by M A Comley
“Let’s just say I have a lot on my plate at present, sir,” she replied, not wanting to show how much the killer had got to her, fearing that Roberts was already aware of that fact.
“Care to share what is burdening you? Are we talking personal or professional angst here?”
Her gaze met his. “Both.” She inhaled a steadying breath before she continued. “The case we’re investigating has just brought the killer out of the woodwork.”
“May I ask in what respect?” Roberts asked, his brow wrinkled as he slipped into the seat opposite her.
“Around ten minutes ago, I received a call from him, and he warned me off. He—at least I think it was a he—even went as far as to threaten my family if I didn’t back off.”
“We’ve been here before over the years Lorne, haven’t we? That’s what these fuckers do—they tighten the screws on you when you’re getting too close to them. So what’s different about this case? Why are you so angry about this?”
“Every time one of these killers threaten me or my family, it raises doubts in my mind whether I should continue with this job.”
“I’m sure it does. However, over the years, you’ve succeeded in managing to overcome such adversity. Why is this case different, Lorne? Be honest with me. You owe me that much.”
“I owe you? Really?” She threw herself back in the chair and scratched the side of her face with one hand while twisting the pen anxiously on the desk with her other.
“As your friend, I meant. Come on, we’ve been through some tough cases together over the years and always successfully extinguished any problems that have arisen. I repeat—what’s different about this case? You mentioned something personal bugging you. Do you want to share with me what line that takes? Are you and Tony all right?”
Lorne tutted. “Sorry to disappoint you, but Tony and I are as solid as a rock.”
“Why should that disappoint me?” He gave her a disapproving look.
Regretting her snide remark instantly, she apologised. “Forget I mentioned it.”
“That’s hard to do, Lorne. If you and Tony are all right, is this about Charlie and her new role in the force?”
“No. Crap, I really wanted to keep this quiet until we’d heard for sure what was going on. You remember my sister, Jade, right?”
“Now I know you’re being facetious. Of course I remember Jade. What about her?”
“She found a lump. They’ve run tests, and we’re awaiting the outcome.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be a worrying time for all concerned…”
“Why do I sense a but coming, Sean?”
He shook his head. “No but from me. It’s called life, Lorne. We’re all dealt blows along the way that we are forced to overcome.”
Lorne chewed on her lip to prevent herself from snapping at him. Her last case had involved him losing his composure when his own goddaughter was abducted. How easily people forget!
“Spit it out,” he prompted. “I know you’re dying to say something in retaliation to that comment.”
“Nope. My mouth is remaining firmly shut on the matter. If your conscience is pricking you, then that’s your lookout, not mine.”
His eyes narrowed. She could tell he was eager for her to challenge him further. “Maybe we should steer clear of the topic we’re both skirting around. Now, what do you intend doing about the phone call you received?”
“I’ve tried to trace the number, and it’s not listed. The killer has probably dumped the phone by now.”
“What about the threat? What do you want to do about that?”
“I’ll ring Tony, make him aware of the situation once we’re finished here. I’ll do anything and everything I can to protect my family. I’ve proven that over the years, Sean. I may be slowing down because of my advancing years, but that doesn’t mean my brain has gone to mush. My team and I will throw everything we have at this case and start bringing people in for questioning.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t done that already,” he bit back.
“I’ve been kind of tied up attending murder scenes, if you must know. Three murders, and by the sounds of it, the killer has numerous others up his sleeve for me and the team to try and uncover. I’m just hoping none of these further murders that he referred to have anything to do with my family.”
“I’m sure he’s simply testing the water. If you put extra precautions in the way, that’s not likely to happen. Is there anything you need from me?”
“I’m always open to receiving more resources, but the prospect of that occurring are negligible, right?”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” He left his seat and walked towards the door. “Let me have a word in the super’s ear, and I’ll get back to you. In the meantime, you’re not alone in this, Lorne. I know we haven’t seen eye to eye over the years as our personal history often gets in the way, but when we’re willing to set that aside, we are a powerful team. Don’t push me away. That’s all I’m asking. Okay?”
Lorne sat forward in her chair and nodded. “I agree to set aside my personal feelings towards you on this one.”
Sean smiled, apparently amused by her words. “Good. I’ll get back to you soon. My door is always open. Oh, and while I think of it, send Jade my best wishes and tell her I’ll keep my fingers crossed for her.”
“Thanks. I will do.”
Sean closed the door gently behind him. He never failed to amaze her. Seeing his compassionate side raised a few doubts in her mind. Maybe she was in the wrong, being harsher on him than she should be.
She picked up the phone and rang the pathology lab.
A harassed Patti answered.
“Hi, it’s me. Any news on the Gerry Sutherland PM yet? Sorry to rush you on it, Patti.”
“No problem. I was dealing with a few messages before I rang you. It was definitely not suicide.”
“Shit! Not good news. That’s three murders in the space of a week. What was the COD?”
“I didn’t discover the wounds until he was naked. He had several injuries to his back, and his kidneys were badly bruised. My guess is that he was hit numerous times with a hard object. One of the bruises was rounded in formation. My off-the-cuff guess would be that he was battered with a metal pole or an iron bar of sorts.”
“A scaffolding pole perhaps? The type you see regularly on building sites?”
“Maybe. He was hit several times and probably passed out with the pain. His attacker must have dumped him in the river. The cold water seeping into his mouth was enough to drown him. That was his COD. He wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“That’s dreadful. We dropped by to question his wife this morning. His daughter is due to get married soon.”
“Sickening. Are you linking the cases, Lorne?”
“That was going to be my next question. Do you think we should be doing that at this stage?”
“Given the circumstances regarding where all these murders have taken place, I would say you’d be on the right track if you did link them, even if it’s loosely at this point.”
“Dare I ask if there’s any news on the reconstruction of the second victim?”
“I chased it up yesterday and was told that we should have the final reconstruction within a day or two.”
“Excellent news. Thank goodness things seem to be looking up on that front at least.”
“Meaning what?”
“Oh, just ignore me. Keep me informed. I’ll look forward to reading your PM report on Gerry.”
“It’ll be with you soon, I promise. Ring me if you need anything else.”
“I will. Speak soon.” Lorne hung up and returned to the incident room to bring the team up-to-date. “Good news for a change, guys. First of all, we should have some form of ID for the second victim soon as the anthropology expert has almost finished the reconstruction. Once that’s through, I’ll call a press conference. I might chance my arm and organise that for late tomorrow afternoon. Secondly, the result
s of the Gerry Sutherland PM are in—he was definitely murdered. All we need to do now is find our chief suspect, Larry Watson.”
“Want me to put out an alert on him now?” Katy asked, reaching for the phone.
Lorne nodded. “If you would. For him and his vehicle, Katy.”
A few hours later, that search came up with the result they were after. Katy rushed into Lorne’s office. “We’ve got a hit on Watson.”
“Go on. Where is he?”
“On his way to the mortuary.”
Lorne threw the pen she was holding across the desk. “Damn, really? How did he die? Was it suspicious?”
“Unless he nailed himself to the piece of wood and nailed his own mouth shut, I’d definitely go down the suspicious route.”
“Sounds horrendous. Where was he found?”
“In another disused warehouse, not far from Canary Wharf. We can take a drive over there if you want to look around. I’ve been informed that he’s on his way to the mortuary already, though.”
“Maybe I’ll leave it an hour or so and ring Patti to get the concise version of what happened. Nailed, eh? I hate to ask this, but do we know how? Manually?”
Katy shrugged and pulled a face. “Do we have to go into gruesome detail?”
“What I mean is, was he nailed to the piece of wood with nails that would have been hammered in, or are we looking at someone using a nail gun on him?”
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters. Think about it, Katy. Anyone can have access to a box of nails and a hammer, but if we’re talking about the use of a nail gun, then surely that would put a professional builder in the frame, right?”
Katy rested her chin on her thumb and tapped the side of her face with her forefinger. “Sorry, I wasn’t with you there for a second. I’m seeing it now.”
“We need to check with Karen how she is getting on with the opposition side of things. Do you know if she’s come up with anything along those lines yet? If not, I think we need to be looking at the builders themselves.”
“That’s a bit out there, Lorne, even for you. A builder killing off other builders? Why? What possible motive could the culprit have for doing that?”
“Hey, that’s as far as I’m prepared to go at this stage. Let’s get the facts established of what tools were used to commit the murder first. Shit! We need to go and visit Barbara, let her know that Larry’s body has been found.”
“Is it worth us going? It’s not as if she was that bothered about him, is it? I’m sure it’ll come as a relief to her.”
“Katy, that’s a terrible thing to say.”
“It might be, but be honest, it’s probably the bloody truth. I wouldn’t waste any effort going to see her. Send uniform to break the news instead.”
“You’re a hard woman at times, Katy Foster. I’ll get in touch with the desk sergeant now.”
“I might be harsh, but I speak the truth.”
Chapter 10
The next morning, Lorne and Katy were standing next to Patti in the pathology lab as she went over the reconstruction.
Katy circled the high table where the model was sitting.
“Bloody hell, that’s amazing,” she uttered, inspecting the intricate details in the man’s face.
Lorne studied the reconstruction through narrowed eyes. Something about the man was oddly familiar.
“What’s wrong, Lorne?” Patti asked.
“I’m not sure. You know when someone looks familiar, and you can’t put your finger on why? That’s the feeling I have with this chap.” She shuddered.
“Maybe he looks like someone you know,” Katy suggested, her gaze still transfixed on the model.
“Okay, Patti, I took the liberty of calling a press conference for this afternoon. Can you arrange for this to be transferred to the station, or would you rather we took photos of it to show to the media?”
“I’ll get it transferred to you later this morning. I think seeing the model first-hand rather than a few photos will have more impact on camera, don’t you?”
Lorne nodded. “I think you’re right. Damn, I wish I could remember where I recognise him from. The trouble is I come into contact with so many people during the course of the day.”
“It’s too early to start beating yourself up about this, Lorne,” Katy replied.
“I agree with Katy. Get the conference out of the way. Hopefully, when the calls start flooding in with possible names, something will click with you then,” Patti suggested.
“Let’s hope you’re both right. At the moment, the feeling is like having an itch you can’t scratch. So bloody annoying. We’ll expect the delivery later this morning then, Patti.”
“I won’t let you down. In fact, I’ll organise it now in case something major crops up in the meantime and I forget.”
“It’s appreciated. Will you pass on my thanks to the anthropologist for constructing it and getting it back to us so quickly?”
“Already done. Let’s hope some good comes of it, and soon. I’ve got to fly. I have a PM on a six-year-old boy to perform. A dreadful abuse case. Wish you were dealing with it. I’d be certain that the parents would be behind bars within days. I’m fed up with some of these cases getting to court and the parents only getting the minimum sentence handed to them, even though a young child is lying in my mortuary.”
“Want me to have a word with the investigating officer for you?”
“No. Forget I mentioned it. I’m tired and irritable, probably placing unnecessary obstacles in the way. I’ll emphasise how important it is they dot all the i’s on this one, don’t worry.”
Lorne rubbed Patti’s arm to reassure her. “Think positively. Make sure the investigating officer has every scrap of evidence at his disposal before he steps foot in the courtroom. That’s all you can do, Patti. Then it’s down to the judge and jury to do their bit. Depends if the parents are good actors and succeed in convincing the jury that the child’s death was a tragic accident instead of abuse. Sorry, you know all that. It really gets my back up when parents treat their kids so appallingly. Why have them in the first place if all you’re going to do is scream, shout or even lash out at them?”
“That’s exactly the way I feel,” Patti admitted as they piled out of the room. “I hope the press conference goes well this afternoon. I’ll organise my guys to drop the reconstruction off as soon as they can. That’ll be one less thing for you to worry about during your preparations.”
“Thanks, Patti. I’ll call you if anything positive comes in.”
At the end of the corridor, they parted company.
Once Katy and Lorne returned to the station, the rest of the day passed in a manic blur for Lorne. The conference went really well, and by early evening the local news channels had already started to air the appeal. That prompted the phones to start ringing. Lorne felt optimistic by the response as names poured in. A couple of callers even named the same person. Both times, the name struck a chord with Lorne. She wracked her brain, trying to think where she knew the name from. It wasn’t until nearing the end of her shift that the piece of puzzle slotted into place.
“Anything wrong, Lorne?” Katy asked, eyeing her with concern.
Lorne felt the colour drain from her face. “I said there was something familiar about him, didn’t I? Two callers have identified him as James Gordon from Manchester.”
Katy frowned. “Are you saying he has something to do with the case you solved with DI Nelson?”
“No, although I might give Hero a call regarding this case. Gordon was from Manchester, but my bet is that he’s been in the building trade and based in London for a while. I think I employed him to do some work on the renovation I did to the first house I bought after Tom and I split up. He was the plumber. I’m pretty sure of it.”
“Wow, talk about coincidence. Can you remember if he had family in the area?”
“No, I can’t. That’s the annoying part. I can’t really say that I knew him that well. We
had a laugh on-site now and again, but I made it a policy not to speak to the tradesmen during the day if I could help it, thought it would slow down the renovations if I interrupted their work. He was a really nice chap and an excellent plumber from what I can remember. I feel really sad about this, Katy.”
“I can imagine. Why don’t we pass it over to Karen to work her magic? She’ll find his address and then we can decide how to proceed from there.”
Lorne rested on the desk behind her. “Good idea. Ask her to make it a priority.”
“Of course.” Katy crossed the room to have a chat with Karen. A few minutes later, Katy returned with the man’s address and the name of his next of kin.
Lorne was faced with a dilemma. She had never been the type to tell a relative over the phone that one of their family members was lying in the mortuary, so she debated briefly whether to drive up to Manchester to deliver the news herself.
Katy nudged her arm with her elbow. “I recognise that look. Mind if I make a suggestion?”
“I’m all ears.”
“You have enough on your plate with Jade at the moment. Either send me up to Manchester, or, better still, ring Hero and ask for his help.”
Lorne smiled and pinched Katy’s cheek. “You’re not just a pretty face after all.”
“Cheeky mare.”
“I’ll give him a ring from my office. Hopefully, he’ll still be at work.”
“He will be, guaranteed,” Katy called after her.
Lorne made herself comfortable behind her desk then placed the call to her friend. “Hello, stranger. I bet you can’t guess who this is.”
“DI Lorne Warner if I’m not mistaken. How’s it diddling, my dear friend?”
“There’s no fooling you, is there? I’m fine. Have you got time for a brief chat?”
“Yep, I’m working late tonight, so you’re in luck. What’s up?”
Lorne explained the cases then added, “I was wondering if you would deliver the news in person for me.”
“Of course I would. It would be my honour. I know exactly how you feel. I’d be reluctant to do that type of thing over the phone too. You say you know this man?”
