by Mel Sherratt
A few minutes later, Grace excused herself and went to the bathroom. She ran cold water over the inside of her wrists, aware how hot she was. It was great of Nick to take time out to chat to her, but she knew there was a hidden agenda. He wanted to see how much she had learned about the Steeles. She hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed when she had nothing to give to him.
Maybe it had something to do with loyalty. She felt unable to relax with the very people she needed to have her back. Teamwork was imperative in this job and yet she just didn’t feel like a part of this one yet. At the moment she felt like the kid who was always left behind, that no one wanted on their side. That someone reluctantly had to have to make up their numbers when picking a team.
But it was entirely understandable. Perry, Sam and Alex all knew each other, regardless of who she was coming in and rocking the boat, plus she had upset the dynamics by taking Allie’s job. No excuses, but it wouldn’t be easy for them.
As she came out of the bathroom, into the lounge again, a new group of people had come in and were standing at the bar. Amongst them she recognised one of the faces. It was Simon. She smiled as he caught her eye and beckoned her over.
‘Hey! How’re things next door?’ He glanced around the room, spotting Nick. ‘Is this a social meet-up or a work thing?’
‘Isn’t it always a bit of both?’ She found herself smiling. ‘I don’t think either of us will ever be off duty officially.’
He smiled too. After introducing her to his colleagues, he offered to buy her another drink.
‘No, thanks. I’m going to head off home soon.’
‘Pity. I was looking forward to more of your company.’
She blushed but didn’t take her eyes from his. Up close, he was getting better looking every time she saw him. She noticed the grey specks in his eyes, the clean and trimmed goatee beard he was sporting.
‘I was wondering if you fancied grabbing a bite to eat one night?’ he said, almost looking at the floor now. ‘That is, after you’re done with this case.’
She laughed inwardly. It was like being a teenager again, half wishing she had a friend to answer on her behalf.
She nodded. ‘That would be great.’
He smiled again and raised his glass. ‘It’s a date then. Or rather a provisional date. I gave you a card, didn’t I?’ He patted down a couple of pockets on his jacket.
‘Yes, I have your number.’
‘Great!’
‘Right, I’d better get back to Nick.’
She sat down and picked up the remainder of her drink. Hearing laughter, she glanced over to see Simon, talking with his hands to a rapturous audience. He looked so comfortable in his skin. He certainly appeared to be well-liked. He seemed nice without being intrusive, too over the top, too suggestive.
‘I see you and Simon are getting friendly,’ Nick acknowledged.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Her tone was defensive. Did he think she shouldn’t be talking to him because he was a journalist?
Nick held up a hand. ‘I just noticed you seemed happy around him.’
‘More at ease with him,’ she muttered. ‘You lot are hard work when you gang up on me.’
‘Gang up on you?’ Nick laughed. ‘Just because you come from Manchester?’
‘Funny, ha ha.’
A message pinged into Grace’s phone.
She retrieved it, hoping it wasn’t anything to do with work.
It was and it wasn’t. She covered it with her hand so that Nick couldn’t see it. It was from Jade Steele.
Can you meet me? I have something to show you. Jade.
THIRTY
Perry parked in his drive and killed the engine. He’d been in Chimneys when he’d spotted Grace and Nick come in. He’d managed to give them the slip through the crowd, glad they hadn’t noticed him. He didn’t want to speak to either of them at the moment, unsure how he felt about Grace. Not because of who she was, but because she had kept it from them. Sure, she must have been under pressure, but she did have a mind of her own.
The light was on in the hallway when he got home, but it was dark in the living room. He closed the front door quietly and slipped off his shoes. Rather than throw his keys down as he would always have done in the past, he placed them quietly on the hall table. Then he padded through to the kitchen, trying not to make any sudden movements and noises.
Lisa was pacing the floor, her short blonde hair a little choppier than normal. Their son, Alfie, was wide awake in her arms.
‘Hey.’ He kissed her forehead and took the baby from her. ‘How’s he been?’
‘Grumpy, like his father.’ Lisa yawned. ‘I’m warming his feed. Would you like a drink?’
‘I’m not much for baby milk.’ He grinned.
Lisa pulled a face at him as she busied herself making up the formula. Perry knew how upset she had been when Alfie wouldn’t latch on to her when he’d been born. She’d struggled for a week and then given up. But it had been good for Perry as he’d been able to take turns feeding him too.
He decided not to have a drink. He needed to get some sleep.
‘How’s the case?’ Lisa asked. ‘I saw Grace on the news again. She’s very pretty.’
There wasn’t a hint of jealousy in her voice. Perry and Lisa had been married for thirteen years and Grace wasn’t a threat to either of them. Their marriage was solid, despite the severe divorce statistics of being married to a cop.
‘She’s also George Steele’s daughter,’ he said.
Lisa stopped what she was doing. ‘No way!’
Perry updated her with the day’s events while Lisa gasped and held her mouth open.
‘Will she be removed from the case now, do you think?’ She squirted a few drops of milk on her forearm to test its heat.
‘I really don’t know. She should be.’
Perry bounced Alfie up and down in his arms. He’d thought Grace would be put on something else as soon as they had found out she was related to George Steele. Part of him had been ready to step up to the mark. It would have been great to have her as his deputy as she had a keen eye and a quick brain, but no, Nick had decided to leave her be for a while.
‘That guy Josh Parker was a hunk.’ Lisa put the bottle down and took Alfie from him.
‘Hey!’ He tried to look insulted.
‘You know what I mean. Physique-wise. I can’t imagine anyone ever getting the better of him. Someone must have nerves of steel.’
‘Hmm.’ Perry thought about that. ‘That might literally be true if it turns out any of the family are involved.’
‘What?’ Lisa’s brow furrowed in confusion.
‘Nerves of steel. As in their surname being Steele.’
‘Oh yes.’ Lisa laughed. ‘Do you have any leads?’
‘No, not yet.’
‘So, how is Grace dealing with it? You know, besides dropping that into conversation.’
‘Just the same as I would.’ His voice had an edge to it. Grace was doing fine, but he wanted her to fail. It should have been his first murder case as a sergeant. It didn’t seem fair, especially now she had revealed her links to the family.
When Allie had left an opening, everyone had been sure he would get it. He’d felt pretty stupid when he’d found out he’d been unsuccessful. Even worse when it was someone from another force.
He missed being with Allie. He’d been working with her for so long that she was like family to him. She was only a few minutes away, in another part of the city centre, but it might as well be miles for the time that he didn’t get to spend with her now. It had affected him more than he had let on to anyone when she had left their team. He couldn’t trust Grace now, not like he had Allie.
Besides, everyone knew it was best to be promoted in-house rather than travel. He wanted to stay in Stoke now he had finally started a family. He couldn’t expect Lisa to up and leave if anything else came up. Not with her network of support from her mum and sisters. So he’d either have to look
outside of the Major Crimes Team to another division or stay as he was. He hadn’t decided yet, mainly because he didn’t want to leave the team he worked with. And murder was always interesting. There was never a dull day.
‘I meant about your team knowing who she is.’ Lisa glanced over at him. ‘Look, I know you miss working with Allie, but you have to move on. Bring Grace round for tea.’
‘After today? I don’t think so!’
‘Oh, come on. It wasn’t her fault. You said Nick didn’t want anyone to know.’
‘We won’t be finished with this case for some time yet.’
She gave him a stern look. ‘I want to see what she’s like.’
‘Vet her, more like.’
Lisa nodded. ‘She can’t be as terrible as you’re making out. Yes, she pipped you to the job, but you can’t hold that against her.’
‘I’m not.’
‘You are.’ She popped a bib over Alfie’s head, wrestling his arms out of the way. ‘Your son has the same stubborn streak. Invite her for tea on Thursday. If you’re still busy with this case, you can change the night.’
Perry sighed. ‘You’re not going to let it rest, are you?’
Lisa shook her head. He kissed her on the forehead again.
‘I’m going to grab a shower. Do you mind?’
‘Not at all. You’re on the midnight wake-up.’
Perry smirked. He might just get an hour’s kip before then, if his mind would settle.
Most of the dead bodies he’d seen during his time at work had been as a result of beatings or stabbings. There had been a few domestics and the odd shotgun take-down, yet nothing as macabre as this one. Their work involved serious assaults and robberies, and the recent spate of cash-and-grabs Alex was looking into. Things like this didn’t happen too often in Stoke-on-Trent, and they always kept him awake as he worked through everything.
The case fascinated him already, but if he’d voiced that to Lisa, she wouldn’t understand. Two men murdered and stabbed in the heart. It took a warped individual to do that.
But, after the disclosure, did he trust Grace enough to work with her while they figured out who it was?
THIRTY-ONE
MONDAY – DAY 7
Grace sat at her desk, surrounded by her team but feeling very much on the periphery. The mood had been sombre since Nick’s revelation, but they were all adults and so had got to work, their differences set aside for now. But Grace could still sense them simmering in the background.
At team briefing, Nick pointed out numerous pieces of information that had come in with regard to Josh Parker and Dale Chapman.
‘Do we know what the weapon is yet?’ Grace asked, sitting forward so she could see everyone.
‘All we can tell for sure is that it was heavy and small – held in the hand,’ Nick explained. ‘It was used too many times on the victim to make a good impression in what was left of their head.’
From the corner of her eye, Grace saw Sam shudder at the image this brought up. It was almost too hard to imagine if they hadn’t seen it.
‘When Alex went over George Steele’s case with me,’ Grace said, ‘it sounds possible that it could be the same type of weapon that was used to attack him too. Obviously we can’t be certain, but the similarities are there because of the force used. What about a hand weight? Could that do so much damage?’
‘It might very well do. Good work.’ Nick nodded at both her and Alex in turn. ‘This could be a potential lead. Let me know the minute you get anything from Dave Barnett.’
‘I’ve been going through Dale Chapman’s financial records from the Financial Forensic Unit,’ Perry said. ‘There are some interesting findings. His company was running well, but there are irregularities of large sums of money being taken out on a monthly basis. I can’t find anything to suggest where it went. Cash transactions. One thousand pounds once a month for the past year. Then it stopped. His bank account now shows his money dried up.’
‘Interesting.’ Nick paused. ‘Are there any accounts we don’t know about that it was paid into?’
Perry shook his head. ‘I can’t find anything. There was a cash payment of five thousand going into a personal account a few months ago, but most of that has gone too. All drawn out a thousand pounds at a time. All in cash.’
‘Drugs, maybe?’ asked Alex. ‘Steroids. Money borrowed from the Steeles?’
‘If no money is going in, could he be paying someone to stay quiet about something he doesn’t want anyone to find out about?’ Grace suggested.
‘Highly likely.’ Perry pointed to the sheet of paper he’d brought with him. ‘There are three payments to an online website, Dennings Toys. Turns out it sells sex products. That could give us a link to Josh Parker, with the bag of toys we found in his locker. I’m waiting on a phone call back from their accounts department.’
‘So our victims could be more than just acquaintances at the gym?’ Grace raised her eyebrows. ‘Do we need to be looking into their sexual activities?’
‘We can be discreet until Perry hears back about the email,’ Nick said. ‘Were there any irregularities with Josh Parker’s finances?’
‘No,’ Perry told them. ‘He had a regular salary paid in and payments going out, and there is twenty grand in a joint savings account with his wife.’
‘Any more forensics we should know about?’ Nick asked.
‘We haven’t found the knife, but the incision indicates it was the same size as the one used to stab Josh Parker. Confirmation will come through once the PM results are back.’
‘Footwear.’ Grace handed around photocopies of the shoeprint image found at Dale Chapman’s crime scene. ‘These have been identified as Adidas Originals ZX Flux – retail around fifty pounds. Very popular and widely available, so no help with that.’
‘We need to be thinking who might be next if we don’t get the bastard in time,’ Nick said. ‘But let’s keep on the cross-referencing with our victims. It’s great work and coming together.’
About to sit down at her desk, Grace glanced at her in-tray, her eyes flicking to a small jiffy bag that had landed there. She reached for it and opened it up. Inside was a tiny plastic Lego toy. A yellow dog. She frowned as she studied the envelope. Just like last time, there was a sticker with her name and the station address typed on it, and a local postage stamp. There was no return address. She popped the envelope in her drawer discreetly and, hiding the toy in her hand, went to show it to Nick. Even if there turned out to be no connection, she’d be better telling someone of it.
She rapped a knuckle on the door frame, walked in and closed the door behind her.
‘I’ve had two toys delivered through the post, Nick.’ She told him about the Barbie doll and placed the dog on his desk.
Nick glanced at her before picking the dog up to examine it. ‘Did anyone else see it?’
‘Not the second one.’ Grace shook her head.
‘Any thoughts?’
‘It could be the Steeles warning me away from the job. I think these might be mine.’ Grace took the toy from him. ‘I left quite a few things behind when we fled from the house. Only the Steele family would know where to find them.’
‘So what is their relevance?’
Grace shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’
Nick frowned, deep in thought. ‘Let’s keep this between us for now.’
‘I’m not doing that again!’ Grace’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘My team will never trust me. And the DCI said that—’
‘There are a lot of other things we have to get cracking with,’ he interrupted.
‘I don’t feel comfortable about this, sir.’
‘Grace.’ Nick looked at her. ‘Just trust me on this one for now. You and I know we have them, that’s all that matters. If they need to be brought up, I’ll figure out when.’
Feeling backed into a corner, Grace nodded and left the room. She walked across to her desk again, her cheeks burning as the pressure mounted.
&nb
sp; What was going on with Nick? She had to question if he had her best interests at heart, or if he was out to get the Steeles no matter what the fallout would be for her.
THIRTY-TWO
Then
She couldn’t believe she’d been given the doll. Dad had come home, laughing and merry, and handed it to her.
‘Happy birthday, little ’un,’ he said.
Her very own Barbie. She didn’t have many toys, so this was a real treat. She threw her arms around her daddy’s chest and squeezed him hard. ‘Thank you, Daddy!’
She couldn’t wait to take Moonlight Rose to school. At last she could join in with all the others, although she knew some of her classmates wouldn’t be seen dead playing with dolls any more. But she didn’t care about that.
She played with it all weekend. She never let it out of her sight. She even tucked it up in bed with her on Saturday night. She spent ages talking to it, telling it all about school, her friends and how much fun they were going to have together.
She didn’t have a birthday party, not like most of her friends when they had reached the age of ten. But she didn’t mind that. She was just happy with her doll. She’d wanted one for so long.
But everything changed on Sunday night. She was tucked up in bed and woke to Daddy shouting. Suddenly the bedroom door opened and he stood in the doorway.
‘You,’ he pointed at her. ‘You’ve been a naughty girl.’
‘No, Daddy, I haven’t.’ She sat up and her doll fell to the floor. She saw him follow it with his eyes and she knew what he was going to do. She reached for it, but he pushed her hand away and grabbed it.
‘Is this thing more important than your old man?’ He put his face down close to hers.
‘No, Daddy. I love you so much.’ Instinctively, she put her arms around his neck and gave him a hug.
He pushed her away, staggering a step backwards. Then he laughed as he took her doll and clenched a fist around it. Then he pulled off its head.
‘Please, Daddy, don’t,’ she cried. She couldn’t help it, she knew he didn’t like it when she talked back at him. Her tears wouldn’t stop, even though he hated to see her cry. He said she was weak when she shed a tear.