HE WILL KILL YOU an absolutely gripping crime thriller with a massive twist

by Charlie Gallagher

  ‘We spoke to FCR,’ the firearms officer continued. ‘They’re still showing a GPS signal pinging at this address. We haven’t done a good search but if I’m honest I don’t know what we’re looking for. They said you would?’

  ‘Yeah. I gave it to her. Can we come up and take a look?’

  The woman led the way. She still held her rifle like she was covering the trigger. There was probably no other way to hold it comfortably but it made Maddie nervous. She hung back a little. Harry was with her. Vince had stayed reluctantly with the car.

  ‘You okay?’ Harry whispered into Maddie's ear.

  ‘Yeah, of course. Just worried about Grace.’

  The flat was two flights up. The landing had another door with a buzzer system. It was wedged open now.

  ‘Was this door secure?’ Maddie asked.

  ‘No, it was like that when we got here. We haven’t touched much to be honest.’

  Maddie stepped onto the landing. One thing they had definitely touched was the front door to flat number 6. It had been forced inwards. The sides were splintered and the letterbox had come loose with the force. The steel enforcer that had been used for the job was still out on the landing. The officer gestured for them to go in first. Maddie took the lead. In the living room, she was met by another officer holding his rifle with the same intent. He nodded at her and must have recognised Harry, greeting him with a nod and a polite ‘Boss’.

  Maddie peered around. The flat seemed small overall, but tidy. Everything seemed to be in its place. The living room was the largest space and at its far end was a door leading into a hallway. It had glass panels on the left side so she could see most of the hall and at least two doors that came off it. She moved towards it.

  ‘Are these the bedrooms?’ she called out.

  ‘One bedroom and a bathroom,’ came the reply. ‘It’s all been checked.’

  Maddie didn’t doubt it. The first door was almost directly opposite where she entered. She pushed it open to reveal the bathroom. Again, it was all in order as far as she could see. There was a bath on the right with a shower hung over it. The bottom of the bath looked damp and the shower still dripped. On the opposite wall was a sink with a small cabinet above it and a window over the toilet to the left of that. It was cold. The window was pushed wide open and the blinds shuffled in a freezing breeze. Her eyes dropped to a small bin where a lipstick stood at the bottom, held up by a white plastic bin liner puffed with air either side of it. She stepped back out.

  The next door was the bedroom. It was big enough for a double bed and a small, fitted wardrobe with doors that slid into each other to reveal a neat rack of clothes behind. There was an empty cup on a bedside shelf. It had a tea stain in the bottom. So far it was the only thing that looked out of place. There was a crease running up the middle of the bed, too, as if it had been made and then had something laid on top of it. Someone this tidy would have just needed to run a hand over the crease to remove it. Maddie couldn’t quantify it, but something didn’t feel right.

  ‘Not much here,’ Harry growled.

  Maddie had to agree on the surface. ‘Except a panic alarm — somewhere. She wouldn’t have pressed that lightly, Harry. There’s something wrong.’

  ‘Maybe it was an accident?’

  ‘The button’s on the inside. It’s possible, just not likely. And why leave it here? And where is Grace? Or Sally for that matter — the woman who actually lives here.’

  ‘All we are getting from Grace are more questions,’ Harry said, his frustration clear.

  Maddie walked back out into the hall and cast her eyes left again, running them over the bathroom as she continued through the flat. She got back to the front door. There was a neat row of shoes running under a cupboard that was fitted into a gap opposite the front door. Inside were coats, a handbag and a hoover. A quick search of the bags and coat pockets revealed nothing. She went into the kitchen: again, nothing out of place, not even a dirty cup or spoon in the sink. A bottle of spray bleach was out on the bench. It bubbled from the nozzle and there was a patch where it had dripped — as if it had been used recently. Harry was back in the living room. He shrugged.

  ‘I guess we get a search team in, just to be sure the alarm is here and to see if there’s anything else we can use to find her.’

  Maddie was trying to think. ‘It’s a make-up mirror. There was nothing in the bedroom . . .’ She walked back through the door. She heard Harry call out to her but she ignored it; she wanted to bottom something out. She walked back into the bathroom, trying out scenarios in her head: if you were scared, if you wanted to press an alarm and you didn’t want someone to know and it was disguised as an item of make-up, you would need to be somewhere where it wouldn’t look out of place. She thrust her hand into the bin. There were other items of make-up in there, but no alarm. She straightened up and fixed on her reflection in the mirror over the sink. The unit was deep and doubled as a cupboard. She pulled it open to find it busy with items: toothbrushes, make-up wipes, bottles of shower gel and soap bars. She moved them around and pushed them aside. Her hand fell on something smooth in the corner, pushed behind a plastic beaker. She pulled it out.

  It was the alarm.

  Maddie stepped back and held it up. Her eyes flickered back around the room. Her mind rushed with scenarios, none of which seemed plausible. It had been hidden, but why hide it? Sally might have known what it was, perhaps? Maddie didn’t know if she had ever been issued with one. So did this mean Sally was a threat to Grace? Why would that be?

  ‘She was leaving me a message. She must have been. Why else?’ Maddie spoke out loud despite being alone. Harry hadn’t followed her; she could hear his voice as a low vibration from the other room. It sounded like he might be on the phone.

  She pulled out the rest of the contents of the cupboard and started to rest the items in the sink. She changed her mind when she noticed the hot tap dripping, flattening the cotton wool.

  The hot tap!

  Maddie emptied the sink hurriedly and pushed everything back into the cupboard. She had to hold the cabinet shut so the stuff wouldn’t spill back out. Now she was in a rush. She turned the hot tap on fully. She looked up at the window. It was square and the top third was wide open. She pulled it shut and did the same with the bathroom door. She stepped back. The steam started to build and the mirror started to mist. She bit down on her lip as something appeared at the bottom right of the mirror. The mist built from the bottom and the something became a line that moved diagonally across the mirror. The line ended in an arrowhead, pointing towards the window. If this was Grace, if this was her message, she had needed a bigger canvas.

  Maddie snatched at the curtain that was draped inside the bath. She spun the hot tap to turn the shower on full. It came through loud and hot. She heard a thump on the door just a few seconds later. Harry’s voice on the other side was agitated.

  She pulled the door open. ‘Come in and shut the door!’

  ‘What the . . .’

  Maddie pointed at the mirror. Letters and words were starting to form on the window. Harry fumbled with the door. It bounced off his heel the first time but then he got it shut. They both moved closer to the window. The words weren’t clear. Maddie quickly tugged her long, black jacket off. She reached up, pushed the window open, bunched her jacket up and held it out of the window so that it spread out against the glass on the other side. The window now had a darker backdrop. It still wasn’t easy. Harry pulled the light switch. It was enough for them to make it out.

  ANOTHER CAR BOMB

  BOY BURGLAR PLANTED

  BLACKMAIL FRANK D

  VICTOR KILLED SALLY

  HE WILL KILL ME. PLS HELP.

  Harry still had his phone in his hand. Maddie hadn’t noticed it before. He lifted it back to his ear.

  ‘Sorry, sir. I’m going to have to call you back.’

  * * *

  Vince stood out of the car as they approached. Maddie was just below breaking into a jog
to keep up with Harry. They were both using their phones. Maddie’s call was over with quickly. Harry’s update was still underway. He sounded breathless as he barked orders down the phone. He wanted a full forensic search of the flat; it was to be treated as a murder scene until they worked out what had gone on there. The firearms teams were holding the cordon. Maddie had to smirk as he explained how to take the pictures in the bathroom.

  ‘You need to run the taps — the hot taps,’ he was saying. ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I said . . . the hot taps . . . Yes! I’ve got a picture . . . It will make sense . . . I’ll send it through, but we will need the CSI to get something evidential.’

  He put the phone down as they got into the car. Vince looked expectant. Maddie got in the back seat. Harry finished on his phone and turned to speak with her. ‘So what are we saying? Just so I know we’re thinking the same?’

  ‘Grace is in danger. Sally is already dead. Viktor was responsible. We should assume he was here and that he took Grace when he left. And Toby Routledge was used to plant the devices.’

  Harry ran his hand over his shaved head. ‘Well, okay then.’

  ‘But the tunnel devices . . . I thought they were placed at the time?’

  ‘In the tunnel, yes. The one under Craig Dolton’s car was planted. We knew Toby did two break-ins on Campbell Road. We had the addresses, Grace denied it, but one was Craig Dolton’s . . .’

  ‘What?’ Harry prompted

  ‘Grace . . . she denied it . . .’

  ‘She did. We need to find her, Maddie.’

  Maddie’s head continued to spin. ‘And the key fob . . . the stolen property from Dolton’s address . . . It looked like nothing. Worthless. A few old phones and a key ring. A Volkswagen keying. Toby was trying to tell us. He was trying to tell me.’

  ‘He could have just told you.’

  ‘He was terrified. I guess he thought that if we worked it out, maybe he would be off the hook. He was in it too deep and he had no idea how to get out.’

  ‘I guess he didn’t want to be blowing people up.’

  ‘That wasn’t him at all. He laid out the stolen property. He took mail with the addresses on them. The burglary was a front, Harry. He was there to get access to their cars.’

  ‘For Viktor.’

  ‘Yes, for Viktor.’

  ‘So we have another device and we know where that is, don’t we?’

  ‘The car at number 21. I called it in already — to the control room. They’re deploying the right people, but we might just have had a stroke of luck there. She was going away, remember?’

  ‘Yes! She was! Lake Garda for a wedding.’ Harry was suddenly animated.

  ‘I tried calling her direct, too. Her phone’s switched off — but that’s hardly a surprise. The house should still be empty. She said she had an early morning taxi coming. That car should still be sat there. We’ll have confirmation soon. I told them to get hold of one of us as soon as they get eyes on.’

  ‘I remember it. It was parked badly. What are they doing with it?’

  ‘I was put through direct to Gold Command. When they confirm it’s there they’ll put in a two-hundred-metre cordon and evacuate the houses around it. They were going to call MOD as soon as they got off from talking to me.’

  Harry was rubbing his head again. ‘And who’s this Viktor?’

  Maddie was shaking her head. ‘I bet I know. When Toby was nicked a few nights ago some fella got himself involved. Vince, here, nicked him. We got him in for drunk-and-disorderly. His name was Viktor. It’s too much of a coincidence. It has to be him.’

  Vince had been sat in the driver’s seat, taking it all in. He chipped in now. ‘I meant to tell you about him. His prints came back from the European databases. He’s wanted abroad — some blackmail and kidnap thing. Heavy stuff. Me and Tim were gonna go out looking for him when we had some downtime. He gave an address a few doors up from your boy. The Viktor part was right, but he gave us a duff surname.’

  ‘It didn’t come back at the time? He would have had prints taken in custody.’ Harry’s tone was thick with frustration.

  ‘We took his prints, but searches on foreign databases still ain’t automatic. You have to fill out a form and justify it. It costs money, apparently, every time you submit one. I always do it — you never know. But it takes a little while. Normally they’re still in by the time we get the details back, but he was out first thing with a ticket — we don’t interview for D-and-D. We made a few enquiries about him with our Hungarian colleagues. This fella ain’t nice.’ Vince flicked through the pages of his pocket book. ‘Viktor Lizawski,’ he read.

  ‘We had him in custody,’ Maddie mused. She shook her head. ‘Thinking back . . . Toby’s body language . . . the fear I saw in him . . . it came on after we had the run in with Viktor. His whole demeanour changed.’

  ‘You think this Viktor did it on purpose?’ Harry said.

  ‘It would make sense. If he was living nearby he could have seen us there and hatched some sort of plan to get himself nicked for something minor. That way he gets his opportunity to remind Toby not to say anything to the police. Jesus, Harry, when I think back, this Viktor said exactly that! Right in front of me! I didn’t think anything of it . . .’

  ‘Why would you? We couldn’t know he had an agenda. We know him now though, don’t we? This time he won’t be leaving quite so quickly.’

  ‘Finding him won’t be easy now. Even assuming he doesn’t know we’re onto him, he still has Grace. He’ll be trying to stay low.

  ‘He will. We still have one good line of enquiry from in there: Frank D. Seems Mr D knows more than he was telling us after all. Maybe he can fill in the blanks.’

  ‘Where’s he?’ Vince said.

  ‘Work or home. Both are Canterbury area. We go on blues.’

  Vince gunned the engine. ‘No other way to travel.’

  Chapter 32

  From the impression Maddie had gained of Frank Dolton, his house seemed to suit him perfectly. Stout gates barred access and there was a polished metal panel off to the right demanding that you press and ask for permission to enter. The gate was held up by brick posts at either end. On top of each were matching stone boxer dogs. The gates themselves were made up of black metal railings with faux-gold tips. They yawned inwards before Vince even had the chance to drop his window. Dolton must have had a phone call; he was expecting them.

  Maddie had called the number she had for Frank as they left Margate, expecting it to be his direct number. Instead she recognised the voice of Claire, his stern PA. It seemed that Claire was still very much the point of contact for her boss, even on a Saturday. She had been quick to explain that Frank was away on business until Monday at least. Her response sounded well rehearsed, the first part of her response uttered far too quickly: Well, you won’t find him at home, I’m afraid. Maddie had told her not to worry, that it could wait. But it couldn’t wait and she was now pretty sure where they would find him.

  The front door opened. Frank’s figure all but filled it. It was noticeable that he stepped out quickly and closed the door behind him. The handshake was firm but his palms felt a little clammy.

  Harry spoke first. ‘Mr Dolton . . . Maddie you already know, of course. This is PC Arnold.’

  Frank looked past them to the marked car that Vince had pulled at an angle across his gravel drive.

  ‘Do you have to leave that there?’

  Harry shrugged. ‘Yes.’

  ‘I assume you are here with an update about my brother’s death?’

  ‘Well, not really, Mr Dolton. If I’m honest, I was rather hoping you would be providing us with an update about that subject.’

  Frank’s eyes darted over all three of them. They lingered on Vince before switching back to Harry. ‘Are you here to arrest me?’

  ‘Why would I be here to arrest you, Mr Dolton?’ Harry said.

  Frank seemed to hesitate with his reply. ‘That’s what the police do, isn’t it?’

 
‘There’s a lot more to it than that,’ Harry said.

  ‘Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am waiting for you to offer some clue as to who killed my brother. This is a difficult time for me. If you don’t have anything of use then I must ask you to leave. I am a very busy man.’ Dolton was fidgeting the whole time, the stones crunching under his feet. Maddie reckoned they were the same three-colour stones that furnished the approach to his office building. It was clear that he had no intention of inviting them back into the house.

  ‘I can assure you we are very busy, too,’ Harry replied. ‘It seems there is a little more going on here than you told us previously. Maybe you know a bit more about how your brother died? You need to tell us what you know.’ Harry used silence for the point to hit home. Maddie watched Dolton closely. It looked to her like his face was losing colour. He took in a couple of rushed breaths and his lips bumped together like he was struggling to find a reply.

  ‘I don’t know what you mean? Explain yourself!’ The second part of the sentence was delivered with much more force than the first. Harry gave him another few seconds of silence. ‘Well, come on! You can’t just come round here, with your accusatory tone, and not back it up!’

  ‘Maybe not. I want to help, Mr Dolton.’

  Dolton’s lips pulled back over his teeth. Maddie couldn’t tell if it was anger or fear. ‘I’m sure you do,’ he said.

  ‘But I can wait here until the search team arrive in their large, highly visible van, to carry out a full search of your home. Maybe someone sees it and tips off the press? I appreciate that could be damaging for someone in your situation. Or we can have a chat inside and work out how we can help each other out.’

  Dolton came back angrier still. ‘You think you can search here? I’ve never heard anything so absurd in all my life! You don’t appear to have a warrant!’

  ‘I don’t need a warrant to search your home, sir. Not once you’re under arrest for conspiracy to murder. Then I can search it under section 32 of PACE. As a future IPC I’m sure you’re aware of the basics of law?’