Hikers - The Collection (Complete Box Set of 5 Books)

by Lauren Algeo

  Ellen picked up her pen and pretended to look through some notes in her pad. Her body was full of nervous energy and she had to stop herself from fidgeting too much. She was itching to call Scott and tell him that Connors had agreed to the trip but she hadn’t had an opportunity yet. She could have a lunch break soon and get away from Daniel for long enough to tell him. The plan was in motion.

  She’d been confused when he’d first suggested the cliffs in Cornwall for their trip then quickly remembered that it was where he’d nearly been killed by the first child hiker he’d encountered – the little girl. Re-reading his journal entry about that terrifying trip had cemented her desire to go. It was fitting that they should kill Daniel in the place Scott discovered that child hikers even existed.

  The location itself was perfect too. The cliffs were fairly deserted and would be even quieter at this time of year, when the sea wind was howling across the tops. With the strong current at the base of the cliffs, there was a chance that Daniel’s body would never be found. If they could make it look like a tragic accident, and there was no body as evidence, then no one would ever know the truth.

  They just had to survive the long journey to Cornwall without Daniel digging too far into their minds. Connors would insist on them taking a car over the train to keep the boy safe. Scott could offer to drive it for them so no one else needed to be involved.

  Their plan was as simple as it had been before the weekend, and this time they had the added bonus of Connors and Marie being far away. She would take Daniel to the cliff edge to study the sea and while he was distracted, Scott would sneak up and inject him with the insulin. Once he was dead, they could throw his body to the raging sea below.

  No one would expect to hear from them for hours so they could wait a while before sounding the alarm. She would claim that Daniel had gotten too close to the edge and lost his footing. She could cry hysterically as she told the police that he’d tumbled down before she could reach him. They would say that Scott had been waiting by the car for them and he’d come running when he heard her screams. Connors and Marie would travel down as the emergency services searched for their son but they were unlikely to find his body for hours, if at all.

  Ellen bit the inside of her lip to stop the smile that wanted to break across her face. She peered again at the boy beside her, who was wrapped up in his own plotting. It would be the perfect tragedy.

  Chapter 41

  ‘Did Ellen tell you the good news?’ Connors asked.

  Daniel blinked with disdain. She’d told him something during his lesson but it wasn’t exactly good.

  ‘About the field trip?’ He widened his eyes slightly and loaded his voice with fake enthusiasm. ‘It’s very exciting! I’ve never been to Cornwall before.’

  His father beamed as he tucked into the lasagne in front of him. Daniel knew that his words were precisely what the man wanted to hear.

  ‘I think it will be a great experience for you,’ Connors said. ‘It’s always good to get out and study real life. I looked up the place online and it’s very scenic.’

  ‘I’ll take lots of pictures,’ Daniel nodded. ‘Ellen said there are some great views.’

  He pushed some lasagne around his plate. His mother was in her room so it was just he and father for dinner. Unfortunately his father was in a talkative mood and Daniel found it draining to keep engaging with him. If he retired to his bedroom it would only provoke a disagreement. He knew that his father didn’t like how much time he was spending alone in there. Luckily the man was busy for most of the day so he couldn’t keep watch over him too much.

  His mother was far easier to manipulate and she’d barely surfaced all week. She was still ‘resting’ after her ordeal and only Daniel knew how mentally conflicted she was. She remembered having a voice inside her mind during the fire but she would never tell anyone about it. Not when it had sounded so much like her own son. She thought she was going crazy. No one would believe her if she said that she hadn’t been in control of her body.

  Her brain kept pushing the image of her with her hands around Ellen’s throat to the surface and it petrified her. She wasn’t sure if she’d imagined the whole incident, as Ellen hadn’t told anyone about it. She no longer trusted her own memory.

  Daniel found her mental turmoil amusing. He liked to dip in frequently to see what thoughts were plaguing her, this woman who always seemed so perfect to the public. The seeds of doubt he’d planted about his father’s diminishing love for her were festering away. She was scared that her husband was going to leave her, and telling him about her internal struggle would only drive him away quicker. She was intending to keep everything bottled up and put on her usual, happy front. Daniel couldn’t wait for all that pressure to build up – the emotional explosion would be huge. He hoped it would happen during the summit week to add to his enjoyment.

  ‘It’s a long drive to Cornwall but it will be worth it.’ Connors was still trying to keep the conversation going. ‘I saw online that there’s a hotel there so if you do get tired or it gets too late to drive back, maybe you could stay there. I could get Ellen to take an overnight bag for you just in case.’

  ‘Sounds good.’ Daniel forced himself to chew the tasteless lasagne in his mouth and swallow it.

  Seeing inside his tutor’s mind earlier had been interesting. Searching through her memories of the fire had given him a second-hand jolt of the fear she’d felt at the time. He could almost smell the choking smoke in the visions. He’d been curious to find out how she viewed the incident with his mother only her memories of it were hazy. She thought the other woman had accidently grabbed her by the throat when she’d been scrabbling to find her way out of the fire. Ellen had been overcome by the smoke and her vision was blurry. Everything had gone black in the memory before she’d woken up in the hall. She blamed Marie’s irrational actions on sheer panic.

  Daniel lifted another forkful of dinner to his mouth. He’d had a strange feeling while he’d been inside her mind. There had been a niggling sensation that something wasn’t right, like she was holding something back from him. Only that was impossible for someone to do. He could see into the depths of people’s minds and there was no way for them to hide from him. He must have imagined it.

  His dull tutor was the least of his worries and he didn’t want to waste any more time thinking about her. He’d managed to pull together more of a timeline for the duration of the summit although the fire at the weekend had complicated matters. His father’s mind had lost some of its focus and flitted erratically with thoughts of his mother and how worried he was about her. Daniel had to keep dipping in to push him back on the right track and it was growing tedious.

  Deep down he knew that this added stress was his fault… his need’s fault. His greed had upset the careful balance he’d maintained between his parents. In a way, it was good that he hadn’t succeeded in releasing his mother otherwise his father’s mind would have been even worse. He’d never have been able to absorb anything through the grief. Daniel just had to keep him sharp this week so he could learn the full details of the upcoming events.

  He needed to know where Beckett would be during the summit and how he could get close to him. His father hadn’t confirmed the evening for the private dinner at Downing Street yet – he was waiting to see if Marie would be up to it. Daniel would need to lend a hand this week to get his mother to the state she needed to be in. Her inevitable meltdown would have to wait; he would temporarily get her back to her glamorous, carefree self to convince his father that everything was well.

  When the summit was over, he could finally get rid of the infuriating woman. He would enjoy ridding himself of her needy shackles. It didn’t matter about his father’s grief then. The US president would have been murdered and the country would be in chaos. There would be all out war – particularly because he was going to make the French president commit the crime.

  The more he’d studied the world leaders who would be attending, the more h
e’d been drawn to Moreau. The man arrogantly paraded around as if he was better than everyone else. Daniel wanted to bring him down as dramatically as possible.

  He’d run through various, violent scenarios in his mind as to how Beckett could be released. The intimate dinner at Downing Street would be the perfect setting. He would subtly suggest to his father that Moreau and his actress girlfriend should join them for the dinner. The longer they were together in the building, the more time it would give him to break Moreau.

  He could get the schedules from his father’s secretary when they were finalised at the end of the week. Then he would be able to find out where he could get close to Moreau to begin working on his mind. He wanted to start a couple of days before the dinner – Moreau would have a strong mind and it would take time to fight through his ego.

  ‘Did your mother come out of the bedroom much this afternoon?’ Connors interrupted his thoughts.

  His father’s focus was back on his mother’s wellbeing and that wouldn’t do.

  ‘Yes, she did,’ Daniel nodded. ‘She seems to be a lot better today. More like her old self.’

  He made a mental note to work on his mother’s mind immediately after dinner. He would make sure she began acting stable again.

  ‘That’s good.’ Connors seemed relieved by the lie. ‘Very good.’ He nodded a few times then carried on eating in silence.

  Daniel turned his attention back inwards. He was looking forward to the challenge ahead of him. He could easily have chosen a weaker man than Moreau to use as a vessel to release Beckett, like a troubled bodyguard or ex-soldier, but where was the skill in that? This was the biggest releasing he could ever hope to achieve. The whole world would see his handiwork and be horrified by it. He wanted to take pride in what he’d done. Using a powerful man like the French president to complete this mission would give him the biggest thrill of all.

  He’d been toying with several methods to end Beckett’s existence. He was hoping to be a guest at the dinner too so he could watch the drama unfold in front of him. There wouldn’t be time for a slow releasing before the respective security teams acted but he could make it as bloody as possible. A frenzied stabbing maybe? Or a sharp blade across the throat? If he could get Moreau to take Beckett aside for a moment privately then he might get to savour it more. There were so many exciting possibilities.

  The aftermath was going to be equally as enjoyable. Beckett’s bodyguards were likely to shoot Moreau as soon as they saw what he was doing, and the Frenchman’s own team would retaliate. The witnesses at the dinner would be hysterical. Beckett’s wife, Moreau’s girlfriend – their minds would be a delicious mix of horror and panic. Not to mention his parents and members of staff, who would all see the brutal attack. It would be carnage. Then the media would find out and the world would erupt. War was inevitable and he couldn’t wait.

  Daniel’s face darkened as he scraped his knife and fork on his plate. First, he had to get through this pointless trip with his stupid tutor.

  Chapter 42

  Brewer hovered outside the door to Connors’ study. He didn’t like disturbing a man who was clearly busy and under a lot of pressure yet he was running out of time. It was Friday morning and he’d been waiting since Wednesday afternoon for Connors to bring up Daniel’s trip.

  Ellen had called him after lunch on Wednesday to tell him that Connors had agreed to their idea of a trip to Cornwall, and he’d thought the man would bring it to the team the same day but so far he hadn’t mentioned it. It was understandable as he had a lot on his mind and his schedule was packed full however Brewer needed to get himself assigned to accompany Ellen. The trip was still planned for Monday and he didn’t think Connors had asked anyone else.

  He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was a pause before a muffled voice answered: ‘Come in’. He opened the door to see Connors sat at his desk. There were papers spread all around him and he had a pen clamped between his teeth. His grey suit was neatly pressed but his red tie was askew.

  ‘Sorry to bother you, sir.’ Brewer strode over to the desk. ‘I know we’re not due to leave for another thirty minutes.’

  ‘No problem.’ Connors took the pen out of his mouth. ‘What can I do for you, Scott?’

  ‘Well, actually, I was thinking I could help you,’ Brewer said. ‘I bumped into Ellen in the lobby and she said she was taking Daniel on a school trip to Cornwall on Monday? I was going to offer to accompany them for security purposes.’

  Connors rubbed wearily at his forehead. ‘Oh god, yes. Thank you for reminding me, I meant to sort out a driver yesterday but it must have slipped my mind.’

  ‘I’m happy to drive them down there,’ Brewer said quickly. ‘I’ve been before and know the area well.’

  He fought the urge to rub at the raised scar on the back of his head. He knew those cliffs very well. Choosing them as the location to take Daniel had been emotional for him. He could vividly remember the terror he’d felt as that little girl hiker had pushed him over the edge. He hadn’t known if he was going to live or die. Sometimes, in his nightmares, he still saw her white, frilly dress and black, floating eyes. It was a personal vendetta for him that Daniel be killed there.

  ‘Thanks for the offer.’ Connors rummaged under the papers on his desk for his diary. ‘I think I’m just in the House of Commons on Monday so that should be fine for you to accompany them, thank you. The rest of the team will cope for the day.’

  ‘Great.’ Brewer scaled back the grin that wanted to take over his mouth. ‘I’ll speak to Ellen about timings.’

  Connors picked up his pen again. ‘You can take one of the Range Rovers for the journey, just claim back the petrol on expenses.’

  ‘Will do, sir.’ Brewer began to edge his way to the door. He wanted to leave Connors while he was distracted so the man wouldn’t change his mind. ‘I’ll let the team know.’

  His fingers closed around the door handle then Connors piped up from behind him.

  ‘On second thoughts…’ There was another rustling of paper.

  Brewer turned slowly back to face him, his stomach dropping with dread.

  ‘Take someone else with you,’ Connors instructed. ‘There’s a lot of tension with the public at the moment and I’d rather there were two of you with Daniel, just in case. Especially as I won’t need a full team all day. Adders is used to driving the cars so ask him.’

  ‘Ok, sir,’ Brewer said quietly.

  He left the room feeling deflated. They’d been so close to having the perfect plan, now he was going to have to deal with Adders tagging along and complicating matters. The man would be glued to them for the whole trip. And he was often armed. Brewer would have to make sure that he left his gun somewhere out of reach. He didn’t want to be shot while trying to kill Daniel.

  He paused by the door and checked his phone. He knew Ellen was upstairs in the flat with Daniel and she would be dying to know if he’d managed to get on the trip. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the bad news just yet; the disappointment in her voice would be too much to bear. He would wait for a couple of hours, until he’d worked out how to put a better spin on it.

  At least he didn’t have to worry about her today. She’d told him how distracted Daniel had been all week and how he hadn’t bothered searching her mind since she’d returned to work on Wednesday. That initial check to confirm her view on the fire seemed to have been enough to satisfy him – he had bigger targets on his mind. Targets they intended to keep him away from.

  Brewer made his way slowly to the dining room, where the team were gathered. They were all in high spirits as it was Friday and they had the weekend off. Brewer couldn’t imagine that he would have the most relaxing weekend with the Cornwall trip looming on Monday.

  ‘There he is, the hero of the hour!’ Adders quipped as he walked into the room.

  Richards gave a wolf whistle and they all laughed. They’d been teasing him all week about his heroic actions at Chequers. The fire was the
most dramatic thing to ever happen under the team’s watch and they wouldn’t stop talking about it.

  Seok had returned to work the day before Brewer and he’d filled Adders and Richards in on his version of events. As far as anyone knew, Brewer had spotted the fire from the garden and sounded the alarm as he’d raced upstairs to help. He’d run straight into the flames without hesitation and saved Ellen’s life. Seok wrongly thought that he would have gone back in a second time for Marie if Connors hadn’t beat him to it. No one had mentioned his inebriated state or his overreaction to Ellen’s safety. In their eyes, he was a hero.

  In reality, he was still eaten up by guilt. He’d put his wife in danger with his excessive drinking. Every time they brought it up, it was a painful reminder of his failure.

  ‘All right, settle down,’ Brewer said as he took a seat at the table.

  Adders fluttered his eyelashes. ‘But you were so brave, Scotty,’ he said in a high-pitched voice that quickly dissolved into laughter.

  Brewer made himself smile back. He knew that none of them would be teasing him so much if anyone had been seriously hurt in the fire. Their banter was partly out of relief that it hadn’t been much worse.

  ‘I’ve just seen Connors,’ he told the group. ‘The team are going to be split on Monday. Richards and Seok, you’ll be with Connors at the House of Commons.’ The two men nodded as he looked at each of them in turn. ‘Adders, you’ll be with me.’

  ‘Ooh, where are we going?’ Adders leaned forward in his seat in anticipation.

  ‘We’re escorting Daniel on a school trip to Cornwall.’

  Adders’ face fell. ‘I thought you were going to say something good,’ he moaned. ‘The guys will have an easy day and we’ll be busy babysitting!’

  Richards stifled a laugh. ‘I’m sure it won’t be that bad. You might even learn something mate.’

  ‘Oi!’ Adders tried to scowl but it turned into a smirk. ‘At least that Ellen will be there with Daniel so I’ll have someone decent to look at.’