Vanished

Chapter 17

Jack stood with his arms round Maggie’s waist and his head on her shoulder as she soaked the oven dishes and explained the three-course menu Penny had planned for Josh’s visit. Throughout her chatter, Jack stared out of the window in silence. ‘Chicken and beef, Yorkshire puds. A load of veg, six or seven, one must be creamed mash according to your mum. Stuffing. She’ll make two gravies from the meat juices and, what else, oh yes, bread sauce. She was thinking of doing apple pie and pecan pie, you know, the sort of puddings your new friend might like from home, but then she decided on our old-school favourites. So she’s doing jam roly-poly and treacle sponge.’ Maggie looked up from the sink and saw Jack’s reflection in the blackness of the kitchen window. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?’

Jack and Ridley stood in silence for what could only have been five seconds but during that time Jack relived the last days of his dad’s life before his cancer finally took him, quietly and unannounced in the middle of the night. Ridley finally spoke. ‘I was going to tell you, but when I didn’t suffer that many side effects from the treatment, I thought... no one needed to know. Superintendent Raeburn knows. And I’m doing OK.’ Ridley paused and Jack made no attempt to fill the silence, letting Ridley find the words. ‘My emotions are so close to the surface at the moment, Jack, that sometimes... sometimes I just need to be on my own in case... in case the anger and frustration — and the fear, if I’m honest — in case it all boils over and I say or do something I can’t take back.’ Ridley took a step forward and picked his wedding invitation up off the floor where he’d thrown it. When he stood upright again his eyes were red and glistened with the threat of tears. His voice had reduced to a whisper. ‘Can I take this back?’

Of course, Jack had said yes, and Ridley had gone home. And that was it. Jack hadn’t asked any questions and Ridley had done all the talking he was prepared to do for one day.

Now Jack kissed Maggie on the neck. ‘Bad day. The menu sounds great.’ Jack kissed Maggie again, told her that he loved her and went upstairs for a shower. Maggie knew something more was wrong. But she also knew that whatever it was, he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Ridley led the morning briefing with his old methodical, laborious attention to detail. He was back. He was strong, encouraging, purposeful and leading from the front. He relayed the highlights of his interview with Terence Jenkins, then he handed the room to Jack so that he could relay his conversation with Hester Mancroft — finishing with the revelation that Adam Border was Avril Jenkins’ son.

‘So,’ Ridley summed up, ‘the Amsterdam connection needs following up. Who’s the blonde girl pictured with Adam? Where did his dad live? Is it anywhere near the address we have out there for Jessica Chi? Laura, ask Anik to find out what Josh knows about Amsterdam. Then, if you’re not treading on Drug Squad toes, talk to the Amsterdam police and find out if the name of Adam Border is known to them. Jack, my office, please.’

The conversation in Ridley’s office was... normal. Ridley’s moment of sharing had seemingly been enough for him, and Jack was thankful to be talking about a double murder, rather than Ridley’s health. Ridley made two coffees as he spoke. ‘Anik’s daily reports are, well... I thought I was thorough. He’s found his mojo, that’s for sure. I know it was tough for us to hand the lead to Steve, but Anik’s doing a good job at reporting back, so we’re getting what we need.’

‘You know, guv, I sometimes think that Steve and his mob are holding stuff back. I mean, when I was over there looking at the footage — which they admitted was not in chronological order — they mentioned that the same men had at some point arrived in a Range Rover. They didn’t show me that clip, just said they had traced it and it was a stolen vehicle. We should have been privy to that — just makes me wonder what else they are withholding.’

Ridley handed Jack his coffee and they both sat. Ridley made no secret of getting two bottles of pills from his jacket pocket and taking one tablet from each. ‘I will look into that. In the meantime, it’d be useful to find a list of customers for her hemp oil.’ Jack thought about the secret contents of his own jacket pocket, namely Avril’s little red notebook. ‘Painkillers and an anti-emetic. In case you were wondering. They don’t impede my ability to work.’

‘I know you wouldn’t be here if they did, sir.’ Jack took the opportunity to say the only thing he felt needed saying. ‘I’m not going to pry. But if you need anything, from me or from Maggie, you must ask. The answer will always be yes.’

Jack came out of Ridley’s office, coffee in hand, and stopped by the whiteboards. He was looking specifically at the photos they’d collated so far because, frustratingly, most of them showed people they couldn’t yet identify. Pinned up were two photographs that had recently been added. Avril Jenkins’ Range Rover and the Porsche. Beside the photographs was the updated information from the team allocated to check for fingerprints.

‘When did these come in?’ Jack asked Laura.

‘Early this morning. The Range Rover had numerous prints, mostly Avril Jenkins’, and others checked out. The vehicle had some kind of fault and had been taken in a few months back to the Range Rover dealership in Thames Ditton. The two mechanics that had worked on it were tested and matched. Avril was told that she would need to have the diesel pump changed as it was clogged, but apparently, she only drove it on short journeys and it would be quite costly to replace, so she told them to return it as she was not going to pay for the repair. They left it in her garage parked behind the Porsche.’

Jack was becoming impatient. ‘What about the silver Porsche that we know was driven by Adam Border? Any prints would be vital for us.’

‘I know that, and the forensic team were very thorough but it had been cleaned inside and out. Not one print was found. They even tested the tarpaulin on both vehicles but neither had prints.’

Jack gritted his teeth.

‘That kid...’ Laura waited for Jack to acknowledge that she was still talking to him. ‘It’s her brother. The principal from her school got back to me. David Summers. He’s twelve years younger than Avril. We’re putting a trace out. I’m making progress on Jessica Chi’s background, just a couple more ducks to line up there. But I haven’t found out who that bloke in military uniform is yet.’ Jack suggested that she run the photo by Terence Jenkins to see if he could provide them with an identification. Laura joined Jack at the whiteboards. She seemed fed up. ‘Apart from Hester’s anecdotes and dateless memories, I’ve still got nothing of substance on Adam Border. And I mean nothing, until he rocked up at Chelsea Art College. Which means...’ Laura gave Jack the honour of saying the words out loud.

‘Adam Border didn’t exist before that? We’ve been chasing a false identity.’ Jack took a snap of the unknown man in military uniform on his mobile. ‘Let’s pick up the pace. First one to identify this guy gets a three-course canteen lunch bought for them by the loser. Go!’

Hester Mancroft’s phone rang for so long that it cut out and went to voicemail. Twice. When she did finally answer, Jack explained that he’d texted an image to her mobile and he needed her to try and identify the man in military dress. Getting her to open the image, however, was like trying to get a cat to play the piano.

Meanwhile, Laura had FaceTimed Terence, having isolated the one relevant photograph so that Terence couldn’t see all of the case evidence. Laura could hardly keep a straight face as she listened to Jack in the background trying to explain to Hester how to view an image at the same time as speak — she accidently hung up on him once and he had to call her back.

Terence was certain that he didn’t recognise the man. ‘You know the uniform’s not British, don’t you?’

Jack looked up from his pointless conversation with Hester, who was currently running through Avril’s long list of old boyfriends to try and recall an army officer amongst them. ‘I collected militaria in my time,’ Terence continued. ‘It’s the only thing I did inherit from Father! This reminds me of the old Dutch get-up.’

Laura retained her composure, seeing as she was on FaceTime but, behind her back, she gave Jack the finger. She was about to win a free three-course lunch! She asked Terence if he was certain of the uniform’s origin.

‘Back in 2018, or 2017 maybe, the Dutch government encouraged people to join the armed forces by doing a campaign where they asked their serving military to wear their uniforms in the streets. Anyway, their current uniform is a modernised version of the one they wore in the seventies. That’s what’s in your photo.’

Laura thanked Terence for his help, wished him a good afternoon, then hung up. She spun round to Jack, wearing a huge grin. She sauntered towards him, ordering soup, followed by whatever the fish dish of the day was, ending with a double helping of Bakewell tart and custard, then perched on his desk swinging her feet. Jack held his mobile away from his ear to muffle the noise of Hester talking at him.

‘I didn’t hear Terence identify the man in the photo,’ Jack said.

‘Oh, come on. He’s Dutch. That’s more information than you’re getting. Could be Adam’s dad?’

‘Adam’s dad was a carpet salesman from London.’

‘Says who?’ Laura nodded towards Jack’s mobile. ‘Her?’

Hester suddenly became loud enough for Laura to hear despite not being on speaker.

‘Oh, I’ve opened the photo, DS Warr!’ There was a pause while she looked at it. ‘No, I’ve no idea who that is.’

Laura giggled her way back to her own desk, as Jack thanked Hester for helping. ‘I’m enlarging the insignia on this guy’s uniform to send to the Dutch military,’ she said. ‘I’ll let you know his name by lunchtime, Jack. Reserve me a table by the window.’

In his office, Ridley was himself now on speakerphone to Terence Jenkins, clarifying that Avril Jenkins’ body was ready to be released. Terence asked if Ridley would be attending the funeral. ‘Yes please, Mr Jenkins. Myself, DS Jack Warr and DCI Steve Lewis will be there, if you don’t mind.’

Steve paced the area in front of Ridley’s desk, hands behind his back, listening. Terence explained that it would only be a small gathering. He had two old friends he wanted to be there as support for him, and he thought it right to invite Avril’s immediate neighbours and a couple of her friends he knew of. He estimated that there would be no more than ten or twelve people. Terence went on to say that although probate was still pending, he was allowed to be in the property and, amongst other things, could finally create a definitive inventory. With this in mind, Terence then asked if he could host the wake at the house. Steve didn’t pause his prowling as he nodded to Ridley. ‘Yes, Mr Jenkins. You can have Avril’s wake in her home. Your home.’

As soon as Terence had hung up, Steve told Ridley what he was going to do. ‘We’ll run the cameras in the downstairs rooms during the wake and record every move of every person there. We might even change the outgoing loop to live action, so the drug dealers can watch too. Briefing in Staines? Zero eight hundred?’ Steve left with no further niceties, leaving Ridley’s door wide open.

Jack walked across and asked if he wanted it closing, as was his preference in recent months. ‘Leave it open. Thanks, Jack.’ Ridley screwed up his nose as though a terrible smell had just wafted his way. ‘He used the 24-hour clock. What a prick.’

Jack and Ridley shared their first smile in weeks.

Before he could turn and leave, Laura appeared behind Jack with a notepad in her hand and a smile on her face. She’d found another piece of their complex puzzle. ‘Jessica Chi. Daughter of Henrick and Matilda Chi, née Dovrick. Both alive and well and living in an artists’ commune in Amsterdam. They’re currently unaware of their daughter’s death. This, together with the Dutch military uniform on that bloke standing next to Avril in the photo might just be adding up to a trip to Amsterdam, sir.’

Ridley quickly agreed. The notification of death definitely had to be done face to face and in conjunction with the Dutch police.

As Laura was quietly running through her wardrobe in her head to see if she needed to shop before flying out, Ridley announced that, first thing tomorrow, he’d get Anik back from Staines and send him to Amsterdam. Laura’s chin almost hit the floor.

‘I need you running the show here, Laura, whilst Jack and I are at Avril’s funeral. The press release announced her death was the result of a robbery gone wrong. There’s an undercover presence at her home, but no uniforms. To the outside world, everything’s back to normal at that house. It’s the exact time for someone to get complacent... and it’s not going to be us.’