The Visitor (#3 - The Craig Modern Thriller Series)

by Catriona King

  Martin raised his hand politely and Annette smiled like she was his Mum.

  “Yes Martin?”

  “Can I ask...why is D.N.A. worth taking, Dr Winter? Won’t it just be a mess of trace evidence? After all, the crash team worked on her, and she was in theatre as well.”

  “A very good question.” Martin beamed. “But there are still some areas of the body where we shouldn’t find foreign D.N.A., even in those circumstances. Whatever we do find, we’ll eliminate anyone involved in the resusc and operation of course.”

  “God! Does that mean we need to get D.N.A. from everyone on staff, Doc?” Liam looked exhausted even thinking of it.

  “Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves, Liam. We need to find something worth comparison first.”

  The meeting continued for over an hour, until eventually, Craig saw everyone flagging and summed up.

  “OK. Here’s what we know for sure. Over the past three months there have been three deaths of healthy youngish women on the Maternity Unit. They all occurred either before or soon after they gave birth to baby girls. All had Pethidine and Insulin in their blood in high but non-lethal quantities, and all had Caesareans, either before or after death. The UK and Irish police have come back with no similar cases. But we might have a vague hit now in Australia - during the period that Beth Walker was there. Davy’s chasing that up.

  All three patients had the same male surgeon, Nigel Murdock, and the same female midwife, Beth Walker. The surgeons and midwives don’t work in set pairs, and there are sixty-four possible combinations in the Unit. So the fact that they were paired during all three deaths is much more than coincidence. We also have knowledge of a very difficult relationship between Walker and Murdock.”

  Annette interjected. “And she was openly against Murdock doing so many Caesareans, sir.”

  He nodded, continuing. “Ms Walker lives an openly gay lifestyle, as is her right. But this has led to public disapproval by both Nigel Murdock and Sister Laurie Johns. It’s safe to say that Sister Johns is a great fan of Mr Murdock and not a fan of Ms Walker at all. The deaths all occurred on the same ward in side rooms. Different ones, but all on the corridor nearest the Unit’s front door. And the Unit is a locked one, with access only possible by buzzed admission or swipe-card. The last death shows Pethidine was deliberately introduced by a non-standard route called-‘piggy -backing’. It’s a method rarely used since the ‘80s. So probably done by a non-clinical person with drug and needle access, or by an older clinical member of staff. The drug seems to have been given as part of a set scenario, the significance of which is so far known only to the killer. Evie also had a laceration to her right cheek that was made deliberately. We don’t know if that was also present on the two earlier victims.

  None of the interviews yielded anything except unbelievable arrogance, or declarations of guilt about the fact that Evie died. And there’s a lot of finger-pointing going on. No-one saw anything that points to a stranger attack. We were just lucky that it was a closed Unit. On an open adult ward strangers would have gone un-noticed.”

  Annette nodded and stared at John meaningfully. They both remembered when anyone could walk into wards off the street, relying on the busy staff to notice. Craig kept going, the length of his summary showing the complexity of the case.

  “Liam, Annette and Joe’s team have accounted for all the staff and builders present that evening. We caught a break with the relatives of other patients. They were few and far between from six pm on Monday until Tuesday morning. That saved us quite a bit of leg work.”

  He paused to draw breath and Liam filled the gap. “Boss - you still have Iain Lewes to see again, and we’ve got some cleaners to interview. Otherwise we’re done.”

  Liam updated them on the episode with Lewes in the canteen, watching Craig closely when Katy was mentioned. He didn’t even blink. He was good. Annette noticed John’s discomfort when Liam said Natalie’s name, and she shot him a ‘shut-up’ look that he completely missed.

  “Lewes seemed pretty shifty, boss.”

  Annette interjected quickly. “Can I do Dr Lewes’ re-interview with you, sir?”

  “Here - do you fancy him then, Cutty?” Annette rolled her eyes. They were back at school.

  “Don’t be stupid, Liam. But the way he left the canteen so quickly made me think that he might be shy. Our Amy’s shy and she acts just like that. Eating with her in public is a complete nightmare. Anyway, I asked around and everybody says that he’s very nice, but he’s become a bit reclusive since his wife passed away last summer. She got breast cancer and died...at thirty-three. And they lost a baby the year before.”

  Liam looked sheepish and immediately thought of Dannii. “Oh… That’s why he didn’t say much about family when I was interviewing him. Sorry.”

  “What was the baby Annette?”

  “What?”

  Craig’s voice took on an urgent tone. “Which sex was the baby?”

  “Oh. It was a little boy, sir. A miscarriage at twenty weeks.”

  He nodded. It was a long shot, but Lewes wasn’t off the suspect list just yet. Annette saw where he was heading and continued tentatively.

  “We don’t want to give him a heart attack in the re-interview, sir. So I wondered if I could help. As a nurse maybe? No offence.”

  “None taken, Annette. I’d be glad of your company. But we do still need to talk to him. He’s the only doctor who hasn’t insisted on me doing it, so that’s a mark in his favour as far as I’m concerned. But he was on the ward on Monday night, so he had access. Nicky, could you contact him for re-interview at High Street tomorrow morning, please.”

  Nicky smiled smugly. “Already done.”

  “Thanks. Let’s continue. There’s no CCTV inside the Unit, although it’s now universal Trust practice. Please confirm that with the Chief Exec. Liam. We’ve released a brief ‘holding’ press statement, closed the Unit and redirected all maternity patients to Bangor. I’ve agreed press handling with the C.E.O. and signed that off with Superintendent Harrison. There’s absolutely no delegation on dealing with the media, so find me on everything please, Nicky.” She nodded quickly, knowing from his tone that there would be trouble if it didn’t happen.

  “All ward staff are on temporary leave. But the M.P.E. has the biggest Maternity Unit in Northern Ireland, so inconvenience for the public is a significant factor. That means time is a pressure. The press will harass the life out of the D.C.S. until the Unit re-opens, and he’ll roll it down to us. So we need to solve this quickly. Right. Next steps. Liam?”

  “Chase up the CCTV absence. Why wasn’t it working if it should have been? Get the swipe-card data and locate anyone who went in and out on Monday night, swiped or otherwise.”

  Craig smiled at his anticipation and nodded Annette to do the same.

  “I’ll take Martin, Davy and anyone Joe can spare, sir. And dig deeper into the backgrounds of the three dead women. We need any connections at all to each other, the hospital, its staff and Tommy Hill. If they exist. We also need to find out more about Beth Walker, Iain Lewes and Nigel Murdock. And I’ll have a good look at Sister Johns as well.”

  “Good. You all know what you’re doing then. Has anyone met with the ’80s’ families yet? Joe?”

  Everyone turned to look at Joe Rice - he was slumped back in his chair with his eyes closed! When he heard the sudden silence he jerked himself upright. Then he gave them all a challenging look that said he hadn’t been asleep, just listening intently. His next words showed that it was the truth.

  “I contacted the victims’ living relatives, sir. Out of eight parents, five are dead and three are in their seventies. There are five surviving siblings, all in their forties. But only two are still living here and we’re interviewing them tomorrow.”

  “That’s brilliant Joe. Try to gauge any vengeful feelings. You know what to look for.” Martin leaned forward eagerly.

  “Sir?”

  “Yes, Martin.”

  “All t
he babies were girls, sir. Should we add that into the record search details?”

  He was right. They’d used it for the police checks, but nearly overlooked it for the records.

  “Thanks for the reminder. Davy’s already been using it his database searches. OK. When you’re checking for records, can everyone focus on past maternal deaths with surviving female children please. Well done Martin. OK Joe, the Drugs Squad link. Take that further and find out more about Tommy’s little operation. How big is it? Who are his rivals? Who has he annoyed? And does anyone want to hurt him badly enough that they would use his daughter to do it?

  Ditto with the two earlier deaths. Were the women or their families connected with anything that could provide a motive for murdering them or Evie? Look for any links they had with Tommy, however tenuous. Go back as far back as the 80s’ murders. And get Reggie Boyd’s team to give you daily updates - they’re keeping an eye on Tommy locally on the Demesne. Tommy’s been pretty clear that he would happily do our job for us. He’s impatient, and remember, he believes in capital punishment without trial.”

  Craig paused and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Nicky glanced at him sympathetically, realising the pressure he was under. She’d brew him some of her best coffee when they got back upstairs.

  “OK, Martin. Go back to the Trust and liaise with the medical records office, the C.E.O. has assured their complete co-operation. Find out if there were any other deaths before January on that Unit. Women giving birth, any and all deaths where the female baby survived. Caesareans in particular.

  Go back twenty years if there are records, our killer could be a surviving child, or a sibling whose mother died on the ward. They would be adults now and capable of killing. Check Murdock’s cases particularly. Bring the data summary directly to me, and copy it to Dr Winter please. If you’ve any queries, check with Liam and Annette. And there has to be a data file for the swipe-cards somewhere in the hospital system. Go straight to the C.E.O.’s office if the I.T. staff aren’t cooperating with you.”

  “Hospitals are obsessive about information now, sir. They horde everything in case there’s a negligence case.” Annette nodded in agreement.

  “Davy, chase that hit on Beth Walker in Australia - it’s probably nothing but we need it cleared. OK, I have my last interviews tomorrow morning, and then I’m in court on Warwick all afternoon. Let’s have the briefing tomorrow at twelve please. I want to make as much progress on this as we can before the weekend. John, Des, anything more you would like to say before we close?”

  Des shook his head but John spoke, his mellifluous baritone echoing around the hard-walled room.

  “I’ve started to go back over the three known deaths. Looking at the notes and P.M.s, and any inquests where they happened. Also any reports to the General Medical or Nursing Councils, defence unions, insurance claims etc. I’ll do the same for any other similar deaths that Martin can find, although I hope that there aren’t any. We know that Evie didn’t die from her drug levels, but we’re waiting for the stomach content analysis to rule out other forms of poisoning. There’s one other idea I want to check out, so I haven’t quite finished the P.M. But I should have a definitive cause of death for you by tomorrow, Marc. Then there’s the D.N.A. to check of course.”

  “We’ve quite a bit of the G.M.C. and medical defence stuff already, Dr Winter. I’ll get it over to you.”

  “Thanks Nicky, that’s helpful. Just one question - can anyone tell me how old Dr Lewes is? Doctors usually marry people they meet during training, so he’s probably in his thirties like his wife. But that’s young for a consultant.”

  “I’ve got that one, Doc. He’s forty–three.” Older than John had expected.

  “Right, then that means he would have learned to ‘piggy-back’ medication, Marc. As he’s a paediatrician, he’ll be up-to-date with injecting techniques, so it’s unlikely that he’d ever do it. But it’s not impossible that he could have made a slip and ‘piggy-backed’ if he was under pressure.”

  Craig nodded. Pressure. Like when he was killing someone.

  “OK, that’s great everyone. Look, it’s been hard week and it’s nearly six now. Anyone who doesn’t have to rush home, let’s head over to The James for a quick one.”

  “Aye, that’ll do, boss. Danni can simmer for an hour. It’s never good for women to get passion as soon as they demand it.”

  Joe laughed so loudly that he spat out his coffee. Nicky rolled her eyes and Davy stifled a laugh. Liam used the natural break to push his luck.

  “Here, Doc, like I was saying, we met that doctor you brought to the Christmas party. Natalie something...”

  Craig couldn’t work out whether John didn’t hear Liam, or he was actually ignoring him. Either way he was out of the door before any of them could ask.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Thursday. 8pm.

  Sharp echoes traced Tommy’s steps around the draughty hall, until he reached a side window and stood completely still. He peered through the dirt and cracks at the ‘70s housing estate outside. The graffiti on the walls had all changed. It had said ‘Fuck the Pigs’ when he was a lad, now it was ‘Banksy is a Wanker’. But even the hopeful fairy-lights winding around a balcony opposite couldn’t make the grey concrete sprawl look any more inviting.

  It was one of the last of the architect’s mistakes that had once covered every city in the U.K. They were knocking them all down now, to build red-brick starter homes clustered in streets. The planners were finally realising that streets were communities, just like the ones they’d destroyed forty years before. Pity he hadn’t shot a few architects if he was going to do time anyway.

  He’d grown up off the Springfield Road, playing in the streets outside, with his mother ever watchful at the window. His Da did piece-work at the Docks, out at five o’clock every morning to be ‘schooled’ for the boats. They were always broke, but it was a hell of a better childhood than hanging off a balcony twenty floors up. Mind you...he’d still turned out to be a bollocks, so the kids here had no hope.

  Hill didn’t turn when the door opened, the heavy thump of a bag already identifying Gerdy. Instead he just threw, “what kept you?” and, “where’s McCrae and Coyler?” coldly over his shoulder.

  “Comin’ now boss, they’re just lockin’ the car up. Don’t want to get it nicked. There’s all sorts of scum about nowadays.”

  Tommy ignored him and walked towards the stage at the front of the hall. He sat down heavily, propping his feet up on an old Formica table. Then he dumped a wad of papers on top of it, and waited to be joined by the rest of his little gang. Gone were the days when his name could’ve mustered twenty men at an hour’s notice, but his best man, Robbo, had gone to Maghaberry after last year’s drugs bust. There was nothing else for it. He’d just have to make do with these Muppets now.

  Rory McCrae and Ralph Coyle dandered casually into the hall, scanning its dark corners - old threats and learned behaviour. Hill lit a cigarette and jerked his fist at them, beckoning them down.

  “Hurry up an’ come here. I’ve info for you. I want you al’ out there workin’ on Saturday night.”

  “Aye right boss, keep yer hair on.” They all laughed at the old joke. Tommy had shaved his head years back.

  “Very funny, like I niver heard that one before. Now shut up!”

  His shout echoed around the hall and the men fell immediately silent, watching as he pulled the papers into three neat piles. He placed one in front of each of them. They were names and addresses, and as soon as he’d lifted his, Gerdy started moaning.

  “Fuck! Why do I hav to fally Murray? Can’t I hav a girl?”

  “For fuck’s sake Gerdy, you whine worse than any woman I’ve ever had. You’re gettin’ Murray ‘cos you’re the strongest, an’ he’s a big bastard.”

  “Oh, aye. Right...”

  “Coyler, you take the blonde Doc – ‘cos you’re not ruled by your dick like McCrae. McCrae, you get the lezzy nurse.”

  “Thanks a bucket
load, Tommy. And what’ll you be doin’ all this time?”

  Hill snarled and leaned forward ominously, his voice rising in volume.

  “An’ how’s that any of your fuckin’ business? Who the hell do you think you are, questionin’ me?”

  The three men stiffened immediately. The legend of Tommy Hill was still enough to subdue them.

  McCrae’s bravado evaporated rapidly. “Sarry. I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, Tommy, you know that. Sarry.”

  Hill stared him out until McCrae dropped his gaze, then he leaned back and lit a fresh cigarette. He held the silence through three long drags before he spoke.

  “What I’ll be doin’ is takin’ down the boss man. That stuck-up shite Murdock. He’s all mine. Now - have you all got the stuff?”

  Gerdy leaned forward eagerly. “Aye. Lots of roofies an’ rope. An’ I’ve got a Colt, Coyler’s got a Taser, and McCrae’s a Stanley knife.”

  Tommy lunged towards him and all three men leaned back in reflex.

  “What the fuck do you think you’ll be doin’ with those? You’re not Dirty Harry for fuck’s sake! You’re only fallyin’ and reportin’, till I say to lift them. The only one that’ll die is the guilty fucker...An’ where the hell did you get a Taser from anyway, Coyle?”

  “I bought it off a guy in the Elm one night. He wis a real nice guy too. Bought me a pint. He had a fair load o’ them.”

  “Jesus H. Christ! Luk, watch my lips.” Hill spoke with exaggerated slowness. “Yous-are-just-fuckin’-fallyin-them. An’ when I tell you, you’ll bring them here for me to talk to. WHEN I tell you.”

  “Oh aye...aye. ’Course Tommy. That’s what we’re goin’ to do. Just fally an’ bring em here. ’Course, aye. Dead-on Tommy.”

  Hill squinted at him, checking his sincerity before continuing.

  “You’ll start on Saturday night. That’s when they’ll be out of the hospital for sure. Murdock will be in Belfast doing his stuck-up private patients, an’ the others’ll be off home. Their stuff’s in your notes there. An’ remember, no one gets hurt till I say so. An’ you’d better get ready till sleep in your cars. Ring me every three hours after six on Saturday night, till I give you the word to lift them. An’ mind me well - I want regalar reports from all of you.”