Frozen Minds: A murder mystery set deep in Wales (DI Winter Meadows Book 2)

by Cheryl Rees-Price

  ‘No, but that’s the feeling I got. She looked so frail and at times she struggled to catch her breath.’

  An image of Leah flashed across Meadows’ mind.

  Frail and breathless. All the medication in the bathroom cabinet, the grey roots on her scalp that she tries to hide. No, not grey – white, white-blond like Liam.

  ‘Do you have a recent photograph of Anna?’

  ‘I’ll get one for you,’ said Cordelia.

  ‘Do you think Anna is in danger?’ Daniel asked as soon as his wife left the room. ‘If some maniac has killed her biological mother and a man in her brother’s home then she could be a target.’

  Or the killer.

  ‘We have no reason to think that Anna is in immediate danger but it is vital we talk to her, so if there is anything else you can think of that might help us find her.’ Meadows turned around as Cordelia came back into the room.

  ‘This was taken few years ago, it’s the most recent we have.’

  Cordelia handed Meadows the photograph. The smiling girl had a fuller face, colour in her cheeks and long white-blond hair, but was still recognisable.

  ‘Leah.’ Meadows handed the photo to Edris.

  ‘Leah? That was the name she was given when she was born. Does she hate us that much she changed her name?’ Cordelia turned to Daniel with pain etched on her face.

  ‘She calls herself Leah Parry,’ Meadows said.

  ‘Do you know where she is?’ Daniel asked.

  ‘Yes, you mentioned earlier that Anna had a boyfriend. Can you tell us his name?’

  ‘Cillian Treharne, but I doubt she’s still with him. It wasn’t really a suitable match.’

  ‘Thank you for your help.’ Meadows turned to leave.

  ‘Can you tell us where Anna is?’ Cordelia asked.

  ‘I’m afraid not.’

  ‘Then tell her we are here for her, no matter what.’

  ‘I’ll make sure she gets the message.’

  * * *

  Meadows took the slip road onto the motorway. The traffic was light and enabled him to cruise at a decent speed.

  ‘Do you really think that Leah is capable of killing Alan and Tara? From what the Johnsons say it sounds like she’s really sick,’ Edris said.

  ‘Yes but she isn’t acting alone, she’s definitely involved.’

  ‘Cillian?’

  ‘Possibly, but we still have to find her older brother. Liam said that he had to keep Leah safe. What if he means safe from the older brother? He could be our killer, and Leah knows about it. Maybe she let him into the building the night Alan was killed. She could’ve just arranged to meet him, perhaps she wanted to keep it a secret from Cillian and the only chance she had was the night duty. Then Alan turns up and things get out of hand.’

  ‘What about Tara Lane? If Leah thought her older brother had killed Tara, surely she would’ve told us. She would be worried for her own safety.’

  ‘She wouldn’t come forward if she had witnessed Alan’s murder and help dispose of the body. By pointing the finger at her brother, she would be implicating herself.’

  ‘If there is a brother?’

  ‘I’m certain there is.’

  ‘You’ve been right about everything else.’ Edris grinned.

  ‘It doesn’t mean I have all the answers. Maybe Leah is the main instigator. If she’s that ill she may feel that she has nothing to lose.’

  ‘Yeah, but killing your own mother…’ Edris shook his head. ‘That’s a bit extreme.’

  ‘Who knows what goes through people’s minds when they are in that situation. If Tara hadn’t continued to drink through her pregnancy then both Liam and Leah would have been spared a life of sickness.’

  ‘And she changed her name. Why do that unless you have something to hide? All she has to do now is make Leah Parry disappear and go back to being Anna. I’m surprised she got away with it. Don’t you need a CRB check to work in a care home? They would’ve checked into her background – and how does she get paid without a bank account?’

  Edris stretched his arms behind his head.

  ‘She could have changed it by deed poll, it’s not that difficult.’ Meadows moved to the outer lane to overtake a slow-moving lorry.

  ‘Maybe Alan found out about her change of name and was blackmailing her. We know he was blackmailing Jane and Miles, maybe he made a habit of it. Leah wouldn’t want anyone to know if she planned on killing her mother and wanted to stay close to her brother.’

  ‘Good point,’ Meadows said.

  ‘But why wait until now? It’s been over two years since she questioned Alex and Rhys about the abuse and longer since she found out about the adoption.’

  ‘Something must have triggered her rage. I just don’t see her as a cold-blooded killer. She would’ve been planning this for a long time and Alan’s murder was planned, well some of it was, like drugging Gemma. Or maybe she just wanted Gemma asleep so she could spend time with her brother.’ Meadows sighed.

  ‘So, what now, do we bring her in?’

  Meadows’ phoned trilled, interrupting the conversation. He hit the answer button and Paskin’s voice came over the hands-free.

  ‘I’ve found Dean Casey. He lives in Neath.’ Paskin reeled off the address.

  ‘Good work! We’ll be passing there shortly so we may as well pay him a visit. Leah Parry is Liam’s sister so we need to bring her in for questioning.’

  ‘Do you want me to go to Bethesda and pick her up? She’s on duty tonight.’

  ‘No, let’s see what information we can get from Dean Casey, Hanes should be up there by now.’

  ‘Yes he is, Blackwell just came back from there. He went up earlier to talk to Liam and the staff. Apparently, Liam flew into a rage and hit him.’ Paskin couldn’t keep the amusement from her voice. ‘He went back up to check that Liam had settled down.’

  ‘OK, can you give Hanes a call, tell him not to let Leah leave the premises and to be on the lookout for Cillian. Arrest him if he shows up. I’ll let you know what we find out from Dean Casey.’

  Meadows increased his speed, he had a sudden sense of urgency which pumped adrenalin through his body, tensing his muscles and sharpening his mind.

  Maybe I should have asked Blackwell to pick up Leah after all.

  He glanced at the clock on the dashboard and turned to Edris.

  ‘It’s 10 p.m. The residents should be asleep. Hanes is there. I can’t see Leah hurting Liam and Hanes will be on the lookout for Cillian. If we pick up Leah now it could alert her older brother, we don’t know where he is or if he is watching the house. The last thing we want is to push him to do something else.’

  ‘Or Cillian. We still have no evidence that the brother is still alive let alone in the area. Even if he is, then who else could they seek revenge on?’

  ‘Who knows, we don’t know what happened to him. He may not have been as fortunate as Leah.’

  Meadows pulled up outside Dean Casey’s house, a mid-terrace on the main road.

  Edris peered out of the window. ‘Doesn’t look like anyone is home.’

  ‘Maybe he’s in bed. Let’s hope he is and he can shed some light on the whereabouts of his son.’ Meadows climbed out of the car and hit the knocker against the door several times. The noise echoed in the silence.

  A few moments later a light illuminated the door pane followed by the sound of a key in the lock. Dean Casey peered around the door. His eyes were bloodshot and what remained of his white-blond hair stuck up on his head.

  ‘Sorry to disturb you at this late hour.’ Meadows showed his identification. ‘We need to ask you a few questions.’

  ‘I was asleep, I’m on early shift, starts at four, what’s this about?’

  ‘Tara Lane.’

  ‘Tara? Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. Lane? So she got married again.’ Dean smiled.

  ‘Perhaps it would be better if we went inside,’ Meadows suggested.

  ‘Yeah, no problem.’ Dean tied the
cord on his dressing gown and, yawning, led them into the kitchen where he flipped the switch on the kettle.

  ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you that Tara was found dead in her home yesterday morning,’ Meadows said.

  Dean’s hand hovered over a mug that hung on a hook. ‘Dead? Tara? Bloody hell.’ He ran his hand over his chin. ‘I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I thought the drink would get her in the end. Such a waste.’ He pulled down the mug and threw in a tea bag.

  ‘It wasn’t the drink,’ Edris said. ‘Tara was murdered.’

  Dean paled. ‘Murdered?’

  ‘Yes,’ Meadows confirmed. ‘You and Tara were married?’

  ‘Yes, a long time ago.’ Dean poured boiling water into the mug and stirred, he appeared to be struggling to absorb the information.

  ‘When was the last time you saw Tara?’

  ‘Um, I guess about 1992. I walked out on her and never went back. I’m not a suspect, am I?’ Dean looked alarmed.

  ‘No, but we are trying to trace Tara’s children and were hoping you could help. I understand from Tara’s mother that she was very young having her first child.’

  ‘Yeah, she was fifteen when she got pregnant. I stayed with her but we were both just kids. She drank through most of the pregnancy but when the baby was born she seemed to settle down. Her mother helped out, my parents wanted nothing to do with us, thought Tara was a slag, never believed the baby was mine. Anyway, I left school and got a job and we moved in together. The place was a bit of a shithole but it was a start. I wanted to marry her but she kept saying no. It took about a year to persuade her but eventually she married me, I really thought we could make it work but Tara didn’t like being tied down. She saw all her friends going out partying and she felt she was missing out on life.’

  Dean sighed and took a sip of tea.

  ‘What went wrong?’ Meadows asked.

  ‘She got pregnant again, this time she went completely off the rails. Drinking and taking drugs. I worked in the day and looked after the kid in the evening. She would roll home stoned, raid the cupboard and fall into bed. She wouldn’t go to the doctors for a check-up. It was like if she pretended that she wasn’t pregnant it would go away. Joan – her mother – tried speaking to her but she wouldn’t listen.

  ‘We got into a fight one night, she was high and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I told her if she didn’t pull herself together, I would take the kid and leave. The next morning she got up and shoved all of Lee’s things into a black plastic bag. She told me I was boring and she wasn’t ready to be a wife. I asked her about the baby, how she was going to manage with a new-born. She said that it was nothing to do with me, that I wasn’t the father. So I left. That was the last time I saw her.’

  ‘What happened to your son?’ Meadows asked.

  ‘I brought him up on my own. It was just Lee and me until he moved out, went to university, I’m so proud of him.’ Dean smiled.

  ‘So your son’s name is Lee Casey?’ Edris asked. ‘No, only I call him Lee. His name is Cillian.’

  ‘Cillian Treharne?’ Meadows heard the surprise in his own voice.

  ‘Yes, that was Tara’s maiden name. We weren’t married when he was born.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Meadows made for the door.

  ‘Wait,’ Dean called out. ‘Is Cillian OK?’

  ‘That’s what we need to find out.’

  Meadows hurried to the car and dialled Blackwell’s number as he started the car.

  ‘Pick up Cillian, he’s Leah’s brother,’ Meadows instructed.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ Blackwell’s voice boomed over the speaker. ‘So there is another child and he’s been right under our nose all along.’

  ‘I’m on my way to Bethesda House to pick up Leah. I have a feeling that Dean Casey will be on the phone to his son as we speak. I’ll meet you back at the station.’

  ‘Have you got Harry’s number?’ Meadows glanced at Edris as he pulled onto the road.

  ‘Yeah.’ Edris looked sheepish.

  ‘Call her and ask her to meet us at Bethesda, someone needs to be there to watch over the residents.’

  Meadows kept his eyes fixed on the road as thoughts bombarded his mind.

  What will Cillian do now he knows we’re on to him? He’ll call Leah – or will he go to Bethesda and try to run with Leah and Liam. They have nowhere to go. Maybe he will sit it out, just make some excuse why they didn’t confess to their family connection. There’s no solid evidence to connect them to Alan and Tara’s murders but enough circumstantial…

  Edris’ voice broke his thoughts. ‘She’s on her way. I think I woke her up, she sounded sleepy.’

  ‘With a bit of luck we’ll get there before they decide to do something stupid. Leah will have already been warned. I don’t think she will run and leave the residents without proper supervision. I think she cares too much for them.’

  ‘Cillian may have other ideas.’

  ‘That’s what I’m afraid of. Blackwell should be there soon. Let’s hope he gets there on time.’

  ‘It’s gross, don’t you think, brother and sister in a relationship? Not to mention illegal.’ Edris wrinkled his nose in disgust. ‘We can get them for that at least.’

  ‘They have separate bedrooms so there’s no evidence that they have a physical relationship.’

  ‘Yeah, but he was her boyfriend before she knew of the adoption.’

  ‘So she wouldn’t have known he was her brother. I can’t see that charge standing up in court. Poor girl, it’s no wonder she was so angry with her adopted parents for not telling her the truth earlier. It could’ve saved a lot of heartache.’

  ‘Angry enough to kill her birth mother?’ Edris asked.

  ‘I don’t know if she would have the strength to do it alone. All three of them are damaged in their own way.’

  Meadows’ phone halted the conversation. He sensed that it wouldn’t be good news as he reached out and hit answer.

  ‘No sign of Cillian,’ Blackwell’s voice boomed over the hands-free. ‘House is in darkness and the car’s gone.’

  ‘Shit! Meet us at Bethesda House, I have a bad feeling he’s gone there.’ Meadows ended the call and dialled Hanes’ number. The phone continued to ring until it switched to voicemail.

  ‘Why isn’t he picking up?’ Concern laced Edris’ voice.

  ‘This isn’t good.’ Meadows switched on the siren and floored the accelerator.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Cillian is very angry. I think the red is in his head. He keeps moving and talking, too fast, too many words, it hurts my head. He made me get out of bed, he said we have to go. It’s dark outside, we don’t go out in the dark, not allowed.

  ‘Come on, Liam, Please. We have to go now. Remember we talked about going away, you, me and Cillian. We’ll go somewhere nice and we’ll be together.’

  Leah is crying again. I don’t think we’re going to a happy place. Everyone is happy when they go somewhere nice.

  ‘Why are you crying?’

  ‘I’m just a little sad we have to leave, but we’ll have fun, we can do lots of things together.’

  ‘OK. I need to get Hard Hat and we have to take his bed.’

  ‘No, Hard Hat can’t come with us, we don’t have room.’

  I’m not going without Hard Hat, he’s my friend. Who’s going to look after him? He only talks to me. If I sit on the bed they can’t make me go, I’ll stay here until we take him.

  ‘Liam! What are you doing? We have to go, move now!’

  Uh oh, now Cillian’s very mad. Ouch, that hurts.

  ‘Let go, Cillian, I don’t like you.’

  ‘Do you want to stay here? You will never see Leah again.’

  No, I don’t want Leah to go away. It hurts my tummy. He’s pulling my arm, hurting me. He’s making the red come, hit, bite, make Cillian go away.

  ‘I hate you, wanker! Bastard!’

  ‘Leah, do something,’ Cillian shouts.

  They are pulling
me. I think my arms are going to come off. If I keep my feet stuck to the floor they can’t move me. The floor is sliding.

  ‘No, get off, bitch. I hate you!’

  ‘Shut the fuck up!’ Cillian shouts.

  Ouch, my head.

  ‘Don’t hit him!’ Leah screams.

  Leah is touching my head, I try to move away, I don’t want her to touch, it hurts.

  ‘What the hell’s going on? Cillian, why are you here?’

  Uh oh, Gemma looks mad. Gemma is never mad. I’m not supposed to be out of bed, I’m in trouble now.

  ‘Stay out of this, Gemma, just go back to the sleep-in room. You didn’t see or hear anything, understand?’ Cillian steps towards Gemma.

  Cillian doesn’t want Gemma to tell me off. He’s pushing her. No, too much shouting. He’s hurting Gemma. Cillian is going to be in trouble. If I go back to bed maybe they will stop.

  ‘No, Liam, come on we have to go.’

  ‘I don’t want to. Cillian is mean. He hurt my head.’

  ‘He didn’t mean to do that. Please, Liam, I don’t want to leave without you.’

  Leah looks sad again.

  ‘Gemma will be angry.’

  ‘No she won’t, it will be OK.’

  Leah smiles and takes my hand. I look back at my room before we go out the door. Too much noise, I put my hands over my ears but I can still hear them. Cillian is trying to push Gemma into the food store. He’s going to make her cold like Alan. I don’t want him to hurt Gemma, Gemma is my friend. Don’t want to look.

  ‘Let go of Gemma!’

  Kevin, Kevin will make Cillian stop. He is bigger than all of us, tee hee, he will squash Cillian.

  ‘No! Don’t, stop, stop it, you are hurting him, don’t hurt Kevin!’

  Cillian has picked up the chair, oh don’t like the noise. The chair breaks on Kevin, now Cillian is hitting Kevin’s head with the chair leg. I don’t want to see, my eyes are closed, I’m squeezing them and they hurt. I can still hear.

  ‘Leah, make it stop!’

  ‘Liam, come on.’

  Leah is pulling my arm. I open my eyes. Kevin is on the floor, blood coming out of his head. Cillian has made him dead. I don’t want Kevin dead. I want to touch him.

  ‘Kevin, wake up, don’t be dead.’