Page 134 of Silent Scream

‘But not her friends?’

‘No, they were persistent little sluts who just wouldn’t leave it alone.’

‘Did you deliberately frame William Payne?’

‘Not with Tracy. I just wanted her gone. But I eventually realised that the same three girls that were a problem for me had done something despicable to his daughter so I decided to take out a little insurance.’

Kim understood. From that point on he had cleverly decided to visit on William’s night shifts and offer the caretaker some extra time with his daughter. If the permanent staff knew about it, they turned a blind eye because of Lucy’s illness. Victor knew that by doing so the first finger of blame would be pointed at William Payne.

‘Who found the denture?’ Kim asked.

‘Teresa Wyatt. She knew that Louise would not have gone anywhere voluntarily without that denture. She only ever took it out to sleep. So, she put two and two together and got the exact number I’d intended. She checked the night rosters and found that all three girls had gone missing on William’s watch. Of course, they all knew about the incident with Lucy. It wasn’t much of a leap to believe that he had committed the crimes.’

‘So, they covered it up?’

Victor chuckled. ‘Oh yes, Detective, they certainly did that.’

‘To protect William?’

‘Not even for a minute. Oh, on the face of it they all felt for him. His life was unenviable. He watched his child decay more every day and there’s nothing he could do about it. Without him, Lucy will have no one. But they did it for themselves.’

Kim didn’t like how he was now referring to William in the past tense. She wondered if the grave had been dug wide enough for two.

‘I'm sure you already know their secrets. Any kind of official enquiry would have destroyed them all. Richard's embezzling would have been uncovered. Teresa would have faced charges of assault and sexual assault from Melanie. Tom would have been exposed for sleeping with Louise and who would have believed that it was consensual? And Arthur hated all three of them with a passion. They made his life a misery. And the girls were already dead, so there was nothing to gain.’

Kim heard a siren in the distance but knew it could not be for her. Her mind wondered if she could find a way to use it to keep herself alive. She forced herself back on track.

‘Who was the ring leader?’

‘They jointly made the decision that there was nothing to be gained by going to the police. The remaining girls had to be separated as quickly as possible and incriminating records destroyed.’

‘The fire?’

‘Yes, the chaos and disbursement of girls would create an administrative nightmare.’

‘Did no one speak to William?’

‘They didn’t need to. A few words from me about his state of mind and rage towards the girls sealed the deal.’

‘So, the fire was set?’

‘Yes, but the girls were never in danger. The fire was started at the furthest point from the rooms. The alarms kicked in immediately and Arthur Connop was ready and waiting to get the girls out of the building.’

‘So, three girls lost their lives. William lost his job and some of the staff members pretty much lost their minds. And you walked away with nothing?’

‘Like I said, I have Him on my side.’

‘And was He on your side in Manchester, Bristol and wherever the hell else you've been?’

‘He is with me always,’ Victor said with a smile.

‘Are you sure about that?’ Kim asked.

She saw doubt cross Victor’s face as the siren grew louder. She knew she would not get another opportunity to live. Very shortly he was going to turn that knife on her and bury her in the old grave of one of his victims.

She had to panic him into doing something stupid.

The siren grew louder and Kim had an idea.