Steven Dunne - The Disciple

Brook acknowledged her and pulled his trousers on, fastening them up as he skittered down the stairs to open the front door. On the way, he picked up the folder on Mike Drexler and put it in a desk drawer. For the first time since moving to Hartington, Brook had bolted his door and he slid it open as she turned away from the departing taxi.

‘Laura? What are you doing here?’

‘I’m here to go walking, remember?’

Shivering in his T-shirt, Brook looked at her. He hadn’t thought she was serious, but he beckoned her in and returned to the semi-warmth of the kitchen to turn on the kettle.

‘We said nine o’clock,’ he threw over his shoulder in mock admonishment.

‘Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting,’ she smiled back. ‘I had trouble finding a cab to come all this way.’

‘I’ll bet.’

‘Brought you the local paper.’

Brook looked across at the headline: CHIEF SUSPECT INNOCENT, SAYS REAPER DETECTIVE He smiled faintly and continued to make tea. ‘I suppose I’m back in the doghouse,’ he muttered, handing Grant a mug.

‘Not with us. Joshua doesn’t care. But I haven’t spoken to Charlton. There’s more,’ she said, turning to page three. ‘We got a DNA match from Stephen Ingham and Benjamin Anderson to the two samples taken from Annie Sewell’s sheltered accommodation the night she was murdered. Jason Wallis was telling the truth…’

‘…but not the whole truth,’ added Brook. Grant raised an eyebrow. ‘Never mind.’

Brook read the first few paragraphs then took his tea upstairs to get fully dressed. After a quick glance across at his neighbour’s house for signs of life, he returned to the kitchen to make a flask for his rucksack. ‘I didn’t have time to make sandwiches,’ he said.

Grant grinned at him. ‘I noticed. Didn’t you think I’d come?’

‘Honestly … no.’

‘I couldn’t sleep so I figured why not. I need a day to wash the case out of my brain.’ Brook smiled at her. ‘A day?’

‘All right. A month would be better, but it’s a start. I know Josh would’ve been talking it through all day in the car…’

‘About how and why I killed Harvey-Ellis?’

She smiled as they stepped out into the cold. ‘Day off, remember.’

‘We’ll see.’

They struck out down the lane into Hartington, past the Devonshire Arms and the post office and were almost through the village when Brook led them onto a path beside a municipal toilet building. Through the gate and following the path across fields, they eventually came to a small copse and stepped through another gate. Within a few minutes they were walking next to the River Dove, following the heavy winter waters through the steep-sided valley. They met few other walkers and were content to walk in silence for the first hour.

At a small footbridge over a tributary, Brook swung off his rucksack and poured two cups of tea from his flask. ‘I didn’t bring sugar.’

‘That’s fine.’

They sat against a large rock, sipping their tea. It was ten minutes before Grant spoke again. ‘You know, there’s one thing I’ve begun to understand about the Reaper murders, Damen.’

‘What?’

‘That one of the reasons he chooses who his victims are going to be is to make us question whether we care about what he’s done. And, whether we like it or not, because we realise that the dead aren’t going to be missed, we don’t do our job properly…’

‘I hope-’

‘No, I don’t mean we don’t do everything we’re supposed to do to catch him. We’re professionals after all. It’s just that … it doesn’t matter as much. When we see crowds cheering The Reaper outside the Ingham house, we’re not disgusted — surprised maybe, even a little amused, but we’re never going to go that extra mile as we would for a murdered toddler or a beaten pensioner. Do you know what I mean?’

Brook nodded. ‘I think so.’

‘I suppose what I’m trying to say is that I can see Harvey-Ellis died for a legitimate reason. It’s hard to care that he’s dead. Whoever killed him, if it’s because of the way he behaved in life … then, I guess that doesn’t mean his killer is necessarily a bad person.’

Brook smiled. ‘Is this where I say “gee thanks” and you throw the cuffs on me?’

Grant smiled. ‘It wasn’t meant as a trap.’ She looked at him. ‘Besides, you didn’t kill Harvey-Ellis, did you?’

Brook looked back at her, once again feeling a surge of admiration for her abilities. Day off or not, he knew he’d have to be on his guard. ‘When’s your train?’

‘Six o’clock tonight.’

Brook checked his watch. ‘If we walk to Alstonefield we can have lunch at the George. Taxi back to my place and I’ll run you into town for six.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Where’s your luggage?’

‘At the hotel.’

Brook packed the flask into his rucksack and they set off again. The sky had darkened and a light rain began to fleck their clothing. A half-hour later they approached a wooden footbridge across the river and Grant crossed as Brook removed his boot to shake out a stone. With his boot retied, Brook climbed over the bridge and followed Grant steadily up the steep path. She skipped up the gradient but Brook caught her at the top of the slope where they both sat panting. Brook made his three thousandth resolution to give up smoking for good.

Once rested, they followed the footpath past a YMCA and onto the road, into the pretty village of Alstonefield. The George sat on a small triangular green and, after kicking off their boots and ordering a couple of pints, they were soon sitting in front of a roaring log fire to contemplate the menu.

‘So why did you do it?’

‘Do what?’

‘Brief that journalist. Not a great career move.’

‘I’ve not had a great career, Laura.’ He took a sip of his beer.

‘I did it because they’re innocent.’

‘In the face of all the evidence.’

‘Yes.’

‘Is this just a feeling or something more concrete? I’d like to know. For the interview.’

‘It’s not them, Laura. They’re…’ Brook remembered his conversation with Drexler the previous night ‘…civilians.’

‘Civilians.’

‘Yes. The Reaper is fighting a war against ugliness and there’s no room for civilians. They get in the way.’

‘But Ottoman was at the scene. The DNA doesn’t lie.’

‘I can’t help that, Laura. But when we get them back to Derby we’ll ask him.’

‘Think Charlton will want you on the interview, Damen?’

‘He may not want me on the case. I have a bad habit of getting myself removed from investigations. That’s why you need to know. So you can ask him.’

‘What should I ask him?’

‘Keep it simple. Ask him why he was there, why he got his prints on the scalpel and his DNA on the fence. Ask him why on earth he would kill everybody present except Jason, the one person he and his wife must hate above all others. Ask him why he made the call to the emergency services. Ask where the second mountain bike is.’

‘We don’t know for certain that there ever was a second bike.’

‘Two killers. Two bikes. Ask him.’

Their sandwiches and chips arrived and they waited for the waitress to leave but the conversation had dried up and they ate in silence apart from the cracking and spitting of the logs. When the food was finished, Brook stretched out his legs and closed his eyes.

‘So why didn’t he kill Jason Wallis?’ asked Grant finally.

‘Wrong question, Laura. Ottoman didn’t kill anyone.’

Grant smiled and shook her head. ‘Why not?’ Brook flicked a glance at her. ‘Flip it over, Damen.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Okay. Assume he’s there by accident. Assume he didn’t kill the Inghams. Assume what you like, but Ottoman was there. And the person he hates most in the world was there, helpless before him. He had the scalpel in his hand — we know he did. So even if he didn’t kill the Inghams, it’s all set up. Why not just do it? It’s the right question. You were on the scene alone at one point. If Wallis had hurt you in some way, could you have killed him?’