The Skulls Beneath Eternity Wharf (Quigg Book 4)

by Tim Ellis

  He watched Monica leave. The trouble was she knew too much now. He’d have to deal with her first, and then plan how Quigg was going to die. He smiled, and finished his lager. It was still only ten to seven, so he ordered another pint.

  ***

  Valentino Renko had been the resident doctor at the Torture Chateau for eighteen months. He enjoyed the job immensely. It was a busman’s holiday so to speak. Not only did he get paid for doing something he enjoyed, but he was also able to sample the wares – any time he wanted – free of charge. The work wasn’t too demanding. Sometimes, the guests went slightly too far, as did the resident staff. The worst case he’d had to deal with had been a heart attack, but due to his speedy intervention the man had lived to be thrashed another day. There were minor cuts and bruises on a regular basis – the nature of the beast, and in between the two extremes – hernias, prolapsed haemorrhoids, slipped discs, objects lodged in places they weren’t meant to be... the list was a long one.

  The other night – to his great pleasure – he had taken part in the murder of Poppy Langham. It wasn’t every day that he had the chance to beat a woman to death while he had sex with her, and then be paid handsomely for it. There were five of them who had volunteered on the basis of immunity from any charges. It had been messy, but as he often said – the messier the better. Then two men had come and taken her away. He’d heard on the news that her torso had been found in a plastic bag floating in the Thames. There was no sign of her head or limbs. Yes, that was a bit of a treat, and then Sir Peter had killed all those people. A paedophile – how disgusting! If he’d known before accepting his money he might have had second thoughts.

  Now that he was the new "Jack", it was time to get the Ten Bells tattoo put on his left forearm. Only Jack had the tattoo – that was the rule.

  He also needed an apprentice, and he’d seen someone who met the criteria, someone who had orgasms inflicting pain – but the trouble was she was a woman. Her real name was Lindy Stewart, but she was better known as Domina Dimona – Mistress of Pain. He’d rejected the idea at first, but then he began mulling it over in his mind. Now that he was Jack, he made the rules. It would be interesting to see if she would join him. He’d interview her, offer her the position, and see what happened. If she didn’t agree to join him – well, she’d become a victim herself.

  ####

  The Terror at Grisly Park

  Chapter One

  Tuesday 3rd July

  After pulling Kline from the team she was working with, and telling her to sign out a pool car on her way back, he walked down to Operations to speak to Inspector Nichola Wright.

  ‘I need a mobile incident room.’

  ‘Don’t we all?’

  Nicky was old school. She’d been an Inspector for as long as Quigg could remember – long before him. She was probably in her mid-forties, but looked a lot younger with her short dyed blond hair and athletic figure. Her favourite pastime now was to make life as difficult as possible for everyone else, but hide the fact behind a wall of sugar and syrup. People often went away thinking she’d been the most helpful and wonderful person in the world, even though she’d made their lives a misery.

  ‘Come on, Nicky. I’ve been given a very important case.’

  ‘They all say that, just so that they can get their hands on my trucks. And don’t think I don’t know what your game is, Quigg.’

  ‘But this time it’s for real.’

  ‘How many do you want staffing it?’

  ‘Would five by okay?’

  ‘Five! Three, and not a penny more.’

  He’d expected her to beat him down to three, which is why he’d asked for five. ‘Three would be good. Twelve-hour shifts, three on each shift with an experienced officer in each team?’

  ‘Where are you taking my truck?’

  ‘South Acton – Grisly Park.’

  ‘I suppose you want a generator?’

  ‘If I’m not mistaken nothing works without one of those.’

  ‘You have to ask for one. This is not a supermarket where you can walk along the shelves and help yourself, you know.’

  ‘It would be useful to have a list of the equipment you’ve got available, and then I could just tick the items I need.’

  ‘Yeah, we used to do that.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘It was far too expensive. I withdrew it. I’ve received commendations for two years running now for making budget savings. What I find now is that if people don’t know what I’ve got, they don’t ask for it.’

  He gave a laugh. ‘That’s a crazy way to run a circus. How do I know what I need if you don’t tell me what you’ve got?’

  ‘You should come prepared. Do your homework. I’m not going to do your job for you. I only mentioned the generator because I’m feeling in a particularly good mood this morning, and I liked your eulogy at Walsh’s funeral.’

  ‘Thanks. Surely, it would be a false economy to go to South Acton, and then find I haven’t got half the stuff I need?’

  ‘Ah, but then I’d blame you for not asking for what you needed in the first place – different budget heading.’

  He sat down in a chair and made some notes.

  ‘Are you going to send the truck now?’

  ‘Oh, you want it today? You should have said.’

  ‘Please despatch the truck, plus a generator, and the three operatives as soon as possible to Grisly Park in South Acton.’

  ‘I can do that. Now that you’ve made it clear exactly what you want, of course.’

  ‘Can you send the senior constable to my office, so that I can brief him/her on what I want?’

  Her lip curled up. ‘Nice try. You think you’re going to get the constable to do your work for you. I didn’t hatch from an egg yesterday, you know. People come down here and try all sorts of ruses. Seen it all, heard it all, and damn well sabotaged it all. I’ll send her up, but don’t think she’s going to tell you anything. I’ve trained my people well, Quigg.’

  ‘Whatever happened to inter-departmental co-operation?’

  ‘You obviously didn’t read the Chief’s email on that. He said we were to give the outward impression that we’d bought into it, but under no circumstances was it to happen in reality – far too expensive.’

  He shook his head. He made it a policy never to read emails if he could just delete them. ‘Oh well, I just hope they’ve got everything when they get there.’

  ‘Yes, people often rely on dumb luck, rather than planning and preparation. Is there anything else I can help you with?’

  ‘I don’t think so, Nicky. It would appear I’ve got everything I’m going to get.’

  ‘Excellent. Please feel free to come back any time.’

  He stood up and made to leave. ‘Oh, who’s the senior constable you’re sending up?’

  ‘Angela Coveney, and the other two you’ll get are Helen Hanson, and Stephanie Amies – all good girls, so keep the mouse in the house, Quigg.’

  ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  ‘As I said, I know all about you. I probably know some things about you that you don’t even know about you.’

  ‘We’ll have to compare notes sometime.’

  ‘Never gonna happen.’

  ***

  ‘Spector Quigg! I thought you’d run off to Arctica.’

  ‘No, still here, Mandy. And it’s either Antarctica or the Arctic. One is at the South Pole, and the other is at the North Pole.’

  ‘If you’d been my geography teacher I might know which is which. Ya know what?’

  ‘Go on, I’m all ears?’

  ‘I was sorry to hear about Hevver, she was really nice.’

  ‘Thanks, Mandy. Good of you to say so.’

  ‘An I think I’m gonna be a ‘tective like Hevver. Do ya think I could if I wanted to?’

  ‘You’d have to work hard, go to university, take lots of exams.’

  ‘Really? I s’pose I could, maybe. Would you help me?’


  ‘With which bit?’

  ‘All of it.’

  ‘How many A Levels have you got?’

  ‘None.’

  ‘You’ll have to sign up at night school for at least three A Levels.’

  ‘Mmmm, I’ll give it some more thought.’

  She began to leave.

  ‘What did you originally come in for, Mandy?’

  She giggled. ‘Oh yeah, I got a postcard.’

  ‘I’m very pleased for you. Is it from anywhere nice?’

  ‘It ain’t for me, it’s for you from that A in Canada. Those triples are really gettin’ big now. Who’s A?’

  He held out his hand. ‘Thank you, Mandy.’

  ‘Cheryl’s baby is due next month. You gonna be there when she grunts it out?’

  ‘Grunts it out? What type of language is that?’

  ‘It’s what they do ain’t it? I seen ‘em on the telly grunting like pigs afore the porker drops out.’

  ‘No, I won’t be at the birth. I don’t think Cheryl would want me there.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s what she told me. Said you were a person non grat as far as she was concerned.’

  Correcting her English usage, he felt, would be like pissing into a gale force wind, so he didn’t bother.’

  ‘Have a nice day, Mandy.’

  ‘You too, ‘Spector. Guess I’ll see you around.’

  ‘I’m sure you will.’

  As the door to his office closed he looked at the card. Yes, the "triples" were certainly getting big. He turned it over and read the message:

  Evie, Ava and Noah say hello.

  You didn’t keep your loved ones close, sorry.

  Terror awaits you!

  Ring me: 306-692-7375.

  He’d better take notice of her warning this time. As he picked up the phone, Kline burst in. He let the receiver fall back in its cradle.

  ‘Bout fucking time. I hate working for women. Talk about fucking hormonal.’ She paced up and down in front of his desk. As his office was only a cubicle, she could go from left to right in one and a half paces before she had to turn around. ‘Do this, do that, I’ve changed my fucking mind. God, women are a lot worse than men, you know.’

  ‘Good morning, Kline.’

  Her golden brown hair had been tied in a ponytail – not at the back of her head, but on the top so that the hair cascaded over her shoulders.

  ‘Yeah, so what we got?’

  ‘Why aren’t you wearing a bra?’

  She looked down at the nipples protruding through her tight thin top and laughed. ‘Oh yeah, I was wearing one, but I took it off.’

  He didn’t want to look, but he wasn’t made of stone. She looked really hot this morning. ‘Let me guess, you took it off so that you could get the car you wanted in the car pool?’

  ‘And I did.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Wait ‘till you see.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘It’s not that Porsche Boxster again is it?’

  She grinned like the Cheshire Cat. ‘Nope, better than that. So, am I officially your partner now? And don’t think I’m jumping the gun ‘cause I’m asking. I’m really sorry about Walsh, I know you liked her a lot and you don’t like me, but it’d just be nice to know if I was or I wasn’t your partner, so I knew where I stood an’ everything.’

  ‘What makes you think I don’t like you?’

  She shrugged. ‘So what’s the case? I hope there’s lots of juicy murders.’

  ‘Grisly Park.’

  ‘Never heard of it.’

  There was a knock at the door. A head with rosy cheeks and black hair in a bun appeared. ‘Inspector Quigg?’

  ‘You must be Constable Coveney?’

  ‘Yes, Sir.’

  ‘This is Kline,’ he said.

  She tossed Kline a smile. ‘Hi.’

  ‘You’re taking a mobile to Grisly Park?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Have you got everything you need?’

  She grinned. ‘Inspector Wright said you’d ask me that. I was to say, "Do you think I’ve got everything I need?"’

  ‘I don’t know what you need.’

  ‘I know. Yes, we’ve got everything we need, but you have to bring the coffee, tea bags, milk, sugar, and Hobnobs.’

  ‘Okay, I can do that.’

  ‘Do you want me to leave now?’

  ‘Yes please. Kline and I will see you there in about two hours.’

  She nodded and closed the door.

  ‘So, you’re going to put your bra back on?’

  ‘Do you want me to?’

  ‘Yes, I’m easily distracted.’

  ‘It won’t take us two hours to get there, you know.’

  ‘It’s not a race.’

  ‘If you say so.’

  ‘Sit down.’

  ‘Crap. You’re going to tell me I’m not your partner anymore, aren’t you?’

  ‘I’ve got two files in my drawer.’

  ‘From applicants to be your partner? Fuck! Why didn’t you ask me to apply? I would have applied. I hate writing applications, but I would have done it. I kinda like being your partner.’

  ‘I sent the swabs for DNA analysis again. Janet ran the results through the database. It came back with two matches.’

  ‘If I even thought you were talking about something I don’t want you to talk about, I’d leap over this desk and rip your tongue out.’

  ‘Okay, that’s all I wanted to know. I haven’t even looked at the files myself yet.’

  ‘Don’t ever mention them again. So, how long you gonna keep me dangling?’

  ‘All right, but...’

  She leapt over the desk.

  He closed his mouth tight just in case.

  She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Fucking ace! You won’t regret it.’

  ‘I hope not, but for God’s sake go and put your bra back on. I’ll meet you in the car park in five minutes.’

  She skipped out of his office and along the corridor laughing. The males – and some of the females – craned their necks to ogle her.

  ***

  ‘What the hell is this?’ he asked, as he climbed into the open-top sports car with great difficulty. Kline was making it rock back and forth using just the accelerator.

  She grinned. ‘This, is an Audi TT RS Roadster. Traffic uses it to catch crazy people.’

  ‘Like you?’

  ‘You better believe it, pardner.’ She rammed the accelerator to the floor.

  The back of his head hit the rest.

  Her eyes were wide open, and the pupils were dilated as if she’d been snorting cocaine all morning.

  ‘I don’t suppose Traffic will ever catch you, because you’re in the car they’d use to catch you.’

  She laughed as if there was no tomorrow, and changed down a gear as she swerved round a bus on the A315.

  They stopped at The Tabbard pub in Turnham Green for lunch. Kline wanted to race the mobile incident room, but he told her he’d reconsider his decision to make her his partner if she wouldn’t follow his orders. Reluctantly, she skidded into the car park at the rear and put the hood up.

  He gave her a twenty-pound note and told her to find a convenience store and buy coffee, tea bags, sugar, milk and Hobnobs.

  ‘I’ll get the drinks in. What do you want?’

  ‘Apple juice. It’s my favourite drink now.’

  Once they were sitting down with their drinks Kline said, ‘Do you really mean I can be your partner?’

  ‘Yes, but you have to not be so crazy.’

  ‘I’ll try. Don’t you have to get the Chief to rubberstamp it, or something?’

  ‘He already has.’

  ‘You haven’t seen him since...’

  ‘I made the decision two weeks ago.’

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘And you didn’t tell me?’

  ‘You were busy.’

  ‘I should kill you.’

  ‘Then you wouldn’t be my partner.’

  ‘Mmmm
.’

  The food arrived.

  ‘So, why are we going to Grisly Park?’

  ‘Remains have been found there.’

  ‘Of what?’

  He shrugged. ‘I asked the same question. We’ll just have to wait until we get there.’

  ‘Will we get a chance to go on the rides? I love to go on the rollercoaster.’

  ‘It’s not that type of park.’

  ‘Oh!’

  ‘It’s called Grisly for a reason. They’re advertising it as the largest and most terrifying haunted destination in the country. If you like horror, it’s the place to go.’

  ‘Why is it haunted?’

  ‘It used to be an insane asylum called Waterbury. The old buildings were refurbished, and now form the basis of the park.’

  She shivered. ‘Sounds spooky.’

  ‘If you believe in all that rubbish.’

  ‘And you don’t?’

  ‘Do you?’

  ‘I might.’

  He scoffed. ‘You believe in the undead, vampires, ghosts, demons from hell, and all the other garbage they group under the heading of horror?’

  ‘You never know. They say there’s always a kernel of truth to these things.’

  ‘Who says?’

  ‘They.’

  ‘I see. In all the time I’ve been a murder detective I’ve never seen a ghost, or a dead person get up and walk with a craving for human flesh. It’s the living who are at the root of all the horrors in the world.’

  ‘Maybe you just haven’t been in the right place at the right time.’

  ‘You’ll get on with Perkins. He collects old Hammer Horror films, loves anything to do with horror. He’ll be in his element there.’

  ‘He’s a weird fish.’

  ‘And you’re not?’

  ***

  When they arrived at Grisly Park, Quigg had to peel his left hand off the door handle.

  ‘You should have been a racing driver.’

  ‘I’ve done it, you know.’

  ‘What, racing?’

  ‘Yeah, at Brands Hatch. They do courses. My mum and dad bought me a day’s racing for my 16th birthday. The professionals wanted to take me on as a trainee. I beat everybody that day. They said I was fearless.’