Lunch at Romano’s was followed by a siesta in Romano’s guest
room, but the lovers were troubled by the implications of the meeting with
Crane.
“I’m just shocked by the whole business,” said Cleo. “Just
hold me close and I’ll feel OK soon.
“I could say the same,” said Gary.
To their astonishment the lovers slept for an hour. A phone call
from Nigel reminded Gary that there were orders to sign and could he please
break off his siesta, however important it was. There was no way Gary could
ignore that plea. Cleo walked back to her car on the HQ parking lot and drove
back to her office, alone and thinking how upset Gary must be if their siesta
had comprised sleep rather than sex. She would write a neutral report of the
Crane interview and e-mail it. Gary would edit it, adding anything he thought
should be in it and it would go into the case file.
Gary had taken Cleo’s advice before and would do so again.
With Elinor Stone safely behind bars and unlikely to be freed for at least a
decade, Roger Stone had put aside family loyalty and filed for divorce. He did
not visit his wife. Gary had never understood Roger Stone’s attachment to a
woman was dressed like a vamp and consorted with callboys and the like. How
much had Roger known about her? Whatever she thought of him, she was determined
to retain her status as a highly respectable wife. Shooting Shirley had been to
protect her own interests.
Due to finding Margot Smith’s corpse and dealing with the Alice
Crane business, Gary had not yet found time to get to the hospital and talk to
Mrs Daniels. The visit to Alice Crane in prison had been constructive and he
was now quite glad he had not had the chance to ask Mrs Daniels about Crane,
since he did not really feel he was the right person for confidential chatting
with a severely abused woman. Someone else must find out exactly what went on
in the Daniels household. Who had looked after their little boy during the days
preceding his disappearance? Gary was sure it was women’s work, but he wanted
Cleo to volunteer rather than obey instructions. To his relief however, Cleo
broached the subject herself when he phoned her.
“Would you rather Dorothy or I talked to Daniels, Gary?” she
had said. “Women’s work and all that stuff? I’ll make space tomorrow. The Crane
interview was enough for one day.”
“Great minds thinking alike, my love. You are the right
person to tackle Mrs Daniels, Cleo. You have a knack of getting people to talk.”
“Your problem is that you are too impatient, Gary. Calm down
a bit. We’re all in this together.”
“I could go to the hospital now,” Cleo offered.
“I thought you said you’d had enough for one day.”
“I’ve changed my mind. This is important.”
“OK Phone me when you get back. We should discuss this
morning’s prison visit again before the day is out.”
“I don’t suppose Mrs Daniels will be able to talk for long,
Gary. I’ll text you when I leave the hospital so that we can decide what to do
next.”
“OK.”
“Just one thing, Gary: Before you approach the public
prosecutor, remember that you’ll only get one chance to put Alice Crane’s case
on the table. Prosecution will not like being told that the judgement on Crane
was a miscarriage of justice.”
“But they want to get at the truth, too.”
“They think they already have it. On the other hand, they
didn’t even question Daniels’ own behaviour. That also supports reopening the
case.”
“It’s unfortunately often a case of the prosecution being
happy to sentence the first suspect available. You could almost say one culprit
is as good as another.”
“It’s time I got to the hospital, Gary. I’ll be I the office
until you come after that.”
“What about your bridegroom, Cleo?”
“I’ll square it with him.”
“Are you going to
tell Robert that you are waiting for me, Cleo?”
“After the susage-making he’ll be going to the pub with his
friends and before that he has ping-pong practice somewhere. Monday is boys’
night for him. We have all evening.”
“We could go through the Crane report together, Cleo.”
Gary told Cleo that he would phone Roger Stone. He wished
Roger had kept his hands off Shirley. If he had, she would still be alive.”
Shirley had been Gary’s assistant before she decided to
climb the career ladder via Gary’s boss. Her defection had caused him pain at
the time.
“Better keep off that topic, Gary. You were both duped by
that woman.”
“I suppose you are right,” said Gary.
“I am,” said Cleo. “Shirley was a femme fatale in a cop’s
uniform.”
“She was damn good at her job. Do you know that she had a
black belt in judo?” said Gary.
“That didn’t stop her getting shot in the back,” retorted
Cleo.
“Elinor Stone was jealous.”
“Only because she needed the status her marriage gave her,”
said Cleo. “She didn’t care a damn for her husband.”
“Look where that landed her! Good luck with Mrs Daniels. I
hope she talks.”
“So do I.”
***
To fit in with hospital routine, early afternoon would
probably have been the best time to visit Mrs Daniels, but Cleo arrived at the
hospital at five and was treated to a cup of hospital tea while she visited the
woman. Mrs Daniels clearly needed weeks to recover.
“This wasn’t the first time he hit you, was it?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you notify the police, Mrs Daniels?”
“That would only have made things worse, Miss Hartley.”
“Worse for him, but better for you.”
“I know that now.”
“Did you know he was abusing your son?”
“I suspected it, but he denied having anything to do with
the bruising on the boy’s body. He blamed the baby-sitter.”
“Alice Crane?”
“Yes.”
“And you believed him?”
“At first, I did. When I had found a replacement, I was
going to get rid of her, but it was too late. Johnny was dead.”
Mrs Daniels burst into tears.
“It’s all my fault. I think beating his son was his way of
punishing me.”
“For what, Mrs Daniels?”
“For his life. Perhaps for his life with me. He thought I
was unfaithful, but I wasn’t, Miss Hartley.”
“And that’s why you put up with it, isn’t it, Mrs Daniels?
You accepted punishment for something you hadn’t even done.”
Mrs Daniels nodded.
“And it wasn’t your fault that your son died. It was
nobody’s fault. It was an accident.”
“Was it? The police said Johnny was beaten to death.”
“That was because they believed your husband and you didn’t
tell the truth about him.”
“It would not have brought Johnny back.”
“But it would have saved Alice Crane from being found guilty
and sent to jail for something she did not do.”
Even while she was speaking, Cleo knew that she was not
really getting through to Mrs Daniels. Her only hope was that the woman would
repeat what she had said about her husband to the prosecution.
“You see, Mrs Daniels, there was another witness, but we
don’t know where he is.”
“Someone else saw what happened? Who was it?”
“Have you ever heard of a man named Malik Akbari?”
“Alice had a foreign male friend. Would it be him?”
“Could you identify the man Alice Crane was dating?”
Cleo took Mitch’s photo of Akbari out of her handbag. Mrs
Daniels confirmed that it looked like him.
“But if he loved her, why didn’t he come forward?”
“He would not want to get involved.”
Cleo showed Mrs Daniels the photo of Banu Akbari.
“Do you know who this is, Mrs Daniels?”
“I remember her. She tried to get a job as a baby-sitter, Miss
Hartley, but I sent her packing.”
“That is Akbari’s wife. She’s dead now. Probably murdered by
him.”
“I don’t understand, Miss Hartley. It’s so complicated.”
“That’s why I need to know if you knew the man or have seen
him recently.”
“Why?”
“Because you may be in danger, too, Mrs Daniels. I suspect
that he is killing anyone who could identify him or was somehow mixed up in his
business dealings.”
“I wasn’t.”
“I think you were, unknowingly.”
Mrs Daniels looked puzzled.
“I think you suspected your husband of something, but you
didn’t know what.”
“What could he have done?”
“You had twins, didn’t you, Mrs Daniels.”
“Yes. The second baby died at birth.”
“Or your husband arranged for the baby to be sold.”
“Oh no. He wouldn’t do that.”
“Let me explain. Akbari – the man on the photo I’ve just
shown you - was probably part of a ring smuggling women into the country. He
may also be responsible for the disappearance of infants.”
“Do you mean he was watching Johnny and was going to kidnap
him?”
“It’s possible. It’s also likely that he handled the sale of
your other baby, Mrs Daniels”.
“Does that mean that Alice Crane was telling the truth and Johnny
really did fall on that rockery?”
“Yes. That’s what happened, Mrs Daniels.”
“Miss Hartley, you can rely on me. I’ll tell the court what
a bastard by husband is and…yes, I was expecting twins and one was still-born.”
“Or sold, Mrs Daniels. Sold by your husband to a ring
trading in new-borns. Where were your babies delivered?”
“At home. We weren’t living here, but in a house further out
of Middlethumpton. A midwife came and helped.”
“Was it a Mrs Singleton?”
“How do you know that, Miss Hartley?”
”It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything, but not now. I
have things to see to.”
“I’ll sleep easier when this awful business is over.”
“One thing I can tell you, Mrs Daniels. If your second baby
survived, he is alive somewhere, and we will find him. It won’t be Johnny,
but…”
Mrs Daniels was now totally lost for words.
“Keep all this information to yourself, please.”
“Yes, Miss Hartley.”
“The prosecution will want to talk to you soon.”
“I’ll tell them anything they need to know.”
“I’m relying on you.”
“And I on you, Miss Hartley. Thank you.”
“Phone me if you need anything. Here’s my card.”
***
Cleo had plenty to think about on the way back to her
office. Gary must be told that Mrs Daniels needed police protection since she
was in danger on two counts. Had Mrs Singleton stolen the second baby on
Akbari’s orders or done a bit of business of her own, passing that new-born on
to people prepared to pay a lot for it? Was Akbari’s role in the baby trading
business how she had described it to Mrs Daniels? Cleo was sure that Akbari was
using or even employing Mrs Singleton to organize babies. It was becoming clear
that the murdered social workers had been involved. Anyone involved had to die.
How many more did Akbari have on his list?
Johnny’s twin brother must be found, and the only person to
know anything about its whereabouts was Mrs Singleton.
***
Back in her office, Cleo sent an urgent text to Gary to ask
him to send a guard to protect Mrs Daniels while a rota was being set up. She
was in grave danger. She might get a lethal visit from Akbari.
Gary sent Pete, the young policeman who had collected Hilda
Bone’s roll of film on his Harley Davidson, to the hospital to watch over the
woman until he could contact Greg, who would organize a rota.
“Get there fast, Pete,” he told the young officer, who had
up to now thought he was more of a glorified messenger than someone who could
be trusted to do an important job.
“It’ll be risky. You’ll do a four-hour stint and by then Greg
Winter will have organized a rota. Mrs Daniels is not to be left unguarded for
a second!”
“Yes sir.”
Gary handed him a photo of Akbari.
“This is the guy we expect to turn up. Look closely at every
person entering Mrs Daniels’ room. He could be disguised as a medic or a doctor,
or even as a woman. He’s probably armed, so you will be, too.”
Pete rushed off to start his mission. Gary wondered if it
was really necessary to guard the woman, but he would ignore Cleo’s advice at
his and Mrs Daniels’ peril. He wondered why Akbari would think Mrs Daniels could
be of any danger to him, but Akbari had already probably committed at least two
murders and it was possible that he intended to stop anyone he perceived to be
in his way. He relied on Cleo to provide Akbari’s motive for killing Mrs
Daniels. Had he killed Banu Akbari for the same reason?
Gary phoned Cleo and put her mind at rest for the moment,
though she, too, wondered if she was jumping the guns. On the other hand, Akbari
wouldn’t wait to find out if Mrs Daniels was a danger to him. He would simply
kill her.
Gary was looking forward to hearing about Cleo’s interview
with Mrs Daniels. Even if work did have to take priority, just being with her
gave him a good feeling. With that in mind he drove rather too fast up Thumpton
Hill to Cleo’s office. They locked the office door to make quite sure they were
not interrupted.
The next item on Cleo’s list took Gary by surprise. Mrs
Daniels’ tale of woe had convinced Cleo that baby-trading was at the core of the
murders. He gasped audibly when she told him about the disappearance of the
twin Daniels baby.
“I thought we were going to have sex,” he said.
“Business first, Gary.”
“You win.”
“So that’s why guarding Mrs Daniels is so urgent,” she
explained. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to go ahead.”
“Shouldn’t we be looking after Mrs Singleton, too?”
“For her the Daniels case and Mr Daniels’ sale of that child
is a thing of the past and there’s no reason why she should know anything about
the present crisis. But on the other hand, Akbari might not see it that way. He
might act anyway. Better safe than sorry, from his viewpoint.”
“God, Cleo. What sort of a can of worms have you opened?”
“Me? As if it matters who started the ball rolling. Can you
warn your guys at the hospital that Mrs Singleton might turn up? I wouldn’t put
it past Mrs Singleton to indulge in a little strategic murder herself.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you Cleo?”
“Anything’s possible. We seem to have hit on a particularly
nasty kind of gang warfare.”
“Pete should be at the hospital by now.”
“You mean the motorcyclist cop. Nice guy.”
“I must check back with Greg on the guard duty rota.”
“I’m glad you agree, Gary.”
“The whole case started out as conjecture, and now...”
“It’s a maze, Gary. I must confess that I haven’t always
felt secure with my theories.”
“I’m a bit lost myself, Cleo.”
“I’ll make us some coffee while you phone Greg.”
It did not take long to sort things out. Greg was a great
organizer.
“Anything else to see to?” said Gary, sipping at the
aromatic espresso Cleo had made.
“I can’t think of anything,” said Cleo.
They would have a quiet hour to themselves. Cleo had been
married for just four days, but their need for one another was greater than
ever.
“I’m going to buy a couch,” said Cleo.
“It won’t fit in here,” said Gary.
“Well a chair that folds out then.”
“How are you going to explain that to Robert?”
“I need to rest my back, Gary.”
“The chair would be medicinal.”
”We would have more comfortable sex.”
“This wasn’t the last time here then,” said Gary.
“Did you think it would be?”
“You said it would be,” said Gary.
It wasn’t.
Half an hour later, Cleo’s phone rang. It was Robert.
“I’ll be home even later this evening, Cleo. The sausages aren’t
made yet. It’s been like a madhouse at the shop and I had to leave for the
table tennis. People have stopped eating leftovers. I’ll have to sell bigger
Sunday joints in future.”
“OK. I’ll go home when I’ve finished my report and take a
long, deep bath to soothe my nerves.”
“Where are you, Cleo?”
“Still at the office, Robert. Where did you think I was?
“You work too hard.”
“I enjoy my work,” said Cleo before hanging up.
“He didn’t even know where you are, did he?” said Gary.
“I’m suspicious. I would not put it past him to turn up here
despite what he said.”
“I’ll leave. Can you get rid of the nest here?”
“Sure. Talk tomorrow.”
After Gary had left, Cleo tidied up the utility room and
ordered a chair online that opened out into a rather narrow bed and was
recommended for pregnant women and bad backs. Then she went home. If Robert did
decide to check on Cleo, he would be disappointed.
***
Cleo’s long soak in the bathtub was unfortunately
interrupted by a phone-call from Hilda Bone. Alarm bells immediately rang in
Cleo’s head.
“Tell me quickly what happened, Hilda! I might need to call
the police.”
“Police? I don’t think you need to do that. I’ve just
borrowed a cup of sugar from next door and Mrs S. seemed the same as usual.”
Cleo was relieved that singleton was still alive. it was now
a case of catching Akbari before he had time to subject Mrs Daniels and Mrs
Singleton to a similar fate as that of Margot Smith.
“But you said I was to call you if there was any activity.”
“So I did. Thanks for calling, Hilda. What has happened?”
“A strange car drew up and a guy got out and talked to Mrs
S. on her doorstep. Then he drove off.”
“Was he carrying a wicker basket?”
“Definitely not.”
“Can you describe the man, Hilda?”
“Not really. Foreign-looking, I thought. Quite dark skinned
in the porch light, and obviously in a hurry.”
“Did you see what kind of car it was, Hilda?”
“Dark and shiny.”
“And the number plate?”
“I couldn’t see it from where stood and I didn’t want to
move the curtain or go out of the house. But I’ve seen it before. I think it
parks down the road.”
“Not in Singletons’ drive?”
“No. They could not get their car out if there was a car
standing there.”
“Very true. Can you carry on watching?”
“Of course, but not tomorrow morning. It’s fresh sausage
day. I’ll need to go out to get mine bought.”
“Don’t go out, Hilda. Tell me what you need, and Robert will
deliver it.”
“Would he do that for me?”
“Of course, Hilda. You’re an honoured customer.”
“Well, a pound of those nice chipolatas and a pound of the
chunky variety and a few slices of back bacon and a dozen eggs would be nice.”
“No problem, Hilda. Let me know if there’s any more activity
in the street.”
***
On reflection, Cleo wondered if she wasn’t asking too much
of Hilda Bone. Gary was of the same opinion when she told him soon after.
“It must have been Akbari,” said Cleo. “He’s closing in on
more victims and Mrs Singleton is in acute danger. It may literally only be a
matter of hours or days.”
“If it was Akbari, why didn’t he just kill her and leave?”
said Gary.
“Maybe he was just checking on her.”
“I’ll get a policewoman to go to the Singletons in plain
clothes.”
“What about that perky young thing I saw at reception the
other day?”
“You must mean Barbara Fielding. Transferred from Bristol, I
think. I’ll get her up here and find out what experience she has. She’s still doing
the round of departments, but I was already wondering if she might replace
Shirley.”
“I thought Nigel had replaced Shirley,” said Cleo.
“He’s too busy. He helps Henry with the accounts as Henry thinks
I only need a part-timer. Nigel will be glad to have someone to do some of the running.”
“Barbara’s certainly pretty enough, Gary.”
“That’s not a priority, and you know it!”
“It’s not my business, either,” said Gary. “Do I have your
blessing?”
“You have anything it takes to get this case sorted out, but
I’d rather you did not start an affair with her.”
“I wasn’t planning to add a second one to the list. I’ll
phone you back when Barbara has been organized.”
“Should I warn Mrs Singleton?”
“Tell her there’ve been violent burglaries and we are trying
to spot the culprit by observing from the house. We chose hers because it’s a
bit secluded.”
“I hope she swallows that.”
“I’ll tell Barbara not to appear to be guarding Singleton.”
“She’ll have to be careful. We can’t have that midwife becoming
suspicious.”
“Let’s hope tomorrow is soon enough, Cleo.”
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