Blood on the Tongue (Ben Cooper & Diane Fry) (28 page)

'An aircraft crash must have been quite an adventure if you were a child.'

'Yes, the Malkin boys,' said Rowland, 'they used to get everywhere. Their dad had taught them to be independent, and it would never have occurred to them that they couldn't look after themselves. It's something the kids don't learn these days, independence.' Rowland shook his head. 'If you ask me, they're ruining a whole generation.'

Cooper's questions seemed to have sparked Rowland's memories. His eyes had developed a familiar distant stare, the look of a man recalling a time when he'd been needed by his country, instead of being discarded.

'Those Poles,' he said. 'Do you know what they called Britain when they came here? I mean the ones that came over from France to carry on fighting when the Germans invaded?'

Cooper shook his head. 'No idea.'

'They knew there was nowhere else for them to move on to after Britain,' said Rowland. 'There was nowhere left for them to go to carry on fighting against Hitler. So they called us "Last Hope Island".'

17

Some officers were starting to call Edendale's two Detective Chief Inspectors 'Tweedledum and Tweedledee', because they were rarely seen except when they were sitting alongside each other at the head of a briefing. Everyone knew that a Senior Investigating Officer was unlikely to get involved directly in the day-to-day enquiries on a major case. Sometimes, as now, the SIO seemed to be completely out of step with what was happening on the ground.

'Which car is this?' DCI Kessen was saying as Fry slid into the meeting and sat at the back. Being at the back gave her very little protection, because most of the seats in front of her were empty. Both Cooper and Murfin were among the missing this morning.

'Edward Kemp's car,' explained DI Hitchens. 'The suspect for the double assault. The Isuzu Trooper with the window-cleaning gear in it.'

Fry noticed that the officers present had split into two groups, one on either side of the room, like opposing teams, with the two DCIs as the captains. She thought at first there was some kind of team-building exercise going on. Then she realized that they were all sitting up against the radiators on the walls. There was no warmth in the centre of the room – only an icy draught that ran from the door straight down the middle to Tweedledum and Tweedledee, who were prevented by their status from moving nearer to the warmth.

Fry took out her notebook and tapped her pen on it. With so few officers doing interviews, the regular briefings were starting to look like a waste of time, especially when there were two bosses to be kept up to speed. She ought to be out on the streets herself, keeping an eye on what was happening. She ought to be conducting interviews of potential thugs. She ought to be finding a missing baby. She'd written two words at the top of her pad for the meeting. It said: 'More staff?' and was underlined.

'We're looking for a four-wheel drive because of the time line,' said Hitchens. 'We think the body was dumped in the lay-by after the Pass had already been closed because of the snow.'

'Ah, yes.'

'Forensics are still going over the Isuzu. According to Kemp's wife, he was missing all night, as was the car. And DC Cooper spotted some rolls of blue plastic, which are the sort of thing we think might have been used to wrap the body in when it was transported.'

'Right.'

'Cooper apprehended Edward Kemp on suspicion of the double assault next morning. Kemp was identified by witnesses as one of four men committing the assault. But he was released on bail.'

'Released?'

'We can soon locate him again,' said Hitchens confidently.

'But we're still looking for the three other suspects in the assault case, aren't we?' said Tailby.

'If you can call it looking,' said Hitchens. 'We've got a couple of people sitting by telephones, hoping members of the public will do the looking for us. I know DS Fry feels the same, but we were hoping there might be news of some extra staff being allocated.'

The comment seemed to go right over the heads of the two DCIs, like a passing breeze that barely ruffled Tailby's hair. Tweedledee and Tweedledum seemed to move a little closer together.

'I'll take some convincing about this,' said DCI Tailby. 'It's rather optimistic to imagine that Kemp is going to help us clear up both enquiries. Not that I wouldn't be grateful to him, but I don't believe in luck like this.'

Fry raised her hand.

'Ah, DS Fry,' said Kessen. 'What good news have you brought us?'

She filled the meeting in quickly on her interview with Mrs Tennent.

'I'll have to leave shortly,' she said. 'I'm going to visit Kemp's house. Of course, there's no one else free to do it.'

'The missing baby?' said Tailby. 'That would be very convenient, wouldn't it? Three enquiries at once. I think I'm more interested in the clothes. They might constitute hard evidence.'

The clothes found by the traffic officers in the streambed were laid out in latex bags. There were several shirts, two pairs of trousers, underwear, a dark blue sweater and three or four odd socks. They'd been air-dried and closely examined for traces of blood, sweat or other substances that might help an identification.

'We thought at first there was a good chance they belonged to the Snowman,' said Hitchens. 'The shirts are a similar quality to the one he was wearing.'

'But?'

'They're the wrong size.'

'Damn.' Tailby's face creased in annoyance. 'Do you mean some idiot's been spreading clothes around the landscape just for a bit of a joke? Do these people do it on purpose to waste our time?'

'They may actually have come from the blue bag, for all we know,' said Hitchens.

'But if they're the wrong size –'

'But it's only an assumption that the bag was the Snowman's. There was other rubbish dumped in that lay-by.'

'Good point.'

'However, we do have this,' said Hitchens. 'We found it in the pocket of the coat he was wearing.'

He held up a smaller evidence bag. Whatever was in it was so small that officers a few feet away had to lean forward to be sure there was anything there at all.

'It got a bit wet from the snow, but fortunately the printing is good and hasn't washed away. Aside from the Snowman's apparent visit to Woodland Crescent on Monday, this is the best lead we've had to date, folks.'

'What is it?' said Fry.

'An admission ticket. It's for entry to an air museum at a place called Leadenhall.'

*    *    *    *

When Cooper left Walter Rowland's house, he walked into an awkward
déjà vu
. Alison Morrissey was standing in the road, with her hands shoved in the pockets of her coat. A few yards away, Frank Baine stood by a black Ford estate.

Morrissey watched Cooper as he began to walk back towards his car. For a futile moment, he thought he was going to get away without speaking to her.

'Detective Cooper, isn't it?' she said. 'Can I have a word, please?'

Cooper pulled his coat up round his ears. 'Is this a coincidence?' he said.

'No,' said Morrissey. 'Frank lives near here and he saw you arrive, so he phoned to tell me. I've been waiting for you to come out of there.'

Cooper couldn't read her expression, but he didn't think she was happy. It might have been the cold making her face flushed, but on the other hand, it could have been anger.

'I accepted that the local police aren't going to help me,' she said. 'But I didn't realize they would set about interfering and trying to stop me.'

'That's not what I'm trying to do,' said Cooper.

'No? It looks very much like it from where I'm standing. You appear at the home of the Lukasz family, and you pop up here, checking on people I want to talk to.'

'I have no intention of interfering.'

'I presume your superiors have given you instructions to keep an eye on me, in case I cause trouble.'

'Nothing like that.'

'But you visited the Lukasz family. I suppose you talked to the old man, Zygmunt. And I suppose it was you who warned them not to speak to me.'

'Why should I do that?'

'You've had your instructions, I expect. I was disappointed that the police wouldn't give me any help. But I never expected that they would set out to actively hinder me.'

Embarrassed, Cooper tried to edge towards his car, which was parked on the steepest part of the street. But Morrissey moved with him.

'Well, let me tell you something, Detective Cooper,' she said. 'Your attempts to obstruct me will only make me more determined to find out the truth. I guess I'm just that sort of person. I've always been pretty awkward – I tend to go the opposite direction to the one I'm being pushed in.'

'I wasn't able to speak to Zygmunt Lukasz,' said Cooper.

'Oh, no?'

'No.'

She hesitated, as if not sure whether to believe him. 'You had a long chat with his family, though, I bet.'

'I had to see them about a few other things.'

But even as Cooper said it, he knew it sounded weak and unconvincing. Morrissey gazed at him with something like contempt.

'I don't know why you bother to lie to me about it. Not when you were at Mr Rowland's house as well. Are you going to tell me that you had to go and see him about a few other things, too? That really would be a coincidence, wouldn't it?'

'There doesn't seem to be much point in me telling you anything, Miss Morrissey. I can see you're not going to believe me.'

Cooper had almost reached his car, but Morrissey moved too quickly. She was light on her feet, and she managed to get in front of him. She stood close to him – too close for Cooper's comfort.

'I have no reason to believe you,' she said. 'But I want you to know that, whatever you do, you won't make me give up. I'm in no hurry to go back to Toronto. No hurry at all. I'll stay right here in Derbyshire for as long it takes. I'll keep trying until I wear down Zygmunt Lukasz and Walter Rowland. And I
will
wear them down in the end. I'll certainly wear
you
down.'

Cooper began to button up his coat. This wasn't what he wanted to hear, not from Alison Morrissey. He had enough to cope with from Diane Fry. Fry was good at wearing him down, too.

'I've spent enough time here. I've got other things to be doing,' he said.

'Of course you have,' said Morrissey. 'You're short of resources, aren't you?'

'Yes, we are. That's why the boss told you we couldn't help. To be honest, I think he'll already have forgotten about you by now. He has other things to worry about. You're not important to him.'

'Well, thanks.' She looked at him searchingly. Then the dismissive comment finally seemed to make her accept that he might be telling the truth. 'So what then?'

'Sorry?'

'So why do you keep popping up asking questions wherever I go?'

Cooper didn't know how to answer her. He wasn't sure of the reason himself. Maybe it was something to do with his fascination for family ties, the sense of loyalty that drove people's lives. He sensed in himself a need to understand it when he saw it in others. He saw it in the Lukasz family, certainly. And he saw it in Alison Morrissey, too.

Morrissey was still watching him. 'You're a strange cop, aren't you? I can't make you out.'

Cooper inclined his head, accepting the judgment. 'You've nothing to worry about from me,' he said.

'Walter Rowland has talked to you, hasn't he?' she said.

'Yes.'

'These people will talk to you when they won't give me the time of day. They see me as a threat. But not you. There's something strange about that. Why isn't a cop a threat?'

Cooper only shrugged.

'What did he tell you?'

'Who?'

'Rowland, of course. What did he say to you?'

'You don't know what I was asking him about.'

'No, but it's a pretty safe bet it was something to do with the crash.'

'Not directly.'

Morrissey fixed him with her dark eyes. 'You could help me,' she said.

'Could I?'

'I mean, if you're not here to hinder me, like you say, then there's no reason why you shouldn't help me. These people won't talk to me, but they'll talk to you. You could get them to tell the truth.'

'My Chief Superintendent has already told you, Miss Morrissey –'

'Yeah, yeah. No resources to spare. His officers don't have the time, blah, blah. But you're already putting in the time here. For what reason, I don't know. But if you're already putting in the time with Lukasz, and with Rowland, then I'm not using up your Superintendent's precious resources, am I?'

'I'm sorry, I can't help you.'

'Your boss said he
would
help me, if he could,' said Morrissey.

'No. I'm sorry. You'll get me into trouble.'

'And I wouldn't want that, would I?' she said.

Cooper felt he ought to get in the car and drive away, but something kept him. He knew she hadn't quite finished what she wanted to say. After a second, she took a small step closer and put her hand on his arm.