Behind Dead Eyes (DC Ian Bradshaw #2) - Howard Linskey Page 0,138

back later and I’ll bring those photographs you asked for.’

Tom managed to sit up. He twisted his face. ‘The whole room is spinning.’ Then he seemed to register what she had said. ‘Don’t you think we’ve done enough damage for one week?’

She rounded on him then. ‘No, I do not! Listen to me. I know you are upset about what happened to Annie Bell. Ian is too and so am I, but this is different. We have to help those girls at Meadowlands and that means finding this man and stopping him. So you need to get a shower, make some coffee and sort yourself out, because tonight we are going to find Callie again.’

Tom held up a hand to placate her. ‘You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m getting up now. I’ve got things to do too.’

‘What kind of things?’

‘Well, I have to go and see Richard Bell for starters,’ he told her, ‘and I’m not exactly looking forward to that.’

The governor had already informed Richard Bell of his wife’s suicide, so at least Tom wasn’t forced to break the news to him. Because she had chosen to throw herself off a tall building in front of a police officer, there was little room for ambiguity. Tom had driven there in a state of high anxiety made worse by the colossal hangover he was enduring. He had been so shocked by Annie’s death because, whichever way you looked at things, it was largely due to his actions. The only coping mechanism he could think of at the time was alcoholic oblivion. That was fine yesterday, but now he had a burning stomach, a severe feeling of nausea and a pounding headache that showed no sign of abating.

By the time Tom arrived at HMP Durham, Richard would have had hours to digest the news about Annie, but when he walked into the room it didn’t look as if he had been able to accept it.

‘I’m very sorry about your wife,’ Tom told him.

‘What did you say to her?’ Bell was ashen-faced and looked like he was in deep shock. Had he taken Tom’s apology as some form of acknowledgement of responsibility? ‘What did you say to my wife?’

‘I told her what I found out, Richard, that’s all. I did what you asked me to do,’

‘What did you say to her!’ He roared the words this time.

‘Hey!’ shouted the prison guard. ‘Calm down, Bell,’ he warned but did not take further action, presumably cutting the grieving widower more slack than usual for his loss.

‘The truth. I told her the truth. I said to you when you started this that I might uncover something you didn’t want to hear.’ Tom hesitated while he tried to find the right words but ended up choosing the most direct approach. ‘She did it, Richard. Annie killed Rebecca and I can prove it.’ He went on to tell the disbelieving man everything. Bell didn’t speak for a while. He just listened but his face was a picture of disbelief.

‘I can’t accept this.’ He shook his head. ‘You say you’ve got all this on tape?’ Tom nodded.

‘We can use this. I’ve given my recording to a Detective Sergeant Ian Bradshaw. I’m certain they will reopen your case. I think, Richard, that it could even be enough to get you out of here.’

Surely that would bring the man some comfort.

‘Jesus Christ,’ mumbled Bell and he began to cry. Tom couldn’t tell if it was relief or sadness at first, then Bell mumbled, ‘What difference does it make?’

‘What difference? I thought this was what you wanted. You’ll be freed. You’ll see your daughters again …’

‘And how am I ever going to explain to them their mother killed herself because of me, because of something I did? I don’t care anymore. Don’t you get it? This is all my fault. Rebecca died because of me. Annie is dead … because of me. Oh God.’ And he wept once more.

Tom could think of nothing to say to console the man, for he knew exactly how he was feeling. Only Richard Bell’s guilt was magnified because he had the deaths of two women on his hands, not just one.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Callie stopped in her tracks when she saw Helen standing in the street up ahead of her. ‘I told ya I don’t do girls.’

‘Please get in, Callie,’ urged Helen. ‘We can help you, we really can.’

Callie snorted, ‘Yeah right.’ Whatever had happened since their last conversation, it seemed the girl was having second thoughts about