Turning on his heels he headed back into the bedroom and looked down onto the deserted street. This estate was a shithole overrun with animals who didn't give a toss about anyone else other than themselves. It reminded him of the place he had been brought up in, the same box like houses the same weed infested gardens. Pitt shuddered at the memory before moving back to the bed.
Dragging out his phone, he brought up the name Norv and pressed the call button, after a few seconds it went through to voice mail.
'It's me Norv I've found some of the stuff and I'm at the house but the birds not shown up yet so I'm gonna hang around for a bit and see if she turns up. If not, what do you want me to do?' he paused as if waiting for an answer before ending the call.
His stomach rumbled and he suddenly realised how hungry he was.
'Might as well see if she's got any nibbles in,' he mumbled before heading down the stairs to scavenge for food.
121
Amy pulled up outside the house and turned off the engine, looking at the place where her sister's life had started to come apart made her feel sick.
Her eyes travelled down the street as if looking into the past, when she'd moved away from the area she'd begged Kylie to come with her but her sister had refused, saying she'd met a bloke and they were going to live together.
Amy had been offered a job in Liverpool, a good job with prospects, it offered her a way out of this town that clung to you like a foul smell, this town that offered nothing but a life with no hope.
The move had worked out well, within six months she'd been promoted, her salary had risen dramatically and she moved into one of the dockside apartments. Only problem was she had to work endless hours to keep ahead of the game and the visits home had become infrequent and in the last four months non-existent.
She'd spent three days trying to contact Kylie without any luck, in the end she'd made a conscious effort to drive back to the town she hated so much.
When she'd looked through the window her sister had been slumped in front of the fire in just her bra and pants. Amy had knocked on the window in an effort to wake her, her fists banging ever harder in rising fear.
In the end she'd dragged her phone out and called the police and ambulance service.
She'd tugged on the door in desperation and then hurried around the back, her eyes taking in the unkempt garden, the washing hanging on the makeshift line as if it had been there since the year dot. Scrabbling in the border she'd found half a brick and slammed it against the glass of the back door, reaching in she had felt the key in the lock and twisted it before barging through the door.
The smell of the place had taken her breath away, from the corner of her eye she saw the mound of dirty pots in the sink and then she was running down the hallway and into the living room.
'Kylie!' she'd screamed her sister’s name before sliding to her knees by her side.
Kylie's eyes fluttered but refused to open, her hair was drenched with sweat. Amy had looked down at her body, at the scars and bruises, the red-pitted marks that looked like cigarette burns.
'Oh Jesus, Kylie what has he done to you?'
Amy's hands had fluttered over her body in fear of touching her, terrified to hold her.
Then she'd heard laughter and snapped her head around, two teenage boys stood peering in through the front window their faces pressed up to the glass, one of them poked out his tongue and slid it across the window, the other one grinned in at her.
'Spread her legs and give us a look!'
Fear had turned to anger and Amy had flown across the room.
'Animals!' she screamed, her fury swamping all other emotions.
One of the boys leapt back as her hands hit the glass, the other one didn't move.
'Come on, we can give her a good seeing to,' he said with a sneer. 'Everyone else has.'
Amy’s hands made a squeaking noise as they slid down the glass, when the boy moved back from the window she could see he was holding his erect penis in one hand.
'Come on what do say bitch ya gonna let us fuck her or not?'
Amy turned and vomited onto the floor the sound of their diminishing laughter drilling into her brain.
Five minutes later the paramedics had arrived and before she could even register what was happening she was in the back of the ambulance as it flew towards the hospital.
Amy sighed at the memory before unclipping her seatbelt and climbing from the car, she headed down the path towards the front door on leaden legs.
122
'What I can't understand is why the killer would want to leave Norvil Mellor alive?'
They were heading through Leigh town centre, the shops closed for the day, the streets deserted.
'Maybe it was something Boris did and Norvil wasn't involved.'
'But if it is drug related then surely they come as a package.'
Lasser shook his head. 'Well like we said before the drugs are secondary, this is all about revenge, and I can guarantee Boris will have done something bad, it's the way he was made, act first and then hope his brother can clean up the mess.'
'So what do we know about Kylie Frodsham?'
Lasser indicated right and turned down the side of a row of boarded up shops, the plywood sheets covered with flyers. 'To be honest not much, it was Joseph Crank’s sister that mentioned her but only as a link with Mary Sheldon. I mean, you know what the jobs like, you set off to do one thing and then something happens and it gets pushed to the end of the bloody list.'
'Tell me about it.'
Lasser sniffed. 'And where the hell did you learn to run like that?'
'I used to run for the county, cross-country and long distance but I'm not as fast as I used to be.'
'Christ I'd have hated to see you in your prime,' Lasser mumbled.
'That's what the cigs do to you, but you didn't do too badly.'
'That's the first time you've tried to spin me bullshit,' he said with a smile slowing down to let a young couple dash across the street.
'OK then, you ran like a girl.'
Lasser barked out a laugh and Odette grinned at him.
Five minutes later, they were out of the town centre and heading into open fields. Odette looked out of the window and frowned. 'I thought the estate would have been back that way,' she said hooking a thumb over her shoulder.
'Ah well, you have to think of this place more as a leper colony rather than a housing estate.'
'That bad?'
'Oh yes the place would make a good setting for one of those zombie holocaust movies but believe it or not there are some good people, it's just that they're slowly being pushed out by the bad.'
Lasser came to a roundabout and swung left, the estate seemed to leak into view like a spillage from a chemical warfare's factory.
Odette frowned as they drove down a street littered with diamond chunks of broken glass. Nearly every other house was boarded up, galvanised sheets of metal over the doors and windows rather than the normal cheap plywood.
A gang of kids ranging in age from late teens to mere children of ten or eleven watched as Lasser drove slowly by, their faces pinched, eyes narrowed.
'What chance do they have living all the way out here?' Odette asked with a sigh.
Lasser grunted in response and then took a sharp right turn. Even though the light was rapidly fading none of the streetlights were firing into life and Odette suddenly realised where all the broken glass had come from.
'They've smashed all the streetlights.'
'The council got sick of replacing them, it was costing thousand, besides the hoodies don't like em, they like to sneak around in the shadows.'
'Very dramatic.'
Lasser shrugged. 'You know what I mean. Ah, this should be the one,' he pulled up outside the house and snatched on the handbrake. 'Right lets go and see if the elusive Kylie Frodsham is at home.'
Climbing out, Lasser walked over to the gate and held it open for Odette who moved straight for the door and banged
on the woodwork. Lasser moved to the window and peered inside frowning in surprise when he saw the neatness of the room.
Odette banged again.
'I'll check round the back,' Lasser said as he headed along the side of the house.
Lifting the letterbox flap, Odette looked inside, she could see straight down the narrow hallway and into the kitchen, the faint scent of floral air freshener drifted out through the slot.
When she saw the back door open and Lasser step into the kitchen, she snapped the flap closed and dashed around the side of the house.
Odette moved around the corner and through the door, Lasser was standing in the middle of the room head cocked on one side.
'What...'
He snapped a finger to his lips and Odette moved to his side.
'The back doors been forced,' he whispered.
Odette turned and looked at the split wooden casing.
Then Lasser moved to her left and gingerly pulled open the drawer beneath the sink.
'What are you doing?' she whispered.
Lasser frowned down at the mixture of spoons before closing it and opening the cupboard beneath. Reaching inside, he pulled out a marble rolling pin, she saw his teeth flash and then he tiptoed back to her.
'Have you still got your pepper spray?'
'Yes but...'
'Did you see the red BMW parked next door?'
Odette shook her head.
'I recognised the plates. PIT 1 that car belongs to Dave Pitt.'
'Who is Dave bloody Pitt?' she hissed in annoyance.
'He does odd jobs for the Mellor’s, breaking arms and legs mainly and believe me he takes his work very seriously.'
'And you think he's here?'
'Pitt's car - kicked in back door – oh, he's here alright.'
Lasser tested the weight of the pin and grunted in satisfaction. 'So what do you say, are you up for it?'
Odette nodded without hesitation
Lasser blew out through pursed lips and headed for the hallway.
Pitt stood in the middle of the bedroom, one massive hand clamped over the girls mouth the other wrapped around her waist.
'One peep out of you and you're fucking dead,' he whispered into her ear.
When he took a step towards the door the floorboard creaked and he cursed low under his breath, that was another drawback of being so heavy, sneaking around was a difficult thing to achieve, he was more used to rampaging than tiptoeing.
Then he suddenly wondered why he was trying to creep around. He was Dave Pitt not some chicken shit bag head on the rob. Those who knew him called him Pit bull, a tank of a man, a one-man fucking army. With a snarl, he tossed the girl to one side and headed for the door.
'OK, wankers, here I come!' he bellowed as he stormed along the landing.
Lasser felt his guts tighten as he saw Pitt appear at the top of the stairs.
The huge man stopped and grinned down at them. 'Lasser,' he hissed. 'I've waited a long time for this you little prick.'
'Still having trouble getting an erection Dave,' Lasser snarled back and then Pitt came barrelling down the stairs, the walls seemed to shake around him as he swung a massive fist. Lasser bulleted up the stairs, his fury erupting and then Odette popped up over his right shoulder and fired off the pepper spray.
Lasser snapped his head to the left and Pitt bellowed as the spray entered his eyes.
Odette turned and leapt down the four steps to the floor, Lasser ducked to avoid Pitt's fist but he could do nothing about moving out of the way. He managed to slam the marble rolling pin into Pitt's rock hard stomach and then the body builder slammed into him.
Lasser snapped up his knees but when he hit the ground he hit hard, the breath shot from his lungs, pain swamped him. Then Pitt slammed down on top of him, lunging his head forward eyes streaming as he tried to bite Lasser's nose off.
Odette slammed the can into the side of his face and Pitt snarled as if annoyed by the whine of a fly, before lashing out a hand that slammed into her midriff sending her clattering against the wall. Odette grunted and then she flew straight back at him, her ponytail swished across her face, her eyes lashed out a fury of their own.
'Bastard!' she screamed and landed on Pitt's back, her hands clawing for his eyes, she missed but managed to hook her index finger in his right nostril Odette grunted in satisfaction and yanked back hard.
Dave Pitt bellowed like a castrated bull and tried to grab Odette's hand but she twisted left and right, Pitts head thrashing back and forth, as he tried to break her grip.
'Fucking bitch!' he bellowed and pushed himself to his feet, then he turned and rammed back against the wall. Odette slammed into the plasterboard but managed to keep hold, she wrapped her long legs around his waist and squeezed as hard as she could.
Lasser shook his head and coughed, he felt as if he'd been run over by one of Norvil Mellor's JCBs. When his vision cleared, he saw Odette clinging onto Pitt's back, her finger rammed up the big man's nostril. With a groan, he pushed himself to his knees, one hand scrabbling for the wall as he rose unsteadily to his feet.
Pitt glared at him through streaming red-rimmed eyes. 'Kill you, you little shit!' he spat before slamming back again, this time Odette hit the corner of the wall and she grunted as the air was forced from her lungs, she felt her grip begin to slip and desperately tried to reaffirm her hold.
Then Lasser saw Pitt's eyes widen slightly as he looked at the opposite wall, Lasser spun left, he could see the coat hook drilled into the wall, four inches of curved metal that came to a point.
Then Pitt looked at Lasser and grinned before spinning around in the narrow hallway. Lasser lunged forward as Pitt lurched back, Lasser made it, but only just, managing to trap his body between Odette and the hook.
He felt the metal gouge into his shoulder and snarled in pain, then Pitt moved forward again to take another backwards run at the hook. Lasser staggered forward, he could feel the blood warm and slick running down his back, his shirt tacky, the pain building as his vision blurred.
Pitt grabbed hold of the spindles on the banister rail; he seemed to swell in size as he prepared to stick the bitch to the wall.
Then Lasser blinked and looked up as a woman with shoulder length brown hair leaned over the banister and stabbed down and to the side.
The needle disappeared into Dave Pitt's temple, and Lasser watched as she gently put pressure on the syringe.
Pitt grunted and then he seemed to snap upright like a soldier standing to attention. Odette slithered to the floor and Lasser grabbed the collar of her jacket and dragged her across the laminate floor as Pitt began to topple backwards.
It was testament to Pitt's strength that he managed a backward step before his legs gave way.
Lasser winced as he saw what was going to happen, the back of Pitt's head slammed into the coat hook, spearing through his skull then the hook was wrenched from the wall as he clattered to the floor.
Plaster dust sprinkled down onto his bald head, peppering the shoulders of his shiny leather jacket. Then dark blood started to spray up hitting the magnolia coated walls, running down in a red smear.
'Fuck!' Odette whispered.
Lasser had his hands draped around her shoulders; the pain in his back seemed to diminish as he watched Dave Pitt die.
When he looked up, he opened his mouth and screamed. 'No!'
The woman was half way up the stairs, the needle poised over the pale skin of her left forearm.
'Don't do it Kylie!'
She looked down and smiled. 'Kylie's dead,' she said before sliding the needle into her vein, she was dead before she hit the bottom step.
Odette felt her head drop, Lasser laced his arms around her, and she raised a hand and placed it over his.
123
Lasser winced as the nurse put in yet another stitch. Odette sat in the corner of the room rubbing at her bruised ribs.
'I didn't know you had a tattoo?' she said as she spotted the raven on Lasser's r
ight shoulder, the black wing folded across his chest.
'Meet Walter,' Lasser said with a grimace.
The nurse frowned before cutting the thread. 'Walter, what kind of daft name is that?'
Lasser made to shrug and then changed his mind as he felt the pull on the stitches.
'I was a kid when I had it done and Walter seemed to suit him,' Lasser replied as he turned and looked down at the beady eye of the raven before slipping gingerly into his shirt.
'Right you'll have to call at the pharmacy for a course of antibiotics and then it's back here in ten days’ time to make sure it's healing well.'
'No problem,' Lasser said as he slid down from the bed.
When the door barged open, the nurse frowned.
Medea dashed into the room, her face creased with concern. 'My God are you alright?'
Lasser smiled as she laced her hands around his neck. 'I'm fine it's just a war wound that's all.'
Medea leaned back and shook her head. 'Let me guess, you thought it best to go barging into trouble rather than calling for help?'
'Honestly Med there wasn't time, ask Odette, she'll tell you.'
Med turned and raised an eyebrow.
'I told him we should call for backup but he wouldn't listen.'
Lasser's mouth dropped open. 'Hang on...'
'I knew it,' Medea snapped. 'Why do you never listen...?’
'But she's...'
'How many times have I told you to look after yourself, let somebody else have a go for a change?'
Lasser turned to Odette who looked at him with a stern expression. 'I agree with you Medea he's a liability.'
'Bitch!'
'Er, no bad language please,' the nurse said.
Lasser could feel his face burning, Medea rapped her knuckles on his head.
'Idiot, ' she said.
Odette smiled at him and then gave the thumbs up.
124
Bannister tossed the pen onto the desk before rubbing his hands across his eyes.
'I just don't get it, I mean, why the hell did this Amy Frodsham go to all this trouble, why not just come to us instead of going on the rampage?'
They were in Bannister's office, Odette and Lasser sat opposite, Lasser sitting up straight - too uncomfortable to lean back in the chair.
Vanished Beneath: DS Lasser six (The Lasser series Book 6) Page 33