A Murderer's Heart (13 page)
Her words vibrated through the thoughtful atmosphere.
The men all looked at her at once, as they’d all been thinking the same thing.
With respect, Meakin answered her question.
“I didn’t want to voice such an opinion until things had calmed down. However, the thought had crossed my mind. It’s always bothered me the way Jenny described what has been happening to her. Whoever is doing this to her – and yes I do believe there is someone – is behaving in a predatory manner. It’s much more menacing than the usual stalker. There have been cases where the people being stalked have received threats. This has usually happened when their obsession becomes even more unobtainable...getting married, for example. The stalker becomes even more frustrated and lashes out.”
“You know a lot about this kind of case, Inspector – you should have been a psychiatrist,” Anne stated.
His words made sense. Though she knew about obsessive behaviour, she had never researched into particulars – like stalking.
“No, I’ll leave that to the experts. I’ve been thrown in at the deep end, really. About eighteen months ago, there was a spate of this kind of crime – though they all came with a twist, the victim was murdered. No one was ever caught – or even suspected. Then they stopped for a while. Unfortunately, about eight months ago they started again. They all have this predatory feel to them, but none have lasted as long as Jenny’s. Looking over witness statements, they’d each reported a feeling of being watched but could never be sure – they didn’t even know whether male or female. You see the pattern?”
Meakin stopped while the others stared in horror of his words.
Again it was Anne who voiced the question they were burning to ask.
“How many victims have there been?”
“The first bout showed us three, the more recent crimes have added to the total, though of course not everyone tells us if they are being stalked, many may not even be aware of it; there have been other murders of course. We don’t know if they had been stalked or if they are in any way connected.”
“They were all killed...the ones that had been stalked, I mean?” she ventured, knowing the answer.
“All of them, but we haven’t found a link...that’s why we don’t even know if they are connected – just a hunch.
“We know the victims had varying jobs, looked different and, from what we can tell, had never met each other. One thing we can say though, and it’s why we suspect it’s the same person committing the crimes, all victims were killed in the same way – stabbed, probably with the same weapon. Forensics substantiate this.
“Before I had the message about your daughters,” Meakin looked at David, “I was looking through the computer files for any pattern of this kind of crime before I came here. I haven’t seen the results yet, but I’d like to bet there has been a spree of these crimes over a long period of time. Whoever is guilty of them, my instincts tell me they are well practised, both in committing these atrocities and covering their tracks. It would be difficult to tell what triggered these crimes.”
The other three stared with dismay at Meakin as he laid all these terrible facts before them.
It was Sam this time who asked, “Why are you telling us all this?” his voice was quiet and serious.
Meakin answered equally in the same way, “Because I believe that Jenny is in grave danger. There is another reason, but as yet I am not prepared to say. I have to be sure of other things before I can discuss this with you. I am making another line of enquiry – it may come to nothing. I have told you this much because I think you need to be aware of the danger. Is it possible for you to take your family away for awhile, Mister King?”
David had gone pale. Meakin’s warnings had scared him more than ever.
“If you think it’s wise. I’m due some time off from work – they were going to ring me tonight about my promotion; that’s why I never went to the cinema with Jen and the girls. Yes, I’ll arrange it, they won’t argue, I’ve put in loads of overtime lately. I should have been here – Jen must have been through hell for so long.”
He looked at Anne, his face grey with anxiety.
Anne took his hand.
“Everything will be fine, David. None of this is your fault. Take Jenny and the girls away on holiday. You all deserve a break – by the time you come back, you’ll be healed and this freak will be caught. I know I shouldn’t call him...or her...that in my line of work, but it’s always different when it’s so close to home. Now, go upstairs to Jenny and if she’s awake, tell her your plans. She’ll be delighted. Go now, everything will be fine.”
She physically pushed him away from her.
He smiled feebly then walked slowly back up the stairs to his wife and children.
“I’ll be glad when they are safely out of the way,” Anne said, her voice quiet. “Both of them look ready to crack. Even without this maniac still on the loose, they need to get away – time to heal, recover their resources.”
She felt angry on their behalf, and very, very frightened.
Meakin rose to leave saying, “Yes it’s good they’re going away. They’re easy targets. With them out of the way, our killer may be triggered into making a mistake.”
“Of course it could be that the killer wants them out of the way.”
Sam had spoken his thoughts aloud.
Anne and Meakin looked at him, surprised.
“What’s make you say that?” asked Anne.
“I don’t really know, just a feeling I guess. I can’t explain.”
He shrugged, he’d even surprised himself.
It didn’t make sense, why would anyone want the Kings out of the way?
He looked at Meakin, who said nothing before walking out of the kitchen to the front door.
Anne saw him to the door.
“Will you let us know if you find anything on the computer?”
He nodded then slipped out of the house and into the waiting car.
Anne was thoughtful as she shut the door behind him.
Returning to the kitchen, she saw that Sam had stood and was preparing to leave.
She gathered her things to do the same.
She left a note for David and Jenny, saying that if they needed her, they must ring. She’d be at her office in the morning and could they please let her know their plans.
Together with Sam, she left the house.
******
“Do you want me to come to your place?” Sam asked.
Anne nodded.
He followed her home in his car and after they’d parked, Anne let them both into her house.
It was so hot after holding in the heat of the day, despite the rain earlier; Anne went immediately to her garden room and opened the double doors.
She breathed in the night air, feeling the heavy scent of flowers waft into the room.
Though it was late, Anne opened a bottle of chilled wine and they sat comfortably on the sofa looking out into the garden.
Some months before, Anne had installed a lighting system, one that gave a whole different effect than daylight.
These summer nights always reminded her of the holidays she’d taken in Spain and Italy. She could almost feel the Mediterranean at her feet.
This was the time she loved her room and garden the best. It replenished her inner strength and after the last few hours, she was in desperate need of restoration.
The conjunction of the wine, her room, the scents from the garden and Sam by her side, gave Anne the peace she craved.
Not wanting to break the mood, they remained in companionable silence until Anne’s head fell onto Sam’s shoulder, where she promptly went to sleep.
{18}
Billy Marshall, and his younger brother Ricky, had decided to play truant from school. They’d done it before, had a great time, and had never been caught.
Billy had put a football into his school bag, together with a change of clothes; Ricky had their lunches and his T-shirt wrapped with a pair of jeans – Mum never noticed anything they did.
Their dad had left them all years ago.
Both boys had their father’s black hair and blue eyes – so their mother told them, they could barely remember.
Shouting a quick goodbye, they left the house, slamming the back door behind them.
They walked the usual route to the bus stop with the hoards of other school children, but then quietly slipped down the passageway that led to one of their hideouts.
They quickly scrambled over fences and fields until they came to their most favourite place in the world (at the moment) – a disused farm with an array of dilapidated buildings, although some were in better nick than others.
Billy being the oldest at ten, nearly eleven, was in charge of these exploring days, whilst his eight and a half year old brother took everything he said as law.
Besides, missing school and rummaging around new places was exciting. The farm was a recent discovery, and as yet they’d not scouted all of it.
They’d discussed how they were going to divide their search and work out which days they could visit.
After all they mustn’t make the grown-ups too suspicious.
On this visit, they’d decided that the barn should be their focal point. This was the largest of the buildings so they wanted to have the luxury of giving it their full attention, and only an early start would allow this.
Hastily changing into more suitable clothes, their faces took in each other’s excitement as they left their bags and stepped over to the barn.
Trampling through weeds, roots, broken glass, stones and discarded farm equipment, the boys reached the massive double doors.
One was leaning half open, most of the wood eaten away and broken. The other, although still in place, had lost some of its wooden slats. They stared at the hole in its centre that looked as if someone had smashed through.
They peered around the open door and saw the dark interior...though it wasn’t completely black, due to the shafts of light coming through jagged holes in the roof.
Billy stepped in first, his brother following, both seeing the dust playing along the beams of light.
Ricky held onto his brother’s T-shirt, trying not to show his fear while Billy strode deliberately into the middle of the massive building.
“Ha!” cried Billy, spying an old tractor and ran to climb into its seat – easily big enough for them both.
Billy grabbed the wheel and pretended to drive, bouncing around in the seat while Ricky jiggled the gear stick.
They began to laugh.
Billy let Ricky ‘drive’ as he craned his neck to look around.
“Come on!”
Following his brother, Ricky too explored the mishmash of machinery and tools that had been discarded.
The handle of a fork, which had once been used to move hay, and an old grappling hook, acted as swords while the boys mimicked the pirate films they loved to watch before flinging them aside to dash over to the foot of a ladder that led to the hayloft.
After Billy had tested the ladder he began to climb, telling Ricky to wait.
Despite not wanting to be left alone, he knew he had to do as he was told and watched as Billy climbed while gripping onto the sides of the ladder, surprised it wasn’t all mangy like the rest of the stuff.
Reaching the top, Billy gazed at the pile of old straw and rags to his right.
He heard scuffling.
Ignoring the extra bump of his heart, the boy moved forward.
It’d only be mice.
He bent and began pulling the heap apart.
Someone might have buried treasure – it happened in films, didn’t it? And robbers had to hide their loot somewhere!
“Hey, Billy, what’re you doing?” shouted Ricky.
“Hold on, I think I’ve found something.”
Billy had shifted most of the stuff and was trying to untangle a piece of plastic.
It must be something good to be covered in plastic.
Billy tugged relentlessly until he’d unravelled some of it, when unexpectedly an arm flopped out at the side.
Billy shrieked and fell back onto his backside.
“Shit!”
“What’s the matter?” screamed Ricky.
Why couldn’t they just go?
“Billy, let’s go now!”
“Wait!”
Beads of sweat had formed on Billy’s forehead.
He crawled back to the bulk of plastic and tried to unroll more of it but it was caught on something.
Undeterred, he looked around for something to cut the plastic and then remembered the penknife in his pocket.
He sliced it partly open and with a pounding heart, stood looking down at the ashen face of a woman.
The eyes were closed – the lips blue.
