The Amen Cadence Read online

  ‘There was no evidence that the fire was started deliberately, was there? Electrical, that’s the working hypothesis.’

  ‘Easy to fake, mate. Two minutes in the fuse box here, and I could turn this whole place into a firework.’

  ‘I don’t doubt it.’

  ‘Where’s Pepper Wilson anyway? It’s attempted murder, is this. Shouldn’t she turn out? No offence, like, son.’

  Armstrong smiled again.

  ‘Off duty until later on, is Acting DI Wilson. And this is looking like an aggravated burglary, at most, Mr. Hood. That buys a day of my time, a few hours of Pepper’s, and maybe a bit of forensic support, if I’m lucky.’

  ‘Christ, is that all? I’m surprised that you people ever catch anyone. What do criminals have to do to get caught these days, leave a signed photo of themselves at every crime scene?’

  The doctor and a nurse came out of the room before Henry could reply, so he badged the doctor and took him to one side. Then Henry knocked and went into the room, leaving Davey Hood talking to the doctor. Mrs. Hood was sitting up, and she seemed alert. And if she was in pain she most certainly wasn’t showing it. Henry showed his Warrant Card, asked if he could sit, and if Mrs. Hood was up to answering a couple of questions.

  ‘Of course I am, love. But I don’t think I’ll be much use to you. I never even saw whoever it was.’

  ‘That’s OK, don’t worry about that. Now, do you lock your doors whenever you go out, Mrs. Hood?’

  ‘I do, love.’

  ‘And do you ever forget?’

  ‘The odd time, maybe. But the house was locked when I got back last night.’

  ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘Aye, certain.’

  ‘I do those kinds of things on automatic pilot though, Mrs. Hood, and maybe you do too. So how can you be so sure you left your house locked up tight?’

  ‘Because when I got home I didn’t think anything was wrong, dear, that’s why. I unlocked the front door, just the same as always. Until I got hit I didn’t have a clue that anything was wrong, like. I’m not going soft in the head, love.’

  ‘Of course not. And you’d gone out at what time?’

  ‘Half six, same as always on a Monday night. It’s the bingo, see.’

  ‘And what time did you get back?’

  ‘Just before ten, it would have been. I usually watch the news, before I go to bed, and I sometimes just have time to make a brew before it comes on, like. That’s how it was last night.’

  ‘Got you. So maybe ten to ten?’ Mrs. Hood nodded. ‘And you didn’t notice anything unusual?’

  ‘No, love. I just hung my coat on the hook, took off my shoes and put on my slippers, then walked down the corridor to the kitchen. And then, wham, that was it. Until I woke up in here, like.’

  ‘All right, thanks. Tell me, Mrs. Hood, do you have much jewellery in the house? Any small valuables? Gold items, that sort of thing?’

  ‘No, love, not a thing. Oh, I did have, don’t get me wrong. My late husband Michael was a generous man, always was. But I sold it all when my son set up his business. I wanted to help, like. But not a word to Davey please, love. He has no idea about what I did. He thinks it was money that Michael left me specifically to help out when the lad left the military, like. That’s what I told Davey, anyway.’

  Armstrong stood up and smiled down at Mrs. Hood. ‘I understand, and don’t worry. We’ll need to talk to you again, but that’s been really helpful. Now, I’ll get out of your hair and send your son in, shall I?’

  ‘Aye. But not a word about my jewellery, OK?’

  ‘Not a word.’

  Armstrong almost bumped into Hood as he came out of the room.

  ‘Well? I was right, wasn’t I?’

  ‘Too early to say. But we are looking at an aggravated burglary, by the looks of it. We’ve got enquiries to make, and I’m sure that Pepper will be able to update you later on today. But why not get in to your mum now, eh? She’s asking for you.’

  ‘In a second. Did the bastards get her jewellery? My dad bought her all that, and she loves it. Irreplaceable, it is. She’d be absolutely heartbroken if it was nicked.’

  ‘Like I say, it’s early days yet. Now, why not get in and see your mum, yeah? We’ll know more when forensics have finished at the premises.’

  ‘Did she see the bloke that did it?’

  ‘No. But that doesn’t mean we won’t identify the offender. We’ll do some door-to-door, so we might find a witness, and don’t forget forensics either. And this may even be one of our regulars, anyway. I’m not sure who’s out and about and on the job at the moment, but we’ll check, don’t worry.’

  ‘So you don’t think it was Dai Young?’

  ‘I’m not jumping to any conclusions, Mr. Hood, and I strongly suggest that you don’t either. Older people, living alone, they are always vulnerable to opportunists. But, just so we’re clear, there are several aspects of this case that will make it a priority, so you can rest assured that this won’t be treated like a routine burglary, OK? Put it this way, we won’t only be assigning a crime number, and then leaving your mum to sort everything out from there. We will be investigating actively, in so far as we can, and that’s not something we can say about every reported crime. Not these days, anyhow.’

  Like most cops DC Rex Copeland didn’t like guessing games, but the woman, who’d said her name was Kelly Michaels, had mentioned the name of one Lenny Murphy when she’d phoned the nick. And that was enough to buy her ten minutes of his time, despite the fact that when he’d asked how he’d recognise her in the McDonalds in town she’d just said, ‘don’t worry, love, you’ll know it’s me all right.’

  He didn’t bother speculating why that would be, until the moment that he pushed open the doors and looked around. It only took a second, and then he knew. He must have looked surprised, but Kelly smiled and waved coyly. He walked over, unsmiling.

  ‘Can I get you anything? A coffee?’

  ‘Aye, thanks.’

  ‘How do you take it?’

  ‘Any way it comes.’

  He nodded, and walked to the counter.

  ‘I told you that you’d spot me straight away, didn’t I?’ she said, when he returned, dropping a couple of sachets of sugar onto the table between them. This time he did smile.

  ‘There aren’t too many black faces up here, that’s for sure. I’ve sort of got used to it now, though. I didn’t think I would, at first, but I have.’

  ‘I’ve been here my whole life, so I’m used to it. You should hear what I got called at school. And that was just the teachers, like. My parents have retired now, and they’ve gone to live in Barbados, but I’m still here.’

  ‘Working?’

  ‘Not at the moment, no.’

  Kelly was a year or two younger than Copeland, pretty and well dressed. Attractive too, no question about that. For the first time in weeks he felt homesick, and he didn’t much like that feeling, nor the cause. Copeland wanted to get this done, get away from the smell of burgers mingling with her perfume, and back to work.

  ‘You said you wanted to talk about Lenny.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘And how do you know him?’

  ‘I live with him. But you already knew that, I expect.’

  ‘I didn’t. It’s a recent thing, is it?’

  ‘Aye, quite recent.’

  ‘And you’re getting on all right?’

  She looked away.

  ‘Aye, OK. He’s all right.’

  ‘But you’re still looking to grass him up?’

  ‘I didn’t say anything about that.’

  ‘Then why are we here?’

  ‘Maybe I just wanted to meet you.’

  ‘Well, now you have. And do me a favour, don’t contact me unless you’ve got information that would lead directly to an arrest. That’s what we do, you see. We nick people who are breaking the law. I’m not a one man Afro-Caribbean support group.’

  He put down h
is cardboard cup, and got up.

  ‘He’s got stuff that belongs to my mate. She wants it back.’

  Copeland turned back, but didn’t sit down again.

  ‘What stuff?’

  She shrugged. ‘It’s at one his places now. Personal shit.’

  ‘She has a name, this friend? And she’s reported it to her insurance, I expect?’

  ‘It’s not insured. Look, it’s my fault, OK? I told him about what my mate had, and he must have told one of his criminal buddies. Her place got burgled, just the other day. It’s all she had of value, honest. And it’s all my fucking fault, see?’

  Copeland looked down at her for a long moment, then sat. He didn’t want to believe her, but for some reason he did. He told himself to be careful, and then told himself again. He wasn’t sure he’d been listening the first time.

  ‘That’ll teach you to get involved with blokes like Lenny.’

  ‘I didn’t know what he does. Not really, like.’

  This time Rex spotted the lie, and he didn’t care how perfect her skin was. He wasn’t an idiot.

  ‘But you say you’re Carlisle born and bred, yeah? Doesn’t everyone round here know that Lenny Murphy is a fence? He’s been receiving for years, everything from stolen pushbikes to earth moving machinery. You name it, he knows someone bent enough to buy it.’

  ‘Aye, I know that now. Of course I bloody do. But I don’t hang out with people like Lenny. At least I didn’t.’

  ‘All right. Let’s say I believe you. But please don’t tell me that he’s got this bent gear stashed at his house. We both know he’s too cute for that.’

  ‘No, of course it’s not there. He’s got a few places where he stores his gear.’

  ‘And you’re going to give me all of them, are you? We’d be happy to turn them all over. And I’m sure we’d find what you’re looking for.’

  ‘No. Jesus, why would I do that? I’d get my head kicked in by Lenny’s mates. No, it’s just the one where my mate’s gear is. That’s all you’re getting. Now, do you want it or not?’

  ‘What’s the nature of your friend’s stolen items, then?’

  ‘Personal.’

  Copeland got up again, and shook his head.

  ‘Tell you what, love. If your mate wants her stuff back tell her to come down to the station, and to report it. And if she thinks she knows where it is, maybe because you told her, then I’m sure we’ll send someone round to take a look. That’s the best I can do, I’m afraid.’

  ‘So you don’t believe me? Is that it? I’m not a bloody criminal, you know.’

  ‘You haven’t got a record, that’s true. But you’re hanging around with the wrong kind of bloke, love, and that is a fact.’

  ‘But why would I lie? I’m taking a huge risk, meeting you here. What if I’m spotted?’

  Copeland shrugged. He’d been thinking about that, too. ‘Maybe you are taking a chance, but maybe you’re not.’

  ‘How do you work that out? Lenny will go fucking mental when he finds out that it was me who grassed on him.’

  ‘He’s not a violent bloke though, is he? And what if it was one of his competitors who’s put you up to this, eh?’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘Come on, love, act your age. Lenny is an independent trader. He’ll buy from anyone who’s selling bent gear at ten percent of retail, won’t he? So what if Dai Young, to pick a name from out of the air, wanted to control this bit of the business too? Cut out the middle man, if you like. What better way to get rid of Lenny than to get you to grass him up to me?’

  ‘No way. Dai Young is a fucking animal. I’m not mixed up with him, honest. Look, I’ll tell you what Lenny has got that belong to my mate. They’re pictures and that, on a hard drive in a laptop. That’s what Lenny’s got. You know, explicit shit.’

  ‘And they’re of your friend, these pictures?’

  ‘Aye.’

  ‘And this friend is you, I take it?’

  Kelly looked away, embarrassed, and suddenly Copeland liked her even more. He wasn’t sure whether it was because she’d posed for the photos, or because she was embarrassed about it now. He hoped it was the latter, but suspected that it was the former.

  ‘Aye. All right, they’re of me. From before, like. Lenny found them on my laptop, and now he won’t give them back to me. He says I’ll need to earn them back.’

  ‘Earn them? How?’

  ‘How do you think?’

  ‘I thought he was your boyfriend, not your pimp.’

  ‘Aye. So did I. But it seems that with Lenny, absolutely fucking everything is for sale. Now, will you help me, or not?’

  ‘Possibly. I’ll need to talk to my boss. And we’d need to scoop up Lenny as well as this bent gear, because it’s worth nothing to us without him. Can you help us to do that?’

  ‘I expect so, aye. It might take me a little while to set up.’

  ‘How long?’

  ‘A day or two, I expect. He’s very organised, is Lenny. Keeps all the electronics together, he does, so when he next gets an order for a laptop or a phone or whatever, and I’m with him when he gets the call, I’ll let you know.’

  ‘All right, fine. Here’s my card. Just call the mobile number, anytime, OK?’

  ‘All right. And I’ll give you my number too, shall I?’

  She smiled, but Rex didn’t smile back. He wanted to, but he didn’t. People who were with criminals invariably were criminals, in his experience. He wanted her number, he wanted more than her phone number, but he’d been burnt before. And only stupid boys never learn.

  Henry Armstrong was well into his paperwork when Pepper returned. She called his name from the top of the stairs, and he followed her into the DI’s office. He already knew that there’d only be one item on the agenda.

  ‘So it was Davey Hood’s mum, Henry, is that right?’

  ‘Aye. She’ll be OK. Looks like she disturbed a burglar. Cuts and bruises, that’s all, plus a very nasty shock, obviously. She’s got a heart condition, so they’re keeping her in until later today. But it’s purely precautionary.’

  ‘Aggravated burglary, then? Plus, she’s a vulnerable person according to the definition, isn’t she? So you’ve called in forensic support?’

  ‘Aye, that’s done.’

  ‘Good. So, means of entry?’

  ‘Nothing visible.’

  ‘Door unlocked?’

  ‘She says not. Says the front door was still locked when she got back.’

  ‘How about the back?’

  ‘Locked. Officers attending checked, and found no obvious signs of forced entry.’

  ‘A key holder, then?’

  ‘Don’t think so, no. Her son holds the only other key, and she says he’s very strict about that. He doesn’t like tradesmen and that having a key. She’s lived there for years too, so there’ll be no other old keys kicking about.’

  Pepper was logging on to her computer as they talked.

  ‘So someone picked the lock? Is that what we’re saying?’

  ‘Look like it. Strange that he locked it again while he was inside though, isn’t it? I’ve had a quick look on the system, and I can’t see a single local B&E specialist or creeper who does it that way. It’s a bit flash, wouldn’t you say, Pepper?’

  But Pepper wasn’t listening. She was pointing at her computer monitor.

  ‘How about this one?’

  Armstrong walked round to the side of Pepper’s desk, and looked at the screen.

  ‘Dai Young? Seriously, boss, isn’t this sort of shit a bit below his pay grade?’

  ‘Maybe not, Henry. Look at his first arrest, back when he was fifteen. Going equipped it was, and he had two lock picks on him that night. Word was he was sort of apprenticed to an old boy who used to do a bit of locksmithing on both sides of the fence, like. He’s been dead for years, old Jack, but I doubt that Dai has forgotten the skills.’

  ‘Even so, Pepper. The old lady had absolutely nowt worth stealing, by her o
wn account.’

  ‘He wasn’t there to steal, Henry. He was there to hurt, to intimidate.’

  ‘To get at Davey? Makes sense, I suppose. But if Dai is such a head-case, then why didn’t he…’

  ‘Kill Mrs. Hood? I don’t know. Perhaps he just wanted to send a message to Davey, maybe he was disturbed before he could get the job done. Could be lots of reasons. And there’s only one way to find out why, isn’t there?’

  ‘Talk to Dai Young? Seriously, boss? Isn’t that bit, you know, previous?’

  ‘Tell you what, Henry. You check on the system for any other cons who have your bloke’s MO, and if you can’t find any other candidates who look more likely - and you won’t - then we’ll talk to Young. How’s that? By the way, do you know who’s doing the forensics at Mrs. Hood’s house?’

  ‘Sandy Smith. She answered the phone when I called her office to check. She said she was on her way there, and why was I fucking holding her up?’

  ‘OK, so let’s get round there first. How did Sandy sound?’

  ‘Angry.’

  ‘Yes, obviously, but how angry?’

  ‘A bit worse than usual, probably. It’s always quite hard to say with Sandy though, isn’t it?’

  ‘Too right. OK then, Let’s give her half an hour to make a start, then we’ll head off.’

  Pepper was re-reading an email from a bloke in accounts when Rex Copeland knocked on the frame of her open door and came in.

  ‘What can I do you for, love?’

  ‘I’ve had a tip, from a new source. Just wanted to run it past you.’

  He looked anxious, and Pepper understood why.

  ‘You’ve written it up?’

  ‘You bet I have. The second I got back.’

  ‘And it’s gone to intelligence for evaluation?’

  ‘Yeah, but calling that lot of half-wits force intelligence is like calling me albino. Something about the nomenclature doesn’t quite fit the observable facts, does it?’

  Pepper laughed.

  ‘Fair enough. Put wood in hole’, she said, ‘and tell me all about it.’