One Bad Turn (16 page)

DCI Mallender’s office door was closed. Coupland knew he was still in the building as his car was in its parking space by the main entrance. Probably ensconced on the floor above, having his testicles felt by Curtis, but he knocked anyway before trying the handle. The door opened to reveal the DCI sitting behind his desk, biting down onto a quarter pounder by the look of it, a large cup of something fizzy beside it. He normally looked after himself, ate healthily, only drank decaf, an occasional cigarette when he thought no one was watching. He’d been a drinker once, Coupland had heard the rumours, but didn’t touch the stuff now, kept his distance with after work drinks, though wasn’t averse to leaving money behind the bar which endeared him to many. ‘Christ, can I not get five minutes to eat in peace?’ he muttered, glaring at Coupland’s silhouette in the doorway.

‘I only need two minutes,’ Coupland said, undeterred. In his line he was used to trying to talk to people who didn’t want to engage. He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. The waft of grilled cheese and ketchup made Coupland’s stomach rumble and he remembered he’d thrown away his bacon roll several hours earlier in a fit of pique. He wondered if it could be microwaved back into edible form. ‘Our man so far has picked victims on a bus route and a train route,’ he said eagerly, plonking himself down in the chair opposite Mallender without being invited to do so. ‘We need to get someone on the trams, sharpish, see if we clock anyone checking out the quiet stops.’

Mallender put down his half eaten burger, wiped his mouth with a thin paper serviette. He studied Coupland. ‘Are you serious? Are you actually suggesting we move our beat officers from the streets and have them spend the evening riding the trams in some vain hope our killer will be filling out a tick sheet on ‘most likely destinations to do someone in’? Are you out of your mind?’ he peered closely at Coupland as though checking to see if his pupils were dilated. ‘You were banging on earlier about this college handyman, now you’re veering off in another direction again.’ Mallender sighed, ‘I’m as frustrated as you, in fact more so, since I’m the one dragged upstairs for a dressing down at the end of each day. I simply can’t allocate more resources - Curtis has made his position clear on this.’ Coupland remained quiet while the boss grappled with his conscience. ‘The only option is divert the personnel we have, but quite simply, without some sort of plan: which night, which trams, what exactly we’re looking for, I can’t sanction this.’ He didn’t cave in after all. Swallowing disappointment Coupland pushed himself up from his chair. ‘See, I told you it would only take two minutes,’ he said brightly, ‘and I was right.’
Though it’s the only thing I’ve been right about since this investigation began,
he thought sourly.

The row of terraced houses had seen better days, there was no denying it, but with the housing crisis such as it was homes that would previously have been condemned were deemed liveable, better to have a roof over your head than be homeless, some would say, even though those saying that were unlikely to face such a stark choice themselves. Amid the peeling paint and loose brickwork a couple of properties had had a makeover, new windows and doors fitted, fronts rendered, sky dish attached to a dodgy chimney. Coupland double parked his car alongside Ashcroft’s, lowered his driver’s window, indicated for the DC to lower his passenger window so they could talk without getting out of their vehicles. They were parked across the road from Vinny’s flat, obscured by a council work van. Ashcroft greeted him with a salute. Coupland inclined his head in the direction of the main road. ‘Been here all evening,’ Ashcroft stated, ‘parked up at tea time with a carrier bag full of shopping, haven’t eyeballed him since.’ Coupland nodded. ‘Go on, I’ve got it covered from here.’ Ashcroft raised his brows,‘‘Scuse me?’ he squinted at Coupland in much the same way that Mallender had. ‘You heard,’ Coupland held his ground, ‘skedaddle, chances are he’ll be in for the night anyway. I’m the one with my boxers in a twist over him, stands to reason I take over the night shift.’

‘But DCI Mallender specifically said…’

‘I know what the boss said, but I’m here now and ready and willing to pull my weight, where’s the harm in that?’ A pause, ‘I dunno…’ Ashcroft looked from Coupland to Vinny’s home and back again but Coupland could tell he’d won him round, ‘Look, how about I call you if he moves from here, that way you can pick up where you left off so to speak, except there’ll be two of us on his tail. Can’t say fairer than that…The boss’ll see the logic in that too,’ he added. Ashcroft grimaced; Coupland was one of the old guard, preferred following his instincts even if that meant he was skating on thin ice. ‘It’s a deal, but you call me straight away, I can make it back here in ten minutes if I have to. I’m your wing man, you hear me?’ Coupland flashed his most convincing smile. He might have skirted round the edges of regulations over the years but he wasn’t about to put a blot on someone else’s copybook. He pulled into the space Ashcroft vacated, lifted the lid off a Costa Coffee he’d picked up on the way over. He took a sip, already eyeing the bag of shortbread biscuits he’d bought with it to keep his sugar levels up. He ripped it open; it was good to have something sugary with a coffee, especially since he’d left his sweeteners in his desk drawer. He hunkered down in his seat, pulled up his jacket collar and opened a Metro newspaper at the sports page, a dejected England squad climbing onto the team bus after another disastrous outing. Coupland tutted, glancing at Vinny’s front door before checking his car was still visible just in front of the works van. He turned on the radio, a singer he’d never heard of before sang
I wasn’t expecting that
. He swore at the song’s ending, picked up another biscuit.

His phone rang, the caller ID telling him it was Lynn. ‘
Are you not bothering to come home tonight?
’ she asked lightly, but he knew she worried about him, especially since Todd’s murder a couple of months before. The young DC hadn’t been in the team long, was a rookie in every sense of the word but his loss was palpable, more so because Coupland felt in some way responsible. ‘I told you I was working late,’ he reminded her, eyeing the empty bag of biscuits beside him, the crumbs scattered cross his lap. ‘
There’s late and then there’s what the hell is he really doing late, which one of those is this?
’ she demanded. Coupland hesitated, his missus was like a human MRI scanner, she could see right through him in a heartbeat. ‘I’m on surveillance,’ he hoped she’d take the hint and leave him to his work. ‘
So why not just say? Why the big mystery, Kevin?
’ She waited, the way she always did when she felt he wasn’t telling her the whole truth. He could already feel himself squirm. ‘Because you’ll only go off on one,’ he confessed, keeping his eyes trained on Vince’s front door. The penny must’ve dropped because the groan seemed to come from the pit of her stomach. ‘
Oh, for God’s sake Kevin, tell me you’re not following Vinny?
’ Coupland hung his head even though Lynn couldn’t see him. ‘
You’re actually stalking him. You know that’s an offence now…
’

‘Before you start,’ he cut in, ‘I’ve got a reason to be suspicious about him.’ Lynn exhaled a long, slow breath, ‘
Seriously?
’ she sounded sceptical, ‘
About what?
’

‘These murders…’

It took a moment for her to understand what he was saying, ‘
No!
’ she gasped, and then, ‘
Does Amy know?
’ Coupland said nothing. Lynn’s tone had changed from frustration to concern in a heartbeat. She didn’t ask what had made him suspicious; she trusted his detecting skills, at least. ‘
Don’t you think you should tell her if you are that worried?
’ There was an edge to her voice which implied he was putting Amy at risk by saying nothing. This was serious rock and hard place territory. He felt the familiar rush of blood pulsing through his veins when he thought of Vince and his daughter, but so far his fear was all gut feeling with nothing concrete to substantiate it. ‘I don’t have any actual evidence at the moment,’ he admitted, ‘he was caught on CCTV getting a light for his cigarette from one of our victims on the night she was murdered.’

‘
Oh, God,
’ Lynn whispered and immediately Coupland could have kicked himself, he hated stoking worry at her door. ‘That doesn’t mean much in itself,’ he added hurriedly, ‘which is why I’m keeping an eye on him, see if there’s a solid reason for us to pull him in. At the moment the boss thinks it’s a grudge match.’ Lynn said nothing. Coupland heard her breathing get heavier and doors closing as though she was moving from one part of the house to another. ‘Where’s Amy now?’ he asked. ‘
She’s here, revising for an exam tomorrow; she’s not seeing him tonight.
’ Coupland thanked God for small mercies. ‘
Be careful Kevin,
’ Lynn said quietly, ‘
Amy’s going to be devastated no matter which way this goes, even if you’re wrong. And if he catches you at it, she’s going to find that hard to forgive.
’

‘Then I need to make sure he doesn’t find out,’ Coupland muttered.

Just then Vince’s front door opened and he stepped out into the darkness. He was dressed in black, jogging bottoms and a slim fitting hoodie, black gloves and trainers. Dressed to kill? Coupland crouched down in his seat, ended his call with a brief ‘I’ll phone you later.’ Surely he wasn’t going to make this so easy? Coupland watched as Vince spoke into his phone, talking animatedly, his eyes darting up and down the street before letting himself into his car then pulling away. Coupland glanced down at his own phone still warm in his hand. He had reassured Ashcroft that he’d not go chasing after Vince on his own but they both knew he hadn’t meant it. Reluctant to lose visual contact Coupland threw his phone onto the seat beside him before pulling out into the traffic behind Vince’s car.

Chapter 10

The drive across Salford saw pedestrians make their way home through windy streets, pulling jackets and scarves tight against the cold night. This was what Coupland protected. Ordinary people, their lives shaped by normality. A body builder in a tight tracksuit waited while his Doberman squatted on the pavement outside a Tesco Metro. He didn’t bother clearing its mess up. ‘Makes it all worthwhile.’ Coupland muttered into his chest.

Vince pulled into an Aldi car park. The store was about to close and only one other vehicle was parked there - a white ford transit - so Coupland kept his distance, parking on the main road but keeping the engine running as he adjusted his rear view mirror to keep tabs on what was happening. Vince got out of his own car, glancing around to make sure no one was watching before climbing into the van’s front passenger seat. Almost immediately the van drove off, turning left at the car park’s exit, pulling into the flow of traffic approaching the city. Whatever he was up to it wouldn’t be kosher, why else was he dressed up like a Ninja? Coupland pulled out into the traffic behind them, keeping his distance. The road was quiet for that time of night, enough to keep tabs on the van while hanging back, letting others pull in front, accelerating only when approaching traffic lights. They were driving towards Salford College. Coupland followed as the van turned into the main entrance. Security lighting lit up the approach. Evening visitors to the campus were signposted to a brightly lit block straight ahead but Coupland ignored this, kept on Vince’s tail albeit from a distance. The van veered left to a part of the college cloaked in darkness. Coupland hesitated. A sign ahead stated: Catering College Deliveries Only. Moving down the gears Coupland nudged his car along. The van pulled up abruptly beside a loading bay causing him to swear and turn off his head lights before executing a three point turn. He headed back towards reception, choosing a better lit area of the campus, parking his car beside a building marked Adult Learning Centre. A large rectangular block had lights on in every window and a dozen or so vehicles were parked close to the entrance. Coupland climbed out of his car and double backed down the side of the building towards the catering faculty.

He hung back behind a hydrangea bush, in a small landscaped patch close to the administration block he’d found himself in several days earlier when he’d had the bright idea of approaching the college principal. The landscaped area was on a slight incline and from this position he had a clear view of the loading bay. The van had been reversed into position so that its doors were nearest to the entrance; its doors were open and two men were carrying boxes of varying sizes which they placed into the back of the van. Stockier built than Vince; both men were also dressed in black with hoods pulled low. Vince was standing beside the college doors looking shifty.

‘Well, well well…’ Coupland shivered involuntarily, resisting the urge to light up in case they spotted him across the tarmac. One of the men stopped what he was doing and said something to Vince but he shook his head and backed away, ignoring the man’s shouts as he ran towards the car park exit. Coupland ducked down so he wouldn’t be seen. The man shouting after him called him a wanker then barked at his mate to get a fucking move on. His mate pulled a crow bar out of the back of the van and proceeded to batter the loading bay entry in an attempt to make it look like a burglary rather than an inside job. Torn between apprehending the robbers and going after Vince Coupland jogged back to his car. An ear splitting alarm shrieked into life but that didn’t offer any reassurance. By the time the call was responded to the men would be long gone, probably with what they’d come for, but at least there would be CCTV footage to try and identify them later. Coupland guessed Vince was heading to the Aldi car park to pick up his own car so he decided to get there ahead of him and wait.

He was puffing away on his electronic cigarette by the time Vince arrived. He’d already smoked through two Malboroughs in a row; the scrote wasn’t as fit as Coupland had first thought. He’d parked beside Vince’s car, only putting his lights on as he bent double, clasping his knees while he got his breath back. ‘Fancy seeing you here.’ Coupland grinned, lowering his car window. Vince’s head shot up at the sound of Coupland’s voice, confusion giving way to alarm when he clocked his beaming face. For once he was on the back foot, his eyes giving away the fact his little brain was trying to think up a lie. ‘And before you start concocting some story about running out of milk I’ve just seen you.’ Coupland warned him. ‘Seen me what?’ Vince sneered, already regaining his composure. Coupland stepped out of his car. Even though he had the upper hand he didn’t like the perceived advantage of this toe rag staring him down. He moved towards him. ‘Assisting in a robbery at the college to start with,’ he shot back. Vince’s face fell. ‘No, you’ve got it wrong, I didn’t actually break in.’