Abandoned

by Lee Shepherd

  ‘Is that so, Detective?’ Messenger replied smugly. ‘Now let me tell you what I know, shall I? He reached into his desk, removed a large envelope and passed it to Taylor to look at.

  ‘What is this?’ Taylor asked nervously.

  ‘Why don’t you take a look inside and find out for yourself?’

  Taylor hesitantly opened the package and removed its contents. He was shocked to see semi-naked pictures of himself and Georgie from the night he spent in her hotel room. He realised somebody had obviously crept in as they slept and taken the pictures without them knowing.

  This case was far too big to just let go of, but on the other hand it would break his wife’s heart to once again discover he had been unfaithful. Also, he didn’t want Georgie’s career destroyed over one drunken mistake. Taylor found himself in a dilemma as he contemplated which way to play his next move.

  ‘What do you think your wife would think if she was to wake up to these through her letterbox tomorrow morning, Taylor?’ Messenger sneered. ‘Better yet, what do you think the papers will make of them when they realise that instead of tracking down a killer, you and Miss Riley have been drunkenly cavorting in hotel rooms like teenagers?’

  Taylor was extremely annoyed at himself now; he knew he should have conducted himself more professionally, and knew that Georgie would not want naked pictures of herself that could possibly destroy her career in the national news.

  ‘You see, Detective, you’re not the only smart one around here. You might have been investigating me, but I was also following your every move and everything you spoke of on the phone… Just one last thing before you leave, Detective Taylor.’

  ‘Which is?’ Taylor replied, defeated.

  ‘If you thought for one second that that stupid woman was going to bring me down, then you were sadly mistaken. It’s just a shame that she will never be able to give you any more information now, isn’t it?’

  ‘Actually, sir, there is a good chance that she may pull through, and I hope and pray that she does so I can bring you down!’

  ‘Needless to say, Taylor, you are now officially off the case. As of now you are on permanent vacation — that’s not a request, it is an order. Now get the fuck out of my sight!’ Messenger tried to play it cool, but deep down he was raging with himself for not finishing the woman off properly and putting an end to all of this.

  ***

  As Taylor cleared his desk, one of the officers from his team came in to see him and update him on the progress of the hunt for the killer.

  ‘Sir, after speaking with the guys at the deed poll office, they have confirmed that Charles Lee was definitely known by another name at some point as they have details on his name transfer. Unfortunately though, they seem to have misplaced all the documentation of what his previous name was. They have told me that they will try their best to locate it over the next few days and will contact us as soon as they find anything.’

  ‘Good work, Detective,’ Taylor replied. He explained that Messenger had just taken him off the case, and proceeded to tell him that although he wouldn’t be in the office, he would still be continuing with his investigations into the case from the outside, and instructed his junior that if him and the others find out any more information they should contact him directly and not give this information to Messenger. He couldn’t let him know the reasons why, but just asked the man to trust his judgement, as he had done so many times in the past, to great success.

  ‘You got it, Boss.’ The junior detective knew that Taylor was a brilliant detective and a good boss, and knew he must have good reasons for his actions.

  Meanwhile at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary, a guilt-ridden Georgina Riley sat attentively outside the room of the witness, tirelessly waiting for any signs of her pulling through. This was their doing, hers and Taylor’s. They both had blood on their hands if this woman didn’t make it. What a tragic shame it would be if she passed away at the hands of one of the people that subjected her to a catalogue of abuse as a child, someone who subjected her to a lifetime of fear. Georgie seriously contemplated walking away from Taylor and the case, but stopped herself; she knew she would never be able to live with herself and conscience if she didn’t help Detective Taylor get justice for the victims and rid Cumbria of these vile predators.

  It was at this point that Taylor called Georgie and informed her that Messenger had taken him off the case. That meant she was, too. He then nervously explained to her about the pictures he had just seen from their night in her hotel room. Georgie didn’t know how to respond, and Taylor could tell by the silence on the end of the line that she was completely in shock, and told her he was on his way over to the hospital to see her.

  When he arrived, he immediately made his way down the corridor towards where Georgie was seated with her head in her hands. He could clearly make out that she had been crying and he instantly sat next to her and put his arm around her in a comforting manner. It was at this point that Georgie threw her arms around him and clung tight as she broke down in his arms and realised she was in way over her head and admitted to Taylor that she was scared, scared that some of these powerful men might be intending to come after her next and told him that she did not feel safe. Taylor tried his best to reassure her that he would keep her safe, but she knew that even he could not protect her if they were to target her next.

  Taylor couldn’t think of anything else to say other than, ‘Come and stay at my house, just until this is all over.’ He knew it was far too unsafe for her to return to her hotel room. Just look at what had happened to the witness!

  ‘Thanks, Taylor. It’s a kind offer and I know you mean well, but I just couldn’t look your wife in the eyes knowing what we did.’

  He knew she was right; he had not thought that far ahead.

  ‘So what are you going to do?’

  ‘Well, I am not leaving this hospital until she wakes up, that’s for sure. I can’t bear the thought of leaving her vulnerable and alone twice, knowing that we put her in this position when she was trying to help us!’

  ‘And what have the doctors said?’

  ‘They’re still not sure if she will pull through, as they can’t be certain how long it was before she was resuscitated. They’ve also said that, because they can’t be sure how long her brain was starved of oxygen, they don’t know if she will be in a vegetative state if she was to wake up.’

  Taylor so badly wanted to believe that she would wake and give him the statement he desperately needed. Knowing that Messenger knew that she was still alive, albeit not in any fit state to talk, he thought it a good idea that Georgie stayed, just in case Messenger or somebody else came back to try and finish her off. He then offered to go back to her hotel room to gather the rest of her belongings, as she hadn’t had chance to do so since leaving there in the ambulance.

  ‘I’ll go and grab your stuff from the hotel, Georgie. I know we’re officially off the case, but I still fully intend on bringing this to a conclusion and getting justice for the witness and the murdered victims against Messenger and the murderer. My team remain loyal to me. We will solve this, Georgie. I reckon you were right about Charles Lee — my colleague found out that he had changed his name via deed poll years ago. We are waiting to hear back from them any day now as to whether he used to be called Jonathon McMullen.’

  ‘Please just be careful, Taylor. I don’t want to be having to sit beside two hospital beds over the next few days, or worse still!’

  Taylor could sense the sincerity and care towards him from her. In a non-sexual way, he gently placed a kiss on her forehead and assured her that he would be fine, before leaving her to watch over the witness whilst he went and collected her belongings.

  Chapter 18

  Charles failed to tell Rebecca that he had been visited by the police, as he knew it would lead to a whole new line of questioning and suspicion from his wife and couldn’t bear the thought of her actually thinking he was capable of doing such things. He instead chos
e to remain quiet and try and figure out a way of throwing the police off his scent. He could sense that the net was closing in on him though, and if he could not get to all his intended targets before the police got to him, then there was just one last thing he needed to do, which was to find and kill Chief Inspector Messenger. At least he would be easy to locate as opposed to his other abusers. He had been so high-profile as of late; it wouldn’t be hard to track him down and hand him his fate.

  He never expected the opportunity to present itself so quickly though, as he discovered after watching the news the very next day; Chief Inspector Messenger had decided to once again address the media. He explained how they had a very strong suspicion that they knew who the suspect was in connection to all the recent abductions and murders in the area over the past six months, and then pleaded with anybody who knows or knew of a Jonathon McMullen to please come forward and help them with their investigation. Charles knew that it was only a matter of time before he was discovered, and set about developing a plan to find and kill the Chief Inspector before he got to him.

  ***

  The Chief Inspector, not knowing that Taylor’s team had discovered that Charles Lee hadn’t always being known by that name, was doing all he could to stop the news of him and his accomplices’ wicked crimes being exposed. He rashly decided to send out that plea in an effort to try and find Jonathon McMullen and hopefully send out an armed response unit to dispose of him before he had a chance to speak out about his reasons for his actions in recent months. He knew that if that bitch in the hospital didn’t wake up, and he managed to find and kill Jonathon, then all that is left is hearsay and unwilling witnesses. He also knew that if Detective Taylor and Georgina Riley tried to expose him, not only did he have the photographic evidence of their night together, he also knew he could destroy them career-wise by exposing the fact that they placed a witness alone in a hotel room, leaving her to be the victim of an attempted murder — or better yet, a murder victim if she never wakes up.

  Less than twenty-four hours later, one of the Chief Inspector’s staff alerted him that there was a call for him from a woman who wished to remain anonymous, but had observed his plea on the TV and maybe had some information that could help in the search for Jonathon. Messenger sat and listened intently as the woman told him all the details of the night she gave birth to Jonathon, and how she had desperately in vain been trying to contact him over the years, but that the trail went dead by the time her son had turned sixteen. Messenger let the woman continue as she told him Jonathon’s date of birth and other details, but he already had all of this information from Brian before his death, and also remembered what Jonathon looked like as a child, so everything the woman told him was irrelevant. What he needed was someone who knew his whereabouts right now, not forty years ago. He politely thanked the anonymous woman and hung up, no further forward than he was to begin with.

  ***

  Unbeknownst to Messenger, as he was trying to trace down the whereabouts of Jonathon, Charles had actually begun to follow him. He had called Linda and told her to once again clear his schedule for the week, as he wasn’t feeling up to coming into work, but neglected to tell Rebecca this. He did not want to raise suspicion and wanted to keep up appearances at home, thus giving him the opportunity to be out all day planning how he was going to ensnare the Chief Inspector.

  After following Messenger home from the station that evening, Charles watched as the Chief Inspector left his family home in Brampton, just nine miles from Carlisle, at eight o’clock the following morning, and once again followed him to the station, arriving at twenty minutes past the hour. He did this for the following few days to try and build a picture of his routines. Who he spoke to, the places he visited, what time he took a lunch break…anything to help him get a better understanding and clearer idea of how and when to strike without being seen.

  Taylor was also cautiously tailing Messenger and Charles, driving around in an unmarked hire car he had recently leased in an effort to remain inconspicuous and out of sight of the team of detectives Messenger had obviously placed on him.

  Taylor had a rough idea of what Charles was planning, but chose to sit on this information and see how it unfolded. He knew if he was to catch Charles in the act before it was too late, it would pave his way back into the force, and he secretly hoped that Charles would then help him expose Messenger and his network, although he knew that this was a long shot.

  ***

  Three days had passed since Taylor’s witness had been admitted into Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary with Georgie by her side, and the chances of her making a full recovery were dwindling. Taylor was seriously starting to despair; he knew it was just a matter of time before Charles was to strike again. Although he hoped Charles would help him bring down Messenger and the paedophile network, he couldn’t be sure, and was praying for his witness to wake. He also hoped that he seriously hadn’t made an error in judgement by putting all his eggs in one basket in believing that Charles was definitely Jonathon, the man they were looking for.

  His suspicions were confirmed the very next day when he received a call from his staff member, the one he had asked not to speak to Messenger if he found any further developments into the search for Jonathon McMullen.

  ‘Hello, sir,’ came a quiet voice down the end of line as Taylor answered his mobile. ‘I can’t really say much right now, sir, as Messenger and his team of detectives are scrutinising every bit of evidence that you and Miss Riley uncovered, and are wanting to know everything about the case. What I can say though, sir, is that you were right about Charles Lee being Jonathon McMullen; I’ve just got off the phone to deed poll and they have eventually located the records and confirmed your suspicions. The only problem is, sir, I don’t know how long I can sit on this information before I will have to inform Messenger of my findings.’

  Taylor was overjoyed at hearing this news, and thanked his junior for coming to him first, and also complimented him on his good work before asking, ‘Who else knows about what you’ve just told me?’

  ‘Nobody, sir, like I said, I’ve just this minute got off the phone, and I immediately called you.’

  ‘Right, this means I need to act fast. I just need you to give me at least forty-eight hours before you reveal this information to Messenger, and he sends out an armed response unit to bring him in or —’ Taylor stopped himself from finishing his sentence, as he knew if he was to say take him down, this would cause the man to ask questions.

  ‘Like I said, sir, I don’t know how long I can sit on this, but I will try my best to give you the time you need. Just be aware, Messenger has really got his teeth into this now, sir, and he’s determined to bring it to a swift end!’

  Before Taylor had time to thank the man once more, the voice on the other end said, ‘I’ve got to go, sir, good luck, and I’ll be in touch.’

  The line went dead.

  Taylor, his thoughts racing, immediately contacted Georgie and informed her he was on his way over to the hospital, as what he was about to tell her he couldn’t over the phone. Georgie knew he must’ve unearthed something, and waited with anticipation until he arrived.

  ‘You were right, Georgie, it’s him, it’s Charles Lee. He was, and is, Jonathon McMullen!’ His tone was excited but hushed; he didn’t want to alert anybody that might be eavesdropping in on their conversation.

  ‘How do you know?’ she asked him.

  Taylor then relayed to her everything he had heard over the phone, and continued to tell her that Messenger was determined to track the killer down before he could reach him, and probably kill him and stop the risk of him speaking out against him. Georgie once again implored Taylor to be careful, as she could sense that this case was about to come to a climax and feared for her colleague; she knew that Messenger, being hell bent on ending the case and stopping himself from being exposed, he would do absolutely anything to make that happen. She feared that he would even kill one of his own officers, as he seemed to
have had no qualms about trying to kill their witness to save his own skin.

  Chapter 19

  Rebecca was starting to realise that something wasn’t right at home, and started to suspect that Charles was maybe having an affair; he hadn’t touched her in weeks and was spending a lot more time away from the house than he had been as of late. Also, he had become so distracted and snappy towards her and the girls, which caused her to believe that something definitely wasn’t right. She asked him what it was that he was up to that was making him act so irrational and out of character.

  Charles was obviously far past telling her the real reason for his recent mood swings and late nights out of the home. He assured her that he wasn’t having an affair, and that he wasn’t even remotely interested in being with another woman. He once again blamed the stresses of work, and lied by telling her that one of the other vets from the practice was on long-term sick leave so he was picking up his colleague’s work load so that the practice didn’t lose money.

  It was plausible, she thought. She then reminded him of his promise not that long ago, where he said he would be taking more of a backseat role at work and leaving the others to take care of things. He then reassured her that he had meant every word of it, and told her how everything would be back to normal very soon. In his head, ‘very soon’ meant ‘upon dealing with Messenger,’ but obviously omitted this part.

  He was totally delusional at this stage; his mind was overcome with thoughts of vengeance. He knew the police had their suspicions and were possibly building a case against him, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. He continued to plot Messenger’s death, thinking he’d better do it sooner rather than later in order to lay all of this to rest and get back to a stable family life.

  ***

  The weekend was steadily approaching, and Charles thought to himself that this would be the perfect time to strike; Messenger never worked weekends, preferring instead to leave the station in the hands of his trusted staff. Charles figured that if he could get him away from his house and out of sight of his wife and kids, he could take him away somewhere remote and spend some real “quality time” with him.