'And get your skates on this could be important,' the DCI demanded.
'I'll ring you back ASAP.'
The phone beeped and Sally stood by her desk, her forehead furrowed in confusion.
Roger's fingers flew over the keyboard as she moved to his shoulder, when the list of David Stones appeared on the screen Roger scrolled down, the sigh building as he ran a hand through his hair giving him his usual hedgehog look.
'Narrow the search,' he mumbled to himself as he added Wigan to the search bar and pressed enter.
Suddenly the list was reduced to eight David Stones.
'Try IT consultant,' Sally said quietly.
Roger glanced at her and raised an eyebrow, before doing as she asked.
'Stone IT Consultancy,' Roger read from the screen. 'But how did you know?' he asked.
Leaning forward Sally placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Can you find an image?'
Roger looked back at the screen, once again his fingers moved in a blur and then suddenly an image of David Stone popped onto the screen and Sally felt the worry build inside as she pulled out her phone and called Bannister.
118
Beth Robbins stood on the patio watching the sun start to fade, inside the fury still raged as she thought about her ex-husband and his plan to have her killed and get away with it. The truth was she had half-believed Stone even before he had played her the voice recording. She had always suspected that Bradley had been the one who had sent Fitzsimmons to her house armed with fuel and matches. The crazy bitch who'd killed Jake, the father of her child, the child she had given away for adoption.
Closing her eyes, she seethed as she pictured her ex-husband, with his smarmy smile and arse-kissing ways. They had met in town, in fact she had followed him as he perused the shops, spending time in one of the jewellers he had come out armed with a designer bag and she had made sure she bumped into him dropping her own bag and spilling the contents in the process.
Bradley had been mortified as he helped her to gather her belongings from the floor, his face bright red as one or two people smirked as they walked past.
In those few short seconds Beth had known that he was someone worth pursuing, his awkward manner, his need to put things right had all been indicators that this man might well prove a good catch.
Half an hour later, they were sitting at a roadside coffee bar, sipping their drinks and talking, although Beth now admitted to herself that she had been the one who had kept the conversation going.
Bradley had seemed shy; he had kept glancing at her before looking away as if he couldn't quite believe that she was taking the time to get to know him.
The first time she had seen where he lived, Beth had decided he was a keeper, the place had been huge and filled with expensive furnishings, not to her taste but six months later she had the place exactly as she wanted it.
Three months later they were married, and for the first time ever Beth Sharp had felt elated at how her life had panned out, meanwhile Bradley had simply been amazed that he found himself sharing a bed with the woman of his dreams.
She thought of his pathetic fumblings as he groped her breasts before sliding into her, lasting all of half a minute before he gasped his way to orgasm. Thankfully, he hadn't been highly sexed, and Beth had managed to put up with the occasional grunt and groan, because in every other way Bradley had been more than generous.
Opening her eyes, she looked into the gloom, following the narrow lane that vanished into a thicket of trees, when she saw the transit van appear in the distance she closed her eyes again, her face suddenly turning sour as her mind rolled out the memories.
All her life she had dreamed of meeting someone like Bradley Robbins, someone she could manipulate, someone who would demand nothing of her as she spent their hard-earned cash, and for a while that had been more than enough. Yet as the months passed, she had started to realise that even the thrill of spending someone else's money could eventually pall. It had taken her a while to admit it to herself but the truth was she had soon became jaded with her endless spending, and then Jake Robbins had gate-crashed into her life and suddenly the thrill was back only this time it was the illicit thrill of sleeping with her husband's brother. Jake had been the complete opposite of Bradley; he had been wild and impulsive; the kind of man she had sworn she would never entertain again. At the time she had been convinced that she was the one in control, but the truth was Jake had simply used her to get back at the brother he despised. By the time she realised that, it was too late and her carefully constructed world had come crashing down around her.
Inwardly, she cringed as she remembered begging Bradley to take her back, but by then he had been locked up in the psychiatric unit in Leigh after burning her beautiful house to the ground.
She had cried, her stomach swollen with Jake's child growing inside her, Bradley had looked like a zombie and yet she had seen the hatred in his eyes well enough, and right then and there she had known there was no way back from the damage she had caused.
Of course, once the house had been gutted by the fire Jake had dumped her, and she had seen him for the man he truly was, but the thing that hurt the most was that she had been bested by someone like him, someone without an ounce of kindness in his heart.
Gradually, the sense of shame had grown, alongside the unborn child, and when the kid came along he had been a constant reminder of her stupidity, so eventually she had got rid of the child and tried to move on with her life, and yet deep down the guilt over what she had done to Bradley had grown.
Then the hatred came rushing back into her mind usurping the pitiful feelings of shame, now she knew that whilst Bradley had been locked up, he had been making plans of his own and his ultimate goal was to see her dead and buried.
Any vestige of remorse vanished as she realised that Bradley was just like Jake, a user and a taker, only Bradley would never be satisfied until he took her life and snuffed her out before moving on with his own sad little existence.
'Not a chance, you bastard,' she snarled as the sound of the van approaching broke the silence.
Beth Robbins opened her eyes as Stone drove the van to the side of the house.
When the window slid down, she walked over.
'Are you ready?' he asked from behind the wheel.
Beth nodded. 'What about the house, aren't you going to lock the doors?'
'Forget it, I learned a long time ago that if someone wants to break in then locks won't stop them.'
Beth frowned slightly as she opened the passenger door and climbed in.
'You sure you're ready for this?' he asked again.
'I want to make the bastard suffer,' she replied as she clicked the seat belt into place.
'You're not the only one,' he replied, lifting his foot off the brake and setting off, his hands gripping the wheel tight.
119
'I still say this is a waste of time,' Bannister grumbled as the Audi moved slowly forward through the early evening traffic. 'I mean, you heard what Sally said, he even helped her sort out her computer, hardly the act of a killer.'
Lasser held the sigh inside. 'I never said he was a killer.'
'Don't give me that, you think he could be another puppet like Foster and…'
'Well, what else do you think we should be doing?' Lasser interrupted as Bannister grabbed second gear.
The DCI thought for a moment, trying to come up with an answer, then his shoulders slumped. 'Buggered if I know,' he admitted.
When his phone rang, Bannister dragged it from his pocket and tossed it over to Lasser.
'Answer it,' he grumbled as he managed to get into third.
Checking the screen, Lasser tapped the speaker icon.
'I've managed to get some more info on Stone,' Roger said.
'Well, come on, let's hear it,' Bannister said as the traffic began to slow again.
'Thirty-four years old, married for twelve though his wife died just over two years ago.'
'How?'
Lasser asked.
'Cancer,' Roger paused, 'but the thing is he also had an adopted daughter named Jilly.'
'She lives with Stone I take it?' Bannister asked dropping back to second gear as the traffic slowed down again.
'No, boss, she's dead.'
Bannister scowled at the news. '''Dead''?'
'Nine months ago, she took her own life.'
'What!?' Bannister barked in shock.
Lasser felt the sudden sense of urgency fill the car as Bannister jerked back in the seat.
'How did she do it, Rog?' Lasser asked.
'She was sixteen and she cut her wrists, Stone was the one who found her in her bedroom, he called the paramedics, but it was too late to save her.'
'Do we know if she used any of the suicide sites?'
'I thought you might ask that so I'm looking into it, but it won't be easy,' Roger warned.
'Well, keep looking and if you find anything then give us a ring.'
'Will do.'
Lasser ended the call and glanced at the DCI, Bannister looked shell-shocked and then his face suddenly hardened as he reached down and hit the siren and lights before pulling out from the queue and stamping on the gas, the Audi surged forward as Lasser was forced back into the seat.
120
As soon as the phone started to ring, Stone indicated and pulled over to the side of the road before lifting it from his pocket.
'It's him,' he said, glancing at Beth.
'Answer it,' she hissed, her face rigid with fury.
'If I do then you need to keep quiet, if he hears you, he'll run.'
'I don't care, I want to tell that bastard…'
'You tell him nothing,' Stone interrupted and for once any semblance of calm left his voice, his eyes were suddenly diamond hard with anger as he glared at her. 'I've spent a long time tracking this man down, so you keep your fucking mouth closed, is that clear enough for you?'
Beth found herself nodding, suddenly feeling the weight of his latent fury, a fury deeper than her own.
The phone continued to drone, and he took a deep breath. 'Whatever you hear you keep your bloody mouth shut,' he warned again as he tapped the answer button.
'Why didn't you answer immediately?' Robbins demanded, his voice a petulant whine.
Beth felt her stomach clench at the sound of the familiar voice, her teeth clamped together keeping the fury locked down tight.
'I'm sorry, Master, I was just leaving work and…'
'I don't care about that, now tell me what happened at the house?'
'I did as you asked, I killed her.'
'How, how did you do it, did you make her suffer, did she scream, did she beg?'
Beth suddenly felt sick at the joy in Bradley's voice, her hands gripped her knees, her body shaking with pent-up rage.
'I know you wanted her to scream, Master, but I had to be careful, I didn't want anyone to hear what was happening and…'
'But I told you I wanted her to scream, I told you that and…'
'I strangled her,' Stone interrupted.
'''Strangled her''?'
'Yes, she tried to run, and I caught her and…'
'Fucking ''strangled her''!?' Robbins all but screamed.
'I'm sorry, have I done something wrong?' Stone asked, keeping his voice calm and even.
'I wanted her to die in agony and yet all you could do was strangle the bitch!'
Beth wanted to push the door open and leap from the van, yet she remained transfixed as her ex ranted about her demise.
'But I needed to keep her quiet so I could finish the job and get out of there without being caught.'
'Do you think I care if you had been caught, do you think I give a shit about that?'
'No, Master, but…'
'I wanted you to take her head, I wanted it delivered to me then I could laugh in her stupid face.'
'I have the head,' Stone suddenly said.
Beth felt the bile rise in her throat, hot and sour, she raised a hand to her mouth in shock.
'But you said you'd strangled her?'
'I did, Master, but only until she lost consciousness and then I thought you might want proof that she was dead, so I got the hacksaw out and…'
Suddenly, gales of laughter filled the confines of the van, bouncing off the bulkhead wooden panel at the back of the seats making Beth wince in shock at the sound of unbridled elation.
'So, you took her head after all?'
'Yes, Master.'
'Oh, I have to see it, I have to spit in her face before you dispose of the remains.'
Stone looked at Beth, her face ashen at the horror of what she was hearing.
'If you pick a place, Master, then I can leave her head there for you to look at and then if you ring me, I can dispose of it afterwards.'
'I've already said that, you fool,' Robbins suddenly snapped, the joy vanishing from his voice, replaced by the usual sense of twisted self-importance.
'I apologise, Master, I don't know what I was thinking.'
'You don't think, you just act, is that clear?'
'Perfectly clear, Master.'
The voice fell silent and Beth closed her eyes as she tried to process the sense of horror.
'The barn at Rivington, do you know where it is?' Robbins suddenly asked.
'There are two barns in Rivington, Master,' Stone replied.
More silence and Stone smiled bitterly as he imagined the man on the phone fuming.
'I know there are two fucking barns, you worm, I want you to go the larger of the two.'
'Understood,' Stone replied as he pictured the huge building with the sloping roof.
The truth was the ''barn'' was actually a huge pub that served beers and had live music on at the weekend. A local landmark serving the hundreds of bikers that would descend and park their gleaming machines on the car park to be admired by the walkers and families who'd head out to the countryside to walk the hills.
'Go there now and place her head in the first litter bin on the left.'
'And then what?'
'Then you fucking drive away and wait for me to call you.'
'Yes, Master,' Stone replied.
The call suddenly ended; Beth gasped as at last she allowed the emotion to escape from her mouth.
David Stone never said a word, just checked his mirrors and pulled away from the kerb.
121
'Anyone home!' Bannister shouted as he stepped into the kitchen.
Lasser looked on perplexed as the DCI walked across the room heading for the hallway.
'Stone are you in?' Bannister bellowed as Lasser followed.
The journey out to the smallholding had seen Bannister hunched over the wheel, his face fixed with grim determination as he careered around the corners, Lasser gripping the handle above the door as he was flung left and right, the DCI muttering incoherently to himself as he kept his right foot flat to the floor.
By the time they arrived at the barn conversion, parking in front of the gleaming black Nissan, Lasser felt clammy with sweat, his heart pounding.
After hammering on the front door and getting no reply they had ventured around the back, Bannister had tried the double doors, grunting in surprise as they swung open.
'Check upstairs,' the DCI fired over his shoulder as he vanished through a door on the right.
Lasser took the stairs two at a time, sprinting onto the landing and angled right before pushing open the first door on the left.
The bedroom was huge, immaculate and empty, so he strode to the next, glancing into a bathroom that was as large as his kitchen. Reaching another door, he pushed it open and stood in the doorway, the walls were painted bright purple, the single bed neatly made, posters covered most of the wall at the back of the bed, Lasser glanced at them blankly before walking over to the bed.
The closed diary lay on the duvet, the cover looked ragged, he could see that at one time it had been decked out with tiny nuggets of paste gems, though most had fallen free lea
ving the green cover beneath exposed.
Reaching down he picked it up and flicked it open.
''Hands off! This diary is the property of Jilly Stone and big trouble awaits those who read it without my express permission''. Lasser read the words, written in neat handwriting, the sigh of sadness building inside as he started to flick through the pages, pausing briefly to read the occasional passage.
''Went to the Lakes today with Mum and Dad, we hired a boat and went on Windermere it was just so cool and the weather was red hot. I even got a tan on my arms which for a goth is soooo uncool!''
Lasser felt a melancholic smile pluck at the corners of his mouth as he continued to flick through the pages.
''Mum talked to me today, she told me that the cancer has spread and that she's going to die and that I have to be strong, but I don't know what to do. I love her so much and don't want her to die, but she told me it was all fine and that she would always love me no matter what. I cried, I tried not to, but we sat on my bed and she hugged me for ages and in the end, she was crying too, and I felt so bad about that''.
Lasser looked at the bed and pictured a mother and daughter clinging together, both knowing that time was limited, and that death was fast approaching, the ultimate separator.
'What are you doing?'
Lasser glanced across the room as Bannister came barrelling in.
'It's the daughter's diary,' Lasser explained as the DCI moved to his shoulder and looked at the page.
'Poor kid,' he said with a sigh as Lasser flicked through some more pages.
''It was the funeral today; it was the worst day of my life''.
They read the single sentence and then Lasser riffled forward before coming to a halt.
''All I want to do is die, I can't talk to my dad because he's so upset all the time and I don't want to make things worse for him. None of my friends know what to say to me anymore, they try to be kind but all I want to do is stay at home and die''.
'Jesus,' Bannister muttered in a voice laced with emotion.
Lasser turned the pages slowly, the anguish increasing with every passage they came across.
''The site scares me, I mean, I know I want to end it all but people on there talk about it as if it's no big deal. I've read some horrible things, people who have been abused by their parents or had someone they loved killed and can't see the point in carrying on''.
Dark of Mind Page 30
