Cruel Justice (DI Lorne Simpkins (Book one)) (16 page)

Lorne could see how upset Tracy was, the poor girl was stuck in the middle trying to help both sides concerned. "I'll see you later, be careful out there," she said, dismissing her. As the younger woman reached the door she called after her, "And Tracy, thanks for speaking up for Molly."

Maybe she was wrong about Molly. Perhaps it was her fault that Molly acted the way she did towards her. A possible clash of personalities? Why didn't Pete have a problem with Molly? She didn't have time to dwell on the problem any longer because Molly walked into the room. Lorne welcomed the woman with a forced smile, hoping it would break the ice between them.

"Hi, Molly, Mitch tells me you've got something interesting to tell me about the case."

Molly stood at the front of the desk and Lorne pulled out the seat next to her and gestured for her to sit.

"You asked me to check out the Greenaway's staff. There's a housekeeper and a butler/chauffeur/odd-job man. They're a married couple — Mr and Mrs Ron Hall. Employed by an agency, they've been with the Greenaways for over ten years. The agency insisted the couple were model employees. When I asked the owner of the agency to look back over their employment record she told me that they'd left their previous post under a cloud."

"Was it a storm cloud?" Lorne smiled.

Molly, visibly relaxed now, said, "I suspect it was, although there was no actual complaint filed against them. They were ordered to vacate their employer's home immediately. The woman became cagey the more questions I asked. I think it would be worth a follow up call. To me it sounded as though she was covering something up."

"Do you fancy going over to see her?"

"Me! But I never leave the office."

"Here's your chance then. How would you feel about following up on your own lead, Molly? What do you say, shall we call a truce?"

"I'd like that very much, ma'am. I know my fuse is a tad short at times and I apologise for that."

Lorne raised her hand. "Enough said, welcome aboard, Molly." She held out her hand and her colleague accepted it with gusto.

"Thank you, ma'am, glad to be back. Shall I take John with me to question the woman at the agency?"

"Why not? Pete and I will reverse roles with the pair of you, it should be fun." She prepared herself for an ear-bashing from Pete. "Let me know how you get on."

Lorne sat back in her chair and exhaled a huge sigh of relief. It felt good to sort out at least one relationship that had gone sour, especially with the new chief arriving in a few days.

* * *

"The guy was approximately five-foot-nine according to the scientific tests I've just carried out," Pete proudly announced, when he re-entered the room.

"Great, now all we have to do is find a suspect that height and the case will be solved, easy this police work, ain't it?" Lorne retorted, sarcastically.

"Who's rubbed you up the wrong way?" Pete asked his enthusiasm crushed.

"Sorry, Pete, you didn't deserve that. I've sent the others out for the day. That leaves you and me answering the phones and going through this list I've prepared."

"Suits me. I'll just grab us a couple of sandwiches from the canteen first, shall I?"

"Always thinking of your stomach, what am I going to do with you? Make mine a Tuna and Mayo."

He ignored her comment and set off.

Lorne was seated at Tracy's desk. Still adding to her list when the phone rang.

"DI Simpkins speaking, can I help you?"

Initially she was greeted by silence then she heard a man's muffled voice in the background.

"Say it, tell her
.
"

"Hello, who is this?" Lorne asked.

 She heard a slap and a woman's pitiful whimper. The phone went dead.

"Hello? Hello?" Lorne sat holding the receiver, with the sickening realisation that the caller had been the killer. From the sound of it he'd captured his fourth victim.
Shit!
How long did they have before she ended up like the others?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Lorne sprang into action, picked up the phone and ordered 24-hour surveillance at the allotment, the only place connecting at least two of the victims. Then she ordered a trace to be set up on all incoming phone lines in the incident room. Had the killer known that she would be at the station when he'd made the call? Was he watching her? She ran to the window, to the left was a concrete tower block and to the right nothing but waste ground.
You're being paranoid, Lorne.

Pete barged into the room, making her jump. "One Tuna and Mayo as requested. What's up, boss?"

"He's just made contact. He's got another hostage."

"Shit. What did he say?" Pete tossed the two sandwiches onto his desk.

"That's just it, he didn't
say
anything. Not to me anyway, he was threatening a woman forcing her to talk but she was too scared to speak. He slapped her and put the phone down."

"How did he know you were here?"

"I don't know. Get the team back in here. I've ordered traces on all lines and surveillance at the allotment. If he can't go there to get rid of the body it might delay the woman's death a bit longer, if that's where he kills them."

"We don't know that yet, do we? I'm gonna ring Arnaud and see if he can rush the results of the fingerprints through," Pete said.

"Okay, you do that while I haul the team back in." Lorne's heart pounded.

The four sergeants promptly arrived back. Lorne noticed Molly wearing a scowl, she thought she owed the woman an apology for dragging her back to the station.

Appreciating Lorne's explanation, Molly asked, "What can I do?"

"You can help the technical bods when they arrive. Tracy, Mitch, I want a 24-hour surveillance set up at the allotment. Uniform are on their way over there now, do you fancy doing the nightshift?"

"Sure, okay by me," Mitch said, "what about you, Tracy?"

"I'll have to call home first, but sounds fine to me."

"Right that's one less thing to worry about. While you're in the office go over the sex offenders list, see if anything recent pops up and pull the fingerprint files on them all. Pete's just rung Arnaud to hurry along the prints found at the scenes. As soon as they're in we can match them with what you come up with and we'll be on our way hopefully. John, look into Doreen's background, she was a head-teacher, find out where?"

By now, her stomach was complaining about it being way past lunchtime.

"Pete, come on, we'll grab a bite to eat."

He didn't need telling twice. Picking up the two packets of sandwiches he'd bought earlier he grinned, and followed her along the hall into the conference room.

"What a bloody morning."

"Trouble is we've got too many leads to follow up at the moment. That call has put a spanner in the works." Lorne massaged her temples.

"Headache?"

"No thanks, Pete, I've already got one," she replied and smirked.

"Nice to see you ain't lost your sense of humour."

"God knows how. I don't mind telling you, I was more freaked out about the call than unwrapping the head this morning."

"That's because you feel helpless. You know somethin' is gonna happen and you can do fuck all about it. But it's not just the case that's bugging you, is it?" He downed a bite of his sandwich.

"You can be extremely perceptive at times, partner." Lorne gave him a weary smile.

"I'd like to agree with you but I'd be lying. I heard you and Tom arguing 'till the small hours."

"I'm sorry if we kept you awake. I don't know what's going on with him at the moment, he seems to pick a fight over the slightest thing,"

"Now don't go off the handle at me." Pete eyed her, warily. "Do you think he might be having an affair?"

"We're talking about Tom here, Pete." She laughed, but her smile faded as his words sunk in. "Has he said something to you?"

"Why the hell would he tell me?"

"What made you say it then?"

"You said he'd changed." He shrugged. "All the women's magazines tell you that's what happens when a bloke's got something to hide."

"Since when did you start reading women's magazines? I think you're wrong. He has changed a little over the last few months, but I put it down to Charlie pissing him off. She's just coming up to her teens and starting to show a rebellious streak. Sometimes I'm glad overtime keeps me away from home. Oops, shouldn't have said that."

"Why do ya think I've never settled down and had kids? Have you tried talking to him?"

"Yeah, every chance I get, he refuses to open up. We'll get through it, we usually do. That's not the only thing that's bugging me though. There's something else I've got to tell you, but you need to promise me you won't say anything to the others. I can't keep it a secret any longer."

"When's it due?"

"I'm not pregnant, you idiot," she scoffed at the thought. "The chief told me last week he's leaving."

"When?"

"When I went to see him about our gruesome package this morning, he told me the new chief will be starting next Monday." She walked over to the water tank in the corner. She thought a drink would help shift the sudden lump that had appeared in her throat.

"Did he say who his replacement is gonna be?"

Lorne sensed her partner wasn't overly concerned by the news. As far as he was concerned Lorne was his next in command, any flack coming from the new chief would be aimed at her first.

"He couldn't give me a name, looks like it'll be an outsider."

"So you're worried, is that it?"

"I wouldn't say I was worried exactly, concerned, maybe. The chief and I have a good rapport — I doubt I'll get that with anyone else. It's like me telling you that I'm getting a new partner, how would you feel?"

 "Pleased, delighted, I'd be dancing around, jumping for joy." Lorne looked hurt, Pete chuckled and hastily reassured her, "I'm kiddin'. I understand completely but it's no good getting yourself in a tizzy about it. Wait 'till Monday, see who turns up, eh? Then start panicking."

"You're right, of course. Enough of this doom and gloom, we'll finish our lunch and then see what we can get out of this taxi firm."

"Do you mind if I chalk that one up? It's not often you admit I'm right about somethin'."

She poked her tongue out at him and they both tucked into their sandwiches.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"You should've spoken to the nice detective when I told you to. Now I'll have to punish you." The man's menacing black eyes penetrated the woman's core.

"I'm sorry, I was so scared. Call her back. I promise I'll talk to her this time. I'll say anything you want me to say, do anything you want me to do. Please don't hurt me, I'm begging you." The woman cowered away from him. She shivered from the cold of the cell and her mounting fear. Her legs and arms throbbed with pain from the beatings he'd given her. She'd been stripped naked but thankfully he hadn't raped her — yet. Maybe her constant prayers had saved her from that.

"She's no use to us. Kill her," his accomplice said, emerging from the shadows.

The naked woman cried and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs. She sat on the cold floor of the cell and rocked back and forth. "Please don't kill me. Why are you doing this? Tell me who you are, please?"

"Ah, she doesn't remember us. Just like the other one.
Make
her remember.
Punish
her till she can beg no more."

The woman lunged forward and kicked the prisoner in the leg, adding to her bruises.

The man grabbed his demented accomplice, picked her up and swung her around. "Leave us for a minute, go and calm down. I need this one to do some work before I'm finished with her."

Mumbling to herself the woman trudged up the ladder which creaked under her weight. The sound of the prisoner's screams brought a smile to her face, and as the thwacking noise of the belt against the other women's flesh drifted up her smile broadened.

* * *

Lorne and Pete were just passing through the incident room when the call came in.

"Just a minute." Mitch clicked his fingers to gain the team's attention. The room fell silent and Lorne grabbed the nearest phone. Mitch transferred the call to her extension and the trace began.

"This is DI Simpkins, who is this?"

Again Lorne heard a woman whimpering. Another pitiful yelp then the woman said softly, "He…he wants to know… if you received the package?"

"I did. Has he hurt you?"

The woman's voice trembled when she spoke. "I'm okay. They're treating me well."

They
.
Did she just say they?
The sound of a slap on flesh came through the phone and made Lorne wince. Her heart went out to the woman.

"What do they want?"

"She says, what do you want?"

Silence.

Then the woman said, "He wants … Retribution."

The man tracing the call held up two fingers.
Two more minutes and we'll have the bastard.

"Retribution for what?"

"She wants to know for what?" The terrified woman's voice shook as she was forced to act as a go between for the police and her kidnappers.

"For those they've failed and keep failing," came the reply, before the line went dead.

"Don't go! Tell us where you are?" Lorne shouted into the mouthpiece, her eyes seeking out the colleague tracing the call. He shook his head.

"Thirty bloody seconds. Why couldn't I keep her talking for thirty seconds more?" Lorne asked Pete, thumping her clenched fist on the desk.

"He's not stupid, he must've realised we'd be tracing the call. Don't go blaming yourself, boss. At least we know the woman's still alive."

"Yeah, but for how long? She said
they
were treating her well. We're looking for more than one suspect here …"

Chapter Twenty-Nine

As they drove through the town centre, Lorne found it hard not to glance down every alleyway, every turning they passed.

Finally, Pete'd had enough, she was driving him insane. "I'd like to get to Toni's Taxis in one piece if that's all right with you, boss."