A Lesser Evil - Lesley Pearse [183]
In the ward sister’s office, the first thing Roper asked was why Dan hadn’t come to him about Trueman.
Dan saw no point in beating about the bush. ‘I was afraid someone down the nick was leaking information,’ he said.
‘I couldn’t take that risk.’
Roper frowned but didn’t comment. ‘So who told you about Trueman?’ he asked.
‘I heard a bloke in the pub talking about him, he said John Bolton had worked for him,’ Dan lied. ‘I asked around, discovered what he looked like, and that he had a red Jag. You could’ve found that out,’ he added pointedly. ‘And how come you never found his fingerprints in number eleven?’
‘Surprisingly the man has no criminal record,’ Roper said with some regret. ‘He’s been known to the Met for nigh on forty years, but they’ve never been able to pin anything on him, not even enough to get his prints. He didn’t come into the frame for this because he doesn’t normally extend his interests south of the river.’
‘But Bolton managed one of his clubs!’
‘Bolton had dealings with dozens of clubs.’Roper shrugged. ‘We were still checking them all out. What you’ve got to remember is that a man like Trueman controls people through fear. No one would risk passing us any information. But enough of that for now. How much has your wife been able to tell you about her abduction?’
‘Nothing yet,’ Dan said. ‘Only that Yvette hanged herself. That must have been such a terrible shock that I’m not sure she’ll ever get beyond that. So it’s up to you now to find out why a powerful man like Trueman consorted with a piece of shit like Alfie. That’s the bit that doesn’t make any sense to me.’
Roper said he would be back in the morning to see Dan again, and hopefully Fifi would be up to talking by then too.
‘Taking Trueman on was very courageous,’ he said, looking up at Dan with an expression of awe and respect. ‘Everyone in the force has nothing but profound admiration for you rescuing your wife. Please tell her from us that we will round up all those who were involved, and the investigation into Angela’s death will be finalized and the guilty punished.’
After Roper had left, Dan asked the ward sister if it would be possible for him to stay with Fifi all night. He explained that he couldn’t bear to leave her, and that he was afraid she might have nightmares. Sister was very sympathetic and said there was no need for him to sleep in the chair, she would get a camp bed sent up for him.
Fifi was asleep by the time Dan got back to her room, so he took the opportunity to nip out and get himself some fish and chips. When he returned Fifi was still sleeping so he lay down on the camp bed.
It was cosy in the small room with the blinds pulled down and the only light, above the bed, shining down on some scrawny flowers he’d bought from a barrow at the hospital gates.
Outside in the corridor it was quiet now visitors had left, only the occasional trundling sound of a drugs or drinks trolley, and nurses hurrying past. Dan knew he would have to go back to the flat tomorrow or the day after to get Fifi some clean clothes, and he supposed he ought to go and phone the Rifleman and ask them to give the news that Fifi was safe to Frank, Miss Diamond and Stan. But although he wanted to pass on the good news and relieve everyone of worry, he knew they’d all be upset about Yvette. She might have been rather odd, but she’d lived in Dale Street for a long time and people had become fond of her.
It was strange that he hadn’t really reacted to her death. He was horrified of course to see her hanging there, that was bloody awful. But once he was out of the barn with Fifi he kind of switched off about her.
He was curious now though. When did she do it? Did Fifi try to stop her?
He really hoped that by tomorrow Fifi would have recovered enough to want to talk and ask questions, then he’d really believe she was on the mend. But he didn’t know how he would explain how he found out about Jack Trueman without revealing Nora Diamond’s part in it. Dan was curious himself now about what the man had done to her. But he didn’t suppose