Beyond Evidence (17 page)

Thirty Three

Intervention

As they arrived at the cottage Jodie looked around her. There were cottages and lodges darted all around the place, but not too close to one another that people would be able to see inside but not too far away that they couldn't say hello to their neighbours that would be living by them for the week. But that would be
all
Jodie would say in passing, she just wanted peace for her and Patrick this week.

The cottage was beautiful and it looked onto the loch and over the hills. The scenery was stunning, the hills were emerald green and the loch mirrored the sky. There were now a few clouds darted across the sky, small but fluffy, almost like looking at cotton wool hovering above them. The grass around their feet had been cut to within an inch of it
s life, like a golf course patch of grass and its colour was like lime, not a blade out of place. The whole place looked like an artists painting.

"You like?" Patrick asked as he unloaded the bags from the boot of the
Micra.

Jodie turned to him and smiled.
"Who wouldn't? This place is amazing. Makes you really appreciate Scotland for what it is," Jodie replied as she gazed at her surroundings.

"It sure does," he said as he placed the bags at the front door of the cottage.

She walked over to the door to help Patrick inside with their belongings. The front door was blue, the same colour as the sky and there was a holly bush next to it. Again the leaves were brilliantly green and the berries were blood red. "Everything is so colourful here," she said as Patrick put the key into the lock.

"I know it
’s gorgeous," he replied as he opened the door.

He went inside and Jodie peered into the cottage. It was all open
plan, like something from a winter fairy tale. There was a large brick fireplace in the centre of the back wall, with a pile of wooded logs next to it. On top there was a long row of large scented candles and above them, a large painting of the scene that she had just been looking at outside.

"Isn't that a painting of the view outside?" Jodie asked.

"Yep, Auntie Beth painted it herself," he said proudly.

"Seriously?
It is absolutely stunning. I didn't know she was an artist."

"Not an established one anyway, she just painted for pleasure. She could have made some real money out of it if she had wanted to but that's not what she was all about," Patrick said as he unzipped the bags.

Jodie looked around once more and saw that in the far right of the cottage was a little living area with large cushiony sofas with fluffy blankets draped across the back and a stack of novels on a small side table, mostly murder mysteries and thrillers.

"Think I will be tackling some of those this week," she motioned to the stack.

"That's what they're there for, do you want to unpack then we can get some food?" Patrick asked.

"Yeah, sounds good, I'm starving."

Jodie took her bag into the small bedroom at the back of the cottage which was just off the kitchen. The room was white with dark wooden windows and little white netted curtains. The bed was almost as big as the room with drawers underneath to store belongings. For the cottage being so old fashioned, the bedroom was en-suite. The bathroom was quite big with a large white iron bath in the middle and a shower in the corner. The wall had a built in mirrored cabinet, twin sinks and a small plain glass window with another netted curtain over it.

"I love this," Jodie said to herself.

Patrick walked into the bathroom behind her. "It's cool isn't it?" he asked.

"Aw Patrick I love it, I can totally see us living here," she suddenly yawned.

"Do you want to go for a sleep?"

"No, I'm fine. I just feel a little worn out from the journey. I'll just unpack quickly and we can go and get some food."

Patrick kissed her on the forehead and returned to the bedroom. Jodie began putting her toiletries into the wall cabinet. She placed in her toothbrush, hairbrush, deodorant and toothpaste, soap and moisturiser. Then she placed in her bottle of sleeping tablets.

That looks a little out of place
, she thought to herself. She sighed at the thought of being reduced to taking tablets to help her reach sleep, but then accepted that without them she was a complete insomniac. She closed the mirrored cabinet and looked at her reflection, much expecting to see a face or feel the burning of her skin, or hear the screams of the women's spirits. She held her breath, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.

Good, I need to be normal, even if it is just for a week,
her silent words meant for the spirits. Then a shadow quickly crossed the window of the bathroom. "Oh so you heard me then?" she said aloud.

"No, what did you say?" Patrick popped his head in to the bathroom.

"Oh, sorry, I was talking to myself," she smiled at him in the mirror.

"You ok?"

"Yeah I'm ok and I am ready to go. You ready?" she changed the subject.

They left the cottage and made the short trip in the car to the local shop to pick up their weeks supply of food.

***

The cottage door hadn't been locked and the lodges and cottages around were quiet, no one was around. The perfect
opportunity was now and no other time would do. Ross quickly made his was into the cottage and headed straight for the bathroom, where he had watched Jodie unpack her things. He was aware that there wasn't a lot of time, so he made sure that he switched Jodie's pills as quickly as he could. He emptied the bottle and refilled it with a much stronger sleeping pill. Ross knew that by taking them, Jodie would be in such a deep sleep that she wouldn't have a clue what was going on around her. But then, he had another trick up his sleeve, just in case he needed it.

Ross finished his intervention and left the cottage, feeling very proud of
himself. As he made his way back to the caravan site about two miles down the road he smiled and thought about how his plan had taken the turn that it did.

"If Patrick hadn't given me that leaflet for this place then this wouldn't have been possible. Thanks
mate, I definitely owe you one," he said aloud through his callous grin.

As he drove to the caravan site, he saw Patrick and Jodie pass him on the road in the car that he had followed to Lomond Park. They did not look at him as they passed, there was no
reason to. They did not know who he was, for the transformation from Mark to Ross was outstandingly different.

He kept his eyes on the road as he drove on, thinking of the outcome of his ways. Thinking of his mum, his dad and the way his life had taken the drastic turn. He thought about Patrick and Jodie and the way
their
lives would take a drastic turn, a deserving turn as he saw it.

He reached the caravan park and went inside to the small caravan that he had rented out for the week. He had placed all of his collection on the walls of his surroundings so that he wouldn't lose his inspiration for what he was doing. All he had to do was look at Maria's photograph and he would feel the pain once more trying to burst out of his chest and his head would throb.

He lit a cigarette from his pack and sat back on the chair in the small living area of the caravan. "Time to finish this once and for all," he said as he drew on the tip of the cigarette. As he blew the smoke out it entangled itself within the mist of the spirits who had been watching him. They tracked him as he followed Patrick and Jodie to Lomond Park, they needed every bit of information possible so that they could forewarn Patrick and Jodie of anything that was going to happen and try to make them see before it was too late.

They encircled him as did the smoke
, listened to his thoughts and his plans for the couple. As they listened, Michelle's spirit became so angry that she began using her energy to try to frighten him. As he smoked the last of his cigarette, he reached over and took the photographs of the three girls down from his wall and he stared blankly at them. He said nothing, but his thoughts told the story of what happened to each of them. This made Michelle's anger grow uncontrollably and she used her energy to move any object she could find.

Ross heard a scraping sound, like a piece of cutlery being dragged across a kitchen worktop. He looked up and to his dismay saw exactly that, a fork being moved across the surface of the kitchen worktop.

"What the
fuck
?" he exclaimed as he stood up to get a clearer look. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he had to duck to avoid the fork connecting with his face. He turned when he heard it bounce off the window of the caravan and land on the floor.

Ross stared at the fork on the floor and couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. In his own mind, he was beginning to think that everything that had happened in
his life was sending him insane.
I am losing it, I need to finish this before I really lose it
, he thought to himself as he lay in the small camp bed in the caravan.

He didn't sleep much for the rest of the night.

Thirty Four

Anna

Preston was sat at his desk filling out the endless amount of paperwork he had been putting off and Lang was sat at his own desk opposite Preston doing the exact same when the phone rang.

"Hello, D.S Preston speaking?"

Lang watched Preston's face as he sat there listening to what the caller was telling him.

"What is it?" he whispered.

Preston held his hand up to quieten Lang for a moment. Lang obeyed as the look on Preston's face was not a happy one.

"Damn!
OK we'll be right there," he slammed the phone down.

"What?" Lang could have predicted what was about to be said.

"There's been another murder." Preston was already putting on his jacket.

"Sh
it!" Lang felt his stomach turn. "What do we know?"

"All I have been told is a young woman was found in the canal next to
Kelvingrove Park about one hour ago!"

As they continued the conversation they were running to the car in the car park behind the station. All Preston wanted was to click his fingers and be at the scene. Preston started the car and Lang did not have time to put on his belt before they roared out of the car park.

"What are we going to do if it's the same guy?" Lang asked.

"What makes you think it's
not
the same guy?"

Lang took the point, so he was quiet for the remainder of the journey, which did not take long. They arrived at the side entrance to
Kelvingrove Park and it had been blocked off by police tape. They showed their badges to the beat officers guarding the scene after fighting their way through the press and the flashing of cameras and bombardment of questions. A tent had been set up around the scene and Preston and Lang were able to gain access to the tent.

"You got here fast," the coroner said handing them both face masks and a pair of latex gloves.

"What's the story then?" Preston asked immediately as he put on the mask and gloves.

"Most likely strangulation, as you can see here and here,"
he pointed to the females neck. "The bruising is most likely to have been caused by finger grip."

Lang inspected the bruising as Preston continued to speak, "We're looking at
a serial killer here aren't we." It wasn't a question.

"I'd say, most certainly," replied the coroner.

"Does this female have a name?" Preston asked.

"Yes, she has been identified by the driving license in her bag as Miss Anna Roper, twenty three years old," the coroner replied, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Thank you, could you send a report to the office? We'll need to inform the family," Preston said.

"It's on its way," the coroner replied. As they left the tent, Preston stood up on the hill slightly looking down on the newest crime scene.

"I'll phone Patrick, let him know," Lang said.

"Yeah, that's good." Preston felt devastated. He felt like he was failing the families of the already deceased and now another girl had wound up dead.

"This guy has got to be some kind of ninja for no one to notice anything," Lang said as he dialled Patrick's number.

"Yeah, tell me about it.
"

The phone rang on the other end a few times before Patrick answered. "Hello?"

"Patrick, it’s Jim, I've got some bad news unfortunately."

"What is it?"

"Another woman has been found murdered in the canal at Kelvingrove Park, same injuries as the other girls," he said it with sadness in his voice.

There was a pause at the other end of the phone.

"Are you sure it is linked?" Patrick asked.

"Absolutely, it would be a
major coincidence if it wasn't."

Patrick felt his heart skip a beat at the news. This was never going to end. "What was her name? I'll see if I can make a link with the other spirits
," Patrick said.

"A Miss Anna Roper," Lang replied.

Patrick had a feeling of Déjà vu but it quickly passed. "Anna Roper... I know that name I think."

"You do? How is that?" Lang asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's just a common name. Anyway, thank you for letting me know."

Lang hung up and went to see if Preston was alright.

"In all my years of doing this Jim, I have never seen a serial killer. I don't know how we're going to solve this. This guy is a complete pro."

"Paul, he may be one step ahead now, but we'll catch up soon enough. He'll get what's coming to him. Just wait and see."

"I hope you're right Jim because if you're not I think that this case could end us," Preston said.

Lang knew it was
possible but he didn't show it. "It won't come to that at all, we'll get him and we will put him away for a very long time, trust me."

"Like I said, I hope you're right. Come on, we need to get back to the station."

Telling a family that one of their own had been murdered was the worst part of the job for Preston and in this particular case he felt like he had done it one to many times. This killer was more than one step ahead of him and Lang, he was a million steps ahead. Preston really felt deep down in the pit of his stomach that this killer was unstoppable, and determined to keep going, striking when it was least expected. As they got into the car Preston sat in silence for a few moments. Lang allowed his partner time to cool down.

"You know what I see each time another young girl like Anna is found dead?" Preston said.

"A truck load of paperwork and a brick wall?" Lang suggested feeling just as pissed as Preston.

"My two girls, I see their faces. Because
it could be them next you know."

"No way Paul, don't think like that
." Lang put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why not?
Anything's possible here. They go out with their friends in Glasgow, they could fall prey to him just like the last four did."

"Well then, let's make sure no one else does, let's get back to the station and follow up on every damn lead w
e can, CCTV, witnesses, the lot. Come on, we're not going to get the bastard just sitting here are we?" Lang said.

Preston turned the key and made the journey back to the station.