Dead and Gone

by Bill Kitson

  ‘Madre de Dios, Mike, this is appalling,’ Ramirez said, his voice little more than a shocked whisper. ‘What on earth could have possessed a man to do such a terrible thing?’ The use of Nash’s Christian name, as much as the pathologist’s words, conveyed the level of his distress.

  ‘It seems to be the act of a man who has lost everything else in his life. When he knew his wife was about to leave him for another man and take the children, he decided to make an end to her, to his family, and to her lover – the man we found at the Golden Bear this morning. I’m going to leave you to it, Professor. I have two very distressed women outside to look after. Clara and Lisa Andrews,’ he explained. ‘They found the bodies.’

  ‘They have my sympathy. Even after being warned, this was bad enough for us.’

  When Nash emerged, he found that Pearce was alone. ‘David’s just left with the girls,’ Viv told him. He looked past Nash at an approaching car. ‘Jackie’s here; and she’s got the chief with her.’

  They walked across the road to greet Superintendent Fleming and Chief Constable O’Donnell. Nash updated the new arrivals. ‘By what Mexican Pete said, in between some fluent Spanish that I suspect was mostly obscene, he thinks the victims were killed between twenty-four to thirty-six hours ago. From that, it does seem to confirm what we suspected, that Kirby sent the text message arranging to meet Jennings in order to trap him.’

  ‘How can you be sure? Perhaps she sent it and Kirby intercepted the message, or read it,’ Jackie Fleming suggested.

  ‘The timescale doesn’t fit,’ Nash explained. ‘If Mexican Pete’s estimate of the time of death is anything like accurate, Mrs Kirby was already dead before that message was sent. From the previous text messages between the two, which I believe were genuine, it seems she was on the point of scarpering and taking the kids with her. That must have been the last straw for Kirby. He’d lost everything else, and decided to kill himself after dealing with Jennings and his wife. The children had to go too, but they were secondary, I guess. Collateral damage. I think he disposed of them, sent Jennings that text, then went to the Golden Bear. After he killed Jennings, he drove out to Stark Ghyll, drank a full bottle of whisky and then this morning drove his car over the edge. The fact that he survived the fall is incidental, he obviously didn’t intend to. Whether that’s a good thing or not is open to question.’

  ‘I know it’s a bit early to ask this,’ O’Donnell spoke slowly, choosing her words with care, ‘but do you think there will be sufficient evidence to charge Kirby? And, will he be fit to plead? Given what he’s done, I wouldn’t be surprised if the psychiatrists decide he’s not mentally capable.’

  ‘I’m not at all sure it will come to that,’ Nash told her. ‘I haven’t had chance to get an update on his condition from the hospital as yet, but there’s no guarantee he’ll survive. From what Clara told me, the doctor at the scene was none too hopeful.’

  ‘I know this is going to sound terrible’ – the chief constable glanced round as she spoke, presumably to check there was nobody else within earshot – ‘but in one sense, perhaps it would be the best solution to the whole sorry business if he didn’t.’

  She could tell by Nash and Fleming’s calm acceptance of her outrageous suggestion that they had both come to the same conclusion.

  Nash was not surprised when both Andrews and Mironova reported to the CID suite in Helmsdale soon after his arrival the following morning. In truth, he was somewhat relieved, both for their sakes, and because with DC Pearce scheduled to give evidence in Netherdale Crown Court that day, their small team was in danger of being badly overstretched. Both women assured him they were fit for duty, whatever that entailed, although Nash thought he could detect a little nervousness that he might ask them to perform one particular task. He thought it better to clear the air on that matter immediately.

  ‘OK, here’s the situation. I’m going to be tied up all day. Mexican Pete has rescheduled a meeting in favour of the postmortems. And with there being four, I can’t see me being clear until very late this afternoon. As Viv’s in court, that means the rest of the jobs plus anything new that might come in will be down to you two. There are a couple of specifics to deal with. We need someone to return to Ivy Cottage, I’m afraid, to be on hand until SOCO have finished. I also need someone to phone Netherdale General and check on Kirby’s condition. They could do that whilst remaining here holding the fort.’

  ‘Couldn’t you check up on him whilst you’re attending the post-mortems?’ Mironova asked. ‘After all you’ll be almost in the same building.’

  ‘In theory, yes,’ Nash agreed. ‘But the way I feel about Kirby at the moment, after what he’s done, I’d not trust myself near him. And I don’t think we want word of any of this getting out to the staff.’

  ‘I’ll go back to the cottage, Mike,’ Lisa said.

  Nash was surprised at her offer. He hadn’t expected her to volunteer after the shock she’d suffered the previous day. ‘Are you sure? Will you be all right with that? I know how distressed you were. I can get someone from Netherdale to go.’

  ‘If I don’t do it, I’m not sure I’d ever trust myself in a situation like that again.’

  ‘A bit like getting back on a bike after you’ve fallen off, you mean?’

  She nodded agreement.

  ‘That leaves me here with only the hospital to phone,’ Mironova said. ‘A whole morning with next to nothing to do. A bit like your normal working day, Mike.’

  She thought Nash had ignored her jibe, but his riposte was suitably cruel. ‘I wouldn’t say that exactly, Clara. You’ve still got that computer scam inquiry ongoing and there are reports to write up from the Stark Ghyll incident and the holiday cottage murders.’ He gave her an evil smile. ‘They call it the art of delegation, I believe.’

  Despite her brave words to Nash, Lisa Andrews had serious reservations about entering the holiday cottage again, let alone the garage. After speaking to the officer outside the door, she made her presence known to the SOCO team in the house. She then plucked up courage to join the second set of forensic officers inside the garage and found that, with the corpses removed, it was just a garage again, despite the unmistakeable evidence of police activity. In fact, as she watched the SOCO team at work, she was able to look round the room for the first time and realized that it was far less of a garage and more of a workshop. Lisa found this rather surprising, as the building formed part of a property that was leased by people wanting to enjoy the beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Dales. She could not imagine someone taking their holidays and spending their time doing DIY. She could only assume that the workshop had been in situ before the property was acquired for its present purpose.

  After a lunch of sandwiches from the village shop taken in the fresh air, the senior forensic officer told her their work in the garage was almost complete. They had documented the scene, found some fingerprints and had collected several tools from the rack for closer examination.

  They returned to work and as Lisa moved to one side to allow working space, a random thought crossed her mind. If the owners had set this space aside as a workshop, why had they moved the workbench from its original position against the wall to the middle of the room? Perhaps Kirby moved it in preparation for killing his wife? But that didn’t make sense: it would take more than one man to move the heavy object. From her vantage point, Lisa could clearly see the grimy mark along the opposite wall where the workbench had originally stood; cobwebs hung in its place. Moving it to the centre would give anyone wanting to work far less room. Besides which, the wall where it had been was the site of the only window. Even with the solitary strip light, the bench’s new position would give the worker far less illumination.

  She mentioned this fact to the technicians. Two of them seemed uninterested in her comment, but the third nodded his agreement. ‘You’re right. I thought that as soon as I came in. I’ve a workshop at home that’s about the same size as this room, and my bench has to be against th
e wall otherwise I’d never get past it. And the light’s all wrong too, just like you said.’

  Encouraged by the man’s support, Lisa prowled slowly round the bench. She had reached the far end when she noticed something, even in the shadow cast by the large wooden structure. She looked across at the forensic team leader. ‘Lend me your torch for a moment, would you?’

  She shone the beam down to illuminate the floor alongside the end of the bench farthest from the door. ‘That’s odd,’ she muttered, ‘very odd.’

  ‘What’s odd?’ The SOCO member with a workshop joined her.

  Lisa pointed to the area lit by the torch. ‘Look there. See that crack? That’s all newer concrete than the rest of the floor. Now why would anyone re-concrete just one section of the floor?’

  She moved to the side of the bench, and on the far side was able to see where the join ended. ‘It goes the full length of the bench. I think we should move the bench and see how wide the new section of concrete is.’

  Lisa eventually managed to persuade them to shift the bench back to its original position. Now that it was no longer concealed, the officers could see that the newer section of concrete was approximately six feet long by three feet wide. The SOCO team leader gave voice to the thought that was in all their minds. ‘That’s just the right size for a grave. What do you want us to do? We could take a pickaxe to it and dig it up, only to find the pet dog buried underneath. It’s your decision.’

  ‘Thanks a bunch.’ Lisa grimaced. ‘Let me have a think about it.’

  The decision wasn’t an easy one. Digging up a large patch of concrete was likely to prove extremely unpopular with the owners of the property. On the other hand, Lisa could not think of an innocent explanation for the placement of the workbench in such a bizarre position. Certainly not something as innocuous as the burial of a pet. If it had not been done to conceal the concrete below, then why leave it in the middle of the floor? And just what was beneath? ‘Do you think it could be drainage repairs?’ she asked.

  ‘No, if it were new pipework of some sort, the size and direction would be different. It would go through the building and continue on outside.’

  What Lisa really needed was guidance from someone senior; Mike, for example. But she knew he was unavailable at the mortuary. She plucked out her mobile and pressed Clara’s number. There was no response. She stared at her phone in dismay. She looked round at the technicians. ‘Have any of you got a phone with a signal that works out here?’

  A couple of the men shook their heads, the others checked their phones. They both had the same network. ‘Is there a phone in the cottage?’ one of them asked.

  ‘No, we had to use DS Mironova’s mobile to report in yesterday.’

  ‘In that case, it looks as if it’s down to you.’

  ‘All right. Let’s go for it. We’ll make a start. I just hope we’re not going to end up with hundreds of old copies of the Beano or something equally bizarre.’

  It was nearly time for the shops to close before Nash emerged from the mortuary. He had planned a trip to the supermarket on his way home that evening, but food was the last thing on his mind. The post-mortems had been a harrowing experience, particularly those of the children. Even Ramirez had been subdued, and had kept what few remarks he had to make strictly businesslike. Nash switched his mobile phone from silent and saw he had a text from Mironova asking him to call her. He pressed her speed dial number and waited.

  ‘Mike, thanks for calling back. How did it go?’

  ‘About as grim as you’d expect. Have you got news on Kirby?’

  ‘I spoke to the hospital soon after you left. They told me Kirby had been taken down to theatre for an investigative procedure because of massive internal injuries. They couldn’t tell me much more, but they said it would be a few hours before they’d know what exactly the problems were. I asked them to keep me informed. I got a call from the ward half an hour ago and they said he’d died on the operating table. Apparently the additional trauma of the procedure was too much. Either that or the injuries were too severe in the first place. They couldn’t be sure, and with what he’d done, I wasn’t really that interested, to be honest.’

  ‘I was talking to Jackie and the chief about him last night,’ Nash told her, ‘and we all agreed that it would probably be for the best if he didn’t pull through. I’ll nip across to HQ and bring Jackie up to speed on things, and then I’ll ring Lisa.’

  ‘I could do that if you want me to,’ Clara offered.

  ‘What, and drag you away from your reports? I wouldn’t dream of it.’

  ‘To be honest, Mike, I’ve almost finished them and there’s nothing else come in today that needs my attention. Uniform seems to be coping all right. The problem you have is you might not be able to raise Lisa. I needed to check something with her earlier and her phone seems to be dead. There are signal problems in the Gorton area.’

  ‘I hope she’s all right. As you’re about clear with the paperwork, would you do me a favour? Nip out to Gorton and check she’s OK. I know she reassured us this morning, but I don’t want to take a chance.’

  ‘No problem, Mike.’

  chapter nine

  The breakthrough came suddenly, with a blow from the sledgehammer that hardly differed from the countless previous ones. This time, however, the impact resulted in a large crack appearing, running from side to side. Levering with the pickaxe yielded no result, until a further hammer blow produced a second crack that ran at right angles to the first.

  A short time later they had managed to remove almost all of the six-inch-deep concrete. ‘No wonder it took so much bloody shifting,’ one of them remarked. ‘I hope this effort turns out to be worthwhile.’

  ‘If nothing else it will help your fitness,’ Lisa told him.

  After loosening the hard-packed earth below with the blade of the pickaxe, they stretched a length of tarpaulin on the floor, brought a pair of shovels from their van and set to work removing the soil. Aware that at any point they might make a discovery of some sort, they slowed down and worked more carefully now. A further fifteen minutes had passed, and they had gone down over two feet, without anything untoward coming to light. Lisa surveyed the pile of earth removed from the hole. She was on the point of calling a halt when the SOCO leader shone his torch into the hole. ‘There are a lot of worms in that soil,’ he remarked. ‘Makes you wonder what they find to feed on down there.’

  Lisa was still pondering this statement when one of the diggers stopped work suddenly, straightened his back and stared down at where he’d been excavating. After a moment, he called to his superior. ‘Shine your torch here, will you?’

  As the beam illuminated the hole, the digger bent down and smoothed the soil back with his hand. ‘I think you’d all better come and have a look at this.’

  They moved forward to look. ‘Well, now we know what the worms found so attractive here. It wasn’t a false alarm after all,’ the senior officer said.

  Seconds later they all jumped at the sound of a voice. They had been so intent on their discovery that none of them had heard the arrival of a car. ‘What are you doing in there?’ Clara demanded.

  Lisa hastily explained.

  ‘Heavens! I dread to think what else this place is going to throw up. Does Mike know?’

  ‘Not yet. My phone’s playing up. We’ve only just made the discovery.’

  ‘Here,’ Clara said, offering her phone, ‘try mine.’

  Lisa pressed the speed dial and waited.

  ‘Clara?’ Mike answered.

  ‘Sorry, Mike, it’s Lisa here. My phone’s on the blink. Clara’s lent me hers. She’s back here with me.’

  ‘Yes, I asked her to check in. Has she told you that Kirby died a couple of hours ago? I think when we have the results back from forensics the evidence will show that he murdered his wife, their children and her lover, so perhaps it’s the best outcome. Anyway, apart from tidying up loose ends and seeing to the paperwork, I guess that means it’
s probably all over.’

  ‘No, Mike,’ Lisa contradicted him, ‘that’s why I was trying to phone you. It isn’t all over. Far from it.’

  When Nash pulled up, he spotted DC Andrews, a slightly forlorn figure, walking to and fro on the parking space leading to the outbuilding. He immediately asked how she was feeling.

  ‘Strangely enough it didn’t affect me in the same way as yesterday.’

  ‘That’s a relief. Still not pleasant, though. Where are the boffins?’

  ‘As soon as we found the body I ordered them to stop work. I thought it best not to disturb what I assume to be another crime scene to avoid possible contamination. Clara’s in the garage with the SOCO lads, waiting for your instructions. They were muttering about the amount they had to do, until I reminded them they would be on overtime. They cheered up immensely after that. They sent me out for a breath of fresh air.’

  ‘That’s good work, Lisa. The first thing I’d better do is tell Mexican Pete and ask him to come, if Clara hasn’t done already.’

  ‘No, she hasn’t. She told me to contact you first.’

  Nash took out his mobile. ‘Here goes.’

  ‘This should be a laugh a minute.’

  Nash eyed Lisa. ‘You’ve got a strange sense of humour,’ he said as he waited for the call to be answered.

  Ramirez was caustic in his response. ‘Another body?’

  Nash explained that he would be required back at the holiday cottage.

  ‘You’ve really excelled yourself, haven’t you? You’ve got me bouncing around the county like a demented yo-yo, going from crime scene to crime scene. Why don’t you take a nice long holiday somewhere thousands of miles away? Six months would be ideal; then the rest of us could get some peace.’