Rogue Killer

by Leigh Russell

  ‘Well, you really don’t need to worry. He was operating in York and he can’t go far from here without being caught. You’re perfectly safe.’

  ‘What about you? I don’t understand why you keep on with your job. You’re getting too old for all that action and danger and stupid heroics. Why on earth you don’t apply for a move to a desk job? Really, I mean it. You could quite easily get another promotion after all your hard work and dedication. What more do they want?’

  Geraldine felt uncomfortable at being reminded that her sister still didn’t know she had been demoted as a consequence of her action to protect her identical twin. In fact, she hadn’t even mentioned to Celia that she had discovered the existence of her birth twin. At first she had been reluctant to risk upsetting Celia while she was pregnant but it was hard to see how she could share the news now, after so much time had passed since she had first learned of Helena’s existence. So she continued to hide the truth.

  ‘He could be anywhere,’ Celia pointed out. ‘You said so yourself. And you should know. You’re on the team who are supposed to be finding him.’

  It took Geraldine a while to convince her sister that neither of them was about to be murdered in their beds. She rang off feeling emotionally drained. But Celia was right. As long as Jamie remained at large, he would continue to pose a threat to the public.

  The following morning she called on Lindsey again on her way into work and this time the door opened, on the chain.

  ‘Oh, it’s you,’ Lindsey said.

  ‘Can I come in?’

  ‘Clearly you won’t stop pestering me until you do,’ Lindsey replied, pushing the door closed so she could remove the chain.

  Geraldine entered the dimly lit hall. She was fairly tall, but Lindsey towered over her.

  ‘I wanted to ask whether you’ve remembered finding anything one of the previous tenants left behind when you moved in. Anything at all.’

  ‘Wouldn’t the landlord have found it, if anything was left behind when someone moved out? Shouldn’t you be asking him?’

  ‘I meant a phone number or an address –’ Geraldine said.

  She felt foolish. Clues like that might figure in films and old-fashioned TV cop shows, but they never turned up in real life.

  ‘No, I’ve already told you I didn’t find anything. He must have taken everything with him when he went, and he’s not coming back, so there’s no point in you pestering me anymore.’

  The words gave Geraldine a cold shiver. With a shock, she wondered whether her suspicions had been right. It might have been a slip of the tongue, but Lindsey had just told her Jamie wasn’t going to return to the house, and she could only be sure of that if she was still in touch with him.

  ‘How do you know?’ Geraldine took a step towards the other woman, who was standing in shadow. ‘How can you be so sure he’s not coming back?’

  She stared closely at Lindsey, who appeared uncomfortable under the scrutiny and turned away. When she looked back, her hair had fallen over her face, partly obscuring it. But she was too late. Geraldine had just realised why the photograph of Jamie’s brother had looked familiar. Lindsey resembled Peter so closely, Geraldine suspected her theory had been right all along. Somehow Peter’s sister and brother had both survived. Now calling herself Lindsey, the sister was protecting Jamie. The two of them might even be accomplices.

  ‘I know you want to find this man,’ Lindsey said, glaring at her from the shadows, ‘but you know it has got nothing to do with me.’

  ‘Well, never mind, it doesn’t matter,’ Geraldine lied. ‘We just thought you might be able to pass on some information that could help us, that’s all.’

  ‘What information?’

  Lindsey took a step forward into the light. In that instant, gazing into the other woman’s unblinking black eyes, Geraldine understood.

  ‘I can see this is wasting time for us both,’ Geraldine said. ‘You clearly don’t know where Jamie is, so I’m sorry to have bothered you again, and now I’ll leave you in peace.’

  Lindsey’s expression darkened and Geraldine saw that Lindsey knew she had glimpsed the truth. As Geraldine backed away, Lindsey stepped forward and grabbed her by both arms in a tight grip. For all her training, Geraldine couldn’t break free.

  ‘Lindsey,’ Geraldine said, as calmly as she could, ‘or should I call you Jamie?’

  Her captor’s grip tightened until it felt as though Geraldine’s arms had been trapped in a metal vice.

  ‘There’s no point in trying to detain me,’ Geraldine continued speaking in an even tone, although inwardly she was terrified. ‘My colleagues know where I am and they’ll be here any minute now. They’re on their way already.’

  If no one turned up, Jamie would realise that was a lie. Hopefully by then the police would have tracked Geraldine through her phone, and found her car parked outside in the street. Jamie’s painted lips twisted in a snarl exposing a smear of red lipstick on his teeth, and close up Geraldine could see the rim of his contact lenses.

  ‘You’re not going to get away this time,’ Jamie growled, no longer attempting to disguise his masculine voice. ‘You’ve pestered me for long enough. It stops right now.’

  ‘Think about what you’re doing. You can’t possibly get away with this.’

  Jamie smiled. ‘I already have. They’re never going to find out what happened to you. And they won’t ever know it was me, because it’s Jamie’s DNA they’ll find on your body, and I’m Lindsey.’ He laughed. ‘That’s been your problem all along. A complete lack of imagination. You’re the only one to guess my secret, and you’re not going to be telling anyone.’

  ‘You can’t kill a police officer here, in this house,’ Geraldine protested, trying to control her panic. ‘The forensic team are bound to find out what happened. They’ll know I was here.’

  ‘Your DNA is already all over the house. No one will ever know you came back here.’

  ‘With my car outside and my phone in my pocket?’

  ‘Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you really think I’m going to leave your car outside, and not get rid of your phone when I move your car? You think you’re so clever, but you’re the one who’s been outmanoeuvred. And they haven’t caught me yet, have they?’

  ‘You haven’t attacked a police officer until now,’ Geraldine replied.

  Seizing the opportunity while Jamie hesitated, Geraldine wrenched her arms free from her captor’s grasp and darted out of reach, but Jamie dashed after her and caught her from behind as they reached the bottom of the stairs. With Jamie’s arm around her neck Geraldine struggled for breath, and a wave of weariness sapped the energy from her limbs. It seemed to start at her feet which she could no longer control, and sweep upwards and into her brain. As her legs gave way, she heard Jamie berating her for causing him so much trouble.

  ‘You won’t get away with it this time,’ Geraldine gasped.

  She tried to continue, but she could barely breathe. She felt her windpipe being crushed as Jamie replied.

  ‘Watch me! Oh no, of course you won’t be able to, will you, because you’ll be dead.’

  His laughter echoed in her head as she lost consciousness.

  57

  ‘Where’s Geraldine?’ Eileen demanded, glaring at Ian. ‘You know her better than anyone,’ she added in a milder tone. ‘Has she gone off on one of her harebrained schemes?’

  ‘I’ve worked with her before,’ he replied slowly, wondering what Geraldine had got herself into now. ‘But I’ve no idea where she is right now. I didn’t even know she’d gone out.’

  Eileen scowled. ‘It seems she never turned up here this morning. What’s she playing at?’

  Ian shook his head. ‘I don’t know where she is.’

  ‘Get hold of her, Ian, and tell her I want her in my office, now.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ he
replied. ‘Geraldine would never fail to turn up. It’s just not something she would do. She lives for her work –’

  ‘And yet we’re at work, and she’s not here, and no word of explanation.’

  ‘Something must be wrong,’ Ian replied, frowning.

  ‘Well, send a constable round to her flat,’ Eileen said. ‘Only she’s not answering her phone and it would appear she’s still asleep, at eleven in the morning –’

  ‘That’s not possible.’

  ‘Perhaps she’s not well then. Whatever’s going on, I need to know, now.’

  ‘OK, I’ll look into it.’

  Leaving Eileen’s office, Ian tried Geraldine’s phone but it went straight to voicemail. Leaving a message, he ran out to his car and set off for her flat. On the face of it, that was hardly a task for an inspector, but he didn’t care. He knew Geraldine, and if she hadn’t turned up for work, there was a reason. He put his foot down.

  There was no response when he rang Geraldine’s bell. He banged on the door but still there was no answer. He tried her phone again, but it went to voicemail. With no way of knowing whether she had gone out, or was inside and unconscious, he hammered on the door but all was silent. Carefully he fiddled with the security lock on her door and eventually it opened. He ran inside and searched the flat. There was no sign of Geraldine. He couldn’t find her iPad, which suggested she was out working, so he tried her phone one last time. Still there was no answer. With growing anxiety, he returned to the police station. He didn’t know what else to do.

  ‘No sign of her at all?’ the detective chief inspector said, when Ian told her what had happened.

  ‘She wasn’t there.’

  ‘Well, I need to see her when she turns up,’ Eileen replied. ‘If she’s still not back in tomorrow, we’ll initiate a thorough search. Wherever she is, she has no business going off like that without letting anyone know where she’s gone.’

  Ian didn’t tell Eileen that he wasn’t prepared to wait that long. He knew Geraldine would never disappear without a word. Apart from anything else, she would realise he would worry about her. As he began checking through the drawers of her desk, he saw Ariadne gaping at him.

  ‘What are you doing? Are you looking through her –’

  ‘Do you have any idea where she’s gone?’ Ian interrupted her.

  ‘No. Where?’

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to find out.’

  ‘You’re saying you want to know where she is?’

  ‘Yes, exactly. So do you know where she’s gone or don’t you?’

  Ariadne sounded annoyed. ‘Why don’t you call her and ask?’

  There was nothing to be gained from concealing the truth. If Ian was overreacting, he would deal with the flak once Geraldine reappeared. He didn’t care that he might be scoffed at for fussing; he couldn’t bear to contemplate how he would feel if Geraldine had met with an accident and he had done nothing to help her.

  ‘I don’t know where she is,’ he admitted. ‘She seems to have disappeared.’

  Ariadne’s eyes widened. ‘She can’t have disappeared,’ she said. ‘Do you think she’s ill?’

  Quickly Ian told her that Geraldine’s flat was empty and she wasn’t answering her phone. They stared at one another in dismay. Ariadne might not have known Geraldine very long, but she knew her well enough to realise that something was seriously amiss.

  Ian went through all of Geraldine’s records, searching for clues to where she might have gone. Meanwhile, Ariadne contacted Geraldine’s sister and twin to find out when they had last seen her. She was careful to avoid letting slip that Geraldine was missing. All the same, Celia was instantly concerned.

  ‘What’s happened to her? Something’s happened, hasn’t it?’

  It had clearly been a mistake to make the call, and it required all of Ariadne’s ingenuity to reassure Celia that Geraldine was fine. She didn’t actually know that was true, but until they knew what had happened, there was no need to worry her sister. After Celia’s reaction, Ariadne was reluctant to disturb Helena as well. She checked with Ian before she called Geraldine’s twin, but he was adamant they had to try everything. Ariadne worded her enquiry as carefully as she could.

  ‘Geraldine?’ Helena replied. ‘I haven’t heard from her for a while.’

  ‘Has she been in touch with you at all in the past day or two?’

  ‘No. But don’t worry, she’ll be OK,’ Helena replied carelessly. ‘Don’t tell me my responsible sister has gone AWOL?’

  ‘We just need to find her. Do you have any idea where she might be?’ Ariadne asked.

  It was difficult to persuade Helena to take her enquiry seriously, while avoiding worrying her.

  ‘I told you, I’ve no idea where she is. She never tells me anything. And if she did tell me what she was up to, why would I tell you?’

  Having set up a search for Geraldine’s car, Ian returned to his desk and tried to focus on his own work, but he couldn’t think about anything else. Before long, a report came in that a patrol car had spotted Geraldine’s vehicle parked in a side street near the hospital. What was of particular concern was that the car had been easily located because Geraldine’s phone was in the glove compartment. Ian wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved that the hospital had no record of Geraldine turning up there.

  ‘I wonder if she was going to try and see Lindsey again,’ Ian said. ‘She did seem convinced that Lindsey knew more than she was letting on.’

  ‘But why wouldn’t she have recorded the visit?’ Ariadne asked.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Maybe she forgot.’

  ‘Geraldine never forgets anything. And she’s too experienced to have done anything that might put her at risk without calling for backup first,’ he added, speaking more to himself than to Ariadne.

  ‘Well, it’s hardly risky if that’s where she’s gone, because Lindsey didn’t even know the killer,’ Ariadne replied.

  With no other ideas, and nothing to lose, Ian decided to speak to Lindsey. Taking Ariadne with him, he drove straight there. Neither of them spoke as they sat side by side in the car, or when they approached the front door. No one answered when Ian rang the bell and knocked, so he walked along the front of the house, peering in through the windows. There was no sign of movement inside the house. All they could do was wait for Lindsey to return home, so they agreed to go back to the car and watch the house. Meanwhile, time was passing and there was no word from Geraldine.

  Having spent most of the day looking for Geraldine, Ian offered to drive Ariadne back to the police station to pick up her car so she could go home.

  ‘I’ll stay here,’ she replied tersely.

  Her response told him she was as concerned about Geraldine as he was. He desperately wanted someone to tell him he was worrying unnecessarily, but he knew that Geraldine would never have disappeared like that if there was nothing wrong. He rang the bell one last time. As he was about to turn and walk down the path back to the car, the front door swung open and Ian was surprised to see a woman’s face, heavily made up, peering out at him. Black eyes glittered at him, cold with suspicion.

  ‘What do you want?’

  Ian held up his identity card and introduced himself. The woman shook her head. She was tall and striking, with long dark hair and strong features.

  ‘Oh for goodness sake, there’s already been a whole team of police officers here, searching the house. What are you after now? Listen, Inspector, of course I’d help you if I could, but I really don’t think there’s anything more I can tell you. What is it you wanted to know anyway?’

  Her assurances of interest were encouraging. So often members of the public reacted with varying degrees of hostility on seeing Ian’s identity card. He had expected her to slam the door in his face.

  He answered her question with one of his own. ‘Is one
of my colleagues here, by any chance?’

  ‘What’s this about? I told you –’

  ‘We’re looking for a colleague of ours,’ Ariadne interrupted her. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve seen her? She’s got short black hair –’

  ‘What makes you think I would have seen her?’

  ‘We know she wanted to speak to you, and we thought she might have come here. We were hoping you might be able to tell us where she’s gone.’ Ariadne forced a smile.

  Lindsey frowned. ‘Why don’t you phone her?’

  ‘We can’t get hold of her,’ Ariadne replied.

  ‘Do you mean she’s disappeared?’

  ‘No,’ Ian replied quickly. ‘But we don’t know where she is right now.’

  ‘What’s all this got to do with me?’

  ‘We’re speaking to everyone she’s been in contact with recently,’ Ian said. ‘This is just routine.’

  That was partly true. They had already called Geraldine’s sister and her twin, and Lindsey wasn’t the only other person they wanted to speak to. But it was hardly a routine enquiry.

  ‘You live here, don’t you? And we were under the impression she was coming to see you. So we thought you might know where she is.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but no one’s been here from the police since all that fuss last week when your officers were crawling all over the house looking for God knows what. But if this colleague of yours turns up I’ll tell her you were looking for her, shall I?’

  ‘Please tell her to call us the minute she appears,’ Ian said.

  The woman nodded, then turned and went inside, closing the door behind her.

  ‘You don’t think Geraldine could be in there, do you?’ Ian asked softly, turning to Ariadne.

  She shrugged. There was nothing to suggest that was the case. They needed something more than vague supposition before they could go storming into the house again.

  58

  Geraldine lay in darkness, aching and confused, and the memory of Jamie’s assault came back to her in shreds, like snatches of a dream. Finally her mind cleared but when she tried to stand up she had to acknowledge this was no nightmare she could wake from. Her ankles were tied together and so were her wrists. Every time she moved, an agonising pain stabbed at her neck and spread across her shoulders. Knowing she had been trapped by a serial killer, her mind seemed frozen in terror. All she could picture was his eyes, inhuman behind their dark lenses. But she wasn’t dead. Fighting her fear, she clung to that thought. She wasn’t dead. Jamie must be keeping her alive for a purpose. Perhaps he was planning to use her as a hostage, or else he intended to exact some terrible revenge on her for bringing the police into his house. Whatever his reasons for preserving her life, she had to escape before he returned.