by Colin Wade
Anya started to bite her nails. She always did it when she was nervous. Clark pushed on.
“I looked at the admissions records and found two girls who fitted the profile. Their records were hidden, just like yours. Also, just like when you five were in the clinic, there had been confidential deliveries around the time of their admission.”
“Deliveries?”
“Janice told us that two strange deliveries happened when you were in there. One was for illegal drugs from Poland that induced comas, supressed memories and treated drug addiction. The other was something in cold storage. She was sacked when she tried to open it.”
Anya put her face in her hands. “Oh God. Janice. That is the lady that got killed because of me.”
Rob jumped in. “No Anya. I told you that was not your fault. It was my fault for not being careful enough about being tailed by your friend.”
“FRIEND! FRIEND! Fuck me Rob. Have you listened to anything I have said? He was not a friend. He was an evil raping bastard.”
Rob held his hands up. “Sorry. Poor choice of words.”
Clark jumped in to stop the tension between Rob and Anya escalating.
“Anya. Janice’s death was a tragedy but the information she has given us is invaluable. I managed to track the illegal drug orders which gives us clear evidence of criminality against Dr Normandy. We don’t know what the cold storage packages contained but she did give us a big clue about the private clinic. When we get in there, Janice’s help will make a huge difference.”
“God. I don’t know. This is all too much. We should go to the police.”
“No Anya. Look at this man.” Clark pointed at Hassan Chandra. “We have spoken to four police officers that handled the girl’s accidents. They confirmed that he took over the investigations and nothing happened to catch the killer, because he is part of the conspiracy and was covering it up. What is worse is that he is one of the customers of this sordid affair.”
“What?”
“Yes, he paid the doctor and if you are right, stole a baby.”
“God, this is too awful for words.”
Anya sat for a while trying to compose herself. She seemed to be gaining some inner strength and ploughed on.
“So, Clark. What are your theories about my recurring dreams of the letters LEX, which I am sure is the start of the word LEXICON? I saw it one of my recent dreams.”
“Sorry, I have no ideas about that. There is nothing in the evidence trail that explains those letters or the word LEXICON. Like many of the gaps in our investigation, we suspect that is something that will be explained when we get in there.”
Anya sat down, still staring at the board, trying to absorb all that Clark and Rob had found. She turned to Clark again.
“Why are you doing this Clark? Why are you looking out for me?”
Clark picked up the picture of his father and showed it to Anya.
“Because of him. My father. He committed suicide when I was young because some corporate bastards asset stripped the company he had worked for all his life and left him with nothing. They stole his pension pot and fled the country. The police and the politicians did nothing. Since that day I had resolved to seek out these people and expose their dirty secrets. I started looking at this case when George Walker was in the news. It led me to you and this conspiracy.”
“Wow. Well I am sorry about your father and sorry that I have got you involved in this.”
“It really is no problem. If I can, in some small way, avenge my dad I will be happy. The friend that helped me hack the Cayman Island bank and investigate the Hardacres found some sort of business connection between William Hardacre and the bastards that took my father down. I would love it if I can disrupt their evil practices, even by association.”
“Who is this friend you keep talking about? Where is he? Can we trust him?”
Rob had remained quiet during these exchanges, happy that Clark and Anya had seemed to be bonding, but he couldn’t let this one go.
“Well Anya. The man doesn’t really exist. He is a cyber friend. Clark doesn’t know his name, where he lives or even if he is a police officer. We are taking a massive gamble using him.”
Clark bit back. “We are not taking a gamble. I have worked with Snap for years. He is part of our hacking community and I trust him completely.”
Anya looked at Clark. She looked at Rob.
“Jesus, you two don’t get on, do you? How on earth have you managed to get this far if you bicker all the time?”
Clark smiled. “Let’s just call it creative differences. Rob has always had an issue with the way I have been finding the information about this conspiracy. He doesn’t like breaking the law.”
“Yeah well, you haven’t given me much choice and anyway you are not the one taking all the risks. It has always been Anya and I in danger.”
Anya interjected.
“For God’s sake you two. If what you say is true, we are dealing with some pretty heavy criminals who are not frightened to kill to protect their secrets. It seems to me that we need to use all the help we can get in whatever way we can get it. And, maybe you should both remember that I am the one with the lost baby, murdered parents, murdered friends and a fucked-up life.”
They both sat there, reprimanded again like naughty children. They both said sorry with a slightly sulky-teenager vibe.
Anya got up. “I am going for a walk. I need some air.”
“Anya. Don’t…”
She cut Rob off before he could finish his sentence.
“Look, just leave me alone. I am not going out to score some drugs. I won’t make that mistake again. I am just going to walk into the shops and clear my head.”
She left Rob and Clark to stew in their own juices.
*
He stirred and looked at his phone. He couldn’t believe it was past three o’clock in the afternoon. They must have hit the drink and drugs hard last night. The girls were still there, sprawled across the bed, seemingly dead to the world. He checked his messages. Nothing from his father. Thank God. He didn’t need that aggravation today. He would get back to killing Anya and Rob when it suited him. Right now, these lovely ladies looked like they might be up for another fun night. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes. Sex, drugs, drink and murder. Perfect.
*
The doctor checked on Bianca and Sam. They were both progressing nicely. He smiled to himself. A few more months and this would all be done and he would be off to Asia for his next encounter. He had been promised some nice young Thai boys this time.
69
Anya, Rob and Clark had gone out to eat the previous evening to try to get away from the confines of the flat and the constant reminder of the horror that was plastered all over the murder board.
They had all stocked up on supplies and Clark had got the week off. After breakfast, they decided to crack on.
“Anya, sorry to talk about Bradley again but I am curious as to how he links with the others. Can you remember anything else about him? What was his surname?”
“Umm, Williams, I think. Bradley Williams. I don’t really know much about him other than he always seemed to have money.”
Rob interjected. “He was a drug dealer Anya. They always have money.”
“Yes, I suppose they do, but I mean he seemed rich. Posh rich, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I know what you mean,” said Clark.
Clark opened up his laptop and started dancing his fingers over the keyboard at an amazing pace.
“What are you doing?” asked Anya.
“I want to see what we can find about dear Bradley, either through legal means or otherwise.” Clark glanced up at Rob as he said it, almost goading him into a reaction. Rob ignored him. Anya just watched Clark.
“OK, so his university records have him living in
a flat in Oxford.”
“Yes, that was the one I stayed in during… umm, during the worst of my addiction.”
“Hmm, otherwise Bradley is pretty much off the grid, which just makes him more suspicious. He still seems to be registered as a student at Oxford Uni, even though he is twenty-five. He has no tax records, no car registered to him, even though we are pretty sure he is the one driving around killing people, and he has no employment records.”
Clark continued to tap away, accessing different websites at an amazing speed.
“I have his birth certificate here. His mother is Jane Williams and his father is… oh, unknown.”
“Eh, what do you mean unknown?” said Anya.
“Well it means his mother either genuinely didn’t know the father or chose to leave his name off the birth certificate.”
“Is she still alive?”
Clark flicked between numerous screens at a pace that Anya couldn’t keep up with. Screens and information were constantly flashing before her eyes. She didn’t know how Clark did it.
“Yes, she is living in Newbury and works as a care assistant in a local nursing home.”
“Any connections to the other conspirators?”
“No, nothing obvious. She lived and worked in London in the early part of her career as a legal assistant. Seems like she worked for a number of different firms up to when she had Bradley. Looks like she took a career break to raise him, moved away from London and settled in Newbury. She has been a care assistant ever since.”
Rob piped up. “Sorry to seem so judgemental, but she doesn’t seem like the sort of person who would have lots of money or be posh rich, to use Anya’s description.”
“No, that is curious,” said Clark, “maybe the father didn’t want to be identified but looked after Jane and Bradley by giving them money or maybe she just inherited a lot of money from somewhere.”
“We know Bradley went to Oxford Uni but where did he go to school?” asked Anya.
“Well this is interesting,” replied Clark, “he went to a private boys’ school in Oxford.”
“That confirms it,” said Rob, “there is no way she could afford to send him to private school on a care assistant salary. The father must have been paying for it.”
Clark sat and pondered. “Yes, unless she has got family money from somewhere. The question still remains though. Who is Bradley’s father?”
They all sat looking at the board, trying to piece together the bits they knew about Bradley. Clark suddenly started tapping away and brought up Snap’s report on the Hardacre family.
“What is it?” said Anya.
“Hold on, something about Snap’s report is niggling in my head. It’s something he said in it. Hold on. Here it is. ‘William Hardacre – rumours he can’t keep his dick in his pants’. Jesus! Do you think Bradley could be his illegitimate child?”
Anya and Rob looked gobsmacked. Anya spoke first.
“Oh my God. That would make sense. If his father is as dodgy as you say he is, it follows that he has influenced Bradley to do his dirty work.”
“That must be some heavy influence if he has murdered all the people we think he has,” added Rob.
“Maybe he is just a psychopath and William is exploiting his unstable character,” opined Clark.
They all sat and considered their theory. It did make sense but again was all conjecture. After a few moments Anya said what they all were thinking.
“This has to be right. It just makes sense that Bradley is William’s son and the Hardacre family are running this conspiracy.”
70
James Hardacre sat reading the papers for his Cabinet meeting the next day. His father was never far from his mind. James had finally delivered the Chinese trade deal for him and that had at least got him out of his hair for a few days, as he was adding more billions to his fortune with Far East money.
The problem was he was due to return from China in two days’ time and James knew he would be back for more. He really had done a deal with the devil and could see no way out. Annabelle was being difficult and suspicious of everything he did with his father. She could never find out the truth.
*
He was stirring from another drug, drink and sex-induced sleep. Something was brushing his face.
“Wake up darling. Wake up. We need feeding.”
He opened his eyes and smiled as the twins were hovering over him. He looked down at his cock and said, “Give it a minute to wake up.”
They slapped him playfully. “Not that you randy sod. Real food. Order some room service.”
“OK, OK, what do you want?”
“Champagne, strawberries and ice cream.”
“Your wish is my command my beautiful ones.”
He ordered the room service and checked his phone. No messages from his father. Thank God. He had a feeling he was out of the country, which probably explained why he had been given a few days without his usual aggravation.
His mind wandered to the unfinished business with Rob and Anya. He wondered whether they had returned home after their little adventure. He gritted his teeth at the memory of being played. They were onto him now but that would just make their deaths all the more enjoyable.
The girls snuggled up to him and a certain part of his anatomy had definitely woken up.
That little business can wait, he thought to himself. He was enjoying himself too much to stop this any time soon.
There was a knock on the hotel room door. The room service arrived and another night of fun was about to begin.
*
William Hardacre was just finishing off a fantastic meal at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. He had finished his business in China and was having a couple of days’ stopover in Hong Kong before he flew back to the UK.
He was pondering what he needed next from his spineless son James, who sat nicely in the corridors of power doing his bidding, when an email popped up about the little problem he had left his other son to deal with. It was a report on a certain couple’s digital activity.
Hmm, not sure this is telling me anything. So, they have been shopping in Reading. I do hope he is keeping an eye on them.
71
Anya and Rob woke to another amazing Clark breakfast. As they drank their first coffee of the morning, the conversation turned to the clinic.
“When do you think we will hear back about the job interview?” asked Anya.
“I don’t know,” replied Clark. “The deadline was noon yesterday and I am positive with the fake ID for Rob and the killer application, he will get an interview. It just depends whether they are one of these firms that takes ages to process applications.”
“What do we do if he gets in?”
“As I said before, we need him to recce the place first. Get the layout sorted and find a way in so you can break into the clinic.”
Rob interjected.
“Hold on Clark. Since when was Anya involved in this little clinic invasion of yours?”
“This was always going to be a two-person job. One of you has to be the insider. They will find a way to let the other one in, who will in turn break into the clinic and get the evidence we need.”
“No. Sorry Clark. We never discussed this. I am not going to put Anya in more danger.”
“For fuck’s sake Rob, I am not a pathetic female that needs protecting by your old-fashioned ideas of chivalry. If there is evidence to find, don’t you think I should be the one to find it? To find out what happened to my baby.”
Rob didn’t respond. He just moved away from the conversation and stewed. Since Anya had found out about her baby, he had become low on her list of priorities. Everything he had tried to do to support and comfort her had been met with hostility or an attitude that constantly undermined him. Clark didn’t help either. He was so consumed by the desi
re to solve a conspiracy and avenge his father, he just bent to Anya’s will and drove her on. He checked his phone. There was a nice text from Elisha asking how he was.
Clark and Anya had hardly noticed Rob moving into the other room as they carried on with their conversation.
“Clark. What do you really think is going on in the clinic?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Your baby revelation gave us something we had never previously considered. What I can’t work out is exactly where the baby thing fits in. Rob and I discussed the one big problem with the theory that you were all pregnant when you went in.”
“What’s that?”
“Your addictions. It is a well-known fact that women who are drug addicts have a very high chance of delivering an addicted baby.”
“Why is that a problem?”
“Well, let’s consider the possibility that these clients were paying big money to ‘steal’ your babies.”
“OK. Go on.”
“Surely they wouldn’t pay huge sums for a baby that had medical problems. They would want des—”
Clark stopped himself.
“What is it Clark? What is it? What were you going to say?” pleaded Anya.
Clark shook himself out of his sudden look of absolute shock.
“God. Sorry. I think I have worked out what happened to you.”
72
He tore himself away from the Swedish twins and drove back to Goring. He wanted to see if he could conclude his little problem. The two nights with the twins had soothed his anger but driving here was just winding him back up. He was going to enjoy this. He was going to make sure they both knew exactly what was going to happen to them before he did it. Nice and slow and very painful.
He parked up around the corner from their house and tried to look like just another villager, out for a morning walk. He walked into the cul-de-sac and made his way up to Anya and Rob’s place. The cold steel of the knife in his pocket was exciting him. Since Janice, this was the way he wanted to do it. The way he needed to do it. The car was just so impersonal. He wanted to see their fear. Smell it.