No Hiding Place: An edge of your seat mystery/thriller. (DI Sally Parker thrillers Book 2)

by M A Comley

  “Okay, I have his address. Want to take the two cars again?”

  “Makes sense, and then we can go our separate ways afterwards.”

  “I’ll lead the way then,” Jack suggested.

  Sally waited for Jack to drive past her. She tailed him through the windy country lanes until they finally arrived at Taylor Hew’s address. The gated house was spectacular; white with rounded windows sitting under an impressive reed-thatched roof. Jack joined her as she got out of her car. “Bloody hell. I think I’m in the wrong career.”

  “We both are, Jack. I can’t see his car anywhere. Can you?”

  “It could be in a garage. Hard to see what’s on the other side of the wall from here. Let me try the intercom.”

  Sally got up close to the gate and strained her neck when she tried to look around the front wall, alongside the gates, of the impressive house. It proved to be a waste of time.

  “No answer. Looks like your first assumption was accurate. Maybe he’s out on the prowl for his next victim.”

  “You can cut that out, matey. We don’t know he’s guilty of anything other than talking to Gemma yet. Let’s hold fire on casting such aspersions for now, okay?”

  Jack shrugged. “Okay. What do you want to do now?”

  “We should call it a day. Maybe get on to the station again, ask uniform to keep an eye out for the car. There can’t be that many Porsches in the area. We can come back tomorrow to question Taylor Hew.”

  Sally got out of the car at her parents’ home and paused when she heard the commotion coming from the kitchen. She slipped her key in the door and stood in the hallway, listening to her parents arguing. Dex ran up the hallway to greet her. She placed a finger to her mouth and told her faithful companion to be quiet. He rolled over and demanded a tummy tickle while she continued to listen to the confrontation her parents were having.

  “Don’t give me that same old excuse, Christopher. That bloody job has been half-completed for months now. I’m fed up with tripping over that damn pipework. You promised me you’d have it finished by the start of the summer, and now we’re swiftly moving into the autumn.”

  “But, Janine, you know my circumstances. The paid work has to come first. Either that or the bank is liable to repossess the house.”

  “And whose bloody fault is that? I told you—no, I begged you—not to take out that blasted loan last year. I’m nearing sixty, for Christ’s sake! The last thing I wanted was any kind of mortgage or loan around my neck at my age. I should never have listened to you in the first place.”

  Sally’s eyes teared up. She had no idea her parents were riddled with debt. She knew her father had been ripped off by someone he’d carried out some building work for the previous year, but her parents had kept from her the fact that they were short of money. She wished she could help them out financially, but Darryl had left her high and dry in that respect. Hence the tiny flat in Norwich.

  Dex’s moaning increased. He was such a sensitive soul; hated the sound of raised voices. Sally decided that she’d heard enough and walked into the kitchen, where she found her parents on opposite sides of the room, glaring at each other.

  Her mother’s mouth dropped open the second she saw Sally. Recovering well, she said, “Hello, darling, not as late as you anticipated then, after all.”

  “Cut the crap, Mum. I heard you arguing. Why didn’t you tell me things were so bad?”

  Her father cleared his throat then threw himself into a chair at the table. “To be frank with you, love, it’s none of your concern. You’ve had more than enough shit of your own to deal with this year. Why should we heap our burdens on your young shoulders, too?”

  Sally walked over, placed a gentle arm around her mother’s shoulder, and guided her to the table. After pushing her into the chair next to her father, Sally sat down opposite them and reached for each of their hands. Her father’s was hot and sticky, which immediately caused her to worry about his heart. He’d had serious health issues over recent years and was still under the specialist. “Okay, you guys need to listen very carefully to what I have to say, without interruptions.”

  Both her parents nodded and took turns sighing heavily.

  “We’ll listen, although I have a feeling we’re going to feel like chastised children at the end of our little chat,” her mother said, her own eyes moist with tears.

  “If you think that, Mum, then you really don’t know me well.”

  Her mother opened her mouth to speak again, but Sally issued her a warning glance, and her mother reconsidered her actions.

  “I’m disappointed that you have let things slip to this stage. You should have told me, even asked my advice. Whether you care to admit it or not, I’m a grown woman, not a child anymore. Yes, I’ve had my problems this year. However, that doesn’t mean that I have to wallow in self-pity and ignore what is piling high on your plates at the moment. If you need financial help, then I’m going to give it to you. No arguments, you hear me? Don’t answer that—it was a rhetorical question. Thanks to your kindness, I moved in a few months back when I was in trouble. If you’ll have me back, I propose giving up my teeny-weeny flat and move in here. How about that? Will you have me?”

  Tears flowed freely from her mother’s eyes, and she grabbed her husband’s hand. “Only if you’re one hundred percent sure, darling.”

  “I agree, with one stipulation,” her father stated.

  Sally tilted her head. “What’s that, Dad?”

  “That your name goes on the deeds of the house.”

  Her mother glanced sharply his way then back at Sally. “What a great idea. That would work well for all of us.”

  “I was going to suggest that I should take over the mortgage payments. I’m doubtful about my name appearing on the deeds, though.”

  Her mother’s beautiful smile returned, pushing aside the tension that had crumpled her forehead moments earlier. “It makes sense. Although, I do think we should contemplate going halves on the mortgage repayments. I’d hate to feel as though we were using you, love.”

  “No, Mum. It’s all or nothing. I take it the house would be left to me in your wills anyway, so all we’ll be doing is bringing the date forward, yes?”

  Her father left his chair and circled the table. He pulled Sally to her feet and squeezed her in a suffocating hug. “I can’t thank you enough for this, love. If it hadn’t been for that bastard ripping me off last year, we wouldn’t be in this mess. That’ll teach me not to trust folk again.”

  “No good blaming yourself, Dad. Doing this will benefit all of us in the long run. I miss you guys and the little man over there.” Sally looked over at Dex curled up on his bed, eyeing them all, wondering what was going on. “I’ll make an appointment to see the bank manager as soon as I can, although I have another big case to contend with as of today. I’ll tell you about it after dinner. Come on, Mum, shake a leg. I’m ravenous.”

  “Cheeky! It’s all ready, love. It just needs zapping for a few minutes. Christopher, I know we don’t usually drink during the week, but this is cause for a celebration. Break open that good bottle of wine we’ve been saving for a special occasion.”

  Sally’s father didn’t need telling twice. While Sally took the glasses from the glass cupboard in the kitchen, her father sought out and opened the nice bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape Sally herself had bought her parents a few years earlier.

  What started out as a gloomy evening turned into a lovely family get-together full of happy memories. Bedtime loomed before Sally realised she hadn’t told her parents about the case she was working on. After inviting herself to stay in the spare room, she decided to leave the conversation until the morning.

  She sorted out a suitable change of clothes from the spare outfits she kept at the house then spent the night cuddled up to Dex. He moaned contentedly in her arms until they both fell asleep.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Sally left the house at seven thirty the next morning. The storm clouds that acc
ompanied her to work did little to spoil her happy mood. Her heart was lighter after she’d seen the broad smiles plastered on her parents’ faces, over the swift breakfast she’d consumed at her mother’s insistence.

  Jack’s car was already in the car park when she arrived, so she made her way up to the incident room alone for a change. “Morning, Jack. Find a snake in your bed or something?”

  “Ha, ha! I’ve been known to arrive before you on a few occasions. No need to make a big deal out of it.”

  “That’ll be very few occasions. Any news on Taylor Hew from the night patrol?”

  “Nothing. He didn’t return home last night. Should we go out there this morning?”

  “That’s what I was thinking, unless something major crops up. Want a coffee?”

  “Thanks.”

  Sally walked over to the vending machine and bought two coffees. She placed one on Jack’s desk and took the other one through to her office to aid her in her attempt to tackle the morning post. About an hour into the chore, Sally’s office phone rang. “Hello, DI Parker.”

  “Ma’am, we had an incident reported overnight that I think you should be aware of,” the female voice on control informed her.

  “What kind of incident? A murder?”

  “No, ma’am. It does look like an attempted murder, though. The victim is in hospital.”

  “And you think this is related to the murder enquiry we’re dealing with at the moment?”

  “I think there are similarities, ma’am. Thought you should know right away.”

  “Okay, I’ll look into it. Give me the details of the attack and the hospital the victim is in.”

  After jotting down the details of the incident, Sally hung up and shouted for Jack to join her.

  He swiftly appeared in the doorway, wearing one of his notorious frowns. “You hollered, boss?”

  “Get ready to go, Jack. I’ve just been informed about a brutal attack on a young woman. The attack took place down a country lane. Sound familiar?”

  “Bloody hell. Are we talking about the same vicinity here?”

  “Not far. I suppose ten miles away. The intriguing part is that it appears to be the same kind of attack. Anyway, we’ll head out to the hospital and see for ourselves. Give me five minutes, okay?”

  “Sure. Do you have the name of the victim? I’ll do a quick search before we head off.”

  “Julie Smith. That’d be a help, thanks.”

  Sally quickly signed a few forms and put the sheets of paper in her out tray to deal with upon her return. Then she slipped on the jacket to her trouser suit and left the office. Jack followed her down to the car, filling her in on what information he’d managed to gather.

  “Looks like she’s single and lives not far from where the incident occurred, just like Gemma Whiting.”

  “Interesting. Especially after we found out that Taylor Hew didn’t return home last night. Maybe we should put out an alert for him before we leave.”

  “Sticky ground for yanking him in.”

  “Yeah, I know. We could get uniform to keep an eye open for him and keep him under observation until we can get to him.”

  “Why uniform? Why not put either Jordan or Stuart on the task?”

  By then, they had reached Sally’s car. “Okay, you organise that for me, Jack, while I drive.”

  At the hospital, Sally showed the parking attendant her ID, and he told her to park at the rear. She and Jack rushed into the reception area and asked the receptionist what ward they could find Julie Smith in. It took a few minutes for the woman to find the patient in the system. Eventually, she told them that Julie had been placed in the Intensive Care Unit, and issued them with instructions on how to locate the ward. When they exited the lift, they found a doctor and nurse going through a patient’s care at the desk outside the ICU ward.

  “Hello, I’m DI Sally Parker, and this is DS Jack Blackman. We’re here concerning the attack on Julie Smith. Can you tell us how she is?”

  “I’m Dr. Carter. She’s in a very sorry state, I’m afraid. Fractured skull and cheek. Broken arm, and we believe there is some internal bleeding.”

  “Ouch! I don’t suppose she’s conscious, is she?”

  “No, and she’s not likely to be for a few days at least, taking into consideration the injuries she’s suffered.”

  “How awful. What are the chances of her pulling through, Doc?”

  “Speaking realistically, I’d say about sixty percent, Inspector. It’s the fractured skull I’m more concerned about right now. If a bleed appears, then that could be very dangerous indeed. She’s under regular surveillance, and her vital signs are being monitored every thirty minutes without fail.”

  “So there’s no point in us hanging around, hoping she’ll regain consciousness?”

  “I wouldn’t waste your time, Inspector. I’d be out there, looking for the culprit instead.”

  “Okay. Can I leave you my card? Any news whatsoever, good or bad, would you contact me immediately?”

  The doctor took the card from Sally and gave it to the nurse. “Of course. I hope you find the vile person who did this, Inspector, and quickly.”

  “So do I, Doctor.”

  Outside, in the car park, Jack complained, “Well, that was a waste of a morning.”

  “All right, Jack, no need to state the obvious. Let’s get back to the station, see if Stuart has got any news for us. I’m also going to chase up the pathologist. He should have carried out the post on Gemma by now. I’ll need to inform him of the connection to this case, too.”

  Sally blew out a long breath when they arrived in the incident room, and the rest of the team looked at her expectantly. “She’s unconscious and in a very bad way. Which only makes me more determined to catch the bastard responsible. No word from Stuart yet?”

  Joanna shook her head. “No, boss. I took a call from the pathologist about twenty minutes ago. Can you call him back?”

  “It was on my to-do list anyway. Thanks, Joanna. Jack, can you chase up a next-of-kin for Julie Smith for me? That should be our next job. I’ll be back soon.”

  Sally removed her jacket, placed it on the back of her chair, took a few deep breaths, then dialled the pathology department. “Hello, Simon. It’s DI Parker. You rang me?”

  “I did. Sorry about the delay. I would’ve had the results back from the post-mortem sooner, but a major incident took place last night, and it slipped my mind.”

  “Never mind. What do you have?”

  “One very interesting fact for you: Gemma Whiting was around four weeks pregnant.”

  Sally fell back in her chair. “Shit! Four weeks, you say? Would she have known about the pregnancy, do you think?”

  “She might have suspected, but I doubt she knew for sure. Maybe you should be asking her husband that question, Inspector.”

  “Oh, I intend to, don’t worry. Do me a favour and make sure you get DNA evidence from the foetus.”

  “It’s done already.”

  “I don’t think this case will be tied up with a pretty bow come the end of the investigation,” Sally said.

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “Anything else, Simon?”

  “No, nothing of significance other than what we covered at the scene. If you’re contacting the family, would you mind passing on that I’ve been in touch with the funeral home?”

  “Of course. I’ll let them know. I’m sure it’ll be a relief for them to hear. Thanks for letting me know. Oh, by the way, I’ve just come back from the hospital. There’s a young lady there in ICU who was attacked in similar circumstances. I just wanted you to be aware. There’s every chance she might not make it, so she could possibly end up as one of your ‘patients’ anyway.”

  “That’s a shame. If we have a monster in our midst attacking women on country roads at night, maybe it would be wise for you to warn the general public via the media,” Simon suggested.

  “Thanks, Simon. The matter is in hand.”

 
; “Glad to hear it. Speak soon.”

  Sally hung up just as Jack appeared in the doorway. “Everything all right, boss?”

  “I think the case just got interesting. Gemma Whiting was pregnant. By the way her husband reacted, I don’t think he knew. Do you?”

  Jack inclined his head. “What are you getting at, boss?”

  “I’m not sure just yet. It’s all going round in my mind at the moment. Let’s see what Colin Whiting has to say when he visits later. Something tells me he might have an inkling about the pregnancy.”

  “Whoa, you think the brother-in-law knows but not the husband? That whiffs of them having an affair then.”

  “Let’s not jump to any wayward conclusions just yet. I need to get in touch with the media. Is Stuart back yet?”

  “Nope. Want me to chase him up?” Jack walked into the office and placed a sheet of paper on the desk in front of her. “The next of kin details for Julie Smith you wanted.”

  “Thanks. The tasks are mounting up already, aren’t they? Okay, get in touch with Stuart. Maybe try and find a few properties that are owned by Hew and see if we can track him down that way. Does he work from an office? I’m not sure property developers do that even. Try and track one down if you can.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  Jack left the office, and Sally immediately picked up the phone to call her contact at the TV station. “Hi, Georgia. It’s DI Sally Parker. Any chance I can ask a favour?”

  “Sure, Inspector. What do you need?”

  “A slot on today’s news would be good.” Sally crossed her fingers tightly and waited for the woman’s response.

  “Let me take a look at today’s schedule, see what I can do. What’s the case?”

  “There are two actually. One murder and one violent assault, which has left the victim in an unconscious state in hospital. That’s why it’s urgent to inform the public. It needn’t be a conference.”

  “Okay, well, that alters things. I can send a reporter over this afternoon, or you could just give me the details, and I’ll go from there. You know I’ll treat each case sympathetically.”