Scared to Death (A Detective Kay Hunter novel)

by Rachel Amphlett

  ‘I’ll get Gavin to have CCTV onto it, too.’

  ‘Good. Make those calls, and then we’ll go.’

  Kay headed to her car, her shoes splashing through the water in the gutter before she bundled herself behind the steering wheel and slammed the door shut.

  She pulled out her phone, and hit speed dial, turning up the volume to compensate for the rain drumming on the roof.

  Sharp answered within two rings.

  ‘Kay?’

  ‘We’ve got the details for his mother’s car – according to a neighbour, Eli took off in it. We’re checking CCTV, and all patrols have been instructed to keep a look out and apprehend on suspicion of Beryl Matthews’ death.’

  ‘So he kills his mother and takes her car? Sounds extreme.’

  ‘One of the neighbours told us that Beryl Matthews was an alcoholic, and a nasty one at that. They’ve lived here since Eli was a kid,’ she added, checking the notes she’d jotted down before leaving Felix Peters. ‘Eli went away, but returned seventeen months ago unannounced. Ties in with his personnel record at the depot. Within a week, the neighbour noticed he had bruising to his face and arms, even though Eli tried to cover it up with make-up.’

  ‘His mother hit him?’

  ‘Apparently so. Used to beat him as a kid when she got drunk, and it doesn’t sound like she ever stopped. His father walked out when he was five, and never came back.’

  ‘So, is this self-defence?’

  Kay bumped her fist against the car window as she mulled it over. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Maybe it was meant to be, but it took a lot of force – anger – to cause her head to snap back at the angle Lucas thinks it did. CSI found vials of insulin in Beryl’s handbag. Looks like some of it’s been removed.’

  She glanced up as a shadow crossed the back window, and then Barnes began to open the passenger door before he looked at his phone and raised it to his ear.

  ‘We’re going to join the search,’ she said to Sharp. ‘We’ll maintain radio contact, and I’ll phone you direct with an update as soon as we have anything to report. At least, once we have him in custody, we can try to ascertain his involvement with the kidnapping and death of Melanie Richards again, too.’

  She finished the call, and looked across as Barnes wrenched open the car door, his phone clutched to his chest.

  His face was white.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘That was Eli Matthews,’ he said, his voice shaking. ‘He’s got my daughter. The bastard’s taken Emma.’

  FIFTY-SIX

  Kay threw the car around the bend, and ignored the grunt Barnes emitted when the side of his head smacked against the car window.

  ‘I’ll phone Sarah. Find out what the hell is going on.’

  ‘Wait – what? Sarah Thomas is your ex-wife?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You never mentioned you had a daughter, Ian.’

  He sniffed, and dialled a number. ‘She hasn’t wanted anything to do with me since I split up from her mother. She doesn’t even use my surname.’

  ‘But I interviewed her about Melanie Richards,’ said Kay, dumbstruck. ‘You’d have thought one of them would’ve mentioned you to me, surely?’

  Barnes coughed out a bitter laugh. ‘She hates me being a detective. They both do.’

  ‘You didn’t mention anything in the briefings about your being related, either.’

  ‘I didn’t want to get them involved. I was trying to protect them.’

  Kay swore under her breath. There would be time for recriminations later, but for now, her priority was finding Emma.

  ‘How does he know she’s your daughter?’

  ‘She had an old photo of me in uniform in her purse. He must’ve seen me at the courier depot and put two and two together.’

  ‘Shit.’

  ‘Hello?’ Barnes turned his attention back to his phone as his ex-wife answered. ‘Why the hell didn’t you tell me Emma was missing?’

  Kay bit her lip, and concentrated on manoeuvring the car through the traffic while she listened to Barnes’ end of the conversation.

  ‘When? For chrissakes, Sarah, you should have told me!’ He sucked in a deep breath. ‘He’s taken her, Sarah. The same man who took Melanie. He’s taken her!’

  He ended the call, and threw the phone onto the dashboard where it slipped across towards Kay.

  She grabbed it before it could fall, and handed it back to him. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Sarah and Vince woke up Thursday morning to find Emma gone,’ he said, his voice shaking. ‘She left a note, said she was going clubbing with her friend Tanya the previous night, and was going to stay at her friend’s parents’ house for the rest of the week – said she couldn’t stand being cooped up in the house any more. Said she’d be back this weekend, before she’s due to go back to school.’ He stopped, his chest heaving. ‘Emma and Tanya often camp out at each other’s houses, so Sarah didn’t worry too much. Said she thought it’d probably do her good. When Emma still wasn’t home by this morning, Sarah phoned Tanya. She hasn’t spoken to Emma since Wednesday night. Oh god—’

  ‘Wednesday night? Didn’t her friend report her missing?’

  Barnes shook his head. ‘Apparently they had a falling out – Tanya went off with her boyfriend, leaving Emma on her own. When she got home Thursday morning and Emma wasn’t there, she figured she was sulking and had gone home.’

  ‘No ransom request?’

  ‘None.’

  Kay frowned, and then it hit her. ‘He hasn’t had time to phone them. He’s been with us.’

  She grabbed the radio from its cradle on the dashboard, and held it to her lips.

  ‘This is DS Hunter. Do not – I repeat, do not – apprehend Eli Matthews. Maintain your distance if you find him, but he is not to be detained until I say so.’

  She tossed the radio over to Barnes, who caught it and held it between his hands, his knuckles white.

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘He’s got her.’

  ‘I know, Ian. Focus. What exactly did he say to you?’

  She heard him exhale as she slowed to negotiate a red light, and put her foot to the floor as soon as she was clear of the junction.

  ‘He said “if you want to see your daughter alive again, call off the search for me. She hasn’t got long”. That was it.’

  ‘Background sounds?’

  ‘He was driving.’ Barnes frowned. ‘There was a horn in the background – a train horn.’

  ‘So he’s somewhere near a railway line.’

  ‘That doesn’t help,’ he snapped. ‘There are two near here.’

  ‘We can—’

  Her phone interrupted. She pointed to her bag in the foot well next to the passenger seat. ‘Get that.’

  Barnes leaned forward, tore open the zipper, and put her phone to his ear. ‘Ian Barnes.’

  Kay pulled the vehicle up to the gate of the police station car park, and nodded to the security guard who waved her through. She glanced over at Barnes, and realised how sick he looked.

  He finished the call and met her gaze.

  ‘Uniform didn’t get the call in time. They’ve arrested Eli Matthews.’

  FIFTY-SEVEN

  Kay’s mind raced as she and Barnes ran towards the entrance to the police station.

  Sharp met them at the door. ‘What the hell is going on?’

  ‘Eli Matthews murdered his mother,’ said Kay, as they hurried towards the incident room. ‘He went on the run, and we put out a call for his arrest. Then, Matthews phoned Barnes to say he had his daughter, Emma Thomas, and implied he’d harm her if Barnes didn’t call off the hunt. He said Emma was “running out of time”.’

  Sharp’s eyes flicked to the older detective, who paced impatiently between the desks, his jaw clenched. ‘How did he find out Emma was Barnes’ daughter?’

  Kay explained about the photograph. ‘I think he got lucky,’ she said, ‘but we know he did get bullied by her and Melanie Ric
hards.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘By the time we put the instruction through not to arrest him, it was too late. A uniform patrol picked him up.’

  They turned at the sound of the side door to the station banging open, and a uniformed police officer appeared, leading Eli Matthews. A second officer brought up the rear.

  ‘You bastard,’ Barnes snarled, and rushed at Matthews.

  The officer’s eyes opened wide as Barnes barrelled into him, and aimed a punch at Matthews.

  Eli ducked, his hands handcuffed behind his back, a sly smile on his face.

  ‘Enough!’ bellowed Sharp.

  He strode over to where Barnes stood ready to take aim once more, and hauled him backwards. ‘Enough, Detective. This isn’t helping.’

  He gestured to the two uniformed officers. ‘Get Matthews to the custody suite. Now.’

  They nodded, and led the man away.

  ‘Come on, Ian,’ said Kay. She put a hand on his arm. ‘Come on.’ She turned to Carys, who was watching, wide-eyed. ‘Take him back to the incident room. Stay there.’

  She stood back to let them pass, her gaze taking in the look on Barnes’ face.

  The man didn’t look angry; he looked scared, and she suddenly realised that was exactly what Eli wanted.

  Barnes was terrified.

  She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, and faced Sharp.

  ‘We’ll get Matthews booked in and processed as soon as possible,’ he said, in a low voice. ‘I’ll interview him with DCI Larch. Get Carys to coordinate the search. You act as liaison between observing the interview and helping Carys. We’ll find her.’

  She nodded. ‘Sir.’

  Christ, I hope so, she thought, as she tore back along the corridor to the incident room.

  The whole team had assembled, gathered around Barnes as Carys tried to calm him down.

  ‘All right, everyone,’ she called. ‘Enough. We’ve got work to do.’

  She turned her attention to Debbie West. ‘Go and speak to the uniformed officers who arrested Eli. Find out where they picked him up. Get back here as fast as you can.’

  She pointed at the map on the wall as the young PC shot off. ‘I’m hoping they were close to where he’s keeping Emma.’

  ‘We’re never going to find her in time.’ Barnes pulled at his hair, a vein on his forehead pulsing. ‘She’s going to die, isn’t she?’

  Kay pursed her lips. ‘Look, Bernard Coombs said he found Eli’s broken down van here,’ she said, tapping the blue pin that had been stabbed into the map. She traced her finger across the surface. ‘He favours abandoned places. Somewhere he won’t be disturbed. Somewhere Emma won’t be heard.’

  ‘Wait,’ said Carys. ‘He said she’s running out of time. He hasn’t had the chance to do anything elaborate like he did with Melanie – we’ve been keeping him occupied.’

  Kay’s gaze wandered to the rain pelting against the window, then back to Carys.

  ‘Get onto the council, and to local patrols. Make a list of any abandoned places within a three-mile radius of where Coombs saw Eli, and where he was arrested earlier. We’ll start with that.

  She turned to Barnes, who looked as if his knees were going to give way at any moment. ‘Ian, you’re formally stood down from this investigation.’

  ‘Kay—’

  ‘That’s an order. We’ll keep you updated with all developments, but your personal involvement is not going to help at this time.’

  His gaze fell to the floor. ‘Yes, Sarge.’

  KAY WATCHED THE MONITOR, and nibbled at the corner of a fingernail as Sharp guided Eli into one of the plastic seats across from where DCI Larch sat, and waited while the duty solicitor fussed about with his coat and briefcase.

  Once he’d settled, Sharp took a seat, reached over, started the recording, and made the introductions. He glanced at Larch, who gave an imperceptible nod, and began by cautioning their suspect.

  ‘Do you understand?’

  Eli smirked, and said nothing.

  The duty solicitor cleared his throat. ‘Mr Matthews, you do have to answer.’

  Eli leaned forward. ‘Yes. I understand.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Kay watched as Sharp opened the manilla folder in front of him that they had put together. She knew he didn’t need it; he knew the contents word for word, but it would help him control the pace of the interview, and given their previous encounter, they knew full well that Eli understood the game that was about to be played out. The last thing they could do was appear to be desperate. It’s why Sharp had placed Eli and his solicitor in the seats facing the clock on the wall. He didn’t want the temptation.

  He folded his hands on the opening page, and lifted his gaze.

  Eli’s eyes snapped up to meet his, and for a moment, Kay thought she saw a glimmer of panic.

  Good.

  ‘Where is Emma Thomas?’

  ‘Who’s that?’

  ‘Nice try, Eli.’ Sharp shrugged. ‘Very well. Let’s talk about your mother.’

  He flicked to the next page. ‘Your mother’s body was discovered earlier this afternoon, at the house you share with her,’ he said. ‘There was a struggle in the hallway. She was pushed backwards with such force, that her head smashed against the stair bannister. She was killed instantly.’

  ‘The bitch deserved it,’ said Eli.

  Kay raised an eyebrow as the duty solicitor spluttered a retort to his client.

  ‘Oh, shut up,’ said Eli, rounding on him. ‘Just sit there and shut up.’

  Kay held her breath. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but Eli unnerved her. He showed no remorse at all for his mother’s death, had effectively dismissed it as a passing problem, and seemed utterly focused on taunting them instead about Emma’s whereabouts. Sharp and DCI Larch would have to be ruthless if they were going to find the girl.

  ‘Why did you leave Suffolk, Eli?’

  Sharp kept his tone measured, refusing to react to Eli’s outburst.

  Eli’s head snapped around, his rant at the duty solicitor cut off mid-sentence.

  ‘What?’

  Sharp smiled; a predatory expression on his features. ‘What happened, Eli? Did you make a mistake? Did you have to run away?’

  Eli’s jaw clenched.

  ‘Where is Emma Thomas?’

  Eli smiled, and raised his gaze to a point above Sharp’s head.

  ‘We’ve been having a lot of rain lately, Detectives,’ he said, his voice almost trancelike. ‘I’d imagine Emma’s feet are getting wet by now, don’t you?’

  ‘Where is she, Eli?’

  ‘Will Detective Barnes find his daughter in time, do you think?’ Eli continued, seemingly oblivious to the question. ‘What’s his health like, Detective?’ He leaned back, and ran his tongue over his top lip. ‘What do you think it will do to him when he finds her drowned, all bloated, and blue?’

  He leaned back, and stared straight into the lens of the camera.

  In the observation room, Kay jumped in her seat.

  Eli winked. ‘Tick tock, Detectives. Tick tock.’

  FIFTY-EIGHT

  Kay glanced away from the screen at a knock on the door.

  It opened without her having a chance to respond, and Gavin Piper stuck his head around.

  ‘Sarge?’

  ‘What have you got?’

  ‘We’ve received a call from Harriet,’ he said. ‘She’s found a partial fingerprint matched to Melanie’s, from the van that was seized at the lock-up garage.’

  ‘Where?’ breathed Kay.

  ‘Over the wheel arch on the inside of the van,’ said Gavin. ‘Harriet thinks Eli wiped away any traces where his hands would have been when he cleaned the van, but he seems to have overlooked the wheel arch. Harriet couldn’t confirm it until she had the results back.’

  ‘How the hell did she get the results so fast?’

  Kay frowned – fingerprint matching normally took weeks with the backlog the lab usually had, an
d even an urgent request could take forty-eight hours to process. They couldn’t afford to have to drop charges for Melanie’s murder against Eli simply because an impatient CSI decided to cut corners.

  ‘Apparently, she drove over to the golf course at Sutton Valence where the lab technician was playing nine holes,’ said Gavin. ‘She threatened all sorts of things, but got the guy to get in his car and drive over to the lab straight away.’ He held up a printout of an email. ‘Confirmation came through a couple of minutes before I interrupted you.’

  Kay snatched the paper from his outstretched hand, her eyes scanning the page. ‘Good work, Harriet,’ she murmured. She leaned forward, and hit a switch.

  ‘Sir? An urgent word, please.’

  Sharp glanced up at the camera in the interview room, then leaned across and terminated the recording before hurrying from the room.

  Within seconds, he appeared at the door to the observation suite.

  ‘How do you want to run with this?’ said Kay, after explaining what the forensic team had found.

  ‘We charge him with Melanie’s kidnapping and murder,’ said Sharp, ‘that’ll shock him into giving up Emma’s location. He might think he’ll reduce his sentence if he helps us now.’

  He spun on his heel and put his hand on the door handle.

  ‘Wait.’

  He glanced over his shoulder, and raised his eyebrow at Kay.

  ‘I don’t think mentioning this will help Emma,’ she said.

  She stepped closer, and lowered her voice. ‘Eli Matthews thrives on scaring people to death. Melanie, Tony Richards, Guy Nelson. If we walk in there and try to get him to tell us where Emma is, he’s going to know we’re desperate.’

  Sharp’s hand dropped away from the handle. ‘We are desperate. So you’re going to have to do better than that.’

  Kay ran her hand through her hair, and paced the corridor. ‘Eli made a comment in there, just now,’ she said, and pointed at the door. ‘He said “it’s been raining heavily for a while now”, and then said Emma wouldn’t have much time. Why?’

  ‘Wherever she is, the water’s rising,’ said Gavin, stepping forward. ‘If it’s a drain, or a sewer, the water from all the roads in that area would pass through it.’