‘Can’t give you a time yet. We’re waiting to see the chief.’
‘Have you mentioned Brantingham to the captain?’
‘Yeah, we’re going to talk to the chief about it. Nothing will go to the press until Monica Lansdowne has looked at the photographs.’
‘Good. Anything else?’ Ellison asked.
‘No, but call me if anything comes up.’
*****
Annie was assessing the situation. The guy’s face was flushed and his hand shaking. ‘I’m Detective Annie Macpherson. Put the gun down and tell me what you’re doing in here.’
‘I will when I know you’ll listen to what I have to say. I need to talk to Grace.’
Annie was standing up, her body shielding Grace Marks from the man. ‘I have to assure myself that Miss Marks isn’t in any danger. I’m asking you again to put the gun down.’ Annie hoped that her voice didn’t betray her own fear. She had never before come face to face with someone holding a gun.
The man’s hand was shaking and he was trying to make eye contact with the woman behind her. ‘Grace, I need you to forgive me and to understand. I killed Brian Bannister, Pat Mearns and Matt Lansdowne for Jennifer and for me. They took both our lives away. I don’t care what happens to me now. I’ve spent the last twelve years planning all of this. I finished what I promised to do. I need to explain it to you.’
Annie felt Grace Marks shifting position and she moved her arm to stop her.
‘Let me see, Grace!’ he shouted, sounding even more agitated than before.
‘Detective, let me pass. Barry won’t hurt me.’ Grace moved very slightly to the right so that Barry Ainscough could see her. She was still partly sheltered by Annie. ‘Barry, I know what happened to you and Jennifer that night. Jennifer wrote it all down in a letter to me. I only found it last night. I have it here.’ She picked up the letter and held it so that he could see it was in Jennifer’s handwriting.
‘You know what they did to her? Does the letter tell you everything that happened?’ His voice quivered.
‘Yes,’ Grace replied, her tone soft. ‘I know what they did to you too and how you tried to stop them. Jennifer knew you couldn’t. She knew you were both helpless against three guys who were drunk and egging each other on. She never held you responsible. She says that in the letter.’
‘She didn’t blame me? Did she forgive me? Did she actually say she forgave me?’ Tears were rolling down his cheeks now.
‘She did, Barry. There’s no doubt about that. I do too.’
The man wiped his face, while keeping the gun pointed.
‘Barry, you need to listen to the detective.’ As she said those words, Grace moved slightly back.
‘Mr Ainscough, put the gun down now. You have voluntarily admitted to killing Brian Bannister, Patrick Mearns and Matthew Lansdowne. I am arresting you for those murders. So that we are very clear, I’m now going to tell you your rights.’ Annie was desperately hoping that the reality of her words would hit home and that the man would put his gun down.
*****
Ellison was nearing the front of the line when he got a text message alert. It was from Annie. The coffees could wait. He needed to see what Annie had found out. It sounded like she had the break they needed. But how? She was reading files when he last saw her. He hadn’t noticed her when he passed the squad room with Crawley minutes earlier, although, come to think of it, he hadn’t looked. Deciding he’d return later to Starbucks with her instead, he headed back to the station.
Sargeant Owens was at the desk. ‘Ellison I’m glad you’re back. That guy hasn’t come past. I got one of the patrol officers to check the rest room before he went out on a call, but the guy wasn’t in there. It’s not good having a civilian wandering around the station. He could be anywhere. I tried Macpherson to see if the guy had wandered back upstairs but she’s not answering the phone, which is strange.’
‘Was Macpherson on her own upstairs?’ Ellison asked.
‘No, she’s with some female lawyer who asked to see one of you. She said she had information relevant to the murders.’
Ellison looked at the sergeant quizzically. ‘Right, I’ll go up and see what’s going on. You keep looking for Crawley. You’re absolutely sure he didn’t go past?’
‘Sure, I’m sure.’
Ellison took the stairs two at a time. The squad room was only a matter of yards from the door leading to the staircase. As he got to their floor, a gut feeling made him cautious. He eased the door open as quietly as he could, before glancing down the corridor. The squad room door was open and he could see the reflection of someone standing inside. It could be Crawley, but why would he be there? Ellison hesitated and the next thing he heard was Annie’s voice.
She was reciting the Miranda rights.
Ellison drew his weapon and eased himself along the wall. As he got closer to the squad room, he crouched down so as not to be visible through the glass. He froze when he heard her next statement.
‘Mr Ainscough, I’m asking you again to put that gun down. I’m going to escort Miss Marks into the kitchen and then when you put the gun down, I will show you the letter.’ Annie picked the letter up from the table and held it out. She moved away from the table and started walking backwards towards the kitchen area, the letter still clearly in her hand. Grace moved behind her, co-ordinating their steps, Annie’s body still sheltering hers.
Ellison heard the movement and peered around from his crouched position. He could see Bruce Crawley holding a gun, still pointed at Annie. Ellison raised himself into a standing position and as soon as the other woman was in the kitchen, he saw Bruce Crawley turn slightly. The risk was if he shouted to him now, the guy might react by shooting Annie. He waited a few more seconds.
Annie caught a glimpse of Ellison. There was no way of indicating anything to him without alerting Ainscough. ‘Mr Ainscough, or is it Mr Crawley? I have the letter here. You can read it if you put the gun down on the table.’
‘I can read it if you hand it to me.’ He held his hand out, his eyes still trained on Annie and his voice firmer than before.
‘I’m going to walk over to this table and put it down. Then I am going to walk back to the kitchen. I am a British police officer and I am unarmed. You have no reason to harm me. I have read the letter that Jennifer wrote. I understand the reason why you felt you had to take revenge on Brian Bannister, Patrick Mearns and Matthew Lansdowne. You’ve already admitted to their murders. You have nothing to gain by harming me or Miss Marks.’
The man nodded, his hand shaking slightly as Annie put the letter down and began to move away. ‘Go,’ he said in a calm voice. ‘Tell Grace that I need her mother to forgive me too.’ Then he moved closer to the table.
As soon as Ellison saw that Annie was out of the line of fire and Crawley was distracted picking up the letter, he made his move. ‘Freeze,’ Ellison shouted, his body covering the exit, both hands on his gun aimed directly at Crawley.
Crawley dropped the letter and turned in the direction of Ellison’s voice. Instead of freezing, he raised his gun hand again.
Chapter 67
Sergeant Owens checked the toilets a second time and there was still no sign of the man who had come to see Ellison. Walking back to his desk, he checked the register. ‘Bruce Crawley,’ he said out loud, as the captain and Bronski came in the front door. The press had delayed them for a minute or two, long enough for both men to say they had nothing further to report.
‘Vultures,’ Franconi murmured as they approached the desk.
It was Bronski who noticed that the sergeant was looking concerned. ‘Sarge, what’s up?’
‘Something’s going on. Ellison interviewed that Crawley guy who then disappeared. I haven’t seen him leave the building. Macpherson wasn’t answering her phone upstairs. I
told Ellison when he came in and he raced upstairs. I’ve heard nothing for the last five minutes.’
‘Was Macpherson with anyone?’ Bronski asked.
‘Yeah. She was interviewing a female lawyer who said she had information about the murders.’
Bronski and the captain looked at one another.
‘I don’t like it that the Crawley guy has disappeared and no one has called down. I think something’s going on,’ Sergeant Owens said. ‘I was about to go upstairs myself.’
‘I agree, Sergeant, I don’t like the sound of this. We’ll check it out. Secure the front door. No one comes in until we account for the missing visitor,’ Franconi instructed.
*****
‘Put the gun down, Crawley. Place it on the table and move away.’ Ellison’s voice was firm.
Annie continued to move backwards towards the kitchen. Her priority was to ensure that Grace Marks, a civilian in the police station, remained unharmed. As she moved, she never took her eyes off Ellison or Crawley.
Both men had their guns raised, pointing at each other.
‘Detective Ellison, you don’t understand. I’ve done everything I wanted to. I murdered three men because of what they did to Jennifer and me. I made them suffer, like they made us suffer. A quick death wasn’t good enough for them. Now that I know Jennifer forgave me, everything is complete. I’m not a danger to you or your colleagues.’
‘Put the gun down on the table and raise your hands,’ Ellison repeated, never averting his gaze.
‘I can’t do that Detective. I’m not going to prison for killing those scum.’ He took a couple of steps backwards.
‘Put the gun down, Crawley,’ Ellison instructed once again. He could feel the sweat on his own forehead and he concentrated on keeping his gun steady. He stared at his opponent. Minutes earlier they had been exchanging information in the interview room. He had been grateful to the man. Instinctively Ellison knew that the man before him now was not going to comply. He weighed up the options. Only one made sense: he was going to have to shoot him to protect Annie, the civilian and himself. He tried one last time. ‘I said, put the gun down. There’s no escape from here.’
Bruce Crawley smiled at him. ‘There is for me, Detective.’
As Franconi and Bronski opened the door from the staircase, they heard a shot. From their position, they could see Ellison standing in the doorway, and they could hear his words, ‘Macpherson, move into the kitchen.’
‘Ellison,’ Franconi shouted, ‘is the room clear?’
Ellison turned his head towards the captain and Bronski and shifted position so they could enter the room. ‘Crawley turned the gun on himself. I need to check for a pulse and secure his weapon.’
‘Go,’ Franconi instructed, as he and Bronski held back, their weapons still drawn. Ellison moved forward, kicking the gun away from Crawley’s body. He crouched down and placed two fingers on the man’s neck. ‘He’s still breathing. We need an ambulance.’
‘Bronski, call it in,’ Franconi said, spotting Annie by the kitchen door.
‘Captain, there’s a civilian in the kitchen – Grace Marks.’
The captain walked over to Annie, re-holstering his gun. ‘You OK, Macpherson?’
‘Yes, sir.’
Grace Marks was standing by the entrance as Franconi walked into the kitchen with Annie. ‘I’m sorry you had to witness this, Miss Marks,’ Franconi said. ‘We’ll need to get a statement from you before we can let you go. Would you mind waiting in here for a few minutes?’
The woman walked over to one of the kitchen chairs and sat down, while the captain and Annie joined their colleagues in the squad room. Annie and Ellison relayed the events as quickly as they could while they all waited for the paramedics. On Franconi’s instruction, no one else was allowed into the squad room.
Two paramedics arrived and tried to stabilise Bruce Crawley. They then stretchered him out to the ambulance.
When the room was cleared, Franconi took charge. ‘Bronski, tell Owens we need to commandeer some rooms upstairs. Detectives, you are both witnesses, so we’ll have to take formal statements from you and from Miss Marks. Bronski you’re in charge of this room as the crime scene. Get Heaviley’s team down here.’
*****
Upstairs, Franconi interviewed Grace Marks first. She had seen the whole thing from the kitchen. Her details were precise. When her statement was complete, she telephoned Bill Williamson. Franconi arranged for him to be escorted upstairs and Williamson gave a statement about the discovery of the letter and its contents. Franconi then took statements from Annie and Ellison, separately, both witnessed by a detective from Internal Affairs, who also verified that Ellison’s own weapon had not been discharged. The detective from IA confirmed that there was nothing untoward from what he’d heard and that the detectives were free to continue their work.
Two hours later, the chief had been fully briefed. A press statement had been issued and a press conference arranged for later that evening, which the chief and Franconi were fronting. The chief and the captain were personally briefing Monica Lansdowne and Jordan Prentice. Family liaison officers were sent to brief the families of Brian Bannister and Patrick Mearns.
The desk phone rang in the temporary office. ‘Thanks, we’ll collect it on the way down.’ Bronski looked at his two colleagues. ‘A search warrant for Bruce Crawley’s apartment is waiting for us at the front desk. You both OK to do this now?’
‘Sure,’ Ellison replied and Annie nodded.
Sergeant Owens handed over the search warrant to Bronski. ‘You had me worried Detective Macpherson. We can’t have anything happening to a guest in our department.’
‘Thanks Sergeant. I’m fine, thanks to my colleague here.’ Annie smiled at Ellison, as the desk phone rang.
As the three detectives were leaving by the back entrance, Sergeant Owens shouted them back. ‘One of you needs to take this. It’s Westford Hospital about Bruce Crawley.’
Bronski took the phone. He stood impassively as the person at the other end relayed a message. ‘OK, you know the standard procedure,’ he said, hanging up. ‘Bruce Crawley never made it out of the ER. His body is being transferred to the morgue. I need to let the captain know before the press conference.’
Chapter 68
The building superintendent let the detectives into the apartment. The search warrant covered anything relevant to the three murders, so there was wide scope. Even though Bruce Crawley, aka Barry Ainscough, would never stand trial, they nevertheless had to substantiate his verbal confession. They divided the search of the apartment.
Bronski took the lounge and kitchen.
Ellison went into the main bedroom, starting the search of Crawley’s bureau drawers and then his closet. Inside it, he found a combination safe on the floor. Pulling out his cellphone, he got hold of Heaviley. Seconds later he opened the safe. He stared at the contents before he shouted to Bronski and Annie to join him. ‘I’m not going to touch this stuff as I think we need Heaviley to photograph all this in situ. You can see that there are two bloodstained cloths, no doubt wrapped around the murder weapons and three cellphones.’
‘Was it unlocked?’ Annie asked.
‘No, I called Heaviley on a hunch. I opened it using the date the gang rape took place. It was in Jennifer Marks’ letter.’
‘He was completely obsessed, wasn’t he?’ Annie commented.
‘What’s that notebook?’ Bronski pointed. ‘I think we need to have a look.’
Ellison retrieved it, careful not to touch the other items and passed it into Bronski’s gloved hands.
‘His surveillance record,’ Bronski commented, as he flicked through several pages. ‘This goes back years. Talk about premeditation and planning. Shit, this also covers each murder in detail and how each victim responde
d to him. It even records his conversation with Monica Lansdowne.’ Bronski read out a few relevant passages.
‘So he checked the Lansdowne property himself, knowing that one of his engineers might have spotted that the system had been tampered with. I never even questioned it,’ Ellison admitted.
‘He was very plausible, the CEO of the company, no less. Yet he turns up as an ordinary engineer, with a bogus uniform. We were in the engineer mindset, not the owner of the company. It’s amazing that as a businessman he never came into contact with the other three all these years while he was accruing information on them and biding his time,’ Annie commented.
Bronski handed the notebook back to his colleague. ‘Put this in an evidence bag. We’ll take it back with us, as we need to go through it. Let’s finish our search now and then seal this place off for Heaviley and his team to go through.’
The three split up again. Annie returned to the second bedroom, which Crawley had clearly used as a study. The computer would need to be examined by Dan Parker, so she ignored it. Ellison might also want to take a look later. She finished going through the desk drawers. They mostly contained stationery, pens and computer accessories. She felt around the back in case anything was hidden behind. There was nothing of interest in the desk. To the right, there was an old fashioned writing bureau with a drop down writing surface. It looked out of place in the room, next to the more modern desk. Maybe, Annie surmised, it was a family heirloom. She pulled out the supporting rods and opened the lid, placing the writing surface down carefully. She admired it as a piece of furniture.
Det Annie Macpherson 02 - Programmed To Kill Page 30