The end of the line, p.1
The End of the Line, page 1
The End of the Line
Ted Darling crime series
‘gripping twisting hunt for justice’
LIVRES
LEMAS
L M Krier
Published by LEMAS LIVRES
www.tottielimejuice.com
© Copyright L.M.K. Tither 2021
Cover design DMR Creative
Cover photo Neil Smith
THE END OF THE LINE
All rights reserved.
The right of L.M.K. Tither to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, nor translated into a machine language, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is also published as a printed book
ISBN 978-2-901773-50-4
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.
This ebook is licensed for the enjoyment of the purchaser only. To share this ebook you must purchase an additional copy per recipient. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Table of Contents
Title Page
About the Author
Contact Details
Discover the DI Ted Darling series
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
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
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
About the Author
L M Krier is the pen-name of former journalist (court reporter) and freelance copywriter, Lesley Tither, who also writes travel memoirs under the name Tottie Limejuice. Lesley also worked as a case tracker for the Crown Prosecution Service. Now retired, she lives in Central France and enjoys walking her dogs and going camping.
Contact Details
If you would like to get in touch, please do so at:
https://www.teddarlingcrimeseries.uk/
tottielimejuice@gmail.com
facebook.com/LMKrier
facebook.com/groups/1450797141836111/
twitter.com/tottielimejuice
For a lighter look at Ted and Trev, why not join the fun in the We Love Ted Darling group? on Facebook. FREE ‘Ted Darling is billirant’ badge for each member.
Discover the
DI Ted Darling series
If you’ve enjoyed meeting Ted Darling you may like to discover the other books in the series. All books are available as ebooks and in paperback format. The First Time Ever is also now available as an audiobook. Watch out for audiobook versions of other books in the series, coming soon, as well as further books in the series:
The First Time Ever
Baby’s Got Blue Eyes
Two Little Boys
When I’m Old and Grey
Shut Up and Drive
Only the Lonely
Wild Thing
Walk On By
Preacher Man
Cry for the Bad Man
Every Game You Play
Where the Girls Are
Down Down Down
The Cuckoo is a Pretty Bird
Dirty Old Town
The End of the Line
The First Time Ever is also available translated into French by Jean Sauvanet, under the title of 'Darling.'
Acknowledgements
I would just like to thank the people who have helped me bring Ted Darling to life.
Alpha and Beta readers: Jill Pennington, Kate Pill, Karen Corcoran, Jo Baines, Jill Evans, Alan Wood, Paul Kemp, Eileen Payne, Valérie Goutte.
Police consultants – The Three Karens.
Medical advisor – Jo Baines
Special thanks to Jane Cassell and Emma Faulkner for their invaluable special help.
And a very special thanks to all Ted’s loyal friends in the We Love Ted Darling Facebook group. Always so supportive and full of great ideas to be incorporated into the next Ted book. FREE ‘Ted Darling is billirant’ badge for all members.
To Robin,
My old friend and sparring partner
Well done, thou good and faithful servant
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading the Ted Darling Crime Series. The books are set in Stockport, and Greater Manchester in general, and the characters use local dialect and sayings.
Seemingly incorrect grammar within quotes reflects common speech patterns. For example, ‘I’ll do it if I get chance’, without an article or determiner, is common parlance.
Ted and Trev also have an in joke between them - ‘billirant’ - which is a deliberate ‘typo’.
If you have any queries about words or phrases used, do please feel free to get in touch, using the contact details in the book. I always try to reply promptly to any emails or Facebook messages.
Thank you.
L M Krier
Chapter One
Saturday afternoon
‘But we wanted to come straight there, before we go to the B&B. We wanted to take you and Aldwyth out to tea somewhere nice, and we’re making good time.’
Trevor Armstrong, in the front passenger seat, was talking into his mobile phone as his partner, Detective Chief Inspector Ted Darling, drove. They were heading towards the Amman Valley, in Wales. The plan was to spend a relaxing few days together, far from criminal enquiries, as well as visiting Ted’s mother, Annie.
It was Annie to whom Trev was speaking. He was making a face at Ted as he listened. He didn’t have the call on speaker, but he’d been telling Ted for some time that his mother didn’t sound her usual self whenever he spoke to her, which was daily, if he could.
‘Are you all right, Annie? Really? You don’t sound yourself.’
He listened for a few moments then said, ‘Well, if you say so. Think of somewhere nice you want us to take you both. We’ll see you tomorrow, then. Dw i’n dy garu di.’
‘So, straight to the B&B, or do you want to stop somewhere for tea on the way, if we’re not going to take mam and Aldwyth out?’ Ted asked him, changing down approaching traffic lights which had just turned amber.
He'd been listening to the one-sided conversation. He still struggled to say ‘I love you’ in any language to the mother who had been missing for a large part of his life. Such spontaneous affection came much more naturally to Trev, though not for his own mother.
‘Absolutely not,’ his partner told him firmly. ‘I only said that. I didn't mean it.
'Something’s wrong with Annie and I won’t rest until I know what it is. And this is me using my detective skills. She’s not sounded herself all week. Longer, really. I've said so before.
'She didn't even show her usual reaction when I told her about how well the court case had gone, and how I’d actually managed a hug with Sir Gethin.’
Trev’s feelings for his father had mellowed after the man had finally acknowledged his belief in his son in public. Sir Gethin Armstrong had given evidence in court against a long-standing friend who had been convicted of numerous sex offences against under age boys, including Trevor. They’d shared their first ever hug, but Trev had yet to refer to him as anything other than his title.
‘Whatever she says about everything being fine, I don’t believe a word of it. We’re going straight there to find out what’s going on.’
Ted didn’t argue. It was what they’d planned to do originally, and he believed Trev when he said he wouldn’t settle until they knew all was well.
Annie had moved back to her native Wales after she was mugged when living in Stockport. She’d gone to live with her lifelong best friend, Aldwyth, in a small former mining village on the edge of a national park.
When Ted parked the car outside the house and the two of them walked up the small drive to ring the doorbell, there was the sound of barking from inside.
Trev laughed at the change in Ted’s expression, knowing how wary he was of dogs, as he told him, ‘Don’t worry, that’ll be Cariad, Aldwyth’s Corgi. She's not had her long, she's just a baby really. At her size, she might just about manage to suck your ankles.’
'You knew there was a dog here and you didn't warn me?'
Trev was about to answer when they heard a voice from inside the
Annie’s voice, but sounding wary. Not her usual tone at all. Ted hadn’t heard her sound so scared since she’d been assaulted up in Stockport, which had precipitated her move back to Wales.
Trev frowned as he said, ‘Annie, fach, it’s Trev and Ted. I was worried about you, so we came straight round, despite what you said. What’s wrong? Let us in, please.’
There was the sound of a safety chain rattling, someone fumbling with a lock on the inside. Then the door opened a crack and Annie’s tear-stained face peered out at them, looking frightened.
Trev gently pushed the door open wide and stepped inside to wrap his mother-in-law in one of his famous healing hugs. Ted followed him cautiously, keeping a wary eye on the small Corgi, which seemed, at least, to be wiggling its whole rump as well as its tail in a reassuring manner, with no obvious sign of murderous intent.
‘Annie, whatever’s wrong?’
‘I didn’t want to worry either of you. You’ve had such a difficult week. But Aldwyth died. Suddenly. A few days ago. And I’m not allowed to stay in the house. I have to get out. I’ve got nowhere to go.’* * *Ted’s sharp eyes didn’t miss the fact that once they were inside, Annie not only locked the front door behind them but put the safety chain back on. It was a new one. He’d never seen it before, and he knew that neither Aldwyth nor his mother had ever been in the habit of locking the door when they were at home, despite his repeated warnings that they should.
It had always been a quiet village, where everyone knew everyone else and crime rates were low. Ever the policeman, Ted had told them both that they should at least lock the door. He wondered who had fitted the chain, when, and why.
It was Trev who instantly took charge. In Ted's work role as Head of Serious Crime, he oversaw not just his own team but several others in different divisions. When it came to dealing with his mother in such a state, he was more than happy to leave it to his partner. He went and put the kettle on. Whatever had gone on, tea could only help.
‘I’m so sorry to hear about Aldwyth. You should have told us. What happened?’
Trev sat Annie down at the table and pulled up a chair next to her. He took out a clean, neatly-ironed handkerchief from the pocket of his jeans and helped her to dry her tears. Then he took hold of both her hands, gently rubbing the backs of them with his thumbs.
‘She had that heart condition, of course. She’d had it for years. She took those little white pills for it, every day, and that seemed to have it under control.
'A couple of months or so ago she started getting a bit breathless again and had little heart flutters. She hadn't had anything like it for a long time, not with the pills, so I made her go to the doctor. These days you're in and out in five minutes, if you can even get an appointment. He put the dose up a bit and told her to go back if things didn't settle down.
'They didn't, though. She tried all sorts of things, as well as the pills. She even gave up taking sugar in her tea and you know she had a sweet tooth to match mine. And yours, Teddy bach. But nothing made any difference. She was clearly getting worse so I made her make another appointment at the doctor. But before she could go, she collapsed, right here in the kitchen.'
She was crying again at the memory. Wordlessly, Trev stood up and moved closer to hug her once more.
'I didn't know what to do. I phoned for an ambulance, of course. It seem to take so long to get here. The lady on the phone was very kind, while I was waiting. She told me things I could try to keep her alive until they got here. But I couldn't. I couldn't.'
Trev was crying too, now, seeing her pain. He looked towards Ted, who had finished making the tea, a plea in his eyes.
Ted put an awkward hand on Annie's shoulder; gave it a gentle squeeze.
'Sometimes even if the paramedics get there fast they can't always save someone. You did your best, mam, don't blame yourself. It must have been hard for you. Here, have some tea.'
It felt inadequate. It was the best he could manage.
Once she was drinking tea with a shaking hand, helped by Trev, Ted asked her, 'But what's this about you having to leave the house and having nowhere to go? I thought all of that was taken care of in Aldwyth's will? Her nephew gets the house and he's agreed you can stay living here as long as you need to.'
'She changed her will, bach, and she never said anything to me, or to Bryn. He was as surprised as I was when Gemma told us about it.'
'Who's Gemma?'
Trev was quick to spot the instant difference in Ted's behaviour. This was Ted the detective, not Ted the son.
'She's a young lady who does aromatherapy. Aldwyth met her a few months ago, when she went to visit a friend of hers in a care home. Gemma goes round some of the homes treating the residents. She got very friendly with Aldwyth. She came here a lot.'
'So let me guess. Bryn the nephew is also cut out of the will, so he can't give you permission to carry on living here, and Gemma gets the lot?'
Ted's tone was hard. Cynical. Trev frowned at him as Annie's tears started once more.
'Sorry, mam, none of this is your fault.'
There was a noise from the front door which made the little dog bark once more. A key turning in the lock. The doorbell ringing. Thumping against the wood. A raised voice, shouting half in English, half in Welsh.
'Annie? Open the door. Let me in. This is my house now, you've got no right to lock me out.'
Ted moved noiselessly as he left the kitchen and closed the door behind him.
As soon as he slid back the bolt and undid the chain, there was a determined effort from outside to push the door open. Ted kept his foot against the base to control how wide it could go.
The head of a young woman, mid-twenties, dark hair, flashing dark eyes, cheeks flushed red in fury, pushed its way through the gap. Then the expression changed to one of surprise at the sight of Ted standing there.
He eased the door open just wide enough to allow her to step into the hallway.
'Gemma, is it?' he asked. 'I'm Annie's son. Detective Chief Inspector Darling. I imagine you weren't expecting to find me here.'
He'd slid his photo ID out of his pocket. It went everywhere with him, even on holiday. Her eyes widened at the sight of it.
'Annie didn't say you were coming.'
'There's no reason why she should,' Ted told her, keeping his tone neutral. 'You see, even if Aldwyth had made a new will and left you the house, it doesn't pass to you until probate has been granted. And that can take at least nine months to a year, even with a straightforward will.'
'A year?'
She looked and sounded shocked at his words. He knew she wouldn't be the first person not to understand how inheritance laws worked in England and Wales.
'At least,' Ted told her. 'But in the meantime, without any court order to the contrary, and with Aldwyth's next of kin, Bryn, in full agreement, there is nothing at all to stop my mother continuing to live here, as Aldwyth had always intended.
'So in that case, I see no reason for you to have a key to the house. If you need access for any reason, you can ring the bell. Like any other visitor.'
He held out his hand to her, waiting. His team members knew all too well the expression he currently had on his face. Even the most rebellious of them, Detective Constable Jezza Vine, could read the signs that said it was pointless to push any further. The boundary had been reached.
Gemma didn't know him. Couldn't read his moods. But something in the unwavering hazel eyes with the odd flash of emerald warned her that she was on the back foot. Annie may not have known her legal rights, so she was easy to walk all over. But this policeman clearly wasn't.
She knew when she was beaten.
With a scowl, she handed over the front door key she had, then tried a defiant parting shot.
'It's only delaying things. Aldwyth left the house to me, so once I take possession, Annie will need to move out. I don't want a sitting tenant.'
She turned and flounced out.
