Imposture (DI Gardener 6)

“Dave, I appreciate your enthusiasm but if Jonathan Drake has just made the call he’ll be happy to wait for us, so at least let’s finish up here.”

Rawson nodded and sat back down.

Gardener chose the subject of the airports next because he knew that Dave Rawson and Colin Sharp had worked in tandem.

“So far, sir, we’ve concentrated on Leeds Bradford,” said Colin Sharp. “But we’re no further on because we know that none of the names we have left the country. The situation is still the same.”

“It was a long shot,” said Gardener.

“We have requested that they try and find as much footage of the CCTV since the night of the hit and run but it’s a massive job,” said Rawson.

“We pretty much did the same with Humberside, and Robin Hood airports,” said Bob Anderson. “We’re going back tomorrow to go through what they’ve found but as Dave says, it’s a massive job.”

“I realise that,” said Gardener. “I’ll request some operational support officers to help out. Maybe if we can get enough of them they’ll go through the boring stuff.”

“Maybe we should try photo recognition again,” said Longstaff. “It’s possible they left the country using false names and passports, and maybe even disguises. But what if they’ve been a bit too clever for their own good?”

“What are you thinking?” Gardener asked.

“Well, now they’ve allowed the heat to die down, what if they’ve all flown back under their own names, using their own passports?”

Gardener smiled. “Well done, Julie.”

“Makes sense,” said Gates. “After all, we found both driving licences on Michael Foreman’s body.”

“Okay,” said Gardener. “When you return to the airports take the photos with you again.”

“Might be better if we take USB sticks with digital copies,” said Gates.

“Yes,” said Longstaff. “It’s just possible that if they have returned using normal IDs, one or all of them just might have a criminal record for something that we’ve missed. Even if it was under completely different names, we might get lucky.”

“Surprising how that can happen,” said Frank Thornton. “But for a stroke of luck and a slip-up we might never have caught the Yorkshire Ripper.”

“I know it’s a tough job,” said Gardener, “I really do, and I know what great work you guys are doing. All the legwork and no results can be discouraging, but all I can say is keep at it. Something will break somewhere.”

In order to cover another subject, Gardener asked about the meeting with the bank manager.

“I was on that one, sir,” said Sarah Gates, “but he’s away until tomorrow morning. I said I’d be back first thing. His secretary put it in the diary.”

“Okay. It’s not ideal but it will have to do.” He made a note on the whiteboard under the “actions” list.

“As we’ve already mentioned, we also need to consider the theory that someone out there might have them,” said Gardener, “that we might very well have a vigilante to deal with.”

That wasn’t something the team relished. Not only would it make their job harder, trying to find the people they really wanted, but it suggested a completely unknown entity could be at work.

“Might answer for why their homes had been cleaned out,” said Rawson.

“Which still gives us the problem of knowing who has done what,” said Frank Thornton. “It still might be them lot, or one of them. Were they originally clever enough to see the writing on the wall, and cleared out themselves?”

“It’s a possibility,” said Anderson.

“If it is a vigilante,” said Reilly, “he or she has been pretty bloody thorough, especially if they’ve been able to find out as much as they have, and stripped the houses, therefore removing any or all evidence.”

“Good point, Sean,” said Gardener. “One might even go so far as to say it has a hint of military precision about it.”

The room descended into a strained silence. The task facing them was almost insurmountable. There was so much to do and it felt like a sheer race against time, with no idea how long they had, especially if a vigilante was at work.

Chapter Thirty