The Loch

by Heather Atkinson

  “You’re only saying that because he saved your life but there’s no need to be with him out of guilt.”

  “I’m not. He was all I thought about when I was being held prisoner, as well as my girls.”

  “Did you think about me at all?” She looked down at her hands and he winced as pain stabbed him in the heart. “You didn’t.”

  “I’m sorry Alex. We shared something beautiful but it’s over. I’m staying with my husband and children.”

  “Please don’t do this to me,” he said, grabbing her hand when she got to her feet.

  “You’re free now Alex, well and truly free. Go and be happy, for me.”

  She tugged her hand free with an apologetic look and left the cafeteria, Alex helplessly watching her go.

  Hannah returned to Will’s ward, head down against the stares she received. She hated being in the spotlight at the best of times, she didn’t even like having her photo taken, so being exposed across every media outlet was rather disturbing.

  She increased her pace until she was practically running. Will was in a room with three other men and she hurried inside and pulled the curtain around them, making him jump awake.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you,” she said.

  “It’s okay,” he murmured, rubbing his eyes and yawning. “What time is it?”

  “Quarter to nine.”

  “Really? How long have I been asleep?”

  “Ten hours.”

  “I’ve never slept ten hours in my life.”

  “It’s the painkillers.” She took his hand and sat beside him. “How do you feel?”

  “Crap.”

  “Are you in any pain?”

  “No.” He reached out to touch her face. “You’ve been crying.”

  “Recent events catching up with me. It’s going to take a long time for life to go back to normal, if it ever can.”

  “It will, one day. Have you seen Alex?”

  She nodded. “He spoke to me in the canteen.”

  “I suppose you’ll be leaving with him then?” he said sadly. When he’d briefly woken up yesterday after the surgery he’d told her he knew about the affair but he still loved her. Nothing could change that. His view that she was a heartless bitch had been eradicated after seeing her walled up alive. He was just glad she was okay, so he’d decided to accept her leaving him. At least she’d be safe with Alex and his daughters would still have their mother.

  “No,” she replied. “I told him it was over.”

  “What?” he said hopefully.

  “I told him the only man I’ve thought about since I was taken is you. I don’t want him anymore.”

  “Don’t feel you owe me,” he breathed weakly. “Because of this,” he added, gesturing to his leg.

  “It’s not because of that, even though you did save my life. It’s because I love you and I don’t want our marriage to end. Is it too late to save it?”

  “No,” he said, a tear sliding down his cheek. “After everything we’ve been through we have to concentrate on what’s important. When I’m better we’ll go on holiday with the girls and just enjoy ourselves.”

  “How will we afford it?”

  “We’ll find a way. We let arguments about money and all our debts come between us but I won’t let that happen again. You’re too important to me.”

  “I don’t deserve you,” she sobbed.

  “Maybe not but you’re stuck with me.”

  She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. Will clung onto her, elated. It was the first time she’d touched him in months. He hated the Colonel with a passion for what he’d done but it seemed he had saved his marriage.

  Stewart had grabbed a few hours sleep at home and was now back at the station, sat in an interview room before the Colonel, who was playing the baffled good citizen, his left foot stuck out before him in a bulky cast. Mike had shattered several small bones with the lump hammer.

  Wheeler was sat beside Stewart, doing a good job at hiding his nerves. Neither officer had encountered anything like the Colonel before in their careers.

  “Before we begin,” said Stewart. “Are you sure you don’t want your solicitor present for this interview?”

  “Quite sure. It’s all a silly mistake. I don’t even understand why I’m here,” blustered the Colonel. “All I’ve done is my best to find those women and you treat me like a criminal. I was in Iraq you know.”

  “Yes, as a military intelligence operative. By all accounts you were good at what you did. Two things however that you failed to mention before - number one, you never got higher than lieutenant and secondly, you were honourably discharged because of iliotibial stress syndrome, inflammation of the connective tissue leading from the hip to the knee.”

  “I know what it is,” he barked.

  “You couldn’t go on all those secret operations anymore, so they put you out to pasture.”

  “I get a very good pension and I have an excellent record.”

  “So I believe and there’s nothing in your history to indicate you were going to start abducting women and walling them up alive.”

  “I didn’t put them there. Those bodies must have been there before I bought the house. It’s all a silly mistake and you my lad are going to end up with egg on your face.”

  “We’ve found the bodies of four women so far. The oldest body has been there eleven years, as far as we can ascertain. You bought that house fourteen years ago.”

  “Then you’re wrong, the body must be older.”

  “So everyone’s wrong except you?” said Stewart, deadpan.

  “That’s usually the way.”

  “How many more bodies are we going to find in your house?”

  “I repeat, I did not put them there.”

  “So what happened Victor? What made you snap and start killing?”

  “I’m telling you I’ve never killed anyone, except in the line of duty of course. It’s all lies, a big mistake.”

  “How do you explain the presence of Isla Campbell and Hannah McNair in the walls of your extension, an extension you were building with your own hands?”

  “Will McNair helped me out with it. He must have put them there.”

  “And you never noticed?”

  “I can’t keep an eye on my property all the time, I do have to go out you know. I’m an important man with lots to do.”

  “Yes, you’re very busy, aren’t you?”

  “Will found out about his wife’s affair with Alex Shaw, went mad and tried to kill her, only he tried to frame me in the process. Or maybe she jilted Alex who, in a fit of pique, attacked her and stuck her in my extension.”

  “How did you find out about the affair?”

  “I’m a good observer Inspector, it’s what I trained to do. I saw the looks that passed between them. It was obvious to me. Not to lesser beings like yourselves of course.”

  “Your theory doesn’t explain why Isla Campbell was found in your house too.”

  “Will took her first as a blind, so no one would realise it was all about Hannah.”

  Stewart rolled his eyes. “Hannah McNair’s already given us her statement. She claims you approached her on the beach and hit her over the head. The next thing she knew she woke up under the floor of your extension with Isla.”

  “Poor woman doesn’t know what she’s talking about. It must be the shock confusing her.”

  “How did you snatch Isla? We assume you hit her over the head too, like you did Hannah.”

  A sly smile twisted the Colonel’s face and Stewart leaned in with interest. That smile was the first time he’d displayed any emotion other than the offended law abiding citizen.

  “Not talking then, is she?” said the Colonel.

  “She’s very traumatised but she will talk, when she’s ready.”

  “It would be bad for your case if she never talked, wouldn’t it? It would only be Hannah’s word against mine.”

  “No Victor, it wouldn’
t, seeing how they were both found walled up alive in your house. You also attacked Mike Miller when he tried to free them.”

  “He started destroying my property. What did you expect me to do? It’s much more likely Will McNair put them there after he was driven mad on the discovery of his wife’s affair.”

  “Victor, you’ve been charged with four counts of murder and two counts of abduction. That will increase as we continue to excavate the house. Surely you have some defence other than everyone’s mistaken or lying?”

  “No because it’s the truth.”

  “Your DNA is all over the body we found beside your fireplace. Not Will McNair’s or Alex Shaw’s. Just yours. You are going down for this, the evidence is too strong.”

  “Nonsense, all nonsense.”

  Stewart was growing tired of the bluff old soldier act, so he decided to play on the Colonel’s ego. “Perhaps you’re right Victor. Maybe this is down to someone else?”

  “Finally some sense. I knew you’d get there in the end.”

  “It seems you’ve been played for a fool. Someone stashed Isla and Hannah in your home and you didn’t even notice. Mind you, you are getting on a bit,” he chuckled.

  Wheeler, who realised what his superior officer was up to, chuckled along with him.

  “That’s right,” said Wheeler. “What are you now Victor, fifty five? A bit past it. The real perpetrator probably thought the daft old sod wouldn’t even notice.”

  “I know what you’re trying to do lads,” replied Victor, eyes twinkling. “Playing on my vanity, eh? Sorry but I long ago resigned myself to growing old gracefully. It won’t work.”

  “We’ve identified the body beside the fireplace,” said Stewart. “She was called Sarah Jackson. She went missing two years ago while hiking from Portavadie to the headland at Stillaig. A search was organised to find her, by coincidence a search you led. She was thirty three years old and had a young child. The second body found in the wall directly opposite the one Sarah was found in - interestingly all the bodies were found in opposing walls, it does seem you like things to be balanced - has been identified as Caroline Ash, aged twenty nine. She went missing a year ago and left behind twin boys.” Discovering Sarah and Caroline’s horrible fates pained him as he’d personally investigated when they went missing and the Colonel hadn’t even come onto his radar. Rather than murder it had been theorised they’d had some sort of accident. After all, these things did happen, especially when people went out hiking into the wilds alone. Naturally the women’s families had been horrified to hear about the fate of their loved ones. Watching Caroline’s husband breakdown right in front of him would stay with him forever. “But the oldest body we’ve found so far,” continued Stewart. “Which was hidden in a wall in your bedroom belongs to Marie McKay. She vanished while walking around Loch Eck eleven years ago. Using the skills you learnt in the army you stalked lone women hiking in remote areas, you’re very well acquainted with the countryside around here. You abducted them, brought them back to your house and walled them up alive. We’re still pulling your house apart Victor. Will we find a body that’s been there longer than Marie’s?”

  “No idea because I didn’t put them there.”

  “We know you’re responsible, we don’t need you to admit anything, the forensic evidence against you is overwhelming. Those women were found in your house with your DNA all over them and items of their jewellery stashed in your bedside cabinet. You will go to prison for this. Surely you want to put your side of the story across?”

  “I’ve nothing to say because I didn’t do it.”

  “Fine, don’t say anything. The press will make up their own theories anyway. They’ll say you’re an inadequate personality, most likely impotent. You wanted to form relationships with women but didn’t know how. When your clumsy advances were rejected by these women, who were all young and attractive, you got angry and killed them. But you didn’t want to put them out of their misery quickly, that wouldn’t have satisfied your sadistic tendencies. You walled them up alive and then sat there, getting off on the fact that they were slowly dying.” Stewart knew he was on the right track when there were no bluff denials, the Colonel’s eyes narrowing predatorily.

  “An ex-girlfriend of yours has stepped forward,” continued Stewart. “Muriel Berry, you remember Muriel, don’t you? You dated for six months after you left the army. She dumped you when you started smothering her during sex.”

  “All lies,” he retorted but his voice had taken on a new tone, one full of slyness tinged with pleasure.

  “Yes you do. Typical of inadequate personalities. It’s all about control. You couldn’t get another steady relationship after Muriel because of your proclivities, so the only way you could satisfy your urges was by abducting these women and killing them. What I want to know Victor is why you chose to take two local women after selecting strangers for so long? No one realised what you were up to. Did you get bored? Did you want a challenge? Did you plan all along to torment poor Mike Miller by leaving Isla’s clothes or did the idea occur to you after you took her? It fits with your sadistic personality.” Victor didn’t reply but he was listening intently with that same cunning look in his eyes. “Did you get a thrill leading the searches for the women? That must have given you a rush, made you feel powerful?”

  “Just think Victor,” said Wheeler. “If you put your side of the story forward you could impress so many people. You were an important man in the army, you went out on a lot of sensitive and dangerous operations. We know because parts of your file have been redacted. Being forced to leave your career, the only job you’d ever known, your very reason for living must have been tough. Well tell us what happened and you can be that important man again. The whole country is talking about you but if you don’t speak they’ll make up their own theories and you’ll be an object of ridicule. The choice is yours.”

  Stewart and Wheeler held their breath as the Colonel leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, thinking.

  “You make an excellent point Sergeant,” he eventually said. “I don’t want a lot of lies made up about me, I know what the press are like. But I want to make it clear that if I tell you everything you’ll let me talk to Hannah and Isla.”

  “Why do you want to do that?” said Stewart.

  “They lived. My collection’s incomplete and I do love things to be balanced.”

  “What will talking to them achieve?”

  “It will bring some…closure.”

  Stewart didn’t like the gleam in his eyes so he shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

  “Then no deal.”

  “It doesn’t really matter,” said Stewart, getting to his feet, Wheeler following suit. “We can pretty much work out what happened and you’re going to prison for life. We don’t need you to say anything. Enjoy reading what the press write about you. I must admit, I am.”

  The Colonel glared at them as they left.

  Stewart closed the door to the interview room and sighed. “Damn, so close.”

  “Sorry Sir,” said Wheeler. “I really thought I had him at one point.”

  “Don’t apologise, you did well in there. We need Isla to talk so she can fill in the blanks.”

  “DI Stewart,” they heard the Colonel call through the door.

  The two detectives looked at each other before opening the door.

  “What is it Victor?” said Stewart irritably.

  “I’ve been considering what you said and I want to talk.”

  CHAPTER 18

  “What brought about this change of heart?” frowned Stewart as he and Wheeler retook their seats.

  “It was what you said about the press,” replied the Colonel, returning to the bluff old soldier routine. “I don’t want a lot of scandalous lies made up about me. I do have a reputation to protect.”

  “Alright Victor, let’s hear it then. But before we begin I’ll ask you once more - do you want legal representation?”

  “I
’m nothing if not a realist Inspector,” he replied. “A solicitor can do nothing for me now except charge me an extortionate sum of money. I’m choosing to represent myself, I have far more brains than any lawyer anyway.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Right.” The Colonel’s rigid posture relaxed and he sank back in his chair. Stewart had seen this before in perpetrators who had finally been caught. The tension and worry of being found out was draining out of him.

  “I knew after visiting the cottage that Mike and Isla enjoyed sitting out on the boat in the evening,” began the Colonel. “Isla loves the water and looking at the stars. So I watched them from the curve in the loch north of the cottage. I watched them for weeks, they had no idea I was even there. That’s what comes from being so wrapped up in each other you don’t notice your surroundings. Sloppy, very sloppy. Anyway, I waited until Mike returned to the cottage and then I sailed to their jetty in my little inflatable dinghy. It has an engine, so it can move quickly when I need it to and it’s very quiet. Isla greeted me with a smile, invited me onto the boat for some champagne and showed me her engagement ring. It was far too easy because she was so distracted by her happiness,” he said with an impish smile, eyes lighting up before he recalled himself and repressed that other part of himself. “When she turned to look at the cottage to see if her beloved was coming back, I hit her across the head with a cosh I had concealed in my coat. Unfortunately she moved at the last second, so I didn’t strike a hard enough blow to knock her out. She screamed and cried out for Mike so I hit her again. That finally did the trick and I bundled her into the boat. Unfortunately her hat fell into the water during the struggle but that ended up working in my favour because it made everyone think she’d gone overboard or, to be more precise, that Mike had thrown her overboard. That did make me laugh. Mike was faster than I anticipated. I guess it must be those long legs of his. I just had time to steer the boat under the jetty, as close to the shore as I could get while he dove into the water. He looked up and down the loch and under the water but he failed to look behind him, under the jetty. I suppose it was the panic and as the boat is black we were invisible in the darkness. When he ran back up the jetty to greet the police on their arrival I headed back to the curve in the loch. By the time the police arrived at the edge of the jetty we were well out of sight. I sailed up to the north end of the loch, where it meets the River Cur. I’d left my car there. I injected Isla with a tranquiliser to make sure she stayed nice and quiet then lay her on the back seat and covered her with a blanket. I deflated the boat, rolled it up and stuck it in the boot. I returned home and drove the car straight into the garage. That’s the wonderful thing about having a garage, no one can tell if your vehicle is there or not. I made sure I wasn’t being watched, especially by that nosy bastard Malcolm next door before carrying her into the extension. I placed her in the hatch in the floor.”