Unseen Evil

by Liz Mistry

  Once in the kitchen, pizza box open in front of them, and a glass of whisky each on the table, Gus took the time to study Alice. Last time he’d seen her she’d been skinny… almost wasted. Her eyes had been dead and at the time Gus had doubted they’d ever shine again. He was wrong. Her eyes were sparkling… okay, perhaps not as brightly as before… but they weren’t emotionless. He felt a tear come to his eye and then Alice groaned.

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake, Gus, if you’re going to cry like a damn wuss, then I’m out of here… right now. Just tell me all about that.’ And she pointed to the letter in its sealed bag that Gus had shoved on the kitchen table.

  Her words made him smile. His Alice was back… or nearly. She was still scrawny. Her once smooth face, had faint wrinkles fanning out across her forehead and from the sides of her mouth. Her cheeks were still a little sunken, her hair, although it had grown back in, was still shorter than before. ‘My anonymous letter will keep until tomorrow. Nobody there to process it tonight. I’m more interested in you.’

  She jumped to her feet. ‘I’m skinnier, my body’s damaged… but look at these beauties.’ And she whipped off her hoodie, revealing a tight vest top and raised her arms like a weightlifter… ‘I’m effing built, Gus.’

  She was right, she might carry a little less weight, but Al had muscles that even Gus envied.

  ‘I went back to Greece with my parents for a while… after… you know?’ She picked a bit of grit from a slice of pizza before biting a bit off. Gus sipped his whisky, happy to let her tell her story at her own speed as she chewed.

  ‘At first I was a wreck, but then slowly I realised, I couldn’t let him beat me.’

  She didn’t need to say his name for Gus to know she meant Sean, the man who’d been responsible for nearly killing her and framing her, so she spent a hellish few months in prison.

  ‘So, I joined a gym… like I did in prison and I worked like a dog and… Somewhere along the line, I reconnected with life and realised I was getting better.’ She raised her hands palms up in a ‘ta da’ action. ‘And here I am.’

  ‘You coming back to work?’

  Alice smiled. ‘Yep. I’ve been back a few weeks. Nancy got me passed fit to work… I can start whenever as long as I keep seeing the psychiatrist.’

  ‘Nancy knew you were back?’ That nugget pissed him off. Nancy hadn’t given him a head’s up and that hurt. Not that he really thought he deserved it… not after the way he’d doubted his friend.

  ‘Yeah, I’ve been in touch with her throughout.’ She looked at Gus, ‘Told her not to say anything to you. I didn’t think I’d ever be back… didn’t think I’d still be here… but…’

  Her eyes darkened and Gus reached over and squeezed her arm. He had suffered dark thoughts in the past himself and he knew how hard it was to come back from the edge. ‘We’ll do this together, Al. We’re a team, like we’ve always been.’ For a nano-second, his thoughts flashed to the look on Compo’s face when he’d challenged Gus for giving up on Alice. Compo had said it was forgotten and Gus believed that, in Compo’s world, it was. However, in his world guilt was never quite so easy to assuage.

  She grinned at him. ‘Well, just as well, cause I don’t fancy living in my own house right now, so if it’s all the same to you, I’m moving into your spare room for a while.’

  She jumped to her feet and headed into the hallway, yelling over her shoulder. ‘I cleared it with Patti… just going to get my stuff, you helping or what?’

  Hell! Patti had known she was back too?

  CHAPTER 38

  I t’s been ages since I climbed out the bathroom window. Way before mam got poorly. Last time I did she were furious. Grounded me for days and threatened to take away my computer. Went on and on and on… What if I’d slipped? What if I’d landed on the extension? What if I’d broken every bone in my body? She wouldn’t have it that I was safe, that I knew what I were doing. I’ve been keeping an eye out through my bedroom curtains and it seems like Goyley and HP are taking turns to keep an eye on me. Thought they might go if I put my bedroom light off, but no, they’re still there.

  The window’s a bit tighter than it used to be so I push my rucksack out and hook it onto a bit of sticking out brick. Hope it holds, for if it smashes to the ground, I’ll be fucked. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I half wish it would just fall. Then, I wouldn’t have to do the drop, wouldn’t have to leave the house. I sigh. What’s the point? If I don’t go, everyone would know about me; me mam, Jessie, kids in school. A huge wave of relief comes over me… at least it’d be over. Then the guilt sets in. Fucking guilt, it’s like a putrid spot oozing pus and shit. I could just throw myself off the roof… end it all… but knowing my luck I’d end up breaking a leg and everyone would still know about my secrets; He’s the one wiggles his willy at dirty old pervs for bitcoins. He’s the one stick’s dildos up his arse so pervs can get off. He’s the one slathers oil over himself and wanks in front of a webcam.

  Who am I kidding? There’s no way, I’m not gonna deliver the fucking thing. No way in hell.

  It’s a bit easier to push myself up from the bath onto the sill. I push my shoulders through first, angling them this way and that until they pop through… the rest’s easy. I manoeuvre the bag back onto my back and then, hanging by my fingertips, I drop onto the roof and again, it’s not such a big jump this time. I lie flat on the tiles, waiting to see if anybody’s noticed and when there’s nothing bar a dog barking in the distance, I crawl over to the pipe and I slide down until my feet touch the neighbour’s fence. Now’s the hard bit, making sure I don’t waken anyone. I make it onto the ground and through the first two gardens without any hassle, but in the third one, the dog wakes up and starts throwing itself at the back door. There’s nothing I can do, except dart across and launch myself at the next fence… up and over… and hope I’m hidden by the shadows.

  ‘Shut the fuck up, Bruno.’ The dog gives a few more half-hearted yelps and then it’s quiet again.

  I start to cross their bit of grass and trip on a toy that’s been discarded in the middle of the yard. A light flicks on in the house and I turn and dart back to the bush by the fence. My breath’s coming in short gasps and I try to swallow the noise. Fuck, that was close. When the light goes out again, I count to fifty… slowly. My legs are shaking now. Not used to this sort of exercise, not used to hiding from the estate’s gangs.

  Shit! I wish I hadn’t thought of that. If Goyley or HP catch me, I’ll be in big shit. How could I explain what I’m doing? What if they found the bag? Knowing that I’ve got to repeat this all in reverse later on, I edge my way round the garden. Two panels of wood are hanging off, so I squeeze myself through, praying they don’t clatter to the floor and wake the household up. Once I’m through, I’m in the street. This is the hard bit… I need to head up towards Heaton without being seen. It’ll take me longer, but I’ve no option as I skip through the back alleys and down to the terraced houses at the top. Once I reach them, I’ll be safer. Razor and that lot don’t often head into Manningham. On the other hand, Manningham has its own gangs and that brings its own issues.

  CHAPTER 39

  Zodiac

  I t wasn’t too bad sneaking out of the house. I’m invisible most of the time and that suits me fine. The night’s warm and my only company are the few winos and tramps that seem to congregate with their bottles in the park after dark. They’re too drunk to bother me and I don’t bother them. When it gets close to midnight, I settle myself near Lister’s Mansions. Their big wheelie bins give me all the cover I need.

  It’s funny watching him. He’s shitting it. I can tell. Keeps looking around him, like he thinks someone’s gonna jump him. Maybe he wants to be jumped. Maybe he’s gonna dump the parcel and then try to hook up for a bit of dogging or something. I’ve nothing against gays. Doesn’t bother me, but I know Jo Jo doesn’t like people to know. Doesn’t like to accept that he’s gay. Ah well, that’s his problem.

  I wait until he crosse
s North Park Drive and goes in the side entrance to the park before I move. I head down towards Cartwright Hall and skip over the fence. I’ll circle round and catch-up with him from the other side of the park. He’s trying to act like he doesn’t care… like he’s not scared, but he is. He keeps glancing behind him and yanking the straps of his backpack further up his arms. He must be desperate to know who’s been blackmailing him. I would be. Wonder what he’d say if he found out it was me… would he feel let down?

  Well, that’d be his problem, not mine. I’ve found out the hard way that the only people you can truly rely on is yourself… time he found that out too. Well, not quite time… not yet. But soon. Maybe soon.

  As he gets nearer to the bandstand, he speeds up, like he can’t wait to get rid of what’s in his bag… like he can’t wait to get me off his back. Then he stops. Pretends to tie his shoelace. Again, looking behind, under his arm. It’s so obvious it makes me smile. Why do people always think they’re being watched from behind or to the side? He’s never once really looked ahead of him. Not that he’d see me anyway, I’m too well hidden, too much in the shadows. His furtive glances to either side amuse me. As he approaches the bandstand, he slips his bag off his back, and begins to unzip it. He’s getting close now, but then I hear a noise from the bushes to Jo Jo’s right and two figures come out. The two tramps McGuire was talking to earlier. Where the hell did they come from?

  I want to yell at them to piss off. But Jo Jo’s walking past the bandstand, trying to look all casual now. Trouble is he’s getting closer to my hiding place. Shit! I back away, merging into the dark, glad I’d changed into dark clothes. I avert my face in case he sees me and when I look back, he’s spun on his heel and is heading back to the bandstand, the two homeless guys are walking down towards the lake. Phew. That was a close thing. All I want to do now is grab the packet and go home. It’s been a long day and I’m fucking knackered. I just want him to dump it and go. All enjoyment in the whole escapade has gone.

  He climbs up the stairs to the raised platform and he’s out of sight for a couple of minutes. Then he’s back on the footpath and heading past the bowling green. He’s almost running now. I doubt he’ll hang about to see me, but I make myself wait. Slumping down, leaning against a tree, I look up at the stars and wait.

  TUESDAY

  CHAPTER 40

  G us had expected chaos when Alice turned up in the investigation room. She’d done this once before and he still remembered the uproar that day. He was right. He’d gone in ahead of her to break the news to Compo and Taffy, leaving her in the corridor outside, but in true Alice style she’d thwarted his plans for a controlled meeting by poking her head through the door and yelling in a mockery of Jack Nicholson, ‘Honey, I’m home.’

  Compo could hardly put down the pizza slice he was eating quick enough, and en route to greet his friend, he knocked over three drinks, upended two chairs, and all but fell on top of her. Alice took it all in her stride, allowing Compo to grip her for a full minute or more, all the while patting his back. At last he pulled away from her and made space for Taffy, who, not knowing Alice quite as well as Compo, settled for a quick hug and a mumbled, ‘Good to see you back, Al.’

  Keen to restore order in the room – they were in the middle of a major investigation after all, Gus cleared his throat. ‘There’s been a development, guys.’

  When everyone’s eyes were on him, he pulled from his bag, an evidence bag containing his most recent mail, a photocopy of the letter and another evidence bag.

  ‘Another one? When did this arrive?’ Compo’s tone was full of indignant fury as he strode over to study it.

  ‘No idea, sometime yesterday, but my new home security isn’t being installed until today, so we’ve got nothing other than this letter.’

  ‘You open it yet?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Still stink of that perfume?’

  ‘Yep. Same font and everything.’ Gus scowled. He wanted to yell, but it wasn’t his team he was angry with. ‘Before I came here, I got it processed. Surprise, surprise there’s nothing useful but I’m not passing it onto Byrne and C team until we’ve had a look.’

  ‘It’s accelerating, boss. Who knows what they might do? The letters haven’t been delivered so closely together before, have they?’ Compo tugged at his T-shirt, a sure sign he was nervous.

  The reduction in time between the letters was something Gus had already considered, and it made him a little anxious, but that wasn’t the only thing that had him on edge. ‘That’s not all… there’s been a…’ he glanced at Alice who finished his sentence for him

  ‘…a fucking massive development…’

  Laying one of the evidence bags on the desk, Gus indicated that they should look. Inside was a photograph. Taffy and Compo stared at it and as Gus watched them, he saw their expressions change from interest to horror. Compo spoke first. ‘Is that you and Patti snogging, through your kitchen window?’

  Tight lipped, Gus nodded. He could identify exactly when the image had been taken. Saturday. They’d been in the woods with Bingo and then nipped into Sainsburys for some ingredients. They were cooking their tea together.

  Taffy frowned. ‘Someone was in your garden?’

  Exhaling, Gus shrugged. ‘Don’t know. You’d think we’d have spotted them. The fence at the back is too…’

  ‘Nope!’

  The single word exploded from Compo’s mouth making everyone eyes move from the photograph to Compo. Just as he picked it up, the incident room door opened, and everyone’s eyes swung towards it.

  A girl stood there, her eyes, drawn to the images on the large screen, widened and Gus moved to stand in front of her, blocking her view. ‘You can’t be in here? Can I help?’

  ‘Oh, sorry, of course not. It’s just, I was looking for my mum’

  Only then did it dawn on Gus that he recognised her. ‘Of course, you’re DCS Bahir’s daughter. Moona isn’t it?’

  She smiled and looked down. ‘Yes. Look I’m sorry for butting in. I didn’t think. I’ll go check her office again.’ Mehmoona backed to the door and hesitated, biting her lip. ‘You won’t tell her I was here, will you? Could do without a telling off today.’

  Gus remembered what it had been like visiting his own parents at work and how once or twice he’d ended up somewhere he shouldn’t. ‘No probs. Our lips are sealed.’

  Compo waited until the door closed behind her before continuing. ‘What I mean is, the angle’s wrong. Look. If someone had been in your garden, the image would have been taken from this angle. Your garden is on a slope remember?’ He placed his hand in front of him, palm down, fingers slanting upwards. ‘It’s clear it’s been taken at a downward angle.’

  The other three crowded round, studying the photo. ‘So, you think they were on top of my fence… or maybe from one of the bordering neighbours’ upstairs windows?’ Despite attempting to keep his tone neutral, Gus’ disbelief was clear. When he was with Patti, his attention was all hers, still, even in those circumstances he’d have noticed someone on top of the fence… and if he didn’t Bingo would have. As for his neighbours. No way could he see them doing this sort of thing. For a start two of them were in their eighties and rarely made it to their upstairs rooms and the others had been to barbecues at his house in the past few weeks. Surely, he’d have spotted something off about them.

  Comp sniffed and bit on a Rice Crispy cereal bar. ‘Nah, your neighbours’ windows don’t look onto your house directly. I reckon, whoever did this was in the woods to the side of your house.’

  ‘But…’

  Compo cut Gus short. ‘They probably controlled a drone from there and took a series of shots.’

  Gus let that sit for a moment. The idea of some anonymous person lurking in the woods near his home, spying on him and Patti through his kitchen window was unthinkable. It was an invasion of privacy, all the worse because he had no idea of how long it had been going on. Images of him and Patti in his bedroom, which also look
ed out the back of the house, flashed through his head. The heat made it impossible to close the curtains as they were desperate for any meagre breeze. What sort of images did they have? And more to the point, what were they planning on doing with them? Those innocuous letters suddenly took on an entirely new and completely threatening overtone.

  Bringing his attention back to the room, Taffy said, ‘Any clues of their intentions in the letter?’ Gus shrugged and drew out a photocopy of the original letter. Putting the original back in its envelope, he flattened the copy on his desk.

  My Dearest Detective Inspector Angus McGuire,

  It’s good to keep in touch, isn’t it? Are you enjoying my surprises, Angus?

  Caught the mood perfectly, didn’t I? You two make such a cute, loved-up couple. Both so attractive, so… sexy… yes, I think sexy’s the word I’m looking for. Bet I’m not the only one that thinks so either. Bet there’s loads of people who would just loooove to see how cute you two are. Do you and Patti use social media much? Maybe it’s time to start.

  Anyway, things to do and all that and I know you’re busy too. You’ll hear from me soon.

  Watch this space!

  ‘Shit.’ Compo’s face had turned red, as he stuffed the rest of his cereal bar in his mouth. ‘This is too much, Gus. That fucker could’ve taken pictures of you and Patti.’ He stopped abruptly and his face went even more red. ‘What I mean is…’

  ‘I get it, Comps. I’m taking that as a direct threat. I need you on the case to monitor all social media channels. I don’t know what sort of images this person may have, but I sure as hell don’t want any going viral. You need to liaise with C team on this.’