“Dewi, I'll be right there.”
11
Another country residence in the Welsh marches, this time close to Montgomery. Another scene of carnage. Yvonne hadn't yet entered the property, but she knew what she was about to see. She paused at the door to prepare herself. The duty officer gave a knowing look as he signed her in.
“Are you okay, ma'am?” Dewi, having locked the car, was at her side, scrutinising her.
She had to do this. It was part of her job. She had to come and see the scene for herself. But a part of her would be forever changed, as it always was when she witnessed the aftermath of violent death. She nodded. “?Let's do this.”
DC Clayton was waiting for them in the spacious hallway, illuminated by a huge skylight. “Shall we start with Mrs Ball? She's upstairs.”?
Yvonne frowned, scanning around. “Where's Mr Ball's body?”
“In his study, ma'am.”
“Then I'd like to start there.”
DC Clayton raised his brows and shrugged his shoulders at Dewi, who sighed in response. The DI didn't notice. She was already in the doorway to the study. The force of the blast had sent Tony Ball backwards, in same the direction of his blood and brains. He was sat, back to the wall, head bowed forward. The wall behind him was a mess. Blood smeared downwards from several feet above him.
Yvonne put a hand to her mouth and gagged. When she recovered, she mentally compared the scene with the one she'd seen in Knighton. Ben Davies' his high-backed barstool must have blocked the backward force. She believed it was shock she was seeing in the wide eyes of Tony Ball. He hadn't seen it coming.
“What are your thoughts?” Dewi asked from behind.
“That he didn't kill himself. I see surprise in his eyes.”
“I think a gun blast can do that, ma'am, even in a suicide.”
The DI crackled in her plastic over-suit as she gingerly made her way around the room.
One small glass, with the remains of a whiskey, was taken for analysis by SOCO. “Dutch courage,”? Dewi stated.
“Or a killer's way of getting the victim relaxed,” Yvonne countered.
There were traces of blood on the dead man's shirt front. The DI felt she knew whose blood it would be, though this time Tony's blood would also be present.
There were no obvious signs of a struggle. The window blinds were closed. The light from the SOCO lamps was harsh in its brilliance but, last night, it would have been soft. Dimmed. The sleepy house silent.
“Let's go upstairs.” Yvonne steeled herself, stomach muscles clenched tight, as she purposely slowed her breathing.
“Would you like me to go first?” Dewi already had one foot on the stairway.
“Sure.”
She put herself in a killer's shoes. If it was as she suspected, he'd already killed Tony Ball when he climbed these stairs. The harbinger of death was in mid-flow and moving swiftly. The noise of the gunshot would most likely have woken Mrs Ball and he couldn't risk getting into a struggle. Couldn't risk leaving traces of himself.
DC Clayton was talking to a SOCO officer. “Ma'am.” He nodded, as she brushed past. “Looks like Deborah Ball was sitting up in bed when she was shot. The husband moved her back into bed and tucked her in.”?
“So, she was awake. There's no evidence she was reading, no bed-time drink in her hand or nearby. Sleep-mask pushed up onto her head. Something woke her. She was listening, ready to get out of bed.”?
“Or wondering why her husband hadn't joined her yet. Maybe she'd called out to him. Maybe they were arguing.”? Dewi rubbed his jaw.
“Are you playing devil's advocate, Dewi? Or do you still think I'm reading this all wrong?” The DI's tension was evident in her clipped tone.
“I'm not saying your suspicions are completely unfounded, ma'am, but we have no evidence that anyone else was involved.” Dewi twisted in his seat, look away and fiddling with his tie.
“Three cases, Dewi. Three cases with remarkably similar circumstances.”
Dewi sighed. “Perhaps this will be the case to throw something up, if you're right. But, if you're not, you know the superintendent and the DCI will not allow a follow-up.”
“I'm prepared for that.” The DI sighed too, as she stared out through the window at the rain which had begun to fall. “?I'm going to ask if I can investigate financial irregularities. Work with fraud office. What are the reasons that a number of wealthy men have suddenly and inexplicably seen their wealth collapse, taken their own lives and those of their families. It's not a given that people in such despair take their loved ones with them. That's rare. Most people who kill themselves do it somewhere alone. Somewhere private. They leave a note.”? Yvonne's eye's glistened with tears she fought to hold back. She was thinking of her father.
Dewi nodded, looking at his shoes.
Yvonne turned to him. “There's something more going on here. It's been a few years since the financial crash. Businesses have been in recovery for a couple of years. I've just got to persuade the powers-that-be to let me look into it.”?
“They'll ask you to leave it to fraud.”
“I'll deal with that bridge when I get to it, Dewi.”
Yvonne headed down the corridor to the children's room. It didn't appear they'd known anything about it. If one of them had woken, it didn't show. They were killed where they lay. Neither had moved.
As with their mother, they'd been tucked up. Neither of them had anything in their bed to cuddle. Coincidence after coincidence after coincidence. Yvonne felt upset and angry: upset for the children who had not yet known much of life; angry with her colleagues for refusing to see.
“For what it's worth, ma'am, I'm beginning to have doubts about these suicides. If you want some help to do a little...err...moonlighting...I'm up for it.”?
“Thank you, Dewi.” Yvonne's face appeared more relaxed, but it was fleeting. She turned her attention back to the children. She had, once more, an overwhelming urge to scoop them up and hold them to her. Wanted to breathe back the life so violently taken. Turn back time. She thought of her nephew and niece. She would hold them that much tighter the next time she saw them.
That night, she related everything to Tasha, breaking down several times in the telling.
Three days later, and both she and Dewi poured over the early forensics and pathologist's reports. Yvonne was desperate for Tasha to see the murder scene, but would have to wait until SOCO had finished at the house, and visitors were no longer being logged.
Disappointed, though not surprised, there was nothing in the reports to indicate the presence of anyone else at the property, Yvonne put her head in her hands, dejected and riddled with self-doubt. She thought again of her father and of Ben Davies, whose neighbour had described a loving family man who had wanted to take his loved ones far away from it all, to live on a canal barge. Had he changed his mind? And did Tony Ball really feel that his family would be better off dead than live without him?
“Ma'am?” DC Clayton held out her milk-no-sugar tea.
“Thank you.” She felt exposed.
“Ma'am, regarding the rape case.” DC Clayton waited for it to register. “We've been cross-referencing other rape cases in the area.”?
“Did you find anything?”
“We did. A case in Maesbury March. Very similar MO. Victim was out with friends. Left the pub alone to walk the quarter-of-a-mile home.”?
“Did you say Maesbury?”
Clayton checked his notes. “Yes, Maesbury.”
“Have you spoken to West Mercia?”
“We've got some of the details already from Shrewsbury CID. I'll put them on your desk. Victim remembered he smelled strongly of soap.”?
“Just like our perp.” Yvonne pursed her lips, tapping a ruler on her hand. “Great. I'll take a look.”?
It was just what she needed to snap her out of despondency.
DC Clayton joined her to look over the notes, while they waited for Dewi to come back from a dental appointment.
>
“She left the Navigation Inn at around eleven and headed along the main road. The perp was waiting at the entrance to the canal and dragged her along the tow-path.”? DC Clayton handed her the papers he had.
“A bit random, waiting there. What if no female came along? Did she walk that way regularly at that time of night? Or had he been watching her in the pub, either from inside or outside?”?
“They're still working on it.”
“I have a feeling, based on our case, that our perp stalked our victim.”
“I'm inclined to agree.”
Yvonne tapped her pen on the notes. “So, this happened late April.”? Frown lines appeared on her forehead. “The Bennetts were killed in mid-May, their house was a couple of miles further down 'Main Road'.
Dewi was back. Yvonne took a deep breath and dived in. “Listen, guys...our victim, Tina Pugh, was raped in Welshpool but she works in Montgomery –? where the Balls were murdered. This victim...erm...Angela Barnes, was raped on the canal path in Maesbury – where the Bennetts were killed. Quite a coincidence, don't you think?”
“Wow.” Dewi leaned in. “That is a coincidence and a half. Are you going to speak to Llewellyn?”?
“No. But I do want us to speak to Tina again. If I'm right, and he's choosing, and watching, his victims for some time before pouncing, she may have seen him or met him and not realised it. I don't know, maybe days, maybe weeks beforehand.”?
“I'll give her a call.” DC Clayton headed off.
“Do you think there could be a link?” Dewi leaned back onto the DI's desk, arms folded.
“Maybe. I don't know, Dewi. I'm doubting myself at the moment. Perhaps I'm seeing links where there are none. Suspicious circumstances where there are none.”?
“Hey...come on.” Dewi put a hand on her shoulder. “If it helps, I'm beginning to agree with you, and I definitely think we need to talk to Tina. If these rape cases are linked, then our perp is mobile. He may not be local to the areas in which he's attacked. Perhaps he stood out to Tina, if he was a stranger hanging around Montgomery. Chin up. This could be our way in to investigate the potential murders.”?
Yvonne leaned back in her chair, smiling warmly at her DS. “Thank you, Dewi. That really helps.” She meant it.
“Tasha. I need to talk to you.” Yvonne arrived home that evening shattered, but her mind was still buzzing. “?I've been dying all day to talk to you about the case.”
“The downside to having no mobile signal out in the country.” Tasha laughed. “What is it?”?
“Could a killer getting his kicks from murdering families, also be a rapist of non-related females?” Yvonne threw her bag down in the hall and headed towards the kitchen, where she could smell something wonderful cooking.
“Well, it's possible, of course. If you're asking whether the murderer in your case is a rapist. Well, that would depend on his motivation. Just supposing you're right, and a murderer of families is also raping, I'd say his motivations for the murders might also be sexual. I did say to you I thought that might be the case at the Davies house.”?
“Yes, I know you did. I was keeping an open mind.”
“What if he was sexually attracted to a female in the family. He may have met the family socially, or through work, and liked the mother. Sexual predators do not always interfere sexually with their victims. As you know, some use a knife as a surrogate penis. Others, well, they get their satisfaction from the power they feel: control over life and death. And, of course, the stalking and watching is stimulating for them.”
“So, then would they actually rape, if that's not what gets them off?”
“Well, what if he really wants to rape the mothers? What if that's what he would do, given the choice. He can't do that because you guys would know it wasn't a familial-homicide.”?
“So he rapes someone else, not connected. Maybe when he's been stalking the female he does want?” The penny dropped for Yvonne.
“?Bingo. He may even want the other females too, but the chances are they are just available and unconnected to the perp. In which case, any young female could be a target.”
“I want to take you to the Ball's house in Montgomery. SOCO should be finishing up there tomorrow. We're also going to talk to Tina Pugh, a rape victim who works in Montgomery. It's not where she was raped, but what if our murderer was stalking the Balls and saw Tina and decided to follow her...”?
“If you're right, we've got a complex perp. A sophisticated operator with spare time on his hands.”
“Yeah. I'm still figuring the spare time thing out.”
12
Dewi and Yvonne stood outside of Tina's cafe, the Castle Kitchen, in Montgomery. They'd arrived early, just after she'd opened up. Before the first customers arrived.
Tina greeted them at the door. Yvonne was reminded of her tiny stature. She would have offered little resistance to the attacker.
“Is this okay?” Yvonne asked, placing a hand on Tina's arm.
“Yes. I thought now would be best. We're not officially open for another half an hour. The owners are away on holiday, so I'm working longer hours to cover everything.”?
“We wanted to ask you about the weeks leading up to the attack on you.”
“Okay.” Tina pulled some chairs out from underneath the table and they all sat down.
“Had you noticed anyone following you? Anyone paying you more attention than usual?”
“Umm...not really, no.”
“How about here in the shop? Anyone start coming on a regular basis who wasn't your regular customer? Someone who has stopped coming in now?”?
“Ummm, no. Not really. We cater for a lot of tourists. They are almost always strangers.”
“Anyone who stood out to you for any other reason?” Yvonne pulled a face. Was she sounding desperate?
“Don't think...no...wait. Yes. Yes there was someone.”
Yvonne and Dewi looked at each other then back at the girl.
“Who?” Dewi asked.
“Some guy did upset me. He implied that I was nothing, for no reason. Seemed really full of himself.”?
Yvonne leaned in towards Tina. “Tell me about him.”
“He ordered something...a snack and a drink, or something, I don't remember what at the moment. He was casually dressed but it was very smart casual, if that makes sense. He was wearing a flat cap. I remember that. And he didn't take it off.”?
“What else was he wearing?”
“Wax jacket; shirt; Jumper Jeans or Casual trousers. His trousers were dark in colour. Sorry, I have so many people come in, I'm struggling with the detail.”?
“How did he upset you? In what way did he imply you were nothing?”
“It was the conversation. He was sat over on that table.” Tina indicated the place, opposite.
“Do you mind if I sit there for a moment?” Yvonne pushed her chair back.
Tina shook her head. “Go ahead, be my guest.”
The DI sat at the table, facing the girl and Dewi. Behind them was the fireplace and, to her right, the door into the food preparation room. She wondered what he might have been thinking.
“What did he say to you?”
“I was making small talk. I can't remember the exact words. I asked him if he was here on vacation. He answered that he was. I asked him what he did, and it was his answer that was pretty mean, actually.”?
“What was it?”
“He said he did money, and implied I wouldn't know what that was. Implied that I had nothing. I can't remember his exact words, but he had this look on his face. It made me feel small and insignificant.”?
“He said he did money?” Yvonne searched the girl's face. The DI's mind was racing. Money. Something in common with the dead families. “How long was he here for?”?
“Twenty minutes? Not much more than that. He left right after a family came in. He seemed irritated, maybe by the children who were very lively.”?
“Did you see which direction he...”
>
“Tea!” Tina announced. “He had Darjeeling tea.”
“Did he say where he was from?”
“No. At least, I don't remember if he did.”
“And which direction did he head in when he left?”
“I was busy with the family. I'm sorry. I didn't see.”
“That's okay, Tina.”
Yvonne and Dewi finished up by asking Tina how she was, and making sure she was receiving after-care from police, SARC, and victim support personnel.
“Interesting...” Dewi rubbed his chin as they walked away from the cafe, towards their car just off the square. “?He said he did money.”
“I know.” Yvonne looked directly at her DS. “Maybe I'm making connections that aren't there, but money is an obvious link with the dead families.”?
“I can feel myself gravitating to your position.” Dewi grinned at her. “If this is madness, it's very infectious.”
13
I could get used to this.”
Yvonne threw her bag down in the hall and threw her coat on a peg. The smell of curry, wafting from the kitchen, made her realise just how hungry she was, and she breathed deeply of the rich aroma.
Tasha appeared from the kitchen, two glasses of chardonnay at the ready.
Yvonne sipped and gave a relaxed sigh. “It's been a busy day. This is just what I need.”
“I've been pretty busy, too.” Tasha smiled back.
“I know. I can smell. I didn't mean to...” Yvonne grimaced in embarrassment.
“It's okay. I didn't mean the cooking.“ Tasha laughed. “I meant I've been studying the files and digging out anything I could on the financial players involved with your dead families.”?
“You've been doing that?” Yvonne's face lit up as though the sun had peeked out from behind the clouds.
“I certainly have, and I have my notes, some Google results, and some ideas to throw at you after dinner. You have to eat first. Come to think of it, so do I. Can't think on an empty stomach.”
DI Giles BoxSet Page 47
