THE JAGGED LINE A Thrilling, Psychological Crime Mystery (Harry Briscombe Book 2)

by Carolyn Mahony

  Outside in the street, Bulldog loaded the last of the upstairs flat’s inhabitants into the van parked out in the road. At their feet, Kirsty and Luke, hands still tied, bounced helplessly on the hard floor as it was driven swiftly away into the night.

  ***

  Back in the incident room an hour later, Beth yawned and took a sip from her coffee as she and Harry watched the video footage Geoff Peterson had isolated for them.

  ‘Got him,’ Harry said with quiet satisfaction, as he viewed a full facial image of Simon Jordan having sex with an unconscious woman.

  ‘Yeah, but … that’s not his flat, is it? Look at the decor in the bedroom – it’s much too posh.’

  Harry frowned. She was right.

  Then his brow cleared. ‘It must be his other flat … the one in Whetstone. We’ll need to check that out as well. Get Geoff to arrange for another warrant, will you? In the meantime …’ His face was grim. ‘Time could be running out for Kirsty Cartwright and Luke Talbot. We need to seriously put the wind up Simon Jordan and get him to tell us where they are. I don’t believe him when he says he doesn’t know. Has his solicitor arrived yet?’

  ‘He’s in there with him now.’

  ‘Right. Let’s get on, then.’

  In the interview room, Simon was looking haggard as Harry switched on the interview tape and went through the usual procedure.

  ‘Just to confirm for the records that you’ve requested the presence of your solicitor, Mr Raymond Edmondson, for the duration of this interview. Now, I will ask you again, Mr Jordan, do you have any information concerning the whereabouts of either Kirsty Cartwright or Luke Talbot?’

  ‘No. I’ve already told you that. How many more times do I need to say it?’

  ‘As many times as it takes for you to tell us the truth. But maybe we need to be a bit franker about what we already know, to encourage you to be more open and honest with us.’

  Simon looked at him warily. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Were you aware, for example, that Kirsty had already carried out the first part of her plan tonight? Namely, to break into your office in Whetstone and relieve you of your office computer?’

  ‘What? No way. You’re lying.’

  ‘I’ve got no reason to lie. We’ve taken a look at that computer and I think you know what we’ve found on it.’

  Silence.

  ‘For the sake of the tape, I’ll clarify that. We found a number of images on your computer that would seem to suggest you’re a serial sex offender. It’s obvious that most, if not all, the women you’re filmed having sex with have been drugged. Interestingly, my boss has been working on unsolved sex attacks in the area. As we speak, my colleagues are seeing what they can do to match the pictures we have on your computer to some of the victims on our files. I think we both know what the results of that will be.’

  ‘That’s an office computer. There are several of us there. Anyone could have copied those images onto it.’

  ‘But it’s your face we see on the screen, abusing those women. We see it as clear as day. And of course there’s your latest victim, Katrina Midwood – currently in Barnet Hospital. How do you explain her away?’

  ‘She was there of her own free will. She was quite happy to leave with me last night and take part in a bit of bondage.’ He smirked at Harry over the desk. ‘You should try it sometime. It might take on an added dimension with the job you do – the handcuffs and all that.’

  ‘Which might have worked as a defence if we hadn’t also got video footage of our own from the nightclub last night where, despite the wig you were wearing, you can clearly be identified, and are seen slipping some liquid into Katerina Midwood’s drink as well as your own. What was that?’

  Simon made no response and Harry let him stew on it for a while before leaning forward in a conciliatory fashion.

  ‘Look, Simon. You’re shot, we both know it. And you can go one of two ways. You either stick it out and give us the silent treatment over Kirsty’s whereabouts, or you decide to be cooperative and help us out. If you do the latter, I’ll make sure your cooperation goes on record. If you had anything to do with Kirsty’s disappearance, now’s the time to tell us. It can’t do any good prolonging things. We’ve got enough to hold you in custody until we either find Kirsty and Luke, or charge you. I’m going to give you ten minutes to think about it and talk to your solicitor. I hope when I get back, you’ll have had time to realise that the best thing you can do now is cooperate with us.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Kirsty lay on the floor of the van and wondered how much more she could take of the stink of petrol and chemicals clogging her nose, threatening to make her spew. It was cramped and dark in the back of the van and she was grateful for the reassuring solidness of Luke’s form behind her. She wished more than anything that she didn’t have the gag on her mouth; that she could talk to him, tell him how sorry she was for dragging him into all this – how much she loved him. On a scale of one to ten, pride didn’t rate highly now that her life was in danger. She wanted him to know there could never be anyone else for her.

  She felt the pressure of a stinking shoe pressed close to her face and tried not to gag. Not a word was being spoken in the van by its other occupants and it felt spooky knowing there were at least half a dozen people seated around them, none of them saying a word. What if one of them suddenly leapt up and cut her throat? She tried not to let her imagination run riot and pressed closer to Luke. She felt him shuffle at her side, realised he was turning over, and then once again she felt the slow, inexorable movements of his fingers as they went back to work on her ropes in the dark. She wasn’t at all hopeful that even if he freed her she’d be capable of doing anything, but she was grateful for the sense of hope it gave her.

  It felt like an age, but probably wasn’t actually that long, before they came to an abrupt stop. She heard the sound of doors being opened outside and then the van lurched briefly forward again before coming to a final halt. The engine switched off. Wherever they’d been heading they’d clearly arrived. She blinked hard as the van doors were flung open and bright lights shone into the back of the van. Luke had managed to loosen off her ropes quite considerably, she realised, but for now she held the threads firmly in her grip not wanting to give anything away.

  Rough hands hauled her forward as Bulldog slung her effortlessly over a hefty shoulder. Luke, she noticed, was dragged to the edge of the van and made to stand on the ground.

  They were in a large warehouse, pretty empty apart from a dozen or so beds and chairs lined up against the walls. It looked like a poor man’s dormitory, but right now Kirsty would have given anything to lie down on one of those beds, close her eyes and wake up to find that all this was a horrific dream. It didn’t look like her wish would be granted, as she was dumped unceremoniously onto the floor then pushed down into a sitting position against the wall. Luke was shoved into place next to her.

  ‘Everyone out,’ Tim Burman barked inside the van. He turned to Bulldog as, one by one, the other occupants jumped out. His face was tight and it was clear he was battling to control his anger and not making a good job of it. ‘We don’t need this. I’ll kill that bastard Simon when I get my hands on him.’

  ‘I don’t understand what’s going on,’ Bulldog said. ‘What was she doing in his flat in the first place?’

  ‘Don’t ask me. We shouldn’t have got involved. If you hadn’t spotted her in her car we wouldn’t even have known she was there.’

  ‘I thought she was spying on us. I didn’t think we could just leave her there after she’d seen this lot.’

  Tim walked over to where Kirsty and Luke were sitting. Kneeling on one knee, he reached round and tugged at the knot, ripping Kirsty’s gag off.

  ‘So how about you tell us now what you were doing in Simon’s flat tonight?’

  He had the manner of a man not about to put up with any bullshit, and Kirsty tried not to be too intimidated. She stretched her jaw, trying to ea
se the discomfort from her mouth.

  ‘I told you. I was borrowing his laptop.’

  ‘Without his knowledge.’

  Kirsty hesitated but decided she had nothing to gain by not telling the truth – and a lot to lose.

  ‘He’s got stuff on there – personal stuff that I wanted off. I knew he was round at my brother’s tonight so I–’

  ‘Broke in.’

  ‘Let myself in – I had a key. I didn’t cause any damage and I was going to give him the computer back once I’d wiped it.’

  ‘And what about him?’ He jerked his head at Luke. His whole manner was wired, his eyes shifting back and forth to the warehouse doors as if expecting the police to rush in at any minute.

  ‘Luke knew what I was doing and he got worried when I didn’t pick up on his messages. He was coming round to check I was okay. That’s all. Look, I don’t know what all this is about, but my problem isn’t with you–’

  ‘It is now, babe.’ His tone was uncompromising. ‘You’ve seen too much.’

  Kirsty shook her head vehemently. ‘We haven’t seen anything – we’re not interested in what you’re doing. Whatever it is, it’s your business–’

  He gave her a pitying smile. ‘Are you trying to tell me that if I release you now, you’d forget all about what’s gone on tonight and not go straight to the police and tell them everything you know? Because if you are, we both know you’re lying.’

  ‘Did you kill my father?’

  The words were out before she could stop them and she immediately wished them unsaid, knowing she was only digging herself a deeper hole. She saw straight away from the cruel twist to his lips that he had done – and that knowledge alone was enough to seal her fate.

  He hesitated, as if wondering how much to tell her, but then, clearly deciding it would all be irrelevant soon enough anyway, he gave a shrug. ‘Both of you are too nosy for your own good. Yes, I had him killed – I didn’t do it personally, but he had to be got rid of. He insisted on inspecting the flat that day when I was out and Tanya didn’t realise not to let him in. Unfortunately, like you, he witnessed the visitors we had – rather a lot of them that day – and it seems he clicked straight away as to who they were. He didn’t let on, though, not then. Luckily for me, he thought Simon might be involved and chose to confront him before doing anything about it. He went straight over to see him and when he wasn’t there, he called him. Told him that the only reason he wasn’t going straight to the police was because of his friendship with Simon’s father. They arranged to meet at a pub after your dad’s next appointment, only sadly, of course, your father never made that meeting.’

  ‘Simon was involved in his death?’ She couldn’t believe it.

  ‘Indirectly. He panicked. He does a lot of the legal – or perhaps I should say illegal – stuff for me. He called me to ask what he should do, how he should handle things. He’s a bit naive like that – didn’t realise that there was only ever going to be one option. What we do is serious shit, with serious people. We can’t afford to leave loose ends lying around.’

  And she and Luke had just become loose ends, she realised bleakly.

  Her eyes flashed to Luke’s and she could see he was thinking the same thing.

  ‘What are you going to do with us?’

  Some little demon pushed her to ask the question, even though she didn’t want to hear the answer.

  ‘You know what? I’m really pissed off with you for putting me in this position. It’s not like I take pleasure in killing people. Usually I’m Mr Nice Guy. I fix these poor sods up with a new home, get them fresh identities and give them a break. I make a lot of money out of it, but I work fucking hard, and it was all going well until you and your father – and that bloody Paul Copeland – stuck your oars in. This isn’t a business where you can let that sort of thing happen – one chink in the armour and the whole chain collapses. I’m sorry, I really am … but I’m sure you can see I have no choice. I have to get rid of you.’

  He looked so normal … yet here he was talking about killing them as if it was a regrettable inconvenience.

  ‘How can you sleep with people’s deaths on your conscience?’

  He gave a thin smile. ‘I’ve always had a bit of a bypass on the compassionate gene. I see it as a strength, not a weakness.’

  At her side, Luke made a noise. Tim looked at him, then shrugged and untied his gag, too. ‘Got something to say?’

  Luke’s glance flicked to Kirsty before moving back to the other man’s face. ‘Look – as Kirsty said, we’re not out to make trouble for you. And we’re certainly not prepared to die for a cause that’s got nothing to do with us. I’m a solicitor – I could even be useful to you–’

  ‘Do you take me for a fool? I’ve been doing this job for three years now and the only reason I get away with it is because I never take chances. Someone even blinks in my direction for too long and I take them out. Some might say I’m paranoid about it, but it’s kept me out of trouble so far. You won’t be changing my mind.’

  Again, Kirsty was shocked by the detached, almost rational way he said it. As if it wasn’t people’s lives he was talking about, just a practical solution to an irritating problem. His phone rang and he straightened up to answer it. He listened for a while, his mouth tightening into an ominous line.

  ‘How long ago?’ he barked. ‘Why didn’t you phone me sooner? Thank God we got them out. No. Don’t do anything. Just stay where you are and watch the house. Make sure you’re not seen. And put someone on to watch his flat in Whetstone in case they release him and he goes back there. Let me know if anything happens – and I mean anything. No one goes near that flat until I give the all-clear. We may need to move our base.’

  He clicked off the phone, his expression ugly. ‘See what you’ve started?’

  He kicked Luke viciously in the ribs, making him crease up in pain. ‘They’ve arrested Simon and knowing that slimy little toad, he’ll do anything to save his own skin. Alan, make sure none of that lot go anywhere out of this building – not even for a piss. As for these two …’ He turned back to look at them. ‘Call Monty. Get him to bring the car over. Tell him we’ve got another job for him.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  ‘Any news on Tim Burman returning to the flat?’ Harry asked Geoff Peterson, grabbing himself a coffee from the machine and stirring two teaspoons of sugar into it. He’d been disappointed but not really surprised that there’d been no one at home when they’d broken into Burman’s flat.

  ‘Nope. No sign of anyone. We’ve left a uniform on guard at the house and he’ll call if anyone comes back.’

  ‘Why are you so interested in him?’ Beth asked.

  ‘Because if Simon is responsible for Kirsty and Luke’s disappearance, he couldn’t have dealt with them on his own in the time-span he had. Geographically, Burman’s the logical one to have helped him out.’

  ‘But we don’t even know the guy’s involved in anything.’

  ‘Susan Porter and Kirsty Cartwright seemed to believe he was. And now Kirsty’s gone missing, I’m inclined to give their suspicions more credence.’

  He downed his drink and chucked the cup in the bin. It was well past midnight and beginning to feel like it.

  ‘Okay. Let’s see what Simon Jordan’s got to say for himself now he’s had some time to think.’

  Back in the interview room, Harry carefully laid out photographs of four women on the table. Then he looked at Simon Jordan.

  ‘For the benefit of the tape, I’ve placed four photographs onto the table. Do you recognise any of these women, Mr Jordan?’

  ‘No.’

  Harry pushed them closer to him. ‘Look harder.’

  Simon cast them a cursory glance and shrugged. ‘They don’t look familiar.’

  ‘You must have a very short memory. These pictures have been extracted from videos we found on your computer – all filmed within the last year. All four of these women were victims of sex attacks, with the same
pattern of attack identified – and the dates of those reported attacks coincide with the dates on these videos. Do you have an explanation for that?’

  Simon glanced uneasily at his solicitor before saying, ‘As I said, it’s an office computer – anyone could have put those films on it.’

  ‘My colleagues are looking at your home laptop as we speak. If the same or similar images are on there…’

  The solicitor leant closer to Simon and whispered something in his ear. Simon hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  ‘If my client tells you everything he knows, we’ll expect some sort of a deal–’

  Harry shook his head. ‘It doesn’t work like that. He needs to realise the severity of his situation. The crimes he’s likely to be charged with are serious. We have video evidence of him actively participating in what looks like serial rape and other sex offences. If he tells us now where Kirsty Cartwright, and possibly Luke Talbot are, it’s not going to change any of that but it will at least show in his favour.

  ‘I don’t know where Kirsty or Luke are, I told you that.’

  ‘Mr Jordan–’

  ‘It’s the truth. I don’t.’ He hesitated, his expression calculating. ‘But I may know who does.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘I’m not telling you anything unless you give me something in return.’

  Harry kept his expression neutral with difficulty. ‘That’s not going to happen and the sooner you realise it, the better. Do I need to spell it out to you how serious the charges are that you’re facing?’ He leant forward, his face grim. ‘You’re already facing serious charges of rape and physical assault. If anything happens to Kirsty Cartwright that we discover at a later date you could have prevented, it’ll make things a lot worse for you. I think you need to think on that. We need you to tell us the truth – not only regarding the whereabouts of Kirsty and Luke, but also anything else you may know about Paul Copeland and possibly Dominic Cartwright. At the moment you’re the common link between them – and that’s not looking good for you.’