No Safe Home

by Tara Lyons

  The firefighter’s large hands gripped onto his shoulder, communicating to Hamilton that he had no choice but to do as commanded. Half-heartedly, he allowed himself to be pushed along the hall, the clean night-air enticed him further; when suddenly he was hurled through the front door. He crashed down onto the pavement, the heaviness of the firefighter’s weight on his back, his head ricocheting off the ground.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Unfamiliar hands and metal implements brushed against Hamilton’s skin as he regained consciousness in the back of the ambulance. He pushed away the paramedic, mumbled an apology and sat up. Clarke stood at the open van doors with his back to him, and Hamilton was relieved to see they were stationary on Bayswater Road. Before anyone prevented him, Hamilton was off the stretcher, down the steps and by his partner’s side. He called back to the paramedic, instructing she give her time to someone who required the assistance more.

  “Gov, that’s not a great idea. Let her give you a full examination,” Clarke said with a wink.

  “I’m fine! A knock on the head is all. How’s the firefighter?”

  “Your human shield, you mean? Absolutely fine, he got the two of you out of there just in time. His colleagues are inside the property controlling the blaze now.”

  “What about Katy and…”

  “Matthew Webb? They’re in the second ambulance across the road getting checked out. They both suffered smoke inhalation, but seem okay. Not sure about their previous injuries as yet. Fraser and Rocky are staying near the house to see if anyone else is rescued.”

  “Come with me, Clarke. I want to have a chat with Katy and find out what the hell happened in that house, and more about Pete Campbell.”

  Hamilton coughed, flinching at the unwelcoming pain the movement brought, and lightly touched the tingling swelling on his forehead.

  “What do you think you were playing at, gov? Running into the fire like that… I was scared to death,” Clarke confessed as they strolled down the street.

  “I wasn’t really thinking of anything. I just reacted.”

  “Well, maybe next time you could think of your wife. Things could have ended very differently if that firefighter hadn’t pushed you out. It would have been me knocking on your front door, telling Elizabeth you’d never be home for dinner again.”

  Hamilton detected the severity in his partner’s tone and refrained from answering with a sarcastic response. Unusual for Clarke to adopt the scolding persona, Hamilton thought, but understood the seriousness of the lecture. He nodded and patted Clarke on the back. It was a scene he hoped his partner never had to enact, and a message his wife wouldn’t have to suffer in the near future. She was vulnerable enough at the moment, he thought.

  The sun made its ascent on a new day over London, brightening a residential road filled with uncertainty and secrecy. The blaze was almost controlled, and the neighbours had filtered away as the lamp posts automatically switched off. Katy sat on the steps of the ambulance and took no interest in Hamilton. Her skin had been darkened by the smoke and eyes glazed with sadness. Two paramedics busied with Matthew inside the van, while one man concentrated on the shell of a woman in front of him.

  When Hamilton finally grabbed Katy’s attention, she offloaded everything she had endured since accepting the taxi from the hospital in Welwyn, and how Pete had revealed himself and that her son was still missing.

  “Clarke, can you get Fraser and Rocky to canvas the area. This road was swarming with people, someone must have seen a small boy. Remember, he used to live here so most of them will know him. Tell them to check inside their houses if need be.” Hamilton moved closer and whispered in his partner’s ear. “Then I want you to stay with the fire crew. I want to know the minute they find a body in that house.”

  Clarke raced off and Hamilton crouched, perching himself on the kerb next to Katy. A whirlwind of white noise encircled them and she glared at her fingers, nervously twiddling a piece of tissue.

  “So, you knew Pete Campbell?” he asked.

  “Yes. No.” She sighed. “I don’t really know. Pete was my taxi driver since I started working at The Tavern. Tonight, when he shaved himself… I recognised him as the taxi driver I sometimes used in London. His name was Peter. I didn’t take any notice of him, not even the name.” She wiped the tears trickling down her cheeks and inhaled a deep breath. “I have to find my son…”

  “Katy, I have to tell you, Pete Campbell has a personal collection of photos of you and your son… and four other victims. You’re lucky to have escaped tonight.”

  “Lucky!” she shrieked. “I have no idea where my son is. Don’t you understand? How can you call me the damn lucky one!”

  Hamilton accepted her anger, nodding in agreement to the woman. “Once the firefighters have assessed the house, we’ll have a better understanding of what exactly is going on here. But, other than in the capacity of driver and customer, did you know Pete?”

  “The man’s crazy. He kept saying we’d met before.”

  “And had you?”

  “No… I don’t know. He mentioned some pub, The Swan… no, I don’t remember.” Katy shoved the tissue in her pocket and scrambled up. “I have to get to my son.”

  Hamilton stood and took her shaking hand in his. “Katy, listen to me. My team and the firefighters are looking for Pete and your son right now, as we’re speaking. Let them do their jobs. I’m sure the paramedics will want you and Matthew to get checked out at the hospital –”

  “Not without my son!” she yelled, and yanked her hand away.

  “Okay, but please, just wait here for now. I’ll send a uniformed officer to sit with you and take an official statement.”

  Katy crumbled, falling to the step again. Fresh tears replaced old and she sobbed with her head in her hands. Hamilton briefly spoke with the female paramedic who informed him Matthew’s injuries concerned her more than Katy’s. Between the two of them there were broken ribs and cheekbone, swelling and loss of blood, however, both were refusing hospital treatment. Hamilton requested the paramedic stay on the scene until the house had been safely cleared; he also wanted another pair of eyes on Katy, unsure of her mental state.

  Clarke beckoned him over with the wave of his hand. Once regrouped outside the house, his partner explained the firefighters had contained the inferno.

  “They’re doing a final check now, but their chief is confident there is no one in that building.”

  Hamilton frowned. “Adult or child?”

  “No. There is absolutely no trace of anyone in there.” Clarke raised his eyebrows. “They’ve said it was clearly an arson attack, with petrol in the far side of the living room. It seems the door was then pulled shut before the arsonist left.”

  “Katy’s adamant she saw Pete Campbell at her son’s window. Paranoid her son didn’t escape, she entered the house, but she didn’t comment as to whether that was before or after the fire started.”

  Clarke shrugged. “You know, our minds can play tricks on us. With everything that woman’s been through in the last twenty-four hours, who’s to say what she really saw… or if the timeline of her events is accurate?”

  Hamilton and Clarke walked away from the house and back down the street towards the other half of their team, and the various additional officers who had arrived in the last few hours. Their presence attracted new interest with commuters passing by; although eager as they were to get to the nearest train station or bus stop, they slowed down with an inquisitive desire. So many faces had come and gone in the last few hours, Hamilton wondered if they had really let the suspect slip by them so easily.

  “Bad news, boss,” Fraser said, when they met by his car. “No one has seen Frankie and he didn’t knock on any of the closer homes.”

  “Right…” Hamilton rubbed his ever-growing aching temple. “We can’t assume Pete Campbell has kidnapped the boy, because by all accounts Frankie fled before anyone else. But, let’s get both of their faces out into the public domain immedia
tely. Get uniform to appeal to the neighbours again, this time with images and details of Campbell’s car. It might jog someone’s memory. I’ll get in contact with the chief and request he gives the media a heads-up of a high-alert missing child… although he could have just run off into the night, scared and alone. Okay, I also want you to ask the officers to request volunteers so we can conduct a sweep of the local vicinity. Fraser, get back to the station and dig deeper on Campbell. Comb through the evidence we found in his garden shed. I want to know everything you can find on him; it might give us a clue to where he’s gone.”

  “We’ll have the local hospitals checked too,” Clarke added. “Matthew Webb explained he gave Campbell a good beating in return and knocked the man unconscious twice. Well, that’s what he thought. Either way, he might need medical attention.”

  Rocky whistled. “Knocked him out twice? Christ, who is this Pete Campbell guy, Robocop?”

  Hamilton ignored the playful comment and spoke firmly. “We’re dealing with a violent man who outwardly appears to be a non-threatening, normal member of society. He’s had the ability to blend in and hide in plain sight for months, years even! To me, that makes him a very dangerous and frightening man, who has already murdered four people, and brought Katy and Frankie Royal here to do the same. Not to mention the out of character addition of abducting Matthew Webb. Pete Campbell’s plan was clearly interrupted. Who knows what direction he may take now, especially if he has kidnapped the boy? Frankie’s life may be held in the balance, at the whim of a madman. Pete Campbell will most certainly be vexed that months of formulating his plans have now been ruined. So, for now, let’s have some protection on Katy Royal, as he may come back for her. Most importantly, let’s find this lunatic!”

  Although he trusted his partner, Hamilton decided to speak to the chief firefighter himself. He needed to hear the information first-hand, because only he had seen the look of conviction in Katy’s eyes when she’d explained someone was in her house after the explosion. He spun around and came face-to-face with the woman.

  “Sorry to startle you, Inspector.”

  “Is everything okay?” he asked, looking over her shoulder at the closing doors of the ambulance.

  “The pain is too much for Matthew, so he’s decided to go to the hospital. Do you think I could sit in one of the cars?” Katy asked.

  “Of course, yes.”

  He turned back and called out for Rocky’s attention. Pointing to his colleague, he told Katy to wait in his vehicle until he returned to update her. The woman resembled a zombie as she shuffled away from him. Hamilton recognised her pain. Whether or not he would deliver life-changing, devastating news, it remained his duty to find out what had happened to her son.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  The handsome officer, Katy now knew as Rocky, opened the rear car door and smiled at her. Although it was an unmarked vehicle, she wondered if the locks would restrict her from escaping. Too many cop shows on the television had planted that particular seed in her mind.

  “I’m not under arrest, am I?” she attempted to giggle, and hated herself for doing so.

  “No. I guess you can sit up front,” he replied, closing one door and opening another.

  “Thanks… do you think it will take us long to get to Hertfordshire?” Rocky frowned and remained quiet. Katy licked her dry lips. “Erm… DI Hamilton said you’d drive me to my flat in Welwyn.”

  Her stomach clenched as the officer turned in the direction his boss had been standing in moments before. Luckily, Hamilton appeared to be out of hearing range, and Rocky returned his attention to Katy.

  “That’s why he called you over,” she continued. “They’ve taken my friend to the hospital and I need to get cleaned up. I said I’d report to the station in Welwyn straight after.”

  “Ah, I see,” Rocky finally said. “No bother at all, jump in, Mrs Royal.”

  She dipped her head, climbed in the car and sat in the passenger’s seat. Her sweaty palms slipped on the door handle and a burning heat flushed against her cheeks. Katy asked the officer to call her by her first name while gazing out of the window, silently urging the engine to start without any attention from those in the surrounding area. Thanks to Inspector Hamilton’s earlier comment, her plan was now clear. She dismissed the pain scorching through her body and focused on what needed to be done.

  Katy exhaled a large sigh of relief as they pulled away from her former home but, as they drove past the red bricked apartments on Old Marylebone Road, she frowned and turned to the officer.

  “You haven’t asked me for any directions.”

  “No need, I live in Welwyn so know the best route to take. We should be in town within thirty minutes.”

  Usually, the Irish twang to his accent and unique name would prompt Katy to ask questions and engage in conversation. Instead, she zoned out as Rocky continued to waffle on about where he lived, and his secondment to the London Met Police. Not counting on actually travelling all the way home, her mind shot into overdrive as she devised a back-up plan. There was no choice now.

  “Can I use your phone quickly please?” Katy asked.

  “Everything okay?”

  She hesitated. “Yes, it’s just I have no idea where my belongings are. I have no keys for my apartment and thought I should text my neighbour… she has a spare key.”

  Rocky’s eyes never left the road as he removed one hand from the steering wheel and retrieved the mobile from his inside coat pocket.

  “We probably should have checked before we headed off, but I can drive you directly to the station if there’s a problem.”

  “No!” Katy snapped. “I mean, there’s no problem. She has kids and… it’s still so early. I’m sure they won’t have gone out yet.”

  Rocky turned down his lips and nodded, his fingers rhythmically drumming on the steering wheel to the hushed musical tones playing over the radio. Katy was surprised to find the phone had no passcode, but then who would steal a copper’s mobile, she thought? Thumbing over the screens, she found the app she wanted and began her search. Her eyes flicked discreetly between the phone and the officer until she had the information she wanted.

  “All done, thank you,” Katy said, and lowered his mobile into the cup holder compartment.

  “We’re not too far now, hopefully your neighbour will reply.”

  “Oh, she did. Yes, she’s at home.”

  “Must have forgotten to switch it off silent. I’m always doing that,” Rocky replied, and indicated left to exit the A1 at Hertford.

  Katy chewed her bottom lip and stole a glimpse at the uninterested officer. Part of her screamed to confess everything to him; he gave off a relaxed, laid-back impression that the Inspector did not. She wondered if it were possible to trust this man with her secret.

  Her husband’s possessive personality and Pete’s bloodstained face returned to haunt her. She pushed their images aside and focused on the face of the only man she had ever truly trusted, her father.

  Born in London, Katy’s father had taken advantage of the low property prices in the seventies and built a steady business buying, transforming and selling homes. His flexible work schedule meant Katy spent a lot of time with him during her teenage years, and they always had something to discuss; no more so than their heated disagreements surrounding their love of literature, forged from his days of teaching English. He had married his childhood sweetheart and together they embodied the fairy-tale romance. Cynical of fictional love to begin with, Katy often teased her parents, while secretly hoping one day she’d find a man like her father who wanted to marry her.

  “Can you think of anywhere your son may have gone?” Rocky asked, yanking Katy from her reverie.

  “What?”

  “Well, I’m just thinking, perhaps your son was scared and he decided to go somewhere special to him. Maybe to a place where only his mother would know where to find him.”

  Katy struggled to hold back the volcano of tears threatening to erupt. �
�Frankie is only five years old, Officer. It was dark… I can’t believe he would run away. He’s never done that before. Sadly, it’s not the first time he’s witnessed a man overpower me.”

  She caught Rocky’s sideward glance before turning back to face the road. Flashing in a haze before her eyes were pedestrians, and the groomed greenery of Welwyn Garden City, all barely seen through her glassy eyes. Katy knew the policeman could never understand the power of a mother’s love. What needed to be done could only be fulfilled by her. She was alone.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Hamilton clicked his fingers and pointed to the driver’s side of the car, while listening to the monotonous dialling tone on his mobile phone. He climbed into the passenger’s seat and Clarke took his cue, jumping in behind the wheel.

  “Finally! Where the hell are you?” Hamilton roared down the phone as the car cruised out of Bayswater Road.

  “I’m still in Welwyn, sir. But I was just about to call you.” Rocky replied.

  “What are you bloody doing in Welwyn?”

  “I drove Katy Royal back to her apartment, as you requested, sir.”

  “No I did not. The instruction was to sit in the car and wait.”

  “No…” Rocky hesitated. “That’s not the message she passed onto me.”

  Hamilton frowned, the car picking up speed alongside Hyde Park as they drove back to the station; he couldn’t understand why Katy had duped a member of his team.

  “Anyway, sir, as I was saying, about calling you…”

  “What is it, Rocky?”

  “I’m currently parked outside Katy Royal’s apartment.”

  “Good, you haven’t left.”

  “No, sir. I thought she was acting a bit suspicious during the drive here. Used my phone to text her neighbour, but must have deleted it because there’s no message. She also switched my phone onto silent so I wouldn’t hear any notifications. Should I pop up to her flat, or try and find the neighbour?”

  “Rocky, do you have a good view of the entrance?” Hamilton asked.