I don't own Midsomer Murders or DCI Banks
Chapter One
Detective Sergeant Ben Jones stood by the bar on the club in Eastvale. Ever so often he looked around the room for the suspect. The sergeant had no idea he was being watched as well. Mr Sweeney had noticed the sergeant and two or three PC`s come into the club two hours before. He went to his office, shut the door and picked up the phone. Mr Sweeney dialled a number as soon as he saw Ben disappear through the crowed.
"We may have a problem" he said softly "It seems as though that annoying DS is back. It might not be a good idea to come to the club just now"
Mr Sweeney hung up the phone, left his office and signalled to two of his security guards. He pointed in the sergeant's direction and the two men nodded and followed the sergeant through the crowd.
Ben hurried through the crowed when he noticed the two big security guards following him. He remembered Barnaby`s warning. If he felt as though he was in any danger get the heck out of there. Ben noticed the two men closing in on him and knew if they caught him they would beat him or worse. He hurried out of the front door. Ben turned in time to see another man block the guard's path but did not see whom it was. He looked at his watch and noticed it was very late. In a few hours he had to be at the station. As he walked away he did not notice the other man watching him. It was his boss Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby.
Chapter Two
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks pushed his way through the demonstrators who were blocking the entrance to the police station. People kept shouting at him as he went through the front doors. Banks walked up to the front desk.
"Sergeant" he said to the officer behind the desk "Would you please do something about the people who seem to have camped outside the station"
"Yes sir" the sergeant said.
Banks went upstairs to the squad room and found the other detectives hanging around and talking about the crowed which seemed to have appeared overnight.
"I could barely make to the door before I was mobbed" DC Templeton said "That woman who made a fool of herself at the press conference seemed to have organized it"
"Holly Summers?" Barnaby said, "Are you sure?"
"Positive sir"
"That woman is becoming a problem" DI Cabbot said "We need to get her into a cell"
"That will not be necessary Inspector" Barnaby said "I will talk to Mike about her"
"Moving on" Banks said "Is there any updates?"
"We got news from the lab sir" DC Jackman said, "The blood on the clothes found at the abandoned farm matches the victims"
"So the killer is hiding on the property"
"Yes sir"
"Anything else?"
"We are still looking for the car"
"That car is on that property," DI Cabbot said.
"Yes Annie we know" Banks said
"We should try to locate it. My god if we find the car we may find our killer and have this case solved"
"I know that Annie"
"Tell that to the crowed out there" DI Cabbot snapped.
Banks sighed. Annie had a good point. They could solve the case quickly if they found the car and the killer.
Ben tried to find time alone with Barnaby but the Chief Inspector went to talk to Mike Summers. The sergeant was sitting around bored when the two DC`s came over and said they had gotten word from the CSI`s that the car had been found. At least that was something. Ben grabbed his cell phone to call Barnaby and give him the news. He then went in search of Banks.
Chapter Three
Barnaby took the tea Mike gave him and sat down across from him.
"Mike what in the world is your wife doing?" he asked, "She is only going to make this worse"
"I have tried talking to her but she just will not listen" Mike said, "I think she blames the police especially you for what happened to our daughter"
"We are doing everything we can to catch this guy. We caught him once and we can do it again"
"I know you are trying but Holly thinks if the public was warned a whole lot sooner then Carly would still be alive"
"I don't think it would have mattered on way or the other Mike"
Mike looked out the window and watched the snow blow across the road.
"I still have nightmares about that case" Mike said "These recent murders are only making things worse. It as though these killings never stopped"
"I agree that our killer is picking up where he left off all those years ago. I have a question Mike"
"What?"
"Have you been getting any strange phone calls Mike? My sergeant and myself have received some threatening calls"
"No. My gods John are you suggesting that things have been getting personal?"
"It seems so"
Just then Barnaby`s cell phone rang and the Chief Inspector noticed he had a message from his sergeant.
"Good news" he said "We found the car"
Barnaby pulled up in front of the biggest shed. Several PC`s and CSI`s were in the shed and outside checking for other evidence. DCI Banks and Sergeant Jones were standing in a small corner of the shed deep in conversation with DI Cabbot. Barnaby got out of the car and went over to the other three detectives.
"Any sign of our killer?" he asked as he walked up.
"No sir" Ben said, "However it is obvious that he had been hiding out here. We found some evidence that someone has been in the farmhouse"
Barnaby went over to the car. It was indeed the dark Honda with the windows covered in black paint.
"The CSI`s found several cans of black paint along with paintbrushes" Banks said, "Also they are going through the house again to see if we missed anything"
Barnaby opened the front passenger door and climbed into the car. He checked under the seats and slowly moved to the back. Under the back seat he found what looked like a bag full of knives. Barnaby handed his sergeant the bag.
"Give this to the CSI`s would you Jones" Barnaby said as he opened the glove compartment and went through the items.
"Yes sir" Ben said.
"We need to get this car back to the lab" Banks said "The CSI`s will be able to find out that this is the car"
"It is the car Alan" Barnaby said "How many people do you know paint their car windows with black paint"
Chapter Four
The demonstrators were still camped outside when the detectives arrived back at the station. They were throwing eggs, tomatoes and cabbages at the PC`s who were trying to hold them back. At the centre of the crowd Holly Summers held a huge microphone and was shouting all kinds of nasty things. Ben went over to grab the microphone from her but got hit in the face by an egg and a couple of tomatoes. He wiped the food off his face as someone yelled pig. Ben turned in the direction of the voice.
"Who threw that?" he demanded "Speak up"
"I did copper" a young man said.
Ben started to move in the man's direction but was stopped by Banks who gave the sergeant a sympathetic smile before glaring at the young man.
"You better stop right now before we put the bunch of you behind bars" Banks said firmly stepping into the man's personal space.
"Just try to get all of us in jail" the young man sneered, "You will not get very far"
"Is that a threat? I would think twice about threatening me lad"
Banks stepped up to the young man until he was nose to nose with him.
"Threatening the public are we DCI Banks" Holly sneered from behind Banks.
"Just telling this young man he better watch it" Banks said.
"I wonder what your superior officer would think when he finds out you have been making threats? I don't think that would look good for your reputation"
"Holly this is not the answer" Barnaby said walking up "I talked to your husband. He is very worried about you"
"You keep out of this DCI Barnaby!" Holly shouted, "I do not need you or my husband telling me what to do!"
"You heard her copper!" someone else shouted from the crowd "Back off! We have a right to be here"
"You think you have the right to show just how stupid and idiotic you can be," Barnaby snapped.
"Watch it copper or you will have a problem"
Ben moved until he stood in front of Barnaby. The sergeant was tens ready for any thing. Barnaby gave his sergeant's shoulder a small squeeze trying to tell him everything was okay.
"You all better clear out of here before we arrest the whole bunch of you" Barnaby said "If you do not think we can then just watch us"
The crowd started to move away. Holly was about to move with the crowd when Barnaby grabbed her arm.
"Not you Holly" he said.
Holly sat in the interview room with her arms crossed. She gave the Chief Inspector one of her coldest stares.
"You have no right to hold me here" she snapped.
"I am afraid we can" Barnaby said "First you make a scene at the press conference and then you organize a demonstration"
"I have the right to free speech"
"Yes you do as long as it does not turn violent. You were throwing things at police officers"
"They deserved it"
"No they did not just as my sergeant did not deserve having food thrown in his face"
Holly laughed.
"That was funny" she said "You should have seen the look on his face when those eggs and tomatoes hit him right in the face"
"No it was not funny Holly" Barnaby said firmly "You got to stop this behaviour or we many end up throwing you in prison. You have to let us do our jobs"
"Your jobs? The police have been slaking and you know it"
"We have been doing out jobs young lady. Now I am going to call your husband to come and get you and you are not going to do anything else. Do you understand?"
"Yes Chief Inspector" Holly said. The woman hid a sly smile. She had no intention of stopping.
Chapter Five
Barnaby found his sergeant cleaning himself up in the men's bathroom. He took a step back when he saw the look on Ben's face. Barnaby knew the sergeant felt humiliated.
"How are you holding up after having food thrown at you?" Barnaby asked carefully.
"I feel stupid" Ben said, "How did you think I would feel sir"
"Sorry"
Ben took some paper towels and wet them under the tap and wiped his face.
"I meant to ask you about what you found out during your little uncover assignment last night," Barnaby said.
"No much sir" Ben said throwing the paper towels away in the waste basket "Mr Sweeney did disappear into his office and made a phone call"
"Did you hear who he was talking to Jones?"
"No I could not hear anything but he did look worried and nervous. I think Mr Sweeney was concerned that I was at the club"
"Do you know what he keeps in his office?"
"No sir. The office is kept locked. Mr Sweeney has a key"
Barnaby thought for a few moments.
"You need to get into that office Jones" Barnaby said, "We need to find something"
"How am I going to do that sir?" Ben asked "Mr Sweeney always has his key on him at all times"
"I am sure you will think of something. Just be careful. You were nearly beaten up last night"
Ben stared at his boss surprised. How on earth did Barnaby know that? Then it occurred to him. The Chief Inspector was the man he saw at the club. He gave Barnaby a look of pure annoyance.
"Are you keeping an eye on me?" Ben asked.
"Guilty as charged" Barnaby said, "I am just looking out for my sergeant"
"Sir I can handle this"
"I know you can Jones"
As the two detectives left the washroom Banks came hurrying up.
"John" he said, "Mr White is willing to talk to us"
Sam White looked rather pleased when he spotted Barnaby come into the interview room followed by Banks and Jones.
"Well" he said with a big smile on his face "This a nice surprise"
"We have some important questions we need to ask you" Barnaby said immediately getting down to business. His sergeant sat down next to him.
"What is it you want to know?" Sam asked a little puzzled.
"You recognized the car the night that Carly was killed because you saw the car before am I right?"
"Yes I saw the car before but I do not understand why you are questioning me"
"Also your sister was one of the original victims is that correct?"
"Yes she was bit you already know this"
Sam turned and noticed that Banks was standing behind him and it made him very nervous.
"Does he need to stand behind me like that?" Sam asked.
"Ignore DCI Banks" Barnaby said, "Just answer the questions"
Sam bit his lip and tried to focus on Barnaby but it was hard especially when Banks started to pace.
"You were the one who found the body?" Barnaby asked.
"Yes"
"You suspected your sister's boyfriend of being the killer. Why?"
"He was wired. Look why are you asking these questions?"
"I think you knew that your sister's boyfriend did not kill her but you pointed the finger anyway. Why did you?"
Sam looked away from Barnaby.
"You do not want to know DCI Barnaby" Sam said, "Believe me"
"Just tell me," Barnaby said.
"Alright. Your boss DI Mike Summers told me to"
Barnaby and Banks exchanged shocked looks.
Chapter Six
After the interview Barnaby said he needed some time alone and went for a walk. Ben worried about his boss followed close behind. He had seen the shocked look on the Chief Inspector's face when Sam told them that Barnaby`s former boss had told him to point fingers at someone else. Ben found him not far from the Eastvale club. Barnaby was standing across from the club and he seemed to be staring into space.
"Are you okay sir?" Ben asked concerned.
Barnaby turned when he heard his sergeant's voice but did not appear to be angry that Ben had followed him.
"I was just thinking Jones" Barnaby said.
"About what sir?" Ben asked.
"Did I see what I wanted to see in Mike Summers Senior all those years ago?"
"You looked up and respected him. How were you supposed to know he might have been a dirty cop?"
"Part of me refuses to believe he would pointed the finger at some innocent man just to solve a case and get a promotion. He taught me everything. What if I turn out just like him in the end Jones. Angry and bitter"
"You are nothing like him sir. You are a good detective. I do not believe you would point fingers or plant evidence. You are much better then that"
"Thank you Jones. I needed to hear that"
"What are you going to do sir?"
"We need to look up the old case files. If Sam is right Mike Summers Senior has some explaining to do"
While Barnaby called his old police station to request the file on the Masked Avenger he thought back to the original case. He remembered how his former boss had insisted that Brad Tucker was guilty. Barnaby also remembered the day they found the evidence in Brad Tucker's car. The man said he was innocent and that someone had planted the evidence against him. Could he have been right?
"I am innocent!" Brad shouted, "I did not kill my girlfriend or those other women!"
"How do you explain the evidence in your car Brad?" DI Mike Summers demanded.
"Someone planted that evidence!"
"Who would do that?"
"I do not know"
"You like watching people especially women and you have pictures of naked women taped to your wall. Maybe you grew tired of just looking at them. Maybe you wanted some action but got turned down and you killed them"
"That is not true!"
"You are a sick pervert and a killer boy. You are going to jail for a very long time"
Young DC John Barnaby spoke up.
"Sir Brad may have pictures of naked women and maybe he likes to watch them but he is like a child. He could not hurt a fly. He may be right that someone is trying to frame him," DC Barnaby said.
"He is our killer DC Barnaby" DI Summers said firmly "We are going to take him down to the station and he is going to answer our questions"
"No" Brad shouted looking at DC Barnaby for help.
"Sir please listens to me!" Barnaby pleaded.
"If I want your opinion I will ask for it," DI Summers snapped "Now take him to the station. I will be along shortly. There are some things I need to take care of first"
DC Barnaby just stood there staring at the man who was like a hero to him as though he did not know who he was. The man in front of him was like a stranger.
"Did you hear what I said?" DI Summers thundered "Go on!"
"Yes sir" DC Barnaby said.
Barnaby suddenly realized that his former boss could have framed Brad.
Chapter Seven
Mike Summers Senior was surprised to find DCI Barnaby`s sergeant standing outside his door.
"Well" he said, "To what do I own this honour?"
"We need to talk" Ben said.
"Of course come on in? Can I get you something to drink? Tea, coffee or maybe something stronger?"
"No thank you"
"You look like you could use a very strong drink. Let me guess. You finally have seen Barnaby for what he is"
"No. I have finally seen what kind of man you are"
Mike Senior stared at the sergeant surprised.
"What do you mean?" he asked and frowned.
"We just interviewed Sam White and he told us something very interesting" Ben said.
"Oh?"
"Yes. He said you asked him to point a finger at his sister's boyfriend"
"Nonsense. Yes Brad Tucker was a suspect but that is all"
"You were not just pointing fingers in order to solve the case?"
Mike Senior stepped into Ben's face.
"I resent that young man" he snarled, "I spent a lot of sleepless nights on that case. I drank myself silly. I could have solved that case if it were not for that know it all"
"You just can not get over the fact that Barnaby solved the case and not you. Why is that? Did you know all along who it was and were maybe trying to protect him?"
"You have no idea what your talking about Sergeant. Both you and Barnaby have no idea what it takes to solve a case. If you go public with this I will ruin you both!"
"Are you making threats? It sounds as though you have something to hide"
"Get out"
"Gladly"
Ben turned and walked out of the room. Maybe confronting Mike Summers Senior was not such a good idea. There was really no hard evidence. The man probably could ruin both him and Barnaby.
Chapter Eight
That night Ben and DS Hatchley and a couple of PC`s went to the Eastvale club. While Hatchley and the PC`s engaged Mr Sweeney in a conversation Ben snuck up behind Mr Sweeney and took the keys to his office out of his pocket. He went to the office and opened the door. The sergeant turned on the lights hoping that Hatchley could keep Mr Sweeney distracted long enough for him to search the office. Ben went over to a filing cabinet and opened the door all the while looking toward the office door just in case Mr Sweeney suddenly appeared.
"Hey" a voice said from the doorway to the office "What in the world are you doing in this office? Get out!"
Ben turned and noticed one of the security guards who nearly beat him up the night before standing blocking the doorway.
"I am sorry" Ben said, "I just got confused"
"It looks like you are going through Mr Sweeney's files copper"
The man took a menacing step towards Ben. The sergeant saw that in order to get out the office he would have to get by the guy.
"Look this is all a misunderstanding" Ben said.
"Do you know what we do to nosy coppers boy?" the man said coming closer.
"You are not going to do anything," a familiar said.
Ben noticed that Barnaby had come up behind the guard.
"He was snooping" the guard said.
"I am sure this is all just a misunderstanding" Barnaby said, "I am sure that my sergeant has a good reason to be in here. Jones?"
"I just got lost" Ben said hoping he sounded convincing.
"Well don't let that happen again" the guard said and left.
Barnaby joined his sergeant by the filing cabinet.
"Thank you sir" Ben said.
"No problem Jones" Barnaby said, "We need to get a warrant to search this office. It looks like you have found what we need on Mr Sweeney"
Later Mr Sweeney was on the phone. He heard the angry voice of Mike Summers Senior and was glad that the man was on the other end of the telephone.
"You are an idiot" Mike Senior snapped "How could you allow Barnaby`s sergeant into your office?"
"He must have gotten a hold of my keys Mr Summers" Mr Sweeney said.
"If the cops find out about our connection I am finished"
"They will not find out I promise you. I will destroy all of the files"
"You are going to do no such thing. You are going to take care of our cop problem. You are going to arrange for Sergeant Jones to have a little accident"
"Mr Summers!"
"You are going to do what I say. Don't you forget who tried to protect your brother all those years ago? Do not forget who helped you start your clubs Mr Sweeney"
"Yes I remember" Mr Sweeney said bitterly "How could I forget"
"Good" Mike Summers Senior said, "I am glad we understand one another"
Mr Sweeney hung up the phone. He sat down in the chair behind the desk and decided he had enough. If he and Mike Summers Senior were exposed so be it.
Chapter Nine
Barnaby could not sleep that night. His thoughts were on the fact that the man who he had looked up to and considered his friend had been a dirty cop. It was just not possible. Mike Summers Senior had been a good detective. Why would he have turned dirty? It did not make any sense. Barnaby put on his coat and went for a walk even though it was two in the morning.
Dee Cramer stood on the corner smoking and feeling a little nervous. Three women who were regulars at the Eastvale club had been murdered. Dee looked at her watch and noticed it was getting late. She looked at the clouds passing over the full moon and knew she should not be out on the streets. Psychopaths she had read liked to hunt when there was a full moon. Dee walked across the street. She kept looking over her shoulder. Dee noticed a man cross the street and start to follow her. Was he the serial killer? She quickened her pace. Dee turned down an alley and practully tripped over a body that was lying behind some boxes. Dee screamed and suddenly the man who had been following her put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. Dee struggled in the man's arms thinking she would be next.
"Calm down love" the man, said, "I am a police officer"
The man pulled out his ID.
"DCI Barnaby" the man said.
"I have seen you on TV" Dee said calming down.
"What is your name love?"
"Dee"
"Come on Dee. Lets get out of this freezing alley"
Dee allowed Barnaby to lead her out of the alley thankful that he had been around. If he had not been on the streets tonight Dee could have been killed too. Barnaby and Dee went and sat in the café down the street and waited until morning.
Chapter Ten
By nine o'clock the next day the area was filled with PC`s and detectives. The area had been tapped off and the press were shouting questions. Barnaby rubbed his tired eyes as his sergeant ducked under the police tape.
"Sir" Ben said, "You disappeared last night. Where did you go?"
"I needed to go for a walk Jones" Barnaby said, "I wanted to clear my head"
"It is a good thing you did or we would have had two murders last night"
Barnaby turned and looked in the direction of Dee Cramer who was giving her statement to an officer. He turned back to Ben.
"Do we know who the victim is?" Barnaby asked.
"No sir" Ben said "We could not find any ID on her"
"A stranger then. Terrific"
"She could be a tourist"
"Alright we need to check the hotels and see if they had a guest matching her description"
As Barnaby and his sergeant ducked back under the police tape reporters started firing questions at them. The detectives ignored them and started their search of the local hotels.
People were all talking at once. Barnaby and Jones were standing in the lobby of Eastvale`s most popular hotel. The Chief Inspector had just asked the people in the lobby if they were missing anyone. A middle-aged woman around fifty approached the Chief Inspector.
"I am Mrs Regan" the woman said, "Why are you asking if we are missing anyone?"
"A body was discovered near the Eastvale club and we did not find any ID on her. We are trying to find out her identity"
"A body?"
"Yes. Is everyone in your group accounted for?"
"What did this woman look like?"
"She had black hair, blue eyes and was wearing a pair of black jeans, a silver top and blue high heals" Ben said.
"It sounds as though your describing Molly Smith" Mrs Regan said, "I do not understand what is going on?"
"When was the last time you saw Molly?" Barnaby asked.
"Last night at the Eastvale club" Mrs Regan said "You are not suggesting…"
"It is possible it is not Molly. Did Molly come back to the hotel last night?"
"I assume she did"
"You assume?"
"Look I do not understand any of this. What is going on? Why would you think the victim was Molly?"
"So Molly could be here at the hotel," Ben said.
"I do not know" Mrs Regan said, "Would one of you tell me what the hell is going on?"
"There have so far been five murders" Barnaby explained, "We think it is the work of a serial killer"
"A serial killer!"
Barnaby saw Mrs Regan grow pale with shock.
"We may need you to come to identify the body Mrs Regan" Barnaby said gently "If you are up to it"
"Lets get it over with" Mrs Regan said
Chapter Eleven
All of the detectives were sitting around the squad room while Detective Superintendent Gristhorpe paced up and down.
" Five victims ladies and gentlemen" he said, "The Chief Constable just called me and is coming to the station. He wants to check on the progress of our investigation"
"Why sir?" Banks asked, "We are handling it quiet well thank you very much"
"I understand how you feel Alan but the Chief Constable is not convinced. He thinks you are all dragging your feet. He even expressed an interest in meeting DCI Barnaby"
"Me sir?" Barnaby asked "Why me?"
"He wants to talk to you Chief Inspector. He feels you are hiding something about this case that could be important"
"I am hiding nothing sir!"
"He thinks otherwise"
Ben spoke up angrily.
"DCI Barnaby is not like that!" Ben snapped "Sir"
"It is alright Jones" Barnaby said, "I will answer any of his questions sir"
"Tread carefully Barnaby" Gristhorpe said.
"I will" Barnaby promised.
"Okay let's get back to work. The Chief Constable will be here in a couple of hours so no slacking"
Word from the lab came an hour before the Chief Constable was due to arrive. The CSI`s had found traces of blood in the car and on the various knives. All the detectives had to do now was to find out whom the car belonged to and they had their killer. There was of course the question if the killer had anyone helping them. Barnaby has his suspicions. A warrant arrived to search Mr Sweeney's office.
Before the detectives could go and search Mr Sweeney's office the Chief Constable arrived. He was a tall, thin man with hardly any hair. His dark blue suit fitted loosely on his body that it looked like a large tent. He had piercing green eyes and a rather large nose that looked like it was pointed upwards so that you could almost see down the nostrils. He spoke in a rather loud booming voice.
"I am here to see DCI Barnaby" he said "Which one of you is Barnaby?" The Chief Constable looked in the direction of Barnaby and Jones.
"I am DCI John Barnaby sir" Barnaby said stepping forward "and this my sergeant DS Ben Jones"
The Chief Constable looked Barnaby up and down and pulled his lip back in a sneer. His green eyes seemed to travel from the Chief Inspector's eyes all the way down his body.
"So you are the famous DCI John Barnaby," he said almost as a hiss "I expected someone different. I thought you would be a bit younger"
Barnaby heard his sergeant suck in his breath next to him.
"You want to talk to me sir?" Barnaby said ignoring the comment.
"Yes" the Chief Constable said almost impatiently "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"
"We can use DCI Banks office"
"That will do just fine"
The Chief Constable started in the direction of the office and walked through the station as though he owned the place. When the three officers got to the door to the office the Chief Constable turned to Ben and said rather rudely:
"You wait outside Sergeant"
Barnaby immediately jumped to his sergeant's defence.
"I would prefer if Sergeant Jones joined us sir" he said his voice tight with anger at the Chief Constable's rudeness.
"This is an important matter Chief Inspector," the Chief Constable said "Jones is just a sergeant. It is not his place to take part in our conversation"
"Jones is my sergeant. I want him to be present"
"And I want him to wait outside the office until we are done Barnaby. I outrank you so what I say goes understand?"
Barnaby and the Chief Constable stared at one another like two gunfighters before the final showdown at high noon. Before the argument could go any further a PC came hurrying over to Barnaby.
"I am sorry to interrupt sir" the PC said in a small voice "We just got the information you requested"
Barnaby took the file from the PC and nodded his thanks.
"Our conversation will just have to wait sir," he said to the Chief Constable with false niceness "Something has come up. Come on Jones"
The Chief Constable glared after the two detectives as they walked off.
Chapter Twelve
Barnaby, Jones, DI Cabbot and DCI Banks were all looking through the file on the Masked Avenger case. One major thing that the detectives noticed was that the only suspect that DI Mike Summers had at the time was Brad Tucker. There were other people who were persons of interest but the DI refused to look at them. Something was not right. There had to been a reason that the detective pointed the finger at Brad. The question was why?
"We may need to question Sam again" Banks said, "He might be able to give us answers"
"Sam may not be able to answer our questions Alan" Barnaby said, "He may not know why he was asked to blame Brad"
"Maybe he did know and was scared into silence"
"Why though. Brad was an innocent"
"There might be something in Brad's background sir" Ben said, "Maybe DC Jackman has found something"
Just then DC Jackman came hurrying up to four detectives.
"To answer you question sir I have found some rather interesting information about Brad Tucker's background which may answer a lot of questions" DC Jackman said placing a folder on the table "It is rather disturbing"
DI Cabbot picked up the folder and gasped. There was a series of newspaper clippings and police reports and a series of pictures that showed two bodies chopped up into pieces by what looked like an axe.
"According to these reports and newspaper clippings two young women were hacked to pieces by an axe. Young Brad found the bodies and was blamed for the murders. He was only six at the time. However he was not guilty. Brad spent some time going to therapists after that. He was traumatized by what he saw," DI Cabbot said.
"Is it possible that Mike Senior knew about this incident?" Ben asked.
"It is possible Jones" Barnaby said "Maybe that is the reason why he pointed the finger at Brad. People would have believed Brad was capable of killing those women"
"I think John that you are going to have to ask your former boss some hard questions," Banks said.
Chapter Thirteen
The Chief Constable laughed when he heard about the theory that DI Mike Summers had been a dirty cop.
"Has it ever occurred to you Barnaby that you could have been wrong back then and that this Brad Tucker was the real killer?" he asked.
"It is not possible sir" Barnaby said.
"This Brad may have killed before and he may be killing again. I want you to find this man and bring him in for questioning. He is probably our serial killer"
"Sir!"
"I do not by the theory that Mike Summers Senior of all people framed this man for the murders of those twelve women all those years ago. Brad Tucker was a very disturbed man. He liked to look at women and there was evidence linking him to the crimes"
"That is because Mike Senior planted the evidence sir. Brad was good for the murders because he was weird and people would have believed it. The DI was under a lot of pressure to find the killer. If he solved the case he would have gotten a promotion"
The Chief Constable snorted.
"Why would he have done that Chief Inspector? He sneered, "It does not make any sense"
"It is possible that the DI knew who the killer was and was protecting him for some reason" Barnaby said.
"This is crazy"
"We also believe there was someone else involved"
"Who?"
"Mr Sweeney who owns the club in Eastvale"
"You are way off base on this Barnaby"
"That may be true sir and if I am wrong about this then I will personally bring in Brad for questioning"
Mr Sweeney watched nervously as the detectives searched his office. He knew it was a matter of time before they found his connection to Mike Summers Senior. The former DI had told him to take care of Sergeant Jones but Mr Sweeney did not have the stomach for it. The best thing was to surrender now and hope his brother escaped the authorities. He did not resist as the handcuffs were slapped on his wrists.
Mr Sweeney looked down at the table in the interview room and ran his finger over the patterns in the tabletop. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the four victims. Mr Sweeney was a good kind man who was just caught up in a bad situation. He loved his brother but it was hard at times. His brother was a serial killer.
"Okay Mr Sweeney" Barnaby said, "You need to start to give us some answers"
Mr Sweeney looked up at the Chief Inspector his eyes filled with guilt.
"I had no choice," he said, "If I wanted to keep my club open I had to help him"
"Him who is him?" Sergeant Jones asked.
"My brother"
Barnaby slid a photograph across the table.
"Is this your brother?" he asked.
Mr Sweeney just nodded. The man in the picture had the same blond hair and blue eyes as the killer.
"What we want to know is why did you not phone the police once you knew your brother escaped from prison?" Barnaby asked.
"I was told to keep quiet" Mr Sweeney said, "I had to help him just as I had to help him all those years ago"
"Help him why?"
"If I did not help him I would go to jail. You see Chief Inspector I have a record"
"You were blackmailed"
"Yes"
"Who is blackmailing you?
"I think you already know the answer to that question"
Barnaby did not say anything but exchanged at look with his sergeant.
"Mike Senior knows about your record" Barnaby said.
"I had to go along with protecting my brother or I would have ended up in jail," Mr Sweeney said.
"Why did you agree to it?"
"My brother was my business partner along with Mike Senior. It would have been bad for business if my brother were exposed as a serial killer. He was a well-known figure in the community. That is why your former boss framed that poor lad for the murders"
"And Sam White was forced to point the finger at Brad Tucker"
"Yes"
Barnaby felt sick to his stomach. Whatever the business was he was sure it was illegal.
Chapter Fourteen
Barnaby, Banks, Jones and DI Cabbot were all sitting in the Superintendent's office. Gristhorpe looked grim as he stood behind his desk.
"The Chief Constable is convinced that Brad Tucker is the real killer and an innocent man had been in prison all of these years," he said.
"Sir" Barnaby said, "It is coming more and more obvious that former DI Mike Summers was a dirty cop who deliberately framed poor Brad a man who would not hurt anybody"
"The Chief Constable wants evidence Barnaby. I agree that Brad is an innocent victim in all of this but unless we can prove otherwise he will have to go to jail for the twelve original murders as well as these recent murders. We have to bring him in"
"Sir we can not put him through that again. It nearly killed him the first time"
"I am sorry John"
Barnaby sighed. The Chief Constable was their superior officer and the detectives had no choice but to follow his orders wrong or not.
"Yes sir" Barnaby said.
Barnaby felt his sergeant's eyes on him and knew what Jones was thinking. The Chief Constable was just trying to push their buttons. He turned and gave the sergeant a look that said he understood but they had no choice.
Ben was so angry that they wasted their time. That night he went to the club hoping to catch their main suspect in the act. Unfortunately the sergeant was kidnapped and taken down to a secret room below the club. Since Barnaby had no idea that his sergeant was at the club he slept safe and sound at the hotel. It would not be until the next morning that the Chief Inspector would find out that his sergeant was missing.
Fifth teen
The next morning Barnaby woke up and sensed something was really wrong. At first he did not know what it was until he glanced at his sergeant's bed, which had not, been slept in. The Chief Inspector had gotten back to the hotel at one in the morning after spending several hours at the station and he thought Jones was asleep and went straight to bed. Alarm went through Barnaby`s body when he saw that the sergeant was not there. He quickly showed, dressed and hurried to the station hoping that Jones was there.
Barnaby ran into the squad room out of breath. He looked this way and that his eyes searching the room for any sign of his sergeant.
"Have any of you seen Sergeant Jones?" he asked the detectives in the room.
"No sir" they all answered.
"My God where the hell is he?"
Banks came walking up behind Barnaby and placed a hand on his arm.
"Is there a problem John?" he asked very concerned.
"It seems as though my sergeant is missing" Barnaby said close to panicking.
"Missing? Are you sure?"
"He was not in our hotel room when I woke up. I came straight here thinking he stayed working at the station all night"
"He is not here either"
Banks turned to the other detectives.
"When was the last time either of you had seen Sergeant Jones?" he asked them.
The two DC`s refused to meet Banks eyes and he suspected they knew some thing.
"All right you two" Banks said, "What do you know about the whereabouts of Sergeant Jones?" he demanded.
"He said that he had to go to the Eastvale club to check something out but he did not say what it was," DC Jackman said.
"What?" Barnaby said feeling a cold chill run down his spine. He did not like the sound of this at all.
"We have to get to the club" he said, "Something has happened to Jones"
Ben woke up in a dark small room tied to a chair. There was a small window but it was too high up to see out of. The only other things in the room were a table and a couple of other chairs and a lamp. The sergeant felt half sick from the bump on his head. Suddenly someone shone a light in his eyes.
"Greetings Sergeant" a voice said, "It is an honour to meet you at last"
"What do you want with me?" Ben asked even though he already knew the answer to that question.
"You are going to help me get revenge on Barnaby Sergeant. I know you mean a great deal to him. You are going to help me convince him you are dead"
"I am going to do no such thing"
"Yes you are Sergeant. However I am not going to kill you. After Barnaby is convinced you are dead he will not come to save you and you are going to be here with me for a very long time"
Ben shuttered when he heard the laugh. The sergeant gritted his teeth in anger.
END OF PART FOUR