BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book 1)

by Rebecca Bradley

  She had to get moving if she was to do everything she needed: to update Sharpe and also to appraise herself of where the location of the meet was. She wanted to make sure she arrived in plenty of time, calm and organised. Quickly she dialled the Crime Scene Unit and informed them there was a letter on her desk that needed processing.

  The next stop was Sharpe. Claudia printed out the photographed letter and with hot paper in hand she ran up the stairs to Sharpe’s office. Her head was spinning with fear and anticipation of what the next hour was going to look like. The apprehension of how this would go down with the Sheffield Strangler, and of locating Ruth wherever she may be and whatever state she may be in.

  Maxine, Sharpe’s PA, was at her desk and Claudia could see beyond her into Sharpe’s office. It was empty. Claudia’s veins ran cold.

  ‘Where is she? I need to see her, urgently,’ she said as Maxine looked up.

  ‘She’s on her way back from a meeting with Connelly and the PCC. She shouldn’t be long.’

  Claudia paced backwards and forwards in front of Maxine’s desk. ‘How long do you think she’s going to be?’

  Maxine looked at the clock on her computer monitor then shook her head. ‘I really couldn’t say. She sent me a text when she was leaving to say she was on her way back. That was about twenty minutes ago.’

  Claudia, desperate to get to the cemetery on time and not miss the Strangler, shifted impatiently in front of Maxine’s desk. It was urgent that she had backup. She needed to let Sharpe know about the meeting. Yes, she could organise the backup herself in normal circumstances, but these weren’t normal circumstances, she was on the clock. She needed to be doing other things and allowing someone else, someone higher up, to be organising the support. Plus, Sharpe really needed to be in the know.

  She looked into the room again. Nothing had changed. The chair behind Sharpe’s desk was still sitting empty.

  ‘Do you want to leave a message?’ Maxine asked as Claudia paced past her desk once more.

  Claudia scrubbed a hand through her hair. She needed to identify the meeting place and she also had to put a call in to her dad. He deserved to know what was happening after what he’d gone through yesterday. She checked her watch, looked to the empty office and then to Maxine.

  ‘No, I’ll call her. It’s too important.’

  Maxine went back to her work and Claudia dialled Sharpe’s number.

  As soon as the phone started to ring, Claudia realised she was holding her breath. Her chest was tight and the air around her suddenly seemed far too hot. Slowly she let it out as she paced in front of Maxine’s desk waiting for Sharpe to pick up.

  The ringtone cut off sharply with no answer, not even voicemail. She tried again, and again there was no response.

  Maxine looked up at her a question in her eyes.

  ‘I think she’s on another call,’ said Claudia. ‘She’s not picking up.’

  Claudia tried again. Where the hell was she? Again the call ended with no connection.

  She had no choice. She had to move on this, regardless of the difficulties with Sharpe. It went against everything she was but it had to be this way.

  Claudia wanted to pull her hair out.

  ‘Maxine, I have to go but I need you to pass on a message the second Sharpe steps foot through that door.’ Claudia urgently needed the backup organising, but if she didn’t leave now then she’d miss him. ‘Don’t let her start issuing orders on anything else. Interrupt her if you have to.’

  Maxine frowned.

  ‘You’ll understand why when I tell you.’

  Maxine picked up her pen and readied herself to take dictation. A minute later Claudia was reading back the note. Then she handed over the photocopy of the letter to go with it, thanked the woman and ran back down the stairs to her office.

  The next thing to do was find out where she was going and plan her route. Her mind jittered as she waited for the computer to chug through the screens as she searched for her destination. Eventually she had another printout in hand. Placing it on her desk she pulled her phone out of her pocket. This call was going to be difficult.

  She dialled the number and he picked up straight away.

  ‘Have you heard anything?’

  ‘No, I’m sorry, Dad, not yet.’

  The line went quiet.

  ‘Did you manage to get any sleep?’ she asked. Knowing he would have had very little if her night was anything to go by.

  ‘I had some.’ He was trying to make her feel okay. She wasn’t going to call him out on it. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ she lied. ‘It’s just something has come up I thought you should know about. It’s a little . . .’ She paused, the fact that this really was not in the rulebook needling at her. More silence played out along the network line as she tried to figure out how to phrase it and how much to tell him. She had called him too quickly before she had thought it through.

  ‘What is it?’ Dominic asked.

  Claudia read the letter on her phone again, scared by the implications it held. Scared for Ruth and scared for what she was about to do.

  ‘You’re worrying me,’ Dominic said.

  ‘Don’t worry. It’s just that something came up this morning and it’s a little out of the usual lines of policing, but it might help us to locate Ruth.’

  ‘You’re going to do it?’

  ‘Of course I am. If it will help get Ruth back, then I’m all in.’

  ‘What is it? How far outside of the lines are you colouring, Claudia? Is it dangerous?’ He’d asked the most pertinent question last of all. How was she supposed to answer? She didn’t believe she was in danger. The man wanted to prove a point, have a discussion with her. He was obviously getting agitated about a cop being involved, it was doubtful he was going to involve another cop in his evil games. These were things she was telling herself.

  ‘I can’t give you the details. I don’t want to involve you. Look at yesterday, you’re already too far involved in this as it is. It’s pretty far outside the lines but it’s worth it if it pays off, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘I want Ruth back, Claudia, but not at the expense of you. Whatever it is, don’t do it.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Dad. Take care of yourself today, okay. And I’ll call you later and let you know if I have anything.’ She hung up the call.

  She hadn’t meant to scare him the way she just had, but she figured he deserved to know what was happening, especially with what he went through yesterday.

  Now she was ready, it was time to leave and meet the Sheffield Strangler in person. This was their chance to catch him and to find Ruth.

  As she travelled her nerves started to get the better of her. So many things could go wrong: he could fail to turn up; this could be a trap of some description that she couldn’t figure out because they didn’t have enough time; he could spot the cops in their hiding places and make a run for it and they lose their chance to not only arrest the Strangler but lose their chance to locate Ruth, and that was all Claudia was really interested in today.

  Police operations took a huge amount of effort and planning. Usually days. This was set up ridiculously quickly. A message for Sharpe and rushing out the door hoping the backup could get there in time. If anyone was capable of doing it Sharpe was that person.

  She drove out to Cemetery Avenue, parked up and left her vehicle, checking her phone as she walked to see if Sharpe had given her any specific operational directions. Claudia’s main objective was to locate Ruth but if Sharpe had pushed this up the chain and Connelly had got involved then just making the arrest of the killer who had been terrorising the city for the last six months might be their main concern. Her nerves were getting the better of her. Her heart thundered in her chest and her mouth was like a desert.

  There was nothing on her phone.

  This didn’t feel right but she had to trust that Sharpe wouldn’t leave her out here alone.

  Was the Sheffield Str
angler really going to meet her and allow her to see his face? He would be known, and she would be able to identify him for the other murders. Unless of course this was a hoax, someone else not the killer, who was wasting her time. Wanting to be involved in the police investigation. She hadn’t considered this. Though the public didn’t know how he communicated with them so that was something on his side. But without direct communication there was no way she could prove one way or the other until he got here. And hopefully, face or not, they were going to be able to make an arrest anyway.

  Nerves ran through her veins. Itching like a clutter of spiders running rampant as she walked through the Egyptian Gate into the cemetery, the richly ornamented gate bearing snakes with tails in their mouths did little to ease her nerves. She had to get herself under control.

  Claudia followed his instructions, taking a dirt track that would lead to the chapel. The sun was breaking through the clouds, making Claudia feel unreasonably warm and uncomfortable. She took several turns until she was in a part of the cemetery that didn’t look as cared for and was more discreet. She looked at her watch. It was two minutes past eleven. There was no sign of anyone around. Had she missed him? Was he so punctual that her tardiness had prevented her helping Ruth? Sweat beaded at the base of her neck and slipped down her spine. She’d wait and rely on the fact he said he was coming.

  Claudia hoped her backup was silently stashed away where no one could see them — including her. She didn’t like the idea of standing out here alone waiting for a killer.

  Chapter 51

  Claudia

  Claudia checked her watch again — seven minutes past. How long would she wait? She was prepared to wait as long as it took if it would get her to the truth about Ruth. But how long exactly was ‘as long as it took’?

  And although she was hopeful, she couldn’t spot any sign of her support team hiding out behind overgrown tombs or leaning headstones, waiting to pounce at the earliest opportunity.

  Claudia pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialled Sharpe. She picked up on the first ring.

  ‘Ma’am, it’s Claudia.’ She kept her voice low in case she should be interrupted, in case he was listening, waiting to see if they had prepared this.

  ‘Why are you whispering, Claudia?’

  ‘I’m at the cemetery.’

  ‘The cemetery? Why? Is this something I should be aware of?’

  A stone-cold brick landed in Claudia’s stomach. ‘Where’s Maxine?’

  ‘Oh, she had to dash off, her daughter fell off some bars or something in gym class at school. Broken her arm and banged her head pretty badly. Apparently the poor girl was unconscious for a while. Maxine was in floods of tears when I arrived back from my meeting. She’d only just found out. I had to get someone to take her, she was in no state to drive herself.’

  Claudia looked around at the cold grey stones littering the ground — the silent empty grounds of the cemetery.

  She was alone.

  It was then she heard the heavy footsteps. She froze. The blood rushing through her veins turning to ice as the sun shone down on her. It was only now she realised what a dangerous move this was. How stupid she’d been not to have organised this herself. Was she about to become the next victim? Was she about to meet Ruth trussed up in a warehouse somewhere, where no one would hear her screams?

  Her breath caught in her chest and she ended the call and placed the phone back in her pocket and, as she did, she checked for the CS cannister she’d placed there before leaving the station. The cold solidity of the metal cannister in her hand provided security and some resolve.

  She could do this. She had to do this.

  ‘DI Nunn, I presume.’ The voice was close and behind her. She could almost feel the warmth of his breath against her neck, the small hairs rose in response and she shuddered. She was alone with him.

  There was no support team. Maxine hadn’t passed on her message. Sharpe was unaware where she was or what she was doing. If this went wrong, then she was gone. She had no one to rely on but herself so she had to pull herself together because this was now life or death.

  Her life.

  Her death.

  She spun around, dirt kicking up from below her boots.

  The male was about six feet tall, dressed in jeans and a light jumper with a plain white plastic mask over his face. It looked out of place in the middle of the day and in a cemetery like this, and though his face was obscured, he nevertheless managed to make her skin crawl. His hair, she could see over the top of it, was short and dark, peppered with silver at the sides.

  In his gloved hand was a large bladed knife. The silver-coloured blade currently pointing down following the line of his leg. His grip seemed relaxed.

  Her stomach twisted and her legs started to shake as they held her upright. This had been a stupid move. She would not let him take her. Had he brought her here so he could have two cops and not just the one?

  Had she really been that stupid?

  He saw her eyes find the knife. ‘It’s insurance. I’m not here to hurt you, but I’m not here to be taken in, you understand.’ His eyes flicked around the grounds. Happy they were still alone, he focused back on Claudia.

  ‘I thought you weren’t coming.’ It was all she could do to make her voice level and calm when inside she was shaking and struggling to hold it together.

  ‘I had to make sure you followed instructions and didn’t bring anyone with you. I’m glad to see you listened to me.’

  It hadn’t been on purpose. How angry she was with herself. ‘How do I know you’re really him?’ She had little doubt but it needed clarifying.

  ‘Because you haven’t released the significant part of my MO to the public. I leave a very specific lipstick at the scene.’

  A shiver travelled down her spine. Her already unstable legs made even more unusable. She was standing in front of the Sheffield Strangler. She could hear the rumble of traffic on the road in the distance and it reminded her how fragile she was here right now.

  She shoved her hands into her pockets, gripped the CS cannister, inhaled, tried to get a tight hold of herself. She was a cop not some innocent woman who hadn’t known what was coming. She wouldn’t be easy to take.

  But neither, she imagined, had Ruth been.

  The blade on the knife looked lethal. Long, sleek, sharp. ‘Why did you want to see me?’

  ‘I don’t like being blamed for work I haven’t done. I haven’t taken your cop. You need to look elsewhere.’ He sounded serious. This was not something he wanted laying at his door.

  ‘But there are signs it is you, how can you prove it’s not?’ She wanted answers and he was here, prepared to give her them. The shaking in her legs started to quiet down. It was a unique opportunity even if she was unable to take him in on her own. She certainly had no intention of getting into a knife fight with him when no one knew she was here. Again she kicked herself for how wrong this had gone. All she could do was make the most of the situation in front of her.

  ‘Your cop is married to the officer hunting me, is she not?’

  ‘You know she is.’

  ‘Then I also know she has no children.’

  Claudia frowned. ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ The interview with Dominic came back to her, the profile for the Sheffield Strangler. The women had children.

  ‘I’m doing it for the children. So they don’t suffer like I did.’

  ‘CLAUDIA!’ There was a sudden shout from the distance. Panic and fear in the sound.

  Claudia turned to look. Someone was running towards her. Too far away to make out who it was. She hadn’t told anyone about the meeting. Someone could have been in her drawer and found the letter . . .

  The knife suddenly shot out towards her. ‘You said you came alone!’

  Claudia’s hands flew out of her pockets in submission, raised to her shoulders, the cannister gripped in her hand, the lid popped and ready to emit its violent spray. ‘I did. I don’t know how
he’s here. I didn’t bring him, you have to believe me.’ This couldn’t be happening. She nearly had answers. It was falling apart. How could she stop this? She’d wanted support but now she wanted answers about Ruth.

  He took a step toward her, the blade of the knife twisting in his hand as it edged closer.

  Claudia automatically took a step back. ‘Tell me how I can know you don’t have her!’ She had to salvage something from this meeting.

  The man was nearly on them, his footsteps echoing loud on the compact ground in the quiet space. His shouts of ‘Claudia’ ringing out around them.

  The man in the mask turned away, ready to run.

  ‘Tell me!’ Claudia begged, desperation tearing at the edges of her voice.

  He turned back to her briefly. ‘Ruth doesn’t have children. Haven’t you noticed that all the victims have had one or more children? There’s a reason for that and if there’s ever a day that you catch me you may very well find out what that reason is. But for now, you have to trust that I wouldn’t kill unless the woman had a child.’ And with that he was running in the opposite direction to the man who had appeared.

  Then he was there on top of her. He grabbed Claudia by her arms. Gripped her tightly, fingers squeezing and digging into flesh. ‘Claudia, what the hell!’

  She rounded on him, all fear gone the way of the man she had been talking with. It had been replaced with fury. Red-hot rage. ‘Dad, what the fuck? What are you doing here? You just blew it. He’s gone. He was talking to me and now he’s gone.’ She screamed at him, frustration driving her forward. She pulled her arms out of his grasp. He had no claim on her. And why was he so panicked about her doing her job?

  Dominic stepped back. ‘You were talking to . . .’ He paused. Searched for a word. ‘A maniac.’ Then he went with it. ‘It wasn’t safe, Claudia. It’s a good job I followed you from the nick. You could’ve been the next person he took and I don’t think I could’ve lived with that. I’ve already lost Ruth to him; I couldn’t lose you as well.’