down, this is serious,' Ted said. 'You can have your playtime once we crack this case, not before, please.
'I don't think we have anything to lose if Jezza, carries on going to Cottage Row for now. That's still the best lead we have to Angela. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can eliminate her from our enquiries or identify her as a prime suspect. And we should also not overlook the possibility that if Angela is our killer, she could be working with an accomplice inside the homes. Someone who tells her which are likely targets, and if and when any of them go into hospital.
'Now, I can't get involved in any of the questioning of potential suspects, because of my grandmother. If I were to question someone who later turned out to be our killer, any defence lawyer worth his salt would have a field day tearing our case apart.
'So, Mike, it's up to you to sort out who questions which suspect, but keep me in the loop at all stages, please. And this needs to be done meticulously. I don't think we should get fixated on appearance. Even if it's someone who doesn't fit the physical description of our Angela, be thorough and check alibis.
'Let's not have any more slip-ups. My future police pension might depend on you,' he added with a smile.
He was feeling a bit more optimistic as he went downstairs to brief the Ice Queen. It made a pleasant change to be able to report any kind of progress, especially in the shape of their first possible suspects. Even if they all turned out to have perfect alibis, it was a start. She listened in silence while he told her of the latest turn in the enquiry.
'Well, that is promising,' she said. 'I can at least pass that on to the Chief Constable. He is, of course, bracing himself for the next side-swipe from the press when they learn of the fifth death, as are we all. Now, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Would you like coffee?'
It always worried Ted when she offered him coffee. It immediately made him suspicious of her motives. He thanked her and accepted. The jug was already full of fresh, hot coffee, which smelled good and was probably expensive. Ted wondered what brand she used. He was not a coffee connoisseur but even he appreciated it.
She sat down opposite him and began.
'Now, let me say at the outset that I am in no way telling you how to do your job. That would be presumptuous of me in the extreme as I have never worked in CID. But there is one area of your work in which I feel there is clearly room for improvement.'
Ted was tempted to ask, 'Only one?' but fought the urge. Instead he prompted, 'Yes, ma'am?'
'Your relations with the press, Inspector,' she said dryly.
'Ah,' Ted replied, with a guilty smile. He knew it was true and made no secret of it.
'Ah, indeed. But remember, your sins will always find you out,' she said, with the air of a headmistress dealing with a particularly troublesome pupil. 'This latest press article could, perhaps, have been less damaging if you had a better relationship with the local reporter, don't you think?'
Ted thought it might be wise not to voice what he actually thought. He simply waited expectantly to see where the conversation was going.
'I wonder if it might be prudent to start building some bridges with the local press. Hold out an olive branch. Meet him halfway.'
She appeared to have run out of metaphors for now.
'With respect, ma'am,' Ted said, largely because he knew how much the phrase irritated her. 'I'm not sure what it would achieve. Is it not a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?'
'Let's just look at the logistics of it for a moment, shall we?' she asked in a reasonable tone. 'You have young TDC Ellis spending hours on his computer, checking newspaper articles, looking for relatives with an axe to grind about bed-blockers. If you had a good working relationship with the press, could you not have easily obtained that information in a half hour conversation with the reporter over a glass of beer in The Grapes?'
'Are you telling me that's what I should be doing? Cosying up to the local reporter for help to solve the case? He's going to want something in return if I do. What are you proposing that I offer him, ma'am? Isn't it safer if I just keep referring him to the Press Office, which is what I always do?'
'That approach, although orthodox, is not really bringing the desired results, though, is it?' she asked. 'You can be charming when you try. Good company. I've seen it for myself. Why not just try to improve things a bit? Think of it as a campaign of hearts and minds rather than your preferred combative shock and awe approach
to the press. Promise him that as soon as you have a name to release, he will get it before anyone else. In exchange for which, you'd like some help tracing any relatives whom he may have interviewed.'
'He's definitely going to want payment up front, so to speak. How will I know what information to give him, without compromising the case in any way?'
'The Press Office has already prepared a crib sheet for you.' She slid a sheet of paper across her immaculate desk as she spoke. 'Make yourself familiar with what is on there. Go through it with him, make sure he has all the information it contains.'
'So this was already drawn up, before you talked to me?' Ted queried. 'In other words, this is a done deal?'
'You're an intelligent man. I'll leave you to join up the dots. You really need to be seen to be making an effort at improving your relations with the press, which are certainly not helping with this enquiry. The Chief Constable was very clear to me, as I suspect he was to you, that he wants this case wound up. To use the jargon, he is looking for early closure.'
'But surely, if too much leaks out in the press at this stage, we risk driving Angela underground for good? That would stop the deaths, but what about justice for the five victims and their families?'
'The Chief Constable's orders were unequivocal. He wants this case wrapped up, whatever it takes. I would venture to suggest that if we could begin by stopping the killings, that would give you and your team the breathing space to try to track down this Angela, if indeed she is the killer.
'We're not in the Mounties, Inspector. Sometimes you don't always get your man. But at least you might be able to spare other families the grief of losing an elderly relative. Isn't it worth a shot?'
Ted suspected 'No' might not be an appropriate answer, but it was what he was tempted to say. He also had to suppress a smile at the unfortunate pun from the Superintendent who was, like he was himself, a former firearms officer and a crack shot, at that. Instead, he asked formally, 'Is that a direct order, ma'am?'
She looked at him for a long moment, then said, 'It is a suggestion, with a very strong recommendation that you act on it. Does that make it clear enough?'
