'Get your hands off me!' Brewster shrieked in the hope that a neighbour would see what was happening and come out to shout about police brutality.
'You really are a bastard, aren't you, Brewster, leaving that woman flat out while you went into the house and…?'
'That's a lie, I was helping her, and if he says differently then he's lying,' he snarled, jabbing a finger at Lasser.
'My colleague does not lie,' Bannister paused, 'you on the other hand never fucking stop.'
Brewster fumed though he kept his mouth shut.
Bannister looked closely at the reporter's ugly mug, and then he stepped back and shook his head. 'We may as well save our breath, Lasser, the truth is he doesn't care about anyone other than himself.'
'I care about the truth!' Brewster claimed as he yanked his jacket straight, his eyes flaring with hatred.
'OK then, tell us what happened here tonight?'
'What do you mean?' Brewster demanded.
'Tell us what you saw?' Lasser asked, hands thrust in his pockets to avoid the temptation of slapping the poodle head.
'I told you, the car drove away, and I didn't get the make and model.'
'So, you were in your batmobile doing what exactly?'
Brewster continued to glare at Lasser and then he quickly licked his lips. 'I told you I had just arrived when the guy came out of the house.'
'And then he threw the man into the back of his car and drove away.'
'Yes.'
'After throttling your colleague?' Lasser asked.
'I told you by the time I got out of the car he was driving away, and I hadn't even seen Fox at the front door.'
Bannister shook his head and sighed. 'The truth is you stayed in your car until he was well away, and only then did you get out and approach the house, but I bet my pension that you ignored your colleague sprawled in the doorway.'
'Wrong,' Brewster spat. 'I made sure she was OK and then I went into the house in case there was another assailant inside.'
Bannister threw his head back and guffawed at the darkness, to Lasser he sounded like a wolf baying at the moon.
'Jesus Christ, you are so full of shit.'
'It's the truth!' the reporter lied.
Suddenly, Bannister's face was serious again. 'The thing that bothers me the most is that if Lasser hadn't have turned up you would have stood there and watched Gemma Fox, hoping she would die just so you could get your fucking story.'
'That's defamation of character!' Brewster stepped back and for a fleeting moment they saw the truth in his eyes.
'Remember when Fripp had you snatched and banged up in that stinking room and you were banging on the door to be let out and crying like a baby?' Lasser suddenly asked.
Brewster's mouth twisted in a snarl of fury and remembered fear.
'Well, how would you have felt if we had ignored you, if we'd simply stood back and listened to you crying and then walked away?'
'You're police officers, it's your job to assist the general public.'
'And you're a reporter and yet you think that gives you the right to step over an injured woman, a bloody work colleague for God's sake, in the hope that you would get a story out of all of this.'
Brewster shook his head, his face hidden in shadow. 'Rubbish.'
'You would have done your piece talking about Gemma Fox's professionalism,' Lasser paused as the anger continued to build, 'you would have talked about how you tried in vain to save her life, you would have got your mug on the front page, looking all forlorn whilst holding a picture of her in your hands.'
'Lies,' Brewster's voice came out as a gulp and a gasp as he scuttled back behind the wheel, when he tried to slam the door, he found it wouldn't budge.
Bannister leaned down slightly, one hand resting on top of the door. 'You can lie to yourself, but we know the truth and one day when you need help again, when you're crying and screaming there will be no one there to hear or help you and that's how your days will end, alone and terrified.'
Brewster looked up at him from the low-lying MG, his eyes holding more than a hint of terror, and then the DCI slammed the door with such force that the hubcap fell from the front wheel, and they watched as he drove away, his face blanched as if Bannister's words had shown him his future, a future he didn't like one bit.
Though the seed had been planted and as he flicked on the headlights, the fear spread through Brewster's mind like a rampant virus.
38
Draper groaned as he opened his eyes, his body swaying slightly with the movement of the car, and then the memory crashed into his mind – being snatched back, the kitchen table tipping over, the bottle upending as it fell to the floor and then…
He gasped as he pictured the second before the monster's forehead slammed into his own – and then the lights went out.
When the car came to a sudden stop he tried to sit up, but the fear and the pain wouldn't allow it, then seconds later, the back door was flung open, and the monster was back.
'Please, I…'
Before he could finish his plea, he was yanked from the car, vaguely aware of trees, towering trees all around him, the night sky above, the moon shining, stars glittering in the darkness, and then he was thrust back against the car.
When the voice came from his left, he jerked in fear.
'Good evening, Mr Draper, glad you could make it.'
Draper peered into the darkness as the figure materialised slowly, tall, and lithe, the smile appeared fixed on his narrow face.
'Please, I don't know what you want but I've done nothing wrong,' Draper managed to get the words out past the fear, the remnants of the fog brought about by the drink vanished from his mind just as it had done after he had knocked the woman down on the country lane.
'Oh, I beg to differ.'
Draper blinked and then winced at the pain in his head, the man sounded well-spoken, educated, a man you could perhaps reason with.
'You see, because of your drinking habits you killed Julie.'
'Julie?' Draper repeated as the dread closed around his galloping heart.
'Thanks to your actions, her brains were spread all over the tarmac, but you wouldn't know that because you drove away, I watched you, you didn't even have the decency to try and help her.'
'It was an accident, please, there was nothing I could have done,' Draper whined.
The man sighed and lifted his shoulders in a shrug. 'Anyone can have an accident, I understand that, but you, my friend, were drunk, so when you hit her, when you killed her, it was no longer an accident, was it?'
It took Draper a few seconds to process the words and then he swallowed. 'I wasn't drunk,' he whispered the familiar lie.
'Rea says differently.'
This time Draper's gasp was loud in the darkness. 'Rea?'
'Oh yes,' the man smiled, his teeth shining in the gloom. 'You see Julie was special, a lot of effort had gone into her training.'
'Training?'
'Can you hear an echo, Max?' the man asked.
'Yes,' the monster who had attacked him replied.
Draper felt his balls tighten in fear, it seemed preposterous, but he had almost forgot about the other man, the one who had grabbed him and…
'Do you believe in the dictum, time is money, Mark?'
The question threw Draper, his mind unable to function because of all the fear and uncertainty that clogged his brain.
'I asked you a question, when someone spends time and effort perfecting something and that something is smashed and broken beyond repair do you think those responsible should be due recompense?'
Draper didn't know how to respond so he kept his mouth closed, he could feel the atmosphere changing with every second that ticked into infinity, the terror expanding like a black hole waiting to swallow everything in its orbit.
'You have five seconds to answer, if you don't then Max here will rip the tongue from your mouth, five, four, three…'
'Yes, yes I agree!' Draper screeched
.
'Good, then we agree that you broke the goods, so you have to make it right with me. Now, we have already ascertained that your actions were not accidental. I won't go so far as to say they were deliberate on your part, but you understand that the alcohol you consumed dulled your senses and slowed down your reflexes, am I correct?'
'Yes,' Draper whispered as he bowed his head.
'At last, you see the truth of what I'm saying, we have a starting point, a base to negotiate from.'
'But I don't have any money, I don't even have a job.'
The man stepped closer. 'I own the forest we are standing in, I own a house with over thirty bedrooms, I drive a Bentley, in fact, Max here drives me around in said Bentley, so do you really think I need financial recompense?' he asked, his voice brittle with suppressed fury.
Draper slowly shook his head.
'You see there are some things that money cannot buy, can you guess what those things are?'
'I don't know,' Draper replied lamely.
'Can money you buy time?' the man asked with a sigh.
'No.'
'Can it you buy effort?'
'I guess not.'
'What about care and attention, what about love, can you buy any of those things?'
Draper could feel his soul shrink with every word the man uttered. 'No, no you can't.'
'So, we agree that some things have no price, that they can't be bought or sold?'
'Yes.'
'Then if we take that premise, can you think of anything that you could offer me that would compensate me for my loss?'
Draper tried to think, convinced that he was missing something, that there must be something he could offer this man who stood there easily in the darkness, his hands by his sides.
'Well?'
'No, no I can't think of anything you would want or need from me.'
'Well, I can.'
Draper's confusion deepened. 'Please, I don't understand.'
'Of course you don't and that's because you are a pathetic drunk. I asked Rea what she ever saw in a man like you, what on earth would make her see any good in you and the truth is she couldn't answer me, she has no idea why you two were together.'
'I don't have a drink problem, I treated Rea well and…'
The man shot forward and lashed out, Draper felt the right side of his face flair in burning pain.
'Even now, after all I've said, you still deny what you are.'
The voice had changed, now there was no easy tone of conversation, there was anger there, fury in every syllable and Mark Draper felt the fear escalate as his face burned from the savage slap.
'Rea made a mistake, she sees that now, she knows you were the one who knocked Julie down, knows that you are the one responsible not only for Julie's death but also her own current predicament.'
Draper almost parroted the word ''predicament'' and then at the last second, he snapped his mouth closed, his teeth clacking.
'Would you like to see your ex-girlfriend?' the man suddenly asked.
Draper's mouth twisted and yet he couldn't seem to bring the words forward as they clogged in his throat. 'I don't know,' he eventually managed to get out his reply.
'You ''don't know'' what sort of answer is that?'
'Please, I don't know what you want me to say?' Draper pleaded.
'Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous, Max, so pathetic?'
'Never,' the big man replied in disgust.
'See, even Max is appalled by your response and believe me it takes a lot to shock my friend, he's seen everything, heard and done everything and yet even he is outraged by your answer. I have just explained that you are solely responsible for this mess, it's your fault that Rea is close by, and I offer you the chance to see her and perhaps, beg her forgiveness and you don't even have the nerve to apologise to her for your reckless actions.'
'But I never meant to run the woman down, it was an…'
'If you say ''accident'' then believe me you will suffer,' the tall figure broke in.
Draper slapped a hand over his mouth like a child afraid that the word would slip from his lips despite the dire warning.
'Well, you are going to try and make amends whether you like it or not,' the figure proclaimed. 'Bring him, Max.'
Before Draper could move a muscle, the giant had grabbed him and then he was being dragged through the trees, his mind close to cracking completely.
'Can you believe it, Max, I mean, we know that the weaklings of society always make excuses for their behaviour, but this man is either a simpleton or heartless, which do you think it is?'
'Bit of both,' Max replied.
The man laughed. 'Sitting on the fence as usual,' he said.
'Always,' Max replied as they moved deeper into the darkness of the ancient forest.
39
'What are you talking about?' Dan Lomax asked, his eyes widening in shock.
'You told the reporter Gemma Fox all about Draper, didn't you, you gave her his address and no doubt blamed him for your daughter going missing?' Lasser asked.
Lomax stuck out his chin and nodded. 'I did, because I don't care what you say, that man is involved in my daughter's disappearance and she promised me she could help get to the truth, which is more than you lot are doing!'
'Well, thanks to you Gemma Fox almost died tonight,' Lasser snapped.
'What are you talking about?' Lomax asked, the uncertainty suddenly shining in his eyes.
By the time Lasser had given him the details, the colour had drained from Lomax's face.
'But where is he, where's Draper?'
Bannister stepped to Lasser's side, the central heating in the house rumbled. 'We have no idea, but what about you, perhaps you sent someone to Draper's house? Perhaps you decided to go the direct route, because according to you, we have no idea what we're doing!'
'What the bloody hell are you accusing me of?' Lomax looked from one to the other in shock.
Bannister leaned forward slightly and glared at the man. 'Well, someone kicked the door off its hinges and took Draper, almost throttling Gemma Fox in the process and who else would want to question Draper, who else has reason to have him kidnapped?'
'Jesus Christ, it wasn't me!'
The DCI shrugged. 'If you were in our shoes, what conclusion would you be reaching right now?'
Lomax swiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. 'I just want my Rea back, some bastard snatched her, but I haven't sent anyone to beat the truth out of Draper, that's a load of bollocks.'
'Then let us do our job,' Bannister warned. 'We know how hard this is for you, Mr Lomax, but including the media at this point is never a good idea.'
'But she said she could help me get to the truth.'
'That's because they want your story but believe me, they are rarely interested in the victim, they just want to make a name for themselves at your expense, and unfortunately due to your actions I think you will now find yourself in the spotlight. I'm telling you this as a favour, but if a man named Brewster comes knocking on your door, then tell him to sling his hook.'
'Brewster, who's Brewster?' Dan Lomax asked, perplexed.
'A worm of a man who will try to persuade you that we know nothing and that he fights the good fight for the voiceless, for the weak and vulnerable, he will promise you the earth and then he will crucify you,' Bannister said as he stared hard at Lomax. 'Now, as soon as we know anything, anything at all then you will be the first to know, but until then let us do our job.'
Lomax slowly nodded as if mesmerised by Bannister's words.
'We'll see ourselves out,' the DCI said.
Dan Lomax watched them go, the fear for his daughter growing, the heartache building as they left the house.
40
Rea felt the shock judder through her mind as the giant of a man came through the metal door, but then her shock redoubled as she saw who was with him.
'Mark?' she gasped in disbelief.
He lifted his hea
d, his forehead bruised, his eyes full of terror. 'Rea,' he panted. 'Please you have to tell them it was an accident, tell them I wasn't drunk, you have to tell them the truth.'
The giant thrust him forward and Draper almost lost his balance, just managing to stay on his feet as the tall man came into the chamber, his face appeared unconcerned, casual.
'I'll take it from here, Max,' he said and then smiled.
Stepping back through the door the man called Max closed it quietly.
'Lovers reunited, how touching, how romantic,' the man said as Mark hurried to Rea's side, his face blanched with fear.
'Please, Rea, you have to tell him the truth, he blames me for the woman on the road, but I swear she sprinted out in front of me, I hit the brakes, but it was no use, and no one could have done more,' he pleaded.
Rea looked at the man she had spent the last twelve months with and felt the sense of disgust flare as he tugged the sleeve of her jacket like a needy child, his eyes wide and glaring, the left side of his face bright red as if someone had slapped him hard.
'Tell him, Rea, tell him that I wouldn't hurt anyone, I mean, have I ever laid a finger on you, have I ever hurt you in any way?' he gasped as he continued to tug on her sleeve.
She kept her gaze locked onto his sweating panic-stricken face, turmoil swimming in his eyes.
'I asked you not to drive, you lied to me, you swore you were drinking alcohol-free lager,' she replied before snatching her arm free of his grasp. 'That woman died, Mark, I saw what you did, the blood was everywhere, and you never even tried to help her.'
Draper continued to shake his head as if disagreeing with her accusation. 'I wasn't drunk, I had one normal lager and then I swear on my life I went on the alcohol-free stuff,' he paused in desperation, 'someone must have spiked my drink.'
She watched as his face twitched as if even now, he was trying to convince himself that he had done nothing wrong, that he was an innocent in this whole horrible mess.
'And why the hell would someone spike your drink?' she asked with a shake of her head as if she didn't believe a word.
'I don't know but that's what must have happened, you know I would never drink and drive, not knowingly,' he actually placed his hands together as if in prayer, his eyes pleading for understanding.
Driven by Fear (The DS Lasser Book 27) Page 12