A Genuine Mistake Read online

  A Genuine Mistake

  (The twelfth case from ‘The Freeman Files’ series)

  By

  Ted Tayler

  Copyright © 2021 by Ted Tayler

  This ebook is licensed for your enjoyment only. If you would like to share this book with another person, please buy an additional copy for each recipient.

  All rights are reserved. You may not reproduce this work, in part or its entirety, without the author's express written permission.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover design: - www.thecovercollection.com

  A Harmsworth House publication 2021

  Other books by Ted Tayler

  We’d Like To Do A Number Now (2011)

  The Final Straw (2013)

  A Sting In The Tale (2013)

  Unfinished Business (2014)

  The Olympus Project (2014)

  Gold, Silver, and Bombs (2015)

  Conception (2015)

  Nothing Is Ever Forever (2015)

  In The Lap of The Gods (2016)

  The Price of Treachery (2016)

  A New Dawn (2017)

  Something Wicked Draws Near (2017)

  Evil Always Finds A Way (2017)

  Revenge Comes in Many Colours (2017)

  Three Weeks in September (2018)

  A Frequent Peal Of Bells (2018)

  Larcombe Manor (2018)

  Fatal Decision (2019)

  Last Orders (2020)

  Pressure Point (2020)

  Deadly Formula (2020)

  Final Deal (2020)

  Barking Mad (2020)

  Creature Discomforts (2020)

  Silent Terror (2020)

  Night Train (2020)

  All Things Bright (2021)

  Buried Secrets (2021)

  Where to find him

  Website & Blog: – http://tedtayler.co.uk

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  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

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  CHAPTER 1

  Monday, 13th August 2018

  When Gus Freeman arrived in the Old Police Station's car park, he soon realised that the team was back to its full complement. Luke and Neil had returned from their trip to the Yorkshire city of Bradford and parts of that vast county’s rugged countryside.

  There were just two empty spaces. Gus drove into one near the middle of the row that Geoff Mercer had secured from the County Council. Gus knew Blessing Umeh would arrive in the next few minutes, and his young Detective Constable would appreciate the last space on the right-hand end.

  It was small compensation for a wounded heart, but Blessing was a tough cookie. She would get over the loss of PC Dave Smith’s affections in time.

  Gus travelled alone in the lift. He found Luke Sherman and Neil Davis hard at work. Alex Hardy and Lydia Logan Barre were still preparing for the start of a new week.

  Gus nodded to the couple and walked over to chat with Neil and Luke.

  He heard the lift returning to the ground floor. Blessing was on her way.

  “A quick catch-up, lads,” he said. “Then, I’m off to London Road to collect the next cold case.”

  Neil and Luke brought Gus up to speed on the events of last week.

  DCI Phil Banks had called on Tuesday afternoon. His team had searched high and low for Jennifer Forsyth’s former boyfriend, Kyle Ellison. They found no utility or council tax bills carrying Ellison’s details. There was no evidence Kyle had worked or paid National Insurance and Income Tax in the past twenty-five years. The paper trail ended at the flat he’d rented in Leeds.

  DCI Banks decided there was only one logical explanation, so he arranged interviews with the people who had wanted Ellison out of their daughter’s life. He needed to narrow the search area. Luke reminded Gus that scrubland near Digley Reservoir was already under investigation last Tuesday afternoon. The Reservoir was seven miles from the village of Marsden, where the Forsyth family lived. It was twenty-five miles from Leeds and the last sighting of Kyle Ellison.

  Luke had driven north with Neil later last Wednesday morning and reached Trafalgar House in Bradford at two o’clock. A Detective Inspector Clemence took charge of the interviews with the male members of the Forsyth family. Neil and Luke watched from an observation room next door as Jennifer’s father, Dave, and brother, Darren, adopted the ‘no comment’ tactic favoured by people who hoped to hide their guilt.

  Neil and Luke learned that Jennifer’s mother, Mary, had been more forthcoming in an interview late Tuesday afternoon. It transpired there was no love lost between Mary and her husband.

  “We drove to Digley Reservoir late on Wednesday afternoon, guv,” said Luke. “Mary Forsyth overheard her husband describe an odd-shaped broom tree near where they dumped Ellison’s body after Darren killed him. The remains were in the mortuary on Tuesday evening, but Clemence had kept a forensic team there, gathering evidence.”

  “It didn’t take long to find the poor devil,” said Gus.

  “An hour, guv,” said Neil. “There was plenty to do before they could close the case.”

  “Darren Forsyth served three months of his six-month sentence for assault,” said Luke. “When he came out, Dave Forsyth was adamant that they needed to get Kyle Ellison out of Jennifer’s life for good. He persuaded his daughter to contact Ellison and convince him she wanted to go back to him. Jennifer walked to a bus stop late at night and sat on a bench. Ellison arrived on foot, and as they talked, Darren crept from behind the bus shelter and brained Ellison with a tyre lever. Dave Forsyth then drove up, and Jennifer and Darren helped get Ellison’s body into the boot. Darren and his father buried the body half a mile from Digley Reservoir.”

  “Jennifer moved away from Marsden to Chippenham the following week, guv,” said Neil. “Darren got himself a flat in Leeds. The stuff Blessing found on social media was Darren’s doing. He set up fake accounts to convince the locals Kyle had moved away to find work.”

  “Jennifer changed her name to Maddy Mills as soon as she reached Chippenham,” said Luke. “Maddy told the truth when she said she kept her whereabouts from her family. They did not know where she was living. Mary Forsyth took no part in the murder. She was happy to give evidence against her husband. Dave had made her life hell for years.”

  “Mary Forsyth told them everything she knew to save herself from prison,” said Neil. “She didn’t know Jennifer lured Ellison to his death on her father’s orders. However, she realised what must have happened when Jennifer left home, Darren moved out, and Dave and Darren referred to the burial site in a drunken conversation during a family night in a pub.”

  “Mary Forsyth was an accessory after the fact,” said Gus. “A person who knows something that might help secure an arrest for a serious offence must disclose that information.”

&n
bsp; “Clemence and his detectives, together with the forensic people, worked on the evidence from the burial site on Thursday and Friday morning,” said Luke. “The coroner’s report showed that the body was that of a male, aged between eighteen and twenty-four. The cause of death was because of a single blow to the back of the skull.”

  “The police had searched for DNA, dental records, any item known to have belonged to Kyle without luck,” said Neil. “So, proving that the body was Ellison would be impossible without fresh evidence or a confession.”

  “Darren was the first to crack,” said Luke. “The social media accounts he set up in Kyle Ellison’s name sunk him in the end. They have their version of the Hub at Trafalgar House, and the computer whiz kids soon unearthed the dummy email accounts, usernames, and passwords Darren had set up on his laptop. He changed passwords regularly, as the experts suggest you should, but he kept a note of every single item in a cardboard box. As Blessing discovered, Darren posted bits and pieces to fool people into thinking the accounts were active.”

  “It worked, too,” said Blessing.

  “Did he confess to the murder?” asked Gus.

  “Not at first,” said Neil. “When we arrived at our B&B on Thursday night, Luke and I thought things were slipping away from us, but on Friday morning, something from the Digley Reservoir site turned up trumps.”

  “Darren must have got splashed with Kyle’s blood when he struck him with the tyre lever,” said Luke. “The forensic team found a bandana lying under the remains. There was nothing to prove that the bloodstains on it were Kyle Ellison’s, but they found traces of a second person’s DNA.”

  “Darren Forsyth’s?” asked Gus. “Did he wipe the blood from his clothes and face?”

  “Yes, guv,” said Luke.

  “As soon as he saw the evidence bag with the bandana inside, Darren sang like a canary, guv,” said Neil.

  “Blaming everything on his father, no doubt,” said Gus.

  “He made me do it. His very words, guv,” said Luke.

  “What a mess, guv,” said Blessing.

  “A tragic mess, Blessing,” said Gus. “Suzie accompanied Geoff Mercer to Redwing Avenue in Chippenham last Thursday evening to arrest Madeleine Telfer. Suzie told me the confusion on young Oliver's and Emily's faces as their mother left the house in handcuffs will live with her forever. Chris Telfer did not know what secrets his wife had kept buried for so long. He looked broken.”

  “Can you ask the ACC for something less gruelling later, guv,” said Lydia.

  “The Duncan case was a puzzle wrapped in an enigma,” said Gus. “Churchill said that about Russia, didn’t he? Perhaps it’s no surprise that the man who led us to uncover Alan and Maddy’s deepest secrets was Russian.”

  “When did you two get back from Yorkshire?” asked Alex.

  “We stayed until DI Clemence spoke with Dave Forsyth,” said Neil. “Jennifer’s father’s supply of no comments ran out. There was a fair bit of swearing, but he realised the game was up. Clemence informed Forsyth as he left the interview room that his daughter was on her way to Bradford from Chippenham. All three would get charged in due course.”

  “I got home to Warminster at around eight o’clock,” said Luke. “Nicky was livid.”

  “Squash court booked?” asked Lydia.

  “No, souffle ruined,” said Luke.

  “Ouch,” said Lydia. “Not a brilliant start to the weekend.”

  Gus was itching to leave for London Road.

  “Has everyone updated their files?” he asked.

  Each team member replied in the affirmative.

  Gus flicked through the folder on his desk.

  “Right, I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Try not to miss me.”

  With that, Gus was in the lift and heading for the car park.

  “Right, Luke,” said Lydia, “spill the beans.”

  “We had a row,” said Luke. “Not our first by any stretch of the imagination, but our latest cases have meant me working overtime and at weekends. Nicky works too, of course, but sticks to what he calls normal hours. I had promised we’d have a full uninterrupted weekend for a change. The way the Duncan case played out in different parts of the country altered that. I could do nothing, but Nicky thought it was symptomatic of my attitude to our relationship. I asked him to marry me six weeks ago, and we bought rings. We debated whether to honeymoon in the Caribbean or the Maldives. What had we done since?”

  “You decorated part of the house when Gus gave you time off for good behaviour,” said Alex.

  “I don’t think Nicky considered that as a step towards us tying the knot,” said Luke. “We were in a DIY store when I proposed. The refurbishments we planned were the catalyst. I suddenly realised that if we were shopping in B&Q, we were getting like our parents, conforming to type. Therefore, we should get married.”

  “What came out of this summit meeting?” asked Lydia.

  “We decided on the Maldives for the honeymoon,” said Luke. “As for the date, it will depend on our family's and friend's availability, but we’re aiming for late March, early April next year.”

  “That’s great,” said Alex. “Cancel any souffle for this Friday night. I have a hunch Gus will want to arrange a night out for the Crime Review Team at the Waggon & Horses. We can add that to our list of things to celebrate.”

  “It’s long overdue,” said Neil. “If Gus mentions it later, I might give Rick Chalmers a call. He always enjoys a party.”

  “Is he married, Neil?” asked Blessing.

  “Not these days,” said Neil. “You’re seeing someone, aren’t you, Blessing?”

  “Not now, Neil,” said Blessing. “At least I’d have someone to chat to, although I didn’t think we were compatible when I met him.”

  “What happened to Dave, your traffic cop?” asked Alex.

  “He said he wasn’t ready to settle down,” sighed Blessing.

  “Oh, Blessing,” said Lydia. “Men can be dumb, can’t they.”

  “I wouldn’t go out with him myself, but Rick’s a good copper,” said Neil. “He was a great help on the Stacey Read case. Rick is used to working undercover. I wouldn’t have fancied spending hour after hour watching for cars and faces out at the Honda factory. It was tough enough monitoring Rod Maidment’s place, where the suspect was static for ten hours a night. He’s good company, and that’s what you need right now. Don’t waste time brooding.”

  “Rick likes his beer and fast food,” said Luke. “He’s still one of the lads, even though he’s a couple of years older than me. You deserve better, Blessing. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on a night out with us if you haven’t got a date. We’re a team; we’ll look after you.”

  “Thanks, Luke,” said Blessing. “I’ll be there. Divya might enjoy a night out if her husband is working at the hospital.”

  “Good thinking, Blessing,” said Alex. “Divya worked with Rick and me in the Hub on the Burnside case.”

  “The Waggon & Horses won’t know what hit it,” laughed Neil.

  Gus pootled through Seend, climbed Caen Hill, and followed a steady stream of traffic through Devizes. As he parked the Focus in the visitor’s car park, he glanced towards the ACC’s office window. Kenneth Truelove was nowhere in sight.

  After signing in at Reception, Gus took the stairs to the mezzanine two at a time. Vera Butler had her eyes fixed on her computer screen. He could hear Kassie Trotter’s distinctive voice somewhere in the administration area advertising last weekend’s baking produce. His unsolicited burst of energy had been a waste of effort.

  “Is Kenneth in his office, Vera?”

  Vera nodded.

  Gus decided it wise to escape to the relative safety of the ACC’s office. There was a chill wind blowing on the mezzanine floor this morning. He tapped on the door and entered.

  “Geoff Mercer, what a surprise,” he said. “Good morning to you too, sir. I bring glad tidings from the Old Police Station office.”

  “That’s en
ough frivolity for this morning, Freeman,” said Kenneth Truelove. “DS Mercer is available again for our weekly review. Thank goodness we can move forward knowing that he‘s with us for the foreseeable future.”

  “I was going nowhere,” said Geoff. “Glad tidings, you said. Did you pull a rabbit out of the hat again?”

  “There was nothing magical, Geoff, just old-fashioned, solid police work,” said Gus. “The Duncan case proved baffling. But as with several cases the team has handled, the answers were there the first time around if the detectives involved asked the right questions.”

  “Please tell me you haven’t exposed weaknesses in the work of another respected officer, Freeman,” said Kenneth.

  “I don’t blame Phil Banks, sir,” said Gus. “He did what he thought was right. I wouldn’t have done any different. If Mrs Campbell-Drake had told him everything she saw on the night of the murder, my team would never have needed to review the case.”

  “Phil, is it now, not DCI Banks?” asked Geoff.

  “I found him easy to get on with, Geoff. You must have rubbed him up the wrong way.”

  “Take me through your potted version of the case, Freeman,” said Kenneth. “I’ll try to find time to study the contents of that folder later. Things are hectic here this week.”

  “I sensed a mood of disquiet outside, sir,” said Gus. “I hope it’s not catching.”

  “So do I, Freeman,” said Kenneth.

  “Right, sir. I think we should get on. A moving target is harder to hit. The Duncan murder case was as good as closed once Alex Hardy and I returned from the Isle of Man. The icing on the cake was the arrest of Yuri Kovalev on Wednesday lunchtime. Lydia Logan Barre was right; Duncan’s killer was back in the country.”

  “I’m not entirely up to speed with this part of the case, Freeman,” said Kenneth. “Who arrested this Kovalev chap, and what’s happening to him?”

  “Something bothered me as we drove south from Liverpool,” said Gus. “You know how it is, everything seems to have fallen into place, but you can’t allow yourself to believe it’s over. It kept me awake on Tuesday night, and then when I reached the office in the morning, it hit me. The life of the man we left in a tranquil holiday pub on the Isle of Man was in danger. I called the local police and suggested they keep watch on the place. I mentioned your name, sir. That worked like a charm; you’ll be pleased to hear. Once I knew that the bar owner was safe, I could relax.”