Dead Of Winter (Willis/Carter #1)(34)

‘What happened then? Did you get asked to make a statement?’

‘No. That was the last I heard about it. I was told by the owners that the police had finished; I could go back and would I do something about the gatepost? So I did. I rebuilt it as close to the original as I could.’

‘Did you use the exact same stone again to rebuild it?’

‘Most of it, yes, and what I didn’t use I kept. You’ll find it to the right of the front door at the cottage. I thought I might reuse it somewhere else. But I haven’t done so yet.’

‘Thanks, that’s really helpful. I’ll find out what happened to it. I’ll be in touch.’

‘Glad to help . . . I was going to ask . . . if you need any more help . . . if you need to ask me anything else . . . we could talk over coffee or a drink?’

‘Um . . . yes. Thanks. It’s possible. Shall I call you if I need more help?’

He laughed. ‘If that’s what you want then that’s good. I appreciate you’re busy at the moment but can I use this number to text you now – in a few days – and see when you’re free?’

‘Of course . . . good idea . . . bye for now.’ Ebony glanced across at Carter who was looking back and forth from her to the road and grinning.

‘What was that?’

She shook her head. ‘Just the gardener, Sarge.’ She gathered her thoughts quickly. ‘He says the original stone is still there, what he didn’t use to rebuild the gatepost he left by the side of the front door. He also says that he told the officer at the scene about a piece of evidence he found by the gatepost: a piece of bloodstained material. I’ve looked through the list of evidence, Sarge, and I didn’t find it listed.’

‘Okay. Ring Robbo and get him to make sure all the exhibits from the Carmichael case are brought back from the warehouse. Also, ask him if there were any vehicles reported damaged by officers attending the scene that day. And tell him to chase up the ambulance driver who picked up baby Adam. Someone would have had to report damage to their vehicle.’





Chapter 19


Carmichael opened his laptop and connected his phone then waited for the instructions on the screen.

Did he want to download files from host?

Yes, he did.

He downloaded the photo of Sonny outside Digger’s club and saved it to his phone. Then he rang an old friend.

‘Long time no speak, Carmichael. It’s good to hear from you. How you keeping? I heard you became a sheep farmer?’

‘Hello, Micky. Yeah . . . I’m heading back into the real world now. I need some help. The people who murdered my wife and kid are back in the UK.’

‘Ask away.’

‘I need you to do some intelligence work for me? Find out all you can about some people past and present. I’ll cover expenses for you.’

‘Sure; I need a rest anyway, put my feet up.’

‘Yeah. Saw you’d been rowing the Atlantic with your mates. You should try and challenge yourself a bit more.’

Micky laughed. ‘I’m working on it. You keep in contact with any of the others from our regiment?’

‘I have some numbers but I’m not sure who’s still around. I need to update some software. Have you got someone who can help?’

‘Sure. You tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you. What do you need from me?’

‘To start with I need you to find out all you can about a man named Digger Cain. He owns clip joints in Soho and a legit club called Cain’s. I want to know what else he makes money from: legit or otherwise.’

‘What do you already know about him? What are you looking for specifically?’

‘He’s the top man in a chain of club owners who pass trafficked women around the clubs and brothels here in the UK. He distributes and sells the girls on. One of the women ended up under a patio in Northwest London. I want to know if Digger could have put her there and if he could have anything to do with killing my wife and child. I’m looking for a connection to specific people. I’ll email you it in more detail. I also need your help in creating a new persona for myself. I will have to be able to gain entry into Digger’s world. I’m going to base it around the time we spent in Mexico in ’91 – most of the guys we were looking at then are dead.’

‘You want to go backwards and rewrite history? Tricky.’

‘Yes, but it just needs to gain me access and then I’ll be in and out before anyone realizes it doesn’t add up. I don’t have to set myself up as a major player in the Tijuana Cartel. I just need to be an “also-ran”.’

‘Sounds like it would be fun to weave yourself into the search engines and distort the truth a little. I’ll enjoy helping you with that. But Carmichael . . . you don’t need to pay me. I owe you from way back.’

‘No . . . all debts are paid. Can’t think of a better use for my money than watching you break another record.’

Micky shifted in his seat and lifted one stump at a time to rest on a stool in front of him. He began unhitching his artificial legs as he talked to Carmichael. Micky’s eyes went up to the photo on his wall next to the medal he’d received after he stepped on a mine and lost both his legs from the knee down. Carmichael had carried him to help and then returned for one of the bloodiest revenge attacks that their platoon had ever witnessed. It wouldn’t go down in history as one of the most ethical operations but it had done the job.