Authors: Helen Phifer
‘It could be, but do you really think he would risk his newfound freedom to come back here and cut someone’s head off? I don’t think so. We probably just have another copycat who wants to go to the Henry Smith Hall of Fame.’
Will wanted to agree with him but it didn’t feel right. Why dump the head in Bowness and what were the chances of Jake finding it when he was with Annie? Why not dump the whole body in Bowness? If she was last seen in Barrow then it looked like whoever it was wanted Annie or Jake to find that head, and why would someone want that? His phone began to ring and he relaxed to see Annie’s number flashing on his screen.
‘Afternoon, what’s up?’
‘Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you.’
Stu was sitting at his desk sticking a finger down his throat and making gagging noises, and the others were all giggling. Will gave him two fingers and walked out of the office, letting the door slam shut behind him.
‘What are you on today? I suppose you’ve got loads of house-to-house to do. How’s it going?’
‘Nope, I’m on response. Cathy told me I was to keep well out of it and answer any jobs that came in. I’m with a brand new special called George who has very kindly offered to be the OIC in charge of a break-in at the rugby club. He’s taking a statement at this very moment in time.’
‘Oh, that’s a relief then. I can’t wait to see you. Do you want to go out for tea or should I pick something up on my way home?’
‘I’d rather you pick something up. I just want to go home and put my pyjamas on and drink wine.’
‘Such a high-maintenance, glamorous woman you are to keep. I don’t know how my bank balance will ever survive.’
She laughed and the sound made his heart skip a beat.
‘I told you I wasn’t after you for your money. Did you not believe me?’
‘Not really, but I’m overjoyed that you’re just after my body.’
‘See you later. And, Will, please can you stop off at the shop and pick up some blue-top milk and a box of Coco Pops. I just fancy some; I haven’t had them for years.’
‘No champagne or expensive chocolates? I’m offering.’
‘No, thank you.’
‘Okay, see you later. Be careful and don’t work poor George too hard. I love you.’
‘I love you too. Bye.’
She ended the call and he typed a reminder into his phone because he had a terrible memory and the last thing he wanted to do was forget when the nearest shop was miles away from where they lived.
When he walked back into the office they had all calmed down and were busy typing away. He was lucky he worked with such a good team of people. It could be much worse. They could all be class-one tossers. He sat down and decided to ring Grace Marshall, the forensic psychologist who had been there when Henry was captured and had also been Henry’s doctor in the secure hospital. He dialled her number and swore when she didn’t pick up either; he wasn’t having a very good day.
‘Stu, can you ring DS whatever his name is right now and find out what the latest update on Smith is, please.’
Stu pointed to the phone that was being held up to his ear by his shoulder.
‘Already on it, boss – just on hold while they transfer me.’
Will nodded. ‘Nice one, Stu.’
Will sat down and began to write a list of the bars, hotels, clubs and shops around the Town Hall perimeter. He would ask a couple of his trusted PCSOs to sit and view all of the CCTV footage that had been seized the night of Beth’s disappearance. Something might have been missed in the first raft of inquiries. It had to be watched in real time for anything that could give them a lead. Someone had to have lured Beth O’Connor away from her party and it could have been on foot, by car, van or motorbike. They couldn’t afford to leave anything unchecked because they needed a lead and they needed it now, not in three weeks’ time. He printed several copies of the list out and handed them to the newest member of the team, Detective Constable Jack Manning.
‘Do me a favour; can you print out enough copies of Henry Smith’s most recent mug shot the hospital sent and find enough clipboards to put the photo and a copy of the list on? Then go find me some PCSOs. I want every shop, bar, hotel and takeaway revisited just in case something was missed the first time.’
Jack nodded and disappeared out of the office in search of some clipboards. Stu couldn’t help but grin to himself; this was a turn-up for the books because it was normally him who got the crap jobs.
Henry parked the van outside the caravan, which was tucked away at the back of the park, right next to the huge evergreen hedge that ran alongside Beckett House. It was an ugly caravan, so no wonder it was hidden out of sight, but it suited their needs perfectly. He’d never been in a caravan before the last four months, and now he’d lived in not one but two of them. He couldn’t complain, though. At least there were no heavy-duty metal doors or bars across the windows to keep him inside and he could come and go as he pleased, within reason.
He had made a small hole directly behind the caravan in the hedge, so he could get in and out of the gardens and boathouse to the big rambling house, which had seen better days. A couple of times he’d seen the old woman staring out of the bedroom window but she never looked his way. She always looked out onto the lake. Henry had watched her for weeks. He was very good at that so he knew exactly what happened and who came in and out of the house.
The boathouse was directly behind the hole he’d made so it gave him the perfect cover to go in and out unseen. When he’d lifted the window and climbed through he’d been surprised to see the boat in there, which for its age was in excellent condition. It had taken him a week to clean it up and check there were no holes in it, then he had gone out there one night when it was really windy and tried the engine. It had taken four attempts and on his last one, before he gave it up, it had started, and he’d jumped up and down like a kid at Christmas. He would be able to take it in and out of the boathouse whenever he needed it because the window the woman looked out of faced in the opposite direction, and he hoped that her eyesight wasn’t very good, along with her hearing. Judging by the state of the rusted-up lock on the main door into the building it hadn’t been opened for a very long time. It was a shame to let it go to waste. There was an upper galley that had a rusted table and chairs and enough room to throw down a sleeping bag should he need somewhere to hide.
Megan wanted to kill again. She kept begging and begging and was wearing him down. He had tried his best to hide from her the thrill he had got watching her cut the woman’s throat. Between them they had gagged her and then killed her. They didn’t have any clippers so Megan had cut big chunks of hair off so it was a mess. She had insisted their victim must have long hair she played with constantly. He hadn’t particularly enjoyed cutting her head off. It was too messy and a lot harder than he’d imagined, but there was no way he could have hidden her body. He’d been able to carry her head in a rucksack and shove it under the boathouse when it was still dark, just before daybreak, and there was no one around.
Megan got out and slammed the door shut, which really irritated him beyond belief.
‘Sorry, I forgot.’
And then she ran up the steps and went inside, leaving him sitting there contemplating his next move. He was so jealous that she had seen Annie close up today. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his entire life. She had looked so tiny last night compared to that big brute she always seemed to be with. Her face had been a mask of horror when she’d seen the head. He’d watched the whole thing play out from the safety of the boat, which they’d moored on the lake, far enough away not to arouse suspicion but near enough that with a pair of binoculars they could watch everything that went on.
It had been quite unbelievable, really, that the copper had lost his hat and that it had ended up under the same boathouse as the head he’d dumped there in the early hours. If they hadn’t found it, the next thing on his list had been for Megan to use the unregistered pay-as-you-go mobile they had bought to phone the police and tell them she’d found a head. But they had been saved the unnecessary risk of the call being traced, which had been greatly in their favour.
Henry knew it was too soon to even think about taking Annie. He wasn’t ready, but he would have to do something to keep Megan happy. He would look for another victim while she was at work tomorrow, maybe one of the girls she worked with. And then he swore at himself. That would mean the police would be crawling all over the coffee shop and Megan – far too risky. It could be one of the customers, though; there must be some regulars who fitted Megan’s profile. He got out of the van to go inside and ask her what she thought. He was excited at the thought of killing again. He hadn’t thought it would be as enjoyable with an audience, but it was even better, and now both of them were as guilty as each other. It wouldn’t matter if they got caught. They were both equal now in the eyes of the law – both cold-blooded murderers.
***
After what took almost three times as long as if Annie had taken charge they finally left the rugby club. At least she’d taught George something valuable today. He would be able to put his knowledge to good use and know exactly how to treat someone who was very vulnerable and also deal with a break-in – probably the two most common jobs the police dealt with. They went back to get something for a late lunch at the deli. Cathy would probably be frothing at the mouth. She’d been waiting so long for some food, but there was nothing stopping her going into town for something.
Annie bought savoury cheese baguettes, salt and vinegar crisps and Cherry Cokes all round – the healthy option. Starting tomorrow she would have to watch what she was eating. She’d lost loads of weight without trying before the wedding because of Amelia, who had been Will’s dad’s housekeeper. She had turned out to be Will’s half sister who nobody knew existed. She had kidnapped Will so she could get some of his wealthy dad’s cash. But the weight was slowly creeping back on. Her work combat trousers were a little tighter this week than they had been last. After today she would dig out her old diet books and start again. Probably if she just cut down on the wine and all the home-cooked meals, that would do the trick, but there was something so nice about sitting in their cottage next to the wood-burning stove with a large glass of wine and Will. It almost made her want to sigh with contentment.
She parked outside the station and climbed out of the van, grabbing the carrier bag of food in one hand and tucking her hat under her other arm. They went inside and Cathy’s voice boomed down the corridor. ‘I hope to Christ you have something for me to eat because I’m chewing my own bloody arm off in here.’
George looked mortified and Annie stifled a giggle. ‘Yes, boss, we have.’
‘Well, come on, don’t be shy. Throw it my way.’
Annie walked down the short corridor to the end office, which was the inspector’s.
‘Sorry, we’ve been busy. Any luck finding the body?’
‘What do you think? Your boy wonder is on the case down in Barrow, though to be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if she had been killed there and just her head brought up here and dumped.’
‘Why?’
‘Why not?’ Cathy took a huge bite of her baguette, dropping cheese and salad cream all down her top. She scooped it up on her finger and popped it into her mouth. ‘If whoever did it is sick enough to take her in the first place and cut off her head, I don’t think it really matters why the fuck he did. In his own sick, twisted mind there is a reason for it and there’s a good chance we won’t have a bloody clue what makes him tick – unless your Will catches him. He is quite good at that sort of thing. Mind you, so are you. In fact my money would probably be on you catching him, only there’s a good chance you’d kill him. No mercy with you, is there?’
Cathy winked and Annie smiled.
‘I’m not a violent person. What are you trying to say? I’ve only ever used violence when it was a life or death situation.’
‘I know, but there’s only you who ever gets into life or death situations in the whole county of Cumbria. Relax, I’m only winding you up, but that’s why you’re on strict orders not to go near this case with a barge pole. Your husband will have me strung up, hunted down and shot if so much as a hair on your head gets harmed.’
‘Well, that’s very nice of you both, but you do know I’m quite capable of looking after myself and making my own decisions. It really pisses me off when everyone else decides what I can or can’t do.’
‘See what I mean? Perfect example of why you’re hard as nails, with that take-no-shit attitude. I love it, kid. Don’t ever let anyone wear you down so much that you are afraid to answer back. Now go show George how to do something useful with those statements. What had they taken from the rugby club?’
‘A case of King’s lager, a box of cheese and onion crisps and the charity tin off the bar.’
‘Kids. No self-respecting burglar would be seen dead carrying a case of that lager. Did you check the playground behind to see if our would-be burglars had a party and left behind all the evidence?’
‘Yes we did and it was clean, but I’m going to ring the council to see if anyone had been in to tidy it up first thing this morning.’
‘You know your talents are truly wasted being a response officer. Why don’t you sit your detective’s exam or your sergeant’s?’
‘Honestly, I can’t be bothered. I just want to do my shift and go home to my boy wonder.’ She winked at Cathy who laughed and almost choked on the last bite of her baguette.
‘I have to say that I probably would myself if I was married to him. It must be nice waking up to someone who doesn’t make you groan with disgust first thing in the morning.’
Annie left her to go and eat her dinner, write up her stuff, and then hopefully it would be time to go home.
31 December 1930
Every light in the Beckett house was burning bright; each and every room had been searched thoroughly. Nothing was left undisturbed. As the guests began to arrive they were greeted by Lucy, who informed them they were dreadfully sorry but Master Joseph had gone missing and the party was now cancelled. The men had insisted on coming in to help with the search and the women went in search of Martha’s mother, Eleanor, to comfort her and help in any way that they could. When the police finally arrived it was just as a group of six men were about to begin searching the gardens. They gathered everyone inside to listen to what had happened exactly before Joe had disappeared.