CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

 

Gary walked around Jon’s kitchen and made appreciative noises. ‘I like big kitchens.’ Then he opened a few cupboard doors and looked at Jon reproachfully. ‘Don’t do a lot of cooking, do you, Sarge?’

Jon grinned. ‘’Fraid not. Never really been my forte, although I am a dab hand at mixing drinks. Could you cope with a small restorative? Or a very large one?’

‘I’d settle for a beer, please, if you have one?’ said Gary, unpacking his freezer bag.

Jon nodded. ‘I’ll join you.’ He took two bottles of Oldershaw’s Alchemy from the fridge, and Gary’s eyes lit up. ‘Oh my! Your lack of culinary skills, Sarge, are totally forgiven in the light of your taste in beer!’

Jon flipped off the tops and passed one to Gary. ‘Cheers. And welcome to your new home. Treat it as your own. I’ve no secrets here. Well, not any more.’ He took a long swallow of the beer and added, ‘Thanks for listening earlier. Clairvoyance isn’t an easy thing to talk about.’

Gary took a sharp knife from the block and began to prepare some vegetables. ‘I’m sure it isn’t, Sarge, but it’s something I’ve kind of lived on the peripheries of all my life.’ He deftly chopped an onion into thin slices. ‘Since a nipper, I’ve lived in a superstitious community, and although I know most of what the old-ancients believe are old wives tales, I also know that there is a lot out there..,’ he waved the knife around in the air. ‘…that passeth our understanding.’ His look became a little more serious. ‘And I don’t knock it.’

‘I thought so.’ Jon leaned against the counter and watched the man work. ‘Would it surprise you to know that your sister Anne is around you? That she looks out for you?’

Gary lifted down a large flat-bottomed pan from the rack above the stove. ‘Not in the slightest.’ He placed the heavy skillet on the hob and lit the gas. ‘Although it is a relief to hear someone confirm what I believe, in here.’ He tapped his fist against his chest. His voice caught a little as he spoke, and Jon saw raw emotion on the policeman’s face.

‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘You haven’t. It’s just that it’s still pretty hard to get my head around. She was always the strong one. Neither of us married, and Anne was my rock, and then she was gone in a matter of weeks. It was surreal.’

‘She’s not gone. She’ll never leave you.’

‘I know that, and thanks, I appreciate what you’ve told me.’

The meal was quick, simple, and probably the best thing Jon had tasted in years. The two men talked for a while about the horrors of the Children’s Ward, then loaded the dishwasher and decided to turn in. Sleep would not be high on their priority list until their killer was behind bars.

Jon went to sleep as soon as the light was out, and he seemed to wake up almost as swiftly. Outside the night was warm, almost balmy, but the temperature his room had dropped radically; and Jon knew instantly that he was not alone. He eased himself free of the bedclothes and sat up.

A slim, fair-haired girl was standing right next to him, and it was all he could do not to jump back in surprise.

‘Hello.’ He said quietly, not wanting to frighten her. She was only a kid. Quite beautiful, if a bit oddly dressed, but no more than a teenager. He tried a smile, and suddenly thought it unbelievably funny that he, the living human being, was trying not to frighten the ghost!

She didn’t answer, but just looked at him intently.

Jon felt a wave of intense emotion surround him. There was so much pain and grief and sadness that it could have broken his heart, but there was also a great rush of relief, and it almost took his breath away. He knew instantly that she was one of the victims.

‘Who are you?’ he asked gently.

The girl remained silent, but then she reached forward, long blonde hair falling in a cascade, and gripped his arm, and Jon’s room slipped away and suddenly he was watching a moonlit scene.

He didn’t recognise it immediately, but there was something vaguely familiar about it. He tried to make mental notes of what he was seeing, as the visions did not always last more than a few seconds.

The girl stood beneath an archway. It looked old and uncared for. There were flowers growing up it, yellow roses draping in golden showers across the old brickwork, but it was all overgrown. He looked away from the arch, and saw a sign on a fence. Keep Out. A building work sign.

And then it and the girl were gone.

Jon let out a long breath, reached for the light and looked at the clock. Just after five thirty. He rubbed at his arm where the girl had held him, and sat back against the pillows. He had actually slept for three hours before the kid arrived. And he really needed to tell the boss what he’d just seen.

He pushed back the duvet, then quickly straightened the bed and padded into his en-suite shower room. He’d give Kate another fifteen minutes, then ring and get her to call in on her way into work. It would be far easier to explain here than in the office, and he knew exactly what would give her an added incentive to call by. He’d already heard Gary making his way down to his beloved kitchen, and the sound of a frying pan being removed from the rack.

With a smile he turned on the hot water and stepped underneath.

 

Gary dished up scrambled eggs on toast with crispy bacon and grilled cherry tomatoes.

‘It’s his sister’s fault.’ whispered Jon to his boss, as Gary went back to the kitchen for some ketchup. ‘She won’t let him out of the door unless he eats properly. He doesn’t see that himself, he just thinks he’ll be letting her down if he doesn’t look after himself.’ Jon gave a little smile. ‘She loves him to pieces; it’s like having two new flatmates, not one.’

‘And what else have you seen, my friend? What got you on my phone before 6 in the morning? Apart from this delicious fry-up.’

Gary returned and Jon told them both exactly what had occurred in his bedroom a few hours earlier.

Kate frowned. ‘So she was one of the victims of the Children’s Ward?’

Jon nodded, and forked in some buttery yellow eggs. ‘Mm, definitely. The relief that flooded from her was overpowering.’

‘So do you think the archway is on the Windrush estate?’

‘No, although I’m pretty sure that I recognised it from somewhere, and quite recently.’ Jon rubbed at his arm.

Kate glanced across to Gary. ‘You know that area better than us. Thinking about that builder’s sign, is anyone having any work done on that stretch of the fen?’

Gary swallowed a mouthful of food and sat thoughtfully. ‘Well, there’s a new barn going up at Goddard’s Farm, although I can’t place an arch of any kind there. Old man Goddard goes for smart livestock fencing and well-sprayed wooden gates. He doesn’t do overgrown.’ Gary sipped at his tea. ‘The only other place is closer to Hurn Point. They began clearing a few acres of ground a month or two ago, but to my knowledge, no work has started yet. There’s a rumour going round that the council are considering an onion waste processing plant in that area. It’s quite close to the marsh, but the locals who live around there are objecting due to the stink it’ll cause.’

‘Could we drive out there before we go in to work?’ asked Jon, absent-mindedly massaging his arm. ‘I’m certain it’s all connected, that girl was insistent that I see that arch for some reason.’

‘Not this morning, we have too much on, including seeing Mad Micah.’ Kate finished her tea. ‘Later maybe. What’s wrong with you arm? You keep rubbing it.’

Jon slowly pushed up the sleeve of his jacket and revealed a clear hand mark on his arm. Pure white indentations of where thin fingers had gripped him.

‘Jesus, Jon!’ Kate’s eyes widened. ‘She did that?’

‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ said Jon nonchalantly. ‘I just need to get my circulation to flow a bit faster.’ He flexed his hand into a fist and stretched it a few times. ‘It’s happened to me before. It’ll pass.’

Kate stared at the white flesh. ‘All the same, that’s horrible.’

Gary cleared the plates, whilst Jon picked up his warrant card and keys. ‘This girl is my only actual spirit connection with the Children’s Ward, ma’am.’ Jon pulled on his coat. ‘I really would like to try and find that arch. I’m not being melodramatic, and I won’t go against your wishes by chasing off alone, but I believe it’s vital.’

‘I realise that.’ Kate looked at him steadily. ‘And I promise that as soon as we are free, we’ll take a drive, okay? Now, I’m off. I’ll see you two at the station.’

Jon nodded. It was the best that he could ask for, all things considered.

 

Understandably the station was chaotic, and it was nine thirty by the time Kate was ready to go to Harlan Marsh to interview Micah Lee.

‘Sorry, ma’am. I’ve hit a problem.’ Gary entered her office, his expression full of concern. ‘You asked me to check the last of those CCTV pictures of Nic Barley with those hoods from the drinking club.’

Kate looked at him, ‘What did you find?’

‘I found nothing, because they’ve disappeared.’ He shifted uncomfortably. ‘Well, not actually gone missing. They have been appropriated by Chief Superintendent Cade. When I asked why, I was told that his CID officers had cleared their back-log and were eager to help you out. And as the original girl was abducted from the Harlan Marsh area, they’d be more likely to know any of the men seen talking to young Barley.’

Kate’s teeth set themselves firmly into a locked position.

Cade had absolutely no right to do that. Not without her say-so. There was now a positive connection between the under-age drinking club, the abduction of the girls, and a long-term killer, so what the hell was Cade up to?

‘Curious-er and curious-er.’ breathed Jon softly, swinging his car keys on his finger.

‘The bastard,’ she whispered. ‘Hang on here, Jon. I’m going to see the Super.

 

Kate stormed into Megan Edward’s office and blurted out the news about Cade taking the CCTV footage.

  ‘I know.’ said the superintendent quietly. ‘And I also think you should calm down, Kate, because he’s quite right, they’ve been after this gang for months. They have a much better chance than you at identifying them.’ She indicated towards a chair, but Kate ignored her and continued to pace the floor.

‘There are the correct channels and there is common decency, ma’am. And he’s used neither.’

‘Chief Superintendent Cade is only helping you out. He said himself, you were good enough to pitch in and find his friend’s daughter, something he’s very pleased about by the way; so now that you are so busy, he’s returning the favour.’ The super’s eyes narrowed. ‘Now I suggest you accept it as such. You have plenty on your plate right now with twelve young bodies to find identities for, and maybe a killer loose in the Fens.’

‘Don’t remind me.’ Kate flopped into the chair and was wondering if maybe her dislike for the man may have coloured her judgement, when the superintendent’s phone blared out. Megan spoke solemnly for several minutes, then passed the handset across the desk to Kate.

‘I’m sorry, DCI Reynard, Aija Ozolini died a few minutes ago. The officer at the hospital would like to talk to you.’

Kate took the phone but she could have cried. Poor Emily. After all she’d suffered, to be found and rescued, and then to die anyway. She gritted her teeth in an effort to stop either tears, or a string of swear words, she wasn’t sure which. Because of her job she knew that life was not always fair, but sometimes, well, to quote her kids, sometimes it really sucked. ‘DCI Reynard here.’

‘Ma’am, I wanted you to know that Emily did regain consciousness, just for a brief time, but the doctor said that the drugs had done irreparable damage. She had a massive heart attack, and there was no bringing her back.’

‘Did she say anything about her captor, officer?’

‘She was speaking in her native tongue, ma’am, but Stefan the interpreter was with us, and he said that she was fretting about her family mostly, but she did say something about someone singing to her, and then she got really panicked and started screaming something about eyes. I wrote down exactly what Stefan said, ma’am. Translated, it was, “Dead eyes! Oh my God! Get away from me! Please! Don’t look at me!” She didn’t say anything else. Stefan did his best to get some sort of description from her, and it was not long after that she arrested.’

Kate thanked the constable and passed the phone back to her boss. Her sadness was already giving way to ice-cold anger. ‘I have to go. I need to tell the troops, even if it’s not the news that they want to hear.’

‘Well, remember, Kate, you already have two suspects in custody, and one under supervision at the hospital. It’s a better start than we normally get.’

‘And my only eye witness has just died, and should our suspects be innocent, then there is a mad man out there somewhere.’ Kate stood up. ‘A mad man who kills young girls.’