Death's Cold Hand, J.E. Mayhew [book club recommendations .txt] 📗

“I wondered when you’d turn up,” she said, feebly.

“Laura Vexley. What did she want?”

“She was just passing. Called in to see how I was. I tutored her…”

“Yeah, yeah, cut the bullshit, Nicola. What did she say to you?”

“These painkillers,” Nicola said. “They play havoc with your memory but she was curious about why I killed them…”

“Curious?”

“The psychology of it. I told her that it was purely a practical decision. Paul Travis had realised that money was going missing from Pro-Vets and he was putting pressure on Ufford. So I took him out of the picture and set Terry up…”

“And Ufford?”

“He was weak. He started to panic because George Owens was breathing down his neck. I could have killed George but actually, it dawned on me that killing Ufford would render me anonymous. Or so I thought. The truth is, they were all so weak, weren’t they? You men are, though, aren’t you? You’re vain, violent, and greedy.”

“That’s a rather grim assessment,” Blake said. “There are plenty of good men in the world. Vain or not, Travis gave lots of people a helping hand.”

“Are you one of the good men, Mr Blake? I keep looking for them. I’ve killed before. Put men out of their misery on the battlefield after they been chewed up and spat out by politicians’ wars. It’s easy to be dispassionate about killing when it’s a means to an end. The rent on my office in Heswall was a fortune and it needed a complete refit. I was broke when I stumbled across Pro-Vets. Maybe it was meant to be.”

“And that’s what you told Laura?”

Nicola Norton smiled but she looked at Blake with dead eyes. “No. I said I didn’t kill them. That Terry White murdered them and that I had nothing to do with it.”

“Then why are you telling me that you did kill them?”

“Because you’re DCI Blake and I want to make a full confession. If you’re quick and look in my next-door neighbour’s bin, you’ll find a bag of plastic soldiers. I tried to handle them carefully but you’ll probably find my DNA on them somewhere. I threw the knife used to kill Paul in the Mersey but the sales assistant at the kitchen shop in Heswall will remember me. I think he had a thing for mature women and I flirted with him a bit. Probably shouldn’t have, come to think of it but there you go.”

“Why are you confessing?” Blake said. “I don’t understand.”

Nicola looked tired. “Remorse, DCI Blake,” she said flatly, without a hint of emotion. “I’m overcome with guilt for everything I’ve done.”

“What about Richard Ince?”

“Poor Richard. Quentin had been skimming off money from Pro-Vets for some time. He went boozing with Richard and inevitably got drunk and started bragging about it. Richard told me during a counselling session at Pro-Vets sometime last year. If he had gone to Paul then Ufford would have been sunk. I was desperate for money. Close to bankruptcy then. So I suggested we blackmail Quentin Ufford together.”

“But you realised you could make more money by teaming up with Ufford and cutting out Ince altogether.”

“Yes. Quentin couldn’t believe his luck. He thought he was going to spend the rest of his life sunning himself on a Caribbean beach next to me. Then I sent Terry to get Ince drunk and waited at Ince’s flat for him to come back. He thought I’d come with some blackmail money from Ufford. Once I was inside he drank himself unconscious. I just had to administer the heroin and leave the note.”

“But why the plastic soldier?”

Nicola sighed. “Once I’d had to plan Ince’s murder, I realised that other people might ultimately get in the way. It seemed quite clever to leave a ‘calling card’ and link it to Terry. It certainly distracted you and your team for a while.” She yawned. “I’ll make a full statement later but I’m very tired now and want to sleep.”

“I can’t believe you’d confess so freely. Especially when Terry White is in the frame for all the killings. What did Laura say to you?”

“Nothing much, Mr Blake. We were just catching up and she told me how well she was doing now, where she was living and who with. That was all. You don’t mess with people like that, and you don’t steal their money, do you?”

Chapter 44

The house was quiet and dark when Kinnear got home. After the initial excitement, he’d spent the rest of the day taking statements and talking to so many different colleagues that he hardly noticed the time. It was only when shadows began to fall that he realised the time. At that moment, he had felt weary and longed to go home.

Blake’s words still tugged at Kinnear’s heart as he got out of the car. He let himself in and savoured the quiet. In a few weeks’ time, this place would be full of noise and love. A child was coming to stay, and he’d welcome her with all his heart and soul. It felt as though he got up the stairs in two bounds, he was so eager to tell Chris.

Life was precious. Life was to be lived.

*****

Serafina lay curled on Blake’s lap, purring like a Rolls Royce engine while he sipped a steaming mug of tea. He sat in the living room enjoying the Spring sunshine that streamed through the window. It was clear and still cold outside, but the sun felt warm through the window. A promise of Summer.

“So, what’ll happen to the young man who attacked you?” Ian Youde said. “Will he get a prison sentence?”

“Hard to say, Ian. He was badly manipulated. I don’t think he can get away from the damage he did to Ollerthwaite but his mental condition will have to be taken into account. The fact that Ollerthwaite is on the mend is encouraging and he’s not a vindictive man. So who knows?”

“The lad needs some kind of support, though.”

“Yeah, and hopefully, he’ll get