Taking a bit of a run-up, Stefan hurled himself at the door, leading with his shoulder, his whole body weight right behind him and with a loud crash, the door collapsed inward, swiftly followed by Stefan.
Pain shot through his shoulder as he landed hard on his side against the door itself but pushed it back down inside him.
Chloe was the priority.
He looked up the small hallway. There was still no sign of Chloe.
Brennan stood open-mouthed at the space where the door had been seconds before, then leaned forward to help Stefan to his feet.
He went to speak but stopped when they heard the locks from the flat next door unbolt and the door swing open.
They were faced with a pregnant girl staring at her neighbour’s door, then back at them in disbelief.
‘Who the hell do you think you are, fucking Rambo?’ she said. ‘What have you done to my neighbour’s door? You just woke my kid up.’
Stefan raised his warrant card to her face and saw her demeanour change instantly. ‘What’s Chloe done?’ she said, her voice now a little shaky.
‘Just stand back, please,’ Stefan said. The girl hesitated and glanced through the doorway. ‘Better still, PC Brennan, take this lady back inside her flat,’ he added.
Brennan looked as reluctant as the girl did, but nevertheless he motioned her back inside.
Stefan lingered a moment, but when no one else came to investigate the noise, he stepped through over the broken door.
‘Chloe?’
When he heard nothing, Stefan felt his stomach start to shift. He began to feel uneasy and he could feel his heart beating faster inside his chest the further he ventured inside.
He turned the corner leading to the bedroom and pushed the door open gently without stepping inside.
‘Chloe?’ he called out with some caution in his voice. He inspected the room, then headed towards the living area.
When his eyes caught sight of spatters of blood on the cream-coloured carpet, he froze.
CHAPTER 77
Claire hung up the phone, slamming it down into the cradle. ‘Voicemail again,’ she said to Jane.
‘Same with Harper,’ said Jane, as she hung up on her own mobile. ‘I’ve left him two voicemails already.’
Claire stared at her computer screen and tapped a pen against the desk. ‘I don’t like this… Send uniform to the Manor.’ She picked up the phone again and began dialling.
‘Who are you calling now?’
‘Manuela.’
Claire’s BlackBerry started to ring and vibrate across her desk. Jane glanced at the caller ID.
‘It’s Stefan.’
Claire hung up on the landline and answered her BlackBerry before she’d even brought it to her ear. ‘Stefan, have you—’
She stopped mid-sentence when she heard screams in the background from what sounded like a young woman.
Stefan was shouting at PC Brennan, something about getting the girl out of the flat. Claire repeated Stefan’s name into the phone until she heard him clearly.
‘Claire…it’s Chloe, she’s…’ The line began to crackle and his voice sounded far away.
‘I’m losing you, Fletcher,’ Claire shouted. ‘Where’s Chloe?’
The static on the line disappeared and Stefan’s voice was suddenly loud in her ear.
‘There’s a lot of blood…’
Claire’s eyes grew wide. ‘Stefan, what the hell is going on? You’re not making any sense.’
Stefan looked down at Chloe’s battered face and the red imprints around her neck. He cradled her head, lifted an eyelid carefully, and saw her pupil react to the light.
‘Thank God… Stay with us, Chloe.’
Claire heard him drop his phone and shout to Brennan to call an ambulance before running back to the phone.
‘Fletcher, where’re Chloe and Michael?’
‘I’ve found Chloe. She’s been badly beaten and strangled almost half to death. Christ, I thought she was dead, but I can just make out a faint pulse now.’
Claire’s mouth went dry and her hands tightened around the phone. ‘Stefan, where is Michael?’
There was a short pause from the other end.
‘He’s gone, Claire.’
‘What do you mean he’s gone? Gone where?’ She felt a knot tie in her stomach.
‘I don’t know…wait, I think Chloe’s trying to say something.’
He dropped the phone again and looked down at Chloe’s face.
Her eyes were still shut, and there was deep purple bruising spreading out from her nose and around her eye sockets. Just then, her lips began to move. Stefan moved in closer to her mouth.
From the other end, Claire could hear him gently coaxing Chloe awake, and reassuring her she was safe now.
She heard him ask where Michael was.
She waited with bated breath and realised Jane was still at the door listening, a worried expression on her face. Claire looked at her.
‘Is she OK?’
‘I don’t know…’ Claire trailed off, pressing the phone closer to her ear, so hard it pained her.
She heard Stefan pick up the phone again.
‘Don’t tell me…’ she said before he could speak. ‘I think I know.’
He blew out a deep breath. ‘Chloe’s saying Michael did this.’
Claire shut her eyes tight and felt her heart in her mouth, betrayal sweeping across her body. She felt she might buckle at his words.
‘Michael…he’s…’
He paused.
Claire couldn’t believe her own words as they escaped her mouth. ‘He’s Stevie.’
CHAPTER 78
Amelia grasped one end of DC Harper’s unconscious body and pulled him into a thick row of bushes alongside his car. After she was satisfied he was completely out of sight, she stretched her aching arms.
‘You could’ve helped. The bastard’s heavier than he looks.’
She eyed the long metal pole being wiped clean of Harper’s freshly spilt blood by a pair of strong hands.
Michael’s hands.
He looked at her and smiled, his lips set cruelly against his usually handsome face. ‘You could benefit from more heavy lifting. Build your strength up, considering what happened with Hargreaves.’
Amelia stared at him. She wished she could be more angry with him, after what he’d done with that detective he worked alongside, built up trust in…shared a bed with.
‘She’ll find out about you and me.’
Michael swung the metal pole behind his neck and balanced it there with both hands, cocking his head towards her.
‘It doesn’t matter now.’
‘She won’t want you any more.’
‘Like I said, it doesn’t matter. She was never special to me. Soon all our plans will be complete and there won’t be time for anyone else other than you and me.’
Amelia looked sceptical and he could see that inside she was eaten away by bitterness and jealousy.
She looked away from him and towards the Manor. ‘It was only supposed to be you and me in the first place.’
Michael swung the pole back down to the floor with one arm, cutting into the grass beside him with a thud. He looked into her eyes and she raised her eyebrows at him when he didn’t answer her.
He looked away and walked around the trees and hedgerows which led towards the Manor gardens, rather than straight up the driveway to the main door.
Amelia followed, trying to block his way, jutting her shoulder out so he walked into it, but he didn’t stop.
He carried on walking to avoid her eyes.
Amelia watched him increase the void between them until she felt a boiling anger rise up inside her that she just couldn’t ignore.
Her pace quickened, and soon she was matching his stride. She threw her arms forward and shoved him hard to one side, the force catching him off balance.
‘Don’t ignore me. I said it should only have been you and me. Why did you have to fuck her again
?’
Michael turned to look at her. He saw her hair was a mess of red as usual, and her eyes looked sad and tired.
‘Stop being so jealous. What I did was…necessary.’
‘And Adrian was necessary?’
‘Yes.’
‘Bullshit!’
Michael dismissed her with his hand, pushing her from him.
Amelia came running up beside him, her face red with anger. ‘Adrian deserved many things but not to be burnt alive.’
She punched him hard in the shoulder but he refused to look at her. ‘You’re a sick bastard, Stevie… How could you do such a thing? It wasn’t part of the plan.’
‘You cut up the priests and Ashe Miller and fucking enjoyed it,’ he said, turning around on her, anger in his face. ‘Shall we try and analyse what that says about you? Ashe Miller was never part of the plan either.’
‘They were different, and Ashe knew too much. He was a threat.’
‘I’m starting to believe maybe you enjoyed what Adrian was giving you,’ he said, walking away from her again. ‘You’re lucky I’m not the jealous type or he’d have got a lot worse before he burned to death.’
‘Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you.’
Michael turned around, let the pole fall to the ground and rested his hands on her shoulders to calm her down.
She screamed in his face. ‘Don’t touch me!’
She tried to push his hands from her but he tightened his grip. ‘You need to calm down.’
Amelia smacked him hard across the cheek. When he showed no obvious signs of pain, she struck him again, then once more until he let out a guttural roar and shoved her down on the grass, his weight pinning her chest.
‘Don’t test me, Amelia.’
‘Get off me!’
‘We’re so close, don’t blow this now. There’s only ever been you, you have no reason to be jealous of Claire. I did what I had to do.’
‘And Chloe?’
He saw the tears brim in her eyes.
‘You knew there would be sacrifices.’
The last word sounded like venom forced from his lips, and Amelia digested his words, but inside she refused to believe them.
She raised her head off the grass towards him until her lips were inches from his. ‘You say you’re not the jealous type? Don’t make me laugh. You hated how close I grew to Chloe. All she helped me with after Stokebrook, and you…’ She fought back tears, anger grief and frustration coming to the surface. ‘Why couldn’t you have left her alone?’
‘You chose me over her, or have you forgotten so soon? There wasn’t room for both of us in your life to love you, give you what you needed. You know that.’
Amelia blinked away her tears. ‘Don’t you speak her name to me.’
He shook his head. ‘This is pathetic.’
‘I wouldn’t hesitate to feed you to the wolves if it meant I could get away… You remember that… If it came to it, I’m strong enough.’
Michael stared down into her eyes. ‘You don’t mean that.’
‘Don’t I?’ She cocked her head to one side. ‘You prepared to take that risk?’
‘You know what I’d do to you before you got that far,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘You’re not the one that makes you strong, Amelia… I made you who you are. I helped you channel that rage of yours.’ He stabbed a finger hard against her forehead. ‘Your head was already fucked up…those seeds were already sown, I just watered them day by day.’
She batted his finger away from her head and raised her knee up into his chest, catching him hard in the ribs. He stifled a groan, reached for the pole beside her and got to his knees. He swung it above his head.
‘Fucking do it!’
Michael’s breath was coming in short sharp bursts as the weight of the pole pulled against his hands. His face was red, his mouth set firm as he swung the pole forward.
Amelia’s arms rose instinctively as the pole narrowly missed her, landing hard on the grass beside her head.
Slowly, lowering her arms, she looked up at him.
His breathing was heavy and his face pained. ‘Next time I won’t miss.’
After a few seconds Amelia nodded her head and he helped her to her feet. He retrieved the pole from the ground. ‘Let’s do what we came here to do.’
She let him push past her.
She knew she’d overstepped the mark but despite the fact she’d almost driven him to kill her, the anger she felt inside wasn’t directed at herself.
Far from it.
She knew that if she ever got the chance to meet Claire Winters on her terms, she would take her time showing her how far jealousy can drive a person.
She stared at the Manor through the trees, nothing but hatred in her eyes.
CHAPTER 79
Claire had wasted no time after she ended her call with Stefan. She had called Jenkins and asked if he had access to a fax or email account.
‘What the devil for?’ he said.
‘Do you have access or not?’ She was losing any fraction of patience she had with him.
He sighed. ‘Yes, a fax machine, but I can’t work it. I leave that sort of thing to Sam.’
‘Are you any closer to finding a photograph of Stephen?’
‘Sam’s been looking since you left.’
‘When she finds one can you get her to fax it through immediately, the latest image you have of him before he left.’ She heard him swear and another sigh.
‘I know I told you we’d look but I don’t think we have any. I think I threw them away. We didn’t want him to be a part of our lives.’
‘This is really important. Think.’
He dropped the receiver and she could hear raised voices coming from him and Sam in the background. After a few minutes he grabbed the phone.
‘What’s your fax number?’
***
Twenty minutes passed and Claire was now perched on her desk staring at the fax machine, her hands clasped together.
She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear Matthews enter the room, with Stefan and Jane in tow.
Matthews cleared his throat. She ignored them until she realised Stefan was there.
‘How’s Chloe?’
The feeling of a genuine sense of compassion towards Chloe, though she barely knew her, was a strange emotion for Claire. Stefan looked less than positive.
‘She lost consciousness again when the paramedics got there. She’s fallen into a coma.’
Claire’s eyes widened.
‘When I left, she wasn’t responding to anything. She has a fracture in her arm and a broken nose… He used her head like a punch bag.’
Claire couldn’t bring herself to look at him. ‘She’s not alone, is she?’
‘PC Brennan’s with her at the hospital… We need to tell her parents.’
‘No. Not yet.’
‘Claire, they need to know.’
‘Not yet!’
She brought her attention back to the fax machine and waited. Matthews and Stefan exchanged glances.
‘We’ve found some evidence that Hargreaves was hired by Brown to rid himself of Williams,’ Matthews said. ‘Something concrete, I mean.’ Claire gave him a sideways glance. ‘We’ve now got phone records, text messages and emails. Williams was trying to blackmail Brown regarding the money he was laundering.’
Claire nodded and lowered her eyes.
Matthews stared at her, a little annoyed. ‘I thought this is what you wanted.’ Stefan stepped forward in her defence.
‘Amelia is working with Stephen.’
‘Metcalfe?’ Matthews shook his head. ‘I’ve run his name, there’s no trace of him on the social since 1999. He’s not on the PNC and the Missing Persons Bureau hasn’t had any updates since 2000.’
Claire jumped as the fax machine started spooling paper beside her. ‘This one’s colour, isn’t it?’ she asked no one in particular. Jane muttered what sounded like a yes.
Cla
ire practically tore at the paper as it gradually fed through the machine. Matthews ignored her but Stefan noticed her ashen face.
‘Claire?’ he said, moving towards her. She let the paper in her hand loose and it floated down onto the table beside her.
‘There’s a reason you won’t find anything under the name Stephen Metcalfe…and the reason is staring you right in the face. Hiding in plain sight of all of us.’
The others looked down at the fax and saw a photograph of a boy aged around sixteen, with a mop of floppy blond hair framing the face. Claire studied his eyes. The jaw cut a familiar shape, along with the boy’s wide grin.
‘My God,’ Stefan muttered under his breath. ‘How did Jenkins not see him?’
‘He’s changed a lot. Apart from the fact he’s now fourteen years older, he’s dyed his hair.’
Matthews looked up at them both and pointed at the image. ‘You’re not telling me what I think you’re telling me?’
They remained silent.
Matthews shook his head. ‘He’s got different colour eyes for a start.’
Claire looked at Stefan.
‘Contact lenses,’ he answered on her behalf.
Claire sat down again.
‘Jane, I need you to contact Harper, tell him backup is on its way, and he’s to enter the Manor immediately, regardless of what Manuela has to say about it. Tell them we’re on our way. Let’s hope Manuela is a bit more cooperative when he knows what’s been planned for him.’
CHAPTER 80
The blues and twos drowned out anything else from the streets, as marked police cars cut their way through traffic towards Shrovesbury Manor.
Claire put her foot down in her own car, causing Stefan to grasp hold of the handle above his passenger window. He exchanged glances with Jane, who was in the back seat. Claire saw her hang up her mobile in the rear-view mirror.
‘Any luck?’
Jane shook her head. ‘No. It’s going to voicemail, and that’s not like Harper.’
‘You think they got there first?’ Stefan said.
Claire glanced at him but didn’t answer. Jane’s face screwed up, still trying to comprehend what was happening.
‘Why did Amelia kill Ashe Miller? He had nothing to do with her past.’ Claire looked over her shoulder and narrowly missed clipping another car.
For All Our Sins: A gripping thriller with a killer twist (DCI Claire Winters, Book 1) Page 32