Cold Justice (31 page)

‘Yes, and he wasn’t his usual self when he came back to London, according to the concierge at his place. No escorts, no company. Something was bothering him. I’m going to start pulling in the locals for interviews from tomorrow, Robbo. I’m looking forward to hearing them deny all knowledge of what went on at Kellis House. We’ll Skype you during the meeting tomorrow morning.’

The next morning, the newly emerged sun streaked the sky with a peach glow that made it look angry rather than warm. The rain had stopped but the waves rolled in on the Atlantic swell, bigger than ever.

‘Bad weather to come. Shepherd’s warning and all that.’ Lauren came to stand behind Willis, a cup of coffee in her hands. They stood looking down over the common to the sea. ‘I wonder what today will bring?’ said Lauren.

‘Will you be all right here on your own?’ asked Willis. ‘I can organize someone to come and be here with you?’

‘No. I’m okay. I will get out for a walk with Russell.’

‘We’re going to be just down the road now in the old police station if you need anything.’

‘Okay, thanks.’

Willis turned to leave and she looked at Lauren’s face. It was grey and her eyes looked sore. ‘Try and get some rest, Lauren. It’s important to keep strong.’ Lauren nodded, she was hugging herself. Her eyes focused on the distance beyond the common. She was rocking as if nursing a baby.

‘Lauren?’

‘I’m okay, really. Will you come and get me if something happens?’

‘I promise.’

Willis walked down the road to the beach and past the newsagent’s. The sea had come right in over the road during the night. It had brought and dumped odd bits of debris with it: tins and bits of wood, plastic bottles and shards of glass jutted out from sandy mounds everywhere. She looked across at Cam’s café and wondered what time he opened. There was no sign of activity at nearly eight o’clock.

‘Morning, Eb.’

Carter was waiting for her outside the old station. He was beginning to get a slightly dishevelled look about him as the lack of home comforts took their toll. Willis always travelled light and washed her things out overnight. She didn’t need more than two sets of everything to function perfectly well. She had a toothbrush and some Simple face wash and Nivea cream for when her face felt dry. Willis didn’t collect things, whereas Carter loved his gadgets and his designer garments. She knew he would have struggled to get a shirt ironed, the way he liked it, at the hotel. And all his hair products had not managed to stop his hair from looking a little flat in the sea air.

Willis cupped her hands against the glass as she looked through the window.

‘Such a tiny place.’

‘Yeah, but this was Raymonds’ mission control. From here, his eye could reach into the four corners of his kingdom.’

Willis giggled. ‘The shire folk, you mean.’

‘Yes, Master.’

‘Morning.’ Pascoe appeared from around the corner of the building, hiding a smile.

‘I hope this will do. We’ve got internet, landlines. We’ve moved over as many desktop computers as we could fit.’

‘I’m sure it will be fine.’

‘I picked up some coffees for us in town before I came,’ Pascoe said. ‘I wasn’t sure if the café would be open.’

‘Cam’s place?’ Willis asked as she took the coffees with thanks.

‘Yes. It doesn’t seem to open a lot. He opens for maybe three hours and then shuts up shop for the rest of the day. I suppose it must be like that here.’

‘You wonder how he manages to support himself,’ said Willis.

‘Oh, he’s got money,’ said Pascoe. ‘The land he inherited from his father and sold to Stokes.’

‘How do you know he’s still got it?’ asked Carter.

‘Because he had to prove he had the funds when he made an application to extend his café up a floor and create a restaurant. Shall we go inside?’

Carter turned to raise an eyebrow at Willis as they followed Pascoe into the station.

‘So, here is the main reception area which I thought we’d use as our office. Through there is the old interview room; it now has a window but it’s got bevelled glass in it, so may do. This place was used as a tourist office for a while. There is another room to your right and that was the sergeant’s office in the old days. I thought we could use that as a second interview room?’ asked Pascoe. ‘I can recommend a couple of detectives from Penhaligon who are highly qualified at interviewing.’

‘Thanks, that’s worth bearing in mind,’ answered Carter. ‘Okay, let’s get this on the road. I’d like to conference call my colleague in London.’

Willis had been fiddling with the set-up of the computers and gave Carter the thumbs-up as the screen came to life and the Met insignia appeared. Robbo’s face materialized. Willis introduced him to Pascoe.

‘Nice to put a face to the voice,’ said Robbo.

‘Shall we start with an update on the search from you, Pascoe?’ Carter asked.

Pascoe got out his notes.

‘Did you search the mine on Garra Headland?’ asked Willis.

‘Yes, I just finished the report. Here it is.’

He handed Willis and Carter a copy then emailed the file over to Robbo, before putting his laptop down on the table with his notes.

‘It’s coming your way, Robbo.’

‘Many thanks.’

‘You have a lot of mine shafts around your area,’ said Robbo. ‘How do you manage to search them?’

‘With some difficulty,’ answered Pascoe, as he looked at his notes. ‘So far, I’ve only ordered the cameras to go down the one at Garra: it’s the nearest and the deepest.’

They studied the video footage.

‘It’s L-shaped underground?’ Carter asked, as they looked.

‘Yes. It was quite a simple process. What people did is chisel straight down through the granite and if they hit a seam they followed it along the horizontal. Those days the water was pumped out. These days the mines are full of water.’

‘How difficult are they to access?’ asked Willis.

‘Easy. They are all covered but the cover is only bolted on. We’ve had a few bodies thrown down over the years but it’s not a clever choice for disposal. The cold water keeps bodies from decaying fast and there is no vermin down there. We’ve been unable to access the exit to this mine. It comes out in a cave below the water level and the seas won’t allow us to get anywhere near it right now.’

Pascoe brought up a map of the area on his screen and Willis shared her laptop with Carter and Leonard as they listened to Pascoe’s details of the search areas and the findings of the helicopter.

‘We concentrated on the cliff sections that were accessible on foot. These storms would make it an impossible task to find him in the water. The tidal surge is so high that it would be impossible to predict where he’d wash up. If he was even here.’ Pascoe looked at Carter.

‘For now, this is the best we have. The only leads we have end here. So now we make a plan for phase two. House to house, calling in people for interviews, DNA testing every adult in this village.’

‘Local people will want to focus on Martin Stokes’ murder. I thought Leonard was going to be here at this meeting?’ asked Pascoe.

‘No, I decided we needed to stay on track. While it’s understandable that people are wanting us to concentrate on his murder, Stokes and Raymonds have had a chokehold on this village for too long. I’m not that flippin’ interested who killed Stokes unless it gets me one step closer to finding Samuel,’ answered Carter.

Pascoe faltered for a few seconds and then continued:

‘We’ve had a confirmation of clothes bought that would be the right size for Samuel, bought by Kensa Cooper last week from a shop in Penhaligon. The woman remembers that Kensa had been in her shop a few times in the past. She thought she’d bought baby clothes before. This was the first time she’d seen her buy for a toddler.’

‘Did she know anything about Kensa?’

‘She always recognizes her because she seems off her head most of the time. I have some more background on the locals for you. Cam Simmons’ father used to own the farm alongside the Stokes place. Mrs Simmons died in 1989 of cancer. Les Simmons was a quiet character, there was talk of brutality against his wife and kids. He died in a farming accident, fell into the container of chicken shit when Cam was in his late teens. There was just him and his father by that time and it was briefly investigated as the body showed signs of bruising on the skull and back, but farming accidents are very hard to disprove. Cam’s sister Ella went missing in summer 2000 when she was sixteen. Presumed runaway; she’s never been located.’

‘Cam went on to inherit it all?’

‘Yes, his father must have felt pretty sure Ella wasn’t coming back. He named him sole heir. Martin Stokes bought up most of the land from Cam, who kept just an acre and the cottage out by the mine in Garra. Cam went away. He’s only been back a little while. He applied for a licence to extend the café upwards.’

‘I’m surprised he got it.’

‘It seems Raymonds recommended it be granted. I guess he’s honoured if Raymonds likes him.’

‘Raymonds doesn’t like anyone. Did you find Mawgan’s car yet?’

‘Not a sign. Can I just say something?’ Pascoe asked.

‘Shoot.’

‘People are going to want immediate action when it comes to Martin Stokes. For all his faults he was well liked here. He was seen as an important person. I know you have your priorities but… ’

Carter held up his hand to speak.

‘Stokes means nothing. He was a corrupt, nasty paedophile who, when this is all over, everyone will rush to forget. They won’t want to fucking know. Raymonds is not looking too clean either. There’s been some serious police corruption going on here, and I don’t know how far it extends. I don’t know who to trust, but I’m hoping I can trust you. Since we came down to this quaint little picturesque village in idyllic Cornwall, all I’ve seen is the ugly side of human nature. These people honestly believe they’re above the law. If Raymonds says it’s okay, then it’s beyond prosecution, it’s morally sound. Well, I want these people to wake up and smell the fucking manure! I find that boy dead, I’m going to do my damnedest to hold each one of them responsible, and I expect full cooperation from you.’

There was a silence in the room as Robbo’s face remained motionless on the screen. Willis stared at Carter’s profile, gauging how angry he was from one to ten. This was a nine. Pascoe, still standing, opened his eyes wide, and looked about to do a haka dance in Carter’s face, but instead he gave a sharp nod and grunted.

‘Understood. You have my full support.’

‘Robbo? Continue.’ Carter breathed again and tried to calm down.

‘There were several calls to JFW from the Stokes farm number in the days before he died,’ said Robbo, ‘also a lot of missed calls from the Penhal Hotel – that’s where you’re staying, isn’t it Carter?’

‘Yeah, it’s the heart of this village. It’s the only place to drink in the evening, and there’s a public phone there. Signal in a lot of Cornwall is really bad. I’ll talk to the manager about it when I get back. What time were the calls?’

‘Between twelve noon and twelve midnight.’

‘How is it going with Toby?’ asked Willis. ‘Jeanie seems to be more nurse than liaison officer.’

‘Yes, he’s falling apart, apparently,’ answered Robbo. ‘Not sure he can tell us any more of any use.’

‘He has to come down to Cornwall,’ Carter said, ‘he might trigger a reaction down here. He might force someone’s hand.’

‘Okay, I’ll pass the message on, but I think that’s the last place he wants to be. A public appeal is going out in Cornwall,’ said Robbo. ‘Bowie asks if you’re sure it’s the right move.’

‘I’m sure. I’ll work with these hundred officers for this next twenty-four, and make tactical searches of areas of interest before we swamp the place with officers. Everything has to be in place.’

‘Pascoe, you head the Stokes murder enquiry, call in witnesses and then I want the emphasis in the questioning to be shifted to Samuel’s disappearance and don’t allow lawyers present. Don’t keep anyone in custody and make the interviews all informal,’ Carter instructed. ‘Any problem with that?’

‘None.’

‘I’m going up to see if Sandford has arrived at the farm. Meanwhile, if you and Willis can work out who you’re going to bring in first. Eb? I’ll be back in an hour and then I want us to go and have a chat with Cam Simmons.’

After the meeting, Carter went out to Stokes’ farm to meet Sandford who’d arrived. Willis stayed behind to work with Pascoe.

‘Sandford, thanks for coming,’ Carter said as he approached. ‘I appreciate it.’

Sandford had come down from Archway at Carter’s request. His tall white-suited frame looked reassuringly familiar, even in such an alien environment.

‘Yeah, it took a while with the trailer. Couldn’t you have got someone more local?’

‘I could, but then why break up a winning team?’ Carter grinned and slapped Sandford on the back. ‘Plus, this isn’t just about the obvious. This could be linked to Samuel’s disappearance and I need people who understand that. I need to keep it tight.’

‘So what are we looking for here? Seems to be a busy farm? I saw all the machinery parked up back there.’

‘It gets mended here.’

Sandford was taking his equipment out of his car. He was directing proceedings. He’d brought a team of three others with him and a trailer full of equipment.

‘Yeah, it’s a problem,’ said Carter. ‘Basically anyone can get access to this farm and not come in by the front door. Tyre tracks are not easy to pin down. It’s a narrow lane where tractors go and everyone drives on the same track. We have already found the murder weapon, a spade, probably taken from the the pit over there. It was left in clear view.’

‘Get suited up and you can come in with me so far. I need to know some background here,’ Sandford said to Carter.

Carter took out a suit from the back of Sandford’s car and joined him in the field.

‘Well?’ asked Sandford. ‘You’re supposed to be solving a crime here, not creating a new one. Why did you want me down? Has this murder anything to do with Samuel’s abduction?’

‘If Samuel is here, then yes it does. I think this shows a breakdown in society here. A deal of some sort has been broken. Jeremy Forbes-Wright had an odd relationship with the people of this village. I expect Robbo’s told you that Toby was accused of an attack on a local girl, Kensa Cooper in 2000? Yet it was never investigated. Jeremy lived the life of Riley here. He came down with his VIP friends and basically did whatever he liked. I think it’s all about the money. Now, he’s dead, and the money is going to dry up and someone is trying to squeeze Jeremy’s son.’