THE DYING LIGHT

A totally enthralling psychological thriller with a stunning ending

JOY ELLIS

Detective Matt Ballard Book 3

First published 2020

Joffe Books, London

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either 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. The spelling used is British English except where fidelity to the author’s rendering of accent or dialect supersedes this.

©Joy Ellis

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THERE IS A GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH SLANG IN THE BACK OF THIS BOOK FOR US READERS.

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ISBN: 978-1-78931-471-7

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

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GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH SLANG FOR US READERS

CHAPTER ONE

This book is dedicated, plain and simple, to my incredible, amazing readers!

It's been a tough time, right across the world, but it's given me the chance to get to know so many of you through the books. We've buoyed each other up, shared good and bad experiences, and taken time out to laugh, yes quite a lot of that! It's been like one great big universal hug with wonderful new and old friends. I'm delighted and humbled to hear that the books have kept some of you going through lockdown. Well, you've kept me going too, with all your support, good wishes and care. You are all very special! Joy

CHAPTER ONE

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Matt Ballard allowed a smile of satisfaction to spread across his face. He turned to his partner. Liz Haynes was smiling too.

‘We did it! Our first case solved! And paid for!’ Liz squeezed his leg. ‘We really cracked it, didn’t we?’

It had been a gamble, but in the end, turning private had been the only course the two of them could take. Liz had been forced to give up working in the police force after an attempt on her life had left her unable to meet their medical requirements. As for Matt, he had served his full time, but at fifty-three years old he was still fit, and far from ready for the allotment and the bowling club. Opening a private investigation business seemed wholly appropriate. They could pick and choose their jobs, and Liz could adjust her work according to the requirements of her condition.

Now they had a cheque in their hands, a happy client, and the man they had been investigating was with their former colleagues in the custody suite at Fenfleet police station, waiting to be charged.

‘Textbook, wasn’t it?’ He chuckled. ‘Not that I think all the cases we get will be that clear-cut.’

‘Very satisfying,’ said Liz, then added almost wistfully, ‘but in a way, I’d like a bit more of a challenge.’

‘Be careful what you wish for, my darling!’ Matt warned her. ‘We used to say things like that when we were on duty, then the next shout would see us up to our elbows in one of the shittiest cases we’d ever had.’

‘True, but . . . oh, you know what I mean. That was a bit tame, wasn’t it?’

Before Matt could answer, his mobile phone rang.

‘Will! How’s tricks, my friend?’ He switched to loudspeaker so that Liz could hear. They had both worked alongside DI Will Stonebridge and had been saddened when a severely damaged elbow had seen him step away from the job he loved.

There was a long silence, then Will’s voice filled the car. ‘I have to admit things have been better. Any chance of me popping round for a cuppa and a chat? I’m beginning to think living on this fen is making me mildly neurotic. I need a dose of Ballard and Haynes’s common sense, if you have some to spare.’

If he was trying to make light of something, he wasn’t doing very well. Matt glanced at Liz. She was frowning.

‘We are on our way home right now. How does half an hour suit you?’

‘Kate’s in her studio so she’ll be working until late,’ Will said, ‘so that’s perfect. I’ll see you soon.’ He hung up immediately, as if he were afraid they’d change their minds.

Matt took a deep breath. ‘Well, that sounds rather ominous.’

‘I hope Kate isn’t slipping back,’ said Liz softly. ‘That girl has suffered enough.’

They had become close friends over the years, so Matt and Liz were among the very few people who knew the Stonebridges’ true story. Kate Stonebridge was a very successful children’s book illustrator. She had been working on a series of books called Fairy Dreams, featuring fairies and elves, and other magical beings. They had been so popular that now the accompanying merchandise was outselling the books. Kids all over the globe were wearing T-shirts, using pencil cases and sleeping under duvets that featured Kate’s creations. She and the author had cleverly introduced a new character into each latest publication, which had kept sales of the books and merchandise at record levels. Along with Will’s glittering career in the force, they seemed to be living a charmed existence. However, beneath the surface, there was little magical about their life.

Will and Kate had lost their baby. Kate had almost died in labour. She survived only after a life-saving hysterectomy robbed her of the chance of giving birth again. Naturally, Will had been devastated but he held on to the fact that he still had his beautiful wife. Kate, on the other hand, had been terribly affected, needing countless months of counselling. Depression had followed, culminating in a short period in a psychiatric unit, and then a regime of drugs whose side effect was a debilitating ennui that made doing the work she loved impossible. Just as Kate was starting to improve, reduce the medication and begin painting again, Will had been attacked by a crackhead and his arm had been badly broken in two places.

As soon as he had recovered enough to drive again, they had decided it was time to move away from their old home and all its bad memories. They hoped, in new surroundings, they could move forward. They could hardly believe their luck when they found Holland House, an old property on Whisper Fen. They had now lived there for almost six months.

‘I’m not sure fen life is suiting our Will, are you?’ said Liz thoughtfully. ‘He’s alone so much when Kate is working. Perhaps it’s getting to him.’

Matt agreed. ‘Will has always been active and, let’s face it, suddenly having to leave the career you’d been expecting to follow until you were pensioned off is very hard to swallow.’ He looked at her. ‘Well, you know all about that, don’t you, my love?’

‘It’s certainly a shock, but you can’t go back and change the past, so you just have to move forward.’ Liz winked at him. ‘And sometimes things turn out better than you ever expected — huh, Mr Ballard?’

‘You’re so right, but we’ve been lucky. Even though we went through some very dark times, we aren’t as fragile or sensitive as Kate. She was always delicate, and as Will is the first to admit, she has never really got over losing their baby. Probably she never will.’ Matt eased the car into the lane that led to Tanners Fen and home. ‘I wonder why Will wants to talk to us so urgently? I’m beginning to get a bit anxious.’

‘Me too.’ Liz stared out over the miles of lush green fields of vegetable crops. ‘Matt, what do you think of their new home, Holland House?’

He exhaled. ‘Well, I’ve known it all my life, so I’ve never really thought about it. It’s in a beautifully remote spot, and it was an absolute steal at the price they paid. I’ve always thought it an imposing sort of place. It still needs a lot of updating, probably hasn’t been touched since old lady Holland was younger, but—’

‘No, I don’t mean the practical things. What do you feel about it?’

Matt shrugged. ‘I don’t feel anything, really.’

‘Mmm. Maybe that’s what I mean,’ Liz mused. ‘Our home always makes me want to smile, but Holland House seems, well, lifeless.’

Matt laughed out loud. ‘You didn’t smile when you first saw the old Ballard family pile. As I recall, you told me it looked like a museum — no, mausoleum.’

Liz tried to look contrite and failed. ‘True, but I didn’t hate the place. It was simply that I could see what it was crying out for. We’ve stamped our mark on it now, and it’s warm and welcoming.’

Matt pulled into the drive of Cannon Farm. ‘Well, they haven’t really been at Holland House long enough to make it theirs, have they? Will is still restricted by that damaged arm, and Kate spends every waking hour working, or so it seems. Give them time. It will be their dream home one day, you’ll see.’

Liz didn’t seem convinced. ‘I think it will take more than a few paint charts and an order from Wayfair to make that place a dream home. But that’s just my opinion.’

Matt had barely got his front door key in the lock when Will Stonebridge’s car drew up behind theirs. One look at his face told Matt that his friend was far from okay. His smile seemed forced, and his eyes definitely weren’t smiling.

‘Come on in, I’ll get the kettle on.’ Liz hurried off in the direction of the kitchen, while Matt ushered Will into the lounge.

‘We’ll wait for Liz and the coffee. You look like you need to offload a bit, Will.’ Matt smiled somewhat anxiously at his old friend. ‘You’ve got that look we used to have when a crappy case got really exasperating.’

Will gave a humourless laugh. ‘I recall the feeling well. Life is a bit like that right now, but the thing is, I’m not sure if it’s me and I’m reading too much into things, or whether I have every right to be bothered.’

‘Well, we were coppers for a long while, and we do tend to see the negative side of things. And you were one of the most intuitive detectives I ever worked with, so if there is a rat, you will definitely have smelt it.’

‘A while ago I would have agreed with you, but since I had to give up the job and we moved here, I just don’t feel like that man any more.’

‘Why don’t you talk to Liz, Will? After all, she went through exactly the same thing. She too was retired out of the job she loved. She might be able to help, and if nothing else, she’s a damned good listener.’

‘Oh, I’m not going to lay all this on her, she’s got her health problems to contend with. And the two of you are happier than I’ve ever known you to be. Take no notice, I’m probably just feeling sorry for myself. Anyhow, it’s got nothing to do with what I want to talk to you about.’ Will lowered his voice. ‘I’m starting to realise that I don’t think I ever came to terms with how ill Kate became after losing the baby, and the effect it still has on her. She’s so vulnerable, Matt! And so mercurial — she changes in the blink of an eye.’

Matt nodded. That couldn’t be easy to cope with. He was about to respond when Liz arrived carrying a tray of coffee and chocolate biscuits.

‘I thought this sounded serious enough to hit the Hobnobs.’ She placed the tray on the coffee table and flopped into a chair.

Will chuckled. For a fleeting moment Matt caught a glimpse of the old Will.

Matt handed his friend a steaming mug. ‘Okay, Will. What’s bugging you?’

Deliberately, Will set the mug down on the coffee table. ‘Actually, I want to hire your professional services.’

Matt sat up straight. ‘What? As investigators? Why?’

‘Something is not right on Whisper Fen, and I’m a bit too close to start digging around myself. Added to which, Kate is on a deadline and working all hours, which means I’m running the home, shopping, feeding us and trying to work on the house at the same time. I’m run ragged.’ He raised his hands. ‘Oh, I’m not complaining, honestly. What Kate is doing is amazing, and I fully support her, but I don’t have the time, or the inclination, to embark on an unofficial investigation.’

Absentmindedly nibbling on a biscuit, Liz had her gaze fixed on Will.

‘So, what do you think is going on?’ she asked.

Will took out a small notebook from his inside jacket pocket. ‘Several small, seemingly unconnected incidents. It’s possible that they mean nothing, and I’ve blown them all out of proportion, but listen to this.’ He looked down at his notes. ‘Whisper Fen is only a few miles from Tanners Fen and having lived here all your life, you might know a couple of the people concerned. Have you heard of a woman called Emilia Swain?’

Matt nodded. ‘The German lady, lives quite close to you. Husband died quite a while ago. Nice woman, as I recall. I had some dealings with her husband way back, after his business was broken into.’

‘Ah, good, that could make life easier. Well, recently, someone has been aiming a series of malicious acts at her. I only found this out last week. She has put them down to prejudice, but I don’t believe that for one second.’ Will sipped his coffee. ‘The thing is, she doesn’t want to bother anyone, and she certainly won’t make an official complaint, so I wondered if we could engineer an accidental meeting with you both, so you can get her to talk about it.’

‘What kind of malicious acts?’ asked Liz, offering the biscuits to Will.

‘For starters, someone killed her cat.’ He pulled a face. ‘Disgusting. Then someone snapped the lock off her shed and trashed everything inside, and . . .’ He paused, frowning. ‘And I think there is something else, but she clammed up on me.’

‘Well, you certainly don’t need to hire us, Will.’ Matt looked at Liz and raised an eyebrow. ‘We’ll see what we can find out, but as your friends.’

Liz nodded vigorously. ‘Of course! And we’ve just concluded the case we were working on, so we can pitch in immediately. Tell me, how do you propose to set up this “accidental” meeting?’

‘She’ll be going to the farmers’ market in Fenfleet tomorrow. Her old car has packed up, so she’ll take the bus from Whisper Corner. If you were to bump into her and give her a lift home . . . ? I know the bus times, and she never misses market day, so you’re sure to find her there. Sound okay to you?’

‘Yup,’ said Liz. ‘And if she already knows Matt, that should work well. We’ll tell her we were on our way to see you.’

‘I’m happy with that,’ Matt said. ‘So, what else is bothering you?’

‘A man named Gerald Grove. Ever heard of him?’

Matt frowned. ‘The name doesn’t ring a bell. How about you, Liz?’

She shook her head. ‘Nothing.’

‘I have seen him before, I know I have. It must have been to do with work.’ Will’s expression darkened. ‘And I don’t like him.’

‘Ah, we might need a little more than that,’ Matt said.

‘I don’t recall anything he actually did, he just gives me the creeps. He lives a quarter of a mile away from here in a lonely, ramshackle old place on the edge of the marsh.’ Will looked at them both. ‘You guys know that feeling, don’t you? The one that screams out “not to be trusted.”’

They did.

‘He turned up about eighteen months ago, and he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time wandering alone along the sea bank and marsh paths. Which brings me to the other thing.’ Will frowned. ‘The pain from my elbow and my arm sometimes keeps me awake at night, and I’ve taken to getting up, trying not to disturb Kate. Some nights I go for a walk. I’ve seen a vehicle heading down the marsh lanes — as you know, they go nowhere other than the marsh and the estuary, or that old mill that’s waiting for demolition. No one lives out there, so where is it going, and why? Add to that the lights right out in the Wash, in the area around the Fenfleet Deeps, and I’m getting pretty twitchy.’ He munched thoughtfully on a Hobnob. ‘Thing is, I’ve asked around, and it seems I’m the only one who has ever seen the vehicle or the lights.’

‘This is getting interesting,’ murmured Matt. ‘Though it sounds as if the three are probably not connected.’

‘Maybe not . . .’ Will sat back. ‘Look, I really am happy to pay you. We are pretty comfortable since my injury, and Kate rakes it in from the illustrations and all their spinoffs. In fact, I’d feel much happier if you took it on as a proper job.’

‘Let’s just make a few enquiries first,’ Matt said, uncomfortable with the idea of charging an old friend. ‘Test the waters, see if there really is anything to investigate, and we’ll take it from there. Maybe just expenses, if we need to lay out any cash.’ After all, they had embarked on their new career to keep themselves occupied rather than to earn a living from it.

‘Deal. If anyone can put my mind at rest, it’s you two.’ Will sat back, evidently relieved, and they began to chat about inconsequential things. ‘You’ll have to come for lunch. You’ll be amazed at my newfound culinary skills.’

Liz laughed. ‘Ah yes — the King of the Microwave. If it didn’t finish cooking with a ping, then according to you, it wasn’t real food.’

‘All in the past.’ His smiled faded a little. ‘When Kate was so ill, I had to take charge of feeding us, and she needed good food, not some reheated microwave dinner. It was a wake-up call. I must say, I quite enjoy cooking now. So, how about Thursday, the day after the market? Then you can fill me in on how you got on with Emilia. I’d say call in after you drop her off, but Kate’s agent and author are coming down to pick up the draft images of Kate’s new character, so we’ll be pretty tied up.’

‘Thursday will be lovely. It’ll be nice to see Kate again,’ Liz said.

‘Er, look, I have to warn you, she could be absolutely fine . . .’ He sighed. ‘It could be just us for lunch. If she’s in the middle of working on something, she might not want to interrupt it. No disrespect to you, I promise. It’s just the way she is at the moment. The deadlines don’t help with her stress levels and I’m inclined to let her do what she has to.’

‘Of course.’ Matt beamed at his friend, secretly disturbed by what he had just heard. ‘If we see her, great, but no pressure, okay?’

Will drained his coffee. ‘I suppose I’d better get back. I’m so pleased you can check all this out for me.’ He stood up and smiled at Liz. ‘And you were right about the Hobnobs. We clearly did need them.’ He pointed to the half-empty plate. ‘I’ll see you Thursday. Come at around one.’

They waved him off and went back inside.

‘What did you make of all that?’ Liz asked.

‘He’s strung out like a washing line,’ Matt said. ‘And I get the feeling that all at Holland House is not sweetness and light.’

‘I’ll be very interested to know how our lunch date goes.’ Liz, carrying the tray, backed through the kitchen door. ‘But in the meantime, we have our rendezvous with Mrs Emilia Swain. Tell me what you know of her.’

Matt shrugged. ‘Not much. She lives in a cottage called Little Anchor on the road that leads to Holland House. She’s Will and Kate’s nearest neighbour, has a very pretty garden, you’ve probably seen it.’

‘I know the one, we commented on it last time we visited Will.’

Matt nodded. ‘She must be in her early seventies but still looks pretty tough. She has an air of determination that I rather admire. I hope we can help her — if she opens up to us.’

‘Use your charm, my darling. Women are putty in your hands.’ She grinned at him, fluttering her eyelashes. ‘Resistance is futile where you’re concerned. I should know!’

‘Strumpet! Away with you.’

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