by Carla Kovach
‘Help.’
She jumped down. ‘We’re going in.’
Sprinting to the front of the unit, she placed the key in the lock and heard it click on the turn. She handed the bunch to one of the officers and stepped into the musty cramped room and saw the door ahead.
‘Ahhh.’ Another yelp coming from behind the door.
‘Ready?’ Gina waved her hand for everyone to get into position. If the killer was there holding the victim, there was a chance they could be taken hostage. Her mind flickered back and forth. Was it Naomi, the biter, or Oscar, the one who seemed to be controlling everything? Was Caro out for revenge after she was drugged? Too many possibilities. She placed her hand on the door and gently pushed. She recoiled, there was so much blood.
Sixty-Six
Gina ignored the boy tied to the wooden chair and headed straight to the body under the blanket. His charges for the druggings would come later. She pulled it away from the head of the girl and felt for a pulse. ‘Call a paramedic.’ The boy carried on yelping in pain. There was no pulse at all. She turned Naomi onto her back and pushed her finger around the girl’s mouth, pulling out her loose false tooth before beginning CPR. She breathed into her, then started chest compressions.
‘Clear the way.’ A paramedic ran in and took over.
Gina remained on her knees, getting her breath back as she watched Jacob and Wyre untying the boy. Another paramedic ran over and began to try to stop the blood that was coming from his head. More blood seeped through his jeans.
‘Oscar, you’re safe now.’
It was as if the boy couldn’t see her. He shouted and yelled, dribble running down his chin. ‘She drugged me…’
‘Oscar?’ Gina stood right in front of him as the paramedics carried on helping him. ‘Where’s Caro?’
He began to hyperventilate and shake. ‘She’s gone… she’s gone.’
‘Gone where? Please, Oscar, we need to find her.’
‘She did this. She killed the others.’
A shiver ran down Gina’s spine. That teenage girl looked like she wasn’t capable of killing anyone. Her mind whirred into action. Leah had been either really drunk or drugged. That would have made her an easy target for Caro. Jordan had been standing at the top of a flight of concrete steps. She’d simply come up from behind and kicked him over the edge. Gina’s mind flashed back to how Terry had fallen down their stairs to his death. It was so easy to do that even a girl as petite as Caro could manage it. Then Oscar, he claimed to have been drugged, was that Caro’s revenge. Naomi had come in search of them and Caro had simply taken her by surprise as she had Oscar bound to a chair and now… Caro was nowhere to be seen.
Gina bent over again. ‘Oscar, please. Where is Caro?’
‘She left. She had a bag and some money. She said she was leaving for good.’ He began screaming in pain as the paramedic tended to the stab wound on the top of his arm. ‘She left me here to die, said I’d bleed to death and the maggots would eat me before school started again.’
‘Did she say where she was going?’
Oscar went white and heaved as he turned, throwing up on the paramedic’s foot. His body began to shake and his eyes were closing.
‘He’s lost a lot of blood and he’s going into shock. You’re going to have to leave so that we can get him out.’
Gina and the team stepped back and watched on as the other paramedic declared Naomi dead. Gina’s stomach dropped and she hurried out, gasping as she left the building. She kicked the wall and roared. ‘How could we let her die?’
Jacob and Wyre joined her, both looking as dejected as Gina felt. They had been too slow and Naomi Carpenter’s parents were going to receive the news that their daughter, who was out walking their dog that morning, had been murdered. She turned around. ‘Right, let’s all pull it together. We have a fugitive on the loose. Get all units up to date. She’s dangerous and we need Caro Blakely caught now. There’s only so far a girl of her age can get.’
Gina’s phone rang. ‘Sir.’
After giving Briggs the fastest summary ever, he continued. ‘Mrs Blakely called. She’s reported that a tin of money she kept in the food cupboard has been emptied, best part of five hundred pounds. She also noticed some of her daughter’s clothes were missing. It’s looking like we have ourselves a teenager on the run.’
Gina leaned back against the wall as she watched Oscar coming out on a stretcher. Eyes closed and paramedics hurrying with him to the ambulance.
‘Can you put an alert out for Caro Blakely with the rail and bus services? We need officers showing her photo to everyone who works there. Call me back if you have anything.’
‘I’m on it now. Search the vicinity. You might find something that tells us where she was heading. Does the boy know?’
‘He’s in shock and now unconscious. We’ll need to catch up with him later. He’s in a bad way. I’m going to check out the unit here and then I’ll head over to Mrs Blakely’s. She has to have some idea of where her daughter might go.’
Briggs paused for a moment. ‘O’Connor has just checked in. I’ll get him over there immediately and you can join him when you can. In the meantime, if we get any tip-offs this end, I’ll call you straight away. Good with that, Harte?’
‘Yes, all good.’ He ended the call and Gina stepped back into the unit one last time. Through the second door, she swallowed as all she could see were the tips of Naomi’s feet. Her body now left for the crime scene investigators to deal with. She put on some gloves and entered, taking in the wasted life that lay on the floor, searching for anything.
Her phone rang again. ‘O’Connor, what’s up?’
‘It’s Anthony. He was meant to be in his bedroom but it looks like he jumped onto the porch and he’s gone. He left a note.’
Sixty-Seven
The bus trundled past the Woodrow Centre shops, an estate in Redditch. She was ever closer to Redditch town centre. As soon as she got on that train and into Birmingham, the sooner she’d be heading up north. Maybe Edinburgh. Caro had always fancied Scotland. She had enough money to get her there and then maybe she’d find some cash work in a café or on a market. Shaking, she gripped her bag. She’d done it. She’d made them pay and now she had to get away. Having a head start, she’d be well out of the area before anyone found Oscar and Naomi’s bodies. She glanced at her new phone, only one number programmed into it and smiled at the adventure that was about to start.
She pressed that number and waited until her call was answered. ‘Are you on your way…?’ She listened as he spoke. ‘I know, I can’t wait. We’re going to have such an adventure.’ She ended the call. He was waiting right where she’d told him to and they were both using their new phones.
As the bus continued down the bumpy bus route, she glanced out of the window, trying to ignore the other passengers. One of them stared at her split lip so she turned away. Don’t look anyone in the eye. Stay invisible.
Her clothes were plain. Jeans and a black T-shirt. Her pumps grey too. Flat, definitely flat in case she needed to run. She gripped her rucksack, knowing that it contained everything she’d need for a while. The world was waiting for her and she was excited to see what it had to offer. How did she feel? High; that’s how she felt. A woman on the opposite seat caught her smiling. Caro looked away. It would all be over soon.
As the bus trundled down the hill and into Redditch Bus Station, she hurried up to the front, ready to disembark. The train was due in ten minutes and there was one more thing to take care of. One more person who should have done more to help her but didn’t. Now it was his turn to die. Just a little shove in front of the train as it pulled in and it would all be over.
She hurried off the bus leaving the Kingfisher Shopping Centre behind her and waited for the traffic lights to turn red before running across the road. She hurried down the slope, bought her ticket and there he was at the end of the platform. She glanced back at where the tracks reached a tunnel, still there back from the tim
es that the track used to run right through. This stop however was the end of the line. It was also the end of the line for Anthony.
He smiled and waved as he stood there with his rucksack ready to go with her on their adventure. He’d been easy to persuade. The promise of drinking, fun, sex; he’d fallen for it easily. Had even promised not to mention it to his parents and just to leave a note saying he’d be back in a few days. He smiled and for a moment, she liked his smile and she wanted to lean up and kiss him.
The train began to trundle in so she ran, making it to him before the train got too close. Goodbye, Ant!
Sixty-Eight
Lara Blakely sobbed into her hands as Gina relayed everything she knew. Mr Blakely stood with his back to her and Jacob as he stood over the sink. Jake, their little boy, cried as he came out of the living room after what felt like the tenth time. Lara called him over and hugged him closely. ‘Mummy loves you but please can you go and watch your programmes so that I can talk to the lady for a minute?’
Mr Blakely turned and picked the little boy up, taking him out of the room without so much as glancing at Gina.
‘Is there anything we can do for you or maybe there’s someone we can call to be with you all? I know this has been a shock. An officer will be here soon to stay with you through this.’ Gina paused. ‘I’ll also need to take a formal statement from you down at the station.’
Lara grabbed her keys. ‘I’m ready.’ She began to shake and fell against a kitchen stool, grabbing it to steady herself. ‘Why us, why my daughter?’
Gina couldn’t answer that question.
‘I thought we were good parents. We love our children, care for them and give them everything. Only a few years ago, we had nothing and were almost homeless but we turned it all around. What went so wrong? We’re good people. Do what we’re meant to do. Work hard.’ Tears began to spill down Lara’s blotchy face.
‘Are you sure you don’t know where Caro might have headed to? We are worried about her and the state she might be in.’ The thought of a young wasted life that would now be spent behind bars saddened Gina.
‘I wish I did.’ Lara paused. ‘It’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?’
Gina frowned.
‘Until the protesters turn up at our door. Until people chant for us to get out because it must be our fault.’ Lara walked over to the banner she had been holding while parading with the protest group outside the Meegans’ house. ‘Parents are always to blame when their child kills, aren’t they? If this was happening to anyone else, I’d be out there screaming in the streets, getting angry; shouting my mouth off while waving banners. Our lives are ruined.’ The woman paused. ‘Where does this leave my little boy? He’ll be a target for bullies at school. People will smash our windows, set our home on fire.’ She began to sob.
‘We will do our best to help you through this, Mrs Blakely. I know it will be hard but it’s not your fault.’ She nodded to Jacob to pass her some tissues.
He picked up a kitchen roll from the side and passed it over. ‘Here you go.’
Gina pulled a couple of sheets and passed them to Lara.
‘I’ve been outside Sandy’s house shouting murderer and paedo… What have I done?’ She wiped her eyes. ‘I need Caro found. I need to ask her why? I know you said that group of bullies drugged her but she should have come to me. We could have reported what happened together and faced them together or as a family. To do this… to murder them over some stupid pranks and dares, it’s insane. I feel like I don’t know my own child and I can’t put into words how much that hurts. How did I not see this?’
‘We don’t know all that happened but when we find Caro we hope to find out more. She’ll need you more than ever.’ Gina knew that to be true and she knew how conflicted Lara must be feeling.
The woman made a deep guttural sound as she cried while hyperventilating. Gina wanted nothing more than to be able to tell her that everything would be okay, but it wouldn’t. Her phone rang. ‘Sorry, I need to take this.’ She stepped into the garden, leaving Jacob with Lara and answered Briggs’s call. ‘What have you got?’
‘Railway ticket office at Redditch Station have confirmed a sighting of her and there’s been an incident. We’ve also released her photo to the media. It’s going to be on social media and everywhere in no time at all. Get the family out now because the shit is about to hit the fan.’
Gina ended the call and gripped her phone to her chest, dreading sharing the latest news.
Sixty-Nine
Caro ran behind Ant, up past the Custard Factory, an older part of Digbeth that had become trendy to set up a shop or an art studio. Panting heavily, she couldn’t go on like this for much longer.
Ant was pulling away from her. ‘Slow down,’ she called.
‘No way, that security guard is catching up. Whatever you do, don’t slow down or I’ll get arrested for punching his friend.’ How did Ant manage to run so fast and not look exhausted?
Caro had come that close to pushing him in front of the train but as it rolled in, people were looking and for a second she imagined that it would be better to run away as a pair. They’d have each other’s backs on the journey and Ant wasn’t a fugitive. He’d be able to get work and look after them both. It made so much sense at that very moment. That’s why she’d stopped short of placing her hands on his back and nudging him under the train. She’d made the right decision. He’d defended her against the guard that was about to pull her aside and then he’d made a run for it with her.
As they turned down a side road, Caro crashed head-on into an elderly lady pushing a shopping trolley and bumped into the wall of a pub.
‘Get up!’ Ant yelled as he reached the end of the road. He pulled his phone from his pocket, reading something on the screen as he ran. Then he stopped, turned and stared at Caro.
As she leaned against the wall, she took a few breaths and wiped the beads of perspiration from the beating sun from her forehead with the edge of her black T-shirt.
‘Watch where you’re going, you stupid cow,’ the old woman said as she picked her trolley up off the floor.
‘Piss off, Grandma.’ She had no time for a lecture.
Ant was still. ‘Why aren’t you running? Hurry.’ Something was wrong.
‘You’re wanted for murder. It’s all over Twitter.’ He grabbed his hair and began to seethe.
She was on her own now. It was all out there and the whole country would be looking for her. As she went to run, she flung back into the security guard’s chest. He had a hold of her T-shirt from the back of her neck. She tried to wriggle and turn to make him release her but it was no good.
Caro watched as a PCSO ran up behind Anthony and brought him down to the ground. He didn’t even try to get away. It was over. She was over. A tear slipped down her cheek. She knew what was coming next. With flailing arms, she tried her best to lose the guard but it was no good. He was too strong.
‘It’s easier and less painful if you stop waving your arms.’ He smiled at her with his crooked teeth on display. It was the man that Ant had punched, the red mark on his cheek the only giveaway of the assault. ‘It’s over.’
A police officer ran up behind him, calling all units as he took over and handcuffed Caro. ‘Right, let’s get you back to Cleevesford Station.’
A tear rolled down her cheek as he read her her rights. Arrested on suspicion of three murders and the attempted murder of another. She collapsed to the ground as she thought of her mother’s face and what her father would say. All her friends at school would know and they’d hate her.
He drove her to it… Oscar! She’d make sure the world knew he was to blame.
Seventy
Gina answered her ringing phone as she stood outside the ward that Oscar was recovering in at the Cleevesford Hospital. She listened, nodded, bit her bottom lip and smiled before ending the call.
Jacob gave her a long stare. ‘What?’
‘Caro’s been caught after Anthony punched a s
ecurity guard at New Street Station. Security was about to pull them over as he recognised the photo that we’d sent over. The kids made a run for it but security gave chase, catching up with them on a side street past the Custard Factory. They’ll both be transported back soon. That leaves us just enough time to speak to Oscar before heading back to the station.’
‘Yes! Get in there.’ Jacob punched the air.
‘It’s over.’ Gina glanced through the ward and saw the boy sitting up in bed with his father beside him in a chair.
‘It’s hard to believe she managed to kill three of her peers. Such a dainty little dot. I don’t think I’ve ever been more surprised by an outcome.’ Jacob scrunched his nose and mopped his hairline with a tissue.
‘It’s easy when someone is standing on the edge, at height and it’s easy when someone is drugged or drunk. It’s also easy when someone is caught unaware.’ All three were true of how Gina managed to help Terry to his death. He was drunk, teetering on the edge and totally unaware of what was coming. It had all been too easy even though Gina had been not much more than a nervous wreck of a waif at the time. She knew exactly how someone perceived as the underdog could win this one.
Jacob looked into her eyes, pausing for a few seconds before nodding slowly. ‘You’re so right.’
‘Let’s go and see what Oscar has to say, that’s if his father will let us get a word in before shooing us out of the way.’ Gina walked past the other bay where a man was snoring heavily and they stopped at the end of Oscar’s bed. ‘Hello, Oscar. Sorry to disturb you but we really need to speak with you about yesterday.’