Land Rites (Detective Ford) by Andy Maslen (best ereader for manga TXT) 📕

the purest venom as she closed the door behind her.

Ford took the chair and drew it closer to the bedside. He took out his phone, started the voice recorder, then placed it on the nightstand.

Wincing, Lucy rolled her head over so she could look at him.

‘I’m sorry you hurt yourself,’ Ford said.

‘Silly of me to ride Woody without a saddle. He’s far too headstrong. Then that dog . . .’

Ford looked into her eyes. He felt an upwelling of pity. If only she’d called the police when she’d shot Owen, instead of her father.

‘I’ve seen Owen Long’s video from the day you shot him,’ he said quietly.

‘I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.’

‘Then what happened?’

‘I went and told Daddy. He said to leave everything to him. Then Tommy called me and said he wanted money.’

‘What did you do then?’

‘I told Daddy again. He was furious. But he said he’d deal with Tommy. I thought he was going to pay him off.’

‘But he didn’t, did he?’

‘No,’ she said, and a tear rolled from her left eye. ‘He made me meet Tommy and he, he . . .’ Ford held his breath. He needed her to complete the sentence. ‘He shot him,’ she finished.

‘Then what?’

‘He and Joe took him away. They put him in the badger sett.’

There it was! The leverage he needed to get to Lord Baverstock. Admissible or not – and that was one for the lawyers – she’d just confessed and implicated her father.

‘Lucy, why did you run?’

‘Tommy’s brother called me.’

‘Which one?’

‘JJ. He said he knew the police were coming to arrest me and he was going to get to me first. He said they were going to punish me for Tommy. I thought it was them.’

It made sense to Ford, and once again he found himself facing the uncomfortable truth that someone was tipping off the Bolters.

‘How did you ever meet Tommy?’

She smiled weakly. ‘Not exactly my type, was he? We met in a club. He asked if I wanted to do a line with him. We got talking and I liked him. He was different. It just went from there.’ Her eyes fluttered. ‘I’m sorry. I’m so tired. I need to sleep.’

‘Sleep,’ Ford said. ‘I’ll come and see you again.’

He stepped out of the room and turned left, heading back towards the exit. And his heart stopped.

Filling the narrow space between the green-painted walls, JJ Bolter was striding towards him.

He stopped a pace away from Ford. His dark eyes were black.

‘She down there, is she?’ he asked.

‘Turn around, JJ,’ Ford said.

‘Let me through, or you’ll regret it.’

‘I can’t. I know you’ve got one of my team in your pocket, but this ends now. She’s unconscious. When she comes to, I’m arresting her for murder.’

JJ shook his head. ‘Murder’s right. That’s why I’m here. She’s going to pay.’

‘She’s not the one you want. She didn’t kill Tommy.’

‘Then who did?’

‘I can’t tell you that.’

‘Fuck you!’ JJ said. He pushed Ford hard in the chest and went to move past him.

This time, Ford wasn’t prepared to give JJ any slack. At the wake he’d been drowning in grief and vodka. Now he was bent on murder.

Ford staggered as if the shove had unbalanced him, then drove an elbow up into JJ’s solar plexus. The bigger man’s breath left him, in a convulsive gasp. As JJ doubled over, Ford pushed down hard on the back of his head, sending him sprawling to the floor. Ford straddled his prone form, and grabbed his wrists. He yanked them round and slapped on a pair of cuffs.

Two nurses came round the corner and saw them struggling.

‘Hey! What are you doing?’ one shouted.

‘Police!’ Ford yelled. ‘Get security.’

They ran off. Ford turned back to JJ, who was writhing and bucking beneath him.

He bunched his right fist and pushed a knuckle into the pressure point inside the angle of JJ’s jaw, on the right side.

‘That’s enough!’ he barked.

Whether from the pain or the realisation he’d lost, JJ lay still. Ford climbed off him and stood. JJ managed to get himself to his feet, at which point Ford turned him to face the wall.

‘Bastard!’ JJ grunted, pushing back against Ford’s restraining hands. ‘I’ll get you for this.’

‘Shut up,’ Ford said. ‘You used your Get Out of Jail Free card at Tommy’s wake. Double when Rye threatened my boy. I ought to arrest you for assaulting a police officer. But frankly, I’ve got better things to do with my time. So I’m going to have you escorted off the premises. I’ll personally keep you informed of what happens as far as Tommy’s murder goes. But stay clear of me and my officers.’ He paused. ‘And my family. Clear?’

JJ said nothing.

‘I said, are we clear?’ Ford shouted, just as a pair of burly security guards ran up to him.

‘Fine,’ JJ muttered. ‘But you better make sure they get what’s coming to them, Ford. Or me and Rye will.’

‘I’ll do my job,’ Ford said. ‘If you’ll let me. How did you get up here?’

‘Drove, didn’t I?’

‘Where’s your car?’

‘Lay-by near the entrance.’

Ford turned to the two security guards. ‘Take him out to the main road. He won’t be coming back.’

Ford called Bourne Hill, then stayed outside Lucy’s door until two tall, broad-shouldered uniformed constables arrived.

Ford made his wishes known in plain, unvarnished language. ‘Anyone comes to this door who isn’t wearing an NHS badge, you turn them round. If they won’t go, show them your taser and tell them again. If that doesn’t work, you immobilise them, cuff them and call me. Use force as appropriate to restrain and/or subdue them.’

‘What if they’re family, sir?’ Mark asked.

‘No exceptions. No, wait. Lady Baverstock’s OK. But get photo ID.’

Later that day, Hannah brought Ford a raft of good news. The DNA results from the blood and hair found in Joe Hibberd’s Land Rover had come back. The profile from the blood sample matched Tommy Bolter’s, so they could place his remains inside the vehicle. NDNAD had no match for the hair, but Ford