Silent Scream: An edge of your seat serial killer thriller (Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series Book 1) (29 page)

C
erys looked
from her to William and then back again.

Kim covered the ground between them and took the weeds from his hand. ‘William, I have to ask you to leave the area now.’

He looked pained as his eyes rested on the area of ground that held Cerys’s attention. He nodded.

She took his right hand. ‘William, none of this is your fault, you have to know that. No one died because of you. It was just made to look that way by an evil, devious man with no conscience.’

His gaze met hers. It would take time for him to believe it.

‘I’ll leave you to it, Detective.’

She squeezed his hand. ‘My name is Kim and I want to thank you for everything you’ve done.’

William coloured with embarrassment. She let go of his hand. ‘Now get back to your wonderful daughter.’

He smiled widely. ‘Thank you, Det— Kim. I will.’

Kim waited until he'd gone and stepped over to where Cerys had laid down the machine.

Cerys turned to her. ‘Whatever’s down there is not very deep.’

Kim nodded and swallowed.

Cerys passed her the keys to the van. ‘There are shovels in the back. Go and fetch them while I mark it out.’

Kim sprinted to the van, grabbed two shovels and ran back down the hill. The painkillers she'd taken earlier were starting to wear off. The pain pounded across her lower back.

Cerys had marked out the area. Kim saw immediately that it was smaller than the rest.

Cerys took one more look at the readings regurgitated from the magnetometer and pointed. ‘You work that side but don't go too hard.’

Kim threw the shovel into the ground. A pain speared the width of her back but she ignored it and focused on what she needed to do.

The two of them worked without speaking for the next half an hour.

‘Okay, Kim, stop and get out,’ Cerys said, suddenly.

The pit was approximately five feet long but three feet wide, with a depth of no more than a foot.

Family pets were buried deeper.

Cerys walked around the perimeter of the pit twice before she got in. She used the hand tools to remove small mounds of dirt and place it to the side of the pit.

Kim didn't speak. Her eyes were on Cerys.

Cerys continued digging. The mounds of earth got smaller. She used the edge of the small trowel to scrape along a section in the middle of the pit.

On the third scrape, sections of white began to appear.

Cerys took a soft brush and dragged it along the surface. More white emerged.

Kim’s stomach turned as she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was looking at bone.

‘That, Kim, is most definitely an arm.’

Cerys continued to dig and dust until she revealed what looked to be a shoulder joint. Kim stared as more and more bone was revealed.

‘Cerys, what’s that?’ Kim asked, staring at something protruding from the shoulder joint.

Cerys dusted it once and Kim could see that it was fabric.

Kim’s heart began to hammer in her chest.

‘Cerys, dust it again.’

She did and Kim swore. Cerys turned and their eyes met.

‘Is this what you were looking for?’

Kim nodded, her feet already moving slowly towards the bike.

‘Cerys ... I have to ...’

‘Go,’ she said, taking out her phone. ‘I'll call it in.’

Kim sprinted up the hill as fast as her legs would move.

K
im knocked
on the door and took a deep breath.

The door opened.

‘Detective, good morning. Please come in.’

‘Good morning, Nicola,’ Kim said, entering the flat.

Nicola closed the door and stood in front of it. ‘You’re alone today?’

Kim nodded. ‘I have to give my team some time off.’

‘But not yourself?’

‘Soon, Nicola. Very soon.’

‘Please, sit.’

Kim did so. As she lowered herself down her eyes rested on the edge of the sofa, and her mind now fully registered the significance of what she had glimpsed on her last visit.

‘How can I help?’ Nicola asked.

Kim took a second to analyse Nicola’s expression. It was open and earnest. Kim detected no deceit at all. Dammit.

‘We’ve uncovered another body.’

Nicola’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh God, no.’

The shock was genuine.

‘Nicola, do you have any idea at all who the fourth victim could be?’

Nicola stood and paced back and forth behind the sofa. ‘I can’t even begin to imagine who ...’

‘Nicola, was there a fourth member in that group?’

Nicola frowned. Her eye movement indicated she was searching her memory.

‘No, Detective. I’m sure there were only three.’

Kim sighed and stood as though to leave. ‘Oh, perhaps Beth might recall another girl?’ Kim asked, hopefully.

Nicola shook her head. ‘Beth’s out shopping at the moment but when she comes back ...’

‘Are you sure?’ Kim asked.

‘Of course I’m sure,’ Nicola said, smiling.

Kim nodded towards the edge of the sofa. ‘Then why didn’t she take her stick?’

Nicola’s eyes rested on the walking aid hooked over the back of the sofa. Her expression was one of genuine confusion.

Kim took the momentum and strode across the room. She headed for the first door and just hoped it was the right one.

‘Perhaps she hasn’t left yet. Perhaps she will ...’

‘Detective, don’t go in there. Beth doesn’t like ...’

Her words trailed away as Kim pushed open the door.

Nicola was beside her and they surveyed the room together. The single bed was a box spring and mattress. There were no sheets or a duvet cover. A two-drawer cabinet sat beside the unused bed.

Kim strode to the wardrobe in the corner and opened it. Seven empty coat hangers stared back at her.

Kim looked back at Nicola who stood, horrified, in the doorway.

Kim waited for a response but Nicola continued to stare into the empty room.

A single tear rolled down her cheek. ‘She’s gone again ‒ and she never even said goodbye.’

Kim ushered Nicola out of the doorway and closed the door behind her. She guided Nicola to the sofa and sat beside her.

‘Has Beth done this before?’ she asked, gently.

Nicola nodded. ‘She’s been doing it ever since we left Crestwood.’ A fresh wave of tears rolled over her cheeks. She wiped them away with the sleeve of her jumper. ‘She’s always so angry with me but she won’t tell me why. This is what she does. She comes back and then just leaves me again. It’s so unfair. She knows I have no one else.’

Kim went to the kitchen and retrieved a few squares of kitchen roll. She sat and handed the tissue to Nicola. The tears were not over yet.

‘Can you remember when she last came back?’

Nicola stopped crying and thought. She sniffed and nodded. ‘It was two years ago, when I had glandular fever and was taken into hospital. I woke up and there she was, sitting beside the bed.’

‘And the time before that?’

‘I’d had a minor car accident, just a shunt really. I wasn’t badly injured but it frightened me a lot at the time. I hadn’t been driving very long.’

‘So, she’s been in and out of your life since leaving Crestwood. Do you have any idea why she might be angry with you?’

Nicola shook her head vehemently. ‘She won’t tell me.’

Kim heard the exasperation in Nicola’s voice and realised this was going to be even harder than she’d imagined.

Kim reached for Nicola’s hand. ‘I need you to think back to the day of the fire. I think there’s something there that you may have forgotten. Do you think you could do that if I’m right here with you?’

‘There’s nothing,’ she said, confused.

Kim squeezed the hand. ‘It’s okay, Nicola. I’m right here. Tell me step-by-step what you remember from that day and we’ll see what we can piece together.’

Nicola stared forward, her eyes focused on the opposite wall. ‘I know it was cold and Beth and I had argued about something. She was giving me the silent treatment so I went to the common room.’

‘Who was in the common room?’ Kim asked, gently.

Nicola shook her head and then frowned. ‘No one. They were all outside, building a snowman.’

‘So, what did you do?’

Nicola tipped her head. ‘I heard voices, shouting. It was coming from Mr Croft’s office.’

‘What did you hear, Nicola?’

Kim was holding onto Nicola’s hand but her thumb rested on the slim wrist. The pulse had quickened.

‘They were talking about William, about covering something up. They were saying he would get into trouble, that he’d go to prison. They were talking about what would happen to Lucy.’

‘Do you remember who you heard in there?’

‘Mr Croft and Miss Wyatt were arguing. Father Wilks was talking quietly and I heard Tom Curtis and Arthur Connop in the background.’

Five of them, Kim thought. ‘What about Mary Andrews?’

Nicola shook her head. ‘She’d been off sick with the flu.’

‘What happened next, Nicola?’

‘Father Wilks opened the door and saw me. He looked angry. I ran away.’

Kim could feel the palm of Nicola’s hand turning clammy.

‘Where did you go?’

‘I went to find Beth. She was in our room. I was sick of people being angry with me.’

Kim’s voice was barely a whisper. ‘So, what did you do?’

‘I told her ... I told her ...’

Kim squeezed the hand but Nicola’s head was already shaking from side to side. Her eyes were darting around, searching her own memory, hoping to rearrange the past.

‘No. No. No. No. No.’

Kim tried to hang on to the hand but Nicola broke free easily.

She paced around the room like a caged animal looking for somewhere to hide.

The panic was rising in her. Her movements were quick and frantic.

‘No, it can’t be ... I couldn’t have ...’

Nicola’s hands thumped down on the breakfast bar. She turned and started banging her fists into the wall units and then punching herself in the head.

Kim ran over and grabbed Nicola from behind, forcing her arms to her sides to prevent her from any further damage to her own body.

‘What did you tell Beth?’

Nicola struggled to free herself from Kim’s hold but she had interlocked her fingers and she wasn’t about to let go.

‘Please stop, I can’t ...’

Kim’s voice grew louder. ‘Nicola, you have to remember. What did you tell Beth?’

Nicola’s head thrashed from side to side. Kim craned her own neck back to avoid being struck.

Kim was shouting in her ear. ‘Tell me, Nicola. What did you tell your sister?’

‘I told her she could have the damned cardigan if it would make her happy,’ Nicola screamed.

Silence fell between them. Suddenly the fight left Nicola’s body and she fell to the ground, taking Kim with her.

Kim refused to let go. She sat on the floor, holding Nicola close. Kim knew the events of ten years ago were finally playing in her mind.

‘She took it, didn’t she?’

Nicola nodded and Kim could feel the tears dripping onto her hands.

‘So, they all thought she was you, didn’t they, because of the cardigan?’

Nicola nodded again. ‘One minute I looked outside and she was playing with the others and then I couldn’t find her. I kept asking people and they all told me she was somewhere else. In the end I went to my room to wait for her but she never came.

‘Later, just before the fire, I saw them out of the kitchen window. They were all standing around a hole and I knew. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared they were going to come back for me so when the fire started I was just relieved that they couldn’t get me anymore.’

Kim knew that Beth wouldn’t have been able to run away. Her knee wouldn’t have allowed it in that cold weather.

‘When did Beth come back, Nicola?’

‘About two weeks ago,’ she answered hoarsely.

When the announcement was made about the dig and once again Nicola felt frightened.

‘You know now that you brought her back, don’t you, Nicola?’

‘Noooooo ...’

The sound was that of a keening animal. A poor wounded soul that was writhing in pain. Kim held fast while Nicola tried to escape the events in her own head.

The knowledge of what she’d done as Beth was not to be shared now. It was a realisation Nicola would reach eventually in the care of a good psychiatrist.

As she sat rocking the young, broken girl whose guilt had gained control of her, Kim doubted that Nicola would ever be fit to stand trial for the murder of Teresa Wyatt, Tom Curtis and Arthur Connop.

After a few minutes, Kim gently eased herself backwards.

It was time to make the call.

W
illiam added
a drop of cold milk to the porridge. He bent his little finger and touched the knuckle to the food. Perfect.

He smiled. Lucy’s favourite.

His daughter had been washed and changed and now awaited her breakfast. After that he would clean the bathroom and change the beds. Following lunch the oven was in for a deep clean.

He smiled again. He knew people felt sorry for him and the life he lived but, he reasoned, those people did not know Lucy.

His daughter’s spirit inspired him every single day. She was the most courageous and thoughtful person he had ever known.

He understood that her biggest frustration was her inability to speak clearly and some days the effort of communicating all that occurred in her head through eye movement tired her.

But between them they had a pact. On the darker days, he would ask her if she’d had enough. William had told her years ago that he would always respect her wishes and that he would never prolong her life through his own selfish needs.

On those days he would ask her the question and hold his breath while he waited for the answer. The hesitations had grown longer, while the breath in his chest grew fuller, but so far he’d always received one blink.

He dreaded the day it all got too much for her to bear and he received two blinks. He only hoped he had the strength to keep his promise. For her sake.

William pushed the thought away. Yesterday had been a good day. Lucy had had a visitor.

William hadn’t recognised her at first. The young girl introduced herself as Paula Andrews and after studying her for a few seconds he had remembered her as the granddaughter of Mary Andrews who had used to visit with her grandmother to play with Lucy. He had been genuinely saddened when Mary had recently passed away. She had been a great friend to him during his years at Crestwood. Her burial had taken place a few days earlier and although he had not attended he had watched the funeral procession from his bedroom window.

Lucy had recognised Paula instantly and had been delighted with the visit. Within minutes they had formed their own method of communication from which William had been excluded. He had never been happier.

To her credit, Paula had shown no reaction to the physical change in her old friend.

He had skulked away to the kitchen for a few moments, nervous for the wellbeing of his daughter. He would never stop anyone visiting with his child but he was powerless to bring about their return. But he accepted that he could not protect her from every disappointment life had to offer.

Somehow the two girls had found a way to play a board game. He had heard Paula exclaim, ‘Lucy Payne, you haven’t changed a bit. You were always a little cheat.’

William had heard Lucy’s gurgle which he knew to be a laugh and his heart had leaped.

He had ventured outside for just half an hour and pulled out a few weeds from between the slabs, safe in the knowledge that his daughter was okay. Just those few minutes in the cold morning air had revitalised him for the rest of the day.

Two hours later, Paula had sought his permission to visit again.

He had given it gladly.

He took the porridge through to the living room and sat on the footstool. Lucy’s complexion was rosy and bright, her eyes alert and focused. Today was a good day. Paula’s visit had been good for both of them.

‘Don’t you ever get bored of porridge?’

One blink.

He rolled his eyes. She copied. He laughed out loud.

He brought a spoonful of oats to her mouth. She took it and scrunched her face in appreciation. The second spoonful was on its way when the doorbell sounded.

He placed the dish on the windowsill.

He opened the door and panic rose in him immediately.

Before him stood a male and female both dressed in black trouser suits. He carried a briefcase but she had a shoulder bag.

He immediately thought of social services but they were not due for a visit and they always let him know first. In the early days following the departure of his wife, William had been forced into battle with the authorities to keep his daughter. He had jumped through hoops and performed like a circus animal to show that he was capable. Sensing his determination, social services had started to work with him to keep the two of them together and the job at Crestwood had sealed the deal. But still, the fear lived within him that one day he would lose her.

‘Mr Payne, Mr William Payne?’

He nodded.

The female smiled widely and took a business card from her pocket. ‘My name is Hannah Evans from Enterprise Electronics. We’re here to see Lucy.’

‘But ... I don’t ... what?’

She rubbed her hands together and blew into them. ‘Mr Payne, may we come in?’

William stepped aside.

Hannah Evans stepped into the lounge and stood before his daughter. The man sat and opened his briefcase.

‘Good morning, Lucy. My name is Hannah and I am very pleased to meet you.’

Her smile was open and warm, her tone friendly and calm, unlike the condescending tone used by most adults.

‘Are you well today?’

Lucy blinked.

‘That means yes,’ William offered.

Hannah remained where she was and smiled in his direction. ‘I know that, Mr Payne. The language of blinking is quite common in people with communication limitations.’

Hannah Evans rolled her eyes at his daughter, who gurgled in response.

‘Umm ... excuse me,’ William said, bewildered. ‘But I don’t understand who you are or what you are doing here.’

‘It’s really quite simple, Mr Payne. We specialise in the most advanced technological systems that can be operated with the least amount of physical activity. We, as a company, exist to make life far more exciting and interesting for people with physical restrictions.’

William’s mind was spinning. ‘But I don’t get it. I haven’t spoken to ... I have no money for ...’

‘My understanding is that the cost has been taken care of.’ She held up her hands. ‘That is not my area of the business and I have my instructions.’

William felt as though he had been transported to an alternate universe. His mind scrambled for answers but he found none.

Hannah turned her attention back to his daughter.

‘Lucy, I have only one question. Do you have control of at least one finger?’

Two blinks.

Hannah smiled widely at William. ‘Then I think there is much we can do here.’