by GB Williams
That was as good as they could hope for. ‘You know you will be a key witness at the trial?’
She nodded, though only once; her head was still apparently delicate. ‘Naturally, but I can’t tell them what I can’t remember. In fact, I’ll be sure to attend court in a sombre suit with my hair pinned in a tight bun. I’ve been told I look rather intimidating like that.’
He smiled. ‘I suspect you do.’
Her look chastised him.
‘In the nicest possible way, of course.’
‘Of course.’
Now they were both smiling like laughter wasn’t a million miles away.
He took a breath. ‘I also have to ask, why did you crash the car?’
She blinked and licked her lips. ‘By that point I was physically broken, but my spirit wasn’t. Though it had been touch-and-go on that front for a while too. I felt sick and I knew Beamish wasn’t averse to a casual kill. Then I thought I’d rather go out with a bang than with a whimper. I wasn’t going to fade away to nothing, the way Terry sort of did. I wanted to live, and even if I didn’t, I wanted my mother to know I died trying.’
‘She’d be proud of you. Well, she is proud of you.’ Nothing new had turned up on Terrence Whittaker yet, so he wasn’t going to tell her he’d reopened the case.
Teddington smiled. ‘She said she’d seen you since. I bet she bent your ear a bit.’
Piper nodded. ‘In the nicest possible way of course.’
Watching him, Teddington suddenly lost her smile. ‘Am I going to face charges for killing Beamish?’
‘No.’ He reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘Ariadne, you did what you had to, in self-defence. No one in their right mind would prosecute or convict you.’ For a moment she squeezed his hand back. ‘I’m glad you’re okay.’ He clocked her odd look. ‘That you’ll be okay.’
‘Thanks.’ Her smile was wan and short-lived. ‘How is Charlie?’
‘Bruised, but recovering. He’s pissed off to have to live under suspicion again.’
‘But he hasn’t been arrested, has he?’
He shook his head and sat back. ‘Thankfully no.’ He got the impression she was as relieved as he was at the news. ‘And he managed to keep his job.’ Charlie wasn’t the only one experiencing that particular relief.
‘They didn’t have any reason to sack him, did they?’
Piper made a face. ‘Well he admits some involvement, and despite his injuries he officially only had the two days off work he’d booked as annual leave. He’s back at work, so there’s not a lot they can do unless they want to claim he’s shirking the heavy-duty stuff.’
‘Is that likely?’
Piper shrugged. ‘I hope not. He’s desperate to get out of his bedsit. He wants to see you, but Broughton has ordered him to stay away, at least until a clear determination can be made as to whether or not he’ll be charged with anything.’
‘What’s that going to take?’
‘Your statement and a CPS review.’
She nodded once, but didn’t look happy. ‘Send someone tomorrow, I’ll give a full statement.’
For a moment or two he simply watched her looking at her hands. Again they were twisting in her lap, the same habit her mother had displayed. She seemed a little lost.
‘Do you want me to leave?’
She looked up, as if she was going to give a distinct answer, but thought better of it and instead just shrugged. ‘I don’t want to keep you from your job.’
It wasn’t that much of a bother; he still had his job, just about, but this was his day off. ‘I’ve nothing urgent to get back to.’
She offered that weak smile again.
‘Can I ask you something personal?’
‘Can I slap you if it’s too personal?’
‘You want to be arrested for assaulting a police officer?’
She offered a small laugh. ‘Not really. What’s the question?’
‘Are you in love with Charlie Bell?’
‘Wow.’ She looked away. ‘That is a personal question.’
And one she wasn’t answering. Then she dragged a breath in and looked at Piper. ‘Yes.’
He smiled. ‘Good.’
‘No, it’s bad. Very bad.’ She laughed at herself. ‘Loving him isn’t the problem. Trusting him and being anywhere near him, that’s the problem. I really thought he was dead, Matt. It felt like he was gone. I grieved for him until I heard he was still alive this morning.’ She blinked and there were tears on her lashes. ‘And it hurt so much. I keep losing people I love and I’m not sure I can go through that again.’
Piper suspected this was just a moment of weakness; she was feeling especially vulnerable, but she’d recover, as would her courage. ‘Do you want to see him again? Talk to him?’
She sucked on her bottom lip and took her time to answer.
‘No.’
44
Two weeks passed before Piper received an odd message.
Reaching the Archive Rooms, he found PC Siddig already there. He moved closer and she indicated that he should sit at one of the thin tables put there for research purposes. She sat opposite. She didn’t look happy.
‘Have you found something on Terrence Whittaker?’
She swallowed. ‘No. I wish I had, sir, this is the about the other matter.’
‘Okay, what have you got?’
‘I’ve traced the root of the names Andrew Beamish and Neil Grey. They both died as young children. Beamish was the son of Angela Beamish, she worked in a brothel in Hagar Street, got arrested several times for soliciting. The boy died of an accidental cocaine overdose. Mother had left it lying around while she was with another John, and the boy, not knowing what it was lapped it up. That was twenty-two years ago. Neil Grey was the twin of Jerry Grey. Jerry started out as a pickpocket in his early teens and went on to various petty crimes. He’s got a long list of arrests and charges. Jerry claims in several interviews that he wished he had disappeared when he was seven like Neil did. Says that he should have been murdered instead of Neil. Jerry claims that if he had died, his mother might have loved him. He was sure Neil wouldn’t have turned out as bad as he, Jerry, did. Neil went missing twenty-one years ago.’
Piper’s phone was ringing, he checked the number and answered. ‘Whatever this is Charlie, make it quick.’ Piper looked at Siddig and apologised silently. ‘Good… Okay… Yeah, just stay in touch.’ He rang off.
‘Something up?’
Piper looked up and smiled. ‘Actually no. For the first time since getting out of prison, Charlie actually sounded positive. He’s got a new job, and he gets to move in a couple of weeks. He’s making a new life for himself.’ He frowned. ‘And one that doesn’t include Ariadne Teddington.’
Now Siddig was frowning. ‘That’s good isn’t it? Teddington doesn’t want to see him. He’s making a life without her. All good.’
Piper made a non-committal noise.
Siddig inclined her head and scrutinised Piper. A smile spread slowly across her face. ‘Oh my God, you’re an old romantic. You were hoping for a happy ending.’
Raising his head, he glowered at her. ‘Happy endings are for books. Now Jerry Grey and his twaddle. Typical delusional self-pity. How does any of what you said actually help us?’
‘Well, I looked into that, and into some of the other cases from a similar time frame till now, particularly the unsolved ones.’
‘I’m assuming from this conversation that you found something.’
She swallowed again. ‘I believe I have.’
He watched her shift uncomfortably and check the room around them. She was obviously nervous. ‘Why am I getting the feeling that I’m not going to like this?’
‘Because you’re not. These kids died around the same time that Terry Whittaker went missing. But the problem comes much later, in that none of these cases has ever really been thoroughly investigated, never reopened. We never even got a name on Beamish’s client. Look, I’ve checked all the records, spoken to
a few of the officers who were involved. It’s not there in black and white, but the same thing comes up in all the conversations. The same name.’
This time she licked her lips. His gut was knotting, his hand slipped to the indigestion tablets in his pocket. He was relying on these more and more often, he really had to go see the quack.
‘Okay, enough foreplay, give me the name. Who’s the mole?’
‘Dominic Carlisle.’
THE END
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Readers who enjoyed will also enjoy:
A Justifiable Madness by AB Morgan.
Enter The Dark by Chris Thomas.
Locked Up
The Locked Series Book 1
Do you love gripping and hard-boiled crime thrillers? Then try GB Williams’ unmissable Locked Up.
A prison officer and a convicted killer must work together to solve a brutal murder and expose conspiracy inside a prison.
Ariadne Teddington is surrounded by people who lie but that is to be expected when you work in prison where every man claims to be innocent.
Charlie Bell, an ex-Detective, now finds himself in that prison serving time for murder after having taken the law into his own hands.
When a fellow inmate is killed Charlie is asked to investigate the case from the inside. Soon Charlie finds himself working with Ariande but she is a guard, he is an inmate and some lines should never be crossed…
Can two people on different sides of the law come together to solve the case?
And do the answers lie closer to home than anyone ever imagined?
Order Your Copy Here.
Coming Soon
Look out for the next book in the series.
Locked Down.
Coming Autumn 2018
Acknowledgments
While writing is a solitary profession, never, ever think that a writer is alone in their work. And there are a few people I need to thank with this one.
Police procedure is always a tricky one and I have to admit that there were a few times in this book that I played fast and loose with the rules for dramatic effect. That said, I am very glad to have had confirmation of some of the CHIS procedures from Dorian Lloyd of the South Wales Police. For the rest I apologise to all serving officers, the exacting standards and procedures you have to follow are great in real life - not so much fun to read.
I’d like to thank my editors. Thanks Sam, for the reading the first very rough draft and telling me what was and wasn’t working so I could do more of one and sort out the other. To Tony, for keeping the structure in place and pointing out the dropped plot. And to Clare for making me polish the manuscript further. Similarly, thanks to Betsy and the cover designer for getting the cover sorted when the first offering didn’t fit what was in my head.
And of course, thanks to all the friends and family who have supported me when I faltered, steered me in the right direction when I was going wrong and picked up the slack because I was busy writing.
