The Night Stalker (Detective Erika Foster 2)

‘Would his agent get any fan mail, on his behalf?’

‘Yes. Probably. They’re based in West London…I had a life, Erika… Do you think I’ll be able to go back to it? I know how this system works. I’m tainted. I hold a position of trust and that has now been called into doubt.’ He began to cry.

‘Isaac, stop, don’t do this here,’ said Erika, noticing some of the other prisoners glancing over at him. ‘I’m going to do everything I can to get you out of here,’ she said. ‘I promise.’

He looked up at her. ‘Thank you. If anyone can do it, you can,’ he said.

64

The phone box was on the outskirts of London, on Barnes Common. Simone had remembered it. It was part of a long-ago happy memory, when her mother had taken her to Kew Gardens. She’d had to hide in her mother’s coat until they had been past the ticket kiosk, but once they’d got inside she’d loved the flowers and the trees. Her mother had been desperate to go into the tropical house. It was like a giant greenhouse, very warm, and stuffed with plants from all over the world. ‘Rare Flora and Fauna’, Simone remembered the sign had read.

Of course, her mother had only come to Kew Gardens to meet her dealer. They’d gone off into the bushes to do adult stuff. But the young Simone had enjoyed a couple of hours free to wander. And she’d known that if her mother was happy, she would be happy.

On the bus back home, she’d pressed her face against the window and had seen the phone box shining red against the expanse of green on Barnes Common. It looked much the same, all these years later. The drought had turned it from green to yellow, and the red paint was peeling off the phone box, but there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Erika Foster answered the phone after several rings.

‘Did you get my card, DCI Foster?’

There was a pause.

‘Yes. Thank you. Although most people would have used the letterbox,’ said Erika.

‘I’m not most people, DCI Foster,’ said Simone. She gripped the receiver and looked through the grimy glass across the empty common.

‘Do you think you’re special?’ asked Erika. ‘Have you been sent here with a higher purpose?’

‘No, far from it. I’m unremarkable. I’m not pretty, or clever, but I’m full of anger and grief… Grief in particular gives you so much energy, doesn’t it?’

‘Yes, it does,’ said Erika.

‘I decided to use that energy to take revenge… I’ve been reading about you. About how you tried to do your job, tried to catch that drug dealer and it all went terribly wrong. Not only did you lose your friends and your husband, but the very people who you served turned on you. Blamed you.’

‘What if I said that you could get help, if you stopped?’ interrupted Erika.

‘What if I said that you could get help if you stopped?’ replied Simone.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I saw where you live. The pathetic flat. Your worldly goods that amount to nothing. What have you got to show from devoting your life to the force? Wouldn’t life be easier if you stopped trying to save the world?’

There was a pause again, and then Erika replied with a trembling voice, ‘I’m going to find you. And when I do, I’m going to look you in the eye and I’ll see how smart you think you are.’

‘Catch me if you can. I’m not finished yet,’ said Simone.

There was a click, and Simone heard the dialling tone.

She winced, not from fear but from pain. It hurt to smile where she had been struck by the ashtray.

65

Moss reached up with her free hand and knocked on the door. In the other hand she held a pizza box. Moments later, it opened. Erika stood in the open doorway with her hair on end.

‘I thought you might like some pizza,’ said Moss, holding it up. ‘Pepperoni?’

‘Thank you, come in,’ said Erika, standing to one side and letting her in. The rain had cleared and through the patio window there was a beautiful dusk as the sun slowly sank down with shades of soft blue and orange.

‘I just dropped Celia and Jacob for swimming in Ladywell. Thought I’d pop over and see how you are enjoying your holiday…’

‘Just find a spot and put the box down,’ said Erika, pulling out plates from the cupboard.

Moss looked around and saw that every available space, and parts of the floor, were strewn with paperwork from the Night Stalker case.

‘They let you take all this with you?’

‘No. I downloaded it to my laptop.’