Cold as Ice

Chapter 27

‘Do I look okay?’ Tracy came out of the bathroom and stood in front of Jeanie.

Jeanie had asked Tracy to take off her false eyelashes, wear only a touch of mascara.

‘A youthful look, you mean?’ she’d asked.

‘I mean a stripped-back, no-time-for-make-up, couldn’t-care-less-about-make-up look.’

‘I feel naked without my make-up. I feel vulnerable.’

‘You don’t need it and especially not today. You look really lovely, Tracy: natural, young, with shiny skin.’

‘Shiny? Oh God!’ Tracy turned back to look at herself again. ‘The only time I get to go on television and the whole world sees me looking a fright.’

Jeanie smiled and shook her head.

‘Couldn’t be further from the truth. You ready?’

‘I haven’t learnt my lines yet.’ Tracy looked panicky.

‘We need to get Jackson settled before we go in. You can look at the statement then. It doesn’t have to be too rehearsed, Tracy. Don’t worry.’

They got Jackson into his car seat and Tracy sat in the front with Jeanie. Jeanie could feel the tension coming from Tracy. She was nervous for her but she knew that the fresher Tracy appeared on television, the better. Sometimes it wasn’t what people said, it was the way they looked when they said it.

Jeanie drew up outside the venue; Carter and Willis were waiting. Carter opened the door for Tracy whilst Ebony went around the other side and undid Jackson’s seat belt.

Ebony took Jackson off to be looked after whilst Carter escorted Jeanie and Tracy down to a green room where they’d sit and wait and prepare for the conference.

Hawk switched on the television. The press conference was about to start. He was naked; the room was warm and dark. He didn’t want to watch it alone. Beneath the decrepit chandelier he sat on a chair and got closer to the screen. He held his breath as he watched Tracy walk in flanked by a woman and a tall pale-eyed detective. Hawk watched them as they took their seats. He looked at the female officer’s name badge pinned on her: Jeanie Vincent. He looked at the Chief Inspector’s – Simon Bowie – and next to him was Detective Inspector Dan Carter.

His eyes focused back on Tracy.

‘Ha…’ he said out loud and he laughed. ‘Where’s your make-up now?’ His laughter petered out: inside he was angry.

Tracy began speaking. She glanced at the paper in her hand. It was shaking. Hawk squealed with delight. From the corner of the room a woman moved. Hawk’s eyes flicked her way but he didn’t turn to look at her; he had no need – she wasn’t going anywhere.

‘I want to appeal to whoever is holding my daughter,’ Tracy said, her voice quivering. ‘I want to tell him he has the power to release her. He has the power to let my daughter come home now before any more harm is done. Please.’ Tracy looked up into the camera. ‘Please. Don’t kill my daughter, she is a lovely mum – she cares deeply for her little boy Jackson who has special needs and he misses his mum terribly.’ Tracy turned away as she was in danger of crumbling. The camera flashes popped all over the room as they looked for that one perfect shot.

Hawk stood and the chair fell backwards as he stamped his foot and raged at the screen.

‘Where’s your make-up? You’re not playing fair. Why don’t you show us who you really are? You’ve spoilt it now, Tracy. You’ve lied to me.’ Hawk looked at Bowie and Carter and Vincent and he muttered: ‘You think I’m stupid? You think I’m so arrogant as to be that easily manipulated? I know what’s in your minds. You’re trying to make me change my plan, to trip me up. I see through your schemes and I’ll raise the stakes and I’ll play a hand that you won’t see coming. It’s my game and my rules and I will prepare for the arrival of another player.’

Hawk switched off the TV and pressed the button on the music system. He closed his eyes as he swayed to the music. His heart lifted with the violins as they plucked at his emotions. His heart was full to bursting as his head moved, swam on a magic carpet of sensations – then stopped.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned to the sound that had disturbed him – ‘Shut the fuck up.’

The woman was moaning in pain from the corner of the room.

He felt for the remote control in his pocket and switched up the volume until he could no longer hear her.

He waltzed around the room, his feet shushing on the bare floorboards. Then he moved towards her and picked her up and put her over his shoulder as his chest rose and fell. She moaned in pain as he carried her out of the room and down the corridor, down the stairs and into another room. He switched on the light and laid her on the floor as he moved like a ballet dancer, pointing his toes, flexing his feet he danced around her. He stood above her, his eyes gleaming, his breath quick. He tilted his head this way and that as he looked her over. Her body was peppered with maggot-infested holes.

‘Ah, my sweet Jenny Smith… you and I have been on the longest journey. But now I feel your road is coming to an end. She did not answer; she stared back at him with the massive eyes of the emaciated. Her breathing was shallow, her bones so exposed that he could see every rib. She had on a red metallic bikini that was baggy and soiled. He took off his combat-style trousers and knelt beside her and undid the ties of the bikini from around her neck. He rolled her to her side to undo the string around her back. She groaned as he moved her.

‘Be patient, Jenny. Be patient.’ He slid the bikini bottoms down over her legs. ‘You must hand this over to someone else now. We’ll play our game one last time, Jenny, and I’ll let you go.’

For a second her eyes filled with panic and then they filled with calm. She could no longer talk. She had not spoken for two years. Her eyes followed his movements as he pulled a long, silky woman’s scarf from his trouser pocket.

‘This was my mother’s, as you know.’ He threaded it beneath her neck and her eyes stayed on his. He twisted the excess around his knuckles and twisted the scarf tighter. She struggled the way she always did as she fought to stay alive, but she didn’t struggle for long and he kept the knot tight. This time he would take her to the end. When she was dead he hung her on a hook from the ceiling in the centre of the room.

After the conference Bowie went back to his office and called Carter and Willis in to see him.

‘Please have a seat, both of you. If nothing happens from the press conference we have to be ready to try something new. We need someone to go undercover. We need to set someone up within the geographical triangle of the crimes and mirror the women’s lives as closely as we can.’ Carter was nodding his agreement. ‘Detective Inspector Carter and I have discussed this in private, Detective Willis, and we both agree – we want it to be you.’ Bowie looked at Ebony to gauge her reaction.

‘How would you feel about it?’

Ebony stared back at Bowie whilst she took a minute. Her face betrayed nothing.

‘You don’t have to agree to it; it’s only an idea, but we need someone quickly,’ said Carter. ‘I think you can do it Detective.’ He smiled at her.

‘You’ve done a test purchase before?’ asked Bowie.

‘Yes, Sir, I’ve done TP a few times, test purchasing stolen goods once from a shop in Fulham and I’ve done it twice buying drugs in Central London.’

‘I’ve looked at the reports from those assignments. It says in them that you handled it very well.’

‘Thank you, Sir. Do you think it should be someone from another force, Sir?’

‘It should, in theory – if it was an organized crime syndicate we were watching I’d say definitely but this is one man and we need to catch him fast.’

‘Yes, Sir.’

‘Because of the need for setting up an accurate social media persona and creating it fast we need to bring Robbo and Jeanie on board. Normally I wouldn’t risk any of the team knowing but Robbo is the only one able to do what we want and fast and Jeanie is close to both sets of victims’ families and to you, Ebony, and this is going to involve a massive team performance.’ He looked back at Ebony, who had remained impassive. ‘Are you agreed with keeping them informed?’

She looked across at Carter. He nodded his agreement. ‘Yes, Sir. I think it’s the best option.’

‘I will be Ebony’s supervisor,’ said Carter.

‘Agreed.’

‘You’ll need to move into a housing association flat,’ said Carter. ‘We’ll find you a flat in the same geographical area that Hawk is working in and register for some classes in the college. Get in quickly on the course that Danielle was doing if you can, meet her peers, get into their social networking groups.’

‘What about the fact I don’t have a kid?’ Ebony looked at Bowie.

‘Borrow mine,’ said Carter.

Ebony looked at Carter as if he’d flipped. Bowie was a little more cautious.

‘Why not?’ Carter said. ‘You’ll only need him for a few hours. Take him when you go to the housing office and to college when you first go in to register, that’s all. Let everyone see you with him once then make excuses why he’s not there after that.’ Ebony was still watching Carter’s face, waiting for him to say that he would get Cabrina’s permission before involving their son in a police operation. But he was not going to. ‘It’ll be fine, Ebb. He knows you. And you’ll only be borrowing him for a few hours.’ Bowie was listening. Ebony wondered if he was about to say ‘absolutely not’. ‘The rest of the time you can say that your aunt’s looking after the baby, something like that,’ continued Carter.

Bowie was weighing it up. He nodded thoughtfully.

‘None of the children have been harmed so far, have they?’

Carter shook his head. ‘Anyway it’s not going to get that far, is it? Ebony borrows Archie just to make it look good, then we can switch to a doll. Job done.’

Bowie agreed. ‘We have to put maximum effort into Ebony’s cover otherwise it won’t work. Stay here in the office from now on, Ebb. Get Robbo to concoct a plausible legend for you. We need this up and running ASAP.’

‘Yes, Sir.’

Carter and Ebony left Bowie’s office and headed towards the canteen to chat in private. Tina was clearing tables when they went to sit down with their coffees.

‘Looking great, Tina. You lost weight?’ Carter grinned her way. She giggled. Ebony rolled her eyes. Tina fell for it every time.

They sat down and Ebony emptied two packets of sugar into her milky coffee. Carter leaned across the table towards her and kept his voice low.

‘You going to be all right with it, Ebb? Hopefully it’ll be over by Christmas if we get it right.’

She nodded. ‘What about Archie? You have to ask Cabrina if we can borrow him.’

‘Yeah, I will ask, of course, but she’s going to be okay with it.’ He sipped his black coffee and screwed up his face in disgust. ‘When are they ever going to get proper coffee in here?’

‘You need to ask her.’

‘Ebb… He’s my son. I will take full responsibility.’ She held up her hands in surrender mode. ‘Now let’s concentrate on the things we have to get right.’

‘I need to look like the kind of person he’d be interested in,’ said Ebony.

‘Yes. Go around and look at Emily and Danielle’s belongings – take in their lives. Take Jeanie with you. She’s good at spotting things about people and she can tie up with anything Tracy might have said about Danielle’s character. You will have to stay in contact me with me, Ebb. This feels like a risky situation to put you in. You’re going to have to be on your own in there, exposed. You will have to be tested first. It’s not a nice experience. I’ve known a lot of officers who just can’t hack it.’

‘I’ll be okay, Guv.’

‘I know you will. Robbo will help.’