Cut The Threads: A Serial Killer Thriller That Will Keep You Hooked (DS Marnie Hammond Book 2)

by Robin Roughley

  Rae turned to the look at the man, his eyes narrowing, Marnie took her chance, bending down she quickly picked up two of the spilled cartridges from the floor, stepped back and cracked the barrel open.

  The tension in the room suddenly increased as she slid the shells home and snapped the gun closed again.

  Rae glanced at her and sneered before looking back at Conway. ‘So, you’re the cunt who took care of Tam?’

  Conway smiled and Rae fumed.

  ‘I never touched your friend, that was someone else, someone who wants to make you suffer.’

  ‘Fucking liar,’ Rae bit back, spittle flying from his mouth.

  Reese moved to one side and held out his hands as if trying to placate the big man. ‘He’s telling the truth, you’re just too stupid to see it.’

  Rae continued to fume, his hate-filled eyes flicking from one to the other like a cornered animal ready to attack.

  ‘I know how you bastards work.’ His eyes rapidly took on a cunning look. ‘But what I want to know is what two coppers are doing breaking into my house with a man who admits to torturing Chelsea?’

  ‘I want to know about Rowan Hall?’ Conway asked, ignoring the question.

  ‘Never heard of her,’ Rae hurled back, his eyes full of contempt.

  ‘What about Conrad Boland?’ Marnie swallowed as she spoke the name she hated above all others.

  Suddenly, all expression left Rae’s face and he took a step back towards the fridge.

  ‘Never heard of him either,’ he mumbled.

  Marnie felt the weight of the gun in her hands as Rae glanced at her.

  ‘You’ve never heard of a mass killer of children who lived in the same town you were raised and lived in all your life?’ Marnie asked, her words spat out in disgust.

  ‘That’s right,’ Rae replied lamely.

  ‘Do you have any idea how pathetic that sounds?’ she asked, inching closer to the man.

  ‘We’ll see who looks pathetic when you have to explain what the fuck you are doing here.’

  ‘You fired a loaded gun at us,’ Reese said with a frown.

  ‘You broke in, it was dark and I thought I was being robbed so I defended myself,’ the smile grew on Rae’s face, his eyes held a hint of enjoyment. ‘Besides, if you had anything on me you would have come mob-handed yet look at you, two idiots and some wannabee vigilante. I’m no expert but I just bet no other bugger knows you’re here and—’

  The shotgun exploded with a deafening roar, the microwave on the worktop was thrown into the air, the glass in the door went with a bang.

  Any hint of humour left Jimmy Rae’s face as he leapt to the left. ‘You mad fucking cunt!’ he screamed.

  ‘Tell me why your name was coupled with that of a child killer or I will blow your bastard head off!?’ Marnie’s face was pale with fury, her finger tightening on the second trigger.

  Rae held his hands up, his face instantly flooded with fear. ‘I’ve told you, I don’t know what the fuck you are talking about.’

  ‘Marnie don’t!’ Reese warned.

  The air seemed to crackle with tension then she slowly lowered the gun and Rae heaved out a heavy sigh of relief.

  ‘I’ll finish you for that,’ he gulped, the hatred reignited on his face.

  When Conway moved, he moved fast. Reese managed to pluck at his sleeve but before he could tighten his grip Conway had closed the gap. Rae twisted to face the attack but Conway merely slammed his way through the defences and then he pulled a knife, yanking Rae forwards he spun behind him and pressed the shining blade to the big man’s pulsating throat.

  ‘Shit,’ Reese gasped as he wavered in indecision. ‘Mad fucker, you are so dead!’ Rae tried to twist his head to spit at Conway but then the blade moved left and swept upwards, a chunk of Rae’s left ear was sliced away.

  Blood spurted but before Rae had the time to shout out the pain, the knife was back at his throat, slicing into the taught skin.

  Marnie shivered in disgust as the slice of flesh dropped to the floor.

  80

  Rowan ran through the trees, her heart racing, her eyes squinting against the rain as she dodged around another gnarled trunk that loomed out of the darkness. The ground beneath her feet felt slippery, her trainers squelched as they took on water. Every few yards her feet seemed to sink in a trough of freezing water, though she refused to let the elements slow her down; all she could picture was her father rushing towards her and gathering her up in his arms, both of them crying in relief at the miracle of finding one another.

  Suddenly, the rain intensified, she could hear it hissing around her as she stumbled forward in the dark. Time lost all meaning, all she knew was that she was free, free of the dread and fear, free of the certainty that she was going to die – and die badly. When her foot slipped on the thick tree root she yelped, her leg slewed to the right, her arms fought for balance but it was too late and she hit the ground hard, the heavy root grinding into her ribs as she fell.

  Rowan Hall lay in the darkness and abruptly the euphoria vanished as she realised she had no idea where she was. Her mind seemed to delight in tormenting her, pointing out that this woodland could go on for miles. She had no clue that she was even running in the right direction, when she had seen the car lights approaching she had simply dashed into the trees in an effort to escape.

  Now, she lay on the sodden grass and all the old fairy tale nightmares came flooding back to haunt her – the child missing in the woods – and suddenly she was certain the same woods that had offered sanctuary now offered only torment and death. Ancient trees would rip up their roots from the dark earth, branches would wrap her in their deadly embrace, bark would split and timber would groan as the trees opened their hidden mouths ready to crush bones and drink sap.

  She started to shake in fear, her saturated clothes clung to her skin.

  When she saw the flash of light in the trees the fear turned to terror, the light bounced of the trunks, searching, probing, looking for…

  Her heart stalled, they were looking for her.

  Despite the pain she leapt to her feet and pushed the wet hair from her eyes, straining to see into the darkness as, all of a sudden, the light vanished. She stood, shoulders hunched, her arms wrapped around her slender body, holding her breath but then the light lanced out again and she gasped as it came within fifteen feet of finding her.

  Turning, she started to run, the adrenalin flowed giving her extra speed, yet already she could feel the impermanence of the added burst of power. Coordination seemed to desert her and she ran blindly, all the terror was now back, threatening to stop her in her tracks, yet she kept running, kept trying.

  She burst out into the open field, her senses reeled at the sudden change and she staggered to a halt. When she saw the tiny lights sparkling in the distance she felt a sliver of hope germinate in her mind. She knew they were roadside lights, like a string of pearls shining in the darkness, the sight started her running again, the sudden hope sent a last surge through her system as she sprinted out into the darkness.

  ‘Run, sweetheart.’

  She heard her father’s voice ring clear and true in her mind and the sound spurred her on, her arms and legs pumping, desperate to cross the barren tundra before the torchlight lanced out of the trees to pinpoint her. The ground started to rise and her pace slowed, the muscles in her legs burning with pain, her ribs seemed to grind together with every step she took, yet she refused to give in to the pain. She reached the crest of the field, she could see the land gradually sloping down towards a dry-stone wall in the distance.

  Rowan glanced back towards the trees just as the light shone out, searching, seeking. With a cry of fear, she threw herself forward, the white light sweeping back and forth. Bellying forwards, she snaked over the rise and then paused for a moment, her face planted in the wet earth, her hands tearing at the grass, then the heavens opened once more.

  81

  ‘I have some questions for you,’ Conway snarl
ed as Rae continued to groan, the blood seeping down the side of his face. ‘Every time you stall or say you don’t have the answer then I cut you.’

  Rae’s eyes bulged, all his life he had been the one holding the knife, the one demanding answers from the terrified but now the tables were turned and he quickly realised what it meant to have real fear come calling.

  ‘Tell me why Phelps had your name linked to Boland’s?’

  The blade at Rae’s neck sliced a little deeper, the side of his head felt on fire.

  Reese started to move forward and Conway looked at him through narrowed eyes. ‘One more step and I’ll cut off his nose.’

  The words brought Reese to a stuttering halt.

  Conway tightened his grip on Rae’s shoulder. ‘Now talk.’

  Rae felt the knife slice deeper into his flesh, blood oozed over the blade and yet he still tried to hold onto the bravado.

  ‘Get fucked, you wanker.’ He managed to get the words out but there was no force behind them just fear, fear of what the next few seconds would bring.

  The knife eased a little and Rae gasped in relief and then the pain exploded as another chunk of his ear fell to the floor.

  The terror blasted through his defences as he realised he was seconds from death.

  ‘Someone wanted a job doing and they contacted Phelps,’ he spurted the words out, his face locked in a grimace of terror.

  Marnie held her breath, the blood flowed from the side of Rae’s head, Reese seemed rooted to the spot, his face lit with a mixture of anger and apprehension.

  ‘What job?’ Conway hissed into the damaged ear as he pressed the blade back to Rae’s throat.

  ‘They wanted someone taking care of.’

  ‘Tell me the fucking name?’ Conway demanded.

  Rae swallowed and felt the blade parting his flesh. ‘Boland,’ his voice came out as a hiss of petrified air.

  Marnie felt the confusion crash into her, picturing the monster with his head wreathed in flame.

  Reese watched as she started to raise the gun again, moving quickly to the right he placed his hand on the stunted barrel, forcing it back down.

  Marnie looked at him and he could see the void of loss in her eyes, the remembered horror of what Boland had done to the children he had slaughtered.

  Then her eyes seemed to cloud over and she leaned forward. ‘Someone wanted you to kill Boland?’ she asked, through cold thin lips.

  Rae swivelled his eyes towards her and tried to nod then yelped as the blade sliced a millimetre deeper. ‘Yeah, yeah, but I didn’t do it, I fucking swear I didn’t top the cunt.’

  Suddenly, Marnie saw a flash of truth and, dropping the gun, she stumbled forward but Reese grabbed her before she fell to her knees. ‘You would have done but by that time Boland was already dead, wasn’t he?’

  She saw the truth in Jimmy Rae’s eyes as Reese held her up. ‘Who wanted him dead?’ she asked, as her blood ran cold.

  Rae shook his head, oblivious to the blood that flowed down his shirt front. ‘I can’t tell you that, no fucking way.’

  ‘Was it one of the parents of the children he killed?’ Reese asked and then looked on in amazement as Rae started to laugh, the sound held more than a hint of madness, tears flowed from his eyes.

  ‘No comment,’ he bellowed before breaking into even more gales of manic laughter.

  Conway moved the blade in a blur of speed and the end of Rae’s nose was cut free.

  The laughter stopped and Rae screamed, really screamed, his voice pitched high and full of agony, blood spurted from the gristly holes in his face.

  ‘Name?’ Conway yelled.

  ‘I only know her as the “woman”,’ Rae cried.

  Marnie managed to struggle free from Reese’s embrace and moved forward until she was standing in front of the big man, his eyes streaming with tears of anguish, she could see his teeth stained red in a rictus grin of fear.

  ‘Why did she want Boland dead?’

  Rae licked his lips, the fear growing in his eyes as he tasted the blood on his tongue. ‘I don’t have a fucking clue.’

  ‘And I don’t believe you.’

  ‘I don’t give a shit what you believe—’

  ‘You may not know her name but it’s obvious you’ve worked for her before,’ Marnie said as she jabbed a finger into Rae’s chest. ‘I want to know what you did, I want to know everything about this woman.’

  ‘You don’t get it do you, no fucker knows who she is, she—’

  ‘Phelps was her go-between?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah but even that little cunt didn’t have a name.’

  ‘And how do you know that?’ Conway asked, the blade never wavering.

  ‘Because I fucking asked him but he was clueless.’

  ‘He could have been lying to you.’

  ‘No way, Phelps wouldn’t dare—’

  ‘If you think that then you are even more delusional than I thought,’ Marnie sneered. ‘Phelps is missing and he has Rowan Hall with him.’

  ‘I’ve already told you I’ve never heard of her,’ Rae pleaded.

  ‘No, but someone has been trying to muscle in on your patch, they must have been getting their information from somewhere, and I know how your sick mind works. It will have been driving you mad – not knowing who was behind all this – and now your personal solicitor is missing. You’ve convinced yourself that Phelps wouldn’t dare turn on you but I can smell the fear coming off you and it’s all down to this woman you claim to know nothing about.’

  ‘I—’

  ‘But what if she was threatening Phelps, what would he have done – what would you have done?’ she finished, watching Rae’s face go slack-jawed with the realisation of the truth.

  ‘Little cunt!’ he roared.

  Marnie looked around the empty room, a frown forming on her face. ‘You were sitting here in the dark and you stink of booze, so where are the rest of your cronies?’ she turned back to face him.

  Rae snapped his mouth closed, blood dribbled down his chin.

  ‘Answer her,’ Conway demanded, the knife moved again.

  ‘I don’t fucking know where they are, no bastard is answering their phone.’

  An image of the headless body on the bedroom floor flashed into Marnie’s mind and then she thought of the man elbowing Bev Harvey to one side as he made a break from the house.

  ‘Do you know anyone named Collier’?’ she asked.

  Rae’s face was flooded with rage. ‘Little fucker,’ he snarled.

  ‘Why would you say that?’ Reese asked as he stepped to Marnie’s side.

  ‘And don’t even think about saying no comment,’ Conway warned, increasing the pressure on the knife.

  ‘The bastard was running a knocking shop,’ Rae mumbled.

  ‘And no one does that without your say so, that’s right isn’t it?’

  Rae glared at Marnie, his eyes brittle with hate. ‘That’s fucking right!’

  Marnie thought for a moment, absorbing the anger that spewed from the injured man.

  ‘You sent a man to his house, didn’t you?’

  Rae’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘How do you know that?’

  Marnie’s lips curled in a grin that never reached her eyes. ‘Because as soon as he set foot in the place, someone called the station to tell us that a murder had taken place at the address,’ she paused, ‘your friend was there when we arrived. In fact, we have him locked up.’

  Rae’s mouth opened and closed like a grounded fish.

  ‘Earlier this evening I had a letter delivered to my house,’ Marnie started to talk, the words coming out clipped and sharp, the more she spoke the redder Rae’s face became.

  ‘So, you see, someone knows all about me, and—’

  ‘That’s why you didn’t come mob-handed, you want to save the girl?’ Rae interrupted.

  Marnie pushed her face in close. ‘Rowan Hall is thirteen years old and she is all that matters, your solicitor has been keeping her locked in a fil
thy cellar, now why would he do that?’

  ‘How am I meant to answer that, if Phelps’s tastes are for the kids then it has fuck all to do with me!’

  Marnie flicked a glance over his shoulder, she could see the rage in Conway’s face, his eyes blasted with hatred.

  ‘I want to know what this woman has to do with Boland, I want to know why she wanted you to kill him?’ Marnie snatched the front of Rae’s jacket, he tried to recoil from the look in her eyes but he had nowhere to go.

  ‘I …’

  ‘If you are scared of her, that tells me you have worked for her in the past; it also tells me she must be sick to put the fear of God into a piece of shit like you.’

  Rae’s eyes continued to shine with fury and terror.

  ‘Cat got your tongue?’ Conway asked as he loomed over Rae’s shoulder.

  ‘I …’

  ‘Answer the woman or you will never be able to wear sunglasses again.’

  Rae shivered at the implication and started to slump forward but the knife didn’t move instead it sliced deeper into the flesh, forcing him to snap his head back.

  ‘Please, I—’

  ‘Tell us!’ Conway bellowed, the hand holding the knife shook with rage.

  ‘Doc Hardy!’ Rae screamed and screwed his eyes closed – waiting for death.

  Marnie blinked in confusion at the name, her hands fell away from Rae’s crumpled jacket.

  She thought of Bev Harvey sitting at the computer and telling her all about Polly Hardy’s husband, a local doctor, who had died after falling down the steps of a multi-storey car park attached to the hospital.

  ‘You killed Hardy?’ she whispered.

  Rae’s eyes remained screwed shut, his quivering lips clamped together.

  ‘Marnie, are you OK?’ Reese asked.

  She turned to face her boss, her face etched with confusion. ‘They found Hardy dead at a multi-storey in town, Bev Harvey was involved in the case and in the end the pathologist put it down to accidental death.’

  Reese glanced at Rae. ‘But he was responsible?’