‘And there was a promise of someone for you,’ Tremayne said. ‘Not much use to you now, judging by the look of you.’
‘I do alright, and yes, Aidan, he said that his girlfriend would see me right, make sure there was someone for me. He was a ladies’ man, was Aidan. Always had a woman on his arm, almost like a sailor with a girl in every port, but we never saw the sea, only one destination to another.
‘I’d just broken up with my girlfriend, and I did love her. It came as a shock when I came home early one night, a delivery of paintings to Birmingham, if I remember. It’s two in the morning, and we’d been planning to spend the night away, Aidan and me. A few drinks, find ourselves some away from home entertainment, but Aidan, he’s got himself a sure bet, and he’s all for driving back. Anyway, it’s two in the morning, and I creep up the stairs. You know the rest.’
‘She’s in bed with another man.’
‘Not only that, he’s my brother.’
‘What did you do?’
‘Not much. I made sure my brother didn’t look so good for a few days and slapped her across the face. The both of them looked stupid standing out in the street naked.’
‘After that?’ Clare said.
‘I’m feeling lonely, not to say a little frustrated. It’s the next day, and we’ve got the gold in the van. Aidan suggests the diversion. I know it’s wrong, but he’s keen for the woman, and I’m still…’
‘Horny?’ Tremayne said.
‘I was trying to think of a polite word for the lady,’ Vince said.
‘You fancied a screw. Is that polite enough?’ Clare said.
‘It’ll do. Anyway, I agree, not knowing that we’re being followed.’
‘Did Aidan?’
‘Not him. He was an honest man, the same as I was.’
‘You’re not now.’
‘Not that we stole any of the gold, but we had proved ourselves to be untrustworthy.’
‘You were. What happened?’
‘We’re on suspended leave for a while, and then we’re out on our ear. Aidan, he sets himself up as a handyman, manages to survive. For me, I’m unemployable. I find a few jobs, some half-decent, most not. Eventually, I’m at rock bottom, the bills are piling up. I see this car. Its engine is running. I get in and drive off. It’s a BMW, and it’s fast, too fast for me, and I wrap it around a lamppost. That time, I avoided a prison sentence, but after that, petty crime, steal this, fence that. You know the routine.’
‘We do,’ Clare said. ‘You’ve headed down the slippery slope, and there’s no way to come back. Why are you telling us this?’
Harding didn’t answer.
Tremayne didn’t fall for the hard luck story, no matter how convincingly it was told. He’d heard enough in his time. ‘Was Aidan in on the hijack?’
‘Neither of us was, and that’s the honest truth.’
‘Then how did they know what was in the van? How did they break into the driver’s compartment?’
‘That was Aidan. We were close to his girlfriend’s place. He wasn’t sure of the road to take, so he stops to wait for her to show us the way. That’s when the car came up alongside. We didn’t see it, only saw what was going on when one of the hijackers smashed the side window and coshed Aidan, pointed a gun at me.’
Tremayne turned to Clare. ‘The van wasn’t armoured. It was licensed for carrying antiques, expensive paintings, not gold.’
‘Then why the gold?’
‘That was the company’s fault. Two of the other vehicles in the fleet had broken down. We would have taken one of those, but we couldn’t, so we took the only remaining serviceable van.’
‘That would negate the insurance,’ Clare said.
‘We checked with the boss. He phoned Cosford, who phoned the insurance company. In the end, we got all the sign-offs, and we were on our way. We had no idea how much the gold was worth, came as a surprise when we found out. On the occasions afterwards when we met up, Aidan and me, we’d joke about how easy it would have been to take one of those bars and melt it down. Even planned where we would live, the life we would have, the …’
‘The women,’ Clare said.
‘We were young, silly, full of nonsense.’
‘You were thirty-five,’ Tremayne said. ‘Old enough to have done your job.’
‘You’re right,’ Harding said.
‘And the girlfriend and her friend?’
‘We never got there.’
‘You’ve been feeding my sergeant with this hard luck story for long enough. What’s the truth? How did the Mitchells know where you would stop? Who told them about the gold?’
‘I don’t know. We’d only changed the vehicle at the last moment, and the plan to visit Aidan’s girlfriend had come about as we were travelling.’
‘That’s the problem, Yarwood,’ Tremayne said. ‘We were never able to understand how two minor villains were able to know what was in the van, how easy it was to break in. Now, Vince here, he’s not involved. We’re certain of that, but Aidan, he was a possibility.’
‘We shouldn’t have lost our jobs, but they needed a scapegoat.’
‘Enough of the bleeding heart. You’ll have me in tears,’ Tremayne said.
Clare could see the old Tremayne returning. She was pleased.
‘I’m right, you know I am. Up until the hijack we’d followed instructions,’ Harding said. ‘We were still on the correct road, although about to turn off. And we had followed all the procedures.’
‘If it wasn’t you, and I don’t believe it was, then who? We checked with your boss, checked with Cosford, even grilled Ethan Mitchell, but he wasn’t talking.’
‘You were both restrained,’ Clare said. ‘What then?’
‘Aidan had been coshed. He couldn’t remember much afterwards. The two hijackers had on balaclavas. Afterwards, we were told that they were twins, not that we could tell. We were thrown into a ditch, stripped down to our underwear, and it was cold that night.’
‘Not like the snug bed you were hoping for,’ Tremayne said.
‘Do you want me to tell your sergeant the story or don’t you?’
‘Carry on. I always like a bit of fiction before my bedtime.’
‘One of the two gets in the van and drives off. The other one followed in their car. After that, we never saw them again. We got out of the ditch, somehow managed to untie ourselves, and eventually flagged down a vehicle. Aidan nearly got run over after he had given up on trying to get a lift for two men in their underwear.’
‘Understandable,’ Clare said.
‘It turned out to be an off-duty policeman on his way home at the end of his shift. Once we’d warmed up with his heater, we gave him the story. He phoned his station, and the rest you know.’
‘You didn’t see the gold bars put into the boot of the car?’
‘No. That’s all there is,’ Vince said.
‘You’re missing something,’ Tremayne said.
‘It was eighteen years ago. You don’t expect me to remember everything in detail, do you?’
‘You missed out where they offered you a bar each.’
‘I wish I’d taken it. How much is it worth now?’
‘More than three hundred thousand pounds.’
‘And I ended up stacking shelves in a supermarket for fifty pounds a week.’
‘Life isn’t fair, you know that. I should be chief inspector now, but I’m not bellyaching about it.’
‘And I should be worth a fortune. You were a difficult man back then, Tremayne. You still are.’
‘You’re right, Vince. I believed your story back then. I still do.’
‘Was Aidan in on it?’ Clare said.
‘It’s unlikely,’ Tremayne said. ‘He was a smart arse with a loud mouth, I remember that.’
‘He was the last time I saw him,’ Vince said, ‘but he wasn’t involved.’
‘It’s an inside job,’ Clare said. ‘It has to be.’
‘We know that, but we could never make th
e connection, and besides, we had a murder. The theft of forty gold bars, unfortunate as it was, was secondary.’
‘Those gold bars destroyed my life,’ Harding said.
‘Don’t give me the bleeding-heart routine again and give me one of your beers.’
‘Guv, you promised,’ Clare said.
‘It’ll give you and Jean something to talk about tonight. No doubt you and her will be comparing notes.’
‘What’s up, Tremayne?’ Vince said.
‘Getting old, the same as you. Only I’ve got Yarwood and my ex-wife checking on me.’
‘You’re two up on me. It would be nice to have someone worry about me, but there’s not much hope of that now.’
‘I’ll take a beer, as well,’ Clare said.
Chapter 13
On the drive back to Salisbury, Tremayne dozed, only to wake when Clare drove over a bump in the road. It was late afternoon, and she was taking him home whether he liked it or not. He still needed rest, and she could conduct the next interview on her own.
At the front door of Tremayne’s house, Jean said, ‘Home early, dear. You can help me with the washing up.’ She winked at Clare.
‘Get me out of here quick, Yarwood. Find me some villains to deal with.’
‘Don’t worry, Tremayne,’ Jean said. ‘It’s an early night for you.’
‘The warder and her accomplice, both together.’
‘I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll go and have a little chat with Betty Galton,’ Clare said.
‘Ethan’s widow.’
‘No one else could have taken those three bars.’
‘I don’t want to arrest her, not just yet. This case pivots around her, and if they know she’s got the gold, then you know what happens.’
‘The culprits are flushed out of the woodwork.’
‘Not only that. The local villains still aiming for a chance at the main game will become visible, and those three bars are worth close to a million pounds.’
‘A quiet chat, nothing heavy. That’s the best way with her,’ Clare said.
‘Give me a call when you’re through.’
‘She’ll call you in the morning,’ Jean said.
Clare got into her car and drove off. A quick detour to her cottage to feed her cat, and then over to visit Ethan Mitchell’s widow. She found her alone in the house. ‘Bob’s gone out for an hour, and Gerry’s trial is soon.’
‘What are his chances?’
‘His lawyer reckons he’s got a good chance of a suspended sentence. Do you think Tremayne would say a word on his behalf?’
‘We can only ask. He probably will, if it’s allowed.’
‘Any reason why not?’
‘I’ll talk to Tremayne. You’ve got enough to deal with, what with Gerry, and then Ethan, and the three gold bars. Where are they, by the way?’
‘Has anyone been talking?’
‘Not to us. I suggest you put on the kettle, and you and I will have a chat about why you broke the law.’
‘Are you going to arrest me?’
‘Not today. We need to find Ethan’s killer, and you’re the focus. You always have been, gold or no gold.’
‘How do you know?’
‘They found a hair clip in the hole, and it wasn’t mine. It could only be you, but why?’
‘I don’t know. I could see that our lives had always been difficult, and there, in a hole, was all that wealth. Selwyn Cosford was covered by his insurance, and all we had was a dead relative and Ethan in jail for his murder. I knew where the gatehouse was, and I went up there one afternoon, just as it was getting dark. No one saw me, and I could just about get down to the gold. I didn’t know what to do. In the end, I managed to lift out three of them. After that, I moved them to another location.’
‘Does anyone else know about this?’
‘I told the family yesterday. I gave them forty-eight hours to decide.’
‘Decide what?’
‘Whether I hand it over to you or them.’
‘Their reaction?’
‘Nothing. It’s a lot of money. Gavin would know what to do.’
‘I could arrest you for what you’ve just told me.’
‘I worry about Gerry. He needs guidance, and without me, he’ll only commit another crime.’
‘You forgot the tea,’ Clare said.
‘I’ll make it right now.’
‘Not now. We’re going for a drive.’
‘Emberley?’
‘Yes. It’s near to the gatehouse. The bars were heavy, and you didn’t move them far.’
‘Have you got some old clothes?’ Betty said.
‘Coveralls in the back of the car. A set for you as well.’
***
Clare knew she should have called Tremayne but decided against it. She had played a hunch, and it had worked out. If Tremayne had been one hundred per cent, he would have come to the same conclusion.
Clare knew that if Betty retrieved the three bars, then she was guilty of another offence, and neither she nor Tremayne was keen on seeing Gerry’s mother in prison at the same time as him.
Emberley, a pleasant enough village most times, did not look so welcoming as they drove up to the gatehouse. For one thing, the estate manager was nearby when they stopped the vehicle. ‘Stay here,’ Clare said to Betty.
‘What are you doing here?’ the manager said. ‘We’ve had enough excitement up here as it is.’
‘Sergeant Yarwood.’
‘My apologies. We’ve had a few of the local hooligans looking around, causing a nuisance.’
Clare could tell that the man didn’t broker any dissent at Longmore Park. In the past, she could imagine him taking a shot at a poacher who was after the pheasants that were known to be in the area. Clare could not like the man, but then, maybe it was because he reminded her of her father, unsociable and unforgiving. She remembered that he had not spoken to her for two weeks after she had told him and her mother that she was going to join the police force.
‘We’re just here to have a look around. See if it stirs any memories.’
‘You’ve got a woman in the car.’
‘We’re here without the crowds. If you could leave us, we would appreciate it.’
‘Fine by me. I’ll station myself down the road. That way you’ll not be disturbed. If you find anything, just remember who’s helping.’
Returning to her car, Clare went around to the back and took out two sets of coveralls as well as gloves and overshoes. ‘Put these on,’ she said to Betty.
The two women then climbed over the crime scene tape and made their way back to where the seventeen gold bars had been recovered. Standing at the side of the hole and shining a torch down, Clare could see that the tree root which had impeded entry for everyone except her had been cut.
‘You climbed down there in the dark?’ Clare said.
‘I was scared witless. My grandmother was keen on telling us ghost stories when we were young, not that I believed them, but you know…’
‘I do,’ Clare said. She had had an older friend who liked to tell them as well. Although that was when they were children, standing there as the darkness enveloped the area, an owl hooting in the distance, the lights of the main house just visible through the trees, was enough to scare anyone. It reminded Clare of that night at Avon Hill, up in Cuthbert’s Wood, when she had nearly died and Harry, her fiancé, had. Clare shed a tear, the first for a long time.
‘Bad memories?’ Betty said, who could see Clare’s face in the torchlight.
‘A long time ago.’
‘We’ve all got them. I still think back to when Ethan shot Martin, and now to when someone shot Ethan. I can feel the bullet, imagine the agony.’
‘It doesn’t help being here, does it? We’d best focus, find this gold, and get out of here.’
‘I was going to let the family have it,’ Betty said.
‘We don’t want to charge you, but you’re making it difficult.’
‘All th
at money and Selwyn Cosford doesn’t care either way. To him, it’s pocket money. And if he cheats on his taxes, or defrauds the insurance company, no one puts him in jail. But for us, the Mitchells, we’re the battlers, and we get slammed down every time.’
‘Betty, a deal,’ Clare said. ‘You tell me where these three bars are, and we’ll get out of here, have a quiet drink and a talk.’
‘Done. I carried the bars, one at a time, up further into the trees. Not far, maybe fifty feet. It wasn’t so overgrown then, and there was a full moon.’
The two women, comical if it wasn’t so serious, ventured forth, Clare in front, guided by Betty. Clare would brush a branch to one side, only for it to return and strike Betty in the face. Intrepid explorers they were not, and it was not deepest Africa, but it was harder going than they had imagined. After some distance, Betty said, ‘It’s near here.’
‘Where? All I can see are trees and undergrowth.’
‘It’s changed, but I know it’s here.’
Clare shone her torch around the area. ‘Any help?’
‘Over there. You can see those two trees, one with a broken branch.’
‘I can?’
‘I found a hole there, badger’s probably. I put the three bars there.’
‘There’s no hole now.’
‘We’ll need to dig. I can tell you exactly where it is now. It’s been a long time, but my memory’s coming back.’
Clare took hold of the small spade she had brought with her. The two women were down on their hands and knees. One was holding the torch, the other digging. After twenty minutes, neither woman was conscious of the exact time spent and both of them were exhausted and perspiring. ‘There’s something here,’ Clare said.
‘It’s got to be it,’ Betty replied.
The first bar came out of the ground nice and easy. The second took a little longer, and the third took another five minutes before it was free from the earth.
‘It’s not every day you dig up a million pounds, is it?’ Clare said.
‘And we’re going to do the right thing?’
‘You are, Betty. Tremayne and I, we’ll back you up. We’ll say that you assisted us with our enquiries.’
The DI Tremayne Thriller Box Set Page 102
