Tania Penny nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘Thank you. Are you going to be all right here?’
Tania nodded, bewildered by his strange behaviour. She dug her hands into the pockets of her jeans. A girl more than a woman. ‘Yes. There weren’t any ghosts.’
‘Is that what you were afraid of? Is that what you were expecting to find?’ He lowered his gaze, remembering. ‘Yes. Me, too. But you know what, Tania, if they do come, you have no need to be afraid. They’ll be a comfort, believe me.’
She got to her feet. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t much help.’
‘No problem. I really do have to go right now, but I’ll be in touch as soon as I have any news. I promise.’
Tania blinked. Her eyes appraised him frankly. A weight had been lifted from them, as if shutters had been thrown back, allowing her natural beauty to come flooding out once more.
‘There won’t be any,’ she said simply. ‘Not any good news. Not for me. I’ve resigned myself to that now. Right from the moment you started finding the bodies. But I hope it’s not too late for you and your daughter.’
Frank shook the girl’s outstretched hand. ‘Please, don’t give up on Samantha.’ He felt like a charlatan even as the words left his mouth. False hope was a sore that never healed.
Tania smiled. ‘Do me a favour.’
‘Anything.’ He meant it, too. She was so vulnerable, so brave, so alone. He wanted to hold her, to protect her, to be with her when the news came.
‘Get him for me.’
‘That’s another promise.’ And then he did hold her, because it was what they both wanted. She seemed to crumple into his embrace. Her head rested against his shoulder as she sobbed. Frank stroked her hair, offering no words of comfort, because they would have been shallow and meaningless. They both knew that Samantha Penny wasn’t coming home.
Tania saw him back to the Renault. ‘Thanks,’ she said, looking a little embarrassed. ‘I must have needed that more than I realised.’
‘It’s okay. I knew exactly how you were feeling.’
‘You’re a nice man, Mr Rogers.’
‘And you’re a very nice girl. And please call me Frank. Listen … you have a future ahead of you, Tania. You may not think much of it right now, but please don’t let the past hold you back. You can’t change anything that’s gone, but you can still shape your own destiny. Try not to be bitter, try not to feel guilty that you didn’t suffer with them. Mourn, because that’s right. But only for a time. Then let it go and get on with living. It’s what your family would want. It’s what they would expect of you.’
Tania broke into a bright, wide smile. She leaned into the car and kissed Frank on the cheek. ‘Good luck. If I need to talk, can I call you?’
‘Sure.’ He took out a business card. ‘Use my home number. The business is taking a back seat for a while.’
‘Thank you. I hope things turn out all right for you.’
‘So do I.’ He patted her hand, gunned the engine, and left her standing by the kerb. Still alone, still sad, but he hoped no longer afraid of the dead. He had a feeling that she too was going to get busy living.
41
Nicky Loizou looked up as Frank burst through the annexe door. ‘No luck with those formaldehyde suppliers, mate,’ he called out. ‘We’re still checking, though. How’d you get on?’
Frank brushed by him and strode wordlessly over to the incident boards ranged across the far wall. The unit was bustling and noisy, telephones ringing, printers chattering, a hubbub of voices.
‘You know something,’ Nicky said. It wasn’t a question.
‘Yes.’
‘So?’
‘Look at the boards, Nicky. Tell me what you see.’
Nicky’s gaze moved from Frank’s troubled eyes to the boards. Seven innocent faces peered down at him. At least three of them no longer breathed. None of them told him anything new.
‘Tell me what you think you know, Frank.’
‘Just over an hour ago I saw Samantha Penny’s photograph. It wasn’t like the one we have here on the board, it was a more recent one. But its background was not only highly unusual, it was also exactly the same as the one in Laura’s recent school photo, the smaller version of which is here.’
He rapped a finger on the board.
‘And here’s another one just like it. Look for the abnormality. A rip in the fabric that makes that part of the pattern look like a cartoon dog. Same rip. Same background.’
Nicky looked at all of the photographs again, including the framed one of Samantha Penny that Frank held in his hands. He looked at them all one more time. Frank followed his friend’s eyes. Behind three of the girls there was the same curious marbled background, the same irregularity. No mistaking it.
‘This could be it, Frank,’ Nicky said, looking intently at him. ‘It’s been there all the time. I just never saw it.’
‘You were looking at the faces. Just like everyone else.’
‘Except you.’
‘I stumbled across it, Nicky. Pure luck. But when you put this into the overall picture it becomes so clear. That’s how he finds them, gets to know them. Before he does the shoot, he puts the girls at their ease. How? By asking them questions they can easily respond do.’
‘Like, do you have a pet? What’s its name?’
‘You’ve got it. He then finds out where she lives. If he does shops as well as schools, then the address will be given by the parent. Otherwise he probably asks other questions, putting them in such a way that the girl gives the information without even realising.’
Nicky nodded excitedly. ‘Then he takes a few sweeps of the area, decides how to get in.’
‘Or if to get in. Some places will be too difficult, alarmed, not secluded enough to cover his entry, using double-glazing. So, he simply moves on to the next. He’s taking photographs all the time. He must have a list as long as your arm.’
‘You got him, Frank. You got the bastard.’
A huge cheer went up, and hands rapped against desktops. All around the two men, activity had ceased long ago. There had been total silence for several minutes. Now for the first time since the investigation had begun, there were smiles on every face.
But Frank’s gaze narrowed to slits, and he shook his head. ‘Not until the cuffs are on, Nicky,’ he cautioned. ‘You know better than that.’
Nicky acknowledged the rebuke with a shrug and a guilty grin. ‘Sorry. I suppose I was a bit previous. Carried away by the break.’
‘So, what happens now? I suppose you really have to let Foster know what we have. Technically it’s still his case.’
Nicky’s grin widened. ‘Now it’s your turn to be wrong about something. He’s taken a leave of absence. I gather it was suggested to him by the DCA. I think the phone trace Foster ordered, plus the incident with Stevenson, made him surplus to requirements.’
Frank gave a cry of triumph and slammed a balled fist into the meat of his palm. ‘Now that’s the kind of news I’ve been waiting for. So, I suppose you’re in charge.’
‘At present. There was talk of bringing in a new super or a more experienced DCI, but I pleaded to have the case. Together with you, of course. This break will give me even more time to get a result.’
‘Could be the making of you, mate. Superintendent next stop.’
Nicky pulled a face. ‘So, let’s get the ball rolling. We have to find out who took these photographs.’
‘I can give Laura’s school a bell. They’ll have the name, address, the lot.’
‘Right. Oh, how about a call to the Redbridge home? Find out if Karen Redbridge has had her photo taken lately. Ask if the man who took it and the man who came to her room could have been the same.’
‘It will be. But I’ll confirm it anyway.’
Nicky thumped his friend on the back. ‘This is great, Frank. I can’t tell you how pleased I am.’
A shadow of doubt passed across Frank’s face. Nicky, as ever attuned to his friend’s feeli
ngs, raised an eyebrow. ‘What? What’s the problem?’
‘Nothing. I just … I’m a bit nervous. We’re close now. Close to getting him. Close to finding out whether Laura is still alive.’
‘You know she was, just three days ago.’
‘Yeah. I just hope he calls again soon. Today. That way I’ll maybe still have some chance of getting through the night.’
Nicky inclined his head. ‘Make that call. Be busy.’
Frank nodded and turned. And turned back again sharply. There was a terrible look on his face. ‘Oh, Jesus, Nicky,’ he said. ‘Oh, Jesus.’ He plumped himself down on the edge of a desk.
Alarmed, Nicky dropped to his friend’s side. ‘What? What is it, Frank?’
‘I know what he wants them for. When we talked about it before, we assumed that he was doing these terrible things to the girls because they were either giving him trouble or he was getting fed up with them. But I see it now. It explains why only one was disfigured. He did lose his temper with her … but he was always going to perform the taxidermy. That’s the reason he takes them, why they’re all so similar. He wants to preserve a child just as she is now, but none of them have turned out right so far, which is why he’s still doing it.’
Nicky was nodding excitedly. ‘Yes. That’s it, that’s it. But why are you so down about it? It’s another break for us.’
‘But don’t you see?’ Frank lowered his gaze. ‘Until now I thought Laura might be safe just as long as she kept her cool, didn’t upset him. But if I’m right, then he was always going to kill her. Nicky, if we don’t get to her soon, Laura will die. There’s no doubt in my mind about it now. No doubt at all.’
42
The man and woman rose early that Friday morning. She made him a light breakfast while he bathed and dressed. When he was ready, she came to him and they embraced warmly. ‘Have you got everything?’ she asked.
‘Of course. Do I ever forget anything?’
She smiled and pecked his nose. ‘Silly me. Are you going into the office today?’
He gave her a quizzical look. ‘What’s wrong with you this morning? Don’t I always go into the office first thing?’
She stood back, brushed away an imaginary thread from his impeccably ironed shirt. ‘I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have. I had a bad dream, and you know I think bad dreams are ill-omens.’
He laughed at her. ‘Nothing’s going to go wrong, you stupid woman. They can’t trace me. They have no idea how I operate. Now look, we have our pretty girl to cheer us. Last night she saw the error of her ways. She’ll be thinking about that. Soon she’ll be wanting to sip from us. And no one is going to stop that from happening.’
The woman nodded and kissed his cheek. ‘Like I said, silly me. Have a good day.’
He patted her behind and winked. He tugged his baseball cap forward on his head. ‘Of course. And don’t worry about a thing. I’m better than they are.’
After he had left, the woman smiled to herself, licking her lips in anticipation. After ten minutes, when she was certain he would not return, she ran across to a dusty mirror and gazed at herself for a few moments. She ran stiff fingers through her matted hair, pulling it back behind her ears. It had been some time since she’d had need of preening herself. Larry took her anytime, no matter how she looked or smelled. But now she had someone else to impress. She took one last look, then she smiled again and went to Laura.
Frank had watched the dawn approach, slowly touching the day with its gentle light. A late night, followed by little rest and an early rise, had left him feeling weak and stiff, eyes scoured with grit. The couple of hours’ sleep he had managed to grab were spent alone. Debbie had understood. As Janet never had.
Today could bring about the final conclusion of the investigation, and it had always affected him this way. This time, though, the jangling nerves and heightened senses were all the more acute because of Laura’s involvement. He was close. Too close to switch off, too close to sleep. Close enough to have the stench of possible failure in his nostrils.
At six, Nicky and Tom Whelan called to collect him. They drove across London through the light early-morning traffic to a street close by a four-storey building in Hammersmith. There they met up with Capel and a team of constables as happy to be in plain clothes as they were with the overtime. They grouped together around Nicky’s car, while he outlined the operation.
‘The man we’re after is known here as Mr Tanner, though I can’t imagine it’s his real name. No first name available. He leases a couple of rooms in this building. Frank contacted Laura’s school yesterday afternoon. They gave him the name and this address as the one supplied by the photographer they used. It checks out with other inquiries we’ve made, particularly with Mr and Mrs Redbridge. Have no doubts, this is the right man.
‘Yesterday evening we located the owner of the building. According to him, Tanner comes in every weekday morning, first thing, to sort through the post and no doubt set up more photo shoots. The rooms he uses are made up of an office area, and a developing room he put together himself. We have a warrant, and the building caretaker is going to let us into the office.’
‘How’re we going to hit him?’ Whelan wanted to know. His face was firmly set, eyes cold and unforgiving. He was known in the Met as a hard man, particularly in cases where children were the victims. Frank could almost see the adrenaline pumping through the sergeant’s veins. Tom would like nothing more than for their quarry to resist arrest.
‘Simply,’ Nicky replied. ‘We have team A down here in the observation van, in contact with team B – me and Frank – inside the office. The caretaker will be with the observation team. He will pick our man out as he approaches and enters the building. Warren, who will be in charge down here, will radio through to me and Frank when our man is on his way up. We have to let him use his own key to get inside the office before we take him out.
‘Tom, you’ll be in another room with team C at the end of the hall. Through a peep-hole you’ll see him coming, and you can let us know when he’s close to the office door. You’re there with the plain-clothes unit as back-up if he resists me and Frank. The moment he steps inside the office, you come running. Warren’s team will spread out to cover front and rear exits as soon as our target enters the building. The door at the rear opens from the inside only, so we’re secure there.’
‘Sounds watertight,’ said Frank.
‘It is. Once inside, there’s no way out for him.’
‘Then why aren’t I convinced?’
Nicky offered a wry grin. ‘Because you’re an old sceptic and a worrier. Relax. If he comes into work today, we’ll get him.’
Frank rubbed his sore, bloodshot eyes. ‘And what then? What if he doesn’t cough? I still think it would be better if we let him come and go and put a trace on him.’
Nicky frowned, but said nothing. Frank had discussed the plan with him during the journey across town. It was only on this point that they had differed, but it was such a vital element. Nicky gave orders for everyone to take their positions. After a moment or two, he and Frank made their way to the third floor, where the caretaker was waiting for them.
In the lift, Nicky said, ‘Listen, Frank, I know your feelings on the matter, but I simply can’t take the chance of him getting away. We may never have a better opportunity of nabbing this fucker. If we decide to follow, he could be lost.’
‘Not if you put enough bodies onto it.’
‘Frank, you know better than anyone else that there are no guarantees. The best watchers in the world aren’t infallible. We may only get one shot at this. If he tumbles us, he won’t be stupid enough to come back. I have to call it, and the way I see things is that we grab him while we can.’
Frank turned his head away. They were silent for a few minutes. The caretaker let them into the office, moved along the corridor to let Whelan and his team into the one at the end, and then joined the observation team in the specially equipped white Ford Transit. In tha
t time, Frank changed his mind entirely.
‘You’re right,’ he said to Nicky, who sat calmly at a cheap wooden desk. He turned away from the office door. ‘I wasn’t thinking straight. Laura’s safety blinded me. It’s a tough choice, but you made the right one. A bird in the hand, eh?’
Nicky smiled and winked. ‘Take the weight off your feet, Frank. We might have some time to kill.’
Frank pulled out a chair from the other side of the desk. Absently, he began tapping his fingernails on Nicky’s radio set, which lay between the two men. After a while he looked up and laughed nervously. ‘How the hell can my heart beat this fast without exploding?’ he said, shaking his head miserably.
Nicky smiled at him. ‘Frank, take it easy, mate. You need to keep a cool head when this fucker gets here. It only takes one moment of madness to kill, and we’re going to need him alive…and well.’
‘I know, I know. It’s not easy, but I’ll be fine. Honestly.’
‘You think we should go through the office?’ Nicky asked, pulling open one of the desk’s three drawers. It was empty, apart from a stack of pens.
‘Later. When it’s over. We may yet need some clearer evidence on this one. What we have so far is pretty circumstantial. DNA aside, that is. Even then, he has to volunteer a sample.’
‘We’re going to get him, Frank. One way or another.’
Frank lowered his gaze. ‘I don’t know, Nicky. You know me – a pessimist’
‘Anxiety.’ Nicky waved a dismissive hand. ‘That’s all.’
‘Perhaps you’re right.’ But your tone lacks conviction, Frank thought. I know how much you’ve come to trust my instincts.
The radio gave a bark of static. The two men locked eyes as stags lock horns. Neither moved or even blinked.
‘Warren to Nicky,’ the disembodied voice drifted out of the tiny speaker. ‘We have our man in sight now, boss. Approaching the building from the north by foot. He’s wearing a grey windcheater over a white shirt, blue jeans, white trainers. Oh, and a plain blue baseball cap. I’ll let Tom know it’s a go.’
Degrees of Darkness Page 23