The Border Part Four (6 page)

“Jane,” Alex’s voice said suddenly, crackling from the radio on her belt. “Where are you? Have you found anything?”

She grabbed the radio and hit a button on the side.

“We’ve got a body,” she replied. “It’s Hayley Maitland, Donald and Ruth’s daughter. She’s in the Bailey’s building, adjacent to the alley, it’s…” She stared at the gap where the girl’s heart had been removed. “It’s like the others.”

“Are you sure?”

“One hundred per cent.”

“Don’t look, Jane. I’m on my way.”

“Don’t look?”

“It’ll give you nightmares. I’ll look when I get there.”

“I’ll be fine,” she replied with a faint sigh. “Hurry, and get Doctor Tomlin down here.”

“Doctor Tomlin? Why? Are you hurt?”

“No,” she snapped, “it’s a goddamn murder scene, we need a doctor here.” She sighed, realizing she needed to be more patient with him. “Just call him. Tell him to meet us here.”

Setting the radio down, she spotted something glinting on the floor nearby. Leaning over to take a look, she realized that it was part of one of Hayley’s ribs, which had evidently been pulled away with enough force to send it flying away from the body. There were some other pieces nearby, as well as a couple of almost intact teeth.

“Why don’t you catch this bastard?” Harriet asked suddenly, with a new sense of anger in her voice. “He’s been doing this for years!”

“I -” Jane began to reply.

“Seriously,” Harriet continued, “what are you and Alex Gordon being paid for? It’s your job to keep up safe, and you’re not doing it! You’re not doing anything! I saw it in the Herald this morning, you’ve not made any progress at all!”

“We’re going to find the person who did this,” Jane stammered, trying to keep calm. “We are, I promise. Please don’t believe everything you read in the paper.”

“Sure you’re going to catch him,” Harriet added, clearly not believing her. “When he faints due to sheer exhaustion, maybe. But how many more people are going to have to die first?”

“She has a point,” Caitlin whispered suddenly, leaning down to Jane. “You’re doing a spectacularly bad job here. Is the killer a certified genius, or are you and Alex just not up to the task?”

“We’re working on it,” Jane replied under her breath. “I think there are fingerprints this time.”

“I’ll throw you a bone,” Caitlin continued, “although in the current circumstances, maybe that’s not the best way to phrase it. Still…” She leaned closer. “The person who killed Hayley isn’t the same person who killed me.”

Jane turned to her.

“This one,” Caitlin said with a faint smile, “hits a little closer to home for you. You need to check her purse, and you need to do it before Alex gets here.”

V

Checking her phone again, Katie saw that there was still no returned message or call from Hayley.

“Fine,” she muttered, setting the phone onto the sink, “be that way. It’s your turn.”

She headed across the bathroom and turned the shower on, before starting to slip out of her clothes. Her whole body was aching, and once she was naked she went to the mirror and felt a shiver in her chest as she saw all the cuts and bruises she’d sustained during her most recent shift at the Border. Most of the cuts had begun to heal, but one or two were still leaking a little, and the bruises clearly hadn’t finished blossoming beneath her skin. Still, she figured the injuries would sort themselves out sooner rather than later, and she certainly had no intention of going to see a doctor.

“Katie?” her mother called out, knocking on the door. “Are you going to be long in there?”

“I’m taking a shower.”

“Well I need to use the toilet.”

“So? Hold it in.”

“How long are you going to be?”

“As long as it takes.”

“Well, be quick. We’ve got to share that bathroom, you know.”

Sighing as she heard her mother heading back downstairs, Katie turned and made her way over to the shower. With all the aches and pains she was feeling, there was no way she could be quick, so she figured the old woman would just have to cross her legs. As she slid the cubicle’s door open, she found herself fantasizing about how good it would feel when she finally had enough money to get out of Bowley, to get out of her mother’s control. That day couldn’t come fast enough, and the money she was making from the Border was really starting to mount up now.

After reaching in to check that the water was hot, she winced slightly as she stepped into the shower cubicle, and then she let out a gasp of pain as she felt the water stinging all her cuts. Forcing herself to stay in the stream, she pulled the door shut and then looked up at the shower-head, closing her eyes as she felt the water running down her body, and wincing again as she felt the pain from a hundred little slices in her skin. She ran a few mental calculations, trying to work out how long it would take her to earn enough to leave town.

Six months, she figured finally. Six months of this.

***

“So how are you finding it down there?” Simon asked, looking up from the papers on his desk as Katie shoved her bag into a locker. “You dealing okay with level two?”

“It’s fine,” she replied, determined not to show that she felt any pain. “I mean, it’s a little rougher than level one, but I don’t mind that at all. The extra money comes in handy.” She slipped out of the last of her clothes and placed them in the locker, before closing the door. In just the short amount of time she’d been at the Border, she’d already lost all her reticence when it came to being naked in front of complete strangers. “Have you heard from Hayley today?”

“She’s not scheduled tonight.”

“I think she’s got some kind of bee in her bonnet about me going down to the next level,” Katie told him. “She was telling me not to do it.”

“Figures.” He grabbed another folder and opened it. “She’s probably still sore about getting bounced back up.”

“What do you mean?”

“She tried one night down at level two and freaked out completely,” he explained. “Couldn’t handle it, almost quit entirely before I talked her out of it. Eventually she settled back on level one. If you ask me, that’s where she belongs. She’s a nice, polite level one kinda girl.”

“She never told me about any of that.”

“Probably ashamed.”

“So she went down to level two?”

“It’s not a big thing,” he continued. “Some girls can handle it, some can’t. It’s like life in general, everyone has areas where they excel and areas where they don’t. You’ve just got to work out your strengths and go with them. She only managed a few hours of level two before she freaked out.” He watched as she made her way to the door in the corner. “I’m hearing very good things about you, Katie. You might be the first girl in a long time who even makes it to -”

He stopped, as if he was worried about saying too much.

“Makes it to where?” she asked, opening the door and then turning to him. Loud music could be heard thumping up from the level below.

“Just focus on the second level for now,” he told her. “You can think about the third level some other time.”

“The third level?” She paused. “There’s a
third
level? Like, even further down than the second?”

He nodded.

“What’s it like there?” she asked.

“You know how level two is more extreme than level one?”

She nodded.

“Well, level three is more extreme than level two.” He looked at the cuts and bruises on her body for a moment. “It takes a while to be ready for level three. There are certain physical challenges.”

“How many levels are there to this place?”

“Oh, a few,” he replied, making a note in the folder. “A few.”

“And level three pays more than level two?”

“Well… Yes, obviously. Each level pays more than the last as you go further and further down.”

She stared at him for a moment, watching as he made more notes.

“I think I could handle level three,” she said finally.

“I think you could too,” he replied. “In time.” Hearing his phone ringing, he took a look at the screen before answering. “What do you want?” He paused. “Now?” Another pause, and it was clear that he was irritated. “Okay, but not in here. I’ll meet you at the back door.” Cutting the call, he got to his feet, wincing slightly as his knees cracked. “I have to go and speak to someone about an important matter. Just focus on level two tonight, and trust me to move you on to level three when I think you’re ready.”

“You make it sound like a video game.”

“It’s absolutely nothing like a video game,” he replied as he headed to the door. “Level three is more… residential, if you catch my drift.”

“Residential?”

“It means you stay down there for long than one shift.” He grabbed his coat from the hook on the wall. “It’s a bigger deal, and the pay packet is way, way bigger, but… You have to give things up in return for that pay packet.”

“Like what?”

“We’ll talk about it some other time.” Opening the door, he stepped out into the corridor. “Concentrate on level two right now, and trust me, you’ll get to level three when the time is right. I’ve got my eye on you.” With that, he shut the door and began to make his way toward the foyer. Stopping for a moment, he rooted through his pocket and then took out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one, and then he blew smoke toward the No Smoking sign before heading along another corridor and using a key to open the back door. Finally, he stepped out into the parking lot and saw a car parked nearby in the shadows, with a figure leaning on the bonnet and typing something on a phone.

With a faint smile, Simon took another drag from his cigarette, before making his way over.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he asked. “It must be, what, three months since your last call?”

“Hang on,” Jane replied, taking a moment to send the message before slipping her phone away and turning to him. “We have a problem.”

He took another drag. “Such is life.”

“There’s been another murder.”

“Huh.” He paused. “I thought I heard a scream earlier.”

“This time it’s closer to home,” she continued. “It’s someone who worked at the Border.”

“Who?”

She held up a silver key. “I found this in her purse. Don’t worry, I took it before Alex spotted it, so there are no immediate leads that tie her to this place, but…” She paused, watching Simon’s face, waiting for some trace of emotion. “Her name’s Hayley Maitland.”

“Oh,” he replied flatly, “yeah, Hayley. Nice girl.”

“Nice
dead
girl,” Jane replied. “She’s on a slab right now, and there’s going to be an autopsy in the morning. Not that one’s really necessary, it’s pretty obvious what killed her. There’s a hole where her heart should be.”

“Ouch.”

“Can you take this seriously?”

“What’s it got to do with me?” he asked. “What’s it got to do with the Border?”

“Maybe everything if people start poking into Hayley Maitland’s life and realize she was involved in something she shouldn’t have been. I can’t guarantee that certain clues won’t lead to this place.”

“Yes,” he replied, “you
can
guarantee that. I think we both remember why you were installed at the police station in the first place. We needed someone who could help keep the Border off their radar.”

“And I’ve done that for nine years, but I don’t know if I can do it for much longer.”

He sighed. “You begged me to help you,” he reminded her, before taking another drag on his cigarette. “You absolutely begged me, almost on your hands and knees. Ten years ago, you told me you wanted out, that you wanted to become a respectable member of the community, and I actually helped you. Against my better judgment, I might add. I have a policy of never helping girls when they leave, but I helped
you
, Jane, because I figured you could help me in return.”

“And I have.”

“Not right now, though.” He paused. “The Border has nothing to do with Hayley Maitland’s death. It’s just a coincidence.”

“I know that.”

“The killer,” he continued, “whoever he or she may be, is not linked to the Border either. Trust me on that, we cleaned house a long time ago. I kept my word.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“So there’s no reason why any connections should be drawn at all.”

“Alex has already requisitioned her email records, social media, that sort of thing. If she ever mentioned the Border to anyone -”

“She won’t have done. We drill that into them right from the start. Or have you forgotten how the induction session works?”

“What about her phone? Did she have your number?”

“Nothing that can be traced to me. Or to this place.”

“Are you sure about that?”

He laughed. “Yeah, honey, I’m sure. The Border was here long before me, and it’ll be here long after I’m gone. You know this place is protected.” He paused. “Relax, Jane. Go home to your husband and kids. I’m sure they can help you take your mind off things for the night. After all, they don’t have any idea about this side of your life, do they? You don’t want anything to leak from your bag of secrets.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s simply an observation. I wonder how Jack would react if he knew what his wife had been up to in her younger, more carefree days?” He took one final drag on his cigarette, before dropping the butt and crushing it with his heel. “Relax. Just another observation. We both know that Hayley’s death, as sad as it is, has nothing to do with the Border. I promise you, I’d know if it did.”

“And Caitlin’s?”

He stared at her for a moment. “I told you a long time ago,” he said firmly, “that her death was nothing to do with us either.”

“I know you did.”

“We cleaned house before that.”

“So you said.”

“So there’s no need to discuss it further, is there?” Turning, he headed back to the door. “I’ve got work to do, Jane. I already had work to do, and now on top of that I need to find someone to replace Hayley.” He smiled as he opened the door and glanced back at her. “I don’t suppose you fancy coming back for some more shifts, do you? I’m sure some of the older customers would be happy to see a familiar face. And some other familiar body parts.”

She shook her head.

“Mr. Crutchlow sends his regards, by the way,” Simon added with a grin. “I think he misses you.”

“Tell him to go to hell,” she replied.

“Ah, no, I won’t tell him that. I value my life a little too highly.”

As Simon headed inside, Jane took her phone from her pocket and saw that she’d received a message from Jack. Realizing that she had to drop by his sister’s house and pick up the kids, she sighed as she opened the car door and climbed inside. For a moment, she sat in silence and listened, and finally she felt she could just about hear the thumping of music coming from far below the parking lot. After a few more seconds, however, the sound faded and she realized it had probably just been her imagination. She knew the Border was too well isolated from the main part of town to ever leak through. It had been that way forever, and there was no reason to think it would ever change.

She pulled the door shut and started the engine, before easing the car out of the parking lot.

***

“It has been an absolute honor to spend one more day here,” Mac said as he and Jack made their way to the newspaper office’s front door. “Thank you for indulging an old man’s nostalgic whims. I’m sure you were petrified that I’d keel over.”

“You seem fitter than me,” Jack replied, holding the door open for him as Mac hobbled out on his cane. “Be honest. If I wasn’t going home and locking up right now, you’d stay ‘til midnight, wouldn’t you? Just like the old days.”