Down in the Woods Read online

  “Do you have any evidence to support this speculation?” asked the solicitor. “If so, I kindly request you reveal it now.”

  “Not yet I don’t.”

  “In that case I am going to advise my client to say nothing until there is a proper case to answer and you have brought a formal charge to the table.”

  “Are you going to take that advice Mr Hetherington-Jones?”

  “I am, yes.”

  “In that case; interview terminated nine-twenty-four. You are free to leave.”

  Once they were alone, Chadwick said to Collins, “I guess that was the outcome you expected?”

  “Aye, it was. It had to be done though.”

  “Shouldn’t you have gathered a bit more evidence first?”

  “The truth is that I don’t believe there is any worthwhile evidence to gather. On the other hand, if his trips to the forest had been a cry for help, a release from sin, I think he would have spilled the beans this morning.”

  “You’ll not let it rest there though, will you?”

  “No. In fact I wanted to ask you if you mind me sending over my sergeant in addition to our liaison officer. DS Harrington, you’ll like him, just don’t get him onto the subject of boats.”

  “No objection at all, but what’s his brief?”

  “I’ve put him in charge of investigating Hetherington-Jones, just in case it turns out one of the women he’s done the deed with has gone missing. Harrington is good at pursuing the historical stuff, Cambridge and the like, but I was hoping your team might help him with the women closer to home.”

  “Are you telling me we need to establish the name of every woman Hetherington-Jones has screwed since he moved here?”

  “That’s one way of attacking it. Alternatively you start the other end.”

  “How do you mean? Check national missing person lists and investigate if he might have shagged them?”

  “Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Chas is good at that sort of thing. Hetherington-Jones travels around the country a bit as well, doesn’t he?”

  “He does. Chas and Harrington are the same bloke, are they?”

  “Sorry. Yes, DS Charles Harrington. As I say, you’ll like him.”

  “It doesn’t matter if I like him or not. All I ask is he gets the job done without upsetting any of my team. They’re professional and know what they are doing. If Harrington is the same, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

  “There won’t be. Thanks. Did you pick up the preliminary pathology report I left on the front desk for you? Our mystery woman was injected in the neck just like Halle.”

  “Halle? Who the bloody hell is Halle?”

  Collins let out one of his little chuckles and said, “The woman that was discovered in Epping Forest. Chas had the hots for Halle Berry at the time, you know, the Bond girl.”

  “Should we call the latest one Ursula then? I think she was the best looking Bond girl ever.”

  “Why not? Halle and Ursula, at least until we know better.”

  “What were you saying about an injection?”

  “Both of them had been injected in the neck with something. Two injections like vampire bite marks. No discernable traces of sedatives or anything unusual in the blood, though. So if anything was injected, it passed through their systems while they were tied to the tree. It also adds to a medical link we were formulating.”

  “Is that because of the surgical cotton-wool in the mouth?”

  “Yes. It was a different brand, but to all intents and purposes it was the same stuff.”

  “Do you have anything else down medical lines?”

  “At one stage we did consider the idea that the person who strung up Halle knew it would be a long, slow, lingering death for her, but had to accept that it could equally well be someone without any medical training who had absolutely no idea how long it would take her to die. If you choose a location where they are unlikely to be discovered, they will die eventually, the length of time is irrelevant.”

  “Again, the fact that Halle was seemingly injected with something pointed down the medical road, but the injections were not intravenous, they were more like perpendicular stabs. You or I could whack a syringe into a woman’s neck and empty it into her. Which only left the question; where did the killer get the syringes from?”

  “Did it have to be syringes? Could he not have just jabbed some needles into her neck.”

  “The thought had occurred to us, in the end we decided to keep an open mind on that one. It will be interesting to see if your Ursula sheds any more light on that aspect of the investigation.”

  Before Collins was back in London, Anna heard footsteps coming down the passageway. The shadow of two feet appeared under the door and the lock turned. When the door opened, a man she had not seen before was standing there. He was holding a carrier bag in his left hand.

  “Fucking hell,” he muttered quietly as he scanned the flat.

  He turned and lifted each foot in turn from the sticky floor. His movements were exaggerated. His actions were like those of a man walking through something he did not want to walk through.

  He turned to face Anna who was looking at him with hope burnt into her eyes.

  “Crikey, couldn’t you clean this place up.”

  “It would only get filthy again.”

  “Are you Anna by any chance?”

  “I am.”

  “There aren’t any other women here, are there?”

  “Only men, they are in the bedroom. All the other women have gone.”

  “Right you are. That’s what Freddy said, just the one bird.”

  “No birds. There is only me and five men.”

  “You’re the bird darling.” He laughed and shook his head. “Right, I’ll not come any further if you don’t mind. In a jiffy I want you to walk out of here. I’ll not be far behind you. When you get outside, turn left. Walk up to the main road, turn left again. Take the next left after that. Then you’ll be walking back towards this building, but on the road out the back. Got it?”

  Anna nodded. Understanding him had not been easy, but she believed she had the key points.

  “You’ll see a small blue car, a Fiat Panda, parked on the road out the back. I’ll be inside it. You just open the door and get in. Don’t look around, don’t hesitate, just get in.”

  “No hesitation, just get in.”

  “Oh fuck, I nearly forgot. Put this wig on.” He reached into the carrier bag and passed her a wig made from medium length blonde hair.

  Anna tucked her rucksack between her knees and reached out for the wig.

  “How is that?” she asked after putting it on and positioning it as best she could without a mirror.

  “Just pull the left side down a millimetre or two.”

  She placed the palm of her hand on the left side and moved it a fraction.

  “Fucking hell darling,” exclaimed the slim man. “You look just like my Julie. Off you go.” He opened the door for her.

  The walk round the block had been quite traumatic. Everyone was looking at her. Was it the silly blonde wig? Did she look like a prostitute? Did they suspect her of being an illegal immigrant? Her mind was screaming at her to keep going in a straight line and tear the wig off once she found somewhere out of the way. Anton’s voice in her head told her to keep going round to the car. She kept going round.

  There were two small blue cars on the back road, only the second had someone sitting behind the wheel. Only her heart hesitated as she pulled open the door. It started beating again when her eyes confirmed it was the man with the wig.

  “Well done darling. You can call me Dave. Well, to be honest, everyone calls me Dave. That’s because it’s my name like. Don’t sit there clutching that bag darling. Put it down between your legs. Once we get going, take out the envelope and put it in the glove box. No, not now! Do it when we are moving.”

  Anna quickly put her hands on her thighs.

  “Sorry to have shouted at you babe, but pe
ople could be watching. I’ll explain things as we drive down to the terminal. Try to relax.”

  Relax was the last thing Anna did as he turned in a direction that would take them away from where she had seen the port from the flat window.

  “Where are we going?” Her voice trembled.

  “You and me girl, are going round and round the block. Never look like you are heading where you are going.”

  Finally he drove up through some light industrial units and turned up a slip road onto a motorway. The road swung round to the left and there it was in front of them. The ferry terminal was a wonderful sight.

  “Now pretty soon we will be joining a queue to board a boat. Your ticket was bought separately, so if anyone asks, me and you met in a bar opposite the railway station last night. We fucked in my hotel room and I offered you a ride in my car.” He laughed. “It’s not too far from the truth as it happens. I did fuck someone who looks just like you last night. My Julie, that is.”

  They came off a large roundabout and into the port area. Dave joined the left-hand queue of two. The right was two cars shorter, but he did not want Anna ending up next to the booth window.

  “Don’t get nervous girl, but that ahead of us is UK passport control. In their wisdom they have decided to check cars this side of the ditch rather than the other.”

  “Do you want my passport?” Anna started unzipping the outside pocket of her rucksack.

  “No I fucking don’t. The last thing I want to be is caught in possession of your fucking passport. Keep up girl. You’re just a bird I fucked last night. I never saw this passport until you gave it to me five minutes ago.” He tapped the uppermost of two British passports on his lap. If push comes to shove, I leave you to explain where you got it from and Julie reports it missing in two weeks time.”

  He turned to see the anxious expression on Anna’s face.

  “Don’t go all wobbly on me darling. First thing to say is don’t go lighting a cigarette or popping a stick of chewing gum into your mouth, that’s a dead give-away. I’ll hand over these two passports. The guy in the booth will drop his head and cop a look at you. Look him in the eye and say to yourself; Dover here I come, and then drop your eyes to the handbrake. As I say don’t worry, it will be a piece of piss. This tin can is too small to have illegals hidden in the boot or excessive alcohol stashed under the seats. The packs of Stella Artois on the back seat will make it look kosher.”

  “If I think it is needed, I may grope your thigh. Don’t flinch. Remember, I fucked your brains out last night.”

  “Why can you not speak English? This is hard for me.”

  “Just do as I say. And less of your lip.”

  Anna fought back an overwhelming urge to hug and kiss him. It had worked; Dave had got her onto the ferry. England was less than three hours away. They were now walking through the self-service restaurant area. Dave guided her down the stairs at the far end and onto a seat at the back of the rear-deck area. Most passengers venturing the cold sea breeze took up seats closer to the stern.

  “Thank you, Dave. You are an, how do you say it? You are a good man. I under… underestimated you.”

  “Huh, tell Freddy that would you? I have to say darling; that was one hell of a shit-hole you were in back there. When Freddy said they had new accommodation, I was expecting something a bit better than that.”

  “I am still alive. This is good. Where is the toilet?”

  “Back up through the restaurant and out the other side. If I remember correctly, the ladies loo is on the left.”

  “I must go.”

  “You go darling, but don’t talk to anyone and come straight back.”

  Fifteen minute later, Anna returned. The ship’s crew were just finishing the task of winding in the ropes. The engines were turning up the grey water into a white froth.

  “Bloody hell girl, I thought you were never coming back.”

  “I have a problem.” She patted her lower stomach. “Could you get me some good food? Do they have English fish and chips?”

  “If you have Dehli belly, you don’t want greasy fish and chips. I’ll get you a baguette.” Dave got to his feet and put his hand on her shoulder. “You wait here.”

  After reversing out of the dock, the ferry was turning through one-eighty in a more open part of the harbour when Dave returned.

  “No cheddar I’m afraid, just Froggie Camembert. Don’t these silly sods realise most people on this boat will have had enough of French food by the time they are going home.”

  “This is good.” Anna resisted the temptation to snatch it from him and waited for him to pass it across.

  “You look like a Pepsi Light girl rather than full fat. Is this okay?” He held out a large blue paper cup with a plastic lid that had a straw through it.

  “I think you would say, fucking marvellous,” she smiled. “How can I thank you?”

  “Steady girl,” laughed Dave. “If Freddy was escorting you he would be humping you in a cabin by now. I could get tempted mind, you do have a lovely blowjob mouth.”

  Anna sucked on the straw. “What is a blowjob mouth?”

  “Kissable lips, let’s just say you have kissable lips.”

  Anna leant forward and kissed him. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet, there’s still one more dustbin to jump.”

  The sparkle in Anna’s eye evaporated.

  “You’ll be fine. We have a cunning plan. Enjoy your food and drink.”

  For a while, the ferry ran parallel to the beach. Anna enjoyed watching the French coastline drift by.

  It was ten minutes after the ferry turned to starboard that Dave rose to his feet and said, “Let me put that lot in a bin for you and then we need to go upstairs.”

  He guided her back up through the restaurant. As they passed the toilets, Anna deviated into the Ladies without saying a thing.

  This time her visit took less than ten minutes. She followed Dave out onto the upper port deck and stood by his side as he leant on the railing.

  “If you look ahead, that’s England. Have you heard of the White Cliffs of Dover?”

  “I have, yes. They have bluebirds over them.”

  “Huh. That’s sweet, that is. You won’t be seeing any bluebirds today though. But this next bit is important, so listen up. In about ten minutes another man will come and stand to your left. He will stand quite close. Don’t move away from him. If anyone else is within earshot, smile and ask him if he bought anything. He’ll say no, and then all three of us will stand here having a chat for a while. I will then vanish into thin air.”

  “What will you do?”

  “Move away darling, and leave you with your new man.”

  “I want you to take me to London.”

  “No can do. Too risky. We have a good plan and we are sticking to it.”

  “Who is this man?”

  “He’s the guy you went off and found. The one you promised to shag if he gave you a lift to Manchester.”

  “I do not want to go to Manchester. I will shag you. You take me to London.”

  “No darling, he won’t really take you to Manchester. Not unless he thinks he’s being followed that is. He will drop you at a train station of his choice and give you a small wedge of sterling to get you through the first twenty-four hours. You will give him Julie’s passport back.”

  “I do not have Julie passport.”

  “Yes you do. It’s in the front pocket of your rucksack.”

  Anna dropped her hand down to the rucksack.

  “No, don’t look now,” said Dave sharply. “Believe me, it is there.”

  “I believe you. You are a good man.”

  “I try, but life’s not been kind to me. I managed to go through five jobs and five redundancies before I was twenty-eight. I want to give this up, but it pays for Julie’s hair-dos. That reminds me; give Scotty the wig as well.”

  Anna looked down at the water streaming under the ferry. She started to feel queasy. She blew o
ut her cheeks.

  “No, don’t puke. Look at the horizon. Look at the White Cliffs. They’ll make you feel better.”

  Anna took his advice and also breathed deeply.

  “Why must you leave me?”

  “I shouldn’t really explain this but you don’t strike me as the sort of bird to scupper the chances of your compatriots. Scotty will have you through customs and immigration before my lawnmower engine has finished dragging my car up the flyover. If immigration on the Froggie side happens to have sent over the signal for me to be turned over, they will find fuck-all, and you will be winging your way up the A2 towards London. What’s more, my alibi will be as tight as a virgin’s pussy.”

  “I have a book. Would you like to read it? It will improve your English.”

  “Oh, that’s priceless girl. Here I am helping the likes of you take over my country and you’re telling me I don’t speak the Queen’s English. Mind, the more lookers like you that drink in our boozers, the better. Maybe if we bump into each other sometime, you could thank me Freddy style.”

  “I would like that.” Anna did not fully comprehend what Dave had said, but the answer she gave seemed to be the right thing to say at the time.

  “Keep looking at the horizon darling.” He grinned and turned his head sideways.

  Anna admired the quality of his teeth. Anton did not have good teeth, he could not afford them.

  “I had a friend in the flat. Rashida. Do you know where Rashida is?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t help you there, love.”

  Anna cleared her throat. “She has plumb cheeks.”

  “Plumb cheeks? What the fuck are they when they are at home? Are they purple or something?”

  “Plumb cheeks.” She pinched her own cheek. A sharp pain reminded her of the man that hit her.

  “Oh, you mean plump. Plumb cheeks,” he laughed.

  “Have you seen her? She left in early morning.”

  “I don’t have a HGV license girl. I wouldn’t want to get into that game even if I did. This suits me just fine. You’re the lucky bird that got first class service.”

  “Does Rashida not go this way? First class like me?”

  “I doubt it love. She will probably be in a packing crate with a bottle of water and a small oxygen cylinder for company. I hope for her sake she hasn’t got stomach problems like you have. That would be grim, wouldn’t it? It must be fucking awful anyway. I don’t know why the likes of you don’t just stay in France. It would be a damn sight easier. Then again, France is full of Froggies, isn’t it?”