The Cedar Face: DI Jewell book 3 (DI Elizabeth Jewell) (31 page)

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Sunday June 2nd

The
knock on her door came at exactly six twenty three
am.

'Got a shocker for you this morning Liz. Grasmere
Academy's on fire. 'Patterson blurted out as she opened
the door. 'I got there just after the fire crews
, and it looks like they're still struggling to control
the flames at the rear of the building. I've
spoken to the station commander and he thinks it must
have started in the early hours of this morning. A
passer by noticed flames in a ground floor window and
alerted the emergency services.'

'Oh my God,' Elizabeth cried as
she ushered him into the kitchen. 'Is anyone trapped inside
?'

'Don't know yet. The search teams are only half
way through the building.' Patterson picked up a burnt slice
of toast and started eating it. 'As soon as the
fire is under control the investigators are going in.'

'Grasmere
again, you have to wonder why?' Elizabeth said. 'It's
starting to look as if someone has a massive grudge
against the place.'

'Let's wait and see what the
experts come up with,' Patterson answered.

* * *

A crowd had gathered
along the perimeter fence and the air was filled with
the smell of acrid smoke. The area from the school
gates to the main entrance and beyond was slick with
running water. Islands of fire retardant foam drifted slowly over
the burgeoning sludge. Elizabeth watched as the fire crews attached
two more high pressure hoses to the engine and a
standpipe, then hauled them towards the Dali Wing.

Elizabeth spotted
the crew commander, a six-foot veteran of the fire
service by the name of Mitch Francis. She'd known
him since she first came to Cheltenham.

Francis smiled when
he saw her. 'Hi stranger, haven't seen you in
a while.'

'It's must be a few months,' she
replied. 'Mitch, I realise it's too early, but any
ideas?'

'It definitely started in the art department, plenty of
combustible material in there to keep it going for hours
.'

'Deliberate?' Patterson asked.

'We'll know soon. Are you thinking
this is connected to your murder investigation?'

'Remember the old
adage,' Patterson said. 'How many coincidences before it's no
longer a coincidence.'

'Once the heat dies down they'll
establish the point of origin. Funny thing though. I was
on call all night and tuned in to the radio
. It was about that Canadian guy who was the prime
suspect, but isn't any.'

'What time was this?' Elizabeth
asked.

'On the three am news bulletin.'

Elizabeth grimaced. 'Great
. I'm beginning to see Teresa Lane in a different
light. The bitch is determined to control the publicity and
screw up my damage control.'

'Who's Teresa Lane?' Mitch
enquired.

Patterson gave Elizabeth a warning glance. 'We shouldn't
discuss this in the open Liz. The hacks are out
in force.'

'She's the Canadian's solicitor and is
determined to make my life a misery.' Elizabeth shouted.

Patterson
ignored her outburst and spoke to Francis. 'If anyone is
trapped in there, what are their chances?'

'It depends. Sometimes
people hide in small spaces thinking it's safer. That
's usually when they succumb to the smoke. So far
, there's no indication that anyone is in the building
but it's a big area to search and the
art department is in a hell of a mess. Storing
all that paint and especially stuff like fibreglass is a
big risk, especially as the automatic sprinkler system malfunctioned. Someone
's head will roll for that.'

'There were problems with
Grasmere from the start. The builders rushed to meet the
deadline. You don't do that without compromising safety,' Patterson
said.

Francis pointed to a heavy vehicle approaching. 'Fire investigation
unit, I better go and talk to them.'

Patterson watched
the specially trained experts exit the van. He was surprised
to see the investigation dog, wearing fire wellies, to protect
its paws from the hot material. He knew how capable
these dogs were. How they could detect minute quantities of
hydrocarbon accelerants within minutes. The same procedure could take hours
to do in the laboratory. He hoped they wouldn't
have to wait long for a result, if it was
arson, then Mitch Francis may well be right. He checked
the street and noticed the crowds had steadily increased. Several
police vans had also turned up and uniformed officers had
set about keeping the onlookers under control.

Elizabeth was talking
to one of the fire crew who had just lugged
a small generator out of a support vehicle. Patterson turned
his attention to the main body of the building, which
so far was escaping the worst of the flames. His
scanned the roof and was momentarily blinded by the sun
glinting off the pointed glass atrium above the main reception
area. His worried, should the intense heat travel that far
, the panes would explode, sending huge shards in all directions
.

He checked the roof area again and was about to
turn away when he saw something move. The glare from
the glass had dimmed his sight, so he closed his
eyes for a few seconds until they readjusted. When he
opened them, whatever he'd seen was gone. He went
through the options. The shape had appeared crouched over as
if it was crawling. Yet it was too big for
a cat or dog. Although his eyes had indicated an
animal, his brain was telling him otherwise. But why were
they on the roof. Was there no other means of
escape? If the figure was a child or small adult
crawling along the roof, they were risking their life. Patterson
ran towards the nearest fire officer.

'No further mate,' the
man shouted above the roar of water and foam hammering
against the building.

Patterson shouted back and pointed upwards. 'There
's someone on the roof.'

The fire officer raced towards
his colleagues who immediately maneuvered an aerial ladder platform into
position. Four fire fighters clambered inside and Patterson stood rooted
to the spot as his eyes followed their progress until
they reached the top. Two crew members attached safety harnesses
before hauling themselves onto the roof.

Elizabeth had caught up
with him. 'What the hell's happening?' she asked.

'I
saw something up there and they're checking it out
.'

'Where the hell are the fire escapes?' Elizabeth asked.

'Internal
, I guess,' Patterson answered. 'Think about it, the only safe
option with such a high number of pupils to manage
. You couldn't have hundreds of kids hurtling down external
metal ones.'

'The damage doesn't look as bad from
here,' Elizabeth said.

'Most of it is around the side
, next to the car park. The Dali Wing will need
rebuilding.

Mitch Francis came up behind them, phone clamped to
his ear, his face solemn. 'You two will have to
move back to the main gate. We need to clear
this whole area.'

'Have you found someone?'

Francis nodded. 'It
's a sod of a problem. We have ourselves a
jumper.'

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

'What?' Elizabeth groaned. 'You mean a
suicide attempt?'

'You'd better get your crisis negotiator here
as fast as possible. This one sounds unwavering.'

'Male or
female?' she asked.

'Female, but so far won't tell
us her name,' Francis said. 'My guys daren't get
too close in case she takes off. She's crawled
on to a damaged section of the roof and it
could collapse at any time so we've got to
get her down quickly. Falling through the building's interior
she'd burn up and wouldn't survive. She'd
stand a better chance jumping into the car park.'

Elizabeth
turned to Patterson. 'Raise Christine Evans on the blower and
if she doesn't pick up, get someone around to
her house.'

By the time they reached the school gates
, Sergeant Evans was already on her way. Patterson was glad
to see some of the crowd had dispersed. He felt
someone tap him on the shoulder. Will Crosbie was holding
a digital recorder right under his nose. Patterson shoved him
and his device away.

'Would you care to comment Sergeant
? I hear there's someone on the roof threatening to
jump.'

He wasn't in the mood for Crosbie. 'Bugger
off. I don't know any more than you.'

'I
'll hang on then until you do. Remind me sometime
that I owe you a pint for the info you
gave me.'

Patterson spun around, hoping Liz hadn't heard
. 'My boss is over there so watch what comes out
of your mouth.'

Elizabeth moved closer and Crosbie sidled away
. 'I can't understand people's mentality, gathering like this
to watch someone kill them self.'

Patterson kept an eye
on Crosbie's position in case he came back to
harass him. 'Uniforms have shifted a fair few, but they
'll be back. I hope to God Christine can get
through to this woman.'

Patterson had worked with Sergeant Evans
once before. An elderly man had doused himself with petrol
in his own home. His wife of sixty years had
died suddenly and he couldn't cope without her. For
three hours, Evans had sat in his tiny sitting room
talking to him while the gasoline fumes built up. One
strike of a match or flick of a lighter might
have seriously injured her, but eventually she persuaded him to
leave the house. 'She's good Liz.'

'I'm dreading
this. What if it turns out it's one of
the sixth form girls. You know, pressure from imminent exams
, or boyfriend trouble.'

Patterson shrugged and decided to change the
subject. 'I had a brainstorm about Beresford's garage.'

Elizabeth
perked up. 'Why didn't you say sooner? Something about
that garage has bothered me since we saw it. I
decided it was because there were no windows.'

'Lots of
garages don't have windows. Think doors instead.'

'I haven
't got time for riddles Tony. Explain.'

'Beresford's new
BMW partially hid the garage door. I had to squeeze
through the gap to get a closer look. Nothing wrong
with that if there's limited space, but the Beresford
's have enough room to park ten cars. So you
have to wonder why the car wasn't further away
. And the answer is, to hide the damage on the
garage door.'

Elizabeth smiled, 'And why would anyone want to
do that?'

'In case the cops came by and noticed
it.'

'So what you're saying is you think there
's another car in there.'

'I am. That door is
a remotely operated electric roller type. In the left hand
corner near to the ground it looked badly buckled. Also
, some of the paint had peeled off but there wasn
't any rust underneath which meant the damage is recent
. Whoever tried to drive the car into the garage was
in a hurry to hide it. Maybe it was during
the day and they were worried someone would see them
. They pressed the remote to open the garage door, which
didn't work. At the same time something else distracted
them and their foot hit the accelerator causing the car
to lurch forward and crash into the unopened garage door
. The impact wedged it shut and they had to force
it open, causing even more damage.'

'Get someone out there
now,' Elizabeth said, just as Christine Evans drove through the
gate. 'Uniforms can canvas the Beresford's neighbours to find
out if any of them heard or saw anything.'

Patterson
finished his call and watched as Sergeant Evans stepped into
the ladder platform. When it drew level with the roof
another two fire crew helped her over the precipice.

'What
do we do now?' Elizabeth asked.

'We wait,' Patterson said
.

An hour later, a mobile food van turned up, its
driver hoping to exploit the situation. A uniformed Sergeant had
allowed him to park the vehicle in a side street
off the main road. Within minutes, people began to migrate
towards it. Patterson couldn't deal with this hunger pangs
any longer. He left Elizabeth with Mitch Francis and joined
the line of people waiting for sustenance.

Ten minutes later
Patterson was back inside the school grounds. The atmosphere had
changed dramatically and as he looked scanned the deserted area
he wondered where everyone had gone. A uniformed officer was
standing guard outside the entrance leading to reception. He walked
up to him. 'Has something happened?' he asked.

'There's
been a development right next to the car park.'

Before
Patterson reached the end of the pathway, his eyes darted
to the Dali wing. A woman's silhouette was perched
precariously on the ledge below the roof. This was his
first encounter with a potential suicide and his heart seemed
to beat faster as he stood transfixed unable to turn
away. Then he saw Elizabeth running towards him, she was
breathless and sounded panicky. 'How did she manouevre into that
position?' he asked.

'She crawled across the supports. Christine and
two of the rescue crew followed her and now they
're stuck too. They can't reach her because it
's dangerous. I want Christine down now. Staying up there
any longer is pointless.'

They walked back to the car
park where preparations were in progress to attempt to break
her fall should she jump. Inflatable mattresses were piling up
in the area they had marked out. The fire crew
in charge of the operation looked confident for all they
knew there was still a slight margin for error.

'I
can't face watching this play out. I need to
sit down,' Patterson said. Elizabeth followed and they both slumped
on a bench anchored to the car park wall.

Mitch
Francis is going up. He's done this a few
times before,' Elizabeth said.

'Do you think she'll do
it?' Patterson asked.

'I thought Jackie might after telling everyone
she'd killed Wilson and Harper.'

Patterson wasn't sure
he'd heard correctly. 'Jackie Kilmartin's confessed.'

'As soon
as she started screaming at everyone I knew who she
was. One of the rescue guys who had spoken to
her said she was a mess. Bruised all over, skin
and clothes black from the smoke. No the wonder no
one else recognised her. She's coughing a lot and
that's why Mitch decided he'd had enough. Everyone
has done their utmost and now the stupid woman isn
't listening to anyone. If Jackie Kilmartin is determined to
kill herself rather than go to prison that's up
to her.'

Discovering the woman's identity hadn't sunk
in. Patterson had kept an open mind regarding the teachers
and other staff working at Grasmere. They knew that Wilson
had waged a relentless tirade of verbal abuse against her
for usurping the position he wanted. Had Kilmartin snapped, and
decided to put an end to it all?

'Did she
say why she killed both of them?' Patterson asked.

'No
, I don't suppose she's bothered about that right
now. You know something Tony. I can't make my
mind up about her. Maybe this suicide attempt is a
fake and all this palaver is to evoke sympathy. I
'm hoping Christine might wheedle more out of her, but
somehow I doubt it. Kilmartin is as hard as nails
.'

'What if she's said she killed them just to
get attention and hasn't actually done it? When she
's questioned she might change her mind.'

Elizabeth rubbed her
neck to ease the tension. 'No chance of that. She
did it, and we'll prove it.'

Now the adrenaline
had subsided a little, tiredness washed over Patterson. He stretched
out his long legs and yawned. 'I'm taking some
leave as soon this is all sorted. What about you
?'

'I'll be taking time off, but not for a
holiday. I'm going to find Daly.'

'I feel rotten
now you've mentioned him. He's been gone so
long I can't even picture him anymore.'

There was
a loud bang and sounds of falling debris followed by
clouds of masonry dust drifting towards them. Elizabeth pulled her
cotton t-shirt over her mouth and nose then stood
up. 'Christ, this is worse than a dense fog,' she
said, coughing.

'Sit down until it clears,' Patterson ordered.

It
took a few minutes before the dust settled and they
could see again. Patterson pointed to Mitch Francis who was
lowering a limp Jackie Kilmartin into the platform. There was
too much peripheral noise to hear what he was saying
.

They moved through the haze and waited until the platform
ladder came to rest on the ground. Mitch Francis looked
exhausted. 'She passed out through lack of oxygen. I've
done what I can and she's breathing a lot
better now. I reckon she'll probably make it.'

* * *

'The
hospital won't allow any questioning until tomorrow at the
earliest,' Elizabeth said. Uniforms will work a rota outside the
Intensive Care unit. Until we hear her story, I'm
not taking any chances. Beresford lied and he and his
wife could possibly be a danger to her.'

'You mean
by going to the hospital to finish her off. Come
on Liz, that sort of stuff only happens in the
movies.'

'I'm not taking any chances,' Elizabeth stated. 'Desperate
people do desperate things.'

'I suppose it's over to
Kilmartin's place next.'

'I'll drive,' Elizabeth said.

Patterson
's adrenaline level had dropped almost to zero. As Elizabeth
clambered into the driver's seat, he felt the first
fluttering of anxiety.

Jackie Kilmartin lived on a new housing
estate in Brockworth. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up outside
a modern, smart semi-detached house.

'Nice place,' Patterson said
.

'This estate's only been built for about two years
, and it's not cheap. I'm guessing Jackie had
financial problems, add that to her mental instability and it
's not surprising she had to find a way out
.'

'What did she have to be depressed about? Good job
, posh house. She's also a very attractive woman.'

Elizabeth
sighed. 'She seemed odd the very first time I interviewed
her. To be more precise, she sounded completely paranoid.'