The Essence of Evil

by The Essence of Evil (retail) (epub)

  Dani said nothing to Jason’s statement. She just stood and stared at him, trying to read his face. What did he mean exactly? Was that a story he believed himself? Or just the one he was prepared to tell to help Dani out?

  But it was all bullshit.

  What about the story in which Dani had never picked up that knife? In which she’d barely even searched that place and her notes from that day – that damn day, that she could remember nearly every second of – were one hundred percent accurate. The story in which someone was trying to frame her, or at least direct suspicion her way to make her life even more difficult and miserable than it already was.

  What about that story? Would Jason believe that one?

  The problem was, this wasn’t just about Jason. She saw no way of convincing the likes of McNair and Baxter of the truth.

  ‘That’s right,’ Dani said. ‘That’s exactly what happened.’

  She hung her head.

  ‘Good,’ Jason said. He put his hand out onto Dani’s shoulder. It was an understanding touch, the first warmth he’d shown to her thus far. ‘If you want, that’s the story that McNair will get. But, Dani, I don’t believe it for a second. So now you need to tell me what you really think is happening here.’

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Dani sipped her coffee, then sat it back down on the kitchen table. She was already feeling calmer as the drugs took effect, even though she knew more medication perhaps wasn’t the best solution, under the circumstances. It was absolutely a good thing she hadn’t made it to the vodka bottle too. Jason was opposite, holding his mug of coffee in both hands. Dani guessed he was still trying to get some warmth in them after being outside in the cold so long while she made her trip back from Knowle.

  ‘So you really think someone is trying to set you up?’ Jason said.

  ‘It’s the only explanation that makes sense.’

  ‘Why?’

  Flashes of Dani’s conversations with Grant went through her mind.

  ‘Because they can,’ she said. ‘It’s all about power and control. This killer is showing how good he is. And how far off the mark we are. Putting me in the centre of the mess is entertainment.’

  ‘Why you?’

  ‘Why not? I was the lead detective on the case. And everyone knows I have a dark past.’

  ‘If there’s a mastermind killer out there, which I think is where you’re going, I still don’t get why Reeve became a part of this.’

  ‘No. Nor me. And there’s still something I don’t like about the other missing women, and Jessica Bradford’s disappearance in particular.’

  Jason sighed as though bored and frustrated with Dani’s relentlessness. He looked at his watch and glanced at his phone. Not for the first time.

  ‘Please, Jason, something isn’t right.’

  ‘I can take another look at it,’ he said.

  ‘And what about other suspicious, unexplained deaths? Did you find any that could be linked.’

  ‘It’s not an exact science, but on the face of it, no. There’re plenty of stabbings and shootings and other deaths linked to drugs and gangs in the area over the last five years. That’s how far I went back. But all of them made sense, if that makes sense. Either we know the killers, or there were witnesses, or there’s CCTV evidence, or solid forensics, or clear motives. There’s always something.’

  ‘We still have those other missing persons cases. Obviously we know Grace Agnew was linked to Paul Reeve. That can’t be a coincidence. Are there others?’

  ‘We haven’t found any other links, and we simply can’t explain what’s happened to Grace. I’ve done the rounds with friends and family, for her and for others, and I’m really not sure where we can go next. The whole point is that the Missing Persons team have no evidence of what happened.’

  Dani paused, thinking.

  ‘What is it?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Someone out there wants to cause me trouble. I don’t know who they are, or why they’re targeting me, but I feel like they’re watching me, following me.’ Dani felt goose pimples rising on her arms. ‘The more I think about it, the more I think they really must have been in my apartment too.’

  ‘You’re safe now,’ Jason said. ‘I’m here.’

  Dani said nothing to that, just sighed, and a further silence followed. There was a gnawing in her mind as she struggled to process a thought that wasn’t quite taking hold.

  ‘Jessica Bradford aside,’ she said, ‘what do you really make of those missing persons cases? What do you think happened to those women?’

  ‘Same as you. Most likely they’re all dead. Murdered, though? And by the same person? I just don’t know. And I’ve no idea how we even go about investigating them any further. Not on the information we have. I want to believe you, Dani, and I want to help, but other than Grace Agnew I still don’t see anything specific to link those cases to Reeve and Natalya or to Harland and Ethan Grant, and Jimmy Colton. Or to the notes you were sent.’

  ‘But maybe the answer is a simple one,’ Dani said, sounding as frustrated as she was feeling. ‘This is a killer who switches M.O. That’s the whole point. He knows that we won’t pull all of these seemingly unconnected people together. Because we can’t. The evidence just isn’t there to do so.’

  ‘Look, I’m not saying I don’t believe you…’ Jason said. The fact he needed to say that, Dani thought, suggested it wasn’t true. ‘…I just don’t see this as clearly as you do, and I’m really trying my hardest.’

  ‘The killer doesn’t want to be caught,’ Dani said, following a train of thought from her conversations with Steven Grant.

  ‘What? Of course he doesn’t.’

  ‘No, Jason, there’s no of course. Some killers do want to get caught. They want the attention, or they’ve had enough, or they’re looking for atonement.’

  ‘Is this what that professor has been feeding you?’

  ‘Yes. It is. Some killers send notes like the one I received as a way of reaching out, a cry for help. But not this one.’

  ‘Which leads us where?’

  ‘You were right. There’s nothing in those missing person cases. Nothing at all. It would be a waste of time to pursue them further.’

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘Perhaps to catch this killer we have to keep playing his game.’

  ‘His game? What does that even mean? From what I gather you’re suggesting to me that this killer planted evidence to try and frame you—’

  ‘Maybe to frame me, or maybe just to cause me grief.’

  ‘Then what’s the next step in that game? We have you arrested and locked up?’

  He said it as though he thought it was a ridiculous idea, but then his expression changed to one of concern.

  ‘Dani, seriously?’ he said.

  It was him who’d suggested it, but was it really so outlandish? Was her arrest what the killer wanted? But how would it even work in practice? Jason was the only person Dani had confided in. McNair would likely be far less open to what Dani was saying, and it was even more unlikely that she’d ever buy such a madcap ruse, so how would Jason sell the idea to the DCI? Would he have to tell her that he really thought Dani was responsible?

  What if it all went wrong and she never got out?

  ‘I mean, I guess it could work,’ Jason said, looking ponderous now.

  She stared at him for a few seconds and felt a sudden chill, though she couldn’t put her finger on why.

  ‘Dani? Is that what you want?’

  She didn’t answer him. Her mind was too busy desperately trying to grasp an answer that made sense.

  Jason’s phone pinged. It was in his hand in a flash.

  ‘I’m really sorry, I have to go,’ he said.

  ‘Seriously? After everything we’ve just talked about?’

  ‘I know, I know—’

  ‘Are you going to tell McNair?’

  ‘About having you arrested?’

  ‘About the forensics findings? About any of this?’<
br />
  ‘I can hold off for now. If that’s what you’re asking.’ He got to his feet. ‘But I’ll come back later so we can finish this. Think about what I said.’

  Dani said nothing. Her mind was still too busy. She showed Jason out but didn’t speak a word as she did so. When she’d shut and locked the door she remained standing in the hallway for a few moments.

  Something was bugging her.

  No, that wasn’t true. Not something. Pretty much everything.

  And where the hell was Jason going so urgently after everything they’d just talked about?

  There was one way to find out, she guessed.

  She grabbed her shoes, her coat, her keys, and was soon out of the door and running down the corridor.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Steven Grant lay back in the bed, panting heavily. His brow, chest and back were covered in a thin film of sweat from the exertion. Mary flopped down beside him in the bed and slung an arm over his naked torso.

  ‘Fuck. Me,’ she said, through laboured breaths.

  ‘I thought I just did.’

  He looked over at her and smiled. She pecked him on the lips, then got up from the bed.

  ‘Just going to freshen up,’ she said, before sauntering seductively into the en suite.

  Grant watched her the whole way, enjoying the view. He closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh.

  He didn’t intend to, but before she’d come back out, he drifted happily off to sleep.

  Not for long though. Grant’s eyes shot wide open when he heard a shout. His head jumped up off the pillow. He spotted Mary – her dressing gown now on – standing by the window, a hand over her mouth. Grant looked at the bedside clock, then back at Mary. It was only ten p.m. He’d been asleep for all of five minutes, though it was long enough for his mind to be foggy.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he asked.

  ‘There’s someone out there.’

  ‘This again?’

  Grant pushed himself up in the bed, leaning the weight of his torso on one elbow. He was still trying to overcome his sleepiness, nowhere near as alert or bothered as Mary wanted him to be.

  ‘Well don’t just sit there!’ she yelled.

  ‘All right, all right, I’m coming.’ Grant forced himself out of the bed. ‘Why were you at the window anyway?’

  ‘I wasn’t at the window! I heard a noise. Banging. I went to look.’

  Grant was still struggling to believe this was all happening again, but Mary certainly seemed adamant. He grabbed his dressing gown before heading over to her. He pushed the curtains aside and peered out. He really couldn’t see a thing; it was too dark out there. The security light at the front of the house hadn’t tripped.

  ‘Probably a cat or a fox or something,’ he said.

  ‘It wasn’t a damn fox. I saw someone, on the drive.’

  ‘You’re sure?’ Grant felt a glimmer of doubt; Mary was so insistent.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure!’

  ‘Fine. Let me go and take a look.’

  Grant slung on his clothes and fetched the baseball bat, which this time was more conveniently placed underneath his side of the bed. He made his way downstairs, slipped on his shoes and headed out through the front door, holding the bat behind him as he walked across the gravel so that he wouldn’t look like a lunatic in the bright glare of the security light which he knew he’d trigger.

  Except the light didn’t go on.

  What the hell?

  After a few steps Grant tensed and he pulled the bat up in front of him, holding it in striking pose. He turned this way and that, searching in the darkness, the illumination from the streetlights beyond not reaching the drive at all. With every slight gust of wind, and every swaying branch he heard, he became more jittery and on edge.

  But he could see no one at all.

  Really not wanting to be out there in the dark any longer than necessary, Grant turned and walked with more purpose back to the open front door.

  That was when the thought struck him: I left the door open!

  He rushed into the house and quickly closed the door behind him, still holding the bat at the ready.

  ‘Mary!’ he called, not far from panic.

  ‘What?’ she said, coming into view at the top of the stairs. The strain in her voice matched his.

  But she was fine and Grant relaxed a little.

  ‘Did you see anything?’ she asked.

  ‘No.’

  Grant was about to put the bat down when he heard a noise in the kitchen. His anxiety level peaked once more.

  ‘Mary, wait there.’

  Grant squeezed his hands tightly around the bat and edged forwards. The sound came again. Like a gentle rattle. Something tapping on glass? On a window? When Grant reached the doorway he stopped and peered around the space in front of him. The lights in the kitchen were off and he stayed there for a few moments, letting his eyes adjust to the dark.

  There was no sign of movement. No sign of anyone.

  He took a hand off the bat and quickly flipped the lights on.

  The kitchen was empty, everything as they’d left it. There really was no one there. It was all in his mind. He was making an issue out of the natural creaks and strains of the house, and the noise of the wind outside.

  But then the sound came again, and this time Grant could place it more clearly. He looked over to the patio doors and saw that a loose branch from the ivy at the back of the house was gently swaying in the wind, and tapping on the window every now and then.

  Then a voice came from behind him…

  ‘What is it?’ Mary whispered.

  Grant jolted at the shock of her standing right there behind him. He spun and his heart thumped so hard in a sudden wave of panic that he thought it might actually burst out of his rib cage.

  ‘Sorry, did I scare you?’

  ‘Yes, you bloody did!’ he hissed. ‘There’s nothing here. Just a branch on the doors.’

  ‘Did you check out the back?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Could you? Please?’

  Grant let out a long deep sigh then nodded. He knew it wouldn’t be that difficult to quickly check, but the fact was, he was genuinely rattled. He moved over to the patio doors and turned the key, then pressed down on the handle. The door released and Grant pushed it open and stepped out into the cold, though only a couple of inches from the threshold. He really wasn’t intending to venture too far.

  He saw movement out of the corner of his eye… A dark shadow moving towards him… For the second time in a few moments Grant thought his heart might actually explode, but this time he was ready. Almost. The bat was in his grasp. Grant turned to where the shadow was. He crouched, moving into a defensive position and pulled the bat behind his head, ready to uncoil his arms and attack…

  The figure came forwards. Split-seconds moved ever so slowly as Grant’s brain worked to decipher what was unfolding in front of him. The bat began to arc forwards…

  The shadowy figure loomed, but then, all of a sudden, it was out of the shadows, lit up by the light seeping out from the kitchen.

  Grant could now see his face clearly. He pulled his arms back, abruptly stopping the bat’s trajectory.

  ‘You?!’

  Ethan Grant said nothing, just gave his father a crooked half smile.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Dani headed down the stairs and cautiously opened the doors at the bottom to peer out. There was no sign of Jason, but then she heard the outer door to the apartment block clink shut. She moved out into the foyer and caught a glimpse of his figure outside, heading away around the corner.

  He hadn’t seen her.

  When Dani had arrived home earlier she’d not seen Jason’s car, but she guessed he’d driven to hers and knew where he usually tried to park on the one-way street outside. With any luck he’d still be stuck in the one-way system by the time she caught up.

  She rushed to the car park and swung her car out and over to the electronic ga
tes which seemed to open painfully slowly. When they’d parted just enough for her to squeeze through she floored it, with barely a glance for any traffic. At the last second she saw headlights approaching from the right. She didn’t bother to slow or to stop as her car shot out through the narrow space into the road. The other driver honked the horn but Dani just ignored it and carried on and picked up speed as she tried to close the distance to Jason.

  She managed it. He was waiting at a set of traffic lights barely two hundred yards from her apartment, two cars between him and her. In the nighttime, he’d have no idea it was her car behind him as long as she kept her distance. She just needed to try and be discreet enough not to rattle him.

  As she began to follow him, the same rumbling thoughts that she’d had in the apartment about what Jason could be up to were still nagging away at her, though a sense of guilt was also building. Why was she following him? He was the one person who seemed to be on her side still, despite everything. And not just despite what was happening to her in her work, but despite all of the shit that had gone between them – mostly shit that she’d thrown at him, in all honesty.

  She tried to push that thought away. Yes Jason was on her side, or so he said, but there was also plenty he wasn’t telling her. He could have been open and honest about whatever out of hours appointment he now had, but he’d chosen to keep the truth from her. She wanted to know why.

  They were soon heading out of the centre of Birmingham and east on the A41, a route that was by now increasingly familiar to Dani. She immediately began to wonder if Jason’s destination would once again be Knowle, where she’d last come from herself earlier that day.

  Of course, that was Dani putting two and two together, but if Jason was going to Knowle to see Steven Grant, why hadn’t he just said so?