by M A Comley
“I see. Did he have any visitors to the flat?”
“I don’t think so. Man, I can’t believe he’s dead. Decent chap, he was.”
“He was a regular at the pub then? Does that mean a lot of the locals will have known him down there?”
“I suppose so, although Denis tended to stick to the same crowd mostly.”
“Can you give us any names?”
“I can, but they would be no use to you. I only know their first names.”
“Why don’t you give us those anyway and we’ll do some digging back at the station?”
“All right. Mind you, you’d be better off going down the pub and seeing them yourselves. They’re always down there.”
“We’ll do that as well, but we’ll still need their names. Any idea what time they tend to meet up?”
“From around fiveish. I’ve finished college by then and join them for a quick half most days. Then I come back here and get on with my studies; it breaks the day up for me.”
“What are you studying?” Lorne liked Fletch. He seemed a very genuine character.
“Psychology.”
“What are you hoping that’s going to lead to in the future?”
He shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. I’ll probably end up stacking shelves at Tesco’s or manning the pumps at a petrol station, knowing my luck.”
“You will if you don’t think positively about your future.”
He chuckled, obviously feeling relaxed in their presence, unlike most people they interviewed regarding a murder victim. “Don’t you start. I get enough grief about that off my parents. Sorry for laughing, I shouldn’t be, not with Denis lying dead a few doors down. I get nervous in situations like this. Oh crap, me and my big mouth. I mean, not that I get questioned by the police a lot.”
“I get your drift, don’t worry. Do you have a part-time job?”
“Yep, I work at the pub most weekends, sometimes during the week if they have a function on, like a busy quiz night. It’s a great place to work, if you can call it that. It’s a relaxed atmosphere. The landlord, James, treats the staff as well as he treats his customers.”
“That’s great to know. Okay, if you can give us a list, we’ll visit the pub later and try and find these people in the hope that one of them knows something.”
Fletch spent the next few minutes giving Katy a number of names to jot down. They were all men, unsurprisingly, given what Fletch had said in a roundabout way about Denis not really liking women much.
“That’s fantastic. We’ll chase that up later. Thanks so much for your help.”
They left Fletch’s flat a few moments later.
“What’s your take on this?” Katy asked.
“Honestly? I think we’re looking at a female perp.”
“Really? Ah, I get you. It’s the dick being shoved in the mouth angle you’re going by, right?”
“You cotton on quickly, partner. That, and from what I picked up from Fletch about the deceased not liking women.”
“Did he actually make that generalisation? If he did, I must have missed it. All Fletch said was that Denis was divorced and he felt like women were an anchor around his neck.”
“Okay, thanks for correcting me. I stand by what I said, though. That was twenty years ago, and he hasn’t been involved with a woman since. You don’t think that’s strange?”
“For a man to go without sex for that long, yes, very strange. Maybe he went the other way.” Lorne raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “No, I didn’t mean he turned gay, far from it. What if he turned to paying for sex when he needed it? That way he wouldn’t have to deal with a woman being permanently in his life.”
Lorne nodded slowly. “You know what? You could well be onto something there. Okay, let’s not dilly-dally, on with the next one.”
“Would it be better if we split up? We’d get through them quicker. Oh, wait, silly me, no, you’re not feeling a hundred percent. Forget I said anything.”
“Already forgotten.” Lorne grinned, covering a griping spasm in her stomach. “I’ll tell you what I will do, ring the team and get them to see if Denis had a record.” She contacted Karen Titchard back at the station to get the ball rolling. Then they continued along the corridor to the next flat. Joy of joys, only six more to go!
Chapter 2
She couldn’t help it, she was shaking from head to toe. Her father was towering over her, jabbing her with his chubby finger.
“You put your sister up to this, disobeying me like that, didn’t you? There’s no point denying it. I can see it in your bloody eyes, girl. Admit it, go on, I dare you.”
She cowered and shook her head. I won’t admit it. Kathryn was hungry. She’d snuck a piece of bread from the bread bin to fill the gaping hole in her sister’s stomach. For a moment she thought her father was talking about something else—the fact she’d killed Denis. The fucker deserved to die, just like all the others over the years.
Her father paced the floor in front of her, invisible steam coming out of his ears. She hated him for what he’d put her through over the years. The abuse, in its many forms, had begun on the day of her seventh birthday, the day after their so-called mother left them. Deserting them, her and her sister, to seek out a better life for herself. What kind of mother leaves her two daughters for a violent man such as my father to bring up? If she had her way, she’d love to track down her mother through the Long Lost Family programme and kill the bitch. Let them find her. She’d sign up to the happy reunion, then once the cameras stopped rolling, she’d arrange to meet her mother at a secret location, tie her up and punish her daily for the rest of her life. Because at the end of the day, her mother leaving them the way she had, she’d signed them up for a life of abuse and torture. She had to be punished for that.
Despite her mother crying when she’d left and uttering the words ‘I love you’, nothing could be further from the truth, not in her eyes. She’d seen mothers turn up at a women’s refuge centre with their kids rather than leaving them in harm’s way with their fathers.
Her father swiped her around the head. “I told you to admit it. I tell you two when and what you can eat. Hear me? You have no right to eat the food I keep in this house without my damn permission. Don’t think you’ll get away with this either. Mark my words, you’ll be punished to within an inch of your worthless, good-for-nothing life. You hear me? I’ve had it up to here with you and that ungrateful sister of yours.” He tapped his forehead with the side of his flattened hand.
She knew how pointless it was to argue back. There was no way she was either going to admit or deny she’d stolen the food. She’d accept the punishment. It would be cruel and heartless like it always was, but she’d suffer the consequences to protect Kathryn, the same way she always had over the years. If she admitted to doing the deed, he’d more than likely keep her and her sister locked up for a week with no food, the way he usually did when they did something not to his liking. She would need to be cautious going forward. If he found out about the men, their lives wouldn’t be worth living, not that they were now. She had a number of potential victims on her list; she was grateful he hadn’t heard about the others she had killed over the years—after the first one, that was.
That night, ten years ago, he had discovered her under the tunnel after she’d killed Ross Collins. Realising what she’d done, against his better judgement, or so her father had told her, he’d helped her throw the man in the river after weighting him down by putting large stones inside his clothing. To her knowledge, Collins’s body had never been discovered. From that night until today, her father had never let her forget what she’d done. He taunted her daily, his intention being to keep her under his thumb, doing what he ordered her to do, in and out of his bed before his impotency had struck. She hated her life. While she had the courage to seek out the other men who had raped her, she knew she would never have the balls to finish her father off for good. Why? She didn’t have a clue. She knew, for her sister’s
sake as well as her own, she would be better off without him, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Maybe one day, in the not too distant future, if she was pushed far enough, that would all change. She kept a knife under her pillow just in case she ever changed her mind.
Her sister slept in the single bed next to her, in fear most nights. If anything, she should do it to protect Kathryn, just like she’d done all those years ago. However, killing their father was a different story. They relied on him to clothe and feed them. Between them, the sisters had nothing, not a solitary penny to their names. He’d ensured that over the years. He kept them imprisoned at home. The only times she had managed to get out to carry out her deeds was when her father was zonked out on his bed, drunk.
But she had plans to remedy that. She and Kathryn had been secretly working on something that would dramatically alter their lives in the future. They needed to put a few more pieces of the puzzle in place and then they would be free of this odious life. Her sister was traumatised by the plan; however, with her expert guidance, they would be celebrating their freedom soon enough.
And no, it didn’t involve murdering her father. She could never do that.
Not unless she was pushed to the limit.
Chapter 3
Lorne placed her head in her hands at her desk, the sandwich she’d recently consumed playing havoc with her stomach. Indigestion had been a frequent blight on her life since her injury. She winced as yet another bout of pain scraped through her insides as if she’d eaten a dozen razor blades for lunch instead of a mere sandwich. Katy entered the office.
“My God, Lorne. What’s wrong?”
She tipped her head backwards and sat back in the chair. “It’ll pass. I get this after every meal. The doctor said the pain will fade over time, but fuck, it bloody hurts. I’d put it right up there with what I experienced giving birth to Charlie. You know that’s why I didn’t want more kids, don’t you? I couldn’t bear going through all that pain again, and now I’m lumbered with this retched situation.”
“Shit, that’s terrible. You shouldn’t be here. You should go home, Lorne. Nothing is worth the pain you’re going through. Look at you, you’re deathly white and breaking out in a sweat.”
“Let’s just say that the injury combined with the damned menopause has that effect on me.”
“Double whammy! My heart goes out to you. Mum’s going through the menopause at present and is really suffering. She got some herbal tablets from Boots. They seem to be helping her combat the hot flushes. I’ll get the name for you if you like?”
“Bloody marvellous, thanks, Katy. The doctor wanted to put me on HRT, but when he told me what the stats were for the increased risk of cancer, I backed away swiftly. Cripes, I wouldn’t wish this combination on my worst enemy. Don’t ever get old, love.”
Katy shook her head. “I repeat, should you even be here? Let me take over the investigation while you go home to recuperate. I should stride down that corridor and give the DCI a piece of my—”
Lorne’s eyes widened as DCI Roberts entered the room behind Katy.
Her partner closed her eyes and opened them again and mouthed, “He’s behind me, isn’t he?”
Lorne nodded, trying to suppress a smile at the colour draining from her partner’s face and seemingly transferring to redden Sean’s.
“You were saying, Sergeant?” He folded his arms across his puffed-out chest and glared at the back of her head.
Slowly, Katy turned to face him. “Sorry, sir. I was just venting.” She pointed at Lorne. “She shouldn’t be here. She’s in pain and should be at home in her sickbed. I was only voicing my concern for a fellow colleague. I wasn’t meaning to be disrespectful…”
“I know exactly what your aim was, Sergeant. Don’t let me keep you from your work. We’ll discuss this at a later time, perhaps when you don’t have a murder enquiry on your hands.”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Katy darted past him and closed the door behind her as she left the office.
Lorne and Sean both burst out laughing. “That was evil,” she admonished him, wincing again.
Sean sat in the chair opposite her. “She’s right, you shouldn’t be here. You look like the walking dead.”
“You were never really one to lavish me with compliments. Please don’t start now, Sean. I’m fine. At least I will be once my lunch has settled.”
“Do you have to contend with this after every meal?”
“Yes. Mind you, at home I can take a gentle stroll around the paddock with Sheba until the pain dies down.”
He stood and walked around the desk and, placing an arm under hers, he eased her to her feet. “Come on, we’re going for a walk.”
“I can’t, I have work to do.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion, Inspector, now move.”
The pain instantly eased the second she got to her feet. “Yay, it’s gone now. I’m all better.”
He tutted. “I’ve warned you in the past about trying to kid a kidder, haven’t I? A quick wander around the picturesque station car park will do wonders for your afternoon health.”
“Picturesque station car park? Now I know you’re in the throes of losing your mind.”
“Whatever.”
They left the office, Sean’s arm tucked through Lorne’s, much to her embarrassment. Katy glanced up, her expression questioning what was going on.
“The boss is taking me for a stroll around our picturesque car park—his words, not mine. As soon as I get back, I’ll bring the whiteboard up to date and we’ll recap what you’ve all managed to find out during the course of the morning.”
The team kept their heads buried, but as soon as she and Sean had left the incident room, laughter broke out behind them.
“See what you’ve done? Made me into a laughing stock, you have. You bastard.”
“I’ve done nothing of the sort, and that’s bastard, sir.”
“You can be such a prick at times, Sean Roberts. I’m glad I’ve only got two weeks to go until I see the back of you.”
“You don’t think I believe you, do you? I know how much you’re going to miss this place and working alongside me in particular.”
“Has anyone ever told you how delusional you can be at times?” She snorted, trying not to laugh at his chauvinistic ego rearing its head.
“You’ll admit it when you’re gone. You’ll look back on your time here and regret your decision to throw in the towel early, I bet.”
They reached the main entrance, ignoring the strange stares coming from behind the reception desk, from Mick and a female constable on duty.
“I bet I don’t. I’m tired, Sean. Tired of life treating me cruelly. You’re lucky, you’ve never had the misfortune of waking up in a hospital bed, not knowing if you’re dead or alive. That sounds wrong; you know what I’m getting at. That situation has happened to me twice over the years, because of two crazy people, one male and one female, and to look at both of them, you would have tagged them as normal, not deranged psychopaths with an agenda. Which means that my sense of judgement where people’s states of mind are concerned are wayward right now. When a major attribute like that diminishes, it’s time to call it a day.”
“Granted, you’ve been on the receiving end of a couple of awkward situations, but you’ve come through it, Lorne, unlike other officers who have perished in the line of duty. That proves to me the depth of your resolve. That’s nothing to be sniffed at. You have to agree on that.”
“Do I? My take on the situation is that I’ve been fortunate to escape two nutters already and the third one is likely to finish me off. Third time lucky and all that.”
“That’s where we differ. I always think positively about things and push aside any negativity.”
Lorne came to an abrupt halt and stood there, her mouth dropping open for a few seconds. She recovered quickly to say, “What a load of bollocks you talk at times, sir. Off the top of my head I can recall at least a dozen instances where we’ve
disagreed about positive and negative views on cases, or are you going to discount them?”
“You’re still bloody determined to never let me win an argument, aren’t you?” He sniggered, surprising her.
“You were winding me up? How could you?”
“Because I wanted to see that fighting spirit of yours show itself. I want the old Lorne back. The one who mostly couldn’t give a shit what I thought. The inspector who has always been determined to get the job done whether that was with my authority or not.”
“She’s gone, Sean. She’s buried deep within me now. Why can’t you accept that and let me enjoy my retirement? I’m exhausted. Tired and frazzled beyond words. I need to feel the air around me, to care for all the abused and abandoned dogs who are relying on me to save them in this country. Let me do what I want to do without you heaping guilt on my shoulders. Will you do that?”
He shrugged. “The truth is, I’m not sure. I have my doubts that Katy is ever going to live up to your exacting standards. You can’t blame me for trying to guilt-trip you into rethinking your retirement, for all our sakes.”
“You’re so wrong about Katy. She’s filled my shoes adequately in the past, she’ll do it again when I’m gone. Give her a chance, Sean.”
He glanced down at his feet and scuffed the ground.
She placed a finger under his chin and forced him to look at her. “What aren’t you telling me here? I know you well enough to recognise when you’re keeping something from me.”
“I’m being forced to reconsider offering Katy the job. The super wants me to give the position to another inspector.”
Lorne gasped and ground her teeth, trying to think of the right words to say before her mouth ran away from her. “Are you kidding me? You can’t go back on your word now that you’ve offered her the job. The frigging super needs shooting, and I’ll gladly be the first in line to fucking do it. He’s an utter waste of space that man, always has been and always will be. You have to fight Katy’s corner on this one, Sean. You have to.”