Your Life or Mine

by Vicki Bradley

  It felt like forever as they waited with the body in silence, but in reality it had been less than five minutes when she heard the distant sound of helicopter rotors.

  ‘India 99 here. Sweeping the woods again, starting from the lake. Two still targets by the lake.’

  Loxton heard the roar of the helicopter’s rotors growing. The leaves in the treetops began to dance and the water of the lake rippled. The helicopter’s light beam fell onto them.

  ‘That’s us,’ Kowalski said. ‘Don’t come too close or you’ll disturb the crime scene.’

  The noise receded slightly and the leaves and lake stilled again. ‘Roger that, confirmed that we have you. Targets ruled out. Beginning systematic sweep of area.’

  Loxton watched as the helicopter moved away from them, moving directly east.

  She looked down at Sarah and then at Kowalski. He looked as strung out as she was. She hadn’t expected to find Sarah like this. She tried to hold back the tears, to keep a tight grip of her emotions. She needed to stay alert.

  ‘From India 99. Moving target spotted. Following target.’

  Her heart sped up. ‘Where?’ She could hear the helicopter further ahead and trained her eyes to the sky. There was the light.

  She bolted forward through the bracken, not caring as it clawed at her hair and face.

  ‘Wait!’ Kowalski called after her, but she couldn’t stop; she had to catch the killer. She had to stop all of this. She ran as hard as she could towards the noise of the helicopter.

  ‘Moving target doubling back towards the lake. Headed in your direction.’

  She carried on running forward, picking up a dirt trail that circled the lake, her hand tightening its grip on the baton.

  The helicopter’s rotors grew louder and louder.

  ‘Any visual?’ Kowalski asked over the radio.

  ‘No visual, moving target using treeline for cover. Officer on the ground, head 90 degrees to your right.’

  She turned right and followed their instructions. They were flushing it towards her.

  ‘Target forty metres away from you. Target twenty metres away. Target ten metres away.’

  She stopped and waited, planting her feet into the ground and raising her baton above her head ready to strike. The helicopter light was coming straight for her. She couldn’t see because of the trees and bushes. She strained her eyes, and then suddenly there it was, to her right. Movement. And then it was on top of her, rushing past her as she swung for it, missing it by inches as it darted to the side.

  A fox.

  She stood breathless and exhausted, her heartbeat still racing.

  ‘Sit rep?’ Kowalski called as the helicopter moved after the fox.

  ‘A fox,’ she managed. ‘Just a fox.’

  ‘Moving target discounted,’ India 99 said. ‘Continuing sweep.’

  Loxton felt the weight of the defeat upon her. There was no one in this wood but Kowalski, her and Sarah.

  The killer was gone.

  Chapter 31

  Thursday 3 February, 18:15

  As Loxton returned to the body, she could see Kowalski pacing through the branches, muttering to himself. She paused, concerned but curious in equal measures. She’d never seen him talk to himself before. The case was taking its toll on him as well her. Somehow it made her feel less alone.

  A cold breeze rattled through the tree branches high above her, making her glance up, and Kowalski paused in his stride and also stared. Above them a few white lights trying hard to twinkle through the London haze in the black winter sky.

  She moved forward, pushing through the lower branches, and joined him.

  ‘He’s toying with us.’ Kowalski’s face was miserable. ‘We were so close to him.’

  ‘I know.’ She wanted to reach out and hug him, but she didn’t dare, scared that they would both fall apart. The next few hours would be tough, and they couldn’t afford to miss a single thing. The killer had been careful so far, but there was always a chance that there would be something that could change everything. Something that could end this madness.

  Her mobile vibrated in her pocket and she felt her insides tighten as she saw Anson’s name on the screen. Her eyes briefly met Kowalski’s and he shook his head. There were no words that could convey what they felt in that moment.

  ‘Anson, I’m so sorry. We’ve found Sarah. She’s been murdered, like Emma.’

  There was silence on the phone. She wondered for a moment if he’d heard her.

  ‘Did she… did she suffer?’ His voice cracked and she could hear muffled sobs.

  Loxton looked down at her old friend, whose face was twisted in agony, eyes bloodshot like the others, her neck at a strange angle.

  ‘Yes. I’m so sorry.’ Her phone went dead before she could say any more. Loxton ground her teeth to stop herself from screaming. How had it come to this?

  Winter and Lena arrived just before Forensics. They discussed the cordon and Kowalski contacted Control, making sure the officers were in place to secure the area. There was a large section of the wood to cordon off, and the number of uniformed officers needed was staggering.

  ‘We’re keeping the late shift on to man the cordon,’ Winter said. ‘Forensics will start now, but they’ll make slow progress until daylight.’

  ‘I don’t think he killed her here,’ Loxton said. ‘He brought her here afterwards.’

  ‘How did he get her out of a surveillance operation without any of the surveillance officers even noticing she was gone?’ Kowalski shook his head.

  Loxton shuddered in the night air. Plucked from the middle of a busy established operation and then dropped here. And the killer had even called them, controlling their movements.

  ‘I don’t like this,’ Winter said. ‘And we still can’t get hold of Jane Edison to take her into police protection. Still nothing on their mobiles or bank cards. We’re putting out a media appeal for her to call us. Alana, you’re going into police protection too. This one was too close. For now, Kowalski will stay with you. It’ll take a couple of hours maximum to arrange.’

  ‘Lena could be my protection officer,’ Loxton said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. ‘We could work on the profile together at my hotel. See if it’s related.’ She didn’t want to go into protection, where she would be kept out of the loop, powerless to stop the killer.

  ‘That would be helpful,’ Lena said. If Lena was scared of being with Loxton while she was a target, she didn’t show it.

  ‘Lena, you’re not a protection officer,’ Winter said.

  ‘Of course, sir,’ Lena said, but she looked disappointed.

  ‘Alana, you can’t be involved in the investigation.’ Winter paused, his face grave. ‘Barratt called you to gloat. You’re a target. I’m sending a team to talk to him again, but they won’t get anywhere with him. The best I can do right now is get you out of harm’s way. You must not talk to any of us when you go into protection. We have to assume that the killer has some way of accessing our information. We can’t let the killer find you.’ His gaze drifted down to Sarah. ‘None of us would be able to live with the consequences. You need to go to a safe house, out of London. That’s an order.’

  ‘This killer is three steps ahead of us.’ Loxton tried to control her voice. ‘I’d be safer here with all of you than stranded in the middle of nowhere waiting for him to come. You saw how it turned out for Sarah. I don’t want that to happen to me. If a covert operation couldn’t keep her safe, then how is a protection officer meant to keep me safe? Our best chance is catching him before he gets to me.’ Loxton was shocked at the strength of her own voice, but she couldn’t bear the idea of sitting in a dingy flat with a stranger, waiting for the killer to come. She was rattled and she didn’t care who knew. ‘I need to be working on the profile with Lena. I know this case. I know the victims. I’m the only one who does.’

  For the first time since she’d met him, she saw Winter’s resolve waver for a moment. There was no manual for
him to follow. No procedure. Any decision he made could be the wrong one and could be sentencing her to death. This might be the last time he spoke to her.

  He shook his head. ‘No, you’re going back to the station with Kowalski and Lena and the protection officer will pick you up there. Stay within eyeshot of Kowalski or Lena. I don’t want to hear another word about it. That’s final.’

  ‘We understand, sir,’ Kowalski said. ‘Don’t worry, Alana. We’ve got you covered.’

  Loxton wasn’t sure that they did. The killer was coming for her and she was losing hope that her, Gabriella and Jane’s fate would be any different.

  Chapter 32

  Thursday 3 February, 21:20

  ‘Winter’s making a mistake,’ Loxton said. ‘Dominik, can’t you talk to him?’ The idea of being protected, rather than protecting others, was terrifying for her. She was used to chasing killers to keep other people safe; she’d never had to run from one before.

  Kowalski tried to keep his voice down as he paced up and down the meeting room at Walworth station. ‘Maybe if Sarah and Gabriella had been in police protection this could have all been prevented. We can’t make the same mistake again, Alana. This is your life we’re talking about.’

  ‘A protection officer won’t make a difference. Sarah had a whole surveillance team. I’ll be waiting to die.’

  ‘You shouldn’t have run off in the woods.’ He stopped pacing. ‘You’re going to get yourself killed and I don’t want to lose you.’

  ‘You ran off first,’ she complained. ‘Look, we’re used to chasing after suspects, not being hunted. I hate this.’ Loxton tried to hold the tears of frustration and anger back.

  ‘This case is too personal for you; it’s clouded your mind.’ He shook his head.

  ‘This is getting too personal for me?’ Loxton said, trying to keep her voice under control. ‘You didn’t tell me about your relationship with Emma or Gabriella and you told me Szyman´ski meant something else in Polish when it’s actually the serial killer who inspired Barratt. What the hell are you playing at?’

  ‘So this is all my fault, is it?’ Kowalski stared at her, his face hurt. He looked out of the window into the main CID office. He was probably worried about making a scene, she thought. Didn’t want everyone knowing he was a ladies’ man. He would be a sergeant soon. He needed to think about these things now.

  ‘You should have told me,’ she said. It hurt that he’d pushed her out. ‘And about Gabriella. She wasn’t just your friend; she was your ex-girlfriend. That’s personal.’ The words were out before she could stop them.

  A pained expression crossed his face. ‘What’s got into you? That was all a long time ago. It’s got nothing to do with all of this. The killer is targeting officers who worked on the Barratt case. This is a war on your old team.’

  ‘Maybe, but you shouldn’t be working on their cases either.’ The conversation was taking a turn she didn’t like, but she couldn’t help herself now she’d started.

  ‘I could have said the same to you at the start but I didn’t,’ he said. ‘I haven’t been close to Emma and Gabriella for years. Not like you. You were the last person to see Emma alive for God’s sake.’

  ‘Gabriella and Emma would want me working their cases. Would they want you to be? Seeing Emma like that?’ She thought of Emma’s naked body slumped in Camberwell – vulnerable, violated and broken.

  Kowalski pressed his lips together, as if to stop himself from speaking, and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were cold, staring into hers. ‘I just want to find her killer. I owe Emma that. I cared about Emma and Gabriella. I could have married Emma if this job hadn’t got in the way.’

  ‘Two of the victims are your ex-lovers. That’s more than a coincidence, don’t you think? Unless you’ve slept with half the police force. You should have told me.’

  ‘Most people know about the relationships, Loxton.’ Kowalski glared at her. ‘It’s not a big secret. I didn’t want to talk about it. If Winter wanted to take me off the cases, he would have. Emma and I stayed amicable; we didn’t hate each other. We even worked together afterwards for a bit. Gabriella was a few years back. It lasted less than a year, but the romance fizzled out for both of us. We should never have got together; we were good friends, but there you go. I don’t know what you’re getting at and I don’t want to hear it. I need some fresh air. Where’s Lena? She can take over babysitting you.’ He pulled on his coat.

  ‘What about Sarah? Did you sleep with her, too?’ She called after him.

  He spun around. ‘So what if I did years ago? What’s that got to do with anything? People get to know each other at work, have relationships that sometimes don’t work out. It’s normal, Alana. We’re not all as suspicious and untrusting as you.’ He strode out of the side office as Lena came through the door.

  ‘You look after her. I’m getting some air,’ Kowalski said, not looking back at them and slamming the door on his way out. The glass in the frame shuddered. Lena glanced after him in surprise, nearly dropping the stack of takeaway coffees she was carrying.

  Loxton was left staring after him. She’d fucked up. Plenty of people had relationships with other officers. It wasn’t uncommon when you spent every waking moment at work. The job consumed people. And after a decade in the police, you could soon find yourself working with ex-partners again, whether you liked it or not.

  Why had she been so aggressive? Because he’d told her it was getting too personal for her, that she should come off the case. She thought he was her ally, but it felt like they were drifting apart, so she’d done what she always did. Lashed out. Pushed him away. She tried not to let the tears come. She was losing everyone around her and there was no one who could stop it.

  Lena held out a coffee. ‘This one’s got sugar in it. Look, this is tough on all of us. It’s really messing with all our heads. Whatever that was, it doesn’t matter. It’s the situation, okay?’

  Loxton breathed deeply, trying to push down the tears, and nodded roughly at Lena.

  Winter charged into the office. ‘Where’s Kowalski?’

  ‘He just went out for a moment,’ Lena said.

  ‘Well, call him back in. It looks like Jane Edison has gone missing.’

  ‘But she’s been in hiding?’ Loxton said, confused. ‘We don’t even know where she is.’

  ‘There’s been a call from a neighbour of Eileen Edison – Jane Edison’s mother-in-law. She thinks Eileen’s house has been burgled.’

  ‘But Jane and her family are out of town,’ Loxton said. ‘They’re not staying there. They know how serious this is.’

  ‘Not according to the neighbour. Apparently they came back early this morning.’

  ‘Why would they do that?’ Loxton asked, the concern for her friend rising.

  ‘Eileen was taken seriously ill last night. An ambulance took her to hospital. The Edisons rushed back when they heard she’d been admitted; the husband wanted to see his mother before it was too late. Jane stayed in the mother-in-law’s house with the children. We’ve just had a report from the hospital that Eileen was poisoned with anti-freeze.’

  ‘Where are Jane and the children?’ Loxton asked, her blood running cold.

  ‘Police on scene say the children were upstairs asleep,’ Winter said. ‘But Jane is missing.’

  Kowalski stumbled into the CID office, his face grey, his coat still on. ‘I just heard about Jane. We’d better get over there now.’

  Winter stared at Loxton like she was a liability that needed to be managed. ‘The protection department are arranging an escort and a safe house but it’s going to take them a couple of hours.’

  ‘I’m safer with you and the team.’ Loxton grabbed her coat, walking to the door and praying he wouldn’t stop her. ‘Better than staying here with just Lena waiting for the protection team to arrive. Walworth isn’t safe.’

  Winter shook his head in annoyance. ‘Fine, but don’t leave my side.’

  PART 4 JANE<
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  Chapter 33

  Thursday 3 February, 21:45

  There was no doubt: this was not a burglary. Jane Edison was missing, and she had not gone of her own accord. The house was in disarray. Loxton saw a smashed vase, glass pieces scattered across the living room carpet, the tulips wilting and trampled.

  Books had fallen by the bookcase and there was a bright red bloody handprint on the wall to the side of the shelving, like a child had made a painting. There were blood marks on the bookshelves, too, as if someone had been trying to claw their way up them and get back onto their feet.

  Loxton glanced upwards and, sure enough, she saw tiny spatters of blood on the ceiling. There wasn’t enough for it to have been an artery cut, but she pictured the knife slicing upwards and cutting flesh, the blood on the tip of the blade being thrown upwards with the momentum.

  Jane had put up a fight. Tried to keep on her feet, to get away, to follow her police training. But it had all been to no avail. She was nowhere to be seen.

  Loxton felt dizzy and hot in her forensic suit, the mask making the air she breathed warm and heavy with her own carbon dioxide. She wanted to rip it off her face, take a breath of fresh air, but she knew better than to contaminate the scene.

  Jane had always been so kind to Loxton, like an older sister. The one who took her under her wing when she first joined the murder squad. The one who kept calling after she’d left the team in disgrace. The one who never gave up on her. Always ready to listen and often able to give sound advice when Loxton or the others had any problems. But obviously not as good at listening to advice when given it. Jane and Ben were supposed to be incommunicado, but Jane had given Eileen a temporary number to call in case of an emergency. That was just like Jane, always looking out for other people.

  She moved through the house. The front door was still eerily left ajar, as if someone had just popped out to put the bins out. Whoever had done this was as quick as lightning and so far, none of the neighbours spoken to had seen or heard anything.