“I’m not upset,” Marcus confessed.
“Why not?”
“We weren’t on good terms.”
Feirstein leaned forward. “You don’t say?”
Marcus chuckled. “I didn’t have any kids with her or anything. She was a bit of a cunt.”
“Go on.”
“But you see, all of this, is a pile of bullshit. I didn’t kill her. Security cams in my hotel will prove I was there all afternoon.”
“Well, we’ll look into that,” Feirstein said. “In the meantime maybe you can clear something up.”
“What’s that?”
“We were just in contact with your bank and it seems you made a very large purchase of spiders recently.”
“So?”
Feirstein looked at Darper. “So?”
“So…” Darper said. “So, you’re saying you made the purchase.”
“It’s not illegal to buy spiders,” Marcus said. “And what does that have to do with anything? Were there any spiders present at the crime scene?”
“Well, as a matter of fact –” Feirstein began.
“I’m sorry,” Darper said.
Darper watched as Feirstein turned.
And saw the gun in his hands.
“Darper, what the fuck –”
“I can’t tell you why I’m doing this,” Darper said. “You’re going to have to trust me.”
Darper moved round to where Marcus was sitting and pulled him out of the chair.
“Come on. We’re taking a walk.”
“What the fuck for?” Marcus said.
“I don’t have a choice. Move.”
Darper forced him towards the exit door. He scanned his card underneath and ushered Marcus out into the hallway.
“Scott, you son of a bitch,” Feirstein shouted. “I vouched for –”
The door shut behind them.
Darper motioned to the left. “Come on. Keep moving.”
“Why are you doing this?” Marcus demanded, looking back.
“You don’t want to know.”
By the time they reached the fire escape, Darper could already hear Feirstein was calling everyone to attention.
They didn’t have much time.
CHAPTER 48
“Wait here.”
That was Rose McGuiness’s advice to Taylor as she and Director Feirstein hurried out of the room. Taylor did wait. Not for a long time though. She got up and walked around the room. She went to McGuiness’s desk and found one of the spare keycards. Then it was time to go back out into the hall.
No sign of Feirstein or McGuiness. An alarm sounded overhead. P.A. instructions to the officers trying to prevent Darper and Marcus from leaving. It sounded like they were having more problems than Taylor had breaking Nadine out of the remand centre.
Without incident, Taylor ventured on through the winding hallway on the lookout for Lester. She went into the crow’s nest surveillance and found which room he was in.
All by himself.
Alone.
Taylor had no trouble gaining access.
“Taylor,” he said with a hint of surprise, standing as she entered the room. “What’s – what’s happening –”
“Nothing you need worry about,” Taylor muttered. “You can sit back down.”
“Um. Alright.”
“So, have you been interviewed yet?”
“Sort of,” Lester said. “I’m starting to get worried to be honest. It’s almost like I’m being treated like a suspect here. Which is, of course, ridiculous.”
“Right.” Taylor sat down. Put her elbows on the table. Leaned forward. “I need to ask you about something.”
“Sure. Anything.”
“We were talking about the stakeouts earlier. How I used to hang around waiting for the Man in Red.”
“I remember.”
“But it was really only one time you were there, wasn’t it?”
Lester smiled. “Oh. I’m sure I was there a few times.”
“No. I remember one time. Only the one time you were there.”
“Which was that?”
“We were meant to be buying pot or something for Marcus and Megan –”
“And then you saw those tennis courts. Shouted, ‘Pull Over!’ Of course, I remember that.”
“There was something else. I remember about that afternoon. How we went across to the reserve. Up to the treehouse…”
“I was there, Taylor.”
“Do you remember the girl you spoke with?”
Lester blinked a couple of times. “What girl?”
“There was a girl. And you were talking to her. I didn’t think much of it then but…”
CHAPTER 49
But now Taylor had to wonder if it was Charlotte.
She didn’t get a good look at her. She’d shown up when Taylor and the others were climbing the treehouse. Lester stayed at the bottom of the tree, not trusting his bung leg to get the journey up there. Marcus had gone right to the back of the treehouse, stared out across the field from the window, and declared the whole thing a waste of a time.
“Well that was a waste of time,” Marcus said.
“He doesn’t just magically appear the moment someone shows up here,” Taylor argued. “We’ll have to wait a bit.”
“What’s Lester doing?” Megan asked.
“He’s waiting for us,” Taylor answered.
“No, he’s talking to someone…”
Taylor pushed past Megan and looked down the trunk of the tree. She made out the figure of a teenage girl with curly dark hair in conversation with Lester.
“Hey,” Taylor called.
Lester looked up.
The girl didn’t.
Fast forward all those years later to Taylor and Lester sitting in the interview room together, the memories dying out all around them.
“There was no girl,” Lester said. “You and the other two went out to the field for a walk. I hung out back. Then one of you got scared about something and we had to go home. No girl. Never talked to her. Never happened.”
Taylor studied him. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Lester licked his lips. “You know, I think I’m done answering questions. I want to go home now.”
“In a minute.”
Lester couldn’t look at her. His eyes were all over the room.
“Are you lying to me, Lester?”
“Taylor,” he half-laughed. “Get the fuck out of here.”
“Lester.”
“What?”
“Who was she?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Was it Charlotte?”
“You’re nuts.”
“Lester.”
“Alright! You want to know! You want to see inside my fucking skull? I’ll tell you.”
Taylor cleared her throat. “Lester. Sit back down. There’ll be no violence here. I’ll shoot you dead.”
“Shoot me! So much of a fucking friend you are.”
“Lester. What have you done?”
He choked on his laughter. “You want to know huh?”
“Yeah, I want to know.”
“Well. Then kiss me.”
“I’m not kissing you.”
“You’re not, huh?”
“No, of course –”
“Is it my LIMP? Is that why you find me so repulsive?”
Taylor stood up. “Enough games! Who is Spider Jack?”
“Marcus. Right?”
“Stop lying. Who is Charlotte?”
“Pfft. Don’t know any Charlottes.”
Taylor climbed across the table and pounced on Lester who stumbled back awkwardly, hitting his head on the back wall.
They landed on the floor together.
Gritting her teeth, Taylor kissed him, then put her hand around his throat.
“START TALKING, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
“Alright,” Lester cried out in panic. “There was a woman. She had duplicates of Mar
cus’s bankcards and wanted me to go buy a bunch of spiders, pretending to be him. She was offering a thousand bucks but I said I’d do it for free.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
Lester chuckled. “Sorry. I know I’m an idiot. I just wanted to rub it in his face for a bit. I didn’t know they were going to kill anyone. But in the end, I was kind of okay with that –”
Taylor increased her grip around his throat.
Lester tried to fight her but he was too weak.
She waited until he looked helpless, before releasing him once more.
Lester gasped for air.
“Who was the woman?” Taylor demanded. “What’s her name? Was it Charlotte?”
“Don’t know her name,” Lester said. “But – but – I’ve seen her. I’ve seen her here.”
“Here?”
“She’s a cop or – she’s working with the cops – all dressed up –”
“When did you see her?”
“Just before. When they were bringing me in.”
“She’s in the building?”
“Uh, yeah. Uh, I think uh…” Lester trailed off.
Taylor shook him. “Yes?”
“No, it’s just,” Lester mumbled. “That’s getting a bit close. Can we get rid of that…?”
Taylor looked across the floor to where he was staring.
There was an ugly black spider crawling along the floor.
“Jesus where did –” Taylor began.
“OH SHIT!” Lester shouted.
Taylor looked down and saw another spider was crawling onto Lester’s leg.
She quickly rolled off him and sprang to her feet. Lester made an effort to kick the spider away.
Then she saw a third spider by his hand.
“Watch it!”
Taylor kicked the spider away.
Lester stood up against the wall, only to find another spider waiting for him there.
And another. And another.
They were everywhere. All over the floors. The table.
The walls.
Taylor felt the legs of a tarantula tickling their way across her neck as her eyes focused in on the open doorway.
A figure was standing there, dressed head to toe in a radiation suit.
“Your gun,” came their muffled voice.
Taylor batted the spider off her shoulder and reached for her gun.
The figure pointed their gun at her, waving it away.
Instead, Taylor lifted the gun from her waist and fired.
But her bullet missed the figure.
And a shot came from them that did not miss, knocking Taylor’s gun to the floor.
“Ouch,” Taylor squealed, pain radiating up her arm.
The figure lowered their weapon and then produced a large vacuum hose. As Taylor’s eyes adjusted further she saw spiders crawling around the rim of it.
Spiders crawling all over the suit.
“Goodbye Taylor,” the figure said.
And then seven thousand tarantulas shot out of the hose.
CHAPTER 50
She should have died in that room.
Through the sea of arachnids spinning through the air, she watched Lester make a break for his life. He tried to stand up, the weight of fifty to a hundred spiders pushing against him as he lifted each knee. But even Lester made it at least that far.
She could still see him there, down at the bottom of the tree, talking to that girl.
That’s when Marcus called out behind them.
“He’s here! It’s him! Look!”
Taylor looked back. She huddled round the window with Megan and Marcus to see the man in red walking through the field, just as she’d remembered him all those years ago.
As though not one moment had changed.
As though he’d never left.
“Taylor!”
There was no holding Taylor back now. He’d beaten her once before, but she was ready for the field this time. She was older and she could run faster. And she knew how important this was.
As quickly as she could, she ran out of the treehouse, and climbed her way down to find Lester alone, the girl vanished. Taylor brushed past him and hurried round the side of the treehouse as the others continued to call to her, trying to hold her back.
As though they were afraid.
Taylor blanked them out. As though she’d gone deaf.
She hit the edge of the field with the man about two thirds of the way across, him walking, her running. The yellow grass had been at her knees the last time she’d been here, but now it was barely above her ankles.
A gale of wind came by halfway through the field, almost knocking her over, but Taylor didn’t let her balance falter.
The man had made it to the other side and was making his way across the riverbed, seemingly oblivious to the activity he was stirring up in his shadow.
Suddenly pain shot through Taylor’s legs. Unknowingly she’d run into a bed of thorns, causing her pants to rip, the sharpness biting into her flesh and drawing blood.
Her eyes swelled. Her cheeks went red.
She bent over and grabbed hold of the thorny bristle she’d embedded herself in and closing her first around it, she ripped it from her knee.
“AARRGH!”
Stinging. Pain.
Water.
“Taylor!”
Marcus was hurrying over to her.
She looked back and saw Megan was halfway across the field behind him.
Lester was standing all the way back at the edge.
“Stay back,” Taylor said to Marcus. “There’s thorns everywhere here.”
“Holy shit,” Marcus said looking around.
Taylor turned away from him and jumped to safety. She weaved her way around the rest of the brambles, then found a pathway leading her to the field’s edge.
She looked up and saw the man was entering the forest beyond the river.
“Taylor,” Marcus said. “Wait for us.”
But they were too far back.
Taylor put her feet into the river which deceivingly seemed shallow. Her misstep took her sprawling into the water, her body, face, hair all forced all the way in. At the bottom of the river’s bed her feet got caught on some rocks and suddenly –
She was about to drown.
NOOOOOO!!! Taylor screamed underwater.
Shadows appeared in the sunlight above.
And then her feet were free, and arms were around her, as she came up gasping from the river’s surface.
“Get off me!” she wailed. “Get off! Get off! Get off!”
“He’s gone,” Marcus said.
“NO! HE CAN’T BE! HE WAS RIGHT –”
CHAPTER 51
There.
As Lester’s screaming figure came crashing back to the floor, Taylor ripped the spiders from her eyes and saw through the horror around her to the doorway where he was, with his weapon.
Without thinking – without registering sounds or sensations –
Her heart’s only focus guiding her –
Taylor gradually found her way from one side of the room to the other.
She stood at the doorway, face to face with him, the hose in his hands being lowered.
Spiders crawling all over his suit –
And spiders crawling all over Taylor’s skin –
“You think they make you special?” she asked hoarsely.
His head tilted forward.
“YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL!” Taylor screamed.
She launched herself at him, the hose falling from his grasp.
Her hands were on his arms.
His hands were on her arms.
She was pushing him back out the doorway and through the corridor.
“What you don’t feel like talking now?” Taylor asked, another spider running up from her neck across the side of her cheek. “You afraid of me, or something?”
It was him in the suit, Taylor could tell. It was the real thing. It was Jack.
&n
bsp; His female accomplice was elsewhere.
“You said ‘Taylor’,” she remarked. “Do you know me? Have we met before?”
No response. He was breathing heavily.
They continued to move down the corridor, the spiders falling away with every step.
“You tell me,” Spider Jack said softly.
His speaking caught her off guard momentarily and her strength faltered, just a little.
Before she knew it, Spider Jack’s gloved hand was wrapped around her throat, her whole body pinned against the wall.
She tried to resist his hold, but he was physically superior.
“I have Megan,” Jack said. “I was saving her for last.”
“Megan?” Taylor gushed. “But why? What did we ever do to you?”
There was a pause.
“You tried to follow me.”
Jack then bashed her head against the wall and Taylor lost control as he let go.
CHAPTER 52
Marcus Branchay was about to go insane. Special Agent Darper had locked him in a storage room in the precinct’s underground car park and was supposedly standing outside the door – but Marcus wasn’t even sure he was there anymore. Pacing the dusty atmosphere his eyes drifted from the tables to the bookshelves – to the old TV sets on wheels. It was as though no one had been in this room for fifteen years. And now it was to be his tomb.
“I’m not a fucking animal!” Marcus yelled, his words not making it passed the compressed walls. “You can’t keep me here!”
He was short of breath.
Thirsty.
He stopped where he was and slowly sank against the bottom of one of the shelves, his hands shaking.
They said she was dead.
Cut to smithereens.
And Marcus pretended not to be affected – to not feel what he should be feeling –
Sweat poured off his forehead.
Tears filled up his eyes.
There was no sense. There was no reason.
Lester’s vendetta against him had been served out. The past it seemed, foretold what was about to come –
Snap.
The door opened and Darper hurried though, panting heavily. He shut the door behind him and locked it.
“What are you doing?” Marcus challenged him. “Can’t you see I’ve been through enough?”
Spider Jack (Guess The Killer Book 2) Page 11