‘It could be, but do you really think he would risk his newfound freedom to come back here and cut someone’s head off? I don’t think so. We probably just have another copycat who wants to go to the Henry Smith Hall of Fame.’
Will wanted to agree with him but it didn’t feel right. Why dump the head in Bowness and what were the chances of Jake finding it when he was with Annie? Why not dump the whole body in Bowness? If she was last seen in Barrow then it looked like whoever it was wanted Annie or Jake to find that head, and why would someone want that? His phone began to ring and he relaxed to see Annie’s number flashing on his screen.
‘Afternoon, what’s up?’
‘Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you.’
Stu was sitting at his desk sticking a finger down his throat and making gagging noises, and the others were all giggling. Will gave him two fingers and walked out of the office, letting the door slam shut behind him.
‘What are you on today? I suppose you’ve got loads of house-to-house to do. How’s it going?’
‘Nope, I’m on response. Cathy told me I was to keep well out of it and answer any jobs that came in. I’m with a brand new special called George who has very kindly offered to be the OIC in charge of a break-in at the rugby club. He’s taking a statement at this very moment in time.’
‘Oh, that’s a relief then. I can’t wait to see you. Do you want to go out for tea or should I pick something up on my way home?’
‘I’d rather you pick something up. I just want to go home and put my pyjamas on and drink wine.’
‘Such a high-maintenance, glamorous woman you are to keep. I don’t know how my bank balance will ever survive.’
She laughed and the sound made his heart skip a beat.
‘I told you I wasn’t after you for your money. Did you not believe me?’
‘Not really, but I’m overjoyed that you’re just after my body.’
‘See you later. And, Will, please can you stop off at the shop and pick up some blue-top milk and a box of Coco Pops. I just fancy some; I haven’t had them for years.’
‘No champagne or expensive chocolates? I’m offering.’
‘No, thank you.’
‘Okay, see you later. Be careful and don’t work poor George too hard. I love you.’
‘I love you too. Bye.’
She ended the call and he typed a reminder into his phone because he had a terrible memory and the last thing he wanted to do was forget when the nearest shop was miles away from where they lived.
When he walked back into the office they had all calmed down and were busy typing away. He was lucky he worked with such a good team of people. It could be much worse. They could all be class-one tossers. He sat down and decided to ring Grace Marshall, the forensic psychologist who had been there when Henry was captured and had also been Henry’s doctor in the secure hospital. He dialled her number and swore when she didn’t pick up either; he wasn’t having a very good day.
‘Stu, can you ring DS whatever his name is right now and find out what the latest update on Smith is, please.’
Stu pointed to the phone that was being held up to his ear by his shoulder.
‘Already on it, boss – just on hold while they transfer me.’
Will nodded. ‘Nice one, Stu.’
Will sat down and began to write a list of the bars, hotels, clubs and shops around the Town Hall perimeter. He would ask a couple of his trusted PCSOs to sit and view all of the CCTV footage that had been seized the night of Beth’s disappearance. Something might have been missed in the first raft of inquiries. It had to be watched in real time for anything that could give them a lead. Someone had to have lured Beth O’Connor away from her party and it could have been on foot, by car, van or motorbike. They couldn’t afford to leave anything unchecked because they needed a lead and they needed it now, not in three weeks’ time. He printed several copies of the list out and handed them to the newest member of the team, Detective Constable Jack Manning.
‘Do me a favour; can you print out enough copies of Henry Smith’s most recent mug shot the hospital sent and find enough clipboards to put the photo and a copy of the list on? Then go find me some PCSOs. I want every shop, bar, hotel and takeaway revisited just in case something was missed the first time.’
Jack nodded and disappeared out of the office in search of some clipboards. Stu couldn’t help but grin to himself; this was a turn-up for the books because it was normally him who got the crap jobs.
Chapter Six
Henry parked the van outside the caravan, which was tucked away at the back of the park, right next to the huge evergreen hedge that ran alongside Beckett House. It was an ugly caravan, so no wonder it was hidden out of sight, but it suited their needs perfectly. He’d never been in a caravan before the last four months, and now he’d lived in not one but two of them. He couldn’t complain, though. At least there were no heavy-duty metal doors or bars across the windows to keep him inside and he could come and go as he pleased, within reason.
He had made a small hole directly behind the caravan in the hedge, so he could get in and out of the gardens and boathouse to the big rambling house, which had seen better days. A couple of times he’d seen the old woman staring out of the bedroom window but she never looked his way. She always looked out onto the lake. Henry had watched her for weeks. He was very good at that so he knew exactly what happened and who came in and out of the house.
The boathouse was directly behind the hole he’d made so it gave him the perfect cover to go in and out unseen. When he’d lifted the window and climbed through he’d been surprised to see the boat in there, which for its age was in excellent condition. It had taken him a week to clean it up and check there were no holes in it, then he had gone out there one night when it was really windy and tried the engine. It had taken four attempts and on his last one, before he gave it up, it had started, and he’d jumped up and down like a kid at Christmas. He would be able to take it in and out of the boathouse whenever he needed it because the window the woman looked out of faced in the opposite direction, and he hoped that her eyesight wasn’t very good, along with her hearing. Judging by the state of the rusted-up lock on the main door into the building it hadn’t been opened for a very long time. It was a shame to let it go to waste. There was an upper galley that had a rusted table and chairs and enough room to throw down a sleeping bag should he need somewhere to hide.
Megan wanted to kill again. She kept begging and begging and was wearing him down. He had tried his best to hide from her the thrill he had got watching her cut the woman’s throat. Between them they had gagged her and then killed her. They didn’t have any clippers so Megan had cut big chunks of hair off so it was a mess. She had insisted their victim must have long hair she played with constantly. He hadn’t particularly enjoyed cutting her head off. It was too messy and a lot harder than he’d imagined, but there was no way he could have hidden her body. He’d been able to carry her head in a rucksack and shove it under the boathouse when it was still dark, just before daybreak, and there was no one around.
Megan got out and slammed the door shut, which really irritated him beyond belief.
‘Sorry, I forgot.’
And then she ran up the steps and went inside, leaving him sitting there contemplating his next move. He was so jealous that she had seen Annie close up today. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his entire life. She had looked so tiny last night compared to that big brute she always seemed to be with. Her face had been a mask of horror when she’d seen the head. He’d watched the whole thing play out from the safety of the boat, which they’d moored on the lake, far enough away not to arouse suspicion but near enough that with a pair of binoculars they could watch everything that went on.