The Amen Cadence (4 page)

‘Tell the truth, love,’ she said to Pepper as she poured the tea, ‘I hadn’t run out of milk at all. Well, you mustn’t lie to a police officer, must you?’

‘That’s right. So did you not go to the shop at all then?’

‘I did.’

‘So did you not buy milk?’

‘Oh, aye, love. It’s in that tea you’re drinking.’ She said it with a hint of triumphalism in her voice.

Now Pepper was confused. ‘So you had run out of milk then, had you?’

‘No, love. That’s the thing. I would have run out this morning. I only went to the shop because I’d not spoken to a soul all day. I just wanted a little chat while I paid for my milk, like.’

‘I see. But you did go out?’ The old lady nodded. ‘And what time was this?’

‘About quarter to ten. The shop closes at ten and, like I say, I fancied a bit of a natter.’

‘And when did you see this man? On your way out, or on your way back?’

‘On my way back.’

‘And did you recognise him?’

‘I just thought it was Davey. He’s a lovely lad, is Davey. So I called out, like.’

‘And what did he do?’

‘He just went inside. I thought he hadn’t heard me, like.’

‘Did you see his face?’

‘No.’

‘And are you sure it was Davey Hood?’

The old lady thought about it. ‘You know I’m not absolutely sure that it was Davey, now you come to mention it. I just assumed, I suppose. And it was quite dark. I’m sorry not to be of more use, love.’

‘No, you’re doing really well. Can you remember what this man was wearing?’

‘No, not really. Dark clothes, I think.’

‘And how about a vehicle? Any unusual cars, or vans, in the street?’

‘Not really, no. My Paul always did the driving, you see.’

‘Not to worry, love. One other question. When the man went up to the house were any lights on inside?’

‘I don’t think so, no.’

‘And when the man went in, did he turn the hall light on?’

‘No. Funny you should ask that. It’s odd, isn’t it? But he didn’t turn the hall light on, I’m certain of that.’

Henry didn’t even bother to ask where they were going when he and Pepper were back in the car.

‘Shall I call for back-up?’ he asked, before he started the engine.

‘No, don’t bother. It would take forever, and the Duty Inspector would ask all sorts of daft bloody questions. He does a full risk assessment before he takes a dump, does that bloke.’

Henry laughed. ‘Are you sure about this, Pepper? You’re the one who’s always saying that Dai Young is a total psycho.’

‘Don’t worry, Henry. We’re only going to his office, aren’t we? It’s broad daylight, and there will be loads of witnesses. He won’t take a pop at us.’

‘What if he just loses it, like?’

‘No way, I promise. There’ll be no trouble at all, you just watch.’

Pepper led the way up the steps from the street to Young’s first floor offices. Henry was sure that the receptionist recognised them as coppers from the moment that the door swung open, but she still did her best to look surprised when Pepper said who they were, and who it was that they wanted to see.

‘Mr. Young is in a meeting, I’m afraid.’

‘Tell him it’s over. Corner office, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, but….’

Pepper crossed the floor fast, with Henry two steps behind. She had just raised her hand to knock on Young’s closed door when it opened fast and a fat man, in a suit that had last fitted him many meals before, almost fell out.

‘Good,’ said Pepper as she walked in, ‘I’m glad we’re not interrupting anything.’

‘Only me bringing new jobs to the city, that’s all.’

‘You? Jobs? The only jobs you’d bring are the ones that come with a crime reference number attached.’

Young was sitting, shirtsleeves rolled up, and he glanced at Henry, playing offended.

‘You hear that, DC Armstrong. That’s libel, that is.’

‘It’s slander,’ said Pepper. ‘Or it would be, if it it wasn’t true. And it’s your work, if you can call it that, we’ve come to talk to you about.’

Pepper sat down, unbidden, and Henry followed suit, even though it felt slightly wrong. But he would have looked a proper prat if he’d remained standing.

‘You were seen, love’, she said, looking hard at Young.

Young smiled, slowly. ‘Go on, I’ll bite. Where was I seen? Coming out of some supermodel’s hotel suite at 4am again, was it?’

Pepper told him the address, and the time.

‘Sorry, love, but you’ve lost me completely there. That’s not one of my properties, one of my rentals, and I certainly wouldn’t live round there. It’s where poor people live, is that.’

‘We would have dreamed of living in a nice suburban road like that, when we were kids.’

‘Aye, well we’re not kids now, are we, love? I know you live in the bloody past, but I don’t. I’m all about the future, me.’

‘No, it was you, Dai. Not a doubt in my mind. Picking the door locks, that’s what you were doing when you were spotted. Then you went inside, and you just waited in the dark. Waited to beat down an old lady like the sick bastard you are.’

Young’s smile didn’t so much fade as go straight out.

‘Bollocks. If you had any sort of evidence, anything at all, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You’d have sent the goon squad in here, the piss and vinegar boys, and they’d be waving their guns about and shouting. I wouldn’t blame them, neither, because I’ve got a stapler in my desk drawer here, and it’s got a full magazine, like.’

‘We know it was you, Dai.’

Young looked straight and hard and Henry, who forced himself to meet Dai’s gaze.

‘You believe this load of total bollocks, do you, lad?’

‘Well, I….’

‘Thought not. She’s just obsessed, your boss. Christ, it was only the other week that she was trying to say that I’d threatened her boy, or some shit like that. And we all know that could have been anyone, like.’

‘But it was you.’ Pepper’s voice was quiet, but firm.

‘Where’s your evidence? And I’ll tell you what, Pepper. If I did want to hurt your lad, maybe do the sort of damage that could never be undone, then I’d not give a warning. I’d just bide my time, and then I’d make sure it looked like an accident. Just one of those things, like. And no-one would ever know, just you and me, love. But that’s all as would need to know, isn’t it? The boy would be crippled, or blind, or brain-damaged, and only we’d know why it had really happened. There’s fate, love, and then there’s me.’

Henry was so surprised that he couldn’t speak, just for a moment, and by the time his mouth started to form a word it was already too late. Somehow Pepper had launched herself from a sitting position straight across the desk, and her hands grasped for Young’s face. Afterwards Henry couldn’t remember for certain, because his head was hurting so much, but he was almost sure that Young was smiling, or maybe grimacing, as Pepper’s outstretched hands reached out for his face.

Young’s chair shot backwards, then toppled sideways, and by the time Henry was out of his own chair and kicking Young’s out of his way Dai already had his forearm on Pepper’s throat. Henry’s shoulder went in hard, and caught Young full in the chest. His head snapped back, and bounced off the radiator under the window. Then Henry was briefly aware of a roaring noise, close and loud, before Young came at him. He barely saw the fists, but he certainly felt them, his own arms up around his head now, in the last few moments before he blacked out.

When Henry came round Pepper was standing over him. She was speaking, he could see that, but for a moment all he could hear was a rushing sound in his ears, like a stormy sea on shingle.

‘What? I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a bump on the head.’

He tried to sit up, and knew that he was going to be sick before he was even half way there. Young’s wastepaper basket was on its side, just out of reach, but Henry was still sick in that general direction.

‘For fuck’s sake’ he heard Young say, and then saw him, standing near the door.

‘Shut it’, said Pepper. ‘You’re nicked, you bastard.’

‘Oh, aye. What for?’

‘Assaulting a police officer, of course. Christ, you could have killed him.’

‘Fuck off, Pepper. It was self-defence, was that.’

‘Bollocks, and it’ll be our word against yours, won’t it?’

Young laughed, loudly, and shouted the name of one of his staff. She came in quickly, and tried to avoid looking at Henry, still slumped against the wall, with sick on his trousers.

‘Run off a copy of the recording for these officers, would you, love?’

‘What recording?’ said Pepper, before she turned, looked up at the corner of the ceiling behind her, and had her answer. There was the camera. ‘It doesn’t matter, Dai. You still beat the shit out of the lad.’

‘I did, aye, and he’s lucky it’s not a lot worse. So nick me for it, if you want. But I’ll be right interested to see what my brief makes of what came before, like. Anyway, son, can you hear me?’

Henry said he could, then retched again.

‘Good. Now, do you want me nicked, son? And try to answer without making even more of a mess of my carpet.’

‘No. No, I don’t want you nicked.’

‘All right, and do you need an ambulance, or are you going to get up and walk out of here like a man?’

Henry tried to get up, but couldn’t.

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake’, said Young, moving towards him. Instinctively Henry lifted his arms to protect his face, but just felt strong hands under his armpits, hauling him upright. Then he stood, unsteadily, and turned towards the door. Pepper caught him before he fell, and helped him to a chair.

‘It’s not his decision. You’re fucking nicked,’ she said.

‘Have it your own way, love, but I really do wonder what your bosses will make of the tape. The TV channels too, come to that. And your lad had a go at me too, didn’t he? So it was self defence, what I did. It’ll all be on the tape, like.’

‘He’s right, Pepper,’ said Henry, tasting the blood in his mouth, and feeling the sharp stump of a shattered tooth with his tongue. ‘Let’s not give him the satisfaction. Come on, let’s get out of here. His time will come.’

‘All of our times will come, son. Even the children’s, in the end, like.’

Half an hour later they were at Henry Armstrong’s dad’s house in Keswick, and Pepper helped Henry up to his room so that he could get changed, and have a lie down. He was up and about, and wearing his old walking clothes when his dad returned from surgery. The two men made for the doctor’s study, and Pepper knew that Henry was in for both a physical check-up and a verbal cross-examination.

She made a jug of elderflower cordial for them all, and carried it through to the living room on a tray. She took her own glass, and walked to the window. From there she could see right across the town, to Derwent Water and the fells beyond. She hardly ever came out this way, and was pretty sure that a lifetime’s familiarity with the fells and the lakes had inoculated her against their charms. But today she wasn’t quite so sure. The clouds were high, fluffy and sparse, and their shadows raced across the fells, momentarily dulling the vivid greens, browns and greys. For the first time she could actually see herself living in one of those little white chocolate-box cottages, way over yonder. Maybe she had a few fox-proof chickens, and perhaps Ben wanted to be a shepherd when he grew up. And it was that last thought that killed the daydream stone dead. Carlisle was Ben’s home, just as it was hers, and in the end you only ever got one of those. Everywhere else was just places that you visited, and maybe even stayed for a while.

Pepper was thinking about Linda Taylor when she heard a noise behind her, and saw Dr. Armstrong standing there.

‘How is he?’

‘He’ll be fine in a day or so. Not even concussed. He just needs a bit of bed rest, that’s all.’

‘Shouldn’t he be in hospital?’

‘No need, honestly. I’ll keep a close eye on him.’

There was a pause. ‘Did he talk about what happened?’ asked Pepper.

‘No, and I didn’t ask. Or rather, I stopped asking after the fourth or fifth attempt. But I must admit that I’m a little surprised that you came here. I thought that in situations like this, where an officer is assaulted, you get your own doctor to examine the injured person?’

‘We do, aye. Usually, anyway.’

‘So there’s something irregular about what happened today?’ Pepper didn’t reply. ‘You don't have to tell me anything. Just so long as Henry isn’t in any trouble.’

‘Henry? Christ, no. He’s done nothing wrong, I promise you. He was just trying to defend me, that’s all.’

‘Judging from the state of Henry’s face it was a man who attacked you, then?’

‘Well, aye, it was.’

‘I hope you arrested him. If there’s one thing I cannot abide it’s when a man strikes a woman. Call me old fashioned, but….’

‘I attacked him, the man who hit Henry. It was totally my own fault, I’m afraid.’

Dr. Armstrong sat, and gestured to Pepper to do the same.

‘I’m sure that you had your reasons.’

‘I’m not sure that I did. Certainly not legally. But he threatened my son, this bloke. Not in so many words, like, but he was threatening to hurt him. He’s only six, is my Ben.’

Armstrong nodded.

‘Is this man capable…’

‘Of hurting a child? Absolutely. I know it sounds crazy, but aye, I’m certain of it. You must have met people like that, doctor.’

‘I have, yes, once or twice. So I don’t doubt that some people, just a very few, are capable of astonishing acts of violence and brutality. But do you ever think about why they’re the way they are? Is it nature or nurture, as it were?’

Pepper looked at him as if he’d asked if she’d prefer to be eaten by a lion or a crocodile. ‘I don’t, not really, doc. Our job is just to catch the bastards. They can save the excuses for the bleeding hearts on the bench. But in this particular case I know the answer, as it happens. It was nature, 100%, that turned Dai Young into the animal that he is today.’