by Ed James
Bridge tapped the screen. ‘Mulholland sent the staff home.’
‘Typical.’
Onscreen, the porter nodded as Katerina walked past him.
‘Shit.’ Fenchurch sat up. ‘Where does she go?’
‘Just a sec.’ Bridge typed into a window and the display switched to a view from further down the corridor.
Katerina walked through a door into a bedroom and shut it behind her.
Fenchurch recognised it — Jack Walsh’s shagging pad.
Fenchurch and Reed stood either side of the bedroom door. Bridge was further back, baton extended. Ready to rock.
Mulholland put a finger to her mouth then stepped forward and tried the door. Locked. She thumped it. ‘Katerina?’
Nothing.
Mulholland beckoned a male uniform over. ‘Open that for me.’
He frowned. ‘I’ve not got the key.’
‘Can you get one?’
He shook his head. ‘This room isn’t on the network, it—’
‘Use your shoulder, Constable.’
‘Right.’ The uniform took a step back and a deep breath. Then he shot forward, barrelling into the door.
It didn’t budge.
‘And again, please.’
‘Ma’am.’ The uniform was rubbing his shoulder. Grimacing.
‘Get out of the way.’ Fenchurch nudged him aside and launched himself at the door. It cracked and split down the middle.
The uniform kicked at the handle and the left half of the door flew open.
Mulholland barged past him into the room. Katerina flicked her wrist, splashing something all over Mulholland’s face. She screamed. Sounded like the gates of hell had opened.
Just like with Elliot. Acid hitting flesh. Screeching. Squealing.
Katerina ducked under Fenchurch’s swing and rushed out into the corridor.
Reed bent down to help Mulholland.
Fenchurch set off.
Katerina ran into the kitchen and slammed the door behind her.
Fenchurch tried the door. Not budging. ‘Katerina!’ A thump and it jerked open, then slammed again. She was behind it, pushing back. He kicked but the same thing happened. ‘Katerina! Let me in!’
‘Go away!’
‘I’m coming in.’ Fenchurch pushed at the door. It flew open and he fell forward, landing face first on the floor. ‘Shit.’
‘Stay there!’ Katerina was over at a cooker, flames licking the base of a pan. She twisted a dial and it turned blue, the gas hissing.
Fenchurch pushed up to standing. ‘It’s over.’
Katerina held up a bag of Blockchain. ‘I’ll take these! All of them!’
‘If you meant it, you’d already have taken them.’
‘You try and stop me!’ Katerina held up the frying pan, the copper base glowing red. ‘Get back!’
‘Come on, Katerina.’ Fenchurch stepped closer. ‘You don’t need to do this.’
‘I do!’ Katerina held four Blockchain pills in her free hand and put them in her mouth. ‘Happy now?’
‘Shit.’
Katerina reached for a glass of water on the counter.
Fenchurch lurched towards her.
Katerina swung out with the pan. Time seemed to slow down. Fenchurch jumped towards her, swinging out with his baton. He hit thin air.
Katerina hefted the pan up again and swung for Fenchurch, the air burning as the metal headed towards his face.
Fenchurch lashed out and smacked Katerina in the arm. She tumbled back towards the burner. Stepped on the pan and fell. He moved forward and grabbed her by the throat, then pinned her against the wall. Pots and pans fell around them, clattering off the floor.
Reed was on her Airwave by the door. ‘We need urgent medical assistance!’
Fenchurch opened Katerina’s mouth and reached down her throat. Got three of the pills out. Then again and he got the last one out. He rocked back, Mulholland’s sickening screams biting into his ears. Just like when Elliot was attacked.
Even she doesn’t deserve this.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Fenchurch stood in the hospital corridor, watching the paramedics wheel Mulholland away, still screaming. Her face had blackened, her hair burnt away. Way worse than Elliot.
Footsteps clicked behind him and Fenchurch let them past.
Instead, someone grabbed his shoulder. ‘You okay, Si?’
Fenchurch shook his head, then turned to face DI Winter. ‘Far from okay.’
‘Thanks for the call.’ Winter collapsed against the window. ‘I was going to say it’s been a great day. We’ve done that Dodoo guy for the Hackney attack. Don’t know what you did, but he’s squealing about a load of other attacks.’
‘Don’t say squealing.’
‘Right. Sorry.’ Winter yawned. ‘Not that he did any of them, but he knows who did.’ Another yawn, then some rapid blinking. ‘All the acid attacks I’ve investigated, Si, you never expect it to be one of our own. Even if it’s Dawn bloody Mulholland.’
‘Doesn’t change anything, Rod. You’ve got a suspect. Do her.’
‘Right.’ Winter’s shrug showed it was no consolation. ‘Anyway, when can I get in with this Katerina?’
‘After I’ve finished with her.’
‘Give me a bell, yeah?’ Winter set off down the corridor, following the wave of medics, leaving Fenchurch alone with his thoughts.
Mulholland didn’t deserve that acid attack. Nobody would. Right in front of my face. A desperate schoolgirl, lashing out because she was caught.
Like I’ve tumbled out of the window. Up is down, black is white, inside is out.
‘Simon?’ Liam was sitting on a bed just off the corridor, frowning at him. ‘What the hell?’
Fenchurch walked over to the room. ‘Jesus, Liam, are you okay?’
‘Got the worst hangover ever, but other than that, fine.’ Liam pressed at his temples. ‘Heard you saved me?’
‘I found you, but you and I both know there’s no saving you.’
Liam laughed, then went back to pressing his temples, eyes shut. ‘What have they given me?’
‘Something to counteract the poison Katerina gave you.’
‘Shit.’
‘Yeah, shit. What the hell were you playing at, Liam? Messing about with a schoolgirl.’
‘She was just a source. That’s all.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘That’s how it started, anyway.’
‘Liam, did you—’
‘No.’ Liam clawed at the air, cutting Fenchurch off. ‘Look, what I’ve told you is all true. It’s just . . .’
‘Not all of it?’
‘Right. Not all of it.’ Liam scratched at his scalp. ‘She started out as a source, giving me all this shit about the school. But . . . she started asking me favours. Small stuff, like giving her a lift to work. Then she asked me to put stuff in a story to hurt some kid at school.’
‘Who?’
‘Doesn’t matter. Nobody you’ve met.’
‘Why did you go along with it, Liam?’
‘Because she was threatening to go to the police, saying I raped her. When she was fifteen.’
Fenchurch went to shut the door, but Cally was approaching, sucking on a coffee. He left it and turned to Liam. ‘You didn’t, did you?’
‘Of course not!’ Liam punched the bed. ‘How can you . . .?’ He broke off, panting. ‘But who are they going to believe? Eh? They’ll always go with the girl. I’d be finished. I’ve worked so hard to get a proper job in journalism and she’d just take it away.’
‘And Ben Maxfield? I thought I knew you. What are you doing speaking to vermin like him?’
Liam looked away. ‘He said he could help.’
Cally entered the room and smiled at Fenchurch, but it was a glower by the time she spotted Liam. ‘You’re awake, then.’
‘Doesn’t feel like it.’
‘Liam.’ Fenchurch walked over to the door. ‘You should’ve come to me.’
&nbs
p; ‘I didn’t feel like I could.’
‘About what?’ Cally was scowling again. ‘What’s he talking about?’
‘This daft bastard let himself get played by a schoolgirl.’
‘Listen. I know you’re both pissed off at me, but I’m telling the truth here. She got to me. And you two. You’re the only people I’ve let in since Saskia died. I . . . I wish I’d been honest with you.’
Katerina sat there, head bowed, mouth pinched.
‘That’s how you’re playing it, is it?’ Fenchurch sucked air across his teeth. ‘Let’s start with DCI Dawn Mulholland. You splashed acid over her face. It’s not looking good for her. Much stronger stuff than they used on Elliot.’
Katerina ducked her gaze lower.
‘How did you get the stuff?’
She shrugged. ‘It was for Sutekh. I was going to disfigure him, make it look like one of those acid attacks.’
‘You gave him some Blockchain. Put it in his coffee and left him to die.’
‘That was just to incapacitate him.’ Katerina looked at him, her eyes tiny. ‘He’s a filthy pervert. Kept touching me in the kitchen. Thinks he can get away with that shit because he’s a man.’ She smiled to herself. ‘Liam’s just some idiot who listened to me. People shouldn’t do that.’
‘You’re lucky, though. He’ll live. That’s probably not what you wanted to happen, is it?’
She shook her head.
‘Did you have a plan? Did you think you’d be able to get away with it?’
‘Why do I need a plan? I did what I did.’
‘You were going to kill yourself, weren’t you?’
‘Forget it.’
‘Katerina, did you murder Gayle Fisher?’
‘Do you want me?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘All the pain you’ve gone through. You must miss your daughter being young. I could be her.’
‘Stop it.’
‘I could be her. Take my clothes off for you. Let you put me to bed.’
‘We’ve got your computer.’ Fenchurch pushed a printed screenshot across the table. ‘Looks like you kept watching that video of Gayle having sex with Elliot. You liked what you saw, didn’t you?’
‘You want me, don’t you?’
‘Katerina, I know Gayle was your friend. I know you liked her but—’
‘I didn’t kill her!’
‘We found the stories, the photos, the videos.’ Fenchurch shook his head at her. ‘You were obsessed with her, weren’t you? Like you . . . kept asking to see my daughter. Why did you kill Gayle?’
‘No! No! No!’
‘Katerina. You bought Blockchain from Oliver Muscat-Smith. You threatened to kill yourself with it two hours ago. If I hadn’t got it out of your throat, you would’ve died.’
She just sat there.
‘You tried to kill Liam in the room where you killed Mrs Fisher. Why?’
She tilted her head and bit her lip.
‘Liam and Sutekh will pull through, too. They’re in hospital now. It’s just as well that I found them before it kicked in.’
‘You’re making a habit of that, aren’t you?’ Katerina gave an impish smile from under her fringe. ‘Elliot. Liam. Sutekh. Me. Such a hero. I want you so bad. Do you want me?’
‘You . . . You’ve scarred DCI Mulholland for life.’
Katerina hid behind her hair again. ‘Let me go. I’ll be yours, Simon. Your plaything. Your new daughter.’
He saw through the schoolgirl and saw the monster underneath. Christ knows what had caused it, but he could see the evil lurking below the surface. How she could see that killing made sense, that disfiguring someone was better than telling the police about their sexual misconduct. Sadism was the first choice.
‘Why did you kill Gayle?’
Katerina took some advice from her lawyer, a series of whispers. Then she shrugged. ‘Why do you think?’ She left a big pause. They’d lost her. Then: ‘You’ve been through my computer.’ She shrugged, tears filling her eyes. ‘I loved her. I wanted to be with Gayle. I thought I could push her away from her husband. I thought we could be together. Happens all the time, teachers and pupils, think there’s a two-year amnesty on it. That’s hardly any time.’ She rubbed at her eyes. ‘Then Oliver showed me the video of Gayle and Elliot . . . Made me think about her in a different way. I wanted to stop it. Stop her. Stop both of them.’
‘So you told Liam about it and he published the story?’
‘That’s just the start of it.’ Katerina pushed her hair back, baring her forehead. ‘I wanted to ruin her. She hurt me. Like you can’t imagine.’
‘Believe me, I can.’
‘You can’t. What happened to your daughter is because you’re a shit father.’ Her eyes were all over Fenchurch, looking for a reaction.
He sucked in breath, trying to keep calm, keep quiet. His heart thudded, could taste bitter coffee in his mouth, blood in his throat. ‘You were careless. Let some men take her off the street. I wasn’t like that.’ She craned her neck forward. ‘I loved her. I know she loved me. But she rejected me. Went with Elliot. Elliot.’ She punched the table. ‘Elliot.’ Another punch. ‘Lynch.’
‘Did she ever say anything that made you—’
‘All the time. Every smile. Every word. I knew. I knew.’
‘And she just happened to be at the hotel?’
‘Meant I had to think fast.’ She bunched her hair up again. ‘I was working at the hotel on Friday and saw Steve Fisher, guess it’d be about ten past nine. The story had broken Steve in two. Made him angry. Seeing someone feeling the same way I did about her made me feel better. She’d made me feel that way, she’d made her husband feel like that too. So I helped him.’ She pushed the desk but it didn’t budge. ‘I knew which room she was in. I’d copied Jim Muscat’s keycard ages ago for when I planned to get Sutekh. Turned out I had a better use for it, so I used it to get into Gayle’s room. She was shocked when she opened the door, tried to shut it, but I hit her on the head. Knocked her down. I snapped on the ties, found these handcuffs in her purse — she probably used them with Elliot. She woke up, but I’d secured her. She asked what I was doing. I asked if she loved me, but she . . . she didn’t answer. That was it. I gave her three Blockchain pills.’
‘You just sat there, watching her die?’
‘Right. She was angry with me. I’d never seen that much hate. Then she started smiling. I could see the love in her eyes. She loved me. Deep inside, she wanted me. Wanted me like you do. Right then, I knew I’d been right. I wish I could watch her die in blissful happiness, but I needed to get out of there. I met Liam and he gave me an alibi.’ Katerina smiled like a priest hearing God whispering in her ears. ‘If I couldn’t have her, then nobody could.’
Fenchurch tried to swallow the monster crawling up his throat. ‘Where did you get the Blockchain?’
‘Oliver. He warned me. Quarter each, max. I thought it was perfect.’ She brushed her hair again. ‘I knew he was selling stuff over the bar. Kept going on about how good Blockchain was. But I saw a story in the paper about this girl in Hammersmith who died. Then it clicked.’ She smiled again. ‘Oliver thought he was a big shot. Wanted to be a footballer but that was never going to happen. He was talking about how he’s passing his dealing on to Elliot, like he was trying to stop. But he liked the money and the power too much. Loved mixing with people like Coldcut. His supplier. You hear them talk about him, you think he’s black, but he’s this big white guy. Came into the bar to see Oliver every so often. I started chatting to him one day. He’s not too bad.’
‘We know who he is. He’s murdered people.’ Fenchurch smiled at her. ‘Then again, so have you.’
‘Coldcut came in yesterday, needed to speak with Oliver. He was furious with Elliot. Kept pressuring Oliver, wanted to know where he was. Even asked me. I said I didn’t know. It was the truth. Yesterday, I didn’t know where Elliot was. But when I got to school this morning, I found out he’d been in hospital. Almost died, but
you saved him. What a waste that would’ve been, dying from drinking his own poison. But I heard Ben Maxfield say he’d take Elliot to his grandmother’s. So I texted Coldcut, told him where Elliot was. Next thing I heard, they’d attacked him with acid.’
‘His face is scarred all over, thanks to that attack.’
‘I wish I’d thought of it.’ Katerina shrugged. ‘You think I’m ashamed of it? They’re all disgusting. They all deserve to be dead. Now they can’t harm anyone.’
‘So, Oliver gave you the video as well as the drugs, didn’t he?’
‘He just showed me it.’
‘Katerina, I found the video on your laptop. Stop lying to me.’
‘I gave it to Steve.’
‘What?’
‘Tonight. He called me up. Said he wanted to see the video. I met him, gave him a copy.’
‘He tried to kill himself.’
‘He’s the one good guy in this, you know?’ Katerina shook her head. ‘He just wanted to get back at Gayle.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘When I told him she was there, he wanted to see her.’
‘Which entirely contradicts everything you’ve just told me.’
‘I know.’ She gasped. ‘I can’t keep lying.’
Fenchurch didn’t know whether to start believing her, but it was worth a shot. ‘So what actually happened?’
‘Steve said he just wanted to speak to her. I said I couldn’t do that. But he said it was okay, he just wanted to speak to her. So I took him up, but she didn’t answer the door. So I let him in using that keycard and Steve grabbed her, tried to make her see it was all okay, tried to forgive her.’
‘And what happened?’
‘Gayle wasn’t having any of it. She started laughing at him, saying he was pathetic. So he hit her. Knocked her over. Then he started panicking, so I calmed him down. I told him what I was going to do to Sutekh and he liked it. He just nodded and let me get on with it.’
‘Are you telling the truth?’
‘Of course I am. But I left him, got Liam to pick me up. Steve stayed there, watching her die. Said he threw away her purse and phone in the lane. Some women saw him, but he didn’t think they recognised him.’
‘How do you know?’
‘He called me up, said he wanted to take the blame for it, but only if I got the video. I said I was framing Elliot, but he didn’t think that’d work. You’d be back to him soon enough.’