The Patient Killer (A DCI Morton Crime Novel Book 4) Read online

  The Patient Killer

  Daniel Campbell

  Sean Campbell

  The Patient Killer

  First published in Great Britain by De Minimis 2016

  © Sean Campbell 2016

  The moral rights of Sean Campbell & Daniel Campbell to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  Cover Art designed by Nadica Boskovska, © Sean Campbell 2015

  All characters are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  First Edition

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Prologue: Can’t Save Everyone

  Chapter 1: Don’t Breathe a Word

  Chapter 2: The Home of Primrose Kennard

  Chapter 3: Identification

  Chapter 4: Nuvem Media Associates

  Chapter 5: In the Dark

  Chapter 6: KO

  Chapter 7: Scotch on the Rocks

  Chapter 8: Fallout

  Chapter 9: Winner, Winner

  Chapter 10: Unworthy

  Chapter 11: Another Body

  Chapter 12: The Last House on the Left

  Chapter 13: The Students Next Door

  Chapter 14: The Phone

  Chapter 15: Snap Decision

  Chapter 16: Hatton Garden Deposit Co

  Chapter 17: The Handover

  Chapter 18: A Diversion

  Chapter 19: Blind

  Chapter 20: The Search

  Chapter 21: Bloodied and Bruised

  Chapter 22: Momentum

  Chapter 23: Rock Bottom

  Chapter 24: To Save a Life

  Chapter 25: Apologies and Anger

  Chapter 26: All That Glitters

  Chapter 27: Handoff

  Chapter 28: Questions to Answer

  Chapter 29: Not Your Fault

  Chapter 30: A Link to the Past

  Chapter 31: Sum Greater Than the Parts

  Chapter 32: A Closer Look

  Chapter 33: Hiding in Plain Sight

  Chapter 34: Exposure

  Chapter 35: Only the Guilty

  Chapter 36: Another One Bites the Dust

  Chapter 37: Lonely

  Chapter 38: An Autopsy – Sort Of

  Chapter 39: Footprints

  Chapter 40: Ephebophilia

  Chapter 41: Blood Connections

  Chapter 42: In-House Counsel

  Chapter 43: Tête-à-Tête

  Chapter 44: Heartless

  Chapter 45: Sunday Roast

  Chapter 46: Ring Ring

  Chapter 47: Colleagues

  Chapter 48: The Paperwork

  Chapter 49: Sickbed

  Chapter 50: Watford to London

  Chapter 51: Papers

  Chapter 52: An Early Start

  Chapter 53: In Vino Veritas

  Chapter 54: Following the Leader

  Chapter 55: Out of Place

  Chapter 56: Get Some

  Chapter 57: Not Today, Thank you!

  Chapter 58: Crafty

  Chapter 59: Stage-Managed

  Chapter 60: Finally

  Chapter 61: Serials to Catch a Serial

  Chapter 62: Bloody Hell

  Chapter 63: Complications

  Chapter 64: Excuses

  Chapter 65: Risky Business

  Chapter 66: Scars Don’t Fade

  Chapter 67: More, More, More

  Chapter 68: Annals of History

  Chapter 69: When the Trust Is Gone

  Chapter 70: Not Fit

  Chapter 71: Backstab

  Chapter 72: Loco or No

  Chapter 73: Voices

  Chapter 74: Balancing the Books

  Chapter 75: And the Whole World Goes Blind

  A Note from the Authors

  Prologue: Can’t Save Everyone

  Five Years Ago

  Isaac Ebstein’s patients died more often than most doctors’.

  Thirteen hours a day, six days a week, Ebstein could be found in the operating room with his scalpel in his right hand. Specialising in trauma surgery had been a blessing and a curse. He was never short of work – or bodies.

  Most of the time, Ebstein and his team knew who would die before they cut them open. Unexpected deaths were something of a rarity. Even the bleeders, fresh from knife fights and car crashes, usually made it off the operating table and into intensive care. That was just the way Ebstein liked it. His patients died, but he rarely saw them go.

  The third of November was different. His patient had been rushed in, organs ruptured and haemorrhaging blood faster than they could replace it. She had been as good as dead the moment she’d been pulled from the wreckage of her car.

  It should have been simple: patch her up and send her off to the intensive care unit to die.

  Scar tissue had put paid to that. The woman had undergone previous surgeries, and her insides were thick with sinewy scar tissue, which meant Ebstein couldn’t suture the arteries in time. Ebstein pronounced at three oh two p.m., and in a heartbeat the whirlwind of an active operating theatre, alive with the sounds of activity bordering on mania, fell into an awkward silence. Ebstein exhaled deeply, grimaced, and nodded his thanks to the assembled staff.

  It wasn’t anybody’s fault, other than the guy who’d smashed his car into the victim’s.

  Her widower didn’t see it that way. Ebstein found him pacing up and down in the corridor outside the friends and family waiting room. A row of chairs sat unused underneath the window.

  Ebstein approached him cautiously. ‘Mr Taaft?’

  The bigger man turned to reveal bloodshot eyes. His jaw was set in a grimace. ‘How is she?’ he demanded.

  Ebstein hung his head. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Taaft. I’m afraid she didn’t make it.’

  Taaft’s eyes widened. He stared at Ebstein for a moment, then gave out a guttural roar that reverberated down the corridor. Ebstein took a step backwards, shying away from Taaft.

  He was too slow. Taaft snatched up one of the chairs from beneath the window, spun around with it, and slammed the chair into Ebstein’s side, knocking the surgeon to the floor.

  Ebstein looked up at his assailant, afraid to speak lest he get hit again. He raised a hand to his head to find his hair wet and matted with blood.

  ‘Please! Don’t!’ Ebstein begged.

  Taaft swung again, and Ebstein’s world exploded in front of him.

  ***

  The room swam in and out of focus when Ebstein awoke. His first thought was to wonder if he’d been out drinking. His head felt like he had been.

  Then a hand snapped into view.

  ‘How many fingers am I holding up?’ a disembodied voice asked.

  After a pause Ebstein realised he was being addressed by the hospital’s chief neurologist, Dr Hargreaves. With an effort Ebstein forced his eyes to focus and then mumbled: ‘Two. And no need to swear.’

  Hargreaves grinned. ‘Thought we’d lost you for a minute, there.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Big fella took a swing at you with a chair. You crumpled like a pansy. He’s calmed down now, and wants to apologise. He’s convinced you’re going to sue him.’

  Ebstein rubbed at his temples, then tried to stand. His legs felt like jelly, but they held steady as he wrenched himself upright.

  Hargreaves leapt forward, offering up his arm to support Ebstein. ‘Woah! Slow down there, tiger. You’ve got a concussion. You’re going nowhere. Besides, I’ve got some news for you.’

 
‘Good news?’ Ebstein asked.

  Hargreaves nodded. ‘We found you a match.’

  Ebstein perked up. ‘How good?’

  ‘Six points,’ Hargreaves said. ‘No donor-specific antibodies. Negative for flow crossmatch.’

  ‘You found a six-point match among the staff? That’s incredible.’ Ebstein found himself smiling for the first time that day.

  ‘We did. But...’ Hargreaves trailed off.

  ‘But what?’

  ‘You’re not going to like who it is.’

  ‘Who?’ Ebstein demanded.

  Hargreaves told him. Ebstein’s smile disappeared.

  Chapter 1: Don’t Breathe a Word

  Sunday April 5th 09:30

  The cemetery tour guide was sobbing uncontrollably when Morton arrived, despite the best efforts of Detectives Bertram Ayala and Ashley Rafferty. A gaggle of tourists with expensive-looking cameras were milling around a little way away from them, snapping pictures of everything and everyone.

  ‘Ayala, see what you can do about getting rid of those tourists,’ Morton said. ‘And where the hell has Mayberry gone?’

  Morton looked around. Besides Ayala and Rafferty, there were the usual array of scene of crime officers scurrying about, including the portly chief scene of crime officer, Stuart Purcell, who was bedecked in a white plastic over-suit. In the distance, Morton could make out the coroner’s silver mane as he hunched low over the body. There was no sign of Detective Mayberry.

  ‘He was here a moment ago, boss. He said something about an errand he had to run. He went that way.’ Ayala pointed off towards Highgate Church.

  Morton arched an eyebrow as if to say ‘And you just let him go?’ and Ayala scarpered off to shoo the tour group away.

  Morton turned to the newest member of his team, Detective Inspector Ashley Rafferty. ‘Looks like you and me, then, Rafferty. What’s the name of the lady who found the body?’

  ‘Roisin Weir,’ Rafferty said. ‘She’s a local. All the tour guides are volunteers from the church. That’s all we’ve got out of her so far.’

  Roisin Weir perched atop an altar tomb ten feet away, oblivious to the flashing cameras of her tour group. She had the appearance of a matronly woman: plump, stern-faced, and stout of stature. Her head was bowed, and she had her eyes closed, presumably in prayer.

  Morton waited for her to look up and then approached. ‘Mrs Weir?’

  The tour guide’s eyes sought out his. They were puffy and red, and her cheeks were stained with tears. That’s a bit of an overreaction to the death of a stranger, Morton thought.

  ‘It’s Ms Weir, thank you very much.’ She spoke in a curt tone, authoritative and quite clearly Irish, but stilted rather than sing-song.

  ‘My apologies, Ms Weir,’ Morton said. ‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Morton. I believe you’ve already met Detective Inspector Rafferty. Could you tell me what happened this morning?’

  ‘I was doing the nine o’clock tour. That’s my group over there.’ Roisin swept an arm towards the group with the cameras. ‘We visited the usual highlights – Douglas Adams, Karl Marx, and the like. Then we came down the path here, and that’s when I saw her. I didn’t realise she was dead at first. That poor lady is always there.’

  ‘Always? She’s a regular here?’ Morton said.

  ‘Yes. I already told your officers that.’ Roisin jabbed a finger towards Rafferty. ‘That fellow with a stammer bolted the moment I told him. I don’t know her name, but she’s here almost every day, and so am I.’

  That explains the tears. ‘Were you friendly?’

  ‘Cordial. We smiled and nodded, but we’ve never stopped for a chat. I’m always passing through with a group. I speak six languages, you know, including Italian and Japanese.’ Roisin straightened up and puffed out her chest. ‘That’s why I got that group this morning.’

  ‘Parlo nove lingue,’ Rafferty said with a hint of a smile.

  Roisin frowned. ‘You what? Don’t you go confusing me with your schoolgirl pronunciation.’

  ‘Ms Weir, did you touch the body?’ Morton asked.

  ‘Lord, no. I called nine nine nine, and then tried to get rid of my tour group, but they weren’t interested in leaving. I suppose they think that it’s part of the Highgate experience!’

  ‘Thank you, Ms Weir,’ Morton said. ‘An officer will take your details in case we have any further questions.’

  Roisin stood up. The pretence of grief was long gone. ‘Is that it? Aren’t you going to ask me if I did it?’

  ‘Did you?’

  ‘No. Can I get going? Only the morning service starts at quarter past ten, and I’d hate to be late.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Morton. ‘Thanks for your time.’

  ***

  Here lies Hubert Kennard: Nature’s Debt Repaid. The headstone was engraved in a looping Gothic font in keeping with its neighbours, but it seemed newer and less weatherworn than the others did.

  The body, which belonged to a woman, lay atop Hubert Kennard’s grave, her arms tucked under her head like a pillow. It almost looked as if she were sleeping. A pool of blood had oozed from beneath her shirt and had begun to congeal upon the moss.

  ‘What do you reckon, boss? She’s got to be a relative, right?’ Ayala said.

  ‘Probably a wife or daughter, if she’s been here every day,’ Rafferty said.

  ‘Wife,’ Morton grunted as he scanned the surrounding pathway.

  ‘How’d you know that?’

  Morton pointed below the epitaph at the year of death. ‘There’s not a big enough age gap for her to be his daughter. She’s in her late sixties at least. He died aged seventy-one a couple of years ago.’

  ‘Ah. Good spot, boss.’

  Morton spun on the spot, staring intently at the ground. ‘There’s not enough blood for her to have been killed here. Can anyone see blood drops that might indicate which direction she came from?’

  Ayala shook his head. ‘There’s no sign of blood, boss. We looked.’

  ‘Then the body was wrapped in something,’ Morton said. ‘Did you find tarpaulin sheets or bin bags?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘Footprints, then?’

  ‘Hundreds,’ Ayala said. ‘Any of them could belong to the killer.’

  It was true. Highgate Cemetery was not just home to the dead, but had become something of a tourist attraction, a Mecca for the morbid and the gothic. Before Morton could reply, Ayala yelled out in pain. Morton looked up to see him glare at the new girl, Ashley Rafferty.

  ‘What’d you do that for?’

  Rafferty shrugged. ‘You were being an idiot,’ she said simply. ‘If the killer carried the old lady, then their combined weight would mean deeper footprints. She’s what, five foot six and carrying more than a few pounds of extra weight? Our killer was probably a man. Her killer had to have been tall enough to carry her, so we’re probably looking for bigger footprints too.’

  ‘Right. So, we should look for larger, deeper prints that appear to be recent,’ Ayala said.

  Morton smirked. ‘Sounds like you’ve just volunteered. Off you go, both of you. While you’re at it, look for any potential points of entry and egress. If we know where the killer came from and how they got out of here unseen, we’ll know where to concentrate the canvass.’

  Once Ayala and Rafferty had departed, the coroner stood up. ‘She’s a feisty one. You get to choose your own new hire this time?’

  Morton nodded. ‘I did, although Mayberry isn’t working out too badly after all. Don’t tell him that. If I play the three of them off against each other, I’ll never have to buy a round of coffee again.’

  ‘Lucky sod. All I get is as much complimentary formaldehyde as I can steal.’

  ‘Why on earth would you steal formaldehyde, Larry?’

  ‘Exactly,’ Chiswick said with a smile. He turned his attention to the body. ‘I’ll give you three guesses how this one died.’

  ‘The great big hole in her chest?’

  ‘Winn
er, winner, chicken dinner.’

  Morton leant in for a closer look at the hole. It looked like her chest had been ripped open with something sharp, leaving the skin cut rather than torn. ‘What happened to her?’

  ‘Looks like someone took a sharp blade to the left-hand side of her chest.’

  ‘They cut out her heart?’ Morton said. Some sort of lovers’ quarrel?

  Chiswick shook his head. ‘Nope. Looks like they took a lung. You ever seen anything like this?’

  ‘Never.’ Who’d steal a lung? Morton wondered.

  ‘Do you reckon it’s a message? Like, “Don’t breathe a word”?’

  ‘Doc, I think you’ve been watching too many mob movies. Any clue who she is?’

  Larry prodded the victim’s necklace with a gloved finger. ‘Only this. She’s got no pockets, no wallet, and no identification.’

  ‘When did she die?’

  ‘Rigor mortis says time of death was eight to ten hours ago.’

  ‘Between eleven o’clock last night and one o’clock this morning, then,’ Morton said. That put her death well after closing time for the cemetery. ‘She wasn’t killed here, was she?’

  ‘Nope. Lividity suggests a body dump. I’ll get her back to the morgue and collect trace evidence.’

  Morton nodded his thanks. ‘I guess I’d better go find Mayberry.’

  ‘Too late. Look.’ Chiswick pointed down the pathway to where Mayberry could be seen jogging along the path towards them. A few moments later, Mayberry skidded to a halt next to Morton and paused to catch his breath.

  ‘Mayberry. Where have you been?’

  ‘The r-r-records office. At the ch-church.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘The-the ...this.’ Mayberry handed Morton a printout which read Plot Ownership Records, Plot 1227: Hubert Kennard. Farther down the page, a section entitled Administrative/Billing Contact was highlighted: Primrose Kennard (Widow). Primrose’s address and contact details were listed just underneath her name.

  ‘Nice work, Mayberry. Looks like she lived just around the corner. Go find Ayala and Rafferty. Tell them to meet us there.’

  ‘Y-yes, b-boss.’

  Chapter 2: The Home of Primrose Kennard

  Sunday April 5th 10:00

  The address on record for Primrose Kennard was in Swain’s Lane, less than five minutes’ walk from the cemetery entrance. It was a quiet residential road that ran between the East Cemetery, where the body had been found, and the West Cemetery. A fence made of brick and ironwork ran along the perimeter.