Deep Fear

by Deep Fear (retail) (epub)

  ‘Wendy, just sit tight. I’m coming. I’ll be there as soon as I can, and I’ll explain everything.’

  Matt put his phone down and went upstairs to speak to Charlie. She was fourteen and they often left her with the younger children. But this was different.

  ‘Dad,’ she said quietly. The other two were in bed.

  ‘Charlie, your gran is on her own, and I need to go and see her.’ Charlie looked at him, panicking at first, but then she steeled herself and nodded.

  ‘I’ll be ok, Dad. Will you call me if…?’ She stopped. He went to her and gave her a hug, even she wasn’t too old for that. She sniffed. She had an iPhone and an iPad, and her friends talked. She knew exactly what was going on in the news.

  ‘Lock the doors. Where’s your phone?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s here,’ she said, picking it up.

  ‘Right, don’t let it out of your sight, and don’t answer the door.’

  ‘I know the rules, Dad,’ she said.

  * * *

  Wendy opened the door and Matt thought she’d aged dramatically since Nikki had gone missing. She stood back to let him in and he stepped into the lounge. He helped her back to her bed, and busied himself with plumping pillows and checking her water jug. It gave him something to do, somebody to look after and fill his mind with other things apart from his wife and the mother of his kids.

  The whole way over to her house, he’d mulled over in his head what he was going to tell her. He tried to work out what Nikki would tell her mother. He wasn’t sure he knew, so he did what he thought was best: he skirted the issue and they watched the news.

  * * *

  There was a flurry of movement behind the reporter, and she held her earpiece.

  ‘The police have entered the property! We can tell you, exclusively, that several armed police have entered the property here on Redgill estate in Penrith. Will the weeks of expectation come to an end here tonight? The house is suspected to hold Amy Richmond and Detective Inspector Kelly Porter of the Cumbria Constabulary. It is believed that Ms Porter was handling the case of The Teacher.’ At this point, the hashtag #TheTeacher appeared in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

  ‘Why are they doing that?’ Wendy asked.

  ‘Oh, it’s Twitter, Mam. People all over the country are talking about it on social media.’

  ‘What’s Twitter?’

  Matt laughed and squeezed her hand: a reprieve to all the madness. He wished he didn’t know what Twitter was either. How lovely that would be.

  ‘We have reason to believe now that the nurse, Amy Richmond, is the prime suspect in the case of the murder of four women here in Cumbria. Questions are being asked about the constabulary looking for a man during the whole enquiry, when all along they were searching for a woman, and a nurse at that. Here with us now, is a criminal psychologist who believes that it’s an easy assumption to make,’ said the reporter. The screen panned out to a small man with glasses, and he looked at the reporter. He was interviewed about various techniques and beliefs that flew over the heads of Wendy and Matt, and probably the rest of the population too.

  ‘That’s absolute rubbish!’ said Wendy. ‘Of course the nurse didn’t do that! How can they say that, Matt?’

  ‘I don’t know, Mam,’ he replied.

  The camera turned back to the reporter, and the screen changed to stock pictures of the four spots where the bodies had been found. Matt rolled his eyes. He wanted to know what was happening inside the house. Clearly the press didn’t have a clue.

  The camera quickly went back to the live scene on the Redgill estate, and the reporter paused and held her earpiece.

  ‘It’s unclear at the moment what’s happening inside the property, and about the whereabouts of Detective Inspector Kelly Porter. We are being told that there is also a third person at the property. We’ll keep you updated as we get more information, live, here in Penrith, outside the home of Amy Richmond, the prime suspect in the murder of four women – a case that police thought centred round a man all along. Back to the studio.’

  Wendy looked at Matt and she held on to his arm. Her eyes widened and he didn’t know what to say. He looked at her, but he couldn’t help her, he had no answers.

  His phone rang.

  It was Charlie.

  Chapter 65

  Kelly put Amy’s phone back on the counter and froze. There was another scream, and she ran to the door. She took the key from her pocket.

  ‘Nikki!’ Kelly screamed through the door.

  ‘Kelly!’ Nikki replied.

  Kelly had no idea what she was about to find on the other side of the door, but she had no time to consider it. Whatever Amy’s plan was, she had to confront it head on. Now she knew for sure that Nikki was here, and that she was alive, and it was what she’d been waiting for all along. Now Amy Richmond was expendable. She was no longer useful.

  The reason Kelly had agreed to go with her in the first place had just expired. And she was pissed off.

  She unlocked the door and opened it.

  ‘Kelly!’ Nikki screamed again.

  Her eyes darted around, expecting to be set upon by Amy, but the assault never came. The room was darker even than the hall, but Kelly’s eyes began to adjust, and she saw Amy standing next to a bed. She had her arms folded: Kelly had seen the pose so many times, thinking it innocuous. Not today.

  She was smiling and this worried Kelly because it smacked of confidence, and the only thing that Amy wanted to be confident about right now was that she was well and truly in control. Kelly wondered how that might be, and she kept looking around for clues.

  ‘It’s over, Amy,’ Kelly said quietly. ‘Nikki, you’re going to be fine. Don’t struggle. You’re going to be alright, isn’t that right, Amy?’

  Kelly’s eyes adjusted even more and she walked to the bed very slowly. She could see that her sister was naked and she clenched her fists. A table was laid out near the bed. On it sat various items of surgical equipment. Kelly held her breath. She had no plan, no idea what her next move might be. Worse, she didn’t know what Amy’s next move would be either.

  Sirens could be heard in the distance. Kelly decided to try to distract Amy. She tried her hardest not to look at her sister’s body. Even now, she wanted to preserve her sister’s dignity, if she had any left. She had no idea what Nikki had been through so far. She took another step towards the bed.

  ‘You shouldn’t have come back to Penrith, Amy. You could have been miles away by now, in another country perhaps,’ Kelly said.

  ‘I couldn’t miss the end, Kelly. Are you going to watch?’

  Kelly’s heart began to beat faster, and she looked around for something with which to attack. The sirens were deafening now, blue lights squeezing through gaps under doors and around windows, as if they were surrounded by some sort of weird disco nightmare. The light danced on Nikki, but Kelly couldn’t work out if she was injured. She looked alright – apart from the terror in her eyes – but she needed to be sure.

  ‘Nikki, are you hurt?’

  ‘Shut up, Kelly. You need to stop doing that, or I’ll make sure you suffer when your time comes. It’s not in my nature to be mean, but you’re winding me up the wrong way.’

  ‘A lot of people seem to do that, Amy. You’re quite touchy, aren’t you? What did Albert do to you? Or was it your mother? Of course it was a woman who did despicable things to you, that’s why you have done it back to them.’

  ‘Shut up!’

  Amy took a step towards the bed and Nikki struggled.

  The loudspeaker startled them both.

  ‘This is the police! The property is surrounded. We require you to come out peacefully, or we will enter with force. I repeat, we will enter using force…’

  More sirens whirred and Kelly wondered how many vehicles Cane had got authorised. It buoyed her: they stood a chance of getting out of here alive.

  ‘Oh dear. Time’s up, I’m afraid,’ said Amy, who turned around and picked up a kn
ife.

  Kelly had never fought anyone carrying a knife before, but she knew the dangers. She’d trained for it, but never encountered the real thing. Not even in London. Most have-a-go thugs who carried knives had no idea how to use them properly. But Amy Richmond did.

  ‘Don’t do that!’ Kelly shouted.

  She was out of ideas: not that she’d had any anyway. Nikki screamed and started to thrash about. Amy raised a knife and Kelly launched at her. Amy must have weighed twice as much as her, but the nurse went flying. Kelly didn’t hear a clatter of metal and so she surmised that the nurse still carried the weapon. Amy crashed against the table and fell over on to the floor, but she was up in under two seconds. She launched at Kelly, who side-stepped her. The nurse was quick and spun round to launch another attack.

  Kelly moved away in time.

  They glared at one another.

  Killer Amy was back. Nikki began to cry.

  ‘That bed is three feet away and you’re five feet away. I can get this into her chest before you can get to me,’ Amy said. Her smile was other-worldly.

  They heard the sound of breaking wood and glass, and Kelly seized the moment. She barged at Amy, head down, and took her round the waist. Amy pulled back her arm as she was falling backwards, with Kelly on top of her. She brought the knife down and it connected. Kelly squealed in pain, but she butted her elbow in Amy’s face and was up before the nurse. At last, the nurse’s bulk was going against her. Kelly kicked the nurse’s arm and the knife flew out of her hand. Amy flung herself at Kelly’s legs and tackled her. Kelly went down with a thump. She wriggled her legs as fast and lithely as she could, and got free. But Amy wasn’t done. She ran to the table and picked up a smaller knife. She turned round towards Nikki.

  Kelly ran as fast as she could and jumped into the air and kicked Amy’s back with both feet. Amy landed on Nikki and brought her hand up.

  ‘No!’ shouted Kelly. Amy brought her hand down but she missed. Kelly got hold of her hair and pulled with all her strength. Amy punched her in the guts and Kelly was fully winded. She could barely breathe, never mind move. In a slow motion fog, Kelly saw Amy stand up and smile at her, while at the same time, pull the knife above her head.

  ‘In here!’ whispered Kelly, unable to do anything else. She threw her weight in one mighty force around the trunk of her body and managed to kneel up. She made one last attempt to block Amy’s path, and then she heard lots of voices and banging, and shouting fill the room.

  Guns pointed at Amy and, for a moment, Kelly thought she was going to stab her sister anyway, and be blown away in the process. But instead, she held the knife out and smiled broadly.

  ‘Don’t move!’ the officer nearest shouted.

  Kelly still lay on the bed, on top of her sister. Amy was stood beside them. For a moment, Kelly thought Amy might still have a go.

  ‘Identify yourself!’

  Kelly’s throat burned and her ribs screamed in pain. Nikki was frozen in shock.

  ‘DI Porter.’ Kelly managed to rasp. She crawled to the bed. She had no interest in what happened to Amy Richmond from here on in. Nikki was in shock and breathing erratically.

  ‘We need a medic!’ The officer spoke into his radio and another made the arrest. Amy Richmond was cuffed and taken out of the room escorted by four officers. Three more remained and one asked Kelly if she was alright. She nodded. ‘I don’t know about my sister. Could you please take off your jacket so I can at least get her covered up,’ Kelly asked. The officer stood down his weapon and took off his jacket. Kelly covered her sister and looked for something with which to cut her restraints, but as she did so, she noticed a large stain underneath her that was steadily getting bigger.

  As Amy Richmond was driven away from the scene, she looked out of the window and smiled for the cameras. Editors up and down the country salivated at the journalistic gold before them: a female serial killer, and one who loved the limelight. It was a dream combination. Twitter hits on #TheTeacher around the world reached ninety million, and psychologists, neurologists, psychiatrists and all sorts of self-styled ‘experts’ came forward to give their opinion on how a woman could turn into a monster. New hashtags began: #AmyEvil, #Deathpenalty, and #savekellyporter were the most popular.

  Inside number fourteen Portland Walk, Redgill, South End, medics worked quietly. Officers manned the doorway, and tents were erected between the front of the house and waiting ambulances. Emma Hide allowed Johnny to wait just outside the house. Umshaw had already gone in.

  ‘Where’s DI Porter?’ she asked. The officer nodded in the direction of the room at the back of the house, and Emma looked at Johnny.

  ‘Wait here. I’ll be out soon. I promise.’

  Johnny ran his hands through his hair and thought about rushing past the young detective and finding out for himself, but he’d cost her her job, for the sake of waiting perhaps a minute. He nodded.

  She went in.

  A stream of light shone from a single window that had been opened, and the evening glow made the scene look eerie. Medics surrounded a bed and a figure on it was hooked up to various IVs, but Emma could tell that she was lifeless, perhaps unconscious. Next to her, holding her hand, was Kelly, and next to her, Kate Umshaw. Kelly was being attended to by a medic and winced as something was pressed into her side.

  ‘You have to get into the ambulance now,’ Kate said sternly to Kelly, who didn’t want to leave her sister. She turned round.

  ‘I’ll stay with your sister, I won’t leave her, I promise,’ she said. Kelly stood up and walked slowly to the door. She’d refused a wheelchair; smiling weakly at Emma.

  ‘Boss, your friend, Johnny – the one you called – he’s outside.’

  Kelly made it to the door, but faltered, and the medic ordered a stretcher. Kelly looked round at the bed one last time, before she lay down on the portable bed. She was wheeled out, and before she was outside, she passed out.

  Emma made sure that Johnny Frietze was the one to accompany her to the hospital. She wished there was an alternative to The Penrith and Lakes.

  Chapter 66

  Kelly was in theatre for four hours. When she came round, she stared into the faces of Johnny and her mother. She focused, still groggy, and tried to speak. Wendy was in a wheelchair and she was pulled up to her daughter’s bedside as close as she could get.

  ‘Shhh,’ she said. Kelly’s eyes closed again.

  * * *

  Next time she woke up, she felt better but very hungry. Wendy was still there, holding her hand. And she saw Johnny standing behind her mother, thinking it was a dream.

  ‘Chicken,’ Kelly said. Wendy looked behind herself at Johnny, who shrugged. ‘I’ll go,’ he said. But first, he came to the bed and kissed Kelly on her lips. Wendy Porter smiled.

  ‘What day is it?’ Kelly asked.

  ‘It’s Sunday. You came in here yesterday, in the early hours.’

  ‘Nikki…’ Kelly said to her mother.

  ‘Ok. It’s ok. I know. I know. Johnny stayed with me the whole time. You did everything you could, Kelly. I’m so proud of you,’ she said.

  ‘But I…’ Kelly said, trying to get up. She fell back in pain.

  ‘You’ve had surgery, Kelly. You need to rest,’ Wendy said.

  ‘I saw…’

  ‘I know. Rest now. I’ll wake you up with chicken.’

  ‘Mum?’

  ‘Yes, darling?’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘I love you, Kelly.’

  ‘I love you, too.’

  Epilogue

  They were on the summit of Scafell Pike. It was their tenth Wainwright in three weeks.

  Wastwater shimmered to the south west, and it snaked round to the left and disappeared into the distance. In the opposite direction, Great Gable stood tall and commanding, the most reliable of them all: its inoffensive dome giving it the air of a teddy bear’s belly. To the south east, they could even make out Windermere.

  Kelly sat very still and turned
her face to the autumn sun. It was her highest and longest climb since the summer and she felt good. She felt strong. The doctors had told her to listen to her body, and that she’d know when she was ready. Johnny sat next to her but didn’t speak. He looked southwards to see if he could make out Coniston Old Man. Kelly looked at him. Josie was coming to stay, and she was nervous. They were only sharing dinner together, Kelly wouldn’t stay. Neither had suggested it.

  Kelly was ravenous and rooted about in her back pack for something to eat. She pulled out a foil parcel and unwrapped it. She’d brought a hoisin duck wrap and she devoured it. She glugged at a bottle of water and got her breath back. She’d lost some fitness but it would come back soon enough.

  ‘Ready? I could sit here all day, but I said I’d be there at three,’ Johnny said.

  ‘I know. Yes, I’m ready. I’ll swing by about six, yes?’ Johnny nodded. She could tell he was nervous too, and it touched her.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked.

  ‘Actually brilliant. It wasn’t easy but I got up.’

  ‘Impressive.’

  They descended easily and stopped to take in the best views that they’d missed on the way up, either due to Kelly trying to keep pace, or simply because they’d had their backs to them. They snapped photos on their phones and stopped for water.

  ‘Do you want to go straight home?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, I’m going to the hospital to see Mum.’

  It took less than an hour to descend and it was strange being back at sea level. It was like being in a parallel universe for a moment, stopped in perfection. Only those who knew the Lakes understood. Johnny drove her home and she showered quickly. Her house was almost decorated, and she had sofas, over one of which she threw her coat.

  Afterwards, she picked through her mail and put on some music. The terrace was still warm despite being October.

  Kelly noticed an envelope that looked private. Her address was printed but there were no official markings on it. She decided to open it first: the other stuff was just bills and adverts. Something different was exciting. She rarely received anything interesting through the post. The last surprise she’d had like this was a hand written letter from her sister. Nikki found it easier to thank her this way, although Kelly didn’t want thanking. What she did wasn’t an act of bravery or courage, it was just instinct. The card sat on the window sill in the kitchen and Kelly re-read it occasionally. Nikki had spent two months in hospital.