| |
––––––––
By the end of the evening the damage limitation phase would be complete and the evidence destroyed. Jed was driving the van containing the bodies of Karolina, Scott and Lee. Another of Cole’s employees, Lenny was following in a dark coloured car in order to give Jed a lift home after the job was finished. They drove about ten miles from the centre of Persford and found a country lane which led to a field with easy access for the van. It was a completely isolated spot, there were no farm buildings in sight for miles and no nearby housing. Lenny had reversed the car part way up the lane so they could make a quick getaway.
Jed jumped out of the van leaving the driver’s door open. He went around to the back and climbed in. He took out one petrol can, and the others he uncapped and tipped over so that the petrol ran out soaking the three corpses. The petrol fumes masked the pungent stench of blood and other bodily fluids which had started to issue from the bodies.
‘Bye-bye, guys,’ he said quietly, ‘nice working with you.’
He went round to the front of the van and soaked the driver’s seat liberally with the petrol and repeated the process on the passenger side. Standing back a few feet, he lit his disposable lighter and threw it through the open window of the driver’s door. The petrol ignited immediately. Jed ran away quickly until he was at least fifty yards from the vehicle. He turned as he heard the whoosh of the fuel tank exploding. A huge fireball erupted which lit up the night sky. There should be little evidence left by the time that was found in the morning or in several days. It would depend whether dog walkers or the farmer came to inspect. He jogged back to his waiting transport and jumped in. He texted Cole to report on the completion of the job and closed his eyes. All he wanted was to fall into bed and sleep for a whole day.
**
The police took some details and told them to remain in the flat with the door locked securely and someone would contact them. As they were packing their bags the full horror of the past few days came flooding back. Jessica rushed off to the bathroom to be sick. She retched a few times but brought up only a few mouthfuls of liquid. Dan went to see if she was OK and helped her back into the lounge. He made some tea and Jessica managed to sip some of it. They had decided what to tell the police, both of them just wanted to get on with it.
Jessica still had no mobile phone so she was unaware of whether her work had been trying to contact her since Dan had told them she was suffering from the norovirus. She used Dan’s phone to send an email saying she was sorry she hadn’t been in touch personally but it was a long complicated story and she was sure they would understand once she’d had chance to explain. After all, she had been a victim of crime and they had to be sympathetic. That was a hurdle to cross in the future, there were more immediate matters to deal with. It was important that they both told the same story otherwise it would look suspicious.
‘There’s something else we haven’t discussed,’ said Dan.
Jessica sighed, ‘What else?’
‘The university is certain to want to speak to me about my coke use.’
‘But how would they know, you’ve not been doing it in front of people in the lab have you?’
‘Not in the lab. But I was so relieved to see you last night that I didn’t explain why I was wearing my suit.’
‘Oh, yes, I remember now.’
‘I attended a formal dinner with a visiting speaker, the eminent Professor Zeng from China.’
‘So?’
‘Well, the dinner was so boring and I was stressed out because I didn’t know what had happened to you. I’d had no sleep for two days so I needed a little help.’
‘Oh, no,’ said Jessica, closing her eyes. ‘Just tell me what happened.’
‘I just needed something to perk me up a bit. So I went to the toilet and snorted a bit, a very small amount in fact. But, I don’t know, well it must have been the effect combined with the wine but when I went back to the table my behaviour was, well, how can I say, embarrassing, what I remember of it.’
‘So are you sure they suspected anything?’
‘It would have been so obvious. I was completely out of my box. Shouting and laughing, I do remember that. I was quite rude to one of the waiters I think. But it’s all a bit of a blur. I think someone came to escort me from the table and phoned for a taxi for me.’
‘Oh, Christ, it gets worse.’
‘On the way back I crashed back down again and felt at rock bottom. I’m so glad you were here waiting for me otherwise I might have done something stupid.’
They sat in silence for a while. Jessica was the first to speak. ‘Well, the best thing you can do is to be open about it and admit to the coke use. Offer to go on a drug rehabilitation programme and accept counselling. That way they shouldn’t get rid of you.’
‘OK, I’ll do that,’replied Dan.
Jessica tried to organise her thoughts. The police would be furious that she’d not alerted them as soon as she escaped but there was nothing they could do about that now. She hoped that she wouldn’t get charged with wounding her captor. She thought back to the place where she had climbed over the wall. She was sure she could locate it again. Perhaps her coat was still there. Surely they would be able to find out where she was held and arrest the person living there. It was a shock that Persford was home to such dreadful people and hopefully, she could provide enough evidence to get them arrested. Just before 3 a.m. Dan’s mobile rang. A police officer was going to come around to the flat to speak to them. They sat together on the sofa holding hands.
