Tide of Death, page 19
He said, 'Why would you want to kill Parnham?'
'Why do you think?'
'He knows you're smuggling pornography.' Hadn't Parnham hinted as much? 'Did Jarrett tell him?'
'Jarrett or Culven. Does it matter?'
'Culven was money laundering for the operation and you were the brains behind it all. It was you I saw leaving the pontoon.' Horton's mind grappled for a way out of this. The overhanging branches from the trees were protecting him and Maddox from the worst of the rain. The lightning had lessened and the thunder was now only a distant rumble. If he couldn't see Maddox clearly then perhaps Maddox couldn't see him. Gently he shifted position.
Maddox said, 'I thought you might have recognised me, so I followed you. I was hoping Parnham would do my job for me.'
Slowly Horton stretched out his left arm, his fingers exploring the ground for a possible weapon. 'But why kill Jarrett? Hasn't that ruined your nice little earner?'
'It was over anyway. You saw to that. I thought we'd got rid of you but you kept coming back like a bloody boomerang. Jarrett was too much of a risk. You would have got him to talk, eventually. Anyway it was good while it lasted.'
Horton's hand connected with a piece of wood. His fingers curled around it. 'How did you do it, Maddox?' Got it. He tightened his grip. Maddox hadn't seen.
'You probably know.' Horton did. 'Jarrett recruited men who owned boats and used them to ferry the pornography from France and Spain across the Channel. Jarrett gave you the name of the boat and you made sure they weren't stopped and searched, or if they were then nothing was found. And Parnham was in it with Jarrett.'
Horton turned to look at the inert figure beside him knowing that Maddox would instinctively do the same. He did and in that spilt second, Horton sprang up, striking Maddox a resounding blow across the head with the branch. The gun went off. Throwing himself at Maddox, Horton wrestled him to the ground and the gun spun away. Grabbing Maddox by the jacket Horton lifted his head and bashed it against the stones not once but three times until the man's body went limp. Horton slumped down on to the stones and let out a long exhalation of breath. No time to relax though. He had to get moving. He searched for the gun, found it and pocketed it in his sodden jacket. Then he checked that both men were still unconscious and set off for the telephone box on the corner of Warlingham Lane.
CHAPTER 18
Friday morning
The thunderstorm had cleared the air and ushered in a fresh, bright day. There were white things in the sky that, if Horton remembered correctly, were called clouds. He could see them through the window of the hospital accident and emergency ward. His cuts had been stitched, his arm was in a sling, his shoulder aching like mad but nothing was broken, thank goodness. He didn't need the doctor to tell him he'd had a lucky escape, he knew that.
The cubicle curtains opened and Uckfield bounded in like a puppy that had been given a new bone. Horton tensed. He couldn't forget the look on Uckfield's face at that interview with Reine, nor the fact that he hadn't uttered one word in support of him.
'How's Melissa?' Horton asked.
'Recovering. She asked for Bellman.'
Horton smiled to himself. She hadn't collected Bellman from Dave the Dog immediately on her release, which was a stroke of luck for Parnham at the time but not for Melissa. Now it had swung the other way.
'Good work, Andy.'
'Yeah, just in the nick of time too. When's the interview?'
If Uckfield heard the sarcasm in Horton's voice he didn't show it. 'I'm on my way there now. If I get the job, you'll be on my team.'
'And Sergeant Cantelli?'
'I'll have to see.'
'He came up with the twin theory.' Horton held Uckfield's gaze. It wasn't strictly true but if it hadn't been for those drawings… And it was Cantelli that he had to thank for having enough faith in him to get him out of the station.
Uckfield said, 'Thought you'd like to know that Maddox has admitted getting Lucy to lie about you raping her and Parnham is crowing over his crimes like a cockerel in a henhouse. It's just a case of tying up the loose ends now.'
Horton guessed that Maddox must also have planted that cigarette lighter on his boat and tried to fry him alive. Had it been Jarrett in that car waiting to speed Maddox away after that incident? And had it been Jarrett who had knocked him off his bike? Probably. He'd find out soon enough.
Uckfield said, 'Oh, I nearly forgot. Thought you might like this back.'
Horton looked at the warrant card in Uckfield's hand. 'And Operation Extra?'
'The slate is wiped clean, Andy.'
'I was right then.'
'You were right.'
After all this time Horton had heard what he had been praying for. Yet, he hesitated. Should he take the warrant card? Did he want to stay in the force? His body screamed with fatigue. His head was pounding but the raging, revengeful monster inside him had gone. As he'd listened to Parnham crowing over his revenge he had realised how destructive an emotion it was not only for Parnham but for the others around him who had paid with their lives: Thurlow, Culven and Lucy. With the act of smashing his fist into Parnham's face it was as though he had vent his own fury. He knew what he wanted now. He reached out his hand and took the card.
He lay back on the pillow after Uckfield had left, and closed his eyes. Would he now get to see Emma? Would he once again hold her in his arms, hear her voice and see her smile? His heart ached far more than his shoulder.
'It's all right for some.' Horton opened his eyes to see Cantelli's slight figure and drawn face. The sergeant's dark eyes were ringed with fatigue. Horton knew that he and the team had been up all night checking statements and alibis, contacting the French police and ferry companies. Soon, they would delve deeply into the affairs of Bert and Agnes Parnham and complete the picture.
Horton said, 'You look as though you should be in here instead of me.'
Cantelli gave a tired smile. 'How did you know Maddox killed Jarrett?'
'It wasn't until I saw Parnham at Briarly House and he wasn't wearing his glasses that it clicked. Parnham must have been wearing contact lenses. When we saw that man leaving the pontoon, before we discovered Jarrett's body, he looked familiar but I couldn't think why. Maddox wasn't wearing his glasses. People can look quite different when you see them without their specs. Our arrival at Jarrett's boat was bad timing for Maddox but good for us.'
'Well, you're in the clear now, Andy. With two results in one night the Super will probably give you the key to his executive toilet. You're bloody lucky to be alive.'
'It was thinking of Emma that gave me the strength. I didn't want her to grow up believing I'd killed myself and that I was a murderer.'
And Catherine – was there still a chance for them? Did he want there to be a chance anymore? He didn't know.
Cantelli broke through his thoughts. 'You know you can't lie there all day.'
'Barney, I've been injured.'
'A few cuts and bruises that's all. That nice looking doctor, the one with those soulful eyes and legs that you could die for, said you were fine. I've brought you some clean clothes.'
'What's your hurry?'
'We're an officer down and the work's been piling up since we've been handling this case.'
Horton hauled himself up and squinted up at Cantelli. He knew what Cantelli was doing. 'I haven't fallen off a bloody horse,' he muttered, but Cantelli was right, picking up the pieces of your life and getting on with it was the only option when you'd been betrayed and rejected. What else could you do except roll over and give in? And that was something he could never do.
Cantelli raised his dark bushy eyebrows and shrugged as only someone with Latin blood can. It warmed Horton's cold heart. Whatever Steve said and offered, Horton knew that if Cantelli wasn't going to be on the team, then he wouldn't be either.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed. 'Well, don't just stand there, sergeant, help me get dressed. We've got some villains to catch.'
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Pauline Rowson, Tide of Death
