Bloodstream (42 page)

‘Look at her. Look in her eyes. She still loves me. I can see that, because we have history. You don’t know us. You’ve got what you wanted from me. Let’s talk about this.’

‘No,’ Ben replied, moving towards Murphy, the knife held up in front of him. ‘I haven’t got what I wanted yet. It doesn’t work like that. You’re not giving me what I need . . .’

‘What do you need?’

‘You’ll find out.’

‘What are you going to do? You need to work with me here. I can help you.’

‘You can do nothing but listen,’ Ben said, moving directly in front of him, blocking his view of Sarah. He replaced the duct tape across Murphy’s mouth.

‘You’re not the only one who has been lying.’

His voice was cut off, his words silenced. All he had was the vision of his wife sitting a few feet away, her eyes locked with his. He tried to communicate with her, not knowing if his unspoken message was getting through.

We’re going to be okay. We’re going to get out of this.

Ben Flanagan glanced Murphy’s way before stepping forward and placing a hand on Sarah’s face.

‘Remember,’ Ben said, holding the knife up to Sarah’s face making her flinch back. ‘I’ll slit his throat if you scream. Okay?’

Sarah nodded, then closed her eyes as Ben tore away the tape covering her mouth. She gulped in breaths; Murphy remembered how she hated things covering her mouth.

‘Please don’t put that back on me,’ Sarah said, looking up at Ben. ‘I can’t breathe properly with it on.’

‘Don’t you have more important things to think about, Sarah?’

Sarah went silent, looking across at Murphy as he slowly inched forward once more.

‘While we were waiting for you to come back, I had a bit of a look round your house. You don’t mind, do you?’

Murphy stopped moving and shook his head.

‘That’s good,’ Ben replied, standing closer to Murphy now. ‘Anyway, Sarah here was safe and sound, so I took the chance to search a real-life copper’s house. Bit boring really. Couldn’t find anything of interest at all. You must have a really dull life, outside of the big cases you always seem to find yourself involved with that is.’

Murphy continued to stare at Sarah, listening to Ben’s words but not reacting.

‘I started digging round a little more. I knew you would be back late, given what happened earlier . . . by the way, is Laura doing okay? She seems nice. Her and Darren may have a future, as long as they don’t lie to each other.’

Murphy didn’t respond; instead he raised his hands up a little more, resting them on the waistband of his trousers.

‘I only gave her a little scratch,’ Ben continued, as if Murphy had replied to him. ‘Just enough to make you go towards her rather than me. Almost didn’t get away either. But it’s amazing how quickly you can blend in when you’re in the city centre. All the rat-runs, the alleyways. Almost too easy to disappear. Anyway, I’m getting away from the point. I had a bit of a snoop, but didn’t find anything. That was until I persuaded Sarah to help me out and I found this.’

Ben moved something into Murphy’s line of sight. An envelope, with Sarah’s name and their address scrawled across the front. Ben turned the envelope round, displaying the return address.

HMP Manchester.

Murphy frowned for a second. Sarah was looking away from him now.

‘Don’t . . .’ Sarah said, her voice barely travelling across the room to Murphy.

‘I thought, we’re in the house of a copper,’ Ben said, ignoring Sarah’s interruption. ‘What’s a letter from a prison doing here? It’s not right. It doesn’t make sense. And it wasn’t even addressed to you, it was to her. So, I asked her about it.’

Sarah looked up towards Murphy, tears now falling down her face. ‘I’m sorry—’

‘That’s not the way we do it,’ Ben said, crossing the space to Sarah and grabbing her by the hair and pushing her head backwards. Murphy bucked in the chair, but couldn’t move any further. ‘Wait until I’ve finished.’

Murphy gripped the waistband of his trousers and moved his shirt tail aside.

‘I asked if I could read it, but she didn’t want me to. Said it was private. I came here because I thought you had the secret. I thought it was you who was lying, but it wasn’t. It was her, David. She’s been lying to you. Tell him. Now.’

There was silence for a few seconds. Murphy kept his eyes on Sarah, the effort to remain still causing him to perspire a little more.

‘I didn’t really want to go,’ Sarah said, normality gone. Her voice somehow different from how Murphy remembered it. ‘Not at first. He writes to me sometimes, but I always throw them away. I didn’t think you’d want to know, so I don’t tell you about them.’

Murphy thought about the only person he and Sarah knew in prison in Manchester. The man who had almost destroyed his life.

‘He said he had things to tell me. Things that I needed to know. I thought it was just another game to him. Another way to get back at me. But I wanted to know. Needed to know—’

‘I hope you’re listening to this, David,’ Ben said, cutting over Sarah’s words. ‘She’s been lying to you.’

‘Please, let me speak.’

‘Of course,’ Ben replied, his boyish features turning into a sick grin. ‘Your turn.’

‘He put my name down for visiting and I spent a couple of months thinking about it . . .’

Murphy’s hand rested on the case attached to the top of his trousers.

‘I’m so sorry. I should have told you . . .’

‘She went to see him,’ Ben said, almost jumping round the room. ‘She told me all about it. How this man had beaten her half to death while they were together. How she found the courage to get away from him and then find love with you. Then, the revenge he took on you both. Killing your parents in their own homes. He ruined your life, I remember it. I read about you back then, years ago. I was working away at the time, but used to read about stuff that happened in Liverpool. Sarah told me you spent almost a year apart, before getting back together. You forgave her, and now she does this to you?’

‘It wasn’t like that—’

‘Can you believe anything she has to say now? She’s a liar. Who knows what really happened. Maybe she put him up to it. Thought that killing your parents would be enough to make you disappear. Didn’t want to kill a copper, so went for the next best thing. His only mistake was in going too far and he got caught. But they still love each other, so she agrees to wait for him. It’s almost like a fairy tale romance . . .’

‘It wasn’t like that, you sick bastard.’

Ben turned on Sarah, as if he were shocked she was still there. ‘How would we ever know? You brought lies here. You kept secrets. You don’t love this man, how could you?’

‘You don’t know anything about love,’ Sarah said with an edge to her voice. ‘David knows how I feel.’

Sarah looked across at him, her breathing wavering. Murphy stared back, thinking about nothing other than the fact that his wife had recently sat opposite the man who had killed his parents. The man who had also destroyed his marriage.

‘Love isn’t this,’ Ben said, stepping between Murphy and Sarah. ‘It’s not sneaking around behind each other’s backs. It’s not hurting each other with lies and secrets. You need to understand it shouldn’t be this way. It’s supposed to be about being truthful and loyal. Becoming one person, together.’

‘I walked out, David,’ Sarah said, Murphy not looking at her now. ‘It was just a game to him. He had nothing to say. I thought I could find out a reason for it, something, but he didn’t have anything. He disgusts me. I told him that. Please believe me.’

‘Now she begs to be believed. It’s not right. What you have here is not right. You don’t deserve this of each other. It has to be stopped.’

Ben crossed the room towards Murphy, ripping off the duct tape from his mouth. ‘Speak to me, Detective. Tell me how hurt you are, how much she disgusts you.’

‘I understand,’ Murphy said, staring at Ben whilst he spoke to Sarah. ‘I know why you did it. You don’t need to explain yourself to me.’ He turned towards Sarah.

‘I love you.’

‘No. This isn’t right,’ Ben said, beginning to pace up and down between them. ‘She betrayed you. I need to stop this . . .’

‘Ben, we’re stronger than you think we are. We love each other, more than you could ever know.’

‘That’s right,’ Sarah said, her voice stronger now.

‘No. I can’t have this,’ Ben said, coming towards Murphy again. He replaced the duct tape across his mouth. ‘You’re lying. Both of you.’

Murphy stiffened in the chair as Ben walked back towards Sarah.

‘I can stop all this now. I can make it all better. You want me to hurt her, don’t you, David? I can see it in your eyes. No matter what you say, you’re broken now. Both of you. Nothing will repair this relationship. I have to stop it. You need me to hurt her.’

Murphy strained violently against the tape binding his hands and feet and shook his head.

‘You want to do it yourself. I see that. Don’t worry, David, I can do it for you.’

Murphy straightened up and sat back into the chair. He snapped open the case tucked in the waistband of his trousers and, with shaking fingertips, removed the short-handled knife within.

Ben moved closer to Sarah, looked down at her and then replaced the tape across her mouth as she screamed.

‘This is it. The best way, the only way. I’m helping you get out of this. I can show her what real love is. I can do this and then she’ll know. Number Four will know. So much better than the other three. She’ll know why I took her away from that place. Working where she was, no future, only dirty old men leering over her as she served them. It’s better this way. You’ll see. You’ll understand. You will, won’t you? She’ll love me. She will.’

Murphy held the knife behind his back. He pictured the duct tape binding his hands together and knew he would only get one shot.

‘Watch this, David,’ Ben said, pulling back Sarah’s head to expose her throat. ‘This is what lies bring.’

Murphy didn’t feel time slow down. He felt every moment. The glint of the knife pressed against Sarah’s throat, the feel of escape in his fingertips. He jerked upwards with his blade, praying in an instant that it would work. He sliced through the duct tape binding his wrists, freeing his hands. He watched as Ben turned his face away from his, the look of concentration and disgust the last thing Murphy saw of him.

His legs were still bound to the chair legs, but it was a short distance to the chair holding Sarah.

It took just seconds. It was all one motion. After the blade sliced through the tape, freeing his hands, he planted his feet and dived across at the man who was about to cut into the throat of his wife.

He knew he would only have one shot. Once chance to stop what was about to happen.

Murphy jumped, the chair coming with him, still attached to his legs.

All one movement. One last hope.

There was a moment when he thought he hadn’t made it. That he had not thought things through well enough. That the extra weight would be too much. That he would fall at the last, never reaching his target.

He thought he saw blood, dripping then gushing onto the carpet as the knife went across her neck. He couldn’t have, not in those final few seconds, but that was what his mind told him.

All that worry ended in the instant he crashed into Ben Flanagan.

Murphy’s leg came free from the chair, the other, still taped to it, bent awkwardly, sending a shockwave of pain through to his upper thigh.

Murphy brought Ben down, landing on top of him as they fell to the floor. The short-handled knife he was holding fell from his grip as he pulled his hands free. Ben landed on his side, candles going out round the room as they struggled on the floor.

Ben was stronger than Murphy had been expecting, but there was something he had on his side.

The will to live.

Murphy grabbed Ben’s left arm, twisted it up hard behind his back and pulled, causing the man beneath him to scream. As he gained the upper hand, he glanced up at Sarah and tore off the duct tape across his mouth.

‘Are you okay?’

Sarah nodded slowly, lifting her head up towards Murphy.

Her neck was clean, no blood.

‘Get off me,’ Ben said, his words muffled as Murphy used his other arm to force Ben’s face into the floor. ‘I’ll kill you.’

‘Don’t move,’ Murphy replied, keeping his full weight on Flanagan’s back, tugging his arm further up, almost willing it to snap.

Ben bucked beneath him, tipping Murphy to one side as the chair still attached to him affected his balance. He clung on, lessening the grip on Ben’s arm as they struggled with each other.

Murphy brought his free leg up, placing his knee in the middle of Ben’s back as he turned on his side. He looked round the floor for the knife Ben had been holding, but couldn’t see it.

‘Drop the knife now,’ Murphy said, unable to see Ben’s right hand. ‘I said drop it.’

‘Don’t do this. I have to finish. Let me go.’

Murphy continued to hold Ben’s arm as he tried to free his other leg from the chair.

‘Stop moving,’ Murphy said, finally pulling the tightly wrapped tape away from his leg.

Ben struggled beneath him, pushing Murphy backwards. The younger man was on all fours, about to get to his feet. Murphy moved quickly, scrabbling across to reach him as Ben turned round.

The knife was still in his hand.

Murphy grabbed for Ben’s wrist as he moved towards him, squeezing in the hope he would have to let go. He brought them to their feet, still gripping Ben’s wrist with both hands, forcing him backwards.

Ben used his free hand, punching and slapping at Murphy, hitting him across the head and shoulder as Murphy pushed him further back into the wall, crashing him against it.

Murphy attempted to sweep Ben’s legs from underneath him, but Ben was still fighting. Murphy began to lose his grip on the other man’s wrist.

‘Let go,’ Murphy said, trying to think of options but failing to come up with any. ‘Let go of it now.’

Murphy could see the younger man’s eyes now, black in the pale light and shadows. Ben’s teeth bared back at him as he squeezed his wrist tighter. Murphy drew back his head and aimed a headbutt at Ben, missing his target by an inch as the other man moved at the last second. His forehead smashed into the side of Ben’s head, a wave of dizziness crashing over him.