Dying Eyes (23 page)

The line was silent for a few moments. The sound of the rain pattering against the car’s windscreen rattled in Brian’s head.

“Okay. I’ll have a word with Price right away.” She apologized to somebody close by. “Brian, you shouldn’t have done this on your own. You could have‌–‌”

“Thanks, Cassy. I’ll see you there in ten minutes.” He cancelled the call. His brain pulsated in his head. The camera sat just a few feet away from him. He wanted to smash it up. Stamp on it and smash it up. But he couldn’t. He had to stay with it, just for now. He had to stay with it until this was over.

It could have been Davey…

Brian’s phone vibrated. “Cassy, I told you I’ll‌–‌”

“Brian.” It was Vanessa. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get hold of you for the last hour.”

Brian’s stomach sank. “What? Vanessa? It’s…‌Everything’s all right, isn’t it?”

She sniffed.

“Vanessa, tell me everything’s okay. Vanessa, what is it? Is it Davey?”

“He’s been hit by a car. He’s‌–‌he’s hurt. We’re in the hospital. Brian, he wants his dad here with him.”

Brian didn’t register the rest of the conversation. His cheeks were cold as he placed the phone onto his lap. His entire body shook. The whole world seemed to crumble around him.

He stepped on the accelerator and followed the road. Michael Walters’ house or the hospital?

He could only be at one place at one time, and there was only one place he wanted to be right now.

Chapter Thirty

Brian paced down the corridor. What did she mean, “hit by a car”? Faces buzzed past him, hazy and out of focus. Hospital equipment bleeped, and the smell of disinfectant was ripe in the air.

“Sir?”

A short, dark-haired nurse watched him as he bombed towards the reception area.

“My son,” Brian said, struggling to stay on his feet. “He’s…‌Where is he?”

The woman shook her head and accompanied Brian to a chair. He couldn’t sit down. Couldn’t focus. He jolted back to his feet again.

“Just, please‌–‌tell me he’s okay.”

The nurse tapped a pen against a pad she was holding. “Okay. You’re going to have to stay calm for me, sir. What’s his name? Your son?”

Brian scratched his forehead. “Err‌–‌um, Davey. Davey McDone. He’s…” He stalled. “He’s been in an accident.”

The nurse scanned her register. “You just wait here for me for two seconds, okay? I’ll go and ask around. But please, sir, stay here.” She scooted off towards the reception area, taking a sympathetic glance over her shoulder.

Brian rubbed his hands against his legs and winced as his sore hand caught against solid mud caked on his trousers.

The images. Michael Walters, and…

It all seemed so distant. So long ago.

“Mr. McDone?”

Brian looked up to see a nurse staring over him, smiling.

“Sorry about the wait. It’s just we‌–‌”

“Is he okay?” Brian shot up from his chair.

The nurse examined Brian’s muddy clothing and cleared her throat. “Davey’s been hit by a car, but he’ll be okay.”

Brian exhaled a huge breath of relief and threw his hands onto his knees. Tears dripped from his cheeks.
He’s okay. He’s okay.

“Nothing more than a broken arm,” the nurse continued. “He’ll be a bit sore for a few weeks, but he’s a tough lad. Took quite a hit.”

Brian’s eyes clouded with tears as relief washed over him. “Thank you. Thank you.”

“Would you like to see him?”

Brian looked down the corridor in the direction of the wards. “Is…‌Who’s with him?”

“His mother and her dad. They’ve been here since‌–‌”

“It’s okay. As long…‌I wouldn’t want…‌We’re not together. I wouldn’t want to make anything awkward.”

The nurse sighed and shook her head. Brian could tell she wanted to protest, for his sake. “Right. Should I tell the mother you were here?”

Brian’s head buzzed with the adrenaline of it all. He needed a release. Needed to cool off. Something to make the pain surface then disappear…

“Yeah, I‌–‌”

“Brian!”

Vanessa was power walking towards him. He tensed up and readied himself for the barrage of insults. She always said his name in that high-pitched tone when he was in trouble.

“Where have you been? I’ve…‌I’ve been trying to…” She rushed towards him, black coat drooping at either side, eyes red and streaming.

“I’m sorry. I thought…‌It doesn’t matter. I’m here now. I’m here.” He opened up his arms as she stopped in front of him awkwardly, an invisible barrier between them.

“I…‌Thank you. Thanks for coming. You’re so…‌muddy.”

Brian looked down at his trousers and shoes. “It’s a long story. But it’ll be worth it in the end. Can I see Davey?”

Vanessa and Brian’s gaze held for a moment. Her watery eyes shimmered in the light. “Sure. Sure. He’s just this way.” She held her hand out.

Brian smiled back at her as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He reached for it and cancelled the call before grabbing Vanessa’s hand.

They walked down the corridor towards Davey’s room as his phone started to vibrate again.

Davey sat upright against his pillow as Brian rushed into the room. A brace elevated his arm, and a clear drip poked out of his purple wrist. He was wearing his blue-striped pyjamas that Brian had bought him at Christmas.

Brian grinned at him, his eyes stinging with tears. “Hello, soldier.”

Davey waved his free hand as Brian crouched beside his bed. “Where have you been, Daddy?”

Brian laughed. “I’ve been fighting monsters and aliens so I could find my way to visit you!”

Davey’s gaze spun around in delight, his tongue poking through the gap in his teeth where two milk teeth had fallen out. A little red bruise above his left eye and a few scratches on his neck, but otherwise he looked in fit shape. “Were they really scary monsters, Daddy?”

Brian sighed as the images clawed through his mind. “They…‌they were really bad monsters, Davey. But they are nothing to worry about now. Daddy’s sorted them.” He kissed Davey’s hand and leaned his head against the pillow beside him.

“Granddad says he’s going to get you a copy of the Highway Code next Christmas, doesn’t he?” Vanessa held her elbows as she stood above Davey and Brian.

“It was like…‌There was me and then, BOOF!” Davey held his hand in the air and moved it around in front of him, using his fingers for legs. “But it only hurt my arm, and it was like it didn’t happen, but it happened in a dream.”

Brian brushed his fingers through Davey’s wispy blonde hair. “You don’t worry yourself about it too much, son. You just focus on getting back to strength. Get those bones strong again, right?”

“And then will I be able to fight the monsters with you, too?”

“I hope not,” Brian muttered. He approached Vanessa. Her arms were wrapped around her body. Brian put his arm around her shoulders. It felt awkward, like a first date in the back row of a grubby cinema. She seemed out of place. She didn’t slot into his chest like a missing piece of a jigsaw anymore, not like she used to.

But right now, they needed to stick together.

“Where is your dad?” Brian asked.

Vanessa grunted. “Don’t you worry about him. He left just before you got here. Otherwise we’d have to get another hospital bed set up for one of you.”

Brian scratched his cheek. His hand tingled.

“Jesus, Brian, what’s happened to your hand? You…‌It isn’t, is it? You should get that seen to whilst you’re here.”

His hand‌–‌of course. Blood dripped from the deep, muddy cut right through the middle of his palm. The clot was having a hard time forming. How had he let himself forget about his hand? “It’s not what it looks like, okay? I swear it’s not what it looks like. I’ll…‌Yeah. I’ll go get it seen to quickly before I leave.”

“Is everything…‌all right?” Vanessa eyed up the dirty patches on Brian’s trousers.

Brian wiped his eyes and tried to keep a straight face. “Not really, Vanessa, no. I found…‌It’s the Watson case. I found…” He glanced over at Davey, who was pretending his fingers were little legs running away from a roaring monster. “I don’t really want to go into it right now.”

“Then don’t.” Vanessa’s leg rubbed against his. They were so close.

Brian’s phone vibrated.

His cheeks grew hot, and his throat swelled up.
Bloody phone
. If only they could leave him alone for five minutes. They were perfectly competent officers. They had their orders. What was the problem?

“I’ll leave it,” Brian said.

“No.” Vanessa smacked him on the back. “You get back to your job, Detective Sergeant. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Are…‌Really? Are you sure?”

Vanessa smiled. “We’re really glad you came, aren’t we, Davey?”

Davey stopped his game and grinned. “Glad you beat the monsters!”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Vanessa asked as Brian’s phone continued to vibrate.

Brian kissed her on the cheek then scooted out of the room. He pressed the phone to his ear and waved at Davey as he left.

“What is it?” he asked in the corridor.

“Brian, where have you been?”
Cassy
.

“Long story. Have you got him?”

Cassy paused. Other voices accompanied her. “We’re at his house now. You’ll want to come down here as soon as possible.”

“Right.” Brian marched down the corridor and smiled as he walked past the nurse from earlier. “I’ll be there. Make sure you don’t let him go anywhere. I’ve‌–‌”

“Brian, you‌–‌”

“I’ll see you down there.” He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

After a voluntary nurse quickly bandaged his hand, he emerged from the hospital and back out into the rain. A feeling of purpose ran through his body. A feeling of reunion. The worst possible circumstances had made him feel better than he had in months. He didn’t need a release anymore.

He sat in his car and turned the engine on. Biffy Clyro were playing again. Same song as the other day, the same new mainstream crap. But he didn’t mind. It was music to his ears.
Ha!
Even that sounded funny in his head.

He looked down at his passenger seat, and the camera stared back at him. His stomach knotted. It would be over soon. He could be there in five minutes, and it would be over.

He turned out of the hospital car park and headed back down the main road. Michael Walters couldn’t hide any longer.

This was going to end, right here.

Chapter Thirty One

A sea of flashing blue lights engulfed the street outside Michael Walters’ house. It was impossible to believe that this was the same location, robbed of its peace and serenity, that Brian had been earlier. The rain had given up its assault, but water still fell from the trees lining the road. Price was there, wearing a suit as usual despite the torrid conditions. Cassy stood beside him as other officers in white coats scattered around. One of them struggled to attach black and yellow tape to either side of the driveway.

Brian got out of his car and rushed over towards Price. Price gave him a double take as he chatted to a shorter, fatter DC and gestured back at Michael Walters’ house. His face wasn’t as red as usual.

“Brian,” he said. “Where the bloody hell have you been for the past‌–‌”

“At the hospital. My son’s been in an accident. What’s the latest?”

Price’s eyes widened. “Um, well…‌First off, good work. I don’t agree with your methods but…‌yeah. It looks like you were on to something.”

Brian pointed back to his car. “The camera in the passenger seat. It’s all on there. Pembrokeshire Garage, Price. Michael Walters was using his position and status in BetterLives to abuse kids. Making little dates with children’s hospitals. Orphanages. He was exploiting the weak and voiceless. The sick, sick bastard.”

Price nodded. His eyes were distant. Empty.

“What’s going on?” Brian asked. “You’re scanning the house. Have you found something? Where is he?”

Price held his hand out to Brian and shook his head as Cassy emerged. “I think you’d better show DS McDone inside, Emerson.”

Cassy tilted her head and half-smiled at Brian. “Come on,” she said.

The lights were all off, but makeshift fluorescent lighting spread around the hallway and staircase cast a soft glow around the house. White sheets covered some of the surfaces. An officer in a blue jacket inspected the desk by the door. He picked up the photograph of Michael Walters and his ex-wife and sighed before placing it back down again.

There was a large plastic mat along the hallway leading towards the kitchen and dining area, where Brian had stood just an hour or so earlier. It was strange, seeing so many people in the house, like a morbid party. A police fancy-dress orgy, but without the fun.

Cassy stopped Brian at the kitchen doorway. “You’re okay, aren’t you?” She looked down at his muddy trousers and the bandage on his hand.

A sickly feeling grew in Brian’s stomach. He’d seen houses like this before. He’d been in the job for enough years to know what he was walking into. That same sense of anti-climax. Nobody had to say anything; everybody knew. He nodded and entered the kitchen.

The first thing he saw was Michael Walters’ shiny brown shoes hovering above the kitchen worktop.

Brian scratched his forehead as he walked over to him. Walters’ eyes were still open. One of them had popped out of his head and dangled against his cheek as a thin white cord hugged his neck. His hands were purple, and his glasses lay on the floor beneath his feet, one of the lenses cracked. His body swung lightly, like a car air freshener.

“When did you find him like this?” Brian asked the dark-haired younger DC. He jotted things in a notepad, his jaw shaking and hands twitchy.

“Um…‌I‌–‌We got here about, about um, ten minutes ago?”

Ten minutes.
Michael must have done it right after Brian had left. He looked up at Michael’s one good eye, staring out with fear. Inevitability. He’d known. He’d seen the suspicion in Brian’s eyes earlier when he’d read his diary, and he’d known. Suicide was the only way to escape without being punished.

“A man can’t live with the guilt of something like that.”