The Secrets of the Shadows (The Annie Graham series - Book 2)

by Helen Phifer

  Chapter 25

  Detective Inspector Dave Martin led the way up the steps to the house, closely followed by Will, both of them rustling loudly as they walked in matching white crime scene suits, face masks, boot covers, hoods pulled up and latex gloves. Will thought he was going to pass out he was so hot. As they stepped through the door to the house Will heard his boss dry heave into his face mask. Will did his best not to inhale but the smell was terrible and it filled the whole house. He wasn’t looking forward to meeting Ryan Trelmain if it was him. They went up the stairs, staying close to the wall, Will mirroring Dave’s footsteps so as not to trample everything. The less disturbance the more chance the CSI would find some evidence. He forgot and inhaled which made his eyes water. They went into the bedroom with the door open, Scott had told him all the bedroom doors had been closed and they had checked each room, shutting the doors as they left until they found the one with the body, which they had left ajar so they knew which one to go in. The room was stifling; Will looked at the radiator, it was turned up as high as it would go. He didn’t want to touch the dial in case there were fingerprints on it but he needed to locate the main central heating control and turn it off. The heat was unbearable, combined with the smell and the heat from outside, for the first time ever Will worried he might pass out and that was before he looked at the body in the bed. Steeling himself he looked over to the double bed. One side of the cover was thrown back over the body and he thought about Laura, it would have been the last place she slept. He surveyed the room taking his time; there was an almost empty bottle of water on the floor. At the foot of the bed were a crumpled pair of jeans and the white tee shirt that the man she left with had been wearing. Will felt uncomfortable, like a voyeur, he was seeing things about other people’s lives that he had no right to see.

  Dave turned to him, ‘Shit for sugar, it looks like we’ve found our man and it looks like he was killed the same night as Laura judging by the state of decomp.’

  Will stepped closer to the bed to take a close look at the man he’d spent the last three days searching for: the duvet covered his bottom half but his boss had lifted the top part back, exposing his chest. Due to the heat in the room and the temperature outside it had sped things up a lot, the chest and lower abdomen had inflated with gas and were tinged green with marbling all over. His eyes, which were open, were covered with a milky film and one eye was covered with bluebottle larvae as were his nose and mouth. Will looked at the huge butcher’s knife which was protruding from his chest, a trickle of blood had run down from the wound, not as much as he would have expected but the knife was buried to the hilt and the blood could be underneath his body or it could have bled internally, whatever it was Matt would be able to confirm at the post mortem. Will was surprised the killer had resorted to more extreme violence but the man on the bed was big, with lots of muscles. So he’d gone for a swift kill, what did this tell Will? That he had killed this way so there was less chance of a fight. Maybe he wasn’t scared of blood but just preferred not to kill that way. The heat and the putrid smell got too much and Will pointed towards the door. Dave nodded and this time it was Will who left first. When he finally made it out into the fresh air he ripped off his face mask, struggling for breath. He began to take deep breaths not caring who was watching because right now he was very close to losing it for the first time in eight years. A hand on his shoulder squeezed hard and he turned to look at his boss who once he’d pulled his mask down looked as green as Will felt. Matt arrived and Will nodded at him, ‘It’s bad.’

  ‘I’ll go in and do the preliminaries, and then you can get it processed.’

  ‘I’ll come back in with you.’ He snapped his mask back over his nose and followed him. He would be quite happy to never have to set foot in this house ever again but he felt responsible. He knew that Laura had been flirting in front of him to try and make him jealous and he’d stuck his head in his pint of lager, letting her leave with a total stranger, and now they were both dead.

  ***

  Sean was off work but he had heard on the radio that the police had sealed off St Mary’s Road, the church and the presbytery because a body had been found inside. His normally calm exterior didn’t look so calm today, his stomach was rolling and he felt as if he was on a boat that was sailing across the choppiest of seas. He hadn’t shaved for a couple of days and had a dark stubble on his face, he had to keep reminding himself that he needed to keep it together, it was okay. They would take hours to process the scene, he had worn gloves the whole time so he hadn’t left any prints but still something was niggling away at him. He was pacing up and down his living room and needed to do something but he had no idea what, he might go and sit outside the hairdressers for a while and watch his next girl to keep his mind busy. He wanted to check out the next church but he didn’t know how good Will was, had he figured out that it was all the priest’s fault. If he had then he would more than likely have plain clothes officers watching the other two churches the priest sometimes worked from. He couldn’t risk it in daylight, it would be much better to go when it was dark.

  He picked up his keys from the coffee table in the living room and went outside to his black truck. Once inside he drove to the car park opposite the hairdressers and parked in a space where he could see in through the huge glass window. He even took what change he had from the drinks holder and went and bought a ticket from the machine and a paper from the shop nearby. He wound the windows down, spread his paper across the steering wheel and leant back watching the woman inside the shop. He wished that he’d brought his radio home with him to listen to what was going on but that would have been a bad idea, the minute he turned it on it would show up at the control room at Penrith that he was on duty and it would have raised suspicion. But it would have been nice to have heard exactly what was going on. He wondered again how good Will actually was and if he would have him arrested before he even got chance to kill girl number three. For the first time he realised that it could come to that, he could end up handcuffed and put in the cells. Bollocks, he had been so infatuated with the thought of getting his revenge on the priest he had never really given much thought to what might happen if he got caught. They hated cops in prison. Being on his own didn’t bother him, he’d been on his own since the day he found his mum dead and he’d never really got close to anyone. Always afraid they would leave him, it was better to be alone than live with the constant fear. He supposed if faced with the choice he’d probably kill himself, maybe his mum and Sophie would be waiting for him, but then again he had killed innocent women and a man so he didn’t deserve to go to a better place. He would wait and see what today brought and there was always the mental health act, he could convince them he was insane and get put into a secure hospital, at least then it wouldn’t matter who he was.

  ***

  When the crime scene had been thoroughly processed and they could leave it guarded by PCSOs, Will had gone back to the car to strip off. The paper suit was stuck to his back and even more difficult than normal to get out of but he finally managed it and put everything into a brown paper evidence bag. He wished that he could get rid of the smell as easily but it was still there. Lifting his shirt sleeve up he sniffed, it smelled terrible, a combination of sweat and dead body. That was one scent that was never going to be bottled and be available to buy in the shops in time for Father’s Day. He needed to go home and shower, change his clothes. It was almost six and he was knackered. Matt had arranged to do the PM first thing in the morning so at least he didn’t have to go through that tonight. Will didn’t even want to go and face Annie he smelled that bad, so he waved an officer over and told him to take him home. They got into the patrol car and the officer immediately put both front windows down full. Will put his head back and muttered, ‘Sorry.’ When he got to his front door he heard the house phone ringing and ran to answer it. ‘Hello.’

  ‘It’s Dad, just checking up on you. I’ve rung your mobile a couple of times.’

&
nbsp; ‘Sorry, I’ve been at a murder scene all afternoon and couldn’t answer. Is everything okay?’

  ‘Fine, everything’s fine, sorry son I should have realised you were busy. It’s a mess isn’t it? I’m phoning because Lily keeps pestering me to remind you about tomorrow night. Please say you can still come, she’ll kill me if you don’t.’

  Will laughed, ‘I will try my best, tell her I promise.’ After tomorrow’s post mortem he wasn’t sure how he would feel about eating charcoaled animal flesh but he needed a break.

  ‘Good lad, you know it makes sense for the both of us if you turn up. She means well, most people are coming for six but you just get here when you can. If you’re late I’ll save you a couple of nice steaks and I’ve got you a case of your favourite lager chilling in the fridge. Why don’t you stay the night? Have a night off, turn your phone off.’

  ‘I think I might, it sounds like heaven. Tell Lily thanks and I’ll see you both tomorrow and can you please tell her from me that I don’t need fixing up with some rich businessman’s spinster daughter, I’m okay in that department.’

  His dad laughed, ‘Yep, will do but you know Lily, she can’t help herself, she sees it as her role in life to get you settled down and married.’

  Will put the phone down and went upstairs to shower, then he was going to bin the clothes he was wearing and put on his comfy jogging pants and a tee shirt. If he had to go back to work he was going relaxed for once.

  Chapter 26

  Annie sat with Father John whilst Stu took a statement from him and she listened to the man answer every question Stu asked, whilst looking him in the eye and never shying away once even though he was clearly distressed. Annie knew that until they knew better John would be a suspect but she didn’t believe for one minute that he had anything to do with the murders and she trusted her instinct a lot more than anyone else’s judgment. When Stu had finished asking the questions it was John’s turn.

  ‘I need to know who the man is inside my house because as far as I’m concerned the only people who have access to it are myself and my nephew. As I’m sitting talking to you that must mean that the body inside is Ryan, who else could it be?’

  Stu looked across at Annie, ‘Can I have a word?’

  Annie stood up and put her hand on John’s shoulder. ‘Give me a minute, I’ll find out exactly what’s going on.’ She walked towards the back of the church and Stu followed. ‘Look I know you can’t say much but the man has a right to know. What was he wearing or can you not get a picture of his face for him to look at. It’s not fair he’s been here for hours and he’s sick with worry. He needs putting out of his misery one way or another.’

  Stu shrugged, ‘You’re right and I totally agree with you. It looks as if it is his nephew but that’s not for me to say. I’ll go and see if Debs can nip in and show him a picture of the man’s face but it’s not nice, it will be a bit of a shock for him.’

  ‘Thanks Stu, I’ll go and prepare him let him know it’s bad. He will be the one who is going to the hospital for the official identification anyway.’

  Annie walked back towards where John was sitting and Stu went outside. ‘John we are going to get a photo of the man’s face so you can take a look and see if he is Ryan. I have to warn you though it isn’t very nice; he’s been there a couple of days so there will be some swelling and possibly some insect larvae on his face.’

  ‘I don’t care I need to see, I need to know if it’s Ryan and then I can figure out how to break it to my sister before it’s all over the news.’

  The church door slammed shut as a gust of wind took it from Stu’s grasp; Debs was in front of him. Annie wanted to throw up as she waited for them to approach. Debs lifted her face mask up and nodded at John, she lifted the camera and after a couple of seconds of flicking through the pictures found one that was the most suitable. She held it towards John who stood up to take a look; he pulled his glasses from his shirt pocket and slipped them on. Then he took one look at the mottled green face on the screen and sat back down. He whispered, ‘Thank you dear, I’d like to confirm that is my nephew Ryan.’

  Annie sat next to him and put her arm around his shoulders; she felt a lump in her throat and couldn’t speak so she just rubbed his back. He nodded at Debs. ‘I’m really sorry for your loss,’ Debs said. Then she turned to go back and finish what she had been doing.

  Stu looked across to Annie, ‘I’ll let the D.I know.’ Then he turned and followed Debs out of the door.

  Annie turned to John, ‘I don’t know what to say, I’m so, so sorry.’

  ‘I don’t know what to do, I can’t let my sister find out about this on the news but I don’t think I can manage the drive down to tell her.’

  ‘We can contact the local police station nearest to your sister and they will despatch a Family Liaison Officer to go and speak to her. These are highly trained officers who will be able to support her in every possible way. Would you like me to arrange it and once the officer is at your sister’s house you could phone and speak to her then.’

  He nodded, ‘Could you do that? It would be most appreciated, thank you Annie.’

  Chapter 27

  Sean ran his hand over his head, his hair was pretty short but it gave him an excuse to go inside the hairdressers and break the ice. Make an appointment with his next angel; he might get it all shaved off, totally bald. They would probably take the piss out of him at work for weeks though if he walked in looking like a thug. He had a clear view of her through the window because her workstation was next to it, she had worked solid since he’d got there. His stomach let out a loud growl, lunchtime, and if he was hungry then she must be too. He hoped she’d need to leave the salon to go and get some lunch. He folded the paper and watched intently, ten minutes later he was rewarded as she came out of the shop wearing a pair of dark sunglasses; she had tied her long hair up into a high pony tail and looked quite stunning. He got out of the truck and followed her from a safe distance. She walked thirty seconds up Dalton Road, the main shopping street, turned left and walked into the new delicatessen. He followed her in, standing behind her in the queue. She asked for a chicken salad on a brown baguette, no butter and a little bit of light mayo. Sean wondered if she knew this could be her last meal would she have gone the whole hog and had butter and full-fat mayo. Another assistant asked him what he wanted and he repeated her order, the girl turned to look at him with a look of sympathy on her face.

  ‘You too? Bloody diets.’

  He smiled and nodded his head. ‘I know, I seem to spend all my time dreaming about food.’ The assistant passed her change and she smiled at him before she left the shop. The girl serving him began to slice his baguette. ‘Actually I’ve changed my mind can I have chicken mayo, no salad and two sausage rolls.’ He paid for his food and then casually strolled back to his truck.

  ***

  Annie got off the phone to the DI. She hadn’t been able to get hold of Will and suspected that he’d called it a night, he’d been working solid since Laura’s murder and the DI was fresh from his weekend away. ‘John, I know that you don’t want to leave here but there is absolutely nothing you can do here tonight. The house is a crime scene and is likely to be sealed off for a couple of days; there isn’t any way you will be allowed inside. Do you have anyone you could stay with?

  He shook his head, ‘No, yes well probably but I don’t want to. I want to be on my own. I’ll stay here in the church if it’s okay with you, there’s a blanket in the vestry and a blow up bed that no-one claimed at the summer fair. I’ll be fine. I’d like to stay close by and I also have a long and meaningful conversation that I need to have with God.’

  He was trying to joke but it didn’t sound as funny as it should. ‘Are you sure? Can I get you something to eat, a sandwich, or something to drink?’

  ‘No thank you, I don’t seem to have much of an appetite and if I have a drink it will be of the spirit kind and not orange juice. I may just raid the communion wine. There is a wh
ole case of the stuff which was sent by mistake, it’s far too strong to give out at morning mass. I meant to send it back and didn’t get around to it, thank the good Lord for something.’

  The sarcasm in his tone was biting and Annie felt terrible for him. ‘I’m going to let whoever is guarding the scene know that you’ll be in here then they don’t get scared and wonder who is wandering around in the church and then I’m going to have to go home. I should have finished work a couple of hours ago and I need a shower.’

  Father John stood up and hugged her. ‘Of course, thank you Annie but you shouldn’t have hung around here to keep me company. You have a life to go home to, but I do appreciate you being here. I hope whoever the lucky man is truly appreciates how special you are.’

  Annie laughed, ‘I can stay a bit longer if you want me to, it’s no bother.’

  ‘No, you go home I insist, I’ll be fine, just let your officers know so they don’t come and taser me in the middle of the night.’

  She walked towards the door and felt her heart strings tug at the sight of the man who was now kneeling down and praying at the foot of the altar. As she opened the church door she got a whiff of the smell which had filled her house and she grimaced. She looked across to the house and street outside the church. Both were sealed off with blue and white police tape, there was no-one around except for two PCSOs who were standing either end of the street to stop people walking all over the crime scene. Annie headed towards Sally, who she used to work with. ‘Hiya, the priest is still in the church. He said he has nowhere to go and he wants to be close by. I’ve checked with the DI who said its okay as long as he doesn’t try to get into the house, so can you keep an eye on him please.’