Evil Impulse

by Leigh Russell

  57

  Zoe had returned to school without any fuss, and seemed to have settled back to her studies. The school had been very understanding about it all, and the teachers seemed to have gone out of their way to reassure Bella and John that they would keep a close eye on her from now on. After the meeting with the two police officers, the headmaster spoke to Bella to explain that teenagers often rebelled, and although running away for a few days could have put Zoe in danger, she had actually been very sensible in going to stay with a friend. No harm had come to her, and the only injurious aspect of her disappearance was the distress she had caused her parents. Bella watched him as he spoke. He was a large man with a big head, who spoke with the confidence of a man used to dealing with the vagaries of teenagers. Somehow, he made Bella feel as though she was a schoolgirl again.

  The headmaster reassured her that the school would be keeping a very close eye on Zoe from now on, and he said he was happy that she had returned to school as though nothing had happened. His only caveat was that Zoe agree to talk to the school counsellor about her experience.

  ‘The important thing is that Zoe has returned home, unharmed, and seems to want to return to her studies. The police are no longer interested in her escapade, and hopefully she’s got this rebellion out of her system, and won’t be causing you any more worry,’ he concluded.

  The interview was decidedly one sided, with little time for Bella to comment, beyond agreeing with the headmaster and thanking him for his help at this difficult time. All in all, Bella had to agree that things could have turned out a lot worse. As she drove home, she dared to hope that life might improve from now on. John would realise how important his family was to him, and stop his wickedness, which couldn’t end well. If he carried on transgressing, not only would more women suffer, but he must know that his sins couldn’t continue undetected forever. Sooner or later he would be caught out. He had to be stopped before he ended up in serious trouble.

  Bella made herself a mug of tea and sat down in the kitchen, relieved that Zoe was home and seemingly happy at school. Soon, the whole episode would be nothing more than a horrible memory, and they could all concentrate on returning to normal. Zoe’s flight might even turn out to be a blessing in disguise, because there was a chance John might abandon his compulsion and focus on his family, now that he understood how his behaviour was affecting them all, his daughter as well as his wife. Bella prayed that he would be transformed by the experience which had threatened to tear their family apart.

  Finishing her tea, she set to work, and was folding laundry when she heard the bell ring. Peering out through the window in the hall, she saw two police cars parked outside the house, and her spirits sank.

  ‘Is it about Zoe?’ she asked as she opened the door. ‘Has something happened to her?’

  ‘Zoe’s fine, but we need to take a look around.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  Bella stumbled backwards and tried to close the front door, but the policewoman had already stepped over the threshold and had one polished leather shoe in the hall.

  ‘No, you can’t come in,’ Bella stammered. ‘There’s no need for this. Zoe’s back now. She’s fine. I’ve been to the school and everything’s all right. We don’t need you any more. You can go away and leave us alone. We’ve had enough trouble. We just want to be left alone so we can get back to normal.’

  ‘We have a warrant to search the house,’ the policewoman said quietly, waving an official looking document in the air.

  ‘What do you mean? Search it for what?’

  ‘We have a warrant to search your house,’ the policewoman repeated quietly.

  ‘What for?’ Bella repeated, her unease increasing to alarm. ‘What are you looking for? What’s going on?’

  ‘While the search team are taking a look around,’ the policewoman went on, ‘I’d like you to come with me.’

  Bella could hardly speak for terror. ‘What for? Where to?’

  ‘I’d like you to accompany me to the police station.’

  ‘The police station? Why?’ Bella began to cry. ‘Leave us alone, please, please, leave us alone.’

  The policewoman watched her calmly. ‘There are a few more questions we’d like you to answer,’ she said at last, ignoring Bella’s hysterical weeping. ‘This is just routine. There is no need to upset yourself.’

  ‘Very well,’ Bella replied, controlling her sobbing with an effort. ‘I’ll just go and get my things.’

  ‘No, there’s no need for you to bring anything. Please just come with me.’ She picked up Bella’s bag which was lying in the hall. ‘Are your keys in here?’

  ‘I need to call my husband.’

  ‘There’s no need for that. He’ll be joining us at the police station.’

  ‘No! You can’t do this to us, not after all we’ve been through. I can’t leave the house right now. I need to finish doing the laundry.’

  ‘I’m sorry to disrupt your routine, but you do need to come with us. The sooner we get started, the sooner this will all be over. Now, come this way, please. Hopefully we won’t keep you long.’

  ‘Please,’ Bella begged, ‘at least let me call my husband and tell him to call a lawyer. I need to speak to my husband.’

  ‘You can make a call once you get to the police station. Now please come with me.’

  Bella had no choice but to allow the police officer to escort her to the vehicle that was waiting outside. With tears streaming down her face, she sat in the back of the police car, sobbing.

  ‘Why are you doing this to us?’ she whispered. ‘Haven’t we suffered enough?’

  ‘We just want to ask you a few questions,’ the policewoman repeated stoically. ‘There’s no need to upset yourself. And there’s absolutely nothing to worry about, assuming you have nothing to hide,’ she added quietly.

  58

  John was employed by a large chain of hotels, and had worked his way up to become a local manager in an establishment located near Monk Bar. Ian and Geraldine drove in and left the car in the ‘Pick Up Only’ area outside the main entrance. The revolving door spun automatically, giving on to a spacious foyer. There was no one at the reception desk.

  ‘How are people supposed to check in?’ Ian grumbled, gazing around the deserted foyer. ‘There isn’t even a bell to ring for service.’

  ‘It’s probably all done online now,’ Geraldine replied.

  ‘Come on, let’s try the bar. There’s bound to be someone there. At least, you’d think there would be.’

  A young man behind the bar was making a coffee for a guest, and they waited for him to finish before asking for the manager. Instead of John, a pretty young blonde turned up.

  ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘We’re looking for John Watts,’ Ian replied, holding up his identity card.

  The woman’s eyes widened slightly, but she maintained her composure. ‘I’m afraid he’s on the phone,’ she replied.

  ‘Please take us to his office and we’ll wait outside,’ Ian said.

  ‘You can wait here –’

  ‘No, thank you,’ Ian replied. ‘We’ll wait outside his office. When you take us there, you can put your head round the door and let him know we’re waiting. If he takes too long, we’ll have to cut his call short. This won’t take long,’ he added. ‘We just need to ask him a few questions.’

  The woman nodded. ‘Is this about his daughter?’

  ‘It’s connected, yes,’ Ian said vaguely.

  The woman took them through a staff door and along a short corridor. Leaving them in the corridor, she knocked on a door and entered the room, closing the door behind her. Ian nodded at Geraldine before pushing the door open and marching in. John was seated at a desk, phone in hand, while the blonde woman was leaning over him, talking quietly. They both looked up as Ian and Geraldine entered the room with a uniformed p
oliceman. The woman appeared surprised, but John did not seem to be disturbed by the intrusion. He put his hand over the receiver he was holding.

  ‘I won’t keep you a moment,’ he said calmly.

  He began talking rapidly into the phone, something about a complaint and a voucher for a free dinner. At last he finished his conversation and put the phone down.

  ‘Thank you, Becky,’ he said, dismissing the blonde woman with a smile,

  He was an attractive man, confident in the power of his charm and good looks.

  ‘Yes, sir,’ the girl replied, blushing.

  ‘Becky, I’ve told you before,’ he said, with assumed impatience, ‘my name’s John, not sir.’

  He smiled at her again, and her cheeks flushed a deeper red.

  ‘Now, Inspector,’ John said, addressing Ian but still directing his dazzling smile at his assistant, ‘how can I be of assistance? Can I offer you some refreshment? Tea? Coffee? Something stronger? Just say the word and I’ll have it brought in here in a jiffy. My wife and I are very grateful to you for returning our daughter to us,’ he added.

  ‘Nothing, thank you,’ Ian replied.

  ‘And for your colleagues?’

  Ian glared coldly at him. ‘Nothing for any of us. Now,’ he went on briskly, ‘we’d like to ask you a few questions.’

  Just then John’s mobile rang. Glancing at it, he frowned. ‘Excuse me, but my wife’s calling me. Would you mind if I take the call? She gets very twitchy if I don’t pick up.’

  Without waiting for a response, he answered his phone. Ian and Geraldine exchanged a glance. They knew why Bella was calling him and watched as John’s face darkened in alarm. They would have preferred to question John before he was aware that a team had arrived to search his house, but he could hardly be refused permission to speak to his wife, given that he had not been accused of committing a crime. Not yet.

  ‘All right, all right,’ John said at last, when he had been listening for a few minutes, ‘just calm down, will you? There’s no need to become hysterical. I’ve got a couple of police officers here now –’ He paused, listening again. ‘No, no, they haven’t come here to arrest me. Don’t be ridiculous. For goodness sake, what would they be doing that for? No, they just want to speak to me about Zoe. So let me get off the phone and I’ll tell them what’s going on and I’m sure we can sort it all out. It’s obviously a misunderstanding, searching the house.’ Listening again, he began to look agitated. ‘Well, I suppose they want to see if Zoe left any clues about who might have put her up to her stunt of running away like that. They probably want to check her computer and her phone in case she was being groomed by a paedophile.’ He paused. ‘No, no, of course she wasn’t. I’m well aware that she was staying with Laura the whole time. But the police must have to check these things. Now let me go and I’ll sort this out, I promise.’

  He hung up and turned to Ian, his face flushed with anger. ‘Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?’ he demanded. ‘My wife says you have a team searching my house. If that is true, I’m going to lodge a formal complaint about this harassment.’

  There was no point in pretending they were only there to talk about Zoe.

  ‘We’d like you to accompany us to the police station and answer a few questions,’ Ian said.

  John frowned. ‘You can ask your questions here. I can’t take any more time off work than is strictly necessary.’

  ‘I’m afraid we’d like you to come with us to the police station, and we’d like you to come now,’ Ian replied impassively.

  ‘And if I refuse?’

  ‘It isn’t a request.’

  ‘This is outrageous.’

  There was nothing John could do but demand a lawyer.

  ‘Of course,’ Ian said, ‘or we can arrange a duty brief to be present when we talk to you.’

  ‘What the hell is this about? Are you arresting me? If so, I’d like to know why.’

  ‘That rather depends on your answers,’ Ian replied. ‘This shouldn’t take long, but we do need to ask you a few questions.’

  Still protesting, John allowed them to escort him to the car.

  59

  They questioned John first, without letting him see his wife. He expressed outrage at the treatment he was receiving, even though Ian reiterated that they only wanted him to answer a few questions. Meanwhile, the lawyer sat at John’s side and made no comment. A thin, young man, with black-rimmed glasses, he barely moved in his chair but appeared to be listening intently.

  ‘I don’t know what this is all about,’ John protested. ‘My daughter is home, and as far as we’re concerned, the incident is over. Even the school is satisfied that nothing happened.’

  But he blanched when Geraldine showed him a photograph of Leslie.

  ‘For the tape, the interviewee is being shown a picture of Leslie Gordon.’

  ‘Who is that?’ John asked, his demeanour suddenly subdued.

  ‘How do you know this woman?’ Geraldine demanded.

  John let out a sigh. ‘I wouldn’t say I knew her, exactly. We – we met, just the once. She came on to me in a pub one evening. It was quite late and we both had too much to drink. But she threw herself at me. It wasn’t the other way round. If she tries to tell you I approached her, it’s a lie. Anyway, it was just the once, a stupid pointless fling.’

  ‘What happened?’ Geraldine asked gently.

  ‘I took her to the hotel, to an empty room, and well, it happened. But I swear I never saw her again after that one time.’ He paused and turned to Ian. ‘It’s difficult to resist when a woman like that throws herself at you, and you have the keys to any number of empty bedrooms at your disposal.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m only flesh and blood, and my wife –’ He sighed. ‘I’m not proud of what I did, but it happened, and it’s not as if we committed a crime. It was just sex. Just a bit of fun. And her name isn’t Leslie,’ he added. ‘It’s – something beginning with F.’ He frowned with the effort to remember. ‘Felicity? Phoebe? I’m embarrassed to admit that I can’t actually remember her name.’

  He frowned when Geraldine put a photograph of Angie on the table, and mentioned her name for the tape.

  ‘Angie Robinson,’ John looked puzzled. ‘I’ve heard that name before.’

  The name certainly should have been familiar to him. It had been mentioned repeatedly in the media for weeks. The lawyer’s mouth dropped open, and his shrewd eyes narrowed behind the thick lenses of his glasses, but he said nothing.

  ‘I may have met her,’ John said, frowning. ‘The name rings a bell.’

  ‘You do not have to answer any more questions,’ the lawyer interrupted, suddenly shifting in his chair.

  ‘And did you take her back to the hotel as well?’ Geraldine asked. ‘There’s no point in denying the truth. We are checking CCTV cameras at the moment.’

  If that was not true, it soon would be.

  John’s frown darkened. ‘It was just sex, that’s all.’

  ‘And then you were afraid they would tell their husbands,’ Geraldine suggested.

  ‘No. Neither of them was married. They were in the pub, looking for a good time.’

  ‘You were afraid they would tell your wife,’ Geraldine pressed on.

  ‘No, no, it wasn’t like that. I told them I was single. They didn’t know my real name, and I don’t think they gave me their real names either. They understood it was just sex. No strings. No expectation of seeing each other again. It meant nothing. Nothing.’

  ‘And now both of these women are dead,’ Ian said flatly.

  ‘What? What do you mean? Have I caught some disease? Oh my God.’ John dropped his head in his hands.

  ‘They were murdered,’ Geraldine said.

  John’s head jerked up. ‘What did you say?’

  At that point the lawyer insisted on taking a break so tha
t he could confer with his client in private.

  Geraldine and Ian discussed the interview with Eileen.

  ‘He doesn’t seem to have known they were dead,’ Geraldine said. ‘He seemed genuinely startled to hear they had been murdered.’

  ‘Are you saying you think he’s insane, and has no memory of the women he picked up?’ Eileen asked. ‘Or is he merely trying to give that impression?’

  ‘We have his confession that he met them both, took them back to his hotel, and had sex with them. Isn’t that enough?’ Ian asked.

  ‘It doesn’t mean he killed them,’ Geraldine replied.

  Eileen scowled. ‘Everything points to him, but so far all we have is circumstantial evidence. He must be our man, but he’s been clever enough not to deny having met these women. He suspects we might be able to prove he had sex with his victims, but he also knows we can’t prove he killed them. So he’s told us the truth about everything except that he killed them. We need to set up a thorough search of the hotel. We have to find evidence that he killed these women.’

  ‘The search of the house may come up with something,’ Ian said. ‘In the meantime, should we continue to press him for a confession?’

  ‘Do your best,’ Eileen replied, ‘but this man is no fool.’

  John continued to claim that he was innocent. ‘No, no,’ he insisted, ‘I met them both, and had sex with them, but I never killed anyone. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.’

  ‘We know it was you,’ Ian replied quietly. ‘You have nothing to gain from persisting in denying your guilt. Why not be sensible, John, and co-operate with us? It will help you in the long run. You know you’re not going to get away with this.’