The Essence of Evil

by The Essence of Evil (retail) (epub)

  ‘Who was that?’ Mary asked, looking slightly suspicious.

  ‘Ed Francis.’

  Mary raised an eyebrow.

  ‘He wants me to play golf with him. Tomorrow.’

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘I said yeah, why not.’

  Mary glowered at him, her eyebrow crawling up her forehead as she showed her disapproval.

  ‘Just remember what happened the last time you played, Steven,’ Mary said.

  Grant sighed. ‘Of course, darling. How could I possibly forget?’

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dani had concluded the interview with Rebecca and Laura, securing their reluctant agreement to return to view the body. Even though they weren’t family, and didn’t even know the dead girl’s full name in order to provide a definitive ID, at least if they formally confirmed that Jane Doe was who they thought, the investigation could be honed. After swapping thoughts with Easton and sending him off to follow up on the snippets of info they now had for their potential victim, Dani headed straight from the interview room to McNair’s office to update her.

  Although they’d spoken briefly on the phone earlier, Dani hadn’t seen her boss at all since after the press conference the previous day, and as she knocked and waited outside the door, she wondered whether she would still be in disgrace.

  ‘Come in,’ came McNair’s raised voice.

  Dani opened the door. McNair had a neutral look on her face. Not a bad result, Dani figured.

  ‘I need to update you,’ Dani said.

  ‘Go ahead. Sit down.’

  Dani did so. The room fell silent as Dani wondered whether to just dive in or to say something about their argument.

  ‘So?’

  Well, if McNair was happy to gloss over it, then so was Dani.

  ‘We have a lead. Two, actually. We have a name for our Jane Doe. Natalya. Easton and I have just been speaking to two of her friends.’

  ‘Natalya? Natalya what?’

  ‘That’s the thing. We’re not sure yet. It’s possibly not her real name at all. From what we’ve learned she was an escort, and very possibly an illegal immigrant from Europe.’

  McNair’s face screwed up, the way it often did. ‘This is a lead?’

  ‘I genuinely think so. We have an address for Natalya. Easton is on it. But there’s more. We were given the name of a guy she was known to hang around with. Jimmy. But—’

  ‘Just Jimmy? What is this, Stephens?’

  ‘Just bear with me. Yes, we were only given the name Jimmy. But we were told he’s a low-level drug dealer.’

  ‘You think that’s what this is about?’

  ‘Possibly. But there is a link to another missing woman.’

  Dani saw McNair’s features pick up.

  ‘Yesterday we attended the house of the parents of Grace Agnew who went missing near central Birmingham very recently. We thought maybe she was Jane Doe, but her parents were adamant she isn’t. There’s no hint of where Grace has gone. When we asked the parents what they thought could have happened to Grace, they talked about her lowlife ex-boyfriend. A Paul Reeve.’

  ‘Finally, two people with surnames.’

  ‘And we’ve found his ID. We got a picture of him. When we showed it to Natalya’s friends…’

  Dani left that one dangling, wanting McNair to fill in the blank herself.

  ‘Jimmy is Paul Reeve?’ McNair said.

  ‘It seems so.’

  ‘Which means we have one dead woman and one missing woman, linked to the same man.’

  Dani held back a smile. ‘Exactly.’

  * * *

  The debrief with McNair had gone about as well as Dani could have expected. McNair agreed Reeve was a solid lead. Once they’d tracked him down, they’d bring him in for questioning. Dani wanted to lead that herself. But even if they found Reeve straight away, she was done for the day. He could stew in a cell overnight. She was on her way out of HQ, moving towards the lifts when Easton sidled up to her.

  ‘Quite a day,’ he said.

  ‘Yep,’ Dani said, carrying on walking.

  ‘But we made some decent progress.’

  ‘We’re getting there.’

  ‘You live around here, don’t you?’

  ‘Just the other side of town.’

  ‘It’s pretty late, but… if you want to grab some food before you head back? I’ve got no plans.’

  ‘No football tonight?’ Dani said.

  ‘Well, yeah, if you’re interested, we could go to a bar that’s got it on.’

  Dani stopped walking and Easton stopped too.

  ‘DS Easton, are you asking me out on a date?’

  Easton looked flustered all of a sudden, like a nervous schoolboy. ‘What? No, I—’

  ‘I’m joking,’ Dani said. ‘Relax. Sorry, Easton, but I’ve learned the hard way not to mix business with pleasure. No offence. But thanks for asking.’

  Easton looked more embarrassed than anything else.

  ‘Sure thing. See you tomorrow, Boss.’

  Dani smiled, then headed on to the lifts.

  She was walking through the near empty basement car park when she heard footsteps behind her. She tensed and glanced over her shoulder. She should have known.

  ‘Jason,’ Dani said, continuing to walk towards her car as he jogged up to her side.

  ‘Another long day,’ he said.

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘I was thinking. About what you said.’

  ‘What did I say?’

  ‘You’re right. We don’t really know each other anymore.’

  Dani stopped walking, Jason did too. She turned to glare at him.

  ‘And? What’s your point?’

  ‘That I’d really like to get to know you again. If you’ll just let me. Let’s just start over. From the beginning.’

  ‘Pretend the last two years hasn’t happened? I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.’

  ‘Dani, just give me a chance, please. We’ll go and get a drink. Some food. Come on, what do you say?’

  Dani thought for a few moments. It was barely sixty seconds since she’d turned down Easton’s offer. In reality, a stress-free evening drinking and talking football with him was probably far better for her than sitting and skirting around major issues with Jason. But did she really want another night in all alone?

  She let out a long sigh. ‘Fine,’ she said, before she could talk herself out of it.

  She left her car where it was and they headed to a nearby pub. It was quiet, with most of the office workers who frequented it having already headed home for the night. It was only Tuesday after all.

  When Dani ordered a large glass of red wine Jason gave her his best disapproving look, but he quickly realised his mistake and wiped it away.

  ‘I hear congratulations are in order,’ Dani said when they’d taken a seat in a leather-clad booth in the corner of the bar. She raised her glass and chinked it against Jason’s.

  ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Thanks. To be honest, with you gone there was a bit of a gap. Too much work, not enough DIs.’

  He looked a little sheepish as he said it.

  For the next few minutes their conversation was mostly about their jobs, but there was only so much policing that the two of them could take, and soon their conversation turned away from work. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Dani quickly discovered – or was it rediscovered – just how engaging Jason was. She’d shut him out for so long, but with her defences down the mood was relaxed and their chat free and easy. Somehow Jason managed to ask Dani all manner of questions, without ever putting her on the spot. He also seemed careful to steer clear of the one subject that Dani was dreading talking about.

  But after two large glasses of red wine and a steak sandwich, he apparently just couldn’t help himself. If only he’d quit while he was ahead. Instead he wanted to talk about them. Again.

  ‘You know, I blame myself for what happened,’ Jason said.

  ‘You blame yourself for my bro
ther trying to kill me?

  Jason looked twitchy all of a sudden. Dani just wanted to get off the subject.

  ‘No, Dani. I’m talking about us. I should have listened to you. My heart was in the right place, and I just wanted to be there for you. But I know now that I pushed too far. I should have given you more space.’

  Dani said nothing to that. Was he really to blame? Would they still be together now if he had taken more of a back seat role during her period of recovery, or would she just have resented him for that too? Who knew, but in a way she was even angrier with him now for trying to turn the situation around and make it about himself.

  ‘Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be,’ Dani said.

  Jason looked hurt by that.

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ he said, sounding more angry himself now. ‘I know the real you. Yes, you’ve changed, but she’s still inside. This facade, the armour you’ve got now, it’s just on the surface, and it doesn’t stop me wanting you. It never will. I get your injuries have changed you, have changed the way your brain is wired, but the same Dani is still in there. I know it. I see it even now.’

  Dani’s eyes welled with tears, but she held it all inside and didn’t say a word, determined to not let the chinks in that armour show.

  But why was she so determined to do that?

  She picked up her wine and downed the rest of the glass, then looked at her watch.

  ‘It’s been a long day,’ Dani said.

  ‘Yeah,’ Jason said. He finished off his drink too, reading the message loud and clear.

  ‘Thanks for the drinks,’ Dani said.

  ‘Anytime.’

  Somewhat grumpily Jason headed off to catch a train back to Wolverhampton – where he now rented an apartment alone – before the service stopped for the night. Given the wine she’d had, Dani left her car at HQ and walked back through the city to her apartment. It wasn’t that late, just gone ten, and there were plenty of people still out and about. Still, Dani felt jittery as she walked alone in the dark, uneasy, as though there were eyes on her. Perhaps it was her first two days back on the job catching up with her, but as she carried on, her nerves continued to build.

  When Dani turned the corner onto the narrow road between two new apartment blocks that led to her building – a quieter and darker street than she’d come from – she picked up her pace and began looking behind her every few steps.

  Sure enough, after a few yards, a dark figure appeared around the corner behind Dani, and she felt a wave of panic flooding through her. She walked faster still, looking around twice more as she moved.

  The figure was alone. A man, or a woman? Dani couldn’t quite tell in the darkness, and because of what looked like a long overcoat that masked the figure’s frame. The person wasn’t walking particularly quickly. It could be absolutely nothing, Dani realised, but she was spooked.

  She ran – no, sprinted – as fast as she could towards the door to her apartment block, reaching into her pocket for the key fob. She looked back again. The figure was still there, still moving calmly but assuredly with a measured step. No alarm. No hurrying. Yet wasn’t the person even closer to Dani now than before?

  Who the hell was that?

  Dani turned back, flew the last few yards and lunged towards the security door. She pressed the fob against the keypad, heard the lock release, flung open the door and raced inside. She pulled the security door closed without daring to look outside – she just wanted to get to the safety and comfort of her home. She let go when she felt the magnets lock in place.

  Stairs or lift? They were both in the same place, and Dani darted over and banged on the call button for the lift several times. If the lift wasn’t already on the ground floor she’d take the stairs.

  Luckily it was right there. The doors opened. Dani was already inside and slamming on the button for floor six before the doors had even finished opening fully. Despite her repeatedly pressing the close button, they shut painfully slowly.

  ‘Come on!’ Dani said through gritted teeth.

  The dim orange street lamp outside by the canal cast a tall but unidentifiable shadow through the glass doors and across the foyer. Dani stared at the shadow, looking for movements. She strained her ears for any sounds of the security door opening.

  As the lift doors edged closed, the shadow began to take the shape of a person, and Dani heard the security door wheeze open.

  She heard footsteps, slow at first then getting faster. Her heart was bursting in her chest as the lift doors finally closed and the mechanical motor chugged into life.

  Even though she was finally on the move, Dani remained panicked. She watched the numbers on the little digital screen. One, two, three, four, five…

  ‘Come on!’

  Six. The doors opened and Dani sprinted across the corridor to her door. The key was in her hand but it took her several rushed attempts to get it into the lock because she was shaking so much. When she finally stepped into the dark apartment she kicked the door shut behind her, turned and pulled the latch over.

  A shiver ran through her as she switched on the hall light. Her eyes darted around what she could see of the darkened apartment beyond.

  Everything seemed quiet and as it should be.

  Dani slumped down against the wall.

  What the hell had just happened?

  She held her head in her hands. She was out of breath. Her pulse was racing. Beads of sweat covered her brow, tears were streaming down her cheeks.

  Dani sat there, in silence, while her breathing and her heart and her mind calmed, listening for any sounds from out in the corridor.

  None came.

  It was only then that Dani realised how alone and vulnerable she felt. She thought about calling someone. But what would she say? And who would she call, anyway? Jason? Gemma? Easton?

  Dani shook her head, annoyed at herself for being such a mess.

  After a few minutes she finally found the strength to get back to her feet.

  She headed straight for the bathroom cabinet.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Day 122

  I’m only half awake as I lie in the hospital bed, alone in my room. There’s a knock on the door.

  ‘Come in,’ I say.

  The door opens and Gemma, my sister-in-law, is standing on the other side. I’d say it’s a welcome surprise as she hasn’t been here in weeks, but the look of anger in her eyes soon puts paid to any pleasantries.

  ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ she shouts, tossing the newspaper that she’s clutching at me.

  The paper slaps down onto my chest.

  Gemma stares at me aghast. I glance at the paper. A copy of the Daily Mail. I look at the date. It’s today’s. I pick the paper up, and straighten it out to look at the front page. I’m left staring at a picture of myself. In my hospital bed. Inset is a picture of Ben, my brother.

  ‘What is this?’ I say, feeling my hackles raise.

  Jason has told me that the national press have taken an interest in my story. Well, my brother mostly. It’s not every day that a multiple murderer is caught in Britain. Ben’s trial is now in full swing. Jason has warned me off speaking to any reporters, though really he didn’t need to. I wouldn’t want to speak to them anyway.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ I say as my eyes scan over the first few lines.

  ‘Yeah, well I bloody do. How much did they pay you for this sensationalist crap?’

  ‘No,’ I say, shaking my head, as the reality slowly starts to sink in. My thoughts begin to blur as though my memories are suddenly cracking. I remember the doctors cautioning me. My brain, in its bid for recovery, continues to create false realities. I no longer pace around the hospital looking for the mystery madman, but I’m still easily confused. I see things that aren’t really there, have conversations with non-existent people or can’t remember anything about real conversations with real people. I feel it now. Confusion. It’s taking over and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to focus, to g
ain some clarity.

  ‘This wasn’t me,’ I say, but even I’m not so sure I believe those words.

  ‘No? Then how the hell are they quoting you? It’s one thing to put yourself out there, but how dare you bring me into this?’ Gemma slams. ‘And my children? How could you do that to them, you evil b—’

  ‘Get out!’ I yell at Gemma, though I’m not angry with her. I’m angry with myself. ‘Just get out. Leave me alone.’

  ‘My pleasure,’ Gemma says. ‘And you leave me and my kids alone. Got it?’

  Gemma storms out. I pick up the paper. It rattles in my hands, which are shaky from the adrenaline surging through my blood. I read the whole article.

  I’m such an idiot. I really don’t care that much about my own image, but Gemma is right. I’ve broadcasted the story of my niece and nephew’s murderous father to the nation. I’ve brought them into it.

  And the worst part is that I’ve no memory of the interview. Who did I speak to? When? Did they trick me or did I just willingly give them everything they needed for the prized scoop?

  What is happening to me?

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dani awoke from her drug-eased sleep just after seven in the morning. Not surprisingly she felt anything but refreshed. Even though the fear and panic of arriving home the night before seemed distant and nothing more than an irrational overreaction, the unhappy end to the couple of hours she’d spent with Jason was still playing on her mind.

  She checked her phone, saw there was a message from him.

  Thanks for tonight. Sorry how it ended. It was great to see you.

  She tutted and scrolled up the page to see the other texts from him that were still on her phone. He’d last texted her three months ago, though she guessed the lack of contact since then was more down to her than him. Once again she didn’t bother to reply. Instead, she checked to see if there was any update on Paul Reeve. There was none. Did that mean they hadn’t found him yet?

  She got up from the bed and set about getting herself ready for the day ahead. When she was showered and dressed and appropriately medicated, she closed the apartment door behind her and headed towards the stairwell. She was soon out in the street and walking alongside the canal towards the revamped Brindleyplace area in central Birmingham. She headed past the closed bars and restaurants, through the looming glass-fronted International Convention Centre and then onward past the oddity that was the newly erected Library of Birmingham, that to Dani basically looked like a gold-cladded chimney and had cost two hundred million pounds at a time of supposed austerity. Still, at least it looked better on the inside.