The Ultimate Selection: Be Careful Who You Talk To (16 page)

‘So you…' Terry tried to gather his thoughts, ‘had to kill Hector in order to save your own life?'

‘That's about it. Listen, Hector raped my sister. He raped men too. He was a nasty piece of shit. If I'd found all this out on a different day, fuck knows what I would've done to him… I might have killed him. But, in that car park, I didn't have a choice, I had to save myself. You would've done the same thing.'

‘Let's hope I never have to find out, Martin.'

‘So I am going to be banged up for this then?'

‘If we can find the man in the rubber suit, your sentence may be reduced to involuntary manslaughter.'

‘Without him we have nothing,' McFarland confirmed.

‘If there is anything else you think of please let someone know and we'll come back and listen,' Terry said, standing up. McFarland used the phone on the wall to alert the officer outside the room that they had finished talking to the prisoner.

‘Do me a favour and catch that bastard before he does someone else,' Martin called to the two men and he was led out of the room.

‘He already has done someone else,' McFarland said quietly to himself.

Terry overheard the comment and thought the same as his Scottish partner.

‘We are going to have to warn the public – make a statement to the press,' McFarland said.

‘That's what the bastard wants. You need to tell the gaffer and then it's his call. I'd advise him against it.'

‘Listen, Terry, we've got ourselves a serial killer running around,' McFarland said with a bemused look.

‘That's where you're wrong McFarland. He hasn't killed anybody yet!'

McFarland took his mobile phone from his pocket and began to dial a number from the listed memory.

‘Hello, sir,' he said into the phone's receiver, ‘I need a meet with you.'

‘OK, how urgent is it?' was the response.

‘There's been another killing. It's all pointing in the direction of the same guy who wears the black suit.'

‘OK, meet me in the coffee shop outside Regent Street tube station in about an hour… bring Terry with you.' The voice on the other end did not wait for confirmation, he simply ended the call there.

McFarland looked at Terry and spoke. ‘Regent Street Coffee Shop, in an hour…'

‘Nothing changes, does it?' Terry replied, with a smirk on his face.

‘He wants you there too.'

‘In for a penny, as they say?'

***

The two detectives sat with the tall, hard-looking man drinking coffee. The tall man, McFarland's boss, and the sole point of contact in this case, had agreed with Terry in the first instance, though he had now decided that a press release was the natural course of action.

‘I'll arrange a press release for this afternoon. McFarland, I want you there. You can answer whatever I don't.'

McFarland nodded.

‘Terry you can't be there for obvious reasons. Though we may soon have to allow you to surface.'

‘I'll watch it from home, with respect, sir.'

‘Cutting to the chase, Terry, this is my call and I'm calling it. If we don't warn the public and this does leak, they'll be all over us like a pack of rats. People will start asking questions, the first of which will be about you. I am not willing to put my career on the line because you may have a gut feeling, Terry. You both know the procedure here. I have to follow protocol. There have been two murders; all we're doing is confirming that they are linked.'

‘You'll do what you think is right – avoidance is better than cure,' Terry said, privately gritting his teeth.

‘Has someone informed the next of kin?'

‘Yes, sir,' McFarland replied, ‘hopefully this press release will prompt the guy in the rubber suit to make contact,' he added.

‘He won't. He's not doing this for the glory, he's doing this for personal reasons. He doesn't want to get caught, that's why he's being so careful, that's the reason for wearing black –concealment – a black rubber suit, think about it. He's not left any trace of himself at either of the two crime scenes, has he? We are totally blind with this one and he knows it. He's playing with us and he's good at it. The way he's doing it tells us that he's in charge; he's not randomly selecting these people, his victims – or, if the truth be told – the victims of others. They've been carefully researched. The first was a drunk who beat his girlfriend, the second was a man who led a double a life and let's not forget he also abused his wife. There might be a link there. If we catch him before he orchestrates another murder, what could we charge him with? From what we've been told, he hasn't told either of the two to kill. He hasn't directly threatened anyone, he does it indirectly.' Terry was only trying to point out the obvious, his frustration building.

‘Do you respect this guy?' McFarland's boss enquired.

‘I think he's very clever and calculating, but to answer your question, no I don't respect him in what he's doing, but I respect his planning… I'm only trying to say that he's going to be hard to catch.'

‘So that's your psychological profile of this man, Terry?'

‘That's just how I see him and what he's done. Try to think about the planning that must have been involved. These weren't random.'

‘Terry, hold on a minute, you're saying that he wants the press coverage and then you're saying he doesn't. Make your mind up, what is it?' McFarland seemed puzzled by Terry's last statement.

‘I didn't say that. You're not listening,' Terry said scratching his head.

‘We're going to have to follow procedure here,' the boss said.

‘OK, please humour me. What are you going to tell them? We've got two murders that are linked, and the man who orchestrated these horrendous crimes actually did what? Orchestrated?'

‘You are not going to change my mind, Terry. We follow procedure. That matter is closed. Am I clear on that?'

Terry nodded. ‘We tell them the facts.'

McFarland looked at him giving him a sideways glance. Terry returned the look shaking his head with frustration and confusion.

‘I wish you luck, mate.'

‘Piece of cake,' McFarland said, not reassuringly.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sitting slightly out of sight, amongst a few homeless people, Greg viewed the comings and goings of his latest crime scene.

‘Do you want some?' a homeless man enquired, offering Greg a bottle.

‘No thanks – too early for me.'

‘It's never too early or never too late, too late to go back home and patch things up.'

‘I know,' Greg replied, ‘I just need time.'

‘Just don't let the grass grow under your feet,' the homeless man smiled; his toothless smile seemed friendly.

Greg returned to his surveillance.

‘I know you,' Greg said, spotting Terry exit McFarland's car.

‘What?' the homeless man asked.

Greg simply ignored the question, choosing to stand and walk away from the stench of stale body odour and infested filth.

Removing his mobile phone from his pocket, he quickly accessed the internet, searching for a phone number for Thames Television. Within moments, a number appeared. He selected the direct dial option and waited for an answer – all he got was an out-of-office robotic answer machine.

Three hours later, Greg tried the phone number again.

‘Thames Television, how can I direct your call?' a female telephonist answered.

‘Terry Bane, please,' Greg replied, using his alter ego's accent; already putting a name to the face he had seen earlier that morning.

‘Putting you through.'

Greg waited.

‘Hi, this is the voicemail of Terry Bane. Please leave a message, or if it's urgent you can contact me on my mobile – 07777 555 444. Thanks for calling.'

‘Thank you,' Greg smiled.

***

McFarland could feel his legs trembling as the press filled the room. Knowing that Terry was at home watching did not make it any easier.

‘Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I'm Chief Inspector Jasper Ward and, to my left, is Detective Inspector James McFarland of New Scotland Yard. I will invite questions after I have read out a brief statement, please do not interrupt me and please be patient, we will try to answer all your questions.' The tall man paused taking a sip of water from the glass in front of him. ‘The reason we have called you all here today is to inform you and the public that during the last two months, two members of the public have been murdered. We, at New Scotland Yard, believe these murders are linked and therefore would believe that it is in the public interest to share the information that we have already attained though, at this moment, this is minimal. The first murder was at fifty-four Tinckerton Street, Swiss Cottage, about eight weeks ago. A white male named Brian James was brutally murdered by his partner, Sharon Buckle. The other was in Borehamwood in a disused car park last night. A South African man named Hector Hylie was brutally murdered by his brother-in-law, Martin Pringle. Please can we urge you not to contact the families of the deceased, or the families of the two other people involved. Simply as a mark of respect, let them mourn their loss privately.' He paused again for a slurp of water, the coolness rehydrated his throat. ‘Both of the people that we are questioning claim that another person was involved; they simply describe this person as a man wearing a mask and a black, shiny all-in-one suit. He talks using a well-spoken accent and he forced them to commit these awful acts. Now, if you have a question, raise your hand and I promise I will get to you all. One question each though,' Jasper pointed to a man at the back of the room. ‘Yes.'

‘Bill Davis, the
Sun
. Can you tell us how you know these murders are linked?'

‘This is one for you, James,' Jasper said.

‘At the moment, both of the people involved have mentioned the man in the shiny suit. Therefore we have to consider that both these crimes are linked.'

‘Gill Morgan,
The
Times
. Have any of these people been formally charged, and if so can you tell us what they have been charged with?'

‘Me again,' McFarland said, ‘I can confirm that we have formally charged both people we have in custody with murder, whilst we are still conducting our enquiries.'

‘Reginald Morris, the
Mirror
. Do you think that this third person will strike again?'

‘Yes, is the short answer, we are looking for a third person who we believe to be linked with this case, it is our belief that this person is doing this for reasons we are yet to understand. We believe that this man in the shiny suit is very skilful and extremely dangerous. We would urge the general public not to approach this man, but to contact us if they have any information.'

***

‘You're playing into his hands, you fucking idiots!' Terry shouted at his television, almost choking on his coffee.

***

‘Fulton Myers, the
Daily
Telegraph
. What exactly can you tell us about the person you seek?' he enquired calmly.

‘Not a lot really, we don't know too much about him at the moment. We know that the person is a man of athletic build, very confident and he chooses his victims well. Let's be clear about one thing, these two murders have not been random, a lot of planning has gone in to them. I'm not able to go into too much detail, with the case being ongoing, but we do know that this person is extremely dangerous. Any more questions?' McFarland felt awkward.

‘Gareth Charles, the
Standard
. Do you have any idea why he chose these two victims, and have you any idea who is going to be next?'

‘We don't know, is the truthful answer to your question Gareth. We do know that he will continue until he is stopped. These murders were extremely violent and orchestrated without any hesitation. I must stress that this is one very dangerous individual we are looking for.'

‘May I ask another question?' Fulton Myers asked, breaking the silence that had filled the room.

‘Of course,' McFarland replied.

‘You say that he orchestrated these murders. From that are you saying that he did not actually carry out these killings?'

‘That's correct, from the information we have managed to collate, he was there as an instigator.'

‘So, in the case of the second murder,' Fulton enquired, ‘did this person actually abduct the two men?'

‘Yes, he did abduct both men and held them against their will. As I said, this is a complicated case,' McFarland looked at his boss, seeking support.

‘I'm sorry that's all we have time for. Please be very selective in what you write and show respect and some decorum. Think of the victims' families before you submit your stories to press. I must make you aware that this investigation is live and ongoing. Thank you all for your time and your questions,' Jasper announced as he and McFarland left the room quickly.

‘I felt like a right prat in there,' McFarland told his boss.

‘Yes, I know what you mean. They were ready to rip us to shreds weren't they? We gave them enough I think.'

‘I'm not looking forward to reading tomorrow's papers.'

‘Don't worry about it and don't dwell. What's done is done. We've followed the letter and kept to procedure. Let's hope they consider what they're writing about before they put it in their newspapers tomorrow,' Jasper knew that the tabloid press would crucify him and The Met, along with all those involved in the case. ‘Keep me regularly updated, James.'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘Catch this bastard for me.'

‘We will, sir, you can count on it.'

‘I know I can, that's why I've got two of the best. Up your efforts, bend the rules, if you have to, crack a few heads. Just get a result,' he smiled.

‘Thank you, sir. Terry needs…' McFarland felt slightly embarrassed.

‘Whatever it takes James, give Terry whatever he wants. The clock is ticking.'

The men shook hands and parted.