Double Dealing Read online

  ‘Was Geoff just in it for the money?’ Knight asked.

  ‘He got a kick out of using Mr Worthy’s factory for distributing the stuff as well, I think. They had some sort of argument about the payment Geoff got when he retired and I think Geoff saw it as getting his own back, doing it all under Mr Worthy’s nose without him suspecting a thing. He wanted enough money to retire in Spain, talked about getting a villa out there.’

  ‘I wonder if he’d take Celia?’ Catherine muttered.

  ‘I doubt it.’ Dan shook his head. ‘Not the way he talks about her.’

  Catherine exchanged a look with Knight. ‘I think that’s enough for now.’

  ‘What’s going to happen to me?’ Dan’s fear was evident in his voice.

  ‘You’ll stay here tonight,’ Knight told him. ‘Tomorrow you’ll be interviewed again. After that, we don’t know.’

  ‘Prison?’

  ‘Think about what you’ve done, Dan.’ Knight stood up. ‘What do you think?’

  Chapter 52

  As they emerged from the interview room, a group of people were coming down the corridor towards them. The two men that Hughes had brought to Knight’s house earlier were in front, now handcuffed separately. Bringing up the rear were a smiling DI Shea and a scowling DS Allan.

  ‘DI Knight, what a pleasant surprise,’ Shea simpered. ‘Allow me to introduce Miodrag Adzic and Petar Latas.’

  Catherine and Knight looked at the two men, who kept their eyes fixed on the dirty tiled floor, showing no signs of recognition. No doubt Hughes had briefed them well.

  ‘And they are…?’ Knight asked.

  Shea drew himself up. ‘We’ve just arrested these two gentlemen for the murder of Paul Hughes,’ Shea announced. ‘We’re going to have a little talk and then hand them over to your custody sergeant for the night, then in the morning we’ll take them back to our own station.’

  ‘Where was that again?’ Catherine gave an exaggerated frown and Allan’s eyes were on her immediately. She gave an innocent smile as Melissa Allan turned away.

  ‘Well, congratulations,’ Knight said.

  ‘Solid police work, you see, DI Knight.’ Shea smirked as he led his prisoners towards the cells. Allan gave one last spiteful glance over her shoulder before they disappeared.

  ‘“Solid police work.”’ Knight scoffed under his breath. ‘Latas phoning and confessing, you mean.’

  ‘Let’s presume he forgot to mention that.’ Catherine’s face was expressionless.

  As they crossed the car park, the wind blowing icy drizzle in their faces, Knight said, ‘Thank you for tonight. I’m sorry about what happened, but I swear, if anything comes back about this you’ll be kept out of it.’

  ‘I suppose they did murder Paul Hughes?’ She didn’t want to ask, afraid of the answer.

  ‘It’s certain. Hughes says they’ve even got the clothes they wore while they did it hidden away. There’ll be CCTV footage of them buying the petrol, fingerprints on the camera. They admitted it to me before you arrived. I don’t think they were lying.’

  ‘If Hughes had threatened them though…’

  ‘It was them, Catherine.’

  ‘But why did they kill him?’ Catherine shivered, pulling her hands up inside the sleeves of her coat.

  ‘Paul Hughes and a sister of Latas were mentioned. I don’t know the details, but I’m sure Shea will find out.’

  ‘I don’t like it.’

  ‘Neither do I, but what can we do? They killed Hughes and now they’ve been arrested. Case closed.’

  ‘But what did Malc Hughes do to find them? What if it all comes back to bite us in the arse?’

  ‘It won’t do. It can’t. Hughes told me tonight that he’s retiring.’

  Catherine snorted. ‘Really? Got a pension, has he? Does a person like Malc Hughes ever retire?’

  ‘When his son is tortured and murdered and he’s no doubt made more money than you or I could ever dream of, why not? Anyway, you weren’t there tonight, and you don’t know anything.’

  She gazed at him. ‘So I’ll have to trust you.’

  ‘Hughes wanted a witness. I’m sorry.’

  ‘And it had to be me.’

  He shuffled his feet. ‘I trust you too, Catherine.’

  Sleet gathered in her eyebrows and she wiped a hand across her face. ‘Maybe we’re as daft as each other then. Come on, let’s go. I’m freezing.’

  She turned away and ran towards her own car. As Knight watched her go, a feeling he couldn’t define tightened his throat. He got into his car and started the engine before it could choke him.

  Regret.

  Chapter 53

  Catherine lay back in the bath, closed her eyes and let the warmth of the water seep through her. Thomas was out, she hoped with Anna. They both deserved some happiness. She moved her toes in the water, remembering shared baths, long lazy Sundays, picnics, holidays. She wanted to have that again, the security of knowing that someone was there. She could never have had it with Claire, she knew that. She didn’t want it with Louise, and Ellie was a friend. There would be no romance there.

  It had been a long, difficult day, and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about what had happened. Knight was right, of course: if the two men had killed Paul Hughes they deserved to be brought to justice. She was worried though, caught up in a situation in which she wanted no part. If it had been left to her, she would never have become involved. Had those men really killed him? And even if they had, why would Malc Hughes hand them over to the police? Hughes was a career criminal. Knight had said before that no crime was beyond him, so why hadn’t Hughes meted out some justice of his own? Catherine didn’t like it, feeling very uncomfortable about her own role, however unaware she had been. Knight had said Hughes was retiring, but the idea seemed ridiculous. Then again, had Knight been planning this? Had he been working with Malc Hughes somehow? Knight had said there was evidence, and surely the men themselves would speak up if they were innocent, whatever Hughes had threatened them with. Could she trust him? Shea’s words floated back into her head: I don’t think you know Jonathan Knight at all.

  She ran the hot tap again, wishing she could sleep in here, the water soothing her as she worried. Knight had said there would be no repercussions, but how could he know that? She was furious with him, angry that she had been dragged into a situation that she didn’t understand and had no control over. She had worked hard, always done the right thing, followed the rules and played fair. She felt deceived, caught out and humiliated, and the worst of it was that none of this was her fault.

  She hesitated, then climbed out of the bath, wrapped a towel around herself and padded into her bedroom. Picking up her phone, she selected his name.

  ‘Catherine? Are you okay?’ Knight’s voice was tinny, as if he were far away.

  ‘What did Malc Hughes whisper to you?’ she demanded.

  Knight hesitated for a couple of seconds. ‘He said, “You can get that tattoo removed now.”’

  Catherine swallowed. ‘And what did he mean?’

  ‘I think he meant that we’re even.’

  ‘What did you do with the evidence bags?’

  ‘Forget about it.’

  She ended the call without saying goodbye, went back to the bathroom and immersed herself in the bubbles again.

  Later still, as she climbed into bed, her phone beeped. A text: Ron Woffenden arrested tonight. Ten girls rescued, in hands of social services. Will keep in touch. Owen. Catherine set the phone on the bedside cabinet, tears welling in her eyes. The girls would be deported, back to whatever lives they had been trying to escape before. It wasn’t a comforting thought. She turned over, hugged the spare pillow close and hoped for sleep.

  Chapter 54

  The beer frothed as it escaped from the bottle and cascaded onto the worktop. Knight grabbed a cloth and soaked up the mess. Taking his drink through to the living room, he settled onto his battered brown leather settee and tried to relax. With the tang of
Malc Hughes’ aftershave still polluting the air, it wasn’t easy.

  He set his drink down on the floor and crossed to the log burner. It was late to set a fire, but it was necessary tonight. As the flames took hold, he sat back down and sipped his beer. His eyes were heavy, closing. He might just be able to sleep, if he could put the expression on Catherine’s face and the tone of her voice out of his mind.

  * * *

  The flames were dying down when he woke again. He sat up, rubbed his aching neck then crossed to the log burner and opened the door. From his pocket he removed two photographs. He gave them one last glance before feeding them to the flames.

  Acknowledgements

  Once again, Britt Pflüger has been an invaluable source of advice and encouragement. Thank you, Britt.

  Thank you to my wife Tracy, who has always believed in my work and given me so much support and encouragement. Thank you also to my son, Mum, Grandma, Paul and the rest of my family for their constant support.

  My friends have again provided lots of encouragement and advice. Thank you all. Special thanks also to Kerry Eccles, who read an early draft of the book and kindly provided some very useful feedback.

  Thank you as always, to the wonderful people at Canelo, for everything.

  Finally, last but not least, a huge thank you to everyone who bought and read On Laughton Moor. Special thanks to those people who took the time to contact me about it. It means a huge amount to receive an email from someone who has enjoyed your work and for me is a dream come true.

  My website is lisahartley.co.uk.

  Thank you for reading Double Dealing. Catherine Bishop and her colleagues will return soon.

  Next in Detective Catherine Bishop series:

  From the Shadows

  How do you catch a killer when no one is willing to talk?

  Find out more

  Also by Lisa Hartley

  Detective Catherine Bishop series

  On Laughton Moor

  Double Dealing

  From the Shadows

  Detective Caelan Small series

  Ask No Questions

  Tell No Lies

  Time to Go

  Find out more

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2015 by Lisa Hartley

  This edition published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  Third Floor, 20 Mortimer Street

  London W1T 3JW

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © Lisa Hartley, 2015

  The moral right of Lisa Hartley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 9781788639408

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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