Judas Horse

Chapter 15

Jack had been parked up in his blue Vauxhall Corsa hire car at the end of the driveway to Charlotte and Annie’s smallholding for about an hour. The Corsa had been another one of Oaks’s ‘jokes’ intended to make Jack feel unwelcome, just as the original, dingy B&B had been. But whereas Oaks had been able to change the B&B to his cousin’s pub, he had been unable the change the hire car.

Mason, slumped low in the passenger seat, looked like he hadn’t slept. He gazed out of the side window, but his eyes couldn’t focus on anything. He was miles away, still thinking about Mr Mulhern.

The lawnmower that, according to Canteen Barbara, Charlotte had bought from James Somerset for £1,800, was parked underneath the kitchen window. The known finances of this small cottage industry swirled around in Jack’s head: Annie’s father had died, leaving them £200,000 which allowed them to make up their mortgage payments and keep their home — but only just. Charlotte earned, on average, £30,000 a year and Annie’s sporadic wages seemed to come from her one or two shifts per week at The Soho Farmhouse. Was he right about Charlotte? Or was he about to accuse a completely innocent woman of something she knew nothing about?

Jack felt a small grin forming at the corners of his mouth. He’d underestimated seemingly hard-working, low-income women before. He couldn’t take anything at face value here.

Jack had parked so that he could see the pigsty. He knew that Annie would by now have sent Alec to slaughter, so he assumed Charlotte would be taking extra care of the others. He was right. Within ten minutes of arriving, Charlotte emerged from the house and wandered, head down and dragging her feet, towards her pigs.

‘That her?’ Mason asked eagerly.

‘Don’t get out of the car taking it for granted she’s complicit and that she’ll lead us directly to Mulhern’s killer. If she’s our connection between all of the burglaries, I doubt she fully understands how important she is. We’re not here to scare her. OK?’

As Jack and Mason approached, Charlotte was bent over with her back to them, raking the slurry into a corner, while the remaining pigs constantly got in her way. Charlotte put her hand onto the back of the biggest pig and leant heavily on it. The pig just stood there, as though it knew that she needed support. Charlotte then put the broom into the crook of her elbow, covered her face with her hand and began to sob. Jack and Mason stopped dead in their tracks.

Jack looked away in an attempt to give her a moment of private grief. Mason, on the other hand, had no clue why she was crying. ‘What’s up with her, Jack?’

Jack was looking along a dirt path that cut down the side of the smallholding. He walked in that direction, and Mason followed. The dirt path ran the length of the house before disappearing into the back field. What had caught Jack’s attention were the parallel tyre marks; too wide to be a car, and too narrow to be the lawnmower. These were quadbike tracks. As Jack followed the path a little further towards the building, he crossed Charlotte’s eyeline.

‘She chose Alec!’ Charlotte was so desperate to talk to someone — anyone — other than the murderous Annie that she didn’t even say ‘hello’. She didn’t seem to be embarrassed by her show of emotion, even though she was still crying quietly. ‘I nursed Alec from the day he was born. He was the runt, so he’s the only one I had to do that with. Pigs are very intelligent animals, DS Warr. And they bond with us. Like dogs.’

Mason shook his head in disbelief: this seemingly heartbroken woman was crying over a pig! Jack could hear Mason take a long, slow breath to keep himself from smirking.

‘This is DI Mason,’ Jack said. ‘From Oxford. His investigation has crossed with ours, so he’s down here for the time being, helping us out.’ Mason tried to redeem himself by smiling sympathetically.

Before Charlotte could reply, Annie appeared with a farrier come to re-shoe Florrie and Judas before their appearance in the annual equestrian event. If looks could have killed, Annie would have dropped dead right there in the slurry.

‘I’ll show you through, James,’ Charlotte barked to the farrier. Clearly she was not going to stay in Annie’s company for a second longer.

‘Can I help?’ Annie ventured.

Jack wasn’t sure what Annie knew, if anything, so he suggested that they all go to the house and wait for Charlotte there. Mason grabbed Jack by the arm. ‘If she won’t talk to us — right now — we should arrest her for obstruction.’

Jack shook his head. ‘We’re not going to do that, because if she’s the person I think she is, she’s desperate for someone to show her that there’s a way out of the mess she’s in. How the hell does a gardener from Chipping Norton get tangled up with a gang of burglars? She’s not connected emotionally or professionally — so we’re missing something. Once we have that, we have her. Look, Mason, if you want to take the car back to the station, you do that. I’ll make my own way back once I’ve spoken to Charlotte.’

Every instinct told Mason to go. He’d felt as though he was Jack’s ‘bitch’ ever since finding Mulhern’s dead body and he hated it. He only faltered because the ache in his neck was a constant reminder of Jack’s violent warning: ‘From this second forwards, you’re on my side, sir, or I’ll ruin you without a second thought.’

Mason followed Annie and Jack to the house.

In the kitchen, Annie made a pot of tea, then covered it with a woollen cosy in the shape of a hen, and poured a selection of biscuits onto a large plate, telling them to help themselves while she busied herself with tidying.

Jack was content with the silence while his eyes explored the kitchen, as he intuitively assessed their target’s home for psychological clues that could help them in the questioning.

Jack’s silent train of thought was broken by his mobile buzzing, and he quickly saw that it was Maggie calling. The fact that Maggie was calling instead of texting when she knew he was at work made him instantly worried. He excused himself and stepped outside.

Maggie’s first words were, ‘We’re all fine.’ She then fell silent and her noisy breathing told Jack that she was crying. ‘Take your time,’ he said gently. ‘I’m here.’

After a long silence, Maggie eventually said, ‘Regina’s been taken into hospital. Her baby’s going to come three months too soon.’ Jack said nothing as there was nothing to say. ‘I’m going to go and be with her and Penny’s going to look after Hannah. I just needed to hear your voice... I miss you.’

‘I miss you too,’ he said. ‘But you’re not crying because you miss me.’

‘We’re so lucky, Jack. Yesterday, Hannah was lying on her tummy and pushed herself up on her arms all by herself and I... I called her a clever girl and clapped my hands. These milestones... the same milestones that, for Regina, may never even be reached and I...’

‘Mags, Mags, Mags... she’ll be thinking about all of the worst-case-scenarios; she needs you to remind her of the best-case stuff.’

‘What if I can’t? What if she sees that I know the stats and the problems and the—’

‘Go and be with her. You’ve got this, Maggie. You’re not her doctor, you’re her friend. This is the woman you not-so-subtly feed when she hasn’t got the money to feed herself. You love her, so this is easy, Mags. You’re exactly who she needs. And before you ask me how I know, I’ll tell you: because that’s what you are to everyone in your life.’ Maggie came out with a snotty sounding laugh. Jack could then hear the clatter of her mobile being put down and the distant trumpet of her blowing her nose.

As Jack waited for Maggie to return, he saw Charlotte walking back towards the house, still looking furious. Jack smiled at the thought of Mason having to referee these two feisty women as they tore into each other over the recent murder of Alec the pig.

There was another clatter in Jack’s ear as Maggie picked up her mobile. ‘Right,’ she spoke with renewed strength. ‘I’m going to be at the hospital for the rest of today, but I’ll text you later to let you know what’s happening.’ Jack said he’d look forward to the update, which Maggie knew was a lie; but she appreciated him saying it.

As Jack approached the house, he was a expecting a scene of mayhem. In fact, Annie had left the room, Charlotte was washing her hands furiously, and Mason was drinking tea he clearly didn’t want just to avoid saying anything.

Before Jack could speak, Charlotte turned to him with an angry look. She was clearly up for an argument and if Annie wasn’t going to give it to her, then Jack would do. ‘I’m not speaking to you today, DS Warr. You already know that I work for all of the burglary victims, just as most local produce suppliers do. I don’t know what else you need to ask me. If you do need to speak to me, perhaps call ahead next time. I have two businesses to run and Annie has now left me on my own for the rest of today it seems.’

Jack listened intently. Not to the words Charlotte said, but to the audible quiver in her voice. She was flustered and he wanted to know why, so today was exactly the right day to talk to her. ‘Charlotte, I’m happy to talk here, if that suits you better, but we will be talking today. Because I know we can help each other.’

There was a flicker of fear in Charlotte’s eyes. She quickly turned away, but she knew that Jack had seen it. She started talking nineteen to the dozen about needing to ride Judas’s new shoes in once the farrier had gone, and Jack now knew that she was scared and had no idea how to get herself back to a safe place. She was stuck and needed his help, and although she would not see it as help, Jack did the only thing he could under the circumstances: ‘Charlotte Miles, I’m arresting you for obstructing police enquiries.’ By the time Jack had recited her rights, Charlotte was shaking and sobbing.

Jack didn’t handcuff her. In the car, he sat in the back with her and, at the station, he escorted her towards the purposely scary back cage that led into the processing area. They were met by Bevan, who was given clear instructions that Charlotte wasn’t to be left alone. Jack wanted Charlotte to fully experience the frightening truth of what it was like to be in police custody, and he wanted her to look to himself and Bevan for comfort. Jack wanted Charlotte to need him.

‘DC Bevan will stay with you until you’re processed,’ he told her gently. ‘And then she’ll take you to the interview room.’

As Charlotte was led away, Mason nodded his appreciation of Jack’s psychological tactics. ‘You think you’re good at manipulating people, don’t you, Jack?’

‘I know I am,’ Jack said with a straight face, and Mason laughed.

‘What’s funny?’ Mason turned to see Gifford standing behind him.

Mason shook his head. ‘Nothing.’

Gifford grunted, nodding towards the Vauxhall Corsa. ‘You got the keys to that shit-heap? You could come with me and meet Mr Barrowman. He’s a big player round here, so I want to keep him on-side.’

Mason, to his own surprise and certainly to Gifford’s, declined, saying that he wanted to sit in on Jack’s interview with Charlotte.

‘Fuck’s sake, Mason, she’s been interviewed! Twice! He’s going over well-trodden ground, whilst the rest of us are pushing ahead. Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

Gifford got into the hire car and slammed the door.

Annie had stormed out of the house after Charlotte had had yet another go at her for murdering Alec the pig. She’d then stocked her basket with the day’s deliveries and headed off into the village via the riverbank path. At the craft shop, several women had delighted in telling Annie that, not five minutes earlier, they’d seen Charlotte being driven down the main street in the back of an unmarked police car. By the time she arrived at the station, she was in an anxious state.

Jack put her mind at ease straight away. ‘Charlotte is here to speak with us, Annie. I expect her to be back home with you by this evening... as long as she answers our questions, that is.’

‘Can I see her?’ Annie asked.

Jack shook his head. ‘This is official. She refused to speak to me at the house, which is why I had to bring her here.’

Annie’s mobile rang. She glanced at the screen and sent it to voicemail. ‘I doubt she refused to speak with you because she has anything to hide,’ she explained, trying to help as best she could. ‘It’ll be because I killed Alec. When she feels like she’s losing control, she shuts down, you see. She’s always been like that. Awful at expressing her feelings. She’s a brooder. What I’m saying is... she’s not a bad person, she’s just upset.’

Annie’s mobile rang twice more while she was talking. Her caller was so persistent that she eventually answered it, snapping, ‘Dad, not now! Sorry. Yes, well, I’m in the middle of something and you’re only calling about your honey, I suppose. Well then, wait! Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back.’ Then she hung up.

Jack explained that he’d be careful when speaking to Charlotte and take into account her emotional state, and when she realised she was not going to be able to speak to her, Annie sighed and said, ‘Tell her that I’m thinking of her then and that I’ll be at home. Waiting.’

Jack promised and Annie cycled away, with her mobile still beeping away in her pocket.

Jack headed towards the back cage, where Mason was patiently waiting for him. He slowed, with a frown on his face. ‘I just remembered something...’ Jack thought for a moment. ‘Charlotte and Annie told me that when Annie’s dad died he left them £200,000, which they used to pay off the mortgage. But that phone call was from Annie’s dad.’

Mason grinned. ‘So, where did they get the two hundred grand from?’ He clearly thought the money was Charlotte’s pay-off for being their gang’s insider.

Mason and Jack stood in the observation room, behind the two-way mirror that allowed them to watch Charlotte and DC Bevan in the interview room. Bevan stood just inside the door, like a sentry, while Charlotte sat at the table, fingers lightly touching the rim of a polystyrene cup of tea.

Jack entered the interview room and took his seat opposite Charlotte. She sat up straight in her chair, like a schoolgirl when a teacher walks into the classroom.

‘How’s Judas? New shoes OK?’

Charlotte looked confused. She wasn’t expecting small talk. ‘I’ll try not to keep you from him for too long. I expect you have a lot to prepare before the upcoming equestrian event. So...’ Jack turned the tape recorder on and introduced those present in the room. He then reminded Charlotte that she was under caution and that she’d declined legal representation, although she could change that any time she wanted. He then asked her to verbally confirm that she’d understood everything he said. ‘I saw Annie outside.’ Again, Jack’s words threw Charlotte off-balance. ‘She’s gone home to wait for you. I said you’d more than likely be back later today. As soon as we’ve finished talking.’

In the observation room, Mason grinned and nodded to himself. Jack was promising Charlotte something he knew she wanted: he was promising Annie. The reward of being back home with the woman she loved, dangled in front of her like a carrot on a stick... and to get her reward she had to tell Jack what he wanted to know. It was a cleverly veiled threat because the unspoken flipside of heading home ‘as soon as we’ve finished talking’, was that she would stay in custody if she refused to talk. Charlotte was becoming putty in Jack’s hands, whilst Jack, to the untrained eye, still remained very much ‘the good cop’.

When Jack started the interview in earnest, he was straight to the point. ‘You told me that four years ago Annie’s dad passed away and left you £200,000; is that right?’

Charlotte nodded.

Jack looked at her. ‘Only, when Annie was outside the police station earlier, she received a phone call from her dad.’

Charlotte was quick to answer. ‘That’s Bob. Her stepdad. Annie’s real dad passed away four years ago. Him and her mum split back in, oh I don’t know... I’ve never known them be together. He had a poor relationship with everyone in the family but, still, when he died, he left everything to Annie. Her mum has been with Bob for as long as I’ve known them. Lovely man. His memory’s not so good anymore. It would have been Bob who phoned her. I imagine he called a few times times,’ she smiled. ‘He usually does.’

Jack instinctively believed Charlotte’s story, and although this line of questioning had come to an unexpectedly abrupt dead end, it did serve to tell Jack what Charlotte looked and sounded like when she was telling the truth, so it wasn’t time wasted. Now he’d be able to recognise a lie when she told one.

Jack moved on to the subject of Maisie Fullworth, watching her carefully to see if she shifted from being confident to being frightened. ‘We now know that the person who broke into Maisie Fullworth’s house was not necessarily a member of this gang of burglars, nor were they necessarily male.’

And there it was! Charlotte’s face drained of blood and Jack imagined that her skin was now clammy to the touch. She swallowed noisily and looked down at the cold cup of tea in her hand.

‘This person,’ Jack continued, ‘whoever they were, was frightened away by a teenage girl. That’s the action of someone who is capable of empathy, it’s not the action of a heartless killer.’ Charlotte’s eyes flicked to Jack’s face, then down again, then to Bevan, then the mirror. She didn’t know where to look as the word ‘killer’ echoed round the room. She was clearly desperate to ask who had been killed, wondering frantically if she was responsible. As she struggled with the impossible task of hiding her feelings, the blood raced back to her face and she flushed bright red.

‘Do you know Jacob Mulhern, Charlotte?’

Charlotte’s eyes stopped on a small scratch on the desk where the laminate had chipped and she seemed to become transfixed by this tiny flaw. Jack’s voice continued, slow and deliberate. ‘He owns a livery stable in Oxford, and he ordered a plant from you recently. Do you remember delivering that to him? It doesn’t matter if you can’t. We are just trying to find the last person who might have seen him alive.’

It was at this point that Charlotte actually seemed to stop breathing.

Her wide eyes, full of tears, looked imploringly at Jack, and he reached out and wrapped her trembling hands in his own. ‘I know your role up until this point, Charlotte, but I also know what’s coming. So, I need your help. Today.’ The tears finally rolled down her cheeks. As they did, it was as though she became free, and she started to breathe again.

As Jack entered the observation room, Mason couldn’t hide his admiration. ‘Nice interview. She’s gagging to tell you everything she knows.’

Jack didn’t smile. ‘She’s not a criminal, Colin. She’s just got herself into something that she can’t get out of. I’ve now given her that way out, so she was bound to jump at it.’

Mason shrugged. ‘Well, either way, you’ve got her where you want her... just like calling me “Colin” is your attempt to keep me where you want me.’ Mason shifted his position, so that he stood square-on to Jack. ‘Let me tell you this, Jack... it might just be working on us both. The difference, of course, is that I know what you’re doing.’

Jack gave Charlotte fifteen minutes to gather her thoughts, take a toilet break and be given a fresh cup of tea. When he went back into the interview room, he started the tape, re-introduced everyone present and reminded Charlotte that she was still under caution. He then said six more words — ‘Tell me how this all started’ — and he sat back.

Charlotte sipped her tea and began.

‘We were behind with the mortgage. I knew that the Fullworths’ house was... I thought the Fullworths’ house was empty because Mrs Fullworth plays bridge on Tuesdays.’ The next words were whispered, as Charlotte chastised herself for her carelessness. ‘I don’t know how I could have forgotten about the school’s mid-term break.’ Then she seemed to remember that she was talking to Jack. ‘I knew Mrs Fullworth paid all of her staff in cash, I knew about the diamond engagement ring and I knew that she didn’t wear it because it needed resizing.’ She fell silent as she began to relive the moment. ‘I honestly don’t know who was more frightened when I reached the top of the stairs.’

In the observation room, Mason grinned. They had her! She was the perpetrator of the first burglary and she’d just confessed.

‘I waited for Annie to be working overtime at The Soho Farmhouse,’ Charlotte continued, ‘and I took the engagement ring to London to see if I could sell it. Anyone from Chipping Norton would have recognised it as belonging to Mrs Fullworth.’

Charlotte explained how she used to work tables in a bar along the King’s Road in Chelsea and, on her way home, she’d cut through the huge antiques emporium on the corner of Lots Road. She’d fantasise about one day being able to afford the stunningly delicate earrings and gold twisted-wire anklets she saw there — her biggest fantasy-buy being an upper-arm cuff fashioned from twisted and pressed gold into the shape of ornate leaves. ‘It looked like a delicate tree, reaching out, enveloping and growing with you. Back then, it cost a week’s wages; now, you can get them for a tenner on Amazon.’

Jack let her reminisce unhindered. He thought it was good that she was associating her past with a purity that she’d now lost — reminding her of how guilty she felt. But he also recognised that she was delaying: she was about to give Jack a name and this petrified her.

Instead of pushing her, Jack paused to ask if she’d like a fresh cup of tea. As the words left his lips, Jack could almost hear Mason gasp in despair from the other side of the mirror. Bevan left to put the kettle on, leaving Jack and Charlotte alone.

‘The stupid thing is,’ Charlotte continued, ‘if I’d held on for another couple of months, Annie’s dad would have died and left us all the money we needed.’ She shook her head, laughing at her own terrible luck. But she knew there was no stopping now. ‘Michael De Voe,’ she said, almost in a whisper.

Jack’s expression didn’t show his excitement, but on the other side of the mirror, Mason flung open the door to the observation room and grabbed Bevan, who was busy pouring one mug of tea from Canteen Barbara into two polystyrene cups. He told her as soon as she’d delivered the teas, she was to get DI Gifford back to the station and get DI Lee down from Oxford. They’d just learnt the identity of the man behind their gang.

Charlotte held Jack’s gaze. She felt oddly relaxed in his company; which was good because she now had no option but to trust him with her life. ‘De Voe was very interested in the diamond ring. But he knew as soon as he looked at me... he knew it wasn’t mine. He asked for provenance knowing I wouldn’t have any. I was about to leave, thinking he wasn’t going to buy stolen goods, or that he was perhaps going to stall me and call the police — but instead he asked if I’d like to be paid in cash! I was so relieved. But I was scared too, and I just wanted to get out of there so, when he asked for ID, I handed over my driving licence without even thinking. ’Course, now he had my name and address. He told me it’d be OK. He told me he wasn’t the kind of man to judge. He could see that I was a good person, just trying my best to survive.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘I’m so stupid.’

Charlotte’s words tailed off and she began sobbing. Bevan entered with the teas, put them both in front of Jack and then left again.

Jack tried to be reassuring. ‘This man, De Voe... he trapped you. I know men like Michael De Voe, Charlotte. They prey on innocent people without a second thought. And you’re not stupid.’ Jack slid Charlotte’s cup towards her, making her look up. ‘You’re doing really well. Together, you and me can stop this gang from killing anyone else... and then I can give you back your life.’

Charlotte laced her fingers around the warm comfort of the cup and found the strength to continue. ‘He went into a small back office, he said it was to get the cash from his safe. But when he came back, he was different. Hard. I suddenly felt like, I don’t know, for a second, I actually thought he was a copper and that he was going to arrest me. The look on his face was like he’d won, you know. I wish now that he had been a copper.’ Again, Charlotte bowed her head in shame and self-pity. What De Voe had actually done in his back office, she explained, was to check a list of property registered as stolen from the Chipping Norton area. As a noted, reputable jeweller, his local bobby had already visited, and asked him to look out for the ring as they knew that it was unlikely to be sold locally. De Voe had then put £1,000 on the desk in front of Charlotte, which was far more than she had expected to get. But instead of feeling buoyed up by the money, she was frightened. De Voe didn’t threaten her directly, but he did say that he would keep her secret as long as she understood that she now owed him. All she had to do was answer his phone call and do what he asked when he decided it was time to collect.

By now, DC Bevan was standing alongside Mason in the observation room. Gifford, who had been placating Barrowman at the Wychwood Golf Club, had been called back to the station as a matter of urgency, but the Vauxhall Corsa hire car had finally given up the ghost, so he was currently stranded in the middle of nowhere waiting for a uniformed officer to go and collect him. All of which made Bevan secretly smile.

Back in the interview room, Charlotte was getting to the crux of her involvement with the gang. ‘I told De Voe about Mr and Mrs Bright-Cullingwood’s annual boat trip. They’ve got a yacht moored in Bristol Marina and they... well, I don’t think they take it anywhere, actually. After Mr Bright-Cullingwood’s heart attack, I don’t think he can sail anymore. But they still go over there. They were the first house to be robbed, back in the summer of 2018.’

Jack suddenly realised something. He tapped on the mirror and, within seconds, Bevan appeared at the door. ‘Bevan, Charlotte can give us all of the burglary victims. So the ones choosing to hide behind their insurance can now be approached.’ Bevan sat down next to Jack, pen in hand. But Charlotte had gone ashen white and she’d stopped breathing again. Suddenly she leapt to her feet and pushed her fingers into her tangled hair.

‘Oh my God, they’ll know. They’ll all know. I can’t... Annie! She won’t be able to cope. She’s ill. She has anxiety. She’ll never forgive me for this. We’ll have to move. And she won’t move. She was born here. It’s her home! That’s why I stole from Mrs Fullworth, to save Annie’s home. She needs stability. Oh, God... our neighbours, our friends, our families will find out that I betrayed them all! I did this! Jacob Mulhern... that was me! It was all me!’ Charlotte backed herself into the corner of the room and slid to the floor. Her body trembled and she gasped for breath. ‘I’m not talking anymore. I take it all back. Please! Please let me take it back!’

Jack and Bevan calmly watched her meltdown, knowing that all of this raw emotion was better out than in. When he felt she was ready, Jack spoke. ‘There’s no going back, Charlotte.’ Jack’s voice was filled with a simple honesty. He wasn’t going to lie to her. ‘The only thing you can do now is make amends. Accept what you started — and work with me to end it.’

Jack paused for a minute or two, allowing Charlotte to fully take in her situation.

‘I tried to get myself out of it,’ she said finally. ‘When he called and asked me for the second address, I said no.’ Charlotte kept her head bowed as she spoke. ‘He was so calm. He said something about having to live with the decisions we make. He called me a good person. And then he hung up. I was out of the house for six hours, doing my deliveries, and when I got home, Annie was in tears. She’d found our cat on the doorstep. Dead. He’d been caught in barbed wire, she said. And he’d walked home to die. His body was in a shoebox. As I was burying him in the orchard, I got a text message: We live with the decisions we make. . . The next day he called again and I gave him the second address.’ Charlotte glanced up from the safety of her corner. Her damp hair almost covered her eyes.

Jack spoke softly.

‘When you’re ready, I want you to tell DC Bevan the name of every address you gave De Voe. I know you can remember them all, Charlotte, because they weigh heavily on you. Charlotte, I am on your side. But I will not allow you to clam up now, because there are lives at stake. So... and think about this very carefully before you answer... are you sitting there telling me that you have nothing more to say? Are you telling me that your “what will the neighbours think” fears are more important to you than another human life? Are you telling me that you’re choosing to continue to protect Michael De Voe? Or are you going to do the right thing?’

Charlotte stared at Jack for what seemed like minutes. Bevan felt increasingly awkward, whereas Jack was more than comfortable to just stare back. Eventually, Charlotte dragged herself to her feet and retook her seat at the table. Bevan maintained the official tone of the interview: ‘For the tape, Charlotte Miles has returned to the table.’

Jack was different now and Charlotte knew it. If she didn’t play her part, he’d see her go down for whatever he could convict her of. In his way he was just as remorseless as De Voe, and she was just as trapped.

For the next three hours, Jack asked questions and Charlotte answered them. He was pleased to discover that she hadn’t accepted any kind of payment from De Voe for the information she fed to him, even when it was repeatedly offered. Charlotte took a while to get started but, once the floodgates opened, there was no stopping her. She explained how she had recommended livery stables and given advice on what sort of horseboxes could carry the weight of a quadbike and motorbike; how she had informed De Voe of all roads that had no CCTV and of all back routes into and out of target properties. She passed on information about residents’ holidays, day trips, nights away, empty rentals, as well as staffing levels and security systems. And she talked of how, each time a target was identified, the gang would recce the area for three full days before deciding whether or not to go ahead. Charlotte also mentioned how, when she’d once been talking to De Voe on the phone, he’d taken a second call. Because he’d kept her on the line, she could hear his side of the other conversation. He’d spoken about flights and about buying airline tickets so that ‘his people’ would be in and out of the country before the cops even knew what had happened. And she also heard him mention a second jewellery shop in Camden, although he didn’t mention the exact location. She said he had no problem at all stealing from rich, insured people. In fact, he regularly used the words ‘victimless crime’.

As the interview came to an end, Charlotte and Bevan looked exhausted, whereas Jack still looked as fresh as a daisy and raring to go. Jack’s final question was whether Charlotte knew where the gang stayed during their regular, three-day recces. She shook her head.

‘What happens now?’ she asked, realising the interview was finally over. ‘I mean... can I see Annie, please? She’ll need to know... that I’m not coming home. I want to be the one who tells her.’

Jack didn’t immediately answer her question. ‘The annual equestrian event starts next week. That’ll be something De Voe won’t be able to resist. So, he’ll be contacting you shortly in order to do his three-day prep. Bevan will see if De Voe is in the system and, if he is, we’ll need a positive ID please...’ Jack paused before delivering his bombshell. ‘...then she’ll drive you home.’

Charlotte’s jaw nearly hit the table. As did Bevan’s, as she wondered on whose authority was he about to release their only connection to the leader of this elusive gang.

‘Charlotte, I need you out there, not in here, Jack continued. ‘I will keep you and Annie safe, but you must trust me. Do you trust me, Charlotte?’

The tears once again began to flow, quietly and softly this time. Charlotte nodded.

Jack sealed the deal with one final sentence that only he and Charlotte knew the meaning of. ‘Charlotte Miles, for three years you’ve been De Voe’s Judas Horse; now you’re mine.’