Touching the Dead

by Wendy Cartmell

  The rest of the tirade was cut off as Jo and Byrd emerged into the lobby. Byrd took the lead.

  ‘What’s this all about, Daniel?’

  Tate pointed at Jo. ‘That bitch, that’s what this is all about.’

  ‘If you’ll calm down, we can go to an interview room and talk about it. Yes?’

  ‘Oh, listen to him, I’m in the wrong, again! Why can’t you lot get off my back for once? You’ve destroyed my life and all you can say is ‘calm down Mr Tate’. You’re a joke, a fucking joke!’

  Tate didn’t even see the Desk Sergeant coming, he was so focused on Byrd and Jo. In an instant he was slammed into the wall and put in handcuffs before he could finish his next expletive.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Byrd. ‘Mr Tate, shall we?’ and Tate was ushered through the door and into an interview room, where he was placed in a chair, hands still cuffed.

  Jo and Byrd followed him in.

  ‘Aren’t you going to take these off?’

  ‘Not until I know you’ll behave,’ said Byrd. ‘So, come on, we’re here. What do you want to say to us?’

  All the fight had gone from Tate and Jo was shocked to see him in tears. Jo and Byrd sat down opposite him.

  Will you take these off?’

  ‘Not yet. Just talk, Daniel, spit it out.’

  The upshot was that Tate had been sacked from both gyms. So not only was his flat mate murdered, but he’d lost his jobs and was about to be made homeless. No private clients would touch him with a bargepole. All the women thought he would hurt them and the men just thought he was scum. People he considered as his friends hadn’t stood by him and everyone seemed to be looking at him with suspicion in their eyes.

  ‘I can’t take much more of this,’ he finished. ‘My doctor says I’m having a nervous breakdown. I’m going back home to Reading. But my dad’s appalled at what I’ve been accused of and it’s broken my mum’s heart that people think her only son is a killer. And not just a killer but a serial killer!’

  The volume of Tate’s voice was increasing once more and Byrd growled at him to shut up, or he’d end up in a cell.

  Jo was wanting to say sorry to Tate, but the words kept getting stuck. Her throat was working but nothing was coming out. She was appalled. Had her behaviour really taken this young man to the edge of his sanity? Had she nearly destroyed him because she felt she was so right, but in fact had been completely wrong?

  Tate was now slumped in his chair, tears dripping onto his legs. ‘My dad is coming to collect me tomorrow morning, so I’m going home to pack. He said I had to come and ask if I could go with him to Reading, or if I had to stay within the confines of Chichester until you’d finished your enquiries?’

  Byrd made to speak, but Jo put her hand over his to stop him.

  ‘If you’ll leave your contact details with the desk sergeant you can go, Mr Tate. I have no objection to you going to Reading. And now we really must get on.’

  Jo’s chair scraped as she stood.

  ‘And is that it?’ Daniel looked incredulous. ‘No apology? Nothing?’

  ‘I’m afraid that until our enquiries are complete, you will continue to be a suspect.’ Byrd kicked her foot. She glanced at him to see he was encouraging her to say more. She cleared her throat, ‘But we have reason to believe there may be another party involved. If that theory turns out to be correct, then I shall apologise to you personally. Thank you for coming in.’

  Jo practically ran for the door. While Byrd spoke to the Desk Sergeant, Jo dashed into the stairwell. Byrd found her shortly after that, taking deep breaths and trying to get her emotions under control.

  ‘You okay, Boss?’

  She nodded. He sat down beside her on the cold concrete steps, put his arm around her and drew her into his chest. It was that simple, compassionate act that broke her. With her tears wetting his shirt, she said, ‘Dear God, Eddie. What the hell have I done?’

  44

  Jo was stood by the incident board and began telling the team that one of Lindsay’s neighbours had said they’d seen Professor Russell outside Lindsay’s house. They had also confirmed that the books Alison had on Egyptology were hers from Chichester University library. Now Jo wanted to know where they were to date. ‘Okay, team, what have we got?’’

  Judith spoke first. ‘I’ve confirmed that Alison Rudd was an OU student doing a strand on Egyptology towards a history degree.’

  ‘Was Professor Russell her tutor?’

  ‘No, but that means nothing. She was in the history department. She had books from the university library.’

  ‘Guv, he did a guest lecture,’ Sandy came rushing up. ‘I’ve checked and Alison attended it, so the Prof had seen her, at the very least. Remember she was a very striking girl. She already had that Egyptian type haircut going on, so he’d be drawn to her.’

  ‘Okay, but just like Daniel Tate, none of this new information proves anything.’

  ‘It could take the investigation on a different path.’

  ‘I know that, Sandy, thank you.’ Jo ran her hand over her face in an effort to encourage herself to keep awake and keep going. But it seemed Byrd had noticed how tired she was.

  ‘Look, Guv, let’s call it a night,’ he said. ‘We’re all too tired to think straight and we’re going to make mistakes.’

  Unusually, Jo agreed. Even though she was driven, she wasn’t stupid and realised that she was beginning to suffer from brain fog. ‘You’re right,’ she nodded. ‘OK 8 am tomorrow. We’ll have a run through the case and then think about having the Prof brought in for questioning once we have our ducks in a row.’

  Everyone started packing up and Jo went into her office and slumped in her chair. She needed a drink. A white wine and soda with lots of ice would go down really well about now. Then her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten all day.

  Picking up her mobile, she called her dad. ‘Do you want a Chinese?’

  ‘Oh yes please,’ he was quick to agree.

  ‘And a run through of the case?’

  ‘Of course!’

  ‘Great, thanks, Dad. I’m just leaving now and will pick up a takeaway on the way. I should be there in about 30 minutes.’

  ‘I’ll listen out for you,’ Mick said as Jo killed the call.

  She grabbed her handbag and filled it with her mobile phone and her keys and the folder containing the up to date photocopies for her board at home.

  Looking around she saw that everyone had gone as she’d told them to. Including Byrd. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Disappointed? Relieved? A little lonely? She supposed she would have liked to find him waiting for her. But he wasn’t. Maybe what had happened the other night didn’t matter to him. But then again, he had sat on the steps with her earlier today, giving her a hug when she most needed it.

  For God’s sake, she thought. Pull yourself together woman! Grabbing her bag she hurried out of her office. She’d never defined herself by what a man may think of her and she wasn’t about to start now. She was a Detective Inspector for God’s sake and she hadn’t got there by having liaisons with other officers. She’d got there all on her own, with lots of hard work. Oh and support from her dad, of course. He was the only man she relied on and she intended to keep it that way.

  Didn’t she?

  45

  Once in her car Jo drove off, then about five miles later pulled into the kerb to park near their favourite Chinese take-away. She was just climbing out of the car when she saw the Egyptology professor coming out of the shop. She stayed where she was, partially hidden by her car door. She realised that he was a way away from his home and wondered why he was purchasing food in this small residential area.

  The more she thought about it, the conundrum became an itch that she had to scratch and as he drove away, she made the split-second decision to follow him.

  Big, bad wolf.

  Climbing back in her car she quickly did a u turn in the street.

  She stayed a few cars back fr
om him, which was easy in the Chichester suburbs, but not so much when she realised he was heading for the basin and Bosham. By now Jo was convinced she had done the right thing by following him. She was excited by the prospect of finding out more about the professor, where he went and who he met.

  When he turned off onto a single-track road which seemed to end at a house in the near distance, she parked and killed the engine. Climbing out she wondered if it really was going to be that easy? She wasn’t sure.

  She cautiously made her way down the lane to the house. A thin mist was collecting in pockets, making her shiver with cold as she walked through them. She felt drawn to the house big, bad wolf she could see intermittently through the mist. What if he had someone there? Maybe the latest victim, Lindsay, was still alive? What if she was there in that house? Jo continued her clandestine journey. She was sure the team had checked out this derelict house weeks earlier and then dismissed it as empty and not relevant, when they’d done an extensive search of old buildings near the river that she’d ordered after having her vision. Well it felt bloody relevant now, she decided. It was close to the part of Bosham where they’d found the bodies and yet was isolated and no one would really take a second look at it. It was just another part of the river that had fallen into disuse and disrepair.

  She didn’t know if Anubis owned the house or was just using it as his lair. Well she guessed she’d soon find out. She paused, hidden by a clump of bushes and watched the house for a while. She couldn’t see the Professor. He’d disappeared into the bowels of the building. She couldn’t see any lights in any of the windows. There was no door, as it had rotted away over the years and most of the windows were smashed, no doubt by local youths having their bored fun. It would be an unsuitable building for Anubis’ lair with no electricity and no protection from the weather. Still he’d disappeared into it, so she had to investigate.

  Moving silently through the long grass she approached the building. Moving slightly to the left, she reached the old house and leaned with her back against the wall by the doorway. All was quiet and still. Only the mist was moving. Tendrils were swirling around the doorway as if inviting her in. Taking a deep breath she turned and stood in the doorway.

  She knew it would take a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the building and that for a few moments she would be blind. What she didn’t expect was some kind of shock to her chest. She heard faint crackles that sounded like lightening, before falling to the floor unconscious.

  ANUBIS

  ‘We’re in trouble now.’

  ‘I know that, bloody shut up!’

  Anubis knew full well that the police were after him when Jo Wolfe turned up. But it didn’t mean to say they knew where he was, otherwise they would have already stormed the house. He could be fairly confident they knew nothing. Not even that DI Wolfe was missing yet. So he reckoned he’d be alright for a bit.

  What bothered him was how Jo had realised who he was. If she could work it out then her team would draw the same conclusion. Wouldn’t they? Either that or they’d find her car. He’d have to move it when he could.

  ‘How are you going to deal with them both? You’re in danger, I tell you.’

  ‘I have my trusty prod to keep them under control. They will be grovelling at my feet before long, begging to be allowed to live. Trying to convince me not to hurt them.

  ‘Oh well, if you say so.’

  ‘I do, so fuck off and leave me alone to think.’

  Anubis decided he would take Lindsay first. She’d been there the longest. He’d not had much time to play with her and wanted to change that.

  Both women made him very angry, though. Both investigating him. Granted it was DI Wolfe’s job, but Lindsay? She had made a point of singling him out. Gone to the local paper and working with their reporter. Using her criminology course to help her investigate the case. He’d been furious when her tutor had approached him and asked if he would talk to Lindsay about Egyptology, to help her investigation. Once that happened, he knew that she could sink him. Knew that he couldn’t let her live.

  He’d watched her for a couple of days and then he pounced. It was so easy! Fancy sleeping with the patio doors unlocked. She was asking for trouble. He’d not had to pick the lock, the door had just opened under his hand. A couple of prods disabled her and then it was a simple matter of slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her away through the garden and over the fence.

  She wanted to know about Anubis did she?

  Well it was about time for her education to begin.

  46

  Jo slowly came round. Her chest felt as though it were on fire and she wondered if her heart had been damaged, or stopped, or skipped a beat. She knew worrying was a useless activity. She had to concentrate on the here and now. Where was she? She groaned as she went to sit up and was shocked to hear a woman’s voice.

  ‘Oh, thank goodness you’re alright.’

  As Jo’s eyes adjusted to the gloom, she realised the girl talking to her was the missing victim, Lindsay.

  ‘Oh, Lindsay! How are you?’ asked Jo. ‘We’ve been looking everywhere for you.’

  ‘We?’

  ‘Sorry, I’m Jo Wolfe, Chichester Police. Not that that will do us much good. No one knows I’m here!’

  Jo looked around the room. The floor was soil, the walls bare brick and there was a low wattage light bulb over the door. No windows. No noises. It looked like her vision, looking into the abyss, had been right. Not that she’d ever doubted it. The problem with her visions was that she didn’t always know what they meant at the time. Well, now she bloody well did!

  She didn’t think she’d been injured, just stunned. Looking down she saw her new suit was now filthy and was that rips on her trousers? Pushing aside stupid thoughts about her clothing, she took a closer look at Lindsay and saw that Anubis had already cut her hair.

  ‘Do you know who he is?’ Jo had to ask.

  ‘No, he always wears that wolf’s head thing and never speaks.’

  ‘Maybe he never speaks because you’d recognise his voice,’ mused Jo. ‘I think it’s Professor Russell from the University.’

  ‘The Egyptologist?’

  ‘Yes, why, do you know him?’

  ‘No I didn’t get to arrange it.’

  ‘Arrange what?’

  ‘I’m a criminology student and I was following the Anubis investigation.’

  ‘Yes, we saw that from your room.’

  ‘I wanted more background on Egypt and Anubis, so my tutor approached Professor Russell, to ask if he’d give me some time and insights.’

  ‘That’s why you were taken then.’

  ‘Probably. Oh, God! So he knew what I was doing. What if he does to me what he did to those other poor girls?’

  ‘How do you mean?’ Jo needed to know how much Lindsay knew of Anubis’ unorthodox method of killing his victims.

  ‘Well he killed them! Isn’t that enough? Oh, God, what are we to do?’ Lindsay’s bravado cracked and she began crying.

  Jo shuffled round and gave the young girl a hug. ‘It’ll be alright. Come on now, we can’t let him think he’s broken us. We must be brave. Alright?’

  Lindsay nodded and sniffed back her tears.

  ‘Is there anything at all you can tell me about him?’

  ‘No, sorry and if I say too much or look at him too closely, I get zapped for my troubles.’

  ‘Zapped? So that’s what happened. What is he using do you think?’

  ‘Looks like a cattle prod thingy to me. You know the ones they hit the poor cows with to disorientate them before they’re for the chop.’

  Jo didn’t like the images that piece of information evoked and she wondered how many shocks her body could take before it started shutting down. She didn’t think it would be that many. She had to get out.

  ‘Lindsay, do you know where are?’

  ‘No, not really. All I know is that there is this little room and then the open area outsi
de, where he has some sort of metal table that he’s tied me up to.’

  ‘Have you seen any way out of there?’

  Lindsay nodded. ‘Well there are wooden steps going upwards, but I don’t remember being brought down them.’

  ‘Any windows?’

  ‘No, none.’

  ‘That goes with what I know,’ said Jo. ‘I think we’re in an abandoned house, near Bosham. As you say there are steps upstairs, my guess is that we’re in the basement and the door is at the top of those stairs. We need for one of us to get away. Are you up for that?’

  ‘Definitely, what do you want me to do?’

  ‘When he comes to get one or the other of us, I’ll barrel into him. Hopefully I’ll take him by surprise, and I want you to be behind me so you can immediately run past him and bolt for the stairs.’

  ‘What if the door at the top is locked?’

  ‘That’s a chance we’ll have to take. Hopefully my appearance will have surprised and worried him. We’ll just have to hope that because of that he might make mistakes.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Jo felt she had to be honest with Lindsay. ‘No, but it’s the best chance we’re going to get. Once you get out run away as fast as you can, flag down a car and tell the driver to ring the police and tell them you have an urgent message for DS Eddie Byrd from DI Jo Wolfe. Have you got that?’

  Lindsay repeated, ‘DS Eddie Byrd and DI Jo Wolfe.’

  ‘That’s right. Tell him what’s happened and who you are, he’ll arrange for a team to come and get me out and call an ambulance for you.’

  Natalie nodded. Jo watched her in the gloom. ‘It’ll work Lindsay. But you need to be really positive and really brave. There’ll be no room for hesitation. We must take him by surprise. It won’t work twice, so we have to get it right first time. OK?’

  Lindsay nodded, ‘OK, Jo. We can do this!’

  Jo smiled and tried not to show her own worries about the flimsiest of plans. Jo had gleaned from Lindsay that she had heard Anubis rattling keys just before the door opened. It also opened outwards which Jo could use to her advantage. They agreed that as soon as they heard the jingling of keys they would be ready. Jo would stand where the lock on the door was, ready for it to open and Lindsay would be right behind her.