by Mel Sherratt
Eden stayed quiet. Oh, I think I am.
‘Look, this is all circumstantial evidence,’ Dinnen said. ‘If you haven’t got anything else to lay on the table then I expect you to release my client until you come up with it. We’ve been here—’
Eden interrupted him. ‘What size shoes do you take, Mr Daniels?’
Aiden paused, looking from her to Jordan and then back again. ‘I’m a ten.’
Eden nodded at Jordan and he pulled out a photo from his file. ‘Do you have a pair of boots like these?’
Aiden glanced at them. ‘No.’
‘You’re sure?’ Eden slid the image closer to him. ‘Here, take another look.’
Aiden sat forward and made a show of looking again. Then he pushed the image away. ‘I’m positive.’
‘Would you mind if we took a look in your brother’s house to make sure?’
‘Be my guest. You won’t find any because I don’t own any.’
As Jordan left the room to arrange a search of the property, the words of Ramona Wilson came to Eden’s mind. At this moment in time, she wanted nothing more than to cause Daniels the maximum amount of pain, but she knew they didn’t have enough to hold him. Sure, there would be enough for any detective TV show, but for the courts, nothing circumstantial would stick. They needed to dig deeper to find more.
Eden went back upstairs. Her phone went. It was Amy.
‘Nothing so far,’ Amy said. ‘We’ve checked his lockers at both sites and some of the cars he’s used.’
‘We’re going to search his property.’ Eden raised a hand in thanks as someone held the door open for her to go through. ‘Bloody Martin Dinnen, with his smarmy suit and his silly red socks, says we have to let him go if we can’t find anything. Daniels attacked these women just because he could, and that’s sick. We need those boots or he’ll be out on bail.’
Chapter Forty-Seven
With trepidation, Tanya walked up the path to her front door. After seeing Vic earlier in the week, she knew she shouldn’t be going home yet, but she needed to see familiar things around her for a while.
She knocked on the front door to see if he was in. If he was, then she would have time to leg it down the street and hopefully get out of sight before he caught up with her. She’d already texted him to ask where he was. He’d replied to say he was in town, which is why she’d got here pretty sharpish. She hoped to be in and out before he was back.
She knocked twice more and, when no one came to the door, she got out her key and went inside. The hallway was always dark, and she almost put her keys into the small bowl on the hall table: force of habit. Now she pocketed them and moved further into the house.
She wasn’t really sure what she’d come home for, except that she missed the place. It felt insane that she couldn’t be here. She went into the kitchen and looked through the window into the garden. No one there either. She shuddered. It felt like she was trespassing in her own property. If she got caught coming back, Vic would have something to say, but she had something to say too. Maybe she could talk to him. She’d done what she’d had to – surely two weeks was long enough?
‘What the fuck are you doing here?’
She jumped at the sound of a voice behind her. He was standing at the back door, and she knew by his face that he wasn’t in a welcoming mood. She ran to the front door, hoping to get past him, but he was too quick. He seized her by the waist and dragged her into the living room. She cried out as he threw her down on to the settee.
‘I told you to stay there for four weeks.’
‘But I hate it,’ she whined.
‘I don’t think you understand why you’ve been sent there. Do as you’re told.’
‘I don’t have to do what you tell me to do at all.’
Tanya regretted the words as soon as his hand swiped across her face. Wiping her mouth, she tasted blood. Her lip had split. As she looked up, his fist was clenched and coming at her.
‘No!’ She shielded her face with her arms as he raised it in the air. It hit her arm, stinging so much that she screamed.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back up on her feet. ‘You shouldn’t have come here. Now I have to teach you a lesson to make sure that you won’t come back again.’
‘I won’t! I promise.’ Her breath came in fits.
‘Damn right you won’t.’ He slammed her up against the wall and brought his forehead down on hers.
Tanya saw lights before her eyes, and she groaned. Dizziness washed over her as he moved his head back, and she thought he was going to do it again. Dark eyes glared at her. She tried to escape them by looking at the floor, but he squeezed her chin hard.
‘You will go back to the refuge, and not a word of this. Tell them you were attacked. There’s a man on the loose grabbing women. You were walking home and someone hit you, but you managed to escape.’
‘They won’t believe me.’ Tanya winced as the pain in her head intensified.
‘I don’t care. All I want is you back in there. Do you understand?’
Tanya nodded as best she could. Although she didn’t want to be part of this any more, she was in too deep. It wasn’t right what she was doing, anyway. She was a despicable person, putting other people’s lives in danger.
Maybe she should come clean to someone at the refuge. But looking at him now, standing in front of her, she knew if she didn’t do as he said, he would carry out his threats.
‘Now get back there and finish what we started.’
He grabbed her arm tightly and marched her to the front door. Opening it, he pushed her out. She managed to stay on her feet, but she couldn’t see where she was going. Already her eyes were beginning to swell from the force of the blow to the bridge of her nose.
How could he do that to her? He was an evil bastard.
As soon as she was able, she was leaving Stockleigh. Leaving for good and never coming back. She wasn’t going to stay loyal to anyone any more. Look where it got her.
Tanya staggered to the front gate and out on to the pavement. She’d have to go back to the refuge first. Yes, that’s what she would do. And while she was being looked after, she could still do what she had come to do.
Because as much as she didn’t want to play by his rules, by breaking them, she’d put herself in more danger.
Chapter Forty-Eight
At the refuge, Tanya ran sobbing into the hallway. Lisa was in the kitchen and came rushing out to her before she could get up the stairs to her room.
‘Tanya! What’s happened?’ she cried.
‘Vic attacked me again.’ Tanya looked down at the floor. She couldn’t say it was the man who was on the loose because it would lead to too many questions and she was bound to slip up.
‘When was this?’
‘I was over by the shops,’ she lied, ‘and he ran over to me. He made me go home with him, and then he did this. But I managed to get away. I’m so scared. What am I going to do?’
‘We need to call the police,’ said Lisa, reaching for her mobile phone. ‘He can’t keep getting away with this.’
‘No!’ Tanya cried. ‘You can’t, or else he’ll come after me again.’
‘He’ll come after you regardless unless you do something to stop him!’
‘No, please.’ Tanya began to sob. ‘Let me sort it out.’
‘Let’s sit you down in the kitchen,’ Lisa urged her. ‘At least I can tend to your injuries. You’re covered in blood.’
Carla had come through from the living room. ‘Oh no. Did Vic do that to you?’
‘Yes,’ Tanya muttered before sitting down at the kitchen table.
‘But going back with him after what he did to you on Monday?’ queried Lisa as she took a clean cloth from the drawer and ran it under the tap.
‘I didn’t have a choice.’ Tanya looked up at them. ‘I don’t feel safe here either.’
‘If the refuge isn’t safe for you, we can try to find another one that is,’ said Carla. ‘You’d h
ave to move from Stockleigh, but I think your safety is far more important.’
Tanya shook her head. ‘I’m not leaving.’
‘But think about what he’s capable of doing. If he does this now,’ Carla pointed to the bruising around Tanya’s face, ‘think what he might do if he completely loses control.’
‘He doesn’t mean to harm me.’
Lisa sat down beside her and took Tanya’s hands in her own. ‘Don’t back down to him again,’ she said. ‘Please, let us help.’
Tanya nodded and then lowered her eyes.
Lisa couldn’t be sure Tanya was telling the truth, but she didn’t want to push her. The woman had been through enough trauma.
‘I have to stay here in Harold Street, don’t I?’ Tanya said.
‘I think it’s for the best,’ said Lisa.
Tanya nodded. ‘I think I’ll go to my room now.’
‘Will she be okay?’ Carla asked once Tanya had left, a worried look on her face.
Lisa shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I have a feeling there’s something she isn’t telling us.’ She shrugged. ‘We all have secrets. Perhaps she’ll speak to you at your next session.’
Chapter Forty-Nine
Having found no boots at the house where Daniels was staying, they’d had to release him on bail while they waited on further forensics to come back. They hadn’t even found his notebook, if there was one at all. It was frustrating being so close but equally if the evidence didn’t stack up, there was no case to answer.
So, it was bittersweet when Eden received a phone call later that evening. She almost fell off her chair in her rush to speak to Sean.
‘I’ve just had a call from Doreen, the receptionist at EveryDay Taxis,’ she said, stopping in front of his desk, a little breathless with excitement. ‘Although there was nothing found in Daniels’ locker, or in the immediate vicinity, they kept looking around. She’s found a pair of boots wrapped in a black bag and shoved behind some old piping in the store room.’
‘Get uniform to pick them up and send them off for soil analysis,’ said Sean. ‘Great work, Eden.’
He looked up as she came out of the building. He dipped his head as she glanced his way before getting into her car, even though he was sure she wouldn’t notice him from where he stood.
He heard the click of the remote control – watched as she opened the door and got in. His final glance before he could look no more saw her checking herself out in the rear-view mirror, moving stray hair from her face, before starting the engine. He knew she would be driving away, so he moved out of view.
As she drove off in the opposite direction, he was tempted to follow her, but he knew better. It was a sure-fire way of her seeing him. Best to stay inconspicuous for as long as possible.
But he was finding it harder and harder to stay away from her.
Chapter Fifty
Carla was rushing around the house in search of her car keys. It was nearly 8.30 a.m. and she was going to be late for her morning session at work if she didn’t get a move on. Where were they? Spotting them underneath a mailshot leaflet advertising two pizzas for ten pounds, she grabbed for them, plus her jacket, and finally she was on her way.
She marched down the path, glancing upwards to see a bright blue sky, not a cloud in sight. It had been unseasonably warm for the beginning of February, with clear skies and no frost for the past three days.
As she drew level with her car, she stopped in her tracks. An envelope had been slid underneath one of the windscreen wipers. It was large and padded and had her name written in black capital letters. There was nothing else on it. She looked up and down the street but there was no one near. Workmen sat in a van outside a property several houses down. An old man stood on the doorstep. A young woman across from her waved as she popped her baby into its pushchair.
Carla waved back as she walked slowly to her car. She removed the envelope and, with another quick glance up and down the street, got into her car with it and locked the door. She turned it over and over in her hands, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. There was no return address and no postage. The postman hadn’t dropped it. Someone had left it there deliberately. Someone had been outside her house again while she slept.
It could just be one of the neighbours, she supposed. She’d been asked to join the neighbourhood watch lately. Perhaps it was a handful of leaflets.
Then she realised how stupid that idea was. Who in their right mind would leave them on her car?
Her hands shook, making it hard for her to tear the envelope open. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to look inside, but she had to know what was in it.
She put a hand inside, gasping as it fell on material, silky to the touch. She pulled the contents out and, with a shudder of revulsion, threw them on to the passenger seat.
It was a lacy red bra and knickers. Their significance wasn’t wasted on her. Ryan had found her, and he wanted her to know.
Images of him pushing her face to the wall and banging it over and over came rushing to her mind. Fists thumping, feet kicking, hands grabbing hair. She fought back tears as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.
Overcome by nausea, she opened the car door and vomited into the gutter. Just the thought of him knowing, again, where she was proved too much. She had anticipated he would find her but still it shocked her. She didn’t want to leave Stockleigh.
Quickly, she locked up her car and went back inside. Rushing around the house, she checked all the doors and windows were secure. She rang Lisa and told her she’d be late for work as she was sick. She wasn’t lying, as she raced to the toilet to vomit again.
Upstairs, she grabbed the rounders bat and sat on the bed with her back to the wall. She had to be prepared for him coming after her, although she wasn’t sure she would ever be ready. What would it be like to see him close up again, after nine years, and feel his anger as he squeezed the life out of her?
She closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the images that kept on surfacing.
Then she jumped off the bed. Until her nerves had calmed, she’d feel safer with people at the refuge.
Chapter Fifty-One
At the school gates, Melody Dixon bent down and gave the little boy standing in front of her a hug.
‘Don’t forget what I said to you this morning, Reece,’ she said, wiping a hand across his forehead. ‘If nasty Dale Worthington says anything rude to you again, you must tell Miss Armstrong. You mustn’t repeat what he’s said to anyone else, do you hear?’
Reece Dixon nodded his head vehemently. Melody kissed him on the cheek before standing up again. The morning bell went and she watched him run into the throng of children going into the school building. Melody sighed. A bit of peace and quiet was what she needed to get her head round things.
As she started the ten-minute walk back home, she thought of what she was going to do. She’d seen an advert in the window over at Shop&Save for women to help with Stockleigh Women Achieving Potential. Despite her young years and her terrible choice in men, she was a good mum, so she’d decided to look into helping out with young children. It was a huge step, but she was willing to take it. She was bored at home and she had a few hours a day she could spare. Volunteering would look good on a CV for when Reece was in junior school alongside Nathaniel, and she could perhaps get a decent job.
Her thoughts turned to what she’d have to do next as she let herself into the house. Going through into the kitchen, she sat her phone down on the worktop, flicked on the kettle and opened the post that had been on her doormat. Really? Her Visa bill was due to be paid again? With dread, she opened the envelope and sighed heavily. How could she have run up that much debt in just under four weeks? She’d have to cut up her card.
Her head turned as a flash of light caught her eye. There was glass on the floor. She moved towards the glass and the utility room at the back of the house. A shiver ran down her spine.
The small window had been broken. The larger window was open wide �
� and large enough for someone to climb through. She walked backwards slowly, grabbing her phone.
She heard another noise. It came from upstairs. There was someone in the house. She rushed to the front door, phone to her ear.
‘Hi, Dad, only me. I’ve had a break-in, and I think there might be someone in the—’
Her hand touched the door handle. Steps thundered behind her and she was pulled back by her hair. She screamed as she was dragged upwards, her feet grappling to keep her upright.
At the top of the stairs she held on to the bannister, but the grip around her waist intensified as she was pulled backwards. She tried to look behind her to see who it was, but all she saw was black.
She screamed again as a fist pummelled at her fingers until she released them. The door to her bedroom was kicked open, and she was thrown on to the bed. Her attacker had olive skin and deep blue eyes, dark hair curling from underneath a black woollen hat.
‘No!’ she cried. Scrambling up the bed, she tried to get away. But his hands were on her. He grabbed her around the waist again and turned her round. In seconds he was straddling her, pulling at her clothes. She slapped at him, squirming under his touch.
The first punch dazed her. He had her shirt up and hands on her before she realised what was happening. She tried to fight him off again.
The second punch hurt really badly, but she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Her hand reached out, desperate to find something to hit him with. As he ripped at her clothes, her fingers clasped her alarm clock. It was small, but in her fist was more of a weapon. If she could just lift it up.
She smacked him across the side of the head, but his hat buffered the force.
He sat still for a moment. She could hear him catching his breath, see his eyes turn darker. Trying to memorise everything about his face, again she tried to push him off, her flailing hands catching him a few times.