by Mel Sherratt
‘Please, no.’ The woman began to shake.
‘We can’t be certain,’ Eden said truthfully, not wanting to alarm her.
Eden left the scene shortly after with Jordan.
‘It’s horrendous, isn’t it?’ she said, as she walked down the driveway towards the patrol car. ‘I can’t believe how anyone can be so barbaric.’ Just as she was about to get in the driver’s seat, a movement caught her eye. There was a taxi at the end of the road. The engine started up and as it drew away from the kerb, the logo of EveryDay Taxis came into view.
Eden looked at Jordan. ‘Did you just—’
‘The bastard is watching us!’
They got into the car. Jordan contacted the control room while Eden raced away.
‘All units. Suspect wanted for the attempted murder of Melody Dixon – taxi has been spotted driving out of Princess Drive and on to Stockleigh Way. We’re in pursuit.’
‘Why is he goading us?’ Eden banged her hand on the steering wheel as she waited for a car to get out of their way.
‘He’s not going to stop, is he, Sarge?’ Jordan replied, hanging on to the door handle.
‘Possibly not, but he’d better not take anyone else down with him.’ Eden put her foot down a little more, easing the car as quickly as she could through the traffic.
‘Suspect has turned in to Stanton Street,’ Jordan continued his running commentary to the control room.
A sharp left and the taxi was in front of them. A few minutes later, it veered off into the Horse and Hound car park and they pulled in behind it. Eden got out of the car, leaving the door open, and followed after Jordan who was already in pursuit.
‘Stop! Police!’ she cried.
Jordan grabbed Daniels’ foot as he was about to jump over the fence but lost his grip when Daniels kicked out. He reached for him again, crying out when the heel of Daniels’ boot connected with his shoulder and he disappeared over the fence. Jordan went after him.
Eden raced back to the car. She unlocked the boot and searched for what she needed. She found pepper spray, her baton and a torch, slammed the boot shut and ran after Jordan. She pulled herself up the fence and hurled herself over. There was a field at the back so she landed on grass, her hands breaking her fall. It was pitch black where she was, lights far away in the distance, but she knew the area well. There was a path up ahead that was used by dog walkers that took you straight through the heart of the city for over five miles. She switched on her torch and ran towards it.
She could hear more sirens as she ran along the path, waving her torch around.
‘Jordan?’ she shouted but there was no answer.
Daniels could have gone in any direction, and it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack in the dark. At least if a helicopter could be scrambled, they could locate him by body heat. She pressed on regardless.
After a minute of running, she stopped. She couldn’t see a thing that wasn’t lit up by the beam of torchlight. Slowly she turned around in a full circle, relief washing over her when she saw emergency lights flashing, heard doors slamming shut and footsteps.
A shadow crossed in front of her. Before she could react, she felt pain erupt in her jaw as a fist connected with her face. Eden dropped the torch and baton in surprise when she was grabbed around the neck.
‘Your turn now, bitch,’ Daniels whispered in her ear.
Eden thought back to all the times she had wondered why women would freeze in these situations, why some wouldn’t fight back. She had never condemned anyone for not fighting. But that wasn’t in her nature. She balled her hand up into a fist and smashed it against the arm that was around her torso. Again and again. She could hear him breathing in her ear, but he had the advantage as he pulled her backwards.
He pushed her to the ground and sat astride her. ‘I haven’t got time to do what I want to you, but I do have time to do this.’ Aiden punched her in the face. ‘You never give up, do you?’
Eden groaned, struggling to push him off as pain engulfed her. His hands were around her neck, squeezing hard. She gasped, trying to drag in air as he shut off her airway, and her arms flailed, trying to push him away. But he was too strong for her to gain any ground. Her only hope was that her colleagues would arrive quickly enough.
But then, as she choked, she remembered she wasn’t unarmed, and her hand went to her pocket, searching… and landed on the pepper spray. Thinking of all the women he’d attacked, she let her anger take over, pulling it up and squirting it in his eyes.
He let go of her immediately, and she gasped for air. They both rolled around on the ground. Torchlights bobbed up and down as someone ran towards them.
Daniels was screaming obscenities. She could just about make out his form in the dark, how he was rubbing his eyes. Seeing her opportunity, she sat up and scrambled over to him. Then she punched him in the stomach. As he doubled over, she followed it with an uppercut.
‘Eden!’ Jordan pulled her away, dragging her to her feet. ‘It’s me. Stop. It’s all over.’
Daniels was pushed over on to his stomach and handcuffed by two uniformed officers. Jordan wrapped his arms around Eden and held her close until she felt safe enough to buckle.
They had him.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
‘Hello, darling,’ Ryan said, the smile on his face anything but friendly. In two strides, he was across the room and in front of Carla.
He hadn’t changed much since she’d last seen him. At the graveside, she had been able to see his physique but now it was even clearer that he’d kept himself fit. There were lines on his thin face and his hairline had receded a little, dark hair greying around the roots. But for his years, he still had that charm she had fallen for when she was nineteen, and the swagger that would trick a woman into trusting him.
His fist lashed out at her face, and she crumpled in a heap on the floor. Behind him, Tanya ran to the door but he took a step back and stopped her with a backhander. She stood in the corner of the room, holding her face.
‘Leave me alone,’ she cried. ‘I’ve done enough for you.’
‘On the contrary,’ said Ryan. ‘You haven’t done enough, and I told you what would happen if you didn’t do as you were told.’
Carla watched in horror as Ryan laid into Tanya. The sound of his boot as it crashed into her stomach, the noise of his fists pummelling her body, made her retch. In fear for Tanya’s life, she hurled herself at him.
‘Leave her alone!’ she cried, grabbing his arm. But he shoved her with so much force that she stumbled backwards, falling and hitting her head on the wall. Dazed, she tried to get up again, alarm him, shake him out of his frenzy. Because, if she didn’t, he would kill Tanya. She knew what he was capable of.
She pushed herself up with the help of the coffee table and reached for a glass bowl sitting on top. With all her strength, she threw it at the wall opposite. It smashed, sending pieces shattering with a bang.
Ryan stopped, foot in mid-air and turned to her.
‘Ah, diversionary tactic.’ He grinned, a manic look in his eyes that she recognised.
‘You’re going to kill her,’ she said.
‘You’re right,’ he replied. He kicked Tanya in the stomach again. ‘That’s my intention.’
Spent from his attack, Ryan stood catching his breath. Carla could see that Tanya was out cold. She hadn’t meant for that to happen! Was she breathing? She wasn’t moving at all.
Ryan sat down on the settee and took out a handkerchief. Carla scrambled to the corner of the room, fearing she would be next. But he sat still as he wiped Tanya’s blood from his hands. The room was deathly quiet, the metallic tang of the attack in the air.
‘Have you any idea what I’ve been through? Nine years of hell.’
‘You killed Chloe,’ she said, tasting blood in her mouth. She wiped at her lip with her hand.
‘It was your fault! If you had just stayed in line, I wouldn’t have had to punish you. You always made me so angry. I
couldn’t trust you to do anything right. You couldn’t even look after our daughter properly.’
Carla wanted to scream at him, needed to say it was nothing to do with her. Wanted to say it was all his fault – that he was a lunatic and didn’t see how he had done anything wrong. She wished she had the courage to call him a murdering bastard but she didn’t.
‘Why didn’t you just come after me?’ she sobbed, her lip beginning to swell where he’d hit her. ‘You kept tabs on me. You knew where I was. Why involve Tanya?’
‘I met Vic in prison and we hatched a plan, and we needed her. He got out a month after me. So while I waited for him, I kept an eye on you. I’ve been cooped up for years with a bunch of men, some of whom put the fear of God in me. It was your fault that I attacked her.’ He pointed at Tanya. ‘But I’m no psychopath. Look at me now, sitting here all nice and having a conversation with you.’
He was deluded. Carla knew that now. She had got away from him once. She had to do it again. But to do that she would have to play him at his own game.
‘I came back because you told everyone that I killed Chloe,’ he continued, ‘and you know that isn’t true. You lied! You just used anything to get rid of me. And now you have to pay for that.’
Carla watched a vein pulse in his temple and hoped she hadn’t upset him too much, too early. Memories of the court case came flooding back to her. She’d had to tell the truth, and she wouldn’t have done anything other than that. Even after the prosecution accused her of fabricating her story to get back at Ryan because this was the first time it had been mentioned, she still told the truth. It had been her time to have her say.
Tanya coughed.
Carla almost cried out. She was alive! For now at least. . .
Ryan lunged for Carla, grabbing her by the hair. ‘You need to see something.’
Pain seared her scalp as he pulled her through the hall, opened the kitchen door and pushed her through. She fell to her knees. Lying next to her was a man. There was blood all over the floor, seeping through a wound in his stomach. A knife lay beside him, the blade bloody.
Carla screamed. It was the same man who had been in her garden, who had stared at her through the window in the kitchen door. Dead, on her kitchen floor.
‘That’s Vic, your friend Tanya’s fella,’ Ryan said. ‘He got too big for his boots. The same thing will happen to you if you don’t do as you’re told and keep quiet.’
Ryan came towards her. She cowered as he gripped her arm, reached behind her and drew out a bucket.
‘Here, you might need this.’ He thrust it at her. ‘There’s two bottles of water inside. I wasn’t expecting company.’
He pulled her out of the kitchen and back into the living room, where he pushed her forcefully on to the floor.
‘Wait!’ Carla turned to face him. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m holding you prisoner.’ He pointed to the door. ‘I’ll be in the kitchen. If you make a noise, I will come at you. If you try to get out, I will beat you until you wished you hadn’t. If you try to attack me, I will kill your friend.’
‘No.’ Her voice came out quieter than she had intended.
‘Piss in the bucket or piss yourself. See how you like it.’
‘But what about Tanya? She needs help!’
As quickly as she could, Carla scrambled to her feet. But Ryan had closed the door before she could follow him. She heard a bolt being drawn across and a sob escaped her. He hadn’t even needed to tie their hands because he knew she wouldn’t dare retaliate.
How long had he been planning this? He must have been watching her for some time, learning her work routine, and had come into the house to prepare it once she had left that morning. He could have scuppered his plans by sending the underwear, as she might have left there and then. Instead, she had gone to seek refuge with her friends. What a fool she’d been to come back to the house.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Carla ran to the door, pushed the handle down and pulled as hard as she could. There was no way she could get the door open but she had to try until she was convinced otherwise. Her arms ached as she pulled. Defeated, she banged the palm of her hand on the wood.
Tanya groaned, awake but groggy.
Carla dropped to her side and rested her hand on Tanya’s chest. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’ve been better.’
Carla almost laughed at her reply.
Tanya tried to sit up, wincing as she pressed a hand to her eye. ‘Has he gone?’
Carla shook her head. ‘He’s in the kitchen.’
‘Can we creep out?’
‘I don’t think so.’ Carla shivered as she recalled his threatening words, the menace in his eyes. ‘He’s taken our phones.’
‘So we’re trapped?’
‘For now. Let’s look after you first and then see what we can do.’
A bang from outside the room made them jump. Tanya clung on to Carla. They sat with their backs to the walls.
‘Where are you hurt?’
‘Everywhere. I think he’s broken my ribs. It’s painful to breathe.’
As Tanya began to shake, Carla checked her over as best she could. Two fingers on her left hand seemed to be broken where he must have struck her with his boot. With her sleeve, she carefully wiped the blood from Tanya’s nose and lips. There didn’t seem to be anything more than bruising, although she couldn’t be sure. But it was Tanya’s breathing that was giving her the most concern, and the gurgling sound that was coming from her chest. She needed medical help as soon as possible.
She glanced around the room. Ryan had removed anything she could use as a weapon. There were locks on the uPVC windows and she knew the last time she had checked, they had been secure. And though she wanted to bang on the window to alert anyone passing, she didn’t have the courage. She had Tanya to think about. Even if she was spotted, she’d have to make some noise and he would come in the room. After the state he had left them in, as well as Vic, she didn’t doubt he would carry out his threat. She’d just have to bide her time.
‘What happened between you and Ryan?’ Tanya’s voice came out raspy.
Carla still found it painful to talk about the night in question, but she needed to explain all of the lies Ryan had told.
‘I’d had years of violence at his hands, but one night he lashed out at our daughter. She came to my defence when he was attacking me one night. He blamed me when she died. Stupidly, I stayed with him afterwards – well, you know how that is. And then he tried to kill me.’
‘No.’ Tanya’s voice was raspy.
‘He left me for dead. I survived, and he went to prison. And now he’s punishing me for it.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ said Tanya, determined to speak even though Carla could see she was in pain. ‘I didn’t want anything to do with it, but Vic forced me. He said it was easy money. But then when I got to know you, I realised how nice you were and. . . I thought he might have been lying, but I was scared, and. . .’
‘It’s okay,’ Carla said softly. ‘It’s going to be okay.’
Tanya tried to nod. ‘My chest hurts so much.’
‘We’ll be out of here in no time,’ Carla soothed, knowing she was lying. Ryan would be taking great pleasure in seeing them suffer. He’d string it out for as long as he could. Then what? She didn’t want to think about what he had planned.
Chapter Sixty
Eden’s eye was throbbing where Daniels had punched her. She’d felt the swelling worsening during the hours that she’d stayed on after Daniels’ arrest but she hadn’t said anything, as she knew Sean would send her home. Daniels was in a cell and they were waiting for a solicitor to turn up before they could interview him.
By 8.30 p.m., it was too noticeable, and she’d been told someone would drive her home. But she was determined to get there by herself.
Jordan walked her down to the car park.
‘Are you sure you’ll be okay, Sarge?’ he aske
d as he held the car door open for her.
Eden tried to smile but it hurt too much. ‘Thanks, but I’ll be fine.’
‘You did take quite a blow there. If I—’
She put up a hand. She heard him sigh.
‘Well, if you’re sure. I’ll ring you later, see how you are.’
Eden nodded, thankful that she didn’t have to argue with him. She should stay off, but she wanted to be there to get everything wrapped up with Daniels.
She almost jumped at her own reflection in the hall mirror when she let herself into the house. Her eye was a mess; her lip too, with a split that she didn’t dare touch. Although she’d seen off Daniels herself, she knew things could have turned very nasty if her colleagues hadn’t arrived in time. A man obsessed with getting power and inflicting pain as much as Daniels had been wouldn’t have been floored for long. But at least now he would be behind bars for a very long time.
A tear dripped down her face as she thought of how lucky she had been. She might have acted all hard once she was back at the station, but she was certain she would go to pieces soon. Luckily, Casey was staying at Laura’s so at least she’d be able to have a good cry in the shower. But first, a large drink to calm her nerves.
She couldn’t believe how much had happened today, but it was the same whenever they were working a case. It left a bitter taste in her mouth that they hadn’t caught Daniels before he had attacked Melody Dixon, but at least he wasn’t going to be hurting anyone else.
After she’d knocked back a whiskey, she went through to the kitchen and flicked on the kettle. While she waited for it to boil, she slipped into the garage. Over in the corner, her scooter sat covered in a protective sheet. She pulled it off and, once she had a coffee, she sat on it.
She often came to sit on the Lambretta when she had things on her mind. It was associated with happy times, memories, friends, and it always soothed her. But this time she was angry. How could Danny ever think she would sell it? How could he even ask her to do that? He knew how much it meant to her. She wouldn’t part with it for anything.