Lee Weeks: Dead of Winter

‘Sit.’ He motioned to them to sit down where the stags had been. ‘You want to die?’ Blood was pouring from where he’d hit the bald man on the head. ‘No? Then stay where you are for ten minutes.’ He reached inside his jacket and put money on the table. The men looked at him and at each other, then one man gathered the wad of cash quickly and slipped it inside his jacket pocket.

Outside, he pulled out a packet for Tyrone. ‘Take her to Leeds railway station. Phone this number when you get there. I’ll leave you instructions where you can find the rest of your money.’ He handed it to him. ‘Then fuck off for good.’

It was six a.m. and nearly dawn.

Davidson called Carter, Ebony and Robbo for a meeting in his office. The atmosphere in the office was tired, sweaty. Davidson opened the window; a blast of cold air hit his face and filtered round the room.

‘Have we found Justin de Lange yet?’

‘No, sir.’

‘The fingertips we received in the post?’

‘We can’t be sure who they belong to, only that whoever he was he raped and killed Tanya and that his fingerprints match the print at Blackdown Barn and the one next to Sophie Carmichael at Rose Cottage.’

Robbo handed Davidson a printout of an order from a company that customized ambulances.

‘Justin de Lange ordered three ambulances and one of them was to be kept plain white. The small aircraft company that ferries medical supplies — it has booked airspace later on today. It’s due to fly out from a small airport near Beacon Heath, just off the M25, at five this afternoon. Booked in for two passengers.’

‘Do we know who?’

‘No, sir,’ said Ebony. ‘But Martingale is due to operate today. I rang the hospital. He has an operation booked for early this afternoon. I think we need to get a warrant now, sir, if we’re to stop the boy being operated on. I think Martingale must be involved.’

‘Carter?’ Carter had been checking his phone.

‘When we went to his house, sir, he had plaques all over the wall for best orchids in this and that show. All the shows are in spring. I asked him if he was over at all around the time of his daughter’s murder. He said he wasn’t; he lied. He was awarded top prize just two weeks before she was killed. Here is the plaque to prove it. He just couldn’t bear to keep it to himself.’ He enlarged the image; it showed the date.

‘Added to the fact he said he didn’t know Digger. .’ He turned his phone around to show Davidson.

Davidson excused himself as he took a call from Harding. He looked up when it finished.

‘Neither Helen or Michael Tapp is a match for their son Alex’s DNA.’

Ebony stood in Helen Tapp’s kitchen.

‘Helen. . it’s important that everything is told now.’

She nodded that she understood.

‘Is Alex your son?’

‘Yes. . but I didn’t give birth to him.’

‘He’s adopted?’

‘Yes. We got him when he was eighteen months. We never thought we could have children; then years later. . Alfie.’

‘Have you got all your adoption papers?’

‘Yes. . of course. .’

‘How did you come to adopt Alex?’

‘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.’

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?’