Lady continued, admiring the discipline the women had taken to not scream or try to escape. It would have been a futile attempt anyway, but it was nice to know they hadn’t even tried.
She threw Evelyn into the nearest cell and closed the gate on her. What would she do with her now? She had plenty of options – kill her and use her body to send a message, or use her as bait for Mason. If she continued to play the game, she could even do both – waiting until Mason was looking into her eyes before she killed her. The thought excited her, the very idea of Mason feeling every little pinch of pain.
Struggling with choice, Lady took a scythe off the wall and returned to the chained-up women. The sight of blood was soothing to her, and if that didn’t help with her big decision then nothing else would.
28
Two hands rocketed towards Mason, grabbing at his coat and pulling him to his feet.
The second he was up, a fist came towards him, too fast to block. The wind shot out of his stomach in an instant, leaving him gasping for breath. These men were both a lot stronger than they looked, and he hated that he was finding out the hard way.
‘You think he’s had enough?’ one of them asked. Somehow, Mason didn’t think it was a show of genuine concern.
‘Nah, man. He’s still standing.’
They hit him again, a rapid flurry of punches to the gut and face. Mason even felt one land on his ear, sending a ringing sound through his head. He had been here before – two against one, unfair odds. But there was one thing that was always certain in this situation: they fed off their own confidence.
Surprise was his best weapon. While the men were still grinning, Mason sprang forward, kicking away from the dumpster with the flat of his foot. The bigger man was the first to go down, feeling the painful jab to his solar plexus.
The other man stood dumbstruck. Shock seized him as he realised he was alone, giving Mason just enough time to regain his balance.
‘Son of a–’ He came at Mason clumsily.
Mason used that to his advantage, swinging to the left and grabbing the man’s suit jacket. He had accounted for the man’s large weight, and used his hip as a pivot to throw him to the ground. Once down, he delivered a forceful kick to his gut.
Both men down, he ran towards the end of the alley. He convinced himself that it was sensible rather than cowardly. Only, as he approached the opening onto the street, three more men appeared. He was boxed in.
‘Grab him,’ the big man wheezed from behind, climbing to his feet.
Mason, for the first time in the history of his fistfights, felt extreme fear. Two against one was doable, but five on one… close to impossible.
Three pairs of hands came at him, pinning him to the wall this time.
‘You been hitting on my men, sir?’ the rodent-like one asked.
Mason didn’t answer him. More words meant more trouble. He glanced around for weak spots, hoping to find a way out of there. There was nothing of use.
The biggest man, who was now coming back to the crowd to take his vengeance, removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. ‘Let’s finish his punk ass.’
29
Nose raining with blood. Gums numbing from punch after punch.
‘How’s that taste, you son of a bitch?’
The others laughed as they held him. Mason wanted to point out that there was nothing tough about ganging up on someone. He had already proven himself fairly, only to protect the woman. She was gone now, and he hadn’t even noticed it happen.
‘Go fuck yourself,’ Mason said, before spitting a large glob of blood into the face of his assailant.
‘That’s how it’s gonna be, huh?’ The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, metallic object. He pushed a button and the blade flicked out, glistening under the sun.
Mason squirmed. He couldn’t die now. Not without making sure that Evie was safe. That Amy would grow up in a safe pair of hands. ‘Keep that thing away from me.’
It was only by some miracle that he heard sirens. They probably weren’t coming for him, but if he could attract the attention of the police then he had a chance of getting out of here… even if it did mean risking his own skin.
Mason was about to break out, to drive a foot into one of the men, when the police car pulled up at the entrance of the alley. The lights and siren stopped as two officers climbed out and came their way. Mason didn’t recognise them.
‘So,’ the first officer said. He was tall, bald, with perfect posture and a grin like a proud cat, ‘a hooker phones in complaining about a man who tried to help her in an alleyway, and this is what I find. Put him down, Jordan.’
The man pinning Mason stepped back, smiling smugly. ‘I was just teaching him some manners. You know how it is.’ He tucked the knife away quietly behind his back.
‘Oh, I know.’ Both officers stepped forward, the bald one first. ‘I know exactly how it is. Five men holding one poor fella down and taking turns hitting him. It’s very brave of you. Now get out of here.’
The man – Jordan – hesitated stubbornly. ‘What if I don’t?’
‘Then we’ll call for backup and have your entire business shut down. I could alert my captain and get a warrant to tap your phones, conceal cameras. Let’s see how long you can run a whore club then.’
Jordan pushed forward, aggression in his eyes. ‘You threatening me, officer?’
‘As a matter of fact, I am. We know about your business. Always have. It’s only a courtesy that we allow you to continue. So step out of my way and save yourself a lot of trouble.’
Mason watched with delightful surprise as all men walked slowly down the alley and out of sight, leaving him to adjust his clothes and check his gums for blood. ‘Thanks,’ he said to the officer.
‘Don’t thank us just yet. We need to take you back to the station. Mason, right?’
Mason felt a bead of sweat forming at his forehead. ‘Why?’
‘The captain requested it. Now, I just saved your ass. Return the favour and come quietly.’
30
They were keeping him waiting in the interrogation room, bored silly with the lights blindingly bright. It was a dirty trick, and they had stolen it straight from Mason. The idea was that it would leave people so restless that when they were asked questions, they would want to answer as quickly as possible so they could get out of there.
After what felt like an hour, the door opened and Captain Leanne Cox entered.
Mason tried to hide his surprise.
‘What, you didn’t expect to see me?’ she said, closing the door and pulling out a chair across from him. She’d had her hair cut to shoulder-length. It suited her in a Dana Scully sort of way. ‘Detective Bill Harvey will no longer be handling your case. This means that any little strings he might have pulled for you are now entirely cut.’
‘Strings?’
Captain Cox flung open a file and scanned through them, ignoring his question.
‘Why do you suddenly have it in for me, Captain?’ Mason was forthcoming with his question, a sign of respect for the woman. And he did respect her, even if she was trying to research his connection to the victims.
‘I have nothing against you personally, you understand.’ She didn’t even look up, only flinging a file and two photographs across the desk. ‘But I have to do my job. So, tell me, did you know any of these victims?’
Mason looked at them, squinting and turning them slightly to one side. He had seen these before, but they were no less disturbing.
‘Oh, don’t try to convince me that these are new to you. We know you’ve been all over town. A step ahead of us every time, in fact. Do me a favour, and don’t try to play me for a fool.’
Mason sighed, gently handing them back. The last thing he wanted to seem was aggressive. ‘All right. Look, Bill came to me with this picture,’ he pointed at the one of Johnny Walker, ‘which you can imagine drew quite a surprise.’
‘Quite.’
‘So, naturally, I
wanted to investigate, see why my name was cropping up in such a disturbing way.’
‘Understandable. Go on.’
‘A trail of clues and a couple of interviews led me this far, and…’ Mason wondered if he should mention Evie. Bill must have been looking for her by now, but was it on the record? If not, he didn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be. Not anymore.
‘Fascinating, Mr Black.’ If she was turning to formalities, it was a bad sign. She leaned forward, clasping her hands together and resting her chin on her knuckles. ‘But what I would like to know is how you knew where to start.’
‘Pardon me?’
‘You must have known something about this whole thing. Where did you go first? What exactly was your process?’ She smiled out the corner of her mouth. It reminded Mason of a cat with a bird in its mouth.
He filled her in on the details, missing out anything that might link him to last year’s incident with the Lullaby Killer. Captain Cox didn’t hesitate to mention that he had failed to solve the case. He didn’t fancy the idea of mentioning that he and Bill had buried him under a housing construction. He pictured the mangled corpse now, resting under the lawn while a young girl played with her dolls on the grass above. Wendell was still smiling.
‘So, what now?’ she asked, as if options were available.
‘You tell me.’
The captain rose slowly, tucking the file away. ‘I’d like to keep you around until this thing is solved. Is that okay with you?’
The suggestion startled him. Not only would it mean abandoning his search of Evie, but it would also open up the possibility of Lady Luck growing bored and handing some evidence over to the police. On the other hand, leaving would only make him seem all the more guilty. ‘Am I under arrest?’
‘Not currently,’ she said.
Mason stood up and brushed himself down. He must have looked a poor sight with the blood smears above his upper lip. ‘Then I have to leave. Excuse me.’
Cox stopped him on his way to the door, wrapping her fingers partially around his arm. ‘I’m going to get a warrant and come back, so don’t get comfortable.’ She looked deep into his eyes, looking ten-percent sorry and ninety-percent accusatory. ‘I’m on to you.’
31
It was early evening. Mason was halfway out the doors of the police station when Bill came running up behind him. He looked a mess, dark stubble sprouting from his cheeks, a creased suit shirt under a loose necktie.
‘What is it, Bill?’
‘What happened in there?’
Mason turned and walked, leading them away from prying ears. ‘A slap on the wrist, really. But the captain wants a warrant for my arrest.’
‘What? That won’t take long.’
‘Exactly.’
They headed outside and came to a crossing, where Mason considered taking a long walk to think this whole thing through. Maybe it would be easier to just confess his crime and have them look for Evie.
‘Whatever you’re thinking, don’t,’ said Bill. ‘Come on, I’ll take you home.’
After doubling back and climbing into Bill’s car, Mason sat shielding his eyes from the wintery sun. Fatigue was seizing him now, making it tough to process any kind of logical thought.
‘You need rest,’ Bill said, shifting gears.
‘I need Evie. Did you find out anything?’
Bill shook his head. ‘Sorry, buddy. I’m trying.’
‘But you didn’t report her missing yet?’
‘Not yet.’
That was for the better, Mason thought. As much information as he could keep from the police, the better. Although he had a little faith in his own abilities, it was beginning to look as though he might need some help soon.
‘And what about you?’ asked Bill, eyes fixed on the road. ‘Did you find the link between Wendell and this Lady Luck character?’
Mason sighed. ‘No. Whoever it was, they must have been close. He must have had somebody to share his secret with. Nobody just carries a burden like that.’
‘What are your thoughts?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe his mother.’
‘But she’s behind bars.’
‘Good point. Then… I suppose a friend. Who else would he talk to?’
Bill cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.
Mason studied him. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
‘Look…’ Bill licked his upper lip and swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. ‘Marvin Wendell had a therapist around the peak of his killing spree. If he confided in anybody–’
‘It would have been him or her.’
‘Him,’ Bill clarified. ‘But you didn’t hear this from me.’
Mason drew a cross over his heart. Hope to die.
‘Now, there is a doctor-patient confidentiality, so you might need to use a little force.’ Bill shook his head shamefully. ‘I can’t believe I’m telling you this. I’m going to be neck-high in the shit with this one.’
‘I’ll take the fall, so don’t worry.’ Mason glared out of the window, watching the world go by while he thought up some ideas. ‘All right, change of plan. Can you take me to Marcy Larkin? I need to grab my car and head back to the office, get this blood off my face.’
‘Sure. What’s at the office? Files?’
‘A clean suit,’ said Mason, ‘and my gun.’
32
Mason found his car covered in litter, with a crack snowflaked into the corner of his windshield. Figuring it was just the gang he’d been in a brawl with earlier today, he swiped off the snowball wrappers and stubbed-out cigarettes, and headed to the office.
A damaged windshield is the least of my worries.
When he arrived, he hurried out of the car and made a mental note of everything he would need for tonight. Bill had given him the address of Wendell’s therapist, and he would find a way to extract the information from him.
Mason crossed the road and stepped towards the office, when he saw a silhouette.
There was somebody inside.
The desk lamp must have been on, and the black figure moved across the room, looking through his things. The front door was closed, so there was no sign of forced entry. Mason wondered how they had gotten in.
Regretting his earlier decision to take the gun from his car and leave it in his desk drawer, he went around the back way. He passed the dumpster, snatched up a discarded beer bottle from the side and held the neck firmly. It would be as good a weapon as any, but if the intruder had a gun then he would need to get up close, quietly.
Mason reached the back door, slowly sliding the key in. Thankfully, this door was a quiet one and made almost no sound as he pushed it open. He peered around the corner and, seeing the person with their back to him, went inside.
His shadow crawled up the wood flooring, so Mason shut the door as quickly as possible, shutting out any light. He tiptoed across the hallway, which led out into the main office area.
He was ten feet from the burglar.
Five feet.
Two.
Mason had to act, now. As fast as he could, he smashed the bottle against the wall, making a weapon of the jagged glass remaining in his hand. The figure began to turn as he lunged forward, ready to pin the intruder and make him talk.
The person’s eyes were wide in shock, and they gasped loudly as the cold glass pressed against the skin of their throat. ‘Mason, don’t!’
33
‘Jesus Christ!’ Diane screamed, stepping away from him with shaking hands.
‘What the–’ Mason threw the bottle shards to one side, in the general direction of the trashcan. He went to the nearby sink and splashed warm water on his face. The blood drained in a scarlet whirlpool. ‘What are you doing here? How did you get in? I could have hurt you!’
‘I’m sorry! You didn’t turn up at Barlow’s, so I thought I would come and check if you were okay. The door was open and…’
As she explained herself, Mason took it all in and suddenly rea
lised it was Friday. In all of the worry for Evie, he had forgotten to cancel the date. It was so obvious now; she was wearing a beautiful blue dress, which flowed down to her knees and exposed the upper part of her chest. Somehow, it looked more classy than slutty. She seemed to know that she had beautiful skin, and showed it off while maintaining an element of modesty.
‘Diane… I’m so sorry. Some things just happened. I was going to cancel and–’
‘You were going to cancel?’
‘It’s not like that. It’s good to see you. Great, even. I just…’ Mason brought his palms to his eyes and rubbed, taking deep breaths. What he needed was a reset – a button that would allow him to enter the room casually and stop for a calm conversation.
‘Relax,’ said Diane. ‘If you don’t want to date me, I totally understand.’
‘No, I do. It’s just bad timing.’
Diane hung her head low before raising it with an artificial smile. ‘Okay. No problem.’
‘I don’t think you understand. Here.’ Mason gestured her into the clients’ seat and pulled his desk chair around to sit next to her. For the next twenty minutes, he explained as much as he could about the current case and Evie’s disappearance. It was probably a good choice to omit the details about Wendell.
‘So this Wendell guy goes missing – presumed dead – and you want to pressure his therapist?’ Diane had a way of confirming details without sounding the slightest bit condescending.
‘Exactly.’
‘And that will lead you to Lady Luck?’
‘I hope so.’ Mason slumped back in his chair. ‘If I find her, chances are I’ll find Evie.’
Diane bit her lower lip, staring at the ground in contemplation. ‘I really hope you find her, Mason. She’s been a good friend to me over the years. If there’s anything I can do to help…’
‘I appreciate that.’
Silence stole the room, but it wasn’t awkward. It was one of mutual upset.
‘Listen,’ said Diane, ‘Wendell’s therapist won’t be at the office at this time of night. Why don’t you clear your head and go up there in the morning? I’m sitting here in this silly dress, so we might as well have a conversation.’
Mason Black (The Complete Collection): 6 Gripping Crime Stories: The Complete Collection + BONUS Story Page 23