He turned to the right and reached the stairs, charging down them. He had to take a breath as he ran down but the air wasn’t hot any more, though it was thick with smoke and made him gag. He hurtled to the bottom and headed for the door, coughing and spluttering.
He pulled open the front door and fell out into the cold night air, gasping for breath. He threw his raincoat down onto the steps, where it lay smouldering, and staggered over to the mermaid fountain, thrusting his hands into the water.
Nightingale looked up at the house but there was no sign of fire or smoke, no indication of the blazing inferno within. He took his hands out of the water and shook them. The flesh was red but that was all. His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was Jenny.
‘Jack, how did it go?’
Nightingale began to laugh. He sat down on the edge of the fountain. In the distance he heard a siren.
‘Jack, what’s wrong?’
‘I’ll call you back, kid. I’m in the middle of something right now.’
98
K err groaned as he saw Nightingale stagger out of the house. He picked up the empty petrol can and jogged across the lawn to the gates. He slipped out into the road and walked along to the field where he’d left his car, muttering to himself. He stopped when he saw the young woman dressed in black who was standing by his car, a border collie on a chain sitting at her side. She was wearing too much mascara and black lipstick and had a black choker with an upturned silver cross over her throat. Her black jeans looked as if they had been sprayed on and there were silver chains hanging from her black leather motorcycle jacket. The dog growled at him and the girl made a shushing sound.
Kerr lowered his eyes, not wanting to meet her gaze. ‘I failed you, Mistress Proserpine,’ he said.
She smiled. ‘Yes, Graham, I know.’
He dropped the petrol can, went down on his knees and put his head on the ground. ‘I beg your forgiveness, mistress.’ He heard sirens, off in the distance.
‘Get up, Graham. There’s no need for that.’
Kerr got to his feet. Tears were running down his face.
Proserpine looked at him sadly. ‘You know what you have to do now, Graham?’
The sirens were getting closer. The sirens of a fire engine and two police cars. Kerr knew the difference.
‘Yes, mistress. I know.’
He walked to the back of his car, an old Renault. He opened the boot, took out a fresh can of petrol and methodically poured it over himself, from head to toe. He drew a deep breath, relishing the intoxicating aroma, and then turned to face Proserpine. He fished his box of Swan Vestas from his pocket.
Proserpine nodded her approval and her dog growled softly.
Kerr rattled the box, then pushed it open with his thumb and took out a single match. He looked at Proserpine and shivered with anticipation as he rubbed the match along the striker. He heard the whoosh of the petrol igniting and then smiled as he felt the searing pain of his flesh as it began to burn.
99
N ightingale let himself into his flat and went straight into the kitchen. He kept a bottle of Russian vodka in the freezer and he took it out and poured a big slug into a glass, adding a splash of Coke. He drank it in one go and then poured himself another. He went through to the sitting room and phoned Jenny.
‘Where are you?’ she asked.
‘The flat. Can you come round? I need to talk.’
‘Before you wouldn’t tell me what was going on and now you want to talk?’
‘Just come round.’
‘What’s wrong, Jack?’
‘Just come, yeah? I don’t want to tell you on the phone. Too much has happened.’
He ended the call and took another long pull on his drink. He sat down on his sofa and flicked through the TV channels but couldn’t find anything that he wanted to watch.
The fire brigade had arrived in time to save the house, though there was extensive damage to the upper floor and the firemen’s water had flooded the ground floor. Nightingale hadn’t been able to check on the state of the basement but he figured that the damage there would be extensive.
He finished his drink and went back into the kitchen to make himself a fresh one. This time he took the bottle of vodka into the sitting room and put it on the coffee table. As he sat down the entryphone buzzed. He frowned and looked at his wristwatch. It was too soon to be Jenny. He pushed himself up off the sofa and went over to the intercom. ‘Yes?’
‘Mr Nightingale? It’s Janet Bethel. Greater Manchester Police.’
‘Yes?’
‘We met at your aunt and uncle’s funeral.’
‘I remember. What’s up?’
‘I’d like to talk to you, if you don’t mind. We have some new information on the case.’
‘Case? Which case?’
‘Your aunt and uncle.’
‘I didn’t realise there was a case,’ said Nightingale.
‘It’d be easier if I could sit down and talk to you,’ she said.
‘It’s late,’ he said. ‘I was just about to go to bed.’
‘It’s important, Mr Nightingale.’
Nightingale pressed the buzzer to let her in. He had the front door open for her by the time she reached his floor. She was wearing the same fawn belted raincoat that she’d been wearing in church and carrying the same black shoulder bag. Nightingale showed her into the sitting room. She put her bag on a chair and took off her coat, revealing a dark blazer with a grey skirt. She looked more like a holiday rep than a detective.
‘What on earth are you doing here at this time of night?’ he asked.
‘I heard about the fire so I figured you would be up. Do they know what happened?’
‘Arson,’ said Nightingale.
‘While you were in the house?’
‘Yeah. It was a close thing.’ He frowned. ‘You said you wanted to talk about my aunt and uncle? What’s so important?’
‘I couldn’t trouble you for a glass of water, could I? I’m parched,’ she said. She draped her coat over the back of the chair. ‘I got the train and it took forever.’
‘Sure,’ said Nightingale.
‘Or coffee,’ she said. ‘I could really do with a coffee.’
‘Milk and sugar?’
‘Lots of milk and no sugar.’ She smiled. ‘Sweet enough already.’
Nightingale went through to the kitchen and made her a mug of coffee. When he took it through to her, she had put a sheet of paper on the table and was holding a pen. ‘I couldn’t be a nuisance and ask you to sign this, could I? They’re being a real pain over expenses at the moment.’
‘It’s not a confession, is it?’ he said, picking up the sheet. It was on Greater Manchester Police headed paper and confirmed that he was being interviewed by Detective Sergeant Janet Bethel.
‘Why would it be a confession, Mr Nightingale?’
‘I was being flippant,’ said Nightingale. ‘Which, under the circumstances, probably wasn’t the wisest move.’ He scrawled his signature at the bottom of the letter and gave it back to her.
‘I’m sorry about that,’ she said, putting the letter into her bag. ‘But we have to get a signed receipt every time we conduct an interview outside our area. No receipt, no expenses.’
Nightingale sat down on the sofa and sipped his vodka and Coke. ‘So why are you here?’ he asked.
‘Frankly, Mr Nightingale, I’m not convinced that your uncle took his own life. And if that’s the case, it casts doubt on the assumption that he killed your aunt.’
‘I thought the forensic evidence was conclusive.’
‘It was, but, as I’m sure you know, evidence can be planted or removed.’
‘That’s certainly true,’ said Nightingale. He took another drink.
‘And I understand that you were in north Wales recently. Abersoch.’
Nightingale nodded but didn’t say anything.
‘You know what’s going on there, I assume.’
‘The serial k
iller? I heard.’ He frowned. ‘What are you saying? The same guy killed my aunt and uncle?’
‘It doesn’t fit the profile completely, I know. The killings in Wales have all been of women and they have all been made to look like suicides. Your aunt was murdered, and your uncle’s death appeared to be a suicide.’
‘Plus it’s quite a way from Wales to Manchester. Most serial killers tend to stay in an area that they’re comfortable with.’ Nightingale yawned. He was feeling tired. He took a long drink and stretched out his legs.
‘I’m sorry for getting here so late, Mr Nightingale. I can see that you’re tired.’
Nightingale put a hand up to his head. He was finding it difficult to concentrate. ‘No, it’s okay,’ he said. ‘What were you saying? About my aunt and uncle?’
‘There is a possibility that they were both killed by a third person,’ said Bethel.
‘And do you know who that might be?’
‘I was going to ask you the same thing, Mr Nightingale. You were in Connie Miller’s house just after her death. And you were there a few days later, weren’t you?’
‘How do you know that?’ asked Nightingale. His legs were going numb and he couldn’t feel his feet. He drained his glass.
‘My opposite number in north Wales told me,’ said Bethel. She stood up and went over to her bag.
Nightingale’s head started to spin. ‘They didn’t know,’ he mumbled.
‘Didn’t know what?’
‘They didn’t know that I went back to Connie’s house. They knew I went around to her parents’ home but they didn’t know that I was in her house.’
The glass tumbled from his fingers and bounced on the carpet. He looked up. The detective was standing in front of him, a roll of tape in her hands.
‘You were there,’ said Nightingale. ‘You were watching the house.’ He tried to stand up but his legs had gone numb.
She bent down and used the tape to bind his wrists together. He tried to resist but there was no strength in his arms.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked.
‘Keep quiet. It’ll all be over soon,’ said the detective. She went over to her handbag again and returned with a plastic bag. She pulled it down over Nightingale’s head.
Nightingale tried to shout but it felt as if there was a heavy weight on his chest.
Bethel started to wind tape around his neck, sealing the bag shut. Nightingale heard a buzzing. It was his door intercom. He tried moving away but Bethel slid onto his lap, her thighs pinning his legs as she continued winding the tape. The intercom buzzed again.
The plastic bag began to mist over and it started pulsing in and out in time with his breathing. Nightingale knew that he had to breathe slowly so he fought the panic that was making his heart race.
Bethel smiled as she watched his discomfort. She placed her hands on his shoulders and put her face close to his. ‘Not long now,’ she said.
She was wearing gloves, Nightingale realised. Black leather gloves. ‘Why?’ he asked, but then had to gulp for air. His breathing was fast and shallow and his lungs were burning.
He felt himself start to pass out. Bethel was grinning at him in triumph, staring at him with a wild look in her eyes. Nightingale’s eyes were just closing when he saw movement behind Bethel. There was a cracking sound and Bethel tumbled off his lap and fell to the floor. Hands pulled at the plastic bag and ripped it apart. Nightingale gulped in fresh air.
‘Jack, are you okay?’ It was Jenny.
‘She put something in my drink.’ He groaned as the room began to swim.
Jenny hurried to the kitchen and returned with a pair of scissors. She used them to cut the tape around his wrists. Bethel lay on the floor face down, not moving.
‘You were lucky I had a key,’ Jenny said. ‘I’ll call for an ambulance. You should try to throw up.’
She picked up Nightingale’s mobile phone, called nine nine nine and spoke to the operator, but Nightingale couldn’t hear what she was saying and his eyelids fluttered as he slipped into unconsciousness.
100
N ightingale opened his eyes and blinked under the fluorescent lights. He swallowed, which hurt, and there was a bitter taste at the back his mouth. A familiar face loomed over him. Jenny. She smiled.
‘Welcome back,’ she said.
‘Where am I?’
‘Hospital,’ said Jenny.
‘Water,’ croaked Nightingale.
Jenny picked up a glass of water and helped him drink.
‘What did she give me?’ he asked as she took the glass away from his lips.
‘It was Valium, that’s all,’ she said. ‘Not enough to kill you, just to make you really relaxed. They had to pump your stomach, though, just to be sure. It was the plastic bag that was going to do the damage. She was planning to make it look like you had killed yourself. She had a typed suicide note in her bag, with you blaming yourself for your aunt and uncle’s death.’
‘She got me to sign a form saying that I’d spoken to her. She was probably going to forge my signature on the letter.’ He groaned. ‘How long was I asleep for?’
‘Fifteen hours.’
‘You hit her, right? I remember that much.’
‘That’s right. Riding to the rescue, like the cavalry.’
‘What did you hit her with?’
‘My fist.’
‘Your fist? Since when did you know how to fight?’
‘Jack, I’ve got a black belt in tae kwon do. You really should read my CV some time.’
‘And who was she? I’m assuming she wasn’t a real cop.’
Jenny shook her head ‘Her warrant card was a fake. I had a look at her driving licence before the cops came. Her name’s Katherine Whelan. She lives in Caernarfon.’
Nightingale frowned. ‘She didn’t sound Welsh.’
‘She didn’t sound like she was from Manchester, either. But she’s definitely the killer.’
‘But how did she know we were after her? We thought the killer was a man, remember?’
‘I used the office computer to talk to Caernarfon Craig. That was her. If she knew what she was doing she could track the computer down. Once she had the office address she must have done some digging and found out about your aunt and uncle’s funeral and then traced you here. I’m guessing she’d have got my address too.’
Nightingale winced. ‘My head hurts,’ he said. ‘Can you raise the bed a bit?’
Jenny pressed a button to adjust the bed. It made a metallic grinding noise and slowly levered Nightingale into a sitting position.
‘Anyway, the Welsh cops are over the moon,’ she said. ‘Her flat was full of souvenirs. Every time she killed she took something from the victim’s home as a reminder. And her computer was chock-a-block with emails and website stuff. She’s already got a lawyer and they’re working on an insanity defence.’
Nightingale forced a smile. ‘Maybe she’ll end up in Rampton.’
Jenny grinned. ‘She can have your sister’s room.’ She sat down on the edge of the bed. ‘Yesterday you said you wanted to talk about what happened. With the deal.’
Nightingale nodded. ‘Yeah. He agreed. Neither gets her soul. It was bargained twice, both times in good faith. So neither deal can stand and Robyn gets her soul back.’
‘That’s great,’ said Jenny.
Nightingale looked uncomfortable.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’
‘He wasn’t happy,’ said Nightingale.
‘I’m sure he wasn’t, because at the end of the day you tricked them. But all’s well that ends well, right?’
Nightingale looked even more uncomfortable.
‘Jack, what is it?’
‘It’s not as simple as all’s well that ends well. I had to negotiate.’
‘What do you mean?’
Nightingale reached over for the glass of water and took another drink. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘I need a cigarette.’
/>
‘You’re in hospital, Jack. Smoking isn’t an option. Tell me what happened.’
Nightingale sighed. ‘He wasn’t prepared to let Robyn walk away without some payback.’
‘Payback? You’re not making any sense.’
‘Jenny, please don’t push me. You weren’t there. You didn’t see what he was like. The power he had…’ He ran his hands over his face. ‘He let Robyn have her soul back. It’s hers again. No one has any claim on it.’
‘But? There’s a “but”, isn’t there?’
Nightingale nodded. ‘Yeah.’ He sighed again. ‘Here’s the thing. Robyn gets to keep her soul but she dies on her thirty-third birthday. In two years’ time.’
Jenny opened her mouth in astonishment.
‘There was no room for manoeuvre. That’s what he wanted. It was a deal-breaker. He said that if I didn’t agree then he’d let one of them take her soul and to hell with the consequences.’
Jenny stood up, her eyes blazing. ‘You gave away your sister’s life? How could you do that?’
‘It wasn’t mine to give, Jenny. Don’t you see that? If I hadn’t done anything she’d have died in two years anyway. Only they’d have taken her soul as well. This way, at least…’
‘At least what, Jack? She’s got two years to live? Does she know?’
Nightingale shook his head. ‘And she won’t ever know. I don’t even know if I’m going to see her again.’
‘Where is she?’
‘I don’t know. And so long as everyone thinks she killed those kids, I don’t want to know.’
‘So she stays underground, lives her two years and then dies? How is that a good deal for her?’
‘She gets to keep her soul.’
‘We don’t even know what a soul is, Jack. We don’t even know if there are souls.’
‘If there aren’t, then what is all this about?’
‘I wish I knew,’ said Jenny. ‘But I know one thing: no one has given you the right to play God.’
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