Rachel tried to get up, but couldn’t feel her arms or legs.
She knew the little girl was near as she could smell her foul odour.
Maisie grabbed hold of Rachel’s hair again and dragged her across the uneven ground.
Rachel screamed as the child pulled on her hair tearing clumps from her scalp.
Maisie dragged her deeper into the wet and cold cavern then let go of her hair.
Rachel’s skull smashed on the hard surface. She wanted to reach for her head, but her arms wouldn’t move.
She lay, totally helpless for the first time in her life and had no fight left in her. She could hear running water close by.
She could see Maisie moving around in her peripheral vision.
Maisie slowly climbed over Rachel’s broken body and sat across her chest swaying from side to side. Smiling, she revealed her jagged teeth.
Terrified, Rachel willed her limbs to move, but couldn’t feel anything. “Get off me,” she screamed, but her voice bounced off the walls of the cavern. It was no use. Nobody could help her now.
Maisie leaned closer to Rachel’s face and began to hum a tune. It was familiar to Rachel, but she couldn’t place it.
“What are you going to do to me?” Rachel sobbed.
Maisie didn’t answer the question and continued to hum.
“Please, I don’t want to die down here.” She felt the tears filling her ears.
Maisie stopped humming and began to quietly sing. “The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes, when down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose.”
She leaned in closer and grabbed Rachel’s nose with her teeth, slowly chomping and grinding as Rachel’s screams echoed around the well and up into the night sky.
Chapter 28
Sandra flinched at the distant sounds of Rachel’s screams as David ushered her towards the top of the garden.
“Sandra, you must go before Maisie comes back. There’s nothing you can do for Rachel now.”
“We can’t leave her down there.” Sandra was shaking her head as tears ran down her face. Even though she despised her boss, she would never have wished this on her.
“It’s too late to save her. You know that.”
“We have to try, David.”
“Sandra, listen to me. Rachel is dead.” David grabbed hold of Sandra and held her gaze.
“You have to get out of here,” David said.
“What about Dean?” Sandra was looking at him from the other end of the garden – he appeared dazed.
“Don’t worry. Maisie isn’t interested in him.”
“I called the police on my way here. They said they’d send someone.” Sandra knew she would never be able to explain any of this to the police – they would never believe what had been happening.
“We both know who’s going to be blamed for this. Now please, go before they come.”
“It’s not right, David.” Sandra knew she had no choice, but to leave. She kissed David gently on the cheek and rushed away.
She hated herself for leaving Rachel and Dean behind. She knew there was no hope for Rachel, but at least Dean would be safe.
***
Police cars roared up the lane, sirens shattering the silence.
Curtains twitched at the neighbouring houses as the lights from the patrol cars flashed through their windows.
Several local residents came out of their houses and made their way towards number six Promised Land Lane. They stood peering through the gates as an army of police officers and paramedics made their way towards the back of the property.
Patrick Breen led the small group, questioning the officers as to what happened, but nobody was in any position to provide answers.
Ray, the old security guard, had been called from home and ordered to give the police access to the property. The lights inside of the house shone brightly for the first time in many years.
The garden lights flickered on.
A man was found lying curled up in the grass, surrounded by dozens of cats. The police officers were wary as they approached him, unsure of what state he was in and what the cats would do. Trying to get closer to the young man, one of the police officers yelled and kicked out at the cats, sending them running for the trees and walls surrounding the property.
The police officer bent down and checked the man’s pulse. He radioed his colleague at the front of the property, asking for medical assistance.
A few minutes later, the paramedics rushed though the grounds and located the officers. One of the medics tried to talk to the man, but he was incoherent, rambling about a little girl with no eyes.
The man was quickly strapped to a stretcher and rushed into the back of the ambulance parked at the main gates. The residents of the lane looked on in horror, gossiping amongst themselves. The doors closed and the lights began to flash as the ambulance zoomed off.
Five police cars were parked outside the property. Two officers were stationed at the front door with the remaining eight officers searching the back garden in groups of two.
A purple high heeled shoe was discovered in the overgrown grass and was bagged as potential evidence. A further search revealed fresh blood splatters by the well.
Concerned there was an injured person somewhere on the premises, one of the attending officers radioed for a canine unit to be dispatched.
Officers were posted at the address until the canine unit and Forensics Team arrived.
Chapter 29
Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Hope opened his eyes and struggled to focus. He could hear his mobile phone ringing and felt around the floor in front of him. He had been fast asleep on the sofa after a fifteen-hour shift when the call came through.
From what he could make out, a telephone call had been made from somebody reporting intruders at the house on Promised Land Lane. A patrol car had driven by. The officers looked around and found a man lying in the grass, mumbling his girlfriend had been attacked. It was called in and now the place was crawling with police and forensic teams.
He dashed out of the house, having no time to get a decent cup of coffee before driving the two miles from his home to the local hospital. He was already cranky through lack of sleep. His mood did not improve after a six-hour wait, having argued with the doctor many times in regards to interviewing his patient. The doctor told him in no uncertain terms that he would only allow him to speak to his patient when he deemed him fit enough.
Andrew was sat in the waiting room with a cup of something that vaguely resembled coffee, when at three-forty am, he was finally granted access to begin questioning Dean Lewis. He reached over and shook Janet awake, who had been snoring for the last hour.
They made their way down the corridor towards room two.
On the nurse’s advice, they entered the room slowly and could see how agitated Dean was. All the ceiling lights were shining bright, with additional lighting each side of the bed. This confused Andrew.
“What’s with all the lights, nurse?”
“We tried to dim the lights a little earlier, in the hope it would calm Mr Lewis and help him sleep, but it made him extremely anxious. We didn’t get much sense out of him when he first arrived, but the brighter we made the room, the more coherent he became. Doctor Holden asked for more lighting to be brought in.”
“You’re telling me the patient is afraid of the dark?” Andrew queried.
“I can’t say that for sure, but the brightness calms him.”
“Thank you nurse. I’ll take it from here.”
The nurse looked at him with a strange expression. “I won’t be leaving the room, Chief Inspector. Mr Lewis is my patient.”
Andrew ignored her comment and walked toward the bed. Dean Lewis was wearing a standard issue hospital gown. He wondered how much this young man knew about the blood that had been found in the garden at Promised Land Lane, or how much he would be willing to tell.
“Mr Lewis, I’m Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Hope, and this is my
partner, Inspector Janet Monroe. We have a few questions to ask if you’re up to it.” Janet smiled at Dean and took out her notepad and pen.
“Is Rachel ok?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I have no idea who Rachel is. Can you elaborate for us, please?”
“I was at that haunted house with my girlfriend. She’s still there somewhere. You have to help her.”
“If you could start at the beginning, Dean,” Janet said. “We’ll be able to help you more. Can you do that for me please?”
“I was there with Rachel. That kid grabbed her and shoved her down the well.”
Janet looked at Andrew as he shook his head.
“Mr Lewis, you are making no sense.” Andrew was tired and had little patience.
“Can you give me Rachel’s full name please?” Janet took over the questioning – she had more empathy than Andrew. “Lang. Her name is Rachel Lang.”
“Thank you Dean. Could you tell me more about her… age, description, stuff like that.”
Dean was becoming agitated again. “She’s fifty-three. She has blonde hair. I don’t know why you’re asking me all these questions when you should be looking for her.”
“Anything else, Dean? It’s very important you tell us as much as possible so we can identify Rachel correctly.”
“She works for that big newspaper in town. I can’t remember what it’s called.”
Andrew suddenly realized who Dean was referring to. “He’s talking about the Rachel Lang. She’s head honcho at News Group UK. Shit.”
“Yes, yes, that’s, Rachel. You have to help her.”
“Tell me where you were when you last saw Rachel, Mr. Lewis,” Andrew asked.
“I told you already. We were in that garden.”
“Janet, you stay with, Mr Lewis, while I go and make a few calls.”
“Got it, boss,” she replied as Andrew made his way out of the room.
***
Andrew pulled his phone out from his trouser pocket and dialled his colleague. “Dom, we’ve got a big problem here. The Lewis kid we found at Promised Land Lane said Rachel Lang was in the grounds with him.”
“Should the name mean anything, boss?” Dominic asked.
“Yes, it should and we need to move our arses before the shit hits the fan. Once Tony Marshall gets wind of this, it’ll explode. We have to move quickly on this or he’ll eat our bollocks for breakfast.”
“Okay boss. Tell me what I need to know.”
***
Andrew returned to the room thirty minutes later. Janet was sat in the chair nearest to the bed unable to move as Dean had a tight grip of her hand.
“Mr Lewis, we have a team of officers at the lane and there is no sign of, Miss Lang. Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“She was in that garden. The man can tell you that. Ask him.”
“Which man are you referring to?” Janet asked, pulling her hand away and making more notes in her pad.
“I don’t know who he is. He was lurking in the bushes. I heard Rachel arguing with him. I think he lives there.”
“I think you may be confused, sir. The owner of the home is a Mrs Gallagher and she recently passed away. There’s no male living at the premises that we’re aware of. The security guard confirmed this earlier on.”
“He was there last night talking to the little girl and Sandra Miller.”
“Sandra Miller. Her name rings a bell.” He looked at his notebook. “Ah, she was the one who made the initial phone call to say you were trespassing. We’ve got no record of her being at the property last night.”
“We were only having a look around, but she was definitely there.” Dean began to bite the skin around his fingernails. He pulled a piece of skin from his index finger, drawing blood, and spat it onto the floor.
“Would you mind telling us who this Sandra Miller person is in relation to Miss Lang?”
“She works at the same paper as a reporter. Rachel said she was doing a story on the house after that kid was murdered.”
“We’ll certainly look into that, but if you don’t mind, could you talk us through your version of events last night?” Andrew asked.
“My version of events. What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve just told you, she must be in that garden.”
“We’ve searched the garden and the surrounding areas and there’s no trace of Miss Lang. However, we did find a shoe and blood in the grass near to the well. We sent a patrol car to Miss Lang’s address and tried to contact her via her office, but we haven’t managed to track her down. Mr Lewis, I need you to tell me exactly what happened earlier this evening as you’re the only witness to Rachel Lang’s last known movements before she disappeared.”
Dean’s story was fragmented and made little sense. The light overhead began to flicker. Dean jumped off the bed and rushed towards the door. He began to scream for Rachel. Andrew grabbed Dean around the waist and tried to pull him back towards the bed. Andrew didn’t believe a word the kid was saying – nobody would believe a little girl with no eyes had pushed his girlfriend down the well. The kid had rambled about a doll. He’d heard the rumours about the house long ago and couldn’t be bothered with urban legends.
He forced Dean down onto the bed as the nurse rushed to his bedside and prepared an injection. Andrew and Janet held Dean down as the nurse stabbed the needle into his neck. They watched as he became quieter, finally closing his eyes and drifting off into a drug induced sleep.
***
Twenty officers were assigned to comb the grounds of number six Promised Land Lane. Once the CEO of News Group UK, Tony Marshall found out what happened, Andrew had to be seen to do everything he could to find Rachel Lang.
They’d found nothing else since the blood splatters and the shoe.
Chief Inspector Hope was suspicious about what had transpired. The story of a little girl forcing anybody down the well seemed far-fetched, but in all his years on the force, he’d learnt not to rule anything out.
The police sent a team down the well to search for Rachel but found no trace of her. There was nothing there apart from rats and a few old bones they believed to be animal remains. They went deep into the cavern, down to the small underground river, but found no trace of her.
Andrew Hope had asked for the doll house to be located and searched. He was interested in the doll that was supposedly inside following Dean Lewis’ statement, but he’d received a call to say that even though the house had been found, there was no doll. He had heard about the house from various people over the years and thought it superstitious nonsense. Still, he’d love to see it for himself.
Chapter 30
It was six forty-five and Sandra lay in bed staring at the clock. The guilt was eating away at her, although she knew there was nothing she could have done to save Rachel, bar sacrificing herself.
Why wouldn’t she listen? The tears ran down her face.
Her mind kept pulling her back to the night before. She couldn’t forget Rachel’s screams. They reverberated around her brain. Nobody deserved to die like that.
Sandra banged the alarm as it started to play its familiar tune, telling her it was time to get up for work.
She forced herself out of bed and trudged her way to the bathroom. The tears continued to fall. She ran the bath and lowered herself into it, submerging herself under the bubbles.
Sandra quickly washed herself and got out of the bath after ten minutes - she couldn’t be late for work today of all days. It would be hard enough pretending not to know anything about what happened to Rachel. She didn’t know what Dean had said, but was sure she would find out before too long.
***
Sandra walked across the office with her head bowed. Her phone began to vibrate in her hand. She looked at the screen and saw Hilary’s name flash up before diverting to voicemail.
Nothing had been said about Rachel, but a meeting had been called for eleven o’clock by her assistant. One by one her colleagues filed in, and asked where Ra
chel was. and why she wasn’t occupying her usual throne at the top end of the table.
Sandra was finding it increasingly difficult to look anybody in the eye. Her nerves went into over-drive when Tony Marshall entered the room and took Rachel’s place at the head of the table. He was the CEO of News Group UK. There wasn’t a person in the room who wasn’t terrified of him. His temper was legendary. Being in his presence un-nerved Sandra, and after looking around the room at the shell-shocked faces, it looked like her colleagues felt the same way. Tony would only come to the boardroom when he wanted to personally fire somebody.
He was well over six feet tall with slicked back salt and pepper hair. He spent long weekends at his home in the Canary Islands and looked good with a tan. He stood at the front of the room gripping a mahogany cane firmly in his hand. Following a stroke, the previous year, he relied upon it for his balance, but people under-estimated him at their peril – his mind was as sharp as it ever was.
Banging his cane onto the marble floor to bring order to the room, he bellowed, “Good morning ladies and gentlemen.”
They all murmured their response, worried by the fact that he was chairing the meeting. They all knew his presence meant trouble was brewing.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’ve just come out of a meeting with a Chief Inspector Hope and he informs me that Miss Lang has been reported as missing and, at this moment, they have no leads as to where she is.”
The room collectively gasped at his announcement and people began to chat amongst themselves.
Tony banged his cane once again bringing order to the room. “At this moment, we only know what the police are telling us, and the last time she was seen was last night at Promised Land Lane.”
All eyes turned toward Sandra.
“What was she doing at the lane?” Sandra queried, doing her best to act dumb.
Promised Land Lane Page 17