The Secrets of the Shadows (The Annie Graham series - Book 2)

by Helen Phifer

  Will nodded.

  ‘It will get better son, it always does.’

  He smiled at her and hoped she was right because it couldn’t possibly get any worse.

  Chapter 17

  Annie turned the car into her street. She couldn’t remember driving home, her mind was so busy thinking about Laura and Will and what was happening. She wondered if Will was working the case and how everyone was in the station. She felt useless and frustrated; as she parked her car on the drive she picked up her phone to ring Jake.

  ‘I take it you’ve heard then? I’ve been dying to ring but I knew you’d be driving home. Can you believe it?’

  ‘No it’s so unreal, how could this have happened. How can she be dead?’

  ‘Listen get a quick shower and come round, Alex is cooking so you only have to bring a bottle of that pink piss you drink.’

  ‘Thanks Jake but I’m not that hungry.’

  ‘Bah, you’re talking to me now. There’s no need to pretend you live off lettuce leaves and bottled water. Besides he’s cooking enough to feed Barrow Raiders rugby team so it would be rude not to.’

  ‘Thanks, see you soon.’ She ended the call and went into the house to strip out of her sticky uniform and have a cool shower. Fifteen minutes later she was pulling up outside of Jake’s.

  He threw open the door and hugged her. ‘You have no idea how much I miss you.’

  ‘Thanks but it’s only been three days since I was last here.’

  ‘Well it feels like three months to me, I keep getting shoved in the van with Sean who talks about nothing but football and women twenty four, seven – boring.’

  Annie laughed, ‘See you didn’t know how good you had it. Sorry.’

  She walked in and straight through to the kitchen where Alex was cooking up a storm. She walked over and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Thanks for the invite, something smells good.’

  ‘Lasagne and homemade garlic bread, mini jacket potatoes and salad.’

  ‘Please will you leave Jake and come to live with me Alex, please.’

  Jake walked in, pushing his phone into his pocket and looked at them. ‘You never get tired of trying to steal my boyfriend do you, tart.’

  ‘Worth a try Jake, it must be like being married to a top chef.’

  Jake opened the freezer and took a wine glass out and a tray of ice cubes. ‘See how good I am to you, I chilled you a glass so you don’t have to drink warm wine.’

  ‘You are both just perfect, that’s why I love you so much.’

  She passed him the wine bottle and he twisted off the cap, filling her glass then passing it to her.

  ‘Ah, what a day’, she said. ‘So are you going to tell me what’s happened then or do you want to wait until we’ve eaten?’

  ‘Don’t be daft, I can’t wait that long.’

  Jake began relaying the day’s events from when the phone call came in until Will escorted the hearse up to the hospital. Annie listened transfixed.

  ‘So what next, do they have any idea who it could be?’

  ‘Apparently she left the pub with a man last night so at the moment all fingers are pointing to him. They have the PCSOs going around the taxi offices, pubs and clubs with pictures of Laura and the mystery man, which were copied from the pub’s CCTV system. It’s a bit blurry though and he looks like every single guy in a tight white tee shirt with a shaved head does.’

  ‘I don’t understand though, surely he must have realised she was with her work mates and there would be at least ten people who would be able to identify him?’

  ‘Well the bloke is either as thick as or it wasn’t him and if it wasn’t him then who the hell was it?’

  Alex put the food on the table, ‘Dinner is served and no talking about murder or dead bodies. Some of us don’t like it and are not as gory as the rest of you.’

  ‘Sorry Alex, I forget you’re not one of us sometimes and that you have a respectable job which doesn’t bring you into contact with the dregs of society. Although now I’m working Windermere it’s a lot nicer.’

  ‘I’m not sure about the dregs of society bit; I spend enough time with you two don’t I?’

  They ate. Annie who had found her appetite tucked in and wished that Will was here but he would be at work until God knows when. She was going to have to stop thinking about him so much, almost everything she did she found herself wishing he was with her. It wasn’t healthy and it wasn’t going to make it any better. She finished eating and went to sit in the living room with Alex.

  Jake stayed in the kitchen to clear up. Taking a couple of plastic food containers out of the cupboard he filled them with food ready to drop off for Will once he’d driven Annie home. He knew his friend wouldn’t have had a chance to get something to eat and he still felt bad about the fight, even though he’d been man enough to apologise, it still didn’t make it right. He wanted to let Will know that he wasn’t a total idiot and still cared about him.

  Chapter 18

  When he arrived back at the station Will made himself busy. He phoned Sally to see if they’d had any joy tracking down the taxi which took Laura and the man away from the pub.

  ‘Sally have you got anything yet?’

  ‘I was just going to point you Will, we’ve visited all the taxi firms. None of them have got a pick up from the Black Dog at half ten on their books. So they either flagged a taxi down or jumped in one which had dropped someone off. None of them can check until after tea because those drivers are on nights and won’t be in until seven. I’ve given each taxi firm a card and told them they have to check with every driver and then ring us straight away before they go to any jobs in case there is forensic evidence in the back of the taxi.’

  ‘Bloody hell, you’re good. You can come and be a detective any day if you get fed up of being nice to everyone.’

  ‘Cheers Will but I’d only show you lot up, I wouldn’t want to make you look bad. We’re just about to start on the gyms.’

  Will chuckled to himself for the first time all day, ‘Thank you; let’s hope our taxi driver is on duty tonight and not gone off to Spain for a fortnight.’

  He ended the call; there had to be a link between the two victims, apart from the obvious that they were both blonde and pretty. The room was silent, even Stu was quiet; Will stood up to address them. ‘I’m just wondering how you all are, does anyone need to go home or take a break? It’s fine if you do, I don’t expect you all to carry on like robots. It’s been a big shock and a crap day for us all.’

  Not one of his team of detectives spoke but they all shook their heads in unison, they didn’t want to bail out, which was good. Will wondered if they would be allowed to continue with the enquiries anyway because Laura was one of them. The big men at headquarters might decide to pass it on to Kendal or Workington CID. Will would fight all the way if they did because he didn’t trust anyone else with it. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate if he wasn’t working on the case, at least this way they were putting in a hundred and ten percent and it was keeping their minds busy. He looked at the whiteboard, there was a picture of the first victim Tracy Hale, she looked like she was fast asleep, apart from the blue tinge to her lips. Laura’s death mask photo wasn’t up yet, they would get it from CSI when they had finished entering all the evidence into the computer system. He drummed his fingers on the desk. As soon as he had the results of the gym enquiries and he’d given the taxi firms a chance to ring in he was going home to get something to eat. He wondered if he should phone Annie, it was bound to affect her, not just because of the situation that Laura had caused but because it wasn’t that long ago she had been in a life and death situation with a killer. The relief that she wasn’t blonde made him feel a little better, whoever was killing these women didn’t go for her type; she didn’t fit his victim profile – thankfully. He took out his phone and sent her a text, ‘Need to talk xx.’ He didn’t think she would answer but it was worth a try.

  ***

  He’d had a busy day. T
he thrill he’d felt listening to the call as it came over the radio was indescribable. With his blues and twos on he had rushed to the scene, excited that she had been found whilst he was still on shift. He had been the second patrol to arrive and had taken a cursory look before feigning shock like the first two officers had; his plan had worked a treat. They had never expected to see one of their own like that and it had thrown them all into turmoil. He’d even managed to set foot in the church grounds so if his footprints did come back he had an excuse for being there. As the day had worn on and more officers attended he had really struggled to contain the gloating feeling he felt inside, it was getting harder though. They were all traumatised and united in their grief. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do now, there was no way he could kill another colleague, it would be too obvious, but the thrill would be hard to beat. This was such a small town it seemed as if everyone knew each other and if they didn’t know you they knew your relations. Well they wouldn’t know his because they were dead; the only person who would care enough to remember was the priest who could never forget. He would never be able to forget that he killed a nine year old and stood by whilst her mother slit her wrists. Did he really think that it had been finished with all those years ago just like that? Technically the man had got away with murder and Sean would make sure he paid the price, one way or the other. Wait until the priest came home and found the surprise waiting for him in the bedroom. It had been a stroke of pure luck that the man was the priest’s nephew and was staying with him. Sean hoped it wouldn’t be for a few days when the corpse in the bed would be bloated and rotting. Then he would hopefully get to relive today all over again. When he had been released from the crime scene by the DI he’d gone back to the station to finish his shift, fill out his notebook and put his radio and gas away. There was a hush over the station; everyone seemed to be talking in whispers. He was trying to think of an excuse to go into the CID office just to look at the shock which would be etched onto their faces but he didn’t have a justifiable reason. He didn’t normally go in so he didn’t want to arouse their suspicions; instead he sat down at the computer terminal in the parade room and began to load the call logs. If he ever got the chance he would print if off and take it home to put on his notice board, a bit of bedtime reading whenever he was bored. For now he would have to settle for reading it on the screen and basking in the glory.

  June 29th 1984

  13:00

  John finished his telephone conversation with Father Robert and placed the receiver back on the cradle, then buried his head in his hands. He had no idea if he could do this but he knew that he had to for Sophie’s sake. His childhood fear was still there, lodged at the back of his brain like a splinter he couldn’t quite reach to dig out and ease the pain. The memories of his life as a twelve year old boy before the shadow man consumed him were fuzzy, as if the shadow had emptied his mind of all the happy times – sucked it dry. The memories after were so awful he had to work hard to make his brain push them to some far, dark corner where the now-faded images were just out of reach. It had been his mother’s friend who had intervened back then and literally saved his soul and his life. She was a psychic, and on her last visit she had told his mum that the house had turned into a portal which led straight to hell and his mother, who truly didn’t believe in God or the devil, had laughed and told her she was barking mad. It was the fear on her son’s face and the fact that he looked so desperate that had been enough for her to let her friend do something to help him. He just wished he could remember what it was; maybe his belief in the power of God and the strength of his belief would be enough. After all he wasn’t a scared thirteen year old boy now, he was an adult who had given up everything to serve God. A voice echoed in his head No you’re not a scared school boy, you’re a scared priest.

  He needed to perform a blessing on the house, that much was clear. He wouldn’t take Sophie or Sean with him but he would have to ask Beth to come in case anything happened to him that he couldn’t control, she could run for help. He pushed himself up from his chair; he was so weary that the slightest task seemed like a huge effort. He felt like a man in his sixties. He left the room to go and find Beth and followed the laughter which came from the direction of the kitchen. Opening the door he saw Beth and her two children sitting around the table, the battered snakes and ladders boardgame spread out in front of them. Sean was giggling because he had sent Sophie to the bottom of the biggest snake on the board and she was sulking. Beth glanced at John and stopped smiling.

  ‘Can I speak with you in private, Beth?’

  She stood up and followed him out into the hall, the kids continuing to play without her.

  ‘I’m going to go in and bless the house from top to bottom but I can’t do it on my own. I’ll need you to help in case something goes wrong.’

  Beth stared at him, her eyes opened so wide he hadn’t realised that eyelids could stretch so far.

  ‘Of course I’ll help but do you think it’s a good idea? I mean what is that going to do, will it make it leave Sophie alone?’

  John dithered, should he tell her a white lie or be truthful? He settled on the truth, ‘I honestly don’t know. I hope to God that it does but I can’t say. I don’t know what else to do but it has to be better than doing nothing.’

  ‘When are you thinking of doing it? I want to be ready; you know, try and build myself up to going back in. I’m terrified.’

  He lifted his wrist to look at his watch, ‘In half an hour. I’m going to the church for some holy water and to ask God for his help. Mrs Brown will watch the children, I want to do it while we still have plenty of daylight because I have no idea how long it will take.’

  ‘Thank you John, I appreciate everything that you are doing.’ She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. John paused, unsure what he should do but then he hugged her back – briefly. He pulled away first, his cheeks flushed pink and Beth let out a giggle.

  ‘It was just a hug; everyone needs a hug now and again. Even servants of God.’ She winked at him and then turned to go back into the kitchen to play with her children until it was time.

  Father John left the presbytery and walked across the freshly mowed lawn to the church, the scent of cut grass tickling his nose. He kept asking himself would he give up God for the woman who had stolen his heart, and her children? He should have told himself no, a short, sharp no. Instead somewhere inside his head was a niggling thought that perhaps he could, that he might like to live a normal life, have a family and be loved. He reached the church doors and went inside, where immediately an invisible cloud of guilt settled over his shoulders, weighing him down. He made his way to the altar and knelt down, apologising to God for his impure thoughts and asking for his help and forgiveness. Asking him for the strength to do what he had to do to get rid of the shadow man. When he finished he pulled the empty bottle from his pocket and walked over to the font, blessing the water he then submerged the plastic bottle, holding it down until the air subsided and it was full. He screwed on the cap and wiped it on the side of his trousers to dry it, then he walked to the alter and picked up the official aspergillum and filled the silver ball with more holy water; it didn’t hold enough to bless the whole of Beth’s house, that was why he needed the plastic bottle. He wasn’t going to chance running out half way through, leaving half of the house unblessed because he had a feeling this was going to be one mean fight and the shadow man would object strongly. He was going to be prepared at all costs. He picked up the gold crucifix from the altar. It was heavy but it felt good in his hand. A true weapon of God, and if all else failed he could throw it and run.

  When he got back to the presbytery Beth and her children were still in the kitchen and had been joined by Mrs Brown, who was there with her sleeves pushed up to her elbows and flour spread all over the worktop. Sophie and Sean were both standing on chairs, one either side of her, they both had flour dust on their nose and all over their hands. They were
engrossed in what they were doing and for that John was thankful. Beth looked at him and nodded. She walked across and kissed both her children on the top of their heads. Then she followed him into the hall, gently closing the door behind her.

  ‘Are you ready Beth?’

  ‘Not really, how can I be ready to go and bless my house against a shadow that shouldn’t ever exist? I thought this kind of stuff was all made up to sell films and books.’

  ‘I wish it was Beth, I truly do.’ He had to fight the urge to hold her again; he needed to start acting like a priest so instead he patted her on the shoulder. ‘Come on, let’s get it over with and then we can come home and eat some of Mrs Brown’s delicious apple pie, smothered in fresh cream, and pretend that we are normal people.’

  He walked out of the front door and she followed, closing it behind her. Neither of them wanted Sophie or Sean to follow them, they had both seen quite enough already. The sun was dazzling and it was hot enough to be sitting outside in the garden, sunbathing. John wished that was what he was about to do, it seemed such a tempting thought to do just that and forget about all it for a while. They reached Beth’s house and a black shadow descended over them, the air cooled immensely and both of them looked up to see a huge black cloud in the sky, obscuring the sun and taking away its light and warmth. Beth gulped and looked up and down the street to see if there was anyone around. It was deserted. John placed his hand on the metal gate to push it open but he snatched it back. ‘It’s freezing cold. How can it be so cold when the sun has been baking it for the last hour?’

  Reaching out again, this time he pushed it open. Beth glanced at his white face and the blood drained from hers. He sprinkled some holy water onto the gate and stepped towards the front door, holding his hand out towards her for the key. She placed it on the palm of his shaking hand. He was terrified but he never said, ‘Let’s forget the whole thing and go back.’ Instead John continued walking until he was near enough to reach out and insert the key into the lock. It turned and the door swung inwards. Both of them gagged at the stench that was released into the air. It was just as Sophie had described, the house had gone bad and it was rotting from the inside. He stepped inside, closely followed by Beth. He breathed out and watched his breath fog up in front of him.