Different (22 page)

Since Hassley, the Death Dancer had claimed twenty-three victims, men and women, and as far as Rebecca could see, there was no obvious connection between his victims who seemed to live in various locations within the UK. There was a married couple in 1986, the husband was a solicitor and his wife an accountant, they'd been killed in the lounge of their house in Milton Keynes. In 1988, he'd killed three people, a market trader, his wife and a vicar, all of them lived in Birmingham. There was a note on the file stating that Andrea, the market trader's 14-year-old daughter, had disappeared on the night of the killing, she was, it was believed, to have been either abducted, or so traumatised that she'd run away from home. Rebecca made a note to check and see whether the girl had ever been found.

Of the other eighteen victims, there were five married couples, an assortment of men, and one 56-year-old woman from Derby who had been killed last year. She was the anomaly who would pay a hit-man to kill supermarket stock person? All of the other women who had been murdered with their husbands were in their late thirties ... around her age ... and like her, childless! Except for the market trader and his wife! She scanned the list again, the vicar from Birmingham? Was he the Hassley's priest? Someone they'd turned to or confided in? Had they told him they were hoping to adopt a baby or had Mrs. Hassley been enquiring about a Christening?

She was still working on compiling a chart of all the killings and she looked at her monitor screen in triumph, there it was, five of the other men all lived in the same area and were killed about the same time as one of the married couples. The door of her office opened and the Assistant Chief Constable walked in accompanied by Superintendent Roberts. Rebecca sensed something was wrong.

"Detective Inspector Carlyle, I've received information that you've been gambling at the Saracen casino, and are in debt to them for the sum of fifteen thousand pounds.” The Assistant Chief Constable said gravely. “Because of the suspected criminal activities of the club, of which you're well aware, I have no choice but to suspend you from duty pending a full enquiry. I'd advise you to contact your Federation representative at the earliest opportunity. I require your warrant card and the keys to your locker and desk!"

Numbed with shock, she fumbled in her bag and handed over her warrant card and keys and didn't resist when the Superintendent took her bag and started to look through it. He withdrew something from it and she saw that he was passing some kind of laminated card to the senior officer.

After examining it, the assistant Chief Constable frowned. “This is a membership card for the Saracen Club ... it has your photograph and your signature on it."

Rebecca didn't say that she didn't understand because she did, Vincent Roberts had planted the card in her bag because for some reason he'd framed her, and knowing Vincent there was probably worse to come. She had no idea how her photograph and signature had been obtained for the membership card, or how her account at a club that she'd only visited during a raid upon it came to be fifteen thousand pounds in the red. But she intended to find out.

Standing she plucked the card out of the senior police officer's hand. “That belongs to me I think,” she said. She took her handbag out of Vincent's hand and met his eye. “I intend to find out why you've framed me Vincent, and I'm going to prove that you're bent. Believe me, you're not going to get away with this!"

He smiled sadly and shook his head. “You're suspended Rebecca, don't make things worse than they already are, go home. You'll be informed when the rubber heel squad wants to interview you."

"Fuck you and Internal Affairs, all you've got on me is the allegation that I'm in debt to the club for fifteen thousand pounds, which is rather surprising, as I have almost five hundred and eighty thousand pounds in my bank account. I'm sure my bank will confirm it was paid into my account two years ago with a cheque from the National Lottery.” She laughed at the shocked expression on the two men's faces, “That's right Sir's. It was, as the advert says, it could be you ... and it was!"

She was still laughing as she left the police station, Robert's would be having a hard time persuading the Assistant Chief Constable that she was being blackmailed over fifteen thousand pounds. Vincent had tried to ruin her, well now it was her turn because if there was one thing she couldn't stand, was a bent copper.

She proffered her membership card at the door of the casino and was let through the glass doors, plush red carpet covered the floors and in the games room the lighting was skilfully arranged to give an atmosphere of comfort and warmth. There wasn't a clock in sight she noticed. Walking over to the cashier's window, she proffered the woman her card, “I'd like to settle my account.” she said.

"There is ten thousand pounds outstanding, Madam. How would you care to pay?"

"I understood that I owed fifteen thousand,” Rebecca said, puzzled.

"Five thousand pounds was deducted yesterday by Mrs. Schoefield, your balance is ten thousand pounds now."

"Here's fifteen thousand pounds in cash.” Rebecca said handing her the envelope that she'd collected from the bank. “I'd like a receipt and you can tell Mrs. Schoefield from me that if ever she interferes with my account again, I'll personally arrest her for false accounting and close this place down!"

Pocketing her receipt, Rebecca left the casino and drove back to her flat, she needed to get on her computer, she had a killer to find and perhaps a closer look at Janine Schroeder might be useful.

The Schroeder's property was near the village of Catherstone, she'd drive down there tomorrow and have a sniff around for a couple of days, and anyway she could do with a break.

Janine took an instant dislike to the policeman because she'd met his type before, they were unbending martinets of the law until pension day was on the horizon, and then all their scruples were abandoned as they frantically built themselves a nice little nest egg. She'd pay him the money because he'd earned it but from now on, he'd be her creature and it would be fun bringing him to heel.

"I'm extremely grateful Vincent,” she said, giving him her best smile. “Now it will take about half an hour to make up your cash, perhaps you'd care to have a drink and relax while you wait.” She pressed a button on her desk and a few moments later an extremely attractive girl entered and she saw the policeman sneak a look at the pale smooth flesh of the girl's thigh highlighted by the split in her skirt.

"Ah, Celeste, will you take Mr. Smith up to guest room number four and make sure he gets anything he wants ... anything at all."

For a moment, Janine thought he was going to refuse the offer but he took the girl's hand and allowed her to lead him out of the office. As soon as the door closed, she checked the monitor and made sure that the hidden cameras in room four were operational and pressed the button to start recording. She watched as the door opened and Celeste led Vincent towards the bed. Smiling, Janine switched off the monitor she would watch the tape later. She wondered what Vincent would do when he learned that Celeste's real name was Charlotte Davies, a fifteen-year-old runaway, and if anyone found out then he would be ruined and might even go to jail.

"I'm getting worried about you David,” she said, and was gratified to see the colour leave his face. “First, there's the cock up over my brother's security and now I find out that you not only lied to me, but have involved me in setting up a straight DI. A DI who incidentally called at the cashier's office and paid fifteen thousand pounds that she hadn't lost off her fucking non-existing account!"

"I told you why..."

"That was bullshit and you know it. Get out of here, and David, I want Carlyle taken out of the picture permanently. I want her to simply disappear and to never be seen again she's a threat."

He'll have to go
, she thought,
after he's left the office
. He wasn't reliable any more and DI Carlyle was trouble. Perhaps, after she'd been taken care of it there would be time to bury David as well. Taking out her mobile, she punched in the number she'd memorised and could hear it ringing on the other end of her and Russell's very private line.

It was getting lighter; looking up Adam saw the sun shining high up above him in irregular patches. He could see the opening of the shaft had been almost blocked by branches that lay across it. He'd found Dr. Maylor's body and three others that were withered and unrecognisable, he assumed the doctor had been entombed in the ice with him and thawed out before him. The top of his skull was missing and his hands were reduced to bony stumps. There was an empty metal cylinder with LIQUID OXYGEN stencilled on it in red.

Suddenly, he had a picture in his mind of a laboratory and he heard Dr. Maylor's voice clearly.

"Adam is the first male out of the fifteen produced in the lab and he will be our breeder of the new species. We will use his sperm to impregnate the first female child that Eve and her mate produce.” He saw another picture and now he was looking into the tall man's eyes and heard Maylor's voice again. “You have to give us more time.” Adam knew then that what he was seeing were Maylor's memories! But how? And then he remembered the rats that he'd ate ... they must have been the same rats that had devoured the doctor's brain. Somehow he'd retained some of Maylor's memories. Strangely, the thought didn't frighten him, it intrigued him, and just perhaps, the Doctor could help him get out of the mine.

He searched the pockets of the dead and found two cigarette lighters, he didn't question his new bank of knowledge, just accepted it, a pack of cigarettes, the doctor's wallet and some items he didn't recognise. He stuffed them into a piece of material he tore from one of the bodies and tied the bundle around his waist. Taking the branch he'd beaten off the rats with, he tore strips from one of the white suits and fashioned a primitive torch. Remarkably both lighters were still working and he used one to light his makeshift torch.

The flames of the torch illuminated the shaft clearly and he could see something hanging down a few feet above his head. It was a blue nylon rope. He piled the four corpses on top of each other and when he balanced himself on top of them, the rope was only a yard away. He bent his legs and after fixing the position of the rope in his mind he dropped the torch and leapt upwards. He felt the rope brush the side of his hand before he fell back to the ground. Climbing back onto the bodies he hurled himself towards the rope again and when it brushed against the palm of his right hand, he clamped his fingers around it. It took him a long time to haul himself up the shaft and out into daylight.

For a while, he lay amongst the debris of the trees, grateful for the feel of the leaves and small branches on his skin. He savoured the sound of the insects that buzzed around him and the warmth of the sun. Climbing to his feet and grasping the trees for support, he forced his way through the branches that tried to bar his progress, and headed in the direction of the huts.

The trail he'd used before was now completely overgrown and he wondered how long he'd been trapped in the ice. Then he remembered the girl's scream that had awakened him. She was a Repro and alive! He had to find her.

Adam emerged from the trees and smelled food, his stomach rumbled and as he looked down towards the huts, he stopped in shock. Now there were not two huts but six, and he could see people moving around. He approached them cautiously, although he was fairly certain the men in white suits had gone, but there were other males and females about his own age wondering about. Those people were not of his kind, though, somehow he knew it, just as he knew that another of his species was alive. He'd heard her scream and he needed to find her.
Are these strangers prisoners too?

He stepped into the open and walked towards them and one of the boys, stood up from where he was sitting by the fire, and came towards him.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?” he asked and the others gathered around him curiously.

"I'm Adam, and I have always been here, I was one of the four children used in the experiments."

"Are you mad or what? I've been here nearly three years and I've never seen you before.” He turned to the rest of them. “Have any of you ever seen him?"

They shook their heads and he could see they thought he was lying, but it wasn't important.

"Why are you all here,” he asked. “Are you prisoners too?"

One of the girls who was obviously carrying a baby in her stomach answered. “We have to breed and have babies so they can be sold for adoption, and some of us will have our organs removed and sold for transplants. They've got Emma up at the house now because they want both her kidneys. Josh tries to protect us but there's nothing he can do."

Adam felt himself growing angry, the evil on the land continued and he wondered just how long he'd been trapped in the ice, and where were the older males and females?

"Why haven't your elders tried to help you escape?” he asked.

"Because we haven't any elders, once we reach eighteen we're taken to the house and put down and then the tribe throws our bodies into the marshes.” The boy called Josh shrugged, “There's nothing we can do because the men have guns and there's no way off the land."

"Perhaps there is.” Adam said, “But first I must eat, I need to regain my strength.”

"Why should we feed you?” The boy, they called Josh, asked aggressively.

Adam untied the bundle from around his waist and handing it to the boy. “I took them from the bodies of Dr. Maylor and the others who were also thrown down the shaft."

"You really were down one of the pit shafts."

"I'm Adam and I've been trapped down a mine shaft for a long time and I really do need to eat. I'm not your enemy and I intend to help you to escape."

A murmur of excitement went through the group and one of the women stepped forward. “Leave him alone, Josh! We've plenty of food and he can tell us about himself and how he plans to help us escape."