Eventually, Jack stopped at a small grocery shop in Llanidloes to grab a sandwich and make certain that he was on the right road for Winstall Farm. The elderly lady behind the counter knew exactly where he was heading.
‘It’s not a farm anymore. But you’re on the right road, yes. Past Devil’s Bridge. Past Pont-Rhyd-Groes. The next place you see on the right, will be Winstall. I tell you what...’ She dipped beneath the counter and reappeared with a white plastic carrier bag. ‘You can take this with you, if you don’t mind. Save either of them coming to get it.’ Jack took the bag of shopping and paid for his sandwich. ‘Lovely couple, she continued, counting out Jack’s change. ‘Both ladies, but that doesn’t matter these days, does it? Winstall is on a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sort of road, so keep your eyes open for a gatepost with no gate, followed by a cattle grid.’
Within twenty minutes of driving, Jack passed over the cattle grid and saw a hand-painted sign saying WINSTALL FARM. A single-track road led to a decent-sized stone farmhouse with two corrugated metal outbuildings and a wooden stable block. The fields on either side of the track were home to several horses and Jack recognised this part of the property from the images Daniel had posted on Facebook, so he was now certain that he was in the right place.
Outside the main house was an old Jeep and a small tractor. There were children’s swings, bicycles and two scooters, as well as a large greenhouse beside a burgeoning vegetable patch. Looking at this place made Jack smile. It reminded him of the pictures he’d seen of the would-be children’s home owned by Dolly Rawlins back in the eighties. Julia had always said she wanted to fulfil Dolly’s dream and now, seemingly, she had. Jack parked next to the Jeep.
Through the net curtain of the kitchen window, Julia watched the unknown vehicle drive towards her. They rarely got visitors and strangers were a rarity. She began to feel frightened. But it wasn’t until Jack got out of the car that her legs gave way, and she had to grab onto the white Belfast sink to stay upright.
Jack Warr...
Instinctively her fingers closed around the handle of a small carving knife on the draining board.
Julia stepped out of the open front door. She looked stern, very wary and uncertain. Jack held out the white plastic bag. ‘I’ve brought your shopping.’
She wore a pair of scuffed boots and jodhpurs, with a heavy knit sweater. Her long, thick hair was now grey and she wore it tied back in a loose braid. To Jack, she seemed to have aged a lot in the three or four years that had passed.
Julia stared at Jack for a moment longer, trying to decide why the hell he’d come all the way out here. It certainly wasn’t to deliver a bag of groceries. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’ve come to ask you the same thing.’
Julia moved swiftly to Jack’s side, looking around as she moved. Regardless of the fact that she and Jack had bonded over weak parents and shitty starts in life, she remained highly suspicious of him. He seemed to be alone, but she’d learnt not to trust policemen. She took the shopping and told him to get inside. ‘The kids will be out trekking until three. You can’t be here when they get back.’
Julia’s kitchen was huge, spanning the depth of the property, and seemed to be split into zones. Kids’ toys were strewn all over the floor, but only in one corner. Baking was in mid-flow, but only on one bench. Herbs were being re-potted, but only by the back door. It was impressively organised chaos. And at the heart of the chaos was a long wooden table. Jack and Julia stood at either end. Both cautious, both needing answers.
‘Did you come back for Darren’s funeral?’ Jack asked. Julia lowered her head as the pain of losing him rose to the surface. ‘I’m sorry, Julia.’
‘I’m not Julia anymore.’ This short statement told Jack that their past was not up for discussion. This was as comforting to him as it was to her. ‘His death is my fault. I showed him what it was to be loved... and then I abandoned him. I knew I shouldn’t have named the farm after him, but I couldn’t help myself. I assume that’s how you found me? Is anyone else coming?’
‘No. And if they ever do come, it won’t be through me.’ Julia nodded. She flicked the kettle on, then pulled a tray of cookies out of the oven. Jack knew exactly how vulnerable Julia felt right now. His fellow officers were as dangerous to her as her fellow criminals were to him. Any one of them could ruin his life. ‘Have any of the others come back?’
‘I very much doubt it. We swore never to contact each other again, then went our separate ways. I hope they’re living the lives they deserve.’ Julia looked Jack square in the eye. ‘I know I am.’
Jack was genuinely pleased for her. As he held her stare, she sensed that she was still safe. He then brought the conversation swiftly around to the reason he’d travelled the width of two counties. ‘Why were you in London, watching me get married?’
‘I wasn’t.’ Julia put the hot cookies onto a plate. ‘I was buying horse blankets from the stables in Hyde Park that are closing down. I had an hour to kill, so I walked for a while. Weddings always draw your attention — congratulations, by the way. A group of guests were being ushered into position by your photographer and I saw someone I recognised. A bad memory from more than thirty years ago. Then I saw you and... well, needless to say, I ran for my life.’
Jack asked who it was that she saw, and she almost spat out the name of Elliot Wetlock. ‘We were medical students together. He was two years ahead of me, but he got invited to all the parties because... he could get forged prescriptions.’
Jack didn’t try and hide his surprise. ‘He was a drug dealer?’
‘Nembutal, barbiturates, steroids. Even chloral hydrate. He was into everything. And had no qualms about getting others into everything too. Once he qualified and started climbing the ladder towards surgery, he stopped all of that. Well, most of it. He was still addicted to demerol and heroin when I knew him. He’s not the reason I ended up in prison, that was all me, but he’s the reason I became addicted. Last I heard, he’d gone straight because he bagged himself a beautiful young girlfriend — titled, I think. Then I read that she’d OD’d on sodium pentothal.’ Julia shook her head in disgust. ‘Wonder where she got that from.’
‘How did he get away with it for so long?’
‘Do you know how many medical students drop out because of stress, tiredness, ill health, mental breakdowns? One of Wetlock’s specialities, when you were run ragged and dead on your feet, was to give enemas. It’s the fastest high and carries you through your shift. You’d see a junior doctor speed-walking up the corridor and you’d think, There goes another one of Wetlock’s clients. And if anyone opened their mouth against him, DC Warr, their career would be gone. Self-preservation kept everyone quiet.’
‘I’m a DS now,’ Jack smiled. ‘Just so you know.’ Julia glanced at the clock. Ten to three. She said that she’d give him another ten minutes, as long as they continued their conversation outside.
Jack opened his car door and leant in to retrieve something from the glove box. As he did, Julia noticed the clips for a baby seat in the back. ‘A promotion, a wife and a child. You’re going up in the world.’
‘Do you know anything about growing cannabis?’ he asked.
‘No comment.’
Jack opened Avril’s little red notebook at the page which seemed to show a detailed recipe for cannabis oil, and he asked Julia for her opinion. She took her time to decode all of the scribbles and crossings-out.