Dead Sweet: A D.I. Turnbull mystery

by Sally O'Brien

  Todd was also kicking himself for believing the murderer to be a man. He had always known that the presence of semen was not an actual indicator that sex had taken place at the very time of death; it can stay in the body for a few days, but it had been all too easy to just put it at the scene because the murderer was male. Todd had also been distracted by Malcolm Chadwell's stalking of Vixen, it was a huge coincidence that this had happened at the same time he was searching for a killer and Todd chided himself for jumping on it and allowing himself to be detracted from the evidence in front of him.

  Becoming involved with Candace had been a huge mistake, something which Todd would never ordinarily have been seduced into. His focus was always on work, he would often spend days and nights working solidly, trying to come up with the piece of evidence which would solve the puzzle in front of him. Todd knew that his lack of prowess in the dating arena left him open to Candace's advances. Had he been stronger and approached Tessa, whom he had actually wanted to spend time with, he may have worked out sooner what had been hidden by his rose coloured spectacles. Even though Todd felt like he had now worked out exactly what had gone on, he felt like a complete failure; as though he had been harbouring the criminal and providing cover for a killer so that they could kill freely. Todd felt like he needed a very long holiday after this case was resolved.

  -x-

  D.S. Candace Whelan pulled up sharply in the car park of Olinsbury Police Station. She was aware that Todd had been to see Moira Celeste in hospital and that Moira had spoken with him. When Candace had been unable to reach Todd on the telephone, she guessed that he was still at the hospital and had arrived there to be told Todd had left in a hurry. Candace wanted to speak to Moira Celeste by herself, alone, without her parents; but the doctors wouldn't allow it. Apparently Moira had given Todd some very important information and had become so frantic that her blood pressure had risen to dangerous levels, causing her to be sedated. When a few attempts at cajoling the parents into allowing her access to Moira, fell short; Candace climbed back into her car and raced to the police station where she believed Todd must now surely be heading. She tried again to reach Todd on his telephone, but it was still turned off, cursing her boss for his lack of mobile communication, Candace got out of her car and dashed through the back door of the station and up the stairs.

  -x-

  Todd walked slowly up the stairs which led to the canteen of the police station. Every step echoed hollowly off the walls around him; being the weekend, all civilian staff were off duty, most of the office lights were turned off and the station had turned from a vibrant hub of noisy efficiency into a dark, eerie husk. Todd contemplated what he may find in the canteen and what he was going to say when he got there. He sighed heavily, still angry at himself for not seeing earlier the facts which were now obvious; it didn't matter to Todd that certain information had only come to light, he felt that he should be experienced enough to see through all the crap and come up with the right answer, fast.

  Todd pushed his way through the double doors of the stairs and into the grey corridor leading up to the canteen which was also in darkness bar the lights from the vending machines that sat in a line on the right hand wall. Orange street lights which shone outside the canteen windows lent a bit of colour to the otherwise dingy setting. Tessa Small sat at a table in the middle of the canteen, a plate of food in front of her. The knife and fork sat either side of the plate, but Tessa just stared ahead at Todd as he entered the canteen.

  "Hi Tessa." Todd said quietly.

  "Well hello Todd, how is the case going, has that poor girl woken up yet?" she smiled up at him.

  "She woke up earlier" He said, walking slowly towards her. "Can we talk?"

  "Sure sugar, I'm all for talking." Tessa spoke in her usual jovial tone. "Everyone wants to talk to the Tessa," she smiled.

  "I'm going to say a few things to you Tessa and I want you to listen to me ok?"

  "Sure."

  "You know I have been investigating the murders of those young girls, I have worked very hard at it and finally I have reached a point where I can say for sure who the killer is."

  "Who is it?" Tessa asked.

  "Well there are some factors which I discounted before and am now taking into consideration; firstly and most importantly; I have spoken to Moira Celeste and she informs me that her attacker was a woman. I was shocked when I heard her say those words to me Tessa, but when she did a few other things started dropping into context and I came up with you."

  "Me? That's ridiculous, how can I possibly have done that to those poor women. I work at a police station, isn't that a clue as to how I'm not the killer?" Tessa picked up her fork and dug it into some potato salad which sat alongside a big steak on the plate. Todd wondered how she'd managed to cook such a nice meal in the tiny staff kitchen which only boasted a microwave and a kettle.

  "These are the facts Tessa. A young girl is handcuffed and then killed, it looks as though no struggle took place. She was cut into and defiled in unimaginable ways but although semen was present, there was no visible signs of sexual assault that you would usually associate with rape, like bruising or tears. The second girl was killed in much the same way but left alone after the sherbet had killed her. I kept asking myself why; why was she left so untouched? Now I remember the photograph we found of Penny, you know the one of her as a teenager?"

  "No I don't know."

  "Ok, you don't know. I'll play along." Todd shook his head. "We found a photograph of Penny Baker as a teenager, she was fat. She had been a fat girl; not the slim, perfect bodied, shaggy haired potential model that had been killed, but a fat, possibly bullied teenager. I think you saw that picture and you changed your mind about killing her. But you couldn't just let her go, she knew who you were, had seen your face, she had to die. So you just killed her, but you didn't humiliate her, you were merciful. Moira on the other hand, she was going to get it wasn't she? She was pretty, big bosomed, had everything going for her; you were going to give it to her good and proper, except you were disturbed by her boyfriend. We could see from his wounds that it was a quick death, a slash with the scalpel, anyone can do that, doesn't have to be a man."

  Tessa continued to eat quietly, watching Todd as he laid the facts out in front of her.

  "I thought it was Malcolm Chadwell, thought it was to do with sexual feeding. I believed it so much that I didn't look at him as a person. He is just a sad loner who lives with his parents at the moment. He's a bit of a pervert and likes watching the girls, but he just doesn't have it in him to kill, he has to resort to masturbating at Vixen's window, that's not the actions of a cold blooded killer. He would have made too many mistakes; no, not a killer.

  I had the semen sample, it was what I focused on for such a long time; believed it belonged to my killer, but it didn't. And then the other exhibits went missing; the trace exhibits, stuff taken from both girl's houses, just vanished. I actually started to look at Candace." Todd shook his head in wonder. "I thought she had taken them and never put them through the system. She had been seen outside Moira Celeste's house when she was running, I was putting it together in my mind that Candace was something to do with it. But now I look back and I can see that you were just as capable of taking the samples from the station office cupboard after Candace had put them there. I also remember you taking something to the sharp's bin; so easy, happens all the time right? People bring their knives to you, you dispose of them; who's to say you haven't been disposing of your own knives after you've done the murder? I bet when I have that sharp's bin opened I'm going to find just what I'm looking for in there."

  "Maybe you will." Tessa agreed.

  "I know I will Tessa. The same way I will find out from Danny Bradford that you are his 'best customer'. You were standing in the station office when he told me that, I thought it was the guy in the suit, I didn't even look at you, but it all makes sense now. Did you put his semen at the scene?"

  Tessa nodded. "It was easy to just
catch it in a condom when we had sex, I was going to leave it at other places as well."

  Todd felt an immense sense of relief at this admission from Tessa. He had been silently scared that he was taking the wrong road and his senses had let him down, but Tessa had finally decided to come clean.

  "Why? What do you have against Danny Bradford?"

  "He's a man isn't he?" she spat at him. "All men are guilty."

  "I don't get it, Tessa, I just don't understand."

  Tessa looked down at her food, she breathed deeply for a few moments, appearing to gather her thoughts, when she looked up at Todd there was a different look to her face, he couldn't pinpoint what had changed, but it was as though a whole new personality had taken over her mind; dark, solemn, different.

  "If I was being really honest with you Todd, I don't know what I've done."

  "Please don't tell me you've got multiple personalities." Todd guffawed, "I don't think I could handle that."

  "No, I am who I am," Tessa agreed, "I'm a killer, I'm a monster, I know. What I don't know is what I've achieved by doing what I've done."

  "I am confused Tessa, what do you mean?"

  "Ok I'll start at the beginning."

  "Usually a good place." Todd agreed, sitting back to wait for the story which was to come.

  Tessa stood a little, causing Todd to sit up straighter, she put her hands out in supplication, showing them to be empty and reassuring him that she wasn't going anywhere. "Look at me," she offered.

  Todd looked at Tessa, she was a large woman, but handsome as a middle aged woman can be. Whilst her face lacked make up he could still see her large brown eyes and mostly unlined face looking back at him. Todd believed she could have been a very beautiful woman if it wasn't for the fat, not that that bothered him, but he knew that it bothered most of society.

  "What do you see?" Tessa asked.

  "A nice person, a fun person." Todd said.

  "You don't talk about my size I notice." Tessa sighed. "It's the elephant in the room isn't it? I am the elephant in the room. When people want to describe others they usually look for their physical appearance, hair, eyes, body type. When there's a fat girl in the room and you don't want to offend her, they describe her personality, 'full of life' 'so funny'; they steer away from just saying 'it's the fat bird in the corner'. Have you ever wondered why most fat women are funny?"

  Todd shrugged.

  "So that we can hide behind it. Humour gives the other person an option to like us, because there's no way they're going to like a fat girl. It's just unacceptable to be the fat girl's friend unless she's funny."

  "That's ridiculous."

  "Is it? If I was a miserable, moaning and boring twat would you bother with me?"

  "I wouldn't bother with anyone that was like that."

  "Oh how naïve you are." Tessa laughed, throwing her head back, her mouth changed from laughter into a rictus of pain. "Do you know how many girls I see that are perfect to look at? They have the big breasts, the perfect figures, their clothes are immaculate and their make-up is always beautiful. They are looked at, lusted after and revered by everyone, men and women alike. They don't even have to open their fucking mouths to speak. I have watched them on the television, seem some of them in interviews, they can be the most miserable, self-centred, vain people, but still they are loved. All their sins are forgiven in the name of beauty. They can be sour, derogatory, bullying bitches, but that's ok because they are a perfect 10 and everybody wants to look like them. Why do you think Malcolm Chadwell loves that vacuous Vixen? It's not because she's intelligent with a great spirit and sense of humour is it? She's probably only ever told him to go fuck himself, but he still lusts after her."

  "So this is about jealousy?"

  "Jealousy?" Tessa seemed enraged. "I am not jealous of these pathetic costumes of womanhood. I am enraged by the society that seeks to idolise them. A society run by men; men who lust and who leer after their perfect woman and deride and jeer the ones who aren't perfect."

  "Tessa, you are wrong, I am a man, I don't lust after those types of people, to be honest, and I was considering a relationship with you."

  Tessa gave a harsh laugh. "Really? You thought I was nice?"

  "Yes, I really did."

  "Well you didn't speak to me about it did you?"

  "It was difficult, I have been on a murder case."

  "Didn't stop you getting with Candace though did it?" Tessa sneered. Todd was shocked to hear that Tessa knew about his evening with Candace, his face must have told Tessa this because she said, "What you think women don't talk?"

  Todd felt a little stupid, of course women talked, that's how he got his stupid nick name in the first place. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, but he didn't feel that would make the situation any better.

  "If this is about you being enraged at men, why are you killing women is my next question?"

  "I don't really know what I'm doing." Tessa's laugh was maniacal. "I suppose by putting the semen at the scene I was hoping to get him arrested, for him to suffer in prison; killing is too good for them. Oh and of course, how am I supposed to kill a man? I mean I'm only a little fat woman, it's hard enough to get one to talk to me, luring them to a flat and killing them is probably completely impossible. No, I had to pay for the sex so men could pay for their crimes against society."

  "What about all the other stuff, the sweets, the sherbet?"

  "Well I like sweets." Tessa shrugged.

  "You are actually insane." Todd realised.

  "And you are actually dead." Tessa shouted as she jumped up, steak knife in her hand she lunged at Todd across the table, causing him to jump back in surprise. "I'm sick of talking and I'm not going to prison." She said coming around the table towards where Todd stood, hands out, quietly considering his next move. "It's me or you Todd, I don't care which."

  "Or me," Candace said as she entered the canteen. "You will have to kill me to get to him Tessa."

  "Fine by me." Tessa agreed, stomping her way to Candace, "It's about time you got some anyway you skinny bitch." Todd, on seeing Candace's potential attack, spurred himself into action and grabbed a chair which he held out in front of him and ran at Tessa with. As he pushed the chair at her body with as much force as he could muster, she grabbed at the legs and pushed herself into it, causing the chair to slam back into Todd's body and to knock him off his feet. This gave Candace the time to jump onto Tessa's back and to make a grab at the knife which she held in her hand.

  Tessa held onto Candace's arms and swung her around, letting her go so that she crashed into one of the canteen tables. Todd, feeling winded, got up from where he had fallen and began to move towards Tessa again who now stood with both arms out, knife waving wildly in one hand.

  "I will kill you both," she said. "And then I'll probably eat my dinner." She laughed again.

  "Why don't you have some pudding first," shouted Candace as she upended one of the vending machines. The machine toppled over on top of Tessa, the glass panel smashing on her back as it fell. Tessa fell heavily to the floor with the machine on top of her, Todd grabbed the knife out of her hand which now protruded from underneath the machine.

  A loud whirring began, the sound of cogs moving inside the machine and chocolate bars started to fall to the floor as the machine began to vend all of its merchandise.

  "Help," Tessa cried weakly from underneath the machine.

  Uniformed officers began to filter into the canteen, the noise from the crashing machine being enough to alert them to what had been happening inside. Three officers helped to remove the vending machine from Tessa's back and as they brought her to standing position Todd placed handcuffs on her wrists.

  "Tessa Small, I am arresting you for the murder of Amanda Thomas, Penny Baker and Wayne Lewis and I am further arresting you for the attempted murder of Moira Celeste, the assault of a police officer and for perverting the course of justice." Todd relayed Tessa's rights to her as she mouthed them back to him
. "Take her downstairs." He said to the officers, then put his arm around a shaken Candace and led her to one of the canteen tables.

  "Where were you?" he asked her, I've been waiting to hear from you.

  "Well I had been to see Danny Bradford and he told me that Tessa was his customer; told him her name was 'Tee', reckons he's been servicing her for some time."

  "Well why didn't you ring me?"

  "Uh, your phone was turned off." She said sarcastically. Todd pulled out his telephone to see that indeed the screen was dead.

  "Fucking mobile phones," he said. "Right come on Candy Cane, all this exercise has made me a hungry man; I will shout you a curry, no funny business."

  Candace laughed, "What about the paperwork?"

  "We can do that in the morning, she's not going anywhere." He put his arm around Candace and they both began to walk down the stairs.

  Another murder solved. Another killer caught. Another statistic on a police bar chart. Todd's belly rumbled and his mind turned to the thoughts of a chicken jalfrezi as he walked with Candace to his car; job done, crime solved, moving on.

  Coming Soon

  Don't Kill Baby

  Preface

  Freddie took a deep drag on his cigarette as he strutted out of the London Night Club. Blowing a few smoke rings, he turned to the drunk, bedraggled Linette as she stumbled out through the door behind him.

  "Come on love, I'm feeling the need," he urged her.

  "Alright, cor fucking 'ell, I've only just bought these shoes," Linette complained as she splashed the red soled, crystal adorned, pink shoes in a muddy puddle. Freddie grabbed her by the arm and led her along the street, laughing as Linette stumbled, barely able to keep upright on the five inch heels.