by Mel Sherratt
She feared she would have to tell the police soon just exactly who Dane was if they didn’t manage to get away. But she knew he would harm her if she did. She’d thought it was too good to be true when she hadn’t seen him for so long.
Running from Dane in 2014 had been one of the scariest days of her life. Being threatened by him again meant the nightmare of being chased was never going to end. She wasn’t strong enough to stand up to him, to ensure this was over.
Which meant one of them needed to disappear.
FORTY-FIVE
Dane downed a pint as he tucked in to steak and chips from the pub on Ford Green Road and then bought himself a few cans from the off-licence.
Finding another vehicle hadn’t taken long. It was easy to steal something around here. Rows and rows of cars in front of terraced houses, and even though he was frozen, the cold weather snap was on his side. The car he’d chosen probably wouldn’t be missed until the morning. He’d watched the owner lock it up and then rush briskly to his door, several metres away, closing the cold out. It had taken him seconds before he was out of the street and away.
Hunkering down in it now, he waited. He knew time was running out now they’d probably have his fingerprints on the first car he’d stolen. But Ruby wasn’t going to get away with what she’d done, no matter what.
He wondered if he’d fooled the police by not going back to Century Street. He’d known it was risky that he’d be spotted but after seeing that guy snooping around this morning before he left, he knew he’d overstayed his welcome. He wasn’t taking any chances. They might have someone waiting for him if he went back. He’d be better off being cautious rather than getting caught at the last hurdle.
Because he was looking forward to tomorrow so much and no one was taking that away from him. He wasn’t going to wait until Monday. He’d earned his right over the past years to have some fun.
Dane still couldn’t believe she’d had the guts to do what she did. Ruby had been a teenager at the time and he didn’t think she had it in her to hold him over a barrel. Seeing her earlier had reignited all the hatred he felt for her. He couldn’t wait to cause her pain.
He’d go and search her out first thing and then he could be on his way before anyone in that block had woken up.
All the years he’d spent in prison, now it was payback time. If he hadn’t been locked up for so long, he would have come after her sooner. Instead, he’d lain on his bed in his cell, planning, scheming, plotting for this very day.
He had waited this long to get what was his, and nothing was going to spoil it for him. Nothing, or no one.
And when he had got what he’d come for, then he would take his revenge.
But the boy. It was messing with his head. He banged a clenched fist on the steering wheel over and over. It wasn’t meant to turn out that way. He would never harm a child. It had been pure reflex to hold the lad over the edge. He had come at him as if he was a friend, and when he saw the look on her face, he knew he’d found his bargaining tool.
It was meant as a scare tactic but the little bastard hadn’t stopped wriggling. And when she’d hurled herself up against him, he’d lost his grip and then watched in horror as the boy fell.
He could still recall the thud of the body hitting the ground, the screams behind him as they ran one way and he climbed over the railing and lowered himself down to the ground. There was no time for them to react to what he’d done, even if they’d dared.
He’d run along Rose Avenue, got in the stolen car and driven off slowly, not wanting to bring any attention to himself. And then he’d watched from a distance over the past few days, figuring out what to do next. It was easier owing to the weather. Everyone was wrapped up, not much visible, and it went dark quite early.
One thing was certain – he wouldn’t be getting caught. He wasn’t ever going back to prison.
2014
Ruby reached for her mug of coffee and took a sip. Dane was still in bed, having turned up last night near on three a.m. He’d taken to arriving whenever it suited him now. Lily was playing at her feet, the sun shining in through the window making her blonde hair seem even brighter.
Eight thirty. It was the time of day that she cherished as much as the first coffee of the morning. It meant she could live without fear for a whole hour at least. If he stayed over, Dane never usually got up before ten every morning. She could sit and relax, knowing he wouldn’t pounce on her or say something nasty just to upset her.
She was thinking about Naomi. She’d often wondered how her life would have been if Finn hadn’t gone to Naomi’s party. She would have been at college, maybe had a career. She might have met a nice man, got married and been happy. But then that meant not having Lily and she wouldn’t want that.
She hadn’t seen her dad in a good while. She had been so embarrassed about the mess she’d got herself in. So hurt that Finn had dumped her and left her to deal with his cronies. So angry that she let Dane do the things he did to her because she feared for her life.
She wished she had the courage to go and see him again. She knew he would welcome her back into the fold, no questions asked. He would make things right, she was certain. But she didn’t dare risk it. Dane had told her he would find her if she ever tried to leave. She had a child to look after. And she had got herself into this mess; she would have to suffer the consequences.
Part of her still wanted to stay in the flat in case Finn ever came back for her.
Part of her knew he would never be coming home.
She tried not to think about how the man she had loved with all of her heart had let her and his daughter down. Although she often wondered if Finn had met someone new, got married and had other children. Would he ever think about her? About how he had let her rot?
She wished she wasn’t so weak. In a way she was tough to put up with what she did. But a stronger person would leave, not accept Dane’s physical and mental abuse.
Who was she kidding? No one knew what she was going through, how scared she was to be at his beck and call. How terrible it was to live in a constant state of fear. How awful it was for Lily to be on edge all the time, in case she made too much noise, or a mess he’d hit out because of.
As soon as she was able she was going to get out of there. But for now, she couldn’t stand on her own two feet long enough.
So bit by bit she’d start to save a little from the money he sometimes threw at her when he’d beaten her. She would save it all and when she had enough, she would leave. No matter how long it took. Surely this couldn’t be her life, now that Finn had gone.
FORTY-SIX
Shelley hadn’t managed to stay away from Seth’s flat as planned. She’d visited Mandy’s house for a couple of hours, until she was certain he would be at work, and then she’d hot-footed it back to Harrison House. There she’d walked quickly along the walkway.
She knew she had to be careful. If he was still in, she would be done for. But she couldn’t see his car in the car park, so she had to take the chance.
She put her key in the lock and opened the door, thankful that silence greeted her.
‘Seth?’ She waited, but nothing. She stepped inside, leaving the door ajar in case she needed to make a quick escape.
After checking every room she breathed a sigh of relief. She was alone. But she wouldn’t feel safe until she was out of there. She would work quickly and methodically and see how much money she could find. Then she would take every last penny and get herself out of there.
She went room by room, making sure to put everything back as she had found it. There was nothing in the kitchen she could see. Of course she understood Seth would have hiding places everywhere. She herself had rolled her money up and hidden it inside an old bra, tucked away at the bottom of a drawer. There wasn’t time to look closely, tear things apart. She had to be vigilant and on guard.
There was nothing in the living room but she found two hundred pounds in the bathroom, rolled up and shoved inside
the cistern in a plastic bag. In the bedroom, she sat on the bed with a sigh. She had been stupid to look and risk another beating if that was all she could find. He wouldn’t hide the bulk of his money here in the flat, would he? But then again, where else would he keep it?
A loud bang made her jump off the bed. She froze, waiting to hear what it had been. She listened more, ascertaining that it must have come from outside. Still, she’d better hurry.
Quickly, she opened the holdall she had brought with her. Knowing she wasn’t coming back, she shoved clothes, make-up, perfume and anything else that could fit into it.
Another bang outside, which she realised was a door slamming, and her nerves couldn’t handle much more. Taking one last look under the bed to see if she’d missed anything, she lifted up the valance sheet and tilted her head. There was nothing of hers but she spotted something in a plastic bag shoved underneath the mattress in the slats. She pulled at it and looked inside.
It was a T-shirt. She recognised it as one of Seth’s but she wasn’t going to pull it out to check because it was splattered in blood. She wondered who it belonged to – could it be Mary Stanton’s? – but didn’t stop to find out. She shoved the bag inside her holdall. She could pass it on to Eddie at the very least.
She took one final check of everything, the drawers by the side of the bed and a last look in the wardrobes. There was nothing else she could carry. She didn’t have many clothes and most of it was cheap tat that she wouldn’t miss anyway. She had all the personal possessions she needed.
She closed the wardrobe door and then suddenly stopped. She peered down the gap between the two standalone wardrobes. There was something there behind the unit. She slid in her hand and tried to reach it, pressing her body against the corner and stretching her fingers. Finally her hand clasped around it and she pulled it out.
It was a black drawstring bag. She looked inside; it was full of twenty-pound notes, bundled together in five hundred pounds, red money bands around each one. She quickly counted them. There were nine that seemed to be full and one that had a few notes missing.
Nearly five thousand pounds! This was more than the money Mary had posted through their door.
She sat down on the bed again, unable to believe Seth would hide his money there. Or had he put it there for quickness when he’d got Mary’s money back? She had swept the place every now and then, to see if she could find his hiding place, but until now she hadn’t been lucky. Quickly she pushed that in the holdall too.
Her shoes in a carrier bag in one hand, she hurled the holdall over her shoulder and let herself out. She glanced over the railing. Seth’s car still wasn’t in the car park. With a quick step, she flew along the walkway, raced down the steps, pushed open the door and went out into the night. She didn’t slow down until she was back at Mandy’s house.
FORTY-SEVEN
Grace upped the pace on the treadmill and began her thirty-minute session. Running at the end of her shift often cleared her head when it was full of information. It was like going to sleep on a problem and waking up with it solved.
The day had turned out a frustrating one. They had found out lots of things but nothing in particular that they could move forward on. They were still waiting on specific forensics for Operation Spode and nothing had come of the house-to-house calls. Why hadn’t anyone seen anything? It was crazy in a block of flats this size.
Bringing in Seth earlier in the week and finding he had nothing to say had been annoying. Something told her that he was involved in the hit and run on Caleb Campbell and the assault on Milo Benton but she had no evidence yet to prove it. There was time though. They would have more forensics over the next few days about Mary Stanton too. Nothing ever happened as quickly as it appeared on the TV cop programmes.
And then there was everything to do with Ruby and Luke and Tyler. So many unanswered questions. Was that something to do with Seth Forrester, even though he’d been ruled out by Ruby’s admission to it being Finn Ridley who had dropped Tyler over the railing? Were they wary of him, and what he might do to them if they talked?
Which brought her to the thing that was troubling her most. What had Shelley Machin been doing getting out of Eddie Steele’s car? Grace couldn’t tell who was driving it because of the blacked-out windows but it was his vehicle. She knew that licence plate off by heart now.
She remembered the last time she had seen the Steele brothers together. They had all been present at the trial when her half-sister, Jade, had been sent to prison for life. It hadn’t been a good experience but as it was her job, she’d had to give evidence in the dock.
For three long weeks, she had endured Leon’s glare while they sat in the courtroom, his taunts and jeers in the corridors outside, screeching out of the car park at the end of each session – narrowly missing her on one occasion. He wanted her to know she wasn’t welcome.
Seeing the young woman getting out of his car meant Eddie would be using her for something, she was sure. But what? Finding out information about Seth perhaps?
In the shower, she banged her hand against the tiles. First someone had hung a child over a balcony. Then someone had knocked a teenager off a bike deliberately. Then a defenceless woman is pushed to her death. It was frustrating not knowing if it was the same person who had done it all. Were these cases linked? They were all tied to Harrison House.
Once downstairs in the kitchen, she waited for Simon who had texted to say he was on his way home. She’d seen him several times during the day as she’d been gathering information on both cases.
‘Hey,’ she said as he joined her a few minutes later.
She kissed him but squealed when he pushed cold hands underneath her jumper. ‘Get off me.’
‘I’ve been frozen all day,’ he said. ‘I need warming up.’
‘Well, you’ll have to wait until we’ve eaten. I’m starving, you?’
‘Yeah. What frozen delight have you got for us tonight?’
‘Pizza?’
‘Can’t wait.’
It wasn’t a dig at either of them. Often they arrived home and grabbed whatever was available.
Once he’d showered and changed, and their meal had been eaten, Grace flopped down next to him on the settee. He put an arm around her and pulled her close.
‘Teagan has been asking after you,’ he said, stroking her arm idly. ‘Wants to know when she can come around. I told her you were involved in a case.’
‘Thanks. Maybe we can catch up at the weekend. If I’m still working on this, I can fit time in for a coffee with her. How is she?’
‘Okay. Studying hard for her exams.’
She turned to him. ‘She’s clever though. I’m not sure how you managed that. She must take after Natalie.’ She added a wink.
Natalie was Simon’s ex-wife. The couple had divorced a few years ago. Natalie had remarried and Teagan got on as well with Mark, her step-dad, as she did with Grace. It was nice to be a part of their small family unit.
Her thoughts turned back to Mary Stanton. She couldn’t stop the image repeating itself on a loop, of the older woman falling down those steps. At least now she wasn’t imagining seeing little Tyler dropping to the floor. No matter what she worked on, the last image swapped itself with the new one. She never switched off.
‘That poor woman,’ Simon said.
‘You’re thinking of her too?’
‘Hmm-mm.’
‘Your article was good on it.’
‘Thanks. How are you doing with your case?’
‘So-so.’ She was non-committal, even though her opinion of Ruby Brassington and Luke Douglas had changed somewhat over the past two days.
‘So is it all busy there again?’
‘Yes. Forensics are due in soon.’
‘Nothing you can tell me first?’
‘Not yet, sorry.’ Grace paused. It was her time to trust him. She needed someone to talk to away from the office. She drew away from him and looked up. ‘Can I ask you something?’
/>
‘Fire away.’
‘It stays between us.’
‘Of course!’
‘I think I saw Eddie Steele today. He was outside Harrison House, in Rose Avenue. I only spotted him because Shelley Machin got out of his car.’
‘Shelley Machin from 116? She gave me a few lines. Said she saw a man running away shortly after Tyler Douglas fell.’
‘That’s the one.’
‘And she was coming out of Eddie’s car, you say?’ He stroked her arm again, making her shiver a little this time.
‘Yes. I don’t know what to make of it. We know he likes to use young girls as his informants.’
Grace was referring to her first murder case in the city. Clara Emery used to work in Posh Gloss, the former nail bar inside Steele’s Gym. She had gathered information for both Leon and Eddie, but had paid with a short prison sentence when she was found to be helping coordinate sex parties for young girls, which Grace knew were run by Leon. With her team, she had shut the parties down, but they were still unable to catch Leon for his part in things.
‘I wonder if Shelley is working for him and is keeping an eye out on Seth,’ she added. ‘We know Seth works for the Steele brothers. What if she’s in danger? I’d hate it if I did nothing about it and she came to some harm.’
‘The nature of the game, I’m afraid.’
‘That’s a little harsh.’
‘But true. She knows what she’s getting into.’
‘Not necessarily. We don’t know everything the Steeles are doing, more’s the pity.’
‘You’re after visiting Eddie.’ He frowned. ‘And you’re asking me if it’s the right thing to do?’
‘Oh, I don’t know.’ She sighed. ‘I doubt it would do any good, anyway. But I worry about young women like Shelley. And Ruby. It’s as if—’
Simon placed a finger on her lips. ‘Grace, you can’t save everyone.’
‘I know that.’ She grinned. ‘But I do like to try.’
