‘Then there is that lifer – Craig Nolan. Now he definitely has a motive to harm Hastings, abduct his family, torture him by killing people and making it look like Hastings was responsible – payback for his own persecution complex. He thinks Hastings set him up for murder and now it is payback.
‘But he couldn’t have done any of them, as even his curfew violations show that he was not out of his house for more than fifteen minutes at a time. And someone else is being looked at for planting evidence. Damn.’
Maggie watched as Kate crossed him of the list.
‘Now this isn’t an exact science. I’m giving you my opinion based on everything I have learned about the case. I think your perpetrator is aged between twenty and forty years. Your killer is controlling the narrative. Feeling powerful. If we look at the meaning behind the prison tattoo – and I think it is certainly inspired by the tattoo – the person values their freedom. They are telling you they will not be caged. Each dot representing a bar. Each kill removes one of those bars. I believe the markings came as an afterthought – they had some victims identified but others who were just circumstance. The person you seek is potentially hiding in plain sight.’
‘So that leaves …’ Maggie was about to share her thoughts when Kate held up her hands.
‘Hold that thought and let me finish. Human behaviour is context driven. We’re all capable of abnormal behaviour, it just depends on what the drive to behave a certain way is. Compulsion for risk versus control. Find that drive, you’ll find your killer. Which leaves us with Hastings.’
Kate circled his name.
‘And his daughter, Olivia.’
Kate circled her name.
‘I can see why the evidence points to DCI Hastings, but I’m worried that he’s either dead or will be soon.’ She crossed his name off the list.
‘Bloody hell, Kate. That means … she isn’t a victim – she’s the perp. We need to find Olivia Hastings.’ Maggie jolted upright.
‘That’s right – find her, and I believe you’ll have your killer.’
The silence in the room was overwhelming.
Chapter Seventy-One
Ah – dear, sweet Olivia – the girl with so much potential. I looked at her. Remembered her as that little girl rescued from those monsters she called mummy and daddy. Scars – physical at least – still covered her body from her time with them: faded burn marks from the cigarettes, her arms and legs the ashtray. Aching bones from the breaks. Accident prone, that’s what her parents had told Social Services at first, and those dumbass professionals believed them. No one took in the emotional scars from everything else that was forced on her. Some people shouldn’t have children.
She stared back at me. Is that fear in those eyes?
My heart pounded. I knew why I was doing this. It was for her, always for her. People whispered behind her back … she needs help, aren’t you worried about what she’ll become … a drug user, a drop-out, a danger to those who have cared about her?
What the hell did they know? I was never worried though.
All grown up now, but I can still see that frightened little girl inside her if I look deep enough. Wide-eyed, trembling but never wanting to be touched. She’d fight any form of love towards her. Lashing out. Of course she would, because love meant pain. What was love anyway except one person having control over another?
The weak side.
I pulled out the baton I had in my bag. Looked once more at the lost innocence of Olivia and then hit the face that stared back at me.
The mirror shattered.
Time to finish this once and for all.
Chapter Seventy-Two
When Lucy arrived back at the house after the police had spoken to her, she was worried. Someone had tried to kill Mark and then Ronnie had run off and wasn’t answering her phone. The haven door was open. Fuck. What if it was Ronnie’s boyfriend? Had he finally found her?
‘Vicki? Are you still here?’ She looked in the living room, kitchen, and office before going upstairs. At the top of the landing, she found Vicki on the floor. Lucy raced over to her and felt for a pulse. ‘Oh my god! Vicki, it’s okay. I’m here now. I’m going to call an ambulance.’ As she spoke to the call handler and gave the information, she looked up and saw the bathroom mirror was shattered.
What the hell?
Vicki was coming around.
‘Hey. Don’t move. An ambulance is on the way.’
‘R-r-r-onnie.’ Vicki tried to speak but ended up in a coughing fit. ‘Ow.’ She raised her hand to her head.
‘Don’t move, hun. What about Ronnie? Are you saying she did this to you?’
Vicki nodded and struggled to reach into her pocket. She pulled out a driver’s licence and handed it to Lucy. Lucy looked at the picture. The girl in the photo had longer hair and it was a different colour, but the face was the same. This was definitely Ronnie. But the name on the licence said ‘Olivia Hastings’.
‘Fuck. Fuck!’ Lucy needed to call Maggie. She heard the ambulance pull up. ‘Will you be okay here if I go and let them in?’
‘Yes.’ Vicki lay still on the ground.
Lucy took off her jacket and lay it under Vicki’s head before she ran down the stairs, opened the door, and pressed the fob to open the security gates. She greeted the paramedics, telling them that Vicki was upstairs.
‘I think she was hit on the head. I found her on the floor when I came in. She couldn’t have been there long. I just need to make a call.’
Lucy dialled Maggie’s number.
‘Hey. I heard about Mark, is he okay?’
‘Yeah, he’s fine. Maggie, listen to me – Olivia Hastings was here.’
‘What? How do you know Olivia?’
‘The woman I told you about. The one who collapsed at my doorway? She called herself Ronnie, but we’ve just found a driver’s licence with her name and a picture. I mean, she disguised herself but it’s her. It’s Olivia. She can’t be too far from here. She attacked Vicki, probably to get away.’ Lucy leaned up against the wall.
‘Shit! Is Vicki okay? Stay there, lock the doors. I’m on my way, Lucy. If she comes back do not let her in.’
Lucy hung up the phone. She had wanted to go to the hospital with Vicki, but Maggie had asked her to wait at the house. Her heart was racing.
How did she not know?
Lucy had brought her to the hospital. It was her fault Mark nearly died. She hoped Maggie caught her in time and no one else was harmed. She’d never forgive herself.
Chapter Seventy-Three
After filling Nathan in on her conversation with Lucy, Kat and Maggie raced towards Lucy’s refuge.
‘Fucking hell! All this time and that little bitch was right under our noses. Kate was right. She was hiding in plain sight.’
Maggie was staring out the window when something caught her eye. ‘Hang on. Stop the car!’
‘What the fuck?’ Kat looked around.
‘Someone is running through those fields. Short dark hair – she looks like the description Lucy gave. Stop the bloody car!’
Kat did as she was told and they jumped out, running towards the figure in the distance.
‘Hey! Stop, police!’ Maggie shouted. Kat was ahead of her and gaining on the woman.
Olivia Hastings looked over her shoulder and appeared as if she was slowing down; just as Kat was on her heels, she bolted again.
‘Fuck!’ Maggie watched as she ran.
Kat kept up the pace with Olivia.
‘Keep going, you nearly have her. I’m going to cut across here,’ Maggie called after her.
Maggie turned left and ran up the hill. She thought she would be able cut Olivia off or at least slow her down. As she reached the top and was about to jump forwards, Kat launched herself on the woman and dragged her to the ground.
Olivia wasn’t going down without a fight. Kat took a punch to the eye and the jaw and fell back. Olivia scrabbled to get up and Maggie saw her reach into her back pocket. She wouldn’t ris
k a weapon being pulled and Maggie took out her baton and caught Olivia behind the knees. Olivia fell face first to the ground but kicked out and caught Maggie in the knee. Maggie fell to the ground. Olivia pushed herself up and took off again.
Where the hell did she get her energy from?
Maggie struggled to get up. The pain in her knee stopped her momentarily. She looked back at Kat. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine – give me a minute and I’ll be right behind you. Go! She’s getting away.’
Maggie wasted no time and although her knee hindered her, she ran after Olivia. She was closing in. Olivia was slowing down; she must have used up the adrenaline that had kept her one step ahead.
‘You won’t get away. You may as well stop now,’ Maggie shouted after her.
Olivia turned and Maggie noticed the uneven ground ahead.
The woman stumbled and that was Maggie’s chance. She used every ounce of energy she had. Her legs were on fire. She leapt on Olivia’s back, knocking her to the ground. Maggie straddled the woman, pinning her arms down with her knees.
‘Olivia Hastings, I’m arresting you for the murders of Sophia Hastings, Timothy Griffiths, and Joe Clayton and the attempted murder of Mark Fielding and Vicki Wilkinson.’
Kat had finally caught up and passed Maggie a pair of cuffs. They hauled Olivia back to the car.
‘Where’s your father?’
Olivia turned to Maggie and smirked. ‘You’re the detective. Figure it out, bitch.’
Chapter Seventy-Four
The young woman’s ice-cold eyes stared back at Maggie. She had never seen someone as void of emotion as the woman before her. She shivered as Nathan cautioned Olivia and started the recording.
Olivia leaned forwards, arms stretching across the table, and whispered: ‘So what do you want to know? How I did it? Every-little-detail? The cries for help. The blood? Each thrust of the blade. Each blow of the hammer?’ She used her fingertips to slowly push herself back and smiled. A sneer more than a smile. ‘Just tell me. I’ll gladly let you know.’ She began to hum as she closed her eyes. Rocking back and forth in her chair.
A chill crept over Maggie and she turned to face Nathan.
He nodded.
‘Where’s your father?’
‘No. No. No. No. NO! That’s not how this is going to play out!’ She slammed her hands on the table.
‘Okay. Tell us about Tim then, Olivia.’
‘Why so formal? We’re all family, aren’t we? That’s what my Dad …’ She spat the word ‘dad’ out like it left a bad taste in her mouth. ‘That’s what he used to say all the time. His colleagues were his family – he’d do anything for them … but nothing,’ she slammed her fists on the table again, ‘nothing for me.’ She rubbed her hands on her trousers. ‘So, Tim is where you want to start then. You sure? I can go even further back. You know – don’t you want to know why it all started? Isn’t there some sort of protocol? A lead up – why did I do this? My motivation.’ The corner of her mouth raised. She was taunting them.
Maggie didn’t want to push too hard or she could just shut down completely. Though Kate had said Olivia would want to talk, take pleasure in sharing her story because she felt she had earned the right to do what she did … and she didn’t care. She’d have no feelings or remorse. She was a psychopath through and through.
Maggie and Nathan waited. They wouldn’t fill the silence. A technique they learned many years ago for interviewing – though Maggie suspected that even if they had tried to fill the awkward silence, it wouldn’t have made a difference.
‘They won’t get the best of me now, will they?’ Olivia looked at Nathan and then at Maggie. ‘Well? Will they?’ She slammed her hands on the table, and the PC standing by the door moved forwards. Maggie held up her hand. Olivia had no intention of harming Maggie or Nathan. From everything they knew so far, Olivia had done everything she had set out to do.
‘Have you finished? Or is there more to this show before you start telling us about Tim?’ Maggie was getting tired, and Kate had advised her to pull Olivia back if she was going off on a tangent. She might not like it, but she wouldn’t want the police to lose interest either.
‘Fine. Tim served a purpose. I met him in college. A loner. People pleaser. And I knew he fancied me. Once I had played up to his emotions, I had him wrapped around my finger. I told him my father was planning on sending me away. Locking me up in an institution. Poor, poor Tim. That scared him. I knew it would. I watched how he got so upset, the tears and then the anger.’ Olivia looked up, her hands waving as if she was moving something across the ceiling. ‘It wasn’t hard to copy him. Emotions are ridiculous, don’t you think?’ She looked at Maggie. Was she hoping for a reaction?
Maggie started tapping her pen, and a darkness formed in the girl’s eyes as she shot a look at the pen and then back at Maggie’s face.
Maggie didn’t stop until Nathan reached across and put his hand over hers.
Olivia looked at Nathan. ‘Ah. You have to control that one, don’t you?’
‘Can we please get back to Tim, Miss Hastings?’ Nathan sighed.
They were playing Olivia just like Kate had suggested. If Olivia associated Nathan with her father and Maggie with herself, she may open up quicker. In some respects, Maggie could relate to Olivia – she too had a father who wouldn’t see her for who she was. Would never accept her. But never in a million years did Maggie ever think of killing him or wish he was dead. That is what set them apart. Maggie’s thoughts returned to the task at hand. She wasn’t hopeful, though. Olivia was too clever for these tactics. She had probably come across them from other agencies throughout her life.
‘It took a lot longer to convince Tim than I had anticipated. He kept changing his mind. He was worried that he would end up in prison for life and we would never see each other.’ Her voice was flat. As if she was reading a script rather than retelling what led to the heinous acts she committed. ‘Once I convinced him that we could … we would get away with it, he was in. You see, I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed him to help knock out my father and tie him up while we got my mother to the allotment to kill her.’
‘Why did you kill your mother?’ Maggie wondered where the hatred came from.
‘I knew it would hurt David – your precious DCI. He loved her. Protected her. And she protected him. If only she had backed up my claims of abuse to the police. He could have taken the fall. He would’ve got a slap on the wrist. But no. Always by the fucking book.’ She drummed her fingers on the table. ‘We popped some GHB in the water we gave them when we tied them up at my house – I did the same in Mark’s tea. You see, Mark suspected something and thought he was clever. He had to be stopped – and even though he was never part of my original plan, it worked out so well with the markings I left too. Who knew?’ She laughed a deep, piercing sound. ‘But I digress. When it was dark, we drove mommy dearest to the allotment and well … you saw what happened there. Dropped the car back at the house and drove Mum’s car to where Dad is now … Wonder if he’s still alive? … He wasn’t doing so well the last time I saw him. I chopped off his thumb, you know – needed to leave that print in your house, DC Jamieson. Looked pretty infected when I last saw him.’ She paused. ‘Wait! This question answer bullshit isn’t working for me.’ Olivia stood. ‘I need you to see what I saw – the whole picture. The main players … Let me start again.’ And then her voice changed, and Maggie and Nathan listened as she recapped every murder from the beginning … her story.
It was then that Maggie knew Olivia wasn’t a serial killer – she had killed for the thrill, to get revenge, and to prove to her father she was everything he worried she would grow up to be – a cold, calculated killer.
Chapter Seventy-Five
The tea had arrived, and they watched as Olivia paced the room before sitting down and recounting the events that had led her to where she was now. A strange smile washed over her face and then she began.
Maggie looked at N
athan and he raised a finger to his lips. They didn’t want to disturb the flow. Olivia was confessing everything without being prompted.
‘I can still hear the shrill scream when I think back to Sophia’s death. If I had any feelings towards her left, I may have even regretted killing her. Luckily, I don’t.
‘Sophia initially put up a fight – hands flailing, trying to hide. “Come out, come out wherever you are,” I sang as I walked around the house.
‘I needed Tim to be involved for my plans to work. I promised him that I would protect him; he’d be deemed a hero in the public’s eye, because I lied and told him he would be the one to find and save her. What … a … muppet.
‘When I met Tim a few hours before the deed was to be done, I handed him a balaclava and told him that when he saw the car in the driveway, he needed to wait an hour and then come through the back door. I’d leave it open for him and then we’d make it look like a break-in after the fact. He did what he was told. Always eager to please – dumb fuck that he was.
‘When Tim had finally joined the party, we tied Sophia to a chair in the living room, taped her mouth over and I bent down and whispered in her ear, explaining what would happen, and if she did what we asked, she’d be let go. She was quiet at first. Compliant. I guess she thought everything would be okay if she did what she was told. She learned well over the years to keep her mouth shut. That was her downfall.
‘We had a few things to take care of in the house before we could go. I told Tim exactly what I needed him to do and stood looking out the window as he followed each instruction meticulously. Oh … I forgot to tell you about the blood! You found it, right? In the house. My blood. Now that hurt like a mutha fucking bitch. Here let me show you.’
Olivia rolled up her sleeve and unravelled a cotton bandage on her arm.
Dead Secret Page 26