'Bastards,' Bannister snarled, using every bit of his willpower not to get out and give them a bollocking.
Leaving the town, he tried to increase his speed but knew that the conditions were too dire to throw caution to the wind.
Hands gripping the wheel, cigarette between his teeth, he battled through the snow, trying to keep the panic at bay while the clock continued to tick the minutes into oblivion.
91
Lasser was heading down the corridor armed with the address for Beth Rowntree, his mind full of the missing Spenner.
Lifting out his phone, he called Bannister as he pulled open the door on yet another long corridor.
Bannister answered as the door closed behind him and Lasser lengthened his stride.
By the time the DCI had explained about his mission of mercy, Lasser had pulled open another set of double doors.
'I don't like any of this,' Lasser exclaimed as the nervous tension mounted.
'Neither do I, and this fucking weather isn't helping.'
'There's no way Spenner would have stood Tess up, Christ knows he's waited long enough to get a girlfriend, so…'
'I know, I know,' Bannister snapped. 'I'm getting there as fast as I can but what the hell are you doing?'
'I've got an address for Beth Rowntree and I was just heading out to check it.'
'More than likely standing by the drinks machine,' Bannister retorted.
'Look, do you want me to head over to Odette's, I'm closer than you?' Lasser asked ignoring the jibe.
'No, I bloody don't, you get over to Rowntree's and check it out, I'll find Spenner, now shift your arse!'
Lasser looked at the screen as it flashed and died, opening the final door to reception he saw Meadows at the front desk, eating a Mars Bar.
'I need a car,' Lasser said.
Meadows frowned at the request. 'You already have one.'
'I left that at Bannister's place, so I need a replacement.'
'Oh, I'm not sure about that, I mean, how will I get the second car back here?'
Lasser sighed heavily. 'Look, you either give me a car or I ring Bannister and you can explain why I've set off walking to Coppul to chase a lead in sub-zero temperatures?'
Meadows blanched as he opened the desk drawer and handed a set of keys over.
Lasser was heading for the exit when Sally Wright appeared to his left. 'You got a minute, boss?'
Slipping the keys into his pocket, he turned towards her. 'What's the problem, Sal?'
'I've just taken a call from a woman who claims her sister has gone missing.'
'How long has she been gone for?' he asked.
'Only a few hours, the woman who rang it in is called Kath Brunswick, according to her she spoke to her sister less than an hour ago, and…'
Lasser held up a hand. 'Hang on, how can she be missing if she spoke to her an hour ago?'
'That's just it, when they spoke, Kath Brunswick arranged to go and collect her sister, apparently they'd had an argument earlier. The missing woman was on Feather Lane and she said she would wait in the wooden bus shelter until her sister got there. When she arrived, there was no sign of her, but the sister's phone was on the ground and according to Brunswick there's blood in the snow as well.'
Lasser stiffened at the news. 'Where's Brunswick now?'
'Still parked on Feather Lane,' Sally replied, her eyes full of concern.
'Do we have a name for the missing woman?' he asked.
'Her name's Beth Rowntree, she…'
Lasser bolted for the door and vanished outside.
Meadows shook his head. 'Tosser,' he mumbled under his breath, drawing a dark look from Sally.
92
Lasser swiped the snow from the windscreen with the sleeve of his jacket, the engine running as he dashed around the car clearing the windows before jumping into the four-wheeled ice box.
As soon as his hot breath hit the inside of the glass it started to steam up.
'Shit!' he snarled, clunking the gearbox into reverse.
The wheels whirred in the deep snow as he rode the clutch in an effort to get the car moving. 'Come on, you bastard thing!' At last the wheels gripped, and he shot back, plumes of snow hurling up from the tyres.
Grabbing first gear, he made his way to the exit and pulled out onto the road, his hands felt freezing on the wheel, even the car felt as if it were shivering in the icy conditions. Leaning down, he flicked on the flashing blue lights and siren and cleared a space in the steamed-up windscreen with the palm of his hand.
The moon appeared from behind a bank of low-hanging cloud, the pale light glittering on the frozen surface as he drove along the deserted road. As soon as it straightened out, he risked more speed, eyes narrowed, he concentrated on the driving.
Yet he could do nothing about the images that skittered through his brain, a faceless killer spotting a lone woman by the side of the road. Climbing out of the van, the engine rumbling as he stood ankle deep in white, the bloodstained spade in his hand, a maniacal grin on his face as he stalked towards her. Feather Lane ran through open fields and woodland. He pictured the bus shelter set against the backdrop of ancient trees, that area was deserted at the best of times so chances were the road would have been devoid of traffic especially in weather like this and on Christmas Eve.
At the traffic lights he turned left, the steering wheel rumbling in his hands as the tyres thumped over the frozen troughs of snow left by previous vehicles.
He thought of Spenner and the sense of dread increased, with all the mayhem taking place Spenner had been forgotten about and now he was missing.
He tried to figure out what could have happened. Bannister had told him to check on Odette and they knew that he had sent Tess a message around seven. There was no way Spenner would have done that while he was driving, especially in his new car. So, it seemed reasonable to assume that he would have been inside the old mill, on his way to Odette's apartment when he sent the message.
He pictured Spenner, perhaps in the lift, sending a message to his girlfriend saying he wouldn't be long, all the time he would be smiling, thrilled that he had Tess in his life. In all the time Lasser had known him, Spenner had been trying to find a woman, for a while any woman would have done. They had sometimes spoken about it in the car, Spenner bemoaning the fact that he was going to live a life alone and asking Lasser where he was going wrong.
Lasser had always shrugged, unable to provide a definitive answer as Spenner sighed and shook his head in desperation.
Now, he had Tess and you could see the joy on his face at having found someone to love who loved him back. Lasser swallowed the fear, Spenner would never in a million years have simply dumped Tess. The knowledge made the fear increase as he eased across the junction and got his foot down. Miraculously, the road cleared of snow, humps of frozen white had been pushed to the gutters by the ploughs who were out there fighting a losing battle against the snow and ice.
He thought of Craig Lanark and felt the fear morph into anger. The man was a liar, they knew that much, but the question was why had he given them the description of Plymouth in the first place?
At last the heater started to pump out warm air, so he turned it to full as the car reached forty. Then he felt the sliver of guilt slide into his brain as he realised they knew nothing about the new man in Odette's life. It was true that she had chosen to keep her relationship private – and that was fine – yet Lasser knew if he hadn't met Jackie then he would have made it his business to learn more about Lanark. At first, he had been crushed when he discovered that she was seeing someone, the sense of loss had been hard to bear and then he had spotted the broken-down van at the side of the road and climbed out to help, that was when he had met the woman he now loved.
The feelings he had always carried for Odette had suddenly faded into the background. They had both met someone and Lasser had actually found himself feeling happy for her, yet now the feelings inside swirled as he pictured Lanark standing in t
he churchyard with his hands in his pockets, getting his bullshit lies ready to spout at them.
Suddenly, Lasser was fumbling the phone from his pocket, one hand on the wheel as he dragged up Bannister's number and tapped at the screen.
The DCI answered immediately. 'You had better be on your way to see…'
Lasser broke in, explaining about the missing Beth Rowntree and the phone found in the middle of the road.
'Shit!' Bannister spat. 'How long till you get there?'
'Ten minutes.'
'I'll make a detour and…'
'No, we need to find Spenner and check on Odette, we need to get this sorted.'
'Listen to me, Lasser, we have a murdering bastard out there and…'
'I know that, but I have a bad feeling about Lanark. Spenner was at Odette's last night and now he's fucking missing.'
'Yes, but unless it's slipped your mind Lanark is in the Lake District…'
'How do we know that?'
'What are you waffling on about, you were there when Odette told us what had happened.'
'Yeah, but what if she had no choice, what if Lanark forced her to say that?'
'Oh, come on, Sergeant, you're going down conspiracy-theory alley again.'
'OK, why are you tear-arsing over there if you don't feel something is badly wrong?'
Silence.
Lasser sparked up a cigarette as warm air continued to flood the car.
'If I don't get an answer, I'm going to kick the door down and find out what the fuck is happening,' Bannister suddenly snarled.
Lasser's lips curled into a savage smile.
'Right, let me know how you get on when you talk to the sister?'
'Will do,' Lasser replied before ending the call.
When he saw the snow on the road reappear, he groaned in frustration, only this time he didn't slow down. Jaw clenched, siren screaming, he hit the white stuff and threw caution to the wind.
93
Rowntree leaned forwards on the steering wheel, the headlights illuminating the snowman on the front garden, muted lights shining at the windows of the cottage.
His wife lay sprawled across the seats, her lips bloody and swollen, one hand dangling in the footwell.
'Not so smug now, are you?' he said, easing the van to the left; making his way to the rear of the house he parked up and climbed out.
Taking a gulp of the freezing air, he reached back into the van and grabbed Beth's legs, yanking her across the seats. She fell into the snow with a soft thump, the shock of the cold snapping her back to reality and making her cough and splutter.
Davy took no notice as he dragged her to the rear of the van and threw the door open.
Ashley was up against the bulkhead, his face ripped with fear as he saw Rowntree glaring at him, then he bent down, and, behind the tape, Ashley gasped as he thrust Beth into the van.
'Well, lover boy, here's your cheap tart.'
Ashley could see the blood on Beth's face as she lay on her side, her eyes opening and closing as she tried to claw her way up through the haze of pain and confusion.
'Make the most of the time you have, because soon you'll be nothing but offal,' Rowntree said, he clicked his fingers and the German shepherd jumped down into the snow.
The door closed with a bang and Ashley Dean despaired as the pale moonlight vanished. He could hear Beth whimpering in the darkness, a sound that stripped away the last vestiges of his sanity as the terror took over.
Outside, Davy Rowntree went back to the cab and pulled the spade from behind the seats. He made his way through the snow, his booted feet leaving deep twin tracks; the dog followed, sniffing all the new scents. Rowntree stopped for a moment to light a cigarette, the anger twisting his guts as he thought about his wife, the woman he had loved, and yet she had taken that love and thrown it back in his face in the worst possible way. He tried to find any sliver of feelings left for her, but all that remained was the hate and the need to make her pay for the things she had done.
'FUN AND GAMES!' the inner voice screeched with delight.
Smoke trailed over his shoulder as he moved deeper into the woods looking for a suitable place to dig a shallow grave.
94
Lasser saw the car parked at the side of the wooden shelter, the driver's door standing open, the headlights on Lasser's pool car spotlighting the woman who stood in the centre of the road, her head bowed, her shoulders slumped.
When she became aware of the lights and siren she turned, he saw the fear on her pale face as he pulled over and parked up behind her BMW.
Seconds later, he was out and striding towards her.
Kath looked at him with bemused eyes, as Lasser glanced to the right, spotting the sprinkling of red in the snow.
'Are you, OK?' he asked.
When she started to cry he took hold of her elbow and led her back to the car, opening the passenger door he waited until she had climbed in before walking around the car and getting behind the wheel.
'Your sister is Beth Rowntree?'
Kath nodded, the tears sliding slowly down her alabaster-like cheeks. 'She should have been here waiting for me.'
'You arrived, and she was gone, then you found her phone and…'
'Please you have to find her,' Kath pleaded.
'When you called in to report her missing, you mentioned something about an argument between you and your sister?'
Kath chewed her bottom lip. 'It was nothing, sisters argue but…'
'Can you tell me what it was about?'
Kath dabbed at her eyes. 'Beth's been having marital problems, she's been staying at my house for a few days, I tried to get her to see sense, but she stormed out of the house. I kept ringing her, but she must have ignored me, and I was getting concerned, and then she answered my call and told me she'd made a mistake and wanted the marriage to work.'
'What's her husband's name?'
'Davy, he's a good guy and Beth was having trouble seeing that, but…'
'What does he do for a living?' Lasser interrupted, as he pictured Dot Marsh telling him all about the nice young man who had been ripped off by her hateful husband.
'Davy's one of those guys who can turn his hand to anything. I know he goes around the local farms fixing any machinery they are having problems with.'
Lasser faced front, one hand resting on the wheel, the other on the gear lever, his eyes fixed on the snow-coated road that vanished into the darkness. The tension inside rising as he started to rearrange the pieces in his head.
'Have you tried ringing her husband?'
'I have, but he's not answering. Please God, tell me she hasn't been taken by the killer?'
'Can you show me where your sister lives?'
Kath nodded. 'Yes, but shouldn't you be doing something to find her, I mean, there's the blood…'
'Have you left the keys in the ignition?'
'Yes, but…'
'I take it you picked your sister's phone up from the snow?'
Kath nodded.
Lasser leapt out and ploughed through the snow, reaching into the BMW he retrieved the keys and locked the car, his eyes fixed to his left. The tyre trails were wide, and he tracked them as they swept from the far side of the road, forming a semi-circle in the snow, before heading off into the darkness.
Back in the car he glanced at Kath. 'Put your seat belt on, please,' he said, hitting the gas.
The car slithered for a few seconds before setting off, the main beam on, following the twin tracks that ran arrow straight through the snow.
95
Bannister fought with the wheel as the Range Rover blasted through the drifting snow. After his conversation with Lasser, the anger had climbed steadily until he could feel it ready to burst forth given the chance.
As he drove, his eyes kept flicking towards the bright lights decorating the houses and trees: some pulsated, others remained constant, all twinkling out into snowy Christmas scene.
The world felt still and silent,
the only sound being the tyres as they rumbled over the frozen surface. He drove past the old Orwell museum, another local attraction closed down because the council had run out of cash.
Glancing to his right, he saw the mill that had been altered into flats, the towering roof covered with snow, the occasional light shining in the huge building.
Then he was racing towards the traffic lights, he did a U-turn and headed back along the other side of the dual carriageway. Slowing down, he eased through the entrance to the flats and drove as near to the main doors as he could. Twenty seconds later he was out, he could see a collection of cars parked up, most were covered with snow, when he spotted the red Leon parked up he felt the fear escalate, obliterating the sense of anger. He strode forwards through the snow towards the door, his large hands bunched into fists, determined to get some answers even if it killed him.
96
When the rear doors opened, both Beth and Ashley screwed their eyes closed against the onslaught of light that blazed into the small metal space.
Beth's head still rang with confusion, her husband stood there looking at her with eyes she didn't recognise.
'I take it you two don't feel like fucking right now?' he asked in a voice devoid of everything but hatred.
Beth hitched in a breath as she glanced at Ashley Dean, his mouth taped shut, his eyes wide and glassy with fear.
'Come on, Beth, cat got your tongue?' Rowntree asked as he lowered the torch.
'Davy, what are you doing?' she asked in a trembling voice, starting to shiver with a mixture of cold and fear.
'I gave you everything, every fucking thing you ever wanted and yet you've been letting this spineless prick fuck you.'
'You tell her, you tell the bitch what she's done!' the voice in his head rang out clear and bright.
'What!?' Beth screamed in disbelief.
'You thought you could leave me and get half of the house, a house I've lived in all my live, a house owned by me! No mortgage hanging around our necks, we owe no bastard a single thing, and yet it wasn't enough for you, I…'
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