The Vine Cross (The Vine Series Book 1)

by S P Dawes

  “Over my dead body,” replied Hayley firmly.

  “That’s what I’m worried about,” he added, watching her struggle.

  “It’s just mind over matter,” she answered with her eyes closed. “Mind over matter.”

  Martin half smiled, listening to her repeat herself.

  “I can see why Jesse likes you,” said Martin, watching her mouth turn up at the edges, still slowly breathing in and out. “Jesse’s been going out of his mind. He’s been doing covert detecting and even has a wall at home mapped out of the area they had taken you from. He’s been out every night just roaming streets.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Hayley tried to look at Martin while still fighting the feeling of nausea.

  Martin glanced over to her. “I just want you to know, he’s never stopped looking. None of us did.”

  Chapter 30

  “Dad! Dad!” Hayley shouted, banging on the door, continuing furiously until it opened. Pushing him in the house once it did.

  Martin followed, closing the door behind him.

  “Dad, Tell Martin what you know!” He looked at her bewildered. “Dad, tell him, please. About the church, the girls that went missing, explain why you they recruited you! Dad!”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

  Hayley thumped him on his chest and she dropped to his feet as pain shot through her back.

  “Dad, for once in your life, stand up for me please, tell him. They’ve arrested Jesse.”

  Martin watched the old man prise her fingers from his shirt and step back, as though she were insane.

  Hayley knelt on the floor, abandoned. “Dad, you’ve got to. He’s a good man, please. You need to tell him about Demy.” Tears had fallen, but Hayley didn’t care, she let them. She’d never begged her dad for a damn thing, but she was begging him now.

  “I’m sorry detective I think this young lady might be ill. I don’t know who she is.” Hayley looked at him wide eyed and open-mouthed, while he kept his eyes on the detective.

  “This isn’t your daughter?” Inquired Martin.

  “Dad!”

  Just then someone walked out from behind the kitchen wall into the front room. He was tall, young, clean shaven, dark-haired and dressed in a grey suit. “Yes, she is,” he answered, acknowledging Martin.

  “Who are you?” demanded Martin, seeing relief on Hayley’s face.

  Stepping forward, the man helped Hayley up from the floor, moving her to the sofa. Sitting down, she stared at him in disbelief. Taking the seat next to her, he held his hand out for Martin to sit too. Martin perched on the arm of the chair nearest the window, while Mr Baxter remained reticent, watching the scene play out.

  “I’m Darren Baxter, Hayley’s brother.”

  Martin nodded, unsure what to make of him.

  “I know what’s been going on and I can prove it. I just need more time to gather it.”

  Martin carried on watching the man as he sat forward, leaning forward over his open legs.

  “Demy’s been trying to set Jesse up since he arrested his brother, Anatoly. Seems Jesse made quite an impression.”

  “We know,” said Martin, arms folded.

  “Then you’ll also know my sister did what any sane person would do and ran from him. He’s spent every spare moment tracking her down.” Darren acknowledged he was making little to no sense.

  Shaking his head, he started at the beginning. “They sent me to London to train as a lawyer. He thought it would be nice to have a young home grown one in his pocket available any time he needed, seen as the one he had relied on before married the enemy.”

  Martin raised his brow. “Rihanna, she was part of the church. She wasn’t kept within it like the rest of us, more of a tourist you could say. As far as I’m aware, her dad was a big hotshot, so they kept him sweet and they lined each other’s pockets.”

  “Demy made me set up a meet, arranged as an interview. Then had me take some photos, to prove it, stupid I know,” he admitted raising his hands. “But I had to ensure he trusted me if I stood any chance of protecting her.”

  Darren looked back to his sister who was rocking slightly, seizing her head in her hands. “I found out what he was planning, and when I gave him the photos, I realised something big was going down. I left the knife on Hayley’s bed, I thought she might get scared and run,” he added looking to Hayley, who was now gripping her hands in her lap.

  Turning back to Martin, he continued, “She didn’t, so I trashed the place. I thought she’d have no choice but to run. I got my hands back on the dagger that Leon used at the Spa, he’d had Caitlyn hide it there already. So, I retrieved it beforehand, bumping into Hayley on the way out. But then they moved the date, and I had to take it back to Leon.

  After the robbery I said I’d take care of it and he gave it back to me. Then I watched this guy turn up, and after he’d spent the night in his car outside, I gathered she meant something to him. I didn’t realise at the time it was your detective, didn’t think the guy would hand it in straight away. I’d banked on him telling Hayley first, who then would have put two and two together. But then I found out he was a copper, which left me in the shit. I had to get that knife back to save my skin. I knew Demy had contacts in the police, so I made him do me a favour. But then Demy found out about Jesse getting close to Hayley and lost it.”

  Darren shook his head. “I’d not seen him like that before, he wanted blood.” Her brother looked to his father and then back to Martin. “He killed those girls, and he’s setting Jesse up for the fall. The first two were as a warning. They had gone against him, so he was flexing his muscle, but then he used them to his advantage.”

  “That’s why the M.O changed?”

  Darren nodded.

  “There’s nothing I’ve seen to tie Jesse to it.” Martin needed to be sure what Darren knew, he still wasn’t sure he could trust him.

  “That’s because it’s not happened yet. They’ve got a job that needs doing first. If they get one of your coppers arrested, then you know what that will do to the case.”

  “But Jesse’s not on the case,” confided Martin.

  “No, not officially, but it hasn’t stopped him interfering.”

  Martin clenched his jaw. He was already aware Jesse had stepped out of his remit frequently. There was no telling how much damage he’d done.

  “What the hell was the spa robbery about?” Demanded Martin.

  “He wanted to set Hayley up, as though she had concocted it all. It started out as getting her imprisoned, he’s never forgiven her for the job she derailed.”

  “Why are you telling us now?” Inquired Martin wearily.

  “Because Hayley’s here,” said Darren matter-of-factly. “And that means she’s in danger, she’d never drop in here for anything,” he said glancing at Hayley. “Except to save someone else. Which means things have just gone sour for your detective.”

  “And how am I supposed to prove everything you say?” Asked Martin, unsure what to think of this cool character relaying a story as though it all made perfect sense.

  “You currently have our sister telling your colleagues a tale of abduction and murder, a narrative that’s been so perfectly put together, they won’t question it. They’ll be looking for a body soon, not a living person. Tell me what you think will happen to Hayley the minute the shipment goes out? There’s only one reason he’d ever wanted her pregnant, and that was to make her vulnerable.”

  Darren stood up and ran his hands through his hair.

  “Get me to Lynnie,” demanded Hayley, looking from Darren to Martin.

  “It won’t work. They brainwashed her, you’ll not stand a chance,” warned Darren.

  Hayley shook her head. “No, that’s not true. She was frightened, they’ll kill her. They scared her,” said Hayley, panicking.

  “Who of?” scoffed Darren, unconvinced.

  “Demy.” Hayley remembered her at the warehouse as his thugs had dragged her away. />
  “Ha! You’ve got to be joking! Not while she’s with Paul Gleeson, she’s not!” He looked at Hayley and felt sympathy for her. “Don’t underestimate her unfounded love for that guy.”

  “What do you know about Paul Gleeson?” Asked Martin.

  “That he’s into packaging up drugs, alongside selling teenage girls. Something he’s been doing with Demy by his side for years. They throw out a couple of bags of fake good, the police go nuts, and they carry on their business. It’s more often than not to cut out anyone who’s been creaming the fat.”

  “And you know this, how?” Inquired Martin.

  “I’m their prodigy,” he smiled.

  “And you have evidence?” Asked Martin.

  “Yeah, but I won’t be giving it to you, if I wish to keep my head,” said Darren. “But I’ll show you where to get it,” he grinned triumphantly.

  Martin stood up when Darren turned before leaving. “Hayley, get out of that house, because when he finds out you bugged it, he will kill you,” warned Darren, watching the revelation sink in.

  He turned to Martin who was staring at Hayley wide eyed. “It’s my job, I get paid to know everything, so when this is over, they will demand to know why I didn’t know?”

  Martin gulped, understanding what he had to do. Seconds later, with Darren by his side, they climbed into Martin’s car, leaving Hayley with her Dad.

  They didn’t speak, but her dad made Hayley a cup of tea and placed it in front of her. He hadn’t said a word since Darren had introduced himself, and for good reason. Everything Darren had said had been true. He was useless. He’d let everyone down, especially his family. They didn’t deserve him, and he sure as hell didn’t deserve them.

  After he had mistakenly killed his wife in a fit of temper, he had gone to the only person he knew who could deal with it. A man who could make her disappear without him having to step foot in a prison, and that was Frank Richards. He was as hard as nails, with no scruples and absolutely no concerns about getting rid of a body. Frank made him pay for it. It meant he was under his control, did everything he said, otherwise he would leak the information and the evidence to the police. Cause him to do time, leaving his kids even more vulnerable.

  He had known his son was a beast of a man, but hadn’t been able to say no to Demy taking his daughter. It was either that, or they sent her away in a storage container and she would never have been seen again.

  Possibly being open to even more abuse, it was the lesser of two evils. They had forced him to sit by and watch his daughter disappear into a ghost. Then watch his son being taken off to do their dirty work. His youngest had been by his side longer, but then the inevitable happened and Frank took her under his wing.

  “Why did you lie?” Asked Hayley, wrapping her hands round her mug to allow some feeling into her fingers.

  Her dad had slumped into his chair, looking across to her solemnly. “If they found out, I’d told the filth they’d kill me.”

  “And instead, they will have Jesse sent down.”

  “He’ll not make prison.”

  “What do you mean?” Asked Hayley.

  “He just wants him in custody. Once he’s in the cell, he’s got a guy who will finish the job.”

  “Oh, my God! No.” Hayley stood up quickly, feeling as though the earth had shifted underneath her, and spun. “Why would you let this happen?”

  “You wouldn’t understand,” finished her dad.

  “Which bit do I not understand? The bit where you do everything to preserve yourself and nothing to spare your kids? Where you’ll allow an innocent man to be arrested and murdered in a cell, the only God damn man I’ve ever loved!” She sat back down, feeling a jolt of pain slice through her back.

  “What would you know about saving kids, you killed yours!” He shouted back.

  Hayley rushed over to her father and leant over the arms of the chair as close as she dared get to him. “And you killed Mum!” Tears rolling down her cheeks, she watched him look away, at least he had the sense to look ashamed.

  “Ah!” Looking up, he saw her face turn from anger to concern, then pain. Clutching her stomach, she stumbled over to the sofa. “Ah, God!”

  “What’s wrong?” He asked, watching her bending over, unable to reach the sofa before her legs gave way.

  “I think the baby’s coming,” she cried as pain ripped through her.

  “No, it can’t be, it’s too early,” explained her dad, looking worried. “I need to phone Demy, let him know.” He jumped from the chair before making his way into the kitchen for the landline.

  “Don’t you dare!” She growled. “Have you heard nothing Darren said? I’m dead!”

  Hayley rocked on her knees. “I’ll never ask for another damn thing, but right now I need you to get me to the police station!”

  She watched him debate with himself, and then he picked up the phone.

  Chapter 31

  “The date is 9th January 2018. DCI Morgan, DC Redford are interviewing DI Jesse Hallam, who has been formally arrested and cautioned. He’s wavered his right for a legal representative. Can you confirm for the recording that this is correct?”

  “Yes, I have,” answered Jesse, glancing at the recorder.

  “We have found evidence at a crime scene that we believe belongs to you.” DCI Morgan slipped the bagged containing a watch across the table.

  Jesse rolled his eyes. “I lost that ages ago.”

  “Did you report it?” asked DCI Morgan.

  “No, I assumed it was somewhere in the house. I’ve just moved, I’m still unpacking,” explained Jesse.

  “This?” He laid another bag out, Jesse saw that it was a picture of a girl with her stomach slit.

  “One of the victims from my old case, what about it?” He knew he was coming over as edgy, nervous even, but he was just eager to leave.

  “You recognise the photo?” Asked DCI Morgan

  “Of course, I do, I was heading the investigation” Jesse instantly regretted losing his temper and took a couple of deep breaths, clutching the plastic cup of water, before taking a tentative sip.

  “I found this in your house, stashed in a box alongside other photos.”

  “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” Jesse looked at DCI Morgan, replacing his cup on the table.

  “There have also been photos brought to our attention that shows Hayley Timpson with your ex-wife, although at the time you were still married.” Jesse kept quiet. “Is that the reason your marriage failed?”

  Jesse understood where they were going with it now, so he just remained silent.

  “Were you having an affair with Hayley?”

  Jesse stared through him, understanding the tactic to help rile him up.

  “We’ve found the knife you used to kill the women in those photos,” added DCI Morgan.

  Jesse looked from the DCI to Redford.

  “It was in your house,” answered DCI Morgan.

  “Along with the photos I know nothing about?” He sat back in the chair. “I doubt it.”

  Jesse grew impatient and irritated with the questioning. He’d just spoken to Hayley for the first time in nearly seven months and she’d been trying to tell him something. He hadn’t even heard before being hauled in here, being accused of God knows what.

  “You’ll be a lot better off giving us the full story before internal affairs turn up,” reminded DCI Morgan.

  “There is no story, I know nothing about any bloody photos. And the only knife I know about is the one I handed in months ago from under my car. Look, I’ve had a call today from Hayley, that’s who I was on the phone to when you arrested me.” He watched as they exchanged knowing looks, and then DCI Morgan leant over the table to look Jesse closer in the eye.

  “Funny how you’ve mentioned Hayley, we’ve just found her blood-soaked clothes in the boot of your car,” Jesse’s face paled as the DCI gave him the news.

  “When was this? I’ve literally just spoken to her.” as
ked Jesse, concerned for her safety. “Phone DS Martin Wells. She was on his phone.”

  The DC acknowledged his partners look and suspended the interview, leaving Jesse in the room on his own. His head was spinning. What the hell was going on?

  DS Wells was on his way to a derelict building in the middle of Newark to help gather proof. He’d need actual evidence to get Jesse’s charges dropped. Darren was sure he could get his hands on it without implicating himself. The thing with working alongside two devious minds was that they were creatures of habit, dependant and far too arrogant for their own good. Especially with the amount of police they had on the payroll; he’d told Martin on the way. Making things disappear was what they did best, girls, money, bodies, drugs, anything that needed moving.

  They arrived outside the warehouse, set back from the road and five minutes up from the club where they had found the CCTV. It was an old brewery but with decades of none usage the place was open to the elements, stripped brick work and evidence of tramps and drug users strewn on the floor.

  Darren forced himself in the office, splitting the door frame as he did so. Martin looked at him and he shrugged. “It will have to look like a robbery anyway, or they’ll hang me. If anyone asks, you were in here because of them,” he said, pointing to the homeless men huddled round a fire drum at the entrance to the warehouse. “You just thought you’d look around and came across this,” he said, opening his arms out to the cardboard boxes.

  Martin stepped over to one of them, opening it up. He pulled out a folder, skimming through the information to see what it could tell him.

  “You’ll be best just taking the lot, or calling your guys in as quickly as possible. If they know Hayley knows, and that she’s been back to that attic today, the first thing she’s going to want to do is call the police. Which means this lot becomes a liability.”

  Martin nodded.

  “That said, I need to go, I get caught with you and I’m fucked.”

  Martin nodded again and then thanked him as he strolled to the door. “Darren, how did he pick his victims?” He was still trying to piece everything together since he’d met him.