The Hangman's Hold

by Michael Wood

  ‘Maybe that’s what Brian did.’

  ‘And George wanted nothing to do with him. Maybe we should have a quiet chat with George’s housemates, when he’s not around, obviously.’

  ‘Definitely. He has no alibi either. We’ll be speaking to him again.’ Matilda walked over to the double doors and pulled one open. George was just getting into the car when he looked up and saw Matilda. He gave her a simple smile. She wasn’t going to be fooled. She’d seen smiles like that before.

  Chapter Twelve

  Day Ten

  Saturday, 18 March 2017

  He may have been only five years old, but Jason Lacey knew the benefits to having a birthday fall on a weekend rather than a weekday – he didn’t have to go to school. He woke up earlier than usual, excited at what his parents had planned for him that day. He ran into their bedroom and jumped on the bed. It was like Christmas morning all over again. At least he’d waited until it was light this time.

  After breakfast, which he ate in record time, Jason was allowed to open two presents. His mother ushered him out of the room to get dressed upstairs.

  ‘Right, let’s go through the plan one more time,’ Karen said to her husband, entering the living room while putting her coat on. She spoke in hushed tones just in case her son was listening.

  Joe sighed and lowered his newspaper. ‘I’m not thick. I know what I’m doing.’

  ‘You’re not even dressed yet.’

  He looked down at his cartoon pyjamas and dressing gown.

  ‘Have you been sat there reading the paper while I’ve got myself and three kids ready?’

  ‘It’s the weekend.’

  ‘It’s also your son’s birthday. Now, are you sure you don’t want to take the kids to the cinema and I’ll collect everything?’

  ‘You really don’t trust me, do you?’ He smiled.

  ‘It’s not that,’ Karen started to flounder. ‘It’s just … well, organization isn’t your strong point, is it?’

  Joe dug around in the pocket of his dressing gown and pulled out a tatty sheet of A4 paper. He unfolded it. ‘See, I have your instructions with me which I shall carry out to the letter.’

  She kissed him on his recently shaved head. ‘You know how to make me happy.’

  ‘I thought I did that on your birthday last month.’ He winked. He grabbed the waistband of her jeans and pulled her towards him.

  The sound of three small children thundering down the stairs interrupted them.

  ‘Right, we’ll be off now. Don’t forget, presents first, cake last. We’ll be back by four at the latest.’

  ‘Should we synchronize watches?’ he asked, staring intently at the Breitling he’d been given for Christmas.

  ‘Promise me you’ll not forget anything.’

  ‘I promise.’ He smiled.

  Karen leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. ‘Make sure you have a shave too.’

  ‘I’ll even wash behind my ears.’

  Karen rolled her eyes and left the room. The three children, Esme, Victoria, and birthday boy, Jason, were all excitedly waiting in the hallway wrapping themselves up in their coats, scarves, and gloves.

  ‘Are you guys ready?’

  ‘The Lego Batman Movie!’ Jason almost screamed at the top of his voice.

  Joe kissed all of the children in turn and told them to have a great time. He picked Jason up and raised him high in the air.

  ‘You’re getting big now, birthday boy.’ He kissed him on the cheek. ‘Enjoy the film. Tell me all about it when you get back.’

  ‘Ok.’

  Karen turned to make sure the kids were out of earshot. ‘Remember …’

  ‘I know, presents first, then cake.’

  ‘And don’t drop it either or I’ll drop you.’

  ‘Such a lovely way with words.’ Joe kissed his wife hard on the lips before she could issue any more instructions. He waved them off and closed the door.

  The silence, no chattering wife, no excited kids, was deafening. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. As much as he loved his family, he appreciated his alone time just as much.

  It was an unusually cold morning. The sun was shining in the clear blue sky, but it was bloody freezing. As Joe selected fifth gear, he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and headed into Derbyshire. The rolling landscape was covered with a sparkling layer of frost, bare trees reached into the air, sheep grazed on the steep hillside, and the sound of birds singing was heart-warming. Winter was maintaining its stronghold on 2017 for a little longer than usual. With these stunning views, it didn’t matter.

  Joe had struck lucky when it came to in-laws. Karen’s parents were kind and generous. They welcomed Joe into their family and forgave him his past deeds. As long as Karen and the kids were happy, they were too. They invited Joe in for a hot chocolate to warm him up before presenting him with a sack full of gifts for Jason. It was exactly like the Christmas Eve present run.

  ‘There’s a little something in there for Esme and Victoria too. I didn’t want them feeling left out,’ Karen’s mum said.

  ‘You don’t need to do that, Alice. You gave them all plenty at Christmas.’

  ‘Well, I just want them to know we think about them all. Give them a big kiss from their grandma and grandad and tell them we’ll see them tomorrow.’

  Joe headed back to Sheffield. He stopped off to fill up with petrol, then went to the far side of the city to collect the cake from the baker.

  ‘Oh my God, that’s brilliant,’ he beamed when he opened the box and saw the large cake inside. ‘Jason will love it. It’s his favourite Minion.’

  ‘Well I hope you all enjoy it.’

  ‘We will.’

  The box was secured with the seatbelt and Joe drove carefully back to Meersbrook. He couldn’t stop smiling as he imagined the look on Jason’s face when he saw the cake. He drove straight into the garage and closed the door behind him.

  Before he’d left, Joe had set the dining room up for the mini-party they were having later with a few of Jason’s friends from school. The table was clear, and Joe could place the cake in the middle without any hassle. It was heavier than expected.

  He took the lid off the box, carefully removed the large yellow cake from it and placed the smiling Minion on the table. He stood back and inspected it. Karen would kill him if there were any damages. He was amazed something so intricate could be made out of sponge and icing.

  The attack caught Joe unawares. The wind was knocked out of him from behind, and he fell to the floor, hitting the ground with a loud thud.

  Dazed, he shook his head and tried to stand up, but something was pushing down on his back and he fell to the floor once again. He looked up and saw his pained reflection in the patio windows screaming back at him. Above him was a dark figure dressed in black who had one foot on his back, pressing him to the floor. He couldn’t breathe as he felt his ribs starting to break.

  ‘I could easily kill you. It wouldn’t take much for a broken shard of a rib to pierce your lung and for it to fill with blood. You’d gag. You’d choke. You’d drown in your own blood, but it wouldn’t take long before you lost consciousness.’

  The pressure was released from Joe. He was in a great deal of pain, but he managed to turn over onto his back. He coughed as he struggled to regain his breath.

  ‘Who the fuck are you?’ he asked.

  The man dressed in black took off his backpack, unzipped it and took out a length of rope. He held it aloft, showing Joe the noose swaying at the end of it.

  ‘I’m your executioner.’

  Panicking, Joe tried to get away. He didn’t get far as he banged the back of his head on the patio window. He turned, reached up for the handle and pulled, but it was locked. He felt the noose go over his head and squeeze into his neck. He tried to get his fingers under the rope, but it was no good, it was too tight. Already his breathing was laboured, and he felt light-headed as he was dragged along the carpet.

  ‘Wake up, Joe
,’ his attacker shouted, slapping him across his face. ‘You need to know why you’re being executed. You’re taking all the fun out of it.’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Justice. That’s all I want.’

  ‘I haven’t done anything wrong!’

  The man let go of the rope, and Joe fell back, hitting his head once again on the floor.

  ‘How can you say that? How can you deny what you’ve done? When you’re breathing your last breath, think of Rebecca.’

  Joe’s eyes widened. That was a name he hadn’t heard in years. ‘No. Please,’ he wept. ‘I’ve got a family. Please. Don’t kill me.’

  At the sight of Joe begging and pleading for his life, the Hangman smiled.

  ‘Mum, I feel sick.’

  ‘I told you not to eat all those fries.’

  It was going dark by the time Karen and the children made their way from Meadowhall back home to Meersbrook. They’d had a great day, although when planning it, Karen hadn’t taken into account the annoyance of Saturday shoppers. She had felt a headache come on after ten minutes. The volume of The Lego Batman Movie hadn’t helped either. The burger in Oasis afterwards was tasty, but the wall of noise from those around her took the edge off her appetite. Jason, however, had delighted in finishing off everyone else’s fries. Now, he was paying the price. When she’d gone to the toilet and seen her reflection in the mirror she looked as if she’d aged ten years since arriving at Meadowhall. The mall sapped every ounce of energy from the moment you arrived. When the extension opened it would be hell on earth.

  ‘Have you had a good day, Jason?’ she asked, trying to distract him from feeling sick.

  ‘It’s been brilliant,’ he brightened up. ‘I can’t wait to tell Dad about the film. Do you think he’ll take me to see it again next weekend?’

  ‘I’m sure he will,’ Karen said smiling, knowing her husband was a big kid at heart and would probably enjoy The Lego Batman Movie even more than Jason did, if that was possible.

  Karen turned the corner and pulled up in front of the house. She wondered why it was in darkness. Maybe Joe was planning to jump out and shout surprise. Jason would love that.

  Jason climbed out of the back seat and ran to the house. The front door was unlocked and he went straight in. Karen could hear the calls for his father from the road. For a tiny child, he had a loud voice. Victoria and Esme helped Karen with the bags of shopping. She had just closed the boot when a glass-shattering scream came from the house. She dropped a bag and a bottle smashed. Red wine spilled out of the torn plastic and ran down the road. She froze as she looked at the open doorway of her home and saw her little boy staring at her. His face was pale, and he was shaking violently. Her mouth opened but she couldn’t speak. Her heart seemed to have stopped beating and her world stopped turning.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Matilda had been waiting for this phone call since last Saturday morning. Something at the back of her mind told her there would be a second victim. Brian Appleby had been hanged in what looked like an execution. Someone had obviously known about his past and decided he needed to pay with his life rather than just eight years in prison. If they had taken the trouble to research Brian, and set up such an elaborate and gruesome murder, they wouldn’t stop at one victim; others would be in the planning. One week later, Matilda had been proven correct.

  In the car on the way, Aaron filled Matilda in on the details. It sounded frighteningly similar to the Brian Appleby murder. The victim, in this case, was Joe Lacey, who was not on the sex offender’s register but was known to the police.

  On the 1st of January 1997, following a New Year’s Eve party with his girlfriend, Karen, who later became his wife, he dropped off Karen at her flat and drove home. It was nine o’clock in the morning and Joe had been drinking since early afternoon the previous day. He knocked down and killed eight-year-old Rebecca Branson. He didn’t stop.

  Later that day, the police called to his flat and arrested him for causing death by dangerous driving. He was breathalyzed and found to be five times over the legal limit. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison, but was released in 2004 after seven years, aged only 24.

  Since then he had gone on to marry Karen and have three children. His life had returned to normal, which was more than can be said for the parents of Rebecca Branson.

  It was pitch-dark by the time the pool car pulled up outside the semi-detached house in Meersbrook. Crime scene tape surrounded the house and a uniformed officer was outside the front door. The usual gawkers were standing on the pavement, arms folded firmly across their chests to stave off the cold, a look of angst and worry on their faces. Secretly, they were enjoying the change from the norm. This beat watching cheap reality shows on television.

  DC Faith Easter climbed out of the car from behind the wheel. ‘Bloody hell it’s freezing. I wish I’d brought my gloves.’

  Sian Mills almost slipped on a patch of black ice. ‘I’m going to have to get some better grips on these shoes.’

  Matilda led the way to the house. She was presented with a white paper suit from PC Harrison and slipped into it with ease.

  ‘What the hell is that?’ Matilda asked sticking her head around the corner into the dining room.

  ‘Wow, that’s so cool,’ Faith said. ‘It’s a Minion.’

  ‘What’s a Minion?’

  ‘It’s a PC who stands guard in freezing temperatures,’ came the reply from PC Harrison outside.

  Both Sian and Faith laughed.

  ‘It’s a character from a film,’ Sian corrected.

  ‘I’ll take your word for it,’ Matilda said.

  ‘We’re in here,’ a call came out from the garage.

  It was accessed from a door in the hallway next to the kitchen. Artificial white light from floodlights filled the freezing cold room. An Audi was parked in the middle, shelves full of oddities lined both sides. At the top of the room, three steps made from MDF led down to the garage. From a hook in the ceiling hung the lifeless body of Joe Lacey.

  Standing on a stepladder next to the body was a blue-suited Adele Kean. ‘Good evening, Matilda.’

  ‘Evening, Adele,’ Matilda replied, looking directly at the hanging man. He had a white pillowcase over his head. The rope resembled the one used to hang Brian Appleby, and Matilda counted thirteen turns in the noose. This was definitely no coincidence. She swallowed hard and forced down the bile rising in her stomach. It wasn’t the sight of a hanging man that made her feel sick, it was the thought of a killer striking again.

  ‘His feet aren’t touching the floor; would the drop be enough to kill him?’ Matilda asked, remembering her conversation with Simon Browes at Brian Appleby’s post-mortem.

  ‘His feet are only eight inches off the ground. He could have been strung up rather than pushed off the top step. At a guess, I’d say asphyxiation.’

  ‘Who found him?’

  Sian entered the garage, took one look at the hanging body, then down to her notepad. ‘According to the first responder, it was the victim’s son, Jason. He’s only five. In fact, today is his fifth birthday.’

  ‘Bloody hell, he’s not going to forget this birthday in a long while.’

  ‘The mother, Karen, was out with all three kids. Joe was getting the house ready for a birthday party. They came home, Jason comes rushing in and finds him hanging.’

  ‘What time did they leave this morning?’

  ‘About ten o’clock. Ish.’

  ‘And what about when they came back home?’

  ‘Around five o’clock.’

  ‘Adele?’ Matilda asked.

  ‘You know I don’t like time of death questions.’

  ‘After ten o’clock this morning?’

  ‘Yes. I’d say anything from noon until the time he was found. That’s a guess. Listen to what the neighbours say and go with that,’ she warned.

  ‘Thank you, Adele.’ Matilda smiled. ‘Where are the family now?’

  ‘Karen’s siste
r lives three doors down; they’re in there. The kids are distraught,’ Sian said.

  ‘How’s the mother?’

  ‘Quiet, by all accounts.’

  ‘OK. We’ll leave them for tonight. Get an FLO to stay with them. I want them all interviewed first thing in the morning.’

  ‘Are you happy with what you’ve seen, Matilda? Can we cut him down and take him to the mortuary?’ Adele said.

  ‘Yes, sure.’

  ‘Can someone help me take the weight of this man, please, so I can unhook the rope?’ Adele called out to anyone who would listen.

  ‘Two seconds,’ Lucy Dauman said placing the pillowcase carefully into an evidence bag.

  Matilda turned away from her friend. She led Faith by the arm to the other side of the garage. ‘Faith, you’re good with computers, have a look online for anyone who thinks people like Joe Lacey or Brian Appleby should have served longer sentences.’

  ‘You think they’re linked?’

  ‘I do. Keep this to yourself for now, until we find something that connects them.’

  ‘Will do.’

  ‘Aaron,’ Matilda called out to the DS as she saw him pass the doorway at the top of the steps. ‘Get Kesinka and Ranjeet out here to knock on a few doors. I know it’s dark but it’s still only early evening. I want to know if anyone saw anything suspicious, not just today either. Has anyone been hanging around lately?’

  Aaron nodded and walked away, pulling out his mobile phone. He seemed distracted, probably thinking of his heavily pregnant wife. Matilda had no idea how he was feeling, but even she was starting to wish Katrina would hurry up and have this bloody baby.

  Matilda stepped back from the scene of activity and watched as Adele Kean, Lucy Dauman, and a scene of crime officer slowly lowered Joe Lacey to the ground. He was sealed inside a padlocked body bag. Matilda unzipped the forensic suit and took her mobile out of her inside jacket pocket.

  ‘Sian.’ She signalled her sergeant over to her as she searched for a number. She lowered her voice. ‘Do me a favour, go and visit George Appleby and find out where he was from lunchtime onwards.’