THIRTY-SEVEN
UNKNOWN
I’m exhausted from all the running around but I’m back now. This has grown bigger than I ever expected it to but I won’t stop. Instead, my plan has changed and it is falling into place nicely. I am worried; I won’t lie to myself about that. Having Lindy locked up is a concern and one I’m going to need to address soon. As I pace back and forth, my steps echo through the vacuous building. I headed downstairs a short while back and she was shouting. She can shout all she likes, no one can hear her. I told her earlier, ‘When you hurt someone I love, you hurt me,’ and she will feel that hurt soon, all in good time. I will look after my own. Okay, she might not have been there at the time but she was as bad as them. I wince as I remember champagne glasses being clinked together.
‘Let me out,’ Lindy shouts.
I know I should have gagged her instead of taping her mouth but then again, it doesn’t matter. All she’ll end up with is a sore, dry throat. I did think I should give her a drink but why bother? Why waste water when I intend to kill her? It will help me if she’s weak, so no food and no water for her.
My phone beeps and I read the text. I’m needed and if I spend too much time here while the heat is on, I’ll arousesuspicion. My stomach kills. I run to the bin and vomit again before swilling my mouth out and popping another couple of pills. No one can see me in this state. I brush my hair with my fingers and take a swig of water from my bottle.
I check my phone. Actually, there’s something I have to do later, something relating to the original plan. There is one person who needs to go now and I can’t underestimate him.
Her shouting gets louder. Rage wells up inside of me and I can’t help but clench my fists. It’s time to shut Lindy up and I won’t be held responsible for what happens now. She knows what she did or if she doesn’t, I’ll soon remind her.
Payment must be made in full and I’m ready to collect the debt.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Gina stood at the head of the incident room next to the boards. O’Connor tucked into a croissant and Wyre crunched on a pear. Gina’s mouth watered. Wyre pulled out another pear from her bag and handed it to her. ‘Thanks,’ Gina said with a slight smile, the most she could muster given the desperate circumstance they were in.
‘You’re welcome, guv. I had my suspicions that you wouldn’t leave the station last night.’
Bernard rushed in carrying a notebook and he held a folder under his arm.
‘Glad you managed to join us.’ Gina bit into the pear while Bernard got comfortable in a seat.
‘I don’t have long, unfortunately.’
‘Would you like to go first?’ Gina asked. Brodie stood beside her, his aftershave tantalising her nostrils again. That dream had done something to her and she couldn’t let the feeling go.
‘Thank you. Yes, please.’ Bernard removed his scarf and placed it over the back of his chair.
‘Can you talk us through what you got from the scene at Maura Pickering’s house and anything relevant from Tina Wild’s drive?’
‘Of course. I can confirm what we suspected at the time. Kain Pickering was attacked in his bed. There was a slight trail of blood leading to the bathroom and a bloody mark on one of the tiles. The height of this blood and the way that it had spattered shows it was likely from his head making contact with the tiles. There was also a wound hidden by his hair that would back this up. We know that the blood in the bathroom is a match for the blood in the bedroom. The knock on the head may have made it easier for the perp to get Kain into the bath. A bar of soap had also slipped into the bath, the same soapy water that had filled the victim’s lungs so we can confirm that’s where he died. Also, the perp was forensically aware. Not one print, speck of bodily fluid or hair found anywhere. The best we have is the disposable vape from the other scene. We managed to find some DNA and partial prints but the previous owner of that vape is not on the database.’
Gina had hoped for more but their perp was a ghost and it was possible that the vape belonged to someone who was unrelated to the incident. ‘Okay, let’s move on to the hoodie that was left at Maura’s house, the one that looked to have been used to break the back-door glass in order to gain entry.’ Gina turned to the rest of the room. ‘We found the hoodie, Justine Crawford’s business card and a red hair. This led us to the Crawfords and we have confirmed that the hoodie belonged to Craig Crawford who is now on the run.’ Gina checked her watch. ‘Wyre?’
‘Yes?’
‘Can you check with DI Kempsey at Kidderminster, see if you can get any more information from him. I’ve checked the system for updates but he may know more or may not have updated yet. Share what we have and see what they have.’
‘Will do.’ Wyre smiled.
Brodie interjected. ‘I did ask if he could attend our meeting but he had something big but unrelated come in during thenight. They’re short-staffed over there but hopefully some more detectives will be deployed from another constabulary soon. Also, their uniformed officers are still conducting door-to-doors and following up witness leads. They have spoken to Zavier’s wife and the family are said to be processing the news. He did say that they have alibis and aren’t persons-of-interest so we can rule them out.’
‘Jacob and Kapoor have looked into Sheena May’s partner, Fabien Stone. He has become another person of interest. That doesn’t mean we can let up on finding Craig Crawford. We need them both to come in. Jacob?’ Gina said.
‘Yes.’ He stopped scrolling.
Gina frowned, wondering what he’d been reading. She addressed the room. ‘We need to head to Sheena’s next and bring Fabien in. Jacob found an Instagram account that belonged to him. Fabien wrote,“A man can’t call himself a man unless he can protect his wife and then his children. A real man will do anything it takes. Are you a real man?”We know he’s a debt collector. His brother drowned in his care when they were children. He has been brought in twice for fighting but nothing has resulted in a conviction. Kain went over to Sheena’s place. He caused a scene and upset her. This could have triggered Fabien to attack Kain. We need to look into him. See if he has any association with Craig or Zavier. He might have known Lindy as Lindy is Sheena’s ex sister-in-law. No link to Craig so far.’
‘Guv?’ Jacob held up his phone. ‘Craig and Fabien follow each other on Instagram. There is a post that goes back almost two years. They both completed the same triathlon and took a selfie together.’
‘Bring him in.’
Bernard cleared his throat and checked his watch. ‘Sorry, I have to get back but there is one more thing.’
