To Die For (DI Sam Cobbs Book 1)

by M A Comley

  Shelley flapped her hands around. “Why not? Why does everything have to be cut and dried all the time in your job?”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed. “We believe there’s a connection.”

  “Are you going to tell us what it is?” Shelley replied with a challenging tone. Her tears had dried up long ago.

  Crocodile tears, perhaps. “We believe the killer was searching for something in particular.”

  “Such as?” Shelley glared at Sam.

  “The bloody medals,” Jean filled in the blanks for her daughter, shaking her head at the same time.

  “Who asked your opinion?” Shelley shouted at her mother.

  “She’s right, Shelley. The killer was looking for the medals which the Chatleys had stored in a secret compartment at their farmhouse. We believe the killer tortured the three victims to obtain the information about their whereabouts. The trouble is, we’d taken them in as evidence once we knew of their existence.”

  Shelley’s mouth gaped open. She stared at her mother and brother and then shook her head. “I had nothing to do with this, you have to believe me.”

  “Do we?” her mother replied. “After what you’ve said here today, I don’t know you at all.”

  “Mum, I’m sorry,” Shelley pleaded. “I can’t say more than that.”

  “You disgust me. You’re only saying sorry in front of the officers because you’ve been found out. I want nothing more to do with you. You’re no child of mine.”

  “Stop it, Mum, this isn’t helping,” Ian said, obviously the peacemaker in the family.

  “Isn’t it? Four murders in one week, your own grandfather included in the body count, and you think I’m overreacting? If you believe that, Ian, then you can leave as well, and don’t come back. I thought I raised you two better than this. How dare you both look daggers at me as though I’m in the bloody wrong? How fucking dare you? Get out. The lot of you. Let me mourn my father in peace.” Jean slumped into the sofa behind her and buried her head in her hands.

  “Bob, escort Shelley out to the car. Cuff her first.”

  Her partner latched on to Shelley’s arm; she tried her best to resist, but Bob held firm. He made sure the cuffs hit her wrist, the way they always did when a suspect didn’t go willingly.

  “What are you doing? I didn’t do it. You can’t arrest me,” Shelley cried indignantly.

  “Heard the term ‘accessory to murder’, have you?” Sam asked.

  “That’s not me.”

  “You knew a crime was going to be committed and did nothing to prevent it, that’s being an accessory in the eyes of the law. Get her out of here, Bob, I’ve heard enough.”

  He struggled to get the wriggling woman out into the hallway, but eventually managed it. The room fell quiet. Sam’s gaze drifted between the mother and son. “Jean, I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

  She wiped her eyes on a tissue and then blew her nose. “I’m not, she’s an evil bitch, she needs punishing. You have my blessing.”

  “Jesus, Mum, will you listen to yourself? She’s your daughter, for fuck’s sake.”

  “If you’re siding with a criminal, Ian, you’re better off leaving before I say something I really regret. Go home and think about what you’ve just seen and heard, and then come back and apologise to me, because, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the one in the wrong here, she is.”

  He huffed out a breath and left the room.

  Sam watched him go and then knelt on the floor beside the distraught woman. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea this was how things would pan out today.”

  “You have nothing to apologise for.” She sniffled and wiped her nose again. “I’m grateful to you for discovering the truth. Who knows where it would have led if you hadn’t? Would they have come after me next?”

  Sam shrugged. “I really can’t answer that question.” With that, Sam’s mobile rang and Alex’s name filled the screen. “Sorry, I need to take this call.”

  “Go, don’t let me stop you. I’ll be fine once I get the anger and pent-up feelings out with a good cry.”

  Sam patted Jean’s hand and stood. “Alex, what have you got?”

  “He’s home, boss. Do you want us to arrest him?”

  “Thank God. No, wait until Bob and I get there.”

  “As you wish. Do you want us to stop him if he tries to leave the house again?”

  “Yes, keep him there. We’re on our way.”

  Jean stared up at her and Sam smiled as she disconnected the call. “We’ve got him, or near enough. I’m going to make tracks now to arrest him. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

  “Yes, you go. If you get the chance, give him a thump from me.”

  Sam smiled and left the room to find Ian in the hallway, his head down, looking depressed. “Hey, go home. I wouldn’t go in there right now, not until she’s calmed down.”

  “All I was trying to do was keep the line of communication open for them.”

  Sam rubbed his arm. “I know. I could see that. You were in an impossible situation. Let things lie for now. Come back tomorrow to see how she is, that would be my advice.”

  They left the house together. He approached the car and held his palm up to the window. His sister did the same from the back seat and mouthed ‘I love you’ to him.

  “Tell them everything, all right?” Ian instructed his sister.

  “I have,” Shelley shouted back.

  “Sorry, we have to go now,” Sam insisted. She got in the passenger seat of the car with Bob already in the driver’s seat. “Back to the house. Something has come up.”

  He nodded his understanding and drew away from the kerb.

  12

  Bob parked the car behind his colleague’s. Alex got out of the vehicle and approached them. “He’s still inside. Oliver is guarding the back door just in case he tries to leg it.” He peered into the back seat and frowned.

  “She’s the girlfriend, or fiancée, should I say. We’re charging her with accessory to murder; she knew about the first murder, the victim was her grandfather.”

  Alex glared at the woman, but said nothing. “What do you want me to do, boss?”

  “Sit in the back. Keep her company while Bob and I go make the arrest.”

  “Are you sure?” Bob queried. “Wouldn’t it be better if Alex and I went instead?”

  Sam looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “What are you saying? Or not saying as the case may be?”

  “Nothing. Forget I spoke,” Bob grumbled.

  Alex opened the back door and settled in beside Shelley. Sam and Bob left the car and crossed the road to Wayne’s house. Sam had her Taser to hand. “Hopefully, I won’t be needing this.”

  “Good to have, just in case things don’t go according to plan. This one could go either way.”

  “We’ll soon find out. Are you ready for this?”

  Bob grinned broadly. “Bring it on.”

  Sam rang the bell, removed her warrant card from her pocket and raised it up. The door opened and the man in the photo stood there, eyeing them with hatred filling his eyes.

  “Yeah, what do you want?” He was chomping on a sandwich, and he had the remains of it in his right hand.

  “Wayne Gillan?”

  “Yeah, who wants to know?” He finished chewing his mouthful and swallowed it down.

  “DI Cobbs and DS Jones. Mind if we come in?”

  He flung his sandwich to the ground and darted down the side alley.

  “Stop or I’ll Taser you. Stand still,” Sam shouted after him. He continued to run. “I will fire, stop now!”

  Oliver emerged in front of Gillan, but the suspect ploughed straight through him. Sam was in hot pursuit of Gillan. She called out one last time, “Stop or I’ll Taser you.”

  Wayne’s speed increased. Sam had no alternative, she feared he would get away if she didn’t react soon. She pulled the trigger and discharged the wires, which embedded themselves in the man’s back. He dropped to the ground. Fift
y thousand volts surged through his body, and he writhed around and pleaded with her to stop.

  For a moment, Sam forgot to take her finger off the trigger. Bob came to a standstill behind her and nudged her. “You can stop now, boss.”

  “Oops, I got caught up in the moment, silly me.”

  They both sniggered and advanced on the suspect who was crying out in pain. Oliver had dusted himself off and joined them. Then he and Bob got Wayne up on his feet. Oliver slapped the cuffs on him and, together, the two men marched the escapee back towards the house. Sam secured the front door and the four of them made their way towards the cars.

  Wayne spotted Shelley in the back of Sam’s car. He tried to kick out at the vehicle, but Bob was on the ball and dragged the suspect back before he could do any damage. “Bitch! You opened your fucking mouth, didn’t you? You’ll be sorry you did that.”

  Shelley burst into tears. Alex left the back seat of Sam’s car and joined them.

  “You take him back, we’ll join you at the station,” Sam ordered.

  “With pleasure.” Alex grabbed Wayne’s arm and steered him in the opposite direction.

  “How do you feel?” Bob asked Sam as they gathered their breath and watched their colleagues put the suspect in their car.

  “Relieved it’s all over. That reminds me, I need to get on to the lab and tell them we have a suspect in custody. They could compare the DNA found at the murder scenes.”

  “Good idea. Want me to drive while you make the call?”

  “Would you? Then I think I’m going to leave them both in a cell overnight and question them in the morning.”

  “Another excellent idea. We could both do with a nice relaxing evening.”

  “I doubt if I’ll get one, but I’m happy for you, matey.”

  Sam entered the reception area with her three colleagues and the two suspects, several feet apart. There was a commotion going on in the reception area.

  “What the hell is going on here?” she asked Nick.

  “This chap reckons he knows you, ma’am.”

  Sam turned around and came face to face with her brother. “What the…? Mike, what are you doing here?”

  He stopped struggling against his restraints and bowed his head. Sam peered over her shoulder at the desk sergeant, searching for an answer. He gestured for her to join him in one of the rooms off to the side. Once inside, he said, “He was arrested after someone found him in their house; he was robbing the place.”

  “What? Are you pulling my leg?”

  “Nope, I’m being deadly serious, ma’am. It was a few roads from your house.”

  Alarm bells went off in her head. “Fuck! No way. I wonder if he attacked my husband.”

  “Seems likely. I hesitated to suggest it myself, but I thought the same as soon as he came in. I didn’t realise he was your brother then. He started spouting his mouth off, saying we couldn’t touch him because he was related to you.”

  “Oh, did he now? The bastard. Do me a favour and throw the damn book at him. Jesus, what a frigging moron. Forget all about him being my bloody brother. He deserves what he has coming to him.”

  Nick smiled and nodded. “If that’s the way you want it, ma’am.”

  “I most certainly do.”

  They left the room. Sam ignored her brother and instructed her team to join her. She pressed the numbers into the security pad and the door swung open.

  “Sam, Sam, don’t desert me when I need you the most,” her brother shouted behind her.

  Fuck off, Mike. You’re a disgrace to me, to our family! Christ knows what mum and dad are going to say if they find out. I won’t tell them, not until they come back from their holiday.

  The custody sergeant booked Wayne Gillan in first. The charges were four cases of premeditated murder. Sam stood to one side with Shelley who broke down and sobbed when Wayne passed her by and spat on her. Sam shrugged the display of hatred off, unable to show Shelley any kind of sympathy. You reap what you sow!

  After dealing with the suspects, ensuring they were at opposite ends of the block of cells, Sam and her team made their way back up to the incident room.

  “Time for us to celebrate this one, boss,” Alex was the first to suggest.

  Sam knew she should go home and be with Chris, but the thought of dealing with another night of renovations irked her. “Indeed, just a quick one. Come on, everyone, the first round is on me, then I’m going to bugger off home and leave you to it.”

  The team didn’t need telling twice. En masse, they switched off the equipment and left the incident room. The second she set foot in the Red Lion across the road, Sam felt guilty.

  Bob leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I know that look. Relax, it’s only one drink. He won’t know, not unless you tell him.”

  “You’re right. I was actually contemplating whether I should tell him about my brother or not.”

  Bob sighed. “You’re going to have to, especially if it goes to court, which it will do.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll have the one, then drive home and face the music.”

  “I don’t envy you. Did you mention you were dipping your hand in your pocket to buy the first round?”

  “Cheeky shit! Yes, here you go, here’s forty, that should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

  “Possibly. I’ll add the rest.”

  “Blimey, no wonder I don’t go out drinking much these days, if it costs this much.”

  Bob chuckled and put the order in at the bar.

  Sam’s mind drifted back to her brother. He had sunk to an all-time low attacking Chris like that. Would she ever be able to forgive him?

  That was the burning question that rattled her mind all the way home that evening.

  Epilogue

  The next couple of weeks were some of the hardest, emotionally and physically, Sam had ever had to encounter. While her parents were away on holiday, Chris and Sam had moved into their house, mainly to get away from the renovation mess but also because they were both sick to death of having constant takeaways; the novelty had well and truly worn off quickly on that one.

  A week later, the kitchen arrived and the manufacturers managed to slot them into a cancelled installation spot, which meant Chris had to be on hand to ensure everything ran smoothly while Sam continued to work. She was in the process of wrapping up four murder cases. The paperwork was piling up around her ears most days and then she had to go home and clear up, even decorate the kitchen at the end of the week.

  Halfway through the kitchen being fitted, she caught Chris in one of his rare good moods and sat him down for a chat. It was then that she revealed her brother had been arrested for several burglaries in the area. At first, he was shocked by the revelation. It wasn’t until Sam pointed out that it had been confirmed that Mike was the one who had attacked him that it truly sank in. Chris went ballistic at her, as if she had something to do with what was going on in her brother’s head.

  Sam let him rant for a few hours before finally taking Sonny out for a walk to calm her nerves and to give her ears a break from all the names under the sun Chris was bombarding her with.

  She took the ‘boy wonder’ down to the park and was watching him merrily chase the squirrels from one tree to another. She jumped when a voice said behind her, “Hello, again. I was wondering if I would bump into you again.”

  Sam swivelled on the spot to find Rhys, the psychiatrist, behind her. She blushed. “Oh, hi, fancy seeing you here. How are you?”

  He beamed. “All the better for seeing you. I’ve been thinking about you. Don’t tell me that’s wrong of me.”

  “Okay, I won’t.” Her cheeks warmed up even more under his intense gaze.

  “Do you want to go for a walk, perhaps grab something to eat?”

  Hesitantly, she shook her head and a sudden lump rose in her throat. “I’m sorry, it’s out of the question tonight. I’ve got some clearing up to do at home.”

  He tilted his head. “Clearing up?”
>
  “We’ve just had a new kitchen fitted and… well, you don’t want to know the ins and outs of my dramas. Have you settled in at work now?” she asked, struggling to disguise the emotions raging within with a fake smile before her head dipped.

  “Yes, I found an office to rent in Workington, so I’m all good to start next week. Are you all right, Sam?” He placed a hand under her chin and raised her head up so their gazes met.

  Tears misted her eyes. She blinked them away and one managed to slip onto her cheek. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Easier said than done.” Rhys rubbed his thumb across her cheek to wipe away the fat tear. “I hate seeing you so upset. I have a reputation for being a good listener. You can have the first session for free.” He sniggered.

  Sam smiled despite her heart feeling as though it was splitting in two. What the fuck is going on here? “I’m sorry to run out on you like this, but I have to get back home. I only popped out to clear my head.”

  “We all need to grab a breather now and again. I hope it helped. See you again soon.”

  She blushed again and called Sonny to heel. They left the park moments later. Did it clear my head? I don’t think so. I think meeting Rhys has only confused me even more. Shit!

  THE END

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