Page 96 of The Scene of the Crime

‘I doubt he’s as smart as he thinks,’ Jessica said. ‘I’m confident you’ll find him.’

‘Well, let’s bloody well hope so. I’ll drop you back at the station, then call Anderson. You may as well go home. I’ll ring you later with an update.’

Jessica sat back in the passenger seat. She thought about Wheeler and possible ways of locating him, and one came to mind. ‘If Palmer and Wheeler are connected, they must have made contact somehow,’ she said.

‘Agreed, but we don’t know where or when. Palmer denied being involved or knowing anyone who was. The landlady at The Bell said he was a loner . . .’

‘If they know each other, Palmer may have John Wheeler, The Dealer or JW in his phone contacts or even an email address. If he does, we can track the current location of Wheeler’s phone to try to locate him. And if we get a possible number, the service provider may have a home address for Wheeler.’

‘That’s good thinking. Give Guy a call.’

‘I told him to go home. My team has worked their backsides off today, and they all need some rest. I’ll text Guy and ask him to check Palmer’s phone again first thing in the morning.’

‘OK, we’re all tired. Time to call it a day.’

Arriving back at Barking, they saw DS Wood getting into his car. Chapman beeped his horn to get his attention and they both went over to talk to him.

‘Any luck in tracing an address for Wheeler?’

‘No, if I had, you know I’d have called you. On a positive note, though . . . the hospital rang earlier and said De Klerk is recovering more quickly than expected. He’s been moved from the ICU to a private room, although he hasn’t regained consciousness yet. But they’re hoping he will in the next twenty-four hours.’

‘Good, because we need to speak to him about the contents of his safe,’ Chapman said.

‘Sorry to be rude, but this is for Mike’s ears only,’ Wood said, taking Chapman to one side. Jessica shrugged and headed towards her car, leaving them to talk in private.

‘Has Anderson turned up?’ Chapman asked.

‘No. He’s probably in his pinny cleaning the house while his wife watches TV.’

‘So what’s up then?’

‘You remember DS Richard Stubbings? He left the job three or four years ago.’

‘Yeah, after being sacked for gross misconduct. As I recall, he was caught accessing sensitive data and suspected of passing it on to a private investigator he knew.’

‘It was a misunderstanding, and no payments were ever involved,’ Wood said.

‘We both know that’s a load of bollocks. But why are you bringing him up?’

‘We joined the job together and are still in touch. Stubbs called me and said he’s got some info on the De Klerk case but wants to speak privately. I’m off to meet him in the pub.’

‘Why didn’t he contact you before now?’

‘He was in Spain working on a case and only got back last night. Stubbs’s work partner saw the news, told him about it this morning and he called me this afternoon.’

‘Don’t tell me Stubbings is working for the private investigator he passed information to.’

Wood grinned. ‘I’ve always said you’re a good detective. Whatever the info is, Stubbs is wary about talking over the phone. It might be something or nothing, but I won’t know until I speak to him.’

‘Be careful. He might be tapping you for information to pass on to the press.’

‘For fuck’s sake, Mike. I wasn’t involved in the press leak, and nor was Stubbs.’

‘I didn’t say you were. I’m just saying to be careful. I’m not a fan of Stubbings. I always thought he was an arrogant prat who strutted around like he was God’s gift.’

‘He’s not all bad, and he’s kept his nose clean since he left the job. If you’re that worried, why don’t you come with me?’

‘No, thanks. I can think of better things to do than socialising with Stubbings. Just be careful, Julian, and for God’s sake don’t tell him anything about the case.’