Third Eye - DS Lasser Series 25 (2021)

by Robin Roughley

  Creet paused for a moment before rising to his feet. 'I appreciate your honesty, Carole.'

  'It's the truth, now whether you choose to believe that is up to you.'

  'I never ''choose'' I simply look at the facts, and I can tell you I know exactly what you mean, I know that sometimes those on the front line have to act quickly and it might not always match the rule books but believe me I get that.'

  'You do?' she asked with more than a hint of suspicion in her voice.

  For the briefest of moments, she saw a flash of regret cross his face and then it was gone. 'One of the bravest officers I ever knew broke the rules, in fact, she broke every rule in the book and paid the ultimate price, but she also put an end to a family of monsters.'

  This time Carole could do nothing about the total look of shock on her face. '''Monsters''?' she repeated.

  Creet glanced towards the window, when he turned back to her his face was once more unreadable. 'All I'm trying to say is that I know what it's like out there and I promise you that I am not here to cause any trouble or break up your team…'

  'They are my friends not just a ''team'' and to me that is the most important part of all this, trust, friendship and honesty are what binds us, and PC Black has none of those attributes.'

  Creet checked his watch and then smiled. 'I wonder if I could have a word with Odette Noble or perhaps Lasser or…'

  'Bannister and Lasser have been on shift since six o'clock yesterday morning and they spent the night in the woods trying to solve this case, and I don't expect to see them until later unless something urgent comes up.'

  'What about DI Noble?'

  Carole held the sigh at bay as she lifted her phone from the desk. 'I'll give her a ring and see if she's available.'

  'Appreciated,' Creet replied as he turned to the window.

  Carole watched his back, a slight frown on her face as she tapped at the phone.

  86

  No matter how she struggled, Morgan couldn't free her hands and feet, terror consumed her, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to control it. She could remember briefly seeing Clara Bell and then she was gone, Morgan had no idea how long ago that had taken place or where the man had taken Clara, but she instinctively knew that when he returned, he would be alone and then he would kill her.

  The thought made her lash her head from side to side, she didn't want to die, she wanted to be back home with her mum and dad. As she thought of her father she started to cry, not for herself but for him. She had no idea if they had operated on him, she had lost all track of time, but her mind had no problem revealing an horrific scenario where her father underwent surgery and it went well, then he would open his eyes and ask where she was. In her mind, she saw her father go into shock as he discovered that she had been taken, and then he would die, unable to cope with the horror of knowing she was gone.

  Screwing her eyes closed, she tried to thrust the image from her mind but found that she couldn't, it seemed to be anchored there, keeping any rational thoughts at bay until she became convinced that the thoughts were a reality. Her dad was already dead, and now lay in the hospital bed, the machine silent, her mum by his side, her eyes blank with shock and horror.

  Morgan tried again to keep the images from bombarding her mind, but they wouldn't be denied, and suddenly she felt swamped with despair, she had no idea who the man was who had taken her. She had stepped into the hallway and seen her mother sprawled on the floor, and then she had been hit hard from behind and everything had gone dark.

  She had no idea how she had got here, and had only briefly seen Clara Bell before the man had hauled her over his shoulder and carried her out into the rainswept darkness.

  Now, she was here alone and whoever the man was he must have been the one who had shot and killed Scott. The thought brought more tears to her eyes, the man was a killer, and she knew that he had taken Clara for one reason only. Morgan started to struggle again against her bonds, her hands pulling and tugging, her legs bucking back and forth as the tears of frustration streamed down her cheeks.

  She tried, but deep inside she knew it was hopeless, the tape was too tight, and her wrists already felt raw, she tried to battle through the pain but after a few more seconds she was forced to stop as the friction became unbearable.

  Morgan Pence cried for her parents and for Elle, but most of all she cried for herself as she realised that when the man came back her life would be over.

  87

  Bannister cracked open his eyes and for a few seconds he was unaware of his surroundings until he felt the slight movement of the boat and heard the wind howling.

  With a groan he rolled over and tried to settle again, then he felt a weight at his side and a cold wet nose was pressed against his cheek.

  'Bloody hell, Poppet, get down, you daft mutt,' he grumbled.

  The dog took no notice as she continued to tap at his face with her nose.

  When he heard the sound of the kettle being filled, he turned over and climbed out of the single bed before heading out into the passageway to find Lasser setting it in the stand and flicking it on.

  'What time is it?' the DCI asked.

  'Half-five.'

  'Morning or night?' Bannister asked.

  'Night.'

  'I've only been asleep for three hours!?'

  'About that,' Lasser replied.

  'Then why the hell are you clattering about and making a racket?'

  Leaning back against the worktop, Lasser folded his arms. 'I couldn't sleep.'

  'Oh, so because Lasser couldn't sleep he decided to wake me up.'

  'We need to find Morgan Pence; we need to catch this wanker.'

  Bannister sighed as he ran a hand over his tussled hair. 'I know that, but what the hell can we do, you tell me that and we'll do it?'

  'We need to look more closely at the past crimes, we need to check on all the bloody weirdos we have on file, chances are the bastard is in there somewhere.'

  'You are grasping at straws, Lasser.'

  Turning away, he made a coffee and a hot chocolate before handing Bannister his drink.

  'Where's Jackie?'

  'She's out with Tasha.'

  'Your sister?' Bannister asked.

  'How many other Tashas do you know?'

  The DCI scowled. 'OK, smart arse, I was only asking.'

  Lasser sighed before taking a sip from the cup. 'What does it take to copy a killing?' he suddenly asked.

  Bannister blinked the sleep from his eyes before blowing on the hot coffee. 'A sick mind for one.'

  'You agree then that whoever is doing this must have had something in his past that's caused him to want to kill?'

  'Come on, Lasser, every nutter has a sob story to tell.'

  'OK, but what about the original killer? The two of them have to be in contact, we agree that whoever was killing in the seventies and onwards would have to be too old to commit murder now but obviously the urge must still be there.'

  Bannister risked a sip of the drink and winced at the heat as he thought about what Lasser was saying but before he could answer, Lasser's phone started to ring, and he lifted it from his pocket, checking the number before tapping the speaker icon.

  'All right, Rog, tell me you have some good news?'

  Roger coughed slightly. 'Look, I don't know if this is important or not, but I've been looking into Detective Ross.'

  'The lazy bastard who didn't want to get off his arse to help the Salters look for their daughter?' Bannister asked.

  'Yeah, he retired in seventy-nine and died in eighty-one, but the thing is with us being so busy I never followed up on the cause of death.'

  'Go on,' Lasser asked as he glanced at the DCI who looked puzzled and angry at the same time.

  'It was a hit and run.'

  'Did they ever catch the driver?

  'No,' the phone went silent for a few seconds, Bannister was just going to tell him to get on with it when Roger started to talk again. 'The thing i
s he was run down on Cemetery Road.'

  'They didn't have far to take him then,' Bannister quipped as he took a quick gulp of coffee.

  'Cemetery Road in Hindley,' Roger finished.

  'The road that leads directly to the entrance of Borsdane Woods,' Lasser said, his voice hardening.

  'Look, I'm sorry I missed it, I have no idea if you can use it in any way but…'

  'Calm down, Rog, you've done sod all wrong,' Lasser interjected in an effort to calm Roger down.

  'I've just been so wrapped up in looking at the murders, but I should have spotted this sooner.'

  'You are not a one-man army,' Bannister barked.

  'What else can you tell us?' Lasser asked.

  Roger cleared his throat. 'That's another thing that doesn't make sense, Ross wasn't just knocked down. According to the report he was trapped against the opening of the tunnel wall, so by rights it wasn't really a hit and run it was…'

  'Murder!' Bannister growled.

  'There are a couple of images of the scene, you can see where it happened, the walls are scarred, and they found glass on the ground that they think came from a broken headlight.'

  'Did Ross live anywhere near the woods?' Lasser grabbed the cigarettes from the table and lit one before tossing the pack to Bannister.

  'No, he lived out near Chorley, but there's another thing.'

  'What other thing?' Bannister asked as he sparked the lighter.

  'After he was killed, Ross's house was checked, and his car was on the drive.'

  Lasser felt the pieces fall into place as smoke trailed towards the open window. 'Which means he wasn't alone when he went to the woods.'

  'He could have got a bus or a taxi,' Roger offered lamely.

  'And why would he do that when he had a car on the drive at home?' Bannister questioned.

  Lasser rose to his feet and pushed the window open further to let the smoke out and the cold air in, the blast hitting his face and making him shiver. When he turned, Bannister was looking up at him.

  'You think the original killer flattened him, don't you?' the DCI asked.

  Lasser nodded before speaking into the phone.

  'Is Odette with you?' he asked.

  'Er, no.'

  'She's left for home?'

  'No, she's still here, she's just in a meeting,' Roger replied, his voice now sounding somehow fraught.

  '''A meeting''?' Bannister asked as he placed the cup on the table.

  'That's right.'

  'Listen, Roger, is it some kind of secret or are you going to tell us about this bloody meeting?'

  'She's with Professional Standards, Carole asked for her about twenty minutes ago.'

  Lasser grabbed his waterproof jacket and Bannister did the same.

  'You should have called us straight away; whoever the bastard is he'll grill her and…'

  'His name's Creet,' Roger interrupted.

  '''Creet''?' Lasser snapped his eyes widening in recognition of the name.

  Bannister looked at him in surprise. 'You've heard of the guy?'

  'Listen, Rog, we're heading over to you, but keep looking into the death of Ross, it's important,' Lasser said.

  'Will do.'

  Thrusting the phone into his pocket, Lasser closed the window with a thump and then they were heading along the boat. By the time they made it to the door Poppet was curled on the sofa in contentment as the log burner gave out waves of warmth.

  Out on the towpath they hurried under the bridge and up the embankment.

  'Give me the keys, I'm driving,' Bannister said.

  Lasser didn't argue as he climbed into the passenger seat.

  Seconds later they were heading through the lights and down Red Rock hill.

  'Tell me about Creet?' Bannister said as the headlights lanced out into the darkness.

  'Lucien Creet was…'

  '''Lucien'', what kind of name is that?' Bannister interrupted.

  'Creet was in charge of the case they were trying to build against Marnie Hammond.'

  Bannister sighed as he thought back to the case, Marnie Hammond had worked in a town called Kirkhead about twenty-five miles away and had been embroiled in catching a killer who had been sick beyond belief. Lasser had told him a lot of what had happened and there was no doubt that Marnie Hammond had broken every rule going, though in the end it hadn't really mattered. She had caught and put an end to those responsible for an horrific series of crimes against children, though it had cost her dearly to finish them.

  'What's Creet like?' he asked as they reached the roundabout at the foot of the hill.

  'Well, I don't know the full story but believe it or not I think he's one of the good guys, he helped to clear Marnie Hammond's name, even though she wasn't around to see it.'

  Going through the gears, Bannister's face remained fixed in a scowl. 'I still can't believe Black has gone to Professional Standards, the spineless bastard.'

  'To be honest, I'm surprised he's not been to them before now.'

  'Yeah well, he thought Christopher Ryan was going to get us all fired otherwise I think he would have done just that, but he pinned his colours to Ryan's mast and that backfired big time.'

  Lasser nodded before looking through the side window and thrusting the image of Black's smarmy face from his mind.

  He thought back to what Roger had said about Detective Ross, flattened against the tunnel wall, the same tunnel that led directly into the woods where they had found the bones in the cloying mud.

  Suddenly, he felt the importance of what Roger had discovered, Ross had been in charge of at least three of the unsolved murders that had taken place during the seventies and eighties, and not once had he or the team he worked with come close to finding the killer responsible for the deaths. In fact, according to Penny Salter's mother he had made very little effort to look into her daughter's disappearance and yet, years later, he had died at the tunnel entrance. Ross had lived in Chorley and his car had been on the drive of the house so who had he been with on the night he died and why had they gone to the woods in the first place?'

  Closing his eyes, he pictured a faceless figure, his hands thrown into the air, eyes wide as the headlights pinned him to the spot, then the roar of the engine, the crunch of broken bones as the car slammed him back against the stone wall, killing him instantly. In his mind's eye, he could see the car backing up, one headlight out, the glass smashed as Ross lay slumped in the mud, his shattered limbs jittering as he died.

  He pictured the car backing up, blood on the bumper and bonnet as the killer drove away, the shadow behind the wheel smiling in satisfaction.

  'Wake up, Lasser!'

  Opening his eyes, he turned, Bannister threw him a dark look before turning back to the road.

  'I wasn't asleep, I was thinking.'

  'A likely story,' Bannister paused, 'you were thinking about Ross, weren't you?'

  'Yeah.'

  'About who the driver of the car was and why they splattered him against the wall?'

  'Mind reader,' Lasser said with a sigh.

  'Do you think Ross could have been involved in any of the murders?' the DCI suddenly asked.

  Lasser thought about the question. 'I don't see how, he died in eighty-one and yet the murders continued beyond that point by almost twenty years.'

  Lifting one hand off the wheel, Bannister flicked the wipers onto a higher speed. 'The truth is we can't be certain that the six deaths were all committed by one person, it's just guesswork. But it still doesn't explain what Ross was doing at the woods, and why someone saw fit to mow him down?'

  'The killer could have done it,' Lasser blurted out the words though he had no idea where they came from and for a couple of seconds, he sat there stunned.

  'That makes a kind of sense,' Bannister replied.

  Lasser snapped his head round, his surprise turning to astonishment.

  'You agree with me?' he asked.

  The DCI slowed down for the junction and glanced right befor
e turning left. 'I'm not saying you're right, but it would make a kind of twisted sense.'

  Lasser ran a hand over his eyes, flummoxed by Bannister's thought process.

  'OK, let's say that Ross and the killer were linked in some way, we know Ross didn't use his own car to get to the woods, so it's logical to think he went with the bastard who mowed him down, but what were they doing there in the first place?'

  The early evening traffic was still heavy, Bannister had to slow the car down as they came to a queue of vehicles waiting at the lights outside the hospital.

  'Perhaps Ross had no idea the driver of the car was the killer,' Lasser suggested.

  'Even if that was the case, it still doesn't explain what they were doing at the woods or why Ross was killed.'

  The traffic started to move again, and Bannister managed to get through the lights before they changed back to red.

  'What if the killer felt threatened in some way?'

  The DCI glanced in the mirrors. 'You think Ross could have known the driver had murdered in the past?'

  Lasser wanted to say yes but it all seemed too tenuous, too bloody flimsy. 'Truth is I have no idea, none of it makes sense. If Ross did suspect anything about the killer, then why would he get in his car and come over from Chorley to the place where the unknown body was buried. We know Ross was a lazy sod so why would he do that, if he had his suspicions why didn't he go mob-handed to get the guy?'

  'There is one other option,' Bannister said in a quiet voice.

  'There is?' Lasser asked in surprise.

  'Yeah, perhaps Ross had no idea that it was the killer behind the wheel until it was too late.'

  '''Too late''?'

  The traffic began to ease, and Bannister grabbed another gear. 'What if Ross was onto something, what if he was the one who made the links between the killings.'

  'But he'd retired by the time he was killed and besides, we know he wasn't what you would call dedicated to the job.'

  'Look at us, Lasser, there are things we should be chasing up right now but there's never the time to cover all the bases, you know that. Penny Salter's mother said he didn't seem to care but what if it was down to the fact that he was rushed off his feet trying to catch the killer of Ethel Brab?'