There was a firm “no” from James as Mairead went to get up and she had to be content to say her goodbyes from the couch, while he walked them out. On his return, he bent over to give her a stern gaze as he held her chin.
“I don’t care what’s happening around us, you are still to care for yourself properly, and that includes eating when I’m not around. If I catch you starving yourself again, young lady, you’re going to have that paddle applied to your bare bottom before every meal for the next week. Is that understood?”
“Yes, James.”
It was hard to look penitent and keep the smile from her face when he looked so handsome, stern and sexy. Mairead felt guilty for lying to him about the cause of her sickness, but it was news that could wait for a while. Besides, she still had to get a test to confirm it.
A smile worked across his face. “It’s bloody good to see you, baby.” He kissed her and frowned again. “Now every bit of that eaten, or else.”
She happily obeyed, surprised to find a good feed settled her stomach and lifted her spirits. It was only later that she felt anxious again, when they were both ready to talk about their ordeals.
“How awful was it?” Mairead asked.
James grinned. “It wasn’t the most comfortable accommodation, but I’ve been in worse places.”
“But it’s not over, is it?”
“I honestly don’t know,” He looked up at her. “Mairead, they were asking about Dylan.”
“I know. They asked me about him too and I told them he was just a friend of ours.”
“Yes, but they seemed to think he’s involved in this, and…” He studied her with a much harder gaze. “They also seem to think that you know something I don’t.”
Mairead breathed deeply. “Only because I did some research on Brendan North. I was always going to tell you, sometime after you had finished roasting my backside, but then Dylan arrived, and…”
“So what else did you know about him?”
She knew the time had come to tell him everything, starting with the men who had followed her and Esther, through to her talk with Dylan about his strange history and Mary Whittaker.
James sat next to her, silently listening and showing little expression other than a frown. “And you didn’t think I had a right to know all this, before they arrested me?”
“That’s not how it was.”
He smirked. “The trouble is, Mairead, I know that behind everything you do is a reason that seems right to you at the time. You actually don’t do anything out of malice. It wouldn’t have even occurred to you that you’ve involved us in something we may not be able to walk away from.”
Mairead frowned at the reproach in his tone. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t believe this.” James breathed deeply, clearly struggling to retain his anger.
“Believe what?”
“The sheer scale of what you’ve told me. Of course, everything else makes sense now.” He stood up and paced, shaking his head. “I need some time to work out whatever the hell we’re going to do.”
“About what?”
“About Dylan.”
She frowned. “What about Dylan?”
“Mairead.” James glared at her. “Adele’s parents are dead and Adele is missing. Brendan North has been beaten near to death. Do I really need to spell it out?”
She shook her head. “No, I know what you’re getting at. You’re saying that Dylan has done this, but I don’t believe that, any more than I believe you assaulted Brendan.”
“Then give me one other person who is even remotely connected.” James voice had risen. “Give me one other fucking name.”
“I can’t, but that doesn’t mean we just put it all on Dylan and hand him over.”
James sighed. “Mairead, I know you care for him, but right now you have to be reasonable and look at the facts. Brendan was going to expose him, and yes, Adele was most likely behind that, but now she’s missing and her parents are dead, and only one man we know has the motive and capability of doing that. If we don’t speak up now, we become accessories to fucking murder.”
Mairead got up, shaking her head. “No. I hate what happened to you, and what’s happened to Adele, but that doesn’t change by turning Dylan in.”
“For god’s sake, Mairead, are you so bloody naïve?” James stepped in front of her, barring her way as she went to walk out. “And where the hell do your loyalties lie, with him or with me?”
“What?” She stared at him, and then forced her way past him and headed to the kitchen.
James came after her. “Mairead, we are going to talk about this whether you like it or not.”
She drank back a glass of water and turned to him. “Okay, let’s talk, but if you’re going to be angry with me, be angry for the right fucking reasons. I’m sorry if it bothers you that I believe Dylan to be innocent, but that doesn’t make me wrong or naive for that matter.”
“No,” he agreed angrily. “That just makes your loyalties divided in Dylan’s favour. Maybe if you had told me about those men in the car, and the truth about Brendan…”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference,” she fired back at him. “You had gone to the club when Dylan filled in the blanks, and then when you did come home, that was the last thing on my mind. Maybe if you had told me the truth of what happened to you, instead of confiding in Vanessa, I might have remembered to tell you.”
“I was trying not to scare you.”
“I had a right to know. I’m your wife, and yet, once again, the moment you have a problem you turn to Vanessa instead of me, so don’t talk to me about holding things back.”
“It was late, and you’d been through enough. Of course if I had known about Dylan…”
“I’m a big girl, James. I’m devastated over what you suffered, and over what’s happened to Adele, but Dylan didn’t do it.”
“You’re defending a man you know nothing about.”
“No, I’m defending a man who saved my life.”
James breathed out. “I know you think you owe him, but people have been murdered and the only person that connects them all is Dylan.”
“I asked him,” Mairead insisted. “I asked him if he’d killed Mary and he denied it.”
James walked about shaking his head in frustration, before turning back to her angrily. “Have you since asked him about Adele’s parents?”
“No. I can’t get in contact with him.”
“What?” James laughed bitterly and shook his head. “And that doesn’t make you just a little suspicious?”
“No,” she replied. “It just means it’s not safe to communicate.”
“So tell me this, Mairead,” James said quietly, staring at her. “Are you prepared to gamble the next twenty years in prison for both of us, because of your trust? Because, if he has gone and we don’t come forward now, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
“I need to sit down again.” As her legs began to shake, Mairead returned to the lounge and sat down on the arm of the couch. “You’re asking me to betray him, and I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for Dylan. You’re asking me to save our necks at the cost of another person’s life.”
“We just have to put his name forward. We don’t have a choice and if he’s innocent, then they’ll find that out.”
Mairead smirked bitterly. “You don’t believe that any more than I do.”
“What would you have me do, Mairead? Say nothing and watch you get locked away, that’s if I don’t end up back in prison first?”
“How do you know that won’t happen anyway? We’re already guilty by association. I was the one who had a gripe with Adele, and I gave Brendan’s details to Dylan, but that was after you had gone to the club.” She gazed towards James in desperation. “Don’t you see? He didn’t know about Brendan before you told him.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Yes, we do, because that’s why Dylan came here. He wanted to know what I knew, otherwi
se he would have gone straight after Brendan, and he certainly wouldn’t have set you up to take the blame. Please, James.” Mairead grasped his arms. “I understand what you’re telling me, the hell we could be facing, but think about it. Dylan is our friend. He would never do that to you. Why would he set you up, when he could have just killed Brendan quietly, made him disappear, and no one would have known, especially the only people in the world who could point the finger in his direction? You and me. Someone wanted this to happen, and you’re about to betray the only person in the world who might be able to get us out of this mess. Please, James, please hear my logic.”
James was about to answer, when he suddenly bristled and seized hold of her. Mairead cried out as he pushed her back behind him, maintaining his steel grip on her arm. She was stunned and tried to wrench her arm away, when she saw the cause of his behaviour.
A large man stood silently in their lounge room doorway, clad in black from head to foot with a ski mask hiding his face. Mairead watched as he pulled it from his head.
“She’s right, James,” Dylan said. “You would be making one hell of mistake by turning me in.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Several people stood at the yellow tape cordoning off a large section of the manicured gardens behind the embassy. Cooper lifted it enough to duck under and walk towards another group gathered outside a small shed.
She saw Semyon among uniformed guards, police and plainclothes personnel. He saw her approach and ambled towards her.
“Senior Detective Cooper,” he smiled sadly. “I didn’t believe we would be seeing each other so soon and under such dreadful circumstances.”
“What can you tell me about it?”
“The gardener found him in the shed, a few hours ago. The shock and distress of such a sight has since claimed another victim. The poor man suffered a fatal heart attack, soon after he had informed us.”
Cooper gaped at him. “The gardener died?”
“Yes,” Semyon nodded. “He was quite frail, but the strongest of us have not been unaffected by what we’ve seen. It is truly hideous and I caution you before you venture on.”
“I’ll take that on board,” she said.
Continuing on, she was met by Tobias. His face was white and he was shaking his head.
“You’re going to need a strong stomach for this one, Lizzie.”
“So I’ve been told. You want to give me a summary?”
“Yep. We got a Caucasian male, at a rough guess of about thirty years, but could possibly be any age. His head has been beaten to a pulp, the face caved right in and no sign of any teeth left behind. His hands have been cut off and most of the skin of his torso has been burnt off, most likely with a gas axe.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, the smell in there is pretty bad, so get your wits about you.”
Cooper frowned. “So the mutilation was carried out in the shed?”
“Yeah. Hopefully, it was post mortem, but the burning definitely took place in the shed. One whiff will tell you that.”
“So is there anything left to identify him?”
“A DNA match, maybe, but I think we’ll be clutching at straws.”
“Any embassy personnel missing?”
“All present and accounted for, except for the poor bastard that found him.”
“Yeah, I heard he keeled over.”
“Yeah, cardiac arrest. The Colonel saw him come into the embassy early this morning, barely able to speak and just pointing out to the shed. He went out, saw the body, came back and took the old boy into his office. Not long after that he collapsed. One of the staff rushed him to the hospital but he was dead on arrival.”
“Witnesses?”
“Only the Colonel. Others came running when he started yelling out for someone to help him. Fuck, Lizzie, we got one vicious thug on our hands. If he’s the one who’s got Adele Easton, I’d fucking hate to be in her shoes.”
“Yeah.” A chill went through her. “The crime scene at Tyler’s address was pretty bad too. That poor old man didn’t have the luxury of dying from a heart attack straight away. Garrotted and near decapitated with wire and there were severe burns to his genitals, most likely inflicted by a Taser.”
“Christ. What type of fucking psychopath are we dealing with?”
“The worst kind. The kind of man who could torture an old man that he obviously knew well. If he wanted to start cleaning up his tracks, why fucking torture him? Why not just kill him? What possible harm could this man have done to him to suffer like he did?”
“Easy, Lizzie.” Collins patted her shoulder. “I think we’re all going to need counselling after this. Right now, let’s just concentrate on catching the fucking prick.”
Cooper nodded. “Right, let’s look at this body.”
Collin’s warning had been accurate. The acrid scent of burnt flesh violently invaded Cooper’s nostrils before she had stepped into the shed. Thankfully, the forensic team had much of it cordoned off and she could only stand at the door to inspect the gruesome scene. A lifeless, charred form was lying naked on the concrete floor in the far corner. A small, dark red halo had soaked into the concrete around what was left of a head and the steel walls were speckled with blood and flesh.
A fully suited and masked pathologist approached and began to explain the scene.
“You’ve got a pipe wrench over there with blood and bone fragments and a gas axe that’s responsible for the lovely aroma.” He pointed to another object nearby. “The hatchet was used to remove the hands, which are missing.”
Cooper moved her hand away from her face enough to speak. “I expected a lot more blood.”
“Yeah, but it appears the guy was killed elsewhere, at a rough guess around nine pm. The mutilations took place here and appears to have been done in the last four hours.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Cooper frowned. “Our perp kills the man, brings his body to the embassy and then waits for several hours, before he decides to mangle the rest of him?”
“Yeah, it’s weird. At one stage it appears the body was propped up. There are deep marks around the neck.” He pointed to some wire hanging open around a steel post of the exposed frame. “That’s what did the damage, but the wire was cut. It’s as if the killer put him on display and then changed his mind. Must have had an afterthought that we could link the victim to him through his identity. The guy had tattoos, but nothing that’s distinguishable now.”
“So how much time between the mutilations and discovery?”
“Couldn’t have been much more than a couple of hours.”
“So the gardener must have just about tripped over the killer. Maybe he heard him disfiguring the body or even saw him.”
“Well he isn’t about to tell us anything.”
Cooper nodded soberly. “So have we got any evidence that might tell us something?”
“Not yet. We had some boot marks on the gravel out there, but they match that Russian officer’s boots. There were signs that the gravel had been raked over. We have a very careful killer.”
“Yeah,” Cooper smirked. “One who knew enough not to leave any evidence, but only had a last minute afterthought that maybe he should hide this guy’s identity?”
The pathologist chuckled. “That’s why you’re the cop. We give you the clues and you try to make sense of it.”
Cooper stared at the body. None of it made sense.
* * * * *
With the curtains drawn, Mairead returned and set a glass of water down in front of Dylan. He mumbled his thanks as she took her seat next to James and rested her hand in the crook of his arm. She could feel the tension in him, and knew he was still wired and assessing the situation, not taking his eyes from Dylan for a moment. She had a feeling his compliance was due to his uncertainty about their safety.
His first question was quietly hostile. “How the fuck did you get in?”
Dylan smirked. “I installed your security system and locks don’t ofte
n keep me out. I’m sorry I had to invade your privacy, but I could hardly knock on your door.”
“So what do you want?”
“You want answers and I’m here to give you what I can.” He looked at Mairead and then shifted his gaze to James. “After what you’ve been through, I don’t blame you for not trusting me.”
“I suppose if you wanted us dead, we would be.”
“The only threat I am to you, is with the one that’s coming after me.”
Mairead quickly spoke up. “Do you know what has happened to Adele and her parents?”
“Yes, and no, I didn’t kill them.”
“Then who did?” James demanded. “What the hell are we caught up in?”
“My past. It seems Adele has been digging around in it. Unfortunately, she dug a little too deep and opened a hellhole.”
James breathed out slowly. “So how do we close it again or is that not possible?”
“For you, yes. For me, no. My only concern now is for Tammy and Esther, and that you and Mairead are not embroiled any further. The wrongs done to you will be corrected within a few days. Once the girls are safe, I plan to turn myself in.”
“No.” Mairead shook her head. “You haven’t done anything, and if Barry Underhill can be killed in prison, then you aren’t even safe there.”
“Dylan,” James interrupted. “Who are these people after you?”
“Bratva.”
James eyes widened and he sat back. Mairead looked at both of them. “What’s Bratva?”
“Brotherhood,” James replied. “Russian mafia.”
“In New Zealand?” She almost laughed, but stopped as she saw the seriousness in their faces. She frowned at Dylan. “Are you Russian?”
No,” he replied. “I’m Ukrainian born, raised in Thailand and then spent my adolescence in the Soviet Union and what is now the Russian Federation.”
Mairead was beginning to regret not paying more attention to history and geography. “So were you in the mafia?”
Dylan became tight-lipped, until he breathed heavily. “Yes, for a while.”
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