The Devil's Interval (14 page)

‘You reckon we’ll need it?’

‘Oh aye, and don’t even think about contacting any of your friends and family, let alone coming back. Just because we can’t find you, and I’m pretty sure we can’t, that doesn’t mean that you can’t be found. All it takes is a few people with deep pockets, and long memories. And, to be honest, I can’t say I’m sorry. I dare say you deserve what’s coming to you.’

There was a silence, and Pepper thought she could hear waves breaking. But perhaps she was imaging it.

‘I’ve never killed anyone, Pepper.’

‘That’s not much of a bloody lifetime’s achievement though, is it? You and your crew have been responsible for all kinds of misery for the last fifteen years, to my certain knowledge. And you know what your real problem is, John? You like causing fear, and when you do then you don’t see the need for pain. But that’s where you’re out-of-date, I’m afraid. It’s strictly pre-internet, is that kind of thinking. Because if and when they catch you, and I expect it’s when, then you won’t go first, and you won’t go easy. You’ll see what they do to your wife, and your kids if they nab them, and then they’ll keep you conscious for as long as they can. Not because they need to, or because it serves any purpose, but just because they’ll enjoy it. Personally, I blame violent video games, like.’

‘I’m shitting myself.’

‘That’s right, you keep up the tough guy act for as long as you can. You should have taken Dai Young out while you still could, when he first came back up here. But he knew you wouldn’t. My guess is you bullshitted and blustered and didn’t do owt, and he would have known you were finished, right then and there.’

‘He won’t last. One of his lads will turn on him, or his bosses will decide that he has to go. It’s only a matter of time.’

‘Maybe, but I wouldn’t count on that, if I were you. Because if Dai goes, whoever follows will be even worse. The devil incarnate, I wouldn’t wonder. After all, you’re just a big soft jessie in comparison with Dai, so imagine what his successor would be like.’

There was another pause, and Pepper was almost certain that she could hear the faint hiss os an ocean far away. ‘You never put me away though, did you, love?’

‘Fair point. But you had help, didn’t you? Two bent officers that we know of, and maybe more that we don’t.’

‘Aye, well, that didn’t hurt. But if you see Dai, you give him a message from me, Pepper.’

‘Certainly will. I joined the force to act as an unpaid carrier pigeon for low lifes like you and Young. So you go right ahead. I’ve got a pen and paper ready, like.’

‘Tell him I get it. Tell him I’m not coming back. Tell him the whole bloody lot is his, anything he wants. All I ask is that he leaves my family alone.’

‘Bugger me, John. Is that it? Really? You’re about as bad-ass as nappy rash, mate. You’ll be sending him a little apology card and a bunch of flowers next. You really want me to pass that message on, mate? You don’t think he’s already got the message, what with you buggering off to foreign parts?’

‘Fuck off, Pepper. You just wait ’til you’re in his sights. See how you like it.’

‘It won’t happen. He’s not that daft. And it’s not just me he’d be up against, is it? Take me down and there’d be a thousand more coppers behind. But I’ll tell you what, John, you could have made a bit of a fight of it, mate. With a bit of luck you’d have taken out a few of his before they got you. But it’s not to be now, I suppose. What with you running away, like a little girl.’

‘Sorry to disappoint you, Pepper. Now, if you’ll excuse me there’s a long, cold drink with my name on it. It’s bloody tough, is this exile job.’

The CID office was three quarters full when Pepper and Henry Armstrong got back, with people at desks that had stood empty since the new Divisional HQ building had first opened. She didn’t need to call Rex Copeland to her office, because he spotted her as soon as she walked in, and he hurried over.

‘The boss wants to see you, Pepper. As soon as you got back, she said.’

Pepper nodded. ‘That’s Jane Francis’ team out there, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah. Most of them, anyway.’

‘And has their leader turned up as well?’

‘Not yet. On her way, apparently.’

‘Bollocks. And any luck tracking down Farmer?’

‘No, nothing. Funny thing, though. Pretty much all of his KAs are proving very co-operative, all of a sudden. But none have set eyes on him in the last few days, and a couple seem very keen to emphasise that they last saw him with John Porter.’

‘Now there’s a surprise. Right, I’ll go and see Contrary Mary, loyal friend to the hard working copper.’

Mary Clark was on the phone when Pepper knocked at the door, but she rang off quickly, and pointed to her meeting table.

‘How are you, love?’ she said, as Pepper sat down opposite. ‘Fancy a brew?’

‘No, you’re all right, thanks. And I’m fine. About my dad, I mean. I just wish that I could say the same about the bloody storm troopers marching all over my office.’

Clark laughed. ‘They’re hardly that, now are they? Look, Pepper, it’s no kind of judgement on your ability to progress the Maxwell investigation, but your late father was unquestionably involved. And, believe it or not, the force has a policy that applies when a close relation of an officer is implicated in an investigation. So you’re out, I’m afraid.’

‘What about my team?’

‘They help DI Francis as and when required, otherwise they continue with their other duties. I thought you’d be pleased, in a way.’

‘How do you work that out, ma’am?’

‘Well, at least now there’s a chance that Jane’s team will finally connect the Roberts murder with this Maxwell business, especially if Alan Farmer turns up dead.’

‘I doubt he’ll turn up at all, to tell the truth.’

‘Really?’

‘Aye. There’s nothing in it for Young, as far as I can see. Letting Roberts be found was completely deliberate, because it sent a message. But we’ve seen the last of Alan Farmer, I’ll bet you. People always say how hard it is to get rid of a body, don’t they? But it’s not, not for organised criminals. The real issues are cleaning the scene properly, which is almost impossible these days unless the killers are really forensically astute, and then the risks associated with moving the stiff. But if you do the kill in a locus we can’t find, and get the body moved sharpish, then it’s a piece of piss, really. Then you can burn it, bury it, do what you like. It’ll never be found.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind. It might come in handy, might that information.’

‘The ACC getting on your nerves?’

‘He won’t leave me alone. He seems to have decided that all this mayhem is somehow connected to the fact that the force recruited a Superintendent from outside the job.’

‘That’s bollocks, ma’am.’

‘I’ll pass that considered opinion on, shall I?’

‘Aye, please do. And anyway, everyone knows that senior officers make no bloody difference to the outcome of investigations, don’t they?’

Jane Clark smiled. ‘That’s more like the Pepper we know and love. So you are all right? Really? Under the circumstances I’d prefer you to take a few days off. Spend a bit of time with your little lad. Do some Christmas shopping, all that.’

‘No, that would ruin the fun of it, wouldn’t it? I like sitting there on the computer, half an hour before the online order deadline, trying to choose what load of old tat to actually buy. I find it works best after a few drinks, actually.’

‘Well, I can’t make you take compassionate leave.’

‘There’s a policy on that too, I expect?’

‘There is, I checked. But if you change your mind, tomorrow, whenever, you just let me know. No questions asked, OK? And if you want to see Paul Collier more frequently, you just say the word.’

‘I’ve kicked him into touch. I’m not going back.’

‘Are you sure that’s wise?’

‘Probably not, but I’ve decided to be more spontaneous. Follow my heart, not my head, every once in a blue moon. I don’t want to keep raking over the past all the time, and with my dad dying, well, it just feels like the right time to look ahead, like. I’m still young. Bloody hell, Mary, we’re both still young. With a bit of luck we might both be going strong in another fifty years time. It’s exciting, isn’t it?’

‘If you say so, love. And all this alarmingly out-of-character outpouring of positivity wouldn’t be to convince me that you’re fully fit to continue with your duties, would it?’

‘Bloody hell, ma’am. You’ve only been on with this job for five minutes and you’re already as cynical as the rest of them. Always see the best in people, that’s what I always say.’

‘Since when?’

‘Well, since just this minute, actually. But I’m a reformed character, you’ll see. I’ll be as nice as pie to old know-it-all Francis, and I won’t gloat a bit when she doesn’t get a sniff of Alan Farmer’s body or Peter Roberts’ killer.’

‘Is that a promise?’

‘Aye, it is. After all, it’s not my responsibility if one lot of villains gets replaced by an even worse lot, now is it?’

‘Whose responsibility is it then, Acting DI Wilson?’

‘That would be yours, ma’am.’

Mary Clark smiled, and pointed to the door. ‘Get out, before I change my mind.’

Saturday, 20th December

8.01am, The Lanes Shopping Centre car park, Carlisle

Pepper Wilson was tempted to get out of the car and have a word with the fat bloke in the people carrier who’d nipped into the space she was after, the cheeky bastard. A month ago she probably would have, even though Ben was in the car, but she was really getting into the Christmas spirit, so she let it pass. Pepper even had a neat little list in her bag, and when she’d ticked the last few items off, as she was sure she would that morning, she’d have completed the annual present-buying ritual. She only really cared about Ben’s presents, but she was determined to make an effort this year.

The radio was fading in and out as she drove higher up the car park, but she still recognised the tune. She found herself tapping the steering wheel in time. It wasn’t a festive lyric, but it was catchy, she’d give it that. When the song was over she listened for the name of the band, and swore under her breath when the DJ said that it was The Working Poor.

‘That was Justin’s band, love’ she said, over her shoulder. ‘I must give him a ring, and tell him we heard it.’

‘He’s away, mum, don’t you remember? And I expect he knows. They’re on the radio all the time now.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘He told me, yesterday.’

‘But he wasn’t round yesterday, love. We haven’t seen him in days.’

‘I know, mum.’ Pepper always smiled at that tone, as if Ben was explaining something to a rather backward puppy. ‘He told me on the phone.’

‘He phones you, does he?’

‘Oh, aye, and texts me. He sends me pictures, too.’

‘Of what?’

‘Of the places they’ve been. They were in London yesterday.’

‘Were they now?’

Pepper spotted a space, and nipped in before the woman ahead of her could even indicate. Pepper waved and smiled, and didn’t even try to lip-read what the woman was saying. Five minutes later they were both in the shopping centre and Pepper had left Ben with her friend Lucy, and her son Daniel. She’d have one hour to get everything done, and then they’d swap round, with a coffee to finish, if they could get in anywhere by then. ‘Wish me luck’, said Pepper, heading for her first shop.

‘Merry Christmas, Pepper, love,’ said a familiar voice behind her and to the left, and she started to reply as she turned.

‘Fuck off, Dai.’

‘Come on, love. Just a little chat. Five minutes, I promise.’

‘How did you know I was here?’

‘How do you think? I don’t have the budget constraints that you do, do I? If I want to mount a surveillance operation, I just do it.’

‘Bollocks. No one’s been watching me.’

‘Are you sure, love?’ He was smiling, because he knew he was right. She wasn’t sure. But she bloody well would be in future.

‘Your lad is really shooting up, isn’t he?’

Pepper stopped, and looked around. They’d just passed a coffee place.

‘In there. Five minutes, mind.’

Pepper watched Dai push to the front of the queue, have a word with the middle aged man who was first in line, and then place his order. She found her phone, started it recording, and quickly put it back inside her handbag on the table next to her. Young was back with their drinks in less time than she would have usually taken to decide. But she guessed that card-carrying psychopaths rarely queued for anything, for one reason or another.

‘Cheers’ she said. ‘What do I owe you?’

‘Don’t be daft. I’ve been thinking about you, Pepper.’

‘And I’ve been thinking about nicking you. Someone will talk, Dai, they always do. We’ll nick one of your lads for something that will draw them some proper jail time, and then they’ll be only too keen to grass you up. You’re only ever as strong as your weakest link. That’s your basic problem.’

Dai Young shook his head. ‘And your whole strategy is based on that hope, is it? Then whoever killed Roberts has nowt to worry about, not if his people really do understand that talking to you lot is never, ever an option.’

‘They’re not that afraid of you, Dai. You’re just another kid who didn’t get enough hugs when he was growing up.’

‘And you did?’

‘I never said that, did I? That’s what I can’t understand. You weren’t even a bad kid, not really. Not until you were a teenager, anyway. That’s when you started to show all the signs. I recognise them all now, of course, but then I’ve made the study of vicious, violent dick-heads something of a specialist subject. But you won’t want to talk about what you are now, will you?’

‘Why not? Let’s just say I’ve got the right temperament and inclinations for my work, and just leave it at that, shall we? And you’re the same, of course. It’s unusual in a woman, is that kind of commitment.’

‘Bollocks. You’re a psychopath, Dai, a dangerous nutter. You genuinely don’t give a shit about anyone or anything. It’s your only real skill, if you can call it that.’

‘And you’re no different, not really. Answer me this, Pepper. When you get a bloke sent down for ten years, and he’s got young kids, a wife, all that, do you ever think about him after, like?’

‘That’s not the same, Dai. You’re talking about a criminal, someone who’s committed an offence. Of course I don’t think about him.’

‘So how are we different? I can’t see it. Do you really think I do what I do without good reason? I’m not a bloody animal, Pepper. You have your rules, and I have mine. Like you say, we had the same upbringing, more or less, and I reckon that we learned the same lessons. You need to look after yourself, because no-one else bloody will, and that violence beats the living shit out of love, every single time. So you joined your gang, and I joined mine. So we’re not really that different, are we?’

Pepper sipped her coffee, and tried to revive her good mood. But it wasn’t working, so she gave up.

‘Look, Dai, I have to go. I don’t know what this is all about, I really don’t. But from now on, if you want to speak to me, you come down to the nick and join the fucking queue, all right?’

‘Sorry, love, I know you’re busy. So I’ll get to the point. I wanted to make a suggestion, like. And I’m only making it because I like you, and because we go back. Just do me one tiny little favour. All I’m asking you to do is apply for a transfer, a nice little job at HQ, but get yourself away from the front line up here.’

‘And if I don’t?’

‘Then you’ll have to take your chances, like the rest of them.’

‘So you’re threatening me, is that it? You’re threatening a police officer?’

‘Of course not, what with you recording every word we say. I just meant that I know you, love, and with the time you’ve had lately, you could really do with something a bit less stressful. And it’s obvious that things are going to get worse for all you cops, over the next few months.’

‘Really? What makes you say that?’

‘Stands to reason, doesn’t it? They’re cutting more coppers’ jobs all the time, and that won’t stop until there’s real trouble on the streets, and the MPs don’t feel safe in their second homes. You lot are just spectators now, Pepper. You’ve got no money for surveillance, or for that pro-active policing stuff. It’s a thing of the past, is that. So now any villain worth his salt knows that so long as there’s no physical evidence, DNA and that, he can brazen pretty much anything out. And the CPS hasn’t got a pot to piss in either, has it? So all you’re going to catch from now on are the ones who want to get caught, and the really stupid ones. So take my advice, and get you and your little lad out of harm’s way. Now, while you still can.’

Pepper stood up. She’d had enough of Dai Young for one year. More than enough. And she jabbed her finger at him as she spoke. ‘I know you feel like a winner right now, Dai, but this is only half-time. You’re going to face justice, and I’m going to be the one who takes you down, I promise you that. So I’m going nowhere, marrer. I know what you are, better than anyone, so I can guess what you’ve done. You’re frightened of me, and so you bloody should be.’

Dai Young smiled up at her, and then he too got up, pointing politely to their table so that an older couple could take their seats.

‘And a merry Christmas to you too, love. Don’t you even want your present?’

But Pepper Wilson didn’t hear him over the hissing of steam and chatter. She was already half way to the door, and looking down at her present list. Ben wanted something called an Extreme Ambush Kit, whatever the hell that was. Pepper had absolutely no idea, but she knew that she really liked the sound of it.