Текст книги "Scent of a Killer"

Автор книги: Kevin Lewis

Соавторы: Kevin Lewis
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Текущая страница: 20 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

It had not been an easy ride for Stanley either. He had been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the murder of Danny Thompson. He had, incredibly, been released after a lack of evidence – typical in his kind of case. Sophie refused to believe a word of it of course, dismissing the whole thing as a police conspiracy. She went further and cited it as further evidence of her mother trying to drive a wedge between father and daughter because of her jealousy.

Collins was breathing hard now. During the whole of her rant, Matthews had not reacted in the slightest. Even the rhythm of her rocking back and forth, back and forth, had not changed at all. It was almost as if Collins was not even there. She might just as well have been talking to a brick wall.

Perhaps Woods had been right after all. Perhaps Matthews had finally lost her mind. Perhaps the horror of what she had been involved in for the past decade, the horror of what she had experienced as a young child, had finally caught up with her. Perhaps, Collins thought, she did deserve some small element of sympathy after all.

Collins sighed deeply, lowered the flap and began to walk away. She managed only two steps before a distinctive voice called out from behind her.

‘I haven’t finished with you yet, Stacey Collins, or with that little brat of yours.’

Collins rushed back, snapped open the flap and peered inside. Matthews did not appear to have moved from her previous position. Even her rhythm was identical to what it had been before. But this time, as Collins looked in on her, Matthews very slowly, ever so slowly, turned her head and stared directly at her.

The eyes were blank; the expression was that of a face that gave nothing away – no emotion, no depth, no understanding. But Collins knew it was a mask. She knew that Matthews was just as dangerous as ever. Whatever game the killer was playing, Collins did not understand it. But she would be forever looking over her shoulder.

Epilogue

The officers from SOCA and the DPS, along with Commander Patterson, DCS Higgins and DCI Anderson, had been summoned together to discuss the future of DI Collins in light of the revelations about Jack Stanley and her daughter.

The corner office on the twelfth floor of New Scotland Yard was nicely shaded from the sun and comfortably furnished. The men who entered said nothing as they took their seats around the large rectangular table in the centre. They were all too aware that a major decision had to be made and none of them were in the mood for smiling.

‘I don’t think any of us can underestimate the seriousness of this situation,’ said Higgins solemnly after they had all sat down. ‘On the one hand we have an officer who identified and brought to justice one of the most dangerous serial killers we have ever come across. At the same time, we have someone who has flagrantly disregarded the rules and regulations and put God only knows how many lives at risk because of her relationship with a hugely important figure in the London underworld.’

The other officers around the table nodded slowly. None of them could have expressed it better, and none of them relished having to make a decision about the best way to move forward.

Each man spoke in turn. Higgins reminded everyone that, although Collins was undoubtedly a maverick, she always got results. They had, as yet, no evidence that she had done anything illegal in her relationship with Jack Stanley, though she had in fact lied under oath.

DCI Neil Barker leaned forward. ‘You can’t dismiss that element of it. It’s an absolute offence. Perjury is perjury.’

Patterson shook his head. ‘But this kind of lie isn’t one that’s going to lead us to press criminal charges and that only leaves a disciplinary matter. The question is whether we kick her off the force, suspend her or do nothing. We can’t have one law for those we prosecute and another for those who work among us. The same laws have to apply to everyone. There are mitigating factors, for sure, and we can take those into consideration, along with her track record, but that doesn’t change the facts.’

‘Well, doing nothing clearly isn’t an option,’ said Anderson. ‘That would give the wrong signal to dozens of other officers out there who might be in similar situations. We need to make a stand that says that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated by anyone on our staff, no matter how successful or able an officer they may be.’

‘Then we are agreed on one thing,’ said Higgins. ‘That we must do something. Now the next question to be resolved is exactly what that thing should be. Who wants to begin?’

The meeting lasted for another two hours, and when it was over the men emerged mentally exhausted. They had debated and discussed every possible angle and every possible outcome. The final decision was one that nobody was entirely happy with, but was the one they felt they could best live with under the circumstances.

Collins was summoned into the room; she sat down in a vacant chair at the far end of the table.

DCS Higgins shuffled a sheaf of papers in his hands, cleared his throat and began.

‘It has not been an easy decision but we have decided that it is in the best interests of everyone working in the division at the moment if you are suspended on full pay for the period of our internal investigation.’

‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ gasped Collins. ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘And if that is the case then you know you’ll be welcomed back into your job with open arms. But, until then, it’s best if you keep as low a profile as possible. And, to put it quite simply, it’s going to be far easier for you to do that when you’re at home than when you’re in the office.’

Collins looked around at the long faces in the room around her. ‘And that’s what you’ve decided. You’ve kept me waiting out there for all this time to tell me this.’

‘That’s the decision of the disciplinary board, yes.’

Collins rose. Her face did not betray a hint of emotion and she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Twenty minutes later she was parking her BMW outside the house and walking inside with a smile on her face. It had been a difficult few weeks with the decision of the committee hanging over her. It was perfectly possible that they might have suspended her without pay or even ejected her from the force. Instead she had been placed on what was often referred to as ‘gardening leave’. Time on full pay at home. It was like an extended holiday.

There was a definite spring in Stacey’s step as she walked up the front path towards the door. Of all the things that could have happened, this was far from being the worst of them. It would give her proper time to spend with Sophie for the first time in months. It would mean she could be there for her every evening, every morning. She would even be around to pick her up from school and to attend every show, every recital, every performance.

For the next few months at least, Stacey Collins would be a proper mother.

She stepped in through the door and called out Sophie’s name. When there was no reply, she made her way into the kitchen to put the kettle on. It was there that she saw the note, propped up in the middle of the table with her name on it in Sophie’s distinctive handwriting.

She did not need to open it right away. She knew the contents would be painful. Instead of the kettle, she opened the freezer and made herself a vodka and tonic with plenty of ice and fresh lime. She then sat down at the table, opened the letter and began to read.

Dear Mum,

I do love you. It’s important for you to know that. I know you have always tried to do your best for me and worked hard to give me the best possible start in life, but I truly believe that if I am going to be all I can be, that simply isn’t enough.

We may not always agree about everything but I have never resented any decision you have made about my life. Until now. You have known for years how much I have longed to have my father in my life. The cruellest thing you have ever done to me is to deny his existence. The second cruellest was to introduce me to him and then snatch him away just as I was getting to know him.

The events of the past few months have brought my father and me closer than I would have ever thought possible. I know you came to rescue me, but in many ways you were simply doing your job, the same as the other officers who were there. To see my father there too was something different, an expression of true love. It moved me almost to tears.

The heartbreak I felt when that woman first jumped out and injected Dad with that drug, when I thought he was dying from a heart attack, is almost indescribable. Because of your selfish actions I have already lost out on thirteen years of having a father. I have no desire to miss out on any more. The time we now share together is so precious that I want to make the most of it. I will always be your daughter, but I have always been his as well.

For all the above reasons, I am sure it will come as no surprise to you when I say that I have taken all my belongings and that from now on I am going to be living with my dad. Please do not try to fight this. I have looked into the law and, although I am still too young to make my own decisions, the courts will take my views into account. I will make it very clear where I want to be, make no mistake.

You have been a great mum but I know you have always struggled to balance life and work in order to spend the right amount of time with me. I’m hoping this will make things easier. For both of us.

Love

Sophie

x

Stacey Collins was still reading the note when the sound of a key turning in the front door made her spin around. The door flew open and Sophie, her face bright red and wet with tears, stormed in. She glanced briefly at her mother before stomping her way to her bedroom, slamming her door shut behind her.

It had all happened in an instant, leaving no time for Stacey to say a single word. She remained speechless as the tall, lean figure of Jack Stanley entered the hallway, looked over at her and smiled warmly.

It took only another second for Stacey to compose herself. ‘What the hell have you done to her?’ she demanded, a host of worst-case scenarios running through her mind. ‘What the hell have you done to my daughter?’

Jack raised both his hands, palms outward, a gesture of peace. ‘I brought her home. That’s all I’ve done. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t what I wanted. Honestly, I had no idea what she had in mind when she came round. None of this was my idea.’

Stacey collapsed on the carpet, tears streaming down her face. She had never felt more distant from her daughter, from all the people in her life that really mattered.

Jack walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off with a grunt. ‘Get out of here.’

‘No.’

Stacey looked up, her eyes burning with rage. ‘Get out of here,’ she said again.

‘I can’t,’ said Jack. ‘I’m her father, but you’re the one who brought her up. I want to be a part of her life, but I don’t want to take over. I think we need to sit down, all three of us, and work out a way to go forward.’

Stacey placed her head in her hands. She felt exhausted. She didn’t know how much more she could take. ‘Maybe.’

‘Besides,’ continued Jack, ‘Jesus Christ, my phone bill’s gone through the fucking roof since she started coming round. At first I thought it was me she was there for but that only lasted a couple of days. Now she doesn’t talk to me, just to her mates. I feel like I have to send her a text to make an appointment.

‘I mean, I want to be a good dad, I want her to have her freedom, but I don’t want her to take the piss. Trouble is, I don’t know if she is or not. I don’t know any of her friends, I don’t know any of her teachers or anything. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t even know how long something like this is going to last. I’m totally in the dark. I can’t do this on my own. I don’t think you can either. We need to do this together.’

Stacey looked down at the floor and smiled. She wiped away her tears, then slowly rose to her feet.

‘Welcome to parenthood. She’ll calm down in about ten minutes. I’ll put the kettle on.’