‘If you still have any files on Middleton at home, get rid of them. Like you said, we walk away from this. It’s over.’
On his way home, Jack slowly went over the evening he’d spent with Josh. He remembered the stash of drugs Josh had in his medical bag. He also thought about how long he had talked to Josh about the Middleton trial. But by the time he arrived home, he no longer felt any anxiety, and a new emotion had taken its place: relief.
The following morning, the household quickly fell into their new routines. Penny was on the school run; Gladys was out with the hoover by eight and Maggie was taking the car to work. Jack got a lift to the tube and waved her off as he hurried down into the station. It wouldn’t do any harm to be early, to impress his new boss.
Laura was already at her desk, and as soon as she spotted him, she gestured for him to come with her to the canteen.
‘I’ve already had breakfast.’
‘Well, let’s use the boardroom, then. I need to update you.’
He hesitated. ‘Didn’t we agree not to delve into it any further?’
‘Well, I lied,’ Laura whispered. ‘It’s important and won’t take long, but I don’t want anyone overhearing.’ Laura hurried out, with Jack reluctantly following.
He closed the boardroom door as Laura pulled out a chair, opening her notebook from her briefcase.
‘Right, I couldn’t sleep thinking things over. OK, firstly, when Josh stayed over with me that one night, he was asking me a lot of questions about Middleton, including which prison he was in. I also recall mentioning a woman I had met at one of the Met functions, Janet Williamson; she was a nurse at Holloway, then when it closed, she went to work at Bellview as the senior staff nurse. I’m seriously worried, and I think you are too, that Josh could be involved in this.’
‘I never said that, Laura.’
‘Just listen. I called the prison on the pretext of contacting Janet only to be told she had retired and had left no forwarding address. But apparently she was flying to New Zealand to live with her daughter.’
Jack was starting to get annoyed. Laura had not stayed out of it at all. Instead, she had been busy making very fucking traceable phone calls.
‘You want the good news?’ Laura asked. He shrugged. ‘I did a bit of digging on Janet... she was at her leaving do when Middleton was found dead. And she flew out of the UK this morning, but that flight was bought ages ago so it’s not like she was fleeing. I also got confirmation that Josh returned to New York. His last lecture was at Strangeways Prison, and he flew from Manchester Airport to Kennedy.’
‘For God’s sake, Laura...’
‘There’s more. They found capsules of fentanyl hidden in the lining of Amanda Dunn’s coat; the coat she had worn for her visits to Middleton. They also found a container of fentanyl in her room at the B&B... and here’s the kicker, Jack... it’s the same B&B Josh stayed at. Amanda might be innocent, and I might have given Josh everything he needed to...’
Jack stood up, put his arms around her shoulders and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. ‘You didn’t and Josh didn’t. All you need to remember is that Amanda Dunn aided and abetted that piece of shit in the murder of young girls. Middleton’s dead. And I’m glad.’
The boardroom door opened and DI Armani was framed in the doorway, looking at them with pursed lips. She clearly thought she’d caught them in a compromising position. ‘DCI Clarke was asking for you, DS Warr,’ she said tersely. Jack hurried out, scowling.
‘I was just giving DS Warr an update on a case we had previously worked on,’ Laura said lamely.
‘It is not advisable to have a relationship with a senior officer, Laura, especially a married one,’ Armani said. She turned on her heel before Laura could reply.
Clarke gestured for Jack to sit in the chair in front of his desk. ‘I wanted a quick word with you as I’ve been given some information regarding Rodney Middleton, which will no doubt get some press coverage.’ He handed Jack the memo. It was almost word for word what Laura had told him. He gave an appropriately shocked response, shaking his head as if in disbelief.
‘The postmortem revealed high doses of fentanyl,’ he read, ‘along with a drug I’ve never heard of — xylazine?’ He looked up at Clarke.
‘It’s a veterinary sedative, which is actually quite fitting since Middleton was an animal. They’ve arrested Amanda Dunn. Local CID will handle it, and I doubt they will require any information from us. However, I felt that you should be pre-warned in case there’s some journalist wanting an interview, given your conspicuous involvement in the Middleton investigation and trial. That said, I am also aware that it did take quite a toll on you emotionally. If I do get any further information, I will make it a priority to ensure you are given all the details.’
‘Thank you very much, Sir, I appreciate it.’
‘It’s a pleasure to have you back with us, Jack. I hope you settle in with the new probationer detectives and, obviously, with DI Armani. I think she will be a big asset to the team.’
‘Thank you again for giving me the heads-up, Sir, I really appreciate it. There’s just one thing... as you said, it will no doubt have press coverage, but I wondered if we should give the victims’ families the news about Middleton before it becomes public?’
Clarke frowned. ‘I know you felt strongly about other potential victims of Middleton, but there is no reason for further involvement. It’s over. Do you understand, Jack?’
Jack nodded. ‘Yes, Sir.’
After leaving Clarke’s office, Jack went over to Laura’s desk and repeated what he’d just been told. ‘That goes for you too, Laura,’ he whispered. ‘It’s over.’
‘I get it, I get it,’ she assured him. ‘But look, watch out for Armani. She gave me a dressing down about being over familiar with a married officer, which really pissed me off. As if I’d go for you!’ Laura and Jack shared a smile.
As Jack went back to his desk, he clocked Armani just as she was entering the incident room with a coffee. He gave her a beaming smile and joined her at her desk.
‘I’ve just been told Rodney Middleton was found dead in his cell from a drug overdose.’ Armani’s blank expression told Jack that she didn’t know the name. ‘Serial killer, young teenage girls he picked up at Euston station.’
‘Ah, yes of course.’
‘Me and Laura both worked on the case and the subsequent trial. We discussed Middleton’s death earlier this morning as she had heard the rumour, but now DCI Clarke has verified it. It was an emotionally difficult investigation, and I was thankful for Laura’s constant dedication and support. You should know that any inference our relationship is anything other than friendship is an insult to me, Laura and my wife.’
Armani’s mouth dropped open for a moment before she regained her composure. But before she could reply Jack had walked back to his desk.
Chapter 16
That afternoon, Jack got stuck into the pile of files on his desk relating to Armani’s gang war. After three hours of concerted reading, Laura passed his desk and saw what he was doing.
‘She’s brought you in on this now then?’
‘Yep. And I’d better stay in.’
‘Jack Warr, that sounded like a threat.’ Laura sat down next to him.
Jack slid his chair closer to Laura, so their knees touched beneath the desk.
‘You know that domestic she sent me on.’ Laura nodded. ‘Detective Sergeant Armani was the investigating and interviewing officer in an assault case against George Barras five years ago. It’s got to be DI Armani before she was promoted.’