'Honestly? I wonder why I do it sometimes as well.'
'Was your friend in the force with you?'
Lowering her head, Sally sighed. 'She was killed in the line of duty.'
'Jesus, that must have been hard for everyone to accept.'
'Cathy was great at her job and the best friend I had, but in this line of work you never know what's going to happen from one day to the next.'
'And I would imagine that things are getting harder rather than easier?' he asked.
'What makes you say that?' she looked up in surprise.
He shrugged, a faint hint of colour rising in his cheeks. 'I suppose the general public can only go off what they see and hear on the media, though I do know that when I was growing up you had officers on the streets, which just doesn't happen these days.'
Sally sighed. 'True enough, but those who make the rules will say that officers need to be mobile, they need to respond quickly to any given situation, and you can't always do that on foot.'
'Do you believe that?' he asked.
Sally thought for a moment and then shook her head. 'Not really, I think removing officers from the streets was a bad move and of course it was done to save money which only served to make matters worse.'
'Everything is always about money,' he said as he swung the pack from his back and fished out a fresh bottle of water. 'Are you thirsty?' he asked as he held it out
Sally smiled again as she took the bottle. 'To be honest, I'm gasping,' she replied.
They fell silent as she gulped at the drink, before wiping her lips with the back of a hand.
'What about you, what do you do?' she eventually asked.
'Well, unlike you, I have a boring job, I work with computers.'
'Ah, so you're an IT guy?'
'For my sins.'
'Hey, come on, without people like you the modern world would grind to a halt.'
'I remember reading once that geeky was the new sexy,' he grinned.
Sally raised an eyebrow, her grin matching his own. 'Well, I've been having trouble with my desktop for weeks.'
'What sort of trouble?'
'Oh, the usual, it takes forever to load and when it does it runs so slowly.'
'I take it you do regular scans and defrags?'
'Well, when you say ''regular'', how often are we talking about?'
Suddenly, a spaniel appeared out of the trees and dashed towards them, tail wagging in excitement as it shot across the bridge at full speed before running into the water to take a drink.
'Er, the last time I did a scan was about six months ago,' she admitted with a hint of shame in her voice.
'You have to think of a computer like a human body.'
'Well, that's one I've not heard before.'
Taking another quick sip from the bottle, he turned to face her. 'Imagine your desktop as a couch potato that just sprawls there all day doing nothing, but as soon as you hit the power button it wakes up starving and just starts to eat a ton of junk food.'
'OK, I can see the analogy,' she agreed.
'Eventually it ends up with acute constipation.'
'Not too keen on the imagery there, David,' she said pulling a comical face.
'I know, I really have to find another analogy, don't I?' he said his smile widening.
'So, you need to exercise the computer, is that what you're saying?'
'Come on, you can't exercise a computer, but you can give it an enema.'
Sally burst out laughing, the dog looked up at them from below, tail still going twenty to the dozen, water dripping from its muzzle.
'Great sales pitch, huh?' he asked with a raised eyebrow.
'Oh, no doubt about it, you should write to Bill Gates with that one.'
'I tried a few times, but he never calls or emails, bit disappointing really.'
Sally wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at the man beside her, he was wide in the shoulder with close-cropped, dark hair, in some ways he reminded her of Lasser though he was around three inches shorter than her boss.
'Listen, if you ever want me to sort out your computer it's no problem?'
Sally found herself nodding in appreciation. 'That would be great, I know I made a joke about it, but the desktop does drive me crazy.'
'OK, what are you doing after the jog?'
'Actually, I'm off duty and I've nothing planned.'
'Same here, so I can have it sorted in no time.'
Sally glanced back up at the sky and then she nodded. 'That would be great.'
'Well, I'm parked at the tunnel entrance.'
'Me to.'
'So, do you want to run or walk back to the cars?'
'Well, the weather's lovely and I think I've sweated enough for one day,' she replied.
When his phone rang, David grimaced slightly before fishing it from his pocket and checking the unknown number, for a couple of seconds he thought about answering it and then he cut the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
Sally smiled as they set off walking, the sun shining, the birds still singing, the conversation between them flowing easily, as if they had known one another for years rather than minutes.
77
'What did you make of him?' Odette asked.
'Same as last time, he's a lying bastard,' Lasser replied without hesitation.
They were sitting in her car parked by the side of the road, Robbins's large house hidden to their left behind a tall red brick wall.
'I agree but how do we prove it?'
'We can't, at least not yet.'
'We can head over to the golf club to check his alibi.'
'Oh, he will have been there you can count on it, it's the perfect place to be seen and it'll have provided the ideal setting to be talking to Foster on the phone without drawing attention to himself.'
'It also confirms that someone else must have picked Foster up after he attacked Frank,' Odette said, her voice fraught with concern.
Lasser looked at her and nodded. 'It's the only thing that makes sense.'
'Do you think Foster is dead?'
Lasser thought before answering. 'I just don't see the point in keeping him alive, if Robbins is responsible and he was playing bloody golf then it proves he has someone else to control and asking them to kill Foster would be the perfect way to make sure that they were following orders.'
Odette felt the tension rise inside the car as she realised that Lasser was right. 'The fact that Frank was targeted points to Robbins, but again we have no way of proving it.'
She watched as Lasser pulled the phone from his pocket and opened the contact screen.
'Who are you ringing?' Odette asked.
'Carole Henson, we need a warrant to search Robbins's place, seize his computer and…'
'Come on, Lasser, he won't have left a trail like that.'
'I know, but we need to break the bastard's rhythm, if we can disrupt his day to day living then, hopefully, he won't be in a position to make his telephone calls.'
'And that gives us more time to try and get to the truth,' Odette said, feeling a sudden fleeting sense of relief.
'That's the idea,' he said hitting the loudspeaker icon, within seconds Carole had answered and Lasser explained their thinking about Bradley Robbins.
'Right, I can have that sorted within the hour,' she replied. 'But be aware that all we can do is ask if he would be willing to come to the station to make a statement.'
'Well, that's better than nothing,' Odette offered.
'And you're sure he fits the bill?' Carole asked.
'Oh, he fits the bill all right,' Lasser answered, his voice brittle with suppressed anger.
Odette started to speak; her voice hesitant at first as if she were thinking on her feet. 'We always suspected that Robbins brainwashed Pamela Fitzsimmons and turned her into a murderer…'
'Never proven, Odette,' Carole reminded her.
'Agreed, but if he was responsible then Fitzsimmons only did half the job she
was ordered to do.'
Lasser glanced at Odette and found himself nodding in agreement.
'His ex-wife survived the attack, along with her infant son,' Carole pondered.
'That's right and then Pamela Fitzsimmons was caught and locked up, but what if the fact that she failed to kill them made Robbins furious?'
'Again, Odette, that's just supposition,' Carole reminded her. 'And besides, what would Frank have to do with all that?'
'Maybe Robbins knows that Frank is the only person who ever visits her,' Lasser said as his brain started to form even more tenuous links.
'What difference would that make?' Carole asked in confusion.
'There could be two reasons, the first being that Robbins could be terrified that Pamela Fitzsimmons might say something to Frank that could incriminate him in the death of his brother and the attack on his ex-wife.'
'Possible I suppose,' Carole admitted although she didn't sound convinced. 'And what's the second reason?'
Odette looked at Lasser expectantly as he lit a cigarette.
'We know Robbins likes to cover all angles and perhaps he keeps one eye on Pamela, and he could simply hate the fact that someone cares enough about her to visit three times a week, every week.'
'Frank goes that often?' Carole asked in surprise.
Lasser blew smoke out through the open window. 'He told me on the way back from the vets, and if Robbins knows that then it might eat away at him – the fact that Pamela has someone who cares for her and takes the time to visit.'
'Look, I can see the sense in what you're saying but we can't afford to take our eye off the bigger picture. Up until Frank was attacked the other victims have all been random, they had nothing in common, so we have to keep an open mind. Yes, I agree that Robbins needs looking into but don't be blinkered into thinking he must be guilty.'
Lasser and Odette looked at one another, each seeing the certainty in the other's eyes.
'Understood.'
'Good, now the warrant will be ready shortly and I'll send SOCO and two or three officers to help with the search.'
'What about Robbins?' Lasser asked.
'Well as it stands, we have nothing on the man, but hopefully there will be something at the house that will give us reason to hold him but if you find nothing then I'm afraid, like it or not, Bradley Robbins will be free to go.'
Lasser felt the familiar feeling of desperation start to reassert itself as the phone beeped and died.
78
Robbins paced the kitchen, the cheap replacement phone clasped in his sweating hand.
'Come on, come on, answer me, you worm,' he hissed.
'Hello,' suddenly the voice boomed in his ear making him wince.
'Where have you been?' Robbins demanded as he continued to stride back and forth.
'I've been waiting for you to call, Master.'
'What are you talking, about I've rung three times and…?'
'But the number was unrecognised, I was unsure whether to answer or not.'
Robbins came to a sudden halt as he realised that he had forgotten to block the number to the new phone before calling the man named Zero.
'In the end I answered hoping it would be you.'
Robbins closed his eyes, another slip-up, another mistake.
'Did I do the right thing, Master?' Zero asked.
'Yes, yes you did the right thing,' Robbins admitted through gritted teeth.
'Do you have orders for me?'
'Orders?'
'Yes, Master, you said last night that you had something important that you wanted me to do and I am here to serve.'
Robbins felt a semblance of calm soothe his throbbing brain as he started to pace again. 'I want you to kill someone and I want it messy.'
'The first person I see?' Zero asked.
'What are you talking about?'
'Before he died, Foster cried like a baby, he told me he was responsible for the acid attack and that he killed the man in the park.'
'He told you that!? Robbins gasped as the fury inside spluttered back to life.
'He did, Master, he also said something about attacking a woman in the park with a bottle, I think he would have said more but I didn't give him the chance, I mean, he had no right to tell me those things without your permission.'
'Foster was nothing but a snake, a worthless specimen of a man.'
'If you say so.'
'I do say so,' Robbins spat.
'So, will the victim be random?' Zero asked again.
'That is none of your concern and if you ask me that again then I will hang up and find another to do my bidding,' Robbins warned.
'Sorry, Master, it won't happen again.'
'I want you on Blackthorn Lane at eight o'clock tonight.'
'Understood.'
'The victim is a woman, she looks like a whore, she lives at number one with her boyfriend, a weak-chinned smear of shit.'
'How do you want her to die?' Zero asked.
'Badly,' Robbins spat.
'Understood.'
'Make sure you're in place, I'll ring you shortly before eight with further instructions.'
'I won't let my master down.'
'You'd better not,' Robbins warned as he ended the call.
Placing a hand to his chest, he frowned as his heart galloped. 'Calm down,' he whispered, and he started to breathe deeply, letting the air out in a thin stream of anguish as his heart continued to thump alarmingly.
79
'He actually turned up at the station and tried to report her missing?' Suzanne asked in astonishment.
'Yeah and when I told him about Faith staying here, he blew his stack.'
'But she's nineteen, she isn't a child, and he has no right to demand anything of her.'
'I put him straight on that, Sue, but he wasn't having any of it,' he paused, 'he even accused me of being responsible for his daughter's pregnancy,' Bannister said as he stared out of the station window, the phone trapped between chin and shoulder.
'My God, are you serious?'
'Afraid so, I mean, I can understand his frustration, but the man is a bloody idiot. I tried to get him to see sense, but he was having none of it.'
'The girls said the same thing, he just ranted down the phone and wouldn't listen to a word Faith said.'
'He was the same in here, in the end he lost the plot and stormed from my office.'
'What a fool,' she said with a sigh.
'I'm worried, Sue, he wanted our home address, he talked about dragging Faith from the house.'
'And what did you say?'
'I told him what would happen if he even set foot near the house, but I don't think he was listening to be honest.'
'Well, the girls have headed over to Uni with Faith to pick her car up, so if he does manage to find out where we live then I'll put him straight.'
Bannister thought of John Hinton, his face riven with fury, eyes bulging, his hands opening and closing as if looking for someone to throttle.
'If he does show his face, you DO NOT answer the door to him, just ring me and I'll sort it.'
'But…'
'Please, Sue, his attitude stinks and believe me there would be no talking to the man, so you stay indoors and ring me.'
The silence stretched out and then he heard his wife sigh into his ear. 'OK, boss,' she said.
Bannister eased back in the chair in relief. 'Look, I have no idea what time I'll get home, but when the girls get back then you tell them the same thing, they stay away from Hinton and ring me immediately if he turns up.'
'Don't worry, I'll make sure they know the score,' she paused, 'but it still doesn't help where Faith is concerned.'
'I know it doesn't, but for now I just want to make sure everyone is safe. I might get Hinton's address and go round and see him later, hopefully he will have calmed down by then and be prepared to listen to reason.'
'Worth a try, I suppose.'
'And if not then it'll give me another chance to remind him
what will happen if he does anything stupid.'
'OK, but you'll ring me, won't you?' she asked.
'I promise.'
'Right then, I'll catch you later.'
'Love you,' he tapped at the phone and yawned as he slipped it into his pocket before grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair and heading to the door, the frown of concern still etched onto his already tired features.
80
Sally handed over the orange juice, the ice clinking against the glass.
'Thanks,' David said and took a gulp.
'I can't believe it only took you five minutes to sort the computer,' she remarked as she sat down opposite on one of the patio chairs.
'Well, to be honest it's not sorted yet, but the scans are running, and I've dumped all the stuff you don't need.'
'But how do you know what I need?' as soon as she said the words, she felt her cheeks flood with embarrassment.
When he smiled, she felt even worse.
'God, I sound like some cougar on the prowl.'
'Well, I'm no expert but you look way too young to be a cougar,' he replied, placing the glass by the side of his chair.
'Smooth talker.'
'Truth teller,' he replied.
Sally felt the heat in her cheeks increase. 'So, what about you, do you have a family?' she asked in an effort to hide her embarrassment.
When she saw the brief look of pain in his eyes, she knew she had asked the wrong question. 'I'm sorry, I guess when you work for the police you kind of get used to asking inappropriate questions,' she offered.
'Oh, it's not inappropriate,' he paused, 'the truth is I was married but my wife died two years ago.'
'Oh God, I'm so sorry.'
David Stone smiled sadly. 'It's OK, people die, and life goes on.'
'I guess so,' Sally replied as she thought about Cathy Harper and Susan Coyle, there one minute with their whole life ahead of them and then suddenly gone in an instant.
'I met Dawn at University, I was doing computer studies, and she was studying law.'
'So, you were together a while?' Sally asked before taking a drink of juice.
'Twelve years and then she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.'
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