Part 18 (1/2)
”Just make sure that he doesn't get in my way, is all,” Bradshaw drawled. ”If Ms Parkes here is right, and this lunatic is stupid enough to turn up tonight, then I'm gonna put him down, Inspector, and I don't want some kid getting in the way, understood?”
”If you see him and you have a shot, then you take it,” Danny replied coldly. ”Let me worry about the politics and the legality tomorrow.”
”Fine, you just let me know when he's close, Ms Parkes, and I'll do the rest.”
Landing found herself on the far side of the school near some outbuildings. The pungent smell that wafted across the evening air told her that they were stables. She headed over, relis.h.i.+ng the aroma. Her grandparents had owned the Landing farm for generations and it had been expected that she would enter into the family business at some point, but she had run from that responsibility. The country life had seemed dull and listless to her and she had longed for the bright city lights. The fact that, once she'd had a choice in her posting, she had ended up in Faircliff - a modest sized town close to the countryside - hadn't been lost on her. Sometimes it seemed that no matter how far you ran, you always ended up home.
She was as p.i.s.sed at herself as she was at the squad, but she felt bad for taking it out on young Tim. The kid was a good lad and she made a mental note to apologise later. It wasn't his fault that they were being thrown to the wolves by the suits; it wasn't really anyone's fault.
There was a tall grey mare that came to the stable door as she approached. The horse put her head over the barrier for attention and she petted it gently, relis.h.i.+ng the animal's nature. Perhaps it was time for her to return home, back to the farm and see if there wasn't a better way to live than at the behest of faceless others who sat in silent, stony judgement.
The horse nuzzled at her hand, looking for treats but she had none to give. Its eyes were rich and full and she looked deeply into them, feeling a sense of peace. There was movement behind her and she was glad that Tim had caught up; it would give her the chance to apologise.
She had barely turned before the three-p.r.o.nged pitchfork drove forcefully into her chest. The steel tips pierced her flesh and sank deeply into her internal organs. She stared down in disbelief as though she couldn't possibly be looking down at her own fatal wounds. A thin dark trail of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth and she found that she couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred as she sank to the stable floor but two powerful hands gripped her under the armpits and lifted her back against the building's wooden struts. The horse behind her whined and stamped in mortal fear as the stench of death permeated the air. Landing felt her left arm being lifted as she sank into unconsciousness before the stinging pain brought her momentarily back into the darkening world. The large iron nail burst through her palm as it was hammered into the beam on one side of the stable door before the process was repeated on her right hand. She slumped forwards but the nails held her up, albeit in excruciating agony. The figure moved in closer and Landing wanted to see something to identify him, to somehow leave a clue for the others, to make her last moments matter, but all she could do was die.
Tim Selleck tried not to scuff his feet along the brightly buffed wooden flooring without much success. He couldn't believe that everything and everyone that he had put his faith in had turned out to be so insubstantial. He had only ever wanted to be a policeman; he had always craved the respect that came with the job and the sense of family and brotherhood that came with the uniform. As it turned out, he'd have had as much happiness selling paper like his brother. His team was about to be ripped apart and Wilson was dead. The officers above them had decided to play politics with people's lives and the team was to take the fall for political expediency.
He had always been the b.u.t.t of the joke on the end of a bully's fist. Even when he'd joined the service, instead of being one of the kids at the top table, he'd just found a whole new level of cruelty.
He shook the self-pity from his mind and tried to concentrate on the job at hand. There were lives at stake, according to the Parkes woman. At first, he had thought that the whole 'Medium' angle was yet another joke at his expense, but DI Meyers believed her and that was good enough for Tim. If the DI had told him to jump off a bridge then he would have probably done it, in stark contrast to what mothers of children trying to make a point used to ask.
His st.u.r.dy boots echoed along the deserted hallway and he used his anger towards Landing to keep himself from feeling spooked; it wasn't easy, given his surroundings. He was already lost inside the school and didn't want to risk radioing in for fear of looking stupid. He knew that he had the bones of a cop, somewhere deep inside; he just had to keep trying and learning.
Footsteps entered the hallway behind him and he turned, making sure to first mask his relief. A figure stood in the gloom at the far end. He a.s.sumed that it was male because of the broad size, but the man remained motionless. Tim stood rooted to the spot, feeling increasingly uneasy. ”h.e.l.lo?” he called out, aiming for an commanding tone, but his voice sounded thin and reedy.
The figure didn't answer. Instead, he slipped a hand into the long dark coat that seemed inappropriate given the humidity of the summer evening. When it emerged, Tim caught sight of a glint of fading sunlight reflecting off a silver blade. His mind told him that this was the killer that they sought. This was the man responsible for death and misery and this was Tim's time to s.h.i.+ne, to be the hero and show the world that he was a man to be reckoned with and respected. It took him a few moments before he realised that his feet were running in the opposite direction and taking him with them.
He flew along the corridor blindly. The dim light obstructed his way and every turning looked to lead him further into the darkness. There were multiple doors lining the hallway but every turn of a k.n.o.b proved fruitless as they all rattled but remained locked. There was a small voice inside him that demanded he turn and face his pursuer, that he was the law and he shouldn't be running, but he still couldn't bring himself to listen.
He could no longer hear the footsteps behind him, but by now his mind was in full flight mode and his sweaty hands slipped off the door handles as his heartbeat pounded in his ears with a deafening drum. The school had turned into a maze in his panic and he couldn't see a way out.
He reached the last door and almost yelled in triumph as the door opened easily and he stumbled inside. He slammed the door shut behind him. There was a window opposite and he rushed to it. The gla.s.s pane refused to budge as his forearms bulged under his straining effort, but then he noticed that there was a small metal latch pushed across the wooden frame, stopping the window from lifting. He was only on the second floor and the drop to the soft gra.s.s below looked manageable. He knew that he would have some explaining to do, given his fleeing from a suspect, but he figured that it was better to live on his knees rather than die on his feet.
He grasped the latch just as powerful hands grabbed him from behind. He tried to turn around but suddenly he was thrust forward with tremendous force. The gla.s.s barrier rushed up to meet him too fast for him to raise a hand in protection. His face burst through the window, shattering the gla.s.s, and then his vision was obscured by running red blood. For a second there was no pain, but only for a second as his nerve endings overrode his shock. He was dragged back into the cla.s.sroom again, his body limp and helpless. He felt himself being hoisted up higher as he was pushed through the now open window, dimly aware of the cool evening breeze that ruffled his hair. Through the crimson mask that he now wore, he could just see that there were vicious looking broken shards of gla.s.s standing upright, sticking out of the bottom of the frame. His head was moved over the razor tips and he could dimly feel the gla.s.s bite into his throat. All the while his attacker never spoke a word. There was no quirky quip, no movie style one-liners - there was just murderous intent.
Tim's last seconds were full of fears and tears just before his head was forced downwards and the gla.s.s shards were driven into his throat tearing the flesh open. His body jerked as his lungs gasped for air, only to be filled with blood.
Jane sent her mind out across the school again as she gripped her mother's silver brooch, searching for a scent of him, but again there was nothing. She breathed a sigh of relief that was mingled with disappointment. She was torn between wanting to put off the confrontation for as long as possible and just getting the whole d.a.m.n thing over with.
”Anything?” Danny asked her.
”Not yet.”
”You're sure that you'll know when he's here?”
”Absolutely,” she replied, with a little more confidence than she felt. There was a nagging weed of disquiet growing deep inside her, one that she couldn't quite kill. ”Did you reach Sergeant Landing or DC Selleck?”
”No, this b.l.o.o.d.y place is a dead zone as far as communications go. I don't mind telling you that I don't like it, I don't like it at all. If I could think of another way of doing this then I would.”
”I'm sure that they're fine.”
”I'm not,” Danny said morosely.
”Where's Chalmers?”
”Babysitting the headmaster, or maybe they're babysitting each other, but I want Landing in with the girls. I don't put much faith in our ill.u.s.trious leader to protect a room full of pupils against a killer.”
”Maybe we should check in on them?” Jane said, suddenly feeling a cold chill stroking her spine. ”Just to be sure.”
They headed into the school and through the cla.s.sroom section of the building and out towards the dormitory. She couldn't help but admire the old building and marvel at the surroundings. Her own school had been a smorgasbord of short fuses, apathy, and wanton disruption, and that was just the teachers. She could only wonder at the kind of esteemed learning that went on under such a prestigious roof.
”Maybe we should get Bradshaw to join us?” Jane asked nervously.
”We can't start panicking, Jane. We came here to do a job, to stop a maniac. Bradshaw is outside waiting for the nod from you, that's where we need him. You're still not picking anything up on the killer?”
”Not a thing,” she admitted.
”But you're sure you will?”
Jane left the question unanswered as they reached the dorm room. Danny pushed his way in first and she followed behind, not wanting to answer any questions from the headmaster about her presence; let him think that she was just another copper.
The room was long with beds lining the walls on either side. There hadn't been enough time to evacuate the school and she would have had no idea just how to go about such a plan. They were here on an unofficial basis and even if Chalmers had approached Barrett, then there would have been no help coming from up on high, especially when they had no evidence to support the theory.
There was a scattering of pupils, all with eager faces at the unusual excitement levels given their day-to-day boarding lives. Thankfully, most of the kids were home for the holidays but there was still far too much collateral damage to worry about.
”Where are we?” Chalmers demanded as he spotted them and approached quickly.
”Still no sign,” Danny answered in a quieter voice so as not to be overheard.
”I don't like this, Danny. I don't like it at all,” Chalmers bl.u.s.tered nervously. ”Perhaps we should call in reinforcements?”
”Who the h.e.l.l is going to listen to that call?” Danny snapped. ”And what exactly do we tell them? That we have a psychic, a civilian who can read a killer's mind? Barrett would laugh in your face before he had you committed.”
Jane s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably from foot to foot. The idea had seemed simple, but the execution now was far from it.
”You realise that we're putting all of our faith, and even lives, in the hands of her,” Chalmers said, pointing to Jane. ”If she can't do what she promised then we could all end up fired or worse.”
”She'll be fine.”
”And where the h.e.l.l are the others? I thought that Landing was supposed to be here?”
”Look, Superintendant,” Danny started angrily. ”This isn't an exact science, it isn't a paper exercise that you can fill in from behind your desk, this is real police work with real dangers. My team is fine and tonight we are going to end this maniac's reign once and for all!”
Jane thought that Danny's words were strong and convincing. She knew that his faith in her would suffice and that she wouldn't fail him. That was until the lights went out and they were plunged into terrifying darkness.