by Bill Kitson
‘Normally I’d say yes, but it’s not that easy. Let me speak to Tom.’ Nash winked at Becky. ‘Aunt Gloria did say she’d given orders that I’d to have backup. ‘Now, to business. I’d like you to fetch Vickers from the cells. When Viv arrives, we’re going back to Grove Road.’
‘I’ll nip to the loo,’ Becky said. ‘My system’s not used to a gallon of coffee before sunrise.’
Clara watched her go. ‘She’s really nice. I hope you’re treating her properly, Mike.’
‘I daren’t do any other.’
‘I suppose not. Why are you letting her get so close to the investigation?’
‘It just happened. And it could be a blessing in disguise.’
‘How come?’
‘With King desperate to have me out, an independent observer could be extremely handy. If it came to an internal enquiry, an unbiased witness would be a godsend, if you’ll pardon the pun.’
‘I hadn’t thought of it like that.’
‘The saddest thing is that it’s necessary.’
‘Gary, before I explain, I want to ask you a couple of questions.’
Vickers blinked at the use of his Christian name. ‘Okay,’ he agreed cautiously.
‘Stacey told you about the photos. Not specifically, but she told you of their existence.’
Vickers nodded.
‘Have you remembered what she said?’
‘Not really. I’ve been trying to recall her exact words. I thought it might give me some idea what the proof was.’
‘But you knew she’d hidden it?’
‘Yes. I’d been at a series of exhibitions featuring my work.’ Vickers saw the puzzled expression on his listeners’ faces. He explained. ‘I was a freelance graphic artist. She told me when I got back.’ He sighed. ‘The last show was in Bristol. I got home late. Gemma was away that night, so Stacey and I had the house to ourselves. It was only two days later that...’ Vickers’ voice tailed off. He was on the verge of tears.
‘How was she? Did you notice anything different about her?’
‘Yes, she was on edge. More than that, I’d say she was frightened. It seemed odd. I knew she was worried about her mother, but it was more than that. When she died I was too upset to think about it. By the time I did, I was stuck in a prison cell.’
‘For a murder you didn’t commit,’ Nash said quietly.
Vickers looked up. ‘You believe that?’
‘Oh yes.’ Nash made it sound matter of fact. ‘Which makes it doubly important that you try to remember. We’ve a killer to bring to justice. A murderer who I believe has killed again. So think, Gary, what was it made you certain she’d hidden something?’
‘Stacey cooked supper and when we went into the dining room she’d parcelled that picture up. She said ...’ Vickers paused. ‘She said, “It may not be valuable now, but one day it could be worth a lot.” There was something else too, but I can’t remember.’
‘She said it might be worth a lot? Not a lot of money? Just worth a lot?’
Vickers leaned forward, a frown of concentration on his face. ‘No, she definitely didn’t mention money. Not exactly, but something to do with money. What was it?’ He stood up and began pacing about.
He stopped suddenly. ‘Insurance! That was it. She said it might be valuable as insurance. I thought she meant I might have to insure it. I said I’d put it on my contents policy. But then she said, “It’s our insurance policy. Yours and mine.” She wouldn’t explain. I can’t understand how I forgot that.’
‘You were under a lot of stress. But what you’ve said reinforces my idea. I thought it strange that Stacey left those photos without an explanation.’
‘I don’t get you, Inspector.’
‘I reckon we’ve only found half of what Stacey hid. I think we should look again. This time we should search for a note or a letter.’
When they stood up, Pearce reached for his handcuffs. Nash shook his head. ‘Gary’s no longer under arrest. Tell the custody officer he’s being released without charge.’ He turned to Vickers. ‘You’re free to go, but I’d like you to consider staying here under protective custody. With all that’s going on, you’ll be much safer.’
‘No, thanks, I’ve had enough of prison cells.’
Nash was relieved to see the house was intact. As they were getting out of the car his mobile rang. ‘When do you think he’ll be needed? Right, leave it to me. I’ll get on it straightaway.’
‘Doug Curran,’ he explained after he ended the call. ‘Go on in. I’ll follow after I’ve spoken to Mexican Pete.’
‘Professor, Nash here. There was a fire last night. CFO Curran’s in charge of the scene. One man’s unaccounted for. The building will be safe to enter late this afternoon. Can you be there around 4 p.m.? We’ll need a forensics team too.’
‘You seem to be going in for barbecues in a big way,’ Ramirez told him. ‘Will you bring Clara to dispense gin and tonic?’
Nash hurried inside. Clara glanced at him. ‘Mexican Pete on form then?’
‘As you’d expect. Talking about barbecues and G&Ts.’
‘Our pathologist has a macabre sense of humour,’ Clara explained to Becky.
‘I know. I’ve spoken to him.’
‘Clara, I suggest you start upstairs, along with Gary and Viv. Becky and I’ll start on the ground floor.’
Nash and Becky spent most of the first hour re-examining ornaments and more photo frames. Nash went into the cabinet that housed Vickers’ music centre. He hauled the collection of CDs and albums out. I don’t think anything’s been touched since Vickers went inside.’
‘He’s certainly a Beatles fan,’ Becky commented as she looked at a pile of LPs.
‘Pearce reckons that’s the opposite of cool.’
The trio returned from the upper floor. Clara shrugged her shoulders. ‘Nothing.’
Nash shook his head stubbornly. ‘There’s got to be something. Stacey wouldn’t have gone to all that trouble without some sort of pointer.’
He saw Clara was far from convinced. ‘Forget all you’ve read in the file. We know different. We have to work on Gary’s version. That means there’s something more than the photos.’
Becky said slowly, ‘It would have to be somewhere Gary would go regularly, but somewhere no one else would find it, even by accident.’
‘That makes sense,’ Clara agreed. ‘She’d have to hide it from casual discovery, especially if it was a smoking gun.’
‘That’s it!’ Vickers yelped. ‘That’s what she said! She said it was a smoking gun. I couldn’t understand it. Then she started laughing. I couldn’t understand what she thought was funny.’
‘What was her sense of humour like?’ Nash asked. As he spoke he began sorting through the LPs.
‘She loved subtle, double-meaning jokes. Why?’
‘I wonder if this was an example of her sense of humour.’ Nash looked around, his expression brooding. ‘I wonder...,’ he murmured.
‘What are you on about?’ Mironova asked.
Nash ignored her. ‘Did Gemma share your taste in music?’
‘No, she was into punk and heavy metal. If I put a Beatles album on she’d walk out of the room.’
‘Did you have all your LPs transferred to CD?’
‘No. I never got round to it.’
Eventually Nash reached the one he was after. He removed the record from the sleeve and laid it aside, slid his fingers inside the LP cover and removed a sheet of paper. He turned the cover over. ‘There’s your smoking gun.’ It was The Beatles’ Revolver album.
‘It seems so obvious afterwards,’ Vickers muttered.
Clara laughed. ‘Well, it isn’t, unless you’ve got a devious, twisted mind like Mike.’
Nash spread the letter on the table. ‘This is addressed to you, Gary. Do you want to read it or do you want me to?’
‘I should do it. I owe Stacey that.’
My dearest, darling Gary,
I hope you never have to read this. I
’m afraid, desperately afraid. Afraid for us, and for the future. I’ve done something that’s put us in danger. I did it because I couldn’t see any other way for us to be together, and free. Free from her. I hate her. I didn’t realize it until now. I hate and fear her. That’s a terrible thing to say about your own mother. Not that I think of her like that. That’s because she’s never treated me like a daughter. To her I was merely an expensive encumbrance.
And now I know she hates me. How do I know? Because she told me so, when I confronted her. It took ages to pluck up enough courage, but in the end it was the only option. I haven’t told her about us though. Not yet. If she found out that we’re lovers, I dread to think what would happen. Not that she cares about you; she’s got other fish to fry. But she’d use our love as a weapon. My greatest fear is for you, my darling, because of her, and my uncles. I couldn’t put you in that sort of danger.
I told her I knew what she was doing, and who with. I told her I had proof. I said I was quite prepared to take that proof to his wife. If that happened he’d be ruined. And that would end their sordid little affair. It was then I found out what she’s capable of. It was then I began to be afraid. She heard me out. Then she calmly got to her feet, and before I knew what she was going to do, she had her hands round my neck, choking me. Her language was vile. She called me all the filthy names you could think of. She told me if I valued my skin, I’d to hand over the proof and forget the whole thing. I hadn’t realized until then how unutterably evil she is. I truly believe she would carry out the threats she made.
I feel so lonely now. I need you here. I need your strong arms around me. To love, and protect me, and to reassure me. Without that I’m terrified of what will happen. So I’ve made a decision. I’ll go to her lover and tell him what I told her. Perhaps that will stop her. It’s my only remaining choice.
I’ve concealed the proof of what they’ve been up to. That’s how afraid I am. It’s hidden inside your present. Whatever happens, my darling, I will love you forever.
Stacey.
Vickers looked up. Nash almost shuddered at the venom in his expression. ‘Who is he? You know, don’t you?’ he demanded. ‘One of them killed Stacey. I don’t know which, and I don’t much care. It’s irrelevant. But I’ll tell you this, Mr Nash, I’ll find out, and if you don’t make them pay for what they did, I will.’
Nash tried to placate him. ‘I understand your anger, Gary, but issuing threats like that isn’t going to help anyone. Least of all you. And don’t forget the purpose of this letter. Stacey wrote it to protect you. She wouldn’t want you endangering yourself, or doing something you’d suffer for afterwards.’
‘Does that mean they’ll get off?’
‘I didn’t say that. Up to now we haven’t a grain of evidence against them. I admit it won’t be easy. They’ve had fifteen years to cover their tracks. All we can do is start working on the case as of now.’ Nash pointed to the letter. ‘We’ll use this as a starting point.’
Vickers went to pick the letter up but Nash placed his hand on it. ‘No, Gary, reading that over and over isn’t going to do you any good. Besides, that letter is evidence.’
He turned to Mironova. ‘Clara, go back to the office, take this with you. Make out a new file on the unlawful killing of Stacey Fletcher. Put the letter in it, together with the photos we found yesterday. I also want copies of all the statements taken at the time, together with the post-mortem results. Scan those into the computer and e-mail them to Mexican Pete. I’m going to Westlea to meet him, along with Curran and the forensics guys. I’ll tell Ramirez to expect your e-mail. I want him to review the original pathologist’s findings. He may spot something that was missed in the first instance. Then I’ll have a word with Tom and see if he can give me cover for the next five days, so you can meet up with the galloping major. Will that do you?’
‘Thanks, Mike.’
‘What do you want me to do?’
Nash looked at Viv. ‘You’re back on protection duty. We know Gary’s innocent, but there are plenty who still believe he’s guilty. And I reckon the violence has been stirred to conceal the real target.’ Nash turned to Vickers. ‘You understand that? No more swanning off on your own. DC Pearce will stay with you for the time being. Later, I’m going to try for extra backup.’
‘I understand.’
‘Right, I’m off to the Westlea.’
‘Mind if I tag along, Mike?’
Nash turned to Becky. ‘Yes, if you want to. It may be boring and tedious though.’
‘It’ll save them having to send someone else to cover the story.’
A team of forensic technicians was donning hazmat suits, supervised by Curran. He ducked under the incident tape to speak to Nash. ‘There’s a problem with toxic fumes and asbestos. It’s going to be slower than we thought. We’re waiting on Mexican Pete.’
‘If you see him first, tell him I need a word.’
As Curran left, Nash was hailed. ‘Ayup Mr Nash. This another of your haireem?’
They turned. ‘Hello, Jonas. No, this is Becky Pollard from the Gazette.’
‘Watch out for this feller, he’s a wicked man,’ Turner told her. ‘Allus got a beautiful girl hanging round ’im, he has. Don’t know how he does it.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Nash changed the subject swiftly.
‘Come to watch ’em recover t’ body.’ Turner surveyed the blackened shell. ‘It’s Appleyard you’re looking for, ain’t it? Bought this place for a song. Much good it did ’im.’
‘Do you know something?’
‘You hear things.’ Turner lowered his voice. ‘They all knew he was inside.’
‘Who do you mean?’ Becky beat Nash to the question by a short head.
‘Them as lives round here.’
‘What’s your point?’ Becky asked, but Nash had already worked it out.
‘They knew cos they were told to keep clear. That’s what I heard.’
‘You mean they knew it was going to happen?’
Turner nodded. ‘Best not say any more. Not that I know anything,’ he added hastily.
They watched the old man wander off. ‘So the arson theory’s right,’ Nash said.
Becky shuddered. ‘It’s the sort of thing you only see on films. You don’t believe it can happen in your own town.’
‘The Westlea has always been a law to itself, with the Fletcher clan as sheriffs. We’re the enemy round here. By “we”, I mean the police.’
‘Does that worry you?’
‘It never used to. But this is new. What’s worse is it’s organized. And the gangs running amok haven’t the collective brains to realize they’re being manipulated.’
Nash broke off as he saw a car pull up. ‘Care to meet our tame pathologist?’
‘Is that Mexican Pete?’
‘It is. I must get a word with him before he gets into fancy dress.’
Nash introduced Becky.
‘We’ve already spoken on the telephone,’ she told Ramirez as they shook hands.
‘Have we?’
‘Yes, when you rang Mike. You referred to me as the Bride of Dracula.’
‘Hardly surprising, the way Nash collects corpses.’ He pointed to the building. ‘Only one in there?’
‘That’s all.’
‘He’s losing his touch. I’ve known days when he’s been close to double figures,’ Ramirez told Becky.
‘Clara’s sending you some old PM documents. I’d value your opinion. Now, get your space suit on,’ Nash told him.
As Ramirez turned they heard a loud crack, followed swiftly by two more. Ramirez turned back to Nash. ‘What was ...?’
Nash flung himself at Becky and pushed her to the ground. ‘Get down!’ he shouted to everyone within earshot. His voice carried, even over the sound of two more reports.
‘What ...?’ Becky gasped.
‘Gunfire! Somebody’s shooting at us. From over there.’ Nash waved towards a clump of trees. It was impossible to get close
to the shooter without serious risk. Becky felt him move, and glanced down. Nash had pulled a pistol from his holster. The sight should have comforted her. It didn’t. She looked across towards the ruined building. Firemen and forensics experts were lying prone. Wounded? Dead? Or taking cover?
Ramirez hissed, ‘I thought it was too good to last. You couldn’t be content with one corpse, could you?’
‘I hope that’s all there will be,’ Nash answered grimly. He hailed Curran. ‘Doug? Keep your men on the deck. I’m going to discourage our sniper friend.’
‘Alright, Mike.’
‘What are you going to do?’ Becky whispered.
‘Fire a few rounds into those trees. That should scare him off.’ Nash wriggled to one side before passing Becky his mobile. ‘Dial short code 1, you’ll get Clara. Tell her what’s going on. Ask for an ARU.’
Becky was still fumbling with the phone when a loud report sounded in her ear. She almost dropped the mobile. Nash fired three more shots at intervals of twenty seconds or so.
There was a long silence after Becky finished speaking. Nash rolled over. ‘I’m going to get up. I think he’s scarpered, but there’s only one way to find out. Everyone, stay down!’ He got cautiously to his feet. There was no reaction. The silence became oppressive. Still no movement, no fresh outburst. ‘He’s gone.’
Becky looked up. ‘How can you be so sure?’
‘If he’d been going to fire again, he’d have done so by now.’
Becky scrambled to her feet. Around them, others were following their lead. ‘How do you work that out?’
‘If he was still there he’d have fired at me.’ Nash noticed Becky’s puzzled expression. ‘I was the target.’
‘What makes you so sure?’
‘Because I’ve stirred them up. And you know what that means?’
Becky shook her head.
‘It means I’m getting close. If I’d any remaining doubts, they’ve just settled them.’
Chapter twenty one
