“Come on, Harry, you’re the detective. Surely you can work it out. I know all about the site and the killings because I’m the man you’ve been looking for so desperately.” He flashed Harry one of his charming smiles. “No sense in denying it now. You’ve done the investigating, gathered the evidence and now you know the truth.”
The words struck Harry like a blow from a sledgehammer. When Sasha had shown him Hugh’s name on that notepad it had never occurred to him that his neighbour — bland, dentist Hugh — could have anything to do with the murders. How could it?
The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling.
Hugh was their assassin, and he’d been living right next door.
But Harry was still puzzled. Hugh didn’t fit the picture of the killer he had in his head. The man was cultured, always exquisitely dressed, a quiet sort who ran his own business and worked hard. Somehow, Harry still couldn’t see him killing people with such cold, calculating expertise.
“But you’re a dentist, not a killer. Were you forced into this?” he asked, still wildly searching for a rational explanation.
Hugh smiled. “I’m no dentist, Harry, that’s merely a cover. But it’s a good one. If you check the records you’ll find a Hugh Devereaux listed, trouble is, he’s long dead. I took his name and his qualifications because for the time being it suited my purpose. I’ve assumed many names and many jobs but none of them are the true me. I’m an assassin, Harry, pure and simple and I wasn’t forced, it’s how I choose to earn a living.”
Shocked at the admission, Harry gazed round the room, looking for some evidence of this chosen profession. He noticed the suitcase. “Why are you leaving?”
“As you pointed out, my name is on the site. I value my life, simple as that. I’ve outstayed my usefulness, and now the man who hired me wants my blood.”
“He’ll have to wait his turn,” Harry said. “You’ve just admitted you’re a murderer, Hugh. I intend to arrest you.”
“I don’t want to harm you, Harry, but if you persist with the policeman thing, I’ll have no choice.” He pointed to the door. “My advice is to leave now and keep our conversation to yourself until I’m gone.”
Harry shook his head. “I can’t do that. If you’re in danger, come in, give us a statement and we can protect you. We’ll put you somewhere safe.”
Hugh gave a dry laugh. “Sure. Like Thea Connor.”
“Why did you want to kill Thea? What is she to you?”
“A thorough pain in the neck to be honest. She tried to blackmail me. Can you believe that? A mere teenager with no experience and a half-arsed plan. But give the girl her due, she did tell me this would happen, that I’d fall out of favour and become the first target of the new killer.”
“You won’t get away.” Harry nodded at the suitcase. “Half the Manchester force is looking for you.”
“That famous, eh? I’d no idea. I’m flattered.” He checked his watch. “Sorry, Harry, but I’ll have to bring this to a close. I’ve got a train to catch. You do understand, don’t you?”
“I can’t let you do that, Hugh.”
“With respect, you can’t stop me. I’m the killer, remember, and you are no match for my blade.”
He was right, of course.
“Shame it had to be you. I had hoped to keep you and Col out of it. But that’s not possible now. Sorry, Harry, but you’ll have to become another of my tidy-up kills. That’s what’s made this entire operation so difficult and caused my employer to think again about keeping me on. Too many people got in the way.”
Anger roused Harry from his paralysis. “People like Dean and Julia Bolton, for example, eh? You killed them without a second thought. And this employer of yours, would that be Ricky Calvert?”
Hugh smiled. “I can’t tell you that. I do regret killing Dean though. I liked him. But he wouldn’t do as he was told. And Thea is such a resourceful young lady. She’ll go far, provided she keeps her nerve. What have you done with her now, by the way?”
“She’s where you won’t find her again. Thea will give evidence, she’s already given us a description and a photofit.”
“I’ve seen it in the local rag.” He rolled his eyes. “You need to have another word with that young lady. She’s still playing games. We met as she said, but I was not wearing a hat or that ridiculous polo-neck sweater pulled up over my mouth. I’m also aware that she’s known our username for that site a while now. Her and Dean were keeping tabs on the intended kills.”
She’d not said anything to Harry. What was she playing at?
“What’s your plan?” he asked.
Hugh shrugged. “Flee. As you say, Calvert wants me dead, and he employs only the best. My time is limited, so whatever you want to know, Harry, make it quick.”
“How long have you been doing this?”
“For as long as I can recall. I like the work, it’s highly paid but does have its dangers. I’ve found the best course of action is to run before someone takes me out first.”
“Why is he using the same username and format for the ads? He must realise that you’d see yours and be on your guard.”
Hugh dismissed this with another shrug. “He doesn’t care. The people he employs are experts at what they do. They’ll get the job done whether I know or not. I use a knife, but the next assassin might favour a gun. I walk out of here and I’m a target.” Hugh was staring at him thoughtfully. “There is a way out of this for both of us. I really don’t want to harm you, Harry. Stand aside, let me go and tell your colleagues I’d gone before you got here.”
That was never going to happen. Harry had no reason to protect either Hugh or Calvert. “Sorry, Hugh, can’t do that. Both you and Calvert are going down. Calvert brings drugs into the country from abroad. A team from the Manchester force are after him. Do a deal, tell them what you know, and they’ll do what they can for you when it goes to court.”
That made Hugh laugh. “That’s not going to work. Believe me, you’ll never get close to Calvert and it’s not in my nature to come quietly.”
“You won’t get away, Hugh.”
“You know nothing, Harry.” Hugh closed the suitcase and zipped it up. “So this is it then, the end. Shame — you and Col were good fun at times, relieved the monotony of this god-forsaken town.”
Harry backed towards the door. If Hugh was to get out of here, he’d have to make a run for it. But just as he reached out for the handle his mobile rang, breaking the tension.
“Give it to me,” Hugh said. “Come on. Throw it over here.”
Harry slid it across the wooden floor towards him. Hugh stamped on it, hard.
* * *
Colin was in the main office giving Brian Isherwood’s photos another look. He wanted to satisfy himself that he hadn’t missed something important during his previous quick run through. No, there was nothing, no images of anyone lurking in the background when Dean had photographed his family.
He was about to go and get something to eat when the phone on Harry’s desk rang. He reached across and picked it up. It was the FLO who was looking after Lana Midani.
“She’s done one,” the officer said. “She must have sneaked off during the night. Her things have gone too.”
Just what they needed. “Harry took her phone off her. Did she have any money?”
“I’m not sure. She had her make-up bag. The thing is huge, there could be anything in it, and she’s taken my mobile.”
“Chances are she’s making for London, and home. I’ll get people on it. Stay there for now in case she comes back.”
So much for breakfast. Lana was in grave danger and they needed to find her quick. Colin rang the railway station nearest to the house she’d been placed in, and then texted them an image of her. From there, she would probably catch a train to Manchester Piccadilly and then get an intercity to London. If that was her plan, with any luck they wouldn’t be too late to stop her. On the other hand, she’d taken the FLO’s mobile, so she might ring her friend Dante, the hair
dresser, and ask him to fetch her. Colin decided he’d cover the train angle first, then get someone in the office to contact Dante.
He should tell Harry. He called, heard his mobile ring out a couple of times and then nothing. Harry had shut down his call. Colin was surprised — he always answered his phone — then he grew anxious. Was Harry in trouble? Not about to take any chances, Colin rang comms and asked for an immediate GPS trace on Harry’s mobile. They told him the phone was in the apartment block where they both lived.
Colin was tempted to leave it. Perhaps Harry had gone home to change, or to grab a bite to eat. Perhaps he’d left his phone at home — no, he wouldn’t do that. Knowing it would bug him if he didn’t find out for sure, Colin grabbed his keys and made for the car park.
Chapter Forty-four
Harry had to do something to take the heat out of the situation. He needed to buy time, try to make Hugh see sense and come in. “You said to ask if there was anything I needed to know,” he said. “Well, there are a couple of things.”
“Go on, ask away,” Hugh said.
“Have you always worked for Calvert?”
“Heavens, no. I’ve worked all over the country, usually for high-profile villains who don’t like to get their hands dirty. As a rule, when a job is done, or a run of killings ends, both sides walk away and I find someone else who needs my services. Organised crime might be the bane of your life, Harry, but it’s a godsend in my line of work. A good reference is all that’s needed.” He winked at Harry.
“How did you get into this? A man like you, you could have done anything.”
“Killing pays,” Hugh said simply. “It gives me money and a certain freedom that I enjoy. I make no bones about it, the job suits me and I’m good at it.”
“So, what now?” Harry asked. “Effectively, your current boss is sacking you. As far as I can see, he’s set the dogs on you, scuppered your chances of finding new work.”
“I’ll survive. Perhaps I’ll go abroad. Someone out there will need my services. I just have to find them.”
“Meanwhile, you’ve got a shadow stalking you. Can you live like that, Hugh?”
Hugh’s expression darkened, his eyes took on a menacing glint. “Better than being incarcerated in a stinking prison cell. I’d rather take my chances while I still can.”
He checked the time on his watch. “Now, if that’s all, I have to make tracks.”
“Dean Greenwood,” Harry said swiftly. “When did you first become aware of him?”
“Scotland. He’d persuaded his family that it was a good place to visit. We met up, and at first, he was just a friendly kid, he made no mention of knowing what I did for a living. He went on about how we both lived in Ryebridge and what a coincidence it was that we’d met.”
“He planned it,” Harry told him. “He knew what you were up to. He was a clever lad, was Dean.”
“I know that now. The holiday was him trying to pump me for information. Not that it worked.”
Hugh reached into a drawer and took out a wicked-looking blade. He placed it in the open suitcase. “I really do have to wrap this up, Harry. Pleasant as it is to chat, I’ve got things to do.”
“D’you really think you’re going to walk out of here free as a bird?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I bet Calvert’s on your tail even now. Are you willing to take that risk? You’re a fool if you are.”
Hugh’s face clouded. “Go on then, give me an alternative.”
“Give yourself up. Come to the station with me and we’ll talk this through properly.”
“There’s nothing more to say.” Hugh picked up the blade and stepped towards Harry, who began to back up.
With his back against the door, there was nowhere else for Harry to go. He caught sight of a small coffee table standing in the corner. Reaching out with his foot, Harry tipped it up and sent it tumbling to the floor.
* * *
Colin entered his flat, only to find it empty. He was stumped. According to the GPS signal on his phone, Harry should be here. He was about to return to the station when he heard a crash coming from the next-door flat. Something was wrong. Hugh never made noise.
“Hugh? Harry, is that you?” he called out, hammering on the adjoining wall. “I’m coming round.”
Colin darted into the corridor and started banging on his neighbour’s front door. “Let me in!” he shouted. “I have backup with me. We’ll take the door out if needs be.”
Suddenly the door was flung wide and Colin was face to face with Hugh Devereaux.
“Ah, it’s you,” he said calmly and leaned out to look up and down the corridor. “Come and join us. Things are just getting interesting.”
Colin saw his boss standing at the other side of the room. “Harry? You okay?”
“No, I’m not. This idiot is our assassin,” Harry said.
“That smacks of sour grapes, Harry. Don’t call me an idiot, please. What I do takes a lot of skill,” Hugh said.
Colin looked from one to the other of them. “Hugh is the killer? Are you sure?”
“Oh, he’s sure all right.” Hugh shoved Colin back against the wall. “Join your friend, and no sudden moves.”
Colin heard the words, saw the blade in Hugh’s hand, but he still struggled to believe it. “You can’t get away with this,” he said. “We know who you are now, so there’s nowhere to hide.”
“I’ve figured that one out, thanks. And, sad as it is, that’s why you will both have to die.”
Colin looked at Harry for confirmation.
Harry shrugged. “Nutcase.”
“You need to learn some respect,” Hugh said, holding the blade to Harry’s neck. “You know how dangerous I am. The last thing you should do is upset me.”
It was time for the self-defence training to surface. “Why not? It’s what I’m good at, upsetting people.” Harry grinned. “That’s true, isn’t it, Col?”
Hugh glanced at Colin. That brief moment was all Harry needed to grab hold of Hugh’s arm. He twisted it up behind his back. “Get him, Col!” he screamed.
Colin lunged at Hugh, sending him to the floor. He straddled his body and delivered a hard punch to his jaw. But Hugh still had hold of the knife, and with one swift movement he brought it down hard on Colin’s free arm.
Colin cried out in pain and rolled off him, his blood gushing over the floor. Before Hugh could get up, Harry stamped on his hand and took hold of the blade. With his free hand, he rescued his mobile. The screen was broken but it still worked. As Hugh screamed that his hand was broken, Harry called for backup and an ambulance.
Harry removed his tie and threw it Colin’s way. “Hold your arm up and wrap this tight around it. Get one of those cushions and press hard on the wound. I reckon he struck an artery.” He hauled Hugh to his knees and then floored him again with a kick to the belly. “You should have come in quietly when you had the chance.”
Hugh said nothing, he was doubled up in pain. Before he had a chance to get his breath back, Harry kicked him again, this time in the head. “That’s for stabbing Col. Handcuffs?” he asked his injured colleague.
“Inside jacket pocket.”
“This is police brutality,” Hugh said, spitting blood. “There are rules about violence against prisoners.”
“No chance. You were trying to escape, and you assaulted an officer.”
Chapter Forty-five
Hugh Devereaux was put in a cell to await interview and Harry went to tell Rodders about the arrest. Now that all the hullabaloo had calmed down, Harry finally had time to consider what had just happened. Never in a million years would he have pointed the finger at Hugh. The man simply didn’t fit the profile.
“I was living next door to him all the time,” he told Rodders. “I can’t believe it. He was the perfect neighbour — no noise, no trouble. I’m still shocked. He wasn’t shy about admitting who he was either. Once he knew I’d rumbled him, he told me straight away.”
“What d
’you want to do about Weeks?”
“We’ve got the assassin downstairs, but not Calvert. Before we involve Weeks, we need to question Hugh and get the whole story. We need evidence against Calvert, and he can give us that.”
“Weeks won’t like it,” Rodders said.
“Is there any need for Weeks to know yet? We’ve got the assassin and that’s what counts.”
“And you’re sure he’s the right man?” Rodders asked.
“He’s confessed, and we have evidence that will match up — the chip from his tooth, the boot print, and with luck we’ll even find the gloves he wore when he fought with Roebuck.”
Rodders still seemed hesitant. “Okay, you’ve got twenty-four hours and then we’ll have to involve Manchester. Get a full statement from him, Harry.”
Harry nodded, satisfied.
“And well done,” Rodders said. “You got him. All that hard work paid off.”
Harry wasn’t about to contradict the super but it was really Dean and Sasha’s work that had got them to this point.
“How’s DC Vance by the way?” Rodders asked.
“He’s still in hospital, sir. The knife struck his brachial artery, so he had to have surgery.”
“Will he be in long?” Rodders asked.
“Not sure. I’ll visit later, make sure he’s okay.”
“Give him my best. He saved your bacon, I believe.” Rodders smiled.
“He did indeed, dived straight in and took him on. It was unlucky that the knife got him, Hugh was just striking out blindly.”
“Let me know if you get anything new from the interview.”
The first thing Harry did on returning to the main office was ring Jess.
“I need you back,” he said. “There’s been developments. I’ll send a replacement to you now. Thea and her dad should be able to return home soon, though once the report’s gone to the CPS, Thea will have to answer for her part in this.”
“Does that mean you’ve got him? How?”
“Sasha worked it out from the code Dean formulated. The faceless man was Hugh, our neighbour. I went to warn him and found him getting ready to run. He knew he was next on Calvert’s list and came clean.”
THE FACELESS MAN an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detectives Lennox & Wilde Thrillers Book 2) Page 17