Psychopath

By Steve Graham

When a man was viciously attacked, the sleepy town of Helperton was rocked to its very foundations. The blood-stained scene was like something out of a horror movie, and Detective Inspector Jameson knew that he had to find the man responsible before he could attack anyone else. This proved to be very difficult however, because there were just so many questions, and he did not know the answer to any of them. Who was doing this? Why were they doing it, and would the attacker strike again?
The pulsating story continues with many twists and turns, until reaching its thrilling conclusion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Graham
• Release date: May 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463352007

Steve Graham

Steve Graham is a retired financial adviser, who now lives in Staffordshire. He is married to Anita and they have four children – Lynne, John, Diana and Gary, and three grandchildren – Logan, Dylan and Sami. Not forgetting their dog Stan, a Springer Spaniel / Border Collie cross, that is loved by them all. Now that he has retired, Steve spends most of his time doing the things that he enjoys most, which includes writing, walking. Carp fishing, and looking after his grandchildren.

Book preview

PSYCHOPATH

An Inspector Jameson Mystery

Steve Graham

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2020 Steve Graham

All rights reserved

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INDEX

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

About The Author

Other Books By Steve Graham

To my wife Anita.

Thank you for all of your help and encouragement.

1.

Detective Inspector David Jameson didn`t have a care in the world, as he kissed his wife goodbye, and headed off to work. It was just before eight o`clock on Wednesday morning, and the late April sun was shining out of a cloudless blue sky. Dave had been married to his wife Linda for twenty happy years, and they had two children, Darren and Bella, who were both doing very well at school. Dave had been a Detective Inspector at Helperton for twelve years, and although it could be very challenging at times, on the whole he enjoyed his job, and as he drove towards the police station that morning, he was a contented man. Little did he know however, that the day was going to be a very difficult one.

As Dave walked into the police station, he was greeted by the desk Sergeant Paul Brown. Sergeant Brown had joined the force at the age of eighteen, and now at the age of fifty two his dark hair was thinning and turning grey, but he had a friendly disposition, and was a very popular member of the team. He was a tall rotund man, but he always seemed to have a smile on his face, and a kind word for all of his colleagues.

‘Good morning Paul, how are you?’ Dave asked, as he walked towards his office.

‘I`m very well thank you Inspector,’ he replied, ‘but I`m looking forward to the weekend, because my daughter Jean is coming to stay, with our grand-daughter Amy. Now that they live in London, we don`t see them as often as we`d like. It`s the first time that they`ve been back here since Christmas, and I`m sure little Amy`s changed a lot since then.’

‘How old is Amy now Paul?’

‘She`ll be three in June.’

‘They seem to change so much at that age, and they grow up so fast. It doesn`t seem long since my kids were that age, and now my son Darren is planning to go to university in September. They grow up so fast.’

‘You`re right there Inspector. Which university does Darren want to go to?’

‘He`s got his heart set on York, as long as he gets the right grades of course, but if not, he might go to Bristol. He wants to take a degree in politics, of all things.’

‘Well if he does end up being a politician, then I`m sure that he`d do a better job that the current lot.’

‘You`re probably right Paul.’ Dave replied, laughing. ‘Did anything of interest happen overnight?’

‘Yes we`ve been quite busy I`m afraid Inspector. There was a break-in at one of the houses at the top of Main Street.’

‘Was much taken?’

‘Mainly jewellery and a couple of iPads. That`s not all though. There was another car stolen last night too, a Mercedes this time.’

‘Now that is a worry. That`s the third car to be stolen in as many weeks. First an Audi TT, then a Jag, and now a Merc. All high-end vehicles. That doesn`t sound like they were opportunistic thefts. It sounds more like it`s highly organised, and they may even be being stolen to order.’

‘I`ve given all the details to Sergeant Harper. She`s in your office with Sergeant Townsend now.’

‘Thank you Paul.’

When Dave walked into his office, he saw that the two young sergeants were sat engrossed in paperwork. Beverley Harper was thirty-two years old and had been a Detective Inspector for four years. She was five feet 7 tall, a brunette with brown eyes, and had married her husband John just a few months before. Shirley Townsend was also thirty-two, the same age as Bev, but she`d only been promoted to Detective Sergeant the previous August. She was a pretty girl, with fair hair and blue eyes, but despite that, she was still single. She had a very good personality however, and was totally dedicated to the job. Dave knew that he could rely on them, and had total confidence in them both.

‘What are you two looking at?’ Dave asked, as he entered the room.

‘Oh good morning guv,’ Bev replied, ‘we didn`t hear you come in. We`re just looking at the details of the burglary and the car theft from last night, and we`ve had an idea. Dean Clough has only recently been released from prison, where he`d been serving two years for burglary.’

‘Yes I remember him. We had him put away before that too, about five or six years ago, when we caught him breaking into the vicarage. There were two of them on that job, but I can`t remember who the other one was.’

‘It was Phil Cooper,’ Shirley replied, ‘and they`ve both got form for stealing cars too. It may be just a coincidence, but it`s got to be worth checking out.’

‘It`s definitely worth pursuing. Have you got an address for Dean Clough?’

‘Yes he`s living in a one-bedroomed flat on Main Street.’

‘Right, you go and have a word with him Shirley, and see what he`s got to say for himself. Don`t go by yourself though, take Craig with you. He`s a nasty piece of work as far as I can remember.’

‘Okay guv, I`ll go and tell Craig now.’

‘What about Phil Cooper, shouldn`t we talk to him too?’ Bev asked, after Shirley had left the room.

‘I`ll send Bob and Terry to see him Bev. They can go and talk to Vic Abbot too.’

‘Vic Abbot? That name rings a bell, but I can`t place him.’

‘You must know Vic. He owns the local garage, Vic`s Motors.’

‘Oh of course, but surely you don`t suspect him of being involved in any of this.’

‘No, not at all Bev, Vic`s honest as the day`s long, but I`ve been thinking about those cars that have been stolen. They`re all high value vehicles, so whoever has been taking them, must have some way of getting rid of them. They may even be sending them abroad. Now a set-up like that takes some organising. With Vic being in the motor trade, he might have heard something. He`s given us one or two tips in the past, and I think that Phil Cooper, Dean Clough`s mate, used to work at the garage as a mechanic. I don`t know if he still works there now, but even if he doesn`t, then Vic will probably know where he is working. Can you get someone to have a look at the CCTV for last night please? No matter which route they took after they stole that car, they must have driven past some of the cameras. We might just get lucky and get a description of the driver.’

‘Now that does sound like a plan. I was just about to get myself a cup of coffee. Shall I get one for you?’

‘Yes please Bev, that`s just what I need.’

‘Okay, and I might even be able to rustle up a couple of chocolate biscuits too.

‘Now you`re talking.’ Dave replied, with a laugh.

At ten o`clock that morning Nick Drake arrived at Walton Pool, where he intended to spend the day fishing. Nick was forty-six years old, and spent a lot of time at the pool, where he was also the bailiff. He`d walked around the pool the previous evening, and the only other person there at the time was another angler called Simon Bridger. Simon had told him that he intended to stay until late the following morning, and that he`d be night-fishing for carp, so when Nick saw Simon`s bivvy on the far side of the pool, he decided to have a word with him.

‘I wonder what he`s caught’ Nick thought, as he walked around the pool. ‘It was a lovely mild night, so he certainly had a good chance.

There was no sign of him as Nick approached, and Simon wasn`t inside his bivvy either, which seemed strange.

‘Simon knows that it`s against the rules to leave his rods unattended.’ Nick said to himself. ‘I`m going to have to have a serious word with him about this.’

Nick started to have a look around, to see where Simon was, but he hadn`t walked far when what he saw behind the bushes was something that he wouldn`t forget for the rest of his life. Simon was laying there on the ground, and there was a lot of blood.

………………..

Police constables Bob Shilton and Terry Hawkins were first to arrive at the scene. Bob was 27 years old and had been at Helperton police station for five years. Terry was slightly older and more experienced, being thirty years old and had been at Helperton for the last seven years. The two of them often worked together, and got on well, but neither had witnessed such a gruesome scene as that which lay before them now. The victim’s head had been totally caved in and there was blood everywhere. It really was horrific. When Dave and Bev arrived, Bob was just finishing cordoning off the area, to protect the crime scene, and about five minutes later they were joined by Doctor Stuart Norton, the local pathologist. Stuart Norton was a sixty-two year old Glaswegian, and although he had been working in Helperton since leaving Scotland more than twenty years before, he still retained his Scottish accent.

Dave kept everyone well back out of the way while Doctor Norton inspected the crime scene, but was waiting to have a word with him when he`d finished.

‘It looks like a nasty one Doctor.’

‘Yes it certainly is Inspector; I can`t remember one worse in all my years in the job. It was a horrific attack.’

‘What can you tell me so far?’

‘Well the victim was a white male of between 25 and 35 years of age. There is a serious injury to the side of his head, where he was struck several times by a blunt object, and that appears to be the cause of death.’

‘So this wasn`t an accident? We`re definitely looking at murder here?’

‘It appears that way. The injury to