His reasons for killing Rob remained unclear. Ed had given a convoluted account of how they had disposed of the dead body of an enemy agent who had been spying on them. Neighbours on one side of Brian’s house confirmed that Rob had cleaned their windows on the day he had disappeared. He had never reached the property on the other side of the house. It seemed that, unlike the other two, Rob’s murder had not been planned. If Ed’s account was accurate, Brian had killed Rob in the paranoid belief that he was a spy. Brian himself refused to discuss what had happened.
‘Ed told us you dragged the body into the back of his van and drove away with it.’
‘Ed’s lying. Who’s Ed? I don’t know anyone called Ed.’
‘Ed’s the boy you locked in your cellar.’
‘There’s no one in my cellar.’
When Geraldine assured him she was telling the truth, he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. ‘You would say that, wouldn’t you? You’re in on it with them. You’re all in on it. You think I can’t see that? Do I look like a mug?’
‘From where I’m sitting I’d say you look like a calculating killer who planned two murders, and then carried out a third when you thought an innocent man had seen the kidnapped boy in your house…’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. You can’t prove any of this.’
‘Do you deny you kidnapped Ed Robinson?’
‘I don’t know anyone called Ed.’
‘I was there when you saw Matthew and mistook him for his identical twin,’ Geraldine reminded him softly. ‘I was there when you recognised him. You said you’d taken him to the seaside. We checked with him and he’s corroborated your story. You did take him to the seaside. Just to be sure, we’re checking CCTV. Once we find your car, and see where you were headed, we’ll do extensive door-to-door questioning and find out where you went. It won’t be difficult, and we’ll find out what we need to know, however long it takes. You must have stopped for food or petrol at some point. Maybe both,’ she added, catching sight of Brian’s expression. ‘There’s no point in lying any longer. You’ll only make the case against you worse. If you tell us the truth now, the court may treat you more leniently.’
Brian gave a derisive snort. Geraldine pressed on.
‘What about Nick Williams?’
She hoped her voice didn’t betray her anguish at naming her dead lover. Brian’s eyelids flickered. At her side, she heard Max stir.
‘Did you kill him too?’ she asked gruffly.
‘Someone had to do it. He deserved it. I should have done it years ago.’
‘You mean you killed DI Nick Williams?’
‘That’s what I just said. He had it coming. It was only fair.’
The rest of the interview passed in a blur. It didn’t matter. Brian had confessed to knowingly murdering a police officer. It was over.
Geraldine was sitting in her office, tidying up her documents, when Reg knocked and entered. He looked grim.
‘Eve wants to see him,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘Eve’s asking to see Brian.’
‘Is that a good idea?’
‘She says she has a right to speak to the man who murdered her husband. She wants to look him in the eye and ask him how he could do it.’ He heaved a sigh. ‘Nick was a good man.’
‘I know, but surely she can’t see him. In the interests of everyone involved we have to protect…’
‘I think we can make an exception in this case,’ Reg interrupted heavily, ‘under the circumstances. Nick meant a lot to all of us here.’
Her discomfort must have shown on her face.
‘She’s Nick’s widow, for Christ’s sake,’ Reg burst out. ‘How can I refuse her anything? Take her in there, Geraldine. That’s an order.’
Geraldine was uneasy about Reg’s decision, but he was her superior officer. Besides, guilt at her earlier suspicions of Eve made her reluctant to argue against granting her request. Ignoring her qualms, she nodded at the custody sergeant to open the door and allow Eve into the cell.
‘Just for a minute,’ Geraldine said. ‘We’ll go in with you.’
Eve insisted on going in alone.
‘I’m afraid that’s out of the question.’
‘Reg said I could have a moment alone with him.’
Geraldine wasn’t sure whether to believe that or not. As she hesitated, Eve ran in, slamming the door behind her. Geraldine wrenched it open just in time to hear a shot. Brian lay slumped on the floor, clutching his shoulder and screaming. He wasn’t dead. Eve turned, still aiming the gun at Brian. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, but her voice was steady. ‘Nobody move!’
Geraldine was only vaguely aware of alarm bells ringing as Eve raised her hand so the gun was pointing at Geraldine. The custody sergeant swore under his breath. Geraldine’s mouth felt dry. She blinked and passed her tongue over her lips. It was an effort to speak. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she had to say something. There was no way she was going to die without remonstrating.
‘Eve, what are doing? It’s not worth it. Nick’s dead. It’s over.’
‘He wasn’t worth your devotion,’ Brian gasped, his eyes sharp with pain. ‘He was at it with my wife!’
‘Eve, he was never faithful to you,’ Geraldine echoed.
‘I knew about his affairs. How could I not know what he was up to? He was my husband. But that doesn’t mean I stopped loving him. And he never stopped loving me. Never! He would never have left me. He looked after me.’ Her voice trembled. ‘How can I live without him?’ She turned back to Brian, still pointing the gun at him. ‘I was just waiting for them to find out who killed him, so I could make you suffer. Killing’s too good for you.’
She whipped the gun up to the side of her own head and a second shot rang out. Brian yelled in alarm as Eve fell, blood splashing the wall and floor.
The gun dropped from her grasp with a faint clang.
80
Geraldine felt guilty for having suspected Eve of murder. It was a terrible conclusion to have reached without any real evidence. All she had been able to say was that it would have been possible; the same could be said of any husband or wife. It was too late to make amends now. She couldn’t help feeling she had let Eve down. Nick had let his wife down too. The whole case seemed to have lurched from one betrayal to another. She was glad it was over. Although Ed had been returned safely to his mother, there were likely to be long-term consequences to his experience. He was young. With family counselling, he might come through relatively unscathed in the long term, but the brutal murder of his father made that unlikely. One way and another, it had been a depressing investigation.
She wasn’t in the mood for going to the pub with the rest of the team, but it would be churlish to refuse. Reg came over to join her as soon as she entered the bar.
‘I told you Nick wasn’t like that,’ he said quietly.
‘Like what?’
‘Oh come on, Geraldine, don’t play dumb. I said all along he wasn’t cheating on his wife.’
‘But…’
‘You can’t deny they were loyal to each other right up to the end. Why else would she have shot Brian and killed herself?’ He looked thoughtful. ‘I don’t suppose my wife would do that for me. Anyhow, it just goes to show they were faithful to each other to the end.’
Unsure whether Reg really believed what he was telling her or not, she nodded.
‘Let’s have a last drink together,’ he went on, more cheerfully.
‘What do you mean, a last one?’
‘Allowing Eve in to Brian’s cell didn’t go down too well.’ He glanced around before leaning down towards her, lowering his voice. ‘Keep this between us for this evening – I’ve been suspended pending an investigation. We didn’t even search her. Who would have thought she’d be carrying a weapon? A woman like that, married to a DI. But that’s no excuse. I should never have allowed my emotional state over losing Nick to have affected my judgement like
that. Don’t worry,’ he added, seeing Geraldine’s consternation, ‘I’m taking full responsibility. I’ll tell them you challenged me and I overruled your reservations. My career’s over anyway. I don’t want to drag anyone else down with me. If I agree to go quietly, I might get to keep my pension. No one wants any adverse publicity, least of all the chief. To be honest, I’m relieved to be getting out, and it looks like I’ll be getting off quite lightly, given the circumstances. Now,’ he went on in a louder voice, ‘let’s get you that drink, Geraldine. You deserve it.’
Watching his broad shoulders as he made his way to the bar, pausing to congratulate other members of the team on his way, she thought how badly she had misjudged the detective chief inspector. It was true she had been acting on his instructions, but he hadn’t been present when Eve had entered Brian’s cell. A less scrupulous man might have tried to salvage his own career at the expense of hers. With friends higher up, he might have succeeded in using her as a scapegoat. She had a lot to be thankful for, but all she could feel was sadness at the fragility of human happiness. Caroline’s encounter with a former school friend had destroyed so many people’s lives, the dead and the living. Reg was just one more victim of Brian’s quest for vengeance.
‘Cheer up,’ Max broke her reverie. ‘You aren’t drinking. What can I get you?’
Geraldine smiled sadly. ‘Reg is looking after me.’
In reality, no one was looking after her. Nick had offered her a fleeting glimpse of happiness. No sooner had she opened herself up to him than he had been snatched away from her. Every night she went home to an empty bed.
‘What about Geraldine?’ she heard Reg ask.
‘That’s a good point,’ Max replied. ‘Geraldine, what’s the policy on pets in your place?’
‘What?’
‘Nick and Eve had a cat,’ he explained. ‘We’re trying to find a home for it or it’ll have to be put down.’
Emotion took Geraldine by surprise. Turning, she dashed out of the bar and only just managed to reach her car before she broke down in tears. Soon she would pull herself together, dry her eyes, fix her make-up, and return to her normal routine. But she wasn’t ready to face the world yet. First she had to deal with a grief she could never share. The thought made her feel more alone than ever. As she was pulling herself together enough to drive home, her phone rang. It was a familiar number.
‘Guess what?’ Sam sounded excited.
Stifling her regret at having answered the call, Geraldine switched the engine off.
‘What is it?’
‘The doctor’s said I’m fit for work.’ Sam paused, clearly waiting for Geraldine to crack a joke. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, I’m fine. That’s great news.’
‘What’s wrong? You sound terrible. It’s because of Nick, isn’t it? Where are you?’ Sam didn’t even pause for breath. ‘I’m coming round. And don’t even try to stop me. I’m setting off right now.’
‘There’s no point. I’m not at home.’
‘Well, where are you then? We can meet anywhere you like. Let’s go out and get pissed and celebrate my return to the land of the living – oh shit, sorry – my return to the world of work, I mean.’
Geraldine had missed Sam. There was an infectious excitement in her young colleague’s joy at the prospect of returning to work. Despite all the human tragedy of her recent case, Geraldine felt her mood lighten. Brian’s tormented vengeance, Caroline’s grief for her unfaithful husband, even the pain of her own loss began to fade, almost imperceptibly. Tomorrow it would feel ever so slightly less raw than today.
‘I’m not up for it tonight, Sam, but we’ll go out soon,’ she promised.
As she hung up, she realised she was smiling.
Copyright
This ebook edition first published in 2015
First published in 2015
by No Exit Press
an imprint of Oldcastle Books
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© Leigh Russell 2015
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ISBN
978-1-84344-539-5 (Print)
978-1-84344-540-1 (Epub)
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