Beyond the Blood Streams

by Ben Oakley

  “Come on you bastard,” I said to either myself or Foster.

  I began flicking through them page by page. The first one had nothing of note and I pushed it to the floor. The second one was more of a history on the area and although some pages had been folded over in the top corner, again there was nothing to pinpoint an address.

  The third one was lighter than the rest and was more a personal history by someone who had lived in the area for years. I was running out of clues and had one last book to go on.

  It was called The Epping Way and was heavier due to the amount of printed illustrations inside. I caught sight of the price tag at £65 and couldn't hide a little scoff at it.

  Flicking through it page by page, I felt a sense of hopelessness come over me. Until I reached ten pages from the end. One of the pages felt a little heavier than the last.

  “What's this?” I said.

  I moved the book so it caught the light coming in from the window. I held the single page up on its own and moved it back and forth.

  “Son-of-a-bitch,” I smiled.

  I jumped to the other side of the desk and rummaged through the stationary-tidy I'd pushed off. I found a thin letter-opener which looked perfect for the job.

  It wasn't one page but two pages that had been delicately glued together along all the edges. I couldn't help but wonder how long it had taken him to do it. I carefully sliced the two pages apart around the edges and let them drop to either side. In between the two pages was a deed letter that had a name and address on it.

  Clifford Francis

  Summertown Estate

  Fairpool Road, Epping Forest,

  Essex, IG5 532A

  “You're kidding me?” I said out loud.

  I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Stansey had unknowingly given us Foster's address in the very beginning, only it was out of order. She said she lived at 5532 Summertown Estate but it's where she was being held by Foster.

  I had to be sure I was seeing this right. I picked up the phone again and dialled home. It took a few moments but finally Stansey answered and I was kind of glad to hear her voice.

  “Harrison!”

  “I've gotta be quick. In Cane's research does Foster have another name or a middle name?”

  I was speaking way faster than normal so would be surprised if she got it first time. But she did and I was pleasantly surprised.

  “Yeah, I saw it somewhere,” I heard her clicking the mouse through to the file she needed.

  “How are you keeping, Stansey?”

  “I'm okay, just got a lot going on in my head but this research thing is keeping my focus. Oh and I'm really sorry but I've eaten all your eggs.”

  I chuckled, “that's fine, you need the energy.”

  “Here we go, his full name is Clifford – Francis – Foster.”

  I punched the air with satisfaction, “that's music to my ears! Thank you. Catch you later.”

  I hung up and banged on the window for the officer. He came running in and I gave him the deed letter.

  “We've got him!”

  Forty Seven

  A few minutes later, after calming my rising excitement, I stood outside the apartment where the officer was talking on the radio to his superiors. I thought Salt should hear it directly from me so I phoned him and he took a bit longer to pick up than usual.

  “This is Salt.”

  “We've got him,” I jumped straight in, “he has another property registered in Epping Forest using his middle name and the full English version of his first name. It's registered as Clifford Francis.”

  “It's just come through to me, well done Mr. Lake.”

  “Thank you sir.”

  “The call to SCO19 is being made by my superior, we're gonna get a unit over there to bring this guy in. Taking no chances.”

  “I'd like to be involved in that. Can you arrange for a car to get to me Epping Forest?”

  He sighed, “I can't do that Mr. Lake.”

  “Alright, I'll make my own way.”

  “It's seventeen miles away and beyond your circle of restriction.”

  “Are you kidding me?” There was the Paine in me again.

  “We'll handle it from here, we're gonna bring this guy in and you'll get the acknowledgements.”

  “That's not what I want. I want to be there to see Detective Paine is brought to safety.”

  “It's not about what you want. If you break your bail conditions then you go straight to jail for six months. Are you hearing me? This is out of my control.”

  “After everything I've done, carrying your department and propping you up, and you can't give me that leeway? No wonder he got away with killing seventeen people.”

  “Go home Mr. Lake, you deserve the rest. When we've arrested Foster, you'll have your interview with him.”

  “You think that's what this is about? This bastard tortured a young girl and dumped her in my cellar to rope me into this. I need to be there, I need to know why.”

  Salt was silent but I could hear him breathing on the other end. I shook my head. This Foster had me involved in this for a reason and I wasn't going to sleep without knowing why. Not now that we had him.

  “Go home Mr. Lake, you've done your job.”

  I nodded silently and then bit my lower lip. I was about to say something else, so he would have to have me there. But I just cancelled the call instead, there was nothing else to say.

  It was over.

  Doctor Foster was the killer and I had been instrumental in his capture. I supposed it made me feel good in some respects. It still bugged me I wouldn't be there to see him arrested but I guess I could understand why Salt had not allowed it.

  It seemed I was still restricted by this stupid circle.

  Still, Paine was going to be saved. Jess would be avenged and I would be off the hook, free to carry on as an innocent man. But what happened to my Stansey King? There was no normal life to go back to, she needed professional help and I certainly wouldn't let her be sent to Linden.

  The officer from the car called over to me, “do you want a lift anywhere, Lake?”

  “Just as far as Regent's Park will be fine. Thank you.”

  I was going to make the most of the fresh air on the stroll through the park back home. I had things to think about. I was going to have to decide how to approach the Stansey King issue sooner rather than later. I felt like I needed to see Paine again because I was still worried something bad had happened. It wasn't a gut feeling more of an awareness that something was missing from all of this.

  It took fifteen minutes to drive to Regent's Park, which was longer than expected. I had almost thought about walking but it would have taken me a good hour at least and probably longer.

  The walk through the park was fine and to be honest I felt pretty good. Things had been working out. I just really wanted to be there in Epping Forest.

  I couldn't help it, I called Salt again but he didn't answer and I didn't expect him to. He had made it clear to me I was no longer needed. I guess he was involved in the movement of officers to the region. Foster was dangerous and he wasn't going to go gently into the night.

  I kept picturing him as Michael Drake would have seen him through the window, walking into the girl's room with a needle in hand. It was hard to knock it out of my head, the intention had been clear. The victim selection was easy for him. He just chose the most expendable type of girl; those with no families or who were living homeless or working in the sex industry.

  He knew what he was doing alright and he had got away with it for too long.

  As I exited the park I had a choice to go through Camden High Street which always cheered me up, or back past The Ribnik Bar. I should have strolled through the rampant colours of the Camden Markets to clear my head of the previous few days but I chose nostalgia instead.

  Within a few minutes I was outside The Ribnik, by the door with the closed sign on it. As I had done recently, I put my hand on the door and closed my eyes.<
br />
  “I got him for you Jess. I got him.”

  The tension in my shoulders was unbearable and I rolled them back and forth to release it but I couldn't do it. I stretched my face and took a deep breath, then imagined walking in and seeing her behind the bar.

  The tears came hard and I fought every opportunity to stop but I couldn't. Every time I took a deep breath to control it, I lost control. I pushed my head to the door and listened to the vibration of the world around me.

  I could hear the sound of the roads in the distance, the madness of Camden, the banging of contractors working on a nearby house, and the tube train rumbling underneath my feet. I could feel the world around me but I couldn't feel her anymore.

  I wish I had taken the time to get to know her better, to fully understand her dreams and hopes. I wanted her to be the person I wasn't, and now she would never even get a stab at it.

  All of a sudden, my phone started ringing.

  It snapped me back to the real world. I wiped away my tears and looked along the street to see if anyone was watching me cry. They weren't, it was off a busy road but the street itself was always quiet. I guess it's why The Ribnik was never that busy. Just enough to pay the bills.

  I answered without looking at who it was, “Harrison lake?”

  No answer.

  I looked at my phone, the call was coming from my house.

  “Stansey?” I said. “Are you there?”

  “Yes, I'm sorry I was just taking a bite of a cheese sandwich.”

  I patted my chest and took another deep breath, “don't do that to me. I thought something had happened to you.

  “I'm fine.”

  “You going through the cheese now?”

  “I'm so hungry, I'm sorry.”

  “You don't have to be sorry. I'm only ten minutes away and I come bearing good news.”

  “You've caught him?”

  “We're about to get our lives back.”

  Forty Eight

  Ten minutes later I was inside my house with the door firmly shut behind me. I threw my keys on the sofa, a habit I'd nurtured since my teens. The house was quiet as it always was, I couldn't hear any movement or feel any vibration of another in the house with me.

  I called out, “Stansey?”

  No answer but if she was upstairs then maybe she didn't hear. Or perhaps she was attending to something I didn't want to know about. I couldn't quite remember if I showed her where the bathroom was but I'm sure she would have found it. She didn't seem like one to just sit on her haunches and wait to be directed. Although she had been through a hell of a lot.

  I walked into the kitchen and checked the time on my phone. I wasn't one to have analogue clocks on the walls, I didn't want to be reminded how little time was allocated to my life. I leaned on the sink and crossed my arms taking time to breathe in deeply and calmly to release the tension in my back and neck.

  The walk through Regents Park and northwards to Hampstead Heath had been gentle and slow-paced but I was still a little shocked at what the time was. It was coming up to eight o'clock in the evening and dusk had started to set in over the region, it would be dark in half hour.

  They had to have arrested Foster by now, surely? If they had then no one had let me know and I wished they would as it was causing me a huge amount of stress. Was Detective Paine safe? Did they take Foster alive? What else did they find at Summertown Estate?

  I groaned to myself, “ah, let it go Harrison. It's over.”

  I rubbed my face and then mistakenly started rubbing my eyes and I couldn't stop. It was one of those really relaxing things that people told me not to do but I did it anyway. They'd say that rubbing your eyes was bad or not to push them too hard but damn it felt so good.

  I dropped my hands to my side and yawned so heavily that my entire body shivered. I clenched my fists and stretched out my fingers on repeat to release further tightness. The thought of releasing tension only served to add an even larger yawn for good measure.

  I shook my head to wake myself up and focus my attention again. “Where is she?”

  I walked up the stairs to the first level and then the second before looking up the stairs to the third floor. I thought I heard some rustling but couldn't be too sure. Tiredness had really taken hold too quick and too powerfully. I took the final flight of stairs slowly enough to look like a drunk person coming back from a night out. And then to the research rooms or research floor as Mel had once called it.

  As soon as I reached the landing, I saw Stansey peering around the side of the work room door.

  My heart jumped again and fired adrenaline through me, waking me up against my will. “Jeez, Stansey, you're gonna give me a heart attack one day.”

  “I've got something for you, come and have a look,” she said with a smile.

  Then she disappeared back into the room and I dutifully traipsed into it behind her. She was standing there with a perfect looking cheese sandwich on a plate.

  I smiled, “how did you know?”

  “Just kinda figured,” she said, her smile dropping. “You look knackered.”

  “Thanks,” I said, sitting on the chair and gladly taking the sandwich from her.

  She sat on one of the side desks and smiled at me as I ate. Never really liked people watching me eat. Places like coffee shops and busy restaurants really didn't strike me as places to relax. But that cheese sandwich was going down my gullet as quick as I had sat down and I didn't care how greedy I looked, I was virtually starving.

  “Harrison?”

  “Yeah,” I said, through a bite of cheese, lettuce and just the right amount of mayonnaise.

  “Did we get him?”

  I put the plate to one side and finished the big bite, “yeah, we got the bastard. With your help.”

  She wiped away the first tear that fell from her face and then smiled before jumping off the desk and wrapping her arms around me. It was so sincere and warm that I almost shed a tear myself but I had to be strong in front of her. I took hold of her shoulders and had to use a little energy to gently push her off. I did it as nicely as possible.

  “I'm not the right shoulder to cry on,” I said.

  She leaned back on the desk and nodded. “but you're the best I've had in months.”

  I gulped and was about to chomp down on the second half of the cheese sandwich when I remembered something.

  “Oh, more good news. You are Stansey King.”

  “I know.”

  “You know?”

  She nodded as if to say everything was going to be alright, “Jennifer Cane's brother had more research than this room holds. I know just about who I am and where I come from. Mostly. Some of it's missing but I can piece it back together as time goes on.”

  “That's good, Stansey, it really is. Take all the time you need.”

  She bit her upper lip, “except I have nowhere to go.”

  “You can't stay here,” I pre-empted her.

  “But I'm scared.”

  “You don't have to be scared anymore.”

  “I feel like I owe you more than my life, I feel bad about what happened.”

  “You were confused, it's quite clear what he was doing to the girls but he's gone now.”

  “Am I going to have to testify?”

  “I'm not sure, it depends what they find with him. There's enough evidence to link him to all of this.”

  She breathed out heavily as if trying to calm herself. To be honest, I didn't know what would happen to her moving forwards. There was a lot going on in her head, Foster had made sure of that. She wasn't going to get over her trauma as easily as she wanted.

  I looked at the sandwich and then back at her, “look, I'm not gonna turf you out with nowhere to go. You can stay here tonight and then tomorrow we'll get this sorted at the station.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief, “thank you Harrison, so much.”

  “I'm here to help you going forward. Alright? I'm not gonna let you disappear in the system or f
ace an uncertain future. I'm one of the good ones, just remember that.”

  “I know. Thank you.”

  I swung the chair around to the laptop and noticed she had 23 files open from deadcalm1978's research.

  “This guy came through,” I said. “Wants Foster's capture credited to the memory of Jennifer Cane and it will be, for every single person his knife took from this world.” I looked back at Stansey, “and if you're happy to let me, I'll credit you too.”

  “Maybe you can write a book about the victims of the Blood Streams.”

  “Maybe.”

  She sensed something was wrong, “what is it?”

  I sighed and swung the chair around to face her. “It just seems too easy, you know?”

  “Harrison, it hasn't been easy at all. We've both been through a lot to get here now. You're worn out but you found him. Take the credit.”

  Damn, she sounded like Mel already. I never really rested on my laurels, especially as I knew the next story was just around the corner.

  “Couldn't have done it without you.”

  “Yes you could.” She smiled and gestured towards all the research on the desks and walls. “This is all you, this isn't me. I just helped sift through the information you gave me.”

  I spent the next half hour sifting through some more of Cane's research to see if I had missed anything else. I was constantly aggrieved that no one was telling me what was happening and I couldn't find any news about it on social media. I had called Berg and Salt but none of them were answering.

  Then just before nine o'clock, my mobile started ringing again. I had never been so popular recently. I answered in good time, expecting one of them to give me those updates.

  “This is Lake.”

  “It's Doctor Cobbs, you asked me to find out about the girl in room 18, seven years ago.”

  As much as it frustrated me that it wasn't the police, I was pretty happy to hear that Cobbs had something for me.

  “You're three hours late,” I said.