Uncoiled Lies: a stunning crime thriller

by Liz Mistry

  Mind you, it was early days. Hussain could still turn round and take it out on him if he wanted to. He could make his life miserable but, then again, maybe he’d decide to keep him sweet. Maybe he’d realise that, if he wanted to keep his precious daughter’s reputation intact, his best option would be to keep Brighton on-side. After all, he’d kept copies of the photos and he knew that the press were all too keen to soak up any stories to discredit the police. Yes, Hussain would do well to remember that Brighton held a royal flush.

  Lighting up another cig, he grinned. Oh, how he’d love to be a fly on the wall of the Hussain house when Sadia finally got home.

  Chapter 62

  19:30 Bradford Royal Infirmary

  The heat of the hospital made Sadia feel sleepy and, when the girl from The Delius came out of the side ward, she was stifling a yawn. The girl approached Sadia, her eyes scanning the length of the ward, reinforcing Sadia’s feeling that she didn’t want to be seen talking to her. Sadia was glad she’d thought to ask the ward sister earlier for permission to use the nurse’s staffroom.

  Smiling, she led the girl to the room and once inside she closed the door behind them. ‘I reckoned the relative’s room may not be private enough for our chat,’ she held out her hand, ‘I’m Sadia, I don’t know your name, though.’

  Tentatively, the girl shook Sadia’s hand, ‘Serafina. My name’s Serafina Nadratowski.’

  Sadia sat down and waited for Serafina to join her. Despite the fact they were in a private space, away from the main ward, Serafina kept darting glances towards the door as if she expected someone to burst through at any moment. Sadia could see the faint remnants of a bruise at the girl’s chin and knew it was from when she’d been hit at The Delius on Thursday. Serafina’s lips looked dry and cracked and, as Sadia watched, she chewed on her bottom lip and fiddled with her hair, twisting strands of her long ponytail round and round her index finger. Sadia stretched out a hand to stop her, ‘Serafina, you look petrified. Can you tell me who you’re so afraid of and why? Is it the man with the teardrop tattoos?’

  Serafina snorted in what was half hiccup, half tearful gasp, then shook her head from side to side. The words ‘like a rabbit caught in the headlights’ sprung to Sadia’s mind and she wished there was an easier way to do this. ‘Look, sweetheart, why don’t you give me the name of the man from The Delius for starters and we’ll go from there.’

  Looking down at her hands, Serafina said, ‘Anastazy. Anastazy Dolinski. That’s his name and he’s a monster.’ She spat the last word out as if it were a poisoned sweet she’d been forced to taste.

  Seeing how distraught Serafina became at the mere mention of the man’s name, Sadia changed the subject. She’d revisit the subject of Anastazy later but, for now, she wanted the girl to relax. ‘Who are you visiting in the CCU, Serafina?’

  The tightness round Serafina’s lips eased and her mouth twitched in a tired smile, ‘My brother, Jacob. He was stabbed. Anastazy stabbed him. He lost his spleen, but they say he’ll be okay.’

  Sadia allowed the words to sink in before speaking again. ‘So, Serafina, why, if Anastazy was the one to stab your brother, was he visiting your family last night?’

  Serafina’s eyes again darted to the door. She shifted on her seat, shrugged, but said nothing.

  ‘Look, sweetie, you’ve come this far; said this much. I think you want to tell me. I think you need to tell me. If this Anastazy stabbed your brother, then we need to know, don’t we?’

  Pulling the sleeves of her jumper down over her palms, Serafina gripped the cuffs with her finger tips, swiped one arm over her eyes and swallowed hard. ‘He stabbed Hasnain yesterday too… but my dad made me promise not to speak to the police about it.’ And she broke down, sobs wracking her body. Sadia moved closer to her and put her arms round the crying girl. Holding her tightly, she smoothed Serafina’s hair and muttered reassurances. All the while, Sadia was remembering the conversation she’d had with Gus earlier. The forensic psychologist had intimated that he believed the MO to be more akin to a turf war scenario than the work of a serial killer. He reckoned that, alongside the attacks on the prostitutes, this villain would likely indulge in lower level violence to enforce his will over others. Was this what the psychologist meant? Could this Anastazy be linked to or even responsible for the murders and the attack on Charlotte, which had been intended to create confusion and antipathy between Bazza Green and Shahid Khan?

  When Serafina was calmer, Sadia teased out the details of the attacks on her friend Hasnain and her brother Jacob. ‘What I don’t understand though, is why your dad has prevented you from reporting this. Is he scared too?’

  Serafina scowled, ‘No. I don’t think he’s scared of Anastazy. Not like I am.’ She thought for a moment before continuing, ‘It’s more like he wants to keep him sweet, no matter what he does to the rest of us. Like Anastazy has something on him maybe.’ She waved her arms. ‘Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t know. After my dad spoke to him, he told us that Anastazy hadn’t stabbed Jacob and that we better not say otherwise to anyone.’

  ‘Is that typical of your dad?’

  Serafina laughed, ‘Don’t know. We didn’t see him much before we moved to the UK. In Poland we were well off, not like we are here, but then something happened and he lost his job or something and we moved to Bradford.’

  ‘Any idea where Anastazy lives?’

  Serafina shook her head. ‘Bradford Three, maybe Killinghall Road area?’

  Sadia texted Anastazy’s name to Compo, asking him to see what he could find out about him. Then she texted Imti asking him to email the footage of Anastazy to Compo and Gus to let him know what she’d discovered. Feeling pleased with her evening’s work she stood and, after checking no one was on the corridor, they left the staff room.

  Sadia decided to take one last look at Charlotte before she left and, making sure she walked behind Serafina, she headed along the corridor. When she drew level with her brother’s door, Serafina paused and mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ to Sadia, but before she could enter the room the main ward door burst open, ricocheting off the wall. Both women spun round and Sadia spotted the other girl’s sheer panic as she instinctively grabbed her crucifix, her eyes wide, pupils dilated. In an instant, all thoughts of Serafina were driven from Sadia’s mind when she saw who had entered the ward.

  Heart hammering, Sadia ran towards the figure that stood unsteadily in the entrance. A nurse approached but Sadia waved her away. ‘It’s okay, I’ve got this,’ she said and, concerned, she put her hand on the man’s arm. ‘Shahid, what’s happened?’

  It was then that Jai approached like a towering brick wall behind Shahid, breathing heavily as if he’d exerted himself. When Shahid stared blankly at Sadia without responding, Jai interjected. ‘It’s Imti.’ His usual patronising arrogance was absent from his tone for once and Sadia felt her heart skip a beat. It must be bad for both Shahid and Jai to be so strongly affected. Her gaze fell to Shahid’s hands. In a surreal Lady Macbeth type action, he kneaded them together sending little flakes of dried blood floating to the floor. The front of his T-shirt and the knees of his jeans were splodged a deep red colour and waves of alcohol wafted from him as Sadia tried to make sense of the tableau before her.

  Jai, his voice catching in his throat put his arm round Shahid as he spoke. ‘Shahid saw someone on the CCTV attack Imti when he was putting out the rubbish. He ran down and tried to staunch the blood.’

  Sadia, wide-eyed, stepped forward and began to guide Shahid towards the relative’s room. Her hands shook, but she wouldn’t allow the tears that clogged her throat to fall. Not until she knew everything. ‘…and Imti? Where is he now?’ She felt like her heart was about to implode. How could this have happened? She’d only just seen him this morning. Who the hell would do this to Imti? Everyone loved him. But as this last thought flitted through her mind, Serafina, who had followed her to Shahid, spoke, her voice trembling. ‘Anastazy. It was Anastazy.’

  Jai, eyes na
rrowed looked at Serafina, then nodded once before turning back to Sadia. ‘Imti’s in surgery. They wouldn’t let us come in the ambulance, so I drove Shahid over. It was bad, Sadia, really bad.’

  Settling Shahid on a chair in the relative’s room, she sent Serafina for coffee. ‘You stink, Shahid. You been drinking?’

  Jai shook his head. ‘I think he spilled whisky down himself. He’s not as drunk as you think.’ He glanced at Shahid and then moved closer to Sadia and said, for her ears alone, ‘I think he was going to top himself, Sad. I found a whole bunch of pills scattered over the table in his office.’

  Sadia ran a trembling hand through her hair. ‘Because of Trixie. God, I could kill him. Didn’t he stop to think about what that would do to Imti?’

  Jai laid a warning hand on her arm. ‘That’s not important now, though, is it?’ and he inclined his head to where Shahid sat staring into space, seemingly oblivious to the tears pouring down his cheeks.

  Sadia took a deep breath. ‘Get a nurse, Jai. He’s in shock.’ She slipped her coat off and wrapped it round an unprotesting Shahid’s shoulders. In another time the image of Shahid Khan, her pink coat with its fur collar draped round his shoulders, would have made her laugh… right now she wondered if things could get any worse.

  Chapter 63

  20:55 Duckworth Lane

  Brighton kicked at the small pile of cigarette ends he’d thrown at his feet whilst he’d been waiting for Sadia’s return. Where the fuck was the stupid bint? How long did it take her to check on a comatose whore? If it wasn’t for the fact he could still see her car sitting where she’d parked it earlier, he would have thought he’d missed her. It was bloody freezing and he was getting fed up growling at kids in stupid clown masks to piss off and leave him alone.

  Talking of piss, his bladder was protesting strongly now. If she didn’t turn up soon he’d have to go. He glanced around. It was too busy here though, what with the never-ending flow of car headlights spotlighting him and the regular pedestrian activity. No, he’d have to risk heading up to the hospital and if he missed her… He shrugged. Well, so fucking what? Not as if he was being paid hard cash for this. Besides, if he went up there he’d be able to get a warm drink too. He blew on his hands. God, but he’d murder for a scalding hot coffee right now – even one of those poncy ones McGuire drank.

  He pushed himself away from the tree, stamped the cig butts into the ground, crossed the road when the lights turned red and scurried up the steps into the hospital grounds. If the bitch saw him, he’d just tell her he was worried about the whore and was checking up on her. He grinned, not that he’d call her a whore though. No, he’d be as polite as he could and wrong-foot the cow. Make her think he’d turned over a new leaf.

  Near the entrance to accident and emergency, he saw an ambulance screech up, sirens blaring and, even when the paramedic jumped out of the driver’s seat and rushed to the back, the lights continued to rotate in a blaze of blue. Hands thrust deep in his pockets, he began to cross the asphalt, thinking ‘probably some drunk started early on a Saturday night and over done it’. Typical fucking Bradistan. If it weren’t the damn Pakis rioting and dealing drugs, it was the scumbags from Holme Wood and the like, dragging the city to the ground.

  Heading for the illuminated ‘Main Entrance’ sign, he was distracted when a car braked hard near him, skidding to a stop. A man all but fell out of the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind him and nearly rolling over the bonnet of the car in his haste to get to the entrance. Brighton glanced at the driver and recognised him as the bouncer from The Delius. He swung his gaze to the other man who had reached the disabled access slope and was grabbing the handrail to propel himself over like an Olympian hurdler before slamming through the double doors. As the light from the reception fell through the door, Brighton saw that it was Shahid Khan. Wonder what the fuck’s got into him now, he thought, following at a more sedate pace.

  Chapter 64

  22:15 Marriners Drive

  Leaving the cloying heat of the hospital, Sadia welcomed the blast of cold fresh air that hit her as she exited the double doors. Her head felt fuggy and she could feel the beginnings of a tension headache behind her eyes. Feeling as if she was moving through sludge, she walked towards her car and as she approached she saw that she’d been ticketed. She’d only put in enough money for an hour earlier and, after everything that had happened, she hadn’t given parking a moment’s thought. She lifted a leaden arm and pulled the plastic bag from beneath her wiper. Scrunching it up, she shoved it in the pocket of her coat, unable to even summon the energy to curse.

  Climbing into her car, she savoured the stillness after the frenetic activity of the hospital and leaning forward, she rested her head on the steering wheel and closed her eyes, feeling the tension leave her body. She suspected that she’d suffer in the morning after holding her body so taut all day. However, now she could relax a little. Imti was out of surgery and in the CCU. He’d lost a lot of blood but they’d managed to stop the bleeding in time and the knife had missed all his major organs. Thank God! For the first time in years, Sadia had prayed, as she’d waited for news with Shahid and Jai.

  Gus had arrived with Alice, but then quickly left to deal with the crime scene and to see what headway they could make locating Anastazy Dolinski. He’d reported earlier that they were no further forward, but that Compo had made contact with Detective Jankowski, the Polish detective they’d worked with on The Matchmaker case, and would report back as soon as he had anything.

  Serafina had alternated between visiting her brother and keeping Sadia company in the relative’s room. Her father had left shortly after Imti had been admitted and Serafina said she had no idea where he’d gone. Sadia texted his name to Compo too, on the off-chance it flagged something up.

  Now, thankful that Imti was stable, Sadia turned the key in the ignition. She needed to get some rest, but she knew Gus would worry if she didn’t see him so she made her way there, oblivious to the red car that followed her along Duckworth Lane, through Heaton and down Emm Lane, before turning into Marriners Drive.

  When she pulled into the drive the security light came on and, even before she’d climbed out of the car, Gus opened the front door, holding a barking Bingo in his arms. A wave of longing engulfed her as she watched Gus, with his mucky blond mussed up dreads, trying to control the dog. She walked up the path, smiling when she detected the change in tone of Bingo’s bark when he realised it was her. The welcoming tail wagging and barking became a pitiful whine accompanied by drooping ears and enlarged eyes. Sadia ran the last few steps and threw herself at Gus, grabbing his head with both hands and pulling his mouth to hers as she kissed him thoroughly, ignoring Bingo’s squirms as he struggled to escape from between their embrace.

  ‘Wow! Someone’s pleased to see me,’ said Gus.

  Sadia laughed and ruffled Bingo’s head. ‘And someone’s pissed off to see me.’

  Gus laughed and led the way indoors and, as Sadia refused to take her coat off, saying she needed to get some rest, he said, ‘Tomorrow’s going to be a hellish busy day, but,’ he shrugged, ‘I’ve sort of promised my mum we’ll go to hers for lunch. I’m planning on taking anyone who’s on duty, but I thought I’d better give you a heads-up. No doubt she’ll give you the third degree.’

  Sadia sighed. There was nothing she felt less like doing than dodging questions from Gus’ over-enthusiastic parents. ‘Aw, Gus, can’t you just take Al and the rest of the team for moral support? I feel like crap and I’ll need to visit Imti.’

  Gus shrugged and put Bingo down on the couch, ‘Gabriella and Katie will be there.’

  Sadia turned to him and wrapped her arms round him, squeezing tightly. She knew how difficult this would be for Gus. He hadn’t seen his sister and his ex-wife together in the same room since he’d found out about their relationship. She kissed the side of his mouth and summoning an enthusiasm she didn’t feel, said, ‘then I’ll definitely be there, but first I need to go home a
nd grab some beauty sleep.’

  Chapter 65

  23:05 Astor Avenue, Idle

  Sadia parked in front of her home. The warm glow of the porch light warned her that her father was expecting her and, after the events of the day, the last thing she needed was a confrontation. She sat for a moment looking at the home she’d shared with her parents for most of her life. They’d moved here soon after Millie Green’s death. It had been difficult for a young Sadia. The trauma of what she’d witnessed that night stayed with her in the form of nightmares for many months afterwards and she could see why her parents had thought a move to a different area would be best for her. However, she’d felt isolated.

  She was used to Thornbury, where the colour of her skin had never seemed to be an issue. At school she’d happily played with children from all faiths and cultures but the Idle of the 1990s was a completely different ethnic and class mix. In school she had found herself ridiculed for her skin colour and her faith and had quickly learned to stick up for herself. Slowly, she’d made friends and, as her school became more ethnically mixed, things improved. It angered her that, in Bradford in 2016, it appeared that the concept of not ghettoising children into mono-cultural schools was being largely ignored by the local authority, despite the rigorous report by Lord Ousely that had emphasised a cohesive community policy. Through her work, she knew that schools were becoming less and less mixed and this made her worry about how Bradford’s children would rub along together in the real world if their cultural experiences in childhood were so narrow.

  She switched off the ignition and geared herself up for the lecture that she knew was due to happen. Her father, not convinced she’d been with Shamila the other night, was clearly ready to have another go at her. No doubt he’d bring up the option of travelling to Pakistan for a husband. Ever since her mother had died her father had become more devout, spending more time with the Quran, both at home and at the mosque. Sadia knew loneliness made him seek the company of his own people but, over the years he’d become less cosmopolitan in outlook and held less open-minded views. She knew he loved her and that he worried she was putting her career before marriage and settling down. She knew he wanted to feel secure in the knowledge that she was taken care of should anything happen to him. Unusual among Muslim families, Sadia was an only child, and her only relatives lived in Lahore in Pakistan. She could not remember the last time she’d seen them.