“I don’t need to think son, it was dark and the stupid thing glittered in the car park lights. It was on me right, so it was in his left ear.”
“Great memory you have Derek. I may need to see you again, is that ok?”
“Aye. No problem son.”
Chapter 29
The irony of Peter and Olivia both being patients in the same hospital was not lost on the staff involved in their treatment. Fortunately, the prized surgeon hadn’t suffered serious injury. A couple of stitches to her temple and some precautionary tests would do. Concussion could make an appearance, in which case she was in a position to give herself advice.
Jones arrived. “Olivia, are you well enough to talk with me? Do you feel you can re-engage with the case yet?”
“Maybe, but before anyone gets ahead of themselves, I really don’t want to press charges against Tom. He is right insofar as he doesn’t get to do much other than look after a little boy with special needs. He has no male peers in his life. I get to save lives, Tom cleans up Kieron’s mess. What he doesn’t seem to take into account is that I lose lives as well, but I can’t talk about it.”
“I see, but he did what he did in front of a pretty wide audience, and at a police station of all places. We may charge him with affray, even if you pass. Anyway, I think DCI Prentice has a compromise in mind. Now, to the urgent question. You dropped your phone when you fell and I was on my way over here when another text came through. Are you sure you feel up to discussing it?”
“It’s from him isn’t it? It’s about the meeting.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t want Tom anywhere near this, ok?”
“Sure. The sender wants to meet you tomorrow night. Now are you absolutely sure about this? You can stall him, and although that might be risky, so is having a blackout and failing to turn up.”
He showed her the entire content. ‘Tomorrow night, rather appropriate – New Year’s Eve. On the quayside. I know what you look like and you know what I look like. There will be thousands of revellers, but I’ll find you. Outside the Waterline pub, exactly five minutes before midnight. I know you have the sense to come without being wired up, surrounded by plain clothes cops, or trying any other stupid means of apprehending me. It’s a one chance offer. Get it wrong and you’ll never see your son again. Don’t try to reply. This phone is already in the River Tyne.’
“I have to do this Inspector, and as he says, alone. I won’t be talked out of it.”
“In that case you need to speak with Prentice.”
*
Back at the station there was disagreement. Prentice had to inform his boss if there was to be a massive operation to sanction, and then organise at such ridiculously short notice. The situation was littered with opportunities to make a disastrous mistake. Eventually, Martha was trying to put herself and the others exclusively in Olivia’s shoes. “I would have made the same call as she has. Trying to take this guy alive, or even take him out will be near impossible amongst those crowds. We can’t risk the kid’s life with such long odds. This isn’t the moment.”
Jones was more circumspect. “I agree with most of that, but we still need a presence, just the three of us. Martha’s right, this isn’t the moment to attempt an arrest out of some forlorn sense of duty. What we can do is what every other person on the quayside will be doing, taking pictures, including selfies. This guy doesn’t know what we look like, but we have him emblazoned in our minds. We each stay within ten yards of her, but hidden in the crowd. Just give her an alert to press in case he tries anything funny. Even if we pass him like ships in the night, we could get an accidental but lucky snap of him, remember he has said he’ll approach her.”
“And what does that achieve Jonesy?”
“I’d settle for a bloody earring in his left lobe, boss. Other than this very low risk suggestion, I endorse what Martha said.”
“Fine, I can see a crumb of reason in what you’ve both said. I have to take the rap if something does go tits-up. I won’t kick this any higher up the tree. Another stonking New Year’s Eve then!”
*
They then had to deal with the thorny issue of Tom. He was brought to the office. “This is one of those sessions where I talk and you listen,” threatened Prentice, “is that understood?”
“I’m really…”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Olivia doesn’t want to press charges. I think she should. We can’t ignore the fact that you caused potentially serious injury to your wife, in the presence of at least thirty police officers. They are witnesses. If I decide to follow your wife’s example, it will be accompanied by an undertaking specified by both Olivia and myself. Are we ok so far?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Keep a lid on it Tom, otherwise this is over already.”
“Sorry.”
“If I let you go, I will have you escorted to the airport and see you off to London. I’ll arrest you if you return before I’ve cleared you to do so. That is the first requirement. The second is for when you do return. You need to see someone about this temper of yours. It’s a condition of me forgetting what happened in this office. You have to sign up to that.”
“You mean a shrink? No prizes for guessing whose idea that was. Olivia’s answer to my problems always involves some deadbeat from the hospital. If I told her I was having trouble shitting through the eye of a needle, she would know just the person to coach me, from the hospital.”
“It’s yes or no time again.”
“Ok, I suppose I’ll get to see off my father after all.”
*
Jones was doodling on a notepad. The call was unexpected. The switchboard informed him that a Mr Wallace insisted on speaking with him. He smiled and told the front desk to put him through. “Hello Derek, what can I do for you?”
“Hello detective. I don’t want to be a nuisance, but after you left, I kept doing what you said. This time I waited until the wife was out, and I had a bit of peace. I closed me eyes and walked out of the hospital again and again. I couldn’t for the life of me remember any more about what that bald man was wearing, but what I did remember was that you didn’t ask me the same question about the woman. God knows how many times I imagined myself back there, but then it struck me. When I first saw them, you know before I actually heard them like, it looked like two blokes. It was only the voice which made me realise that the smaller one was a woman. It looked like they were going to have a punch-up at first, but I relaxed a bit when I heard her voice. Anyway, she had really short hair, like an American crew cut, spikey you know, and she was going grey. She had pants on, not jeans, like proper flannels, light coloured. I hope it’s helpful, the wife says I’m a nosey bugger, I suppose she’s right.”
“You’re a star Derek, take no notice of the Missus.” Jones reflected on how useful this could be. It was beginning to look like this guy wasn’t working alone. ‘She’ might even be involved in the New Year’s Eve meeting.
*
Twelve Years Earlier
“I’m sorry Angela, I should have listened to you, this Philip Morrison didn’t turn up at the hearing and I can’t contact him, because they say he’s left the hospital. The lawyer says the case is dead in the water.”
“How much do we owe that parasite?”
“More than we have. We’ll have to sell the house. I can’t think of any other way to raise that much money.”
“What about your sister in New Zealand? They’re always telling us how wonderfully well they’ve done out there. I’m sure Evelyn would want to help if she knows we’ve put everything into exposing the truth about James’ death. Last time they were over here she actually said she would like to support the campaign.”
“Of course! Why the hell didn’t I think of that? I’ve been so wound up that I forgot about Evelyn, that’s a damned good idea, I’ll give her a call. Don’t misunderstand me Angela, I’m not regretting doing what we’ve done, it’s just being let
down by two people I trusted, and you warned me. I’m really sorry.”
“Come on Edward, we have to stick together on things like this. What’s done is done. No use crying over spilt milk, but let’s not spill any more. We don’t have any more.”
Chapter 30
New Year’s Eve
The nerves were jangling. They each tried to conceal this from one another, a task that was made more difficult by the absence of others in the general office. It had become fashionable to celebrate the passing from one year to the next by taking a short break abroad. There were lots of uniformed staff buzzing about, but they were continually in and out, dealing with those who couldn’t quite wait until the mass celebration fired up. The skeleton staff in CID were simply going through the motions of being gainfully employed, a bit of filing, deleting unwanted stuff from their workstations, consuming endless cups of coffee.
Prentice turned away from the window, shuddering at the sight of gritting vehicles spraying salt on to pedestrians as well as the intended roads. The overnight frost glittered stubbornly in those pockets which were missed by the trucks. “Another year, and for a change I did have plans. Kilimanjaro, cancelled at the eleventh hour, so close to the twelfth. I can’t get my money back either.”
“You kept that quiet boss,” said Jones, “I didn’t have you down as a masochist. Do you think you’d have made it?”
“Maybe not, who knows? A friend talked me into giving it a shot. You know, a different perspective on who you are and why. I took a bit of persuading. It wasn’t so much that I needed that ‘find myself’ crap, I know what I am, and I just liked the idea of getting out of the sewer for a few days. Instead, I’m back in the deepest part of it.”
“Was this friend a woman by any chance, sir?” asked Martha, “sorry, that’s none of my business. I’m a bit jumpy, that’s all.”
“It’s ok Martha, it was actually an old school teacher of mine. We’ve sort of kept in touch through reunions. He always saw something in me that others didn’t. He’s still going off to climb his mountain again of course, his fourth time apparently. He’s obviously a lot older than me, and I thought if he could do it then I should give it a go. I explained to him that something really urgent had cropped up, and he understood, making me promise to go next year.”
Jones hadn’t seen this side of his boss before. “I’ve had a similar ‘epiphany.’ My girlfriend has dumped me. It’s quite a relief, but it still made me wonder why she thought she could change me. I was always a boring, pedantic Wally. So what’s the big deal? She thinks this job is like working in a mobile phone shop. If there’s a problem with a phone at the end of your shift, you just chuck it to someone else and piss off to the pub. Because this kid’s invisible to my ‘ex’ she thinks I also have to be blind.”
Prentice suggested that they run over the situation again. “I suppose when we usually have one in the pub, we pretend we won’t talk shop, but that’s not going to be an issue tonight. Let’s take advantage of the quiet office now, and raise any last concerns about Olivia and Kieron’s safety. Thinking about it again, Mitchell’s not going to wander amongst the nutters on the quayside with a boy at five minutes before the balloon goes up. He won’t take the risk that she could spot him too early. He must have someone else holding the boy while he checks out Olivia and satisfies himself that there’s no police operation in place.”
“Either that,” said Martha, grimacing, “or he isn’t bringing the boy into the crowd at all, asking Olivia to follow him. She mustn’t do that.”
“I agree,” added Jones, “this guy has been so relaxed about leaving clues as to his identity, it strikes me that he’s going to protect his one asset, Kieron. Let’s say we could bag Mitchell tonight and we take him to the station. He doesn’t care, because that’s the last we’ll ever hear of the boy. He has to be working with somebody else, who can just evaporate whenever the going gets tricky. This is just another chess move tonight, maybe the first one which gives us a clue as to what he really wants.”
*
“I’m taking Kieron and the dog out for a while, we need to tire him out. He needs to be in deep sleep when we leave for the rendezvous. He doesn’t like being left alone with you. You should try harder with him, he’s a great kid, a fantastic kid. Ease up on him.”
“This is about something else, I don’t like it but I want it over as soon as possible, and you are getting too close to the boy. Do you think she’ll go for it tonight?”
“Hard to say whether or not it will be tonight, but she’ll come round to it sooner or later. I’ve waited so long, and I’m actually enjoying this phase, so I don’t mind if she takes her time. It’s her that’s suffering. Stop moaning about how long it’s going to take, just keep focussed on what it will feel like when she finally concedes.”
“I suppose.”
*
Tom had thanked Olivia for not pressing charges, not in an overly genuine fashion, but as a necessary forerunner to acquainting her with his intention to withdraw five grand to cover his father’s funeral. She didn’t put up any objection. “I’m glad you’ve seen sense Tom. I know everything you try to do is for the best when it comes to Kieron’s welfare, but you have a natural ability to cause chaos. Keep in touch and I’ll make sure you’re up to date. It’s for the best, and if we’re going to separate, so be it, but he comes first whatever else happens. He needs us to show a united front even if we’re apart, he can’t relate to animosity.”
“I know all this, something just descends over me whenever I feel he’s threatened, it’s a switch I don’t know how to turn off. I honestly don’t think therapy is the answer. I need another purpose, alongside our beautiful little boy, but we have to get him back, otherwise even that becomes pointless. I trust you Olivia, he’s in your hands now.”
His personal police transport left for the airport, he glanced back at her, waving goodbye. He felt something for the first time in years.
*
“Come on Kieron, leave your puzzles for now.”
“Why?”
“I thought you might want to make a movie to send to Mummy. She can’t get away from work to meet us, so I promised to make a funny video for her. And so she promised she would try to see you soon. Why don’t we go to the museum, the one with the dinosaurs, they’re as big as houses, and very scary.”
“Ok. Can Mickey come?”
“Oh, no, he isn’t allowed in to the museum. He would be so frightened. He’s not as brave as you, but we can show him the movie when we get back.”
“Ok, bye Mickey.”
*
Most of the lights were out in the station and the nerves had settled. None of them wanted to go home. They decided on a pizza, but without accompanying alcohol.
“So DI Jones, are you going to take a break from women, you know, following being dumped?”
“Now Martha, you know I have to get over the devastation of being rejected. Maybe in a couple of days I won’t feel as fragile as I do at the moment. Fragile but sane again. What’s your boyfriend doing tonight?”
“Well, before this came up, he said he had a surprise lined up for me. I thought – ‘well he has been listening to me after all’ – could it really be George Clooney? I came down to earth when he said we’d been invited to hog roast out in the sticks, arranged by the Sunday football team he plays for. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t make it. He always gets wrecked at these macho parties, and when we get home, he’s all into sexy lingerie, for me – not him. He usually lasts a fraction longer than Big Ben takes to strike twelve.”
“And here’s me complaining about not getting to kill myself trying to conquer Kilimanjaro,” interjected Prentice, “it seems like we could all do with some New Year resolutions.”
*
The density of people was thickening and the noise level escalated accordingly. The entire length of the strip was buzzing. The city lights were a sight to behold, the camera flashes were constant, and all around. Music came
from many sources, including boats, which were bobbing about on the river, it was the lone channel of blackness, ploughing its way through the throng. Prentice, Jones and Martha all had Olivia in sight. She was unable to stop checking her watch every few seconds. It showed 11.53. She was relentlessly buffeted by passers-by, and she began to worry about accidental pressure setting off the alert. She became conscious of her breathing becoming more restricted. It was 11.56. He wasn’t going to show. He’d said exactly 11.55. Another bump which almost knocked her over, at least this reveller had the courtesy to apologise. The countdown clock was now joined by the masses chanting 30, 29, 28, 27, and on to that pivotal moment. It was a hoax, her adrenalin rush was halted. A tap on the shoulder. An envelope. It wasn’t him. He had a moustache and he wasn’t bald, well he could be, he was wearing a cap, and spectacles. She shouted after him. No response. Olivia tried to follow him. All three detectives had noticed something different in her behaviour, and they were also being bumped about as the big screen confirmed it was New Year’s Day. They had underestimated the difficulty in getting through such a tumultuous sea of people. The whole city was engulfed by Auld Lang Sine. He was receding on a tide of revellers, and disappeared from view. She pressed the alert in total frustration. The envelope was thankfully still in her hand. Olivia dejectedly tore it open. It was a picture, but not Kieron, it was a painful memory. The face of James Mitchell smiled at her. She felt faint. Jones got there first and held her.
“Are you ok Olivia? What happened?”
Prentice and Martha pushed their way through as Jones confirmed that she was ok. Her heart was still pounding as she gave Jones the picture. He looked at it, didn’t recognise the boy and turned it over. ‘Now you know how it feels. To be devoid of hope, then a miracle comes from out of nowhere, only to end in disaster. If you truly want to break this nightmare, you and only you have the power. A confession is never easy. You know what you must do. He will speak to you soon.’
Chapter 31
It took a long time to walk back to the station and the journey was negotiated through the throng in relative silence. Olivia hadn’t managed to come to terms with the wording of the message on the reverse side of the photo. They were all feeling the cold and the sudden rainstorm had all four of them shivering. Jones turned on the lights on their office floor and the entire place looked bereft of structure. Abandoned cups, red standby lights, and a general disarray of cables gave the illusion of sudden mass surrender of a long-extinct species. Hot drinks were first on the agenda.