by Conrad Jones
‘We have DNA now. That changes the game.’
‘It does. That’s amazing news.’
‘Are they willing to press charges?’ Richard asked.
‘I’m confident the older sister will,’ Wakeford said. ‘The younger one is married and has a young baby. Her husband isn’t dealing with it very well. He’s left her. She doesn’t want to ruin any chance of them getting back together by raking it all up in court.’
‘That’s understandable, poor girl,’ Richard said. ‘We’ve got one of them in custody. If you want to come up here and ask him a few questions, be our guest. I have a feeling there will be quite a queue of detectives wanting to speak to him.’
‘I’ll call you back when I’ve spoken to my gaffer,’ Wakeford said. ‘Thanks again for the heads up. I want to put this one to bed and if we can nail the bastards, all the better.’
‘No problem,’ Richard said. He hung up. Kim was looking at him. ‘That’s two more women drugged and raped.’
‘Where were they?’
‘Brighton,’ Richard said. ‘These boys have been busy. The slippery bastards think they can get away with this indefinitely.’
‘Not now we have DNA,’ Kim said. ‘They can’t slip out of that one. There will be plenty to compare it to from the other forces that want to speak to them.’
‘Yes. There are seven rape kits so far and a three-month-old baby girl in Plymouth,’ Richard said.
‘What?’ Kim said, open mouthed.
‘The young woman found out she was pregnant following the attack. She hadn’t had sex with anyone else and doesn’t believe in abortion. If one of them fathered the unfortunate little darling, a judge will hopefully throw away the key. I’d cut their testicles off.’
‘Run for Prime Minister,’ Kim said. ‘You’ve got my vote.’
*************************************************
Carlos got into the pickup and slapped David on the back. David hugged him and grabbed his hand.
‘I’ve never been so glad to see you in my life,’ David said. ‘This has turned into a nightmare. It’s all got way out of hand. What the fuck are we going to do?’
‘Calm down,’ Carlos said. ‘We need to stay calm. Everything will be okay. We need to get as far away from this island as we can, right now.’
‘Do you want me to drive to the port?’
‘No.’
‘Are we going to Ireland?’ David asked.
‘No.’ Carlos checked his watch. ‘The police will be looking for the truck. Forget the circus and Ireland. We can’t go back there now. That chapter is finished. We’ll have to start a new one. We have money, so the world is our lobster,’ he said, smiling. ‘Onwards and upwards.’
‘What about Claus?’
‘He can catch us up when he gets out,’ Carlos said. Not really believing he would get out at all. ‘He will contact us when he can. We need to turn our phones off for a few days until we get to wherever we’re going and we can worry about Claus when we’re safe and sound.’
‘Okay,’ David said. ‘What about Benaim?’
‘Fuck him.’
‘He was so mad with us,’ David said. ‘I can’t believe he wanted me to break into a police compound. He’s nuts thinking I would do that.’
‘He’s a dickhead,’ Carlos said. ‘Not all the drugs are in the trailer.’ David looked confused. ‘I took a few kilos out. They’re under the truck,’ Carlos said smiling. ‘I made a compartment where the spare wheel is. We should be able to sell them easily enough. We’ll have enough money to disappear for good. Benaim can go fuck himself.’ David was shaking his head. ‘Close your mouth. You look retarded.’
‘You took some of them?’
‘Yes.’
A van pulled onto the driveway behind them and a BMW X5 mounted the pavement behind that. They blocked their exit.
‘What the fuck is going on?’ Carlos muttered. ‘They don’t look like police to me.’ Two men got out of the van, carrying baseball bats. Three more got out of the BMW, carrying weapons. ‘I think we’re in the shit.’
‘What are we going to do?’ David asked. The men opened the doors, angry faces glared at them.
‘I’m Martha’s son,’ one of the men growled. He punched Carlos in the face. Carlos spat blood onto the seat. ‘She just phoned me and told me she’d been locked in her bedroom by the man from the telly.’ He punched Carlos again. ‘I’m glad I bought her that mobile phone,’ the man said, dragging Carlos out of the truck. Carlos could hear David squealing like a child. He looked up at the bedroom window and saw Martha standing there holding her mobile to her ear. There was a moment of regret he hadn’t checked where she kept her phone or tied her up. Blows rained down on him. He tried to cover his face and head. A bat connected with his head in a sickening thud. The world began to spin and unconsciousness descended.
Chapter 33
Wednesday
Len drove towards the lockup and stopped at Costa for a large latte on the way. He pulled onto an aging industrial estate, which looked like the place businesses went to die. To let and for sale signs adorned every other building. Most of the gates were fastened with rusted chains and encrusted padlocks. The rusting hulks of abandoned vehicles were scattered on forecourts, stripped of anything valuable and left on bricks. It was the land that time forgot without the dinosaurs. Len pulled onto his unit and used the remote to open the metal shutters. They clunked and rattled as they rolled up. The neighbouring units were in varying states of decay. He had rented the unit many years ago when Andi Koresh first ventured north. It was the last place Koresh had seen before he left this world for another. Fitting that his scumbag relation was here now. Maybe it was fate. It was certainly ironic.
Len closed the shutters behind him and turned off the engine. It was cold and he could see his breath. Samiri would have had an uncomfortable night naked and alone in the dark. He had been easy to disable and bundle into his vehicle. His mind was on assaulting the teenage girl he’d duped into going round the back of the ghost train. He hadn’t heard Len approaching. The young girl had been frightened, grateful and relieved when Samiri collapsed in the dirt. Len told her not to be so stupid again and to run and not to stop running until she got home. She took off like a whippet chasing a hare. He could only hope she may have learned something from the experience.
Len climbed out of the truck and switched on the lights and the radio. Samiri was strapped to a chair, wearing nothing but a bag over his head. The smell of urine and excrement filled the air. He fidgeted as Len approached. Len could hear him trying to speak, the gag muffling his efforts to a series of desperate grunts. He removed the hood and the gag and opened a bottle of sparkling water from Costa. He put it to Samiri’s lips and let him drink. The man was thirsty, almost emptying the bottle before he stopped gulping.
‘Who are you, man?’ he gasped. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’
‘I need to ask you some questions,’ Len said, matter of factly.
‘This is a bit extreme, isn’t it?’ Samiri said, shaking his head.
‘You have no idea what extreme is,’ Len said.
‘Do you know who I am?’
‘Yes,’ Len said. ‘You’re Samiri Koresh, which means absolutely nothing to me or anyone else of any standing. You’re the second cousin, once removed of a long dead psychopath who liked scaring women and children. It would appear, you have the same traits. You prey on weak young girls, which means I don’t like you.’ Len shrugged and drank his coffee. ‘What happens to you today is in the balance. The fact that I don’t like you doesn’t help me or you but it might influence how this ends up.’
‘I haven’t got a fucking clue what you’re talking about,’ Samiri said, shaking his head. ‘My dad will have you carved up, man. You’re a dead man walking.’
‘Do you think you’re an OG, Samiri?’
‘Fuck you. Let me go.’
‘Big tough original Gangsta man. This is not a rap song. This situation is very real f
or you,’ Len said, shaking his head. ‘Your relatives were the real deal but apart from some genetic similarities, you’re not in their league. Neither is your father. Please don’t threaten me again or I’ll cut off your penis and let you bleed to death, sitting in your own shit.’ Len picked up a nasty looking curved blade from a workbench. Samiri tried to back away but could move. He closed his legs to protect his genitals. ‘No one will hear you screaming and no one will ever find your body.’ Samiri began to shake. ‘Are we understanding the situation?’ Samiri nodded. ‘Good.’
‘Can I have some more water?’ Samiri asked. Len let him finish the water. ‘Just tell me what the fuck you want.’
‘I need you to cast your mind back five years ago,’ Len said.
‘Are you joking, man?’
‘No joke.’ Len took out a taser. He pressed the button and a blue light crackled between the prongs. ‘This is fifty thousand volts of electricity. If I touch your bollocks with it, your muscles will spasm so hard, you could bite off your tongue. After a couple of times, your testicles will explode and that will hurt. They will quickly become infected inside your sack and cause sepsis. It’s an incredibly painful process to go through and could take days to die.’ Samiri sat stoic, eyes wide, filling with tears. ‘I haven’t got time to play cat and mouse, do you understand?’
‘Yes, man,’ Samiri said, tears flowing. ‘Ask me what you want to know for fucks sake, man. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.’
‘Good. Five years ago, you were working on the fairground attached to the Circus of Nightmares,’ Len said.
‘Yes. We travelled with them for a few years. That’s where all the clown shit comes from,’ Samiri said. ‘What about it?’
‘You were pitched on a site near Speke airport, Liverpool,’ Len said. ‘Next to a retail park.’ Len could see Samiri thinking. He could almost smell the wood burning is his mind. ‘The police came to see you a few times because a young couple went missing.’ Len showed him a photograph on his phone. ‘Katrina Watkins and Leo Jobson. Do you recognise them?’
‘Yes,’ Samiri said, nodding. His eyes were darting everywhere. His brain was processing the information and forming answers. Answers that might keep him attached to his penis. ‘I remember them because the police came to see us a couple of times and we told them the same thing each time. They just wouldn’t listen.’
‘What did you tell them?’ Len asked, frowning. His interest peaked.
‘That we weren’t there that weekend,’ Samiri said. He shook his head vehemently. ‘We were in London. My uncle died and we were at his funeral,’ Samiri said. ‘We told them to check but our family in London don’t talk to the police. They came back again and we told them the same thing. We weren’t there that weekend.’
‘Are you lying to me?’ Len asked. He made the taser crackle.
‘It’s the truth. I swear it is.’
‘So, who was working your ghost train?’
‘I don’t know,’ Samiri said. Len looked angry. Anger flashed in his eyes. ‘My dad would have made all the arrangements. He will know who was looking after it for us. I swear we weren’t there.’ He shrugged. ‘Ask my dad. I have his number in my phone. Call him and ask him. He will remember who was there.’
‘You told the police this at the time?’
‘Yes. That was years ago,’ Samiri said. He looked confused. ‘Why are you asking this now, man?’
‘Because they found their bodies stuffed in a barrel,’ Len said. ‘A barrel of grease like you use on your ride.’
‘Who were they?’ Samiri asked.
‘Leo was my son,’ Len said.
‘I’m sorry about your son,’ Samiri said, shaking his head. ‘I am really. Please. I wasn’t there that weekend. I had nothing to do with your son dying. Call my dad. Ask him. He will tell you.’
Len walked away and took out his phone. He toyed with the idea of calling Tarek but it didn’t sit right with him. He scrolled through his contacts and found DI Gill Robinson. He pressed dial and listened to it ring. He wondered if she still had his number programmed into her contacts. She answered after a couple of rings.
‘Hello Len,’ Gill said. ‘Are your ears burning?’
‘Nope, why?’
‘I was just talking about you to the superintendent,’ Gill said. Len waited for her to expand. ‘A young man by the name of Samiri Koresh went missing from a fairground in Chester yesterday. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?’
‘What was the name again?’
‘Samiri Koresh.’
‘Doesn’t ring a bell but I was going to ask you about the people who owned the ghost train when Leo went missing,’ Len said.
‘Tarek Koresh,’ Gill said. ‘Father of Samiri Koresh.’
‘It’s a small world, sometimes,’ Len said. ‘Were they ruled out of the original investigation?’
‘The family being Koresh?’ Gill asked, fishing. ‘As in Samiri Koresh, the man who is missing from the very same ghost train we’re talking about?’
‘Yes. Doesn’t sound good does it?’ Len said, grimacing. ‘He’ll turn up somewhere unharmed. I’m certain of that.’
‘Are you?’
‘Yes. Certain,’ Len said. ‘Were they ruled out of the initial investigation?’
‘No one was ruled out,’ Gill said. ‘They never are. But some information was never logged. Information we now have.’
‘Information that they weren’t there that weekend?’ Len asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Fucking hell,’ Len said.
‘Now, you listen to me, Len Jobson,’ Gill said. ‘I know what you’re trying to do and I understand why but that man isn’t involved in what happened to Leo. Do you hear me?’
‘Yes. Loud and clear,’ Len said. ‘Like I said, he’ll turn up somewhere.’
‘You’re crossing the line, Len.’
‘If they weren’t there, do you know who was running it?’
‘We have a couple of names,’ Gill said. ‘And better than that, we have DNA.’
‘What do you mean, DNA?’ Len said.
‘Katrina had hair in her hand,’ Gill said. ‘We think she pulled it from her attackers head.’
‘You’re kidding me?’
‘No. And she has skin under her nails,’ Gill said. ‘She put up a fight. It’s degraded but alongside the hair samples, it could help us to nail their killer.’
‘Have you had a hit on the database?’ Len asked.
‘For the last time, leave this to us, Len or I will have you banged up,’ Gill said. ‘Samiri Koresh had better turn up unharmed and he’d better turn up soon.’
‘I’m sure he will,’ Len said. Gill hung up, leaving Len with more questions than answers.
Chapter 34
Wayne Best was sitting in an interview room waiting for a detective to speak to him. It smelled of disinfectant and Old Spice aftershave. Detective Sergeant Chod Hall came into the room with his laptop and a young female DC. He smiled and sat down opposite him. Wayne felt anxious. The whole episode had shaken anyone who knew the family. Chod scrolled to the app he needed and looked up.
‘This won’t take long, Wayne,’ Chod said. ‘I’m DS Hall and this is DC Thorpe. Thanks for coming in to talk to me.’
‘No problem,’ Wayne said. ‘Have you found them?’
‘Found who?’ Chod asked, smiling.
‘The bastards who killed Michelle,’ Wayne said.
‘What makes you think there’s more than one person responsible?’ Chod asked, frowning.
‘Everyone knows those three blokes from the fair drugged Chelle and Tiff,’ Wayne said. ‘It’s common knowledge around town.’
‘I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation,’ Chod said. ‘But I can tell you we’ve recovered DNA and it won’t be long before we can make an announcement. Until then, we need to rule everyone out of the investigation and because you were with Tiffany Branning when we arrived, we have to speak to you formally. I’m sure you’ll
understand.’
‘Of course,’ Wayne said. ‘I’ll help in any way I can.’
‘Okay. How long have you known Michelle Branning?’
‘Since we were teenagers,’ Wayne said.
‘You’re thirty years old?’
‘Yes. Nearly thirty-one.’
‘So, there’s ten years between you, roughly?’
‘Roughly, yes,’ Wayne said, nodding. ‘I can’t believe she’s dead. It still hasn’t sunk in properly.’ He shook his head. ‘Mind blowing to think she’s gone just like that.’
‘These things take some time to adjust to,’ Chod said. He paused. ‘You dated for a while, quite recently?’
‘Yes. Last year,’ Wayne said. ‘For about three months.’
‘Was it a serious relationship?’ Chod asked.
‘I don’t think you would call it serious,’ Wayne said. He shrugged. ‘We weren’t planning to get married or anything. What is serious?’
‘Serious is being a couple in a relationship. Saying, we’re going out together exclusively,’ Chod said. ‘Let’s not be coy about it. You were dating as a couple, weren’t you?’
‘Yes. If you put it like that,’ Wayne said.
‘She ended the relationship?’ Chod asked. There was a flicker of something in Wayne’s eye. What was it? Resentment? Regret? Remorse?
‘Yes. She dumped me by text. The new easy way of finishing with someone without having to look them in the eyes. Long distance dumping. Send the text and turn your phone off,’ Wayne said, shrugging. ‘There’s nothing you can do about it when someone has made up their mind. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming.’
‘Really. She finished it because she found out you were cheating on her, yes?’ Chod asked, looking him in the eye to gauge his reaction. Another flicker in the right eye. Anger maybe.
‘I wouldn’t say I was cheating,’ Wayne said. ‘I made a mistake on a night out after too much beer. It was just the once. We’ve all done it, haven’t we?’
‘I haven’t personally,’ Chod said. ‘I’ve been married to my missus Sandra for a hundred and ten years and if she ever caught me cheating, she’d cut my nuts off while I’m sleeping. Best not to, in my opinion.’ Wayne blushed. ‘So, Michelle caught you cheating and finished the relationship?’
