by Jack Steele
‘I was sitting here reading my book in silence when either Cesc or Graham was muttering to their pet dog Suki as they went downstairs. These walls are paper thin and you can often hear things like that. Anyway, I decided to close the curtains and switch on some lights. It was in the bedroom when I stopped to watch him and the gardener talking. Tony, the gardener, usually works in the dark so I wasn’t that surprised that he was still there, but it was then Graham became erratic.’
Dot broke down and the young woman beside her put out a hand which Dot squeezed. I saw in the kitchen a small box of tissues and went to collect them. She eventually composed herself and the officer went to make us all a cup of tea. My head was screaming for more details but remained passive and reassuring in the hope that more useful information was forthcoming. I sat down opposite her and after some gentle persuasion Dot continued.
‘When I saw what was happening and realised this could be connected to those evil men who had escaped from Broadmoor, I picked up my camera and started to take some photos.’
My heart skipped a beat at the thought of vital photographic evidence in the camera only a metre away. Geb must have carried out surveillance on all our properties over these past few days. He would note down our routines and those of others like Graham’s gardener. Now we had our own surveillance on him, thanks to Dot who was explaining her actions during Blood’s attack on her neighbour.
‘After it was over I picked up the phone and put it down again a number of times. I paced up and down trying to make sense of it all. I switched on the television just to have some background noise and that’s when the news headlines showed your latest press briefing. The SIU number ran along the bottom of the screen urging anyone with news about the fugitives to get in touch. It gave me the courage to contact you.’
I was thankful that Dot had got in touch and was a keen photographer. She picked up her camera and mentioned her love for capturing wildlife, rainbows and people. She often went around the gardens downstairs taking photos of bees, butterflies and squirrels. She checked herself briefly when thinking of the gardens and her neighbour’s demise.
I changed the subject asking her about the camera and she picked it up again talking about her collection of lenses, one of which was for taking night-time or low-light pictures. She pressed a button and then handed me the camera.
The digital display showed a series of photos in which could be seen Graham staggering away from a tall menacing figure, who clearly wasn’t the gardener but possibly Geb Blood. Our colleague looked terrified as he attempted to unlock the gate at the far end of the gardens. I gasped as the face of Jez Cross was clearly visible holding Graham then injecting him in the neck with a syringe. The tiny dog was kicked mercilessly out of the way by Blood. That really annoyed me and I felt my hatred towards him boil up inside me. I always rile up against cruelty to poor defensive animals. The sensible side of me buried that feeling to concentrate on finding more evidence. If Dot had got a shot of Geb then it would clearly show the two psychopaths working together. Carl’s internet search earlier had proved that this was an exceptional and extraordinary partnership. I flicked past shots of the tall man picking up Graham and throwing his limp body over his shoulder. Then he turned to walk back through the gardens, the full moon or this amazing camera lens picked out his walk back down the path as if it was daylight. I prayed for just the one shot of his face and the very last frame gave me a heart-stopping moment as the face of the Chameleon was clearly displayed.
Chapter 56
Graham slowly came around but the overall feeling of nausea swept over him. The realisation of his predicament kicked in when his eyes grew accustomed to the light and he caught sight of Stella and Miranda sleeping in the same room.
Strange eerie echoes came from the next room and travelled along the pipes to which he was tethered. He wondered what was going on outside as raised hysterical voices could be heard.
Stella suddenly jumped and let out a gasp. She blinked a few times as she looked around before her eyes settled upon him.
‘Graham?’ she mouthed.
He was just about to reply when the door flew open blinding his vision. The outline of two men cast onto the wall opposite, dazzling Stella who defiantly stared at them through screwed eyes. The disturbance had awoken Miranda but Graham saw that she chose to look down at her feet.
The figures never ventured inside but their shadow showed a hand counting the victims and finally displaying four fingers. It was then that Graham felt the most scared when the door closed and he heard one of them shout hysterically,
‘There are two more to go. Then the killing starts!’
Chapter 57
Carl was comforting the tiny dog that had warmed to his gentle strokes and mild manner. He had a message for me.
‘The forensics guys want to speak to you Joe.’
The Met’s Scientific Unit had arrived and in no time at all had erected a tent over the body. As I approached them the sound of an ambulance’s siren was drawing nearer.
I stepped up to where the path met the flower bed and I took in a deep breath. I expected to witness another corpse, the victim of a brutal and savage attack but on stepping inside the tent there was a pleasant surprise greeting me. The gardener was sitting up and talking with the two forensics guys. Apparently it had spooked them when he first came round because Carl had mentioned to them with a dour expression that he was yet another victim of the ‘Chameleon’.
We stepped aside for the ambulance crew who did everything possible not to disturb the crime scene. They put on shoe protectors and pulled out their own surgical gloves. Carl and I waited for him to be checked over by them before we asked if he remembered anything about the attack. He scratched the back of his head and rubbed his chin as he recalled finishing planting some winter pansies before being clubbed from behind.
‘The next thing I knew was waking up and scaring the pants of these guys in the tent who must have thought I was with the almighty!’
If it wasn’t so serious I could have laughed but this was no time for merriment. Three of our colleagues were now being subjected to the vicious revenge of Geb Blood and now we knew for certain that another psychopath was assisting him. It was then that one of the forensics team shouted out that he had found something significant.
‘There are signs of a struggle with most of the plants crushed around here and in amongst them we found this.’
I pulled on a pair of latex gloves as he handed me an evidence bag with a piece of paper inside. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. On that dirty scrap of paper was a list of names some of which had been struck through. There were just 4 names left on the sheet Johanne Julious, Angie Smitheringale, Mary Pepper and my colleague Carl James.
Chapter 58
Carl and I were in the Penthouse which I no longer called home. This was now a temporary rental property until I could find somewhere else suitable. We had ordered a couple of pizzas and were finishing off the final pieces along with a small beer.
On the short journey back from Graham’s we had discussed the list of names, our three colleagues, the photographic evidence showing the pair of psychopaths working together and the mystery of the gardener left unscathed.
‘Then don’t forget when Stella was abducted he could have inflicted more damage to Andy, but he spared him, Joe.’
It made me ponder on what was his thought process. How could he be so selective when the evidence from his past shows what a savage animal he can be? It was then that Carl pointed to the television. We had the sound muted but he turned on the volume as images of the morning’s papers main headlines were shown.
My stomach churned as the dramatic picture of the rioting in Broadmoor showed a poor nurse minutes away from being thrown off the rooftop. The news reporter at the scene had no information on his condition but his emphasis appeared to be on the spread of violence and disruption to the high security psychiatric hospitals in Nottinghamshire and Merseyside.
&n
bsp; ‘I thought they had gone in and diffused the situation?’ Carl gasped as he read the strapline on the bottom of the screen which highlighted the loss of control.
It made me feel that like the rioting this whole investigation was overwhelming us. I picked up the remote and turned off the television so that we could concentrate on organising a plan. We decided to leave the table and settle down on the sofas to discuss our options but not before I made us both a large mug of tea.
‘So his school teacher Johanne Julious is safe for now but in two days’ time she returns from her holiday and we will be there in force in case he turns up to abduct her again.’
‘To be abducted once by him is bad enough but twice, Joe that cannot happen.’
‘I agree and it won’t happen. Now we also know Angie was Blood’s Lead Psychologist at Broadmoor and after six months he began to write her notes and interact more.’
The face pulled by Carl was the same reaction as mine. Why would he want to kill her if he trusted her? Was it just a way of making her believe that there was something of a bond forming so he could manipulate her?
‘I think we need to visit her again and see exactly what those notes were Carl.’
Carl jotted that down on his notepad before mentioning the last two names.
‘That just leaves Mary Pepper and me!’
I looked him straight in the eye and told him in no uncertain terms that neither Blood nor Cross would ever get their hands on him.
‘You and I will have to stick together like glue. That way he will have to get past me to get to you!’
He smiled and held his fist in the air for me to knock with mine.
‘Ok so the last of these names is Mary Pepper. She used to be his social worker and ended up with the others in the brickworks. We found her chained up and left to die; needless to say she had a breakdown and ended up in a psychiatric unit. What she had witnessed was way too much for her to cope with.’
‘Well I think we need to find out where she is and pay her a visit. If she is on his list he will try to abduct her anyway so let’s get there before he does.’
‘I will message Scott to arrange extra protection for her until we see her tomorrow.’
It was midnight when we decided to call it a night. Carl insisted that he would take the sofa so I could get a good sleep in my own bed. I wasn’t going to argue.
As I drifted off with thoughts of the day ahead little did we know what a revelation the visit to see Mary Pepper would turn out to be.
Chapter 59
I awoke to the smell of a cooked breakfast. Carl had got up early and raided my fridge. He meant well but I wasn’t sure my stomach could take it. Usually a round of toast with a mug of tea was sufficient at this time of the morning but his heart was in the right place.
I threw on a dressing gown before opening the bedroom door. The smoke alarm had just begun to shriek and Carl was wafting a tea towel below it.
‘Good morning Carl.’ I shouted over the deafening alarm.
‘Good morning Boss!’ He yelled in reply.
The only way to stop the noise was to open the French doors. Immediately after I pushed them open, a shot of cold air rushed in and swept along my bare legs like a python wrapping constrictive coils around them.
The alarm gave way to the fresh air and order was restored. Carl dished up scrambled egg, bacon, beans and several slices of toast. He had set the dining room table with cutlery, mats and condiments.
‘Thanks for this mate.’ I praised his efforts as I shut the doors and made my way over to the table. We sat down and discussed the running events of the day before the question of Jasper’s reliability came up once again.
‘He should have told us about his inside knowledge on Jez Cross.’ Carl muttered devouring a slice of toast with three bites in quick succession.
‘Yes he should have Carl. My guess is he wanted to use his dark secret as a means of gaining a foothold in the investigation. That way he comes out with all the credibility of a leader.’
My phone rang and it was Scott. I wiped some butter from my fingers and took the call. He had decided to go in early to get on top of things and found a message from Angie Smitheringale.
‘She must have left the message late last night because I was here until midnight.’
Scott replayed the voicemail. The Broadmoor Psychologist claimed she was being stalked by someone and decided to check in to a local Premier Inn rather than risk going home.
‘I’ve tried contacting her but there is no reply. Hopefully her phone has died and she forgot her charger but you never know.’
I thanked Scott and told him we were on our way to headquarters.
‘There’s just one more thing and that’s about the name of the woman you gave me to locate. Mary Pepper was in a psychiatric hospital up near Harrogate but the family moved her to a residential care home in Central London, to be nearer to them.’
I wondered if Geb Blood had managed to find out the same information and whether she and the staff were safe but Scott eased my mind.
‘I checked with the home in question and they have assured me that Mary is safe and well and they are grateful for a couple of officers to be placed there for a few days.’
‘Ok thanks again. See you in a few minutes.’
I relayed the information to Carl and he seemed optimistic that she could provide us with some information. I wasn’t so sure having read the literature about where Mary was staying. They provided nursing care for many conditions including Alzheimer’s and Dementia, so it wasn’t a given that Mary could give us anything. It left me deflated knowing that despite all our efforts we weren’t getting any breaks at all. They always seemed one step ahead of us and now that they had five captured it was only a matter of time before any hope of saving them would be lost forever.
Chapter 60
The morning briefing consisted of Carl and I standing at the evidence board, while Sheila sat with her notepad and pen waiting to record the minutes. Jasper was nowhere to be seen which was frustrating to say the least because his intelligence on the two men was now more significant than ever before. There was another possible reason for his absence of course - if Cross had identified him to Blood.
Stern was at his wife’s bedside so it was left to Carl and me to continue with the groundwork and direct all the organisations under our jurisdiction. So far every one of them was pooling together all their resources and it really did seem that everyone was on board and pulling in the same direction. It spoke volumes that the Commissioner was always in front of the camera reassuring the public that the SIU were making great progress when in reality as an organisation we were falling apart. The pendulum of progress usually swung one way and then the other but in this investigation we had hit a brick wall. One by one my colleagues had been picked off and we still had no idea where they were being held.
There was a ridiculous amount of calls coming into the hotline set up for the spotting of Jez Cross or Geb Blood. We had leased another unit which was just alongside our headquarters and recruited more staff to deal with the number of calls. Clearly the majority were either mistaken identity or simply those who liked to cause trouble and waste police time. Every call had to be followed up in case one did actually turn out to have some credence. Sheila was the one tasked with co-ordinating everything. I was concerned that she was at breaking point with the amount of work.
‘I appreciate everything that you are doing Sheila and hopefully Scott can give us a location of where they are being held.’
‘I was speaking to him earlier and he admitted it was proving to be painstakingly slow to work through all the CCTV footage of the van leaving Miranda’s. There were many gaps to fill and it appeared that the van took many side roads which slowed down his progress.’
I informed her that Jasper had a connection with Jez Cross and that we really need to contact him. He had gone off the radar and I was becoming increasingly worried for his safety.
Then there
was the note found in the gardens outside Graham’s. I had snapped a photo of the names and I showed the picture to Sheila. All the names on the list were recorded by her and I mentioned our visit to see Mary Pepper would be straight after a radio interview at BBC’s Broadcasting House.
‘I would like to see our commander at some point but whether that is possible Sheila I don’t really know. How is his wife?’
Sheila just shook her head and kept her gaze fixed on her notepad. It seemed that if she raised her head it would trigger the overwhelming need to cry. She almost whispered ‘It’s not good.’
We agreed to keep in touch throughout the day and she left the two of us alone. Carl had been watching the large monitor and the news feed.
Trending on social media were conspiracy theorists whipping up a storm centring on civilian rights for privacy and the amount of CCTV cameras being put up to invade a person’s space. One internet headline, trending on social media read, ‘Intrusive cameras rip through the fabric of our society.’ It was ludicrous to suggest that the Government were responsible for manipulating the riots in the high security hospitals, to spread fear into the hearts of the electorate. Apparently they want to establish a police state with cameras on every street corner.