Cold Revenge (Willis/Carter #6)(85)
‘The refuse collection route is along York Way, past Caledonian Road station. She could have got off there, I’m just waiting to look at that.’
‘All we can do is keep looking for her and send someone back to talk to all the neighbours again.’
‘Where’s Maxwell?’ asked Carter, looking over at the empty desk in the corner of the office. ‘We should hear from Sandford soon. I want to hold off the press conference until we know who it is in the last grave at Lambs Farm. I thought Chris would want to be here for that?’
‘Sandford’s on the line,’ said Willis. ‘DNA results are in, it’s Darren Slater, the missing lad from Essex.’
‘Jesus, one more piece in the Douglas puzzle. Does Sandford say there’s anything else in the grave?’
‘He says there is nothing in there that he can see so far, but the soil is being lifted and sifted. I’ll get in touch with the team investigating his disappearance and tell them the good news. At least his family will have answers.’
Carter went across to talk to Hector who had set up a desk in the inquiry team office, along with everyone else.
‘Did you find out what business Dwyer has with the men we saw her with in the Singing Canary bar?’ asked Carter.
‘Plenty,’ Hector answered. ‘The company she and Perry own has formed a new one with the owner of the Singing Canary, Alex Ramirez. The new company is called “GET Enterprises”. They are rumoured to have taken up leases on six restaurants that will open from summer next year. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Even more so when you hear their theme for it and what it’s going to be called. How does “Skin on Bone” grab you?’
‘It doesn’t really.’
‘It may do, when you read the blurb,’ continued Hector. ‘It’s billed as an “all new eating experience” and a themed restaurant chain with an ex-convict as its chef.’
‘No way. How has he managed to set this up from prison?’
Willis walked over to join in the conversation. ‘I can tell you how. I’ve looked into all the work parties he’s been on and checked with the restaurants’ guest lists. He’s been meeting Dwyer and Perry at these places. We know he has phones in there. We know he does favours for other prisoners in return for phones, SIM cards, letters out. If these restaurants are for Douglas then it would mean they must have needed big money to put this together.’
‘How much are we talking?’ asked Carter. ‘What’s the cost to buy a lease and refurb, to get everything in place, per restaurant?’
‘In the locations they’ve chosen, anything from half a million, minimum; in some cases in excess of two million if it’s central London, and we know two of them are.’
‘No wonder Stephen Perry is broke, they must have had to put money in themselves to get this deal,’ said Carter.
‘Is anyone linking them to Douglas?’ asked Willis. ‘Have the press started asking questions?’
‘Not yet,’ answered Hector.
‘So they’ve secured backers willing to put the money in and wait at least a year before they begin to see profits,’ said Carter. ‘Probably two years?’
‘This is a massive deal for relatively small players like Perry and Dwyer,’ Hector agreed.
‘And if it goes wrong?’ said Willis. ‘And if it’s financed by crime bosses? There will be nowhere to hide.’
‘It seems like Cathy Dwyer is definitely the mover and shaker in this partnership,’ said Hector. ‘I think she’s a very busy woman right now. Juggling lots of balls in the air.’
‘If the criminal underworld are laundering their money through Douglas’s restaurants then they will not want anything standing in their way,’ said Willis.
‘We bring in one, we watch the other one. Bring Perry in. Phone Maxwell and see where he is,’ said Carter.
‘I’m here,’ Maxwell said as he walked in. ‘Sorry, I overslept.’
‘Lucky you. We have news about Lambs Farm – Willis will fill you in while I go and chat things through with our press officer, Janice,’ said Carter as he left the office and went into his own for some privacy.
‘You okay?’ Willis asked Maxwell. ‘You look like you’ve had less sleep than me. Do you want to grab a coffee?’
‘No, you’re very kind, but I’m okay, really. Please tell me about what Sandford has found.’
An hour later, at eleven, Carter was waiting to address the press-packed room with Willis sitting at his side and Bowie watching from the sidelines. Maxwell was listening from the corridor outside. The room was packed full of waiting journalists and press photographers. Janice stood at the back. They had discussed the things that they needed to get across. The police were under attack for messing up the Heather Phillips investigation first time around. Heather fever had gripped the nation again but now her name was added to those of the others and everything, from lack of sympathy for prostitutes to Darren’s gay lifestyle, were firing people up to accuse the police of failing to protect the vulnerable, the people who didn’t quite fit into society.
Bowie had asked him to draw a line under the Douglas links now. Darren Slater’s team would be taking over. If there was any way they could find new evidence to link to Douglas they would, but there appeared to be nothing in the grave and the only link so far, in any of the graves, was to Ash.