Blood On Vines

by Madeleine Eskedahl

  Bill spotted a briefcase by the desk and pulled a pair of latex gloves out of his pocket. The case was unlocked and had an assortment of surveillance photos, a laptop and a pile of paperwork. Before he could look through it properly he heard Niko’s booming voice from downstairs, “Sarge, I’m in the garage. Come and have a look at this.”

  The double garage had a serious-looking home gym in the far corner. In the opposite corner some wooden framing had been put up, covered with thick plastic sheets. A couple of large plastic bins were set up in the middle. Protective clothing and a respirator were placed neatly on a table. Beside it was a chemical container. It was lye. This whole set-up was an acid bath for body disposal.

  “What the hell?” Bill said.

  Large plastic sheets covered the back wall by the internal stairs. Niko lifted a corner, peeked underneath and took a step back. The thick Styrofoam had been spray painted black, and a series of photographs pinned, not unlike what they had on the wall of the police station. “Sarge, come and have a look at this, will you,” he gasped, staggered by what he was looking at.

  “Fucking hell!” Bill uttered, gobsmacked. The photos pinned to the wall were not crime-scene photos in the normal sense. They were more candid snap and souvenirs, printed on normal paper and blown up to A4 size. “What a sick bastard.” He struggled for words, not believing what he was seeing, “I’ll call Rudd. They have to get the SOCO team up here, and fast. And we need to locate Robert Gibb.” He was used to looking at crime scene shots, but the fact that these were trophies made him queasy. He pulled another sheet off the wall, a complete timeline revealing all the victims. There were pages of notes attached with pins. One photo showed the men in their youth, suntanned and invincible, having their entire lives ahead of them. It was exactly like the one missing from Avery’s office.

  74

  Annika’s phone buzzed. “Hi Annika, it’s Annie again. Just thought you might want to know the person who rented the house in Omaha also rented a house in Leigh. The second booking is under the same name, but I guess I was only looking for the one rental and missed it.”

  “That seems kind of strange, don’t you think? Why rent two properties?” Annika said, trying to make sense of the situation. She got the address and thanked her friend. Perhaps she could look herself. She knew she ought to wait for Bill and Niko to get back, Leigh wasn’t far away, just five minutes by car. She dialled Bill’s phone number, which went straight to voicemail. She left a brief message and said she’d wait for them there. It annoyed her slightly that she hadn’t got hold of Bill. She tried once more but hung up when it went to voicemail again. It was probably nothing anyway, perhaps a booking made in error. Why on earth would a person book two houses for the same period?

  She headed out towards Leigh and parked a short walk from the house. In front of the garage on the cracked concrete driveway was a large van with tinted windows, making it impossible to look in. In stark contrast was a low-slung silver sports car.

  She hesitated for a moment and thought surely it wouldn’t hurt to get a little closer, just to have a look. She crossed the road, taking cover by the bushy hedge of the neighbouring property. Getting down on all fours, she crawled the five or six metres from the hedge through the grass, pressing her back against the wall, the cool bricks calming her already rapid breath. Standing up, she peered through the venetian blinds into what appeared to be a small bedroom. The room was sparsely furnished, just a bed with a nightstand and a lonely chair in the corner. She couldn’t see anyone in there and hunched down again, moving past to the next window. It was identical, but had no blind which meant she could see straight in. There was a person lying on a bare mattress. Annika gasped. She recognised the dark wavy hair — it was Lexi, hands tied behind her back. Perspiration was spreading under Annika’s arms, soaking her thin top. Patting her back pocket, she fumbled to get her phone, but it wasn’t there. Cursing under her breath, she realised she must have left it in the car. The sensible thing would be to run back to the car and phone for help, but she couldn’t just leave Lexi there. She knew she should wait for Bill and Niko, but if there was a way in, perhaps she could get Lexi out.

  She tapped gently on the window. A face drained of colour turned towards the noise. Annika signalled that she would look for a way in. Pushing herself up against the bricks, she looked cautiously around the corner to the glass door a few metres away. Saying a silent prayer she stepped up onto the deck and pulled the ranch slider open.

  She braced herself for a squeak but the door opened effortlessly and she was inside the lounge. Holding her breath, half expecting someone to storm into the room, she waited a few seconds but no one came. The room was like a time warp. The Seventies turquoise synthetic lounge suite and veneer coffee table were like a look-back to her childhood. Underfoot the golden paisley carpet muffled her steps as she walked into the hall. Glimpsing the compact kitchen — its freestanding Shacklock stove, Formica benchtops and orange cupboard doors another journey back in time — she crept in and found a serrated bread knife. Her heart was in her throat as she navigated her way to the back bedroom.

  She quickly removed the gag and Lexi eagerly sucked deep breaths in.

  “Are you hurt?” Annika asked.

  Lexi shook her head. “I think he drugged us,” she croaked. “I can’t really remember how I got here. There are just fragments of moments. I’m feeling a bit beaten up.”

  “Let’s get you out of here. Lie still and I’ll cut these ties off,” Annika said as she pulled the knife between Lexi’s wrists, the blunt knife eventually cutting through. Still in a daze, Lexi moved her arms to get the blood flowing. “Come on, we have to hurry,” Annika said as she grabbed Lexi’s hand, pulling her along. “Everything will be fine. We’ll walk out of here the same way I came in, through the lounge and out the back.”

  Lexi walked on unsteady feet, holding on to Annika’s arm. The sliding door wouldn’t budge. Annika tugged at it with all her might. Holding on to Lexi with one hand, she tried the lock again, but nothing worked. Her hand was sweaty and slid over the handle.

  “And what do you think you’re doing?” a gruff voice sounded from behind them. Annika desperately pulled at the door. “There is no point,” the man said coldly.

  Looking down, Annika could see a steel rod along the length of the runners in the door frame. No amount of pulling would ever open it. Turning around slowly, mindful of not losing hold of Lexi, she recognised the solid man standing there. Lexi whimpered as he moved closer.

  Annika lunged for him, but he overpowered her feeble attempt to strike him with the bread knife, knocking it from her hands before slamming her viciously into Lexi. He smirked as he made them hold their arms out in front, putting long cable ties around their wrists, tugging the strips tighter and tighter, their cries of pain seemingly adding to his enjoyment.

  75

  Avery was hanging upside down. His head felt about to explode as gravity carried every drop of blood towards the dirty garage floor, a few inches from his nose. Despite this, the smell of rat urine and mould was penetrating his every fibre. How on earth had he ended up here?

  He drifted in and out of consciousness. The strain on his ankles from his body weight was enormous and he had lost all feeling in his feet. A slow trickle of blood from the cut on his neck ran across his face. Thoughts of Lexi and the kids popped into his head. He had not imagined his life ending like this.

  Isaac was no longer moving. An initial attempt to contort his body to reach the ropes tied around his ankles had taken its toll. His wound seemed larger and the moving about had only increased the blood flow judging by the large puddle beneath his head.

  Hanging from the rafters, the two men lost consciousness, awaiting their fate. Flies buzzed, feasting on the thick sticky blood pooling beneath, slowly trickling, draining the life out of them.

  76

  The man pushed Annika and Lexi through the back garden and into the garage, the stench of blood and sweat overwhelming
them as the door opened and he shoved them inside. Lexi hit her head and crumpled in a heap on the floor, but Annika remained on her feet as the door slammed behind them. As her eyes got used to the semi-darkness, she saw Avery and Isaac hanging suspended by their feet. Adrenalin surging, she rushed over to search for any signs the men were still alive.

  Avery was breathing, albeit shallowly. Isaac was worse, his breath barely audible. Her shoes stuck to the floor, and realising she was standing in partially coagulated blood, Annika’s stomach heaved. It was up to her now.

  The cold emotionless eyes of the attacker haunted her as she frantically searched for a solution. She must hurry to cut them down, but first she needed to get the cable ties off her own wrists. Bill had showed Zac how to break free from these hand restraints after watching a hostage movie. Theoretically, she had to lift her arms above her head and push down. She gave it her best shot, but nothing budged and the plastic just cut deeper into her wrists. Then she remembered that the lock needed to be in the centre. She took the long ends in her teeth and dragged them across. Lifting her arms, she flexed her elbows, pushed down and the ties snapped. The small victory gave her courage to carry on. Her hands fumbled across the workbench on the far wall, dust and rat droppings and God knows what under her fingertips, looking for something sharp.

  Avery groaned. She knew she had to hurry. Moving on to the shelves she found a rusty old saw. It would have to do. There was a stepladder in the corner. She positioned it between the two suspended bodies, hoping she was not too late. She took hold of Avery’s legs for stability and pulled him tight against her body while frantically moving the decrepit saw back and forth on the thick rope. Because of the rust and missing teeth the saw kept snagging. Sweat ran down her back and her arm and back muscles were screaming from the effort.

  Finally the rope gave way and Avery dropped on the floor like a sack of potatoes. The impact roused him out of his dazed state. Annika quickly moved on to Isaac. Her hands were clammy and the saw slipped out of her grip, crashing onto the floor with a bang. Annika froze. What if he’d heard them? She quickly picked it up, climbed the ladder and started cutting with more ferocity than before. The rope snapped and released Isaac.

  Avery tied a rag around Isaac’s neck to stem the blood loss and pulled him into an upright position with his back against the wall. Standing on wobbly legs he checked on Lexi, who was conscious but still dazed, when they heard footsteps.

  The door was flung open. “I had a funny feeling something was going on out here,” the man said. Avery stumbled forward to protect his wife, who screamed as the man struck him across the face. “As for you bitches, perhaps I should have strung you up as well.”

  77

  Bill’s uniform shirt was stuck to his upper body. Undoing his vest was a great relief. He sighed as the gentle sea breeze cooled him down.

  The house was now overrun by Rudd and his team of SOCO’s bagging the evidence. It was disappointing they’d not apprehended the suspect, but on the upside they had found the disturbing set-up in the garage . One thing was for sure, they were dealing with a psycho.

  “Let’s stop by the Superette around the corner and pick up something to drink. I’m parched,” he said to Niko. They pulled up beside the small shop and Niko went inside for two bottles of water. Bill got his phone out to check for any missed calls or messages - there were several from Annika, and Bill’s face paled as he listened to them, realising the danger she might be in. Honking the horn to get Niko’s attention, Bill reversed out turning the car around.

  “There is a second address in Leigh booked by the same Robert Gibb. Annika is there now,” he spluttered. His mind racing as he sped towards the small settlement. He couldn’t bear it if anything happened to her. Then anger overtook the fear. What the fuck was she doing there? He was acutely aware of the risks, but was she?

  “I’ll request backup from Warkworth and Orewa,” Niko said, his voice steady as he called it in.

  “Annika will be okay. She’s a smart woman.”

  Bill nodded, concentrating hard on keeping the car on the road as they raced ahead, running a range of nightmare scenarios in his head. Niko gripped the handle above his head, his body thrown in all directions as Bill sped around the many bends on the road, racing through Whangateau, completely disregarding the fifty kilometre speed limit, blasting through, sirens on full. As the road straightened out and they came into Leigh, he switched the sirens off, keeping the lights flashing. Flying over the hill on the last straight with Little Barrier Island before them, then turned off the main road to the address Annika had given him.

  Parking further down the street, Bill could see Annika’s car on the road. His gut told him that all was not well. What if she was lying somewhere hurt — or worse?

  They immediately recognised the Aston Martin as Isaacs, and Niko ran the registration of the van parked in the driveway on his phone. The van belonged to Robert Gibb.

  The little colour in Bill’s face drained away. “We’re going in. I’m not leaving Annika with this fucking psychopath,” he said. Just then a loud bang echoed across the street.

  “Fucking hell, that was a gunshot.” Bill grabbed his Glock and sprinted across the road. “We are going in, cover me,” Bill said running along the dense hedge. He motioned for Niko to follow behind as he pressed himself up against the corner of the house. He could see no movement from inside. Staying low, they approached the front door in a few long leaps, grabbing the handle, pushing it down gently. The door sighed, the rubber seal at the base dragging on the floor as he opened it. The wooden floorboards in the entry creaked ominously. His shoulder brushed the wall, knocking a framed print off its hook, but he caught it before it hit the ground. They quickly moved from room to room before making their way out the back. Bill motioned for Niko to be quiet. They could hear loud voices coming from the adjacent garage.

  78

  “You are all responsible, the fucking lot of you,” the man said.

  Avery was confused. What was he talking about?

  “If it wasn’t for your meddling, it would have been a successful operation and made a shit-load of money. Your mate Peter was dead-set on digging up the past and writing an exposé about the wine we exported. He wouldn’t give in. He deserved all that he got, the little chicken shit.”

  There was something vaguely familiar about this mountain of muscle, Avery thought. But where had he seen him before? And what wine export was he talking about?

  “Besides, I dealt with it the first time. Maurice was about to crack, and I made sure it looked like he killed himself, the old arsehole. It was a pity his boy had to find him I suppose, but such is life.”

  The penny dropped. Avery knew where he’d recognised him from. Robert the winemaker at Stott’s Landing had aged well; the muscle-bound man standing in front of them looked very different from all those years ago. He remembered the flabby young man with long hair, full beard and moustache, not at all like this man who was in astounding shape for being in his late fifties. “You look a shitload different today, Robert,” he said.

  “Took you long enough to figure out. I’ve been around for the last couple of weeks, watching you muppets, but you didn’t have a clue.”

  “Why are you doing this? We’ve had nothing to do with Stott’s Landing since we left all those years ago,” Avery said, desperate to buy some time.

  “It’s all too late now. When your mate asked around, writing his exposé, I had to intervene.”

  Avery’s blood froze. “Did you kill Peter and James?”

  “They left me no choice. The idiot would publish it for the entire world to see. I wanted to make you squirm. That’s why I placed his hand under your house. And now it’s your turn to pay for sticking your noses into what didn’t concern you.” He pulled a gun out. “Sadly for you, the women are collateral damage. A shame really, such pretty things. I always enjoyed Lexi’s visits back in the day,” he smirked. “You two, Avery and Isaac, you started this and now I final
ly get to end it.”

  “We have notified the police,” Annika said as forcefully as she could.

  Robert grinned. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. By the time they arrive here, it will be well and truly over.”

  “But what about Ben, Maurice’s son?” Annika asked, realising that Avery was trying to inch his way closer to the implements leaning against the wall. “Was he in on it as well?” she continued, desperate to keep him talking and taking his attention off Avery.

  “That idiot couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery. He’s as weak as his father was.”

  Avery mustered his remaining strength, seized a shovel and took a swing. The rusty metal glanced off the back of Robert’s shoulder. His gun discharged upwards, the bullet going straight through a canoe in the rafters above their heads. The ringing in their ears amplified tenfold in the small garage as fibreglass and dust rained down on them.

  Robert shook his head. “That was incredibly stupid,” he said, and cold as ice fired a shot into Avery’s abdomen. Lexi and Annika screamed as he turned to Isaac, squeezing off another shot.

  Lexi attempted to get over to Avery before Robert coldly took aim at her. “Don’t fucking move. They both deserved it,” he said calmly. “Besides, as I said, you two are just collateral damage.”

  79

  Bill and Niko had made their way around to the garage when two more shots were fired in rapid succession. “Stay with me. I’m going in” Bill said, pulling the handle and slipping inside. Niko was right behind.

  About to squeeze the trigger, Robert didn’t see the movement from behind.