Doors Without Numbers

by C. D. Neill

  “I knew we would meet eventually” He said.

  She inclined her head with a graceful movement as if to acknowledge his words before handing him his mobile phone. “A few minutes ago, someone tried to call you. I assume there is a person or people waiting for you to reassure them you are well. I would appreciate it if you call them and tell them that you do not need assistance. I am sure you will agree that enough people have been hurt already.”

  He took the phone from her silently. He knew Galvin would be worried, that he would have raised the alarm after ten minutes of Hammond leaving him. He had no idea what the time was, how long he had been unconscious, he hoped that Galvin hadn’t followed him here. He pressed call back. Galvin answered immediately.

  “I’m OK.” Hammond said. “I just lost my footing and dropped the phone in the mud.”

  “Have you found Kelsey?”

  Hammond hesitated. He was tempted to give an indication of his predicament but couldn’t afford Galvin to get involved.

  “No, not yet, But I think I am going to hang around a little longer. Why don’t you go home, I will make my own way back.”

  Goodchild nodded at him encouragingly.

  There was a pause as if Galvin was thinking about the possibility. Hammond could feel his hesitation on the other end so he repeated the suggestion. “I will you call you later, let you know of any progress. Just get back home, there’s nothing to do here.” Goodchild took the phone from him and disconnected the call before removing the battery from the casing.

  “I am guessing your colleague is in the vicinity, I hope that he takes your advice, Inspector, but I will send Bradley out to have a look, just in case.” She motioned with a hand towards the man who stood silent in the doorway, he nodded and left the room. Hammond prayed that Galvin had left.

  “I won’t ask you how you knew I was here, Inspector. It seems I underestimated your investigative skills, but it doesn’t matter. I have no intention of staying here for very long. However, I must admit I am intrigued as to why you are here.”

  Hammond tensed his jaw and he stretched himself to his full height. He debated whether to throw himself at her, to throw her to the floor and make an escape. She must be half his weight, it would be possible. As if reading his thoughts she stepped back and smiled again. “You wouldn’t be able to get past the security door, Inspector, it requires a password with every entry and exit. I think you should allow yourself to relax rather than fantasise about overpowering me.”

  Hammond decided to play for time. “I came to question you about your involvement with a number of serious crimes including the exploitation of children. I believe that you took over the guardianship of Salima Abitboul for the intention of encouraging her into prostitution and that you enlisted the help of your former lover Lloyd Harris to cover up her murder in 1991.”

  “You seem very confident. I assume that you have proof to back up your suspicions?”

  “You took over the care of Mark Callum, Theresa Davenport, Fiona Nwasu, Lucas Dean and Claire Bennet illegally. You were not registered as a legal guardian to any of these children. You are suspected of harbouring them under false pretences and encouraging them to partake in criminal activities. Furthermore, I suspect you of being an accessory to the murders of Cheryl Bailey and Lloyd Harris as well as the attempted murder of myself.”

  “You haven’t answered my question, Inspector. What proof do you have?”

  “Your daughter’s witness statement.”

  Goodchild laughed with rich amusement. “You are very humorous. I am beginning to enjoy your company, but forgive me for saying that you appear to be deluded. You do not have any such witness statement. I know you have nothing on me that acts as evidence that I have any involvement with the crimes you suspect me of.”

  Hammond knew he was floundering, he wanted to give the impression of confidence behind what he was saying but she was right, he couldn’t prove anything.

  “You are keeping me here against my will, that is enough for the time being.”

  Her laugh echoed around the room, she clapped her hands with childish delight at his words before stepping closer to him. “You are welcome to try to leave, I cannot physically stop you.” She stepped away from him again and watched him as he deliberated what to do.

  She had mentioned the security door. “You will need to give me the password.” He said.

  She shook her head. “No, I won’t do that. I have no intention of helping you walk out of here. You have caused me too much of an inconvenience already. I did not invite you here so technically, you are trespassing. Look at it from my point of view; A vulnerable woman is at home alone on a dark winter’s evening when an intruder breaks into her home. In her panic, she shuts the man in her basement and leaves to get help...what happens next?”

  She walked back over to him and laid her finger under his chin, moving his head so that their eyes met. “Like I said, I do not intend to stay here for very long. You however..well, let’s just see what happens shall we?”

  She winked at him and opened the door. Hammond took his chance, he threw his whole weight towards the opening. Goodchild, startled by the sudden movement, skidded to the side but Hammond wasn’t prepared for Kelsey standing on the other side of the door. As Hammond slammed into him, Kelsey grunted and toppled backward but was able to correct himself in time and stop himself from falling backward. He gripped Hammond in a bear hug and pushed him back into the room before kicking him in the ribs. The pain shot through Hammond like a hot spear and he fell onto the floor gasping. Goodchild followed Kelsey back into the room and looked down at Hammond.

  “I realise what it is that I like about you. You are an optimist like me. Even though I have already explained to you that you will not be able to get away, you still try. However, after a while your stubborn behaviour will become tedious so please do not continue with your efforts.”

  “Is that what you said to Mark and the others?”

  Hammond stayed on the floor, the fall had knocked all air out of his body. He knew he had been defeated. Goodchild watched him attentively and Hammond knew she was trying to decipher how much he knew. He decided to continue bluffing, it would give Dunn time to get there. She must have found the address by now and would start wondering why he hadn’t called.

  “There was no need. Mark was very compliant from the start. He understood that I was simply trying to show him that the world outside was not meant for the likes of him. The others saw this too. Their parents had abandoned them in their hours of need, and then society had shunned them. Their voices were ignored. I simply showed them how to take back control.”

  “You controlled them with your sick games and twisted logic. They were vulnerable and you exploited them.”

  Hammond heard the faint note of irritation in Goodchild’s voice when she answered him. “On the contrary, I showed them that it was the world outside that should be exploited. Society provides for those who play by the rules dictated by a Christian religion that was founded on hearsay and manipulated to suit those in power. And you Inspector have been exploited and brainwashed into believing that by forcing others to abide by those rules, you are doing the greater good. Your moral intelligence is no more superior to mine. The only difference is that I do not wish to be a part of the community to which you belong. I created my own with its own rules; to take what is rightfully ours.”

  “By selling children?”

  For a split second, Goodchild’s body tensed, she recovered quickly but it was enough for Hammond to have noticed. He was encouraged, it meant she was surprised by how much he knew.

  “In order to create a culture of like minded people, it is necessary to work together, to do what we can to finance ourselves. In that sense, I am a business woman and as such I accept business deals wherever I can find them. There has, and always will be, a market for sex, drugs and cheap labour. I simply act as the distributor, providing what is wanted to the highest bidder. It is often the parents who sell
their unwanted daughters or sons. They cannot afford to keep them. They do what they can to survive and I enable that.”

  Her articulated speech was too controlled, the woman was deranged. It wouldn’t take much to provoke her. The fear started to creep in and spread over Hammond’s body as if poison had been injected into his veins and was slowing paralysing him. He knew he had to play for time, to keep her talking. There was still so much that he didn’t know. “You enable the violation of innocent people and condemn them to a living hell.”

  “What happens to the children before or after the sale is not my concern.”

  “You are not human, you are a sick and perverted bitch!”

  Goodchild crouched down to face Hammond. “You call me perverted yet you didn’t pass the opportunity to use my daughter to satisfy your own urges. You used her to get what you wanted, a cheap thrill. Although I expect you were disappointed. Kathleen has always been frigid. She has the beauty but not the intelligence to know what to do with it.”

  “You prostituted your own daughter just like you did Salima.”

  “Salima wanted a lifestyle of glamour and luxury. Such things have to be earned one way or another.”

  “By sacrificing her life?”

  “I was not responsible for her murder. No, I am afraid that Theresa’s jealousy was the instigator. She told the client that Salima liked autoerotic-asphyxia. A lie of course. Salima panicked, struggled and it went wrong.”

  “How was Lloyd involved?”

  Goodchild’s eyes narrowed, She straightened her back in a defensive stance.

  “It was he who recommended Salima’s services to the client, therefore it was seen to be Lloyd’s responsibility when it went wrong.”

  “So he framed an innocent man for her murder?”

  She opened her arms wide. “Of course. The client was extremely influential. To expose him would be catastrophic for everyone concerned.”

  “You mean for yourself?”

  “Inspector. I do not believe you are so naive as to think that this is all about me. I offer an exclusive service. There are many that appreciate my discretion. If it wasn’t profitable, I wouldn’t be doing it, yet business is booming. That should tell you something.”

  Hammond was distracted by Kelsey venturing further into the room, the man stood by Hammond’s feet, his eyes rested on Hammond’s plastered ankle. The smile that played around his lips caused Hammond to feel under threat of considerable pain. He used his hands to slide his body further away from Kelsey and tried to play for more time by asking questions.

  “What about Rachel Turner? Did you send your boyfriend to kill her like you did with Cheryl?”

  Goodchild looked at Kelsey for several moments. She began to smile, but this time her smile looked as if she were genuinely amused.

  “Bradley does what I ask him to do, just like I do what is asked of me. Like I said Inspector, I have very influential clients who do not want their private lives made public. Some will do anything to prevent that from happening. Rachel proved she couldn’t be trusted and that made people nervous. As for Cheryl, I admit that that wasn’t planned, but it seemed the best way to get rid of two nuisances, especially as the first attempt to get rid of you failed miserably.”

  Goodchild’s eyes had stayed on Kelsey as she spoke but now she turned her gaze back towards Hammond. “You must excuse Bradley, he is keen to show me that he has no intention of making the same mistake again. Personally I abhor violence, but I have to admit that it can serve a purpose.”

  Hammond knew she intended him to die, that she wanted him to beg for his life. The panic began to seep into his heart, ballooning it against his ribs. He was finding it hard to breathe. Desperately he tried to think, to keep Goodchild there for as long as he could. he was playing for time that he knew he had little of.

  “But you destroyed what you created. Your culture, as you call it, now ceases to exist.”

  Goodchild looked bewildered, her features arranged themselves to look at him with wide eyed mysticism. She raised a hand to Kelsey and he took a step back from Hammond but his eyes stayed focused on his prey at his feet.

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  “Mark and the others, they killed themselves to get away from you.”

  Goodchild stepped back sharply, the heel of her shoe made a cracking sound on the tile.

  “No, you got that wrong. It was Fiona’s decision. A client wanted to ensure his stay in Britain would not be questioned and I obliged by providing him a wife for which he paid good money. Unfortunately Fiona took exception to his methods and decided to leave him stranded. It caused the client and I a great deal of embarrassment. Bradley followed her to Dover where he intended to remind her of her obligations. She chose another alternative, one that I didn’t expect.”

  “You gave her no choice but to kill herself.”

  “She chose freedom when she knew there was no going back. You cannot undo a mistake in this business. Compliance is paramount. When Fiona left, she unsettled the others, they started to question their own choices and it caused disruption. Clients became nervous, and when that happens it is necessary to regain control by making the workforce redundant, by making them understand that unless they are willing to commit, they have only one choice open to them. It became necessary for me to start afresh.”

  The woman is mad, Hammond thought.

  “I can see you judging me, but really I think you understand. If you do not play by the rules, your society will reject you. It is necessary to have order. When rules are not respected, it is necessary to abandon those that do not adhere. Lucas understood this better than anyone. He knew his role was to ensure safe delivery of the merchandise, instead he stole and sampled the goods. His love of drugs superseded his respect for the rules and I couldn’t trust him, he wasn’t useful anymore. Theresa’s loyalty was unquestionable yet she was a nuisance. She was manipulative and insecure and believed that she could belong to both societies at the same time. Her desire to belong was her weakness. In the end she realised that she did not belong to either world. I simply suggested going to another place where we all go eventually.”

  “But they all died within months of each other.”

  Goodchild sighed as if she were now bored with explaining. “That was more to do with convenience. I intended moving the business elsewhere but as with any business, it takes time to organise and I wanted to start with a clean slate, get rid of any ties that could weigh me down.”

  “And the notes? Who were they left for?”

  “I would have thought that was pretty obvious, they were persuaded to write the notes so that their predecessors would learn if they did not comply, the same would be expected of them.”

  Hammond was appalled by her cold-blooded indifference. The woman was a sociopath, she had no empathy for anyone. Human life is insignificant to her thought Hammond.

  “You speak of death as if it is part of a game.”

  “Because that is exactly what it is. We all die. It never ceases to amaze me of how surprised people are when they are reminded that death is inevitable. Yet even though they can see there is no way out, they cling to the hope that somehow their fate will be spared. I have no doubt that you will do the same.” Goodchild circled around Hammond’s slumped body on the floor. “Originally we intended this room to be a vault. It was designed to be air tight and sound proof. When Bradley has satisfied his primitive urges, he will lock this door and when that happens the lights and the air supply will be switched off. You will have several hours alone to reflect on what we have discussed. I am confident that when you have mulled over what I have told you, you will realise that you and I share similar beliefs. You intend to punish me by incarcerating me. I am doing the same to you, only I am ensuring that your prison sentence is limited.”

  She crouched down behind Hammond’s head and gently rested her hands on either side of his face. “I bid you good-bye Inspector. We have played a fair game and I commend your efforts, but I c
annot stay any longer. There are people expecting me.”

  “I should warn you, it is unlikely you will get far Ms Gutkin.” Hammond’ s attempt to un-nerve her with his knowledge did not have the effect he had hoped for. Instead she simply raised her eyebrows in surprise and drew herself up to a standing position. Kelsey moved back into position at Hammond’s feet. “You have made Bradley jealous, he hates other men having my attention.”

  As she headed towards the door, Hammond knew that the second she disappeared, he was going to experience pain. He swallowed and began to shuffle backwards, a hopeless gesture he knew, but his survival instinct wasn’t exhausted. As Kelsey followed Hammond’s slow progress, Hammond realised that Goodchild was right. Despite the hopelessness of his situation, he still hoped that he could fight his way out of there. Kelsey smiled as Hammond backed against the wall, there was no-where to go. Hammond closed his eyes and held his breath waiting for the impact and at that moment his fear dissipated into resignation. The panic subsided as rapidly as it had risen, and it gave him strength. Hammond’s leg shot forward and impacted on Kelsey’s right knee. It caused the man to fall forward. Hammond rolled his body to the side and expected retaliation but nothing happened. He rolled back and was astonished to see Kelsey lying on the floor. He wasn’t moving. Galvin hauled Hammond to his feet.

  They half dragged Kelsey from the basement up into the main body of the house. In the kitchen they seated him on a wooden chair and stood over him, waiting for the patrol cars to arrive. Galvin updated the station whilst Hammond observed Kelsey. He was conscious, his eyes were open but he was silent and still, his hands restrained in handcuffs behind his back.

  “A move like that, you could have rendered him brain dead.” Hammond gazed at the angry red weal on the side of Kelsey’s neck.

  “It was a three second squeeze. Anyway, the man was about to kill you. I had to stop him.”