Damaged

  She looked at Joseph and tried to smile. ‘I’m sorry, darling, I was miles away. You know what it’s like when you are thinking!’

  She gulped at her wine and tried to look interested in what her husband was saying to her, but it was difficult. She was alert enough now to realise that he was worried about her, and she knew that she had to allay his fears, so she said seriously, ‘I have a lot on my mind, darling. You know me, I take things too much to heart.’ She saw Joseph close those beautiful blue eyes of his and she carried on talking to drown out the voice in her head. ‘It’s Kate. I worry that she doesn’t like me. I try with her, darling, but you know she isn’t really my kind of woman. A bit too full of herself. And the hold she has over Patrick . . .’

  Joseph had been hearing this since day one and, against his better judgement, he snapped at his wife suddenly. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, Bella, she has been with him for years. She has made us very welcome, and I’m sorry to say this but it’s you who is the problem, not Kate.’

  Joseph had drunk a bit too much this evening. It had been a wrench to leave Christine after their usual Friday-night tryst and come back to this unhappy home, and he wasn’t in the mood for games. Because that is exactly what they were, games. Mind games! The same games that his wife had been playing ever since he had first clapped eyes on her. He only wished he had realised earlier that his mother had been right, and if he had listened to her he might not be in the position he was in now. But he had not wanted to hear anything against Bella, because he had seen her as this tiny girl who needed looking after. Well, he now knew that she could more than look after herself.

  His mother had questioned why she had nothing to do with her parents, and why she seemed to have no female friends. But he had not listened to her, because he had been so enamoured of Bella and her complete reliance on him. How had he not seen that she was sucking the life from him? His mother had understood that from the start; she had worked out how to deal with Bella, and that had stood her in good stead, because she had kowtowed to his wife and told her everything she needed to hear. He had done the same, but he had not understood that until recently. She was not just odd – Bella was seriously damaged, and he was beginning to realise the truth of that.

  Suddenly he felt guilty and asked, ‘Are you OK, Bella?’ He was frightened for her in his own way.

  Bella sipped at her wine once more and, grinning, she said nastily, ‘Oh, I might have known you would take darling Kate’s part! I mean, since the moment you met her you have been in her corner.’

  Joseph looked at his wife as if he had never really seen her before. That she had taken against Kate from the beginning had been obvious to everyone, including Kate. Her ‘girlie lunch’ had fooled no one, and it seemed that even Bella had recognised that much. He sighed in annoyance, all sympathy lost.

  ‘Listen to yourself, Bella. Kate is a nice woman, and she and my father have been together for years. Do you honestly think that you could ever come between them? And, more to the fucking point, why would you want to? It’s not like she has ever done anything except be nice to you, is it? But you, being you, have to ruin it all, not just for yourself but for everyone else concerned.’

  He knew that he should shut up, but he couldn’t stop himself. For the first time in years he was saying what he really thought, and that felt good. In the past, his mother had been the mediator, the voice of reason. But that was by the by now. He was sick of Bella, and he was sick of listening to her and her negativity. He was looking for an out. He wanted to be with Christine, and even his children weren’t enough to keep him in this sham of a marriage.

  Bella felt like she had been slapped. Oh, if only this man would see what was in front of his face for once! ‘You think that Kate has welcomed me? Us? I can’t believe you are that naïve, Joseph! She doesn’t want us interfering in her life with Patrick Kelly! Think about it: she and her daughter were in the running to inherit everything, until you arrived. Do you think that she will be happy about that?’

  Joseph shook his head in disbelief at her words, and she knew deep inside that she should stop talking, but she couldn’t. She had to explain to him the truth of their situation, because it was obvious that he couldn’t see what was really going on.

  ‘Can you hear what you are saying, Bella? Can you really justify what you are accusing Kate of?’

  Bella could hear the sadness and the disgust in her husband’s voice, and she wondered at a man who was that stupid. This was his inheritance he was talking about, and Kate and her daughter had no right to any of it. Her children should be the beneficiaries, not some stranger who lived on the other side of the world!

  ‘Oh, Joseph, I knew you were weak! I have always had to be the strong one in this relationship. You are like your mother – you let people take advantage of you. I think you should be asking yourself whether you want your kids to get what is rightfully theirs.’

  Joseph looked at his wife and saw what he should have seen years before. He didn’t love her, and he never had. He had been in love with the woman he had thought she was, not the real Bella. She wasn’t just toxic – she was also vicious and underhanded.

  ‘But, Bella, my mother could have told me who my father was at any time, and I believe she did what she thought was for the best. He had a life, a family, and I respect her for understanding that. Surely you, as a mother, have to see that too?’

  Bella laughed, unable to believe the stupidity of the man she had deigned to marry. ‘You would know all about that, wouldn’t you, Joseph? Know about fucking around while married? I mean, what about you and Christine, eh? You are your mother’s son all right. Oh God, you both disgust me. I loathed good old Ruby, whore that she was. The only good thing to come out of it was she finally fucked someone who could do something for us all!’

  Somewhere in her mind Bella knew that she had gone too far, but she was incapable of stopping herself. It was as if she was deliberately trying to cause a massive upset and that was exactly what she wanted. She had wanted her husband to choose her and her children over his slut. Now she had a terrible feeling that he wouldn’t.

  ‘Do you know what, Bella? If I needed a reason to walk away from you, this was it. That you could ever talk to me about my mum like that! She was worth a hundred of you, lady. She didn’t like you, Bella, she warned me about you, and she was right. You are a bitter pill, and I know now that I should have listened to her. She saw through you like a pane of glass, and she tried to warn me. But I was so taken in with your “poor little me” act. Well, not any more. You can hang as you grow – another one of Mum’s sayings. It means, basically, fuck you, Bella.’

  They looked at each other for long moments and, as Bella started to cry, he pushed her away from him with all the strength he could muster, sending her sprawling on to the floor. He knew that, whatever happened, he was finished with her. He only hoped she knew it too.

  Chapter Seventy-one

  Kate was in the kitchen looking through all the files that Annie had given her; she had been saddened when Annie had called to tell her that yet another girl had gone missing, especially as this girl was the complete antithesis of the other two. She wasn’t involved in this so-called sex circle, and she looked like what she was – a little girl. Annie had emailed her the girl’s picture and the relevant information. The fact that she had also gone missing without trace was the only common denominator.

  It seemed that Margaret Dole had traced the girl on CCTV to the outskirts of the woods, which again was in keeping with the Kylie Barlow case. It was where she had been found, and it was also in the frame for Destiny Wallace’s disappearance. It was obvious that the woods were this man’s hunting ground, but it appeared that no one ever saw him. Or, if they did, they didn’t really take much notice of him. She looked over the pictures of the dead girls and wondered at a person who could inflict that kind of damage without care. She sighed and took a sip of her coffee and wished she was drinking something stronger, because these pictures wer
e not for the faint-hearted.

  According to the pathologist, the blades used varied in size and make; there was something almost random about that. There would also be copious amounts of blood, which meant that wherever this was taking place would look like an abattoir. It was also secluded enough for the girls’ screams to go unheard, because anyone could see that these girls would have been screaming in fear and pain.

  There was no evidence that they had ever been gagged, so whoever was responsible either knew the girls very well, or he had subdued them somehow. Yet there were no drugs in their systems, although Kate knew that no one could rule out a new type of Rohypnol or other drug. There was a new fucking drug on the streets every few months, and it wasn’t until someone died that the police would be made aware of them. That was the sad fact for a lot of the new so-called designer drugs. And with so many people now making their own recipes, and the increase in ‘legal highs’, more people were dying than ever before. It was a different world all right, and it was getting more dangerous every week, if truth be told.

  She could hear the muted sound of the football on the TV and envied Patrick his ability to lose himself in sport. She sat back and rubbed her eyes and wondered how Annie was getting on. If only the girl were found unharmed; but, like Annie, she didn’t hold out much hope.

  She looked down at the lists she had made and screwed her eyes up in concentration as she tried to link any two things together, find something that might give her an insight into where these girls might have been, or how they had come to the notice of the man who had murdered them. If that one link could be established, it would give them something to go on. Because the main factor, as she saw it, was finding out how this man had decided that these particular girls were his victims.

  The sex circle, she felt, might be muddying the waters, but it couldn’t be ruled out completely. Annie seemed to think that it was something to do with the murders, along with the way the girls had dressed and acted. It seemed they were not what anyone had thought they were, but Kate knew from experience that that wasn’t unusual where teenage girls were concerned. In fact, it seemed to be a part of their DNA to lie and be evasive to get what they wanted. It was hard, looking like a woman and being treated like a child.

  She looked through the statements once more, and hoped that something might jump out at her. Annie was liable to turn up later, but she had asked her to ring first although she’d said that she didn’t care what time it was. She had told Bev to make up one of the spare rooms so Annie could stay the night if she needed to. It would give them extra time to talk everything through. Like Annie Carr, Kate wanted whoever was responsible for this carnage caught, and the sooner that was done the better for all concerned.

  When the gate buzzed, she assumed it was Annie, and she was surprised to hear Pat’s son’s voice on the intercom. She buzzed him in and called out to Patrick that Joseph had arrived. It was nearly midnight. She guessed that this wasn’t going to be good news.

  She knew she was right when she heard him slam his car door loudly.

  As Joseph walked into the house, he looked at them both standing in the large hallway and he said sadly, ‘I didn’t know where else to go, I hope you don’t mind.’

  Patrick smiled easily, saying, ‘Kate’s working in the kitchen, mate, and, believe me, you do not want to see what she has out there. Come through to the lounge and I’ll pour you a drink, OK?’

  Kate watched them go and wondered what had happened to bring Joseph O’Loughlin to their home so late at night. She had a feeling it was something to do with Bella. She would know what had happened soon enough; they didn’t need her with them, and it would probably be easier for them to talk without her there. But she was intrigued, there was no getting away from that fact. As she went back into the kitchen she poured herself a glass of Chablis and sipped it thoughtfully while she looked over the files and statements once more.

  Chapter Seventy-two

  ‘I’m not seeing anything, Annie. I’ve scanned everything, even Janet’s Facebook page which, I have to say, is sad for this day and age. Hardly any friends, and nothing even remotely interesting posted. This was a nice little girl who acted a lot younger than her age for a change and who didn’t seem to court any kind of controversy. Even her YouTube history is all cats and animals. Unless, like the others, she was sensible enough to not use her own device for any incriminating stuff! But I don’t think so somehow. I think this is a girl who was just growing up. Have you seen the photos Sue Border showed us of her though? They were taken when she was giving her make-up lessons apparently.’

  Annie looked at the pictures with wonderment, because they were completely different to the picture her mother had given to the police. She looked at little Janet Cross in her make-up and with her hair all done, and she saw immediately that this was what had attracted the man who was murdering these poor unfortunates.

  She looked like a different person. Picking up the pictures, she walked through the police station to show the rest of the team. Because this wasn’t the little girl they thought they were looking for. This was a different girl altogether.

  Chapter Seventy-three

  Janet Cross was frightened but she felt calm, and that surprised her, because she had never seen herself as brave before. She looked around and saw that she was in a small space – like a cell, she supposed. But there was a candle alight and she could smell it burning. Her eyes were watering and she blinked away the tears, determined that she wasn’t going to lose it, at least not until she knew exactly what was going on.

  It was suddenly important to her that she knew who had done this to her and asked them why. She guessed that she had been taken by the same person who had taken Kylie Barlow and Destiny Wallace. This was the last thing they had seen in their brief lives, and she knew that this would be the last thing she saw too.

  The knowledge disturbed her, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Her biggest fear was how her mother would react. She loved her mum, she had been a diamond always. She had been on her own with her since she got pregnant, and Janet’s father had gone on the trot. But she had never felt she had lost out because of that – if anything, she felt that she had been lucky to have her mum’s undying love and devotion. They had been all right together, and they had a good life, as such. She just couldn’t understand why this person had decided to rob her of it – she had never done anything to anyone. But she had seen enough TV programmes to know that, in the grand scheme of things, that didn’t really matter.

  It was such a small space, and she could see the blood of the other dead girls all over the walls and even on the mattress she was lying on. She swallowed down a scream, determined that she would face the inevitable with as much courage as she could. She just wished she could have said goodbye to her mum, because she knew that this would really affect her, and that was her biggest regret. The room she was in looked so sinister, and she wondered where she could be.

  She didn’t remember anything, except being knocked unconscious, and that was too frightening to contemplate. She wondered why she was feeling so accepting of her situation; she would not have believed she could be so stoic. She was such a coward in real life, and she was proud at how she was coping with this. She only hoped she could keep it up until the end, because she knew that there would be an end, and it wouldn’t be an easy one. Whoever had taken her would not let her off lightly. The newspapers had not held back where their reporting of the details of Kylie’s and Destiny’s murders were concerned, and she knew to expect the very worst. That was why she didn’t understand why she wasn’t in bits. She looked around her once more and wondered how she had ended up in such a precarious position, wishing that she had never taken that shortcut through Grantley woods, but of course that was neither here nor there now. She was caught, and she had to wait and see what was going to happen to her.

  She didn’t realise that her captor was watching her, documenting her reactions. She didn’t know that he was
smiling as he watched the different expressions flitting across her face, that he enjoyed this as much as he enjoyed the pain he would eventually inflict. He liked to let them wait a while so he could observe them while they were unaware.

  He was amazed that little Janet Cross was being so brave, and he felt a sudden rush of affection for her – all the more unexpected because seeing her tonight had really enraged him. Plastered in make-up and dressed like a slut, she was turning into the kind of girl that angered him, that made him disgusted.

  He was humming as he loaded his Polaroid camera. He was going to document this, as he documented everything. This was his pet project, and he had to admit that he really was enjoying it.

  Chapter Seventy-four

  Annie Carr was counting on Margaret Dole to find something somewhere that might give them an idea of what tied the three girls together. But they were having no luck; they didn’t mix in school, and certainly not outside of the school. Miss Betterway had been at pains to explain that Janet Cross had been a good girl who had never done anything to draw attention to herself. Whereas Kylie Barlow and Destiny Wallace had been the leaders of their peers, and had been looked up to by everyone around them, Janet had never once done anything to even get herself noticed. She wasn’t that kind of girl.