by Ann Cleeves
Crow lived on the outskirts of Kimmerston in one of the executive developments that Hector had railed about every time he saw them. Shoddy, pretentious blots on the landscapes. Sitting in her Land Rover outside the house, Vera could hear her father’s voice in her head and couldn’t help smiling. Hector had delighted in coming across a smart new estate so that he could vent his anger and display his prejudices.
She rang the bell. It was mid-afternoon on a Sunday and she thought Jason was unlikely to be there on his own. Despite any fling he might have had with Lizzie, there’d probably be a wife, older kids. This wasn’t the home of a single man. If Jason had been on his own he’d have gone for one of the flash new apartments on Newcastle’s Quayside. Rumour had it that he could afford to buy one in cash, if the fancy took him, and one of his companies probably owned half of them anyway.
The door was opened by a man. Middle-aged. Sandy-hair that might once have been ginger. Freckles. A naughty schoolboy, grown up.
‘Sorry, we don’t buy at the door.’ An unexpectedly pleasant voice. Vera was starting to see how he’d slid away from so many criminal charges. This wasn’t a thug or a bruiser. Crow would be charming and plausible, and he probably had friends in high places. She could imagine he’d be a good golfer.
‘And I’m not selling.’ Vera didn’t bother looking for her warrant card. She hated scrambling in her bag to find it. It looked unprofessional. ‘Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope.’
He raised his eyebrows. A gesture of amusement. They’ll let anyone join the service these days. ‘Sorry, Inspector. You’d better come in.’
Inside, the place was less flash than she’d imagined. Classier. A lot of wood. Uncluttered. Plain painted walls with some pieces of art that drew her in and made her stare. Photos of two daughters, one on her graduation throwing a mortar board in the air. A piano. ‘Sorry to disturb you on a Sunday.’
‘I was at my desk,’ he said. ‘I work mostly from home now. One of the perks of being boss. I don’t keep regular hours. Come into the office.’ He walked ahead of her and she realized that despite being middle-aged, he had the body of an athlete. His shirt sleeves were rolled up and his arms were muscular. Her glance followed his spine down to his legs and she realized why Lizzie had been attracted, despite the difference in their ages.
The office was at the back of the house and looked out into the garden. A long lawn with a pergola at the end. Closer to the house a trampoline that looked as if it was no longer used. Inside the office there was custom-built furniture and a rack of heavy-duty filing cabinets. Jason was old enough to prefer paper. He sat on the desk and nodded for her to take a seat so that she was looking up at him. ‘I hope this won’t take too long. I have to leave in ten minutes. I’m meeting a friend.’ An apologetic smile to take the aggression from the words.
‘Your family not about?’
‘They’ve been in France for Easter. I’m joining them next week and we’ll travel back together.’ He paused. ‘What is this about?’
‘Lizzie Redhead,’ Vera said.
‘Ah yes, Lizzie. One of my more spectacular mistakes.’ A boyish grin that didn’t quite convince.
‘Tell me.’
For a moment he said nothing. ‘She came to work for me.’
‘And then?’
‘And then I fell for her, Inspector. Hook, line and sinker. Not my usual style. I’m happily married. If I stray occasionally, it’s recreational. No strings on either side. But Lizzie was different.’
‘In what way different?’ Vera really was curious to know.
There was another silence. Vera thought that he’d been sitting here, his family away, thinking about Lizzie. And now he wanted to talk about her to the only person who would listen. Even if that person was a cop.
‘She was wild, funny and very beautiful. Most women I meet are attracted to me. Or attracted to my money. Lizzie didn’t seem to be. I fell for her. I’d have done anything for her by the end. When we first got together I couldn’t quite believe it.’
Vera wasn’t sure she believed this story even now. It felt like something she chuckled over in a women’s magazine while she was waiting to see the dentist. But what would she know about relationships? Like Holly, she was a loner. ‘Then Lizzie ripped you off.’
‘At first I couldn’t accept that she’d done it.’ He paused and played with the wedding ring on his finger. ‘It sounds daft, but I thought we were soulmates.’ A pause. ‘I grew up too quickly, got into bother because that was the way my family earned a living. I’d never had anything like a romantic encounter. Sex was almost always a financial arrangement. Even my marriage felt a bit like that. I was ready to settle down and have kids, and Kate could give me stability and a family. And a bit of respectability. Her background’s very different from mine.’ He paused again and stared out of the window. ‘With Lizzie, it was like falling in love for the first time. She was bonkers, you know. Fearless. We made love in places I wouldn’t have dreamed of. On building sites, in half-built houses, in the car by the side of a busy road. It wasn’t just the sex. I told her stuff I hadn’t told anyone else in the world. And all the time she was stealing from me. Fiddling the books and sliding cash into her own online accounts.’
‘So she had to pay.’ Vera pulled his attention back into the room.
He shrugged. ‘In my position you can’t be seen to let people take the piss. Even if you want to.’ He paused again. ‘If she’d asked for the money, I’d have given it to her. I’d have left my wife and married her. But she made a fool out of me and I couldn’t let that go.’
‘You could have come to us. She’d have been prosecuted.’
‘And got a fine that her parents would have paid! Or a suspended sentence.’ His face was red and she saw how Jason might get, if he was angry. Mad. Violent. Even against someone he claimed to love.
‘So you persuaded her parents to sell you their business.’
‘I’ve got a brother who works in that field. Not the sharpest tool in the box, so occasionally he needs a hand. He wanted to expand into Kimmerston. It seemed a good way of helping him out and showing people it wasn’t a good idea to mess me about.’
‘You threatened Sam and Annie Redhead.’ Vera’s voice was quiet.
‘I didn’t need to.’ The words came back at her immediately.
‘Of course. You have a reputation.’ She hoped he could hear the sneer in her voice. ‘You’re a hard man.’
There was a moment of silence before Vera continued. ‘Then Lizzie got into a fight in a bar and was sent to prison anyway.’
‘That was nothing to do with me.’ He paused. ‘I heard that she went crazy when we separated. Perhaps I was good for her and kept her sane for a while. She shouldn’t have ripped me off. We’d have been good for each other.’ Another pause. ‘How is she anyway?’
‘Out of prison,’ Vera said. ‘Released today.’ Looking up, she could tell this wasn’t news to him. He’d been keeping tabs on Lizzie. He was still obsessed with her. Vera thought she should check to see if Jason had visited her in Sittingwell.
‘Why are you here?’ As if it had just occurred to him to ask. ‘She can’t have got into trouble already, if she was only released today.’ His voice light, as if he didn’t give a toss.
‘I’m investigating the murders in the valley at Gilswick. You’ll have seen the story all over the news. I don’t suppose you knew any of the victims?’
‘I’m afraid not.’ The answer came quickly, without thought. Even if he’d been best buddies with Martin Benton, or Shirley Hewarth had been one of his recreational shags, he’d have denied it. Not cooperating with the police would be a habit, like Vera’s need to have secrets.
‘You hear things,’ Vera said. ‘You have contacts all over the county. Anyone saying anything about the murders in Gilswick?’
‘I’m a businessman.’ Jason pushed himself off the desk and looked at his watch. ‘I don’t have those kinds of contacts.’
‘Can you think why someone would wan
t to murder three people? Different people. A young graduate, a teacher with mental-health problems and a social worker.’ Because Jason might not mix with contract killers, but he’d make sure he knew what was going on in his patch. His livelihood depended on it.
This time he seemed to consider the question before answering. ‘Someone screwed up,’ he said. ‘An angry ex-con. People get sent to prison to sort them out, but it often makes things worse. Plays with their minds.’
‘Was that what happened to you?’
‘Nah.’ He grinned. ‘I was one of the people detention worked for. A success story. Inside once and never in trouble again.’
‘Never convicted at least.’ Now, she saw, the conversation was becoming a game again. Perhaps he was already regretting being so frank. ‘How do you think Lizzie will have handled being inside?’
‘She’s like me. A natural survivor. And she was in an open nick, wasn’t she? A doddle.’ Jason looked at his watch again. ‘Look, I’ve enjoyed the chat, Inspector, but I’ve got to go.’
They walked together through the house. Some of the finishes, and the way the rooms were laid out, reminded Vera of the Valley Farm conversions.
‘Did you have anything to do with the development in the valley at Gilswick?’
‘The two barns? And then the renovation of the farmhouse? Yes, that was done by one of my companies.’ He was standing by the front door, impatient for her to go.
‘A bit of a coincidence,’ Vera said. ‘You built the house where Lizzie Redhead’s parents live.’
‘Not really. Anything high-end, built in this part of the county, I’ve probably got a hand in it.’
She walked through the door. He grabbed a jacket from the bottom of the stairs and followed her out. So it seemed he really did have a meeting; he didn’t just want to get rid of her.
‘Lizzie Redhead,’ she said.
‘What about her?’
‘How do you feel about her now?’
She expected another flip and sarcastic comment, but this time Jason considered before answering. ‘I still dream about her. I lie beside my wife at night, but I dream about Lizzie.’
She took her time walking down the path to the road where her Land Rover was parked. Jason climbed into a sports car standing on the drive in front of the house; there was the sound of screeching tyres and he drove away. Vera looked after him, wondering who he was in such a hurry to meet.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Holly escaped back to her flat for a couple of hours. Once inside she shut the door and double-locked it, stood with her back against it and took a deep breath. Felt her pulse slow and her mind calm. She tried to work out what was happening to her. She’d never reacted this way to a case before. Usually she was the last person standing. Physically fit and mentally alert. Competitive. She could distance herself from the violence and grief she encountered. She’d trained herself not to get emotionally involved, to the point where her colleagues thought her heartless. Now she only felt clean and safe in her own home. Outside there was death and decay. And even here she realized she was haunted by a fear of dying. The image of the elderly woman with the smeared lipstick and rag doll, whom she’d seen on the Kimmerston pavement, stalked through her dreams. The brief moment of triumph that had come when she’d found the Hewarth boy’s name on the moth enthusiasts’ website had faded long ago.
She moved into the kitchen and switched on the kettle. Saw a mark on the worktop, got out the disinfectant and wiped it off. Opening the fridge to get milk, she saw a bottle of wine, was overcome by the temptation to undo the screw top and pour a large glass. Perhaps that would dull the anxiety, help her through the rest of the shift. She reached out for it, felt the icy bottle on her fingers and then changed her mind. Not even Vera Stanhope drank in the afternoon when she was on duty. With a flash of insight Holly thought pride might be her enemy, but it was also her saviour.
She took her tea into the living room. The rain had blown over and there were sudden bursts of sunshine. Outside all the colours seemed very sharp, as in a child’s painting. In the cemetery a young family was laying flowers on an old grave. The wind pulled at their hair and clothes as they walked back towards the road.
She tried to unpick the strands of her anxiety. What had happened during the day to send her rushing back to the safety of the flat? She was tired of course, but she’d learned to cope with exhaustion. She thought the news of Lorraine Lucas’s cancer had thrown her. Of all the residents in Valley Farm, Lorraine had seemed most alive.
Perhaps I’m having a kind of mental breakdown. Or a religious experience. Holly’s parents were religious. C of E, but on the evangelical side of the church. Hands in the air swaying and inspirational preaching. They’d been disappointed when Holly had shown no interest, but philosophical. ‘You might come back to it, darling. We’ll pray for you.’ Holly had made a comment to Joe once about the problems of being an atheist in a family of believers. He hadn’t said much and she’d wondered if he was a believer too.
Her phone rang. She was tempted to ignore it, but it was Vera.
‘Where are you?’
‘I’ve just called in at home to collect a few things.’
‘Only I’ve got something that needs digging into and you’re the best person to look into it.’
Vera was waiting for her in the station. By now it was evening and the big, open-plan office was nearly empty. Discarded Coke and Red Bull tins showed how the team had kept going through the day. Only Vera seemed to have the energy to carry on thinking straight.
‘I hadn’t realized how late it was – I sent most of them away a while ago, and Joe’s just sloped off. His missus calling in the three-line whip. He lets her get away with murder. Are you okay to have a go at this? We can leave it until tomorrow if you like.’
Holly shook her head. ‘I can make a start.’
‘No hot date then?’
Holly was surprised. Vera didn’t ever ask about her personal life. ‘No hot date.’
They sat in Vera’s office, and Vera told her about the relationship between Jason Crow and Lizzie Redhead. ‘Something about the woman has got under his skin. Something weird.’
‘I don’t suppose he’s obsessed with moths? Has a trap at the end of the garden?’
Holly had meant the question as a joke, but Vera took it seriously. ‘Well, that’s a thought. I forgot to ask. Something else to look into. But he’s more obsessed by the woman, I think. She’s got him trapped all right.’ Then Vera came out with a list of instructions, sharp and detailed. One after the other, so that Holly, making notes, struggled to keep up with her.
Later Vera came out of her glass fishbowl to chat. ‘I’ve had Lorna Dawson’s report. There are traces of soil in the wound to Randle’s head, so it seems Peter MacBride’s right about the murder weapon there. Must have been a spade. But it doesn’t match the sample taken from the vegetable garden close to the locus. It’s richer, and it contains animal matter.’
‘What kind of animal matter?’
‘Chicken shit.’ Vera paused. ‘And we know the O’Kanes keep hens. It looks as if we’ll have to go back to Valley Farm. Not tonight, though. Tonight we’re both going home.
‘I think I’ve found some interesting details.’ Holly tried to keep the excitement from her voice. She never knew how Vera would react to pieces of information. Sometimes stuff that Holly thought new to the case, Vera had already filed away in her giant brain. ‘I’ve been digging into the past of all the suspects and come up with some connections.’ She turned the computer screen so that Vera could see.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Over breakfast they scarcely spoke. Annie wasn’t quite sure what to say. This morning it was like having a stranger in the house. Lizzie was like a paying guest who needed to be appeased. Sam had been out earlier to get the paper. He said he’d passed Vera Stanhope’s Land Rover on his way out and now it was parked on the drive at the Hall.
Lizzie looked up then. ‘Who’s Vera S
tanhope?’
‘The inspector in charge of the murder investigation.’
‘What’s she like?’
‘Fat,’ Sam said. ‘Nosy.’
Lizzie gave a faint smile.
‘I think she’s rather clever.’ Annie didn’t want her daughter to get the wrong idea. She wanted Lizzie to see that Vera Stanhope was somebody to be wary about. ‘She has a way of making people confide in her.’
‘What are your plans for today?’ Sam’s question was directed at them both. Annie thought he hadn’t sensed their awkwardness. He imagined they might have a girlie day together, pictured them with their heads bent together as nails were painted; trying on clothes in the same changing room. Annie and Lizzie had never had that kind of relationship, but Sam had wanted to believe his wife when she’d said that prison could have worked a miracle.
‘I might go into Kimmerston.’ Lizzie put the emphasis firmly on the I.
‘Shall I give you a lift?’ Annie thought that might work. She could go to the library, do some shopping and perhaps they could meet up later. At least she’d know where Lizzie was and could bring her back safely. She felt as she had when Lizzie had been seven and had demanded to walk down the valley to the village school in Gilswick on her own. Annie had followed her at a distance, just to be sure she’d got there. All this is my problem, not hers. I’m a control freak – always have been.
Lizzie seemed to be considering. ‘I think I’ll walk into the village and get the bus. I could do with the exercise.’
‘Okay.’ Annie knew she’d been outwitted, but there was nothing she could do about it. ‘Give me a shout if you need a lift back. There’s only one bus in the afternoon.’
‘Will do!’ A bright, brittle smile.
Sam beamed. He seemed to be unaware of the careful words, the dance around the unspoken questions: Where will you be, Lizzie Redhead? What will you get up to, and who will you meet? ‘More toast, anyone? And I’ll make another pot of coffee, shall I?’
Lizzie left the house at the right time to catch the bus. For a moment Annie was tempted to follow her down the road, as she had on the first lone walk to school, then realized how ridiculous that would be. Hiding behind bushes, skulking in gateways. Lizzie was fitter than her and would soon leave her behind. Still, Annie might have done it if she hadn’t been aware that Nigel Lucas would probably be upstairs with his binoculars, staring down at the valley. She hated the powerlessness of staying at home, waiting for Lizzie’s return.
