Chapter Thirty-Three

Ruby paused in the corridor, staring up the stairs that would lead her to what they called the ‘ivory towers’ – the floor frequented by her DCI and higher-ranking superior officers. Her eyelids grew heavy as she tried to work out what to do for the best. It was late afternoon and tiredness had seeped through to the marrow of her bones. She leant on the stairwell as she tried to conduct her thoughts. She could go straight to DCI Worrow and give her a sanitised version of Nathan’s revelation. If she was lucky, a warrant for Doctor Tanner’s arrest could be issued today. Worrow was more likely to take the arrest seriously than DI Jack Downes. But there was a firm chain of command and skipping ranks could be taken as a personal insult. She sighed, her footsteps echoing down the corridor to his office. Her mind was too foggy to pre-empt what she was going to say.

The memory of Nathan’s kiss still lingered on her lips. Just as she said goodbye, he had taken her by the arm, gently pulling her back inside and pinning her against the door. After gazing at her face for what felt like an eternity, he had pressed his mouth upon hers, hungrily seeking the knowledge that she still loved him, despite everything he had done. Her reciprocation had left him in no doubt. He had changed in their time apart. Perhaps it was time away from his family that had brought him back to her. She wondered if cracks were forming in the foundations of the Crosby empire. Silently she wished that Nathan would leave it all behind. Helping him clear his name would be a small step towards earning him the freedom that would help him begin again.

She found Downes in the kitchen, frowning, as he held a spoon of sugar over one of the many empty mugs on the tray.

‘Blimey, got you on the tea run, have they?’ she said, amused at the sight. ‘Luddy takes one sugar, no milk. Ash has coffee with three sugars, black. Eve has no sugars, milky tea. The rest will be happy with a builder’s brew.’ She smiled. She was slowly winning her team around to the joys of tea.

‘I thought you were working a split shift,’ Downes said, spooning coffee and sugar into the mugs as instructed.

It would not be the first time she had split her shift in two, catching up on an hour’s sleep during the day to keep her clear-headed for what was to come.

Ruby dropped two teabags into the biggest mug. ‘I’ve got a lead. I think that takes precedence over sleep, don’t you?’

Downes stiffened. ‘When did this come in?’

‘It’s hot off the presses,’ she said. ‘Here, let me help you with that.’ Grabbing her mug from the tray, she pushed open the door. Having beaten her tiredness and come out the other side, she was buzzing from the development. She couldn’t sleep now if she wanted to.

Within five minutes refreshments were handed out to weary workers, and Ruby was sitting across from Downes at his desk. A well-thumbed copy of AutoTrader lay splayed next to a folder marked ‘staff appraisals’. Ruby averted her gaze. If there was one time she could do without an assessment, it was now.

‘Well?’ Downes said. ‘What have you got?’

‘A suspect,’ Ruby said, her heart picking up an extra beat. This was important. She needed to convince him she was on the right track. ‘His name is Doctor Tanner, and he fits the profile down to a T. He’s handy with a scalpel and has a huge grudge against the Crosbys, Nathan in particular. He’s done this sort of thing before.’

Downes sat up, his expression brightening. ‘Where’s your proof?’

‘I’ve got enough to get him in.’ She filled him in on the missing child up to the point where Nathan left her in the woods. It did not take long to bring him up to speed. ‘I’m sure that if I speak to the child and tell her that she’s nothing to worry about, she’ll identify Doctor Tanner as the man that abducted her. Then we should have enough to search his home. Hopefully, obtain some evidence of Ellie’s murder.’ Ruby imagined Nathan, his fury rising at the sight of the little blonde-haired girl, helpless and alone, in Tanner’s property.

Downes rubbed his chin. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, the tie knot loosened around his neck. ‘It’s a bit thin. I presume your informant hasn’t provided you with a statement?’

‘No, but I’ve spoken to Nathan on the phone,’ Ruby lied. ‘He’s got an alibi for his whereabouts in the twenty-four hours after Ellie’s death. See? He couldn’t have put her organs under the bed.’ She held Downes’s stare, which imparted that he wasn’t buying a word. ‘He’s away on business, but I’ve told him he still needs to come in.’

‘Hmm,’ he said. ‘I’m surprised it took him this long to arrange it.’

Downes was not easily fooled. They both knew that the Crosby family could buy an alibi anytime they wanted. However, this time Nathan was telling the truth, and his ex-girlfriend, Leona, was only too happy to provide him with an alibi that confirmed he was in her family home during the time in question.

Downes crossed his legs, his ankle resting on his knee. His foot twitched as he spoke. A restless body and a restless mind. ‘So you’re telling me that this doctor holds a grudge against Nathan Crosby because he took the child the doctor abducted? That was years ago. Why’s he acting on it now?’

‘There’s more to it than that. A lot more.’ She paused, loath to implicate Nathan in any wrongdoing. If they arrested Doctor Tanner, he could turn on Nathan and implicate him in the acid attack, something that would carry a lengthy prison sentence. But he would have to prove it first. ‘It’s off the record,’ Ruby said. But alarm bells were ringing in her mind. The status of their relationship had changed, and she did not know if she could trust DI Downes anymore.

‘I can’t work with one hand tied behind my back,’ he said, sensing her discomfort. ‘We’re police officers, we don’t pick and choose which criminals deserve to be prosecuted and which ones don’t. If they’ve committed an offence, they’re coming in.’

‘Fine,’ Ruby said, ‘We’ll get the doctor in for questioning on the kidnapping charge after we speak to the little girl.’

‘So that’s all you’re telling me?’ Downes said, his face creased in a frown.

‘Yes,’ Ruby said, relieved that Downes had made up her mind for her. ‘I don’t think it’s in the public interest to delve any deeper.’ She rose, steadying herself as a fresh wave of tiredness weakened her legs. ‘I’d best instruct the troops, see what we can dig up on Doctor Tanner with a view to progressing the investigation.’

‘Steady on, I’m sure we can work around this. What else have you got on Crosby?’

But Ruby carried on as if she had not heard him. ‘I’ll instruct the team, put together a package and we can go from there.’

The chances of Doctor Tanner being at his registered address were slim. Nathan would have had it checked out as soon as the thought entered his mind. His absence was a small blessing. Had they harmed Tanner then any evidence of his murderous crime may have gone down with him. It was a race against time to find him. She could only hope that he would not strike again.