DI Sean Corrigan Crime Series: 6-Book Collection: Cold Killing, Redemption of the Dead, The Keeper, The Network, The Toy Taker and The Jackdaw

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Donnelly demanded.

‘All right, for Christ’s sake. Yes, I’ve been in contact with him,’ Jarratt admitted. ‘But I’ve got nothing to do with DS Jones being attacked.’

‘But you made Korsakov’s photographs and fingerprints disappear, yes?’ Sean asked.

Jarratt’s body slumped. ‘If I talk, you’ll look after me, agreed? You guarantee me no prison time and I’ll talk.’

‘I can’t make that sort of promise, but I’ll do what I can. Now talk.’

‘Shortly before Korsakov was due to be released from prison I decided to visit him.’

‘Why?’ Sean asked.

‘Because we’d never recovered the money from his frauds. Millions of pounds outstanding.’

‘And you fancied helping yourself to an early retirement present, eh?’ Donnelly accused.

‘No,’ Jarratt claimed. ‘It wasn’t like that. Or at least, not at first. It’s often worth visiting people shortly ahead of their release to remind them that you’re watching them. Make it clear to them that as soon as they start spending their ill-gotten gains you’ll be there to seize everything they have.’ Sean was aware of the practice. ‘Sometimes you can cut a deal, get them to surrender most of the monies, in return for allowing them to keep a proportion as a reward for playing the game. All very unofficial, but everybody wins. We get to show monies recovered, the victims get some compensation and the thief gets a little sweetener.

‘But that’s not the way Korsakov wanted to play it. He wasn’t about to hand over a penny. However, he could see the point in making sure the police weren’t on his back.’

‘Go on,’ Sean encouraged.

‘He offered me a cut. All I had to do was make a few things disappear.’

‘Like fingerprints and photographs?’

Jarratt shrugged.

‘How much did he pay you?’ Donnelly asked.

‘Initially, ten thousand, with further instalments to follow, but …’ he paused. ‘The next time we meet, he shows me photographs. Some were of the two of us together, with me counting the cash.’

‘He set you up?’ said Donnelly.

‘Yes, but there was more. He had other photographs – of my kids, for God’s sake, at school, in the park, in my own garden.’

‘He threatened them?’ Sean questioned.

‘He didn’t have to,’ Jarratt replied. ‘I knew what he was capable of. I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life watching over my shoulder, waiting for the inevitable.’

‘As soon as he did that, you should have stopped it, cut your losses and stopped it,’ said Sean.

‘And end up in prison? Old Bill don’t have it good inside. I decided to bide my time and hope that eventually Korsakov would move on and forget about me. Then all of a sudden your DS comes sniffing around, asking all the wrong questions. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Korsakov contacts me, asks me to get you off his back. It was like a nightmare coming true.’

‘You warned him about DS Jones?’ Sean accused. ‘Let him know she was asking about Korsakov?’

‘No,’ said Jarratt. ‘Why would I do that? If I’d told him, he would have asked me to do something about it. Things were bad enough without me making matters worse.’

‘Are you saying Hellier didn’t know Sally was looking for Korsakov?’ Sean asked.

‘He had no idea, as far as I know. He was convinced I’d all but made his past disappear. I thought the same, until your DS came to see me and I realized I’d missed something. His file held at Method Index. I didn’t even know his details had been sent to them. Graham must have decided Korsakov would be of interest to them and sent them the details of his crime, but he never told me he had so I never knew, until now.’

‘He did,’ said Sean. ‘I guessed you couldn’t have known about it, otherwise it wouldn’t still exist. So I asked Wright and he confirmed he was the one who sent the file to Method Index.’

‘And the fingerprints?’ Donnelly asked. ‘How did you make them disappear?’

Jarratt smiled for the first time since they’d met him. ‘Korsakov’s idea. I had Graham pull the prints for me, but we knew Fingerprints would want them back so Korsakov had me destroy his real prints and replace them with another set, all correctly filled out on the proper forms, everything kosher. Only we used a novelty ink Korsakov bought at a joke shop. Within two days the ink disappears and you’re left with a blank piece of paper, or in this case a blank fingerprint form. When Graham returned them, they looked fine and no doubt got filed. Then they simply faded away to nothing. Korsakov thought it was hysterical.’

Sean and Donnelly stared at each other in disbelief.

‘You are joking?’ Donnelly asked.

‘You know Korsakov?’ Jarratt asked. ‘Or I suppose I should say Hellier. He’s as intelligent as he is vicious. Imaginative and dangerous, but he didn’t attack DS Jones and I doubt he killed the other people you think he did.’

‘Why?’ Sean asked.

‘Because he would have told me.’

‘Why would he want to do that?’

‘To remind me of what I had become. To remind me that I belonged to him.’

Sean and Donnelly looked at each other in silence. Finally Sean spoke.

‘Mr Jarratt, it’s time you met a friend of mine.’ A short, stocky figure dressed in a scruffy dark suit walked into the kitchen. ‘This is Detective Inspector Reger, Professional Standards and Ethics, or as you may remember it, Complaints Investigation.’

Reger casually showed Jarratt his warrant card. ‘Paul Jarratt, you’re under arrest for theft and assisting an offender. Get what you need – you’re coming with me.’

The two tape cassettes in the recorder turned simultaneously. Hellier had said nothing. He sat silently. Face badly bruised, his broken nose taped open to let him breathe. He refused to confirm his name. Let Templeman do the talking until he felt it necessary to speak himself. First he would wait and see if the police were wasting his time, again.

DC Fiona Cahill sat at Sean’s side. He wanted to have a woman police officer in the interview, so he could see how Hellier reacted to the allegation that he’d attacked Sally. If his eyes darted to DC Cahill, it would be a good indication he felt some guilt. Could Hellier ever feel guilt?

Sean was looking forward to this interview. Until now, he’d been at a disadvantage, but the discovery that Hellier was Korsakov had tipped the balance in his favour. He completed the pre-interview procedure, eager to get underway.

‘Mr Hellier, James, it’s time for you to talk to us,’ Sean began. ‘It’s over.’ Hellier said nothing. ‘It will go much better for you if you talk to us,’ Sean continued. ‘Help me understand why you did these things.’

Nothing.

‘Why did you kill Daniel Graydon?’ Sean asked. ‘Why did you kill Heather Freeman? Why did you kill Linda Kotler? Why did you try and kill Detective Sergeant Sally Jones?’

Sean knew he had to keep going. He knew Hellier wouldn’t be able to remain silent much longer. His ego wouldn’t allow it.

‘What did these people mean to you?’ he persisted. ‘Did you know them? Had they done something to make you angry? Did they deserve to die?’

‘You know nothing,’ Hellier snapped.

‘Why did you kill these people?’ Sean demanded, his voice raised now.