by GS Rhodes
“I’ve heard that,” Kidd said.
“Get some rest, Kidd,” Weaver said. “Take a couple of days off. I’ll see you next week.”
“See you next week, sir,” Kidd said as Weaver walked back to his car. The police were still buzzing around Colin’s house, picking up any evidence that they could, sweeping the whole place to make sure they could get an ironclad case against Tony. Despite the fact he’d admitted everything to Kidd, even in front of witnesses, it wasn’t enough to convict. They’d need that confession on tape, and every bit of evidence they could find. They had his DNA now. It would only be a matter of time before they picked it up on Jennifer Berry. Then it would be curtains for Tony Warrington. At least, Kidd hoped it would.
The paramedic finished bandaging Kidd’s arm and sent him on his way. He walked through the sea of flashing blue lights, along the cordon created by a thin piece of police tape. He looked up to see a few people down the street trying to see if there was anything worth gossiping about. It was just like old times.
“Admiring the scenery?” Zoe asked as she walked over to him. She’d left Joe and Lydia wrapped in blankets talking to a couple of uniformed officers.
“Something like that,” Kidd said. “They okay?”
“They’ll be alright,” Zoe said. “They’re a little bit shaken, which I think is fair enough given the circumstances, don’t you?”
“I’ll say.”
“But they’ll be fine.”
“Shit!” Kidd said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.
“What?” Zoe asked. “You forget something? Got another murderer on the loose already?”
“No, I forgot about bloody Owen, that’s his car, something—”
“Simon has got it sorted, sir,” DC Ravel said appearing at his side. “Got a call on the way in. Campbell got battered in the head by Tony’s shoe, dragged out of the car, and left on the side of the road. He’d almost made it all the way here before DC Powell picked him up and took him to Kingston Hospital to get checked out.”
“But he’s okay?”
DC Ravel chuckled. “It’s Campbell, so he’s making a meal of it, but he’s fine.”
Kidd cleared his throat. “Thank you, Janya. That will be all for tonight, I think. Weaver’s told me to go home, so I think it’s about time you clocked off as well. Good job on this. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
DC Ravel smiled. “I know, sir. Thank you, sir,” she said, nodding and walking away.
“I like her,” Zoe said quietly.
“I thought you might,” Kidd replied.
“And look at you getting all worried about DC Campbell,” Zoe said. “If I tell him, you know he’ll never let you live it down.”
“If you tell him I’ll…” he trailed off. Zoe laughed.
“You’ll what?” she asked.
“I don’t know, Zoe, I’m shattered. Can we just get to the part where you won’t tell him?”
She laughed harder. “You’re going to have to try a little harder than that. You’re definitely out of practice!”
She laughed and hurried to catch up with Janya, saying something to her quietly before they both headed over to her car. She must have offered her a lift back to the office. Kidd checked his phone. It wasn’t even all that late, nor had it even been that long since he’d started working on this case, but he could feel it had aged him. He could feel it in his bones.
He looked back at Colin Hansen’s house, at Colin being put into the back of an ambulance. With all due respect to Colin, if he ever saw him again, it would be a day too soon. But he still had one more thing to say to Albert.
CHAPTER FORTY
Kidd’s body ached when he woke up the following morning. It had taken every bit of willpower that he had to drag himself out of bed and into the shower. His shoulders ached where he’d tackled Tony to the ground, his arm still stung from where Tony had caught him with that knife. But there was that sense of a job done. To say that it was well done, though, certainly felt like he was pushing it a little.
He got himself dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, grabbing his jacket from behind the door, before getting into his car and setting off. It wasn’t all that early so the roads were a little bit of a nightmare, but he put a talk radio station on and allowed their words to wash over him as he drove. He didn’t pay too much attention to it, just focussed on his destination.
When he pulled into the car park at HM Prison Belmarsh, he almost didn’t get out of the car. He stared up at the building, dread twisting his stomach. He knew what was waiting for him in there, and he knew that he didn’t have to do this. There was just something in him that couldn’t let it go.
“This will be it,” he told himself. “One last time and then it’s buried, then it’s gone. I won’t have to think about it again.”
Even Kidd didn’t know whether that statement was true or not. You never forget your first. And The Grinning Murders had been Kidd’s first, after all. It would probably haunt him to his grave. But he needed to at least try and find some closure if he could.
He headed inside as he had done before, the same receptionist looking glumly at her computer screen as he walked in, hardly even acknowledging his presence. He cleared his throat as he reached the front desk, her entire face brightening when she realised who it was.
“Good morning, Detective,” she chirped. “How are we today?”
“Very well, thank you,” he replied. “I just wanted to thank you for the information you sent over to us yesterday,” he added quickly. “We wouldn’t have tracked the guy down if it wasn’t for you.”
She smiled a little, apparently pleased to have helped. It was a stark contrast to the woman who’d wanted him out of her sight as quickly as possible just a couple of days ago.
It would be Weaver who’d likely get the credit for the investigation. Depending on what mood he was in, he may pass down some of the recognition to Kidd, who would then, in turn, pass it down to the rest of his team. It was the right thing to do, after all. He knew a lot of officers who would take full credit, even if they’d been holed up in their offices the entire time, not daring to show their faces. Kidd would never be like that. He refused.
“It’s alright” she replied. “I’m glad to hear it went well.” A brief silence fell between them and she seemed to take him in a little more, perhaps noticing the clothes. “You didn’t come all this way just to tell me that, did you?” she asked. “You certainly don’t look dressed for work, DI Kidd, if you don’t mind me saying.”
Kidd chuckled. “I am here for work… somewhat.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Somewhat?”
Kidd flashed her a smile. “I’d like to see Albert Hansen, please.”
She eyed him carefully for a moment, trying to read him over the top of her spectacles, but just as she had done when he’d been here previously, she sighed heavily and grabbed the sign-in book for him and told him to wait to be taken through. It took a little longer this time than it had before but, just like last time, a prison officer arrived to take him through to see Albert Hansen.
The visiting room was much the same as it was before. There were a few more people in it this time, a couple of groups of people sitting across the table from people in their prison uniforms. Albert Hansen was on the far side of the room, watching the door with such intense curiosity, that Kidd had the opportunity to see his calm demeanour shift momentarily as he walked in the room. Perhaps he’d been expecting someone else. Kidd felt a grim satisfaction in that.
“Well, well, well,” Albert said as Kidd sat down, trying to ignore the uncomfortable chair once again. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He eyed Kidd carefully as he stared him down. “Take off your jacket, DI Kidd, you’re making the place look untidy.”
“No need,” Kidd replied. “I shan’t be staying long.”
Albert narrowed his eyes at Kidd. “You’re not coming down here to accuse me of puppeteering again, are you? It was borin
g last time, you coming down here with no evidence, accusing me of—”
“There’s evidence this time, Hansen, so you might want to keep quiet for a change.”
Hansen flinched, the words hitting him. Kidd could see him processing his way through them, trying to drill down to what Kidd had just said.
“What do you mean?” he asked eventually. The coolness had slipped. Kidd knew that he had him on the ropes and he wasn’t about to give in now.
“You held out on me last time I was here,” Kidd said, leaning back in his chair, feeling the plastic bow a little. “I asked you if you knew anything and you told me that you didn’t. You tried to make me feel like I was completely out of my mind coming here to ask you questions about what was going on. But it turns out I was right all along.” Hansen was unmoved. “Even after all these years, it seems my instincts about you are right. I knew it was you back then, I knew it was you now.”
Hansen locked eyes with Kidd, the two of them staring at one another from across the table. Kidd could see one of the prison officers watching them both intently. Perhaps Kidd’s voice had been a little louder than he’d intended, but what he was seeing now was a standoff as Hansen tried to figure out his next move.
He laughed. “Well, you are a clever one, aren’t you?” Hansen said. “Did you come all this way just to pat yourself on the back?”
“So you admit it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, of course,” Hansen said. “But I look forward to a case being made against me in court and not just you coming down here to toss yourself off in front of me.”
“We caught Tony,” Kidd said, and he could swear Hansen paled just a fraction. “You were a good teacher, he almost had us. You definitely taught him a thing or two about being a slippery bastard. Or was he a natural and that’s why you chose him?” When Hansen didn’t say anything, Kidd added, “Now, we're getting into nature versus nurture—whether murderers are born that way or if they’re made—and I’m not about to have that conversation with you.”
“I have my opinions about that.”
Kidd smirked. “I’m sure you do. I don’t want to hear them,” he said. “Tony tried to run. Maybe that was another thing you taught him. He tried to run and I caught him, just like I caught you.”
“Well, we do love a cinematic parallel, don’t we?” Hansen said with a smile. “So, what did you come here for? If you’re expecting remorse, you’re not going to get any from me. I would have thought you’d know that by now.”
Kidd laughed. He did know that. He’d known Hansen long enough to know that for certain. Kidd took a breath and leant forward, lowering his voice so that only Hansen would be able to hear.
“I’m not here to be congratulated. I’m not here to gloat,” he hissed. “I’m not even here to get an apology from you or to make you feel bad. I’m here for closure. I’m here to tell you that it’s over.”
And without another word, Kidd stood up and started for the door, a prison officer quickly following behind him to guide him back.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Kidd!” Hansen shouted behind him. “It’s never over! It is never over!”
Kidd didn’t look back, refused to give him the satisfaction of any more of his attention. He let the prison officer close the door behind him, Hansen’s words still ringing in his ears.
It’s never over.
Kidd knew that, of course. There would be somebody different next week, or the week after. A different body, a different case, a different set of complications and a web he would need to navigate his way through if he was going to bring the guilty to justice. But at least next time, it wouldn’t be Hansen. That, for now at least, had been laid to rest.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Kidd returned home and spent the rest of the day relaxing. He didn’t do anything strenuous. He didn’t run. He didn’t check his emails. He did his best not to flinch when he heard a police car or an ambulance whizzing by the house. He kept himself to himself the entire day, until his phone buzzed towards the end of the afternoon.
ZOE: Drink?
ZOE: It’s Zoe, btw. In case you deleted my number :P
Kidd rolled his eyes and replied.
Sounds good to me. When? Where?
ZOE: Druids. 6ish?
Perfect.
He got himself ready, throwing on a shirt and spritzing himself with a little bit of cologne for the first time in goodness knew how long. He wasn’t about to go wild, he did have a job to go back to on Monday morning and the hangovers seemed to sting a little more as the years went by. He would take it easy, enjoy a nice night out with a friend. That would be enough.
◆◆◆
Zoe had bagged a table by the time he got there. It was tucked away at the back of the downstairs area. While much of the pub was bathed in an orange sort of light, towards the back, they were cloaked in the shadows cast by the lamps, able to hide a little and people watch should they wish to.
Kidd grabbed the first round, taking his first sip of cider and sinking into his chair, letting out a breath he’d probably been holding all day.
“Christ, you look like you needed that,” Zoe said, taking a sip of her own pint. “Maybe yours is different to mine, I’m not about to sink into my chair and have an orgasm over it.”
Kidd choked. “Zoe, Christ!”
“What? You’re choking at me saying orgasm?! Who died and made you head of the Catholic Church?” She chuckled and took another sip. “Oh, actually that’s more like it, I see what you mean. Maybe the second sip is better.”
Kidd shook his head at her and looked out over the throng of people crowded around the bar, their Saturday night just getting started.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Oh Christ, you didn’t bring me out for a heart to heart, did you?” he asked.
“No, Ben, nothing like that,” she said. “I just wanted to know how you’re doing. First big case under your belt since coming back. It’s got to feel good, right?”
Kidd shrugged. “Something like that, yeah,” he said, taking another sip. “I wish I’d gotten there faster.”
“Kidd, you couldn’t have done it any faster if you’d tried,” Zoe said with a snort.
Kidd shook his head. “If we’d had the CCTV footage quicker, maybe we could’ve put two and two together a little bit faster and you wouldn’t have ended up in that house.”
Zoe shrugged. “If I hadn’t gone there, you wouldn’t have known where to go and then…” she trailed off. “It doesn’t bear thinking about what might have happened.”
Kidd knew he should just accept the win and move on, but there was something about not seeing things straight away, Tony managing to pull the wool over his eyes that made him question if he was in the right headspace to be doing this.
Zoe reached across the table and put a hand on his arm. He turned his gaze to her.
“Don’t do that,” she said. “I can see what you’re doing.”
“What?”
“You’re spiralling,” she said. “Now is not the time for spiralling, now is the time for toasting.” She lifted her glass and reached across to him. Kidd followed suit and they clinked their glasses together, a satisfying dull clink. “You did a good job, we all did. And that needs to be celebrated before the next thing comes along.”
“Can’t wait,” Kidd said with a wink.
“In the meantime,” Zoe said, “we need to find you a hobby.”
“Why does everybody want to find me a hobby?” Kidd groaned. “I run, I read, I watch TV, my life is full enough.”
“It would be fuller with someone else in it, don’t you think?” she replied, waggling her eyebrows. “What about the guy with the card?”
“What guy with the card?”
“Don’t repeat what I’m saying to fill time,” Zoe snarked. “You should call him.”
She stared Kidd down, he stared back at her. “What, now?”
Zoe shrugged. “Why not? Life’s
short.”
Kidd reached into his jacket pocket where John’s card was currently taking up residence. Zoe shook her head at him, but he didn’t even want to entertain that. He dialled the number and nervously pressed the phone to his ear, trying to ignore the pounding in his chest.
John answered the phone pretty quickly. It was loud on his end. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Kidd said down the phone. “Sorry, it’s Ben from the bar the other night, is this a bad time?”
“No, not at all,” he said in a hurry. “I didn’t know if I was going to hear from you.”
“Where are you? It’s so loud.”
John laughed. “Don’t think less of me, but I’m actually at the pub again,” he said.
Kidd froze.
“Hello? You still there?”
“Yeah, yeah, I am,” he said. “I’m here too, actually.”
It was John’s turn to go silent. “You are? Where?”
“Uh,” Kidd looked over at Zoe who was grinning so broadly she looked as if her face was about to split in two. “Near the back, right by the alcoves.”
“Alright,” John said. “I’ll come and find you, hang on.”
He hung up and Kidd returned his phone and the card to the pocket of his jeans.
“What’s happening?” Zoe asked. “Did you lose reception or something?”
“No,” Kidd said. “He’s here. He’s coming to find us.”
Zoe’s eyes widened. “Christ, Ben, I’m sorry,” she said. “I know I was being super pushy but—”
“So, you’ve got a different woman on your arm tonight?” John appeared near the table, a gin and tonic in his hand, a smile plastered across his face. “Am I getting the wrong idea here?”
“Not at all,” Kidd said. “This is Zoe, a work colleague. Zoe, this is John.”
Zoe waved. “A pleasure.”
John turned his attention back to Kidd who was still sitting. It made him feel awkward, having John pretty much towering over him. It was more than a little unnerving.