Sleep Tight Read online

  Sleep Tight

  A dark gripping, serial-killer thriller with a shocking twist

  Caroline Mitchell

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  A Letter from Caroline

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Caroline Mitchell

  Love You to Death

  Time to Die

  The Silent Twin

  To my daughter Aoife. I know I gave you a name nobody can spell, but to me it reflects your undeniable uniqueness. You were always meant to shine bright in this world. Love you.

  ‘Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven, blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.’

  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  Prologue

  The doctor gave a satisfied nod as he lifted the stethoscope from the woman’s bare chest. ‘Ah, the heart of a lion. We’ll soon have you cleaned up. But now. . . a little music to ease the passage.’ He did not expect a response because he was talking to himself. It had been that way ever since people could no longer bear to be in his presence. He turned, raising the needle of the old-fashioned record player as he set the music in place. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata breathed life into the crumbling room. The haunting tune aided his movements, making them smooth and effortless. Classical music was something he’d fallen back on during the darkest of times when the pain of his disfigurement became too much. But now, in the privacy of his surgery, the turmoil of the last year floated away. The bones in his neck cracked as he craned his head towards the paint-flaked ceiling. He gazed in admiration as a union of colour and sound floated above. His ability to see colours in music was both a torment and a gift. But then he always saw the world differently to others.

  Pushing a lever, he eased back the surgeon’s chair. Earrings, necklace, bracelet… each piece of jewellery chimed as it hit the stainless steel bowl. Once used for harbouring freshly harvested organs, it made a suitable container for his exterior work. Jewellery removed, his eyes roamed over the woman’s naked body. To him, it was a canvas, and there was so much work to be done. But then bringing beauty to a dark and unforgiving world was never going to be an effortless task. Unfolding the razor, he laid it on the side, admiring the glint of the freshly sharpened blade. It was called a cut throat for a reason. There was an art to using this implement, unlike the disposable razors used today. Too much pressure would initiate the onset of tiny beads of blood. Not enough, and you were merely scraping skin. It was why he had placed her in a comatose state, as still as the death which was yet to claim her.

  The music played on, enveloping his senses in green, blue and purple as he prepared the soapy lather. The process was a meditative exercise, which acquainted him with every curve of the young woman’s flesh. Goose pimples rose as an icy breeze snuck through the thin chipboard that boarded the window. He paused; he would have to purchase a heater. Such an appliance would make little demands on the generator, which purred in the corner of the room. Dipping the brush into the dish, he applied the frothy soap to the top of her thighs, working his way down in a slow, circular motion.

  By the time she was lathered and shaved, her skin was mottled from the cold. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, stepping back to admire his handiwork. A warm throb of satisfaction pulsed inside him, and the left side of his mouth jerked upwards as he exposed his teeth in a ghoulish half-smile.

  Up until now, he had kept his silence, but the time had come to make a statement to the world. Each work of art would be delivered publicly for all to admire and take pause. ‘That’s better,’ he said, voicing his thoughts out loud. ‘There’s no better feeling than swiping your thumb over the grime of urban living to reveal something quite exquisite underneath.’ Placing a blanket up to the girl’s chest, he checked the leather straps were firmly in place. Her origins were no longer significant. Soon she would look like a fairy tale princess – but one without censor, fitting for the modern world. Art was reflected in life, and beauty could be found in dirty little things.

  Chapter One

  Her arms lay outstretched as if welcoming the cover of the night sky. Eyes open, mouth parted, her last breath was nothing but a ghost on her lips. Even without the trappings of jewellery and clothing, DS Ruby Preston could tell that this young woman was once loved. Somewhere there was a mother, a sister or a lover waiting for her to come home. Her platinum blonde hair lay splayed on the grass as if she were not human at all but an angel who had fallen from grace. Ruby fought the urge to cover her naked body. She was more than a girl whose life was abruptly snuffed out, she was a vessel carrying clues that could potentially lead them to the person responsible for the violence that had brought her life to an end. And there had been violence. The bruises dappling her ivory skin were a testament to that. But the vision of such a horrific act was not enough to dampen the stars shining brightly overhead.

  The heat of summer was all but a memory now as the late November chill grew teeth and bit hard. Ruby buttoned up her coat, distancing herself from her all too human emotions of sorrow and anger – there would be time for that later. As she stood in Shoreditch Park, she knew that every second since the discovery of the body was precious. She lifted her airwaves radio to update control.

  By the time DI Jack Downes arrived, the scene had been cordoned, a tent was being erected, and the streets were aglow with fluorescent jackets as uniformed officers assisted detectives knocking on doors.

  ‘You look as if you’ve just got out of bed,’ Ruby said, feeling as if the frost had permeated her bones.

  Downes’s finger combed his grey-flecked hair, looking over her shoulder to the crime scene. ‘I have, as it happens. How did yous get here so quickly?’

  ‘I was in the area dealing with a witness about an unrelated incident. Control called me up—’

  ‘And you hotfooted it over here,’ Downes said, fi
nishing her sentence. ‘Jesus, woman, don’t you ever go home?’

  ‘Married to the job, that’s me,’ Ruby said, stamping her boots on the frosted grass as she attempted to return some feeling to her toes. ‘She’s not been there very long.’ Ruby did not need to be a coroner to work out that much. The girl’s body was soft and limp, free of the rigor mortis that was yet to claim her. It was also a given that in such a public place she would not have lain undiscovered for long.

  ‘Age?’

  ‘I’d say early twenties, no puncture marks or tattoos; she doesn’t fit the description of anyone in the missing persons database. I’m thinking a possible sexually motivated murder. Could be a boyfriend, but the bruising on her throat and thighs suggests a sudden, frenzied attack.’

  Downes nodded. ‘She’ll have to stay here overnight. They won’t want to be moving her until morning.’ He sighed a frosted breath, pushing his hands deep into the pockets of his full-length tweed coat. ‘I don’t know, it’s not that long since the door-knocker murders. Have you met the forensic pathologist yet?’

  ‘Vera? Yeah, she’s nice. Knows her stuff too.’ Ruby stared at the ground for a few seconds, contemplating Christopher Douglas, the former pathologist. His loss had affected them all. The whump, whump of a police helicopter broke into her thoughts as it searched the park from the skies above her. She squinted as the powerful spotlight beamed from overhead, still seeing spots of light in her vision as it abruptly switched to heat-seeking mode. The park was filling up with onlookers. Unless the suspect was running around naked, it was unlikely they would pick him up now. Having taken what he wanted, he had most likely gone to ground.

  ‘Away with ye to the station,’ Downes said, drawing back her attention. ‘I’ll follow on. And grab us a bit of grub on your way. It’s going to be a long night.’ He clapped her heartily on the back before heading to the uniformed officer manning the crime scene.

  * * *

  But her time at Shoreditch police station was short-lived. Just hours later, Ruby was standing with Downes on the doorstep of Audrey Caldwell. She had reported her daughter missing and the description of the young woman matched the details of the body in the park. Lisa Caldwell, just twenty-one years old, had last been seen walking through it from Pitfield Street, after leaving the Britannia Leisure Centre prior to closing at 10 p.m. But that was over three hours ago. Ruby could have easily requested uniformed officers to speak to Lisa’s mother but she had claimed ownership of the case the very moment she came upon the young woman’s body, and would not shy away from her duties now. Taking strength in DI Downes’s presence, she braced herself as a hall light flickered on. Her finger had barely pressed the door buzzer before urgent footsteps tip-tapped down the stairs.

  The door swished open, and a pallid-looking Audrey Caldwell tightened the belt of her dressing gown, glancing from Ruby to Downes. She looked shockingly like her daughter, and a heavy sense of dread bloomed inside Ruby’s chest. If there were any doubt that the woman lying in the park was not Lisa, it evaporated the moment she saw her mother’s face.

  ‘Mrs Caldwell?’ Ruby said, opening her warrant card to introduce herself and her colleague. But Audrey was looking over their shoulders and into the darkened streets beyond.

  ‘Is she with you? Have you brought her home?’ she said, her voice strained.

  ‘Can we come inside?’ DI Downes said, his Northern Irish accent sounding as soft as butter in comparison.

  Mrs Caldwell moved aside, and Downes ducked, stepping beneath the threshold. Ruby brushed against him as she followed Mrs Caldwell through to the living room on the left. His coat still carried the frost from the night air where they had found the young girl staring, dead-eyed, at the stars.

  Ruby’s eyes danced over the framed family photo on the dresser, which featured Mrs Caldwell with a young girl on each side. She felt her throat tighten as the face of the girl from the park stared back at her with a pink bloom to her cheeks and a carefree expression on her face. On the other side was a young woman in an army uniform, wearing a beret over her slicked-back blonde hair, and a wide grin on her face.

  As Mrs Caldwell sat, Ruby delivered the news: ‘The body of a young woman has been found in the park tonight.’

  Mrs Caldwell drew in a sudden breath then clasped a hand to her mouth.

  Grim-faced, Ruby pushed on. In her experience, it was best not to draw things out. Like ripping off a plaster, bad news should be delivered quickly and professionally. ‘She’s yet to be formally identified, but there’s a strong possibility that it’s your daughter.’

  ‘Mum?’ A young woman’s voice spoke from the doorway. It was the other girl from the picture, her hair now hanging limply around her face. She took in the scene before taking her mother’s side.

  ‘Lisa’s with a friend, that’s all,’ Mrs Caldwell said, taking small, quick breaths. ‘She. . . she’ll be home soon.’

  ‘Have you seen her with your own eyes?’ the girl asked, turning her gaze onto Ruby. ‘This woman in the park?’ She grabbed the framed photo from the dresser and waved it under Ruby’s face. ‘Is she the girl you saw?’

  Ruby nodded. ‘In all probability, yes, but she’ll have to be formally identified in the morning. We’ll assign a family liaison officer, who’ll arrange to pick you up.’

  Mrs Caldwell sprang from the sofa, wobbling slightly as her legs threatened to buckle. ‘Now, I want you to take me now. This’ll be a mistake. The sooner we get it sorted, the sooner you can look for my daughter.’ Her voice was as brittle as shards of glass.

  ‘I’m afraid we can’t,’ Downes said. ‘We’ve got to leave the body in situ tonight. The most important thing we can do is preserve the scene and find out who’s responsible. We’ve got a tent in place, and police will be standing guard until such time as we can take her to a mortuary. She won’t be alone. I’m so sorry.’

  ‘You needn’t be sorry for me,’ Mrs Caldwell said, ‘because it’s not my Lisa. She’ll come in, any minute now, she’ll. . .’ Her words were overtaken by sudden violent sobs. Ruby watched as she fell into the arms of her daughter, wishing the woman could be spared the pain that lay ahead.

  Chapter Two

  Nathan Crosby had eyes and ears all over London, and his network of homeless people provided him with intelligence that Ruby was keen to access. Her acquaintance with him held many advantages, but fraternising with a member of the criminal underworld would not meet with the approval of her superiors, particularly given the number of times she had ended up in his bed.

  Ruby scanned the half empty café, the smell of cooked bacon and sausages making her stomach growl. She gave a nod of recognition to the unshaven man in the tattered coat. He sat hunched over his tea, his gloved hands drawing heat from the stained ceramic mug before he was forced to return to the chill of the streets. As always, he sat with his back against the wall. Ruby recognised the little mannerisms that went unnoticed to the untrained eye. He had served life in prison and old habits died hard. William Burke knew who Ruby was, and as always, she handed him a crisp ten-pound note before uttering a word.

  A plump, middle-aged woman wearing a grease-stained apron brought Ruby a mug of tea. Two full English breakfasts were laid before them minutes later.

  Hunched over his food, William wolfed it down, his elbows and arms wrapped around his plate in a stance to ward off imaginary inmates. Ruby tried to ignore the egg yolk dribbling down his chin. She had not eaten since yesterday, and it would take a lot more than bad table manners to turn her off breakfast.

  ‘How’s things?’ she said, loading her fork with chunks of sausage and bacon.

  ‘Rough,’ William said. ‘Me mate, Sam, died under the bridge last week. They say it’s gonna be a brutal winter. This frost will kill off a few more before it’s finished.’

  Ruby nodded, knowing it was more than the frost that killed off his friend. Sam was a hopeless alcoholic, and it was more likely that his liver had packed up after years of abuse.

  ‘You
’aven’t brought me here to ask how I’m feeling, ’ave you?’ William said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

  ‘No, I haven’t.’ Ruby waited until she had finished her meal before speaking again. ‘We found a body in the park last night. Do you know anything about that?’

  William shrugged. ‘Lots of people walk through that park, I don’t know ’em all.’

  ‘So you’ve not heard anyone talking about it?’

  William shook his head, mopping up his egg with a slice of fried bread.

  Ruby delivered a hard stare, willing him to look her in the eye. The topic of conversation held more importance than his stomach and demanded their full attention. ‘William,’ she said as she leant forward, ‘she was just a girl, barely twenty-one years old. Isn’t there anything you can give me? Any new people on the radar? Anyone acting odd?’

  ‘Acting odd?’ William chuckled. ‘I’m not being funny here, love, but I don’t exactly mix with ’igh society. There’re lots of weird fuckers out there, the best you can do is keep out of their way.’

  ‘Her jewellery was stolen. They even took the earrings from her ears. I’m thinking maybe a smack head or someone new on the scene because behaviour like this doesn’t just spring up out of nowhere. Do you know anyone down on their luck that’s come back with a big score?’

  ‘You know I don’t touch that shit.’

  ‘But you know someone who does?’ Ruby said, detecting reluctance in his eyes. ‘C’mon, mate, give me a dig out. I’ll leave you out of it, I promise.’

  ‘You’re expecting an awful lot for a breakfast and a ten-pound note.’ William downed the last of his second mug of tea. Any minute now he would rise to use the toilets and leave Ruby with nothing to show for their meeting, except a dent in her wallet.

  She grasped his arm as he pushed back his chair. ‘Please. I don’t want to find another girl dead on the streets. Surely some things are about more than money?’