The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (86 page)

Despite himself Leyton knew this was true, but just could not envision Adela Faraday being one of those women. But Sullivan was right it
did
happen.’ Sullivan was speaking again, ‘as for the raincoat, maybe she gave it to you out of revenge 'cos she thought her lover boy had run out on her,’ he looked at Leyton from under his eyelashes making him look sly,’ or maybe to get you to trust her, kinda, see how helpful I am detective, how sweet and nice and innocent. So you wouldn’t suspect nothing.’

Leyton was angry now partly at his partners determination to see only the dark side of everyone, including Adela Faraday and partly because he was making him appear like a gullible fool
. He glowered at him, ‘so what you saying, Pat? That she went outside incapacitated Jones all by herself then made a run for it, hoping to catch up with Hennessey somewhere?’

Leyton stared back at his partner knowing he had got to him. He said, ‘maybe she used her charms on Jones, offered him a nice cup of English tea then when his defences were down clobbered him and made her getaway.’

Leyton said, ‘that’s bullshit.’

Sullivan laughed, ‘we’ve heard and seen things that at the time seem like bullshit, Ellis but since discovered they were anything but. Anyway, Hennessey might have come for his lady love and done Jones.’ He looked around, ‘so just answer this, have you found her purse? And what about her passport?’

Leyton had not thought of that and Sullivan gave another smug smile which was beginning to irritate Leyton big time. He said, ‘we don’t know she took her passport, she could have hidden it somewhere.’

‘Well if it’s here we’ll soon find it,’ he glanced around the small room, ‘this is hardly
Buckingham Palace is it?’

Leyton’s temper got the better of him and before he could stop himself he blurted out, ‘she would never knowingly get involved with a man like Hennessey, she was repulsed by what he’d done to Maxwell and you didn’t see her face when she found out about him. She threw her guts up in that bathroom, she…’

He stopped at the look on his partner's face. Sullivan walked back towards him and his tone no longer smug but very serious said, ‘and just what did she find out, Ellis.’

Leyton’s face was red and he pursed his lips as though that would take back the words he had said. Sullivan spat, ‘you fucking idiot, Ellis. D’ya know what you’ve done? If she is in cahoots with him she’ll tell him we’re onto him. She’ll tell him not to use those identities. He’ll leave the country, probably on the same private plane as your English Miss.’

Leyton’s embarrassment gave way to anger again, ‘you’re wrong about her, Pat, dead wrong. Okay, I told her, and she was devastated, she looked sick to death when I left.’

Sullivan shook his head at his partner's naivety. 'You know what I think? That they were blackmailing Maxwell and he refused submit and threatened to go to the police so Hennessey got mad and did what he did to him, but Miss. Faraday's conscience got the better of her and she stopped him.'
Leyton shook his head in disbelief but Sullivan wasn't finished, 'or maybe they went in to rob him and he fought back. Have you thought she might have been devastated because you’d found out something about her lover, something she already knew and her sickness was because we were going to go after him big time?'

Leyton gave him an incredulous look. Sullivan turned from him in disgust then turned back and his tone gentler now said, ‘of course none of what I said about her might be true, she might be totally innocent. But you have to admit, the fact that her purse and passport are missing is suspicious. As for her clothes, she can get more of those, contract killing pays well I believe. But whether she’s innocent or not you should not have divulged information like that to a witness. You’re in big trouble, Ellis.’ He sighed heavily, ‘and I’m just about to make it worse.’

Leyton’s head shot up and Sullivan went on, ‘the FBI came back to us, they usually drag their heals as a rule when we ask for information but this time they were pretty quick off the blocks. Probably because their interest was piqued.’ He took a deep breath, ‘the bullets found in Blakemore and Stanton match bullets found in five other murder victims killed in the last two years, all fired from a Glock 18, illegal for anyone outside law enforcement to possess of course. Two of the victims in New York, one in Ohio, one in Nebraska and another in North Dakota. They’re also looking into similar murders around the country. So this Hennessey, if he is our guy, certainly likes to travel.’

When he spoke Leyton’s voice was low and hoarse, ‘all assassinated?’

‘Yeah, in much the same way, heavily guarded houses, dogs, men, high barb wire fences, security system, the works. Four found dead in their own homes, one in a hotel, top floor and surrounded by five of his own men.

Leyton stared at the far wall as though trying to absorb this information. So he had been right, this Hennessey if that was in fact his name which it probably wasn’t, was a contract killer, a hitman and Adela Faraday had somehow gotten herself involved with him. But despite Sullivan’s interpretation of things he did not for a moment believe that she was involved in his crimes.

He suddenly thought of something and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, he turned to Sullivan who was watching him closely. He said, ‘so Hennessey is a first class burglar as well as a professional killer, he can get into just about anywhere, even the most well guarded houses, he can get in, do what he has to do and leave and no one any the wiser for hours after the event.’

Sullivan nodded and Leyton walked past him towards the bathroom. He examined more closely the scuff marks he had seen before and thought nothing of. Then he went into the bathroom and again examined the shower curtain. He bent down and began to search around the floor, moving a chair and the laundry hamper, but it was behind the curtain that hung from the sink that he found what he was looking for.

Sullivan who had followed him into the bathroom said impatiently, ‘what’re ya doing, Ellis, praying?’

‘No, but maybe I should, maybe we both should.’

‘What you mean?’

Leyton held up
the shower curtain ring, ‘there are three rings missing from the shower curtain.’

‘So? So what does that have to do with anything? ‘Sullivan sounded impatient now.

Leyton didn’t answer but continued to search around on the floor where he found the second ring behind the litter bin. He continued his search of the floor but finding nothing he pulled back the shower curtain all the way across and found what he was looking for, the third ring was on the tiled floor of the shower. He stood up and looked at the three rings in his hand then pulled the curtain back across the shower, he held up all three rings to Sullivan and said, ‘these belong on the curtain they’ve been ripped off.’

Sullivan repeated, ‘so, they’ve been ripped off, perhaps she got herself in a hissy fit and took it out on the curtain. Or they could have fallen or been ripped off by the last tenants.’

‘I’d go for that if it had been just these two, they were hidden behind things, but this one I found in the shower itself, right in the middle.’

Again Sullivan said, ‘so?’

‘So you’re telling me that she would just ignore it, all the times she must have had a shower in there and stepped on it and didn’t even bother to pick it up.’

‘It could have been somewhere else in the shower and the water just knocked it into the centre.’

Leyton said, ‘okay, if it was just that I would concede defeat but there’s something else too.’

Sullivan sighed impatiently and growled, ‘what?’

Leyton pulled the towels from the shower rail and said, ‘these.’

‘Towels? Well, that’s it, you’ve done it, Leyton, case closed, there’ll be a promotion in this for you no doubt about that.’

Leyton hung onto his temper and ignoring his partners sarcasm said calmly, ‘it’s not the towels themselves but how they were put on the rail, they were just flung over any which way.’ When his partner said nothing just looked at him blankly he rushed on, ‘take a look around, Pat, this room is spotlessly clean, you could eat your dinner off the floor. She would never just toss towels still wet any old how onto the rail, she’d arrange them neatly.’ He brushed past Sullivan and walked into the living room, ‘the same in here, it was the first thing I noticed when I called here earlier, everything clean and tidy and in its place. She’s been here a week and it looks like it’s ready for the next guest. She even makes tea with a teapot and cups and saucers and cream in a jug, who does that these days?’

Sullivan had had enough he walked past Leyton saying, ‘so she makes tea in a pot and uses cups and saucers instead of mugs, and she’s scrupulously clean, that don’t mean she hasn’t gone AWOL, Ellis.’

Leyton said, ‘and there’s this.’

Sullivan exhaled
deeply then turned back to face his partner and snapped ‘what?’

Leyton pointed at the dirty marks half way up the door frame, ‘these.’

‘Dirty marks. So Miss. Clean And Tidy missed a bit of dirt, we’ll add that to her list of crimes when we book her.’

It was Leyton’s turn to snap, ‘it’s not just a bit of dirt, Pat. I thought at first these were finger marks, but on closer inspection I think they’re toe marks.’

Sullivan sighed yet again and rolled his eyes before walking over and crouching down to examine the marks. He looked closely at them then at Leyton then back at the marks again before saying, ‘they sure don’t look like any fingerprints I’ve ever seen.’

Leyton allowed himself a relieved smile, ‘me neither. So what was she doing to get toe marks this far up the wall?’

‘Maybe she was practising abseiling.’

This time Leyton almost laughed at his partner’s sarcasm. But his humour faded as he said, ‘this is what I think happened. I think Hennessey came here, rendered Jones

unconscious and somehow got into the cabin. He grabbed her from behind and tried to drag her outside but she fought him, she tried to push him off her by shoving her feet against the wall. The struggle ended in the bathroom where the shower rail was grabbed, probably by her, some of the rings snapped and the towels fell off.’ His tone was low now and worried sounding, ‘she finally and inevitably lost the fight and he did to her what he’d done to Jones.’

Sullivan looked at the wall then back at Leyton and shook his head saying almost sorrowfully, ‘you’re basing that theory on a few scuff marks, three shower curtain rings and two damp towels, Ellis, but what you’re really doing is clutching at straws.’

Leyton was disappointed but said calmly, ‘it’s not just that, when I arrived I heard a car start, it seemed as though it was coming from the woods. Why would a car be out there in the middle of nowhere at two in the morning?’

‘Any number of reasons, a
lovers tryst, poachers.’

Leyton shook his head, ‘now who’s grasping at straws, Pat.’

Sullivan was angry now, ‘okay, say everything you say is right, say he has been hired to do her, why not just kill her? Why this elaborate charade?’

Leyton turned away and running his fingers
through his hair admitted, ‘I don’t know the answer to that, I wish I did.’ He looked back at his partner and friend and said almost pleadingly, ‘Pat, don’t you think I would rather you were right than I was? Look, I know you think I’m a nut job and I can’t explain
how
I know; I just know something went on here, something bad.’

Sullivan looked at his partner for a long time then said, ‘maybe Jones saw or heard something, I’ll get along to the hospital and wait there for him to regain consciousness. In the meantime you put out a BOLO for her…and him. At least we have a good description of her, although we don’t know for certain what she was wearing, but you were the last person to see her so we’ll have to go by what she was wearing then. Also, I’ll ask around see if anyone saw anything suspicious in the woods, there might have been hunters or poachers out there, ‘he smiled, ‘or lovers.’

Leyton smiled back relieved, ‘He said, ‘thanks, Pat, I appreciate this.’

Sullivan looked at him then back at the scuff marks on
the wall, ‘well I don’t see no abseiling equipment do you?’

Leyton laughed
, ‘no, I don’t.’

Sullivan smiled and clapped
his partner on the back, ‘let’s go.’ They walked to the door but Sullivan pulled Leyton to a stop and said, ‘One thing, Ellis and just so you know, and not just 'cos I hate being proved wrong but I hope
you’re
not right this time.’

Leyton nodded, ‘I’m with you there, partner.’ Then they both walked out of Adela’s cabin into the early morning light.

                                                         ********

Adela came too slowly and painfully. Her head ached abominably and she was so cramped that this time both arms hurt, as did her legs, in fact she couldn’t pick a place on her entire body that didn’t ache or throb. She swore there and then that never again would she sleep on the sofa, even the most comfortable of them were uncomfortable.

But God she was thirsty, her mouth was so dry, it felt like she’d been eating sawdust, and her teeth hurt, maybe she’d been grinding her teeth in her sleep again. She opened her eyes and thought she must be buried under the blanket because she couldn’t see clearly, everything seemed to have a hazy film over it. She could hardly breathe and oh she did hurt, and although she knew she should move she didn’t want to in case the pain increased.