Assassin's Web

by Richard T. Burke

  I desperately needed to talk to somebody. I didn’t want to discuss my problems with my mother or sister; my mother was in no fit state to handle the stress of the situation, and I didn’t trust Cathy not to mention my dilemma to her. I couldn’t think of anybody else close enough to me with whom to share my troubles. For a moment, I considered unburdening myself to Molly, but I barely knew the girl. No, the only viable option was my brother-in-law.

  I drained the mug of coffee, packed away the laptop and headed for the door.

  Chapter 17

  When I arrived back at the car, I placed the laptop bag in the boot. By now, the time was just after half past two. Jamie would still be at work for another three hours, perhaps even longer. I retrieved my mobile phone and selected my brother-in-law from the list of contacts. We probably wouldn’t be able to meet immediately, but at least I could set something up for later.

  The ringing tone rang eight times then transferred to voicemail. I decided against leaving a message, unsure of what I would say. I leaned back in the seat, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. After two minutes, I tried again with the same result.

  On this occasion, I spoke after the recording of Jamie’s voice. “Hi, it’s Alex. Look ... um ... the police paid me a visit this morning. I think it might be related to what we discussed yesterday. Please call me back. It’s really urgent.”

  The seconds ticked by. I was about to try a third time when another idea occurred to me. Switching from the phone screen to a browser window, I searched for the number of Jamie’s company. The first result displayed a green telephone beneath the link. I tapped the icon. Somebody answered within one ring.

  “Saunders Web Design,” a female voice said. “How may I help you?”

  “Hello. My name is Alex Parrott. I’m Jamie Saunders’ brother-in-law. I wonder if it would be possible to speak to him, please.”

  “Just a minute, Mr Parrott. I’ll put you through.”

  An electronic version of Greensleeves played. A few seconds later, the music stopped.

  “I’m sorry, Mr Parrott. Mr Saunders is working from home today. Can I take a message?”

  “Don’t worry,” I replied. “I’ve got his number.”

  I pressed the end call button and switched back to the contacts list. This time, I scrolled to my sister’s name. I still hadn’t updated her contact details since she had moved out.

  After six rings, Jamie’s recorded voice came down the line. “I’m not in. Leave a message.”

  I pounded the steering wheel in frustration and ended the call. Why wasn’t he answering the phone? I came to a quick decision. The house was nearby. It would take less than a quarter of an hour to get there at this time of day.

  I turned on the engine and navigated out of the car park. Perhaps I was being paranoid, but I checked my rearview mirror every few seconds to see if anybody was following me. Once again, the roads were quiet enough to convince me I would have spotted any tail. Thirteen minutes later, I pulled up beside the For-Sale sign.

  Jamie’s car, a black Jaguar, sat on the driveway. At least he was home. I hurried to the door and pressed the bell. The ding-dong chime echoed from within. I stared through the frosted glass, waiting impatiently for signs of movement. When nothing stirred, I pushed the button again.

  I rapped on the dark wood with my knuckles, but still nobody responded. He had told me before that when he was working on a difficult problem, he liked to isolate himself from the outside world by listening to music. In all likelihood, he was wearing a set of headphones and hadn’t heard the doorbell. I approached the lounge window and cupped my hands to block out the light. A beer can perched on the edge of the armchair in the same place I had left it the previous night. A dirty plate rested atop a pile of papers on the coffee table. There was no sign of my brother-in-law.

  I let myself into the back garden through the wooden gate. Moving around the side of the house, I peered through the kitchen window. The sink overflowed with unwashed plates, but there were no other signs of life. The dining room was a similar story.

  I walked across the rear of the property to the narrow path running beside the brickwork. The first window belonged to the study, Jamie’s most likely location. As I drew nearer, I could see the curtains were drawn. Had they been closed the previous night? I wracked my brain trying to remember. Eventually, I concluded they probably had been.

  I hammered the palm of my hand against the glass. “Jamie, it’s Alex. If you’re in there, open the door.”

  I tried again. Surely he would have heard me knocking by now even if he was wearing headphones. Where the hell was he?

  Grabbing the phone from my pocket, I selected Jamie’s name from the contacts and once again dialled his mobile. The faint sound of a musical ringtone permeated through the pane from inside. After six rings, the call reverted to voicemail.

  All manner of dark thoughts ran through my head. Had he suffered a heart attack? His sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise made it a distinct possibility. At that moment, he could be lying on the floor, clutching his chest and unable to summon assistance.

  “Jamie, I’m outside your house. Why aren’t you answering your phone? Is anything wrong? I’m starting to get worried.”

  I stabbed the red icon to hang up. What should I do next? I sensed movement to my left and whirled to confront the elderly man studying me from the other end of the narrow pathway. The scruffy grey cardigan and muddy trousers brought to mind the image of a tramp.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, his face a mask of suspicion.

  “My brother-in-law’s car is outside, but he’s not answering either the doorbell or his phone.”

  The man seemed to relax. “That’s right; I know you. You’re Cathy’s brother. I live next door.” He pointed toward the adjacent property. “I’ve been watching you. When you walked around the back, I wondered if you were up to no good. You can’t be too careful these days.”

  “Have you seen Jamie today?” I asked, eager to keep the conversation on track.

  The man’s eyes narrowed in thought. “No, I’m not sure I have. Some people came to visit earlier. Now I think about it, they went inside, so he must have been here to let them in.”

  “What time was this?”

  “I don’t know ... maybe nine, nine-thirty.”

  “Did you see them leave?”

  “I was working in the garden.” That explained the scruffy clothing. “They weren’t here long.”

  “Did you—?” The ringtone of my phone interrupted before I could complete the sentence. I glanced at the screen to identify the caller. The word Jamie stared back at me in large black letters. I pushed the answer button.

  “Jamie, I was getting worried. Why aren’t you answering the door?”

  My brother-in-law spoke in a hushed voice. “I can’t talk. They know you accessed the dark website. I’m not sure what they’ll do next, but if I was you, I’d find somewhere to hide. You need to stay away from me ... and your sister. Don’t ring me again. I’ve got to go.”

  A click came down the line. When I removed the mobile from my ear and stared at the display, the message indicated the call had ended after a duration of eighteen seconds. I remained stationary, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

  “I take it everything’s okay?” the neighbour asked, his bushy, grey eyebrows lowering in a frown. When I didn’t reply, he repeated the question.

  “I ... I’m not sure. Yes, I think so.”

  “Right, well if that’s the case, I’ll return to my gardening. Nice meeting you.”

  I followed him to the front of the house, my mind whirling in a jumble of confusion. When I reached my car, I turned back toward the lounge window. The shifting shadows revealed movement inside. The silhouette of a figure moved forwards, extended an arm and tugged first one then the other curtain closed.

  Chapter 18

  I sat in the driver’s seat, my mind swirling with conflicting thoughts and ideas. W
hat the hell was going on? It seemed Jamie had some association with the people behind the dark website. He had warned me to find somewhere to hide. What words did he use? They haven’t decided what to do yet or something to that effect. The fact they were aware I had accessed the page from the Internet café implied some sort of link between them and the murders. And if my brother-in-law was telling me to disappear, that meant he believed I too might become a target.

  So, why hadn’t he called the police? Maybe he had, and that was the reason for the search warrant on my house. Alternatively, perhaps his mysterious visitors had threatened him. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became the second alternative was the correct answer. It would explain why he had instructed me to stay away from both him and my sister.

  But who were these people, and how did Jamie know them? The only person who could tell me that was Jamie himself, and he had refused to talk to me. If I was going to hide, I needed to understand from whom I was hiding. Working on the supposition they were the same men who had visited him earlier that day, the neighbour might be able to provide a description. The old man had witnessed them arriving.

  I shoved the car door open and strode along the road to the neighbouring house on the left. As I entered the well-kept garden, the elderly owner glanced up from the flower bed where he held a plastic bottle, spraying soapy water onto the leaves of a rose bush.

  “Oh, hello,” he said, squinting myopically at me. “I’ve got an infestation of these damned greenflies. Washing up liquid; that’s the solution.”

  “Hi. We talked next door a few minutes ago.”

  A scowl developed on the man’s face. “I know that. Just because I’m getting on a bit, it doesn’t mean I’m senile.”

  “I apologise. I wasn’t trying to—”

  He straightened up, holding his back as he did so. “Never mind all that. One day you’ll be old too. Now, what do you want, young man?”

  I hesitated for a moment. “You said some people visited Jamie this morning. Can you describe them?”

  “You just had a chat with your brother-in-law. Why didn’t you ask him?”

  I decided that truth was the best option. “He’s still not talking to me. It might have something to do with his visitors.”

  “Is this about the separation? I’m not sure I want to take sides.”

  “No, it’s nothing to do with that. I suspect they may have ... well ... threatened him.”

  The old man fixed me with his watery grey eyes. I met his gaze.

  “There were two of them,” he said. “I was busy, so I didn’t get a good look.”

  “Can you remember anything about them?”

  “No, I don’t think so. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be.”

  “Were they big? Small?”

  “About average height, I’d say.”

  “I assume they came by car. Did you recognise the make?”

  The man tugged at an earlobe. “It was a dark colour, but I couldn’t tell you who made it. All cars look the same to me these days. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

  “Never mind,” I said. “Thanks for your time.”

  As I turned away to leave, the neighbour spoke again. “Actually, I do remember something, although I’m not sure how much use it’ll be to you. One of them was smoking. The smoke drifted across. I haven’t had a cigarette in over forty years, but I could still murder one every now and then.”

  I thanked him once again and made my way back to my car. My thoughts switched to the two policemen who had searched my house. Was it a coincidence that one of the men who had paid a visit to my brother-in-law was also a smoker? Mathematics wasn’t my strong suit, but I guessed the odds of finding somebody who smoked in a random sample of two would be fairly high.

  The only person who could provide an explanation was Jamie. All I needed to do was convince him to tell me more. I sank into the driver’s seat and pulled out my phone. First, I called his mobile. I didn’t hear even a single ringtone before it switched to the automated reply.

  I left a terse response. “It’s Alex. I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.”

  Next, I tried the landline. On this occasion, it rang out six times before the pre-recorded message played out. I responded in the same way.

  It seemed the technological route was getting me nowhere. It was time for a more direct approach. I marched up to the house. The whole frame shook as I hammered my fist against the stained wood.

  “I know you can hear me, Jamie. If you don’t open the door by the count of three, I’m going to smash the window and come in to find you. One ... two ...”

  The final number was forming on my lips when I picked up the sound of the interior porch latch unlocking. The blurred outline of a figure appeared through the frosted glass.

  Jamie’s anxious voice came from the other side. “For Christ’s sake, Alex, are you trying to get us all killed? They’re watching me. If I put a foot wrong, they said they’d go after Cathy and the girls. You have to leave now.”

  “Who are they? What do they want?”

  “It’s a long story. You can’t be seen here. It may already be too late. These are very dangerous people.”

  “You still haven’t answered my questions.”

  “The less I tell you, the better. I’ll try to help, but you must leave immediately. If you won’t do this for me, at least do it for your sister and nieces. And whatever happens, don’t approach the police. You’d be signing all our death warrants.”

  “Are you saying the police are involved?”

  “I’m not sure. They said they would find out if I contacted them.”

  “Some policemen paid me a visit this morning. They took away my computer. Do you know anything about that?”

  “Look, Alex, I can’t help.” His voice quivered with desperation. “Just leave. I promise I’ll be in touch. And please don’t ring me.”

  “But it’s not safe to go home?”

  “That’s the first place they’ll search for you. If you want my honest advice, you need to hide somewhere, at least for the time being.”

  The sound of a ringing phone emerged through the letterbox.

  “Shit,” he muttered. “That’ll probably be them. I’ve got to take this call.”

  Jamie’s blurred outline retreated. The clunk of the inner porch door closing followed a second later.

  It seemed I had received all the information I was going to get.

  Chapter 19

  Twenty-five years ago:

  Wednesday, 8th February, 1995

  Screaming at the top of my voice, I sprinted towards my parents’ room. I burst through the door and turned on the light. My father jerked upright, tossing the sheets to one side.

  “Alex, what the hell’s going on?”

  “Somebody has taken Elena.”

  At that, my mother sat up too.

  “You’re just having a bad dream,” my father said. “You need to go back to bed.”

  “No, I’m not dreaming,” I yelled, my voice squeaking in panic. “I saw him take her to his car and drive away.”

  “I’ll check it out, Alan,” my mother replied. She ran a hand over her cheek and shuffled sideways. A stray strand of hair fell across her forehead, and she tucked it behind her ear. “What time is it?”

  My father glanced at his watch. “Two-forty. It’s the middle of the bloody night.”

  My mother slid her feet into a pair of fluffy slippers and followed me into the hallway. I clicked on the light switch in Elena’s room, knowing in advance she wouldn’t be there. The bed was empty.

  “Elena,” my mother screamed, rushing to the far side to make sure my sister hadn’t fallen onto the carpet.

  My father appeared in the open doorway.

  “She’s not here,” my mother yelped.

  “Maybe she went to the toilet,” my father said.

  I shook my head violently. “I already told you. A man took her. He drove off with her. She wasn’t mo
ving.”

  My father ran the short distance to the bathroom. He returned after a few moments, his face blanched of all colour. “She’s not there either.”

  My mother clasped him by the arm. “We have to call the police, Alan,” she said, every word laced with panic.

  He sprinted back to the bedroom. Seconds later, his voice drifted through the open door. “Police… My daughter’s been abducted … My son looked out of his window and spotted somebody carrying her away … Six-years-old … Elena, Elena Parrott … Eight, Rookery Lane … That’s right. Please hurry.”

  “Did you see who it was?” my mother asked, grabbing my hands in her own. She squeezed so tightly, my knuckles cracked.

  “I only saw him for a second.”

  “What about the car? What was he driving? Could you make out what colour it was?”

  Tears rolled down my cheek. “I only got a quick look. It was so dark I wasn’t able to tell the colour. What will happen to her?”

  Cathy appeared in the doorway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What’s all the noise about, Mum?”

  “A man has taken Elena. Your dad just called the police.”

  My sister’s gaze alternated between the two of us. She was in her first year of secondary school and desperately trying to prove she was an adult, but in an instant the façade fell away, revealing the frightened child beneath. “I don’t understand. Why would somebody do that?”

  My mother shook her head. “I have no idea. We should all get dressed so we’re ready when the police arrive.” Suddenly, her resistance crumbled. She buried her face in her hands. Deep sobs wracked her body. My father placed an arm around her shoulder and guided her back to the bedroom.

  I returned to my own room and hurriedly put on my school uniform. It was the early hours of Wednesday morning. At that stage, it didn’t occur to me that I wouldn’t be attending lessons later in the day. As I slipped my feet into the black lace-up shoes, a fuzzy feeling enveloped my head. The ceiling light suddenly seemed much brighter than usual. A sharp pain developed behind my eyes, throbbing in time with my pulse.