Not A Friend Of The Family E-Book

Stuart Field

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A killer is loose in a small Yorkshire town. The police are on the hunt, led by Detective Inspector Richard Platt and his team. The deeper they get drawn into the case, the more Platt believes that there's more to the killings than meets the eye.

Meanwhile, Melanie Foster - a girl locked away in Larksford House Clinic - is planning her escape. Wrongfully incarcerated, she's determined to find her parents, track down the person responsible and find out why she was hidden away.

But everything is not as it seems, and people are not who they say they are. Soon, secrets that have been buried countless years will be revealed with murderous consequences.

Leseprobe

NOT A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY

BOOK 2

STUART FIELD

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

About the Author

Copyright (C) 2023 Stuart Field

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2023 by Next Chapter

Published 2023 by Next Chapter

Edited by Elizabeth N. Love

Cover art by Lordan June Pinote

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author’s permission.

To all the new writers out there. Keep going, never lose heart.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank

All the health workers, emergency service personnel, the Armed forces, and law enforcement.

Thank you for your service.

My amazing wife, Ani, and my family and friends for their constant support.

To my fantastic daughter, who always makes me proud.

To all the writers who have helped me with all your advice.

To Gail Williams, my editor.

To Next Chapter books, my publisher.

PROLOGUE

A serial killer is on the loose, one willing to strike across the country. A family killer. The killer kills the husbands but rapes and tortures the mothers and daughters before killing them. There is always a mother and a daughter; it’s the killer’s MO. DI Richard Platt and his team are determined to find the killer before another family is brutally murdered. They have suspects, but no solid evidence. Something stands in their way, possibly someone within their own team.

In Larksford House clinic, Melanie Foster was locked away to keep a secret, but her escape plan is set. For ten years, she has hidden behind a mask even she doesn’t yet know the meaning of. All the while she had been learning and honing her skills, exercising in her room, picking locks, and secretly trawling the internet for the information she needs. Now she’s ready to venture out into a world she knows less about than she realises, to find and confront the person responsible for her incarceration. To meet the family who threw her away, she needs to know why they did that.

The head of Larksford House, Professor Albert Hicks Junior, watches as his plans to use Melanie as a test subject fall apart, as people he trusted within the clinic plot against him.

The new nurse, Toby Washington, an American with his eye on taking over Larksford, has befriended Melanie, raising a problem for Hicks. Each knows he must strike the other, but who will gain first mover advantage?

CHAPTERONE

Tuesday, 25th April.

“Tainted Love” played on the radio as they drove back to the police station in Farnbrook. While DC Summers drove, DI Platt slept in the back seat, and DS Elford looked out the window next to her. None of them had any idea what had just happened. All their neat theories of Morris being a whack job psycho killer had been blown out of the water.

The man had been as clean as they came. The search of his room had revealed nothing. His cell had been bigger, but it was free, and he had a job; what did he care? It was clean and tidy; Morris had decorated where he could. The room was near the recreation centre. It had been an old office until the prison got a facelift, and then it became a storage room and, after that, a home for Morris.

There were pictures of Morris’s wife and daughter in cheap frames.

This puzzled Platt. Where had he gotten the photographs from? Then they found the letters from his daughter, even some from his wife. Talk about messed up, Platt had thought. In one of the letters, the wife apologized for getting him locked up and explained his drinking had gotten out of control, and the only way to help him was to get him locked up.

What a bitch, Elford had sworn when he read the letter.

‘Sometimes, we do the wrong thing for the right reason,’ Platt had said, but he was also thinking the same as his DS.

‘Sounds like motive to me, guv,’ Summers had said until she realized that was the fifth letter from over a hundred.

‘Wow, thought my family was messed up,’ Elford had joked.

* * *

The next tune on the radio was some remake from an old sixty’s song. Pity they’d trashed it, Summers thought; she loved the original version. Summers changed the station using the controls on the steering wheel to Radio 2. Elford said nothing. He just kept staring out the side window, his thoughts a million miles away. The case was messing with his head. It was meant to be simple.

A nut job kills people; they catch the killer and are back in time for tea and toast. Well, in the perfect world of television or the movies. But this wasn’t a perfect world; it had been almost a year, and they were only now breaking ground. Nothing, in this case, fitted any pattern. The killer liked travelling; he picked his targets and studied them. He is proficient in forensics. He leaves plants that are also a message; worst of all, he has no qualms about going after police families.

Summers drove on, Platt slept, and Elford continued staring at the world as it whizzed by. A rain shower seemed to come out of nowhere, a passing cloud with too much cargo. The wipers came on automatically and freed a clear view. Less for the song on the radio, the car was silent, giving them time to think and reflect. Summers thought back to Platt’s family’s photo that he had shown her, which had the same fountain in the background of the painting and the photograph. Why was this damned fountain in both pictures? She used the voice command of the car’s handsfree system and asked it to call Mike Leeds, a friend who worked at her station.

‘Hey, Mike, it’s Kate. Yeah, Hi. Look, Mike, can you do me a favour? Find out what you can about Larksford House… what… yes, that place. Yes… anything you can, especially going back to before it was taken over by a man named Hicks,’ she asked. Her voice was husky, and friendly with a touch of flirtation. As Summers ended the call, she returned her concentration to the road.

Elford was still looking out of the window, and Platt still lay in the same position in the backseat. Only this time, he had one eye open.

Platt had taken in her request to her friend at the station. Slowly he closed the eye, just in time as Summers checked on Platt using the rear-view mirror. As she looked back at the road, he opened his eyes again; this time, they had a maddening look. Platt was less than happy. She was looking into places she really shouldn’t.

CHAPTERTWO

The door to the interview room swung open, and a man in a thousand-pound suit stood next to the custody sergeant. Toby Washington, a new nurse who had left America to work at Larksford House clinic, something his successful surgeon father was happy about, but wanted to make his own name in a different field, looked around at the man and shot the man a look of disdain. Toby knew a lawyer when he saw one; he’d seen enough of them in his dad’s business, and they all seemed to look the same – smug. As if they had more power than God.

‘I would appreciate it if you stopped questioning my man right now,’ the lawyer said. He was tall and thin, with a full head of black hair, and whitened teeth.

‘I’m assessing him if you don’t mind,’ Toby corrected the man.

‘For what?’ the lawyer asked with a searching look.

‘To see if your man is just a sick bastard or a serial killer,’ said Sergeant Simon Geoffreys as he stood behind Toby.

‘Either way, this is terminated,’ the lawyer said, pushing his way in and sitting on the table, trying to block Toby’s view.

Toby laughed and stood up, shaking his head as he began to leave. Suddenly he stopped and turned to face them. ‘Pro bono lawyers are getting better dressed by the minute,’ Toby joked.

‘I’m not free, my firm is on retainer, and I was told to come in and represent Mr Brown,’ the lawyer said smugly, not realising until the last minute what had occurred.

Toby smiled and walked out of the room.

‘What do we do now?’ Dr Sarah Owen said disappointedly, brushing her fingers across the fringe of her blonde hair. Owen was the local GP who had been called to assess Bill Brown’s physical state.

‘Nothing, it’s a police problem now; we were here just to assess him,’ Toby said, shrugging. ‘But if I was the police… I’d be trying to find out who was paying the bills.’

* * *

Jason and Abby Freeman took their daughter Danni back home, where she went straight to bed. Danni was silent… unemotional… almost drained of feeling, which was no surprise considering the emotional shock of finding her cousin and Aunty dead in the house of Uncle Bill. At that time, she just felt numb. The medics had checked her out and found no physical damage. Still, they had suggested some psychiatric help.

Abby found it strange that she referred them to her friend, their doctor, or Melanie’s doctor – Professor Albert Hicks, who was also the director of Larksford House. They had thought about it anyway, but a house call may be better than taking her to where her sister was abandoned.

Abby wouldn’t have called it abandoned, but Danni didn’t see it that way, and deep down, so did they. They had taken their daughter to seek help, and she hadn’t returned since. All in all, it was as if they were trying to forget her. However, they weren’t. They were just following Hicks’ father’s advice. Great advice; give us your kid and never come back. At the time, emotions had governed their actions. But now, they wanted their daughter back.

Jason would speak to Hicks and then see the bank about stopping the payments. Twenty-seven thousand pounds a month was a lot of cash, and he could use the money on something else, like looking after Melanie when she came home. They had much catching up to do, but first, they would have to get her out. Jason knew Hicks would insist on her staying, tell him tales of how crucial it was to keep her in the same environment.

For years Jason and Abby had believed the doctors thought it was best for their daughter. What had started as a need for therapy soon turned into a need for them to bury their guilt. They had left her there because they had no idea what else to do. They had passed the point of bringing her home, and leaving her there just seemed convenient. It had taken the incident at Bill’s house to wake them up. They were a family, and they should stick together. Regardless of Bill’s messed-up intentions, he couldn’t let his family go, even after they had been long dead.

Jason picked up the phone and dialled the number for Larksford House. It took a couple of rings before Hicks’ secretary picked up. She had a sweet-sounding voice despite being in her late fifties, a sort of friendly grandmother tone.

‘Hi, it’s Jason Freeman. Is the professor in?’ he asked, clearing his throat and preparing himself for the inevitable conversation.

‘Yes, one moment, I’ll put you through,’ she said in a chirpy voice. There was a couple of minutes pause while she talked to Hicks.

‘Jason, how are you? What can I do for you?’ Hicks said in a cheerful, bellowing voice.

‘Are you drunk?’ Jason asked, surprised at the man’s behaviour.

‘No, not at all, so what’s up?’ Hicks said, trying hard to control what he said over the phone.

‘It’s Melanie. I want to take her out of Larksford; I think it’s time for her to come home,’ Jason said.

There was silence, then a thump, like something had fallen to the floor.

‘Hello. Hello,’ Jason called out but heard nothing; then came a sound… whimpering. Was Hicks crying? ‘Hello? Hello?’ Jason tried again. The crying continued. Slight and muffled. The sound of another voice, two voices. A man and a woman. Jason couldn’t make out what they were saying. Suddenly the line went dead as the handset was replaced onto the charger, cutting off the call. Jason looked blankly at the receiver in his hand, shocked at what had just happened. Putting down the phone, Jason grabbed his coat.

‘Where are you going?’ asked Abby, somewhat confused.

‘I’m going to Larksford; I’m getting our daughter back,’ Jason said. Abby smiled and nodded. She knew it was the right thing to do, if only a little too late. ‘I’ll be back later; got to sort some things out first, and then I’ll pick her up,’ Jason said, kissing his wife goodbye.

Abby smiled as she watched Jason get into the car and start it. He reversed the vehicle and turned it around before driving off. Suddenly the smile left Abby’s face, and she slammed the front door.

* * *

Toby, Sarah and Geoffreys waited in the corridor next to the interrogation room. The lawyer had been in there for what seemed like hours. They all knew what the outcome would be. Bill Brown would walk due to some technicality. Technically he hadn’t been charged with anything, and so far, it hadn’t been proved he had done anything wrong. The police may try and do him for unlawful misuse of a corpse, but that was a thin line as he never intended to dispose of them; in his eyes, they were alive and breathing. They had heard that the Scene of Crime unit had finished and that Bill’s house was no longer a crime scene. But the room the bodies had been discovered in was still taped off.

Given time, Toby could have assessed if Bill was ready for a room at Larksford, but the assessment had revealed something else. Bill had been pressured and blackmailed into making recordings of families. Sure, he was nutty as a squirrel’s dinner, but he was also innocent. He needed help, that was for sure, but not the sort of help Toby had seen Hicks give.

The three looked over towards the door of Interrogation Room One as it opened. The lawyer stepped out, Bill behind him.

‘Are you charging my client?’ asked the pompous lawyer, his nose held high and his gaze low.

‘At the moment, he is helping us with our inquiries, so…’ Geoffreys started.

‘So nothing; if you want to speak to him, you go through me, set up an appointment,’ said the lawyer, handing the sergeant a business card. The man looked at his expensive watch, and his lip twitched.

Toby saw this as a sign of impatience.

‘Mr Brown, where do you live?’ the lawyer asked, still looking at his watch.

‘Duckton, the small village near Harrogate,’ Bill replied.

The man’s lip twitched again. He didn’t have time; he had other business.

‘It’s OK; I can drive him,’ Toby said with a smile.

The lawyer raised an eyebrow. ‘And what makes you think I will let you anywhere near my client?’

‘I’m not a cop; I’m a doctor. I was just here to assess his health, nothing more; anything he says is just hearsay, isn’t that right?’ Toby said, shrugging at the lawyer.

The man looked at his watch again. Something was more important, possibly another case or drinks at the club. ‘Very well, but no talking over the case, or I’ll have you locked up for interfering,’ the lawyer said, dashing off.

Bill looked over at Toby. ‘Can I go home now? My family is waiting for me,’ Bill said with a broken smile.

‘Sure, come on, Bill, let’s get you home.’ Toby nodded to Sarah, who jumped in beside Bill, and all three walked to the exit.

‘Mind if I keep you company?’ Sarah said with a broad grin.

‘No, not at all; you can meet my family,’ Bill said as they walked along the corridor.

‘Poor bastard,’ Geoffreys said, shaking his head. As they disappeared out of sight, Geoffreys headed for the nearest phone. He needed to inform Platt that Bill had been released.

Platt and the others could head straight to Bill’s house. If they questioned him at home, they could say they didn’t know about the lawyer’s threat. They could say they were there by chance. Also, Bill might relax more in his own environment and give something away.

* * *

It was a twenty-minute drive to Bill’s house. The CSU teams had left hours ago. Most of what they had collected had been in the bedroom where the bodies had been found. They were almost grateful that Bill had left it as he had discovered it. They had also discovered Bill’s recordings in a cupboard under the stairs. There were a hard drive and laptop in a briefcase; thank god for technology, one of the techs had said, thinking back to when it would have box upon boxes of VHS tapes.

Sarah drove while Toby sat in the back with Bill. She figured they had a rapport going and didn’t want to break it by getting in the way. The conversation was slight — a couple of words here and here, chit-chat at the most. Toby didn’t want to press Bill in any way. He feared pressuring him to talk would just close Bill off from them.

Toby had no idea what the lawyer had said, possibly laying out his options or telling him not to worry. Lawyers were good at finding loopholes, and the well-paid ones were good at being tricky bastards. They were definitely the sort of people you want fighting your corner, especially if you are looking at a murder charge. Toby squinted as he looked out of the passenger window. The midday sun was bright and warmed his skin. A few scattered grey clouds spoilt the blue of the heavens.

The streets still held pools of water from the passing showers, but the other parts had dried quickly. School kids were already on their way home, while others just hung about smoking or chatting to one another on their mobile telephones.

‘So, how long have you been married?’ Toby asked, his gaze still held by the passing streets as the world whizzed past.

‘Twenty years now. I’m so lucky. Don’t know what I’d do without her or our daughter,’ Bill said with a broken smile.

‘You’re very lucky,’ Toby said.

‘I know; I’ll see them soon,’ Bill said with a broad smile and a tear in his eye.

‘Yes, we’re nearly there,’ Sarah said, pulling in on his road.

‘The police will want to speak to you again. I’m sure,’ Toby said, turning his head to face Bill.

‘I know; they can ask me; I’ve no secrets,’ Bill said, suddenly looking out of the window at a woman with short blonde hair and her daughter walking down the street.

‘So… why, blondes?’ Toby asked. Bill turned to face Toby, the smile had faded, and now an emotionless gaze replaced it.

‘I don’t know; he just likes them, I guess,’ Bill said with a shrug.

‘He chooses who you film?’ Toby asked.

Bill nodded and looked out of the window at the world. ‘So how does he choose them?’ Toby continued, somewhat fearful of the answer.

‘Oh, they contact me and say they had been told to speak to me about security; I usually know he had sent them if they were of the usual type,’ Bill explained.

‘He likes blondes, then?’ Toby asked.

Bill smiled and shook his head. ‘No, actually, he hates them, particularly short-haired ones.’

‘Did he tell you this?’ Toby asked.

‘No, like I said, we never corresponded, but judging how they ended up, I’d say it was a certainty that he disliked them,’ Bill said with a shrug. Toby smiled at the answer. A simple enough explanation, he had to admit.

‘I suppose your right, but I’m just wondering how he knows them in the first place?’ Sarah said, offering up the question. ‘I mean, most weren’t local,’ she added.

Bill said nothing; he just looked out of the window and sighed. Toby knew the shock of everything was starting to wear on him. His mind was fractured before; all these questions and the photographs may push him over the edge. The worst thing for Toby was how calm Bill was. No ranting or shouting. He was quiet as if they were off for a drive in the country, which weighed on Toby. Something was wrong.

As the car pulled up outside Bill’s house, they all looked over at the house with the long driveway and the high hedges. The lawn was slightly long but not overgrown. Despite the police tape and tramped pebbled driveway, it looked as ordinary as the other houses along the street. It had been four hours since Bill had been taken from his home, and CSU had left an hour later. Bill looked at his house and smiled as he got out of the vehicle.

‘You going to be OK?’ Toby asked, suddenly feeling a wave of pity for Bill.

‘I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine,’ Bill said with a smile and a nod. Toby noticed Bill seemed laboured as if tired from a long journey. ‘I have my family waiting inside, so you will excuse me. I would ask you in, but, well… it’s not the right time, you understand,’ Bill added.

Toby smiled and nodded, shaking Bill’s hand. Bill headed for his front door and took out his keys, sorting through the bunch until he found his house key.

‘So, I hope we’ll have a chance to speak again sometime, Bill,’ Toby said.

Bill stuck the key into the lock and turned to face Toby; a look of relief filled his face.

‘I’d like that, but it may be a while; my employer said today was the day that I was going home,’ Bill said with a broad grin.

Toby gave Bill a puzzled look. But he was home? Suddenly a look of panic crossed Toby’s face, and he went to rush forwards. Bill unlocked the door, opened it and switched on the light.

There was a blinding flash, followed by a blast wave that knocked Toby flying. As his body slammed against the car, a massive fireball engulfed the house, blowing out the windows and blowing Bill’s body apart. Toby fell to the ground, unable to choose what to nurse first, his back or ears.

Sarah rushed to Toby’s aid, pulling out her mobile telephone as she ran. She had to call Geoffreys at the station to give him the bad news. Someone had just evaporated his witness.

CHAPTERTHREE

Summers had pulled the car over at the nearest layby. She knew Platt would want to kick the shit out of something after getting the second call. The first had been bad enough. The second call came forty minutes later. Summers had taken the call using the car’s hands-free.

She had told the sergeant to hold on while she parked. The parking area was almost empty less than a few cars, with families having a much-needed stop-off.

‘You’re on loudspeaker,’ She informed the sergeant.

‘Gottcha, well, bad news I’m afraid we just had to release Mr Brown; some fancy pants lawyer turned up and got him released on bail.’

She watched in horror as Platt exploded. He grabbed her mobile phone and hurled it at the ground. The phone bounced, and the screen cracked, resulting in a spiderweb pattern.

Platt roared with rage at the thought of the two doctors being allowed to take their witness home just because the lawyer didn’t have time.

Summers crouched down and picked up her phone while Platt roared and started to kick a plastic bin off its stand, causing families to race to their cars in fear.

Elford just stood there with his arms crossed and waited until the storm inside Platt subsided.

Platt wandered about in circles with his hands pressed against the side of his head as though trying to stop his head from exploding. He looked over at Summers, who was staring at her broken mobile telephone. Platt opened his mouth to speak. He was about to ask what she was doing; then it hit him. He’d just destroyed her phone.

‘Uhm, sorry about that,’ Platt said, reaching for his wallet.

‘Thank fuck, it was a works phone,’ she lied, shrugging as though it was no big deal.

Platt gave her a broken smile. He knew she was lying. There were no work phones; there wasn’t a budget for such luxuries since the government had cut funding when the city had been responsible for picking up the tab for each station in its area.

‘I don’t want even to know what that call was about,’ Elford said, who had only gotten parts of Platt’s ranting.

‘They… lost our witness,’ Summers said, putting her phone into an evidence bag she’d found in her pocket.

‘What, the homeless guy?’

‘No, the bloke from the house with the dead family,’

‘Huh, lost him how?’

‘Well, not so much lost, as…’

‘Blown to pieces,’ Platt interrupted.

‘You’re shittin’ me?’ Elford said, standing up straight out of surprise.

‘Nope, blew his house up as he entered the front door; poor sod wouldn’t have felt a thing,’ Summers said, making an explosion gesture with her hands. ‘Boom.’

‘What doctors anyway?’ Elford asked, suddenly changing the subject.

‘Some shrink from the clinic and our one and only local doctor, Sarah Owen,’ Platt said, walking about, trying to get some perspective on what had happened.

‘What now, guv?’ Elford asked as he leaned against the car. Platt kept walking, his hands at the back of his head as if he’d just finished a marathon. Thoughts rushed through his head without order. A salad of information that didn’t seem to come together.

‘We get back to Yorkshire as soon as possible; I want to talk with the other family,’ Platt said, suddenly standing still.

‘What… the Freemans?’ Summers asked.

‘They knew him best; maybe they can shed some light on things,’ Platt replied as he climbed back into the car. He made himself comfortable in the back seat and went back to sleep. Summers and Elford just stared at Platt, still amazed at the sudden change in his attitude. Summers shrugged and climbed back behind the wheel and started the engine.

‘Right, back home then,’ Elford said, climbing in next to her in the front passenger seat.

‘Next time, we’re giving him your phone,’ Summers said sternly.

Platt watched them with one eye open and a smile.

* * *

The news of the explosion had gotten to the Freemans by the time the police had made it to their home. With a fresh face and about ten minutes of experience, two young police officers stood at their door. One was a female officer; the other had been older but only by a few years.

Abby sat in the living room; tears streamed down her face. The female officer sat with her while the other cop made Abby a cup of tea. Funny how people think a hot cuppa will solve everything, he had thought while pouring the water from the kettle into the mug. As the bag floated to the surface, he stirred it to entice the bag to give up the tea. He poured in the milk until it was a sunset colour and pulled out the bag. For him, it was done, the perfect cuppa. He knew the chances of her drinking it was slim. He was parched. The brew looked too good to give away. He was glad his colleague had gotten the job of talking to Mrs Freeman. He was no good at those things. He had done it twice and shit himself both times. How do you sit calmly and tell someone a loved one has been killed?

He took through the drink and handed it to Mrs Freeman. She smiled and thanked him. As he passed the drink to her, he couldn’t help but feel it was odd that, even though she was showing the signs of grief, she wasn’t crying, not real tears, more forced. But then, people show emotions differently. Ah, what did he know? He tried to avoid those situations.

CHAPTERFOUR

The smell of strong coffee and cheap perfume woke Hicks. He had been out for a while, but not long enough to make him sober. He was still drunk and telling everyone he loved them. He saw he was no longer in his office through his blurred vision but at the nurse’s station. Hicks went to sit up, but the sudden movement made him nauseous.

‘Lay down before you fall off the couch again,’ Nurse Hawthorn said without compassion.

‘What time is it?’ Hicks tried to look at his watch.

‘Don’t matter what time it is, sir, you ain’t goin’ anywhere. Not in your sorry condition. Really, a person of your stature getting blind drunk like that, I never,’ she grumbled, shaking her head and crossing her arms across her large chest. Hicks lay back down and held a palm to his head as if it would stop the world from spinning. He closed his eyes and hoped it would all go away. Suddenly someone entered the room; a man and woman, his secretary and someone else… Eric. Hicks recognised the man’s deep-toned voice.

‘Is he OK?’ the secretary asked.

‘He’ll live, probably still be pissed until tomorrow, but he’ll live,’ said the nurse in an almost disappointed tone.

‘Well, we need to do something, and fast; William Brown’s place just blew up with him in it,’ Eric said.

‘William, who?’ the nurse said, shaking her head.

‘You know the creepy bloke that did all the security for this place five years ago,’ the secretary explained.

‘And… he was also Hally’s uncle,’ Eric added. ‘… sorry, Melanie.’ He corrected himself after she shot him a harsh gaze.

‘Oh, yeah, I remember now. Bloke gave me the willys somethin’ rotten,’ the nurse said with a shiver. ‘Kept starin’ he did. The bloke wasn’t right in the head if you ask me,’ Nurse Hawthorn said. She went back to what she was doing – which by all accounts was shopping on the internet. Then slowly, she turned to the others – a curious look on her face.

‘So, what has this bloke’s death got to do with us anyway? Can’t see why you’re so pissed off about it. Little shit deserved to pop his clogs,’ she said with conviction and absolutely no remorse.

‘Because that will bring the cops around here, and the last thing we need is the coppers around here,’ Eric said with a growl.

‘But why would they come here? It was five years ago?’ suddenly, she stopped and looked over at Hicks. ‘Oh God, what’s the silly bastard done now?’ she said, slumping back into her chair.

‘Hicks contacted Brown to reference more video cameras, this time in certain rooms,’ Eric said in an almost whisper.

‘And you know this how… oh dear, you’ve been listening in on his calls again, ain’t ya?’ the nurse said.

‘Weird thing was there wasn’t a price set, just “you know the arrangement, get it done.” Whatever that means?’ Eric said with a shrug.

‘It means I have a business arrangement with the security firm, and you shouldn’t be listening in on people’s calls,’ Hicks said with a moan and an angry tone.

‘Oh, boss… I thought you were…’ Eric said, standing up straight with surprise.

‘Fear not; I have not flung off this mortal coil,’ Hicks sighed.

‘Haven’t done what now?’ asked the secretary, looking over to Eric with a shrug.

‘You’re not rid of me yet,’ Hicks reiterated.

‘So, what if the cops come?’ Eric said in almost panic.

‘And why would they… a phone call? Even if they traced one of the last calls and found it to be the hospital, I could just say that Bill had phoned to see how his niece was doing,’ Hicks said. Seemingly more worried about his head than whether the police would become.

‘Besides, we have a bigger problem,’ Hicks said, sitting up with a groan. ‘Jason Freeman is on the way to pick up his daughter.’

CHAPTERFIVE

Platt and the others arrived at the Freeman residence at around two-thirty. The drive there had been silent, less for the sound from the car’s radio. The local radio station had played back-to-back music for the last half hour, with only a quick break for the news.

Platt had told Summers to park on the street, leaving the driveway free. He wanted to use the time it took to walk the long driveway to think.

As the three exited the car, Summers noticed an eerie silence hung in the air. Platt just stood for a moment, leaning on his open door. He was thinking… planning. The others knew better than to disturb him.

‘Right then,’ Platt said, closing his door and pulling his overcoat tightly around him. Summers and Elford followed on next to Platt, the sound of the gravel driveway crunching underfoot. The air was crisp, but the sun did its best to give as much warmth as possible. The days were getting shorter; it would soon be winter, which meant it would be dark and wet rather than the picturesque snowy backdrops he had known as a child.

The country hadn’t really had a hard winter for years. Some put it down to global warming – they were probably right; all he knew was he didn’t have to clear his driveway anymore, and he was glad.

They headed towards the house silently, as if no words were necessary. Platt would take the lead, and they would follow.

Suddenly Platt stopped just short of the front door and pretended to do up his shoelace. A convenient trick if anyone was watching, possibly too obvious.

‘When we get inside, I need you to talk about anything apart from Bill, regardless of what I talk about,’ Platt ordered.

Summers shot Platt a confused look.

‘It knocks people off balance, you see,’ Elford said. ‘People are more likely to let something slip if they haven’t gotten their full attention on what is happening. A three-way conversation will do that, especially if it’s about three different subjects,’ Elford said, with a shrug of his right shoulder.

‘So, what do we…?’ Summers began to ask.

‘The weather, her garden, sex life, anything and everything that has nothing to do with Bill,’ Platt said, standing up. He stared her in the eyes and smiled. ‘You’ve got this… don’t worry,’ Platt said, walking towards the door.

‘Right… showtime folks,’ Elford said with a grin. Summers rolled her eyes; she was still not convinced she could do what was asked. But she had to try.

Platt rang the bell as the other two caught up. The young PC answered the door as his female partner stayed with Mrs Freeman.

‘Everyone still here?’ Platt asked placing his ID away after showing it to the PC.

‘The wife’s in the living room, and the daughter’s upstairs in her room, which is odd,’ said the PC.

‘Odd… why?’ Platt said.

‘Because according to the wife, the husband was going to Larksford House to pick up their daughter… but she’s upstairs,’ said the PC, with a confused look on his face. Platt nodded in confirmation of the report, then noticed the coffee cups in the PC’s hand.

‘I take mine white two sugars, son,’ Platt said with a wink, then headed off towards the living room.

‘Make that three the same,’ Elford said with a smile as he followed closely behind. Summers just went to say something; her mouth gaped open for a second as nothing came out. She smiled, shrugged then went after the others.

‘Good afternoon, Mrs Freeman, I’m sorry to bother you, but we have some follow-up questions,’ Platt said, waving a hand towards an empty chair. Abby looked up at Platt and the other two and nodded before looking down at the floor, almost embarrassed to take the gaze of the others. They all sat, and the female officer stood up and headed for the kitchen. Far enough away to not be a hindrance and close enough to be there in a second if summoned.

‘I notice you have a lot of antiques here… are you a collector?’ Summers shot the question out of the blue. Abby lifted her head and shot Summers a puzzled look.

‘What has that got to do with anything?’ Abby barked, then shot the same look towards Platt.

‘It was just a question, Mrs Freeman,’ Platt said. ‘She was just interested because her grandfather had a shop, that was all,’ Platt lied, feeling that the simple question had definitely rocked a foundation.

‘Sorry,’ Abby said, shaking her head and taking a sip of the still-hot tea.

‘It’s OK; I should be the one apologizing; it was terrible timing, if anything,’ Summers said with a smile. Abby smiled back and nodded as if the apology had been accepted.

‘So, how is your daughter doing?’ Platt asked in a sympathetic voice.

‘She’s OK; Danni is a strong kid,’ Abby said, blowing her nose into the tissue.

‘So, he took her to Larksford House then? For the checkup?’ Platt asked, still holding the tone.

‘You know my grandfather had a clock just like this one in his shop, but it was all brass, not wood and brass; he used to make me clean it when I had been naughty,’ Summers said out of the blue. Abby shot a confused gaze between Summers and Platt.

‘What… uhm, yes… she… he, went, she’s there now,’ Abby mumbled. Taking more interest in Summers, who was now looking around the antique ornaments, clocks, and paintings.

‘So, your daughter is in Larksford? Looks like a nice place, an old manor house, I believe,’ Elford said, taking one of the coffees the PC had brought in with him on a tray. Platt took the other before the PC brought Summers hers. All the while, Abby’s eyes watched Summers as she went through the collection.

‘Yes, I… we sent her there for her own good; they said she would be fine there,’ Abby said, almost in a hypnotic state. Her focus was firmly fixed on Summers.

‘So, where was this shop of your grandfathers?’ Abby asked inquisitively.

‘It used to be in Harrogate, but it’s a toy shop now; shame, it was a nice old place, had that old musty smell and bad lighting to set the mood,’ Summers said with a smile, looking up as if remembering.

‘How long has your daughter been in Larksford?’ Platt asked, getting the question in before she could regain her mental balance.

‘What… Oh… uhm…’ Abby said, looking around; the question suddenly shocked her, the realization of the questions had hit home, and she was almost in a panic.

‘Ten years,’ came a voice from behind them. ‘They’ve kept my twin sister locked up for ten fuckin’ years,’ Danni said with a roar. She picked up a China vase from a stand and tossed it into a cabinet full of glass and pottery antiques. The glass front exploded, and the contents were destroyed. Abby stood up and raced to the cabinet. Danni shot her an angry but hurt look, and her mother rushed to her true love.

Abby looked at Danni with disdain before suddenly realizing she was being watched and shot towards her daughter to comfort her.

‘Oh, don’t bother; at least you and Uncle Bill won’t be doin’ it behind dad’s back anymore,’ Danni barked and hurried out of the door.

Platt looked at Summers, who immediately understood – follow the girl.

‘Now… Mrs Freeman, let’s talk about your other daughter and where exactly is your husband, shall we?’ Platt said, sitting back in the chair with a smug look.

* * *

As Summers rushed outside, she found Danni resting against the unmarked police car.

‘I figured one of you coppers would follow me. Personally, I’d hoped it would be the cute one,’ Danni said.

‘What… Elford?’ Summers said with a grin. Hoping to use it against him later.

‘Nah, your boss,’ Danni laughed. Making Summers laugh as well. ‘Well, open the car then,’ Danni ordered, playing with the door handle.

‘Excuse me?’ Summers said in surprise.

‘Well, you’ve been sent to watch me, follow me, make sure I don’t do something stupid. So, figured, what the hell? If we are both going in the same direction, why not get you to drive me? Saves me cash and footwork, saves you embarrassment when you lose me. Simple really,’ Danni laughed.

‘Why do you seem to be the smartest one in the family?’ Summers said, laughing and unlocking the car.

‘Oh, I’m not; my sister is… or… was. I haven’t seen her for ten years. I thought she was dead up until that day at Uncle Bill’s house. They lied to me for ten years, but I knew she was still alive. You know… a twin thing,’ Danni said with a smile.

* * *

Summers and Danni drove around with no particular destination in mind, and she figured it was the same for Danni. There was no direction or plan. Summers figured Danni just needed to get out of the house for a while. Summers had sent a text message to Platt to let him know the situation. Platt had replied using a thumbs-up emoji, which caused her to smile – the old man getting to grips with technology – a scary thought.

Danni and Summers had talked about their families and how Summers had lost her family to the serial killer some years ago.

‘Oh bollocks,’ Summers swore; they had been gone an hour. She swung the car around and headed back to the Freemans’ estate. Luckily, they had ended up not too far away, minutes at the most, next to a park on a hill with a great view.

‘We gotta go back?’ Danni asked sadly.

‘I do; we have my boss’s car,’ Summers laughed.

‘World of shit,’ Danni laughed.

‘You’ve no idea,’ Summers said, laughing.

‘Oh… I think you don’t,’ Danni said as they pulled up to the house. Suddenly, the curtains moved and Abby stared out. The look that Abby was giving Danni made Summers go cold.

‘You can stay with us if you like?’ Summers said.

Danni looked over at her mother.

‘No, better face the music now, get it over with,’ Danni said, hugging Summers.

As Platt and Elford walked towards the car, Danni got out.

‘Thought you’d taken Summers hostage and skipped the country,’ Platt laughed.

‘No point; my mother would still find me; she always finds people when she wants to,’ Danni said almost in a drained tone as she headed away.

‘What do you think that means?’ Elford asked Platt.

‘I don’t know, but what I do know is our next location,’ Platt started.

‘Larksford House,’ Summers and Elford said simultaneously. Platt smiled, took his place on the back seat, and closed his eyes.

‘It’s good to see I’ve trained you both well,’ Platt boasted.

Summers and Elford looked at each other and laughed. ‘Oh, Summers, nice distraction with the antiques; what made you think of going there,’ Platt asked.

‘It’s just the way everything was laid out as if it was arranged rather than just put there as most people do. From what I could see, Mrs Freeman wasn’t just a collector; it was her pride and joy. You never saw family photographs mixed in with them; the photos were always off somewhere else… separate,’ Summers explained. ‘Oh, guv, how did you know my grandfather had a shop?’

‘I didn’t,’ Platt said with a quick shrug. ‘It was a simple cover for the question that she threw at you. It seemed to work, though, wouldn’t you say? Also, she gave a strange reaction, almost as if she was haunted by you for some reason. Strange,’ Platt answered, snuggling back in the back seat and closing his eyes. Suddenly, he opened one eye and sniffed the air, ‘Can I smell chips?’

CHAPTERSIX

Outside in the gardens of Larksford House, the patients wandered around. Some took in the fresh air, and others just sat and basked in the sun. Melanie stared out of her window and smiled at the sight. She envied them as they felt the sun and wind against their skin.

Suddenly the door opened, and George, a small, stocky nurse, stood there with a swollen lip smile, a plaster over his nose and above his right eye. With him was the large nurse she had seen about. The woman was brutish, and despite her age, Melanie remembered that she’d been relatively quick on her feet.

‘Hi, here for a rematch, or is it time for my rubdown by the pool?’ Melanie joked, making George smile, or at least the best he could – the other nurse didn’t.

‘Time to go, you little bitch,’ George said in that low booming voice.

‘Mind if I take a couple of books? I guess I’ll need something to pass the time,’ Melanie said with an “innocent me” tone.