Killer on the Fens

by Joy Ellis

  Stuart shuddered as the killer took a step towards them. Then, to his relief, the man halted, as the barrels of six automatic rifles pointed at him.

  ‘Simon Flower! Keep your hands where we can see them! Then get down on the floor! Now!’

  Flower froze. His hands were held out and his eyes were wide with anger and confusion.

  ‘Get on the floor!’ Two of the armed officers were slowly approaching him.

  Rory whispered, ‘He has a radio device on him. He’s going to bring this whole place down!’

  Before Stuart could open his mouth to warn the marksmen, Flower began to bend forward, as if complying with the order, then Stuart saw his hand slowly reaching toward his waistband. As he yelled out, he realised that his was not the only voice screaming.

  Still on his feet, but motionless as a statue, Flower remained crouched over. Then his hands reached desperately behind his back, trying to grasp at something.

  Stuart’s brain refused to compute. There had been no shots fired.

  Then he saw Simon pitch forward, the thick, black handle of a knife protruding from an ever-widening dark stain on his back. He crashed onto the ancient flagstones, revealing a white faced, black-clad figure that had emerged from the shadows behind him.

  She looked down at the motionless body, and said, ‘For Anson.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  ‘Rory! Where is Tamsin? Is she here?’ Joseph threw himself down next to the pathologist.

  ‘Yes . . . yes . . .’ Rory stuttered, the shock beginning to take hold. ‘She’s back down a long corridor through there.’ He pointed to the back of the altar. ‘She’s in some kind of big storeroom. We’ll have to hurry, she’s very poorly.’ Leaning heavily on Stuart Bass, he staggered to his feet. ‘Joseph, we have to go very, very carefully. I think Flower might have booby-trapped the room.’

  Joseph exhaled, then drew in a long deep breath. He’d been in this sort of situation more times than he liked to count, but now his daughter was the one under threat.

  ‘Are you strong enough to guide me?’ he asked Rory.

  ‘As long as Bass here continues to be support staff.’ He looked anxiously towards Stuart.

  ‘Let’s go.’

  ‘I’m coming too.’ Niall Farrow moved quickly forward, but Joseph grasped his arm and held him back.

  ‘Not this time, Niall. You’re keen, dedicated and full of all the right things, but once Rory shows me where Tamsin is, I have to go in alone. This is no place for policemen or pathologists. It’s a job for a skilled soldier.’

  Niall was about to protest, but saw Joseph’s face and backed off. ‘Just get her out of there, Sarge.’

  Joseph squeezed the young man’s shoulder. ‘I will. You can rely on that.’ He turned to Rory and Stuart. ‘Ready?’

  ‘Ready.’

  As Joseph moved down the tunnel, memories of his years in the army flooded back. Then he thought of his daughter. The sounds of war — the gunfire, and the roar of engines — faded and his daughter’s voice filled his ears: “There’s plenty of time.”

  Joseph increased his pace. Yes, there damned well would be plenty of time.

  Finally he heard Rory say, ‘Slow up. This is where I believe he started to place some sort of traps. Tamsin is in that room to the right, about twenty yards further on.’

  ‘Okay. Now, you and Stuart get back. There’s no telling what might happen. Get yourselves to safety, and tell PC Farrow to make sure that absolutely no one comes down this passage, understand? No one.’

  As the two men made their way back, Joseph surveyed the passage ahead of him.

  He could not move forward until the way was clear. He squatted down on his haunches.

  It seemed an eternity before he spotted the first wire. Indirectly it was Simon Flower that made the discovery possible. He had left battery-powered lanterns at points along the underground tunnel, and although the light was patchy, Joseph’s sharp, well-trained eye caught a tiny glint of metal wire.

  He waited until the sounds of the retreating men had faded and then he sat a little longer, calming his racing mind. Then he began a careful evaluation of the situation.

  ‘I naturally assumed that your request for privacy did not refer to me?’

  Joseph swallowed hard. He hadn’t heard Nikki until she was close to his shoulder.

  ‘It damn well did. Now get back up that tunnel, and stay there.’

  ‘Bollocks. Now, what exactly are we dealing with?’

  Nikki’s voice gave him enormous encouragement and left him weak with fear at the same time. ‘You’re not going to go, are you?’

  Nikki sounded almost scornful. ‘You need to ask?’

  Joseph exhaled. ‘Okay, this is what we have. There are trip-wires at intervals between us and the room where Tamsin is. I suggest they are little more than fireworks, something that would give a warning blast to scare us, but not bring down the roof.’ He bit hard on his lip. ‘I’m pretty sure he wanted me to find my daughter before he killed me. As I see it, I’ve got two choices. I either cut the wires and risk setting it off, or I deliberately trigger it. It will take far too long to disarm the damn things.’ He turned and looked at Nikki. ‘Back off a bit and protect yourself as best you can. I’m going to check them out.’

  After a few minutes he returned to where Nikki was crouching low on the floor.

  ‘It’s safe. He must have set them up in a hurry. They were simple trip-wires to small detonators, so I’ve disconnected them. Now, just walk behind me and keep to the centre.’ He pointed down the passage to the aperture leading into the room. ‘Rory says that Tamsin is on the floor against the far wall. I’m assuming there will be other devices between us and her.’ He stopped abruptly. ‘Now, Nikki, forget that it’s my daughter in there. We can’t let emotion get in the way. This is a puzzle to be solved, nothing more.’ He looked at her anxiously. ‘Can you do that?’

  ‘I used to do it every time I visited Hannah. I’m a pro. Just tell me what you want me to do.’

  ‘Right. Follow me, then wait in the doorway, just in case anyone else thinks my order did not apply to them. I’ll check out the entrance, and if I feel it’s safe, you follow my instructions to the letter.’

  For once in her life Nikki did not argue. She walked softly behind him, then placed herself in the middle of the doorway and stood still.

  Joseph knew what to look for. ‘At least he’s used old methods. If he’d had more time, I’m willing to bet he would have used laser beams.’ He moved slowly into the room, murmuring as he went. ‘Possible pressure pad beneath this uneven stony area.’ He stepped carefully around the broken flooring. ‘Shit, this feels so familiar. Only back then, I had a bomb disposal squad behind me and a unit of armed operatives.’

  ‘You’ve got all you need, Joseph,’ said Nikki softly. ‘Your expertise, your instincts, your gut reaction.’ She paused. ‘And someone who believes in you.’

  ‘Dad?’

  Joseph froze. Tamsin was turning towards him, her eyes unfocused and her body uncoordinated and floppy. ‘Stay still, sweetheart! I’m coming to get you. Just stay perfectly still.’

  The girl mumbled something, then reached out towards him and tried to get up. ‘I feel sick.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it, Tam. You’re going to be fine.’ Nikki’s voice was calm and commanding. ‘Now listen to me. You must keep perfectly still and do everything your father tells you. Understand?’

  Tamsin sighed and lay back down.

  ‘I can’t afford for her to try to get to me.’ For the first time, Joseph sounded agitated.

  ‘Breathe! And calm down, Joseph. She’s fine. Just do what you were doing. I’ll worry about Tamsin for you.’

  It seemed to Joseph that it took hours to reach her. In fact it was only four long minutes. In those minutes, Nikki had constantly calmed and cajoled, and he had crept and sweated his way across the room.

  And now he had to make the journey back through the shadows, and he had to do it
carrying his half-delirious daughter, all five feet eight inches of her.

  ‘Joseph! Hold it. Don’t start back yet,’ Nikki called out. He saw her turn and move out of his line of vision. Dave’s voice spoke urgently in the darkness, then she returned to her position in the doorway. ‘Okay. Whenever you’re ready, my friend. It’s time to go home.’

  ‘That’s Dave out there. What does he want?’

  ‘Time for that later. Just get your girl out of this bloody Hades. The chopper is up there on standby, with the paramedics and an emergency doctor. She’ll be in hospital in no time — if you just get your sodding finger out, Sergeant!’

  That flash of the old Nikki made everything clear. He knew the way forward now.

  Joseph took a deep breath, whispered, “I love you” to his daughter, and purposefully retraced his footsteps through the minefield. He didn’t know that water was beginning to flood the tunnels.

  * * *

  As Joseph made his way to safety, Rory sat wrapped in a thermal blanket in the superintendent’s office in Greenborough police station, and tried to recall everything that the murderer had told him. Shock was making him shiver, but he doggedly answered the questions.

  ‘And he denied killing his brother?’ The superintendent looked incredulous.

  ‘Emphatically. In fact, I would swear that he didn’t. I think Joshua tried to take the blame, to protect Simon and give him a chance to get away.’

  ‘Even after Simon had admitted what he had done?’

  ‘Definitely. There is some deep history there, and I’m sure you guys will dig it up. I suggest Joshua knew perfectly well what had sent Simon off on a killing spree lasting two decades,’ said Rory. ‘You’ve told me how Joshua was found, and I think he staged the whole theatrical shebang to confuse you.’ He drew the blanket closer around him. ‘Even down to the poorly-hidden car and the herbs in the boot. Everything.’

  Greg Woodhall leaned back in his chair. ‘Maybe you’re right.’

  Rory accepted a mug of tea from Yvonne Collins, and held it in both hands, savouring the warmth. ‘What will happen to that poor woman, Stephanie Taylor?’

  ‘She’ll be sent for psychiatric assessment. But there’s not a jury in this land that would put her in jail for what she did — or I sincerely hope not,’ said Greg vehemently.

  ‘How did she know where he’d be? How did she get inside?’

  ‘Easy,’ answered Yvonne. ‘She’s been hanging around the fen since before we found her brother. Reg kept taking her home, but in the end he gave up and let her wander. He felt sorry for her so he talked to her quite a lot, perhaps a bit too much. Anyway, she got it into her head that the killer would come back to his killing grounds, and she was right.’

  Greg nodded. ‘And you know the chaos when Flower first brought down those tunnels. She was dressed in dark clothing, so she mingled with all the other helpers and walked straight in!’

  ‘Revenge served cold,’ murmured Rory.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  ‘For the umpteenth time, Tam, he’ll be along when he’s finished his shift.’ Joseph shook his head and looked with great affection at his daughter. ‘And I have a few things to sort out this evening, so you will have Niall Farrow all to yourself.’

  Tamsin shifted around in the hospital bed and tried to get comfortable. ‘You did bring in my make-up bag, Dad? And my hair straighteners?’

  Joseph nodded. ‘And the other twenty-plus things that you just can’t live without.’

  ‘God, I look a mess.’

  ‘You look beautiful. You always look beautiful.’

  Tamsin pulled a face. ‘Bullshit! I’m a mess, and you know it.’

  Joseph smiled down at her. Tamsin had been incredibly lucky. She had been carefully monitored for three days, and now the doctors were pretty sure that there would be no delayed effects from the chloroform. In a couple of days’ time, if she continued to improve, she could go home.

  And right now home meant Knot Cottage. Tam was quite happy with that. She had Skyped her mother and reassured her that Joseph hadn’t tried to either kidnap or murder her. In fact he had saved her life, and she had decided to stay on for a while. She had told Laura that she wanted to be fully recovered before she flew, but Joseph knew there was more to it than that. Even through her hazy, drug-induced stupor, she had known it was her dad who had walked the line to carry her to safety.

  There had been a major shift in Tamsin’s attitude towards him, and now they had something to build on. There was a kind of irony about what had happened. After all, the one thing Tamsin hated most about him had been the very thing that saved her. His skill as a soldier had allowed him to carry his daughter through a minefield, and survive.

  He gave a little smile of amazement as he placed her things in her locker. For the first time in years, Joseph Easter actually felt good about himself.

  * * *

  Nikki sat in front of Greg Woodhall’s desk and leafed through a pile of reports.

  ‘These pretty well explain most of it.’ She rubbed her tired eyes.

  ‘It’s still hard to believe that Joshua would protect his murdering psycho brother.’ Greg leaned forward, elbows on his desk and his chin resting in his hands.

  Nikki grimaced. ‘I think Joshua felt he’d failed his little brother years ago.’ She sat back, closed the folders and sighed. ‘When I rang you to tell you about the family being undertakers, I also had Cat tracking down old medical reports on the mother’s death. I’d already ascertained that the father died of a heart attack, but the mother died of uterine cancer when Simon was thirteen. He took it very badly indeed. He worshipped her.’

  ‘But thousands of kids lose their adored parents and okay, they may suffer terribly, but they don’t become killers.’

  ‘Possibly they didn’t witness their mother being beaten and raped by some rootless tramp she had tried to help.’

  ‘Oh shit!’ Greg’s head fell forward.

  ‘The cancer set in shortly after. Simon swore the tramp had killed her.’ Nikki shook her head. ‘The psychologist believes that young Simon could not come to terms with the atrocious assault on his mother, so he started killing vagrants and doing his best to make them into something clean and respectable, thereby giving his mother back her dignity. Later, it became an obsession. He liked killing and dealing with the bodies.’

  ‘Surely he must have had something in his make-up to make him take that path?’

  ‘Doc Foley said the same, sir. His mother’s death was the trigger. He always had the propensity to kill.’

  ‘Hence, I suppose, his ability to deal so casually with all the horrific things he saw in the army, and as a firefighter,’ Greg whispered almost to himself. ‘Schizo.’

  Nikki opened up another report. ‘It says here that even as a youngster, Simon helped his father look after the bodies. Showed quite an aptitude apparently. His father had high hopes that he would take over the business. He was very intelligent, but even at school he had what one teacher described as “a morbid and almost obsessive interest in death.”’

  ‘Shame no one ever looked closer at that boy. Could have saved a lot of lives.’ Greg drew in a long breath and leaned back in his chair. ‘By the way, before I forget, I’ve had a memo from the Met. They’ve found a close link between our dead Irishman, Michael Finn, and one of their nastiest villains, a man named Freddie Carver. Now Carver has recently done a very hasty bunk from our shores, and apart from waving flags in the streets by way of celebration, they have uncovered intelligence that said he was preparing for a very big job in the City. Now he has pulled the plug and legged it.’

  Nikki frowned, ‘And what does that mean exactly?’

  ‘The Met reckon Michael Finn was the king-pin for the proposed heist. Without him, Carver was scuppered.’ Greg gave a smug smile. ‘Back in the day, Carver used to be a bosom buddy of another family of villains called Shire. Ring any bells?’

  ‘We wondered if Karl Shine’s real name was Daniel Shire.’
Nikki exhaled. ‘Of course! Those shady surveyors were Freddie Carver’s men. Karl went to an old family friend for help, and managed to get his right-hand man topped!’

  ‘No wonder Shine’s murder looked like a professional hit, because that’s exactly what it was. Family friend or not, Karl Shine managed to shut down one of the smoke’s biggest criminals, and he paid with his life.’

  ‘So that’s something else we can cross off our To Do list, and with all I’ve got on my plate, I’m eternally grateful.’

  ‘Oh Lord, Nikki! It’s your father’s funeral the day after tomorrow, isn’t it?’

  Nikki placed the folders on his desk. ‘Yes, sir. I’m taking the next couple of days off. She shrugged. ‘Then I guess it’ll be back to business as usual.’

  ‘I suppose you haven’t considered something as ridiculous as a holiday, have you? It’s what most normal people would do after the kind of ordeal you’ve just undergone.’

  Nikki stood up and made for the door. She turned and threw her boss a withering look. ‘Sorry to disappoint you, sir, but I don’t do holidays. And there is one particular criminal I still haven’t laid my hands on.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  At least it was a sunny afternoon, and the grounds at the crematorium looked green and lush, with well-kept beds of yellow daffodils lining the drive.

  Joseph had been surprised to see how many work colleagues had turned up to support Nikki.

  As the final music played and they all filed out of the chapel, he saw Nikki standing alone by the door. She looked as smartly dressed as he’d ever seen her, and her bearing said she was totally in control. Although her lips smiled as she began to shake hands with the stream of mourners, he felt a wave of intense loneliness emanate from her.

  Without a word he eased past the vicar and stood beside her. Her tired smile said it all.

  ‘Almost over,’ he whispered, touching her arm lightly. ‘And you were brilliant.’

  ‘I didn’t feel it.’ She looked at him with relief in her eyes. ‘But at least I didn’t crumple in front of everyone.’