Taunting the Dead (39 page)

She flicked through a stack of magazines on the floor, sifted through a pile of clothes on the armchair. She opened a drawer, saw untidy contents pushed in willy-nilly. She leafed through bills, most unpaid. There were a few takeaway leaflets, a programme from a recent concert to see Muse, used train tickets to Birmingham. There was a brochure for holidays in Greece and Turkey next summer. Kos or Crete seemed to be first choices, by the look of which pages were turned over at the corners. Allie closed the drawer. There was nothing in there to indicate a killer.

Over on the far wall, there was a framed photo of Lee with Kirstie. It looked pretty recent. Allie stared at it as if willing either image to speak to her. Tell her what had been going on. She continued checking the room, behind the settee, underneath the chairs, behind other photo frames… but nothing. What had made Lee Kennedy flip and kill Shaun Morrison? Assuming that it was Lee, she reasoned with herself. It could easily have been his father, Phil, or even some other thug. Just because there was a body here, it didn’t necessarily mean that Lee was the killer. She wouldn’t jump to conclusions until the evidence was in – not after the last time.

She glanced in the kitchen, glad to leave it for the forensics team. She didn’t want to go in anyway. Once was enough. No doubt that blood on the floor would haunt her dreams for a few nights to come. She shuddered. How did humans do that to others? It went beyond her belief.

‘Sarge!’ Sam’s shout had Allie rushing to the hallway. Sam came down to the bottom of the stairs. ‘There’s an air rifle in the wardrobe upstairs but it doesn’t look like it has been used in a while,’ she told her. ‘And then there’s this.’ She held up a plastic evidence bag. Inside it was a hammer. She gave it to Allie. ‘There’s blood on it.’

Allie’s heart began to pulsate out of her chest. She thought back to what Sam had been thinking aloud. Had Lee Kennedy been involved in the death of Steph Ryder?

‘I’ll see if we can get it fast-tracked,’ she said. Then she stepped outside the house for a moment. She breathed in cold damp air like it was going out of fashion, trying to make sense of everything. If the blood on the hammer matched Shaun Morrison’s, they had their murder weapon. But if it was Lee Kennedy who was the murderer, wouldn’t he have slung it away? He wouldn’t leave it at his house for anyone to find, surely?

Allie’s shoulders sagged in frustration. Questions, questions, questions when what she really needed was answers, answers, answers.

Then she thought of another.

If Lee Kennedy had killed Shaun Morrison, he was more than capable of having done the same to Steph Ryder.

CHAPTER FORTY

While Lee was on the phone, Kirstie had tried to work out if there was anything she could do. She wondered if she should try talking to him. All the films she’d watched said that kidnap victims stayed alive longer if they built up a rapport with their kidnappers. She gulped as she thought of her situation. No one knew where they were.

‘Lee,’ she said. ‘Please don’t hurt me. Whatever trouble you’re in, it doesn’t matter. You and me, we can work this out. We can sort anything out if –’

‘You and me?’ Lee glared at Kirstie as if she had lost her mind. ‘There is no you and me.’

‘But, I thought –’

He took a step towards her. ‘You thought I enjoyed what I did with you? Then you must be mad. I fancied some fun, that’s all. I don’t give a fuck about you. You’re a selfish bitch.’ He took another step closer. ‘I could waste you, right now, if I wasn’t so scared of your old man. He’ll kill me in a flash if I do anything to you. But he knows too much so I – I need to keep you sweet. For now.’

Kirstie started to cry. ‘I want to go home.’

Lee rushed across the room towards her. Kirstie scrambled up the bed and pressed her back to the wall.

‘Leave me alone!’ she cried.

‘No. You’re going to tell the police that you did it.’ Lee grabbed her free wrist and held it tightly.

‘Tell them I did what?’ Kirstie looked on in confusion.

‘Tell the pigs it was you who killed your mother. Tell them you were pissed and angry. Tell them she mouthed off and you hit her with a hammer.’

Kirstie frowned. Why would he want to put the blame on her? Then suddenly she realised.

‘You!’ She shook with fear. ‘You killed my mum!’

Lee nodded.

‘Did someone pay you?’ A sob caught in her throat. ‘Did you do it for money?’

‘Nope.’

‘Then why?’ Kirstie’s tears were back again. ‘Why would you kill her?’

‘Why would you care? You told me you hated her.’

‘I don’t – didn’t hate her. We didn’t get on at times, but I wouldn’t have done anything to her.’ Kirstie pulled away again but it only made Lee squeeze her wrist harder.

‘If you say that you killed her, they’ll go easy on you.’ Lee nodded. ‘The cops are waiting for me to do something stupid like this; they’re expecting it. But you? Squeaky-clean Kirstie Ryder? It’s perfect.’

Kirstie still didn’t want to believe him. ‘You were with me all that night.’

‘Can you actually say that I was?’

‘What?’

‘You conked out after two of these.’ Lee pulled the bag of sleeping pills from his pocket again and dangled them in her face. ‘I crushed them up and put them into your drink. You slept like a baby. My perfect alibi when the police called – not that they caught me in.’

‘Oh, God. You killed my mum.’

‘Stop your whining. You wanted me to anyway.’

‘I NEVER!’

‘Yeah, you did. You were always going on about how you wished she was dead.’

‘NO!’

‘So, you were drunk. I was taking you home. I saw Steph sitting outside the pub and stopped to give her a lift. But you got out of the car and started to argue with her.’ Kirstie shook her head as he continued. ‘You two were going at it and you got so angry that you grabbed a hammer from out of the car and
wham
! You hit her over the head.’

‘No!’ Kirstie cried. ‘And you can’t prove that. The hammer doesn’t have my fingerprints on it.’

‘But it does.’ Lee smirked nastily. ‘Remember putting up that photo of you and me, in the living room? The one you insisted on showing off on the wall?’

Kirstie remembered. But so what?

‘The only prints on it are mine and yours.’

‘But it has your prints on it too!’

‘Your word against mine. I took it off you without thinking afterwards. Then I covered it up because I loved you so much.’

Kirstie was beyond inconsolable. How could this have happened? She remembered taking great pride in putting that frame up, even though it was only putting up a picture hook. She’d felt so grown up, like she belonged at Lee’s house, like she was part of it now there was a photo of the two of them. She felt like she’d stamped her mark on his territory. And now Lee was prepared to use it to get away with murdering her mum.
Oh, God
, she realised,
he must be mad
.

‘Please don’t do this to me,’ she whispered.

‘If you don’t go along with it, I’ll kill you too.’ Lee pushed her hand into his groin. Kirstie recoiled at a hard lump. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not pleased to see you,’ he laughed, pulling out a lock knife. He flicked open the blade. ‘I killed Shaun Morrison yesterday so don’t think I won’t use it.’

‘Sh – Shaun?’ Kirstie glanced at it quickly, the enhanced state of her mind making her expect to see blood dripping from the blade. But it was clean.

Lee nodded and grinned. ‘He bled like a pig.’

‘No, you never!’

‘I hacked at him with a knife and then finished him off with my feet.’

At that moment, Kirstie knew she was beat. Lee was either mad or dangerous and she didn’t wish to find out which one.

‘I’ll do it,’ she said, knowing that agreeing could be her only way out.

Lee held the knife to her throat. ‘Don’t think you can sweet-talk me now into letting you go and then you say something different to the pigs.’ He spoke through clenched teeth, spittle flying everywhere.

‘I won’t!’ Kirstie gasped for breath as his weight crushed her down onto the bed. With no room to manoeuvre, her bound wrist started to chafe.

Lee’s phone rang. The word
Dad
flashed up on the screen.

‘Dad?’ he almost yelled. ‘Listen to me. I –’

‘No, you listen to me, you piece of low-life.’

Lee hesitated. It was Terry Ryder. What was he doing on his dad’s phone?

‘Where are you?’

‘How did you get this phone?’ Lee covered Kirstie’s mouth with his hand. She struggled, trying to speak, but one look from him and she quietened.

‘Where are you?’ Terry repeated, his voice a little louder.

‘Tell me how you got this phone!’

‘How the fuck do you think? Do the maths. No one crosses me and gets away with it.’

‘Wha – what?’

‘You have one hour to get my daughter home safe and sound or I’m coming after you.’

‘Ten grand.’ Lee tried to sound confident.

‘You little shit! Do you still think you have the upper hand? I’m calling the shots right now.’

‘You can’t threaten me! I know everything. I’ll tell the pigs and you’ll go –’

‘Will you listen to me, you stupid FUCK! You have one hour to get Kirstie back home. If I have to find her myself, so help me God, I will kill you when I find you.’

Lee’s eyes raced around the room as if expecting Terry to come running out at him. He had to keep calm. Talk was all he had right now to put his point across.

‘I’m not scared of you,’ he taunted. ‘And I’m not scared to kill. I’ve already killed that friend of yours, Morrison.’

The line went quiet.

‘Yeah,’ Lee continued. ‘Knifed him I did and then kicked the shit out of him. So don’t think I haven’t got it in me to do it again. You come anywhere near me and Kirstie gets the same.’

‘Dad!’ Kirstie broke free for a moment. ‘Help me!’

Lee slapped her. She whimpered, holding onto her cheek.

‘What was that?’ Terry wanted to know. ‘If you lay one finger on her, I’ll –’

‘I’ll wipe her out in a second.’ Lee played what he thought was his trump card. ‘Remember what happened to your fucking wife?’

‘Yeah, I remember. Didn’t quite go to plan, though, did it? The way I see it, you’re as gutless as your father. And I finished him off last night too.’

‘You’re lying,’ said Lee. Then louder, ‘you’re fucking lying!’

‘Put Kirstie on the line.’

‘No… No, I won’t. You killed my dad? You – fuck! I’m going to put a knife through her heart.’

Kirstie screamed.

‘Shut the fuck up!’

‘Lee,’ said Terry. ‘You’d better not do anything rash. Do you understand?’

Lee tried to keep his emotions in check. He clenched his teeth to stop himself from screaming out too. He fought back tears as he held onto the phone. Was Terry bluffing or had he really killed his dad?

‘Let me speak to Kirstie,’ said Terry.

‘Fuck you.’ Lee disconnected the call.

Kirstie screamed louder.

‘Shut up!’ he yelled. ‘Nobody can hear you and nobody would come anyway. You’re in Ryder’s Row, remember? Your old man created this row so that no one sees or hears ANYTHING. You got that?’

Lee paced the room as he wondered if Terry was telling the truth. Was his dad really dead? Maybe this was a trick, Terry’s way of getting him to let go of Kirstie.

Fuck, his dad couldn’t be dead. Terry wouldn’t kill him, no way. But why hadn’t he answered his phone that morning? And where was he now? His car had gone too. He ran a hand over his chin. His plan to get cash from Terry would never work now. He needed to get the emergency money stashed in the loft and then get the hell away. It was only a grand but it would have to do. But how the hell was he going to keep Kirstie quiet? Although he knew no one would call the police, one of the nosy fuckers could come and investigate. If they found out he had Terry’s daughter tied up, they’d grass him up to make themselves look good.

‘Lee,’ Kirstie started, bringing him back to reality. ‘I –’

He stepped towards her, clocking the fear in her eyes. For a moment, he did nothing. Then he took out the bag of sleeping pills, held her chin and tried to force one into her mouth.

But Kirstie was stubborn. She moved her head quickly to the side and the pill dropped to the bed.

‘Help! Someone fucking help me!’ She cried out in panic.

‘Shut up!’ Lee slapped her hard but it didn’t stop her. She screamed again so he hit her harder this time. Kirstie cracked her head on the wall and she dropped forward onto the bed.

‘Kirst?’ Lee nudged her but there was no response. Fuck, had he killed her too? He felt for a pulse on her neck, almost crying when he found one. Making sure the rope around her wrist was still tight, he went through to the landing and pulled down the loft ladder.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Kirstie came round after a few minutes. Disorientated, she sat up. She felt a pain at the back of her head, winced as she held a hand to it. It came back bloody. Panicking, she stood up quickly, nearly wrenching her arm out of its socket. Trying to slow her breathing, she looked around the room but Lee was nowhere to be seen.

‘Lee?’ It came out as a whisper. Then again, louder this time. ‘Lee!’

She repeated his name several times before bursting into tears with relief. A few seconds later, she pulled herself together. If she was going to get out of this mess, she needed a level head. Lee might be gone for now but he could come back at any second.

‘Help!’ She banged on the wall behind her. ‘Help! I’ve been kidnapped.’ She listened with her ear against the wall. But nothing. ‘Help!’ She tried again and again and again before slumping down on the bed and pulling on the rope. But she couldn’t budge the knot. It was tied too tightly to loosen.

A flash of orange caught her eye. Her bag! It sat on the floor at the far corner of the bed. Maybe she could reach it with her feet. Carefully, she tried to hook the handle of the bag around her foot. She stretched out. The loop went over her shoe but slipped as she brought it up. She flicked it off and tried again barefoot, missed completely. And again. But on the fourth attempt, she managed it.