Unseen Evil

by Liz Mistry

  Foot tapping momentarily paused, Jo Jo looked right at Gus. ‘How’s me mam… and Jessie? How’s Jessie? She okay?’

  Gus’ heart contracted. He’d been dreading these questions. ‘Jessie’s fine, Jo Jo. She’s with a foster family in Bradford and she’s okay. Your mum…’ He hesitated, feeling like a coward for allowing the meaningful pause to do half of his work for him.

  Jo Jo frowned, waited, colour blanched from his face and he gripped the edge of the table. ‘Mam… What about me mam?’

  Wishing he was anywhere but here in this room, Gus got on with it. ‘I’m afraid your mother’s taken a turn for the worse, Jo Jo. She’s on a ventilator in the BRI. She’s got an infection. They’re doing everything they can for her.’

  Jo Jo slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes. The sound of the lad’s rasping breaths as he tried to process the information was almost too much for Gus to bear. Instead of looking sixteen, Jo Jo now looked like a lost twelve-year-old. Finally, he spoke.

  ‘I did this. It’s all my fault. I should’ve got the doctor in sooner, but I was scared… scared they’d take Jessie away… split us up. Now look what’s happened.’ Jo Jo fell to the floor, gasping for breath, hyperventilating.

  Shit, Gus had been prepared for a panic attack… just not Jo Jo’s.

  ‘Interview terminated. Medics, right now!’

  He kneeled beside the boy and schooled him through the panic attack. There was no way they’d be interviewing Jo Jo in the foreseeable future, but what they could do in the interim was collate as much evidence as they could to either corroborate Zarqa and Jo Jo’s innocence or prove their guilt.

  Surely Compo would come up with the goods soon. If anyone could pinpoint Zarqa and Jo Jo’s whereabouts at the time of the two murders it was Compo. Officers were still trawling through CCTV in the vicinity of both murder locations and now also in the vicinity of the mosque. The problem was that although Bradford had a proliferation of CCTV, the two areas around Smith Lane and in the middle of Lister Park were ‘dead’ areas.

  Never mind, Gus had faith in his team. They’d keep going.

  CHAPTER 76

  ‘C

  all’s come in, Gus. Kid knifed in Belle Hill!’ Taffy’s face was flushed, and Gus suspected it wasn’t just the heat that was making it so. He’d spotted the shy smiles exchanged between Taffy and the police officer who was just leaving the room as Taffy entered.

  Gus had set up an alert so he would be notified immediately of any knifings in Bradford. That discounted the frequent machete attacks that were becoming more common throughout the city. He’d narrowed the parameters to knife attacks as that seemed to be his killer’s preferred murder weapon.

  ‘Same MO as ours?’ Gus was on his feet and heading out of the room, exchanging the uncomfortably hot and humid environment of the office for the blanket heat surrounding the city. This could be what they needed to exonerate Zarqa and Jo Jo. Both were still in custody, so if this was another Snapchat attack that would mean their killer or, if Carlton was right, killers were still out there.

  Chasing after Gus, Taffy filled him in. ‘They reckon it might be a drug related attack. A neighbour phoned it in, anonymous like, and the boy was lucky, because there was an ambulance two streets down called out on a prank call. They were able to stop the bleeding and the kid’s on his way to hospital right now.’

  ‘Right, we’ll head to the BRI then and see what the lad’s got to say for himself. If this is our killers, it could be a breakthrough. Maybe they’re decompensating. Carlton said that might happen. Kid got a name?’

  Taffy flicked through the notes he’d taken and slowed to a halt. ‘Fuck, Gus you’ll never guess who it is.’

  Frowning Gus glanced round at his officer, startled by his use of the ‘F’ word. Taffy wasn’t a swearer. ‘Spit it out.’

  ‘It’s only bloody Kiran Patel.’

  Gus took a moment, his brow furrowed as he tried to work out why the name was so familiar to him. ‘You mean Pratab’s brother… Kiran.’

  Taffy frowned, ‘Unless it’s someone else with the same name. Says he’s from Clayton though. And it’s too much…’

  ‘…of a coincidence. Yeah, you got that right. Wonder what Kiran was doing over in Belle Hill. Not like it’s anywhere near his neck of the woods, is it?’ Gus bit his lip. ‘Right, you get over to BRI and I’ll head to the crime scene. See if we have any similarities.’

  The knowledge that Belle Hill was Jo Jo’s estate combined with the victim’s link to their ongoing case, worried Gus. There had to be some connection. What was the likelihood of a murder victim’s sibling being attacked within a week of his death, never mind on the same estate as one of their main suspects; it was all beginning to feel very incestuous and Gus was sure he was missing a key element.

  The CSIs had erected a tent and the police had cordoned off the area. Gus greeted the officers in charge of maintaining the integrity of the outer cordon. He signed himself in, and under cover of chatting to the officers, Gus surreptitiously observed the lookie-loos who lined the tape, bantering with the uniforms, moaning about their civil liberties and demanding information they knew they were never going to get.

  ‘You got someone photographing the crowd?’

  The younger officer nodded. ‘Yep, we’re doing a photo trawl every ten minutes or so. Chances are the scrote that did this is hanging around. They like their moment of fame, don’t they?’

  That was true. In the distance Gus could see Jez Hopkins chatting to some of the spectators, his photographer trailing behind. Catching his eye, Jez raised an eyebrow and grinned. Gus scowled and turned away. Hopkins wasn’t one of his favourite journalists, yet Alice, for some reason, seemed to like him. He wondered if Jez knew Al was back. Gus wasn’t going to share anything about Alice. If she wanted him to know anything, she’d tell him herself.

  Loitering toward the back of the crowd, Gus saw the lad they’d taken in earlier… Goyley or something, if he remembered correctly. He was with another big lad and a skinny lad, who Gus recognised as Razor McCarthy. From their body language it was clear that despite his lack of bulk or inches, it was McCarthy who called the shots. ‘Get a photo of those three lads over there, will you? That’s Razor McCarthy and his goons. Leader of one of the two gangs on this estate and keep an eye out for Hammerhead. If I were you, I’d be questioning them. Not much happens on Belle Hill without the say so of either Hammerhead or Razor.’

  Approaching the inner cordon, Gus could see Sid and a bulky DS deep in discussion. As Gus approached, Sid raised an arm in greeting. ‘Didn’t expect to see you here. This doesn’t look like your case. No phone, no positioning of the body, stab wound to the gut not the neck, broad daylight… feels more gang than anything else.’

  Shaking hands with the female officer, a DS Iftikhar, Gus introduced himself before addressing Sid. ‘You’re probably right, but I’m interested in the victim. He’s my first victim’s brother and you know what they say? No smoke without a gallon of petrol and an arsonist.’

  Laughing, Sid waved him through. ‘There’s not much to see, and we’re done here, so have a look.’ The three of them walked towards the tent, and Sid swept the flap open. ‘All there is to see is that.’ He pointed to a pool of blood on the floor, before raising his voice to the crime scene photographer. ‘Here, Jen. Let DI McGuire have a look at the crime scene photos, will you?’ He turned back to Gus. ‘There was no evidence of cable ties or anything. He’d been beaten up and some arse had pissed on him, but no real similarities to your kids… though, it is strange, isn’t it? Two brothers attacked within a week of each other. It’s the parents I feel sorry for.’

  Gus flicked through the photos and had to agree with Sid. Apart from the two victims being brothers there was nothing to link the two attacks and that worried Gus.

  What the hell was happening in Bradford?

  CHAPTER 77

  I f there was one thing Gus hated doing, it was packing the damn dishwasher but, fair was fai
r. Alice had cooked a curry, so cleaning up the kitchen was his job. He’d opened the kitchen window as far as he could and the back door too, but even with the desk fan in the corner of the room, the air barely moved. To be honest, he welcomed the break away from Alice and Patti. It didn’t sit well with him that Zarqa and Jo Jo were still in custody. Mo and Naila had blanked him, refusing to answer any of his calls… he couldn’t blame them, but it still hurt. DCS Bashir had given him permission to take Jo Jo to see his mum at the BRI and she’d shot right up in his estimation for that. The kid had looked petrified at the machines and suchlike that his mum was hooked up to, but he’d held it together, chatting on cheerfully to her, pretending he’d been at school all day and that Jessie was at a friend’s. It broke Gus’ heart to drag the lad away. As the machines wheezed and beeped, Gus worried that this might be the last time Jo Jo would see his mum.

  Alice and Patti were in the living room and the murmur of their voices punctuated with the odd burst of laughter kept him company, although the thought that they might well be making ever increasingly lavish plans for their wedding put him on edge. Truth was he thought Patti was using it as a distraction from all the pressure at school with the press camped outside and the avalanche of emails from parents regarding her ‘indiscretion’. Some people didn’t seem to get that none of this was her fault. Someone invaded her privacy and yet she was the one getting the flak. She often lapsed into silence, a faraway look in her eye, deep in thought and Gus wasn’t sure her thoughts included him… or certainly not in a good way. After this case, he told himself, he’d speak to Patti. Explain that he loved her, but that he wasn’t in a desperate rush to settle down. After all that had happened, they could probably both do with slowing things down. Marriage wasn’t an essential for him and he’d done the all singing all dancing crap with Gaby and look how that had turned out. All he wanted was to share a commitment without the formality of a wedding. The whole wedding thing was too much too soon, and he couldn’t get his head round it. It felt more like a reaction to their private life being made public and less about a commitment to each other.

  So engrossed in his thoughts was he, that he only noticed the high-pitched humming noise when it was right outside the window. He glanced up and recoiled. His first instinct was that the drone was taking photos of him and he wanted to smash it to bits. He dived out the back door and ran towards it, but just as he reached it, it swung upwards abruptly just out of reach of his flailing arms. Bloody bastard was taking the piss… taunting him.

  ‘Al! Patt! Drone!’

  It hovered for a moment and then swooped down to release the item it was holding in its custom-made grabber. The familiar blue envelope drifted to the decking, but Gus wasn’t interested in that. No, he was determined to get the drone. It turned and began to fly out of the garden towards the woods. Gus had two options, follow it and hopefully catch the drone’s operator or catch the damn thing. Although the first idea appealed, the inbuilt camera would alert the pilot if he was getting close to them. Instead, he sprinted towards the fence at the back of his garden, scrambled up on top of his compost bin and stretched towards the drone. His fingers caught one of the legs, but they couldn’t gain purchase. He lost his grip. The bloody machine was going to escape. He had only one option left, so he put one foot onto the top of the fence, balancing with his arms, he stood in a crouch steadying himself for a mere second before he jumped toward the drone arms stretched ahead like Superman.

  He fell hard onto the hard mud path in the woods below, yet still managed to twist and roll so as not to damage the drone. Winded, he lay there, doing a mental inventory of his body. Feet… working, arms… working… neck… working. As he tried to get his breath back, he heard Alice and Patti yelling his name.

  ‘I’m here.’ He wished his voice sounded less tremulous. The voices grew closer, then the gate rattled, but, with the padlock on, they couldn’t open it. Within seconds, Alice’s face popped over the top of the fence, her worried expression replaced almost immediately by a mischievous one. ‘Good dive, Gus… Didn’t know you could fly.’

  ‘Ha bloody ha. It appears I can’t but…’ He raised his hands outstretched before him… ‘I can catch things that do. Now go get the key for the gate from the kitchen drawer and let me in. Doubt I’ll be able to climb that fence again.’

  As Alice’s head disappeared again, he held the drone in front of him, and staring straight into the camera said, ‘Whoever you are… you murdering perv. I’m on to you! You’d better watch out!’

  He switched it off, placed it on the ground and struggled to his feet, acknowledging that a hot bath might be in order to deal with some of his bruises. His shoulder protested as he bent down to pick up the drone. Carrying it carefully, in the hope that he might be able to get some prints from it, he waited until Alice opened the gate and hobbled back into the garden, wishing his back and legs didn’t feel like jelly and trying to ignore the twinge that accompanied each movement. ‘What do you make of this?’

  Alice inhaled. ‘Well, if we reckon the stalker and the killers are linked, then maybe Zarqa and Jo Jo are telling the truth… maybe they did only do the mosque spraying. This confirms Jo Jo’s story and the texts Compo retrieved. On the other hand, maybe one or both of them are in it with the person who sent this monstrosity flying over here. Maybe it’s an elaborate plan to obfuscate things. Bottom line is, we can’t let them go yet, Gus.’

  They joined Patti who was on the decking staring down at the blue envelope. ‘You’ve really got to get this bastard, Gus.’ She glanced around as if expecting a swarm of drones to appear over the horizon and despite the heat, wrapping her arms round her body, she shuddered. ‘Everywhere I go, I feel like someone’s watching me.’

  Carefully placing the drone in the plastic bag produced by Alice, he nodded. Patti was right. This was too personal. The only endgame he could imagine was one involving him… and, more than likely, violence. His earlier adrenalin rush faded, leaving a trail of anger that throbbed through his body slow and painful. Suspecting that his motives weren’t entirely those of a police officer seeking justice, but of an injured individual wanting to inflict payback, he allowed the feeling to grow instead of swallowing it down like he usually did. Whoever was out there killing kids and toying with him, threatening the people he loved and invading his space, had overstepped the mark. He wanted to inflict hurt and, as he accepted that thought, his fists clenched. When the time came, he’d have difficulty controlling himself, for the person with the drone, he was sure, was the driving force behind everything and everything was somehow directed personally at him. Gus moved over and put an arm round Patti’s shoulders, pulling her to him, savouring the coconut fragrance of her shampoo. He loved her… desperately… but bad things happened to the people he loved… his thoughts flicked from Greg, the best friend he’d killed, to Alice whom he’d doubted, to Sampson, a colleague who’d died in the line of fire. Perhaps he didn’t deserve her… maybe he needed to let her go in order for her to be safe? He held her tight, eyes closed for a moment longer. ‘You need to distance yourself from me for now. Go and stay at a friend’s house.’

  Her head jerked up; her cute nose crinkled like it did when she was annoyed with something. ‘No bloody chance. We’re in this together… and…’ She pulled out from his embrace. ‘I’m not running from anyone… especially not a damn psycho who’s killing my students and threatening my… fiancé.’ Her lips quirked briefly as the last word and Gus felt like a tosser.

  ‘Well, when you two lovebirds are finished with all the soppy doo dahs, can we crack on with some actual police work?’ Alice had donned gloves and popped the letter in an evidence bag. ‘Come on, let’s get going.’

  Gus cupped Patti’s face with his hands and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. ‘This is about me being able to focus, yeah? If you’re at Chrissy’s, I’ll know you’re safe and I’ll be able to focus. I need you to do this for me.’

  For a moment he thought she was going to argue, b
ut at the last minute, she seemed to reconsider. ‘Okay. I’ll give Chrissy a ring.’

  ‘But you’ll wait here until I have an officer to escort you.’

  Patti smiled. ‘You do realise that if this stalker is savvy enough to orchestrate two murders and infringe your privacy with their infernal drones, then chances are they’ll be able to follow me wherever I go.’

  She was right, but Gus wanted her away from him in the hope that whoever was stalking them would focus on him and he wanted her with someone else at all times. But he could feel the frustration rolling off her. ‘There is something you could do. We’re going through the interviews we did with your kids as quickly as we can, but maybe you could narrow it down a bit for us? Ask your staff if they know of any pupils, past or present, who demonstrated some sort of technical expertise. My guess is that whoever customised these drones, wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.’

  Patti frowned. ‘You really do suspect one of my kids, don’t you?’

  ‘We’re still narrowing things down, but we’d be fools to ignore such big coincidences. You being the head teacher, me being the detective, two victims – both from your school, both of a similar age, and Snapchats sent to other kids from your school,’ he paused for breath. ‘And that’s even without Sebastian Carlton’s profile.’

  CHAPTER 78

  Zodiac

  A aaaah. Who the hell does he think he is? I play the scene again on my phone. His face right up to the screen, those unusual blue eyes of his with their dark rim round the iris, sparking – ice flames sparking from them. Who knew blue could be so hot? His dreads bounce round his face, like a mane. That’s what he’s like… a lion… a lion with a mane bouncing about.

  ‘Whoever you are… you murdering perv. I’m on to you! You’d better watch out!’