Текст книги "Jessica Daniel: Locked In / Vigilante / The Woman in Black"

Автор книги: Kerry Wilkinson

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Текущая страница: 59 (всего у книги 60 страниц)

The man was still muttering to himself but quickly stopped pacing, turning to look directly at Jessica. Everything that had happened in the previous minutes almost felt as if it were occurring to someone else but, for the first time, Jessica felt genuine fear at the steel in Edward’s eyes. Something had changed in his thought process.

‘You do look rather pretty sat there all helpless,’ he said. His tone was level and Jessica felt a chill go down her back. It was the most feeling she’d had in a while. ‘The others were all men and not for me but it would be such a waste to leave you there.’

Edward reached towards the belt that was holding up his linen trousers and started to undo it. ‘At least we can have a bit of fun before you have to say goodbye,’ he said casually. ‘Given the reason all of this has happened, it’d be fairly apt, don’t you think?’

36

Suddenly realising the horror of what Edward intended, Jessica tried as hard as she could to move her limbs. Her legs weren’t responding but her right arm had a tiny amount of motion, although barely enough to lift it. She wanted to scream but no sound came out. The man dropped his trousers and Jessica tried not to look at him, closing her eyes tightly.

While she stared into the darkness of her eyelids, time almost seemed to hang still but her feeling of terror was interrupted by the doorbell sounding. Jessica opened her eyes and looked up at Edward. He was on his knees in front of her and had stopped to pull his trousers back up. ‘Bollocks. That had better not be the pool people, I told them Thursday,’ he said breezily.

His tone of voice, as if they were old friends and this was the most normal thing in the world, would have been funny if it wasn’t so terrifying. He stood, refastening his trousers as the doorbell sounded again. ‘I should have told you how pleased I was you liked my art, by the way,’ he said. ‘I wanted to tell you it was mine of course but it would have given everything away. Anyway, be right back.’

As he left the room, Jessica saw a flicker of movement from her left by one of the plastic sheets hanging from the ceiling. They were clear but translucent but she thought she could see a glimpse of something red. Emerging slowly from behind one was DC Diamond. ‘Are you okay?’ she whispered loudly. Jessica wanted to say she wasn’t but couldn’t move.

The constable stepped closer, glancing from side to side before fully emerging into the room. She had climbed through the space where the window should go. ‘We were waiting at the bottom of the drive like you said but, when no one came out, we thought we’d see what was going on. Are you all right?’

Still looking towards the open doorway, Izzy moved quickly towards Jessica, stopping to look at the knife on the floor and then picking it up. She leant in towards her. ‘Jess?’

She must have realised to some degree what was going on because she reeled back. ‘Oh God, Jess. Can you speak?’

Jessica tried to say something and really pushed to move her arm but nothing happened. She could hear faint voices from the hallway. Izzy’s eyes widened. ‘It’s Dave out there.’ The constable stood quickly, knife still in her hand and left the room. Jessica closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing.

Jessica took a deep breath and leant back into the seat before downing the rest of her pint. She only drank lager on special occasions but would have probably enjoyed whatever was put in front of her at that exact moment.

‘Get ’em in then, Dave,’ she said, looking to the constable next to her.

‘Isn’t it your round?’ Rowlands asked.

‘Yeah, but I’m still a patient.’

He laughed, before turning to Izzy. ‘Whatever. Do you want the same?’

‘Yeah, but make it a double.’ Dave slid out from the booth in the pub closest to the police station and headed towards the bar. The atmosphere was relatively upbeat and Jessica was trying her best to join in with her friends, even though she had kept so many of the details surrounding what had happened in Edward Marks’s house to herself.

It had been a week since the man had been arrested. Between the two constables, Edward had been subdued. Jessica didn’t know the entire story as she had first spent time in hospital, then at home. The pub visit was the first time she had gone anywhere near the station. Her doctor had signed her off work for a fortnight but she had avoided all calls from anyone at the station except from Izzy and Dave. It was partly because she didn’t want sympathy from any of them but also because she felt embarrassed at charging into a situation almost on her own. By taking the two constables with her, it showed she had learned her lesson from two years ago when Randall Anderson had almost choked her to death. Jessica was still aware she had been just moments away from something awful happening.

It was largely that which kept her away from the station. She had tried to block out the look in Edward’s eyes but it was constantly in the back of her mind. Jessica had not said a word about it to anyone and, although it was obvious she had been drugged, no one knew the extent of what had almost gone on – and she had no intention of telling them.

‘Are you okay?’ Izzy asked.

Jessica tried to speak with a confidence she wasn’t feeling. ‘Yes, I was a bit unsteady for the first couple of days. The doctor said the dosage of the drug Edward injected into me could send some people into shock or cause permanent damage. I feel all right but I’ve got more tests tomorrow.’ She looked at the empty glasses on the table. ‘I probably should have stayed off the booze.’

‘Are you back at work the week after next, then?’

‘I don’t know.’

Something in Jessica’s tone must have not sounded quite right because Izzy followed it up, more quietly the second time around. ‘Are you ever coming back?’

Jessica looked up from the table to meet her colleague’s eyes, feeling vulnerable. She looked away before replying. ‘I don’t know.’

The constable sighed almost involuntarily. ‘Oh God, Jess. I’m so sorry. I know we should have come in quicker. What happened?’

Jessica spoke firmly. ‘Nothing.’

Izzy didn’t look as if she believed her, tilting her head sideways, her long red hair hanging around her shoulders.

The mood was interrupted by Rowlands returning with their drinks. He was using both hands to push all three glasses into one another so they didn’t drop and slowly manoeuvred them onto the table. He must have sensed a slight tension. ‘Everyone okay?’

‘Fine,’ Jessica said before Izzy could speak.

The constable nodded. ‘Good, good. So, we make a pretty good team all in all then.’

Jessica put her arm around Diamond’s shoulder. ‘Well, we do. I don’t know where you come into it.’

‘Hey, I was the one who arrested Edward Marks,’ Dave protested.

Izzy nodded. ‘Only because I’d taken him by surprise.’

‘Exactly. That’s what I mean by teamwork.’

Jessica wanted to change the subject away from what had happened. ‘Fine, we make a good team. So tell me, what’s going on with everyone’s favourite MP?’ The two constables exchanged glances. ‘Come on,’ Jessica added. ‘I know you’re not supposed to know but I’m not going to tell.’

Rowlands lowered his voice. ‘The DCI and DI are keeping it all pretty quiet but, from what everyone says, they’ve got nothing on him except hearsay. The garage owner reckons he took cash to kidnap Christine Johnson but none of it can be matched back to the MP. The phone calls and texts the mechanic has records of are only to an unregistered pre-pay mobile number they’ve not been able to tie to Johnson either. There are all sorts of circumstantial bits and pieces but people are saying the only one going down for it is the bloke who owned the garage. It looks like he did it, of course, but everyone thinks it was Johnson who paid him.’

‘Have they got any sort of motive?’ Jessica asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Dave said. ‘George Johnson’s rich enough anyway and there’s no life insurance, so it’s not that. Apparently he was having an affair, even if he denies it, but he knows we’ve got nothing on him and so does his solicitor. Jason is furious but what can you do? Someone leaked it to the media saying we’d taken him in for questioning. People are saying it was the DCI himself who leaked. I think they’re hoping someone else comes forward with information but no one’s holding their breath.’ The constable paused to have a sip from his glass before continuing. ‘The garage owner should be convicted, which is a result because he’s basically confessed to the actual crime. He’s not the one they’re after though.’

Jessica nodded, thinking it sounded about right. She took a large slurp of her drink before Rowlands continued. ‘I take it you know what’s going on with Edward even though you’ve not been in?’

There was a short pause. Jessica had listened to a few voicemails and gone through some emails via her phone. She had also given a statement about everything Edward had told her. ‘I’ve heard bits,’ she said.

‘Do you know they found the remains of the five men in the foundations of the pool area?’

‘Yes.’

Izzy shuffled nervously but Dave seemed oblivious to either her or Jessica’s discomfort and carried on. ‘They discovered the storage unit too. It was in his dad’s name which is why we hadn’t found it before. Forensics have been in but we don’t know if they have found anything yet. Iz went down to London and went over mug shots with Charlie’s former colleagues. They insist our “Charlie” isn’t their “Charlie” and we’re getting a formal identification sorted. By the time it gets to trial the bleach will have grown out of his hair and he’ll be back to dark-haired Edward.’

Jessica already knew most of it but it was good to hear they had evidence building against the man. One of the messages Cole had left her was about giving a more formal statement but she hadn’t felt ready.

Izzy leant in and picked up the conversation. ‘The biggest issue has been the CPS, although you can’t blame them. They’ve been dithering all week because they don’t know what name he should be put in front of court under. “Edward Marks” was classed as missing so it’s a bit of a mess at the moment. There was something else though.’

‘What?’ Jessica asked.

‘You asked me to look into unsolved sexual assaults where no DNA had been left. We found one where the victim identified Jacob Chrisp as her attacker. He can’t be convicted obviously but at least it’s some closure for the victim.’

‘Good.’

‘How did you figure it out?’ Izzy asked.

Jessica sighed, sipping her drink. She didn’t want to talk about it but figured she owed her colleagues some explanation. ‘A few things,’ she began. ‘When I did that careers day thing at the school one of the kids asked me about how to get away with a crime. It was just one of those silly things but it had me thinking that the best way wasn’t to leave no clues at all, it was to leave signals that pointed to someone else. If you leave nothing, people like us delve further into your background. Edward obviously didn’t want that.’

She went on to explain about the left-right-hand connection from the wedding and pointed out it had all fallen into place. ‘It was just a guess more than anything,’ she concluded.

‘Are you going to contact Sam Kellett?’ Rowlands asked. ‘None of us have but someone probably should before it gets to court.’

Jessica nodded but said nothing, not wanting to commit to any course of action. She remembered promising Garry Ashford an exclusive too and thought he would be pleased after the court case when he got all the juicy details.

She took two more large mouthfuls of her drink. ‘I think I’m going to go on holiday,’ she said, placing her glass back on the table.

It was a statement out of the blue and the two constables glanced at each other before turning back to her. Rowlands made the obvious response. ‘Sorry?’

‘I’m going to go on holiday. I’m owed loads of time off anyway and I’ve not been away properly in years.’

Jessica saw the two constables exchange another look, this time with more worried expressions, then Izzy spoke. ‘Are you okay, Jess?’

‘I just need a break.’

Dave put a hand on her shoulder. ‘I know we arse about but seriously, are you all right?’

Jessica had rarely seen him show genuine concern for her, although she knew most of their mutual teasing was for show. She nodded. ‘I’m good.’

Dave removed his hand, seemingly satisfied. ‘Are you going on your own?’ he asked mischievously.

‘Yeah, why?’

‘I hear you’ve been getting a little, ahem, friendly with a certain someone recently.’

Jessica knew exactly what he was talking about. With Caroline on honeymoon, the only person she had kept in any kind of regular contact with over the past week had been Hugo. They had exchanged text messages and he had come to her flat and cooked her tea, showing off yet another hidden talent. As she struggled to bury the feeling of helplessness from when she had been drugged, Hugo’s weirdness had helped keep her smiling.

Jessica said nothing but Dave carried on his teasing. ‘Don’t forget it was me who introduced you.’

Izzy leant in to the table. ‘Oooh. Tell me more.’

Before Jessica could speak, Dave cut in. ‘Jess has been getting friendly with our mutual friend Hugo. I hear you had a fun time together at your mate’s wedding?’

Jessica realised Rowlands didn’t know about the contact she’d had with Hugo since then. ‘So what? We only went as mates,’ she replied, trying not to sound too defensive.

‘All right, I believe you,’ Dave said, although it sounded strongly as if he didn’t. ‘You’d make a great couple anyway. He’d be the intelligent multi-talented one, while you walk around bollocking people into submission.’

‘Sod off.’

‘Detective Sergeant Jessica Patch, it’s got a nice ring to it,’ Dave said airily.

‘His last name is “Patch”?’ Jessica asked, struggling to hide the surprise in her voice.

Rowlands raised his eyebrows. ‘Didn’t you even know that?’

‘I guess not.’

‘Some girlfriend you are.’

Jessica couldn’t be bothered to argue. She took a long drink from her glass before returning it empty to the table. ‘Your round,’ she said, looking at Rowlands.

THINK OF THE CHILDREN

Jessica Daniel Book 4

One boy is dead. A killer is free. Who is next?

Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel is first on the scene as a stolen car crashes on a misty, wet Manchester morning. The driver is dead, but the biggest shock awaits her when she discovers the body of a child wrapped in plastic in the boot of the car.

As Jessica struggles to discover the identity of the driver, a thin trail leads her first to a set of clothes buried in the woods and then to a list of children’s names abandoned in an allotment shed.

With the winter chill setting in and parents looking for answers, Jessica must find out who has been watching local children, and how this connects to a case that has been unsolved for 14 years.

This is Book 4 in the Jessica Daniel series, following on from Locked In, Vigilante and The Woman in Black.

An extract follows here . . .

ISBN 978-1-4472-2340-5

1

The windscreen wipers on Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel’s battered old car thundered from side to side in an attempt to clear the pouring rain. She leant forward for what seemed like the hundredth time since starting the journey, wiping a thin layer of condensation away from the inside of the front window.

Jessica steered with one hand while continuing to clear the windows, muttering curses under her breath that related partly to her car, partly to the daily commute, but mainly to the weather itself. She had lived in Manchester for over a decade and if there was one thing the natives were used to, it was rain. She shivered slightly as cool air poured out of the car’s vents. It was almost five minutes since she’d set the fans to the hottest temperature possible but they still weren’t producing anything other than a light but decidedly arctic-feeling breeze.

Glancing away from the road, Jessica looked at the man in the passenger seat. ‘If you could stop breathing for a while it would make this a lot easier.’

Detective Constable David Rowlands gave a half-smile. ‘Was that one of the selling points when you bought this thing? “Works perfectly as long as you don’t breathe when it’s raining”.’

‘You can walk if you’d prefer.’

Out of the corner of her eye, Jessica saw the constable take a half-glance out of the passenger window but it was clear he wasn’t thinking about it seriously as the rain continued hammering on the roof of the vehicle. ‘You’re all right. I can’t believe you make this journey every day.’

Jessica sighed, continuing to edge her car forward in the slow-moving traffic. She lived in the Didsbury area, south of the main city centre. In a region that offered everything from high-priced flats at Salford Quays and multi-million-pound footballers’ mansions all the way down to some of the most deprived housing estates in the country, it wasn’t a bad place to call home. The biggest problem where she lived was the traffic jams on the way to the Longsight police station where she worked. The tailbacks were bad enough at the best of times but with the weather the way it was, everyone was moving even more slowly than usual. She kept tight to the car in front, ignoring the person in the vehicle she knew was trying to cut into her lane.

‘You didn’t have to stay at mine last night, you know,’ Jessica said.

‘Yeah, but we had a good time, didn’t we?’

Jessica paused and smiled, thinking about the night before. ‘Don’t say things like that around the station or you’ll start rumours.’

‘Ugh, yes. You’re right.’

‘You don’t have to be so disgusted at the idea of being associated with me. Anyway, I’m amazed your girlfriend came for tea; I’ve spent the last four months thinking this “Chloe” was imaginary. At least I’ve met her now and verified she isn’t clinically mental.’

Rowlands sighed. ‘Is that an official medical term?’

‘Yes.’

The temperature changed almost instantly from freezing cold to searing hot. Jessica’s car’s fans didn’t differentiate between anything other than the two extremes. The shift meant the windscreen did at least begin to clear, although the only thing it revealed was rows of traffic seemingly not moving and a set of traffic lights in the distance, the red light beaming through the misty greyness of the morning.

Jessica shuffled uncomfortably in the driver’s seat, trying to stop her legs from cramping, and sighed again. ‘It wasn’t that long ago I was on a beach for my only holiday in years reading crappy books, drinking cocktails and enjoying the sun.’

‘How can I forget? They dumped all your paperwork on me. I can’t picture you lying around not doing anything though. In all the time I’ve known you, you never stop.’

Jessica didn’t want to admit it but he was right. She had spent the first morning on the beach with a book trying not to look at an overweight tourist wearing leopard-print Speedos and a sailor’s hat. After getting bored and hiring a car, she spent much of the rest of her three-week break driving around the Greek island. She had intended for the holiday to be relaxing, a chance to get some space after a series of murders where the killer had sent her severed fingers from the victims through the post. After almost becoming the final casualty herself, Jessica had wondered what she wanted from her future. Given her state of mind and accrued unpaid overtime, she was given permission to take a longer holiday than most officers got.

She went away not knowing whether this was the job for her and returned none the wiser. So little had changed.

Jessica ignored Rowlands’s assessment, slowly moving her car forward as the lights ahead turned green and the line of traffic inched along. The car that had been trying to cut into her lane edged in behind her and Jessica felt a small pang of utterly irrational elation at the minor victory.

Dave started to hum an upbeat tune Jessica didn’t recognise, which only added to her irritation. The lights flicked back to red just before she could drive through and, although she thought about not stopping, she slowed before putting on the handbrake, coming to rest at the front of the queue.

‘Can you stop doing that?’ she asked irritably.

Rowlands turned to look at her. ‘What?’

‘The humming.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t even realise I was doing it.’

‘You’ve been doing it a lot recently. This whole domestic bliss, moving in with your girlfriend thing has almost turned you into a normal member of the human race. Albeit one that hums.’

Rowlands laughed quietly to himself. ‘It’s Christmas in a few weeks. Aren’t I allowed to be cheery?’

‘No, it’s unnerving.’

Jessica reached towards the fan controls and turned them off. She hoped the mixture of cold then hot air would even itself out and make the final five minutes of their journey bearable. To her relief, the thudding rain on the metal roof started to ease. She peered up at the still-red traffic lights, then looked to her left where cars continued to speed across the junction.

The screeching noise was the first thing she heard. It sounded as if it had started some distance away, but it was hard to tell because of the rest of the din going on around her. Jessica quickly looked to her right as a black car squealed across the junction, wheels locked, spinning on the drenched surface. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, the vehicle twisting a full circle and smashing into a lamppost in the centre of the junction before being hit by a blue car coming from the opposite direction and completing another half-spin.

Jessica blinked, trying to take in what she had just witnessed. For a fraction of a second, it was as if everything had stopped, even the rain. Without thinking, she switched off her engine and got out of the car. She didn’t say a word but Rowlands was moving too and together they dashed across to where the mangled car had come to a halt. Jessica headed for the black vehicle, Rowlands towards the blue one.

Jessica could feel her heart beating quickly as she arrived at the wreck. There was a huge crack in the windscreen, the deflating airbag pressed against it. Car horns blared around her and other people were approaching the car. Jessica took out her police identification and shouted for them to stay back, at the same time pointing at a man who had his phone out and telling him to dial 999.

Because of the way the car had spun, it hadn’t entangled itself with the lamppost, instead bouncing after being hit by the other car. Jessica moved to the driver’s-side door, trying to peer through the cracked glass. The mixture of rain and condensation made it hard to see through the other windows and she took a snap decision to open the door. As she did, a splash of dark red blood from the inside dribbled onto the ground; the cream material lining of the seat was also drenched.

Jessica knew instantly the driver was dead.

The blood-soaked airbag had begun to sag onto the driver’s lap as Jessica finally allowed herself to look at the victim. She had seen plenty of dead bodies in her time but this one was a distorted mess. Jessica quickly realised why: the seatbelt clasp hung limply by the door, unfastened. She felt a shiver go through her as it started to rain again, droplets of water streaming down her face as she tried to put the pieces together. Despite the mess, the driver’s greying hair made him look as if he was in his fifties. She didn’t know for sure but it appeared that his neck had snapped. It could have been him hitting the windscreen or the force of the airbag colliding after the impact. Not that it mattered considering the way the pulped skin, blood and glass made his face look like a warped, dropped pizza. Jessica could not look for more than a second or two. Not wearing a seatbelt had cost him his life.

Jessica shut the door, knowing there was nothing she could do and not wanting to contaminate the scene either through her own presence or by letting rain in.

She again warned members of the public to stay back before walking the short distance to the blue car where Rowlands was crouched, talking to a young woman still sitting in the driver’s seat. As Jessica came closer, it was clear the woman was crying hysterically, a seatbelt stretched across her. She reached the car and put a hand on Dave’s shoulder, shaking her head slightly to let him know the fate of the other driver before crouching herself.

Rowlands spoke slowly and deliberately. ‘This is Laura. She was on her way to work, weren’t you, Laura?’ The woman nodded, eyes wide with disbelief as tears continued to flow down her face. Jessica knew her colleague was doing his best to keep the woman calm, using her name frequently to keep her attention until help arrived. Outwardly, aside from long dark hair which was tousled across her face from the impact, the driver looked fine, but she was obviously suffering from shock.

‘Are you okay, Laura?’ Jessica asked. The woman nodded again but said nothing.

Jessica left Dave talking as cars swerved around the accident, sirens blaring in the distance.

She stopped to take a deep breath, swallowing a feeling of claustrophobia despite being in the open. The car horns and engines, the chatter of nearby pedestrians, the patter of the rain: it was becoming overpowering. Jessica felt a few drops of rain slide down her neck, struggling not to shiver as she made her way back towards the black car while tying her long hair into a ponytail.

The vehicle looked much more of a mess from the other side. It was a mid-size four-door model that Jessica thought of as always being advertised with a family sitting inside, as if the machine itself was the key to parenting bliss. A scrape ran the full length of the passenger side, the front headlight a concertina of mangled metal.

Jessica blinked the water away from her eyes as she saw the flashing lights of an ambulance a few hundred metres away, the noise from the siren blaring ever louder. Her eyes were attracted to the rear of the vehicle where the car’s boot had popped open ever so slightly. She put a hand on the metal, at first thinking about pushing it shut, but curiosity got the better of her and she opened it instead.

If she’d had to, Jessica would have struggled to guess the contents of her own boot. There might well have been jump leads and possibly a petrol can but she wouldn’t have put money on it. She definitely wasn’t prepared for the sight that met her in the rear of the smashed-up black car. Thick plastic sheeting was wrapped tightly around an object with heavy-looking tape sealing it into a tight cocoon. Next to the object was a rusting spade with a muddied plastic handle. Jessica felt something in her stomach urging her forward as if she already knew what it was.

She pushed the boot down but didn’t lock it in place. As the ambulance drew up, she ran to her own car, opening the driver’s door and digging into the well before pulling out a pair of scissors.

Her father had always been good about keeping things in their old family car just in case but Jessica hadn’t inherited his forward thinking. She had found the scissors not long after her dad bought her the car second-hand a decade or so ago, left by the previous owner. She dashed across the junction again, silently thanking whoever that previous owner was and feeling justified for never cleaning out her car.

As she arrived back at the black vehicle, paramedics stepped out of the ambulance. Jessica flashed her identification and told them the fate of the driver. One of them went to check on him anyway as another walked to where Rowlands was still comforting the woman from the blue car.

More sirens blared in the distance as Jessica returned to the black car’s boot, opening it and moving the spade to the rear of the compartment out of her way. Layer upon layer of plastic sheeting was wrapped tightly around the object and Jessica struggled to force through the blunt blades of her scissors. As she pushed harder, it started to rain more heavily, huge drops bouncing off the tarmac road. Jessica could feel the force of the water smashing into the top of her head. She continued to cut and finally felt the scissors push through the top few layers of the plastic. Reaching in with her hands, she pulled hard to try to tear the material apart. Slowly, it began to give and, with a combination of her hands and the scissors, she opened up part of the wrapping.

With the plastic pulled back, all she could see was a piece of cloth that had a flowery pattern. It reminded Jessica of the curtains her parents used to have at their house when she was a child, a hideous mixture of yellow and brown. Still reaching into the boot, Jessica tugged at the fabric, finally freeing it with a gasp.

Jessica tried to force herself to look away but the pale skin and clamped eyelids held her hypnotically: the haunting lifeless face of a dead child.