Dark of Mind

by Robin Roughley

  105

  Bannister slammed his fist into the door three times, shaking it in the frame as Lasser cut right and peered through the bay window.

  'Is he there?' the DCI demanded.

  'Nothing.'

  There was a pause, Lasser heard a deep intake of breath, then Bannister attacked the door again.

  The journey across town had been conducted in silence, the sound of the siren wailing and Bannister's erratic driving keeping Lasser's lips tightly closed.

  He was making his way back to the door when the DCI crouched down and lifted the letterbox. 'Shit!' he barked, snapping upright he lashed out, the sole of his shoe hitting the door hard. 'Call an ambulance,' he ordered as he kicked out again.

  Without waiting for an explanation Lasser snatched the phone from his pocket, watching as Bannister continued to attack the door – grunting in effort, his face bright red – until finally the wood started to splinter.

  Another kick and Lasser turned away, plugging a finger into his left ear as he put in the call for help.

  'I have no idea what the emergency is, we're just gaining entry to the property and we need a paramedic out here ASAP,' he stated as he heard the door crash inwards.

  Lasser waited to ensure the message was being acted upon and then he ended the call before turning and striding into the house, Bannister was on his haunches by the side of a man sprawled on the white tiles, his face bloody and swollen, the blood dried in red smears across his pale skin.

  'Hinton?' Lasser asked.

  Bannister glanced at him and nodded. 'Yeah, thank Christ he's still breathing.'

  As if to prove the point Hinton groaned, and Bannister turned back to him.

  'Hang on, Hinton, there's an ambulance on the way and…'

  'Livy,' Hinton gasped.

  Lasser watched as the man tried to open his eyes but the swelling made it impossible.

  'Is Livy your girlfriend, the woman who was here last night?' Bannister asked.

  Hinton grunted and Bannister sighed as he looked back at Lasser.

  'Are you sure it was the same woman in the picture?' Lasser asked.

  Bannister glared at him and snapped a nod. 'I'm not going senile, Sergeant, it's the same woman.'

  Lasser raised his hands. 'OK, I was just double-checking.'

  'Well don't, and instead of standing there with your thumb up your arse make like a detective and check this place out.'

  Lasser could see the anger on his boss's face so he merely nodded before turning on his heels and heading down the hallway, going into a large kitchen fitted out with all mod cons. Walking across the room he looked out into a landscaped garden, the grass cropped short, plants and shrubs placed for their pretentious artistic value rather than grown for their beauty or scent of flowers, over to the left was a covered hot tub and a couple of recliners shaded under a large gazebo.

  Backtracking into the hallway, he ignored Bannister and made his way up the stairs, one or two boards creaked as he reached the landing and turned right. Opening the first door on the left, he looked into the large bedroom complete with the obligatory en suite bathroom, the bed was neatly made, colourful cushions resting against the headboard. When he spotted the small picture on the bedside cabinet he moved left and picked it up, it showed a man he assumed to be Hinton but picturing the man downstairs it was hard to be sure considering his battered and swollen face, with his arm draped casually around Beth Robbins's shoulder, he was smiling like the cat that had got the cream, Beth – or Livy – looked almost bored, as if only putting up with the man draped all over her on sufferance. Moving back onto the landing, he checked two other bedrooms in quick succession, both were empty, with beds made and fitted wardrobes, no en suites this time.

  The fourth bedroom was the only one that looked as if it was lived in.

  The duvet on the bed was crumpled, the walls had pictures of people Lasser didn't recognise apart from the one with Einstein poking his tongue out.

  'Faith's room,' he mumbled to himself as he crossed the space and looked down into the garden before turning, his eyes scanning the room.

  In the distance, he heard the distant wail of a siren and yet he remained where he was, his face thoughtful, the cacophony growing louder by the second.

  106

  Stone stood at the bottom of the garden looking out over open fields, thinking over the phone conversation that had just taken place, the thrill in the man's voice as he told him that the woman was dead. There had been joy there, absolute joy, the question was why had he wanted the woman named Livy dead, what could she have possibly done to deserve his murderous hatred?

  Stone frowned, the conversation in the car the night before had consisted of the woman named Livy crying, her sobs seemingly heartfelt as she explained that she had nowhere to go, claiming that she'd given up her flat to move in with the man named Hinton, believing that he was one of the good guys, the love of her life.

  The problem was David Stone didn't believe a word of it, there had been something about the way she had behaved that had led him to believe the whole thing was an act. Even her tears had somehow looked forced, as if she was screwing her eyes closed in an effort to force water from a dry well, her wavering voice had sounded false as she dabbed at her leaking eyes with a tissue.

  'He told me he loved me, he said he'd look after me, but you saw what he did, he would have killed me, and for what?' she had asked, looking at him with huge eyes that shimmered with yet more tears.

  Stone had kept his mouth closed as she started to sob again, picturing the way she had lashed out her right leg, gouging at Hinton's face with the sharp heel of her designer shoe.

  'Why do men do that, why do they lie, why do they insist on turning into animals?'

  Stone had shrugged as she lowered her head.

  In the end he had asked her to come home with him, and she had looked at him with such gratitude.

  'Oh God, do you really mean that?' she'd asked, wiping yet more tears from her eyes.

  'Of course I do,' he had smiled at her reassuringly.

  She had slept in one of the spare bedrooms and now here he was, trying to fathom why the man on the phone had been so overjoyed when he had told her that Livy was dead.

  Gradually, his eyes refocused and he looked out over the fields, this had been Dawn's favourite place, sitting here enjoying the views. Even close to the end she had insisted that he helped her down to the bottom of the garden and they had sat side by side on the sun loungers simply talking and looking out over the three acres of open countryside that formed part of their smallholding.

  Some of the things she had wanted to talk about had been too much for him, but he had listened and then tried to dismiss the bleak thoughts from his mind. Dawn had talked about her approaching death with a kind of calmness that he had been unable to comprehend or match. Only later had he realised that whilst he had been clinging on to hope, she had given up months earlier and used the time to come to terms with her own mortality. In the months following her death he had felt a kind of bitterness that she hadn't shared her innermost feelings until the end, he had thought she had been living in hope with him, when the truth was the complete opposite.

  Stone sighed heavily and then he thought of the sobs coming from behind the closed bedroom door, he pictured himself standing on the landing trying to pluck up the courage to enter the room, but he never had and by the time he had realised his mistake it had been too late.

  David Stone felt the weight of that error pressing down on him and then he turned and looked at the house, his eyes narrowed.

  He needed to find out why the man on the phone had wanted the woman dead and why he had demanded that she suffer badly before she died.

  She was the final jigsaw in the puzzle, the one who would lead him to the ''Master'' and when she did…

  Stone started to stride towards the house, his anger rising as the guilt continued to crush him inside.

  107

  Odette listened with
a mounting sense of confusion as Lasser explained about the woman called Livy and how she was really Beth Robbins.

  'And she's been living with this Hinton guy?' she asked down the phone.

  Lasser was standing by the side of the front door as the paramedics stretchered Hinton from the house and into the back of the ambulance.

  'It looks that way,' he admitted.

  'Well, I guess that would explain why Roger was having trouble locating her, but what I don't understand is where is her son?'

  'She had the kid adopted,' Lasser explained with a heavy sigh.

  'Do we know why?'

  'Well, if she was looking for the next Bradley Robbins then she could hardly do it with a young kid in tow.'

  'That's cynical even for you,' Odette replied.

  'If the cap fits wear it,' Lasser said cryptically. 'Look, she was using a different name and she got rid of her own child, I somehow doubt whether she did that to give the kid a better start in life.'

  'There is another possibility.'

  Lasser fiddled with the cigarettes in his pocket as Bannister appeared through the front door, his face as usual was flushed with anger.

  'Who are you talking to?' he asked.

  Lasser hit the loudspeaker icon. 'Go on, Odette, we're listening,' he said.

  'Well, perhaps she had the child adopted through fear, we know that Pamela Fitzsimmons tried to kill her and maybe she thought Robbins would try again at some point, so she had her son adopted and started to use a new name,' Odette suggested.

  Lasser frowned as he thought about what Odette was saying, even Bannister looked thoughtful.

  'Possible I suppose,' the DCI said. 'Right, Odette, hook up with Roger and see if the name Livy Sharp pops up on the computer.'

  'That's doubtful,' Odette said. 'If she is using a new name then chances are, she will have kept it low key, we know she didn't change her name by deed poll, or it would have shown up when Roger did his initial search.'

  Bannister scratched his chin and then his eyes widened slightly. 'Faith might know more about her,' he said before digging the phone from his coat pocket.

  Lasser watched as the DCI strode down the drive, the phone clamped to the side of his head.

  'Listen, Lasser, I'll give Roger a hand and catch you later,' Odette said.

  'No problem, and if we find anything useful then I'll give you a ring.'

  The phone beeped and Lasser dropped it into his pocket, watching as Bannister paced back and forth on the drive, his face in lockdown as he spoke on the phone.

  Seconds later, the white van pulled onto the drive and he watched Carl from the SOCO team climb out and head straight to him.

  'Afternoon Carl,' Lasser said.

  'He doesn't look happy,' Carl said in a quiet voice.

  Lasser glanced at Bannister who continued to pace, his face once more red with frustration.

  'He never looks happy,' Lasser told him.

  Carl nodded in agreement. 'You got that right.'

  'Lasser, come on, we're going!' Bannister suddenly bellowed, his voice loud with aggravation.

  Carl winced at the sound. 'Good luck,' he whispered as he walked through the front door and vanished.

  By the time Lasser was halfway down the drive, Bannister was behind the wheel of the Audi, the engine racing as if he couldn't wait to get going.

  Lasser quickened his pace.

  108

  Kelly and Belle listened anxiously as Suzanne told them about what had happened to Faith's father, their eyes widening in shock at the news.

  'My God, is he going to be OK?' Kelly asked.

  'Well your dad is on his way home now so we should know more shortly, but I'm going to tell Faith about it, so I need you two here because I'm not sure how she's going to react to the news.'

  The girls nodded in understanding as Suzanne headed from the room and climbed the stairs before walking along the landing and tapping on the bedroom door.

  Seconds later, it opened, and Faith looked at her and tried to smile though Suzanne could tell she had been crying, her eyes looked bemused as if she still couldn't comprehend how her life had fallen apart so quickly.

  'Is it OK if I come in and have a word?'

  'Er yeah, yeah, of course it is,' the girl replied as she stepped back.

  Once in the room, Suzanne turned to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.

  Faith felt the confusion deepen as she looked into Suzanne's eyes.

  'Listen to me, Faith, I don't want you to worry but I've just spoken to Alan and apparently your father is in hospital.'

  'What?' Faith asked her voice rising in shock.

  'As far as I can gather, he's going to be OK,' she paused to take a quick breath, 'it seems as if he's been attacked at home and…'

  '''Attacked''!?' Faith's hands went to her open mouth, her eyes growing ever wider. 'What do you mean he's been attacked?'

  'Alan should be here shortly and I'm sure he'll be able to tell you more, so for now just try and stay calm.'

  'But why would anyone attack my father?' she asked as her bemused eyes filled with tears.

  'I have no idea, but please believe me they'll do their best to catch whoever did it, and like I say, he was taken to the hospital and…'

  'I want to see him,' she burst out.

  'I know you do, once Alan is home and explained things, you can ring the hospital to find out what ward he's on and we can take it from there.'

  Faith took a step back and sat down on the bed with a thump. 'Did she do it?'

  'Who are we talking about?' Suzanne asked as she came and sat by her side.

  'Livy Sharp, did she attack my father?'

  Suzanne chewed her lip, the anxiety rising, Alan had told her about Hinton's girlfriend and how she was really Beth Robbins yet using the name Livy.

  Sitting by her side, she slipped her arm around the girl's shoulder and gave her a reassuring hug. 'What makes you think she would have attacked him?'

  'I've seen the way she looks at him sometimes, she hates him, but he's just too blind to see it.'

  Suzanne didn't comment, she knew that in situations such as this things could get twisted, Faith had seemingly never had a good relationship with her father and it was common for the child to blame the new partner for all kinds of things including the lack of parental love.

  'I would watch them, and when she was with him, she was all smiles but sometimes I would see the hate in her eyes.'

  'Listen, Faith, we can't say for certain what happened, but like I said, Alan will be able to tell you more.'

  'But what did she have to say about it all?' Faith asked as she dragged the sleeve of her grey sweatshirt across her eyes.

  'To be honest, I don't think she was in the house when they found your father.'

  'Well, that just proves it was her, they must have argued, and she attacked him,' Faith said with utter certainty.

  'Do you have any idea what they could have argued about?'

  Faith shrugged and then her shoulders slumped. 'She's only interested in his money and perhaps the truth dawned on him at last.'

  'Believe me, Faith, when you're married to a detective you learn not to jump to conclusions,' she said with empathy.

  Faith glanced sideways at her. 'I'm sorry, I'm not thinking straight, am I?'

  'That's understandable, you're living with a lot of pressure at the moment and now you have all this to contend with, but I want you to know that we're all here for you.'

  'Thank you,' Faith managed to utter the words before lowering her head in despair, the tears sliding down her cheeks once more.

  Suzanne held her tight as the weight of emotion poured out in a torrent of anguish.

  109

  'Perhaps Beth Robbins attacked him,' Lasser pondered as Bannister drove through the town centre.

  'Come on, Lasser, you saw the state of Hinton, all the damage was done to the face, some bugger had given him a driver and then beat the shit out of him.'

  'Yea
h, but some of the marks looked like scratches to me,' Lasser said.

  Bannister grunted noncommittally as the traffic began to slow, and then pressed the brakes before dropping a gear.

  When he felt the tap on his arm, the DCI glanced at Lasser before taking the lit cigarette from his hand. 'Thanks,' he said and took a hurried pull before sliding the window down.

  Lasser looked left, watching the world go by as he tried to fathom what had happened at the Hinton house. When the thought flashed through his mind, he felt his stomach roll, his eyes narrowing as the thought bloomed.

  'What if she was at the house and she's been taken?' he asked, turning to look at Bannister.

  The DCI's face twitched; his face grim as he nodded. 'By the manipulator's crony?'

  'By Robbins's crony,' Lasser corrected.

  'Come on, Lasser, I've told you before, without proof you can't say that for certain.'

  Lasser took another pull on the cigarette – harder this time. 'OK, we know it was Beth Robbins at the house, Hinton was battered to fuck, and she's vanished, now who else would want to spirit her away other than Robbins?'

  'We don't know she's been spirited away; she might not have even been at the house when the attack took place, she could have already left.'

  'Come on, first Frank is targeted by Foster, plus, we know Robbins is using someone else as well, then Hinton is beaten, and now his ex-wife disappears.'

  'You're making assumptions again.'

  'I don't bloody care; Robbins has the motive and I'll prove it.'

  'Yes well, good luck with that one, Sergeant,' Bannister grumbled as smoke trailed out through the open window.

  The traffic started to ease, and Bannister increased his speed as Lasser turned away, eyes narrowed as he thought of Robbins, his smug face, thinking himself cleverer than the police, untouchable.

  By the time they had smoked the cigarettes, Bannister was driving down the narrow lane, bringing the car to a halt as they waited for the gates to open on the small estate.

  'Have you got any mints?'