Judas Horse

Chapter 22

The journey back to Chipping Norton would have been an arduous one — half by train and half by bus — if Oaks hadn’t agreed to drive to Banbury train station to collect Jack. The twenty-minute car journey covering the final leg began with Oaks regaling Jack about how Gifford and Lee were working hand-in-glove, whilst Mason pined for Jack’s return; how Davidson had had a personality transplant and had become invaluable to the Jacob Mulhern murder investigation; and how Bevan was single-handedly responsible for making all of the whiteboards and case notes make sense. Oaks stopped talking when he realised that his own role had somewhat diminished and he’d fallen back into the routine of being a taxi-driver for DS Warr-from-the-Met. His blushes were saved by Jack’s mobile ringing.

Charlotte, it seemed, was in a terrible state, as Jack listened to her anxious words. ‘Jessica Yardley has fallen off her horse and is bedridden in a back brace.’ Jack waited for Charlotte to take a breath and put this statement into some sort of context for him. ‘She’ll be at home tomorrow, DS Warr. She lives in one of the target addresses I gave to De Voe and now the whole family will be at home!’ Jack’s mind immediately went into overdrive in an endeavour to find the solution. ‘Jess has got a four-year-old brother, Anthony, then there’s the parents, David and Anne. I can’t let De Voe go to that house now!’

Charlotte’s use of the word ‘I’, rather than ‘we’ or ‘you’, grated on Jack’s ears. It sounded like she was attempting to take control of the redemption stage of her involvement. Out of fear and desperation, she seemed to be putting her foot down. Jack took a deep breath, gave her the benefit of the doubt and decided just to deal with the immediate problem.

‘We’ll move them out, don’t worry. We’ll put them safely into a hotel and then their house will be empty.’

Charlotte wasn’t mollified. ‘No, no, no, you don’t understand. He doesn’t care that it’s going to be occupied!’

A shiver ran down Jack’s spine. She’d told him! Jesus Christ, why couldn’t she just keep her thoughts to herself? She’d told De Voe about Barrowman’s impromptu charity buffet and now she’d told him that one of the houses will be occupied.

‘Charlotte...’ Jack made a point of staying calm. ‘When did you speak to De Voe?’

‘I didn’t mean to say anything, I swear I didn’t. It just came out. He called me to... to thank me. He said it had been a pleasure working with me but after this week I’d never hear from him again. Then he said. “Goodbye, Miss Miles from Miles Farm near Little Compton,” reminding me that he knows where I live! Anyway, that’s when I said it. I said, “One of the houses has a poorly girl in it, so you can’t...” And he cut me off saying that he didn’t care. He said if they got hurt, it’d be my fault because I’m the one who gave him their address. He said I’m in this up to my neck. So, you have to do something, DS Warr. Not for me; for the Yardleys. Do something or I’ll tell De Voe that it’s all a trap and then he won’t come at all!’

Jack sighed. ‘Charlotte, calm down. I’ll call you back within the hour. Don’t do anything else, are you listening? Just wait for me to call.’

‘One hour,’ Charlotte agreed reluctantly. Then she ended the call. Oaks didn’t know what had been said. And, seeing the frown on Jack’s face, he didn’t dare ask.

As they crawled through the centre of Chipping Norton, up the hill past the village notice board advertising everything from evening classes to riding lessons, Jack could see how the population of this area had suddenly swelled to bursting. Cafés and pubs had spread onto pavements, buskers had come out of the woodwork, and the crowds of tourists moved as slowly as the traffic.

And Jack’s gang of burglars could well be amongst these faces already, making their preparations. As Jack’s eyes scanned the crowd, he imagined that he saw Betina seated outside a café sipping a cappuccino. He couldn’t help but think that this gang, who’d got away with so much for so long, was mocking him. And that uncomfortable feeling prompted him to come up with an ingenious solution to the new problem Charlotte had just presented him with.

The squad room was not designed to cater for the numbers of officers currently occupying it. As Jack and Oaks pushed past the extra chairs and made their way to the front of the room, Jack could see that CCTV from in and around Wychwood train station was being fed to several large screens, and the B4437 temporary traffic lights were now also covered by hidden cameras. He remembered the wildlife survey done in Wimbledon Common, where cameras had been rigged in trees and left to watch owls and kestrels come and go from their nests. The same principle was now being used here to watch the traffic lights.

Jack paused next to Bevan. She was hard at work, compiling a spreadsheet of figures that would no doubt make sense to everyone else once complete. The source material was scattered across her desk, comprising Betina’s bank statements and a list of passenger names, airports and flight numbers from Rio. These had to be the extra hands she’d been asked to bring in, to carry out the five burglaries in one evening. Bevan had even managed to get all of their passport images; although, in truth, after a good haircut and shave, they’d be unrecognisable.

Once at the front of the room, Jack asked to speak with Gifford, Lee and Mason in private. Oaks was allowed to join them, as he knew about the phone call from Charlotte. This ‘summoning’ immediately got Lee’s back up; but he was determined to control his temper long enough to hear what lies Jack was going to come out with this time.

‘Has Bevan ever done any undercover work?’ Jack asked. The blank look shared by Gifford and Oaks said that she hadn’t. ‘The Yardley house will be occupied on the day of Barrowman’s charity buffet. De Voe knows this and has said he doesn’t care, so we can’t give him another address...’

Lee couldn’t hold his tongue a moment longer.

‘You mean to say your snout’s been chatting to our prime suspect, without your knowledge?’

‘She’s not a snout and he called her,’ Jack said firmly. ‘She’s scared.’

‘We only have her word for anything,’ Lee shot back, ‘because she isn’t under our control. She isn’t in police custody and her phone calls aren’t being monitored.’

Jack ignored Lee’s glare. For now, he was more concerned about sharing the solution he’d come up with. ‘I say we put the Yardleys in a hotel, and leave Oaks and Bevan in their place, posing as the occupants.’

‘Absolutely not.’ Gifford’s response was instantaneous. ‘They’re far too inexperienced to be put in harm’s way like that.’ Jack glanced at Oaks, suggesting that he was able to make up his own mind, but Gifford remained firm, holding Jack’s gaze. ‘The answer is no.’ Jack couldn’t believe it. What a time for Gifford to grow a backbone!

‘I agree,’ Lee added. ‘I say that anything coming from Charlotte Miles can’t be trusted. And I’m beginning to have my doubts about DS Warr.’

Up to now, Jack had been trying to avoid a confrontation, but Lee had just crossed a line.

‘If you have something to say, DI Lee, say it! Or do you need DCI Hearst to fight your battles for you?’

Lee ignored Jack, turning to Gifford for support. ‘He’s been meeting Charlotte Miles in secret. Did he tell you that? She calls and he goes running.’ Then to Jack: ‘There’s something going on and we demand to know what the hell it is. This isn’t just protecting an informant; this is withholding evidence. This is collusion.’

‘It’s control!’ Jack growled as his temper almost got away from him. ‘I have to make her put helping us above instinctively protecting the most important person in her life. And I’m doing that by making her think that I’m taking risks too. So, if she only wants to speak to me, that’s fine. And, if she wants to meet alone with me in the middle of a field, that’s fine too. I’ve never withheld case-relevant information...’

Lee opened his mouth wide as if something had just occurred to him. ‘You fucking her, Jack?’

Jack launched himself at Lee, landing one solid punch to his jaw that sent Lee tumbling backwards into Oaks. As Lee righted himself, Oaks held on to him long enough for Gifford to step in between and bellow, ‘Stop!’ In the heat of the moment, his Midlands accent came to the fore. ‘If this is the waaay it’s going to be, one of you is leaving my station, never to darken my door agaiiin?! You, Eamonn? Jack? ’Cos I am not having thiiis! I’d tell you to take it outside, but we haven’t got tiiime for you children to have your schoolyard scrap. We were discussing which of my officers to put in harm’s way and if that isn’t deserving of your attention, you can all fuck off!’ Gifford gave the room ten seconds of complete silence, his fierce glare daring anyone to break it. ‘DI Lee, did DS Warr tell me that he’d met Charlotte in private? No, he didn’t. DCI Hearst told me, after DCI Ridley told her. And DS Warr, put your thinking cap on and come up with an alternative to making DCs Bevan and Oaks into targets for murderers, because that, son, is not happening.’

The conclusion to this shambles came from an unexpected source, as Mason stepped forwards. ‘De Voe’s expecting occupants at the Yardleys’ house, so that’s what we need to give him. I’ve done numerous undercover operations. Why don’t I go in with DC Bevan? I can keep her safe, Joe. You have my word.’

Gifford softened his glare while he thought about it and Oaks now deemed it safe to let go of Lee.

No more words were said, but Jack and Lee still stared daggers at each other. Lines had been crossed on both sides, and there was no going back. Gifford ignored them, making it clear that Mason was the only man in the room worthy of his time right now. ‘All right. Ask Bevan if she’s prepared to act as decoy inside the Yardley house. The decision has got to be hers.’ He finally turned to Jack. ‘DS Warr, send DC Bevan in. DI Mason, please stay to answer any questions she might have.’ This was the first direct instruction Gifford had ever given Jack, and he followed it without hesitation. ‘Oaks, be somewhere else, please. And close the door on your way out. And DCI Lee, I don’t need you in my office right now, either.’

Lee and Oaks left, Bevan entered, and the next half an hour was spent calmly talking her through what would be expected of her, if she agreed to go undercover with Mason.