Vanished Beneath: DS Lasser six (The Lasser series Book 6) (43 page)

Outside the Super's office, he straightened his tie. 'How do I look?'

Odette smiled, 'You look fine sir.'

He turned his gaze on Lasser.

'Well if you want the truth...'

Bannister frowned. 'You are nothing but a tosser Lasser and next time take a look at yourself in the bloody mirror you're no oil painting.'

When he knocked on the door, Lasser plucked at Odette's sleeve and then they were hurrying down the corridor like two school kids running away from the headmasters office.

Bannister watched them go and wished he could join them.

The early morning traffic was bad as parents dashed their offspring to school or the child-minders before heading off to work.

Lasser crawled forward, the aggravation building. 'So you never said if you were married?'

'That's because you never asked.'

'So?'

'I used to be but not anymore.'

'You don't look old enough to be divorced.'

'He died.'

Lasser snapped his head sideways. 'Jesus, Odette, I'm sorry I didn't mean...'

She flapped a hand and Lasser closed his mouth. 'Don't worry it was over five years ago, I've got over the shock.'

'Right,' Lasser turned back to the road and managed to nip through the traffic lights as they flicked to amber.

After half a minute, Odette turned to face him. 'You haven't asked me how it happened?'

'That's because it's none of business.'

She tilted her head and pursed her lips as if studying a new breed of man.

'Thanks for that,' she said. 'I mean, as soon as I tell people the first thing they want to know is how it happened.'

'Morbid buggers some people,' Lasser mumbled before turning right and heading up the hill and out of the town.

Five minutes later, he pulled up outside a short row of terraced houses that ended suddenly, open scrubland stretched away into the distance the valley dipping back down to the town centre.

'Which house is it?'

Lasser dipped his head and looked through the side window. 'It should be number four,' he replied before unclipping his seatbelt and climbing out.

By the time he made it to the front of the property Odette was peering in through the window.

Lasser pressed his shoulder to the front door and gave it a small nudge.

Odette smiled. 'You want to take a look inside?'

'Well, we know no ones in there and we're following up a possible crucial lead,
so
?'

'Right well there's not much I can do in these shoes...'

Lasser slammed his shoulder into the door and caught it as it clattered inwards.

The stale smell of takeaway food drifted towards them as Lasser walked straight into a tatty looking living room. In one corner stood a huge cumbersome looking television, a PS3 on the floor and a snake of wires trailing towards the back of the telly.

'Boys and their toys,' Odette said as she looked around the room.

Lasser shook his head. 'How old would you say Hancock had been?'

'Thirty-two, thirty-three maybe.'

'That's the problem with guys like him they never really grow up, they spend their time bunking off school so they can play on the latest game. I mean, I can see him now a spotty kid with headphones on, tuning into gangster rap and imagining he was in LA instead of shitty old Wigan.'

Odette lifted one of the cushions on the sofa, a scattering of porn mags lay beneath.

With a sigh, she dropped it back into place, headed for the doorway, and climbed the stairs with Lasser close behind.

The front bedroom contained a jumble of clothes in the middle of the room, no bed, no cupboards.

'I always wanted a walk in wardrobe,' Odette said as she closed the door.

Lasser passed her on the landing and nudged the second door open with his elbow.

'At least we know where he was sleeping,' he said as he moved inside.

The room had a single bed shoved into the corner, a small cabinet stood at the side with a pack of giant Rizla papers on top and a scattering of tobacco, the air tinged with the heavy scent of cannabis.

Odette crinkled her nose as Lasser yanked open the small drawer. Inside were more empty cigarette papers, a few loose cotton buds and a packet of condoms.

Odette gingerly pulled open the wardrobe door the smell of sweaty socks adding to the stink of the room.

'There's nothing here,' Lasser said as he slammed the door closed.

Inside, the wardrobe was coated with dust, and a grimy pair of boxer shorts lay crumpled at the bottom.

'There's no way Hancock had a girl staying here with him, I mean, there's no makeup, no nick-knacks, not a scrap of clothing.'

'Well maybe they stayed at her place, I mean, can you imagine coming around here and thinking this is nice I want to live here?'

'Definitely not.'

'Right do you want to give the neighbours a shout - see if they've seen anything?'

Odette rubbed her hands together as if they somehow felt dirty. 'Might as well.'

They traipsed back along the hallway and down the stairs, when they reached the front door they found an elderly woman standing on the doorstep, her hair in rollers, support stocking bunched around her thick ankles.

'I thought I heard the front door,' she said with a nervous smile.

'Police business love,' Lasser said as he brandished his warrant card.

'
Oh dear
, I knew it was only a matter of time before he got himself into trouble,' she said with sigh.

Odette gave the woman a comforting smile. 'I wonder if you could help, you see, we've just had a look inside but we were told that Mr Hancock had a girlfriend and we were wondering if you'd seen him with her at all?'

'
A girlfriend
?'

'Mm.'

The woman's crinkled brow looked like a ploughed field. 'Well he
was
seeing a girl a few months ago, but I don't think it ended well,' she whispered.

'What makes you say that?' Odette asked.

Lasser folded his arms and leaned back against the doorframe.

'I used to hear a lot of shouting going on and I'm hard of hearing.'

'So they had a lot of arguments is that what you're saying?'

The woman looked over her shoulder to check no one was listening. 'All the time, I told him he shouldn't shout at her like that, it wasn't nice, wasn't right.'

'And did he take any notice?'

'Oh, our David never listens to anybody, that's always been his problem, he's too stubborn.'

Lasser opened his mouth to leap in, but Odette beat him to it. 'You called him '
Our David
?'

She smiled again showing a rack of new dentures. '
That's right he's my grandson
.'

Lasser dropped the car keys in shock.

107

It was the postman who found Boris Mellor slumped by the front door, his head lay amongst the remains of a terracotta flowerpot, his contorted body half on half off the two steps that led to the front of the house.

The postie dropped a scattering of junk mail along with the gas bill onto the floor in shock, his eyes locked on the body.

In life, Boris had been an ugly sod, death had done little to improve his looks, strangely only his black hair still looked vibrant. His face was almost black, the eyes locked shut, white froth speckled his dark blue lips, his arms were ramrod stiff by his sides and his legs twisted as if he had thrashed his way to the pearly gates.

The postman looked around the garden with vacant eyes, the house was set well back from the main road hidden behind a wall of mature trees and bushes.

Turning away, he let the bag of letters slide from his shoulder before reaching for his phone.

By the time Sally Wright arrived to take a statement from Molly Hancock, Lasser was itching to go.

Bannister had rung telling them about the death of Boris Mellor; Lasser hovered near the car as Odette explained to Sally about the situation with Hancock's grandmother.

As she walked over, he leapt behind the wheel and fired up the engine.

Odette clambered into the passenger seat and gave him a cool look. 'What's the rush it's not as if Mellor is going anywhere?'

Lasser ignored her as he bulleted away from the kerb, the wheels spinning in the gutter.

She winced as he flicked on the siren and lights, then she folded her hands in her lap and watched as the houses flew past in a blur.

'Well, at least we know the Mellor’s are on the killer's list,' she said.

Lasser sat hunched over the wheel, his eyes locked on the road ahead; when he saw a line of stationary traffic, he swerved onto the opposite side of the road and flew past.

Odette gave the seatbelt a tug, the frown on her face deepening as Lasser blasted down the road.

'
Lasser slow down
!' she closed her eyes as he cut in front of a forty foot truck, the driver slamming on the air horn.

'Lasser for God's sake slow down and that's an order!'

Lasser threw her a baffled look. 'What's the matter?' he asked as he eased off the gas.

'Do you
always
drive like this?'

'Well, yeah when there's an emergency.'

'But there isn't an
emergency,
the man is dead and Bannister is at the scene, so slow down.'

It took all Lasser's willpower to ease his right foot off the gas, the car decelerated slowly from sixty to forty.

Odette sighed. '
That's better
.'

'But...'

'But nothing, I want to get there as much as you do, but I don't want to lose my life in the process.'

'Come on, Odette, you're safe with me.'

'That's what my husband said just before he crashed the car.'

The wheel twitched in Lasser's hands as he snapped his head sideways. 'You were with him when he died?' the car slowed again until they were trundling along at thirty miles an hour.

Odette sighed and lowered her head. 'We were going away to Wales for the weekend, we used to go camping and walking a lot. It was a Friday night and we were trying to beat the weekend rush,' she laughed a bitter hollow sound. 'We'd arranged to meet friends for a meal that night and Steve was annoyed with the traffic, you know leaping from one lane to the next trying to keep going. I told him to slow down and he ignored me,' she turned to Lasser and shrugged. 'I guess I'm not good at high speed car chases anymore.'

'Christ I'm sorry, Odette.'

'Why, it's my problem not yours.'

'Yeah but if I'd known...'

'We had a blow out and the car went into the central reservation, the rest is a blur. I woke up in hospital with cuts and bruises. Steve wasn't so lucky.'

Lasser opened his mouth to repeat how sorry he was and then he closed it again. He knew from bitter experience how well-meaning people could grate on your nerves. So he kept his eye on the road, taking his time, the urge to get to Mellor's house still bubbling beneath the surface.

'I know I told you to slow down but this is ridiculous,' she said.

Lasser looked at her and she smiled.

He got his foot back down.

Doc Shannon and Bannister were standing over the body when they arrived, a couple of squad cars parked on the gravel drive. Four officers dressed in high viz jackets were poking around the flowerbed as if searching for something in particular.

Climbing from the car they crunched their way towards the front of the house.

Bannister’s face was a strange mixture of anger and satisfaction. When Shannon turned and saw Odette a wide smile broke out amongst the facial hair.

'You two took your time,' Bannister moaned.

'Sorry, sir, we were over at Hancock's place.'

'Find anything?'

As Lasser explained about Hancock's granny living next-door Bannister's eyes grew wide in surprise.

Then he turned and nodded down at Boris. 'Looks like his scrap metal days are over.'

Lasser grimaced as he looked down at the contorted body on the steps.

'Do you think it's the same MO as the others, John?' Odette asked.

'Hang on,' Bannister held up a hand. 'How come you get to call him John?'

Odette shrugged, 'Because that's his name.'

Bannister’s frown turned into a smirk. 'Oh I get it; old Doctor Death is trying to turn on the charm.'

'Rubbish, '
Shannon snapped.
'I just believe in being courteous.'