“Has anyone else in your family seen this car?” Chris searched Sheena Moore’s face, his heart beating faster. “Someone who could recognise the model?”
“No. I don’t think so.” She shook her head.
“Could you ask your husband?”
“I could ask my husband and son, and let you know if either of them have seen it and recognise the model.”
“We’d be so grateful, Mrs Moore. Did you by any chance take down a registration number?”
Sheena Moore shook her head. “I didn’t, but I can tell you the year.”
“Great, that’s something, at least!” Chris’s eyes shone.
“O4, I think. Or possibly 06. Definitely one of those two.”
“And when was the last time you saw this vehicle?”
“Two nights ago. I was walking the dog, heading down towards Garthowen shops. It came bumping down the road, over the sleeping policemen. How it doesn’t get damage underneath I do not know.” She shook her head.
“What time was this?”
“About six o’clock.”
Chris held his breath, doubt creeping in. “Ever seen it any earlier than that?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it around four o’clock, before now.”
“I see.” He breathed out.
“One time, I was up near the little roundabout, at the top of the road, near Maesyrhandir. And he came racing out of the estate there. That was about three weeks ago.”
“Did you recognise the driver?”
“No, I didn’t get a clear view. The one time I did, he was wearing a hoody and I didn’t see his face.”
“How often would you say you’d seen him, altogether?’ Jenny asked, also making notes.
“I don’t know. Maybe ten or fifteen times. Several times, anyway.” Sheena nodded, affirming herself.
“And this car was definitely not a small four-by-four?” Chris rubbed his chin, a frown lining his forehead.
Sheena shook her head. “I don’t think it was a four-by-four.”
“Thank you, Mrs Moore.”
As they closed the gate at number fifty-five, Jenny turned to Chris. “I don’t think it’s our guy. The model isn’t right.”
“Yeah, but you heard what she said. She’s not good with car models.”
“But she also said it probably wasn’t a four-by-four.”
“I know. It’s hard to know what to make of her information, but I think we should feed it back. Colleagues in uniform can keep an eye out for it. I think it was worthwhile talking to her. Let’s finish off the final few houses.”
Only one other resident had been aware of the car Sheena had seen. They stated that there was more than one car that came down there faster than they should, and they had not looked at the registration.
As they travelled back to the station, Chris shook his head. “Can you believe that? A young boy is killed on their doorstep, and most people just seem so unaware of who is driving down there. If it was me, I’d be observing and taking notes.”
Jenny grinned at him. “Yes, Chris, but you are a police officer. It’s what we do. And, I’ll bet there aren’t that many of the residents that haven’t driven a little bit faster than they should, at times. Haven’t you?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.
“No.” Chris emphatically shook his head. “I stick to the speed limit.”
Jenny smiled at him. “You know? I can very well believe it.”
22
Kenny confronts the killer
You been using my drugs to kill people?” Kenny was only half serious.
“What the fuck you talking about, Kenny?” He could feel every muscle in his body tighten, as though ready to spring. The blood vessels in his temples throbbed. He clenched his fists.
“Cops pulled me in today. Asked me who had GBH around here. Wanted to know if I’d supplied anyone, and saying that someone is dosing people up with GBH and pushing ‘em in the river. You’ve been having a helluva lotta GBH off me.”
He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. He took his time, voice low. “You tell them that, Kenny?”
“No.” Kenny scowled. “What do you take me for? I wouldn’t rat on my clients. How would I earn my keep if I shopped ‘em all?”
“You tell anyone else, Kenny? Any of your other drug-using pals?”
Kenny took a half-step back. “No. ‘Course not.”
“Hey, relax. I was just checking.” He kept his gaze steadily on the other man.
Kenny looked about him as though suddenly aware he was up here alone with someone who might be a killer.
“Hey, chill. You got the GHB? I’ll get the money from my glove compartment.”
He saw Kenny’s shoulders drop a little.
Kenny gave a nervous laugh. “I got the stuff. I’ll go get it from the boot.”
He opened his car door and the glove compartment, pulling from it a needle and syringe and a vial of GHB. He filled the syringe, replaced the needle cap and pocketed it. Grabbing the envelope with the money, he crossed over to the trunk of the other man’s car.
“You got it, Kenny?”
“Yeah, here - ow!”
He had plunged the syringe into Kenny’s thigh, pushing as much of the contents into him as fast as he could.
“What the fuck!” The shock on Kenny’s face became a look of horror, as realisation dawned. Kenny began to back away. He tried to get around to his driver’s door but was blocked.
“Nowhere to run, Kenny. You might as well give in.”
Kenny’s legs went from under him. “No…no, please.”
“Feeling a little woozy, Kenny?”
Kenny’s eyes rolled.
He reached into his jacket pockets and placed on leather gloves. He moved round to the boot of Kenny’s car and removed the small drugs stash and money. He came back and kneeled next to Kenny. “You won’t be needing this.” He showed the near-unconscious man the money, before taking it to his own car and stashing it under the seat.
When he was sure that Kenny was out cold, he grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift, placing him in the back of his car. His heart pounded from the risk he was taking. Small, admittedly. Very few people came up here at this time of night. Still, two cars, parked as they were, would draw attention.
He climbed into his front seat, fired up the engine and drove off back the way he had come.
23
Progress
Yvonne strode into the main CID office, straight up to where Chris and Jenny had been waiting for her.
“Hey, you two.” She gave them a broad smile. “I hear you’ve got something for me.”
Chris looked at Jenny. “Go on, you tell her.”
Jenny flicked through the notes in her pad. “We went back to Garthowen, and spoke to a Sheena Moore. She lives about half-way up the street, opposite the school. She told us about a car that has been driven at speed, a few times, through the twenty-mile-an-hour zone along Plantation Lane.”
“Alright.” Yvonne perched on the edge of the desk. “Did she know the registration?”
“We got a partial. She thinks it was possibly a Nissan Micra and that the reg was either 04 or 06.”
Yvonne tapped her pen on her chin. “That’s good work, guys. Very good work. So, it was possibly a Nissan Micra. Problem is, our perp was said to be driving a small, silver four-by-four when he hit Callum.”
“That’s right,” Chris concurred, “but the car was only seen at a distance. And that was by young witnesses, and Sheena Moore stated that she wasn’t too good with recognising the make and model of cars. So, she could potentially be wrong about it being a Micra. Either she, or the witnesses, could be wrong, and they could be talking about the same car.”
“Uh huh. How sure was she that it was one of those two years?”
“Very.”
“Okay, well, run some vehicle checks on 04 and 06 silver Nissan Micras in the area and we’ll expand it to look at 04 and 06 four-by-fours and see whe
re we get. I know that will take some slog, but you could be onto something and, to be honest, we’re desperate for new leads and to move this case forward. Speak to the child witnesses again. Find out if the car they saw could have been a Micra.”
“Will do.”
“Very good work,” Yvonne repeated. “I’ll go make the coffees.”
“Ma’am?” Chris called after her.
She turned.
“Thanks.”
“No, thank you.”
24
Bound
When Kenny woke up, it took him a several seconds to realise he couldn’t move. He was laid out on what looked like a hospital bed and was completely restrained. His head throbbed, and the objects around the room blurred, as he tried desperately to focus his eyes. Opposite, he thought he could make out an open laptop on a desk. There appeared to be a stairwell leading down and the ceiling above him sloped, as though he was at the top of a house.
The room contained various bric-a-brac, strewn around, including old vinyl albums and a few dusty books. He was covered by a white sheet. He called out, intermittently, but there was no answer. In between times, he sobbed, tears and sweat soaking into the sheet. He wasn’t hot, he was afraid. He was very afraid.
He heard the door slam shut. It was loud. He was meant to hear it. He pulled against his restraints but there was no give. He’d never felt this scared in his life. And his life flashed in front of him, as he heard footsteps on the stairs. His mother telling him to stay away from drugs. Why hadn’t he listened to her instead of always wanting to make that quick buck?
“Why, Kenny…” His would-be torturer had an evil grin. “So good of you to wait around for me.”
“You’re a sick bastard!” Kenny spat the words, surprised at his own defiance. He whimpered, however, when the other man moved closer.
“Come again? I didn’t quite hear that, Kenny.”
Kenny shook his head, sweat dripping from his brow.
“You know, Kenny, when a body is at the bottom of a fast running river, it can sometimes bump along the bottom. Your head hangs down low, you’re kind of bent over in the water. Injuries can happen to the face… like maybe torn lips and shredded nose. The loss of a few teeth. It can be hard for the pathologist to know whether the injuries occurred before or after death.”
Kenny thought he had never seen such an evil sneer in all his life. “You wouldn’t. Come on, you wouldn’t… Why are you doing this?”
“Because I can? Because I can’t afford you blabbing your mouth off to the police?”
“I wouldn’t. You know I wouldn’t do that.” Kenny’s eyes were wide. Pleading.
“You know, I’d love to believe that. But, I don’t.”
“I already told them.” Kenny changed tack. “They could be here any minute.”
The other man paused.
Kenny prayed inside his head.
“Kenny, if you had told the police about me, they’d be here already. You’ve been trussed up like a chicken for more than six hours. If the police thought I was killing people, they wouldn’t leave it this long to haul me in. But, nice try.” He pulled out a small, plastic bottle of water and offered it to Kenny’s mouth. “Come on, Kenny, drink up. I can’t have you dying on me before I’ve had some fun.”
25
A quiet table
The excitement of the day over, Chris helped Jenny on with her coat.
She smiled demurely at him. “Thank you. It’s been a good day, hasn’t it?”
“I think we aced it.” Chris grinned. “Listen, how about we go for a drink at the bar tonight?” He was referring to the bar in the Elephant and Castle pub, where they were both rooming whilst on secondment.
Jenny smiled. “You know what? A gin and tonic is exactly what I need.”
A short car drive later, they entered the Elephant, glancing up at a TV screen on the wall in the corner, where a football match was in progress.
Jenny looked at Chris who shook his head. “I don’t really watch it.” He grinned. “Come on, we’ll sit over there.
He chose a table by the wall, not too far from the bar. Jenny was grateful.
It was still early evening and the pub was quiet. One lone punter sat at the bar, his back to them, hunched over as though deep in thought. Once Jenny was seated, Chris headed over, standing next to the hunched man. He ordered a gin and tonic and pint of lager.
“Quiet in here, isn’t it?” He directed this at the figure who appeared to come out of some deep reverie.
He sat bolt upright, turning to take in the young PC. There was an awkward couple of seconds, before he answered.”It’s usually pretty quiet in here at this time.”
Chris nodded. “I had noticed.” He flicked his head in the direction of the stairs. “I’m staying here for a few weeks.”
“You that young police officer?” The darkly-dressed man looked him up and down.
Chris raised his eyebrows.
The other man laughed. “Hey, don’t come over all suspicious on me. I’m not following you. I was talking to the lass behind the bar last night. I think she might have taken a shine to you.” He winked.
Chris relaxed and laughed back. “Oh.” He coloured. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Anyway,” the other man continued, “your secret’s safe with me. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“Thank you.” Chris nodded to him, as he paid for the drinks. “Not everybody likes police officers.”
The other man nodded and Chris left the bar, carrying the drinks back to where Jenny sat waiting.
“Just what I need,” she said, by way of thank you.
Chris smiled widely. He liked her. She had a quiet, gentle way about her. He found himself mentally comparing her to his ex-partner, the mother of his daughter. He decided there was no comparison.
“Penny for them?” Jenny asked, taking the first sip of her drink.
“Oh, I was just thinking about my daughter,” he answered. “Wondering how she is. I tried ringing her mother last night but she didn’t answer.” He sighed. “She does that sometimes.”
Jenny placed a hand on his. “Try again tonight. Maybe she was just busy.”
He nodded, appreciating the touch. He looked down at Jenny’s hand.
Jenny cleared her throat and let go. Chris’s hand felt cold at the removal.
“Do you mind if I join you?” The figure from the bar stood next to their table. Chris hadn’t noticed him approach. He appeared taller than Chris had imagined, and dressed in back, apart from a white shirt underneath his thin, black jumper. Chris wondered if the man had been to a funeral. He didn’t really want him to join them but, before he could say anything, Jenny took the decision out of his hands.
“Of course, you can join us.” She gave the man a knowing smile, as though a part of her felt sorry for him being on his own. Chris was struck by the tenderness in it.
“I couldn’t help overhearing that you miss your daughter,” the intruder offered, drawing up a seat.
Chris sighed. “I do. I don’t see her nearly enough and her health isn’t good.”
“I have a daughter. She’s all grown up and at college,” the other man offered. “I know what it’s like to miss them and wish they’d call more often.”
Chris nodded. The three of them continued in conversation, until Jenny indicated that she needed to leave.
“I need a shower, and then it’s food and an early night for me.”
“Me too.” Chris pushed his seat back. “I’m sorry,” he said to the gentleman. “We only came here for one drink. It was nice meeting you though.”
As when they first met, the other man took a good couple of seconds before replying, all the while looking at Chris’s face. “Likewise,” was all he said.
26
Kenny’s death
He couldn’t scream anymore. When his mouth opened, nothing of any power came out. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose and, along with piercing pain, could taste the slimy mix of
blood and mucous making its way down his face. It made him vomit. His torturer had gone ‘for a break’. If he had had the means to kill himself, Kenny would have done it. He just couldn’t take any more.
When his torturer came back, Kenny steeled himself for the end. He was sure it was coming.
“You see this, Kenny? It’s river water. You gotta breath this in. That way, you’ll have all the right things in your lungs when they cut you open.”
Kenny spat blood and snot in his torturer’s face.
The other man wiped it away, tight-lipped. “What, you want some more? Haven’t you had enough pain, Kenny? You want more suffering?”
Kenny was unable to do more than shake his head.
As the bag was placed on his head and the bed was tilted back, Kenny tried one last time to fight his bindings. To no avail.
The quiet afternoon was pierced by high-pitch sirens of just about every variety. Yvonne stopped what she was doing and ran to the window. A number of uniformed officers were running towards their vehicles in the car park below.
“What’s going on?” Dewi joined her at the window.
“I don’t know. Ring down to the desk, would you? And find out.”
Dewi left her watching, rubbing her chin.
When he came back, he was wide-eyed. “It’s another body, ma’am. Another body found in the river. It’s in fairly shallow water, near the rapids.”
Yvonne closed her eyes, repeating the word, “no,” in her mind.
“Ma’am?”
The DI cleared her throat. “Come on.” She grabbed her jacket. “We’d better get down there. I want to see the scene when it’s fresh. If this is a serial killer, we’re letting everyone down. We’ve got to stop him.”
Dewi nodded. “Come on, let’s go.”
DI Giles BoxSet Page 81