The Other Killer

by Noelle Holten

  ‘But that wasn’t all we found.’ Nathan pulled out some papers.

  Maggie smiled; she knew what Nathan was about to say. The smirk on Sasha’s face would be well and truly wiped off.

  ‘We also found DNA evidence. Skin cells, to be precise. Someone made a huge mistake with the rope that was used to hang Mr Harrison.’ He pushed the paperwork her way.

  ‘But that’s im—’ Sasha stopped mid-sentence, obviously realizing that if she carried on, she would be admitting her role in Adrian’s murder. She turned to her solicitor, who just shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘Please continue, we’re dying to hear your explanation. For someone who claims to be so clever, you really dropped the ball on this one. Maybe your solicitor has something he wants to add?’

  ‘Fuck you both. No comment.’

  ‘We’re going down that route now, are we? OK, Sasha. Well I can tell you that it was your DNA we found on the rope. Perhaps you forgot to put your gloves on at some point, and we know you did use gloves because there was no other DNA present in the flat. Or maybe you were disturbed, had to rush before someone came to get their next fix off Harrison? So, like I said, rookie error. Your brother won’t be impressed when he hears this.’ Nathan sat back and waited.

  The colour drained from Sasha’s face.

  The rest of the interview carried on with ‘no comments’ and with Sasha growing increasingly pale and despondent. They set their theory out to Sasha and her solicitor: that Raven and Sasha had planned this out from before Raven had been convicted. The perfect crime. Raven needed to get clean for it to work, so he confessed to abducting and murdering three women, only he knew that one woman would be found alive – Zoe Bridle; although it backfired a little on him as he probably had hoped the police would have found her sooner. Raven should have been released, if their plan had been foolproof, but that failed because Sasha was rushed when killing their fall guy, Adrian Harrison. Zoe also tied Sasha and Raven to the abducted women – her getting clean was not factored into the plan. The pair were not as clever as they had thought. With Sasha not talking, it was put to her that this all boiled down to their anger against their own mother. A drug user, who treated her kids like garbage. The victims shared a similar background and some had kids taken into care. It all made sense in hindsight.

  Maggie was going to take a lot of pleasure in pointing this out to Raven. The trouble was they always thought they were smarter than they actually were and that was their downfall.

  ‘Sasha Thompson, we’re charging you with the murder of Lorraine Rugman, Yvonne Greene, Veronica Chapel and Adrian Harrison. You’re also charged with the abduction/kidnapping of Francine Xander, assaulting two police officers and the attempted murder of DS Nathan Wright. Do you have anything further to say?’

  ‘Yeah, I fucking well do. You might want to dig a little deeper. I ain’t taking the full blame for all this. I had no choice.’

  ‘Hang on, what do you mean by that?’ Maggie slammed her hands on the table.

  ‘Figure it out yourselves, bitch. No-fucking-comment.’

  CHAPTER NINETY

  After the interview with Sasha, Maggie raced back upstairs, leaving Nathan to deal with the solicitor and finalizing the charges with the custody sergeant. Something Sasha had said had stuck in her head and she needed to check it out.

  In the incident room, she immediately went to the crime scene photos of Bill Raven’s house. She stared at the picture of the strange bare patches of earth in Raven’s garden.

  Dig deeper.

  ‘The back garden. We need to dig up the back garden!’ She knew there was no one else in the room, but saying it out loud, reinforced the importance of this. Maggie walked straight into DI Rutherford’s office.

  DI Rutherford raised her eyebrow at Maggie.

  ‘Sorry, ma’am. We’ve just interviewed Sasha. She didn’t outright confess but we have enough to charge her. The CPS will most likely push for remand and then it’s up to them to build their case.’

  ‘OK, and this couldn’t wait because?’

  ‘Sasha hinted that there was something in Raven’s back garden. Before the interview I was looking at the crime scene photos and just beyond the back garden there were weird bare patches of grass. Most of the grass was long and wild, but there were these odd, dead patches.’

  ‘You think we need to dig up the garden? Is it owned by Raven?’

  ‘I’ll have Bethany check it out, but yes. I think this will be the final piece of the puzzle.’

  Maggie watched DI Rutherford pick up the phone. ‘Leave it with me. Let’s close this case.’ Maggie thanked her boss and returned to the open-plan area.

  Seeing Bethany typing away, she interrupted her.

  ‘Could you check who owns the property behind Bill Raven’s place? I’ve a hunch and DI Rutherford wants the landowner confirmed before we go any further.’

  Bethany looked up. ‘Give me half an hour and I’ll sort it.’

  Maggie went back to her desk and turned on her computer. She opened the file on Raven, hoping something would stand out. But nothing did.

  Maggie looked at Raven’s Social Services details. Claire Knight had collated some information and put it together in a simple report for her. Although Maggie had read the file a hundred times, something was drawing her to it again. While she waited for Bethany to come back to her, she clicked opened the report and began reading. That was when she saw it.

  I’ve got you now, you bastard.

  Staring right at her the whole time: she looked at the information that Raven’s social worker had noted in the file and smiled.

  After my last visit with Mrs Raven, Billy’s grandmother, some concerning information was brought to my attention by a farmer who resided in the area. Local animals were going missing and neighbours suspected that ‘the weird kid’ had been harming the pets and farm animals. When I questioned them further, they had mentioned that they sometimes saw Billy in the field beyond his grandmother’s house. Sitting and talking to mounds in the grass.

  The information was dated in the late Eighties. And when Maggie scanned the rest of the documents, it didn’t look like anything had been passed on or acted upon. If her hunch was right, there may be a formal investigation into why it had not been investigated further at the time.

  Maggie stared out of the window beside her desk. Although the sun was shining, she felt cold dread run down her spine. She was about to read on, but Bethany’s voice brought her back into the room.

  ‘The area you asked me to look at does belong to Raven. Quite a large portion of it actually.’ Bethany handed some papers over to Maggie, and she looked in amazement. It was vast. And if she was right, Maggie could be looking at a mass graveyard.

  She thanked Bethany and took the papers to DI Rutherford. Nathan was with the DI and they both gestured for Maggie to come in.

  ‘Do you want to explain why you rushed off and left me to deal with everything down there?’ She couldn’t tell if Nathan was joking or serious. She didn’t have time to find out. Maggie showed them both the information that Bethany had found and also told them about the Social Services records.

  ‘Damn. This isn’t looking good. I’ll speak to the DCI and you pair start writing up everything so far, while it is fresh in your mind. Dot every “i” and cross every “t”. We’re not going to lose this case on a technicality.’

  Maggie left her office with Nathan hot on her heels. ‘We might finally have him.’ She couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face. ‘He’s a cold-blooded killer, a danger. And we’re so close to ending this now.’ Her hands shook as the enormity of the situation flooded through her. ‘He can never be let out. I suspect there’ll be more than just animal bones buried in that land. Animal killings would’ve just been the start.’

  Just as Maggie was about to sit down, DI Rutherford popped her head through the door. ‘Listen up. Arrangements have been made to dig up the land behind Raven’s property. Finish up what you’re doing and go ho
me. It’s an early start tomorrow: 7 a.m. sharp. And you’re both expected to be there.’

  CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

  Maggie yawned as she got in the passenger side of Nathan’s car. Her brain had been in overdrive last night and she was exhausted.

  ‘Didn’t get much sleep either?’ She looked at Nathan as he yawned and put the car in gear.

  ‘Nope. I hope you’re right about this. I could’ve used a few more hours in bed.’

  The drive to Raven’s property was uneventful. Each of them focused on the task ahead. At this time in the morning, traffic was light, and they made their way down the lanes without much issue. Nathan pulled into the property and found a free spot among all the other vehicles. After signing in, they followed the excavator out to the back of the property. In his hand, he held an aerial snapshot of the land and there were red crosses where they were meant to dig. Maggie and Nathan waited behind the low fence as the digging commenced.

  After an hour they heard a shout from someone. Bones had been found. Dr Fiona Blake had arrived earlier, ready to confirm Maggie’s worst suspicion. The waiting was killing her, and she stared out at Fiona, watching her work. There it was – the thumbs up. They had found bones. She turned and looked at Nathan – unsure whether or not to smile as it didn’t feel right. A forensic anthropologist would need to confirm the findings as human.

  ‘You were right. Why so glum?’

  ‘Because we now have more victims. More families to tell. As good as it feels, at times like this, a small part of me was hoping I had been wrong.’

  Nathan squeezed her shoulder. ‘I totally get that, but for now, let’s focus on bringing some closure to the families. The investigation will be dealt with by the cold case team working with Missing Persons no doubt, so at least we can put the matter to rest.’

  All in all, the forensic anthropologist had verified that four bodies had been found along with various animal bones. This was Raven’s killing field. Maggie sighed. It took just over a week to confirm the identity of the victims through dental and missing person records. They had been teen runaways, known to Social Services but lost in the system and forgotten about. It made for depressing reading. An enquiry into the practises of Social Services at the time would be opened. Claire Knight had told Maggie that the social worker who had initially raised suspicions had died eight years before. She didn’t know what would happen, but that was for their agency to deal with.

  As selfish as it seemed, all Maggie cared about now was ensuring that Raven would be convicted of these murders. Based on all the evidence, it seemed it would be an open and shut case. It looked like the younger Raven had not been too knowledgeable on DNA evidence; he buried his trophies in a memory box with the bodies and although it had deteriorated over time, his DNA was all over the items found. Posters of missing animals in the area. Children’s things: a friendship bracelet, a cheap silver ring, locks of hair. It saddened Maggie when she looked at these tokens that had once been precious to these young girls. They would hand it over to the prosecution team dealing with Raven’s appeal. She had made plans to visit Raven and couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when she told him it was over, and he would never get out of prison.

  That night was the first night Maggie slept well.

  CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

  One Week Later

  Nerves and excitement had Maggie buzzing as she pulled into the prison parking lot. It had rained heavily the night before, and she cursed as she stepped out of her car and into a giant puddle. The water drenched her feet, but even that was not going to dampen the mood she was in. She practically ran to the door and, once inside, waited patiently in the line with the other legal visitors.

  When she was finally escorted into the room, Maggie sat down and waited for Raven to be brought in. She saw him and a smile broke out on her face. When he entered the room he initially just stood, staring, but Maggie was not going to let him intimidate her. No longer would Bill Raven invade her thoughts.

  ‘Are you going to take a seat?’ She cocked her head to the right and pointed at the chair opposite her.

  ‘I’m curious, DC Jamieson. What reason would you have to visit me now?’ He pulled the chair back and sat down.

  ‘I wanted to see the look on your face when I told you that it’s over now. You won’t see the light of day. We found the bones of your first victims. We found your memory box and journal. And we know you are at least partially responsible for the killings attributed to The Chopper – maybe not directly, but you were most certainly involved. You see, your sister gave us a tip. She doesn’t like you very much, does she? Do you have anything you want to say?’

  ‘Well DC Jamieson, aren’t you a clever girl?’ Maggie cringed at his condescending tone. ‘It took you long enough to figure it all out, didn’t it? Are you proud of yourself? I hope this doesn’t mean that this will be the last I see of you. I’ve grown rather fond of you.’

  ‘You’ll never get parole. Along with the conspiracy to murder charges, you’ll also be charged with four further counts of murder and there’s no way for you to weasel your way out of it.’

  ‘I have no desire to deny anything at this stage. You see, I have quite a following now, DC Jamieson. I don’t have to be in the community to do what I love doing. I may not get the same thrills, but I’m sure I can improvise. And as for my … sister,’ there was venom in his voice, ‘she’ll get what’s coming to her.’

  Maggie shuddered. She knew he wasn’t bluffing. ‘I’ll do my best to make sure that you don’t have any of those opportunities, Mr Raven. I don’t know how, but you can trust me when I say, you’ll never get the chance to harm another individual if I have anything to do with it.’

  ‘If you say so. We’ll just have to agree to disagree at this time, won’t we? Before I go though, did you ever find your cat?’ When Maggie didn’t answer, Raven stood up with a smile. He turned to go, leaving Maggie’s brain racing.

  ‘Wait! What do you mean?’

  Raven refused to answer and stood waiting for the guard to take him back to his cell.

  ‘What did you do to my cat? How do you know about that? Answer me!’

  He looked her directly in the eyes. ‘Never underestimate me, DC Jamieson. You may think you know it all – but trust me, this was only the beginning.’

  The guard arrived and led Bill Raven back to his cell.

  Maggie sat in the room alone for a moment while she gathered her thoughts. How the hell did Bill Raven do that? Messing with her mind, when she thought it was all over.

  She shook the thoughts out of her mind. He was trying to get under her skin. She clenched her fists. Maggie left the prison and headed home; she needed rest and she’d speak to Nathan in the morning.

  The drive home let her think back to when Scrappy went missing. It had been so long, she just assumed he was dead and if what Raven was saying was true, he probably was. The cars whizzed by her as she drove on auto pilot.

  Pulling up outside her house, she grabbed her things from the passenger seat and went inside. Her brother was still sleeping. As she entered the hall, she could hear him snoring. Dropping the keys on the side table, she removed her shoes and hung up her coat. A glass of wine would be perfect to unwind and help her forget the cold look in Raven’s eyes.

  Maggie placed her bag on the floor beside the couch and walked into the kitchen. She had to stifle a scream when she saw Scrappy in his cat basket. He was asleep. As if he never left.

  She whispered. ‘Scrappy? Hey boy, where have you been?’ She tiptoed over and knelt on the floor in front of him. He raised his head and half opened his eyes. He looked like he had been drugged and there was something attached to his collar. Maggie gave him a gentle pet on the head to reassure him that everything would be OK, and she removed the note from his collar. Opening it carefully she was not prepared for what was written on the note:

  I TOLD YOU

  Maggie gave Scrappy one more gentle pet and went upstairs to her brother’s
room. Knocking on his door she asked, ‘Andy. Are you awake?’

  A low grumble before she heard him say, ‘Yeah, erm … what time is it?’

  ‘Can I come in? It’s just after five.’

  ‘Sure. I need to get up soon anyway.’

  She pushed open the door as her brother sat up in his bed.

  ‘Did you know Scrappy was back?’

  ‘Oh yeah. I was going to text you, but things just got on top of me and I forgot. He came back earlier. Was a little wobbly on his feet. You might want to take him to the vet. I wasn’t sure what to do; he seemed OK, so I let him sleep.’

  ‘Did you notice anything else when he came in?’

  ‘Uh, no. Why? What’s wrong?’

  ‘He had something around his neck.’

  ‘Oh yeah. Sorry. I left you a note. I told you he’d make his way back.’

  Maggie collapsed on his bed. Pulling him close she gave him a big hug. ‘Thank God for that. Sorry. I didn’t recognize your handwriting.’

  ‘OK now you’re being weird. I didn’t know if I would be home when you got back so thought I would leave a little note around his neck. I left my phone in the car and couldn’t be arsed to get it. Is everything OK?’

  Maggie laughed. ‘Yeah, though I wish you would’ve just left the note on the counter. It freaked me out a bit after a conversation I had earlier.’

  ‘Oh. Sorry ’bout that. Next time, I’ll be sure to leave it in a better place.’

  She smiled and left her brother to get ready for his shift. She went back into the kitchen and Scrappy seemed to be coming around. She’d call the vet and make sure that nothing untoward was going on. Perhaps Raven was just winding her up.

  CHAPTER NINETY-THREE

  Raven lay back on his bed. Staring up at the ceiling. He rubbed his leg.

  My sister, eh? Sasha would be taken care of. Foolish girl. His parents must have had her after he and his brother left. The age matches that. Was she going to try and exact some sort of revenge? No one betrays him. And to think, I nearly shagged her.