Cold Revenge (Willis/Carter #6)(83)

Yvonne Coombes set Bonny down in front of the television and sat at the kitchen table listening to her daughter answering the television in toddler-speak as she rolled one cigarette after the other. She picked up her phone every other minute and stared at the screen. She went to stand in the doorway and watch the little girl who was chuckling away at the screen, which made her feel calm. Bonny was all that mattered to her.

She went outside in the corridor and knocked at the door of the neighbour across and down the hall, the woman who looked after Bonny for her when she was at her cleaning job.

‘Will you take Bonny for me for a few days, Beverly?’

‘How long for?’ Beverly was retired and had no grandchildren of her own but she knew that Yvonne took advantage of that sometimes. However, it was hard for Beverly to say no when she adored Bonny.

‘Just a few days, maybe a week. I’ll ring you.’

The woman nodded but she looked worried. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘Nothing. Just don’t tell anyone you have Bonny. Don’t tell anyone you saw me.’





Chapter 40


Willis got back upstairs to the inquiry team office before Tucker and Carter. Maxwell had taken over a corner of it for his maps and charts. She went to sit on the desk nearby. She had a lot of work to get through.

‘Has Yvonne been moved?’ asked Chris, as he saw her there.

‘Not yet, but it’s in hand,’ said Willis.

Tucker and Carter walked into the office, Carter glancing at all Chris’s things spread out and on the walls. ‘You’re getting cramped in here too, Chris,’ he said. ‘You and Willis need your own floor.’

Maxwell smiled at Willis. Tucker stepped forward to shake his hand and introduce himself.

‘The pupil is overtaking the master,’ Maxwell said. ‘Ebony has a fantastic brain for all of it and a way of looking at the facts that make them much more three-dimensional.’

‘I think I should stick to facts and figures and stay out of Douglas’s way from now on,’ said Willis.

‘Did you learn anything new?’ asked Maxwell.

‘I’ve made notes,’ she answered. ‘I’m going to look through those tonight and listen to the tape and then I hope I’ll be able to take it in better.’

Maxwell smiled encouragingly.

‘Did Eb tell you about my meeting with the boss?’ Carter asked him.

‘I was just getting around to it when you walked in,’ said Willis. ‘I’ll let you be the bringer of bad news.’

‘I’m afraid we have been warned off more searches of farmland and told to concentrate on what we have already,’ said Carter. ‘Apparently people in power want us to leave any vendetta, or witch hunt, against Douglas, and concentrate on finding the killer of Millie Stephens and Nicola Stone. But don’t worry, your work won’t go to waste. And, if we find Heather, everything changes. She could be in that last grave on Lambs Farm.’

‘What kind of people are they who want it to stop?’ asked Maxwell, not really getting it.

‘Knobs. Big ones who have even bigger ones above them, and if you look hard enough you’ll probably come across a bit of corruption as well,’ added Tucker. ‘But I couldn’t possibly comment on that.’

Maxwell was staring at him. There was an awkward silence and then Maxwell addressed Carter. ‘So we are being reined back?’

‘Yes, afraid so. At this moment in time,’ said Carter, ‘all this has to do with, is the person who killed in this last month. This has nothing to do with Douglas physically. How can it be, when he’s inside? The killer has to be someone on the edge of the group at Hawthorn Farm, someone who was missed first time around. That’s why we thought you might like to meet Tucker here. He was part of the original investigation. He met everyone back in 2000.’

‘I’m happy to help in any way I can,’ said Tucker, looking around at all Chris’s work on the boards and spread out on the table. ‘God knows I remember Davidson concentrated so hard on nailing Douglas he didn’t even consider whether there was a possibility it was someone else. So we think this new killer could be someone I once interviewed?’

‘When we know who the last body in the ground is, we can narrow down the possible suspects from Douglas’s acquaintances,’ said Willis, ‘and all the people who came to the parties. We might have to hand it all over to the relevant investigation teams, but it doesn’t mean we have to completely stop working on it. We find Heather in that grave, fingers crossed, then we’re back on track.’

Maxwell turned away despondently.

‘Chris, the dig has started now,’ said Carter. ‘Do you want to head down there in the morning?’

‘Perhaps, thank you.’

Carter looked at his watch. ‘Come on, Tucker, I can only spare a couple of hours, we’re going to be on the night shift here. Eb? Don’t tell me you’re not hungry. Chris, what about you, fancy joining us for a pizza? You can meet the missus. My son isn’t here, thank goodness.’

‘You missed meeting Carter’s crazy feral son,’ said Willis to Maxwell. ‘He’s a lovable little devil.’

‘He loves you, that’s for sure.’ Tucker smiled. ‘It’s all about how strong Ebony is, how fast you can run. He’s all about being like Ebony when he grows up. You should be very proud of the relationship you have with him.’