BURIED ON THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of twists

by Joy Ellis

  Nikki thought for a moment. ‘Because the killer couldn’t be sure that Maria hadn’t already decided to share what she knew. What better way to silence her than to hurt her child? Doesn’t Maria have a son as well?’

  Sylvia nodded.

  Nikki folded up the note and slipped it into her pocketbook. ‘Then that would be why she is exhibiting such extreme fear. The killer has obviously made her realise that if she opens her mouth, her son will suffer the same fate as her daughter. Oh, Sylvia, why the hell didn’t you come to me before? You know I have gay friends and a cousin. I was hardly likely to blab to all and sundry about the Briar Patch, was I?’

  ‘At the meeting the other night I was on the verge of telling Spooky that I wanted to speak to you, but I couldn’t bring myself to.’

  ‘You’re a doctor for Christ’s sake! What were you thinking of?’

  ‘Not breaking promises, and protecting families and reputations from suffering. It sounds pathetic now, but I have taken an oath to provide my patients with total confidentiality. I have spent my whole life abiding by it. For me, it includes honouring my friends’ privacy.’

  Nikki sighed. ‘Please don’t think I’m not grateful, I just wish you’d done it sooner. We might have been closer to stopping her by now.’

  ‘That’s something else I’ll have to live with. But however I can help you from now on in, just ask.’

  ‘Right, well, to begin with . . .’

  Nikki told her about the proposed visit to the Briar Patch that night, following the Charity Auction. ‘Could you get me an accurate list of everyone who attends?’

  ‘Yes, we are expecting a pretty good turnout. I hear that the women are going to use it to make a show of defiance. Most of the members will be there, and their guests, of course.’

  ‘Don’t delegate that little job, will you?’ Nikki asked.

  ‘From what you’ve told me, I can’t afford to, can I?’

  ‘Absolutely not. Sylvia, does the name Avril Hammond mean anything to you?’

  ‘Avril Hammond . . . Of course! Back in the seventies or eighties, wasn’t it? The youngster who went missing on the fens. The Quintin Eaudyke mystery.’

  ‘We believe Avril to be responsible for all these deaths, Sylvia. She wasn’t murdered. She ran away, assumed another name, and now she’s back.’

  Sylvia turned pale. ‘Oh, my God! Do you think Madeline was so secretive because she knew who her lover really was?’

  ‘It looks that way. It looks as if Maria Lawson knows too.’

  ‘Are she and her family under police protection?’

  ‘Such as it is, with our ludicrous budgets. Whatever, you can be sure I will step it up now.’ Nikki looked at her watch. ‘I must go. I have a meeting to attend. And, Sylvia, act surprised if Sammy tells you about the raid tonight. No one should know of our conversation.’

  ‘Suits me fine. Can you get someone to drive out to my home after the auction and collect the list?’

  ‘Once the glasses are taken to the lab, I’ll come myself.’

  ‘I’ll have it ready. See you then.’

  Nikki opened the car door and the wind tore her words from her mouth. ‘Thanks, Sylvia. I really appreciate what you’ve done. I realise it can’t have been easy for you and I’m sorry I shouted at you.’

  ‘Please! No platitudes. I’ve been a first rate arsehole, and you are free to remind me of that any time you wish.’

  The door slammed and the Volvo purred onto the uneven track and out to the road.

  * * *

  Nikki sensed the tension in their improvised murder room immediately. She was pretty certain it had nothing to do with the six-shelved bookcase that now stood behind Cat’s desk.

  Joseph jumped up from his desk. ‘Great! You’re back. I was just going to call you. I’ve heard back from Dr Draper at Quintin. He thinks Fred Cartwright was about to send those cuttings either to Cyril Roberts or to himself! And he knows why!’ He rummaged through the mess of paperwork on his desk and pulled out one of them. ‘Look, Nikki.’ The old, sepia sheet of newspaper was almost smooth, and at the top, carefully ringed in pencil, was the date. Further down, almost invisible, was a tiny pencil mark on the article itself. It noted the date and location of the discovery of a disembowelled dog.

  Nikki looked perplexed. ‘So? What was so special about those dates?’

  ‘Doc Draper said that the date when the animal was purported to have been killed was the day he took Gordon Hammond to Greenborough Hospital, when he had his wrist reduced after the break. The newspaper was dated a few days afterwards, and happened to be Linda Draper’s birthday,’ Joseph said.

  Nikki screwed up her face. ‘Let me get this straight. Hammond was with the doctor when the dog was killed, and . . . Fred was trying to draw the doctor’s attention to that particular time and date in order to jog his memory?’

  ‘Exactly. Doc Draper spent half of his wife’s birthday with Hammond. There was swelling under the plaster cast, Gordon’s fingers were blue and he took him back to the Greenborough plaster room to get it cut off and re-plastered. Linda was annoyed because they had planned a birthday lunch, which had to be cancelled because of Hammond. The main thing is that Gordon Hammond did not torture and kill that dog.’

  ‘But somebody did.’ Nikki felt slightly nauseous.

  ‘And you would have needed two able hands to catch and behead the cat that was reported killed in the following week’s paper.’ Joseph showed her another yellowing sheet.

  ‘So if he didn’t kill those two animals, then he may not have slaughtered any of the others either,’ added Dave.

  ‘Or hurt the kids,’ called Cat from the other side of the room.

  No one spoke. The men’s room clock sounded like a metronome.

  ‘Avril?’ Ben’s hushed voice broke the silence.

  ‘We have to consider that it may have been another villager, someone who was more than happy to have Hammond take the blame.’ Nikki wanted to cover all possibilities before reaching a conclusion.

  ‘Why did Draper think the papers might be meant for Cyril Roberts?’ Ben asked.

  ‘Cyril was Gordon’s only friend. Up until Avril’s apparent death, only Cyril stood by him. Dr Draper said that Cyril’s daughter, Delia, had her birthday on the same day as his wife’s. He is sure Cyril would have seen the connection. Cyril Roberts is getting on a bit, but he’s still very sharp.’

  ‘And he does cryptic crosswords. When we visited last, the Daily Telegraph was on his table with the crossword almost completed,’ Yvonne added.

  ‘And if it is Cyril who’s drawing our attention to Gordon’s grave, perhaps he really does know on some level that it’s Avril, and not her father. He admitted to thinking at the time that it could have been one of the older children. “Rest in peace.” It sounds as though he wants to clear his old friend’s name.’ Dave looked pensive. ‘That puts paid to our theory about poor little Avril turning to murder because of all she’d suffered at the hands of her cruel father, doesn’t it?’

  Nikki looked around at her team. ‘Look, it’s nearly two now. Let’s hand all this over to Richard Foley and see what he makes of it. He should be here shortly.’

  ‘He’s here now, ma’am.’ Cat stood by the window. ‘His car just pulled in. Hey, he’s in a hurry! You don’t often see Dr Foley running, he’s always so calm.’

  A few minutes later the psychologist burst through the door.

  ‘DI Galena, we have a problem. I’ve just had a call from Sally King’s husband. Sally is having flashbacks and she needs help. I believe that the hypnotherapy may have unearthed old memories that she can’t cope with. I know I have the meeting here, but I have to drive out to Skegness immediately. The husband is worried sick, and he’s understandably angry as well. Would you be able come with me?’

  Nikki reached for her jacket. ‘Joseph, get hold of Gill Mercer and tell her about our suspicions. Brief the troops, as they are all going to be assembled anyway. I’ll ring you as soon as I can
. Ben, you and Cat prepare to be at the Briar Patch tonight after the auction finishes. Oh, I forgot. Joseph? Any luck with tracing a photo of Avril Hammond?’

  He shook his head. ‘It’s weird. There’s nothing. No school photos and nothing from the papers either.’

  ‘Keep trying. Yvonne, lend a hand on that. Someone in Quintin must have had a camera and caught her in a snap.’ She took a deep breath. ‘And if I get held up, Cat, be sure to coordinate the collection of those glasses, then ring me. Someone is going to be drawing up a list of all those present at the auction. I have to collect that as well. Are we all clear?’

  The team murmured their assent, and she and Foley left for Skegness.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  On their way to the old seaside town, Nikki told Richard of their recent findings.

  ‘It is perfectly possible that the child was born with sadistic personality disorder. It’s rare, but not unheard of. If untreated, the cruelty and need to dominate and inflict pain could spiral out of control, until one day she kills. Once she’s taken that step, there is no therapy, in fact there is nothing in this world you could do to stop her.’ Richard shook his head.

  ‘And her father, Gordon?’

  Richard thought for a moment. ‘It would be my guess that the poor, devoted father saw what was happening. He did his best to cover up for her by disposing of the mutilated animals. When he crept out under the cover of darkness, it was with his daughter’s handiwork in the sack, not his own. You said everyone in the village believed he adored her. He loved her enough to shoulder their hate and accusations in order to protect her.’

  ‘And the long five-year break?’

  ‘Somehow he must have found a way to control her,’ said Richard. ‘I don’t know, maybe he threatened her with exposure. Possibly by then she was managing to relieve some of her awful urges by entering into early sexual experiences.’

  ‘That would tie in with the rumours of her being highly promiscuous with the boys, and possibly girls, of the neighbouring village.’ Nikki bit her lip. ‘I wonder why it all started up again?’

  ‘There would undoubtedly be a trigger at some point. She would have been completely unstable, and if she had no outlet, she would have been boiling over with rage. It had to happen. She really was the proverbial time bomb.’ Richard nodded to himself.

  Nikki looked at him. ‘So one day she finds herself unfulfilled sexually, something upsets her, and wham! She goes too far.’

  ‘And realising that, she runs away.’

  ‘And Daddy, knowing how dangerous she can be, follows her. Why? To offer her help? To beg her to see a doctor? To take her home? To kill her before she kills someone else?’ Nikki asked.

  He shrugged. ‘Whatever his motives, she got in first.’

  ‘And then cleverly staged his “drowning” and her own disappearance. God, she killed the cat herself, and knew her father would get rid of it for her. The blood on the jacket was perfect. And the day before she left, she let the innocent doctor’s wife, Linda Draper, overhear her conversation condemning her father. The devious little bitch!’ Nikki shook her head.

  ‘What bothers me, Nikki, is what on earth are we going to hear from Sally King? Because it is very unlikely that there was another deviant in the same village at the same time. Therefore, it must have been Avril who terrorised and possibly sexually abused the other children.’

  ‘Oh shit! I was losing track of the big picture. Poor Sally. Is it a normal reaction to the therapy, to have flashbacks?’ Nikki looked at Richard.

  ‘No. Well, certainly not the kind her husband described. I will need to see her before I can decide how to proceed. Depending on her condition, I may have to ask her to go into hospital for a few days, so that I can assess her properly in a safe, controlled environment.’

  ‘What hospital?’ asked Nikki.

  ‘Don’t worry. I am one of the directors of a private clinic near Wainfleet. The head of psychiatry there is a close friend of mine, and together we will help her. I feel somewhat responsible for this, although everything pointed to her being an ideal candidate for hypnotic therapy.’

  ‘Don’t beat yourself up, Doc. It was her idea to be regressed. She was going to run her finger down the yellow pages before I suggested you, and thank heavens it is you treating her.’

  Richard frowned. ‘Let’s hope her husband sees it that way, shall we?’

  ‘Leave him to me, Richard. Sally is your patient, but I’ll deal with the distraught Mr King, all right?’

  ‘It’s a deal. And it’s the next road on the left, I believe, number thirty-three, Rivendell Road.’

  * * *

  Nikki was not prepared for what she found in the neat little terraced house, not far from the seafront.

  Sally’s two teenagers had been despatched to friends for a sleepover. When Nikki and Richard Foley arrived, only Bernie King and his wife were in the house.

  Bernie met them at the door. He was tearful and angry. First, begging the doctor to help his Sally, and then cursing him for allowing such a thing to happen.

  ‘I thought all this bloody treatment was supposed to be harmless? What have you done to her? She’s in a terrible state!’

  ‘Where is she, Mr King? Let me talk to her first, then we’ll discuss it.’ Richard sounded calm and composed.

  ‘She’s in our daughter’s room. She keeps talking to herself, and shouting and crying, but she won’t come out.’ Bernie wiped a big hand roughly across his face, and his voice broke. ‘She won’t come out.’

  Nikki took his arm and led him into the sitting room. ‘Let’s leave her with Richard, Mr King — Bernie, isn’t it? I’ll make us a hot drink, and then perhaps you can tell me when it started, and what happened.’

  Bernie collapsed onto the settee, and put his head in his hands. ‘I’m glad someone else is here. I didn’t know what to do.’

  ‘You did the right thing in calling the doctor, Bernie. And please don’t blame him. This would have happened one day, with or without the treatment.’ She sat next to him while the kettle boiled. ‘Sally told you about the problems when she was young?’

  Looking down, he nodded slowly. ‘I’ve always known that something happened. I just thought it was buried too deep to bother her again.’

  ‘But you agreed to her trying to discover what it was? To face it, so she could put it behind her?’

  ‘It was what she wanted. How could I oppose her? Ever since she started the counselling course, she’s been having nightmares and panic attacks, so I thought if it helps her, why not?’

  ‘And the children?’

  ‘They thought it was unbelievably cool and dead brave of their mum. They even wanted to attend the sessions.’

  Nikki smiled. ‘Typical teenagers.’

  ‘Do you have one of your own?’ he asked.

  Nikki closed her eyes for a moment. ‘For a while I did,’ she whispered to herself. ‘No, Bernie, I’m not that lucky, I’m afraid.’

  While they talked, Nikki was aware of the voices from upstairs. They were disturbing, alternately loud and hysterical, and then whining and muttering. She wanted desperately to go up and see Sally for herself.

  Nikki handed Bernie a steaming mug, and asked, ‘So all this began this morning?’

  ‘During the night. She had an awful dream that she couldn’t seem to wake up from. It was horrible. She was crawling on the floor, tearing at the curtains and the bed covers, and she cowered away from me, like I was . . . was some kind of monster. There was foam around her mouth, Inspector.’ Bernie cleared his throat and took a sip of his tea.

  ‘And she’s been like it ever since?’

  ‘No. I finally got her back to bed and held her until she went to sleep. This morning she was exhausted. I rang her work and reported her sick. She looked dreadful, pale and hollow eyed. She didn’t want breakfast, and then she began pacing up and down the kitchen and talking to herself. I knew the kids shouldn’t be seeing it, so I rang a couple of their friends’
parents and organised for them to stay over until I could get things sorted here.’ He looked at Nikki. ‘I should go to her.’

  ‘I’d leave her with the doctor for a while, Bernie. This is not a straightforward problem. He needs to find out what she remembered. If it was bad enough to tip her over the edge last night, he has to be very careful with her. We could blunder in and spoil everything.’

  ‘Can he sedate her?’

  ‘Yes, of course, if that’s what he feels is best for her. He just wants to help her. Bernie, did she say anything last night?’

  ‘I just understood that she was terrified.’ He stared into the mug. ‘Over and over she kept saying, “Please, no, no, please don’t hurt me. I won’t tell, I’ll never tell, just don’t hurt me again.” It went on and on. It was the most dreadful thing I’ve ever seen. It seemed like she was possessed, she just wasn’t like my wife, not my Sally.’ Bernie bit hard on his quivering lip.

  ‘I know this is a nightmare right now.’ Nikki paused at the sound of a keening howl, a terrible wail.

  Bernie set down his drink, slopping the contents over the coffee table, and ran from the room.

  Nikki caught him at the bottom of the stairs and held him tight. Above, all was silent. They waited for what seemed an age. Then Richard Foley appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked haggard. ‘I’ve had to give her something to calm her. She’s resting now, so if you would leave us for a little longer? Then, of course, you can sit with her, Mr King.’

  ‘Is she . . . ? Is she . . . ?’ Bernie King looked up at the doctor imploringly.

  Richard sighed. ‘I believe that she has fully recalled all of the horrific things that happened when she was a child. I have managed to understand some of it. The rest, well.’ He shrugged. ‘She will need care for a while, Mr King. Specialist care, I mean. Once the sedative has taken effect, we’ll discuss it. I must go to her now, so please be patient for a bit longer. And, Mr King, your wife is an incredibly brave woman. With the right treatment, I have every hope she’ll be fully restored to health.’