DARK HOUSES a gripping detective thriller full of suspense (13 page)

“You deserve it.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I thought we’d go for a picnic. Drive out to that country park out Leesworth way. Eat fancy sandwiches and drink coffee.”

“Sounds okay to me.” She took the drink he offered her.

“Sorry it’s in one of those carton things. I’ve got a bottle of wine in the boot.”

“Drunk at work. What will the students say?” She giggled. “Nice coffee.”

“I went to that new deli place. When we finally come out — you know, tell folk — we’ll have to eat there properly. We should do it soon. I can’t see any point in holding back.”

“Stephen already knows,” she told him. “I had no choice but to say something. He saw us in the park yesterday.”

“He knows who I am?”

“No, and I didn’t tell him. He saw me but he couldn’t see you properly. He was there looking into some assault, I think.”

“There was some sort of fight in the park yesterday. A bloke was carted off in an ambulance.”

“Stephen came home in the afternoon and we spoke. He’s confused about what’s going on. He’ll get over it. He did the last time we split. He didn’t come home last night. He’ll have gone to that flat of his to lick his wounds.”

“So I’ve got him worried, have I?”

“This isn’t a game, you know. I might be seeing you, but Stephen has to remain in our lives, mine and Matilda’s. I can’t cut him out completely. You do understand that? This is fun — but we don’t have to get too heavy. Let’s take it slow. See where it goes.”

“Anything you want. Anyway, you know what I think. That man deserves all he gets. He’s like all the rest. It’s all about the job, and nothing else matters. He barely notices you, Suzy. You’re both young. You should be enjoying life as a family. Instead he spends his time up to his armpits in villains and leaves you to raise the kid and keep house. You could have so much more out of life.”

Suzy scrunched up the carton and put it in a carrier bag on the floor of car. She yawned and leaned back. “I’m well aware of Stephen’s flaws. But he’s a good man. Don’t be so hard on him.” She yawned again.

“Tired, sweetheart?”

“Don’t know what’s come over me. I can’t keep my eyes open.”

“Slip the seat back. Close your eyes for five minutes. We’ll be there soon.”

Chapter 14

“That got us nowhere.” DS Jed Quickenden kicked a tyre of the pool car they were using. “A list! What good is a flaming list?”

“Lorraine Hopkirk needs time to think it through. If there is someone working at the home who could have taken those keys, she’ll tell us. She’s a bright woman.”

“Well, she’s told us nothing so far.”

Greco looked around at the large Victorian houses and well-tended gardens. “This is a pleasant area.”

“The posh end of town.” Speedy grinned.

“Shame they don’t appreciate it.” Greco nodded towards a group of youths who were shouting obscenities. Their target was a figure standing in the window of a house beside the care home.

“That place comes in for a lot of stick. It’s Springbank — a place for dropouts.”

“What sort of dropouts?”

“Ex drug-users, psychiatric cases. You name it, they all go there. The local residents don’t like it. They objected when it was first set up but they got nowhere.”

“Has there ever been any trouble?”

“Nothing that we’ve had to get involved with.”

“So the people that run it do a good job then?”

Speedy shrugged. “What now, boss?”

“There’s something I’ve got to do.” Greco was thinking about Doris Hope. He hadn’t dropped her wages off yet and he hadn’t told her about the cameras he’d had fitted at the house in Pierce Street either.

“You take the car and get back to the station. I’ll join you in a while.”

“Don’t you need a lift, sir?”

“No — I’ll walk. I’m not going far.”

Greco still felt rough from the previous night’s drinking. His head had been thumping all day. He couldn’t think clearly. A walk might help.

Doris Hope didn’t live far from the town centre. It shouldn’t take long. Once he sorted that, he’d go back and write the report for the super. It was a pity he had nothing new to add. Everything the super and the DCI needed to know was up on the incident board.

* * *

“Cup of tea?” Doris Hope offered when she saw him on the doorstep.

Greco nodded, and followed her into a narrow hallway.

“Sit down in there and I’ll put the kettle on.”

The sitting room she showed him to was small and full of furniture. But there wasn’t a speck of dust or a thing out of place. Even the cushions on the sofa had been placed just so.

“It won’t be a minute,” she said.

“I came to give you this.” He handed her an envelope. “Also to tell you something about the house you’re buying on Pierce Street.”

“I know about that,” she said with a frown. “My Albert bumped into one of your policemen. He’d been keeping an eye open. He told him about the cameras inside.”

“We’ll remove them as soon as we can.”

“It’s not that.” She sat down opposite him. “It’s the idea that something so awful could happen in there. We couldn’t keep the house if it did. I would never feel right inside there again.”

“It seems unlikely now. Whoever is doing this has more than likely been scared off,” he said.

“I hope Albert didn’t do any damage to anything. He was moving stuff about early this morning. He’s been getting everything ready to make a start.”

“Don’t worry. The cameras have been placed well out of harm’s way.”

* * *

It was nearly four when Greco got back to the station. The team were hard at it, including Scarlett.

“There are over a hundred cars in Oldston with those letters in their registration, sir,” she said.

It was a thankless task. “Anything else come in?”

“A shed load more tweets,” Speedy said. “But still nothing from the clever boys upstairs.”

Greco’s phone rang.

“Mr Greco? It’s Mrs Halshaw from the Duke Academy. Matilda is still here. Her mother hasn’t picked her up yet. Is anything wrong?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” he said. “I’ll try and get hold of her, but if not I’ll pick Matilda up myself in about twenty minutes.”

“Problem, sir?” Grace said.

“Not sure. Suzy hasn’t picked Matilda up from school.”

He punched Suzy’s work number into the office phone and waited. She wasn’t there.

“She left at lunchtime and didn’t return,” he said to Grace.

“There’ll be some reasonable explanation. But you’d better do something about Matilda.”

Greco had a good idea what that explanation would be, and from the look on Grace’s face, so did she. The new boyfriend. Whoever he was, he’d obviously turned her head. But to forget about picking up their daughter — that was going some.

“Do you want me to go and get her, sir?” Grace was tidying the pile of paperwork on her desk.

He looked at the office clock on the wall. There was that meeting with the super and the DCI. “Would you mind?”

She shook her head. “I’ll take her back to mine. Give her some tea with Holly. It’ll be a treat for them.”

* * *

The man at the door told Neville to wait in the hall while he went to get Edna. The place smelled — tobacco and beer. Someone had been naughty again. Well, no one could blame Neville. He hadn’t even been here. He’d been asleep all night and most of today.
He
must have given him some pills. He’d have to be careful in future — watch what he swallowed. His head was buzzing with everything that had happened. He really needed to talk to Edna. She’d know what to do.

“Neville!”

Her voice was comforting. It washed through him. All the anxiety went away. He wished he could stay here all the time. He’d be safe then.

“Where have you been?”

She sat down beside him. She was wearing her nurse’s uniform.

“You’ve missed all your appointments this week. Have you been unwell?”

“No.” Neville shook his head guiltily.

“You should have seen Doctor Fielding yesterday afternoon. Where were you?”

“I forgot.”

“We wrote it down. You even put everything into your phone. Don’t you remember that?”

He’d
found it and deleted the lot. Now Neville was in trouble.

“It wasn’t me,” he said.

Edna fixed him with a look. She didn’t believe him. He could tell she thought it was happening again. He squirmed in the chair.

“It really wasn’t me.
He
did it. I’m not allowed to do anything without
his
say-so. I’m surprised
he
even lets me breathe these days.”

The words were out before he could stop them. Now she really would think he was ill again.

“Doctor Fielding is in this afternoon.”

He knew it. She’d got the wrong end of the stick.

“Stay, Neville. Just speak to him.”

“No.
He’ll
want to keep me here like before. I’ve got to go.”

Neville stood up. Coming here was a mistake. He could see that now. Edna didn’t understand him anymore. How come? Had
he
spoken to her? Shopped him? Had
he
made Edna believe he was bad? Neville didn’t want Edna thinking that.

“Has something happened? Stop pacing about and come and sit down again.”

Neville knew he had to be careful what he said, but the words wanted to come out.

“Something did happen, but I’m okay now,” he said. “Dan won’t bother me again, so I’ll be fine.” Why had he mentioned Dan? Too late now — it was out. “In fact he won’t bother anyone again. Poor Dan. He shouldn’t have said those things about me. Called me that name.” Neville was staring at his feet.

“Who is Dan?”

“No one now. He’s dead.”

“Neville? Did you have anything to do with that?”

He shook his head. He wanted to tell her the truth but he couldn’t. If he told her about Dan, then he’d have to talk about the girls. She couldn’t find out about them. If she did, Edna would hate him.

“Are you sure? Have you hurt somebody?”

Where to start? There was a thundering in his head. He got to his feet and began pacing again. He was wound up, confused, and the thoughts wouldn’t go away. A little voice hammered away at him.
Tell her. Tell her, before it’s too late — before you hurt someone else.

He’d had enough.

“I’ve done something bad.” He stopped pacing and hung his head. Edna stood up and put her arm round his shoulder.

“I’ll get Doctor Fielding. You wait here. Come on, sit down. It’ll only take a minute.”

As soon as she left, Neville realised he’d be mad to tell her all that stuff.
He’d
been right. They’d lock him up. He got to his feet, yanked open the front door and did one.

* * *

It was dark. Suzy Greco blinked a few times, trying to clear her eyes. She couldn’t remember what had happened. The hours since the morning seemed to have disappeared. Panic gripped her. Where was she? She had to be dreaming. She wasn’t properly awake yet. It’d be okay in a moment. She’d wake up properly.

But something was wrong. Her limbs were cold and stiff. Why couldn’t she move? When her eyes became accustomed to the gloom, she looked down and saw that her wrists were taped to the arms of a chair, her ankles to its legs. More heavy tape had been wound around her middle to keep her immobile. But worse than that, she was naked. She tried to scream but no noise came.

Chapter 15

Day Four

“My mum will take them both to school. I ran her things through the wash last night with Holly’s.”

“Thanks. I’m really grateful for what you’ve done. Tell Matilda I’ll be there to pick her up later.” He was speaking to Grace on the phone.

“Suzy?”

“I’ve been trying her mobile all night, but nothing. It’s turned off.”

“Surely she wouldn’t just go off and leave Matilda without saying anything? Sir?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. She’s changed recently. I can’t read her anymore. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed she’d cheat on me with another man.”

“Don’t worry about Matilda. I’ll sort the girls and then come in. How did your meeting go with Wilkes?”

“He wants results. He appreciates we’re up against it but like he pointed out — that’s the job.”

“Did he offer anything that would help?”

“No. Scarlett is the sum total of what we’re going to get.”

“Well, let’s hope we get a breakthrough soon. See you later, sir.”

Greco was worried, not only about his daughter but about Suzy’s welfare. He’d spent the night wandering around his flat, thinking about her. He didn’t believe she’d take off on a whim. She wouldn’t do something like that without making arrangements for Matilda. Something had happened, something she had no control over. Reluctantly, he’d rung round all the hospitals on the off-chance she’d been involved in an accident. As the hours ticked by, he wasn’t sure if he was pleased that she hadn’t been.

He showered and dressed. His first task would be to visit the college. He wanted to know when she’d last been seen, and what sort of mood she’d been in. If he got nothing and she didn’t contact him, he’d be forced to ring her parents in case she’d gone there. But that would be a last resort. If she wasn’t there, they would only worry.

* * *

On arriving at Oldston College, Greco went up to the staffroom. One of her colleagues, Jill Brayshaw, recognised him.

“Is Suzy here?” he asked her.

“No, and she hasn’t rung in either. Is she ill?”

“I don’t know. I can’t find her,” he admitted. “When did you see her last?”

“She was here yesterday morning. She took the National Diploma group.” She paused. “Is everything okay with you two? I ask because Suzy’s behaviour has been a little odd recently.”

“In what way?”

“She’s been going out for lunch a lot and dropping hints. We work together and we are quite close. I thought perhaps she was trying to tell me something. I teased her about it. At first I thought she must be meeting you. But that wasn’t the case, was it?”

Greco shook his head.

“To be honest, I sort of guessed that she was seeing someone else. She had that look about her — more make-up, always at the hairdressers and she’d been buying new clothes.”

How come he hadn’t noticed any of that? Perhaps Suzy was right — he was too engrossed in the job.

He saw the flush of embarrassment on her cheeks. “In the end I asked her and Suzy admitted as much.”

“Do you know who he was?” he asked.

Jill Brayshaw shook her head. “But I think it must have been him that kept ringing her. She went off at lunchtime yesterday. Said she had something better to do than eat the rubbish they dish up in the canteen. Sorry — I don’t know anymore.”

“Thanks — it’s something to start with anyway.”

Greco went downstairs to the reception office. He knew that there was CCTV at the front of the building. He wanted to know exactly when Suzy had left and who she was with.

* * *

“Where’s the boss?” DC Scarlett Seddon asked.

“He won’t be long,” Grace said.

“Right little teacher’s pet, aren’t you? Running after his kid like that. Do that a lot, do you?”

“It isn’t like that.”

“Oh, it is.” Craig Merrick butted in. “She fancies the pants off him, but he isn’t having any.”

Scarlett giggled. “That’s how you intend to climb up the greasy pole, is it?”

“You’re one to talk. What about you and that new bloke at the Duggan? Threw yourself at him, you did. Shameless piece of work!”

“Pack it in you lot. We’ve got stuff to do, remember?” Speedy was trying to concentrate. He was going through the report George had printed out for them earlier.

“Results of the prints on that beer can are in. No match on the database,” said George.

Speedy threw his pen onto the desk and stood up. “What is it with this bastard? No one’s that good.”

“Well, this one is. He’s someone new and he’s got no record,” said Scarlett.

“That doesn’t help.”

“Would you like me to go over the reports and the statements? A fresh pair of eyes,” she said.

“If you want to, but we should be out there.”

“If we knew what it was we were looking for,” Merrick added. “The press are right. We haven’t got a clue.”

“In that case we need to up our game. You didn’t see those girls.” Speedy shuddered. “Bloody maniac.”

“Anything on the tweets?” Grace asked George.

“Nope. They’re still working on them.”

“Tell them to get a bloody move on. Don’t they know what we’re dealing with?” Speedy said.

Grace’s mobile beeped. It was Greco. He’d sent her a text to say he’d be late in. He was looking at CCTV footage at the college.

“I think the boss has a problem,” she said to the others.

“What problem?” Merrick asked.

“He’ll tell you himself.”

Speedy saw Scarlett and Merrick exchange looks. This was how gossip started. “Spit it out or keep it to yourself,” he snapped at Grace. “We don’t have time for this bickering. We need to find something we can work with.” He held up a file and shook it at them. “Before this character does it again.”

Grace was annoyed with him. Speedy could see it on her face. The atmosphere in the office was tense. She’d just opened her mouth to retaliate when a uniformed officer stuck his head around the door.

“We’ve got a bloke downstairs who says he’s responsible for killing those girls.”

“It’ll be a bloody weirdo,” said Speedy. “As if we didn’t have enough to do.”

“You’ll still have to see him though,” said Grace. “Greco won’t be in for a while, so it’s down to you.”

Speedy strode off after the officer. He needed a break from the incident room anyway. “What have you done with him?”

“I’ve stuck him in an interview room. I’ve left someone on watch.”

“Waste of time. This is how it gets sometimes. Every now and again we have a case that attracts the dross.” Speedy was only surprised there hadn’t been more.

Speedy observed the young man through the two-way glass. He was young, twenty-one or so, and big — at least six foot, and hefty with it. He looked dirty, unshaven and was scruffily dressed in jeans and a hooded top. He looked as if he’d been sleeping rough.

“He’s after a hot meal and a bed for the night,” Speedy said. He’d seen it before. They got any number of homeless chancing their arm. “What’s he said?”

“Nothing to us. Wants to speak to CID only.”

Speedy shook his head. This was a waste of time. He went into the room and sat down opposite the man with a notepad and pen in his hand.

“What’s your name?”

“Does that matter?”

“Yes, it does.” Here we go, thought Speedy. The dragging it out, the fairy tales leading to endless cups of coffee and eventually, if this lad was lucky, a room for the night. “Look, have you got anything to tell me or not?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

He looked Speedy in the face. His eyes were wild, bloodshot, and he was nervous. He played with the frayed edge of a cuff on his hoody constantly as he spoke, winding the thread around his finger.

“I didn’t want to. It was the voices.” He leaned forward. “You’ve no idea how they get.”

He’d been right, thought Speedy. Nutjob.

“The girls,” he said. “How did you meet them?”

“They were there, at the houses.”

“Yes, but where did they come from?”

“I dunno.”

“If you are responsible for their deaths you must know.” Speedy paused, watching the confusion on the lad’s face. “This is a wind-up, isn’t it? You know bugger all.”

“The voice said I killed them.”

“The voice could be wrong.”

“No. It was me. I made a mistake, you see. I only wanted to kill their hearts. They didn’t love me. Love comes from the heart, doesn’t it?”

“Tell me how you did that — killed their hearts?” Faint bells began to ring in Speedy’s brain.

“It was easy. I just stuck the hot poker in deep.”

* * *

“You okay, sir? You look a bit rough if you don’t mind me saying.”

“I’ve got a lot on, Craig,” he said.

“Speedy is downstairs interviewing a bloke who’s come in and confessed,” Grace told him. “He thinks it’s a joke, but you never know.”

Greco wasn’t listening. He’d logged onto his computer and was accessing his email. The man in the security lodge at the college had promised to seek out yesterday’s video and email him a copy. There it was in his inbox.

He studied the video. It showed the usual comings and goings of dozens of students through the main entrance. He moved it forward to about twelve noon — the time Suzy would normally break for lunch. A van pulled up outside. He watched the security man wave it in. Then he spotted it. A dark blue Ford Focus.

Greco began to sweat. He tore at his tie, loosening it. The thing was choking him. This wasn’t good. He couldn’t see the man’s face, the sun was shining on the car’s windscreen. But he did see Suzy walk out of the entrance. She waved, smiling at the driver. Suzy obviously knew him. He opened the passenger side window and they spoke for a few moments. All Greco could see was the back of his head. Finally Suzy laughed and got in beside him.

The panic was back. Suzy was in mortal danger. For reasons he couldn’t work out, the killer had targeted her.

“How are you doing with the car?” His voice was raspy, the words sticking in his throat.

“No luck yet, sir,” Craig replied.

Greco looked at the film again. The full registration was visible. Why hadn’t he spotted it moments ago? Because he’d only seen Suzy, that was why. He jotted it down on a piece of paper and handed it over. “Try that.” He didn’t explain. As Craig was about to open his mouth, Greco silenced him. “Just get on with it. I want to know who owns that car — now.”