The Principle of Evil: A Fast-Paced Serial Killer Thriller (DCI Claire Winters, Book 2)

by T. M. E. Walsh

  She threw herself at the door just as it caved in. He tried to wrestle the barrier away from her, and she opened her mouth, screaming to the point where she thought her lungs might burst.

  After a few hard shoves, he pushed the door aside from her grasp. She lashed out with the glass, catching him on the arm but no pain registered on his face.

  He kicked the glass from her hand, lunged forward and gripped her around the wrists. She tried to headbutt him, but he anticipated the move, and encircled her into his body.

  He pulled the rag from his trouser pocket and held it to her mouth and nose. It took seconds before she grew weak. Soon her arms fell down at her sides, her body slumping against his.

  He gently laid her down on the cold tiled floor and pulled her dressing gown back around her. He went to her bedroom, pulled her duvet from the bed, then went back to wrap it around her.

  He pulled her up under the shoulders and heaved her up over his shoulder. He went down the stairs, unlocked the front door, and stepped out into the snow.

  Sleet came down in an icy sheet in the night air, melting when it hit his face and clothes. He walked down her drive, out into the quiet street.

  Elsa’s house was in darkness across the road, and there were no street lights on tonight, one of the council’s money-saving ventures. Inside, he thanked them. It’d helped him and William on more than one occasion.

  He turned towards the white van he’d hired earlier in the day and laid Claire down in the back. He secured the back doors, climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He looked back behind him, at her body sprawled out in the back.

  He smiled.

  He put the van in gear and drove up towards the main road, unnoticed, just as before when he’d arrived earlier that day.

  CHAPTER 74

  3rd December

  It’d been nearly midnight by the time the taxi dropped them both home, and eager not to wake her daughter, Iris had discreetly let herself in and got ready for bed quietly in the en suite bathroom in the guest room.

  The light was out in Claire’s room and all was quiet. Given that the last few weeks had been erratic for her in terms of sleep, Iris had been silently grateful that Claire’s night had been undisturbed. She must be sleeping soundly.

  It was just after 8:30 a.m. when Iris woke – far later than she usually rose, but she was paying the price for the late night and the many G&Ts she and Elsa had been necking at the bar. She climbed out of bed and rummaged in her bag for some pills. She found an empty blister pack and grimaced.

  Putting on her dressing gown, she ventured out onto the landing and towards the main bathroom, too tired to notice the drops of dried blood she stepped in as she went.

  *

  Stefan tried Claire’s mobile several times before giving up and leaving a voicemail.

  He sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen, then craned his neck around the workstation to see Elias.

  ‘You heard from Claire this morning?’ Elias shook his head but didn’t look up from his screen. ‘That’s weird.’

  ‘What is?’ Elias said, still not looking. Stefan got up, wandered around and leaned up against Elias’s desk.

  ‘Claire’s not answering her mobile, and we’re supposed to be heading over to see Stephanie Curran, see if there’s any sign of her husband yet.’ He glanced at his watch again. ‘And we’re already running late. It’s just not like her.’

  ‘You saw her yesterday. She’s probably passed out from exhaustion.’ He looked up and saw Stefan’s face. Saw the concern. ‘Have you tried her landline?’ Stefan shook his head, scrolled through his phone book, then hit the Call button. The line rang for less than four seconds before it was answered.

  ‘Morning, Iris, is Cla–’ he broke off, his face changing. ‘Iris, calm down. Where’s Claire?’

  Elias saw Stefan’s face drop. He could hear what sounded like a hysterical woman on the other end of the line and he swung his chair around, propelling himself to his feet.

  ‘Where’s the Guv?’

  Stefan clasped his mobile tighter. ‘OK, Iris, here’s what I want you to do. I’m going to send officers around to the house. Do not disturb or touch anything else, leave everything as you found it. Just try to stay calm.’

  A few comforting words later, Stefan hung up.

  ‘Where’s Claire?’

  It took several seconds before Stefan could speak. His face had turned white and his eyes looked fearful.

  ‘We’ve got a serious problem.’

  CHAPTER 75

  ‘What do you want us to do?’

  Stefan was trying to keep his voice composed, but as he looked into Donahue’s eyes, he knew he was projecting anything but a sense of calm. Donahue’s jaw was set firm, his mind working over several things inside his head.

  ‘Officers are at Claire’s house now. The bathroom’s a mess. Door was kicked in and there are what looks like knife marks in the frame.’

  Donahue slammed his fist down on his desk in frustration, his eyes darting all over the place trying to make sense of it all. ‘How the hell did Iris miss this?’

  ‘You can’t blame Iris. She came home late, she didn’t want to disturb Claire, so she left the lights off and used the en suite in her bedroom. Claire’s room and the family bathroom are down the landing from Iris’s room.’

  ‘And she didn’t hear anything from Claire’s?’

  Stefan shook his head. ‘She said Claire’s been having disturbed nights lately. She didn’t want to disturb her.’

  ‘Fantastic,’ Donahue said to himself. ‘Is there anything useful, any clues about who took her?’

  ‘There’re several footprints on the bathroom door. They look like heavy-duty boots, maybe a size eleven, and there’re spots of blood dotted in the hall, living room and upstairs.’ Stefan paused. He dreaded the next few words that rushed around inside his head. ‘Someone got hurt, Cliff. Someone got cut.’

  Donahue’s eyes looked into Stefan’s and he felt his stomach knot.

  ‘I want someone questioning William Hatcher right now. That bastard knows who has her and where they are.’ Donahue then snapped his fingers, as if having an afterthought. ‘What about Mitchell Curran?’

  ‘Still trying to locate him, but we haven’t anything but circumstantial evidence on him.’

  ‘He was treating Hatcher… I want DS Crest to go to Focus Being and I want you on Hatcher.’ Stefan nodded, heading for the door.

  Donahue felt pain rising in his gut.

  This was different. One of their own was in trouble, maybe even dead. The thought of losing Claire was so gut-wrenching he could barely allow his mind to contemplate the idea.

  ‘It might not be hers,’ he said, just before Stefan shut the door after himself. Stefan turned to face him. ‘The blood, I mean,’ Donahue clarified, ‘it might not be Claire’s.’

  Stefan looked away. His voice was tight in his throat when he spoke. ‘We have to face the possibility that it might be.’

  CHAPTER 76

  It’d been two hours since Claire had been reported missing. Elias had left for Focus Being half an hour ago and said he’d be in touch if he had anything that could help them.

  Stefan was now finally sitting opposite William Hatcher in the custody suite interview room, hitting a brick wall, which he’d expected. The man’s big frame dwarfed Stefan’s even as he sat hunched over the table between them, his big hands clasped together. His hair was greasy, and his dark eyes held no light in them.

  His mouth was set in a permanent snarl and his eyes cast a dark look at Stefan, as he chewed his bottom lip. He blinked hard, then glanced over at the duty solicitor, Sally Braithwaite, sitting next to him.

  ‘You can help yourself by helping me, William. You know who has DCI Winters and where she’s been taken. There may even be a chance that Fallon Dockley is with her,’ Stefan said.

  Hatcher stared up at him, peering out from under his thick black eyelashes. ‘You can help them both, Wi
lliam,’ said DC Harper, who sat beside Stefan.

  Inside, Harper had very little faith that Hatcher would tell them anything. He felt bad for Stefan. He knew the bond he had with Claire was unmistakable. If he didn’t get her back in one piece… well, it didn’t bear thinking about.

  *

  Elias stood in front of Mitchell Curran, open-mouthed. ‘Where the hell have you been?’

  Mitchell shrugged, then smiled. ‘Here and there, Sergeant.’

  Stephanie was standing beside her husband, her brow furrowed. ‘I’ve been trying to get hold of you,’ she said, the tiredness showing in her voice. ‘Where have you been? This lot have been calling non-stop. What’s going on?’

  Elias ignored her and brought his face close to Mitchell’s. ‘I’d start talking if I were you. It doesn’t look good for you right now.’

  Mitchell laughed. ‘Are you going to arrest me? Please do. Then you can call my alibi and we can get this whole mess cleared up.’

  ‘Mitch,’ Stephanie sighed, running her hands through her hair. ‘Stop this.’

  He looked at his wife with disbelief. ‘You actually think I’ve got something to hide, don’t you?’

  Silence.

  ‘Jesus! You do, don’t you?’ He took a step back from her. ‘How long have we been married?’

  ‘I don’t know what to think.’ She paused and her body shook with frustration. ‘All this secrecy, all the hiding. Just tell me the truth.’

  Elias looked back at him. ‘Well?’

  Mitchell sighed. ‘I’ve been with Father Paul.’

  Elias stared at him. ‘A priest?’

  ‘Yes, Sergeant. A man who can vouch for my every move since William Hatcher was apprehended.’ He paused, wiped his face with his hand, then motioned towards Alice Hathaway’s office. ‘Can we do this somewhere else? I’ll explain everything, I promise.’

  CHAPTER 77

  Elias couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He took the contact details for Father Paul from Mitchell’s hand, his eyes narrowed.

  ‘You didn’t come forward because you, and I quote, “couldn’t get your head around it all and needed time before you could explain about William Hatcher”?’

  Mitchell shrugged. ‘Yes, something like that.’

  ‘I don’t believe this,’ Stephanie said.

  ‘I owe a duty of care and confidentiality to my clients,’ Mitchell protested. ‘I went to Father Paul for advice. With everything going on in the media, these deaths linked to the company, it could end us, Steph. Everything we’ve worked for, it’s all for nothing if it all comes out in the press. I was intending to come in and clear all this up with Chief Inspector Winters this morning.’

  Elias’s face grew dark. ‘Well, that’s not going to be possible, is it?’

  He explained Claire’s disappearance, watching the Currans’ reactions, not missing a trick.

  ‘I had nothing to do with her disappearance, Sergeant,’ Mitchell said.

  Elias cocked an eyebrow. ‘You sure about that?’ He leaned into Mitchell’s face. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lied to the police, Mr Curran. DCI Winters is in trouble. There must be something that links her kidnapper to this centre and you’re going to help me find it. I don’t care how long it takes.’

  Curran dropped his head into his hands, and spoke through gritted teeth. ‘This is ridiculous.’

  ‘What about this morning? Where were you?’

  Mitchell sighed.

  ‘I phoned ahead before I got here,’ Elias said. ‘The receptionist said you still hadn’t been seen. Then you mysteriously arrived here before I did. Normally if you know you’ll be late in, you have to report it to reception.’ He let the sentence hang. ‘Normally you do that. Today you didn’t.’

  Stephanie looked at her husband. Her brow furrowed. ‘Mitch?’

  Mitchell paused. He looked like a rabbit caught in headlights. The question had thrown him and he stuttered as he spoke.

  ‘I have no answer for that.’

  Stephanie broke in. ‘What’s going on? I just want someone to tell me the truth. I don’t care how bad it is.’

  Elias ignored her. He closed the distance between himself and Mitchell. ‘If you don’t know where DCI Winters is, then who does? Who has unrestricted access to all the patient files and databases?’

  ‘Christ! We’ve been over this already. Only myself and Alice, and I trust her completely.’

  Elias paused. He turned and looked out the glass panel in the door to Alice’s office. He eyed the woman on reception.

  A thought occurred to him. ‘Have any staff not turned up today?’

  *

  Elias approached the receptionist and she recoiled as he leaned over her desk.

  ‘Have any members of staff called in sick today, or not turned up?’

  The girl looked flustered, shaking her head. ‘No one’s called in sick.’ Her eyes widened when Mitchell and his wife appeared behind Elias.

  ‘What about not turning up? Is everyone accounted for?’

  The girl rifled through some papers, found the staff register and ran her fingers down the list of entries. ‘I think everyone’s here,’ the girl said, feeling her face flush under the sudden pressure.

  Mitchell looked behind her at the workstations back through to the admin office. His eyes ran over each person’s face until he found one empty desk.

  Realisation hit.

  Things fell into place.

  And suddenly, everything seemed to make sense in Mitchell’s head.

  CHAPTER 78

  Stefan made his excuses and took a break from the interview room, leaving Harper with Hatcher and the duty solicitor. He ran his hands down over his face, through the sweat that beaded on his brow.

  He took out his mobile. Elias had called him just seconds ago and left a voice message. Stefan listened to it. Elias had recorded just five words.

  It’s not Curran. Call me.

  ‘What’ve you found?’ Stefan said when he got through to Elias. ‘Has Curran finally turned up?’

  ‘I think we’ve been looking at the wrong person from the start. One of the employees hasn’t shown up for work today. Curran has tried his home number and can’t get through. Tried his mobile but it’s switched off. He started working in a more senior role, covering maternity leave. That started in October, not long before Nola Grant was killed.’

  Stefan’s head was reeling. Not Curran? Then who?

  Elias answered for him, as if he had read his mind. ‘The man’s name is Lucas Hall.’

  And then it happened.

  Stefan’s stomach rolled. His mind replayed flashbacks from his meeting with Claire, when she pretended they were a married couple. Every look Lucas had given her, every gesture, every smile, was now going through his mind in glorious Technicolor.

  It had been Joseph that had done most of the talking. Lucas had done all the observing he needed to. He never was shadowing Joseph. He’d always been observing Claire.

  ‘Shit, he sat with me and Claire when we were enquiring about what the centre had to offer.’

  Elias paused. ‘You’ve met him?’

  Stefan spun around and looked back at the door to interview room one. He ran his hand back through his hair while he debated what to do.

  *

  When Stefan came back into the interview room, Hatcher instantly knew something wasn’t right. His eyes flashed with fear and then his worst suspicions were confirmed when the detective didn’t pick up where he’d left off.

  Stefan looked at Hatcher, leaned across the table and said, ‘Who is Lucas Hall?’

  Hatcher shifted in his seat.

  Sally Braithwaite looked a little shell-shocked to say the least. Her eyes panned across between Stefan and Harper, then towards Hatcher.

  ‘Have you some new information I should know about, Inspector?’

  Stefan glanced at her, ignored the question and focused on Hatcher again. ‘You know Lucas, right? He works at Focus Being. You came
into contact with him several times, didn’t you? He’s the brains behind all of this, isn’t he, William?’

  Hatcher shuddered. His eyes remained locked with Stefan’s but he didn’t speak.

  ‘I need a word with my client, Inspector Fletcher.’

  ‘Whose idea was it all?’ Stefan continued. ‘It can’t have been you, you’re not bright enough to mastermind this whole thing. You were just the meat, the heavy. Isn’t that right?’

  Hatcher twitched.

  ‘How’d he pick them?’

  ‘Inspector Fletcher, I must insist–’

  ‘You were the monkey, William. The loose cannon.’

  Sally thumped the table in frustration. ‘Inspector Fletcher!’

  Harper looked at each one in turn, letting the scene unfold, not sure what the hell was going on.

  ‘He has DCI Winters, doesn’t he? You know where he’s taken her. He’s out there, while you’re in here taking the fall for everything.’

  Hatcher’s eyes grew angry.

  ‘You’re going to take the rap for him. Was that part of the deal? He made sure you took all the risks, made sure all roads led back to you. Did he convince you that you had to take all the blame?’ Stefan clicked his fingers in mid-air. ‘No! Maybe he told you if you kept quiet about him, he’d be back to help you out… Is that how it was, William? He’s left you in the shit though, you know that now, don’t you?’

  Hatcher’s hands clenched into fists on the table top.

  ‘Come on, William. It’s on the tip of your tongue, isn’t it?’

  Hatcher spoke. ‘No comment.’

  ‘Why let him do this to you? Did he make you? Tell you he’d see you right if you cut those girls?’

  ‘No comment.’

  ‘He’s got one of us now, William. You know that’s not going to go down well. You can help us.’