Hunter's Chase

by Val Penny

  The babies. Her babies. She knew it was babies.

  She wanted to flinch, but she could not move. The dog licked her face while the lady phoned an ambulance. The woman was crying; the dog lay by Annie. The woman held her hand. Annie heard a calm voice. Police? Ambulance? She was lifted out of the light as the woman's crying stopped. There was a lot going on: voices, lights, movement. A calm voice spoke.

  “Okay boys, that's the neckbrace on. Carefully.” Something fixed around her neck. Strangled.

  “Careful lift on my three: one, two, three.”

  She felt her body rise from the ground.

  Her mother had been right. This was bad. Her sins had found her out.

  She could hear her mother shouting as reality competed with unbearable pain. Thoughts roamed around her, frightening and tangible. Annie thought of that last talk with her mother. They’d exchanged thoughts, truths, frightened glances. Where was Ma now?

  “How could you be so stupid?” she heard Mary-Ann say. “And with him? Have you any idea what you've done? What your Da will do when he finds out?” Unconsciously Ma rubbed the bruise on her right arm, then ran her fingers around her neck and stared at Annie. Even Annie could not know how bad this was.

  “Annie. My darling girl. This could be the end.”

  “Really, Ma? I was hoping not to tell my Da.”

  “Aye pet, but someone will. Someone will take great pleasure in it. Better it all comes from me.” Mary-Ann sighed and looked at her daughter again. “And it's not as if even your Da won't notice, eventually!”

  “But I like Frankie, Ma. He's not his Da. He's a nice lad.”

  “He's not his Da, but he is his father's son, lassie. That's the problem. And another one: you're sixteen; he's what, eighteen? And that's really not the problem. He's just not for you, pet, really not for you. This is so bad. Are you sure? Is he truly the dad? Could it not be someone else?”

  “Ma! I'm not like that. I’ve only done it with him, and we only did it once.Well, twice at the same time.” Her mother scowled. “Seventeen, no eighteen. Aye. And he's a nice lad, Ma. He doesn't mind. He's excited. He'll care for us. Looks don't last. Look at Da!”

  “Fan-fucking-tastic! Annie, you are mad! You have not got the sense you were born with. Of all the lads in the whole world you had to pick this one.” Her mother sighed. “You have no idea how bad this is. And your Da will go spare. Annie, do we know how far gone you are, pet?” Her mother had smiled then, for the first time that day.

  “About twenty weeks, but the doctor thinks I'm big for my first,” Annie heard herself tell her mother. ”I've to have another scan. They think it might be twins!”

  “Bloody hell, Annie. This just gets worse.”

  Annie was nervous. Nervous about expecting, nervous about the scan, bricking it about telling her Da, worried about why her mother was so anxious - no, distraught.

  “So when's the scan, Annie? I'll come with you,” Ma said. “But I'll have to get time off. Does Frankie know it might be twins? Have you told him? He'll need to support the baby. The babies. His family will go ballistic. His father will have to be told. His mother will find out. He will need to pay you keep for it, you know! The baby will be better off than the rest of us put together. Frankie's folks have money. Lord knows how they came by it all. Do you think the baby will be able to buy us a loaf?”

  She saw her mother try to smile again. It was an unconvincing smile.

  Silence.

  Annie saw her mother flick back her long red hair. It was all streaked with white now. Stress, age and Joe's temper were taking their toll. Annie knew that her own news had not helped.

  “Thanks Ma. I haven't told anybody but Frankie and now you. He's all right, Ma. Really, he's sound.” Suddenly, Annie was hungry. “I'm starving. What's for tea?”

  Ma gave her more bad news. “Your Dad took the last tenner out my bag this morning. I swear I was only in the shower five minutes. I thought he was still asleep. But he was up and away with it before I thought about it.” Mary-Ann rubbed her bruised arm again. “Still, there's always something in the back of the cupboard. Let's go and see. You need to keep up your strength for that baby.” Annie felt her hug.

  “Scan is Monday. Who do you do for on Mondays? Can you get time off?”

  “Billy Hope himself, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem if Frankie's told his folks. This time, though, Billy'll not be the problem.” Her mother looked so tired and drawn.

  “Aye, he'll be the babies' granddad, won't he?”

  “Oh aye. Can I not hear your Da now when he finds that out? Let's get sorted and see what we've got to eat. And don't you tell your Da, I'll tell him.” She was adamant about that. “I'll sort it best I can, but this is bad, really bad, girl.”

  Annie was sure Ma could sort it. She would know when to tell Da. She would know what to tell him.

  The ambulance sped to the Royal Infirmary. Blue lights flashing, siren blaring. Suddenly, Annie's mind was quiet. Ma would make everything better.

  Annie’s phone was sold on eBay the following day.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hunter looked at Jane Renwick and shook his head. They stood staring glumly at the site of the latest motor incident.

  “It's a sin. Waste of a young life. At least this one's not dead, Jane. But she won't be telling us much. There's no hope of saving the poor wretch, either. She's only being kept alive for the sake of the babies, the doc tells me. They think they can save them. The witness is in a terrible state. Says the car accelerated and reversed over the victim to finish the job. The flayed skin on her thighs would bear that out.”

  “I know, Boss. It's only a matter of time for her, poor thing. Lucky that woman saw what happened.”

  “Not for her.”

  “No, but when she calms down we should get some details from her. The car must have been going some speed to cause all those injuries. Brutal.”

  “Jane, this is Edinburgh. So often you only get: I see nothing, I hear nothing but I will gas about it non-stop to my friends. You know?” Hunter smiled grimly. “The witness is in such a state of shock that right now she’s less than useless. We've got Hamilton, Reid and Mel going up and down the street knocking on doors, but I don't expect to get much. We don't even know who the victim is.”

  “Doesn't look like this is an accident, does it, Boss?”

  “Doubt it, especially if they did reverse over her. Interestingly, when Meera had David check on the corpse from the golf course, David confirmed the breaks on the left side and some of the bruising could have been caused by a car ramming into the victim. Flayed skin too.”

  “You don't think we have a serial killer, do you? A car is far too clumsy a weapon, surely? And not a very sophisticated way to kill.”

  “True, but it's easy to get hold of. Very efficient, too. Not many bodies can successfully compete with a moving vehicle.”

  John Hamilton strolled over. “Boss, we may have some luck: an old girl who sits by the window and can't get out. She says she saw the car. She was watching the whole thing.”

  “Well, John, take a ruddy statement!”

  “She says she wants to speak to the organ grinder not the monkey. Something about dog fouling and chewing gum as well.”

  “It's okay, Boss, I'll go to speak to her. That will let you get back to the hospital.”

  “Thanks, Jane. While I’m there I'll stop in to speak to Jamie about the wad of cash they found in his shorts. Mel, you're with me.”

  Hunter left Jane in charge of the scene whilst he and Mel and drove out to the hospital in Little France. They found Annie in intensive care. She was attached to more machinery and flashing lights than a municipal Christmas tree.

  What a beautiful girl, Hunter thought. All red hair and freckles, she must have been a bonny wee thing growing up. His Alison had been a pretty little girl when she was wee, just like a Disney princess, but he rarely saw her now. It was further to Lerwick than it was to London, and the way of life more for
eign.

  Annie's ward was just along from the medical ward where Jamie lay with his leg in plaster, hanging from a hoist. It was a bad break, but not as bad as the lad made out. Still, if he was here, he was not in Saughton on remand. Hunter guessed that Jamie would appreciate this. The food was better in the hospital too, and he would certainly find the nurses much gentler than prison officers.

  Annie lay so still. The monitor beeped. The fluids dripped into her veins. The prognosis for the girl was set. Still, she would have to hang on as long as she could if there was any chance that the doctors could save her twins.

  She was lying with hydration and nutritional packs dripping into her and tubes draining effluent out of her. The ventilator helped her breathe. The monitor recorded her heartbeat and those of the two tiny hearts beating inside her. The sight of her made Hunter feel really miserable. Then he got angry.

  “What right does any bastard have to steal the life of this lassie and rob her kids of a mother, Mel?”

  “Wicked, really nasty,” Mel agreed.

  “Damn right. Someone is going to pay.” Quietly, he promised that.

  Hunter hoped Annie might be able to hear him, but there was no change in her external signs, not even when Jamie's tortured screaming circled the hallway between the two wards. Annie lay still, while the twins grew.

  “That Jamie, screaming like a baby. He could wake the dead. We might as well see him now.” Mel said. She and Hunter left Annie’s bedside and went along to speak to the miscreant.

  “Want to tone it down a bit, Jamie? I could hear you all the way down the corridor.”

  “Shut it yourself. I was lying on the dead woman. I think I might be right damaged. Too sick in the head and ill to be up for a wee housebreaking, that's for sure. Because nobody even helped me and I couldn't move because my ankle was broke.”

  “Is it really sore, Jamie?” Mel wiggled the rope to the hoist very slightly.

  “Leave me! Help! Doctor, I'm being tortured by the police. Aye, that's fucking sore! See you, DC Grant, you're dumped.”

  Mel pulled a comic disappointed face. She moved when a nurse came over to check her patient. Jamie winced, swore and complained throughout the examinations she made.

  “You're fine, Mr Thomson. More pain relief in a couple of hours.”

  “Jamie, it's Jamie, darlin'. And I've just dumped my last girlfriend so you're in with a chance, Staff Nurse, my honey.”

  “Lucky me,” said the nurse with a smile as she walked away.

  “Now, Jamie,” began Hunter. “Tell me about the contents of your shorts.”

  “You mean my packet. That's no' for you, Inspector. Just for the ladies!” Jamie smiled.

  “Not quite, Jamie.”

  “Oh, so you mean the cash that you lot stole when I was injured and in pain? It's my money, that's all about it.”

  “How much money, Jamie? How did you come about it? Honest endeavours, I presume?”

  “Not sure, but a lot. I won it, you know. At the dogs. Nought dodgy.”

  “Uh huh,” Hunter smiled. “And what about the bags of cocaine rolled up in the money, Jamie? Where did that come from?”

  “What? You're having a laugh.” Jamie snorted. “You're trying to set me up. I don't have no blow. I don't do that cocaine shit, it's nasty. I'm strictly a loco and lager kind of guy. Nought stronger than marajuana. So you are not going to get me fitted up with that. So there.”

  “I don't have to fit you up, Jamie,” Hunter said softly. “You had £420 in cash wrapped around about £600-worth of cocaine tucked tight in by your prick. I've got your DNA all over the money. It wasn't even us that found it. The medical team found it when they had to cut your jeans off.”

  “You lot are all in this together. Like I wouldn't notice me jeans getting cut.”

  “You’d passed out with the pain, Jamie.” Mel glanced at the lad.

  “It's true,” Hunter added. “You're going to take the rap for the housebreaking, for sure. Are you going to fall on your sword over the cocaine too? That would be mad. Who's your dealer? Where were you taking the drugs? Planning to sell it? It'll go better for you if you co-operate, lad.”

  “Doubt that very much.”

  “Jamie, you could be going down for a very long time,” Hunter said firmly. “Four to five years minimum if drugs are in the mix. You must know that we throw the book at drug pushers. It won't be community service for a housebreaking this time.”

  “How many times? I got no truck with cocaine. I'm not a snowman. It's not mine and you can't prove it is.”

  “Jamie, I can and I will. If it's not yours, whose is it?”

  A lull came over Jamie as he closed his eyes, tried to get comfy on the bed and winced at the pain in his leg. He stared straight at Hunter.

  “You straight?” he asked. “You got it on me?”

  Hunter nodded and signalled to Mel to take out her notebook.

  “It's not mine. Honest, it's not mine.” Jamie took a deep breath and gave a long slow sigh. “I found the money. I took the money. Just a roll of cash. That's all I thought it was, just money. Money is right handy. You can always use money and life's not been great since you bastards put my pop away. I try to get a few treats for Mam and the bairns, you know?”

  “Rubbish! Your mother is in Malaga with Lenny, and there are no kids. So, Jamie, where did you find the money?”

  Jamie screwed up his face and looked up at him through his fringe. He suddenly looked small and vulnerable. He was younger than Hunter's own lad. Cameron was at university, doing well in computer science. It was a whole different ball game for Jamie.

  Hunter said, “Come on, son. Get it over with. Who gave you the drugs?”

  “You won't believe me.”

  “Try me.”

  “I found the money in the desk beside the fancy watches. At the old boy's house. Sir Peter Myerscough.”

  Hunter frowned, trying to take in what he was being told. He glanced at Mel who was looking equally puzzled.

  “I told you you'd never believe me.” The young man looked upset. “It's the truth. I was rummaging about in the drawer. There was a lot of stuff in there, good quality, small stuff. It wouldn't take long to sell it on. Then I found the cash. That was just a bonus. I could cut out the middleman with that, just spend it. To be honest I forgot about it with my leg. I threw some of the haul away but I forgot about the cash in my pants.” The lad looked sheepish. “To be fair, the old boy had caught up with me and I was lying on a dead woman, with my ankle smashed in bits. My mind wasn't on the contents of me undies.”

  “For a change,” teased Mel.

  Jamie ignored her and went on, “So when the doctors said they'd found the cash, I remembered and I was right fucked off.” Jamie shook his head miserably. “But I don't use coke or crack or heroin, or anything like that. Nasty. I only take a wee bit of weed now and again. You know, the wacky baccy, nought bad. I don't sell, nothing like that. I'm no dealer. I'm an honest-to-God thief, that's all there is too it.”

  Hunter caught Mel’s eye and detected a hint of a smile.

  “Jamie, you are going to need to make a formal statement. DC Grant will take it from you and you will need to sign it. At the moment, I'll be charging you with housebreaking, and for your own sake, I'm going to put you on remand. You will be guarded while you are here, and then you will return to Saughton on remand when you are well enough.”

  Jamie grinned at Mel. “Are you staying with me, gorgeous? You can pull the curtains round for a wee bit of privacy, while you're on guard.”

  Mel smiled and shook her head. Hunter winked at her and left her with Jamie to take his statement.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Annie heard somebody shouting about a dead woman. It sounded like Frankie's cousin, Jamie. She liked Jamie. He could always make her laugh.

  She wondered vaguely what a dead body looked like. She wondered if she would see her own body when she died, like an out-of-body experience.

  Annie didn't
want to die. She wanted to see her babies grow up, to be a good mother and all in good time a good granny, but she knew that was not to be her fate. That made her sad. Frankie would have to be Mum and Dad to the twins. Twins!

  Her twins would be beautiful. Her Ma was beautiful. Her Da had been a good-looking man, until he’d lost his job and started to drink. From a quick smile to a quick temper, his drinking got heavier as the years had gone on. He got so angry with everyone; the whole world, it seemed.

  He got angry with himself. Worse, he got angry with Ma. Still, Annie loved her Da. He was a kind man, really. Until Ma told him Annie was sixteen and pregnant; until Ma told him who the father was and had to go on and tell him the whole story; until he understood everything. Annie guessed at the explosion of his rage and then her mother would have left home on the run. She’d had to do that before, but this time, Annie had not seen her since.

  Annie was suddenly tired, so very tired. She began to drift back into dreams of happy times when she was little. Holidays with Ma and Da in the caravan park at Haggerston Castle. Learning to swim in the local baths with Da supporting her belly and Ma in front of her clapping her hands in encouragement. Good times.

  She drifted into dreamland on and off through the night. Nights were the longest. Oh, the nurses checked her every now and then. It was probably regular, but it was hard to tell. Sometimes she lay and thought, but most of the time she just lay and let the babies grow, her twins.

  Tonight it was dark and cold. One of the nurses had left one of the windows open. The breeze moved Annie's hair and gave her goose pimples on her arms. She almost felt alive.

  She’d felt alive when that car hit her, too.

  That car was a Land Rover. Annie liked cars. It was silver, like Jamie's dad's, but it wasn't Ian Thomson at the wheel. She had seen the hate on the driver’s face. So much hate that twisted the face into a shape she had never seen before.

  Why didn't the car stop? The driver saw her. Why drive back over her? They knew she was hurt. Why drive away? Annie knew that face. She remembered that face. She would never describe that face.