Dead Of Winter (Willis/Carter #1)(99)

‘He was called Adam when he came to us. His mother was murdered, we were told. She named someone else in her will in the event of anything happening. But that person died with her. It was her wish that he be put up for adoption, change his name, everything. He gets money put into an account for his needs. It’s a generous amount from his grandfather but his mother left instructions that there was never to be any contact. We were delighted to take him on. We were having trouble conceiving, we’d been trying for years.’

‘Do you think Alex might have been approached by any of his family?’

‘I don’t know. Looking back . . .’

‘Before Alex disappeared did you notice anything strange? Did Alex ever ask you about his real mum?’

She nodded. ‘Michael told me not to mention it before. He said it would make no difference to things.’

‘We found no searches on his PC

‘That wasn’t one that Alex really used. He did his homework on it here in the kitchen where I could help him if he needed, but he used his iPad in his room. Michael bought it for him.’

‘Where is the iPad now, Helen?’

‘He took it with him that day.’

‘To the Arsenal match?’

‘Yes . . . I know . . . I don’t know why he did that.’

‘Because someone told him to bring it maybe . . . Did Alex know he was adopted?’

‘We told him a couple of years ago.’

‘How did he seem with it?’

‘Not bothered in the beginning. In the last six months he’s been asking a lot of questions about how his mother died.’

‘Uncomfortable questions?’

‘I found his questions really difficult to answer. How do you tell a boy his mother was murdered? I told him she went away. I told him she might still be alive but I doubted it.’

Ebony looked at Helen Tapp and she realized that Adam thought he’d found his real mum.

She got outside and called Carter. ‘Adam never knew who he was until someone told him. What about the woman Tapp is seeing?’

‘I had him followed,’ said Carter. ‘He’s having an affair with Aaron’s mum.’





Chapter 69


Ebony was sitting at her desk in the ETO. Across from her, Jeanie was on the phone trying to set up some help for Helen Tapp. Ebony listened to her making sure; Jeanie was persistent, dogged. Ebony knew that if she was in a tight corner she’d want Jeanie in there with her.

Ebony’s phone vibrated on her desk top. A photo message was coming through. Ebony looked at the number of the person sending and didn’t recognize it. She was about to ignore it when the photo flashed across the screen and she snatched it up from the desk as she watched the face form in front of her eyes.

Jeanie held her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and mouthed: what is it?

Ebony turned the phone around to show her the screen. Jeanie shook her head in disbelief. Ebony went to find Carter.

The low winter sun was bright; too bright for Davidson’s tired eyes as he swivelled the louver blind and turned back to look at the officers in the room. They were waiting for him. He turned and stood tall. On his desk was the print out from Ebony’s phone. Davidson picked it up and looked at it.

‘When was this taken?’

‘Sister Phillips says it was when Shannon was being treated on the ward. It was one of the nurse’s birthdays and Nurse Linda Peters was working that shift.’

‘Nikki de Lange is the woman we’ve been looking for then? She was the woman who abducted Alex.’

‘Abducted her own nephew, sir,’ said Carter.

‘Yes sir. She must have been involved whether she wanted to be or not,’ replied Ebony.

‘She’s been seen going back to the Mansfield hospital regularly,’ said Carter. ‘I think that’s where she’ll be.’

‘Okay,’ said Davidson. ‘Ebony and Jeanie go to the Mansfield hospital now. We can’t risk Alex getting killed. If he’s there, find him and make sure he’s protected.’

Jeanie and Ebony left Davidson’s office, leaving Carter and Harding.

‘Sir? I would like to bring Mr Martingale in for questioning.’

Davidson’s eyes flitted towards Harding and stayed there a second.

‘Martingale is a megalomaniac’ Harding said. ‘He thinks he’s God.’

‘But why allow the boy to live in the first place?’ asked Davidson.

‘Insurance . . . To harvest him when he’s ready . . . for himself. Perfect tissue match . . . a whole new set of organs. He’s a walking organ incubator.’

Davidson looked at her. ‘And would he really be capable of harvesting his own daughter?’

Harding nodded. ‘She meant nothing to him. He had no bond with her or her mother Maria. Maybe he didn’t do it himself. I can’t see him getting his hands dirty, but I can see him setting the seed and looking away whilst it’s done and, most importantly, picking up the tab. I can see him making sure that there is nothing traceable to him. I think he tries to have a hold over everyone he meets. He makes sure of it. Martingale is a psychopath. He doesn’t have the ability to establish meaningful personal relationships with anyone.’

‘What about with his daughter, Nikki?’