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  Pat heard the crunch of gravel on the driveway and sighed with a mixture of fear and excitement. Kate knew the combination for the gates so he would sit here until he heard the doorbell, he didn’t want to look too eager. He was shaking with nerves, and it made him feel like a schoolboy again. He felt the pull of the only woman who had ever made him feel whole. He didn’t count his wife now, she was dead this longtime, and although his love was still there, it wasn’t all-consuming any more. It was a good memory, but he didn’t miss her now. Not like he did Kate. She was a physical need that festered inside him, and he couldn’t seem to function properly without her beside him. And God Himself knew, he had tried. It was like eating or drinking, Kate was something that he needed to stay alive.

  He stood up abruptly, she was taking her time coming to the door. As he walked out of his office, he saw a paving slab crash through the morning-room window. Picking up a baseball bat from his hall, he ran out of the front door. There he expected to find a crowd of men gathered by someone who obviously had a grudge against him.

  Instead, he saw Eve standing there, dressed up to the nines, and wiping her hands free of dirt. Pat was shocked to the core. Eve had come across as a guarded person, a very serene, in control kind of personality. He realised that he had been wrong about her, very wrong indeed. She was a bit of a headcase, and he needed to get her calmed down and off his premises as soon as possible.

  But unfortunately, Pat’s anger and his fear of Kate arriving in the middle of it all set him off. ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’

  Eve laughed. ‘What does it look like?’

  She did not seem to be at all intimidated by him and that galled him somehow. It made him feel less of a man.

  ‘Does your brother know you’re here? Only I don’t think he’ll be too chuffed when he finds out about this, do you?’

  ‘Fuck him, and fuck you, Pat.’

  Pat was startled by her vehemence. ‘Well, that’s charming, I must say. I thought you were better than this. I thought you had a bit of self-respect, girl.’

  She walked over to him and poked a long and very well-manicured finger in his face. ‘I did, and I have. But you treated me like shit and no one, no one does that to me and gets away with it.’

  He was ashamed then, she was so hurt, so upset. He had honestly never thought she cared about him so much. She was clearly devastated and, while his manly ego was loving it, after all, there was nothing like a young girl on your case to boost you up, make you feel good again, his sensible head was telling him he had treated her very badly. He had been a fool if he thought she was just going to walk away without a fight.

  ‘Look, Eve, I’m sorry, love. I truly am sorry. I didn’t expect this to happen, I didn’t expect you to take it so seriously . . .’

  ‘Blow it out of your old and sagging arse, Pat. Because I’m done here.’

  With that, Eve walked back to her BMW convertible and screeched off the drive. He watched her drive away, relief at her departure overwhelming him. He was losing his touch, he would never have had her down as a fucking gooner. She had also shown him just how much dating had changed over the years. Come back, Kate, all is forgiven.

  As he walked back into the house, Jennifer was standing there quietly, waiting for him in the entrance hall. She looked better after her sleep and she said to him sadly, ‘Jesus, Patrick, you should have known better at your age.’

  He pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. ‘Don’t you think I might have already sussed that out for meself?’

  She laughed, a laugh she didn’t think she had in her, but it soon turned to tears, and she sobbed into his chest as he held her tightly.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Annie was impressed by Patrick’s house, even the broken window didn’t detract from its beauty. She had just seen a young woman in a BMW tearing off the drive, she assumed that was the lovely Eve. She also guessed from the look on Patrick’s face that she had been the cause of the broken window.

  But that aside, the house was breathtakingly beautiful, and the grounds were amazing with lawns like parkland and huge electric gates. She tried to imagine what it must be like for Kate, relegated back to her old home. Not that it wasn’t a nice house but, in comparison with this place, it was almost a slum. She knew now why Kate never asked anyone from the station back here; it wasn’t just because it was so luxurious, it was also because she knew the other person would feel out of their depth. That was Kate all over. She always thought about others before herself. But Annie knew Kate well enough to understand that this house and its trappings wouldn’t make any difference to her feelings for Pat Kelly.

  Annie had never in her life seen such a look of disappointment as she had glimpsed on Kelly’s face when he realised that Kate wasn’t with her. She felt sorry for him, he looked lost. As he waved her inside, he said gruffly, ‘Where’s Kate?’

  Annie half smiled an apology as she said, ‘Still at the station. She’s hard at it.’

  Patrick snorted in annoyance and embarrassment, he knew she had clocked Eve on her way in. ‘Yeah, I bet she is. Jennifer’s inside. Go easy on her, she’s had a fright.’ Pat pointed to a doorway to the left of the front door.

  As she entered the large room, Annie noticed that Jennifer James was looking agitated and very nervous. She suddenly felt desperately sorry for her. Finding Jemimah’s body would have been a terrible shock. She let her talk.

  ‘It’s strange, you know. The other girls, because I didn’t see them, I didn’t know what had happened to them first-hand. It didn’t really register what they had gone through before they died. But seeing her like that . . . I had gone round there because she was late with the rent. The man who usually collects for me, Tom Prior, was umming and ahhing and I assumed she was paying him off in kind, if you get my drift. She wouldn’t be the first one to do something like that. If I’d depended on him to go and see her, it would have been at least another few weeks before I got the money.’

  The thought of the girl lying there like that for weeks on her own set Jennifer off again. She stood up and started to retch. She couldn’t help herself, every time she thought of that damaged and tortured body, she wanted to vomit. It was as if the image had been burned into her mind and she knew she wouldn’t ever again have a decent night’s sleep because of it. She felt guilty, she was the one who had given the girls the opportunity to do the work they did. She saw the houses and the flats used by the girls as being somewhere safe, somewhere they could work in relative peace, without the eyes of the world on them. She’d felt she was helping them by giving them somewhere to work and to earn.

  How wrong she had been and now, as she realised the consequences, she wanted just one thing. She wanted out, out of it all, and she wanted out sooner rather than later.

  Suddenly Jennifer had had enough and she turned to Annie and said loudly, ‘I didn’t see anyone, I’ve already told you that. If I had, I would have said. For fuck’s sake, I want to help you more than anything, can’t you get that through your thick head?’

  Annie sighed. ‘Can I ask you something, Jennifer?’

  Jennifer nodded, her voice filled with angry determination. ‘’Course you can. I want to help you, how many fucking times . . .’

  ‘Have any of the girls ever said to you, however fleetingly, that they were spooked by a customer? Now, think hard, and think carefully. It doesn’t matter how long ago they might have said it, just try and think about it for a while before you answer.’

  Jennifer did as she was asked. She racked her brains for the merest hint that any of the girls had been frightened, then she shook her head in sadness. ‘No, nothing. To be totally honest with you, the girls would be more likely to talk among themselves. And they would have told you anything they know because they want this man found, not just because he is killing their mates, but also because, until he is caught, none of them are safe.’

  Annie knew she was telling her the truth.

  Jennifer sipped at
her glass of brandy once more and, settling herself in the chair again, she said seriously, ‘There’s something you need to understand.’

  She cleared her throat gently and took an alarmingly large gulp of brandy before continuing, ‘A lot of these girls don’t see pain like me or you would. Some of them were brought up in homes, in the care system, whatever. Their idea of pain is our idea of a living nightmare. They are used to being used and abused so, in some respects, this job gives them a bit of power. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. For most of them it’s the first time in their lives they have earned enough to live well, to live like the people they read about in magazines. They can dress nicely, they can eat what they like, and, for the first time, they answer to no one else. That’s pretty heady stuff for a girl who has been pushed from pillar to post all her life. They’ve usually grown up lying, cheating and doing whatever they can to survive. They are a breed apart, love. Remember that, and you’ll be all right.’

  Terrence O’Leary was huge. He was a bodybuilder and he had a mass of curly red hair and an engaging, very expensive, smile. Kate had always liked him, even knowing what she did.

  As she was shown into his office, she felt the full force of his personality. He walked around the desk and gave her a bear hug. He smelled clean, of Lifebuoy soap and mouthwash. ‘Sit down, can I get you anything? A drink of some kind? Coffee, tea, water, a drop of the hard?’

  Kate grinned. Terrence was impossible not to like. He was a naturally affable man, and his Cork accent gave people the impression he was a big softy, which he was, to family and close friends. But he was not a man to fall foul of. People who did tended to disappear, never to be seen again.

  His answer to their whereabouts when questioned by police or his contemporaries was always the same. ‘Sure how the feck would I know anything about your man? He’s probably on his holidays.’

  ‘I’ll have a small Scotch if you’ve got one.’

  Terrence was pleased. That meant he could have one as well. Ever the gentleman, he wouldn’t drink in front of a lady unless she was drinking as well. It was those same good manners around the fairer sex that had got him into trouble with his wife on more than one occasion.

  He poured one for them both. ‘You’re looking good, Kate. Are you back with Patrick yet? I heard you two fell out. I saw him the other night, he looks like shite, and I told him as well. He’s missing you, girl, I know that much.’

  Terry O’Leary could talk like that and not offend you. He always seemed so sincere and genuine that you didn’t mind, it was one of the things Kate liked about him. She grinned. ‘He can take a flying fuck as far as I am concerned. Now, Terry, I still work for the police, as you know. Purely in an advisory capacity.’

  He nodded. ‘So, what is this then, Katie? An official visit?’ Terry’s voice sounded incredulous, and Kate could understand that, he paid out a hefty wedge to make sure that official visits didn’t happen to him very often.

  Kate laughed, but Terrence’s eyes had become harder, and she saw the real man sitting opposite her. ‘Sort of. You own the house that Valerie Kent was working in. At least, you are one of the owners. I thought it best if I came and had a chat, unofficial, like? See what I mean?’

  Terry visibly relaxed then refilled their glasses before saying warily, ‘I might have an interest in the property, but I never went there myself. I’ve never stepped a foot over the threshold. All that having the bejesus knocked out of you isn’t my cup of tea.’

  He was smiling now and Kate knew that he appreciated that she had come here personally, that she hadn’t sent a uniform or, worse still, a DC. Terrence O’Leary hated the police with an all-consuming passion, seeing them as trying to stop a man like himself from earning a living. Which, of course, is exactly what they were trying to do. It paid them to pay them, as Pat always said. It galled her, but she knew it was true. As Patrick said, it was all economics. The black economy was a valid part of the daily lives of most English people. If things were sold at the right price, without the humongous mark-up, people wouldn’t get into debt and, ergo, the country could only prosper.

  Pat believed that it was like the war, when people lived off the spivs. After all, the whole ethos of a consumer society was to consume. If people weren’t able to consume because it was too expensive, you couldn’t sell the product. If you can’t sell the product, you have no market. Why outprice the man on the street? It was ludicrous to expect people to get into debt with credit cards or loans, why not sell them their goods at a reasonable price?

  ‘Who ran the place? I promise this will be in the strictest confidence. All I want is someone who might be able to give me a heads-up on this fucking nutter. If the girls were available to talk to, that would be a great help. I give you my word, nothing more will come of this. But that girl was tortured and murdered, Terry, she deserves to be treated with respect.’

  Terry digested her words for a while, and she knew that his instinct was telling him to keep as far away from Old Bill as possible. She also knew that he was a fair man, and that he would want to see the man responsible for the girl’s death locked up. He sighed heavily, as if he was not sure he was doing the right thing. Helping the police was not something he would ordinarily have done.

  ‘OK, Kate. You can talk to Simone. She runs the place, and she is a nice woman. You’ll like her. But I would only do this for you, no one else.’

  It was a warning, he was telling her to keep the police at bay. Kate smiled, swallowed down her drink, then held her glass out for another. ‘I understand that Lionel was a frequent visitor, is that true?’

  Terry grinned once more. ‘That old fucker? What have you got against him or, more to the point, what do you want over him?’

  ‘He needs taking down a peg or two.’

  ‘Well, I won’t argue with that. But this sounds personal, very personal.’

  ‘That’s because it is. He has looked down on me for years because of Patrick and our life together. I had him bang to rights on the other girls, but the S&M just sounds so much more sordid.’

  Terry laughed. ‘That Patrick, he’s a fecking eejit. Women like you, Kate, are what my old mother would call a keeper.’

  Kate laughed then, really laughed. Then she said with heavy sarcasm, ‘Yeah? Well, try telling him that.’

  Terrence O’Leary was heart-sorry for her. He liked her a lot and he respected her, regardless of her chosen vocation. ‘I have, Kate, on numerous occasions. He knows he’s fucked up, big time. Everyone knows he’s fucked up, big time. Even you being a Filth hasn’t stopped people liking you. They know you’re one of the good guys, you look for the real killers, the real murderers. That’s something to be proud of. It’s not like you ever stuck your beak into any of our businesses. And look at you now, you came here personally to save me from any embarrassment, and I will never forget a courtesy like that. But I’ll tell you this now, old romantic that I am, he loves you. After his daughter’s death, he needed someone, really needed someone to turn to. You and him are a great pair, he’s a fucking eejit, but then I’m preaching to the converted, aren’t I?’

  Kate laughed again. ‘When can I see Simone?’

  Terrence smiled at her, understanding that he had stepped over the unwritten line. ‘I’ll have her available some time this afternoon, and I’ll tell her to be truthful. Remember, Kate, this will never be a statement. She’ll talk to you only as a friend. Is that fair enough? That’s if she agrees to talk to you, of course. If she don’t want to and refuses, that’s her prerogative. I can’t say fairer than that, can I?’

  Kate nodded her acquiescence, there was nothing else she could do. Terrence O’Leary held all the cards and she knew that, unless he gave her the nod, Simone wouldn’t talk to her parish priest, let alone the police. Even when the police was Pat Kelly’s bird.

  ‘Tell her it’s no more than an informal chat, and ask her to be as open as possible. I give you my word that I’ll keep her out of it as much as I can. I want a lead, no
more and no less. I need someone to give me something useful. It’s in all our interests to capture this fucker, not just mine, but yours as well.’

  Terrence O’Leary nodded, he knew Kate was speaking the truth. The sooner the cunt was apprehended, the better for all concerned. It would take the spotlight off them, so to speak. Kate always impressed him with her intelligence and her guts. She managed to straddle two stools, live within two worlds, and she did it all with aplomb. He decided to throw her an added bone. She deserved it, and he knew that she needed all the help she could down the gaff that passed as a police station.

  ‘Going back to Lionel, the piece of shite. Kate, did you know he likes to be beaten with a hairbrush? He’s right into the rough and tumble him. Jesus, even I was shocked at his antics. Now that’s the truth, Katie love, as God is me witness. He’s a fucking strange cove, if you get me meaning.’

  They laughed together at the image of Lionel getting beaten with a hairbrush, it was a hilarious thought. The man was a fool, but worse than that, he was a dangerous fool. But Kate knew that Terrence O’Leary was giving her the bullets, and all she needed to do was fire them. It was strange that it took a known criminal to make her life so much easier. But then again, she had known all along that people were never what you thought they were, and that help often came from the strangest of places.

  ‘I hear he likes to emulate strangling the young women as well. Old Lionel is not a man I would ever consider as a suitor for any of my daughters, but he’s not capable of a real killing. He hasn’t got the fucking balls of a gnat, if you get my drift, Kate.’