The nurse continued to work around them, checking lines and dials on the boxes which were keeping Moira alive.
"The doctors will be taking her off sedation in an hour." He announced.
"What does that mean?" asked Barbara, a light coming into her eyes. "Is she going to wake up?"
The nurse held his hand out in a calming response. "We don't know what will happen when we take her off the sedation." He explained. "Moira has been in a coma and we have been helping her to breathe. So that she doesn't wake in a panic and choke herself, we also keep her sedated, so we don't know exactly how Moira is doing. When we take her off sedation we are asking her, 'what can you do?' we want to see if she can breathe by herself, if she will stir; the doctors will run tests to see how responsive she is to cold and hot, there are no guarantees that anything will have changed."
"I don't understand what is happening." Barbara said.
"It's not really for me to explain these things to you, the doctors will be able to tell you exactly what is going on, I just wanted you to know that something is going to happen today." The nurse patted Barbara on the shoulder. "She is young and strong, I will pray for you." He said and then walked on to his next patient.
"She is young and strong." Leon agreed, "We just have to wait and see what happens."
"See what happens." Barbara said, taking her daughter's hand in her own. "Come on Moira, we're all waiting for you darling. Come back to us. We love you."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Saturday 13th July 2013
15:00 hours
"Well that has completely put me off track." Todd complained to Candace.
"I thought we had him then." Candace agreed. "What are the odds of a guy called Terry turning up at Olinsbury police station, wearing a grey suit?" They sat around Todd's desk in his office. Todd leant back in his chair, feet up on the table, balanced precariously on the back legs of his chair.
"At the same time that a male prostitute is leaving the nick." Todd shook his head. "It all seemed to fall into place. I'm fucked if I know what the odds are." He laughed. "But I wish I had had money on it."
After Danny had made his comment about meeting some of his best clients at the police station, Todd had asked the male, who had been at the counter, to follow him to an interview room. He and Candace had spent the next thirty or so minutes grilling the fellow, asking him about his life and whether or not he had ever used a prostitute. The male, who was indeed called Terry, had an alibi for each time any of the murders had been committed; he worked for London Underground and had been busy operating a tube whilst the girls were being killed. A quick phone call to have his timesheets faxed to the police station had corroborated his story. Terry also denied having ever used a prostitute, stating he had a civil law partner at home who he was very much in love with and had no need to use escorts or other suchlike people.
"We should have stopped everybody in the station office and got their details." Todd chided himself. "There were at least five other people standing in that waiting area, I am such an idiot for focusing on the bloody suit, like he would come to the nick wearing it for fucks sake."
"It's quite common for a murderer to rub the police's nose in it," Candace consoled Todd. "They love to show how clever they are, it would be very typical of them to do just that. You know they turn up at crime scenes, ask questions, get involved; it's their way of taking control of the situation. Don't beat yourself up about it Guv, I didn't think to stop everybody either. We've both been daft."
"Yeah, but it's not your head on the line is it?" Todd grimaced. "Right we have to go and find Danny; we need to take a statement from him as to just who he meant when he said that his clients were at the nick. It could be someone completely innocuous; there were a couple of women in there, it may have had nothing whatsoever to do with the case."
"Agreed."
"But we have to be sure, this could be a really important lead."
"Agreed again. I will get uniform to go and find him; shouldn't be too hard, he's bailed to an address so I don't think he's going anywhere."
"Ok Candy, can we get onto that please. I'm going to pay Malcolm Chadwell a little visit."
"Do you think that's wise Guv? We don't want to get done for harassment."
Todd laughed heartily, "Oh yes, that would be fucking rich; the harasser does the police for harassment. No I'm sure that he needs to be investigated further, even if I can't speak to him about the murders, he is still under an order for harassing Vixen; I can go and make sure he is sticking to that order. I may visit Vixen first, see how she is getting on; it may be that she's had some further contact from Malcolm, I only need one incident and I've got him back at the nick where I want him. Then I can work on him a little bit more; if nothing else, it keeps him off the streets."
"Ok Guv, I will go and find Danny."
"Yes, call me when you've got something."
"Bye."
"Bye." Todd came off the back of his chair, slamming the legs back onto the floor. He pulled open his desk drawer and fished out a notebook and pen then began to write down facts which he knew about the case. He started with the girl's names, their demographics and then went onto the way that they were killed; highlighting common areas in all the murders. He touched on Wayne Lewis's death, but was still sure that this was collateral damage in the murderer's eyes and was never meant to happen. The presence of semen in Mandy Thomas's body was now being discounted; Danny Bradford had not proven that he was not the killer, but Todd believed it possible that Danny's semen had already been inside Mandy Thomas before she was murdered. The real truth of that matter he may never find out as Danny Bradford was not a truth teller and Mandy Thomas was now permanently silent. All arrows still led to Malcolm Chadwell; his description fit the bill, he wore the same style clothing which had been established as being on scene. He was found in possession of the same kind of sweets used in the murder of Mandy Thomas. His love for Vixen which led to the stalking of her and the comments he had made to her about feeding were all pointers which screamed at Todd that Malcolm was the murderer.
Todd drew a thick black line around the name of Malcolm Chadwell which now had at least a dozen arrows drawn in his direction. Although the burden of guilt was on him, Todd's senses told him that Malcolm was the killer, he resolved to find the evidence that he needed which would put Malcolm Chadwell away for good; he believed that Moira could be the key player in that, as soon as she woke up Todd intended to show her Malcolm's picture so that she could positively identify him as the person who tried to kill her. Todd decided to call the hospital to see how Moira was doing. As he reached for the telephone, it began to ring.
"Hello?" Todd answered.
"Hello Detective Inspector, this is Dr Vijenza from West London Hospital, I am overseeing the care of Moira Celeste."
"Hello, I was just about to ring you for an update."
"Great minds." The Dr agreed. "I need to let you know that we are taking her off her ventilator in the next twenty minutes, we are going to see if she can breathe for herself."
"I'm on my way." Todd put the phone down and gathered his stuff. Bubbles of anticipation rose in his stomach, this was finally it; Todd was going to find out one way or another if Malcolm Chadwell was the person he was looking for. He just prayed that things went his way because if Moira denied Malcolm as her would-be killer then Todd was going to be catapulted right back to where he had started.
-x-
18:00 hours
Todd sat in the waiting area at West London hospital. He had sat here for the last two hours, silently waiting and praying for Moira Celeste who was still in the hands of the intensive care team. When he had arrived at the hospital, Dr Vijenza had greeted him and informed him that there was a delay in matters, asking him to take a seat and wait. Todd had dutifully turned off his mobile phone and had sat in the uncomfortably hot room, pouring with sweat and turning events over and over in his mind. He kept looking at the photo of Malcolm Chadwell that
he had brought with him, promising him that retribution will come when he had the evidence he needed.
Through the last hour Todd had seen Moira's parents pop in and out of the room; they had regarded him with suspicion as he sat there, but neither had approached him. Todd had allowed them their space, he could wait for his time with Moira; he just prayed that it would come sooner rather than later, not just for Moira but for the sake of any potential future victim of the killer.
Todd wondered how Candace was getting on with Danny Bradford, he hadn't heard anything from her, but then remembered that his phone was switched off and he hadn't actually told anybody where he was going; he made a silent note to phone Candace as soon as he had finished at the hospital. Todd looked up at the sound of the hospital door opening, Dr Vijenza came out with a serious but triumphant face on, signalling for Todd to approach him.
"How is she Doctor?"
"She is breathing by herself, responsive to hot and cold and by all accounts seems like she will be waking up very soon; her heart rate has quickened and her fingers are twitching."
"Wow, that's fantastic." Todd's heart jumped at the good news. "At last, some good news. When can I speak to her?"
"Well she's not awake as yet." Dr Vijenza's head shook. "I have to say officer that although she seems to be coming around, I don't know when she will be in a state to speak to you. I have to think of the family first."
Todd nodded his own head in agreement. "I completely understand. There is no pressure at all for her to speak to me, but obviously I am very keen to catch whoever did this to her, I need to know if she remembers anything. That killer could be out there right now hunting his next victim, I wouldn't be asking for her time if it wasn't very important."
"Well I will speak to the family; they already know you are here."
"Yes I have seen her parents."
"I will let them know what you are here for and if they consent then you can have some time with her. For now though we just have to wait and see if she does actually come around. It is still possible that although the body is healing, the brain isn't. It's not uncommon for a body to be responsive but for the brain to still be in a coma; there could still be many hours, days or even weeks before she actually becomes conscious again."
"Seriously?" Todd couldn't even begin to think about the implications of that statement.
"On the other hand, she could awaken in a few minutes time." Dr Vijenza said. "We just have to wait and see."
"Ok thank you Doctor."
"No problem, good luck Inspector, I really mean that."
"Yes, thank you." Todd sat back on the chair in the waiting room, the numbness in his legs reminded him just how long he had already been sitting there, so he got up and walked around the room instead, he considered phoning Candace but decided to wait a few moments longer, he didn't want to be absent if the family gave him consent to see Moira. His disappearance could quickly change their minds and he wasn't willing to miss the opportunity to speak to her for the sake of a phone call.
-x-
20:00 hours
Orange, bright, painful light; buzzing, beeping, murmuring sounds were what assailed Moira's vision and hearing. Her head pounded, her body screamed, her mind cried as memories came flooding back to her. 'Hurt, I'm being hurt' she thought as she lay there. 'Keep still, don't let it know you're awake.' The monster must still be there, still hurting her. 'Wayne will be here soon, he will save me, save me from the monster.'
Moira could not contain a whimper of fear, 'It's going to kill me, and I'm going to die.' She thought.
"Moira?"
'Mum? Mum help me,' Moira thought but never voiced. Her mother couldn't be there, she couldn't be letting this happen.
"Moira? It's me, mum, we're all here for you darling. We want you to wake up."
'It's a trick, the monster is tricking me, keep still, keep still, don't let it see you awake.'
"Moira, we're at the hospital, you're safe. The police found you in time. Please Moira, we just want you to come back to us." Crying now, pleading.
"Moira, we love you."
"Dad?" Moira attempted to say, but her throat was too painful for any sound to come out, "Dad, am I safe?" she kept her eyes closed, too scared to open them.
"Yes darling, you're safe, you're at the hospital, and your mother and I are here." Leon tenderly grabbed Moira's hand. "We love you darling, open your eyes."
Moira clenched her eyes tighter, "Too bright," she whispered.
"Please can someone turn the lights down?" Barbara shouted, "Please?"
The lights were turned right down to their minimum.
"Open your eyes darling, mummy and daddy are here." Barbara stroked Moira's soft hair. "Come on baby, open your eyes."
Moira slowly opened her eyes and began to cry tears of relief when she saw the faces of her mother and father staring back at her, not the monster, not the killer, not the person who defiled her so horribly. Safety, comfort, home.
"Hello angel." Barbara kissed her face, "Hello, we knew you would come back, dad's got some flying fish for you in his bag." Barbara wept tears of joy which splashed onto her daughter's face. Leon continued to hold Moira's hand, his own tears wetting Moira's fingers. They held each other silently for some times, happy that their worst fears hadn't been realised and that Moira was back with them, alive. Eventually the sound of somebody clearing their throat permeated through their silent comforting, Barbara and Leon turned to see Detective Inspector Todd Turnbull standing in the doorway.
"Come in." Barbara said. "Come and see Moira."
"I don't want to rush you." Todd said, head down in embarrassment.
"No, we need you to see her, we want you to catch him." Barbara stood up from the bed and motioned for Todd to sit on the chair beside Moira. "Please Inspector, we need you to catch him. Is that ok Moira?"
Moira shook her head yes and Todd took a seat next to her bed.
"Hello Moira, I'm so pleased you are back with us." Todd started. Tears rolled silently down Moira's face, she gave a small smile in Todd's direction.
"I know it's been very hard for you and it's so amazingly early to be speaking to you about this, but I really need your help."
"Wayne?" Moira breathed, her voice still empty; her vocal chords damaged by the sherbet which had nearly killed her.
"I'm sorry Moira, Wayne is dead." Todd didn't want to lie to her, she had been through enough, but to be lied to was just a complete lack of respect in his opinion. She deserved to know the truth, better that than to believe all was fine only to be struck down by the lie later on. "He saved you." Todd continued. "If it hadn't been for him disturbing matters, then you wouldn't be with us now."
"He's a hero." Barbara agreed.
"Dead?" Moira mouthed and then her mouth opened in a silent cry. Todd waited until Moira showed she was ready to continue, his heart breaking inside for this woman who had been through so much in the last twenty four hours.
"Moira, I need to speak to you about what happened, we think we may know who the killer is, I want to know if you can identify him."
Moira began to shake her head frantically.
"Don't worry, you don't have to tell me everything that happened, I know that you are hurting and you need time to recover, I can take a full statement from you later. I just need to get this man off the streets, can I show you a picture?"
Moira continued to shake her head and her heart rate began to accelerate causing a machine to begin buzzing. A nurse ran into the room, pushing Todd out of the way and checking the machine which Moira was hooked up to.
"Just give me a few minutes; please leave the room." The nurse said to the people around him. "I just need to make Moira comfortable."
Todd got up and walked out of the room, followed by Moira's parents. "I am sorry." Todd said to them. "I don't wish to cause her any harm."
"It's important." Barbara shook her head, "You need to speak to her, it's the only way she'll recover."
"It's
the shock." Leon opined. "We should have waited, she's been through enough. Maybe you can come back later?" he asked Todd.
"No Leon, not later, do you really want another girl to go through what Moira is going through?" Barbara took him by the shoulders and shook him. "Do you really want another parent to have to sit and watch their child die?" Leon shook his head, no, and Barbara turned to Todd once again. "Please Inspector, please wait, she will be fine, Moira is made of stern stuff, she will want you to speak to her, I know she will."
"I will wait." Todd agreed, "Shall we have a cup of tea?"
Barbara laughed, "No, I hate tea." She said. The room door opened and the nurse came out once again, he walked over to them and smiled.
"She's fine now, she was just a little uncomfortable. She is going to be up and down for a while, it's quite normal after such a trauma."
"Can we go back in?" Barbara asked.
"Of course, but please keep the talk to a minimum, we don't want to upset her any more than we have to."
"I will be very quick." Todd agreed and followed Moira's parents back into the room. Moira had been propped up into a half-sitting position by the nurse and sat looking at Todd as he entered the room.
"Female." She mouthed to him.
"Pardon?"
"It was a woman." Moira insisted. "A woman."
"A woman who what?" Todd asked.
"Terry is a woman; that's who tried to kill me." Moira's tears ran freely. "She said she could make me a model."
As if hit by lightning, Todd's subconscious flashed pictures into his mind. Pictures which he had ignored as his mind had been tuned into the possibility that Malcolm Chadwell was the killer. Pictures and scenes which now tied in with what Moira was saying.
"Please excuse me, I have to go." Todd ran from the room and out to his car.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Saturday 13th July 2013
20:30 hours
D.I. Todd Turnbull, walked into Olinsbury Police Station looking for Candace; lots of things which had happened over the last few days were beginning to come together and no matter how unlikely it may have seemed to him before, Todd now realised that the killer had been staring him in the face for a very long time. It all began to make sense to Todd now; how he hadn't managed to follow up leads or gain much evidence from the scenes of each crime. Todd had originally put it down to the media and how most crime scene analysis was played out on television programmes. It made much more sense to him now that actually the person committing the crimes had a full knowledge about how to conceal them.
Dead Sweet: A D.I. Turnbull mystery Page 19