Dead Memories: An addictive and gripping crime thriller

by Angela Marsons

  No calls, no messages, no consideration for—

  Her self-pitying thoughts were disturbed by a banging on the front door.

  Oh, go on, she thought, someone just try and sell me double glazing today. I dare you.

  She threw open the door to find a grinning Bryant before her.

  ‘What the?…’

  ‘Yeah, we’re commandeering your home as our temporary headquarters,’ he said. ‘Now get out the way, this stuff is heavy,’ he said, barging past with cases of equipment.

  ‘Hey, boss,’ Stacey said, entering her home.

  ‘We have fleas,’ Penn said, crossing the threshold.

  ‘You have?…’

  ‘Excuse me,’ said Alison, bringing in another case.

  ‘You as well?’ she asked, as her living room became overcrowded.

  ‘I’m attached to the team, so, wherever they go, I go,’ she said, edging cautiously around the dog.

  ‘Okay, so how are we gonna do this?’ Bryant asked, standing with the rest of her team in the middle of the room.

  For some inexplicable reason the emotion gathered in her throat.

  She pushed it away.

  ‘Hey, don’t go getting comfortable. Not, until you’ve told me more about these fleas.’

  Eighty-Six

  By 9 a.m. Bryant had found the extra leaves and opened up the dining table that had never been used. Who knew it expanded like that? She’d noticed the cut above his eye and guessed he’d been on the rugby field the night before but he didn’t much like being reminded that he wasn’t as fit as he used to be.

  ‘So, Woody shut down the office?’ she asked, curiously.

  Bryant nodded. ‘Yep, and told me to find somewhere to camp out for the day.’

  Kim couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips. She understood the pressure her boss was under because of her performance at the crime scene of Billie Styles. He’d reacted appropriately for the sake of appearance but ultimately had found a way to reunite her with her team. Unofficially.

  Penn and Stacey were taking the lion’s share of the table with their computer equipment, leaving a small space for Bryant at the end.

  Alison had perched on a bar stool at the breakfast bar with her laptop open before her.

  She’d been amused to see Penn unpacking the Tupperware box and Betty the plant which now sat in the middle of the table.

  ‘I snuck back in,’ he said, catching her gaze. ‘Couldn’t leave her behind.’

  Kim didn’t feel that Penn had been in any real danger from fleas.

  There was just one more thing before they got started.

  ‘You okay up there, Alison?’ she asked.

  ‘He keeps looking at me,’ she answered without turning.

  And she was right. Barney had quickly dispensed with the attentions of Bryant, Penn and Stacey and was now focussing all his attention on Alison.

  ‘Don’t like dogs?’ Kim asked.

  ‘Scared of them,’ she said, staring straight ahead.

  Okay, this needed resolving, Kim realised. Barney was not being shut out for anyone.

  She made her way to the other side of the breakfast bar and cut a carrot in half.

  ‘He’s never bitten a soul in his life but I know that doesn’t help. He must be more interested in you because he can sense your fear. So, without looking at him, lower your hand and allow him to take the carrot.’

  Her face filled with panic.

  ‘I swear, he won’t hurt you,’ Kim said. ‘Give him the carrot and he’ll get bored and leave you alone. Trust me.’

  Alison took the carrot and held it to the side. She dropped it before he had chance to take it but the sudden crunching confirmed he was now otherwise distracted and would leave her alone.

  ‘Okay, guys, if it’s okay with Bryant, I suggest we do a round robin of where we’re at with—’

  ‘He’s back,’ Alison whispered across the breakfast bar.

  Kim peered over the breakfast bar to see Barney staring up intently. It was most unusual, unless…

  ‘Alison, do you have food in that briefcase?’

  ‘Ha, I’d think so,’ Stacey said.

  Alison nodded and opened the case.

  Kim smiled. ‘Are you emotionally attached to that apple? It’s his favourite thing in the world. That’s why he won’t leave you alone.’

  Alison shook her head and took the apple from the briefcase. This time she lowered it and gave a little squeal as his nose touched her hand.

  Barney took his booty to the other end of the living room.

  ‘Okay, so,’ Kim repeated, now she had everyone’s full attention, ‘if Bryant agrees…’

  ‘Let’s just say I agree with everything ahead of time, okay?’

  ‘Right, Penn, can you try tracking down Duggar and also find out a bit more about the drug Baclofen, as it was found in the systems of all four dead victims. It’s a lead worth pursuing, but Duggar is the priority. Having his name attached to both Amy and Mark and also Rubik is more than coincidental.’

  He made a note and lifted his head. ‘Boss, just want to follow up on something from Jenks yesterday. He mentioned Amy and Mark were getting help from an outreach worker of some kind. Just wanna see if I can nail anything down.’

  She considered. ‘Okay but not too long. You’ve got the main charities like Crisis and Shelter…’

  ‘The Big Issue Foundation,’ Stacey added.

  ‘Centrepoint,’ Bryant piped up.

  ‘And the Salvation Army,’ she said. ‘You’ve got a lot of volunteers there that don’t necessarily record or remember everyone they offered a blanket.’

  ‘Got it.’

  ‘Stacey I want you focussing on identifying Rubik. He’s part of this somehow and we need to know more.’

  ‘Boss, there’s something else,’ Stacey said. ‘Went to the Phelps’ home last night as Mitch was finishing up. This son of theirs, Joel, it doesn’t look like Dad was the real father. He’s supposed to be away travelling, but I’m not so sure after something I read in Mrs Phelps’s diary. Now I’ve got his real name I’d like to try and track him down. He needs to know about his parents.’

  ‘If Bryant ag—’

  ‘He does,’ Bryant said.

  ‘Okay, Stace, you just bagged yourself another job.’

  Stacey seemed happy with that fact.

  Kim glanced to the breakfast bar. ‘And Alison you just keep on doing whatever it is you’re doing.’

  ‘And I know Bryant has updated you on the incident last night,’ she said, grateful that she didn’t have to.

  ‘Bryant and I will be keeping abreast of that one,’ she said, turning towards her colleague. ‘As long as the Acting Detective Inspector agrees.’

  Eighty-Seven

  ‘So, how exactly are we gonna work this?’ Bryant asked, as they got in the car.

  ‘I’m riding alongside you in a purely advisory capacity, Bryant, and the rest we’ll figure out as we go.’

  ‘Does that mean I get to tell you to shut up when I—’

  ‘You could always try it,’ she said.

  ‘Hmmm… you’re mauling me now, aren’t you?’

  ‘A little bit,’ she admitted.

  ‘So, we off to Winson Green seeing as everything keeps leading back there?’ he asked.

  ‘You’re in charge, but if it was me, I’d probably want to head to the hospital first and see how Billie Styles is doing.’

  ‘Guv, I gotta say that deference does not become you, so please cut it out,’ he said, pulling off the car park. ‘In fact, no, that’s an order,’ he said, smirking.

  She glanced out of the window at the pedestrians already weary from the heat and it wasn’t even ten. The promised night-time storms had not arrived and the clammy heat was continuing to build.

  ‘You know, extreme weather can drive people to do some real crazy things,’ Bryant observed.

  ‘Which you should bear in mind when you keep giving me instructions,’ she said.


  ‘Oh yeah, meant to ask. You lose your phone last night?’

  ‘Didn’t want to talk,’ she said, honestly.

  ‘Well, if you’d replied to just one of my twenty messages I’d have—’

  ‘I’d have thought my lack of response to the first ten might have given you a clue.’ She turned towards him. ‘So, what did you say to Woody about me being taken off the case?’

  He shrugged. ‘Told him I supported his decision and I was looking forward to a bloody rest.’

  She smiled. ‘And how’s that working out for you?’

  ‘Damn fleas,’ he said.

  ‘Are you sure you should be doing this?’ Bryant asked, as they headed towards the ward.

  ‘I’m not here to question her, Bryant, I’m here to see how she is, which is something I would have done if my home hadn’t been commandeered,’ she said, walking ahead and entering the ward.

  She approached the desk but waited for Bryant to show his ID.

  ‘A young girl… never mind,’ Kim said, as she saw the WPC from the night before step out into the hallway.

  Kim walked towards her. The woman had shed her stab vest but was still wearing her black trousers and tee shirt from the previous night.

  ‘Not been home?’ Kim asked.

  She shook her head. ‘No, Marm. Got some kip while she was in surgery.’

  ‘Name?’

  ‘Billie Styles… we already confirmed…’

  ‘I meant yours,’ Kim clarified.

  She smiled wearily. ‘Sorry, I’m Annie.’

  ‘You wanna go take a break while?…’

  ‘No, thank you, Marm. I want to be here when she wakes up. I’m hoping she knows my voice and I want to be able to try and get any info from her. Rape kit was pretty pointless given the mess.’

  Kim nodded her understanding as she glanced into the room.

  The girl was dressed in a hospital gown that was showing bare shoulder and a purple bruise. Her straw blonde hair had been pushed back from a face drained of colour.

  ‘How old?’ Kim asked.

  ‘Twenty-one,’ Annie replied, rubbing at her tired eyes. ‘I’ve been trying all night to understand what kind of person would do this to another human being.’

  ‘A monster,’ Kim said, dragging her eyes away. ‘Possessions?’ she asked.

  ‘Bagged, tagged and with Forensics,’ she answered.

  ‘Thank you,’ Kim said. This WPC had had a very long night and still managed to follow procedure.

  ‘Marm, may I ask if you really did punch Twonk?’

  Kim shook her head. ‘But almost,’ she said, glancing at Bryant. ‘His name is Twonk?’

  Annie shook her head. ‘It’s a nickname. He’s a bit of an idiot who tries too hard to fit in.’

  If that was the nickname he’d earned it would be a hard one to shift.

  ‘Okay, Annie. Well, thanks for everything and try to get some—’

  ‘Just one thing, Marm,’ she said, scratching her head. ‘In the girl’s belongings there was her driving licence in a wallet in the back pocket of her jeans with about forty pounds in cash, but in the front pocket of her jeans there was something else.’

  ‘What?’ Kim asked, trying to keep her face neutral.

  ‘A five pound note. A ripped-up five pound note. Not sure if it means anything.’

  Kim nodded her thanks.

  Oh yes, it definitely meant something.

  Eighty-Eight

  Alison stretched her back at the breakfast bar and read over the notes she’d made about John Duggar, preparing to start work on his profile, but try as she might to concentrate she just couldn’t rid herself of the feeling she’d seen or heard something the previous night that had jarred somewhere in her brain. The more she tried to capture it the more elusive it became.

  ‘What are you frowning about?’ Stacey asked. ‘On second thoughts, I don’t wanna know. I’m still in the doghouse with Devon because of you. Didn’t help that I had to leave early this morning to get that earring over to Mitch.’

  ‘Stacey, I’ve said…’

  ‘Jeez, woman, loosen up,’ Stacey said, winking at her. ‘I’m only joking and, if it helps, my mum always tells me to retrace my steps,’ Stacey advised, turning back to her computer.

  Alison wasn’t sure what use that advice was to her. It wasn’t as though she’d lost something.

  But actually she had, she realised, thinking again about Stacey’s advice.

  She clicked on the folder holding scanned copies of the statements.

  She read through Curtis’s vague recollection of finishing his set and getting his stuff together on the night Beverly had been attacked. He’d smoked a few joints and couldn’t remember what he’d done next. Nope that wasn’t it.

  She read through Tom’s account of the evening. He’d served Beverly with two drinks, gin and tonic. She’d been no trouble and had sat alone sometimes, closing her eyes to the music. He hadn’t seen her leave but she’d still been there while Curtis was packing up and he had gone to cash up with Tilly. Exactly as he had told her the night before. There was nothing different to what she already knew.

  She moved on to Tilly’s statement who reiterated Tom’s account that she’d seen no interaction between Curtis and Beverly. Curtis was no different to usual. He took no alcohol, just a pint of lime and lemon to sip on while he played.

  She also hadn’t seen either Beverly or Curtis leave as she and Tom had gone to start a deep clean on the restrooms.

  That was it.

  That’s what had stuck in her mind. Tom said cashing up and Tilly said cleaning. They had said they’d been together but where: office or toilets? It couldn’t be both.

  So, effectively they had alibied each other. The question now paramount in her mind was: for whose benefit had it been?

  Eighty-Nine

  It wasn’t until they’d reached the hospital reception that Bryant spoke.

  ‘I want to ask the significance of the ripped-up money but I don’t want to lose my head in the process.’

  ‘It’s what he gave… the girls to keep quiet,’ she said.

  ‘The girls?’

  ‘Yes, the girls,’ she said with finality and remembered what Ted had said.

  Disassociation

  Disassociation

  Disassociation

  ‘So, we gonna head off to the prison now, or what?’ he asked, as a text message dinged to her phone.

  ‘Apparently not,’ she said, turning around. ‘Keats wants to see us.’

  ‘And he obviously doesn’t know you’re “officially” off the case,’ Bryant said, glancing at her phone. ‘Is it a good idea for you to come with me to see him when?…’

  ‘I absolutely promise not to get in your way of running this investigation,’ she said. ‘And I’ll make it clear to Keats that you’re in charge.’

  ‘Well, if I’m in charge I say that we really need to get over to the prison. Need to know who got that bloody book and shake them all up. That’s where we’re going to find our answers.’

  ‘Agreed,’ she said, taking the steps down to the morgue. ‘But, we’re right here.’

  He followed her through the double doors mumbling something about empty gestures.

  ‘Wow, it’s an ambush,’ she said, seeing Keats, Mitch and Doctor A in the same room.

  ‘We are almost completed,’ said Doctor A. ‘Our man is untangled from the wreckage but I have no more detail than I have told you.’

  Kim held up her hand. ‘I must tell you that I am here in no professional capacity whatsoever, so please direct your comments to my colleague,’ she said, jumping up onto the stainless steel work surface.

  Doctor A turned to Bryant. ‘As I told your boss the other—’

  ‘Got it, Doctor A, thanks,’ he said.

  ‘So, Bryant,’ Keats said, stepping in front of her, ‘how do you keep your sanity on a daily basis?’

  ‘Oi, I’ve still got ears,’ she said.

  ‘I shall retur
n to my cell along the hall to sort the debris,’ Doctor A said.

  ‘Debris?’ Kim asked.

  ‘Bits and pieces I think you say. Not man nor machine. I shall bring them tomorrow for your puzzlement.’

  ‘Thanks, Doctor A,’ Kim called after her.

  The other two scientists just watched her leave.

  ‘God save us from brilliant women who are so much more intelligent than we are,’ said Keats once she’d gone.

  ‘We forgive you,’ Kim said.

  ‘You’re not even here,’ he said, moving to the other side of the room. ‘I’m not sure why you’re not here but I’m sure the accusation is correct, and you’re totally guilty of the crime.’

  ‘Jeez, Keats, thanks…’

  ‘So, Bryant, the reason I called you down here. The toxicology results are back on the first tissue samples we retrieved for our man in the car.’

  ‘And?’ Bryant asked.

  ‘Just like the other four victims, he too had been pumped full of Baclofen.’

  Ninety

  ‘I’ll just add this name to my list, then,’ Stacey said, writing down the name ‘Billie Styles’.

  Right now, she was trying to track down Joel Greene abroad, and searching missing persons to identify the man in the cube. So far, she’d gone back eighteen months and there was no match.

  ‘Anyone want it?’ Stacey asked. ‘Penn?’

  ‘Sorry, boss said priority was in finding Duggar, so you’re on your own,’ he said.

  ‘Alison?’

  ‘No,’ she said, simply.

  ‘You still working on Duggar and Nina Croft?’ Stacey asked.

  ‘Yes, and I think—’

  ‘You’re wasting your time on Nina Croft,’ Stacey said. ‘It’s not her.’

  Alison turned towards her. ‘And what makes you so sure?’

  ‘Instinct,’ Stacey answered. ‘We’ve all got it. It’s hard to define but every copper relies on it.’

  ‘And it’s never wrong?’

  ‘Well, sometimes, I mean…’

  ‘So, this woman is pretty mean, manipulative, conniving, clever, resourceful and hates your boss with a passion. She fits the profile perfectly but we ignore her because it doesn’t feel right?’