THE GUILTY MAN an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detectives Lennox & Wilde Thrillers Book 1)

by HELEN H. DURRANT

  Babs screamed. Kamal had a knife at her throat.

  “Let her go,” Harry said. “She has done nothing to hurt you or your operation.”

  Suddenly, Babs kicked out backwards. Her high-heel caught Kamal on the shin and he cried out in pain. Grabbing her chance she knocked his arm hard and he dropped the knife.

  “Run!” Harry ordered her. “Get out now.”

  She didn’t hesitate. Now the two men were alone, facing each other. “Want to live, Kamal?”

  Kamal had dropped the knife, but he still held the shotgun. He gave Harry a look of pure hate. “Do you? My orders are to kill you.”

  “Orders from who? Does he have a name, this mysterious boss of yours who tells you what to do? He even goes as far as ordering you to kill your own sister, no less.” Harry tutted. “It’s a poor show that, Kamal. I couldn’t do it.”

  “I do it because I want to live,” Kamal said. “And he pays me well.”

  “A name, Kamal, and then we’re done. The men out there will take you in and offer you protection. You’ll be safe. Your boss, whoever he is, won’t be able to touch you.”

  “You are a fool if you believe that.”

  Harry’s mobile vibrated in his pocket. “Time’s up,” he said. “Sorry we didn’t reach an agreement. Well, it’s your loss. You should have taken what was offered.”

  Despite his brave words, Harry was terrified. This had to end well, it had to, he didn’t want a bullet in his head and this man was desperate. He began to inch backwards, slowly, in the direction of the door. Would Kamal fire that gun? It didn’t take long to find out. Harry was only inches from the door when a bullet whistled past his left ear and buried itself in the wall.

  “Next time it will be your head.”

  “You don’t really want this, Kamal. Just let me go, give yourself up and we can work it out.”

  Kamal raised the gun. “No more talk. I am finished with you.”

  Harry closed his eyes. This was it. Kamal couldn’t miss this time. Then a shot rang out and Kamal fell to the ground. Harry stumbled backwards and steadied himself against the wall, watching blankly as the armed response team poured into the shed.

  Chapter Fifty-four

  The yard outside the factory was suddenly full of people. Harry was taken to a waiting ambulance and checked over.

  “Apart from shattered nerves, I’m fine,” he said to the paramedic. He held out his hand. “Look, I’m still shaking.”

  She smiled at him. “You’re a brave lad, from what I hear.”

  Harry suddenly noticed how pretty the paramedic was. “Goes with the job,” he said, giving her one of his charming smiles. “Oh, what about Babs. Is she okay?”

  “She’s gone to the hospital, but the cut is superficial, she’ll be fine.”

  “That’s good. Makes it all worthwhile.”

  “Well, I think you deserve a medal, taking on a gunman like that and saving a woman’s life.”

  “He’s a regular knight in shining armour is our Harry.” Jess climbed into the ambulance. “You were told not to go in there. So, what happened?”

  “He would have killed Babs,” Harry said. “I didn’t want another life lost, so I did what I had to. Problem is, Kamal took the name of the big boss with him. I’m no closer to knowing who is running the north of England operation than I ever was.”

  Jess sat down next to him. “I might be able to help you there.” She smiled. “D’you need this?” She tugged on the blanket the paramedic had wrapped around his shoulders. “Only, we should get going.”

  “No, I don’t. What I really need is a strong whiskey. Hang on. What did you mean? How can you help?”

  “I know who he is,” she said, and smiled at him.

  Harry stared at her, uncomprehending. How was this even possible? Jess didn’t know the case like he did.

  “You’ve got proof?”

  “That might be tricky, we have to piece everything together first. We need to speak to Tracy again, she might be able to help, and forensics of course.”

  “His name, Jess. Put me out of my misery.”

  “Not Salton, despite your instincts. My money is on Sandy Munroe.”

  Harry stared at her. This must be some kind of joke. Well, he didn’t see the humour. No way was any of it down to Sandy. It couldn’t be, he’d known that man most of his life. “What’s given you that wild idea?”

  “He’d already been in Ryebridge several days before he went to see you.”

  “How d’you know that?”

  “Because it was him who dropped Lucy Green off at the park that morning. We’ve got him on CCTV — date and time stamped, the lot.”

  Harry tried to think this through, but his head was too full of what had just happened. “Not Sandy. You must have it wrong. This little lot is all down to Salton.”

  “Come back to the office and see for yourself,” she said. “It’s definitely him on the CCTV. I was as surprised as you, Harry. But if you weigh it all up, it makes sense. Tracy heard a Scottish accent, naturally you presumed it was Salton speaking but it had to have been Sandy.”

  “Look there are loads of villains with Scottish accents — believe me, I’ve caught enough of them.”

  “He’s your old boss, I get it. You don’t want to believe he’s capable of this. But you must consider it, given the evidence.”

  “I’ll speak to him,” Harry said.

  “Probably not a good idea. You are compromised, him being a friend and all that.”

  “He isn’t, not anymore,” Harry said. “If you’re right and this is down to Sandy, I’ll never forgive him.”

  “Let’s go back to the station — if you’re up to it that is — and we’ll go from there. If you do call him, we can trace it. That will tell us where he is,” Jess said.

  “Well, he’s in Glasgow. He went home, remember?”

  “We’ll see. Right now, I want to know how he got Lucy Green into his car, and what she was doing in that yard.”

  “She had to have been with someone, Jess, that means Sutton or Marsh. But what did either of them have to do with the child’s disappearance?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. I reckon we should have another chat with Caroline. Remember her saying something about wanting kids? What if she struck a deal with Kelsey, paid her for Lucy?”

  Surely not. That was an awful idea. What mother would sell their child? “You think Kelsey could really do that?”

  “For money, yes, I do, Jessie. It would enable her to buy all the drugs and booze she needed.”

  “But she didn’t have money. We found no cash in her flat.”

  “If my theory is right, Kelsey would have given it to her dealer within hours of receiving it. She’s not the saving type and I doubt there’s a bank account, but I’ve got Colin checking that one. We need that word with Caroline,” Harry said.

  “Want to go now? Are you up to it?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

  “I’d better drive. You’re still shaking.”

  Chapter Fifty-five

  Caroline Sutton looked stunned. “You think I stole that child?”

  “No, but we think you colluded with Kelsey to let you take her on as your own. In fact, the entire time Lucy was supposedly missing, she was here with you.”

  Caroline looked outraged. “You’re mad, the pair of you. How would I get away with that? The whole town was looking for her. Her photo was in all the papers.”

  “You kept her hidden,” Harry said. “A house and garden this large and secluded, it wouldn’t be difficult.”

  “People come here, Joan works here and what about Nick? How would I hide her from him?”

  “D’you keep chickens?” Jess asked.

  “Yes. Why do you ask?”

  “You see, forensic tests on the soles of Lucy’s shoes have found chicken feed on them. And there’s the puzzle of Clara. At first, I thought she was talking about a toy, but she wasn’t, was she, Caroline? Lucy was talkin
g about a real chicken.”

  Caroline stared at Jess for a few moments. Then she seemed to deflate. “She loved that chicken,” she said through her tears. “Clara hatched out while Lucy was here. The child was captivated, she wanted to keep her.”

  “What happened, Caroline?” Harry asked. “How did Lucy end up in the haulage yard where we found your husband’s body?”

  “I’m not sure, but that morning Nick said he’d had enough. He knew what I’d done, about the arrangement with Kelsey, but he didn’t like any of it. He kept quiet for a few weeks but it was never going to last. He said she had to go back to her mother. I tried talking to him. I begged him, but he wouldn’t listen. When he left the house, he bundled her into his car with the intention of taking her back. He obviously didn’t get there. I can only presume that at some point during that journey he was taken, along with Lucy.”

  That made sense. But whoever took him had set the child free. Knowing Kamal like he did, Harry knew that wasn’t his style. He showed no mercy, not even to his sister, so why let a strange child go?

  “Did you pay Kelsey?” Jess asked.

  “Yes, we had an arrangement. I paid her a regular amount in cash each week. Joan used to see to that for me. She was in on the secret too. She found it hard, knew it was wrong but she also knew Kelsey and the life Lucy would have if the child stayed with her.”

  “Thank you for being honest with us,” Harry said. “It might help us catch the men who killed Nick.”

  “Those shoes, the mistake you made was allowing Kelsey to pick them up after Lucy disappeared. Why not just have them delivered?” Jess asked.

  “Because we’re local and we have no children. I was terrified that Allen’s might have asked questions, told people. I was desperate not to be found out. I wanted to keep Lucy safe, love her as my own.”

  * * *

  “What do we do about her?” Jess asked as they went back to the car.

  “There was no actual kidnap. It could be argued that all Caroline was doing was a spot of child minding for Kelsey. She had Kelsey’s permission, after all.”

  “That’s a bit far-fetched. Kelsey sold her daughter and Social Services need to be told.”

  Harry didn’t see the point. “Told what? What would they do? Kelsey is dead, and Lucy is safe. I don’t see where prosecuting Caroline would get anyone. Hasn’t that woman suffered enough?”

  “That’s not our call to make, Harry.”

  “I’m more concerned about sorting the case. Finding Sandy for a start — if that’s really who’s at the bottom of it all.”

  “He is,” Jess said confidently.

  Harry rang the Reid. “Hettie, we’re after more evidence to build a case. The pathway where the child’s shoes were found, did your people get anything else?”

  “We did a sweep but got nothing. The street cleaners had been in two days previous, so there’s nothing to find.”

  “Ah well. It was a long shot anyway.”

  He turned to Jess. “On the way in, we’ll stop off at the Bluebell, the B&B I’ve been staying at. I went there because Sandy recommended it. We can check the date of his arrival.”

  Harry was certain there had to be some mistake and confirming the exact dates of Sandy’s stay would help. But they were in for a surprise. Apparently, Sandy hadn’t stayed there at all. A check on the register showed there had been no new visitors around the dates in question, and definitely no one of that name.

  “He lied,” Jess said. “Why would he do that if he was on the level?”

  “I still don’t understand but I agree. Let’s get to the office and I’ll ring him. I hope we’re wrong, Jessie, this is all I need.”

  Chapter Fifty-six

  “Are you all right, sir? I heard about what happened,” Colin Vance said when Harry and Jess walked in.

  “I’m fine. Regular hero me. Man with shotgun, bring it on,” Harry said.

  “Take no notice, Colin, he’s an idiot. He could have got himself killed back there.”

  Harry gave Jess a disapproving look. “That’s no way to talk about me to the newest member of the team. He’s supposed to look up to me, even be slightly in awe.”

  Harry winked at Colin, who was almost jumping up and down in his excitement. “D’you mean it, sir? Am I really in?”

  “Subject to Rodders’s approval, but I don’t see any problem. We need another person on the team.”

  “I checked if Kelsey Green had a bank account like you asked,” Colin said. “She didn’t.”

  “As I expected, poor cow, that’s no way to live. The cash she got off Caroline was drugs money, and that’s all she needed,” Jess shuddered. “Lucy was well out of it.”

  Harry had Sandy’s mobile number up on his screen ready to call him. “Get the tech guys to trace the call I’m about to make,” he told Vance. “I want to know the whereabouts of the man I’m ringing. He may still be in the area, but I want to make sure.”

  Colin was on the office phone immediately, setting it up. Harry was waiting for the off when Rodders walked in.

  “Harry. My office.”

  “Have them hold that until I return,” Harry said.

  “I wonder what that’s all about,” Colin said.

  “Who knows?” Jess said. “Well, back to the paperwork for us.”

  A uniformed officer stuck his head around the door. “DS Wilde, there’s a woman in reception asking for you.”

  “I’d better go down,” she said.

  The woman turned out to be Anthea, Harry’s ex. “I hope you don’t mind. I asked for Harry but he’s in a meeting apparently. I wanted to leave this for him.” She handed Jess a shoe box. “He came for his stuff. Most of it was in the shed but I’d kept this in the house for safe keeping. It’s his grandfather’s medals and two gold watches.”

  “Thanks, Anthea, I’ll make sure he gets them.” Jess wondered if this was the right time to ask. Well, why not? “Actually, I’ve been meaning to speak to you about Harry. When you were together, did he ever talk about his past, his life on the force in Glasgow?”

  Anthea pulled a face. “It was his past that tore us apart.” She sighed and turned to stare out of the window. “I liked Harry, I really did, but I couldn’t put up with the way he was any longer. He’s tormented, Jess. His past won’t let him go. The nightmares, the screaming, it all became too much. I asked him over and over to just talk to me, but he always refused. In the end, I finished it. It was the easiest way out for both of us.”

  “He didn’t mention his family or people he used to work with — Sandy or Morag for instance?”

  “A brief mention of Morag, a card at Christmas, but nothing much. Where Harry’s concerned, the present is all that matters. It’s as if the past did not exist.”

  * * *

  Harry entered Rodders’s office to find a visitor — Marcus Edge. He turned to the super. “What’s he doing here?”

  “Your team has worked hard on the case, and brought it to a satisfactory close,” Edge told him. “But now it’s time to hand over to us.”

  Harry looked at Rodders. “You can’t sanction this! We’re within a spit of catching the villain that killed Marsh and Sutton.”

  “Yes, I know, and so does he, which is why Sandy Munroe has handed himself in.”

  Harry stared blankly at Edge, barely able to believe what he’d just heard. He had been hoping that Jess’s theory was wrong, and Sandy had nothing to do with the case. Some hope.

  “He’s done a deal, I suppose. What have you offered him?” Harry asked.

  “He’ll do time, no fear of him getting out of that,” Rodders confirmed. “But a short sentence, after which he’ll disappear, never to be heard of again. New identity, new place to live, you know the drill.”

  Indeed, he did. But it wasn’t good enough in Harry’s eyes. Why let him off so lightly? “He killed two men — or arranged for it to happen. He created mayhem in this town. The fentanyl — have you forgotten that? He had to be the one issuing the
orders which Kamal followed, resulting in three deaths apart from Sutton and Marsh. And we’re helping him to walk? It does my head in.”

  “We have no choice, Harry,” Edge said. “Munroe is going to give me everything we need to crack the European side of the operation — names and all — including the whereabouts of the man known as ‘Smoke.’”

  But Harry wasn’t satisfied. “Can’t you get Europol on the case or something? Do it the correct way?”

  “We don’t have the time. Smoke will go into hiding and we’ll miss our chance. This is how it is to be.” Edge sounded impatient. “Accept it, take the praise and move on.”

  Harry knew he had no choice. This was probably what Edge had had in mind all along. CID would do the groundwork, catch the killer, and then he’d step in and clean up. “Has Sandy said anything?”

  “What about?” Rodders asked.

  “Me.”

  The super shook his head, but Edge cleared his throat and looked away. Harry caught the look. So, he had said something.

  “But he has asked to see you, you and your partner Jess,” Rodders said.

  “He wants to apologise is what he said,” Edge added. “He feels bad about how things have turned out.”

  Harry nodded. “Now okay for you?”

  “We have him at a secure location. I’ll drive you,” Edge said. “I’ll meet you and your DS outside in ten minutes.”

  Harry wasn’t happy with any of it, but what could he do? Nothing. Well, at least he’d get to tell the bastard what he thought of him.

  Back in the office, he told Colin to forget the trace. “It’s not happening now. Jess, we’re going out.”

  “There was me all psyched up to make the big arrest,” she said.

  “Not our call this time. That’s been taken care of, it’s out of our hands. Come on, this is important.”

  Jess took one look at his face and grabbed her coat.

  Epilogue

  The accommodation they’d put Sandy in was a lot more comfortable than a prison cell. The armed guards on the door were small consolation.

  “Protection,” Sandy explained, “rather than stopping me from escaping. Those I work for won’t want me spilling my guts to the NCA, but what the hell? They’ve given me a way out.”