Call to Arms

by Rachel Amphlett

  Carys closed the photo file, returning to an archived news report. ‘Here you go. Six months before Jamie died.’

  ‘And six months before the drugs were found in the Jackal’s fuel tank.’

  Kay straightened, easing a crick in her back, and stared out of the window to the car park beyond.

  The grey skies were beginning to darken, and a light drizzle was peppering the glass pane.

  ‘What are you thinking, guv?’

  ‘I’m thinking we need to speak to Giles Stockton.’

  Thirty-Four

  Recalling that Natalie’s husband commuted to the City on a daily basis, and keen to talk to Giles Stockton as soon as possible, Kay elected to drive to Yalding station and intercept him on his homeward journey.

  At the back of her mind was Michael Ingram’s warning that his daughter’s grief had been detrimental to her health, and Kay didn’t wish to interview Giles in front of Natalie so soon after their own conversation about her twin brother.

  Carys had accompanied her, and was now staring out of the passenger window towards the entrance to the small country station.

  As the day drew to a close, the temperature had plummeted, so Kay left the engine running and the heater on.

  West of the village and off the main road, the station served commuters travelling to London via Tonbridge. With only two platforms, it was easy for Kay and Carys to observe the arrival of the incoming trains, and they’d already found Stockton’s top of the range vehicle parked under a street lamp within metres of the station’s entrance.

  All they had to do was wait.

  Carys had phoned the bank that the economist worked at an hour and a half ago, on the pretext of wanting to arrange a meeting with him there.

  The call had been short, and when she ended it, declining to leave a message with the receptionist, she had turned to Kay with a look of triumph.

  ‘He left fifteen minutes ago. He’s on his way.’

  Now, the headlights of an approaching train lit up the track beyond their position and Kay reluctantly pulled the keys from the ignition and pushed open her door.

  A bitter wind snapped at her coat as she buttoned it, and the two women hurried across the car park towards the ticket barrier.

  ‘Makes you wonder why he doesn’t drive to Tonbridge and take the train from there instead of having to change,’ said Carys as she pressed her back against the brick structure of the station in attempt to escape the vicious breeze. ‘It’d be quicker.’

  ‘Have you seen the traffic through Hadlow and East Peckham these days?’ said Kay. ‘No – I reckon he’s got the right idea.’

  The train eased to a standstill a few metres from their position, and they stepped aside to let a small group of passengers exit through the gates.

  Kay craned her neck, and saw the tall figure of Giles Stockton hurrying towards the barrier, his travel card ready.

  An expression of surprise crossed his features when Kay approached him, her warrant card open.

  ‘Detective Hunter? What are you doing here? Is everything all right with Natalie and the children?’

  He swiped his card, then shoved it into his coat pocket and extracted a set of keys.

  ‘Everything is all right with your family,’ said Kay. ‘I wondered if we might speak to you before you head home.’

  ‘Ambush me, eh?’ He consulted his watch. ‘Well, I managed to catch an earlier train, so Nat won’t be expecting me for another forty minutes. May I suggest we go to The George? I’m not well known there, so it’ll be reasonably private, and it’ll get us out of this godawful weather.’

  ‘We’ll follow you. Lead the way.’

  Kay wasn’t familiar with the pub Stockton had suggested, although she’d driven past it on a number of occasions.

  In the light cast by the streetlights, she spotted the signage boasting riverside gardens, and made a mental note to perhaps explore it further with Adam when the summer began to venture once more into the countryside.

  As she and Carys followed Stockton into the building, she admired the exposed stonework of the interior walls that were offset by a low painted ceiling and tiled floor.

  A warmth emanated from the fire burning in a metal grate surrounded by a brickwork fireplace to her left, and at the sight of a menu displayed above the mantelpiece, Kay tried to ignore the hunger pangs that gnawed at her stomach.

  Ten minutes later, Carys returned to the small table Kay had commandeered at the back of the pub, and passed Stockton half a pint of ale before placing two glasses of orange juice on the table and taking a seat next to Kay.

  Kay thanked her, waited until she’d opened her notebook, and then turned her attention to Stockton.

  ‘Natalie didn’t mention that you knew Jamie Ingram before you were married to her.’

  Stockton lowered his glass. ‘Didn’t she?’

  Kay reached into her bag, and removed a copy of the photograph Carys had found before sliding it across the table to Stockton. ‘Tell me about this. Did you know Jamie prior to this event?’

  He took the picture from her before holding it up to the light. ‘God, that was a night. I swear blind my hangover lasted for three days. In answer to your question, yes, but only in passing.’

  ‘Did Natalie go to the fundraising event with you?’

  ‘No – it was long before I met her and, anyway, she wouldn’t have been allowed to go. It was for gentlemen only, see. Got a bit rowdy at one point, if you get my drift.’

  ‘Not really, no. Elaborate, please.’

  ‘Well, a couple of the chaps there played for the local rugby club. Organised a comedienne. Rather raucous, she was.’ He blushed. ‘I never told Natalie about it when I met her. She wouldn’t have approved.’

  ‘Did you keep in touch with Jamie Ingram after the event?’

  ‘I can’t recall, sorry. Of course, it’s all so long ago now. One forgets.’

  ‘Did you meet Natalie before or after her brother’s death?’

  ‘After. Poor girl was traumatised.’

  ‘How did you meet her?’

  He smiled. ‘I bumped into her at a summer party at a mutual acquaintance’s house on the other side of Wateringbury. Fabulous gardens. We were introduced by the hostess, and didn’t stop talking with each other all night. It was rather lovely.’

  ‘Did you tell her you knew her brother?’

  ‘It must’ve slipped my mind.’ He gave a small shrug, then raised his glass and drained a third of the ale.

  ‘Have you ever taken drugs, Mr Stockton?’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’

  Kay remained silent, waiting.

  He banged his glass on the table, and rose to his feet, glaring at her. ‘How bloody dare you!’

  ‘You didn’t answer the question, Mr Stockton.’

  He leaned over, swept his coat over his arm, and pointed a finger at her. ‘Nor do I intend to. You’re out of order. Next time you want to speak to me, Detective, it’ll be in the presence of my solicitor.’

  He snatched up his briefcase from the floor and spun on his heel.

  Kay sipped her orange juice and watched as he tore open the door to the pub and stepped out into the night without a backward glance.

  ‘What do you want me to do now, guv?’ said Carys.

  ‘Find out everything you can about Giles Stockton. Financial statements, employment records, the lot. Turn him inside out.’

  Thirty-Five

  Kay stepped over the threshold to her home, closed the door behind her and leaned against it, exhausted.

  Her mind was a jumble after speaking with Jamie’s friends and Giles Stockton over the course of the day.

  She had hoped the conversations would give her the breakthrough she so desperately needed. Instead, all she had done was learn that Jamie had indeed been afraid of someone – probably the buyer or buyers of the drugs he’d been supplying – but died before he’d had a chance to speak to anyone about it.

  Now, she fully supported S
harp’s theory that Jamie’s death had been anything but an accident.

  Someone had killed him to ensure his silence about the drug operation that had proved to be so lucrative.

  ‘Are you going to stand there all night?’

  Adam peered around the kitchen door, a bottle of beer in his hand and a wide grin on his face.

  ‘I’m too tired to move, so yes – I might.’

  ‘You’re going to have to get out the way at some point. Takeaway again, I’m afraid – I only got home myself twenty minutes ago, so it’s Chinese tonight. The delivery bloke will be here in a while.’

  Kay pushed herself away from the door. ‘In that case, I’m going to get changed, and then I’m going to collapse.’

  His laughter rang in her ears as she made her way upstairs.

  While she changed out of her suit and into jeans and a battered old sweatshirt, she mulled over the interviews.

  It seemed that as Jamie became further entrenched within the drug smuggling operation, he had let his friendships slip away, and she believed both David Mason and Greg Kendrick had no idea the man had been undertaking illegal activities.

  Her thoughts returned to the conversation she and Carys had had with Giles Stockton.

  The man had seemed genuinely outraged when she had mentioned drugs, but she wondered why he had never spoken to his wife about knowing her brother prior to his death. It troubled her that although he admitted that Natalie had been devastated by Jamie’s passing, he had never thought to tell her.

  ‘Oi. You’d better not be working in that office of yours up there.’

  She smiled as Adam’s voice carried up the stairs, and padded out of the bedroom and across the landing.

  ‘Believe it or not, I wasn’t kidding about being too tired to do anything else tonight,’ she said. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she put her arm around him and steered him towards the kitchen. ‘Gimme wine. Now.’

  He gave her a gentle shove towards the barstools arranged around the kitchen worktop, then opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, pouring a generous measure into a glass for her.

  ‘Do I dare ask how your day went?’

  She took a large sip before setting her glass down on the worktop, then reached into the pocket of her jeans, pulled out an elastic band that she always kept to hand, and tied her hair into a ponytail.

  ‘Frustrating. I’ve spoken with three people today – two of whom tried to be helpful, but couldn’t shed any light on why an old friend of theirs was behaving out of character before his death, and the other has raised more questions that could send this investigation off down yet another path. And, if I’m right about him, things could get ugly.’

  Adam’s brow furrowed, and she decided to change the subject – there was no sense in worrying him about the state of her investigation.

  ‘What about you? What have you been up to?’

  His face grew serious. ‘I spoke to Rufus’s foster carers today. They got back from Wales last night, so you can imagine how that went.’

  Kay reached across the worktop and wrapped her fingers around his.

  He squeezed her hand. ‘Anyway, apart from that it was a quiet day – I managed to get some time to myself and work on that journal article I’ve been trying to write for the past three weeks. The deadline is in two days’ time, but hopefully I’ll gain some exposure for the practice from it when it’s published.’

  He ran a hand through his black curly hair, his dark eyes gleaming. ‘And, in better news, I met with the accountant this afternoon, and we’re showing a twenty per cent increase on last year’s takings for the business.’

  Kay held up her glass and clinked it against his bottle of beer. ‘That’s brilliant. You’ve worked so hard for it, well done.’

  ‘Thanks. I was surprised actually, given that we’ve taken on an extra vet. Mind you, the overheads are down, and it all seems to be ticking along nicely.’

  He stretched, his long-sleeved T-shirt riding up across his stomach, and then yawned before he turned away from the worktop and slid the empty beer bottle into the recycling bin before helping himself to a glass of wine and wandering back to her.

  His hand moved to the back of his neck as he closed his eyes for a moment, and Kay felt an enormous sense of pride in the man she shared her life with.

  The past two years hadn’t been easy for either of them, and yet they’d stuck together, never giving up, and determined to succeed.

  Adam opened his eyes at the sound of the doorbell; at the same time Kay’s stomach rumbled.

  His mouth quirked. ‘I’m not even going to ask if you remembered to eat today. The sooner Sharp is back, the better – the others are useless at nagging you.’

  Kay aimed a mock punch his way, but he shifted too fast and wandered out to the hallway, laughing.

  She could hear his voice at the door, talking to the man that delivered their food while she fetched cutlery and plates from the cupboards, setting them out on the worktop as Adam reappeared.

  They ate in silence for a while, sharing out the food from the containers and enjoying each other’s company.

  Eventually, Adam pushed his empty plate away, and sighed. ‘I needed that. So, what will you do next with your investigation?’

  Kay put down her knife and fork, and rested her chin in her hand.

  ‘There’s nothing else for it. We’re going to have to go through everything we’ve done so far and review it. Someone, somewhere, isn’t telling us the truth. Starting with Natalie Stockton’s husband.’

  Thirty-Six

  ‘Inspector?’

  Kay didn’t register the voice at first, still unaccustomed to her new rank and instead remained intent on her work until Barnes coughed and waved his hand in her direction.

  ‘He’s talking to you, Hunter.’

  Kay tore her eyes away from her computer screen to see Sergeant Hughes standing at the door to the incident room, a hopeful expression on his face.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘There’s a woman at the reception desk who says you wanted to talk to her about Jamie Ingram?’

  ‘Amber Fitzroy?’ said Barnes.

  ‘That’s her,’ said Hughes. ‘I said you’d be right down, if that’s okay?’

  ‘Absolutely fine. Is there an interview room free?’ She picked up her mobile phone and notebook, and then threaded her way between the desks, tapping Barnes on the shoulder as she passed him.

  ‘You can use number four,’ said Hughes, and grinned. ‘Good job it’s quiet this week. The cold weather keeps most of the idiots at home this time of year.’

  She could still hear him chuckling to himself as she reached the corridor and hurried down the stairs, closely followed by Barnes.

  She paused on the bottom step and turned to him.

  ‘Trent Oldham must’ve passed our message on. I expected to speak to her on the phone first and drive up to Surrey.’

  ‘I’ve got to admit, she’s keen if she’s turned up here in person out of the blue. What do you think?’

  ‘I want you to lead this one. Be nice. It might just be the case that she and Jamie were close, but let’s find out if she knew anything about the drug smuggling.’

  Barnes straightened his tie and buttoned his jacket. ‘Okay. Let’s go.’

  When Kay pushed open the door into the reception area of the police station, Amber Fitzroy was pacing the floor in front of the desk rather than waiting in one of the plastic chairs.

  She turned at the sound of voices, and Kay was struck by the anxious expression on the woman’s face.

  After introducing herself and Barnes, she ushered Amber towards the interview rooms and waited while she settled into a chair, opening her notebook.

  Barnes gave Amber a brief overview of their investigation, and thanked her for coming in to see them.

  ‘We’d like to have a chat with you about the time you were working at the Red Lion Inn at Deepcut,’ he said. ‘When did you
start working for Trent Oldham?’

  Her mouth quirked. ‘When I was sixteen and a half. I was tall, and he always paid in cash, so it didn’t matter to him that I was under age. I never drank in the pub anyway, not until my eighteenth birthday.’

  ‘Do you still work there?’

  ‘No. I left the Deepcut area six months after Jamie’s death. The gossip in the village surrounding Jamie became too much, and I moved away to the other end of the county. I met my husband, Mark, at a local gym and we got married four years ago. We’ve got a couple of kids now – a boy, who’s four and an older girl, who’s seven.’

  ‘You kept your surname?’

  ‘Yes. I like it, and Mark didn’t mind. He’s quite laid-back about things like that.’

  ‘We understand that you and Jamie Ingram were close. How long had you known him for?’

  The woman tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear, and then hugged her arms over her white woollen coat that she had declined to remove.

  Kay couldn’t blame her – the interview rooms were freezing cold, and she rued the fact she hadn’t worn a warmer jacket that day.

  ‘About eighteen months,’ said Amber. A sad smile crossed her features. ‘I’d been working there about three years when Jamie first turned up. ‘He wasn’t like the others. You could tell he had a good upbringing. Some of the soldiers who used to drink in the pub were a bit rough around the edges.’

  ‘How long were you his girlfriend for?’

  ‘We got together about three months after he first started drinking there. Like I said, he was different to a lot of them. He used to like sitting by himself in the corner, just daydreaming sometimes. I got chatting to him one night, and it went from there. I hated it when he went overseas – I know his job didn’t put him in direct danger, but he was still out there. I can’t begin to describe the relief I felt every time he walked through the door on his return.’

  ‘How serious would you say your relationship was with Jamie?’

  She sighed, and uncrossed her arms. ‘You heard about the diamond earrings?’