‘No comment.’

  Anik paused, then continued.

  ‘How well do you know Rodney Middleton?’

  ‘No comment.’

  ‘What age where you when you first met Rodney Middleton?’

  ‘No comment.’

  Anik swallowed. He was beginning to look flustered.

  ‘Amanda, if I was to show you a Snapchat photograph of Trudie Hudson, could you tell us about your friendship with her.’

  ‘No comment.’

  ‘Did you exchange a bracelet with Miss Hudson for a gold and ruby ring?’

  ‘No comment.’

  Glenda gave a loud yawn in the viewing room, saying that this was going to be a very long night, as she had expected.

  ‘Look at her, Little Miss Confidence. She’s not even looking at her brief sitting beside her. He certainly schooled her well. She’s loving it, and poor old Anik is starting to sweat.’

  Jack looked on in disgust. He could not believe they were not being tougher on her. It felt like a waste of time. The questions continued for over half an hour and Amanda had still not answered a single one. They had upped the game by showing photographs of the coal hole and the accumulated evidence, but nothing moved her. If anything, she appeared to be becoming bored. She asked for a glass of water and was handed a small plastic bottle. She took a long time unscrewing the top because of her false nails, and then took deliberately tiny sips before re-screwing the lid back on.

  Anik continued, slowly moving to the evidence showing that they had identified the three girls, but she still maintained her stance of ‘no comment’. He raised his voice as he said they had a witness to prove that she had been living at the premises when Jamail was there, but Amanda wasn’t remotely fazed, responding yet again with ‘no comment’.

  Anik changed tactics, explaining that by being uncooperative she was only implicating herself and was more likely to be charged as an accessory to murder. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

  Jack leaned over to Laura and said he was going home. He knew they had only just started and that this could continue for another couple of hours. He told her that if needed he was contactable on his mobile, but he had heard enough to know they were not going to get anything tonight.

  Glenda pulled a face. ‘I don’t blame you. I’m waiting for them to show some of the CCTV images but, as I told you all, this is going to be a long night and by the sound of it she’s not going to crack.’

  Jack ordered an Uber to collect him and take him home. He would have liked to have been in on the interview, but by the sound of it the cashmere coat brief was playing hardball. It was looking like they were going to have to charge her with accessory to murder and hope that persuaded her to give evidence against Middleton in return for a reduced sentence. Right now, however, the game was only just beginning.

  The Uber dropped him off at home just after 9 p.m. He was about to switch on the hall lights when he saw a bulky grey-haired man coming down the stairs. The man looked shocked to see Jack, and Jack didn’t hesitate. He ran up the stairs towards him, grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and they both fell to the bottom of the stairs. The man tried to get to his feet and swung a fist, catching Jack on the nose. Jack head-butted the man in the face, then dragged him to his feet ready to punch him out. Suddenly Maggie came running out of the kitchen screaming.

  ‘Jack . . . Jack! What the hell are you doing? Stop it. Stop right now, for God’s sake!’

  Maggie forced her way between them. Jack’s nose was bleeding profusely. She put her arms out wide to protect the burly man.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  Penny came running down the stairs, looking shocked.

  ‘What on earth is going on? Oh, my goodness, look what you’ve done to him.’ The man was holding his chin and was obviously dazed.

  ‘Who is this for Christ’s sake? What is he doing in my house?’ Jack demanded.

  Penny took the man in her arms, saying she would get an icepack. Maggie held up her arms to Jack and told him to calm down.

  ‘Calm down? He was coming down the fucking stairs in our house!’

  ‘Jack, take a deep breath and listen . . . listen to me. His name is Marius and he’s from Romania. He’s the caretaker at Hannah’s nursery. Are you listening to me?’

  ‘What was he doing upstairs?’

  ‘He was saying goodnight to Hannah. Penny was with her. Is your nose broken? Let me see . . .’

  Jack was still in such a fury that he backed off as Maggie reached out to feel his nose.

  ‘Leave it, just leave it, and tell me what the hell is going on.’

  ‘Marius is Penny’s boyfriend. She’s been seeing him for a while. She didn’t want to mention it to us, especially to you, in case you flew off the handle about your dad. You’d better let me see to your nose.’

  Jack’s anger subsided like a deflated balloon. Maggie led him into the kitchen where Marius was sitting at the table with a pack of frozen peas held to his head. Maggie sat Jack down and felt his nose, then after a moment tweaked it hard. It clicked.

  ‘There you go. Penny, have we got any more frozen peas? Jack’s going to have two black eyes tomorrow.’

  Nobody said anything for a few moments. Jack held a bag of frozen green beans to his face whilst Marius sat opposite him with the peas.

  ‘I’m sorry, Jack,’ Penny said. ‘I kept on wanting to tell you, but I was just concerned about how you would feel about it. Marius and I have been seeing each other, as friends, for some time. We enjoy each other’s company. I was going to tell you both about us, but lately there never seems to be the right time.’

  Jack sighed. ‘Look, I am sorry about reacting like that. I’d been warned to take extra precautions lately, so seeing someone I didn’t know heading down the stairs just freaked me out.’

  Marius removed the frozen peas to speak. ‘I understand . . . you’d never met me.’ He chuckled. ‘I have to say you have a very good right hook. I used to be a boxer when I was a kid. Anyway, I work at the church’s gym, and at the nursery school, painting and doing odd jobs . . . a bit of plumbing or electrical stuff. In fact anything that needs doing. I’m retired now, but I had my own decorating company once.’

  Jack listened as the poor man continued telling him about his life, that he was a widower, how he had met Penny, and how much they enjoyed each other’s company, taking their long walks in the afternoon with Hannah.

  Maggie eventually interrupted with a suggestion they all have a glass of wine, and perhaps order in a pizza.

  Jack had a tissue stuffed up each nostril and shook Marius’s big, gnarled hand saying that perhaps a whisky would suit them both better.

  They spent the evening apologising to each other, eating pizza and even laughing about it in the end. Maggie was keen to see if Marius could do some work around the house, and he said that he would be happy to do whatever she wanted. Penny remained quiet, obviously relieved that it was now out in the open.

  After Marius had left, Jack gave Penny a hug and a kiss, reassuring her that he was happy she had a new companion and saying that he thought Marius was a fabulous old boy.

  Later on, in bed with Maggie, his nose still stuffed up with tissues, he asked in a whisper if she thought his mum and Marius had consummated their relationship. Maggie nudged him in his sore ribs and told him not to be so nosy. She was more interested in Marius tackling the various things that needed doing around the house.

  ‘I think all this memory loss stuff I’ve been concerned about is probably due to her keeping her boyfriend a secret. It’s obviously been going on for months and must have put a lot of mental strain on her.’

  Jack’s head was throbbing and Maggie gave him a couple of painkillers. ‘Well, ironically it’ll be good to have him around the house, given the situation with Ridley,’ he said with a wry smile.

  Jack briefly told Maggie about Amanda Dunn’s interview, then repeated what Mrs Dunn had told him about Amanda’s sister, Sharon.

  ‘You know, I think she’s a devious little bitch, but they’re treating her with kid gloves. She was clearly loving doing the “no comment” show, which means we will probably have the same scenario with Rodney Middleton. This is really going to drag on.’

  ‘How come, when you have so much evidence against him?’ Maggie asked.

  ‘No bodies, so it’s all circumstantial, apart from the matching DNA that ties him to the horror that went on in the coal hole. But he could easily claim that he never knew what went on in there. Anyone could have had access while he was on remand. He could say that he used the chemicals to get rid of rats, and any blood splattering found on his clothes could have got there from him cleaning up afterwards. The DCI hinted at the pressure on him to get a confession. Any day soon it’s going to hit the press big time; they were already hanging around outside the station.’

  ‘You told me you have footage of Amanda getting rid of the missing girls’ clothes?’

  ‘We have footage of her shoving items into a charity container, but who’s to say they were the victims’ clothes? We have to have proof, and with no bodies it’s twenty times harder.’

  Maggie sighed. ‘Dear God! What I find so repulsive is the way they’ve both got these high-powered briefs working for them. I mean, what kind of man or woman wants to help get a sick killer free? For the publicity? It’s just a game for them, isn’t it? The kudos of winning. The reality is those two young people are monsters.’

  Jack started to nod off, the painkillers taking effect. The tissue stuffed up his nostrils were making him snore, and Maggie leaned over him to switch his bedside light off, then hers. She lay beside him in the darkness, thinking that sometimes he was such an adolescent, impulsively attacking poor Marius. But he had a very lovable side, the way he had hugged Penny, and made it up with her boyfriend.

  Maggie was aware that there was another side to him, a darkness that he had to control, that set him apart from the officers he worked alongside and stopped him from being a team player. She knew that was the reason why he had not been promoted after his last successful case. He was a loose cannon, and she knew that if anyone harmed his family, he would fire back with everything he had. But if the anger she had witnessed tonight was unleashed in the wrong direction, it could be devastating.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  The following morning, before leaving for work, Maggie rubbed arnica into the bruises on Jack’s face. He still needed to stuff his nose with tissues as when he removed them his nostrils started bleeding again. There was also no way of disguising that he had one black eye, the lid partly closed, with a red bruise above the other. He was not officially on duty until 10 a.m. and was hoping that by continuing with the ice packs until then, his face might look a little less swollen.

  Penny came into the bedroom to see him before leaving to take Hannah to nursery. Maggie had suggested that he did not go and see his daughter as she would probably be scared by his appearance. Penny continued to be apologetic about the previous night’s situation, but Jack reassured her that it was all water under the bridge. He was happy that she had found a companion.

  Jack had just taken a couple of painkillers and lain back on the bed, as his head was still throbbing, when his mobile rang. He had to bend down to pick it up off the floor beside him, which didn’t help his headache. Laura was calling to give an update about the interview, which had gone on until almost 11 p.m. Amanda had not been charged and she had not answered one question, maintaining her stance of ‘no comment’. By law she now had to be given eight hours of rest before any further interviewing. It was very frustrating. Anik had suggested that she could be charged with accessory to murder and requested for her to be held in custody for further questions the following morning.

  A female officer had taken Amanda to the protective house and would remain with her until she was collected the following morning. They were approaching the CPS to discuss the charges she could face.

  ‘How did she react to the possibility of being charged?’ Jack asked.

  ‘No reaction, really; by that time, I don’t think she really understood what it meant. She just asked for an orange juice. Mr Smooth was tight-lipped and said in passing that he hoped they had some very strong evidence before they charged her with anything. He seemed pretty unruffled.’

  ‘How much did Anik disclose to her?’

  ‘As much as he could do in the time he had, but her continual “no comment” was very wearing . . . It was the DCI who eventually called a halt to the interview.’

  ‘That’s very interesting. So what time is she back at the station?’

  ‘I’ve been told we need to be ready at 12 noon, but we were hoping for a bit longer as everyone is delving into the evidence we’ve got to see if we can put the frighteners on her.’

  ‘I’d say the ring and the bracelet are good starters,’ Jack said. ‘As well as the Snapchat messages. And don’t forget the bed socks with traces of Trudie’s blood.’

  ‘They have already mentioned the bracelet and the ring and got no response. If you want my opinion, she is so dominated by Rodney and now by this brief of hers that she will say whatever she is told to say, or not to say, if you get my meaning. I wish you were interviewing her, Jack; Anik is just going by the book, and you know more about her than anyone else.’

  ‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ Jack said.

  ‘You sound a bit muffled, are you alright?’ Laura asked.

  ‘Actually, I’m not. I tripped over one of my daughter’s toys and fell down the stairs. I got a nasty smack in the face from the banister. So, in answer to your question, I’m not feeling that bright.’

  ‘I hope you’re up to coming in. Do you want me to warn anyone that you might not feel well enough?’

  ‘No, but I might come in a bit later than ten. Thanks for keeping me up to date, Laura.’

  He ended the call and rested back against the pillow. He wondered if he should have relayed the conversation he’d had with Amanda’s mother, but then decided it could wait. He was just settling the ice pack back over his face when his mobile rang again. It was Ridley. Jack was about to tell him what had happened the previous evening and how it was all his fault, but he’d only got as far as angrily saying that he had a lot to answer for, when Ridley interrupted him.

  ‘It’s over, Jack. The National Crime Agency has already made three arrests at Heathrow Airport, as they boarded a plane on their way to Moscow. We have CCTV footage of them, all identified as the men who not only murdered Mrs Foster but broke into her flat in Pimlico. They were apparently running scared and under heavy-duty orders. They are now being given a grilling at NCA headquarters. This is just the tip of a massive iceberg regarding billions of illegal transactions going right to the top of the Russian government . . .’ He paused to draw breath.

  ‘Are they also responsible for the murder of Lorna Elliot?’ Jack asked.

  ‘We believe so. It’s thanks to Lorna’s incredible research that we have the names of some very high-powered crooks, along with links to the top man himself. Her determination to get revenge for the murder of her lover was tireless. We now know that five years ago, she was doing business in Monaco and recognised someone Anton had been doing business with before he disappeared. It took her five years to unravel his part in Anton’s abduction and murder. Sadly, the man is now deceased, but they are looking into the vast wealth he left behind after being kicked out of Monaco for money-laundering. He has heirs to his fortune.’

  ‘So, what happens with you now?’ Jack asked.

  ‘I won’t be returning to work for a couple of months, perhaps even longer, but my own involvement in all of this will be brushed under the carpet.’

  Jack hesitated, then asked about his pea-green Micra.

  ‘I want more than bloody compensation . . . and I don’t want some second-hand piece of junk, either. I deserve some thanks for what I’ve had to go through, so you can make it a Mercedes. I’m not joking; I risked my neck, never mind my family, for you.’

  ‘I know that Jack . . .’ Ridley said quietly.

  ‘Good. I trusted you and you made me feel like I was being used. Can you give me your word that my family and I are now safe?’

  ‘I give you my word, Jack. Your contribution was very much appreciated, not only by me but everyone connected to this nightmare. You were the only person I knew who could dig deep and not back off. You are a hunter. I had a really hard time watching the footage on Lorna’s laptop. She spoke into the camera and piece by piece gave the connections to all the banking frauds. The memory sticks suddenly made sense, providing details of hundreds of accounts. She hardly altered her expression on the film and spoke very quietly, then right at the end . . .’

  Jack waited. He could tell by Ridley’s voice that he was finding it difficult to continue.

  ‘She was a very special woman, Jack, one of the most attractive and interesting women I have ever met. At the end of the footage, she said that she hoped she would be alive to be able to put her beloved Anton to rest. If she was not, and the footage was being viewed by the people who murdered him, she had failed. If it was being watched by someone who would continue her fight for justice, then it had all been worthwhile, then she gave this sweet, tender smile.’

  Ridley hesitated before continuing.

  ‘So, there you have it, Jack.’

  Jack was tempted to make a joke about it being a lesson to him about joining any dating agency. Instead, he simply thanked him and ended the call.

  He replaced the ice pack on his face and lay back on the pillows. Relief that Ridley’s case was over washed over him. He wondered where Ridley would be going now, doubting that he would re-join the station. He certainly knew he would not want to work with him again. He had trusted Ridley and in return Ridley had used the very thing that he was constantly being reprimanded about, his dogged persistence and inability to be a team player.

  Jack slept for a couple of hours, then had a long shower and dressed in clean jeans and a fresh white shirt with a grandad collar, which was always frowned on at the station. He checked his face in the wardrobe mirror and realised that he looked as if he had gone a couple of rounds with Tyson Fury. His right eye was no longer as swollen, but the left was still puffy. He put a small wad of cotton wool up each nostril to hold back any bleeding, then rooted around in Maggie’s makeup drawer for some tinted moisturiser to try and cover up the bruising, and after combing his hair and checking himself in the mirror again, finally felt he was ready to go into the station.