The Blackness (The Mac Maguire detective mysteries Book 4)

by Patrick C Walsh

  ‘They cover pretty much the same ground don’t they?’ Tommy said.

  ‘Yes and they both mention the same four witnesses. I think our first move should be to interview them again and see if they stick to their stories. You never know…’

  Mac was interrupted by Martin who had a phone to one ear and was waving his free hand around.

  ‘It’s Dan, they’ve found a body,’ he said.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mac never said a word the whole way there. Tommy, sensing his mood, thought he might be best left alone.

  He supposed that he should have been excited at the news that a body was found but he wasn’t. He knew it confirmed that Natasha was dead but they’d all thought that after the first twenty four hours anyway. If someone’s been murdered then the best piece of evidence you can find is the body. Mac wasn’t excited about it though. If Natasha was buried in the field then it meant that it was probably Jonny Aldis who had put her there.

  Yet he had been so absolutely certain in his mind that Jonny wasn’t the murderer. Was it just the drawing or something else? He had the feeling it was something else but what on earth could it be?

  The thought crossed Mac’s mind that perhaps the real explanation might be that he was just losing it.

  Following the instructions Martin had given them they drove a good way down Purwell Lane before pulling up. Only ten yards or so on the other side of the fence a white tent had been erected. Mac looked down the road. He could see the front of Jonny’s house just a couple of hundred yards down the road. A section of the fence had been removed and Mac made his way onto the field. It was uneven and full of thick tussocks of grass so Mac knew he had to take care. He gingerly picked his way towards the tent as though he was walking through a minefield.

  Dan and Adil were standing outside the tent talking.

  ‘What have we got?’ Mac asked as he drew near.

  ‘Have a look,’ Dan said.

  Mac went through the open flap of the tent. Two men in white suits were working around a rectangular hole some four feet deep. A body were exposed. Mac had seen enough exhumations to know that this body had been there for some time.

  It wasn’t Natasha then!

  ‘Any ideas yet?’ Mac asked one of the forensic technicians.

  He didn’t look up or even stop working as he replied.

  ‘Well it’s a female, quite old I’d say, past fifty anyway. No signs of violence as far as we can see. She’s been here for a while I’d say but she’s very well preserved. The ground’s a bit peaty here so that might explain it.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Mac said.

  Tommy noticed that the news that it wasn’t Natasha had elevated his mood somewhat.

  ‘How did you find the grave?’

  ‘Something called ground penetrating radar,’ Adil answered. ‘We borrowed the rig and the guy who owns it from an archaeological dig a couple of miles away.’

  ‘Good idea. Do we know who she is yet?’ Mac asked Dan.

  ‘No but I’m hoping that the detailed forensics examination will give us a better idea. If we can’t solve it quickly we’ll be handing it over to someone else, we’ve got enough to be getting on with. What are you doing?’

  ‘We’ve had the reports into the allegation of sexual assault from the headmistress. In both reports four witnesses stated that Joy Ackley had been talking about getting revenge on Tony Hamilton by faking a sexual assault for some weeks before it actually happened. We need to make sure that they stick by what they said seven years ago.’

  ‘Okay, best of luck then,’ Dan said as he looked over the huge extent of the field that was still left to be searched. ‘I think we’ll be stuck here for a while yet.’

  They said their goodbyes and Mac started making his way back to the street and back to a thankfully even surface. He was only a few feet away from the pavement when his left foot went into a hole. It was only a few inches deep but it was enough. He felt his back twang and the pain speared him.

  He would have fallen if Tommy hadn’t have been quick enough to catch him.

  ‘Mac are you alright?’ Tommy asked even though he could clearly see that he wasn’t.

  ‘Don’t let Dan see. Help me back to the car,’ Mac said breathlessly.

  Sitting down in the car brought the blinding pain on again. Mac tried to stop it but a loud grunt left his lips.

  ‘What do you want me to do?’ Tommy said as he drove back up the hill.

  ‘Help me get in the house, then get my medication. That’s all you can do. I need to dose up and then try and sleep through it, it’s the only way.’

  Mac felt every little bump in the road on the way back.

  Tommy very carefully drove the car up the kerb and drove over the grass verge to get as close to the front door as he could. He helped Mac to the bedroom and then took off his shoes and trousers. Mac yelled as he lay flat on the bed. His face was white and etched with pain.

  ‘Where’s your medication?’ Tommy asked.

  ‘Kitchen cupboard on the left. Just bring it all in. Bring a glass and a big bottle of water too.’

  Tommy found the packets in the cupboard, all in neat little rows. He opened some other cupboards and found a big plastic tub. He took the lid off and placed all of the packets inside. He found a glass, took a large bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and went back to Mac. He could hear him grunting from the kitchen. He said a little prayer that what had happened to Mac would never happen to him and then felt immediately guilty about it.

  ‘Here,’ Tommy said. ‘What should I give you?’

  ‘Fentanyl, put another patch on. I only changed the other one last night but I’ll leave that on too. I’m going to need all the help I can get. You’ll need some scissors though.’

  Tommy ran back into the kitchen and ran back with some scissors.

  ‘Okay just cut it where the arrow’s pointing, not below it though, you’ll cut into the patch.’

  Tommy carefully cut the packet as he’d been instructed.

  ‘Inside you’ll see a small clear square of plastic. Get it out.’

  Tommy fiddled around inside the packet and pulled out what looked like a clear plaster except that this was square and had blue text printed on it. He was surprised that it was so small.

  ‘Good. There are two plastic wings that need to be removed. Watch out the surface will be very sticky so don’t fold the patch or you’ll have to start all over again with a new one.’

  Tommy carefully removed one wing and then the other.

  ‘Now place it on my shoulder here,’ Mac said, pointing to the top of his shoulder blade.

  Once on Mac patted it down and rubbed it gently to get it warm.

  ‘What else?’ Tommy asked.

  ‘I’ll need one of the Diclofenac tablets and two of the little blue ones from the purple pack.’

  He handed the tablets to Mac who washed them down with the water.

  ‘What can I do now?’ Tommy asked.

  ‘Nothing, except to wash your hands. You’ll have got some of the glue on your fingers and it’s powerful stuff,’ Mac replied as he lay back. ‘There’s nothing else you can do now Tommy. Just pull the curtains on your way out. Don’t come around tomorrow unless I call you.’

  ‘Shall I tell Bridget?’

  ‘No, please don’t!’ Mac ordered. ‘She‘ll come over when she should be working. There’s nothing she can do Tommy, there’s nothing anyone can do. Thanks for all you’ve done for me though and for not letting Dan see. Oh can you tell Tim I won’t be around tonight but don’t tell him why. Say it’s work or something.’

  Tommy didn’t like it but he did as he was ordered.

  He rang Dan and said that Mac was a little unwell, it was nothing much, he lied, just precautionary.

  ‘Better not take any chances I suppose. You’ve got some interviews to do, haven’t you?’

  ‘Yes, four classmates of Joy Ackley.’

  ‘Do me a favour and take Adil here with you. He�
��s bored stiff and driving me right up the wall.’

  Tommy promised Dan he’d pick Adil up at the field.

  As he drove down the hill again he couldn’t help wondering if Mac would be up to carrying on with the investigation. He wasn’t that religious but he still found himself saying a little prayer that he’d be alright. He liked working with Mac but the main reason he’d said the prayer was because he knew that the investigation really needed him.

  Mac lay there as the day waned and the room gradually got darker. He tried turning to find a better position but it only hurt him more. The drugs were starting to kick in now. While they’d help lessen the pain he also knew that he’d be in for a weird and wonderful ride, a night full of lucid dreams and disassociated thoughts. It was like having your arms and legs tightly strapped so you couldn’t move as you sat on a rollercoaster that swooped high and low through the cobwebs of your memories and into the darkest recesses of your mind.

  Mac almost dreaded it more than the pain. He yearned for the blackness of deep sleep and non-existence. He feared that it might be a long time coming.

  Chapter Twelve

  Four days missing

  After many hours of tossing and turning he eventually went back down into the blackness of sleep. It was only black for a while though, disjointed images, thoughts, even smells went past his mind’s eye in a chaotic parade. He was just a spectator at some mad cinema show that was going on inside his head.

  It finally faded away and most of his memories of it thankfully faded away too. He opened his eyes. It was light.

  ‘She wouldn’t do that!’ a woman’s voice said in his head.

  Mac vaguely remembered a dream where someone was saying this. But who was she and what did it mean?

  He lay there for a while thinking about this. For some reason he knew that it was important but he hadn’t the vaguest idea why. He decided to creep up on it.

  He sat up and found that this wasn’t too hard to accomplish. Then, after he’d said a prayer and girded his loins, he stood up and he winced as the pain it him again. It wasn’t as bad as it had been but it was still there. He looked at the clock. It was eight o’clock. From the fact that the sun was shining brightly outside he concluded that it must be morning.

  He limped into the kitchen and made himself some coffee and toast, all the while trying not to think about his dream. Even before he’d finished eating his toast the fatigue claimed him once again and he had to go back to his bed. Before he went he took two more little blue pills. His only option when the pain was this bad was to try and sleep through it.

  He lay down and sleep quickly overcame him again. It was thankfully a deep, normal sleep, only interspersed with vague dreams. Mac slept on until the next morning.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Five days missing

  He turned the alarm off and lay there for a while, right on the borderline between sleep and waking. Without being bidden the answer came straight into his mind. He was in someone’s living room and a blonde woman in her forties was saying with absolute conviction, ‘My Jessie, she wouldn’t do that!’

  He sat up. He knew that this was what he’d been searching his brain for, although exactly what it meant he wasn’t quite sure as yet. He braced himself and then stood up, smiling when he found that his back was once again within normal levels. It would hurt but it wouldn’t stop him doing things. Today he needed to be able to do things. Before he did anything else he took off the older pain patch and said a little prayer that he might have a clear head today.

  While he was brushing his teeth a name popped into his head. Charlie Booker.

  He looked into the mirror for some time. Of course, Charlie Booker! At the time Charlie been a DI at Barnet police station. Mac knew it was all tied in. He looked at the clock, it was now just past seven. He called Tommy who, to his surprise, had obviously been asleep.

  ‘What, what?’ Tommy said, still not quite sure where he was.

  ‘It’s Mac here can you pick me up? We need to go to Barnet Police Station.’

  There was a pause.

  ‘It’s not even six yet,’ Tommy lamented.

  ‘Six? Is it really?’ Mac checked his clock. It said ten past seven. He must have inadvertently changed the time while he was setting the alarm.

  ‘It doesn’t matter. This is important Tommy.’

  There was a short pause.

  ‘Okay give me half an hour,’ Tommy said.

  Mac dressed and got himself some coffee and toast. He was excited, in fact he was buzzing. He knew this meant something. He knew it. While he waited he made some phone calls.

  There was a message from Peter Harper, now DI Peter Harper Mac observed with a smile. He hadn’t come up with anything. Mac now knew why, it had been a case alright but not one of his.

  Tommy kept to his word. A half an hour later the bell rang. He saw a totally different Mac to the one who had been ravaged by pain. This one looked energetic and eager to get on with it.

  ‘How are you Mac?’ Tommy asked. ‘I must admit you’re looking a lot better than you did the day before yesterday.’

  The day before yesterday, Mac thought. A whole day was missing from his life. Mac hated those days when the pain won and not just because it hurt. He was getting older and more conscious of time. It was a day he’d never get back again.

  ‘I’m okay Tommy, honestly. A day’s rest has done me good.’

  ‘So what’s this all about?’ Tommy asked as they walked towards the car.

  ‘I’ll tell you on the way if that’s okay.’

  As they drove down the motorway Mac told Tommy what he knew.

  ‘I’ve had a sort of itch in my head, if you know what I mean, ever since I first saw Natasha’s photo. I knew I’d never seen her before but there was something that was familiar about her. I’ve been thinking and thinking and I’ve finally come up with something. I’m pretty sure that Natasha’s disappearance is somehow tied into a case that I reviewed some fourteen years ago. Exactly how I’m not sure but hopefully we’re going to find out soon.’

  ‘Fourteen years ago?’ Tommy exclaimed, giving Mac a sceptical look. ‘And you really think that this case has got something to do with Natasha?’

  ‘I do but let’s talk about it when we get there. By the way what happened yesterday?’

  Tommy gave it some thought.

  ‘Well we managed to interview the four girls whose statements were in the school reports and they’re still absolutely adamant that Joy Ackley discussed how she was going to frame Mr. Hamilton weeks before the allegations were actually made. Not only that but one of the girls put us onto another witness. She’d been one of Joy’s gang at school. She also confirmed what the others had said.’

  ‘Why would she though, if she’d been one of Joy’s friends?’

  ‘Well apparently one of the twelve year old girls that Joy was trying to recruit as a prostitute was her friend’s younger sister. She didn’t take it well.’

  ‘Well that might break a friendship up alright,’ Mac conceded.

  ‘Then Dan had the two kids from the college brought in, the ones who were spreading it around that Jonny Aldis had murdered Natasha.’

  ‘Did they know anything?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Nothing at all as it turned out, they were just being malicious little toe-rags. That’s Dan’s description by the way minus the swear words. So Dan let me be the good cop and he was the bad cop. He was really good too, frightened the hell out of them.’

  ‘Is he going to charge them?’

  Tommy shook his head.

  ‘Not worth the trouble Dan said but he didn’t tell them that. Just before he let them go he told them charges would be prepared and they’d know in six to eight weeks.’

  ‘So he’s going to let them stew for a while. Good for him.’

  ‘Then there was the suspect that Mrs. Tarbot had some doubts about.’

  ‘That’s the lady with the binoculars?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Yes that�
��s her. Anyway she wasn’t too far off as it turned out. Dan raided the shed and found four Romanians inside. They were basically being used as slaves by a gang master picking fruit in the area. We’ve passed it over to a team from Cambridgeshire who are looking into this type of crime.’

  ‘So we’ve uncovered a paedophile, two malicious slanderers and a slave master so far but I take it that we’re really no nearer finding Natasha?’ Mac asked.

  ‘That’s about it,’ Tommy confirmed.

  ‘Okay, well I’m hoping that our little outing might help with that.’

  Tommy slowed down and drove down the side of Barnet Police Station. He stopped at the gates to the car park and spoke to someone via the intercom. They took pity on him and the gates opened.

  ‘Over there,’ Mac said, pointing towards a grey haired man who was smoking a cigarette outside the main building.

  Tommy parked right in front of the man. He smiled as he watched Mac climb out of the car.

  ‘Charlie, how are you?’ Mac asked.

  The two men shook hands warmly. Mac introduced Tommy.

  ‘You might not believe it,’ Mac said as he turned towards Tommy, ‘but this man here was my sergeant when I first joined the Met. You don’t look old enough though Charlie.’

  ‘Oh, stop joshing Mac,’ Charlie protested with a smile. The smile instantly left his face. ‘It’s Jessica Watson you’re here about then?’

  ‘Yes, yes that was her name Jessica. Her mother called her Jessie, didn’t she? When I rang about the missing girl you knew exactly who I meant didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes, it was a sad case and one I never forgot. I was really surprised to get your call after all these years though. Come on, follow me.’

  Charlie took them down a couple of corridors and into an interview room. A thick manila folder sat on the table.

  ‘Is that it?’ Mac asked.

  ‘Yes that’s the case file. Still did everything on paper in those days,’ Charlie replied.

  Mac was almost hesitant to open it but he forced himself.

  ‘Tell me what you remember,’ Mac asked as he started looking through the file.