Cold Revenge (Willis/Carter #6)(39)

‘We’re locating them now. We’ve found Yvonne Coombes, she’s a sad case – a methadone addict, struggling to keep her child this time. She says she broke off her friendship with Millie because Millie was out of control. We know that’s the case from her father. We’re getting mixed messages from Gavin Heathcote. He gave Millie money. I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a nuisance to him. We are looking for Cathy Dwyer and the seventh disciple who we presume is a lad called Ash. We don’t know what role he had, if any, in the group. We do know he and Heather were close. If that’s Heather in the ground then we may find him too.’

‘What about Douglas? Are you going to see him?’ asked Bowie.

‘I think I should wait,’ said Carter, ‘until we know more.’

‘I would go while you have a window of calm, but it’s your shout,’ said Bowie.

‘Calm? You’re joking, aren’t you!’ Carter smiled. ‘But, you’re right, better to go before the story breaks. I doubt if we will get anything from him, he’s up for release. He’s not going to tell us anything that could harm that.’

‘He’s a very difficult person to get your head around,’ said Bowie. ‘Find someone who’s a match for him intellectually, someone he won’t run rings around. I think it’s worth going to see him now, even to break the news of his girlfriend’s murder, see his reaction.’

‘Let me think about it,’ said Carter. ‘Who was the SIO in the Heather Phillips case?’

‘Superintendent Davidson, now retired.’

‘Not my favourite person,’ grimaced Carter.

‘No, nor mine, and he made a pig’s ear of the whole thing. Douglas played him like a fiddle.’

‘I heard he was living in Spain now,’ said Carter.

‘He was, but he’s back here now, he’s a widower. Here’s his number.’ Bowie turned his phone around for Carter to see the screen.

‘Okay, I’ll ask for a meet ASAP. Didn’t know you had him on speed dial?’ Carter joked.

‘Yeah, good luck with him; he hates you almost as much as he does me.’

When he came out of the meeting, Carter shepherded Willis down the stairs to the first floor and through to Archway Police Station, which adjoined Fletcher House, and into the canteen. Ebony’s housemate Tina was working behind the counter, as usual.

‘I’ll get it,’ said Carter, when they got to the counter. ‘What do you want?’

‘Just a Coke, no . . . and a doughnut, with jam and cream,’ said Willis as she waved at Tina and headed off to the back of the canteen where she could hear her friend laughing as Carter ordered. She had a habit of laughing loudly at any of Carter’s remarks, even when they weren’t meant to be humorous.

He carried the tray over, shaking his head. ‘Tina finds me irresistibly funny.’ He set down the tray, taking his tea before sliding the rest across for Ebony.

‘I know, but then, there’s no accounting for taste.’

‘There’s something I want you to do for me,’ said Carter as Willis took a big bite of doughnut. She was poised, waiting to hear what he was going to ask and, at the same time, tipping the doughnut to catch the escaping jam which was about to explode out of the bottom.

‘I want you to . . .’ Carter began, and stopped. ‘Christ, wait a minute, I can’t watch you eat.’ He turned away in mock disgust and counted to five before turning back to find her licking the sugar from her fingers and then trying to clean her sticky fingers on the paper napkin. ‘I want you to interview Jimmy Douglas. How do you feel about that?’

Willis frowned as she thought it through. She was a big frowner, her forehead was quite mobile.

Carter continued, ‘It may be the only chance to catch him off guard, to establish a relationship before the world’s press is focused on him again.’

‘Yes, I get that.’

‘Exactly.’ Carter was studying her. She had on the face that was hard to read except he’d worked with her and been friends with her for six years now and he had more chance of understanding her expression than most.

‘Okay.’

‘What are the first concerns that come to mind? Talk it through with me.’

‘I am rubbish at interviewing, that’s a concern, did you think about that?’

‘Of course I did, and I took that into consideration. This is not trying to wheedle a confession out of some low-life petty criminal; the reports about him say he is way up high on the IQ scale. He can run rings around most people because he studies them, tries to trip them up, tries to get inside their head. I don’t see that happening with you.’

She was nodding, drinking her Coke and thinking hard. She wouldn’t have asked herself to do it, she would have chosen Hector, or Blackman, anyone who had achieved higher grades in their interviewing than her.

‘But, Eb, you don’t have to do it. You can say no.’

She put down her Coke. ‘I want to do it. Don’t you dare give it to anyone else.’

On the way out of the car park as Carter headed home for a few hours’ sleep, he saw Maxwell coming out of the office. Carter stopped the car.

‘How did you get here?’ Carter asked, looking around for a car.

‘Bus, bike, tube, walk, it varies; today it was the tube.’