Chapter 10

"Can I ask an obvious question? How is it possible that he got to DS level at twenty three? It's very young" Kate asked looking over documents with Steve in the AC-12 office.

"Young but not impossible especially in the 1970s. Depends on how fast he got to sergeant level and from him diaries you can see he is a headstrong determined guy. He could have completed the DS probationary period not long before the bank robbery so his DS status was new at that time. Also look at this. It looks like he applied to the force twice before he actually could and did volunteering to put on his references at his local police station. Screams a little of the old boys club with the people he worked with to get him fast tracked but he did put in the work I'll give him that. He just kicked everything off early really. If you met his community in Northumbria, you'd know how much everyone loved him and to this day protect him" Steve explained indicating to Christopher's record on his computer screen.

"Makes more sense now. I've managed to pull out records for women named Holly on the force who worked here or in the nearby stations including the hill. As you can imagine there weren't many. Only three, so that helps narrow that down. I'm trying to contact each of them to see if they would be willing to talk to us."

"Good work, mate. What about the plaque records?"

"Still waiting for those to come through. I keep chasing for them but not getting the details. Might have to get the gaffer involved to see if he can put some pressure on to get the details we need. Have you found the friends Gwen mentioned?" Steve nodded and pulled up two other records on his screen from the 1970s.

"Yes for Nicholas and Charles from the police personnel records. They are Nicholas Forrester and Charles Penbrook, both were twenty eight at the time of Christopher's disappearance, now retired as you can imagine. Nicholas is still in the area and Charles moved to the Lake District on retiring. The other two I have no idea. The diaries don't indicate their surnames but Christopher makes it clear that Vic and Mark were friends of his not colleagues. Without surnames they are a dead end.

"Let's hope Nicholas and Charles can give us some answers while the gaffer is talking to TSB."

Steve dialed Charles' number and waited for him to pick up the phone. After what felt like forever and no answer phone machine kicking in, he was close to giving up. Finally he heard the line being picked up by an urgent voice.

"Hello?! Hello?!" a man asked with a thick scouse accent. Steve liked a Liverpool accent. He never knew why.

"Hello, is that Charles Penbrook?" Steve asked.

"Yes! Sorry about that, I couldn't find my phone. Was worried you might have hung up."

"No problem. My name is DS Steve Arnott calling from the Central Police anti-corruption unit. I am looking into the disappearance of an officer and your name came up in our enquiries as you were one of his colleagues at the time of his disappearance."

"I've been retired a good ten years now. You'll have to be more specific. Who would that be?"

"DS Christopher Wright. He went missing –" Steve began but Charles cut him off. His voice having gone from light yet rushed to serious and tinged with a weighted sadness.

"In the summer of 1974. Yes I remember him well. He was a good man."

"Would it be at all possible for me and my colleagues to come see you to talk about Christopher?" There was silence for several seconds.

"With all due respect, I'd rather I came to see you … my mental health was … impacted by things I saw in my career and moving to the lake district helped me deal with that. I'd rather keep my past away from my home" Charles explained.

"That's no problem at all. When would you be free to come to see us?"

"I should be able to get there for Thursday?" Charles suggested. Three days, plenty of time to collect information to quiz him on.

"Perfect."

Kate and Steve decided to spend the day speaking to Nicholas so they found themselves heading to Dudley. They could easily get there and back in a day. Following the route of the sat nav they found phone signals became patchy and at points completely cut out.

"Where does this guy live?"

"On a farm a little further out. We should be there soon."

"Hate farms" Kate muttered making Steve smile.

"Not all farms are bad Kate."

"Have you smelt them?" Now he was laughing.

"Can't say I've ever been to one that I can remember. Perhaps when I was very young? I don't know. Growing up in London I wasn't surrounded by farm lands."

"Well then, you are in for a treat."

Kate was right. It did smell and they quickly learnt why. It was a dairy farm so it was full of cows and their waste. Steve had smelt some gross stuff in his time in the police including decomposing bodies. He'd take that over this any day.

"Breath through your mouth not your nose" Kate suggested.

They wondered through the farm for several minutes and had no answer at the farm house. When they were close to giving up out of one of the barns walked a man in his mid-sixties. He was in mud splattered farm overalls in dark colours to try and disguise the splashes of the muck and dirt. A heavy weather beaten rain coat accompanied the outfit and thick knee high wellington boots. A black and white collie dog saw the two and began to bark before rushing over. Steve suddenly thought the dog was going to jump up at them and cover them in the same muck and dirt but a whistle from its master stopped the dog in its tracks half way towards them.

"Heel Max!" the man yelled in a thick black country accent and the dog sat down and glared at Steve and Kate. From his file they knew Nicholas was born and raised in Wolverhampton.

"You've got him well trained" Steve commented.

"He's still young and rather excitable. Wouldn't want him to get cow shit all over you" the man explained as he walked towards them.

"We appreciate it. Nicholas Forrester?" Kate asked.

"Depends, whose asking?"

"This is DS Steve Arnott and I am DC Kate Fleming from the Central Police anti-corruption unit. We are looking into the disappearance of a fellow officer and your name came up as someone to speak with" Kate explained. Steve and Kate showed him their badges.

"Been a while since I've seen one of those. Who has disappeared?" he asked.

"DS Christopher Wright" Steve said. He waited to see Nicholas's facial reaction but he didn't get one. Instead, Nicholas held out his arm indicating to the farm house.

"Come on in the house, I'll just get out of these overalls and then we can talk." He then turned to the dog who was still sat waiting for his next command. "Garden Max" he barked. The dog stood up and ran round the side of the farmhouse.

Kate and Steve stepped into the farm house first and the smell of the cows disappeared instantly. Nicholas remained outside whilst he took off his boots and overalls. The farmhouse was clean and perhaps a little messy but nothing that stood out as odd. The farmhouse reminded Steve of Lottie's bedroom, a little chaotic but full of personality. There was a warm atmosphere about the place with sunny yellow painted walls, art work everywhere and an original architecture from when the Victorian farm house was built such as a massive old fireplace in the kitchen which now had an aga at its centre. The outside of the farmhouse made it seem that the inside would be like Satis House from Great Expectations, all moldy and falling to bits, but the reality was very different. Kate stayed in the kitchen area while Steve wondered about and found himself in the living room. The coffee table was covered in paints of all different types and colours and on an easel across the room was a canvas with the beginnings of an oil painting on it. It was of the massive garden and the acres of land further off in the distance. In the garden there was an oak tree, a bench and wild flowers of all different types. Max had curled up under the bench and looked content despite the cold. The garden was boarded with waist high bushes and poking out the top of the bushes were spikes from an iron fence the bushes had clearly grown around. The land further afield was acres of lush green grassland where cows were grazing and at the furthest point Steve could just make out a weeping willow. He heard the farmhouse door open so he walked back to the kitchen to be with Kate.

Nicholas they could now see was in a long sleeve green plaid shirt, jeans and boots with not a speck of mud on him. If it wasn't for his weather beaten face or scraggly grey hair, you wouldn't even have guessed he was just out working on his farm.

"Sorry about that. As you can imagine cows make an utter mess so you come to pick up tips on how to keep yourself clean. Glad Max didn't jump up at you and ruin your city look. I'll let him in after you've gone so you are safe from him. Can I make you a tea? Coffee?"

"Tea would be lovely, thanks" Kate replied and Nicholas busied himself making the drinks.

"What made you go from police work to farming?" Steve asked.

"The death of my father. This was his estate and he left it to me along with the family business."

"What is that exactly?" Kate asked.

"Dairy, more specifically milk, cheese, butter and ice cream. We supply milk to a multitude of places and we also make cheese, butter and ice cream right here on the premises. I've gone from being part of a team raiding locations and catching serial killers to wrangling cows and running a staff of twenty-five. Retirement not really a thing for me but its how the dice rolled."

"How much land do you have?" Steve asked

"About 500 acres in total. So sorry for the long journey cut off from nowhere but I didn't buy the land, my dad did. If you had called me I would have come to you. I remember long journeys to question people and the long days. If there is anything I can do to help relieve some of that for you I am more than happy. Plus getting away from cow shit and meetings with suppliers at my age is a relief!" he explained as he finished making the tea and handed them over. He didn't move from the kitchen so Steve and Kate stayed where they were.

"So, Christopher? How can I help?"

"We understand that you were working on the murder unit with Christopher in the three years before he disappeared. Could you tell us about him?" Kate asked.

"One of a kind cocky gobshite is how I would describe him. Not in a negative way you understand. He just made sure you were aware he was in the room when he walked in. We would turn up to crime scenes and he already had at least five suggestions of what happened and would not be able to hold his tongue when he thought someone was wrong. He honestly believed he was the most brilliant mind in every single room. Ok at first, I didn't like him. As time went on though I came to realize and see how good a man he was. He was great with kids and if a case involved them he would be the first to interact with them. He made them his full focus and we wouldn't have solved a lot of cases I believe without him."

"Did anyone else in the unit have issues with him?" Steve asked.

"Not really. Well, Charles did punch him in the face once but it was a drunken miss-understanding after a lot of drinking. Not sure that counts really."

"What was it over?" Kate asked.

"Christopher's girlfriend, Holly. Charles mentioned how good her rack was and said a few other things not thinking that Christopher could hear him. Charles got taken aside by Christopher to talk in private and the next thing we know Charles threw a punch. We quickly broke it up and Christopher left. Charles never said what was said, just that it was a miss-understanding. It was never discussed again."

"How was Christopher acting around the time of his disappearance?"

"No different than usual. I suppose he was a little off perhaps. Agitated but then he was going through some stuff with Holly and there was some trouble at home or something. I don't know the specifics but it involved Gwen. When he didn't show up to work I just assumed stuff with Holly had gone bad and he was taking a sick day. Then when it became two days when he didn't show I knew something was wrong. He never took sick leave even when clearly he was ill. His work was so important to him. Having fallen out with Holly, given they were so close, I could understand him finally having a sick day, but two? No. We went to his flat and found nothing out of the ordinary. We looked everywhere and couldn't find him. No one at his usual haunts had seen him. Finally we contacted his mother and when she confirmed he wasn't in Northumbria things got really concerning. Holly didn't know where he was and it transpired there had been an argument and he stormed out into the night never to be seen again. With no mobile phones, social media or internet, we had no way of tracking him. He just vanished. We searched for him in John Doe reports for nearly a year but nothing came to light. I reached out to his mother and Gwen, tried to be a friend to them, a point of contact for them being up north but there was only so much I could do."

"What was Holly's surname? Do you remember which department she worked?" Kate asked.

"Light … something! I can't remember I'm afraid but I remember the 'light' part because the first time Christopher introduced me I thought he said lighthouse. She sort of fluttered about doing a mixture of tasks like over WPCs. While working with us she focused on witness statements and comforted the witnesses. She worked really well with Christopher given he was so good with kids. Hang on a minute."

Nicholas put down his mug and left the room. Kate indicated to Steve to look at her notepad. On it Kate had written three names: Holly Williams, Holly Granger and Holly Lightstone. The two shared a look and Nicholas re-entered the room catching their attention. He was carrying a photo.

"I knew I had a snap of her. This was taken about four months before Christopher disappeared I think. It was from a birthday party. You're welcome to take it."

Steve took the photo and it showed a group of men and women at a table in a pub. They had their glasses raised and in the centre was Christopher with his arm around a girl with an auburn bob cut and green eyes. She looked happy as did Christopher.

"Thanks. Can I ask did you know there was a plaque for him put up in 1986?" he looked confused.

"Gwen's plaque you mean? That never happened. I had helped Gwen fill out the application and such. Tried to get it accepted, even spoke to the chief superintendent myself but it didn't work. It got put up?"

"It appears so but we are trying to find records of it" Kate explained.

"I don't know if he is still there but you might want to get in contact with a bloke called Martin McGuinness. He worked a lot with the chief superintendant and was a man who it was a good idea to have connections with if you needed something done. I'm not saying this next sentence on record. If you as anti-corruption were to look into him, there would be a lot of shady shit that you would uncover in a heartbeat. He might know some things that may be of help to you and he might be willing to tell you for a deal."

"Good to know. One final thing, a few months before he disappeared Christopher got caught up in a bank robbery. Do you know anything about that?" Steve asked.

"In Manchester? Oh, yeah. Surprised you're asking me to be honest." Steve furrowed his brow catching Nicholas's attention. "You have read the file on it right?"

"Yes but there wasn't much of a file given the old records" Steve explained.

"Bloody typical! When are the force going to learn that cold cases are still cases even though they were pre-modern technology and that filing systems are important. Without them nothing gets solved for fuck's sake! If you find the bank you might find their records of it. I remember that robbery very clearly because I was there. I'm one of the witnesses. They took a full statement from me and everyone else there." Steve and Kate were now very interested in what Nicholas had to say.

"What happened exactly?" Steve asked.

"You'll see in my statement. I was in the bank making a deposit. The next thing I know I hear the doors bang open and yelling for everyone to get on the ground. One of them fired their shotgun into the ceiling to scare everyone. Stupid pricks didn't realize that at most the damage it would cause was some plaster to fall from the ceiling and make everyone's ears ring so no one could hear their instructions. Being on the force I wanted to tackle them but three shotguns in my face stopped me. I had to find a way to get the civilians out safely so I went along with being a victim. We got shoved into the backroom and the three pricks started emptying the safe of its contents. All those people barely getting by it a terrible economy and they watched their money being stolen from them as they are threatened with shotguns. Makes me sick. I don't know how long it was exactly but the robbers started getting het up that someone was outside and that was when I heard Christopher. When the robbers went to the front of the bank to confront him I led the civilians to the back entrance. There were suddenly three shots that made everyone scream and I ran to the front of the bank. I open the door and there is Christopher with his gun still in his hand and the robbers lying dead on the ground. He was in shock at what he had done. He never shot anyone before and it shook him up. As I said, my full statement was given to the bank and the investigation team."

"Three robbers?" Kate clarified.

"Yep, three. Why?"

"Just checking I heard you right. I think that covers everything for now. If we have any more questions, is it ok for us to come visit you again?" Kate asked.

"Of course, or just ring me and I'll come to you. Like I said, I could do with the break from cows! Would be good to be back in the old haunts and see what has changed."

After saying their goodbyes and heading back to areas with good reception Kate's phone buzzed. She looked at her phone and read a text from Maneet.

"The plaque record has been uncovered" she told Steve.

"And?" he pressed.

"The application was submitted two weeks after Gwen's got rejected. Was signed by the chief superintendant and the application was submitted by Holly Lightstone."

"We best organize a meeting with her."