LAST VICTIM an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detective Rachel King Thrillers Book 5) Read online

  LAST

  VICTIM

  An absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist

  Helen H. Durrant

  Detective Rachel King Thrillers Book 5

  Joffe Books, London

  www.joffebooks.com

  First published in Great Britain in 2021

  © Helen H. Durrant

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The spelling used is British English except where fidelity to the author’s rendering of accent or dialect supersedes this. The right of Helen H. Durrant to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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  ISBN: 978-1-78931-977-4

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Chapter Fifty-three

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Epilogue

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  Prologue

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  People are far too trusting. Take the couple tonight. Lee’s tempted to warn them, remind them that they know nothing about her, a total stranger. But she says nothing. Instead, she just smiles and nods, looks at the precious bundle they’ve left in her care and assures them it’ll all be fine.

  But that’s a lie.

  They leave. She gives it thirty minutes and then makes her move. There is work to do. Lee takes off the agency tabard Ronzo gave her and changes into her own dark clothing that she’d brought with her in her bag. No need for the pretence anymore.

  She prepares the infant, takes him from his cot, puts a blanket over him and places him in the car seat. A short whine of protest but he’s soon sleeping peacefully again. Time to go. Carrying him with care, Lee makes for the front door of the apartment. She takes the lift down to the ground floor and walks out of the main entrance. There’s CCTV but she’s got the hood of her top pulled low over her face and she’s confident the police won’t retrieve any useful images. Parked several metres away, a silver car waits in the shadows. The driver — Ronzo — flashes the headlights once. He’s spotted her.

  “Any trouble?”

  “No.” She leans over and gently sets down the car seat behind him. The infant doesn’t wake.

  “You’ve been careful?” he asks. “Done as I said, not left anything traceable behind, like a used cup in the sink?”

  “I’m not an idiot. You don’t need to tell me what to do, this is my gig.”

  “You’re wrong, Lee. We do what the boss tells us. She’s the one giving out the instructions and paying us for our services.”

  Lee gives him a hard stare. “I told you at the beginning, I work only for myself. You’d do well not to forget it.”

  The infant gives a funny little squeal. Waking up, time to go.

  “I’m done,” she says, peeling off her gloves.

  He passes her a roll of notes. “We’ve been well paid for this, here’s your share.”

  “What’ll happen to him?”

  Ronzo gives her a wicked smile. “Who knows? That’s up to the boss, and I can’t guarantee it’ll be good.” He laughs.

  Not her concern. She’s got what she wanted, it’s just a pity she won’t be privy to the horror this will cause his parents. Lee throws the tabard and ID badge at him, stuffs the notes into her pocket and walks off without so much as a backward glance. Shame about the baby, but it’s best not to think about that. Time to concentrate on the positives. Tonight, Lee got a measure of revenge on the infant’s murdering father. She’d also sorted a problem. She now has money for food, booze and a little to put by for the next phase.

  Chapter One

  Day One: Sunday

  The call came just as Detective Chief Inspector Rachel King was emerging from the shower. Dripping wet and struggling to keep her towel from falling, she grabbed the mobile, saw the caller’s name and swore under her breath.

  “This had better be good, Elwyn. It’s almost midnight on a Sunday and I’m not officially back until the morning,” she snapped.

  “Sorry, Rachel, I wouldn’t have rung, but Kenton insisted.”

  Kenton. Superintendent Mark Kenton to give him his full title. Her boss. She should have known. He’d been itching to get her back from maternity leave for weeks now.

  Rachel sighed. “Isn’t there anyone else?”

  “We’re really pushed at the station. DCI Baxter’s team are working on the robberies in Ardwick, otherwise it would have been him.”

  “Okay, what is it?”

  “We’ve got a missing child. He was left with a babysitter and taken from the family home while the parents were out. There’s no trace of either the child or the sitter.”

  “You’re presuming the sitter is responsible?”

  “It looks that way,” Elwyn said. “There’s been no ransom demand so far. I can’t make headway with the mother. She’s hysterical. She’s crying so much she can barely speak.”

  “Do they know the sitter?” Rachel asked.

  “No, but the girl came from an agency they’ve used before. But there is something else.” He fell silent for a moment. “The baby’s father is
Scott Agnew.”

  That knocked the wind out of her. Agnew was trouble, allegedly a member of a Manchester organised crime gang called the Trio. They were suspected of being into large scale drug distribution and money laundering. The story was that over the last few years the Trio had got rid of the opposition and now ruled supreme in the city. They were ruthless and had friends in high places. Not people you wanted to mess with. The police had picked up various minor associates for dealing and other misdemeanours, but up to now, no one had been prepared to give evidence against those at the top. “You suspect this is down to someone with a score to settle, or who might be attempting a takeover?”

  “Both are high on the list of possibilities, Rachel — you know Agnew’s reputation. Given that Jed is out of the frame, it was inevitable that someone would rise to the top. But unfortunately, we’ve not just got Agnew, we’ve got the three of them — Agnew, Ray Hutton and Brendan Blackmore. Not that we’ve ever been able to pin much on any of them.”

  Same story as with Jed McAteer, although he had redeemed himself of late by helping the police. “Regardless of who the father is, our priority has to be the infant. No ransom demand, you said?” Rachel asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “The mother?”

  “As I said, distraught. I’ve tried everything but I can’t get a word out of her. You’re a new mum, maybe your shared experience could help get her talking.”

  “Has the husband said anything?” she asked.

  “No, and he’s been far too quiet for my liking. I suspect he knows something. He’s comforting his wife but won’t say who might have done this, despite being asked. He must have his suspicions. Given that it’s his son that’s missing I’d have expected him to drop a name or two.”

  “He might be telling the truth.”

  Elwyn sighed. “The atmosphere in their home is so emotionally charged I really couldn’t say. We need to get the mother talking, and you’ll certainly make a better job of it than me. Kenton reckons you can play the empathy card, and I agree.”

  “Where?”

  “An apartment block overlooking New Islington Marina. I’ll text you the address,” he said.

  “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Elwyn was right to ring her, she couldn’t ignore something like this. If this had happened to any of her kids, and particularly her six-month-old baby, Len, she’d want someone like herself on the job too.

  She dressed quickly — jeans, a sweater and her favourite black boots. There was no time to fix her hair properly, so she gave it a rub with a towel and scraped it, still limp from the shower, into a ponytail. Since giving birth to Len, she’d lost weight, making her features sharper. What the hell. It was late, and who was going to look at her anyway?

  “Going somewhere?” Jed said drowsily. “Only the bed’s nice and warm and Len’s sleeping for once.”

  Tempting as that was, she had to go. “Sorry, Jed, this is work, and it’s something serious.”

  “Kenton should know better, you’re not due back until the morning.”

  True, but given her return was only a few hours away, Jed was splitting hairs. “This is what it’s like, Jed. This is my work life in the raw. You knew what you were taking on.” She smiled. “Anyway, this’ll be good practice — your first night on your own with Len.” She gave him that we spoke about this look and grabbed her jacket. “If I’m not back, make sure Mia gets off to school on time in the morning and that you sort Len. Don’t let him stew in a mucky nappy, just get stuck in, and give him his bottle before he screams the place down. And remember he’s teething.”

  “Anything else?”

  Rachel made for the door, and then turned and kissed him. “Any serious problems, ring me.”

  Rachel counted herself a lucky woman. After years of pushing Jed McAteer to the back of her mind and pretending she didn’t love him, finally the fates had decreed that they should be together. His criminal past long behind him, he was now one of Manchester’s most successful property developers. The name Jed McAteer was once again well known, but not for the wrong reasons. They had their son, Len, a beautiful home Jed had built for the three of them and Rachel’s two teenage daughters. The cottage was a happy place, and for the first time in years, Rachel felt content. She had a lot to be grateful for.

  * * *

  Marina Apartments were new and high spec. The address Elwyn had sent her was on the top floor, with a view over the water and the coming and going of its canal boats.

  Elwyn met her in the hallway. “Thanks for doing this, Rachel. We’re getting nowhere. The mother’s name is Louise, the husband you know. Officially he and his two partners are into property development, a similar business to Jed’s. She doesn’t work. They went out tonight to have dinner with some friends. When they returned at midnight, both the babysitter and the infant had vanished. They’d used their usual babysitting agency and had been quite happy to leave the baby.”

  Rachel felt her stomach flip. For a moment she experienced the shock and pain she’d feel if something similar happened to Len. “Where are they?”

  “In the sitting room.”

  She followed him through. The apartment was large with vaulted ceilings, very modern and with minimal furnishing. The décor throughout was in off-white. She nudged Elwyn. “Couldn’t live with this lot. Looks like a show apartment. I like my place comfortable.”

  The parents were sitting together on a red leather sofa. She recognised Scott Agnew from the newspapers. He had his arm around his weeping wife. He was in his fifties, and his wife looked about thirty years his junior.

  “I’m DCI King,” Rachel told them. “I’ll be heading up the search for your son.” Movement from the adjoining room caught her eye. Dr Jude Glover, the senior forensic scientist, was already hard at work. “I see the forensic team are already on it. If your babysitter left any trace at all, they’ll find it,” she said.

  Scott Agnew nodded. “The agency we use is called ‘Safe Hands.’ It’s a day nursery that also offers a child sitting service.” He handed her their card. “‘Safe Hands.’ That’s a bloody joke given what’s happened. The girl told us she was new, said her name was Kate. She had the identity badge, wore the tabard and seemed to know what she was doing.”

  “She stole my baby,” Louise wailed. “Why would she do that? What will she do with him?”

  Agnew held his young wife tighter. Though she’d seen his photo, Rachel had never met him in person before. “What’s your son’s name and how old is he?” she asked.

  “James, and he’s two months.” Louise stared at Rachel with wide, tear-filled eyes. “He’ll be missing me.” She turned to her husband and pushed him away. “It’s all your fault.”

  Chapter Two

  Rachel let the remark go for the moment. Louise was talking about her husband’s criminal activities, had to be, but if she pried to much at this point and he got angry, they’d get nowhere. “We’ll do our level best to bring James home,” she told Louise gently. “But we’ll need your help. Everything you can recall about the sitter for starters.”

  Scott Agnew answered. “We’ve used them a number of times, and they’ve always been sound. We’ve never had any bother before.”

  “You said it wasn’t your usual sitter — did you query that with the company?”

  Louise looked at her. “No, should I have? It didn’t occur to me. She had the ID badge around her neck, and as I said, seemed to know what she was doing. We had no reason to call the agency.”

  “Did you ring home at any time tonight, check in with the sitter?” Rachel asked Louise.

  “I did. Remember, Scott, I told you I couldn’t get a reply.”

  That could narrow down the timescale. “You rang the house, and no one picked up? What time was this?” Rachel asked.

  “About nine. I wanted to come straight home, but Scott wouldn’t hear of it.”

  He waved this aside. “Tonight was important. A business dinner with a few
associates. And it’s not as if we’re out on the tiles every night. I suppose you think this is all my bloody fault.” He was focused on Rachel. “All these stupid questions are wasting precious time. Whatever preconceived ideas you have about me are wrong, and if you allow them to get in the way, I’ll have your job.” He glared at her. “Now get out there and find my son.”

  Was this genuine worry talking, or was it just another example of the temper he was famous for? Whichever it was, Rachel needed to take the heat out of the interview. She looked around and spotted a photograph of an infant on a shelf. “Is this James?”

  “Yes, we only had it done last week,” Louise said.

  “May I take it? You’ll get it back.” Rachel smiled at her.

  “I don’t want him in the papers,” Agnew said at once. “I don’t want to turn on the news and see him there either. In fact, the fewer people who know about this, the better.”

  “If we’re to get your son back, we may need the public’s help. We need people to come forward, tell us if they’ve seen him anywhere.”

  He got to his feet and stared at Rachel, his face close to hers, his eyes blazing. “The only people who need to know about this are us and the investigating team. Joe Public will just muddy the waters. I know how it goes. Let the masses know and you’ll have sightings from Cornwall to the north of Scotland.”

  From the look on his face, Rachel knew he wasn’t for changing his mind. They stared at each other for a moment. In his position, she’d move heaven and earth to get her child back. Maybe his reticence had something to do with his criminal activities.

  “Are any of his things missing?” Elwyn asked, putting an end to the tension.

  “His car seat, a pack of nappies and two feeds ready made up in case. They were in the fridge,” Louise said.

  Rachel nodded. “Then whoever took him was obviously going to care for him. You can take comfort from that.”

  That had Louise in tears again. “Depends on who it was.” She turned to her husband and laid into him with her fists. “This is down to you! You and your dodgy friends. This is one of them teaching you a lesson. Ask him,” she yelled at the detectives. “Make him tell you who took my son. He knows.”