by Joy Ellis
‘I have another niggle,’ added the superintendent. ‘Why was she killed with a .45 calibre pistol? I thought the professional hit-men preferred a smaller calibre, like a .22 for an execution-style shot to the head?’
Joseph answered. ‘Apparently Keller always used a .45, even though it caused tremendous tissue damage to his victims. It was his weapon of choice because its stopping power was tremendous, and the shot was always fatal, unlike the smaller calibres.’
‘Nice guy,’ murmured Niall.
‘Dead guy,’ corrected Yvonne grimly. ‘Ironic really. He lived by the sword, and died by a blow-out throwing him into a concrete stanchion.’
‘And good riddance,’ said Joseph. ‘At least the taxpayer won’t have to look after him at Her Majesty’s pleasure, because we would have caught him one day.’
Nikki looked around her. At least she was back on track as far as staffing levels were concerned. Cat was invaluable in certain fields, but Yvonne and Niall were excellent coppers and she had no doubt that they would commit totally. ‘Okay, guys, here’s the plan. Dave, I want you to try to find the mystery scientist. Use Lawrence Carpenter to get names and contacts in Hellecroppen. We need to know who she was working with. Yvonne and Niall, go back to that apartment, talk to the security men and the maintenance people. Tackle them on staff pass keys and see if there are any loopholes that we might have missed.’ She looked across to Joseph. ‘You sort out the weapon when it arrives and get onto Interpol, and I’ll take Ted Brookes through his statement.’ She stood up. ‘So get to it.’
After they had filed out, Rick Bainbridge looked at her long and hard. ‘Are you alright, Nikki? I’m very aware that this business with the Barbarian in your barn must have been very unpleasant for you.’
‘It shook me.’ Nikki struggled to find the right words. ‘I can’t quite explain how I felt when I saw it. It was right there, slap bang in my face, and in my own barn to boot. Apart from being an outrage, it was a kind of personal invasion. It was a cruel thing to do, sir.’
‘It certainly was, and whereas I’d usually say we have a psycho at work here, there’s nothing crazy about the way this was organised. It’s wicked, but meticulously ordered.’
‘When he spoke to me, even though he was using a voice changer, there was a precision in the few words he used. And so much anger, but anger that was held in check. It was creepy,’ she gave a little shudder, ‘and very scary too.’
‘I can imagine.’ Rick indicated the chair that she had just vacated. ‘Sit for a moment.’ He looked at her soberly. ‘If you lived in the town, I’d get one of our crews to keep an eye on your home, but living where you do, I’m afraid that’s not possible. You can’t do a casual drive-by right out on Cloud Fen.’ He gave her a worried look. ‘But it hasn’t escaped my attention that to get the padlock key to your barn, the intruder had to get into your home to both take and then return the spare.’
‘I know, sir. The only other key to the barn is on the fob that I carry with me. And the padlock hadn’t been forced. The only explanation is that he broke in and took it from my key cupboard.’ Nikki suddenly recalled that Magda’s flat had also been accessed without disturbance.
‘We could leave a man on watch for a while. I know we are pretty thin on the ground, but I’m sure I could authorise it.’
‘Thanks, but no thanks, sir.’ Nikki shook her head vehemently. ‘If this bastard is out to get at coppers, whoever was left out there would be your proverbial sitting duck. I don’t want to feel responsible for another officer being injured.’
‘You are right, of course, and at least you won’t be sleeping there for a while.’ He looked at her thoughtfully, ‘You say he said one word when you asked him what he wanted, and that was “compensation?”’
Nikki sat back in her chair. ‘Yes, sir, just that.’
‘So that would imply something bad has happened to him in the past, and he wants some form of recompense.’ Furrows formed around his eyes. ‘Another word for that would be damages.’
‘And Stephen Cox had plenty of bad things happen to him, all of which he blames me for, whether or not I was even involved.’
‘He is certainly our number one suspect, but I need you to think carefully, Nikki, about who else bears a grudge deep enough to terrorise and kill over.’
‘That narrows the list down to a few hundred, I suppose.’
‘No, it doesn’t.’ He shook his head slowly from side to side. ‘Yes, aggrieved parties will shout abuse and threaten us with every kind of mutilation and torture, in both this world and the next. I wouldn’t like to think how many times I’ve been told that someone would see me burn in hell for banging up their son or their spouse, but they rarely intend to see it through.’
Nikki knew he was right. She’d had dog dirt through the letter box, abuse and threats, her car had been keyed and she’d received some most innovative hate mail, but they hardly ever went further. Maybe it was just a way of feeling better, making a show of their indignation to look good in their loved one’s eyes.
‘Make a list, Nikki. Serious cases. Dangerous cases. Cases that made your gut churn away long after the prison gates had been locked.’ He watched as she nodded, and then added, ‘By the way, I chased up the officers who were checking our own CCTV footage from the car park, and there was no activity around your vehicle at any point from the time you arrived to when you made the discovery of the blood in your boot.’
Nikki groaned. ‘How’s that possible, sir? If it had happened at the hospital I would have smelt it as I drove here.’
‘I had the hospital car park cameras checked too, Nikki, and nothing there either. Are you absolutely certain that you didn’t stop anywhere on the way back here?’
Nikki threw him a withering look, but simply said, ‘Absolutely certain, sir.’
‘So, you have another mystery to add to your locked-room scenario.’
‘Lovely. Just what I need right now.’ She moved to the door. ‘Better get on, sir.’
‘Nikki?’
She glanced back.
‘Take great care, won’t you?’
* * *
It was a little after three thirty. Nikki was still in one of the interview rooms with the chauffeur, Ted Brookes, and Joseph was the only one left in the office. His talks with Interpol had been interesting and now he was skimming through reams of information that the international criminal police organisation had forwarded to him. When he considered some of the terrible crimes that Keller had committed, Joseph was still amazed that his death-dealing career had been brought to a sudden halt by a ton of concrete, and not the police.
He picked up a report of a recent investigation carried out in France, then laid it down and compared it with another, this time in Portugal. He sifted through a small pile of different cases, then frowned. Apparently their previous info about Keller had been wrong. He was not the loner that everyone believed he was. Yes, the executions were done solo, but to get to that point, it seemed that he used a carefully selected logistics team. And that would account for his ‘driver’ when he went to visit Ted Brookes.
Joseph wanted to know more, and after scrutinising some of the cases again, he found one that had taken place in Northern Ireland, and it featured a name he knew.
Liam Feehily was a detective with the PSNI based in Belfast, and Joseph had spent a few weeks working alongside him on a combined operation a few years back. He was a wiry, dark-haired, pale-eyed gypsy of a man, and one of the shrewdest police officers Joseph had ever worked with. With a smile, Joseph pulled out his notebook and turned to the back page. Liam’s number was scribbled in the right-hand corner with the nickname, ‘Dr Feelgood’ written above it.
The phone was answered on the second ring and a lilting voice asked, ‘So, would you be ringing to ask after my health, or to join with police officers everywhere in rejoicing at the news?’
‘Hi, Doc. You heard then?’
‘Good news travels fast, my little Brit friend, and that
slimeball’s death is very good news indeed.’
‘It certainly is, but sadly, before he shuffled off his mortal coil, he left a dead woman on my patch.’
‘How sweet! A parting gift? Don’t take it personally.’
‘I am taking it very personally, because for the love of Mike, we cannot fathom out how he did it.’
‘That sounds like Aaron Keller alright.’ Liam paused. ‘But how can I help? Or were you really ringing to book a weekend in my beautiful city drinking some of the black stuff with me?’
‘Believe me, that sounds like heaven. But right now I need to know more about the dearly departed, and I think you might be the man to talk to.’
A long sigh echoed down the line. ‘And here was me thinking that I would enjoy my day off with a little fishing in Belfast Lough.’
‘I won’t keep you long, I promise. Just a few points?’
‘Fire away, I’m all ears.’
They talked for around fifteen minutes, then Joseph saw Nikki going into her office.
He thanked his friend, promising to take a few days out when the case was over and spend it with a rod and line in a peaceful Irish river, and hung up.
‘How did it go with Brookes?’ he asked as he closed her door.
‘Our Ted was one terrified witness, until I told him that Keller, or as he knew him, Home Office special agent Arthur Kershaw, was road-kill.’ She smiled harshly. ‘And then he developed verbal diarrhoea. It’s all on paper, signed and sealed, just how we like it.’
‘Excellent. I was a bit worried that he might do a runner, although admittedly he didn’t seem the type.’
She sat back. ‘And how have you got on?’
‘Good, I think.’ He pulled up a chair. ‘I’ve discovered a lot more about Keller and how he worked.’ He stopped and gave a satisfied grin. ‘Oh, how gratifying it is to use the past tense when referring to that evil son of a bitch!’
‘Isn’t it just? So go on.’
‘Well, it seems that for every hit, he used a handpicked team on the ground, to assist him in the preparation, then he went in alone and finished the job. I’ve just spoken to a friend who knows his MO very well, and he reckons the plan never varied.’
‘And was it the same team each time?’
‘No, there were undercover groups set up all over. Abroad and here, and here’s the interesting bit. My friend Liam was certain that the hub for Central and Eastern England was in Peterborough.’
‘That’s close!’ Nikki whistled. ‘And what did this back-up team provide exactly?’
‘Local intelligence and logistics. They were, well, still are, I guess, ghosts that checked the location, planned the routes, studied the victim, provided cars, fetched, carried and generally supported Keller until kill-time. Then they disappeared.’
Nikki leaned on her desk, her chin in her hands. ‘That makes me think that Keller was working for a big criminal organisation, because no one could afford to have a set-up like that for occasional use. I mean to say, how many contract killings have you ever heard of in our area?’
‘I agree, and so does Liam. He thinks that someone is running a multinational “temping” agency for anything and everything illegal.’
‘What, like a sort of Rent-a-Crook?’ Nikki grinned.
‘Exactly. Liam uncovered a small cell operating out of Londonderry, but although he knew it was all part of something much bigger, everything closed down on him. He’s left with suspicions and rumours and little else.’
‘Interesting. But I’m guessing that kind of outfit would cost a fortune to use, so we’d have to be looking at either someone with money to burn, or a big corporation.’
‘And I’d go for the latter. Let’s hope Dave has some luck in hunting down this mystery man that Magda was in cahoots with.’
The more he thought about that arrangement, the more confused he became. If Magda was so frightened of strangers, and traumatised by men she didn’t know, how had she become involved with someone that no one else seemed to have any knowledge of? How would you win someone’s trust if they were shit-scared of meeting people? ‘Of course!’ he murmured. ‘The Internet!’
‘Am I missing something?’ Nikki looked perplexed at his sudden statement.
He puffed out his cheeks. ‘I need to talk to Dave, and one of our techies. I think I’ve just found something we might have overlooked.’
Nikki raised her eyebrows and waited for him to fill her in.
‘Right, well, we checked all her emails and all her correspondence on her laptop, but we were looking for personal stuff — threats, abusive mail and jilted boyfriends, all that crap, but we only skimmed over all her technical and scientific work. It didn’t seem relevant, and frankly it was so far above our heads, it could have been Greek.’
‘And you think the mystery man will be found somewhere in her work files?’
‘That’s the only way someone could have developed a close relationship with Magda without scaring the pants off her. They used the Internet.’
‘Where is her computer?’
‘In the evidence store. I’ll get it brought over. This time we’ll concentrate entirely on professional data and its source.’
‘Do that.’ Nikki nodded. ‘That’s good thinking, Joseph.’
He went to stand up, then saw her face, and noticed the anxiety. He sat back. ‘If it helps, I keep hearing that awful voice too.’
‘Compensation. That word is bugging me to the point of distraction.’ She gnawed on her bottom lip. ‘I’m certain it’s Stephen Cox. If anyone in the world truly hates me, it’s him. We need to pick him up.’
‘There’s been only one sighting, Nikki. Maybe his “business” here had nothing to do with you and it’s taken care of. He could be a hundred miles away.’
‘And he could be two streets away, making threatening calls to my number.’
‘Cox could.’ Joseph rubbed at his eyes. ‘But for some reason, I get the feeling that although the man we’re looking for wants your attention, it’s not actually you he’s after. I think his grudge is bigger than going after just one person.’
‘Joseph, for heaven’s sake! He’s got my private mobile number. He knows where I live, because he’s kindly barbequed my garage, and he’s used my locked barn as a short-stay car park for a bloody great murder weapon!’ She glowered at him. ‘Correct me if I’m being neurotic, but it feels damned threatening to me!’
Joseph was forced to agree with her, but deep down he was certain their man was just using Nikki to get their attention. And whatever he wanted compensation for, was going to turn out to be something completely different to anything they might suspect. He looked at the clock on Nikki’s wall. ‘That gun will be here shortly. At least we can get a step closer to winding up Operation Windmill. For once, I think I need to work with facts and forensic proof, rather than conjecture and guess-work.’
‘Sorry about the outburst.’ Nikki looked grey. ‘I guess this is all a bit much after losing Hannah. When I said I’d return to work, I never dreamed I’d get thrown in at the deep end in such a horrible, personal way.’
Joseph felt awful. Things had suddenly got so intense that he’d almost forgotten that it was only a matter of weeks since her daughter had died. ‘You could back off. Take a break, a long way away from here, somewhere hot, with turquoise pools and cool drinks served by hunky waiters. No one would think any the less of you.’
Nikki turned up one side of her mouth. ‘No matter how attractive those hunky waiters sound, do you actually think I’d do that?’
‘Not in a million years, but I thought I’d give you the option. Will you settle for a strong coffee served by me, instead of a bronzed Adonis?’
‘You’ll do, I suppose. And make it two sugars.’
CHAPTER TEN
Cat lay back on the uncomfortable bed and waited for the painkillers to kick in. Her dressings had just been changed and she felt as if she had had a run-in with some malevolent Edward Scissorhands. She knew that
the team were up to their necks in work, but she still watched the door hopefully.
All in all, pain apart, she wasn’t feeling too bad. That was what she tried to tell herself anyway. In truth, she felt like a terrified child, alone in the house when a storm broke. No matter what she did, she couldn’t forget the look of total shock on the face of Danny Wilshire. It had happened so fast that her mind seemed to need to play it over and over again in order to make any kind of sense of it.
Since this morning Cat had begun to recall everything, and she was not liking her memories. Twice she had begun to shake uncontrollably, and on one occasion her blood pressure had soared, setting off an alarm buzzer at the side of her bed.
‘Perfectly natural,’ the nurse had said calmly. ‘Early days. It will pass, I promise.’
Cat wanted to believe her, but she wasn’t sure that she did.
She had been in some pretty hairy situations in her time in the force. Several were when she was undercover, with little or no back-up, but this was in a different league altogether.
She didn’t know why it had happened to her and Danny, but it had. Someone had deliberately and viciously tried to take their lives. It wasn’t like the normal good guys v. bad guys scenario — light versus dark, best man wins. There was something predatory and inhuman about the attack. They never saw it coming. Now Danny was lying in the morgue three floors below, and she was facing a life with shredded legs and a different face. A tear eased down her good cheek and settled in the corner of her mouth, leaving a salty tang on her lips.
‘Here.’
She hadn’t even noticed the superintendent come into her room. Cat accepted the folded tissue and dabbed her face. ‘Sorry, sir, you caught me with my guard down.’
‘So to ask you how you are feeling would be pretty stupid, wouldn’t it?’
‘I have had better days.’ She attempted a smile, gave up and gently touched the dressing on the side of her face. ‘Still, I can always look forward to auditioning for a part in a zombie movie. I might even have an advantage over some of the other hopefuls.’