Cold Heart: Absolutely gripping serial-killer fiction

by Stephen Edger

  Laura ignored the solicitor, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on Jackson. ‘We found your stash of pornographic materials; we know the sort of thing that turns you on, Mr Jackson. It’s time for you to come clean and tell us where Daisy is.’

  Jackson’s face contorted with desperate anguish, and Kate couldn’t keep the smile from growing across her face. They had him.

  52

  Kate’s eyes fell on the framed photograph of Chloe smiling back at her, and the breath caught in her chest. Snatching it up, she held the frame to her chest, clamping her eyes shut so Laura and Patel wouldn’t see the tears that were slowly building. It could have been her little girl out there.

  But she couldn’t allow her own feelings to cloud the actions she was charged to undertake. Lowering the frame to the desk, and setting it at just the right angle, she turned to her two most loyal companions. ‘Whatever it takes. We get them. We get them both.’

  Neither Laura nor Patel needed any further encouragement, both feeling the same emotional response to the possibility they’d been dreading since Daisy Emerson had been first reported missing.

  Humberidge’s call couldn’t have come soon enough. ‘It’s Ismael Vardan, ma’am,’ he said breathlessly. ‘We’ve found an exchange of emails between the two of them going back several months.’

  Kate called Laura and Patel over, switching the phone to loud speaker.

  ‘The technician managed to get into Jackson’s Hotmail account,’ Humberidge continued, ‘and it seems the two of them have been openly discussing shared fantasies. Some of it is pretty intense, but the crux is they’ve been planning a trip abroad where they can – and I’m quoting here – indulge our desires without fear of British law.’

  ‘Abroad where?’ Kate asked urgently.

  ‘They discuss several places: all outside the EU. Ma’am, there’s mention of Daisy too.’

  Kate gripped the edge of the desk. ‘Go on.’

  ‘Well, it’s Jackson that mentions her first. It’s hard to judge the tone of the email at first, but three months ago he starts making references to that girl who likes you, and Vardan ignores the jibes to begin with, but then it must get to him as later he starts warning Jackson to stop. And then last Monday, Jackson asks whether Vardan is stashing Daisy somewhere.’

  ‘He mentions her by name?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am. It’s the first mention of Daisy but the email alludes to their previous discussions.’

  ‘What does Vardan say?’

  ‘That’s the last email, ma’am. Vardan has yet to reply, and from what the techie says, Jackson hasn’t accessed his emails since Thursday.’

  Kate steadied her breathing. ‘Bring Vardan in now.’

  ‘Already on my way, ma’am.’

  Kate disconnected the call, and looked over to Laura. ‘Go through HOLMES2 now. Who gave Vardan an alibi for this weekend?’

  Laura rushed over to the computer and began to search, before calling over her shoulder. ‘Barnes spoke to his sister who confirmed he was at a family wedding in Leicester.’

  ‘You think she’s lying?’ Patel asked calmly.

  Kate closed her eyes and focused. ‘We have Jackson in Portswood the night Daisy disappears, and we know he has access to the school and was familiar with the Abbotts Way address. If he was at the house with Vardan when she stopped… no, wait, neither Vardan nor Jackson fit the description of the man Georgie Barclay said was with Daisy.’

  ‘Plus, why would Jackson tease Vardan about Daisy’s disappearance if they were both at the house?’ Patel countered.

  ‘A third accomplice?’ Laura offered. ‘Someone we’re yet to come across? Or maybe Georgie made a mistake; it was dark by then.’

  Kate’s eyes remained clamped shut. ‘Apart from the two crime scenes, we still don’t have anything to directly connect Jackson to Maria and Nowakowski. We hypothesised that he might have paid Maria for sex, but we have no proof, and that still doesn’t tie him to Nowakowski.’ She paused. ‘What do we know about Vardan? Can you pull that up next please, Laura? Is there anything to tie Nowakowski to Vardan?’

  Laura obliged, and began to read. ‘Born in Leicester… graduated from university with a degree in English Literature, but then he spent a further year converting it to a PGCE… spent three years at a school in Gosport… then there were all those rumours and accusations… he was cleared and has been at St Bartholomew’s… this is his second year.’

  Kate’s eyes flew open. ‘Wait, go back, which university did he graduate from?’

  Laura reread the screen. ‘Degree in English Literature received at Leeds University.’

  Kate sighed.

  ‘But,’ Laura continued, ‘his PGCE conversion was undertaken at Southampton University.’

  ‘What year?’

  ‘It was 2013,’ Laura said, clicking her fingers together. ‘The same year as our building inspector, Liam Phillips, graduated. I saw the date on his certificate on Saturday.’

  ‘Doesn’t mean they knew each other,’ Kate interjected.

  ‘That’s why we need to check whether their paths have crossed,’ Laura pressed, her eyes twinkling with excitement. ‘We can check university graduation records, student housing records, social media activity, and anything else that might establish a connection. We should cross match with everything we’ve found on Jackson too.’

  Kate couldn’t argue, as the pieces seemed to fall into place, but it was one thing to speculate on links; proving they were real was a different challenge altogether.

  *

  A sudden burst of whistling was swiftly followed by Olly Quinlan breezing into the incident room. ‘She backs up his story,’ he said, hanging his jacket on the back of his chair.

  ‘Did you get her statement in writing?’ Kate checked.

  He nodded, and lifted the sheets of paper into the air. ‘She’s given dates and specific locations they visited. She’s also provided her parents’ contact information for us to check with them. Apparently, her parents paid for them to go out for dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, which is why Jackson didn’t use his card at any point over the weekend. She was shocked when I told her he’d been arrested, and is adamant that we’ve made a huge mistake and that Jackson is really squeamish. She reckoned he nearly passed out once when she cut her finger while chopping onions.’

  Laura fixed him with a frustrated stare. ‘Did you believe her?’

  Quinlan nodded, staring at Kate. ‘I did, yes. She says they’ve been dating for two months, and he wouldn’t hurt a fly. She said he came to the school late on Friday to collect her before they drove to her house in Chandlers Ford and then on to her parents’ place in Poole. She swears blind he never left her sight at the school.’

  ‘But we know that the body could have been disposed of when he was there on Thursday,’ Laura challenged. ‘It still doesn’t explain his presence in Portswood when Daisy disappeared.’

  ‘She was able to confirm he was there to pick her up,’ Quinlan countered. ‘Apparently, she was at a friend’s birthday at The Mitre pub, near the big Sainsbury’s. He arrived shortly after ten, collected her, before they returned to her place, where he spent the night.’

  ‘Vehicle recognition has him in Portswood an hour before that,’ ma’am,’ Laura said. ‘What was he doing there for an hour before he met his alibi?’

  ‘Phone the pub now,’ Kate demanded. ‘If he was in there, they should have him on their security footage. Also, chase SSD. We need to know whether the DNA sample we took from Jackson matches the mystery profile from the two scenes. Finding this connection is our only way to find Daisy.’

  53

  ‘Tell me again,’ Kate said, staring at the notes Laura had been scribbling on the board, hoping it would make more sense second time around.

  Laura, nodded, replacing the lid on the marker pen, so she could use it as a pointer. ‘It’s all connected, ma’am, rather, they’re all connected. Vardan and Jackson both work at St Bartholomew’s, and both had ac
cess to the sports hall.’

  ‘But how? The caretaker Mr Linus had the only key to the hall.’

  ‘That’s why they changed the padlock. Or maybe they somehow managed to make a copy of Linus’s keys. Probably wouldn’t have been too difficult. Anyway, we also have this exchange of messages between Vardan and Jackson, discussing their urges and whatever else, so we know they have a relationship of some sort. Right?’

  Kate nodded for Laura to continue.

  ‘We know that Phillips also had access to the sports hall, because he’s got the contract to knock it down and build the pool this summer. He was at the school on Thursday, but we only have his word that he didn’t go inside. We also have Vardan and Phillips graduating from Southampton University in the same year. Okay, we don’t have anything concrete to suggest they were friendly back there, but we’ll explore those avenues when the offices are open again in the morning.’

  Kate pulled an apologetic face. ‘It still feels pretty thin.’

  ‘Not so, ma’am,’ Laura continued. ‘We have the photograph that shows Nowakowski knew Phillips and they’d been in touch recently because Nowakowski had asked for a job and money. How do we know Phillips didn’t agree to provide the money Nowakowski wanted in exchange for—’

  ‘And that’s where the theory falls over, Laura. We don’t know what any of them could have promised Nowakowski and Maria, and whether the intention was always to kill them. Plus, how does any of this tie back to Daisy?’

  ‘Phillips lures Nowakowski with the offer of a payment to do whatever. Jackson does something similar to entice Maria, offering her ten grand for some kind of kinky bondage fantasy he wants to play out. And that leaves Vardan and Daisy. Jackson’s emails suggest Vardan knew Daisy had developed some kind of school-girl crush on him, so maybe he brought her into whatever was planned. It’s like that Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train. The story concerns two strangers who meet on a train: a young tennis player and a charming psychopath. The psychopath suggests that because they each want to get rid of someone, they should exchange murders, and that way neither will get caught. It allows them both to have strong alibis in place when the acts are committed.

  ‘Jackson knew the Abbotts Way address was vacant, and chose that as the first murder scene, and he carries that one out, killing Nowakowski for Phillips. Vardan is then unaccounted for, for three hours on Thursday because he’s busy dismembering Maria for Jackson. And that leaves Phillips taking care of Daisy.’

  ‘You’re making a lot of assumptions, Laura. We don’t have any evidence suggesting Jackson wanted Maria dead, or that Phillips wanted Nowakowski gone. And why the hell did Vardan want Daisy killed?’

  ‘Could be blackmail, ma’am?’ Patel offered, having been observing the exchange.

  Kate raised her eyebrows at him.

  Patel sat forward. ‘Let’s say Jackson previously hired Maria to participate in a sordid fantasy, but she threatens to expose his little secret if he doesn’t pay her the money she needs to get free of her pimp. He initially pays, but then fearing she will blackmail him again, he ties up the loose end, or maybe she came back and demanded more. Similarly, maybe Nowakowski had some dirt on Phillips from their previously

  working together. Maybe Nowakowski – in his desperation to make enough money for the deposit for the flat he wanted to get with his sister – blackmails Phillips. And finally, we know what Vardan has been accused of before. Maybe he tried something on with Daisy and she threatened to blow the whistle on him. Three strong motives for murder, if you ask me.’

  Laura was nodding enthusiastically. ‘Let’s get Vardan and Phillips into custody, but let slip to each of them that the others are talking and the first to spill could get a lesser sentence than the others. Then we’ll see how loyal they remain to each other.’

  Kate narrowed her eyes. ‘If you’re right, if the whole purpose of this pact was to keep it a big secret, why throw an enormous spotlight on their activities by sending me the hearts?’

  Laura opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again as no answer would come.

  ‘Maybe it was guilt?’ Patel suggested. ‘We know that Jackson and Vardan went through with their murders, but there’s been no sign of Daisy’s heart or a bloodbath with her DNA, so maybe Phillips bottled his end of the bargain. So in order to ensure he follows through, one of the others sends the hearts to get us sniffing around: put the frighteners on Phillips, so he knows his only way forward is to follow through and off Daisy.’

  Kate shook her head. ‘I don’t buy that: it’s too risky for Vardan or Jackson to do that. Isn’t it?’

  ‘Whatever the reason,’ Patel continued, ‘it’s worth exploring. You’re the one who doesn’t believe in circumstance, ma’am.’

  Kate glanced back at the photo of Chloe on her desk. ‘If Daisy is still alive, where the hell is he keeping her?’

  ‘He’s a surveyor and property developer,’ Laura suddenly shouted. ‘His company must have a string of developments yet to complete. I’d bet money he’s stashing her in one of those.’

  Kate pointed at the computer. ‘Find me that address.’

  *

  Humberidge looked exhausted as he stumbled into the incident room, his cheeks flushed, and the bags enormous beneath his eyes. ‘Vardan wasn’t at home, ma’am,’ he sighed.

  Kate looked at the large clock hanging above the door. ‘It’s just gone eight, where is he?’

  ‘With your authorisation, I’ll ask the phone company to run a trace.’

  Kate nodded and Humberidge reached for the nearest desk phone.

  Laura returned from the printer, presenting a page to Kate. ‘Here’s a list of TUTD developments I managed to find on their website. They have a residential housing project of a hundred new homes out near Winchester, which isn’t due for completion until 2019. It doesn’t say how far along they are with building the estate. Then there’s a redevelopment of an old factory works down by the docks. It’s going to be developed into a new luxury hotel.’

  ‘Because that’s what Southampton needs: another hotel,’ Kate said, rolling her eyes.

  ‘The hotel is due to open in 2019 as well.’

  ‘Could he really be holding her at one of those addresses? If the developments are ongoing, he’d be running a huge risk that someone would find her. Where does he live?’

  ‘Owns an apartment down by Ocean Village, ma’am,’ Patel confirmed. ‘Hardly surprising: fits in with the polished image he tries to present.’

  ‘Please, ma’am, let’s bring them in. We have Jackson already, but he’ll be released in the morning unless the supe will authorise extending his custody by a further twelve hours. With all three here, I’m sure one of them will crack.’

  ‘My money’s on Phillips being the first to blab,’ Patel agreed.

  Kate looked at her two most-trusted allies and finally relented. ‘Fine. Have the phone company pinpoint Phillips’ phone and go and get them.’ She looked over to Humberidge as he hung up the phone. ‘Take Quinlan and the two of you get Vardan. Laura and Patel, have uniform check out the two developments while you bring in Phillips. We’ll give them just enough rope, and then see which hangs himself first.’

  The four of them bustled out of the room, the echo of their excited chatter drifting down the corridor, until silence descended on the incident room once more.

  Standing, Kate made her way to the board and silently reread Laura’s notes, still trying to shake the voice of doubt that continued to niggle at the back of her mind. Reaching for the reports Ben had produced following his post-mortem analysis of Maria’s foot and the two hearts, she began to read, hoping the final piece of the puzzle would present itself.

  According to the report, the foot was severed at the joint where the tibia met the plantar calcaneonavicular ligament, but described the cut as succinct and efficient. Ben’s notes also confirmed that the cut was completed in one go with a powerful electric circular saw. Yet the vena cava, pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary tru
nk of both hearts were cut using some kind of shearing instrument. She still couldn’t believe that Phillips would have sent the hearts. On neither occasion she’d met him had he demonstrated any kind of emotion or guilt, nor had he attempted to confess his actions.

  A knock on the incident room startled her. Turning, she saw DI Steve Hardy, wearing his usual white lab coat, leaning in. ‘Ah, Kate, I was hoping one of you would still be here. I’ve just been processing the belongings of Petr Nowakowski that you collected from Mountbatten House. We’re currently testing fibres from his clothing, but I thought this might interest you.’ He thrust out a small plastic wallet, carrying it over to the desk. ‘Found it folded and hidden inside the framed photograph of the young woman—’

  ‘His sister, Ana,’ Kate confirmed. ‘What is it?’

  Hardy rested the wallet on the desk. ‘Looks to be a printed copy of a chat room conversation between Nowakowski and someone with the username Guardian Angel. I guess he must have wanted to keep it as confirmation of what was discussed.’

  Kate stared down at the page, reading the exchange between the two parties. Her eyes widened with every word. ‘He was trying to sell a kidney? Is there any more? Can we see what website this chat occurred in? Or who this Guardian Angel person is?’

  ‘Afraid that’s all there is. Looks like the conversation occurred two weeks ago, about a week before he died.’

  Kate’s mind raced. Could one of Vardan, Phillips or Jackson have been trying to buy a kidney from Nowakowski? It didn’t fit with Laura and Patel’s blackmail motive. Did it? She couldn’t see the angle.

  ‘There’s nothing else? Just this page?’ Kate urged.

  ‘Unless you managed to find a computer and printer at his address that you forgot to drop off, I’m afraid that’s all I have.’

  ‘He didn’t own a computer… where else could he have printed this off?’

  Hardy considered the question. ‘A library? Internet café? An office he worked at? Maybe a friend’s device? Could be any number of places.’

  Kate reread the messages. ‘He was offered ten grand in exchange for his kidney.’