Despite the crisp day and bright blue sky, it felt like a dark cloud was starting to envelope Caroline as she left Uppingham and headed back towards Oakham. She’d already called Dexter to update him on what she’d discovered, and had put out a call for Gavin Tanner’s arrest. Although they were going to need far more to charge him, Tanner would soon realise the net was closing in and he would then pose a significant flight risk. With substantial evidence as to his involvement, accessing his car tracker was now very much on the cards too.
She arrived back at the station around fifteen minutes later, having had yet another close call with an oncoming car deciding to overtake three others on the A6003 just outside Manton. It was a stretch of road which always made her nervous, especially as she knew how many incidents uniformed officers regularly had to deal with round there.
She’d spent the whole drive trying to figure out how would be best to approach the situation with Chief Superintendent Arnold, but she couldn’t find the words. She supposed the only real way forward was to start from the beginning. But there was a nagging thought at the back of her mind; a worry that if a former Chief Constable had potentially sabotaged an investigation to save his own son’s skin, it was entirely possible other officers might have been involved.
Caroline knew Arnold had been working for the force when Alf Tanner was Chief Constable, and was hoping her superior officer might be able to shed some light on the man, but it wasn’t the first time she’d thought twice about Arnold’s motives. There was something about him she’d never quite been able to put her finger on. However much she thought about that, though, she had no doubt that Arnold’s motives were always sound.
She knocked on his door and waited to be called in, then sat down across the desk from him.
‘How’re things going?’ Arnold asked, seeming genuinely interested.
‘Alright, I think. We’re making good progress on Operation Cruickshank. I should have some more definitive news on that in the next few hours.’
‘Good. I’ve been trying to give you plenty of breathing space on that one. I hope you noticed.’
‘I did indeed. It’s much appreciated. Thank you.’
Arnold nodded. ‘And how’s the... the health thing?’
‘Fine. I feel much better, thanks for asking.’
‘You sure?’ Arnold asked. ‘Only I know what you’re like for pushing through and pretending everything’s fine. If there are issues, you will need to let me know. I’ve got a responsibility for your welfare at work. You know that.’
‘If anything changes, you’ll be the first to know,’ Caroline said, forcing a smile.
‘Good. Now, I’m guessing this isn’t a social visit?’
‘No. It’s a bit of an odd one, though. You’ve been knocking about a while, haven’t you, sir?’
Arnold straightened up in his chair. ‘Alright. No need to get personal.’
‘I mean, you were here when Alf Tanner was Chief Constable, weren’t you?’
Arnold visibly bristled at the mention of Tanner’s name. ‘I was, yes.’
‘What was he like? Did you get along?’
The Chief Superintendent took a deep breath and straightened his tie. ‘Well, I wasn’t a Chief Super then. I think I was either a Sergeant or Inspector when he retired, so we didn’t really have many interactions.’
Caroline got a heavy sense there was something unspoken playing on Arnold’s mind. ‘Was he... was he alright?’ she asked.
Arnold seemed to think for a few moments before speaking, forming the right words in his head. ‘He was... He was old school. One of the last, really. Things were different then. But again, this is all hearsay. I never really knew the man.’
‘Just before he retired, there was a suspicious death. A man fell down the stairs at home, but the attending officers believed he was pushed. Pretty much everyone did, from what I can tell, but nothing ever came of it.’
‘Speakman,’ Arnold whispered, nodding.
‘You remember it?’
‘Yes. I wasn’t working on the case, but I heard about it. Everyone heard about it.’
‘Do you remember who the main suspect was?’
‘Of course I do. Why do you think I remember it? What’s this all about, Caroline?’
‘Alf Tanner’s son, Gavin.’
Arnold shook his head. ‘No. No, you’ve got that round your neck. His lad was the alibi for the girl they thought did it. Speakman’s girl.’
Caroline looked at him. ‘You really haven’t kept up to speed with Operation Cruickshank, have you?’
Arnold’s eyes narrowed. ‘What’s going on, Caroline? What’s this about?’
‘Do you remember her name? The suspect.’
‘Can’t say I do, no,’ Arnold answered with a long exhalation of breath.
‘Amie Murray, her name was. She’s now Amie Tanner.’
‘They married?’
‘Oh yes. She works at the company owned by Martin Forbes, the man whose body was found under the viaduct. She and Martin had a massive row a couple of days before he died. According to colleagues, there were suspicions that something had been going on. Gavin Tanner, previously her alibi and now her husband, provided yet another alibi for her. That was dodgy enough to start alarm bells ringing, but then we found these.’
Caroline passed her phone across the desk. She’d taken photos of the emails Gavin Tanner had sent to Martin Forbes. As he read them, Arnold’s face dropped.
‘This is definitely his email address?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Have you brought him in?’
‘In the process of.’
Arnold sat back in his chair and rubbed his head. ‘Christ. Why did those stupid old buggers always think they knew best? “This is the way it’s always been done, lad. Never did us any harm.” Jesus Christ. Worked out fine for them, didn’t it? Course it did. Gave them an easy ride. But it’s not them who’s got to clear up their mess years later.’
‘I’ve got to say, sir, this could get worse. We could be opening up a whole can of worms, here. Who’s to say Alf Tanner wasn’t bent from the start? Who knows what else he’d been up to?’
‘Well I wouldn’t worry too much about that,’ Arnold said, his voice almost a whisper. ‘Alf Tanner’s been dead seven years.’