The Victim

by Max Manning

  “Hi, Danni. It’s DI Day. Sorry to call so late, but we’ve got a live kidnap and potential murder situation going on. It’s Connor Norton, the offender you’ve already profiled for us. I really need you down here as soon as possible. Preferably sooner.”

  Gem the Victim

  The trunk of the patrol car opened, and Gem looked up to see Norton smiling down at her through a curtain of rain. He’d discarded his baseball cap, and his dark hair was plastered flat against his scalp.

  He bent down, put his hands under her armpits, and lifted her out with ease. He laid her on her back on the ground, slammed the trunk shut, then crouched beside her. In one swift movement, he ripped the tape off her mouth, taking a layer of skin with it. Making an effort not to cry out, she clamped her lips together and tasted blood.

  She kept her eyes on Norton. He stared impassively back and said nothing. We’re only here for one reason, Gem told herself.

  “The police constable needs urgent medical help,” she said. “You need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.”

  Norton shrugged, and Gem knew he wasn’t playacting. He really didn’t care whether Weaver lived or died. Her brain whirred as she tried to work out the best way to talk Norton around. Should she grovel, try to reason with him, or appeal to his ego? Speak the truth, she told herself. Whether he likes it or not.

  “You killed Drew, pushed him under a train,” she said. “What did he ever do to you?”

  Norton threw back his head and bellowed with laughter. “Andrew Bentley. What a man he was. The children’s home boy made good. An example to us all. I did the biggest favor anyone can do for another person. He had big ideas, and I made sure that girl didn’t ruin his life before it had even started properly. Then he betrayed me, disowned me. Is that enough for you?”

  Gem remembered Day’s revelation about the girl who went missing at the same time that Norton fled the children’s home. She stayed silent, hoping for an explanation. A fat raindrop spilled from Norton’s hairline into his right eye. He shook his head, spraying her face with tiny droplets.

  “I guess he never told you about the girl in the woods.”

  Gem said nothing.

  “Mary Freeman. She was a looker. We both liked her, but she preferred Andrew. Nobody knew what was going on except me. Then the silly bitch got pregnant, didn’t she? Of course, Andrew didn’t want to know. He had big plans. He asked me to reason with her. Persuade her to get rid of the baby. I always did his dirty work for him. He said I had a talent for persuading people to do things they didn’t want to do and that people should always capitalize on their talents. The funny thing is he really believed that he had manipulated me into taking care of things when all the time, I’d already made my mind up, had already decided what needed to be done. I was in control. I made up the rules.”

  Gem’s mind raced. Keep calm and be ready. “What did you do to her?”

  “I did what needed doing. Afterward, he suggested that I should run. Said kids ran from children’s homes all the time and that the police wouldn’t connect my disappearance with hers. He was right about that.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Gem said. “You’re making this up.”

  Norton shook his head and grinned. “Why would I do that? You asked me why I killed Drew, and I’m telling you. I found it so easy to hide in London. This city is such a faceless, wriggling mass of humanity. I did what I needed to do to survive, waiting for Andrew, so we could team up again. But when he got his big job in the city, the little snake didn’t want to know me. The slimy bastard. After everything I’d done for him.”

  Gem licked her lips. They were still sore and bloody. These are the ramblings of a madman, she told herself. Don’t be taken in by a pathological liar. She was jolted from her thoughts by the sight of Norton pulling a knife from his waistband. He sliced swiftly through the tape binding her ankles and wrists.

  “Let’s move,” he said.

  Gem pushed herself up and followed, unsteady on her feet, her limbs stiff. She stamped the ground to try to get the blood flowing in her legs and looked around. Despite the darkness, she instantly realized that she was in the parking lot where it had all begun. There were no other vehicles around, and the store was unlit and shuttered. It had to be after midnight.

  Norton walked her at knifepoint until they stood in front of the patrol car. The engine was still running, the headlights cutting through the darkness. Norton moved toward her until she could feel his breath on her face, the blade digging in her ribs.

  “Here we are again,” he said. “Back where we first met. How about that? Who said romance was dead?”

  53

  Fight

  The Detective

  “The van Norton stole from the hotel has been found,” Shields announced, marching into Day’s office. “It was abandoned south of the river, on Union Street, Southwark.”

  Day looked up from the report he was reading. “No sign of Norton, I suppose?”

  “No sign. Forensics are going over it right now, but we know it was Norton, don’t we? What we don’t know is where the hell he is now.”

  Day shared his sergeant’s frustration. Norton seemed to have the knack of always being one step ahead of them. “Why do you think he’d steal a van, drive it to Southwark, and dump it? It’s a long way from his stomping ground.”

  Shields sat down in the chair opposite her boss and took a moment to think before answering. “I don’t know for sure, but I’m not prepared to believe he’s lost interest in Gem Golding. The white van may be in south London, but he could be anywhere by now. I’ve been trying to get a patrol car assigned to guard duty outside her home, but the uniforms are so short-staffed, it’s proving difficult. If it doesn’t happen soon, I’m going to take one of our unmarked cars and do it myself.”

  Day didn’t think that having his best detective sit outside a house all night on guard duty was a good use of resources, but he didn’t have the heart tell her that he disapproved.

  “Get someone to check with the city’s camera control rooms to see if they can tell us what Norton was doing with the van before he dumped it. Maybe that will give us an idea what he’s up to.”

  Gem the Warrior

  Gem checked the front and back doors one more time. Then she went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. After downing it in two gulps, she took the largest carving knife she could find from the cutlery drawer.

  The weight of the knife felt alien in her hand as she walked up the stairs, went into her bedroom, and slipped it under her pillow. Would she be able to use it if she had to? She didn’t have an answer, but she felt slightly better knowing that it was there.

  She moved over to the window and peered through the blinds out onto the road. She had been promised a police patrol car, but there was no sign of it yet. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked the time. It had gone midnight. There was no way she’d sleep tonight.

  Shields had said she could call her if she needed anything. Well, she did. She needed to stop feeling terrified. She found the detective’s number and pressed Dial. The call went to voicemail. She was about to leave a message when the sound of breaking glass stopped her in her tracks.

  Gem’s blood runs cold. Her throat tightens. She walks quickly to the bedroom door and presses an ear to it. She can hear someone moving about in the bathroom, and her heart jackhammers against her ribs. She starts to dial 999, but it’s too late. The bedroom door flies open, crashing into her arm and knocking the phone out of her hand and onto the carpet.

  Norton stands on the threshold wearing dark trousers, a dark jacket, and a dark smile. He strides into the room, and Gem takes a step back.

  Did I bring this all on myself? she wonders. If I hadn’t challenged him, if I’d simply handed him the car keys and let him drive away, maybe he wouldn’t be here now.

  As if r
eading her mind, Norton nods thoughtfully. “You should have stayed silent. Shown me the respect I deserve. Even then, we’d still be here, wouldn’t we? The game has to be completed.”

  Gem takes a sideways step, moving closer to the bed, closer to the pillow. She needs to distract him, keep him talking.

  “Why did you have to kill Drew? He didn’t do anything to you. In fact, he was the only one who tried to talk me out of going to the newspaper. He didn’t want me to speak to the press about the carjacking.”

  “I bet he didn’t,” Norton says, his smile widening.

  Gem doesn’t understand. “Drew was a decent man. He didn’t deserve to die like that.”

  Norton laughs. “I know you probably think you and Andrew Bentley were perfect for each other, but I can assure you that I knew him a lot better than you ever did. The real Andrew Bentley was not a decent man. He arranged the carjacking. The whole thing. Paid me to do it. That’s how much he cared about you.”

  Gem shakes her head. “No, you’re lying. You’re crazy.”

  “It’s all true,” Norton gloats. “What do you think of your precious Drew now?”

  Gem takes another step sideways and sits on the bed, her hand resting on the pillow.

  “Stand up,” Norton says. “Do not defy me again.” He moves toward her, slips his right hand around to the small of his back, and produces his hunting knife. “I told you to stand up,” he says, his voice strangely calm.

  This is the moment, Gem thinks. This monster wants to destroy me, but I don’t have to take it. I’ve stood up to him before. Can I do it again? Should I do it again? Her brain doesn’t have the answer, but her gut does.

  She slides her hand under the pillow and pulls out the carving knife. Norton moves closer, and she instinctively swings the blade at his right arm, slashing through the soft underside of his wrist.

  The hunting knife falls from his fingers. Norton’s blood splashes onto the carpet. He groans loudly and sinks to his knees.

  The whole of Gem’s body trembles as she points the carving knife at Norton’s face. The blood is still flowing from his wound, but he gets to his feet. She is preparing to strike again when he launches himself at her. The impact knocks her back onto the bed. Norton grabs the carving knife with his good hand and hurls it across the room.

  Gem tries to push him away, but even though he’s wounded, he is far too strong for her. He uses his weight to hold her down and presses his left forearm hard across the base of her throat. His eyes are rolling. The blood loss is taking its toll, but Gem knows that by the time he is weak enough for her to fight him off, it will be too late.

  “You made the wrong choice,” Norton whispers. “You lose.”

  54

  Surrender

  The Detective

  Day and Danni York stood side by side facing the map on the squad room wall. The psychologist had arrived shortly after midnight, dressed casually in jeans and a baggy sweater.

  “I don’t think he’ll leave London,” York said. “Not yet. Not until he’s done what he intends to do with his victim. He’s a predator, and the city’s his hunting ground, his killing field.”

  Day flinched at the phrase killing field, but he knew she was right. If they didn’t track the patrol car down soon, they might as well start searching for a body. Two bodies. He scanned the map, looking for answers, his eyes flitting from the city center to the mass of urban sprawl.

  “There are so many shadowy backstreets and dark corners in this city,” he said. “So many places to hide.”

  York turned away from the map and perched herself on the edge of an unoccupied desk. “Norton will have planned exactly where he wants to go. As far as Gem Golding is concerned, there will be no random choices. Since the carjacking, he’s been obsessed with her one way or the other. In his mind, everything revolves around her, and everything stems from the carjacking: the murders, his stalking, his desire for revenge. For people like him, life is one big game of violence, control, and manipulation. He has to be the winner, and he’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Day was nodding his agreement when Shields called across the room. “We’ve had a camera hit. The stolen patrol car was picked up heading east on Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green about thirty minutes ago.”

  Day stared at the map, tracing the route Norton had taken. If he continued driving east, along the southern perimeter of Victoria Park, any right turn would take him into Bow, back where it all started.

  “I think he’s gone full circle. Maybe he’s taking her to the parking lot where their paths first crossed.” He looked at York, inviting her opinion.

  “That sounds like a good call,” she said. “He’d definitely see that as poetic justice. It was during the carjacking that he first imagined that they had a secret bond. Returning to the scene would be fitting. It would be the perfect place to punish her for what he sees as her betrayal.”

  Day jabbed a finger at a uniformed officer at the back of the room. “I want an alert put out to every car and foot patrol we have in the area.”

  Turning swiftly, he headed for the door, beckoning Shields with a wave. “Come on, Cat. Let’s go. You’re driving.”

  55

  Surrender

  Gem the Victim

  The parking lot is darker than Gem remembers. She looks up and notices that the single security light is no longer working. Norton lowers the knife but stands too close for her to consider making a run for it. She looks directly at him and feels a surge of contempt.

  “You are nothing but a coward,” she says.

  Norton looks momentarily shocked by her boldness. He tilts his head to one side and grins. “What about your Drew? He was the biggest fucking coward I’ve ever met. Crafty though. I’ll give him that.”

  Gem lifts her chin. “He was a good man. He was in the same children’s home as you but didn’t let his circumstances drag him down. He built a good life for himself.”

  Norton walks slowly around her, encircling her like a wolf moving in for the kill. “Your precious Drew set the whole carjacking thing up,” he says. “He telephoned me that night and told me you’d be stopping here to buy painkillers.”

  Gem opens her mouth to speak, but the words stick in her throat. She swallows them down and tries again. “That’s a lie. You’re lying.”

  Norton stops prowling and pushes his face so close to hers, the tips of their noses touch. “I never lie,” he hisses. “Unless I have to.”

  She backs away, and he gives her space.

  “I told you he didn’t want to know me, but it was easy to find out which fancy law firm he worked for. I needed money, and Andrew owed me big time. He agreed to pay me if I did a little job for him. Two thousand before and two thousand when completed. He wanted you scared a little. Just enough to help him persuade you to give up work. Like I said, he was cowardly but cunning.”

  Gem shakes her head. “No, no, no. I don’t believe you. This is fantasy. Your crazy mind working overtime.”

  Norton laughs again. “Why the hell would I make this stuff up?” he says. “He said I’d fucked up. I was supposed to just take the car. I couldn’t let that go. Anyway, he had to die to make way for us. There was no choice to make. He never had a chance.”

  “You’re deluded. There was no us. Never.”

  Norton shakes his head slowly. “You know there was something special there. Until you betrayed me as well.”

  Gem’s heart flutters like a trapped bird. She remembers the arguments she and Drew had about her working late. She can’t let herself believe he would do such a thing, but suspicion gnaws at her brain.

  “What’s the matter?” Norton teases. “Lost for words?” When she doesn’t reply, he steps forward and points the knife at her stomach. “Get on your knees.”

  Gem doesn’t move. Don’t do anything rash, she tells herself. There’s too much at stake.


  Norton hesitates, then pulls a coin from his trouser pocket and flips it. It spins in the darkness and lands between his feet. He bends down, peering, his dark eyes narrowing to slits. “Tails,” he says. “Interesting. If you do what I say, I won’t hurt you.”

  Nothing this man says or does makes sense, Gem thinks. She looks down at the coin, and her mind flashes back to the last time she was in the parking lot. A memory jolts her, a vivid snapshot of her cell phone, her lipstick, and a pound coin on the ground. She’d thought the coin had rolled out of her bag.

  “All I want is a little show of humility,” Norton says. “That’s not too much to ask, is it? Now, get on your knees.”

  Gem stays where she is. She can hear the patrol car’s engine idling behind her, and that’s when it hits her, the reason Norton wants the headlights on. He wants to make sure it’s bright enough for the parking lot’s security cameras to capture his performance. He needs the world to see his triumph. He’s not there to let her walk away.

  He puts a hand around the back of her neck, grabs a handful of hair, and starts to force her down.

  “Don’t,” she says. “I’m pregnant.”

  He yanks her hair so hard, she has no choice but to drop to her knees.

  “You’ve tried that lie before, remember? How stupid do you think I am?”

  “I’m not lying. I’m not. I’m pregnant with Drew’s baby.”

  He draws back his right foot and kicks her hard in the stomach. Gem cries out and falls on her side, instinctively curling into the fetal position.

  She is gasping loudly, as if the kick has driven the air from her lungs, but she’s not as breathless as she appears. She clutches her hands to her stomach and thinks. She sees Norton shape up to lash out again.