Twisted Justice: A combined investigation. DI Lorne Warner and DI Sally Parker (Justice series Book 13)

by M A Comley

  “And you’re talking from experience there, are you, Mrs. Knight?”

  Claire harrumphed and folded her arms in defiance. More shouting from upstairs was followed by several pairs of feet stomping down the stairs as Olga continued to fight and shout at the arresting officers. Lorne walked into the hallway to find the woman standing there half-naked with a uniformed officer holding onto an arm on either side.

  “You can’t take my daughter dressed like that. I won’t allow it!” Claire bellowed, her cheeks flushed with anger.

  Sally smiled at Claire. “We gave her the option of getting dressed, but she chose that opportunity to lash out at Rob over here.” Sally pointed to the young officer sporting a bruise on his left eye, wincing in pain. “We’ll hit her with an assaulting a police officer and a resisting arrest charge on top of the murder charge.”

  Olga immediately stopped wriggling, and her mouth dropped open. She turned to look at her mother, pleading swimming in her eyes.

  Claire turned her back on her child and returned to the living room.

  “Take her out to the car. Pick up her coat on the way out, boys,” Sally ordered as the constables tightened their grip on the suspect and left the house.

  Joining Lorne, Lucy, and Claire in the living room, Sally gave Claire a business card. “Olga will be residing with us for the next few days at this address.”

  Claire snatched the card from Sally’s hand. “I beg to differ. My solicitor will get her out of there before the end of the day. Mark my words on that.”

  Lorne looked over at Lucy, who still seemed shell-shocked. She had a cigarette burning down to the stub in her left hand, forgotten about during the fracas. Lorne rescued the butt before the ash dropped on the deep-piled beige carpet. “Are you all right, Lucy?” she whispered, crouching before her.

  Lucy’s eyes glazed over, and she shook her head. “Truthfully, I don’t know.”

  “Leave her alone. I’ll see to my daughter when you’ve gone.”

  Lorne’s eyes narrowed when she glanced Claire’s way. She spoke again to Lucy. “Do you want to speak to us without your mother being present?”

  “No, she does not! Get out!” Claire shouted, launching herself at Lorne.

  Sally quickly intervened before Claire got halfway across the room. “I wouldn’t do that, not unless you want an assaulting a police officer lying at your door, too, Claire.”

  “Tell her to leave my daughter alone then, and I’ll back off.”

  “Why?” Sally asked. “What are you afraid Lucy will tell us?”

  “Don’t be absurd.” Claire threw her arms up in the air and paced the floor. “This is nothing but police harassment. Stop harassing my daughter, forcing her to say something she doesn’t want to tell you.”

  “Do you see any harassment going on, Lucy?” Lorne gently asked the confused young woman.

  Lucy shook her head. “No.”

  “Sally, why don’t you take Claire outside? The fresh air might help her to calm down.”

  “Good idea. Come with me, Mrs. Knight.” Sally held Claire by the elbow and escorted her out into the garden. The woman appeared to apply her brakes and dug her heels into the carpet.

  Once the patio door shut behind her colleague, Lorne asked Lucy, “Is there something you want to get off your chest?”

  Lucy’s eyes welled up with tears. “No. I just want all this aggro to stop so that I can get on with my grieving. Do you have any news on what happened to Ryan yet, Inspector? It’s the not knowing that is tearing me apart.”

  “I can understand that, Lucy, and no, we’re no further forward with our investigation. We do have a few leads that we hope to chase up in the next few days. However, your sister’s arrest was propelled to the top of our agenda once the DNA evidence came through on another murder. Has she said anything to you about the incident?”

  Lucy’s hand clutched at her chest. “No, this is the first I’ve heard about it. Who has she killed? For what reason? Do you know?”

  “A man called Daniel Grade. Have you heard of him? He’s a bank manager in the Fulham area.”

  “No, I’ve never heard his name mentioned. Is there a link between his death and Ryan’s, do you think?”

  “What makes you say that, Lucy?”

  She hitched up a shoulder. “I don’t know, because they were in the same line of business, I suppose. Financial services.”

  “It’s certainly a line of enquiry we’ll be going down. Do you think Ryan might have known the man? Is there any way you can find out for us, perhaps through your husband’s address book?”

  “I can have a look and get back to you later. I want to go out today for some bits and bobs, and to escape Mum’s suffocation. I could call into the office and have a snoop around. Inspector, what my sister has done is appalling, but please, don’t tar us all with the same brush.”

  What a strange thing to say! Lorne decided not to challenge Lucy about her statement. At that moment, she needed the woman to obtain the information about a possible connection between Ryan and Daniel Grade. Then she would revisit Lucy’s plea at a later date.

  “We’ll look forward to receiving your call. You can contact Sally at the Wymondham station. I’m sorry your mother is giving you a hard time. That’s not acceptable when you’re trying to deal with your grief. Has she always been an unsympathetic type of person? Your brother intimated the same thing when we spoke to him at the funeral.” Lorne felt if she mentioned Joe briefly at this point, it would encourage Lucy to open up more.

  “Joe? You’ve spoken to Joe? I miss Joe. He fell out of love with us all when he left the family home years ago, and yes, mother doesn’t tend to possess a sympathetic bone in her body. You get used to it, Inspector.”

  “That’s a shame, on both counts.” Lorne looked over her shoulder to see if the door to the garden was still closed. She whispered, “I want to ask you if you think either Olga or your other sisters, or your mother even, could be involved in your husband’s murder?”

  “The truth is, I just don’t know anymore. For instance, I would never have dreamed that Olga was capable of murdering someone. Saying that, I don’t know if that’s a one-off due to her drug habit. Could it be?”

  “That is a possibility. However, I still have your brother’s words ringing in my ears.”

  “Joe is such a sensitive soul. We used to be so similar. I kind of came out of my shell when I met Ryan. I loved him so much. He gave me the strength to stand up to my mother, if only a little.”

  “Did Ryan have any business dealings with your mother?” Lucy’s reluctance to respond immediately raised a red flag to Lorne. “Lucy?”

  “Yes. They always seemed to have secrets between them. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve walked into the room and witnessed the conversation instantly dry up. It used to really annoy me. Every time I challenged Ryan about it, he waved away my fears as though I was being childish and reading things into it that just weren’t there.”

  “Are you saying that he didn’t trust you, Lucy?”

  “I guess I am. That hurt. It did when he was alive and even more so now he’s gone. Perhaps if he had trusted me, he might still be alive today. What I struggle to comprehend is why he trusted my mother.”

  “Well, the more we’re learning about your mother, I sense she probably had some kind of hold over him.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Lorne smiled weakly. “Maybe she was able to blackmail him in some way.”

  Lucy gasped. Just then, Claire barged into the room, and it all kicked off again. Lorne rose to her feet and placed her hands in front of her. “Calm down, Claire. Can’t you see how much your anger is upsetting your daughter?”

  “That’s ridiculous. Your intrusion into her house and carting her sister off under false pretences has done that.”

  Lorne looked past Claire at Sally. “Are we ready to go?”

  “I think so. The quicker we get Olga back to the station and start interviewing he
r, the better.”

  “Not before our solicitor arrives,” Claire stated with a venomous tongue.

  Lorne’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling. Change your tune, woman, for goodness’ sake.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  During the ride back to the station, Lorne and Sally took the time to discuss the tactics they would use to question Olga, who was travelling in the back of the other police car with the two constables.

  Lorne shuddered. “Why do I sense that won’t be the last time we lay eyes on Claire today?”

  “You think? She was bloody furious when I was out in the garden with her. I had to block her path more than once. She kept trying to look over my shoulder to see what you were getting up to with her daughter.”

  “She’s trouble with a capital T, that one. After chatting to both Joe and Lucy, I think her children have had a hell of a lot to contend with throughout their lives. I got the impression they are all frightened of her. That reminds me, I’m going to give Joe a ring at the hotel, see if he’s changed his mind.”

  “Good idea. It would be great to have something concrete to hand when we go after the indomitable Claire Knight.”

  Lorne dialled the hotel’s number. “Hello there. This is DI Lorne Warner. I was wondering if you could put me through to Joe Knight’s room please?”

  “Ahh, I’m sorry. He checked out a few moments ago. If you hold on a second, I’ll see if he’s still in the car park.”

  “That’d be great, thanks.” Lorne tutted. “Damn, looks like he’s gone,” she told Sally.

  “Hello? I’m sorry. His car is no longer in the car park. I can give you his contact number if you like?”

  “That would be great.” Lorne jotted down Joe’s mobile number and ended the call. She immediately tried to get in touch with him. The phone rang and rang before Joe finally answered.

  “Hello, Joe?”

  “Yes, who is this?”

  “Joe, it’s DI Warner. We met at your hotel last night.”

  “Yes, of course. Please don’t start pestering me every five minutes, Inspector. I asked you to give me time to think things over.”

  “I’m not trying to put pressure on you, Joe, I promise. I’m ringing up to make you aware of an arrest we’ve just made.”

  “An arrest? Who?”

  “One of your sisters. It’s in connection with a murder that took place last week back in London.”

  “My God! Which one?”

  “Olga. We’re taking her back to the station now for questioning. I was ringing to tell you the news, hoping that it might prompt you into making the right decision.” Silence filled the line. “Joe? Are you still there?”

  “Yes, I’m here. Olga, that’s incredible. I would never have believed it of her. I suppose it was only a matter of time before mother got her claws into her. How awful. I’m at a loss what to say, Inspector.”

  “I’m sorry this has come as a big shock to you, Joe. Surely you can see the seriousness of the situation and how much the information you can tell us regarding your family can help? With your help, we could get them off the street and in prison. The murders are stacking up, and so are the suspects. So far, they’re all linked to your family. And then there’s your father’s death to consider, of course.”

  “I’m tempted, Inspector. They’re all evil, every last one of them.”

  “Are you including Lucy in that sweeping statement, too?”

  “She’s had her moments over the years. She might come across as an innocent bystander to you, but I can assure you she isn’t. Whatever she’s told you in the last few days, that’ll be her grief forming the words.”

  “Then help us. They’re crafty. They’ve spent years covering their tracks as far as we can tell. You know that. Your input could nail them once and for all.”

  “I thought you understood my dilemma, Inspector. You said you were willing to give me time. Now, I just feel as though you’re forcing me to help you lock my family up.”

  “I’m sorry if that’s how it’s coming across, Joe. All I’m doing is trying to be truthful with you.”

  “I’ll do a deal with you.”

  Lorne inhaled a large breath in anticipation. “I’m listening.”

  “You’re questioning Olga, right? Let’s see what she can tell you first. You’ll have to push her hard to get the answers, though, I assure you. From what I overheard during the funeral, that one is up to her eyes in mischief.”

  Lorne clenched her fist and hit the dashboard. Sally patted her thigh and made a ‘calm down’ motion with her hand as she drove. “Okay, will it be all right to ring you later on today?”

  “Make it tomorrow instead. I think you’ll be indisposed with my sister for many hours to come. She’s always been fond of passing the buck when in the shit.”

  “And if she dishes the dirt, will you back up her story? The more people who report the accuracies to her statement, the better the judgement will be.”

  “I’ll consider it. If it was left up to me, I would rather stand back and let them dig their own graves. I have enough guilt rattling around inside because of the way my father died as it is. Have you any idea how heavy that particular burden is to carry around all these years?”

  “I can imagine, Joe. But I’m also aware that other people carrying such traumatic burdens have felt a huge sense of liberation once they have righted a large wrong. That could be your situation, if you confide in us.”

  “Years of therapy haven’t helped rid me of the guilt, Inspector. Therefore, I doubt what you’re saying is true. Give me a ring tomorrow.”

  Lorne held the phone away from her ear. She hit the end call button and threw her mobile into her lap. “He hung up on me. Damn, I hope I haven’t damaged the good relationship we had with him.”

  “You’re reading too much into it, Lorne. The news probably came as a shock to him, caught him off balance for a second or two. We’ve got Olga in our grasp. Let’s make sure we use every trick available to worm the information out of her. Hey, she might even surprise us and reveal all the family’s grim, dark secrets. You can’t tell with druggies which way the pendulum is going to swing.”

  “Have you had many dealings with druggies in the past in the depths of Norfolk, Sally?”

  “Once or twice. You just need to have your wits about you and strike when they’re at their most vulnerable.”

  Lorne laughed. “Let’s hope that feat doesn’t take us all night to accomplish.”

  They pulled into the car park and helped Olga, who was wrapped in a blanket, out of the back of the police car and hurried her inside the station, out of the chilling wind cutting across the open area. Sally instructed the duty sergeant to book Olga into a cell and supply her with suitable clothing then asked him to call them once the suspect’s solicitor arrived for the interview.

  Olga remained silent, staring at the floor, during the proceedings as if contemplating how much trouble she was in.

  Lorne and Sally walked up the stairs to the incident room. Lorne removed her jacket, and after grabbing a coffee from the machine, she rang Katy to bring her up to date.

  “That’s excellent news. Do you think Olga is behind Ryan’s death, too?”

  “I’m not sure at this point. Is everything all right there?”

  “Plodding on. I’ve decided to see what I can find out about Claire Knight’s second husband. It bothers me that she appears to have talked her way out of two very serious crimes, in spite of her being present at the scene. Are we looking at a case of police incompetence or her ability to play the grieving widow with great poise? Either way, I intend to find out the whys and wherefores. I know one thing—neither you nor I would have let her get away with it.”

  “Ain’t that the truth? Check into her solicitors’ background, too, will you, Katy? Both past and present. That might be the key as to why she got let off scot-free.”

  “Will do. Have you rung Tony?”

  “No, is there a problem at home?”

 
“Chill! No, I just wondered. I know how much you guys pine for each other when you’re apart,” Katy teased.

  “That’s bullshit!” Lorne chuckled, but Katy was right—she was missing Tony, a lot. “I’m going to get my Tony fix now via the phone.”

  “Say hi from me. Will you ring me later, after you’ve questioned Olga?”

  “Of course. I think we’re in for a long day, so I’ll probably get back to you tomorrow, all right?”

  “Enjoy! Rip her apart, Lorne.” Katy ended the call with a growl.

  Lorne disconnected the call and rang home, only to find that everything was fine and that Charlie was getting ready for another hot date with Brandon at the agility club.

  “You look contemplative. Is Tony missing you?” Sally asked, perching on the edge of her borrowed desk.

  “He’s fine. I think I’m losing my daughter, though.”

  “How come? Is she moving out? Doesn’t she run the kennels for you?”

  “Gosh, bombard me with questions, why don’t you? It’s hard being a mother and seeing your daughter embroiled in a life that doesn’t involve you. She’s spending more and more time with this new fella of hers, and...” Lorne waved her hand in front of her. “Don’t listen to me. I talk a lot of crap at times. Any news on the brief yet?”

  “Yep, he’s just arrived, along with an unexpected guest.”

  Lorne frowned. “Guest? Who’s that?”

  “Olga’s mother, the infamous Mrs. Butter-Wouldn’t-Melt Knight.”

  Shaking her head, Lorne smiled. “Looks like she’s in for a long wait, then, doesn’t it?”

  “That’s bound to piss her off even more than she was back at the house.”

  “It’ll be interesting to see how she reacts. Maybe we’ll be able to arrest her for assaulting a police officer. It would be nice to have something over her for a change. She makes my ruddy skin crawl with her ‘I’m so much better than you lot put together’ bloody attitude.”