Part 21 (1/2)
Barrett raised his eyebrows at the mention of the American. ”Well, we certainly wouldn't want his involvement explained, now would we? An influential man like Alfonso Ramsey, somehow pulling strings in the upper echelons of the police force and inserting an FBI agent into the mix.”
The room went deathly silent at that and Barrett knew that his judges were evaluating their own positions and exposure.
”Mr Ramsey took his own life earlier today,” the PM's aide said quietly. ”I'm sure that ruining a dead man's reputation wouldn't serve any purpose at this point.”
Barrett fought hard to hide his anger at these three knowing something he didn't. He had hoped to use Ramsey in the future and had planned to use Bradshaw as leverage. The media magnate had never struck him as the suicidal type.
”I'm not sure about all of this,” a voice of dissention spoke out from the periphery of Barrett's vision and he spotted a middle-aged woman sitting uncomfortably amongst her peers.
”Ma'am?” Barrett enquired.
”This whole business seems somewhat...,” she began before pausing to ponder the word she wanted.
”Oh, for heaven's sake,” the PM's aide muttered. ”This isn't the place for consciences, Margaret”.
”I was going to say insubstantial,” the woman finished. ”You can be a.s.sured that I have no illusions as to our responsibilities, Douglas,” she said, taking pleasure in returning the favour of announcing her compatriot's name during the supposedly anonymous meeting. ”This situation, I would wager, requires a more..., permanent solution.”
Barrett didn't like the woman's tone or the stony expression on her face. He had threatened Chalmers himself, but it had been an empty threat preying on the conspiracy threat that most people held about the government. His loyalty ran deep, deep enough to see Meyers' career ruined and the Parkes woman discredited, but further than that, he wasn't so sure.
”You will keep us informed, Commander,” the aide stated firmly. ”There is to be no word from Ms Parkes, and Mr Meyers is to be apprehended immediately. You will monitor the situation and we shall monitor you. This case is to be put down and put down definitively. I want you to find everything that is required to a.s.sure the public that Martin Kline was the killer. Is that clear?”
Barrett left the room knowing that if he failed in his entrusted task then his name would soon join Meyers and Parkes and that was one list that he didn't want to be on.
”Good afternoon, Doctor Reese,” Danny announced grandly as the police surgeon entered the kitchen, still towelling his wet hair from the shower. He was pleased with the look of shock on the doctor's face. It was naked surprise, but not fear.
”What the h.e.l.l are you doing here, Inspector Meyers?” Reese spluttered.
”This is some home, Doc ... some home indeed,” Danny mused, looking around appreciatively.
”That's not an answer.”
”I need your help, Doc. No bulls.h.i.+t.”
”Your face is all over the station, Danny. Word is that there will be an announcement on the news tomorrow about a nationwide manhunt for you. There's a warrant out for your arrest and Commander Barrett has made it very clear to those of us left that the consequences of helping you will be dire, Danny, dire.”
”You're going to help me, Doc.”
”Even if I wanted to, there's no way that I'd risk helping you, Meyers; you're toxic to everyone around you. And why the h.e.l.l should I help you anyway? Because we're such great friends?” Reese scoffed.
”No, Doc, because I helped you get your daughter out of St Joseph's. Without me, she'd be dead,” Danny said, holding the doctor's gaze firmly.
Reese stared at him long and hard before finally releasing a long drawn out sigh. ”Alright, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I'll help; what is it you need? A way out of the country? Money?”
”How about busting someone out of Mountside Hospital?”
Reese looked him up and down as though trying to determine if he was joking or not. ”You can't be serious? What the h.e.l.l do you think I am?”
”You are a very well respected doctor in the police, Reese. You have the access credentials to get into Mountside and interview a patient.”
”Oh, I don't like where this is heading,” Reese said as he opened the fridge and took out a bottle of wine. He shook the bottle towards Danny.
”A bit early for me on a weekday, Doc.”
”Yes, but this is no ordinary day now, is it?”
”I guess not.” Danny couldn't help but smile.
Reese poured the wine and sat opposite Danny at the large kitchen table. ”They took Ms Parkes?”
Danny nodded in reply.
Reese shook his head. ”Barrett?”
”Oh yes, Barrett is cleaning house and I'm guessing that no one is exempt. My team is going to get buried twice, Doc: once in the cemetery and again in the press, and I can't let that happen. Barrett is going to lay the blame of St Joseph's on my shoulders and paint Jane as, at best, mentally unstable. If we don't get her out of Mountside then she's not getting out at all.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
FOUR PADDED WALLS.
Jane swam amidst the dark infested waters as bony fingers reached up to drag her down further into the shadows. Because her slumber was drug-induced, she was unable to break free and reach the sunlit surface of her dreams. The ocean was bottomless and filled with the vengeful dead. The harder that she kicked against the tide, the deeper she sank. Her limbs were growing more and more exhausted with every kick and stroke until she had nothing left to give and began to sink.
She knew why she was here and she accepted her fate. She had been the one to lead good people to their deaths because of her vanity. This whole time she had been led by the nose, blinded by her own hubris, and now the grave diggers were working overtime.
The drowning waters suddenly evaporated and she found herself floundering on a cold stone floor. She sat up and stared around at the familiar surroundings; a long corridor stretched out as far as she could see and she pulled herself onto unsteady legs.
The floor was ice on her bare feet to begin with, but slowly it began to warm up; the trouble was that the temperature kept on rising until her body was bathed in sweat. She took a few paces forward and the stones were cooler but soon began to heat up. She started to walk faster until she was running. The stone paving started to burn the soles of her feet, no matter how fast she ran. The aged wallpaper began to blister and peel as she pa.s.sed and the walls looked like they were melting.
The heat was unbearable and inescapable and the air was soon filled with the high-pitched screams of young girls dying. The sound reached a crescendo and Jane's hands flew to her ears to try and block out the screaming, but to no avail. This was St Joseph's hallowed halls and this was the tomb of 13 young girls burned alive because Jane had darkened their door. She had come to the school and death had followed.
She awoke in a panic with her heart thumping painfully against her chest and beating way too fast. Her room was blasted in white from the floor, to the walls and bedding. It was a place devoid of sensory input, one designed to empty the mind and dull the senses. Her hands were not strapped to the bed and she was able to swing her legs out from under the covers. Her head swam from the drugs pumped into her system and she had to concentrate hard to regain her balance.
She gradually eased herself up off the bed and walked slowly to the door. There was a sliding metal slot that opened from the other side and she could see immediately that the door was tightly secured.
She stood leaning against the sheer white door, trying to gather thoughts. A large part of her wanted to slip back into bed and drift away into sleep. It wasn't her strength that stopped her; it was her cowardice about what lay beyond the veil of her dreams. She could feel them standing behind her now. The white room seemed to dim in their presence and she didn't dare turn around to face them. The shadows encroached all around her until the looming spectre of death closed in and she had nothing left to fight with. They would have their vengeance and she had nothing left with which to deny them, not that she had the right to. She closed her eyes and slumped against the cold metallic door and waited for the moment to strike her down, but it never came.
Suddenly, the shadows were blown apart by blinding light that bounced off the reflective walls, amplifying the effect. She turned into the warmth and saw the darkness begin to drift apart like ashes on the wind. A figure emerged from the dark and at once he was a stranger to her, but also oddly familiar as though she was able to look beyond his features.
The man was old but strong; his face shone through, strongly determined to make his presence known and he reached out a hand towards her. His face was kind and loving and his lips moved with important words that she couldn't hear. Instinctively, she put out her own hand until their fingertips were brus.h.i.+ng with tingling electricity. His simple touch brought a smile to her lips amidst her depression and guilt, and the ghost of an answer danced just beyond her grasp.
She stretched out further for him, reaching for the truth that she was sure he held, but then strong hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her away again. The old man's face dimmed and faded into nothing as reality swept all before it and then he was gone.
”Jane, JANE!” a loud voice boomed in her ears, as strong arms shook her roughly. ”Doc, they must have given her something. She's well out of it.”