Blue Monday

Chapter Forty-three

Yvette Long looked at Karlsson and frowned.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Your tie,’ she said. ‘It’s not straight.’ She leaned forward and adjusted it.

‘You need to look your best for the cameras,’ she said. ‘You’re a hero. And Commissioner Crawford’s going to be there. His assistant just phoned. He’s very pleased with you. The press conference is going to be a big one. They’ve got an overflow hall.’

His mobile vibrated on the table. His ex-wife had left several messages asking him when the hell he was going to collect his children, each one angrier than the one before.

‘We’ve got the little boy back,’ said Karlsson. ‘That’s all they really care about. Where’s Terry Reeve?’

‘She’s just arrived. They’ve put her downstairs.’

‘Has she said anything about Kathy Ripon?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘I want two officers with her every second.’

He picked up his phone and wrote a text message:

Sorry. Call soon

pressed ‘Send’. Perhaps she would hear the news and understand, but he knew it didn’t work like that: there were other people’s children, and then there were your own. An officer put her head round the door and said that Dr Klein had arrived. Karlsson told the officer to send her straight in. When Frieda came in, he was startled by the fierce gleam in her eyes and recognized in it his own elated weariness, which made the idea of sleep impossible.

‘How is he?’ he said.

‘He’s alive,’ said Frieda. ‘He’s with his parents.’

‘I mean, will he recover?’

‘How do I know?’ said Frieda. ‘Young children are surprisingly resilient. That’s what the textbooks say.’

‘And you did it. You found him.’

‘I found one, and I gave one away,’ said Frieda. ‘Forgive me if I don’t dance with joy. You’ve got Terry Reeve.’

‘She’s downstairs.’

‘I passed the mob on the way in,’ said Frieda. ‘I half expected them to be carrying pitchforks and flaming torches.’

‘It’s understandable,’ said Karlsson.

‘They should be back looking after their own children,’ said Frieda. ‘Where did you find her?’

‘At her home.’

‘Her home?’ said Frieda.

‘We were watching it, of course,’ said Karlsson. ‘And she came home and we arrested her. Simple as that, no brilliant detective work involved.’ He gave a grimace.

‘Why would she go home?’ Frieda was asking herself rather than Karlsson. ‘I thought they’d have a plan.’

‘They did have a plan,’ said Karlsson. ‘You stymied it when you saw her at the cemetery. She called him. We know that. We’ve got her phone. She phoned him. He got away.’

‘So why didn’t she?’ said Frieda. ‘And why did she go to the cemetery?’

‘You can ask her yourself,’ said Karlsson. ‘I want you to come in with me.’

‘I feel I ought to know already,’ said Frieda. ‘What is it that lawyers say? You should never ask a question if you don’t already know the answer.’

‘We need to ask a question that we don’t know the answer to,’ said Karlsson. ‘Where’s Kathy Ripon?’

Frieda sat on the corner of Karlsson’s desk. ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about that,’ she said.

‘You had a bad feeling about Matthew,’ said Karlsson.

‘This is different. They wanted a son. They saw him as a child. Even when they got rid of him, they didn’t kill him. They hid him away, like a child being left in the woods in a fairy story.’

‘They didn’t leave him in the woods. They buried him alive.’

‘Kathy Ripon is different. She wasn’t part of the plan. She was just an obstacle. But why did Terry go to the cemetery? And then why did she go home?’

‘Maybe she wanted to see if he was dead,’ said Karlsson. ‘Or finish him off. And maybe she wanted to collect something from home before escaping. She may have been checking ahead for her husband. To see if the coast was clear.’ Karlsson saw that Frieda’s hands were trembling. ‘Can I get you something?’

‘Just some water,’ said Frieda.

Karlsson sat and watched while Frieda drank a polystyrene cup of water and then they both drank cups of black coffee. They didn’t speak.

‘Are you ready?’ he said finally.

Terry Reeve was sitting in the interview room staring in front of her. Karlsson sat opposite her. Frieda stood behind him, leaning against the wall next to the door. It felt surprisingly cool against her back.

‘Where’s Katherine Ripon?’ said Karlsson.

‘I haven’t seen her,’ said Terry.

Karlsson slowly unstrapped his wristwatch and laid it on the table between them. ‘I want to make the situation clear to you,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if you have some idea in your head that you’re going to face some little charge like reckless endangerment and get a nice little sentence, out in a couple of years for good behaviour. I’m afraid it’s not going to be like that. This is a soundproofed room, but if we took you out into the corridor, you’d be able to hear a crowd of people shouting and they’re shouting about you. There’s one thing we don’t like in Britain, and that’s people who harm children or animals. And there’s another thing, and Dr Klein here would probably consider it sexist, but they particularly hate women who do it. You will get a life sentence and if you think it’ll be all pottery classes and readers’ groups, then think again. Prison’s not like that for people who’ve done things to children.’

Karlsson paused for a moment. Terry was still staring in front of her.

‘But if you tell us where she is,’ he continued, ‘things could be very different.’

Still she didn’t speak.

‘Your husband’s gone,’ said Karlsson. ‘We’ll get him soon. In the meantime, you’re going to take the full force of this. I can give you a way out. But it won’t be on offer for very long. If you don’t help us, people will get very angry indeed.’

‘You can’t turn me against him,’ said Terry. ‘We did everything together.’

‘That’s what he’s relying on,’ said Karlsson. ‘He gets away. Or tries to get away. And you’re left here facing the music.’

‘He can rely on me,’ said Terry. ‘He’s always been able to rely on me. I can be strong for him.’

‘What are you doing this for?’ said Karlsson, almost plaintively. ‘It’s all over. There’s no point.’

She just gave a shrug. Karlsson glanced round at Frieda with a look of defeat. He took his watch and slipped it into his jacket pocket, then stood up and walked over to her. ‘What’s in it for her? What’s she got left to lose?’

‘Him, maybe,’ Frieda said softly. ‘Can I talk to her?’

‘Be my guest.’

Frieda walked across and sat down in the chair Karlsson had left. She stared across at Terry and Terry returned her gaze, setting her jaw as if she were challenging her.

‘You saved Matthew’s life,’ said Frieda. ‘It sounds funny to say it and I don’t think you’ll get much credit for it from the mob outside, but it’s true.’

Terry looked wary. ‘You’re just trying to grease up to me. You want to get me to talk.’

‘I’m just telling the truth. When I saw you at the cemetery, I knew that Matthew was there. If it had taken any longer to find him, he would have died.’

‘So?’ said Terry.

‘He didn’t die. That’s something good that’s come out of this, isn’t it? Is that why you went back? Were you going to see if he was still alive?’

Terry looked contemptuous. ‘I’ve got nothing to say to you.’

‘It must have preyed on your mind,’ said Frieda. ‘In a way, it would have been easier if you’d killed him. But those days you were under observation, when you were in here, you must have had this image of a little boy lying in the dark. So you went back. That was done out of a kind of … I’m not sure what the right word is. Care, maybe. And then you saw me and you saw that I saw you. You ran away and you rang Dean. You were caring for him as well. You were looking after him. Did he look after you?’

‘You’re not going to turn me against him.’

‘I’m not trying to.’

‘You fucking liar.’

‘Matthew’s going to be all right,’ said Frieda. ‘I’ve just come from the hospital. I think that may be a relief to you.’

‘I don’t care.’

‘I think you do. But now we need to know about Kathy.’

Terry gave her habitual shrug.

‘And Joanna – what happened to Joanna, Terry? Where is she buried?’

‘Ask Dean.’

‘Very well.’

‘Where’s my tea and fag, then?’

‘I want to ask you one last thing: why did you go home?’

‘I dunno,’ said Terry. ‘Why not?’

Frieda thought for a moment. ‘I think I know.’

‘Yeah?’

‘You went to the cemetery and you saw me and you knew we’d find the boy and you phoned Dean and you knew you’d done what you could for him. Then what? Were you really going to run away? Really? What would that mean? Could you have gone on the run? Hidden for ever? Taken a new identity? If it were me, I think I would have thought about it the same way you did. The idea of it would be too tiring. I’d done what I could. I’d want to go home, even if I could only be there for a minute. I’d just want to go home.’

Terry breathed deeply. She felt in the pocket of her jeans and took out a crumpled old tissue and blew her nose loudly. Then she tossed the tissue on to the floor and stared back at Frieda. ‘You won’t get me to say anything against him,’ she said. ‘I’ve got nothing to say.’

‘I know.’ Frieda stood up, then knelt down and picked up the soggy tissue. ‘You needn’t add littering to your other problems.’

‘Oh, fuck off,’ said Terry.

Frieda and Karlsson left the room. Karlsson sent two female officers in to watch Terry. He was starting to say something when another detective came around the corner. He was panting and could hardly get his words out. ‘Alan Dekker just called. He’s talked to Dean Reeve. He met him.’

‘Bloody hell.’ Karlsson turned to Frieda. ‘You want to come? Hold his hand?’

Frieda thought for a moment. ‘No. I’ve got something to do.’

Karlsson couldn’t stop himself smiling. ‘Is this not interesting enough for you?’

‘There’s something I’ve got to do.’

‘Is this Christmas shopping or is it something I should know about?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Frieda.

Karlsson waited but Frieda didn’t say any more.

‘Fuck it, then.’ Karlsson left.

Frieda sat down, and drummed her fingers on a table. Then she got up and walked out into the operations room. At the end there was a clink of glasses, laughter. It felt like the case was completed and celebrations had begun. She rummaged in her pocket for a notebook and flicked through it. She walked over to a desk, picked up a phone and dialled.

‘Is that Sasha? … It’s Frieda … Yes, I’m so glad I’ve caught you. I need a favour, a really big one. Can we meet? … I mean now. I can come straight over to wherever you are … Great. ’Bye.’

She slammed the receiver down. On the other side of the room, a young detective looked round and wondered what that doctor woman was doing, running across the office.