Cage of Bones

by Tania Carver

  64

  The Gardener was out again. And it felt good. No, better than that. It felt right.

  He had waited until the policeman had gone, then made his appearance. Because he had work to do.

  Oh yes.

  And he was looking forward to it.

  The sacrifice was being returned to him. All he had to do was go and pick it up.

  He walked to the stretch of road, waited in the agreed place. Up the hill by the park. Under a tree. No one would speak to him, or even look at him. He was a non-person. Just like Paul was. But the Gardener didn’t mind that. In fact, he liked it. Fed on the energy of it. People ignored him. But he was more powerful than any of them realised. He was only letting them live as they walked past because it was too much trouble to kill them. He had the power of life and death over all of them.

  If only they knew it.

  Today was going to be special. The sacrifice would be returned and the ceremony could begin. And the future of the Garden would be assured.

  Then another thought came into his head. And when it did, his heart felt like a sinking stone inside his chest. He sighed, whatever happiness, energy he had been feeling draining out of him.

  He had nowhere to perform the sacrifice.

  The house was gone. All his tools, his ritual with it. The cage… the cage was gone…

  But there was another. He smiled to himself. Felt the stone lift in his chest. An even more sacred space. He had never attempted to do a sacrifice there before. But it made sense. It was the perfect place.

  Perfect.

  He was still thinking, still planning when his lift arrived. The driver had a baseball cap on and his collar turned up, but the Gardener still recognised him. He got in beside him.

  The Portreeve didn’t look happy. He looked scared.

  The Gardener said nothing to him. Just waited until he pulled away, then yanked his hood up.

  Smelled the rich, loamy smell. Felt comforted by it. Charged.

  Beside him, he felt the Portreeve’s fear increase.

  Good.

  Good…

  65

  Phil pulled up at the hospital. Parked, went inside. Flashed his warrant card at reception, asked where the boy under police surveillance was. Ignored the double-take the receptionist gave to his clothing.

  He thanked her, went on his way.

  He walked down corridors, mentally following the instructions he’d been given. As he rounded the final corner, he was expecting to find Anni, but was greeted instead by DCI Glass.

  Phil stopped walking. His heart sank. ‘Afternoon, sir,’ he said, as neutrally as he could.

  Glass turned, about to say something in return, stopped. ‘What… what’s that?’

  Phil kept a smile off his face. ‘What’s what, sir?’

  Glass pointed at him. ‘That… that… What are you wearing?’

  ‘I think you can see what it is, sir.’ Phil again kept his voice neutral.

  ‘A… a bow tie. An officer of mine is wearing a bow tie.’ Glass shook his head.

  ‘You said I needed to smarten myself up, sir. I thought a tweed jacket and bow tie would do the trick. They’re very fashionable at the moment, I believe, sir. Very on trend.’

  Glass’s lips became thin, bloodless. ‘Are you taking the piss?’

  ‘Not at all, sir. It’s just the kind of thing that’ll play well in media briefings. The cameras’ll love it. Sir.’

  Glass’s face changed colour, deepened to an unattractive shade of heart-attack red. Well at least he’s in the right place, thought Phil. Glass moved in closer. No smile now, not even the pretence of one.

  ‘The cameras’ll love it, will they? The cameras’ll love it. No they won’t, Detective Inspector. No they won’t.’ His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. ‘Because you are going nowhere near a camera. You are going nowhere near a case in my department ever again. You are suspended from duty. Forthwith.’

  Phil felt anger rise within him. He knew the best thing to do would be to keep it contained, but he also knew that wasn’t an option. Not after what Glass had just said. ‘On what grounds?’

  A nasty smile smeared itself over Glass’s features. ‘I think that speaks for itself. Insubordination. Incompetence. Negligence. Not following correct procedures. How does that sound so far?’

  Phil stepped in close to Glass. The DCI flinched. ‘Bullshit and you know it. All I have to do is phone the Super at Chelmsford. He knows me. He’ll back me up.’

  ‘He’ll also want to preserve the chain of command. He’ll want to be seen to be following grievance procedure. He’s open to scrutiny as well. He has his own job to think about before yours.’

  ‘So that’s it, is it? I’m out.’

  ‘You most certainly are.’

  A smile flitted across Phil’s features. ‘Then since I’m no longer a police officer, you won’t mind if I do this.’ He pulled his arm back, ready to punch the DCI.

  Glass stood his ground, stared straight into Phil’s eyes. ‘I’d think twice before you do that, if I were you.’

  ‘Why? You’re no longer my superior officer, and I’m no longer on the case.’

  ‘I’m thinking of your safety, Detective Inspector.’

  ‘My safety?’

  ‘Yes. You hit me and I’ll fucking kill you.’

  His stare level, icy. Phil didn’t doubt the sincerity behind his words.

  ‘I’ve read your file, Brennan. I know you’ve got previous where this is concerned. I know you’ve struck your superiors before and got away with it. Well not this one. Hit me and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.’

  Phil stared at him.

  Glass smiled. ‘That’s better. Now run along home. The proper police have got work to do.’

  Phil felt suddenly ridiculous standing there in a bow tie, even more so with the rage he was feeling inside him. He wanted so much to punch Glass. So, so much.

  Glass laughed. ‘Don’t. Hit me, you go down. And you don’t get back up again.’

  Anni came round the corner, stopped dead when she saw the two men before her.

  ‘Boss? What… what’s happening?’

  Phil turned. Tried to speak. No words came out.

  ‘I’ve just relieved DI Brennan of his position,’ said Glass. ‘From now on, you answer directly to me, Detective Constable Hepburn. Clear?’

  Anni turned to Phil. ‘What the hell’s happened? Has he gone mental?’

  ‘Keep talking like that, DC Hepburn,’ said Glass, ‘and you’ll be next.’

  Anni stared at the DCI, then shook her head, restraining herself.

  Glass caught the look. ‘Just get him out of here,’ he said, turning and walking away, shoulders and back bunched with tension.

  Anni looked back at Phil. ‘And what are you wearing?’

  ‘A bow tie,’ he said, then sighed. ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’ Another sigh. He looked directly at Anni, turning his back on Glass, his voice a whisper. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me… ’

  Any kind of answer was cut short by a sound from the boy’s room. Phil knew immediately what it was. Not a car backfiring, he thought; that’s just a cliché. It was followed by a scream.

  He and Anni looked at each other.

  ‘Was that…?’

  ‘This way,’ said Anni. ‘Come on.’

  She ran round the corner, Phil following. The door to the boy’s room was open. Darkness inside.

  ‘I was only away for a couple of minutes,’ Anni said. ‘I left Jenny Swan, the psychologist, in there with him. He should be… ’

  She stopped talking as they entered the room. Jenny Swan was lying on the floor, unmoving. Blood pooling underneath her head. On the bed, the boy was backed up to the headboard, as far as he could go without burrowing into the wall behind him. Screaming. Screaming for his life.

  Before him, standing at the side of the bed, was a man Phil hadn’t seen before.

  The man realised he wasn’t alone, turn
ed.

  ‘Stay where you are,’ he shouted. ‘Don’t come any closer. I mean it… ’

  And that was when Phil saw the gun.

  66

  Mickey leaned back, fingers interlaced behind his head, stretched his body. Felt the pull of the muscles down his arms, his sides. He flexed, stretched again. Took a deep breath, let it go. Relaxed again.

  He hated paperwork. Loathed it. Despised it. Some people, Milhouse for one, were natural-born desk jockeys. They loved nothing better than sitting in front of a computer screen, trawling through virtual facts and figures in an unreal world, emerging with something real and concrete at the end. Mickey couldn’t do that. He was built for action. He hated to admit it, knew the admission made him sound like some musclebound thug, the kind that volunteered for riot-squad work, but it was the truth. Not the riot-squad stuff; he couldn’t stand the kind of officers that arm of the job attracted. Just the action element. Thief-taking. Catching criminals. That kind of thing. Proper police work. Not sitting here in front of a screen, getting eye strain.

  But he had found out some interesting things. He had to admit that. The time hadn’t been wasted.

  So that was something.

  And the office felt better when Glass wasn’t there. Mickey had had reservations about him before the chat outside. An instinctive distrust of the man. Or a dislike. For Mickey, the two things were often the same.

  But Glass’s words kept running around his mind. Was the DCI right? Had he allied himself too closely with Phil? Would it impact on his career? He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about things like that.

  He rubbed his eyes, looked again at the screen. Richard Shaw. Tricky Dicky. Hadn’t been so clever about hiding his paper trail as he thought he had. Certainly not if Mickey could find it.

  He rubbed his eyes again. Couldn’t stand another second looking at this screen. He needed to get out.

  Mickey smiled to himself, took his phone out. Perfect, he thought. Just the excuse.

  ‘I want to meet,’ he said by way of greeting. ‘Now.’

  Fifteen minutes later, he was on the footbridge overlooking Balkerne Hill. On one side was the old Roman wall bordering the town centre. The Hole in the Wall pub built into the corner. On the opposite side, the upmarket suburb of St Mary’s. Beneath him, traffic roared down the dual carriage-ways in and out of the town.

  ‘Hello, Stuart,’ he said.

  Stuart was already there, staring down at the road. He looked up as Mickey approached.

  ‘You know I don’t like meeting in broad daylight,’ he said, eyes darting round, checking for spies. ‘Especially not somewhere like this.’

  Mickey smiled. ‘Perfect place, Stuart. Beats hanging round in some back alley or the corner of a dodgy boozer. Up here… no one’s looking. You’re ignored. You’re safe.’

  Stuart, Mickey could tell, didn’t look convinced.

  ‘So what did you want to see me about?’ he said, a sigh of resignation in his voice.

  Mickey looked at him. Stuart had been an informant longer than Mickey had been in Colchester. He had provided information for the previous DS in MIS and had seemed perfectly happy to let the arrangement continue with his successor. Today he looked rough. But then, Mickey thought, he always looked rough.

  Stuart was tall and thin, and his black Cuban-heeled suede boots had seen much better days. Probably when John Lennon was divorcing Cynthia. His jeans were also black, drainpipe-cut, barely clinging to his drainpipe legs. A once-black T-shirt now gone grey, proclaiming the name of some band Stuart was keeping the faith for. One that had split up, re-formed, split up again and had three of its founder members die through various forms of self abuse. A black waistcoat and the same black leather jacket he always wore, so old it had come back into fashion at least three times without him noticing it. And his hair was a filthy nest of artificially blackened spikes. He looked old enough to have been a mod, but dressed as if the last tribe he had followed had been punk, and seemed to have lost the energy to reinvent himself since.

  He claimed to be a poet. Although Mickey had never heard of him having anything published. He claimed he used to be a rock star. Although no one could ever remember him doing any gigs or releasing any records. He had always endorsed the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll lifestyle. Well, the drugs at any rate, thought Mickey. Still, he seemed to know everyone in the area, some good, most bad, and had a knack of finding things out from circles Mickey could never get into.

  ‘Tricky Dicky Shaw,’ said Mickey.

  Stuart frowned. ‘Tricky Dicky Shaw… there’s a blast from the past… ’

  ‘His son’s been in town,’ said Mickey. ‘Calling himself Adam Weaver. Just been killed at the Halstead Manor Hotel.’

  ‘Heard about that,’ said Stuart. ‘Any idea who did it?’

  ‘I was going to ask you that.’

  ‘Oh. Right.’ He nodded. ‘Tricky Dicky Shaw… well I never… ’

  ‘D’you think you could have a bit of a nose-around? Find something out for me?’

  Stuart shrugged. ‘Sure. See what I can do.’ He screwed up his face again. Concentrating. ‘Adam Weaver… that name rings a bell.’

  ‘Good. Give you something to go on.’

  ‘When d’you want to hear something?’

  ‘When you’ve got something to tell me. Sooner rather than later would be good, though.’

  ‘Right you are, Mr Philips.’

  ‘OK. Call me when you’ve got something.’ Mickey turned to walk away. Stuart stopped him. Mickey turned.

  ‘Couldn’t give me a bit in advance, could you? On account?’

  Mickey sighed. He had been expecting this and come prepared, but it was a ritual he had to go through. He dug into his pocket, pulled out a tenner. ‘Here you go.’

  ‘Much appreciated, Mr Philips. Hey, have I ever told you you’ve got the same name as the guy who discovered Elvis and Johnny Cash?’

  ‘Only every time we meet, Stuart,’ said Mickey with a weary smile. ‘And it’s only the surname, as you know. Ring me when you’ve got something.’

  ‘Right you are.’

  Mickey walked off. It wasn’t a car chase, he reasoned, but it beat doing paperwork.

  67

  The Minories café was tucked away at the back of the art gallery of the same name at the top of East Hill, opposite the castle, in a sprawling Georgian building. With its stripped wooden floors and mismatched furniture, not to mention the huge cakes and quiches, it was a favourite lunch haunt of Marina’s. Now she was there with Don, because it was the place where they were least likely to come across police officers.

  They had taken a seat at one of the outdoor tables, the weather being just warm enough to allow it. They had sat as far away as possible from anyone else, mindful that they didn’t want anyone overhearing their conversation.

  Marina stared at her empty coffee mug, the dregs drying round the rim like geological strata, dating the time they had sat there. She blinked as if coming out of a trance, leaned back, looked round.

  The garden, with its odd assortment of architectural features, its archways and vaults dotted about seemingly at random, always reminded her of a mini Portmeirion. But she wasn’t noticing that now. She was taking in what Don had said, letting the words settle.

  ‘Oh my God… ’

  What he had told her had made the day fall away. It had been like hearing the most unreal and unfamiliar things in the most real and familiar of settings. That had just heightened the effect of what he had said.

  ‘Oh my God… ’ she said again. There were no other words to express what she had just heard.

  ‘I’m sorry you had to hear it like this,’ Don said, eyes on his own coffee mug. Not empty like Marina’s, since he had been doing most of the talking, but cold. Unwanted. ‘I’m sorry you had to hear it at all, really.’

  ‘No, no, it’s… ’ She shook her head. ‘Poor Phil… ’

  ‘I always knew I’d have to tell him one day
. Well, I thought I would. But I hoped it would never come to it.’ He leaned forward, placed his hand on hers. She left it there. ‘I certainly never imagined it would all come out this way. Never in a million years.’

  ‘I’ll bet.’

  ‘I thought all that was over. In the past.’ He sighed. ‘I wished it was.’ Shook his head. ‘I really… ’ Sighed again.

  Marina wanted a cigarette. She hadn’t smoked for years, not since she was a student trying to impress other students. But whenever she got stressed, she could feel the burning smoke being pulled down her throat, entering her lungs. Soothing her, comforting her. She knew the effect was imaginary, illusory, and had resisted it. But it was calling her now. More strongly than she had felt for years.

  Don sat back. Removed his hand from hers. ‘So anyway. Now you know.’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied blankly, not fully engaging with the words, ‘now I know. And it explains a lot.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Phil’s behaviour. He thinks he’s cracking up. Seeing things that aren’t there, being… I don’t know, haunted by ghosts he doesn’t understand. By ghosts he thinks don’t exist.’

  ‘Oh they exist all right,’ said Don. ‘They’re all too real.’

  ‘Poor Phil… ’ Marina shook her head.

  ‘The question I suppose I should ask,’ said Don, ‘is now that you know, what are you going to do about it?’

  ‘That’s one question,’ said Marina, ‘yes. Probably the most important question. But there’s another.’

  Don waited.

  ‘What does it mean for this case?’

  Another sigh from Don. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘That’s where this comes in… ’

  He took the stolen report from inside his jacket, laid it on the table before them. They both looked at it, Marina frowning.

  ‘I think we’d better get more coffee,’ said Don. ‘This might take some time.’

  68

  Mickey was back in the office, printing out copies of his findings on Richard Shaw, looking at his watch, thinking it would be time to go home after he had done that, when his phone rang.