The Rules of Murder

by The Rules of Murder (retail) (epub)

  ‘You mean you think I’m too bullish and aggressive,’ Dani said.

  Which she knew to be the case, even if she couldn’t control it. But was that really her fault, if it was caused by her brain’s permanently damaged wiring?

  ‘I didn’t say that,’ Easton said.

  Dani waited for a further explanation from Easton, but he said nothing more, which didn’t make Dani feel any better at all.

  Easton sighed. ‘I get what you’re trying to achieve here, Dani, but I just… the Redfearnes lost their son. I mean… don’t you feel even a little bit bad about what we’re trying to do?’

  Dani grit her teeth before answering. So was Easton not even on the same wavelength as her? The last few days he’d repeatedly helped her out of tricky points in their various meetings and interviews, but was that out of some sort of loyalty to her rather than because he actually agreed with her and got her?

  ‘I don’t feel bad in the least,’ Dani said.

  An entirely true statement that made Dani feel cold inside. Why did she care so little about these people?

  The awkward conversation ended on that less than satisfactory note. They carried on their journey mostly in silence for the few short miles to an upmarket leafy street in Edgbaston that was lined with classical Georgian detached homes – largely boxy structures with an array of tall windows and rendered white walls. They came to a set of wrought-iron gates and Dani pulled the car to a stop, looking for an intercom on the wall that ran off from the gate. There wasn’t one. She looked over to Easton.

  ‘I’ll go and take a look,’ he said.

  The gates were indeed locked, but there was a pedestrian gate just off from the driveway that wasn’t, so Dani parked up by the roadside and the two of them headed on through and up to the green-painted front door of the expansive and handsome property.

  ‘Not quite up to the Redfearnes’ standards, but I wouldn’t say no,’ Easton said.

  It certainly wasn’t a property that would come cheap. None of those on the street were. Dani rang the bell then turned to take a look around. The various tall and dense trees lining all sides of the property meant that it was well secluded from the neighbouring houses, and the Feathers’ home could well have been in the middle of the countryside rather than a short hop to the centre of England’s second largest city.

  ‘No one home?’ Easton said.

  Dani turned back around and pressed on the bell again, sticking her head closer to the door this time. It definitely rang.

  They waited a few more seconds but there was no indication of movement from inside. Easton’s face was already showing a hint of concern. He hunched over and pushed the letterbox open to peek inside as Dani pulled her phone out. She dialled the number for Feathers. No answer.

  ‘You see anything?’ Dani asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ Easton said, still looking in.

  Dani rang again. No answer. She was about to leave a voicemail…

  ‘Wait a second,’ Easton said. ‘Call again.’

  Dani did so. Still no answer. Easton craned his neck to look up to her.

  ‘I can hear it ringing,’ he said.

  Dani pulled the phone away from her ear as Easton straightened up.

  ‘I don’t like this,’ Dani said as the niggling ominous thoughts in the back of her mind continued to take shape and grow.

  ‘No, me neither.’

  Easton banged on the door with his fist. The first thump made Dani jump.

  ‘Police! Please, open the door.’

  Dani hunched down to look through the letterbox. No sign, or sound, of movement from within. Dani came back up.

  ‘Take a look around that way,’ she said. ‘I’ll go the other.’

  Easton nodded and they set off in opposite directions. Dani peered through each window as she went. All were locked shut, and she saw no signs of life from the glimpses inside. In fact, the house was immaculate, both in its decor and cleanliness.

  Dani and Easton soon congregated by a set of patio doors at the back of the house that led from a country-style kitchen.

  ‘Anything?’ Dani asked.

  ‘No,’ Easton said. ‘But this’ll be the easiest way in.’

  ‘Go ahead then,’ Dani said.

  Easton hesitated, as though unsure whether Dani’s instruction was serious. Once he’d realised it was, it only took two whacks of his elbow to break through one of the small glass squares in the patio door to allow him to reach in and unlock the door.

  Dani stepped inside first. No alarm. She inhaled deeply. Nothing of note. What was she expecting?

  ‘This is the police!’ Dani shouted. ‘Mr Feathers? Mrs Feathers? Are you home?’

  No answer.

  Dani was part way through the kitchen when she heard a shuffling noise from out in the hall. She whipped her eyes to Easton. She could see from the determined look on his face that he’d heard the noise too.

  Dani indicated that she would go first, and Easton nodded as she stepped forwards. As much as she tried to stay calm, her heart was throbbing and her hands were clammy with sweat as she moved forwards. She reached the doorway and peered into the hall. She could see nothing but then came that shuffling noise again. It sounded like it was coming from the adjacent room; the entrance was five yards away.

  Dani crept out into the hall, her feet soft and silent on the polished oak floor. She was two yards from the doorway to the next room when there was a blur of movement from beyond the threshold. Dani gulped in shock. She stumbled backwards.

  ‘Dani!’ Easton shouted.

  He raced in front of her as Dani lost her footing and fell to the floor with a thud. Easton burst into the room, then…

  ‘Fuck’s sake,’ he shouted. He stopped and turned back to face Dani, half smiling. A moment later a cat bounded between his legs and out of the room and scooted past Dani into the kitchen and out of sight.

  Dani put her head to her hand, embarrassed as much as anything else.

  She wiped at her brow that was damp with sweat.

  No. She wasn’t sweating that much. She looked at her hand.

  ‘Shit.’

  She clambered to her feet and stared at the smudge of red on the dark floor. As her gaze moved up she spotted the line of thick dark liquid running down the bannister. A drop forming at the end of the wood broke free and fell to the floor.

  ‘Upstairs,’ Dani said.

  She and Easton were both soon striding up. It wasn’t hard to find the master suite. The trail of still glistening blood only got thicker and larger with each step they took.

  Dani stopped when she reached the doorway.

  ‘Shit,’ was all Easton said as he stopped by her side. ‘Is that Feathers?’

  From the little Dani could see of the bloodied face, she really couldn’t be sure. In truth it didn’t matter much, because there was absolutely no doubt: whoever was lying on the floor in front of them was already dead.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I’ve already showered and changed – discarding my soiled clothes – before I head to the warehouse, yet I can still smell the blood. I can taste it in fact, and I move the flavour around my mouth with my tongue, up and down, between my gums. The taste doesn’t disturb me at all; in fact, quite satisfyingly, it helps me to linger a little longer on my progress and the day’s deeds, though I do have to keep checking and rechecking my reflection in shop windows as I walk along to make sure that no red remains on my face.

  Although I know I’m making good, efficient progress, there’s still a way to go, and I know that some of the hardest tasks remain. I won’t be deterred. The police are hunting for me now, but if I’m careful and consistent, I’ll stay one step ahead and continue to evade them. Once my mission is complete… well, I still don’t know what comes next for me after this is done. In many ways, it’s not even important.

  I glance around before I head off the main road and on to the side street, then a few yards later I do the same again before I move onto the even
quieter alley. It’s quite strange but my heart rate is steadily rising as I walk along towards the loading doors, and I feel a slight bubble of something building in my stomach. Not anxiousness, more anticipation.

  Yearning. Like a fucking puppy dog.

  The bubble pops and I feel anger rising now. My body becomes more tense as I idle along.

  OK, so I’ll admit, I like Sophie, and I enjoy the interaction I have with her. It’s… real.

  She hates you. She’s petrified of you. There’s nothing real about it.

  I take care of her. She knows that. Perhaps if we hadn’t met in the way we did…

  Regardless, I’m at the doors now, and I won’t hide from the fact that I’m feeling excited to see her. It’s been a long night and day, another tick on the long list, and I’m glad to now have this much-needed respite before I go again.

  I reach forwards and pull open the doors. It upsets me that the first thing that hits me as I step inside is the smell. Urine. Faeces. Sophie’s. She doesn’t deserve this indignity, but what else can I do? I can’t give her a plumbed-in toilet in the van.

  By the time I’ve moved a few yards inside the warehouse, I’m already accustomed to the smell, and I’m pleased that at the back of my nostrils there’s still that tingling metallic twang of blood.

  I reach the van door and push down on the handle.

  I freeze when I look inside.

  The van is empty.

  You fool. Look at what you’ve—

  ‘SHUT UP!’

  I don’t need to hear it. I can see the problem with my own eyes, and my instantly bursting rage is the only response I can muster right now.

  I trusted Sophie. After the last time, I thought she trusted me. But she never wanted to be here. She never wanted anything to do with me. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and she wrenched it from my hand and tore it up and threw it into the fire.

  And now she’s gone.

  But that fire is still burning. Fierce and unrelenting. I’m a long way from finished, and I pray only that I get the chance to face her one more time, to show her what a mistake she’s made in betraying me like this.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The FSIs in their white suits had soon descended on Edgbaston, and Dani and Easton became little more than bystanders as the experts got on with their jobs. Dani had already satisfied herself that the hacked-apart dead man in the bedroom was indeed Kenneth Feathers, though a formal identification would still need to take place. He was alone in the house, which was some sort of consolation, Dani figured, with his wife having travelled away from home that morning to visit their daughter in Worcestershire. Easton had had the horrific task of calling her to inform her of her husband’s death, and given that call was the best part of an hour ago, Dani was expecting she’d be home any minute now.

  Since they’d called the cavalry, Dani and Easton had both spent some time rummaging around the house. They found nothing of note. Of course they’d never been to this home before, so they didn’t know what it should look like, but other than the dead body in the bedroom, and the blood, there was no evidence of anything untoward. No obvious sign of broken entry – other than the damage Easton had caused – and the house was spick and span.

  ‘It has to be him,’ Easton said as he and Dani re-gathered outside the bedroom, where the FSIs were still busy poring over the body. ‘Curtis, I mean.’

  Dani didn’t answer him, though there was surely no other explanation, under the circumstances.

  Dani’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she lifted it out. McNair. About time.

  ‘Ma’am,’ Dani said.

  ‘Give me the short version,’ McNair said. ‘I’m still not nearly finished pushing through your earlier request, even. I was hoping to get an early finish today but that’s all been blown to crap now.’

  Not the most sympathetic of statements given they now had another murder victim, though Dani didn’t say anything about it.

  ‘That court order is still important, and necessary,’ Dani said, ‘but I’m not sure it’s even the priority right now.’

  A sigh from McNair. ‘Dani, I really—’

  ‘Curtis has now killed both his barrister and the trial judge. Who knows why Oscar Redfearne was targeted, and I do still want to figure that out, but it’s blindingly obvious that anyone associated with his trial is potentially the next victim.’

  A short silence. ‘What are you asking for now?’

  ‘There’s only one thing we can do. We have to provide protection for everyone. Lawyers, on both sides, jurors, witnesses.’

  There was a longer silence this time.

  ‘I really don’t see any other way,’ Dani said.

  ‘This morning you were telling me the best way to help find Curtis was to dig up dirt on the Redfearnes.’

  ‘That’s not what I said at all,’ Dani said, sounding as irritated as she felt. ‘Digging into the Redfearnes is necessary. It could provide answers as to why Oscar was a target, and it could help any court case against Curtis, which we have to hope we’re going to get. But the priority was and still is stopping him before he kills again.’

  ‘And look where that got us.’

  Dani didn’t like how McNair said that. As though it was Dani’s inaction, or wayward action, that had led to Feathers’s death. What about the police’s inaction in helping to get Ben to talk?

  ‘Which is exactly why I’m now saying we have to provide protection for anyone else involved in Curtis’s trial,’ Dani said. ‘Is that heavy-handed? Possibly? Is it really necessary? I don’t know any better than you do. But can we afford to take the risk of not doing so? Absolutely not.’

  ‘I agree,’ McNair said before another long sigh. ‘God knows how we’re going to organise it, but we have to somehow. Leave it with me.’

  McNair ended the call, and Dani stuffed the phone away then glanced back into the bedroom where one of the FSIs was busy prodding an open wound on the dead man’s chest with a swab. The mass of bone and flesh looked like a rack of ribs in a butcher’s shop. Dani pushed the rush of bile back down her throat and looked away.

  ‘She said yes?’ Easton asked.

  ‘Surprisingly, she did.’

  ‘Told you she trusted you.’

  Dani still wasn’t so sure, otherwise why had McNair opened up the conversation with a rebuke?

  ‘You’re still wondering about Oscar Redfearne?’ Easton asked.

  ‘I can’t help it. It still makes no sense.’

  ‘Yeah, but none of it makes sense really.’

  ‘It doesn’t?’

  ‘Sure, we think Curtis is doing this for revenge, but that still doesn’t explain why he feels the need to kill these people, like this.’

  Easton indicated into the bedroom. Dani took only a cursory look. She was truly sick of seeing similar gory sights now.

  ‘What I’m saying is, this was a guy with some mental health issues, right?’

  ‘Apparently,’ Dani said.

  ‘But it wasn’t a guy who’d been on a killing spree before. He spent a few years in jail, fair enough, but he’s just got out after barely four years. Would he really feel so disgruntled about that? Yeah, OK, why not, but it’s not like his whole life was taken away from him in those years. He’s still in his twenties, for Christ’s sake. So how did he go from a guy with depression, or whatever it was, before he was sent down, to a bloody crazed but pretty damn calculated killer a few years later? And without any warning signs either, apparently.’

  Easton had hit the nail bang on the head with that one. Revenge was such a simple answer to explain Curtis’s actions, yet really it didn’t explain much at all. Yes Curtis was killing these people in a blood-soaked rampage, yet there remained a certain degree of calculation and planning in each attack.

  ‘We’ll find the answers,’ Dani said. ‘But first, we have to find Curtis. Let’s redouble efforts on his friends and family. Can you see where the other forces are at with that?’

  ‘Of co
urse.’

  ‘He’s got to be getting help from somewhere, even if it’s just a roof over his head.’

  Easton nodded. ‘I’m on it.’

  ‘And get someone to look back through phone history, bank records, whatever we can get. There has to be a clue somewhere.’

  Dani’s phone buzzed again. She immediately suspected it was McNair, passing on bad news about one of the two fronts she was now working on. But no, it was DC Grayling.

  Dani felt a pang of optimism for once as she answered.

  ‘Boss, you’re needed right away.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Sophie Blackwood. We found her. Alive.’

  Chapter Thirty

  Talk about a quandary. Dani’s first instinct was to jump in her car and race as fast as she could the short distance to Birmingham City Hospital, where Sophie Blackwood was now in a private ward under armed police guard.

  But no. Dani had to think more strategically than that. From the information relayed by Grayling, she knew that Sophie was in a confused, gibbering state when she’d been found collapsed outside a shop on a main road a couple of miles from central Birmingham, and had already been heavily sedated by the medical staff at the hospital once she’d arrived there. She’d come around sooner or later, and Dani would absolutely be at the hospital before long, but she could make better use of her time rather than sitting and waiting.

  Instead, she and Easton were travelling to Butler Street in Winson Green, an ethnic enclave that was the scene of one of numerous riots that spread through England in August 2011, kicked off by racial tension in London, but which culminated in the deaths of three men in Winson Green following a devastating hit and run. Years later, tensions remained high in the area, and Dani felt it was only ever a spark away from a repeat of those events. Why had Curtis taken Sophie there?

  Dani parked up on double yellow lines outside a row of shops that ranged from an Indian grocery store with an array of fresh fruit, vegetables and spices on display outside, to a nail bar, to a barber, to a Caribbean fast food takeaway. There was still a marked police car here, and a few onlookers keen to see if there would be any further action today.