The Drowners (31 page)

‘It’s all right,’ he said, trying to sound patient and calm. ‘That’s just to hold you safe while we’re moving. Look, you can move it slowly but a sudden jerk holds you in the seat.’ He gave a tug on the belt to demonstrate before turning his attention to driving. Simon sat beside him, pulling the belt back and forth, a grin spreading over his face. Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Dave wondered how reliable he was as a witness – or a guide. He seemed a bit simple minded sometimes – a lot of the time, actually.

‘’Tis there,’ said Simon abruptly as they swept round a bend and flashed past the lay-by. Dave caught a glimpse of several figures huddled around two cars, one of which was Alex’s Citroën and he braked hard, swinging the car around and causing the belts to lock as he did so.

‘Ooof!’ breathed Simon.

‘Now you know what they’re for,’ said Dave grimly, skidding to a halt in front of a silver car. The glare from his headlamps showed a scene resembling something from a crime film. One young man was slumped on the ground clutching at himself and moaning whilst two others knelt near him, heads bowed. Behind them several figures prowled, heavy sticks or something similar in their hands. Flinging the door open, Dave leaped out of the car.

‘Police!’ he shouted. ‘No one move. Stay where you are.’ There was a moment’s silence, broken by the rough breathing from the man on the ground and then another figure stepped into the circle of light.

‘A timely arrival,’ said the newcomer, smiling at Dave. The man was tall with dark hair, a sprinkling of grey at the temples. Dave stared at him in astonishment, lost for words.

‘But – I’ve just pulled you out of the marsh,’ he managed finally. No – it was not this man, he realized. A gold tooth glinted at him in the light from the car. Not this man but surely his twin …

‘You must mean my brother Tamas,’ said the man. ‘I trust he is safe. You say he has had an accident?’

‘He’s fine,’ said Dave. ‘Never mind about that – what’s going on here?’

‘It’s a good job they were around,’ said a familiar voice, and Alex stepped forward. ‘Hello Dave. I see Simon found you in the end.’ She nodded at Simon who was wrestling with the seat belt, nearly choking himself in his efforts to get out of the car. ‘Stay there Simon. Wait in the car. Everything’s alright.’

Dave began to feel he was losing control of the situation, though in truth he had never had control in the first place.

‘Alex, I’m glad you’re safe,’ he said. ‘Can you go over and wait by the car with Simon please.’

Alex walked over to stand beside the gold-toothed man, Milosh.

‘These men came to my aid,’ she said softly. ‘I don’t know what they were doing out here but I think I have been very, very lucky. It’s these little toe-rags you should be questioning.’ She indicated Max and his gang.

‘Especially him!’ She pointed to Max. ‘He was going to kill me. Leave me out here as a warning, I think. To their credit, the lads didn’t seem too keen to do anything much. It’s only him,’ she pointed to Max again, ‘who thought it was a good idea.’

‘Now Alex, you know that’s for the courts to decide,’ said Dave. ‘Perhaps we could start with a few names?’

He looked around and realized that most of the
surrounding
figures had vanished, slipping away into the rising mist. He felt a moment of anxiety, remembering his instructor from Hendon.

‘Never rely on the badge, lad. There’s some that respect your authority and a darn sight more who won’t. You need to make them know you are in charge and, if necessary, have the means to back it up.’ Here he was, alone, outnumbered and very much struggling to stamp his authority on events. In fact he was having trouble understanding events, never mind controlling them. There was a footstep behind him and he whirled round to see Simon, who had finally succeeded in freeing himself from the car.

‘We were out around here, checking on, shall we say, our assets,’ said Milosh calmly. ‘There have been reports of trespassers and some who seem intent on damage or harm. It is indeed fortunate we happened on this group and were able to assist in our small way. Now, it is late and I think I would like to see how my brother is after his misadventures, so I bid you farewell …’

‘Not without answering a few questions first,’ said Dave, stepping forward to grab his arm. ‘For a start, there’s the matter of this man.’ He gestured towards Max, who was still slumped in a heap by the car. Milosh laughed and shook his head.

‘Sadly we cannot claim any credit for him,’ he said. ‘Your friend here did that all on her own.’ And with that he was gone, slipping away into the night with the last of his men.

Dave opened his mouth to protest but it was too late. Jason, who had been listening with interest to the exchange, began to sidle round the car, hoping to emulate Milosh and his men, but Dave grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards his own car.

‘Alex, can you reach into the glove compartment and get my cuffs please?’ he said, hanging on to Jason, who started wriggling frantically until Dave pulled his arm behind his back. Dave swiftly handcuffed the two accomplices together, looping the chain through the handle of Max’s car. There was a faint protest over this as Max dragged himself up into a sitting position, his face white with pain.

‘They scratch my paintwork an’ I’ll have you, copper,’ he said, speaking through gritted teeth. ‘And you’, he pointed a shaking finger at Alex, ‘I’ll have you for assault, bitch.’

Dave stood over Max and stared at him thoughtfully.

‘Reckon you’re in enough trouble already,’ he said. ‘I could add threatening behaviour to the charges if you carry on.’

Max sneered up at him. ‘You got nothing,’ he said. ‘I’m the one is hurt and you just got her word about what happened. Crazy bitch assaulted me on account of nothing. ’Ent that right lads?’

The two young men both looked away, heads down as they stared into the distance. Dave grinned and shook his head, then beckoned Alex over.

‘You want another go at him, be my guest. I’m going to call for a wagon, get them taken in to Highpoint.’ He walked away leaving Alex staring down into Max’s red-rimmed eyes. She hovered over him for a minute before turning her back and walking a few feet towards Simon.

‘Keep an eye on him with me,’ she said. Simon glanced over at Max who was still struggling to stay upright.

‘No,’ said Alex in response to his unspoken question. ‘That would make me almost as bad as him.’

Simon felt a flicker of disappointment. He was wondering how Alex had managed to fell Max in the first place and had rather hoped for a repeat performance.

‘Iris? Iris! Open up, is just I,’ came a familiar voice through the wooden panels of the front door. Iris gave a sob of relief on recognizing Ada’s voice, casting an anxious eye at the kitchen door before she hurried down the hallway to let her in. Her eyes widened with surprise at the sight of Sue and Lily but she stepped back and gestured them inside, glancing around the street before closing and locking the door again. Ada pulled a face as she heard the thumping coming from the back room.

‘We was coming to warn you,’ she said. ‘Sounds as if we’m a bit too late.’

‘You knew?’ Iris said.

Ada shook her head, reaching inside her coat for something. ‘Only just found out,’ she said, pulling out her shotgun.

Sue was horrified. ‘You brought a gun!’ she said. ‘You brought a gun along with you – and you had it in my car?’

‘Weren’t going to leave it behind on the river bank, now was I?’ said Ada reasonably. ‘All that damp – would ruin it.’

‘No, you don’t understand,’ said Sue. ‘You can’t wander around the countryside with a concealed weapon. It’s illegal – and not safe either. What the
fuck
were you
thinking
?’

‘’Ent no need for that,’ said Ada disapprovingly. ‘Is only a rook startler anyway. Was to make a decent noise, scare that little punk Max off.’

Both Lily and Iris looked at Ada in surprise. They knew the difference between a shotgun and a rook startler and the weapon in Ada’s hands was most certainly an example of the former.

There was a crash from the back room, cutting short further protests from Sue, and Iris lunged towards the chair, now moving in jerks across the floor as Derek flung his weight against the door. Lily and Sue hurried to the chair, flinging their weight on it and forcing the barrier back in place.

‘Phone the police!’ panted Sue. ‘Now, Iris – get the police here now. Is he armed?’ she added as an afterthought.

Iris stopped half-way to the phone. ‘I don’t rightly know,’ she said.

‘Best step away in that case,’ said Ada lifting the gun.

There was one final shove from inside the kitchen and then an eerie silence before they heard a muffled thump. The women froze in place, forming a loose semi-circle around the kitchen door. A minute passed, then another with no sound from the kitchen.

‘Maybe he’s gone,’ Sue whispered. She looked over at Ada and added, ‘This in no way means I approve of that,’ she pointed to the shotgun, ‘but perhaps we could risk a quick look.’

Ada stepped forward, taking up position to the left as Sue and Lily wrestled the chair out from under the handle. Despite the noise they were making there was still no response from the kitchen.

‘Give me the gun,’ said Iris suddenly.

‘What for?’ asked Ada, backing away from her.

Iris darted forwards and held out her hand. ‘If we need to shoot I can get away with it,’ she said softly. ‘Is my house he’s broken into. Is me he’s threatening. I can plead self-defence and there’ll be few questions asked. Now, give me the gun.’

Ada handed the shotgun over in silence and they took up positions around the splintered door.

‘Okay,’ said Sue, and Ada reached out and opened the door a few inches, stepping back swiftly into the group. Iris moved forward, shotgun at the ready and nudged the door open a foot or so, then stopped and stared.

Raising the gun to her shoulder she called out.

‘Put yer hands up, Derek. Come on – let’s have you.’

Derek lay on the floor, his eyes closed. Iris waved Ada back and stepped over the threshold, approaching him with the wariness of a cat creeping around a dog.

‘Derek?’ she whispered. There was no response. ‘Derek? What’s happened to him?’ She turned to face the women who crowded into the confined space.

‘He don’t look too good,’ commented Lily, screwing up her face at the ripe aroma surrounding the comatose man. Ada leaned over and poked him gingerly with her foot. When there was no reaction Iris, emboldened by her husband’s stillness, reached out and felt for a pulse in his wrist.

‘I think he’s dead,’ she said.

Alex had gone home with PC Brown, dozing off in the car from exhaustion. She was surprised to find Sue was missing but she was so tired she collapsed into bed and slept until half-way down the next morning. Dragged from a deep
slumber
laced with dark dreams of chases and hidden dangers, she finally stumbled down the stairs at around 11 o’clock, just missing a telephone call. Swearing with frustration, she was brewing coffee and planning a call to the office to explain her absence when the phone rang again.

‘Yes?’ she growled, snatching up the receiver on the second ring.

‘Hi, is that you, Alex?’ said Hector, sounding decidedly tentative.

Alex sighed heavily. Just what she needed after the last few weeks, she thought.

‘Yeah. Who were you expecting?’

‘Sorry, sorry – just I tried you a couple of times last night and there was no answer.’

Alex flirted with the idea it was brotherly concern that had led to this unusual level of communication but was rapidly disabused of the notion.

‘There’s a bit of a problem down here,’ Hector continued. ‘It’s Mother. Er, she’s been arrested again and they want to send her to prison.’

Alex raised her eyebrows at this. It was not unheard of for retired school teachers to be jailed but it certainly wasn’t an everyday occurrence.

‘It’s that bloody protest group,’ said Hector. ‘She went back and was arrested again but this time she had to go to court and she stood up and refused to pay the fine. I’ve spoken to Archie and Dad but they said she threatened to walk out and never come back this time if we pay up. What should we do?’

He sounded so plaintive, Alex thought, like a little lost boy. So her mother had stood up to them all, had she? Despite her concern, Alex felt a stab of pride. It was not easy facing down the bullies. She knew that, probably better than anyone in her family. Still, this would cause a scandal in the circles in which her family moved and she wondered if her mother was really aware of how unpleasant a spell in prison could be.

‘How long did she get?’ she asked.

‘Thirty days,’ said Hector miserably. ‘In …’ There was a rustling of papers.

‘Please don’t let it be Holloway,’ Alex muttered to herself.

‘… somewhere called “East Sutton Park”. Where is that?’

Alex let out a sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t Holloway – or Styal or ‘Grisly Risley’, possibly the worst of all.

‘Right, listen, Hector. Firstly, she’ll probably only serve about twenty days if she behaves. East Sutton Park’s down in Kent, by the Weald. It’s not too bad as prisons go, actually, though there are a lot of silly rules. She’ll be in with the “tellies” most likely, not with too many long-term inmates, and her sentence is so short she’ll mainly be bored.’

‘Who are the “tellies”, Alex?’ came Hector’s plaintive voice.

‘All those poor women who get caught without a TV licence,’ said Alex. ‘It’s mainly women because they can’t afford the licence, so they certainly can’t afford the huge fine. And they’re the ones stuck at home looking after the kids, all of whom spend their waking hours clamouring for a
television
. Not exactly hardened criminals anyway.’

There was the sound of a key scraping in the lock of the front door.

‘Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll call tonight and we can talk about what to do. Just make sure you get the court to confirm where she’s been sent. Sometimes they send prisoners off in a different direction. Don’t worry, Hector – it will be all right.’

She slammed the receiver down as Sue came through the door looking decidedly worn and tired.

‘God, what a night.’

Sue flopped into a chair and dropped her keys on the table. Her eyes were red-rimmed with fatigue, her long hair tangled across her shoulders in a series of snarls and her feet, Alex noted with interest, were caked with mud.

‘Yomping with Eddie?’ Alex asked sweetly. Sue had stubbornly refused all Eddie’s attempts to get her involved in his improving and energetic programme of activities.

‘Fuck off,’ said Sue wearily.

‘Charming. And a good morning to you, too. Coffee?’

‘Please. Anyway, it’s your fault I’ve been up all night.’

Alex returned with a mug of coffee that Sue accepted gratefully. She sat at the table, waiting for her friend to recover a little before challenging her last statement.

‘You buggered off last night and I waited but you didn’t come back,’ Sue continued after downing half the mug in three large gulps. ‘I phoned Dave Brown in the end because the muppets at the police station wouldn’t do anything. The next thing I know I’m out on the Levels up to my knees in mud helping Ada haul someone out of the marsh before rushing off to warn Iris about Derek who’s been on the loose.’

‘Yeah, I know about Derek,’ said Alex. ‘Simon told me. God, I hope they catch him soon. He gives me the creeps, that man. I think he’s unhinged.’

Sue finished her coffee and put the mug on the table with a satisfied sigh.

‘I don’t think you need worry about him any more,’ she said. ‘He collapsed in Iris’s house and they shipped him off to hospital but I heard he’s in a really bad way. He’s got blood poisoning and gangrene in one hand and they thought he might have septic shock. He’ll certainly lose his hand, maybe an arm if he survives.’

Alex felt sick. Despite her loathing of the man, she felt a twinge of pity for him: he had lost so much in the last year – one son dead, one son in prison and rejected by his wife. He might have brought a lot of this on himself but even so …

‘Don’t start feeling sorry for him,’ said Sue, who was
watching
Alex closely. ‘He broke into Iris’s house and threatened her. And the police reckon they have evidence it was him who killed that river warden and the security guard out on the Levels. He was a bit more than unhinged, believe me.’

Alex leaned her elbows on the table and screwed up her eyes.

‘Even so …,’ she began.

‘No,’ said Sue pointing at her. ‘Not your fault. Anyway, after the police arrived and shipped him off we had several jolly hours answering questions before I was finally allowed to drive Ada and Lily home. Only Ada made me take them both back to the old peat works first.’

Alex frowned and shook her head. ‘What was that for?’

Sue grinned broadly. ‘She’s got this theory. You know the weird music – like a flute – that’s been driving everyone crazy out there? Well, Ada reckons it’s from those new railings they’re putting up all over the place, fencing a lot of it off. They’re made from a sort of kit, squared-off metal with holes drilled for the bolts but where there are no bolts, the holes are just left open. Then the wind gets up and – flute music. Now, I’m for the shower. I can’t stand all this icky stuff all over me.’
PC Dave Brown stood to attention, sweating in his tightly buttoned uniform whilst his station Inspector prowled around him, stopping occasionally to look out of the window. Dave was expecting the dressing down of his life and it looked as if he was not going to be disappointed.

‘Well now,’ said the Inspector finally. ‘It seems you have been acting with considerable initiative.’

Somehow he made the word ‘initiative’ sound as bad as ‘hooliganism’. Dave considered responding but chose the wiser, silent course.

‘Let me see.’ The Inspector rifled through some papers on his desk. ‘’Um, a-ha, right. So.’ He looked up again. ‘Quite a good result under the circumstances. Looks like we’ve cleared up three murders on the Levels, broken up a major
drug-smuggling
operation and finally nailed that bastard Derek Johns.’

He seemed to be waiting for something, so Dave swallowed nervously before managing, ‘Yes Sir.’

‘Yes,’ continued the Inspector, ‘not a bad night’s work. It will look very good in this month’s crime figures. However …’ And here he paused theatrically. ‘However, there is the small matter of your actions. Rather than contacting the station you set out on your own, accompanied by a
civilian
, and engaged a number of dangerous criminals without authority or back-up. You placed yourself and several
civilians
at risk in the process. You also used an unauthorized police band radio which I understand is fitted to your personal vehicle, endangering our wireless security.’

Dave thought he was stretching a bit here. Any kid with a short-wave could pick up the police radio and a lot of them probably did. A swift glance at his Inspector’s face, however, convinced him that it was better to maintain a discreet silence.

‘In addition, we have several complaints,’ the Inspector went on. ‘Criminal damage to a motor vehicle, assault and wrongful arrest. Would you care to comment, Constable?’

‘I cuffed two suspects to the car to prevent them fleeing the scene, Sir. Any damage was done by them. The wrongful arrest – well, I have witnesses to the suspect’s threats towards Miss Hastings. And he has been identified as the supplier of the amphetamines we’ve been finding around town. I can’t comment on the assault as I wasn’t there when it occurred but I have good reason to believe it was an act of self-defence.’

There was a long silence broken by the sounds of the office next door seeping through the walls. Finally, the Inspector spoke.

‘Bloody impressive piece of “self-defence” on her part – off the record mind. Wish some of the lads could handle themselves that well. Well, you will be relieved to hear we will be charging him with drug dealing as well as anything else we can make stick. That leaves me with the problem of what to do with you, Constable.’

This is it, thought Dave. All my hard work, down the drain. A solid lump of misery formed in his chest. What a week this had been. He’d lost Lauren, who was refusing to answer his increasingly frantic calls, and now he was about to lose his job. He realized the Inspector was still talking, delivering his fate in measured tones, and he turned his attention back to his superior officer.

‘In light of recent events and your persistent tendency to act in what could be viewed by some as a reckless manner, I do not think you are suited to life in uniform. I am therefore recommending you to the detective branch, on three months’ initial appraisal. I understand they take a slightly different view of initiative and independent action over there.’

Dave froze on the spot, not believing what he had just heard. Then he took a long, deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady as he said, ‘Thank you Sir.’

‘Dismissed,’ said the Inspector, hiding a smile as the young constable left the office. Outside, Dave felt a great, silly grin creeping over his face. He’d made it! He was going to try out for detective. Then his smile faded as his next thought was – if only he could share this moment with Lauren.

Things began to settle down at the probation office and slowly life returned to normal – or at least as ‘normal’ as it ever was. Relieved to be free of Garry’s ever-critical presence, Alex flung herself into her work with enthusiasm. Under Gordon’s approving supervision she set out plans for several new groups including one on alcohol education.

‘That seems to be the underlying problem for an awful lot our clients, especially the younger lads,’ she said earnestly. ‘They get really drunk and go off and do stupid things. Stuff they probably wouldn’t have dreamed of doing when sober.’

Gordon sat in her tiny office, the light from the desk lamp glinting off his glasses, nodding and making notes.

‘Is that your opinion as a probation officer or a
psychologist
,’ he said finally.

Alex looked up at him, heart sinking. ‘Look, I’m not a psychologist,’ she said wearily. ‘I did psychology at university – and philosophy before you ask. I couldn’t choose between them and actually they went together rather well. Just, don’t tell everyone will you? People get really stupid when they hear the word. Someone asked me once if I could read their mind. As if I’d want to!’

Gordon smiled at her reassuringly.

‘I think it is a useful asset actually and I’d like to be able to use your knowledge for the good of the team but I can understand your reluctance under the circumstances. Still, perhaps our new senior will be – shall we say a little more open to new ideas.’

‘They’ve appointed a new senior?’ Alex said, startled by this news.

Gordon rose and gathered up his notes.

‘Starting at the beginning of May,’ he said. ‘A woman, apparently. Ricky knows her, I think – you could ask him. He speaks quite highly of her.’

With that bombshell he was gone, leaving Alex to wonder whether there might be something – or someone – out there worse than Garry.

There was a timid scratching at her door and the tousled head of Simon Adams peered round. Alex’s smile was genuine as she beckoned him inside.

‘Thank you for coming in,’ she said. ‘And a very big thank you for everything you did last week. You were tremendous and I don’t know what I would have done without you.’ She resisted the temptation to add that she wouldn’t have been out on the Levels at night if it hadn’t been for him in the first place. This was a rare opportunity to bolster Simon’s
confidence
and she had a couple of ideas on how to help him escape his hopeless and pointless existence.

‘I’ve been talking to some people over in Frome,’ she said. ‘They were really impressed by how well you run.’

Simon wriggled with embarrassment, hands clutched together and head down.

‘Seriously Simon, you are good. You could win races, long hard races. You have a genuine talent for this and they would like to help you.’

Simon squinted at her through his floppy hair.

‘Why do anyone want to help? Don’t even know I, do they?’

‘They know about you,’ said Alex. ‘They want to offer you a place at the local college. Now, don’t panic.’ Simon was twitching and starting to hyperventilate. ‘Listen to what I’m saying and then we can talk about it. No-one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to, all right?’

Simon nodded, dropping his head on to his chest once more.

Slowly and clearly, Alex explained about the college, the running tracks and the gym and the accommodation they were offering him. Gradually, Simon lifted his head, his eyes growing wider and wider as she spoke.