Brutal, page 25
‘We recovered a gun at the scene, along with the corpse,’ said Ogden.
Flashing him a disapproving look when Marie visibly blanched at the word corpse, Strachan said, ‘There was significant damage to the skull and facial bones which indicate he’d been shot at close range.’
‘Oh, my God!’ Marie gasped. ‘You think Evan shot himself? Is that why you kept asking if he was depressed? No way . . .’ She shook her head. ‘Evan would never have done that. One of his mates hanged himself a few years ago, and he went mad; said it was the most selfish thing anyone could ever do.’
‘OK, we’ll leave it at that for now,’ said Strachan. ‘If you could give us your father-in-law’s address?’
‘Yeah, course, I’ll write it down for you,’ Marie said, fishing a pen out of her handbag and looking around for paper.
Ogden took a notepad out of his pocket and passed it to her. Thanking him, Marie scribbled Frank’s address and handed it back.
‘What do I do now?’ she asked, a sudden flutter of panic churning in her stomach. ‘About Evan, I mean. If he’s . . . won’t I need to contact an undertaker, or something?’
‘Not just yet,’ Strachan said kindly. ‘There’s still a chance it might not have been him in the car, so let’s wait until we know for sure.’
Hoping against hope that the woman was right, Marie nodded, and pushed herself up to her feet to show them out. She’d been cursing Evan for weeks, wishing disease, catastrophe, and even death on him. But now there was a possibility that he actually was dead, the guilt was tearing her apart.
As soon as the pair had gone, Marie let the dog back in and lit a cigarette. Then, rooting her mobile phone out of her handbag, she dialled Frank’s number. As usual, his phone went straight to voicemail, but, this time, instead of hanging up, she decided to leave a message.
‘Frank, it’s Marie,’ she said, her chin wobbling as the reality of what she’d heard washed over her. ‘I know you’re not talking to me, but I really need to speak to you, so please pick up – it’s important.’
She waited a few seconds, to give him time to pick up if he was listening. He didn’t, so she said, ‘Look, something’s happened. I can’t tell you what it is over the phone, but the police are on their way to yours. Please call me back as soon as you can. And I’m sorry for what I said,’ she added, sniffing back a tear. ‘I was angry, but I didn’t mean it. You’ve been a great dad to Evan and Jo, and . . . Please just ring me back. Please.’
She cut the call at that and, dropping the cigarette into the ashtray, sobbed into the bewildered dog’s fur.
44
Frank was still in his room when the Transit pulled up outside, and he heard two sets of feet crunch across the gravel, followed by a key being slotted into the front door. It didn’t open, and Nick’s complaining voice rose up to him, saying, ‘Why the fuck’s he put the mortice on?’
‘Why d’ya think?’ Gaz replied gruffly.
The crunching started up again as the men walked round to the back of the house. A few seconds later, Nick bounded up the stairs and threw Frank’s door open.
‘Get your arse downstairs, Granddad. I’ve got a job for you.’
‘What kind of job?’ Frank eyed him warily from the chair.
‘Just fuckin’ move it, and quit asking stupid questions,’ Nick snapped, already moving to the next room. ‘Gaz . . . get up here!’ he yelled as he unlocked the door. ‘I ain’t doing this by myself!’
Unsure what the man had in mind for him, but all too aware that, whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good, Frank reluctantly got up and made his way out of the room. Viktorya popped her head out of the bedroom she was now sharing with Karel and Irena, but immediately withdrew it when she saw him and slammed the door shut.
Gaz was coming up the stairs as Frank walked down, and Frank saw the anger in his eyes as they passed and guessed that he and Nick had been arguing again.
Irena was in the kitchen pouring whisky into three glasses when Frank walked in. His mouth was parched, and he instinctively reached for one, but Irena threw out her arm to stop him.
‘No!’ she said sharply without looking at him. ‘These are for the others.’
Holding up his hands, Frank went over to the sink and poured a glass of water from the tap. He’d just taken a sip when Nick and Gaz came downstairs carrying a rolled-up quilt between them. It was filthy, but Frank instantly recognized it as being Evan’s, and his heart lurched painfully in his chest when he picked up on the all-too-familiar odour of death coming from it.
‘What are you going to do?’ he asked, staring in horror at the wispy hair sticking out of the top of the rolled quilt.
‘Shut it!’ Nick hissed, dropping his end of the bundle and shoving him forcefully down onto a chair. Then, turning to Gaz, who was carefully setting down his end, he said, ‘Quit fucking about, and go fetch the chainsaw. The pigs are waiting to be fed.’
Frank’s face drained of blood when he realized what was about to happen, and his heart was pounding so hard he thought he might faint.
‘Have drink first,’ Irena said, shoving the glasses into both men’s hands, before handing the third to Scotty, who had just come inside.
‘We’ll have it later,’ Nick said, eager to get on with things.
‘No!’ Irena said firmly. ‘You need be calm, or you will make mistake.’
It was the first time she’d sounded like her old self in weeks, and Gaz nodded.
‘She’s right,’ he said to Nick. ‘You’ve been acting like a fucking maniac all night, so drink it and calm down, or we could really mess this up.’
Nick tutted, and then downed the liquid in one.
‘There,’ he said, slamming the glass down on the ledge. ‘Happy now?’
Gaz nodded and sank his own drink, quickly followed by Scotty.
‘Right, get back outside and keep watch,’ Nick ordered Scotty. ‘Make sure there’s no sneaky farmers hanging about on the back field, ’cos I want this over with as quick as.’
‘Please don’t do this,’ Frank croaked. ‘It’s barbaric. Think about her parents—’
‘I thought I told you to shut it,’ Nick roared, kicking him and the chair over.
‘Pack it in!’ Gaz snapped. ‘We haven’t got time for this. If you’re gonna do it, just fuckin’ do it!’
Flashing him a dirty look, Nick pushed past him and made his way outside.
‘Please don’t let him do it,’ Frank begged Gaz as he hauled himself up off the floor. ‘You’re not like him, and I know you don’t agree with any of this. But it’s not too late to start over. I’ve got money; I can help you. You just need to—’
‘Oi, dickhead, don’t be telling him what he needs to do,’ Nick sneered, walking back in at that exact moment and kicking the door shut behind him. ‘He’ll do as he’s told – same as you. Now, quit snivelling like a little bitch, and start this fucker up.’
He shoved the rusted chainsaw he was carrying into Frank’s hands.
‘You’ll be doing the honours,’ he said, grinning nastily. ‘And no funny business, or the grunts’ll be getting double rations tonight.’
‘No!’ Frank spluttered, throwing the ancient piece of machinery onto the table. ‘I can’t!’
‘Oh, I think you can,’ Nick drawled. ‘Or your dickhead son is gonna—’
His voice petered out, and a look of confusion came into his eyes as he stumbled against the table.
‘What the fuck?’ he said, his voice sounding suddenly slurred.
At the exact same time, Gaz’s legs gave way, and Frank watched in confusion as the man sank slowly to the floor. A bang outside the back door brought Frank’s head around, and he gaped at Irena.
‘What’s going on?’
‘I have drug them,’ she replied coolly, her gaze fixed on Nick, who was still holding himself up on the edge of the table, desperately trying to fight the effects of whatever she’d given him.
‘You backstabbing fuckin’ whore,’ he wheezed, his head wobbling as he tried to focus on her face. ‘I’m gonna . . . fuckin’ . . . kill ya.’
‘I do not think so,’ she replied, her voice as icy as the glare in her eyes. ‘You are monster, and is your time to die, not mine.’
‘Irena, what the hell are you doing?’ Frank gasped, frozen to the spot as he watched her shove Nick onto the floor with her foot before skirting round him and reaching up to the top of the fridge for the key to the gun cabinet.
‘Is over,’ she said, her hands shaking wildly as she unlocked the cabinet and took out the shotgun. ‘I need make this stop before they hurt anyone else.’
‘But they’ve got Evan,’ Frank reminded her. ‘And they’re the only ones who know where he is. If you want out, go, I won’t try to stop you. But I need to stay. I’ll sign everything over to them, then they can do whatever they like with me. But I need to know Evan’s safe.’
‘Do not be a fool,’ Irena said, struggling to cock the gun so she could check if it was loaded. ‘They will never let him go. And they will never let you go, or me,’ she added. ‘As soon as we are marry, they will kill us both.’
Viktorya appeared in the doorway, and let out a little cry of fear when she saw the men on the floor.
‘What is happen?’ she asked, her voice tiny. ‘Where is Karel?’
‘Not here,’ said Irena, snapping the gun shut. ‘Do not worry, I am not blame you,’ she went on, her voice softening a little. ‘You are little girl, and you made choice to protect yourself. But you need go . . .’ She gestured toward the door. ‘Now, before they wake and is too late.’
‘No, you will shoot me,’ Viktorya cried, staggering backwards and running up the stairs.
A key turned in the lock of the front door, and Karel came into the hallway. Shedding his jacket as he walked, he didn’t notice what was happening until he reached the kitchen doorway. When he did, he stopped and looked at Irena before glancing down at Nick on the floor, then over to Gaz, before coming back to Irena.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ he growled. ‘Give me that, you stupid bitch!’
‘Stay there or I will shoot you,’ she warned, her teeth bared, her eyes filled with hatred as she aimed the gun at his chest. ‘I have suffer enough because of you, but this is finish. You took everything from me, and you made promises you were never going to keep. And after everything I did for you, you sell me to that monster and laugh at my pain. Now I have power, and you will let us go. But, first, you will tell Frankie where his son is.’
‘Is that right?’ Karel smirked, his narrowed eyes glittering brightly.
Before Irena could reply, the back door flew open and Jacko charged in, knocking her to the ground. The gun went off, and Frank fell to his knees and covered his head with his arms.
45
‘What was that?’ Strachan slammed her foot down on the brake pedal and gaped at Ogden.
‘Sounded like a shotgun going off inside,’ he said. ‘Put it in reverse, and back out slowly,’ he went on, his voice calm, his gaze fixed on the front door of the house they had just pulled onto the drive of.
Strachan did as he’d said and reversed back out onto the lane – and carried on going until she had put a couple of hundred feet between them and the house.
Ogden spoke into his radio as she killed the lights and climbed out, informing the dispatcher of the situation and giving the address.
Strachan was some way ahead when he finished the call, and he ran stealthily after her, sticking close to the hedgerow.
Touching her arm to stop her before she reached the driveway, he pointed to a gap in the hedge that would allow them to go down the side of the house without anyone seeing them. He had no idea what was going on in there, but the daughter-in-law had mentioned that the owner of the house used to own a shotgun before he’d retired from farming. She’d also said that she thought the man had got rid of it, but that meant there was a chance that he hadn’t, and he wasn’t taking the risk.
The two detectives made their way down the side of the hedge until they reached a gap through which they could see the back of the farmhouse. The kitchen light was on, and Strachan nudged her colleague and nodded toward the prone body of a man she’d spotted lying some feet away from the back door. Ogden saw it and gestured with a finger that they should go back to the car and wait for the ARU to arrive.
Before they could move, the back door opened, and a woman was shoved roughly outside. She fell and cried out in pain when she sprawled face down on the gravel. A man walked outside holding a shotgun.
‘Think you’re so fuckin’ clever, don’t you?’ he spat, aiming the gun at her back. ‘Well, let’s see how clever you are when your brains are splattered all over the fuckin’ countryside, eh?’
Strachan heard a click, and a rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins. She had a split second to act, but that was all it took for her to pull the Taser off her belt and throw herself through the hedge to get a clear shot at the man’s thick neck.
He started convulsing as soon as the wire attached itself, and Strachan, still half crouching, ran over and kicked the gun he’d dropped out of his reach.
Another man lurched out through the door, and Ogden yelled, ‘Stay where you are, or you’re gonna get the same!’
The man glanced at him, saw the Taser in his hand, and ran hell for leather across the garden, leaping over the fence into the field beyond.
‘Leave him!’ Strachan yelled when Odgen made to give chase.
Rushing over to the woman instead, Ogden dragged her out of the light spilling from the door as the beam of a helicopter’s spotlight cut through the clouds.
‘How many more of them are in there?’ he asked. ‘Are they armed?’
‘Two inside, but they are not conscious,’ Irena said. ‘I gave them drug, but they may wake soon. And him.’ She nodded toward Scotty, who was still lying motionless.
‘Are you sure?’ Ogden asked her. ‘There’s definitely no one else?’
‘Just Frankie and Viktorya,’ Irena said. ‘But they are innocent.’
Ogden nodded and crouch-ran over to Strachan. She’d cuffed Karel’s wrists by then, and had secured his ankles with cable ties, so she left him where he was and crept behind Ogden as he made his way to the kitchen door.
Still cowering in the corner, Frank held up his hands when he saw the Taser Ogden was aiming at him.
‘Any more in here?’ Ogden asked.
‘Only him,’ Frank nodded toward Gaz. ‘And the other one’s on the other side of the table. There’s a young girl upstairs,’ he added. ‘But she’s not part of this.’
Ogden nodded and waved for Strachan to enter.
She gazed down at Gaz and signalled for Ogden to tie him up before edging round the table to deal with the other one.
‘Holy fuck!’ she gasped, her eyes widening when she saw the blood and the hole in the man’s back. ‘This one’s had it, mate.’
Epilogue
Evan’s mates from work, the pub, and school, all stopped to shake Frank’s hand as they filed out of the crematorium.
‘So sorry, mate.’
‘He was a good lad, we’re gonna miss him.’
‘I can’t believe this, Mr Peters; I just can’t get my head around it . . . Why him? He never hurt a fly.’
‘If there’s anything you need, give us a shout, yeah?’
Thanking them all, one by one, Frank put his arm around Jo’s shoulders when she started sobbing.
‘Come on, love, it’ll be over soon,’ he said, kissing her head. ‘Give it a few more minutes, then we can go home.’
Sniffing back the tears, Jo raised her chin and shook her head.
‘I’m going to take Marie back to theirs,’ she said, glancing over at her sister-in-law, who was staring down at the mountain of flowers with a bereft look on her face. ‘I should never have told her about Evan and Irena. Now that’s the last memory she’s got of him, and he wouldn’t have wanted that. He was really happy that they’d sorted their differences out after all that nonsense, and he told me she’d been making a massive effort, so she didn’t deserve me telling her that. I’ve been such a horrible bitch to her.’
‘We all say things in anger,’ Frank consoled her. ‘But, yeah, go on . . . take her home. I’ll see you back at mine later. Unless you’d rather go to your place?’
‘I can’t, can I?’ Jo said, pulling a tissue out of her pocket. ‘The new tenants are moving in first thing.’
‘Well, your room’s there if you want it,’ Frank said, a wave of sadness washing over him when he remembered all the crying Irena had done in that room. ‘I’ll get Carmel to move her stuff into Evan’s room, ’cos I’m sure you won’t want to sleep where . . . you know.’
‘I thought you said she was leaving today?’ Jo sniffed.
‘She was going to, but I told her she could stay a bit longer,’ Frank said. Then, shrugging when Jo gazed up at him, he said, ‘Yvonne’s not got long, love, and Carmel hasn’t seen her for years, so what was I supposed to do? The cottage still stinks of dead cat and pig, and it needs fumigating, so she can’t stay there. And I’d hate to send her packing when her aunt could go anytime.’
‘Poor Yvonne,’ Jo sighed. ‘I wish I’d been here to—’
‘Don’t, love.’ Frank pulled her closer. ‘There was nothing you could have done to stop it. Evan tried, and look what happened to him.’
‘Oh, God. I can’t believe he’s gone, Dad.’
‘Me, neither,’ Frank said guiltily. ‘I’ll never forgive myself.’
‘Don’t you dare blame yourself,’ Jo chided, peering tearfully up into his eyes. ‘This was all Irena’s doing, not yours.’
‘No, it wasn’t,’ Frank said wearily. ‘She only did what they forced her to do. She had no choice in the matter, love.’
Nodding her acceptance, Jo sighed, and said, ‘Well, at least she managed to take one of them out before the others got arrested. Shame she didn’t get them all, though, eh?’
