A Narrow Trajectory Read online

  He looked up as he sensed her presence and tried to straighten his back. He almost managed it.

  ‘Guv.’

  ‘Jimmy.’

  ‘I hear the meeting between Jake and Chivnor has been set up?’

  ‘Yes, in Bristol.’

  ‘Need another pair of hands and eyes, guv?’ he asked hopefully.

  Hillary smiled. He was a game old sod. ‘No, thanks, Jimmy.’ If anything went wrong, and Chivnor either tried to leg it, or fight it out, the old sergeant would be in no fit state to help out. In fact, she might be too worried about him to keep her mind on the job.

  And it was indicative of the closeness of their relationship that he could clearly read her mind. Because he suddenly sighed, and nodded, and said, ‘I’m gonna set up an appointment to see my local quack.’

  ‘Back’s not getting any better then?’ she asked sympathetically.

  ‘No. But with a bit of luck, a bout with a chiropractor or occupational therapist will do wonders. Well that, and drugs.’ He grinned widely. ‘And if all that fails, hell, I’ll even try acupuncture.’

  Hillary winced. ‘Good luck with that. Oh, by the way,’ she added, as they started to pass each other on the steps, ‘I’ve planted the seed with Wendy about the need for good and competent social workers. You might just want to keep plugging away at that for me.’

  Jimmy grinned. As fond as he’d become of the young goth, he was with Hillary on this one. She’d make a far better social worker than she would a copper.

  ‘Will do, guv,’ he said cheerfully.

  Hillary waved him goodnight, and continued down into the basement.

  Both Steven and Rollo were still at their desks and when she tapped on the door a minute later, it was Rollo who called out for her to come in. As she did so, she noticed with something of a pang that Steven’s temporary desk was now almost completely cleared. Just one more day and he’d be gone.

  But it was clear that his last day would go out with a bang, rather than a lazy whimper.

  ‘Sir,’ she said first to Rollo then smiled at Steven. ‘Sir,’ she repeated.

  ‘I take it your hunch paid off then?’ Steven said without preamble. ‘Take a seat and fill us in.’

  Hillary did so. And it quickly became clear just how fast she had worked.

  ‘So you just liked him for it, right from the off?’ It was the first question Rollo asked after she’d finished her report, and it was clear he sounded a little sceptical.

  Hillary shrugged. ‘Not just him, sir. I didn’t like the way Lydia’s stepfather seemed so interested in her activities, either.’

  ‘So why Kyle?’

  ‘Well, sir, it was a combination of things. First, his motive was solid. If Lydia had been pregnant, or only pretending to be so, it would mean Kyle’s whole way of life would be compromised. He’d have to either marry her or go home in disgrace. For a family with strict religious principles, there were no other alternatives. Either way, he might lose his funding to stay in the UK, lose his position as favoured son – who knows, might even have been cut off without a penny.’

  ‘But you don’t know that she was pregnant?’ Rollo persisted.

  ‘No sir, that was an inspired guess. But if you’d been there and seen the look on his face …’ She shrugged. ‘And if the pathologist does find indications that the body in the woods had been carrying a foetus then we’ll have DNA evidence to prove paternity.’

  ‘You think it likely?’ Rollo asked, as Steven simply sat quietly and listened, content to let the new man discover for himself the worth of his primary investigator.

  ‘I think so, sir, on balance. From what I’ve been able to learn of Lydia, she might have been a bit of a dreamer, but she wasn’t stupid. She’d have known that to catch her man she’d have to be careful and thorough. And she’d have known about his family – to them, a grandchild would be the one thing guaranteed to at least give her a shot at marrying into a wealthy family.’

  ‘What made you suspect a personal motive at all? I mean, hadn’t we all assumed that Lydia would turn out to be the victim either of drugs, or one of Medcalfe’s Johns?’

  ‘Yes, that was the presumption,’ Hillary said. ‘But when Jimmy and Wendy learned from the street that the only bit of talk going around concerned Lydia, well, it was rather suggestive, wasn’t it?’

  Rollo Sale blinked, thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. ‘Oh. Right. The fact that they were willing to talk about Lydia, when word was out that nobody was to talk to the cops about any girl that was down to Medcalfe …’

  ‘Exactly. It probably meant that Lydia’s disappearance had nothing to do with them,’ Hillary confirmed.

  ‘OK. And I get why you thought she might have been buried where she was. A foreign student couldn’t have known of many places where he could stash a body.’ Rollo nodded. ‘Unless a mate of his hadn’t happened to have taken him to the ideal spot.’

  ‘Yes, sir. As soon as Mr McIntyre mentioned the bat colony, and the remote nature of the woods, I realized we’d need to get the cadaver dogs on to it.’

  Rollo coughed. ‘Yes. Precisely.’ He needed to discuss her roundabout way of getting that little problem sorted out so quickly. Because whilst he realized that her way had been the most efficient, it did now require a little bit of creative fiddling with the paperwork.

  ‘I, er, hope that things like that don’t happen around here often?’ he asked mildly.

  Hillary smiled. ‘No, sir. Not often,’ she said. And noted his preference to do things by the book. Still, there were always ways to work around a boss who disliked going off piste, as it were.

  ‘So, what’s next? We pull Karastrides in for questioning?’

  Hillary stirred on her seat. ‘I think, perhaps, not quite yet, sir. We need to ID the body first and inform her family. And if the pathologist does find DNA from a foetus, and we can match it to Karastrides, then we’ll have the perfect wedge to crack him open with. Not that I’m expecting him to put up much of a fight, mind. He struck me as the type to crumble. Who knows, maybe he’ll even turn out to have a conscience. Killing a whore is one thing – killing your own unborn child… . Well, for a man brought up as he was, that must have been playing on his mind. I think, once he’s leaned on, he’ll cave.’

  Steven watched Rollo Sale consider all this, then decide to rely on her judgement.

  ‘But he might just be flight risk sir,’ Hillary added cautiously. ‘He has ties to not only Greece but possibly Turkey as well. I recommend you alert the border agencies. If he makes any plans to travel, we might have to act sooner than we’d like.’

  Rollo nodded. ‘Yes, I was just going to suggest that,’ he said. Truthfully, too. And Hillary believed him. She smiled, then caught Steven’s eye and the silent communication that passed between them was easy to read.

  She and her new boss were going to get on just fine.

  ‘Now, perhaps we should talk about tomorrow,’ Hillary said firmly.

  It was nearly 8.30 when a very nervous Jake Barnes, and a far more sanguine Hillary Greene drove into Bristol station car park and were directed to a parking space by a local uniform who’d been expecting them. In the car behind them, Rollo and Steven followed their lead.

  Last night, Hillary had gone through with them everything that she had been thinking, and all that she suspected might happen today, being careful that Jake couldn’t overhear a word of it. At first Rollo Sale had been uncertain, but Steven less so. In the end, they’d formulated a plan that would accommodate both Hillary’s predictions – should they come true – but would also allow for a wider range of possibilities.

  As per these plans, Jake now left them quickly, in case Darren had arrived early and was in a position to watch out for his arrival. The last thing they needed was for the thug to see Jake with people he would immediately sniff out as coppers. They watched the young man make his way inside where he’d head for the café they’d previously marked out as giving him his best vantage point fo
r the proposed meeting.

  There was still more than an hour to go.

  Then they made their way to the station manager’s office. That individual had already arranged for their Bristol colleagues to set up shop in a small office overlooking the concourse. And it was here that they met DI Brian Taylor in the flesh for the first time. Hitherto only a voice over the phone, in person he became a lean man of average height, with thinning dark hair and a narrow, intelligent face. He shook hands briskly all around and got straight down to business, confirming that the arrangements they’d asked for were now in place.

  On the platform were six officers in plain clothes. The station security cameras were now feeding into the monitor on the small desk in one corner, and they had lookouts in the car park, to spot Chivnor the moment he arrived.

  For a while, the room was full of conversation, but after a while, and as the time for the meeting drew closer, the conversation fell away, leaving them in tense silence.

  And then the radio crackled to life and Hillary felt a distinct sense of déjà vu from Oxford Library as a voice over the radio advised them that the target had arrived.

  Over the CCTV screen, Hillary saw Jake leave his seat in the café and make his way towards the meeting point. By the window overlooking the main concourse, which had reflective glass, making it impossible for the people below to see inside, Hillary watched the busy scene. All morning, trains had been leaving and departing, and people had flocked, queued, and boarded trains. Passengers waiting for delayed trains milled about, some with suitcases at their feet that occasionally tripped unwary pedestrians. Some kids ran about, playing, eating chips out of fast food cartons, or dozing on chairs next to harassed-looking mothers.

  ‘There he is,’ Hillary said, having quickly picked up on Darren Chivnor’s distinctive shaved head and tattoo-covered neck. He had clearly spotted Jake and was now heading towards him.

  In the end, it had been decided that Jake needed to wear a wire, and to compensate for this, he was wearing a loose, heavy leather jacket. If the thug asked to frisk him, it would be all over. Which was a fact very much on Jake’s mind as Darren approached, for he did as he had been coached, and held out his tablet conspicuously in front of him. And as Darren drew level said straight away, ‘I’ve got the transfer all set up and ready to go.’ Because they wanted Darren fixed on getting his money right from the start and greed was a very good way to divert him from suspicion.

  ‘Great. I don’t have to tell you what’ll happen if you screw me over, right?’ Darren said at once. His voice came over loud and clear in the office.

  Jake, who had every intention of doing just that, smiled nervously and nodded. If left to his own devices, he might well have let Darren have the money – provided he found Jas, of course. After all, his original plan had been to pay the man his money. But he understood why Steven and Rollo had forbidden it. As Steven had pointed out, if Darren got his money, he’d simply disappear with his girlfriend and then they’d never have the chance of using him in the eventual takedown of his boss. And besides, as Hillary had also so pithily explained, it would stick in their craw something rotten to allow a man like Chivnor, who’d caused so much misery and pain to others, to live a life of Riley on some foreign beach.

  ‘No worries. But I don’t start tapping out numbers until I have proof of where Jas is, and what’s happened to her,’ Jake told him.

  Darren grinned. ‘Fair enough. Let’s go then,’ he said, turning on his heel and heading towards one of the platforms.

  Alarmed, Jake trotted after him. ‘I told you I’m not going anywhere with you. Not even on a train,’ he added. It had, of course, been one of the scenarios they’d gone through, that Darren might try to get him on a train. It was semi-public, and he might feel safe in a crowded car. But what if it emptied?

  As it turned out, however, that wasn’t what Darren had in mind. ‘We’re not getting on a train. We’re waiting for one to arrive,’ he told Jake.

  Jake breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned. ‘Why? Who’s on it? Is it someone who knows where Jas is?’ he added eagerly.

  Darren smiled widely. ‘In a manner of speaking.’

  ‘Who is it? A man? A John? The one who killed her?’ Jake’s voice sounded hoarse with emotion, even over the concealed wire.

  ‘No, mate. We’re waiting for a girl.’

  In the office, Steven said softly, ‘You were right, Hillary.’

  DI Taylor looked at her curiously, but said nothing.

  Over the wire, they heard Jake again. ‘What girl? Someone Jas knew? Someone she worked with?’

  ‘No. This girl won’t have known Jas. But she soon will,’ Darren’s voice said.

  And again, it was clear that he was amused.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Jake said, clearly baffled.

  ‘I know you don’t. But you soon will. See, every day young girls leave home. They fall out with their parents, or their stepdad starts visiting their room at night. Know what I mean?’ Darren laughed.

  In the room, Rollo Sale grimaced and DI Taylor said something bitter under his breath.

  ‘Or they just have this dream of living some Sex in the City sort of lifestyle,’ Darren swept on, his contempt obvious. ‘Either way, they come all the time, fresh off the train or the bus. Looking for adventure, a glam flat, a man who can provide them with bling.’

  Down on the platform, a train had just come in, and Jake stared at the people streaming out of it and shook his head. ‘I don’t get it. What’s that got to do with Jas?’

  ‘Wait and see,’ Darren said smugly.

  In the office, Rollo Sale slowly nodded his head. Yes, Steven was right. Hillary Greene had nailed it.

  ‘There she is.’ It was Hillary who spoke now, but she was still standing by the window, looking down at the concourse. ‘Just approaching the platform from the other end. Wearing a dark blue skirt and jacket – she hasn’t spotted them yet. When she does she might rabbit. DI Taylor, can you have one of your men move up behind her and be ready to grab her? The last thing we want is for her to do a dip and dodge act and disappear in this crowd. Have you got her?’

  ‘Yes, I see her,’ DI Taylor said, a radio in his hand. ‘You’re sure of your ID?’

  By now both Rollo and Steven were also beside her.

  ‘Oh yes,’ Hillary said, watching the woman walking confidently towards the end of the platform. ‘See the way she’s watching everyone carefully. No doubt on the lookout for a young girl with a holdall and a scared or excited expression.’

  At that moment, the woman turned and glanced behind her, no doubt checking to see if anyone of that description had got past her. And they could all see her face clearly now.

  ‘Yes, that’s her all right,’ Steven said flatly. ‘That’s Jasmine Sudbury.’

  On the platform, Jake saw her at almost the exact time as Steven stopped speaking, and he staggered forward. His shock was so profound that, for a moment, darkness crept in from the outer edges of his vision. It took Darren Chivnor, reaching out sharply to grab his hand, to stop him actually falling flat on his face.

  ‘Jas?’ Over the wire, they could clearly hear the disbelief and joy in Jake’s voice.

  ‘Yes. Now, about my money,’ Darren said. He started to haul Jake around, clearly intent on standing over him as he made the transfer. ‘You said you needed proof. You’ve seen it. Now I want my money.’

  But two things then happened in rapid succession.

  Jasmine Sudbury, alerted to the sudden and awkward movement ahead of her, turned her head and saw first Darren Chivnor, whom she instantly recognized, and then her brother, being held firmly by the arm. And her pretty face, as Jake’s had done just a few moments before, went deathly pale.

  The next instant, she turned to run. As she did so, a tall, thickset young man behind her reached out and grabbed her and said loudly, ‘Miss Jasmine Sudbury? I am arresting you on suspicion of solicitation and living on immoral earnings. You don’t have to say anyth
ing …’

  Before he could finish, Jasmine Sudbury started struggling and swearing.

  And Darren abruptly released Jake and walked quickly away.

  Up in the office Rollo Sale said at once, ‘Stop him. DI Taylor, have your men hold him.’

  In the same moment, Hillary said urgently, ‘No, sir. Let him go.’

  DI Taylor, caught in the act of rising the radio to his face to give the order, glanced at Rollo for instructions.

  ‘Sir, if you pick him up, Medcalfe will hear about it within the hour, and then Chivnor will end up dead in some ditch somewhere. And you won’t be able to hold him anyway – what can we charge him with? And if we’re to have any chance of bringing down Medcalfe, we need to have Chivnor still in play. Right now, he hasn’t got his money, and he’ll be desperate to get it, so we can still use his connection to Jake. If we arrest him now, we lose all that.’

  Taylor glanced between them impatiently. ‘I need an answer,’ he said. ‘Chivnor’s still in sight but we’ll lose him once he’s outside.’

  For a moment, Hillary and Rollo stared at one another. She was right, and they both knew it. The question was – what was her new boss going to do about it? Hillary had known many superior officers who would countermand her now, just out of sheer pride.

  Rollo’s eyes flickered for moment, then he looked at Taylor. ‘Stand your man down,’ he said. ‘Let Chivnor walk. We know where he’ll be. We can always pick him up later.’

  Rollo nodded at Hillary but he didn’t thank her for preventing him from making the mistake. But then, she didn’t expect him to. Or need him to. He was the officer in charge, and had the right to maintain his status in front of the others. And she was no prima donna – she didn’t need her feathers stroking.

  But as their eyes met, she gave the barest nod, and saw him give the barest smile in return.

  And both were content.

  ‘Right,’ Taylor acknowledged, and turned his attention back to the screen. His man was dragging a now quiet and mutinous Jasmine Sudbury towards the exit. Another officer was escorting an arguing Jake back towards the offices.