Circus of Nightmares: Death is the Ultimate Illusion (The Anglesey Mysteries Book 2)

by Conrad Jones

  Kim closed the curtain. She approached the trolley. Carlos tried to sit up but only managed to slump against the pillow.

  ‘You’re going to be moved to the interview suite at St Asaph,’ Kim said. ‘We’re moving you because the entire town wants to skin you alive.’ Carlos grinned. ‘Funny?’ Kim asked, frowning. ‘Any minute now, we’ll have the DNA results back from the lab and when we do, I’m going to wipe the smile from your face. There are six different police forces waiting on those results and another three on Europol showing an interest because of historic sex crimes involving a travelling fairground and Rohypnol. I reckon you and your pals are going to be identified as the perpetrators in a lot of those cases.’ Carlos frowned and shrugged. He pretended not to be phased but his eyes said something different. ‘Flunitrazepam. You’ve been ordering it from the internet. It’s a very specific drug and you haven’t covered your tracks,’ Kim said. ‘We recovered some from your bedroom in your trailer and one of our detectives recovered some more from the marsh near Porth-y-felin. Right next to one of your footprints,’ Kim said. Carlos blinked and looked uncomfortable for a second. ‘Have a good think about it, Carlos,’ she whispered. ‘Serial rapists get life. That’s what you and your scumbag relatives are. Serial rapists.’ He stopped grinning. ‘Life in jail. Does that make you laugh? If we can put you at the murder scene for Michelle Branning, you’re never getting out.’ His eyes glazed over as if he didn’t want to hear it. ‘They’ll carry your dead body out of jail in a metal box.’ She smiled. ‘How funny is that?’ Kim opened the curtain and walked out, closing it behind her.

  Chapter 37

  Kelly switched on her phone and waited for the signal to appear. The structure of the church was blocking the reception. She kept her eye on the big man in the mirror and tried to keep Elle from sensing her fear. Her mother was holding her arm, shielding the phone from view. Steve was standing the other side of her. He looked around for a weapon but could only see plastic swords and water pistols. There was nothing heavy in a pound-shop. Kelly made the call and explained to the operator what their emergency was. The fact the male was possibly the main suspect in the Rhosneiger murders meant her call was escalated. Armed units were despatched and her call was patched through to Alan Williams. He told her to stay where she was, surrounded by people. She hung up.

  ‘He must have followed us,’ Steve said.

  ‘I thought we were safe,’ Sheree said.

  ‘Take the mirror off the wall, dad,’ Kelly said. ‘The police are on the way but I want to be as far away from him as I can be.’ She checked where Benaim was. He was standing inside the doors, trying on a baseball cap. It was black with a red NY logo on it. ‘Let’s move up to the far end,’ she said.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Elle asked. ‘Why are we whispering?’

  ‘There’s a man over there, who is wanted by the police,’ Kelly said. ‘I’ve called them and they’re coming to arrest him but we don’t want him to know it was me that called them. It’s like a game of hide and seek.’

  ‘I’m not a kid, you know,’ Elle said. She tutted and tried to move away from Kelly.

  ‘Stay right were you are, young lady,’ Kelly said. She tightened her grip on her daughter. ‘This is not the time to be stubborn. Do as you’re told.’

  ‘He’s moving away from the door,’ Steve said.

  ‘Where’s he going?’ Kelly asked.

  ‘He’s paying for the hat.’

  ‘There’s a fire exit there,’ Sheree said. ‘Shall we go out that way?’

  ‘See if it’s open,’ Kelly said. Steve pushed the bar and the alarms sounded, blaring. They were deafening. The door opened slightly and then jammed on a security chain. ‘It’s locked!’

  ‘Armed police!’ a voice shouted. Then another joined the cacophony, and another and another. Benaim Bronski was surrounded, forced to kneel, cuffed and marched out of the building. Several senior officers made their way through the frightened shoppers.

  ‘Kelly Williams?’ one of them called. ‘We’re looking for Kelly Williams?’

  ‘I’m over here,’ Kelly said.

  ‘You called this in?’ the officer said.

  ‘Yes.’ Kelly nodded. ‘How did you get here so quickly?’

  ‘A traffic cop spotted him near Bala. They’ve been following him.’ The policeman called in that they’d identified Kelly and her family. ‘We need to get you away from here,’ the officer said.

  ‘We’re booked into a bed and breakfast around the corner,’ Steve said.

  ‘You’re no longer safe here,’ the officer said. ‘Men like that rarely work alone. If he followed you here, they know where you’re staying. We’ll get you out of here and arrange to pick up your things from your digs. Follow us please.’

  ‘Are we under arrest?’ Elle asked.

  ‘No,’ Kelly said. ‘We haven’t done anything wrong. We need to go with these officers to somewhere safe. That man is a criminal and knows I called the police.’

  ‘Are you going to be a witness again, mummy?’

  ‘Yes, darling. I think I am,’ Kelly said.

  ‘Here we go again,’ Steve said, rolling his eyes.

  Chapter 38

  Pamela Stone walked into Alan’s office. There was an air of expectation in the operations room. Alan had called a briefing for as many detectives as were available. They were gathering and chatting, swapping information. The atmosphere was taut. The Vincentia brothers were both in custody alongside David Prost and Benaim Bronski. They had been moved to St Asaph to avoid any public unrest outside the station at Holyhead. It had been a whirlwind investigation. It needed the science to identify the actual culprit for the murder of Michelle Branning. Alan could hardly contain himself. He wanted to know what the DNA results had revealed but Pamela insisted she relay it personally. Kim brought a tray of coffee into his office and put it down on the desk. Pamela took out her laptop and fired it up. She appeared to be unusually quiet. Alan looked forward to seeing her but she was subdued. He liked her dark humour but today, she hadn’t cracked any funnies, inappropriate or otherwise, which worried him. Alan closed the door and they all sat down.

  ‘I want to run through the findings before we hold the briefing,’ Alan said.

  ‘That’s why I wanted to go through it with you,’ Pamela said. The results are complicated.

  ‘I don’t like complicated,’ Alan said. ‘Please tell me we have a hit.’

  ‘We have several,’ Pamela said.

  ‘Several is good,’ Alan said. ‘It is good, isn’t it?’

  ‘Let me start with the boat.’ Pamela wouldn’t be drawn.

  ‘Okay,’ Alan said. ‘Please do.’ He smiled at Kim. It was a nervous smile. He was anxious. Cases were won and lost on the strength of the forensic evidence found. This one had to be one hundred percent, no doubt about it, nailed. He had a personal desire to finish the case, lock them up and never think about the bastards ever again, although that would be difficult. They were a special level of serial predator. Total scumbag level.

  ‘We found traces of blood, which belong to the victim, so we can confirm she was in the boat. We also have her hair and vaginal fluid on the sheets,’ Pamela said. ‘When we examined her at the mortuary, her body didn’t yield anything we can use genetically. The seawater destroyed most of the evidence but we do have a set of teeth marks taken from her right breast. Your suspects have all refused to let us take an imprint of their teeth. We’re waiting on dental records from Germany,’ she explained. ‘None of your suspects have used a dentist here, which is frustrating but shouldn’t affect the outcome. They have been in the UK for years, which means their records from Germany are probably obsolete now. The teeth will have changed as they aged.’

  ‘Tell Chod Hall to pull the dental records for Wayne Best,’ Alan said to Kim. Kim typed the order into her phone and sent it.

  ‘Who is he?’ Pamela asked.

  ‘He’s an ex-boyfriend who was at the fairground with the victim’s sister,’
Alan said. ‘He wasn’t on our radar until he did a vanishing act when we asked for a swab test. Then he left the building in a hurry.’

  ‘Ah,’ Pamela said. ‘That’s bad news but I have good news. The good news is we found traces of semen on the mattress.’ She paused. ‘And we have a hit.’

  ‘Carlos Vincentia?’ Alan asked. ‘Or his brother Claus?’

  ‘Both,’ Pamela said. ‘They clearly attack as a team. We also have saliva on the pillow from both men and hair on the sheets from both men.’

  ‘Superb,’ Alan said. He punched the air. Kim high fived him. ‘We’ve got the bastards.’

  ‘I thought you would be pleased,’ Pamela said. ‘To back the findings up, we also have a clear footprint on the deck belonging to Carlos Vincentia. I think you have him hook, line and sinker.’ She frowned and held up her hands. ‘This is all very clear but we have some other findings which aren’t so clear.’

  ‘What other findings?’ Alan asked, confused.

  ‘We dismantled most of the boat at the warehouse as you know,’ Pamela said. ‘The galley toilet has a chemical tank beneath it, which usually processes the initial breakdown of waste. It had been used. Normally the chemicals in the tank would render everything useless to us but in this case, there are several different hits on urine samples,’ she explained. ‘There are no chemicals in the tank because the boat is out of the water and it had been drained, so it was easy to identify that three different men used the toilet.’

  ‘Three different men?’ Alan asked.

  ‘Yes. And we found a used condom, which had been flushed,’ Pamela said. Alan shook his head and looked at Kim. She went pale. ‘The semen doesn’t match either of the Vincentia brothers and the DNA isn’t in the system.’

  ‘A third attacker?’ Kim asked. ‘Obviously, not David Prost.’ Pamela shook her head. ‘Who hasn’t given us a sample?’ she asked, looking at Alan.

  ‘Wayne Best,’ Alan said. ‘I want that little scrote dragged in here and swabbed. Have we located him?’

  ‘His parents said he’s gone fishing,’ Kim said.

  ‘This is amazing work, Pamela,’ Alan said. ‘There are a list of forces waiting for those results. It will be enough to put them away for good.’

  ‘Several forces have been in touch directly,’ Pamela said. ‘Are you okay with me sharing the results with them?’

  ‘Yes,’ Alan said. ‘If it gives closure to other cases, it’s fine by me. These three men make my stomach turn. I don’t want them getting out ever.’

  ‘I think all the other forces agree with your sentiment.’ Pamela shook her head. ‘The other cases are shocking but they all have a similar pattern. Women being drugged and assaulted. I think this is the tip of the iceberg. A lot of their victims won’t have come forward, some won’t even know they’ve been assaulted. But the most interesting conversation I’ve had this afternoon was with a detective inspector from Merseyside. Regarding a double murder.’

  ‘Gill Robinson?’ Alan asked, interested. Pamela nodded. He was keen to get to the troops with the news but he wanted to hear what the Merseyside detective inspector had to do with it. ‘What has this got to do with them?’

  ‘They came to Anglesey to speak to the owner of the circus a few days ago,’ Pamela said. ‘Regarding a couple who disappeared five years ago. Leo Jobson and his partner Katrina Watkins vanished and were found in a metal drum on a construction site, last week.’

  ‘They were dumped in a pond and the pond was drained, right?’ Alan asked. He was still baffled.

  ‘Yes. That’s the case. When I examined the bodies, we found Katrina Watkins had hair in her hand and skin under her nails. She put up a fight by the looks of things.’

  ‘Bloody hell. That’s incredible,’ Alan said, shaking his head. ‘And you’re going to tell me you have a match?’

  ‘Yes. The hair belongs to Carlos Vincentia,’ Pamela said. ‘It seems that the owners of the ghost train were away for the week and Benaim Bronski offered to staff it for them while they were away,’ she explained. ‘The Vincentia brothers and Prost were working for Bronski and were familiar with the machinery. Bad news for Leo Jobson and Katrina Watkins. It appears they’ve been stalking females since way back.’

  ‘That is the icing on the cake. They were at it for years,’ Alan said. ‘Not anymore. They’re finished.’

  ‘You know what they say about leopards,’ Pamela said. ‘I did wonder about their decision to kill her.’ Alan frowned. ‘Michelle Branning, I mean.’

  ‘I don’t follow,’ Alan said.

  ‘Initially, I thought they have been doing this for years but haven’t killed anyone. They assault them and leave them to recover in their own homes or they put them into a taxi and send them away,’ Pamela said.

  ‘You’re suggesting they might not have killed Michelle?’ Kim asked, shaking her head.

  ‘I’m not suggesting anything,’ Pamela said. ‘I’m saying that since the Liverpool couple, they haven’t killed anyone.’

  ‘Until now,’ Kim said.

  ‘Pamela may be right,’ Alan said. ‘The used condom suggests there was another male there this time around. Someone we can’t identify yet.’

  ‘But the Liverpool murders show they actually have killed,’ Kim said. ‘Five years ago, to be exact.’

  ‘They’re killers for sure,’ Alan said. ‘And this evidence will see them locked away for the remainder of their shitty lives but we need to make sure the evidence backs us up.’ A knock on the door interrupted them. ‘Come in,’ Alan said.

  ‘Wayne Best has just used his debit card in a hotel in Keswick,’ Richard said. ‘Long way to go fishing. Shall I send the locals to pick him up?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Alan said. ‘I want to have a conversation with that man.’

  Chapter 39

  Fred Garret was stressed. He was always stressed. The insurance company were still digging their heels in about rebuilding the workshop. The clean-up of sunken yachts from the storms a few years back was still ongoing, causing all kinds of problems, not least yacht owners refusing to pay for their berths. He was getting to the point of telling them all to come and get their fucking boats and stick them where the sun doesn’t shine. He would take them all out of the water if he could and knock a fucking big hole in the keel of each one. Pretentious buggers, some of them. More money than sense until it’s time to pay the bill. Now the murder in the boatyard had the flat owners jumping ship. Three of them had been put up for sale and another one was insisting he wasn’t paying the service charge. There were more empty flats than occupied ones and it was beginning to bite financially. Fred was doing the rounds of the empty flats, checking for maintenance issues. A burst pipe the month before wasn’t spotted until the ceiling of the shop below collapsed. That was another costly fuckup.

  Fred walked into number eight and switched on the lights. The beige carpets were worn and stained. One of the downsides of renting the flats out on short lease. The tenants didn’t give a shit. He checked the bedrooms, all good. The bathroom and kitchen were in good order too. It was warm and quiet and empty. There wasn’t a stick of furniture in the place. The view from the living room was stunning, overlooking the marina, breakwater and mountain. He opened the balcony door and looked out over the boatyard. The security camera which covered the balcony blinked. A red light flickered as he moved. He looked at the camera and a light came on in his mind. He took out his phone and looked for Alan’s number.

  Chapter 40

  Lottie was standing on the viewing deck of the Ulysses as it sailed out of the port of Holyhead, heading for Dublin. She lit her cigarette and inhaled deeply. The woman next to her rolled her eyes and tutted. Lottie ignored her and blew her smoke into the wind. It blew back into the face of the offended woman.

  ‘Do you mind?’ she moaned.

  ‘Nope,’ Lottie said. The woman walked away in a huff. Liz came and stood next to her. ‘Are you okay?’ Lottie asked. She put her arm around her shoulder.

  ‘I’m
okay,’ Liz said. ‘I don’t think we’ll forget that stop for a while.’

  ‘We certainly didn’t make any friends,’ Lottie agreed. ‘Tomorrow is another day. New town, new country, new start.’ She flicked her cigarette into the foaming wake and watched it vanish into the bubbles. ‘I think I’m going to take some time away,’ Lottie said.

  ‘Really?’ Liz said. ‘You’re due a holiday,’ she agreed. ‘I could stand in for you as the ringmaster for a while.’

  ‘Do you think you could?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve been wanting to try those boots on forever.’

  ‘Get your own boots,’ Lottie laughed.

  ‘Where will you go?’

  ‘Sri Lanka,’ Lottie said. ‘I didn’t get to finish my trip. Maybe it’s time I did.’ Lottie watched Anglesey become smaller as they sailed away. ‘I need to sort dad out first,’ she added. ‘I think the twins told him about that bloody nuisance Malcolm Orange and I think he went out in the night.’

  ‘Not up to his old tricks again.’

  ‘I know. He worries me.’

  ‘You could always take him with you.’

  ‘I want a rest,’ Lottie said. ‘I really want a rest.’

  Chapter 41

  Alan and Kim walked into the interview room. Wayne Best was sitting next to his brief, a middle-aged woman called Doreen. Alan had met her a few times. She was from a decent practice in Bangor and was a no-nonsense type of brief. If she thought her client was being obstructive to their own detriment, she would have no problems telling them so. Likewise, she wouldn’t have any inappropriate behaviour from the officers conducting the interview. Her client was looking very sheepish and sorry for himself. Kim went through the legal process and they sat down to begin the interview. Kim had her laptop set up so they could all see it.

  ‘How was your trip to the lakes?’ Alan asked. Wayne shrugged but didn’t answer. ‘Can you tell me why you went on the run?’

  ‘It was all getting on top of me,’ Wayne said. ‘I just flipped out and needed some space.’