by A L Fraine
“Well, at least you were polite to me this time. That’s a start, I guess.”
Jon shrugged. He didn’t see the point in being rude, provided she wasn’t overstepping the mark.
“I’ll see you around, Jon.”
He watched her go, all hips and heels. She climbed into a totally different car this time and was gone in short order, leaving him to enter his house alone. Out of curiosity, he looked up the champagne she’d given him online and nearly had a heart attack at the price tag.
Suddenly, he wasn’t sure if he should drink it or sell it.
12
How long had it been?
Hours? Days? Helen had lost all track of time and couldn’t be sure how long she’d been in here. The light coming from the vent had never changed, meaning it was likely artificial, giving her no clue as to what time of day it was.
Her stomach grumbled loudly again, making her insides cramp.
In some ways, it was nice to have a new, different pain to focus on. Her wrists ached endlessly, but she’d somehow started to get used to it… until she moved them, and the tight, lancing pain flared again.
Her legs felt like jelly, and if it wasn’t for her being wedged between these two walls, she would have fallen over ages ago.
The hunger she felt was painful, but it was beaten easily by her intense thirst. Helen’s mouth was bone dry, and her tongue felt like sandpaper as she leant her head against the wall before her. It wasn’t brick. She’d realised this a while back. The wall at her back was brick, but the one in front was very clearly wood.
Not that it mattered. She wasn’t in a position to do much of anything. Shouting or banging on the wall with her head, or foot, or knee, only resulted in more pain.
Sometimes that pain was welcome, and other times it wasn’t.
She’d been drifting in and out of sleep for a while and had started to lose some grip on what was real and what was a dream. It was no doubt dehydration kicking in as her body tried to conserve its water and keep her alive.
How long did she have? A few days, maybe? If only she could make someone aware she was missing, maybe then someone might start looking for her.
But she’d not told anyone where she was going, and she had no idea where her phone was.
Thinking was becoming tiring, and she felt shattered. Helen closed her eyes, hoping some rest would help, and drifted into another dark and fitful sleep, filled with nightmarish dreams.
13
Jon settled into his office chair as he booted up his PC. As he sat there, his mind couldn’t help returning to the night before and the events that had taken place at his doorstep.
Ariadne turning up again was disturbing enough on its own, and he didn’t like that she was apparently making an effort to insert herself into his life for a second time.
He still didn’t know what she was really up to, but there had to be a reason. He couldn’t quite believe that she just wanted to be his friend and hang out. That just didn’t seem right to him at all and didn’t fit with who she was. This was a woman who had no issues seducing a man and becoming his girlfriend for at least a few months before swindling and stealing millions from him.
She was focused, dedicated and calculating, and he found it hard to believe she’d do this without a deeper, hidden meaning. But what was it, and why?
What was her end goal?
He had a sinking feeling that he probably wouldn’t know until it was too late, and he’d already stepped willingly into her trap.
But that wasn’t even the most disturbing thing to happen last night. He found himself thinking back to that passing van as he tried to picture it in his mind's eye. He’d not got a good look at the man or even really seen the number plate, but that didn’t stop him from trying to focus on those details and try to pull something from his memories. Something he could enter into the police database and get some kind of lead or clue.
But so far, his luck had failed him.
He’d been thinking about it all last night as he unpacked a few more boxes, and inevitably he’d got less done because his mind was not on the job at hand.
In the end, he went to bed late after checking the locks several times and jamming a chair under the door. But sleep had been a fickle mistress and ended up eluding him for half the night as his mind raced with thoughts, questions, and fears.
In the end, he came into work early and was the first one in.
As the computer finished booting up, he started to look back over the last three cases and the people they’d charged and wondered if it might be related to any of them. Was it linked to the Millers or the Russians? They were probably the most likely choices, and yet, either they’d escaped punishment altogether in the Miller case, or they’d been sent down in the case of Vassili, with little chance of them getting out any time soon.
That might not stop him from ordering someone to torment him, though. Someone like Vassili probably had friends who were more than willing to do jobs for him.
The thought was a worrying one, for sure.
But it might not be Vassili. It could just as easily be Abban or his son issuing those orders, or friends of Blake, or even Russell.
Jon sighed as he buried his face in his hands after spending far too long going through the case files on the system.
“You look tired.”
Looking up, Jon met Kate’s eyes as she smiled at him from the doorway, holding drinks.
“Hey. Yeah, I am tired.”
“Bad night’s sleep?”
“You could say that.”
“Anything I can help with?” she asked as she placed a mug of tea down on his desk.
“I don’t know about helping, but you should certainly know about it because it concerns you too.”
“Oh?” Kate asked.
“I was threatened last night.”
“Oh! Really? Crap. What happened?” she asked, a concerned expression on her face. Given her past with Abban, he wasn’t the biggest fan of dropping this news on her. The last thing either of them needed was another criminal taking a personal interest in them again.
“A van drove past as I was about to enter my house, and a man shouted at me. He said that you and I should be careful. Otherwise, we might get hurt.”
“He said my name?”
Jon nodded. “He did, and he knows where I live.”
“Shite, that’s not good.”
“No. I’ve been awake all night thinking about it. This morning I’ve been going through the database to see if I can see anything. It wasn’t much use though, I’ve got nothing but half baked theories and ideas. It could be coming from anyone, even someone from up north who’s followed me down here. I’ve pissed off a lot of people in my time.”
“Likewise,” Kate agreed. “Okay, if you come up with anything, any ideas, or if anything else happens, let me know, okay? I’ll see if I can find anything too.”
“Thanks, Kate. You’re a star.”
“No problem. I’m doing this to save my arse, too, you know.”
“Good, I don’t want to see anything bad happen to your arse.”
She smirked. “It’s a good thing we’re dating, matey. I could have you for sexual harassment.”
Jon felt two-foot-tall suddenly as he realised what he’d said. “Yeah, sorry.”
She laughed. “Hey, it’s okay, I don’t mind. I know you wouldn’t do anything if we weren’t dating. It’s cute coming from you. I’m glad you hold my ass in high regard.”
“The highest, I’d put it on a pedestal and worship it if I could.”
“Now you’re just getting weird,” she replied, screwing her face up. “Drink your tea. I’ll organise a team meeting, yeah?”
“Yeah, thanks, that would be great.”
“On it,” she replied with a wink and left the room.
A short time later, Jon joined the rest of the SIU at the table in the Incident room, aware that he probably looked a little rough around the edges. He didn’t care too much and focused his min
d on the case at hand.
“Alright, where are we?”
“The incident room, sir,” Dion replied. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Shut it, smart arse,” Jon replied with an eye roll.
“Shutting it, guv.”
“Anyone care to answer without a smart-alec remark?”
“I looked into Corey Grant, Duncan’s tenant,” Nathan said. “He did indeed serve time in High Down Prison, as Duncan said. He was convicted on several counts of GBH, ABH and Affray, as well as some other things. It turns out that Corey is quite a violent man. And not only that, but he has some links to the Miller crime family too.”
“Links?” Jon replied.
“The details on this are sketchy,” Nathan replied. “But he’s been seen with at least two core members of the Miller gang. Brent Miller and Dillon Harris. He’s pulled jobs with them before, and we have witnesses to attest to that. As for how close he was to the gang, and if he’s still associated with them, I have no idea.”
“Okay,” Jon replied. “That’s great work. I think he’s someone we should speak to.”
“And that’s where you might run into problems,” Nathan replied.
“How come?”
“We have no permanent address for him following his departure from Duncan’s place, and little else on the record. I can tell you that I don’t think he’s left the country, but even that’s not concrete. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I’ve got no idea where he is.”
“You’re right. I don’t believe it. There must be something. I want to know his previous addresses, the people he knew, everything. There must be something that will give us some clue as to where he is. I think we need to speak to Brent and Dillon too. They might know where he is. Nathan, you take Dillon, I’ll take Brent.”
“Will do, guv. And I’ll keep hunting.”
“Good, thanks. What else do we have?”
“I’ve been taking a closer look at Evan,” Rachel said, leaning forward. “Duncan was telling the truth. Evan served in the military for years, taking in several tours of some pretty shitty places. He’s been in the thick of it, and according to his record, he’s lost several colleagues along the way.”
“So some PTSD is not unlikely,” Jon guessed.
“It’s not just likely, it’s confirmed. He’s had some psychological treatment, and he’s taken some meds over the years. He struggled with anger issues, and he seems to fixate on things too.”
“Like the house,” Jon replied.
“As you say,” Rachel replied with a nod. “The Woods have reported him to us several times over the year and a half they’ve been there, but not much was ever really done about it, apart from warning Evan about his behaviour. It seems like he always ends up going back to his usual ways, though.”
“A neighbour from hell,” Kate said.
“Yep,” Rachel agreed.
“He’s a big man too,” Kate added. “Not someone I’d like banging on my door and getting angry at me.”
“The Woods said several times in statements that they feared he might become violent.”
Jon nodded and sighed. “Okay, well, we know he used to live at that house, so he has a strong personal connection to it, and with his mother dead and his father missing, that house probably represents the only link he has to his past. That alone is likely to be enough to trigger someone with a psyche as fragile as his if the current owners start to make changes to it.”
“He sees them as defiling not only his home,” Kate said, “but his past, his family and him. It’s incredibly personal to him.”
“Agreed,” Jon replied. “But does he have anything to do with the bodies that were found in the house?”
Rachel sat back and shrugged. “I don’t know. He was around when Corey was there, too, although he never reported him.”
“If Corey is a violent criminal, I think ‘A’ he can handle himself, and ‘B’ he probably doesn’t want the police anywhere near his stuff. I don’t see Corey being scared of Evan.”
“True,” Rachel said.
“And who knows, we’re going off one person's word about Evan and Corey. These two seem like two peas in a pod to me. They come from different backgrounds, but they’re both violent and possibly unstable people. Who’s to say they weren’t friends.”
“You’re suggesting they did this together?” Rachel asked.
“I’m just floating ideas out there.”
“Throw enough shit at the wall, and some of it’s bound to stick,” Dion said.
“Eww,” Rachel said, squirming.
“But we know that, according to Duncan, Corey did some work on the house, too,” Kate said. “I don’t think Evan would like him doing that. I’m not sure I can see these two working together.”
“True,” Jon replied. “But who’s to say Evan didn’t do it? Maybe he let his temper get the better of him, and he had some bodies to hide? I just don’t want to shut off any possibilities. Okay, Dion, did you find anything out about Duncan?”
“Yeah. He’s currently out of work, and I assume living off the proceeds of the house sale, but he used to work in an office job.” Dion replied. “He left it after he started renting the house out. Then, after he sold it, Duncan switched sides and became a tenant himself.”
“Oh?” Jon asked.
“Yeah, he rented a house in Redhill for about eight months from a woman called Polly Elliot. He stopped renting it about three months ago.”
Jon frowned. “Why?”
“No idea,” Dion said.
“Hmm, okay, well, there’s no law against people owning one house and renting another. Still, look into it and get me a meeting with this Polly. She might be able to shed some light onto this for us.”
“Will do, boss,” Dion replied.
“Alright. What about these bodies? Do we have anything on them?”
“Not much,” Nathan answered. “We’ve all been doing what we can, but it’s a massive mountain to climb. People go missing all the time in the UK, and many are never reported or never found, so…”
“Yeah, it’s like, two thousand people a year, isn’t it? It’s something crazy like that,” Kate said.
“I’ve heard those stats too,” Jon replied. “I know it’s a huge task, but see what you can find. The pathologist said they sent some items to Forensics.”
“They did,” Nathan confirmed. “One was a phone, there was a pen and a wallet too. We might be lucky and get some hits on DNA too. I’ll let you know if we get anything concrete.”
“Perfect, thanks,” Jon replied.
“So, what’s next?” Kate asked.
“I want to see this Evan Reid first, and then we’ll pay a visit to Brent Miller and see what we can scare up,” Jon replied.
14
“I had a little hunt through the case files, looking for any known associates of Blake, Vassili, Russell, Abban and the others,” Kate said as Jon drove them down to Newdigate and Evan’s house.
Surrounded by the lush countryside on what looked like it might prove to be another warm day, it was difficult to believe there were vicious killers out there, stalking their prey.
But the realities of his job would come smashing onto his desk all too often to remind him that people could easily be massive shits and cause all kinds of harm to everyone around them.
“And, what did you find?” Jon asked, focusing on the road ahead as it wound through the idyllic landscape.
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Of course I’m not,” Jon stated. “Let me guess, they all have friends who’re a little dodgy and who’d happily do a little stalking on the side for their friends. Am I close?”
“Uncannily,” Kate replied. “Although admittedly, it’s not much of a surprise, I guess.”
“Figures.”
“Yeah. Some have more of these kinds of friends than others. Russell, for instance, is a little light on that front, but some of the others have contacts that would all
too happily threaten you.”
“Wonderful,” Jon replied, meaning the exact opposite.
“I think we both just need to be careful,” Kate said.
“Agreed. How do you want to do this? Do you want to stay at mine for a bit?”
“Not really.”
“Oh?” Jon said, feeling a little surprised by her blunt answer.
“Don’t take that the wrong way, but I’ve lived my life being tormented by a hidden killer. I’m kind of used to it, and besides, I failed to get to the supermarket last night, so I still need to go.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at her irreverence. “No, you’re right,” Jon replied, taking a breath. “We can’t let these idiots dictate how we live our lives, and I refuse to be cowed by a few threats.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Kate agreed. “Still, be a little careful. I don’t want my cute little northerner’s face getting beaten up.”
“Cute little northerner?” Jon asked, eyebrows raised.
“What? You are!”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been called cute… or little, before.”
“It’s the angle you’re looking at it from. No man ever thinks they’re small.”
Jon snorted. “Maybe I should be reporting you to HR, Missy. Jesus. And hey, are you calling me small?”
“A woman never tells,” Kate said, putting a superior expression on her face. “Unless it’s my girly mates, I tell them everything.”
“Shut it, you,” Jon replied. “And you’ve still not answered my question.”
“Do you need your ego stroking?”
“Yes,” Jon replied, putting on a pout.
“Well… we're here, so it’ll have to wait,” Kate said, nodding out the front window.
“Tease,” Jon accused her.
She winked. “If you want a piece of this ass you supposedly worship, you’ll have to be patient.”
“Christ, you’re on fire today.”
As Kate got out of the car, she licked her finger and touched her bum with it, making a hissing sound through her teeth.
Jon smirked as he got out and stepped onto the pavement. Pausing, he looked up at Evan’s quite nice semi-detached house and then turned and looked up the street. Just a hundred yards or so away, he could make out the blue and white police tape strung up before the Woods’ house. A single uniformed officer stood guard, his marked car close by.