Woman in the Water

by Katerina Diamond

  The adrenaline coursed through him with new vigour as he imagined getting his revenge, followed by the feeling that this was already more than he could handle on his own. He couldn’t tell Imogen, though; he didn’t know if he would ever be able to tell her. Keeping such a big secret from her didn’t feel right, but there was no way Adrian could utter those words yet. He needed to get better first. Before taking any more action, he had to stop falling apart and put himself back together.

  He remembered the list he had printed off and put in his drawer. He would start to investigate each name on it. He knew Leon’s attack must have happened just before he’d moved home. It occurred to him that while Quick’s attack was taking place, Adrian was just doing his normal Adrian things, oblivious to what was happening, oblivious to who Leon Quick was.

  It seemed strange to think about that attack now, that if they had known, that if Leon had reported it then they would have investigated it. Maybe they would have found who did it. Maybe that person would have been in prison. Was it the same person who attacked Adrian? He almost hoped so, because the thought of someone else committing sexual assault at Reece Corrigan’s bidding was too much to bear.

  Adrian thought about all the people who were going about their business while he was being raped. A sense of guilt washed over him. He should report it. He should stop this animal from being able to do it again.

  Imogen’s hand on his arm pulled him from his thoughts again as Mrs Quick shut the door. He hadn’t even realised he had zoned out again. Still fragile and undone from the attack, he knew his plans would have to wait until he could function vaguely normally again. He could beat this.

  Chapter Seventy

  Since they had left the Quick interview, Imogen had noticed a change in Adrian’s behaviour yet again. She was having trouble keeping up with his moods lately and it was doing her head in somewhat.

  ‘That was a waste of time,’ she said, slumping into her chair.

  ‘We are just clutching at straws now,’ Adrian said.

  ‘What’s left but clutching at straws? Angela Corrigan is too resigned to her fate to put up a fight. She absolutely won’t tell us anything. She put her life in danger by even mentioning Clive Osborne to us and we have found nothing.’

  ‘Self-preservation wins out in the end. She has no faith that we can deal with her husband and so she is making sure she is safe. If Corrigan did kill both Glover and Osborne for trying to get her away from him, then it’s hardly surprising that she doesn’t want to drag anyone else into it,’ Adrian said, thinking of the price he had paid for trying to help Angela.

  ‘She seems to be the catalyst for everything he does,’ Imogen said. ‘She’s the key to all of this. We either need to get her to talk, or we need to get her away from him. His fear of losing her seems to be the thing driving him to all these vile acts.’

  ‘Easier said than done,’ Adrian said.

  He didn’t want to go anywhere near her house in case Corrigan was there. He had absolutely no idea what he would do if he was confronted with him. Would he fall apart, or would he try to kill him? In his mind, Adrian knew he wasn’t ready for that conversation just yet.

  ‘Let’s get right into her background, then. She can’t be completely without family. There is always someone, somewhere. I’ll ask Gary if he can find anything.’

  ‘What about Corrigan? Does he have any family anywhere?’ Adrian asked.

  ‘None that we have found. They both seem to exist in this little microcosm together and anyone who gets in the way ends up very badly hurt or worse.’

  ‘We need to give her something before we can get her to talk to us properly. So that she knows we are doing everything we can. Some kind of hope that this time will be different, that he won’t get away with it.’

  ‘Except we have nothing of the kind. Every path we have is a dead end. Is he going to be the one who gets away?’ Imogen said.

  ‘Not if I can help it,’ Adrian said.

  She believed him.

  Imogen’s phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the screen.

  ‘Detective Hasan,’ she said as she answered, ‘has there been a development?’

  ‘Yes, actually, the dogs have found something.’

  ‘A body?’

  ‘Maybe. We haven’t got to it yet. Mrs Parkins remembered that Corrigan’s greenhouse was also installed a few months before they moved in. She said they were able to use the five-year warranty to get some of the panes fixed when a branch broke through it in a storm. We think there might be something underneath it. The dogs seem to think so, too.’

  ‘How long until you know for sure?’

  ‘They are disassembling the greenhouse now. Once that is done, we can start to dig. If there’s a body, depending on how deep it is buried, it could be anywhere between one or four hours, I think, going by past incidents like this. It also depends on the condition of the body and whether or not it’s been preserved or wrapped in any way, which will make it much easier to move in one piece. I will get it straight to the pathologist for analysis.’

  ‘Thanks for keeping me updated. This could crack our case wide open,’ Imogen said.

  ‘Glad to help. I’ll call you as soon as we know something.’

  She hung up and looked at Adrian, who was just staring at the report in front of him; although he didn’t seem to be reading it.

  ‘They think they found something up in the house in Oswestry.’

  ‘I thought that was a dead end?’

  ‘Well, it was in the garden. The wife remembered that the greenhouse was almost new when they moved in. He’s going to call back when they have something. You know what this means, though, don’t you?’

  ‘We need to verify and then get an ID on that body before we start counting our chickens.’

  ‘Let’s go and grab Jimmy Chilton,’ Imogen said. ‘He knows more than he is letting on. Walsh and I spoke to him before, and he told us he was going to tell us who was doing Corrigan’s dirty work for him.’

  Imogen wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw the tiniest flash of something in Adrian’s eyes. Was she being paranoid now? Was she seeing things that weren’t there? She must have looked concerned, because Adrian offered her a weak smile.

  ‘He was probably just stalling for time,’ he said.

  ‘Maybe. Let’s find out.’

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Adrian thumped on the door to Jimmy Chilton’s house. It was afternoon and there was no indication that anyone was there. Still, Adrian had a bad feeling – not entirely unusual these days but still, something was off to him. He cupped his hands around his eyes and pressed them up against the glass part of the front door. There was no movement inside.

  ‘The receptionist said he was home,’ Imogen said.

  ‘Apparently. Said he left a little while after ten this morning.’

  ‘If he’s not here, then where is he?’

  ‘At the Corrigans’?’ Adrian said.

  ‘I doubt it; I think he was finally wising up to the fact that Corrigan wasn’t going to be getting away with this for ever.’

  ‘I’ll check the perimeter.’

  Adrian walked to the side of the house. The bins were leaning against the wall and he could see through the side gate into the garden. No activity there, either.

  At the other side of the house he noticed the garage door was jutting out a little at the bottom, as though unable to close properly. He lay flat on the ground and looked underneath. The car was inside but it was sticking out further than it should and the garage door was closed down on it. The room was dark, so Adrian fished around inside his back pocket and pulled his phone out.

  The light from his phone torch illuminated the floor. He could see paint pots in the corners, smashed glass on the floor. He thought he could see a boot by the front wheel. He couldn’t quite tell if the boot was on a foot or not. There was barely any room to get in or out of the car. What was going on? There was enough space for him to slide un
derneath, but he would have just ended up under the car.

  ‘Give me a hand with this,’ he called to Imogen.

  He grabbed the edge of the garage door and pulled upwards, trying to force it far enough so they could at least see inside the car. Imogen grabbed the other side and pulled with him. The mechanism groaned and creaked, but eventually the door was past the boot.

  Adrian looked through the back and front windscreen to see Jimmy Chilton slumped over the bonnet. The windscreen had been smashed to let whoever was driving the car out and the door to the inside of the house was open.

  ‘It’s Chilton,’ he called to Imogen. ‘He’s in there. Phone it in and call an ambulance. Someone’s going to have to move this car. I’m going to go around the back of the house and see if there is another way into the garage.’

  ‘Be careful,’ Imogen said, pulling out her phone.

  Adrian heard her on the phone to the station as he zipped past the bins on the other side of the house and opened the gate into the garden. He ran around to the kitchen door which, fortunately, was just a latch lock.

  Adrian took his coat off and wrapped it around his fist before punching through the small pane of glass. Reaching inside, he unclipped the latch and let himself into the kitchen. Before venturing into the garage, Adrian opened the front door so Imogen could get inside the house; he didn’t want to walk into that garage alone.

  They found Jimmy Chilton pressed up against the wall, his legs invisible to them, his body sprouted from the headlamp.

  ‘He didn’t do this to himself,’ Adrian said.

  ‘Do you want to check his pulse or should I?’ Imogen said.

  ‘Either way, he’s a dead man,’ Adrian said quietly, in case by some miracle Jimmy could hear them.

  Adrian had seen something like this when he had just joined the police, back when he was a PC. He had held the hand of the man until they moved the car, at which point he died instantly. Adrian reached across the bonnet, his fingers barely touching Jimmy’s wrist. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he could feel a faint pulse. It was a blessing that he wasn’t conscious, at least.

  This must be one of the worst ways to go, just waiting and knowing that you are going to die – the car a part of your body and the only thing completing the circuit and allowing you not to bleed to death.

  ‘How long do you think he’s been like this?’ Imogen said.

  ‘I don’t know. We know he left work at ten and it’s a twenty-minute drive, assuming he came straight home. It’s coming up to two o’clock now – around three hours, give or take. I hope he passed out soon after. His pulse is very weak, but it’s there.’

  ‘He’s facing the car, so he saw it coming,’ Imogen said.

  ‘Someone might have seen something.’

  ‘I doubt it. Corrigan is always so careful. We can get the uniforms to canvas the neighbourhood. I think we can safely assume this was Corrigan’s doing. Maybe Chilton got those names for us in the end. Or Corrigan just decided he didn’t trust him anymore.’

  ‘It might be enough to persuade Angela Corrigan to speak to us,’ Adrian said.

  ‘Add to that the body they are digging up in Oswestry, she might,’ Imogen said hopefully.

  ‘Even if we can prove it is Clive Osborne’s body, what are the chances of us being able to pin the murder on him? He is one slippery customer,’ Adrian said.

  He wasn’t sure he even wanted Corrigan to go to prison. Men like that thrive on the inside.

  ‘We should go and speak to Angela again, after we go back and brief the DCI. She said she wanted information on any major developments. I would say this is pretty major.’ Imogen stood up. ‘You coming?’

  ‘Did they give you a time on the ambulance?’

  ‘It should be here within ten minutes, they said. The uniformed police might take a little longer.’

  ‘You want to go back and brief the DCI without me? I’ll stay with him. I can get a lift back to the station with one of the uniforms,’ Adrian said, hoping she would say yes.

  He wasn’t even cleared for duty yet. The truth was he didn’t want to see Reece Corrigan.

  ‘Actually, I might. I just need to pop home and get something,’ Imogen said.

  Adrian was alone in the garage with Jimmy Chilton’s broken body. He had obviously outlived his usefulness. Could Corrigan feel the net closing in on him? Is that why his behaviour was getting more rash? He must have known this would come back to him.

  Chilton groaned and started to stir. His eyes opened and Adrian could see the exact moment when he realised that he was going to die. He looked up and saw Adrian.

  ‘It’s OK, there’s an ambulance on its way,’ Adrian said, knowing that the ambulance wouldn’t be able to save Chilton but wanting to give him some hope.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Chilton said breathlessly.

  Adrian had no idea what he was saying sorry for.

  ‘Just hang in there.’

  Adrian leaned across the bonnet and took hold of Chilton’s hand. No one deserved to go like this.

  ‘I tried to tell Reece to stop, told him I was going to tell you …’ he trailed off.

  ‘Tell me what?’

  What was Chilton talking about? Was he talking about what happened to Adrian? Did he know something? Did Adrian want to know what he knew? Chilton wasn’t going to live through this, Adrian knew that much, and so now might be the only chance he had to ask the question.

  ‘Jimmy. What are you sorry for?’

  ‘I should never have covered for him. Angela … she shouldn’t be there …’

  ‘What about Angela?’ Adrian said, almost relieved that Jimmy had probably been talking about her all along. Glad he didn’t have to confront his situation right now.

  ‘I didn’t know at first. I should have stopped him when I found out …’ Jimmy whispered before losing consciousness again.

  Was Jimmy talking about the domestic abuse or something else?

  Sirens approached the house as soon as he had finished the sentence. The ambulance had arrived, although the chances of them being able to help Jimmy now were worse than slim.

  Adrian stood up and took a deep breath before stepping away from Chilton’s barely living body so the paramedics could get to him and see if they could do anything. He watched Imogen drive away and was immediately flooded with a mixture of relief and guilt. He knew he wasn’t being fair to her. He just didn’t know how to be any way else right now. He was trying to get back to the man he used to be.

  The paramedic looked up and shook his head. There was no hope for Jimmy. If they could just get Angela to testify, they could stop Reece Corrigan. Adrian daren’t get his hopes up at this point, but there it was. It seemed as though they might actually have a chance to nail this shitbag.

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  In the car, Imogen was grateful to be away from Adrian. Constantly second-guessing everything he said or did wasn’t doing either of them any good. She was annoyed with herself for looking at his phone. He wouldn’t cheat on her, she knew he wouldn’t. So why did that nagging voice in her head refuse to give her a moment’s peace?

  Instead of driving down towards the station, she doubled back and drove to Wonford Hospital instead. What on earth did she think she was going to find there?

  She parked in the car park nearest the ambulance bay, knowing that Dr Hadley was usually in accident and emergency. This was stupid. If Adrian found out about this, he would be really pissed off with her, especially as she already knew he wasn’t cheating on her.

  She knew it. Didn’t she? But then, why so many phone calls between them over the last few weeks? Had he turned to Dr Hadley after their argument at the Corrigan house? Is that where he went? Is that when it started? That seemed to be the moment when everything changed between them. Why couldn’t she just keep her stupid mouth shut? She shouldn’t be so paranoid about his history with the doctor; it was one date that Adrian had claimed was a real non-starter. Furious with herself, Imogen had to kno
w for sure; she had to speak to Zoe Hadley for herself.

  ‘Is Dr Hadley in?’ Imogen asked the receptionist, showing her warrant card.

  ‘I’ll get her for you. Take a seat; she might be a few minutes.’

  The row of plastic seating was empty, a quiet night in A & E. She sat on the last seat nearest the exit, in case she changed her mind and decided to flee before Dr Hadley emerged from the belly of the hospital.

  Too late.

  ‘DS Grey. What are you doing here?’

  She hadn’t even considered what she was going to say when asked that question. What the hell was she doing here? She stood up and walked over to where Dr Hadley was standing.

  ‘I … There’s no easy way to ask this.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘Are you seeing DS Miles again?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean, I heard some rumours around the office that you two were seeing each other. You know, like, dating,’ Imogen said, unsure why she could claim that was any of her business even if it was true.

  ‘No,’ Dr Hadley answered. ‘I don’t know how much he told you about when we went out that one time, but it was not something either of us wanted to repeat. But what if we were seeing each other? Would that be a problem?’ Dr Hadley folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

  ‘No, no, of course not. I just wanted to let you know he was ill.’

  ‘Yes, I know, thank you. He came into A & E when he fractured that rib. I saw to him then.’

  ‘Of course, sorry.’

  She could see a look of suspicion on Dr Hadley’s face. It suddenly occurred to her that the doctor could easily tell Adrian that she had been in here, checking up on him. She really wished she had thought this one through. Adrian made her a bit crazy, she had decided.

  ‘I was just passing, so I thought I would come and ask you. He’s really been quite poorly. I wondered if you could give me any advice on how to help him recover faster.’ Good one, Imogen.