Authors: Helen Phifer
‘Right then, let’s get the caravan secured and then CSI can come in and do their stuff.’
Stu nodded. ‘Yes, boss, task force are on it. They’re just waiting for the say-so from you to go in.’
‘Right, good then. What are we waiting for? Let’s do it.’
Stu stuck his thumb up at Will and ran off to the armed response vehicle, which was parked on the opposite side of the office. Will breathed out a long sigh of relief. His insides were a complete mess, but for now he was on top of it. He never thought he’d see the day when Stu would be the one giving him a pep talk, but today he was grateful that he had been here to do it. For once it was Will who was in Stu’s debt and he’d make it up to him somehow.
The caravan was empty and very clean. Will pulled on the white overalls and shoe covers, even though two armed officers had been right through it to secure it. Anything was worth a try. As he stepped inside he could picture Henry and Megan sitting at the small table eating. They had been here, right under his nose. Living like any other normal couple, except they were far from normal. Who in their right mind wanted to kill another person for pleasure? Will cursed Henry because the man had turned him into an emotional wreck.
He opened the small bedroom doors and wondered which room had been Henry’s. Or had they shared the same bed all along? Will didn’t think that they had. Before he’d met up with Megan, Henry had been a loner and was used to being on his own. He doubted he could go from that to happily almost married in such a short space of time. Why Megan Tyler? What did she find so attractive in a burnt, shrivelled-up man that made her want to throw her whole life away to help him escape? He didn’t understand, but he hoped to God he would get the chance to ask her once she was in handcuffs and in interview. He needed to know so he would be able to answer the questions that were swirling around in his brain every time he closed his eyes. He wondered if this was what it was like to lose your mind, because he didn’t feel like the usual Will Ashworth any more.
He opened every cupboard and drawer but they were empty. The fridge was empty and the freezer had a tray of ice cubes inside that was half empty. He pulled the tray out with his fingers, careful not to touch the frozen brown liquid that had dripped onto the back of it. It was probably cola but it might be blood. Debs or whoever was the duty CSI would soon figure that one out. He put it back into the freezer and shut the door.
He walked across to the sofa that ran along one side of the wall and sat down. Was this where he’d sat each day planning what he was going to do to Annie? Will shivered then closed his eyes. ‘I don’t know where you are at the moment, Henry Smith, but I’m getting nearer. I’m coming to get you and to put an end to this bullshit.’ The door opened, a gust of wind making it slam against the outside of the van, which made him jump. He looked up at the figure in white standing there and smiled. ‘Thank God for small mercies, Debs. I’m so pleased to see it’s you.’
She nodded. ‘I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Will. We have a psycho to catch. Is there anything?’
He pointed to the freezer. ‘Something on the side of the ice-cube tray, but apart from that it looks clean. However, I’ll leave you to be the judge of that. If you can find me some fingerprints or any evidence to link our victim, Beth O’Connor, to this place, that would be amazing.’
‘I’ll do my very best.’
Will smiled at her. ‘I know you will. Thank you.’
He went back outside, taking in big gulps of the cold, sea air. Glad to be out of that claustrophobic space and in the open. ‘Come on, Stu, let’s get back to the station and see where we go from here.’
Stu followed him to their car, which was parked some distance away. ‘Do you think Debs will be okay in there on her own?’
‘There are armed police standing guard, Stu. I’m pretty sure she will. I wouldn’t put her at any risk. You know that, don’t you? She’s our magic weapon. The other techs are okay, but she’s the one who really gets it and actually wants to help catch the fuckers who do this shit.’
‘I know she is. That’s why I’m asking.’
They got into the car, Will letting Stu drive because he had so much going on in his head he couldn’t concentrate. If they linked the caravan to Smith and their victim it would be great. It wouldn’t help them to find out where he was hiding now, but it was something against him. And right now Will would take anything he could get.
Jake strolled into the office, rolling his eyes at Annie and nodding his head in the direction of the inspector’s office. She frowned at him but he shook his head and mouthed, ‘I’ll tell you later.’
‘What are we going to do next?’
‘Eat.’
‘I meant after we’ve eaten.’
‘Whatever you want, my friend. Personally, right about now I’m thinking about a cruise to the Bahamas. What do you say we all go home, pack our bags and bugger off until this nightmare has ended?’
‘You’re the second person to suggest that in the last thirty minutes.’
‘Well then, what are we waiting for? It makes perfect sense. Let the plods do their work and catch him, while all we have to worry about is what factor sun lotion to use.’
‘Like I said before to Will, do you think it would be so easy? I mean, do you really think he’d let us all ride off into the sunset to live another day? Because I don’t.’
‘God, you’re such a spoilsport. I’d have let you rub sun lotion all over my body.’
‘Tempting Jake, very tempting, but it won’t work.’
‘I’ll have you know it works just fine.’
‘Not you, us.’
‘Ah, alas, I agree with you. You and I would never work as a couple, as much as it breaks my heart. You know I prefer the manly type.’
Annie laughed. ‘You’re such a dick. I meant it wouldn’t work if we all just ran away. You know he would start killing anyone close to me to bring me back. It’s safer for everyone if I stick around.’
He sat on the corner of the desk and grabbed her hand. ‘But what about you, Annie? It’s not safe for you to stick around. If he hurt you I’d never live with myself.’
She squeezed his hand. ‘And if he hurt you or Will or, God forbid, Alex, then I would never live with myself either. I have to be here to stop him, whether it’s a good idea or not, because one way or another, I can’t help feeling that my life is over anyway. I’d rather die trying to stop him than run and hide, leaving you all behind as bait. I don’t know what we’re waiting for really. We should just stop putting off the inevitable and let him get on with it. Why don’t I just go back to working on my own, driving home on my own, and see if we can’t lure him out? Can’t someone fit me with a tracker? What about my iPhone tracker? If I go missing you’ll be able to find me with that.’
‘Are you completely insane, Annie? Don’t talk like that. We can’t just throw you out on your own and wave goodbye. Yep, it’s been great working with you, even though you’ve turned my hair grey and all that. Now run along like a good girl and get killed so we can all go back to normal.’
His voice had raised enough that the two PCSOs in the room were now listening to their conversation. And standing at the door was Cathy, whose mouth was open wide enough to catch flies. She looked at the PCSOs. ‘Haven’t you two got somewhere you should be?’
They both nodded and scrabbled to get out of their seats and leave the room. Cathy waited until she heard the station door slam shut.
‘Now, my little sweet potatoes, do you want to run that little lovers’ tiff by me again? Did you seriously suggest putting yourself out there as bait, Officer Ashworth?’
Annie nodded.
‘I thought that was what I heard. It’s a terrible idea and one that won’t be very good for your health, if you want my opinion. But it just might work if we got the logistics right, of course.’
Jake swung around to face her. ‘Are you having a fucking laugh, boss? You actually think we should just throw her out of the station door on her own and let her get on with it?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that. I’m thinking more along the lines of a set-up. You know, we put a proper tracker on her and a microphone, have task force ready to follow and blow the fucker’s head off should he try to do anything.’
It was Annie who stood up. ‘I think it’s a good idea. We could be waiting days, weeks, even months for him to make a move. This way it’s us who are in control, not Henry. He won’t be expecting me to be working on my own. It will throw him and he might panic and completely screw it all up.’
‘And he might come along and cut your bloody head off, you idiot, before task force can figure out how to get the safety catch off those big machine guns they carry.’
‘Come on, Jake, we can’t live like this – waiting for something to happen. We need to draw him out of wherever it is he’s hiding. He might batten down for months, maybe years. I can’t live like this. I refuse to live like this.’
‘You’re forgetting the one thing in this equation that would never allow you to do it.’
‘What?’
‘Will. He won’t let you do it. Under no circumstances will he let you put yourself at risk like a sitting duck so Henry Smith can come along and kill you right under his nose.’
Annie sat down, deflated. Moments ago it had seemed like the best idea she’d ever had. Anything was better than this half life of waiting around.
Cathy nodded. ‘I don’t suppose he would agree to any of this. It’s completely foolish and dangerous. But if Will is as fed up as we are, you never know.’
‘I know, we could find a decoy – someone who looks like Annie – dress them in her clothes and let them drive her car. He might agree to that.’
‘So you won’t allow me to put myself in danger, but you’ll let some innocent woman who has nothing to do with this dress up and pretend to be me. Jake, that’s seriously fucked up and not just totally wrong. It’s immoral.’
‘It wouldn’t be any old woman, would it? I mean we’re not going to ask Mrs Walker from the post office to do it, are we? There are women out west who work on the task force. One of them could do it with a gun tucked down her bra for good measure.’
‘I don’t know. I couldn’t live with myself if they got hurt. I would rather do it myself, and besides, Henry is a very clever man. He knows most things about me. He knows what I look like from a distance. He’s not going to be fooled so easily.’
‘Well, let’s see what Will has to say. Come on, it’s better than nothing. Some of those birds in task force I wouldn’t mess with. They’re harder than me and you put together.’
Cathy wandered over towards them. ‘He has a point. There are two of them who wouldn’t blink at what we’re thinking. It’s probably what they live for – the chance to go down in history – but more than that a chance to actually shoot someone and get away with it.’
‘I don’t know; it doesn’t feel right.’
‘Come on, Annie. Does it feel right that we’re all walking around scared of our own shadows? Does it feel right that he’s going to come for you no matter what we do? Call it a pre-emptive strike. We’ll have the upper hand.’
‘Look, children, have a think about it and we’ll discuss it tonight after dinner, when everyone’s together. I think Kav will say no at first, but I’m sure I can talk him around. But, Annie, the only person who might make Will agree is you. Jake, if you manage to keep your big mouth shut to a certain degree and not make it sound too dangerous, then he might start to come around.’
‘Yes, boss.’
‘Now, you two eat some lunch and find something to do in the office because it gives me heartburn every time I watch you drive away in that bloody panda car. I want you both inside until finishing time unless an emergency call comes in and it’s all hands on deck.’
They both nodded. It was fine by Annie. She wanted to do some research on Beckett House and see if there were any local newspaper reports about the place. She also wanted to do some digging around and see if she could find anyone who might be able to help them search the sewers under the house. Jake threw himself into the chair opposite and began logging on to the computer. He didn’t say anything, which was unusual for him, but if whatever it was he was doing kept him quiet, Annie would be thankful. Her head was pounding enough as it was without having to listen to him going on and on.
Annie had typed the name Beckett into the system, but nothing came up apart from the missing person report for Seamus Jones. That was a good sign. At least there wasn’t any family history of them being mentally ill or mass murderers. She went on to the actual internet and typed Beckett House into the search bar and was surprised to see a full page of links appear on her screen. She clicked on one that took her to a photocopy of a newspaper report from 1930. The headline: ‘Son of Wealthy Businessman Goes Missing on New Year’s Eve’ in bold black print filled the top part of the page.
Annie scanned the article. It didn’t tell her anything that she didn’t already know, although whoever the reporter was must have disliked the Beckett family because the whole piece suggested that the boy had met with some kind of foul play at the hands of one of the family members. She was surprised that Martha’s parents hadn’t sued the paper and the reporter for defamation of character; then again she didn’t think they would have bothered to read the newspapers at the time. They wouldn’t have needed reminding about it because they were living the nightmare. Poor, poor family. How awful to have had to live through something like that. If this monster lived in the sewers under their house it must have free run of the connecting sewers to other houses, though.
She cleared the search bar and started again: ‘Missing persons in the Lake Windermere area.’ She let out a small gasp when the pages began loading the articles of people who’d gone missing in or near the lake. There were so many, although there hadn’t been any recently, until Seamus a few days ago. The last one, whose body had never been found, was more than twenty years ago. An elderly man who had a boathouse not far from Beckett House had last been seen tinkering around on his boat on 5 May 1994. It was believed that he had fallen into the lake, possibly hitting his head and drowning, because he’d never been seen again. Divers had searched the lake over the months following his disappearance, but he’d never been found.