Behind the Walls: A British Crime Thriller (A DCI Pilgrim Thriller Book 4)

by A L Fraine

  “So, let’s get back to these houses,” Jon said. “Duncan inherited his mother’s house when she died, rented it out to earn money while he helped you. When Corey did some work, he revealed the hollow wall, which led to Duncan dumping bodies in there while Corey was on holiday. Later, Corey left after Duncan had an argument, and he then rented a place from Polly for you to use as a dumping ground. It was good because it had a basement that Polly didn’t like to go into. So, Duncan built a partition with a hidden door and you used that, until someone interrupted him.”

  Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Idiot.”

  “You didn’t plan on that happening, did you. Mark’s sister went looking for Mark, and stumbled on Duncan working in the basement. He panicked and attacked her, but he couldn’t kill her, because while he might help you, he’s never actually killed anyone, has he?”

  “He’s weak, like you all are,” Phoebe replied.

  “So he sealed her up in the wall, but he was rushing. He wasn’t careful and left clues behind which led to us finding Miss Cooper, and her leading us to Duncan, and you. But you weren’t happy, were you? Is that why you forced Duncan to call Corey? Was it punishment for him to see his friend be killed by you?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “One thing I don’t understand,” Kate said, leaning forward. “Why move into the house where Duncan was hiding bodies? You knew the bodies were in the walls, so why move in there? Isn’t that a little risky?”

  Phoebe smiled. “That’s why I did it. I wanted to be close to them. I wanted to take that risk. I was curious to see what I could get away with.”

  “Is that why you let your husband start renovations?” Jon asked. “You knew what he’d find in that wall.”

  “I did. I was curious. I wanted to see them, and I was going to try to pin it on someone. Duncan or Evan maybe.”

  “But Duncan messed up, and attacked Helen,” Jon said.

  Phoebe’s smile faded. “Like I said, idiot.”

  Jon nodded, and knew he had his work cut out for him. They had a lot to go through here, and they could only hope that she would admit to the other murders and tell them who she’d killed.

  “Alright, let’s start from the beginning again,” Jon said.

  30

  “Thanks for coming over to see us, Ellie,” Jon said as he stood up and gestured to the room around him. “What do you think? Is it everything you hoped for?”

  “It’s pretty nice, I have to say,” she answered. “And, thanks for having me.”

  “No problem,” Kate said. “Come over any time you like.”

  “I will.”

  “Send my regards to DI Taylor, won’t you?”

  “Oh, of course. I’ll be sure to. He’s been in a bad mood ever since you turned up at the house in Redhill.”

  “I always knew he was a mardy bugger,” Jon said.

  “A what?” Kate asked. “What’s a mardy bugger?”

  “A grumpy git,” Jon explained. “Do you not know what mardy means?”

  “Obviously not.” Kate turned to Ellie. “Sorry, he’s northern.”

  “Northern?” Ellie asked, smiling, dropping her voice into a stage whisper. “How’d he get down here then? How’d he get past the fences?”

  “I don’t know. Work visa, maybe?” Kate suggested.

  “He filled out a form?” Ellie said, shocked. “I didn’t think they knew how to write.”

  “Yeah, yeah, very funny, girls. Laugh it up.”

  “Every now and then,” Kate continued, her voice taking on a reverential tone, “I think there’s a genetic mutation, and a northerner is born with close to average intelligence. I think he’s one of these mystical beasts.”

  “Are you saying… he’s the chosen one?”

  “The one northerner, chosen to represent his tribe and serve the capital.”

  “This is some Hunger Games shit,” Jon said with a raised eyebrow, and the two women laughed. “Right, I’m popping home for a bit. I’ll be round yours later, okay?” he said to Kate.

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you then,” Kate said with a smile and a wink.

  “Good to see you, Ellie. Don’t let DI Taylor cause you too many problems.”

  “I won’t. See ya.”

  Jon waved and walked out, listening to the two of them laugh again as he left the office behind. He was just glad to be out of there and away from the circus, finally. The interviews with Phoebe had been going on for ages, it seemed. There was so much to go through, and she was admitting to murders they had no idea about.

  But Jon had frankly had enough for the day and was glad to be in his car, with the windows down, letting the wind rush through his hair as he drove back home. The week had certainly been one of the more stressful ones he’d experienced in his time, not least of all because of Ariadne, and his stalker.

  During a quiet moment, he’d input the name David Letov into the database to see what he could find on him, and sure enough, he was a known associate of Vassili. A low-level thug who’d already served time for violence and similar crimes.

  His heart had sunk a little on reading that. He’d hoped that David was a plant, someone who Ariadne had arranged, who didn’t have links to Vassili or anyone else. At least that way he was less likely to spread his address around.

  But he’d not been quite so lucky, and there was every chance that his address was circulating around the criminal fraternity. That was not a comforting thought.

  But there was more to it than just that, because it meant that Ariadne might not have planned it as much as he thought she might have. It meant that to some degree, she’d just taken advantage of the situation and used it to lay a trap for him.

  If he had proof that she’d planned it, then he could probably have told her to stuff the favour he apparently owed her up her arse. But it seemed like she’d been telling the truth, and maybe he really did owe her his life.

  That, along with the fallout from the case and finding out that Phoebe was a prolific killer, had taken its toll on him today. Now all he wanted to do was to get home, have a shower, and then go and see Kate later. He planned on collapsing on her sofa and falling asleep.

  He hoped she wouldn’t mind, but he wasn’t sure he could keep his eyes open much longer.

  As he approached his home, he started to feel the familiar anxiety that maybe Ariadne was there waiting for him again. But it soon became clear that she had taken the night off and wasn’t out to torment him tonight, which he felt grateful for, until he turned into the short path up to his house, and he heard a voice behind him.

  “DCI Pilgrim, you’re home late.”

  Jon stopped dead in his tracks, feeling angry that this shit should happen again. And as he turned, he spotted a familiar face getting out of a nearby car.

  It was Irving Miller. He closed the door behind him and leant against the side of the saloon, his hands in his pockets.

  “I’m getting sick of people turning up on my doorstep like this,” he said.

  “I’m not the first then, I take it,” he said and pointed to the boarded-up window.

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Well, not that it will make any difference, but I am sorry you’ve had some unsavoury visitors. Please be assured, they did not come from me.”

  Jon sighed. “I know. What can I do for you, Mr Miller?”

  “Well, firstly, congratulations on the new house, it’s a beaut. You’ve done well for yourself, my son.”

  Jon raised an eyebrow at the ‘son’ comment, but let it go. “Thank you,” he replied, keen to keep things cordial. “I take it you know what happened to Corey by now?”

  “Indeed I do. I’m sorry he passed like that, he was a good guy. He didn’t deserve to die, not like that.”

  “No, he didn’t. So, why are you here? Surely it wasn’t just to discuss Corey?”

  “No, it was not.” He cleared his throat. “Are you aware of a man called Terry Sims?”

  Jon couldn’t help but raise his
eyebrows. “The escaped convict?” he asked.

  “Indeed, the one your plucky partner arrested with Nathan.”

  “I’m aware of him, yes.”

  “Do you know where he might be?”

  “Sorry, no,” Jon replied, shaking his head. “Do you?”

  “Unfortunately not, and that concerns me, Jon. He’s already causing ripples within my organisation and within other, similar groups.”

  “You mean in other gangs?”

  “If that is your preferred name for us.”

  “It’s what you are, Irving.”

  “We’re a family, Jon, with a family business.”

  “Of course you are.”

  “From what I hear, he’s recruiting people. He’s already got some of his old gang back with him.”

  “I see,” Jon said. “And do you know what he’s planning?”

  “No idea, and that’s another thing that concerns me.”

  Jon weighed up what Mr Miller was telling him. He didn’t really know this Terry Sims, he’d never met the man, but from what he’d gleaned from Kate, Nathan, and the database, he knew he was not a man to the trifled with. He was an intelligent, violent thug, and everything he knew suggested he was not someone he should underestimate.

  “I suggest you keep an eye out, Detective. You never know what’s coming around the corner.”

  “Point taken,” Jon replied.

  Irving nodded. “Good evening to you, Jon.” And with that, he was back into his car and pulling away into the night, leaving Jon alone on his doorstep once more. Looking around, he waited a moment to see if anyone else was about to show up, but there was nothing and no one about.

  Figuring he was safe for now, he entered his house and walked back into the kitchen, and stopped short, just inside the doorway. For a moment, he wondered if he’d somehow walked into the wrong house, but a glance back into the hall and the other rooms revealed that he was indeed in the right one.

  Jon turned back into the kitchen and admired the brand new oven, washing machine and dishwasher that had been fully installed into his kitchen. They were nice ones too.

  “What the hell?” he muttered as his eyes fell onto the bottle of champagne on the table and the note propped up beside it. Without looking, he had a fairly good idea of who’d done this, and after grabbing the note and ripping it open, his suspicions were quickly confirmed.

  Jon.

  Well done on another successful case. I knew you had it in you.

  Enjoy your new kitchen.

  Kisses,

  Ariadne.

  “Well shit,” Jon grunted.

  As he stared at the note, he noticed another slip of paper by the bottle and picked it up. This one was a newspaper clipping from a side story, telling of the death of David Letrov, the man who attacked him the other night.

  He’d been found dead, floating in a local river.

  “Jesus, Ariadne, was that you? What the hell are you up to?”

  THE END

  Book 5

  A Second Chance

  is available for pre-order now.

  Click here;

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0985XRHLN/

  Author Note

  Wow, so here we are at book four of the DCI Pilgrim series, and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s going.

  I’m really pleased with the series so far and the developing relationship between Jon and Kate and the rest of the team. Also, I’m slowly building plans for future books and working out where parts of this are going.

  I love writing the Sydney/Ariadne scenes. She’s a real cool customer and someone who can challenge Jon in so many ways.

  I’m looking forward to diving into book 5, and I have a good idea of what that book will be already.

  I hope you enjoyed this book. If you did, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, and I’ll see you in book 5.

  Also, if you want to interact with me more on Facebook, please consider joining my FB group, here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/alfraine.readers

  Kindest Regards,

  A L Fraine.

  www.alfraineauthor.co.uk