Chapter Fifty-Four

Matilda needed some time away from the station, not much, just half an hour or so to be on her own, to calm down from her emotional performance at the briefing.

She stormed out of the building, managing to avoid the barrage of press who had set up home by the front steps. Before she could work out a destination she found herself outside Costa in Orchard Square. The strong caffeine smell emanating from the building was calling to her. She ordered a large latte and asked for an extra shot of caffeine to be added. No, she didn’t want to try their new blend for an extra twenty pence. No, she did not want any cakes or cookies.

Sitting in the corner, thinking she was alone with her thoughts, she began to relax as the strong coffee flowed through her veins. This was sheer bliss – until she looked up and saw the worried expression on the smooth face of Danny Hanson gawping down at her.

‘Are you following me?’ Matilda said.

‘No, I’m not following you. I was already here. I saw you come in.’

‘Oh.’

‘Can I join you?’

‘To be honest, Danny, I just wanted a few minutes to myself.’

‘I can understand that. I’d really like to talk to you though.’

‘If you’re looking for a quote or something to put on the front pages, you’ve come to the wrong person.’ It didn’t take long for the effects of the caffeine to wear off. She could feel her hackles rising once more.

‘I don’t want to talk about that. This is more … personal.’

Matilda took a longer look at the young journalist. The worried expression ran deeper than his face. The way he held himself, the throbbing vein in his neck, the dark lines beneath his eyes. He was troubled. She nodded to the chair opposite.

‘Thank you.’ He gave a nervous smile, pulled the chair out and sat down. ‘I’ve called in sick today. I don’t think Kate was happy.’

‘It’s understandable.’

‘When I decided I wanted to be a journalist, I didn’t expect to be targeted personally, to have a sadistic killer calling me. This is frightening me,’ he said, lowering his voice and looking around.

Matilda no longer saw an annoying young upstart sitting opposite her. She saw a terrified individual whose rose-tinted view of his ideal job had been destroyed. ‘It’s frightening me, too, and I’ve been in this job for a long time. Seeing a dead body, especially a murder victim, is not something you get used to. I don’t think you should get used to it either. We need to have feelings in order to do our job properly. Now, you’re just starting out. This is a highly unusual situation you’ve found yourself in. You may never face a story like this again.’

‘I’m having trouble switching off. I’m not sleeping. Every time my phone rings, I worry it’s him.’

Matilda shrugged. ‘That’s natural. There is nothing I can say to you to make you feel better.’

‘I’d like you to tell me he’s not going to come after me again.’

‘I think he’s going to come after one of us. I just have to make sure I get to him first.’

‘What if you don’t?’

‘Then we’re both screwed.’ She took a long sip of her coffee. ‘Hang on a minute, what do you mean “again”? Have you seen him?’

Danny looked down.

‘Danny, what happened?’

‘I had a phone call. I was told to go to Weston Park to meet someone who knew the killer. I went, and I was attacked.’

‘Why didn’t you call me?’

‘I was chasing a story.’ He shrugged.

Matilda shook her head. She could hardly chastise him. She had acted on impulse many times in the past. ‘Did you get a good look at the killer?’

He paled as he remembered. ‘Tall, slim …’

‘With dark hair?’ Matilda finished the sentence for him.

‘No. He had dark red hair, a big mess of it.’

Matilda frowned. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Was he very thin?’

‘Yes. I think they call it geek-chic, don’t they?’

‘Why didn’t you report this, Danny?’

He looked sheepish. He muttered something, but Matilda didn’t hear. She asked him to repeat it. ‘I told Kate. She told me not to say anything. She said if the killer saw the police were involved, he might stop calling.’

‘Nice to see she has her staff’s best interests at heart,’ she replied with sarcasm.

‘I don’t think I’m cut out for this job.’

‘Hang on a minute,’ Matilda said, ignoring Danny. She took out her mobile and sent a text to Sian. She would have called, but she didn’t want Danny overhearing the name of the person she suspected. Within seconds, her phone beeped an incoming text. God bless Sian Mills. She showed her phone to Danny. ‘Is this the person who attacked you?’

‘Possibly. I think so.’

‘Bloody hell,’ Matilda exclaimed, sitting back in her chair. Right from the start they’d had their eye on George Appleby and had let him go. They could have prevented three other people from being killed. He’d fooled everyone.

Sian finished reading through an email. She looked up and caught Faith Easter and Kesinka Rani deep in conversation. They were speaking in hushed tones, something they had both been doing a lot of lately. Sian didn’t like that. It smacked of secrecy and segregation within the team. On the pretence of making a fresh coffee, she picked up her mug and went over to the drinks station.

‘Isn’t it a bit early to be talking about going on holiday together?’ Kesinka asked.

‘I thought that, but Steve said it would be nice to get away from being around other coppers. When we go out drinking there’s always either a uniform he knows or a detective I know propping up the bar.’

‘I can see that. Me and Ranjeet sometimes drive for miles to get a bite to eat so we won’t be interrupted by someone from work. Coppers are so thick-skinned, aren’t they? They won’t let you have a meal in peace.’

‘Thick-skinned or just plain thick, some of them.’

They both laughed.

‘So where’s he taking you then?’ Kesinka asked.

‘Not sure yet. He’s looking into a few places.’

‘So are things getting serious between you?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Faith replied, trying to hide her grin. ‘I’ve been out with some losers in my time. Steve’s different. For a start, he’s gorgeous. Have you seen his smile? My God I could melt. Things have been great between us this week. You know I’m house-sitting for my aunt? Well, Steve’s been staying over too. It’s like living together. The thing is, though, he’s the first bloke who I’ve actually looked forward to being with. Do you know what I mean?’

‘Absolutely. I’m the same with Ranjeet. He’s really shy, but he’s so sweet.’

Steve entered the incident room. ‘Is someone free to chat to Karen Lacey?’ he called out to anyone. Faith immediately went red at the sight of her boyfriend and looked away.

‘I’ll talk to her,’ Sian replied quickly before anyone could get a chance. She was standing by the kettle, empty mug in hand, listening to the two love-struck DCs and she could feel her blood sugar levels rising. So much for Matilda’s talk about solving these crimes for the victim’s children. There was definitely a degree of victim apathy in the incident room.

Steve filled Sian in as they walked down the stairs together. Joe Lacey’s widow wanted to talk to someone and it couldn’t wait.

Karen Lacey stood up as Sian entered the foyer. She’d lost weight since her husband had died; she looked drawn and tired.

‘Karen, you wanted a word?’ Sian asked.

‘Yes. Is there somewhere private we can go?’

‘Erm, yes I think so. Steve, are there any interview rooms free?’ she asked the PC, who was back behind the front desk.

‘Three and four are available.’

‘Thanks. Could you bring us a couple of coffees too?’

‘No problem.’

Sian led Karen into the interview room and told her to take a seat. It hadn’t been used yet today. There was an underlying smell of cheap disinfectant and even cheaper coffee.

‘This won’t be recorded, will it?’ Karen asked nervously, looking at the recording equipment.

‘No. How are you coping?’ Sian asked, sitting opposite her.

‘I don’t know. The kids are staying with my parents in Bakewell for a while. I need to sort out where we’re going to live. We can’t stay in that house.’ Karen spoke quietly, tears welling in her eyes.

Sian gave her a sympathetic smile. A quiet knock came on the door and Steve entered with a tray of coffees. He placed them between the two and left without saying a word.

‘Would you like anything to eat?’

‘No thanks,’ Karen replied, wrapping her bony fingers around the mug. She looked freezing cold despite the fact it was finally beginning to warm up outside.

After a long silence, Sian asked. ‘Karen, what did you want to see me about?’

She cleared her throat. ‘It’s Joe. The papers are saying that whoever is going around killing people it’s because they’ve committed crimes in the past. Is that right?’

‘That’s what we’re assuming, yes.’

‘And the reason he’s doing it is because he doesn’t think they’ve served long enough sentences. Right?’

‘Again, we think so.’

‘Oh God,’ Karen cried.

Sian dug deep into her pocket and pulled out a screwed-up handkerchief. ‘Here, take this. It’s wrinkled, but it’s clean.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, wiping her nose. ‘The thing is, when Joe ran over Rebecca Branson twenty years ago, he wasn’t driving.’

‘What?’

‘I was. I didn’t have a licence. I was taking lessons, but I couldn’t actually drive. Anyway, we’d been out all night at a New Year’s Eve party and when we were going home the roads were really quiet. I said I’d drive. It would be good practice for me. I saw Rebecca run out between two parked cars. I got confused and instead of slamming my foot on the brake I pressed the accelerator. There was nothing I could do. She was over the bonnet before I could …’ Karen broke down, her loud sobs drowned out her words.

‘Take your time, Karen.’ Sian leaned forward and placed a sympathetic hand on her arm.

‘My dad was a magistrate at the time. My mum was a solicitor. Can you imagine what it would have looked like if their daughter had been convicted over a hit-and-run? Joe said he’d take the blame. It was his car. He’d say he was driving if anyone ever asked.’

‘But he’d been drinking.’

‘I know. He was sober, we both were, but we’d been drinking since lunchtime the day before. We stopped just after midnight though, but it was still in his blood. When he went to prison, Mum and Dad told me not to have anything to do with him, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t abandon him. Not just because he lied for me, but I did genuinely love him. I always have.’

‘Does anybody else know about this?’

‘No. It’s always been mine and Joe’s secret. He’s died because of me. He was murdered because of what I did. What am I supposed to do?’

Sian sighed and leaned back in her seat. ‘From a mother’s point of view, I think you should go home and be the best mother you can be to your three children.’

‘Shouldn’t I go to prison?’ she asked, wiping her nose.

Sian nodded. ‘But what good would that do? What would happen to your kids? Karen, go home, look after your children, and forget you ever came here today.’

Karen sniffled and wiped her eyes. ‘I needed to tell someone, you understand, don’t you?’

‘Yes, I do. Come on, I’ll drive you home.’