Resorting to another, ‘Hmm,’ Gus waited, dreading Compo’s next words, sensing they would upset him and potentially destroy his beautiful mum.
‘Basically, after the incident where Jamie hit his head, he wasn’t killed – a couple of stitches and a concussion. Jeannie Cameron told social services that Corrine had done it and that she was too difficult for her to control anymore. Corrine had stopped speaking at that point and was distraught. It is recorded that Jamie denied that his sister had pushed him, but regardless, the social worker chose to believe Jeannie. Your mum was put into the foster system and social services allowed Jeannie to keep Jamie.’
Again, Compo’s swallow reached Gus’s ears. And when the lad next spoke, his tone was harder as if he was afraid of losing it completely. ‘They made a note at the bottom of the file, Gus.’
Still reeling from the revelation that the brother his mum had loved so much, for whose death she’d blamed herself for all these years, was still alive, Gus found his hands gripping the phone too tightly. He released his grip a little, stunned that the powers that be all those years ago allowed a drug-addicted sex worker to keep her son. Angry that she would blame her mixed-race daughter whom she’d taunted and bullied and abused, for her actions. Gus wished the woman was still alive – wished he could teach her a lesson. Wished he could change the way things had been for his mum. ‘Tell me.’
‘I’m sorry, Gus. I’ll send all this to you, but I couldn’t let you read it without preparing you first. This is what the addendum says, it’s signed by a Mrs Florence Russell. I have her address. She’s in a care home but is still alive.’
‘What did she say, Comps?’
Compo inhaled before speaking. ‘It is believed that, due to her Negroid heritage, Corrine Cameron has inherited severe anger issues down the paternal line. She should be confined to a children’s home where she can do no more damage to white children around her.’
Each word hammered a nail into Gus’s heart. This was his mum that woman had written about – Unable to see past her young ward’s colour, she’d blamed the child – his sweet, annoying mum. ‘I need you to send me all that – I need that woman’s address.’
Gus was about to hang up, give himself time to compose himself before heading back to the car. How could he face his mother knowing all of this, yet he couldn’t tell her. Not yet, not in the middle of nowhere, not without his dad there to comfort her, like he always did.
‘Wait, boss, I’m not finished. I have contact details for Jamie Cameron. You won’t believe it, but he’s in Bellbrax Mental Facility, the same one as Rory.’
Chapter 53
Bradford
The Man in Black is looking forward to his next killing. Having dispatched Jez Hopkins, number two on his mess with DI McGuire’s head list, he is now due his third ‘ritual kill’ from his turn the screws on Corrine McGuire list and he is excited. Somehow the pregnant women give him more satisfaction. Not because he gets a kick out of them being pregnant – he isn’t a sicko. No, it’s because he is able to watch the crime scene unfold and hear the suppositions of the various team members as they work. It is as if he’s a fly on the wall and it makes him feel powerful to know that he is privy to all this, yet they’re unaware of his presence. With the other kills – he is of necessity more distant to them. Once he’s killed them, he leaves the scene, so it’s only half the enjoyment for him. He imagines the confusion they feel as they work the scene, but it isn’t the same as actually being there, breathing them in, taunting them in silence.
He’d watched this pregnant target now for a few days. He knows all her daily schedules, all her habits, and all her partner’s habits too. The partner is a real piece of work. Maybe he doesn’t like his woman’s new shape – her pregnancy bump. Don’t know, but whatever the man thought – he spent half his time down the pub and the other half shagging anything with any pussy that moved … and a few that were too comatose to object.
They don’t live together, which of course makes the actual act easier. Having full reign of a house with no time constraint, makes it a lot easier than the others, when he’d known roughly when they’d be found. On the other hand, it means he might be stuck in the attic for ages. Her mum, according to her social media accounts, pops round on a Friday afternoon. So, the best time to do this would be early on the Friday. He does so enjoy witnessing the theatrics when they find a loved one dead.
He’s chuffed to bits with the access point he’s selected. After the fiasco last time with the old dear wakening up and the police hammering on the door, he’d wanted to be more careful this time. That’s why his first three target choices had been discarded. The only access points available in their streets had been busy households. This street was only half occupied, though. Half the houses have windows boarded up and so it makes his job easier for many reasons. He’s selected a house three doors down because it has a huge tree growing in the back garden that shields it from view from the other houses. It has easy access. He can’t understand why the pregnant bitch chooses to live here. She is white although the guy that knocked her up is a Paki. He owns the house
