Peter James - You Are Dead

It was the smile on the doctor’s face as he told the story that Roy Grace found the most disturbing — the sheer, gloating relish.

‘These three chaps — my original projects — if I’d let them loose on the world, God knows what havoc they would have wreaked. We’ve all been better off with them safely contained. Just like I contained that ghastly Mandy White all those years ago. She rejected me, because she wasn’t smart enough to understand my true value. Katy Westerham and Denise Patterson were both women I dated, who rejected me. All three of them had one thing in common: long brown hair. Clearly that was a sign of something evil. Evil that needed correction. It made them ideal projects. ’

Crisp went almost cross-eyed for an instant. His face twitched, and he was rubbing his hands together as if soaping them. He leaned back in his chair for some moments and closed his eyes with a contented smile on his face. Then he opened them again. ‘I’m sure you are wondering why the long gap between the first two girls, and Emma and Ashleigh, aren’t you? The truth is, Detective Superintendent Grace, that I thought I had found redemption in my wife and children. Then a few months ago I found out the bitch was having an affair. I’d been fooled all along. These women are vermin. Toxic. Fortunately I hadn’t stopped my hunting activities and I had a rich cache of fresh projects. I did wonder if the problem was me, and I tried to get help recently, but the shrink didn’t want to understand me. No one does. I knew the game was over here when that sodding dog bit me. You’re a good cop, Detective Superintendent, but you’ve had a lot of help on the way. I’ve never had any help. But I’m philosophical. There comes a time when the hunter has to move on. The prey might be the same but the backdrop will be different.’

Grace watched, intently. The more he looked at the doctor, the crazier the man seemed. One moment so smug, so self-satisfied, so assured; the next, quivering, confused, almost vacant.

‘Do please tell the families of Harrison, Marcus and Felix from me, that I would have liked to have said it had been nice knowing them, but I hate to lie. I can tell you that what I did to them for the time I kept them alive changed them for the better. But even so, the world has been a better place without them.’

Crisp leaned forward and smiled. ‘Oh, and one more thing. Actually, two. Firstly, give them all a special message at your next press conference, from the Brighton Brander. Tell them the fat lady ain’t sung yet. And, secondly, in the words of one American serial killer replying to the judge who sentenced him to death, a few years ago, “Have a good time on earth, sugar.” Oh, and thirdly, I’m sure you would like to know how my projects each died? I made love to them, using protection of course — I would never be reckless — after kissing them goodbye by placing my lips tight over theirs, sucking their last breath out of their lungs, and then drowning them. That way I possessed them forever. They were never going to reject me again. It felt so good, so incredibly good. It’s a feeling you’ll never know. But trust me, it’s good! And it’s one I’m going to have again. Many times! A word of warning to you and your clever team, Detective Superintendent. Don’t try to find me. Not unless you’d like me to possess you all forever, too! I have nothing to lose, I never had. You have everything — a lovely little son, a beautiful wife and a delightful new home. I’d hate you never to see any of them again. Really I would. Trust me!’

He gave a dinky little wave. ‘Bye for now!’

The screen went blank.

Sunday 21 December

There was an enormous sense of relief at the second of the day’s briefings, in the conference room of Sussex House, that the female police officer, Louise Masters, and Logan Somerville were safe. But with the knowledge of the terrible suffering Dr Crisp had inflicted on his three former school colleagues, before murdering them, and the fact that he was still at large, the atmosphere was subdued and focused.

Earlier that afternoon both Logan Somerville, accompanied by some of her family, and Louise Masters, had visited the Incident Room at Sussex House to meet the team that had been working on the investigation, and to thank them personally for their efforts. Grace was pleased to see that Logan seemed to be coping well with the trauma of her ordeal.

A new whiteboard had been added to the row behind Roy Grace, on which were two photographs. One was of Logan Somerville imprisoned in the box in Crisp’s cellar, the other showed a close-up of the branded words on her thigh, about two inches across and half an inch high.

U R DEAD

Several new faces were gathered in the crammed conference room, including the senior surveillance officer, Pete Darby, and the diminutive but extremely tough POLSA Sergeant Lorna Dennison-Wilkins, who was in charge of the search of Crisp’s house and the caravan.

‘Into tunnelling passages, is he?’ Norman Potting said. ‘If I get my hands on him first, he’s going to find those words branded up his own back passage.’

There was a titter of laughter and even Roy Grace smiled, glad to see Potting had regained some of his former, if terrible, humour. His watch said 6.30 p.m. but out of habit he checked it against the wall clock, and then against the one on his phone. He stifled a yawn. Earlier in the day, after the morning press conference, he had gone into the Chief Superintendent’s large, empty office, phoned Cleo to update her, then kicked off his shoes, loosened his shirt and tie and slept for two hours on his boss’s sofa.

Although he had showered and freshened up in the Major Incident suite washroom, and used the change of clothing he kept in his locker, he still felt grungy and his eyes were raw, as if they had been rubbed with sandpaper. But he did not care. The adrenaline was pumping again. He felt the scent of the chase — accompanied by a growing darkness of despair.

The Surveillance Team had not seen anyone leave either Crisp’s own residence nor the derelict house next door. Yet Crisp had gone into Brighton, abducted Louise Masters and brought her back. How?

And where the hell was he now? No one had seen him leave either premises. Yet every available search officer in Sussex and Surrey had been drafted in, spending the day going through both properties inch by inch. If Crisp was there, wherever he was hiding, they would have found him.

He looked down at his notes. ‘As you all know from this morning’s briefing, following our rescue of Logan Somerville and PC Louise Masters, we made a number of significant discoveries at the Tongdean Villas residence of Dr Edward Crisp, and the derelict property next door,’ he said. ‘Financial work is being done on Crisp, but we are restricted by it being a weekend. However, paperwork found in a filing cabinet indicates that he owned the derelict property via a Liechtenstein company. We don’t know at this stage whether that was for tax reasons or to ensure he was never connected to the place. We believe at some point during the early evening of yesterday, 20 December, he fled — possibly leaving the country, although we have no intelligence on any other links Crisp may have had abroad. We have requested all UK forces to do searches for any homicides that match the Crisp profile, and, of course, we’ve asked Europol to take a special look at Liechtenstein.’

He sipped his coffee. ‘Tanja Cale and Guy Batchelor went to see Crisp’s wife earlier today, and she is going to be interviewed formally tomorrow. But according to their initial report she had suffered years of bullying abuse at his hands, and had finally left because she couldn’t take it any more.’ He looked at DS Cale. ‘Do you have anything to add at this stage, Tanja?’