Whispers Beneath the Pines
By
Carla Kovach
Copyright
Copyright © 2014, Whispers Beneath the Pines by Carla Kovach
Disclaimer
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Dedication
I would like to give special thanks to good friend Barbara Camelford for the IT training and to my wonderful husband Nigel Buckley for designing my book cover. Your help has been much appreciated.
I think at this point it would be appropriate to mention that my work is purely fictional. My love of Içmeler in Turkey drove me to use this location in my book. I have found the locals there to be nothing more than warm and hospitable and my crime gang could have been located anywhere in the world. I chose Içmeler because it is a beautiful location that is surrounded by magnificent mountains and pine trees which are perfect for my choice of crime. One last thank you to Içmeler, its beautiful scenery and its equally beautiful people. I hope to return someday soon.
Whispers Beneath the Pines
Chapter 1
As he dragged the woman by her feet his legs buckled. He fell to his knees gasping for air. Exhausting, Guz thought. She must have weighed at least two hundred pounds, the same as him if not a little more. The main beams from the car shone across the top of the burial hole, just a few more feet and they would both be placed together in the earth. Him first, her on top; she seemed to be a bit of a nagging cow throughout the day. Guz laughed at his macabre thought. By placing her on top, she would always be over him; nagging him; blocking his soul from making its departure; imprisoning it with her hefty weight.
Dried mud, foliage and gravel got caught in her mousy blonde hair; her grey complexion was now scuffed with dirt marks from the dusty ground. He watched the skin on the end of her nose flap down. The skin that had easily torn as he’d pulled her dead weight over a tree stump before her nose had crashed down on to its splintered edge. It was, after all, too far to drag her around the stump, too much effort and too hot.
Sweat trickled into Guz’s eyes, down his face and into his mouth. He coughed then spat a gritty bolus to the ground before standing and continuing to pull hard at her limp body. He felt his leg muscles tighten and with every tug he feared he might burst a blood vessel. Black dots clouded his vision, he stopped to let the light-headedness pass. The last few feet were the hardest; he needed a break, a proper break. He dropped her legs, stood tall and reached up to the sky for a good stretch.
He bent down and took a seat on the mossy ground before pulling out the pack of cigarettes he had grabbed from her pocket, he lit one. Looks like she smoked Bensons; better than his usual brand of unfiltered baccy that he got down the market. That shit had aged him. Sucking hard, he closed his eyes and savoured the cigarette's calming effects. The heat had been relentless that day, reaching the forties he guessed. What he wouldn't do right now to be sitting in Sadik’s little pool in Sadik’s little garden, smelling the spicy aroma of Sadik’s secret recipe Adana Kebabs grilling on the barbecue. Instead he was sitting in the forest, with a pasty whale that was beginning to stink of shit. Shit, cigarettes and pine trees, interesting mix of smells. He stubbed his nub end out between his hardened fingertips and placed it in his pocket. No one was ever likely to come here in search of anyone but ‘you never know,' and leaving cigarette ends next to burial sites was not a good idea.
Back to the job. He stood and grabbed her legs once again. Only a few feet, he reminded himself. 'A few more feet then I can go to Sadik’s, get in that pool and have my kebab,' he thought. Music blared out. Guz dropped the woman’s legs and dived towards the hard ground slamming his knee onto a jagged rock as he fell. He cowered out of the light beam and his eyes darted left and right. Heart pounding, he reached down towards his knee and rubbed the ache away. He gazed at his phone then laughed. His text alert was calling. Tarkan sang 'Kiss Kiss.' The music stopped before the phone beeped. Standing, he walked over to the car, took a swig of warm cola from the bottle that lay on the drivers seat as he checked his alert. A text from Sadik.
‘3 credit cards, 700 euros, 2000 lira, Gucci bag, 2 drivers licenses. Jewels’
Sadik, straight to the point as always. No, hi Brother? How you getting on with the bodies brother? Is it okay to celebrate with your lady, Celile, Brother? He had seen the look they shared when they thought he hadn't been looking. A look he remembers all too well, the look he had once received all the time from Celile only three years ago. He threw the phone to the seat. Sadik and Celile would now be heading to the house to celebrate and that thought made him feel sick to the stomach. Next time, he would put himself first; him and him alone. Once the next job was completed, he would clear out, go and make a fresh start with the proceeds. In his mind he was clear. Stuff them both; they were welcome to each other. For now though, he still wanted to join them and have that beer and kebab. Cursing himself for his weaknesses he had another swig of the cola before placing it on the back seat next to the passports. Two German passports and driving licences, he grabbed them and placed them in the glove box, things were looking up. He would never mention the passports that Ilse had kept in her bag. As far as The Boss and the others were aware, they had only found driving licences.
All around him he heard the song of the crickets. As he moved and turned it would disappear only to reappear when he turned again.
Forcing his weary body back over to the woman he stopped and stared. She stirred and groaned. Opening up one eye she looked towards him, squinting as if she couldn’t focus. His heart beat faster and his hands began to shake. She was dead, he was sure he’d killed her. Had he checked her pulse? No he hadn’t, he'd been slack.
“Gerhard? Helfen sie mir,” his German was lacking, Sadik had done most of the talking that day. He stared into her eyes, the eyes that thought he was her beloved Gerhard. Eyes that were blood shot and wet, his stomach turned. “Es ist Ilse, hilf mir,” she cried. Hilf, hilf, he’d heard this one before. She said her name Ilse; he knew that her name was Ilse. Hilf, Helfen, help! He remembered. She was asking for help. 'She thinks I’m Gerhard and she’s asking for help.'
He ignored her and walked over to the hole in the ground, wedged in the bottom was Gerhard. His face was now expressionless, no glint at all in his eyes. He hated it when they died with open eyes, he should’ve closed them but yuck, he shuddered at the thought. Killing them he could deal with but eyes and eyeballs were a thing he couldn’t touch so he'd left Gerhard’s eyes open. He could see speckled movements over the body, it was too dark to make out what it was but he guessed it was ants or insects of some kind. There was no shortage of insects in the forest.
In the distance he heard the crashing of the mountain waterfall gushing into the pool below. Earlier that day the couple had swam in it. He could tell they were cold, they'd come out shaking even thought the temperature was so high that day. Why did it always surprise them that mountain water was so cold?
His hands shook at the thought of what he had to do next and his arm pits began to itch with sweat, then so did his groin. He scratched hard, first his groin, then his arm pit. He felt the burning of a rash began to spread within these delicate crevices.
“Gerhard,” she cried, louder this time. He didn’t respond; from his lack of response she seemed to know that he was not her beloved. She knew that he wasn’t there to help. She was disorientated but not dead as he had earlier thought. Cursing Sadik under his breath he kicked the tree that stood next to him. He flinched then rubbed his throbbing foot, the tree was harder than he’d thought. Insects scurried up the bark as he backed away from the tre
e; disturbed by being at the epicenter of the earthquake on their trunk.
The lights on the car began to flicker. The battery. Guz hobbled to the vehicle and turned them off. There was no way he could break down here, miles from anywhere. Sadik wouldn’t come back for him that night. He felt a gentle piercing on his arm, slapping hard he then felt the trickle of liquid spread down his bicep and past his elbow. Mosquitoes. After a moment his eyes adjusted to the light from the half moon.
“Gerhard,” she said as she sobbed. He could hear her snivelling and filling up with mucous. She screamed; her voice was getting louder.
“Fuck,” he cried as he hurried over towards the hole and grabbed the shovel. Standing behind her he watched as her pleading eyes tried to focus on him. Although he had done this many times, it never got easier. Her wet teary face shone as the trees branches parted with the humid breeze, allowing the moonlight to catch her tears. One minute he saw her whole face, as clear as day; the next he saw only the glistening ridge of a trickling tear that had caught the light. Then nothing. The breeze dropped, she lay there sobbing in the shadows. He heard rustling amongst the leaves beneath him; she was on the move; now on her front she had dragged herself along the rough ground. Scraping her delicate swollen skin over the sharp limestone and grit, she grunted as she kept going. The breeze picked up again and the moon fully revealed her position. He could see the wound on the back of her head from their earlier assault on her. Blood had dried to her head and he was sure he could see a bit of exposed skull. His stomach turned and he heaved. The bubbles from the warm cola were repeating on him, causing him to belch bits of sweet cola. Without hesitation he drew the shovel above her head and hit the original wound again.
“Nein, bitte.” Nein, he knew nein, no. She was still shouting. Why wouldn’t she just die? Letting out a hefty grunt Guz brought down the shovel one more time onto her head, this time at a slant. It cut into her neck and she screamed. Deliriously rambling away the woman soon hushed before she was finally silent. He knelt down and checked her pulse, her breathing still persisted. Without hesitation, he grabbed her legs and with all his strength he hauled her over to the hole and rolled her in to it. Thud; she had landed hard on top of her Gerhard but facing upwards. He watched as her pupils disappeared into her upper eyelids exposing a red, veined eye ball. Acid rose up his wind pipe. He belched again to relieve the pressure. Why the eyes, why him? As the light caught her he was sure he saw her chest rise. She’s dead; she has to be dead, he thought.
Shovelling the earth that he had earlier stacked next to the grave, he watched as it began to cover her body. It landed on her middle, her bare legs and her face. She spluttered. He hesitated, staring at the earth splattered body. He heard it again, she spluttered, her hand began to move. She wasn’t dead but she wasn’t shouting either. As good as? He asked himself. As good as, he answered. Without hesitating he shovelled more earth over the woman. Underneath the grit he was sure he'd heard a whine, a subdued whine. Ignore it he thought, it didn’t happen. Carry on, hurry up, and go to the barbecue.
Filling his head with thoughts of food grilling; the spicy aromas; the oily kebabs being turned; the coolness of the pool; the end of this job. 'They don’t always die this hard,' he thought. This was an exception, it wouldn’t happen again. He promised himself it would be quicker, more humane next time. He wasn’t a savage; this was a means to an end. Maybe next time he could force his imbecile brother Sadik to do the clean up. He continued to shovel the earth fast, panting with very movement.
Thoughts of hot meat; cold beer; hot aromatic meat. Salivating at those thoughts he began patting the top of the grave down with the shovel. Then, in his mind he saw the meat being cut, still rare; rare like the back of her head. Un-boned, the whiteness of the bone standing out brightly against the bloody meat; cartilage. Bloody, vacant eyes. Dropping the shovel he ran and ran until he’d got away from the grave. His heart was now in his mouth. Was it his heart? Toppling over the side of a mound he fell to the earth on all fours, sweat poured out of him. The meat still lingered; the greasy smell; the bone; the blood. Not just bone and blood but matted gritty hair; matted with congealed blood. He vomited onto the earth, letting all the disgust fall out into a heap beneath him.
His body trembled all over. As he sat up, he wiped the sweat from his brow with his gritty sleeve. With sweat now replaced by grit, he wiped again. As he wiped, the grit scratched into his skin. He whacked the ground, why couldn’t he get rid of the dirt? Close by he could hear the water again, he needed to cleanse himself, to cool down, to regain momentum and get home. He stood, then he staggered towards the waterfall. Intoxicated by the moment he eventually reached the water's edge. Icy cold splashes flecked onto his face washing him free of his sins. Kneeling over the edge, he scooped some of the cold water up, drinking it and splashing it over his face, on his clothes and down his front.
In the distance he heard Tarkan singing again. His phone, he had to get back to the car; cover up the grave with some foliage, get the shovel and go. Standing, he admired the beauty of the waterfall for a moment and enjoyed the feel of the cool spray on his face before staggering back towards the car. The sound of the crickets seemed to be all around him, the moon's light barley showing him the way. To the left of the waterfall's peak he was sure he could see an outline, “kara kulak,” he whispered to himself; a lynx. The creature's ear was touched by the light from the moon emphasising its points. Then it disappeared as a cloud interrupted the moon's light. Disorientated, Guz tripped on the undergrowth, a thorny stem pierced through his canvas trouser and into his leg. “Shit,” he cried. He rubbed his leg and felt wetness gather around the area. He stood still, leaned over and pressed his hand against the wound to stem the blood flow. Appetite now all gone, all he imagined now was the cold beer. Stuff the others; he was going home to his apartment to crack open a beer. Beer and bed; a cure for everything he’d always insisted. He gazed up at the dark sky, the moon was still concealed. Where was he? Where was the car? He hoped Tarkan would sing again soon. He heard rustling all around him; the crickets’ chorus became louder. Breathing fast he grabbed hold of the undergrowth, he squeezed hard, feeling for some clue as to how to get out of this predicament. Stop, think logically, he could still hear the water behind him and as long as the water was behind him he was going the right way.
After a tedious trek forward, the cloud had disappeared and through the gaps in the branches he could see the moon glistening off the bonnet of the car. Laughing with relief he hobbled towards the vehicle. Skin still bumpy from the coldness of the water, he hurried to the grave. He snatched the shovel from the ground and finished off by patting the earth down. After wrestling with some stringy undergrowth, he dragged it over the bare earth and placed some leaves over the top followed by a few pine cones and a couple of needled branches.
He grabbed the shovel, ran back to the car and got in the driver's seat. He turned the engine, it spluttered and hissed. He’d left the headlamps on for far too long. He turned it again and once again it spluttered. Wait, he would give it a moment to recharge. Placing his head on the steering wheel, he clenched his fists as he hit the dashboard. How could he have been so stupid leaving the lights on for so long?
Tarkan sang continuously, a phone call. He snatched the phone from the passenger seat.
“He keeps on about what we've got. He wants to talk to you and said your phone isn't on. He keeps mentioning the passports and I told him that we just couldn't find them but I don't think he believes me. You have to get back now and deal with this shit. He's well peeved,” Sadik shouted without pausing to breathe.
“But, the car, it won’t-" Sadik hung up. Guz smashed his fist onto the steering wheel. He looked at the phone to reveal two missed calls. He would've heard Tarkan; the signal must've dropped as he'd moved about.
Trying again he turned the engine, it spat and spluttered before it fired up. “Yes,” he was on his way home. But he didn’t want to go to Sadik’s, he wanted to go home a
nd drink. Drink to get drunk and drink to sleep. Drink to forget the bone, the eyes and the raw meat; drink to forget Celile and Sadik’s betrayal. Their day would come. “I could cut them all out; stuff them all," he whispered. He then shuddered as he thought about the consequences if he got caught by The Boss. As he steered the car down the embankment he was determined to forget all his troubles. He smiled as he imagined opening a bottle of beer. But first he had to get home, quick and call The Boss.
Chapter 2
“Banana boat, ringo, jet ski, date with me?” The young man shouted. Eve smiled as she shook her head and turned away. The tout moved on to a middle aged man who sunbathed on a lounger in front of them. Her head was burning with the mid afternoon heat and she squinted as she gazed towards the sun's brightness. Wishing she had unpacked her sunglasses before exploring she held her hand horizontally across the top of her eyes and gazed out at the still blue sea in front of her. The water lapped, barely breaking into much of a wave. A couple of ducks swam near the safety rope, a woman yelled before laughing and swimming in another direction.
“We should get back and bag ourselves a good room before the guys get in there,” Selina said. A couple of stray blond hair extensions were beginning to stick to her friend's sweaty forehead. Selina lit a cigarette and stood, “Besides, there’s someone coming, he’ll probably want his five lira or whatever it costs for the sun lounger you’re sitting on.”
“You’re right. I just had to see the sea. It’s been a long time since I’ve been away, in fact it’s the first holiday I’ve had without my parents,” she laughed.
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