The Other Killer

by Noelle Holten

  ‘We’re going to have some late nights, Nathan.’

  ‘Yeah. My feelings exactly.’

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  After Nathan dropped her home, Maggie poured herself a glass of white wine and set it on the coffee table. The house was quiet, the silence almost overwhelming. Maggie sat down and opened her laptop to find out more about Adrian Harrison.

  Loads of newspaper articles appeared and she clicked in and out of each one, examining the content in the hopes that it might trigger something she could work with. Adrian Harrison was known to the police for drug use and dealing – cannabis mainly, although he was also convicted for small amounts of class A drugs. Interestingly, he had been found with quite a large stash of drugs and served a short prison sentence, eight months in total, immediately after Raven was sentenced. Maggie noted down some questions:

  Where did he serve his time?

  When was he released?

  Was or is he currently known to Probation?

  She was curious whether Kate’s profile could add anything to the mix. Opening her email she scanned the document. Adrian was quite scrawny in stature. Looking at the picture included in the notes, he had a faraway look in his eyes, unkempt hair and a large gap in his front teeth. Kate surmised that Harrison formed attachments with people easily in the hopes of gaining approval. She based this on his risk-taking behaviour – trying to prove himself to those he looked up too. Shame his choice in role models was less than desirable. He was a heavy drug user, in and out of care from a young age and no siblings. Although he had spent short periods of time in custody, he didn’t have any convictions for violence. Maggie closed the profile.

  Putting the laptop aside, she eased back onto the couch and tucked up her feet under her. She raised the glass to her lips and took a sip of the wine, closing her eyes and thinking about all the information they had so far. Flashes of the locations where the body parts were found flickered behind her eyes. What tied those two areas together? A witness seeing a man dumping something in a neighbour’s wheelie bin. Raven’s face on-screen appealing his innocence. Raven in his cell while the murder was being committed.

  She took another sip of wine and tried to stay focused. Too many questions. What she needed now was answers. Everything seemed to lead back to Raven, one way or another. But if that was where the evidence took her, she would have to follow it up – even if it meant going behind DI Rutherford’s back and doing a little digging in her own time.

  Kate might also be able to help, to come around on the weekend and go through her profile of Adrian Harrison and see if there were any other links that Maggie may have missed. She could include the J-man, and the Blackwood Estate man but with little more than a vague description for both, it was unlikely Kate would be able to add anything new on that front.

  She heard the key in the lock and looked at the clock on the wall. Nearly 12.30 a.m. Where had the time gone? Her brother popped his head through the doorway.

  ‘Hey, didn’t think you’d still be up.’

  ‘Yep.’ She drained the last of her wine. ‘Thinking about this case. You know what I’m like.’

  He laughed. ‘Only too well. Everything OK?’

  It was her turn to laugh then. ‘I need to learn how to shut off when I’m home.’

  ‘You do. But I get it. In your job, there is no such thing as nine to five is there?’

  ‘Do you want a beer? I’m going to have one more glass of wine before I hit my bed.’ She got up and went to the kitchen.

  ‘Sounds good. Has Scrappy been back?’ He called in to her.

  Back in the living room, she handed her brother a can of Carling and shook her head. ‘I’m still hoping some lonely old woman has been feeding him. The house is so quiet and I miss his morning wake up meows. I think I better put up some more posters on the weekend.’

  ‘I can help, I’m not back at work until Monday.’

  ‘That would be a big help. I’ll dig out another picture. Do you think you can print some more flyers tomorrow?’

  ‘Of course. I know how much you miss him. I hear you in the mornings sometimes, tapping his can and calling out to him.’

  Maggie’s face flushed. She didn’t like to admit to anyone how much Scrappy had meant to her, especially after the Raven case, when the nightmares had her waking up in a cold sweat and Scrappy would come into her room and snuggle close.

  She hated the memories that invaded her head when she closed her eyes. Raven’s descriptions of being covered head to toe in blood. His voice, chronicling in gory detail how he chopped up the bodies, how the heads were the hardest to remove. How he had to place a foot on Lorraine’s shoulder as he tugged her hair to pull the last remaining flesh that attached her neck to her shoulders. Cold, dead eyes glaring at her as he shared the thrill he got from dumping the bodies. Maggie cringed and returned to the conversation with her brother.

  Shaking the impressions out of her head, she thought of Scrappy. ‘He’s a pain in the arse most of the time, but he has been great company over the years.’

  ‘A partner would also do that, you know.’ He raised his eyebrows.

  She sighed. ‘Not yet. Anyway, I’m far too busy …’

  He held his hands up in defeat. ‘Message received.’

  She changed the subject. ‘So how’s work been? Are you still thinking of leaving and starting up your own business?’

  ‘Yes. But not until I’ve paid you back and have a little something saved up. Don’t worry, I won’t be doing anything on a whim. I feel like everything is beginning to turn around and I don’t need to get involved in any of that shit I was doing before. You’re a good influence, sis.’

  Maggie smiled. ‘Well I’m really proud of you. You’ve actually done a fantastic job around here, so I have no doubt that you could start up your own company.’

  ‘Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves just yet.’ Andy smiled back.

  Maggie yawned. ‘Right. This wine has gone to my head and I am shattered. I’ll try not to wake you in the morning. I want to get an early start.’

  ‘Night then. I’ll keep the noise to a minimum – I’m not really tired yet.’

  ‘Night.’ Maggie still needed to speak to their parents, but that could wait. She hoped they wouldn’t accuse her of meddling.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  The alarm clock blared as Maggie fumbled to hit snooze. Just five more minutes …

  On the second round of annoying noises emanating from her alarm, Maggie stretched, dragging herself out of bed and into the shower. She wanted to be in early and check over some details before she and Nathan visited the fields later today.

  The crisp morning air and the strong coffee that she held in her hands to keep warm helped keep her awake as she made the short train journey to Stafford. When she arrived at the office, she wasn’t surprised to see that besides some maintenance people and the cleaners, she was the only person in. While she waited for her computer to wake itself up, Maggie sat back and reflected on the information that Rachel Nichols had shared with her and Nathan the previous afternoon. More specifically, the mention of Adrian Harrison. But he had a rock-solid alibi and absolutely no solid leads – what the hell are we missing?

  She typed in her password and began her search. Records indicated that not only had Bill claimed he was alone in the flat at the time of the alleged killings, but he corroborated Adrian’s alibi by providing the details to the police of a woman Adrian was with on the night. Maggie had spoken to the woman already but wondered if it might be worth another chat.

  Adrian had told police that he spent a vast majority of his time at various people’s homes. On the night in question, the woman he had been with had verified his account. She was also a drug user and they had no reason to doubt her. Everything checked out. According to the records, she had become verbally aggressive with the police for even insinuating that Adrian may have been with other women, but never claimed to be his girlfriend. She admitted to having casual sex wi
th Adrian; however this wouldn’t explain her anger at being called his girlfriend. She confirmed that Harrison was more of a sheep than a wolf; his other associates may hold the key.

  Looking at PNC, Maggie saw that Adrian had been convicted of drug offences and imprisoned for nearly twelve months. He hadn’t been in the same prison as Raven, but they had been locked away at the same time. Damn. But could this be the reason why no body parts turned up for nearly two years? And if this theory pans out – who else was involved, as the women would not have survived with no food or water for nearly twelve months?

  With the length of sentence handed down, it was likely that Adrian would have been on some form of Probation supervision following release. The lights flickered above her and she looked up from the computer screen.

  ‘Morning. You’re in early.’ DI Rutherford removed her coat.

  Maggie smiled and gave a quick wave before returning to her work.

  ‘Hmmmph. Be like that then.’ Her boss smiled and went into her office.

  Maggie took down the details of Adrian’s last known address and telephone contact. Even though they couldn’t locate him, someone in the area might be able to help. Looking at her list she marked the tasks for the day in the priority they would need to be undertaken. It was only 8.30 a.m. and would be too early to start contacting Probation. Other than the police, most agencies usually started work at 9 a.m. She noticed Nathan coming down the hall towards the office.

  ‘Do you want a brew?’ she said, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

  ‘Yes please. Make it strong, I spent half the night up with my missus.’

  ‘Uh – too much information there. Spare me the details.’

  He laughed. ‘No, she has some sort of bug and I was up all night getting her water, a cool towel or holding her hair back while she puked her guts out.’

  ‘I hope you haven’t caught the bug and are now spreading it around the office like wildfire.’ She covered her mouth and nose as she passed by him. In the kitchenette, she made two strong mugs of coffee and walked to Nathan’s office.

  ‘Why are you here so early?’

  Placing the mug of coffee down on his desk, Maggie sat across from Nathan as she shared the information she had learned.

  He took a sip of his coffee. ‘It looks like Raven will have to be spoken to again.’

  ‘Yeah. I’m not sure what the guv’ll do. I hope I’m not frozen out of it though – I know people think I am obsessing about all this, but you have to admit that all roads keep pointing back to Raven.’

  ‘But there is a gaping hole in your theory.’

  Maggie smiled. ‘Who was looking after the women when Harrison was imprisoned?’ She tapped her pen on the desk.

  ‘It would mean three people were involved in this and serial killers tend to work on their own.’

  ‘But there are some exceptions. I was talking to Kate recently.’ Nathan raised an eyebrow, but Maggie carried on. ‘She mentioned a few cases where two or more people were involved. I’m hoping to convince DI Rutherford to let Kate come here again and talk a few things through with us. Share her thoughts and get her take on our persons of interest.’

  ‘Another visit from the fabulous Dr Moloney.’ Nathan made smooching noises and swivelled around in his chair.

  Maggie slapped his knee. ‘Kate and I are just friends. Strictly professional. For all I know, she could be married.’

  ‘Haven’t you asked her?’

  ‘She never really speaks about anything in her personal life. She doesn’t wear a wedding or engagement ring, and I don’t even know if she would be interested in me.’

  Nathan was one of the few people in Maggie’s life who knew she was bisexual. He understood her internal struggle and never pushed her on the matter. It wasn’t that Maggie was ashamed of her feelings; she just hated being labelled and the way some of her colleagues, whose sexuality was known, were treated. Despite publicly claiming to be a diverse police force, there were some very old school ideologies still floating about and Maggie had no interest in having to explain herself to anyone, especially those whose ignorance was embedded. She liked both men and women and it wasn’t their sex that attracted them to her; it was their personality. She shouldn’t have to justify those feelings to anyone.

  ‘Why don’t you just bite the bullet and ask her?’

  ‘Because I’m afraid that if she is not interested or has a boyfriend, then not only will she feel uncomfortable around me, but it might ruin everything.’

  ‘So what if she is straight and married? Big deal. She might be flattered for all you know. She might just not give a shit that you’re bisexual, chalk it up to crossed wires and continue as normal. Not everything has to end in disaster.’

  ‘Can we get back to focusing on work, please?’ People were arriving into the office and Maggie wanted to end the conversation before rumours started flying around.

  ‘There’s the boss. Looks like she is heading to the briefing room. Shall I make us another cuppa, you gather your notes and I’ll meet you in there? Just make sure you save me a seat. We’ll head and check out the fields after that.’

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Maggie and Nathan pulled up beside a rusting metal fence and killed the engine. The only sound was Nathan chewing gum and the engine cooling down. No new information had come to light during the latest briefing, so Maggie and Nathan had made a quick exit. They had driven to the locations of the empty freight cars. The first two had turned up nothing and Maggie couldn’t hide her growing frustration. Now they were looking out at the final field and their last chance of catching a break.

  ‘Fingers crossed.’ Nathan opened the car door and stepped out.

  Maggie rolled her eyes.

  ‘You know what I mean.’ Nathan tugged on the sleeves of his coat. ‘Obviously not finding anything would be great but …’

  ‘No need to explain.’ Maggie joined him outside the car.

  He made his way to the boot and took out the bolt cutter. Maggie looked around the area. It was remote enough, swamped by long grass and tall trees and to the left, she saw a bus stop in the distance. ‘Right, let’s get this over with.’

  They pushed their way through the tall grass towards the abandoned freight car. A crow circled above them, and Nathan kept stopping to listen for any sounds of someone in the area with them. As they drew closer, Maggie pulled out her baton and felt a prickle of fear run up her spine. The container was covered in brown rust, weeds grew around its base.

  Nathan coughed and put a hand to his mouth. ‘What’s that smell?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Maggie stepped closer to examine the large padlock on the door of the car. She tried not to breathe through her nose. ‘Think we should call this in. Your bolt cutter won’t get through this. Something doesn’t feel right.’ Suddenly she felt very exposed out here in the field, as if someone was watching her from the nearby woodland.

  ‘Call it in,’ Nathan said. ‘Get some backup and I’ll go and check out the back on the container.’ Nathan put down the bolt cutters and walked out of sight, as Maggie radioed the DI.

  Finishing the call, Maggie walked around the container and found Nathan peering under the metal base. ‘Spoke to the guv,’ Maggie said. ‘The field team should be here in twenty minutes. Have you found anything?’

  ‘Nothing.’ He stood up and ran a hand through his hair. ‘This place gives me the creeps. There’s no trodden-down grass, other than what we did today, so I assume this place hasn’t been used for some time. That lock hasn’t been touched either.’

  As they waited for backup, Maggie kept staring across the long grass to the line of trees at the edge of the field, wondering if the killer was out there now watching them.

  After about half an hour, the field team arrived with a bigger bolt cutter. Maggie held her breath as Nathan broke the lock. The door creaked open and a gut-wrenching stench washed out into the crowd of officers. Everyone gagged and retched. Maggie covered her mouth.
The beam of her torch illuminated rows of rotten food. Shelving units lined the wall of the freight car.

  ‘No one goes in or touches anything until CSI arrive.’ Nathan called out.

  ‘Why do we need CSI?’ Maggie turned to face Nathan.

  ‘Look over there’. He pointed his flashlight at a towel hanging off one of the shelving units.

  It was covered in blood.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Dr Fiona Blake and her team arrived at the abandoned freight car within the hour. Maggie and her colleagues suited up and stepped inside. Lights had been rigged across the space and the smell was still unbearable.

  ‘Well the good news is, there doesn’t seem to be any body parts in here. Lesson being, tip-off from prisoners might not pan out.’ Fiona winked.

  Maggie felt a wave of relief tinged with regret that they were no closer to catching their man. ‘What’s the bad news?’

  ‘Along with that bloody towel, there are some droplets of blood at the back. We’ll get it checked, but in the meantime, I don’t think there’s anything left for you to do here. I’ll send you my report when the team have processed everything.’

  Maggie was shattered by the time they had arrived back at the office. She slumped at her desk and wrote out her report. The day had dragged, probably because of her early start. She had been hoping to catch a break in the investigation, but every time she had thought she had found something new, it always led to a dead end. She shouldn’t have expected anything less from Raven; he was probably laughing at her from his cells as he gave them the run-around. She kicked the side of her desk. And of course, they played right into his hands.

  ‘It’s in!’ Rutherford shouted from her office.

  Maggie looked up and saw her DI waving a forensic report above her head. At this morning’s briefing, DI Rutherford had advised the team that she was expecting the results from the second crime scene in soon.

  ‘I’ll email it across,’ Rutherford said, then went back to her computer.