Crucified

Chapter 15

It was ten thirty and Jack was just pulling into his driveway when his mobile rang. It was Laura: ‘Are you up for a drink?’ But it didn’t sound like a casual invitation or like he really had a choice. Penny had seen Jack’s headlights and was now standing in the open doorway, smiling. He opened his car door and held his mobile in the air.

‘Laura needs to speak to me. I’ll be an hour, tops.’ Penny waved her understanding then went back indoors.

They sat in a corner booth of a pub not far from Jack’s house. He had ordered a gin and tonic for Laura and a half pint for himself. ‘OK, out with it, what’s up?’

She hesitated, sipping her drink before she began. ‘You know I said Josh could stay over on his way back to New York, and you said he could always stay with you. Well, I’m a bit concerned as I had a date on the night he wanted to stay over, so I tried to contact him via the drug squad. I spoke to Dave, the detective involved in that huge drug case, the one at the big house in Kingston. You remember him?’

Jack frowned. It sounded as if she thought he’d lost the ability to recall anything. ‘Yeah, of course, I remember. That case was how we met Josh.’

Laura nodded. ‘I asked Dave if Josh was back in London and he didn’t know what I was talking about. He hasn’t seen him for ages. When I mentioned he was doing this lecture tour of prisons, talking about the flood of fentanyl coming into the UK, Dave said it was news to him; maybe something Josh had organised with his US drug unit. He also told me that Josh was retired.’

‘He mentioned that to me. I think he said he’s semi-retired on medical grounds: you know, with his leg.’

‘What else did he tell you?’

Jack shrugged, having no idea where this was all going. ‘Not a lot. We had a few drinks. Caught up. He left early the following morning.’

‘From what Dave said, I got the impression Josh is very sick. He was not that forthcoming but said he was told Josh was having major mental health issues. Apparently, his youngest son went to San Francisco a few years ago. Josh found him on the streets, but it was too late. He was addicted to fentanyl and this new xylazine drug they call tranq.’

Jack was shocked. ‘He never mentioned anything about his son.’

‘Today I tried to talk to the New York drug team I knew Josh worked with, but they didn’t say much; protecting their own, I guess. But I got the impression he was actually forced to retire, because he’d become obsessed with tracking down his son’s dealers, like some sort of vigilante.’

Jack shook his head. ‘He never said a word about any of that to me. God, it makes me feel terrible. Going on about my own problems.’

‘I tried to catch you at the station but Armani’s had us doing different stuff all day. Jack, I saw a memo on DCI Clarke’s computer screen when I was in there collecting a file... his emails were just open, and it pinged through as I was right there. Well, when something pings, you look, don’t you? This is hot off the press, Jack.’

‘About Josh?’

‘Rodney Middleton was found dead in his cell. They’ve only just completed the postmortem. It was a fentanyl overdose, but they also discovered he had been taking this new drug, xylazine. And he had open wounds on his body. It’s terrifying because they don’t heal and, when someone ODs, they can’t use naloxone to reverse it.’

Jack was speechless, hardly able to comprehend what Laura had just told him. But he straightened out fast when she asked him if he knew if Josh had been at the prison Middleton was in. Laura drained her glass and sat twisting the stem.

‘There’s more, Jack... they have Amanda Dunn in custody, suspected of supplying the fatal dosage.’

‘You are joking!’ Jack barked, before checking his volume. ‘I thought she was inside for her part in the murders. She was his girlfriend for God’s sake.’

‘She got a year. But as she had been held in custody before the trial and then turned Queen’s evidence, she was only inside for six months. She did have orders not to contact or fraternise with Middleton, but of course they checked all his visitors once he’d OD’d and there she was — wig, fake tan, contacts to change her eye colour. Signed in as a Gail Leadbetter, a paralegal from the firm of solicitors representing Middleton. So she’s been rearrested. I don’t have all the facts, but they found drugs in her B&B and in her handbag and coat pockets I think.’

Jack was shaking his head, trying to take it all in.

‘Do you know which prisons Josh was supposedly visiting?’ Laura asked.

‘How the hell would I know?’ Jack responded angrily, then checked himself. ‘I’m sorry Laura, this is hard for me to take in, but I don’t like you inferring that I was privy to whatever Josh was up to...’ He hesitated, then lied. ‘I never discussed Rodney Middleton with him.’

Laura sighed and bit her lip. ‘I think I did. In fact, I think I showed him a file I had on Middleton, newspaper cuttings and stuff.’ She was becoming upset. ‘Jack, I think the best thing is for neither of us to mention any contact we’ve had with Josh. Walk away from it... it’s nothing to do with us. And anyway, Rodney Middleton was a vicious killer of innocent young girls who deserves what he got. And I’ll be glad if that precious lying girlfriend of his goes down again, too.’

Although he offered to get another round in, it was obvious they both wanted to end the evening. Laura even refused a lift to the nearest tube station, preferring to walk. Outside the pub, he gave her a hug.

‘If you still have any files on Middleton at home, get rid of them. Like you said, we walk away from this. It’s over.’

On his way home, Jack slowly went over the evening he’d spent with Josh. He remembered the stash of drugs Josh had in his medical bag. He also thought about how long he had talked to Josh about the Middleton trial. But by the time he arrived home, he no longer felt any anxiety, and a new emotion had taken its place: relief.

The following morning, the household quickly fell into their new routines. Penny was on the school run; Gladys was out with the hoover by eight and Maggie was taking the car to work. Jack got a lift to the tube and waved her off as he hurried down into the station. It wouldn’t do any harm to be early, to impress his new boss.

Laura was already at her desk, and as soon as she spotted him, she gestured for him to come with her to the canteen.

‘I’ve already had breakfast.’

‘Well, let’s use the boardroom, then. I need to update you.’

He hesitated. ‘Didn’t we agree not to delve into it any further?’

‘Well, I lied,’ Laura whispered. ‘It’s important and won’t take long, but I don’t want anyone overhearing.’ Laura hurried out, with Jack reluctantly following.

He closed the boardroom door as Laura pulled out a chair, opening her notebook from her briefcase.

‘Right, I couldn’t sleep thinking things over. OK, firstly, when Josh stayed over with me that one night, he was asking me a lot of questions about Middleton, including which prison he was in. I also recall mentioning a woman I had met at one of the Met functions, Janet Williamson; she was a nurse at Holloway, then when it closed, she went to work at Bellview as the senior staff nurse. I’m seriously worried, and I think you are too, that Josh could be involved in this.’

‘I never said that, Laura.’

‘Just listen. I called the prison on the pretext of contacting Janet only to be told she had retired and had left no forwarding address. But apparently she was flying to New Zealand to live with her daughter.’

Jack was starting to get annoyed. Laura had not stayed out of it at all. Instead, she had been busy making very fucking traceable phone calls.

‘You want the good news?’ Laura asked. He shrugged. ‘I did a bit of digging on Janet... she was at her leaving do when Middleton was found dead. And she flew out of the UK this morning, but that flight was bought ages ago so it’s not like she was fleeing. I also got confirmation that Josh returned to New York. His last lecture was at Strangeways Prison, and he flew from Manchester Airport to Kennedy.’

‘For God’s sake, Laura...’

‘There’s more. They found capsules of fentanyl hidden in the lining of Amanda Dunn’s coat; the coat she had worn for her visits to Middleton. They also found a container of fentanyl in her room at the B&B... and here’s the kicker, Jack... it’s the same B&B Josh stayed at. Amanda might be innocent, and I might have given Josh everything he needed to...’

Jack stood up, put his arms around her shoulders and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. ‘You didn’t and Josh didn’t. All you need to remember is that Amanda Dunn aided and abetted that piece of shit in the murder of young girls. Middleton’s dead. And I’m glad.’

The boardroom door opened and DI Armani was framed in the doorway, looking at them with pursed lips. She clearly thought she’d caught them in a compromising position. ‘DCI Clarke was asking for you, DS Warr,’ she said tersely. Jack hurried out, scowling.

‘I was just giving DS Warr an update on a case we had previously worked on,’ Laura said lamely.

‘It is not advisable to have a relationship with a senior officer, Laura, especially a married one,’ Armani said. She turned on her heel before Laura could reply.

Clarke gestured for Jack to sit in the chair in front of his desk. ‘I wanted a quick word with you as I’ve been given some information regarding Rodney Middleton, which will no doubt get some press coverage.’ He handed Jack the memo. It was almost word for word what Laura had told him. He gave an appropriately shocked response, shaking his head as if in disbelief.

‘The postmortem revealed high doses of fentanyl,’ he read, ‘along with a drug I’ve never heard of — xylazine?’ He looked up at Clarke.

‘It’s a veterinary sedative, which is actually quite fitting since Middleton was an animal. They’ve arrested Amanda Dunn. Local CID will handle it, and I doubt they will require any information from us. However, I felt that you should be pre-warned in case there’s some journalist wanting an interview, given your conspicuous involvement in the Middleton investigation and trial. That said, I am also aware that it did take quite a toll on you emotionally. If I do get any further information, I will make it a priority to ensure you are given all the details.’

‘Thank you very much, Sir, I appreciate it.’

‘It’s a pleasure to have you back with us, Jack. I hope you settle in with the new probationer detectives and, obviously, with DI Armani. I think she will be a big asset to the team.’

‘Thank you again for giving me the heads-up, Sir, I really appreciate it. There’s just one thing... as you said, it will no doubt have press coverage, but I wondered if we should give the victims’ families the news about Middleton before it becomes public?’

Clarke frowned. ‘I know you felt strongly about other potential victims of Middleton, but there is no reason for further involvement. It’s over. Do you understand, Jack?’

Jack nodded. ‘Yes, Sir.’

After leaving Clarke’s office, Jack went over to Laura’s desk and repeated what he’d just been told. ‘That goes for you too, Laura,’ he whispered. ‘It’s over.’

‘I get it, I get it,’ she assured him. ‘But look, watch out for Armani. She gave me a dressing down about being over familiar with a married officer, which really pissed me off. As if I’d go for you!’ Laura and Jack shared a smile.

As Jack went back to his desk, he clocked Armani just as she was entering the incident room with a coffee. He gave her a beaming smile and joined her at her desk.

‘I’ve just been told Rodney Middleton was found dead in his cell from a drug overdose.’ Armani’s blank expression told Jack that she didn’t know the name. ‘Serial killer, young teenage girls he picked up at Euston station.’

‘Ah, yes of course.’

‘Me and Laura both worked on the case and the subsequent trial. We discussed Middleton’s death earlier this morning as she had heard the rumour, but now DCI Clarke has verified it. It was an emotionally difficult investigation, and I was thankful for Laura’s constant dedication and support. You should know that any inference our relationship is anything other than friendship is an insult to me, Laura and my wife.’

Armani’s mouth dropped open for a moment before she regained her composure. But before she could reply Jack had walked back to his desk.