When the Evil Waits by M Lee (top fiction books of all time txt) 📕

It would be a little white lie, of course. But he had to give him some hope. What was anybody’s life without hope?

This one would never leave him. He had decided to keep him forever.

Next to Mother in front of the television.

Chapter 88

The cinema manager wasn’t happy.

‘You need to close the complex,’ ordered Ridpath.

‘What? People have bought tickets. It’s a Sunday – you can’t close the cinema on a Sunday.’

‘I’m telling you to do it. It’s a crime scene. Do it now.’

Sarah Challinor and her daughter had been taken into the staff room of the cinema and given warm, sugary tea and an orange drink, while one of the coppers tried to calm her down. The manager had given Amy a big bag of popcorn which she was devouring by the handful.

Claire Trent had decided to come to the complex, bringing the coroner with her to be with her daughter. It was the least they could do as she obviously needed support. Ridpath hadn’t asked about a husband and Sarah hadn’t mentioned anybody. He would check with the coroner later.

Meanwhile the cinema manager was digging his heels in.

‘I can’t do it. The patrons would kill me.’

‘What would you do if there was a fire?’

‘We would clear the building immediately and block anybody from entering.’

Ridpath paused for a moment. ‘Can you smell smoke, DS Parkinson?’

She cottoned on quickly. ‘Now you mention it, I’m sure I can. A strong, pungent aroma. It could be dangerous, Ridpath.’

The cinema manager took the hint. Two minutes later the fire bells began to ring and people filed out of their films.

‘Sergeant,’ Ridpath shouted to a uniform in the lobby, ‘make sure you take everybody’s name and address as they leave.’

‘How many people are in the cinema right now?’ he asked the manager.

The manager checked his sheet. ‘There are eleven screens and we’ve sold 329 tickets at the moment. Some people might not have turned up, though, if they bought online.’

‘You know exactly who everybody is?’

The manager shook his head. ‘Only if they bought and reserved online. They have to leave a name and credit card number.’

‘So if you simply turn up, there’s no record?’

‘Not if you pay cash. We have a record if you pay by credit card.’

‘I’ll need those records.’

‘Right. You think he came in this morning?’

‘There’s no way in except through the lobby?’

‘All the doors are alarmed and can’t be opened from the outside. We had somebody try this morning at 10.15, but they’d vanished when I checked it out.’

‘Where was this?’

‘At the bottom of the stairs leading out of Screen 2. I thought one of the kids was trying to let his mates in.’

‘There’s no other way in, right?’

The manager shook his head.

‘And the doors don’t have security cameras?’

‘They’re not necessary.’ He thought for a moment. ‘We do have them behind the cashiers’, though. Do you think that would help?’

Chapter 89

Molly Wright arrived with her photographer as the police cars were blocking the entrance to the shopping mall.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked a copper who was waving her car away.

‘I dunno, but you need to get out of here.’

Another squad car arrived, sounding its siren to encourage her to move out of the way.

She checked the shopping mall. The police had set up a cordon around the cinema. People were slowly coming down the steps, complaining loudly about missing their film.

A crowd had formed, all craning their necks to see exactly what was going on.

‘Park here, and let me out,’ she ordered the photographer. ‘Get as many shots as you can of this shambles, I’ll call you if I need you.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘Inside.’

She jumped out of the car and joined the crowd behind the police tape. At the entrance, another police car had arrived, unmarked this time, and was let through the cordon.

Molly Wright watched as Claire Trent and that bald-headed thug, Turnbull, got out of the car accompanied by an older woman with white, curly hair, dressed elegantly.

Who was she?

‘Claire! Claire Trent!’ They hurried into the complex without looking across at her as she shouted at them.

She elbowed her way through the crowd to where a constable was pushing people back behind a barrier, showing her press credentials. ‘I need to talk to Claire Trent.’

The constable stared down at her pass. ‘Never heard of her. Nobody is allowed in.’

‘She’s your boss. A detective superintendent.’

‘She’s not my boss and anyway, nobody is allowed in. So please move along.’

‘But I need to speak to her, it’s important.’

‘And it’s also important you move back behind the barrier, otherwise I will arrest you for obstruction. Do I make myself clear?’

Molly glanced to her left and saw one of the restaurants was still open. She pushed her way through the crowd and rushed through the emptying tables to a kitchen at the back.

Outside a rear door, two chefs were taking the opportunity to have a break and smoke a cigarette.

‘I’m lost, is this the way back into the cinema?’

One looked at his mate and smiled. ‘There’s a back stairs to take you into the lobby but no way into the cinema itself. We know, we’ve tried. The buggers have got all the doors alarmed.’

‘Where is it?’

‘Over there, next to the bins. But they’ve got some sort of fire drill going on…’

‘Thanks,’ she shouted over her shoulder as she rushed to the grey unmarked door, pulling it open. A short set of steps led up to another door. She dashed up, wrenched it open and stepped into the quiet of a carpeted lobby.

Now where was Claire Trent?

Chapter 90

The detective superintendent was standing in front of a bank of televisions, staring at the black and white images as they played in front of her.

Next to her, Ridpath leant on a desk and, on the other side, Emily Parkinson stood beside the cinema manager.

DCI Paul Turnbull was at the back, staring at the ends of his fingers, ignoring the screens.

They had already shown the coroner to the staff room, where she was comforting her