Syn (The Merseyside Crime Series Book 2)

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Syn (The Merseyside Crime Series Book 2) Page 19

by Malcolm Hollingdrake


  Carlos closed his eyes, refusing to look.

  ‘Open them and look or I’ll remove your eyelids with these.’

  He picked up a pair of scissors and ran them across the back of his hand. Carlos felt the cold metal and it had the desired effect. He stared at the images and then looked back at Lloyd. Whatever he was trying to say was absorbed by the knotted cloth and came out as separate grunts.

  ‘Remember when we met at the Atkinson and we talked cars? You asked about the speed and why point three-three was relevant. Remember that conversation, Carlos?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Well, I timed how long it took them to die. Just like they timed Segrave. From the moment the blade entered their flesh to their last gasp. The decimal point is critical, believe me. Amazingly, there was very little difference.’

  Lloyd watched the tiny hemispheres of sweat bead the man’s forehead, even though the temperature in the garage was low. Some collected enough perspiration to begin to roll down the side of his face. He leaned across and wiped away those remaining with the edge of the scissors.

  ‘Fear does that to people. You’re no different.’

  He stood, moved across to a cardboard box on the far side of the garage and selected a piece of Carla’s clothing.

  ‘Smell, Carlos. Do you recognise the scent?’

  Carlos thrust his head back. Tears flooded his eyes before cascading like the sweat down his cheeks to collect in the rag wrapped round his face. He struggled again.

  ‘Now, where was I? Jennings, yes, he too. He could have stopped it but my belief is that he’s also frightened of Bully Bill. He was also easy to snare …’

  Chapter 26

  Gaskell followed Skeeter into the Interview Room recently vacated by Sutch and Rodgers, and was shown to one of the chairs. She had called ahead and April was ready for them. A laptop was positioned on the table as was a number of photographs.

  ‘Take a seat. May I remind you that you’ve been cautioned and that this interview will be recorded. Your rights are on that paper in front of you. I do suggest you read it, and we’ll answer any questions you might have.’

  April swiftly had a quiet word with Skeeter who raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Mr Gaskell, my name is DI Decent and, yes, before you ask, I’m decent by name and decent by nature. Thank you for your co-operation.’

  He was about to protest but then thought better of it.

  ‘As you’re aware, we’ve been investigating not only the death of your previous tenant but also the murder of two of her friends within the group. Another member has now gone missing. From looking through photographs taken at the parties held at the apartment they rented, we’ve found a match for the person for whom we are searching. We’ve also gone through those taken from your phone. This is the person.’

  She slid the image across the table.

  ‘What can you tell me about him?’

  Gaskell studied the photograph and then looked back at April. She could see surprise on his face as he returned his gaze to the man. ‘No, sorry. There were many people there I didn’t know. I just took a few photographs. I was aiming at nobody in particular.’

  April leaned across and collected it before opening the laptop. She found the edited CCTV footage of the night Carlos was caught on CCTV with the man in question and turned it towards Gaskell. ‘This, Mr Gaskell, is footage of the same man taken last night. Please take your time.’

  ‘I’ve just told you; I don’t know him. What’s wrong with you people? Would you prefer it if I told you that I recognise him but I don’t know his name?’

  April held up her hand to stop his protest before retrieving the laptop. She moved the track pad and found the next file. Starting it, she turned the screen to face Gaskell.

  As the video started, Skeeter and April paid particular attention to Gaskell’s face. Within a minute he looked at both officers. ‘Where the fuck did you get that?’

  ‘Your telephone records. Would you like to tell us about this? From what our experts report, it clearly constitutes rape. Carla Sharpe is certainly not in a position to give her consent.’

  The silence was deep, thick and viscous. Neither side seemed to want to penetrate its surface.

  ‘Jennings was so concerned for Carla, he rushed to help. He got into that very same car. There was some reluctance but I repeated the same to him, that Carla had once said to me when I couldn’t, “Just do it!” Those were always her words and so they’ve stuck in my mind ever since. I was with her on the treatment table and when she said it, I was so angry. Comes from Nike, you know that of course, but do you know who the real Nike is?’

  He moved within inches of Carlos’s face. ‘The winged goddess of Victory, speed and strength. I became that winged person seeking out revenge. At school it was easy. It was subtle. Their bike would go missing, their clothing after PE. Little things, you might say, childish acts, but each mattered to me. Each deserved a tick on my wall … a swoosh!’ He placed the point of the scissors on Carlos’s forehead and traced the mark of a tick. He applied enough pressure to compensate for the instinctive jerking of his head, a backwards movement in an attempt to avoid the weapon. Blood soon beaded from the cut and quickly diluted with the salty sweat.

  As the pain seared through him, Carlos realised that the man he had spent his lunch with, the man with whom he had shared his evening meal, a drink and had a laugh with was not now the same man. Fear forced his bottom lip to tremble and as his knees bounced, more tears appeared.

  ‘Did you know the name Nicola comes from the name Nike? Strange, the coincidences in this life we live.’ He wiped the blood from his head with the item of Carla’s clothing and tossed it on the floor.

  ‘Let me tell you something else. We’ll have a warrant to search your property, Mr Gaskell, whilst you are held here under arrest. It’s being organised as I speak. That will allow the removal of any other computers, electronic tablets and items of electronic storage we might find. When you’ve been an officer for some years you are never surprised by how many old phones or SIM cards people keep. To cap all of that, we’ll even organise a solicitor for you, unless of course you would prefer to get your own. This situation might not have been necessary if we’d had your full co-operation from the start. We’re going to call on your ex-wife and chat to her. Stirs the mud from the bottom of a clear pond all of this, don’t you think? Hiding facts always makes the water so murky, we can rarely see the truth.’

  ‘I did not take that photograph on my phone. It is at the apartment; I do recognise my own interiors but I didn’t take that.’

  Neither April nor Skeeter spoke and the silence again grew thick. April began to allow her fingers to beat a rhythm on the tabletop. It was soft and in a way soporific.

  ‘It’s my son,’ Gaskell mumbled.

  Skeeter looked at April.

  ‘Say that again.’

  He’s my son, and I’m sure you’re barking up the wrong bloody tree. He’s not a killer.’

  ‘When did you last see your son?’ April had stopped drumming, her concentration now focused directly on him.

  ‘It’s hard to believe, we both live here in Southport but I haven’t seen him for five years, maybe more. You lose track.’

  ‘We’re all ears.’

  Lloyd regarded Carlos as his head lay to the right. The blood had stopped from the scratch made by the scissors’ point.

  ‘I’m not going to kill you, Carlos. You’ve done me no harm. Unless of course, you don’t do as you’re told. In a strange way, I’ve come to like you. I admire the loyalty you’ve demonstrated to Carla and your boss. So why are you here? I hear you ask yourself in that confused brain of yours. You’re here, Brian, as bait. You’re my sprat to catch a bully mackerel.’

  Carlos started to move and squirm within the chair. The look in his eyes suggested one thing to Lloyd, he needed the toilet.

  ‘Toilet?’

  Carlos nodded frantically.

  ‘You can’t. It must
stay here. Sorry, Carlos.’

  Lloyd watched as the dark stain flushed the front of his trousers and then ran down each leg before pooling by either shoe. He watched the tears run, too, as Carlos strained against the tape.

  ‘Sorry. You must believe me, how sorry I am. If this works and I have them all then you’ll be free and that,’ he pointed to the puddles, ‘is but a small price to pay.’

  Chapter 27

  Gaskell fumbled with his fingers, his nerves clearly beginning to show before he looked directly at April. ‘His mother and I were never married. He was illegitimate but to me an unnecessary bastard. In my opinion neither of us was ready to have kids. I had too much living to do, a business to build, if the truth be known. We split early on and to save complications, after some wrangling, I gave her the house. I didn’t want anything to do with them. She was pregnant, too, but it may well not have been mine – her proclivity to like the company of the opposite sex was one of the reasons we split. I suppose I’d no right to expect her loyalty, as I’d never truly commit to the relationship, I wouldn’t propose, even when Frank was born. There were so many couples at the time deciding not to tie the knot. Probably the start of how things are today. I even resented the boy. I wanted her to terminate. We weren’t short of money and that certainly wasn’t an issue.’

  ‘Frank?’ Skeeter asked, checking the name of the person on file.

  ‘Frank Lloyd. I pushed for that. If we had to have a child then I wanted the opportunity to name him. Influenced by my love of my job in a way – a man I admired – Frank Lloyd Wright. People think he was just an architect, but he was more than that, in fact he was a brilliant interior designer.’

  ‘What’s your son’s full name, Mr Gaskell? We need a phone number and an address too, urgently.’

  ‘Frank Lloyd Millington. No idea about his phone but …’ He added the address.

  April looked at the camera knowing the conversation was relayed to the Incident Room and that the required action would be immediately co-ordinated and sanctioned.

  ‘Is your son a potential killer?’

  Gaskell shrugged his shoulders but there was clearly uncertainty in the action. ‘I pay certain bills, or I did until he reached twenty-one. I sincerely hope not but these days with so many drugs available, you just never can tell what ways their minds might be warped.’

  The address was located and Mason organised the key Matrix teams to readiness – firearms, drone and the chief negotiator were all primed. A time was set for the move on the property and local pre-ordered plans utilised to direct the close operations. There was a procedure for the readiness of street closure when dealing with a major incident and the emergency services were readied. Decent and Warlock vacated the Interview Room leaving Gaskell in a state of confusion. The officer remaining was briefed to ensure a duty solicitor was contacted.

  ‘You’ll be staying here for a while longer until we discover just what other evidence we find during the search. Make yourself comfortable.’

  The briefing was just that, brief. The Incident Room was busy. A Street View image of the house situated on Parkside Road was visible, projected onto the large screen to the far end of the room. Within twenty minutes they would receive live drone images of the location, concentrating on the garden area. The height and distance of the machine would be such as not to attract unnecessary attention at the house.

  ‘April and Wicca, I want you on the ground. April, you will maintain your role as SIO. Firearms and a negotiator will be on standby along the Oxford Road end of Westbourne Road, with medical and fire and rescue support if it’s required.’ Mason pointed to the area. ‘The properties along these two roads have huge rear gardens, what they contain will only be ascertained once we have aerial images coming in live. We’ll be using thermal imaging too. You will co-ordinate target entry point and time of entry once the intelligence has been received and assessed here. Communication will be standard: Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Incident Room will continue as Gold and those on the ground as Silver, all others will communicate as Bronze. The Major Incident Vehicle will be there on your arrival. I’ll keep you up to speed whilst you’re travelling. We’ve isolated an area of the golf links’ carpark for the drone operation. It’s away from the public eye and hopefully the Press’s nose. That will provide us with a short time operating range. Local area Traffic Officers have been notified.’

  The patrol car blocked the narrow road after the marked transit moved into position. Within a matter of minutes, the landing area was coned and the police drone made ready. Live stream images would be linked with communications from the officers on the ground. Each officer was identified by an electronic tag which would show up on screen. Having the silent eye in the sky, with its multiple cameras, would enhance the track and trace of all in the designated area.

  Skeeter drove. The flashing strobes, normally concealed within the grille and the headlights, ensured swift movement along the busy roads. April continued to monitor the progress of the team arrivals.

  ‘The drone’s up and we have live images here.’ April briefly flicked the electronic tablet sideways before turning it back. Skeeter paid no attention. Her concentration was on the road. Her growing frustration became a constant diatribe aimed at motorists who seemed unaware they had purchased a rear-view mirror when they bought the car. It was a constant commentary.

  As the drone hovered above the targeted area, there was nothing coming up on thermal imagery from the garden to either the front or rear of the address. The officers’ identification tags were clearly visible but as yet there was nothing positive on the suspect.

  Chapter 28

  Lloyd brought two cans of coke from a box on the bench placing a straw in one. ‘I bet you’re thirsty. I know I am. I’m going to trust you. I’ll remove the cloth from your mouth and release one hand. It’s my act of kindness to you, but I need your promise. Should you call out or try to move, I will simply kill you.’ He removed a sheathed craft knife from his pocket. ‘It would take a minute for me to perform that cruel act and a few minutes for you to die, probably three for it all to be over. We’ll not think about the seconds for the moment. The truth is, Carlos, after Jennings, I wanted to be caught.’ Lloyd held out a can and Carlos drank quickly before choking. Coke came down his nose as he tried to find his breath. Lloyd tapped his back gently. ‘Steady, no one will take it away from you. Take your time. If you’re good then you’ll have a lifetime. Where was I?’

  ‘After Jennings you …’ Carlos answered. It was uttered almost in a whisper.

  ‘Yes, thank you. I find it hard to concentrate for long periods these days, possibly the guilt or the fear of what’s to come. Something inside of me often screams that what I’m doing is wrong, possibly evil. In a way, I think it’s as cowardly as the first incident involving Rodgers and his bully boy actions. I know, now, I’ve become the aggressor, the tormentor and, I suppose, the destroyer. It’s taken neither strength nor speed. Yes, it’s taken a degree of courage, but that’s because I didn’t face the people directly; it wasn’t a confrontation. I faced them when their guard was down and they were at their most vulnerable. Vulnerable, Carlos, that’s like me.’ He drank from his can before wiping his mouth on his sleeve. ‘That’s how I’ve been all my life! I wanted them to find me, the police, and put a stop to it. I left clues, the shoes, the caps, the DVDs. You see the coppers in television programmes and they suddenly spot something at the crime scene. They swing into action and catch the killer before more harm is done. When we were out last night, we passed so many CCTV cameras. I knew they were there; I’d planned the route. But are they looking? Have they identified me? It’s all slowing down, Carlos. In my head it’s slowing.’

  Carlos shook the can and angled it to suck out the remnants. He was more interested in the coke than the ramblings of the man in front of him.

  ‘Remember the carousel?’

  Carlos nodded, keeping the straw between his lips. His mouth still seemed so dry; the cool
liquid had tasted like nectar.

  ‘When I was young, my mother took us to the merry-go-round. I don’t know whether it was the strange music these machines played, you know, that organ sound.’ He played the imaginary keyboard with the fingers of one hand as he spoke. ‘Or the other children’s screams of excitement, or was it possibly fear? The horses’ wild faces, all flaring nostrils, teeth and wide staring eyes, or was it something else? I was never quite sure. Later in life I discovered the truth, I found my phobia. It was none of those things. It was the speed of the carousel’s rotation. As a very young child I had nightmares. There were neither clowns nor carousels involved but a conveyor belt running at a set speed. It never changed for what seemed like hours, it was constant. On and on it went, almost hypnotic and mesmerising but also disturbing. I’d wake up soaking wet and screaming. From then on, whenever I see something travelling at that actual speed, I grow anxious and scared. What’s strange, Carlos, when I get frightened everything slows to that speed, voices, music, people. It’s as if everything around me becomes synchronised to that terrifying pace. Do you think I’m slightly crazy, maybe even a little mad? Am I going insane, do you think?’ He threw his can hard against the wall and a stream of dark liquid and froth sprayed in an arching fan-like cascade before the can clattered and settled on the floor. It spun momentarily, driven by the escaping fluid. ‘Do you?’

  Carlos stared at Lloyd, uncertain as to how he should respond. His heart wanted to scream you’re a fucking murdering lunatic as loudly as his lungs would allow but he shook his head in response. ‘No, I think you’ve been hurt too much in your life. Although I feel sure you’ve experienced a mother’s love, you’ve not had the love and attention of your real father. I had, until my father passed away; I valued that love. I went off the rails when he died, but I was helped and cherished by those around me. You’ve not met those who would cherish you.’ Carlos could hear the tremble in his own voice and feel the quivering of his lower lip.

 

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