THE GUILTY ONES a gripping crime thriller filled with stunning twists

by Joy Ellis

  He took the stairs two at a time and found Annie in the conference room, emptying the wastepaper bins.

  ‘Annie?’ He looked around for Eric and Stefan. ‘On your own tonight?’

  ‘Oh, hello, sir.’ She pulled a face. ‘And until I get someone new, I could be like it all week.’

  ‘Why?’ He already knew the answer but needed Annie to confirm it.

  ‘It’s partly my own fault really. Eric has been moved to another location, and Stefan’s baby is so sick it needs full-time care. He’s left, sir. Put in his notice yesterday. Oh, I will miss him. He was such a nice man, so kind and so reliable.’

  And such a good actor, thought Jackman. He thought about Stefan. Tall, slender, his dark hair smoothed back across his head. Those dark almond eyes, and that trace of an accent that intrigued all the women. Alistair Ashcroft had been hiding here in plain sight, working nights with the run of the police station.

  ‘I need to know where he lives, Annie. I’ve got to talk to him about something.’

  ‘He said he lives in Cartoft Village, sir. I can give you my manager’s number. If you ring him in the morning, he’ll let you have it.’

  Oh very clever. He lived in Cartoft, and he knew every person there. Stefan wasn’t one of them. He also knew exactly what he would find when he contacted the cleaning company. Stefan would be as clean as a whistle, would have sailed through the vetting process, had excellent references, and be known to be trustworthy and reliable. Of course he was clean. Alistair Ashcroft had never stepped outside the law in his life — until he started killing people.

  ‘What is Stefan’s surname, Annie?’

  ‘Ash something. Ashton? No, Ashcroft. Stefan Ashcroft. I think he said his father was British and his mother was Polish.’

  Richard Stephan Ashcroft. How he must have laughed, seeing his name all over the whiteboards. God, he’d been playing them for fools for months!

  Jackman thanked Annie, went down to his office and rang Marie. She was at Gary’s, telling him about what he’d been lucky to miss at the old auction house.

  ‘And cadging food, no doubt,’ Jackman added dryly.

  ‘Well, you know, while I’m here . . . but why the call, sir?’

  He told her about his visitor, and that he now knew who Ashcroft was.

  Marie gasped. ‘Of course! He has that long oval face that the headmaster talked about. It usually indicates something called Fragile X Syndrome, if I remember rightly. I knew I’d seen him somewhere.’

  ‘And he looks like Miles’s picture of the Bad Man.’

  ‘Exactly! And the man on the CCTV had thick, wavy, dark hair. Stefan’s was always slicked down, giving him a very different appearance.’ She was silent for a few seconds. ‘Are you alright, Jackman? Hell, you’ve just had a serial killer stick a gun in your face. That’s pretty heavy stuff.’

  ‘I’m fine. I’m just frustrated that there was no way of apprehending him. I had to let him go, and that really hurts. Oh, and he was on a motorcycle by the way. I wished you’d been there. You’d probably have identified it from the engine noise.’

  Jackman hung up. His next call was to the super, to keep her up to speed, and let her see that he really was on top of things. They had identified the killer. That should earn him a few brownie points at least.

  Finally, he rang Cam Walker.

  ‘The thing that gets me most is that he doesn’t care two hoots that we know who he is. He says it doesn’t matter, and I’m beginning to see what he means.’

  ‘At least we now have a face to put to the name. His cleaning company will have staff ID photos, and so will we. He’ll have needed to have a pass issued by the station before he could come and go.’

  ‘As I said, he doesn’t care. He just wanted me to see what we are up against. He believes he is untouchable, but . . .’ He thought for a minute. ‘Part of the time he sounded like Mr Cool, and then at others, he was like an insecure child. It was creepy, and even though I wanted to tear him limb from limb, I—’

  ‘Couldn’t help feeling sorry for him?’

  Jackman pondered this. ‘I wouldn’t go that far. I mean, it’s hard to understand how an abusive upbringing could screw up a little boy so badly.’

  ‘And then have the extraordinary bad luck to witness his sister being murdered. I hate to state the obvious, but it’s hardly surprising he’s a mess.’

  Jackman yawned. ‘I need to get home and get some sleep, Cam.’

  ‘Mightn’t it be a good idea to get uniform to go with you, just to check your place out? Ashcroft has got you well and truly in his sights, hasn’t he?’

  Jackman was silent for a moment, thinking. ‘No, he won’t be back tonight. He’s delivered his message. He just wanted me to see my adversary, my nemesis, close up.’

  ‘You’re welcome to stay with us for as long as you want.’

  Jackman smiled. Cam Walker was a kind and thoughtful man. ‘I’ll be fine, Cam, honest. But thanks. I appreciate it.’

  ‘If you’re sure?’

  ‘I’m sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  As he hung up, he wondered if he wasn’t being a little too glib, but he knew he was right. For tonight at least, he would be safe.

  * * *

  Alistair Ashcroft prepared for bed, thinking over his meeting with Jackman. It had gone exactly to plan. He now saw Jackman in a different light, as an adversary, an opponent in a deadly game of chess.

  He decided that he quite liked Jackman. He had admired his spirit. Even when looking down the barrel of a gun, he had been prepared to have a go in order to protect someone he loved. And he didn’t mince his words. He liked that too.

  After his talk to Jackman, he had had a desperate urge to go out to his lonely place on the marsh edge, but instead had come home and taken a long, hot shower.

  He looked around him. They wouldn’t find him here. Not unless he wanted them to.

  But for now he needed a sanctuary. He walked barefoot across the thick pile carpet to his bed and pulled back the covers. He would use the coming night-time hours to plan his next move in detail. He had his target already lined up, and his research was pretty well complete. Now for the timetable. His latest victim’s countdown to death.

  He settled back against the pillows and smiled.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Jackman arrived at work early, and found Max already there. He appeared to be a very different Max from the one he’d left the night before.

  ‘Sorry to tackle you so early, sir, but could I have a word before everyone gets in?’

  Intrigued, Jackman held open his office door. He could only think that Rosie was very much recovered.

  Max sat down. ‘Thing is, sir, I expect you were as puzzled as I was about how come Rosie took that last call we had so badly — the one to the Whitman twins murder scene.’

  Jackman nodded. ‘It was a shock to see her so badly affected, but it does happen. We all have one case that does us in.’

  Max wriggled in his seat, apparently unsure how to proceed. ‘Well, it wasn’t just that. Like, well, we didn’t know . . .’

  ‘Max. Get to the point.’

  ‘She’s pregnant, sir! We’re going to have a baby! That’s why she was all over the place!’

  Jackman’s mouth fell open. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting. ‘I say!’

  ‘Yes, isn’t it fantastic?’ Max’s broadly beaming face said it all.

  ‘Congratulations, Max! I’m getting vibes that this isn’t exactly unwelcome news?’

  ‘It wasn’t planned, sir, far from it, but now it’s happened, I couldn’t be happier.’

  ‘That’s plain to see.’ Jackman smiled warmly at him. ‘So what are your plans?’

  ‘The first thing we’re going to do is get married, sir, ASAP. We both want that. These killings have really put things into perspective for us. Even without a child, we’ve decided that we make a good team, so why not make it an official one?’ Max gulped. ‘I love her to bits, sir.’
>
  ‘That’s a pretty good reason for tying the knot. And after that?’

  ‘We need to think about that, but we’ve got plenty of time. We both love our jobs, and if we can, we’ll both keep working, even if one of us has to stand down for a while. We’ve both got supportive families, so we’ll work out what’s best for us all.’ He paused, still grinning. ‘We just wanted you to know first, sir, before I tell the world.’

  ‘Thank you, Max, I appreciate it.’ Jackman suddenly thought of Ashcroft, and was overcome by a feeling of dread. ‘But I’m going to make a suggestion, and I hope this doesn’t mess up your plans. I think you should keep this news to your very closest friends for a short while.’

  ‘Sir?’ His face fell.

  ‘Well, until we know more about Alistair Ashcroft, I really think this is something you should keep very quiet indeed.’

  Max frowned, and then the penny dropped. ‘Oh hell! I’ve been so excited that I forgot how he works. He plays on vulnerabilities, doesn’t he?’

  ‘Exactly, Max. So you see what I mean?’

  ‘I’ll ring Rosie. I’ll try not to scare her, but I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything silly like stick it on Facebook!’

  ‘Very sensible. And Max? I’m thrilled for you.’

  ‘Thanks, sir.’ Max stood up. ‘I’ll tell the sarge. I guess the others can wait a while, it’s very early days. Oh, and Rosie says that hopefully she’ll be back next week. She feels so much better since she heard the news.’

  ‘We’ll be very happy to have her back, but she needs the FMO’s okay first.’

  ‘She knows that, sir. We’ll see how she goes.’

  ‘Max? You do know you’re going to have to be a damned good actor over the next few days, don’t you? Right now, you look like the cat that got the cream.’

  ‘Well, that won’t be quite so easy, but if anyone asks, I guess I’ll just say I’m happy that Rosie is feeling much better.’

  After Max left, Jackman sat on, worrying about the way things were proceeding. Sam and Laura had both warned him that Ashcroft could change the way he operated, and begin to take and destroy the things people close to him loved. That could be precious items, or precious loved ones. Everyone was vulnerable. Was Max most vulnerable of all?

  * * *

  Charlie Button was deep in conversation with Robbie. ‘What I don’t get,’ he was saying, ‘is why was there no forensic evidence linking John Blake to the murder scene? If he killed Lyndsay, surely there would have been something left behind?’

  Robbie shrugged. ‘Think about it, mate. It was twenty-two years ago. Plus they had two witnesses who not only testified to seeing Lyndsay and Brendan together, they also saw him leaving the clearing alone.’

  Marie was listening in. ‘Add to that the fact that Brendan’s DNA was all over Lyndsay, and the prosecution would have a very strong case indeed.’

  ‘And from what I’ve read about the trial, Phillip Seaton QC was hot as mustard, so why look any further?’ Robbie added.

  ‘But we could now, with all the new techniques,’ Charlie persisted.

  Marie shook her head. ‘Charlie, that case is over. Everyone involved in that whole terrible mess is dead. Except Alistair Ashcroft, who is our priority now, not Lyndsay. It’s Alistair we have to concentrate all our energies into finding.’ She looked at Charlie’s rather peeved expression. ‘One person we will tell is Sheila Symons. It wouldn’t stand up in court — after all, Blake’s taped confession was extracted under duress, but she would be able to rest, knowing that we all believe it to be true.’ She smiled at Charlie. ‘And who knows? If the family keep pushing, someone might just open up the old inquiry in order to give Brendan a posthumous pardon, but right now, we have a killer to catch. Right?’

  Charlie smiled back. ‘I know that, Sarge. I just hate injustice in any form.’

  ‘That’s why we do what we do, kiddo,’ Robbie said.

  Gary walked in. ‘Sarge? I’ve just heard from uniform that they went to the address we were given for “Stefan” Ashcroft, and it’s a bedsit in a back street of Saltern. All they found was a camp bed, a table and a chair, a phone with answer phone, a kettle and a mini-fridge. It’s certainly not been lived in. Ashcroft obviously used it to validate his identity and for mail and to pick up phone messages for “Stefan.”’

  ‘And he won’t use the place again.’ Marie puffed out her cheeks. ‘Not that we expected anything else.’

  None of them heard Jackman approach. ‘Well, he must live somewhere. Is that place also hidden in plain sight? Maybe it’s right here in Saltern-le-Fen.’

  ‘Registered to another one of his personas?’ asked Robbie.

  ‘He said he was now Alistair Ashcroft again and all the other names were finished with, but was he lying? Anyway, right now it’s time for daily orders.’

  Jackman gave the gathered officers the details of the scene at the old auction house the night before, and then what had transpired at Mill Corner. Marie listened — or rather watched. She thought Jackman looked worried. Perhaps his run-in with Alistair had shaken him more than he was admitting.

  ‘So, I want you to be fully aware of the kind of man we are dealing with, and on no account should you underestimate him. At the four o’clock meeting I’m going to ask Laura Archer to give you a brief rundown of how we can expect his behaviour patterns to evolve as the case goes on. But right now . . .’ Jackman stooped and picked up a handful of sheets of plain A4 paper and passed them round. ‘This might seem odd, but to protect your privacy I’m going to ask each of you to write down a list of names for me. Only Marie, Laura Archer and myself will see these names, and we’ll treat them in the strictest confidence. There’s no nice way to put this. Ashcroft targets the things and the people we love. I need to know anyone and anything that each one of you holds dear. That includes your beloved granny, your new puppy, your collection of silver teapots, or your secret lover. And, please, don’t hide anything! These pages will all be destroyed as soon as we have Ashcroft locked away. I just need to know your vulnerabilities. Understood?’

  Looking at each other, everyone took a sheet of paper.

  ‘Do it now. Think carefully about it, and then bring them to my office immediately. And someone must be responsible for making sure anyone who’s not present does the same.’

  He ended the meeting, and Marie followed him into his office. ‘You seem on edge, boss? Is it your late night visitor?’

  ‘It unnerved me alright. At one point I thought I’d pushed him too far. I really believed . . .’ He shook his head.

  ‘He had a gun trained on you, sir. Lord, you had every right to shit your pants!’

  Jackman gave her a tired smile. ‘Didn’t get that far, thank goodness. But there was something really disturbing about him. It was the way he changed his mood and his voice. And some of what he said was totally believable. You start to get drawn in, to almost feel some kind of sympathy for him. Then the next moment he says something so callous that you want to rip him to pieces.’

  ‘A bit like the recording from his kangaroo court.’ Laura Archer stood in the doorway. ‘Sorry. Wasn’t eavesdropping, I just wanted to let you finish.’

  ‘Come on in, Laura.’

  Jackman smiled at her, and Marie again sensed that tiny sizzle of electricity in the air. She couldn’t wait to read Laura’s list!

  Laura looked immaculate, as she always did, this time in a soft oxblood red leather jacket and slim fit grey plaid pants. Unlike Marie’s biker jacket, this one was a simple zip-up bomber with a baseball collar. Marie reckoned it must have set her back close to five hundred quid. Though Laura would look a million dollars in a black bin bag.

  ‘I’ve asked Laura to work with us for a while, Marie, to try and get a handle on what Alistair’s next move might be.’

  ‘Excellent.’ Marie smiled at Laura.

  Gary arrived, carrying a sheaf of papers. ‘The first ones to be handed in, sir. Thought you might like these to be getting on with.’ He
grinned at Marie. ‘And I haven’t peeked, honest.’

  ‘Thanks, Gary.’ Jackman laid them face down on his desk. ‘It feels a little like voyeurism, but we need to do it.’ He looked at Laura and Marie. ‘We have to assume that because he worked here for so long, he knows a lot of the staff already. As Stefan, he mainly worked nights, but we often do early shifts. He would have had plenty of access to overheard conversations and all sorts of other unofficial information about us.’

  ‘Sam and I talked long into the night about this man,’ Laura said, ‘And we came to the conclusion that we have absolutely no idea how he is going to evolve. As we said, he’s complex. He’s still showing signs of the dark triad, and he could be the product of a lethal combination of psychoses. We know how he has functioned before, but we are frightened that he might just step outside the box.’

  Marie stared at her. ‘And change his MO completely?’

  ‘He has grown more confident with every death, and I think his Crown versus Blake performance will have caused it to escalate further. We’re sure he believes that you’ll never catch him, unless he decides it’s time for that to happen.’

  ‘He said as much when he made his house-call last night.’ Jackman looked pensive. ‘I told him I wanted to see him in my custody suite, and he said he was sure I did, but that wasn’t going to happen.’

  ‘But don’t forget,’ Laura leaned forward. ‘You mustn’t buy into that. He has an inflated opinion of himself, and he’s as liable as anyone to make mistakes.’

  ‘So, down to good old-fashioned police work. Is that what will catch him?’ asked Marie.

  ‘It’s caught a whole lot of other killers who thought they were untouchable,’ said Jackman. ‘I’m sure that’s what’ll stop him in the end.’ He picked up the papers and divided them between the three of them. ‘Let’s see what we have here.’

  They studied the papers in silence. As she read, Marie gradually began to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of what they were up against. She put her pages on the desk and shook her head. ‘This is impossible! So many vulnerabilities and our little cuckoo in the nest could be aware of all of them.’