The Creeper

by Tania Carver

  She answered it. Mickey.

  ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘How you doing?’

  ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Working through the therapy list like I said I was going to.’

  ‘Any luck?’

  ‘Not so far. Got an ex-soldier next. Post-traumatic stress disorder. That’ll be a laugh. See what he comes up with.’

  ‘Right.’

  ‘You?’

  He sighed. ‘Losing the will to live. Rapidly.’

  She laughed. ‘Still hunting for Nemo?’

  ‘Yeah…’

  ‘Dory was my favourite. And the sharks.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The film. Don’t say you haven’t seen it?’

  ‘No. You have kids, then?’

  ‘Nephews. Two of them.’

  ‘Right.’

  Mickey fell silent. Anni waited. Eventually she decided to prompt him.

  ‘What was it you wanted to talk to me about, then?’

  ‘Yeah. When are you free?’

  She told him she had an address for the soldier on a houseboat by the quayside at the Hythe.

  ‘Where we found the body,’ said Mickey.

  ‘Probably,’ she said. ‘D’you want to meet up there?’

  He did. They made a time, rang off.

  She drove away, glad to be heading back to the town. Feeling much safer there than in the country.

  61

  The Super sat behind the desk in Fenwick’s office. Stared at him, unsmiling.

  ‘Jesus Christ. What a fucking mess.’

  Phil said nothing.

  Fenwick was sitting next to him, a red welt over the side of his lip, his cheek puffed up, face turned away from the Super, eyes still on him. Phil kept the swollen knuckles of his right hand covered with his left.

  The Super was never known by his full title, Chief Superintendent Brian Denton, at least not throughout Colchester Division. Just the Super. He wasn’t a physically imposing man but he had the confidence and presence that comes from knowing whatever he said was going to be listened to and acted on. With his swept-back grey hair, impeccable uniform and artfully concealed broken veins on his nose, Phil was always reminded of an ageing matinee idol who thought he was bound for Hollywood but somehow ended up in daytime soaps. Not everyone can run the Met.

  But he was a first-class copper and he still retained a thief taker’s instinct, no matter how many years he had spent behind a desk.

  Usually on a case like this Phil reported directly to the Super at Chelmsford, the DCI at the station, his direct superior, taking more of an office management role. The Super had mentioned Fenwick before. Phil got the impression he didn’t rate him much.

  ‘Heads should roll for this.’

  Phil again said nothing.

  Fenwick, however, leaned forward. ‘Well, sir, I… I’ve covered all bases adequately. Perhaps if the…’ – he risked a sly, angry glance at Phil – ‘… shall we say lower-ranking officers had done their jobs properly, we wouldn’t be in this mess.’

  Phil’s vision turned red. His hands began to shake. Bastard.

  He still said nothing.

  The Super stared at Fenwick. ‘Surely as senior officer the blame should lie with you, DCI Fenwick?’

  Fenwick went red. ‘Well, yes, perhaps… but I’m not out on the front line. I’m here, coordinating. I can’t be held responsible for everything that goes on.’

  ‘So you’re… what? Just a glorified office manager, is that what you’re saying?’

  It was Fenwick’s turn to shake. Phil suppressed a grin.

  ‘I… I… no…’

  The Super cut in. ‘This is a bloody mess. You’ve got more resources and bodies on this one than any other case in Essex. I want results. And I want this kept quiet, the press out of. If I see one word of this in the papers I’ll have both your jobs, clear?’

  They both nodded.

  ‘Good. Right.’ He turned to Phil. ‘DI Brennan. Did you get a confession out of the suspect before he was taken to hospital?’

  Phil shook his head. ‘No, sir.’

  ‘Pity.’ He looked at his watch. Sighed. Clearly on his way to another appointment. He looked between the two of them irritably. ‘Can I trust you both to carry on with this? Without one blaming the other for failings either real or imagined? Or the other feeling the need to express his feelings physically, no matter how deserving the recipient may be of them?’

  The Super’s eyes twinkled. Phil caught it. He didn’t know if Fenwick had.

  He knows. He knows what’s happened.

  Phil nodded. ‘You can, sir.’

  Fenwick was more hesitant.

  ‘Problem, DCI Fenwick?’

  Fenwick risked a sly look at Phil, eyes lit by a vengeful light.

  Here it comes, he thought.

  ‘Yes? I’m waiting.’

  Fenwick shook his head, dropped his eyes to the floor.

  ‘Good. DI Brennan, you’re still in charge of this investigation. Move it forward, get results. The whole world and his bloody wife are looking over our shoulder on this one. DCI Fenwick, you’re in charge of damage control here. Like I said, not one word of this to the press. Or heads will roll.’

  The Super stood up, bid them good day, let himself out.

  Fenwick breathed a sigh or relief.

  Silence in the room.

  ‘Not one word, Ben,’ said Phil eventually, ‘or heads will roll.’

  Fenwick turned to him, quickly, angrily. ‘You won’t get away with what you did.’

  There were plenty of retorts that came into Phil’s mind then but he kept his mouth shut. Instead he stood up, left the office and walked back to the bar.

  The investigation was in full swing. Phones were being worked, keyboards pounded, voices raised, bodies all over the room. But there was something Phil was interested in more than the investigation at the moment. All to do with the plan he had thought up on the way to work.

  He walked across to Milhouse, crouched at the side of his desk.

  ‘Milhouse,’ he said, ‘need you to run a check on someone for me.’

  Milhouse looked up, pushed his glasses back up his nose. ‘Who?’

  He handed him a folded slip of paper. Milhouse opened it, read it. Then looked up, his mouth a perfect ‘O’ of shock.

  ‘This is-’

  ‘Marina.’

  ‘Right.’ Milhouse frowned. ‘What kind of check?’

  ‘Financial, mainly.’ He gave him another sheet of folded paper. ‘Here’s her account details. Debit and credit cards. I want to know if you can find a trail, see where they’ve been used.’

  ‘But, this is… this is against the law.’

  Phil tried to act casual. ‘Strictly speaking, without a warrant and all that, yes. But please. As a favour to your superior officer? A discreet favour?’

  Milhouse looked between the computer and the paper. Eventually he nodded.

  Phil managed a smile. ‘Thanks. This means a lot to me. And let me know as soon as you find something, yeah?’

  Milhouse said he would.

  He stood up, crossed to the door. Fenwick was just walking through it.

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To do some policework.’

  He swept through the doors before Fenwick could say anything else.

  Rose Martin looked up from her desk. Ben was standing by the double doors, watching Phil Brennan walk away. She knew the look on his face by now – angry enough to do some serious damage.

  She stood up, walked towards him.

  ‘Ben? You got a minute?’

  She walked outside, knowing he would follow her into the corridor. Knowing he would follow her anywhere. Aware also that Fiona Welch had looked up, was watching them go.

  ‘That bastard…’ As soon as they were alone, the anger was vented. ‘The Super knows what happened, knows what that bastard did and condones it, bloody condones it… oh, he didn’t say it in so many words but I know what he meant. It was clear whose
bloody side he was on…’

  ‘Ben.’ She placed her hands on his shoulders, looked directly into his eyes. They were flailing around, avoiding her gaze, but she kept at him, waiting for them to settle, like startled crows following a gunshot.

  ‘D’you want to get back at him? D’you want to get even?’

  ‘You’re bloody right I do. I want to see the look on his face when-’

  She jumped in quickly. ‘D’you want the glory for this one? Want Brennan to come in looking clueless?’

  He looked at her. Said nothing.

  ‘I’ve got something that no one else has. And it’s gold.’

  His anger stopped. She knew it was still there, though, like a stationary train at a platform or cancer in remission.

  ‘What?’ he said.

  She smiled. ‘Calm down first, then I’ll show you.’

  He smiled. It was a struggle. ‘You always know the right thing to say to me.’

  ‘I know,’ she said. ‘Come on.’

  She led him back into the bar, aware that Fiona Welch’s eyes were still fixed on the pair of them.

  Rose smiled to herself. Hands off, spod, she thought. There’s only one person going to get the glory on this case and shag the boss.

  And that’s me.

  62

  Paula Harrison’s face registered a range of emotions that Phil hoped he would never have to experience.

  She stood in the doorway to her house, clutching the door. She stared at him, round-eyed. If she blinked, Phil thought, the tears would start.

  And might never stop.

  ‘Adele…’

  ‘Can I come in, Paula?’

  She let him in. It was the same as his last visit only more so. The mess was messier, the cartoons on the TV louder and more vivid, the sense of lost hope more palpable.

  She chased Nadine upstairs, waited until the door closed, perched on the edge of the sofa. Looked at Phil. Preparing herself.

  ‘We…’

  She cut him off. ‘It’s her, isn’t it? The body. Adele…’

  ‘I think you’d better prepare yourself for the worst.’

  And she broke. Not just tears but her whole body seemed to crumple as if her bones had dissolved, leaving her unable to move, to stand.

  ‘I’ll…’ Phil went into the kitchen to make tea. Let her sob in peace.

  He returned to find her dabbing her eyes and blowing her nose with a paper tissue. She kept dabbing, kept blowing until the tissue was too sodden to function then, seemingly forgetting about it, just let it drop to the floor.

  ‘How… how did…’

  ‘We believe the body we found is Adele. We still need to do other tests to be sure but I just wanted to warn you.’

  She nodded absently.

  ‘You’ll be asked to make a formal identification of the body once we’ve confirmed it’s her. Is there anyone you’d like to come with you?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘A family member? Friend?’

  ‘Adele was my family. All the family I had left…’

  ‘What about her father?’

  A dark wave passed over Paula’s features. ‘He won’t be back…’ She glanced up at Phil, glanced away. ‘And, anyway, Adele hated him. She wouldn’t… wouldn’t…’ The tears started again.

  Phil said nothing.

  ‘She was all, all I had…’

  Phil looked at the pictures on the wall. Adele when she was younger with her brother. Both smiling, both looking like the summer would never end.

  Both gone.

  Phil didn’t know what else to say. He had no words that would make things better for her, no actions that could help. He phoned FLO, asked them to send Cheryl Bland round. She was on her way. Phil hung up, told Paula.

  She nodded.

  ‘I think…’

  But he never got to tell her what he thought. His phone went again. He answered.

  ‘Adrian here, boss. I’m with the CSIs in Suzanne Perry’s flat. Found something I think you should see.’

  He looked across at Paula. Didn’t want to leave her alone. ‘Right now?’

  ‘’Fraid so.’

  ‘What kind of thing?’

  He hesitated. ‘I think you should come and see for yourself, boss.’

  ‘OK.’ He checked his watch. ‘On my way.’

  He turned to Paula. ‘I have to go.’

  She looked up at him sharply, as if she had forgotten he was actually there.

  ‘Cheryl Bland’ll be here soon. She’ll help you.’ He handed her a card. ‘Call me if you need to.’

  She took it. Let it slip through her fingers to join the used tissue.

  Phil saw himself out.

  63

  ‘Up here, boss,’ said Adrian Wren. ‘And, like they say in Star Trek, set faces to stun.’

  Phil didn’t correct him, knew the misquote was intentional. He was standing in the hallway of Suzanne Perry’s flat, a two-person CSI still working their way through, Jane Gosling supervising.

  The flat was well on its way to looking like no one had ever lived there. The careful accretion of Suzanne Perry’s life – not to mention Zoe Herriot’s body – had been removed, broken down and analysed. It was something that always depressed Phil. Not for the first time did a murder scene remind him of a stage set when the actors had finished. This time it went even further. The play was over, the set being torn down. There was only the hope that another one would take its place.

  Phil looked away, looked up towards Adrian’s voice.

  The hatch to the loft was open. His DC was leaning over, looking downwards. ‘Get a chair, boss, and I’ll pull you up.’

  Phil did so, struggling to be hauled into the square loft opening. Adrian, despite his scrawniness, was surprisingly strong. Phil knew he was a runner. Must have helped to build him up.

  Phil reached the edge of the opening, let Adrian help him to his feet.

  ‘Watch your head,’ said Adrian. ‘And your feet. It’s been boarded over a bit, but not too well.’

  On the floor were several old doors laid across the rafters, thick, wadded insulation sticking out between the gaps. Above his head, the ceiling was covered in cobwebs. Dust and dirt caught in the webby strands, strung like filthy grey hammocks between the beams.

  Adrian gestured with his hand, pointed. ‘Along there.’

  Phil looked. At the far end of the loft where the wooden beams ended in a triangular brick wall, there were no cobwebs, no dust, no dirt. It had been cleaned and cleared. The old doors had been moved together making a floor. Phil noticed now that the other doors over the rafters mirrored the layout of the flat below. A walkway.

  Someone had been living here.

  ‘Christ…’

  Adrian nodded. ‘I know.’ He moved forward slightly. ‘Don’t want to disturb it too much, the CSIs haven’t been along there yet. But, look, you can make out what’s been happening…’

  He pointed again.

  ‘We became suspicious when we found some tiny cameras in the living room downstairs. Fibre-optic, good ones. Never know they were there if you weren’t looking for them. Well hidden.’

  ‘So you checked the other rooms?’

  Adrian nodded. ‘Same in every one. Bedroom, bathroom, kitchen. Tiny, with a wireless transmitter. So we checked the range, realised it wasn’t very far, looked around to see where the likeliest place to receive them would be. Traced them up to here. In that corner there, specifically.’

  ‘So… what? A bank of TV screens, or something?’

  Adrian gave a grim smile. ‘It’s the twenty-first century, boss. All you need is a laptop and the right software.’

  ‘And our man had that.’

  ‘Oh yes.’

  Phil shook his head. Adrian Wren loved a gadget. He would be in his element with this line of inquiry. ‘So,’ said Phil. ‘This was planned. Premeditated, yes?’

  ‘Meticulously, I’d say.’

  ‘Would we be able to trace him from the equip
ment? Find him from where he bought it? I’m assuming this is specialised stuff. You won’t get it at Currys.’

  ‘You’re right there. It could be government-issue. Army. I’ll be looking in to it.’

  Phil frowned. ‘Why did he leave it behind? Didn’t he know we’d find it?’

  ‘I don’t know. He’s taken his laptop. Maybe he’s got another set of cameras and can start again. Maybe he got what he wanted here and didn’t need them any more. But that’s not all.’

  Phil’s stomach flipped. He didn’t like the tone of Adrian’s voice, the look in his eye when he said that.

  ‘There.’ Adrian moved forward. Phil followed.

  Two rows of bottles, the kind of specimen jars a doctor provides, were displayed neatly along the last door before the wall. All of them containing something off-white and viscous.

  ‘We’ve had a look at one of them. Human semen. He’s been knocking one out and saving it. Collecting them till he’s got the set. Don’t know what for, though.’

  ‘Tributes?’ suggested Phil. ‘Saving it all up for the woman he loves?’

  Adrian grimaced. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day. Lovely.’

  ‘Get them analysed. Might get a DNA match.’

  ‘Already doing it.’ Adrian sighed. ‘He was living here, too. Bottling and boxing up his waste, leaving it under the floor. It looks like he had a sleeping bag here too.’

  ‘Food?’

  ‘Few remains. Wrappers from energy bars, that kind of thing. Red Bull cans. Maybe he went downstairs if he wanted anything else, helped himself when Suzanne was out.’

  ‘And there’s no trace of him now.’

  Adrian shook his head. ‘Place is cold. My guess is he took Suzanne and headed out with her. Got what he wanted, no need to come back here.’

  Phil stood staring at the scene before him, saying nothing, thinking.

  Working out what to do next.

  ‘The others,’ he said eventually.

  Adrian listened.

  ‘Julie Miller. Adele Harrison. Was he watching them?’

  ‘He might have been…’

  ‘I’d say he definitely was.’ He looked round, suddenly anxious to be out of the loft, on the move. ‘Can I leave you with this?’