Behind A Twisted Smile (Dark Minds Book 2)

by Faith Mortimer

  I realised he meant my strangling Martyn. All I had to do was make sure no one knew I had help at the end. He shook his head before continuing. “When you first rang, I felt crazy with worry, not knowing what I’d find. You should have explained what you were planning.”

  I shuddered. “It was my vendetta, Jon. I had to put right the dreadful things he’d done to my sister and Kate. As well as Amanda’s cousin and those poor little boys. My battle, my crusade. The whole thing was ghastly. He was so close...naked. I didn’t have much time to think about a plan or whether it would work. It was so awful, but I had to do it.” I was shaking once again.

  “Hush.” His arms tightened round me and he whispered sweet, lovely things into my hair, and I knew I’d never be afraid or feel alone again. “It’s all over, sweetheart.”

  Later, I had to give my statement to the police, and afterwards, I had a visit from Inspector Mitchell. I repeated in detail everything I had already told the other officers. The inspector was kind but firm, and at the end, I felt drained. Drained, but in some strange way, cleansed, and I said so.

  “I can understand that. But you took an almighty risk and could have got yourself killed.”

  I thought about this for a moment before replying, “Yes, but don’t you see? What had I to lose? Martyn wrecked so many lives, and although I now have Jon, I seriously doubted whether I could have lived a normal life knowing Martyn, a killer, was out there somewhere. Unchecked, uncaught, and planning it all over again. Nobody believed me, but I was convinced.”

  He stood up and walked across the room, hands in pockets as he thought. “But what if he’d completely washed the blood from his bike? We would never have found a link. What made you think of that?”

  I closed my eyes. “I remembered seeing Evie’s slippers lying just outside the bathroom doorway. Sitting neatly side by side. They were too neatly positioned. I saw blood on the ears of the rabbits and on the soles. I guessed he’d worn Evie’s slippers when he killed her. He didn’t wear his own shoes in case he got blood on them. Then he removed them after killing her in the bath and put his own shoes back on outside the bathroom. Blood was transferred from the slipper to his sock and then onto the bike pedal guard. Because it was on the uppermost part of the guard, he never noticed it.”

  “We never tied the bikes in,” he admitted and turned round to face me, a grim look on his face. “I’m sorry. We assumed if he’d come back to the house, he would have driven, and there were plenty of witnesses who said he and his car never left the hospital. Plus, he used his security pass to get in and out of the car park. No one knew he was a cyclist. We’ve checked out a route, and if he’d gone the back way, over waste ground, then through the fields and woodland to his house, it would have taken him about fifteen minutes. We’ll check it out again of course, but it’s possible.”

  I nodded. “When Evie said she bought new bikes for them, I thought it odd at the time. She hated exercise of any kind, and I didn’t believe anyone could persuade her out on a bike. But that’s not all, Inspector Mitchell…Gary. Evie was left-handed for most things. I spent time with Evie when I found her in the bath, before you all arrived, and to keep myself sane I made myself take a long look at her. I suppose I was looking for clues, reasons, I don’t know what. But I really didn’t believe she killed herself. I recall thinking how neat the gashes on both wrists were. Both of them. And I thought, if she had slit her right wrist first, which would have been the obvious one to do first, then the wound on her left wrist would have been far messier. But it wasn’t, and it just didn’t look right. It got me thinking someone else had cut them. Too neat, you see.”

  He smiled, and I thought he looked as exhausted as I felt. “Quite the detective.”

  “No, just desperate enough to see justice done for my sister. And for Kate too. Her death took place in Scotland, well away from her family and friends. Once she was up that ladder, it would have been easy to push it away, making her fall. Martyn could have legged it down to the loch, no doubt by a roundabout route. In hospital, he’d have known how to finish her off...an injection of something into the IV tubing. He had easy access at the hospital where he worked. What better than to add a lethal dose of whatever analgesia medication she was on?”

  The inspector nodded and he held out his hand. “I sincerely hope we can nail everything on Martyn Cousins, or Thomas Hammond as he was christened. Good luck, Moya. I hope you’re well enough to leave here tomorrow.”

  “Just one last thing puzzles me, Inspector. Why was he so fixated with sisters? Even Amanda said she and her cousin had been brought up as sisters. He sought to destroy those sisterly links. Why?”

  He paused, one hand on the door and turned. “Ah, that’s a sad little story. When you first told me of your concerns, I checked back through old records. It seems Cousins, or Hammond as he was back then, was brought up by his older sister. His father had deserted their mother, who was on the game and an alcoholic as well. The mother died, leaving the brother and sister alone. Martyn was okay until his sister got hooked on drugs, and he was eventually taken into care. But it was too late. He’d seen too much depravity in his childhood, and his sister letting him down was the final straw. I had a chat with our profiler today, and she thinks Martyn blamed women and sisters particularly, for his bad experiences.”

  Chapter 38

  The door opened to my second knock, and for a moment we stood there, both saying nothing before she stood aside and I went in. She gestured me into a neat-looking, square living room, and I sat down on a chestnut-coloured leather settee. She took a seat opposite and regarded me with wide eyes. Her body seemed relaxed, only betrayed by the nervous tic jumping above her left eye. I studied her face, and I noticed she was wearing a high-collared jacket, even though it was a hot day.

  “So, what’s done cannot be undone,” I said, quoting the most famous bard of all.

  She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. “Thank God. Was it all straightforward?”

  I nodded. “It seemed so. I gave my statement, as did Jon. The police are happy. They’ve got their man, tied up a number of murders, which have been on their books for years. Inspector Mitchell is certain Martyn Cousins would have been given the maximum jail sentence if he was still alive.”

  She blinked. “Does he suspect anything? You know…about my part?”

  I shook my head. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. I thought he was a bit suspicious at first. He asked me lots of questions, which I had to consider carefully before answering. Talk about thinking on my feet! In the end, I’m certain he went away believing I was some kind of wonder woman when it came to strength. I even got the feeling he was completely on my side. No…I’d say even if he does suspect someone else helped me, he’s never going to say a word.”

  She sighed. “I’m glad I changed my mind.”

  I shot her a look. “Not half as glad as I was. I keep thinking back to the last few minutes, wondering if I’d have had the strength to maintain control over Martyn. What did make you change your mind?”

  “I wanted to help, truly I did, but after Martyn complained to the police that time, when I tried to get you over to understand my side, I got cold feet. He even made sure I lost my job, although that wasn’t so vital. You have to remember he attacked me once before, and I was terrified of him. And he always seemed to get away scot-free. But in the end, once I knew what you were planning, I kept going over and over it, and I thought I couldn’t let you down. So, I turned up as we agreed, only I was nearly too late. I’m truly sorry. If anything else had happened to you more than you’d already suffered, I…I—”

  “Don’t go there. I’m fine, and you had your own nightmare to live through. You came at the critical time, and that’s all that matters. No one will ever know, at least not from my lips. What now, Amanda? What will you do?”

  She stared at the wall opposite. “Try and forge a new life without Sally. Now he’s dead, I feel I’ve had just revenge. Sally won’t be coming back, but I know
she’d want me to get on with a new life. I thought I might go abroad. Visit the States perhaps. I’m lucky I have some savings. The thought of just taking off and seeing where my feet take me seems inviting.”

  I stood up, knowing she was ready to move on, as I should. “That’s good. I’m really pleased for you. Good luck then, Amanda. I doubt we’ll meet again.”

  “No, best not. Good luck to you too, and thanks, you’re a wonderful person. Evie was lucky to have you as a sister.”

  Our eyes locked, our bodies stiff and embarrassed. We had shared perhaps the most intimate of situations, and yet, we were still virtual strangers. Then, the next moment we were hugging each other, and without another word, I left her house. No, we would never see each other again, but now there was no need.

  ***

  I drove home, feeling slightly light-headed. The memory of what I had gone through and Amanda’s part in it was still fresh in my mind. Not only would we never meet again, we would never breathe a word to anyone else. What we had done was right. We hadn’t planned Martyn’s death. It just happened. Amanda had agreed to meet me at the house and help keep watch. She would have been a vital witness when I found evidence that Martyn had returned home that afternoon and murdered my sister. And she had turned up, albeit nearly too late. It had been her gloved hands which had helped me throttle the life out of Martyn, and neither of us wasted one second regretting it.

  My thoughts switched to Darcy and Mum. I knew I’d never forget the moment when Mum and I first made up. She had aged something terrible since Evie’s death, a shell of the woman I knew and loved. And when she apologised for being horrible and not believing me, I felt completely choked up inside.

  “You were right all along,” she sobbed. “To think I could have lost you, too, and as for Darcy…” She couldn’t finish and I wrapped my arms around her frail body.

  “Darcy will be okay, Mum, she’s a tough little cookie really. Look, you don’t want to know all the details, but she’s promised me that Martyn didn’t do half the things he claimed he’d done to her. She isn’t a baby and not stupid. You heard what her counsellor said. She’s going to be all right. It’s us who need to be patient. It’ll just take time for all of us.”

  As I pulled up outside my house, I sighed and choked back a sob. Everything was still so raw. And despite feeling relieved on one hand I did have one huge regret. Ever since, discovering Martyn at Faye’s, she hadn’t been in touch. Not even after I was rescued and taken to hospital. Her silence was like an insulting brick wall.

  I made up all sorts of excuses for why she was cold-shouldering me, but we had known each other since we were toddlers, and her rejection hurt me more than I could bear. But if that was what she wanted, then fine. It wasn’t me who had gone around killing innocent women. I could learn to live without my life-long friend; I didn’t need her anyway.

  “Hi, darling, I’m home,” I called out as soon as I opened the front door, Tango bounded out to greet me, wagging his tail like mad and pushing his nose against my knee. Jon appeared in the doorway of the kitchen at the end of the hallway, a wine bottle and opener in his hand. He put a finger to his lips and beckoned me over to him.

  I slipped off my shoes and walked the length of the hall. “What?” I whispered.

  His answered with a simple smile. “I’ll bring you a glass of wine. Go on,” he said indicating with a nod of his head and a slight push that I should go into the living room.

  I shrugged, pushed open the door and found Faye sitting on the sofa. She glanced across as soon as I entered and stood up, her face crumpling.

  “I’m so sorry, Moya. How could I have been so stupid?”

  Without hesitation, I dropped my bag and rushed towards her, our arms outstretched. How wrong could I have been and who was I kidding? We all need best friends.

  The End.

  November 2014

  Please Tweet/Facebook, “Behind A Twisted Smile” once you’ve finished and pass the word on.

  To date Faith Mortimer has written and published:

  ‘THE ASSASSINS' VILLAGE’. (1st novel in The Diana Rivers series). A murder mystery set in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus. This 93,000 word paperback & eBook was chosen on the Harper Collins/Authonomy site out of over 8000 books to be the Number 1 book!

  ‘CHILDREN OF THE PLANTATION’. Published in paperback & eBook, (2nd in The Diana Rivers series), murder mystery, set in exotic Malaysia during the 1960's and 1950's and the present. The story concerns a family whose dark secrets threaten to destroy the family.

  ‘THE SURGEON'S BLADE’. (3rd in the Diana Rivers series) Published in paperback and eBook. This psychological thriller is tense and thrilling and guarantees to keep you on the edge of your seat!

  ‘THE BAMBOO MIRROR’. An eclectic collection of short stories, covering subjects including: ghosts, murder, mystery, romance and greed.

  ‘CAMERA-ACTION-MURDER!’ The 4th novel in the “Diana Rivers” Murder Mystery series.

  'THE SEEDS OF TIME - BOOK 1 of THE CROSSING'. Action-Adventure plus Romantic Suspense. (published June 2012).

  'HARVEST - BOOK 2 of THE CROSSING' Continues from Book 1. Action-Adventure full of romantic suspense. (published July 2012).

  ‘A VERY FRENCH AFFAIR’. Romance, Heartache and Suspense set on the beautiful south coast of France. To be published in 2013

  ‘CHILDHUNT’ The 5th Mystery/Suspense Novel featuring Diana Rivers – Children are missing in the depths of an unusually cold Cyprus winter.

  ‘ON DEVIL’S BRAE’ – An Exciting Psychological Thriller set in the wilds of Scotland. – 1st Novel in the “Dark Minds” series

  ‘ON CHRISTMAS HILL (A SEASONAL AFFAIR)’ – Romance blossoms at Christmastide.

  ‘A DEADLY LEARNING’ The 6th Mystery/Suspense Novel featuring Diana Rivers on “vacation” in Portugal

  ‘A VERY ENGLISH AFFAIR’ - A Romantic Novel in the Best Selling Series "A Very…...Affair"

  ‘SANDSTORM IN MY HEART’ a Romantic Novelette

  ‘NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS’ - A Very Seasonal Affair - NEW

  Find out more about Faith Mortimer and her books at:

  www.faithmortimerauthor.com

  www.facebook.com/FaithMortimer.Author

  http://twitter.com/FaithMortimer