Abandoned

by Lee Shepherd

  He thought about possibly taking him to the makeshift dungeon that Lucy Mitchell and Sarah Davidson were buried in, but suddenly remembered how bad the stench of rotting flesh had been the last time he had been there. Then it came to him — why not re-visit Haywood farm? There wouldn’t be any activity there now as it had been a few weeks since Beattie’s death. What’s more, it would be a fitting place to kill the Chief Inspector, as it was whilst staying with the Beatties that young Charles had been introduced to Messenger when he was a young, abusive junior police officer.

  Once again, Charles carefully and purposefully prepared his rucksack with all the instruments he had used in the past, only this time he added a blow torch and a pair of pliers, as he wasn’t going to let him get off relatively lightly as he had Brian. No, this time he was going to spend a full weekend slowly torturing Messenger in the worst ways he could possibly imagine.

  He then informed Rebecca how he would be attending another conference for the weekend, and tried to convince her that he had mentioned it a few months earlier, but she knew he was lying and had said no such thing. All she could do was trust her husband’s words, but she would also be looking for any tell-tale signs of an affair upon his return. She strongly suspected that the other woman was possibly Linda, Charles’ receptionist from work.

  ***

  Taylor had been cautiously following Charles, who was following Messenger over the past few days, and knew his time was running out before the details of Charles being Jonathon were released. In a way, he secretly hoped that Charles would go after the Chief Inspector anytime now so he could maybe catch him in the act and bring the two of them to justice, putting an end to this nightmare. When he’d taken on the case, he’d never expected just how complex and deep-rooted it would turn out to be — well, who would have?

  He sat two hundred yards back from where Messenger lived, on this Friday evening in early May 2014, watching from afar for any signs of Charles exiting his Volvo and approaching the Chief Inspector’s home. Taylor was exhausted and looked unkempt and dishevelled; the pressure of the last week had totally taken its toll on him by now. He was somewhat relieved to see Charles start his engine and pass by where he was purposely hidden, heading away from Messenger’s home. Taylor knew Charles couldn’t be planning on going after him tonight, so he decided he would go home and try and get a few hours’ sleep and maybe a hot meal, instead of the stale service station sandwiches and pasties he had been getting by on over the past few days. He also needed a shower; he was starting to stink due to him sitting in the car for hours on end in the warm May sunlight. He headed home.

  ***

  Saturday morning arrived and Taylor’s wife knew that her husband didn’t have to be in work today, so she let him have a lie in and didn’t bother to wake him. She could tell he had been overdoing it recently and thought it would do him good to have a long sleep to recharge his batteries. He was absolutely furious when he woke up at half past nine and rushed downstairs to where his wife was preparing breakfast. When Taylor turned on the news he heard local journalist, Jennifer Metcalfe, address the camera.

  ‘…it seems as though police have made significant steps towards finding the killer behind the series of murders in the local area. Inside sources tell us that officers will be apprehending their suspect over the next twenty-four hours and will address the public again in due course…’

  Taylor knew this could only mean one thing: that Messenger had managed to obtain the information on Charles, and it was only a matter of time before he probably killed his suspect.

  Taylor berated his wife for letting him oversleep, and informed her that he did actually have to be in work today — he hadn’t actually got round to telling her about Messenger not only taking him off the case, but in doing so, ending his time at the station, as he would never be able to return if Messenger was to remain in charge. Taylor threw on his clothes and raced out of the house to his waiting car and immediately sped away and raced to Messenger’s home on the off-chance that he might not have left the house yet.

  It was too late; there was no sign of Messenger’s Audi. Taylor automatically assumed that he must be heading up the armed response team in the search for Charles. As he frantically pondered his next move he was interrupted by his phone ringing. As he rummaged through his pocket and removed his mobile, he saw that it was Georgie calling and answered.

  ‘Taylor, it’s good news!’ she exclaimed excitedly. ‘She’s pulled through, she’s going to be ok. And better yet, she is still willing to testify against Messenger, as she remembers everything that happened in my hotel room and is now more determined than ever to bring him down. You need to get here ASAP and obtain a statement so you can present a case to the CPS and finish that bastard once and for all!’

  Taylor couldn’t believe his luck. ‘Fantastic! I’ll be right there. Georgie…have you seen the news this morning?’

  Georgie didn’t have a clue at what he was getting at as she hadn’t seen the news for days due to her bedside vigil. ‘No, why?’

  ‘From what I can gather, they must be aware of Charles being Jonathon, and have said they should have the suspect apprehended and in custody by the end of the day!’

  ‘Do you know where he is?’

  ‘No, I’m afraid I overslept and lost the trail, as when I got to Messenger’s he and Charles had already left,’ Taylor reluctantly explained.

  ‘You should try to find them’ Georgie said earnestly. ‘I’ll stay here and keep the witness safe until you can get the statement to apprehend Messenger.’

  Taylor agreed. ‘Y’know, you really are brilliant at what you do, Georgie. It’s been an honour working alongside you.’

  Georgie, sensing he was getting slightly emotional, possibly due to the very real fact that he may never see her again, jokingly replied, ‘Stop with the soppy shit, Taylor, and go and finish our work. Put an end to this!’

  With that, he promised her that everything would work out and hung up the phone.

  ***

  Meanwhile, at Carlisle police headquarters, the Chief Inspector’s team of detectives, alongside the Armed Tactical Response Unit, waited patiently for Messenger to arrive and command the operation to execute a warrant at Charles Lee’s home address. Everybody was wondering what the holdup was. They were starting to become restless and impatient as one of his team had spoken to him just over an hour ago and was told that he would be there immediately, after receiving the information about Charles Lee’s change of name, totally ruining his plans of a round of golf this sunny Saturday morning.

  He would not be arriving this morning, though. Nobody knew that Charles had orchestrated a plan; as Messenger had made his way to the station, Charles had ‘accidentally’ run into the back of Messenger’s Audi on a quiet stretch of country road. As the Chief Inspector had approached him to exchange details, Charles had once again subdued his victim as he grabbed him roughly around the neck and quickly anaesthetised Messenger with his trusty chloroform before lifting him into the boot of his Volvo. He then casually parked up Messenger’s Audi by the side of the road and turned off the engine before walking back to his own car and driving away with the unconscious Messenger in the boot.

  Chapter 20

  Another hour had passed at the station and the detectives weren’t prepared to wait any longer for Messenger to arrive; they decided to execute the warrant on Charles’ home address without him.

  Taylor was parked up outside of the station and positioned in a manner which allowed him to view the Armed Tactical Response Unit preparing to leave the car park alongside other detectives from the department, but they could not see him. He thought it very strange that there was no sign of Messenger, though. After thoroughly scanning the car park he thought it even stranger that there wasn’t even any sign of his Audi. Taylor knew something didn’t add up, and in that instance he knew that Charles, as he had been all along, was once again one step ahead of the people at Carlisle constabulary, and had managed to abdu
ct Messenger that morning. Taylor once again kicked himself for not getting up sooner! He did not know which way to turn now, and once again got on the phone to Georgie. He begged her for answers as to where he could possibly be taking him. He knew he wouldn’t have much time, as Charles generally killed his victims within hours of taking them. Georgie, too, was at a loss, and at that moment in time did not have any answers or even suggestions of where he might have taken him.

  ***

  Charles had managed to avoid detection and, pulling off the main road, he headed up the dirt track that led to Haywood farm, luckily managing to remain unseen from any neighbouring farmers. He pulled his Volvo into the open barn at the rear of the building, thus hiding it from sight or alerting anybody to any activity at the farm. Charles removed the police tape from across the back door and hopefully checked to see if the door was unlocked. Realising that it wasn’t, he then made his way to the rear window that looked into the dining room where he had sat and drank coffee with Jim. After taking a look all around to make sure nobody could see or hear him, he picked up a stone and smashed out a section of glass in the corner of the frame and placed his hand inside and opened the window — all the while Messenger remained blissfully unaware of what Charles had planned as he remained unconscious in the boot.

  Charles then climbed inside the building and managed to unlock the back door using the key that hung on the wall beside it, before making his way back over to the Volvo, opening the boot, then placing cable ties around Messenger’s limbs in the same fashion he had with the other victims. He also took some tape from his rucksack that was positioned on the parcel shelf and taped the man’s mouth shut, just in case he was to wake as he was being transported over Charles’ shoulder from the vehicle to the farmhouse. Messenger never woke, however, as he was carried over Charles’ shoulder. After locking the kitchen door Charles once again returned to the room in which he had previously taken care of Jim and placed Messenger in the same chair in which Jim had been sleeping. He proceeded to tie him to the chair to eliminate the chance of him escaping once he woke, then stood back and marvelled in the words that were still daubed on the wall in black paint. He revelled in the moment, remembering all the reasons behind his actions — past and present.

  ***

  At the Lee household, Rebecca and the girls received the fright of their lives as they watched as the team of police vehicles raced down the long drive that led to their cottage, jumping in terror as the door was taken clean off its hinges with one almighty thump of the tactical battering ram.

  Rebecca clung to the girls for dear life as the Armed Tactical Response Unit swamped every room of the house in search of Charles, the red-lasered spots from their assault rifles appearing everywhere as they swept the home. Once the cottage had been thoroughly searched, and with no sign of their suspect, they deemed it secure for the detectives to enter the house and speak to Rebecca.

  ‘WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?’ she screamed at the two detectives as they asked her if she knew where her husband was. Her body shook with nerves and adrenaline. ‘Tell me what all this is about! You’ve just scared us all half to death,’ she demanded, as the girls sat sobbing and still clinging onto their mother.

  ‘We have reason to believe your husband is the man responsible for the spate of murders over the past few months, Mrs Lee, and we desperately need to locate him and ask him some questions. So I will ask you again, do you know where we can find him?’

  Rebecca sat in shock and disbelief and was struggling to process what she had just heard, and ordered the children to their rooms; she didn’t want them witnessing the detectives sullying their father’s good name, but also wanted to find out more of what made them suspect Charles, without her daughters being in the room.

  The girls did as instructed and Rebecca, now realising that there wasn’t a threat towards them, informed the detectives that they were obviously mistaken and went on to state how Charles is a decent, loving family man and a God-fearing Christian who would never harm another human being.

  The detectives knew there and then that Rebecca didn’t have a clue about Charles’ extracurricular activities.

  One of them stepped in to speak to her. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Lee, I know this must be a shock to you. We’ve found a fingerprint at the scene of one of the murders, Haywood farm, which belonged to Mr and Mrs Beattie before Mr Beattie’s murder. The fingerprint matched your husband’s. We know Charles stayed with the Beatties as a child in the care system, and we know that he was formerly known as Jonathon McMullen.’

  None of this made any sense whatsoever to Rebecca. She explained to them how they have obviously made a huge mistake, and that her husband has always been Charles Lee and he was never in care!

  The detectives were staggered by how little she really knew about her husband’s past, and could sense that she was overwhelmed with hearing this conflicting news and was adamant that they were wrong.

  ‘I know this is hard to take in, Mrs Lee, but if there is any way whatsoever you can help us find him it would be extremely helpful. We are worried he may be about to strike again and want to bring an end to all of this; with any luck, you may be right and we can rule out any involvement from your husband and move on with our investigation. But at this moment in time, everything suggests that he has something to do with it, so it is imperative that you cooperate with us at this time.’

  Rebecca, now trying to gain some composure after what had just happened and the news she had just received, began to speak, her voice breathless and hesitant. ‘Ch-Charles has gone away on business for the weekend. I did think he’d been acting strange lately, but I was beginning to suspect that he was having an affair, not going around killing people! E-especially not young girls, as the ch-children couldn’t wish for a better father. I… ’m sorry…I still can’t believe that my husband is the man you’re looking for. It’s hard to think that the man I’ve loved all these years — the father of my children — could actually be a complete m-monster!’

  ‘Sorry to press, Mrs Lee, but unfortunately time is of the essence, so can I ask you if you know where he has gone?’ one of the detectives asked in an apologetic manner, as they could see she was nearing breakdown.

  ‘I have no idea, Detective,’ she replied. ‘I didn’t even know he was going away this weekend till he mentioned it just recently — he has been so secretive lately! It was the same the last time he went away.’

  ‘Last time, Mrs Lee?’

  ‘Yes…he said he was on a course not so long ago, again at short notice.’

  The detectives then dug deeper and asked her for the date he was away the last time. When she told them, they knew instantly that it was the same night James Beattie had been murdered and knew they had definitely found the man they had been tirelessly searching for. They then asked her if she could phone Charles and maybe get him to tell her where he was so they could go there and pick him up.

  She did as they had instructed but it was to be of no use as the phone instantly went to voicemail, probably due to his mobile being switched off. She tried a few more times over the next five minutes as the detectives anxiously hoped for a break, but it wasn’t to be, as it was the same result every time she tried.

  ‘Is there anybody you can think of that might know his whereabouts then, Mrs Lee?’ the detective pressed.

  Rebecca immediately thought of Linda, of how Charles possibly having an affair was more plausible than him being a serial murderer. If she had the pick between the choice of two evils, in a strange way she hoped she was right; it would be far easier to forgive him an affair than the alternative, even though she knew that would be devastating too.

  She went and got Linda’s details from Charles’ home records and called the number. After a few rings a voice answered that she instantly recognised as Linda.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Oh hi, Linda, it’s Rebecca here. I was just wondering if you happened to know where Charles is, as I’ve been trying to reach hi
m and his phone appears to be turned off. I don’t suppose he is with you is he?’

  Linda thought it strange that Rebecca was calling her on a Saturday afternoon at home, but found it stranger that she was asking if Charles was with her, as he would have no reason to be.

  ‘No, I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, Rebecca. I haven’t seen much of Charles lately if truth be told. Is everything ok?’

  Rebecca, not wanting to let on her real reason for calling, and not wanting to start crying over the phone, assured Linda that everything was fine, said goodbye and hung up. She believed that she was not with Charles; she was momentarily pleased, but she thought that there may be something in what she had just been told.

  The detectives then thanked Rebecca and asked her if there was anybody she could go and stay with, as they did not want to leave her and the kids alone in case Charles was to return and harm them. She assured them that Charles would never hurt her or the girls, but agreed that she did not want to stay there until it was all over, and arranged to go and stay at her parents with the two girls. The detectives agreed that it was for the best, then gathered their team of officers and left the property.

  Little did they know that Charles was currently sat beaming in Haywood Farm as he watched Messenger slowly come round from the anaesthetic, groggily trying to make sense of what was happening to him. The Chief Inspector’s eyes widened and panic started to set in as he realised he was bound and gagged, with nobody knowing his location; he knew he was surely going to die.

  ***

  Taylor was frantically searching the city for any clues or signs that might let him know where Charles and Messenger may possibly be. He headed to the veterinary practice, and after realising that was empty, he headed next to where Amber Thompson’s body was recovered from the river Eden — still nothing. He thought, it is going to be too late and Messenger may already be dead, and Charles, knowing that the police are on to him, may manage to elude them and disappear without a trace, as he had managed to do when he left the name Jonathon McMullen in the past and assumed a new identity, one that not even his family knew of. He was totally at a loss and frustrated, and decided to once again return to the hospital and speak to Georgie.