with lots of fancy goods inside.
He followed the noise to an alarm control unit under the stairs. Steadying himself he keyed in the code from Matthews’ old house and inwardly prayed. It went silent.
‘Shit,’ he muttered uneasily as he pulled himself together.
He didn’t have long. He looked around until he found what he presumed was Matthews’ study. The drawers to his desk had been ransacked. Matthews had obviously been in a hurry when he had left and grabbed whatever he could. However, a spare set of car keys had been left in one of the drawers.
Brady picked them up and headed towards the garage. Being a copper, Brady knew Matthews was aware of the likelihood of being traced. CCTV cameras were everywhere and once the police had a report on a vehicle it wouldn’t take long to track it down.
When Brady reached the utility room he tried the door which connected the garage to the house, expecting it to be locked. It wasn’t. It swung open into a large, dark space. He stepped down into the garage and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dense blackness. Matthews’ car was parked against the opposite wall. Brady felt himself trembling and knew it wasn’t just the cold.
Instinct made him try the boot first. It opened. There was a half-full black bin liner. Without thinking Brady shone his torch into it. He stepped back in disbelief at the sight of Matthews’ clothes; the exact same clothes he had worn to Madley’s nightclub the night of the murder. The pale shirt and tie were splattered in indiscriminate patches of rust-coloured blood. Brady had seen enough. He didn’t have the stomach to search through the rest of the bag and decided it was better left for the lab.
He ran a trembling hand through his hair as he remembered Matthews’ coat draped over the victim’s body. The same coat he was filmed wearing as he left Madley’s nightclub with Sophie. Brady had accepted Matthews’ lame excuse that he had been worried that the victim might have traces of his DNA from when he drove her home and that he had covered her body with his coat as a convenient ruse for explaining why any of his DNA might be on her.
Brady now realised the truth was much darker.
He steeled himself as he walked round to the passenger’s side. He shakily opened the car door and shone the torch across the front and back seats; nothing. At least nothing that the naked eye could see. He was sure that something would show up under a forensic ultraviolet light. He opened up the glove compartment. Again nothing. Brady sighed as he bent down to have a look at the floor. He shone his flashlight under the passenger’s seat and caught a glimpse of something. He reached under and pulled out a mobile phone. At first he wondered whether Matthews had left his phone behind, but realised that was highly improbable.
Brady opened the phone; it was an expensive Motorola. The exact type that the Simmons had said their daughter owned. It was switched off. Brady knew that after the call to Matthews’ mobile the phone had shortly lost its network connection; meaning someone had turned it off.
Brady pulled out a small plastic bag from his jacket pocket and deposited the phone inside. He took another look inside and saw something sticking out from under the seat. It was an empty condom wrapper. He picked it up and placed it in an evidence bag.
Brady closed his eyes for a moment as he thought about what he was about to do. His head was pounding; too much Scotch and not enough sleep. He reluctantly opened his eyes and started to call Conrad.
‘There’s no need for that,’ a hoarse voice suddenly threatened.
Brady froze.
He looked up. Matthews was stood in the doorway.
‘Jimmy?’
Matthews slowly walked towards Brady, his eyes glinting dangerously like a rabid dog in the dark.
Brady felt himself tense up. Matthews was desperate and Brady had witnessed his brutish temper when threatened.
‘I can help you,’ Brady offered, aware he wouldn’t stand a chance against him. Not with the state of his leg.
‘You want to help? Then give me her phone and leave,’ Matthews quietly suggested.
Brady clenched his hands as he prepared himself.
‘I can’t do that.’
‘You owe me, Jack,’ Matthews threatened.
‘It’s too late.’
‘Why? No one’s looking for me.’
Brady tried his best to sound in control. He swallowed hard.
‘Not yet, but the evidence is there in your car, Jimmy,’ Brady slowly stated. ‘And there’s a surveillance tape of you and Sophie at Madley’s nightclub the night she was murdered.’
‘You fucking bastard!’ Matthews shouted as he lunged at him. ‘You really believe I’m capable of doing that? You think I could murder her?’ he questioned as he delivered a hard and fast blow to Brady’s stomach.
Brady doubled over in agony, unable to breathe.
Matthews yanked him up by his hair so he could see his contorted expression.
‘And I didn’t fuck her if that’s what you’re thinking!’
‘I didn’t say you did!’
‘No? But that’s what you think,’ accused Matthews.
‘I don’t think that, but others will when they’ve watched the tape. You were all over her,’ Brady panted, as he tried to get his breath back.
‘She was pissed. So pissed she didn’t even realise who I was. She kept throwing her arms around me and trying to kiss me. For fuck’s sake! I was trying to persuade her to go home to sober up. Only a sick bastard like you would think something else. I was just trying to keep her from getting picked up by the other perverted bastards who go to Madley’s nightclub.’
Brady gasped in air as he tried to steady his erratic breathing.
‘I won’t be the only one looking for you,’ he breathlessly wheezed. ‘Soon Gates will know about the tape and then you’ll have no choice but to come in. Gates is clever, he’ll put two and two together and—’
‘You bastard! You’ve fucking opened your mouth!’
‘I haven’t told anyone!’
‘You fucking liar!’
‘Madley gave me the surveillance tape. You fucking stole from him, Jimmy. Fuck! The last person you steal from is Madley. He wants to make sure he gets even with you. He’s using the tape of you and the victim to incriminate you and destroy your career for good,’ Brady explained as he tried not to breathe in Matthews’ sour breath.
‘That fucking bastard! Did he tell you how he’s making his filthy money? Did he?’ Matthews spat in his face.
‘He just gave me the surveillance tape, Jimmy. It was enough. It shows you with her. It shows you leaving with Sophie.’
‘Give me the tape then!’
Brady shook his head.
Matthews shoved Brady hard against the car.
‘For fuck’s sake, Jimmy!’ shouted Brady. ‘Don’t you get it? No one steals from Madley, Jimmy. Christ! Surely you know that much about him!’
Matthews lodged his arm under Brady’s neck, pinning him even further back against the car.
‘He gave me a copy of the surveillance tape and he’s also giving a copy to Gates. It’s over with,’ Brady croaked.
‘I don’t believe you,’ he said as his eyes stared wildly at Brady.
‘Why would I lie? You know me,’ Brady replied.
‘I thought I did. But not any more.’
He rammed his arm hard against Brady’s neck forcing him to gasp for air.
‘And where’s my fucking wife, you bastard? I disappear and you fucking move her into your place! Is that
