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Authors: G. M. Clark

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His neck is turning red, the eyeballs bulging as I pull even tighter. ‘
I
am going to catch this son of a bitch. I don’t need you or anyone else trying to muscle their way in. We work as a team here; I doubt you know that word – it means that we all work together to get the bad guys.’ I let go of his tie and he recoils backwards.

‘And while we’re at it, don’t make the error of trying to screw me over in front of my own officers, ever again.’ I glare at him long and hard, just so that he understands I’ve never been in the habit of being intimidated by anyone, and I’m sure as hell not about to start now. I stride from the room, ignoring Grimes who is thundering after me. I manage to slam the door shut in his face; too bad I miss it by the merest of inches.

I’m out in the hall when he starts screaming my name; I hesitate, wondering whether to just walk out, or go and face the music.

He yanks open his office door and stands half in, half out.

‘Downey, get your arse in here now!’

Mack appeared in the hall at the same moment.

‘You too, Mack.’ The office door slams, and I know I’ve perhaps pushed my luck a little with the Agency – but hell, who really gives a damn?

‘Come on,’ says Mack. ‘Let’s get it over with.’

Grimes sits behind his desk, his face drawn, haggard; the pressure is taking its toll. I know exactly how he feels, but have little sympathy for him. Perhaps if he was a remarkable leader, a good motivator, or a scrupulous officer I’d have more compassion, but actually he’s none of those things. He’s a kiss arse copper who had a moderately successful career in the murder investigation team, but knew all the right people at the right time. A brown-noser.

‘Sit down,’ he snaps.

I sit waiting for the barrage to begin; it doesn’t take long.

‘What the hell were you playing at in there?’

‘I don’t like being toyed with,’ I reply.

‘Listen, we don’t have a choice in this, the Agency are here whether we like it or not,’ he says.

Folding my arms, I reply, ‘I don’t.’

He sighs. ‘It doesn’t matter what you think; they’re here, and they’re staying.’

‘As long as they stay away from me.’ Anger rages inside me.

He slams a fist on the desk. ‘You just don’t get it do you? We have a sodding madman on the loose and we need all the help that we can get, Agency suits or not. You
will
help them, you will damn well assist them in every single way. If Reeves wants you to wipe his arse you’ll do it, you’ll do exactly as the son of a bitch says, ’cos if you don’t – I’ll have your job, is that clear enough for you?’ He’s practically screaming, the sweat pouring down his face, breath rasping.

For the first time in twenty years I nearly throw my warrant card at him; no one is going to take over my case. My hand automatically reaches for it to smack it on the desk, but Mack gets up and grabs hold of my arm.

‘Don’t be an idiot,’ he whispers.

‘Your choice,’ says Grimes, baiting me.

I think about it for a moment. The fear of failure is always uppermost in my mind; if I give in now I’ll be letting down the victims, and they deserve an answer. They needed closure as much as I did.

I stand up with as much restraint as I can muster.


I
am going to find the killer. Not the Agency suits…
me
.’

I slam the door as hard as I can on the way out. Mack is beside me in a split second.

‘You’d better cool it.’ He falls into step beside me.

‘Since when were you a friend of Grimes?’ I ask.

‘I’m just here to do my job, the same as you, and for the same reasons – to find this psycho, lock him up and throw away the key.’

‘The Agency are going to be crawling all over us.’

‘Ignore them,’ he says.

I look at him and laugh. ‘You’ve been in this game longer than me, you know how it works. The suits will take over every piece of information, every new lead; they will direct the crime scenes, no doubt messing them up, and when they still can’t find the killer – we will get the blame.’

‘We don’t have a choice, just try and keep them occupied with paperwork; hell, it’s what they do most of the time anyway,’ says Mack as he starts to trundle down the hall.

 I merely laugh. ‘If you feel bad now, you’d better get used to it, ’cos by the time they’re through with us, you’re gonna wish you’d put
your
warrant card on the table.’

 

CHAPTER 22

 

After pulling up at Brady’s Pub, I push open the door; the bar is reasonably busy, as all good Irish pubs are. Gaelic music plays in the background, the band warming up for a lively crowd expected later on. I find myself a stool at the far end of the bar, and nod to Neil for a pint of Guinness.

There’s something comforting about the stout, the thick liquid is both peaty and aromatic at the same time, the creamy head fills your mouth with foam, a tantaliser of what is yet to come.

I think about the killer. I’ve thought about nothing else since it all started. A crazed psychopath that’s roaming the streets, probably lining up his next victim ready for the kill right at this very moment. I’ve read all about serial killers and go through it once again in my mind. He’s normally a man who extensively plans and methodically executes his victims. He could be the nice guy next door, the colleague you work with, but oh how he plans.

He will go over each attack methodically in his mind, fine-tuning the smallest of details so that the slaughter meets with his twisted expectations. He approaches his victim with confidence, using a ruse or a con to lure them into a trap – I’m sure our boy is doing this. He would be prepared – he would carry with him a selection of his favourite weapons – in our case, knives. Probably he would have a torture kit as well. He would use the quickest method to get them under control; our boy is snapping the hyoid bone, killing them in fifty seconds. Normally, and I say that in the lightest sense, you would expect a serial to rape and torture first, then kill – that way he gets more pleasure. But like Connie said, our boy is most definitely not normal.

Every second I expect another call on my mobile phone, another dead mutilated body, and a riddle from hell. I feel like I’m living on a knife edge; if this is cat and mouse, as Connie said, I have a bad feeling that this cat is getting fatter by the minute.

Her name keeps popping into my mind, I can’t help it; and God I miss her. It’s almost a physical ache. I long for her touch, to feel her soft sensuous skin against mine, the brush of her luscious hair against my flesh. She has a smile that can light up even the darkest soul in the depths of despair. The intelligent mind that flickers to full strength in an instant, the brain racing into overdrive in a moment when required; her morals are high like mine. We both understand that there are certain times a citizen breaks the law, they make a bad judgment, a mistake and then reform themselves; these aren’t in our eyes true criminals, merely victims of happenstance. A true criminal is one who tries to take something – with planning, intent, cruelty and, most of all, absolutely not a shred of remorse.

I hope to God she understands my reason for sending her away; it was not for convenience, but quite simply for love. I know that somehow the killer would have tried to get to her, perhaps as a means of torturing me, and I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t know where she went in case the son of a bitch is somehow tracing or monitoring my calls. Her face when she walked away from me was so full of sorrow, like I’d somehow let her down; when in fact all I did was try to protect her.
Please God, let her be safe.

I nodded at Neil for another Guinness at the same time as a tall, raven-haired and statuesque figure pulls out the bar stool next to me. I glance at her without trying to make it too obvious.

She wears a black crop top, her tanned breasts brimming over; the leather trousers are scarlet, with cobweb lacing up the side of each leg; the boots small sized but with wickedly high heels; the long hair flowing down her back. Her face is in perfect symmetry, an extraordinarily beautiful face, the eyes dark, with long lashes, her lips full and red, but with only a touch of gloss. On a normal day I’d be impressed – very impressed, but today hasn’t been normal; the cases are digging into the pit of my stomach. That, combined with the arrival of the suits from hell and a bollocking from Grimes, hasn’t exactly put me in the greatest mood for company.

‘Hi there,’ she says, extending her manicured hand. No wedding rings, I notice. ‘I’m Ali.’

I try a smile but it doesn’t seem to fit my face. I take the hand. ‘Downey.’

‘Are you from around these parts?’ she asks.

‘Yes.’

‘You don’t say a lot, do you?’ She waves a finger at Neil who almost comes running.

‘I’ll have a large whisky with ice; my friend here will have the same again.’

She points to my half empty glass.

‘Thanks, but I’m driving.’ I’m flattered.

‘Who’s going to tell the police?’ She laughs from way down in her throat.

I keep my gaze steady. ‘I am the police.’

She blinks in surprise. ‘Well aren’t you the dark horse. Don’t tell me – you’re involved in murders?’

Now it’s my turn. ‘How did you guess?’

‘It must be the sad look on your face, like a man who’s seen too much death lately.’

‘You’re not kidding.’ I swallow another mouthful of Guinness as she sidles up close.

‘How about I follow you home, we can have our own little party?’ She draws me in with her smile, her hand gently covering mine.

Okay, now I’m getting really flattered, but Connie’s face flashes into my mind. I finish my drink quickly, before this becomes any more awkward for both of us.

‘I appreciate the sentiment, but I really don’t think my girlfriend would be too happy about that.’

‘That’s too bad.’ She sips her whisky slowly, savouring the flavour.

‘No offence meant, but you should be careful who you try to pick up, there’s a serial killer on the loose.’ I keep my tone level, trying not to scare her. She simply swallows the rest of the whisky in one gulp and nods for a refill.

‘I haven’t met a man yet that I couldn’t tame,’ she purrs. Oh, I believe that alright.

I shrug on my jacket and kiss her hand. ‘You know the old saying, Ali?’

‘What’s that?’ she asks.

‘You lie down with the devil – you wake up in hell.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind.’

 

The rain has started again, falling steadily, the city swamped in a puddle of grey. I pull out onto the main street and head for home. Teenagers are still out at this time of night, drinking and partying away; the girls in skimpy clothes, tottering in high heels, oblivious to the weather as long as they look good.  It always surprises me just how many people party in the city at this time of year. I guess Manchester is a pretty popular place, probably all the University students… actually, on normal quiet days I love it myself. It’s just that nothing feels normal anymore.

I drive slowly through the throbbing army of cars desperate to get home after a hard day’s work, but what do I have to go back to? An empty flat that will be black and cold as I’ve forgotten to put the heating on timer; no warmth from the woman that I love, no smile to light up a crap day, and no intelligent conversation, just the usual crap on the television that bores me witless.

 

The bed seemed too big without Connie. It’s worse than when she just went away for work, or travelling home to Virginia; this time there’s a chance she might not come back at all. I know how wounded she was at my attitude; she’s one determined lady who can deal with some of the worst killers in the world. The difference is that they’re always locked up – this time our killer is running loose and, in my opinion, headed towards a collision with me. I want her far away where the lecherous son of a bitch can’t get to her – what’s so wrong in that?

I seem to scan every face that I pass – is he the killer? Is he watching me now? And just what exactly does he want or need from me? I still have no answers; I can only think that it’s some sick tosser that I’ve put away, and this is his way of getting back at me. Will I be the final victim? I have an uneasy feeling that’s exactly what I am going to be.

The bloody rap tune from hell blares into life as my mobile phone rings; I want to pick it up and chuck it out of the window. Instead I slide it open and press it to my ear.

‘Downey here.’ It’s Mack.

‘We got a call from the morgue.’

‘What’s up?’

‘It would appear that someone has taken the hands from Stacey Bun.’

I nearly crash the bloody car.

‘What do you mean, taken the hands?’ I’m clenching the steering wheel without even knowing it.

‘At some time between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. this evening, Stacey Bun had her hands sawn off.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ I can’t believe what I’m hearing. ‘Was the place closed?’

Mack sniggers. ‘Nope, since when did a morgue shut up shop? It’s a walk-in twenty-four hour store, open for the business of the dead.’

‘So how did the bastard get in?’ I ask Mack.

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