The Night Thief

THE

NIGHT

THIEF

A gripping crime thriller full of stunning twists

JOY ELLIS

DI Jackman & DS Evans Book 8

Joffe Books, London

www.joffebooks.com

First published in Great Britain in 2021

© Joy Ellis

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, 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. The right of Joy Ellis to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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

ISBN: 978-1-78931-791-6

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

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

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GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH USAGE FOR US READERS

CHARACTER LIST

CHAPTER ONE

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It was a hot, stuffy night, unnaturally warm and dry for mid-September on the Fens. The curtains were drawn back and the windows opened to capture the few night breezes there were. Annie Carson had replaced her duvet with a single cotton sheet, but even so she was restless, tossing and turning, endlessly seeking a cool spot in her uncomfortably warm bed.

She had just drifted off when something woke her. Annie slowly opened her eyes and saw a figure standing at the foot of her bed.

Her vision blurry with sleep, she thought the figure was her son. Or was this a dream? It had to be, Callum was a good foot shorter than the figure staring at her. But, now, she was fully awake. Fear gripped her, and she screamed.

Trembling, Annie fumbled for the switch on her bedside lamp, and the room was flooded with light. The figure took the shape of a man, running from her room. She shouted for her son, just then emerging from his room, tousle-haired and bleary-eyed.

‘Mum? Was that you? What’s wrong?’

She pushed past him down the stairs, and Callum followed a few steps behind, still asking what had happened. All she could do was repeat that it had been a man, a man.

The front door stood wide open, but there was no one in sight.

They stood there, afraid to step too far outside in case he lay in wait for them. They peered up and down the empty road, turned and hurried back inside.

Looking increasingly alarmed, Callum listened to his mother’s account of what had happened. ‘Mum, what if he didn’t go out the door?’

Fresh waves of fear coursed through her and she swallowed. She told herself to be strong for Callum, a skinny lad of twelve. ‘Don’t worry, son, he went out. I know he did.’

Callum looked unconvinced. So was she, but she kept it from her boy. ‘If it makes you feel better, we’ll check the whole house, okay?’ She cast around for something to use as protection and settled for a metal doorstop.

Room by room, her son at her heels, she pushed doors wide and flipped on light switches. With every light came the thrill of fear. What if Callum had been right? As the last door swung open, she heaved a sigh of relief. ‘It’s all clear, son. He’s gone.’

‘How did he get in, Mum?’ the boy asked. ‘I heard you lock up last night, so it wasn’t through the doors.’

Good bloody question. ‘I’m not sure, Callum.’

‘I’m scared.’

She held out her arms. At twelve, Callum was still a child, but more artistic and creative than his older brother, Andrew. Andrew had been a little Action Man at the age of five, whereas Callum was sensitive and thoughtful, more likely to be found with his head in a book than slaughtering insurgents on his PlayStation. She cuddled him for a moment or two, then led him down to the kitchen, where she made them both a comforting hot chocolate.

He seemed relieved, but she knew that Callum wouldn’t relax until he understood how their intruder had got in. Nor would she, for that matter.

Callum had his hands around his favourite Hogwarts mug and looked down into the swirling, frothy drink. ‘What did he want?’ he asked without looking up.

Another good question, and it scared the shit out of her. What did he want? Why just stand there and stare at her? How long had he been watching her? In her bedroom! She dreaded to think. ‘I suppose he was just a burglar, and I woke up before he could steal anything.’ It sounded pretty lame, even to her, but it was all she had to offer. She could hardly express her worst fears to her fragile boy. She frowned. What was it? Something she’d half noticed when she checked the rooms just now. ‘I’m just going to the lounge for a moment, son, won’t be a moment.’

Annie pushed open the door. The light was still on. Most of the lights were still on. She told herself it was for Callum’s sake.

Her eyes roamed around the room, trying to recall what had bothered her. Something small, something that she’d pushed into the background in fear during her hasty inspection.

Then she saw it: a gap in a row of five matching framed photographs. Now there were four. The first, a picture of Ned, her late husband, grinning broadly and leaning against the bonnet of his precious MGB Roadster. Second, their wedding day. Next, Andrew, taken just before he left to start his basic training with the RAF. Then the gap, and finally her mum and dad on their ruby wedding anniversary.

Annie stared at the space and her mouth went dry. The missing picture was of Callum.

She walked slowly back to the kitchen, cursing herself for not calling the police immediately. But in the absence of any actual harm and with nothing missing, what was there to say? More than likely they wouldn’t even send anyone out. This was a small Fen village, and she hadn’t seen a police officer in years. She wasn’t even certain where the nearest police station was anymore, they had closed so many. But that missing photograph changed everything.

‘I think you should try to get some sleep, sweetheart. It’s four in the morning and you’ve got school tomorrow.’ She tried to sound casual. ‘Take your drink upstairs, I’ll come up with you.’

‘Are you coming to bed, Mum?’ He clearly hadn’t been totally reassured by their hurried patrol through the house.

‘In a little while. I should ring the police. He could be going around bothering other people.’ She tried to keep it light.

He nodded. ‘Yeah. Good.’

She followed him up the stairs. ‘I’ll leave your door open. I’ve already checked — the windows are closed and the doors all locked, so he won’t come back now. Try to sleep.’ He climbed into bed and took his phone and his earbuds from the bedside cabinet. ‘I’ll call in when I go to bed, okay?’

He was already scrolling through his playlist. The music would help.

‘I’m leaving the light on,’ he stated firmly.

She stuck a thumb up and winked, like his father used to do, and hurried back down the stairs.

In the kitchen, she picked up the phone and dialled. ‘Police, please. Someone broke into my house, got into my bedroom and stole a picture of my son. We’re on our own here, and we’re scared.’

She had expected to be given an incident number, fobbed off with an excuse about shortages of personnel, so she was taken aback when she was told that a car from Saltern-le-Fen would be on its way immediately.

Thirty minutes later a marked police car pulled up outside. Even so, she waited until she saw the uniforms.

The two PCs introduced themselves as Stacey Smith and Jay Acharya. They were quick to assure her that she had done the right thing in calling them. Handing them mugs of tea, she began to describe waking up and seeing that silent figure staring down at her. At that point, the shock overwhelmed her and she burst into tears.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’ PC Smith handed her a tissue and sat down next to her on the sofa. ‘It’s delayed shock, Mrs Carson, don’t worry. It’s a good thing it’s coming out.’

It took a few minutes, but after a couple of deep breaths she began to regain control. ‘It’s Annie, please. Oh dear. I’m so sorry.’

They were all nods and encouraging smiles.

‘No need to apologise, Annie. This sort of thing is horrible,’ said Stacey vehemently. ‘When you’re ready, please tell us the rest. In your own time.’

She sipped her tea. This time she got through the whole story, noting the swift puzzled glance the officers gave each other when she mentioned the missing photo frame.

‘And you’ve no idea how he got in?’ Jay asked.

‘No. The top windows were open in some rooms because it’s been so hot, but they’re too small for anyone to pass through. I always make sure to lock the doors. As I said, it’s just me and Callum here. My other boy is in the RAF and my husband died three years ago, so I’m very careful about security.’

‘No cameras?’ asked Stacey.

‘I’ve never even thought about it. It’s a small, peaceful village, and I don’t know anyone else with cameras, except the people who live in the big house on the edge of the village, but that’s a very expensive property.’

‘An inexpensive system might give you a little more peace of mind,’ offered Jay. ‘My brother installed one so his wife feels safer when he’s working nights.’

She had fleeting thoughts of stable doors and bolting horses, but was it such a bad idea? ‘I’ll look into it.’

‘Would you mind if we take a look around, Annie?’ asked Stacey. ‘We’ll try not to disturb your boy. Anyway, from what you told us, your man didn’t get in through his bedroom. We’ll be really quiet, I promise.’

‘Please, go ahead,’ Annie said.

They pulled on gloves and walked from room to room, spending a lot of time near the windows. Annie was beginning to wonder why she was getting so much careful attention. The officers seemed to be looking for something specific. This bothered her.

She grew still more bothered when the tall young policeman called Jay asked her if she could please be at home later that morning. She should avoid touching the front door any more than necessary. ‘We’ll get a forensic officer down, Annie. We know that he opened the door, so he might have left prints. We’ll take yours and your son’s for elimination purposes, and they’ll be destroyed afterwards, so don’t worry about that.’

‘You seem to be taking this very seriously,’ she said. ‘Has this sort of thing happened around here before?’

Jay seemed not to know how to respond.

Stacey, the older of the two, hastened to say, ‘We take all such incidents seriously, Annie. And, no, it hasn’t happened around here. We just want to stop him scaring anyone else. Now, is there anyone you’d like to call to come and stay with you? You look pretty anxious.’

She forced herself to smile. ‘I’ll be fine, honestly. Thank you for being so understanding.’

‘No problem. One last thing.’ Stacey still had her notebook out. ‘Could you describe the photo that was taken? You’ve told us the frame was the same as the others, and that it was of Callum — what did the picture actually show?’

‘He was about ten, wearing navy shorts and a Hogwarts T-shirt, and holding Cocoa — that’s his rabbit. I took it here in the garden. I have the image on my computer if you’d like it.’

Stacey wrote that down and pocketed the book. ‘Thank you, Annie. Maybe you could print us off a copy? Someone will contact you later about that, and don’t forget the forensic officer.’

Jay opened the front door with his gloved hands and they went out to the car. ‘Try not to touch that door,’ Jay called back. ‘Have a good day, thank you for all your help — and the tea!’

Annie put the mugs in the dishwasher and went to check on Callum, who was fast asleep with his earbuds still in. It was still early, but she knew she wouldn’t sleep again.

* * *

In the car, Jay and Stacey looked at each other, their faces grave.

‘He’s upped his game, hasn’t he?’ said Stacey after a while.

‘And he’s extending his area. He usually sticks to town.’ Jay frowned. ‘Same MO, but he’s never got in knowing there’s two people in the house before, has he?’

‘No. It’s usually single people living alone.’

‘Maybe he didn’t know about the son.’ Jay looked thoughtful. ‘He’s a real opportunist, isn’t he? Leave one window open, and he’s in.’

‘Usually,’ said Stacey flatly. ‘Let’s hope he’s not testing the waters, pushing the boundaries. I just don’t get why he took that picture. That shifts the whole thing up into burglary. Odd that. He’s never damaged or taken anything before, and we’ve never caught him inside a property. That’s why we’ve never been able to nick him.’ She put the car in gear. ‘Better get back and tell the skipper, I suppose.’

She and Jay had been crewing together for a month, and they’d hit it off straight away. He wasn’t like some of the younger guys, pumped full of testosterone and trying to prove themselves. Jay appreciated that she’d been in the job for nearly fifteen years and he could learn from her expertise. He was worth making an effort for. She would have liked to know more about him, but so far all she’d gathered was that he’d transferred up from the West Country and was one of two brothers and three sisters. Even Lisa Arnold, the civilian in charge of the evidence store, and who made it her business to know everything about everyone at the station, could tell her little more. She said she thought he was Hindu and was single, but that was all. It was unlike the forthright Stacey to hold back like this. Why not simply ask him? For some reason, she felt she’d be invading his privacy. Still, what really mattered was his quick smile, his empathy for victims of crime, and the cool and controlled way he dealt with the suspects they ran up against. All things considered, he was a top bloke to be teamed up with. Plus, of course, he was bloody good looking, with those white, even teeth, neatly clipped beard and the raven black hair.