Die Twice

by Simon Kernick

  ‘What?’

  ‘Will you just let me know if any of your clients absconds, or goes missing under suspicious circumstances? Please. Anything you say will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.’

  She nodded. ‘All right, but we get that happening a lot of the time, as I said to you and your colleague yesterday. Most of the time, it’s just that. Them absconding. Looking for greener pastures. It’s the same for all the homes, especially in a city the size of this one.’

  ‘Yeah, I know. That’s the problem. If you were, say, a killer, and you didn’t want to get caught, they’re just the type of girls you’d go for. Ones who can disappear without a trace and no-one’s too worried.’

  ‘But I do worry – we all worry – for our clients because we know the pitfalls that await them round every corner. But without resources, and without authority…’

  ‘Yeah, I know. What can you do?’

  ‘Exactly. But if any of the girls goes missing, I will let you know.’

  ‘Thanks. I appreciate it.’ I took a drag on my cigarette, knowing I had to do something to keep the conversation alive if I was going to keep her here. ‘It seems ridiculous that these kids can just do exactly what they want when they’re so, you know, unequipped for life.’

  ‘It’s a debate we have constantly within the profession,’ she said. ‘It goes against the grain for many of us to take authoritarian measures, but sometimes I genuinely feel there’s no alternative. These children are vulnerable, they just don’t know it.’

  ‘It’s funny,’ I said, not wanting to lose the moment, ‘but when I was a kid, my mum used to tell me what a cruel world we lived in. She always said enjoy everything while you’re young, but be prepared, because when you get older you’ll see that there are a lot of bad people out there. And you know what? I never believed her.’

  ‘But you do now?’

  ‘Yeah, I do now. If anything, she was more right than she could have known.’

  ‘You’re beginning to strike me as the sensitive type, Mr Milne.’

  ‘I’m not quite sure whether I should take that as a compliment or not.’

  She thought about that for a moment, looking at me over her glass. ‘Take it as a compliment. It’s how it was intended.’

  ‘We’re not all fascist bullyboys, you know. Some of us are actually quite nice people – especially when we’re not at work.’

  ‘I don’t doubt it. And just because I’m in the profession I’m in, it doesn’t mean I’d automatically think you were all fascist bullyboys.’

  ‘But some of your colleagues do.’

  ‘Some of the younger ones do, yes. When I first joined social services, I was probably a lot more black and white in my view of the forces of law and order too. But that was a long time ago.’

  ‘Not that long, I’m sure,’ I said with mock chivalry.

  She smiled. ‘Now that I will definitely take as a compliment.’

  ‘It’s how it was intended.’

  She looked at her watch, then back at me. ‘I really ought to be going, Mr Milne. Time’s getting on, and I’m driving.’

  ‘Well, have one last drink with me. It’s a rule I’ve got that I always have to have a minimum of two drinks in every pub I go into. One drink means you’re in too much of a hurry.’

  ‘It’s an interesting theory. All right, then, I’ll have one more. But let me buy.’ She stood up. ‘Same again?’

  ‘Please.’

  I watched her as she walked across to the bar. She was wearing black high-heeled boots and she carried herself extremely well, moving with a grace I would normally associate with a model. Or maybe it was just me. I was already fully aware that I had the hots for her. I expect she knew it too, but it was only watching her then that I realized quite how much I wanted to rip her clothes off and make love to her on the spot. It had been close to six months since I’d last had sex so it wasn’t going to take a lot to get me going, and the last time had been no great success either. On that occasion it had been a woman DC from the station who’d been as drunk as me, so it was never going to be a match made in heaven. She’d been engaged to a lawyer from the CPS and I’d got so worn out that I’d had to fake an orgasm. Twice. Although I must have done something right because she’d wanted to see me again afterwards.

  This time, there was more than just a desire to have sex, although this came high on the list. I was attracted to Carla in a way I’m not used to. The last time I’d had a feeling like this was when I’d started going out with Danny’s sister, and that had been a long time back.

  She stayed for about another twenty minutes. I was desperate to go to the toilet for most of the conversation but held back, not wanting to give her an excuse to realize that she ought to be on her way home. We chatted about this and that, mainly to do with our respective jobs, and I found her an interesting and intelligent talker. She was single as well, which helped. Divorced with no kids, she said that most of the time she was married to her work. I told her I knew the feeling.

  I kept looking for an opportune moment to ask her out but one never came, or maybe it’s more accurate to say that my nerve let me down. I mean, she was a serious career woman with an air of authority about her more suited to a politician than to social services, and I was like a schoolboy in love for the first time with feelings that were more seventeen than thirty-seven.

  When she’d finished her drink, she stood up and offered me a hand to shake. ‘I really must be going, Mr Milne. It’s been very pleasant. It’s just a pity that the reason we’ve been brought together is so tragic.’

  I stood up and shook, squeezing her hand tightly. ‘Unfortunately, that’s the way it goes sometimes. Well, it was nice to talk to you, Ms Graham.’

  ‘You may as well call me Carla.’

  ‘Well then, I insist you call me Dennis.’ It sounded a really shite name when I said it like that. Really unsophisticated. Like Wayne, or Eric. For a moment I wondered why I’d never changed it to something better. Even Zeke would have been an improvement.

  She smiled. ‘Well, Dennis, I hope the investigation goes well.’

  That was my opportune moment, but I bottled it. ‘I’m sure it will. I’ll be in touch if there’s anything else we need. And obviously, as I said earlier–’

  ‘I’ll definitely let you know if any of the girls goes missing, but, as I told you, it does happen a lot, and there’s usually an innocent explanation, if I can use a word like that.’

  ‘Sure, I understand.’ I finished my drink. ‘Let me walk you to your car.’

  ‘There’s no need. It’s only parked round the corner. I’d offer you a lift but I’ve got a very early start.’

  ‘No problem, I understand.’ At least my bladder would thank me.

  I sat back down and she turned to go, then turned back again. ‘Oh, one last thing. Tell me, how did you get Anne to go back to the hostel?’

  ‘I bribed her.’

  ‘With what?’

  I felt a bit sheepish admitting what I’d done, but did it anyway. ‘I paid her to go back. I gave her some money in lieu of any earnings she would have got by staying out there.’

  I wasn’t sure if this would please her or not. Probably not. But, surprisingly, she looked at me with what I thought was a measure of respect. ‘You are a sensitive soul, Dennis.’ She smiled. ‘I’m almost certain it was a futile gesture. Girls like Anne aren’t going to be redeemed suddenly, but I appreciate your concern.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I said, and watched her as she disappeared out of the door.

  It was ten past nine and I was tired, a long way from home, and desperate for a piss. The evening’s events had at least given me some insight into the type of world these girls inhabited, and the type of people out there preying on them. But whether it helped move the case on or not, I wasn’t sure.

  13

  ‘We’re going to charge the pimp,’ Malik said excitedly as I walked into the incident room at a quarter to nine the next morning.

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nbsp; The place was buzzing, as is always the case when you’ve had a result, and most of the detectives who’d been involved were sitting about looking pretty pleased with themselves, although I couldn’t see Welland anywhere, and Knox wasn’t in his office. Charging Mark Wells and convicting him were two different things, of course, but it sounded like there was definitely room for a lot of optimism. Clearly there’d been some sort of significant breakthrough in the past few hours.

  ‘You missed all the action, Dennis,’ DS Capper said loudly. ‘Where were you?’ Capper was at his desk along with two of his DC cronies, one of whom was my last sexual conquest – if you can count two faked orgasms as a conquest.

  I stopped in front of them. ‘What happened, then? Did he confess?’

  ‘He will do. Now that we’ve got the shirt he was wearing when he killed her. Covered in her blood.’

  Capper looked far too self-satisfied for my liking. It was hard enough speaking to him when he was having a bad day, well nigh impossible when he was having a good one. I said to the room in general that it was a piece of very good news, smiled as if I’d just been told I had a really big cock, and sat down at my desk. Malik followed me and seated himself on the other side.

  I looked at him with surprise. ‘Shit, that all happened fast. When did you hear about it?’

  ‘I saw it on Teletext first thing this morning and came straight in. That was a couple of hours ago.’

  ‘Who found the shirt, then?’

  ‘We got a tip-off. Apparently one of Wells’s girls called in last night and said that Wells had admitted to her that he’d killed Miriam Fox and dumped the clothes nearby. They did another search of the area and found the shirt. It went off to forensics in the early hours of this morning. The preliminary tests show an exact match between the blood on the shirt and Miriam Fox’s blood.’

  ‘That was quick.’

  ‘Time’s of the essence, isn’t it? By lunchtime we’ll have already had him for twenty-four hours.’

  ‘So it’s not a done thing yet?’

  ‘No, but it looks like it’s going to go that way. It’s definitely the murderer’s shirt and we’ve got a good link between it and Wells.’

  ‘Who was the caller? Did she give a name?’

  Malik shook his head. ‘No, but you can’t blame her, can you? She’s not going to want any publicity.’

  I nodded slowly and lit a cigarette. It was a fair point.

  ‘What’s up, Sarge? You don’t look totally convinced.’

  I yawned. ‘Nah, I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep too well last night.’ I had a bit of a hangover as well. I’d left the pub shortly after Carla had gone but had stopped off at the Chinaman on the way home for a quick one. Unfortunately it had turned into a slow three. ‘You wouldn’t do an old man a favour, would you?’

  ‘That old man being you?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘What is it you want?’

  ‘A bacon sandwich and a nice cup of tea.’ He gave me a dirty look. ‘Please, Asif, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t an emergency.’

  ‘You’ve got to change your diet, Sarge. You eat nothing but crap.’

  ‘Well, get me an apple as well.’ I fished into the pocket of my suit and brought out two pound coins. ‘Please. Call it a personal favour. I won’t ask again, I promise.’

  He took the money reluctantly, checking that no-one was watching, and got up. ‘This is a one-off, Sarge. Remember that. It’s only because you look so bloody rough that I’m agreeing.’

  ‘Your pity will be rewarded,’ I told him piously.

  When he’d gone, I started to think about this new development. I hadn’t slept well because I’d been thinking about my conversation with Anne and the possibility that there was some sort of serial killer on the loose targeting underage prostitutes. It was a flight-of-fancy theory, really. Though they make ideal fictional villains and endless fodder for real-life documentaries, in reality serial killers are as rare as dinosaur turds. If there were more than two operating in this whole country of close to sixty million people at any one time, I’d be extremely surprised. But I suppose these things do occasionally happen, and if such a man was at work he’d picked the right sort of place and the right sort of victims to keep himself concealed. The only thing was, if Molly Hagger and any other girls had fallen victim to this man, where were the bodies? And why was Miriam Fox’s left in such an obvious location?

  These were the questions that had prevented me getting anywhere near the seven hours’ slumber I need to function at what passes for optimum efficiency. I’d even managed to incorporate Carla Graham into the various theories and trains of thought I’d tossed about my brain. In the better ones, I’d solve the case, find the killer (even going so far as catching him as he prepared to despatch his latest victim), get a promotion, and end up fucking Carla’s brains out.

  Fat chance. But at least a man can dream.

  The bacon sandwich tasted good anyway, and I was so hungry I even ate the apple down to the core.

  At 9.15, Knox came into the incident room with a very tired-looking Welland. Welland sat down immediately and it looked like he needed to. Knox, meanwhile, addressed the rest of us. ‘We’ve just told Mark Wells about the latest developments and once again he categorically denies any involvement, but, to use the old phrase, he would say that, wouldn’t he? He certainly looks far more worried than he has been. As we all know, he’s a cocky bastard, and he’s lost a lot of that now. We should get the rest of the results on the shirt later this morning and they’ll tell us whether it belongs to Wells or not, although from the way he’s behaving, I feel fairly certain it’s his.’

  ‘So we’re going to be knocking out the champers later, then?’ This was Capper.

  Knox smiled. ‘It’s far too early even to think about a celebration drink yet. We’ve done well, very well, and it’s been a team effort, but until you hear otherwise, it’s still business as usual.’

  He strode into his office, leaving Welland where he’d sat down. One of the women DCs asked Welland if he was all right. ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,’ he replied. ‘Just a bit under the weather.’ Someone suggested that he go home for the day, but he said he’d stick around and wait for Wells to be charged. ‘I want to see that bastard squirm,’ he said, with more vigour than I’d have thought his body would allow.

  ‘He looks terrible,’ said Malik quietly, turning to me.

  ‘Yeah, I know. He should take a few days off. He needs it. And the taxpayer owes him a break. He’s done a good job on behalf of society.’

  Not that anyone had ever thanked him for it; or any of us, for that matter. It may be that it’s not accurate to describe all coppers as unsung heroes, but neither is it fair to view them as the constant villains of the piece, which is usually the way we’re portrayed whenever we get a mention on the box. And Welland, more than most, was one of the good guys. He’d put his all into policework, so now he might as well take something back.

  ‘If I was him, I’d go for early retirement,’ said Malik.

  ‘If I was him, I’d have gone for it ten years ago.’

  He gave me a disbelieving smile. ‘No you wouldn’t. You enjoy the whole thing too much.’

  ‘Bullshit I do.’

  My phone rang and I had a sudden rush of adrenalin, hoping it was Carla. But if she was the person I most wanted to speak to, then the person on the other end of the line had to be one of those whose voice I least wanted to hear.

  ‘It’s a Jean Ashcroft for you, Mr Milne,’ said the civilian receptionist.

  Christ, what the hell did she want? ‘Thanks, can you put her through?’ There was a pause as she came on the line. ‘Hello, Jean. Long time no speak.’

  ‘Hello, Dennis. Look, I’m sorry to bother you…’ Her tone was strained, formal.

  ‘It’s no problem. No problem at all. What can I do?’

  ‘It’s Danny,’ she said. ‘I think he might be in trouble.’

  ‘What makes you say that?�
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  ‘Well he phoned me last night and, you know, he never normally phones me, so I knew something wasn’t right. He didn’t sound himself, Dennis. It was all very strange. I think he’d been drinking, or smoking something, and he was rambling, going on about changing his life, doing something different, saying that it was definitely time to make the break and go … and he said something about having saved up some money, a lot of money.’

  ‘Maybe he has.’

  ‘He doesn’t have a job, Dennis. He would never have been able to raise a lot of money,’ she stopped for a quick sniff, ‘unless he’s involved in something. You know, something criminal. That’s what I’m worried about. You know what he’s like. It would break my mum’s heart if anything happened to him again, especially after all that stuff before. And now with Dad gone.’

  ‘Look, I understand you’re worried about him. It’s only natural. And I know he’s had his brushes with the law, but he hasn’t been in trouble for a long time now.’ Malik was looking at me quizzically now, but I waved him away, intimating that it wasn’t business. Not police business, anyway. He stood up and walked off. ‘I don’t think you should let one drunken phone call get you too concerned. Seriously, Jean.’

  ‘You still see him sometimes, don’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, occasionally, but not as often as I’d like.’

  ‘You know, whenever we speak, which I know isn’t that often, but whenever we do, he always talks about you. I think he looks up to you. Would you do me a favour? Please. I understand what you’re saying about not getting too worried, but would you go round and see him, just to check things out? See that he’s OK.’

  This was all I needed. ‘I really think you’re worrying unduly. Danny’s no fool. He’s done his time. He won’t make the same mistake again.’

  ‘Please, Dennis. I’m sure you’re busy, but it would mean a lot if you could just check up on him.’