Only the Lonely: DI Ted Darling Series Book 5 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  About the author

  Contact details

  Acknowledgements

  Cover image credits

  Only

  the

  Lonely

  DI Ted Darling Book 5

  L M KRIER

  First Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2016 LMK Tither

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design DMR Creative

  The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Fisherman's Friend is a registered trademark of the Lofthouse of Fleetwood Ltd Company of Lancashire

  Shewee is a registered trademark of Dales Distribution Ltd

  To my brother

  Peter

  1948 – 2016

  .

  Chapter One

  DI Ted Darling paused with his right hand on the door of the main office. It felt good to be back. He'd only been gone for two weeks but he hated any time away from his team. Even on rare holidays with his partner, Trevor, half of his mind was always wondering how things were going back at the nick without him.

  Then he opened the door and went in. Only his sergeant, Mike Hallam, was at his desk, surrounded by several untidy piles of paperwork. It was still early, but Ted knew it would not be long before the rest of the team arrived. Ted was an easy-going boss who led by example. He was never late so his team were the same, out of respect for him.

  Mike Hallam leapt up from the clutter, like a drowning man coming up for air, and his face broke into a wide smile.

  'Boss! Am I glad to see you back.'

  He extended a hand and shook Ted's warmly, then nodded in the direction of Ted's left hand, still bandaged after a recent serious knife injury, which had needed extensive surgery. 'How's the hand doing?'

  Ted lifted his arm and waggled each finger in turn. His thumb was a bit more reluctant to show its party piece, but he did manage to move it a little.

  'Getting there,' he said. 'It's certainly a lot better than it was. So, how have things been?'

  Mike groaned. 'Work-wise, fine. Nothing we couldn't handle, and we're pretty much on top of most of the paperwork, although it may not look like it from my desk. It's just that we all missed you, boss. The Super's been trying to be supportive, but every time she trots up here to make sure we're managing without you, she makes everyone so nervous we turn into bumbling idiots.'

  Ted laughed aloud. That was exactly the reaction their senior officer, Superintendent Debra Caldwell, universally known as the Ice Queen, provoked in him, too. He knew she would be in her office, if not now then shortly. He also knew that his first port of call needed to be to go and see her to let her know he was back and had been medically passed as fit for duty. He just couldn't resist seeing his team members first.

  The door opened behind him and the rest of the team came trooping in together, all looking as pleased as Mike had done to see that their boss was back. DCs Rob O'Connell, Sal Ahmed and Virgil Tibbs all shook his hand. Even Trainee Detective Constable Steve Ellis plucked up the courage for a brief handshake. Their most rebellious member, DC Jezza Vine, had more reason than most to be pleased to see him back. She threw protocol to the wind to fling her arms around him in a brief hug and give him a swift peck on the cheek.

  Ted had a quick glance towards the whiteboard to see what cases were ongoing. It looked as if things had been surprisingly quiet.

  “We had a body in the river, with multiple knife wounds, but we think we've got that more or less wrapped up already, boss. There was a sudden death at the weekend but I don't think it's one for us, unless anything unusual shows up with the post-mortem.'

  'Right, I should go and let the Super know I'm back, then you can fill me in on anything I need to know after that.'

  Ted knocked briefly on the Ice Queen's door and went in when she called out. Even his stiff and formal boss seemed pleased to see him and her smile appeared to be genuine.

  'Ah, Inspector, did you smell the coffee? It's nearly ready. Please sit down and tell me how you're feeling now. I must say, you're looking very well, a lot better than when I saw you last.'

  Ted sat, hastily making excuses for his casual attire. The Ice Queen insisted he wore a suit and tie to work always, which he hated. He'd done his best, but with the bandaging still on his injured hand, he hadn't been able to fit it down the sleeve of his suit jacket. Instead he was in an open-necked check shirt with a soft cotton poplin field jacket, the poppers at the cuff of the left sleeve open to allow room for the strapping.

  'Ma'am, I'm sorry for the civvies. I can't get my suit jacket on over this,' he lifted his hand in evidence, 'and Trev is never awake early enough to tie a tie for me…'

  Her smile was almost friendly as she waved away his apology and said, 'It's really good to see you. For a moment, I was worried you weren't coming back. So I'd have been just as happy to see you if you were in your pyjamas.'

  'I don't wear any,' Ted risked, with a cheeky grin.

  'Indeed,' she said, back to her businesslike self, setting out the coffee and sitting down opposite him. 'First of all, I must say your team have been exemplary. They have coped really well in your absence, especially with DC Brown still off on sick leave as well. I really have been most impressed. You've trained them very well.

  'In fact you and your team have been the subject of various discussions at high level during your absence and I have some exciting proposals to put to you about the future.'

  Ted wondered if he were dreaming. Just then, Freddie Mercury interrupted their thought processes by announcing that he had had a perfect dream. It was the ringtone on Ted's mobile phone, announcing an incoming call. One of Ted's rare moments of rebellion was to have the distinctive ringtone instead of a classic, neutral one.

  'You'd better see if you need to take that,' the Ice Queen told him.

  Ted pulled the phone out and looked at the screen. Despite Trev's offers of help, he'd never got round to having different tones to differentiate between callers. 'Professor N
elson,' he said, looking questioningly at the Ice Queen. She nodded at him to take the call. If the senior forensic pathologist was phoning, it was likely that Ted's team had another suspicious death coming their way.

  'Good morning, Professor,' Ted said formally. He and Elizabeth 'Bizzie' Nelson had become good friends and were on first-name terms, but Ted always kept things professional in front of anyone else.

  'Ah, Edwin, I assume you're not alone? I'm sorry to disturb you but I have something on my autopsy table which was supposed to be straightforward but which, on closer examination, looks as if it may be something for you, after all. How soon could you come down here so I can explain everything and show you why I think that? I'm just finishing up the post-mortem so it's a good time for you to see for yourself, if you're available.'

  Ted took the phone away from his ear and said, 'Ma'am, Professor Nelson has a possible suspicious death and wants me to go down there as soon as possible. Would that be convenient? Could we continue our discussion later on?'

  The Ice Queen sighed and looked slightly disappointed, but nodded her agreement. Ted told the Professor he was leaving shortly and would be with her as soon as traffic conditions allowed.

  'Are you fit to drive?' the Ice Queen asked him, looking at his injured hand.

  'As long as I don't change gear too often,' Ted joked in reply. 'I just have to remember not to pull the handbrake on too far or I struggle to let it off again. I'm sorry to have to dash away. I look forward to hearing the news you have for me as soon as I get back.'

  Professor Nelson met Ted at the door of her post-mortem suite in the bowels of the hospital. She assured him he had no need for coveralls as she had finished her examination. She, too, greeted him warmly and shook his hand, asking how he was feeling and how he'd enjoyed his time off.

  'It was good. I did a lot of walking, a lot of thinking. I needed time to get my head straight. I missed Trev like crazy, though, and I couldn't phone him often as the phone signal is dire down there. It's the longest we've ever been apart.'

  'And he was like a little lost puppy without you, too. He asked me to dine with him a couple of times, just for the company, which was sweet of him, and a real treat for me.'

  Ted handed her one of his Fisherman's Friend lozenges and took one himself before he followed her into the room. It helped to mask the smells that inevitably went with the job of rooting around in the most intimate parts of a body, in search of a cause of death.

  The large, brightly lit room had three stainless steel tables, only one of which currently housed a body, that of a man. A white sheet was pulled up to his chin so Ted could only see his face, which was gaunt, with hollow cheeks. It looked grimy beneath the thick stubble, and the dark hair was long, lank and greasy.

  'We haven't completely cleaned him up yet,' the Professor was telling him. 'There's no known next of kin, so we're still waiting on an identification. We'll make him look more presentable for that.

  'I was told that he's an unemployed man of forty-seven, Stan Marshall, a known alcoholic. That's confirmed by his state of malnutrition which, sadly, is often a feature. I didn't attend the scene as it was thought to be just a simple case of excessive drinking leading to his death. A straightforward, but none the less tragic case of alcohol poisoning.'

  Ted wasn't sure where she was going with this. So far there seemed to be nothing in it for him or his team. But he had faith in Bizzie. If she thought something was wrong, then it almost certainly was.

  'So what led you to think otherwise?' he prompted.

  The Professor picked up what looked rather like an innocent Tupperware container, with a tight lid. She held it out towards him and Ted instinctively swayed back away from it. He had a horrible feeling it was going to be stomach contents and he was never good at dealing with the smell of those. Hesitantly, as she thrust it insistently closer, he prised up the lid, chewing frantically on his lozenge.

  Surprised, he looked at Bizzie as the fumes reached his nostrils and asked, 'Whisky? But isn't that what you might expect to find?'

  'Ah, Edwin, I always forget you're a non-drinker and clearly a Philistine when it comes to good Scotch,' she smiled. 'I'm a whisky drinker, enough to be able to tell, even after it had been sitting in his stomach for a time, that this is not a bargain of the day bottle from a supermarket shelf. I've had it tested to confirm my thoughts. This is a very good quality single malt, a bottle of which retails for more than twice what this unfortunate man was likely to be drawing in benefits per week.'

  Ted shrugged. 'A lucky scratch card win, perhaps?'

  'The last time I treated myself to a bottle of malt of this quality, I had to buy it from the duty free shop at an airport. Where would our Mr Marshall have got his hands on one? It's not for me to tell you your job, Edwin, but I would certainly be intrigued to know what the first responding officers at the scene found there. I wasn't involved, nor were SOCO, as no crime was suspected. I would respectfully suggest that it would be worth a few moments of someone's time to go back to the unfortunate Mr Marshall's flat and have a look for the bottle.

  'He drank almost all of it, very quickly, which is what killed him. But if someone knew him, and for some reason wanted rid of him, they would surely know that giving a bottle of good whisky like that to an alcoholic was like putting a small child in a sweet shop.'

  Ted was still looking less than convinced so she continued, 'In isolation, I may not have thought it at all strange. Like you, I'd probably have thought a lottery win, or that he'd somehow managed to steal it from somewhere. But his address rang a bell, so I looked back through our case notes.

  'Mr Marshall lived in Sabden House flats. A couple of months ago, we carried out a post-mortem on another resident from there. This one was a known drug addict. He had died from an overdose of heroin. Again, nothing unusual on the face of it. Except that this particular heroin was of a purity and strength like nothing we've ever seen here before. Exactly the same sort of thing. Guaranteed to kill someone who wasn't used to anything like it, in a very short space of time.'

  Now she had Ted's full attention. He was looking at her intently as he said, 'I know Sabden House. It's where they moved Honest John when they took the old tower block down. It's a small place, not many flats there at all, so two deaths like this in such a short space of time is certainly unusual.'

  He saw Bizzie's quizzical expression and explained that Honest John was the station's local confessor. Whenever any major crime was made public, he was always the first to phone up and confess to it, always insisting, 'Honest, it was me.' The truth was that he was a sad and lonely figure whose clinical obesity prevented him from ever leaving his flat and who craved whatever attention he could get.

  'It's up to you how you want to go forward with this, Edwin, but I'm going to flag it up to the coroner as suspicious. Meanwhile, I'll send you all we have on this case, and the previous one, so you can look at the two in more detail. And please do keep me posted. I would be particularly interested to know exactly which whisky this was. I believe that murder by single malt is very rare.'

  As soon as he got back to the nick, Ted went in search of the Ice Queen to find out just what exciting news she had for him. He couldn't begin to guess what it could be but he imagined that, whatever it was, it was going to involve a lot more paperwork for him. Everything these days seemed to involve more paperwork. That and the constant round of cutbacks all conspired to make his job even more difficult than ever.

  She was on the phone when Ted put his head round the door so he waited outside until she called out to him to come in. Although their relationship was slowly settling down, it was still formal and awkward. Ted never felt totally relaxed in her company as he had done with his former boss, DCI, now Detective Superintendent, Jim Baker, who was also his close friend.

  'Please come in and sit down. I really am pleased to have you back. I was worried that you perhaps had other plans. I take it you are back to stay?'

  Ted nodded, so she continued
, 'In that case, I want to tell you about the plans which involve you and your team. The top brass are most impressed with your performance. Between you, you have the best clear-up rate for serious crime within the force.

  'The idea, therefore, is that we expand your team and, as well as covering this area, you become a mobile unit to cover the whole force area as needed. In the event of serious crime in any other division, you would be drafted in to help and to increase numbers.

  'The new unit will be under the direct command of Superintendent Baker, so you would be answerable to him when out on secondment, and to me when based here in Stockport. You'll need a couple of new team members, too, but we can discuss those finer details when you've had time to digest the idea.

  'Your team will certainly need a second sergeant and you will also need another inspector. That's because, as I'm sure you will have realised, as you will be going in as Senior Investigating Officer to other divisions, you will need to hold the rank of Detective Chief Inspector.'

  Chapter Two

  Trevor was in the kitchen of their home in Offerton, cooking something which was smelling delicious, when Ted got home from work. For once, Ted wasn't feeling exhausted. If anything, he was excited about the news he'd been given, but more than a little apprehensive about Trev's reaction to his promotion and new role.

  He hoped his partner would be pleased that he'd made DCI, especially as it was unexpected. But he knew, too, that his new responsibilities risked taking him away more, and he hated to be apart from Trev. Their relationship was rock-solid, based on mutual trust. Ted's problem was that he worried constantly about Trev being much younger than him, not to mention extremely good-looking. Ted always felt he restricted the fun his partner could be having because of his being so much older, the nature of his job and the way he was. Trev was a natural party animal; Ted was a quiet people watcher.