Preacher Man: 'their blood shall be upon them' (Ted Darling crime series Book 9)

by L M Krier

  Maurice repeated what the registrar had told him. ‘They’ve got him in a quiet side room for the moment until he stabilises. He stinks to high heaven. I hope they might be able to clean him up a bit before his mum sees him, if he is this Darren and they do manage to find her.’

  ‘Did you record him saying it?’

  ‘Sorry, no. He took me a bit by surprise. It was just the word Dal, though.’

  ‘There’s just the possibility that there’s an inflection in the word he’s saying which might mean something to someone who knew the language, if it isn’t English. Good job, though, Maurice, stay with him and keep me updated.’

  He ended the call then immediately dialled another number.

  ‘What does the word Dal mean to you?’

  ‘Indian food,’ Trev replied promptly. ‘Is that a hint about what you’d like to eat tonight?’

  ‘It wasn’t, but it would be nice. I’m not sure what time I’ll get home, though. Does it signify anything else?’

  ‘Delta Air Lines? An airfield in Texas, I think. Dallas Love, or something like that. Have I won a prize?’

  Ted chuckled. ‘Play your cards right when I do finally get home and you might just get lucky.’

  He could hear piped music in the background so he asked, ‘Where are you?’

  ‘Shopping. It’s what police grass widows do when their husbands desert them. It’s all going on your card and I’m in Cheshire, so it’s going to be expensive. I’m actually meeting Bizzie shortly for coffee. Things are hotting up on the Douglas front so she needs more outfits and I am now her official stylist.’

  Ted was still smiling to himself as he rang off. Trev was famous for his improbable friendships. Professor Nelson, the forensic pathologist with whom Ted often worked, had become a big fan of Trev’s and especially of his Triumph Bonneville motorbike, on which he’d taken her out for a spin on several occasions. She was now once again dating her childhood sweetheart, Douglas Campbell, a cardiac consultant, and had turned to Trev for wardrobe advice. He never needed any excuse to go shopping, especially as Ted hated it and had to be dragged under sufferance.

  Ted went back into the main office to find Steve.

  ‘Any word from Preston on the mother, yet?’

  ‘Not yet, sir, they’re still looking. They did warn me that even if they find her today she may not be fit for anything, certainly not coming here.’

  ‘It might not actually be a bad thing if it has to wait until tomorrow. Give the hospital chance to get him more settled and clean him up a bit before the mother sees him, if that’s who he is.

  ‘Maurice seems to be working his usual charms and Levi appears to be calmer, at least when Maurice is with him. He’s also started saying something else, just one word. Dal. Can you see if you can find out what it might mean? Also did you find any similar cases anywhere else? We’d have heard if it was within our force area, but see if there’s been anything else further afield. It might just help us. Thanks, Steve.’

  ‘Nothing yet, sir, but I’ll keep looking.’

  It wasn’t long before Steve came tapping on his door once more.

  ‘Sir, I’ve found a very similar case, in Humberside. Young lad, seventeen, disappeared after going out with friends. He was found wandering naked, a few months later, repeating biblical phrases and showing evidence of having been tortured.

  ‘I spoke to a DS in Hull who was involved in the case. It’s still an open case. No one was ever found or convicted for it. The DS offered to come over tomorrow for a face-to-face meeting, rather than a conference call. He said he can’t come over in the morning, he’s going to church with his family, but he could come in the afternoon, with all the case notes, if that suits you, boss?’

  Ted went quiet, long enough for Steve to shift uncomfortably.

  ‘Was that not right, boss?’

  ‘You did the right thing, Steve. And that’s exactly what he said to you?’

  When Steve nodded, he said, ‘Can you give me the contact details for this DS, please? I’d like a word with him.’

  When Steve had brought him the details, Ted made the call.

  ‘DS Groves? This is DCI Darling from Stockport. I believe you’ve been talking to one of my DCs, Steve Ellis, about a case?’

  ‘Hello, sir, yes, that’s right. I’m coming over tomorrow afternoon with copies of all our case files. It’s still open, no arrests yet, not even any suspects.’

  ‘And you can’t come in the morning because you’re going to church, I understand?’

  There was a slight pause before the DS replied, ‘That’s right, sir. But I hope to be with you about one o’clock, if that suits you?’

  ‘I appreciate your offer to come in person when you’re not under any obligation to do so. But can I just explain to you why that doesn’t suit me. I’ve got a seriously injured young man lying in a hospital bed, who would no doubt like to be spending Sunday morning with his family, too. Your case sounds, on the face of it, identical to mine, and I would very much like to get my hands on whatever sick piece of work is doing this sort of thing to young men. So it would suit me much better if you could forget your usual weekend routine and get yourself over here first thing in the morning. Either that or can you scan and send the files now then we’ll conference call once I’ve read them, later today.’

  There was an even longer pause before the DS replied, his tone measured, ‘Sir, I apologise if I’ve given you the impression of being less than cooperative. To be fair, I’m not on the rota to work at all tomorrow and I clearly misunderstood from your DC the urgency of my visit. I understood from him that you would prefer to meet in person, which is why I offered to come myself. I will, of course, come first thing in the morning. Is nine o’clock better for you? I’ll try to make it earlier if I possibly can.’

  ‘Thank you, Sergeant. Nine o’clock. Please don’t be late.’

  He ended the call abruptly, feeling angry and realising it was irrational. The DS clearly hadn’t appreciated the urgency, it was nothing more than that. Nor was he under any obligation to come. So much was done by conference call these days. But Ted was burning with a desire to get his hands on whoever had done this, especially if this was not the first such case.

  He was not a big fan of organised religion. He realised that might have been slanting his view. His mother had always been a chapel-goer. She’d insisted on taking him along every Sunday when he was small, largely to hear him sing. He had a good voice. But his father had been an atheist and Ted felt closer to his way of thinking, having been brought up by him for much of his life.

  It was getting time to let the team go home for the day. He’d arranged a quick catch-up with Mike and Steve before they left, so he wanted to phone Maurice for any further update.

  ‘Nothing new here, boss. He’s been sleeping again a lot of the time. Any news on his mother, if it is the right person?’

  ‘That looks like being tomorrow now, from what Preston say. We’re just going to have a debrief then pack up here. There’s not a lot we can usefully do for now. There’s a similar case in Humberside, unsolved. Their DS is coming over in the morning so we can compare notes. What time are you planning on knocking off there? I think Megan’s on tomorrow, isn’t she? Perhaps she could sit with him?’

  ‘No worries, boss, I’ll come in. I feel I’ve made a bit of a connection and I’d like to carry on with it. And don’t worry about the overtime. You don’t need to log it, if it’s difficult.’

  Ted smiled to himself. Maurice the skiver volunteering for unpaid overtime. It was typical of the man he really was, behind the stereotypical façade.

  ‘You’re a good man, Maurice. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  Something in the kitchen smelt delicious as Ted let himself into the house. He’d sent Trev a text to let him know roughly what time he would be back. He realised how hungry he was as he savoured the aromas. He went over to where Trev was stirring pans on the cooker and kissed him on the cheek.

  ‘Here yo
u go, tarka dal, with no otters in it, despite the name. With naan bread, sag aloo and some spicy chicken.’

  ‘Wow, I’m impressed. Where did you find the time to do this, if you shopped until you dropped with Bizzie?’

  Trev laughed as he turned the heat off under the pans.

  ‘I cheated. It came from a posh deli. I just put it in pans to heat it up. I was going to pass it off as all my own work but I can’t lie to you, officer. You have me bang to rights.’

  Because Trev had been out most of the day, the kitchen table was free from its usual chaos. He started to lay it, ready for them to eat as Ted gratefully pulled off his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. He took his jacket off and hung it on the back of his chair.

  ‘It’s ready, but I can hold it back a moment if you want to shower and change first?’

  ‘I’d like to eat now, if that suits. It smells good and I’m hungrier than I thought. Did you have a good time? Will I be overdrawn when I get the credit card bill?’

  Trev began dishing up, putting the plates on the table.

  ‘Probably. But you like me to look nice. Anyway, I’ve hidden the receipts for the worst of it. How was your day? Did you make any progress?’

  ‘We’ve found another, case with a similar MO, from Humberside. A DS from there is coming in the morning to compare notes. I may have got off on the wrong foot with him.’

  ‘That’s not like you. Is the case getting to you already?’

  Ted was savouring his first mouthful of the curry. He nodded his appreciation.

  ‘This is good. Nearly as good as yours. It’s a tough case, yes, but I’m trying to leave work at the nick.’

  ‘Good, because, if I remember rightly from what you said earlier, I’m on a promise tonight and I don’t want anything distracting your attention.’

  ‘There’s a DS Groves down here for you, sir. Do you want me to send him up?’

  Bill was on duty at the front desk. He and Ted went way back and were usually on first name terms. If he was calling him sir, it was because there was a DS from another station within earshot.

  ‘Thanks, Bill, and no, don’t worry, I’ll come down. I want to make him feel welcome since he went to some lengths to tell me I’ve spoilt his day off by getting him to come over here.’

  The DS was standing at the front desk, making small-talk with Bill, when Ted went downstairs. He turned to greet Ted, his hand held out.

  ‘DCI Darling? I’m DS Groves, sir. Ben. We spoke on the phone.’

  ‘Thank you for coming, and for being prompt,’ Ted told him as he shook his hand. ‘If you’d like to follow me up to my office, I’ll put the kettle on before we begin.’

  The message was clear. They’d talk once in private, not before.

  On their way through the main office, Ted introduced the DS to his team members who were on duty for the day. Mike Hallam was in again, DCs Megan Jennings and Sal Ahmed had replaced Steve and Maurice. Mike was making sure they were up to speed.

  True to his word, Ted headed first to put the kettle on.

  ‘I have coffee or green tea. If you want anything else, I can get someone to get it for you.’

  He turned in time to see Groves wrinkle his nose at the suggestion of green tea.

  ‘Coffee will be fine, sir. Black, one sugar. Thank you. I’m not a green tea sort of person.’

  ‘It’s my zen drink. Helps calm me down. I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday and I wanted to apologise. I was wanting to get ahead with this case and I was feeling frustrated. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You were under no obligation to come here at all, certainly not on your day off.’

  ‘My fault entirely, sir. I didn’t appreciate how soon you wanted my input. I look forward to helping in any way I can. Although I have to say at the outset, we didn’t make much progress at all.’

  Ted produced the drinks and the two men sat down on opposite sides of the desk.

  ‘Tell me everything you can about your case.’

  ‘A young lad, Robbie Mitchell, seventeen, went out for drinks with mates one evening, as he often did, but never came back. His parents reported him missing almost immediately. A good lad, never been in any trouble, worked hard at school, completely out of character. We searched, did house to house, radio and television appeals, local papers, social media, posters up, the works.

  ‘He turned up one night, wandering about stark naked in a quiet lane out in the sticks. He was in a bad way, malnourished, dehydrated and showing visible signs of having been restrained and tortured. He couldn’t, or wouldn’t, say anything at all, except for a passage from the Bible.’

  ‘Let me guess. Leviticus 20:13?’

  ‘No, sir, Luke 4, verses 5-8. From the King James version.

  ‘And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

  ‘And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

  ‘If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

  ‘And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.’

  ‘So nothing there about homosexuality? And was this lad, this Robbie, going to gay bars or anything like that? Was he known to be gay? Our victim had been to a gay bar and he was quoting a passage about homosexuality.’

  ‘Talking to his parents, it seems Robbie hadn’t quite made up his mind about whether or not he was gay and he did sometimes go to gay bars. Sometimes young lads get a bit of an idea about that sort of thing, don’t they, but then they grow out of it. From what his mother said, I formed the impression he was a bit sensitive, quiet, into music and the arts rather than stuff the other lads of his age liked, football, bikes, that sort of thing.’

  There was a prolonged silence. Anyone who knew Ted would instantly see it as a warning signal. DS Groves had never met him before and had clearly not done his homework in finding out anything about him.

  Finally, Ted spoke, his voice quiet, as ever, his tone level, measured.

  ‘There’s no reason why you should know, DS Groves, but I’m gay. I’ve known since I was a small boy. It’s not something you make your mind up about. I’m not into football either but I have black belts in four martial arts and I was an SFO. My partner, who’s as gay as I am, unsurprisingly, part owns a motorbike dealership and rides a Triumph Bonneville.’

  It was the DS’s turn to stay silent. He looked stricken. Eventually he spoke.

  ‘Sir, I am so sorry, that came out completely wrong. I didn’t know, but it’s no excuse. I can only apologise. It was completely crass of me. I didn’t mean any stereotyping. I really didn’t.’

  ‘You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last, sadly. It’s just that it might be significant. So was he ever able to say anything about where he’d been? What had happened to him? Did he give any explanation at all?’

  ‘Nothing at all, sir. Once the hospital had finished with his physical injuries, they tried to get him a bed in a psychiatric unit, as clearly he was very disturbed. But you know what it’s like for young people. There just aren’t the beds available anywhere.

  ‘They discharged him home, into the care of his parents. But they really couldn’t cope at all. He’d changed completely. He was nothing like their Robbie. They couldn’t even communicate with him properly. He would scream with terror if anyone got too near to him or tried to touch him, especially a man. Even his father, and they’d always got on well.’

  ‘Would he talk to us, do you think? We have a specialist officer who’s already making a lot of progress gaining the trust of our victim.’

  ‘I’m afraid not, sir. I’m sorry, I thought you knew. Robbie died. He became depressed and suicidal. He really needed to be sectioned but there was still no bed available. There were a few incidents where we had to send someone round to try
to calm him down when he was trying to do away with himself.

  ‘One night it was very bad. He’d found his dad’s Stanley knife and locked himself in his room with it. Two officers went round, ones who knew him, who’d been able to help before, but he was worse than ever.

  ‘He jumped out of the window, onto the garage roof, then down into the garden. He ran straight out of the driveway into the path of a lorry. Killed outright. I’m really sorry, sir, I thought you knew.

  ‘I’ve made you a full copy of the file, everything we had.’

  The DS took a folder out of his briefcase and put it on the desk in front of Ted who reached for his reading glasses and started to look through it.

  ‘How long was he missing for?’

  ‘About six months, sir.’

  ‘About?’ Ted queried, looking again at the notes.

  ‘Sorry sir, it was exactly six months, to the day.’

  ‘Is that significant, I wonder?’

  He got out his notes on the case his team were working on.

  ‘Now this is very interesting. Your Robbie was missing for exactly six months. And our victim, Darren, if that’s who it is, disappeared exactly six months to the day after Robbie reappeared. So that gives us three blocks of six months. Could that be significant, I wonder?

  ‘And then we have the biblical texts, one about the sins of homosexuality, the other about … what, exactly? Temptation? Overcoming it?

  ‘Tell me, DS Groves, you’re clearly a religious man. Is there any biblical significance to the number six?’

  ‘It’s supposed to signify man and human weakness, the evils of Satan and the manifestation of sin. Man was created on the sixth day and men are appointed to labour for six days and worship on the seventh, according to the scriptures.’

  The DS hesitated, pausing to drink some of his coffee.

  ‘There’s something else, sir, which is probably going to sound completely crazy. There is a significance to the numbers six six six. The number of the beast.’

  ‘I knew there was something about that. I saw The Omen and the sequel, Damien. My partner’s a real film buff. It’s in that, isn’t it? Damien the Antichrist? He had three sixes on his head. So you’re suggesting not just some possible religious fanatic but, what? A devil worshipper?’