They’d agreed to converge on the black barn, but this was taking the piss.
Mason sighed.
The little prick was going to have a go at her. This time, she’d probably have his warrant card from him. Hopefully, she’d give him a swift kick in the balls first.
Without a doubt, she could handle him. Mason ambled over towards the enormous black Dutch barn where Jenna had headed. She may be able to handle Gardner, but there was a possibility she’d need a witness.
Failing that, he could always give him a quick smack. Teach him not to pick on women. Because it was women Gardner appeared to have a problem with. Most of them, like Donna, he ignored. But Jenna’s authority meant he couldn’t ignore her.
He scanned around until Ryan emerged from the derelict old brick shed that he’d checked out. ‘Nothing?’
‘Nah.’
Mason jerked his head in a come-over motion. He contemplated whether it was wise to have a witness to the fact that he was about to deck Lee Gardner, but it might be just as well. For somebody to be there to say who swung the first punch. Perhaps he’d let Lee get the first one in. Mason snapped a grin – or let him think he had because there was no way Mason would let Lee land a punch, but if he took a swing, it would be self-defence.
With his boyish enthusiasm, Ryan raced across the cracked concrete of the farmyard as Mason headed towards the barn Jenna had rounded the side of, disappearing out of view as Gardner followed.
‘What’s going on?’ Ryan bounced along with barely harnessed energy.
Mason squinted into the distance. ‘Bloody Lee Gardner decided to follow the Sarge.’
‘What for?’
‘Dunno. Don’t trust him. Let’s go see. Perhaps we’ll find this bloody phone while we’re there too.’
‘Be nice to get it before the dog handler arrives. A key find.’
‘Yeah.’ Mason doubted it. ‘It’s a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.’
They may be able to triangulate within so many feet of the last known location. But it hadn’t been in that location. So, they’d widen the search and hope whoever had the phone, whether it was Poppy or some kid who’d stolen it, found it, whatever, decided to switch it on again.
Mason squinted as Gardner put a spurt on and disappeared around the same side of the building as Jenna had. He broke into a trot with Ryan by his side. He wanted to get closer, so Gardner didn’t get much of chance to face off with Jenna before they arrived.
With barely a hitch in his gangly, loose-legged stride, Ryan stayed abreast of him.
‘Nice couple, the Crawfords.’
‘Very nice.’ Distracted, Mason slowed down again as he reached the corner of the barn.
‘Helpful.’
‘Yeah.’
49
Tuesday 21 April 1620 hours
With a quick check over her shoulder, Jenna hesitated as PC Lee Gardner approached from the other side of the outbuildings he was supposed to be checking out. With purpose in his stride, he made straight for her. Arrogant little bugger was going to have another go.
Well, he could try. He didn’t frighten her, and she wasn’t about to allow him to intimidate her either. She raised her gaze beyond him as Mason and Ryan made their way over.
They weren’t far behind and Mason was astute enough to know Gardner was squaring up for another confrontation. If he was, he was about to get a rocket up his arse. He’d had all the chances she was prepared to give him and if he was gunning for her with such single-minded determination, she was about to hit him with another disciplinary.
When would the guy learn? He wasn’t going to put her down. She wouldn’t let him. His macho shit didn’t scare her, but it was wearing to have him permanently on the offensive.
Discipline was one option. Then again, Mason might just punch him for her. She might allow him.
She grinned to herself as she turned the corner of the black Dutch barn and came to an abrupt halt, the smile dropping from her face.
She stepped in close to inspect the broken padlock hanging loose from the huge wooden door.
Tension coiled in the pit of her stomach: iPhones didn’t break into houses and steal food all on their own, nor did they break open padlocks.
She glanced behind her. The guys had her back, they were only minutes behind her. By the time she got herself ready and carried out some preliminaries, they’d be there.
She dipped her hands into her pockets to take out the pair of nitrile gloves she had stowed that had turned out to be redundant so far for the operation. She snapped them on while she studied the door, just half an inch proud of the doorjamb, and reached out to touch the loose padlock. The solid weight of it fell into her gloved hand.
With no evidence bag to put it in, Jenna flipped her gloves off her hands so they rolled inside out over the padlock and then tucked them into her pocket. Hardly classified as sterile she could only hope she didn’t get hell from Jim Downey for the pocket fluff deposit that would most likely compromise the forensic evidence on the item. It wouldn’t wipe off fingerprints though. There was always an upside.
She lifted the radio to her mouth and spoke just above a whisper in case there was someone there to alert. ‘DI Taylor.’
‘Go ahead.’
‘I’ve found evidence of tampering with a padlock on one of the barns. I’ve bagged the evidence.’ She crossed her fingers at the technicality of the white lie. It was pocketed, not bagged. ‘PC Gardner and DCs Ellis and Downey are two minutes behind me, I’m going in to take a look.’
‘Confirmed, Sergeant. Both the Air Unit and dog handler are on their way, ETA twelve minutes and twenty respectively.’
‘Acknowledged.’
She left Airwaves open and dropped the radio back onto her belt.
With no handle in sight, she reached out to dig her fingers into the gap between the black-painted door and the frame. She pulled until the soft give of it persuaded the door to creak open outwards.
Jenna’s throat jammed shut. Her lungs burned hot enough to ignite a flame deep inside. Ice formed around her heart, as the man whose photograph she’d had emblazoned on her mind over the past few days stepped from the murky depths of the barn with the twin eyes of a double-barrel shotgun trained on her.
Frozen in place, Jenna stared straight ahead with wary respect for the weapon and an abiding fear of the man in front of her. Gordon Lawrence, a dead man. With nothing left to live for.
Instinct told her all along he’d murdered his family. With the body count in dispute, suspicion had hinted that he was still alive. She was hardly in a place to gloat over being proved right.
Jenna raised her gaze above the shotgun to meet the eyes of a killer. One who had every intention of killing again. Golden lion’s eyes ringed with chocolate brown blinked with the bleakness of an empty soul.
Conscious of the approach of her three unsuspecting officers, Jenna took a cautious step back as Gordon moved out of the barn into the sun. A slant of bright sunlight struck his face to make his eyes glow with an unnatural luminescent sheen. A cold stillness washed over her at the steely, single-minded control of the man.
Slow and cautious, Jenna raised one hand in appeal, palm outwards, as he approached. Death was written in his face. Her veins turned to ice with the knowledge she was about to die. Why would a man who’d slaughtered his entire family even consider not pulling the trigger? He had nothing more to lose.