Body Harvest (11 page)

Even before they got close to Ely Eight’s isolated house, its location was obvious. It was ablaze. Giant flames were clawing at the night sky, replacing the darkness with constantly shifting yellowy-orange streaks. The fire was so fierce that, even before Lexi got out of the car, she suspected arson. It looked as if it had been started with a lot of fuel to cause maximum damage. It was consuming the house hungrily.

Troy and Lexi ran towards the inferno but they were soon brought to a halt by intense heat. Above
the roar, Lexi shouted, ‘Look. It’s worst in the basement. That’s probably where it began. I can’t smell any fuel, can you?’

‘No.’

‘If someone splashed it around, it might have all burnt by now. I don’t know how long it’s been going. Quite a while, because the whole house is going up. Amazing.’

‘My guess is it’s an attempt to destroy all evidence of an underground clinic – or at least Gareth’s part in it.’

A downstairs window exploded and flame leapt out angrily. A large part of the roof fell in, sending tiles crashing down.

‘My main crime scene burnt to a crisp,’ Lexi moaned.

Hearing a distant siren, Troy said, ‘Firefighters on their way.’

She shrugged. ‘What’s going to be left?’

Four appliances pulled up outside Ely’s house. The chief dashed towards the detectives and yelled, ‘Is anyone inside?’

‘The owner’s away but we don’t know about anyone else,’ Troy answered. ‘I hope not.’

‘There could be gas cylinders in the basement because it was used as a surgery,’ Lexi told him.

‘Okay. Thanks. Now keep back,’ he ordered. ‘This is our job.’

Troy lay back in the tilted car seat. His body was tired but his brain would not allow sleep. It galloped along, thinking endlessly about the case and this latest turn of events. Lexi had let go of her mind. It was drifting wherever it wanted to go, like a feather floating on a breeze in a place where nothing happened. She was at rest. When the chief fire officer roused them, Troy was still focused but weary. Lexi was raring to go.

The firefighters had erected a cordon around what remained of Ely’s property. Much of it had been reduced to charcoal. The blackened joists that had
once supported the roof were exposed like the bones of a skeleton.

‘What caused it?’ Troy asked the chief.

‘Too early to say, but it wasn’t an accident. It was just too severe. My guess is forensics will find an accelerant.’

‘I need to get into the basement,’ Lexi said.

‘No. It’s too dangerous.’

‘But …’

‘I’m overruling you,’ the chief firefighter said. ‘I don’t want any more casualties.’

‘Any more?’ Troy queried.

He nodded. ‘There’s a body in the basement. Well, I say body but there’s not a lot left.’

Troy and Lexi glanced at each other.

‘Your officers have been inside, then. So, I’m going in, as well,’ Lexi insisted.

‘They’ve got the right clothing and a lot of training.’

Lexi held out her arms. ‘Bet you’ve got a spare set of gear that’ll fit me.’

‘But I haven’t got a couple of years to train you.’

‘Come in with me,’ she replied. Putting a hand on her life-logger, she added, ‘I need to record this body and I’m hoping there’s still a bit of equipment I can measure.’

‘Nothing’s safe in there. Not even the walls.’

‘That makes it doubly important I get in now. It might have collapsed before we can get forensic fire specialists in.’

‘Well …’

‘This is a multiple murder investigation. We might have the culprit in there – a casualty of his own crime – or another victim.’

‘All right. Against my better judgement.’

While the chief helped Lexi into protective clothing, she said to Troy, ‘I reckon it’s Sergio Treize. He knew we were onto him and he chose not to get caught and prosecuted. He stayed in there deliberately, taking a way out that’s familiar to someone in charge of a suicide chat room.’

‘Mmm.’ Troy tapped at the keypad of his
life-logger
. ‘Maybe.’

‘I’m giving us three minutes at most,’ the chief said to her. ‘We go in, you video what you want, and we’re back out. Understand? You do exactly what I say. No arguments. No lingering.’

‘Okay.’

Troy watched his partner, weighed down by firefighting gear and breathing apparatus, trudging awkwardly beside the chief. Both of them scouted out a route by torchlight. Troy couldn’t fault her
dedication and bravery. He hoped that her recklessness would not get her into trouble. He prayed that the walls would remain upright for another three minutes.

Lexi and the chief firefighter emerged from the wreck after three and a half minutes.

While Lexi cast aside the safety gear, like an insect struggling to shed its cocoon, she said, ‘I’ve got what I want. The body’s got big feet, too burnt to get an accurate measure or to decide if it’s an outer. I got some tissue to test, though. But the big news is a gurney. That’s the other thing I went in for. Its metal frame’s a bit warped but I still got an accurate fix on the wheelbase. Fifty-two centimetres. Exactly the same as the tracks in the field by the bodies.’

Troy nodded. ‘Good work. And you’re still alive as well.’

She smiled. ‘That’s an added bonus.’ Handing the breathing apparatus to one of the crew, she said, ‘Actually, I like dressing up. And excitement. I’ve always fancied being a firefighter.’ She inhaled the air, polluted by the powerful whiff of combustion products. ‘We’ll see, but I think this case is all over. I reckon Sergio took the easy way out.’

Hesitating, Troy muttered, ‘That’d be convenient. But …’

‘What?’

The first light of Sunday had not yet risen above the horizon. As they made their way carefully back to the car, Troy said, ‘The airport’s about fifty kilometres away. And there’s an early morning flight to Switzerland. I’ve stopped it. The passengers think the pilot’s ill and they’re waiting for a replacement.’

‘Why …?’

‘Because Sergio Treize – or Gareth Thirteen or whatever you want to call him – doesn’t seem to me to be the quitting kind. And he’s always a step ahead of us.’ He stopped and showed her a picture. ‘It’s a still from a camera at Gate Thirty-Two, the one the Swiss flight’s leaving from.’

‘And?’

‘Look at the man by the pillar. He’s got hair – a wig, maybe – a day’s growth of stubble and no glasses, but …’

Lexi peered at the photo. ‘That’s a lot of ifs and buts. And nowhere near the resolution you’d need for a facial recognition program. Have you checked the passenger list?’

‘No familiar names, but he seems to have plenty up his sleeve. I don’t know what’s on his passport.’

‘If you’re right, who’s that in Ely Eight’s house?’

‘No idea,’ Troy admitted. ‘But it could be the
patient who was going to get your heart. I imagine your forensics will tell us …’

‘It’ll be a challenge after what the tissue and bones have been through.’

‘You’ll sort it out.’ Less confidently, Troy added, ‘Maybe Sergio left the body as a decoy, so we’d …’

Lexi interrupted, ‘Think exactly what I thought?’

Troy nodded. ‘The wrong tree, for barking up.’

‘You weren’t wasting time while I was having fun in a hot, toxic and unstable ruin.’ She examined the image from the airport again. ‘I’m not convinced, though.’

‘Neither am I,’ Troy said. ‘But you have to admit …’

‘I have to admit you won’t give up and go to your bed until you’re sure one way or the other.’

‘Less than a week and you’re getting to know me.’

In the car, Lexi said firmly, ‘The airport.’

At the airport, Troy told the Head of Security about the passenger he wanted to interview. He asked for a ring of security guards around the wing that housed Gate 32. ‘Every conceivable exit, please. The public ones and the staff-only ones. Access to shafts or whatever. If he does a runner, he mustn’t get away.’

‘That’s not one of the scenarios we’ve practised, but it’s straightforward enough. I’ll have that section sealed within five minutes.’

‘We’ll hang on,’ Troy decided. ‘Tell me when a mouse couldn’t escape, then we’ll move in.’

Troy and Lexi went through the departure lounge to Gate 30 and waited for the signal that all the guards were in place. From where they stood, Troy could just hear a calming announcement in the neighbouring area. A sympathetic voice was apologising for the disruption to the flight, reassuring a restless bunch of travellers that a pilot was nearly ready and that they would be able to board the aircraft very soon. It was clear to Troy that the crew was as much in the dark as the passengers. The man making the announcement had probably not been told there was a different reason for delaying the departure. If Sergio Treize was among the impatient travellers, Troy didn’t know whether he would be anxious, suspicious or enraged. Whatever his emotion, he’d be dangerous.

The message transmitted to Troy’s life-logger was simple.
All officers in place
. Troy took a deep breath and nodded at Lexi. Side-by-side and without a word, they strode a few paces down the terminal corridor and entered Gate 32.

Immediately, a passenger at the far side of the area jumped to his feet. It was the man Troy suspected of being Sergio Treize. Eyes wild, he glanced around, assessing the situation. He would have seen two detectives blocking the entrance and two beefy
guards blocking the way to the aircraft. He would have realized at once that he was trapped.

Quick-witted, though, he worked out a way of escaping that Troy hadn’t anticipated. He plucked a girl – about five years old – from the seat in front of him. He held her up effortlessly with his left arm and shouted, ‘Stand back. You’re going to let me walk – or she gets it.’ A sudden spasm made his head jerk.

The girl lashed out, trying to scratch his face. She succeeded only in removing his wig. She was so astonished by the disappearance of her captor’s hair that she didn’t continue the struggle. She screamed and then sobbed in the direction of her distraught mother or nanny.

Troy saw a facial resemblance between the girl and the woman so he guessed that they were daughter and mother. He stepped forward to face Sergio Treize. ‘I don’t think you want to do this. You’re on enough charges already. No judge is lenient with anybody who threatens a child. And you can’t escape.’

‘Wrong. You’ve got nothing on me and if you want this kid back in one piece …’

The passengers had forgotten about their flight. They were absorbed by the drama taking place among them, horrified, silent. Apart from the girl’s mother. She began to wail and suddenly darted at
Sergio. She didn’t stand a chance. Still encircling the girl with his left arm, he punched the mother with his right. It was vicious and precise, almost professional. She staggered back and fell onto a seat, completely dazed. The other travellers gasped.

Troy looked directly into Sergio’s face. He saw a man who was determined and utterly ruthless. He wasn’t bluffing. Maybe he twitched because he was always tense – on the verge of an explosive temper.

Talking to the girl, Troy asked, ‘What’s your name?’

Through the tears and the choking, she spluttered, ‘Melanie.’

‘All right, Melanie. I need you to stay calm. Your mum’s fine. Just a bit wobbly. I’ll make sure you’re back with her soon. Okay? I promise. Just do as the man says. Don’t do anything to make him angry.’

Sergio smirked at Troy. ‘Nice speech. Wise words. Now, contact security and use some more wise words. Clear the way for me. Go on. Take your own advice. Do what the man says. Don’t make him angry.’

Troy wished he knew more about his partner. He wished he’d learned to read Lexi’s mind. Would she be doing some crazy calculation, balancing the value of catching a killer against the life of a child? Or
would she have some brilliant idea? Troy knew only his own mind. Catching a killer wasn’t worth the risk to any child. ‘All right,’ he said hesitantly.

Sergio grinned widely. ‘There’s no problem with our pilot, is there? That was make-believe. So I want this flight in the air in fifteen minutes. Understand? The girl stays with me. I’ll release her when I’ve touched down, beyond your reach.’

‘Better go along with it,’ Lexi said. ‘I’ll go and sort it out with the manager.’

So, Lexi did have a plan. Troy didn’t know what it was but he was sure she had no intention of allowing Sergio Treize to flee from the law and win his freedom in Switzerland.

Within minutes, the crew announced the boarding of the flight. Before Sergio and Melanie joined the queue, Troy checked his life-logger and nodded at them. ‘You’ve got the all-clear to go. No one’ll stop you.’

Sergio laughed as he joined the other passengers. ‘You’re not sure your partner’s doing the right thing, are you? Letting me go. But she is – if you want the kid back safe and sound.’

Troy did not reply. If the stakes had not been so high, he would have found the comment amusing. Sergio had got the two of them entirely wrong. It was
Troy who would trade a killer’s freedom for a girl’s life. It was Lexi who’d be tempted to do something rash. Troy assumed that was exactly what she was planning as the murderer walked down the loading bridge and onto the aircraft.

He bound towards the crew’s desk and said, ‘Are there cameras on board? Can I see what’s happening?’

‘Sure.’

A steward set up the monitor and Troy watched the usual chaos as passengers found their seats and pushed hand luggage into overhead lockers. One of the cabin crew was helping Melanie’s mother into her seat on the left-hand side of the aeroplane. In a few minutes, though, everyone was in place and ready for take-off.

There was no sign of Lexi in the lounge or on the aircraft.

The plane broke free of its passenger-loading bridge and slowly reversed away from the terminal. Then it spun round to face the other way and began the long taxi to the runway.

‘What’s happening?’ Troy muttered to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow. ‘I’m sure she …’

He watched on screen as two stewards walked down each aisle to check that all the travellers had
buckled their safety belts properly across their laps. Near the camera that Troy was monitoring, Sergio Treize and his hostage were sitting next to each other on the right-hand side of the fuselage, well away from Melanie’s mother. Melanie was on the inside and Sergio occupied the aisle seat. The remnants of a smile were still on his face.

But then Troy saw the crew member who was coming up behind him to inspect his seat belt. Troy gulped as he recognized Lexi in the airline’s uniform. Immediately, he realized what she had planned. She’d decided to tackle him once he’d put his hostage to one side and fastened himself into a seat. She must have calculated that she’d have enough of an advantage because he’d be locked into a cramped space and taken by surprise.

At that moment, though, Troy remembered Terabyte reporting that Sharon Angie had bought books on martial arts. He wished he could warn Lexi that Sergio Treize could be an expert fighter. Yet there was no time and no way of whispering in her ear. He could only gaze at a screen and pray.

Lexi stepped forward and her clenched fist came out of the blue.