by Ellis, Tim
Parish peered in the office to the right of the lift first. It had a chair, a wooden desk, and a metal filing cabinet inside. There was nothing on the brick walls, or the uneven concrete floor. The drawers in the filing cabinet and the desk were locked.
He slid off his rucksack, and found the large screwdriver he’d brought for exactly this reason. He had no qualms about leaving evidence of a break-in. It wasn’t as if anyone was going to call the police – he was the police. And it was hoped that after Catherine had finished with them, P2 would be confined to a footnote in history.
He wrenched open the left drawer and, as expected, found the key to the filing cabinet. There was nothing else of interest in the desk drawers.
In the third drawer of the filing cabinet he found what he was looking for, and it wasn’t a catalogue or plan of the library. It was a report that someone had written concerning “The Parentage of J Parish”.
Once he’d read it, he wondered if he should burn the report. His heart was racing. No one must ever know he was the son of... The lift doors made a clunking noise as they tried to close. He stood up and walked into the lobby. The doors weren’t making the noise anymore. He shrugged. Maybe they tried to close automatically. Maybe closed was the default position. It wasn’t as if the lift was designed to be wedged open with a piece of wood. He scooped up the report, folded it in four, and put it in his inside jacket pocket.
In the second office, after rifling through the desk and filing cabinet, he found an obscure map on the wall, which he realised, was a plan of the library shelves. He smashed the glass, took out the map, and laid it on the desk. As soon as he began to examine the map, he realised that it was much more than a library floorplan – it was the key to destroying P2. He folded it up and put it in the rucksack. As he slid the map down the side his hand touched the sandwiches Angie had made, and he realised he was starving and tired. He looked at his watch. It was quarter to one in the morning. He helped himself to a cheese and onion sandwich and some orange juice.
Once he’d finished he went back into the hall and found Richards.
‘We’re going to be here until the world ends,’ she said.
‘Do you want something to eat or drink? I’ve just had a sandwich and some orange juice.’
‘What did mum make?’
He found the silver-foil wrapped sandwich pack he hadn’t already opened and passed it to her.
‘Mmmm, coronation chicken.’
Parish made a gagging noise.
She offered him her sandwich. ‘You want to try one.’
‘Only crazy people eat slimy coronation chicken.’
There was a loud bang, which made them both jump. Across the room they saw the Chief collapse with blood drenching over her face. Catherine screamed. Two men appeared at the back of the hall carrying guns.
Parish bundled Richards over. They scrambled to the gap between the shelving and the brick wall.
He should have realised that the lift doors closing was someone trying to get down to the Lodge. They had come in the back way, so there was obviously another way out. But why had they come in with all guns blazing – unless... it had been a trap. He shook his head. It had all been too easy. He should have realised it was a trap.
‘What are we going to do, Sir?’
‘You always ask the best questions, Richards. Sometimes, you should let other people ask them.’
He took the screwdriver out of the rucksack, slid it up the sleeve of his jacket, and then hoisted the bag back over his shoulder again.
They heard a man’s voice.
‘Okay, you’d better come out, or this little lady is gonna get something special from my mate Lumby and me. I’ll count to five. And you should realise I ain’t a patient fuckin’ man.’
Parish knew that if he and Richards revealed themselves, the two men would kill Catherine anyway. These men were never going to let any of them out of here alive.
‘One... two... three...’
Chapter Twenty-Two
Saturday 24th December
Christmas Eve
Angie knew that if she gave birth now the crazy bitch would kill her and take her baby, but how long could she hold onto it. She was already beginning to get some pain down there. Wasn’t it always the way? When she wanted it to come out, it wouldn’t. Now, she wanted it to stay where it was, it was determined to come out. She knew it would arrive today, and her baby was the only thing keeping her alive. This was not the way it was meant to be.
‘Do you remember her?’ Marveen Hollingsworth asked through her broken and swollen mouth.
‘Vaguely. Andy finished with her because she was too clingy, and then the first time we had sex I got pregnant. I remember getting a terrible letter threatening to kill my baby and me, but at the time I didn’t know who had sent it. I think I know now.
‘Do you think she’s really going to kill us?’
‘She’s kidnapped us both. Here we are chained up in a cellar in the middle of nowhere. Look what she’s done to you. And from what she was saying, she’s already killed all the people that hurt her. She’s crazy, and we’re definitely on her list. Yes, I think she’s going to kill us. The only thing that matters to her is my baby.’ She burst into tears, but then wiped her eyes with the back of her dirty hand. ‘God, this place is filthy. We have to get out of here.’
‘I’d like nothing more to spend Christmas with my family, but how?’
Angie looked around for something to use on the locks. With the exception of the midwife, and the stained mattress beneath her, the room was empty.
‘Where’s that lecherous husband of yours?’
‘He had to go to London.’
‘Was he not planning to be at the birth? I thought...’
‘It’s a long story.’
‘We don’t seem to be going anywhere.’
With nothing else better to do, Angie told Marveen most of what had happened to her since she’d met Jed Parish.
‘Unlike my comfortable and boring husband, he’s one of those men that change the world, isn’t he?’
‘That’s exactly what I thought when I met him. I knew I’d die if I didn’t have him.’
‘And now you’re going to die because you did get him. Is there any chance he’s going to come and rescue us?’
Angie shook her head. ‘No chance whatsoever.’
Marveen Hollingsworth sighed. ‘It looks like we’re going to die then, doesn’t it?’
‘I think my water has just broken.’
‘That’s not really what I wanted to hear, Angela Richards.’
***
Vince Markwick arrived back at Woodford Green Service Station at five to one in the morning.
‘You’re trying to piss me off, aren’t you, Mr Markwick?’ Kowalski said when the Service Station Manager climbed out of his car. ‘You said an hour, and it’s been two.’
‘I was trying to stay alive. It’s a death trap out there. God knows what it’ll be like driving back home again.’
He opened up the shop door and disabled the alarm. ‘I’ll have to phone the security people first. Nobody is meant to be entering the building at this time of night, even if they do disable the alarm. If I don’t call, they’ll phone you lot, and it’ll be like the policeman’s Christmas Ball here.’
‘Very funny,’ Kowalski said. He was fed up, tired, and nothing was particularly funny at this time of the morning. ‘Just hurry up, and let’s get down to why we’re here.’
Markwick rang the Security Company and gave them the secret password. ‘If I give another secret password, it means I’m in trouble. Good eh?’
‘Superb. Where’s the CCTV?’
‘In the back office.’ He led the way.
It took Markwick ten minutes to find the Range Rover on the steam-driven CCTV system, but when he did they saw Karen Kincaid filling it up.’
‘So, she’s with him,’ Kowalski said. His phone vibrated. ‘Who the hell’s phoning me at this time of the morning? Ko
walski.’
‘It’s Erin.’
‘I think you’ve got...’
‘Erin Donnelly from forensics.’
‘I’m a bit busy...’
‘I couldn’t sleep, so I checked Kincaid’s credit card usage again. His wife used her credit card at Woodford Green Service Station at quarter to five...’
‘I’m there now. We’ve just seen her filling up the Range Rover on CCTV.’
‘Oh!’
‘Thanks for ringing anyway, Erin,’ he said and disconnected the call. ‘Yes, definitely Karen Kincaid.’
Lola scratched her head. ‘I ain’t convinced she be with him, Ko-wall-ski.’
‘Well, if she’s not with her husband, where the hell is he because she’s got his...? Crap! He’s bloody dead. That’s why he’s not used his credit card since Wednesday.’
‘I’m thinking something else as well,’ Lola said.
‘Excuse me,’ Markwick interrupted. ‘Can I go home now?’
‘I suppose so,’ Kowalski said. ‘But next time, you better be here a lot quicker.’
‘Next time! Is this going to be a regular occurrence?’
Kowalski didn’t answer. He knew Lola was having similar thoughts to him.
‘You’re welcome,’ Markwick shouted after them.
As soon as they got in the car Kowalski’s phone went again. ‘Bloody hell, it’s like a bloody telephone exchange. HELLO?’ he shouted.
‘Are Parish and Richards with you?’ It was the Duty Sergeant – Kathryn Holt.
‘No, why?’
‘Do you know where they are?’
‘I might. Why?’
‘We received a complaint about a dog barking at his address. I sent a car round. They had to break in.’
‘And...?
‘Well that’s it really. There was no one home. The dog had been on its own for some time, but we’ve got a neighbour looking after it – a Miss Caitlin Towler.’
‘Parish and Richards are out of contact. You know his wife is pregnant?’
‘We got in touch with the maternity wing at King George, and they haven’t heard from her. Apparently, she’s due any minute.’
‘Yes, I know. My wife was going to go to the hospital with her. Hang on, Kath, let me ring Jerry and I’ll ring you back.’
He disconnected the call and rang Jerry.
‘You better be ringing me to tell me your leaving me?’
‘I’d never do that, darling. Have you heard from Angie?’
‘No. I tried ringing her earlier – mobile and at home – nothing. I must admit, I was a bit worried, but I guessed she’d ring me when it was time.’
‘She’s missing.’
‘Missing! What does that mean?’
‘We can’t find her.’
‘Have you rung Jed?’
‘He’s in a place where there’s no signal.’
‘I thought you had the technology to find people via satellite?’
‘I’ll ring you back.’
He ended the call and rang Kath back, and then realised he could have had both of them on the line if he’d used Lola’s phone as well.
‘Yep?’
‘Have you tried to locate her mobile...’
‘Wherever Mrs Parish has gone she’s left her mobile phone and handbag at home. Another neighbour – Janet Barr – said she thinks she saw her getting into a four-by-four with another woman around five o’clock, but it was difficult to see through the heavy snow, so she can’t swear to it.’
‘Crap!’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Oh sorry, Kath. Speak to you later.’
He ended the call, put the seat back, put his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes.
‘Are we going to sleep together, Ko-wall-ski?’
‘You know what’ll happen if we do, Lola?’
‘I sho’ do.’
‘What if... Karen Kincaid has fooled the doctors? What if... she’s the murderer we’re looking for? What if... she’s killed her husband? What if... she’s decided that if she can’t have her own baby, she’ll take somebody else’s? What if... the baby she’s going to take belongs to Jed and Angie Parish?’
‘Oh gawd!’ Lola said. ‘That be a lot of “What ifs”, but what if you right, Ko-wall-ski? And you forgot the missing midwife!’
‘Bloody hell.’
She poked Kowalski in the arm. ‘We gotta find ‘em. Ain’t no time for sleeping together, Ko-wall-ski. We gotta find ‘em right now.’
‘I know.’
He phoned Toadstone.
‘I’m not on duty, Inspector Kowalski.’
‘Parish needs you, Toady.’ He told him what he thought had happened to Angie. ‘I need to know where Karen Kincaid might have taken her.’
‘I’m already in the car on my way to the station.’
‘You must be ambidextrous, Toady.’
‘I’ll phone you when I have something.’
The line went dead.
He stretched himself out and closed his eyes again. ‘Now we sleep together, Lola.’
***
‘Four... five.’
Coady shot Catherine in the back of the head. She hit the ground like a bag of giblets from the Christmas turkey.
‘Oh God!’ Richards said.
‘That was to demonstrate we mean business,’ Coady shouted. ‘Now, Lumby and me are gonna come after you, and when we find you... Well, we’re gonna have us some fun with the little lady, and we’ll let you watch before we kill you both.’
Parish saw the leader signal to the man he’d called Lumby to move left, while he went right.
‘I don’t know what to do, Sir,’ Richards whispered in his ear.
‘Stay close behind me. We’re going to give ourselves up to Lumby.’
‘Oh! If you say so.’
They were closer to the leader than they were to Lumby, so they had to move fast to create some distance between them, which was difficult while crawling under shelving. He was just glad Kowalski couldn’t see him slithering along the floor like bloody snake.
Eventually, he saw Lumby’s feet moving two shelves in front of them. They stood up and Parish stepped out. Richards was behind him. He spread his arms to the sides as if in surrender.
‘We give up,’ he said
Lumby looked over Parish’s shoulder and waved the gun he was holding in the air. ‘Hey Coady, I got them...’
Parish lunged forward as if he was an Olympic fencer. At the same time he slid the screwdriver into the palm of his right hand and rammed it hard between Lumby’s ribs. The metal pierced Lumby’s heart front and back, and the cardiac muscle collapsed like a burst crisp packet.
Lumby dropped the gun and clutched at his chest as he fell to the floor. The gun skidded past Parish and landed in the aisle behind Richards.
‘Quick, get the gun,’ Parish said.
She ducked between the shelves as the man called Coady fired his gun.
The bullet smashed into Parish’s upper arm and threw him backwards.
‘Now we’re gonna have some fun, you fuckin’ bastard. Hey Lumby...?
As Coady drew level with the aisle where Richards was standing, she pulled the trigger of the gun she’d retrieved. It had a kick like a donkey and threw her arms up. Although she was aiming at Coady’s chest, the bullet tore a groove through the top of his skull and destroyed a large section of brain in its wake. His eyes rolled upwards and he smashed into the wall.
Richards dropped the gun and ran to Parish.
‘Oh God, are you hurt, Sir?’
‘’Have you seen people bleed like this when they’ve not been hurt, Richards? Grab something to tie around the wound.’
‘What?’
‘A rag or something.’
She began to take her coat off.
‘What are you doing?’ Parish asked her.
‘I’ll use my blouse.’
‘And then walk around naked?’
‘Well...’
‘Is that Coady we
aring a T-shirt?’
She looked. ‘Yes. Rip that off and use it. And before I bleed to death would be good.’
‘Half his head is missing.’
‘And that’s relevant because...?’
‘That bullet hasn’t made you any nicer.’
‘That’s because I was as nice as anybody could be to start with.’
‘As if.’
She managed to rip up the front of Coady’s T-shirt. After taking off his jacket and then rolling him over, she was able to pull the material off the body.
At last, she created a bandage, which she wrapped round Parish’s arm and tied off.
‘I thought we were going to die.’
‘You always think that, but we didn’t did we?’
‘Thanks to you, but the Chief and Catherine are dead.’
‘I know.’ He pushed himself up and she helped him. ‘Come on, we have to get out of here.’
‘Oh, I don’t think so.’ A man in his mid-forties with greying hair at his temples, and a dark grey three-piece suit stepped into the gap between the wall and the shelving. In his hands was Coady’s gun. ‘Detective Inspector Parish and Constable Mary Richards, I presume?’
‘And you are?’ Parish forced out between his teeth. He had a horrendous headache, and his arm throbbed like an active volcano.
‘Sir Victor Bradshaw. Amongst my many other accomplishments, Senior Warden of the P2 Masonic Lodge.’
‘I suppose you’re here to finish the job?’
‘Oh yes. We can’t have you two loose cannons running around with what you know. It’s all gone too far to let you live, I’m afraid.’
‘You could have just told me who my parents were at the start,’ Parish said. ‘That would have been the simpler option.’
‘Yes, but it wouldn’t have ended there, would it? Once we told you what we knew, you’d have wanted more. In my experience, people always want more.’
Richards grabbed a file from the nearest shelf and flung it at Bradshaw. It hit him in the face.
Bradshaw’s gun went off and the bullet zinged past Parish’s head.
Richards bent and grabbed Lunby’s gun.