by Michael Wood
Lois looked ahead. Her troubled mind was etched all over her face. ‘I told Kevin I loved him so many times. I told myself I loved him too. Sitting here I’ve had time to think. If I didn’t know much about him, then did I really love him? I’ve made a complete mess out of everything.’
‘Lois I’m going to need to know the names of the men you’ve had affairs with.’
‘Why?’
‘I’ll need to know their alibis.’
Lois laughed. ‘Look, I don’t want to sound crude or anything but I was raped by this man. I would have known if it had been a man I had previously slept with.’
‘I’ll still need to know their names.’
She sighed. ‘There were only three: Craig Monroe. He lives in Meersbrook. He’s a teacher. Sean McCleary. He lives in Leeds and works on the council there. Owen Masak. There was some kind of line over the “s”. I never knew how to pronounce it correctly. He lives in Dronfield. He’s a plumber.’
Matilda was noting all these names down in her notebook. ‘Thank you.’
‘I suppose this is my retribution isn’t it? I should have been happy with my lot: husband, three kids, a nice house, money in the bank, but I wasn’t. I had three affairs, several one night stands and the odd grope and snog when out with the girls. This is some sort of karma isn’t it?’
‘I’m not sure if I believe in karma,’ Matilda said. ‘Who is Thomas’s father?’
‘Owen Masak. Although you wouldn’t have needed to ask that when you see him. He’s the spitting image of his father.’ She shook her head. ‘I have no idea how Martin can look at him and pretend he’s his son.’ She looked at Matilda, ‘I bet you think I’m a complete bitch don’t you?’
‘I don’t think anything.’ Yes, actually, I do.
‘I wouldn’t blame you. I am a bitch. I’m a horrible person. I’ve been horrible to Martin and the kids. They would have all been better off if I’d been killed the other night.’
‘Your kids need you, Lois.’
Tears were freely flowing down her face. ‘No they don’t. What kind of example am I setting for them? Anna is fifteen. What am I teaching her about being a woman – that it’s OK to be selfish? That it’s fine to sleep with whoever you want and screw the consequences? I should be a role model for Anna, and I’m nothing but a slut.’
It was difficult for Matilda to sympathize with Lois. She wouldn’t call her a slut to her face, but she was definitely not a role model to her three children. Why had Martin decided to take her back after her last affair which resulted in the birth of Thomas? He could have brought up Jack and Anna alone and still given them a stable environment.
Lois wiped her eyes. ‘You know, while I was lying on the ground by the car after being shot I could feel the blood flowing out of me. I honestly thought it was my life slipping away. I was sorry for what I’d done. I hoped my children would forgive me, but most of all, I wished death would come quickly. I wanted all of this to end.’
TWENTY-NINE
A quick phone call from Matilda to Aaron as she was leaving the hospital set up the events for the next hour. If there was a connection between the aggravated burglaries, the double shooting, and the seemingly suspicious suicide on London Road then it needed to be established. She asked Aaron to organize a briefing and have everyone present in the Murder Room. By everyone, she meant her own team and DI Christian Brady from CID and his team investigating the burglaries. She then put in a call to the ACC and asked if she wanted to sit in on the briefing. She did. Damn.
It was the first time DC Faith Easter had been back in the Murder Room since her short-lived attachment to the Murder Investigation Team, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. As Faith walked in, she tried to maintain a professional demeanour; her head was high, her dark shiny hair was severely pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her back was straight. She tried not to think of her time here in this room as a failure. She had tried her hand at a dedicated murder squad and it hadn’t worked out. At least she’d tried. That was the most important thing to remember. She was still only twenty-four, a few more years in CID under her belt, a few more cases successfully solved and maybe she would be ready for a more specialized department.
Faith found a seat and looked around her. She recognized a few faces: Rory and Aaron, and gave them a smile and a wave. Did she look confident? She hoped so.
Matilda Darke entered the Murder Room, stopping briefly on the threshold. It was strange seeing it full to capacity once again. It gave her a buzz, the assurance to carry on. Despite her self-doubt and anxieties, she craved a full team.
She shook hands with DI Christian Brady, who, at six foot three, loomed over her. He was built with the erectness of a man in a position of power, the strong jaw of a man not to be messed with, and the stance of a no-nonsense copper. He probably exited the womb waving his ID badge.
‘Christian, thanks for coming,’ she said quietly while the rest of the room was still abuzz with chatter.
‘No problem. These burglaries are getting out of hand. I’m kind of hoping your case and mine are connected; at least by pooling our resources we might actually get somewhere.’
He obviously hadn’t heard the Murder Room was closing. Matilda decided not to tell Christian that her team didn’t have any resources. All she was bringing to the table was an extra headache for them all to share.
Sitting at the side of the room away from the rest of the officers was the diminutive ACC Valerie Masterson. With her back straight and her legs crossed at the knee she seemed very business-like and authoritative. She nodded at Matilda when they made eye contact but her expression remained stony.
‘Firstly,’ she began as the room fell silent and all eyes fell on her. ‘I’d like to update you on the condition of our colleagues. DC Scott Andrews is doing well and should be back in work tomorrow. He suffered a mild concussion and a sprained wrist—’
‘That’s his love life gone for a burton,’ Rory interrupted to much laughter from the rest of the room.
‘As for DC Joseph Glass, his condition is much worse. At present there are no signs of any brain damage but he is in a coma. As soon as he wakes the doctors will run more tests to find out if there is any permanent damage. His parents are by his side and they’re going to let me know the second there is any change.’
‘Should we have a whip-round?’ Aaron asked.
‘I’d hold off for now, Aaron. Let’s see how things go over the next couple of days.’
‘Was what happened to Scott just an accident?’ Rory asked.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, Joseph Glass gets coshed and then a few hours later Scott is run off the road. Is this a coincidence or is someone out there targeting police officers?’
There was a muttering around the room as officers suddenly started putting two and two together.
‘I think you’re reading far too much into this DC Fleming,’ the ACC said. ‘We know who attacked DC Glass and that is being investigated. What happened to DC Andrews was just one of those things. There’s no evidence to assume police are being targeted in any way. I’d give the American cop shows a rest for a while if I were you.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said, head down.
‘Now, let’s move on to the matter at hand,’ Matilda quickly said wanting to move the subject to safer territory. ‘Our main priority at present is to find Lucas Branning. We know he attacked DC Glass and I want him charged for assault. He also has a history of burglary so DI Brady and his team can question him about those too. No, he doesn’t match the description given by the victims of the burglaries but I don’t care about that. I want him questioned. Now what do we know about him, and where is he?’
DI Christian Brady stood up from the edge of the desk he was perched on. He moved over to a whiteboard where there was a very unflattering mug shot of Branning. ‘Lucas Branning is thirty-seven-years-old, five foot five, stocky, and has cropped hair. He works part-time as a mechanic in the Wicker and lives at Win
cobank. Officers have been to his home but there’s no sign of him. They’re currently camped outside waiting for him.’
‘Not in a marked car I hope.’
‘No,’ he smiled. ‘Two DCs.’
‘Does anyone know where he hangs out?’
‘We interviewed his co-workers yesterday. They named a few pubs he’s likely to be found in but they’re not open yet.’
‘What about his sisters? Do they know where he’s likely to be?’
Aaron stood up. ‘Ma’am, Alice Hardaker was burgled the night before last.’
‘What?’ Another headache she didn’t need.
‘Me and Rory went round there last night. The house is a tip. She’s been done over. She’d hardly talk to us.’
‘Has she reported it?’
‘No. She didn’t want to give a statement either. We could hardly get two words out of her.’
‘Was she in the house at the time?’
‘Yes. She said she disturbed him by coming downstairs.’
‘Did she give a description?’
‘Very vague: tall and dressed in black.’
Matilda looked to DI Brady.
‘The description given to us by the other victims of the burglaries have said he was tall and dressed in black.’
‘It’s not much to go on is it?’ Matilda sighed. ‘Put Rory in dark clothing and he could be your man. So could Aaron, so could you, Christian.’
Faith Easter raised her hand and spoke. ‘I know Lucas Branning doesn’t match the description but even he’s not stupid enough to burgle his own sister, surely.’
‘I think we can safely say Lucas Branning is out of the frame for the burglaries,’ DI Brady said.
‘So why run?’
There was no answer to that.
Thinking aloud, Matilda said, ‘So are we saying that the man who committed these aggravated burglaries also committed the double shooting that killed Kevin Hardaker and nearly killed Lois Craven, and then just happens to choose Alice Hardaker as his next target for burgling?’
‘You think he chose the Hardaker house deliberately?’ Rory asked.
‘Yes,’ she said, almost with sarcasm. ‘You’ve been to Broad Elms Lane; it’s full of detached houses, away from the road, surrounded by high fences and tall trees. He could have chosen any one of them to burgle, but he goes right to the end and happens to come across Alice Hardaker? I don’t think so.’
‘If it is the same person, could he have been watching Alice Hardaker and waited to strike?’ Brady asked.
‘It would appear so.’
‘Wait a minute,’ the ACC put her hand up to halt the conversation. ‘Assuming the killer and the burglar is the same person, why is he going back to the Hardaker family? What is in that family’s background that makes him kill the husband, terrorize his girlfriend, then go on to terrorize his wife?’
If a pin had dropped it would have made everyone in the room jump.
Matilda walked over to the whiteboard where a basic history of the Hardaker family was written. ‘There’s nothing there. Kevin is a hard-working family man. Alice was recently made redundant. They’ve got two kids who are doing well at school. Kevin’s an only child, and despite having an affair with Lois Craven, he’s a model citizen. The neighbours love him; they say he’s great with the kids, knows how to throw a good party and always smiling.
‘What about any money worries, debts?’
‘Just the usual; a mortgage and a couple of credit cards, but nothing they can’t handle.’
‘Could someone have an issue with Lucas Branning and be taking it out on his sister?’ asked Aaron.
‘If that’s the case why target Kevin and Lois? Why inflict such violence on them? In what way would that hurt Lucas?’
‘Because it would hurt his sister.’
‘No. I don’t buy that at all. If you wanted to get some form of revenge on Lucas, you’d target Lucas.’
Rory, flicking through his notebook, chimed up. ‘According to the neighbours, Lucas only visited when he wanted something – usually money. When he came round it always ended up with voices being raised in their house.’
‘OK,’ Matilda stopped to think for a moment. ‘So, Lucas is a selfish man. He only cares for himself. If, as Aaron said, someone wanted to hurt Lucas, they’d go directly to him. I doubt he’d give a toss if they hurt his sisters.’
Faith spoke up again. ‘If the Hardaker family really are the intended targets here, why is the killer committing all these burglaries?’
‘Good point, Faith.’
‘Perhaps the two aren’t connected,’ the ACC said.
‘The description Lois Craven gave of the man who attacked her matches the description we have of the burglar. That’s the only link we have, but it’s a good link.’
‘The description is incredibly vague, and nobody else has mentioned a tattoo on his neck. You need to proceed with caution. Yes, they may be linked, but it’s a tenuous link. Don’t assume this is the same person.’ The ACC pointed to a third whiteboard. ‘Where does Gerald Beecham come into it?’
Matilda scratched her head hard, digging her nails into her scalp to try and stave off the rising tension. Her mouth was already drying and she could feel the prickle of heat creeping up her back.
Noticing Matilda’s discomfort, Sian took the floor. ‘Gerald Beecham lived in a tower block on London Road. On the night of the shootings he, apparently, threw himself off the roof and died when he hit the ground, fifteen floors below. The reason he’s up there,’ she said, pointing to a picture of the smiling elderly man, ‘is because when Dr Kean arrived on the scene she found anomalies that were not consistent with a suicide.’
‘Such as?’
‘He was bruised and had blood on the back of his jacket that didn’t belong to him.’
‘Who did it belong to?’
‘Lois Craven.’
‘I’m guessing the description Lois Craven gave you of her attacker doesn’t match Mr Beecham?’
‘Not in the slightest.’
‘How reliable is Lois?’
‘As reliable as a woman can be after she’s been beaten, raped, and shot three times,’ Matilda said. She had sat down and was looking in the distance and out of the dirty windows at the dirty city beyond.
‘You need to get a formal statement from her.’
‘As soon as she is able to leave hospital I intend to bring her in. I also want Alice Hardaker in too. I don’t care if she’s grieving for her husband or upset by the burglary. I have a feeling she knows more than she’s letting on.’
‘So what about these burglaries then?’ DI Brady asked.
The ACC answered before Matilda could. ‘I think you need to keep investigating them as you are for the time being. However, liaise very closely with Matilda, just in case there is a connection. The shooting has all the hallmarks of bad blood, a revenge attack for something. I cannot see a career burglar turning his hand to rape and murder.’
‘But the descriptions match.’ DI Brady clearly wanted the cases to be linked. He wanted more people working on this to get it solved as soon as possible.
‘What you need to do’, said the ACC, ‘is get a more detailed description of the burglar from the people who have been targeted, and CCTV footage. You also need a full description from Lois Craven when she’s up to giving one. Compare and contrast, but never assume you’re looking for the same person. And, you need to find a link between Gerald Beecham and both the Craven and Hardaker families.’
She makes it sound so simple.
The ACC stood up and addressed the whole room. ‘This is not going to be an easy case to solve and it’s going to take a lot of time and effort from you all. However, it needs solving quickly. Whether the burglar and the killer is the same person or not, whoever is doing this is extremely dangerous. Matilda, when you’ve finished, I’d like a word.’
With that, she left, leaving a room of worried expressions.
Matilda, slightly deflated, set e
veryone a task. Rory and a few of the other DCs she had borrowed from DI Brady were to locate the names of Lois Craven’s lovers, and find out their alibis for the night of the shooting. They also needed to finish identifying everyone who lived in the same tower block as Gerald Beecham. Brady started to lead his officers out of the Murder Room. He too was feeling less invigorated by the ACC and the mammoth task that seemed to lie ahead.
‘By the way,’ Sian said quietly to Matilda, taking her to one side, ‘I’ve had Nathaniel Glover in and he’s in the clear.’
‘It was a long shot I suppose. Thanks Sian.’
With the room slowly emptying and those remaining going about their business, Matilda made her way to her office. She closed the door behind her, something she rarely did, and sat in her chair behind the desk. She swivelled it around so her back was to the rest of the room and she was looking out of the grimy window at the view of the city laid out before her.
Under her breath, she said, ‘David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, John Major, Margaret Thatcher …’
Matilda hardly ever recited the names of the Prime Ministers in reverse order. It was too difficult. It was only when she needed maximum concentration to block out the whirlwind of thoughts in her head.
‘James Callaghan, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath …’ Now she was stuck. Who came before Edward Heath? ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,’ she whispered with as much venom as she could muster.
She bit down on her lip so hard she could taste blood. She bit harder still until she could feel blood freely flowing in her mouth. The relaxation was instant. She closed her eyes and could feel the tension slowly ebb away.
THIRTY
‘When are you going to start tidying up?’
Jenny Evans stumbled as she made her way around the living room of Alice Hardaker’s ransacked home. The sofa cushions were still scattered around the floor, tables overturned, and pictures smashed.
‘I’ll do it later,’ Alice replied. Since the intruder had visited she had hardly done anything. She still wore the same tracksuit, hadn’t showered, eaten very little, and barely moved from the leather recliner.