Her Final Hour: An absolutely unputdownable mystery thriller

by Carla Kovach

  ‘What have you done? We should have called the police last night.’ The woman kept repeating as her trembling hands spilled the glass of squash she was trying to sip.

  Ellie wriggled out of the way to avoid the splashing liquid, but the cord that bound her arms and legs thwarted her attempt. She tried to lean up but the back of his hand came down on her already tender nose. Blood seeped down the back of her throat causing her to splutter as she lay back on the stone kitchen floor.

  The man grabbed her bound arms and dragged her along the hallway, through to the living room, stopping at the settee. ‘Don’t just stand there watching. Grab her legs,’ he yelled.

  The blubbering woman crept towards her and reached down for her legs. ‘Don’t make me do this. I’m sorry, I truly am.’ Her face came out in hives as her red-eyed gaze met Ellie’s.

  ‘What? For heaven’s sake. Pull yourself together. Just lift when I say. Now.’ The woman failed to respond. ‘I said now. Just do it.’ The crying woman did exactly what she was ordered to do.

  ‘Let me go. Help me. I know you don’t want to hurt me.’ Ellie knew her best chance of escape was to appeal to the woman. The back of her jacket and jumper had lifted up and she’d felt the rug burning her flesh as they half lifted and half dragged her unresponsive body through the hall, into a small snug room. Although a snug, the room was far from cosy. It barely looked lived in. There were no pictures on the walls, no ornaments on the fireplace, no books or magazines. She leaned to the right to allow her nose to trickle and spotted a neat pile of boxes marked ‘lounge two’. They had just moved in.

  ‘Grab a rag, will you? Did you hear me? Stop staring and help me.’

  Ellie yelped as he lifted her and dropped her onto the sofa. Her raw nose stung every time she breathed in. As she breathed out, a bubble of blood formed and burst, trickling down her face.

  ‘Look. The stupid cow is about to ruin the new settee.’

  ‘She’s bleeding. What the hell did you do to her?’

  ‘What makes you think I did this? She fell. She’s an intruder. She was in our garden, looking through our windows, probably waiting for us to go to bed so that she could rob us or attack us. I like the way you blame me when it is the fault of this piece of shit. Hurry up and get that rag before she bleeds all over the settee. You don’t want that, do you? Bleeding all over the settee would make me a very angry man.’

  The woman shook her head as her gaze met Ellie’s. ‘We should call the police. It’s not too late. We were just defending ourselves, that’s all.’

  ‘Look at her. We can’t call the police. We don’t need the police. I’m sure we can all deal with this in a civilised manner.’

  ‘Please let me go,’ Ellie said. ‘Call the police, please.’

  The woman began to sob again then she broke eye contact with Ellie and ran out to the kitchen, sobbing.

  He’d got her exactly where he wanted and she knew it. She’d made it easy for him all those years ago when she accepted the drink in her usual trusting manner. He’d taken carefree from her. He’d taken a lot from her but she had no idea what he intended to take from her this time.

  ‘I know you from somewhere.’ He glared at her, lifting her hair and turning her face to the side. ‘So you came back for more?’ he whispered, as he sat beside her and stroked her forehead. ‘You’ve changed. What happened to your beautiful hair?’ She flinched as he stroked her neck and began undoing the zip on her jacket. ‘Don’t worry, you’ve let yourself go since the last time we were acquainted.’

  He remembered her. ‘Let me go.’

  ‘And why would I do that? So you can go running to the police and say I hurt you. They wouldn’t believe you anyway.’

  She knew he was right. It was far too long ago to prove anything but she’d seen, with a lot of the historic abuse cases that were surfacing in the news lately, if one person came forward, others might. She might not have been the only person he’d raped and attacked. People like him were predators and she knew it. She’d spent years reading about his type and now it all fitted. He had a grandiose style and a strong sense of entitlement when it came to women. People like him don’t stop at one.

  ‘When I saw you in the Angel, sitting in the corner, I recognised you straight away. You may have cut your hair off and put a bit of weight on, but I’d recognise you anywhere. I knew we’d become acquainted once again and look, I was right. Here we are now.’ He’d known she was there. She’d been so sure he hadn’t recognised her. ‘Come back to see me, did you? I was that good, was I?’

  She leaned forward and spat a mouthful of blood and saliva at his face, catching the corner of his eye. He wiped the mess away with the back of his hand. ‘Something like that,’ she replied. He may be holding her captive but he wasn’t going to break her.

  He grabbed her sweaty hair and slapped her face with his other hand. As he leaned in closer, she almost heaved as she inhaled the smell of stale coffee and whisky on his breath. ‘Do that again and we’ll certainly have a lot of fun reliving that summer night. Twenty-five years is a long time to wait to see you again.’

  ‘What summer? What are you talking about?’ Natalie asked as she entered the room with a tea towel and passed it to Bruce.

  ‘Tell her,’ Ellie shouted, as another streak of blood slipped from her nose.

  ‘Yes, tell me.’

  ‘Honey. Go and have a lie down, I can see you’re getting anxious. When I’ve dealt with her, I’ll be up in a minute with a chamomile tea.’

  ‘I’m not tired.’

  ‘You’re not well. This is no good for you.’

  ‘I want to know what happened when I was carrying the baby we lost, twenty-five years ago. I miscarried our little girl that summer and you deserted me, left me alone in London without a word. I didn’t know anyone there. You were—’

  Ellie began to wriggle, trying to break free from the binds. ‘He raped me. It was the fourteenth of August, 1993. He’s a revolting evil rapist. Where were you? At home, upset about your loss, while he was out at the Angel, drugging and raping me. A student based in London you said you were. Just home for the summer.’

  Natalie began to sob again. ‘Is this true?’

  He leaned down over Ellie. ‘Lies will get you nowhere.’ He stood up and held his wife, a hand on each shoulder as he looked into her eyes. ‘I didn’t do what she’s accusing me of doing. Could I rape someone? Have I ever hurt you? I look after you when you’re ill. I’m always there for you. This woman is deluded. Look at her. You deserve to know the truth though. Back then, she’d been harassing me and I saw her in the pub the other day, watching me again. I thought when we came back, she’d be gone but she was there, ready to start her stalking escapade once again. I won’t let her ruin us or my life, or what we have. I love you, do you hear? And I haven’t raped anyone.’

  Natalie broke away and wiped her eyes as she took the bloodied towel from his hand. ‘I don’t know what to believe.’

  He leaned forward and gently kissed her. ‘You do. You need me. I need you. Go up to bed. I’ll deal with this situation and I’ll bring you a drink in a bit.’

  The woman scrunched her face up as she burst into tears and nodded.

  ‘Don’t leave me here with this psychopath,’ Ellie shouted, but the woman was already making her way up the stairs.

  ‘She won’t listen to you. She needs me. Do you know what it’s like to be needed?’ He traced her neckline with his index finger until it settled on her necklace. One half of a heart. She wore one, Becky wore the other. ‘Pretty. So there is someone out there who needs you. Someone who’ll be waiting for your return. Am I right?’

  Ellie stared, refusing to give anything away. Her phone began to vibrate. He leaned forward, reaching deep into her pocket, trying to feel her as he grabbed the phone. ‘Becky with a heart. You’re in love with a Becky. I wonder what Becky’s thinking now. Is she the trusting kind? Does she live close by? Where does Becky live? Maybe I’ll pop by, see how she is. Is she
a looker?’

  Another tear dripped down her cheek. She tried to wriggle out of the binds but they were too strong. Hands behind her back. Ankles bound together. Her captor watching her every move. She wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. ‘You go near her and I’ll—’

  ‘You’ll what?’ She looked away. ‘Thought so.’ Her tough exterior, the one most people saw on a daily basis was fast melting.

  Panic rose through her body. ‘Help. Let me go. Help me.’

  ‘Shut up. You know what happens if you scream and shout.’ She opened her mouth to reply but she couldn’t. An image flashed through her mind. Creaking, back and forth in a car. She couldn’t open her eyes, she could just feel a moving sensation. ‘All That She Wants’ kept playing in her mind. She remembered not being able to recall the lyrics after line three.

  ‘Help!’ She needed to get out, get away from him.

  He slapped her. ‘No one’s coming for you.’

  He told her back then that no one was coming for her. It was like it was all happening again. Everything flooded back, as clear as day. They’d been in the back of a car, in the Angel Arms car park. She remembered why she couldn’t yell as she spotted other people leaving the pub after closing time. The smell of leather and oil flashed through her mind. He’d gagged her with a piece of leather used to clean car windows. Her heart began to race. She wouldn’t yell or scream. She couldn’t bear to be gagged again – ever. She was going to find a way out. His wife, Natalie, was her key to escaping. She’d seen an element of compassion in her eyes.

  ‘Please let me call Becky.’

  ‘No deal.’ He lifted the phone and opened the message. ‘Becky said she loves you and is wondering why you didn’t come home. She’s begging you to call. I’ll answer for you.’ He grinned as he read his message back. ‘Met an old friend at the pub and had a few. Slept on their sofa. Love you.’

  ‘Please don’t send that,’ she said as she cried. But it was too late. He’d hit the send button. Now Becky would think she’d gone straight back on the drink.

  A message pinged straight back and he read it aloud. ‘Please don’t tell me you’ve started drinking again. Tell me where you are. I’m not angry. I’ll come and pick you up.’ He dropped the phone and stamped on it. ‘Bit of a drink problem?’

  Ellie sobbed as he left the room. Becky now thought she’d gone on a bender, but Becky also knew she’d still go home. She’d never stayed out the whole night, let alone all the next day. She’d had her relapses but she had always gone home. Becky would know something was majorly wrong.

  He returned with two glasses and carried half a bottle of whisky in the other hand. ‘Let’s celebrate our reunion over a liquid breakfast.’

  He poured the rich amber liquid into a glass and held it under Ellie’s chin. ‘I don’t want it,’ she cried as he tipped it into her open mouth. The more he poured, the more she wanted it. Soon she was slurping all he’d given her with an open hungry mouth. The last thing she remembered was drifting off into a deep slumber on a comfortable settee, in a warm room, fighting any thought of resistance. She was past working out how she’d explain to Becky that she’d had a drink.

  Twenty-Nine

  ‘You can’t keep me here. I haven’t done anything,’ Jimmy yelled as he leaned forward, scraping the chair on the floor as he did so. Jacob sat back. Phipps’s solicitor placed a hand on his client’s arm as he whispered in his ear.

  Gina threw her pen on the table and leaned forward, her stare meeting his. ‘Mr Phipps. Let me lay this out for you. Melissa Sanderson was killed in a most horrific manner. You have no alibi and you have motive and means. We’ve seen the texts and analysed your phone records. You tried to call Mrs Sanderson several times just before she was killed. She’d told you she was staying with her husband. That must’ve cut to the core, the woman you love, refusing to leave her husband.’

  She watched as beads of sweat slid over his brow and landed on the table. His hands began to tremble. He snatched them away and sat on them. He may be able to hide his trembling hands but he couldn’t hide the sweat beads that continued to fall.

  ‘He was everything you weren’t, a successful businessman, who provided for her and their child. You couldn’t offer her much, not like him. You flew into a jealous rage, couldn’t accept her rejection. You waited until he went out. She’d told you in her messages when he was at the pub or out. His routine was exactly that, very routine. She let you in, didn’t she, and you were prepared. As their crying child screamed and screamed you watched the life ebb out of her as you throttled her, isn’t that right, James?’

  He stood and kicked the chair to the floor. ‘You have no idea. How dare you make all that up? How very dare you. I didn’t do this and you have nothing on me.’

  ‘Sit down, Mr Phipps.’

  The man wiped the sweat off his brow and reluctantly sat.

  ‘We took a look around your flat. The work you said you were doing, I believe you. You came to a standstill, didn’t you? Couldn’t work any longer. She was on your mind.’ She pulled the document from the exhibit folder they’d seized from his flat and placed it on the table. ‘That certainly came from the mind of an obsessed person. Couldn’t get her out of your head. You kept writing her name on your work over and over again until you flipped so bad that the pen you were scribbling with ended up permanently damaging your table.’

  ‘I didn’t flip and I didn’t leave my flat.’ He sucked in a deep breath. ‘That’s all I’m saying. No comment.’

  The suited solicitor peered over his glasses. ‘My client has answered all your questions. If you have nothing proving my client murdered Mrs Sanderson, I suggest you release him immediately.’

  Gina glanced at Jacob. He glanced back at her. Phipps leaned over the table with his head in his hands. They only had a couple of hours left and unless they could provide evidence that wasn’t circumstantial, Phipps was going to walk. What they had so far would never stand with the CPS. She knew it and his solicitor knew it. She checked her watch, the minutes were ticking away.

  Had Phipps removed all the evidence and felt secure in the knowledge they wouldn’t find anything or did he genuinely have nothing to hide? All the denim found in his flat had been fast tracked for urgent analysis. Keith had called her, confirming that none of it matched the sample found at the Sanderson’s house, not even the damaged jeans they found in the airing cupboard.

  ‘I will tell you something,’ he said.

  Gina straightened her back, waiting for Phipps to continue.

  The solicitor whispered into Phipps’s ear. ‘It’s okay.’ The solicitor nodded. ‘I was worried about her. You should check out her husband.’

  ‘Why’s that?’

  Phipps grinned and leaned back, enjoying being the person now controlling the interview. Gina had no idea what Melissa had ever seen in him.

  Gina watched as Jacob sat poised with his pen in his hand and nodded. ‘You should tell us anything you know, Mr Phipps.’

  ‘When we got intimate, she wouldn’t take her clothes off. I pulled her jumper up once and she freaked out and went berserk. I never once saw her body at all. I felt it underneath her clothing. Her breasts were all rugged, like scarred. She was hiding something and always refused to talk about it. We tried to have sex a couple of times and she couldn’t handle it, said she had medical problems and they caused her too much pain. I’d tried to get her to call the doctors and make an appointment. She dismissed my worries as she always did.’

  The scarring he described on her breasts matched up to what they’d seen during the post-mortem. From what the pathologist had said, she was probably in too much discomfort to want sex. ‘Did she ever mention much about her home life?’

  ‘I tried to press her for information. I knew something was wrong. He had something to do with it, I know he did. She did say something once, after we’d been seeing each other for about four weeks.’ The man stared at the wall behind Gina as he processed his thoughts.

 
‘Go on.’

  ‘Her husband. She said, since having their little one, he’d become more controlling. I know she’d called it off with me, but she hadn’t wanted to. She couldn’t find the strength to leave him and start again. She loved me. I know she did, and I’d have never given up on her. She was a clever woman, had so much to offer the world but he wanted to keep her at home like all his friends’ wives. He was always calling, checking up on her. She said he hadn’t always been like that and he’d changed, slowly chipped away at her confidence but he couldn’t keep her down.’

  ‘Are these the friends whose names you gave us previously?’

  ‘Yes and that’s all I’m saying. No comment.’

  The solicitor removed his glasses and wiped his tired eyes before placing them back on. ‘Unless you have anything more on my client, I suggest you let him go.’

  Gina closed her notebook. ‘I’ll leave you to finish up here,’ she said to Jacob, leaving before she kicked the chair. They were almost out of time and she didn’t have anything further to throw at Phipps.

  As she left the interview room, she spotted O’Connor walking along the corridor, eating a pie. He gripped the bottom of the pastry so tight with his clumsy fingers, the filling squeezed over the top. O’Connor caught it in his mouth before it fell. His shiny head reflected the flashing strip light. ‘Briefing now. We need to talk about Rob Dixon’s relationship with Darrel Sanderson.’

  As he spoke, he spat out a fleck of pastry. ‘Okay, boss.’

  She looked at her watch. There was something she really needed to do after the briefing.

  Thirty

  The house seemed much quieter without Melissa and Mia but that would all change when he got his daughter back.