Imperfection (DI Gardener 2)

As he said it, the column stopped.

Gardener turned. Laura was still at least six feet above him. There was little or no slack left in the rope and she was now standing on tiptoes. She made no sound but he could see the tears running down her face and the imploring expression in her eyes, reminding him of the night Sarah died.

There was no margin for mistakes. She had to stand absolutely still for as long as it took for both officers to negotiate her release. But did she have the confidence to see that through?

Chapter Fifty-eight

A powerful beam appeared through the rafters, lighting up a theatre box to Gardener’s left, illuminating Corndell.

“If she falls, she hangs,” he shouted. “If you don’t do as I say, she hangs. If you try to save her, she hangs. Not a lot to look forward to, has she, Mr Gardener?”

Gardener’s temper was mounting but he knew at the moment he was the underdog. He held no cards. “Don’t be stupid, Corndell, you’ll never get away with this.”

“Oh but I will, Mr Gardener.”

“He’s right, simpleton,” said Briggs, “you’ve done enough damage, don’t make things any worse.”

The DCI stepped to his left, as if to show some initiative to rectify the situation.

“Take your inspector’s advice, Briggs, and don’t you be stupid. I am controlling the lever, so her fate is in my hands. You will not reach me in time to do anything about it. You will not get anywhere near your sergeant’s wife, and you certainly won’t save her life, so I suggest you stay exactly where you are.”

Gardener could have heard a pin drop, which raised the tension. He glanced at Laura. She was still crying. She was also shivering and Gardener knew that it wasn’t cold. He either needed to buy her some time and alleviate her predicament, or he had to save her, neither of which were likely in the short term. And time wasn’t something she had a lot of.

Gardener glanced at Corndell. “What exactly are you planning, Mr Corndell? If it doesn’t end well for Laura it certainly isn’t going to end well for you. You’re in enough trouble. You’ve already killed four people. You’re looking at life, so how much worse would you like to make it?”

Corndell laughed hard, a high-pitched screech in which he rocked backward and forwards. “I don’t think so, Mr Gardener.”

“What don’t you think?” shouted Briggs.

Corndell stopped laughing and stared at Gardener, as if he were a machine that could simply switch itself on and off when he wanted.

He leaned forward with his hands on the side of the box as if he wanted to fire his words at Gardener.

“I don’t think I am going to get life. Let’s look at the facts, shall we?”

Corndell raised his right arm and started counting off the fingers of his right hand with those of his left.

“Fact one: you have absolutely no evidence against me. Two: neither you nor anyone else has ever seen me kill anyone.” He raised his third finger. “There is no trace of me at any crime scene. No sightings. Your witness statements will sound like they’ve been made up by Mickey Mouse. ‘What did he look like, sir?’ ‘Well, your honour, a bit like a vampire with pointed teeth and wearing a dark cloak.’ Any evidence you think you have is circumstantial at best.

“If you put me in front of a jury, Mr Gardener, you will be completely laughed out of court because you have nothing to back up your statements. My solicitor will have a field day.”

Briggs had his phone in his hand and appeared to be filming the exchange. He stared at Corndell. “What’s this if not evidence, sunshine?”

Corndell laughed at the superior officer. “By the time you have finished filming that and try to present it, I will be long gone.”

“You think we’re just going to let you walk out of here?” shouted Gardener, “after everything you’ve done, and still are doing?”

“I know so, Mr Gardener. You are going to let me walk free if you want to save the life of your partner’s wife.”

With that, Laura let out

a strangulated cry. Gardener glanced upwards. She implored him to do something despite the fact that she couldn’t move or talk. Her legs were trembling.

“She cannot possibly hang on much longer,” said Corndell. “She’s been standing like that for an hour. It’s only a matter of time.”

“He’s right, Stewart,” said Briggs. “We need to save Laura’s life and we can’t do that without him so whatever bargain he wants to make, go ahead. We’ll pick him up later, he won’t get far.”

“He’s managed to escape every other time he’s killed someone,” retorted Gardener, unwilling to play his game. “What’s different now?”