The Teacher: A shocking and compelling new crime thriller – NOT for the faint-hearted!

‘You don’t think it will make me look like …’

‘Like what?’ Dani looked at her. Abbey was aware she should choose her next words carefully.

‘I don’t know, like I’m trying to be you? Single white female and all that.’

‘Do you honestly give a shit what any of those people think?’ Abbey loved how Dani referred to her friends as ‘those people’, it was part of what made Dani friends with everyone, she knew how to make you feel like you mattered, even if you really didn’t. Abbey first saw Dani as one of those seemingly transparent people who were exactly the same on the inside as the outside, but the more time they spent together the more she realised Dani was a shrewd politician who liked to keep her options open, never upsetting anyone, never taking sides. It was probably a characteristic Abbey should pay attention to as she was always tipping her hand, showing all her cards and leaving herself open to attack.

Abbey slid the dress over her head conscious of the fact that this particular style of dress didn’t allow for a bra, she felt her nipples press against the fabric, aware that with movement and friction she would not only be buoyant and full but leaving very little to the imagination.

‘Jamie is totally going to lose his shit over you.’ Dani beamed.

Jamie. Great. There’s one thing Abbey knew for sure and that was that Jamie would never see her as anything more than a consolation prize. She was trying to ignore the hypocrisy of the fact that she wasn’t interested in Jamie because he wasn’t good enough, wasn’t Christian. Abbey still felt pangs of guilt as his name popped into her head. She wondered if Dani would still lend her the dress if she knew what Abbey was thinking, and she reckoned she would. Dani didn’t worry about anyone stealing her man, least of all Abbey.

Chapter 5

The Businessman

Ian looked on nervously at the auditing team huddled together in the glass conference room, they were pointing out numbers to each other with puzzled faces as they clearly struggled to make sense of the accounts, this was their second week in the building and it wouldn’t be long before they found the root of the problem, before they realised how bent Ian really was. Ian was good with numbers, really good, maybe a little too good as he believed in formulas, in a mathematical loophole for every situation, which is how he got into this mess in the first place. He was actually surprised how much he had gotten away with for so long. He had pushed the boundaries so many times and when no one noticed, he pushed more, until he was out of control.

He tried to read their lips, to see how close they were to pinpointing the exact accounts that were faked. One of the men looked up and over to him, he nodded at Ian and then huddled protectively over his pile of papers. Ian’s property business had been on the brink of failure for several years now. Ian spotted an opportunity and he took it. Although he was the owner of the company he still had shareholders to answer to and they weren’t too fond of the company money being used to take risks, small or big. He took out loans against the business and gambled the money away on pretty much anything. Believing he had worked out a system with which to triple his investment and put it back before anyone noticed it was gone. He had a couple of successes but infinitely more failures, and so he borrowed money from friends and associates to make the loan repayments. If it had stopped there he might have been able to make his way out of this somehow, but of course he hadn’t, because Ian was too clever for his own good.

‘Mr Markham?’ His six-months-pregnant secretary was standing next to him, resting a document box on her bump. He looked down at it, feeling the blood drain from his face.

‘What is it, Emma?’

‘I found this one in the back of Don’s old office, he must have left it there by accident; do you want me to take it through to them?’ Ian grabbed the box with a big smile.

‘No, you go for your break now, you’ve done enough heavy lifting for one day. I’ll take it.’

‘Brilliant, thanks.’ He watched her waddle off back to her station to get her nutrition shake. He could feel the panic rising in his throat as he walked towards the conference room. Instead of walking in, he entered the stairwell and made a break for the car park.

He clutched the box full of incriminating evidence and went down the stairs as fast as he could without falling. A year ago he had started a build in Malta, beach-front holiday properties, luxurious apartments with a place to dock your boat at the marina thrown in for good measure. A bargain at half the price, which is a ridiculous saying that he had never really understood, but it seemed to do the trick when he told people about it, he would show them the plans, the papers and the official artistic impressions of the stunning complex. He sold the apartments off plan and then the proceeds would go towards paying for the completion of the project, or that was the idea. The trouble was not only did Ian sell the apartments, he had already sold the land along with the planning permission, so he was basically selling something he didn’t own any longer. Even with all the demands for answers, by the time they had waded through all the bureaucratic nonsense overseas it would be months before anyone would know what happened. Ian had funnelled that money through a ghost company and then used it to buy stock options, several bad decisions later and he was back to square minus twenty, owing a lot of people a hell of a lot of money.

He looked at the poster in the dingy car park. ‘Say no to drugs’ it said. It had been put up after a stint of muggings by crack addicts had taken place in the area. Ian would be a damn sight better off if he had a drug addiction – with Ian’s problem he had lost a lot more money in a lot less time. A hundred on the dogs, then a grand on the horses, followed by ten thousand pounds worth of useless high-risk shares. It escalated quickly and beyond anything he had imagined. That’s the problem when you can’t admit you have a problem, you stop controlling it, it starts controlling you.

‘Shit,’ he muttered as he struggled with the box, trying to reach inside his jacket for the keys to his Aston. He dropped the box on the floor, its contents spilling out into a puddle, and he scooped it all back in again and unlocked the car door. Wedging the box in the passenger foot well and throwing his jacket on top to obscure it, he started the car and pulled away, checking constantly in the rear view mirror, making sure no one had seen him. It was lunch time, they wouldn’t realise for a while and by then it would be too late. He drove out of the city to the safety of his converted barn house nestled in the bosom of the rolling Devonshire hills.

He felt a pang of regret as he drove towards the house – not for the money, he had taken it and he had spent it, he didn’t regret that; part of him was a little relieved that it was all coming to an end, too. The regret he felt was for his wife, Debbie, they had lovingly restored the barn together, before all the money, before the job even, before everything. Debbie had been out shopping when her card for their joint account was declined, so she rang the bank to check why only to find the account was not only empty but in arrears. She had spoken to Ian about it and he had lied to her face, saying there must have been some mistake. The next day he put the money back, not his money, someone else’s money. It had satisfied Debbie enough to not look into the matter any further, until a few months later when she accidentally opened some of Ian’s post, talking about the re-mortgage agreement and how he was behind on the repayments and the house would be forfeit if he did not stump up the cash. She called the bank to find that he had borrowed everything against the house, their house, their home. A little more delving saw that their holiday home in the south of France was also gone, sold.

He pulled into the drive and saw the dining room furniture piled up in a bonfire heap on the lawn where Debbie had left it. She had taken everything else but left the table, the table that had been with them through thick and thin, the large piece of reclaimed oak that had been crafted to their specifications, now axed into pieces on their lawn, just kindling.

He looked behind him, feeling eyes on him, even though he knew that no one had followed him he felt his paranoia taking on a new extreme. He had been looking over his shoulder for a very long time now, his adrenaline was really pumping. He wondered what would happen to him when they eventually caught up to him. Now that Debbie was gone he was pretty sure no one would give a shit what happened to him, or maybe they would all line up to stick the knife in when they realised he had lost everything. He looked up at the magnificent house that he still adored and wondered how he had managed to screw everything up so royally. He was clever, right? Looking round at the land he owned, he realised that that would be taken too. The plantation would go, as would the small manmade forest that backed on to the field behind their property, which he and Debbie had bought for their dogs, dogs that she also took. If he hadn’t lost everything she would be getting half of the house, half of the land. She could have it all for all he cared, it didn’t mean anything without her. He hated to go inside the house now, even to sleep; it was cold and lonely, not just empty but hollow. Plus Debbie had taken all the beds.

He unloaded the box from the car and walked over to the large pile of hand-finished wood on his lawn that felt to him like a symbol of what he had become, once respected, now worthless. He looked at the dishevelled garden and thought of Debbie again as he poured liquid paraffin on to the debris. He would damage the lawn, the lawn that was a shadow of its former self, when she had left so had all the care, so had all the love. He tossed a match and watched the fire sweep through the years of memories that the table held. He remembered sitting at the table when they had no other furniture, discussing the house, how they were going to make it a home and the life they hoped to lead together. The flames licked higher and higher against the backdrop of the pale blue sky, the blue seeming dull in comparison to the intense orange flame of the bonfire, waves of heat pulsed from it into the ether.

Ian opened the box he’d brought with him and thumbed through the paperwork briefly, checking he had all the correct files. When he was sure, he threw the whole box on top of the flames, watching the fire engulf the box and its contents, immediately feeling his anxiety disappear. Even shredded documents could be reconstructed these days and with the amount of money he owed he was sure they would go to the effort of doing just that, yes, they would be thorough in their investigations. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the backup flash drive – his financial advisor had recommended he never keep anything ‘hot’ on his work hard drive, better to keep it separate. He never explained what he meant by ‘hot’ but considering his line of work Ian thought it was safe to assume that he was talking about financial irregularities and not hardcore pornography, although those rules can apply to both scenarios.

‘Hello.’

Ian turned around to see a tall man leaning on the front gate. He was all in black with a hood pulled over his head, obscuring his face a little. He wasn’t an auditor, that was for sure.

‘What do you want?’

‘You’ve got two minutes.’ The man stood up straight and checked his watch. ‘A hundred and eighteen seconds.’

‘Two minutes until what? Who the fuck are you?’

‘A hundred and twelve, a hundred and eleven.’

Ian was confused, then he looked down at the man’s right hand and saw the crossbow.

‘Are you fucking crazy?’

‘A hundred and seven.’ The man raised the crossbow and pointed it squarely at Ian’s head, Ian’s face dropped when he saw the weapon in a little more detail – there was a five-pointed tip on the arrows – he had seen this before; for the first time he really looked at the man’s face.

‘You?’

‘A hundred and one.’

Ian didn’t need to be told again, he ran, he wasn’t a slim man, but he did go to the gym regularly and he was fitter than most men his age, so he was confident he could run fast enough, at least fast enough to make it to the woods where the trees might provide him with some kind of cover. He didn’t want to look back, didn’t want to see how close his pursuer was.

He climbed over the stocks into the densely wooded area, he knew the advantage was his inside the plantation, he knew all the potholes and burrows, all the nooks and crannies. Daring to check behind him, he saw the black figure walking through the field, in no hurry, just a solid march. Ian smiled to himself as he ran forward; he had enough time to use the path for a while before ducking into the more rough terrain. He made it about a hundred yards when he heard a snap, then a pain unlike anything he had ever known tore through him, he fell hard on the ground and screamed in agony. He looked at his legs and saw the large iron hunting trap clamped around his calf. Blood pouring from the wound, bone and sinew protruding, he sat up and tugged at the device, the silhouette of the man climbing the wooden stocks to get over the locked gate in his peripheral vision. He opened the trap just enough to slide his leg out, shrieking as the teeth dragged on his flesh, tearing it open.

Ian pulled himself to his feet again, tears streaming down his face as he tried to run, putting everything he had into moving forward, knowing in his heart of hearts that he was done, but still trying. He heard the unmistakable sound of a crossbow being discharged, he knew that sound well and in the millisecond before it hit Ian sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, everything moving in slow motion as he waited for his life to end; instead he just felt his body jolt forward as the bolt entered his shoulder. The leaves rustled behind him and the last thing he saw before he passed out was a pair of black boots steadily approaching.

Ian woke with a start as ice cold water hit his face. The first thing that struck him was that his wrists hurt, he regained enough focus to see that he was strung up between two trees, off the manmade path that ran through the forest, way off.

‘What do you want with me?’

‘Really? You need me to explain this to you?’

‘I’m not that person any more, I’ve changed,’ Ian pleaded, words sticking in his throat – he was so thirsty.

‘But I still am that person; you made me who I am, Ian … sorry … Mr Markham, sir.’ Venom spitting as he said the name.

‘Don’t call me that.’

‘Why not? You taught me so much, it’s only fair I show the respect you’re due.’

‘What about the others?’ Ian’s head dropped and he saw that his shirt was ripped open, he looked further down still and saw the blood dripping swiftly from his injured leg. ‘Why can’t I feel my leg?’

‘Time to be quiet now.’ The man walked towards Ian quickly and thrust a knife into the base of his stomach, Ian screamed as the knife was pulled across, but not from pain, he could feel everything but there was no pain. He watched the blood pumping out, then he felt the man’s hand as it reached inside him, fingers moving, searching for something, he could feel it all, but still no pain.

‘What the fuck have you done to me?!’

‘I gave you an anaesthetic to help with the pain, a spinal injection. I don’t want you passing out; you have to watch the show.’ He pulled out a thin bloody tube from Ian’s stomach, the lower intestine. ‘Congratulations, it’s a boy.’

That’s when Ian saw the crank, he watched as the man attached his lower intestine to a hook and then walked over to a long metal pole that ran vertical parallel to him. He turned a wheel that was attached to the pole, which began to rotate slowly on some kind of mechanism, gathering up the line attached to the hook and wrapping it around the pole, followed by Ian’s insides, covering the large metal stick like a candy floss. He stopped and picked up his crossbow, and started to walk away.

‘You can’t leave me here, the foxes will have me.’

‘You better pray they finish you in less than eight hours, that’s how long you have until the drugs wear off!’

‘You’re sick!’ Ian shouted, but then emotion took him over and he began to cry, aware that the darkness was almost upon him. Suddenly a white-collar prison wasn’t looking so bad. He knew if they came looking for him at the house they would find his reservations for the plane to go to South America and just assume that he had done a bunk, which was in fact precisely what he was planning on doing. No one would look for him and people rarely ventured into these woods, so the chance of someone happening by within the next hour or so was next to impossible. He watched as his only hope of survival disappeared into the forest. He was alone, all hope was gone.

Chapter 6

The Widow

‘Come on, then, we’re up.’ Grey slammed a lukewarm cup of coffee on the desk in front of Adrian. She groaned and drank the contents of her own mug with a contorted grimace on her face. ‘Some woman keeps calling about her husband, said he’s gone missing and cleared out all her accounts.’

‘And that’s the reason I’m never getting married.’

‘Sure it is.’ Grey pulled Adrian’s chair backwards so his feet slid off the desk on to the floor. ‘Come on, I’ll get you some real coffee on the way.’

‘OK fine, goddamnit.’ Adrian pulled himself out of his chair, his head still throbbing after the many shots he had downed the night before. ‘You should probably drive.’

‘I should definitely drive.’ She snatched the keys from his hand.

Despite Adrian’s first impression of DS Grey she was surprisingly motivated – scratch that, annoyingly motivated. Any case, regardless of whether it was some illegal fly-tipping or a serious violent assault, was awarded the exact same amount of professionalism and attention. They had worked together for three weeks now, settled into their respective roles within the relationship. Adrian let her boss him around and she let him be the butt of all her jokes, everyone was happy. This was the first female partner Adrian had ever had, he had worked with both DS Mike Daniels and DS Jonathan Fraser in the past, and he had never really been much of a team player. He knew that this time he had to play the game. He was under the microscope and he couldn’t afford to make any more enemies. Besides, Grey was easy to work with, somehow they just fit.

In the unmarked police car Adrian put his shades on and rested his head against the window, a position he would soon regret. Grey drove as if she were in hot pursuit of a bank robber, pedal to the metal. You could get away with that kind of driving in the city but in this part of the Devonshire countryside you may as well just cut out the middle man and drive straight into a ditch.

‘Jesus, don’t they have country lanes in Plymouth?’ Adrian felt something twang in his neck. ‘You are giving me whiplash.’

‘Quit being such a baby, Miley, you are fine.’

‘What’s your hurry? The only other case we have on at the moment is the lawnmower theft.’

‘I want to clock off early today, I’ve got a date.’

‘Seriously? I thought you were a … what’s the word for a female with no privates, not a eunuch?’

‘Please stop thinking about my junk, Miley.’ She swerved into the driveway and they were confronted with a large art deco house.

‘What a dump!’ Adrian muttered.

‘How the other half lives.’

On the luxurious cream velvet sofa the lady sniffed into her tissue, her eyes puffy and red.

‘He calls me every day, well, he used to.’

‘And he just stopped?’ Adrian asked as Grey wandered around the room, fingers hovering above every surface. It was so clean and shiny, it looked like a show home, every item carefully placed and the only personal effects an alarming array of cat ornaments.

‘Yes, he stopped. I haven’t heard from him in well over a week.’

‘But you’re separated?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Do you know anyone who would want to harm your husband?’

‘Besides me, you mean?’

‘It was a bad break-up?’

‘It was and there’s a long list of people who want to hurt Ian, he stole money, a lot of money from a lot of people. The auditors are still neck deep in the mess he left behind.’

‘How much money are we talking?’

‘Thousands? Millions? Who knows?’

Grey finally sat down next to Adrian and leaned back into the deep sofa until she was almost horizontal. He half expected her to put her feet on the coffee table, but instead she folded her arms and stared at Deborah Markham.

‘You have to appreciate what this looks like,’ Grey said.

‘I know what it looks like, I’m not an imbecile, Officer.’

‘So what is it you want us to do exactly?’ Grey remained in her relaxed pose, looking more like a sullen adolescent than a police officer. She seemed to be unnerving the lady and Adrian could see the anger emerging from behind the tears.

‘I want you to find the bastard! He’s buggered off to bloody Rio or wherever and I am left to deal with the shit storm!’

‘You don’t think he’s hurt then? This is purely about the money?’ Adrian asked, he saw Grey smiling out of the corner of his eye.

‘This is purely about nothing! I’ve lost everything! Why does he get to go away and pretend like nothing’s wrong? I’ve had threatening phone calls and hate mail!’ The tears had gone and Deborah Markham’s face was alight with anger. ‘He took so much from so many people. They see me here like this and think I’ve got their money or something!’

Grey sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees, she picked up a crystal cat, part of a set that was arranged carefully on the olive wood coffee table.

‘Have you got their money?’ Grey smiled as she ran her fingers across the prism-like cat ears.

‘This house belongs to my aunt, she’s letting me live here while I get back on my feet to save my dignity, it’s the only thing he left me with.’ She choked back the tears again.

‘OK, Mrs Markham, we’ll look into it.’ Adrian interrupted before Grey could open her mouth again. He stood up but she remained seated, eyes fixed on Mrs Markham.

‘Where’s he been living?’ she asked. Deborah Markham pulled out a set of keys from the handbag at her side.

‘There’s a converted barn on the road that leads to the estuary, the address is on the fob.’

Adrian took the fob and Grey put the cat down. He felt like he had just witnessed a hostage negotiation. The air was thick between them as they walked out to the car.

‘What the hell was that?’

‘She was full of it.’ Grey smiled.

‘She was distraught.’

‘Distraught my eye, she’s still got money, and plenty of it. Did you see the way she was groomed? Those are this season’s clothes, new shoes – really expensive shoes – and you can’t get that bag for less than a grand. I wouldn’t be surprised if this disappearance isn’t some kind of scam.’ Adrian looked at her with surprise.

‘How do you know about the clothes and stuff?’

‘You think I don’t know about fashion? What are you saying, Miley?’ she said incredulously, a fake look of indignation on her face.

‘Nothing, you just don’t strike me as that kind of woman.’

‘And what kind of woman do I strike you as?’

‘I don’t know, you dress like Tony Hawks,’ he said, before adding, ‘the multi-millionaire skateboarder, not the comedian.’

‘What the hell does that mean?’

‘Just drop it, it doesn’t matter.’

‘OK, let me ask you a question.’ She sat forward.

‘OK, shoot.’ Adrian sighed, what had he done?

‘What car do you drive?’

‘You know what car I drive, I drive a Granada.’

‘A Granada? Right, Jesus, Miley, they stopped making them like fifteen years ago.’