CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“We shouldn’t
be here Fred.”
“Oh and why
not? The Falcon is the best pub for
miles around, excluding The Green Man, of course,” Winter added with a twinkle
in each eye. Besides, what’s wrong with two old friends enjoying a couple of
beers?”
“You know
damn well what I mean.” Detective Chief Superintendent Charlie Lovell grinned
across the table as he spoke.
“I promised
not to tread on any toes, Charlie, and I meant it. I just want to know what you’ve got on Steve
Williams, that’s all. Where’s the harm in that? I’ll find out eventually, you
know I will. Nothing wrong in taking a shortcut, is there?”
“That
depends on where it’s taking you,” Lovell commented wryly and took another swig
of excellent real ale. “But you’re right,” he agreed licking his lips, “it’s
hardly confidential information.” He paused. “Williams was a little above your
average local lad made bad. He had form as long as your arm. GBH, car theft,
assaulting young women…you name it, Williams has done time for it.”
“He was no
accountant then?” Winter grinned.
Lovell
threw back his head and laughed. “Not
unless you count the occasional money laundering…”
“Family…?”
“Wife
walked out when the kids were still small. They were in and out of care for
years. One daughter migrated to Australia; the other is a teacher up north
somewhere. The son still lives in London; married, two kids, joined the Fire
Service about ten years ago and is still there. All three turned out well. No
form, nothing. Amazing isn’t it, how some kids can beat the most appalling
odds?”
Winter
nodded thoughtfully. “Do you have an address for the son?”
Lovell
wrote on a scrap of paper and handed it to Winter. “Why are you so interested
in Williams, Fred? What’s his connection with Max Cutler, apart from the obvious?
Okay, so Cutler is Nina Fox’s boyfriend and Pip Sparrow her ex lover’s daughter
who just happens to be banged up for murder…” He paused, regarding Winter with
open suspicion, “but there’s nothing to link Cutler directly to Williams. Or is
there? I’m warning you again, Fred, as a copper as well as a mate. Hold out on
me and you’ll live to regret it.”
“He was one
of Kate’s regular customers of course,” Winter murmured, reminding himself as
much as his companion, “so there’s a drugs connection.”
“A loose
one though.” Lovell snorted derisively. She was a small fish in a big pond. If
you looked, you wouldn’t see Cutler for algae. Sure, he was one of a string of
regular customers, but that’s all unless you want to try and make something of
the fact they were shacking up together. Does the gorgeous Miss Fox know about
that, by the way?”
Winter
ignored the question. “And Williams...? How big a fish is he in your opinion?”
Lovell
shrugged. “Let’s just say he was as good a lead as any to the bigger fish and
leave it at that, shall we? You know how it is, Fred. We might as well be chasing shadows half the
time.”
“You’re so
right.” Winter groaned. “I’m up shit creek without a paddle too,” he confessed,
“but Steve Williams seems as good a line of enquiry as any right now. That’s
all there is to it, I swear.” Winter
looked his old friend in the eye as he spoke, careful to keep both hands in his
lap and two fingers on each tightly crossed. He wasn’t exactly lying to Lovell,
he argued inwardly. After all, I only have
Nina Fox’s word for it that Max Cutler can be placed at the scene of ‘Gypsy’
Kate’s murder.
Winter
winced. It had been a nasty blow to his ego that Nina had chosen to confide in
Carol, not himself. Even so, the star of
April Showers was still being economical with the truth, he was certain
of it.
“Fred
Winter, clutching at straws…? I find that very had to believe,” Lovell scoffed.
“Believe it,
Charlie.” Winter spread his hands on the table. “I’m no nearer to finding
Cutler than when I started out on this messy affair.”
“Messy?”
Lovell toyed with the word on his tongue, “I wouldn’t call the demise of a
scumbag like ‘Gypsy’ Kate and the death of her killer ‘messy’ exactly, especially
as we don’t even have to spare valuable manpower for a murder enquiry. I’d call
that nice and clean.”
“You do
think Williams killed ‘Gypsy’ then?”
“I don’t
think, I know. Forensics would have put him away for a long stretch if he
hadn’t been incinerated.” He took a swig of ale and then another. “I feel sorry
for young Pip Sparrow, I really do. But anyone who follows a killer from the
scene of his crime and doesn’t let on to the police right away is asking for
trouble. It’s a pity she didn’t put you in the picture sooner.”
Winter
uncrossed his fingers. “I agree, it was a stupid thing to do. As soon as I
found out, I made sure you were the first to know. And before you remind me
again, yes, I know I messed up big time. I should never have let that girl
wander around Canterbury alone.”
Lovell
frowned. “You weren’t to know Williams was still in the area. I’d probably have
assumed the same as you, that he was miles away. He must have had a pretty good
idea we were on to him. Your friend Pip Sparrow saw to that.” He added grumpily.
“Oh? And
you’re the one who taught me that a good copper never assumes anything,” Winter
reminded his friend with a forced laugh. “I’m sorry if Pip trod on any toes,”
he added. “I take it Williams was under surveillance?”
Lovell
nodded. “That is, he was until we lost him. Best laid plans of mice and men,
and all that…”
“Drugs…?”
Lovell nodded again before draining his glass and getting to his feet. “It’s
always good to see you Fred. But I must run. You stay and finish your pint.
Take care, do you hear?” Winter nodded and the two men shook hands.
As he watched
Lovell pass through the door, Winter could not resist tugging at his beard. A
vague hunch of sorts was starting to form in his mind. Was it something Lovell
had said, he wondered? Unlikely, he brooded, since Lovell hadn’t really told
him much at all. He glanced at where the piece of paper Lovell had given him
lay on the table. What good would it do to pay Gary Williams a visit? Even if the man could throw more light on his
father, how would that help in tracking down Max Cutler? Winter licked his lips. He would be better
occupied having another word with the Misses Pearce. “Later,” he decided,
“First things first…” draining his glass and making his way to the bar.
“Another pint please, when you’re ready…” he called out and was well pleased
when a very efficient young barman signalled that he’d heard.
Lovell
strode across the pub car park to the same unmarked police car that had brought
him on this fool’s errand.
“Did you get much out of Fred Winter?” DC Mike
Pritchard asked as Lovell climbed into the passenger seat and proceeded to
wrestle with his seat belt.
“Huh!
Chance would be a fine thing,” grumbled Lovell.
Pritchard
shrugged as if to say, I told you so, before switching on the ignition and
heading back to Canterbury.
Later, back
at The Green Man, reaction to Winter’s announcement that he was returning to
London with no immediate plans to return was mixed. Liam seemed relieved, but expressed polite
regret. Sadie, on the contrary, appeared genuinely sorry to see him go. Carol
wasted no time in declaring that she would accompany him with what struck
Winter as indecent haste.
“You don’t
have to go too,” Sadie assured her future mother-in-law. “You know you’re
welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“I don’t like to leave the flat for too long,”
was Carol response. “Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Freddy.”
Everyone
tittered uncomfortably.
“I can look
after myself,” Winter protested, “Why don’t you stay on for a bit, Carol, and
enjoy the sea air? I’ll drop by and check on the flat. I’m sure you and Sadie
have lots to chew over, what with a little Brady on the way and all that…” he
said pointedly, matching the glare she flung him with one of his own.
“If Mum’s
so keen to return to London, who are we to argue?” said Liam with ill-disguised
irritation. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, they’ll be needing help behind the bar,”
and promptly left the room.
“Baby
nerves….” Sadie attempted to laugh off an apology for her partner, but no one
was convinced.
Winter
glared at Carol a second time and willed her to go after her son and try to
square things. But Carol was having none of it. “I’ll go and fetch Stanley,”
was all she said and disappeared into kitchen.
“I’m sorry,
Sadie, I don’t know what’s got into her.”
“Well, do
me a favour and try to find out will you?” The landlady of The Green Man fixed
the detective with a long, pleading look. “It’s upsetting Liam, me too. She
can’t be jealous of the baby, surely?
”Winter
shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“I’ve tried
talking to her about it but she just changes the subject. It could be the
menopause, I suppose, but somehow I don’t think so. Whatever’s eating her up it’s
more than hormones. Promise me you’ll try and get her to open up.
“I promise,” responded Winter warmly. Sadie
kissed him affectionately on both cheeks and gave him a big hug. But don’t hold your breath, he reflected
mutely.
Soon Winter
and Carol were on their way back to London on the M2, Stanley curled
contentedly on the back seat. “You were a bit obvious back there,” murmured
Winter accusingly. “You could have shown a little less enthusiasm for leaving
the bosom of your family, surely?”
“Don’t
criticise what you don’t understand, Freddy,” Carol snapped.
“Okay, fair
enough. So help me to understand,” Winter responded evenly.
“Shut up,
Freddy, just…SHUT UP.” She snatched a paperback novel from her bag and
pretended to read.
Winter
sighed, but took the hint. He had been wondering whether or not to let Carol
accompany him to see Gary Williams. Given the mood she was in, he decided
against it. How had the son reacted, he wondered, to the father’s death? He
sighed again. Whatever, he suspected he wouldn’t be a welcome visitor to the
Williams household.
As it
turned out, he needn’t have worried. Gary Williams proved to be a pleasant,
amiable man in his thirties. He was he friendly and co-operative, Neither did
his pretty wife, Lisa, take offence at either his presence or questioning.
“You don’t
mind talking about your father?” Winter asked Gary Williams, “It must have come
as a shock, the way he died.”
“In a way
it helps to talk about him,” Williams confided, “especially now. That way, I
can really believe he’s dead and not be living on tenterhooks that he might
suddenly come knocking at the door. Don’t get me wrong, Mr Winter. I had
feelings for him just like I know he had feelings for me. But he was a bad lot.
I didn’t want him anywhere near my kids.”
“He used to
spoil the kids rotten,” Lisa Williams put in, “but I never quite trusted him
with them. Oh, he wouldn’t have hurt them for the world. But he had a way of
weaving a spell on you, so you started to believe he was the sweet, doting
granddad he made himself out to be.”
“I’ve seen
him work that spell on others,” said Gary Williams grimly. “Most of the poor
sods ended up behind bars or worse.”
“I’m sorry
he’s dead, both of us are. But we’re glad too aren’t we, love?” Lisa Williams
threw a protective arm around her husband’s shoulders and Winter sensed much
the same bond between man and wife as existed between Liam and Sadie. So why can’t Carol just be happy for them? he asked himself for the umpteenth time. Not
without some difficulty, he dragged his mind back to the Williams’s. “Did your
father give an indication as to what he was up to these days?” he asked Gary
while realizing it was a daft question even as he asked it.
“I never
asked,” Williams replied with a shrug, “What the eye doesn’t seem the heart
can’t grieve over and all that. Whatever he was up to, you always knew it spelt
trouble so it was better not to ask. It’s like I said, though. We had feelings
for each other. They were pretty mixed up, but they were real enough.”
“So, how
long have you been a fire-fighter?” Winter was genuinely interested.
“A good ten
years now.”
“And you’re
based where?”
“Chelsea.
Why do you ask?”
Winter took
a leap in the dark that surprised even him, “I don’t suppose you attended a
fire in the Kensington area a few years back where a mother and son died. Their
name was Sparrow.”
“We were
wondering how long it would take someone to pick up on that, weren’t we, love?”
Gary Williams glanced at his wife, and then back at Winter, looking the
detective candidly in the eye. “I didn’t make any connection at first when the
police told me the girl’s name.” He laughed hollowly at Winter’s expression of
discomfort. “But, yes, as it happens I remember it very well…now.” He paused.
“It was a terrible business, but then so is every fire, especially where there
are casualties. People think you get used it, but you never do. Oh, you learn
to live with it, and at the time you just get stuck in and do the job you’re
paid for. You can’t bring it home with you either or you’re just asking to end
up divorced.” He glanced at Lisa and gave another dry laugh. “But sometimes it
gets to you real bad. That’s when you need your mates. Nobody knows what a
fire-fighter goes through except another fire-fighter.”
“Or a
fire-fighter’s wife,” put in Lisa Williams, and gave her husband’s hand a tight
squeeze.”
“It can’t
be easy,” Winter conceded gruffly. “If you don’t mind my asking, what do you
remember most about that night when the Sparrows’ house went up?”
Gary
Williams mulled the question over for a few minutes before replying. “It was me
that brought the little boy out,” he said slowly. “He was dead of course. There
was a look of terror on his little face that...well, let’s just say you never
forget something like that. It’s like I said, all you can do is find a way to
live with it. A mate of mine found the mother…” He paused again. “It was rough
night. I remember the kids, Pip, too.
She just stood there, staring. It was kinda weird. There was a look in
her eyes like…I don’t know…excitement maybe. She could have been watching a
fireworks display. The poor kid was in shock, I guess. That’s what dad reckoned
too. He was the one who pointed her out to me after I brought the brother out.”
“Your dad,
you say? You dad was there?”
“He was
only passing through, of course. But he’d have known it was on my shout and
wanted to make sure I was okay. It’s like I said, Mr Winter, we had feelings
for each other, dad and me, in spite of everything.”
“He pointed
Pip out, you say?”
“That’s
right. Not that I had time to hang about, but she sure did have the weirdest
look about her. If you see her, tell her I’m - we’re - so sorry about
what my father put her through. Who’d have thought it, eh, that he’d…with the
same girl, years later. Coincidence is just so weird. As soon as I placed the
poor kid’s name, it all came flooding back like it happened only yesterday.
You’ll think I’m being daft, but to be honest, I find it all a bit scary.”
“They do
say fact is stranger than fiction,” murmured Lisa Williams.
“They do
indeed,” Winter agreed, “and for what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re being
daft at all. On the contrary, I find it all a bit scary too.”
An
uncomfortable silence hung over all three, broken finally by Winter’s rising
abruptly to his feet, expressing warm thanks to Lisa and Gary Williams for
agreeing to see him, and to Gary in particular for sharing painful memories
with a complete stranger.
Climbing
into the car, Winter made no attempt to drive away immediately. So distracted
was he that he did not even protest when Stanley leapt over the back seat and
landed in his lap. “It’s true, Stanley, it really is,” he muttered, absently
fondling the little dog’s ears, “In fact, it’s more than a bit scary, it’s very
scary. At the same time,” he exploded crustily, “we’re nowhere nearer to
finding Max Cutler than we’ve been from the start!”
Stanley
gave a startled yelp, jumped into the back seat, curled up on a cushion put
there solely for his benefit and kept a wary eye on the hairs pricking Winter’s
neck.
To be continued on Monday
