Now, he stifled a yawn and glanced at Spenner. 'How are the sergeant's exams going?' he asked.
Spenner pursed his lips and nodded. 'Well, I'm spending as much time as I can trying to get up to speed with all the rules and regulations.'
'You'll fly through it,' Bannister said as he rubbed at his tired eyes. 'And no doubt you'll make a great sergeant.'
Spenner's eyes widened in amazement at the compliment. 'Thank you, sir.'
'Having said that, chances are there will be no job for you at the end of it all.'
The car swerved slightly as Spenner snapped his head around.
'Watch the road, you muppet,' the DCI warned.
Spenner did as he was told. 'So, all this could be for nothing?'
'Well, I'll do my best to make sure you get a good placement, but you know the way things are these days, those bastards in charge hold the purse strings and they're tighter than a camel's arse in a sandstorm.'
Spenner sighed before nodding in understanding. 'Tess has talked about me perhaps changing professions.'
'Why?'
'She worries about me.'
Bannister opened his mouth and then closed it again, the truth was he found it hard to fathom why anyone would want to stay in the force these days, what was the point with everything being run into the ground by powermongers hell bent on making a name for themselves at others' expense?
'You've given your all to this job, but now you have a partner to consider, so if something better – something safer – comes along then you take it if that's what you want.'
'But I love the job.'
'Love the job?' Bannister frowned as he turned to look at Spenner.
'Well yeah, I mean, all that you said earlier tonight was true, we are ''people persons'' and even though it's harder than it's ever been I still love working in the force.'
Reluctantly, Bannister found himself nodding in agreement as the lane narrowed and ended, the way forward blocked by a large set of ornate wrought iron gates.
'You know something? You are so right, Spenner, it's just that I hate to see good people under so much pressure and not being given the resources they need to get the job done. I mean, we used to have officers on the streets, local people got to know them, and they bloody well trusted them.'
'They tried that with the community officers,' Spenner reminded him.
'Yeah, and just as they were starting to form links in the community the government pulled the plug,' he complained. 'It was bad enough having untrained officers out there but at least they acted as eyes and ears for the rest of us, but now we have bugger all and the scumbags know it and love the fact that we don't have the manpower to do anything about it.'
Spenner kept his mouth closed, not wanting to set the DCI off into full rant mode.
With a heavy sigh Bannister clicked the door open. 'OK, thanks for the lift, Spenner, now you get home and I'll see you in the morning.'
Spenner waited until Bannister had pushed the gate open and slipped through before turning the car around and driving away.
The DCI stopped for a moment and looked at the house, lights were on downstairs and at the bedroom, when he saw Suzanne appear at the upstairs window, he raised a hand and felt the love swell inside. When the thought came into his mind he smiled grimly, he was always telling Lasser and now Spenner that the women in their lives were too good for them, yet the truth was he would never fathom what Suzanne saw in him, never understand why she stayed with him and his moaning ways.
When she waved back, he strode towards the house suddenly desperate to have her in his arms.
13
'It doesn't have to be this way,' the man tapped out the words, the glare of the computer screen reflected in his glasses.
Easing back in the swivel chair, he waited for a reply, he didn't have to wait long.
'No one can help me, no one cares enough to see the real me.'
'I see the real you,' he immediately responded. 'I feel your pain,' the smile flickered on his narrow face as he hit the enter key.
Seconds later, the reply popped onto the screen. 'What are you talking about? You don't know me; you don't know what I've been going through.'
Lifting the cup from the table, he took a sip of the freshly ground coffee before cracking his fingers and rubbing his hands together as he considered his reply.
'You're right I don't, but the fact that you are on this forum tells me you have suffered a great deal, it tells me you are in a desperate situation and that you can't see a way out.'
When the cat jumped onto the desk, he began to stroke its chin with one hand, before opening the search engine and typing in ''Breaking news in Wigan'' with the other.
His eyes scanned the screen, frowning in disappointment before going back to the forum.
'There's nothing left for me, all I want to do is die.'
The cat purred as it strolled around on the desk. 'You might not realise it, but life is precious and there is always time to pull back from the abyss.'
'What's an abyss?'
The man sighed heavily, his fingers tapping at the keys, his eyes narrowed. 'No one chooses to stand on the edge of the cliff, you are right there, right now, but how did you arrive at such a place?'
'I don't understand, what do you mean?'
His frown deepened, the anger rippling through his mind, this was the tiresome part, trawling the web looking for people to manipulate was time consuming and ultimately tedious until you found the right one, the one who was willing to trust in what was being offered.
'Someone has pushed you to the edge, forced you to where you now stand – on the cusp of extinction. Do you think they care? They have used you and now they'll walk away leaving you in this dark place. If you die do you think they will shed a tear? Society doesn't exist anymore, where are your friends, where are those you should be able to rely on to help you in your hour of need?'
Standing up, he walked across the bedroom and looked through the window, in the glare of the security light the garden looked immaculate, the grass trimmed to perfection, he could see the flowerbeds smothered with summer blooms. Raising his gaze, he looked up at the stars dotted in the night sky, the moon shining silver.
'Lovely night,' he mumbled to himself before heading back to the computer and minimising the page.
When he saw the stream of breaking news at the bottom of the screen it made him smile.
''Man fighting for his life after suspected acid attack in Wigan town centre''.
Then he opened the forum screen again and read the reply.
'I hate them all for what they did to me, but it's too late now, I can't change the past, I can't bear to live any longer.'
'Will you let me help you?' he asked, cutting to the chase.
'I CAN'T', the words came back in bold capitals.
The man pursed his lips before firing off the short reply.
'Then go ahead and jump, you moronic waste of space!' he pressed enter and closed the page down without even bothering to see if there would be a reply.
Life was too short to concern himself with the ones who were damaged beyond repair, he needed those who were walking slowly toward the cliff edge, not the ones who were leaning forward ready to jump, one foot already in the air, he needed those with fury burning inside, the ones who wanted revenge.
The cat continued to purr before jumping down from the desk and vanishing from the room.
Stretching his arms to the ceiling, the man yawned, time for bed, he thought with a wide smile splitting his narrow features.
14
Carole Henson tapped her pen on the top of the desk, her face sombre. 'I've just come off the phone to the hospital, according to Doc Shannon, Malcolm Marshall is in intensive care, severe burns to his face, blinded in both eyes and with respiratory problems from where the acid ate into his throat.'
Early morning and the team were gathered in the briefing room, one or two looked pale as the latest update on Marshall was revealed.
'He should make it, but to be honest he faces years of surgery and obviously nothing can be done to restore his sight,' Carole finished with a sigh.
Lasser rubbed a hand across his chin, he needed a shave, but it had been late by the time he'd arrived back at the boat. Jackie had been sat up in bed reading a book, her dark hair piled high on top of her head, smiling lovingly at him when he came in. Ten minutes later, he was curled by her side breathing in the scent of her as he drifted off to sleep.
Up at seven, he'd grabbed a round of toast before heading out to the station.
Now, he stifled a yawn as Carole turned to Bannister.
'So, where are we up to with the investigation?' she asked.
'Well, Lasser and Odette called at the girlfriend's last night but no joy.'
'''No joy''?' Carole queried as she turned towards Odette.
'We know that Marshall had been abusive towards Anna Lee shortly before the attack, and…'
'I take it she has an alibi?' Carole interrupted.
'She was still talking to Sally and Shaun when her boyfriend was assaulted, so she's out of the frame,' Odette replied. 'She also said that Marshall had no enemies, he seemed to have saved his abusive behaviour for her alone.'
'What about the mother?' Carole asked, turning back to Bannister.
'Well, to be honest all she wanted to do was to get to the hospital, but she did say her son was always willing to help anyone who needed it, ''kind and caring'' she called him.'
'Then obviously Marshall acted differently when his mother wasn't around,' Carole said. 'Right, what about the CCTV cameras?'
Roger sat up straight in his chair, for once his thick dark hair had been tamed. 'I'm still on it, last night the town centre was crammed, and so far, I've not found anything out of the ordinary.'
'OK, keep at it and if you do find anything then let me know immediately,' Carole said as she stood up and placed her hands on the desk. 'The truth is we have no idea if this was some sort of revenge attack or a random incident, but we need to hit it hard and fast with the few resources we have, so we look deeper into Malcolm Marshall's past, it's obvious that he was capable of hiding his true nature from his mother, so what else was he hiding?'
Lasser folded his arms and stretched out his long legs. 'Marshall hadn't worked for over two years so we can look into how he filled his days and who he associated with.'
'Good, Sergeant, see to it.'
Lasser and Odette rose to their feet and headed for the door.
'I want this case solving quickly and the only way we are going to do this is by being vigilant and doing the job as you always do – with professionalism and determination.'
Out in the corridor, Lasser found himself smiling.
Odette glanced at him knowingly. 'I know, she's good, isn't she?'
'Perhaps Bannister should take a leaf from her book,' Lasser said as they walked through a set of double doors.
'Not his style, he's the more shout-now-and-apologise-later sort of guy.'
'True enough, though I can't remember many apologies falling from his gob.'
'Well, like they say, there's a first time for everything,' Odette commented wryly.
Lasser held the door open for her, and they stepped out into the warm morning. 'Yeah well, I'm not holding my breath,' he sighed as they walked towards the Audi.
15
Checking his watch, the man pondered his next move, he was sitting on the patio at the back of the house, the morning sun shining down on him bringing a smile of contentment to his face.
Reaching to his side, he lifted the coffee cup from the patio table and took an appreciative sniff of the Italian beans before taking a sip, his eyes looking out over the garden, admiring the colourful flowers in full bloom.
As always, he had been up early, a long-standing habit that he had been unable to break, cup in hand he thought about the previous night. He had stayed up late checking the local news though disappointingly there had been no more information on the acid attack victim.
Still it didn't really matter, the important thing was that Foster had followed his orders without question. The smile of satisfaction grew, manipulation provided the ultimate thrill, the ultimate test of one's skill. Placing the cup back on the table, he picked up the tablet, and opened his email programme to check the messages on his three accounts, his eyes narrowing as he went through deleting most without bothering to open them, when he came across the name Zero, he paused before opening it.
The three words were in capitals and underlined.
'I AWAIT INSTRUCTION.'
'Of course you do,' the man smiled, turning to watch a blackbird as it landed on the tall fence surrounding the garden and began to sing.
Having one acolyte was wonderful, though having two would provide twice the fun and in the end, life was all about having fun and getting even.
Pausing for a moment, he started to tap at the on-screen keyboard, the smile growing ever wider as he reeled the new one in.
16
The thought that the attack on the ''big I am'' could turn out to be the one and only time he felt alive was eating away at Benny Foster in the same way the acid had eaten away at the thug's face.
He sat on the edge of his single bed and chewed at a fingernail, the fear mounting with every second that ticked away his life. During the night he had kept waking up, the fear that he had once more been abandoned jerking him awake, his body drenched in sweat, the scream building in his parched throat.
When he heard the muffled shout from downstairs, he groaned as the reality of his dire life reasserted itself, the despair washing over him as his hated mother bellowed that she needed the toilet.
Fumbling the bedside cabinet open, he reached inside and pulled out the long-bladed knife, his hand shaking as she shouted out again.
'I'm bursting, Benny!'
Foster shuddered, the sharp blade hovering over his left forearm, the skin livid with scars both old and new.
Teeth gritted, he placed the cutting edge on his pale flesh and sucked in a sharp breath counting down the seconds, waiting for his mother to scream out in her demanding, warbling voice.
When his phone droned on the cabinet, he gasped and dropped the knife to the bed before grabbing at the phone.
'Hello!' he hissed in urgent desperation as he answered it.
'Good morning, Benny, I trust you slept well?'
Hearing the familiar voice instantly brought tears to Foster's eyes, his heart suddenly galloping with joy, his body shaking in relief. 'Thank God!' was all he could manage to utter.
'I've been called a lot of things but never that,' the voice sounded happy, jovial even.
Benny Foster felt the love bloom inside as he realised that he hadn't been deserted after all. 'I thought you'd forsaken me,' he whispered.
'Now why would I do that, after a slightly shaky start you performed admirably?'
'Thank you,' Foster smiled, his bottom lip trembling as the grateful tears spilled from his eyes.
'Benny, I've wet the bed, and it's all your fault!'
Foster closed his eyes, the tears trickled down his sallow cheeks, and he shivered with utter disgust as his mother's words broke through the joy, souring it in an instant.
'Ah, I take it the dulcet tones belong to your hated mother?' the voice asked.
'I'm sorry, you shouldn't have heard that,' Foster whispered apologetically.
'On the contrary, she sounds like quite a woman.'
'I despise her, I hate everything about her,' he snarled.
'I know you do, and now I can see why,' the voice paused, 'I suppose it's your job to clean up after her?'
'I'll have to change the sheets and wash her down, it's disgusting the things I have to do for her.'
'Then leave her.'
Foster actually gasped, the phone shaking in his hand. '''Leave her''?' he muttered in disbelief.
'You have a busy day ahead and your mother might think twice before she soils hersel
f, especially if she has to sit in it for a few hours.'
For the briefest of moments, Foster almost refused the demand and then suddenly he realised who he was talking to and the words froze on his lips.
'You have ten minutes to leave the house.'
'But where am I going?'
'If you ever ask me that again, it will be the last time you ever hear from me, and you can spend the rest of your pitiful days in your bedroom, slicing at your arms and legs and cleaning up your mother's bodily fluids.'
'I'm sorry,' Foster whimpered again.
'Ten minutes, and then I shall ring you back, make sure you are out and about by then.'
'I will, I promise.'
'Oh and bring a knife with you this time.'
The phone beeped and died, and Benny Foster dashed around the room throwing on the crumpled clothes from the day before whilst his mother continued to wail from downstairs, her voice growing more strident, more demanding with every second that passed.
17
Anna Lee looked as if she hadn't slept a wink, mascara stained her cheeks, and she was still dressed in the same clothes she had been wearing the night before when Odette and Lasser had questioned her about Marshall.
'How are you feeling?' Odette asked as Anna let them into the flat
'I've just come off the phone to Mal's mother, she blames me for what happened,' she said in a cracked voice as she dabbed at her eyes.
'Why would she blame you for her son's behaviour?' Odette asked with a frown.
'She didn't really know what had gone on but when I told her about him shouting at me in the street she went ballistic, she said I must have done something wrong to make him do that,' Anna paused to take a deep, shivering breath, 'I told her about the credit card but she didn't believe me, she accused me of telling lies. When I asked her how Mal was, she wouldn't tell me, she said she hated me and never wanted to see or speak to me again,' her eyes were wide with shocked bewilderment.
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