‘Well, what do we make of this?’ Vin asked.

  ‘We try and work out where she came from. Surely she can’t have come far, not dressed like that. It’s bloody freezing out there.’

  ‘Out buildings, barns. We need to set up a search radius. What do you reckon. Five miles?’

  ‘We need to talk to the people who know the area,’ Tess said practically. ‘And go back to the pub, see if anyone noticed which direction she came from.’

  Vin nodded. ‘What about the baby?’ he said. ‘I can’t see her leaving the kid behind.’

  ‘Not if she was still alive,’ Tess said.

  FIFTY-ONE

  Naomi’s phone rang. It was two in the morning and she immediately thought the worst. Something bad had happened, some crisis in the family.

  Instead, it was Gregory. ‘Kat Marsh turned up,’ he said.

  ‘Dead or alive?’

  ‘Alive and alone. You heard anything?’

  ‘Gregory, why would I have heard anything?’

  ‘I suppose you’ve got a point. Naomi, anything you do hear …’

  ‘And the little girl?’

  ‘Apparently not.’

  ‘Shit. Do you think the television news will have more?’

  ‘You stick the telly on; I’ll check on the Internet,’ Alec said. But half an hour later and despite the television news from the Blue Monkey; updates (there were nothing of the kind) from outside of the Marsh home and a bulletin from the hospital that said she was being treated for shock and police were waiting to interview her, there was nothing useful to be had.

  ‘We’ve got a lead. Naomi, we need to be able to speak to Katherine. Can you help?’

  ‘God’s sake, Gregory, what do you think I can do?’

  There was silence as he thought about it. ‘Like I said, we’ve got a possible lead, maybe something we can trade with Tess Fuller. Can you fix up a meeting with her?’

  ‘I’ll try,’ Naomi said. ‘But I don’t know if she’ll go for it.’

  ‘Of course she will,’ Gregory said. ‘It’s her chance to break the case. Make a name for herself. Just ask her, Naomi. She’ll bite.’

  He was probably right, she thought.

  ‘The other thing you’ve got to tell her is that Katherine Marsh isn’t safe in that hospital.’

  ‘She’ll be under guard,’ Naomi reassured him.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ he said. ‘Just tell her. Hopefully she’ll take notice.’

  ‘In danger from whom?’

  ‘From whoever took her; whoever still has her child. Naomi, if we can find out how she got away—’

  ‘I don’t see how. Look, I’ll do what I can. You know what gets to me though? I can’t believe she’d leave her child behind.’

  ‘She wouldn’t,’ Gregory said flatly. ‘Which means either Daisy is dead or Daisy was taken from her.’

  Neither option was one Naomi wanted to consider.

  ‘I know. I’ll be in touch.’

  Neither she nor Alec could sleep then. They got up and found a rolling news programme on the television, supplemented that with reports on the Internet. It might still be the middle of the night, but the media loved a human interest story, Naomi thought.

  ‘Alive and alone, Gregory said.’

  ‘That can’t be good.’ Alec shook his head. ‘And nothing on Ian Marsh yet, presumably. You think he’s still alive?’

  ‘I think I don’t like his odds, whoever gets to him first.’

  Vin and Tess haunted the ward. They had spent time at the Blue Monkey, walked the streets where Kat had been found wandering. CSI were tracking the bloody footprints as far as they could, but it was slow work. They’d talked to their colleagues and a search would be begun at first light. Local farmers had been alerted and would help out by searching barns and outbuildings, but even setting a five-mile radius, the search area was massive and difficult. Fields and copses and fens. Scattered communities and abandoned farm buildings. There were also Second World War bunkers, they were told. Locked up tight now, but with passageways that were unsafe, partly closed and largely unmapped.

  ‘She’s got to talk to us,’ Tess said. ‘Anything she can tell us would help.’

  And so they had retreated to the hospital again and paced the corridor, drunk foul coffee, and waited.

  Just after seven o’clock the doctor approached and told Tess she could have another try.

  ‘I’m still not getting much sense out of her, but the fluids have helped and she’s more lucid.’

  Tess drew up a chair beside Kat’s bed. ‘Remember me?’ she asked. ‘I was here earlier. I’m with the police, Kat. Can you tell me what happened to you?’

  Katherine Marsh stared at the ceiling, examining the tiles with a focus and concentration that seemed utterly strange, then abruptly she turned her face towards Tess. ‘They took my baby,’ she said. ‘They took my little girl. Someone came and grabbed her and I tried to fight them, but they were much too strong. And she was crying and reaching out for me and I couldn’t reach her. I heard her screaming. I heard her crying for me. They came and they took my child.’

  Tess was taken aback. Finally, she asked, ‘Katherine, did you see anyone? See their faces? Anything you can tell me?’

  Kat had turned away again. She was staring at the ceiling once again, her bandaged hands clutching at the sheets, and Tess knew she replayed that moment in her mind when they, whoever they were, had torn her child away from her. She knew instinctively that Kat was incapable of getting beyond that. She was caught in a loop and could not break out.

  But she had to try. ‘Katherine, how did you get away? How did you escape?’

  Nothing, just the hands moving, clutching, grasping, releasing.

  ‘Katherine, can you tell me anything about where you were held?’

  But it was useless. Katherine Marsh no longer even heard her. She was lost in some other place, unable to escape that dreadful moment. That utter, all-encompassing loss.

  She was aware that Vin and the doctor were no longer alone in the side room. Vin knocked at the glass and summoned her forth. A man in a smart suit stood just inside the room. A big man, whose presence seemed to dominate, to fill the space.

  Tess frowned at him.

  ‘You don’t know me,’ the man said. ‘But your boss does. You can check with him.’

  ‘And you’ve got a name?’

  ‘Charles Duncan.’ He must have seen the flicker of recognition in her eyes. ‘I’m guessing I’ve been talked about,’ he said.

  ‘In passing. So, what are you doing here?’

  ‘Going back with you to Pinsent. We’ve got work to do.’

  ‘We’re not ready to go back yet,’ Tess said frostily. ‘And I don’t take orders from you.’

  ‘Your sergeant can handle whatever there is to do here, so grab your stuff and we’ll be off.’

  ‘Tess,’ Vin said. ‘Branch texted me while you were in with Mrs Marsh. He says you should go.’

  Tess took out her own phone, and checked her messages. She scowled at Charles Duncan. ‘To do what?’

  ‘First off, to go and speak with your friends the Friedmans. It’s time to work together, don’t you think? The woman’s back, safe. Now we’ve just got to find her little girl.’

  FIFTY-TWO

  Annie recognized the woman standing in her garden. She wondered how long she had been there; decided it could not have been more than a few minutes as the dogs had not barked before. They stood now, one each side of Annie, poised for action or welcome, whatever Annie should decide.

  She opened the French doors and stood aside. Mae crossed the lawn slowly and waited to be invited in. Like a vampire, Annie thought. Needing permission to cross into Annie’s world.

  ‘Why are you here?’ she asked.

  ‘Because you’re the only one of us that’s stopped running. The only one I could find in a hurry – and I am in a hurry, Annie. Otherwise I’d never have come here.’

  Annie studied the older woman for a moment before acknowledging that. Mae was showing her age, she thought. The face was tired and lined; she wore no make-up and the roots showed at her parting. That shocked Annie, brought home to her that Mae really was desperate. Annie had known Mae since she was thirteen or fourteen and the woman had never been anything less than immaculate.

  ‘What do you need?’

  Mae relaxed, just slightly. ‘I need you to set up a meeting. I know he’s been looking for me and that,’ she smiled wryly, ‘is part of the problem. That brother of yours will get me killed yet, Annie.’

  Brother Nathan. Mae had always called him that, referred to them as siblings, and Annie couldn’t really disagree.

  ‘When and where?’

  ‘Nathan can choose, but make it fast, Annie. I don’t have much time and I need to talk.’

  Annie could see the fear in the woman’s eyes. ‘Who’s after you, Mae?’

  ‘Who isn’t, sweetheart? But one of them will get me and it’ll be soon.’

  ‘Tell me. I can pass a message on.’

  Mae shook her head. ‘I want protection, Annie. I’ve got something Nathan wants. I know what happened to Ian Marsh’s wife and child. I know where the baby might still be. And I know why Ian did it. That’s got to be worth something, hasn’t it?’

  Nathan can’t protect you, Annie thought. No one can. Not now. You’re already dead, I can see it in your face. ‘Why Ian did it? What do you mean, Mae?’

  ‘He thought he could buy his way out of his mess. He’d got himself on the wrong side of Rico Steadmann, made promises he couldn’t keep. He persuaded Bernie Franks to make it look like his wife and child had been taken. I think he did it to protect them – and himself – but it didn’t work out that way, did it? Poor fucker didn’t understand that Bernie was always one of Rico’s boys.’

  ‘What does he have that Rico wants?’ Annie asked, but Mae just shook her head.

  ‘Account numbers, details of Clay’s old accounts, I think. I don’t know for sure.’

  ‘Why would Ian Marsh have access to those? If they exist any more. Mae …’

  ‘I don’t know. I only know what he told Steadmann. That he could get access. Maybe from Nathan?’

  Annie didn’t push further. It seemed that Mae had half a story – either that or she was playing more games.

  ‘I need a number,’ she said.

  Mae handed her a slip of paper and then turned to go. Behind her, Annie heard a sound that told her Bob was in the hall. Mae heard it too.

  ‘You’re fooling yourself, you know,’ she said as the door opened and Annie’s husband stepped through. He halted on the threshold as he saw Annie was not alone. ‘You can’t hide forever. Our life finds us.’

  Annie shook her head. ‘It’s not my life any more,’ she said. ‘I stopped running, Mae. I’m not hiding. If something wants to come for me, it’ll have to come here. This place is my fortress, my last stand if need be, but I’m done with running.’

  ‘You always were a fool,’ Mae said softly. ‘But I loved you and Nathan, you know that.’

  She turned and walked away, across the lawn and through the gap in the hedge that led up on to the bank and then to the footpath over the hill. Annie watched her go, the slip of paper clasped in her hand.

  ‘Who was that?’ Bob asked. He came over to her and laid his hands on Annie’s shoulders. Together they watched Mae disappear among the trees, and then Bob reached around her and closed the door. ‘It’s getting cold,’ he said. ‘Winter will be unforgiving this year, I think.’

  Annie nodded, mourning for another small fragment of her past she knew would soon be shattered and gone.

  FIFTY-THREE

  Charles Duncan had a better car than she had, Tess thought. And he drove faster than she would have done on the winding roads. Miffed and irritated, she didn’t speak much for the first half hour or so – she was also a little unnerved by the speed at which he took the bends and was of a mind to let him concentrate on the driving. She occupied herself by checking through the news feeds on her phone.

  ‘What are they saying?’ Charles Duncan asked at last.

  ‘That Katherine Marsh reappeared at ten-fifteen last evening. Barefoot and almost naked. The landlady of the Blue Monkey took charge and called the police and wrapped her in a blanket. That she was alone and evidently in shock. Most of the reports have Desiree Marsh dead and buried. A couple are speculating about child trafficking.’ She looked across at Charles Duncan but he didn’t react.

  ‘There’s a lot of speculation about Professor Marsh. Most are rehashing the official line, that he’s off staying with friends, but there’s a lot of people starting to wonder why he’s not been brought to the hospital. Then there’s a whole load of stuff about search teams and asking for volunteers.’

  Charles Duncan nodded.

  ‘Why did he run? Is he dead?’

  ‘Professor Marsh? He ran because he was being threatened. Alive or dead? I really couldn’t say.’

  ‘That text message on Katherine Marsh’s phone. Time’s up. What did that mean? Time’s up for what?’

  ‘Any ideas?’

  ‘There’s no sign of them asking for money. Whoever they are.’

  ‘And your best guess is …?’

  Tess let out an exasperated huff. ‘How the hell should I know? Was he selling secrets – he seems to have had the connections. Was this Nathan Crow involved? Bernie Franks? That Mae Tourino woman?’

  Charles Duncan shook his head. ‘Nothing as complicated or as esoteric as that,’ he said. ‘When it comes down to it, Tess, it’s all about the money. Money and power, nice old-fashioned motives. Unfortunately, the players are anything but nice or old-fashioned. They all want to be ahead of the game, your Professor Marsh included. They all want more than they have – with the possible exception of Nathan Crow and his friends. Annie Raven I think genuinely wants a quiet life now. Gregory Hess—’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Oh, an associate of ours and of Nathan’s. I think he just wants to get back to that boat of his and sail off into the sunset. I’m not sure even Nathan Crow knows what Nathan Crow wants. Ian Marsh baited the hook and Nathan bit. I suspect he probably realizes that now and I expect him to be pretty annoyed, shall we say. I don’t give much for Ian Marsh’s chances if Nathan gets to him, or Bernie Franks, or Rico Steadmann – you recognize that name, I see.’

  ‘The name, yes. I’ve had no dealings.’

  ‘Lucky you. But you probably have, without knowing it. Steadmann has fingers in all the pies. Controls great chunks of the heroin coming in from Afghanistan. He’s involved in people smuggling, the sex trade. He’s a good all-rounder is Rico Steadmann.’

  ‘So what’s the link to Ian Marsh?’

  ‘Complicated,’ Charles Duncan said. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll wait until we get to the Freidmans; then I only have to explain myself once.’

  ‘Alec’s retired,’ Tess said. ‘He keeps reminding me of that.’

  Charles Duncan laughed. ‘But he has a direct link to Nathan Crow and Gregory Hess,’ he said. ‘Something I and my associates no longer have. So he’s going to have to un-resign for a while, I think. I need his help, Tess, and so do you, and I think Nathan Crow and Gregory could do with mine. This is all about the ends, not the means.’

  FIFTY-FOUR

  Naomi and Alec had the television on when Tess arrived. Tess watched as the rows of officers and volunteers paced slowly across the flat fenland landscape she had so recently driven through.

  ‘This is Charles Duncan,’ she told them. ‘I’m sure he has a job title, but he’s not shared that information.’

  ‘Home Office,’ Charles Duncan said.

  Naomi laughed and Tess felt a strange desire to join her. ‘Really,’ Naomi said. ‘That’s a pretty broad set of possibilities.’

  ‘You’d best sit down,’ Alec said. ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’

  ‘So what’s the news on Katherine Marsh?’ Naomi asked.

  ‘She’s in shock; probably won’t be able to tell us much for a while. She’s cut and bruised and we don’t know how far she’d walked but was half frozen when she was found.’

  ‘And nothing on the child? No news from the kidnappers?’

  ‘No,’ Tess said. ‘Anything you might know that we don’t?’

  Alec placed the tray he was carrying down on the table. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I don’t think there is; just a message that Katherine Marsh isn’t safe in the hospital. That her abductors may still try to get to her.’

  Tess stared at him. She hadn’t really expected a straight answer to her question but it seemed that Alec had decided the time for secrets was over.

  ‘Nathan contacted you?’ Charles Duncan asked. ‘Or was it Gregory Hess?’

  ‘Funny,’ Naomi said. ‘I never thought of him as having a last name. I suppose he has several to choose from.’ She smiled sweetly in Charles Duncan’s direction. ‘So, what’s all this about?’

  Briefly, Charles Duncan told them what he had told Tess on the way there and then elaborated.

  ‘About eighteen months ago we got a tip-off that an associate of Rico Steadmann’s was looking for a deal. He’d been running from Rico for about five years by then, was broke and scared and I think just tired of running. We took a bit of convincing that he’d still got anything to offer us – after all, he’d crossed Steadmann five years before and so far as we knew had been out of the picture. But it seems he’d kept some of his associations and one of them persuaded us that he still had something to trade. So we fixed him with a cover story, a new job and a new address and he talked.’

  ‘Anthony Palmer,’ Alec guessed.

  ‘The same. And the man who persuaded us to listen to him was Ian Marsh. Then eight or nine months ago the job up here came available and Marsh offered to rent him the cottage. No one thought anything of it. Until Anthony Palmer was killed.’

  ‘How did this Palmer cross Rico Steadmann?’ Naomi asked.

  ‘You know anything about Steadmann?’

  Naomi nodded. ‘Just before my accident I’d been working down in London. Serious Organized Crime Unit. Alec and I weren’t together then and I seriously thought of relocating. I’d applied, and I’d got a good chance … Anyway, everything changed and that was that. But Steadmann is an interesting man. From an interesting family – if you like that sort of thing.

 

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