Your Life or Mine

by Vicki Bradley

  ‘He was from the same area as me,’ Kowalski said. ‘Near Poznan´. But Szyman´ski’s handwriting is unique. No one else writes quite like that. Sure, there are similarities to people from Poznan´, but it’s the neatest handwriting you’ll ever see – obsessive. It was part of our evidence in the trial; we had a handwriting expert. Szyman´ski left notes like this at all his crime scenes. Everyone’s handwriting is unique; even a good forgery will not be exactly the same. But this looks perfect.’

  Lena nodded in agreement. ‘I’ve never seen anyone write like Szyman´ski either. It’s so unusual.’

  Loxton studied the writing. It was tiny and perfect, almost beautiful in its delicateness.

  Winter took charge. ‘Kowalski, I want you to make contact with the Poland murder squad who dealt with Szyman´ski. Get a photo of the handwriting sent over. Maybe he has relatives. Maybe a twin. I don’t know.’

  Kowalski looked perplexed. ‘He only had his mother and she’s in a home now with dementia.’

  ‘As Loxton said, it’s not uncommon for people from the same generation and area to write similarly,’ Winter said. ‘It might be unique to the way his teacher taught him; maybe others from his class write like him.’ Loxton admired Winter’s positivity. He was trying to keep them going.

  Kowalski took the sample. ‘All right and I’ll get it to the lab for them to check for any trace evidence too.’ Kowalski carefully packaged the note in a brown evidence bag and left the scene.

  ‘It’s something,’ Winter said. ‘But why is the killer recreating Szyman´ski’s MO, yet targeting the investigation team that caught Barratt? And why only the female detectives? It doesn’t make sense.’

  Loxton shook her head and saw that Lena was as confused as her.

  ‘My profile was wrong,’ Lena said. ‘Harding fit it perfectly. I think the killer was trying to set him up, get him to take the fall, but Harding changed his mind. I’ve been an idiot; I fell right for it.’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ Loxton said. ‘The profile made sense to me too.’

  ‘Yes, but it was a distraction, and we’ve wasted so much time on it and look where it’s got us.’ Lena’s gaze dropped to Harding’s body.

  ‘The forensic team are here, sir,’ a uniformed officer told Winter, who nodded to allow them access.

  Dr Reynolds, the pathologist, was with two forensic officers. He looked more stressed than Loxton had ever seen him. Because Harding was on bail, this was going to be classed as a death in police and court custody. Harding had also called police minutes before his murder asking for protection. There would be a police inquiry. Meyer was not far behind, his face dropping when he saw for himself that Harding was dead.

  ‘I’ve been trying to call you,’ Reynolds said to Winter. ‘Where’s Kowalski?’

  ‘I’ve been dealing with this scene,’ Winter said. ‘Kowalski’s just left to take evidence to the lab. The body’s here, Doctor.’

  Reynolds didn’t move. His eyes met Loxton’s. He looked pained.

  ‘I’m sorry, Alana,’ Reynolds said. ‘I found DNA on all of the bodies. We know that what we found on Emma’s body came back as Kowalski’s, which could be written off as accidental transmission on his part. But there’s been a DNA match on Sarah’s and Gabriella’s bodies now, too. The DNA was found on their necks, just like on Emma’s. It matches Dominik one billion to one. The Kowalski I know was never that sloppy when investigating a crime scene… unless his DNA was already there.’

  ‘What?’ Loxton shook her head in disbelief. ‘There must be some mistake.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Winter asked, his face shocked.

  ‘I’ve run it three times now,’ Reynolds said.

  ‘Did he attend the post-mortems?’ Winter asked.

  ‘No, Meyer’s team did. Because of Kowalski’s personal involvement with each victim.’

  ‘Kowalski didn’t have personal involvement with them,’ Winter said, looking confused.

  Loxton closed her eyes. Winter didn’t know about Kowalski’s previous relationships. ‘Kowalski dated Emma and Gabriella a few years back,’ she said, filling him in. ‘And he’d slept with Sarah.’

  Lena stared at Loxton. ‘He hasn’t said a word about it to me.’

  ‘Or to me.’ Winter’s gaze flicked from Reynolds to Loxton, then back to Reynolds. ‘Are you sure about this?’

  ‘I knew about Emma Robins,’ Reynolds said. ‘Alana’s clearly found out about Gabriella and Sarah.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Winter said to Loxton.

  ‘Dominik said you knew.’ She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering how she could have been so stupid.

  ‘And I’m guessing Jane has been close with him too?’ Lena said.

  ‘Maybe, but then it still doesn’t make sense,’ Loxton said. ‘Why would the killer target me?’

  ‘Alana, I hate to ask,’ Winter looked at her. ‘But are you and Dominik romantically involved?’

  Lena looked away, embarrassed on Loxton’s behalf.

  Loxton felt her cheeks colour at the suggestion. ‘No, not at all. Never.’

  ‘If you ever have been, I need to know,’ Winter said.

  ‘And I said no,’ Loxton said. It embarrassed her that Winter would even think that she would lie about it.

  Winter nodded roughly. ‘Okay. I’m not taking any more risks. I’ll get a safe house arranged for you, but in the meantime, I want you away from this investigation and somewhere safe. Go with Lena and get out of London. I’ll send officers to find Kowalski.’

  ‘Sir, I’m not going to another safe house.’ She shook her head resolutely. ‘I’ve told you that. I need to help with the investigation. Dominik can’t be the killer.’

  ‘This is why you have to go. You’re too involved. You’ve been attacked once already. Lena, get her out of London and then the protection team will tell you where the new safe house will be.’

  ‘And when I’m killed, you’ll be able to blame the protection officers and not yourself.’ Loxton couldn’t hide the anger from her voice.

  ‘Alana, enough,’ Winter’s voice was sharp. He turned to Lena. ‘Don’t tell anyone where you’re going, not even me. We don’t want Kowalski finding her.’ Winter’s voice was hard as he said the words.

  Lena’s eyes met Winter’s and he held her gaze. ‘Understood,’ she said.

  Loxton felt sick. ‘But it can’t be Dominik. He’s been with Lena for the past hour, and Harding was only killed within the past half hour. I spoke with Harding myself.’

  Lena frowned at Loxton. ‘Dominik wasn’t with me. He met me outside the block just before I came in. I thought he was already here with you and DCI Winter. He gave that impression, anyway.’

  Winter and Loxton exchanged glances.

  ‘He said he was delayed arranging police protection for Alana,’ Winter said.

  ‘That only took five minutes,’ Meyer said.

  Loxton felt her heart sink at the realization that Kowalski had been missing for nearly an hour.

  ‘I’ll let the officers with Rosa know that Kowalski is not to go near her,’ Lena said. ‘I’ll be five minutes.’

  ‘I’ll have to rearrange a protection team for you,’ Meyer said to Loxton. ‘I can’t trust anything that Kowalski has arranged now that we know he’s involved in all of this. I knew something didn’t add up about this case.’

  Loxton felt like she was going to scream, as they all just accepted that Kowalski was their killer.

  Lena came back into the room. ‘Rosa’s fine; the uniform said she’s with the protection team now.’

  ‘I’ll call you with details of where to meet the protection team,’ Winter said. ‘But for now, get Loxton out of London, Lena.’

  ‘I’ll take good care of her,’ Lena replied.

  Winter nodded and watched as they left the flat. Lena led Loxton to the car. ‘I’ll drive,’ Lena said. ‘You navigate us out of London.’

  Loxton felt like the world was out of kilter as she climbed into
the passenger seat. ‘This is all wrong. I can’t believe this is to do with Dominik. It doesn’t make sense. Harding took both our addresses. Maybe he planted Kowalski’s DNA on the bodies?’

  ‘That’s possible,’ Lena said hopefully. She turned on the ignition and locked them inside the car, casting a wary glance around the street. ‘I can’t believe your DCI took us off the case, right when it’s breaking. And to have Kowalski as the only suspect? They’re not thinking straight.’ She pulled the car out and got them moving.

  ‘We need to find Kowalski,’ Loxton said. ‘Talk to him. Warn him that Winter has the wrong idea. Let’s head to his place; he might be there. We’re not far.’

  ‘You know the way?’ Lena asked.

  ‘He doesn’t live far from me,’ Loxton said. ‘I’ve dropped him off a couple of times after late finishes.’

  Lena arched her eyebrow at Loxton. ‘I see,’ she said pointedly.

  ‘Not like that,’ Loxton replied, her voice coming out harder than she intended. Everyone was convinced that because she’d been targeted it meant that she and Kowalski had slept together, but they hadn’t. ‘We’re friends, that’s it.’

  Loxton’s phone rang.

  Winter’s voice came on the line, urgent. ‘Kowalski’s not taken the note to the lab, and he’s not answering his mobile or radio. We can’t find him anywhere.’

  ‘He could have been intercepted by the killer,’ Loxton said putting the call on loudspeaker.

  ‘Kowalski is our man.’ Winter’s voice was angry. ‘The Szyman´ski/Barratt element was a red herring to send us off track. Forget about that.’ Lena shook her head in disbelief and put her foot on the accelerator, speeding up the car.

  ‘You’re wrong,’ Loxton said, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew that she sounded crazy. Everything pointed to Kowalski. His DNA was on Emma’s, Sarah’s and Gabriella’s bodies. He’d sent her in the wrong direction when Harding had escaped from Walworth station, letting Harding get away. He’d been missing when Harding had been murdered and now he was AWOL.

  ‘If it wasn’t him, why has he run?’ Winter said. ‘He isn’t the first serial-killer cop and he won’t be the last. There’s no other explanation for the DNA. He’s our killer. I’m sorry.’

  Loxton shook her head.

  ‘I’m sending two firearms units to his flat,’ Winter said. ‘Kowalski’s dangerous, Alana. You’re not to go there.’ It was as if he’d read her mind.

  ‘We’re almost there, sir,’ Loxton said.

  ‘You never listen,’ Winter said, the frustration clear in his voice. ‘Loxton, you’re too involved. Both of you are friends with Kowalski. You won’t be objective. You’ll get hurt. Stand down. Kowalski knows all our tricks; it makes us vulnerable.’

  ‘I’m sorry, sir, but this is Dominik you’re talking about, and he’s not a killer.’ Loxton hung up on him. She glanced at Lena, but she didn’t look as sure anymore.

  Chapter 43

  Saturday 5 February, 10:20

  There was no sign of any of the other units as Loxton and Lena arrived at Kowalski’s block of flats.

  ‘Come on,’ Loxton said as she climbed out of the car and ran to the communal doors. ‘If he’s there we can talk him down before the firearms officers arrive. Once they turn up then who knows what will happen.’

  Lena raced after her. Loxton pulled out her fireman key and used it to unlock the communal doors. She ran up the flight of stairs to the third floor. She could hear Lena clattering behind her.

  Kowalski’s door was locked but Loxton knew there was a spare key under the mat; she’d seen him use it often enough when he’d left his keys at the office. She fished it out and unlocked the door.

  They stayed together and it took them less than a minute to rush through the small empty flat.

  ‘He’s not here.’ The fear that had been gnawing at Loxton choked her words, so that her voice came out as a croak. The place was a mess. Clothes thrown on the double bed and floor. Cupboards left open. It was like it had been ransacked.

  ‘Shit,’ Lena said. ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this.’

  ‘There are no obvious signs of injury. There’s no blood, nothing smashed. And the door was locked.’

  ‘It was pretty easy for us to get in,’ Lena said. ‘It does look like he’s left in a hurry, though. Maybe Kowalski realized we’d be on to him soon and came here to grab a few things for his escape.’ Lena looked guilty even entertaining the idea.

  The flat reminded Loxton of searching Emma’s place; she felt the same strange foreboding that the occupant wouldn’t be coming back. The image of Emma’s lifeless body in Camberwell station came back to her, accompanied by the cleaner’s frantic screams. What if Kowalski hadn’t arrived at the lab because the killer had got to him? The thought was like a punch to her diaphragm, knocking the wind out of her, and she had to try hard to steady her breathing.

  She had to keep a clear head. To think. She couldn’t let her emotion get the better of her. She couldn’t afford to miss something that might be crucial.

  ‘Can you try and find Kowalski’s car on ANPR?’ she said to Lena. ‘I’ll get Forensics down here to check for blood traces. When the firearms unit and uniformed officers turn up, they can try the neighbours, see if they saw or heard anything.’

  Loxton realized she was pacing up and down the small living room flat as she made frantic phone calls to arrange everything. She stopped and looked at Lena. ‘Any joy with the car?’

  Lena was on her mobile to the ANPR bureau. ‘His car’s last known location was on Oakdale Road.’

  ‘Where’s that?’ Loxton asked.

  Lena pulled up Google Maps. ‘It looks like a quiet residential area with an industrial estate behind it. Not too far – about twenty minutes’ drive away.’

  ‘It could be significant,’ Loxton said. ‘We should check it out.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Lena didn’t look convinced. ‘Winter wants us off the investigation. He’s furious right now.’

  ‘He wants me off the investigation, but that’s not happening. Winter thinks Kowalski’s guilty, but he’s wrong. It’s like Harding all over again. It’s a set-up, and we’re going to make a terrible mistake if we go down that line of investigation.’

  ‘You’re right,’ Lena said.

  ‘Let’s just check out the ANPR hit on his car. The uniform can take over here and there are other detectives on the way.’

  ‘I think it’s pointless going to Oakdale Road, though,’ Lena said.

  ‘Why?’ Loxton said, trying not to lose her patience. She wanted to get moving, to help Kowalski.

  ‘Well, Dominik’s a cop. He knows how this works. The first thing we’ll do is put a trace out on his car. He’s probably dumped it on a side road around there hoping it would lead us the wrong way and he’s hired a car under false details. Or he’s leaving London and he just drove through the area, trying to miss cameras and police, so he’s been taking a side route off the main thoroughfares.’

  ‘Why are you so sure?’

  ‘Because it’s what I’d do.’

  Loxton hated to admit it, but Lena was probably right. ‘Well, then, there’s no risk to us, so we might as well go there while we’re waiting for the address of the safe house. And we still need to check it out. We’ll see what CCTV is there and if anyone from the industrial site saw anything unusual. And it’s worth searching the warehouses. He could be hiding in one of those.’

  ‘You’re very thorough.’ Lena shook her head in amazement. ‘How do you manage to work with Dominik so well? He used to be so impulsive.’

  Loxton smiled despite herself. ‘I think we balance each other out.’ Then she thought of the past hour and her heart sank.

  Lena seemed to read Loxton’s mind from the expression on her face. ‘Let’s just be careful if we find him.’

  Loxton nodded roughly, trying to keep her emotions in check. She heard a car pulling up outside and looked out of the window. ‘Come on, the firearms
unit has pulled up. This check shouldn’t take long and by then we’ll have the safe house address. And Winter can have his way and have me off the case.’

  Chapter 44

  Saturday 5 February, 11:15

  ‘There’s his car.’ Loxton pointed, relieved that it was there. Somehow seeing Kowalski’s Audi safe and well was reassuring.

  Loxton scanned the area around them. There were a dozen warehouses and they needed to check them all out.

  ‘This is going to take a while.’ Lena shook her head.

  ‘We’ve got nothing better to do while we wait for the safehouse,’ Loxton said. She called in Kowalski’s car to Control, requesting a full forensic lift. Control told her the pickup truck would be about three hours; it was taking a burnt-out van to the pound. The forensics team wouldn’t be much quicker, they were still tied up at Harding’s flat. She hoped Winter was too distracted at the Harding scene to hear where she was. As soon as an address came through for a safe house, she’d go, but until then she felt the need to finish what she’d started.

  ‘We can’t wait for Forensics; we need to check the boot. Just in case.’ Loxton climbed out of her car, imagining Jane trapped inside, her face deathly pale, her eyes unseeing. They both gloved up quickly. Loxton tried to open the boot and was surprised to find that it sprung open.

  Lena shook her head. ‘Kowalski must have been in a rush to leave the car unlocked like this.’

  Loxton lifted the boot door upwards, bracing herself for whatever was inside.

  ‘Gówno.’ Lena shook her head.

  Loxton stared in disbelief. There were ropes, a professional set of chef’s knives in a bag, heavy-duty masking tape and a large roll of plastic sheeting normally used for decorating. There were several police forensic suits, gloves and masks still in their plastic bags. All laid out in the unlocked boot.

  All the items could conceivably be explained away and put down to Kowalski being a diligent officer, except for the chef’s knives, which gleamed at her. And Kowalski was not organized. He wouldn’t have put extra police supplies in his own car boot neatly stacked for work. He barely knew where his radio was half the time. This didn’t seem like Kowalski at all.