‘I don’t want any trouble.’
‘There’s no trouble getting into the car, is there?’
Jacob knew he didn’t want to, but the man had influence with Hamish McIntyre. To not get into the car would be pure folly, he thought.
Pulling away from the kerb, Armstrong accelerated into the traffic and headed away from the area.
‘We could talk over a pint,’ Jacob said, making small talk. He regretted phoning Hamish. ‘But if you fancy a cup of coffee. I’m easy either way.’
Armstrong could see that the man wasn’t comfortable. It was the effect he wanted.
‘It won’t take long. We need somewhere private. I need to know more details of what you said to Hamish.’
‘I told him all I could. Just that this Palmer was looking for a woman, nothing more.’
‘So, what’s the connection?’
‘What did Hamish tell you to do?’
‘He told me to find Palmer, find out what he was talking about, why he was interested.’
The car was moving fast; soon, they would be in the country. Jacob knew this was not a friendly little chat. This wasn’t what Hamish McIntyre had said would happen.
The car came to a halt outside an old barn. Gareth got out of the car, went around to the other side, grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him roughly into the barn.
‘You may have told Hamish a story, but I’m looking out for him. I need to know more,’ Armstrong said.
‘There is no more,’ Jacob bleated as he was roughly thrown to the ground. The place smelled of animals and hay, and he suffered from allergies. ‘There’s no more to say. I told Hamish all I knew.’
‘Okay, let’s get back to where we were. Palmer, what does he look like?’
‘Nothing special, nothing like his brother. An irritating whine to his voice. Mr McIntyre won’t like you holding me here. He promised me that I would be safe.’
‘I needed to know you were telling the truth. Mr McIntyre looks after me well. I’m not going to let anyone, not you, not even Palmer, get in the way of that. You met Palmer in the pub, I know that much.’
‘In the pub, yes. He was interested in his brother and Liz Spalding. The barman called me over. He knew that I’d lived in the area for a long time and that I probably knew them.’
‘Did you?’
‘Yes, I did. Stephen was a good guy. Liz was the sort of woman men lusted over, but she was keen on Stephen. Only he was a player; he had other women on the side, couldn’t help himself.’
‘The other women?’
‘Palmer thought one of them was involved in the death of Liz Spalding. I told Mr McIntyre this much. I never mentioned her name.’
‘For your own protection?’
‘What else could I do? I remember Hamish when he used to live in the area. Back then, he was on the way up. He had a few girls turning tricks in an old hotel up the road, buying and selling whatever, making a name for himself.’
‘Do you believe this woman murdered Liz Spalding?’
The situation was calmer. Jacob got up off the ground and sat on a bale of hay. Armstrong sat across from him on another bale.
‘I don’t get involved. Palmer thought there was a connection and he wanted to find the woman. I wouldn’t talk to him. He knows that I know who she is.’
‘Who is it then?’
‘Did Mr McIntyre ask you to find the name of the woman?’
‘Not directly.’
‘He knows who it is. If I tell you and it gets back to Mr McIntyre, he’ll not be pleased.’
‘And if you don’t tell me, I’ll make sure to tell him that you were difficult.’
Armstrong sat for a moment. He looked around at their surroundings, realised that the countryside and he did not agree. Even so, he had managed to wangle himself an easy job at the last prison, out on the prison farm.
‘This is not what Mr McIntyre agreed to, is it?’ Jacob said.
‘Not entirely, but he wants me to find Palmer. And if Palmer is looking for this woman and he makes the connection, that’s where I’ll find him. And if the woman is important to Hamish, he won’t thank me if she comes to any harm.’
‘I thought he’d be in the pub again. He was angry and wanted to hit me, but he couldn’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘As I said, Stephen was a dynamic sort of person, a person you could look up to, but his brother had nothing going for him. He said he was fond of Liz, but I reckon it was more than that. He was the sort of man who would have been pining after his brother’s girlfriends, never getting one, feeling the frustration.’
‘Jacob, work with me, and we’ll find Palmer.’
‘Nothing criminal. Maybe I’ve been a fool all my life, but I’ve not done anything. It’s probably the reason why I never amounted to much in life, but it suits me fine now. As long as I can afford a drink and lunch out occasionally, then I’m content.’
‘I’m content as well,’ Armstrong said. ‘Hamish has treated me well, given me somewhere to live, a nice motor to drive, money in my pocket. I want for nothing, and I’m not going to let him down. Anything that helps me to find this Palmer, I need to know. Now, who is this mysterious woman?’
‘It’s his daughter,’ Jacob said reluctantly.
‘Samantha?’
‘He’s only got the one.’
‘Let’s go, Jacob. Do you know where he was staying?’
‘No idea. Each time I met him, it was either in the pub or on the street. He’s not a local, I know that.’
Armstrong helped Jacob up from his seat, and the two men drove away. Half
