by Andrew Lowe
‘How did that go down?’
‘Like a shit sandwich. He hung up on me.’
Sawyer had to brake hard to let an elderly man and his dog over a pelican crossing. ‘He wants to bring in a psychic.’
Silence from Sally. ‘Right. So he really is losing it.’
‘He’ll be off the case in a day or two.’
‘A drowning man grasping at a twig.’
Sawyer sped over the crossing and turned off towards the Gregory house. ‘Keep going. We’re in a fight now. Cold, hard science versus the fucking Fortean Times.’
Sawyer and Eva Gregory took the same spots at the kitchen table: side by side, chairs angled. Eva had changed and re-applied her make-up. She looked hollow and ghostly, but somehow undiminished, as if the torment had tapped a deep seam of resolve.
‘How much is he charging?’
‘Nothing.’
‘How magnanimous.’
She shifted in her seat. Her hands rested on the table. ‘I just want to try everything, Mr Sawyer. I honestly don’t mean to put you in a difficult—’
Sawyer drew the chair closer to the table edge. ‘It’s my job to be sceptical, Ms Gregory. To only trust evidence from sources that have proven helpful in the past.’
Eva slid her hands over and rested them on his own. Long, graceful fingers. Magenta nails. Shining skin. ‘I sense you’re a sceptic. So was I. Really. But then I went to Mr Beck’s show with a work colleague. He picked me out from the stage, and he was so accurate. He even knew Luka’s name.’
‘You’re hearing what you want to hear. You were worried about Luka. He was recovering in hospital. He must have known that.’
She withdrew her hands. ‘How?’
Sawyer shrugged. ‘Research. He would have had the ticket details. Acquaintances in the queue. Mingling. Listening. Did you mention Luka’s name to your friend?’ He leaned forward. ‘This is how they do it, Eva. They research everyone and they pick out susceptible candidates. Vulnerable people. Beck’s assistants knew who you were and where you were sitting. He just has to find a way to access the information during the show. It’s all trickery, and you’re way too smart to be taken in. You should let the police focus their resources on the real work.’
She dropped her head. ‘I’ve always read my horoscope. But I never saw myself…’ She looked up. ‘Oh! Mr Ainsworth told me a story. He said that Beck did a reading for him.’
Sawyer nodded. ‘When?’
‘After he’d won the prize. He said that Beck told him the name of his late daughter’s pet elephant. The toy she had as a little girl. She named it Winny, after Winifred from The Jungle Book. How could he possibly know that?’
‘I don’t know. But he won’t have found out by talking to the dead.’
Eva stood and walked to the sink. ‘Mr Sawyer. Regardless of what you personally believe, I would like my son’s glasses returned as soon as possible.’
‘Of course. I should have them early tomorrow.’ Sawyer stood. He spun his jacket over his head, twisting it and slotting in his arms in one motion, then shrugging it up over his shoulders; a trick he’d seen Martin Sheen perform on The West Wing.
‘I saw your husband. I think he’s also planning to take a practical interest in finding Luka. When he gets out.’
She turned. ‘How is he?’
‘Are you asking after his health or looking for my opinion? He does seem a bit below your grade, if I may be so bold.’
She kept a steady face. ‘No, you may not. Dale has many faults, but he loves his son.’
‘Ms Gregory, I understand your frustration. You’re welcome to try psychics and let your husband marshal his contacts. But earlier today, I sat at this table and I promised you I would find Luka. And I will.’
At The Reading Room, Sawyer stood before the mirror and worked through the second form, slower this time. He sat down on the bed, navigated to the contact list on his phone, and made the call. It was late—close to ten—but he doubted Jensen had changed his rhythms since their time at Keele.
The call connected.
‘Mr Sawyer. What a delight.’
‘Hi, Rich. I was worried it would be past your bedtime.’
Jensen laughed. ‘Still a nightcrawler, Sawyer. As you know, all the best fun happens in the dark.’
Richard Jensen was a sharp and sensible home counties boy who had studied psychology with Sawyer, and had almost followed him into police training. But his thesis, Supernaturalism, which equated paranormal phenomena with simple psychological quirks, had been published as a pop science paperback, and he’d built a decent career with follow-ups and occasional live shows.
‘Have you got a minute?’
‘I can do you three or four, but then I really must get the hot water bottle filled.’
Sawyer turned to the gig listings pages of Derbyshire Life magazine. ‘Have you heard of a character called Viktor Beck?’
‘Oh, yes. The paranormal prize winner. Impressive stuff. I read the Times piece. I’d love to test him myself. I’ve spoken to Ainsworth before. The guy at the Persinger Unit. He’s one of the good guys. Strange that he was duped like this.’
‘Beck has a gig tomorrow night in Sheffield. He’s been doing a bunch of ensemble shows, but this is his first big headliner.’
Jensen snorted. ‘Never underestimate the public appetite for a plausible charlatan. Our political system was founded on the principle.’
‘Can you have a look at him? YouTube, whatever. I want you to come with me to the show tomorrow.’
48
Sawyer came round from his temazepam haze and hauled himself out of bed. He washed, brushed his teeth, and threw on a hoody, grubby jeans and a pair of old Timberlands. The sun was barely up, but Jenny had stocked the breakfast room with the basics, and he shovelled down a bowl of chewy cornflakes.
He drove too fast, with the top down, hosed awake by the stinging air.
He dipped and swerved beneath the yellowing canopies, down into the Manifold Valley.
He slowed for the single track road to Wetton Mill, and parked—unofficially—by one of the limestone outhouses.
He walked, back in time, along the Tarmac track, into the trees and across the brook where his howling five-year-old self had been fished out by his mother after a fall.
At the base of the muddy steps that led up to Thor’s Cave, Sawyer paused. There was music, drifting down from above. Close harmony singing, and drumming. As he climbed to the cave, the sounds grew louder and more distinct. The style sounded African: tight, disciplined. Glissandos and whistles. Swoops and yodels. Rasping, buzzing. Call and response. It lifted his soul, to discover such natural beauty by chance, in a place of ancestral splendour; a place already imbued with such private portent.
He clambered up the dewy stone into the vast entrance. The singers had gathered in the central chamber, around a modest campfire. There were ten of them, all wearing identical blue-and-yellow shawls; all smiling as they sang. He raised a hand and settled in his usual spot: by the slit in the stone which overlooked the valley.
For Sawyer, the cave had always been a place for lone contemplation; a sanctuary of private peace. But the singing seeped into him and broadened his thinking. He let the threads and details of the case gather, visualising and colour coding. The sounds receded, and he sank into a state of bliss, of quiet clarity; a limbo between real world and dreamworld. He gathered all the players in his mind—the living and the dead—and he interrogated them all as they filed past.
Toby Manning: so young and cloaked in potential. Forever interrupted.
Georgina Stoll: a life so loaded, never to be fired. She regarded him with a withering disappointment, and he shuddered as she peeled away.
Luka Strickland: invincible, invisible. He implored him for answers. Luka registered the questions, but could only shake his head. Sawyer sensed a judgement: a disbelief at his reckless pledge to Eva.
He walked back to Wetton the hard way: wading through wild fields, u
p and over the steep crag that folded away from the river. As he climbed down onto the track, he saw two figures, vaguely familiar, pushing bicycles down the steep decline to the disused railway trail.
Beth and Alec, from The Reading Room.
He waved and wandered over.
Alec’s shoulders slumped into a sulk. Sawyer nodded to him, but spoke to Beth. ‘Hi. Strange to see you out in the wild.’
‘We wanted to get out early,’ said Alec. ‘It’s so nice when it’s quiet. When there’s nobody else around.’
Sawyer smiled and kept focus on Beth. ‘You’re a dark horse, you know.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘You didn’t tell me you were an advanced nutritionist, Miss Lawrence.’
She angled her head. ‘How do you know that? And my name?’
Sawyer shrugged. ‘I did a bit of checking up on you. Don’t worry. I didn’t go too deep.’ He leaned in and whispered. ‘You do have some odd habits, you know.’
She squinted. ‘What “odd habits”?’
‘You left your book behind. Business card as bookmark. I left it for you at reception.’ Sawyer glanced at Alec. He sat astride his bike, rigid. ‘So. Resisting the draw of Soli-dull? They must be missing you. Your absence has raised the average age by about ten years in the last week.’
Beth laughed and swept her arm around in a wide arc. ‘How come you’re out in the world so early, anyway?’
‘I used to come here as a kid, usually with my mum. It’s probably my favourite place in the world. She would take me up to the cave, watching my back, lifting me over the difficult bits.’
‘Thor’s Cave? I’d like to see that. We’re going home tomorrow, though.’
Sawyer tipped his head back. ‘Damn! I could have shown you around. I mean, it’s mainly dark and…’
‘Cavey?’
He smiled. ‘Very cavey, yes. I thought you said you hadn’t been before.’
‘Look. I’m sorry.’ Alec hitched himself off the bike. ‘Are you for real?’
Beth took a small step into the space between Alec and Sawyer.
‘For real? What do you mean?’
‘I mean… You are aware of boyfriends and girlfriends, right? The birds and the bees. You’re not from another fucking planet?’
‘Alec. Calm down.’
Sawyer held his ground, keeping an eye on Alec’s hands. ‘Are we back on this again? I’m not allowed to speak to her because she belongs to you or something? Have a look around. We’re in England, not Saudi Arabia.’
Alec snorted. ‘No. You’re right. She does not belong to me. But she is my girlfriend. We’re in a relationship. We’ve both agreed on it. So, when you ask her to go on jolly walks with you, or take trips up to your childhood haunts, then that is aggressive to me. By association. Yes?’ Alec jutted his head forward and screwed up his features.
Sawyer’s gaze drifted to Beth, then back to Alec. He felt the bright greens and blues around them recede to a vague, sludgy texture. His breathing quickened.
He turned, and ran. Down the slope, onto the Tarmac, sprinting for Wetton Mill.
He drove too fast, with the top up, twisting the elements around and around in his mind.
At Buxton, he spun the Mini into the police station car park and abandoned it laterally, across two bays.
The lift dawdled on the third floor, so he crashed through to the staircase and leapt up the steps, two and three at a time.
On the first floor, he fell into Keating’s office. Keating had his back turned, typing. He held up a hand as he finished, then turned to face Sawyer.
Sawyer stood there. Red faced. Panting.
‘What?’
‘It’s the drug. Hemlock. Drummond called it “a sort of kindness”. We need to shift focus. Completely. He’s not targeting the victims. They’re incidental to him. Collateral. He’s targeting their loved ones. He doesn’t want the victims to suffer. He wants to make it look like they’re suffering. It’s a distraction. That’s why he uses the hemlock. To anaesthetise them. On one level, it looks diabolical. But for the victims, it’s a brief panic, and then... Sleep. That’s why he spent so long refining the dose. His plan is to maximise the suffering of the people who know and love the victims. The flash drives. The footage. The glasses.’
Keating nodded. ‘But why?’
‘We need to divert every resource to victimology. Scrutinise the victims’ families. There’s a connection—an association—between Toby Manning’s parents, Luka Strickland’s parents, and Danny Stoll, Georgina’s husband. He wants to hurt them, and if we can find out why, then it will lead us to him. And to Luka.’
49
Sawyer caught up with Shepherd and called a briefing. As the team gathered, he erased everything on the whiteboard while Shepherd took down the notes and photos and filed them into a folder. He took a marker and squeaked out the names.
PAUL MANNING
JAYNE MANNING
EVA GREGORY
DALE STRICKLAND
DANNY STOLL
He turned the board to face the group. ‘What do these five people have in common?’
Moran waved his pen. ‘Victims’ families?’
Sawyer nodded. ‘They are all related to our three victims. Two dead, one hopefully still alive. Paul and Jayne Manning—Toby Manning’s parents. Eva Gregory and Dale Strickland—Luka Strickland’s parents. Danny Stoll—Georgina Stoll’s husband.’
‘Both her parents are dead,’ said Myers.
‘Yes. It might be specific to Danny, though. They have all been sent either distressing footage of their loved ones helpless, at the point of death, or, in Luka’s case, an intimately connected item. I believe that the killer has no direct animosity towards the people he has killed. The aim of the crimes is to maximise the pain of these five people. We need to find out why.’ Shepherd took his spot next to Sawyer. ‘DS Shepherd.’
Sawyer retreated, leaving room for Shepherd to step forward.
‘Our focus has to shift. We are now one big victimology intel cell. And we are treating these five people as our victims. There is something that connects them, something that is motivating our killer. I want life stories. Education, geography, medical. I want run-ins, convictions. Parking tickets. I want to know every time they were told to stand in the corner at school. Get it all into HOLMES. Find me matches. Our man has gone to a lot of trouble to make these people suffer. The answer is out there. Go and find it. Briefing at three.’
Sawyer found Shepherd’s eye and nodded.
‘Sir?’ DC Walker raised a hand. ‘The boy’s glasses were sent to Dale Strickland, at the prison.’
‘Correct,’ said Sawyer. ‘What are you thinking?’
‘Two things. Why send them to the father and not the mother? Or send something to both since they’re in different places. And if he wants to hurt the families so much, why hasn’t he followed his pattern and sent footage of Luka Strickland’s death?’
Sawyer stepped forward. ‘DC Walker. Go with DS Shepherd. See the Mannings again. It’ll be good to get fresh eyes on them. I don’t think Paul likes me. Sally?’
‘Jake!’ Sally O’Callaghan stood to exaggerated attention at her desk.
‘Did we got paternity for Georgina’s baby?’
Sally nodded. ‘Chorionic biopsy. It’s Danny’s.’
Sawyer marched towards the exit. ‘I need to see him.’
‘Sir!’ Shepherd called after him. ‘Seriously. This guy’s in a bad, bad place. Go easy.’
He gave Shepherd a thumbs-up without looking behind. ‘I’ll take back-up.’
‘Your driving is definitely improving.’
Sawyer eased the Mini through a bottleneck at the edge of Hartington.
He changed the music. The Doors. ‘The Crystal Ship.’
Maggie tore off half an apple turnover and passed it to him.
‘Is this a reward?’ Sawyer took a bite and his eyes widened. ‘It’s still warm!’
She smiled. ‘Got it from that new
farm shop before the briefing.’ They endured a minute of silence as they passed through the village centre, past the pub, the general store, the red telephone box. ‘So are you really tired of London? Coming back for good?’
Why?
He looked at her. ‘Quality of life. You just can’t get pastries like this in Stamford Hill.’
‘All that culture you’d leave behind.’
‘There’s Buxton Opera House. What more could you want?’
She eyed him. ‘You hate opera.’
‘It’s nice to know it’s there, though. For someone else to enjoy.’
She sat back, limp. ‘I seem to have gone off art lately. Not reading a lot. Justin bought a painting. He built it up too much. Unveiled it in a big flourish. I had to fake enthusiasm. Didn’t do anything for me.’
‘You sound like Drummond. He’s a proud philistine.’ He turned off the main road and found the terraced block with the Stoll flat. ‘So how’s family life for you? It can’t all be pondering interior design choices, down in the darklands.’
‘The Roaches.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s bright enough.’
He pulled in and looked up at the first floor. Movement at the window. ‘I never saw you as the matriarch type. Did Justin change the nappies?’
‘We had a nanny.’
He nodded. ‘Ready? He’s expecting us.’
‘So why are you back, Jake? What do you want? Need?’
He looked up at the window again. The cord for the blind swung against the glass. ‘I don’t think it’s a good time for a therapy session.’
‘Stop deflecting.’
‘A new challenge. The usual. The opportunity to work with Keating on the MIT, after earning my spurs in big, bad London.’
