The Ultimate Selection: Be Careful Who You Talk To

by S. J. Wardell

  ‘Please go on,’ Terry instructed.

  ‘Well, Hector fell to the ground with a crash and this man wearing a skintight rubber suit stood there. I told him not to hurt me. He was a mean hunk of a bastard.’

  ‘Did he say anything?’ Terry asked.

  ‘Yeah, he told me to fuck off before he changed his mind.’

  ‘Changed his mind? About what?’

  ‘I don’t know, about letting me go without giving me a good hiding?’

  ‘What did he look like, this man?’

  ‘He wore a mask and it was dark. I couldn’t see any of his features really. He was very athletic; he seemed powerful, strong, a body to die for… oops, sorry,’ Julian chuckled. His nerves were not helping.

  ‘Have you ever been in trouble with the police?’ McFarland asked.

  ‘No never,’ Julian snapped. ‘What’s this? I came here under my own volition.’ There was a nervous edge to his voice.

  ‘What made you come in here under your own volition and decide to tell us all this?’ Terry continued.

  ‘I just think that it’s my duty. Hector was a bastard; everyone who knew him knew that. But he didn’t deserve to die.’ That was when all his emotions came flooding out, crying and sobbing. ‘He was bisexual. So fucking what? He liked a bit of rough after. Every one of us knew that he was a bastard, but he didn’t deserve to die.’

  ‘McFarland, get him a cup of sweet tea would you?’

  ‘Aye, I will.’

  ‘Was that particular Friday your first time with Hector, Julian?’

  ‘No,’ Julian lifted his head, ‘but you already knew that, didn’t you?’

  ‘You were in love with Hector, but you had always known he would never be yours, yours alone, and that’s why you’re so upset, heartbroken.’

  ‘Hector was only mine when Hector said so. He was a bastard, but that’s who he was. Detective, I slept with other men as well and Hector slept with others. I don’t know why that guy killed him and let me live.’

  ‘You did the right thing Julian, coming here and telling us this. You’ve been a massive help.’

  McFarland came back in the room.

  ‘Get a WPC to come and sit with him until he’s ready to go. Take your time drinking your tea Julian and, once again, thanks for coming in to see us. What you’ve told us may help us with our investigations. May we contact you if we need to talk to you about anything that we think you could help us with?’

  Julian sharply nodded.

  ‘And please feel free to contact us,’ Terry said as he stood up once the female officer entered the room. ‘Look after him won’t you?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ the young inexperienced uniformed officer replied. McFarland placed his card on the table in front of Julian.

  ‘McFarland, let’s go talk to Martin.’

  The two men left the police station and got into McFarland’s car.

  ‘There’s a pattern emerging,’ Terry said.

  ‘Aye,’ McFarland replied, not knowing what his partner was on about, ‘and what’s that?’

  ‘Both murdered victims treated their women like shit. And this guy, The Ultimate, knew this. How did he know this? He told me that he knew everything, that he watched us, specifically you. We need to find out if Hector’s wife knew about his double life. I’ll go and talk to Martin, and you go and talk to Mandy Hylie. We need to know how she’s coping with her husband’s death.’

  ‘Right. How are you going to get home from Borehamwood nick, have you thought about that?’

  ‘Good question.’ Terry paused. ‘Plan B we’ll both go and see Mandy Hylie, Martin can wait,’ his thoughts had raced away with him.

  Placing his right foot on the brake pedal and his left on the clutch pedal with a swift down selection of gear, McFarland swung the car around so that it faced the opposite direction. Terry braced himself.

  ‘Fucking hell, mate!’ Terry cried.

  The smell of rubber from the screeching tyres filled the cabin of their vehicle.

  ‘Yeee-haarrrrrr!’ the Scotsman yelped.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Both men stood outside the front door waiting for someone to open it. This time McFarland banged on the door using the side of his clenched fist.

  ‘Hold on, hold on I’m coming for Christ’s sake,’ the voice behind the closed door said.

  As the door opened, a petite woman emerged.

  ‘If you’re from the papers you can sling your hook, go on piss off!’

  ‘Hello, I’m Detective Inspector James McFarland, and this is…’

  ‘I know who you are, I saw you on the telly. I’m so sorry for being so rude – I’m sick of journalists,’ Mandy interrupted. ‘Please come in…’

  ‘Thank you,’ Terry replied. Following Mandy, Terry could not help but notice how quiet the house was. ‘Where are your children?’ Terry asked.

  ‘At my mother’s, I want them out of the way until all this mess is sorted. Would anyone like some tea? I’m sure I could find a couple of digestives.’

  Both detectives were directed to the living room.

  ‘Find a seat and I’ll be with you in a moment.’

  Almost fifteen minutes later, Mandy emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray which she set down in the middle of the coffee table in the living room.

  ‘You seem to be handling this whole situation very well Mrs Hylie,’ Terry commented, and then continued, ‘How are you holding up?’

  ‘You have to carry on. Life goes on. OK, I did love him and, yes, I will be the first to admit, he wasn’t a brilliant husband… but, all said and done, he was my husband and, yes, I have been freed from him. Sorry if that sounds terrible but that’s the terrible reality of life, and life is with my children now.’ She was being very open. ‘If I had my time again, I wouldn’t have married Hector, but then I wouldn’t have my two beautiful children. He wasn’t always that way, the way people say he is. Once upon a time he used to be a gentle, kind man. I think it was when he decided that he wanted to bat for both sides, that was when he started to punish others.’

  ‘How long has, or sorry, did Hector embark on these bisexual conquests?’ Terry asked, sipping his tea.

  ‘I don’t know and I suppose I never will know exactly how long it was.’ Mandy paused for thought, ‘I found out about four years ago, but I know that it had been going on for a lot longer.’ She shook her head, ‘What I don’t know, won’t hurt me – that is what he always told me. But it tore me apart. You can understand that can’t you?’

  ‘Yes, we do understand. Have you been to see Martin?’

  ‘No, not yet, I’m not ready for that. Anyway, I’m the last person Martin would want to see. My God, his poor girlfriend and their baby.’ Her emotions seemed rock solid.

  ‘Do you know why Martin did it?’

  ‘He had no choice. Anyone faced with what he was faced with would have done the same. Tell him that I forgive him and that I love him. He will always be my brother and before you ask, I’m well aware of Martin’s hatred for Hector and that the only reason Martin never laid a finger on him was me.’

  ‘So you knew about Hector’s double life?’

  ‘Oh come on. It was hardly a double life. He would go out to a gay bar and find a man to have sex with… I knew, oh I knew.’ Mandy took a sip of hot tea.

  ‘Did it bother you that he had unprotected sex with these men?’

  ‘Of course it fucking bothered me! What could I do? If I said anything, Hector would give me a right-hander. He used to threaten to bugger me if I didn’t shut up. Yeah, give it to me up the arse.’

  Mandy reached over and picked up a biscuit, ‘Want one?’ she asked.

  Both detectives declined.

  ‘I’m a woman who married in to hard knocks. I’m simply hardened to it all. Hector was a nasty bastard and now he’s dead. But I’ll tell you one other thing, he never got near my arse!’ She automatically burst in to tears. Maybe she wasn’t so tough after all.

  ‘We will catch
this man for you.’

  ‘Don’t catch him for me, catch him for Martin, catch him for my kids. He freed me by imprisoning my brother. Ying and yang, pleasure and pain, there’s a lot to be said for those Chinese people. All that karma they rant on about – there’s something in it, I think.’

  ‘Well, thank you for the tea, and thank you for sparing us your time. I think you are a very remarkable and honest woman.’ Terry held Mandy’s hand in both of his, ‘Have a great life Mrs Hylie. Now you can truly begin to live your life with complete freedom.’

  ‘Thank you, I will. Once this is all over, I’m going to take my kids to Spain. I’ve got a friend who lives there. We’ll stay with her for a while,’ she smiled. ‘What is your name?’

  ‘Terry, Terry Bane.’

  ‘Thank you Mr Terry Bane.’ Mandy closed the front door behind the two men.

  ‘I want someone to go and check on her, and also that her children are alright. She gave me the creeps,’ Terry said.

  ‘Yeah me too, good God, if talking was an Olympic sport.’

  ‘That’s just her way of dealing with it.’

  ‘Maybe...’ To McFarland, everyone was a suspect.

  Chapter Thirty

  Martin was escorted to an interview room. He had been told why he had been summoned there, though he did not understand why the two detectives wanted to talk to him again.

  ‘Hello Martin,’ Terry said walking into the room.

  ‘Hello.’

  ‘We’ve just been to see your sister, and that’s why we’re a little late. Sorry for that.’

  ‘How is she? How’s Mandy?’

  ‘She is remarkably well and handling the whole thing very smoothly if you ask me. She wants us to tell you that she forgives you, and that she still loves you.’

  ‘At least she’s free, free from that fat bastard.’

  ‘How you’ve changed your tune. May I ask what has brought this on?’

  ‘I’m fucked aren’t I? I’m gonna get life for this, but at least I can serve my time knowing that my sister hasn’t got to put up with that bastard any longer.’

  ‘OK, calm down and listen please Martin. The real reason for our visit is to ask you if you’d be interested in an idea that we’ve had. As you know, you are the second person this guy has forced to kill. We have been talking with the first this morning. I must inform you at this time that she does have legal representation and if you’d like us to appoint you with a duty solicitor please let us know. If you’re in agreement, we would like to interview you both together at the same time. What do you think?’

  ‘What has her brief said?’

  ‘Mr Barnford is in agreement with our suggestion. I must also inform you that if you do agree, you must also agree that this remains strictly confidential. If this was to become public knowledge then the whole case would be thrown out and the orchestrator would walk free.’

  ‘What’s in it for me?’

  ‘OK, at the moment you are looking at a charge of murder. If we can catch this guy, there is a chance of your charge being reduced to involuntary manslaughter.’

  ‘About ten years, pal, but you’ll get out after about four if you behave yourself; keep your nose clean and your mouth shut,’ McFarland summarized.

  ‘Why would talking to us together help?’

  ‘There are definitely some similarities with both crimes. By sharing your information and feeding off each other, there is a chance that you might unearth something.’

  ‘I know how you lot operate, you’ll twist our stories and land us in the frame. The Old Bill have never helped me in the past, why should they now?’ Martin slouched back in his chair folding his arms and oozing arrogance.

  ‘OK Martin. Let’s put it another way, if you won’t help us, how can we help you? We’re doing the best we can here, but we need your co-operation,’ Terry said standing up, ‘without it, we’re snookered in this part of the investigation. I’m only trying to help you. Unless we catch this man, he will continue.’

  ‘I’ll take my chances thanks.’ Martin looked away.

  ‘OK Martin you’ve had your chance, fifteen to life it is then. Oh and I’ll make sure that the CPS knows how much you wanted to co-operate and help us during the investigation. Listen, the offer stands until midnight tonight; if you want to talk to us, you know where we are.’

  ‘Hold on a minute, if the girl’s willing to do this, I’ll do it for her. I’m not doing this to help you, I’m only doing it to help her and so you can catch this geezer.’

  ‘That’s the only way we think.’

  ‘OK, set it up,’ Martin growled begrudgingly.

  ‘Come on, McFarland, you owe me a pint,’ Terry announced.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Greg had already managed to obtain the details of where Brent and Valerie lived and he had also managed to follow Brent to his office a few times, timing the journey. He had been on Valerie’s tail and had unearthed the secret that she was having an affair with one of the fitness coaches at her gym. Though he was unsure how long this torrid affair had elapsed, Greg wanted Valerie’s husband to be confronted with her filthy betrayal.

  Brent, on the other hand, was a hardworking, loyal husband who had only ever put his wife’s needs before his own. The lifestyle that he provided for her was that of dreams. Greg decided that it was time for the dream to become a reality… no, no, no… a nightmare.

  Greg noticed that, as part of Brent’s daily routine, he always lunched in a wine bar called Jollies just outside Old Street Station. Greg was going to accidentally bump into Brent during one of his routine lunches. Today was that day. The timeline was now dragging on, though he wanted to be sure that he had everything in place. Five weeks had passed in a flash. He didn’t want to rush and get sloppy. He knew that if he did, gaps may appear and the police would knit those gaps together and be onto him.

  As Greg walked in to the wine bar, he noticed Brent sitting at a table on his own, eating his tuna salad, the same tuna salad that he had every day for who knows how long, quietly reading his copy of The Financial Times, oblivious to Greg’s presence.

  ‘Hello, fancy meeting you here,’ Greg said, hijacking the businessman’s precious tranquillity.

  ‘Sorry, old chap, but I can’t place where we know each other from.’

  ‘A couple of weeks ago, you and your misses were eating in the Punch & Judy at Covent Garden. You were having a barney when my bird told you to keep it down.’

  ‘Oh yes… ha, ha, ha… how embarrassing, please except my apology. My memory is like a colander these days. May I buy you a drink? I’m sorry, please allow me to introduce myself, I’m Brent.’

  ‘Greg, Yeah, I’d love a cold beer please.’

  Brent walked over to the bar and ordered Greg’s beer – Greg had prepared himself for this.

  ‘Cheers,’ Brent said as he handed Greg the beer.

  ‘Cheers,’ Greg replied, ‘just the job.’

  ‘What brings you to these parts? I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before. Do you work around here?’

  ‘Nah, I’ve never been in here before. I was in the neighbourhood visiting someone in the hope of drumming up some business.’

  ‘Any luck?’

  ‘Dunno, but he said he’d call me and let me know.’

  ‘I wish you good luck. What is it you do Greg?’

  ‘I’m in IT, I’m an IT analyst. It’s tough out there at the moment.’

  ‘Yes, I know what you mean, I’m in the software business myself.’

  ‘Are you?’ Greg said, disguising the fact that he already knew exactly what Brent did for a living. ‘What are you, a designer?’

  ‘How did you know that?’ Brent asked excitedly.

  ‘A lucky guess. Well, that suit you’re wearing is a big give away. You can tell that you’re successful Brent by the way you dress.’ Greg deliberately wanted to boost Brent’s ego. He knew how these guys worked.

  ‘I run a web design software business. Have you eve
r done any kind of design?’

  ‘Nah, wouldn’t know where to begin. There’s a lot more to that than people realise.’ Greg was trying to sound as though he knew what Brent was on about.

  ‘Listen, Greg, if anything comes up I’ll give you a shot if you’d like?’

  ‘Yeah, thanks that’d be great. Tell you what, have you got a card or something with your number on that I could have? It’d be easier for me to contact you.’

  ‘Of course,’ Brent said handing Greg his business card, not giving proper thought to what Greg had just said. ‘My email address is on there too, so please feel free to drop me an email and we can touch base that way,’ Brent smiled politely.

  ‘So what were you and your wife arguing about then?’ Greg needed to change the subject. IT was not his subject.

  ‘Valerie… she’s a difficult woman at the best of times. I am so very sorry for upsetting you and your wife.’

  ‘Me and Karen aren’t married. But that don’t matter, we enjoyed that champers that you gave us and the manager gave us everything on the house,’ Greg said sounding as they’d had a fair result all round.

  ‘Oh good, I am pleased. Right, I have to dash back to the office. You have my card, please give me a call or drop me an email and I’ll see if there’s anything I can throw your way.’

  Greg felt awkward shaking Brent’s hand, though he offered a smile as camouflage.

  Greg stayed in the wine bar and had two more beers whilst he went over the plans for the next stage. There were a few potential obstacles to be considered. Greg worried that the guy Valerie was having an affair with would be too strong for him, so how could he up his own ante? Greg sat back and looked at the painting on the wall. A man sitting in a field surrounded by countryside. He studied the painting and then, all of a sudden, he thought about all the open space the man had in the painting – room to move, all that freedom of movement.

  He had already decided that he was going to wait for Valerie to go to the fitness instructor’s flat. Greg was then going to give them a little time to settle down to business, then he was going to let himself in using another of his internet purchases, a pick gun. Pop it in the lock, squeeze the trigger, and bingo, you’re in. It was that simple. Then Greg thought about it for a few more moments. Maybe he could get himself some kind of gun that fired electricity. He knew that he would be able to get hold of one of those taser guns fairly easily, as he had seen them before on one of the private websites he had visited.