Dead of Winter

Chapter 59

Ebony was on the way to the canteen when Carmichael went into his office to call her.

‘You know Exmouth Market?’

‘Yes.’

‘There’s a small café on the corner of Duncan Crescent. I’ll meet you there in forty minutes. Ebony. . you on your own. . no tricks now. I trust you.’

‘Carmichael’s set up a meet, Sarge.’ She had found Carter back at his desk. ‘Should we tell Davidson? He’ll put out an alert.’

Carter thought about it. ‘If he gets pulled in, we lose any help he could have given.’

‘It’s risky to ask for help from him.’

‘Yeah. . I know, Ebb. . but Carmichael is the closest we have to an undercover officer at the moment. Let’s give him a little longer and see if it works in our favour.’

‘I want to talk to Davidson, Sarge. I don’t feel like I can take the responsibility of it.’

‘Then you do that, Ebony. I’ll come with you.’

They stood in Davidson’s office.

‘How long have you known that he wasn’t on his farm?’

‘Not long, sir.’

‘Did he have anything to do with Sonny’s death?’

Ebony shook her head slowly. ‘We’re not sure, sir, but he could have, and now Justin de Lange isn’t answering his phone and the hospital receptionist hasn’t seen him. He’s missed two appointments.’

Davidson’s eyes went from Ebony to Carter.

‘With respect, sir, Carmichael’s got information we need. We have to work with him now. Alex Tapp is not going to be kept alive indefinitely. They must know we’re on to them.’

‘Okay.’ Davidson said. ‘So go and see Carmichael and tell him about this new development. This might make him see things differently. Tell him I will do my best to help him when this is all over. I want you to be extra careful, Ebony. You keep in contact throughout. We don’t know what’s in Carmichael’s head. If we think he had something to do with killing Sonny then we have to accept this is a man who is on a vendetta that we can’t control. The fact that we’re using him doesn’t make it any more palatable. You be careful.’

‘Yes, sir. What do you want me to tell him? How much should he know?’

‘You can tell him about the Bloodrunners. Tell him about our misgivings about Justin de Lange. Does he know where he is, Ebb? You think he has him?’

‘I don’t know what to think, sir.’

Ebony walked across to the café on the corner of the road. She bought her coffee and went over to a table where she could watch the approach.

The windows were steaming up. A small plastic Christmas tree in the corner flicked on and off.

She watched Carmichael as he crossed towards the café. He ordered a coffee and sat down opposite her. The hands that firmly held his coffee cup were still farmer’s hands but he was a million miles removed from the farm.

Ebony was digging her fingernails into her face without realizing. She saw in Carmichael’s face someone who bore little resemblance to the person she’d met at the farm. He looked frightening: his face was dark. She had a feeling of dread inside her. He was capable of anything. He was lost to reality now; more than he’d ever been, and he had that one trait that Ebony recognized in him: he didn’t care whether he lived or died. He was hanging on till the ride was over. No one to leave behind. No one to mourn for him the way he mourned for Louise and Sophie. She wondered how many times he must have contemplated suicide in those lonely nights on the farm. But there was a look of purpose in his eyes now. He had left the farm for one reason — to hunt down the people who murdered his wife and child.

‘Harding must be able to help with it,’ he said. ‘She must know who could have done this operation; who was around thirteen years ago. Who was corrupt enough or stupid enough or even ambitious enough to have done it and why.’

‘Doctor Harding has been working on it, I know. Davidson is also committed to finding out who killed your family.’

‘Why — because now it suits him? Because now he’s worried for his pension? Or because he doesn’t have any choice now? Don’t bullshit me; you’re worth more than that.’

She shook her head and held his eyes contact. ‘He says to tell you he’ll support you when this is over.’

Carmichael looked away for a few minutes; when he turned back he nodded.

‘What does he want?’

‘There is a kid missing, kidnapped.’ She got out the photos of Alex and placed it on the table in front of them. His eyes scanned them. ‘Alex Tapp, he’s fourteen, been missing several weeks now, we found his DNA in Blackdown Barn. He was the lad wearing the Arsenal shirt.’

‘How do you know the Bloodrunners still have him?’

‘We don’t, but they didn’t kill him at Blackdown Barn. They must be saving him for someone special.’

‘Yes. You’re right. He’s the perfect match for someone.’

‘There is hope. They are still here. But I can’t see them being here for much longer. They must know we’re getting close. We’ve put Martingale under surveillance. We are going to bring Justin de Lange in for questioning. When we can find him.’

‘What have you got on him?’

‘We believe he killed Tanya, the dancer from Cain’s, There is CCTV footage of a man with long blond hair in the back of the taxi with her. We don’t have the proof we need.’

‘What proof do you need?’

‘She was raped — there’s semen, and fingerprints in the flesh on her shoulders where she was held down. We don’t have Justin’s prints to compare them with.

He has all sorts of history. He was accused of rape in his younger years. Mother paid it off. We think he must be one of the Bloodrunners. He has shares in a company called Remed Ltd, which manufactures cosmetic surgery products from cadavers. We think Digger and Justin are working together to supply companies with bodies for research, organ transplants, cadaver products; it’s big business.’

‘Yeah. . I know. It’s a perfect way to get rid of someone completely and make a few quid on the side. What can you tell me about the identity of the other Bloodrunners? Who are they? What about Justin de Lange’s wife?’

‘Nikki de Lange? We’re not sure. She doesn’t seem in control of things, not even of her own life. We think it’s a sham marriage. We went round to their flat but no one’s been living there. He says she moved back in with her dad. That would figure except surveillance say they’ve only seen her come and go and not actually stay the night there. But she seems to be the child from the attic. She never really existed on paper: she’s an odd woman but I think her life has been odd. It looks like Martingale even did some work on her face. It’s a strange set-up. It’s not healthy.’

‘How much did Martingale know of what Justin de Lange was doing? How much is he involved?’ asked Carmichael.

‘We don’t know. When we find Justin we’ll ask him. He could well have been involved thirteen years ago. He was working for Martingale then and he was already in with Digger. The Bloodrunners may have changed their team slightly in the last thirteen years but the core remains the same: Chichester — maybe that’s Justin, maybe not — Digger probably, and there is a woman. . she lured Alex Tapp. Michael Tapp is having an affair. Maybe it’s his girlfriend. We are watching him. Please, Carmichael, we need you to work with us. . for the sake of Alex, don’t kill the only hope we have of finding him. The Bloodrunners will know we’re on to them. They will carry out what they came to do or they will just decide to cut their losses and run. Do you know where Justin de Lange is?’

Carmichael looked away, his eyes filled with reflections from the lights on the Christmas tree. He turned back.

‘I can’t help you. You have to save the boy on your own. I came into this to get revenge; get justice for my wife and child, and that’s what I intend to do.’